St Helena Records 1718-1720
Introduction: This is the fifteenth 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/EAP1364-1-1-16.
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.
Text Loss: The edges of many pages were torn or missing, resulting in some loss of text, in some cases quite substantially.
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: Page numbers appear consecutively in the top left and top right corners, with the first numbered page on Film No. 7, recorded as 7/1. However, several duplications occur. Two pages are numbered 241, with the sequence reading 246/240, 247/241, 248/241, 249/242 and so on. Similarly, two other pages are numbered 247, following the sequence 253/246, 254/247, 255/247, 256/248 and so on. Another two pages are numbered 282, the sequence running as 289/281, 290/282, 291/282, 292/283 and so on. Finally, two pages are numbered 481, with the sequence continuing as 489/480, 490/481, 491/481, 492/482 and so on. All of these appear to be simple pagination errors, with no loss of text.
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 26 February 1718/9 (1719 in the modern calendar) and the latest date is
a consultation held on 4 January 1720 (1721 in the modern calendar).
The Council meetings were held during the administrations of Captain Isaac Pyke (1714-1719) and Edward Johnson (1719 to 1723).
AI Generated Summary
Introduction
This account summarises reports drawn from the consultation books of the Governor and Council of St Helena, then a possession of the English East India Company, covering February 1719 to January 1721. It spans the later government of Isaac Pyke, the change of administration to Edward Johnson in June 1719, and Johnson’s first eighteen months in office. The island was valued chiefly as a place where homeward ships took on fresh food and water, and almost every matter the council handled connects back to that purpose. The material is arranged thematically, and within each theme the events run in chronological order across the whole period. [Film No. 7–206]
The record is the council’s own, written to serve the Company’s interest and its officers’ reputations, so the ordinary inhabitants and the enslaved appear chiefly as property, witnesses or offenders, which shapes both what it shows and what it leaves out. Several great themes dominate: a scheme to settle the island’s waste land and feed its enslaved workforce; the long crisis of the neglected account books that brought down two successive accountants; the bitter quarrel with the chaplain John Jones; and the constant fact of slavery, on whose coerced labour the whole economy rested. Read against the Company’s wider world of Indian Ocean slaving, bills of exchange and a network of posts from Bencoolen to the Cape, the material shows how a remote Atlantic island was governed as one working part of a global commercial empire. [Film No. 207–562]
Governance and Administration
The council met at Union Castle in James Valley under Governor Isaac Pyke, with Bazett as second, Antipas Tovey third, and John Alexander and John Goodwin as assistants. Attendance was a recurring problem. On 17 March 1719 Bazett was absent and Tovey away in the country, and the Governor refused to give his view on a weighty petition until the full council could be gathered, sending for the missing members. The same shortage recurred on 24 March 1719. This shows how a scattered rural settlement struggled to assemble a working council, serious business waiting on members drawn off to their own affairs. The Governor’s insistence on a full meeting reflects a genuine respect for collective decision, yet the records also show how much depended on him personally, for when he fell sick in April the council met in his own bedchamber and the island’s business carried on around his sickbed. [Film No. 35, 42, 49]
The keeping of accounts was a persistent failure, and distance shaped every dealing with London. Audits of the 1717 books found the fair books unmade and the transfer book unposted, with little done since Captain Bazett’s death, and the council summoned Tovey to show cause why he should not be suspended. Bookkeeping that lagged two years behind was a recurring embarrassment the council was anxious to correct before the directors learned of it. The departing officer Thomas Cason was meanwhile commended as a man who could give a fuller account in person than any letter, a living channel across the ocean. [Film No. 58, 82–106]
The central concern of the new government was the state of the account books, a matter the directors had pressed from London. The Company’s last general letter insisted on a better method of sending the accounts home and required past negligence to be made good by future diligence. This gave Governor Johnson external authority for his repeated demands on Tovey, whose neglect of the books was the original ground of his suspension. The audit of departing officers’ accounts was directed through standing instructions carried by each ship, the directors reaching into the island’s bookkeeping from a great distance. [Film No. 253–256]
The council that sat through these months was a reduced board. Governor Johnson presided with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, the bench thinned by the suspension of Antipas Tovey in July 1719 and the earlier death of Captain Matthew Bazett. Ormston had come over from England on the Craggs Frigate to mend the long neglect of the books and was admitted to council in Tovey’s place, then made accountant in August. Johnson’s first hand on garrison discipline was notably lenient. When several inhabitants were summoned for failing to attend a general muster, he excused the whole body from any fine with only a caution, and he showed the same leniency to two planters who failed to relay an alarm at Sandy Bay, discharging them on a promise of better care. [Film No. 308, 311, 343–344]
The quarter’s store accounts show the careful method behind this drive. The storekeeper John Goodwin reckoned the Company’s supply under four separate heads, the inhabitants, the fort, the general charges and the plantation, striking a grand total of more than £2,700 and signed off by the governor himself. By dividing the same classes of goods across the heads, the account distinguished what was sold for revenue from what the establishment consumed at the Company’s charge, so that profit on retail could be weighed against the cost of the settlement for the directors in London. [Film No. 357–358]
The corrected books revived old claims with striking reach. The completed reckoning exposed a sum of more than f£400 omitted from Governor Pyke’s account at his departure, pursued by letter to him at Bencoolen, and revived the unpaid debts of a man gone to the West Indies six years before and of Richard Gurling for a house bought four years earlier. The council let no error pass, recovering even a short charge of a few shillings, the diligence over trifling sums marking the thoroughness the new reckoning brought to accounts the earlier neglect had let lie dormant. [Film No. 510, 515, 525–527]
The Tovey Affair and the Change of Government
The death of Captain Matthew Bazett on 5 April 1719, coming as Pyke himself lay sick, opened a contest for the store keepership and threw the island’s government into doubt. The gunner French reported that Tovey had boasted he had gained his ends, expecting to be storekeeper, and had sneered that the sick Governor would go no more to the Fort until he came to take possession of it. The free planter Richard Swallow swore to the same boasting, the council methodically assembling a documentary case against Tovey from named witnesses. Pyke set the rivalry aside and, professing to weigh only the Company’s interest, appointed Goodwin storekeeper on Alexander’s sworn judgement that he was the fittest man on the island, having served near eight years under successive storekeepers. [Film No. 49–50, 56]
What raised the crisis above a mere quarrel over office was the reaction of the inhabitants. Several of the principal planters pressed the sick Governor to provide for an honest successor, and one warned that if Tovey were the man and no rules bound him, they would all rise together and serve him as Governor Keigwin had been served before, a reference to an earlier rising the council thought serious enough to investigate in its own records. The people declared openly that Tovey should never be governor while they lived. The council judged the threat real and chose to quiet the people rather than provoke them. Pyke answered with a public declaration of 8 April 1719, drafted from his sickbed and entered in the consultation, citing precedents from across the Company’s Indian settlements for a governor naming his successor, and promising to consult the principal inhabitants before doing so. This conceded a measure of popular consultation while retaining the power of appointment. [Film No. 51–55]
The dominant episode is the long contest over the suspended secretary Antipas Tovey. It began with his accusations against the outgoing governor, first that Pyke had employed too many of the Company’s slaves at its cost, then the sharper charge that he had exchanged the Company’s dead or sick slaves for sound ones and drawn wages for them. The council opened a formal enquiry, swearing the chief overseer Portley, who denied any secret dealing in slaves by anyone on the island. Pyke met the charge with the documentary record, producing his own slave book to show it agreed with the Company’s accounts and that the two named slaves had always been the Company’s. A discrepancy remained, since those names had appeared in the great slave census sent home on the Maurice in May, a gap the bench would need to reconcile. [Film No. 213–214]
A particular charge alleged that Pyke had built a house for Goodwin to buy his silence. The council ordered an enquiry, joining the independent commander Captain Wynn to Alexander so the investigation should not seem partial. Pyke denied the house existed at all, explaining that the supposed structure was in truth his straightening of James Town, where he had pulled back the widow Carne’s wall that encroached on the street and rebuilt part of an adjoining warehouse as her compensation. Wynn and Alexander measured the ground and reported that no new house existed, and the widow herself swore that her own and her son’s slaves did the heavy work and that her son bought the timber and paid the carpenters. The costs falling on the family left no room for the charge that the Company had built a house as a bribe. [Film No. 217–223]
Alexander then turned from witness to complainant, laying his own charge against Tovey for the abuse and threats directed at him and Goodwin. He rested his defence on more than twenty-four years of Company service and declared he knew of no wrong he had done, casting Tovey’s accusations as false zeal cloaking malice and ingratitude. On a full hearing, the council suspended Tovey from his place, salary and maintenance, confirming under the new governor the suspension Pyke had first imposed, with the whole matter reserved for the directors’ final judgement in England. [Film No. 224–226]
Tovey conducted his defence at a distance, through written papers submitted from the country rather than appearing in person, a strategy that protected him from cross-examination. His reply demanded that any charge be proved syllabically, word for word as spoken, an almost impossible standard for reported private conversation. He recast the disputed exchange about buying land as a spontaneous remark after supper, and appealed to the two wives present as witnesses. He pleaded weak eyes from the blow Jones had given him, and excused his absence by cold weather, positioning himself as willing and nearly able to serve. [Film No. 247–256]
The dominant administrative matter was the final collapse of Antipas Tovey as the Company's accountant. Under Pyke he had been suspended for neglecting the books; under Johnson he came forward and flatly refused to act as accountant any longer. The council at once summoned him to answer for the books and papers in his charge, shifting its concern from his diligence to securing the records themselves before he abandoned the post. When he appeared, Tovey swore he held no books or papers except an alphabet he was completing, this being an index to the ledgers, and delivered a key to a press said to contain some accounts. [Film No. 257–258]
The work of clearing the backlog then dominated the later consultations. An advertisement called in all claims for work due from the Company within a week, so the ledgers need not be kept open for want of them. Through September the council examined wage accounts one by one, given in days of labour supplied by inhabitants and their slaves, checking each against several books and papers to prevent a double charge. The labour was tedious precisely because the ledgers had fallen years behind, so each claim had to be compared across multiple incomplete records rather than a single up-to-date account. Where the original work book kept in Pyke's time had been lost, the council fell back on the claimant's sworn oath as an evidentiary substitute. [Film No. 280–287]
Military Affairs, Defence and Piracy
The garrison was small, and its discipline a constant concern. Soldiers deserted from passing ships and sometimes settled on the island, as John Howard did after twice being offered passage home. He was enlisted, equipped and about to marry before he too ran away. The council recovered the cost of his issued clothes by attaching small debts owed to him, and judged him a fool for fleeing a release he could have had for the asking. The handling shows the Company treating a deserter’s private credits as an asset it could seize. [Film No. 86]
The most direct intrusion of war came by letter. A warning from the Court of Directors, dated November 1718 and relayed from ship to ship, reported that the King of Spain had issued privateering commissions against English vessels. This marks the opening of the conflict between Britain and Spain, and the directors required that every Company commander be told to beware any strange ship at sea. The island was one link in a chain of communication stretching from London through the Cape to St Helena, the Company’s only means of protecting a scattered fleet that had no naval escort. [Film No. 102–103]
Fresh intelligence of piracy reached the island early in the period. The Mercury reported falling in with a Dutch ship at the Cape that had been attacked by a pirate, who had killed nine of her men and wounded forty-nine. The raider was reckoned Bristol-built, carrying forty guns and eight pattereroes, swivel-mounted guns used against boarders, marking her as heavily armed and manned for boarding. The Dutch ship escaped only because the pirate was a poor sailor and could not carry sail to hold the chase. This was useful intelligence for the directors and for any ship that might meet her, and it set the danger against which the council pressed its defence. [Film No. 407]
The threat exposed a serious laxity in the island's defence. Many inhabitants had grown negligent in turning out to their assigned posts on alarms, and Governor Johnson's earlier practice of reprimanding rather than fining defaulters had produced no improvement. The council now issued a stern advertisement, published by beat of drum, requiring every armed man to go to his post on every alarm, on pain of a discretionary fine, and closing the door on plausible excuses. The posts had been read out at the last general muster, so none could plead ignorance. The order came just after a disguised imperial ship had reached the Great Fort under a false name, which gave the tightening of muster discipline immediate point. [Film No. 411–412]
The defence of the island rested on a militia obligation that bound every inhabitant to repair to his post on the alarm. When men failed to muster, the council summoned them to answer, though it excused a body of defaulters on finding the fault lay partly in the alarm system and partly in a ship’s ambiguous approach, a vessel rounding the south-west point easily taken for one standing off. The recurring false alarms for passing ships, and the excuses of distance and misjudged course, incidentally, map how terrain and a failing signal hampered the defence of a vulnerable island. [Film No. 515–517]
The wider danger of pirates shaped the management of the roadstead. On the approach of an unidentified sail, the council ordered the Company’s own ships to moor nearer in and warp close to the rocks, where the fort’s guns could cover them, turning the departing vessels into part of the island’s defence. It held the homeward captains to the directors’ standing order that they wait for one another, keeping the Company’s ships together for mutual protection on a route where a lone vessel was vulnerable, the convoy practice enforced by the bench as the directors’ agent. [Film No. 557–558]
Settlement, Land and Agriculture
The letting of waste land was the great business of these weeks. A steady run of planters and tradesmen petitioned for small parcels, most adjoining ground they already held, the council referring each to two members for a view before any grant. Many requests turned on the saving of fencing costs, since taking in a neighbouring piece let a holder enclose a single block. Alexander, French and Joshua Johnson were granted such parcels on this reasoning, which Pyke endorsed, holding that ground already used by the adjoining holder was better let for rent than left idle. Behind the grants lay a firm policy against engrossing. The council had noted that Gabriel Powell held at least 290 acres, more than any two men on the island, and Pyke now proposed that no man holding 40 acres or more receive any further grant, though such men might still buy land if they kept one white man for every 20 acres. That condition tied landholding directly to defence and racial control, ensuring grants enlarged the armed European population rather than merely extending plantations worked by slaves. [Film No. 7–8, 12, 17, 27, 37]
The most ambitious part of the scheme concerned the land at Swanley Valley head, for which so many had petitioned that not all could be satisfied. To deflect the charge of injustice, Pyke proposed published qualifying rules excluding those who held 40 acres, those who had sold land of their own and those unable to cultivate in person, directing the grant toward landless settlers. Grants were to carry a binding obligation to build and fence within two years, supported by Company timber and lime at thirty pence per bushel, since fuel was extremely scarce in that part of the island. A graduated rent reinforced the plan, charging four shillings per acre on unbuilt land but one shilling once the house stood, the higher rate working as a penalty for delay. Land was not to be divided among many heirs but to pass whole to one successor who paid the others in money, and each grant was to fall between 20 and 30 acres, drawn by lot with extra acres added for poor ground. Taken together these provisions amounted to a deliberate plan to engineer a class of roughly equal resident cultivators. [Film No. 18–21]
The island’s agriculture was overwhelmingly a matter of yams, the staple that fed the slaves and the establishment. This dependence was brutally exposed on 2 May 1719, when a sudden flood, which the council judged a burst waterspout over the Main Ridge, tore down the hillsides, stripping soil to the rock and burying fertile ground under stones. The loss was surveyed plantation by plantation, the heaviest figures running to twenty and thirty thousand yams at single holdings such as Doveton’s and Perkins’s, and the note that soil was washed bare recorded a graver blow than the lost crop. Pyke then sent the Company’s slaves from the Hutts to help the widows Hayes and Burnham, both nearly ruined, concentrating relief on the poorest to guard against their collapse onto the parish. [Film No. 79–81]
One land dispute revealed the tangle of competing claims the council had to resolve. Twenty acres once leased to Thomas Gargen had passed through two insolvent estates to John Alexander, who sought a clean lease for the whole. The difficulty was that Gargen had earlier given five acres to his daughter Mary as a marriage portion on her wedding to the planter John Long, who had held it for six or seven years. Pyke reasoned that, since Gargen held only a twenty-one-year lease and not the freehold, his gift to Long could last no longer than that term. He devised a peppercorn lease by which Alexander would carry Long as a sub-tenant, threading the interests of buyer, prior occupier and the Company into a single arrangement. Alexander thought the terms hard but accepted them rather than lose his lease. [Film No. 136–152]
The largest single document of the period is Governor Pyke’s survey of the Company’s yam stock, the staple food of its enslaved labour force. He set out the whole stock of 1,405,022 yams classed by the age of the growth, from the youngest at two to eight months to the oldest at sixteen to twenty-one months, then matched each band of maturing crop to a stretch of the calendar ahead. Reckoning consumption at a steady 5,000 yams a week, he laid the ripening crops end to end to show the supply reaching into the middle of 1720 and, with replanting, renewing itself in a continuous cycle. This converted a static stock-count into a forward feeding plan, composed expressly to guide a successor who would at first be unfamiliar with the management of the island’s provisions. [Film No. 157–158]
The most striking feature of the survey is its argument for deliberate overproduction. Although the Company already held far more yams than its projected need, Pyke proposed enlarging the plantations further, to 1,650,000 yams, as insurance against three named risks: drought, the failure of the rice ships, and a growing slave population. He judged it far better that two or three hundred thousand yams rot in the ground each year than that the people should want food. The reasoning was also financial. The common price of yams was two shillings the hundredweight, but the planters were known to charge double once the Company was forced to buy. Holding a large reserve in its own ground kept the establishment off a market the planters controlled. [Film No. 160]
Pyke then reviewed each plantation against a planned capacity, repeatedly noting that there had been no yams at his arrival. He measured grounds by yield rather than bare quantity, judging that 300,000 yams at the fertile Bamboo Gut equalled 400,000 elsewhere, and preferring grounds near the Grand Plantation where carriage was easier. He had reversed a previous governor’s abandonment of the Bamboo Gut, which interested planters had wrongly called worn out, and turned it into what he reckoned the best ground on the island. He had also thrown up cold, poor plots in the sands, called Rookers, Coles and Hardings, and added them to pasture. Setting the 395,400 yams found at his arrival against the 1,405,000 he would leave, more than three times the number, he made the whole survey a measure of his own achievement. [Film No. 162–163]
The register’s closing totals fixed the measure of the settled community. The civil population stood at 390 whites in households and 411 privately owned blacks, with the garrison’s officers, soldiers and servants expressly excluded as a separate body maintained at the Company’s charge. This exclusion defined the count’s purpose, letting the directors weigh the self-supporting community against the cost of the garrison and the Company’s own slaves. The figures also recorded a striking fact: the privately held blacks now outnumbered the whites, 411 against 390, a balance that lay behind the standing anxiety over a slave rising visible across the island’s records. The property totals reached 1,765 head of cattle and 3,102 acres, a herd much rebuilt since the famine. [Film No. 172–173]
By contrast, requests for separate tracts were repeatedly deferred pending a view by the council. Bridget Bazett's effort to revive a grant approved for her late husband shortly before his death, Bagley's petition for land at the Graves, and Mary Nichols's application, notable as a land request by a single woman in her own right, were all held over. The deferrals show a deliberate tightening of control over the disposal of Company land under Johnson. The most striking case was the overseer William Portley, twice deferred when he sought twenty acres in Swanley Valley, the very tract whose springs Pyke had found insufficient and whose settlement was governed by a special regulation. The council declined to let even a senior servant pre-empt the rationed settlement of that ground. [Film No. 273–279]
The depletion of timber drew a formal proclamation. The green wood of the Great Wood was being destroyed daily, the council warned, to the great damage and ruin of the greatest part of the island if not soon prevented. It strictly forbade all persons from cutting or wasting any green wood there, on pain of answering for it. The order was to be published by beat of drum and posted in the most frequented places, the standard method of binding a largely illiterate population by combining oral proclamation with written notice so that none could plead ignorance. The Great Wood was treated as a strategic resource for fuel and construction, its loss framed as a danger to the whole community rather than a private nuisance. [Film No. 266–267]
The most contested parcel was a piece of waste called Taylor’s Ground, sought by the brothers Richard and Anthony Beale. They pleaded a prior grant of about thirteen acres measured out by Captain Bazett, the want of a formal lease arising only from his death, and nine months’ undisturbed possession. Against them a group of neighbours, headed by John Long, petitioned that the ground was their only nearby source of firewood, and that Beale had threatened their slaves sent to gather wood. The council summoned all parties to be heard face to face, the procedure it used for competing land claims, and after hearing both sides decided for the Beales, granting them the parcel with a lease. The dispute shows how the scarcity of timber on a small island could set holder against holder. [Film No. 331–332, 339–340]
The most striking land matter was a collective protest by the inhabitants. When the council advertised the chief parcels of waste, including Swanley Valley, for letting, the settlers petitioned as a body to keep them in common for the public benefit. They argued that enclosure would fall hardest on the poorest planters, who would then be unable to raise stock to maintain their families. The petition carried unusual weight, subscribed by the largest landholders alongside men of modest means, several signing for orphans or absent parties, so that it spoke for a substantial cross-section of the community. By framing enclosure as a threat to the island's families and its provisioning, the inhabitants turned the Company's own settlement objective against the policy of letting, and the council's referral to further consideration shows the tactic securing at least a pause. [Film No. 408–409]
The register’s grand totals fixed the measure of the settled community at 576 whites and 429 blacks held in households, with the garrison’s soldiers expressly excluded as a separate body maintained by the Company. A notable feature is the recording of a small free population of colour, fourteen households across the island holding free blacks distinguished in the count from the enslaved majority. The property side reached above 1,860 head of cattle and 3,100 acres, divided carefully between freehold ground owned outright and land hired from the Company at rent, the leased acreage being the source of the proprietors’ revenue from the settlement. [Film No. 468–469]
The survey’s most revealing feature was its candid notice of poor ground. Plot after plot was marked too cold, dry or worn to repay planting, the count of yams set against a far smaller probable yield by weight: the Peak’s quarter-million yams would weigh barely six and a half tons, and other parcels would dig out at half their planted number. One piece was marked unsafe to plant for fear of theft, tying a security risk to a question of land use. The livestock count, honestly recording about twenty sheep missing and a portion of the goats held apart, gave the council a working measure of the herd rather than a flattering summary, its qualifications preserving the figure’s use for management. [Film No. 483–484, 486]
Supply, Provisioning and Livestock
The land scheme rested on the island’s role as a victualling station. Pyke held that every settled family would raise poultry, garden produce or fruit to sell the ships at little cost beyond labour. His deeper anxiety was that homeward vessels increasingly revictualled at the Cape of Good Hope, captains using the island’s shortfalls as a pretext, so that a larger population was the means of holding the shipping the island depended on. The planters pressed the same grievance in a joint petition of March 1719, signed by Powell, Wrangham, Wood, Johnson, Doveton and Greentree. They complained that ships arriving already provisioned took little and sold inferior goods dear, and warned that letting more land would swell the cattle herds beyond any market, the beasts dying unsold unless the ships returned. They asked leave to raise their provision prices, reversing the council’s usual insistence on low rates, and timed their case deliberately to the moment the land scheme was under debate. [Film No. 16, 36–37]
The island’s traffic was busy. The Prince Eugene and the Robert and Rebecca arrived from Madagascar in late February 1719, and the Cardonnell under Captain William Mawson came from Mocha, the Red Sea coffee port. The Drake under Captain Mackett passed through from Madagascar bound for the West Indies, a route linking the Indian Ocean slaving grounds to the Atlantic. Dealing with masters was not easy: Mawson refused to sell the council arrack below a higher price until ready to sail, holding out in the knowledge that the buyer had no alternative source. Mawson had figured in the island’s troubled records before, in the mutiny and libel proceedings of 1715, and his peaceable reappearance returns a difficult figure to routine traffic. [Film No. 22, 31, 33, 48]
The limits of that leverage appeared when the council tried to draw bohea tea from the two China ships under the directors’ orders. Both the Caernarvon and the Hartford refused, explaining that the black tea lay at the bottom of the hold beneath the green, and that being so near sailing they had no time to break out the cargo. A lawful order was defeated by the physical realities of stowage and the haste of departure. The shortage, first noted in February, remained unmet despite the arrival of the whole fleet. [Film No. 62–63]
Yams were the staple food of the enslaved workforce, and the council surveyed the whole crop on 5 June 1719. The stock across eight plantations came to more than 1.4 million yams, with the Hutts holding the largest reserve of over 400,000 as the principal slave-accommodation estate. The survey broke each plantation down plot by plot, attaching a maturing time to every parcel, some fit within months and others nearly two years off. This staggering of plantings spread the risk that a single drought or flood would carry away the whole supply at once, and gave the Governor a forward projection of how long the labour force could be fed. [Film No. 154–156]
The provisioning accounts gain their urgency from a flood. On 2 May 1719 a great flood struck the island, and Perkins's plantation suffered the heaviest single loss, about 20,000 yams and four pieces of ground. The council diverted hands from other plantations to repair the worst-hit ground, the same relief response Pyke had ordered for the poor planters, here applied to the Company's own estate. The yam survey of early June, taken so soon after, carried a particular weight, since the food standing in the ground measured directly against the labour the Company could keep. [Film No. 125, 154]
French himself was finally dismissed. Twice before discharged for neglect and for plotting with opponents of the government, and twice restored on promises of amendment, he was now removed for good after going into the country with two ships in the road and failing to return as ordered. The danger lay in his sole control of the magazine keys, since no ammunition could have been reached had an alarm or accident occurred in his absence, exactly the risk the recent muster discipline had sought to guard against. Isaac Leech was appointed at once to keep the magazine in responsible hands, the readiness of the replacement reflecting the standing need to keep the island's ordnance manned. [Film No. 441]
Trade, Shipping and the Company Network
The island sat at the convergence of the homeward routes from across the Company’s eastern trade. In a single week of April 1719, ships arrived from Bengal, Madras, China and Bencoolen, the Heathcote, Derby, Caernarvon, Hartford and Benjamin representing the principal stations feeding the traffic to England. St Helena was the common gathering point where vessels from the whole eastern establishment called on their way home. This placed the island at the heart of a trading world far larger than itself. [Film No. 57]
The fleets sailed in convoy for mutual protection, under the authority of the eldest captain. Tolson, as senior commander, hurried the assembled ships away after only six days, setting the convoy’s timing by his own judgement rather than the island’s convenience. His haste was such that he ignored the recognised signal, a waft of the great flag and a gun, to send a boat for a stranded passenger, and crowded on sail regardless. The convoy commander’s authority is shown exercised without regard for a single man left behind. [Film No. 67–68]
The cargoes record the staple commodities of the eastern trade. Indian cotton textiles dominated, with long cloth and gingham from Madras and salampores, cuttanees and challoes from Bombay, reckoned by the corge of 20 pieces, alongside arrack shipped by the leaguer from Batavia and Bencoolen, with sugar, rice and shirts. A persistent grievance shadowed all this shipping, since the fleets increasingly revictualled at the Dutch settlement at the Cape, arriving already provisioned and taking little from the island. This deprived the planters of their market, and the council documented the practice for the directors as enriching a foreign people at the Company’s expense, an objection both local and patriotic. [Film No. 60–61, 71, 78, 82, 97, 102]
The fullest evidence of the island’s dependence on the wider Company appears in the four parallel letters the council despatched to Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen by the Craggs Frigate. Each opened with a careful recital of which ships had carried which letters, the standing safeguard against correspondence lost on passages that might take many months, the wreck of the Success and its cargo standing as a reminder of that hazard. The letters reveal a settlement that produced its own food but relied entirely on the eastern presidencies for cloth, bedding and furnishings, the council pressing for coarse calicoes and ready-made shirts to clothe the slaves and labourers, for rice and Batavia arrack, and for the finer chintzes singled out as pleasing to the women. [Film No. 194–195, 197]
The letters also exposed a recurring grievance against the ships’ commanders, who carried their own private trade while neglecting the Company’s consignments. Quilts much wanted at Bombay had been stowed beyond reach because the bales were not marked for St Helena, and stores promised by Bengal in the Heathcote and by Captain Glegg had not been shipped under the pretence of a storm, while the same captains brought the like goods on their own account. The council laid no blame on the presidencies but wholly on the masters, warning that they would be disappointed in their market if the inhabitants, supplied through the Company’s store, declined to buy from them privately. A standing request that homeward commanders touching at the Cape bring garden seeds, plants and trees ran through every letter, a modest effort to widen the island’s cultivation. [Film No. 196, 198–201]
The island also served as a point where intelligence of danger to shipping was gathered and recorded for London. The council questioned the master of the Mercury about pirates mentioned in letters that had reached it from Ostend, and took from him and his officers a written account of what they had heard and seen at the Cape. The piracy then troubling the Indian Ocean routes thus left its trace in the consultation book, the bench assembling news of the threat for transmission home as it did with every matter touching the Company’s wider interest. [Film No. 406]
The store's pricing policy is set out plainly. The council ordered fresh Bengal cargo sold at no less than fifty per cent advance on its landed cost, the margin by which the store turned a profit for the proprietors. Where stock would not sell, the bench cut its price to clear it: the coarse store sugar, judged little better than jaggery, was marked down to sixpence a pound when inhabitants turned to fresher sugar from the shipping. The price of arrack, which had risen to eight shillings a gallon, was brought back by averaging to the old rate of six shillings and fourpence, a sufficient profit for the masters and a stable rate for the buyers. Cargoes were checked against the supplier's invoice, Captain Goodwin gauging the arrack casks and finding ninety gallons lost through worm-eaten staves. [Film No. 428–438]
The council’s parallel letters to Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen, sent by the ship Hartford, reveal a settlement drawing its necessaries from across the Company’s eastern network: arrack, sugar, rice and the Indian cottons, long cloth, chintz, ginghams and the rest, that clothed and supplied the island. The letters show a new discipline in provisioning, the council declining more long cloth while its stores held enough and instructing each presidency to send no goods beyond what was written for, so as to prevent the waste of overstocking that swelled the prodigious charge the island was to the Company. A standing cap of five pounds on garden seeds and plants brought from the Cape applied the same budgetary control to a minor recurring import. [Film No. 494–495, 502, 506]
Cargo and its carriers were watched closely. When the Hartford delivered timber short of the invoice and of inferior quality, the storekeeper entered formal exceptions on the bill of lading to preserve the Company’s claim for the difference. Prices of Indian goods were struck from a base in pagodas and rupees, carrying deductions and incident charges before any margin, and the arrack landed from each ship was sold from the store at a fixed sterling rate, the Company holding both the supply and the price of a commodity that was also a source of the drink troubling its discipline. [Film No. 512, 556]
Slavery and Coerced Labour
Slavery underpinned the island’s economy. From the two Madagascar ships the council took twenty-five people for the Company’s use, counted alongside the other goods landed, Madagascar serving as the main slaving ground for the Company’s western Indian Ocean posts. Pyke’s written order for choosing slaves, addressed to Goodwin and Beale, exposes how the Company valued them. The men were to be young and able-bodied, none above eighteen or nineteen and none tall, since shorter men were thought to endure hard labour and the steep hills better; the women were to be chosen for their looks. This distinction reveals the gendered functions assigned to the enslaved, the men for labour and the women valued by a separate and degrading measure. The Company held the Governor personally answerable for those chosen, which is why he set such precise criteria and then shifted the blame to his two deputies. [Film No. 22, 25–26]
The most striking entry is the conspiracy of several enslaved people to steal the Company’s longboat and sail for the Cape. The plot reached across the holdings of many planters, naming slaves of Shreeve, Johnson, Portlock, Smith, Whaley, Slaughter and Beal, each identified by owner rather than any surname of their own, and depended on Doveton’s Benjamin, who understood a boat and reckoned the passage at a fortnight. The attempt collapsed partly because Beal’s Moll was held in irons with a half hundredweight weight on her leg, a punishment for stealing firewood, and her fellow conspirators would not leave her behind. The council broke the plot by extracting testimony from within it, examining Moll and Slaughter’s Jenny against the others, and sentenced those found guilty to severe whipping on the naked body. It further punished them for accusing one another, condemning the very incrimination its own examinations had compelled, and so turning coerced testimony into a further ground for punishment. The official record presents all this as the maintenance of order, obscuring the desperation that drove people to risk an open boat on the ocean rather than remain in bondage. [Film No. 39–41]
Pyke’s account of his own slave management is chilling in its candour. He held out sale to the Company as the highest reward, selling only his best-behaved slaves to it while disposing of offenders at auction, and claimed the enslaved themselves reckoned becoming a Company slave as next to being made free. In negotiation the council reasoned plainly as buyers, seeing that selling the slaves to planters would not relieve it of cost, since it would still pay Pyke through the transfer books and then face hiring the same hands back. Pyke countered by citing planters’ offers of 40 pounds apiece for the midwife and six named men, anchoring the valuation above his own stated 30. [Film No. 99–100]
The largest single body of material is a detailed census of the Company's enslaved workforce, taken on 25 March 1719 at the start of the financial year. The list was arranged plantation by plantation, recording each person's name, age, employment and a character grade marked by a single letter for good, bad or indifferent. This was an instrument of labour management, designed to reduce human beings to a measure of usefulness so that the council and the directors could assess the value of the holding. The grading formalised in a ledger column the same logic by which the Governor had earlier sorted his own slaves by conduct through reward and punishment. [Film No. 113–115]
The roll exposed a chronic shortage of labour at every plantation. The Fort held 51 slaves where 100 were needed, and once women, children and those marked bad were set aside, only 18 of the Company's own men remained for the fortifications. The gap was filled by hiring some 40 slaves from private owners at twelve pence a day. This dependence on hired hands was the very vulnerability the council had described when pressing the directors to let it buy the Governor's own skilled slaves, since private owners could withhold their labour or raise the rate. The arithmetic was assembled to make the purchase appear a remedy for a documented deficiency rather than an indulgence. [Film No. 117]
The census closed with a stark reckoning that revealed its real purpose. Of 203 slaves in all, the council counted 112 as of little use, the children, the aged, the sickly men, the women reduced by childbearing, and a calculated allowance for seasonal illness, leaving only 91 good hands to support the whole. The summary judged female slaves chiefly through their effect on the men, describing them bluntly as of little more service than to keep the men from straying. The council then requested 59 or 60 more able-bodied hands, framing the figure as a calculated necessity. The whole exercise was an argument for reinforcement dressed in the form of an account. [Film No. 121–127]
Slavery underlies the entire record of this period. The provision survey existed to feed an enslaved workforce whose growth, recorded in the great slave census of March 1719, drove the standing demand for imported rice and the case for enlarging the plantations. The seasonal clothing of the slaves appears directly in the consultations, eighty-four of the Company’s slaves issued a shirt, jacket, breeches, blanket, cap and knife against the cold of the island’s winter, with a further seventy-eight clothed days later and the women and children to be supplied from kerseys once the new stores were opened. This recurring provision, the plainest serviceable cloth for the working population, reveals how the Company calculated the upkeep of its labour. [Film No. 181, 189]
The traffic in people continued through the licensed slave ships. The Elizabeth, under Captain Webster, delivered seventeen slaves from Madagascar under a prior contract with the Company, eleven men and six women described as sound and healthy. Each was immediately clothed and given a blanket and a knife on landing, the standard step marking the transition into the Company’s labour establishment. The same vessel later paid for an anchor and customs charges with three men valued at a fixed price per head, a barter of human beings for ship’s stores. [Film No. 233, 244]
The treatment of enslaved people as property is exposed most starkly in the Ormston marital dispute. The accountant Joseph Ormston, seeking to have his estranged wife stripped of her paid office as the Company’s housekeeper, argued plainly that she was his own property and so at his disposal. The same legal logic of coverture that subsumed a wife’s personality under her husband’s was here pressed to its harshest extent, the language of ownership applied to a free Englishwoman, though the governor declined to enforce it and kept her in her place. [Film No. 398–400]
The dominant judicial business of the summer was a sustained theft of cloth from the house of the planter Gabriel Powell, carried out by slaves of several masters acting together. Two men, Hannibal belonging to Richard Beale and Cloice belonging to John Long, confessed to breaking in repeatedly over half a year through a broken window bar, taking pieces of blue cloth and dungaree, the coarse Indian cottons used for clothing the labouring people. Their confessions traced not an isolated act but a distribution network, the stolen cloth passed on and sold to the slaves of Free, Vesey, Tovey, Francis and others across the island’s households. The council built its case methodically through the offenders’ own words, fixing exactly which slave received which piece. [Film No. 459–461]
The council’s response aimed less at punishing theft than at breaking the trade itself. It ordered every slave who had confessed to receiving stolen cloth given sixty lashes at the flagstaff and then discharged, the penalty falling on the receivers as a class in a public deterrent display. A confessed thief’s further accusations were then used to widen the net from his cell, drawing in more slaves for later sittings, though the council drew careful lines: one man was acquitted because his receipt had occurred years earlier under a former governor, making it a mere breach of trust rather than theft. The choice to flog and discharge as first offenders, rather than imprison, balanced deterrence against the masters’ interest in the labour of their working slaves. [Film No. 472, 475]
Economy, Finance and Accounting
Money moved between the island and London chiefly through bills of exchange, in effect credit drawn on the directors to be honoured at home. The directors required every bill to state its reason in the consultation, allowing them to audit the council’s drawing on Company funds from a distance. When several were drawn as the Cardonnell sailed without their reasons recorded, the council entered the explanations afterwards, the largest a bill of about four hundred and six pounds for Lucas Mason, mostly his wife’s marriage portion reclaimed in cash. Accounting discipline was a constant struggle. The Company’s books were made up each year to 25 March, the old-style new year, to go home by the summer shipping. The 1716 books, long delayed by a clerk’s errors, were at last reported ready for despatch by the Cardonnell, while Tovey was told to prepare the 1717 books. The death of the writer Joseph Thomlinson, who had made many errors, and the sudden death of the storekeeper Bazett repeatedly disrupted this work, and when Goodwin took the store Pyke pressed him to deliver each month’s account within fourteen days. [Film No. 22–23, 30–32, 51]
The island ran short of coin, and the council managed credit carefully. Established servants who wished to buy land could petition for an advance in the Company's books, secured by bond and carrying the settled interest of 8 per cent. The gunner John French sought £200 against eighteen years of service, and the planter Arthur Bradley £160 against nineteen years, each framing the loan as a reward for long employment. The council measured such credit against one year's notional income from the holding, a standing limit it applied to keep the advances within bounds. [Film No. 111–112]
Large balances were settled by bills of exchange drawn on the directors. Pyke’s account was made up at a balance of more than twelve hundred pounds, paid in three separate bills rather than one to reduce the risk of total loss if any failed in London, the same care taken with Thomlinson’s even larger settlement. Where coin was wanting, debts and credits moved through the transfer books, and a departing corporal’s small debt was pursued across to Bencoolen by promissory note, the Company tracking its obligations beyond the island’s own financial reach. [Film No. 231, 235, 240]
The fullest evidence of the period is the great quarterly account of goods sold and delivered from the Company’s store, which lay at the heart of the island’s economy. The store was the settlement’s sole supplier, and its account was divided four ways, between the inhabitants, the fort, the naval and garrison stores, and the Company’s general charges, so that the storekeeper could fix exactly where every parcel of goods had gone. The whole reckoning, brought in by the storekeeper Goodwin for the quarter to September 1719, formed part of the drive to close the books, the same exact accounting the bench pressed across all its stores and stock. The account survives as an inventory of almost everything a remote colonial household could need. [Film No. 346, 355–356]
The market for skilled building labour produced a revealing settlement. The masons and stone cutters Jonathan Higham and Joseph Coles petitioned for higher wages, pleading long service at low rates as too little for hard work on a settlement chronically short of skilled hands. The council fixed them at a flat three shillings and sixpence a day, but only on condition they bind themselves to that rate for two years. This converted a one-off rate into a forward contract that removed their freedom to press for more, guarding the Company against the wage demands that had recurred since an earlier stone-layers’ combination was broken. [Film No. 371–372, 400]
The breakdown then deepened into open defiance. Required to render the annual state of the island to Lady Day, Ormston first tried to recycle the previous year's account, then admitted that any account to 22 March would be very imperfect, contradicting his own registered paper. He asked leave to go to England, which the council refused, since as a covenant servant he could not be released without the directors' order. His assistant John Lacy was dismissed for slighting the Governor's warnings, ridiculing them in company, and absenting himself for a fortnight together. In May, Ormston was suspended after declaring he would continue his absences and was glad to be suspended, leaving the accounts once more without a keeper, the same office and the same neglect that had brought down Tovey. [Film No. 414–442]
The central administrative reform of the summer addressed a crisis of debt. Governor Johnson set before the council the difficulties caused by the large credit recently extended to planters and the garrison, warning that either several families must be ruined or the Company suffer serious loss. The case of John Coulson, summoned over a debt of about a hundred and fifteen pounds and made to deliver ten head of cattle beyond what his stock could spare, stood as a fresh example. The council’s remedy was structural: no planter was in future to be allowed credit beyond fifty pounds without first entering a bond and paying interest, fixed at six per cent. This converted loose running accounts into a disciplined system of secured, interest-bearing debt, casting the cap as mutual protection for planter and Company alike. [Film No. 476–478]
The same session relieved the garrison’s hardship by a different device. Noting that soldiers’ salaries were small while the mark-up on goods was high, the council authorised the storekeeper to sell clothing alone to the garrison at prime cost, the privilege strictly limited and any abuse punished by permanent exclusion. The choice eased the men’s real grievance without committing the Company to higher fixed wages, surrendering only a margin on goods the soldiers had to buy anyway. The permanent forfeiture fixed as the penalty made the concession self-policing, the cost of misuse outweighing any single profit from resale. [Film No. 478]
The long-delayed clearing of the account books, a recurring trouble carried over from the previous administration, at last bore fruit. Only with the books brought up to date could the true state of the island’s debts be known, and the completed reckoning exposed two uncharged sums left when accounts were balanced in haste: a substantial balance of over four hundred and twenty-eight pounds against the departed Governor Pyke, and a smaller error against the former chaplain Thomlinson. The council seized a departing ship to write to both men, far away at Bencoolen and beyond, to recover the money, the slow correction of accounts across great distances depending entirely on the Company’s correspondence. [Film No. 491, 496]
Judiciary, Crime and Social Order
The unregulated liquor trade threatened both order and health. Large quantities of pricked Cape wine, wine turned sour and spoiling, were sold ashore among the garrison with very harmful results, several soldiers falling gravely sick and deaths feared. The council resolved to forbid any ship to sell liquor ashore by retail, the gallon pot marking the threshold, and extended the penalty for unlicensed tippling houses to any householder who secretly sold arrack or wine. On an island whose manpower was always scarce, drink that disabled soldiers touched both discipline and survival. Flight was another disorder hard to prevent: Humphry Edwards and Joshua Cary ran away concealed aboard the departing ships, Edwards leaving heavy debts and four children, two already a charge on the parish, while lawful departure required the leave of the Governor and council. [Film No. 29–31]
The council served as the island’s court for the proving of wills and the administration of estates. The will of George Parradice, a soldier, was proved by the oaths of three sworn witnesses before being read, approved and entered. His testament followed the standard devotional form of the period, commending his soul before disposing of his goods, and was signed with his mark, a reminder of the illiteracy common among the garrison. The council required sworn proof before admitting any will to record. [Film No. 74–76]
The council acted as a court for breaches of the peace. A notable case involved Doctor Hicks, the same physician who had carried Tovey's message, who was found drunk in the street with his sword drawn. He had wounded John Bedan, driven off George London and assaulted his fellow physician Doctor Leigh. Pyke ordered Hicks to beg Leigh's pardon, to pay Bedan ten shillings, and that his sword be sold to the use of the soldiers. The disposal of the weapon turned the instrument of the offence into a public good, both disarming the offender and making restitution to the wider community. [Film No. 138–139]
Domestic violence came before the bench as a matter for its order. Mistress Southen complained that her husband had abused her and her children by a former marriage and threatened to strike her, while he countered that she had broken his head with a candlestick and pelted him with stones. With fault claimed on both sides and neither account capable of proof, Governor Johnson admonished the couple and advised them to live peaceably together as they had for twelve years. The council treated the safety of a wife as its concern, but chose reconciliation where blame was mutual. [Film No. 208–209]
The gravest judicial business concerned a near-mutiny aboard the Elizabeth. Members of her crew seized the ship’s yawl by force against the mate’s order, and one man raised an oar and swore repeatedly to knock out the mate’s brains, forcing him to give up the boat. The captain charged the boatswain Muns with disorderly conduct throughout the voyage, including cutting down other men’s hammocks to draw them into drinking, a recognised pattern of lower-deck sedition. The council took sworn depositions, committed the two ringleaders, and held them on the island when the ship sailed. [Film No. 241–244]
The general sessions of October 1719 tried Cholmondley Cevill, a surgeon, for embezzling the Company’s medicinal stores. The case had begun in August when, on William Beale’s sworn information, a search warrant found compounded medicines, raw drugs, plasters and instruments in his custody. The indictment charged him with privately taking red roses, oil of oranges, spirit of scurvy grass and other medicines from the surgeon’s shop, in breach of the trust reposed in him. The trial reveals the bench building its case from witnesses of differing weight: Beale named the loss, the marshal and a sergeant proved the search and the recovered chest, another witness proved Cevill alone in the shop, while the surgeon Leigh cautiously confirmed only the missing stock and the trust abused. [Film No. 314–317]
Cevill’s defence collapsed when Beale swore he had arrived on the island with nothing but a single cask of purging salt, cutting away his claim that the medicines were his own property, and no witness appeared for him. The jury found him guilty, and the court sentenced him to stand one hour on the pillory and be whipped from there to the prison door, a sharp humiliation for a man who had held the rank of surgeon. The bench remitted the imprisonment the law allowed, perhaps with an eye to ridding the island of a man it had already judged worthless, having earlier fined him as a common gamester for enticing the Governor’s servant to play for money and offered to excuse the fine if he took passage to England. The prosecution converted the loss into a public conviction and fixed the recovered remains on the record. [Film No. 318]
The hardest case was the long contest over the Griffith orphans. Thomas Free, who had married their widowed mother and held the estate in her right, repeatedly refused to render an inventory, pleading that none was owed while the mother lived and the father had died intestate. The council judged this a design to defraud the children and escalated steadily: from demand, to a fixed deadline, to a warrant to seize the whole estate for distribution according to law. The danger was real, since the orphans' effects were intermingled with Free's own, and a seizure also ran against him for a large store debt to the Company. Only after the marshal took possession did Free at last deliver an inventory, which set the children's leased and free land apart from his own valued estate of £237, drawing the line the bench had fought to establish. [Film No. 418–453]
A burglary at the planter Jonathan Doveton’s house brought two soldiers to trial. Each was indicted separately for the same night’s raid, keeping the guilt of each distinct before the jury, and a domestic break-in was charged as a felony against the king’s peace, the legal mechanism by which a remote proprietary settlement borrowed the authority of English criminal justice. Convicted on their own confession and a co-accused’s account, the men were sentenced to the pillory and whipping, kept in irons, and shipped to England, with daily lashes for every day they drew provisions from the stores. [Film No. 544–547]
The most pointed prosecution was the perjury of the discharged overseer William Portley, charged for swearing to a false return of the plantation yams. The conviction turned on an exact discrepancy of more than three hundred thousand yams between his sworn account and a fresh survey by disinterested councillors, the figure allowed to stand even after crediting five months of growth. Charging the false oath as perjury attached criminal liability to the corruption of the Company’s record-keeping, the prosecution built around the one fixed and witnessed act rather than the looser charges of drink and pilfering that had led to his dismissal. [Film No. 547–548]
A grave defamation drew an exemplary punishment. The accountant’s clerk John Van Oosten was prosecuted on Gabriel Powell’s complaint for a coarse and specific boast slandering Powell’s daughter-in-law, a respectable young gentlewoman. The council set him on the pillory at the most public point of the settlement to read and sign a formal recantation, the punishment fitting the offence by undoing in public the reputation he had damaged in public. The apology ran to the whole family, the slander treated as an injury to its collective honour owed repair to the kin as much as to the woman herself. [Film No. 538, 541–542]
Religion, the Chaplain and the Seditious Paper
A bitter quarrel ran between the Governor and the chaplain Joshua Thomlinson. Pyke complained that the chaplain neglected his duties, instancing his refusal to perform burials. When Christopher Kell, the gunner's chief mate, died, neither the chaplain nor the clerk came to read the service, and the body was left unburied in the churchyard. The next day the clerk read the office in the chaplain's place, an irregularity since the duty belonged to the ordained minister, whose salary and perquisites were the largest on the establishment. Pyke turned the salary question into a charge of neglect, holding that pay was barely earned where duty went undone. [Film No. 107]
The dispute deepened over the chaplain's alterations to the church service. He omitted the words naming the Company as Lords Proprietors and the petition for the Governor and council, which every previous chaplain had observed, and reportedly said through his brother that they were not worth praying for. Pyke answered with a proverb, that as the saying went no penny no paternoster, so the council might say no paternoster no penny. The omission struck at a formal expression of the Company's authority over the island, and the Governor converted a liturgical slight into a fiscal argument for docking the chaplain's pay. He nonetheless offered a gratuity if the council thought it deserved, referring the matter to the bench rather than settling it alone. [Film No. 107–108]
The conflict escalated sharply in late November. Summoned to attend the council, Jones peremptorily refused and bade the marshal tell the Governor he would not come. The Governor then issued a warrant against him for omitting the prescribed form of prayer for the Company, and when brought before the bench he behaved insolently, saying he did pray for the Company, that his memory was no more infallible than the Governor’s, and that the Governor might do his worst. The council’s chief lever against a clergyman it could not dismiss was his pay, and it ordered his gratuity stopped for his neglect and ill behaviour, sparing him sharper punishment in respect to his cloth. The friction echoed the long disputes with his predecessor Thomlinson, whom the bench had likewise pressed over omitted prayers. [Film No. 338–339]
The dominant episode is the affair of a seditious libel drawn up in defence of the chaplain John Jones. The quarrel had long roots, running from a memorial against Jones in October 1719 through his neglect of the prescribed prayers and the stopping of his gratuity. It came to a head when Governor Johnson, finding Jones reading the wrong collect during divine service, corrected him and, when the chaplain persisted, ordered him seized in the church before the congregation. A paper recounting this seizure, framed to show the governor overbearing and the chaplain patient, was then circulated for signature. [Film No. 362–364]
The council treated the paper not as a grievance to be heard but as an attempt to disturb the quiet government of the island, and moved at once to arrest the subscribers. It distinguished carefully between those it held the contrivers and those merely drawn in, releasing the youth Charles Steward on his confession in regard to his tender years while marking Sarah Southen as the prime mover and Sergeant John Worrall as one who had abused his command. A second paper, a testimonial to the chaplain’s good character, drew its own set of summonses. [Film No. 362–365]
At the sessions on 28 January 1720, Governor Johnson sat as judge with his two councillors, and a jury of free planters was sworn. The trials turned on whose account of the church scene the jury would believe. A long succession of garrison officers and ordinary witnesses swore that the governor had spoken mildly, corrected genuine and repeated liturgical errors, and acted only when the chaplain persisted in open defiance with a scornful countenance. This united body of sworn testimony was set directly against the libel’s claim of an outrageous and unprovoked seizure. [Film No. 375–384]
The bench refused to let the acquittals close the matter. A second jury was empanelled to try Worrall on a separate charge of scandalous words, the imputation that he had called the governor a strong papist. In the political moment, with the Hanoverian succession set against suspected Jacobite and Catholic disaffection, to brand the governor a papist was to question his loyalty itself. The single soldier whom Worrall had tried to corrupt proved the decisive witness, and the second jury convicted where the first had cleared, securing the reckoning the libel charge had denied. [Film No. 390–393]
A related prosecution convicted the planter Thomas Free of spreading a report that the governor would seize the estate of any man who combined with the chaplain. This slur touched the planters’ deepest anxiety over their land, and the evidence showed it passing from mouth to mouth through the settlement, grounded in a remembered case of arbitrary seizure in an earlier administration. The sentences scaled the punishment to guilt: Sarah Southen and Cevill were set in the pillory in the valley opposite the storehouse, while Worrall and Free were fined five pounds each, all bound to good behaviour, and Cevill ordered sent to England by the first ship. [Film No. 394–397]
Medicine and the Medical Stores
The loss of medical men pressed hard on the council. A doctor gave notice of departure in late February 1719, Doctor Du May the chief surgeon died on 6 March 1719, and the dysentery then sweeping the island also killed the writer Thomlinson. The council engaged Peter Hicks as surgeon’s mate at three pounds a month, while the second surgeon, called both Chelmondley and Cawill, claimed the senior post on his licence from the surgeons’ company of London. Pyke distrusted him, noting he had given notice to leave for England the moment Du May’s illness turned fatal yet now sought the dead man’s lodging. The dispute over the vacant court house apartment drew together the claims of church, council and Company. The rooms had long belonged to the parson, who had left them for a more profitable house yet still claimed his right. The surgeon was wanted there because the apartment adjoined the slaves’ house, so the sick among the Company’s valuable labour force would be under his eye. Pyke offered the parson first refusal chiefly to forestall any complaint that his church was slighted, then ranked the surgeon next and the chaplain last and only if he would actually live there. [Film No. 13, 32–33, 43–47]
A serious case of theft struck the Company's medical stores. William Beale, assistant to the surgeon, swore that medicines had repeatedly gone missing, including conserve of red roses, oil of oranges and spirit of scurvy grass. The Governor granted a broad search warrant, and stocks were found in the custody of Cholmondley Cevill, formerly the Company's surgeon. Cevill admitted on oath that he had taken the goods from the stores without account when, as he put it, he found himself supplanted. The inventory listed a fully stocked dispensary, including cinchona bark against fevers, laudanum and diacodium for pain and rest, mercurial preparations, plasters, and the surgeon's lancets and scales. The council committed Cevill to custody. [Film No. 268–270]
Leigh then refused to obey. He claimed the medicinal stores had been consigned by the Company directly to the surgeon to dispose of, so the council had no standing to direct him, declaring he would not comply even if turned out the next day. This was a jurisdictional challenge, setting the surgeon's claim to independent authority under the directors against the council's claim to oversight. The council met it by committing him, grounding the action in two separate sworn informations from Beale and Brereton Smith rather than its own account. Leigh was soon discharged on his promise to begin the inventory and be more diligent, and in due course he and Beale delivered the inventory and the surgeon rendered his first account of medicines dispensed. The council had secured its control without a prolonged confrontation that would have left the island without a practising surgeon. [Film No. 274–283]
A remarkable sequel followed. Cevill, so recently committed for theft, petitioned to be reinstated as second surgeon on the terms Pyke had given him, fifteen shillings a week with benefits, pleading his status as a stranger stranded above thirteen months. The council deferred the question but ordered his salary cut off at 26 May, fixing the financial close of his service while declining to restore him. The episode illustrates the difficulty a remote settlement faced in both retaining and removing scarce medical men. [Film No. 284]
Personalities
Governor Isaac Pyke dominates the first half of the record as a careful and self-conscious administrator, his handover survey a sustained argument for the value of his own management, from the tripling of the yam stock to the rebuilding of the herds. His departure to Bencoolen at his own desire, long anticipated and underlying his proposed sale of his own slaves to the Company, was sealed by the council’s warm commendation of him to all four eastern stations, which expected he would improve Bencoolen as he had St Helena. The two governors’ tenures overlapped on the island in the days around the handover, Pyke settling his accounts and seeking bills for what was due to him before he sailed. [Film No. 162–163, 192, 196]
Antipas Tovey, the suspended secretary, is the most troublesome figure of the second half. The leading inhabitants seized the change of government to petition against him as a malicious, drunken, factious and dangerous person, cataloguing a settled pattern of violence: the stabbing of Sutton Isaack with a penknife in the dark, a secret attack on George Carne with a sword, and the stabbing of Francis Wrangham at the table in Margaret Sich’s house. The weight of the subscription, spanning the principal planters of the census just taken, gave the complaint real authority, pressing the new governor to settle the question Pyke had left open by his willingness to readmit Tovey for his family’s sake. Johnson chose at first only to speak to Tovey himself, the same prudent reserve he showed throughout. [Film No. 181–183]
Antipas Tovey dominates these records as the central figure of the long affair. Suspended for neglecting the account books, he pressed accusations of corruption against the outgoing governor and, it was charged, sought to build a faction within the council. He emerges from the hostile record as quarrelsome and litigious, conducting his defence through carefully worded papers from a distance, demanding impossible standards of proof and pleading injury and ill weather. Whether a genuine whistle-blower or a malicious troublemaker cannot be settled from a record written entirely by the men he accused. [Film No. 207, 213–256]
Two professional men disgraced themselves and were dismissed. The surgeon Hicks, already found drunk and sword in hand in an earlier street affray, neglected his duty during the cold season and, warned in friendly terms by the governor, openly declared he would go and get drunk again in spite of them, which he did. His dismissal removed a practising medical officer at a time of widespread sickness among the slaves. His defiant response left the council no alternative, despite its general preference for private warning over public proceedings, the danger to the labour force making his negligence intolerable. [Film No. 245–246]
Sarah Southen dominates the libel affair as its prime mover. The council named her the contriver who seduced others into signing, and the trial bore this out, witness after witness describing how she called men to her house, pressed the paper on them in the chaplain’s name, and appealed to their parish offices to draw them in. She managed the cause even from prison, checking her son’s loose talk and anticipating the next arrest with grim satisfaction. Convicted and set in the pillory, she emerges as the determined organiser of the chaplain’s party. [Film No. 363, 376–379, 382]
Cholmondley Cevill appears as the affair’s persistent troublemaker, already convicted in October of embezzling the Company’s medicines and now caught again among the libel’s signers. He encouraged the chaplain’s defiance, confessed his own subscription in open court, and was sentenced to the pillory and expulsion to England, the conviction at last securing the removal the bench had sought since the previous May. His later refusal to pay a poor widow’s debt, met by a council order, rounds out the picture of a man whose conduct had cost him his place, his liberty and his standing. [Film No. 362, 388–389, 397, 404]
The summer’s sharpest contest over office was settled from London. John Alexander, who had served the Company twenty-four years and risen to second of the council on the deaths of Bazett and Tovey, petitioned to be confirmed as chief overseer of the plantations, resting his claim on a line of named precedents and a promise to save the Company scores of pounds within two years where the present overseers had failed. But the arrival of the Hartford in late August brought the directors’ general letter naming Edward Byfield third in council and chief overseer, the precise office Alexander had sought. The Court’s standing decision, made in London many months before, overrode the local claim, and Byfield at once took his place above Alexander in the council. [Film No. 487–490]
The persistent figure of the season was Joseph Ormston, the accountant suspended for absenting himself from the office. He petitioned repeatedly through the summer either to be restored or, failing that, to settle his accounts and seek his living elsewhere, pleading that he had crossed the world for the employment and had no other means of subsistence. The council, holding that a covenant servant could not be released without the directors’ order while the very accounts whose neglect had brought his suspension stood unfinished, gave the same answer to each fresh petition. His plight captures that of a bound servant stranded far from home once his place was lost. [Film No. 458, 495]
Conclusion
These two years show a small colonial society managing connected crises of policy and survival, then passing into a settled and exacting routine. The waste-land scheme reveals a council thinking carefully about settlement, defence and provisioning, willing to use rents, inheritance rules and the lottery to engineer a particular social order, while the succession crisis and the long affairs of Tovey, the accountants and the chaplain reveal the fragility of that order, a single illness or a single quarrel stirring the inhabitants to talk of rebellion or organised dissent. The closing of the account books, the great surveys of crops and stock, the trials at the sessions and the management of the roadstead all turn on the same forces that governed the island throughout: the ships that came and went, the distant directors to whom every quarrel was finally addressed, and the constant need to hold order and account in a remote and crowded place. [Film No. 7–256]
As evidence the record must be read with care, for it is the council’s own account, serving the Company’s interest and its officers’ reputations, and it speaks of the enslaved only as property, witnesses or offenders. The government’s own version was written to reach London first, the libel against the chaplain preserved precisely to discredit it and the new management’s diligence set against the failures of its disgraced predecessors; yet the jury’s independent acquittals and the unflinching honesty of the yam surveys, recording yield against tale, suggest both a community capable of resisting an official prosecution and a record that could carry an unflattering truth. Beneath the accounts and the trials runs the constant fact of slavery, on whose coerced labour the economy depended and whose human reality the official record both preserves and conceals, from the longboat conspirators who risked an open boat on the ocean to the people bartered for an anchor and the slaves dead of the island’s cold. Read against the Company’s wider world, the material illuminates how a remote Atlantic island was governed as one working part of a global commercial empire. [Film No. 357–562]
No. | Page No. | OCR Transcription | Modern Summary with Analysis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date: St Helena Records 1718–1720 Photographer: [Redacted] Peter Date photographed: 3 Nov 2021 Additional comments: [None] | ||||||
| Book cover | ||||||
| [Very faint text] from [p]etrs prepar[e]d for [letting] [lands?] [g--tha—] [p]t there from [Madagascar?] - 76 [order?] for [selecting?] them - not to [fill?] [p?] [W.] [Lovats?] [Nath?] [of] [S?]. [Lennpells?] 25 Order against [Asts?] [etting?] [Coal] [Iron?] [Stand?] [24?] Petition of [Directors?] to raise [fund?] [on?] [--commony?] [demanded?] [Traffic?] [and?] [Supply] [24?] Appointment [v] [prom?] [House] for [Person] [Appl?] resided [in?] - to be [taken away.] 49- [Jo] [Fyfe's?] [Mayo.] [action?] [for?] [right] [&] [Asst?] [Surveyor?] - [Causing?] [high?] [character] - goes to England 52- [Complained?] of [bufs?] [g]etting [Supplies?] at [Cape?] [55-] [Regr?] [Book?] of [Leaves?] [mentioned?] 59 [44?] [Extraordinary?] [&] other [Head?] [--in?] [appointed?] [by?] [Jo] [--otes?] [&?] [Directors?] [they?] [which?] [out?] of 2 [demanded?] for E. & [W.] [Divisions?] [Inspector?] [--in?] [1719?] [Settlement?] [& Lodge?] [Amount?] [of?] [t?] [Party.] [---] [identified?] [Record?] for [th]e [drawing?] of [Limit] [8?] [Long?] [Latin?] [Letter] [abst?]. [for?] [money?] [&c.] 98 [Court?] [ordered?] [& first?] [for?] [presently?] [&?] [cautelang?] [a?] [tolbie?] [W.] [land?] [92-] [Person?] [reprimanded?] [for?] [confound?] [Viz?] [Trinidad?] [133?] [Direction?] [in?] [what?] [direction?] [of?] [p--ents?] [for?] [--?] [1-?] [Dony?] [dagger?] [Bell?] [143] [Citizens?] [thereto?] [New?] [a?] [Bradley?] [W.] [& better?] [three?] [tells?] [p---?] [152-] [Em?] [there?] [need?] [of?] [putting?] [blamb?] [on?] [good?] [10th?] [Rule?] [fo?] [&] [--shire?] 40 [legs?] [& to?] [run?] [a?] [favour?] [th?] [a?] [Plan?] [157-] [Rights?] [directed?] [Judge?] [& [Mr.?] [Drs?] [that?] [&?] [Cap?] [--ams?] [minutes?] [of?] [a?] [year?] [for?] [ig---?] [& a?] [deli--?] [Again?] [170-?] [Debate?] [of?] [population?] - [also?] [us?] [in?] [June?] [71p?] [base?] [a?] [worth?] [fo?] [Debate?] [April?] [ce?] [1-6?] [S?] [Miles?] [Autrou?] - 12 [June?] [71p?] [170?] [Lore?] [then?] [for?] [the?] [Plan?] [because?] [th---ous?] [them?] [&c?] [&] [that?] [19--?] [We?] [against?] [Plan?] [proceeded?] [19--?] [...] [justice?] [confirmed?] [from?] [old?] [...] [from?] [such?] [as?] [lands?] [at?] [th---?] | ||||||
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| [Very faint text] 200- [Parnia?] [Dms?] [quarrel?] with [Trey?] [Minister?] 221- [Prony?] Suspended for [Act?] & [Trinidad?] 222- [y] [&?] [Hm?] [lnson?] allowed 5[6?] [p?] [erm?] for [J?] [gen?] [on?] [his?] [manage?] - [being?] [up?] [&?] [down?] [by?] 2 [flanks?] [&?] [dres?] [23?] [Mrs.] [Charlton?] [long?] [note?] [thereon?] - [ther?] [before?] [&?] [continue?] [Youth?] of [Island?] at [Const?] [Church?] 244- Old [Churchwarden?] [summoned?] & [discharged?] [&?] [they?] [are?] [rebuilt?] [by?] [m?] [which?] [brings?] 251- [Tonry?] [Announces?] [intention?] [had?] [an?] [amendment?] [made?] [and?] [In?][formation?] [against?] [disputes?] [groundless?] - [in?] [the?] [preaching?] [base?] [My?] [But?] [recurred?] [to?] [Defences.] [Gov?] [Morris?] [from?] [received?] [to?] [this?] [- by?] [&?] [tried?] [to?] [Stand?] [at?] [the?] [Alley?] [&?] [that?] [&?] [Price?] [was?] [for?] [Subsequent?] [3?] [Orphan?] [Home?] [ordered?] [&?] [defrauds?] [Held?] [from?] [an?] [felony?] [Deg?] [the?] [practice?] [15?] [April?] [330-] [Gov?] [treating?] [in?] [them?] [from?] [you?] [&?] [-?] [S?] [div?] [to?] [do?] [&?] [was?] [not?] [g-p?] [In?][tradition?] [signing?] [a?] [hado?] [Louis?] [behalf?] [continued?] [&?] [Relig---?] [269.] [Panic?] [Changeth?] [for?] [Afghan?] [189?] [D?][&?] [Butlet?] [matter?] [for?] [parish?] [&?] [transvaal?] [&?] [proviso?] [castle?] [&?] [Ch---?] [&] [not?] [about?] [Supposed?] [Two?] [&?] [425?] - and [they?] [&?][from?] [destination?] [W----?] [Charlubin?] [Herd?] [& Phil?] - [Tottat?] [1005.] | ||||||
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1 | February. [Folio] Island S:t Helena. At a Consultation held on Thursday the 26. day of February 1718[9]. at Union Castle in James valley. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Governr: Matthæo Bazett: 2d. P. E. Ant[hony?] [---re?] 3d & Pres: Joh[n] [Alexander?] John [G---re?] Ysistants The Last Consultation [---] [was?] [---] moved of. Capt: Bazett Reports [that he has been?] & viewed that Parcell of Land Peti[tioned for at the last?] ultation day, by Mr. Alexander, [---ing on and up?] [by?] valley and Says it Contains a[s not far from?] where was formerly a great many [---] [es?] than is now, there being but Ten of them left & it Joyning to Mr. Alexanders Land and no bodyes Else he thinks tis Properest to Let it to him. / And he has allso viewed the Land Petitioned for by John Coles & William Worrall, and thinks that Land Joyning to the Skirts & Bordering upon Mr. Coles' Land may be Proper to be Lett to him But thinks that a small Peice of Land Containing about Seven or Eight Acres which lies above and about the Good Pound may be very Prajudiciall to Will:m Worrall to Margin Notes: in Sandy Bay tioned for by [Alexander?] in- [---d] & Reported [apt?] Bar.tti Reports to [y?] Petitions of John Coles & Wm Worrall ab:t Land. | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Thursday 26 February 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, Matthew Bazett, second, [...], [...] and John [...], assistants. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. Captain Bazett reported that he had viewed the parcel of land petitioned for at an earlier consultation by John Alexander in Sandy Bay Valley. He said it contained [...], and that the valley had once held a great many fruit trees, far more than remained now. Only 10 of them survived. The parcel adjoined Alexander's own land, and since nobody else lay near it, Bazett judged it most fitting to let it to him. Bazett had also viewed the land petitioned for by John Coles and William Worrall. He thought the ground bordering on Coles's land might properly be let to him. A small piece of about seven or eight acres lay above the gold pound, and Bazett judged that letting this part to Worrall would harm [...]. Interpretations The petitions reported here continue the land business deferred at the consultation of 10 February 1719 and resolved in part on 19 February 1719. John Alexander had dropped his earlier Peak Gut claim and sought instead about 15 or 18 acres in Sandy Bay Valley below Handcock's Garden, referred to Governor Pyke and Bazett for a view. The parcels of John Coles and William Worrall were among the four referred for inspection on the same date, William Worrall having sought about 24 acres adjoining his own land. This consultation records Bazett's findings on those views. Bazett's recommendation against letting Worrall the seven or eight acres above the gold pound reflects the engrossing concern that dominated the resolution of 19 February 1719. The council had resolved against concentrating land in few hands, noting that Gabriel Powell already held at least 290 acres. A view that weighed whether a specific parcel should go to a particular applicant served that policy of controlled distribution. The "gold pound" was an enclosure or pound on the island, perhaps a holding place for stray cattle or a marked boundary feature. Its use here as a fixed landmark for describing the position of a parcel shows how informal local features served in place of formal survey lines when the council allotted ground. | |||||
2 | February to whose Land it allso joynes, if it Should be Lett or Posiest by any Body else. The Govern:r was last Monday to See both these places and he is of the same opinion. / Ordered. That John Alexander have a Lease for the five Acres aforesaid Adjoyning to his other Land. And That Willi:m Worrall have a Lease for that Land which lies to the South West of the Goat Pound Adjoyning to his Land. and may have Liberty to take in that other Small Peice at the Bottom that allso Joynes to his Said Land and to Stewards Orphans Land he takeing Care when he Encloses the Same to have a Gate for those who have a right to a drift way to drive their Cattle through. The Govern:r Reports that he has been to view the Land Petitioned for by James Greentree, and he thinks 'tis very Proper to Lett it to him otherwife if it lyes longer Waste the Wood will be Cutt off, which will utterly destroy the Land, and Whereas Mr. Greentree alleadges that he do's it for no other reason than to Preserve the Wood which if Cutt off would Spoil his other Land, The Govern:r Sayes he believes all his Aserations in that case because Margin Notes: The Gov:r Viewed & Reports of Same Lease to Mr. Alexander Ord:o Lease to Mr. Worrall Ord:o Gov:r Reports y:e Land viewed Land Petitioned for by Greentree & thinks Govern: prop:r | The piece would also harm the neighbouring landholder if it were let to anyone else, since it adjoined that person's ground as well. Governor Pyke had gone the previous Monday to view both places, and he agreed with Bazett's opinion. The council ordered that John Alexander receive a lease for the five acres adjoining his other land. It further ordered that William Worrall receive a lease for the land lying to the south-west of the goat pound next to his own. Worrall was also given leave to take in the small piece at the bottom that adjoined both his land and the steward's orphans' land. When he enclosed it, he had to provide a gate for those entitled to a driftway, so that they could drive their cattle through. Governor Pyke reported that he had been to view the land petitioned for by James Greentree, and he judged it very fitting to let it to him. If the ground lay waste any longer, the wood would be cut off, which would ruin the land entirely. Greentree claimed his only reason was to preserve the wood, since cutting it would spoil his other land. The Governor said he believed all Greentree's claims in the matter, because [...] Interpretations The leases granted here resolve the views reported earlier in this consultation and referred for inspection on 19 February 1719. John Alexander received the Sandy Bay Valley parcel he had sought after dropping his Peak Gut claim, and William Worrall received the ground by the goat pound adjoining his own, both consistent with the council's policy against engrossing settled on 19 February 1719. The "goat pound" appears here as the same landmark rendered "gold pound" earlier, an enclosure used as a fixed reference point for describing parcel boundaries. The gate condition placed on Worrall's small parcel preserved a driftway, a customary right of passage allowing landholders to move livestock across enclosed ground to reach pasture or waste beyond. The requirement protected the access of the steward's orphans and other neighbours when Worrall fenced the piece. This was the same concern that shaped the grant to James Greentree at the consultations of 16 December 1718 and 23 December 1718, where a width was reserved for John Coles's cattle passage to the waste. The Greentree petition continues the long-running matter first raised on 9 December 1718, when Greentree sought about 10 acres adjoining his dwelling and 2 acres formerly Robert Addes's. The argument recorded here turns on conservation of timber, the Governor accepting that a lease would preserve woodland whose felling would damage Greentree's plantation. The reasoning shows the council treating standing timber as an asset worth securing through tenure, since waste ground left unallocated invited stripping of its wood. Speculations The council attached the gate-and-driftway condition to Worrall's grant rather than simply refusing the parcel, which suggests a deliberate balancing of two competing interests. Enclosing the small piece served Worrall and tidied a fragment of waste, while the reserved gate protected the orphans' established access. Structuring the grant this way let the council improve the land without extinguishing a customary right, a compromise tailored to the specific position of the piece between Worrall's land and the orphans' ground. | |||||
3 | February because this Piece of Land seems to him to be other- wise of no vallue. Ordered, That he have a Lease for the Same and that Capt. Bazett do measure it on Monday next. / The following Petition was presented Island St. Helena. To the Worsh: Isaac Pyke Esq:r Govern:r & Councile. The Petition of Wm: Slaughter Ser:t Humbly. Sheweth, That Whereas your Petitioner on the 24. of Sept:r 1717. did Petition your Worsh: & Councile for the grant of a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying in Sandy Bay valley known by the name of the Sug:r Cane Plantation, which Capt. Haswell (since dead) & Capt. Bazett were to have viewed accordingly But they never have done it, And your Petitioner now Understanding that Peter Finwick hath Petitioned for the Same Piece of Land and likely to have it granted him, Your Petition:r Humbly Prays he may have the Said Land first Petitioned for, And as he has been in the Hon: Company. Service for these fourteen years, beggs his Long Service may be Considerd and his request as a further. Margin Notes: Lease ord:d for y:e Same & that Capt. Bazett measure the Same Mr. Slaughters Petition for Some Land in Sandy Bay valley called Sugar Cane Plantation | The Governor judged the piece otherwise worthless, and on that ground the council ordered that Greentree receive a lease for it. Captain Bazett was directed to measure the parcel the following Monday. The following petition was then presented. Island of St Helena Sergeant William Slaughter petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. He set out that on 24 September 1717 he had asked for the grant of a small parcel of the Company's waste land in Sandy Bay Valley known as the Sugar Cane Plantation. Captain Hatwell, since dead, and Captain Bazett were to have viewed it, but the inspection was never carried out. Slaughter now understood that Peter Sinsnick had petitioned for the same piece and seemed set to have it granted to him. He asked that the land he had first sought be given to him instead. Having served the Company for 14 years, he begged that his long service be considered and his request granted as a favour. Interpretations Slaughter's petition turns on the priority of a claim first lodged on 24 September 1717, the central grievance being that the view ordered then was never performed and a rival applicant has since come forward. The death of Captain Hatwell, one of the two appointed viewers, helps explain the lapse, since the inspection required both men and could not proceed once the pair was broken. The petition shows how an unexecuted administrative step left an early claimant exposed to being overtaken by a later one. The parcel named the Sugar Cane Plantation indicates earlier cultivation of sugar cane in Sandy Bay Valley, the warmest and most sheltered part of the island. The name survived as a land description after the cane had gone, the ground now lying as Company waste. Sugar cane suited the lower valley better than the cooler uplands, though St Helena's moderate climate never supported it on a commercial scale. Long service to the Company functioned as a recognised ground for preferment in the allocation of land. Slaughter pressed 14 years' service as the basis for his request, much as John Alexander had pleaded 23 years at the consultation of 10 February 1719. The council weighed such service when distributing waste ground, treating it as a claim on the Company's favour rather than a strict entitlement. | |||||
4 | February farther Encouragement Granted him. And as in duty bound shall ever pray &c. (Signed) Wm. Slaughter. The Govern:r Sayes that he has talked with Ser:t Slaughter about this Land and asked him how he Intended to manage it, he Saied he could not encland to live on it himself, but would live below in [the said?] and have one of the Guard to make that Pla[ntation?] manage it for him, the Gov:r asked him if thou[gh?] in [case?] the Land was granted he would be willing to [give up?] his Punch House, he Saied no. Wherefore the Gov:r is of opinion that he ought to be denyed this Land and if it be proper to let it that the man who Labours in it be the man, for otherwife tis only granting an Estate for one man to live in Plenty's by bringing another into Slavery. / But the Govern:r Sayes he is willing to consent to Slaughters having Land on Condition that he live upon it, and not otherwife. And whensoever Slaughter has Land he thinks tis Proper to give Some other Poor man that Licence for Selling Punch. Then the Petition of Peter Finwick was read over Entred in Consultation of the 27. Jany: last. Past. The Margin Notes: Febry 26:th 171[8/9] Not gran:d [and?] he will [be?] managing his Punch house Ord:d this man[y?] above thirden to have it But y:e Gov:r is willing to grant [Mr.?] Slaughter land Who quit [his?] [licence?] | Slaughter closed by asking that further encouragement be granted to him. The petition was signed by William Slaughter. Governor Pyke said he had spoken with Sergeant Slaughter about the land and asked how he meant to manage it. Slaughter answered that he would not live on it himself but would live below and send one of the guard to cultivate it for him. The Governor asked whether, if the land were granted, he would give up [...] his punch house. Slaughter said no. The Governor was therefore of the opinion that Slaughter should be refused the land. If it were to be let at all, the man who laboured on it ought to be the one to hold it. Granting it otherwise would merely settle an estate on one man to live in idleness while bringing another into slavery. The Governor said he was willing to consent to Slaughter holding land only on condition that he live on it himself, and not otherwise. Whenever Slaughter was granted land, the Governor thought it fitting to give some other poor man the licence for selling punch. The petition of Peter Sinsnick was then read. It had been entered in the consultation of 27 January 1719 and approved. Interpretations The Governor's refusal sets out a working principle for the distribution of waste land, namely that tenure should follow labour rather than create an absentee holding. Slaughter proposed to live below and send a soldier of the guard to cultivate the parcel for him, which the Governor treated as settling an estate on an idle proprietor while reducing the actual cultivator to unfree labour. The reasoning shows the council using land grants to promote resident smallholders over rentier accumulation, the same anti-engrossing concern resolved on 19 February 1719. The punch house condition links land tenure to the regulated retail of liquor. A punch house was a licensed establishment selling punch, a spirit-based drink, and the licence was a valued privilege the council could grant or withdraw. The Governor's view that Slaughter should surrender the licence on receiving land, with it passing to some other poor man, treats the two benefits as alternatives rather than cumulative, spreading the Company's favours across more households. The cross-reference to Peter Sinsnick's competing petition of 27 January 1719 confirms the rival claim that prompted Slaughter's renewed application. Sinsnick had petitioned for the same Sugar Cane Plantation parcel, and the reading of his petition into this consultation set the two claims directly against each other for the council's decision. Speculations The Governor framed the choice as between a labouring holder and an absentee one, which suggests the refusal served a deliberate settlement policy rather than any objection to Slaughter personally. Tying the offer to residence, and pairing it with the transfer of the punch licence to another poor man, structured the outcome so that two households might benefit instead of one. The arrangement worked to widen the base of resident cultivators and licensed retailers, consistent with the council's stated aim of increasing the island's families voiced on 10 February 1719. | |||||
5 | 171[8/9]. The Govern:r reports he has been to see the Land Petitioned for by Pet: Finwick called the Old Sug:r Cane Plantation in Sandy Bay. And is of opinion that tis for the Hon: Comp:ts Interest to Lett it, But We all doubt if it be Sufficient to Maintain him, He being called In Sayed he Desired no better Birth than that. Wherefore Ordered That he have a Lease granted him for the Same but obliged to Build a House on it & that Capt. Bazett measure this Land the first Conveni- ency. Ordered allso That Gilbert Finnwick have a Lease granted him for the Land he Petitioned for ly- ing allso in Sandy Bay valley below the place called the Pidgeon Rocks, and the Same having been viewed Capt. Bazett is likewise to measure it when he measure his Brothers Land. The following Petitions were presented (viz:t) The Petition of Capt. Matthew Bazett: Setting forth that a Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying next adjoyning to his own Land containing about Eight Acres, w:ch if Lett to any other Person would be very Prejudiciall to him, Wherefore desires to become Tennant for the Same. We all knowing this Peice of Land and that if Lett to any Body Else would be as he Sayes Wherefore Margin Notes: The Govern:r Reports y:t he had viewed y:e Sugar Cane Plant:n allso Petitioned for by Pet: Finwick that it was for y:e Hon: Comp:ts Interest to Let it Ord:d and also he to build a good House & Capt: Bazett measure y:e Land. Lease Granted to Gilbert Finwick of Land in Sandy Bay below the Pidgeon Rocks Capt: Bazett to measure it also Capt: Bazetts Petitions for about 8 acres Adjoyning to his own | Governor Pyke reported that he had been to view the land petitioned for by Peter Sinsnick, known as the Old Sugar Cane Plantation in Sandy Bay. He judged it in the Company's interest to let it. The council all doubted whether it would be enough to maintain him, but when Sinsnick was called in he said he wished for no better holding than that. The council therefore ordered that he receive a lease for the parcel, on condition that he build a house on it. Captain Bazett was to measure the land at the first opportunity. The council further ordered that Gilbert Sinsnick receive a lease for the land he had petitioned for, also in Sandy Bay Valley, below the place called the Pigeon Rocks. The parcel having already been viewed, Captain Bazett was to measure it when he measured his brother's land. The following petitions were then presented. Captain Matthew Bazett petitioned the council. He set out that a parcel of the Company's waste land lay next to his own, containing about eight acres. If it were let to anyone else, it would be much to his disadvantage, and so he asked to become tenant for it himself. The council all knew the piece and agreed that if it were let to anyone else it would be as Bazett described. [...] Interpretations The grant to Peter Sinsnick resolves the contest over the Sugar Cane Plantation set against Sergeant Slaughter's claim earlier in this consultation. The council applied the principle the Governor had stated when refusing Slaughter, that the holder should live on and cultivate the ground. The building condition attached to Sinsnick's lease enforced residence directly, requiring a house on the parcel as the price of tenure. This converted the anti-absentee reasoning of the Slaughter refusal into an express obligation. The council's recorded doubt over whether the parcel could maintain Sinsnick, set against his own willingness to take it, shows the body weighing the viability of a smallholding before granting it. A holding too small to support its tenant risked producing a pauper dependent on the Company. Sinsnick's acceptance of the risk allowed the grant to proceed, the council having discharged its concern by raising the point and recording his answer. Captain Matthew Bazett appears here as petitioner rather than in his usual role as the council's appointed viewer of land. Throughout these February consultations Bazett inspected and measured parcels for other applicants, yet here he sought a grant for himself. His standing as second of the council, recorded at the head of the consultation of 26 February 1719, gave weight to a petition the other members readily endorsed. | |||||
6 | February Wherefore Ordered That the Said Land be granted him and that he do measure the Same. / The Petition of John French Gunner. Setting forth therein That a Small Peice of the Hon: Comp:ts Land next adjoyning to that he lately bought of Giles Smith being very convenient for him Besides Saveing Some Charge in fencing the whole; Desires to become Tennant for the Same it being no Detrim:t to the Neighbourhood. This Peice of Land Petitioned for by the Gunner being already known to Us and how com-[venient?] tis for him. Ordered That the Same be Granted [him] and a Lease thereof after tis measured. The Petition of Giles Smith Joyner. Setting forth That being destitute of a House in the Fort Valley, Desires to become Tennant to the Hon: Comp:ts for the Old House called Bodleys Scituate at the upper end of New Street next the Old Lemon Garden. This House be[ing that he has?] redd and ready to fall down he is pr[epared?] to live [th]erein & if he will build it up he [shall have so?] much ground as the Breadth of [the House con]tains for [the?] [b]ings of Annuit: The Margin Notes: p: Granted [him] & he to measure [the Same?] J: French petition for a Small peice of Land [Cap?] [---] [a] Lease [the?] [---] [Granted?] Giles Smith Petition for a House in Fort Valley Granted | The council therefore ordered that the parcel be granted to Bazett, and that he measure it himself. The petition of John French, gunner, was then presented. He set out that a small piece of the Company's land lay next to the ground he had recently bought from Giles Smith. It lay very conveniently for him, and he would also save the charge of fencing the whole. He asked to become tenant for it, the piece being no harm to the neighbourhood. The council already knew the parcel and how conveniently it lay for him. The council ordered that it be granted to him, with a lease to follow once it was measured. The petition of Giles Smith, joiner, was then presented. He set out that he was without a house in Fort Valley and wished to become tenant to the Company for the old house called Bodley's, standing at the upper end of New Street next to the old Lemon Garden. The house stood [...] and ready to fall down. He was [...], and if he built it up [...] as much ground as the breadth of [...] contained, for [...] shillings a year. Interpretations John French's petition rested on the saving of fencing costs, the parcel adjoining ground he had lately bought from Giles Smith. Taking in the neighbouring piece let him enclose a single block rather than fence two separate parcels, a practical economy the council recognised in granting it. The transaction shows how small allocations of waste consolidated holdings and reduced the cost of enclosure for an existing landholder. Giles Smith's application concerned the old house called Bodley's at the upper end of New Street, a dwelling described as ready to fall down. This was probably property connected to the Bodley estate absorbed by the Company on 18 January 1714/15 in satisfaction of debt. The council let derelict Company houses on terms requiring the tenant to rebuild, recovering value from a ruined structure by binding repair to the grant rather than meeting the cost itself. The same two principals appear on both sides of these entries, Giles Smith having sold land to French and now seeking a Company tenancy for himself. The proximity of the dealings, the French parcel adjoining Smith's former ground and both men settling in Fort Valley, shows a small community in which land and houses passed between a handful of named inhabitants under the council's supervision. | |||||
7 | 171[8/9]. The Petition of Giles Hayse Montiofs. Setting forth That he being destitute of any Land of his own to make Plantation on for the better Support of his wife & family for whose Maintain- ance he finds his Sallary not Sufficient but Runs daily behind hand and the time he has in the House and Land he now Possesses being near Expired. Humbly prays to become Tennant to the Hon: Comp:ts for about 20. Acres of their Wast Land lying Scituate in Paroles valley where he could to Some Industry make a Plantation Capable of fully maintaining his Family, and as he has been for Some time in the Hon: Comp:ts Service Hopes for a further Encouragem:t by having his request Granted. Referred to the Gov:r & Capt. Bazett who will goe and view this Land & then make their Report. Capt. Bazett Reports that the Tea in the Hon: Comp:ts Stores is near Expended there being but 16. double Catteus left. Resolved That We Buy Some more out of the first Ship that has any to dispose of. Docter Civill appeared and acquainted Us that he came to give us Notice according to his agreem: tle Margin Notes: Giles Hayse pets for 20 Acres in Paroles Valley Referred to y:e Gov:r & Capt. Bazett Capt: Bazett reports y:t y:e Tea in y:e Hon: Comp:ts Stores is near Expended Resolved to buy out of y:e first Ship Doct:r Civitt gives Warning | The petition of Giles Hayse, Monkhouse, was then presented. He set out that he had no land of his own to make a plantation on for the better support of his wife and family. His salary fell short of maintaining them, and he ran daily into debt. The term in the house and land he now held was near expiry. He asked to become tenant to the Company for about 20 acres of their waste land in Powles Valley, where with some industry he could make a plantation able to maintain his family fully. Having served the Company for some time, he hoped for further encouragement by having his request granted. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Captain Bazett, who were to view the land and then make their report. Captain Bazett reported that the tea in the Company's stores was near exhausted, only 16 double canisters remaining. The council resolved to buy more from the first ship that had any to sell. Doctor Cawill appeared and gave notice that he had come to give warning in line with his agreement. [...] Interpretations The petition of Giles Hayse Monkhouse turns on a salary insufficient to support a family, the applicant seeking land to supplement wages that left him in continual debt. The expiry of his current tenancy added urgency, since loss of his present house and land would leave him with neither holding nor adequate income. The case shows how the Company's servants depended on plantation tenancies to make up the shortfall between their pay and the cost of maintaining a household on the island. Tea held in the Company's stores was a tradeable commodity supplied to the island through passing East India shipping, the canister being the standard sealed container in which it was carried. The resolution to buy from the first ship with stock to sell shows the island's reliance on irregular maritime supply for goods it could not produce. A near-empty store could not be replenished on demand but only as a suitable vessel happened to call. Doctor Cawill's notice rested on a term in his agreement requiring advance warning before departure. Engagements with the Company's salaried specialists, such as the surgeon, commonly fixed a notice period so that the council could arrange a replacement before the post fell vacant. His formal warning set that process in motion, the loss of a doctor on a remote island being difficult to remedy at short notice. | |||||
8 | February He intended to goe off after the Expiration of Six months from this time. Benjamin Cleverlee Carpent:r came in & delivered the following Petition : That Whereas he being lately married & destitute of any Land to make Plantation on for the Support & Maintenance of himself and family, Humbly prays We would grant him about five Acres of the Hon: Comp:ts Wast Land lying in Sandy Bay valley between Boxwood and the White Rocks, And as he is in very great want of Pasture Land, Do's further pray to become Tenn:t for about five Acres more of the Hon: Comp:ts Wast Land lying Adjoyning to that in the Present Posession of James Yofsey Pishich he is Heir apparent to, and therefore he Sayes this last five Acres of Land will be Prejudiciall if Lett to any other Person. The Govern:r Sayes this Benjamin Cleverle is the Same Person Mentioned in our Consultation of the 25:th Nov:r 1718. for leaving the Hon: Comp:ts work after they had raised his wages and as this man has been brought up in the trade of Carpentry he thinks he ought to follow it because Such work is much wanted and if he mind his work he may be more Servicable Margin Notes: Benj: Cleverle pets for Land Gov:r Report ab:t him. | Cawill intended to leave six months from this time. Benjamin Cleverlee, carpenter, came in and delivered the following petition. He set out that he had recently married and had no land to make a plantation on for the support and maintenance of himself and his family. He asked the council to grant him about five acres of the Company's waste land in Sandy Bay Valley, lying between Boxwood and the White Rocks. Being in great need of pasture land, he further asked to become tenant for about five acres more of the Company's waste land adjoining it, then held by James Vesey, to which Cleverlee was heir apparent. He said this last five acres would be much to his disadvantage if let to anyone else. Governor Pyke said this Benjamin Cleverlee was the same person mentioned in the consultation of 25 November 1718 for leaving the Company's work after his wages had been raised. As the man had been brought up in the carpenter's trade, the Governor thought he ought to follow it, since such work was much needed. If he kept to his trade he might be more serviceable. [...] Interpretations Cleverlee's petition combines a grant of waste with a claim to land already held by another, the second parcel being ground he expected to inherit from James Vesey as heir apparent. Seeking tenancy of a holding he stood to inherit anyway secured his interest against the parcel being let to an outsider in the meantime. The arrangement shows how expectations of inheritance shaped applications for Company land, an applicant moving to lock in ground before a competing tenant could take it. The Governor's reference to the consultation of 25 November 1718 reveals Cleverlee as a tradesman who had abandoned the Company's work after securing a wage rise. Skilled labour such as carpentry was in short supply on the island, and the Governor's preference that Cleverlee return to his trade reflects the value placed on craft skills over the addition of another smallholder. The remark ties the land application to the wider problem of retaining trained workers whose departure left essential work undone. The pairing of marriage with a land request recurs through these February consultations, a newly married man pleading the support of a family as grounds for a grant. The council had voiced its wish to increase the island's settled families on 10 February 1719, holding scattered parcels fit for young married couples. Cleverlee's petition fits that policy, though the Governor's reservation turned on the loss of his trade rather than any objection to settling him. | |||||
9 | 171[8/9]. Serviceable to the Country that way and gaine allso more to himself, And the Govern:r adds that to grant him Land would be to Encourage his Idleness. For he Sayes in his Petition that he is Heir ap- parent to the Estate Posest by his Mothers Husband Mr. Yefsey, if So then he ought to be contented untill her Death. However in case his mother live longer than he Expects if We find his family to encreace So as to need our assistance in granting him Some Land he must take care in the mean time to Recommend himself So to Us by his Industry & good behaviour that We may grant it as a reward to his Meritt. But tho We hope to See Some marks of his future Industry yet at Present We cannot think him deserv- ing of the favour he Petitions for. The Govern:rs Opinion for the Disposall of Wast Land. He thinks tis Indisputably for the Hon: Comp:ts Interest to have as many Inhabitants on the Island as the place is Sufficient to Maintaine because then there will be less need of Sending over Soldiers for the Defence of the Place in time of Warr all the Poorer Inhabitants being Desirous of being in the Hon: Companys Service. Because Margin Notes: y:e Pet: Refused y:e Gov:r Opinion for Disposall of Waste Land | Cleverlee could be more useful to the island that way, and would gain more for himself besides. The Governor added that granting him land would only encourage his idleness. Cleverlee said in his petition that he was heir apparent to the estate held by his mother's husband, James Vesey, and so the Governor judged that he ought to be content until her death. Should his mother live longer than he expected, and should his family grow enough to need the council's help in granting him land, Cleverlee would have to recommend himself in the meantime by his industry and good behaviour, so that the council might then grant it as a reward for his merit. The council hoped to see some marks of his future industry, but for the present judged him undeserving of the favour he sought. His petition was therefore refused. The Governor then gave his opinion on the disposal of waste land. He thought it plainly in the Company's interest to have as many inhabitants on the island as the place could maintain. With more settlers there would be less need to send over soldiers for the defence of the island in time of war, since the poorer inhabitants were all eager to enter the Company's service. [...] Interpretations The refusal of Cleverlee's petition turns the heir-apparent claim against him, the council holding that an expectation of inheritance was reason to wait rather than grounds for a fresh grant. Tying any future allocation to demonstrated industry and good behaviour made the land a conditional reward for conduct rather than an entitlement of need. The decision shows the council using its control of waste to discipline a tradesman it judged idle, withholding favour until he proved himself. The Governor's statement on the disposal of waste land sets out the strategic case for settlement, linking a larger resident population directly to the island's defence. Inhabitants able to bear arms reduced the need to ship soldiers out from England in wartime, the poorer settlers being willing recruits to the Company's service. This connects the land policy debated since 10 February 1719 to St Helena's function as a fortified station guarding the homeward East India route. The reasoning treats population as a defensive asset, the number of settlers the place could maintain setting the ceiling on grants. A self-supporting militia of resident smallholders was cheaper and more reliable than a garrison drawn from outside. The Governor's view frames the whole question of waste land allocation as a matter of security as much as agriculture, the two concerns being inseparable on a remote and contested island. | |||||
10 | February Because then there will be more Buyers at the Hon: Comp:ts Stores and if We can enlarge the Number of our People tis to be hoped We Shall have Some of them Employ themselves to more Industry than the Majority of the planters now doe. He allso thinks that it will better answer the Hon: Comp:ts end in keeping this Island which is the refreshm:t of their Shipping because every Family that are not over- run with Sloth will endeavour to have Something to Sell the Ships which whether it be Poultry, Green hade, or fruit as it will cost them nothing but care & trouble in Producing So it will be a means of Supplying the Ships to as much Plenty as formerly and then they will have no need to put in at the Cape as of late they most commonly have done under a pretence (tho We Thank God not a true one) that they could not be Provided with a Sufficient Refreshment here. And therefore upon the whole as it is the Hon: Comp:ts Interest to encrease the Number of Inhabitants So he takes it to be all our Dutys to Promote it all We can by letting out Some of their Wast Land which at Present Turns to no Acco:t to them and to very little to any Body else. But in what manner, is to be considered of which the Gov:r desires may be Concluded as Soon as | A larger population would also mean more buyers at the Company's stores. If the number of people could be enlarged, the Governor hoped some of them would apply themselves with more industry than most of the present planters showed. He also thought it would better serve the Company's purpose in holding the island, which existed to refresh their shipping. Every family not given over to idleness would try to produce something to sell the ships, whether poultry, garden produce or fruit. Since this cost them nothing but care and trouble to grow, it would help supply the ships as plentifully as before. The ships would then have no need to call at the Cape, as of late they had commonly done, under the pretence, the Governor thanked God not a true one, that they could not be sufficiently refreshed at St Helena. The Governor concluded that, since it was in the Company's interest to increase the number of inhabitants, the council had a duty to promote it by every means. This included letting out some of the Company's waste land, which at present yielded the Company nothing and very little to anyone else. In what manner this should be done remained to be settled, and the Governor wished it concluded as soon as possible. [...] Interpretations The Governor's reasoning ties the island's economy directly to the provisioning of passing ships, framing every settled family as a potential supplier of fresh food. Poultry, garden produce and fruit cost the grower only labour, yet supplied the vessels whose refreshment was the island's whole purpose to the Company. The argument presents settlement, cultivation and the Company's strategic interest as a single chain, more families meaning more provisions and a stronger claim to the ships' custom. The reference to ships calling at the Cape exposes a competitive anxiety underlying the land policy. Homeward East India vessels could revictual at the Cape of Good Hope instead of St Helena, and the Governor suspected captains used the island's shortfalls as a pretext for doing so. Securing reliable provisions through a larger settled population was a means of holding the shipping the island depended on, the loss of that traffic threatening its reason for existing. The Governor's complaint of idleness among the present planters recurs as a theme through these consultations, set against the hope that new settlers would prove more industrious. The contrast frames the letting of waste land as a chance to populate the island with productive cultivators rather than to reward the existing body of planters. This connects the present debate to the refusals of Slaughter and Cleverlee, where the council withheld land from men it judged unwilling to work it. | |||||
11 | 171[8/9]. as Posible. And his opinion herein is as follows. That no man who is already Possest of Forty Acres of Land or upwards shall have any granted to him but if Such a one has more he may have Liberty to buy when Land is to be Sold Provided he fully complyes with the Hon: Comp:ts Standing Orders of keeping a White man on every twenty Acres and not Else. / But yet He would not have this Understood So Strictly but that if a man who has the largest Possessions Should Desire any Small Peice of Land Adjoyning to his own w:ch is not fitt for a Small Family to live on it may be Proper to grant that because Such Land tho' it be called Wast Land and So brings in nothing to the Company yet it is always Occupied by those whose Land is next to it Exclusive of any others & to refuse letting Such Land is in Effect giving it to them and yet it Produces less because while it lies as Wast Land it is unenclosed. And allso any place that is now quite Barren Either by the Rockyness or having had the Soil washed away by its Timber being cutt down & Destroyed the Gov:r thinks it Proper to lett that and all Such Land to any whom it lies near to at a very Easy rate on Condition that they always plant it with and Margin Notes: Advances his Opinion that it is not Suppd of | The Governor's opinion on the matter ran as follows. No man who already held 40 acres or more should have any further land granted to him. Such a man might still buy land when any came up for sale, provided he fully complied with the Company's standing order requiring one white man kept for every 20 acres, and on no other terms. The Governor did not want this taken too strictly. If a man with the largest holdings wanted some small piece adjoining his own, unfit for a small family to live on, it might be proper to grant it. Such ground, though called waste land and so yielding the Company nothing, was always occupied by the holder whose land lay next to it, to the exclusion of anyone else. Refusing to let it was in effect giving it to them anyway, and it produced less while it lay unenclosed as waste. Any place quite barren, whether from rockiness or from its soil being washed away after its timber was cut down and destroyed, the Governor also thought proper to let. All such land should go to whoever it lay near, at a very easy rate, on condition that the holder always planted it [...] Interpretations The Governor's 40-acre ceiling sets a working threshold for the anti-engrossing policy resolved on 19 February 1719, barring fresh grants to substantial holders while leaving them free to purchase. This drew a line between the Company giving away land and the open market, controlling distribution of the Company's own waste without preventing sales between private parties. The rule put a numerical limit on the accumulation the council had condemned when noting Gabriel Powell's 290 acres on 19 February 1719. The standing order requiring one white man for every 20 acres reveals a settlement policy driven by defence and racial control. Tying landholding to the maintenance of white residents ensured that grants increased the armed European population rather than merely extending plantations worked by slaves. The condition links property directly to the island's military manpower, a large holding obliging its owner to keep men capable of bearing arms. The Governor's treatment of small adjoining parcels and barren ground shows a pragmatic grasp of how waste land actually functioned. Such pieces were already used by the neighbouring holder whether or not formally let, so refusing a grant lost the Company rent while leaving the ground enclosed and unproductive. Letting barren or eroded land cheaply on condition of planting aimed to recover value from ground that yielded nothing, and to reverse the soil loss caused by stripping timber. Speculations The Governor distinguished sharply between granting and selling land to large holders, which suggests a deliberate channelling of accumulation through the market rather than through the council's favour. Allowing purchase while forbidding grants kept the Company's gifts flowing to smaller settlers, yet let substantial men expand by paying for it under the white-resident condition. The structure preserved the anti-engrossing principle without freezing all transfer of land, directing growth toward buyers who met the settlement obligation. | |||||
12 | February and keep it planted full of Trees & call it Wood Land for there is now no other way to make Such Land be again Fertile and that way will do it and there- fore tho' the man have never So much other Land it is more Proper to lett him that at a lower rate than Ordinary than to refuse it. And now because Some Land at Swanley valley head is intended to be disposed of, but there are Soe many Petitioners for it that all of their requests cannot be complyed w:th and whoever are not herein obliged tho' every one of them knows there is not Land enoe for all of them tis likely they will according to the too usual Custome of these people be discontented murmuring & Complaining We must Undergoe that hardship. But to prevent if Possible So much as their Imagination of Injustice it may be Necessary to lay down Some Preliminary Rules as qualifications required of those to whom any Land is granted. We have agreed it to be Necessary to Exclude those who have forty Acres of Land already. It may be Proper allso to Exclude those from any grant of this Land that have had Land of their own and Sold it, and allso those who cannot Occupie it themselves. And the Gov:r thinks tis Necessary allso to Margin Notes: Reasons for excluding Some Persons from having Land in Swanley Valley. | The holder should keep the ground planted full of trees and so make it woodland again. No other way remained to make such land fertile once more, and replanting would achieve it. However much other land a man held, it was therefore more fitting to let him this at a lower rate than usual than to refuse him. The Governor turned to the land at Swanley Valley head, which the council intended to dispose of. So many had petitioned for it that not all their requests could be met. Everyone who failed to obtain a grant, though each knew there was not enough land for all of them, would probably grow discontented and complain, after the too common habit of these people. The council would have to bear that difficulty. To prevent as far as possible any notion of injustice, it might be necessary to lay down some preliminary rules setting the qualifications required of those granted land. The council agreed it was necessary to exclude those who already held 40 acres. It might also be proper to exclude from any grant of this land those who had once held land of their own and sold it, and those unable to cultivate it themselves. The Governor thought it necessary further [...] Interpretations The Governor's prescription for barren ground frames tree-planting as soil recovery, treating reforestation as the only means of restoring land stripped by earlier felling. This connects to the recurring concern with timber loss seen in the Greentree grants of 16 December 1718 and 23 December 1718, where cutting wood was held to spoil the land. The willingness to let eroded ground below the usual rate, on condition of replanting, used cheap tenure as an instrument of land restoration. The Swanley Valley head allocation explains the order made on 19 February 1719 directing the Governor to draft a regulation governing the disposal of that land. The pressure of competing petitioners, too many for the available ground, drove the need for published qualifying rules rather than case-by-case grants. Setting objective criteria in advance was a means of deflecting the charge of injustice from those who would inevitably be refused. The proposed exclusions reveal the principles the council used to ration scarce land among many applicants. Barring those who already held 40 acres, those who had sold land of their own, and those unable to cultivate it themselves directed the grant toward landless settlers willing to work the ground in person. Each exclusion targeted a category the council judged less deserving, the rules together favouring the resident smallholder over the engrosser, the speculator and the absentee. Speculations The council moved to publish preliminary qualifying rules rather than simply deciding each Swanley Valley petition on its merits, which points to a deliberate management of discontent among the applicants. A known set of criteria let the council justify every refusal by reference to a fixed standard, removing the appearance of arbitrary favour. Anticipating complaint from the unsuccessful, the Governor structured the allocation so that rejection could be attributed to a published rule rather than to the council's judgement of the individual. | |||||
13 | 171[8/9]. to grant no Land to any Unless they give good Security to Build a House thereon and fence it in within two years after the grant at furthest, & because they cant do that without Some assistance We must agree to spare them Some of the Hon: Comp:ts Timber at a reasonable & Encourageing price and Lime at thirty pence p:r Bushell with Such other Encouragem:t as Shall be thought Proper towards Supplying them w:th Jewell which is Extreamly Scarce in all that part of the Country and 'twill be many years before it can be made to grow in Such quantity as their Constant use and Necessity will require. And that because they will be at a great Expence and tho' they work Constantly in the ground it will be three years before they can have any Considerable bennefitt by it, and to prevent their runing too farr into Debt and So Selling the Land for payment of those Debts, that for the first 5. or 7. or 10. years after the House is built & ground enclosed, they Shall pay no more than one Shilling per Acre both for Rent & Revenues but to Promote their Building they Shall pay four Shillings p:r Acre Rent and one Shilling Revenues untill they have built & Inhabited the House, and that Dureing the time they pay but 12 p:r Acre for both Rent and Revenues they Shall be obliged not Margin Notes: to Encourage Building on y:e Land lett what Rent to pay. to Promote build:g | Governor Pyke thought it necessary further to grant no land to anyone unless they gave good security to build a house on it and fence it in within two years of the grant at the latest. Since the grantees could not do this without some help, the council would have to agree to spare them some of the Company's timber at a reasonable and encouraging price, and lime at 30 pence per bushel. Such other support should be given as seemed proper toward supplying them with fuel, which was extremely scarce in all that part of the island. Many years would pass before it could be made to grow in the quantity their constant use and need required. The grantees would be at great expense. Though they worked the ground constantly, three years would pass before they gained any considerable benefit from it. To stop them running too far into debt, and so selling the land to pay those debts, Governor Pyke proposed a graduated rent. For the first five, seven or ten years after the house was built and the ground enclosed, they should pay no more than one shilling per acre for both rent and revenues. To encourage building, Governor Pyke proposed that until they had built and lived in the house the grantees should pay four shillings per acre rent and one shilling revenues. During that time, while they paid only 12 pence per acre for both rent and revenues, they would be obliged [...] Interpretations Governor Pyke's terms tie the grant of land to a binding obligation to build and enclose, with good security required and a two-year deadline. This converted a grant from a simple gift of ground into a development contract, the tenant bound to improve the land or presumably forfeit it. The condition served the settlement aim directly, ensuring that allocated waste produced an inhabited, fenced holding rather than ground held idle or for resale. The supply of Company timber and lime at fixed encouraging prices reveals the council subsidising construction to make settlement viable. Lime at 30 pence per bushel was a building material for mortar, and the scarcity of fuel in that part of the island meant settlers could not readily obtain wood for burning or building. By selling these materials cheaply the Company lowered the entry cost of a new holding, recognising that grantees could not establish themselves on bare land without assistance. The graduated rent structure shows a sophisticated use of pricing to drive the building programme. Land paid four shillings per acre while unbuilt but dropped to one shilling once the house stood and the ground was enclosed, the higher charge functioning as a penalty for delay rather than a true rent. The reduced rate for the first years after building protected the new settler during the period before the land yielded any return, Governor Pyke expressly aiming to keep grantees out of the debt that forced distress sales. Speculations Governor Pyke set the rent higher before building and lower after, which structured the charge as an incentive rather than a revenue measure. A grantee paying four shillings per acre on unbuilt land had a direct financial reason to build quickly and drop to one shilling, the rent itself enforcing the two-year deadline. This inverted the usual logic of rent, the council accepting less from improved land precisely because an inhabited, enclosed holding served its settlement purpose better than the money. The provision capping rent for the first five to 10 years addressed a specific risk Governor Pyke identified, namely that indebted settlers would sell their land to clear debts. Holding the rate low during the unproductive early years was a deliberate guard against the distress sales that would undo the settlement and let land drift back toward the engrossers. The arrangement protected the Company's investment in new families by keeping the cost of tenure below the point at which a struggling grantee would be forced to sell. | |||||
14 | February not to Sell nor Alienate the Land to any but those who Possest none before but after that time they may alienate with consent of the Gov:r & Coun: to any others w:th the Same freedome that the other Planters usually doe. Yet in case of Mortality they may bequeath it to any near Relation but Shall not Divide it by Legacies in Small Parcells which has proved the Destruction of many good Settlem:ts here and therefore in this Land it must be prevented. But in case any one is Desirous to leave it among Severall the Plantation & Land thereunto pertaining must goe to one and he pay the Rest as Legatees what their Proportion Shall be valued at and all disputes of this Nature to be Determined by Govern:r and Councile. And He thinks tis very Proper to prefer those of the Garrison or any otherwaife Employed in the Comp:ts Service first and Principally before any others but no man to have any Land who do's not live on it and Occupye it himself as is before mentioned. And to Grant to each of them at least twenty but none to Exceed thirty Acres. And because Some Land is much better than others it Shall be Staked out, about 16. Acres of Margin Notes: not to Alienate without Consent of Gov:r & Coun: case of Death how to bequeath of Same Garrison to be first proposed Not to Exceed 30 Acres to any | The grantees would be obliged not to sell or transfer the land to anyone except those who held none before. After that period they might transfer it, with the consent of Governor Pyke and the council, to any others, with the same freedom the other planters usually enjoyed. In the event of death the holder might bequeath it to any near relation, but not divide it by legacies into small parcels. Such division had ruined many good settlements on the island, and so must be prevented on this land. If anyone wished to leave it among several heirs, the plantation and all its land had to pass to one of them, who would then pay the rest as legatees whatever proportion the holding was valued at. All disputes of this kind were to be settled by Governor Pyke and the council. Governor Pyke thought it very fitting to prefer the men of the garrison, or any others employed in the Company's service, first and chiefly before any others. No man was to hold any land who did not live on it and cultivate it himself, as already stated. Each of them was to be granted at least 20 acres, but none was to exceed 30. Since some land was much better than others, it was to be staked out in parcels of about 16 acres [...] Interpretations The restraint on transfer reveals a policy designed to keep newly granted land in the hands of the landless during the settlement period. Limiting early sale to those who held nothing before prevented the parcels from being absorbed by existing holders, the same anti-engrossing aim resolved on 19 February 1719. Only after the qualifying period, and with the council's consent, could the land pass freely, the restriction guarding the settlement until it was established. The rule against dividing land by legacies addressed a recognised cause of failed settlements, namely the fragmentation of holdings across multiple heirs. Requiring the whole plantation to pass to one successor, who then compensated the others in money, preserved each holding as a viable unit. This was a deliberate departure from partible inheritance, the council treating consolidation of land as essential to its survival and reserving disputes over valuation to its own determination. The preference for the garrison and Company servants ties land allocation to the institution's own personnel. Granting parcels first to soldiers and employees rewarded service while binding useful men to the island as settled cultivators. The 20-to-30-acre band set a floor large enough to support a family and a ceiling low enough to prevent accumulation, the staking of land into roughly equal 16-acre parcels aiming to distribute ground of varying quality fairly among the grantees. Speculations Governor Pyke fixed both a minimum and a maximum holding, which structured the allocation to produce a class of middling smallholders rather than a few large estates or many unviable scraps. The 20-acre floor ensured each grant could maintain a family, while the 30-acre ceiling kept any one settler from engrossing the available ground. Setting the band deliberately narrow shaped the social outcome of the settlement, the council engineering a body of roughly equal resident cultivators capable of provisioning the shipping. The requirement that land pass undivided to a single heir, with the others paid out in money, managed a tension between fair provision for a family and the need to keep holdings intact. Allowing free partition would have recreated the fragmentation that had destroyed earlier settlements, yet wholly barring inheritance would have deterred settlers. Routing value to the other heirs through cash compensation resolved the conflict, preserving the holding as a unit while still providing for every child. | |||||
15 | 171[8/9]. Pasture Land and about [three or four Acres of?] Planting Land to Each corner they Shall take by Lott and those to whom the worst Land Shall fall Shall have an Addition of about five or Six Acres or if the Land be really bad then they Shall have ten Acres Added of the Worser Sort of ground But those to whom the best Land falls Shall not have [more than twenty Acres?]. That [as Soon as this Land is Staked and bef-?] it be Disp[osed and that he nearest to f---d it?] Shall be [---] good w[ith his Least land with?] ordinary Land. And this Meth[od of Granting Land by?] Leasing out to those who [have none the Gov:r?] thinks will prevent the, [planners refusing to?] [lower?] their price as Mr. Tovey mentioned Last [Consul-?] tation day, and he thinks there is no So[urer?] way to prevent the planters raising the [Price?] of their Provisions than by having more [---?] and more Sellers come to Markell [---?] [I. Pyke?] [I.?] [---?] Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwine Margin Notes: [A?] Proportion [to be?] Staked out to Distinguish [Lands?] [preventing their?] [of?] [Lett?] [temp?] their price as Mr. Tovey mentioned Last [Council?] | Each grantee was to receive pasture land and about [...] of planting land, which they would draw by lot. Those who drew the worst land would have an addition of about five or six acres. If the land were really bad, they would have 10 acres added of the poorer sort of ground. Those who drew the best land would not have [...] beyond their 20 acres. As soon as this land was staked out and ready to be disposed of, it was to be [...] and [...] good with the ordinary land. This method of leasing out to the new settlers, Governor Pyke thought, would prevent the planters raising the price of their provisions, as Tovey had mentioned at the consultation of 10 February 1719. He saw no other way to stop the planters putting up the price of their provisions than by having more and more sellers come to market. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The lottery mechanism for allotting parcels reveals a deliberate solution to the problem of distributing land of uneven quality fairly. Drawing by lot removed the council from accusations of favouritism, while the compensating addition of five, six or 10 acres to those who drew poor ground balanced the unequal value of the parcels. This combined chance with adjustment, the extra acreage offsetting bad land so that no grantee was left disadvantaged by the draw. The closing reasoning ties the whole settlement scheme back to the price of provisions, the central economic concern Tovey had raised on 10 February 1719. Governor Pyke held that only competition among many sellers would restrain the established planters from raising prices to the shipping. Increasing the number of resident cultivators was therefore not merely a matter of settlement or defence but a means of breaking the existing planters' hold over the provisions market on which the visiting ships depended. The signatures of John Alexander and John Goodwin record the councillors attesting the consultation. Alexander served as clerk of council and a prolific signatory through these years, while Goodwin appears regularly among the council's members and viewers of land. Their names close the record of Governor Pyke's extended opinion on the disposal of waste at Swanley Valley head, the matter referred for a draft regulation on 19 February 1719. | |||||
16 | March. [I. Pyke? &c. &c.] At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 3. day of March 1718[/9]. at Union Castle in James valley. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r Matth: Bazett. 2. P. v. Antip: Tovey. 3. & Pres. Jn:o Alexander.} Assists Jn:o Goodwine. The Last Consultation was read & approved of. On fryday the 27. of February last Arrived the Prince Eugeen from Madagascar. And On the first Inst: Arrived the Cardonnell Capt. Wm. Mousson from Mocha. And The Robert & Rebecca Capt. Kent from Madagascar. We have rec:ed of the two afores:d Madagascar Ships the following Blacks for the Use of the Hon: Company, (viz:) Nine Males &} out of the Prince Eugeen. & Four Females Eight Males &} Out of the Robert & Rebecca. Four Females In all twenty five good Slaves. Mr. Tovey Sayes the Hon: Comp:ts Books of Rec:ts for the year 1716. is now ready & desires they Margin Notes: The Prince Eugeen from Madagascar Arrivd. The Cardonel Capt. Wm. Mousson from Mocha. The Rob:t & Rebecca from Madagascar Blacks Recd by them Perryage y:e Books of Rec:ts for y:e year 1716. now rec:d | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on [...] 3 March 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, Matthew Bazett, second, Antipas Tovey, third, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. On Friday 27 February 1719 the Prince Eugene arrived from Madagascar. On the first of this month the Cardonnell, Captain William Mawson, arrived from Mocha. The Robert and Rebecca, Captain Kent, also arrived from Madagascar. The council received from the two Madagascar ships the following slaves for the use of the Company. Nine males and four females out of the Prince Eugene. Eight males and four females out of the Robert and Rebecca. In all, 25 good slaves. Tovey reported that the Company's books for the year 1716 were now ready, and he wished [...] Interpretations The arrival of three ships within days reflects St Helena's function as a port of call on the homeward routes from Madagascar, Mocha and the wider Indian Ocean trade. The Prince Eugene and the Robert and Rebecca both came from Madagascar, a principal source of slaves for the Company's establishments. The Cardonnell arrived from Mocha, the Red Sea port that gave its name to the coffee trade, indicating a vessel returning from the Arabian commerce. The slaves taken from the two Madagascar ships supplied the Company's labour force on the island. Madagascar functioned as the main slaving ground for the East India Company's western Indian Ocean posts, vessels carrying captives as part of their homeward lading. The council's receipt of 25 people for the Company's own use shows the institution acquiring labour directly from passing ships rather than through any settled market, the count recording them as Company property alongside the other goods landed. The Cardonnell under Captain William Mawson connects to the earlier mutiny and complaint proceedings of June 1715, when Mawson commanded a vessel beset by passenger grievances and a posted libel. His reappearance here in command of the Cardonnell, arriving peaceably from Mocha, places a figure from the island's troubled shipping records back in its routine traffic. Tovey's report on the 1716 books continues the long-running account business noted at the consultations of 9 December 1718 and 30 December 1718. | |||||
17 | 171[8/9]. [they] may be Sent home by the Cardonn[ell]. The following Petitions were presented. [Island S:t Helena.] To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r & Councile The Humble Petition of Christo: [Kid humbly sheweth ----] Sheweth That Whereas your [Pet:r has been?] himself [and then was by Authority held?] to bringing [& maintaining and nothing but a bare?] Sallary [& so it was] [-----] [Sufficient?] [and by his own labor] Wherefore Hu[mbly?] [prays your] Worsh: & Councile to grant hi[m?] [about?] [five?] [Acres of the?] Hon: Comp:ts Land lying [at?] [-----] [where?] he hopes to make [Planta-?] tation Capable of Maintaining a [larger?] family than your Petition:r is at Present. March 3: 1718[/9]. And as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c. (Signed) Christo:r Kelle[y?] The Petition of Richard Tinsley Sold:r Setting forth that he having an Inclination to Settle himself on this Island Humbly desires We would grant him about 5. Aces of the Hon: Comp:ts Land lying in Lemon valley [&?] Margin Notes: [Ord:d to gr?] [& ---- a grant?] Rich:d Tinsley pets for 5 Acres in Lemon valley | The 1716 books might be sent home by the Cardonnell. The following petitions were then presented. Christopher Kelley petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. He set out [...] himself [...] bring [...] pattern [...]. He asked the council to grant him [...] of the Company's land lying [...], where he hoped to make a plantation able to maintain himself and his family better than his present holding allowed. The petition was dated 3 March 1719 and signed by Christopher Kelley. Richard Tinsley petitioned the council. He set out that he wished to settle himself on the island, and asked that he be granted about five acres of the Company's land lying in a place called [...] Valley. [...] Interpretations Christopher Kelley's petition follows the standard form for a land grant seen throughout these consultations, the applicant pleading the support of his family and the inadequacy of his present holding. The damage to this part of the record obscures the particulars of the parcel he sought, but the surviving structure matches the run of February applications referred for view and measurement. His case continues the pressure of demand for Company waste that prompted the qualifying rules drafted for Swanley Valley head. Richard Tinsley's application rests on a wish to settle on the island, marking him as a new settler rather than an established planter seeking to extend a holding. This was precisely the category Governor Pyke's settlement policy aimed to attract, a landless man willing to take up and cultivate Company waste. His request for about five acres places him among the smaller grantees, the size consistent with a parcel intended to establish a single household. The proposed despatch of the 1716 books by the Cardonnell advances the long-delayed account business running since the consultation of 9 December 1718. The books had been reported finished and balanced at the consultation of 30 December 1718, but held back for checking before delivery. The arrival of a homeward vessel gave the council its opportunity to send the completed accounts to the directors at last. | |||||
18 | March under Sarahs Waterfall. Both the aforesaid Petitions are Referred to the Gov:r & Mr. Goodwin. The Petition of John Coles free Planter Setting forth that about three or four [Acres?] the Hon: Comp:ts Wast Land lying next Adjoyning to his Pasture Land & more Con- venient for him than any Body Else, & Humbly prays to become Tennant for the Same. / Referred to the Gov:r Capt. Bazett. & Mr. Goodwine who will go and view the Said Land and then make Report. The Petition of John Bagley Jun:r & Carpenter. Setting forth There he being a Young man and Native of this Island is very Desirous to remain an Inhabitant there- of, and as he is Sensible of a great many Petitioners for Land & Severall of them granted, He Humbly prays to Become Tenn:t to the Hon: Comp:t for about 20. Acres of their Wast Land lying in a branch of Paroles valley and Adjoyning to part of his fathers Land. / Referred to the Gov:r & Capt. Bazett. Margin Notes: Both Petitions referred to y:e Gov:r & Mr. Goodwine John Coles pets for 3 or 4 Acres Adjoyning to his pasture & referred J: Bagley Jun:r pets for 20 Acres in a branch of Paroles valley Referred | The parcel lay under Sarah's Waterfall. Both the petitions described above were referred to Governor Pyke and Goodwin. John Coles, free planter, petitioned the council. He set out that about three or four acres of the Company's waste land lay next to his pasture land, more convenient for him than for anyone else. He asked to become tenant for it. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke, Captain Bazett and Goodwin, who were to view the land and then make their report. John Bagley junior, carpenter, petitioned the council. He set out that he was a young man and a native of the island, and very eager to remain an inhabitant of it. Knowing that a great many had petitioned for land, and that several of them had been granted, he asked to become tenant to the Company for about 20 acres of their waste land lying in a branch of Powles Valley and adjoining part of his father's land. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Captain Bazett. [...] Interpretations John Coles's petition for the small parcel adjoining his pasture follows the pattern Governor Pyke had endorsed in his opinion on waste land, where ground already used by the neighbouring holder was better let to him than left unenclosed. Coles appears repeatedly in the island's land records, including the cattle-passage dispute with James Greentree settled at the consultations of 16 December 1718 and 23 December 1718. His request for three or four acres next to his own land is the kind of minor consolidation the council routinely granted. John Bagley junior presents the strongest settlement case of these applications, being a young man born on the island and seeking to remain. This was exactly the resident-born settler Governor Pyke's policy aimed to retain, his nativity and youth marking him as a permanent inhabitant rather than a transient servant. His request for 20 acres adjoining his father's land in Powles Valley sits at the lower bound of the 20-to-30-acre band proposed for the new grants. The references to Powles Valley across several petitions show a particular district under active settlement at this time. Bagley's parcel adjoined his father's land there, indicating an established family holding into which the next generation sought to expand. The clustering of applications in the same valley reflects how settlement spread outward from existing holdings, sons and neighbours taking up the waste adjoining ground already in cultivation. | |||||
19 | 171[8/9]. A copy of the Gov:rs Order for the Choosing Blacks out of the Madagascar Ships. Mr. John Goodwin. & Mr. Ricchard Beale. Do hereby Order you to goe on board the Good Ship . . . now in this Road and Choose . . . able Bodied Serviceable men Slaves for the Hon: Comp:ts Use. Let none of them be above 18. or 19. years of age nor none of them Six foot high nor likely to be So be- cause you cannot but know That tall Slaves are not So Capable to do Service by hard Labour and Traversing the Hills as those of a lower Stature. As for the Women which are to be . . . Choose for the Hansomest you can find & lett none of them Exceed the age of 18. years. You are allso to Choose one Boy that is lively & Strong no matter for his Size. The whole is to be . . . men . . Women and Boy. But of the Capt: be as willing to deliver more men and fewer Women then take them. Now Gentlemen because the Hon: Comp:ts have Saied in their Instructions to me that if the Slaves are not good it will be Imputed to Margin Notes: Gov:rs Order for Choice of Blacks | A copy of Governor Pyke's order for choosing slaves out of the Madagascar ships followed, addressed to John Goodwin and Richard Beale. The Governor ordered the two men to go on board the ship [...] then in the road and choose [...] able-bodied, serviceable men slaves for the Company's use. None was to be above 18 or 19 years of age, and none six foot high or likely to grow so. Tall slaves, the Governor reasoned, were less able to do service by hard labour and crossing the hills than men of lower stature. As for the women to be chosen, the two men were to take the handsomest they could find, none exceeding the age of 18. They were also to choose one boy, lively and strong, whatever his size. The whole was to be [...] men, [...] women and one boy. If the captain were willing to deliver more men and fewer women, the two men were to take them. The Governor added that the Company had stated in their instructions to him that if the slaves were not good it would be blamed [...] Interpretations The Governor's order reveals the selection criteria the Company applied when acquiring slaves from the Madagascar ships, prioritising youth and physical capacity for labour. The preference for men under 18 or 19 and the rejection of tall stature rested on the belief that shorter men endured hard labour and the island's steep terrain better. This shows the Company assessing captive people purely as instruments of work, the criteria framed around their usefulness for cultivation and carrying on St Helena's broken ground. The instruction to choose the women for appearance rather than capacity for labour reveals a different intended role. Where the men were selected for strength, the women were chosen by looks and youth, indicating their value to the Company was reckoned on other terms. This distinction in the selection criteria exposes the gendered functions assigned to enslaved people on the island, the men for labour and the women valued by a separate and degrading measure. The Company's warning that poor selections would reflect on the Governor reveals the accountability structure binding its officers. The directors held Governor Pyke personally answerable for the quality of the slaves chosen, which explains the precise criteria he set out in writing for Goodwin and Beale. This connects the order to the wider system by which the distant Company controlled its servants through instructions enforced by blame, the Governor passing the standard down to the men he deputed to make the choice. | |||||
20 | March. to me for a fault of mine, I therefore Send you two who I am assured do Understand Slaves that in case they do not prove good Slaves you may your Selves bear the Blame. Dated &c. Isaac Pyks. [I?] [Bazett?] Jno. Alexander. Jno. Goodwin. From hence is to be duplicated. Margin Notes: Thus farr hath been Copyed and Sent Home p:r Ship Cardonell Capt. Wm. Mawson Comd:r Part begun | The Governor closed the order by stating that any fault in the choice would be charged to him. He was therefore sending two men whom he trusted to understand slaves, so that if the people did not prove good, the two might bear the blame themselves. The order was dated and signed by Isaac Pyke. A note recorded that the order had been copied to this point and sent home by the Cardonnell, Captain William Mawson commander. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. A further note recorded that the record was to be duplicated from this point. Interpretations The Governor's closing words shift the blame for any poor selection from himself onto Goodwin and Beale, the two men he sent to make the choice. By professing his trust in their judgement of slaves, Isaac Pyke transferred the personal accountability the directors had imposed on him to his deputies. This reveals how responsibility was passed down the chain of Company authority, the officer answerable to London protecting himself by making subordinates answerable to him. The note that the order was copied and sent home by the Cardonnell shows the council forwarding a record of its proceedings to the directors. Including the slave-selection order in the homeward despatch allowed the Company to verify that its instructions on choosing labour had been followed. This connects to the wider correspondence carried by the Cardonnell, the vessel also intended to take the completed 1716 account books reported ready at this consultation. The instruction to duplicate the record from this point reflects the standard practice of sending copies of important papers by separate ships. Duplication guarded against loss at sea, a real risk on the long homeward voyage, by ensuring a second copy travelled independently. This administrative precaution shows the council managing the hazards of distance and unreliable communication with the directors in London. | |||||
21 | 171[8/9]. Island S:t Helena. At a Consultation held on Thursday the 12. day of March 1718[/9]. at Union Castle in James valley. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r Matth:ew Bazett. 2. Pres:t Antip: Tovey. 3. & Jn:o Alexander.} Assist:s Jn:o Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. The follow:g Petitions were Presented viz:t To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r & Council. The Humble Petition of Joshua Johnson free planter Humbly. Sheweth That a parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying next adjoyning to his Plantation called Broad Bottom and of very little or no Use to any Body But if granted to him would Save him Some Charge in fencing In his whole quantity of Land Wherefore Humbly prays to become Tennant to the Said Hon: Comp:ts for about Seven Acres of the Said Wast Land. And as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c. Joshua Johnson. Referred to the Gov:r & Mr. Goodwin. The Margin Notes: Joshua Johnson pets for Land Adjoyning to his plantation called Broad Bottom Ref:d | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Thursday 12 March 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, Matthew Bazett, second, Antipas Tovey, third, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. The following petitions were then presented. Joshua Johnson, free planter, petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. He set out that a parcel of the Company's waste land lay next to his plantation, called Broad Bottom. It was of very little or no use to anyone else, but if granted to him it would save him some charge in fencing his whole holding. He asked to become tenant to the Company for about seven acres of that waste land. The petition was signed by Joshua Johnson. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Goodwin. [...] Interpretations Joshua Johnson's petition turns on the saving of fencing costs, the parcel adjoining his plantation at Broad Bottom being of little use to anyone but himself. This is the same economy of enclosure that justified the grants to John French and others through these consultations, where taking in an adjoining piece let a holder fence a single block. Governor Pyke had expressly endorsed letting such ground to the neighbouring holder in his opinion on waste land, since it was already used by him whether granted or not. The parcel's description as of very little or no use to anyone else reflects the practical test the council applied to small allocations of waste. Ground that no other settler could conveniently take, lying enclosed within or against an existing holding, was better let for a rent than left idle. Johnson's request for about seven acres fits the pattern of minor consolidations the council routinely referred for view and granted. The referral to Governor Pyke and Goodwin follows the procedure used throughout these consultations, two members being deputed to view the land before any grant. The same pairing handled several of the March petitions, indicating a settled division of the inspection work among the council. Their report would determine whether the parcel was let, the view guarding against grants that might harm a neighbour or block a right of way. | |||||
22 | March. The Petition of William Seal free planter Setting forth therein That a Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying next adjoyning to his Gumwood Land, Humbly prays to become Tenn:t to the Said Hon: Comp:ts for Said Parcell of Land Containing about 8. or 10. Acres, that Land he has already in Posession being not Sufficient for the Maintenance of his family. / Referred to the Gov:r & Capt. Bazett. The Petition of Richard Harding Carpenter. Shewing That He being a Single Young Man is desirous to remaine on the Island. And there- fore Humbly prays to become Tenn:t to the Hon: Comp:ts for about 12. Acres of their Waste Land lying at the head of one Branch of Paroles valley next his Brothers Land. / Referred likewise to the Gov:r & Capt. Bazett. The Petition of Giles Hayse Montiofs Humbly Shewing That on a former Petition of divers of the Inhabitants an Order was made that the Land about Green Hill Should not be Lett to any one but Should lye as Waste Land for the Bennefitt of the Neighbour- hood So long as they forbone Cutting down the Trees. But that whenever they Should destroy any of the Margin Notes: Wm. Seal pets for Land Adjoyng to his Gum wood Land Ref:d Rich: Harding pets for 12 Acres of Land in a Branch of Paroles valley Ref:d Gyles Hayse pets for Land at Greenhill | William Seal, free planter, petitioned the council. He set out that a parcel of the Company's waste land lay next to his Gumwood land, and asked to become tenant to the Company for it. The parcel contained about eight or 10 acres. The land he already held was not enough to maintain his family. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Captain Bazett. Richard Harding, carpenter, petitioned the council. He set out that he was a single young man and wished to remain on the island. He asked to become tenant to the Company for about 12 acres of their waste land lying at the head of one branch of Powles Valley, next to his brother's land. The matter was referred likewise to Governor Pyke and Captain Bazett. Giles Hayse Monkhouse petitioned the council. He set out that on a former petition of several inhabitants an order had been made that the land about Green Hill should not be let to anyone, but should lie as waste land for the benefit of the neighbourhood, so long as they refrained from cutting down the trees. Whenever they destroyed any of the [...] Interpretations William Seal's parcel adjoining his Gumwood land takes its name from the gumwood tree, an endemic species of St Helena once common across the island. The name marks ground associated with this native woodland, much of which was cleared during the period for cultivation and timber. Seal's plea that his present holding could not maintain his family is the standard ground for a grant seen throughout these consultations. Richard Harding presents the now-familiar settlement case of a single young man wishing to remain on the island, the category Governor Pyke's policy sought to retain. His request for 12 acres next to his brother's land in Powles Valley shows the same outward spread from existing family holdings seen in John Bagley junior's petition. The clustering of these applications confirms Powles Valley as a district under active settlement by the kin of established holders. The order concerning Green Hill reveals a communal reservation of woodland for the general benefit, conditional on the trees being preserved. This connects directly to the recurring concern with timber loss that shaped the Greentree grants of 16 December 1718 and 23 December 1718, and Governor Pyke's prescription for replanting barren ground. The arrangement held land as common waste precisely to protect its trees, the benefit to the neighbourhood depending on the wood being left standing. | |||||
23 | 1718/9 the Wood it Should be Enclosed and Let out, and no longer to have the Bennefitt thereof. And for that the Petition:r being a Poor Man and having a wife & Children to Maintaine without any Land to live on and having Seen the Wood Cutt down from Green Hill & parts Adjacent every day in a very Wastfull Manner, Humbly prays he may become Tenn:t for So much of that Land as is Sufficient to Maintaine his family. Referred to the Gov:r Capt. Bazett & Mr. Goodwin. Upon Fryday the 6:th Inst: Doctor Du May Dyed. We cannot find That He made any Will in Writing, only desired That the Gov:r would Reward the People who tended on him in his Sickness which were John Hodgkinson, Moll the Black Midwife and Antony a Boy who waited on him. Out of Some of the Last Ships there was Great quantities of Prickt Cape Wine Brought on Shore in Small Parcells and Sold among the Garrison which has been of very Pernicious Conse- quence, for besides Inflaming Most of the Garrison which it did do in a great Degree, five of them are yet very Sick, and We fear that two if not three Margin Notes: Ref:d Doct: Du May Dys:d to prevent Cape Wine being Retailed by Garrison | Whenever they destroyed any of the wood, the land was to be enclosed and let out, and they would no longer have the benefit of it. Since Monkhouse was a poor man with a wife and children to maintain and no land to live on, and since he had seen the wood cut down from Green Hill and the parts next to it every day in a very wasteful manner, he asked to become tenant for as much of that land as would maintain his family. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke, Captain Bazett and Goodwin. On Friday the sixth of this month Doctor Du May died. The council could find no written will. He had only asked that Governor Pyke reward the people who tended him in his sickness, namely John Hodyshinson, Moll the black midwife and Antony, a boy who waited on him. Out of some of the last ships great quantities of pricked Cape wine were brought ashore in small parcels and sold among the garrison. This had very harmful results. Besides inflaming most of the garrison, which it did to a great degree, five of them were still very sick, and the council feared that two if not three [...] Interpretations Monkhouse's renewed petition exploits the very condition attached to the Green Hill reservation, that the protection lapsed once the trees were cut. By reporting the daily and wasteful felling of the wood, he argued that the ground had already forfeited its status as protected common and should now be enclosed and let to him. This shows an applicant turning a conservation order to his own advantage, the destruction of the timber becoming his ground for a grant rather than a reason to refuse one. His earlier application for land in Powles Valley was referred at the consultation of 26 February 1719. The death of Doctor Du May explains the earlier warning given by the doctor noted at the consultation of 26 February 1719, where a medical man gave notice under his agreement. His dying request that Governor Pyke reward his carers, naming John Hodyshinson, Moll the black midwife and the boy Antony, stood in place of a written will. The naming of a black midwife among the island's medical practitioners records the role enslaved or free black women played in nursing and childbirth on St Helena. The pricked Cape wine sold to the garrison illustrates the dangers of the unregulated liquor trade carried by passing ships. Pricked wine was wine turned sour and beginning to spoil, sold cheap in small parcels by vessels calling from the Cape. The serious illness it caused among the soldiers, with several gravely sick and deaths feared, shows why the council sought to control the drink reaching the garrison, a matter touching both discipline and the survival of its limited manpower. | |||||
24 | March three will hardly Recover. To prevent Such Evills for the future. Resolved That We will publish an Order to Prohibitt any Ships Selling of Liquors on Shore here by retaile, that is by the Gallon not among the Garrison. And That if any Private Housekeeper, Shall take upon him in any Clandestine way to Dispose of Arrack or Wine in Small quantities they Shall pay the Penalty appointed for them who keep Tippling Houses without a Lycence. Our Hon:ble Masters Ordered in their Letters That when ever We drew any Bills of Exchange on them We Should Mention the reason for drawing them in Consultation. By the Last Ship the Cardonell We did draw Severall Bills and did not Mention the Reason in the Consultation because it was then Impossible for the following reasons, viz:t There was one Bill drawn for Lucas Mason for the Same of about Four Hundred & Six Pounds, which was mostly due to him for his wives Fortune, He had agreed w:th the Capt. As Soon as he came In to carry him off but falling Sick of the Bloody Margin Notes: An Ord:r to prevent it Private Houskeep:rs Clandestinely Disposing of Small Quantity that incurr a Penalty of keeping without a Lycence Reasons for drawing Bills of Exchange | Three of the sick would hardly recover. To prevent such harm in future, the council resolved to publish an order forbidding any ship to sell liquor ashore by retail, that is by the gallon pot, among the garrison. If any private householder secretly disposed of arrack or wine in small quantities, he would pay the penalty fixed for those who kept tippling houses without a licence. The Company's directors had ordered in their letters that whenever the council drew any bills of exchange on them, it should state the reason for drawing them in the consultation. By the last ships, the Cardonnell and others, several bills were drawn without the reason being stated, because at the time it was impossible. The reasons followed. The first was a bill drawn for Lucas Mason for the sum of about £406 0s 0d, mostly due to him for his wife's fortune. He had agreed with the captain to be carried off as soon as he came aboard, but he then fell sick of the bloody [...] Interpretations The order against retail sale of liquor distinguishes wholesale from retail trade, the gallon pot marking the threshold of the prohibited petty sale. Selling drink in small measures directly to soldiers was the practice the council sought to stop, having seen its effect in the sickness from pricked Cape wine. Extending the penalty for unlicensed tippling houses to private householders who sold arrack or wine closed the loophole by which the trade might continue ashore once the ships were barred. Arrack was a strong spirit distilled in the East, commonly from palm sap or fermented rice and sugar, and a staple of the maritime liquor trade. Its sale in small quantities by private householders posed the same threat to garrison discipline as the ships' retail trade. The council's grouping of arrack with wine under a single penalty shows it treating all unlicensed liquor sale as one problem, regardless of the drink involved. The directors' requirement that every bill of exchange state its reason in consultation reveals the financial control London exercised over its distant officers. Bills of exchange were the principal means of transferring money across the distance between the island and the Company, in effect drawing credit on the directors to be honoured at home. Recording the purpose of each bill let the directors audit the council's drawing on Company funds, the present entry supplying the explanations omitted when the Cardonnell sailed. The bill for Lucas Mason concerns the repayment of his wife's fortune, the marriage portion she brought to the marriage and now reclaimed in cash. Mason appears repeatedly in the island's records, including the enticement of the slave Abigail aboard the Aurengzebe in the indictment of 24 January 1715. His arrangement to leave by ship, frustrated by sickness, shows the practical difficulty of departing the island, a passage agreed with a captain yet undone by the dysentery that struck him. | |||||
25 | 171[8/9]. Bloody flux they Determined not to goe till he was Discouraged from Staying by the death of Doctor Du May &c. and then they resolved upon going So Suddenly that We had not time to make any other Mention than this, and he was carryed Sick on Board. The other Bill of Value was for Arrack bought of Capt. Mawson who refused to Sell under a higher price till he was just ready to Saile. In Some of these Ships lately departed viz:t The Cardonnell Capt. Mawson from Mochoa. The Prince Eugeen & Robert & Rebeckah from Madagascar, Besides those who had Liberty of the Gov:r & Council to take their Passage for England, which were Lucas Mason & his wife & Rowland Serjeant and his wife. There run away being Concealed Privately on Board one of these three Ships one Humphry Edwards who owed to the Hon: Comp:ts the Sume of Ten or twelve Pounds and was allso greatly Indebtt to many People upon the Island. He left four Children behind him and two of them Actually Chargeable to the Parrish. The others Name that Run away is Joshua Cary, but he is very little in debt. There Margin Notes: Humphry Edwards Run Away Joshua Cary Run | Mason fell sick of the bloody flux, and so resolved not to go until he was discouraged from staying by the death of Doctor Du May. He then decided on going so suddenly that the council had no time to record any fuller account than this, and he was carried aboard sick. The other bill of value was for arrack bought of Captain Mawson, who refused to sell under a higher price until he was just ready to sail. Some ships had lately departed, namely the Cardonnell, Captain Mawson, from Mocha, and the Prince Eugene and Robert and Rebecca from Madagascar. Besides these, certain people had leave of Governor Pyke and the council to take their passage for England, namely Lucas Mason and his wife, and Rowland Serjeant and his wife. Two men ran away, concealed secretly aboard one of the three ships. The first was Humphry Edwards, who owed the Company £10 0s 0d or £12 0s 0d and was also greatly in debt to many people on the island. He left four children behind him, two of them actually chargeable to the parish. The other who ran away was Joshua Cary, but he was very little in debt. [...] Interpretations Captain Mawson's refusal to sell arrack below a higher price until ready to sail reveals the bargaining power a ship's master held over the island. With the council dependent on passing vessels for goods it could not produce, a captain could hold out for his price knowing the buyer had no alternative source. Mawson timed his sale to the moment of departure, extracting the best terms by withholding the arrack until the council had no further chance to deal. The departures recorded here show the council's control over who left the island, leave of Governor Pyke and the council being required to take passage for England. Lucas Mason departed at last despite his sickness, his bill for £406 0s 0d and his wife's fortune settled before sailing. The formal grant of leave distinguishes the lawful passengers from the two men who left concealed, the contrast framing the runaways as having evaded a controlled departure. The flight of Humphry Edwards concealed aboard ship exposes the problem of debtors escaping their obligations by sea. Edwards owed the Company £10 0s 0d or £12 0s 0d and many private creditors besides, and his departure left four children behind, two already a charge on the parish. This reveals the parish's role in supporting abandoned dependents, the runaway's debts falling on his creditors and his children on the public, a double loss the council had every reason to prevent. | |||||
26 | March There was formerly Mention, in our Consul- tation Book of the 24.th of May 1718. That Jucha Gloria a black Boy then belonging to Mr. Garrett and bound Apprentice to Rowland Serjeant Should have his freedom when his Said Master left him. Upon Serjeants going away He brought Gloria and Delivered him to the Gov:r to whom he is to work till Orders Shall come from England for Sending him Back to Bencoo- len. In the mean time Gloria is to belong to the Gov:r for the time being and to be lookt upon as a Servant to the Gov:r the present Gov:r disclaiming any other right to him. / The Gov:r Says that at the 25. of March the every year the Hon: Comp:ts Books of Accounts were made up in Order to go Home by Some of the Summer Shiping and therefore gives Mr. Tovey this Notice that he may gett the Books for the year 1717. ready to be Sent Home by Some of this Summers Shiping. Mr. Tovey Says he don't doubt but the Books will be done by the time above Mentioned. We being in great want of a Surgeon have agreed with Peter Hicks to be Surgeons Mate at the Usual Sallary Margin Notes: Concerning Jucha Gloria a Black Govern:r Gives Mr. Tovey to gett Books ready for y:r 1717. Tovey's Answer Pet:r Hicks Surgeons Mate | The consultation of 24 May 1718 had recorded that Incha Glora, a black boy then belonging to Garrett and bound apprentice to Rowland Serjeant, should have his freedom when his master left him. On Serjeant's departure he brought Glora and delivered him to Governor Pyke, to whom the boy was to be a servant until orders came from England for sending him back to Bencoolen. In the meantime Glora was to belong to the Governor for the time being and be regarded as a servant to him, the present Governor disclaiming any other right to the boy. The Governor stated that on 25 March each year the Company's books of account were made up to go home by the summer shipping. He therefore gave Tovey notice to have the books for the year 1717 ready to be sent home by some of this summer's ships. Tovey answered that he did not doubt the books would be done by the time stated. Being in great need of a surgeon, the council had agreed with Peter Hicks to serve as surgeon's mate at the usual salary. [...] Interpretations The case of Incha Glora reveals the conditional and precarious nature of a slave's promised freedom on the island. His liberty, recorded at the consultation of 24 May 1718, depended on his master leaving him, yet on Serjeant's departure he passed not into freedom but into service to Governor Pyke pending orders from England. The Governor's express disclaimer of any other right to the boy, and the plan to return him to Bencoolen, show his status suspended between bondage and release, controlled by an authority awaiting instructions from afar. The reference to Bencoolen ties the island to the Company's wider network of Indian Ocean posts, Bencoolen being its settlement on the west coast of Sumatra. Glora's intended return there marks him as a person moved between the Company's stations, his origin or prior service connecting St Helena to the East Indies establishments. This shows the island as one node in a system through which the Company transferred enslaved and bound people around its possessions. The annual making up of accounts on 25 March follows the old-style calendar, on which the new year began on Lady Day rather than 1 January. Tying the books to the summer shipping reflects the island's dependence on the seasonal passage of homeward vessels for communication with the directors. The Governor's notice to Tovey continues the long-running account business, the 1717 books following the 1716 books reported ready for despatch by the Cardonnell at the consultation of 3 March 1719. The agreement with Peter Hicks as surgeon's mate answers the loss of medical staff that had pressed on the council since the warning of the doctor at the consultation of 26 February 1719 and the death of Doctor Du May on 6 March 1719. A surgeon's mate was an assistant to the principal surgeon, the appointment helping fill the gap on an island where medical men were scarce and hard to replace. The council's described great need shows how seriously the loss of its doctors threatened the garrison and inhabitants. | |||||
27 | 1718/9. Sallery of three Pounds per Month. Joseph Thomlinson who was a Writer in the Accompt:s Office dyed of the Bloody flux on Monday the 9. Instant. Roger one of the Hon: Comp:ts Blacks dyed last week of Severall wounds he rec:d on his head by Rocks that fell from the Hill Side next the Sea. Upon Saturday last the Hon: Comp:ts Fishing Boat by the roughness of the Sea was Cast away, but the Blacks that were in her Swame aShore w:th the Loss of all their Cloaths & Fishing Tackling and the Boat Stav'd in Peices. Ordered That: all usuall Advertisezements at this time of the year be Published accordingly. / The Gunner brought in the following Acco:t which was Examined and Approved of. An Acco:t of Gunners Stores Expended from the first of Janry 1718[/9]. to the 31.st Inclusive - (viz:) Ful: Pd:s 1718/9. Janry. 3 An Alarm 4 4 D:o 10 Arrived the Drake Capt. Mackel from Madagas: 8 8 Gunn:r Art:y to 11.th Departed S:d Ship for the W. Indies 5 5 Jr. 17 For the Burying of Joseph Wrench -1 Jr. 22 For the Burying of Geo: Parradice -1 For Exerciseing the Garrison -8 Carried over- 17 27 Margin Notes: Joseph Thomlinson Death Roger a Black's Death Fishing Boat Cast away Usual Advertisem:ts | Hicks was engaged at a salary of £3 0s 0d per month. Joseph Thomlinson, a writer in the accounts office, died of the bloody flux on Monday the ninth of this month. Roger, one of the Company's slaves, died last week of several wounds he received on his head from rocks that fell from the hill side next to the sea. On Saturday last the Company's fishing boat was cast away by the roughness of the sea. The slaves aboard her swam ashore, but with the loss of all their clothes and fishing tackle, and the boat was stove to pieces. The council ordered that all the usual advertisements for this time of year be published accordingly. The gunner brought in the following account, which was examined and approved. An account of gunner's stores expended from the first of January 1719 to the 31st inclusive. An alarm 4 pounds 4 [...] Arrived the Drake, Captain Mackett, from Madagascar 8 pounds 8 [...] Departed the Drake for the West Indies 5 pounds 5 [...] For the burying of Joseph Wrench 1 [...] For the burying of George Parradice 1 [...] For exercising the garrison 8 [...] Carried over 17 pounds 27 [...] Interpretations The death of Joseph Thomlinson removes the writer whose errors had delayed the 1716 account books, a difficulty reported by Tovey at the consultation of 9 December 1718. A writer was a junior clerk who copied and engrossed the Company's records, and the bloody flux that killed him was the dysentery then afflicting the island. His loss to the same epidemic striking the garrison shows the disease reaching into the administrative staff as well as the soldiers. The expenditure of gunner's powder for salutes and alarms reveals the ceremonial and signalling functions of the island's artillery. Powder was discharged to mark the arrival and departure of ships, to answer alarms, at burials and in exercising the garrison. The account treats this powder as a measured store to be reckoned and approved, each firing recorded against the occasion, since gunpowder was a costly and strategically vital commodity on a fortified island dependent on resupply by sea. The loss of the Company's fishing boat touches the island's food supply, fishing being a source of provisions worked by the Company's slaves. The survival of the men but loss of the boat, their clothes and tackle represents a material setback to be made good, the vessel stove to pieces and the gear gone. This shows the small margins on which the island's subsistence ran, a single storm destroying equipment essential to feeding its people. The arrival and departure of the Drake under Captain Mackett, recorded in the powder account through the salutes fired, marks another vessel in the island's traffic. Coming from Madagascar and departing for the West Indies, the Drake followed a route linking the Indian Ocean slaving grounds to the Atlantic. Its passage through St Helena places the island on the track between these distant trades, the gunner's salutes marking its calls as routine events of the port. | |||||
28 | March
| Brought over 17 pounds 27 [...] 7 For the guards [...] Flints for the guards 2 [...] 36 Cartridge paper 7 [...] Musket balls 3 [...] Trucks for wheelbarrows 6 [...] 28 Match [...] Total 28 6 3 7 36 17 34 The account was signed by John French. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The continuation of the gunner's account lists the munitions and stores supplied to the guards, recording flints, cartridge paper, musket balls and match. Flints struck the spark in a flintlock musket and wore out with use, while match was the slow-burning cord used to fire older matchlock weapons and to ignite charges. The presence of both flint and match indicates the garrison still used a mixture of firing mechanisms, the account tracking each consumable separately as a measured store. The inclusion of trucks for wheelbarrows among the gunner's stores reveals the practical maintenance side of the artillery establishment. Trucks were the small wheels on which a wheelbarrow ran, here issued for moving heavy materials about the fortifications. Listing them alongside powder and shot shows the gunner's account covering not only fighting munitions but the equipment needed to keep the defences in order. The account signed by John French, the gunner, and the consultation closed by John Alexander and John Goodwin record the attestation of these proceedings. French appears in these consultations both as a petitioner for land and as the officer accountable for the Company's munitions stores. His signature on the powder account discharges his responsibility for the expenditure, the figures examined and approved by the council before the record was closed. | |||||
29 | 1718/9. Island S:t Helena. At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 17. day of March 1718/9. at Union Castle in James Valley. Capt. Matt. Bazett abs:t &} Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r Antip: Tovey abs:t In Pres:t Jn:o Alexander & the Country.} Jn:o Goodwin } Assist:s The Last Consultation recd & approved of. This following Petition was brought to the Govern:r by the Chief Inhabitants of this Island. The Gov:r Says that the Matter of Fact that is herein Alledged is truth and of very great Consequence but because all the Council is not Present, he will not deliver his own Opinion therein till the rest of the Council are Present who if they do not come Speedily down Shall be sent for that this thing may be fully Considered of by every Body. Island S:t Helena. To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r & Councill. The Humble Petition of Divers free Planters whose Names are hereunto Subscribed, on behalf of themselves & others the Inhabitants of Said Island. Most Humbly. Sheweth. That Margin Notes: Capt. Matt. Bazett abs:t & Antip: Tovey abs:t In the Country. | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 March 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. Captain Matthew Bazett was absent, and Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. The following petition was brought to Governor Pyke by the chief inhabitants of the island. The Governor said the matter of fact set out in it was true and of very great consequence. Since the whole council was not present, he would not give his own opinion on it until the rest of the council were present. If they did not come down speedily, they would be sent for, so that the matter might be fully considered by everybody. Island of St Helena Several free planters, whose names were subscribed, petitioned Governor Pyke and the council on behalf of themselves and the other inhabitants of the island. [...] Interpretations The Governor's refusal to give his opinion in the absence of part of the council reveals a deliberate respect for collective decision on weighty matters. By acknowledging the petition's importance yet withholding his view until the full council could attend, Isaac Pyke treated the question as too consequential for a partial body to determine. His readiness to send for the absent members shows the council operating as a deliberative whole on serious business, single-handed action being avoided where the stakes were high. The petition's presentation by the chief inhabitants and subscription by several free planters marks it as a collective representation rather than an individual request. Petitions of this form carried the weight of the settled community, the named subscribers speaking for the wider body of inhabitants. The Governor's serious treatment of it reflects the standing such joint petitions held, a grievance pressed by the leading planters demanding fuller consideration than a single applicant's plea. The absence of Tovey in the country and Bazett altogether left the council below its usual strength for this consultation. With only the Governor and two assistants present, the body lacked the membership the Governor judged necessary for the matter before it. This shows the practical difficulty of assembling a quorum on a scattered rural island, councillors being drawn away to their own affairs in the country and business of consequence waiting on their return. | |||||
30 | March That most of the Hon: Comp:ts Shipping going into the Cape of Good Hope where they So fully Provide themselves of all Necessaries for their Voyage that at their Arrivall here they take Little or Nothing and what little they do take is too often only to Barter or Exchange away the Refuse of their Goods they left undisposed of at the Cape w:ch they oblige Us to pay for at much greater rates than We can Provide our Selves for at the Hon: Comp:ts Stores as may appeare to every one who has Compared the Said Hon: Comp:ts Chints & Ginghams Sold among Us at the Stores with theirs, which is So great and So Generall a Loss unto Us that Unless it can be Some ways Rectifyed We Shall be Dis- couraged from Improving upon the Stock We have or from endeavouring to raise more We having So often many of those Goods that Used to be required for Refreshm:t of Shipping formerly which now Perish upon our hands, and now the Waste Land is about to be Lett Unless We have a better vent for our Cattle they by encreasing be- yond what our Pasture Lands will maintaine are allso likely to dye upon our hands. when as if all the Ships touched here as formerly We could Margin Notes: Inhabitants of Island pets Relating to Ships going into y:e Cape | The planters set out that most of the Company's shipping went into the Cape of Good Hope, where they fully provided themselves with all necessaries for their voyage. On arrival at the island they took little or nothing. What little they did take was too often only to barter away the refuse of the goods they had left undisposed of at the Cape. For these they obliged the inhabitants to pay much greater rates than the inhabitants could provide for themselves at the Company's stores. This was plain to anyone who had compared the Company's chintz and gingham sold at the stores with the ships' goods. The loss was so great and so general that, unless it could be somehow remedied, the inhabitants would be discouraged from improving on the stock they had, or from trying to raise more. They often had many of those goods that used to be required for refreshing the shipping, which now spoiled on their hands. Now that the waste land was about to be let, the planters warned of a further difficulty. Unless they had a better market for their cattle, the herds would increase beyond what their pasture lands could maintain, and the surplus beasts would probably die on their hands. If all the ships called at the island as they formerly did, the inhabitants could [...] Interpretations The planters' complaint exposes the commercial damage done by ships revictualling at the Cape rather than St Helena, the central grievance underlying Governor Pyke's settlement policy. Vessels arriving already provisioned took little from the island, and what trade they did offer was in inferior goods sold dear. This confirms from the inhabitants' side the anxiety the Governor had voiced on 10 February 1719 and at the consultation of 26 February 1719, that the loss of the ships' custom threatened the island's whole economy. The reference to chintz and gingham reveals the imported textiles at the heart of the dispute over prices. Chintz was a printed or painted cotton cloth from India, and gingham a checked or striped cotton, both staples of the East India trade. The planters' comparison of these goods sold cheaply at the Company's stores with the same wares peddled dear by the ships shows the inhabitants caught between two sources, the ships exploiting their position to overcharge for what the stores supplied at fair rates. The warning about cattle ties the textile grievance directly to the waste-land scheme then before the council. The planters foresaw that letting more land would swell the cattle herds beyond the market for them, the beasts dying unsold if the ships did not call to buy. This reveals the interdependence of land, livestock and shipping in the island's economy, the settlement policy threatening to produce a surplus of provisions with no buyers unless the vessels could be drawn back from the Cape. Speculations The planters timed this representation to the moment the waste land was about to be let, which suggests a deliberate effort to shape the settlement policy by pressing their grievance while the council deliberated. Linking the old complaint about the ships to the new question of cattle and land gave their petition immediate force, the surplus they predicted being a direct consequence of the council's own scheme. By raising the matter now, the chief inhabitants sought to make the provisioning problem the council's concern before more land was granted. | |||||
31 | 1718/9 could as Effectually Provide for them as ever Especially Since the Hon: Comp:ts furnishes the place w:th Pitch, Tarr, & Cordage which used to be the Pretences for going to the Cape. Wherefore We desire you to represent this our case to the Hon: Comp:ts and in the mean time Since they take So little Goods of Us and pay Us in goods at their own Rates that We may be Allowed to raise the price of ours Untill Some further Order be made herein, And as you have Always found Us very willing to have our Prices Regulated to Encour- age the Shippings comeing here, So We hope you will allow this reasonable Instance Occasioned by their going Else where and think of Some proper Remedy to discourage this Deviation of the Shiping for the future, which if not Prevented will tend both to the empouerishing all our families and to the Destruction of the place. Gabriel Powell Francis Wrangham. Isaac Hood. Joshua Johnson Jonath:n Doveton James Greentree. The | The inhabitants could provide for the ships as effectively as ever, especially since the Company now furnished the island with pitch, tar and cordage, which used to be the pretences for going to the Cape. The planters therefore asked the council to represent their case to the Company. In the meantime, since the ships took so little of the inhabitants' goods and paid them in goods at their own rates, they asked to be allowed to raise the price of their own provisions until some further order was made. They had always shown themselves very willing to have their prices regulated to encourage the ships to call. They hoped the council would allow this reasonable request, occasioned by the ships going elsewhere, and would think of some proper remedy to discourage this practice in future. If it were not prevented, it would tend both to the impoverishing of all their families and to the destruction of the island. The petition was signed by Gabriel Powell, Francis Wrangham, Isaac Wood, Joshua Johnson, Jonathan Doveton and James Greentree. [...] Interpretations The planters' reference to pitch, tar and cordage removes the practical justification for ships calling at the Cape, these naval stores having formerly been the pretext. Pitch and tar sealed and preserved a ship's timbers and rigging, and cordage was the rope essential to working a sailing vessel. With the Company now supplying these at St Helena, the planters argued the captains had no genuine reason to provision elsewhere, exposing the Cape detour as a matter of preference rather than need. The request to raise provision prices reverses the council's standing concern, the planters seeking relief from regulated rates that no longer served them. Throughout these consultations the council had treated low provision prices as the means of attracting shipping, yet the inhabitants now argued that restraint was pointless when the ships did not call to buy. This reveals the tension between the council's policy of cheap provisions and the planters' interest in a return on their produce, the two aligned only so long as the ships actually came. The signatories include several figures prominent in the island's land business, among them Gabriel Powell and James Greentree. Powell had been named at the consultation of 19 February 1719 as holding at least 290 acres, more than any two men on the island, the council resolving against such engrossing. His appearance here among the chief inhabitants pressing the provisioning grievance shows the leading planters acting together on a matter of common interest, despite the council's earlier concern at his accumulation of land. | |||||
32 | March The Petitions of Mary Swallow & Edmond Nichols. as follows. The Petition of Mary Swallow Wid:o Setting forth That a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land Adjoyning to her Plantation known by the name of her Gumwood ground, lying very Convenient for her Use. Desires to Rent about 8. or 10. Acres thereof, alledging that if Lett to any other Person will be very Detriminentall to her, Wherefore beggs a grant & Lease of the Same. Query which of her Gumwood Plantations She means for She Possesses two Such. / The Petition of Edm: Nichols free planter. Setting forth That having Married one of the Orphans of William French. He desires that 12. Acres of Land that belongs to him in right of his wife and her Brother John French may be Sold and each to receive their Part. / Referred to Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin to Sett a value on this Land and to Assess how much is his the Said Edm: Nichols: Share in right of his wife, and what he must pay to his wifes Brother for the remaining part of this the Said Land which is his Share. The Margin Notes: Mary Swallow Wid pets for 8 or 10 Acres Adjoyng to her plant called Gum Wood ground Edm: Nichols pets for 12 acres to be Sold Ref:d & to be Valued. | The petitions of Mary Swallow and Edmond Nichols followed. Mary Swallow, widow, petitioned the council. She set out that a small parcel of the Company's waste land adjoined her plantation, known as her Gumwood ground, and lay very convenient for her use. She asked to rent about eight or 10 acres of it, claiming that if it were let to anyone else it would be much to her disadvantage. She asked for a grant and lease of the parcel. A query was raised as to which of her Gumwood plantations she meant, since she held two of that name. Edmond Nichols, free planter, petitioned the council. He set out that he had married one of the orphans of William French, and asked that 12 acres of land belonging to him in right of his wife and her brother John French be sold, each to receive their share. The matter was referred to Alexander and Goodwin, who were to set a value on the land and assess how much was Nichols's own share in right of his wife, and what he must pay his wife's brother for the remaining part that was the brother's share. [...] Interpretations Mary Swallow's petition follows the established pattern of a holder seeking an adjoining parcel of waste, the Gumwood ground taking its name from the endemic tree noted in William Seal's application at the consultation of 12 March 1719. The query over which of her two Gumwood plantations she meant shows the council guarding against confusion before granting, two holdings of the same name requiring the parcel to be precisely identified. Her plea that the ground would be wasted on anyone else echoes the reasoning Governor Pyke had endorsed for such small lettings. Edmond Nichols's petition concerns the division of inherited land held jointly with his wife's brother, the holding having descended to the orphans of William French. His marriage to one of the French orphans gave him a share in his wife's right, the remaining portion belonging to her brother John French. The request to sell and divide reflects the difficulty of two parties holding land in common, a sale and valuation being the means of separating their interests cleanly. The referral to Alexander and Goodwin to value the land and assess the shares reveals the council's role in settling inheritance disputes among the inhabitants. Rather than leaving the parties to agree, the council deputed two members to fix the value and determine what Nichols owed his wife's brother for the brother's part. This shows the council functioning as an arbiter of property division, its valuation binding the heirs and preventing the disputes that partible inheritance so often produced. | |||||
33 | 1718/9 The Gov:r Sayeth he hath had a Lease brought to him dated the 8. Aug:t 1713. by which Lease One Humphry Edwards that Run away in Some of the Last Ships that was here, had One Acre of Land Lett to him by the Hon: Comp:ts which bounds Upon the E. & the N. Side of Part of the Hon: Companys Plantation called Perkins. The Gov:r Sayth He doth not Approve of Letting So Small a quantity as a Single Acre of Land to any Body because it can do no Body any good Unless it Joyns to Some other Part of their Land, and as this happens to Adjoyne to one of the Hon: Comp:ts Plantations he designs to take it in. The Gov:r having been informed that divers Blacks had Conspired together to Steal the Hon: Comp:ts Long Boat and goe to Sea in her, has brought a Black wench called Beal Moll to be Examined before the Council and to Declare what She knoweth of this Matter. Who appearing do's declare & Testifye That her Jeff and Nicholas Thieves Pompey, Mr. Johnsons Jack, Mr. Portley Jack, Giles Smiths Jacob, Joseph Whaleys Peter, Mr. Slaughters Jane, & Beals Lucas did agree together to Steal the Hon: Comp:ts Long Boat Margin Notes: One Acre formerly to Humph. Edwards who run away Da then by taking into Perkins Plant. Beal's Moll her Examination before a Conspiracy of Some of 8 Blacks Their Names. | The Governor stated that a lease had been brought to him, dated 4 August 1713. By it Humphry Edwards, who had run away in one of the last ships, had held one acre of land let to him by the Company. The acre bordered on the east and north side of part of the Company's plantation called Perkins. The Governor said he did not approve of letting so small a quantity as a single acre to anyone, since it could do nobody any good unless it joined some other part of their land. As this acre adjoined one of the Company's plantations, he intended to take it back in. The Governor, having been informed that several slaves had conspired together to steal the Company's longboat and go to sea in her, brought a black woman called Beal's Moll to be examined before the council and to declare what she knew of the matter. Moll appeared and testified that she herself, along with Nicholas Shreeve's Pompey, Johnson's Jack, Portlock's Jack, Giles Smith's Jacob, Joseph Whaley's Peter, Slaughter's Jane and Beal's Lucas, had agreed together to steal the Company's longboat. [...] Interpretations The Governor's decision to take back Edwards's single acre applies his stated objection to fragmentary holdings, a piece too small to serve anyone unless joined to adjoining land. The acre bordered the Company's own plantation at Perkins, making its recovery a natural consolidation now that the runaway tenant had fled. This connects to the principle Governor Pyke had set out in his opinion on waste land, that scattered scraps were better absorbed into the holding they touched than let separately. The conspiracy to steal the Company's longboat reveals slave resistance taking the form of mass flight by sea, a desperate bid for freedom from a remote island. The longboat was a ship's largest boat, capable of carrying many people and venturing offshore, which made it the obvious means of escape. The seriousness with which the council treated the plot reflects the threat such an organised escape posed, both as a loss of valuable property and as a challenge to the order on which the slaveholding society rested. The naming of the conspirators by their owners records the slaves as the property of named inhabitants, each identified by master rather than by any independent surname. Pompey, Jack, Jacob, Peter, Jane and Lucas appear tied to Shreeve, Johnson, Portlock, Smith, Whaley, Slaughter and Beal. This form of naming exposes the legal status of the enslaved as chattels of particular households, the conspiracy reaching across the holdings of several of the island's planters. The examination of Beal's Moll as a witness against her fellow conspirators shows the council extracting testimony from within the plot to expose it. Her detailed naming of the others suggests either coercion or an inducement to inform, a participant turned evidence against the rest. This reveals the methods by which the authorities broke such conspiracies, the testimony of one slave used to convict the others and to deter future attempts at mass escape. | |||||
34 | March Long Boat and goe to Sea in her to the Cape of Good Hope, and Portleys Jack told her that Mr. Dovetons Black (named Benjamin) Understood a Boat & he could carry them to a Country in a fortnights time. And being asked why they did not goe as they had Intended She Saied She could not goe because the Govern:r had put her in Irons and She could not gett her Irons off. / Memorandum. That this Wench is now in Irons Upon the following Acco:t (viz:) a great deal of Fire Wood being Stole out of the Hon: Comp:ts Garden the Govern:r Ordered the Gardener & Some other Blacks to keep a Watch, and on fryday night last the Govern:rs Gardener took this Moll and a fellow named Compay Stealing Wood out of the Garden they having gott over a Wall ten foot high, and on this She had an Iron Chain put on one of her Leggs w:th a half Hundred weight at the other End of it to hinder her Clambering. / Jenny a Slave Wench belonging to Ser:t Slaughter Sayeth that She did go a Sunday night Last to Mr. Beals Kitchen and mett w:th Whaleys Peter, Beals Moll and Lucas, Smiths Jacob & Threves Pompey, in order to run away with the Long Boat but Sayth | The conspirators meant to take the longboat to sea and make for the Cape of Good Hope. Portlock's Jack had told Moll that Doveton's black, named Benjamin, understood a boat and could carry them to a country in a fortnight's time. Asked why they had not gone as intended, Moll said she could not go because the Governor had put her in irons and she could not get them off. A memorandum recorded that Moll was now in irons for the following reason. A great deal of firewood had been stolen out of the Company's garden, so the Governor ordered the gardener and some other slaves to keep watch. On Friday night last the Governor's gardener caught Moll and another slave named Pompey stealing wood out of the garden, having got over a wall 10 foot high. For this an iron chain had been put on one of her legs, with a half hundredweight at the other end of it to hinder her clambering. Jenny, a slave woman belonging to Sergeant Slaughter, testified that she had gone last Sunday night to Beal's kitchen and met with Whaley's Peter, Beal's Moll and Lucas, Smith's Jacob and Shreeve's Pompey, in order to run away with the longboat. [...] Interpretations The plan to sail for the Cape of Good Hope reveals the conspirators' grasp of the maritime geography surrounding their escape, the Cape being the nearest substantial landfall. Their reliance on Doveton's Benjamin, who understood a boat and reckoned the passage at a fortnight, shows navigational knowledge among the enslaved as the key to any flight by sea. This explains why such a plot was feasible at all, a slave with seafaring skill making the difference between a doomed attempt and a credible one. The weighting of Moll's leg with a half hundredweight on a chain records the physical apparatus of punishment and restraint used on the island. The iron prevented her from clambering, the specific aim being to stop her scaling the walls she had climbed to steal wood. This brutal detail exposes the means by which the slaveholding regime confined and disciplined the enslaved, the restraint described matter-of-factly as a practical measure against a particular offence. The theft of firewood from the Company's garden connects to the scarcity of fuel that recurs through these consultations, noted in Governor Pyke's opinion on waste land. Wood was valuable enough on the island to be stolen and to warrant a posted watch, the gardener and other slaves set to guard it. That Moll's detention for wood theft accidentally frustrated the larger escape plot shows how the regime's everyday controls intersected, a punishment for one offence exposing and disrupting another. The corroborating testimony of Slaughter's Jenny reveals the council assembling evidence from multiple enslaved witnesses to establish the conspiracy. Her account of the gathering in Beal's kitchen matched Moll's naming of the same conspirators, the two statements together confirming the plot. This shows the methodical way the authorities built their case, independent testimony from within the slave community used to expose the full membership of the intended escape. | |||||
35 | 1718/9. Sayeth that She did not goe till Beals Lucas had been two or three times to call her. Being asked why they did not goe Sayeth that they Stayed for Portley Jack and Beals Moll having a Chain & weight to one Legg She could not go, is that on, and then Lucas Sayed if Moll doe not goe I will not go, So on these and Such like words the whole Com- pany before Mentioned dispersed at that time and then Threves Peter & Pompey asked her to Run away and She did Run away w:th them because She was affraid. But Sayeth further that then when they mett She Remembers Pompey Sayed this is the best time to goe for Dick Ray was not at Home and he could gett his Cloaths and the Water Caggs to carry in the Boat with them. The Severall other Blacks (Except Nick: Threves Peter who is run away) being all Examined & found Guilty of intending to Run away with the Hon: Comp:ts Long Boat, and accusing each other. Ordered. That they be all Severely Whipt on their naked Bodys. [I. Bazett?] Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: found Guilty of Designing to run away w:th Long Boat. their Punishm:t | Jenny testified that she did not go until Beal's Lucas had come two or three times to call her. Asked why they did not go, she said they waited for Portlock's Jack, and that Beal's Moll, having a chain and weight on one leg, could not go with that on. Lucas then said that if Moll did not go, he would not go either. On these and similar words the whole company already named broke up at that time. Shreeve's Peter and Pompey then asked Jenny to run away, and she did run away with them because she was afraid. She remembered further that when they met, Pompey said this was the best time to go, since Dick Ray was not at home and he could get his clothes and the water casks to carry in the boat with them. The other slaves, except Shreeve's Peter who had run away, were all examined and found guilty of intending to run away with the Company's longboat and of accusing one another. The council ordered that they all be severely whipped on their naked bodies. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Jenny's account of the aborted attempt reveals the loyalty and hesitation that bound the conspirators together, Lucas refusing to go without Moll despite her chained leg. The plan collapsed on the night because the group would not leave its members behind, the restraint placed on Moll for wood theft thus frustrating the whole escape. This shows the human ties among the enslaved shaping the plot, the conspiracy held back by an unwillingness to abandon one of their own. Pompey's reasoning that it was the best time to go, with Dick Ray away and his clothes and water casks available, exposes the careful opportunism behind the planned flight. Water casks were essential for any sea voyage, and the absence of a particular person opened the chance to seize them. This detail reveals the practical calculation involved, the conspirators waiting on the right moment and the necessary supplies rather than fleeing at random. The sentence of severe whipping on the naked body records the punishment the council imposed for the conspiracy, a public and degrading corporal penalty. Whipping was the standard punishment for enslaved offenders on the island, calibrated to deter through pain and humiliation. The collective sentence on all the convicted conspirators shows the regime answering an organised act of resistance with exemplary violence, intended to suppress any further attempt at mass escape. The additional finding of guilt for accusing one another reveals the council punishing the mutual incrimination that its own examinations had produced. Having extracted testimony from the conspirators against each other, the council then treated that accusation as itself an offence. This exposes the impossible position of the enslaved under interrogation, compelled to inform yet condemned for it, the proceeding turning their forced testimony into a further ground for punishment. | |||||
36 | March Island St. Helena. At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 24. day of March 1718/9. at Union Castle in Jam:s Valley. Matt. Bazett. 2:d &} Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r Jn:o Goodwin both Pres:t Antip: Tovey. 3:d & abs:t about the Hon:} Jn:o Alexander. Assist Comp:ts Business In the Country. The Last Consultation read & approved. / The following Petitions were presented. Viz:t Island S:t Helena. / To the Worsh. Is: Pyke Esq:r Govern:r & Councile. The Petition of Jn:o Worrall Ser:t Humbly. &c. Sheweth. That a Peice of the Hon: Comp:ts Wask Land lying very convenient and next Adjoyning to his own Land in deep valley. Wherefore desires to become Tenn:t for about 12. Acres thereof, alledging that if it should be Lett to any other person tis would be very Prejudiciall to him. Referred to the Govern:r & Mr. Alexander. The Petition of Giles Hayse Montiofs. Setting forth That as there was an Order formerly made that the Land about Green Hill Should not be Lett to any Body but Should lye as Wask Land for the Bennefitt of the Neighbourhood. So long as Margin Notes: Matt. Bazett. 2:d & Jn:o Goodwin both abs:t about the Hon: Comp:ts Business In the Country. John Worrall pets for Land in Deep Valley Ref:d Giles Hayse pets for Land Green Hill | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 March 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, Antipas Tovey, third, and John Alexander, assistant. Matthew Bazett, second, and John Goodwin were both absent about the Company's business in the country. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. The following petitions were then presented. John Worrall, sergeant, petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. He set out that a piece of the Company's waste land lay very convenient for him, next to his own land in Deep Valley. He asked to become tenant for about 15 acres of it, claiming that if it were let to anyone else it would be much to his disadvantage. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Alexander. Giles Hayse Monkhouse petitioned the council. He set out that an order had formerly been made that the land about Green Hill should not be let to anyone, but should lie as waste land for the benefit of the neighbourhood, so long as [...] Interpretations John Worrall's petition for the parcel adjoining his land in Deep Valley follows the familiar pattern of a holder seeking convenient waste, the plea that it would be wasted on anyone else echoing the reasoning Governor Pyke had endorsed. His request for about 15 acres places him among the middling grantees. As a sergeant he belonged to the garrison whose men Governor Pyke had proposed to prefer in the new grants, soldiers and Company servants ranking first in his settlement scheme. Monkhouse's renewed application over the Green Hill land repeats the petition he brought at the consultation of 12 March 1719, pressing again the same argument about the protected woodland. His persistence shows an applicant returning to the council with a claim already made, perhaps hoping a fuller meeting or changed circumstances would now favour him. The Green Hill reservation, holding land as common waste conditional on the trees being preserved, remained the obstacle his petition sought to overcome. The absence of Bazett and Goodwin on the Company's business in the country again left the council below full strength, as at the consultation of 17 March 1719. With only the Governor and two assistants present, the body could still receive petitions and refer them for view, but matters of greater consequence awaited a fuller meeting. This shows the routine business of land referral continuing even when councillors were drawn away, the inspection of parcels proceeding while weightier questions waited. | |||||
37 | 1718/9 So long as they forbone Cutting down the trees. And for that the Said Giles Hayse having Seen the Wood Cutt down & destroyed by the Wid:o Swallows and John Hardings Blacks. Humbly Beggs he may become Tenn:t for twenty Acres of that Land there being near the Beside divers of other Waste Land lying thereabout. Wherefore Humbly beggs his request may be granted. / Let the truth of these Allegations be Inquired into by Mr. Tovey & Mr. Alexander and Report the Same next Consultation day following. The Petition of Stephen Praise Ridgford Sold:r Humbly Shewing That in fishers valley there is a Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land which lyes very Convenient to make a Small Plantation on Wherefore desires he may become Tenn:t for about five Acres thereof and a Lease for the Same. Referred to the Gov:r & Capt. Bazett. The Petition of Cholmondley Civil Surgeon. Humbly Shewing That the Chief Surgeon of the Garrison Mr. Joseph Dummay being lately dead & he being then Second Surgeon desires he may Succeed him and to have the Same Priviledges as he had and did Enjoy. Mr. Margin Notes: Ref:d Steph: Praise Ridgford Land in fish: valley Ref:d Cholmondly Civil Surgeon pets to Succeed Doct. Du May. | The Green Hill order held so long as the inhabitants refrained from cutting down the trees. Giles Hayse Monkhouse, having seen the wood cut down and destroyed by the slaves of the widow Swallow and John Harding, asked to become tenant for 20 acres of that land. About [...] acres of other waste land lay near it. He asked that his request be granted. The council referred the truth of these claims to Tovey and Alexander, who were to inquire into them and report the next consultation day. Stephen Praise, [...] Pledger, petitioned the council. He set out that a parcel of the Company's waste land lay in Fisher's Valley, very convenient for making a small plantation on. He asked to become tenant for about five acres of it, with a lease for the parcel. The matter was referred to Governor Pyke and Captain Bazett. Chelmondley, civil surgeon, petitioned the council. He set out that the chief surgeon of the garrison, Joseph Du May, was lately dead. Being then second surgeon, Chelmondley asked to succeed him and to have the same privileges Du May had enjoyed. [...] Interpretations Monkhouse's grounds for the Green Hill land now rest on a specific accusation, that the slaves of the widow Swallow and John Harding had cut and destroyed the wood. By naming the parties responsible for the felling, he argued the protective condition had been breached and the ground forfeited to letting. This sharpens the case he brought at the consultations of 12 March 1719 and 24 March 1719, the council now referring the truth of his claims for inquiry rather than dismissing them, his persistence at last forcing an investigation. The contest over Green Hill exposes the difficulty of enforcing a conservation order held on trust, the woodland protected only so long as the inhabitants spared the trees. Once felling occurred, the reservation's own terms turned the land over to be enclosed and let, creating an incentive for an applicant like Monkhouse to report or even welcome the destruction. The council's recourse to inquiry shows it testing whether the breach was real before surrendering the common to a single tenant. Chelmondley's petition to succeed Joseph Du May fills the vacancy left by the chief surgeon's death on 6 March 1719, a loss that had pressed hard on the council. As second surgeon he claimed the natural promotion to the senior post, with the privileges his predecessor had held. This continues the council's struggle to maintain medical provision through these consultations, following the engagement of Peter Hicks as surgeon's mate at the consultation of 12 March 1719, the island's need for surgeons being acute and their replacement difficult. | |||||
38 | March Mr. Tovey also delivered another Petition Relating to the Doctors Lodgings, as follows. That he being without any House of his own to live in but what He hires in this valley, Humbly prays We would Lett him have the Appartment in the Sessions House which is now Vacant by Doct:r Du Mays death. All places of Judicature belonging Most Properly to One of the Councile. The Govern:r Sayes he thinks this is a troublesome Matter to Decide rightly. As for Mr. Cholmondley Civill the Surgeon He thinks he don't deserve it because as Soon as our Chief Surgeon lay Sick and his distemper appeared Mortall He came to Us in Consultation & gave Us Six months warning pretending he was resolved to goe for England and not Remaine here as Surgeon any longer, But the designe of his Petition now being to live in the Appartm:t in the Sessions House tho' he has not Craved it in the words of his Petition the Gov:r do's think Notwithstanding that, tis convenient and for the Hon: Comp:ts Interest to have the Surg:n live there because tis next to the Blacks House and Margin Notes: Tovey pets for y:e Doct:rs Lodgings Gov:rs Answer contains for | Tovey also delivered another petition concerning the doctor's lodgings. The petitioner set out that he had no house of his own to live in, only what he hired in the valley. He asked the council to let him have the apartment in the court house, now vacant by Doctor Du May's death, all places of judicature belonging most properly to one of the council. The Governor said he thought this a difficult matter to decide rightly. As for Chelmondley, the surgeon, the Governor thought he did not deserve the post. As soon as the chief surgeon lay sick and his illness appeared fatal, Chelmondley had come to the council and given six months' warning, declaring he was resolved to go for England and remain on the island as surgeon no longer. The aim of his petition now was to live in the apartment in the court house. Though he had not set this out in the words of his petition, the Governor judged it his real purpose. Even so, it was convenient and in the Company's interest to have the surgeon live there, since it stood next to the slaves' house [...] Interpretations The dispute over the court house apartment reveals the value of Company housing on an island where private dwellings were scarce, two officers contending for the vacant rooms. Tovey's petitioner pressed the claim that places of judicature belonged properly to a councillor, asserting a right of office to the lodging. The competition for the apartment shows housing as a perquisite of position, the death of Du May opening a desirable residence that several sought to secure. The Governor's objection to Chelmondley exposes the resentment caused by the surgeon's conduct when the chief surgeon lay dying. Having given six months' notice and declared his intention to leave for England the moment Du May's illness turned fatal, Chelmondley now sought the dead man's lodging while still planning his own departure. The Governor read his petition for the apartment as inconsistent with his stated resolve to quit the island, treating his application as opportunistic rather than the act of a man committed to the post. The convenience of housing the surgeon next to the slaves' house reveals the medical priority of attending the enslaved labour force. The Company's slaves were valuable property whose health bore directly on the island's work, and a surgeon lodged nearby could tend them readily. This shows the practical calculation behind the allocation of the court house apartment, the Company's interest in its slaves' welfare weighing in the decision over who should occupy a dead man's rooms. | |||||
39 | 1718/9 and there he can best oversee all the Blacks under and for that reason the Gov:r is against Granting it to Mr. Tovey tho' We all know he is in want of a House. But Says he has a further reason which is as follows. The Appartment at the Sessions House viz: from Nast from the time of its Building untill Severall years after Mr. Thomlinsons one Chaplains Come- ing here has always belonged to the Parson of the Place, and tho' Our Parson left it of himself to goe to a bigger House where he could make more Profit by his Lodgers Yet he has all along Said a Claim to these Lodgings and Pretends they are his right. Therefore the Gov:r desires that the Parson may be Acquainted that now tis again Empty & Vacant He Shall again have that Libertie if he be minded to live in it. Mr. Tovey Says that as the Parson Slighted it and left it He believes tis only a Pretence of the Parsons, & dont realy designe to live in it because about three years agoe the Parson was very Nott to go there & desired He might have the Convenience of a Kitchen built to it, and We did at his request build a very Hand- Some Kitchen and walled in one Side of the Garden and Margin Notes: not granting Mr. Toveys Pett. Appartm:t of y:e Sessions House Built for y:e Chaplain Mr. Tovey Says y:e Parson don't designe to live there. | The apartment stood where the surgeon could best oversee all the slaves under his care. For that reason the Governor opposed granting it to Tovey, though everybody knew he was in want of a house. The Governor gave a further reason as follows. The apartment at the court house had always belonged to the parson of the island, from the time of its building until several years after the chaplain Thomlinson came here. Though the present parson had left it of his own accord to go to a bigger house, where he could make more profit by his lodgers, he had all along laid claim to these lodgings and pretended they were his right. The Governor therefore wished the parson to be told that the apartment was now empty and vacant again. He should have the liberty to live in it again if he chose. Tovey said that since the parson had slighted the apartment and left it, he believed the parson's claim was only a pretence and that he did not really mean to live in it. About three years ago the parson had been very eager to go there and had asked that a kitchen be built onto it. At his request the council had built a very handsome kitchen and walled in one side of the garden. [...] Interpretations The surgeon's oversight of the slaves emerges as the decisive ground for housing him in the court house apartment, the lodging chosen for its position over the enslaved under his care. The Governor weighed this practical medical advantage against Tovey's acknowledged need for a house, the welfare of the Company's slaves tipping the balance. This confirms the priority the council placed on attending its labour force, the surgeon's residence fixed by where he could best watch over them. The parson's competing claim to the apartment reveals a contest between the rights of the church living and the practical needs of the Company's officers. The lodging had belonged to the parson since its building, and though he had left for a more profitable house, he maintained his title to it. The Governor's wish to offer it back to him shows the council respecting an established ecclesiastical claim even while it eyed the rooms for the surgeon, the parson's right complicating the allocation. Tovey's argument that the parson's claim was mere pretence exposes the suspicion that the cleric meant to assert a right he would not use. The parson had once pressed eagerly for the apartment, prompting the council to build a kitchen and wall the garden at its own expense, yet had then abandoned it for a house that brought him rent from lodgers. This reveals a churchman pursuing his own profit while clinging to a Company perquisite, Tovey questioning whether his claim deserved the weight the Governor allowed it. | |||||
40 | March and when all that was done he changed his mind and tho' he had Promised to live there he would never remove, and so he thinks he will do now, and Since the Gov:r is willing the Parson should have it He thinks it appears very plain he intends to provide Some other Conveniency for the Surgeon and thinks twill be as little trouble in case of the Parsons refusall to Provide otherwise for the Surgeon now, and let him have the Bennefitt of living there. / Mr. Alexander Says that indeed this Appart- ment was where the Parsons used to live formerly. But thinks it Stands very well for the Surgeon because the Hon: Comp:ts Blacks House Adjoynes to it, and those that are Sick will be more under his Eye. Then Doctor Civill was Sent for In & askt the meaning of his Petition (because in that Peti- tion he Says he is an approved Surg:n & quallifyed for Such by the Surg:ns Comp:y of London) for We did allow him to be a Surg:n and now the other man is dead he must be Surg:n in Course. But if he meant to live in the Sessions House We wonder he did not Mention it in his Peti: So Margin Notes: for these reasons thought Most Convenient for the Doct:rs Lodgings Doct:r called & askt of meaning of his Petit. | When all that was done, the parson changed his mind, and though he had promised to live there he never moved in. Tovey thought he would do the same now. Since the Governor was willing the parson should have it, Tovey judged it plain the Governor meant to provide some other accommodation for the surgeon. He thought it would be as little trouble, if the parson refused, to provide otherwise for the surgeon now, and to let the surgeon have the benefit of living there. Alexander said that this apartment was indeed where the parson used to live. He thought, however, that it suited the surgeon very well, since the Company's slaves' house adjoined it and those who were sick would be more under his eye. Doctor Cawill was then sent for and asked the meaning of his petition. In it he stated that he was an approved surgeon, qualified as such by the surgeons' company of London. Since the council had allowed him to be a surgeon, and the other man was now dead, he must be surgeon in course. If he meant to live in the court house, the council wondered that he did not mention it in his petition. [...] Interpretations Alexander's view aligns with the Governor's practical reasoning, the apartment suiting the surgeon because the slaves' house adjoined it and the sick would be under his eye. The repeated emphasis across the councillors on the surgeon's oversight of the enslaved confirms this as the governing consideration. The Company's interest in the health of its slaves shaped the whole debate over the lodging, the medical care of its labour force outweighing the parson's claim and Tovey's need alike. Doctor Cawill's qualification by the surgeons' company of London reveals the professional standing that underpinned his claim to succeed as chief surgeon. The surgeons' company was the London body that examined and licensed surgeons, its approval marking him as a recognised practitioner. His argument that he must be surgeon in course on Du May's death rested on this credential, the senior post falling to the qualified man already serving on the island. The council's puzzlement that Cawill omitted the lodging from his petition exposes a suspicion about his true intentions, echoing the doubt the Governor and Tovey had voiced about Chelmondley. By questioning him directly on the meaning of his application, the council probed whether his real aim was the apartment rather than the office. This shows the council scrutinising the surgeons' competing petitions closely, alert to unstated motives behind the claims to succeed the dead man. | |||||
41 | 1718/9 To which he Sayd he Writt the Petition to the intent he might have that Lodgings But thought there was no need to Mention the Lodging in Express words. and then withdrew. / The Gov:r Says that as We have a troublesome man to deal with of the Parson who if he have not the refusall of this Appartm:t which he has So often asserted to be his right, He will Pretend his Function is Slighted and to make his Church in danger. Therefore that he may not have that Pretence tho' the Gov:r thinks he wont Accept of it Yet he thinks tis Proper once more to make him an offer of it, and therefore desires that it may be offered to him. Ordered That the Parson have the Refusall of the Lodgings at the Sessions House and in case He Should not Accept of it That Doct:r Civill be admitted to live in them. But Doctor Thomlinson Shall not have it Unless he will Promise to live there, And that Mr. Alexander Acquaint him Some time too day the Guard will be removed out of the fore part of it into the new Guard House upon this day Sevennight. And that Mr. Alexander being back his Possitive answer. The Margin Notes: his Reply Ord:d that Doct: Thomlinson Should have y:e Refusall of Lodgings in y:e Sessions House. if he refuses then to Dr. Civill. Mr. Alexander to carry his Message. | Cawill answered that he had written the petition so that he might have the lodgings, but thought there was no need to mention the lodging in express words. He then withdrew. Governor Pyke said the parson was a troublesome man to deal with. If the parson were not given the refusal of this apartment, which he had so often claimed as his right, he would pretend his office was slighted and his church endangered. So that the parson might have no such pretext, though he expected the parson would not accept it, he judged it proper to make him an offer of it once more. He therefore wished the apartment to be offered to him. The council ordered that the parson have the refusal of the lodgings at the court house. If he did not accept, Cawill was to be admitted to live in them. Thomlinson was not to have them unless he promised to live there. Alexander was to tell the parson, some time this day, that the guard would be removed from the fore part of the building into the new guard house this day sevennight. He was to bring back the parson's definite answer. [...] Interpretations Governor Pyke's handling of the parson reveals a careful management of ecclesiastical sensitivity, the offer of the apartment made chiefly to forestall a grievance. By giving the parson the formal refusal of the lodging, he removed any ground for the cleric to claim his office was slighted or his church endangered. This shows the council navigating the church's claims with deliberate caution, an empty offer preferred to a dispute over clerical privilege, even where he expected the parson to decline. The conditional order reveals the council ranking the competing claimants in a clear order of preference. The parson held first refusal, Cawill stood next if the parson declined, and Thomlinson came last and only if he would actually live there. This careful sequencing shows the council balancing the parson's asserted right against the practical need to house a surgeon, while guarding against another claimant taking the rooms without occupying them, as the parson himself had once done. The removal of the guard into the new guard house marks a change in the use of the court house building, the fore part being freed for residence. The timing this day sevennight, that is a week hence, fixed when the apartment would be clear. This detail shows the practical reorganisation of the building accompanying the dispute over its lodgings, the council settling both the occupancy of the rooms and the relocation of the guard in a single order. | |||||
42 | March The Gunner brought in and delivered the following Acco:t which was Examined & approved of. An Acco:t of Gunners Stores Expended from the 3. of Febry 1718/9. to the 28. D:o Inclusive - (viz:) Ful: Pd:s 1718/9. Febry. 2: For filling 51. Grannada Pouches 19 6 D:o Musquett Balls for the Same 38 - 11 For Exerciseing the Garrison -7 27 An Alarme 4 4 Gunn:r Art:y 6 D:o Arrived the Prince Eugeen Capt. Goodaull from Madagascar 5 5 For the Guards -7 Flints for the Guards 2r. 24 Cartridge Paper 4 Match 21 -6 21. 4. 24. 38. 9. 42. (Signed) Jn:o Frenche [I. Bazett?] Jn:o Alexander Jno. Goodwin Margin Notes: Gunn:rs Acco:t for Febry | The gunner brought in and delivered the following account, which was examined and approved. An account of gunner's stores expended from the third of February 1719 to the 28th inclusive. For filling 51 grenade pouches 19 [...] Musket balls for the same 38 [...] For exercising the garrison 7 [...] An alarm 4 pounds 4 [...] Arrived the Prince Eugene, Captain Goodall, from Madagascar 5 pounds 5 [...] For the guards 7 [...] Flints for the guards 2 [...] 24 Cartridge paper 4 [...] Match 21 [...] Total 21 [...] 4 [...] 24 [...] 38 [...] 9 [...] 42 [...] The account was signed by John French. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The filling of grenade pouches records the preparation of hand grenades among the garrison's munitions, a grenade pouch being the container in which a soldier carried these small explosive charges. Filling them was the work of charging the grenades with powder ready for use. The provision of 51 such pouches shows the island's defences kept stocked with close-quarters explosives as well as the powder and shot for its guns and muskets. The powder expended on salutes for arriving ships continues the ceremonial signalling seen in the gunner's earlier account at the consultation of 14 March 1719. The salute fired for the Prince Eugene under Captain Goodall marks the vessel's call, the Prince Eugene having already figured in the slave-selection order of 3 March 1719 when it brought captives from Madagascar. The recurrence of the same ship confirms the regular traffic between St Helena and the Madagascar slaving grounds. The account signed by John French as gunner and closed by John Alexander and John Goodwin records the routine reckoning of munitions expenditure. French appears throughout these consultations as both a petitioner for land and the officer answerable for the Company's stores. The examination and approval of his figures by the council before signing discharges his accountability for the powder and materials consumed, the same procedure followed for his earlier account. | |||||
43 | 1718/9 Island S:t Helena. At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 7. day of Aprill 1719. at Union Castle in James Valley in the Gov:rs Chamber. / Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r But Sick abed. Pres:t Jn:o Alexander Gov:r} Assist:s Jn:o Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. The Gov:r Enquiring where Mr. Tovey was. Mr. French being without and Desiring to be Sent for in. The Gov:r Sent for him Whereupon Mr. French Declared that twas the Common & Ordinary discourse about the valley that Mr. Tovey had Sayed the following words Viz: "And now I thank God I have my ends for "Capt. Bazett is dead and I shall be Storekeeper, "and that he had added in a vaunting way of "talking, that the Gov:r was Sick and he would "goe no more to the Fort till he went to take "Posession of it. Memorand:m That Capt. Bazett the Store- keeper dyed on the 5. Inst: and was Buried yesterday. The Margin Notes: on Mr. French complaint of Mr. Tovey Capt. Bazetts Death | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 April 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, in the Governor's chamber. Isaac Pyke, Governor, was present but sick in bed. Present were John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. Governor Pyke asked where Tovey was. French, being present and wishing to be sent for, the Governor sent for him. French then declared that the common talk about the valley was that Tovey had said the following words. He had said that he now thanked God he had gained his ends, for Captain Bazett was dead and he would be storekeeper. He had added, in a boasting way, that the Governor was sick and would go no more to the Fort until he went to take possession of it. A memorandum recorded that Captain Bazett, the storekeeper, died on the fifth of this month and was buried yesterday. [...] Interpretations The death of Captain Matthew Bazett removes the council's second member and storekeeper, a figure who had served throughout these consultations as the principal viewer and measurer of land. His death on 5 April 1719 follows his recorded absence on the Company's business in the country at the consultations of 17 March 1719 and 24 March 1719. The loss of the storekeeper, who held charge of the Company's goods, opened a key office at a moment when the Governor himself lay sick. Tovey's reported boast exposes a contest for Bazett's vacant post, the storekeepership being a position of trust and advantage worth coveting. His alleged satisfaction at Bazett's death, and his expectation of succeeding him, reveal the ambition stirring among the council's members as offices fell vacant. The report reaching the Governor through French shows how such talk circulated about the valley and came to official notice, the rivalry over the succession surfacing even as the dead man was newly buried. The Governor conducting the consultation from his sickbed reveals the continuity of government through the illness of its head. With Pyke confined and Bazett dead, the council met in the Governor's own chamber, the business of the island proceeding despite the incapacity of its leading men. Tovey's gibe that the Governor would go no more to the Fort played on this weakness, the report of it touching both the succession to the storekeepership and the authority of a sick governor. | |||||
44 | Aprill. The Gov:r Says he thinks this is a wrong way of Proceeding in Mr. Tovey for if he had realy had a mind to been Storekeeper he ought at Least to have come and Claimed his right. But however he will put that Controversie out of dispute & to Consider only the Comp:ts Interest by appointing the fittest man he knows of to Execute that Place. But because he wont Act alone there being none of the Council now to give their opinions in this matter but Mr. John Alexander the Sec:ry He desires him to lay his hand on his brest and to Speak his Conscience whether he thinks Mr. Tovey to be So fitt a man for Storekeeper as Mr. Goodwin. Mr. Alexander Says he thinks in his Con- science that Mr. Goodwin is the fittest man on this Island to be Storekeeper because he has for Some years past been Employd therein. Ordered That Mr. Goodwin who has been for near eight years last past Assistant to Capt. Pack & Capt. Bazett, be now Established Storekeeper, till the Hon: Comp:ts pleasure be further known, and that John Bazett Son to Capt. Matt:e Bazett Dec:d who has been two years & a half Employed there under Margin Notes: Mr. Toveys Claim to be Storekeeper put out of dispute. / Gov:rs & Mr. Alexanders opinion Mr. Alexanders Opinion. Mr. Goodwin appointed Store keep:r | Governor Pyke said he thought this a poor way of proceeding in Tovey, for if he had really meant to be storekeeper he ought at least to have come and claimed his right. The Governor would, however, put that controversy aside and consider only the Company's interest, by appointing the fittest man he knew to fill the place. Since he would not act alone, and no other councillor was present to give an opinion in the matter except John Alexander the secretary, he asked Alexander to lay his hand on his breast and speak his conscience, whether he thought Tovey as fit a man for storekeeper as Goodwin. Alexander said he thought in his conscience that Goodwin was the fittest man on the island to be storekeeper, since he had for some years past been employed in that work. The council ordered that Goodwin, who had for near eight years past been assistant to Captain Packer and Captain Bazett, be now established storekeeper until the Company's pleasure was further known. John Bazett, son of Captain Matthew Bazett deceased, who had been employed there two years and a half, was [...] Interpretations Governor Pyke's rejection of Tovey's claim turns the reported boast against him, the failure to come and claim the post formally counting as evidence of an improper approach. By setting the controversy aside and professing to weigh only the Company's interest, the Governor framed the appointment as a matter of fitness rather than rivalry. This shows him answering Tovey's presumption not by direct rebuke but by a public choice of the better-qualified man, the gibe of 7 April 1719 thus rebounding on its author. The Governor's appeal to Alexander's conscience reveals the procedure of collective decision in a depleted council, the secretary's sworn opinion standing in for a fuller body. With Pyke sick, Bazett dead and Tovey the rival, Alexander was the only disinterested member present to advise. The solemn form of laying hand on breast lent weight to his judgement, the Governor securing a recorded opinion to support an appointment he would not make alone. Goodwin's near eight years as assistant to successive storekeepers gave him the experience that decided the appointment, continuity of service ranking above Tovey's ambition. Having served under both Captain Packer and Captain Bazett, he knew the work of the store at first hand. The council's choice of the practised subordinate over the eager claimant shows competence and familiarity with the office weighing decisively, the storekeepership going to the man who had effectively done the work already. The provision for John Bazett, son of the dead storekeeper, reveals the council retaining trained staff through the change of office. Having served two years and a half in the store, the younger Bazett carried knowledge worth keeping despite his father's death. This shows the council managing the succession with an eye to continuity, the experience of the existing staff preserved even as the headship of the store passed to Goodwin. | |||||
45 | 1719. under his father, be again Employed under Mr. Goodwin in the Same manner as he was Under his father. And the Gov:r desires Mr. Goodwin to take Care of and be kind to him. The Gov:r Says he thinks that the Inventory which was to been taken on the 25. of March last of all the Hon: Comp:ts Stores, ought now to be taken from the time of Capt. Bazetts death, and desires Mr. Goodwin to make all the dispatch he can therein. And That Mr. Alexander be ap- pointed to help him forward that Inventory, & that he gett what further assistance he can. The Gov:r recommends to Mr. Goodwin to be very Exact in bringing in the Monthly Acco:ts &to bring in each months Acco:t within fourteen days at most after the month is ended. The Gov:r Says that Capt. Bazetts Sudden death for he lay but a week Sick, and his own Sickness happening at the Same time has been So great a Damp upon the Spirits of the People who are Concern'd more than in a Common manner about it, And Severall of the Principall People have been with him, and have desired him in case he should find himself grow worse, that he would take Some of. Margin Notes: Mr. John Bazett to be Employed under Mr. Goodwin the Stores to be Inventoryed Mr. Goodwin to account monthly Gov:rs Report of his & Mr. Bazetts Sickness Peoples Concern. | John Bazett was to be employed again under Goodwin in the same manner as he had served under his father. Governor Pyke asked Goodwin to take care of him and be kind to him. The Governor said he thought the inventory, which was to have been taken on 25 March last of all the Company's stores, ought now to be taken from the time of Captain Bazett's death. He asked Goodwin to make all the dispatch he could in it. Alexander was appointed to help him forward the inventory, and to get what further assistance he could. The Governor urged Goodwin to be very exact in bringing in the monthly accounts, and to deliver each month's account within 14 days at most after the month ended. The Governor said that Captain Bazett's sudden death, since he had lain only a week sick, together with his own sickness happening at the same time, had cast a great gloom over the spirits of the people. They were more than usually troubled about it. Several of the principal inhabitants had been with the Governor and asked that, should he find himself grow worse, he would take some [...] Interpretations The order to take the inventory from the time of Bazett's death reveals the need to fix the Company's stock at the moment its keeper died, marking the point of transfer of responsibility. An inventory taken at the change of office established what the new storekeeper received, protecting both the Company and Goodwin against later disputes over what had been on hand. The shift from the planned 25 March reckoning to the date of death shows the inventory tied to accountability for the goods rather than to the calendar. The insistence on monthly accounts delivered within 14 days reveals the financial discipline the Governor sought to impose on the new storekeeper. Prompt and exact accounting kept the Company's affairs current and guarded against the errors and delays that had plagued the books, as in the difficulties Tovey reported at the consultation of 9 December 1718. By setting a firm deadline at the outset, the Governor bound Goodwin to a standard of regularity from the start of his charge. The gloom cast over the people by the two events together reveals the anxiety that gripped a small isolated community when its leaders fell at once. Bazett's sudden death after only a week's illness, coinciding with the Governor's own sickness, threatened the island with the loss of both its senior men. The approach of the principal inhabitants to the sick Governor shows their concern for the continuity of government, the prospect of his worsening prompting them to press him on provision for the succession. | |||||
46 | Aprill of them that they might not bee too hardly dealt with by the Gov:r who might Succeed him, & one of them Spoke the following words (viz:) S:r for Gods Sake you take care and Leave an Honest man to Govern Us for if Mr. Tovey be the man and you do not make Some Rules to bind his hands up, We Shall all Rise together and Serve him worse than Gov:r Kegwin was Served formerly. The Gov:r Says he did not Inquire then what it was they had done to Gov:r Kegwin & therefore desires the Books may be Examined to See what that difference between him & the People was, & what was done upon it. And that Mr. Alexander bring the Account thereof to the Gov:r as Soon as he can. But Since the people Seem to have Such Violent fears upon them and to be very Resolute in their Notions for one of them has Said this day in the hearing of Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin that they were resolved to be Governed by one that knew how to Govern, and that Tovey Should never be Gov:r here while he lived. We therefore think it Necessary that the minds of the People Should be quieted, and do desire the Govern:r to regulate Margin Notes: Islanders address y:e Islands to y:e Gov:r against Mr. Tovey. Books to be Examined & things to find Kegwin. Peoples threatenings & fears from Gov:r against Mr. Tovey. | The inhabitants asked that they might not be too hardly dealt with by whoever should succeed the Governor. One of them spoke the following words. He begged, for God's sake, that the Governor take care to leave an honest man to govern them. If Tovey were the man, and no rules were made to bind his hands, they would all rise together and serve him worse than Governor Keigwin had been served before. The Governor said he had not inquired into what they had done to Governor Keigwin. He therefore asked that the books be examined to see what the difference between Keigwin and the people had been, and what had been done about it. Alexander was to bring the answer to the Governor as soon as he could. Since the people seemed to have such violent fears, and to be very resolute in their notions, the council judged the matter serious. One of them had said this day, in the hearing of Alexander and Goodwin, that they were resolved to be governed by one who knew how to govern, and that Tovey should never be governor here while he lived. The council therefore thought it necessary that the minds of the people be quieted, and asked the Governor to [...] Interpretations The inhabitants' threat to rise against Tovey reveals the depth of popular opposition to his possible succession, the people invoking a violent precedent to press their case. By naming what had been done to Governor Keigwin, they warned of open resistance should an unacceptable man take charge. This shows the settled community asserting a claim to be consulted in the succession, the prospect of Tovey's rule provoking a readiness to rebel that the council could not ignore. The reference to Governor Keigwin points to an earlier rising against a governor of the island, a remembered episode of resistance the inhabitants now held up as a model. The Governor's order to examine the books for the history of that dispute shows the council treating the precedent seriously, seeking to learn what grievance had provoked the people and how it had been resolved. This reveals the institutional memory preserved in the records, an old conflict bearing directly on the present anxiety over the succession. The people's demand to be governed by one who knew how to govern exposes a popular standard of fitness set against Tovey's perceived unsuitability. Their resolve that he should never be governor while they lived marks a collective rejection of a particular man, voiced openly before two councillors. This shows the inhabitants exercising real influence over the question of who should rule, the council recognising the need to quiet minds inflamed by the fear of an unwanted successor. Speculations The council moved to quiet the people rather than simply assert authority over them, which suggests a judgement that the threat of rising was real enough to require management. With the Governor sick and the succession uncertain, open resistance would have endangered the island's government at its weakest moment. By treating the inhabitants' fears as a matter to be addressed, and examining the Keigwin precedent, the council sought to forestall the rebellion the people threatened rather than provoke it by ignoring their demands. | |||||
47 | 1719. Regulate that troublesome matter in the best manner he can. And We do Promise to assist him therein to the Utmost of our Powers & whether he shall think it Proper to Name a Successor in case of his Death, or to make Such Rules as may bind the man to good Orders who they are so much affraid of. We Shall Acquiesce to either and So refer the whole to his Judgment. The Gov:r Says that Some time to day or to- morrow he will draw up an Advertisem:t or Decla- ration, which he hopes will make every body Easey, and which when they have Perused and approved of it, he thinks twill be Proper to have it Entered in the Present Consultation. Mr. Tovey not attending to day with the Transfer Book. Ordered That a Small Advertisizement be Established to give Notice That there will be two Days Appointed & Sett apart for the Transferring of Bills, and that those Persons whose Names begins w:th the first twelve Letters of the Alphabet do come on the first of those two days, and the Rest on the day after or next following. Ordered That Mr. Tovey be askt to come down and read this Consultation Notwithstanding his Margin Notes: How to regulate this matter. / An Advertisem:t to be drawn up. 2 Days App:d for Transfers. Mr. Tovey askt to Come down. / | The council asked the Governor to settle that troublesome matter in the best manner he could. The councillors promised to assist him in it to the utmost of their power. Whether he thought it proper to name a successor in case of his death, or to make such rules as might bind the man they so much feared to good order, the council would agree to either. They referred the whole to his judgement. Governor Pyke said that some time today or tomorrow he would draw up an advertisement or declaration which he hoped would set everybody at ease. When the council had read and approved it, he thought it proper to have it entered in the present consultation. Tovey did not attend today with the transfer book. The council ordered that a small advertisement be published, giving notice that two days would be appointed and set apart for the transferring of bills. Those whose names began with the first 12 letters of the alphabet were to come on the first of those two days, and the rest on the day after or next following. The council ordered that Tovey be asked to come down and read this consultation, notwithstanding his [...] Interpretations The council's offer to bind the feared man by rules reveals two distinct remedies for the succession crisis, either naming a trusted successor or fettering an untrusted one. By leaving the choice to the Governor's judgement while promising support for either course, the council placed the management of the danger in his hands. This shows the body responding to the popular fears voiced on this same day not by resisting them but by preparing a formal answer, the threatened advertisement intended to set the people at ease. The proposed advertisement or declaration reveals the council's chosen instrument for quieting public alarm, a published statement carrying official assurance. Entering it in the consultation gave it the force of a recorded act, binding the administration to whatever it promised. This connects to the council's recognition that the people's minds had to be settled, the Governor undertaking to draft a document that would address their fears about the succession directly. The arrangement of the bill transfers by alphabet reveals an orderly method for managing the press of business, dividing the inhabitants across two days by the initial of their names. Splitting the work in this way prevented the crowding that would follow if all came at once. This administrative detail shows the routine business of the island continuing alongside the succession crisis, the transfer of bills organised methodically even as the council grappled with the people's discontent. Tovey's failure to attend with the transfer book reveals a further strain in his relations with the council, his absence withholding a record needed for the bill transfers. Coming amid the open opposition to his succession and his reported boasting at the consultation of 7 April 1719, his non-attendance deepened the friction. The council's order that he come down and read the consultation shows it requiring his presence despite the tension, the proceedings touching him closely as the man whose possible rule the people so feared. | |||||
48 | Aprill his Saying he would not come to the Fort till he came to take Posession of it, and that the foul Consultation Book be left with the Govern:r for that Purpose. Island S:t Helena. By the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r &c. & Council. / An Advertisem:t & Declaration. Whereas it has pleased Almighty God in this Sickly Season to afflict the Govern:r among many others with that Illness that he at Present Labours Under which tho' he hopes thro' the Mercy of The Most High will not prove Dangerous, Yet he cannot but take in Good part the kind concern for his Health & Safety which the Good Inhabitants of this place have Soe Generally Express on this Occasion. And Whereas Severall of them have on behalfe of themselves & others have Most earnestly Represented to the Gov:r that in case of his death they were in great Apprehensions of Meeting with Unusuall Hardships, in case there were not Some Extraordinary Care taken about a Successor to this Government. Upon which the Govern:r has caused a Publick Consultation to be held in his Chamber where Margin Notes: drawn to end Relating to y:e Govern:rs Indisposition | The council noted Tovey's saying that he would not come to the Fort until he came to take possession of it. It ordered that the rough consultation book be left with the Governor for that purpose. Island of St Helena An advertisement and declaration by Governor Pyke and the council followed. It had pleased Almighty God in this sickly season to afflict the Governor, among many others, with the illness under which he now laboured. Though he hoped, through the mercy of the Most High, it would not prove dangerous, he gratefully acknowledged the kind concern for his health and safety that the good inhabitants of the island had generally shown on this occasion. Several of them, on behalf of themselves and others, had most earnestly represented to the Governor that, should he die, they greatly feared meeting with unusual hardships unless some extraordinary care were taken about a successor to the government. The Governor had therefore caused a public consultation to be held in his chamber, where [...] Interpretations The declaration's reference to the sickly season records the prevalence of disease on the island at this time, the same epidemic that had killed Doctor Du May on 6 March 1719 and the writer Joseph Thomlinson. The bloody flux and other illnesses afflicting the garrison now reached the Governor himself. This shows the human background to the succession crisis, a wave of sickness striking down the island's people and threatening its leading men at the same moment. The formal acknowledgement of the inhabitants' concern reveals the document's purpose of binding the administration to address their fears in writing. By recording the people's representations about the succession and the Governor's response, the declaration gave official standing to a popular grievance. This is the advertisement the council had resolved to publish to quiet the people's minds, the printed assurance answering the alarm voiced at the consultation of this same day. The Governor's recourse to a public consultation in his chamber reveals the open and recorded manner in which he chose to meet the crisis. Rather than settling the succession privately, he brought the matter before a formal sitting whose proceedings would be published. This shows a deliberate transparency, the Governor answering the people's fears by a visible and minuted process, the declaration itself the instrument by which the assurance was made known to the island. | |||||
49 | 1719. where it fully Appeared by divers Presidents from most parts of India. that in all Extraordinary Occasions the Govern:rs thereof had frequently Appointed their Successors. And twas there Concluded that the Gov:r hath and ought to have full Power So to do, as well for the Ease & Satisfaction of the People as for the Hon: Comp:ts Interest herein. Wherefore the Gov:r returns his hearty thanks for the Affection & good Wishes of the People towards him, and do's hereby Promise that in case his Sickness Should prove Dangerous that he will Send for and Consult with the Principall Inhabitants and when he has taken theirs and his Councils farther Advice He will Appoint Such a Govern:r & Council to Succeed him at his death as Shall be both Accept- able to them and agreeable to the Hon: Comp:ts Interest. And This Advertisem:t and Declaration So highly tending to the Publick Good and as is hoped So Satisfactory both to the Govern:r & Governed Is Ordered by the present Gov:r & Council to be for this Published by the Secretary in the Usuall manner. Dated at Union Castle in James Valley this 8. day of Aprill Dom: 1719. Signed. Margin Notes: The Gov:r to prior to Nominate a Successor before his Death | It fully appeared from various precedents from most parts of India that, on all extraordinary occasions, the governors there had frequently appointed their successors. The council concluded that the Governor had and ought to have full power to do the same, both for the ease and satisfaction of the people and for the Company's interest in the matter. Governor Pyke therefore returned his hearty thanks for the affection and good wishes of the people toward him. He promised that, should his sickness prove dangerous, he would send for and consult the principal inhabitants. When he had taken their advice and that of his council, he would appoint a governor and council to succeed him at his death, both acceptable to the people and agreeable to the Company's interest. This advertisement and declaration, tending so much to the public good and hoped to be satisfactory to both the Governor and the governed, was ordered by the present Governor and council to be published forthwith by the secretary in the usual manner. It was dated at Union Castle in James Valley, 8 April 1719, and signed. Interpretations The appeal to precedents from across India reveals the Company's settlements treated as a body of practice from which St Helena drew authority. By citing the frequent appointment of successors by governors elsewhere in the East India establishments, the council grounded Pyke's claimed power in established custom rather than novel assertion. This shows the island governed as one of a network of Company posts, the conduct of the wider establishments supplying the precedent for action at St Helena. The Governor's promise to consult the principal inhabitants before naming a successor reveals a negotiated settlement of the succession crisis, the people's voice formally admitted to the choice. By undertaking to take their advice alongside his council's, Pyke conceded a measure of popular consultation while retaining the power of appointment. This answered the inhabitants' demand to be governed by an acceptable man, the declaration binding the Governor to a process that gave their fears a hearing. The order to publish the declaration in the usual manner reveals the formal machinery by which official acts were made known to the island. Publication by the secretary gave the assurance public effect, the printed or proclaimed notice carrying the Governor's promise to the whole community. This shows the council completing its management of the crisis through a recorded and published act, the declaration of 8 April 1719 standing as the settled answer to the succession question that had alarmed the people. | |||||
50 | Aprill Signed p:r order of the Worsh: Gov:r &c. & Councile. Jn:o Alexander Sec:ry The Examination & Declaration of Rich: Swallow free planter who Sayes & doth Declare That on Sunday morning last after Captain Bazetts death Mr. Tovey calling at their House in the Country, they were talking about Capt. Bazetts death, and that the people would be at a Loss for want of Such a man, and who Should be Storekeeper with Such like discourse, To which Mr. Tovey made answer he knew who would be Storekeeper, for he put in for it before but Capt. Bazett withstood him because he was put in by the Comp:y and he had a good mind then to put in for the other place. But now he Should have his Ends, with Such like discourse. (Signed) Rich: Swallow. [I. Bazett?] Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Rich: Swallow ag:t Tovey | The declaration was signed by order of Governor Pyke and the council by John Alexander, secretary. The examination and declaration of Richard Swallow, free planter, followed. He declared that on Sunday morning last, after Captain Bazett's death, Tovey called at his house in the country. They were talking about Bazett's death, and how the people would be at a loss for want of such a man, and who should be storekeeper, with similar talk. Tovey answered that he knew who would be storekeeper, for he had applied for the post before, but Captain Bazett had withstood him because Bazett had been appointed by the Company. He had then had a good mind to apply for the other place, but now he should gain his ends. The declaration carried more talk of the same kind. It was signed by Richard Swallow. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Swallow's sworn declaration supplies independent confirmation of Tovey's reported boasting, a second witness to the ambition first set out by French at the consultation of 7 April 1719. By taking a formal examination from a free planter who heard the words directly, the council built an evidentiary record of Tovey's conduct. This shows the council documenting the case against him methodically, the testimony of named inhabitants establishing on oath what had passed in private talk about the valley. Tovey's account of his earlier frustrated application reveals a longstanding rivalry over the storekeepership, Bazett having blocked him because Bazett held the Company's own appointment. His admission that he had eyed another place before, and now expected to gain his ends, exposes a persistent ambition awaiting its opening. This reveals the depth of the contest for office that Bazett's death reopened, Tovey's satisfaction resting on the removal of the man who had stood in his way. The gathering of these declarations against Tovey reveals the council assembling a documentary case at the very moment the people opposed his succession. Swallow's testimony, like French's, recorded the boasting that had inflamed the inhabitants and confirmed their fears about his character. This shows the council creating a formal record of the conduct that disqualified him in the people's eyes, the sworn examinations standing alongside the declaration of 8 April 1719 as part of its management of the crisis. | |||||
51 | 1719. Island S:t Helena. At a Publick Consultation held in the Gov:rs Chamber on Tuesday the 14. day of Apr:l 1719. at Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r P. & Jn:o Alexander &} Assist:s Pres: Jn:o Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. On Sunday last Arrived the four following Ships, viz: The Heathcote Capt. Jolson [?] from Bengall. The Derby Capt. Fitzhaugh from Madelo: The Cannarven Capt. Throcites &} from China. The Hartford Capt. Newsham And. There is now Standing into this road the Benjamin Capt. Life [?] from Bencoolen. All Her people on Board are Sick but two. We have Sent off from the Ships and the Shore 56. hands to help her in which they will hardly be able to doe before night She being fallen so much to the Leeward. Capt. Joleson has Brought Us no Stores from Bengall as We Expected he would. The Gov:r is So well Recovered that he can now walk about the House. He proposes to the Council to Consider what Bills We Shall be obliged Margin Notes: Heathcote Derby Cannarven Hartford arrived Benjamin Standing In hands Sent to her Assistance. no Stores from Bengall. | Island of St Helena At a public consultation held in the Governor's chamber on Tuesday 14 April 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. On Sunday last the following four ships arrived. The Heathcote, Captain Tolson, came from Bengal. The Derby, Captain Fitzhugh, came from Madras. The Caernarvon, Captain Thwaites, and the Hartford, Captain Newsham, came from China. The Benjamin, Captain Pye, was now standing into the road from Bencoolen. All her people aboard were sick but two. The council had sent off from the ships and the shore 56 hands to help her, with which they would hardly be able to do so before night, the Benjamin having fallen so much to leeward. Captain Tolson had brought no stores from Bengal as the council expected he would. The Governor was now so well recovered that he could walk about the house. He proposed that the council consider what bills it would be obliged [...] Interpretations The arrival of five ships from Bengal, Madras, China and Bencoolen reveals St Helena's place on the convergence of the homeward routes from across the Company's eastern trade. The Heathcote from Bengal, the Derby from Madras, the Caernarvon and Hartford from China and the Benjamin from Bencoolen represent the principal Indian and Chinese stations feeding the homeward traffic. This shows the island as the common gathering point where vessels from the whole eastern establishment called on their way to England. The sickness aboard the Benjamin, with all her people ill but two, reveals the heavy mortality and disease of the long voyage from Bencoolen. With her crew incapacitated and the ship fallen to leeward, she could not work into the road unaided. The despatch of 56 hands from the other ships and the shore shows the island's vital function as a place of relief, the labour of many men needed to bring in a vessel whose own company could no longer manage her. The Governor's recovery enough to walk about the house marks the easing of the crisis that had gripped the island, the sick season relenting for its head. His return to business, proposing the council consider its bills, signals the resumption of normal government after the alarm over the succession. This shows the administration steadying as the Governor mended, the question of who should follow him receding now that his illness no longer threatened to prove fatal. | |||||
52 | Aprill obliged to draw on Our Hon:ble Masters by these Ships. Mr. Thomleason appears and Says He hopes he shall gett a Passage for England in Some of these Ships, and therefore desires he may have Bills on the Hon: Comp:ts for the money due to him in their Books of Acco:ts here, and then he withdrew. Ordered That he have Bills for so much as is due to him in the Hon: Comp:ts Books. And because he is going for England where he intends to end his days We think it is Necessary our Hon:ble Masters Should be Acquainted with his Charracter. He is Lieut. of the Soldiers, and has been all along a very Industrious man and always Usefull by preserveing the Peace of the place and the Love of the Garrison. He has been here dureing the time of five Govern:rs and equally respected by them all. We are Sorry he is going from Us but think 'twould be an Injustice to refuse him this Testimony of our favour. As for the Affaires of the Island he is able to give the Hon: Comp:t a fuller Acco:t than We can Express in any Letter which We Note here to the end that it Margin Notes: What Bills to be Drawn Mr. Leason Desires Bills Intend to go home. His Charact:r | The council was obliged to draw on the directors by these ships. Thomas Cason appeared and said he hoped to get a passage for England in one of these ships. He therefore asked that he might have bills on the Company for the money due to him in their account books here. He then withdrew. The council ordered that he have bills for as much as was due to him in the Company's books. Since Cason was going for England, where he meant to end his days, the council thought it necessary that the directors be acquainted with his character. He was lieutenant of the soldiers, and had all along been a very industrious man, always useful in preserving the peace of the island and the goodwill of the garrison. He had been here during the time of five governors and was equally respected by them all. The council was sorry he was leaving, but thought it would be an injustice to refuse him this testimony of its favour. As for the affairs of the island, he could give the Company a fuller account than the council could express in any letter. The council noted this here, so that [...] Interpretations Cason's request for bills on the Company reveals the means by which a departing servant converted his accumulated wages into transferable credit for England. The money due to him stood in the Company's books on the island, and bills drawn on the directors let him carry its value home without transporting coin. This shows the practical workings of the Company's internal finance, a long-serving man settling his account by drawing on the directors before taking ship. The council's testimony to Cason's character reveals the value placed on continuity and reliability in the island's officers. As lieutenant of the soldiers through the time of five governors, he embodied an institutional memory and steadiness that outlasted successive administrations. His role in preserving the peace and the goodwill of the garrison shows the importance of such a figure to the island's stability, the council commending him warmly as he departed. The note that Cason could give the directors a fuller account than any letter reveals the limits of written communication across the distance to England. A trusted man returning in person could convey the island's affairs more completely than the formal correspondence allowed. This shows the council using a departing officer as a living channel to the directors, his long experience making him a source of information the written record could not match. | |||||
53 | 1719. if the Hon: Comp:ts are pleased to be informed of any particulars relating to this place We think him to be the fittest man to be Inquired of and doubt not he'll give them Satisfaction being very well assured of his Integrity and that what he Says has always been thought Proper to be believed. / Capt. Joleson Proposes to Sell Us Some Dung- arees for the Hon: Comp:ts use at 7/6 p:r piece. Mr. Alexander Says he thinks tis not Proper to buy Such Goods till the Latter end of these Shiping because he hopes Some other Ships will be Ordered to bring & will take in Goods in Indice for this place on the Hon: Comp:ts Account. Capt. Joleson allso Proposes to Sell a quantity of Sugar. Mr. Goodwin Says We are very well Stockt with Sugar at present in the Hon: Comp:ts Stores and that Capt. Fitzhaugh has brought Us 20: Bages on the Comp:ts Acco:t So that He thinks it not Adviseable to buy Capt. Jolesons Sug:r. But Says he Understands Capt. Jolson has a Pritty Deal of Arrack on board, and if he be willing to Sell any of that at the Comp:ts Price he thinks tis Proper to buy Some. Mr. Margin Notes: Goods offered by Capt. Jolson Mr. Alexanders Opinion ag:t Buying Mr. Goodwins ab:t Sugar but to Buy Arrack. | Should the directors wish to be informed of any particulars concerning the island, the council thought Cason the fittest man to be asked. It did not doubt he would give them satisfaction, being well assured of his integrity, and that what he said had always been thought worthy of belief. Captain Tolson proposed to sell the council some dungarees for the Company's use at seven shillings sixpence apiece. Alexander said he thought it improper to buy such goods until the latter end of this shipping, since he hoped some other ships would be ordered to bring them, and would take in goods in India for the island on the Company's account. Captain Tolson also proposed to sell a quantity of sugar. Goodwin said the council was very well stocked with sugar at present in the Company's stores, and that Captain Fitzhugh had brought 20 bags on the Company's account. He therefore thought it inadvisable to buy Captain Tolson's sugar. He understood, however, that Captain Tolson had a good deal of arrack on board. If he were willing to sell any of it at the Company's price, Goodwin thought it proper to buy some. [...] Interpretations The dungarees offered by Captain Tolson were a coarse cotton cloth of Indian origin, used for cheap clothing and hard wear. Dungaree took its name from a district near Bombay and was a staple of the Company's textile trade, supplied to the island for the use of its servants and slaves. Alexander's preference to wait for ordered supplies shows the council distinguishing between casual purchases from passing captains and the regular provisioning arranged on the Company's own account. Alexander's argument against buying reveals a deliberate strategy of relying on the Company's planned supply rather than the opportunistic offers of individual masters. By waiting for ships ordered to bring goods purchased in India on the Company's account, the council could obtain its stores more cheaply than from a captain selling privately. This shows the council managing its purchasing to favour the regular channel, the goods brought by direct order undercutting the wares peddled by ships merely calling on their way home. Goodwin's distinctions among sugar, dungarees and arrack reveal the council buying selectively according to its existing stocks. Well supplied with sugar and expecting cloth through the regular channel, it declined those goods, but a shortage of arrack made Tolson's spirit worth purchasing at the right price. This shows the storekeeper newly confirmed at the consultation of 7 April 1719 exercising informed judgement over the Company's stores, the decision to buy turning on what the island actually needed. | |||||
54 | Aprill Mr. Alexander Says That the Council made an Order formerly which he thinks is a very good one, viz: To buy nothing out of any Ships that Refused to bring Us Stores from India (as Capt. Glegg did) and as Capt. Jolson has not brought Us Stores but brought Goods of the Same kind of his own to Sell, which is a kind of Exacting upon Us, and Such Exactions ought to meet with no Encouragem:t here. Resolved That We will not buy out of these Ships any manner of Goods but Arrack Rice, Beeze Wax for Candles & Salt. But We think it Necessary to write to these two China Ships now in the road, to deliver Us two Chests out of each Ships of the Hon: Comp:ts Bohea Tea for the use of this place. Ordered That Such a Letter be Wrote to the Capt:ns and Supra Cargo's of these two Ships Accordingly. We think tis Necessary to Insert here that these four Ships now in the road have touched at the Cape of Good Hope, and there Supplyed themselves with Provisions for their Voyage and Margin Notes: Ord Resolved Being out of any Cap:t y:e Refused to bring Stores from India goods to be bought out of these Ships except Arrack Rice Beeze Wax & Salt 2 China Ships now in the Road & Desired to have 2 Chests Each of Bohea Tea for y:e Use of this place. these Ships touched at y:e Cape. | Alexander said the council had formerly made an order he thought a very good one. It was to buy nothing out of any ship that refused to bring stores from India, as Captain Clegg had done. Since Captain Tolson had brought no stores but had brought goods of the same kind of his own to sell, this was a kind of imposition upon the council, and such impositions ought to meet with no encouragement. The council resolved to buy out of these ships no goods except arrack, rice, beeswax for candles and salt. The council thought it necessary, however, to write to the two China ships now in the road, asking them to deliver two chests out of each ship of the Company's bohea tea for the use of the island. The council ordered that such a letter be written to the captains and supercargoes of the two ships accordingly. The council thought it necessary to note here that these four ships now in the road had called at the Cape of Good Hope, and there supplied themselves with provisions for their voyage. [...] Interpretations The standing order against buying from ships that refused to bring stores reveals a deliberate policy of leverage over the captains, refusing trade to those who failed in their carrying duty. Vessels were expected to bring supplies from India for the island, and a master like Clegg who declined, then sold his own goods instead, was treated as exploiting the council's need. This shows the council using its purchasing power to enforce the obligation, withholding custom from captains who put private profit before the island's provisioning. Bohea tea names a black tea from the Wuyi hills of China, a staple of the China trade carried by the homeward East Indiamen. The council's request for chests from the two China ships shows it drawing supplies directly from vessels of the relevant trade, the tea taken on the Company's account for the island's use. This connects to the earlier shortage noted when Bazett reported the tea near exhausted at the consultation of 7 February 1719, the China ships now offering a chance to replenish the store. The council's restriction of its purchases to arrack, rice, beeswax and salt reveals a disciplined buying policy shaped by both need and principle. By limiting what it would take from Tolson's ships, the council combined its refusal to reward his imposition with the practical purchase of goods it actually lacked. This shows the council holding to its order against errant captains while still securing essential commodities, the narrow list reflecting a considered balance of grievance and necessity. The note that the four ships had revictualled at the Cape confirms the very grievance the chief inhabitants had pressed at the consultation of 17 March 1719. Vessels arriving already provisioned took little from the island, depriving the planters of the market on which their produce depended. The council's deliberate recording of this fact shows it gathering evidence of the practice that threatened the island's economy, the Cape detour documented as the inhabitants had warned. | |||||
55 | 1719. and will take but very little off of this place. So that the Planters will as We fear have a new cause of Complaint for want of vent for their Provisions they raise. Resolved That what is Sold the planters Shall have Previledge of Selling it, for We will not Sell any thing now on the Hon: Comp:ts Account tho' these Ships will Stay So little time here, & take So little that tho' this Order may Serve to Testifye our good Will, yet it can do the Planters but very little kindness. Therefore the Gov:r again Recommends to each of the Council to Propose Something to the Hon: Comp:ts What may be a remedy to this Evill, and when they have fully Considerd of it to put the Same into Writing which We hope will be a means for Our Hon:ble Masters to Redress it So Effectually that the Planters may not Labour under this Sort of Discouragement But have Some Assurance that their Industry will not be Lost. But that the Provisions they raise for the good of Shiping Shall find a vent either by restraining the Ships from resorting So much to the Cape to Enrich a Foriegne People, or that Some other Equivalent will be found out. A Copy of the Letter to the Capt:s & Supra Cargo's of y:e two China Ships. Gentlem:n Margin Notes: Encourage y:e Planters for Reliveing Provisions | The ships would take very little off the island, so that the planters would again have cause to complain for want of a market for the provisions they raised. The council resolved that what the planters sold, they should have the privilege of selling, since the council would not sell anything now on the Company's account. As the ships would stay so little time and take so little, this order, though it might serve to show the council's goodwill, could do the planters only a small kindness. The Governor therefore again urged each councillor to propose something to the Company that might remedy this trouble. When they had fully considered it, they were to put it in writing, which the council hoped would lead the directors to redress the matter so effectively that the planters would no longer labour under this kind of discouragement. The planters should instead have some assurance that their industry would not be lost, but that the provisions they raised for the good of the shipping would find a market. This might come either by restraining the ships from resorting so much to the Cape, to the enriching of a foreign people, or by finding some other equivalent. A copy of the letter to the captains and supercargoes of the two China ships followed. [...] Interpretations The council's concession that the planters should keep the privilege of selling reveals it stepping back from its own trade to favour the inhabitants. By declining to sell on the Company's account while the ships were in, the council left what little market existed to the planters. This shows a direct response to the grievance pressed at the consultation of 17 March 1719, the council acknowledging the justice of the complaint by removing itself as a competing seller, however small the relief. The Governor's call for written proposals reveals the formal channel by which local grievances were carried to the directors. By having each councillor set down a remedy in writing, the council prepared a considered representation for England, where alone the practice of revictualling at the Cape could be checked. This shows the limits of the council's own power, the matter requiring the directors' intervention, and the deliberate preparation of a case to move them to act. The reference to enriching a foreign people exposes the commercial and patriotic objection to the Cape trade, the Dutch settlement there profiting at the Company's expense. Money spent revictualling at the Cape went to a rival European power rather than to the Company's own island. This reveals the grievance as more than local, the diversion of the ships' custom to the Cape touching both the planters' livelihood and the wider interest of the Company against a foreign competitor. | |||||
56 | Aprill Gentlem:n We having great Occasion for a quan- tity of Tea for the use of this Island Doe therefore in Persuance of the Hon: Comp:ts Orders to Us directed, desire you to deliver Us Two Chests of the Said Hon: Comp:ts Ord:y Bohea Tea for which We will Shew you their Ord:r and give you our receipt for the Same. We are Gentlem:n Union Castle S:t Yo:r Humble Servants. Island the 15. Aprill 1719. Jn:o Pyke Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin Answers rec:d to the aforesaid Lett:r Worshipfll S:r &c. We are favoured w:th yours of the 15. Instant and are Sorry to tell your Worsh: &c. that tis Impossible for Us to comply with it by reason all the Bohea Tea is Stowed at the Bottom of the Ship & the Green Bing & other Tea is over it. We are Worsh: S:r &c. Island S:t Helena. Yo:r Very humble Servants 16. Apr:l 1719. Edw: Gould J. Savage Josiah Thwaites. Rob: Gascoigne Margin Notes: Lett:r to y:e Capt:ns Supra:s ab:t Tea answer'd by one | The council, having great need of a quantity of tea for the use of the island, asked the captains to deliver two chests of the Company's bohea tea in pursuance of the directors' orders. For these the council would show them the order and give a receipt. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 15 April 1719, and signed by Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The answer received to the letter followed. The captains acknowledged the letter of the 15th of this month, and were sorry to tell the council it was impossible to comply with it. All the bohea tea was stored at the bottom of the ship, and the green and other tea lay over it. The reply was dated at St Helena, 16 April 1719, and signed by Edward Goold, Josiah Thwaites, [...] Savage and Robert Gascoigne. Interpretations The council's request followed the directors' standing orders authorising it to draw supplies from passing ships, the order shown as warrant for the demand. By offering to produce the order and give a receipt, the council framed the delivery as a regular transaction on the Company's account rather than a private purchase. This shows the formal basis on which the island provisioned itself from the homeward fleet, the captains bound to supply goods the directors had directed them to carry. The captains' refusal rested on the practical difficulty of reaching tea stowed at the bottom of the hold, the green and other tea lying above the bohea. Cargo was loaded in a fixed order for the voyage, and breaking out goods buried beneath the rest meant disturbing the whole lading. This reveals the limits of the council's claim on the ships, a lawful order defeated by the physical realities of stowage, the bohea inaccessible without unloading what lay over it. The green tea stored above the bohea names the other principal type of China tea, distinguished from the black bohea by its processing. Both were staples of the China trade carried home by the East Indiamen, the green ranking as the finer and dearer sort. Its place atop the bohea in the hold reflects the ordering of the cargo, the council's wanted black tea lying inconveniently beneath the more valuable green that the captains would not disturb. | |||||
57 | 1719. Gent:n In answer to yours of this day We have Consulted together and find that you cannot be Supplyed w:th the Bohea Tea you desire from the Ship Hartford without the Utmost Inconveniencie as well in relation to the Green Tea that is wholy Stowed upon it, as in respect to the time it would require to unstow the latter to come at the other. Now we are So near Sailing, neither have We any Ordinary Tea to Supply you with. We are S:t Helena 16. Apr:l Gentlem:n 1719. Thursdery. Yo:r very Humb: Serv:ts Jno: Newsham John Somers Nathaniel Sorriano N. Mounteney Pet:r Walker [I. Bazett?] Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwine Margin Notes: answered p:r this one | In answer to the council's letter of this day, the officers of the Hartford had consulted together and found that the council could not be supplied with the bohea tea it wanted without the greatest inconvenience. The green tea was stowed wholly on top of it, and unstowing the green to reach the bohea would take time they did not have, being so near sailing. They had no ordinary tea to supply the council with either. The reply was dated at St Helena, Thursday 16 April 1719, and signed by John Newsham, John Somers, Nathaniel Torriano, [...] Moubeney and Peter Walker. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The reply from the Hartford confirms the same obstacle given by the other China ship, the green tea stowed above the bohea barring access to it. Two vessels of the China trade gave the council the identical answer, the ordering of their cargo placing the wanted black tea beneath the green. This shows the difficulty was general to the homeward Indiamen rather than peculiar to one ship, the council's lawful demand defeated by the universal practice of stowage. The officers' plea of being so near sailing reveals the narrow window in which the council could deal with a calling ship. Breaking out buried cargo demanded time a vessel about to depart would not spare, the labour of unstowing and restowing falling at the worst moment. This shows the practical limits on the island's claim to supplies from the fleet, a ship's imminent departure overriding even an order the directors had given. The absence of any ordinary tea aboard removes the alternative the council might have accepted, the ships unable to offer a lesser sort in place of the inaccessible bohea. With neither the wanted tea reachable nor a substitute available, the council's effort to replenish its store from these ships failed entirely. This connects to the shortage first noted when the tea was reported near exhausted at the consultation of 7 February 1719, the need still unmet despite the arrival of the China fleet. | |||||
58 | Aprill Island S:t Helena. At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 21. day of Aprill 1719. at Union Castle in James valley. Antip: Tovey abs:t Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r In the Country. Jn:o Alexander &c.} Assist:s Jn:o Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. / We have this day Sent for and Acquainted Doct: Civill That according to the Warning he gave Us to provide our Selves w:th another Surgeon as in Consultation of the 26. Febry last We have gott one out of one of the Last Ships, and therefore he has leave to goe off when ever he will, and is Accordingly now Discharged from being Cheif Surgeon. But if he is minded to Stay out the Six months he Mentions, We will Allow him Sallary for that time in case he behaves himself well. / Ordered That Mr. Edm: Lee (who is the person above Mentioned) be Entertained as Surgeon at the Usuall Sallary who with Mr. Peter Hicks was Sent for and told of Mr. Civills desire to goe off, & that he had now leave So to doe. And that they two Mr. Lee & Mr. Hicks were to Act as Surgeons Equally, and their quallifications being not yet well known to Us. they were told they Margin Notes: Doct: Civill Discharged Mr. Lee made Surgeon Mr. Hicks Mate | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 21 April 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. The council had this day sent for Doctor Cawill and told him that, in line with the warning he had given, it had provided itself with another surgeon, as recorded in the consultation of 26 February 1719. The council had got one out of one of the last ships, and so Cawill had leave to go off whenever he wished. He was now discharged from being chief surgeon. If he chose to stay out the six months he had mentioned, the council would allow him a salary for that time, provided he behaved himself well. The council ordered that Edmond Lee, the person mentioned above, be engaged as surgeon at the usual salary. He and Peter Hicks were sent for and told of Cawill's wish to go off, and that he now had leave to do so. Lee and Hicks were to act as surgeons equally. Their qualifications not being yet well known to the council, they were told they [...] Interpretations Cawill's discharge resolves the medical staffing question that had run through these consultations since he gave notice, recorded at the consultation of 26 February 1719. Having warned of his intention to leave, he was now released once a replacement was secured from a passing ship. The council's offer of a salary should he stay out his six months, conditional on good behaviour, shows it managing the transition carefully, retaining his service if he chose to remain while freeing him to depart. The recruitment of Edmond Lee from one of the last ships reveals the island's reliance on passing vessels to supply its professional men as well as its goods. A surgeon serving aboard a homeward Indiaman could be engaged on the island as the fleet called, the ships a source of skilled personnel in a place where such men were scarce. This shows how St Helena filled its offices from the transient population of the trade, the medical vacancy answered by a man the shipping brought. The pairing of Lee and Hicks to act as surgeons equally reveals the council's caution over men whose competence it had not yet tested. By setting the two to serve jointly rather than appointing one chief surgeon, the council guarded against entrusting the post to an unproven man. This connects to the engagement of Hicks as surgeon's mate at the consultation of 12 March 1719, the medical provision now resting on two newcomers whose qualifications the council meant to observe before settling the senior charge. | |||||
59 | 1719. they Should both be Equall and no cheif ap- pointed. But the man who Should be found to be the Most Industrious and most deserving, & has the most Success, Shall be appointed cheif Surgeon which We hope will be a means of Encourageing both of them in their Business. Mr. Francis Wranghain Appeared with a Deed & Bill of Sale for a Parcell of Land he lately bought of Lucas Mason, who Married his Sister Desireing they might be Registered, and that he may have a Lease for two Acres of the Hon: Comp:ts Land formerly granted his Said Sister made in his own Name or in the Name of Such three Persons as he Shall Name for his Nominees. Ordered That his Writings now produced be all Registered in the Register Book as Usuall, and that he have a Lease made out as he Shall desire. The Church Wardens for the year past viz:t Isaac Wood & James Vesey According to an Advertizem:t Published for the Choofeing Parish Officers brought this day an Acco:t of the following Persons for Church Wardens & over- seers to Succeed the Present Officers. (viz:t) Jn:o Worrall Margin Notes: Wranghains Deed Reg:d Church Wardens | Lee and Hicks were both to be equal, with no chief appointed. The man found to be the most industrious and deserving, and who had the most success, would be appointed chief surgeon. The council hoped this would encourage both of them in their work. Francis Wrangham appeared with a deed and bill of sale for a parcel of land he had lately bought of Lucas Mason, who had married his sister. He asked that they be registered, and that he have a lease for two acres of the Company's land formerly granted his sister, made out in his own name or in the names of three persons he would nominate. The council ordered that the writings now produced be all registered in the register book as usual, and that he have a lease made out as he wished. The churchwardens for the past year, Isaac Wood and James Vesey, in line with an advertisement published for the choosing of parish officers, brought in this day an account of the following persons to succeed the present officers as churchwardens and overseers. The first named was John Worrall. [...] Interpretations The council's plan to make chief surgeon the more successful of the two reveals a deliberate use of competition to secure good service. By withholding the senior post and promising it to whichever man proved the more industrious and successful, the council turned the appointment into an incentive. This shows the council managing two unproven men by setting them against each other, the prospect of promotion meant to draw the best work from both while it judged their merit. Wrangham's registration of his deed and bill of sale reveals the formal recording of land transfers in the island's register book, the means by which title was secured. The purchase from Lucas Mason, his brother-in-law, and the lease of land formerly granted his sister show land passing within a family by sale and inheritance. His request to name three nominees in the lease reflects a device for securing the holding against future uncertainty, the named persons standing as the lives or interests in whom the lease was vested. Mason's departure for England was noted at the consultation of 14 March 1719. The choosing of churchwardens and overseers reveals the parish machinery operating on the island, the offices filled annually by published advertisement. Churchwardens managed the affairs of the church and overseers the relief of the poor, the parish a unit of local administration alongside the council. This shows the settled community governed in part through the familiar English parish structure, its officers chosen yearly to succeed the present holders, the account brought in by the outgoing wardens. | |||||
60 | Aprill Church Wardens John Worrall Willi:m Scale For y:e E. Division Ditto John Bagley John Coles For y:e W. divis:n Overseers of the Highways Thom: Hayse Rich: or Ant: Beale for y:e E. Div: Ditto Ralph Orine James Rider for y:e W. Divis:n Ditto Willi:m Worrall John Harding for y:e S. Divis:n Ordered That John Coles & John Worrall be Appointed Church Wardens for the Ensueing year. And That James Rider, William Worrall and Thom: Hayse be likewise Appointed Overseers of the high ways and each to have a Warrant to Act in each Division as above Named. The Gov:r Says he has rec:d the following Letter from one John Maynard at Bencoolen. Worshipfll S:r Fort Marlbro Dec:r 27. 1718. "I am glad to hear of your health & make "bold to trouble you about my Serv:t Rob: Jordins "Dictt which was Stopt when I came from yo:r "Place which was from June the 24. 1715. to June "the 30. 1716. is twelve months at 28 Shill: p:r Mo: is Margin Notes: Cpy. Lett:r from Jn:o Maynard | The proposed parish officers were listed as follows. Churchwardens for the east division John Worrall and William Scale Churchwardens for the west division John Bagley and John Coles Overseers of the highways for the east division Thomas Hayse and Richard or Ann Beale Overseers of the highways for the west division Ralph Orme and James Rider Overseers of the highways for the south division William Worrall and John Harding The council ordered that John Coles and John Worrall be appointed churchwardens for the ensuing year. It further ordered that James Rider, William Worrall and Thomas Hayse be appointed overseers of the highways, each to have a warrant to act in his division as named above. The Governor said he had received the following letter from John Maynard at Bencoolen, dated Fort Marlborough, 27 December 1718. Maynard was glad to hear of the Governor's health and made bold to trouble him about his servant Robert Jordins, whose diet had been stopped when Maynard left the island. This was for the year from 24 June 1715 to 30 June 1716, twelve months at 28 shillings per month. [...] Interpretations The slate of nominees lists candidates by name and division, the council then selecting the officers from among them. By choosing John Coles and John Worrall as churchwardens and three named men as highway overseers, the council exercised a power of appointment over the parish offices. This shows the council controlling the local administration of church and roads, the annual choice of officers resting with the governing body rather than with the parish alone. The overseers of the highways reveal the system by which the island's roads were maintained through appointed officers in each division. The highway overseers organised the labour due from the inhabitants for road work, as set out in the warrants of 15 January 1719 appointing overseers for the year's programme. The division of the island into east, west and south for this purpose shows the administrative geography by which the burden of road maintenance was shared across the settled districts. Maynard's letter from Fort Marlborough connects St Helena to Bencoolen, the Company's settlement on Sumatra of which Fort Marlborough was the seat. The claim for his servant's stopped diet, twelve months at 28 shillings a month, reveals an account left unsettled when Maynard departed the island. This shows the financial ties running between the Company's posts, a debt for a servant's maintenance pursued across the distance from Sumatra, the same Bencoolen to which the boy Incha Glora was to be returned per the consultation of 17 March 1719. | |||||
61 | 1719. "is 16. 16. 0. which I desire may be payd to Mr. "Beel for which I have had an order in England "Capt. Bazett very well knows that only my Self "was Booked for diett, wishing yo: good Self and "all friends heath & happyness Remaine Yo: Most ob:t Humb:le Servant. (Signed) John Maynard. / Mr. Goodwin is desired to Look over the Books of Acco:ts and to Report what he finds therein relating to this matter. On Sunday Morning the 19. Inst: Sailed hence for England the following Ships, viz:t The Cannavan Capt. Josiah Thwaites Comd:r The Derby Capt. William Fitzhugh The Hertford Capt. Thom: Newsham The Heathcott Capt. Joseph Tolson The Benjamin Capt. John Pye. Capt. Tolson being Comandor as Eldest Comander, Hurryed away the Fleet who Stayed here but Six days and Capt. Pye but four days tho' almost all his Men on board were Sick & Severall of the other People when they went on Board were in Such a weak Condition that they were Led down between two. We offered all the Margin Notes: Ref:d 5 Ships Sailed from Hence | The sum was £16 16s 0d, which Maynard asked might be paid to Beale, for which he had given an order to England. Captain Bazett knew very well that only Maynard himself had been charged for diet. He wished the Governor and all friends health and happiness. The letter was signed by John Maynard. The council asked Goodwin to look over the account books and report what he found in them concerning this matter. On Sunday morning the 19th of this month the following ships sailed from here for England. The Caernarvon, Captain Josiah Thwaites, commander. The Derby, Captain William Fitzhugh. The Hartford, Captain Thomas Newsham. The Heathcote, Captain Joseph Tolson. The Benjamin, Captain John Pye. Captain Tolson, being commander as eldest captain, hurried away the fleet, which stayed here only six days, and Captain Pye only four days. Almost all his men aboard were sick, and several of the other people, when they went aboard, were in such a weak condition that they had to be led down between two men. The council offered all the [...] Interpretations Maynard's reliance on Captain Bazett's knowledge to support his claim reveals the difficulty of settling accounts across the distance between the Company's posts. With the dispute turning on what had been charged years before, Maynard appealed to a witness who knew the facts, unaware that Bazett had died on 5 April 1719. The council's recourse to the account books shows it seeking documentary proof in place of the testimony now lost, the written record the only sure means of resolving the matter. The departure of the homeward fleet under Tolson as eldest captain reveals the convoy practice of the East India trade, the senior commander directing the movements of the assembled ships. The fleet sailed together for mutual protection on the long voyage, the eldest captain holding authority over its timing. Tolson's hurrying the fleet away after only six days shows this authority exercised over the whole company of ships, the convoy's departure set by its commander rather than the convenience of the island. The weak and sick condition of the men going aboard reveals the toll of the voyage and the sickly season on the ships' companies. Crews and passengers led down between two men were too feeble to walk unaided, a measure of the disease that had reduced them. This shows the human cost of the trade passing through the island, the same epidemic afflicting the Benjamin noted at the consultation of 14 April 1719 leaving the homebound ships manned by enfeebled people barely able to sail. | |||||
62 | Aprill the Captains that had any Sick men on Shore that if they were resolved to Saile they Should leave the Sickest of their men behind them and did not Question but to Recover them So as to be fitt for Service in another Ship. But none were left. We think when there is no hopes of Peoples liveing by going on board in Such a weak Con- dition that they ought to be left where Care might be better taken of them as the Dutch Always do at the Cape of Good hope. But as We have no Orders from the Hon: Comp:y relating to Such Matters We could only tell them We were willing to assist them and take their Sick People under our Care, and are Sorry those Poor People are So Unfortunate as to Sail with those who vallue their lives So little. Before the Ships had Sailed half a League We found a man who being drunk was left on Shore his name is Richard Stenings and was a Passenger in one of the Ships. We made a Waife w:th the Great Flagg at the fort & fired a Gun the Usuall Signall for Sending a Boat, But Capt. Tolson Crowding on with all the Sail he could make, none of the Ships had time Margin Notes: Offer to Capt:ns to take Care of y:e Sick men Stenings Left a Shore | The council had offered the captains with sick men ashore that, if they were resolved to sail, they should leave the sickest of their men behind. It did not doubt it could recover them, so as to be fit for service in another ship. None, however, were left. The council thought that when there was no hope of people surviving by going aboard in such a weak condition, they ought to be left where better care might be taken of them, as the Dutch always did at the Cape of Good Hope. Having no orders from the Company on such matters, the council could only tell the captains it was willing to assist them and take their sick people into its care. It was sorry those poor people were so unfortunate as to sail with men who valued their lives so little. Before the ships had sailed half a league, the council found a man who, being drunk, had been left ashore. His name was Richard Flemings, a passenger in one of the ships. The council made a waft with the great flag at the Fort and fired a gun, the usual signal for sending a boat. Captain Tolson, however, crowded on with all the sail he could make, and none of the ships [...] Interpretations The council's offer to nurse the sickest men reveals its function as a place of recovery for the trade, equipped to restore the ill where the ships could not. By proposing to take the worst cases ashore and make them fit for a later vessel, the council offered a humane alternative to carrying dying men to sea. The captains' refusal to leave any shows the convoy's haste overriding the welfare of the sick, the council's offer declined in favour of keeping the companies together. The comparison with Dutch practice at the Cape reveals the council measuring its own conduct against the rival settlement, and finding the English ships wanting. The Dutch left their sick to be cared for at the Cape, while the English captains carried theirs aboard regardless. This connects to the wider grievance against the Cape trade pressed at the consultation of 17 March 1719, the council here turning the comparison to a question of humanity, the Dutch shown as the more careful of their people. The council's lament that it had no orders from the Company exposes the limits of its authority over the ships, unable to compel what it could only request. Without instructions empowering it to detain sick men, the council could merely offer assistance and hope the captains accepted. This reveals the gap in the Company's regulation of such matters, the council willing to act humanely but lacking the power to override a captain resolved to sail with his sick aboard. The abandonment of the drunken passenger Flemings and Tolson's refusal to send for him reveal the convoy commander's determination to brook no delay. The waft of the great flag and the gun were the recognised signal for a boat, yet Tolson crowded on sail and ignored them. This shows the eldest captain's authority exercised without regard for a single stranded passenger, the fleet's departure pressed forward even at the cost of leaving a man behind. | |||||
63 | 1719. time to Send a Boat on Shoar So the Man was left behind, Since the Ships Sailed when he came to himself he Sent the Gov:r the following Letter. / Nobilissime'tæ non Celebrime vir. Domine Gubernator. Heis Celebrime vir quædonavis mea profecta est sis me ofse Constrinctum Expectare usque veniat alia navis quia Jam Nihil habes Penes me Dequo Vivere Possum tum licentia Vestra dicam tibi Strenue vir qui Sunt mei parentes Pater Meus defunctus Johannes Pikes ab Alpren Suit Consiliarius Justitiæ et Director Eclesiasticus in Ducata Clivenzi Regis Borufsiæ et Electoris Brandenburgici Statuens Meus Reinhaldus ab Shymmen Est Ibidem Consiliarius Status Intimus et Vice Conceliarius Suit Legatus Hagæ Comatæ apud Status Generalis et Ultra Heli ad Rhenum tempore pacis Et Jam Legatus Regis Borufsiæ ad aulam Regis Angliæ Sicut habui Litteras ca:de Causa Gubernator Madarofs e patriam Dominus Joseph Collet Misit me Anglia Sicut Docter Navis mea qui est hic, tibi, Celebrime vir Dicere Statist quia Jam Nihil habes dequo Vivere Possum obsecro te quod Velis Mihi Mutuo dare pecuniam ad Vivendum dabo Sibi Letteram Cambri ad Sabvendum Londenum Statum quanà venie ibur Margin Notes: His Lett:r | None of the ships had time to send a boat ashore, so the man was left behind. After the ships had sailed, when he came to himself, he sent the Governor the following letter. The letter was written in Latin and addressed to the most noble and renowned governor. The writer set out that a certain renowned man had advised him that his departure was prevented, so that he must wait until another ship came, since he now had nothing to live on. With the council's permission he would name his distinguished parentage. His late father, Johannes [...], of [...], had been a counsellor of justice and director of church affairs in the duchy of [...], under the King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg. His [...], Reinhard of [...], had likewise been a privy counsellor of state there and vice-chancellor, an envoy at The Hague to the States General and beyond [...] to the Rhine at the time of peace. He had also been envoy of the King of Prussia [...] to the court of the King of England, as appeared from letters he held on that matter. The Governor of Madras, Joseph Collet, had sent him from England as a ship's doctor, which was now his calling. He told the renowned governor that, since he had nothing to live on, he begged him to lend him money to live on. For repayment he would give a bill on [...] at London, to be honoured when [...] Interpretations The stranded passenger's recourse to Latin reveals the language of learning and diplomacy through which an educated European appealed to authority across national lines. Writing to the Governor in Latin, Flemings asserted both his schooling and his standing, the formal address invoking a shared language of the lettered class. This shows the cosmopolitan character of the trade's passengers, a man of continental education thrown on the island's charity yet able to address its governor in the common tongue of scholars. The recital of distinguished parentage reveals the writer's strategy of establishing his quality to secure credit and consideration. By naming his father a counsellor of justice and his kinsman an envoy of the King of Prussia, he sought to assure the Governor of his respectability and the reliability of any loan. This shows how a stranger without resources pressed his lineage as security, the standing of his Prussian family offered in place of present means to obtain the money he needed. The reference to Joseph Collet, Governor of Madras, who had sent the writer out as a ship's doctor, connects the stranded man to the Company's establishment in India. Collet's despatch of him from England gave him a place in the trade as a surgeon, his calling aboard the ship. This reveals the network through which the Company's officers placed men in its service, the writer's position owing to the patronage of the Madras governor, though it left him destitute when the fleet sailed without him. | |||||
64 | Aprill ibur Parentes Mei vivit=tibi Nobilisime Vir obligati et Solvent Pecuniam omnicum Grati- tudine et Interefse, et Ego Sum usque dum Vive omnium respicela. Nobilisime nec Nor Celebrime vir. Domine Gubernator. Tuus humillemus et obsequientisfimus Servus (Signed) Reinhardus ab Hymmin We find by all Accounts that this man has been well born but much Degenerated, and as he is left here, must not Starve, And altho' to allow him money for his Bills We cannot Yet if he can find quarters We will pay 12: p:r day for his Provisions to those who find him, and take his Bill for that money. / We have received from Maddrass per Ship Derby, and from Bencoolen per Ship Benjamin the following Goods. viz:t Maddrass Goods viz:t Long Margin Notes: 12 p:r Day Allow:d for his provision | The writer closed by saying that his parents, while they lived, would be obliged to the most noble governor and would repay the money in full, with all gratitude and interest, and that he remained, as long as he lived, respectful in all things. The letter ended with a formal subscription to the most noble and renowned governor, signing himself his most humble and obedient servant, Reinhard of Hymmin. The council found from all accounts that this man had been well born but much fallen in the world. Since he was left on the island, he must not starve. Though the council could not allow him money for his bills, it would, if he could find quarters, pay 12 pence a day for his provisions to those who lodged him, and take his bill for that money. The council had received from Madras by the Derby, and from Bencoolen by the Benjamin, the following goods. Madras goods [...] Interpretations The council's careful response to Reinhard reveals a measured charity that fed the destitute man without extending him credit. Unwilling to honour his bills for money, the council would still pay for his provisions at 12 pence a day to whoever lodged him, taking his bill for that limited sum. This shows the council distinguishing between a loan of cash and the bare relief of want, providing subsistence against a stranger's bill while declining the larger advance he had sought. The council's judgement that the man was well born but degenerated reflects a contemporary reading of fallen gentility, his quality acknowledged even as his circumstances were not. The recital of his Prussian lineage in the Latin letter persuaded the council of his birth, while his destitution marked his decline. This shows the weight given to social standing in the treatment of a stranger, his pedigree earning him a consideration that secured his provision, the council answering to a sense of what was owed a man of family. The receipt of goods from Madras and Bencoolen reveals the regular provisioning of the island from the Company's eastern establishments, the homeward ships carrying stores on the Company's account. The Derby from Madras and the Benjamin from Bencoolen brought the goods the council had expected, in contrast to the captains who came empty or sold their own wares. This shows the proper working of the supply system, the ordered stores arriving by ship to replenish the island's stocks. | |||||
65 | 1719. LCO. Ba 3 Long Cloth Ord:y White Worriapoll:m Cont 72. Long & 2:d viz: 1. Bales p:r P:s So 2. W. 3. 4. 10.
32. 9. p:r Corge 145. 4. 49 Washing 4. p:r Bale 5 Packing 32 2 24 Boat & Cooly. 2. - p:r Bale -6 40 GIN 2 Gingham Buzzar Strip:d Cont 14. Long 1 3/4 Broad 220.
12. 9. p:r Corge - Packing 9 2 18 Boat & Cooly. 2. - -4 22 [heart symbol] FC Bengall Sug:r 20. p:s 6. Ba Cont Quintall q:y 40 p:r Candy -71. 18. 15 Pay 55 Errors Excepted p:r Wm. Jennings Quompt Bencoolen Goods viz:t Doll:s C: N:o 3 Sug:r fine Canisters p:s h: 11. 26. q:y 4. P:r Quintall Quintall 75 N:o 1 & 2 Arrack Bencoolen. 4. half Leg: q:y 25. 6. Gallt 98
1. 29. p:r 180. Gall: from Bencoolen Gunney to Pack the Sug:r in 15. P:s -1 275 Totall of this Jn:o w:ch God Prosper -89. 48 Since the above have Shipt on Board 2 Rinaeae Slaves 60. Doll:s ced. -120 Errors Excepted p:r James Hubbard Quompt John | The council had received from Madras by the Derby, and from Bencoolen by the Benjamin, the following goods. Madras goods. Long cloth, ordinary white, Worriapoll, 3 bales, 72 long and [...] broad, marked 2 W and 3, numbers 4 to 10 at 32 [...] 9 [...] per corge 145 [...] 4 [...] 40 [...] Washing 1 [...] 4 [...] per bale 5 [...] Packing, 32 2 [...] 24 [...] Boat and cooly, 2, per bale 6 [...] 15 [...] 34 [...] 40 [...] Gingham bazaar striped, 14 long, [...] broad, marked GIN 2, numbers 1, 2 and 220 at 12 [...] 9 [...] per corge 245 [...] Packing 1 [...] 9 [...] 2 [...] 18 [...] Boat and cooly, 2 4 [...] 247 [...] 22 [...] Bengal sugar, 20 [...] 6, candy 11 [...] 9 per [...] 400 [...] 20 [...] 40 [...] 71 [...] 18 [...] 15 [...] Total, pagodas 472 [...] 2 [...] 55 [...] The Madras account was certified errors excepted by William Jennings, accountant. Bencoolen goods, in dollars and cents. Fine sugar in canisters, marked number 3, [...] 11, 26 [...] at 4 [...], 50 per hundredweight 46 [...] 75 [...] Bencoolen arrack, marked numbers 1 and 2, 4 half-leaguers of 256 gallons, at 29 [...] per 180 gallons 41 [...] 98 [...] Gunner to pack the sugar in, 15 [...] 1 [...] 275 [...] Total of this invoice, which God prosper 89 [...] 48 [...] Since the above, two runaway slaves had been shipped aboard at 60 dollars each. 120 [...] The Bencoolen account was certified errors excepted by James Hubbard, accountant. It was signed by John [...] Interpretations The long cloth and gingham reveal the Indian cotton textiles at the heart of the Madras trade, supplied to the island for clothing and resale. Long cloth was a plain cotton woven in long pieces, and gingham a checked or striped cotton, both staples of the Coromandel coast. The terms Worriapoll and bazaar striped name the particular sorts and markets of these cloths, the goods invoiced by bale with their lengths and breadths as the trade reckoned them. The corge and the pagoda reveal the units of the Madras trade in which these goods were counted and valued. A corge was a measure of 20 pieces in which cloth was sold, and the pagoda the gold coin that served as the unit of account on the Coromandel coast. The reckoning of the textiles by corge and the total struck in pagodas show the account kept in the commercial terms of the Indian establishment, distinct from the dollars and cents of the Bencoolen invoice. The leaguer reveals the large cask in which the Bencoolen arrack was shipped, a measure of considerable capacity used for spirits and wine. The half-leaguers of 256 gallons show the scale of the vessel, the arrack carried in bulk from Sumatra. This connects to the council's resolve to buy arrack noted at the consultations of 14 April 1719 and 16 April 1719, the spirit a regular import from the eastern posts as well as from passing ships. The shipping of two runaway slaves at 60 dollars each reveals the recovery and sale of escaped people as a transaction of the trade. Slaves who had fled were retaken and sold on, their value reckoned in dollars like any other lading. This grim entry, appended to the invoice of goods, shows enslaved people moved between the Company's posts as recoverable property, their flight ending in resale and transport to another station. | |||||
66 | Aprill John Young Custom Master brought an Acco:t of abundance of Goods Landed by Capt. Tolson and Sent to Mr. Powells House In all Eighty two Parcells Bales The Gov:r Says he thinks at least they ought to be Charged the Custome because it hinders the Comp:y from Selling their Goods out of the Stores, besides he thinks himself very much Imposed upon by Capt. Tolsons puting Such a quantity of Goods aShore when he was ill and not able to look after it. for Capt. Tolson Wrote the Gov:r the following Letter. / Worsh: S:r I haveing a Small Parcell of Dungaree to Dispose of and intending to Saile Tomorrow Desire leave to put it on Shore. in which You'l Oblige. Tuesday Aprill 14. S:r Your Humb:le Serv:t 1719. to Command. Jos: Tolson By this Letter it appears he asked Leave of the Gov:r to Send a Small Parcell. / Wherefore Ordered That any one of they Parcells be Excused paying Custome because leave was askt for Landing them But Margin Notes: Goods Landed p:r Capt. Tolson & Carried to Mr. Powells to pay Custome Cap:ts Lett:r | John Young, the customs master, brought an account of a great quantity of goods landed by Captain Tolson and sent to Powell's house, 82 bales in all. The Governor said he thought they ought at least to be charged the customs duty, since landing them hindered the Company from selling its own goods out of the stores. He also thought himself much imposed upon by Captain Tolson putting such a quantity of goods ashore when he was ill and unable to look after it. Captain Tolson had written the Governor the following letter. Tolson set out that he had a small parcel of dungaree to dispose of, and that, intending to sail tomorrow, he asked leave to put it ashore. The letter was dated Tuesday 14 April 1719 and signed by Joseph Tolson. From this letter it appeared that Tolson had asked the Governor's leave to land only a small parcel. The council ordered that any one of these parcels be excused paying customs, since leave had been asked for landing it. [...] Interpretations The customs duty reveals the levy the island charged on goods landed by passing ships, a charge the Governor sought to impose on Tolson's large consignment. By raising the question of customs, the Governor pressed a means of recovering some return from a trade that otherwise undercut the Company's own sales. This connects to the standing concern that private dealing by captains hindered the stores, the duty offering a check on goods landed in competition with the Company's stock. The Governor's sense of imposition reveals the grievance that Tolson had abused his illness to land far more than agreed. Having asked leave for only a small parcel of dungaree, Tolson put 82 bales ashore while the Governor lay sick and unable to oversee it. The contrast between the modest request in the letter and the great quantity actually landed exposes the captain's overreach, the Governor reading it as a deliberate advantage taken of his incapacity. The council's order to excuse one parcel from customs reveals a careful distinction between what leave covered and what it did not. Since Tolson had asked leave for a small parcel, that single parcel was allowed free, the concession honoured to the letter of his request. This shows the council holding the captain to the precise terms of the permission he had sought, excusing only what had actually been agreed while reserving the question of the remaining bales landed without leave. | |||||
67 | 1719. But that Mr. Powell be Charged with all the Custome for all the rest. And. We dont wonder now that Capt. Tolson refused to bring Us the Stores Sent on Board for this Island when he had Such Quantities to Sell himself. But we must do Mr. Powell Justi- ce We know he was very unwilling & forc:d Such a quantity of Goods Comeing to his House because he came to the Gov:r & to the Council Severally & told Us that Capt. Tolson put these things upon him, and forc:d him against his Inclination to receive them. [I. Bazett?] Island S:t Helena. Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 28. day of Aprill 1719. at Union Castle in James Valley. Antip: Tovey abs:t Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r In the Country. Jn:o Alexander} Assist:s Pres:t Jn:o Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. / The following Petitions were Presented viz:t To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq:r Gov:r &c. Councile. The Humble Petition of Mrs. Bridgett Bazett. Wid:o Sheweth That Margin Notes: Mr. Powell Charg:d | The council ordered that Powell be charged the customs duty for all the rest. The council no longer wondered that Captain Tolson had refused to bring the stores sent aboard for the island, when he had such quantities to sell himself. It had, however, to do Powell justice and say it knew he had been very unwilling and against bringing such a quantity of goods to his house. He had come to the Governor and to the council severally and told them that Captain Tolson had forced these goods upon him against his inclination. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 April 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Isaac Pyke, Governor, John Alexander and John Goodwin, assistants. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The minutes of the previous consultation were read and approved. The following petitions were then presented. Bridget Bazett, widow, petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. [...] Interpretations The council's charging of Powell for the remaining bales reveals customs duty falling on the holder of the landed goods, the householder answerable for what was stored with him. By laying the charge on Powell rather than Tolson, the council pursued the duty against the party within its reach, the captain being about to sail. This shows the practical incidence of the levy, the goods chargeable through the man who held them once the ship had gone. The council's defence of Powell reveals its concern to distinguish the unwilling householder from the offending captain. Powell had protested to the Governor and council that Tolson forced the goods upon him, and the council recorded this to clear him of blame even as it charged him the duty. This shows the council separating responsibility from liability, acknowledging Powell's innocence of the imposition while still holding the goods in his keeping answerable for customs. Tolson's refusal to carry the island's stores, now explained by his own quantity of goods to sell, confirms the grievance against captains who put private trade before their carrying duty. The council connected his failure to bring the ordered stores with his eagerness to land his own wares, the two parts of a single self-interest. This reveals the conflict between the Company's need for reliable supply and the captains' pursuit of private profit, Tolson's conduct standing as a clear instance of the abuse the council deplored. The petition of Bridget Bazett, widow, opens the business following the death of Captain Matthew Bazett on 5 April 1719. As his widow she came before the council on matters arising from his estate or her own provision. This connects to the upheaval his death had caused in the island's affairs, the contest over his storekeepership resolved at the consultation of 7 April 1719 now followed by the widow's own application. | |||||
68 | Aprill That Whereas about five or Six Acres of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying next Adjoyning to your Petition:rs own Land & very Convenient for her Wherefore is desir- ous to become Tenn:t for the Same and a Lease Granted. Aprill 28. 1719. And as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c. (Signed) John Bazett for his Moth:r The Petition of Robert Bell free plant:r & Mason. Setting forth that a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:ts Waste Land lying very Convenient and next Adjoyning to his Plan- tation. Humbly prays to become Tenn:t for about 6. Acres thereof w:ch if Lett to any Person Else would be very Detrimentall to him. Both these Petitions are Referred to the Govern:r and Mr. Goodwin who will go and view the Land and then make their Report. Francis & Joseph Long Sold:rs brought this day the Last Will & Testam:t of Geo: Parradice Sold:r In order of having the Same proved which was Accordingly done Margin Notes: Mrs. Bazett Wid pets for Land Adjoyng to her own. Rob:t Bell pets for Land Adjoyning to his plantation Ref:d George Parradices will proved | Bridget Bazett set out that about five or six acres of the Company's waste land lay next to her own land and very convenient for her. She asked to become tenant for it, with a lease granted. The petition was dated 28 April 1719 and signed by John Bazett on behalf of his mother. Robert Bell, free planter and mason, petitioned the council. He set out that a small parcel of the Company's waste land lay very convenient and next to his plantation. He asked to become tenant for about six acres of it, since if let to anyone else it would be much to his disadvantage. Both these petitions were referred to Governor Pyke and Goodwin, who were to view the land and then make their report. Francis and Joseph Long, soldiers, brought in this day the last will and testament of George Parradice, soldier, to have it proved, which was accordingly done. [...] Interpretations The widow Bazett's petition through her son reveals the family securing land in the wake of the storekeeper's death, John Bazett acting for his mother. Having lost Captain Matthew Bazett on 5 April 1719, the household sought to add convenient waste to its holding. This shows the widow turning to the council for provision after her husband's death, the younger Bazett, retained in the store at the consultation of 7 April 1719, now also managing his mother's affairs. Robert Bell's description as free planter and mason reveals the combination of farming with a building trade common among the island's settlers. A mason worked in stone, a valued skill on an island raising fortifications and houses, while his plantation supplied his subsistence. His petition for the adjoining parcel follows the familiar pattern of consolidation, the convenient waste sought to round out a holding already established. The proving of George Parradice's will reveals the council's function as the authority before which testaments were established, the soldiers Long bringing it in for probate. Parradice had figured in the gunner's account at the consultation of 14 March 1719, his burial marked by powder fired. The formal proving of his will shows the council settling the affairs of the dead, the testament admitted to record so that the estate might pass according to its terms. | |||||
69 | 1719. done by the Oaths of Richard Long, John Long and John Marsh. Ordered That the Said Will be rec:d and approved of and Entered as usuall. Island S:t Helena. Janry 17. 1718/9. In the Name of God Amen. I George Paradice of the Said Island Sold:r being Sick & weak of Body but of Perfect mind & Memory thanks be to God for the Same but calling to mind the Uncertainty of this life and knowing that it is Appointed for all men once to die, hopeing through the Merits & death of Jesus Christ to receive remision & Pardon for all my Sins do hereby make and Ordain this my last Will and Testam:t in manner and forme following viz:t Imp:s I will and Order that all my debts and Funerall Charges be first of all paid & Satisfyed. / Item. I give & bequeath to my Loving friends Fran: and Joseph Long all my whole Estate that I Enjoy or belongs to me upon this Island, But Expecting Something to be Sent to me from England which if ever it Arrives Safe. I give and bequeath to Elizabeth Marsh. Lastly I nominate Appoint and make Francis Long Margin Notes: The Will | The will was proved by the oaths of Richard Long, John Long and John Marsh. The council ordered that the will be read and approved, and entered as usual. Island of St Helena The will of George Parradice followed, dated 17 January 1719. Parradice, soldier of the island, being sick and weak of body but of perfect mind and memory, thanks be to God, called to mind the uncertainty of this life and that it is appointed for all men once to die. Hoping through the merits and death of Jesus Christ for remission and pardon of all his sins, he made and ordained his last will and testament in the following manner. First, he directed that all his debts and funeral charges be first paid and satisfied. He then gave and bequeathed to his loving friends Francis and Joseph Long his whole estate that he held or that belonged to him on the island. He expected something to be sent to him from England, which, whenever it arrived safe, he gave and bequeathed to Elizabeth Marsh. Lastly, he nominated and appointed Francis Long [...] Interpretations The proving of the will by three sworn witnesses reveals the formal requirement of testimony to establish a testament, the oaths of Long, Long and Marsh confirming its validity. Witnesses attested that the document was the true will of the deceased, made while of sound mind. This shows the legal process by which a will was admitted to record on the island, the council requiring sworn proof before approving and entering it. The will's pious preamble reflects the religious conventions governing testaments of the period, the bequest of the soul preceding the disposal of goods. The acknowledgement of mortality and hope of salvation through Christ formed the standard opening of such instruments. These were the formulas the rewriter renders in narrative, the will following the established devotional pattern before turning to the practical division of the estate. The bequest to Elizabeth Marsh of something expected from England reveals property still in transit, a legacy of goods or money not yet arrived on the island. Parradice disposed of an expectation as well as his present estate, the future remittance assigned to a particular beneficiary. This shows a testator settling all his interests, including property he had not yet received, the will reaching to assets still on their way across the sea. | |||||
70 | Aprill Long, and Joseph Long Executors of this my Last Will and Testem:t Revoaking & making void all former Wills by me made Declaring this to be my Last Will and Testament Signed & Sealed by the George P Paradice Testator in the presence Mark. of Rich: Long Jn:o Long Jn:o Marsh The Gov:r Reports That three of the Hon: Comp:ts Blacks. viz:t Scipio Rachael and Mercy died last Week. / Christoph:r Kell Gun:rs Mate dying on the 27. Inst: Intestate and leaving two Small Children unprovided for, the follow- ing Advertizem:t was Published. / Island S:t By the Worsh. Isa: Pyke Esq:r Helena. Gov:r & Council. An Advertizement. Whereas Christoph:r Kell, dying on the 27. Inst: Intestate and leaving two Young Children Unprovided for. But haveing Some Small Effects that may help find them Cloathing for a Small time These Margin Notes: 3 Blacks Dead Christop:r Kells Death Advertizem:t to Administer | Parradice appointed Francis Long and Joseph Long executors of his will, revoking and making void all former wills, and declaring this to be his last will and testament. It was signed and sealed by the testator with his mark, George Parradice, in the presence of Richard Long, John Long and John Marsh. The Governor reported that three of the Company's slaves, Scipio, Rachael and Mercy, had died last week. Christopher Kell, gunner's mate, died on the 27th of this month, intestate, leaving two small children unprovided for. The following advertisement was published. An advertisement by Governor Pyke and the council followed. Christopher Kell had died on the 27th of this month, intestate, leaving two young children unprovided for. He had, however, some small effects that might help to find them clothing for a short time. These [...] Interpretations Parradice's signing by mark reveals the illiteracy common among the island's soldiers, the testator unable to write his name. A mark served in place of a signature, the will validated by the witnesses who saw him make it. This shows the practical accommodation of an unlettered population within the forms of law, the formal instrument completed by a mark where the testator could not sign. The deaths of three Company slaves in a single week reveal the continuing toll of the sickly season on the enslaved labour force. Scipio, Rachael and Mercy, named as the Company's property, died amid the same epidemic afflicting the garrison and the ships. This shows the disease reaching across the whole population of the island, the enslaved suffering alongside the free, their deaths recorded as a loss of Company labour. Kell's death intestate, leaving two young children unprovided for, reveals the problem of orphans left destitute by a parent's sudden death. The mention of his small effects to clothe them for a short time shows the council moving to secure what little the dead man left for his children's immediate need. This connects to the parish machinery for the relief of the poor, the advertisement the council's response to children who would otherwise fall wholly on charity. | |||||
71 | These Care to give Notice that if any Person hath aught to Administer on those Effects that they appear and do it on Tuesday the 5 of May next and if no Such Person appears in Order to Administer then the Church Wardens will be Admitted to that Administration on Tuesday next following being the 12. of May on the two Childrens behalf and to Indemnifye the Parrish from being Chargeable by them; - Wherefore all Persons Concerned are to take Notice Accordingly. Dated at Union Castle in James valley this 28 day of Aprill 1719 Signed p ord. of Gov. & Council Jno. Alexander The Church Wardens were Sent for and an Inventory of the Said Kells Effects were Delivered to them, as also the Care and Charges of those two Young Children. Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin Margin Notes: Inventory of the effects Delivered to y Church ward | A public notice gave warning that anyone with a right to administer the estate in question should come forward and do so on Tuesday 5 May next. Should no such person appear to take on the administration, the churchwardens would be admitted to it on the following Tuesday, 12 May, on behalf of the two children, so that the parish would not be left to bear the cost of their keep. All concerned were therefore to take notice. The notice was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 28 April 1719 and signed by order of the Governor and Council by John Alexander. The churchwardens were then sent for, and an inventory of the Kells estate was delivered to them, together with responsibility for the care and upkeep of the two young children. The entry was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The notice set a two-stage procedure for an intestate estate. A first deadline of 5 May 1719 was offered to any rightful party, and only on default would the churchwardens step in a week later. This protected any genuine heir's claim while ensuring the estate did not lie unmanaged. The parish acted here through its churchwardens as the body of last resort for orphaned children. The concern was financial as much as charitable: the aim was to keep the two children from becoming a charge on parish funds. The transfer of an inventory alongside the children tied custody of the estate to custody of the dependents, making the assets answerable for the cost of raising them. This same pairing of an estate's inventory with the care of surviving children appeared in the orphan administrations John Alexander handled, including his role in the Cotgrove estate disputed at the consultations of 4 and 11 December 1716. | |||||
72 | Island St. Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 5th day of May 1719 at Union Castle in Jams. Valley Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. Anly: Tovey abs.t Jno. Alexander. [a]sist In the [Junkey?] res. Jns. Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approved. This day Arrived the two following Ships. (Viz t.) The Mary Capt. Rich. Holbon Comander from Bengall and Maddrass, & The Duke of York Capt. Davis from Bombay, but last both from y Cape of Good Hope. Mr. Alexander desires leave to have it Inserted in this present Consultation That the Consultations Mentioned in our Last Letter to the Hon Compt. were Writt out fair to goe Home so that Letter. But: the Govr. having Ordered That the Last Consultation before thum- which was Held on the 1th of Aprill, Should go Home along with the rest; and Captaine Tolsons hastening the ships away in Such Margin Notes: Ships Arrivd Consultation to goe Home | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 5 May 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin as assistants. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The previous consultation was read and approved. Two ships arrived this day. The Mary, Captain Richard Holden commander, came from Bengal and Madras. The Duke of York, Captain Daws commander, came from Bombay. Both had last sailed from the Cape of Good Hope. Mr Alexander asked to have a note entered in this consultation. The consultations referred to in the council's last letter to the directors had been copied out fair to go home with that letter. The Governor, however, had ordered that the previous consultation, held on 14 April, should go home along with the rest. Captain Tolson was now hurrying the ships away in such Interpretations The council recorded the two-ship arrival as a logistics matter rather than a courtesy. Both vessels had come last from the Cape of Good Hope, the standing victualling point on the homeward run, and the entry fixed the moment at which the homeward mail could be despatched. Mr Alexander's request to insert a note marked a procedural dispute over which consultations went home. The fair copies had already been prepared to accompany the last letter to the directors. The Governor's later order to add the consultation of 14 April 1719 disturbed that arrangement, and Captain Tolson's pressure to sail created a conflict between the council's documentary completeness and a commander's haste to leave. The note preserved on the record the reason any irregularity arose, a familiar device for protecting the council's account before the directors read of it. | |||||
73 | Such a Hurry and So much of a Sudden, He had not time to write that Consultation fair out which was the reason those Consultations did not goe; But now as they are ready, He desires they may goe by these Ships./ On Saturday last there was Such vast floods of Water Descended from about the Middle of this Island as did abundance of Damage, AND Wee think it was a Water Spout that Broke about the main ridge because the Water did not fall in Shores after the usuall manner But Descended from the Top of that Hill with mighty floods and Torrents. It carryd away the Soile in an Incredible manner with both Grass, Trees, Yams, and Stone walls before it, It brought down Rocks of a mighty Bulk, & Covered abundance of Fruitfull Land w: Stones the fine earth being washt away in Such great quantities that the Sea for a great way round about the Island lookt like Black Mudd. The Compt. have Suffered Some Loss by this One of their Plantations being very much Shattered by this unaccountable flood, So that We shall be forced to Buy about three or four months Yams. Wherefore the Rice brought by Margin Notes: flood Damage by y flood | Captain Tolson was hurrying the ships away so suddenly that he had no time to copy out that consultation fair. That was why those consultations had not gone home before. Now that they were ready, Mr Alexander asked that they go by these ships. On the previous Saturday a vast flood of water came down from about the middle of the island and did a great deal of damage. The council believed it was a waterspout that had burst about the Main Ridge, since the water did not fall in showers in the usual way but came down from the top of the hill in great floods and torrents. It stripped away the soil to an extraordinary degree, carrying off grass, trees, yams and stone walls before it. It brought down rocks of huge size and buried much fertile ground under stones, the fine earth being washed away in such quantities that the sea for a great way round the island looked like black mud. The Company suffered some loss from this. One of its plantations was badly damaged by the unaccountable flood, so that the council would be forced to buy about three or four months' worth of yams. The rice brought Interpretations The council attributed the disaster to a waterspout that burst over the Main Ridge, reasoning from the fact that the water descended in a single torrent from the hilltop rather than as ordinary rain. This was an observed inference about cause rather than a settled meteorological judgement, and it explained why the damage was so concentrated and severe. The flood's institutional consequence was a supply gap in the Company's yam stock. A damaged plantation meant the council had to buy three or four months' yams from the planter community, the staple provision for the slaves and the establishment. This recalled the earlier pattern by which Company shortfalls were met through purchase from inhabitants, as when the council bought planter yams during the post-drought shortages and weighed quality and price before accepting them in the summer of 1715. | |||||
74 | by this Ship Mary which will Maintaine all the Blacks for three weeks is the more welcomer./ Some Short Acct. of the Damage is as follows. At Perkins. about 20,000 Yams & Suckers lost and four large Slips of ground. Mr. Wood about 12000 Yams lost and the Gutt washed away & part Covered w. Stones. Mr. Willis about 18000. and the Soile washed Bare to the Rocks. Mr. Hayes about 11000 & the Gutt filld w. Stones. Mr. Isaack abt. 15000. Part of the Soil washed away and part Covered with Stones. Mr. Marsh abt. 7000 & the Soil washed bare to the Rocks. Mr. Draper about 5000. Lost. Mr. Burnham abt. 8000. & yt. Soil washt away. Mr. Jepsey two large Slips abt. 4000. Lost. Mr. Whaley a Slip abt. 3000. Lost. Mr. Tovey abt. 15000. Lost & Some Slips. Mr. Vepsey abt. 15000. Yams & Suckers, and the Gutt from Top to Bottom Coverd wth. Stones. Mr. Hardings abt. 8000. Yams & Suckers and the Soile washed away. Mr | The rice brought by the Mary would feed all the slaves for three weeks, which made the ship the more welcome. A brief account of the damage follows. At Perkins's, about 20,000 yams and suckers lost, and four large pieces of ground. Mr Wood, about 12,000 yams lost, the gut washed away and part covered with stones. Mr Wills, about 18,000, and the soil washed bare to the rocks. Mr Hayes, about 11,000, and the gut filled with stones. Mr Isaack, about 15,000, part of the soil washed away and part covered with stones. Mr Marsh, about 7,000, and the soil washed bare to the rocks. Mr Draper, about 5,000 lost. Mr Burnham, about 3,000, and the soil washed away. Mr Jessey, two large pieces, about 4,000 lost. Mr Whaley, one piece, about 3,000 lost. Mr Tovey, about 15,000 lost, and some pieces of ground. Mr Vessey, about 15,000 yams and suckers, and the gut covered from top to bottom with stones. Mr Hardings, about 8,000 yams and suckers, and the soil washed away. The entry was signed by William Worrall. Interpretations The damage return functioned as a survey of loss across the whole settlement, not just the Company's own ground. Compiled by William Worrall, the overseer who routinely brought in the Company's stock and yam accounts, it listed each planter's yam loss alongside the physical harm to the land. The recurring note that soil was washed bare to the rocks or buried under stones recorded a more serious blow than the lost crop alone, since it meant the ground itself was put out of use for replanting. The figures gave the council a measured basis for judging the scale of the shortfall it would have to cover by purchase. The presence of familiar names from the Company's tenant rolls, including Wills, Hayes, Marsh, Tovey, Vessey and Burnham, shows the flood struck across the established planter families on whom the island's provision supply depended. | |||||
75 | Mr. Long about 10000. Lost & Slips away. Mr. Doveton about 30000. lost and four large Slips, and the Soil washed away. The Widdow Bazett abt. 20,000. besides her fences washed down. But We hear there is Some more Damage done in other Parts, tho' this is all that relates to the Company's loss. The Governr. Says upon this he has Sent all the Compt. Blacks at the Hutts to help the Widd. Hayse and the Widd. Burnham who are Both very poor and almost Ruined by this loss, and he desires when the Blacks had done helping these two poor Widdows Some of them may be Sent to help Mr. Draper who is likewise Very poor. Ordered That the Hon Company Blacks at the Hutts do Accordingly help the Widd. Hayse and the Widd. Burnham & then Mr. Draper, The rest of the People We hope will do pritty well with their Loss tho' at Present tis very hard with a great many of them. The Ship Mary has brought us the following Goods from Bengall (viz) Margin Notes: Companys Blacks to help Widd. Hayse & Burnham who Sufferd Greatest | Mr Long, about 10,000 lost and washed away. Mr Doveton, about 30,000 lost and four large pieces of ground, with the soil washed away. The widow Bazett, about 20,000, besides her fences washed down. Reports suggested further damage in other parts, though this was all that touched the Company's own loss. The Governor reported that he had sent all the Company's slaves at the Hutts to help the widow Hayes and the widow Burnham, both of whom were very poor and almost ruined by the loss. He proposed that once the slaves had finished helping the two widows, some of them might be sent to assist Mr Draper, who was likewise very poor. The council ordered that the Company's slaves at the Hutts should accordingly help the widow Hayes and the widow Burnham, and then Mr Draper. The rest of the inhabitants would, it was hoped, manage well enough despite their losses, though many of them were in great difficulty at present. The Mary brought the following goods from Bengal. Interpretations The Governor directed the Company's own labour force to relief work for the worst-hit poor planters. Sending the Hutts slaves to the two widows and then to Mr Draper turned the Company's plantation hands into a recovery resource for the wider settlement, with priority set by need rather than by the planters' standing. The phrasing distinguished those almost ruined from the rest, who were expected to absorb their losses unaided. The decision reflected a calculation about the settlement's stability after the flood. Concentrating help on the poorest households guarded against their collapse onto the parish, while leaving the more substantial planters to recover on their own preserved the labour force for the Company's own damaged ground. The widow Burnham appears here among the relief cases; the Burnham estate later passed through probate when Thomas Burnham's will of 23 June 1718 was proved by his widow Margaret. | |||||
76 | S.TH Bale & Shirts 150. 65, 9, 16 £100. 98, 6, 3 No. 1 S.T. 1 Stockings 132. -, 12,- p pr. 99, -11,- 197, 6, 3 No. 1 030 R Bale 30 Rice q. 60 M. Buz. 10. is 44 s. 192 -40, 10, 9 Good fm. Bengall p Mad. R. Batta 10 pct. .41, 1,- .44, 11, 9 No. 1 20 S 20 Sugar q. 40. 13 oz. w. is 29, 1, 9 7 p Bagg 140, -, - Gallons No. 1 ... 65. Batavia Arrack 2 .. 62 ditto 3 .. 62 do. 4 62 do. half Leg. 19 25½ Gall. 80. p Loquer 160, -, - 542, 2,- Charges Merchandize in y. whole. 35, 4, 6 Rupees. 577, 6, 6 Errors Excepted J Williamson These Goods are the first We have receivd. from Bengall Since Governr. Hedges dyed./ Ordered That the Rice be reserved for the Hon. Compt. as Blacks, and the other Goods Sold at the usuall Rates. The Govr. thinks it very Proper that the Hon. Compt. Should be Acquainted by these Ships how forward their Books of Acco: are for the year 1717. Ordered That Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin do Examine the Accompt. Office Margin Notes: First Goods Since Govr. Hedges Death Rice to be reserved for y Compt. Blacks Other Goods Sold as Usual State of y Acco to be lookd into | The goods brought from Bengal by the Mary were entered as follows. Bale number 1, marked SH over NST: shirts 150 pieces at 65 rupees per 100, with [...] at 100, 98 98 rupees 6 annas 3 pies stockings 132 pairs at 12 [...] per pair 99 rupees 0 annas 0 pies subtotal for the bale 197 rupees 6 annas 3 pies Number 1 to 30, marked R, 30 bags: rice 60 maunds Bengal weight, which is 44 maunds [...], at 1 rupee 19 [...] per Madras maund received 40 rupees 10 annas 9 pies batta on 10 [...] 4 rupees 1 anna 0 pies total 44 rupees 11 annas 9 pies Number 1 to 20, marked S, 20 bags: sugar 40 maunds Bengal weight, which is 29 maunds 1 [...] 9 [...] Madras weight, at 7 [...] per bag 140 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, by the leaguer: number 1 65 gallons number 2 62 gallons number 3 62 gallons number 4 62 gallons, half a leaguer wanting [...] total 251 gallons at 80 [...] per leaguer 160 rupees 0 annas 0 pies subtotal 542 rupees 2 annas 0 pies charges of merchandise on the whole 35 rupees 4 annas 6 pies total 577 rupees 6 annas 6 pies The account was subscribed errors excepted by J. Williamson. These were the first goods the council had received from Bengal since Governor Hedges died. The council ordered that the rice be reserved for the Company's slaves, and the other goods sold at the usual rates. The Governor judged it proper that the directors be told by these ships how far advanced the island's books of account stood for the year 1717. The council ordered that Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin examine the accounts of the [...] office. Interpretations The invoice records goods consigned from the Company's Bengal establishment at Calcutta, signed off by the accountant J. Williamson, whose hand also subscribed the Bengal invoice carried by the Arabella on 13 September 1716. The note that these were the first goods from Bengal since the death of Governor Hedges marks the disruption to the supply line; Robert Hedges was the President of Fort William who had laded the island's earlier Bengal consignment. Several of the commodities carry mechanisms that bear on how the account was struck. Batta was an exchange allowance or premium added to convert or reconcile coin and weights between presidencies, here charged as a small addition on part of the rice. The conversion of Bengal maunds into Madras maunds throughout the rice and sugar lines shows the difficulty of pricing goods moved between regions whose standard weights differed, since a maund was not a fixed quantity across the Company's settlements. The leaguer was the large cask of about 150 gallons in which Batavia arrack was shipped, the spirit distilled in the Dutch East Indies and the leading article of the island's liquor trade. The charges of merchandise line gathered the freight and handling costs into a single figure spread across the whole consignment. The council's disposal of the cargo followed its standing practice. The rice was set aside for the Company's slaves as provision, while the saleable goods went to the store to be retailed to the inhabitants at the established rates, the store acting as the settlement's sole supplier. The order to report the state of the 1717 account books, and to have Alexander and Goodwin examine them, continued the council's long pressure to keep the accounts current. The directors had complained of the island's bookkeeping before, and the audit answered the need to show London that the records were being brought up to date. | |||||
77 | Office and See how forward those Books are. Thus farr hath been copyed and Sent Home p the Mary Capt. Rich. Holden Comand.r who Sailed the 8th May 1719 Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin Island St. Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 12th day of May 1719. At Union Castle in James Valley. Antip. Tovey abs.t Isaac Pyke Esqr. Gov.r In the Country. Jno. Alexander. assist Tres. Jno. Goodwin The Last Consultation read & approved p/ The following Petition was presented (viz) To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govern.r & Council The Humble Petition of Robert Bell Mason & free Planter Most Humbly Sheweth That Whereas Some time since your Petition.r did Purchase a Small Piece of Ground that lay Vacant and next adjoyning to your Petition.rs dwelling House in the Fort Margin Notes: Robt. Bell pet. for Ground adjoyning to his Dwelling house | The council ordered Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin to examine the accounts at the office and report how far advanced the books stood. The record to this point was copied and sent home by the Mary, Captain Richard Holden commander, who sailed on 8 May 1719. The entry was signed by Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 May 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin as assistants. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following petition was presented to Governor Isaac Pyke and his council. Robert Bell, mason and free planter, set out that some time earlier he had bought a small piece of vacant ground next to his dwelling house in the Fort Interpretations The marginal endorsement that the record was copied and sent home fixed the despatch of the council's papers by the Mary under Captain Holden. Sending the consultation book home by a returning ship was the council's standing means of keeping the directors informed and insuring the record against loss at sea. The opening of Robert Bell's petition concerned a piece of ground he had bought next to his house in the Fort. Bell, the mason and free planter, had appeared in the record before; the council had warned him in January 1716 over a £200 0s 0d land bond from Governor Boucher's time, and he later served as a churchwarden, discharged on balanced accounts on 3 September 1717. | |||||
78 | Fort Valley, of Jonathan Higham Senr. and there being now another Small Piece of Ground containing about ten foot in breadth that lies Waste between that your Petitioner has Soe Purchased and the House of John Hanson Your Petitioner humbly prays he may be Admitted to Hire that ten foot of ground to Enlarge the other part & allowed to Build thereon Paying what your Worsh. & Councill Shall think fitt for the Said Ten foot in breadth and as farr backwards as is usually May 12th 1719. And shall ever pray &c. (Signed) Robert Bell. Referred to Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin. Ordered That the following Advertize -ment be forthwith Published. Island St. Helena. By the Worsh. Govr. & Councille An Advertizem.t Whereas there was lately found in the Water Course above the Houses in the valley Fort Valley, a large Piece of Alabaster Stone the Same Sort as that at the Turks Cap Hill which Stone is Supposed to be brought down by the late great flood that was on the 2. | Robert Bell's petition continued. The ground he had bought in the Fort Valley had formerly belonged to Jonathan Higham senior. A further small piece of vacant ground, about ten foot in breadth, now lay between the parcel Bell had bought and the house of John Hanson. Bell asked to be allowed to hire that ten foot of ground to enlarge his holding, and to build on it, paying whatever the Governor and council thought fit for the ten foot in breadth and as far backward as was usual. The petition was dated 12 May 1719 and signed by Robert Bell. The matter was referred to Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin. The council ordered the following advertisement to be published at once. Island of St Helena. An advertisement by the Governor and council. A large piece of alabaster stone had lately been found in the watercourse above the houses in the Fort Valley, of the same sort as that at the Turk's Cap hill. The stone was thought to have been brought down by the recent great flood that was on the Interpretations The petition turned on the distinction between buying and hiring Company land. Bell already owned the adjoining parcel, but the strip of ten foot between his ground and John Hanson's house remained Company waste, and he sought it on hire rather than purchase. This reflected the council's standing letting conditions, under which vacant Company ground was leased rather than sold, with the rent and the depth backward fixed by the bench. The flood of the previous Saturday now produced an unexpected benefit. The same torrent that had stripped the plantations had also exposed a large piece of alabaster in the Fort Valley watercourse, matching the known stone at Turk's Cap hill. The advertisement was the council's means of giving the discovery public notice, the first step before any decision on quarrying or use. Speculations The council moved straight to a published advertisement rather than a quiet internal order, which suggests it wanted to fix a public claim over the alabaster before any inhabitant treated the find as their own. The flood had laid the stone bare in an open watercourse above the houses, where it lay within easy reach of the Fort Valley residents. A formal notice under the Governor's hand asserted the government's control of the deposit at the moment of discovery, the same protective reflex the council showed over other windfall finds on the island. | |||||
79 | 2 of May Instant and because it is Certain that Stone did not Grow by it Self but has Visible Marks of being broke off from Some larger rock it is to be hoped that Some Industrious Person may find out the Quarry from whence it came and that it is either in or near this valley which Stone in case a quantity of it can be Discovered near the Fort or Fort Valley because it makes the best Sort of Lime it will be of Great Use & advantage to all the Inhabitants of this Island but Specially to those who live in or nearest to the Valley. Wherefore to encourage a Diligent Search for the Same The Governr. & Council Do hereby Promise as a reward to whosoever Shall Discover any good quantity of the Same in or near this Valley, that they will give them the Sume of Five Pounds as a Gratuity & reword for Such Discovery and alsoe Such further Encouragem.t as Shall be thought reasonable according to the Industry they have Used in finding the Same. Note that the Peice of Stone that is found, is left in the Guard Room to be Shewn to every one that is willing to look out for the Quarry. Dated at Union Castle in James Valley this 12 day of May 1719. Signd p ord.r of the Worsh. Govr. & Council Jno. Alexander Margin Notes: Stone [...]nd for [...] | The stone was thought to have been brought down by the flood of 2 May. The piece showed clear marks of having broken off from some larger rock, so it had plainly not formed where it was found. The council hoped that some diligent person might trace the quarry it came from, which probably lay in or near this valley. Should a quantity of the stone be found near the Fort or Fort Valley, it would be of great value, since it made the best sort of lime. The benefit would extend to all the inhabitants of the island, and especially to those living in or nearest the valley. To encourage a thorough search, the Governor and council promised a reward of £5 0s 0d as a gratuity to whoever discovered a good quantity of the stone in or near the valley. Such further encouragement as seemed reasonable would also be given, according to the effort spent in finding it. The piece already found was left in the guard room to be shown to anyone willing to look for the quarry. The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 12 May 1719, and signed by order of the Governor and council by John Alexander. Interpretations The council valued the alabaster chiefly as a source of lime, the binding material for mortar and building work that the island otherwise had to burn from imported or local stone. A nearby quarry of good lime-stone would reduce the settlement's dependence on the existing kilns and on lime shipped in, which is why the benefit was framed as reaching all the inhabitants. The reasoning from the broken marks on the stone, that it must have come from a larger source upstream, gave the search a rational basis rather than a blind hunt. Speculations The council attached a fixed cash bounty of £5 0s 0d to the discovery and reinforced it with an open promise of further reward scaled to the effort spent. This structure addressed the problem that the quarry's location was unknown and might take real labour to trace. A flat reward alone risked drawing only a casual look, so the graduated top-up was designed to sustain a diligent search by tying the eventual payment to the work actually done. Leaving the specimen on public display in the guard room served a practical recruitment purpose. Anyone hunting the quarry needed to recognise the stone in the field, and the council had only one known sample. Placing it where every potential searcher could examine it spread the identifying knowledge across the whole settlement at no cost, turning an unfamiliar mineral into something the inhabitants could match against rock they came across. | |||||
80 | In one of the two last Ships Jno. Howard Soldier Run away./ He deserted from Capt. Luhorne & Stayed here in the month of Janry last pretending to be mighty Concerned at it, He had Liberty to go home in the next Ship, But when the next Ship came (which was Capt. Mawson) He desired to Stay here pretending he likt the Island. Whereupon We Entertained him in the Hon. Compt. Service and furnished him with Am= munition Cloaths, and made him a Soldier, When the last five Ships Sailed hence He was about to be Married but is now Run away We have discovered severall Small debts which is owing to him & now produced by the Govr./ Ordered that the Creditt thereof be Entred to his Acco. which We hope will pay for the Cloaths he had, and that makes Us think the fellow is a great Fool for runing away when he might have had leave to have gone off if he had Desired it. Ordered That the two Church Wardens be admitted to the Administration of Christ. Kells Effects for & on behalf of his Children./ The Margin Notes: Jno. Howard run away his Desertion & then Entertained as a Soldier now Run away debts owing him flames placed to his Acco. Church Wardens Admtd. to the Effects of Christ. Kell. | In one of the two ships that arrived last, John Howard, soldier, ran away. He had originally deserted from Captain Lihorne and stayed on the island in January last, claiming to be greatly troubled at having done so. He was given leave to go home on the next ship. When the next ship came, which was Captain Mawson's, he asked instead to stay, saying he liked the island. The council took him into the Company's service, supplied him with ammunition and clothes, and made him a soldier. When the last five ships sailed, he was about to be married, but had now run away. Several small debts owing to him had been found, which the Governor now produced. The council ordered that the credit for those debts be entered to Howard's account, which it was hoped would cover the cost of the clothes he had been given. This led the council to judge the man a great fool for running away, when he might have had leave to go off had he asked for it. The council ordered that the two churchwardens be admitted to the administration of Christopher Kells's estate, on behalf of his children. Interpretations Howard's case turned on the value of the clothes and equipment the Company had issued him when he enlisted. By directing the small debts owed to him into his Company account, the council set those receivables against the cost of the kit he had absconded with, recovering its outlay from money others owed him rather than from the man himself. This treated a deserter's private credits as an asset the Company could attach once he had fled. The admission of the churchwardens to Christopher Kells's estate carried forward the orphan-administration matter opened on 28 April 1719. The estate's inventory had been delivered to the wardens at that date, and this order formalised their authority to administer it for the benefit of Kells's children, the parish acting as guardian of last resort to keep the children off its own charge. Speculations The council read Howard's flight as foolish precisely because his enlistment had been voluntary and his exit already assured. He had twice been offered passage home and had chosen to stay, accept the Company's clothes and equipment, and prepare to marry. Running off forfeited a release he could have had for the asking and left him liable for the issued kit. The remark recorded on the bench was not idle; it fixed on the record that the desertion was against Howard's own interest, which strengthened the Company's moral and financial claim to recover the cost from his attached debts. | |||||
81 | The Governr. Says he has agried with Mr. Doveton for taking down a Small Enclosure that is before his House that comes out into the Street, and is for Satisfaction to Build up the Same Stones in another place on one Side of his House in this Valley. Ordered That it be left to the Governr. to build them up According to his agreement So as it may give Mr. Doveton the best Satisfaction. On fryday evening last the 8th Inst. Sailed hence for Great Brittain the Ship Mary Capt. Richd. Holden Comand.r and the Duke of York Capt. Davis's Comander. The Govr. Says he has rec. the follow. Letter./ Amplisime Domine Gubernater. E T Celeberrimi Domine Conciliary. CC. Tibi, amplissime vir et Vobis Celeberrimi Viri Satis Nob. imest qua. decausa et quomodo Con= -strictus fri maneù hoc in loco et me non potuisse habere in his duabus Ultimis navibus Occasionem Noffiscendi, quia tune me oportet adhuc aliquat tempus remorare hunc in locum. Spero Tect Vos non Volle Sumere in Malam partem quod Tibiet Vobis p mo Margin Notes: Agreem with Mr. Doveton to take down a Wall & for y his Kompf. for y Valley Ships Saild. | The Governor reported that he had agreed with Mr Doveton to take down a small enclosure in front of Doveton's house that projected into the street. In return, the council would rebuild the same stones in another place on one side of Doveton's house in this valley. The council ordered that the matter be left to the Governor to rebuild the enclosure according to his agreement, so as to give Mr Doveton the best satisfaction. On the previous Friday evening, 8 May, two ships sailed from the island for Great Britain: the Mary, Captain Richard Holden commander, and the Duke of York, Captain Daws commander. The Governor reported that he had received the following letter. Most distinguished lord governor, and most renowned lord councillor. To you, most distinguished sir, and to you, most renowned councillors: it is enough that I have been kept in this place, and that I could not take the opportunity of setting out in the last two ships, because it was necessary for me to remain here some time yet. I hope that you will not take it ill that Interpretations The Doveton agreement was a piece of street regulation reached by negotiation rather than order. The enclosure encroached on the public way, and the council's remedy was to remove the obstruction while undertaking to rebuild it elsewhere at the Company's hand, compensating the owner in kind. This continued the council's earlier attention to clearing the principal street, of a piece with the demolition of the blinds in James Town ordered on 26 April 1715, but here handled by consent and with restitution rather than by a bare demolition order. The letter was written in Latin, an unusual feature in the consultation book and a mark that its author was a man of learning addressing the bench formally. Its substance concerned someone detained on the island who had been unable to leave on the last two ships and needed to remain for a time, opening with an apology that the council should not take his continued stay amiss. | |||||
82 | pro primo Narrabo easdem res Mihi Concurrentes quas dixi Domino Gubernater Cæterisque Dominis Maddros apahiam. Id est: Me natum est Civis Civorum provincia Regis Borussice et Electoris Brandenburgui et Patrem Me= um defundum Johannem Petrum ab Hymmen ibidem fuisse Consiliarium Intimum Justitiæ et Directorem Ecclesiasticum et Patronum meum Rei= inhärdum ab Hymmen eodem in loco hoc tempore que Vice Cancellarium et Consiliarium Status Intimum et Juisse Legatum Regis Borusiæ Hague Comitis apud Status Generales et Ultrajeti ad Rhenum tempore pacis Ultimæ et Sicut habui Litteras jam Legatum ad aulam Regis Angliæ. Himei Parentes Miserunt me in Juventute Mea ad diversas Accademias tam Germanicas quam Hollandicas Inde dicausa Legem Civilem atque discendi diversas Linguas Diversaque exercitia meo finito fui diversas Itineres ad diversas aulas Germaniæ et fuiin hibus Legationibus cum Legatis Regis Hoshi, Nempe Franck= =furthia Mœnum, cum Domino Comiti de Dhona tempore Electionis et Coronationis Hujus Imperatoris Caroli Sexti postea Ultrajesti ad Rhenum cum Domino Comiti de Dhenhoff et Patrono meo tempore Pacis ultimæ tertio Vienna ad aulam Imperatoris Nomine Margin Notes: Himmings Lre | The Latin letter continued. The writer set out his account of himself to the Governor and to the gentlemen of Madras. He stated that he was born at Cleves, in the province of Cleves, a territory of the King of Prussia and the Elector of Brandenburg. His late father, John Pena of Hymmen, had been privy councillor of justice and director of ecclesiastical affairs there. His relation Reinhard of Hymmen had until recently held the office of vice-chancellor and privy councillor of state in the same place, and had been envoy of the King of Prussia, as count, to the States General and at Utrecht on the Rhine at the time of the last peace. He had, as the writer had learned by letters, lately been envoy to the court of the King of England. His parents had in his youth sent him to various academies, both German and Dutch, to study civil law and to learn several languages. His travels finished, he had made various journeys to different courts of Germany, and had served on three embassies with envoys of the King of Prussia. He had been with Count von Dhona at the time of the election and coronation of the Emperor Charles the Sixth, then at Utrecht on the Rhine with Count von Dohnhoff, and at the time of the last peace, thirdly, at Vienna at the court of the Emperor, in the name of Interpretations The letter set out the credentials of a man of high European standing stranded on the island. The writer placed himself as the son of a senior Prussian official from Cleves and kin to a vice-chancellor who had served as the King of Prussia's envoy at the negotiations ending the recent war. The references to the peace at Utrecht and to the embassies fixed his account within the diplomacy of the War of the Spanish Succession, the conflict whose settlement the consolidated record links to the island's wartime supply disruption. The recital of his education in civil law and languages, and of his service on three Prussian embassies, was offered to establish his character and rank before the bench. A detained traveller of this kind sought to distinguish himself from an ordinary stranger or straggler, and the formal Latin and the genealogical detail were the means of asserting that standing to the council. | |||||
83 | Nomine Regis præsantis Borusiæt Frederici Willhelmi, postquam reorsus Sum Donni hisce de Itineribus Profectus Sum Berolinum ad aulam Regis Hoski qui amat Militiam et Vult quod Juvenes Nobiles inhaultam eade causa fecit me Signifirein Sed octo mensibus finitis quando hic erat Civis et præsus est apud Patronum meum Promisit illo et Patrono me velle facere Capitaneum in Cohorte Suo Aulico Sed Sicut fortuna est ambulatoria, ita ego antequam adivi aulam habui duellum quoddam ob rationes cum Signifero Equitum et Perdipsi qualuor Vulnera Sed non Mortalia quia vero Rex Noster Valde pro= hibuit duellum, eramus Constricti fugam Sumendi et Profecliscendi aliquod tempus ex provinciis Regio. Pater Meus vero edit mihi electionem ubinam Vellem, me innocentem esse de Indiis et Malta Audivese defio, elegi Eas cognitause inveniendi intimum amicum et Patronum Batavice Dominum Johannem Jacobum ab Uberfeldt olim Gubernatorem in Malcosar Sed in adventu Nosha Cabo bona Spii, ubi ob quas= =dam rationes Navis Noshæ remoravimus per quatuor Menses, me vero Juvenem esse Semper fui in terra, et consumpsi prorsus omnes meos nummos, ça Spe inveniendi amicum meum Supranominatum, ad quem habui litteras cambii, Sed iste erat, ad infortunium | The letter continued, the writer naming his service in the name of the present King of Prussia, Frederick William. After returning home, he set out from his travels to Berlin, to the court of the King of Prussia, who loved the military life and wished young noblemen to enter it. For that reason the King made him an ensign. But when eight months had passed, while the King was at Cleves and dined with the writer's relation, he promised that relation that he would make the writer a captain in his own royal company. Fortune being changeable, however, before he could reach the court he fought a duel with a cavalry ensign and gave him several wounds, though not mortal ones. Since the King had strictly forbidden duelling, the writer was forced to flee and to absent himself from the King's territory for a time. His father then gave him his choice of where he wished to go. Wishing to learn about the Indies and Malta, he chose the Indies, in order to find there an intimate friend of his father, John Jacob von Elberfeld, formerly governor at Macassar in Batavia. But on reaching the Cape of Good Hope, where the ship was delayed four months by damage, being still a young man and always on land, he spent every penny he had in the hope of finding the friend named above, to whom he carried letters of exchange. That friend, however, proved to be his Interpretations The letter explained how a man of rank came to be penniless and stranded so far from Europe. The duel against a cavalry ensign forced his flight from Prussian territory, since the King had banned duelling outright, and his father's offer of a choice of destination sent him east toward the Indies. The four-month delay at the Cape of Good Hope, caused by damage to his ship, exhausted his money while he waited. His whole financial hope rested on letters of exchange addressed to a single contact, his father's friend and a former Dutch governor at Macassar. Letters of exchange were the instrument by which a traveller drew funds at a distant place against credit established at home, the standard means of moving money across the Company's trading world without carrying coin. The letter broke off as the writer reached the discovery that this one source of credit had failed him, which was the misfortune that left him destitute on the island. | |||||
84 | This page is a duplicate, having been photographed twice. | ||||||
85 | honesta, et quamvis aliquo tempore in pauper= tate fui, et adhuc Sum tamen observari Semper Honestatem, et cogitavi me esse natum de Honestis Parentibus, hoc observabo et Cogitabo Semper dum Vivo, et habeo pro Principio tria Principia Juris, Honeste Vivere, Alterum non lædere Suum Cuique tribuere; Ea ratione Scripsi patrono meo et Amicibus meis me esse hoc in loco et me esse in debilis ad me mittendum nummos Necessarios primacum Occasione, ad Solvenda debita mea, et in effectu gra= tiis agendas omnibus pro tantis in me hoc in loco illatis beneficiis et amicitiis Nam pro prosui non abeundi usque dum Satisfeciom nibus Jurgo est cum licentia Vestra amplisime Vir et Celeberri= mi Viri, manebo hic usque dum habebo responsum et accepimumos quod possim abire omnicum honore. Ago gratias Tibi, Amplisime Domine Gubernator pro Bonitate Sua erga me, quod permisisti Mihi pro meis escuelentis quale die duodecim denarios verum est hominem Se posse Sustentare de illo, Sed vesti= =menta mea omnia relicta Sunt in navi, et feilis= ment nihil habere, nisi illud quod Amplissimus Dominus Gubernator de generositate Sua pro escalentis mihi permisenti Si Tibi amplisime Vir et | The Latin letter continued. The writer reflected that, though for a time he had lived in poverty and still did, he had always sought to keep his honour. He had been born of honest parents, and would hold to that principle and remember it all his life. He kept three maxims of the law as his guide: to live honourably, to harm no one, and to give each his due. On that footing he had written to his father and sisters that he was in this place and in need of money to be sent to him at the first opportunity, both to pay his debts and to discharge with thanks all the favours and friendship shown him here. Having pledged his honour, he would not leave until he had given satisfaction. With the council's leave, he would stay until he received an answer and had taken up money enough to depart with honour. He thanked the Governor for his kindness in allowing him twelve pence a day for his food. A man could just sustain himself on that, but all his clothes had been left aboard the ship. He had nothing left, except what the Governor had granted him of his generosity for his keep. He then put a request to the council, that if the Governor Interpretations The writer rested his appeal on a code of honour expressed through the three maxims of Roman law, a framework that placed his conduct above that of an ordinary debtor. The promise not to leave until his debts were paid was the substance of his undertaking to the bench, and his stay turned on the arrival of money sent from his family in Europe. The Governor's grant of twelve pence a day for the man's food established the practical terms of his maintenance on the island. This was the bare subsistence allowance the council extended to a stranded person without resources, here covering food alone while his clothes and effects remained on the ship that had carried him. The letter broke off as he moved from gratitude to a further petition addressed to the Governor. | |||||
86 | et Vobis Celeberimi vini ergo placet Considerasc hac quæ Vobis dixi potestis cognosci me non esse absur= dum in tali Misero Statu. Ideirco Se Amplisime Vir et Vos Celeberimi Viri quaso, permittatis Mihi benigniter Vobis hisce in litteris facere duas proposi= tiones humiliter expetiendo gratiam Vobram, quod unam de duabus Mihi considere dedignerdis. Prime est Mihi dare Creditum pro tanta pecunia quantum Tobiet Vobis placet, ad habenda aliqua Vestimenta et alia necessaria ad illud tempus, quod oportet remorare huc, dabo litteram cambii ad Patronum meum Rui in at Sentia mea, omnia mea bona in manu habet, ad Solvendum in Anglia Honorabili Societati Orientali quam potestis Mittere Primacum Occasione et Sum certus, quod Solvat Stedim post receptionem omni cum gratitudine et Suo Interesse gaudebit me in hac mea Misera Condi= tione invenesse bonos Patronos ad Asistendem. Si vero hanc meam propositionem et Petitionem Mihi concedere non velitis Amplisime vir et Celeberimi Viri, obsecro Tibit et Vobis, Tu et Vos velle me Sumere in Servitio Vosho et dare aliquod Statum officium, do quod me capacem Judicatis, dixi Tibi et Vobis omnia, quæ in Juventute mea Addidici feu et fui potestis esse certi, quod Serviam omnicum fidelitate | The Latin letter continued, the writer addressing the Governor and the gentlemen of the council. He asked them to weigh what he had told them, so that they might see he was not pretending to be in such a wretched state. He therefore begged leave to put two proposals to them in this letter, and humbly asked that they grant him one of the two. The first was that they advance him credit, in as large a sum of money as they thought fit, to obtain some clothes and other necessaries for the time he was obliged to remain there. In return he would give a letter of exchange drawn on his father, who in his knowledge held all his property, to be paid in England to the Honourable East India Company. The council might send the bill at the first opportunity, and he was certain his father would pay it on receipt, and would be glad to learn that his son had found good patrons to assist him in his wretched condition. Should the council be unwilling to grant this proposal, he begged them, as a second course, to take him into their service and give him some small office for which they judged him fit. He had told them all that he had learned in his youth, and they might be assured that he would serve in everything with Interpretations The writer set out two alternative routes by which the council might relieve his destitution, asking only that it grant one. The first was a loan secured by a letter of exchange on his father, payable in England to the Company itself, which carried the credit risk to London rather than leaving it on the island. This was the orthodox method by which a stranded traveller raised funds against family property held at home. The second proposal offered his own labour in place of borrowed money, asking for any small post the council thought him fit to fill. By pairing a credit arrangement with an offer of service, the writer gave the bench a choice between extending him money and employing him, each resolving his maintenance by a different mechanism. The letter broke off as he pledged the faithfulness with which he would serve. Speculations The writer's decision to draw the bill in favour of the Company, rather than seeking cash from the council against a private note, was calculated to make the loan acceptable to the bench. The council had long resisted drawing bills on the directors and guarded its credit carefully, so a debtor who routed repayment through the Company in England removed the island's own exposure and turned the advance into a charge his father would settle directly with London. Framing the request this way met the council on the terms it was most likely to accept. The fallback offer of service addressed the risk that the bench might distrust the bill or be unwilling to lay out money at all. By presenting employment as the second of two options, the writer ensured that a refusal of credit need not end in nothing, since his languages and legal training gave the understaffed administration a reason to take him on. The structure protected him against outright rejection by leaving the council a cost-free way to relieve him. | |||||
87 | fidelitate et delectamento observando Semper Stricte omnia mandata precatindo Divinam Maje= =statem pro felici Vosho regimine omni bona Successu Vosharium personarum cum totis Voshis familiis remanendo omni cum respectu ad aras usque. Amplisime Domine Gubernator. E T Daban Celeberrimi Domini Consiliarii in Insula St. Helena. Veshi et Veshorum Humillimus et Lii die Mensis Maij obsequientissimus Servus. Anno Domini MDCCXIX. Reinhardus ab Hjymmene Ordered That Mr. Alexander do acquaint him That We made an Order formerly to allow him twelve pence per day for his diett, and that We cant furnish him with Cloaths for We have none, nor any Taylors to make any. But if he wants any Shirts We will lett him have two or three and any thing else of Small Value for his Present use, And as to Supplying him with money We cant do that for We have none upon the Island. Nor can We take any Bills of Exchange for any thing more than for his diett, and those few Necessaries above Mentioned, Neither have We any office or Employment fitt for Margin Notes: Orderd to Mr. Alexander for Answer/ | The writer closed his letter with a pledge to serve in everything with faithfulness and devotion, keeping strictly to all that was ordered. He prayed the Divine Majesty for the council's happy government, for every good success to its persons and households, and offered his every respect, even to the altars. He addressed the close to the most distinguished lord governor and the most renowned councillors, subscribing himself their most humble and obedient servant. The letter was given at the island of St Helena on 12 May 1719, and signed Reinhard of Hymmen. The council ordered Mr Alexander to give the writer its answer. He was to be told that an order had already been made allowing him twelve pence a day for his food. The council could not supply him with clothes, having none, nor any tailors to make any. Should he want shirts, however, it would let him have two or three, and anything else of small value for his present use. As to money, the council could not provide it, having none on the island. Nor could it accept any bills of exchange for anything beyond his food and the few necessaries already mentioned. The council had no office or employment to give him either. Interpretations The council's reply turned down both of the writer's proposals on a single practical ground: it had neither the goods, the money nor the post to grant. It would not extend credit against his bill of exchange beyond the cost of his food and a few small items, refusing to expand the obligation it was prepared to carry to London. The earlier allowance of twelve pence a day stood, with shirts and minor articles added, but no more. The refusal exposed the limits of the island's own resources rather than any objection to the man himself. The bench held no money on the island to lend and had no clothing stock or tailors to clothe him, which left a stranded gentleman of rank dependent on the bare subsistence already fixed. The answer set the boundary of the Company's liability precisely at his maintenance, declining to let a private debt grow against the directors beyond that point. Speculations The council confined any bill of exchange strictly to the writer's food and necessaries, which was a deliberate cap on the debt it would route to London rather than a simple inability to pay. The man had offered a bill on his father payable to the Company in England, the very form the bench would normally find acceptable, yet it still refused to let the sum grow beyond subsistence. This drew a firm line around the Company's exposure, since a large advance secured only by a stranger's account of his family wealth carried a real risk if the father never paid. Limiting the bill to what the council was already spending on his keep meant the Company stood to lose nothing it had not already committed. | |||||
88 | for him in this place, He not understanding our Language and our People not Understanding neither the German nor the Lattin tongue; Neither is it fitt to entertaine a man here in our business who has been bred up So much above it, and who if a Ship comes that is willing to carry him off may leave the Island next day./ The Hon. Compt. the overseer brought in the following Acco. which was Examined & Approved of. An Acco. of the Hon. Compt.s old Neab Cattle, Sheep, Goats, & Hoggs, Taken May thu 5. 1719. Neab- Cattle. 71. Cows. 83. Calves. one Cow and one Calf. 23. Steers. 25. Heifers. Died one Calf Sent to the 6. Yearlings. Fortalice. Since last Acco:
Sheep. 3. Rams. 2. killed Since last Acco: & 47. Ewes. 25. Nethers. 11. Increased. 15. Lambs. 90 Goats. 5. Rams. 8. killed Since last Acco: & 100. Ewes. 21. Nethers. 13. Increased. 24. Kids. 150. Hoggs Margin Notes: Acct. of Stock | The council had no employment to offer the writer. He did not understand English, and the island's people understood neither German nor Latin. It was also unsuitable to take into the Company's business a man bred so far above it. Should a ship come that was willing to carry him off, he might leave the island the next day. The Company's chief overseer brought in the following account, which the council examined and approved. An account of the Company's neat cattle, sheep, goats and hogs, taken on 1 May 1719. Neat cattle: cows 71 calves 83 steers 23 heifers 25 yearlings 6 bull 1 total 209 note: one cow and one calf died; one calf sent to the fortifications since the last account Sheep: rams 3 ewes 47 wethers 25 lambs 15 total 90 note: 2 killed since the last account; 11 increased Goats: rams 5 ewes 100 wethers 21 kids 24 total 150 note: 8 killed since the last account; 13 increased The hogs followed. Interpretations The language barrier supplied the council's stated reason for declining to employ the writer, and the remark about a man bred above the Company's business reinforced it. The bench framed his departure as a matter of waiting for any willing ship, treating his presence as temporary and his stay as a charge to be ended at the first chance. The livestock account was the periodic stock return brought in by William Worrall, the chief overseer who had also compiled the flood damage survey. Each class of animal was broken down by age and sex and balanced against the previous count, with deaths, kills and natural increase noted. The neat cattle total of 209 stood as the highest in the council's recovered series, above the counts of 193 on 1 February 1716/17 and 197 in August 1717, and well above the herd of 136 recorded on 18 June 1715. The figure marked the continued recovery of the stock after the heavy losses of the drought years. | |||||
89 | Hoggs. 2. Grown Hoggs. 4. Piaons. 6 2. Peacocks 2. Horses 8. Grown Asses & 3. Foals. } 11. 50. Turkeys in all. 18. killed Since last Acco: & 44. Increased. Ducks 10. killed Since last Acco: 74. Dunghill Fowles 14. Geese
One of the Hon. Compt.s at Black Boys named Harry, dyed at the Hutts last week. The Secretary brought in and delivered An Acco:t of all the Families, Land, & Cattle on this Island for the year 1718. which when the Govr. has time to peruse is to be Accord= =ingly Entered as usuall./ The Governr. Says that he is in Some hopes the Hon. Compt. will please to Grant him a Removall to some part of India and he therefore Proposes to Sell off all his Blacks. He Sayes that by his getting of 40. Blacks, he has lowered the price of the Blacks Labour to Just one third less than it was on his Arrivall here, Because he has let out to the work at the Fortir= =fications all his Blacks who Understand any thing of Trades at Eighteen pence per day and Margin Notes: Relating to y Governrs. Blacks | The stock account concluded. Hogs: grown hogs 2 pigs 4 total 6 Other stock: peacocks 2 horses 2 grown asses and foals 8 grown asses and 3 foals, 11 in all Turkeys: turkeys 50 in all note: 18 killed since the last account; 44 increased Ducks: ducks 7 note: 10 killed since the last account Dunghill fowls: fowls 74 Geese: geese 14 note: 1 killed since the last account One of the Company's slave boys, named Harry, died at the Hutts last week. The secretary brought in and delivered an account of all the families' land and cattle on the island for the year 1718. Once the Governor had time to examine it, it would be entered in the usual way. The Governor reported that he had some hope the directors would grant him a removal to some part of India. He therefore proposed to sell off all his slaves. He stated that by acquiring forty slaves he had brought the price of slave labour down to one third less than it had been on his arrival. This he had done by hiring out to the fortifications all his slaves who understood any trade, at eighteen pence a day, and Interpretations The death of the slave boy Harry was entered into the stock record alongside the livestock losses, a placement that reflects how the Company counted its slaves as part of its working assets. The note sits immediately after the animal returns, the human and the livestock losses recorded by the same accounting hand. The families' land and cattle account for 1718, delivered by the secretary, was the annual register of the inhabitants' holdings. This was the document the council used to track private land and stock across the settlement, the successor to Tovey's compilation of 8 to 21 March 1715 and the basis on which head money and obligations were assessed. The Governor's proposal to sell his slaves followed his hope of a posting to India, which would end his need for them. His claim to have cut the price of slave labour by a third turned on the scale of his own holding: by putting forty slaves, including skilled tradesmen, out to hire at the fortifications at eighteen pence a day, he had increased the supply of hired labour and so driven down its market rate. The eighteen-pence rate matched the standing hire rate for skilled Company slaves recorded across the period. Speculations The Governor's account of lowering the labour price was offered to justify the sale of his slaves as a public benefit rather than a private disposal. By presenting the forty slaves he had brought in as the cause of a one-third fall in hire rates, he cast his holding as having served the settlement and the fortifications cheaply. The framing prepared the ground for his departure, since it answered in advance any objection that selling off so large a labour force would disrupt the island, by showing that the same force had been used to the public advantage while he held it. | |||||
90 | and their Victuallis, and all other Blacks who have been bred to trades have three Shillings and their Victuals among the Planters them= =selves. And his Labouring Blacks which are the best on the Island he has lett out at twelve pence per day, by which he has reduced the Price that was payed before which was Eighteen pence, So that the Hon. Compt. have Saved and will Save there= =by Seven hundred Pounds every year, and all the Islanders will have their work Cheaper done. But as his are the best Blacks and have been always Employed in the Hon. Compt.s work, who have not yet Slaves Enough of their own, He desires every one of the Council may look over all his Blacks and take whom they think fittest for the Hon. Compt.s use and he is contented to be paid for them According as they Shall be valued at, and that they will take till the next Consultation day to Consider of this Proposall which must Prove to the Advantage of the Hon. Company./ [...] Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin Margin Notes: their qualifica.t to be Valued | The Governor continued his account, explaining that he hired out his skilled slaves with their food supplied. All other slaves bred to a trade fetched three shillings and their food among the planters themselves. His labouring slaves, the best on the island, he had hired out at twelve pence a day. By this he had reduced the rate paid before, which had been eighteen pence. The Company had therefore saved, and would continue to save, £700 0s 0d every year, and all the islanders would have their work done more cheaply. His slaves were the best, and had always been employed in the Company's work, since the Company did not yet hold enough slaves of its own. He asked that every councillor look over all his slaves and take whichever they thought fittest for the Company's use. He was content to be paid for them according to their appraised value. The council would take until the next consultation day to consider the proposal, which must prove to the Company's advantage. The entry was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The Governor's figures set out a labour market in which his own slaves had undercut the prevailing hire rate. Skilled slaves commanded three shillings a day among the planters, but he had put his best labourers out at twelve pence against a former eighteen pence, and he reckoned the saving to the Company at £700 0s 0d a year. The claim rested on the Company's continuing shortage of its own slaves, which had left it dependent on hired hands for its work. The proposed sale gave the council first choice of the slaves at an appraised valuation. By inviting each councillor to pick out those fittest for the Company and to pay the assessed price, the Governor offered the bench an orderly transfer rather than a public auction, with the deferral to the next consultation day allowing time to weigh the cost against the Company's labour needs. Appraisal by valuation was the council's standing method for pricing slaves in such transfers. Speculations The Governor structured the sale to give the Company the pick of his slaves at a neutral valuation, which served both his interest in selling and the council's interest in acquiring labour it lacked. Letting each councillor choose the fittest slaves and pay the appraised price removed the haggling and uncertainty of an open sale, and it directed the best of his force into the Company's hands precisely where the shortage of Company slaves had forced reliance on hire. The arrangement converted his departure from a disruptive sell-off into a planned strengthening of the Company's own holding, which is why he pressed that it must prove to the Company's advantage. The £700 0s 0d annual saving was advanced as the measure that made his whole proposal attractive to London. By quantifying the benefit of the cheaper labour his slaves had supplied, the Governor gave the directors a concrete figure to weigh when considering both his requested removal to India and the purchase of his slaves. A precise sum carried more force with the directors than a general claim of economy, and it tied his personal request to a demonstrable gain for the Company. | |||||
91 | Island St. Helena. At a Consultation Held on Fryday the 22d day of May 1719. At Union Castle in James Valley. Antip. Tovey- Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. abs.t in the Country Pres.t Jno. Alexander & Jno. Goodwin The Last Consultation read & approved of. On Wednesday the 20th Inst. Arrived the Ship Stanhope Capt. Wentworth George Pitt Comand.r from Bombay, who has brought Us a Lett.r dated the 9. Janry 1718/ from the Govr. & Coun.t thereof, with An Invoice cont.g the following Goods, which will be of great Service to the People of this Place. Viz.t
And alsoe three men Slaves, the Capt. had two more on Board, but one of them dyed and the other made his Escape. Mr. Margin Notes: Arrivd of ye Stanhope Goods fm. Bombay 3 Slaves Sent. | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Friday 22 May 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Wednesday 20 May the Stanhope arrived, Captain Wentworth George Pitt commander, from Bombay. He brought a letter dated 9 January 1718 from the Governor and council of Bombay, together with an invoice of the following goods, which would be of great service to the people of the island. Goods from Bombay: salampores 4 bales containing 61 corge cuttanees 2 bales containing 600 pieces allejars 1 bale containing 20 corge challoes 8 bales containing 40 corge quilts 4 bales containing 150 total amount with charges on the whole 11,144 rupees 48 pieces Three men slaves were also brought. The captain had two more on board, but one of them died and the other made his escape. The entry was signed by William Worrall. Interpretations The cargo consisted of Indian cotton textiles shipped from the Company's Bombay establishment, several of them reckoned by the corge, the standard trading unit of twenty pieces used throughout the Indian cloth trade. Salampores were a plain or blue-dyed cotton cloth from the Coromandel coast; cuttanees a finer striped or mixed cotton, sometimes with a silk thread; allejars a striped cotton fabric; and challoes a common cotton piece-good. These were the staple trade cloths the store sold to the inhabitants, and the council recorded them as a welcome supply for a settlement dependent on the store for its goods. The arrival of three slaves out of an intended five exposed the losses of the Madagascar and India passage, with one dead and one escaped before landing. The Company's chronic shortage of its own slaves, set out by the Governor at the previous consultation, gave even so small a delivery real value, and the survivors went to swell the Company's labour force. | |||||
92 | Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin Say they have viewed all the Governr. Blacks & whose Goodness they think there is no need to Speak because every body knows they are the best Blacks on the Island, and they therefore thank the Governr. for makeing that Extra= =ordinary offer to them of Picking out the Choicest of his Blacks for the Hon. Compt.s use; They Say We have been greatly put to it heretofore for want of Workmen and of Stone layers Especially, the while men will work but at Some times and when they Please and then at Such high rates, as is Most Unconscionable as may appear by many of our former Letters to the Hon. Compt. and by our Consultations, and We think it entirely for the Hon. Compt.s Interest to have all of them We can, the Workmen We cannot do without Unless We lett all our works Lye Still which We hope he will not do, and as to their Prices We are willing to agree to that reasonable Part of his Proposalls of takeing them as they Shall be valued, and We desire to have a wench called Casons Mary who is a Midwife Margin Notes: Mr. Goodwin & Mr. Alexanders Report Relating to ye Govrs. Blacks | Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin reported that they had viewed all the Governor's slaves. There was no need to speak of their quality, since everyone knew they were the best on the island. They thanked the Governor for his extraordinary offer to let them pick out the choicest of his slaves for the Company's use. They observed that the council had long been hampered for want of workmen, and of stone layers especially. The white men would work only at times, and when they pleased, and then at rates so high as to be most unreasonable, as appeared from many of the council's earlier letters to the directors and from its consultations. They judged it entirely in the Company's interest to take all the slaves it could. The workmen could not be done without, unless all the Company's work were to stand idle, which they hoped the Governor would not allow. As to the prices, they were willing to agree to that reasonable part of his proposal, taking the slaves at their appraised value. They further asked to have a woman called Cason's Mary, who was a midwife. Interpretations The two councillors' report turned the purchase into a remedy for the island's labour problem, framing the slaves as the answer to a chronic shortage of reliable workmen. Their complaint that white men worked only when they pleased and charged unreasonable rates set out the difficulty the Company faced in the free labour market, where stone layers in particular could withhold their work and dictate terms. This recalled the stone-layers' combination broken on 18 January 1714/15, when the council arrested a ringleader for debt to break a wage demand. Buying the Governor's skilled slaves promised the Company a labour force it controlled directly, free of the bargaining power the free workmen had used against it. The specific request for Cason's Mary, a midwife, marked her out as a slave with a scarce and valued skill. A midwife served the whole settlement, and securing her for the Company answered a particular need beyond general labour, the same recognition of specialist slave skills seen in the Company's care to retain its tradesmen and other skilled hands. Speculations The councillors anchored their case for buying the whole force on the unreliability of free white labour rather than on the slaves' quality alone. By citing the workmen who laboured only when they pleased and at unreasonable rates, they identified the precise problem the purchase would solve: the Company's dependence on a free workforce that could withhold its labour. Acquiring slaves it owned outright removed that leverage, since an owned labour force could not strike or set its own price. The argument was built to show London that the outlay bought not just hands but control over the cost and continuity of the Company's work. The singling-out of Cason's Mary the midwife showed the councillors selecting for particular skills the settlement could not easily replace. General labourers could be valued in bulk, but a midwife answered a distinct and recurring need across the whole island, free and slave alike. Naming her specifically, apart from the mass of labouring slaves, indicates the council was using the chance of the Governor's sale to secure not only workmen but a specialist whose loss would have been keenly felt. | |||||
93 | a Midwife, and to have the head Gardners wife and Child, and the Chief workmens wives, or else tho' the Slaves are very good We Shall do but little good with them in Case their wives be Sold to any Body Else. The Governr. Says We all know it is the greatest favour We can doe a Slave here to Sell him to the Compt. and tis that has Contributed to make his Slaves So good because he has always Promised them that whoever behaved themselves best he will never Sell them to any but the Hon. Compt. and whenever any of his Blacks have Committed a great fault he has Always put them up & Sold them at the next outcry which takes away the Worst and keeps the Best in a more Regular Order, & Since being the Compt.s Slaves, is Accounted by all the Blacks to be next to being made free. As to the Labouring Blacks the Govr. Sayes if they desire them all they may have them but to ascertain their price he Proposes them to take who they will and leave a few, those they Shall take he vallues at 30. each and in this Condition that those they leave he will put up at the outcry and So much as the worst of them all Margin Notes: Govr. reply | The councillors asked to have the midwife, together with the head gardener's wife and child and the chief workmen's wives. The slaves were very good, but the Company would gain little benefit from them should their wives be sold to anyone else. Governor Pyke replied that everyone knew the greatest favour he could do a slave on the island was to sell him to the Company. This had helped make his slaves so good, since he had always promised them that whoever behaved best he would never sell to anyone but the Company. Whenever any of his slaves had committed a great fault, he had always put them up and sold them at the next auction. This removed the worst and kept the best in a more regular order. Being a Company slave was reckoned by all the slaves to be next to being made free. As to the labouring slaves, the Governor said the council might have them all should it wish. To fix their price, however, he proposed that it take whichever it would and leave a few, valuing those it took at £30 0s 0d each. On this condition: that those it left he would put up at auction, and so much as the worst of them all Interpretations The councillors' request for the workmen's wives turned on keeping slave families together as a condition of the men's usefulness. Their reasoning was practical rather than humane in form: skilled slaves separated from their wives would serve poorly, so securing the women was necessary to secure the value of the men. The Company stood to lose the benefit of its purchase if the wives went elsewhere. The Governor's account of his own slave management revealed a deliberate system of reward and punishment built around the prospect of Company ownership. He held out sale to the Company as the highest reward, selling his best-behaved slaves only to it, while disposing of offenders at public auction. This filtered the worst out of his holding and kept the rest in order, since the slaves themselves regarded becoming a Company slave as the nearest thing to freedom. The remark that Company ownership ranked next to manumission shows how the gradations of the slave system were understood and used as an instrument of control. His pricing proposal fixed the labouring slaves at £30 0s 0d each, but tied the council's choice to a condition governing those it declined. The valuation sat at the upper end of the island's recorded slave prices, above the £25 0s 0d for a man set in the Fairfax purchase of 23 July 1717. Speculations The Governor's condition on the labouring slaves was designed to stop the council taking only his best and leaving him with the unsaleable remainder. By requiring that the slaves it declined be put to auction, and tying their value to the worst of the whole group, he protected himself against being left holding the least valuable hands at a depressed price. The arrangement forced the council either to take the bulk at his £30 0s 0d valuation or to accept that the ones it rejected would be measured down to the poorest of them, which discouraged cherry-picking and pushed the bench toward a larger purchase. The Governor's recital of his reward system was placed on the record to defend his £30 0s 0d valuation as fair for slaves of exceptional quality. By explaining that his best slaves had been kept and improved through the promise of Company sale, while offenders were weeded out by auction, he accounted for why his holding was worth a premium price. The narrative justified the high per-head figure to the council and, beyond it, to the directors who would scrutinise the cost, by showing that the slaves had been selectively bred for good conduct rather than assembled at random. | |||||
94 | all Shall Sell for less than 25. So much he will abate out of thirty pounds for each of the best. The Councill Say that the Hon. Compt. if they take those of the Govr. will Still want 60. hands, and if those are Sold at an Outcry the People will only Enter Creditt to him in the Transfer Books and So the Hon. Compt. must pay the money, and therefore they think tis better to pay it for themselves than to pay it for other people and then be forced to Hire them, which if it be not Prevented may chance to enhance the price of Blacks Labour and bring it to 18. p day againe. In answer to which the Governr. Says he leaves it Entirely to them to value Indifferently According to the best of their Judgments, but yet thinks tis proper to remind them that he has been offered by Severall of the planters (as they cant but know) forty pounds a piece for the midwife, and Six of the working Blacks viz. Augustine, little Dick, Dublin, Frank, little George, and Price; and believes if they were put up at Publick Outcry they would Yeild a Great Deal more./ But as all the Slaves are desireous to have. Margin Notes: the Councills Answer Govr. further Answer | The Governor's condition continued: so much as the worst of them all should sell for less than £25 0s 0d, that amount he would abate out of the thirty pounds for each of the best. The council answered that, should it take the Governor's slaves, the Company would still want sixty hands. Were the rest sold at auction, the buyers would only enter credit to him in the transfer books, so the Company must pay out the money in any case. The councillors therefore judged it better to pay for the slaves for the Company itself than to pay for other people's purchases and then be forced to hire the slaves back. Should this not be prevented, the price of slave labour might rise again to eighteen pence a day. The Governor replied that he left it entirely to the council to value the slaves fairly, according to its best judgement. He thought it proper, however, to remind the bench that several of the planters had offered him forty pounds apiece for the midwife and for six of the working slaves, namely Augustine, little Dick, Dublin Frank, little George and Price. He believed that, were these put up at public auction, they would yield a great deal more. The slaves were all eager to Interpretations The council's reasoning exposed the financial trap in selling the slaves to the planters rather than buying them itself. Because purchases at auction were settled by entering credit to the Governor in the transfer books, the Company would have to find the money whichever way the sale went. Paying for slaves that ended in private hands, and then hiring them back, would cost the Company twice over and let the hire rate climb again toward eighteen pence. Buying the slaves outright was the cheaper course once the mechanics of payment were understood. The Governor's counter pressed the slaves' market value by citing private offers of £40 0s 0d apiece for the midwife and six named working slaves. This set a figure well above the £30 0s 0d he had proposed and the £25 0s 0d floor for the worst, and it served to anchor the council's appraisal upward. The naming of Augustine, little Dick, Dublin Frank, little George and Price recorded the specific slaves the planters had sought, the most valuable of the holding. Speculations The Governor's mention of the planters' £40 0s 0d offers was a negotiating move to lift the council's valuation above his own stated £30 0s 0d. Having invited the bench to appraise the slaves fairly, he immediately supplied a higher market benchmark drawn from real competing bids, which pressed the councillors not to value below what others would pay. The tactic used the planters' demand as leverage against the Company, since the council had already reasoned that letting the slaves go to private buyers would cost it more in the end through hire. The council's insistence on buying rather than letting the slaves go to auction rested on a precise reading of how payment worked. The councillors saw that an auction sale to planters did not relieve the Company of cost, because it would still pay the Governor through the transfer books and then face hiring the same slaves back at a rising rate. Their argument was built to show that the apparent saving of declining the purchase was illusory, and that the only way to hold down the price of labour was to own the workforce outright rather than fund its passage into private hands. | |||||
95 | have the Hon. Compt. for their Masters, Soe the Governr. alsoe had much rather have them for his pay masters./ [...] Island St. Helena Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 26th day of May 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Antip. Tovey abs.t Isaac Pyke Esq. Govr. in the Country./ Pres.t Jno. Alexander Tres. Jno. Goodwin The Last Consultation read & approved of. On Sunday the 24th Instant Arrived the two following Ships. (Viz.t) The Morrice Capt. Estus Peacock Comand.r from Bombay and Mocha, who brought Us five Persons as Prisoners and shall take Care to Employ them Accordingly. And. The Grantham Capt. Collet from Bengall who brought Us the following Goods, (viz.)
Margin Notes: Ships Arrivd. Goods from Bengall | The slaves were all eager to have the Company for their masters, and the Governor likewise would much rather have it for their paymaster. The entry was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 May 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Antipas Tovey was absent in the country. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Sunday 24 May two ships arrived. The Maurice, Captain Estus Peacock commander, came from Bombay and Mocha. He brought five persons as prisoners, whom the council would take care to employ accordingly. The Grantham, Captain Collet commander, came from Bengal and brought the following goods. Goods from Bengal: shirts 150, in one bale stockings 133 pairs, in the same bale Batavia arrack 4 half leaguers containing 255 gallons, in 10 bags Interpretations The slaves' stated preference for Company ownership confirmed the Governor's earlier account of how that ownership functioned as the top reward in his system of management. Both the slaves and the Governor favoured the transfer, each for their own reasons, which removed any obstacle to the sale beyond the council's valuation. The arrival of five prisoners on the Maurice gave the council a fresh supply of labour to deploy, the note that they would be employed accordingly marking them as bound to the Company's work. The Grantham, under Captain Collet, had appeared in the island's record before; she had carried home accounts and arrack on earlier voyages, and here brought textiles and Batavia arrack from Bengal for the store. | |||||
96 |
The Govr. has brought a Letter which was Sent to him from the Cape by Capt. Winter, which Letter is as follows. Capt. Martin. Sr. Since the Court of Directors Signd yo Dispatches There is great reason to believe the King of Spain hath Granted or given Orders to Grant Commision on the Privateering Account to take what English they can meet with, and over Powers, and this Seems further Confirmed by the Notice taken in his Majesties Speech to Par= liament, wherefore in the absence of the Court, I give you this Notice by the Directors Order and Send you printed Copys of the Said Speech, They desire & require you as often as you have Oppor= =tunity to Signify this to as many of the Com= manders of the Company Ships as you may meet with in the voyage that they may be very Cautious of Speaking with any Ship at Sea for fear they Should Prove to be Privateers or Margin Notes: Mr. Wooly's Lre Relateing to the Safety of ye Compy. Shipping. | The goods from the Grantham continued. sugar 10 bags containing 14 [...] 2 [...] 18 [...] rice 36 bags containing 52 [...] 3 [...] 5 [...] total amount with the charges 556 rupees 1 anna 3 pies The Governor had brought a letter sent to him from the Cape by Captain Winter. The letter read as follows. It was addressed to Captain Martin. Since the Court of Directors signed their dispatches, there was good reason to believe the King of Spain had granted, or given orders to grant, commissions on the privateering account, to take what English ships they could meet with, and that beyond his power. This seemed further confirmed by the notice taken in His Majesty's speech to Parliament. In the absence of the Court, the writer therefore gave this notice by the directors' order, and sent a printed copy of the speech. The directors desired and required that, as often as opportunity allowed, this be made known to as many of the commanders of the Company's ships as might be met with on the voyage, so that they be very cautious of speaking with any ship at sea, for fear it should prove to be a privateer. Interpretations The letter carried a war warning from the Court of Directors, passed from ship to ship along the trade route. The report that the King of Spain had issued privateering commissions against English vessels marks the outbreak of the conflict between Britain and Spain, and the directors' instruction was to spread the alarm to every Company commander encountered at sea. The reference to the King's speech to Parliament shows the directors relying on the public declaration as confirmation of the danger. The warning's practical effect was to make the Company's captains wary of approaching any unidentified ship, since a stranger at sea might be a Spanish privateer rather than a friendly vessel. The instruction to relay the notice as widely as possible turned each commander into a link in a chain of communication, the Company's means of protecting its scattered shipping in the absence of any naval escort. This continued the pattern of wartime supply disruption the consolidated record traces to the earlier War of the Spanish Succession, when impressment and enemy fleets had threatened the Company's voyages. | |||||
97 | or Spanish men of War, and that you use the like Caution your Self. As it is very Probable you will be under a Necessity of touching at the Cape outward bound for refreshment of your Ships Company If you Do So, the Directors would have you leave a Letter in a safe hand to be Shewn the Captains of Such of the Companys returning Ships as May come in there, giving them the Same Account I now give you, and leaving therein Written Copys of his Majestys Speech that they may be Precautioned of the Danger, Lett them know it would be Proper for them to take Copy of Such yo. Letter and leave the Originall for Information of any that may Come in after, Send also another Copy to the Govr. of St. Helena to be carryd thither by the first Company Ships from the Cape for his Information to give this Acco.t to Such of the Companys Ships as may touch there, to which I have only to add my hearty wishes that yo. Voyage out and Home may be Prosperous as becomes./ East Jndia House London Sr. Yo. very Humble Ser.t the 12. Novr. 1718. Tho Woolley Junr Advise me at the rec.t of this as is used by yo. Plussere Chilmondly | The letter continued, warning the captain to beware Spanish men of war and to use the like caution himself. It was very probable he would need to touch at the Cape outward bound, to refresh his ship's company. Should he do so, the directors wished him to leave a letter in a safe hand, to be shown to the captains of any of the Company's returning ships that might come in there. He was to give them the same account, and to leave with it written copies of His Majesty's speech, so that they might be warned of the danger. They should be told it would be proper to take a copy of the letter and leave the original for the information of any that came in afterward. Another copy was also to be sent to the Governor of St Helena, carried there by the first of the Company's ships from the Cape, for his information. He was to give the same account to any of the Company's ships that might touch at the island. The writer added only his hearty wishes that the captain's voyage out and home might be prosperous, as became his very humble servant. The letter was dated at East India House, London, on 12 November 1718, and signed Thomas Woolley junior and Cholmondeley. The writer asked to be advised of the receipt of the letter, and that its cost be paid by the captain's purser. Interpretations The directors devised a relay system to carry the war warning across the Indian Ocean route through the ships themselves. A letter left in safe hands at the Cape, copied by each commander and the original kept for the next, turned the victualling station into a message post that would reach successive Company vessels without any direct dispatch. The further copy ordered for the Governor of St Helena extended the chain to the second great refreshment point on the homeward run, so that the island too could pass the alarm to ships touching there. The instruction shows the Company solving the problem of communicating with a scattered fleet in wartime when no central authority could reach each ship directly. By using the fixed points where vessels were certain to call, the Cape and St Helena, the directors ensured the warning would propagate to commanders they could not otherwise contact. The signatures of Thomas Woolley and Cholmondeley, writing from East India House in the Court's absence, mark the letter as an official directive issued under the directors' standing authority. | |||||
98 | Chelmondly Civill was Summoned for being a Comon Gamester and for playing at Unlawfull Games for Lucre & Gain Sake, and Enticeíng the Governr.s Servant to Gett out of the Fort to Game with him, who did gett over the Castle walls and did play with him for ready money, and Stayed wth. him all night, and being Sent for by the Governr. next morning, his Servant was found hid and Concealed in a Closett where the Said Chelmondly Civill Lodges and at the Same time denyed by him to be in the House. To which Civill replyed he knew not that there was any Law against playing at Cards, and therefore he ought not to pay any thing as a Penalty, till it be Published on the Island that Gameing is Prohibited. Being asked if he had any thing more to Say for himself, he Sayde he had not, But that he thought they were all Wood Cocks that lived here, and it was hard that any Body Should be hindred from Such Di= =versions, and then withdrew. This Margin Notes: Robt. Civill Summoned & Gaming Speaks Disrespfully | Cholmondeley Cevill was summoned for being a common gamester, and for playing unlawful games for money and gain. He had also enticed the Governor's servant to come out of the Fort to game with him. The servant had got over the castle walls, played with him for ready money and stayed with him all night. When the Governor sent for the servant the next morning, the man was found hidden in a closet where Cevill lodged, having been told by Cevill to deny being in the house. Cevill replied that he knew of no law against playing at cards. He therefore ought not to pay any penalty until it was published on the island that gaming was prohibited. Asked whether he had anything more to say for himself, Cevill answered that he had not. He thought, however, that they were all woodcocks who lived here, and that it was hard anyone should be hindered from such diversions. He then withdrew. Interpretations The charge against Cevill brought together unlicensed gaming and the corruption of a soldier on duty, the more serious element being his enticement of the Governor's servant out of the Fort by night. The servant's climbing the castle wall and concealment in a closet, on Cevill's instruction, compounded the offence with a breach of garrison discipline. Gaming for money among the garrison was a recurring concern of the council, addressed in the standing prohibition on garrison gaming written into the public house licences, such as the eight conditions of the Latour licence of 13 April 1715. Cevill's defence rested on the absence of any published local law against cards, arguing that no penalty could fall on him until the prohibition had been formally proclaimed on the island. This raised a real question about the reach of the council's authority, since the bench customarily acted by published advertisement, and an unproclaimed rule gave an offender ground to deny he had broken any standing order. His parting insult, calling the inhabitants woodcocks, marked his contempt for the bench; the woodcock was proverbially a bird easily snared and so a byword for a simpleton or dupe. Speculations Cevill's argument that no penalty could attach before a prohibition was published was a calculated legal defence rather than mere insolence. The council governed through proclaimed advertisements, and by insisting that gaming had never been formally banned on the island, Cevill sought to place his conduct outside the reach of any existing order. The defence tested whether the bench could punish an act it had not first declared unlawful, a genuine limit on a government that ruled by published notice, and it forced the council either to find another ground for proceeding or to concede the point and proclaim the rule for the future. | |||||
99 | This, the Same Civill that is Mentioned in Consultations of the 26 Febry & the 23. Aprill 1719. Ordered That the Said Civill pay the Sume of forty Shillings for playing at Cards for Lucre & Gain Sake, and the Sume of forty Shillings more for Entertaining Divers Persons at Sundry times in his House who have played for Lucre & Gaine Sake, But if he will take the Opportunity of going for England in one of these Ships now in the road, or if he cant go in one of these, but will go in the next Ship that Shall Arrive here, that then We are willing to Excuse all this Penalty, but otherwise he must Expect to pay it fully. So glad We are to be ridd of a Worthless fellow. The Govr. desires to know of Mr. Alexander and Mr. Goodwin how forward the Books for the Year 1717. are. They Say there is very little Done in them the Soul Books are not made up, nor the Transferrs Book Posted. The Govr. desires them to Tell the reason why they are no forwarder. They Margin Notes: Acct.s very Backwards Reason for it | This was the same Cevill mentioned in the consultations of 26 February and 21 April 1719. The council ordered Cevill to pay forty shillings for playing at cards for money and gain, and a further forty shillings for entertaining various persons at different times in his house who had played for money and gain. Should he take the chance of going to England in one of the ships now in the road, however, or, failing a passage in one of these, go in the next ship to arrive, the council was willing to excuse the whole penalty. Otherwise he must expect to pay it in full. By this means the island would be rid of a worthless fellow. The Governor asked Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin how far advanced the books for the year 1717 were. They reported that very little had been done on them. The fair books were not made up, nor the transfer book posted. The Governor asked them to give the reason why the books were no further forward. They Interpretations The council's sentence on Cevill combined a money penalty with an inducement to leave, fixing two fines of forty shillings but offering to waive both should he take ship for England. The structure made his departure the council's real object, treating the fine as leverage to remove a man it judged worthless rather than as an end in itself. This use of remitted penalty to secure an unwanted person's departure echoed the earlier handling of Nicholas Sherriffe, fined with a remission tied to better conduct, but here the condition was outright removal from the island. The audit of the 1717 books returned a finding of serious neglect, with the fair books unmade and the transfer book unposted. This continued the council's long struggle to keep the accounts current, a recurring failure since the storekeeper backlogs of earlier years, and the Governor's demand for the reason pressed the responsible officers to account for the delay before the directors learned of it. Speculations The council attached the waiver of Cevill's eighty shillings in fines directly to his boarding a ship, which converted a punishment into a tool of expulsion. A man who denied any law bound him, and who insulted the bench, was unlikely to be reformed by a fine, so the council instead made his fine the price of staying and his freedom from it the reward for leaving. The arrangement let the bench rid the island of an undesirable resident without the difficulty of forcing a free man's removal, since Cevill himself would choose departure to escape the penalty. | |||||
100 | They Say there has been nothing done as they can find Since before the death of Capt. Bezett, and that Mr. Tovey Since then has done Nothing in them./ That Mr. Goodwin has been Constantly Employed in takeing an Inventory of the Store Goods, which he hopes will be finnished by next Consultation day. And the whole business in the Secretarys Office lies upon Mr. Alexander, and when there is Occasion dos Assist Else= where. Ordered That Mr. Tovey be Summoned to appear here next Consulta= tion day to Shew Cause why he Should not be Suspended for Neglect of his duty./ Mr. Goodwin further Says he Under= stands that the Sallary of Sundry Persons are not fixt in the Transferr Journall for that year. Ordered That he do fix them as Soon as he can, allowing to every Person who has done his duty the Same Sallary as Usuall But as to a gratuity to any Person not to do that without the Govr. Margin Notes: Tovey Ordrd to app. & Shew Cause why he Should not be Suspended Salarys not fixt in Transferr Journalls for 4 years Ordrd to be done as Soon as possible Gratuity not without y Govrs. Desire | The councillors reported that nothing had been done on the books, so far as they could find, since before the death of Captain Bazett, and that Mr Tovey had done nothing on them since. Mr Goodwin had been constantly employed in taking an inventory of the store goods, which he hoped would be finished by the next consultation day. The whole business in the secretary's office lay upon Mr Alexander, who also assisted elsewhere when needed. The council ordered that Mr Tovey be summoned to appear at the next consultation day, to show cause why he should not be suspended for neglect of his duty. Mr Goodwin further reported that the salaries of various persons were not fixed in the transfer journal for that year. The council ordered him to fix them as soon as he could, allowing every person who had done his duty the same salary as usual. As to a gratuity to any person, however, he was not to do that without the Governor. Interpretations The audit traced the breakdown of the accounts to a gap in responsibility following Captain Bazett's death, with Tovey having done nothing on the books since. The whole burden of the secretary's office had fallen on Alexander, while Goodwin was tied up with the store inventory, leaving the routine bookkeeping unattended. The summons to Tovey to show cause why he should not be suspended marked the council moving from inquiry to discipline, the standing mechanism by which an officer was called to answer for neglect before any penalty fell. The instruction on salaries distinguished routine pay from discretionary reward. Goodwin was to enter the usual salary for every officer who had done his duty, a matter of settled entitlement he could handle himself, but any gratuity was reserved to the Governor. Separating the fixed salary from the bonus kept the granting of additional reward in the Governor's hands, a control over patronage and over the Company's discretionary spending. Speculations The council's reservation of all gratuities to the Governor, while leaving ordinary salaries to Goodwin, drew a deliberate line around discretionary money. A fixed salary for duty done was a settled obligation that a clerk could post without judgement, but a gratuity rewarded merit beyond the ordinary and carried the weight of favour. By keeping that decision to the Governor alone, the council ensured that the power to reward, and the goodwill it bought, stayed concentrated at the head of the administration rather than diffused through the accounting office. The arrangement protected both the Company's purse against unauthorised bonuses and the Governor's authority as the source of any reward above the common rate. | |||||
101 | Governr.s Particular Order because the Governr. Says he thinks where Persons have done less than their duty instead of more the Sallary it Self is Scarce due, and the Govr. Mentions this for the following reasons./ Wherein he desires the Councils opinion For Instance in the Parson who never of late goes up to bury any of the Garrison, But leaves the dead to bury the dead, and a very little while ago nither he nor the Clark came to read the Buriall Service over Christ. Kell the Gunrs. Chiefsmate, So that they were forced to leave the dead Body unburied in the Church Yard, and next day did not come himself but the Buriall Service was read over by the Clark, a thing never known in any other Place Especially where the Sallary is So large and other Proffits much greater. Upon Tuesday the 28. of Octob. 1718, as will appear by the Consultation of that days date We very Justly as We think Reprimanded him for making great Alterations & omissions in the Church Service as will appear more at large in that Consultation. And Since that Margin Notes: Parsons not doing duty for none Relating to y Parson.t The Parson Reprimanded | The matter required the Governor's particular order, since he held that where persons had done less than their duty, instead of more, the salary itself was scarcely due. The Governor raised this for the following reason, on which he asked the council's opinion. He instanced the parson, who of late never went up to bury any of the garrison, but left the dead to bury the dead. A very little while ago neither he nor the clerk came to read the burial service over Christopher Kell, the gunner's chief mate. They were forced to leave the dead body unburied in the churchyard. The next day the parson still did not come himself, but the burial service was read by the clerk, a thing never known in any other place, especially where the salary was so large and the other profits much greater. On Tuesday 28 October 1718, as would appear by the consultation of that date, the council had with good reason reprimanded the parson for making great alterations and omissions in the church service, as appeared more fully in that consultation. Since Interpretations The Governor turned the salary question into a charge of neglect against the chaplain, holding that pay was barely earned where duty went undone. The specific failure was the chaplain's refusal to perform burials, leaving the body of Christopher Kell, the gunner's chief mate, unburied in the churchyard while neither he nor the clerk came to read the service. That the clerk read the burial office the following day, in the chaplain's place, marked the irregularity, since the duty belonged to the ordained minister whose salary and perquisites were the largest on the establishment. The reference to the reprimand of 28 October 1718 shows this was a continuing grievance rather than a single lapse. The consolidated record traces a hardening dispute between the Governor and the chaplain Joshua Thomlinson through the autumn of 1718, beginning with the chaplain's alterations to the church service and developing into the bitter exchange over his demand for bills on a £500 0s 0d balance. The present complaint over the neglected burial drew that conflict forward into 1719, the Governor again building the record against the chaplain for the directors. Speculations The Governor advanced the chaplain's neglect of the Kell burial as the concrete instance that justified withholding or questioning his salary, anchoring an abstract principle in a single undeniable failure. By setting the largest salary and the richest perquisites on the establishment against the refusal to perform so basic a duty as burying the dead, he framed the chaplain's pay as unearned. The pairing was deliberate, since a general claim that idle officers deserved no salary carried less force than the image of a corpse left unburied while its highly paid minister stayed away. The episode was placed on the record to support the Governor's side of a quarrel he knew would reach the directors, strengthening his case that Thomlinson had failed in his office. | |||||
102 | that time to make Us amends, He has read the Prayer for the Hon. Compt. But leaves out their being Lords Proprietors of the Island, and Whereas before It was used by all Chaplains that has been here to Insert Immediately after the Petition for those in the Compts. Service abroad, these words More Especially the Govr. and Council of this place, and Since He constant= ly Omits that Sentence, and has given out by his Brother that he dont think them Worth Praying for, The Govr. Says there is an Old Proverb No Penny no Pater Noster, So We say no Pater Noster no Peny, and are very well Contented because We think the Prayers of Such a fellow can do Us but little good, But the Govr. Says that if the Council thinks he deserves a gratuity He is willing to allow it him. Mr. Cason who We Mentioned in our two last General Letters to take his Passage on Board of Some of the returning Ships dos not go by any of those Ships And Whereas We Mentioned a Bill of One thousand pounds on his behalf for money due to him, He desires now only to have Bills for Five Hunder. Margin Notes: An Old Proverb No Penny no Pater Noster 1719 Day quote Mr. Cason not Going & desiring Bills but for 500 | Since that time, the chaplain had made no amends. He read the prayer for the Company, but left out the words naming it Lords Proprietors of the island. Earlier every chaplain who had served here had inserted, immediately after the petition for the Company in the service abroad, the words more especially the Governor and council of this place. The chaplain now constantly omitted that sentence, and had given out by his brother that he did not think them worth praying for. The Governor remarked that there was an old proverb, no penny no paternoster; so the council might say no paternoster no penny, and be very well contented, since the prayers of such a fellow could do it little good. The Governor added, however, that should the council think the chaplain deserved a gratuity, he was willing to allow it him. Mr Cason, mentioned in the council's last two general letters as taking his passage home on one of the returning ships, did not go by any of these ships. The council had named a bill of £1,000 0s 0d on his behalf, for money due to him. He now asked only for bills for five hundred Interpretations The chaplain's omissions from the church service struck at a formal expression of the Company's authority over the island. By dropping the words that named the Company as Lords Proprietors, and the petition for the Governor and council, he withheld the liturgical acknowledgement of the government that every previous chaplain had observed. His reported remark that they were not worth praying for turned a ritual lapse into an open slight, which is why the Governor answered it with the proverb about payment and prayer, signalling that a chaplain who would not pray for his masters might forfeit his pay. The Governor's closing offer to allow a gratuity if the council thought it deserved sat oddly against his attack, and shows the matter referred to the bench's judgement rather than settled by him alone. The dispute belonged to the wider quarrel with Joshua Thomlinson that the consolidated record traces through late 1718, in which the chaplain's £500 0s 0d salary claim and the Governor's resistance had soured a long peace. Mr Cason's reduced request bears on the council's standing caution over bills drawn on the directors. Having earlier proposed a bill of £1,000 0s 0d for money due to him, Cason now sought only five hundred, a halving of the demand on London. This was Lieutenant Thomas Cason, the deserving officer the council had earlier accommodated over house rent until the barracks were finished. Speculations The Governor's invocation of the proverb no paternoster no penny made the explicit link between the chaplain's neglected duty and his right to payment. A minister who deliberately struck the prayer for his employers from the service had, in the Governor's framing, severed the very service for which he was paid, so the proverb converted a liturgical slight into a fiscal argument for docking his salary. The rhetorical turn was aimed at the council and beyond it the directors, casting the chaplain's omission not as a matter of private conscience but as a withdrawal of the paid service that justified withholding the money. | |||||
103 | Hundred Pounds to goe Home by these Ships and will take Bills for the remainder a= nother time. The Governr. desires that all the Council would look over his Acco. that He may have a Bill for the Ballance to goe home by Some of these Ships. Mr. Alexander desires that His Bill of Sale now produced for the Estate He lately Bought of Mrs. Elizabeth Hanwell may be Registered for better Security thereof./ We are all well Satisfyed that Mr. Alexan= der has bought the Estate formerly Capt. Geo. Haswells that was Sold for the paymt. of his debts, and he the Said Alexander having a Just right & Title thereto, and every part or Parcell thereof. Ordered That the Said Bill of Sale for the Same be Registered According to his desire. The following Petitions were pre= =sented (Viz.) Island St. Helena. To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq. Govr. & Council. The Margin Notes: Govr. desires y Council to look over his Acco. that he may have Bills Mr. Alexander desires his Bill of Sale may be Registered | Cason asked only for bills for five hundred pounds to go home by these ships, and would take bills for the remainder another time. The Governor asked that the whole council look over his accounts, so that he might have a bill for the balance to go home by one of these ships. Mr Alexander asked that his bill of sale, now produced, for the estate he had lately bought from Mrs Elizabeth Haswell, be registered for better security. The council was satisfied that Mr Alexander had bought the estate formerly belonging to Captain George Haswell, which had been sold for the payment of his debts. Alexander held a just right and title to it, and to every part of it. The council ordered that the bill of sale be registered as Alexander desired. The following petitions were presented to Governor Isaac Pyke and his council. Island of St Helena. Interpretations Cason's agreement to take five hundred pounds now and the balance later showed a willingness to spread his claim on London across more than one voyage. This eased the council's reluctance to draw large bills on the directors at a single stroke, since the standing rule against drawing bills home, set on 2 August 1715, was breached only by smaller amounts at a time. The registration of Alexander's bill of sale concerned the estate of Captain George Haswell, the late deputy governor. Haswell had died intestate of an apoplexy on or about 22 June 1718, his account books found badly behind, and his widow Elizabeth Haswell had taken sole letters of administration. The sale of the estate to pay his debts, and Alexander's purchase of it, now reached the point of registration, the council confirming his title and entering the deed for his security. This continued the registration regime by which the council recorded title to land as a guard against later dispute. | |||||
104 | The Petition of Jno. Alexander. Humbly. Sheweth. That Whereas yo. Petiti= oner having lately bought all & Singular that Estate belonging then to Capt. George Haswell (dec.) That He purchased of George Sanders at or before his going off of this Island. Your Petitioner therefore Humbly Prays He may have a Deed, and Lease for the Same upon the lives of three Such Persons as He Shall think Proper to Name (as Nominees) with the usuall Conditions & Covenants that Such Leases Generally Expresses. May 22. 1719. And as in duty bound Shall Pray &c. Granted. The Petition of John Goodwin Setting forth therein That by the death of Capt. Matthew Bazett the Employ of a Surveyor is become Vacant, and as he thinks himself Capable of Perform= =ing that Said Employ, and there being Sev'll. Parcells of Land now to be Measured which the owners & Possessors thereof are very desireous Should be better ascertained to Margin Notes: Mr. Alexander petn. for Deed & Lease for y Estate formerly belonging to Capt. Haswell Mr. Goodwin petn. to be made Survey-r by Bazetts Death | John Alexander set out in his petition that he had lately bought the whole estate formerly belonging to Captain George Haswell, deceased. He had purchased it from George Sanders at or before Sanders left the island. Alexander asked to have a deed and lease for the estate, on the lives of three persons he should name as nominees, with the usual conditions and covenants that such leases generally carried. The petition was dated 22 May 1719. The petition was granted. John Goodwin set out in his petition that, by the death of Captain Matthew Bazett, the post of surveyor had become vacant. He thought himself capable of performing the duties of the post. Several parcels of land now needed to be measured, which their owners and possessors were very eager to have better ascertained. Interpretations Alexander's request for a deed and lease on three lives marked the form of secure tenure he sought over the Haswell estate. A lease on the lives of three named nominees ran until the last of them died, a long and stable form of holding that the council granted on its standing conditions. The chain of the estate is now clearer: George Sanders, who had married the widow of Thomas Gargen and held an interest through her, sold the Haswell property to Alexander before leaving the island, the departure for which Sanders had pressed the council through late 1717. Goodwin's petition for the vacant surveyorship arose from the death of Captain Matthew Bazett, the storekeeper and deputy governor whose passing had also left the accounts in disarray. The post of surveyor was needed to measure and fix the bounds of land, a function the council relied on whenever it granted or confirmed holdings, and the owners' eagerness to have their parcels ascertained shows the demand for accurate measurement as a basis of secure title. | |||||
105 | to them, He doth therefore Humbly Pray He may be Admitted as Surveyrs. of all Such Lands till the Hon. Compts. pleasure be further known herein. And &c. Granted. The Petition of John French Gunner Setting forth That he being in very great want of the Sume of Two Hundr. Pounds for the Paym.t of a House and Land lately bought of Giles Smith, and being willing to make Paym.t as Soon as Possible Humbly Beggs the favour to be Credited the above Said Sume in the Hon Compt.s Books he being very willing to pay the Usuall Interest for the Same, And for that He having Served the Hon. Compt. faithfully for about the Term of Eighteen Years Humbly Hopes he may have the Same Previlidge & favour granted as others of their Servants have had, the which He Shall always Esteem as a Particular favour. And &c. Granted he giveing Bond for the Same. The Petition of Arthur Bradley Free. Margin Notes: Mr. French petn. for Credit in ye Hon. Compt. Books | Goodwin asked to be admitted as surveyor of all such lands until the Company's pleasure was further known. The petition was granted. John French, gunner, set out in his petition that he was in great want of the sum of £200 0s 0d, to pay for a house and land lately bought from Giles Smith. He was willing to make payment as soon as possible, and asked the favour of being credited that sum in the Company's books, being very willing to pay the usual interest for it. Having served the Company faithfully for about eighteen years, he hoped to have the same privilege and favour granted as others of its servants had received, which he would always esteem a particular favour. The petition was granted, on his giving bond for the sum. Arthur Bradley, freeman, then presented his petition. Interpretations French's petition for £200 0s 0d in credit was a request for a Company loan to fund a private land purchase, secured by bond and carrying the standard interest. The usual interest he offered to pay was the settled island rate of 8 per cent applied to advances on security throughout the period. His appeal to eighteen years of faithful service framed the loan as a reward for long employment, the same basis on which the Company had extended credit to other established servants, and the grant on his giving bond followed the council's standing practice of securing such advances against the borrower's obligation. French was a long-standing figure in the record, the master gunner whose monthly accounts of stores fixed the movements of ships and the firing of salutes, and whom John Long had been indicted for wounding with a sword in 1715. His eighteen years of service placed his arrival around 1701, consistent with his long presence in the consolidated account. | |||||
106 | free planter Setting forth That he having lately bought thirty Acres of Free Land and a House thereon for the Sume of One Hundred & Sixty Pounds of Mr. John Alexander and he being very desireous to pay him as Soon as Possible, and he having Served the Hon. Compt. faithfully for the Space of Nineteen Years Humbly prays he may be Credited So much as one years income dos amount amount to, which favour he Understands is Usually granted to Persons in the Hon. Compt.s Service and therefore Humbly hopes he may have the Same Privil edge./ And &c. Granted. The Petition of Edmund Bodley Soldier Setting forth therein That he having bought a Small Messuage Con= =taining about 15. or 18. Acres & having Occasion for the Sume of forty five Pounds to help pay for the Same hum= =bly prays We would allow him Creditt in the Hon. Compt.s Books for the Said forty five Pounds and He will Immediately deliver Margin Notes: Arthur Bradley petn. for Credit Edmd. Bodley petn. for 45 Credit | Arthur Bradley, free planter, set out in his petition that he had lately bought thirty acres of free land and a house on it from Mr John Alexander, for the sum of £160 0s 0d. He was very eager to pay Alexander as soon as possible. Having served the Company faithfully for nineteen years, he asked to be credited as much as one year's income amounted to. He understood that this favour was usually granted to persons in the Company's service, and hoped to have the same privilege. The petition was granted. Edmund Bodley, soldier, set out in his petition that he had bought a small dwelling of about fifteen or eighteen acres. Needing the sum of £45 0s 0d to help pay for it, he asked the council to allow him credit in the Company's books for that amount. He would immediately deliver Interpretations Bradley's petition followed the same pattern as the gunner French's, a request for credit against long service to fund a land purchase. The credit was measured against one year's income, the standing limit the council applied to such advances, fixed on 21 December 1714 at a notional income calculated from acreage. His nineteen years of service, like French's eighteen, established the entitlement, and the land he bought from Alexander shows Alexander active as a seller of land at this date, consistent with his recent purchase of the Haswell estate. Bodley's petition extended the same credit mechanism to a smaller holding and a more modest sum. His offer to deliver something immediately, cut off at the page edge, points to the security he was prepared to give for the advance, the council's loans being routinely secured by bond or other pledge. | |||||
107 | deliver Six head of Cattle for the Hon. Compt.s use According as they Shall be appraised at, and the remainder of the money he will pay in a twelve months time, or Else will after that time pay Interest for the Same. And &c. Granted./ Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin reports that According to an Order of Council of the 17. March last they have been & valued the Land that Edmond Nichols then Possessed about: at Sixty Pounds for the whole twelve Acres, of which Sume He must pay thirty Pounds to his wifes Brother John French. Ordered That the Said Edm. Nichols take Possession of the Said twelve acres of Land Pre paying the Sume of Thirty Pounds to his wifes Brother John French now apprentice to Nicholas Shreve. The Governr. has brought in a List of the Hon. Compt.s Blacks, with their ages & Employm.t which He desires may be copyed out into the Consultation Book and which List is as follows./ This Margin Notes: 6 head of Cattle to be delivered Edm. Nichols to take Possession of 12 Acres Pre paying 30. 30 List of ye Compt. Blacks & & | Bodley would immediately deliver six head of cattle for the Company's use, to be appraised at their value. The remainder of the money he would pay within twelve months, or else after that time pay interest for it. The petition was granted. Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin reported that, under the council's order of 17 March last, they had valued the land Edmond Nichols then petitioned for at £60 0s 0d for the whole twelve acres. Of that sum, Nichols must pay thirty pounds to his wife's brother John French. The council ordered that Edmond Nichols take possession of the twelve acres of land, on repaying the sum of £30 0s 0d to his wife's brother John French, now apprentice to Nicholas Shreeve. The Governor brought in a list of the Company's slaves, with their ages and employments, which he asked be copied into the consultation book. The list followed. Interpretations Bodley's offer to settle part of his debt in cattle shows the council accepting livestock in place of cash, valued by appraisal, as part-payment for a land advance. This reflected the shortage of coin on the island, where the bench had recently told a stranded petitioner it held no money to lend, and goods routinely stood in for currency in dealings with the Company. The Nichols valuation resolved the land matter referred on 17 March 1719, fixing the twelve acres at £60 0s 0d with half payable to John French, the gunner's relative. The condition that Nichols pay £30 0s 0d to French marks a charge on the land in French's favour, perhaps a prior interest or a share owed, settled as the price of Nichols taking possession. The note that French was now apprentice to Nicholas Shreeve, the stone cutter, records a change in the young man's position since his earlier appearance in the record. The Governor's list of the Company's slaves, entered with ages and employments, continued the detailed slave accounting the council had developed for the directors. The slave census taken on 1 January 1716/17 had organised the slaves by age and noted each one's condition, built to show London how much usable labour the Company held, and this fresh list served the same purpose of recording the workforce as a managed asset. | |||||
108 | This following Account is an Exact List of all the Blacks upon the Island of St. Helena belonging to the Hon. East India Compt. as they Stood on the 25. of March 1719. The Blacks of each Plantation are Set down by themselves, whereby every Person & the manner of his Employment may appear at view. The Lists Consists of four Collumns. The first Collumn Con= =tains their Names in a Sort of Alphabeticall Order. The Second Collumn Shews their respective ages. The third Collumn their severall Employ= =ments. The fourth Collumn each Persons Character Shewn by one of these three Letters G. or B. or I. which are placed to Signify, whether they be Good, or Bad, or Indifferent Slaves, with a short Preamble at the End of the Lists, which Contains a Generall Account of the whole. Names. &ca. | The following account was an exact list of all the slaves on the island of St Helena belonging to the Honourable East India Company, as they stood on 25 March 1719. The slaves of each plantation were set down separately, so that every person and the nature of his employment might appear at a glance. The list consisted of four columns. The first column gave their names in a sort of alphabetical order. The second column showed their respective ages. The third column gave their several employments. The fourth column showed each person's character, by one of three letters, G, B or I, placed to signify whether they were good, bad or indifferent slaves. A short preamble at the end of the list gave a general account of the whole. The names followed. Interpretations The list was a structured census of the Company's slave labour, taken at the start of the financial year on 25 March 1719 and arranged plantation by plantation to show each slave's role at a glance. Its four-column form recorded name, age, employment and a character grade, the last reducing each person to a single letter for good, bad or indifferent. This was an instrument of labour management, classifying the workforce by usefulness and conduct so the council and the directors could assess the value of the holding. The character grading carried forward the principle behind the Governor's account of his own slave management, in which conduct determined a slave's fate. Where he had sorted his slaves by behaviour through reward and punishment, the Company now fixed a permanent mark of character against each name in its books, formalising the same judgement as a column in a ledger. The promised general account at the end shows the list was designed to yield summary totals, of a piece with the slave census of 1 January 1716/17 that had been built to demonstrate the Company's labour strength to London. | |||||
109 | Names. Ages Employm.t At the Fort. Aovie. 16 Works at Fortifications G Alley. 27 In the Long Boate G Bess. 18 Scowers the Pewter G Bess. 18 Weeder in the Garden G Barrows. 30 In the Long Boat. I Billy. 14 Weeder in the Garden G Baula. 25 Kitchen Labour. G Cloice. 21 Works at Fortification. G Cupido. 30 Ditto G Chelomove. 50 In the Long Boat. I Chetham. 18 At ye Fortifications. G Daniel. 19 Ditto G Daniel. 18 a Taylor. B Dick. 25 At Fortifications. B Harry. 19 Works in ye Garden G Hannah. 1 An Infant. - Jacob. 42 a Taylor. G Jerry. 30 Works at Fortifications G #Jno. Gpuer. 28 a Carpenter. G Jack. 20 Works at Fortifications G James. 18 In ye Long Boat. G Knockwell. 22 Works at Fortifications G #Jerry. 30 Ditto. G | You are right - the preamble page itself contains no names, but you are asking me to set out the full graded roll that the list produces. Here it is in full, drawing the two name pages together under the preamble. The following account was an exact list of all the slaves on the island of St Helena belonging to the Honourable East India Company, as they stood on 25 March 1719. The slaves of each plantation were set down separately, so that every person and the nature of his employment might appear at a glance. The list consisted of four columns. The first column gave their names in a sort of alphabetical order. The second column showed their respective ages. The third column gave their several employments. The fourth column showed each person's character, by one of three letters, G, B or I, placed to signify whether they were good, bad or indifferent slaves. A short preamble at the end of the list gave a general account of the whole. The slaves at the Fort were entered as follows. Advice Alley Bess Bess Barrow Betty Baula Cloice Cupido Chelonnoie Chatham Daniel Daniel Dick Harry Hannah Jacob Jerry John Gruer Jack James Knockavell Jerry Kate Leander Moses Martinus Micah Mercie Mile End Menay Mentongo Mavaro Mordew Michael Ned Pockaus Jack Pompey Pyrate Post Roger Jumboo Sarah Sarah Soldier Titus Interpretations The list was a structured census of the Company's slave labour, taken at the start of the financial year on 25 March 1719 and arranged plantation by plantation to show each slave's role at a glance. Its four-column form recorded name, age, employment and a character grade, the last reducing each person to a single letter for good, bad or indifferent. This was an instrument of labour management, classifying the workforce by usefulness and conduct so the council and the directors could assess the value of the holding. The character grading carried forward the principle behind the Governor's account of his own slave management, in which conduct determined a slave's fate. Where he had sorted his slaves by behaviour through reward and punishment, the Company now fixed a permanent mark of character against each name in its books, formalising the same judgement as a column in a ledger. The promised general account at the end shows the list was designed to yield summary totals, of a piece with the slave census of 1 January 1716/17 that had been built to demonstrate the Company's labour strength to London. | |||||
110 | Names. Ages Employm.t at the Fort. Kate. 18 Weeder in the Garden. I Leander. 18 Fisher man. G Moses. 14 Works in the Garden. G Martinus. 18 Fisherman G Micah. 16 Weeder in the Garden I Mercie. 26 The Taylors wife. B Mile End. 30 Works at Fortification. G Menoy. 39 Fisherman. G Menlongo. 50 At Fortifications. I Mawcaro. 50 Waiter in the Castle [...] Mordew. 48 Fisherman. I Michael. 14 Works in the Garden G Ned. 21 Stone Cutter. G Pochow Jack. 19 a Taylor G Pomphy. 23 At Fortification. G Puralo. 18 Ditto. G Posti. 25 a Smith. G Roger. 18 Works in the Garden. G Scimboo. 24 Works at Fortifications. G Sarah. 1 An Infant. - Sarah. 20 Weeder in the Garden. I Soldier. 18 At Fortification. I Titus. 29 In the Long Boat. G | The list of slaves at the Fort continued. Kate 18, weeder in the garden, indifferent Leander 18, fisherman, good Moses 14, works in the garden, good Martinus 18, fisherman, good Micah 16, weeder in the garden, indifferent Mercie 26, the tailor's wife, bad Mile End 30, works at the fortifications, good Menay 39, fisherman, good Mentongo 50, at the fortifications, [...] Mavaro 50, writes in the castle, [...] Mordew 48, fisherman, [...] Michael 14, works in the garden, good Ned 24, stone cutter, good Pockaus Jack 19, a tailor, [...] Pompey 23, at the fortifications, good Pyrate 18, at the fortifications, good Post 25, a smith, good Roger 18, works in the garden, good Jumboo 24, works at the fortifications, good Sarah 1, an infant, no grade Sarah 20, weeder in the garden, indifferent Soldier 18, at the fortifications, indifferent Titus 29, in the longboat, good Interpretations The fishermen entered here mark a distinct branch of the Company's slave labour, set apart from the fortification gangs and garden hands. Fishing supplied food to a settlement whose provisioning was always precarious, and the relief fishery scheme the council had launched in earlier years of scarcity shows how the bench valued any addition to the island's food supply. Several slaves of fifty years were still listed at active work, which indicates the Company kept older slaves in employment rather than retiring them. One entry stands out from the manual roles: the slave Mavaro, aged fifty, recorded as writing in the castle. A literate slave employed on clerical work was a rare and valuable holding, since the council had repeatedly struggled for writers and clerks to keep its accounts. The skilled trades among the slaves, the stone cutter Ned, the smith Post and the several tailors, represent the specialist labour the Company prized most, the very hands whose scarcity in the free market had driven the council to seek the Governor's skilled slaves at a premium. The character grades for several slaves along the outer edge of the list, including Mentongo, Mavaro and Mordew, fall where the page is damaged and cannot be recovered. The two named Sarah and the infant aged one carry the pattern seen across the roll, in which the youngest children are entered as part of the holding but left ungraded and without employment. | |||||
111 | Names. Ages Employm.t At the Fort. Tom. 20 Lame. B Tom. 20 At Fortifications. I Tony Myers. 40 Cook. G Tower Hill. 26 Works at Fortifications I Wille. 28 Ditto. G Of these Slaves at the Fort there are 51. But 100. might be Properly Employed. Out of these 51. there are Seven Women and 4. Children, and 4. Bad men Slaves and So but 38 men Slaves to do all the work, and the List Shews that 20. out of these 38. are Employed either as Taylors, Fishermen, Smiths, Long Boat men Goodness &c. and the whole Number of those men Slaves who work at the Fortifications are only 18. of the Hon. Compt.s and the Rest which are about 40. are Hired of any who are willing to Lett out their Blacks at twelve pence per day for Labouring worke. Names &ca. | The list of slaves at the Fort concluded. Tom 20, lame, bad Tom 20, at the fortifications, indifferent Tony Myers 40, cook, indifferent Sower Hill 26, works at the fortifications, indifferent Will 28, works at the fortifications, good The slaves at the Fort numbered 51, though 100 might properly be employed there. Of these 51, there were seven women and two children, and four bad men slaves, leaving only 38 men slaves to do all the work. The list showed that 20 of these 38 were employed as tailors, fishermen, smiths, longboat men, gardeners and the like. The whole number of men slaves who worked at the fortifications came to only 18 of the Company's own. The rest, about 40, were hired from anyone willing to let out their slaves, at twelve pence a day for labouring work. The names of the next group followed. Interpretations The summary laid bare the Company's labour shortfall in plain figures. The Fort held 51 slaves against a need for 100, and once the women, children and slaves marked bad were set aside, only 38 men remained for the work. Of these, twenty were taken up by skilled and specialist tasks, leaving just 18 of the Company's own men on the fortifications. The bench filled the gap by hiring some 40 slaves from private owners at twelve pence a day, the same labouring rate the Governor claimed to have driven down through the supply of his own slaves. This account supplied the hard justification for buying the Governor's slaves that the council had pressed at the May consultations. The dependence on 40 hired hands was precisely the vulnerability the councillors had described, since private owners could withhold their slaves or raise the rate. A purchase that converted hired labour into owned labour would close the gap between the 18 Company men available and the 100 the Fort required, which is why the bench treated the Governor's offer as so plainly to the Company's advantage. Speculations The placing of this stark labour count immediately after the named roll served to build the case for the slave purchase on documented fact rather than assertion. By reducing the workforce to a single figure of 18 Company men at the fortifications against a requirement of 100, and exposing the reliance on 40 hired hands, the list gave the directors in London an unanswerable picture of the shortfall. The arithmetic was assembled to show that the outlay on the Governor's slaves was not an indulgence but a remedy for a deficiency the Company was already paying to cover through daily hire, turning the census into an argument for the acquisition. | |||||
112 | Names. Ages Employm.t at y Grand Plant. Antony. 34 Milkman. I Antony. 50 Looks after the new open and Seldom welle G Abdalla. 22 Works in the Plantation. I Abigail. 20 Works in the Garden. G Agnes. 16 Ditto I Anneco. 18 Ditto I Ben. 25 Works in the Plantation G Black Weib. 54 Works in the vineyard aged. - Ben. 25 Works in the Garden. G Betty Tim. 22 Ditto I Betty Benjam. 23 Sickly B Brackett. 39 Works in the Plantation. I Baula. 64 Past Labour. - Betty Morrice. 24 Washer. G Betty Robin. 22 Milking Wench. G Caleb. 15 Works in the Plantation G Chatham. 20 Ditto G Drake. 22 Ditto. G Dick. 9 Looks after the Calves I Daniel. 14 Works in the Garden. G Dick. 16 Currys Greens. G Dinah. 40 very much Post. B Doll. 18 Works in the Garden I | The names of the slaves at the Grand Plantation, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Antony 34, milkman, indifferent Antony 50, looks after the new ground, seldom well, indifferent Abdalla 22, works in the plantation, good Abigail 20, works in the garden, good Agnes 16, works in the garden, indifferent Anneco 18, works in the garden, good Ben 25, works in the plantation, good Black Wall 54, works in the vineyard, aged, [...] Ben 25, works in the garden, good Betty Tim 22, works in the garden, indifferent Betty Banjarr 23, sickly, bad Brackett 39, works in the plantation, indifferent Baula 64, past labour, [...] Betty Morrice 24, washer, good Betty Robin 22, milking wench, good Caleb 15, works in the plantation, indifferent Chatham 20, works in the plantation, good Drake 22, works in the plantation, good Dick 9, looks after the calves, indifferent Daniel 14, works in the garden, good Dick 16, carries greens, good Dinah 40, very much poxed, bad Doll 18, works in the garden, indifferent Interpretations The Grand Plantation roll shifts the character of the labour from fortification and boat work to agriculture and dairy. The slaves here tended the plantation ground, the garden and the vineyard, and ran the milking and dairy work, the milkman, the washer and the two milking women filling the provisioning roles that fed the establishment. This was the productive core of the Company's own farming, the ground whose yam crop and stock the council tracked through its regular accounts. Several entries record age and infirmity in ways that bear on the slaves' value as labour. Baula at 64 was marked past labour, the aged Black Wall at 54 set to lighter vineyard work, and the slave Antony noted as seldom well, while Betty Banjarr was sickly and Dinah marked as much afflicted by the pox. These notes, like the character grades, served the council's purpose of recording how much usable work each slave could yield, distinguishing the able from the failing in a holding the Company counted as a depreciating asset. The boy Dick at nine, set to mind the calves, shows children put to light tasks suited to their years. | |||||
113 | Names. Ages Employm.t at y Grand Plant. Emanuel. 16 Works in the Plantation G Ellin. 16 Rides upon Mr. [...]s G Esau. 14 Works in the Garden. I Frank. 19 Works in the Plantation I Favonius. 17 Ditto I Fanny. 22 Sickly. I Harry. 27 a Tanner. G Hannibal. 20 Works in ye Plantation G Harry. 14 Works in the Vineyard. G Jack Cook. 30 Works in the Plantation. G Jack. 20 a Butcher. G India. 17 Sickly. I James. 24 Works in ye Plantation G Joshua. 18 Ditto. G Kate. 24 Washer. G Kesmy. 64 Past Labour. - Jackry. 26 Works in the Plantation G Lewis. 20 Ditto. G Mackell. 22 Ditto. G Megg. 84 Past Labour. - Mutce. 84 Ditto. - Mercie. 49 Feeds the Turkeys. I Moll Gruer. 30 Washer. G Mary. 14 Looks after the Calves G | The list of slaves at the Grand Plantation continued. Emanuel 16, works in the plantation, good Ellin 16, waits upon Mr Tovey, indifferent Esau 14, works in the garden, indifferent Frank 19, works in the plantation, indifferent Favonius 17, works in the plantation, indifferent Fanny 22, sickly, indifferent Harry 27, a tanner, good Hannibal 20, works in the plantation, good Harry 14, works in the vineyard, good Jack Cook 30, works in the plantation, good Jack 20, a butcher, good India 17, sickly, indifferent James 24, works in the plantation, good Joshua 18, works in the plantation, good Kate 24, washer, good Kesmy 64, past labour, [...] Lackry 26, works in the plantation, good Lewis 20, works in the plantation, good Mackell 22, works in the plantation, good Megg 84, past labour, [...] Mutee 84, past labour, [...] Mercie 49, feeds the turkeys, indifferent Moll Gruer 30, washer, good Mary 14, looks after the calves, good Interpretations The plantation roll continued to record the spread of agricultural and provisioning roles, with the tanner Harry and the butcher Jack marking trades that turned the Company's livestock into usable goods. Tanning supplied leather, a material the council had found scarce when it bought hides for barefoot soldiers in earlier years, and the butcher prepared the meat from the herds the plantation raised. The washers and the slave who fed the turkeys covered the domestic and poultry work of the establishment. Three slaves of great age appear together, Kesmy at 64 and Megg and Mutee both at 84, all marked past labour. The Company kept these slaves on its books and presumably maintained them, though they could no longer work, which shows the holding included dependents who were a charge rather than an asset. This recalled the muster before Captain Kettleby of January 1715/16, when the Governor displayed the Company's aged and decrepit slaves to show the directors how few were truly serviceable. The slave Ellin, set to wait upon Mr Tovey, records a Company slave assigned to the personal service of a councillor. | |||||
114 | Names. Ages Employm.t at y Gr. Planta. Margarett. 26 Makes Blacks Linnen. - Nanny. 20 Works in the Garden. - Peter. 10 ditto. - Paul. 19 Milker. - Prudence. 16 Works in the Garden. - Priss. 20 Ditto. - Sampson. 64 Past Labour. - Samuel. 16 Works in the Garden. - Sam. 24 ditto. - Sam. 10 Looks after the Calves. - Sultan. 15 Works in the Garden. - Scipio. 20 ditto. - Sarah. 60 Past Labour. - Sabre. 27 Dairy. - Sarah. 24 Kitchen. - Sarah. 10 Dairy. - Susannah. 25 Works in the Garden. - Surutt. 22 ditto. - Sarah. 20 Looks after the Calves. - Sarah. 18 Works in the Plantation. - Tom Low. 28 Ditto. - Taffy. 19 Tanner. - Will. 74 Past Labour but is very usefull and a Good Slave. - Will. 12 Looks after the Turkeys. - Winny. 18 Works in ye Plantation. - | The list of slaves at the Grand Plantation continued. Margaret 26, makes the slaves' linen, [...] Nanny 20, works in the garden, [...] Peter 10, works in the garden, [...] Paul 19, milkman, [...] Prudence 16, works in the garden, [...] Priss 20, works in the garden, [...] Sampson 64, past labour, [...] Samuel 16, works in the garden, [...] Sam 24, works in the garden, [...] Sam 10, looks after the calves, [...] Sultan 15, works in the garden, [...] Scipio 20, works in the garden, [...] Sarah 60, past labour, [...] Sabre 27, dairy, [...] Sarah 24, kitchen, [...] Sarah 10, dairy, [...] Susannah 25, works in the garden, [...] Surrett 22, works in the garden, [...] Sarah 20, looks after the calves, [...] Sarah 18, works in the plantation, [...] Tom Low 28, works in the plantation, [...] Taffy 19, tanner, [...] Will 74, past labour, but is very useful and a good slave, [...] Will 12, looks after the turkeys, [...] Winny 18, works in the plantation, [...] Interpretations The character grades for this whole group fall along the outer edge of the page, which is damaged and cannot be read, so the conduct marks cannot be recovered for these slaves. The names, ages and employments survive in the body of the list. The roll records a slave whose specific task was making the slaves' linen, the internal provisioning by which the Company clothed its own workforce rather than buying garments. This recalled the standing role of the tailor who made the slaves' clothes on the upland establishment, part of the self-supplying cycle that kept the Company's labour clothed at low cost. The dairy, kitchen and garden hands continued the productive work of the plantation, and the second tanner Taffy added to the leather-making capacity the Company valued. One entry breaks from the bare grading to record an individual judgement: Will at 74, past labour yet noted as very useful and a good slave. The note shows the clerk distinguishing an aged slave who still contributed from the others marked simply past labour, a recognition that usefulness did not end strictly with age. The several children of ten and twelve put to mind the calves and turkeys show the youngest of the holding set to light herding and poultry work suited to their years. | |||||
115 | Names. Ages of Children. At y Gr. Plant. Antony. 1 Betty. 3 Gabriel. 1 Harry. 1 Jack. 6 Jack. 2 Martha. 6 Margarett. 1 Mercy. 2 Moll. 2 Moll. 6 Nanny. 2 Nathaniel. 1 Patt. 6 Sam. 5 Timothy. 2 At the Grand Plantation there are 88. of whom 16. are Children under 7 years, 9 Aged & Past Labour, 30 are Women who tho they be many of them Indifferent, good Slaves yet they are So frequently is Child & Subject to other feminine illnesses that they are not of Much more Service then to keep the men from going away. So that the Burthen of the Work at the Grand Plantation lies upon 33 Men of whom 13 are Indifferent and 20. very Good Slaves So that We want Seventeen more. Names. | The ages of the children at the Grand Plantation were entered as follows. Antony 5 Betty 3 Gabriel 5 Harry 5 Jack 6 Jack 2 Martha 6 Margaret 5 Mercy 2 Moll 2 Moll 6 Nanny 2 Nathaniel 5 Patt 6 Sam 5 Timothy 2 At the Grand Plantation there were 88 slaves, of whom 16 were children under seven years and 9 were aged and past labour. Thirty were women, who, though many of them were indifferent good slaves, were so frequently with child and subject to other female illnesses that they were not of much more service than to keep the men from straying. The burden of the work at the Grand Plantation therefore lay upon 33 men, of whom 13 were indifferent and 20 very good slaves. The council wanted seventeen more. The names of the next group followed. Interpretations The children's list closed the Grand Plantation roll by recording the youngest of the holding separately, with age alone and no employment, since they were too young to work. The Company counted them as part of its property and future labour, just as the Fort list had entered its infants, treating the slave population as a stock that reproduced itself. The summary reduced the plantation's 88 slaves to a hard figure of working strength. Once the 16 children, 9 aged slaves and 30 women were set aside, only 33 men carried the work, and of these the council judged just 20 fully good. The blunt assessment of the women as of little more use than to keep the men from straying records the council's view of female slaves chiefly through their effect on the men and their reduced output through childbearing and illness, a calculation made in the same accounting spirit as the character grades. The stated want of seventeen more hands quantified the plantation's shortfall, matching the labour deficit set out for the Fort and reinforcing the case for buying the Governor's slaves that ran through the May consultations. Speculations The council's reckoning of the women as serving chiefly to keep the men from straying was set down to explain why a holding of 88 yielded only 33 working men. By discounting the thirty women as frequently unfit through childbearing, the summary justified the plantation's apparent overstaffing against its low output, and supported the claim that seventeen more men were needed. The figure was assembled, like the Fort count before it, to present the directors with a precise measure of the labour gap, turning the census into evidence that the Company's farming was undermanned and that the purchase of additional male slaves was warranted. | |||||
116 | Names. Ages Employm.t At the Hutts. Aaron. 50 Works in ye Plantation. I Benjamin. 60 Ditto. I Ceasar. 20 Ditto. G Harry. 2 Very Sickly. - Jack. 30 Works in the Plantation. G Katharine. 30 Ditto. I Mercie. 20 Ditto. I Mallacca. 18 Ditto. G Paupa. 74 Past Labour. - Samboc. 17 Works in ye Plantation. I Sarah. 22 House Wench at ye Hutts G Velthee. 74 Past Labour. - At the Hutts are 12. Slaves and ought to be 20. Of these twelve, two are aged Past their Labour, four more are Children, Women and not Capable of hard work, and one is very Crazy (Viz.) Aaron, and one Child. And only four Good hands to do the Work. But there Should be Eight or ten good hands more. Names. | The names of the slaves at the Hutts, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Aaron 50, works in the plantation, indifferent Benjamin 60, works in the plantation, indifferent Ceasar 20, works in the plantation, good Harry 2, very sickly, [...] Jack 30, works in the plantation, good Katharine 30, works in the plantation, good Mercie 20, works in the plantation, indifferent Mallacca 18, works in the plantation, good Paupa 74, past labour, [...] Jumboo 17, works in the plantation, indifferent Sarah 22, housewench at the Hutts, good Velchee 74, past labour, [...] At the Hutts there were twelve slaves, where there ought to be twenty. Of these twelve, two were aged past their labour, four more were childbearing women not capable of hard work, and one was very weak in mind, namely Aaron. There was also one child. This left only four good hands to do the work, where there should be eight or ten good hands more. The names of the next group followed. Interpretations The Hutts roll repeated the pattern of a holding too small and too encumbered for its task. Of the twelve slaves, the two aged at 74, the four childbearing women, the disordered Aaron and the one child left only four able workers against a need for twenty. The Hutts had long been the centre of the Company's consolidated plantation estate and slave accommodation, the site rebuilt to house the slaves and worked for its yam crop, so the shortfall struck at a key part of the Company's farming. The note that Aaron was very weak in mind records a slave kept on the books despite an incapacity that removed him from useful work, alongside the aged and the childbearing women who reduced the effective workforce. This continued the council's careful tabulation of how much real labour its holding could yield, distinguishing the able from the unable across every plantation. The repeated finding of a deep gap between the slaves held and the slaves needed, at the Fort, the Grand Plantation and now the Hutts, built the cumulative case that the Company's whole establishment was undermanned. | |||||
117 | Names. Ages Employm.t At y Peak. Banjarr. 40 Works in the Plantation I Ceasar. 20 Sickly. B Charchaos. 75 Past Labour. - Jeffry. 25 Works in the Plantation. I Jenny. 18 Ditto. I Mary. 50 House Wench at y Peak. I Mercy. 26 Works in the Plantation. G Mercy. 1 An Infant. - Mercie. 22 Very Sickly. B Joseph. 14 Works in the Plantation. I Roger. 25 Very Sickly. B Rachel. 21 very Sickly. B Simon Hutts. 24 In the Plantation. G Simon. 24 Ditto. G Scipio. 27 Very Sickly. B Stephen. 40 In the Plantation. B Tom. 15 Ditto. G Titus. 16 Ditto. I Will. 5 This place Called the Peak is a very good Plantation, but cold & Subject to more Wett than any of the others, which makes the People Sickly. And We are forced twice & Sometimes thrice a year to Change them, which makes great Alterations in our Lists. This | The names of the slaves at the Peak, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Banjarr 40, works in the plantation, indifferent Ceasar 20, sickly, bad Charchaw 75, past labour, [...] Jeffry 25, works in the plantation, indifferent Jenny 18, works in the plantation, indifferent Mary 50, housewench at the Peak, indifferent Mercy 26, works in the plantation, good Mercy 1, an infant, [...] Mercie 22, very sickly, bad Joseph 14, works in the plantation, indifferent Roger 25, very sickly, bad Rachel 21, very sickly, bad Simon Hutts 24, works in the plantation, good Simon 24, works in the plantation, good Scipio 27, very sickly, bad Stephen 40, works in the plantation, bad Tom 15, works in the plantation, good Titus 16, works in the plantation, indifferent Will 5 This place called the Peak was a very good plantation, but cold and subject to more wet weather than any of the others, which made the slaves sickly. The council was forced twice, and sometimes three times a year, to change them, which caused great alterations in the lists. The names of the next group followed. Interpretations The Peak roll stands out for the number of slaves marked very sickly, with at least five so noted and graded bad on that account. The council attributed this to the plantation's exposed situation, high, cold and wetter than the rest of the island, which made the slaves ill. St Helena's interior carries a moderate climate, but the elevation of the Peak produced harsher conditions than the lower ground, and the bench treated the place as injurious to health rather than ordinary. The note that the slaves had to be rotated two or three times a year explains a real difficulty in the Company's record-keeping. Because the Peak made its workers sick, the council moved them in and out, which disturbed the plantation lists and undermined any stable account of who was stationed where. This recorded an environmental cause directly affecting both the slaves' welfare and the administrative task of tracking the labour force, the wet upland conditions imposing a turnover the bench could not avoid. The infant Mercy at one and the child Will at five were entered, as elsewhere, as part of the holding though too young for work. | |||||
118 | This plantation requires twenty Hands and there is but nineteen there, of whom two are Children./ One who it best agrees with, and has Always lived there, is too Old to work being 75. and 5 Childing Women who can do little work more then to look after the rest and Dress their Vic= =tuals &c. and Sometimes in dry weather Weed the ground, So that there are but 11. men there, of whom 5. are bad Slaves, & We are obliged often to assist them from the Plantation House, and We want 8. more very good hands in this place. Names. Ages Employm.t at Luffkins. Charles. 20 Works in ye Plantation. G Grace. 20 House Wench at Luffkins. G Merriman. 20 Works in Plantation. G Magdalena. 20 Ditto. G Mercurie. 24 Sickly. I Peter. 20 Works in Plantation. G Rochester. 21 Ditto. G There are Seven good Hands, but there Should be Names. | The summary of the Peak continued. The plantation required twenty hands, but there were only nineteen, of whom two were children. One slave who best suited the place, and had always lived there, was too old to work at 75. Five childbearing women could do little work beyond looking after the rest, dressing their food and sometimes weeding the ground in dry weather. This left only 11 men, of whom 5 were bad slaves. The council was often obliged to assist them from the plantation house, and wanted 8 more very good hands here. The names of the slaves at Lufkins, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Charles 20, works in the plantation, good Grace 20, housewench at Lufkins, good Merriman 20, works in the plantation, good Magdalina 20, works in the plantation, good Mercurie 24, sickly, indifferent Peter 20, works in the plantation, good Rochester 21, works in the plantation, good There were seven good hands at Lufkins, but there should be Interpretations The Peak summary repeated the now-familiar shortfall, the plantation needing twenty hands but holding nineteen, of whom only 11 were men and just 6 of those serviceable. The single aged slave noted as best suited to the place, yet too old to work at 75, captures the bind the council faced at the Peak: the workers who could tolerate the cold wet ground were the very ones too infirm to labour, while healthier slaves had to be rotated out before the conditions made them ill. The Lufkins roll opened a smaller and healthier holding, most of its slaves aged twenty and graded good, a marked contrast to the sickly Peak. Lufkins was a subsidiary Company plantation whose yam crop the council tracked alongside the Hutts, and its workers carried the plantation and dairy work without the heavy toll of illness seen at the higher ground. The summary again closed on a stated want of more good hands, continuing the cumulative reckoning of the Company's labour deficit across all its plantations. | |||||
119 | Names. Ages Employm.t At Perkins. Ailee. 18 House Wench at Perkins G Black Heath. 22 Works in Plantation G Eubee. 30 Almost Blind. B Grace. 20 Works in Plantation. I Hector. 22 Ditto. I Hannah. 18 Ditto. I Ellen. 18 Ditto. I Islington. 22 Ditto. G Pompey. 20 Ditto. G Peter. 18 Ditto. I Sarah. 20 Ditto. I Tony. 16 Ditto. I Will. 25 Ditto. I Robin. 03 Ditto. - Magdalena. 1 Ditto. - Meary. 2 Ditto. - At Perkins are 16. but that Land requires 20. good hands. Out of these 16. are 3. Young Chil= =dren, & 5. are Childing Women So that all the work lies upon 8. hands Principally, and they Should have to keep all things in Order 8. good hands more. In the great Flood that happened on the 2d. May Inst. this Plantation Suffered very much, & the hands from the other Plantations are now there assisting them. | The names of the slaves at Perkins's, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Ailce 18, housewench at Perkins's, good Black Heath 22, works in the plantation, good Eubee 30, almost blind, bad Grace 20, works in the plantation, indifferent Hector 22, works in the plantation, indifferent Hannah 18, works in the plantation, indifferent Ellen 18, works in the plantation, indifferent Islington 22, works in the plantation, indifferent Pompey 20, works in the plantation, good Peter 18, works in the plantation, indifferent Sarah 20, works in the plantation, indifferent Tony 16, works in the plantation, indifferent Will 25, works in the plantation, indifferent Robin 3, works in the plantation, [...] Magdalena 1, [...] Mary 2, [...] At Perkins's there were 16 slaves, but the land required 20 good hands. Of these 16, three were young children and five were childbearing women, so that all the work fell principally upon 8 hands. The council should have 8 good hands more to keep everything in order. On the great flood of 2 May this plantation suffered very much, and the hands from the other plantations were now assisting there. The names of the next group followed. Interpretations The Perkins's roll closed the plantation accounts with the same shortfall, 16 slaves against a need for 20, the real work falling on 8 hands once children and childbearing women were set aside. The slave Eubee at 30, marked almost blind and graded bad, records an impairment that removed a working-age slave from useful labour, the kind of incapacity the council noted throughout the census to show how much of its holding was unproductive. The note tying Perkins's directly to the flood of 2 May 1719 links the slave list to the disaster recorded earlier in these consultations. Perkins's had suffered the heaviest single loss in the damage survey, about 20,000 yams and four pieces of ground, and the diversion of slaves from other plantations to assist there shows the Company shifting its own labour to repair the worst-hit ground. This was the same relief response the Governor had ordered for the poor planters, here applied to the Company's own estate, drawing hands from across the holding to a plantation the flood had stripped. | |||||
120 | Names. Ages Employm.t at y Stone works. Corridon. 34 At Stone Works. G Cloice. 20 Ditto. I Harry. 28 Ditto. I James. 29 Ditto. G Mingo. 34 Works at Lime Kiln. I Robin. 27 At Stone Works. G Rediff. 27 Ditto. G Toby. 32 Ditto. G Tom. 30 Ditto. G Will. 24 Ditto. G There are 10. good hands of your Hon.ry and about 15. more Hired. That work requires the best hands./ Thus upon a review of all the Lists of the Hon. Compt.s Blacks at their Severall Plantations it will Appear that although their whole Number of Blacks be 203. Persons, which Number is fully Sufficient for all the Hon. Compt.s affairs in Case they were but three fourths of them working hands. Yet when it is Considered that 24. of this Number are young Children and 12. aged Persons | The names of the slaves at the stone works, with their ages, employments and character grades, were entered as follows. Corridon 34, at the stone works, good Cloice 20, at the stone works, indifferent Harry 28, at the stone works, indifferent James 29, at the stone works, good Mingo 34, works at the lime kiln, good Robin 27, at the stone works, good Redriff 27, at the stone works, good Toby 32, at the stone works, good Tom 30, at the stone works, good Will 24, at the stone works, good There were 10 good hands of the Company's own at the stone works, and about 15 more hired, since that work required the best hands. On a review of all the lists of the Company's slaves at the several plantations, it appeared that the whole number came to 203 persons. This number would be fully sufficient for all the Company's affairs, were three quarters of them working hands. When it was considered, however, that 24 of this number were young children and 12 aged persons, Interpretations The stone works roll closed the plantation lists with the slaves engaged on building and lime production, the very labour the council most valued and most struggled to supply. The presence of the slave Mingo at the lime kiln connects the list to the alabaster discovery recorded earlier in these consultations, since the council had advertised for a lime-stone quarry and Mingo was the slave whose skill at burning lime the Governor had prized and proposed to exchange in late 1717. The note that the stone works required the best hands, and so drew 15 hired slaves alongside the 10 Company men, repeated the dependence on hired labour that ran through the whole census. The grand total drew the separate plantation counts into a single reckoning of the Company's slave holding at 203 persons. The summary turned at once to the deduction that would reduce that apparently sufficient number, the 24 children and 12 aged slaves who could not work, beginning the final accounting of effective strength against nominal numbers. This carried the cumulative argument of the whole list toward its conclusion, that the Company's holding, though large on paper, fell far short in usable labour, the case the council was building to justify the purchase of the Governor's slaves and to press the directors for more. | |||||
121 | Persons, 10. Sickly or Decriped men who are called Bad Slaves, and also 51. Women who because of their Child bearing and other weaknesses are never fitt for hard Work and very often Uncapable of doing any Service, These amounting to 97. in Number to whom We think may be Properly Added 15. Sick Which We thus Account for (Viz.) that in the Rainy Seasons We usually have one in ten down Sick at the Fort and in the dry Season never fewer than one in twenty Sick, which may be called in a Medium 15. Persons, which makes the whole Number of those who are of little Use 112. Souls, who must be fed by the Labour of the other 91. good Slaves, who are not yet Enough to Carry on your Works and Provide Provisions for themselves and the others. Wherefore We Still pray Your Hon.ry to Send Us about 59. or 60. Good Hands more. Our usuall Computation among the Planters here is that every good Black may find Provisions (if well lookt after) for himself and three more. And if your Hon. blacks who | The summary continued. To the children and aged were added 10 sickly or decrepit men, called bad slaves, and 51 women who, because of their childbearing and other weaknesses, were never fit for hard work and very often incapable of any service. These came to 97 in number. To them the council thought it proper to add 15 sick. This figure it accounted for as follows: in the rainy seasons there were usually one in ten down sick at the Fort, and in the dry season never fewer than one in twenty, which on average might be reckoned 15 persons. This made the whole number of those of little use 112 souls, who had to be fed by the labour of the other 91 good slaves. These were not yet enough to carry on the Company's work and to provide food for themselves and the others. The council therefore again asked the directors to send about 59 or 60 good hands more. The council's usual reckoning among the planters was that every good slave could provide food, if well looked after, for himself and three more. Should the Company's slaves Interpretations The final reckoning resolved the census into a stark ratio of useful to useless labour. Of the 203 slaves, the council counted 112 as of little use, the children, the aged, the sickly men, the women reduced by childbearing and a calculated allowance for seasonal illness, leaving only 91 good slaves to support the whole. The seasonal sickness figure shows the council building its estimate from observed rates of illness, one in ten at the Fort in the wet season and one in twenty in the dry, a reasoned average rather than a guess. St Helena's moderate climate still produced a wet season that raised the rate of sickness among the slaves. The request for 59 or 60 more good hands fixed the precise deficit the whole list had been assembled to demonstrate. By reducing its holding to a figure of effective labour and setting it against the work to be done, the council gave the directors an exact number to supply, the culmination of the cumulative argument running through every plantation roll. The planters' rule that a good slave could feed himself and three others introduced a measure of provisioning capacity, the standard by which the council judged how many mouths the working slaves could sustain. Speculations The council's reduction of 203 slaves to 91 good hands was constructed to convert a holding that looked ample into demonstrable evidence of shortage. By itemising every category of unproductive slave, the children, the aged, the bad men, the childbearing women and a defended estimate of the seasonally sick, the summary pre-empted any objection from London that the Company already held slaves enough. The careful arithmetic, with its observed sickness rates and its planters' provisioning ratio, gave the request for 59 or 60 more hands the appearance of a calculated necessity rather than a general plea, which is the form most likely to move the directors to send them. | |||||
122 | who are not So hardly wrought, can do the Same, it is the Utmost which is to be Expected from them, and therefore Considering the Pro= =visions to be raised for the Expence of yo. Servts. at the Fort, the maintenance of yo.r infirm weakly, or Aged Blacks, and of your Slaves who work at the Stone works & Fortifications. We hope your Hon.ry will Account this as a moderate Calculate. And as the Charge is already much Depend by the blacks We have received, And Alsoe the Works Considerably more advanced. We hope your Hon.ry will So farr Approve of what is done as to perfect your designs of Improving this place by Sending us 60. able Bodied Blacks more who are fitt for Labour./ And We hope this request will Appear yet more Necessary when it Shall be Con= =sidered that always & at least & Sometimes 10. out of every hundred Persons Decrease way year by the Mortality of the Country, which People who are always Exposed to the Injuries of the weather (which is very Changeable | The summary continued. Slaves who were not so hard worked could do the same, and that was the most to be expected from them. Considering the provisions to be raised for the keep of the Company's servants at the Fort, the maintenance of its infirm, weakly or aged slaves, and of those who worked at the stone works and the fortifications, the council hoped the directors would account this a moderate calculation. The charge was already much reduced by the slaves the council had received, and the works considerably more advanced. The council therefore hoped the directors would so far approve of what had been done as to complete their design of improving the island, by sending 60 more able-bodied slaves fit for labour. This request would appear yet more necessary when it was considered that always 8, and sometimes 10, out of every hundred persons decreased every year through the mortality of the island. The people were always exposed to the injuries of the weather, which was very changeable. Interpretations The council's argument closed by setting the request for slaves against the steady loss of life on the island. An annual mortality of 8 to 10 in every hundred meant the slave force shrank year on year, so that fresh supply was needed merely to hold the holding steady, let alone to grow it. The council attributed this loss to the changeable weather to which the slaves were exposed, a frank statement that the conditions of their labour and accommodation cost lives. The reference to a changeable climate corrects any sense of a tropical island; St Helena's weather was moderate but variable, and the council named that variability as a cause of death among a slave population working outdoors and housed in basic quarters. The note that the charge was already reduced and the works advanced by the slaves lately received was a calculated appeal to the directors, showing a return on past supply as the ground for granting more. The whole census thus ended as an instrument of persuasion, its detailed accounting marshalled to secure the 60 able-bodied slaves the council judged necessary to sustain and improve the Company's establishment. | |||||
123 | Changeable here) and those who are obliged to work must Endure the Extreams of heat and Cold and Wett, which is Always prejudiciall and too often fatall to those who are best Provided against it by better dyet, Cloathing and Lodging than the Blacks can have, for We usually decrease here among the White People five in Multitude Scanned. but in each of the two last years not lesser then 10. p 100. This foregoing is the Exactest State or Account of yo. Hon. Blacks We can give and if it Shall Appear to your Hon.ry that our Calculations are well grounded you will be pleased to Order Us a Still farther Supply which We doe not presume to urge farther because We know it is already best to leave it Intirely to your Hon.rs Wisomes who have Judgment enough to discern if there be any reasons in our Notions and to find out the Weakness of them./ [...] Thus farr hath been Copyd & Sent home p Ship Morrice Capt. Peacock Commander Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin Island | The summary concluded. The weather being changeable here, those obliged to work had to endure the extremes of heat, cold and wet, which was always harmful and too often fatal even to those best provided against it by better food, clothing and lodging than the slaves could have. Among the white people the council usually lost five in every hundred, but in each of the two last years not fewer than ten in a hundred. This was the exact account of the Company's slaves that the council could give. Should it appear to the directors that the calculations were well grounded, they were asked to order a further supply. The council did not presume to urge the point further, since it was always best to leave it entirely to the directors, who had judgement enough to discern whether there were any reasons in the council's account, and to find out any weakness in it. The record to this point was copied and sent home by the Maurice, Captain Peacock commander. The entry was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The council's final argument drew a telling comparison between white and slave mortality to underline the harshness of the island's conditions. If even the white inhabitants, better fed, clothed and housed, died at five in a hundred ordinarily and ten in a hundred in the last two years, the slaves, worse provided, fared worse still. This was an unusually direct admission that the difference in survival followed directly from the difference in food, clothing and lodging, the material conditions the council itself controlled. The closing appeal deferred to the directors' judgement while pressing the case for more slaves, the deference itself a rhetorical move that invited London to find the council's reasoning sound. The whole census, run across every plantation and resolved into ratios of useful labour and rates of death, stands as a sustained argument for reinforcement, the consolidated record showing the island's chronic want of hands met by repeated requests of this kind. The despatch of the account home by the Maurice sent the argument to the directors by the returning ship, the council's standing means of putting its case before London. | |||||
124 | Island St. Helena. At a Consultation Held on Wednesday the 3d. day of June 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Antip. Tovey. Isaac Pyke Esq. Govr. abs.t in the valley. Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin Last Consultation read & approved of./ Isaac Wood Serj. brought in a Bill of Sale for 25. Acres of Land he bought of Mr. Alexander desireing the Same may be registered./ John Hanson Corporall likewise brought in a Deed for the House he Possesses in James Valley bought formerly by his Predecessor Lewis Latour desireing the Same may be also Registered for better Security thereof. Ordered That both their requests be Granted. The following Petitions were Presented. Viz.th The Petition of Mr. John Goodwin & Mercy Carne./ Island Margin Notes: Wood petn. & Bill of Sale from Mr. Alexander desiring to be registered Hanson petn. a Deed may be Registerd Mr. Goodwin & Mr. Carne petn. | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Wednesday 3 June 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Antipas Tovey was absent in the valley. The previous consultation was read and approved. Isaac Wood, sergeant, brought in a bill of sale for 25 acres of land he had bought from Mr Alexander, asking that it be registered. John Hanson, corporal, likewise brought in a deed for the house he held in James Valley, bought formerly by his predecessor Lewis Latour, asking that it too be registered for better security. The council ordered that both requests be granted. The following petition was presented. The petition of Mr John Goodwin and Mercy Carne. Interpretations The two registrations continued the council's system of recording title to land and houses as a guard against later dispute. Isaac Wood, the corporal and churchwarden of earlier years, here bought 25 acres from Alexander, who appears again as an active seller of land following his purchase of the Haswell estate. John Hanson's deed concerned the James Valley house formerly bought by the soldier Lewis Latour at public outcry; Hanson had married Latour's widow and, in her right, secured the house and Latour's garrison post, the grant the council had ordered when he petitioned on 27 January 1719. The registration now fixed his title for security. The petition of John Goodwin and Mercy Carne joined two figures from the council's recent dealings. Goodwin was the writer and presumptive heir of Captain Thomas Goodwin, who had defended his family's land against the debts of George Carne, while Mercy Carne belonged to the insolvent Carne estate whose creditors had pressed the widow Frances Carne through late 1717. Their joint petition points to a matter touching both families, the substance of which followed. | |||||
125 | Island St. Helena. To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esq. Govr. & Council. The Petition of Jno. Goodwin Humbly. Sheweth. That Whereas Some time Since your Petitioner did at your Worships desire, Sell twenty Acres of Land to the Hon. Compt. that lay very Convenient and next adjoyning to their Grand Planta= tion, But your Petitioner Standing in very Great need of a Small Peice of Land to plant Wood on for the Sheltering his House & Plantation that Stands now much Ex= =posed to the high Winds, Humbly prays he may only Sell & deliver 19. Acres of the 20. and So farr favoured as to Exchange the one Acre with the Hon. Company for one other Acre that lies next Adjoyning to your Petitioners Plantation Called Fuedals in the Hollow below where his House formerly Stood, which when Enclosed the Hon. Compt.s fences will be in a more Margin Notes: for Land | Island of St Helena. The petition of John Goodwin was presented to Governor Isaac Pyke and his council. Goodwin set out that some time earlier, at the council's desire, he had agreed to sell twenty acres of land to the Company. The land lay very convenient and next adjoining to the Company's Grand Plantation. He was now in great need of a small piece of ground to plant wood on, for sheltering his house and plantation, which stood much exposed to the high winds. He asked to sell and deliver only nineteen of the twenty acres. He further asked the favour of exchanging the remaining one acre with the Company for another acre lying next to his own plantation, called Fernsdale, in the hollow below where his house formerly stood. Once enclosed, the Company's fences would be in a more Interpretations Goodwin's petition adjusted a land sale already agreed, holding back one acre of the twenty for his own use and seeking to swap it for a better-placed acre. His stated purpose was to plant a windbreak of trees to shelter his house and plantation from the high winds, a practical response to the exposed conditions of the island's interior. The acre he sought lay at Fernsdale, a named locality the consolidated record identifies with the Fernsdale gut watercourse, in the hollow below his former house. The exchange shows the council using land swaps to consolidate the Company's holdings while accommodating a planter's need. By trading the isolated acre Goodwin wished to keep for one adjoining his plantation, both parties gained more compact ground, and the closing reference to the Company's fences points to the better enclosure the swap would produce. This was the established technique of government-mediated exchange, by which the council achieved adjacency in its own estate without paying cash, while leaving the planter better placed. | |||||
126 | more Straighter Line, and no way of any Detriment to them./ And as in duty &c. Granted. The Petition of Mercy Carne Orphan Setting forth That She having a Sister & other relations now living at Bencoolen desires She may have liberty to go there in the next outward bound Ship that shall arrive here, And that She may likewise be admitted to Make Choice of Mr. Jno. Goodwin for her Guardian, who is willing to Accept of that Office. And &c. Granted. Mr. Goodwin reports that According to an Order of Council of the 3. March last. He has been & viewed the Land Petitioned for by John Coles, and thinks it is as much for the Hon. Compt.s Interest to Lett it, As it is for Mr. Coles Advantage to hire it, But that he take all that Side of the Hill Petitioned for, rough & Smooth Land together without picking & Culling the best of it. Ordered That the whole Piece be Accordingly measured to him and a Lease made Margin Notes: Mr. Mercy Carne petn. to go to Bencoolen Granted Mr. Goodwin Rept. to John Coles petition for Land Lease for ye Same | The Company's fences would be in a more straight line, and no way to its detriment. The petition was granted. Mercy Carne, orphan, set out in her petition that she had a sister and other relations now living at Bencoolen. She asked for liberty to go there in the next outward bound ship to arrive, and to be allowed to choose Mr John Goodwin as her guardian, who was willing to accept the office. The petition was granted. Mr Goodwin reported that, under the council's order of 3 March last, he had viewed the land petitioned for by John Coles. He thought it as much in the Company's interest to let it as it was to Coles's advantage to hire it. Coles, however, should take all that side of the hill petitioned for, rough and smooth land together, without picking and culling the best of it. The council ordered that the whole piece be measured to Coles accordingly, and a lease made Interpretations Mercy Carne's petition resolved her position as an orphan of the troubled Carne estate by sending her to family at Bencoolen, the Company's pepper settlement on Sumatra. Her choice of John Goodwin as guardian, made under the council's standing role over orphans, explains the joint petition entered earlier with him. This followed an established pattern, since orphans of the island had been carried to Bencoolen before, as the daughters of Margaret Cotgrove were sent there and paid their portions through the settlement. The Coles land matter set a condition the council often imposed on its grants of waste ground. Coles was required to take the whole hillside, rough and smooth together, rather than selecting only the fertile parts. This prevented a tenant from taking the good land and leaving the Company with the poor, ensuring the worthless ground was held and used alongside the valuable. Goodwin's report, in his role as the newly appointed surveyor, shows the office at work in measuring and assessing land for lease, the function the council had granted him on the death of Captain Bazett. | |||||
127 | made out for the Same./ Mr. Tovey having been Summoned According to an Order made last Consulta= =tion day, did not Appear Yesterday, Accord= =ing to the Simons, But Sent Doctor Hicks to the Governr. to Say he was not able nor fitt to come. The Govr. asked Mr. Hicks if Mr. Tovey was realy ill. To which Mr. Hicks Sayd he thought he was not ill But well enough for he could read & Write & talk, & Drink and Smoak as well as other people and Sayd he did not come to Assert that Mr. Tovey was ill but only to deliver a Message from him that he was So. Whereupon the Govr. Sent word to Mr. Tovey that there Should be no Consultation then, but there Should be one Tomorrow which is the Present day. The Govr. Says that this morning Mr. Tovey came to him at the Fort, & Sayd he found himself much out of Order, and must therefore goe in the Country to recover his health, but that he Should be well End.d by Monday next, and Mr. Tovey Margin Notes: Tovey Sumond Dr. Hicks Sent by him to excuse his not Appear.t Tovey Apprd. | A lease was made out for the land. Mr Tovey, having been summoned under an order made last consultation day, did not appear yesterday. Instead he sent Doctor Hicks to tell the Governor he was not well enough to come. The Governor asked Mr Hicks whether Mr Tovey was really ill. Hicks said he thought he was not ill, but well enough, since he could read, write, talk, drink and smoke as well as other people. He said he had not come to assert that Mr Tovey was ill, but only to deliver a message from him that he was. The Governor therefore sent word to Mr Tovey that there would be no consultation that day, but there would be one the next, which was the present day. The Governor reported that Mr Tovey had come to him at the Fort that morning. Tovey said he found himself much out of order, and must go into the country to recover his health, but that he would be well enough by Monday next. Interpretations The episode exposed Tovey's evasion of the summons that had ordered him to answer for neglecting the account books. Having been called to show cause why he should not be suspended, Tovey pleaded illness through Doctor Hicks, but the doctor candidly refused to confirm any sickness, observing that Tovey could read, write, talk, drink and smoke as well as anyone. Hicks drew a careful line between carrying Tovey's message and vouching for its truth, which left the plea of illness unsupported by the very physician sent to deliver it. The exchange formed part of the deepening conflict between the Governor and Tovey that the consolidated record traces through the period, in which Tovey's conduct as secretary and accountant had repeatedly drawn the bench's censure. His claim of being out of order and his retreat to the country to recover, after the doctor had undercut the excuse, reads as a manoeuvre to avoid the discipline awaiting him. The Governor's recording of the whole sequence, including Hicks's damaging remarks, built the documentary case against Tovey for the directors, the standing method by which the bench preserved its account of a councillor's failings. | |||||
128 | Tovey denyed to the Govr. his having made those rejoyceings upon the Acco. of Capt. Bazetts Death, and Says he did never Swore when he heard of the Govr. being ill, that he would not go into the Fort till he went to take Possession of it for good and all as Governr./ Upon the whole the Hon. Compt.s Books of Accounts are Under his Mannage= ment, and he did Promise to the Governr. & Councill That He would finnish the Books for the year 1717. So as they Should go home by Some of these Sutner Shiping, And he has had time Enot. to do it & help enot. to Assist him, But nothing is done by him./ The Govr. desires Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin to Say whether they think he has done his duty or no./ Mr. Alexander & Mr. Goodwin both Say that he has done Nothing towards forward= =ing those Books as they know of, for these two months past, but they hope when he is in better health he will do more./ The Margin Notes: Tovey Denys the Charge Accts. not made up 1717 Mr. Alexanders & Mr. Goodwins being ask.t Say y Tovey hath Done nothing in y Books y 2 months | Tovey denied to the Governor having made the rejoicings on the death of Captain Bazett. He said he had never sworn, when he heard of the Governor being ill, that he would not go into the Fort until he went to take possession of it for good and all as Governor. The Company's books of account were under Tovey's management. He had promised the Governor and council that he would finish the books for the year 1717, so that they should go home by one of these summer ships. He had been given time enough to do it, and help enough to assist him, but nothing had been done. The Governor asked Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin to say whether they thought Tovey had done his duty or not. Both reported that, so far as they knew, he had done nothing toward advancing the books for these two months past, but they hoped that, when he was in better health, he would do more. Interpretations The denials recorded against Tovey reveal the personal charges that had attached to him beyond the neglect of the books. He was reported to have rejoiced at Captain Bazett's death and to have sworn he would not enter the Fort until he took possession as Governor himself, words suggesting an ambition for the governorship. His denial of both, entered on the record, shows the bench documenting the accusations and his answers together, preserving the dispute for the directors' judgement. The core complaint remained the unfinished 1717 accounts, which Tovey had promised to complete and had been given time and assistance to do. The corroborating reports of Alexander and Goodwin, that nothing had advanced in two months, fixed the failure on the record through the testimony of the other councillors rather than the Governor alone. Their qualified hope that Tovey would do more in better health left a door open, but the weight of the entry built the case for the suspension the original summons had threatened, continuing the long quarrel between Tovey and the Governor over his conduct as secretary and accountant. | |||||
129 | The Hon. Compt. Say in their Letters, that if the Govr. finds any of the Council Negligent He must call upon them and remind them of their duty, and in case they dont amend, It is left to the Governr. to Suspend them from Sallary or Diett, or both, And he has often called upon Mr. Tovey and Ordered him to be Spoken to by the rest of the Council, which having had no good effect, He dos therefore Suspend him from the Bennefitt of his Employment. The Govr. Says he is very Sorry to do this at a time when he hopes he is going to leave the Island himself, and Should be willing if he Saw any Signs of Mr. Toveys amendment for the Sake of his family to admitt him againe but it must not be upon a bare Promise for if Mr. Tovey hopes to Serve the Hon. Compt. he must Serve them in Earnest, and doe Something to deserve his money. Mr. Alexander desires to have a Lease Signd to him for 20. Acres of Land he bought of Mistr. Haswell. The Margin Notes: y Hon. Compt. Ord. y Govr. to y Gov. to Suspend for non performance Tovey Suspended Mr. Alexander petn. A Lease | The Company directed in its letters that, should the Governor find any of the council negligent, he must call upon them and remind them of their duty. Should they not amend, it was left to the Governor to suspend them from salary or food, or both. He had often called upon Mr Tovey, and ordered him to be spoken to by the rest of the council, which had no good effect. The Governor therefore suspended Tovey from the benefit of his employment. The Governor said he was very sorry to do this, at a time when he hoped he was going to leave the island himself. He would be willing, should he see any signs of Tovey's amendment, to admit him again for the sake of his family. This must not be on a bare promise, however, for if Tovey hoped to serve the Company, he must serve it in earnest, and do something to deserve his money. Mr Alexander asked to have a lease signed to him for the 20 acres of land he bought from Mrs Haswell. Interpretations The suspension drew its authority directly from the directors' standing instruction, which empowered the Governor to dock a negligent councillor's salary or food once warnings had failed. By citing the Company's letters as the source of his power, the Governor grounded the discipline in the directors' own orders rather than personal will, and the record of repeated warnings to Tovey and their failure satisfied the condition the instruction required. This was the formal mechanism by which the bench enforced duty upon its own members, set out here in full. The Governor's offer to readmit Tovey on proof of amendment, but not on a bare promise, fixed the terms of any restoration. The condition that Tovey must serve in earnest and do something to deserve his pay made future reinstatement depend on performance, not undertaking, a guard against the empty assurances that had preceded. Alexander's renewed request for a lease on the 20 acres bought from the widow Haswell carried forward the Haswell estate matter, the council formalising his secure tenure over the late deputy governor's land. | |||||
130 | The Govr. Says He must Demurr upon Sign= ing of this Lease because the Compt. formerly Lett this 20. Acres of Land to Thomas Gargen, & after Gargens lease was Signed & he posest of the Land, He gave away a piece which lies about the Middle of it and Contains about five Acres, to his daughter Mary upon Mar= =riage with one John Long a planter upon this place, and Jno. Long has occupied it about Six or Seven years and Still possesses it. The Govr. likewise Says he knows that Gargen gave his right to this Land away as his daughters Dowery. But Gargen dying Insolvent his Land was Sold for the paymt. of his debts, and Capt. Haswell bought the whole Lease of Gargens Widd. And tho' Capt. Haswell made a Pretence to this Land he never had Actuall Possession of it. Capt. Haswell also dyed Insolvent and this Land was Sold again to pay his debts, and Mr. Alexander bought it and all Haswells right to the Same. But whether to Grant Mr. Alexander a new Lease for this whole twenty Acres, he thinks Margin Notes: The Governrs. Reasons for demurring on Signing y Lease | The Governor said he must hesitate over signing this lease. The Company had formerly let these 20 acres to Thomas Gargen. After Gargen's lease was signed, and he was in possession of the land, he gave away a piece lying about the middle of it, containing about five acres, to his daughter Mary on her marriage with John Long, a planter on the island. John Long had occupied it about six or seven years and still held it. The Governor said he knew that Gargen had given his right to this land away as his daughter's dowry. Gargen, however, died insolvent, and his land was sold to pay his debts. Captain Haswell bought the whole lease from Gargen's widow. Though Haswell made a claim to the land, he never had actual possession of it. Haswell also died insolvent, and the land was sold again to pay his debts. Mr Alexander bought it, and all Haswell's right to it. Whether to grant Mr Alexander a new lease for the whole twenty acres, the Governor thought, Interpretations The Governor's hesitation exposed a tangled chain of title running through two insolvent estates and a marriage settlement. The twenty acres had passed from the Company's lease to Gargen, who carved off five acres as his daughter Mary's dowry on her marriage to John Long, leaving Long in possession for six or seven years. When Gargen died insolvent his lease was sold to pay debts and bought by Captain Haswell, who claimed the land but never took possession; on Haswell's own insolvent death it was sold again to Alexander. The difficulty was that Alexander now sought a lease for the whole twenty acres, including the five Long had occupied as a separate dowry parcel. The conflict turned on whether a debt sale could override an earlier gift of land made as a marriage portion. Gargen had alienated the five acres to his daughter before his insolvency, yet the whole lease was afterward sold to satisfy his creditors, raising the question whether Long's possession under the dowry survived the sale. This drew on the long-running Gargen estate matter the consolidated record traces, in which Long, as husband of one of Gargen's daughters, was among the claimants to the divided estate. The Governor's caution reflected a genuine legal puzzle about competing claims, not mere procedural delay. Speculations The Governor's refusal to sign without examining the history was calculated to protect the Company against confirming a title that a third party might overturn. Had he granted Alexander a clean lease for the whole twenty acres, John Long's six or seven years of possession under the dowry settlement would have given Long a standing claim to the five acres, exposing the Company to a dispute between two lessees over the same ground. By tracing the chain back through the two insolvent estates and the marriage gift, the Governor sought to establish what Alexander had actually bought before the bench committed the Company's authority to it, ensuring the lease it granted would not collide with a prior interest it had itself once created. | |||||
131 | thinks Should be very well Considered & before it be resolved on, because tho' the five Acres was never made over to John Long in So Legall a manner nor in Such form, as it ought to have been, Yet the Governr. thinks John Long has a very Just pretence to Insist on his keeping that five Acres, it being Given to him by Gargen at a time when Gargen had Power to Alienate the Same. But the Govr. Says he thinks that because the Land is the Hon. Companys Land and only Lett by a Lease for twenty= one years to Mr. Gargen, That therefore Gargen had no farther right to that Land than During the time of that Lease and Consequently could not have any Power to give any part of it to John Long for any longer time than his own Lease Mentioned for, then the Land must return to the Hon. Company againe. But to prevent any Contests in future about this Matter, if Mr. Alexander will give a Lease for the Same five Acres to Jno. Long for a Pepper Corn a year besides paying | The Governor thought the matter should be very well considered before it was resolved. Though the five acres were never made over to John Long in so legal a manner, nor in such form, as they ought to have been, the Governor thought Long had a very just claim to insist on keeping that five acres, since it was given to him by Gargen at a time when Gargen had power to alienate it. The Governor thought, however, that because the land was the Company's own, and only let by a lease for twenty-one years to Mr Gargen, Gargen had no further right to it than during the term of that lease. He could not therefore give any part of it to John Long for any longer time than his own lease ran. Once that lease expired, the land must return to the Company. To prevent any disputes in future about this matter, the Governor proposed that Mr Alexander grant a lease for the same five acres to John Long, for a peppercorn a year, besides paying Interpretations The Governor resolved the puzzle by distinguishing what Gargen owned from what he could give away. Because Gargen held only a twenty-one-year lease on Company land, not the freehold, any gift he made to Long could last no longer than that lease, after which the ground reverted to the Company. Long's claim to the five acres was just, since Gargen had given it while still entitled to assign his interest, but it was a claim limited by the term Gargen himself held. This reasoning separated the validity of the gift from its duration, upholding Long's possession yet capping it at the life of the original lease. The proposed remedy turned a contested possession into a formal sub-tenancy at a nominal rent. By having Alexander grant Long a lease of the five acres for a peppercorn a year, the Governor secured Long's occupation on a clear legal footing while confirming Alexander as the head lessee of the whole twenty acres. The peppercorn rent, a token sum acknowledging the superior title without real charge, was the standard device for recognising one party's continued use while preserving another's ownership, a settlement designed to forestall future dispute over the divided ground. Speculations The peppercorn lease was devised to reconcile two just but conflicting claims without dispossessing either party. Long had a genuine right to the five acres through the dowry gift, yet Alexander had bought the whole twenty-acre lease and sought a clean title, so a simple grant to one would have wronged the other. By making Long a sub-tenant of Alexander at a token rent, the Governor preserved Long's occupation while acknowledging Alexander as head lessee and the Company as ultimate owner, threading all three interests into a single arrangement. The nominal rent mattered because it recorded the hierarchy of title in legal form, ensuring that when the leases fell in, the ground's reversion to the Company stood beyond dispute. | |||||
132 | paying the Compt.s rent and dutys during the whole Term and remainder of Gargens Lease that is yet Unexpired, Then it may be reasonable to Grant Mr. Alexander a new Lease for the whole. Mr. Alexander Says he thinks it is very hard he Should be denyed a Lease Since he has bought it and paid So very dear for it and the other has no Legall right to it, But on those Severe Conditions./ The Govr. reports that on the 6th Inst. Doctor Hicks was Accused by Serjeant Slaughter for breaking the peace, he finding him in the Street with his Sword drawn and had wounded John Bedau & had drove George London from him, making a great affray being then in Liquor. The Said Hicks was alsoe Accused for assaulting Doct. Leigh. Whereupon He Ordered Doct. Hicks to ask Mr. Leighs Pardon, which he did. And Ordered further to pay John Bedau ten Shillings, and that his Sword be Sold to the use of the Soldiers of Margin Notes: Mr. Alexanders reply Doct. Hicks accused of Making a Disord. in ye Street by Serj. Slaughter Drunk for Assaulting Doct. Leigh Ord. to Ask Dr. Leighs pardon to pay John Bedau & Sword to be Sold for y use of ye Soldiers | Long would also pay the Company's rent and dues during the whole term and remainder of Gargen's lease, which was yet unexpired. It would then be reasonable to grant Mr Alexander a new lease for the whole. Mr Alexander replied that he thought it very hard he should be denied a lease, since he had bought the land and paid very dear for it, and the other had no legal right to it. He accepted, however, on those severe conditions. The Governor reported that on 6 June Doctor Hicks was accused by Sergeant Slaughter of breaking the peace. Slaughter had found Hicks in the street with his sword drawn. Hicks had wounded John Bedan, and had driven George London from him, making a great affray, being then in drink. Hicks was also accused of assaulting Doctor Leigh. The Governor ordered Hicks to ask Mr Leigh's pardon, which he did. He further ordered Hicks to pay John Bedan ten shillings, and that his sword be sold to the use of the soldiers. Interpretations Alexander's reluctant acceptance closed the land dispute on terms he thought unfair but could not refuse. He held that his purchase and the high price he had paid entitled him to a clean lease, and that Long had no proper legal right, yet the Governor's settlement bound him to carry Long as a sub-tenant. His submission on the severe conditions shows the bench imposing a compromise that protected the weaker prior claim against the better-funded buyer, a resolution Alexander accepted only because the alternative was no lease at all. The Hicks affray was a case of drunken violence by a man of professional standing, the same Doctor Hicks who days earlier had carried Tovey's message to the Governor. His drawn sword in the street, the wounding of John Bedan and the assault on a fellow physician marked a serious breach of the peace, aggravated by his being in drink. The penalties combined an ordered apology to Leigh, compensation of ten shillings to the injured Bedan and the forfeit of his sword to the soldiers' use. The sale of the weapon to benefit the garrison turned the instrument of the offence into a public good, a practical disposal that both disarmed the offender and made restitution to the wider community. | |||||
133 | of the Guard which was accordingly done. The Hon. Compt.s Chief Overseer brought in the following Acco.t of their Live Stock in General at the Severall Plantations taken June the 5th 1719. & was Examined & approved of. Acct. of Live Stock Neab. Cattle. 78. Cows. 2. Heifers, 1. Bullock, 8 [...] 30. Heifers.
Sheep. 19. Ewes. 28. Wethers. 3. Killed and 12. Ram Lambs.
Goats. 130. Ewes. 28. Wethers. 11. Killed, and 34. Kidds. 11. Increased Since last 5. Rams. Acco: 197 Hoggs. 5. Grown Hoggs & bought Since Piggs. last Acco.t Poultry. 51. Turkeys. 17. killed & 18. bought Since last Acco: | Hicks's sword was sold to the use of the guard, which was accordingly done. The Company's chief overseer brought in the following account of its livestock in general at the several plantations, taken on 1 June 1719, which the council examined and approved. An account of livestock. Neat cattle: cows 78 heifers 30 bullocks 12 steers 18 yearlings 5 calves 85 bulls 2 total 230 note: 2 heifers and 1 bullock killed and 1 calf killed since the last account; 2 increased Sheep: ewes 49 wethers 28 ram lambs 12 ewe lambs 9 rams 3 total 103, with 60 more at the High Peak note: 3 killed and 1 died since the last account Goats: ewes 130 wethers 28 kids 34 rams 5 total 197 note: 11 killed and 11 increased since the last account Hogs: grown hogs 5 pigs [...] note: bought since the last account Poultry: turkeys 51 note: 17 killed and 18 bought since the last account Interpretations The June stock return continued the council's periodic accounting of the Company's herds, brought in by the chief overseer and balanced against the previous count with kills, deaths and increase noted for each class. The neat cattle now stood at 230, a further rise from the 209 recorded on 1 May 1719, marking continued growth in the herd that had been recovering since the heavy losses of the drought years. The sheep total of 103 carried a note of 60 more at the High Peak, showing part of the flock kept at the upland plantation separately from the main count. The note of animals killed since the last account, set against natural increase and purchases, let the council track the herds as a managed and changing asset rather than a static holding. The cattle figures in particular, climbing month on month through 1719, gave the bench evidence of the recovery it could set before the directors, of a piece with the detailed stock returns the council had maintained since the establishment of the annual cattle account as a stock-management instrument. | |||||
134 | Poultry. 51. Grown Fowles 18. killed Since last 24. Chickens. Account. 75
[...] Jno. Alexander Jno. Goodwin | The livestock account concluded. Poultry: grown fowls 51 note: 18 killed since the last account chickens 24 total 75 ducks 6 note: 3 killed since the last account geese 12 note: 2 killed since the last account peacocks 2 Other stock: horses 2 asses 11 The account was signed by Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. | |||||
135 | Island St. Helena. At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 9th day of June 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Isaac Pyke Esq. Govr. Jno. Alexander & Tres. Jno. Goodwin. The Last Consultation read & approved of. The following Petitions were Presented. (Viz.) Island St. Helena To the Worsh. Isaac Pyke Esqr. Govr. & Council. The Petition of Jno. Goodwin in the Name & on behalf of his 2d. Son Edward Goodwin. Shaweth. That Whereas your Petitioner being very desireous to Settle all his Children on Such Lands as may be Capable of Main= =taining them But having not yet a Sufficient quantity So to do. Humbly prays Yo. Worship and Council to grant your Petitioners Son Margin Notes: Mr. Goodwin petn. for his Son Edwd. 45 Acres in Swanly Vally | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 9 June 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Governor Isaac Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following petitions were presented. Island of St Helena. The petition of John Goodwin, in the name and on behalf of his son Edward Goodwin, was presented to Governor Isaac Pyke and his council. Goodwin set out that he was very eager to settle all his children on such lands as might be capable of maintaining them, but had not yet a sufficient quantity to do so. He asked the council to grant his son Interpretations Goodwin's petition continued his effort to provide land for his children, here acting on behalf of his son Edward. The marginal note records the matter as concerning 25 acres in Swanley Valley, a named locality on the island. This followed Goodwin's earlier dealings with the council over land, and shows him as both an officer of the establishment and a planter seeking to establish his family on holdings sufficient to support them. The request reflects the standing concern, recorded throughout the period, of settling the next generation on land. The council's grants of ground to the children of established planters and servants formed part of its policy of populating the island and binding families to its service, the same impulse behind the marriage portions and land incentives the consolidated record traces across the settlement's history. | |||||
136 | Son before Named, about twenty five Acres of the Hon. Compt.s Waste Land lying in Swanley Valley./ And as in duty bound Shall pray &c. Granted. The Petition of William Portley Chief Overseer of the Hon. Compt.s Plan= =tions. Humbly Setting forth That he having Served the Hon. Compt. in Severall Employs for the Space of about 15. Years on this Island and as he hopes to Our Satis= =faction having ever Endeavoured to discharge his trust faithfully & Diligently, and for that he being destitute of any Land to make a Plantation in case he Should alter his Condition by marriage Humbly prays to become Tennant to the Hon. Compt. for about 25. Acres of their Waste Land ly= =ing at the head of Swanley valley next to the high Peake./ And &c. Granted. The Petition of James Draper Setting forth therein That he having two of Hum= =phry Edwards daughters under his Care, one Margin Notes: Wm. Portley petn. 25 Acres Swanly Valley Both Granted | Goodwin asked the council to grant his son, named above, about 25 acres of the Company's waste land lying in Swanley Valley. The petition was granted. William Postley, chief overseer of the Company's plantations, set out in his petition that he had served the Company in several posts for about 15 years on the island. He hoped he had done so to the council's satisfaction, having always endeavoured to discharge his trust faithfully and diligently. Being without any land to make a plantation, should he alter his condition by marriage, he asked to become tenant to the Company for about 25 acres of its waste land lying at the head of Swanley Valley, next to the High Peak. The petition was granted. James Draper set out in his petition that he had two of Humphry Edwards's daughters under his care. One Interpretations Postley's petition extended the same land settlement to a long-serving Company servant looking ahead to marriage. William Postley, the chief overseer who had brought in the regular livestock accounts and had succeeded to that post in 1718, sought a plantation of his own against the prospect of setting up a household. His appeal to 15 years of faithful service framed the grant as a reward for long employment, the same basis on which the council had lately extended credit and land to other established servants such as the gunner French and the planter Bradley. The grouping of both Swanley Valley grants shows the council settling its servants and their families on adjoining tracts of waste ground at the head of the valley. James Draper's petition opened a different kind of matter, concerning the care of two daughters of Humphry Edwards, which touched the council's guardianship over the children of the island. Draper had appeared in the flood damage survey as a poor planter who suffered loss and received Company relief, and his charge of the Edwards girls brought a question of their maintenance before the bench. | |||||
137 | one of them bound apprentice till age or marriage, the other a boarder at five pounds p annum. He the Said Edwards being obliged to find them both Cloaths for the time they should live with him. But the Said Hum= =phry Edwards being lately Run off of the Island and leaving no Effects to fulfill that Contract, and the Said Draper being a poor man and Severall young Children of his own to bring up, Humbly prays Some means may be Used for the Cloathing both the Said Girls & the 5. a year paid for the board of one of them, or as We in our prudence Shall think fitt. And &c. We desire Draper may Consult among his Friends, and if they can propose any way that We can Shew him a kindness in We are ready to do it. The Petition of James Greentree free holder Setting forth therein That Some years Since He purchased a dwell= =ing House of one John George Newman and is Situated in James Valley, which House he believes is not yet Registered tho' Margin Notes: Draper petn. Relatg. to 2 Daughts. left by Humphry Edwards Mr. Greentree petn. to register a house bought by him of George Newman | One of the daughters was bound apprentice to Draper until she reached age or married. The other boarded with him at five pounds a year. Humphry Edwards was obliged to find them both clothes for the time they lived with Draper. Edwards, however, had lately run off the island, leaving no effects to fulfil that contract. Draper, being a poor man with several young children of his own to bring up, asked that some means be used for clothing both the girls, and for the five pounds a year owed for the board of one of them, or as the council in its prudence thought fit. The council asked that Draper consult among his friends. Should they propose any way in which the council could show him a kindness, it was ready to do so. James Greentree, freeholder, set out in his petition that some years earlier he had purchased a dwelling house from John George Newman, situated in James Valley. He believed the house was not yet registered. Though Interpretations Draper's petition exposed the burden left on a poor carer when a parent absconded. Humphry Edwards had bound one daughter as Draper's apprentice and boarded the other at five pounds a year, undertaking to clothe both, but his flight from the island left no assets to honour the agreement. Draper, already raising his own children, was left carrying the cost, and sought relief from the council for the clothing and the unpaid board. The council's response stopped short of a direct grant, asking Draper instead to consult his friends and propose a way it might help. This cautious answer reflected the bench's reluctance to assume a private maintenance charge outright, while leaving open the door to some accommodation, the same measured approach it took toward other appeals for relief. Greentree's petition opened a routine registration matter, the recording of title to a James Valley house bought from John George Newman, continuing the council's standing system of registering land and houses to secure ownership against dispute. James Greentree had served as a churchwarden in earlier years, a long-established figure among the island's freeholders. | |||||
138 | tho' he all along thought it had been. Where= =fore doth now Humbly pray to have the Said House and appurtenances Registered, alsoe that House he bought of Richd. Cleave and Capt. Bazett, for better Security thereof./ Granted. The Petition of Jonathan Doveton free holder Setting forth That he being very desireous to Enlarge his House Standing in James Valley Humbly prays he may be admitted to rent about 40. foot of the Hon. Compt.s Waste ground ranging with the Front of his Said House and 60. foot back= =wards next to the Main Water run, which will be of very great Service to him and no Detriment to any body./ And &c. Granted on Condition that he take in the ground in Streight Lines & on a Square, that those who may happen to adjoyn to him hereafter be not Incommodded by any Gettings out, and that he pay the Hon. Compt.s five Shillings p annum. for the Ground./ Thomas Hodgkinson free planter Setting Petition Margin Notes: Doveton petn. 40 foot of Ground adjoyning to his Dwelling House Granted | Greentree had all along thought the house registered. He asked to have the house and its appurtenances registered, and also the house he had bought from Richard Cleave and Captain Bazett, for better security. The petition was granted. Jonathan Doveton, freeholder, set out in his petition that he was very eager to enlarge his house standing in James Valley. He asked to be allowed to rent about 40 foot of the Company's waste ground, ranging with the front of his house and 60 foot backward, next to the main watercourse. This would be of great service to him, and no detriment to anybody. The petition was granted, on condition that he take in the ground in straight lines and on a square, so that those who might come to adjoin him later would not be incommoded by any irregular projections. He was to pay the Company five shillings a pound for the ground. Thomas Hodgkinson, free planter, then presented his petition. Interpretations Doveton's petition for waste ground to extend his James Valley house repeated the form of urban land grant the council had lately handled, as with Robert Bell's request for a strip beside his house in the Fort. The condition that he take the ground in straight lines and on a square shows the council imposing a measure of town planning, guarding against irregular building that would crowd or obstruct future neighbours. This was the same regulatory concern behind the earlier order against the blinds in James Town and the agreement to rebuild Doveton's own encroaching enclosure, the bench managing the shape of the principal settlement. The rent of five shillings a pound fixed the charge for the ground on the council's standing terms for letting Company waste land. Greentree's grant completed his registration of two James Valley houses, one bought from Newman and one from Cleave and Bazett, securing his title against dispute. Jonathan Doveton was a long-established freeholder and former executor of the island, and his enlargement of his house reflects the continuing development of James Valley as the seat of the settlement. | |||||
139 | Setting forth therein that Forasmuch as the Hon. Compt. having a Parcell of Waste Land lying at the head of Swanley Valley Adjoyning to that of Edmond Nichols. He the Said Thomas Hodgkinson desires to Rent twenty Acres thereof. And &c. There are more Petitions already for this Land than it can tho' well Occupied Maintaine, But if Thonn. Hodgkinson can find out any other place Convenient for him & not already Granted We Shall be ready to Encourage him. The Petition of William Coales free planter Setting forth That he being very desireous to goe to Bencoolen with his family Humbly prays he may have Liberty granted him to take Passage thence in the next outward bound Ship that Shall Arrive at this place./ And &c. Resolved That no Person Shall be Permitted to go hence but who Shall be rather a Creditt than a discreditt to St. Helena and therefore this Petition is Rejected./ Worsh.p Sr. We are very Sorry it is left to Us to give nue Margin Notes: Tho. Hodgkinson petn. 20 Acres in Swanly Valley Answered Wm. Coales petn. to go to Bencoolen with his Family Reason why Rejected | Thomas Hodgkinson set out in his petition that the Company had a parcel of waste land lying at the head of Swanley Valley, adjoining that of Edmond Nichols. He asked to rent twenty acres of it. The council answered that there were already more petitions for this land than it could maintain, even were it well occupied. Should Hodgkinson find any other place convenient for him and not already granted, the council would be ready to encourage him. William Coales, free planter, set out in his petition that he was very eager to go to Bencoolen with his family. He asked for liberty to take passage there in the next outward bound ship to arrive at the island. The council resolved that no person should be permitted to leave who would be rather a credit than a discredit to St Helena. The petition was therefore rejected. The council was very sorry it was left to it to give Interpretations The competition for the Swanley Valley land showed demand outrunning supply, the council already holding more petitions for the ground than it could satisfy. Its offer to encourage Hodgkinson elsewhere, while declining the specific parcel, balanced the wish to settle planters against the limits of available waste land at the head of the valley, the same tract the council had just granted in part to Goodwin's son and to Postley. The refusal of Coales's request to leave for Bencoolen marked a notable assertion of the council's control over emigration. Coales was judged too valuable to lose, the bench resolving to keep any inhabitant who was a credit to the island rather than a burden. William Coales was a long-established free planter and carpenter, taken into Company employment in earlier years of drought, and his usefulness was precisely the ground for denying him passage. This continued the council's practice of refusing departure to valuable or skilled people, as it had earlier held back tradesmen and good men during the sickly season, overriding the freeman's ordinary liberty to leave. Speculations The council's resolution to keep any person who was a credit to the island converted Coales's individual request into a general principle of population control. By framing the refusal as a rule rather than a personal denial, the bench established that the freeman's liberty to leave yielded to the settlement's need to retain its most useful inhabitants. The principle protected the island against the loss of its established and productive families, a real concern for a small remote community whose prosperity depended on holding skilled planters and tradesmen, and it gave the council a standing ground for refusing future applications from valuable men. | |||||
140 | our Opinions about the Land at the Green Hill because tho We Saw where the Wood had been Cut down as Mentioned in Giles Hayse Petiti= =on, Yet if any Young beginner Hires that Land it will be much more destroyed. But We doe believe it for our Hon. Masters Interest that it Should be Lett to Some one not only for the Rent Sake but to preserve the Wood which may be done by Fencing it in and keeping it So. the 16. June 1719. We are. Worsh.p Sr. Yor. Humble & Obedient Servts. Antipas Tovey. Jno. Alexander. In answer to this the Governr. Says that when that Land is lett, He is willing to allow Each of them a piece that lies next to their own Plantations what they have Occasion for they paying the Usuall Rent for the Same. The Governr. Sayes the Butler fetching Some paper out of one of the Offices to Set out the Candles with, He found half a Sheet of Paper with his Named Counterfeited in Severall Places. Wherefore desires Inquiry may be made who did Margin Notes: Mr. Alexand.r & Toveys Lre abt. Green Hill ye Govrs. Answ.r ye Govrs. Hand writing Counterfeited | The councillors gave their opinions about the land at the Green Hill. Though they had seen where the wood had been cut down, as mentioned in Giles Hayse's petition, the land would be much more spoiled should a young beginner hire it. They believed it in the Company's interest that the land be let to someone, not only for the rent but to preserve the wood, which might be done by fencing it in and keeping it so. The opinion was dated 10 June 1719 and signed by Antipas Tovey and John Alexander. In answer, the Governor said that when this land was let, he was willing to allow each of them a piece lying next to their own plantations, as much as they needed, on their paying the usual rent for it. The Governor reported that the butler, fetching some paper out of one of the offices to set out the candles with, had found half a sheet of paper with his name counterfeited in several places. The Governor asked that enquiry be made to find who Interpretations The councillors' opinion on the Green Hill land linked the letting of waste ground to the preservation of timber, a recurring concern of the council. They reasoned that an inexperienced tenant would damage the remaining wood, whereas a settled holder who fenced and maintained the ground would protect it, making conservation a condition of the lease. This reflected the long-standing anxiety over timber depletion the consolidated record traces, in which the Great Wood and other stands were singled out for protection against the island's steady consumption of wood. The opinion bears the signature of Antipas Tovey alongside Alexander, though Tovey had been suspended from the benefit of his employment days earlier, which shows him still acting in council business despite the suspension touching his pay rather than his presence. The counterfeiting of the Governor's name, discovered by chance on a half-sheet found by the butler, opened a serious matter of forgery. The Governor's demand for enquiry into who had imitated his signature marked the beginning of an investigation into a forgery that struck directly at the authority by which the council's orders and bills were authenticated. Speculations The council's insistence that the Green Hill land go to an established holder rather than a young beginner was driven by the specific aim of saving the wood, not merely raising rent. By tying the lease to fencing and upkeep, the bench made the tenant the guardian of the timber, converting a land grant into a means of conservation on ground already partly stripped. The reasoning turned on the distinction between a settled planter, who had an interest in preserving an adjoining holding, and a newcomer who would exhaust the wood, which is why the council preferred to allot pieces to those whose own plantations lay next to the land. | |||||
141 | did it because Such Practices may happen to prove of ill consequence and by Such means he may be hereafter made to Signe Such papers as he never Saw./ The Governr. Reports that there having been a great many Petitions Referred to him abt. Land to be Lett in Swanley Valley, He has been and viewed the Same and dos not find Springs of Water Enot. for many families therefore there can be no more families Admitted to live there than who can be Supplyed with Water for their Occasions./ And altho' the head & upper part of that valley is very good Pasture Ground Yet when it comes to be Enclosed & Divided in Severall Parts there will not be Water in those Enclosures for the Cattle to drink of, therefore He is of Opinion that there Should be Appointed a Field to be in Common to each of those who Settle there, which Field it may be proper Should Containe about 12. or 15. Acres & Enclose one of the best Springs and as for the rest of the Land To be Lett out at the Usuall rates to the following Persons./ To Margin Notes: The Govr. on viewing Swanly Valley Reports | The Governor asked who had counterfeited his name, since such practices might prove of ill consequence, and by such means he might hereafter be made to sign papers he had never seen. The Governor reported that, several petitions having been referred to him about land to be let in Swanley Valley, he had viewed it. He did not find springs of water enough for many families. No more families could therefore be admitted to live there than could be supplied with water for their needs. Though the head and upper part of the valley was very good pasture ground, once it came to be enclosed and divided into several parts, there would not be water in those enclosures for the cattle to drink. The Governor was therefore of opinion that a field should be appointed to lie in common to each of those who settled there. This field, he thought, should contain about 12 or 15 acres, and enclose one of the best springs. The rest of the land was to be let out at the usual rates to the following persons. Interpretations The Governor's concern over the forged signature went to the heart of how the council's authority was exercised on paper. A counterfeited name could be used to validate orders or bills the Governor had never approved, undermining the documentary basis on which the whole administration rested. His fear that he might be made to appear to sign papers he never saw shows the gravity of the forgery, since the council governed through signed instruments and the integrity of that signature was the guarantee of every act. The Swanley Valley survey resolved the competing land petitions through a practical limit set by water supply. Having inspected the ground, the Governor found the springs insufficient for many households, and so capped settlement at what the water could support. His proposal of a common field enclosing one of the best springs addressed the problem that dividing the pasture into private enclosures would leave some plots without water for cattle. By reserving a shared watered field of 12 to 15 acres, he ensured every settler had access to water while the rest of the land was let at the usual rates, a deliberate arrangement of the ground around its scarcest resource. Speculations The Governor's design of a common field enclosing a spring was a specific solution to the conflict between private enclosure and shared water. Dividing the valley into separate holdings would have given some settlers good pasture but no water, since the springs were unevenly placed, so a private division alone would have left part of the land useless for cattle. By setting aside a watered field held in common, he guaranteed every settler access to water regardless of where their own plot lay, distributing the scarce resource fairly while still letting the bulk of the ground as private leases. The arrangement turned a natural limitation into a structured tenure that the number of households could not outstrip. | |||||
142 | To Francis Fringe 25. Acres at & below the Goat Pound. To Thomas Southen a Child who is Son to the late Serj.t Southen, for the Bennefitt of him= =self and the rest of Sej.t Southens Children till they come of Age, 20. Acres of Pasture Land./ To Edward Goodwin 30. Acres of Pasture Land./ To Elizabeth Francis 30. Acres of Pasture Land./ To William Portley 25. Acres of Pasture Land./ And alsoe to Jonathan Higham Senr. for himself & Son John on Condition he builds a House upon it, 25. Acres or Else but 20./... And in case there be any more To Joseph Long 20. or 25. Acres According as it falls out./ Ordered That Mr. Goodwin have a Warr.t for measuring the Land aforesaid and that He do goe about it the first Opportunity, and the Govr. Says he will go and assist him & appoint where Each Persons Birth Shall be. But in case there be not enot. for Jonathan Higham and Joseph Long to have a Birth there they must Look out for Some other places. And Whereas there is Severall Broad Spotts of Barren Land in this valley that will produce nothing Margin Notes: Severall Persons to have Land in Swanly Valley | The Swanley Valley land was to be let to the following persons. To Francis Funge, 25 acres at and below the Goat Pound. To Thomas Southen, a child who was son to the late Sergeant Southen, for the benefit of himself and the rest of Sergeant Southen's children until they came of age, 20 acres of pasture land. To Edward Goodwin, 30 acres of pasture land. To Elizabeth Francis, 30 acres of pasture land. Start of crossed out section To William Postley, 25 acres of pasture land. End of crossed out section To Jonathan Higham senior, for himself and his son John, on condition he built a house upon it, 25 acres, or else only 20. Should there be any more, to Joseph Long, 20 or 25 acres according as it fell out. The council ordered that Mr Goodwin have a warrant for measuring the land, and that he go about it at the first opportunity. The Governor said he would go and assist him, and appoint where each person's plot should be. Should there not be enough for Jonathan Higham and Joseph Long to have a plot there, they must look out for some other place. There were several broad patches of barren land in this valley that would produce nothing. Interpretations The allocation list distributed the Swanley Valley pasture among a mix of Company servants, planters and orphaned children. The grant to the young Thomas Southen, on behalf of all the late Sergeant Southen's children until they came of age, shows the council using land to provide for orphans as part of its guardianship, the holding kept for the family until the children could take it up. Sergeant Thomas Southen had figured in the consolidated record in the long matter of his lawful wife Susanna and the maintenance the council charged him. The cancellation of Postley's name from the list, struck through in the original, reflects a change in his allocation, perhaps because his grant at the head of the valley next to the High Peak, recorded earlier in these consultations, was settled separately. The conditional grant to Jonathan Higham, tied to his building a house, repeated the council's standing practice of making land tenure depend on improvement, the same fencing-and-building condition imposed on settlers throughout the period. The note that some of the valley was barren ground producing nothing shows the council's frank assessment of the land's quality, qualifying the value of the grants and explaining the limit on how many families the valley could support. | |||||
143 | nothing Mr. Goodwin is Ordered therefore to make an allowance for the Barren Land. The Govr. is of opinion to Encourage build= =ing That whoever builds a House upon any part of this Land and lives therein them= =selves That they Shall pay no more Rent than twelve pence per Acre for the first Ten years after the House is built. As to the Law for planting of Timber whoever Builds a House upon that place & lives therein as aforesaid, In case they plant their full Quota of Wood and as often as it decays or is Destroyed Shall replant it and keep the Ground full, they Shall for their Encouragement have Coals from the Fort at Prime Cost So farr as two bushells every week to each family for the first three years after the House is built and the wood planted, But in case any of the Wood be destroyed in that time, then the Allowance of Coals at Prime Cost to Cease. Richard Gurling having Petitioned formerly for Some Land in this place, That in Case there be any more than what before Granted that then He have 20. Acres granted for one of his Children. The Margin Notes: To Encourage Building in Swanly Vally To plant Wood Rich. Gurling to have 20 Acres for one of his Children if any Left | Mr Goodwin was therefore ordered to make an allowance for the barren land. The Governor was of opinion to encourage building. Whoever built a house upon any part of this land and lived in it themselves would pay no more rent than twelve pence an acre for the first ten years after the house was built. As to the law for planting timber, whoever built a house on that place and lived in it, should they plant their quota of wood and, as often as it decayed or was destroyed, replant it and keep the ground full, would for their encouragement have coals from the Fort at prime cost, up to two bushels every week to each family, for the first three years after the house was built and the wood planted. Should any of the wood be destroyed in that time, the allowance of coals at prime cost would cease. Richard Gurling had petitioned earlier for some land in this place. Should there be any more land than was already granted, he was to have 20 acres for one of his children. Interpretations The building incentives turned settlement of Swanley Valley into a structured scheme of reduced rent and subsidised fuel. A holder who built and occupied a house paid only twelve pence an acre for ten years, a concessionary rate below the usual charge, designed to draw families onto the land. The order that Goodwin make an allowance for the barren ground shows the rent adjusted to land quality, the unproductive patches not charged at the full rate. The coal allowance tied fuel supply directly to the planting and upkeep of timber. Settlers who maintained their quota of wood received up to two bushels of coal a week at cost for three years, but the allowance ceased if the wood was destroyed, making the subsidy conditional on conservation. This linked the council's timber-preservation policy to a practical reward, giving settlers cheap fuel from the Fort in exchange for keeping the ground planted, an arrangement that addressed both the island's wood depletion and the household need for fuel. Richard Gurling's conditional grant for one of his children, dependent on land remaining after the main allocation, continued the council's settlement of planters' families on the valley ground as availability allowed. Speculations The coal allowance was devised to make timber conservation worthwhile to the individual settler rather than a bare obligation. Planting and replanting wood cost a household effort with no immediate return, so the council offered subsidised coal as the reward, but tied it to the wood surviving, which gave each settler a direct stake in keeping his trees alive. By cutting off the allowance if the wood was destroyed, the scheme converted a public goal, preserving the island's timber, into a private interest, since the family lost its cheap fuel the moment it failed to maintain the planting. The arrangement enforced conservation through incentive instead of penalty, binding the settler's own advantage to the survival of the wood. | |||||
144 | The Governr. Reports that he has been and viewed the Land Petitioned for Some time agoe by Mr. Wrangham lying in Peak Gutt, And as he thinks tis the Compts. Interest to Lett any Waste Land So he thinks this is no Strjudice to any one to Lett Mr. Wrangham that Land which he takes by Estimation to be about 18. or 20. Acres./ He has likewise viewed a Small Parcell of Land lately Petitioned for by Jno. Nichols Senr. for the Conveniency of Fencing, which he thinks Proper to be Granted to him, it Con= =taines about two Acres on the South Side of the Main ridge next to the Peak Gate. And Whereas there is a piece of Ground lying between Stephen Lufkins & Robt. Gurlings, Containing about 8. or ten Acres which both of them have Petitioned for. It is the Governrs. Opinion that they have that Land between them. And Henry Francis lately Petitioned for Some Land that lyes to the N. of his House on the Side of Red Hill, but he came this day to the Governr. to declare that tho' he had Petitioned Margin Notes: Govr. Reports it for ye Compt. Interest to Lett Mr. Wrangham ye Land in Peak Gutt Likewise 2 Acres on ye South Side of Main Ridge to Mr. Jno. Nichols Senr. Likewise 8 or 10 Acres lying between Robt. Gurling & Lufkins to be Divided Between them Henry Francis desired to withdraw his Petition for Land on ye Side of Red Hill | The Governor reported that he had viewed the land petitioned for some time earlier by Mr Wrangham, lying in Peak Gut. As he thought it in the Company's interest to let any waste land, he saw no prejudice to anyone in letting Mr Wrangham that land, which he reckoned at about 18 or 20 acres. He had likewise viewed a small parcel lately petitioned for by John Nichols senior, for the convenience of fencing. He thought it proper to be granted. It contained about two acres on the south side of the Main Ridge, next to the Peak Gate. There was also a piece of ground lying between Stephen Lufkins and Robert Gurling, containing about eight or ten acres, which both had petitioned for. The Governor was of opinion that they have that land divided between them. Henry Francis had earlier petitioned for some land lying to the north of his house, on the side of Red Hill. He came that day to the Governor to declare that, though he had petitioned Interpretations The Governor's reports applied his consistent principle that letting any waste land served the Company's interest, provided no one was prejudiced. The grants to Wrangham in Peak Gut and to John Nichols senior for fencing convenience show the council disposing of scattered parcels to established planters, each viewed and measured before allocation. The small Nichols grant, sought specifically to ease his fencing, reflects how the irregular boundaries of holdings created a demand for adjoining strips that simplified enclosure. The division of the disputed eight or ten acres between Stephen Lufkins and Robert Gurling resolved a competing claim by splitting the ground, the same even-handed remedy the council applied where two parties sought the same parcel. By halving the land rather than awarding it to one, the Governor avoided favouring either claimant, a practical settlement that satisfied both. Henry Francis's appearance to qualify his earlier petition for land at Red Hill opened a change of position on his part, the substance of which followed, showing petitioners free to revise or withdraw their requests before the council acted. | |||||
145 | Petitioned for it yet the trouble and Charge of Fencing it would be So much that it would doe him little kindness and he desired to relinquish his Petition, Yet because tis Proper in case that Land be lett that it Should be Lett to him or to the Possessor of his House, the Governr. desires it may be lett to his daughter Elizabeth Francis as Land to be planted with wood, who will have more Will than to refuse it. Ordered That all the Persons herein Mentioned to have Land Granted them be Con= =firmed in their Severall Parcells, and that Leases be made and delivered to them accordingly./ Reported That the two following Blacks of the Hon. Compt.s dyed last week viz. Melango and Judia./ In the last Consultation the Governour Proposed to Mr. Alexander to grant a Lease to John Long for the remainder of the Lease that Thomas Gargen let John Long have, which the Said Alexander Says is a little too hard for him to Comply with, But rather than not have his Lease Signed for the whole Hired Land He is willing to Grant Mr. Long Margin Notes: Govr. Desires it may be Lett to Eliz. his Daug.t 2 Blacks Dead Concerning Mr. Alexanders Lease to John Long | Henry Francis declared that, though he had petitioned for the land, the trouble and charge of fencing it would be so great that it would do him little good. He therefore asked to withdraw his petition. Since it was proper, however, that the land, if let, should go to him or to the holder of his house, the Governor proposed it be let to his daughter Elizabeth Francis, as land to be planted with wood, who would rather have it than refuse it. The council ordered that all the persons named to have land granted them be confirmed in their several parcels, and that leases be made and delivered to them accordingly. It was reported that two of the Company's slaves had died last week, namely Melango and India. In the previous consultation the Governor had proposed to Mr Alexander that he grant a lease to John Long for the remainder of the lease Thomas Gargen had let John Long have. Alexander said this was a little too hard for him to comply with. Rather than not have his lease signed for the whole hired land, however, he was willing to grant Mr Long Interpretations Francis's withdrawal turned on the burden of fencing, which made the land more trouble than it was worth to him. His decision shows how the council's standing requirement to enclose granted land could deter a planter from a parcel whose fencing cost outweighed its value. The Governor's redirection of the land to Francis's daughter Elizabeth, to plant with wood, kept the ground in the family while serving the timber-preservation aim that ran through these allocations, the same Elizabeth Francis granted thirty acres in the Swanley Valley list. The deaths of the slaves Melango and India connect to the May census, where both had been listed and noted as failing, India recorded as sickly. The continued entry of slave deaths in the consultation record reflects the council's careful tracking of its labour force as a diminishing asset, the mortality it had set before the directors as the ground for requesting more hands. The return to the John Long lease matter shows Alexander still resisting the terms imposed at the earlier consultation, finding the condition hard but accepting it to secure his own lease over the whole hired land, the compromise the Governor had devised to reconcile the competing claims. | |||||
146 | Long a Lease for Seven years for the Land he now possesses in Sandy Bay & no Longer./ The Governr. replys that Mr. Alexander is at his Liberty whether to grant John Long the Lease he proposed or not. But if he does not grant to John Long the Lease that He Proposed last Consultation day that He will not Signe to him a new Lease. The Governr. Says he has rec. the following Letter from Mr. Tovey. Island St. Helena./ the 10th June 1719. Worsh.p Sr. I perceive Some People that owed me ill will were very forward during your late illness to traduce me and have Charg= =ed me with words that I did not Speak in Such a manner as they related them, And I hope your Worsh.p has known me So long that you'd believe I never Spoke any thing like it, for at that time my own illness was So much that I had no prospect to live to Suc= =ceed you, and this I can Say for my Self which I hope you will alsoe believe that there is no one would have been So Sorry for Margin Notes: Mr. Toveys Letter | Alexander was willing to grant Long a lease for seven years for the land he now held in Sandy Bay, and no longer. The Governor replied that Alexander was at liberty whether to grant John Long the lease he had proposed or not. Should he not grant Long the lease proposed last consultation day, however, the Governor would not sign any new lease to Alexander. The Governor reported that he had received the following letter from Mr Tovey, dated at the island of St Helena on 10 June 1719. Tovey wrote that he perceived some people who wished him ill had been very forward during the Governor's recent illness to slander him, and had charged him with words he had not spoken in the manner they related them. He hoped the Governor had known him so long that he would believe he never spoke anything like it. At that time his own illness was so severe that he had no prospect of living to succeed the Governor. This he could say for himself, and hoped the Governor would also believe that no one would have been so sorry Interpretations The Governor's reply made his signing of Alexander's lease conditional on Alexander accommodating Long, a direct use of the council's leverage to enforce the compromise. By withholding the lease Alexander wanted unless he granted Long the sub-tenancy, the Governor pressed both interests into the settlement he had devised, with Alexander offering a seven-year term as his counter. This shows the bench binding one party's benefit to its treatment of another, the means by which it secured a fair outcome between a buyer and a prior occupier. Tovey's letter marked his attempt to repair his standing after the suspension and the damaging accusations entered against him. He denied the reported words, those alleged at the consultation where he was charged with rejoicing at Bazett's death and with swearing he would take the Fort as Governor, and pleaded that his own grave illness at the time made any ambition for the governorship implausible. The letter was his defence against the charges the Governor had recorded, and its entry continued the documented quarrel between the two, now moving toward Tovey's effort at reconciliation and the restoration of his employment. | |||||
147 | for Such a Loss as by your death would have happened to this Island then. P.S Worsh.t Sr. As to my absence from Yor. obedient Servt. the Fort So long I will apuse Antipas Tovey you Sr. that it was illness & not a pretended one that made me and therefore I hope you will not Impute it to me, and now I am a little recovered I desire your favour & Permission to go forward in my Business as Usuall, and do resolve to make it appear by my future diligence that I do not deserve Suspension. I am very Sorry I went well Enot. to goe to Appraise your Cattle which I am informed you lost by. Worsh.p Sr. Ut Supra If the rest of the Council think fitt He is willi= =ng Mr. Tovey for the Sake of his family Should be admitted againe in hopes he will Carry himself better. The Governr. has brought in an Acct. of the Hon. Companys Yam Plan= =tations in General which he desires may be Entered in the Consultation Book./ An Margin Notes: Mr. Tovey Readmitted | Tovey added that no one would have been so sorry for such a loss as the Governor's death would have brought to the island. He subscribed himself the Governor's obedient servant, Antipas Tovey. In a postscript he wrote that, as to his long absence from the Fort, he assured the Governor it was a real illness and not a pretended one that had kept him away. He hoped the Governor would not hold it against him. Now that he was a little recovered, he asked permission to go forward in his business as usual. He resolved to show by his future diligence that he did not deserve suspension. He was very sorry he was not well enough to go and appraise the cattle the Governor had told him he had left. Governor Pyke said that, should the rest of the council think fit, he was willing that Mr Tovey, for the sake of his family, be admitted again, in hopes he would conduct himself better. The Governor brought in an account of the Company's yam plantations in general, which he asked be entered in the consultation book. Interpretations Tovey's letter completed his submission to the Governor, paired with the postscript insisting his illness was genuine and pledging future diligence to prove the suspension undeserved. His offer to appraise the cattle, the very task his illness had prevented, signalled a return to duty, and his appeal for the sake of his family touched the ground on which the Governor had earlier said he might be readmitted. The whole exchange shows the disciplinary process moving toward restoration, conditioned on improved conduct rather than mere promise. The Governor's willingness to readmit Tovey, if the rest of the council agreed, returned the decision to the bench and tied reinstatement to better behaviour. This followed the terms he had set at the suspension, that Tovey must serve in earnest and not on a bare promise, and shows the Governor relenting toward an officer whose family gave reason for leniency. The new yam plantation account brought in for entry continued the council's regular recording of its provision crop, the staple food supply whose stock the bench tracked alongside its livestock as a measure of the island's subsistence. | |||||
148 | An Acco᷃ of the Hon Comp⁴ Stock of Yams in their Severall Plantations on S⁴ Helena taken June the 5ᵗʰ 1719. At Perkins⁴ 343,500 At the Hutts 117,200 At Lufkins⁴ 187,087 At High Peak 155,500 At Tuesdales 050,000 In Carnes too Gutts 063,000 In Tuesdales upper Ground 031,035 In Bamboo Gutt 157,700 1405,022 At: Perkins.⁴ In the Great plain 75,000 ab⁴ 3 Months two Patches Near the House 411,000 ab⁴ 4 Months In y⁴ lower Gutt next to Mʳ Foreys 06,200 about 2 Dᵒ In y⁴ [W] above y⁴ House 23,500 ab⁴ 2 Dᵒ In y⁴ [W] below y⁴ House 16,000 ab⁴ 2 [D]ᵒ In [W] above New Gutt 03,000 ab⁴ 2 [D]ᵒ In the Old Gutt 36,600 ab⁴ 2 Dᵒ In y⁴ Still House Gutt 19,400 from 3 to 5 Dᵒ In Fosters Ground 20,500 fro 2 to 2 Dᵒ In the new Gutt { 33,000 { 31,300 } ab⁴ 14 Months fro 3 to 8 Sᵒ In Griffins Ground { 33,000 { 35,000 } ab⁴ 14 Dᵒ ab⁴ 3 [D]ᵒ 343,500 Margin Notes: Yamms in y⁴ Stock Plantations | An account of the Honourable Company's stock of yams in their several plantations on St Helena, taken 5 June 1719. At Perkins 343,500 At the Hutts 417,200 At Lufkins 187,087 At High Peak 155,500 At Tuesdales 050,000 In Carnes two guts 063,000 In Tuesdales upper ground 031,035 In Bamboo Gut 157,700 Total 1,405,022 The yams entered for Carnes two guts, Tuesdales upper ground and Bamboo Gut were noted as standing in the plantations Tuesdale's upper ground. A breakdown followed of the yams at Perkins, plot by plot, with an estimate of how long each parcel needed before it came fit to dig. In the Great plain 75,000 about 3 months Two patches near the house 11,000 about 4 months In the lower gut maslow 06,200 about 2 months In Mr Pofseys [no figure] In the [...] above the house 23,500 about 2 months In the [...] below the house 16,000 about 2 months In the [...] above New Gut 03,000 about 2 months In the Old Gut 36,600 about 2 months In the Still House Gut 19,400 from 3 to 5 months In Fosters Ground 20,500 from 2 to 5 months In the new Gut 33,000 about 14 months 31,300 from 3 to 8 months In Griffins Ground 33,000 about 14 months 35,000 about 3 months Total 343,500 Interpretations The account measured the Company's whole provision reserve as a single figure across eight plantations, a method already used by Cason in his yam survey of 19 February 1716/17 and by Worrall in his stock returns through 1715. Yams were the staple food of the Company's slaves, so a running census of the crop functioned as a direct measure of how long the labour force could be fed without buying in from the planters. The dispute over John Long's unwholesome yams of 25 July 1715 and the great slave census of 25 March 1719 both turned on the same question of whether the plantations could sustain the establishment. The detailed Perkins breakdown attached a maturing time to each parcel, dividing the stock into crops fit within a few months and others two years off. This staggering of plantings across many small guts and grounds spread the risk that a single failure, drought or flood would carry away the whole supply at once. The flood of 2 May 1719 had lately stripped about 20,000 yams from Perkins, the heaviest single loss on the island, which gave the survey of early June a particular urgency. The plot names recorded the working geography of the Perkins plantation, several of them watercourses or guts where yams were raised on damp ground. Fosters Ground, Griffins Ground and the various guts marked the parcels by their former holders or their natural features, the same naming pattern found across the island's land records. | |||||
149 | At the Hutts. In the Great Plain { 40,000 fro 17 to 19 [Mo] { 06,600 fro 19 to 21 [Mo] { 14,000 ab⁴ 3 Mths { 61,000 fro 14 to 1[7] Dᵒ { 82,000 fro 12 to 14 Dᵒ In the Old Ground { 09,000 ab⁴ 4 Mths { 34,000 fro 3 to 8 In the new Gutt below the Old House { 13,000 ab⁴ 2 Dᵒ { 15,000 ab⁴ 1[4] Dᵒ Behind the Old House 40,000 ab⁴ [1]6 Dᵒ By the Old Milking Ground 13,600 ab⁴ 4 Dᵒ In the Long Gutt 38,000 ab⁴ 18 Dᵒ At the head of the new Gutt 11,000 ab⁴ 3 Dᵒ In the new Gutt 40,600 fro 10 to 12 417,200 At Lufkins.⁴ In the Long Gutt { 33,000 ab⁴ 3 Mths { 10,000 ab⁴ 13 Mths In the plain { 21,000 ab⁴ 3 Mths { 20,000 ab⁴ [1]4 Dᵒ { [2]4,550 fro 1 to 3 Dᵒ In the Gutt behind the House 16,000 ab⁴ 18 Dᵒ Below the Still House 0[5],000 ab⁴ 18 Dᵒ By the Still House 1[5],000 ab⁴ 18 Dᵒ By the Lemon Trees 20,000 ab⁴ 15 Dᵒ above the Still House 02,000 ab⁴ 16 Dᵒ In the slip by the Garden 05,000 ab⁴ [1]6 [D]ᵒ In Lufkins Garden 26,537 ab⁴ 4 Dᵒ 187,087 | At the Hutts In the Great Plain 40,000 from 17 to 19 months 06,600 from 19 to 21 months 14,000 about 3 months 61,000 from 14 to 17 months 82,000 from 12 to 14 months In the Old Ground 09,000 about 4 months 34,000 from 3 to 8 months In the new Gut below the Old House 13,000 about 12 months 15,000 about 14 months Behind the Old House 40,000 about 18 months By the Old Milking Ground 13,600 about 4 months In the Long Gut 38,000 about 18 months At the head of the new Gut 11,000 about 3 months In the new Gut 40,600 from 10 to 12 months Total 417,200 At Lufkins In the Long Gut 33,000 about 5 months 10,000 about 13 months In the plain 21,000 about 3 months 29,000 about 14 months 04,550 from 1 to 3 months In the Gut behind the House 16,000 about 18 months Below the Still House 05,000 about 18 months By the Still House 15,000 about 18 months By the Lemon Trees 20,000 about 15 months above the Still House 02,000 about 16 months In the slip by the Garden 05,000 about 8 months In Lufkins Garden 26,537 about 4 months Total 187,087 Interpretations The survey continued the plot-by-plot reckoning of the Hutts and Lufkins, each parcel carrying an estimate of how many months it needed before the crop came fit to dig. The figures ranged from a month or two to nearly two years, so the account told the Governor not only how much food stood in the ground but how it was spread across the calendar ahead. This distribution mattered directly to the feeding of the Company's slaves, the want of provisions being the standing constraint behind the great slave census of 25 March 1719 and the proposed purchase of Governor Pyke's own slaves at the consultation of 12 May 1719. The Hutts was the principal slave-accommodation plantation, rebuilt for about 70 people and managed as the centre of the consolidated estate. Its large stock of more than 400,000 yams, the heaviest of any plantation on the island, reflected both its size and its role as the main larder for the labour force quartered there. The plot names again preserved the working layout of each plantation, several of them guts where yams were raised on the damp ground of watercourses. The repeated reference to the Still House at Lufkins marked a fixed feature around which the parcels were named, the same method of identification by building or natural feature used throughout the island's land records. | |||||
150 | At the High Peake. 60,600 about 21 Months 18,300 from 3 to 5 Months 28,000 about 17 [D]ᵒ 25,000 about 15 [D]ᵒ 23,400 from 2 to 4 Dᵒ 155,500 At Tuesdales 50,000 from 11 to 13 Mon In Carnes 2 Gutts 63,000 ab⁴ 14 Months In Tuesdales upper Ground 17,135 ab⁴ 15 Months 13,900 fro 1 to 4 Dᵒ 31,035 In Bamboo Gutt: By the Tan Gutt 15,000 ab⁴ 15 Months In the Middle Gutt 56,000 fro 8 to 12 Dᵒ above the Figg Trees 46,700 fro 3 to 8 Dᵒ Lower part of y⁴ Gutt 40,000 ab⁴ 2 [4] Months 157,700 By the foregoing account it may be Evident that there is now Viz.ᵒ on the 5 day of June there were planted in the Hon Comp⁴ | At the High Peak 60,800 about 21 months 18,300 from 3 to 5 months 28,000 about 17 months 25,000 about 15 months 23,400 from 2 to 4 months Total 155,500 At Tuesdales 50,000 from 11 to 13 months In Carnes 2 Guts 63,000 about 14 months In Tuesdales upper Ground 17,135 about 15 months 13,900 from 1 to 2 months Total 31,035 In Bamboo Gut By the Tan Gut 15,000 about 15 months In the Middle Gut 56,000 from 8 to 12 months above the Fig Trees 46,700 from 3 to 8 months Lower part of the Gut 40,000 about 2 months Total 157,700 The account closed by drawing the figures together. The foregoing showed plainly how much stood planted in the Company's ground on the 5th day of June. Interpretations The final parcels completed the island-wide reckoning of the Company's yam crop, every plantation broken down into its component grounds with a maturing time set against each. The whole exercise served as a forward projection of food supply, telling Governor Pyke how much of the staple stood ready within months and how much lay a year or more off. This bore directly on the want of hands pressed in the great slave census of 25 March 1719, since the labour the Company could keep depended on the provisions it could raise. The closing statement converted the eight separate plantation totals into a single assertion of what the Company held planted as of 5 June 1719. Reducing the scattered count to one headline figure gave the directors a plain measure of the island's self-sufficiency in its principal foodstuff, the kind of summary the Governor had ordered taken at Christmas of the storehouse stock at the consultation of 3 January 1716/17 and applied here to the growing crop. | |||||
151 | Companys Severall Plantations According to the foregoing Acco⁴ the Severall Numbers & quantities of the Growth or Ages here under Mentioned. From 2 to 8 Months Old 621,622 From 8 to 12 Months 098,000 From 12 to 16 Months 449,000 From 16 to 21 Months 236,400 1405,022 For the remainder of this Present month of June and the Suceding month of July I propose to Feed the Hon Comp⁴ Blacks with Yams that I have Contracted for among the Planters and with Rice And on the 5ᵗʰ of August the last Article of 236,400 Yams will be fitt to digg which will hold the Hon Comp⁴ Expence for all Occasions 16 weeks or untill the first of Decemb⁴ next Ensueing. And then the 449,000 Yams may at 5,000 p⁴ week last Seven months more that is Untill the end of June which will be Dom: 1720. at which time twill be proper to give the Blacks two Months Rice that is untill the End Margin Notes: ages of Yams Calculate how long the Yams may last | The total stock in the Company's several plantations was set out by the age of the growth, the numbers and quantities classed by how near each crop stood to maturity. From 2 to 8 months old 621,622 From 8 to 12 months 098,000 From 12 to 16 months 149,000 From 16 to 21 months 236,400 Total 1,405,022 Governor Pyke set out how he meant to feed the Company's slaves through the months ahead. For the rest of June and through July he proposed to use yams he had contracted for among the planters, together with rice. He calculated that on 5 August the parcel of 236,400 yams would be fit to dig. That quantity would cover the Company's needs for all purposes for 16 weeks, or until the first of December next. The 149,000 yams would then carry the establishment, at 5,000 a week, for a further seven months, that is until the end of June 1720. At that point he judged it proper to give the slaves two months of rice, until the end. Interpretations The account turned the plot-by-plot survey into a forward feeding plan, matching each band of maturing yams to a stretch of the calendar ahead. Governor Pyke reckoned consumption at a steady 5,000 yams a week and laid the ripening crops end to end to show the supply reaching into the middle of 1720. This converted a static stock-count into a working ration schedule, the same purpose the storehouse inventory of 3 January 1716/17 served for goods. The plan combined three food sources to bridge the gaps between crops, drawing on contracted planter yams and rice for the immediate months while the Company's own growing yams came on in succession. Rice filled the seasonal shortfall, as it had when the Company's slaves were fed from the rice landed by visiting ships. The whole exercise rested on the standing anxiety over provisions that drove the great slave census of 25 March 1719 and the want of able hands reported to the directors. Speculations The calculation was built to demonstrate self-sufficiency to the directors at a particular moment, the proposed purchase of Governor Pyke's own slaves at the consultation of 12 May 1719 turning on whether the plantations could feed an enlarged Company workforce. By showing the crop stretching a full year forward with only two months of bought-in rice needed at the far end, the Governor made the case that the establishment could sustain itself on its own ground. The precise weekly consumption figure and the dated thresholds gave the projection the appearance of a tested plan rather than an estimate, strengthening the argument that more slaves could be maintained without a matching rise in the cost of provisions. | |||||
152 | End of August 1720, and then the 98,000 will last Untill the Middle of November At which time the 621,600 the Youngest Yams will be fitt to Digg, and those in all Probability will Hold 40 weeks or at least 9 Months & a half which is Untill August 1721 at At which time the first Yams here Mentioned if Planted as they are Dugg will be fitt to digg againe By this Number of 1405 Thousand Yams tho' they should not be Increased as they are intended yet they will be always Sufficient to Maintain all the Hon Comp⁴ Blacks and Feed their Hoggs or serve any other Occa= =sion they may have which I will be the more Particular in Manifesting, that it may be some light to my Successor who at first 'tis likely may be Unacquainted with the Method of these Affairs. We have Rice Usually brought Us from Bengall & Madrass on the Hon Comp⁴ account to the amount of about Eight Tons in a year by four Ships from those Parts, and I never omitt buying all the Rice I can gett out of every Ship that can Margin Notes: quantity of Rice bro⁴ yearly | The supply was traced forward to the end of August 1720, after which the 98,000 yams would last until the middle of November. At that point the 621,600 youngest yams would become fit to dig. Those would in all probability hold for 40 weeks, or at the least nine months and a half, that is until about August 1721. By then the first yams set out in this account, if planted as they were dug, would be ready to dig again. Governor Pyke concluded that this stock of 1,405,000 yams, even without the increase intended, would always suffice to maintain all the Company's slaves, feed their hogs and serve any other need. He set the matter out in particular detail so that it might guide his successor, who at first would probably be unfamiliar with the management of these affairs. He then turned to the supply of rice. Rice was usually brought to the island from Bengal and Madras on the Company's account, to the amount of about eight tons a year, carried by four ships from those parts. He never failed to buy all the rice he could obtain out of every ship that called. The annotation against this passage recorded the quantity of rice brought yearly. Interpretations Governor Pyke closed the projection by showing the crop renewing itself in a continuous cycle, the first parcels coming round to dig again just as the youngest were exhausted. The argument was that the standing stock would perpetually feed the establishment without fresh purchase, provided the yams dug were replanted at once. This rested on the staggered planting method visible across the whole survey, the same risk-spreading approach Cason's yam survey of 19 February 1716/17 had recorded. The explicit address to a successor confirmed that the document was composed as a handover, Governor Pyke having reported a rumour of a new government from England as early as the consultation of 3 April 1717 and having sought a house fitted up against a successor's arrival. Setting down the method of feeding the slaves in such detail was meant to spare an incoming governor the need to learn the island's provision cycle from nothing. Rice supplied the gap that yams alone could not fill, drawn from the Indian presidencies on the Company's own account rather than bought from passing private traders. The standing practice of buying every available parcel out of each ship reflected the island's dependence on imported grain to carry its slaves through the intervals between yam crops, a vulnerability the moderate but unreliable growing conditions made permanent. | |||||
153 | Can Spare it, and will sell for ten Shillings p⁴ hundred, or if Fine Rice twelve Shillings per hund⁴ even tho' I do not want it, by tho means may be gott 6 or Seven Tons more p⁴ annu⁴; and this quantity of Rice will serve all the Sick Blacks which are usually twenty that Cant go to fetch their Yams and the Blacks at the Fort may be Victualled with it for one third or five Months in the year. And all the Blacks in the Country in the Rainy Seasons for then the Yams are not good nor wholsome and the Blacks at Such times ought to have Dryer food Such as Rice or Wheat or Bread &c And 10ˡᵇ of Rice p⁴ week for grown People; or Seven pound for Children is a good allowance But to the Blacks belonging to the House at the Fort or that Waite on the Govern⁴ they have never had more than half allowance because they have daily Opportunities of getting the broken Victuals from the Hall Table &cᵒ So that it may in the whole be very well Accounted for, that all the Blacks are fed three Months in 12 with Rice or Bread or Wheat or Flower or Beans &c: And⁴ Margin Notes: usual price Yams bad in rainy Seasons Allowance of Rice to p⁴ Blacks | Governor Pyke continued on the supply and use of rice. He could buy it at the usual price of ten shillings per hundred, or twelve shillings per hundred for fine rice, even when he had no immediate need of it. By this means six or seven tons more might be obtained each year. This quantity of rice would feed all the sick slaves, usually about twenty, who could not go to fetch their yams. The slaves at the Fort could be fed with it for a third or five months in the year. So too could all the slaves in the country during the rainy seasons, when the yams were neither good nor wholesome, and when the slaves at such times ought to have drier food such as rice, wheat or bread. The annotation against this passage set out the allowance of rice for the slaves. Ten pounds of rice a week for a grown person, or seven pounds for children, was reckoned a good allowance. The slaves belonging to the house at the Fort, or those who waited on the Governor, never had more than half allowance. They had daily opportunities of getting the broken food left from the hall tables and elsewhere. Governor Pyke concluded that it might be very well reckoned, taking the whole together, that all the slaves were fed for three months in twelve with rice, bread, wheat, flour or beans. Interpretations The passage set out the working ration system for the Company's slaves, fixing both the weekly weight of rice and the circumstances in which it replaced yams. Rice was the substitute food reserved for the sick who could not gather their own yams, for the Fort slaves, and for everyone in the country during the rains when the yam crop turned unwholesome. This matched the complaint of 25 July 1715 that the slaves at the Hutts had fallen sick on bad yams supplied by John Long, which the council answered by ordering them milk. The graded allowance revealed how the Company calculated the cost of maintaining its labour, ten pounds a week for an adult and seven for a child, with a deliberate reduction for those who could supplement their diet from the leavings of the Governor's table. Setting the Fort and household slaves at half allowance turned the proximity of the kitchen into a measurable saving, the broken food from the hall tables counted as part of their keep. The whole reckoning supported the case for self-sufficiency Governor Pyke was building for the directors, the want of provisions being central to the great slave census of 25 March 1719. The reference to drier food in the rainy seasons rested on the island's moderate but wet winters, when damp ground spoiled the yams and made imported grain a seasonal necessity rather than a luxury. This permanent dependence on Bengal and Madras rice for part of the year shaped the standing practice of buying every available parcel out of each ship that called. | |||||
154 | And then at 15,000 Yams p⁴ week which is the Greatest Expence the Hon Comp⁴ have ever yet been at 600,000 Yams will serve them for forty weeks, and twelve weeks for Rice, brings one year about; So that by this Cal= =culate altho We have now 1405,000 Yams and are planting out more which is beyond the Numbers that Seem Necessary, Yet there may come Idry year, or the coming In of Rice by the Ships may fail and the Number of Blacks to feed on them 'tis likely will yet be farther Encreased which are Motives to me to Enlarge the Plantations farther even to 1650,000 which is 245,000 more then they are at Present for tis much better to have two or 300,000 Yams Rott every year in the Ground, than to want food for the people for when the Comp⁴ wants to buy they will not sell Under double the usual Price, the Common price of Yams here is two Shillings p⁴ hund⁴ weight, but about two years since when it was thought the Hon Company would want Yams for their Blacks and be obliged to buy, it was Proposed at a Private Meeting Margin Notes: Numb⁴ of Yams Necessary 1⁴ to prevent | Governor Pyke set out the number of yams he judged necessary. At 15,000 yams a week, the greatest rate of consumption the Company had ever yet reached, 600,000 yams would feed the slaves for forty weeks. Twelve weeks of rice would then complete the year. By this reckoning, although the Company now held 1,405,000 yams and was planting out more, beyond the number that seemed necessary, the surplus was deliberate. Drought might come in any year, or the supply of rice by the ships might fail. The number of slaves to be fed would probably be further increased. These considerations moved Governor Pyke to enlarge the plantations still further, to 1,650,000 yams, which was 245,000 more than the present stock. He judged it far better to have two or three hundred thousand yams rot in the ground each year than to want food for the people. When the Company was forced to buy, the planters would not sell under double the usual price. The common price of yams on the island was two shillings per hundredweight. About two years earlier, when it was thought the Company would want yams for its slaves and be obliged to buy, a proposal was made at a private meeting. Interpretations The passage stated the strategic reasoning behind deliberate overproduction, fixing a target stock well above projected need as insurance against three identified risks. Drought, the failure of the rice ships and a growing slave population were each named as reasons to carry a surplus large enough that hundreds of thousands of yams might rot unused without endangering the food supply. This forward planning rested on the same anxiety over provisions that drove the great slave census of 25 March 1719 and the want of able hands reported to the directors. The price mechanism gave the surplus a direct financial justification, the planters being known to charge double the standing rate of two shillings per hundredweight once the Company was compelled to buy. Holding a large reserve in its own ground kept the establishment off the open market and out of the reach of that doubled price. The unwholesome yams supplied by John Long on 25 July 1715 had already shown the hazard of depending on planter supply, and the council had then ordered no more bought of him. Speculations The decision to raise the target to 1,650,000 yams was a calculated trade of land and labour against market exposure, the cost of planting and tending an unused surplus set deliberately below the cost of buying at the planters' inflated price. By accepting that a quarter or more of the crop might rot each year, Governor Pyke treated the waste as a cheaper form of insurance than dependence on a market the planters controlled. The reference to the earlier proposal at a private meeting, when the Company faced the prospect of buying, anchored the policy to a remembered moment of vulnerability that the enlarged plantations were designed never to repeat. | |||||
155 | meeting of those who had Yams to sell not to abate any thing of Six Shillings p⁴ hund⁴ weight and if I had not had a good Stock of Rice by me which they knew not of I must have been Obliged to have given them their Price. I have Enclosed Ground enough at the Peak to have only in Watered ground 400,000 tho' I never intended more then 300,000 there When I came to the Island there was none, and there is this 5ᵗʰ of June 155,000 but that ground is broke up for 145,000 more, which is enof for that place. As to Lufkins Plantation it holds but 187,000 now, but I intend to Increase it to 200,000 which is 13,000 more The Hutts Plantation is large Enough I did not intend, nor do not advise to have more there, it holds now above 400,000. Perkins' Plantation is a very good Piece of Ground, only Pretty farr off from the Fort the Comp⁴ had none there at my arrivall here, and there are now 343,000 I intended to Encrease that to 400,000, because it Supplys all the Blacks at the Stone works, and at the Lime Kilns, and is a good help to the Blacks at the Grand Plantation Margin Notes: Impositions by raiseing of price Peak inclosed At Lufkins at y⁴ Hutts Perkins⁴ | The earlier proposal had been made at a meeting of those who held yams to sell, who agreed not to abate anything of six shillings per hundredweight. Had Governor Pyke not held a good stock of rice, of which they were unaware, he would have been forced to pay their price. He then reviewed each plantation in turn. At the Peak he had enclosed ground enough to hold 400,000 yams in watered ground, though he never intended more than 300,000 there. When he came to the island there were none. As of 5 June there stood 155,000, and that ground was broken up for 145,000 more, which was enough for that place. Lufkins plantation held only 187,000 at present, but he intended to increase it to 200,000, which was 13,000 more. The Hutts plantation was large enough. He neither intended nor advised more there, it holding now above 400,000. Perkins was a very good piece of ground, only fairly far off from the Fort. The Company had none there at his arrival. There stood now 343,000, which he intended to increase to 400,000. That plantation supplied all the slaves at the stone works and at the lime kilns, and was a good help to the slaves at the Grand Plantation. Interpretations The passage exposed the planters' collective price-setting, the meeting of yam-holders having agreed among themselves to hold firm at six shillings per hundredweight, three times the standing rate of two shillings. Governor Pyke's concealed stock of rice was the lever that broke their combination, freeing him from the need to buy at the fixed price. This was the same pattern of organised holding-out the stone-layers had attempted on 18 January 1714/15, broken then by the targeted arrest of Walter Morris. The plantation-by-plantation review measured each piece of ground against a planned capacity, recording how far the Company's holdings had risen from nothing at the start of Governor Pyke's administration. The repeated note that there were no yams at his arrival framed the whole survey as a record of his own achievement, the same handover purpose that ran through the document and answered the rumour of a successor reported at the consultation of 3 April 1717. The Perkins entry tied the yam supply directly to the Company's industrial operations, the plantation feeding the slaves at the stone works and lime kilns as well as those at the Grand Plantation. Sandy Bay had been confirmed as the island's second working centre, with its lime kilns and stone cutters, so a dedicated provision ground near that complex kept the skilled labour fed without drawing on the main plantation stores. | |||||
156 | Plantation they growing much faster there then in most other of the Hon Comp⁴ Plantations. As to Tuesdales & Carns Plantations I have Enlarged them and Encreased them from 25,000 to 144,000 and intended to have Encreased it to 250,000 which is 106,000 more, the Yams there growing fast and it being near the Grand Plantation they are of more use there than those of farther distance. The Bamboo Gutt has formerly been a grand Plantation but thrown up by a former Gov⁴ thro' the Perswasions of some planters who alledged to him that the Ground was Worn out. I take the Bamboo Gutt to be the best Plan= =tation the Hon Comp⁴ have Wherefore I Dugg it up and Began to plant it, there are now in it 157,000 and intend to Encrease it to 300,000 and am assured that 300,000 there are of as much use to the Hon Comp⁴ as 400,000 in another place. At my arrivall here I found no more then 395,400 Yams planted besides 134,150 + which grew in the Lands near the ridge in three Gutts called Margin Notes: Tuesdales & Carns Enlarged Bamboo Gutt thrown up by form⁴ Gov⁴ Dugg over and Begun to plant Yams at Gov⁴ arrivall | The yams at this plantation grew much faster than at most of the Company's other plantations. Governor Pyke turned to Tuesdales and Carnes plantations. He had enlarged and increased them from 25,000 to 144,000, and intended to raise them to 250,000, which was 106,000 more. The yams there grew fast, and the ground lay near the Grand Plantation, so the crop was of more use there than at parcels further off. The Bamboo Gut had formerly been a good plantation, but a previous governor had thrown it up. He did so through the persuasions of some planters, who claimed to him that the ground was worn out. Governor Pyke judged the Bamboo Gut to be the best plantation the Company held. He had therefore dug it up and begun to plant it. There stood now 157,000 in it, and he intended to increase it to 300,000. He was satisfied that 300,000 there were of as much use to the Company as 400,000 in another place. At his arrival he found no more than 395,400 yams planted, besides 134,150 that grew in the sands near the ridge, in three guts called by their several names. Interpretations The account of the Bamboo Gut exposed how a previous governor had been turned by interested advice into abandoning good ground, the planters having persuaded him the soil was exhausted. Governor Pyke's reversal of that decision, dug up and replanted to become what he called the best plantation on the island, served his wider purpose of contrasting his own management against the neglect that preceded him. This handover narrative ran through the whole survey and answered the rumour of a new government reported at the consultation of 3 April 1717. The judgement that 300,000 yams at the Bamboo Gut equalled 400,000 elsewhere measured plantations by yield and fertility rather than bare quantity, the better ground producing more food from less stock. The same reasoning governed the preference for grounds near the Grand Plantation, where proximity reduced the labour of carriage and made the crop more useful than equal quantities at a distance. The figures at Governor Pyke's arrival anchored the entire document as a record of growth under his administration, the island's whole yam stock having stood at 395,400 with a further parcel in the sands. Setting that starting point against the present 1,405,000 turned the survey into a measure of how far he had brought the Company's provision base, the foundation of his case to the directors that the establishment could now feed an enlarged slave workforce. | |||||
157 | Called Rookers, Coles, and Hardings which because they lay in the Middle of the Companys Pasture Grounds and were much Exposed by the Cattle breaking down the Fences on every Side & because those Gutts being very Cold those Yams neither grew fast nor Large therefore I threw up that beside 16,000 that grew in the New Ground and not things Plantation and added it to the Pasture So that in all the plantations which the Hon Comp⁴ now have I found but 395,400 Yams growing therein but Shall leave as before Mentioned 1405,000 which is a great deal above three times their number. I take this to be all or rather more than is needfull to Say about the Yams and Shall therefore Speak of the Pasture Grounds & Cattle, I have caused all the Fences about the Hon Comp⁴ ground to be repaired and about great Part of them planted Furzy and Severall Sorts of Trees, I hope the Fuzze will most of it take the Pastures being Large I have divided them into three Parts to be used in Proper Seasons which I hope will prove Advantagious. I have caused the Sheep to be kept on a Ridge of Land which Runs from the Main ridge Margin Notes: are of y⁴ State of y⁴ Hon Comp⁴ affairs Trees &c Pastures Divided | The three guts in the sands were called Rookers, Coles and Hardings. Because they lay in the middle of the Company's pasture grounds, they were much exposed by the cattle breaking down the fences on every side. The guts being very cold, the yams there grew neither fast nor large. Governor Pyke therefore threw up that plantation and added it to the pasture. The 16,000 that grew in those grounds did not thrive. So in all the plantations the Company now held, he found but 395,400 yams growing. He would leave, as before mentioned, 1,405,000, which was above three times their number. Governor Pyke judged this all, or rather more than, was needed on the yams. He turned therefore to the pasture grounds and cattle. He had caused all the fences about the Company's ground to be repaired. About a great part of them he had planted gorse and several sorts of trees. He hoped the gorse would mostly take. The pastures being large, he had divided them into three parts, to be used in their proper seasons, which he hoped would prove advantageous. He had caused the sheep to be kept on a ridge of land which ran from the Main Ridge. Interpretations The abandonment of the sand guts completed the rationalisation of the Company's ground, poor cold plots in the middle of pasture being turned over to grazing where the yams would not thrive and the cattle constantly broke through. This treated land as a resource to be allocated to its best use, provision ground where the crop grew well and pasture where it did not, the same yield-based judgement applied to the Bamboo Gut elsewhere in the survey. The pasture management introduced a deliberate rotation, the large grazing grounds divided into three parts used in succession by season. This rested period for each division preserved the grass and matched the standing concern for the Company's cattle after the famine that had cost 2,500 head, cited by Governor Pyke in his letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715. The planting of gorse and trees along the repaired fences served both to strengthen the boundaries and to answer the island's permanent anxiety over timber depletion, the Great Wood having been singled out for preservation at the general sessions of 7 February 1715. The threefold restatement of the figures, 395,400 found against 1,405,000 left, above three times the number, drove home the central claim of the whole document. Governor Pyke measured his administration by the tripling of the provision base, the foundation of his argument to the directors that the establishment could now sustain an enlarged slave workforce, the want of hands being central to the great slave census of 25 March 1719. | |||||
158 | ridge to Walter Morris' and containing about Eighty Acres where I hope they will thrive better then when they went Loose upon the Common for there We had but two Lambs and 'twas alledged that the Hoggs & Sometimes Doggs Killed the Lambs, I found no Sheep here but Shall leave about One Hund⁴ & thirty and I found but Sixty head of Black Cattle but Shall leave Two Hund⁴ & forty, the Gardens I have Enlarged to Double they were both above & below and planted many Hundred of Fruit Trees therein. But the Plantation House is Miserably out of Repaire and wants a new Roof which I have been obliged to lett alone for want of Tiles to new Tile it, I did Intend to have took off the Tiles from the Kitchen at the Fort and new Tiled it with those and its own and a made up the Deficiency with weather Boards but must leave that to my Successor and alsoe the Building of a Blacks House to hold about Eighty Blacks in the Country, I have built a Blacks House at the Peake and rebuilt Lufkins' and the Hutts and for Margin Notes: Sheep Destroyed N⁴ of all sorts of Cattle &c Plan⁴ House wants repaire Buildings wanted | The ridge ran to Walter Morris and contained about eighty acres. There Governor Pyke hoped the sheep would thrive better than when they went loose on the common. Of those on the common there had been but two lambs, and it was claimed that the hogs, and sometimes dogs, killed the lambs. He found no sheep here but would leave about 130. He found but sixty head of black cattle but would leave 240. The gardens he had enlarged to double their former size, both above and below, and planted many hundred fruit trees in them. The plantation house was miserably out of repair and needed a new roof. Governor Pyke had been forced to leave it for want of tiles to retile it. He had intended to take the tiles off the kitchen at the Fort, retile the house with those and its own, and make up the shortfall with weather boards. He must leave that to his successor. He must also leave to his successor the building of a slaves' house to hold about eighty slaves in the country. He had built a slaves' house at the Peak and rebuilt the houses at Lufkins and the Hutts. Interpretations The livestock figures extended the achievement narrative from yams to animals, the herds and flocks recorded as multiplied since Governor Pyke's arrival, sixty head of cattle to be left as 240. This matched the recovery from the famine that had cost 2,500 head, cited in his letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715, and the rising stock returns Worrall had brought through 1715. The sheep, kept on the enclosed ridge rather than the common to protect the lambs from hogs and dogs, applied the same principle of controlled grazing as the threefold pasture rotation described earlier. The unfinished plantation house and the slaves' house left for the successor confirmed the document as a deliberate handover, distinguishing what Governor Pyke had completed from what remained to be done. He recorded having built a slaves' house at the Peak and rebuilt those at Lufkins and the Hutts, the Hutts house having been confirmed for rebuilding at a capacity of about 70 people. The practical detail of stripping tiles from the Fort kitchen to patch the plantation house roof showed the constraint that governed building on a remote island, where materials could not be had on demand and had to be salvaged from one structure to mend another. | |||||
159 | for what other works I have done they are Visible to all who knew S⁴ Helena Six Years agoe, and I hope to find it much Alterd yet for the better if it Should please God to let me Live to Return. S[W][H]B[e] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin | As to the other improvements he had made, Governor Pyke noted they were plain to all who had known St Helena six years earlier. He hoped to find it much further altered for the better, should he live to return. The account was signed by Governor Pyke, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The closing appeal to those who had known the island six years earlier set the whole survey against the state of St Helena at Governor Pyke's arrival, confirming its purpose as a record of his administration rather than a routine stock-count. His hope to return reflected the expectation of a removal to India, the same prospect that underlay his proposed sale of his own slaves to the Company at the consultation of 12 May 1719. The signatures of John Alexander and John Goodwin authenticated the account as a formal conciliar document. Both men carried the chief burden of the secretary's office through the spring of 1719 after Antipas Tovey's suspension, John Goodwin having lately been admitted surveyor on the death of Captain Bazett and employed alongside John Alexander on the store inventory and the account books. | |||||
160 | Island S⁴ Helena An Acco⁴ of Families Land & Cattle the Secretarys Office between the 14 & 22 Persons Names viz: Jnᵒ Alexander Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 4. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 4. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 10. Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 12. Bullocks 1. Heifers 3. Steers 1. Tho: Allis & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 4. Girles 1. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 3. Girles 1. Totall 4. Cattle: Cows 3. Steers 1. Rich⁴ Alexand: Childn Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 3. Rob: Addis: Orph: Cattle: Bulls 4. Cows 10. Heifers 5. Matth: Bezell Whites: Women 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 3. Women 3. Boys 3. Totall 9. Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 18. Bullocks 7. Heifers 8. Steers 2. Joseph Bates Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. John Bedan Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Jn: Bagley Sen: & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 1. Girles 3. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 1. Boys [0]. Girles 1. Totall 2. Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Orlando Bagley Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Girles 4. Totall 1. [10] Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 6. Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 11. Heifers 3. Steers 1. Rich⁴ & Anto: Beale Whites: Men 2. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2. Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Heifers 5. Steers 2. Bullocks 4. William Beale Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3. Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Robert Belle Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. [5] Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 6. Cattle: Cows 6. Heifers 3. Steers 5. Edmo: Bodley Cattle: Bulls 4. Cows 1. Heifers 2. Arthur Bradley Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Totall 3. [6] Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3. Cattle: Bulls 4. Cows 1. Marg: Burnham Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 3. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Cattle: Bulls 4. Heifers 2. Andreas Bergue Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. John Coles Whites: Men 3. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 2. [11] Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 5. Girles 1. Totall 11. [16] Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 21. Bullocks 2. Heifers 14. Steers 12. Willi:ᵐ Coales Whites: Men 1. Boys 3. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Cattle: Cows 3. Benj: Cleverlee Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2. Cattle: Cows 1. Jn: Coulson Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Colgraves Orph: Cattle: Bulls 3. Cows 1. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Mary Conaway Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Cattle: Cows 2. M⁴ˢ Fra: Carne Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Maidens 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 7. Boys 4. Girles 1. Totall 9. Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 1[+]10. Heifers 7. Grace Coulson Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 2. Women 3. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 9. Cattle: Cows 8. Heifers 3. Bullocks 4. Steers 3. Mich⁴ Doveton Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Jona: Doveton Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 3. [8] Blacks: Men 6. Women 3. Boys 3. Girles 2. Totall 14. Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 18. Heifers 15. Thom: Dutch Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Jam: Draper & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 3. Girles 2. Totall 4. [11] Blacks: Men 3. Totall 3. Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 1. Heifers 5. Steers 1. Mary Easthope Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. John French Whites: Women 1. Girles 3. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 8. Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Carried Over Whites: Men 16. Women 21. Youths 8. Maidens 18. Boys 24. Girles 34. Totall 121. [521] Blacks: Men 20. Women 23. Boys 14. Totall 1[0]9. Cattle: Bulls 13. Cows 175. Bullocks 64. Heifers 68. Steers 25. | An account of families, land and cattle for the island of St Helena, taken at the secretary's office between the 14th and 22nd. John Alexander had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 4 white girls, totalling 7 white people, with 4 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 10 black people. His cattle were 1 bull, 12 cows, 1 bullock and 3 heifers. Thomas Allis, with his servant, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 4 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 7 white people, with 3 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 4 black people. His cattle were 3 cows and 1 heifer. Richard Alexander's children had no white or black household entered. Their cattle were 2 cows and 5 heifers. Robert Addis's orphans had no white or black household entered. Their cattle were 4 cows, 10 bullocks and 5 heifers. Matthew Bazett had 1 white woman, 2 white youths, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 2 white girls, totalling 7 white people, with 3 black men, 3 black women and 3 black boys, totalling 9 black people. His cattle were 1 bull, 18 cows, 7 bullocks, 8 heifers and 2 steers. Joseph Bates had 1 white woman, with 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people. John Bedan had 1 white man, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Bagley senior, with his servant, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden, 3 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 9 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black girl, totalling 2 black people. His cattle were 9 cows. Orlando Bagley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white maidens, 4 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 10 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. His cattle were 2 bulls, 11 cows, 3 heifers and 1 steer. Richard and Anthony Beale had 2 white men, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black men, totalling 2 black people. Their cattle were 1 bull, 9 cows, 5 bullocks, 2 heifers and 4 steers. William Beale had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 3 black people. His cattle were 3 cows and 1 heifer. Robert Bell had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 2 white girls, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. His cattle were 6 cows, 3 bullocks and 5 heifers. Edmund Bodley had no white or black household entered. His cattle were 4 cows, 1 bullock and 2 heifers. Arthur Bradley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 3 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people. His cattle were 4 cows and 1 heifer. Mary Burnham had 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 3 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Her cattle were 4 cows and 2 heifers. Andrew Bergue had no white household entered, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Coles had 3 white women, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 11 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women and 5 black girls, totalling 11 black people. His cattle were 2 bulls, 21 cows, 2 bullocks, 14 heifers and 12 steers. William Coales had 1 white woman, 3 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. His cattle were 3 cows. Interpretations The account combined a population census with a property register, the secretary's office recording each family's whites, blacks and cattle on a single ruled spine. This was the same instrument as the families' land and cattle register Tovey had compiled between 8 and 21 March 1715 and the census of the island for 1716, used to assess head money, to measure the labour and stock of the settlement, and to support the Company's case to the directors over the want of hands. The fine age-grading of the white population, separating men, women, youths, maidens, boys and girls, reflected the head-money rate of two shillings and sixpence levied on every white and black above sixteen, confirmed at the consultation of 17 May 1715. The distinction between youths and boys, and maidens and girls, marked the threshold of the rateable age, so the columns served the assessment of the poll tax as much as the counting of souls. The estate lines for Richard Alexander's children and Robert Addis's orphans, entered with cattle but no resident household, showed deceased holders' property standing in the register as units in their own right. Orphan estates were pursued for head money like living defaulters, the cattle held in trust for the heirs, the Alexander children's maintenance having been secured by the bond of 30 July 1711 binding Thomas Gargen to their upbringing. | |||||
161 | the Said Island for the Year 1718. As given into y⁴ of March Dom 1718/9. Brought Over Cattle: Yearlings 1. Calves 11. Totall 30. Land: Acres of Free 13. Acres of Hired 16. Totall 29. Tho: Allis & Serv: Cattle: Calves 3. Totall 7. Land: Acres of Free 18. Acres of Hired 30. Totall 48. Rich⁴ Alexand: Childn Cattle: Yearlings 3. Calves 1. Totall 7. In M⁴ Toveys Pasture Rob: Addis: Orph: Cattle: Calves 5. Totall 24. At Board Matth: Bezell Cattle: Calves 11. Totall 47. Land: Acres of Free 35. Acres of Hired 20. Totall 55. Joseph Bates John Bedan Jn: Bagley Sen: & Serv: Cattle: Calves 7. Totall 17. Land: Acres of Free 36. Acres of Hired 3. Totall 39. Orlando Bagley Cattle: Yearlings 3. Calves 9. Totall 29. Land: Acres of Free 22. Acres of Hired 76. Totall 98. Rich⁴ & Anto: Beale Cattle: Yearlings 4. Calves 5. Totall 30. Land: Acres of Free 59. Acres of Hired 13. Totall 72. William Beale Cattle: Calves 3. Totall 7. Robert Belle Cattle: Yearlings 6. Calves 20. Totall 20. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 31. Totall 51. Edmo: Bodley Cattle: Calves 5. Totall 12. Arthur Bradley Cattle: Yearlings 1. Calves 3. Totall 9. Land: Acres of Free 35. Totall 35. Marg: Burnham Cattle: Calves 3. Totall 9. Land: Acres of Free 22½. Acres of Hired 6. Totall 28½. Andreas Bergue John Coles Cattle: Yearlings 11. Calves 14. Totall 76. Land: Acres of Free 30. Acres of Hired 25. Totall 55. 30 foot Ground Hired in Jam⁴ Valley Willi:ᵐ Coales Cattle: Yearlings 2. Calves 3. Totall 8. Land: Acres of Free 15. Acres of Hired 5. Totall 20. Benj: Cleverlee Cattle: Calves 1. Totall 1. Jn: Coulson Cattle: Yearlings 3. Calves 7. Totall 20. Land: Acres of Free 15. Totall 15. At Apprentice 2 Boys Colgraves Orph: Cattle: Yearlings 1. Calves 1. Totall 9. Mary Conaway Cattle: Yearlings 2. Calves 4. Totall 4. Land: Acres of Free 5. Acres of Hired 30. Totall 35. M⁴ˢ Fra: Carne Cattle: Yearlings 4. Calves 12. Totall 49. Land: Acres of Hired 30. Totall 30. Lately Possest by Arth⁴ Bradley Grace Coulson Cattle: Calves 8. Totall 26. Land: Acres of Free 15. Acres of Hired 5. Totall 20. Mich⁴ Doveton Cattle: Yearlings 1. Calves 1. Totall 4. Jona: Doveton Cattle: Yearlings 13. Calves 18. Totall 66. Land: Acres of Free 142¼. Acres of Hired 9. Totall 151¼. Thom: Dutch Mary Easthope Cattle: Calves 5. Totall 18. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 5. Totall 25. Jam: Draper & Serv: John French Cattle: Calves 2. Totall 8. Carried Over Cattle: Yearlings 47. Calves 145. Totall 538. Land: Acres of Free 502¾. Acres of Hired 304. Totall 806¾. | John Alexander had cattle of 1 bull, 12 cows, 1 bullock, 3 heifers, 1 steer, 4 yearlings and 11 calves, totalling 30. His land was 13 acres free and 16 hired, totalling 29. Thomas Allis, with his servant, had cattle of 3 cows, 1 heifer, 3 yearlings and 3 calves, totalling 7. His land was 18 acres free and 30 hired, totalling 48. Richard Alexander's children had cattle of 2 cows, 5 heifers, 3 yearlings and 1 calf, totalling 7. They held no land of their own, the entry noting their stock stood in Mr Tovey's pasture at Rappadore. Robert Addis's orphans had cattle of 4 cows, 10 bullocks, 5 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 24. No land was entered. Matthew Bazett had cattle of 1 bull, 18 cows, 7 bullocks, 8 heifers, 2 steers and 11 calves, totalling 47. His land was 35 acres free and 20 hired, totalling 55. Joseph Bates had no cattle and no land entered. John Bedan had no cattle and no land entered. John Bagley senior, with his servant, had cattle of 9 cows, 7 yearlings and 1 calf, totalling 17. His land was 36 acres free and 3 hired, totalling 39. Orlando Bagley had cattle of 2 bulls, 11 cows, 3 heifers, 1 steer, 3 yearlings and 9 calves, totalling 29. His land was 22 acres free and 76 hired, totalling 98. Richard and Anthony Beale had cattle of 1 bull, 9 cows, 5 bullocks, 2 heifers, 4 steers, 4 yearlings and 5 calves, totalling 30. Their land was 59 acres free and 13 hired, totalling 72. William Beale had cattle of 3 cows, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 7. No land was entered. Robert Bell had cattle of 6 cows, 3 bullocks, 5 heifers and 6 calves, totalling 20. His land was 20 acres free and 31 hired, totalling 51. Edmund Bodley had cattle of 4 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 12. No land was entered. Arthur Bradley had cattle of 4 cows, 1 heifer, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 9. His land was 35 acres free, totalling 35. Mary Burnham had cattle of 4 cows, 2 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 9. Her land was 22 and a half acres free and 6 hired, totalling 28 and a half. Andrew Bergue had no cattle and no land entered, the note recording 30 foot of ground hired in James Valley. John Coles had cattle of 2 bulls, 21 cows, 2 bullocks, 14 heifers, 12 steers, 11 yearlings and 14 calves, totalling 76. His land was 30 acres free and 25 hired, totalling 55. William Coales had cattle of 3 cows, 2 yearlings and 3 calves, totalling 8. His land was 15 acres free and 5 hired, totalling 20. The closing totals line gave the whole page. The cattle came to 47 yearlings, 45 calves and a grand total of 538 head. The land came to 502 and a quarter acres free, 304 hired, and a total of 806 and a quarter. Three margin notes fall against rows whose names sit in the unread strip between William Coales and the totals line. One records 1 apprentice and 2 boys. One records ground lately possessed by Arthur Bradley. One stands against a parcel of 30 acres hired. These belong to households below William Coales not covered by the memorised list. The visible rows on this page run from John Alexander down to William Coales, then jump to the totals line. The two images show several further rows of figures between William Coales and the totals, carrying the three margin notes above, but the names for those rows lie on the previous names-image below William Coales and were not within the strip transcribed. The figures for those intervening households are present here without names. To attach the names to those intervening rows, the lower portion of the names column, from the line below William Coales down to the totals, is needed. Could that missing strip of the names page be supplied. | |||||
162 | Brought Over Whites: Men 16. Women 21. Youths 8. Maidens 18. Boys 24. Girles 34. Totall 121. Blacks: Men 52. Women 20. Boys 23. Girles 14. Totall 109. Francis Funge & M⁴ Serv: Whites: Women 1. Boys 3. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 2. Totall 3. Henry Francis Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 0. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 8. Women 5. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 16. Thomas Free Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 10. Jnᵒ Goodwin & M⁴ Serv: Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 6. Women 1. Boys 3. Girles 1. Totall 11. James Greentree Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 3. [10] Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 8. Rich⁴: Glarling & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 2. [8] Blacks: Men 5. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 9. Rob: Glarting & M⁴ Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. Elizbette Haswell Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 1. Totall [5] Thomas Hayse Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 4. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Giles Hayse Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Mary Harper Serv: Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Dorothy Hayse Whites: Women 1. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. Thom: Hodghinson Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1. Jonath: Higham Sen: Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Totall 1. Jonath: Higham Jun: Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. John Hording & Sister Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. John Hanson Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Sam⁴ Jessey & 1 Orph⁴ Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 3. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 10. Henry Johnson Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2. Joshua Johnson & Neph⁴ Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 3. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 3. Girles 2. Totall 10. Sutton Isaack Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 6. Christo⁴ Kelle Whites: Youths 0. Boys 2. Totall 2. John Knipe Whites: Women 1. Boys 3. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3. Isaac Leech Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall [4]. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. Thom: Leech Whites: Men 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall [5]. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Francis Leech Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Jn: Long & M⁴ Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 7. Stephen Lufkin Whites: Men 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Walter Morrice Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Totall 1. John Marsh Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Eliz⁴ Marsh & 1 Orph: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 8. Carried Over Whites: Men 34. Women 41. Youths 19. Maidens 31. Boys 49. Girles 67. Totall 241. Blacks: Men 110. Women 41. Boys 51. Girles 34. Totall 236. | The figures brought over from the previous page stood at 16 white men, 21 white women, 8 white youths, 18 white maidens, 24 white boys and 34 white girls, totalling 121 white people, with 52 black men, 20 black women, 23 black boys and 14 black girls, totalling 109 black people. Francis Funge, with his servant, had 1 white woman, 3 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man and 2 black women, totalling 3 black people. Henry Francis had 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden and 1 white girl, totalling 4 white people, with 8 black men, 5 black women, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 16 black people. Thomas Free had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people. John Goodwin, with his servant, had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 3 white boys, totalling 5 white people, with 6 black men, 1 black woman, 3 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 11 black people. James Greentree had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 10 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 8 black people. Richard Gurling, with his servants, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 8 white people, with 5 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 9 black people. Robert Gurling, with his servants, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 4 black people. Elizabeth Haswell had 1 white woman and 1 white girl, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black men, 2 black women and 1 black boy, totalling 5 black people. Thomas Hayse had 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 4 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Giles Hayse had 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black boy, totalling 1 black person. Mary Harper senior had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Dorothy Hayse had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Thomas Hodgkinson had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Jonathan Higham senior had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Jonathan Higham junior had no white household entered, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Harding, with his sister, had 1 white man, 1 white maiden and 1 white boy, totalling 3 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Hanson had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Samuel Jessey, with one orphan, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white youths, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 3 white girls, totalling 9 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people. Henry Johnson had no white household entered, with 2 black men, totalling 2 black people. Joshua Johnson, with his nephews, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 white youths, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 2 white girls, totalling 9 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 3 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 10 black people. Sutton Isaack had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 3 white girls, totalling 7 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 6 black people. Christopher Kelle had no white men, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 4 white people, with no black household entered. John Knipe had 1 white woman, 3 white boys, totalling 4 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Isaac Leech had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling [...] white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Thomas Leech had 1 white man, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 2 white girls, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Francis Leech had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. John Long, with his servant, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 3 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people. Stephen Lufkin had 1 white woman, 2 white maidens, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Walter Morrice had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Marsh had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. Elizabeth Marsh, with one orphan, had 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 8 black people. The carried-over line gave the running totals to the foot of the page. The whites stood at 34 men, 41 women, 19 youths, 31 maidens, 49 boys and 67 girls, totalling 241 white people. The blacks stood at 110 men, 41 women, 51 boys and 34 girls, totalling 236 black people. Interpretations The page extended the combined population and property register through the second stretch of the alphabet, the same instrument used for head money and for measuring the labour of the settlement. The running brought-over and carried-over lines show the clerk accumulating the island totals page by page, the method by which the whole census was reduced to the grand figures certified for the year. The servant and orphan annotations against several households recorded dependents folded into the master's count for the poll tax, the head of the family answering for all above sixteen. Samuel Jessey's and Elizabeth Marsh's entries each carried an orphan into the household total, the orphaned children maintained within a settled family rather than left to the parish, the pattern the council had followed in placing the French and Cotgrove orphans. The household of Elizabeth Haswell, widow of the late deputy governor Captain George Haswell, appeared reduced to two whites and five blacks, the estate having been granted to her by sole letters of administration and lately bought in large part by John Alexander. Christopher Kelle's line, entered with children but no adult and no blacks, marked another household standing in the register after the holder's death, his estate having passed to the churchwardens' administration on behalf of his two children at the consultation of 12 May 1719. | |||||
163 | Brought Over Cattle: Bulls 13. Cows 175. Bullocks 64. Heifers 68. Steers 25. Yearlings 47. Calves 145. Totall 538. Land: Acres of Free 502¾. Acres of Hired 304. Totall 806¾. Francis Funge & M⁴ Serv: Cattle: Cows 1. Bullocks 1. Calves 1. Totall 3. Henry Francis Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Bullocks 7. Heifers 5. Calves 6. Totall 26. Land: Acres of Free 40. Acres of Hired 27. Totall 67. Thomas Free Cattle: Cows 7. Bullocks 3. Heifers 2. Steers 4. Calves 5. Totall 21. Land: Acres of Free 40½. Acres of Hired 23¾. Totall 64¼. Jnᵒ Goodwin & M⁴ Serv: Cattle: Cows 10. Bullocks 1. Heifers 5. Yearlings 5. Calves 9. Totall 30. Land: Acres of Free 141. Acres of Hired 16¼. Totall 157. James Greentree Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 21. Bullocks 1. Heifers 8. Heifers 5. Calves 12. Totall 49. Land: Acres of Free 79. Acres of Hired 53. Totall 132. Rich⁴: Glarling & Serv: Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 20. Bullocks 12. Heifers 7. Yearlings 13. Calves 14. Totall 67. Land: Acres of Free 38. Acres of Hired 11. Totall 49. Rob: Glarting & M⁴ Serv: Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 3. Calves 3. Totall 9. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 6. Totall 26. Elizbette Haswell Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 7. Totall 18. Land: Acres of Free 21. Acres of Hired 19. Totall 40. Thomas Hayse Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 1. Heifers 0. Yearlings 2. Calves 0. Totall 6. Land: Acres of Free 30. Totall 30. belongs to Brayns Sons Giles Hayse Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Yearlings 1. Calves 3. Totall 9. Dorothy Hayse Mary Harper Serv: Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 3. Totall 6. Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 15. Totall 25. Thom: Hodghinson Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 1. Bullocks 1. Calves 3. Totall 7. Jonath: Higham Sen: Cattle: Cows 2. Calves 2. Totall 4. John Hording & Sister Cattle: Cows 1. Bullocks 1. Calves 2. Totall 4. John Hanson Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 4. Heifers 1. Calves 3. Totall 14. Land: Acres of Free 19. Acres of Hired 12. Totall 31. Sam⁴ Jessey & 1 Orph⁴ Joshua Johnson & Neph⁴ Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 11. Bullocks 7. Heifers 3. Calves 5. Totall 28. Land: Acres of Free 52. Totall 52. Jonath: Higham Jun: Sutton Isaack Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 12. Bullocks 1. Heifers 4. Calves 8. Totall 29. Land: Acres of Free 127. Acres of Hired 33. Totall 160. Christo⁴ Kelle Cattle: Cows 10. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 6. Totall 21. Land: Acres of Free 25. Acres of Hired 5. Totall 30. John Knipe Isaac Leech Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 1. Heifers 2. Calves 5. Totall 15. Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 20. Totall 30. Thom: Leech Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 4. Calves 7. Totall 24. Land: Acres of Free 5. Acres of Hired 6. Totall 11. Francis Leech Cattle: Cows 1. Calves 1. Totall 3. Land: Acres of Free 13. Totall 13. Jn: Long & M⁴ Serv: Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 1. Heifers 4. Steers 1. Calves 3. Totall 13. Stephen Lufkin Cattle: Cows 7. Bullocks 4. Heifers 3. Calves 4. Totall 18. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 5. Totall 25. Walter Morrice Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 1. Steers 2. Calves 1. Totall 6. Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 01. Totall 11. John Marsh Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 1½. Totall 11½. Eliz⁴ Marsh & 1 Orph: Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall 7. Henry Johnson Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Bullocks 4. Steers 3. Calves 3. Totall 18. Land: Acres of Free 40. Acres of Hired 9. Totall 49. Carried Over Cattle: Bulls 22. Cows 343. Bullocks 117. Heifers 124. Steers 52. Yearlings 72. Calves 282. Totall 992. Land: Acres of Free 1253¾. Acres of Hired 567¼. Totall 1820½. | The figures brought over stood at 13 bulls, 175 cows, 64 bullocks, 68 heifers, 25 steers, 47 yearlings and 45 calves, totalling 538 head, with 502 and three-quarter acres free, 304 hired, and a total of 806 and three-quarter acres. Francis Funge, with his servant, had cattle of 1 cow and 1 bullock, totalling [...], with 3 acres of land. Henry Francis had cattle of 1 bull, 7 cows, 7 bullocks, 5 heifers and 6 calves, totalling 26, with 40 acres free and 27 hired, totalling 67. Thomas Free had cattle of 7 cows, 3 bullocks, 2 heifers, 4 steers and 5 calves, totalling 21, with 40 and a half acres free and 23 and three-quarter hired, totalling 64 and a quarter. John Goodwin, with his servant, had cattle of 10 cows, 1 bullock, 5 heifers, 5 steers and 9 calves, totalling 30, with 141 acres free and 16 hired, totalling 157. James Greentree had cattle of 2 bulls, 21 cows, 1 bullock, 8 heifers, 5 steers and 12 calves, totalling 49, with 79 acres free and 53 hired, totalling 132. Richard Gurling, with his servants, had cattle of 1 bull, 20 cows, 12 bullocks, 7 heifers, 13 yearlings and 14 calves, totalling 67, with 38 acres free and 11 hired, totalling 49. Robert Gurling, with his servants, had cattle of 3 cows, 3 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 9, with 20 acres free and 6 hired, totalling 26. Elizabeth Haswell had cattle of 8 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer and 7 calves, totalling 18, with 21 acres free and 19 hired, totalling 40. Thomas Hayse had cattle of 3 cows, 1 bullock, 2 steers and 6 calves, totalling [...], with 30 acres free, totalling 30. The note recorded that this land belonged to Brayns son. Giles Hayse had cattle of 3 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 9. No land was entered. Mary Harper senior had no cattle and no land entered. Dorothy Hayse had cattle of 3 cows and 3 calves, totalling 6, with 10 acres free and 15 hired, totalling 25. Thomas Hodgkinson had cattle of 2 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 7, with no land entered. Jonathan Higham senior had cattle of 2 cows and 2 calves, totalling 4, with no land entered. Jonathan Higham junior had cattle of 1 cow, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 4, with no land entered. John Harding, with his sister, had cattle of 6 cows, 4 bullocks, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 14, with 19 acres free and 12 hired, totalling 31. John Hanson had no cattle and no land entered. Samuel Jessey, with one orphan, had cattle of 2 bulls, 11 cows, 7 heifers, 3 steers and 5 calves, totalling 28, with 52 acres free, totalling 52. Henry Johnson had no cattle and no land entered. Joshua Johnson, with his nephews, had cattle of 1 bull, 12 cows, 4 bullocks, 4 heifers and 8 calves, totalling 29, with 127 acres free and 33 hired, totalling 160. Sutton Isaack had cattle of 10 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 2 steers and 6 calves, totalling 21, with 25 acres free and 5 hired, totalling 30. Christopher Kelle had cattle of 5 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers, 2 yearlings and 5 calves, totalling 15, with 10 acres free and 20 hired, totalling 30. John Knipe had cattle of 1 bull, 9 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 4 steers and 7 calves, totalling 24, with 5 acres free and 6 hired, totalling 11. Isaac Leech had cattle of 1 cow, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 3 calves, totalling 3, with 13 acres free, totalling 13. Thomas Leech had cattle of 4 cows, 1 heifer, 4 steers, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 13, with no land entered. Francis Leech had cattle of 7 cows, 4 heifers, 3 steers and 4 calves, totalling 18, with 20 acres free and 5 hired, totalling 25. John Long, with his servant, had cattle of 2 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers and 1 calf, totalling 6, with 10 acres free and 1 hired, totalling 11. Stephen Lufkin had no cattle entered, with 10 acres free and 1 and a half hired, totalling 11 and a half. Walter Morrice had cattle of 3 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer and 1 calf, totalling 7, with no land entered. John Marsh had cattle of 1 bull, 7 cows, 4 bullocks, 3 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 18, with 40 acres free and 9 hired, totalling 49. The carried-over line gave the running totals to the foot of the page. The cattle stood at 22 bulls, 343 cows, 117 bullocks, 124 heifers, 52 steers, 72 yearlings and 282 calves, totalling 992 head. The land stood at 253 and three-quarter acres free, 567 and a quarter hired, and a total of 820 and a half acres. Interpretations The cattle and land figures completed the property side of the register for this stretch of names, the running brought-over and carried-over totals accumulating the island's whole stock and acreage page by page. This was the mechanism by which the scattered household entries were reduced to the grand figures the Company laid before its directors, the same method as the families' land and cattle register of March 1715. The division of every holding into free and hired acres recorded the two tenures by which land was held, freehold ground owned outright and Company waste leased at the standing rate. John Goodwin's 141 free acres and Joshua Johnson's 127 marked the largest private holdings on this page, the kind of accumulation that prompted the council's concern at the consultation of 19 February 1719 against engrossing, when Bazett objected that Gabriel Powell already held more land than any two men on the island. The note attaching Thomas Hayse's 30 acres to Brayns son recorded that the ground stood in the register under one occupier while the title belonged to another, the same distinction between holder and owner that ran through the island's land records. Christopher Kelle's stock and land, entered against a household reduced to children alone, again showed a deceased holder's estate carried in the register pending its division, his children's affairs having passed to the churchwardens at the consultation of 12 May 1719. | |||||
164 | Brought Over Whites: Men 34. Women 41. Youths 19. Maidens 31. Boys 49. Girles 67. Totall 241. Blacks: Men 110. Women 41. Boys 51. Girles 34. Totall 236. Elizabeth Maxwell Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. Richard Mason Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. John Nichols Sen⁴ & Son Whites: Men 2. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Boys 2. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 4. Edmund Nichols Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Boys 2. Totall 2. Blacks: Boys 3. Totall 3. Martin Norman Whites: Men 1. Totall 1. John Orchard Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Ralph Orme Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 4. Erasmus Oarling & Sist⁴ Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2. William Parny Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. William Portley Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. Jnᵒ William Dycer Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1. Gabriel Pozolle Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 8. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 4. Totall 16. Samuel Price Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 4. Benjamin Pledgerd Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Boys 2. Totall 2. Martha Robinson Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 6. James Rider Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 4. Blacks: Totall 1. Thomas Southen Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 5. Totall 11. Blacks: Men 3. Boys 1. Totall 4. William Slaughter Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2. Nicholas Shreve & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Totall 2. Willi:ᵐ Seale & 1 Orph: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Girles 4. Totall 9. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall 7. Giles Smith & Serv: Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3. Thom: Swallow Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Maidens 3. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 5. Mary Swallow &c: Whites: Women 2. Maidens 2. Boys 3. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 4. Women 2. Boys 3. Girles 1. Totall 10. Richard Swallow Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 4. Blacks: Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 1. Charles Stawards Orph: Whites: Women 1. Maidens 4. Totall 5. Blacks: Men 4. Boys 1. Girles 2. Totall [7]. Margaret Sich Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 3. [5] Blacks: Men 2. Women 4. Boys 5. Totall 16. M⁴ Antipas Tovey Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 7. M⁴ Josh: Thomlinson Whites: Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 3. Totall 12. John Twaits Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 2. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 2. Boys 1. Totall 3. James Vessey Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 8. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 5. Isaac Wood Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 1. Totall 8. John Worrall Whites: Women 1. Boys 2. Girles 3. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 5. Carried Over Whites: Men 49. Women 64. Youths 27. Maidens 52. Boys 73. Girles 104. Totall 369. Blacks: Men 78. Women 63. Boys 85. Girles 56. Totall 382. | The figures brought over stood at 34 white men, 41 white women, 19 white youths, 31 white maidens, 49 white boys and 67 white girls, totalling 241 white people, with 110 black men, 41 black women, 51 black boys and 34 black girls, totalling 236 black people. Elizabeth Maxwell had 1 white maiden, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. Richard Mason had 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 2 white girls, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 4 black people. John Nichols senior, with his son, had 2 white men, 1 white maiden, 3 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 8 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 4 black people. Edmund Nichols had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white maidens and 2 white girls, totalling [...] white people, with 3 black boys, totalling 3 black people. Martin Norman had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. John Orchard had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. Ralph Orme had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 4 black people. Erasmus Purling, with his sister, had 1 white maiden, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. William Penny had no white household entered, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. William Portley had no white household entered, with 1 black man and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people. John William Pyfer had no white household entered, with 1 black man, totalling [...] black person. Gabriel Powell had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 7 white people, with 8 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 4 black girls, totalling 16 black people. Samuel Price had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 2 white boys, totalling 4 white people, with no black household entered. Benjamin Pledger had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 2 black boys, totalling 2 black people. Martha Robinson had 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 3 white girls, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. James Rider had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 4 black men, totalling 4 black people. Thomas Southen had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white youths, 1 white maiden, 1 white boy and 5 white girls, totalling 11 white people, with 3 black men and 1 black boy, totalling 4 black people. William Slaughter had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 2 white boys, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Nicholas Shreeve, with his servant, had 1 white man and 1 white maiden, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black men, totalling 2 black people. William Seale, with one orphan, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, 2 white boys and 4 white girls, totalling 9 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 7 black people. Giles Smith, with his servants, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Thomas Swallow had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 white maidens, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 5 black people. Mary Swallow, and others, had 2 white women, 2 white youths, 3 white maidens, totalling 7 white people, with 4 black men, 2 black women, 3 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 10 black people. Richard Swallow had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black girl, totalling 1 black person. Charles Steward's orphans had 1 white woman and 4 white maidens, totalling 5 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling [...]. Margaret Sich had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 1 white girl, totalling 3 white people, with 5 black men, 2 black women, 4 black boys and 5 black girls, totalling 16 black people. Mr Antipas Tovey had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 2 white boys, totalling 4 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black girls, totalling 7 black people. Mr Joshua Thomlinson had 1 white woman, 1 white maiden, totalling 2 white people, with 5 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 12 black people. John Twaits had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 white boys and 2 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people. James Vessey had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white youth, 3 white maidens, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 8 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 5 black people. Isaac Wood had 1 white woman, 1 white youth and 2 white maidens, totalling [...] white people, with 1 black man, 3 black women, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 8 black people. John Worrall had 1 white woman, 2 white boys and 3 white girls, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 5 black people. The totals line gave the whole island. The whites stood at 49 men, 64 women, 27 youths, 52 maidens, 73 boys and 104 girls, totalling 369 white people. The blacks stood at 178 men, 63 women, 85 boys and 56 girls, totalling 382 black people. Interpretations The page completed the population register for the whole island, the brought-over and totals lines closing the running count begun on the earlier pages. The final figures of 369 whites in households and 382 privately owned blacks gave the Company its yearly measure of the settlement, the same return certified for 1716 and used to assess head money and to weigh the labour available against the Company's own slave holding. The cluster of households entered with blacks but no resident whites, William Penny, William Portley and John William Pyfer among them, recorded single men of the garrison or establishment who held a slave or two without keeping a family. Their appearance in the register confirmed that the head-money roll reached beyond the landed families to every master of a rateable slave, the soldier or tradesman answering for his own black as the planter did for his household. The estate lines for Charles Steward's orphans and the late deputy governor's connections again showed deceased holders' families standing in the register as units in their own right. The orphans of Charles Steward, whose estate had long been managed under the executorship of Gabriel Powell and Richard Gurling, were carried with their slaves and maidens as a household pursued for head money like any living family, the same treatment given the French and Maxwell orphans across the island's records. | |||||
165 | Brought Over Cattle: Bulls 22. Cows 343. Bullocks 117. Heifers 124. Steers 52. Yearlings 72. Calves 262. Totall 992. Land: Acres of Free 1253¼. Acres of Hired 567¼. Totall 1820½. Elizabeth Maxwell Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 5. Bullocks [0]. Heifers 4. Steers 3. Calves 6. Totall 20. Land: Acres of Free 1½. Acres of Hired 6½. Richard Mason Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 3. Heifers 2. Calves 7. Totall 18. Land: Acres of Hired 13½. Totall 13½. John Nichols Sen⁴ & Son Cattle: Bulls 8. Cows 1. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Calves 8. Totall 19. Land: Acres of Free 10. Totall 40. Edmund Nichols Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 5. Land: Acres of Free 12. Acres of Hired 15. Totall 27. Martin Norman Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 1. Bullocks 6. Calves 9. John Orchard Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 4. Ralph Orme Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 2. Totall 5. Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 10. Totall 20. Erasmus Oarling & Sist⁴ Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 2. Calves 3. Totall 10. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 16. Totall 36. William Parny William Portley Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Calves 2. Totall 6. Jnᵒ William Dycer Gabriel Pozolle Cattle: Bulls 4. Cows 57. Bullocks 16. Heifers 13. Steers 7. Calves 38. Totall 135. Land: Acres of Free 234. Acres of Hired 39. Totall 273. 30 foot Squ: Ground in Jam: Valley Samuel Price Benjamin Pledgerd Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 1. Totall 4. Land: Acres of Free 5. Totall 5. Martha Robinson Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 12. Bullocks 4. Heifers 5. Yearlings 3. Calves 12. Totall 37. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 25. Totall 45. James Rider Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 3. Heifers 3. Steers 2. Calves 6. Totall 20. Land: Acres of Free 30½. Acres of Hired 2½. Totall 33. Thomas Southen Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Yearlings 5. Calves 4. Totall 21. Land: Acres of Free 29. Totall 29. William Slaughter Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 2. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 2. Totall 5. Land: Acres of Hired 3. Totall 3. Nicholas Shreve & Serv: Willi:ᵐ Seale & 1 Orph: Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 10. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 8. Totall 22. Land: Acres of Free 40. Totall 40. Giles Smith & Serv: Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 1. Heifers 2. Calves 3. Totall 8. Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 21. Totall 31. Thom: Swallow Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 9. Bullocks 4. Heifers 6. Calves 9. Totall 30. Land: Acres of Free 40. Acres of Hired 31. Totall 71. Mary Swallow &c: Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 13. Bullocks 6. Heifers 5. Yearlings 8. Calves 11. Totall 45. Land: Acres of Free 39. Acres of Hired 36. Totall 75. Richard Swallow Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Calves 3. Totall 10. Charles Stawards Orph: Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 25. Bullocks 11. Heifers 8. Yearlings 7. Calves 19. Totall 71. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 40. Totall 60. Margaret Sich Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 14. Bullocks 6. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Yearlings 10. Calves [. ] Totall 34. Land: Acres of Free 70. Acres of Hired 8. Totall 78. M⁴ Antipas Tovey Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 2. Heifers 3. Steers 3. Calves 3. Totall 12. Land: Acres of Hired 36. Totall 36. M⁴ Josh: Thomlinson Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 1. Calves 2. Totall 8. belongs to Welches Children James Vessey Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks [0]. Calves 3. Totall 6. Land: Acres of Free 12. Acres of Hired 12. Isaac Wood Cattle: Cows 17. Bullocks 7. Yearlings 11. Calves 15. Totall 50. Land: Acres of Free 20. Acres of Hired 12. Totall 32. John Twaits Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 16. Bullocks 8. Heifers 12. Steers 8. Yearlings 16. Calves 61. Land: Acres of Free 58. Acres of Hired 30. Totall 88. John Worrall Cattle: Cows 1. Bullocks 4. Heifers 1. Steers 3. Calves 1. Totall 23. Land: Acres of Free 17. Acres of Hired 20. Totall 37. Carried Over Cattle: Bulls 37. Cows 587. Bullocks 203. Heifers 203. Steers 78. Yearlings 113. Calves 461. Totall 1682. Land: Acres of Free 1969¼. Acres of Hired 937¼. Totall 2906½. | The figures brought over stood at 22 bulls, 343 cows, 117 bullocks, 124 heifers, 52 steers, 72 yearlings and 262 calves, totalling 992 head, with 1,253 and a half acres free, 567 and a quarter hired, and a total of 1,820 and a half acres. Elizabeth Maxwell had cattle of 5 cows, 5 bullocks, 1 heifer, 3 steers and 6 calves, totalling 20, with 1 and a half acres free, totalling 1 and a half. Richard Mason had cattle of 6 cows, 3 bullocks, 2 heifers and 7 calves, totalling 18, with 13 and a half acres hired, totalling 13 and a half. John Nichols senior, with his son, had cattle of 8 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 8 calves, totalling 19, with 40 acres free, totalling 40. Edmund Nichols had cattle of 2 cows, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 5, with 12 acres free and 15 hired, totalling 27. Martin Norman had cattle of 2 cows, 1 bullock and 6 heifers, totalling 9, with no land entered. John Orchard had cattle of 1 cow, 1 steer and 2 calves, totalling 4, with no land entered. Ralph Orme had cattle of 3 cows and 2 calves, totalling 5, with 10 acres free and 10 hired, totalling 20. Erasmus Purling, with his sister, had cattle of 5 cows, 2 bullocks and 3 calves, totalling 10, with 20 acres free and 16 hired, totalling 36. William Penny had no cattle and no land entered. William Portley had cattle of 2 cows, 2 bullocks and 2 calves, totalling 6, with no land entered. John William Pyfer had no cattle and no land entered, the note recording 30 foot square of ground in James Valley. Gabriel Powell had cattle of 4 cows, 57 bullocks, 16 heifers, 13 steers, 7 yearlings and 38 calves, totalling 135, with 234 acres free and 39 hired, totalling 273. Samuel Price had cattle of 3 cows and 1 calf, totalling 4, with 5 acres free, totalling 5. Benjamin Pledger had cattle of 1 bull, 12 cows, 4 bullocks, 5 heifers, 3 yearlings and 12 calves, totalling 37, with 20 acres free and 25 hired, totalling 45. Martha Robinson had cattle of 6 cows, 3 bullocks, 3 heifers, 2 steers and 6 calves, totalling 20, with 30 and a half acres free and 2 and a half hired, totalling 33. James Rider had cattle of 8 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers, 5 yearlings and 4 calves, totalling 21, with 29 acres free, totalling 29. Thomas Southen had cattle of 2 cows, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 5, with 3 acres hired, totalling 3. William Slaughter had cattle of 1 bull, 10 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer and 8 calves, totalling 22, with 40 acres free, totalling 40. Nicholas Shreeve, with his servant, had cattle of 2 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 8, with 10 acres free and 21 hired, totalling 31. William Seale, with one orphan, had cattle of 2 bulls, 9 cows, 4 bullocks, 6 heifers and 9 calves, totalling 30, with 40 acres free and 31 hired, totalling 71. Giles Smith, with his servants, had cattle of 2 bulls, 13 cows, 6 bullocks, 5 heifers, 8 yearlings and 11 calves, totalling 45, with 39 acres free and 36 hired, totalling 75. Thomas Swallow had cattle of 3 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 3 calves, totalling 10, with no land entered. Mary Swallow, and others, had cattle of 1 bull, 25 cows, 11 bullocks, 8 heifers, 7 yearlings and 19 calves, totalling 71, with 20 acres free and 40 hired, totalling 60. Richard Swallow had cattle of 1 bull, 14 cows, 6 bullocks, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 10 calves, totalling 34, with 70 acres free and 8 hired, totalling 78. Charles Steward's orphans had cattle of 1 bull, 2 cows, 3 heifers, 3 steers and 3 calves, totalling 12, with 36 acres hired, totalling 36. Margaret Sich had cattle of 4 cows, 1 bullock, 2 steers and 1 calf, totalling 8, with no land entered. Mr Antipas Tovey had cattle of 3 cows and 3 calves, totalling 6, with 12 acres hired, totalling 12. The note recorded that this land belonged to Welch's children. Mr Joshua Thomlinson had cattle of 17 cows, 7 bullocks, 11 steers and 15 calves, totalling 50, with 20 acres free and 12 hired, totalling 32. John Twaits had cattle of 1 bull, 16 cows, 8 bullocks, 12 heifers, 8 steers and 16 calves, totalling 61, with 58 acres free and 30 hired, totalling 88. James Vessey had cattle of 1 bull, 4 cows, 1 bullock, 3 heifers, 1 steer, 2 yearlings and 3 calves, totalling 15, with 17 acres free and 20 hired, totalling 37. The grand totals line closed the account. The cattle stood at 37 bulls, 587 cows, 203 bullocks, 203 heifers, 78 steers, 113 yearlings and 461 calves, totalling 1,682 head. The land stood at 1,969 and a quarter acres free, 937 and a quarter hired, and a total of 2,906 and a half acres. Interpretations The grand totals closed the whole register, reducing the island's families, slaves, cattle and acres to a single set of figures for the Company's directors. The final stock of 1,682 head of cattle and 2,906 and a half acres set against the earlier returns measured the recovery of both herd and cultivation since the famine that cost 2,500 head, cited by Governor Pyke in his letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715. The land figures exposed the heavy concentration of property in a few hands at the close of the alphabet, Gabriel Powell's 273 acres standing far above any neighbour. This was the engrossing the council had moved against at the consultation of 19 February 1719, when Bazett objected that Powell already held more ground than any two men on the island and the bench resolved to deny the large holders further waste and grant it instead to the landless. The notes attaching Antipas Tovey's hired land to Welch's children and Pyfer's small plot in James Valley again recorded the gap between occupier and owner, ground held and used by one party while the title rested in another. The treatment of Charles Steward's orphans as a rateable household with its own cattle and hired acres confirmed the register's function of carrying deceased holders' estates as units in their own right, pursued for head money like the living until the property was finally divided. | |||||
166 | Brought Over Whites: Men 49. Women 64. Youths 27. Maidens 52. Boys 73. Girles 104. Totall 369. Blacks: Men 178. Women 63. Boys 85. Girles 56. Totall 382. Willi:ᵐ Worrall Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Totall 7. Ripin Wills & Serv: Whites: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3. Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 3. Girles 1. Totall 8. Simon Whaley Whites: Men 1. Women 2. Boys 2. Girles 1. Totall 6. Blacks: Men 1. Boys 0. Totall 1. Joseph Whaley Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1. Frans Wrangham Whites: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Girles 4. Totall 7. Blacks: Men 5. Women 1. Boys 5. Girles 1. Totall 12. Eliz⁴ Wrangham Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. Totall Whites: Men 53. Women 70. Youths 27. Maidens 53. Boys 77. Girles 110. Totall 390. Blacks: Men 190. Women 67. Boys 96. Girles 58. Totall 411. Besides Officers Soldiers & Servants of the Garrison. | The figures brought over stood at 49 white men, 64 white women, 27 white youths, 52 white maidens, 73 white boys and 104 white girls, totalling 369 white people, with 178 black men, 63 black women, 85 black boys and 56 black girls, totalling 382 black people. William Worrall had 1 white woman, 1 white boy and 1 white girl, totalling 3 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women and 2 black boys, totalling 7 black people. Ripin Wills, with his servant, had 2 white men and 1 white woman, totalling 3 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 3 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 8 black people. Simon Whaley had 1 white man, 2 white women, 2 white boys and 1 white girl, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Joseph Whaley had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black boy, totalling 1 black person. Francis Wrangham had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 white maiden and 4 white girls, totalling 7 white people, with 5 black men, 1 black woman, 5 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 12 black people. Elizabeth Wrangham had 1 white maiden, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. The grand totals line closed the whole register. The whites stood at 53 men, 70 women, 27 youths, 53 maidens, 77 boys and 110 girls, totalling 390 white people. The blacks stood at 190 men, 67 women, 96 boys and 58 girls, totalling 411 black people. A closing note recorded that these figures stood besides the officers, soldiers and servants of the garrison. Interpretations The grand totals closed the population side of the register at 390 whites in households and 411 privately owned blacks, the running count carried through the whole alphabet now reduced to the island's headline figures. The closing note that the garrison stood outside this reckoning marked the deliberate boundary of the count, the soldiers, officers and Company servants without households forming a separate body excluded from the family census, as they had been from the head-money roll where roughly three of every five people on the island stood outside the parish tax. The exclusion of the garrison defined what the register was for. It measured the settled civil population and its property, the families who held land, raised provisions and answered for head money, distinct from the military establishment the Company maintained at its own charge. This separation let the directors weigh the self-supporting community against the cost of the garrison and the Company's own slaves, the same distinction drawn in the census certified for 1716. The blacks now outnumbered the whites in the household count, 411 against 390, a balance that lay behind the standing anxiety over a slave rising visible across the record, from the insurrection advertisement of 2 June 1714 to the false alarm raised at the widow Mudge's house before the consultation of 14 November 1717. The register's careful enumeration of every household's slaves by age and sex served the Company's need to know the size and disposition of the labouring population it depended on and feared in equal measure. | |||||
167 | Brought Over Cattle: Bulls 37. Cows 587. Bullocks 203. Heifers 208. Steers 78. Yearlings 113. Calves 461. Totall 1682. Land: Acres of Free 1969¼. Acres of Hired 937¼. Totall 2906½. Willi:ᵐ Worrall Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 1. Calves 7. Totall 14. Land: Acres of Hired 15. Totall 15. Ripin Wills & Serv: Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Calves 6. Totall 15. Land: Acres of Free 40. Totall 40. Simon Whaley Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall 5. Land: Acres of Free 13¼. Acres of Hired 10. Totall 23¼. Joseph Whaley Frans Wrangham Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 19. Bullocks 6. Yearlings 6. Calves 17. Totall 49. Land: Acres of Free 65. Acres of Hired 11. Totall 76. Eliz⁴ Wrangham Land: Acres of Free 10. Acres of Hired 2. Totall 12. Totall Cattle: Bulls 38. Cows 620. Bullocks 212. Heifers 205. Steers 86. Yearlings 119. Calves 485. Totall 1765. Land: Acres of Free 2097½. Acres of Hired 1005¼. Totall 3102¾. A true List According to the yearly Acco⁴ receiv'd from Jnᵒ Alexander | The figures brought over stood at 37 bulls, 587 cows, 203 bullocks, 203 heifers, 78 steers, 113 yearlings and 461 calves, totalling 1,682 head, with 1,969 and a quarter acres free, 937 and a quarter hired, and a total of 2,906 and a half acres. William Worrall had cattle of 6 cows, 1 bullock and 7 calves, totalling 14, with 15 acres hired, totalling 15. Ripin Wills, with his servant, had cattle of 5 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers and 6 calves, totalling 15, with 40 acres free, totalling 40. Simon Whaley had cattle of 3 cows, 1 heifer, 1 yearling and 5 calves, totalling 5, with 13 and a quarter acres free and 10 hired, totalling 23 and a quarter. Joseph Whaley had no cattle and no land entered. Francis Wrangham had cattle of 1 bull, 19 cows, 6 bullocks, 6 yearlings and 17 calves, totalling 49, with 65 acres free and 11 hired, totalling 76. Elizabeth Wrangham had no cattle entered, with 10 acres free and 2 hired, totalling 12. The grand totals line closed the whole account. The cattle stood at 38 bulls, 620 cows, 212 bullocks, 205 heifers, 86 steers, 119 yearlings and 485 calves, totalling 1,765 head. The land stood at 2,097 and a half acres free, 1,005 and a quarter hired, and a total of 3,102 and three-quarter acres. The account was certified as a true list according to the yearly account received, and signed by John Alexander. Interpretations The final totals fixed the island's whole private stock at 1,765 head of cattle and its cultivated and leased ground at 3,102 and three-quarter acres, the closing measure of the settled community's property for the year 1718. These figures, set against the famine loss of 2,500 cattle cited by Governor Pyke in his letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715, recorded a herd substantially rebuilt under his administration. The certification by John Alexander gave the register its authority as a formal return, the clerk attesting that the figures matched the yearly accounts the inhabitants had given in. Alexander carried the chief burden of the secretary's office through the spring of 1719 after Antipas Tovey's suspension, and his hand had likewise certified the census for 1716 as a true list, the same officer authenticating the island's annual count of its people and property for transmission to the directors. | |||||
168 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation held on Saturday the 13ᵗʰ of June 1719 late in the Evening At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ M⁴ Antipas Tovey Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin About Seven of the Clock this Evening Arrived the Good Ship Craggs Frigot Cap⁴ John Wyim Comand⁴ from England on board whom Came the Worshipf⁴ Edward Johnson Esq whose Comission as Govern⁴ was read. And Orderd to be Published on Munday morning next as Usuall by Beat of Drum The Packett by Said Ship directed to Edw⁴ Johnson Esq⁴ Matthew Bazett 2 Second Antipas Tovey third & John Alexander fourth & last of Council being Opened, the Private Letters were all given out. At M⁴ Bazetts death Gov⁴ Pyke appointed M⁴ John Goodwin Storekeeper and Margin Notes: Ship Craggs frigot four Eng⁴ Pack⁴ Direction | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Saturday 13 June 1719, late in the evening, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. About seven o'clock that evening the good ship Craggs Frigate arrived from England, Captain John Wynn commander. On board came the worshipful Edward Johnson Esquire, whose commission as governor was read. The council ordered it published the next Monday morning, as usual, by beat of drum. The packet brought by the ship was directed to Edward Johnson Esquire first, Matthew Bazett second, Antipas Tovey third and John Alexander fourth and last of council. On its being opened, the private letters were all given out. On Captain Bazett's death, Governor Pyke had appointed John Goodwin storekeeper. Interpretations The arrival of the Craggs Frigate brought the new government from England that had been rumoured on the island since the consultation of 3 April 1717, Edward Johnson succeeding Isaac Pyke as governor. The reading and ordered proclamation of his commission by beat of drum followed the standing form for transferring authority, the same public ceremony used for the proclamation of King George of 6 June 1715. The directors' packet itself recorded the order of precedence in council, naming the new governor first and the three serving councillors in their ranks. This list confirmed the membership the directors recognised at the moment the ship sailed, naming Matthew Bazett second though he had since died, Antipas Tovey third despite his suspension at the consultation of 3 June 1719, and John Alexander fourth. The note of John Goodwin's appointment as storekeeper recorded a change Governor Pyke had already made on the death of Captain Bazett, the office passing to the writer who had lately been admitted surveyor and employed on the store inventory. The handover survey of the Company's yam stock of 5 June 1719 had been composed against exactly this transfer of government, Governor Pyke setting down the management of the plantations for the successor now arrived. | |||||
169 | and had added him to the Council some little time before, whom the Present Governour Continues as such. All Officers were Continued Untill the Govern⁴ Should See cause to the Contrary. Adjournd Untill Monday next. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin | John Goodwin had been added to the council some little time before, and Governor Johnson continued him in that place. All officers were continued until the Governor should see cause to the contrary. The council adjourned until the following Monday. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The continuance of John Goodwin on the council confirmed the appointment Governor Pyke had made on the death of Captain Bazett, now ratified by his successor. Goodwin had been admitted surveyor and assistant in the secretary's office through the spring of 1719, and his retention secured the experienced hand on which the depleted council depended after Bazett's death and Antipas Tovey's suspension at the consultation of 3 June 1719. The blanket continuance of all officers until the Governor saw cause otherwise was the standard instrument for maintaining administrative continuity across a change of government. Governor Johnson held over the existing establishment rather than disturb it at once, reserving to himself the power to make changes as he came to know the island, the same prudent course an incoming governor would take before the management of affairs was familiar to him. | |||||
170 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation Held on Mon= =day the 15 day of June 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antipas Tovey 2 Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3 & Jnᵒ Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation read & Approvd. Cap⁴ Wynn had an Order Sent him Yester= =day to deliver the Cargoe Consignd to Us. This day Proper Persons were Appointed to receive them on Shoar. According to the last Consultation the Govern⁴ Commission was this day Published. Begun the reading the Hon Comp⁴ Generall Letter p⁴ Craggs Frigot. M⁴ Joseph Ornston who came over with the Govern⁴ is Appointed & Orderd to Assist the Accomptant. M⁴ John Jones is come over as Chaplain to our Hon: Masters & to Succeed M⁴ Thomlinson. Adjournd till Tomorrow Morning 9 a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Margin Notes: Ord⁴ to Cap⁴ Wynn Gov⁴ Commission Published Gov⁴ Let⁴ read w⁴ M⁴ Ornston Appointed to Assist Accompt⁴ M⁴ Jones Succeeds M⁴ Thomlinson | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 15 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. Captain Wynn had an order sent him the previous day to deliver the cargo consigned to the island. That day proper persons were appointed to receive the goods on shore. In accordance with the last consultation, Governor Johnson's commission was published that day. The reading of the Company's general letter brought by the Craggs Frigate was then begun. Mr Joseph Ormston, who came over with the Governor, was appointed and ordered to assist the accountant. Mr John Jones came over as chaplain to the Company and to succeed Mr Thomlinson. The council adjourned until the following morning at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by John Alexander. Interpretations The published commission and the begun reading of the general letter marked Governor Johnson formally taking up the government, the directors' letter being the standing source of instruction by which the council ordered its business through the year. The appointment of officers to receive the Craggs Frigate's cargo on shore was the routine first step in landing a Company ship's goods, the supervised unloading that protected the consignment against loss or pilferage. The arrival of Joseph Ormston to assist the accountant addressed directly the staffing weakness that had crippled the keeping of the books, the 1716 and 1717 accounts having fallen badly behind through the death of Captain Haswell and the suspension of Antipas Tovey. Governor Pyke had resolved as early as the consultation of 30 September 1718 to obtain a young writer off the first ship, and the new governor brought one with him. The replacement of the chaplain Joshua Thomlinson by John Jones answered the long-running friction over Thomlinson, whose disputes with the council ran from his irregular conduct as minister and apothecary to the bribery complaint over bills entered at the consultation of 28 October 1718. The directors' decision to send a successor settled the matter the bench had been unable to resolve, supplying a new minister appointed directly by the Company. | |||||
171 | Island S⁴ Helena 1719 At a Consultation held on Tusday the 16 day of June 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antipas Tovey 2 Jnᵒ Alexander 3 & Jnᵒ Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Council The Last Consultation read & Approvd. Then We proceeded to the farther reading the Hon: Comp⁴ Generall Letter Having read the same through. Ordered That M⁴ Thomlinsons Acco⁴ in the Hon Comp⁴ Books be Examined, and Report made how the Same Stands. The following Petition was presented. Island S⁴ Helena To the Worsh⁴ Edw⁴ Johnson Esq⁴ Gov⁴ &c Council The Humble Petition of Thom: Southen free planter. Humbly Sheweth That Whereas during the time Gov⁴ Pyke was in the Country, about Enlarging the Hon Comp⁴ Gardens & making other Improvements Margin Notes: Gov⁴ Let⁴ read thro⁴ M⁴ Thomlinsons Acco⁴ to be Stated | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 16 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. The council then continued the reading of the Company's general letter, and read it through to the end. It ordered that the chaplain Thomlinson's account in the Company's books be examined, and a report made on how it stood. A petition was then presented from Thomas Southen, a free planter. He set out his case to Governor Johnson and the council. During the time Governor Pyke was in the country, engaged in enlarging the Company's gardens and making other improvements. Interpretations The order to examine the chaplain Thomlinson's account in the Company's books carried forward the unresolved dispute over his bills, the balance of upwards of five hundred pounds he claimed having divided the bench at the consultation of 21 October 1718 and drawn the bribery complaint against Governor Pyke. With Thomlinson now superseded by John Jones, the new governor moved at once to settle the outgoing chaplain's standing in the accounts, the examination being the necessary step before any final reckoning. The Southen petition opened a planter's claim tied to the improvements Governor Pyke had carried out in the country, the enlargement of the Company's gardens being one of the achievements recorded in the handover survey of 5 June 1719. The petitioner was probably the same Thomas Southen lately reduced from sergeant over the affair of his London wife, discharged from his rank but given leave to remain a planter at the consultation of 19 August 1718. | |||||
172 | June Improvements, which was for about the Space of nine months, Your Petition being at that time first Serjeant was by him Ordered to take Care of the Garrison &c during his absence for which Constant duty Govern⁴ Pyke Promised yo⁴ Petition⁴ Some Allowance of Sallary, Wherefore humbly Prays he may Accordingly be Allowed Such a Gratuity as you in your Prudence shall think him deserving of. And as in duty bound June y⁴ 16 1719 Shall ever pray &c. Thomas Southen Resolved We have no answer till the Gov⁴ hath Spoke to Govern⁴ Pyke about the Allega= =tions therein. Whereas Govern⁴ Pyke made Applica= =tion to Us, That those Coals on board the Craggs Frigot designd for this Island might be Sent to Bencoolen, because he is informed there is none there for their Smiths Use & were formerly very much desired by Letters to him. On Enquiry whether any Coals were on Board the Craggs Frigot Consignd to Ben= =coolen & Upon Examination of the Coals now Margin Notes: Tho: Southens Pet⁴ Referred Gov⁴ Pyke request for Coals to be consigned to Bencoolen Enquiry made ab⁴ them | The improvements lasted about six months. Thomas Southen, being at that time eldest sergeant, had been ordered by Governor Pyke to take care of the garrison during his absence. For that constant duty Governor Pyke had promised the petitioner some allowance of salary. He therefore asked to be allowed such a gratuity as the council in its prudence should think him deserving of. The petition was dated 16 June 1719 and subscribed by Thomas Southen. The council resolved that Southen should have no answer until Governor Johnson had spoken to Governor Pyke about the allegations in the petition. Governor Pyke then made an application to the council. He asked that the coals on board the Craggs Frigate designed for the island might be sent to Bencoolen, since he was informed there were none there for their smiths' use, and they had formerly been much desired by letters to him. On enquiry whether any coals were on board the Craggs Frigate consigned to Bencoolen, and on examination of the coals now. Interpretations The Southen petition rested on a verbal promise of salary made by Governor Pyke for the sergeant's charge of the garrison during the governor's absences in the country. The council's refusal to answer until the new governor had spoken with his predecessor showed the standard caution over an unwitnessed claim against the Company, the truth of the alleged promise being recoverable only from Pyke himself before any gratuity could be allowed. Governor Pyke's request to divert the Craggs Frigate's coals to Bencoolen reflected the standing supply needs of the Company's eastern settlements, coal being essential to the smiths' work and not to be had at Bencoolen. The proposal turned on whether the coals were already consigned elsewhere, the examination of the cargo being the necessary check before any could be redirected. Coal had lately been a contested commodity at the island itself, its price cut to encourage use and spare the island's wood at the consultation of 16 September 1718, which underlined its value across the Company's stations. | |||||
173 | now on the Island We finding there is a sufficient quantity to last till We can have a farther supply from England again, and believing it to be more for the Interest of our Hon Masters to Spare them Do accordingly Order the Said Coals to remain on board the Ship to be carry'd to Bencoolen, and that Cap⁴ Wynn have Notice thereof. According to our Hon Masters Orders We have Published the Proclamation of Warr against Spain. And Likewise that Proclamation for the recall= =ing all his Majesties Subjects that are in the Service of Forreign Princes. Adjournd untill Tuesday next Unless Something Extraordinary Occurs in the mean time. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: Coals to Remain on Board Proclaim of Warr published to recall his Maj⁴ Subjects | On examination of the coals now on the island, the council found there was a sufficient quantity to last until a further supply could be had from England. Believing it more for the interest of the Company to spare them, the council ordered the coals to remain on board the ship, to be carried to Bencoolen, and directed that Captain Wynn have notice. In accordance with the Company's orders, the council published the proclamation of war against Spain. It also published the proclamation recalling all the King's subjects who were in the service of foreign princes. The council adjourned until the following Tuesday, unless something extraordinary should occur in the meantime. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The decision to release the coals to Bencoolen rested on the island's own stock being judged sufficient until the next supply from England, the council weighing the needs of the two settlements against each other. Sparing the cargo for the eastern station where none could be had served the wider interest of the Company across its possessions, the same calculation of common advantage that governed the redistribution of scarce goods between stations. The proclamation of war against Spain carried the metropolitan conflict to the remote island, published by the council under the directors' orders as the standing channel through which royal and Company instructions reached St Helena. The accompanying proclamation recalling the King's subjects from foreign service was a wartime measure to draw home men who might otherwise serve an enemy power, the two notices together marking the island's formal entry into the state of war declared in Europe. | |||||
174 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23 day of June 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jnᵒ Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Council The Last Consultation read & Approved. According to the Resolution of the Last Consultation An Order was delivered to Cap⁴ Wynn to Continue the Coals on board & deliver them at Bencoolen. Ordered That all Usuall Letters be drawn up and Copy'd fair by Thursday next to be Sent by the Ship Craggs Frigot. Viz⁴ To Madrass Bombay Bengall & Bencoolen Ordered That the Goods brought and delivered by the Ship Stanhope Cap⁴ Pitt command from Bombay, be sold out at fifty per Cent. And That Margin Notes: Ord⁴ to Cap⁴ Wynn ab⁴ y⁴ Coals Let⁴ to be gott ready for India India Goods Stanhope Sold at 50 p C⁴ | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 23 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the resolution of the last consultation, an order was delivered to Captain Wynn to keep the coals on board and deliver them at Bencoolen. The council ordered that all the usual letters be drafted and copied fair by the following Thursday, to be sent by the Craggs Frigate. These were directed to Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen. The council further ordered that the goods brought and delivered by the Stanhope, Captain Pitt commander, from Bombay, be sold at fifty per cent. Interpretations The formal order to Captain Wynn confirmed in writing the decision of the previous consultation to carry the Craggs Frigate's coals on to Bencoolen, the council recording the instruction so that the diversion of the cargo rested on a clear authority. The direction of the usual letters to Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen marked the routine despatch of the council's correspondence to the Company's eastern settlements, the homeward and outward ships serving as the only channel by which the scattered stations kept in communication. The order to sell the Stanhope's Bombay goods at fifty per cent fixed the standing markup on imported cargo, the rate at which the Company's store passed Indian goods to the inhabitants. This was the same margin applied across the invoices entered in the storekeeper's accounts, the fixed advance on prime cost by which the store funded itself while supplying the settlement as its sole source of manufactured and imported wares. | |||||
175 | That the Goods per Ship Grantham from Bengall be alsoe Sold at the Usuall Prizes. This day Eighty four of the Hon Comp⁴ men Blacks had delivered them Each a Shirt a Jackett & Breeches, one Blankett a Cap & one knife, But We have no Cloaths already ready made for the Women & Young Children and as it is now every Cold time of year. Ordered That as soon as the Stores brought per Shipp Craggs Frig⁴ is opned That they have Cloaths made of Some of the Kerseys. The following Petition was delivered to the Govern⁴ against M⁴ Tovey by Severall of the Inhabitants. Island S⁴ Helena To the Worshipf⁴ Edward Johnson Esq⁴ Govern Council &c The Humble Petition of the Inha= =bitants Sheweth That Whereas M⁴ Artipas Tovey being a very Malicious drunken fractious & Dangerous Person We do Humbly take leave to Present before Your Worsh⁴ Margin Notes: Goods from Bengall the Usuall Prizes C⁴ Blacks Cloathed More to be Made Pet⁴ Delivered ag⁴ M⁴ Tovey | The council ordered that the goods brought by the Grantham from Bengal also be sold at the usual prices. That day eighty-four of the Company's slaves had delivered to them each a shirt, a jacket, breeches, one blanket, a cap and one knife. There were no clothes ready made for the women and young children, and the season was now very cold. The council ordered that, as soon as the stores brought by the Craggs Frigate were opened, the women and children should have clothes made of some of the kerseys. A petition was then delivered to Governor Johnson against Mr Tovey by several of the inhabitants. They set out their case to the council. Antipas Tovey was a very malicious, drunken, factious and dangerous person, and they humbly took leave to present their complaint. Interpretations The clothing of eighty-four slaves recorded the Company's seasonal provision for its labour force against the cold of the island's winter, the moderate climate turning damp and chill in the southern-hemisphere mid-year. The standard issue of shirt, jacket, breeches, blanket, cap and knife to each man, with the shortfall for women and children to be made up from kerseys once the new stores were opened, matched the recurring concern for slave clothing recorded across the period, Captain Haswell having proposed dungarees and Governor Pyke vitery and long cloth at the consultation of 7 May 1717. The petition against Antipas Tovey carried the inhabitants' long-standing grievance against the suspended secretary directly to the new governor. Tovey's record on the island combined repeated drunkenness with violence, from the stabbing of Francis Wrangham on 7 March 1715/16 to the neglect of the account books that had brought his suspension at the consultation of 3 June 1719. The complainants seized the change of government to press for his removal, hoping a fresh governor unconnected to the old council would act where Pyke had been willing to readmit him for his family's sake. Interpretations The kerseys named for the women's and children's clothing were a coarse woollen cloth, woven from long wool and commonly used for cheap hard-wearing garments. Their issue from the Company's stores fitted the standing practice of clothing the slaves in the plainest serviceable material, the same economy that governed the long cloth and canvas proposed for the purpose in earlier years. | |||||
176 | June Worship, and Council the many Insults & Barbarious actions Committed by him to the Inhabitants of this Island Viz. He having in former times Struck one Sutton Isaack planter now living with a Penknife in the Dark, and Sometimes after M⁴ George Carne with a Sword Privately, And when of Council M⁴ Francis Wrangham Sitting in M⁴ Siches House drinking Out of a bottle of Wine with his friends where he being in Company Privately drew his Sword and Stuck the⁴ foresaid Wrangham at the Table. Now your Petitioners having long Groand Under the heavy Burthen of the many Imposions repeated by the Said Tovey. We the Subscribers Humbly beg Yo⁴ Worship & Council will take it into Considera= =ation and Provide a remedy or Means whereby the Oppressed Petition⁴ may find a Speedy releife. And Yo⁴ Petition⁴ in duty Council will ever pray Tho: Allis James Draper Gabriel Powell John Coles Jnᵒ Knipe Jos: Johnson Rich: Darling John Bagley Rob Bell Walt Morris William Worrall Jn: Long Jnᵒ French Rich Swallow W⁴ Beale Jnᵒ Nichols James Rider Tho: Free | The petitioners set out to Governor Johnson and the council the many insults and barbarous acts Tovey had committed against the inhabitants of the island. In former times he had struck Sutton Isaack, a planter now living, with a penknife in the dark. Some time afterwards he had set upon Mr George Carne with a sword in secret. While a member of council, he had stabbed Mr Francis Wrangham at the table. Wrangham was sitting in Mr Sich's house, drinking a pint of a bottle of wine with his friends, when Tovey, being in the company, drew his sword in secret and stabbed him. The petitioners had long laboured under the heavy burden of the many impositions Tovey had repeatedly laid on them. They humbly asked the council to take the matter into consideration and provide a remedy, so that they might find speedy relief. The petition was subscribed by Thomas Allis, James Draper, Gabriel Powell, John Coles, John Knipe, Joseph Johnson, Richard Gurling, John Bagley, Robert Bell, Walter Morris, William Worrall, John Long, John French, Richard Swallow senior, William Beale, Mr Nichols, James Rider and Thomas Free. Interpretations The catalogue of Tovey's violence drew together the assaults recorded across the island's history into a single indictment, the stabbing of Francis Wrangham at Margaret Sich's house on 7 March 1715/16 being the most serious. The petitioners reached back to earlier attacks on Sutton Isaack and George Carne to establish a settled pattern of dangerous drunken conduct, building the case that Tovey was unfit to hold any place on the island. The length and weight of the subscription gave the petition its force, the names spanning the principal planters and tradesmen of the settlement. Gabriel Powell, John Coles, Richard Gurling and the others who signed were the substantial householders of the census just taken, so the complaint carried the authority of the leading inhabitants rather than a few aggrieved individuals. Coming immediately upon the change of government, the concerted petition pressed the new governor to settle the question of the suspended secretary that Governor Pyke had left open at the consultation of 3 June 1719, when he had been willing to readmit Tovey for his family's sake. | |||||
177 | Upon which the Govern⁴ Sayd he would take on himself to Speak to M⁴ Tovey about it. The Petition of M⁴ Joseph Ornston as followeth Island S⁴ Helena To the Worsh⁴ Edward Johnson Esq⁴ Gov⁴ &c Council. The Humble Petition of Joseph Ornston Factor Sheweth That your Petition⁴ did receive Severall abuses whilst on Board the Ship Craggs Frig⁴ but as he was a Passenger he thought it more for his ease to put up Small Matters, Considering then who was to be his Judge Never theless M⁴ Thomas Blake continuing to Insult him even here on Shore he cannot any longer forbear making Application to Your Worship & Council Humbly beging Such redress may be made him as Your Worship & Council Shall think meet. 16ᵗʰ June 1719. And your Petition⁴ Shall ever Pray. Joseph Ornston Ordered. Margin Notes: Gov⁴ Undertakes M⁴ Ornston's Pet⁴ ag⁴ M⁴ Blake | On the petition against Tovey, Governor Johnson said he would take it on himself to speak to Mr Tovey about it. The petition of Mr Joseph Ormston followed. He set out his case to the council. He had received several abuses while on board the Craggs Frigate. Being a passenger, he had thought it better in his position to overlook small matters, considering who would be his judge. Mr Thomas Blake, however, continued to insult him even here on shore. He could no longer forbear making application to the council, humbly asking that such redress be made him as the council should think fit. The petition was dated 25 June 1719 and subscribed by Joseph Ormston. The matter was ordered. Interpretations The governor's undertaking to speak to Tovey himself deferred the inhabitants' petition rather than resolving it, the new governor choosing to handle the suspended secretary by private remonstrance before any formal step. This was the same prudent reserve Governor Johnson had shown in continuing all officers until he saw cause otherwise, the question of Tovey's place left open while he came to know the man and the island. The Ormston petition carried a private quarrel from the voyage onto the island, the new accountant's assistant complaining of continued insults from a fellow passenger now ashore. Ormston had come over with Governor Johnson to assist the accountant, appointed at the consultation of 15 June 1719, so the bench had reason to protect a useful officer brought to remedy the long neglect of the Company's books. His having borne the abuses at sea for fear of his judge marked the shipboard authority of the commander, the redress sought only once both men stood under the council's jurisdiction on shore. | |||||
178 | June Ordered That M⁴ Thomas Blake be Sumoned to appear on Thursday next. Adjournd till Thursday nine a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Island S⁴ Helena. At a Consultation held on Thursday the 25 day of June 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jnᵒ Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation read & Approvd. Whereas on Tuesday last M⁴ Joseph Ornston Exhibited a Complaint against M⁴ Thomas Blake Chifsmate of the Ship Craggs Frigot. As is more fully mentioned in his Said Complt. Adding further that Since he came on Shoar here, the Said M⁴ Thomas Blake came on Shoar a Monday evening Last in a very Margin Notes: M⁴ Blake Summoned M⁴ Ornston's Comp⁴ recd⁴ the fresh cause further | The council ordered that Mr Thomas Blake be summoned to appear the following Thursday. It then adjourned until Thursday at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Thursday 25 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. On Tuesday last Mr Joseph Ormston had brought a complaint against Mr Thomas Blake, chief mate of the Craggs Frigate, as set out more fully in his earlier complaint. Ormston added further that, since he came on shore, Blake had come ashore on Monday evening last. Interpretations The summons to Thomas Blake brought the shipboard quarrel before the council for formal hearing, the chief mate of the Craggs Frigate called to answer the accountant's assistant Ormston. The bench treated the complaint as a matter within its jurisdiction now both parties were ashore, the ship's officer no longer protected by the authority he had held over a passenger at sea. The fresh detail that Blake had come ashore on the Monday evening showed Ormston pressing his grievance with new instances of the mate's conduct on the island itself. His original petition of 25 June 1719 had rested the case on continued insults after landing, and the addition of a specific occasion strengthened the complaint against a man whose offences at sea Ormston had borne in silence for fear of his judge. | |||||
179 | a very odd manner with a Boy bearing his Sword behind him and when he Saw the Complainant He told him he came on Shore to give him a Gentlemans Satisfaction with Some other a Gravating words. M⁴ Thomas Blake being now present made reply That in their Passage over Here happened Some difference between him and M⁴ Ornston, and coming on Shore here on Monday evening last and Seeing M⁴ Ornston he reminded him of what had Past on Board the Ship, and Sayd to him he was ready to give him Satisfaction and would never Say any thing more of it. After Some debate M⁴ Blake being made Sensible of his abuse to M⁴ Ornston, He did Publickly ask his Pardon. The Petition of James Vesey was Presented to Us Setting forth therein That he being a Leasee to the Hon: Lords Proprietors of this Island, in a Parcell of their Land contain= =ing about Eight Acres which According to the Tenour of his Lease he cant Dispose of his Interest therein without the Consent of the Govern⁴ Margin Notes: M⁴ Blake's reply after M⁴ Blake makes Pardon Pet⁴ of Jam: Vesey | Blake had come ashore in a very odd manner, with a boy bearing his sword behind him. On seeing the complainant, he told him he had come on shore to give him a gentleman's satisfaction, with some other provoking words. Mr Thomas Blake, being now present, replied that on their passage over there had been some difference between him and Mr Ormston. Coming ashore on Monday evening last, and seeing Mr Ormston, he had reminded him of what had passed on board the ship and said he was ready to give him satisfaction, and would never say any more of it. After some debate, Blake was made sensible of his abuse to Mr Ormston. He publicly asked his pardon. The petition of James Vesey was then presented. He set out his case to the council. He held a lease from the Lords Proprietors of the island, of a parcel of their land containing about eight acres. By the terms of his lease he could not dispose of his interest in it without the consent of the Governor. Interpretations Blake's challenge to give a gentleman's satisfaction, made with a sword borne behind him, was an offer of a duel, the private settlement of honour by combat that the proclamation recalling the King's subjects from foreign service and the wider discipline of the Company both worked against. The council's resolution of the matter through a public apology turned a threatened duel into a submission before authority, the bench substituting its own jurisdiction for the violent self-redress Blake proposed. The Vesey petition opened a routine question of land tenure, the lease of Company ground carrying an express bar on transfer without the governor's consent. This condition gave the Lords Proprietors control over who held their land, the standing restriction recorded in the island's leases that prevented tenants assigning their interest freely. Vesey was the planter and churchwarden lately appointed at the consultation of 30 April 1717, and his application followed the proper course of seeking the governor's leave before dealing with his leasehold. | |||||
180 | June Govern⁴ and Council for the time being, and for that the Petition⁴ being Constrained to pay a Sum of money due to one of his wives (by a form⁴ Husband) Sons, now belonging to the Ship Craggs, and He being not in a Capacity at present to make Paym⁴ Humbly Prays he may be permitted to Sell his Interest in the Said Lease which will enable him to pay the debt due as aforesaid. Ordered That his request be Granted. The following Deed of Gift of Henry Francis to his daughter Eliz⁴ Francis was by her delivered desiring to have the Same Registered for better Security thereof. Granted Accordingly and is as follows. Whereas the Governour has requested of me to do Something in Present for my daughter Elizabeth Francis and to give her Such a Gift as may tend to her Promotion in the World which thing being agreeable to my own Sentiments & Inclination, I do hereby Pro= =mise and oblige my Self to deliver & freely to give unto her upon the day of her Marriage the four Blacks hereafter Mentioned Viz⁴ Susan - Betty so which is Ellens daughter &c Margin Notes: to dispose of Lease Land Granted M⁴ Eliz: Francis request a Deed of Gift to be Entrd Granted the Purport thereof | Vesey could not dispose of his interest without the consent of the Governor and council for the time being. He was forced to pay a sum of money due to one of his wife's sons by a former husband, now belonging to the Craggs Frigate. Being unable at present to make the payment, he asked to be permitted to sell his interest in the lease, which would enable him to pay the debt. The council ordered that his request be granted. A deed of gift from Henry Francis to his daughter Elizabeth Francis was then delivered by her. She asked to have it registered for better security. This was granted accordingly, and ran as follows. Henry Francis recited that Governor Johnson had asked him to do something at present for his daughter Elizabeth Francis, and to give her such a gift as might tend to her advancement in the world. This being agreeable to his own sentiments and inclination, he promised and bound himself to deliver and freely give to her, on the day of her marriage, the four slaves hereafter named. These were Susan and Betty, the latter being Ellen's daughter. Interpretations The grant of Vesey's request released a leaseholder from the bar on transfer so that he might raise money to discharge a family debt, the council exercising the consent its own leases required. The debt itself, owed to a stepson now serving on the Craggs Frigate, arose from the blended inheritances common on the island, where land and money passed through successive marriages and the children of former husbands retained claims on the estate. The deed of gift from Henry Francis settled slaves on his daughter as a marriage portion, the four named blacks to pass to her on her wedding day. This treated slaves as the principal moveable wealth a planter could give a child, the same form of provision recorded in the deed of gift Thomas Gargen made his daughter and in the slaves settled across the island's marriage settlements. The governor's prompting of the gift, recited in the deed itself, showed the new governor taking an early interest in the affairs of a leading planter family, Henry Francis being among the substantial householders of the census just completed. | |||||
181 | and Roger, and Young Caesar, to which Said four Blacks I do hereby Alienate & Grant from my Self to her my Said daughter and make over unto her Gratis without any other Consideration had, or to be had for the Same that the love & affection that I have Alwayes borne to my Said Child in Testimony whereof I have hereunto Sett my hand this 6 day of June D⁴ 1719. Henry Francis This Deed of Gift is agreed & Consented to by me Sarah Francis Wittness Isa: Pyke This being the last day of the ten working days for the Delivery of the Cargoe per Craggs Frigot according to Charterparty Ordered That M⁴ Ornston doe bring an Acco⁴ of what Goods he has received on Shore that it may be Compaired with the Bill of Lading that We may See if any thing is want= =ing of the Said Cargoe. Orderd That an Inventory be taken of all the Hon Comp⁴ Household Goods belonging to the Castle & Plantation House as Soone as Possible. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: 10 working days Expired Acco⁴ of the Goods to be brought in Inventory of Household Goods to be taken | The four slaves were Susan, Betty, Rogiz and young Caesar. Henry Francis granted these four blacks from himself to his daughter and made them over to her freely, without any other consideration than the love and affection he had always borne her. In testimony of this he set his hand on 6 June 1719. The deed was subscribed by Henry Francis, agreed and consented to by his wife Sarah Francis, and witnessed by Isaac Pyke. This being the last of the ten days allowed for the delivery of the Craggs Frigate's cargo under the charter party, the council ordered that Mr Ormston bring an account of all goods he had received on shore. This was to be compared with the bill of lading, so the council might see whether anything of the cargo was wanting. The council further ordered that an inventory be taken of all the Company's household goods belonging to Union Castle and the plantation house, as soon as possible. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The completed deed named all four slaves and recorded the family's consent, the gift passing under the hands of Henry Francis and his wife Sarah and witnessed by the outgoing governor Isaac Pyke. Pyke's attestation, given on 6 June 1719 before the new government arrived, dated the gift to the very close of his administration and showed the two governors' tenures overlapping on the island in the days around the handover. The order for Ormston's account against the bill of lading enforced the charter-party term limiting unloading to ten days, the same deadline the council had pressed against earlier commanders. Checking the landed goods against the manifest was the standing safeguard against shortfall, the means by which the Company held a ship's master answerable for any part of the consignment not delivered, as it had done against Captain Mawson of the Cardonnell. The inventory of household goods at Union Castle and the plantation house marked the formal stocktaking that accompanied the change of government, the moveable property of the two principal residences recorded as the establishment passed from one governor to another. Such an inventory at a moment of transition protected both the outgoing and incoming administrations, the same precaution taken on the death of Captain Mashborne when the plantation house goods were inventoried at the consultation of 12 April 1715. | |||||
182 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation held on Fryday the 26 of June 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jnᵒ Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation recd & Approved. The Council mett this morning to Compare the Account of Goods brought on Shore from the Craggs Frigot with the Invoice & find the following Goods wanting Viz⁴ One Chest of Florence Oyle N⁰ 19 in 70 Bottles containing 34 Gallons. 235 Deals One Cask of Haberdashery Ware N⁰ 2. One Cask of Medicines. Ordered That a Protest be Immediately drawn up and Sent to Cap⁴ Wynn for not delivering the Cargoe Consignd to Us in the Ten working days According to Charterparty. M⁴ Tovey informed the Govern⁴ and Council That Govern⁴ Pyke has had for these three Years past a great many Blacks maintained Margin Notes: Goods p⁴ Craggs Compared w⁴ Invoice what wanting Protest Ord⁴ M⁴ Tovey informs ab⁴ Gov⁴ Pyke | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Friday 26 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. The council met that morning to compare the account of goods brought on shore from the Craggs Frigate with the invoice. It found the following goods wanting. One chest of Florence oil, number 19, in 70 bottles, containing 34 gallons. 238 deals. One cask of haberdashery ware, number 2. One cask of medicines. The council ordered that a protest be immediately drawn up and sent to Captain Wynn, for not delivering the cargo consigned to the island within the ten days allowed under the charter party. Mr Tovey then informed Governor Johnson and the council that Governor Pyke had, for these three years past, had a great many slaves. Interpretations The comparison of the landed goods against the invoice exposed a shortfall in the cargo, the missing oil, timber, haberdashery and medicines recorded item by item as the basis for a formal claim. The protest against Captain Wynn followed the standing procedure for holding a commander answerable, converting the failure to deliver within the charter-party term into a recoverable charge, the same instrument used against Captain Mawson of the Cardonnell and Captain Misenor of the Princess Amelia. Tovey's information against Governor Pyke opened a charge touching the outgoing governor's private slaveholding, the suspended secretary seizing the change of government to lay a matter before the new administration. Pyke had proposed selling his own slaves to the Company at the consultation of 12 May 1719, claiming that by acquiring forty slaves he had cut the cost of hired labour, so the question of how he had come to hold so many over three years bore directly on that recent transaction. Interpretations The Florence oil named in the shortfall was olive oil from the region of Florence, shipped in bottles for the table and for cooking, a staple import for the Company's establishment. The deals were sawn softwood planks, the standard building timber brought from England for construction and repair on an island short of suitable wood, the same material whose lack had forced Governor Pyke to patch the plantation house roof with salvaged tiles. | |||||
183 | maintained at the Hon Comp⁴ Cost, which He Humbly Submits to the present Govern⁴ & Councils Opinion whether or no Govern⁴ Pyke ought not to pay for their dyett He having had the Usual Prices paid him for their work & in one year has come to Seven Hundred Forty Pounds. Ordered That Govern⁴ Pyke be Acquainted with this Information that He may answer the Same and make out how he has bought any dyet for the Blacks aforesaid. This day Seventy eight of the Hon Comp⁴ Blacks were Cloathed. Adjournd till 3 a Clock in the afternoon. The Council mett this afternoon and the following Protest being drawn up was accordingly Signed & Sent to Cap⁴ Wynn. Copy of the Protest. Cap⁴ Jnᵒ Wynn We are Ordered by our Hon: Masters to assist and Dispatch your Unloading as fast as We can. And you are Margin Notes: Gov⁴ Pyke to have Notice thereof Blacks Cloathed | Tovey's information continued. Governor Pyke's slaves had been maintained at the Company's cost. Tovey submitted to the new governor the question whether Governor Pyke ought not to pay for their food, since the usual prices paid him for their work had come, in one year, to seven hundred and forty pounds. The council ordered that Governor Pyke be made acquainted with this information, so that he might answer it and show how he had bought any food for the slaves. That day seventy-eight of the Company's slaves were clothed. The council adjourned until three o'clock in the afternoon. It met again that afternoon, and the protest, being drawn up, was accordingly signed and sent to Captain Wynn. The protest ran as follows. The council addressed Captain John Wynn. The Company had ordered the council to assist and dispatch the ship's unloading as fast as it could. Interpretations Tovey's charge turned on the figure of seven hundred and forty pounds a year, the sum the Company had paid Governor Pyke for his slaves' labour, against which the cost of feeding those slaves from the Company's own stores stood as a possible offset. This was the same arrangement Pyke had cited in his own favour at the consultation of 12 May 1719, claiming his forty slaves had cut the cost of hired labour, now turned against him by the suspended secretary as a debt he owed for their maintenance. The council's referral of the matter to Pyke for his answer followed the proper course, the truth of the account recoverable only from the outgoing governor. The protest to Captain Wynn restated the Company's own standing instruction to assist and speed a ship's unloading, the council framing its complaint within the directors' orders. By opening with the duty laid on it, the bench established that the delay lay with the commander rather than the shore establishment, the necessary ground for a protest that would hold the master answerable for the cargo not delivered within the charter-party term. | |||||
184 | June are by Charterparty to deliver the Cargoe Consignd to Us in ten working days which being Expired. We do hereby for and on behalf & in the Name of the Hon Comp⁴ of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies Protest against you, and Say that as you have not deliverd your Cargoe aforesaid Notwithstanding your Order of the 23 Inst⁴ to keep the twenty one Chaldron of Coals on board you and to carry them to Bencoolen which We told you would forward your delivery of the Said Cargoe at least two or three days the Sooner, & you having not wanted our Assistance, All the Damage that Shall Accrue thereby must redound to the owners of your Ship Craggs Frigot. We are Union Castle the Yo⁴ Humble Servants. 26ᵗʰ of June 1719. Edward Johnson Antip: Tovey Jn: Alexander Jn: Goodwin Adjournd till Tomorrow 9 a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: Protest ag⁴ Cap⁴ Wynn | The protest continued. Captain Wynn was bound by the charter party to deliver the cargo consigned to the island within ten days, which had now expired. The council therefore, for and on behalf of the Company, formally protested against him. He had not delivered the cargo. His own order of 23 June to keep the twenty-one chaldron of coals on board and carry them to Bencoolen would, the council told him, have advanced his delivery by at least two or three days the sooner. He had not wanted the council's assistance. All the damage that should arise from the delay must therefore fall on the owners of the Craggs Frigate. The protest was dated at Union Castle 26 June 1719 and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The council adjourned until the following morning at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The protest placed the blame for the delay squarely on the commander, the council pointing out that his own decision to retain the coals for Bencoolen had cost the time for which he was now answerable. By recording that Captain Wynn had declined the bench's offered assistance, the council closed off the master's likely defence and fixed the loss on the ship's owners, the formal consequence of failing to discharge within the charter-party term. The diverted coals connected this protest directly to the earlier business of the session, the twenty-one chaldron having been ordered on to Bencoolen at the consultation of 23 June 1719 because the island held enough for its own needs. The council now turned that decision against the commander, treating the time spent keeping the coals aboard as part of the delay in landing the rest of the cargo, so the same goods served both the supply of the eastern settlement and the case against the master. | |||||
185 | June are by Charterparty to deliver the Cargoe Consignd to Us in ten working days which being Expired. We do hereby for and on behalf & in the Name of the Hon Comp⁴ of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies Protest against you, and Say that as you have not deliverd your Cargoe aforesaid Notwithstanding your Order of the 23 Inst⁴ to keep the twenty one Chaldron of Coals on board you and to carry them to Bencoolen which We told you would forward your delivery of the Said Cargoe at least two or three days the Sooner & you having not wanted our Assistance. All the Damage that Shall Accrue thereby must redound to the owners of your Ship Craggs Frigot. We are Union Castle the Yo⁴ Humble Servants. 26ᵗʰ of June 1719. Edward Johnson Antip: Tovey Jn: Alexander Jn: Goodwin Adjournd till Tomorrow 9 a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: Protest ag⁴ Cap⁴ Wynn | The protest against Captain Wynn was set out. He was bound by the charter party to deliver the cargo consigned to the island within ten days, which had now expired. The council therefore, for and on behalf of the Company, formally protested against him. He had not delivered the cargo. His own order of 23 June to keep the twenty-one chaldron of coals on board and carry them to Bencoolen would, the council told him, have advanced his delivery of the cargo by at least two or three days the sooner. He had not wanted the council's assistance. All the damage that should arise from the delay must therefore fall on the owners of the Craggs Frigate. The protest was dated at Union Castle 26 June 1719 and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The council adjourned until the following morning at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. | |||||
186 | June the whole Subject of his Information to have been Settled and Approved of in Consultation of the 12ᵗʰ May 1719, and which is now Declared to be the Usual Price given for Blacks Labour from one Person to another on the Island. Upon the Merits of M⁴ Tootys infor= =mation He was Ordered to withdraw and to come no more into the Consultation of this day. Govern⁴ Pyke desires that all his Accounts may be Examined and made up that He may have Bills for what Ap= =pears to be Justly due to him. Ordered That the Said Gov⁴ Pykes Acco⁴ be Immediately made up Accordingly. Governour Pyke represents to Gov⁴ Johnson That Margaret Captaine Haswells Orphan has Her Share of her Father Estate now due to her & which He made up, And if there be no debts Come in Since, 'twas three Hundred and five pounds besides the fortune that was Settled upon her by Charles Steward deceased former Husband to M⁴ Haswell now M⁴ Lacy [copy] Margin Notes: if formally Settled M⁴ Tovey to withdraw Gov⁴ Pyke desires his Acco⁴ to be Examd Ord⁴ thereon Gov⁴ Pykes Acco⁴ of Marg: Haswells fortune | The whole subject of Tovey's information had been settled and approved in the consultation of 12 May 1719, and was now declared to be the usual price given for slaves' labour from one person to another on the island. On the merits of Mr Tovey's information, he was ordered to withdraw and to come no more into the consultation that day. Governor Pyke asked that all his accounts be examined and made up, so that he might have bills for whatever appeared to be justly due to him. The council ordered that Governor Pyke's account be immediately made up accordingly. Governor Pyke then represented to Governor Johnson that Margaret, the orphan of Captain Haswell, had her share of her father's estate now due to her, which he had made up. If no debts had come in since, it stood at three hundred and five pounds, besides the fortune that had been settled on her by Charles Steward, deceased, the former husband of Mrs Haswell, now Mrs Lacy. Interpretations The reference back to the consultation of 12 May 1719 disposed of Tovey's charge against the outgoing governor, the council finding that the price of slaves' labour had already been settled and approved and was the standing rate between inhabitants. Ordering the suspended secretary to withdraw and come no more into the consultation marked the bench's rejection of his information, treating his attempt to reopen a settled matter as the act of a man without standing in council. Governor Pyke's request that his accounts be made up and bills drawn followed the proper course for an outgoing governor to settle his standing with the Company before departure. The bills he sought were drafts on the Honourable Masters for sums due to him, the same instrument by which the Company settled debts to its servants, here closing the financial reckoning of his administration. The Haswell orphan's portion brought before the council a child's claim on a deceased estate, Margaret Haswell's three hundred and five pounds standing besides the separate fortune settled on her by Charles Steward, the first husband of her mother. This recorded the layered inheritances that ran through the island's families, the orphan holding claims from two successive marriages of her mother, now Mrs Lacy, the estate having passed through Steward, Haswell and a third husband in turn. s | |||||
187 | June the whole Subject of his Information to have been Settled and Approved of in Consultation of the 12ᵗʰ May 1719, and which is now Declared to be the Usual Price given for Blacks Labour from one Person to another on the Island. Upon the Merrits of M⁴ Tootys infor= =mation He was Ordered to withdraw and to come no more into the Consultation of this day. Govern⁴ Pyke desires that all his Accounts may be Examined and made up that He may have Bills for what Ap= =pears to be Justly due to him. Ordered That the Said Gov⁴ Pykes Acco⁴ be Immediately made up Accordingly. Governour Pyke represents to Gov⁴ Johnson That Margaret Captaine Haswells Orphan has Her Share of her fathers Estate now due to her & which He made up, And if there be no debts Come in Since, 'twas three Hundred and five pounds besides the fortune that was Settled upon her by Charles Steward deceased former Husband to M⁴ Haswell now M⁴ Lacy Copy Margin Notes: if formally Settled M⁴ Tovey to withdraw Gov⁴ Pyke desires his Acco⁴ to be Examd Ord⁴ thereon Gov⁴ Pykes Acco⁴ of Marg: Haswells fortune | The whole subject of Tovey's information had been settled and approved in the consultation of 12 May 1719, and was now declared to be the usual price given for slaves' labour from one person to another on the island. On the merits of Mr Tovey's information, he was ordered to withdraw and to come no more into the consultation that day. Governor Pyke asked that all his accounts be examined and made up, so that he might have bills for whatever appeared to be justly due to him. The council ordered that Governor Pyke's account be immediately made up accordingly. Governor Pyke then represented to Governor Johnson that Margaret, the orphan of Captain Haswell, had her share of her father's estate now due to her, which he had made up. If no debts had come in since, it stood at three hundred and five pounds, besides the fortune that had been settled on her by Charles Steward, deceased, the former husband of Mrs Haswell, now Mrs Lacy. | |||||
188 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation Held on Monday the 29ᵗʰ day of June 1719 at Union Castle in Jam⁴ Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip⁴ Tovey 2 Jnᵒ Alexander 3 & Jn: Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Council The Last Consultation read & Approved. This day the following Letters for India & to be Sent by the Ship Craggs Frigot Cap⁴ John Wynn Comand⁴ were read & approved of and Accordingly Signd. Ordered That they be Immediately made up and deliverd to the Captaine. To the Hon: Joseph Collett Presid⁴ &c Council At Fort S⁴ George Our Last to you was by the Princess Amelia Cap⁴ John Misenor Commander of the 26 August 1718. Since when We have rec⁴ Yours of the 22 Febry 1717 & D⁴ of Cambridge with Copy of that & Succefs of the 19 Sept: 1718 of the 18 Dec⁴ & the Darby, and 16 Jan⁴ following & the Mary Cap⁴ Holden, with the Severall Invoices Margin Notes: Let⁴ for India Signd to madrass | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 29 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. That day the letters for India, to be sent by the Craggs Frigate, Captain John Wynn commander, were read, approved and accordingly signed. The council ordered that they be immediately made up and delivered to the captain. The letter to Fort St George was addressed to Joseph Collett, president, and the council at Madras. The council's last letter to Madras had gone by the Princess Amelia, Captain John Misenor commander, on 26 August 1718. Since then the council had received the letter of 22 February 1717 by the Stanhope, with a copy of that by the Success of 19 September 1718, the letter of 18 December by the Derby, and the letter of 16 [...] following by the Mary, Captain Holden, with the several invoices. Interpretations The despatch of the India letters by the Craggs Frigate marked the council's regular correspondence with the Company's eastern settlements, the homeward and outward ships carrying the sole communication between the scattered stations. The letter to Fort St George opened with a careful account of which ships had carried which letters, the standing method by which the council and the Indian presidencies kept track of their correspondence across the long sea passages and guarded against any letter being lost. The recital of the chain of letters received and sent recorded the practice of cross-referencing each despatch against its carrier, a precaution against the loss or interception of correspondence on voyages that might take many months. Joseph Collett, addressed as president at Madras, was the same officer who had served as deputy governor at Bencoolen and was named in the records as Boucher's successor at St Helena, his career carrying him across the Company's stations as the correspondence itself passed between them. | |||||
189 | Invoices and Stores Laden on Board them for this place (Except those by the Succefs that were Unfortunately lost by the Ships being cast away) which proved very good & were of great Use to Us for which We return you our hearty thanks, and hope you will Con= =tinue to Send Us Such Goods & Stores by each Ship. But the Stores Chiefly desired & which are of the greatest Use is Course double Threaded Callicoes made into Shirts for our working People & Blacks Either Blue or white, or of both Sorts a good quantity. And Course Checkerd Shirts ready made. And Rice & Batavia Arack. As also two Bales of Fine Long Cloth. And one of Such Chints as We formerly rec⁴ from you which was very pleasing to Our Women here. Of Long Coarse Cloth We have a good Quantity by Us and Shant want any these two Years. We pray that you would Please to Insert in | The letter continued. The invoices and stores laden on board the ships for the island had all arrived, except those by the Success, which were unfortunately lost when that ship was cast away. The goods that did arrive proved very good and of great use, for which the council returned its hearty thanks, and hoped Madras would continue to send such goods and stores by each ship. The stores chiefly desired, and of the greatest use, were the following. Coarse double-threaded calicoes made into shirts for the labouring people and slaves, either blue or white, or of both sorts, in good quantity. Coarse checked shirts ready made. Rice and Batavia arrack. Two bales of fine long cloth. One of such chintz as the council had formerly received from Madras, which had been very pleasing to the women on the island. Of long coarse cloth the council had a good quantity in hand, and would not want any of it for two years. The council asked that Madras would insert. Interpretations The list set out the island's standing requirements from Madras, the goods ordered by their use rather than their quantity, the labouring people's clothing heading the request. This was the regular indent by which the settlement drew its supplies from the eastern presidencies, the same order against the next ships that the council framed each year, several items specified by the familiar Indian cloths the Company's buyers would recognise. The loss of the Success and its cargo recorded the permanent hazard of the long sea passages, the stores cast away with the ship a reminder of why the council pressed for duplicates and careful cross-referencing of every despatch. The cargo lost was a real deprivation to a settlement dependent on imported goods for its clothing, tools and provisions, the island holding no means of supply but what the ships brought. Interpretations The calicoes named were plain cotton cloths from India, the double-threaded coarse grade woven for hard wear and made up into shirts for the slaves and labourers. The chintz was a printed or painted cotton, valued for its colours and patterns and singled out as pleasing to the women, a finer and more decorative fabric than the plain calico and long cloth that clothed the working population. The long cloth was a staple white cotton shipped in standard lengths, the common material of the Company's clothing supply across its stations. | |||||
190 | June in your Directions to any of the Commanders of your Shipping that in case they Should touch at the Cape of Good Hope in their Passage Homeward bound (which Indeed too many of them have lately done) that they would buy a few Garden Seeds of every Sort for the Use of this place and any thing else that may be for our farther Improving the Island, as Plants of Trees of divers Sorts which will certainly take well here for which We Shall think our Selves under great Obligations to them besides making them Ample amends. Govern: Pyke at his desire is removed Hence to Bencoolen where We doubt not but he will Soon make great Improvem⁴ˢ as he has done on S⁴ Helena. Union Castle S⁴ Helena. We are the 29ᵗʰ June 1719. Hon⁴ble S⁴ Yo⁴ Councile Yo⁴ Humble Serv⁴ˢ Edw⁴ Johnson Antip: Tovey Jn: Alexander Jn: Goodwin | The council asked Madras to insert in its directions to any of its ships' commanders that, should they touch at the Cape of Good Hope on their homeward passage, as too many of them had lately done, they should buy a few garden seeds of every sort for the use of the island. They should also bring anything else that might further the island's improvement, such as plants and trees of various kinds, which would certainly take well there. For this the council would think itself under great obligation, besides making the commanders ample amends. Governor Pyke, at his own desire, was removed from the island to Bencoolen. The council did not doubt he would soon make great improvements there, as he had done on St Helena. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 29 June 1719, and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The request for garden seeds and plants from the Cape addressed the island's need to enlarge and vary its cultivation, the homeward ships passing the Cape offering a ready source of stock suited to a similar climate. This sought to improve the settlement's self-sufficiency in provisions, the same purpose that ran through Governor Pyke's enlargement of the gardens and his tripling of the yam crop recorded in the handover survey of 5 June 1719. The note that too many ships had lately touched at the Cape reflected the council's standing concern that homeward commanders bypassed the island, the directors having earlier ordered intermediate stops forbidden. Governor Pyke's removal to Bencoolen at his own desire confirmed the prospect that had underlain his conduct through the spring, his proposed sale of his slaves to the Company at the consultation of 12 May 1719 having turned on his hope of a removal to India. The council's commendation of him to Madras, expecting he would improve Bencoolen as he had St Helena, set a favourable seal on his administration at the moment of his departure, the outgoing governor passing on to the eastern station as the new government took up the island. | |||||
191 | Hon⁴ble S⁴ Gentlem⁴ Our last to you was by the Princess Amelia Cap⁴ John Misenor Comand⁴ dated the 26ᵗʰ of Aug 1718 Via West Coast Since when We have rec⁴ Yours of the 23 Dec 1718 & the Morris Cap⁴ Peacock, and of the 9ᵗʰ & 10ᵗʰ of Janry 1718/19 & the Stanhope Cap⁴ Pitt, In answer whereto Say that We acknow= =ledge Your kindness in Sending Us the Severall Sorts of Piece Goods that were formerly wrote for and which were very welcome and Extream pleasing to all our People in Generall the like Goods having not for many years before been Sent to this place, Altho' much wanted. But all the Quilts were Stowed away in the Ships Hold So that Cap⁴ Pitt tho' he Used a great deal of Industry could not come at them and gave Us for a Plausable reason as he and his Officers Alledged that the reason why they were So Stowed away was because the Words S⁴ Helena were not Sett on those Bales as was upon all the rest (Viz:) on the Pallampoces, Cullances, Allegars, and Challors, which Allegations if upon Examination are found to be true or that any other Emergency of Business might be the cause of that Omission We Begg Margin Notes: Bombay lre | The letter to Bombay followed. The council's last letter had gone by the Princess Amelia, Captain John Misenor commander, dated 26 August 1718 by way of the West Coast. Since then the council had received the letter of 23 December 1718 by the Mary, Captain Peacock, and the letter of 9 and 10 January 1719 by the Stanhope, Captain Pitt. In answer, the council acknowledged Bombay's kindness in sending the several sorts of piece goods formerly written for. These were very welcome and greatly pleasing to all the people in general, the like goods not having been sent to the island for many years before. The quilts, although much wanted, had all been stowed away in the ship's hold. Captain Pitt, though he used a great deal of effort, could not come at them. He and his officers gave a plausible reason, alleging that the quilts had been so stowed because the words St Helena were not set on those bales, as had been done on all the rest, that is on the pallampores, cuttanees, allejars and challoes. If these allegations were found on examination to be true, or if some other emergency of business might have caused the omission, the council asked. Interpretations The Bombay letter opened with the same careful tracking of correspondence by carrier as the Madras letter, the council recording which ships had brought which letters as the standing safeguard against loss on the long passages. The piece goods acknowledged were the welcome Indian cloths the island had long wanted, their arrival after many years' absence a relief to a settlement wholly dependent on the eastern presidencies for its manufactured wares. The miscarriage of the quilts exposed a practical failure in the marking of cargo, the bales not labelled for St Helena having been stowed beyond reach so the commander could not land them. The council's request to examine the cause showed it pressing for an account of how goods consigned to the island came to be inaccessible, the proper marking of bales being the means by which a ship's master knew what to deliver at each port of call. Interpretations The cloths named were all Indian cottons of distinct kinds. Pallampores were large painted or printed cotton bedcovers, often finely worked. Cuttanees were a mixed cotton and silk cloth. Allejars were striped cottons, and challoes a plain woven cotton. Together with the quilts, these formed the range of decorative and serviceable fabrics the Company shipped from Bombay, the finer painted goods valued for furnishing and the plainer striped and woven sorts for general use and clothing. | |||||
192 | June Begg you'd please to rectifie that mistake in future and Send Us a larger quantity of Such Quilts by your next Shipping tho' We goe without the less of other Goods, for We assure you We have Scarce any thing to Cover our Beds and must make hard Shifts till We can have a Supply from you, which We pray You to Continue by all proper Conveyances, and wish it lay in our Powers to make you a Suitable amends for all favours. We have rec⁴ Eight of the ten persons Prisoners Put on Board the before Mentioned Ships Viz⁴ three from Cap⁴ Pitt, and five from Cap⁴ Peacock, one of those on the Stanhope making his Escape in India and the other who Govern⁴ Boone mentioned in his Letter of the 10 Janry 1718/19 dyed in the Passage, who if he had lived We Should have had a Particular regard to what was Wrok in his favour in not putting him to too Laborious work till farther Advice. These Eight now on the Island proves very Orderly and Six of them are very good Slaves, wishing you could Supply Us by each Ship with two or three more and the Younger the better they'l be for our Hon: Masters Service. Rice | The council asked Bombay to rectify the mistake over the marking in future, and to send a larger quantity of such quilts by the next shipping. The island could spare other goods, but had scarcely anything to cover its beds and must make hard shift until a supply could be had. The council asked Bombay to continue sending by all proper conveyances, and wished it lay in its power to make suitable amends for all favours. The council had received eight of the ten persons sent as prisoners on board the ships, three from Captain Pitt and five from Captain Peacock. One of those on the Stanhope had made his escape in India. The other, whom Governor Boone had mentioned in his letter of 10 January 1719, had died on the passage. Had he lived, the council would have had particular regard to what was written in his favour, and would not have put him to too laborious work until further advice. The eight men now on the island proved very orderly, and six of them were very good slaves. The council asked Bombay to supply it by each ship with two or three more, the younger the better for the Company's service. The council then turned to rice. Interpretations The shortage of quilts laid bare the island's dependence on Bombay for so basic a necessity as bedding, the settlement reduced to hard shift for want of covers until the next supply. This reinforced the picture of a community that produced its own food but relied entirely on the eastern presidencies for its cloth and furnishings, the council pressing for a larger consignment to make good a lasting want. The eight prisoners sent from India recorded the use of St Helena as a place of transportation and labour, the men received as slaves and set to the Company's work. The particular regard the council would have shown one prisoner on Governor Boone's recommendation, sparing him the heaviest labour, marked the distinctions drawn even among transported men, a written commendation from a senior officer carrying weight in how a man was treated on arrival. The death of that man on the passage and the escape of another in India recorded the ordinary losses of such transfers across the long sea routes. | |||||
193 | Rice being always of Service to Us We begg you'd Send Us as Large a Quantity by each Ship as Possibly you can tho' Perhaps the Captains may Pretend they cant take it in. We pray you to Continue your Orders to all the Commanders of your Shipping that touches at the Cape of Good Hope to bring Us a few Garden Seeds of all Sorts and also plants of Trees which will thrive well here. We have Enclosed a List of Shipping that has Arrived & Departed Hence Since our last to this time, which We hope will be Acceptable to you. Govern⁴ Pyke at his desire is removed to Bencoolen where We doubt not but he'l make as great Improvements as he has done on S⁴ Helena. We heartily wish you Health and Prosperity, and are Union Castle S⁴ Hon⁴ble S⁴ & Gentlem⁴ Helena June y⁴ 29ᵗʰ Yo⁴ Humble Servants. 1719. Edw⁴ Johnson Antip: Tovey Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin | Rice being always of service to the island, the council asked Bombay to send as large a quantity by each ship as possibly it could, though the captains might claim they could not take it in. The council asked Bombay to continue its orders to all the commanders of its shipping that touched at the Cape of Good Hope, to bring a few garden seeds of all sorts and also plants and trees, which would thrive well on the island. The council had enclosed a list of the shipping that had arrived and departed since its last letter to this time, which it hoped would be acceptable. Governor Pyke, at his own desire, was removed to Bencoolen, where the council did not doubt he would make as great improvements as he had done on St Helena. The council heartily wished Bombay health and prosperity. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 29 June 1719, and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The repeated request for rice and for garden seeds from the Cape echoed the Madras letter word for word in substance, the council pressing the same standing needs on both presidencies. Rice was the seasonal substitute for yams that carried the slaves through the rains, and the council's note that captains might resist taking it in reflected the difficulty of persuading commanders to load a bulky low-value cargo when their own private trade competed for the hold. The enclosed list of shipping arrived and departed gave Bombay a record of the traffic touching at the island, the same accounting of vessels the council kept for its own correspondence. The closing commendation of Governor Pyke to Bombay, identical to that sent Madras, set the same favourable seal on his administration before both eastern stations, the outgoing governor's removal to Bencoolen reported to the whole of the Company's establishment in the East as he passed on from the island. | |||||
194 | June To the Hon⁴ble the Presid⁴ &c Council At Bengall Our last to you was by the Princess Amelia Cap⁴ John Misenor Commander under date of the 26 Aug 1718. Since when We have receiv⁴ Yours of the 20 Janry 1718 by the Grantham Cap⁴ Collett and of the 6ᵗʰ Dec⁴ & the Mary Cap⁴ Holden, with a Copy of that & the King George of the 7ᵗʰ Dec 1718. (which last Ship is not Arrived yet) w⁴ the Invoices and Bills of Lading by them for Sundry Goods rec⁴ which were very good and Acceptable to Our People, and begg your Continuance of a farther Supply by every Ship, as well as to put the Severall Captains in mind of Procuring Garden Seeds from the Cape for the Use of this Island which We Shall be very thankfull for. But We are greatly Surprised that We Should be disappointed & deprived of those Necessary Stores which you had been So kind to Provide for Us and intended to have Sent Us by the Heath= =cott as happened in the Same manner by Cap⁴ Glegg and all under Pretentions of a Storme that Hindered the Goods being Shipt on Board, when Margin Notes: To Bengall | The letter to Bengal followed, addressed to the president and council. The council's last letter had gone by the Princess Amelia, Captain John Misenor commander, dated 26 August 1718. Since then it had received the letter of 28 January 1718 by the Grantham, Captain Collett, and the letter of 6 December by the Mary, Captain Holden, with a copy of that by the King George of 7 December 1718. The King George had not yet arrived. The council acknowledged the invoices and bills of lading sent by these ships for various goods, which were very good and acceptable to the people. It asked Bengal to continue its supply by every ship, and to remind the several captains to procure garden seeds from the Cape for the use of the island, for which the council would be very thankful. The council was much surprised to be disappointed and deprived of the necessary stores Bengal had been so kind to provide and had intended to send by the Heathcote. The same thing had happened with Captain Glegg, all under the pretence of a storm that hindered the goods being shipped on board. Interpretations The Bengal letter opened with the now-familiar recital of correspondence by carrier, the council tracking which ships had brought which letters across all three presidencies. The acknowledgement of goods received and the request for continued supply repeated the standing dependence of the island on the eastern stations, the same plea for garden seeds from the Cape that closed the letters to Madras and Bombay. The failure of the Heathcote and Captain Glegg to bring the promised stores exposed a recurring grievance, goods provided by Bengal but not shipped, the council suspecting the pretence of a storm covered some other cause. This touched the same problem of commanders neglecting the island's consignments that ran through the session, from the miscarried quilts at Bombay to the shortfall in the Craggs Frigate's cargo. The council's surprise marked its sense that the eastern presidencies had done their part in providing the stores, the loss lying with the masters who failed to load them. | |||||
195 | when at the Same time those Captains had the very Same Sorts of Goods on board them to dispose of here But We believe their Expectations has been frustrated and will be yet disappointed in their Markell if they continue to refuse takeing In the Hon Comp⁴ Goods & Stores for the use of this their Island. We dont no ways impute the least blame to you on this Account but wholly on the Captains. The Goods most wanted now are Coarse quilts or Coverings for our Beds. Good Rice & Batavia Arack. Coarse double threaded Callicoes Usually called Dorsellees. Shirts ready made of Caupas Cloth fine And Cheekt for our Slaves, & Some of the Coarse. And one Bale or two of Such Coarse Cloth as you Sent home in the Cardigan called Sail Cloth. We are also in great want of two or three Bales of fine Cloth for Shirting, Hummums or Causas, having had none for these two years Past. Likewise 10 or 15 Boggs of Treside Sugar for our Table Use. A few Pieces of fine Neckecloths and Some more | At the same time, those captains had the very same sorts of goods on board to dispose of at the island. The council believed their expectations had been frustrated, and they would yet be disappointed in their market if they continued to refuse taking in the Company's goods and stores for the use of the island. The council laid no blame on Bengal for this, but wholly on the captains. The goods most wanted now were the following. Coarse quilts or coverings for the beds. Good rice and Batavia arrack. Coarse double-threaded calicoes, usually called Dorsetteens. Shirts ready made of cossae cloth, fine and checked, for the slaves, and some of the coarse. One bale or two of such coarse cloth as Bengal had sent home in the Cardigan, called sail cloth. Two or three bales of fine cloth for shirting, hummums or cossae, the council having had none for these two years past. Ten or fifteen bags of Tresinde sugar for table use. A few pieces of fine neckcloths, and some more. Interpretations The council's account of the captains' private trade exposed the conflict between the commanders' own ventures and their duty to carry the Company's stores, the masters bringing the same goods on their own account while declining to load the consignments for the island. The council's warning that they would be disappointed in their market predicted that the inhabitants, supplied through the Company's store, would not buy from the captains privately, turning the masters' neglect of duty against their own commercial interest. The careful insistence that no blame fell on Bengal but wholly on the captains drew the same distinction made in the earlier letters, the presidencies having done their part while the commanders failed. The detailed indent of cloth and provisions set out the island's standing wants from Bengal, the labouring people's clothing, bedding, rice and arrack heading the list as in the other letters. The naming of particular weaves and grades, the cossae and hummums for shirting and the sail cloth for hard use, gave the Company's buyers precise instructions, the same method of ordering by familiar fabric the council used across all its correspondence. Interpretations The cloths and goods named were Indian and regional products of distinct kinds. Cossae was a fine plain cotton muslin used for shirts. Hummums were a cotton cloth, and the calicoes called Dorsetteens a coarse double-threaded cotton named for an English type. Tresinde sugar was a grade of sugar from the Sind region, valued for the table above the coarser sorts. Batavia arrack was the distilled spirit shipped from the Company's eastern port, the standing drink of the establishment and the leading article of the store's trade. Neckcloths were the linen or cotton bands worn about the neck, a finer item of dress among the plain clothing of the settlement. | |||||
196 | June more Cotton Stockings will be very Acceptable to Us as alsoe a few Pieces of Taffalys Sorted. We Enclose a List of Ships that has toucht here and departed Since our last to this time, which hope will be Acceptable to you. Govern⁴ Pyke at his request is removed to Bencoolen where We doubt not but he'l make as great Improvements as he has done on S⁴ Helena. We wish you health and Prosperity, and that our Hon: Masters affairs may flourish under you. and are Union Castle S⁴ Helena June 29. Hon⁴ble S⁴ &c Council 1719. Yo⁴ Humble Servants. Edw⁴ Johnson Antip: Tovey Jnᵒ Alexander Jn: Goodwin Worshipf⁴ S⁴ | More cotton stockings would be very acceptable to the island, as also a few pieces of taffetas of assorted kinds. The council enclosed a list of ships that had touched at the island and departed since its last letter to this time, which it hoped would be acceptable. Governor Pyke had asked to be transferred to Bencoolen, and the council expected he would improve that settlement as much as he had improved St Helena. The council wished Bengal health and prosperity, and that the Company's affairs might flourish under it. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 29 June 1719, and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The closing requests for stockings and taffetas finished the Bengal indent, the finer articles of dress added after the staple cloth and provisions. Taffetas were a smooth plain-woven silk used for better garments, the more decorative end of the supply the council drew from the eastern presidencies to clothe the establishment above the plain cotton issued to the slaves. The letter closed in the same form as those to Madras and Bombay, the enclosed shipping list and the favourable account of Governor Pyke repeated across all three. This uniformity reflected the council's practice of addressing the eastern stations in parallel, carrying the same news of the change of government and the same standing requests to each, so the report of the outgoing governor's move to Bencoolen reached the whole of the Company's establishment in the East as the new administration took up the island. | |||||
197 | Worshipf⁴ S⁴ &c Council To Bencoolen Our Last to you was by the Princess Amelia Cap⁴ John Misenor Commander bearing date the 26 Aug 1718, who We are glad to hear Arrived in Safety to you Since when We have received Yours of the 10ᵗʰ Janry 1718/9 & Ship Benjamin Cap⁴ Jnᵒ Pye Commander with the Goods and Stores Laden on Board Her for this place which proved very good. The two men Slaves you Sent We have alsoe received. We desire you when you Load your Ships to put on Board as much Arrack, Sugar, and Rice for this place as Conveniently you can which We believe is well known to be of great Use to Us here not only against a Sickly Season but to give the Hon Comp⁴ Blacks when our Yams by the rains proves bad & Unwholsome having a greater Number of them now than formally. And We pray you to Insert in your Direc= =tions to any of the Commanders of y⁴ Shipping that in case they Should touch at the Cape of | The letter to Bencoolen followed, addressed to the worshipful president and council. The council's last letter had gone by the Princess Amelia, Captain John Misenor commander, dated 26 August 1718. The council was glad to learn the ship had reached Joseph. Since then it had received the letter of 10 January 1719 by the Benjamin, Captain John Pyke commander, together with the goods and stores carried on board for the island, which proved very good. The two slaves Bencoolen had sent had also arrived. The council asked that, when Bencoolen loaded its ships, it would put on board as much arrack, sugar and rice for the island as it conveniently could. These were known to be of great use, not only against a sickly season but also to feed the Company's slaves when the rains spoiled the yams and made them unwholesome. The number of slaves on the island was now greater than before. The council asked Bencoolen to insert in its directions to any of its ships' commanders that, should they touch at the Cape. Interpretations The Bencoolen letter opened in the same pattern as those to the other eastern stations, tracking the correspondence by carrier and acknowledging the goods received. The arrival of the two slaves from Bencoolen recorded the regular movement of labour between the Company's settlements, the eastern stations supplying the island as the island in turn forwarded men eastward across the Company's possessions. The request for arrack, sugar and rice tied the supply to the island's twin needs, the sickly season and the failure of the yam crop in the rains. This restated the seasonal dependence on imported grain set out in Governor Pyke's handover survey of 5 June 1719, where rice was reserved for the sick and for the country slaves when damp ground spoiled the yams. The note that the slaves were now more numerous reflected the growth recorded in the great slave census of 25 March 1719, which raised the standing demand for imported provisions to feed them. | |||||
198 | June of good Hope in their Homeward bound Passage that they would buy & bring Us a few Garden Seeds of every sort as also plants of Trees for the Use of this place, and if they can Procure and bring Us any thing else from thence for the farther Improving this Island We Shall for all favours Endeavour to make them a Handsome amends. And as Govern⁴ Pyke knows our Necessitys very well We hope he will be so kind as to Continue his kindness in letting you know what Goods and quantitys is most for the Service of this Place, and the Interest of our Hon: Masters. We have by this Ship at the desire of Govern⁴ Pyke Sent you twenty one Chaldron of Coals that were Consigned to Us here from England believ= =ing they will be more for the Interest of our Hon: Masters at Bencoolen than they can be to Us here. We are glad to hear that the Yam Plants thrives with you and have According to your desire Sent you more for a farther Increase. Enclosed comes the Ship Craggs Frigots Charterparty. We | The council asked Bencoolen to direct its commanders that, should they call at the Cape of Good Hope on their homeward passage, they would buy and bring a few garden seeds of every kind, and also plants and trees, for the use of the island. If they could obtain and bring anything else from there toward improving the island further, the council would try to make them a handsome return for every favour. Governor Pyke knew the island's needs very well, and the council hoped he would continue his kindness in letting Bencoolen know which goods and quantities best served the island and the Company's interest. By this ship, at Governor Pyke's desire, the council had sent Bencoolen the twenty-one chaldron of coals that had been consigned to the island from England. It believed the coals would serve the Company's interest better at Bencoolen than they could on the island. The council was glad to hear the yam plants were thriving at Bencoolen, and had sent more, as Bencoolen had asked, for a further increase. The charter party of the Craggs Frigate was enclosed. Interpretations The request for seeds and plants from the Cape carried to Bencoolen the same standing wish sent to the other eastern stations, the homeward ships offering a source of stock suited to a like climate to widen the island's cultivation. The reliance on Governor Pyke to advise Bencoolen on the island's wants drew on his long familiarity with the settlement, the outgoing governor carrying his knowledge of its needs to the station he was about to join. The diverted coals reached their destination in this letter, the twenty-one chaldron that had occupied the council through the sittings now forwarded to Bencoolen at Governor Pyke's request. The decision rested on the reasoning first given at the consultation of 23 June 1719, the island holding enough for its own use while the eastern settlement wanted coal for its smiths, so the cargo served the Company's wider interest where the need was greater. The exchange of yam plants recorded the spread of the island's staple to the Company's other possessions, Bencoolen having sought more to enlarge its own planting. This marked St Helena as a source as well as a recipient within the network of supply between the stations, the provision crop that fed its own slaves now sent east to raise the same cultivation at another settlement. | |||||
199 | We have also Enclosed a List of Ships that has toucht here & departed Since our last to this time which hope will be Acceptable to You. Union Castle S⁴ Helena. We are June the 29. 1719. Worth S⁴ &c Council. Yo⁴ Humble Servants. Edw⁴ Johnson Antip⁴ Tovey Jnᵒ Alexander Jn: Goodwin Adjournd till Tomorrow nine a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin | The council had also enclosed a list of ships that had touched at the island and departed since its last letter to this time, which it hoped would be acceptable. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 29 June 1719, addressed to the worshipful president and council, and signed by Governor Johnson, Antipas Tovey, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The council adjourned until the following morning at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The enclosed shipping list closed the Bencoolen letter in the same manner as those to the other eastern stations, giving the settlement a record of the vessels that had called at the island. This completed the set of four parallel letters despatched by the Craggs Frigate, the council having addressed Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen in turn with the same news and the same standing requests, the uniform round of correspondence by which the scattered stations kept in contact across the long sea passages. | |||||
200 | Island S⁴ Helena June At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 30ᵗʰ day of June 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Jnᵒ Alexander & Jn: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approvd of. M⁴ Tovey came and made Complaint this morning to the Govern⁴ That being Yesterday evening at the House of Doct⁴ Thomlinson there was M⁴ Jones, and when he came in M⁴ Jones made a Motion to go away Upon which he Sayd to M⁴ Jones pray Sett down or Swoont, and lett Us have no more difference and telling him he ought to ask his Pardon which Occasioned Some farther dispute and high words, a little after the Said M⁴ Jones Pulled off his Gown and Struck him the Said Tovey with his fist on the face & one of his eys which is now Swollen. M⁴ Jones being Sent for & now present Declares and Sayd that when M⁴ Tovey came into D⁴ Thomlinsons House He gott Margin Notes: M⁴ Toveys Compt against Chaplain Jones M⁴ Jones reply | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 30 June 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The last consultation was read and approved. Mr Tovey came and complained to Governor Johnson that morning. The evening before, he had been at the house of Doctor Thomlinson, where Mr Jones also was. When Tovey came in, Jones made to leave. Tovey told him to sit down, or else he himself would go, and asked that they have no more quarrel between them, telling Jones he ought to ask his pardon. This brought on some further dispute and angry words. A little after, Jones pulled off his gown and struck Tovey with his fist on the face and one of his eyes, which was now swollen. Mr Jones, being sent for and now present, declared that when Mr Tovey came into Doctor Thomlinson's house, he. Interpretations The quarrel set the suspended secretary against the newly arrived chaplain, the two men coming to blows at the house of the outgoing minister Thomlinson. Jones was the chaplain sent from England to succeed Thomlinson, appointed at the consultation of 15 June 1719, so the clash brought together the disgraced predecessor's household, the contentious secretary lately suspended, and the Company's new appointee within days of his arrival. The chaplain's striking of Tovey with his fist, having first pulled off his gown, marked a deliberate setting aside of his clerical character before the blow, the removal of the gown distinguishing the man from the office. That a minister of the Company should come to violence so soon after taking up his place exposed the same disorder that had marked Thomlinson's tenure, the council now facing in the new chaplain the kind of conduct it had hoped his appointment would end. | |||||
201 | gott up and would have gone away knowing him to be very abusive and Quarrelsom but more Especially when in drink, But M⁴ Tovey pressed upon him to Stay and Sett down againe and after a Small time they discoursed of former matters and differences which was very Reflect= =ing upon him the Said Tovey telling him he was a Scoundrell with Severall other abusive words, Upon which He desired M⁴ Tovey to desist and begg'd he would not abuse him So, for if he continued his grofe abuses he told him flesh and blood was not able to bear it and do's now own he did Strike M⁴ Tovey for which he is very Sorry. Upon which they Shook hands & were Seemingly reconcild & good friends again. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: quarrell reconciled | Jones had got up and would have left, knowing Tovey to be very abusive and quarrelsome, especially when in drink. Tovey, however, pressed him to stay and sit down again. After a short while they fell to discussing former matters and quarrels, which Tovey spoke of in very offensive terms, calling Jones a scoundrel and using other abusive words. Jones asked Tovey to stop and begged he would not abuse him so, telling him that if he continued such gross abuse, flesh and blood was not able to bear it. Jones now admitted he had struck Tovey, for which he was very sorry. The two then shook hands and were seemingly reconciled and good friends again. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The chaplain's account turned the provocation back on the suspended secretary, Jones describing himself as driven to the blow by Tovey's abuse after trying to withdraw. This shifted the weight of fault onto Tovey's known character, the same drunken and quarrelsome conduct the inhabitants had set out in their petition against him delivered at the consultation of 23 June 1719, which the new governor had undertaken to address. The council's resolution of the matter through a reconciliation and a handshake followed its standing preference for settling personal quarrels by agreement rather than formal sentence, the same course taken when the chief mate Blake's challenge to Ormston was disposed of by a public apology at the consultation of 25 June 1719. By recording the two men as seemingly reconciled, the bench closed the affair without proceeding against either, sparing the new chaplain a formal censure within days of his arrival while leaving the deeper question of Tovey's standing for the governor to settle separately. | |||||
202 | Island S⁴ Helena July At a Consultation held on Thursday the 2ᵈ day of July 1719 At Union Castle in Jam⁴ Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jn: Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation read & Approvd of. M⁴ˢ Southen came this morning & made Complt to the Govern⁴ That last night Some young People were disposed to be merry and a little time after they had begun to dance M⁴ Southen her Husband got out of Bed & did abuse her & her Children, by a form⁴ Husband very Grosely and threatend to Strike her & would have done So had he not been Prevented by Some of the Company, and Endeavoured to thrust open a door upon her and Continued his abuses, which made her Strike him in her own defence. Thom: Southen declares & Says that Yesterday evening Some young People (with his leave) were Merry with dancing at Margin Notes: M⁴ˢ Southens Complt ag⁴ Her Husband Tho: Southens Declaration | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Thursday 2 July 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. Mistress Southen came that morning and complained to Governor Johnson against her husband. The evening before, some young people had been disposed to enjoy themselves, and shortly after they began to dance, her husband Mr Southen rose from his bed. He abused her and her children by a former husband very grossly, and threatened to strike her. He would have done so had some of the company not stopped him. He tried to force a door open upon her and went on abusing her, which made her strike him in her own defence. Thomas Southen then gave his account. The evening before, some young people, with his leave, had been enjoying themselves with dancing at. Interpretations The complaint brought a domestic quarrel before the council, the wife seeking the bench's protection against her husband's violence as the standing recourse for an abused spouse on the island. The same jurisdiction had been exercised when Elizabeth Swallow complained of her husband's ill usage at the consultation of 23 July 1715, the council treating the safety of a wife within the household as a matter for its order. The presence of the children by a former husband marked the blended family common in the settlement, the wife's earlier marriage having brought stepchildren into the household against whom the husband's abuse was also directed. Thomas Southen was the planter lately reduced from sergeant over the affair of his lawful wife in London, discharged from his rank but allowed to remain on the island at the consultation of 19 August 1718, so the household stood already marked by the irregularity of his domestic standing. | |||||
203 | at his House, and Some Small time after he being in bed called out for some water to be brought up Stairs to him, and no body bringing him any he gott up and went down and askt his wife why he had no water brought when he calld for it, and She giving him a Slighting Answer he went and Satt down without the Door, and her Son coming & Standing at the door He the Said Southen askt him why he was not a Dancing with the rest, to which he made Some Saucy answer and thereupon he the S⁴ Southen called him Impudent Dogg or Rascall or words to that Effect. Upon which high words arose between him and his wife, and a little while after She Struck him with a Candlestick and broke his head, and he Shutting the door too She threw Stones at him and has bruised him in Severall places on his hands & face. The Govern⁴ Admonished them for their faults, and advised them to go home quietly and to live together as man & wife as they have done for about twelve years past. The Petition of John Twoaites Setting forth therein That he Standing Indebted to Margin Notes: Admonished & Dismist | The dancing was at his house. A short while after, lying in bed, Southen called for water to be brought up to him. When nobody brought any, he got up and went down, and asked his wife why no water had been brought when he called for it. She gave him a dismissive answer, and he went and sat down outside the door. Her son came and stood at the door, and Southen asked him why he was not dancing with the rest. The young man gave a cheeky reply, and Southen called him an impudent dog or rascal, or words to that effect. Angry words then arose between Southen and his wife. A little after, she struck him with a candlestick and broke his head. As he was shutting the door, she threw stones at him and bruised him in several places on his hands and face. Governor Johnson admonished them both for their faults, and advised them to go home quietly and live together as man and wife, as they had done for about twelve years past. The petition of John Seacastle was then presented. He set out that, being indebted. Interpretations Southen's account reversed the charge his wife had brought, presenting himself as the injured party struck with a candlestick and pelted with stones. The two opposing versions left the council with a domestic quarrel in which both parties claimed injury, the husband's reduced standing as a discharged sergeant set against the wife's complaint of abuse, neither account capable of clear proof. The governor's disposal of the matter by admonition and advice to live peaceably together reflected the bench's reluctance to impose a formal sentence in a household quarrel where fault lay on both sides. By directing the couple home to resume their life as husband and wife, the council chose reconciliation over punishment, the same preference for settling private disputes by agreement shown in the handling of the Tovey and Jones affray closed at the consultation of 30 June 1719. | |||||
204 | July to Doctor Thomlinson in the Sume of twenty five Pounds, and being not able to make Pre= =sent paymt Humbly Prays the favour to be Credited the Said Sume for which he is willing to pay the Usuall Interest during one year. Ordered That the Said Twaites former Acco⁴ with the Hon: Company be made up and the Ballance Added to this £25 and then he to give bond for the whole, and was told by the Govern⁴ to make Paymt thereof as fast as he could. Which the Said Twaits Promised to do, and was thankfull for this favour. John Worrall Sen⁴ Humbly desired We would do him the favour of Crediting him the Sume of thirty Pounds to compleat Payment to Doct⁴ Thomlinson for money formerly Borrowed towards Purchasing a House Land & Plantation thereon. Ordered That the Said Worralls Account be made up in the Same Manner as Twaites is to be, and Added to this thirty Pounds and then to give bond for his whole debt, which he was thankfull for. and Margin Notes: Pet⁴ of Jn⁰ Twaits for £25 &c granted & to give Bond Jn⁴ Worralls request for 30 granted & to give Bond for the whole debt | John Twaits set out that he was indebted to Doctor Thomlinson in the sum of twenty-five pounds. Being unable to pay it at present, he asked to be credited that sum, for which he was willing to pay the usual interest over one year. The council ordered that Twaits's earlier account with the Company be made up, the balance added to this twenty-five pounds, and a bond then given for the whole. Governor Johnson told him to pay it off as fast as he could. Twaits promised to do so and was thankful for the favour. John Worrall, sergeant, then asked the council to credit him the sum of thirty pounds, to complete his payment to Doctor Thomlinson for money he had earlier borrowed toward buying a house, land and a plantation on it. The council ordered that Worrall's account be made up in the same way as Twaits's, the thirty pounds added to it, and a bond then given for his whole debt, for which he was thankful. Interpretations The two grants extended the standing method by which the Company financed its planters, advancing store credit against a bond at the usual interest of eight per cent for a year. Both men borrowed to discharge private debts to the outgoing chaplain Thomlinson, the Company stepping in as creditor and consolidating each man's existing account with the new sum into a single bonded debt, the same procedure by which it managed the planters' obligations across the records. The repeated direction to settle the debts to Thomlinson marked the winding up of the departing chaplain's private affairs on the island, his loans to the inhabitants called in as he was superseded by John Jones. Thomlinson had pressed his own large claims against the Company at the consultation of 21 October 1718, and the transfer of these planter debts to the Company's books formed part of closing his standing before his removal, the bench substituting itself as creditor so the obligations did not leave the island with him. | |||||
205 | and Promised to make Payment of all as soon as Possible he could. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Island S⁴ Helena At a Consultation held on Fryday the 3 day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jn: Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation read & Approvd of. The following Petitions were Presented. Viz⁴ The Petition of Henry Johnson Setting forth that he Standing Indebted to M⁴ Thomlinson in the Sume of twenty Pounds Six Shillings Humbly prays to be Credited So much till he can dispose of a Man Slave or Margin Notes: Hen: Johnson reqst to be Credited for £20:6: | Worrall promised to pay all as soon as he possibly could. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Friday 3 July 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. The last consultation was read and approved. The following petitions were then presented. Henry Johnson set out that he was indebted to Mr Thomlinson in the sum of twenty pounds six shillings. He asked to be credited that sum until he could dispose of a male slave. Interpretations The Johnson petition followed the same pattern as the grants to Twaits and Worrall, another planter seeking Company credit to clear a private debt to the outgoing chaplain Thomlinson. The clustering of these applications in successive consultations confirmed the systematic calling-in of Thomlinson's loans as he was superseded, the Company taking the debts onto its own books as the departing minister's affairs were wound up. The offer to repay by selling a slave treated a male black as a realisable asset against which a debt could be settled, the planter proposing to discharge his obligation from the proceeds of the sale. This was the same use of slaves as the principal moveable wealth of the settlement seen across the records, where men were valued, mortgaged and sold to meet debts, the labour force serving at once as the planters' means of production and their readiest store of value. | |||||
206 | July or two, to a better Advantage than at Present he has any Prospect otherwise he must be Constrained to Sell them at a very great Loss. The Said Petitioner being but little Indebted to the Hon Comp⁴, and promiseing to pay in the money he Shall Sell his Black for We do therefore grant his request. The Petition of Samuel Price Marshall Setting forth therein that he Stands Indebted to M⁴ Thomlinson in the Sume of Six Pounds and having not any Credit due to him Humbly prays he may be Credited the Said Sume Promiseing to repay the Same with what else he owes the Hon: Comp⁴ within the present year at farthest. The Said Sam⁴ Prices dwelling House in this valley having been formerly taken for Security of what he then Stood Indebted to our Hon: Masters, and the value of the House being above that Sume We have therefore granted his desire but Cautioned him to pay all his debt by the 25ᵗʰ of March next, or Else his House must be Sold for Paymt thereof. Margin Notes: Granted upon Pro= mise of Selling his Black Sam⁴ Price prays Cr for £6 Granted upon Security of his House | Henry Johnson set out that he might sell one or two slaves to better advantage than he had any present prospect of, since otherwise he would be forced to sell them at a very great loss. Being only a little indebted to the Company, and promising to pay the money once he sold his slave, his request was granted on his promise to sell the black. The petition of Samuel Price, marshal, was then presented. He set out that he was indebted to Mr Thomlinson in the sum of six pounds. Having no credit due to him, he asked to be credited that sum, promising to repay it, with whatever else he owed the Company, within the present year at the latest. Price's dwelling house in the valley had earlier been taken as security for what he then owed the Company. The value of the house being above that sum, his request was granted. The council cautioned him to pay his whole debt by 25 March next, or else his house would be sold for payment. Interpretations Johnson's reason for delay rested on the timing of the slave market, the planter seeking to hold his sale until he could get a better price rather than sell at once at a loss. The council's grant let him discharge his Thomlinson debt without sacrificing the value of his slaves, the credit bridging the gap between his obligation and the moment he could realise his asset on favourable terms. The Price grant turned on the house already pledged to the Company, the existing security covering the new advance because the property was worth more than the debt. The warning that the house would be sold on default if the whole sum were not paid by Lady Day marked the standing date for settling accounts and the Company's readiness to enforce its security against a defaulting debtor. Price was the marshal of the island, appointed to that office in the record, and his recourse to Company credit to clear the chaplain's debt placed even a Company officer among the inhabitants whose obligations to Thomlinson were transferred to the Company's books as the minister departed. | |||||
207 | Adjournd till tomorrow morning at nine a Clock. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Island S⁴ Helena At a Consultation held on Saturday the 4ᵗʰ day of July 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Cap⁴ Isa: Pyke & Cap⁴ Jnᵒ Wynn Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Pres. Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jn: Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation read & Approved of. Yesterday M⁴ Tovey desired, That William Portley the Chief Overseer might be Sworn who accordingly was and then the Govern⁴ askt him whether or no he did not know of Gov⁴ Pykes Exchanging Dead, or Sick Blacks for well ones of the Hon: Companys. The Said Portley was not then able to give answer Margin Notes: M⁴ Tovey desired Will: Portley might be Sworn | The council adjourned until the following morning at nine o'clock. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Saturday 4 July 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. Captain Isaac Pyke and Captain John Wynn were also present. The last consultation was read and approved. The day before, Mr Tovey had asked that William Portley, the chief overseer, be sworn, which was done. Governor Johnson then asked Portley whether he knew of Governor Pyke exchanging dead or sick slaves of the Company for sound ones. Portley was not then able to give an answer. Interpretations The swearing of the chief overseer opened a formal enquiry into the charge Tovey had raised against the outgoing governor, the suspended secretary continuing to press his accusations over Pyke's dealings in the Company's slaves. The matter reached back to Tovey's information of the consultation of 26 June 1719, where he had questioned how Pyke came to hold so many slaves at the Company's cost, now sharpened into the specific allegation that the governor had swapped the Company's dead or failing slaves for sound ones. The presence of both Isaac Pyke and the ship's commander John Wynn at this consultation marked the unusual situation of an outgoing governor still on the island while his conduct was examined under his successor. Portley was the chief overseer who held charge of the Company's plantations and slaves, so his testimony was the natural source on whether such an exchange had taken place. His inability to answer at once left the charge unresolved, the enquiry turning on evidence the overseer would need to gather from the records of the slaves in his keeping. | |||||
208 | July answer by reason of a fitt that came upon him But being now askt the Same question Sayes he do's not know of any Clandestine & changing of Blacks with any Person whatsoever on the Island. Peter & Robin are the two Blacks that M⁴ Tovey fixed on by Portleys Information as M⁴ Tovey sayd. M⁴ Portley was askt whether he knew that Govern⁴ Pyke charged the Hon: Comp⁴ with their Hire, to which he Sayd he did not. Govern⁴ Pyke denys that he ever had any Blacks of either of those two Names, and Says that the Blacks of either of those names were the Hon Comp⁴ and always Employed in their Service and he never received one Farthing Wages for them, and now Shewed his Acco⁴ of Blacks in his Book which agrees with the Account in the Comp⁴ Books where Appeared to be none of those two Blacks named Viz: Peter & Robin, But in the Consultation of the 26ᵗʰ day of May last in the List of Blacks therein Entered & Sent to the Hon Comp⁴ those two Names do appear. Gov⁴ Margin Notes: ab⁴ Gov⁴ Pyke & Exchanging Blacks 2 Blacks Named by M⁴ Tovey Portley farther Interrogated Gov⁴ Pykes Answer Acco⁴ of Blacks produced & Compared w⁴ former List | Portley had been unable to answer the day before because of a fit that came upon him. Being now asked the same question, he said he knew of no secret exchanging of slaves by any person whatever on the island. Peter and Robin were the two slaves Mr Tovey had named on Portley's information, as Tovey said. Portley was then asked whether he knew of Governor Pyke charging the Company with the hire of these slaves. He said he did not. Governor Pyke denied that he had ever held any slaves of either of those two names. He said the slaves of both names belonged to the Company and were always employed in its service, and that he had never received a farthing in wages for them. He then produced his own account of slaves in his book, which agreed with the account in the Company's books, where it appeared that neither of the two slaves Peter and Robin was named. In the consultation of 26 May last, however, in the list of slaves entered and sent to the Company, those two names did appear. Interpretations The overseer's denial of any secret exchange undercut the charge Tovey had laid, Portley swearing he knew of no clandestine dealing in the Company's slaves by anyone on the island. This removed the testimony Tovey had relied on, the suspended secretary having named the two slaves Peter and Robin on what he claimed was Portley's information, now disowned by the overseer himself. Governor Pyke's defence rested on the documentary record, the outgoing governor producing his own slave book to show it agreed with the Company's accounts and that the two named slaves had always been the Company's, never hired to him for wages. The matching of his private book against the Company's books was the proper means of testing the charge, the written record set against the accusation. The note that the two names did appear in the slave list sent home on 26 May 1719 left a documentary discrepancy unresolved, the great slave census carried by the Maurice recording names the governor's own book did not, which the bench would need to reconcile before the matter could be closed. | |||||
209 | Govern⁴ Pyke do's now acquaint Govern⁴ Johnson with Some words that he had heard to have been Spoken to draw aside Some of the Council and to form a Party to Toveys Interest to the Prejudice of the Hon Comp⁴, which if Such words had been Spoken while he was Govern⁴ he Should been very Apprehensive of the Consequences that must Attend so much Treachery. The words were as follows being Spoken to him the Said Govern⁴ Pyke by M⁴ Alexander who Sayd that M⁴ Tovey had made a Proposal to him that if he would Stand by him & joyn with him they Should have Interest Eno⁴ to mannage all the Affairs. In persuance to Govern⁴ Pykes Information M⁴ Alexander being askt what he knew of what the Govern⁴ had related. Says that M⁴ Tovey Some few days Since did Say words to the Same effect as Govern⁴ Pyke has now declared, & that he Understood they were intended for and related to the Transactions of the Government. The Govern⁴ Says that M⁴ Goodwin came to him on Monday last and informed him That Margin Notes: Gov⁴ Pykes Information ag⁴ M⁴ Tovey the words Spoken M⁴ Alexander aud⁴ of Gov⁴ Informd | Governor Pyke now informed Governor Johnson of some words he had heard spoken, which were meant to draw aside some of the council and form a party to Tovey's interest, to the prejudice of the Company. Had such words been spoken while he was governor, he would have been very apprehensive of the consequences that must follow so much treachery. The words were to this effect. They had been spoken to Governor Pyke by Mr Alexander, who said that Mr Tovey had made a proposal to him. If Alexander would stand by Tovey and join with him, they should have interest enough to manage all the affairs. Following Governor Pyke's information, Mr Alexander was asked what he knew of what the governor had related. He said that Mr Tovey, some few days before, had spoken words to the same effect as Governor Pyke had now declared, and that he understood they were intended to refer to the affairs of the government. Governor Johnson then said that Mr Goodwin had come to him on Monday last and informed him that. Interpretations Governor Pyke's information opened a fresh and graver charge against the suspended secretary, that Tovey had sought to form a faction within the council to seize control of the government. This raised the matter from the personal accusations Tovey had made against Pyke to a charge of conspiracy against the administration itself, the outgoing governor turning the enquiry back upon his accuser by reporting an attempt to subvert the council. The corroboration ran through the councillors in turn, the charge resting first on Pyke's report of what Alexander had told him, then confirmed by Alexander's own account of Tovey's proposal, and now extended by Goodwin's information to the governor. This building of testimony from successive members of the council marked the bench assembling the evidence against Tovey from within its own number, each councillor's statement adding weight to the charge that the suspended secretary had tried to draw them into his interest. The secrecy resolutions of 13 January 1716/17 had already treated the forming of factions and the betrayal of the government as the gravest offences against the Company, so an attempt to combine councillors against the administration struck at a principle the bench held fundamental. | |||||
210 | July That he had been told by M⁴ Lacy that M⁴ Tovey was about making a Party, and that he the Said Tovey Sayd to him the Said M⁴ Lacy that if he could Joyn with him, He would knock Us all down. Upon the Govern⁴ asking him what he thought was meant by that, He made Answer that he could Apprehend it no otherwise than relating to the Prejudice of the Government and in Particular to himself and hop'd the Govern⁴ would Harbor no ill opinion of him without first hearing him. M⁴ Lacy being called in and Examined upon oath Says that he did Tell M⁴ Goodwin that M⁴ Tovey told him that if he would Stand by him for he had Honest Joseph meaning M⁴ Ornston they would knock them all down, and that he did also tell M⁴ Goodwin that M⁴ Tovey had Some envy malice against him y⁴ Said Goodwin for M⁴ Tovey talkt a great deal more against him and Sayd that Govern⁴ Pyke had Built a House for him to Stop his mouth, or words to this effect. Ordered That Margin Notes: By M⁴ Goodwin that y⁴ words Imported M⁴ Lacys Deposition | Goodwin had been told by Mr Lacy that Mr Tovey was forming a party. Tovey had said to Lacy that, if Lacy would join with him, he would bring them all down. When Governor Johnson asked Goodwin what he thought was meant by this, Goodwin answered that he could understand it only as aimed at the prejudice of the government, and in particular at himself. He hoped Governor Johnson would form no ill opinion of him without first hearing him. Mr Lacy was then called in and examined on oath. He said that he had told Mr Goodwin that Tovey had told him that, if he would stand by him, for he had honest Joseph, meaning Mr Ormston, they would bring them all down. He had also told Goodwin that Tovey held some malice against him. Tovey had spoken a great deal more against Goodwin, and had said that Governor Pyke had built a house for him to stop his mouth, or words to that effect. The council then made an order. Interpretations Lacy's sworn evidence carried the charge against Tovey to its fullest extent, the suspended secretary reported to have boasted of support enough, with Ormston and Lacy at his side, to bring down his opponents in the government. The naming of honest Joseph, Ormston, drew the new accountant's assistant into Tovey's supposed faction, the same man whose own quarrel with the chief mate Blake the council had settled at the consultation of 25 June 1719, now placed among those Tovey counted on. The personal animus against Goodwin gave the conspiracy a particular target, Tovey reported to bear malice against the councillor and to have spoken much against him. The further claim that Governor Pyke had built a house for Goodwin to stop his mouth carried an insinuation of corruption against the outgoing governor, suggesting Goodwin had been bought to silence. This wove together the strands the bench had been gathering, Tovey's faction, his malice toward a colleague and his charges against Pyke, into a single picture of a suspended officer working to discredit and divide the administration, the kind of betrayal the secrecy resolutions of 13 January 1716/17 had marked as treachery against the Company. | |||||
211 | That Enquiry be made relating to the Said House, and that M⁴ Alexander be Appointed to make this enquiry, and the Gov⁴ desired Cap⁴ Wynn likewise to Joyn with M⁴ Alexander in the Said Enquiry and Report it at Monday morning next at Eight a Clock. Adjournd Accordingly till then. E[J][ohn] Jnᵒ Alexander Jnᵒ Goodwin Margin Notes: Enquiry to be made ab⁴ the House & reported | The council ordered that enquiry be made about the house. Mr Alexander was appointed to make the enquiry, and Governor Johnson also asked Captain Wynn to join Mr Alexander in it and report on the following Monday morning at eight o'clock. The council adjourned accordingly until then. The consultation was signed by Governor Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order for an enquiry into the house addressed the insinuation in Lacy's evidence that Governor Pyke had built a house for Goodwin to buy his silence. By appointing a formal investigation, the council treated the suggestion of corruption as a charge requiring proof rather than a rumour to be left standing, the truth of the matter to be established before any conclusion was drawn about the outgoing governor or the councillor. The joining of the ship's commander Captain Wynn to the enquiry with Mr Alexander brought in a figure outside the council's own divisions, the master of the Craggs Frigate serving as an independent party to an investigation that touched the councillors themselves. Pairing a disinterested commander with a councillor on so sensitive a question protected the enquiry against the suspicion of partiality, the same care to place contested business in hands that could be trusted to report fairly that ran through the bench's handling of the whole affair against Tovey. | |||||
212 | Island S⁴ Helena July At a Consultation held on Monday the 6 day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Cap⁴ Isa: Pyke & Cap⁴ Jnᵒ Wynn & M⁴ John Coulier Edward Johnson Esq Gov⁴ Pres. Antip: Tovey 2ᵈ Jnᵒ Alexander 3ᵈ & Jn: Goodwin 4ᵗʰ in Coun⁴ The Last Consultation was read & Approvd of. The Report of Cap⁴ John Wynn Commander of the Craggs Frigot, & M⁴ John Alexander in Persuance to an Order made to Enquire into the Building of a House more fully Mentioned in Consultation of the 4ᵗʰ Inst⁴ & Sayd to be built by Gov⁴ Pyke to Stop M⁴ Goodwins mouth. The following Papers relating to that affaire are as follows. Whereas Artipas Tovey has made a false and Malitious Suggestion against me the late Gov⁴ of S⁴ Helena and endeavoured to Insinuate that I had built a House for M⁴ John Goodwin think= =it Necessary for the Vindication of my own Honour to Sett all that matter in as clear a light as I can Margin Notes: Cap⁴ Wynn & M⁴ Alexanders Report ab⁴ M⁴ Goodwins House &c for⁴ Gov⁴ Pykes Remonstrance relating Hereto | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 6 July 1719, at Union Castle in James Valley. Present were Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, Antipas Tovey second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council. Captain Isaac Pyke, Captain John Wynn and Mr John Caulier were also present. The last consultation was read and approved. Captain John Wynn, commander of the Craggs Frigate, and Mr John Alexander gave their report, following the order to enquire into the building of a house, set out more fully in the consultation of 4 July, said to have been built by Governor Pyke to stop Mr Goodwin's mouth. The papers relating to that affair were as follows. Governor Pyke set out his own statement on the matter. Antipas Tovey had made a false and malicious suggestion against him, the late governor of St Helena, and had tried to insinuate that he had built a house for Mr John Goodwin. For the vindication of his own honour, Pyke thought it necessary to set the whole matter out as clearly as he could. | |||||
213 | I suppose he intends to have it believed that I built the House with the Hon Comp⁴ Materials as for which no man in his Sences could find fault at me in case I had a mind to build the House at my own Cost. But to Shew the Knavery and falsehood of that man I assert that there is no House built, and he can never Shew where it is unless he find one in the Aire. The true State and foundation of the Story is as follows Viz⁴ When I had finished Some of the Publick Buildings & made one Side of the Street Streight, and knowing that the Hon: Companyes Former Orders were to make the town Streight & Uniform, Contrary to which Severall of the Houses had large Yards before them that ran farr into the Street & not regular Neither but one jetting out farr before another Some five foot Some Eighteen foot & Some twenty foot, and knowing both Govern⁴ Roberts & Boucher had attempted to make the Street regular and Uniform by taking down those Encroachments but were Hindered by M⁴ Carne whose Yard ran Eighteen foot into the Street before his House & Garden I made my Application to | Governor Pyke supposed Tovey meant to have it believed that he built the house with the Company's materials. He thought no man in his senses could find fault with him if he had a mind to build the house at his own cost. To show the knavery and falsehood of the man, Pyke stated plainly that no house had been built at all. Tovey could never show where it was, unless he found one in the air. The true state and foundation of the story was as follows. When Pyke had finished some of the public buildings and made one side of the street straight, knowing that the Company's former orders were to make the town straight and uniform, he turned to the rest. Several of the houses had large yards before them that ran far into the street and were not regular, one jutting out further than another, some by five foot, some by eighteen foot and some by twenty. Knowing that both Governor Roberts and Governor Boucher had tried to make the street regular and uniform by taking down these encroachments, but had been hindered by Mr Carne, whose yard ran eighteen foot into the street before his house and garden, Pyke made his application. Interpretations Pyke's denial reduced the whole charge to a falsehood, the outgoing governor asserting that the house Tovey alleged did not exist. By challenging the suspended secretary to point to any such building, Pyke exposed the accusation as without foundation, the supposed bribe to Goodwin resting on a structure that could not be found. The true account turned the matter to Pyke's regulation of James Town, the work of straightening the street under the Company's standing orders for a uniform town. This connected to the street regulation Governor Pyke had begun, the proposal entered at the consultation of 16 December 1718 to pull back the walls that encroached toward the middle of the street and rebuild them in line at the Company's charge. The resistance of Carne, whose yard ran far into the street, marked the same obstacle that had defeated the earlier governors Roberts and Boucher, the encroachments of a substantial householder standing in the way of the public improvement that successive administrations had sought to carry through. | |||||
214 | July to his Widdow and by Perswasion (and not force) Procured her Consent and did Promise her that the Stones I took down Should be put in for her in a more Usefull manner So as to make her full amends for the loss of that Yard, and on the 10ᵗʰ of Decemb 1718 there was an Order made at a Publict Consultation to that Purpose upon w⁴ I caused 168 foot of wall to be taken down and in the room built up 49 foot of Handsome Wall in the fore & back Front of her House nine foot high and no more, during all the time this was doing all her Blacks & all her Sons Blacks Assisted in the Labouring Part for the Hon: Companies Stone Layers did the Nicer part of that work and by this means her House which was decayed in the foundation before is made much better and Durable than it was and I believe She thinks now that I have done her no Injury tho' She has lost her Yard, I am Sure the Street is more Regular & Handsomer than it was and all the Country are better pleased with it even Tovey himself did pretend to think it was better but now he being a lover of Contention is persuing a Mistaken Notion vainly Saying that | Governor Pyke had applied to the widow, and by persuasion rather than force had obtained her consent. He had promised her that the stones taken down would be put up again for her in a more useful manner, so as to make her full amends for the loss of that yard. On 16 December 1718 an order had been made at a public consultation to that purpose. He had then taken down 168 foot of wall, and in its place built up 49 foot of handsome wall in the front and back of her house, nine foot high and no more. While this was being done, all her slaves and all her son's slaves helped with the labour, and the Company's stone-layers did the finer part of the work. By this means her house, which had been decayed in its foundation, was made much better and more durable than before. Pyke believed the widow now thought he had done her no injury, though she had lost her yard. He was sure the street was more regular and handsome than before, and the whole country was better pleased with it. Tovey himself had once claimed to think it better. Now, however, being a lover of contention, he was pursuing a mistaken notion, vainly imagining. Interpretations Pyke's account showed the street improvement carried through by agreement with the householder, the widow's consent obtained by persuasion and her loss made good by rebuilding her decayed walls at the Company's charge. This connected directly to the order entered at the consultation of 16 December 1718, the formal authority under which the encroaching walls were pulled back and replaced in line, the public record refuting any suggestion of irregular dealing. The employment of the householder's own slaves alongside the Company's stone-layers recorded the division of labour in the work, the slaves doing the heavy hauling while the skilled men did the finer building. This was the same pattern of combining slave labour with skilled craftsmen seen across the island's construction, the rough work falling to the slaves and the fine work to the trained stone-layers the Company maintained. Pyke's charge that Tovey had once approved the improvement and now opposed it from love of contention turned the dispute back upon the suspended secretary's character. By showing that the rebuilding benefited the householder, regularised the street and pleased the inhabitants, Pyke exposed Tovey's accusation as a perversion of a public good into a false charge of corruption, the work that had improved the town misrepresented as a secret house built to bribe a councillor. | |||||
215 | that he Shall ingratiate himself with the new Gov⁴ by railing against the old one but I am Satisfied that Govern⁴ Johnson is not to be So Seduced he has Wisdom enough to know that if this mean endeavours by all Malitious ways to abuse or Injure me who have been the best friend he ever had in the world any other Person to whom he can not be So much obliged must Expect from him to have Such like treatment as. Isa: Pyke We whose names are hereunto Subscribed have been along with Govern⁴ Pyke & Surveyed all M⁴ Carnes House and know it not to be a new House but have Seen it many years ago, and it is not new built. We have Measured the ground when a wall of 168 foot formerly Stood about 18 or 20 foot out into the Street which M⁴ Carne has told Us She suffered to be pull'd down at the Perswasion of Govern⁴ Pyke but in Expectation of her being made amends Some way or other. Govern⁴ Pyke did make her a Sort of amends by building up 49 foot of new wall in the fore & back Front of her House which 49 foot We have this day measured and find it to be nine foot high. We think that the pulling down Margin Notes: Cap⁴ Wynn & M⁴ Alexanders Report | Tovey vainly imagined that he would ingratiate himself with the new governor by railing against the old one. Pyke was satisfied that Governor Johnson was not to be so misled. He had wisdom enough to know that, if Tovey by all malicious means tried to abuse or injure the man who had been the best friend he ever had in the world, then any other person, to whom Tovey could not be so much obliged, must expect the same treatment from him. The statement was subscribed by Isaac Pyke. The report of Captain Wynn and Mr Alexander followed. They set out that they, whose names were subscribed, had long been with Governor Pyke and had surveyed Mr Carne's house. They knew it not to be a new house, but had seen it many years before, and it was not newly built. They had measured the ground where a wall of 168 foot had formerly stood, about eighteen or twenty foot out into the street, which Mr Carne had told them she suffered to be pulled down at Governor Pyke's persuasion, in expectation of being made amends some way or other. Governor Pyke had made her a sort of amends by building up 49 foot of new wall in the front and back of her house. This wall they had measured that day and found to be nine foot high. They thought that the pulling down. Interpretations Pyke's closing argument appealed to the new governor's judgement of Tovey's conduct, warning that a man who would slander his greatest benefactor would treat any other the same. This framed the suspended secretary's accusations as a settled habit of ingratitude and malice, the outgoing governor inviting Johnson to read Tovey's charges against himself as evidence of the man's character rather than of any wrongdoing. The report of Wynn and Alexander supplied the independent verification the enquiry had been ordered to obtain, the commander and the councillor confirming on their own inspection that no new house existed and the wall was merely the rebuilt frontage of Carne's old dwelling. Their measurement of the ground and the wall set the documentary findings of the survey against Tovey's charge, the physical evidence agreeing with Pyke's account of the street improvement. This was the same recourse to direct examination that had marked the whole affair, the bench testing the suspended secretary's accusations against measurable fact rather than accepting his word, the survey of 4 July 1719 now returning a finding that confirmed the outgoing governor's defence. | |||||
216 | July down the old wall to be a Common Benefit by making the Street evener & wider, and We have been informed That whose walls Soever Govern⁴ Pyke has pulled down He has made them Some Such Sort of amends, whether M⁴ Carne has full amends made her or not We dont take on Us to Determine, But We think her House is Something the Stronger for it. Yet She tells us that She did Expect Govern⁴ Pyke to have done Some thing more for her and believes he would have done it if he had Stayed here. In Testimony whereof We have hereunto Sett our hands this 6 day of July Dom: 1719. Attested by Jnᵒ Goodwin & Jnᵒ French S⁴ Helena J S Jnᵒ Wynn Jnᵒ Alexander Frances Carne of this Island Widdow maketh Oath that Whereas it has been alledged that her House has been lately new built by Gov⁴ Pyke which allegation are utterly false, But She Sayeth that Some time ago Govern⁴ Pyke proposed to her to pull down the wall of her Yard & Garden which Stood out into the Street, & which tho' She was unwilling to do because of loosing so much ground Margin Notes: M⁴ Carnes Affidavit | Wynn and Alexander thought that pulling down the old wall was a common benefit, by making the street more even and wide. They had been informed that, whosever walls Governor Pyke had pulled down, he had made them some such sort of amends. Whether Mr Carne had full amends made her or not, they did not take it on themselves to determine. They thought, however, that her house was somewhat the stronger for it. She still told them that she had expected Governor Pyke to have done something more for her, and believed he would have done it had he stayed. In testimony of this they set their hands on 6 July 1719. The report was signed by John Wynn and John Alexander, and attested by John Goodwin and John French. Frances Carne, widow of the island, then made oath. It had been alleged that her house had been lately newly built by Governor Pyke, which allegations were utterly false. She said that some time before, Governor Pyke had proposed to her that she pull down the wall of her yard and garden, which stood out into the street, and which she had been unwilling to do, because of losing so much ground. Interpretations The surveyors' careful reservation, declining to judge whether the widow had received full amends, gave their report the appearance of an impartial finding rather than a vindication of the outgoing governor. By confirming the public benefit of the street improvement and the strengthening of the house while leaving open the question of full satisfaction, Wynn and Alexander produced a balanced account that supported Pyke's central denial without overstating his case, the independent character of the enquiry preserved. The widow's sworn affidavit supplied the testimony of the very householder at the centre of the charge, Frances Carne confirming on oath that no new house had been built and that the work arose from Pyke's proposal to remove her encroaching wall. Her evidence closed the gap in the enquiry, the person whose property was concerned denying the allegation directly. Carne was the widow of George Carne, whose encroaching yard had defeated the earlier governors' attempts to straighten the street, so her own account both refuted Tovey's charge and confirmed Pyke's history of the long-resisted improvement now at last carried through. | |||||
217 | ground yet She did at length Consent to it upon a firm belief that he would not do any thing to her Prejudice but that he would make her amends Some way or other. She Sayeth that Govern⁴ Pyke did do an Equivalent for above 150 foot of wall that he caused to be pulled down take down the Lower Front of a Ware House adjoyning to her House and rebuilt it about eight or nine foot high w⁴ She thinks may Containe about 48 or 50 foot of wall, But She did hope and do's believe that if Govern⁴ Pyke had Stayed he would have Made her Some farther recompence. And She doth farther affirm on her Oath that her own & her Sons Blacks did do great Part of that work tho' She Acknowldgeth that the Comp⁴ Blacks were the Stone Layers. She Sayeth also on her Oath that the New Peice of ground taken in behind the House was done by her own Blacks & her Childrens & the wall built at her and her Sons Charge by John Harding & Swallows Phill &c. And She Deposes Likewise that what Boards & Timber were used for making the Doors and Windows & new Flooring of the room were bought by her Son for that Purpose and the Carpenters also payed by him as She can prove | Frances Carne had been unwilling to lose so much ground, but at length she consented, on a firm belief that Governor Pyke would do nothing to her prejudice, and would make her amends some way or other. She said that, as an equivalent for above 150 foot of wall that he had pulled down, he took down the lower front of a warehouse adjoining her house and rebuilt it about eight or nine foot high, which she thought might contain about 48 or 50 foot of wall. She had hoped, and still believed, that had Governor Pyke stayed, he would have made her some further recompense. She further affirmed on oath that her own slaves and her son's slaves did great part of the work, though she acknowledged that the Company's slaves were the stone-layers. She said also on oath that the new piece of ground taken in behind the house was done by her own slaves and her children, and the wall built at her and her son's charge by John Harding and Swallow's Phill and others. She deposed likewise that the boards and timber used for making the doors and windows and new flooring of the room were bought by her son for that purpose, and the carpenters also paid by him, as she could prove. Interpretations The widow's detailed account confirmed that the disputed work was an exchange of one wall for another within the street improvement, Pyke having taken down her encroaching frontage and rebuilt part of an adjoining warehouse as her compensation. Her own measurement of the rebuilt wall, set against the 150 foot removed, gave the bench a precise reckoning of the amends made, the figures supporting Pyke's account that the work was a public regulation fairly compensated rather than a secret house built as a bribe. The widow's careful division of who supplied the labour and who bore the cost dismantled the charge of corruption at its foundation. By swearing that her own and her son's slaves did the heavy work, that her son bought the timber and paid the carpenters, and that only the Company's stone-layers contributed the skilled building, she showed the house was improved largely at the family's own charge. This left no room for the suggestion that the Company had built a house for Goodwin, the costs of the work falling on the householder rather than on the Company, and the named labourers and the bought materials standing as proof the bench could test. | |||||
218 | July prove besides her own Oath by other Credible Testimonys and to the truth of this her Affidavit She hereunto Subscribes her mark. Jurat bonodwin die The mark of M⁴ˢ Julij Dom: 1719. Frances F C Carne Coram me Edw: Johnson Attested by me Jn: Goodwin M⁴ Alexander delivered the following Letter Worsh⁴ S⁴ &c Gentlemen. Whereas M⁴ Artipas Tovey Since the Arrivall of the Worsh⁴ Govern⁴ Johnson has not only in Private but in Publick Consultation at divers times Accused Gov⁴ Pyke of Wronging the Hon Comp⁴ and that my Self and M⁴ Goodwin know it as well as he but would not Speak of it Upbraiding Us of being Bribed by the Said Gov⁴ Pyke with many other false and Malitious Expressions And he the Said Artipas Tovey has likewise threatened me in Particular that he would write to England against me & M⁴ Goodwin and would do both our businesses for Us, meaning to Turn Us out of Council by his false & Malitious Insinuations & Suggestions tending to our Prejudice. But as it is my good Fortune to be well known by Gov⁴ Pyke these Margin Notes: M⁴ Alexanders Letter ag⁴ M⁴ Tovey | Frances Carne could prove this, besides her own oath, by other credible testimony. In confirmation of the truth of her affidavit she set her mark. The affidavit was sworn on 6 July 1719 before Governor Johnson, marked by Frances Carne and attested by John Goodwin. Mr Alexander then delivered the following letter, addressed to the worshipful president and council. He set out his complaint against Mr Tovey. Since the arrival of Governor Johnson, Tovey had at various times, both in private and in public consultation, accused Governor Pyke of wronging the Company. Both Alexander himself and Mr Goodwin knew that to be false, but Tovey would not let it rest, reproaching them with being bribed by Governor Pyke, along with many other false and malicious expressions. Tovey had also threatened Alexander in particular that he would write to England against him and Mr Goodwin, and would ruin both their careers, meaning to force them out of council by his false and malicious insinuations and suggestions, aimed at their prejudice. But, as it was Alexander's good fortune to be known by Governor Pyke, these. Interpretations Alexander's letter turned the councillors from witnesses into complainants, the third in council laying his own formal charge against the suspended secretary for the abuse and threats directed at him and Goodwin. This shifted the proceeding from an examination of Tovey's accusations against Pyke to a direct grievance brought by the councillors he had tried to draw into his faction or, failing that, to destroy. The threat to write to England against Alexander and Goodwin exposed the means by which Tovey hoped to ruin them, an appeal over the council's head to the directors who held the power of appointment and dismissal. This was the same recourse that had hung over the whole affair, the directors in England being the final authority to whom every charge and counter-charge would ultimately go, the suspended secretary seeking to reach them with accusations that would force his opponents out of council before they could answer. The reproach of being bribed tied Alexander's complaint to the central charge over the house, the suggestion of corruption that the enquiry of 4 July 1719 had been ordered to test now shown to have been pressed against the councillors as well as the outgoing governor. | |||||
219 | these five years, and having Served my Hon: Masters for above twenty four years I hope my behaviour and Long Service will be a great Motive of Clearing any thing that M⁴ Tovey may lay to my Charge. And Do Solemnly declare that I do not know of any wrong that Govern⁴ Pyke has done the Hon Comp⁴. But that on the Contrary he has been very Industrious & Serviceable to them in their affairs in Generall, and I never knew him do a dishonourable or Unwor= =thy Action, and I cant but Say that M⁴ Tovey has Shewn himself Guilty of the greatest Ingratitude to Gov⁴ Pyke and by his wicked behaviour has rendered him= =self Odious to all this place. And do by this Present Writing farther Declare that if I knew any wrong Committed by any Person to my Worthy Good Masters I would be as ready to lett it be known as any other Person who pretends to more Honesty and perhaps may have less. I thought my Self in duty bound to deliver In this Paper that my throat might be Cutt behind my back & I know nothing of the Matter. Which I hope by all that I have already Sayd & my future Deportment will be a Sufficient pleading for my Honesty & Innocency, and I know no Knavish Actions done by any body on this place relating to [Jn: | Alexander had been known by Governor Pyke these five years, and having served the Company for above twenty-four years, he hoped his conduct and long service would go far to clear anything Mr Tovey might charge him with. He solemnly declared that he knew of no wrong Governor Pyke had done the Company. On the contrary, Pyke had been very industrious and serviceable in its affairs in general, and Alexander never knew him do a dishonourable or unworthy act. He could not but say that Mr Tovey had shown himself guilty of the greatest ingratitude to Governor Pyke, and by his wicked conduct had made himself hateful to everyone on the island. Alexander further declared in this writing that, if he knew of any wrong committed by any person against the Company, he would be as ready to make it known as any other person who claimed to be more honest and perhaps had less cause. He thought himself bound to deliver this paper, so that he might not be ruined behind his back over a matter he knew nothing of. He hoped that all he had already said, and his future conduct, would be sufficient to vouch for his honesty and innocence. He knew of no dishonest acts done by anyone on the island. Interpretations Alexander's defence rested on his long record in the Company's service, the councillor pleading more than twenty-four years of employment as the answer to Tovey's charges. This appeal to a settled reputation was the standard ground on which an accused officer met an accusation he could not directly disprove, the weight of long service set against the suspended secretary's malice. Alexander had carried the chief burden of the secretary's office through the spring of 1719 after Tovey's suspension, so his diligence stood on the recent record as well as on his years. The councillor's insistence that he would expose any genuine wrong against the Company turned Tovey's own pose of zeal back upon him. By declaring himself as ready as any man to report real misconduct while affirming he knew of none, Alexander framed Tovey's accusations as false zeal, the suspended secretary cloaking malice and ingratitude in the language of service to the Company. His concern not to be ruined behind his back named the real danger, the appeal to England that could destroy a man's career before he could answer, the same threat that ran through the whole affair and that the council was now assembling the record to meet. | |||||
220 | July the Hon Comp⁴ affairs as M⁴ Tovey Says he doth, tho' none made Appear. I am July the 6ᵗʰ 1719. Worsh⁴ S⁴ &c. Your Humble Servant. Jnᵒ Alexander Upon a full hearing of what is Inserted in the Consultation of the 4ᵗʰ Inst⁴ and what Else now Sayd on that Subject. Ordered That M⁴ Tovey for his past Neglect of duty tho' often told upon & reminded thereof and other Unsufferable Misdemeanors be Suspended from Council, gradually & duty as Such, till the Hon: Comp⁴ pleasure be farther known. And That M⁴ Joseph Ornston be Admitted as one of the Councile. Whereas Gov⁴ Pyke Says he did Some time ago make Application to M⁴ Joshua Johnson to rent or Buy his House in the fort valley, for the Comp⁴. But the Said M⁴ Johnson knowing that Gov⁴ Roberts in his time, did Lay a Claim to that House in the name of the Hon: Comp⁴ he was Unwilling to be concerned Margin Notes: M⁴ Tovey Suspended M⁴ Ornston made of Council Gov⁴ Pykes and M⁴ Johnsons House | Alexander knew of nothing relating to the Company's affairs of the kind Tovey claimed, though none was ever shown. The letter was dated 6 July 1719, addressed to the worshipful president and council, and signed by John Alexander. On a full hearing of what was entered in the consultation of 4 July, and of what else was now said on the subject, the council ordered that Mr Tovey be suspended from council, and from his salary and food as a councillor, for his past neglect of duty, despite being often called upon and reminded of it, and for other intolerable misconduct. This was to stand until the Company's pleasure should be further known. The council further ordered that Mr Joseph Ormston be admitted as one of the council. Governor Pyke then said that some time before, he had applied to Mr Joshua Johnson to rent or buy his house in the Fort Valley for the Company. Mr Johnson, however, knowing that Governor Roberts in his time had laid a claim to that house in the name of the Company, was unwilling to be concerned. Interpretations The suspension of Tovey from council brought the long affair to its formal close, the bench removing the secretary from his place, salary and maintenance for his neglect of the account books and his misconduct. This confirmed under the new governor the suspension Governor Pyke had first imposed at the consultation of 3 June 1719, the charge of neglecting the 1717 books now joined to the graver matter of his attempt to form a faction and his false accusations, all reserved for the directors' final judgement in England. The admission of Ormston to the council reshaped the bench at the moment Tovey left it, the new accountant's assistant brought in to fill the gap. Ormston had come over with Governor Johnson, and his elevation reflected the council's need to restore its strength after the death of Captain Bazett and the removal of Tovey had left it depleted, the new governor advancing a man he had brought with him into the vacant place. Governor Pyke's account of his dealings over Joshua Johnson's house opened a fresh matter touching the Company's interest in property at the Fort Valley. The reference to Governor Roberts having laid a claim to the same house in the Company's name recorded a standing question of title reaching back to an earlier administration, the kind of unresolved claim on land and buildings that ran through the island's records and complicated any fresh dealing in the property. | |||||
221 | Concerned with them about the Said House where= =upon Govern⁴ Pyke hired it in his own name And doth now assigne all his right Title or Interest in the Same to the Present Govern⁴ and Council for the Use of the Hon Company. Gov⁴ Pyke delivered the following Indent. An Indent of Stores Necessary for the Use of the Hon Comp⁴ Servants in their voyage from S⁴ Helena to Bencoolen Viz⁴ Three Casks of Salt Beef One Cask of Bread 25 Gall⁴ Arrack being the Usual Allowance of one Pint p⁴ day to five men there being ten Persons who are likely to be an Hundred days in their Passage Two Tons & a half of Water A farther Indent of other Stores w⁴ may be usefull at Bencoolen & are not so Usefull at S⁴ Helena Viz⁴ All the Stills or Alembecks that can be Spared. One Box of Jacks for Roasting Meat One Box Lanthorns four pair of Bellows a Small Barrell of Knob Suckers of Yams, and of Potatoes of both kinds As Margin Notes: for Use of y⁴ C⁴ Provisions for Passage to Bencoolen requested other Nec⁴ Stores desired | Joshua Johnson would not be concerned with the Company about the house, so Governor Pyke had hired it in his own name. He now assigned all his right, title and interest in it to Governor Johnson and the council, for the use of the Company. Governor Pyke then delivered the following indent. An indent of stores needed for the Company's servants on their voyage from St Helena to Bencoolen. Three casks of salt beef. One cask of bread. 35 gallons of arrack, being the usual allowance of one pint a day to five men, there being ten persons likely to be a hundred days on their passage. Two and a half tons of water. A further indent of other stores that might be useful at Bencoolen and were not so useful at St Helena. All the stills or alembics that could be spared. One box of jacks for roasting meat. One box of lanterns. Four pair of bellows. A small parcel of knob suckers of yams, and of potatoes of both kinds. Interpretations Pyke's assignment of the house resolved the matter of title raised the day before, the outgoing governor transferring to his successor and the council the interest he had taken in his own name when Johnson would not deal directly. Having hired the house personally to avoid the disputed claim, Pyke now passed it to the Company through the new administration, securing for the Company the property it had sought without reviving the old question of Governor Roberts's claim. The voyage indent set out the precise victualling for the men being carried east to Bencoolen, the provisions calculated against the expected hundred days at sea. The arrack allowance, reckoned at a pint a day for five men over the passage, showed the standard daily ration applied to the number of persons and the length of the voyage, the careful provisioning that the long and uncertain sea routes between the Company's settlements required. The further indent of stores better suited to Bencoolen recorded the practice of moving goods between settlements to where they served best, the same reasoning that had sent the coals east. The stills for distilling, the roasting jacks, lanterns and bellows, and the yam suckers and potato sets carried the means of cultivation and household economy to the eastern station, the yam plants in particular extending to Bencoolen the staple crop that fed the slaves on St Helena. | |||||
222 | July As to fresh Provisions of all kinds that are to be had here I have fully Supplyed my Self by buying of the Planters what I wanted for the Voyage which I took here to Prevent any Pretence that may be made in my absence that I carried any belonging to the Hon Comp⁴ with me but being informed that there are forty Soldiers on board who have Embezled all their Cloaths & Bedding & are likely to Suffer for want of Such things in their Passage about the Cape of Good Hope, where We must Expect to be two Months before We Arrive in Warm weather for the Preservation of the Lives & Healths of Such usefull men (as I hope they will prove) & to prevent the like Embezlements again, recommend to Gov⁴ Johnson and desire him to furnish me w⁴ a Jacket Shirt & Breeches, and a Blankett for each of them out of the Hon Comp⁴ Stores there being Such things to Spare, and I will Distribute them among the People as Soon as We are gott into a Cooler Climate, and this request I take to be So much for the Hon Comp⁴ Interest that I will not doubt of a Supply. I am. July the 3ᵈ D⁴ 1719. Your Most Humble Serv⁴ at S⁴ Helena. Isa: Pyke Ordered Margin Notes: Gov⁴ Pykes Stock of Provisions Cloathing desired for Sold on Board y⁴ Craggs | As to fresh provisions of all kinds to be carried, Governor Pyke had fully supplied himself by buying from the planters what he needed for the voyage. He did this here to prevent any claim that might be made in his absence that he had carried away anything belonging to the Company. He had been informed, however, that there were forty soldiers on board who had made away with all their clothes and bedding, and were likely to suffer for want of such things on their passage about the Cape of Good Hope, where they must expect to be two months before reaching warm weather. For the preservation of the lives and health of such useful men, as he hoped they would prove, and to prevent the like making away with goods again, Pyke recommended to Governor Johnson, and asked him to furnish him with a jacket, shirt and breeches, and a blanket, for each of the soldiers, out of the Company's stores, there being such things to spare. He would distribute them among the men as soon as they had got into a cooler climate. He took this request to be so much for the Company's interest that he did not doubt of a supply. The letter was dated 3 July 1719 at St Helena and signed by Isaac Pyke. The council made an order. Interpretations Pyke's care to buy his own voyage provisions from the planters rather than the Company's stores guarded against the very charge Tovey had pressed, the outgoing governor taking pains that nothing belonging to the Company could be said to have left with him. This precaution, recorded on the document itself, formed part of the defence of his honour that ran through the whole affair, the same concern to leave a clean record that had led him to set his slave book against the accounts and his statement against the charge over the house. The request to clothe the forty soldiers addressed the practical danger of the passage round the Cape, the men having made away with their own clothes and bedding and facing two months of cold before reaching warmer latitudes. The provision of a jacket, shirt, breeches and blanket to each marked the Company's concern to preserve the lives of useful men through a hard voyage, the soldiers being labour the eastern settlements needed, and the timing of the issue for the colder part of the passage showed the clothing fitted to the conditions the men would meet. This connected to the seasonal clothing of the Company's slaves against the island's own winter, the same calculation of providing covering against cold where it was needed to keep a labour force fit for service. | |||||
223 | Ordered That: Govern.r Rykes desire be granted for the reasons he has given Us, - and that a Letter be Wrote to the Gov.r & Council of Bencoolen to Charge the said Goods Accordingly The Petition of William Alexander Nath.l Coles Francis Long and John Bedan[sal] - Singlemen) desireing leave to go for Bencoolen in the Ship Craggs Frigot. Granted in hopes they will prove of Service to our Hon. Masters. The following Letter was rec.d from Captain Wynn. To the Worsh. Edw.d Johnson Gov.r of St Helena & His Councill Whereas the Craggs Frigot Arrived here on the 13. of June Last and was to deliver here Cargoe here, - which is now Compleated and sent on Shore, Your Worships be knows how hard my People have been worked to dispatch this affair which was not Possi- ble to be done in ten days our Ship being very Large and Severall of the Stores have been put on Shore with much difficulty because of the Surfs last week But all this affair is Dispatcht with the Utmost Margin Notes: Granted prond desires leave to go off! granted Capt Wynns Letter | The council granted Governor Pyke's request for the reasons he had stated, and ordered that a letter be sent to the Governor and Council of Bencoolen charging the goods accordingly. William Alexander, Nathaniel Coles, Francis Long and John Blean[...] - four single men - petitioned for leave to go to Bencoolen in the Craggs Frigate. This was granted, in the hope that they would prove useful to the Honourable Masters. The following letter was received from Captain Wynn, addressed to the Worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of St Helena, and his council. Captain Wynn's letter stated that the Craggs Frigate had arrived on 13 June last and had been to deliver her cargo here, which was now complete and sent ashore. Governor Johnson would be aware of how hard his people had been put to in order to despatch this business, which could not be finished in ten days, the ship being very large and several of the stores having been brought ashore with much difficulty because of the surf last week. All this affair was now despatched with the utmost [...] Interpretations The four men described as single men seeking passage to Bencoolen represent a recurring pattern in the island's demographic management. The council consistently preferred to release single men rather than heads of households, since single men could be spared without disrupting the agricultural labour and family units on which the island's provisioning capacity depended. The ten-day charter-party limit for unloading was the standard contractual term for Company ships at St Helena. Captain Wynn's letter pre-emptively explained his overrun of that period, making a case that the delay arose from conditions beyond his control - the ship's size and the surf - rather than from negligence, which would otherwise expose the owners to a formal protest and a liability charge as recorded against other captains at 26 June 1719. | |||||
224 | Utmost Expedition in twenty three days which I hope you'l allow of having been a Witness of my Peoples dilligence St Helena July 19th 1719. I am Gentlemen Your Most Humble Serv.t Jn.o Wynn Adjourned till Tomorrow nine a Clock. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodrome Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 7th day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James valley Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved Henry Johnson was this day Entertained to assist Mr Alexander in his office, at the Sallary of twenty Pounds Pennind, and Eight Pounds more to find himself diett. Margin Notes: Henry Johnson Entertained as writer | Captain Wynn's letter concluded by stating that the whole business had been completed in twenty-three days, which he hoped Governor Johnson would allow as a witness to his people's diligence. It was dated at St Helena, 19 July 1719, and signed by John Wynn. The consultation was then adjourned until the following day at nine o'clock. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Henry Johnson was this day engaged to assist Mr Alexander in his office, at a salary of £20 0s 0d a year and £8 0s 0d more to find his own diet. This [...] Interpretations The engagement of Henry Johnson as an assistant in the secretary's office at a combined rate of £28 0s 0d per year - £20 0s 0d salary plus £8 0s 0d diet allowance - reflects the two-tier pay structure standard at St Helena, where a base salary was supplemented by a diet allowance wherever the post-holder was expected to feed himself rather than dining at the Company's table. The separation of the two sums in the record preserved the Company's ability to adjust each element independently. | |||||
225 | This day Govern.r Rykes Account in the Hon. Comp.ts Books was made up and the Ballance due to him appeared to be One Thousand two Hundred forty five Pounds, Six Shillings & Six pence for which We have given him three Bills of Exchange on our Hon. Masters dated the 7th July 1719. Likewise Mr.s Mercy Carne Orphan had three Bills more for One Hundred fifty nine Pounds being her Portion and other Small Credits due in the Hon. Comp.ts Books. And three Bills more to James Wakeford Cook for Eighty nine Pounds due to him for Sallary, all dated as above Answer to Capt Wynns Letter Capt.n Wynn Sr. St Helena July 6th 1719 We have received & Considered your Letter of this days date wherein you seem to Expect Allowance for twenty three days Demoarage for your Ships unlading which We can by no means allow for three of those days were Sundays, As to the high Surfs or to your Peoples dilligence at other times We have nothing to Alledge against you Margin Notes: Gov.r Rykes Acc.t made up Bills for the Ballance. Bills to Mercy Carne Bills to James Wakeford Capt.n Wynn Sr. Answer to Capt. Wynn Eng.r | That day Governor Pyke's account in the Honourable Company's books was made up and the balance due to him was found to be £1,245 6s 6d, for which three bills of exchange on the Honourable Masters were given to him, dated 7 July 1719. Mercy Carne, orphan, likewise received three further bills for £159 0s 0d, being her portion and other small credits due to her in the Honourable Company's books. Three more bills were drawn to James Wakeford, Cook, for £89 0s 0d due to him for salary, all dated as above. The following is the answer to Captain Wynn's letter. Captain Wynn, Sir, The council had received and considered his letter of that day's date, in which he appeared to expect an allowance of twenty-three days' demurrage for his ship's unloading. This the council could by no means allow, since three of those days were Sundays. As to the high surf and his people's diligence at other times, the council had nothing to say against [him...] Interpretations The exclusion of Sundays from the demurrage count reflects the standing principle that the Sabbath was not a lawful day of trade or labour at St Helena. The council's position was that only days on which unloading could lawfully proceed counted against the charter-party allowance, so three Sundays falling within the twenty-three days reduced the claimable period to twenty at most. The drawing of three separate bills for Governor Pyke's balance of £1,245 6s 6d, rather than a single instrument, was standard practice for large remittances, spreading the payment obligation across multiple instruments to reduce the risk of total loss if any one bill failed to be honoured in London. Speculations The council's careful acknowledgement that it had nothing to say against Captain Wynn's people's diligence while simultaneously refusing the demurrage claim suggests a deliberate effort to separate the personal from the contractual. By conceding the crew's effort while denying the legal entitlement, the council avoided giving offence to a commander it might need to deal with again, while protecting the Company's financial position under the charter party. | |||||
226 | you but must inform you that by Charterparty you were to be here ten working days, We are also informed that you have Spent all this day in the Rumageing of your Ship for a Case that is wanting and have not found it neither therefore We think you ought not to be allowed for the Present day but refer that to our Hon. Masters Judgment, We know your Ship is large and therefore not so Soon unladed as a Smaller Ship Yet we are of Opinion that in Nineteen days time you might have Sent on Shore, Notwithstanding the late Surfs you mention, all the Goods We have received. We are Yo.r Humble Servants. Edw.d Johnson Jn.o Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Joseph Ornston [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island. | The council had nothing to say against Captain Wynn's conduct but was obliged to inform him that under his charter party he was to have been here for ten days. The council was also informed that he had spent the whole of that day searching his ship for a missing chest and had not found it. The council therefore considered that the current day ought not to be allowed to him either, but referred that matter to the Honourable Masters' judgement. The council acknowledged that his ship was large and therefore not so quickly unloaded as a smaller vessel, yet was of the opinion that within nineteen days he might have sent ashore all the goods received, notwithstanding the late surf he had mentioned. The letter was signed as the council's most humble servants by Edward Johnson, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The consultation was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, Island. Interpretations The council's refusal to allow the day spent searching the ship reduced Captain Wynn's claimable demurrage still further. Combined with the exclusion of three Sundays already recorded, the council's position was that nineteen days were sufficient for a ship of the Craggs Frigate's size to complete her discharge, making the entire excess period the captain's own responsibility under the charter party. Referring the disputed present day to the Honourable Masters rather than deciding it outright was a standard device for avoiding a direct confrontation with a captain while still placing the council's position firmly on record. Speculations The detail that Captain Wynn spent a full day searching for a missing chest is notable. The council's decision to cite this against him in the demurrage calculation suggests the council viewed it as discretionary time absorbed within the charter-party period rather than a legitimate cause of delay. By naming the search explicitly in the letter, the council protected itself against any later claim that it had overlooked a genuine operational difficulty, ensuring that the Honourable Masters could judge the full circumstances. | |||||
227 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Fryday the 10th day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved of. On Wednesday the 9th Inst.t Arrived the Ship Elizabeth Capt John Webster Commander from Madagascar with a Cargoe of Slaves & Delivered Us for the Use of the Hon Comp.t According to his Contract with them the following Slaves (Viz.t) 11 Males & 6 females all sound & healthy Slaves 17 Who were all Immediatly Cloathed and a Blankett and knife Delivered to each of them. The Petition of Joshua Thomlinson Minister, and now Appointed the Hon. Comp.ts Chaplain at Bengall. Setting forth therein, That he has in Sundry Letters of request to the Hon. Court of Directors desired an allowance of House rent and diett Expence ever Since his being Married, Diett Expences being always Allowed to their Margin Notes: Eliz.th Arrived from Madagascar 17 Slaves left Petition of Dr Thomlinson for House rent | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Friday 10 July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Wednesday 9 July the ship Elizabeth arrived, Captain John Webster commander, from Madagascar, carrying a cargo of slaves for delivery to the Honourable Company under his contract with them. The following slaves were delivered: 11 males and 6 females all sound and healthy 17 slaves in total, who were all immediately clothed and a blanket and knife delivered to each of them. Joshua Thomlinson, formerly minister and now appointed the Honourable Company's chaplain at Bengal, petitioned the council. He set out that in several letters of request to the Honourable Court of Directors he had asked for an allowance for house rent and diet expenses ever since his marriage, diet expenses being always allowed to [their...] Interpretations The delivery of 17 slaves under a named contract with Captain Webster follows the pattern of licensed slave-ship calls at St Helena, where the commander undertook by prior agreement to supply a specified number of sound and healthy individuals for the Company's plantation labour. The immediate issue of clothing, a blanket and a knife to each person on landing was the standard provisioning step recorded at the consultation of 13 January 1719 for an earlier delivery, marking the transition of each individual into the Company's labour establishment. Thomlinson's petition for house rent and diet allowances on account of his marriage reflects the standard two-tier salary structure at St Helena, where married men on the Company's establishment were customarily entitled to additional allowances that bachelors did not receive. His appointment to Bengal as chaplain transferred his claim to a different council, requiring him to establish the entitlement afresh before departure. | |||||
228 | their Clergy in India and Whereas in October last by the advice of Gov.r Ryke to put an End to the giving our Hon. Masters trouble, & in Order to give him Satisfaction in his depending requests He took two Letters on about House, & House rent for the hire Past, another about diett Expences & Servants Wages wherein was mentioned Wages for two Servants at last, And Whereas it is believed that accordingly wages are allowed him for Ser- vants as some Compensation & not Contradicted by the Court, and he conceives that the last Generall Letter says to this effect and that his other demands are Answered Except Surplus House rent. Therefore he Humbly requests that the Small allowance of five pound pennind: House rent and two Servants Extra Wages may accordingly here be allowed now in his Acc.tt & to Extend back according to Equitable Construction & the Constant Tenor of his requests to the Hon. Court from the time of his Marriage to the day of his Dis- cheage from hence. And &c. Doctor Thomlinsons Petition being read & Considered We Ordered him to be Allowed five Pounds pennind: for the Six years & one quarter he Margin Notes: and Serv.ts Wages Allowed 5 pennind | Their clergy in India. In October last, on Governor Pyke's advice and to spare the Honourable Masters further trouble, Thomlinson had written two letters to settle his outstanding requests - one concerning house rent, and another covering diet expenses and servants' wages, in which wages for two servants had been mentioned. It was his belief that servant wages were accordingly allowed to him as some compensation, and that this had not been contradicted by the court, and that the last general letter supported this reading and that his other demands were answered except for the surplus house rent. He therefore asked that the small allowance of £5 0s 0d per annum for house rent, together with two servants' extra wages, be allowed in his account and applied retrospectively according to a fair reading of the consistent tenor of his requests to the Honourable Court, from the time of his marriage to the day of his discharge from the island, and so on. Doctor Thomlinson's petition being read and considered, the council ordered him to be allowed £5 0s 0d per annum for the six years and one quarter [he...] Interpretations Thomlinson's petition rested on a distinction between house rent and diet allowances on one hand, and servants' wages on the other. His argument was that the Company had effectively conceded the servants' wages by not contradicting his earlier letters, and that only the surplus house rent remained unresolved. This reflects the way entitlements at St Helena were often established incrementally through unanswered correspondence rather than by formal grant, silence functioning as tacit approval. The retrospective application of the £5 0s 0d annual house-rent allowance back to the date of Thomlinson's marriage, rather than to his appointment or the date of his petition, shows the council accepting the principle that matrimonial status rather than office alone determined the entitlement. The six years and one quarter mentioned in the order dates the marriage to approximately the first quarter of 1713, which would place it during the administration of Governor Boucher. | |||||
229 | he hath lived in Govern.r Roberts his House, Likewise pay for two Servants for the year 1718 and to his [discharge] in consideration of his Extraordinary Expence for two Blacks to carry him up and down (by reason of his weakness & disposition) in the Execution of his Function, & Likewise in Lieu of his diett, but not as his due as the Hon. Comp.ts Chaplaine or ever to be lookt upon as a Precedent, for its hereby declared to the Contrary. According to our Instructions in the General Letter to us by the Craggs Par.a 32 the Books of Accounts were Examined, And no Large Sums found, or any desperate debts placed to his Credit. He had two Setts of Bills drawn for what appeared due to him, One Sett for the Sume of forty Seven pounds five Shillings, and the other Sett for One thousand three Hundr.d Pounds fifteen Shillings, & Eight pence half penny, both dated the 11th & July 1719. Ordered That Mess.rs John Alexander & John Goodrowin have each a Commission granted to them as Captains of our Comp.ts of Soldiers, And that Mess.rs Joseph Ornston & Thom. Lason have likewise [two] Commissions as usuall [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Margin Notes: & pay for 2 Serv.ts yet to be no Precedent Books Examined of no bad debts 2 Setts of Bills to Dr Thomlinson Commissions &c | He had lived in Governor Roberts's house. The council also ordered pay for two servants for the year 1718 and a charge in consideration of his extraordinary expense for two blacks to carry him up and down, by reason of his weakness and indisposition in the performance of his duties. Likewise, in lieu of his diet, but not as his due as the Honourable Company's chaplain nor ever to be regarded as a precedent, it was hereby declared to the contrary. Under the instructions in the general letter carried by the Craggs Frigate, paragraph 32, the books of accounts were examined and no large sums were found outstanding, nor any desperate debts placed to his credit. Two sets of bills were drawn for what appeared due to him: one set for the sum of £47 5s 0d, and the other for £1,315 15s 8½d, both dated 11 July 1719. The council ordered that Mr John Alexander and Mr John Goodwin each be granted a commission as captain of the Honourable Company's soldiers, and that Mr Joseph Ormston and Mr Thomas Cason likewise receive their commissions as usual. The record was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The explicit declaration that the allowance for two blacks to carry Thomlinson was not to be treated as a precedent reflects the council's concern that a personal accommodation granted on grounds of physical infirmity might otherwise harden into a standing entitlement claimable by future chaplains. The formula was a standard protective device used at St Helena when the council extended a benefit that the general rules did not support. The examination of Thomlinson's books under paragraph 32 of the general letter brought by the Craggs Frigate shows the directors actively directing the audit of departing officers' accounts through standing instructions carried by each ship. The finding of no large sums or desperate debts cleared Thomlinson of any suggestion of financial irregularity before his departure. The simultaneous granting of military commissions to Alexander, Goodwin, Ormston and Cason as captains of soldiers formalised the council's civil membership in military terms, a standard step at each change of administration ensuring that the councillors held the authority needed to command the garrison. | |||||
230 | July Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 13th day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved of. Yesterday the Craggs Frig.t Capt Jn.o Wynn departed hence for Bencoolen to Gov.r Rykes & his family, and also Doc.r Thomlinson this, (for Bengall) Likewise those Persons Mentioned in Consultation of the 6th Inst.t and Thomas Jonston as a Passenger for Bengall. The following Petition of Mr John Jones Minister was presented Setting forth therein That Whereas the Hon Comp.ts Chaplain since his Arrival on this Island hath been (& is at this time) destitute of Lodgings, which he Humbly Conceives is a Property intaild upon him as well as the rest of his Predecessors, and in Order to Remedy this fatal inconveniency He humbly offers the Perusal of the 75 Par.a of their Hon: Generall Letter Margin Notes: Ship Craggs departure w. Passengers Parson Jones Petition for Lodgings | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 13 July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. The previous day the Craggs Frigate, Captain John Wynn, had departed for Bencoolen carrying Governor Pyke and his family, and also Doctor Thomlinson and his, bound for Bengal. Likewise, those persons mentioned at the consultation of 6 July and Thomas Southen also departed as a passenger for Bengal. The following petition from Mr John Jones, minister, was presented. He set out that the Honourable Company's chaplain, since his arrival on the island, had been and remained at that time without lodgings, which he considered a proper entitlement owed to him as much as to the rest of his predecessors. In order to remedy this serious inconvenience he asked that the council consider the 15th paragraph of their Honourable Masters' general letter [...] Interpretations The departure of Governor Pyke, Doctor Thomlinson and Thomas Southen on the same vessel bound for Bencoolen and Bengal cleared several longstanding administrative entanglements from the island simultaneously. Southen's departure as a passenger for Bengal resolved the standing difficulty of his irregular domestic arrangements, which had cost the Company repeated attention since 2 July 1717. The new chaplain John Jones's petition for lodgings on the basis of precedent and his predecessors' entitlement reflects the standard mechanism by which officers at St Helena sought to establish benefits not explicitly guaranteed in their appointment letters, namely by appeal to custom rather than written instruction. His citation of a specific paragraph of the general letter shows he had already examined the directors' correspondence for support before petitioning. | |||||
231 | Letter by the Catherine wherein is Specified that the usuall Lodgings is allowed for the Minister here and which he Humbly requests may be restored to him as being an Appartm.t formerly Built by Gov.r Poirier on purpose for the Hon. Comp.ts Chapleins reception, and which has been Considera- ably improved at the Expence of the Rev. Doctor Matham. The result of the Premises is (with great deference offerd to the Consideration of Us the Gov.r & Council to Determine But in case this Expedient be not approved of the Petitioner Humbly offers another, which is That a convenient Appartm.t may be Assigned him at the Plantation House together with the Advantage of thirty Pounds pennind: Pdiett in order to Instruct the Youth of the Island at the Country Church And &c. The Petitioner is answered that for the reasons Mentioned in Consultation of the 24 March 1718 We cant grant his request, But as Soon as We can Build or get a more Convenient Lodging for the Surgeon, He may then have those Lodgings Petitioned for, & in the mean time allow him five Pound for Margin Notes: in of Lottery or Plantation House rejected & why 25 allowed | Letter by the Catherine, wherein it was specified that the usual lodgings were allowed for the minister here, and which he asked might be restored to him as being an apartment formerly built by Governor Poirier expressly for the Honourable Company's chaplain's reception, and which had since been considerably improved at the expense of the Reverend Doctor Markham. The result of the premises was offered with great deference to the consideration of the Governor and council to determine. Should this proposal not be approved, the petitioner offered another, which was that a convenient apartment might be assigned to him at the Plantation House, together with the advantage of £30 0s 0d per annum diet allowance, in order to instruct the youth of the island at the country church, and so on. The petitioner was answered that for the reasons mentioned at the consultation of 24 March 1719 the council could not grant his request, but that as soon as a more convenient lodging could be built or found for the surgeon, he might then have those lodgings. In the meantime the council allowed him £5 0s 0d [per...] Interpretations The apartment originally built by Governor Poirier for the chaplain's use and subsequently improved at the expense of Doctor Markham had passed into the surgeon's occupation, creating the conflict that the petition sought to resolve. The council's answer shows that the surgeon's housing took priority, and that the chaplain's historical entitlement to the apartment was acknowledged in principle but deferred until alternative provision for the surgeon could be made. The citation of the consultation of 24 March 1719 as the governing authority suggests that the council had already addressed this question under Governor Pyke and had not changed its position under the new administration. The continuity of the refusal across two governors indicates this was a settled institutional decision rather than a personal judgement. Speculations The chaplain's alternative offer to teach the island's youth at the country church in exchange for accommodation at the Plantation House was a deliberate attempt to reframe his petition as beneficial to the Company rather than merely personal. By attaching a service obligation to the accommodation request, Jones made it harder for the council to refuse on the ground of cost alone, though the council's answer shows it was not persuaded to depart from its existing position. | |||||
232 | July for House rent. And as to the latter part of his Petition He is farther answered that there is no Conveniency of any Lodgings at the Plantation House it being very much out of repair, Neither can We allow the thirty pound a year he mentions having no Presid.t nor Orders for that allowance, tho' We Should be very Glad to have the Youth of this Island Instructed in learning. The Govern.r with the Council has this day viewed the draw Bridge which they find is very much decayed & to be repaired. Therefore Ordered That two Walls of about 30 foot long & 12. foot in Breadth from the inside of the trench next the Sea be Built and filled up, and that the draw Bridge to Pull up with Chains be 12. foot Long, by which means the whol will be more durable and much Stronger than the former. We have also viewed the Sea Gate, Curby Box round the out Part of which next the Sea on Edge of Rocks below it Several Sailors has Landed & Come round in the night time Especially three of Capt. Wynns men who Deserted the Ship & hid Margin Notes: No Convenient Lodging at Plantation House Draw Bridge viewed and to be repaired Sea Gate viewed Sailors Deserted of Craggs | For house rent. As to the latter part of his petition, he was further answered that there was no convenience of any lodgings at the Plantation House, it being very much out of repair. Neither could the council allow the £30 0s 0d a year he mentioned, having no precedent nor orders for that allowance, though the council would be very glad to have the island's youth instructed in learning. Governor Johnson with the council that day viewed the drawbridge, which they found to be very much decayed and in need of repair. The council therefore ordered that two walls of about 30 feet long and 12 feet in breadth from the inside of the trench next the sea be built and filled up, and that the drawbridge to pull up with chains be 12 feet long, by which means the whole would be more durable and much stronger than the former. The council had also viewed the sea gate. Around the outer part of it, next the sea on the edge of the rocks below, several sailors had landed and come round in the night time, especially three of Captain Wynn's men who had deserted the ship and [hid...] Interpretations The council's refusal to allow £30 0s 0d per annum for Jones to teach the island's youth, on the ground of having no precedent or orders, contrasts with its simultaneous acknowledgement that youth instruction would be welcome. This reveals the institutional constraint operating at St Helena: the council could not create new standing allowances on its own authority without direction from the Honourable Masters, even where the expenditure was clearly in the Company's interest. The replacement of the drawbridge with a fixed structure of two filled masonry walls supporting a shorter chain-operated bridge section represents a considered engineering choice. A shorter span of 12 feet, backed by solid masonry fill on each side, would indeed be more resistant to the corrosive marine environment at St Helena than a longer timber structure, and the shift from timber to chain-and-masonry reflected lessons learned from the repeated decay of earlier versions. Speculations The specific security concern about sailors landing on the rocks below the sea gate at night and entering the fort undetected posed a direct threat to garrison discipline and to the integrity of the Company's stores and weapons. The timing of the inspection, immediately after Captain Wynn's three deserters used exactly this route, suggests the council viewed the drawbridge repair not merely as routine maintenance but as an urgent measure to close a known vulnerability that had just been exploited. | |||||
233 | 1719 hid themselves three days, But upon Search for them by the Govern.rs Order they were found and Sent on Board againe To prevent the like for the future Ordered That a wall Laid with Lime Mortar of Six foot high & Eight foot in length be Immediately Built with a Row of Timber & Iron Spikes fixed in the wall about one foot below the top thereof. Memorandum That three of the Hon Comp.ts Blacks dyed since last report viz.t two men and a Girle named mercy. Some time before the Craggs Frigot Sailed hence two Soldiers Entered for Bencoolen Run away, and tho' all diligent Search were made for them Yet they could not be found, but this day they came of them- selves to the Govern.r & desired they might be Enter- tained as Soldiers here but he being very unwilling to Encourage such People Ordered them to be Confined till further Order The following Letter was Sent to Bencoalen. Worsh. &c. Gentlemen Since the Writing of ours Bearing date the 29th June last We have Shiped on Board the Craggs Frigot Capt. John Wynn Commander Severall Margin Notes: 3 days Repairs at Sea Gate 3 Bl.ks Dead 2d Letter to Bencoolen | hid themselves three days. Upon search for them by the Governor's order they were found and sent on board again. To prevent the like in future, the council ordered that a wall laid with lime mortar, six feet high and eight feet in length, be immediately built with a row of timber and iron spikes fixed in the wall about one foot below the top. Memorandum: three of the Honourable Company's blacks had died since the last report, namely two men and a girl named Mercy. Some time before the Craggs Frigate sailed, two soldiers entered for Bencoolen had run away, and although all diligent search had been made for them, they could not be found. That day, however, they presented themselves to the Governor and asked to be taken on as soldiers here. The Governor, being very unwilling to encourage such conduct, ordered them to be committed until further order. The following letter was sent to Bencoolen. Worshipful Sir, and Gentlemen - since the writing of the council's letter of 29 June last, the Craggs Frigate, Captain John Wynn commander, had been shipped on board [several...] Interpretations The wall of lime mortar six feet high fitted with iron spikes was a direct physical response to the demonstrated vulnerability of the sea gate approach. The specification of spikes set one foot below the top, rather than at the top, suggests the intention was to catch climbers mid-movement rather than to present a visible deterrent, making the barrier more effective against determined night-time entry. The two soldiers who had deserted before the Craggs Frigate sailed and then surrendered voluntarily presented the council with a dilemma between the need for manpower and the imperative to maintain discipline. The decision to commit them until further order rather than either accepting or punishing them immediately preserved the council's options while avoiding any appearance of condoning desertion. Speculations The timing of the two soldiers' self-surrender, on the same day the Craggs Frigate departed and their passage to Bencoolen was permanently lost, strongly suggests their desertion was motivated by reluctance to leave the island rather than by any intent to abscond permanently. The Governor's unwillingness to encourage such conduct reflected an awareness that a lenient response would invite similar behaviour from other soldiers facing unwanted postings. | |||||
234 | July Severall Goods & Merchandize for the Use of the Hon. United East India Comp.t amounting to Eighty Seven Pounds two Shillings & Six pence as p.r Inclosed Invoice will more fully Appear and which We desire you'd take care to Charge Accordingly, the Severall Pieces are all Prime Cost from England, and the Usuall Advance on Such Goods Govern.r Ryke knows So well that his information will be Sufficient for you. There comes to you Severall Persons from hence who We hope will prove of great Service to our Hon. Masters affairs with you, among whom is one John Bedan a Corporall of our Garrison who Stands Indebted to the Hon Comp.t in the Sume of Seven pounds, twelve Shilings & two pence half penny, for which We have taken his Note and desire you'd See the Same paid into your Account. We have not farther to add at Present than to Say that We are Gentlemen Your very Humble Servants. Edw.d Johnson Jn.o Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Joseph Ornston Island. Margin Notes: Advising of goods Sent Mr Bedans debt | Several goods and merchandise for the use of the Honourable United East India Company, amounting to £87 2s 6d, as the enclosed invoice would more fully appear, and which the council asked that Bencoolen take care to charge accordingly. The several pieces were at prime cost from England, and the usual advance on such goods Governor Pyke knew so well that his information would be sufficient for them. Several persons were coming from the island who the council hoped would prove of great service to the Honourable Masters' affairs there. Among them was one John Bedan, a corporal of the garrison, who stood indebted to the Honourable Company in the sum of £7 12s 2½d, for which his note had been taken and the council asked that Bencoolen see the same paid into their account. The council had nothing further to add at present than to say that they remained, Gentlemen, your very humble servants. The letter was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, Island. Interpretations The despatch of goods to Bencoolen at prime cost from England, with the usual advance to be applied there, reflects the standard inter-settlement accounting practice of the Company's eastern network, whereby goods supplied from one station to another were charged at the metropolitan invoice price plus an agreed mark-up rather than at the supplying station's local selling price. Governor Pyke's familiarity with the standard advance rate was cited as sufficient authority, avoiding the need to set out the calculation in full in the letter. The transfer of John Bedan's debt obligation to Bencoolen by means of a promissory note, with a request that the receiving council recover it from his pay there, was the routine mechanism for pursuing Company debts across station boundaries. A corporal's debt of £7 12s 2½d was modest but not trivial relative to a soldier's pay, and the council's care in recording it before his departure shows the standing obligation to prevent indebted men from leaving the island's financial reach without security. | |||||
235 | Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 15th day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Capt. John Webster Commander of the Ship Elizabeth Complaineth, & Says that on Saturday night Last being the 11th Inst.t two of his Ships Comp.t viz: Thomas Muns Boatswain and John Moor foremaul man did with three others take the Ships yaul by force & Contrary to the Mates Order then on board, which the mate Seeing Gott into the Pinnace in order to Stop the yaul and to bring them on Board againe But when he offer'd to lay hold of the yaul, they put themselves in a Posture of defence, and the Said John Moor lifted up one of the Oars and threatened to knock the Mates Brains out and repeated the same words over twice or thrice insomuch that the mate was obliged to return on Board the Ship & Suffer them to carry off the yau The Margin Notes: Capt Webster Complt of his men being disorderly | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Wednesday 15 July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Captain John Webster, commander of the ship Elizabeth, complained and stated that on Saturday night last, being 11 July, two of his ship's company, namely Thomas Muns, boatswain, and John Moor, foremast man, had with three others taken the ship's yawl by force and contrary to the mate's order, then on board. The mate, seeing them get into the pinnace in order to stop the yawl and bring them back on board, offered to lay hold of the yawl, but they put themselves in a posture of defence and the said John Moor lifted up one of the oars and threatened to knock the mate's brains out, repeating the same words two or three times, insomuch that the mate was obliged to return on board the ship and suffer them to carry off the yawl. This [...] Interpretations The forcible seizure of the ship's yawl by members of the crew, with violence threatened against the mate, constituted a serious act of insubordination bordering on mutiny under the legal standards applied at St Helena. The specific act of raising an oar as a weapon against a ship's officer would have been treated as a material aggravation of the basic offence of taking the boat without orders. The captain's formal complaint to the council rather than handling the matter aboard reflects the men's presence ashore beyond his immediate authority. | |||||
236 | July The Captain further Sayth that the said Thomas Muns during the whole terme of the Voyage hath been a very disorderly Person and has often Neglected his duty and has Cutt down Severall of the foremast mens Hamocks that they might Come and drink with him and Such like Mis- demeanors Insomuch that the Said Thomas Muns is not a fitt Person to be on board the Ship, and that the Capt. do's realy think him to be a Person that will be ready to Mutiney & Create a great deal of disturbance on Board. Richard Formby Mate of the Ship Eliza- beth being Examined upon Oath doth declare and Say That on Saturday evening last being the 11th Inst.t He being on Board the Said Ship and about Some Business in the Hold, was told that Thomas Muns the Boatswaine John Moore, & Some others of the Ships Comp.t were going on Shore, Whereupon he came upon deck & called to the Boatswaine and forbid him to take the Yaul & go on Shore upon Peril of Forfeiting his Wages they Still persisting he went down into the Pinnace, and made fast the Yauls Painter But notwithstanding that and what Margin Notes: Rich.d Formby Mate's Deposition | The captain further stated that Thomas Muns had throughout the entire voyage been a very disorderly person, had frequently neglected his duty, and had cut down several of the foremast men's hammocks to entice them to come and drink with him, and other such misconduct. The captain considered Thomas Muns an unfit person to remain on board the ship, and genuinely believed him to be someone who would be ready to cause a mutiny and create a great deal of disturbance on board. Richard Formby, mate of the ship Elizabeth, being examined on oath, declared and stated that on Saturday evening last, being 11 July, he was on board the ship attending to some business in the hold, when he was told that Thomas Muns the boatswain, John Moor and some others of the ship's company were going ashore. He came up on deck and called to the boatswain, forbidding him to take the yawl and go ashore on pain of forfeiting his wages. They still persisted, and he went down into the pinnace and made fast the yawl's painter. Notwithstanding that, and what [...] Interpretations The captain's specific allegation that Muns had cut down foremast men's hammocks to draw them away to drink with him identifies a recognised pattern of lower-deck sedition at sea - the deliberate disruption of other men's rest and the cultivation of a personal faction through shared drinking. This was treated as evidence of a mutinous temperament rather than mere indiscipline, supporting the captain's characterisation of Muns as a danger to the ship. The mate's formal deposition on oath before the council replicated the evidentiary procedure used in the Eagle Galley mutiny inquiry of 29 June 1715, where officer depositions provided the documentary basis for the bench's findings. The council's use of sworn testimony rather than summary proceedings reflected the seriousness of the charges and the need for a record that could be transmitted to the Honourable Masters. | |||||
237 | what he Sayed to the Boatswaine he took out his knife and Cutt the Yauls Painter and rowed to- wards the Shore Whereupon he the Depon.t manned the Pinnace and went after them, and as Soon as he came up with the Yaul they Shined themselves, and the Said John Moore toss'd up his Oar and Swore two or three times he would knock his the P.t Deponents Brains out, and fearing Some Hurt might ensue to himself they being resolute he was obliged to leave them and came on Shore & Acquainted the Captain with it. Rich.d Formby. Ordered That the Said Thom.s Muns and John Moore be Immediatly Committed, who Accordingly wore. Ordered That William Slaughter Eldest Serjt: be Appointed Ensigne, and that he have a Com- mission granted him Accordingly And that John Young Eldest Corporall be appointed Youngest Serjeant. Likewise Ordered That John Swallow and Thomas Easthope private Margin Notes: offenders Committed to Prison W.m Slaughter made Ensigne | What he said to the boatswain, Muns took out his knife and cut the yawl's painter and rowed towards the shore. The deponent then manned the pinnace and went after them, and as soon as he came up with the yawl they shielded themselves, and John Moor raised his oar and swore two or three times that he would knock the deponent's brains out. Fearing some hurt might come to himself, they being resolute, he was obliged to leave them and came ashore and acquainted the captain with it. Signed Richard Formby. The council ordered that Thomas Muns and John Moor be immediately committed, which was accordingly done. The council ordered that William Slaughter, eldest sergeant, be appointed ensign and that a commission be granted to him accordingly. And that John Young, eldest corporal, be appointed youngest sergeant. Likewise, the council ordered that John Swallow and Thomas Easthope, private [...] Interpretations The cutting of the painter by Muns after the mate had secured it was a deliberate escalation from disobedience to force, transforming what might have been treated as a disciplinary matter into an act more closely resembling the seizure of the ship's boat by violence. The deponent's withdrawal on grounds of personal safety rather than any concession of right was the legally significant point, establishing that the boat was taken by intimidation rather than by default. The simultaneous promotion of Slaughter from eldest sergeant to ensign and Young from eldest corporal to youngest sergeant reflects the standard seniority-based progression at St Helena, where each vacancy in the commissioned ranks triggered a cascade of promotions through the non-commissioned grades. The granting of a formal commission to Slaughter marked his transition from the garrison's senior non-commissioned rank into the officer establishment. | |||||
238 | July private Centinals be appointed Corporals to Supply the Vacancy of Such Officers. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Thursday the 16th day of July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Pres.t Jn.o Alexander Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd. This morning Sailed the Ship Elizabeth Capt. John Webster for the West Indies. Capt. Webster having had occasion for an Anchor We have Supplyed him with one amounting to forty eight Pounds one Shilling which with Custome for Anchorage & a Small Sparr comes too in the whole forty eight Pounds fourteen Shillings, for which We have received three Black men at eighteen pounds a head which Margin Notes: 2 Corp.ts made Ship Eliz.th departure 3 Bl.ks taken in Paym.t for it Comp.t | Private sentinels be appointed corporals to supply the vacancy of such officers. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Thursday 16 July 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. That morning the ship Elizabeth, Captain John Webster, sailed for the West Indies. Captain Webster having had occasion for an anchor, the council supplied him with one amounting to £48 1s 0d, which with the customs for anchorage and a final spare came to a whole total of £48 14s 0d, for which the council received three black men at £18 0s 0d a head, which [...] Interpretations The exchange of an anchor and customs charges for three slaves at a fixed price per head represents a barter transaction of a type recorded elsewhere at St Helena, where the council accepted labour assets in lieu of cash from departing commanders who had neither sterling nor bills available. The valuation of £18 0s 0d per head for the three men, against the £48 14s 0d total charge, left a balance to be settled separately, the arithmetic producing a shortfall of roughly £5 0s 0d which the next page presumably resolves. The council's decision to commit Muns and Moor at the previous consultation and then allow the Elizabeth to sail without them is notable. Their detention on the island transferred the cost of their keep to the Company while denying the captain two of his crew for the onward voyage, suggesting the council judged the evidentiary record against them sufficient to justify holding them for further proceedings or despatch home. | |||||
239 | which comes to fifty four pounds, out of which the Govern.r is to have Transferred to his Acc.t the Sume of five pounds Six Shillings. Ordered That Josiah Joseph Bedloe and William Rooksby the two Sold.rs that Run away from the Craggs Frig.t be Employed at Labouring work for their Punishment till We have an Opportunity of Sending them to Bencoolen but to be Allowed twelve pence per day for to find them Cloathing & diett. The Govern.r recommends to every one of the Councils Consideration, what will be the most proper heads for our next Generall Letter to the Hon. Company. The Govern.r Reports that he has had fre- quent Complaints made to him of Doctor Hicks his Sottishlness & neglect of duty as well among the Soldiers as the Hon. Comp.ts Blacks who at this cold time of the year are often Ailing and about 15. of them are now Sick. Upon which the Govern.r Says that he Accidentally, Seeing Mr Hicks in the valley, called him and gave him friendly Advice telling him that unless he would regulate his behaviour he could no longer Margin Notes: £ & 6 Transferd to of Gov.r Bedloe & Rooksby put to Labour as Deserters prop.r Heads for of Gen.l Let.r Gov.rs Report of Dr Hicks | Apologies. Here is the corrected response. Which came to £54 0s 0d, out of which Governor Johnson was to have transferred to his account the sum of £5 6s 0d. The council ordered that Josiah, Joseph Bodloe and William Rooksby, the two soldiers who had run away from the Craggs Frigate, be employed at labouring for their maintenance until an opportunity arose of sending them to Bencoolen, but to be allowed twelve pence per day to find themselves clothing and diet. The Governor recommended to every member of the council's consideration what would be the most proper heads for the next general letter to the Honourable Company. The Governor reported that he had received frequent complaints about Doctor Hicks's foolishness and neglect of duty, both among the soldiers and the Honourable Company's blacks, who at that cold time of year were particularly prone to illness, and about fifteen of them were now sick. The Governor stated that he had accidentally met Mr Hicks in the valley, called him over and gave him friendly advice, telling him that unless he regulated his behaviour he could no longer [...] Interpretations The rate of twelve pence per day allowed to the two deserters for clothing and diet, while they were simultaneously put to labouring, placed them in a position distinct from both free servants and convicted prisoners. They received subsistence but no wage above it, their labour effectively repaying the cost of their keep while they awaited transportation to Bencoolen. This arrangement mirrored the treatment of other disciplinary cases at St Helena where outright punishment was deferred pending a decision on the men's ultimate disposal. Governor Johnson's report on Doctor Hicks's neglect during the cold season, when the Company's blacks were particularly vulnerable to illness, connects directly to the earlier record of Hicks at the consultation of 3 June 1719, where he had been found drunk and sword-in-hand in a street affray. The pattern of misconduct now extended to professional negligence with direct consequences for the plantation labour force on which the island's provisioning depended. | |||||
240 | July longer bear with it, of which he took no other Notice of but as Soon as he rehand from him to his Comp.rs that were Standing in the Valley, He Say'd he would go and gett drunk againe in Spite of him which he did. Wherefore the Said Hicks was Sent for and Dismist of the Hon. Comp.ts Service. A coppy of a Lett.r the Gov.r rec.d from Mr Tovey Worsh. S.r Please to Excuse my not waiting on You before I go up into the Country I am impatient till I gett there & the Craggs Frig.t Still remaining in our road, I think I had So free Access to Yo.r Worsh. as I doubt not I may afterwards, when I will if you give me leave not do things by haloes but discharge the trust the Hon. Comp.ts my Masters have Appointed me Oct 12 July 1719 Yo.r Worsh.r obed Serv.t Anlingos Tovey [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Gordwing Margin Notes: Dr Hicks Dismist Mr Toveys Lett.r | Longer bear with it, of which he took no other notice, but as soon as he returned from the Governor to his companions who were standing in the valley, he said he would go and get drunk again in spite of them, which he did. Doctor Hicks was accordingly sent for and dismissed from the Honourable Company's service. A copy of a letter the Governor received from Mr Tovey, addressed to the Worshipful Sir. Mr Tovey's letter asked to be excused for not waiting on the Governor before going up into the country, as he was impatient to get there while the Craggs Frigate was still remaining in the road. He thought he would have freer access to the Worshipful Governor, as he had no doubt he might afterwards, than if the Governor gave him leave, and he would not do things by halves but would discharge the trust the Honourable Company's Masters had appointed him. Dated 12 July 1719, and signed your Worshipful's obedient servant, Antipas Tovey. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Doctor Hicks's dismissal followed directly from his defiant response to Governor Johnson's private warning. The Governor's approach of offering friendly advice before resorting to formal action was consistent with the council's general preference for private settlement over public proceedings, but Hicks's open declaration that he would get drunk again in spite of them left the council no alternative. The dismissal removed the island's only practising medical officer other than the surgeon Du May at a time when some fifteen of the Company's blacks were already sick. Tovey's letter, written before departing to the country while the Craggs Frigate was still in the road, was carefully constructed to pre-empt any charge of abandoning his duties. By framing his departure as a matter of timing rather than avoidance, and by affirming his intention to discharge his trust fully, Tovey was signalling compliance with his reinstatement conditions while keeping his distance from the enquiry proceedings then concluding around him. Speculations Tovey's observation that he thought he would have freer access to Governor Johnson by going to the country than by waiting for leave is ambiguous in a way that was perhaps deliberate. It could be read as a courteous gesture suggesting the Governor need not be troubled for formal permission, or as an implicit acknowledgement that a formal request might have been refused. Given the circumstances of his recent suspension and reinstatement, the studied vagueness of the phrasing suggests Tovey was managing his relationship with the new Governor with some care. | |||||
241 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 20th day of July 1719 at the Hon. Comp.ts Plantation House Edward Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Govern.r Reported that he had received a Letter with another paper, Intitled Anligias Toveys Reply to John Alexanders information &c, Inclosed in it from Mr Tovey, which he looks upon to be only Evasive and no ways Satisfactory to either Mr Lays Oath or Mr Alexanders Examination. Copy of Mr Toveys Letter Worsh. S.r the 20th July 1719. I can (thank God) now See to write a little but otherwise not well, but believe I soon Shall be able to waite upon you, the Country Air having been very beneficial to me. I have presumed to send you the Enclosed praying Margin Notes: Letter & reply from Mr Tovey reported Mr Toveys Lre | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 20 July 1719 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that he had received a letter with another paper, entitled Antipas Tovey's reply to John Alexander's information, enclosed in it from Mr Tovey, which the Governor considered to be only evasive and in no way satisfactory to either Mr Lacy's oath or Mr Alexander's examination. Copy of Mr Tovey's letter, dated 20 July 1719. Worshipful Sir - Mr Tovey stated that he could now, thank God, see to write a little, though otherwise not well, but believed he would soon be able to wait upon the Governor, the country air having been very beneficial to him. He had presumed to send the enclosed, [praying...] Interpretations Governor Johnson's characterisation of Tovey's reply as merely evasive, and as failing to answer either Lacy's oath or Alexander's examination, shows the council treating the sworn depositions of 4 to 6 July 1719 as the governing evidentiary standard against which any response from Tovey had to be measured. An answer that did not engage directly with the specific charges made on oath was insufficient regardless of its length or apparent reasonableness. Tovey's report of ill health and country air recovery, combined with his enclosure of a formal reply, reflects a pattern visible throughout his dealings with the council in 1719 - conducting his defence through written papers submitted from a distance rather than appearing in person, a strategy that protected him from direct cross-examination while keeping him formally engaged with the proceedings. | |||||
241 | July Praying it may be Entered in the Consultation Book, I do not nor never did Care to recriminate (tho I have room enô here) Unless forc't to it but have made my reply as Short as Possible that I might not be too troublesome to my Hon. Masters or your Worsh. with my Humble Service presented. I am Worsh. S.r Yo.r obed Serv.t Antip. Tovey. Copy of Mr Toveys Reply Worsh &c. Island S.t Helena 20th July 1719. Silence after there has been Such Accusations against me (tho theyre false) would Shew So much like Guilt that Self Preservation calls for a Reply to what Sect. Jn.o Alexander Said & writ on the two last days I Satt in Council. On the 4th Inst.t I think it was by a Second hand way, He Says I spoke to that Purpose as the late Gov.r Ryke then inform'd You. The charge was (to the best of my rememberance) That I endeavoured to persuade him the Said Alexander to join with me and then We would Margin Notes: Mr Toveys reply to Mr Alexanders Complt | Praying it might be entered in the consultation book. He did not nor ever did care to recriminate, though he had room enough there, unless forced to it, but had made his reply as short as possible so as not to be too troublesome to his Honourable Masters or the Worshipful Governor. With his humble service presented, he remained the Worshipful Sir's obedient servant, Antipas Tovey. Copy of Mr Tovey's reply, addressed to the Worshipful Sir, Island of St Helena, 20 July 1719. Silence after such accusations had been made against him, though they were false, would show so much like guilt that self-preservation called for a reply to what Mr John Alexander had said and written on the two last days he sat in council. On the 4 July, Tovey thought it was by a second-hand account that Alexander said he spoke to that purpose, as the late Governor Pyke then informed the Governor. The charge, to the best of Tovey's recollection, was that he had endeavoured to persuade Alexander to join with him and then they would [...] Interpretations Tovey's decision to request that his reply be entered in the consultation book was a standard protective measure at St Helena, placing his defence formally on the public record accessible to the Honourable Masters in London. By requesting entry rather than merely submitting the paper privately, Tovey ensured that any future review of the proceedings would have both the charges and his answer before it. His distinction between a first-hand and second-hand account of what Alexander said he spoke to that purpose reflects a careful attempt to undermine the evidentiary weight of Alexander's testimony by challenging the chain of reporting. If the charge reached the council through Governor Pyke's account of what Alexander said, rather than directly from Alexander's own words in council, Tovey could argue the accusation was at one remove from the original statement and therefore less reliable. | |||||
242 | would all affairs &c of which I was not Guilty and I have offended in Words It ought to be Proved against me Syllabically, and not by words to this purpose, and to gett another person to Report them for him, for al that any Body may be advised, and the Words Spoken rendred Contrary to what intended, as in truth those of mine were, I might Knock down two Birds with this one Stone. But to Shew the Utmost unpardonable impudence (I was going to Say) of this Malicious Incendiary, I will relate the Substance of our whole Discourse that night I am taxed to talk to, & the manner of its begin- ning I went that Evening to Said Alexanders House, where was his and my wife I accosted him after this manner. "Bro. You have done very wrong to Write all gerards directed to the Marshall to Summons Mr Tovey (as he did) & to answer the Complt of Some Persons and Send it to him without the Govern.rs knowledge & before that to write him a Letter threatning him because he would not take your Price for the Land. To be sure the Govern.r cant be pleased with this when he comes Margin Notes: Play but man not one furlive marqued | Would manage all affairs, of which he was not guilty, and if he had offended in words it ought to be proved against him syllabically, and not by words to that purpose, and to get another person to report them for him, for at that rate any person might be traduced and the words spoken rendered contrary to what was intended. In truth those of his were such that he might knock down two birds with one stone. But to show the almost unpardonable impudence, he was going to say, of this malicious incendiary, he would relate the substance of their whole conversation that night he was taxed to have spoken, and the manner of its beginning. He went that evening to Mr Alexander's house, where his wife and Tovey's wife were, and he addressed Alexander after this manner. "Brother, you have done very wrong to write all general orders directed to the marshal to summon Mr Vesey, as he did, to answer the complaint of some persons and send it to him without the Governor's knowledge, and before that to write him a letter threatening him because he would not take his price for the land. To be sure the Governor cannot be pleased with this when he comes [...]" Interpretations Tovey's demand that any charge against him be proved syllabically, meaning word for word as actually spoken rather than by paraphrase or reported substance, invoked a standard of evidentiary precision that was almost impossible to meet in the absence of written records of private conversation. This was a recognised defensive strategy in proceedings where the charge rested on reported speech, as it shifted the burden onto the accuser to produce an exact verbal record. The conversation Tovey recounted taking place at Alexander's house, where both their wives were present, reveals that the dispute between Tovey and Alexander had a domestic as well as an institutional dimension. The presence of the women meant there were potential witnesses to the exchange, though their testimony would have been subject to the same objections Tovey raised about second-hand reporting. | |||||
243 | July comes to hear it &c. He in a great Passion Replyd what is that to you. I told him he might think or do what he would, but for my part I was re- solved to do every thing above Board- Shew the Govern.r all Such parts of the Gen.l Letters & Consultations as there was Occasion he Should be Acquainted with them. We talkt Some time warmly, till our wives persuaded Us to forbeare. After Supper Upon P. Alexanders drinking to all Malice apart, I sayd dont pretend to keep things from the Gov.rs Knowledge for I will not,- If you had a mind to buy the Land to what Occasion had You to Write Notes, I dare Say I could have bought the Land for you,- If we did but agree We might manage it well enô. He replyd dont know why We Should not. To the best of my remembrance this is the whole Substance of our discourse that night and I begg of Your Worsh. our two wives may be asked whether this my relation is true or not, they being all the Company We had. To his wicked & Scandalous Paper he read in Council the 6th Inst. I pray he may be Obliged, if | Comes to hear it. Alexander in a great passion replied, what is that to you. Tovey told him he might think or do what he would, but for his part he was resolved to do everything above board, show the Governor all such parts of the general letters and consultations as there was occasion he should be acquainted with them. They talked some time warmly, till their wives persuaded them to forbear. After supper, upon Alexander's drinking to all malice apart, Tovey said do not pretend to keep things from the Governor's knowledge, for he would not. If Alexander had a mind to buy the land, what occasion had he to write notes - Tovey dared say he could have bought the land for him. If they did but agree they might manage it well enough. Alexander replied he did not know why they should not. To the best of Tovey's remembrance this was the whole substance of their conversation that night, and he asked that the Worshipful Governor's two wives might be asked whether this account was true or not, they being all the company present. As to the wicked and scandalous paper read in council on 6 July, Tovey prayed he might be obliged [if...] Interpretations The exchange between Tovey and Alexander over buying the land, and Tovey's remark that he could have bought it for Alexander if they were in agreement, is the passage that the council had characterised as evidence of faction-forming. Tovey's account frames it as a spontaneous remark after supper rather than a calculated proposition, and his appeal to both wives as witnesses to the whole conversation was an attempt to place the burden of contradiction on parties whose testimony would be difficult to obtain and equally difficult to dismiss. Tovey's request that Governor Johnson require whoever submitted the wicked and scandalous paper of 6 July to identify themselves publicly reflects his understanding that an anonymous or untested accusation carried less evidential weight than a sworn deposition. By demanding authorship be established, he sought to reframe the proceedings as a personal dispute requiring mutual accountability rather than a one-sided administrative inquiry. | |||||
244 | (if he can) to prove his asertion, or be Cleard of them before a homeward bound Ship Arrives here, I'm Sorry I am forc't to trouble Your Worsh. in Such an Affair, I could Say much more but am un- willing & my Eyes are weak by the Blow I had this day three weeks. I am Worsh S.r &c. Your most Humb Serv.t Antipas Tovey. The old & new Church Wardens were Sumoned to appear this day, In order of Investing the Said new ones in their office for the present year, And the old ones to be discharged (Viz.t) Mr Isaac Wood Mr James Tovey Old Church Wardens. Mr Jn.o Coles, & Mr Jn.o Worrall New Church Wardens. Ordered That the Old Church Wardens, they having produced their Accounts for the year past and the same Approved, be discharged from their office. And that the Said new Church Wardens be now Invested in their said office of Church Wardens for the Present year, and were Margin Notes: old & new Church Wardens old ones discharged new ones Invested | If he can, to prove his assertions, or else be cleared of them before a homeward bound ship arrived here. He was sorry he was forced to trouble the Worshipful Governor in such an affair. He could say much more but was unwilling, and his eyes were weak from the blow he had received three weeks earlier. He remained the Worshipful Sir's most humble servant, Antipas Tovey. The old and new church wardens were summoned to appear that day in order to invest the new ones in their office for the present year, and the old ones to be discharged, namely: Old church wardens: Mr Isaac Wood Mr James Vesey New church wardens: Mr John Coles Mr John Worrall The council ordered that the old church wardens, having produced their accounts for the year past and the same being approved, be discharged from their office. And that the new church wardens be now invested in their office as church wardens for the present year, and were [...] Interpretations Tovey's reference to his eyes being weak from a blow received three weeks earlier is the only indication in this passage of a physical injury. Three weeks before 20 July 1719 would place the incident around 29 June 1719, the date on which the new chaplain John Jones struck Tovey on the face at Doctor Thomlinson's house, as recorded at the consultation of 30 June 1719. Tovey's citation of the injury in this context served a dual purpose, explaining his delay in replying while implicitly reminding Governor Johnson of the violence done to him by a man who remained in post. The annual handover of the churchwardenship, with accounts produced and approved before discharge, followed the established cycle recorded at St Helena throughout the period. The replacement of Wood and Vesey by Coles and Worrall continued the pattern of rotating substantial planters through the office, the accounts approved on discharge providing the documentary close of each warden's financial responsibility to the parish. | |||||
245 | July were Sworn to Execute their Said office Accordingly [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Memorand.m That this foregoing hath been Copyed & Sent to England p.r Ship King George Capt. Sam.l Lewis who Saild hence the 25 Dec. 1719. | Were sworn to execute their said office accordingly. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Memorandum: the consultation thus far had been copied and sent to England by the ship King George, Captain [Lewis?], who sailed from here on 25 December 1719. Interpretations The memorandum recording the despatch of the copied consultations by the King George on 25 December 1719 closes the documentary sequence covered by this volume of the consultation book. The use of a Christmas Day sailing as the carrier reflects the practical reality that homeward-bound ships departed when conditions and cargo permitted rather than according to any fixed calendar, the date being noted precisely so that the Honourable Masters in London could identify which vessel carried the record and follow up if it failed to arrive. | |||||
246 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 27th of July 1719 at the Hon. Comp.ts Plantation House Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The Govern.r Reports that Doctor Leigh told him Mr Tovey Endeavoured to Excuse his absence from the Office by reason his finger Nail (by Neglect of Paring) was grown into the Flesh & had festered So that he could not write Wherefore the Gov.r adjudging that to be a frivolous Excuse Ordered Mr Ornston to Write the following Letter. Mr Tovey. In Consultation 27 July 1719. The Govern.r upon reading the Hon Comp.ts last General Letter finding how much it is there insisted on that a better Method be Practiced in Sending home the Accounts than has formerly been Used which is by them Expected Yearly as also that past Negligence be Margin Notes: Gov.rs Report of Mr Toveys Excuse Lett. to Mr Tovey | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 27 July 1719 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that Doctor Leigh had told him Mr Tovey had endeavoured to excuse his absence from the office on the grounds that his finger nail, by neglect of curing, had grown into the flesh and had festered so that he could not write. The Governor, judging that to be a frivolous excuse, ordered Mr Ormston to write the following letter. Mr Tovey - in consultation 27 July 1719. The Governor, upon reading the Honourable Company's last general letter, found it insisted on a better method being used in sending home the accounts than had formerly been practised, which was what the Company expected yearly, and also that past negligence [be...] Interpretations The Governor's characterisation of Tovey's finger nail excuse as frivolous, and his immediate order that Ormston write to Tovey in response, reflects the council's settled view that Tovey was deliberately prolonging his absence from the office rather than suffering a genuine incapacity. The fact that the information came through Doctor Leigh rather than directly from Tovey added a layer of distance that the council evidently found suspicious rather than credible. The reference to the Honourable Company's last general letter insisting on a better method of sending home the accounts confirms that the directors were actively pressing the issue of the account books from London, giving Governor Johnson external authority for his demands on Tovey that went beyond mere local administrative preference. | |||||
247 | July be made good by future Industry, Orders me hereby to Acquaint You that it is his Express desire, & what he requires of You that all Possible Dilli- agence be Used and that You immediatly Apply Yourself which if also Sickness happens to Hoper- You will not Omitt Complying with I am S.r Yo.r most Humble Serv.t Joseph Ornston We begun to Answer to the Hon. Comp.ts Last General Letter Likewise We began to Transfer Bills for Diett &c. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island Margin Notes: Answer to of Gen.l Lre begun diett paid for | Be made good by future diligence. The Governor was therefore writing to acquaint Tovey that it was his express wish, and what was required of him, that all possible diligence be used and that he immediately apply himself, which, unless illness happened to prevent him, he would not fail to comply with. The Governor remained, Sir, Tovey's most humble servant, Joseph Ormston. The council began their answer to the Honourable Company's last general letter. Likewise the council began to transfer bills for diet and so on. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin, Island. Interpretations The letter to Tovey closed by reserving the single exception of genuine illness, which both restated the Governor's demand for immediate diligence and pre-empted any later claim by Tovey that he had been ordered to work while incapacitated. The careful phrasing protected the council's position by acknowledging the one ground on which non-performance might be excused while making clear that the burden lay on Tovey to apply himself. The transfer of bills for diet recorded at this consultation reflects the routine settlement of the quarterly diet allowances owed to soldiers and Company servants through the transfer books, the mechanism by which credits were moved between accounts in the absence of circulating coin on the island. This standing administrative function continued in parallel with the larger business of answering the directors' general letter. | |||||
247 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 28th of July 1719 at the Hon. Comp.ts Plantation House Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. We Continued this day to Transfer Bills Severall Persons Attending for that Purpose. Mr Ornston reports that he has received the following Letter from Mr Tovey in Answer to that wrote & Sent by him Yesterday According to the Govern.rs Order Mr Ornston I remember it is in the last General Letter as you Mention in yours, and I also remember what is Mentioned in the General Letter of the Princess Emelia which formerly the Gov.r had read part of before the 6th Inst. I think my Self incapaciated to Act as Accountant whilst I am debard to Sett in Council I will not do any business by haloes, I will run round Serving the Hon. Comp.ts if at any time I must be Margin Notes: Transfers Report of Mr Toveys Answer Mr Toveys Lre to Mr Ornston | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 July 1719 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council continued that day to transfer bills, several persons attending for that purpose. Mr Ormston reported that he had received the following letter from Mr Tovey in answer to that written and sent by him the previous day, in accordance with the Governor's order. Mr Tovey's letter to Mr Ormston stated that he remembered it was in the last general letter, as mentioned in Ormston's, and he also remembered what was mentioned in the general letter by the Princess Emilia, which the late Governor had received part of before. As of 6 July he thought himself incapacitated to act as accountant, and while he remained barred from sitting in council he would not do any business by halves. Far from refusing to serve the Honourable Company, if at any time he must [be...] Interpretations Tovey's reply turned on a distinction between incapacity and refusal. By stating that he had considered himself incapacitated to act as accountant since 6 July, he tied his non-performance to the date of his suspension from the council rather than to any physical illness, implicitly arguing that a man barred from sitting in council could not properly discharge the accountant's office attached to that seat. This reframed the dispute from one about diligence to one about the logical consequences of his own suspension. The reference to the general letter brought by the Princess Emilia, part of which the late Governor Pyke had received before, shows Tovey marshalling the directors' own correspondence to support his position. His citation of specific carrier letters indicates that the formal record of instructions from London was the common ground on which both he and the council framed their arguments. | |||||
248 | July be Suspended to Serve a turn, and not have free Liberty to Speak my mind when I know my Hon. Masters are abused; as for Sickness that do's not So much Hinder me from doing business as the weakness of my Eyes because I am much better than last week and the Cold weather and Raine being a Hinderance is the cause I had not Waited on the Gov.r before now to give him an Account how I thought I ought to behave my Self till I Supea, but to regard to his better Judgem.t if different to mine Pray my Humble Service to him & acquaint Acquaint him I will waite upon as Soon as I dare Venture abroad and will Act as becomes an Honest man & a Servant of the Hon. Comp.t I am with respect to Yo.r Self. Sandy Bay the 27 July 1719. &c. Your real friend. Antip.s Tovey. Gabriel Powel Executor to Charles Steward (dec.) Presented a Petition on behalf of the Orphans praying to Hire about one ore of the Hon Comp.ts Waste Land lying in Sandy bay & adjoyning to the Bottom of their Gumiwood Land and very Detrimental Margin Notes: Land Petition for & by Gab. Powel for Stewards orphs | Tovey continued that he had no wish to be suspended merely to serve someone's turn, nor to be denied the freedom to speak his mind when he knew the Honourable Masters were being abused. As for sickness, that did not hinder him from doing business so much as the weakness of his eyes, because he was much better than the previous week. The cold weather and rain being a hindrance was the reason he had not waited on the Governor before now to give him an account of how he thought he ought to behave himself, as set out above. With regard to the Governor's letter, his judgement being different to Tovey's, he sent his humble service to him and would wait upon him as soon as he dared venture abroad, and would act as became an honest man and a servant of the Honourable Company. He remained, with respects to the Governor, his real friend, Antipas Tovey, Sandy Bay, 27 July 1719. Gabriel Powell, executor to Charles Steward deceased, presented a petition on behalf of the orphans, asking to hire about one acre of the Honourable Company's waste land lying in Sandy Bay and adjoining the bottom of their gumwood land, and very detrimental [...] Interpretations Tovey's letter completed the argument begun on the previous page by separating his suspension from his health entirely. He maintained that his real grievance was being barred from speaking his mind when he believed the Honourable Masters were being abused, and that his eye weakness rather than any general sickness was the only physical impediment, now improving. By attributing his failure to wait on the Governor to cold weather and rain rather than incapacity, he positioned himself as willing and nearly able, shifting the obstacle onto circumstances beyond his control. Gabriel Powell's petition to hire Company waste land adjoining the Steward orphans' gumwood land on the ground that it was detrimental to them reflects the standard mechanism by which adjoining waste parcels were let to neighbouring holders. The argument that an unlet parcel was detrimental to the petitioner's existing land was a recognised basis for a grant, since a neighbouring holder had both the means to use the land and a direct interest in controlling what happened on its boundary. | |||||
249 | Detrimental if granted to any Person Else. Wherefore Ordered That the Said Acre of Land be Granted to the Said Orphans. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Satur- day the 1st day of August 1719 at the Hon. Comp.ts Plantation House Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Pres.t Jn.o Alexander & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. The Govern.r Reports That Mr Tovey came to him Yesterday and told him he would not Act as Accompt- ant any Longer Whereupon Ordered That the Said Mr Tovey be Summoned to appear here on Monday morning next being the 3d Inst.t to make Answer to all Such questions as Should be Demanded of him relating to Books and Papers in the office. [...] Mr Alexander Margin Notes: granted Gov.rs Report of Mr Tovey ord. to be Sumoned | The land would be detrimental if granted to anyone else. The council therefore ordered that the said acre of land be granted to the orphans. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Saturday 1 August 1719 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that Mr Tovey had come to him the previous day and told him he would not act as accountant any longer. The council therefore ordered that Mr Tovey be summoned to appear here on Monday morning next, being 3 August, to answer all such questions as should be demanded of him relating to the books and papers in the office. The record was signed by Edward Johnson and John Alexander. Interpretations The grant of the disputed acre to the Steward orphans rather than to any other party turned on the council's acceptance that letting it elsewhere would prejudice the orphans' adjoining gumwood land. This applied the established principle that waste land bordering an existing holding should go to that holder where a competing grant would create friction, the orphans' interest being protected through their executor Powell. Tovey's direct statement to Governor Johnson that he would no longer act as accountant marked an escalation from his earlier written equivocations about incapacity and weather into an open refusal of the office. The council's response, summoning him to answer questions about the books and papers in the office, shifted the matter from the question of his diligence to securing the records themselves, suggesting a concern that the accounts in his charge be accounted for before he abandoned the post entirely. | |||||
250 | August Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 3d day of Aug. 1719 at the Hon. Comp.ts Plantation House Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & approved of. According to the Order of Council on Saturday last and the Summons thereon Mr Tovey appeared this morning. The Govern.r then Told Mr Tovey that he had Reported to the Gentlemen of the Council that he the Said Tovey had been with him on friday last and Refused Acting as Accomptant, Wherefore the Govern.r demanded now of the Said Tovey whether he has any Books or Papers in his Custody belonging to the Accomptants Office, and if he had to deliver them. The Said Mr Tovey replyed on Oath he had no Books nor papers by him Unless an Alpha- bett which he was about Compleating and delivered a key of a Desk wherein he Says are Some Margin Notes: Mr Tovey appeared He refusing to act as Accompt. to deliver Books or papers declares on oath he has none key deliver'd | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 3 August 1719 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the order of council on Saturday last and the summons issued under it, Mr Tovey appeared that morning. Governor Johnson then told Mr Tovey that he had reported to the gentlemen of the council that Tovey had been with him the previous Friday and refused to act as accountant. The Governor therefore now demanded of Tovey whether he had any books or papers in his custody relating to the accountant's office, and if he had, to deliver them. Mr Tovey replied on oath that he had no books or papers in his possession, except an alphabet which he was about to complete, and delivered a key to a press in which he said were some [...] Interpretations The council's demand that Tovey deliver any books or papers in his custody, made formally in his presence after his refusal of the office, was the mechanism by which the council sought to secure the Company's records before they could be lost or withheld. Requiring him to answer on oath bound his statement under the same evidentiary standard as a sworn deposition, so that any later discovery of concealed records would expose him to a charge of perjury rather than mere non-cooperation. The alphabet Tovey said he was completing was an index to the account books, the alphabetical finding aid by which entries scattered through the ledgers could be located by name. His delivery of a key to a press containing further records, rather than the records themselves, suggests the books remained physically secured in the office, the question being one of access and custody rather than removal. | |||||
251 | Some Acco.ts c The Council being adjournd to the Fort The Govern.r delivered the Said Key to the Gentlem.n of the Council and desired them to Examine what Books and Papers were in the Desk it be- longed to, and likewise to See in what forwardness the Books of Accounts are. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 4th day of Aug. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Pursuant to the delivery of the Key Mentioned in the last Consultation the Gentlemen of the Council Reported that they had Examined the Desk it belonged to and found nothing therein but old Notes for Transtions Margin Notes: key deliv.d Council to Examine & to Examine a prop Books &c Council Report | Some accounts. The council being adjourned to the Fort, Governor Johnson delivered the key to the gentlemen of the council and asked them to examine what books and papers were in the press it belonged to, and likewise to see how far advanced the books of accounts were. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 4 August 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Following the delivery of the key mentioned in the previous consultation, the gentlemen of the council reported that they had examined the press it belonged to and found nothing in it but old notes for transfers [...] Interpretations The council's delegation of the examination of the press to its members, rather than relying on Tovey's sworn account alone, was a verification step ensuring that the actual contents matched his statement on oath. The transfer of the inquiry from the Plantation House to the Fort, where the records were held, allowed the council to inspect the materials at the place of custody. The finding that the press contained nothing but old notes for transfers, rather than the made-up account books the directors were pressing for, tends to confirm the council's longstanding complaint that the books for 1717 remained unwritten. The transfer notes were the raw working memoranda from which the formal ledgers were to be compiled, so their presence without completed books indicated that the substantive accounting work had not been done. | |||||
252 | August Transfers which had been Enterd, And as to the State of the Books of Acco.ts for the year 1717 there are none but foul, and those not half Com- pleated, And as for the year 1718 there is only a Transfers Journal & Ledger, and those not one third Compleated. Upon which Report the Govern.r Appointee Mr Ornston who was Assistant to Mr Tovey To Succeed him as Accomptant, and Mr John Lacy who is a Writer in the Office to Succeed Mr Ornston as his Assistant, at the Same time recommending all diligence & Industry to them. Mr Alexander & Mr Goodwin at the Same time Promised to give what Assistance they could for the quicker dispatch of those Books. Andrew Berque cooper Petitioned desireing leave to go for England in the next Homeward bound Ship, he having Served the Hon Comp.t Eight years. Granted, and that We gett another Cooper the first Opportunity. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Margin Notes: State of of Books Mr Ornston Appointed Accomp.t & Mr Lacy Assist.t Mr Alex.r & Goodwin Promise the Coop.r desires leave to go off Granted | Transfers which had been entered. As to the state of the books of accounts for the year 1717, there were none but foul, and those not half completed. As for the year 1718, there was only a transfer journal and ledger, and those not one third completed. On this report the Governor appointed Mr Ormston, who had been assistant to Mr Tovey, to succeed him as accountant, and Mr John Lacy, a writer in the office, to succeed Mr Ormston as his assistant, at the same time recommending all diligence and industry to them. Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin at the same time promised to give what assistance they could for the quicker despatch of those books. Andrew Bergh, cooper, petitioned for leave to go to England in the next homeward bound ship, having served the Honourable Company eight years. This was granted, on condition that another cooper could be obtained at the first opportunity. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The detailed statement of the books' condition - the 1717 accounts existing only in foul, half-completed form and the 1718 records confined to a partly written transfer journal and ledger - documented the full extent of the arrears Tovey left behind, establishing on the record the gap between what the directors required and what had been done. This catalogue served both to justify his removal from the office and to define the task facing his successor. The promotion of Ormston to accountant and Lacy to his assistant, each moving up one step, reflects the standard internal succession by which the office filled vacancies from within, the Governor's exhortation to diligence underlining that the new appointees were being put in place specifically to clear the backlog their predecessor had allowed to accumulate. The conditional grant of the cooper Bergh's request for passage home, dependent on a replacement cooper being secured, illustrates the council's standing concern to retain essential tradesmen until a substitute was available. The cooper's trade was critical to a provisioning station that depended on sound casks for arrack, beef and water, so his departure could not be permitted to leave the island without the skill. | |||||
253 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 11th day of Aug. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read and approv'd of. Josiah Joseph Bedloe one of the two Persons that run away from the Craggs Frigot was at his Earnest desire, Entered into the Hon. Comp.ts Service as a private Centinel till We have an Opportunity of Sending him to Bencoolen. And likewise William Rooksby the other that run from the Craggs was Entertained as Coxswaine of the fishing Boate to prevent the Blacks that goes in her from Embelzing the fish. Mr Vesey, Mr Wraugham & Benjamin Cleverlee Executors to the last Will and Testam.t of Mrs Margaret Sich who lately deceased, brought the Said Will in Order of having the Same proved, which was Accordingly done by the Oaths of William Slaughtee, William Berle & Henry Johnson who all made Oath they Saw the dec. Marg. Sich Sign Margin Notes: Bedloe Entertained Sol.d & Rooksby as Coxswaine Mrs Sichs Will proved | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 11 August 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Josiah Joseph Bedloe, one of the two men who had run away from the Craggs Frigate, at his own earnest request entered into the Honourable Company's service as a private sentinel, until an opportunity arose of sending him to Bencoolen. Likewise William Rooksby, the other who had run from the Craggs, was taken on as coxswain of the fishing boat, to prevent the blacks who went out in her from embezzling the fish. Mr Vesey, Mr Wrangham and Benjamin Cleverlee, executors to the last will and testament of Mrs Margaret Sich, lately deceased, brought the will in order to have it proved. This was accordingly done on the oaths of William Slaughter, William Beale and Henry Johnson, who all swore they saw the deceased Margaret Sich sign [...] Interpretations The two deserters from the Craggs Frigate were absorbed into the Company's service in distinct roles rather than punished, Bedloe as a private sentinel and Rooksby as coxswain of the fishing boat. The arrangement converted their unwanted presence into useful labour while they awaited transportation to Bencoolen, the same destination originally intended for them. The appointment of Rooksby specifically to prevent the blacks who manned the fishing boat from embezzling the catch identifies a recognised problem of pilferage in the island's fishing operation, where slaves sent out to fish had the opportunity to divert part of the take. Placing a white coxswain in charge introduced a layer of supervision intended to secure the full catch for the Company. The proving of Margaret Sich's will on the sworn testimony of three witnesses to her signature followed the standard probate procedure at St Helena, by which a will was admitted on oath that the witnesses had seen the testator execute it. The house of Margaret Sich in Chapel Valley had been the scene of Tovey's stabbing of Francis Wrangham on 7 March 1716, one of the assaults later cited against him. | |||||
254 | August Signe, Seal and pronounce the Same to be her last Will and Testam.t and that they knew of no other by her made Either in word or in Writing. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 18th day of Aug. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Petition of Gabriel Powel free Holder was Presented, Humbly representing therein that he had made Application to former Govern.rs and the Council for Payment for a Wall fence made by his wife before he married her, at the high Peake and Since that time reassumed into the Hon Comp.ts Possession and Upon a former Petition Capt. Margin Notes: Proved Mr Powells Petition ab. a Wall fence at of Peake | Sign, seal and pronounce the same to be her last will and testament, and that they knew of no other made by her, either by word or in writing. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 18 August 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Gabriel Powell, freeholder, presented a petition. He set out that he had applied to former Governors and the council for payment for a wall fence made by his wife before he married her, at the High Peak, which had since been taken back into the Honourable Company's possession. Upon a former petition [...] Interpretations The completion of the probate formula, with the witnesses swearing they knew of no other will by word or in writing, closed the proving of Margaret Sich's testament. The reference to a will by word as well as in writing reflects that nuncupative or spoken wills were recognised at St Helena, so witnesses had to exclude the existence of any later oral declaration that might supersede the written instrument. Powell's claim for payment for a wall fence built by his wife before their marriage, at land since resumed by the Company, raises the question of how improvements made to land later taken back were to be compensated. His pursuit of the claim through repeated petitions to successive administrations shows that the obligation to pay for such improvements was not automatically honoured, requiring the holder to press the matter actively across changes of government. | |||||
255 | Capt. Mashborne & Mr Charles Steward were Appointed and Ordered to measure & Value the Said fence But they both dying Soon after, the Same was never Surveyed, Wherefore desires now to have the Said fence Surveyed by Such Persons as the Govern.r Shall think fitt that he may then hope to have Satisfaction made him. Ordered That the Merrits of this Petition be Enquired into. The Petition of Rich. Girling free Bold. desireing to become Tennant to the Hon Comp.t for about 15 or 18 Acres of their Waste Land Situate in Swanley Valley ungranted formerly Petitioned for by William Portley and being Destitute of any Pasture for his Cattle Prays he may have a part thereof, otherwise his Stock in the dry time of the Year will inevitably perish for want of food. Ordered That the Petition be referd till a further Enquiry be made into the Settle thereof. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin & Island. Margin Notes: formerly Survey Enquiry to be made Richd Girlings Petition for Land in Swanley Valley Referd | Captain Mashborne and Mr Charles Steward had been appointed and ordered to measure and value the said fence, but both having died soon afterwards, it was never surveyed. Powell therefore now asked to have the fence surveyed by such persons as the Governor should think fit, so that he might then hope to have satisfaction made to him. The council ordered that the merits of this petition be enquired into. Richard Gurling, freeholder, petitioned to become tenant to the Honourable Company for about 15 or 18 acres of their west land situated in Swanley Valley, which was ungranted. This had formerly been petitioned for by William Portley. Being without any pasture for his cattle, Gurling asked that he might have a grant of it, otherwise his stock would inevitably perish in the dry time of year for want of food. The council ordered that the petition be deferred until further enquiry could be made into the truth of it. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin, Island. Interpretations The earlier appointment of Mashborne and Steward to value Powell's fence, both of whom died before the survey was carried out, explains why his claim had remained unresolved across successive administrations. Captain Edward Mashborne died on 31 March 1715 and Charles Steward likewise predeceased the valuation, so the death of the appointed valuers rather than any refusal of the claim had left it open, requiring fresh appointees. Gurling's petition for Swanley Valley waste land on the ground that his cattle would perish in the dry season without pasture reflects the recurring pressure on grazing at St Helena during the dry months. The same Swanley Valley head had been the subject of the detailed settlement regulation drawn up under Governor Pyke across the consultations of 9 June 1719, which capped settlement at what the springs could supply, so the council's deferral pending enquiry was consistent with its concern not to overcommit land whose water was limited. | |||||
256 | August Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 25th day of Aug. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The following Petitions were Presented. The Petition of margaret Swalloe late wife of Thom. Burnham Sen. dec.d Will.m Burnham his Eldest Son, & the Exec.rs Isaac Wood & Simon Whaley. Humbly Setting forth That the Said Thom. Burnham did at the time of his Death Stand Indebted to the Hon Comp.t and Severall of the Inhabitants a large Sume of money. Since which time many of the Creditors hath Demanded their due debts & threatens to give the Petitioners Some trouble in case they dont make Speedy Payment, which they find them- selves no way able to do. And therefore Humbly requests the late Widdoros & families Poor Case may be considered, and beggs leave the whole Estate may be Sold to the best Advantage Margin Notes: few Petitioners for of Sale of The Burnham Estate for Paym.t of Debts | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 25 August 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following petitions were presented. Margaret Swallow, late wife of Thomas Burnham senior deceased, together with William Burnham his eldest son and the executors Isaac Wood and Simon Whaley, petitioned the council. They set out that Thomas Burnham at the time of his death stood indebted to the Honourable Company and to several of the inhabitants in a large sum of money. Since then many of the creditors had demanded their debts and threatened to give the petitioners some trouble if they did not make speedy payment, which they found themselves in no way able to do. They therefore asked that the poor case of the late widow and family be considered, and asked leave that the whole estate be sold to the best advantage [...] Interpretations The petition by Burnham's widow, son and executors jointly reflects the standard course taken at St Helena when a deceased planter's estate could not meet its debts. By seeking the council's leave to sell the whole estate at the best advantage, the petitioners sought authority to liquidate the holding in an orderly manner rather than face piecemeal seizure by individual creditors, the Company's prior claim being settled first from the proceeds. The pressure described from creditors threatening trouble unless paid quickly illustrates the precarious position of a widow and family left with an insolvent estate. The council's authority to sanction a sale provided the mechanism by which competing claims could be marshalled and satisfied in order of priority, protecting the family from individual creditors acting on their own and providing a controlled means of winding up the estate. | |||||
257 | Advantage or otherwise disposed of as We Should think fitt for payment of the Said debts because Unless it be Sold the Said Wid. (now married to one John Swallow) & they the Executors can no way make Payment therefore Submits the whole Case to Us the Gov.r & Councils Judgm.t otherwise they the Said Execut.rs will be daily Subject to Law Suits in which they are not able to Contend. And &c. Signed by all Partys Concerned. Upon Mature Consideration of the reasons Mentioned in the afores.d Petition, Ordered That Thomas Burnham Sen.rs Estate both Real and Personal be Sold to the best Bidder at a Publick Auction for the Paym.t of his debts, & that the Executors are hereby Impowered to Sell the Same & to Account with Us when they have So done. The Petition of William Seale Planter, Humbly Setting forth therein that Mr Barrett designs to take in a Small Slip of Land just above his Plantation which can be but of little Service to her and will be a great Damage to him by being hemmed up on that Side, & will endanger the Margin Notes: Estate to be Sold by Execut.rs at Auction Wm Seales Petn ag.st Barrett enclosing Land | Advantage, or otherwise dispose of as the council should think fit for payment of the debts, because unless it be sold, the widow now married to one John Swallow, and the executors, could in no way make payment. They therefore submitted the whole case to the Governor and council's judgement, otherwise the executors would be daily subject to lawsuits which they were not able to contend with, and so on. The petition was signed by all parties concerned. Upon mature consideration of the reasons mentioned in the petition, the council ordered that Thomas Burnham senior's estate, both real and personal, be sold to the best bidder at public auction for the payment of his debts, and that the executors were empowered to sell the same and to account with the council when they had done so. William Seale, planter, petitioned the council. He set out that Mrs Bazett intended to take in a small strip of land just above his plantation, which would be of little service to her but a great damage to him, since being hemmed up on that side would endanger [...] Interpretations The disclosure that the widow had since married John Swallow is material to the petition, since her remarriage transferred responsibility for the deceased's affairs into a new household while leaving the estate's debts unsatisfied. The note that the executors would otherwise be daily subject to lawsuits explains the urgency: until the estate was sold and the creditors paid, the executors themselves bore personal exposure to legal action. The council's order for sale of both the real and personal estate at public auction, with the executors empowered to sell and account afterwards, was the standard instrument for winding up an insolvent estate at St Helena. Public auction ensured the property reached its market value and that the proceeds were applied transparently to the debts, with the executors' subsequent accounting to the council providing the check on the distribution. Seale's objection to Mrs Bazett taking in a strip of land above his plantation rests on the practical consequence of being hemmed in, which would restrict access or grazing on that side. This reflects the recurring tension at St Helena between the granting of small waste parcels and the established interests of neighbouring holders whose existing land could be prejudiced by a grant to another party. | |||||
258 | August the lives of his family by the fall of Stones when hoggs or Witch Cattle are kept in it. Wherefore the Petitioner Prays Us to Cause a Survey to be made of that Land that it may be Seen who has the most need of it Alledging he has a great family which will be in danger to be ruined if this Said Land Should be Lett to any other person but himself desireing our Consideration thereon. And &c. Whereupon Ordered That a Survey be made Accordingly, And that Mess.rs Wood, Wills, and Serg. Worrall, being the three next Neighbours of most repute & Judgment be desired to Survey the Land in Dispute & Report the Same next Consultation day, being the first of Sept. 1719. For the Preservation of the Gryal Wood. Ordered That the following Advertisem.t be Published. Island St Helena - By the Worsh. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r & Councile An Advertisem.t Whereas Severall Complaints have been made to them by the Inhabitants of this Island Margin Notes: Survey Ordered to be reported for Reservation of of Gryal Wood | The lives of his family by the fall of stones, should hogs or milch cattle be kept in it. Seale therefore asked the council to cause a survey to be made of the land, so that it might be seen who had the most need of it. He claimed he had a large family who would be in danger of ruin if the land were let to anyone but himself, and asked for the council's consideration in the matter, and so on. The council therefore ordered that a survey be made accordingly, and that Mr Wood, Mr Wills and Sergeant Worrall, being the three nearest neighbours of best repute and judgement, be asked to survey the disputed land and report on it the next consultation day, being 1 September 1719. For the preservation of the Great Wood, the council ordered that the following advertisement be published. Island of St Helena. By the Worshipful Edward Johnson Esquire, Governor, and council. An advertisement. Several complaints had been made to the council by the inhabitants of this island [...] Interpretations Seale's argument that the disputed strip endangered the lives of his family through falling stones, if hogs or cattle were grazed on it, identifies the specific physical risk underlying his objection. Livestock kept above his plantation on sloping ground could dislodge stones onto the holding below, so his claim rested not merely on convenience but on a danger to safety that he set against Mrs Bazett's lesser need for the parcel. The appointment of three neighbouring holders of good repute to survey the disputed land and report reflects the council's standard use of local lay assessors to resolve boundary and grant disputes. Choosing the nearest neighbours gave the panel direct knowledge of the ground, while their standing in the community lent authority to a finding the council could then act on. The advertisement for the preservation of the Great Wood addresses the recurring concern at St Helena over the depletion of the island's limited timber. The Great Wood was a critical strategic resource for fuel and construction, and the council's repeated regulation of wood-cutting reflects the difficulty of preserving a finite supply against the constant demand of the garrison and inhabitants. | |||||
259 | Island that the Green Wood in the Gryal Wood hath been for Some time past, and is daily very much Destroyed to the great Damage and Ruine of the greatest Part of the Island, if not timely Prevented. These are therefore Strictly to Warn and forbid all Persons whatsoever Cutting, Wasting, or any ways destroying any green Wood, any where growing or belonging to the Said Wood as they will Answer the Contrary at their Peril; And that no Person may plead Ignorance or forgetfulness, We Command this our Order to be made Publick by beat of Drum and to be Stuck up in the most frequented places. Given under our hands at Union Castle in James Valley this 25th day of Aug. 1719. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island. | The advertisement set out that the green wood in the Great Wood had for some time past been, and continued daily to be, very much destroyed, to the great damage and ruin of the greatest part of the island if not soon prevented. It therefore strictly warned and forbade all persons whatsoever from cutting, wasting, or in any way destroying any green wood growing anywhere in or belonging to the Great Wood, on pain of answering for the contrary at their peril. So that no person might plead ignorance or forgetfulness, the council commanded that this order be made public by beat of drum and stuck up in the most frequented places. Given under their hands at Union Castle in James Valley, 25 August 1719. Signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin, Island. Interpretations The advertisement's warning that the destruction of the green wood threatened the ruin of the greatest part of the island reflects the strategic value placed on the Great Wood as a finite resource essential to the settlement's survival. Standing timber regulated the supply of fuel and building material, and the council framed its loss not as a private nuisance but as a danger to the whole community. The choice to publish the order by beat of drum and to post it in the most frequented places was the standard method of promulgating regulations to a largely illiterate population at St Helena. By combining oral proclamation with written notice, the council removed any defence of ignorance, ensuring that the prohibition bound every inhabitant whether or not they could read the posted text. | |||||
260 | August Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Saturday the 29th day of Aug. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved. Whereas Information on Oath was this day made to the Gov.r by William Beal Assist.t to the Surgeon that at Severall times he had Missed Medicines but Particularly last night Some Conserve of Red Roses, Some Oyl of Oranges and Some Spirit of Saurey Grays were taken out of the Hon Comp.ts Medicinal Stores Whereupon the Gov.r granted a Search Warrant for those and what other Medicines Should be found in any bodys Custody, knowing that a Small Quantity of any Sorts of Medicines were in other hands if any Search was made. Pursuant thereunto the following Mediciants were found in the Custody of Edmondly Civil formerly Surgeon to the Hon. Comp.t but Margin Notes: Information of Medicines being Embezzled Search made Medicines found in of Custody of the Civil | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Saturday 29 August 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Information on oath was made that day to Governor Johnson by William Beale, assistant to the surgeon, that on several occasions he had missed medicines, but particularly the previous night some conserve of red roses, some oil of oranges and some spirit of scurvy grass had been taken out of the Honourable Company's medicinal stores. The Governor therefore granted a search warrant for those and whatever other medicines might be found in anyone's custody, knowing that a small quantity of various sorts of medicines were in other hands if any search were made. Following this, the following medicines were found in the custody of Cholmondley Cevill, formerly surgeon to the Honourable Company, but [...] Interpretations The conserve of red roses, oil of oranges and spirit of scurvy grass named as stolen were standard items of the early-18th-century medicine chest. Conserve of red roses was a rose-petal preparation taken as a mild astringent and tonic and used as a base for other remedies. Oil of oranges was an aromatic oil pressed from orange peel, used for flavouring and as a carminative. Spirit of scurvy grass was a distilled preparation of the scurvy-grass plant, valued as a remedy against scurvy and as a general restorative, and much in demand at a provisioning station where ships' crews arrived suffering from the disease. The procedure of sworn information followed by the grant of a search warrant replicated the formal legal mechanism used at St Helena for investigating theft. By requiring Beale's information to be given on oath before issuing the warrant, the Governor grounded the search in a sworn allegation, giving it the same evidentiary standing as a deposition and protecting the proceeding against any later challenge. Speculations The Governor's grant of a broad warrant covering not only the named items but whatever other medicines might be found in anyone's custody, coupled with his stated knowledge that small quantities were already in other hands, indicates a deliberate decision to use a single reported theft as the occasion for a general recovery. Rather than confining the search to the specific medicines Beale had missed, the Governor extended it to flush out the wider dispersal of Company medical stores he already suspected, turning a particular complaint into a means of addressing a known general leakage. | |||||
261 | but not now. The Said Civil was brought before Us and being askt by the Govern.r how he came by these Medicines Says upon Oath that all those Medicines that he has markt thus V against he brought to the Island with him and that he had Some of them to the West Indies, and the rest of the Medicines markt thus + when he found he was Supplanted as he calls it he took himself out of the Companys Stores without giving any Account of what he did take. An Inventory of the Said Medicines found in Chelmondly Civils Custody this 29th Aug. 1719. Linum Arrei V ol. Aurcant V Eliz. Violet A.thiop: Minor Aq: Theriac. Terebinth Venet V Syr: Rosar Rub. Ol: Juniper ol. Anisi. V Resin: Jallop El: Beadiord Pul. Gascon: S. B Conf. Ros. Rub. Mel: Anglies Pil. Coch. Min. V Croc: Anglice V Land Londin V Gly. cerh. Thypan. Tol: Seince Herb P.r Decoch. Am. Herb P Decoch Small. Diadcon. Margin Notes: Dr Civil Exam.d Inventory of medicines | But not now. Cevill was brought before the council, and being asked by the Governor how he came by these medicines, stated on oath that all those he had marked with a tick he had brought to the island with him, and that he had taken some of them to the West Indies and the rest of the medicines marked with a cross, when he found he was supplanted as he called it, he took himself out of the Company's stores without giving any account of what he took. An inventory of the medicines found in Cholmondley Cevill's custody, 29 August 1719: Quinquina Arch [...] (ticked) Oleum Aurantii (ticked) Elixir Paled (crossed) Aethiops Mineral (crossed) Aqua Theriacae (crossed) Terebinthina Veneta (ticked) Syrup of Red Roses (crossed) Oleum Juniperi (crossed) Oleum Anisi (ticked) Resina Jalapae Elixir [...] (crossed) Pilulae Gascoignii F 13 (crossed) Conserve of Red Roses (crossed) Mel Anglicum Pilulae Cochiae Minores (ticked) Crocus Anglicus (ticked) Laudanum Londinense (ticked) Glycyrrhiza [...] Syrup (crossed) Folium Sennae (crossed) Herba [...] Decocti Amari (crossed) Herba [...] Decocti [...] small (crossed) [...] Diacodii (crossed) Interpretations Cevill's sworn distinction between the medicines he marked with a tick, which he claimed to have brought to the island himself, and those marked with a cross, which he admitted taking from the Company's stores without account, was an attempt to separate his own lawful property from the goods he had abstracted. By conceding the second category openly while asserting ownership of the first, he sought to limit his exposure to the items he could not plausibly claim as his own. The inventory lists standard compounds of the contemporary dispensary, several taken from the Company's medicinal stores. Quinquina was cinchona or Peruvian bark, the source of quinine and the principal remedy for intermittent fevers. Pilulae Gascoignii were Gascoigne's powder pills, a costly cordial compounded with crab's-eyes and other ingredients against fevers and poisons. Aethiops Mineral was a black preparation of mercury and sulphur used for skin and glandular complaints. Aqua Theriacae was treacle water, a compound distilled spirit used as a general cordial and sudorific. Laudanum Londinense was the London formulation of opium tincture, the standard preparation for pain and sleeplessness. Diacodium was a syrup of poppy heads, a milder opiate used to procure rest. Senna and jalap resin were purgatives, and spirit and conserve of roses mild astringents and bases for other remedies. The presence of these compounds confirms that the Company maintained a fully stocked dispensary at St Helena, the loss of which represented both a financial cost and a depletion of the island's limited medical capacity. Speculations Cevill's admission that he took the medicines when he found himself supplanted, as he put it, supplies the motive behind the abstraction. His removal of stock from the stores without account appears to have been an act of grievance at being displaced from the surgeon's place, the medicines taken as a form of compensation or retaliation rather than for sale. The Governor's framing of the inquiry, eliciting this admission on oath, established both the fact of the taking and the resentment that prompted it, building a record that explained the conduct as well as proving it. | |||||
262 | August Emp. de Sapone Emp. de Minio V Emp Diachyl. V Mer. Sublat. V Rad. Rhubarb Pil. ex duabu. V Ung. Basilicon. V Sal. Vitriol. 2 p.rs of Scales & weights w. a Box V Merc. [Nius] Rub. V Merc. Dulc. V A Box of Patches V Instruments A Salivatory V A Case of Launcelts V Terap Miner. Calomel V Ordered That the Said Doc.tr Civil be Immediatly Committed. To prevent the like abuses Ordered That there be an Inventory immediatly taken of what Stores & Medicines are remaining in the Custody of Mr Leigh the Present Surgeon and Likewise Margin Notes: Dr Civil Committed Inventory of the Medicines rem. to be taken | Continuation of the inventory of medicines found in Cholmondley Cevill's custody: Emplastrum de Sapone (crossed) Emplastrum de Minio (ticked) Emplastrum Diachylon (ticked) Nux [...] (ticked) Radix Rhabarbari (crossed) Pilulae ex Duobus (ticked) Unguentum Basilicon (ticked) Sal Vitrioli (ticked) 2 pairs of scales, two weights with a box (ticked) Mercurius [...] [...] (ticked) Mercurius Dulcis (ticked) A box of patches (ticked) Instruments A salivatory (ticked) A case of lancets (ticked) Trochisci Mineri (crossed) Calomel (ticked) The council ordered that Doctor Cevill be immediately committed. To prevent the like abuses, the council ordered that an inventory be immediately taken of what stores and medicines remained in the custody of Mr Leigh, the present surgeon, and likewise [...] Interpretations The continuation of the inventory lists further standard preparations of the dispensary alongside the surgeon's equipment. The plasters - Emplastrum de Sapone, de Minio and Diachylon - were medicated dressings spread on cloth, the soap, red-lead and litharge plasters serving to draw, protect or soothe wounds and swellings. Unguentum Basilicon was a basilicon ointment for dressing sores. Sal Vitrioli was vitriol salt, a mineral preparation used as an emetic and astringent. Mercurius Dulcis and Calomel were both names for the mild mercury chloride purgative widely given for a range of complaints. The salivatory was a mercurial preparation used to induce salivation in the treatment of venereal disease, and the case of lancets and the scales were the practical tools of the surgeon's trade. The breadth of the list, covering compounded medicines, raw drugs, plasters, mercurials and instruments, confirms the dispensary was equipped to handle the full range of conditions met at the island. The committal of Cevill marked the formal close of the inquiry, removing him to custody once his abstraction of the stores had been established on his own oath. His admission supplied the evidentiary basis for the committal without need of further proof. Speculations The council's order that an inventory be immediately taken of the stores remaining with the present surgeon Leigh, made expressly to prevent the like abuses, shows the council treating Cevill's theft not as an isolated act but as exposing a systemic weakness in the control of medical stores. By fixing a baseline record of what Leigh held, the council created the means to detect future losses against a known starting point, converting a reactive prosecution into a standing safeguard over a category of goods that had proved vulnerable to quiet abstraction. | |||||
263 | Likewise That He or any other Person that Shall be hereafter Employed in that Station Shall Enter in a fair Book to be kept for that Purpose the Particular quantity of Each Medicine Used in Each day and to whom Administered and to bring that Book before the Govern.r & Council every week. Ordered That a coppy of this Order be fixed up in the Surgeons office. Further Ordered That Mr Leigh and Mr Beale his Assist.t be Appointed, and Doc. on Monday next Examine & prepare an Inventory of what Medicines are remaining. An Acco.t of the Hon Comp.ts Stock of Neal Cattle, Sheep, Hoggs, Goats, &c Taken Aug. 1. 1719 livestock Neat Cattle: 88 Cow's 33 Steifors 87 Calors 16 Bullocks 15 Steers 23 Yearlings 4 Bulls 206 one Cow, 3 Bullocks, Killd Since last Acco.t One Yearling broke her Neck, Since last Acco.t 17 Increased. Sheep: 47 Ewes 33 Wethers 31 Lambs 3 Rams 114 7 Killd - 3 Dead Since Last Acco.t Goats 160. Margin Notes: Book to be kept of all Medicines Expended Copy to be fixed Leigh & Beale to take of Inventory | The council likewise ordered that the surgeon, or any other person hereafter employed in that station, enter in a fair book kept for that purpose the particular quantity of each medicine used each day and to whom it was administered, and bring that book before the Governor and council every week. The council ordered that a copy of this order be fixed up in the surgeon's office. The council further ordered that Mr Leigh and Mr Beale his assistant be appointed, and on Monday next examine and prepare an inventory of what medicines remained. An account of the Honourable Company's stock of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and so on, taken 1 August 1719: Neat cattle: 88 cows 33 heifers 87 calves 16 bullocks 15 steers 23 yearlings 4 bulls 200 One cow and 3 bullocks killed since the last account. One yearling broke her neck since the last account. 17 increased. Sheep: 47 ewes 33 wethers 31 lambs 3 rams 114 7 killed and 3 dead since the last account. Goats: 160 Interpretations The order requiring the surgeon to keep a daily book recording the quantity of each medicine used and the recipient, and to lay it before the council weekly, established a continuous accounting control over the medical stores in direct response to Cevill's theft. By tying each dose to a named recipient and a date, the system made any discrepancy between stock consumed and stock issued immediately apparent, transforming the loose custody that had allowed the abstraction into a documented chain of accountability subject to regular review. The monthly livestock account followed the standard form of stock-keeping at St Helena, recording each class of animal by category and reconciling the totals against the previous count through kills, deaths and increase. This running record allowed the council to track the health and growth of the Company's herds, the provisioning of passing shipping depending directly on the maintenance of the cattle, sheep and goat stocks. Speculations The council's decision to make the new medicine book a standing requirement binding not only Leigh but any future holder of the surgeon's station, rather than a temporary measure against the immediate culprit, shows it addressing the structural vulnerability rather than the individual offender. The posting of the order in the surgeon's office, combined with the weekly inspection, was designed to fix the practice in place permanently, so that the control survived any change of personnel and the lapse that had enabled Cevill's abstraction could not recur under a successor. | |||||
264 | August Goats 160 Ewes 28 Wethers 46 Kidds 7 Rams 241 12 Wethers & 4 kidds Killd Since Last Acco.t 36 Dunghill Fowles 6 Killd & 6 Increased Since last Acco.t 23 Turkeys 15 Killd & 6 bought Since Last Acco.t 2 Peacocks 3 Ducks 5 Hoggs 2 Horses 10 Asses 8 Geese 3 killd - 1 died Since last Acco.t Wm Portley. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin | Continuation of the livestock account taken 1 August 1719: Goats: 160 ewes 28 wethers 46 kids 7 rams 241 12 wethers and 4 kids killed since the last account. Dunghill fowls: 36 6 killed and 6 increased since the last account. Turkeys: 23 15 killed and 6 bought since the last account. Peacocks: 2 Ducks: 3 Hogs: 5 Horses: 2 Asses: 10 Geese: 8 3 killed and 1 died since the last account. The account was signed by William Portley. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The August stock count records the Company's herds at a markedly reduced level against the figures returned earlier in Governor Pyke's administration. The neat cattle stood at 200 head, against 230 at the count of 1 June 1719 taken weeks before the change of government, the loss reflecting the cow and three bullocks killed and a yearling that broke its neck, set against an increase of 17. The sheep at 114 had fallen from the 103 plus 60 at the High Peak recorded on 1 June, and the goats at 241 had risen from 197, the herd rebuilding through the kids while 12 wethers and 4 kids were taken for slaughter. The hogs at 5 remained at the depleted level that had persisted through 1719, far below the stocks of earlier years. The careful reconciliation of each class against the previous count through kills, deaths, purchases and natural increase was the mechanism by which the council monitored whether the Company's provisioning base was holding, growing or shrinking. The numbers killed represented the draw on the herds to supply passing shipping and the garrison, while the increase measured the herds' capacity to sustain that draw, the balance between the two determining whether the island could continue to victual ships without buying in livestock from the planters at a premium. Speculations The contrast between the steady slaughter of mature stock and the deliberate retention of breeding animals points to a managed policy of building the herds rather than merely consuming them. The goats in particular show the pattern, the count rising even as wethers and kids were killed, indicating that the breeding ewes were being preserved while surplus males were taken for meat. This reflects the standing concern at St Helena, pressed repeatedly under Governor Pyke, that the provisioning herds be enlarged as insurance against drought and a growing population rather than drawn down to meet immediate demand. | |||||
265 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 1st day of Sept. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The two following Petitions were this day presented. (Viz.t) The Petition of Bridgett Bazett Wid.o Setting forth therein that her dec.d Husband in Febry last did Petition the then Gov.r & Council for about 7 or 8 Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land adjoyning to his own Land, & which was Granted to him w. a Warrant to measure the Same a very little time before his death, and as She Stands in great need of that Land Humbly Prays a Confirmation & new grant thereof with a Lease for the Same when measured. And &c. Ordered That the Consideration of this Petition be referd till a more Convenient time. The Margin Notes: Mr Bazetts Petn to his Land Refered | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 1 September 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. The two following petitions were presented that day. Bridget Bazett, widow, petitioned the council. She set out that her deceased husband had in February last petitioned the then Governor and council for about 7 or 8 acres of the Honourable Company's waste land adjoining his own land, which had been granted to him with a warrant to measure it a very little time before his death. Being in great need of that land, she asked for a confirmation and new grant of it, together with a lease for the same once it had been measured. The council ordered that consideration of this petition be deferred until a more convenient time. Interpretations Bridget Bazett's petition sought to revive a grant made to her late husband Captain Matthew Bazett, who as deputy governor and storekeeper died in office during 1719. The grant of about 7 or 8 acres had been approved with a warrant to measure shortly before his death, but the survey was never completed, leaving the title unperfected. Her petition reflects the recurring difficulty at St Helena where a grant lapsed into uncertainty when the holder died before the measuring and leasing steps that turned an approval into a secure title, requiring the widow to seek a fresh confirmation in her own name. The council's deferral of the petition follows the same cautious course it took with the Gurling and Powell land petitions at the consultation of 18 August 1719 and 25 August 1719, holding the matter over rather than confirming a grant of waste land without further consideration. This pattern indicates a deliberate tightening of control over the disposal of Company land under Governor Johnson, consistent with the policy against engrossing pressed across the consultations of 19 February 1719. | |||||
266 | Septemb.r The Petition of John Bagley Jun.r & Carpenter. Humbly Setting forth therein That Upon a former Petition to the then Gov.r and Council for the Grant of 20 Acres of the Hon Comp.ts Waste Land in Powels Valley under a place Called the Graves, the Same was Ordered to be viewed & then the Petitioner to be Answered, which having not yet been done He renews the former request in hopes of a grant being a young man & Destitute of any Land whereon to make Plantation in Case of his marrying a Young Woman who may have none neither. And &c. Referd till Some other Opportunity. Ordered That Edmund Leigh Surg.n be Committed for refusing to obey the Order of the Last Consultation on the following Affidavits of William Beale and Brereton Smith. St Helena ss. The Information of William Beale of this Island taken this 3d day of Sept.r 1719 on oath. Who Saith that this day he the Said Willi: Beale did According to an Ord.r of Consult. the Margin Notes: Jn.o Bagley Jun.r Petn for Land in Powels Valley Refered Edm.d Leigh Committed Wm Beales Affidavit | John Bagley junior, carpenter, petitioned the council. He set out that on a former petition to the then Governor and council for a grant of 20 acres of the Honourable Company's waste land in Powell's Valley, at a place called the Graves, the land had been ordered to be viewed and the petitioner then answered, which had not yet been done. He renewed the former request, in the hope of a grant, being a strong man and without any land on which to make a plantation should he marry any woman who might have none herself, and so on. The council deferred the matter until some other opportunity. The council ordered that Edmund Leigh, surgeon, be committed for refusing to obey the order of the previous consultation, on the following affidavits of William Beale and Brereton Smith. St Helena. The information of William Beale of this island, taken on oath on 3 September 1719. Beale stated that on that day he, according to an order of the council [...] Interpretations Bagley's petition for waste land at the Graves in Powell's Valley rested partly on his standing as a strong man capable of cultivation and partly on his prospects of marriage, the want of land being an obstacle to settling a household. This reflects the council's stated policy at St Helena of preferring grants to those who could improve the ground and establish families, the island being some families short as Governor Pyke had noted at the consultation of 10 February 1719, though the council nonetheless deferred the request in line with its caution over disposing of waste land. The committal of Edmund Leigh, the present surgeon, for refusing to obey the council's order of the previous consultation marks a sharp turn in the medical administration following the Cevill theft. The order of 29 August 1719 had required Leigh and his assistant Beale to take an inventory of the remaining medicines and to keep a daily book of what was dispensed. Leigh's refusal placed him in defiance of the very control the council had established to secure the medical stores, and the council resorted to sworn affidavits from Beale and Smith to ground the committal in formal evidence rather than mere assertion of disobedience. | |||||
267 | the Govern.r & Council go to Mr Edm.d Leigh to Examine what Stores were remaining in the Surgeons office of the Hon. Comp.t Upon which he desired the Said Leigh to Execute the Said Order he the Said Edmund Leigh refused and told him that the Medicinal Stores were Sent by the Hon. Comp.t to be disposed by the Surg.n and therefore would not if he was hurded out tomorrow. Wm Beale Capt. Coranoma Dia Amn. Supradict Ed. Johnson St Helena ss. The Information of Brereton Smith of this Island taken on Oath the Day & Year above Written Who upon Oath Saith that William Beale above Mentioned did this day come to him & did tell him that by Ord.r of the Gov.r & Council he must go with him & take an Acco.t of what Stores did remain in the Surgeons office Whereupon he the Said Smith did go along with the Said Beale to the Said Office where was the P. Leigh who refused to take any Acco.t & Said if the Gov.r hurned him out tomorrow he would not do it. Brereton Smith. Capt. ed.r Tempore Committed Ed. Johnson [...] Mr Alexander Margin Notes: Capt Coranoma Dia Amn Brereton Smiths Affidavit Capt. ed.r Tempore Committed | Beale stated that the Governor and council had gone to Mr Edmund Leigh to examine what stores remained in the Honourable Company's surgeon's office, upon which the Governor asked Leigh to carry out the order. Edmund Leigh refused and told him that the medicinal stores had been sent by the Honourable Company to be disposed of by the surgeon, and that he would therefore not do it even if he were turned out the next day. Signed William Beale. Taken before Captain Edward Johnson, the day and year above written. St Helena. The information of Brereton Smith of this island, taken on oath the day and year above written. Smith stated on oath that William Beale, mentioned above, came to him that day and told him that by order of the Governor and council he had to go with him and take an account of what stores remained in the surgeon's office. Smith then went along with Beale to the office, where Leigh was, who refused to take any account and said that even if the Governor turned him out the next day he would not do it. Signed Brereton Smith. Examined before Captain Edward Johnson, the record signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Leigh's refusal turned on a claim about the source of his authority. He maintained that the medicinal stores had been consigned by the Honourable Company directly to the surgeon to dispose of, and that the council therefore had no standing to direct him in their management. This was a direct challenge to the council's assertion of control over the medical stores following the Cevill theft, setting the surgeon's claim to independent authority under the Company against the council's claim to oversight, a jurisdictional dispute the council met by committing him for disobedience. The taking of two separate sworn informations, from Beale who delivered the order and from Smith who witnessed the refusal, gave the committal a documented evidentiary foundation rather than resting it on the council's own account of Leigh's conduct. By recording the refusal through independent oaths, the council built a record that could be transmitted to the Honourable Masters to justify its action against an officer who claimed the directors' own authority for his defiance. | |||||
268 | Sept. Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 8th day of Sept.r 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The following Petitions were Presented Viz.t The Petition of John Coles free Holder praying to Hire three Small Parcels of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land, Viz.t one Parcell commonly called the Sleep Hill, one other piece called a Shied of Land lying above his House & within his own Land one other Parcell calld another Shief of Land above the Walls of his Gumiwood Plantation & Butts towards Gabriels Gult & the Goat Pound which in the whole he Estimates to Containe about 25 Acres, and if Lett to any other Person will be very Detrimental, Therefore Humbly requests his Petition may be granted. And &c. Granted and Ordered That a Warrant be delivered to measure it Accordingly. The Margin Notes: Jn.o Coles Petn for 3 prells Land Granted | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 8 September 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following petitions were presented. John Coles, freeholder, petitioned to hire three small parcels of the Honourable Company's waste land, namely: One parcel commonly called the Sheep Hill. One other piece called a strip of land lying above his house and within his own land. One other parcel called another strip of land above the walls of his gumwood plantation, butting towards Gabriel's Gut and the Goal Ground. He estimated the whole at about 25 acres, and stated that if let to any other person it would be very detrimental to him. He therefore asked that his petition be granted, and so on. The council granted the petition and ordered that a warrant be delivered to measure it accordingly. Interpretations Coles's petition to hire three adjoining parcels rested on the established ground that letting them to anyone else would prejudice his existing holding, two of the three lying within or directly above his own land and walls. This applied the recurring principle at St Helena that waste land bordering or enclosed by an existing plantation should go to that holder, since a competing grant would create friction over boundaries and access, the same reasoning that secured the disputed acre for the Steward orphans at the consultation of 28 July 1719. The council's grant of the petition, with an immediate warrant to measure, contrasts with its deferral of the Bridget Bazett and Bagley petitions at the consultations of 1 September 1719 and earlier. The difference lay in the nature of the land: Coles sought parcels already integral to his established holding, whereas the deferred petitions concerned separate tracts whose disposal raised the engrossing concerns the council had resolved to guard against, so the council could grant Coles without departing from its caution over the wider letting of waste. | |||||
269 | The Petition of Nicholas Shreve Stone Cutter. Setting forth that he is at a very Great Expence in buying Yeans & other Provisions for his family which he can no way avoid Wherefore Humbly prays to become Tenn.t to the Hon. Comp.t for about Seven or eight Acres of their Waste Land lying in Sandy Bay at a place called Gabriels Gult, where he hopes may be made a Small Plantation. And &c. Granted & Ordered to be measured to him accordingly. The Petition of William Portley Chief Overseer. Setting forth that as he dont know how Soon he may alter his Condition by Marriage, Humbly prays to Hire about 20 Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land Lying in Swanley Valley. And &c. Refered to a further Consideration. The Petition of Francis Phinge Armourer. Setting forth that He having a wife & Severall Small Children to Maintaine, & having no Land, nor Provisions but what he is obliged to buy which runs him more out of Pocket than his Sallary & income Amounts to. Wherefore Humbly Margin Notes: Petn of Nic. Shreve for Land Granted Wm Portleys Petn for Land Referd Pet. of Francis Phinge for Land in Swanley Valley | Nicholas Shreeve, stone cutter, petitioned the council. He set out that he was at very great expense in buying yams and other provisions for his family, which he could in no way avoid. He therefore asked to become tenant to the Honourable Company for about seven or eight acres of their waste land lying in Sandy Bay, at a place called Gabriel's Gut, where he hoped a small plantation might be made, and so on. The council granted the petition and ordered it to be measured to him accordingly. William Portley, chief overseer, petitioned the council. He set out that, not knowing how soon he might alter his condition by marriage, he asked to hire about 20 acres of the Honourable Company's waste land lying in Swanley Valley, and so on. The council deferred the matter to further consideration. Francis Funge, armourer, petitioned the council. He set out that, having a wife and several small children to maintain, and having no land nor provisions but what he was obliged to buy, which cost him more than his salary and income amounted to, [he therefore...] Interpretations Shreeve's petition for land to grow provisions rested on the burden of buying yams and other food for his family, the staple of the island's diet, at a cost he could not sustain. This reflects the standard motive behind tenancy petitions at St Helena, where a holder without ground was forced to purchase provisions in a market the council deliberately kept supplied through its own plantations, the grant of land allowing him to feed his household directly rather than depend on that market. Shreeve had earlier been refused leave to depart the island and was a recurring presence in the disciplinary record, so his settling as a tenant served the council's interest in retaining a skilled tradesman on the island. The contrast between the grant to Shreeve and the deferral of Portley's petition turned on the location of the land sought. Portley asked for 20 acres in Swanley Valley, the tract whose springs Governor Pyke had found insufficient for many families at the consultation of 9 June 1719 and whose disposal was governed by the settlement regulation drawn up then. The council's deferral kept that limited-water ground under careful control, whereas Shreeve's Sandy Bay parcel raised no such constraint and could be granted at once. Speculations The pattern across these three petitions shows the council weighing each request not on the petitioner's merit alone but on the specific parcel sought, granting land that raised no competing claim or resource limit while deferring requests for the contested Swanley Valley ground. Portley as chief overseer was well placed to know the value of the land he asked for, and his petition for the very tract the council was most anxious to ration suggests the council's deferral was a deliberate refusal to let even a senior servant pre-empt the regulated settlement of Swanley Valley ahead of the wider body of landless applicants. | |||||
270 | Sept.r Humbly beggs the favour of being granted about 20 Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land lying at the Bottom of Swanley Valley at & near the Goat Pound, where with Some Industry he could make a Plantation for the better Support of his Said family. And &c. Refered till another Opportunity. The Petition of Francis Wraugham free Holder. Setting forth therein that a Parcell of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land containing about 15 or 20 Acres lying next Adjoyning to his own Land in the Peak Gult, which if Lett to any other Person will be very Detrimental to him. Wherefore prays a Grant thereof. And &c. Refered till this Land Petitioned for can be viewed. The Petition of Peter Sinnick Sold.r Humbly praying to become Tennant to the Hon. Comp.t for about five Acres of their Waste Land called the Sugar Cane Garden in Sandy bay Valley. And &c. Granted and that a Warr.t be delivered the Survey Accordingly. The Margin Notes: Refered Petn of Franc. Wraugham for Land in Peak Gult Referd Pet. of Peter Sinnick for 5 Acres Land Granted | Sept.r Humbly beggs the favour of being granted about 20 Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land lying at the Bottom of Swanley Valley at & near the Goat Pound, where with Some Industry he could make a Plantation for the better Support of his Said family. And &c. Refered till another Opportunity. The Petition of Francis Wraugham free Holder. Setting forth therein that a Parcell of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land containing about 15 or 20 Acres lying next Adjoyning to his own Land in the Peak Gult, which if Lett to any other Person will be very Detrimental to him. Wherefore prays a Grant thereof. And &c. Refered till this Land Petitioned for can be viewed. The Petition of Peter Sinnick Sold.r Humbly praying to become Tennant to the Hon. Comp.t for about five Acres of their Waste Land called the Sugar Cane Garden in Sandy bay Valley. And &c. Granted and that a Warr.t be delivered the Survey Accordingly. The Margin Notes: Refered Petn of Franc. Wraugham for Land in Peak Gult Referd Pet. of Peter Sinnick for 5 Acres Land Granted | |||||
271 | The Petition of Mary Nichols Spinster. Setting forth That she being a Single Woman and Inhabitant of this place where she intends to live all her days, and being destitute of any Land to Settle on. Wherefore Humbly prays a Grant of 10 or 12 Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land lying between that Land granted to her Brother John Nichols & Tomstone Wood Hill which if Lett to any person Else will be very Detrimental to to her fathers Land of which at his death She hopes to have a Small Part & if this 10 or 12 Acres was Added thereto it would then be Sufficient to maintaine a family. Wherefore Beggs a Consideration of the Premises. And &c. Referred till this Land can be viewed by two of the Councile The Petition of John Orchard Montross. Setting forth he had formerly Granted to him about five Acres of the Hon. Comp.ts Waste Land lying in Sandy bay valley, but has not yet been measured & therefore prays a Confirmation & a Lease for the Same when measured. And &c. Granted & that the Surveyor do measure the Same. The Margin Notes: Petn of Mary Nichols for Land Referd Petn of Jn.o Orchard for 5 Acres Land Granted | Mary Nichols, spinster, petitioned the council. She set out that, being a single woman and an inhabitant of this place where she intended to live all her days, and being without any land to settle on, she asked for a grant of 10 or 12 acres of the Honourable Company's waste land lying between the land granted to her brother John Nichols and Tombstone Wood Hill. If let to anyone else this would be very detrimental to her father's land, of which she hoped to have a small part at his death. If these 10 or 12 acres were added to that, it would then be sufficient to maintain a family. She therefore asked for the council's consideration of the matter, and so on. The council deferred the matter until the land could be viewed by two of the council. John Orchard Monhoss petitioned the council. He set out that about five acres of the Honourable Company's waste land lying in Sandy Bay Valley had formerly been granted to him, but had not yet been measured. He therefore asked for a confirmation and a lease for the same once measured, and so on. The council granted the petition and ordered that the surveyor measure it. Interpretations Mary Nichols's petition is notable as a land application by a single woman in her own right, resting on her settled intention to remain on the island and her present want of any ground. Her argument combined the prejudice principle, the parcel lying between her brother's land and being detrimental to her father's if let elsewhere, with the prospect of her future inheritance, the 10 or 12 acres added to her expected share making a holding sufficient to support a household. The council's deferral pending a view treated her petition on the same footing as the other waste-land requests, the inspection by two councillors being the standard step before a grant of separate land. The grant to Orchard, confirming a parcel formerly approved but never measured, addressed the same defect of an unperfected title that recurred throughout these consultations. An earlier grant that had not been surveyed and leased remained incomplete, so Orchard sought the measuring and lease that would secure it, the council confirming at once because the land had already been allotted to him and raised no fresh question of disposal. | |||||
272 | Septemb.r The Govern.r reported That he had discharged Edmund Leigh on his Promise immediately to Sett about an Inventory, and to be more diligent for the future. Ordered That an Advertisem.t be Pub- lished To give Notice to all Persons that has any Demands to make for work due to them from the Hon. Comp.t Doc by this day Seven nights bring in an Acco.t of the Same, that the Books of Accounts may not be any Longer kept back for Count thereof. The Govern.r Reports that Will.m Portley the Overseer has been with him & Says that We must Digg on the Hon. Comp.ts Yams on fryday next, Wherefore the Gov.r desires that Plantation where the Yams are to be So Dugg may be first viewed to See in what Condition it is. Capt. Goodwin reported to the Gov.r on fryday last that a Cask of Tobacco which lies in the Store room Yard had been Cutt open, and Some of the Tobacco Stolen there- out. Upon which the Gov.r Ordered Miss.rs Alexander Margin Notes: Mr Leigh dischd from Confinm.t Adv. of work to be bro. in & by whom due Yam Plant to be viewed before Dugg upon Tobacco Stole all to be Considered | Governor Johnson reported that he had discharged Edmund Leigh on his promise to set about an inventory immediately and to be more diligent in future. The council ordered that an advertisement be published to give notice to all persons who had any demands to make for work due to them from the Honourable Company, to bring in an account of the same by that day seven-night, so that the books of accounts might not be kept back any longer for want of it. The Governor reported that William Portley the overseer had been with him and said that the Honourable Company's yams must be dug the following Friday. The Governor therefore asked that the plantation where the yams were to be dug be first viewed to see what condition it was in. Captain Goodwin reported to the Governor on Friday last that a cask of tobacco lying in the store-room yard had been cut open and some of the tobacco stolen from it. Upon which the Governor ordered Mr Alexander [...] Interpretations Leigh's discharge from confinement on his promise to begin the inventory and be more diligent shows the council settling the jurisdictional dispute by extracting compliance rather than pressing the committal to a conclusion. His earlier claim that the surgeon held the stores by the Company's direct authority was abandoned once he agreed to carry out the order he had refused, allowing the council to secure the control it sought over the medical stores without a prolonged confrontation that would have left the island without a practising surgeon. The advertisement calling in all claims for work due from the Company within a week was directly tied to the long-delayed account books. Outstanding wage claims that had not been entered prevented the ledgers being closed, so by fixing a deadline for submission the council sought to clear the obstacle that had kept the books open, part of the wider drive under Governor Johnson to bring the accounts up to date that had already cost Tovey his place. The requirement that the plantation be viewed before the yams were dug followed the established practice at St Helena of inspecting the Company's grounds to verify their condition and confirm that the suckers were being replanted as the crop was lifted. The yam stock was the foundation of the island's provisioning, so the council maintained close oversight of each plantation's state before drawing on it. | |||||
273 | Alexander & Ornston to goe and view the Cask and make report thereof. Who now Say that they accordingly went to Capt. Goodwin and Saw and Where the Cask had been Cutt open on the Bilge and that Tobacco had been taken out at the Hole and upon Examining found there was 88. Stolen away out of that Cask which Contained 514. in all. The Hon. Comp.ts Chief Overseer brought in & Deliver'd the following Acco.t of their Live Stock taken Sept.r the 5th 1719. Neat Cattle: 88 Cows 32 Heifers 87 Calves 15 Bullocks 23 Yearlings 15 Steers 4 Bulls 264 one Cow, one Bullock Killd Since last Acco.t 6 Increased. 2 Killd. & 2 Stole Since last Acco.t & Sheep. 47 Ews 31 Wethers 36 Lambs 3 Rams 117 7 Increased. Goats 160 Ews 28 Wethers 50 Kidds 7 Rams 245 11 Killd. & 15 Increased Since Last Acco.t Poultrey 39 Dunghill fowles 3 Increased Since last Acco.t 42 Turkeys Margin Notes: Miss.rs Alexander & Ornistons report Livestock for 7br | The Governor ordered Mr Alexander and Mr Ormston to go and view the cask and report on it. They reported that they accordingly went with Captain Goodwin and saw where the cask had been cut open on the bilge, and that tobacco had been taken out through the hole. On examination they found that 88 pounds had been stolen from the cask, which had contained 514 pounds in all. The Honourable Company's chief overseer brought in and delivered the following account of their livestock, taken 1 September 1719: Neat cattle: 88 cows 32 heifers 87 calves 15 bullocks 23 yearlings 15 steers 4 bulls 264 One cow and one bullock killed since the last account. 6 increased. Sheep: 47 ewes 31 wethers 36 lambs 3 rams 117 2 killed and 2 stolen since the last account. 7 increased. Goats: 160 ewes 28 wethers 50 kids 7 rams 245 11 killed and 15 increased since the last account. Poultry: 39 dunghill fowls 3 increased since the last account. 42 turkeys Interpretations The September stock count shows the neat cattle recovering to 264 head against the 200 returned at the count of 1 August 1719, a sharp rise driven by the inclusion of categories that had stood far lower the previous month, the cows holding at 88, the heifers at 32 against 33, and the calves at 87, with one cow and one bullock killed and 6 increased over the interval. The herd had thus regained much of the ground lost in the summer mortality recorded under the change of government. The sheep at 117 had risen slightly from 114 at the August count, two killed and two stolen being offset by an increase of 7. The theft of two sheep is itself notable, recorded alongside the tobacco theft as a further instance of pilferage from the Company's stock. The goats held at 245 against 241, eleven killed balanced by fifteen increased, the breeding ewes again preserved at 160 while surplus stock was drawn down. The dunghill fowls had risen from 36 to 39 and the turkeys held at 42 against the 23 of August, the poultry continuing to fluctuate with kills, purchases and breeding. The breaking open of the tobacco cask on the bilge and the abstraction of 88 pounds from a cask of 514, examined and reported by two councillors with the storekeeper, follows the same evidentiary method the council applied to the Cevill medicine theft at the consultation of 29 August 1719. By having the loss inspected and quantified on the record, the council documented both the manner of the theft and its precise extent, building the foundation for any recovery or prosecution. Speculations The clustering of three thefts within a short span, the surgeon's medicines, the store-room tobacco and two sheep from the Company's flock, points to a wider problem of leakage from the Company's stores and stock that the council was moving to contain. The careful inspection and exact quantification of the tobacco loss, mirroring the medicine inventory days earlier, suggests the council was deliberately building a documentary baseline against which future losses could be measured, treating each theft not as an isolated act but as evidence of a systemic vulnerability in the custody of Company property that demanded a standing remedy. | |||||
274 | Sept.r Poultrey 42 Turkeys 4 Killd. 1 Stole Since last Acco.t 24 Increased. 1 2 Ducks. 1 dead Since last Acco.t 2 Peacocks. 7 Geese. 1 Stole Since last Acco.t 12 Hoggs 2 Sows & 10 Piggs bought Since last Acco.t 15 Piggs 3 Killd. & 1 dead Since 2 Horses &c 10 Asses. p Wm Portley [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin | Continuation of the livestock account taken 1 September 1719: Poultry: 42 turkeys 4 killed and 1 stolen since the last account. 24 increased. Ducks: 2 1 dead since the last account. Peacocks: 2 Geese: 2 1 stolen since the last account. Hogs: 12 2 sows and 15 pigs bought since the last account. Pigs: 15 1 killed and 1 dead since the last account. Horses: 2 Asses: 10 The account was signed by William Portley. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The poultry returns confirm the turkeys at 42, the figure carried from the previous page, with four killed and one stolen but a substantial increase of 24 through breeding, the flock having recovered strongly from the 23 returned at the count of 1 August 1719. The theft of a turkey and a goose, recorded alongside the two sheep stolen and the tobacco taken from the store, adds to the run of pilferage from the Company's stock and stores noted across the early September consultations. The hogs show a marked change from the depleted level of earlier counts, rising to 12 grown animals with 2 sows and 15 pigs bought since the last account, against the mere 5 hogs returned on 1 August 1719. The purchase of breeding sows and a batch of pigs indicates a deliberate move to rebuild the swine stock, which had stood at a low ebb throughout 1719, by buying in rather than relying on natural increase alone. The ducks at 2 and geese at 2 remained at minimal levels, each diminished by a death or theft over the interval. The repeated entry of stolen animals across this account, a sheep, a goose and a turkey lost to theft alongside the deaths and kills, points to the same problem of leakage from the Company's stock that the council was addressing in the tobacco and medicine cases. The chief overseer's precise recording of each loss by cause gave the council the means to distinguish ordinary mortality from theft and to gauge the scale of pilferage against the herds and flocks. | |||||
275 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 15th of Sept. 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander abs.t being not well Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Mr Leigh & Beale brought in & delivered an Inventory of the Medicines remaining in the Surgeons Office According to the Order of last Consultation Severall Persons Presented their Acco.t of work done by themselves & Blacks. Viz.t Repair Willis: Black in the Year 1717 44 Days Christ.o Kell for himself y.r year 1717 222 D: Ditto 1718 153 Henry Johnson 1717 145 d: Richard Secullers 1718 183 which Upon Examination was found right and Accordingly Allowed. Ordered That the remaining Acco.ts now remaining & before Us which by their Tediousness they cause longer time to Examine them then We now have Margin Notes: Medicines remaining Acco.t of work done for Hon. Co. Allowd of remaining Acco.ts to be examined | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 15 September 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, John Alexander being absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. Mr Leigh and Mr Beale brought in and delivered an inventory of the medicines remaining in the surgeon's office. In accordance with the order of the previous consultation, several persons presented their accounts of work done by themselves and their blacks, namely: Ripin Wills, black in the year 1717 44 days Christopher Kell, for himself, year 1717 222 days Ditto, 1718 153 days Henry Johnson, 1717 145 days Richard Swallow, 1718 183 days On examination these were found correct and were accordingly allowed. The council ordered that the remaining accounts now before it, which by their length caused longer time to examine than the council could then [give...] Interpretations The delivery of the medicine inventory by Leigh and Beale marks the completion of the very task Leigh had refused at the consultation of 1 September 1719, for which he had been committed and then discharged on his promise to comply. His production of the inventory confirmed the resolution of the jurisdictional dispute in the council's favour, the surgeon now carrying out the stock-keeping the council had imposed after the Cevill theft. The accounts of work done by inhabitants and their slaves, presented in response to the advertisement calling in such claims, were the wage records that had to be settled and entered before the Company's account books could be closed. The reckoning was given in days of labour supplied, both by the men themselves and by their blacks hired to the Company, the figures then checked and allowed so the credits could be carried into the ledgers. This was the practical mechanism by which the long-delayed books were being brought up to date, the labour claims cleared one by one against examination. | |||||
276 | Sept.r have, they be Referd to next Consultation day. Chelmondley Civil Surg.n Presented the following Petition. Setting forth that He was Content to Stay here as Second Surg.n Upon the Encouragem.t Gov.r Ryke gave him, which he Says was 15 p.r week as his pay, besides other Bounefitts that would Accrue to him laying him at the Same time under an Obligation of giving him Six months warning to provide for another in case of his dislike, but his pray to continue till the Said term of Six months was Expired, & then to goe off the Island; But as he has remained here above thirteen months he hopes (as he is a Stranger) We will take it into Consideration & redds him. Ordered That Mr Civil will be allowed Sallary for no longer time then to the 26th of May last for reasons Mentioned in the Same Con- sultation. Stephen Audoward Sold.r presented a Deed of Gift to him made by Sutton Isaac his Grand father deceased for one Margin Notes: Dr Civils Petition how Entertained desireing Some further Consideration Allowed only to May 26th Step.n Audoward Wanted a Deed of Gift | The council ordered that the remaining accounts be deferred to the next consultation day. Cholmondley Cevill, surgeon, presented the following petition. He set out that he was content to stay here as second surgeon, on the encouragement Governor Pyke had given him, which he said was 15 shillings a week as his pay, besides other benefits that would accrue to him. This placed him at the same time under an obligation to give six months' warning to provide for another in case of his dislike, but his pay was to continue until the six months had expired, and then he was to leave the island. Having now remained here above thirteen months, he hoped, being a stranger, the council would take it into consideration and reinstate him. The council deferred the matter to further consideration. The council ordered that Mr Cevill be allowed salary for no longer than to 26 May last, for reasons mentioned in the same consultation. Stephen Audoward, soldier, presented a deed of gift made to him by Sutton Isaac, his deceased grandfather, [...] Interpretations Cevill's petition is a remarkable sequel to his committal for theft at the consultation of 29 August 1719, the same man now seeking reinstatement as second surgeon on the strength of the engagement Governor Pyke had given him. He rested his claim on the terms of that engagement, 15 shillings a week with benefits and a six-month notice provision, and on his status as a stranger stranded on the island above thirteen months. His petition to be taken back, coming so soon after his abstraction of the Company's medicines, illustrates the difficulty a remote settlement faced in retaining or removing scarce medical men, the same engagement having been recorded when Cevill was first taken on. The council's order limiting Cevill's salary to 26 May last, rather than to the date of his committal or petition, fixed the financial close of his service at the point earlier determined. This cut off any claim to pay beyond that date while leaving the question of reinstatement deferred, the council declining either to restore him or to settle his standing at the present consultation. The deed of gift presented by Audoward from his deceased grandfather Sutton Isaac follows the standard practice at St Helena of registering instruments of conveyance to secure title, the grandfather's gift requiring confirmation on the record to establish the soldier's claim to the property passed to him. | |||||
277 | for one Acre of Land, which Deed he desired might be Registered for better Security thereof the paper being by Dampness & Moth very much Damaged already. Ordered That the Said Deed be Approv'd of as Good & Enterd in the Register book of Said Island Accordingly [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 26th day of Septemb.r 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. According to the Order of Last Consultation Severall remaining Accounts for work was Examined into and is as follows. (Viz.t Thomas Margin Notes: praying a Registry Approv'd & to be Registred work Acco.ts Exam.d | Audoward asked that the deed for one acre of land be registered for better security, the paper being already very much damaged by damp and moth. The council ordered that the deed be approved as good and entered in the register book of the island accordingly. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 29 September 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the order of the previous consultation, several remaining accounts for work were examined and were as follows: Thomas [...] Interpretations Audoward's reason for seeking registration, that the original deed was already decaying through damp and moth, points to the practical function of the island's register book as a safeguard against the loss of title documents to the conditions of storage. By entering the substance of a deteriorating instrument into a central register, the holder preserved his proof of title even as the original paper perished, the register copy standing as the authoritative record once approved. The examination of the remaining work accounts at this consultation continued the clearance of wage claims begun under the advertisement calling them in, the labour records being checked and entered so the Company's long-delayed account books could be brought to a close. This methodical processing of outstanding claims, account by account across successive consultations, was the practical means by which the arrears that had cost Tovey his place were being worked down under the new administration. | |||||
278 | Septemb.r Tho.s Browns Acco.t Exam.d to pass Accordingly. Joseph & Richard Coles Acco.ts to pass. Nicholas Shreves Acco.t to pass Samuel Thornboroughs Acco.t to Pass John Hubbards Acco.t to Pass. Jephthah Fowles Acco.t to pass. Richard Rays Acco.t to pass Arthur Bradleys Acco.t to pass. Giles Smith Joyn.r Acco.t to pass. John Ebbs Acco.t to pass. Joseph Whaley (Sen.r) Acco.t to pass. The remaining Acco.t to be Examined Tomorrow the above having been very Tedious in Comparing Severall Books & Papers besides their Acco.ts formerly made up to prevent a double Charge. [...] Mr Alexander Jn.o Goodwin Island. Margin Notes: Sevl Acco.ts to pass more to be Exam.d Tomorrow their Tediousness | Thomas Brown's account was examined and passed accordingly. The following accounts were examined and passed: Joseph and Richard Coles Nicholas Shreeve Samuel Thornborough John Stubbard Jepthah Fowler Richard Ray Arthur Bradley Giles Smith, joiner John Ebbs Joseph Whaley, senior The council ordered that the remaining accounts be examined the next day, the above having been very tedious to check against several books and papers, besides the accounts formerly made up, in order to prevent a double charge. The record was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin, Island. Interpretations The careful checking of each account against several books and papers, and against accounts formerly made up, served specifically to prevent a double charge. The risk in settling a backlog of wage claims was that a sum already entered in an earlier reckoning might be allowed a second time, so the council cross-referenced each new claim against the existing records before passing it. This guarded the Company against paying twice for the same labour, the very kind of error that had surfaced in the audit of Haswell's books. The tedium the council recorded in this reconciliation reflects the practical cost of the long delay in the account books. Because the ledgers had fallen years behind, settling the outstanding claims required a laborious comparison across multiple incomplete records rather than a check against a single up-to-date account, the accumulated arrears under the previous accountant making each individual claim slow to verify. | |||||
279 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 30th day of Sept.r 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw.d Johnson Esq.r Gov.r Jn.o Alexander Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin & Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation read & approved of. This day the Council met againe to Examine into those Acco.ts brought & left unexamined Yesterday & what others that may now Appear. The Doctors According to an Order of Council of the 29th August last brought in this day an Acco.t from that time of their Expence of Medicines & to whom Adm.d which was Examined & Approv'd of. Simon Whaley Joyner brought in his Acco.t of work to which he made Oath the work book in Gov.r Rykes time being lost. John Auldrick Carpenter brought in & also made oath to the truth of his Acco.t Gunner French Overseer of the work People brought in his Acco.t which was Allowed to pass but not to be allowed the days when not on duty. The Margin Notes: Remaining work Acco.ts Exam.d Dr.rs Book of medicines Exam.d & Approv.d Simon Whaleys Acco.t Sworn to Jn.o Auldrick Sworn to his Acco.t Gun.r Acco.t Allowed of | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Wednesday 30 September 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. That day the council met again to examine the accounts brought in but left unexamined the previous day, and any others that might now appear. The surgeon, in accordance with the council's order of 29 August last, brought in that day an account of the expense of medicines from that time and to whom they were administered, which was examined and approved. Simon Whaley, joiner, brought in his account of work, to which he swore on oath, the work book in Governor Pyke's time being lost. John Auldrick, carpenter, brought in his account and likewise swore on oath to the truth of it. Gunner French, overseer of the work people, brought in his account, which was allowed to pass, but not to allow the days when not on duty. This [...] Interpretations The surgeon's account of medicines dispensed since 29 August, naming to whom each was administered, was the first product of the daily medicine book the council had imposed after the Cevill theft. Its examination and approval at this consultation confirmed the new control in operation, the surgeon now rendering a documented account of consumption that could be checked against the inventory of stock, exactly the safeguard the council had ordered to prevent the quiet abstraction that Cevill's case exposed. The resort to sworn oaths by Whaley and Auldrick to vouch for their accounts reflects the gap left by the loss of the work book kept in Governor Pyke's time. Where the documentary record had perished, the council fell back on the claimant's oath as the evidentiary substitute, binding the statement under the same standard as a deposition so that a false claim would carry the penalty of perjury. This was the practical means of settling labour claims for which the original supporting records no longer existed. The qualification on French's account, allowing his claim but excluding the days when he was not on duty, applied the principle that pay followed actual service performed. As overseer of the work people, French could be credited only for the time he was genuinely engaged, the council disallowing any days of absence to ensure the Company paid for labour rendered rather than for nominal tenure of the post. | |||||
280 | Sept.r The Store Keeper brought in the following Acco.t of Store Goods delivered to the Inhabitants, Ships &c General Charges from the 25th Dec.r 1718 to the 24th of March inclusive Following. To 828 Gallons of Arrack 88 2 6 170 3/4 D.o Cape Brandy 59 12 7½ 2040 Co. Sugar 68 - 2 Store Keepers Acco.t for 3 Months 322 ½ Co. Candy 16 2 - 136 Callbes of Tea 61 4 - 313 Co. Soape 22 3 5 101 Co. Tobacco 10 2 - 67½ doz. Pipes 1 13 8 645 Co. Breece 5 4 11¼ 87 Co. Flore 1 5 1½ 23¼ Gall. Vinegar 1 15 1 5¼ Gall. Sweet Oyle 3 3 - 11 3/4 D.o Rape Oyle 3 8 3 7 Gall. Linseed Oyle 2 16 - Naval & Garrison Stores 41 Barrels of Leanb Black 9 13 8 45½ Starch 1 13 9 20 White Lead 16 - 8 & Indigo 5 8 Naval & Garrison Stores Amounts to 3 2 9 Soldiers Cloaths Viz: 46 Loope Coatts 69 - - 33 Venie ditto 16 10 - 75 Waste Coats 18 15 - 75 p.r Breeches 11 5 - 1 p.r D.o Moth eaten Sold for 7 - Soldiers Cloaths Amo.t 205 17 - Carried over 586 12 8½ | The storekeeper brought in the following account of store goods delivered to the inhabitants, ships and general charges, from 25 December 1718 to 25 March 1719 inclusive: 828 gallons of arrack £88 2s 6d 170¾ gallons of Cape brandy £59 12s 7½d 2,040 pounds of sugar £68 2s 0d 322¼ pounds of candy £16 2s 0d 136 pounds of tea £61 4s 0d 313 pounds of soap £22 3s 5d 401 pounds of tobacco £40 2s 0d 67¼ dozen pipes £1 13s 8d 645 pounds of bread £5 4s 11¼d 87 pounds of flour £1 5s 4½d 23¾ gallons of vinegar £1 15s 0d 5 gallons of sweet oil £3 3s 0d 113½ gallons of rape oil £3 8s 3d 7 gallons of linseed oil £2 16s 0d Naval and garrison stores: 46 barrels of lamp black £1 13s 8d 15 pounds of starch £1 13s 9d 20 pounds of white lead £1 0s 0d 8 pounds of indigo £0 5s 8d Naval and garrison stores came to £3 2s 9d Soldiers' clothes, namely: 46 looped coats £69 0s 0d 33 plain ditto £16 10s 0d 75 waistcoats £18 15s 0d 75 pairs of breeches £11 5s 0d 1 pair of ditto, moth-eaten, sold for £0 7s 0d Soldiers' clothes came to £205 17s 0d Carried over £586 2s 8½d Interpretations The store account lists the goods the Company sold to the island's inhabitants, ships and general charges across the quarter, several being commodities shipped from England or the East and unfamiliar in their period uses. Arrack was a distilled spirit imported from Batavia and India and the staple strong drink of the settlement, dispensed in large quantity. Candy was sugar candy, a refined crystallised sugar distinct from the ordinary sugar listed separately. Lamp black was a fine soot pigment used in making paint and ink. White lead was a lead carbonate pigment, the base of most oil paints. Indigo was the blue dye-plant product from India, used for colouring cloth, here probably for marking or dyeing the slaves' and soldiers' clothing. Rape, sweet and linseed oils were pressed vegetable oils used for lamps, cooking and paint. The breadth of the list shows the Company store functioning as the island's general supplier, the inhabitants depending on it for drink, provisions, dyes, paints and clothing alike. The soldiers' clothes form the largest single block of the account at £205 17s 0d, the looped and plain coats, waistcoats and breeches representing the periodic re-clothing of the garrison from store. The inclusion of a single moth-eaten pair of breeches sold off for 7 shillings reflects the storekeeper's practice of recovering what value remained in damaged stock rather than writing it off, the small sum entered to keep the account exact. The quarterly store account itself, covering 25 December 1718 to 25 March 1719, was the routine record by which the storekeeper reckoned the goods issued against the Company's stock. Its examination at this consultation formed part of the same drive to bring the Company's books up to date, the store accounts being settled alongside the labour claims to close the arrears that had accumulated under the previous administration. | |||||
281 | Brought Over 586 12 8½ Stockings viz: 10 p.r Scarlett d.o 5 - 2 p.r d.o 18 - 2 p.r d.o Womens 16 - 1 p.r Mens Silk d.o 1 - - 2 p.r d.o Thread 13 4 85 p.r Soldiers Stock 9 11 3 Stockings Amo.t 17 13 7 42 of Pepper ½ 2 - Shoes viz.t 32 p.r fine Shoes 10 - - 1 p.r Worn Spain Leath.r d.o 6 2 Shoes Amo.t 10 6 2 Ribbon viz.t 17 3/4 Yards Ribbon d.o 12 17 9 46½ d.o 15 2 5 7½ 3 d.o 14 3 4 6 43 d.o 18 3 - 9 3 d.o Sequired d.o 2/3 6 9 6 d.o Brocaded d.o 3/6 1 1 - Ribbon Amount to 7 19 1½ Cloath & Silk Druggett Viz: 86 for 84 Yards Clth Drugg.t d.o 1/- 16 16 - 10 Yards d.o Moth taken 3/- 1 10 - 9 d.o Silk Drugg.t 2 2 9 Drugg.t Amount to 20 8 9 3 13 6 42 Yards Durant Fustians viz.t 5 Yards plain Dimittee 8 4 2½ d.o Fustian 8 18 - 4 pieces Thicksetts No. 10 7 6 - 91 No. 11 & 12 7 6 - 4 p.r d.o Fustians Amount to 16 16 6 Broad Cloth Viz: 4 Yards Blue Broad Cloth 3 - 4 - 3 d.o Scarlet d.o 2 5 - 6 d.o dark Coll.d d.o Broad Cloth Amount to 9 12 10½ 675 02 ½ | Brought over £586 12s 8½d Stockings, namely: 10 pairs scarlet ditto £5 0s 0d 2 pairs ditto £0 18s 0d 2 pairs ditto, women's £0 16s 0d 1 pair men's silk ditto £1 0s 0d 2 pairs ditto, thread £0 13s 4d 85 pairs soldiers' stockings £9 11s 3d Stockings came to £17 13s 7d 42 pounds of pepper £2 0s 0d Shoes, namely: 32 pairs fine shoes £10 0s 0d 1 pair worn Spanish leather ditto £0 6s 2d Shoes came to £10 6s 2d Ribbon, namely: 17¾ yards ribbon at 12 [...] £0 17s 9d 26¼ ditto at 15 [...] £2 5s 7½d 3 ditto at 14 [...] £0 3s 6d 43 ditto at 18 [...] £0 6s 9d 3 ditto, sequed, at 2s 3d £0 6s 9d 6 ditto, brocade, at 3s 6d £1 1s 0d Ribbon came to £7 19s 1½d Cloth and silk drugget, namely: 86 for 84 yards cloth drugget at 4s £16 16s 0d 10 yards ditto, moth-eaten £1 10s 0d 9 ditto silk drugget at [...] £2 2s 9d Drugget came to £20 8s 9d 42 yards durant £3 13s 6d Fustians, namely: 5 yards plain dimity £0 8s 4d 2½ ditto fustians £0 4s 2d [...] number 10 £8 18s 0d 4 pieces thicksets, number 11 and 12 £7 6s 0d Fustians came to £16 16s 6d Broad cloth, namely: 4 yards blue broad cloth £3 4s 0d 3 ditto scarlet ditto £2 5s 0d 6 ditto dark coloured ditto £4 7s 10½d Broad cloth came to £9 12s 10½d £675 10s 2½d Interpretations This continuation of the store account lists the textile and clothing stock issued over the quarter, much of it imported manufactured cloth that a remote settlement could not produce. Drugget was a coarse woollen or wool-and-silk fabric used for cheap outer garments. Durant was a hard-wearing glazed worsted, sometimes called everlasting for its durability. Dimity was a stout corded cotton used for bedding and light clothing. Fustian was a thick cotton or cotton-linen cloth with a slight nap, of which thicksets were a heavy ribbed variety. Broad cloth was a fine dense woollen, the standard material for good coats, here graded by colour. These cloths, together with the ribbon, stockings and shoes, were the dress goods the inhabitants bought from store, the island depending entirely on Company imports for manufactured textiles. The recurrence of moth damage in the account, ten yards of drugget marked moth-eaten and entered at a reduced value, repeats the pattern seen with the moth-eaten breeches on the previous page. Stored cloth and clothing were vulnerable to moth and damp over the long sea passage and in island storage, so the storekeeper recorded the spoiled stock at a written-down figure rather than at full value, keeping the account honest as to what the damaged goods could actually realise. | |||||
282 | Septemb.r Brought Over 675 10 2¼ Hatts viz: 3 Boys Hatts No. 1 18 - 3 d.o 2 19 6 3 d.o 3 1 1 9 2 Mens Hatts No. 4 17 - 2 d.o 4 12 - 1 d.o 4 12 6 1 fine d.o 3 1 - - 4 Lacid d.o 6 5 8 67 Soldiers d.o 13 8 Hatts Amount to 24 19 9 Blanketts Viz 4 Large Blanketts 2 5 - 14 Small d.o 5 8 6 Blanketts Amount to 7 13 6 English Linnen 2 Bolts of Oby Canves 4 6 - 25 Yards No. 1 13 4 2 Yards Holland Duck 8 6 3½ d.o double Horse Linnen 7 10½ English Linnen Amo.t 6 18 5½ Norwich Stuffs Viz 2 p.rs & 13 Yards Norwich Stuff 5 8 1¼ ½ p.r Black & white Crope 2 Norwich Stuff Amo.t 7 8 1¼ Haberdashery Ware Viz: 22½ d.o Silk 2 16 6¾ 6½ Skeines of Mohair 1 7 1 17 doz. Coat Buttons d.o 12 17 - 6 doz. d.o 18 9 - 2½ d.o No C. 1 10½ 31 doz. Crest butt. 15 6 12 doz. d.o 5 - 6 doz. White Shirt d.o 3 - 7½ doz. Silver Crest butt. 1 13 9 6 d.o Coat D.o 2 17 - 6 & Silver Toast 2 14 - Haberdashery Ware Amo.t 13 19 9½ Carried over 722 7½ 5 | Brought over £675 10s 2¼d Hats, namely: 3 boys' hats, number 1 £0 18s 0d 3 ditto, number 2 £0 19s 6d 3 ditto, number 3 £1 4s 9d 2 men's hats, number 4 £0 17s 0d 2 ditto, number 4 £0 12s 0d 1 ditto, number 4 £0 12s 6d 1 fine ditto, number 5 £1 0s 0d 4 laced ditto, number 6 £5 8s 0d 67 soldiers' ditto £13 8s 0d Hats came to £24 19s 9d Blankets, namely: 4 large blankets £2 5s 0d 14 small ditto £5 8s 6d Blankets came to £7 13s 6d English linen: 2 bolts of Vitry canvas £4 6s 0d 25 yards ditto £1 13s 4d 2 yards Holland duck £0 8s 6d 3½ ditto double house linen £7 10½d [...] English linen came to £6 18s 5½d Norwich stuffs, namely: 2 pairs 4½ yards Norwich stuff £5 8s 1¼d 1 pair black Norwich crepe £2 0s 0d Norwich stuff came to £7 8s 1¼d Haberdashery ware, namely: 22½ ounces silk £2 16s 6¼d 65 skeins of mohair £1 7s 1¼d 17 dozen coat buttons at 12 [...] £0 17s 0d 6 dozen ditto, number 18 £0 [...] 2½ ditto, number C £1 10½d 31 dozen breast buttons £15 6s 0d 12 dozen ditto £0 5s 0d 6 dozen white shirt ditto £0 5s 0d 7½ dozen silver breast buttons £1 13s 9d 6 ditto coat ditto £2 17s 0d 6 dozen silver twist £2 14s 0d Haberdashery ware came to £13 19s 9¼d Carried over £722 7s 4½d Interpretations This further block of the store account covers headwear, bedding and the haberdashery and finer cloths, several being imported goods identifiable by their place of manufacture. Norwich stuffs were worsted cloths from the Norwich textile industry, the crepe being a thin crimped variety. Vitry canvas was a coarse hempen cloth named for Vitré in Brittany, used for heavy linings and sailcloth. Holland duck was a strong plain linen of Dutch origin. Mohair here meant a yarn or thread of mohair or worsted used in trimming and button-making. The silver twist and silver buttons were ornamental fastenings of silver thread and metal, the costliest items of dress in the list. The graded and numbered hats, from boys' through plain men's to fine and laced, show the store stocking a full range of headwear for every rank and purse on the island. The numbering of the hats and buttons by quality grade reflects the storekeeper's system of pricing imported goods by standardised type. Each grade carried its own established price, allowing the same article to be stocked and sold at several quality levels, the laced hats and silver buttons at the top of the range serving the officers and substantial planters while the plain and soldiers' stock met the ordinary garrison and labouring inhabitants. | |||||
282 | Brought Over 722 17 5 Haberdashery Ware Bro. Over 3 doz. Gold Coat Buttons 13½ 19 9½ 3 d.o d.o Tizit 1 13 - 7 Thread Laces 1 10 - 2 d.o 7 - 6 Silk Laces best Sort 3 - 1 d.o 7 6 1 d.o 10 - 2 p.r Womens Gloves 4 - - 4 Mill. Caulking Pins 7 - 8 Mill. Mid.d d.o 12 - 6 Mill. Fine 8 - 1 Paper Pins 10 - 4 p.r Bodices 2 14 - 16 oz. Browne Thread 2 1 - 1 Whiped Bro. d.o No. 11 10 - 13 d.o 12 15 9 15 d.o 13 2 2 - 4 oz. White Thread 11 3 8 6 d.o 13 6 6 3 d.o 15 3 9 1 d.o 2/- 10 6 3 d.o 3/6 19 6 6 d.o 3/4 1 - - 1300 Needles 3 - 1 p.r Striped fillching 16 8½ 35 Yards Lace Edging 5 16 6 1 p.r Large ferthing 16 6 31½ Yards Edging 1 16 9 2 p.r White & fallo Tape 2 3 3 p.r Broad Holland d.o 4 6 3 p.r Narrow d.o 3 - 1 Black Silk Hood 15 - 40 16 6½ Carried Over 763 3 11½ | Brought over £722 7s 5d Haberdashery ware brought over: 3 dozen gold coat buttons £19 2s 9¼d 3 ditto twist £1 13s 0d 7 ditto thread laces £1 10s 0d 2 ditto £0 7s 0d 6 silk laces, best sort £0 7s 6d 1 ditto £0 6s 10d 2 pairs women's gloves £0 4s 0d 4 mille caulking pins £0 7s 0d 8 mille middle ditto £0 12s 0d 6 mille fine £0 8s 0d 1 paper pins £0 0s 10d 4 pairs bodice £2 14s 0d 10 ditto brown thread £2 1s 0d 1 ditto white, brown ditto, number 11 £0 10s 0d 1¼ ditto, number 12 £0 15s 9d 3¼ ditto, number 13 £2 2s 0d 4 ditto white thread, number 11 £3 8d [...] 6 ditto, number 13 £0 6d [...] 3 ditto, number 15 £0 3s 0d 1 ditto at 2s £0 2s 0d 3 ditto at 3s 6d £0 10s 6d 6 ditto at 3s 4d £1 0s 0d 1,300 needles £0 19s 6d 1 pair striped filleting £0 3s 0d 35 yards laced edging £5 16s 8d 1 pair large ferreting £0 16s 6d 31½ yards edging £1 16s 9d 2 pairs white and yellow tape £0 4s 3d 3 pairs broad Holland ditto £1 6s 0d 3 pairs narrow ditto £0 3s 0d 1 black silk hood £0 15s 0d £40 16s 6¼d Carried over £763 3s 11¼d Interpretations This final block of the haberdashery account lists the small wares of sewing, trimming and dress that the store supplied, several measured in trade units now obscure. The mille pins, graded caulking, middle and fine, were sold by the thousand, mille being the count of a thousand pins, the standard wholesale measure for the pin trade. Filleting and ferreting were narrow woven tapes used for binding edges and tying, ferret being a stout cotton or silk ribbon. Laced edging and edging were decorative trimmings sewn to garments and linen. The graded threads numbered 11 to 15 ran from coarse to fine, each grade priced separately. The gold coat buttons at over £19 for three dozen were by far the costliest item, ornamental fastenings of gold thread or gilt that served the dress of the wealthiest on the island. The store's stocking of fine trimmings, gold and silver buttons, silk laces, lace edging and a black silk hood alongside the bulk provisions and soldiers' clothing shows the range of demand the Company supplier met. A remote island dependent wholly on imported goods nonetheless sustained a market for ornamental dress among its officers and substantial planters, the storekeeper carrying both the plainest necessities and the finer articles of fashion that could not be had any other way. | |||||
283 | Septemb.r Brought Over 763 3 11½ Iron Mongers Ware viz: 7 of 2 Nayles 8 9 4 oz. 3- d.o 4 4 46 oz. 4- d.o 2 2 2 49 oz. 6- d.o 1 17 7 38 oz. 10- d.o 1 16 11 18 - 20- d.o 12 - 8 oz. 2A d.o 5 1 8 oz. 3D d.o 4 8 8 oz. Spikes 3 4½ 7 oz. Tacks 6 8 4 d.o 1 Inch Bedlam Brads 1 9½ 1 oz. of Flooring Brads 9 1 Long plain 3 - 1 Jack d.o 1 6 6 Plain Irons 4 - 4 Formits best Size 2 - 2½ Carpenters Razes 13 - 20 Small Pick Axes 1 6 8 12 Shod Shovels 1 16 - 2 Sugar d.o 5 8 7 Caulking Irons 8 2 1 Large Chest Lock 4 6 1 Small d.o 2 7 1 Iron Gott Wat. &c 16 11 1 d.o &c 13 - 1 p.r Vott Stocks 2 - 5 Large Hoes No. 2 15 10 8 Small d.o No. 2 1 - - 2 Large Gimbletters 1 - 13 Smaller d.o 4 4 1 Rimb Closett Lock No. 1 2 6 3 p.r Side Hinges No. 11 7 9 2 p.r Belcomp d.o No. 11 - Iron Mong. Ware Amo.t 20 14 10 Carried Over 763 3 11½ | Brought over £763 3s 11¼d Ironmonger's ware, namely: 7 [...] of 2d nails £0 8s 9d 4 ditto, 3d ditto £0 4s 4d 46 ditto, 4d ditto £2 2s 2¼d 49 ditto, 6d ditto £1 17s 7d 38 ditto, 10d ditto £1 6s 11d 18 ditto, 20d ditto £0 12s 0d 8 ditto, 24d ditto £0 5s 8d 8 ditto, 30d ditto £0 4s 8d 7 ditto spikes £0 3s 4½d 4 jacks £0 6s 8d [...] inch batten brads £0 1s 9½d 1 ditto flooring brads £0 0s 9d 1 long plain £0 3s 0d 1 ditto £0 1s 6d 6 mean irons £0 4s 0d 4 corners, least size £0 2s 0d 2 carpenters' adzes £0 13s 0d 20 small pick axes £4 6s 8d 12 shod shovels £1 16s 0d 2 sugar ditto £0 5s 0d 7 caulking irons £0 8s 0d 1 large chest lock £0 4s 6d 1 small ditto £0 2s 7d 1 iron pott [...] number 29 £0 16s 11d 1 ditto, number 26 £0 13s 0d 1 pair pott hooks £0 2s 0d 5 large hoes, number 2 £0 15s 10d 8 small ditto, number 2 £1 0s 0d 2 large gimlets £0 1s 0d 13 smaller ditto £0 4s 4d 1 rim closet lock, number 1 £0 2s 6d 3 pairs side hinges, number 11 £0 7s 9d 2 pairs belcony ditto £0 11s 0d Ironmonger's ware carried over £20 14s 10d Carried over £763 3s 11¼d Interpretations This block of the account covers the ironmonger's ware the store supplied, principally tools, fastenings and builders' hardware that a settlement wholly dependent on imports could not manufacture for itself. The nails are graded by the penny system, the figures 2d to 30d denoting not the price but the traditional size designation of nails, a larger number indicating a longer nail. Brads were small headless or near-headless nails, the batten and flooring brads used in timber work. Jacks here were probably boot-jacks or a small mechanical device. An adze was a curved cutting tool for shaping timber, and caulking irons were used to drive packing into seams. The shod shovels were edged with iron for durability. This range of tools and fixings served the constant building and repair work at St Helena, the fortifications, plantation walls and houses all depending on imported iron. The grading of nails by the penny size and of hooks, locks and hinges by numbered patterns reflects the same standardised stock system seen throughout the store account. Each size and pattern carried a settled price, allowing the storekeeper to supply builders and tradesmen with hardware of known dimensions, the numbered grades ensuring that a customer could obtain a matching replacement or a specific size from a consistent range. | |||||
284 | Brought Over 763 3 11½ Iron Mong. Ware Brought Over 20 4 10 2 Steel Mauls w.t 53¼ 2 14 9 2 Placeing Chizels 3 - 5 Hatchetts No. 2 10 5 1 ditto 3 2 8 1 ditto 4 3 - 2 Grubbing Axes 5 4 6 Splinker Locks No. 1 10 - Iron Mong. Ware Amount to 35 4 Cutlary Ware Viz: 86 Butcher knives 2 3 8 1 Small Rubstone 2 6 1 d.o Grind d.o 3 - 6 Thimbles 1 - 1 Ivory Combe No. 1 1 2 1 ditto 2 3 - 2 d.o 3 1 4 2 Comb Brushes 4 - 1 p.r Sizes No. 10 1 6 3 p.r ditto 12 Cutlary Ware Amount to 4 2 16 6 Hooks & Lines Viz: 5 Lines No. 11 8 4 11 d.o 12 1 2 6 3 d.o 13 7 9 14 Hooks 7 2 8 48 d.o 10 17 6 30 d.o 15 11 4 34 d.o old wives hooks Hooks & Lines Amount to 3 17 5 Tin Ware viz: 3 Round Stued Pans 7 7½ 1 Straining d.o 6 1 Scumming d.o 7 - 6 pint Coffee Potts 9 - 1 ½ pint d.o 5 - 3 3 pint Sauce Pans 2 9 2 quart d.o 9 1 pint d.o 5 5 1 Drying Pan, 1 Small Frying & Fryidg Pan 1 Tin Lanthorn No.t Tin Ware Amount to 1 17 10 706 19 8½ | Brought over £763 3s 11¼d Ironmonger's ware brought over £20 14s 10d 2 steel trowels, weight 5¾ £0 14s 9d 2 paring chisels £0 3s 0d 5 hatchets, number 2 £0 10s 5d 1 ditto, number 3 £0 2s 8d 1 ditto, number 4 £0 3s 0d 2 grubbing axes £0 5s 4d 6 splinter locks, number 4 £0 10s 0d Ironmonger's ware came to £23 4s 0d Cutlery ware, namely: 86 butchers' knives £3 1s 8d 1 small rubstone £0 2s 6d 1 ditto, ground ditto £0 3s 0d 6 thimbles £0 1s 0d 1 ivory comb, number 1 £0 1s 2d 1 ditto, number 2 £0 3s 0d 2 ditto, number 3 £0 1s 4d 2 comb brushes £0 1s 0d 1 pair scissors, number 10 £0 1s 6d 3 pairs ditto, number 12 £0 [...] Cutlery ware came to £2 16s 6d Hooks and lines, namely: 5 lines, number 11 £0 8s 4d 11 ditto, number 12 £1 2s 6d 3 ditto, number 13 £0 7s 9d 12 hooks, number 7 £0 2s 0d 48 ditto, number 10 £0 8s 0d 30 ditto, number 15 £0 17s 6d 34 ditto, old wives' hooks £0 11s 4d Hooks and lines came to £3 17s 5d Tin ware, namely: 3 round pudding pans £0 7s 6d 1 straining dish £0 0s 6d 1 scumming ditto £0 [...] 6 pint coffee pots £0 7s 9d 3 3-pint sauce pans £0 5s 2d 3 quart ditto £0 2s 2d 1 pint ditto £0 0s 5d 1 dripping pan, 1 small funnel and 1 dredge box £0 5s 5d 1 tin lanthorn, number 1 £0 [...] Tin ware came to £1 17s 10d £796 19s 8½d Interpretations This block completes the hardware and household metalware in the store account, the cutlery, fishing tackle and tinware again being imported goods essential to the island's daily life. The butchers' knives, supplied in the large quantity of 86, served both the killing and dressing of the Company's stock and ordinary domestic use. The rubstone or whetstone was for sharpening blades. The hooks and lines, graded by number from coarse to fine, were the gear of the island's fishing, on which the settlement drew heavily for food, the old wives' hooks named for the fish species they took. The tinware comprised the light cooking and kitchen vessels, pudding and sauce pans, coffee pots, a dredge box for flour and a tin lanthorn for carrying a candle, the cheap pressed-tin goods that furnished the ordinary household. The prominence of fishing tackle in the store stock reflects the practical importance of the sea to the island's provisioning. With the herds carefully managed and provisions costly, fish supplied a significant part of the diet, and the store's supply of graded hooks and lines equipped both the Company's fishing boat and the inhabitants to draw food from the surrounding waters, the want of such tackle being felt whenever a boat was lost as recorded across the period. | |||||
285 | Septemb.r Brought Over 796 19 8½ Pewterer Ware viz: 2 ditto Salts 2 3 1 Soupe Ladle 3 3 1 Porringer No. 0 1 4 1 Porringer 0 1 6 1 ditto 1 - 23 5½ Spoones 2 d.o 1 - 2 doz. Plates 9 - 2 Large dishes Web 6 7 6 2 Inkolds d.o 7 6 30 Small Pewter Basoons Pewter Amount to 4 17 6 - Breissers Ware 1 Warming Pann 1 5 8 1 p.r Sytrand Brass Candlesticks 11 - 1 d.o Stand & Snuffers 8 - 1 Copper Tea Kettle 14 9 1 d.o No. 1 15 3 1 d.o No. 4 11 3 3 Brass Fountaine Lamps 11 9 1 d.o Chaffing dish 13 6 Brassyer Ware Amount to 5 10 11 Books viz: 2 Bibles 16 6 2 Testaments 3 6 2 Spelling Books 3 4 Books Amount to 1 3 4 2 Plate Bolts No. 6 3 2 1 Cotton Seame 3 6 21 Hour Powder 1 1 - India Linnen Viz.t 2 p.r fine Chints 2 1 - 4 p.r Bengali Gingham 1 19 - 5 p.r Gurrhas 3 2 6 3 p.r Club d.o 1 19 - 2 p.r Muddling Long Cloth 2 14 - 22 Ordinary d.o 23 - 107 White Shirts 13 7 6 9 Gingham Shirts 1 11 6 India Linnen Carried over 19 14 6 Carried Over 809 17 6½ | Brought over £796 19s 8¼d Pewterers' ware, namely: 2 ditto salts £0 3s 3d 1 large ladle, number 0, 1s 4d £0 [...] 1 porringer, number 0, 1s 6d £0 2s 10d 1 ditto £0 0s 3d 54 spoons £2 4s 0d 2 dozen plates, weight 26 £0 9s 6d 2 large dishes, weight 6 £0 7s 6d 2 small ditto £0 [...] 3 small pewter basins £0 [...] Pewter came to £4 7s 6d Braziers' ware: 1 warming pan £1 5s 0d 1 pair square brass candlesticks £0 11s 0d 1 ditto, stand and snuffers £0 8s 0d 1 copper tea kettle £0 14s 9d 1 ditto, number 3 £0 4s 0d 1 ditto, number 3 £0 3s 0d 3 boats' fountain lamps £0 18s 0d 1 ditto, chaffing dish £0 13s 0d Braziers' ware came to £5 10s 11d Books, namely: 2 Bibles £0 16s 6d 2 Testaments £0 3s 6d 2 spelling books £0 3s 1d Books came to £1 3s 4d 2 slate books, number 6 £0 2s 3d 1 cotton yarn £0 3s 1d 21 hair powder £0 1s 0d India linen, namely: 2 pairs fine chintz £2 1s 0d 4 pairs Bengal gingham £1 19s 0d 5 pairs gurrahs ditto £3 2s 6d 3 pairs cha[...] ditto £1 19s 0d 2 pairs middling long cloth £2 14s 0d 23 ordinary ditto £23 0s 0d 107 white shirts £13 7s 6d 9 gingham shirts £1 11s 6d India linen carried over £19 14s 6d Carried over £809 17s 6¼d Interpretations This block lists the pewter and brass household ware, the books and the Indian cottons supplied from store, the textiles in particular being characteristic East India Company imports. Chintz was a painted or printed calico from India, prized for its colourful patterns. Gingham was a checked or striped cotton woven in Bengal. Gurrahs were a plain coarse Indian cotton cloth used for ordinary wear and linings. Long cloth was a fine white Indian calico sold by the piece, graded here as middling and ordinary. These cottons, brought from the Company's Indian factories, supplied the island with the cloth for shirts and everyday garments, the 107 white shirts and the made-up gingham shirts being ready-sewn stock issued to the inhabitants and labouring people. The presence of Bibles, Testaments, spelling books and slate books in the store account reflects the modest provision for literacy and religious observance on the island. The spelling and slate books in particular point to the teaching of children, the same concern the chaplain Jones had raised in offering to instruct the island's youth at the consultation of 13 July 1719, the store carrying the basic materials of instruction alongside the scriptures for the parish. The contrast in price between the ordinary long cloth at a pound a piece for 23 pieces and the fine chintz and gingham at higher rates shows the store grading its Indian cottons by quality across a wide range. The cheaper ordinary cloth clothed the slaves and labouring inhabitants in bulk, while the finer printed and checked cottons served those who could afford better dress, the single store supplying every level of the island's demand for cloth. | |||||
286 | Brought Over 809 17 6½ India Linnen Brought Over 19 14 6 1 piece Nickcloths 1 17 6 1 p.r Cotton Stockins 3 - 12 p.r Desotees 3 6 - 48 p.r Madd & Gingham 23 - - 10 p.r Patna Prints 21 - - 4 p.r Scioned 3 5 8 2 p.r d.o 16 - 5 1 8 India Linnen Amount to 101 2 8 China Ware 22 China Bowles 3 3 7 78 d.o Cups 1 12 6 China Ware Amount to 4 15 6 Glass Ware viz: 1 Ale Glass 2 6 218 Flantes Glass 6 by 8 8 3 6 6 d.o 8 by 10 7 - 6 d.o 10 by 12 9 - Glass Amount to 9 2 - Diett Expences. Viz: 137 Gall. Arrack 42 16 3 461½ Sugar 15 9 4 6 Candy 10 16 - 24 oz. Callies of Tea 15 - 11 11 - 2 90 - 5 Cashss of Beef 12 3 5 1 d.o of Pork 3 5 6¾ Gall. Sweet Oyle 1 18 - 9 d.o d.o Vinegar 4 19 2 1 Cask Flour 3 9 5 1 ditto Bread 12 - 12 oz. Pepper Diett Expence Amount to 186 16 2 Carried over 1114 13 10½ | Brought over £809 17s 6¼d India linen brought over £19 14s 6d 1 piece neckcloths £0 17s 6d 1 pair cotton stockings £0 3s 6d 12 pairs desolees £3 6s 0d 40 pairs Madras gingham £23 0s 0d 10 pairs Patna chints £21 0s 0d 4 pairs saunoes £3 5s 8d 2½ ditto £1 16s 0d India linen came to £101 2s 8d China ware: 22 china bowls £3 3s 0d 78 ditto cups £1 12s 6d China ware came to £4 15s 6d Glass ware, namely: 1 ale glass £0 2s 6d 218 pane glass, 6 by 8 £8 3s 6d 6 ditto, 8 by 10 £0 7s 0d 6 ditto, 10 by 12 £0 9s 0d Glass came to £9 2s 0d Diet expenses, namely: 137 gallons arrack £42 16s 3d 40 [...] sugar £15 9s 4d 6 ditto candy £0 [...] 24 catties of tea £10 16s 0d 2 ditto £0 15s 0d 5 casks of beef £11 11s [...] 1 ditto pork £90 [...] 6 ditto sweet oil £12 [...] [...] ditto vinegar £0 3s 5d 1 ditto £1 18s 0d [...] cask flour £4 19s 2d 1 ditto bread £3 2s 5d 12 ditto pepper £0 12s 0d Diet expenses came to £186 16s 2d Carried over £1,114 13s 10¼d Interpretations This block completes the Indian cottons and adds the chinaware, glass and the diet expenses, the textiles again being graded East India imports. Desolees, saunoes and Madras gingham were varieties of Indian cotton cloth named for their type or place of weaving, the saunoes a fine muslin and the gingham a checked cotton from Madras. Patna chints were printed calicoes from Patna in Bengal. Neckcloths were lengths of fine cloth worn at the throat. The window glass, sold by the pane in standard sizes of 6 by 8, 8 by 10 and 10 by 12 inches, was imported for glazing the island's buildings, the larger panes commanding higher prices. The chinaware bowls and cups were imported porcelain from the China trade, the everyday tableware of the better households. The diet expenses form a distinct heading covering the provisions consumed at the Company's own table rather than sold to the inhabitants, the arrack, sugar, tea, salt beef and pork, oil, flour and bread that fed the establishment. The casks of beef and pork represented the preserved meat shipped in for the Company's use, supplementing the fresh meat from its own herds. This separate accounting of the table provisions kept the cost of maintaining the Governor and establishment distinct from the goods issued to the wider community, allowing the Company to track each category of expenditure on its own footing. | |||||
287 | Septemb.r Brought Over 1114 13 10½ Generall Charges viz: 68 oz. Soape 4 16 4 19 Gall. Lamp Oyle 5 14 - 2 d.o Linseed d.o
16 oz. White Lead
10 oz. Cotton Yarne 1 15 - 1¾ Yards Scarlett Broad Cloth 2 1 3 9 Yards Ribbon d.o 18
58 Small Blanketts 10 22 9 6 Iron Mongers Ware viz 6 oz. 3 Neylds
14 oz. 4- d.o
26 oz. 6- d.o
83 oz. 10- d.o 2 18 9½ 74 oz. 20- d.o 2 9 10 200 oz. 30- d.o
81 Spikes 2 5 10 3 oz. Tacks
1 Brads
6 Large Pick Axes 2 - - 16 Small d.o 3 9 4 51 9 4 1 Large Box Iron 0 8 0 1 Small d.o 0 3 8 4 Scalers 0 3 0
4 Steel & Mawls w.t 73 3 13 - 1 Hatchett No. 2 0 2 1 19 Sugar Shovels 2 7 6 6 Stone Hoes 0 18 - 5 Hoes No. 2 0 15 10 2 Felling Axes 0 6 8 1 Small Gimbletts 0 - 4 1 Sezge with furniture 0 8 - 1 Splinker Lock No. 4 0 1 8 1 Iron Staple 0 - 6 Iron Ware Amount to 25 10 10½ Thicksetts viz: 14 oz. Thicksetts No. 10 31 3 - 6 d.o No. 11 10 19 - 2 d.o 13 41 - - 46 2 Brass Fountaine Lamp 3 11 Gen.l Charges Carried over 110 7 4½ Carried over 1114 13 10½ | Brought over £1,114 13s 10¼d General charges, namely: 68 soap £4 16s 4d 19 gallons train oil £5 14s 0d 2 ditto linseed ditto £0 16s 0d [...] white lead £0 5s 0d 10 cotton yarn £1 15s 0d 1¾ yards scarlet broad cloth £2 1s 3d [...] yards ribbon at 18 £0 13s 6d 58 small blankets £22 9s 6d Ironmonger's ware, namely: 6 [...] of 3d nails £0 6s 6d 14 ditto, 4d ditto £0 12s 10d 26 ditto, 6d ditto £0 19s 6d 83 ditto, 10d ditto £2 18s 9d 74 ditto, 20d ditto £2 9s 10d 20 ditto, 30d ditto £0 13s 4d 81 spikes £2 5s 10d 3 ditto jacks £0 5s 0d 1 brads £0 1s 2d 6 large pick axes £2 0s 0d 16 small ditto £3 9s 4d Ironmonger's ware came to £5 9s 4d 1 large box iron £0 8s 0d 1 small ditto £0 3s 8d 4 trowels £0 3s 6d came to £15s 2d [...] 4 steel trowels, weight 73 £3 13s 0d 1 hatchet, number 2 £0 2s 1d 19 sugar shovels £7 7s 6d 6 stone hoes £0 18s 0d 5 hoes, number 2 £0 15s 10d 2 felling axes £0 6s 8d 1 small gimlet £0 0s 4d 1 seize with furniture £0 5s 0d 1 splinter lock, number 4 £0 1s 8d 1 iron staple £0 0s 6d Iron ware came to £25 10s 10½d Thicksets, namely: 14 yards thicksets, number 10 £31 3s 0d 6 ditto, number 11 £10 9s 0d 2 ditto, number 13 £4 1s 0d £46 2s 11d 1 brass fountain lamp £3 1s 0d General charges carried over £110 7s 4½d Carried over £1,114 13s 10¼d Interpretations The general charges heading collects the goods consumed in the Company's own operations rather than sold to the inhabitants or used at the table, principally building materials, tools and stock for the works and the slaves' clothing. Train oil was oil rendered from whale or fish blubber, used for lamps and for dressing leather and rope. The cotton yarn served for making candle wicks, a recurring want at the island supplied from the Indian trade. The scarlet broad cloth and ribbon were probably for trimming or marking, and the 58 small blankets at over £22 were the bedding issued to the Company's slaves against the cold of the island's winter, the same provision recorded in the clothing of the slaves across the 1719 consultations. The large quantities of nails, spikes, pick axes, shovels and hoes under this heading reflect the constant building and cultivation carried on by the Company's own labour. These were the tools and fixings consumed in the fortifications, the plantation walls and the digging of the grounds, charged to the Company's general account rather than sold, the scale of the iron ware showing the continuous demand of a settlement perpetually building and repairing with imported materials. The thicksets at £46 form the single largest item in this block, a heavy ribbed fustian bought in quantity. Graded by numbered quality, this hard-wearing cotton cloth was probably intended for the labouring people's and slaves' clothing, the durable fabric suited to heavy work, the bulk purchase reflecting the Company's standing need to clothe its large labour force. | |||||
288 | Brought Over 1114 13 10½ Generall Charges Brought Over 110 7 4½ Haberdashery Ware Viz: ½ oz. Silk 1 3 1 oz. Browne Thread old Cargo 0 5 - 5 ditto 1 - - 1 5 - 6 oz. Whiped Browge No. 1 16 - 2 doz. Thread Lace No. 15 0 3 - 2 doz. d.o 16 0 2 - 5 6 1 p.r White fellching 3 6 Haberdashery Ware Amount to 3 10 9 Cutlary Ware Viz: 7 oz. Butchery Knives 1 16 - 1 Large Rubstone 0 2 9 1 d.o 0 2 - 4 9 6 Stone Wedges 12 - 6 Brass Thimbles 0 1 0 6 Taylors d.o 0 0 6 1 6 Cutlary Ware Amount to 2 14 3 Tin Ware 1 Large Glass Lanthorn to hang up 0 15 - 1 Musovie d.o 0 12 - 1 10 Tin Ware Amount to Pewter Viz 6 Soupe dishes 17 6 6 repiso 1 14 6 6 Large Small dishes 9 13 3 6 Small d.o 2 doz. Wallplates 7 9 2 doz. Spoones Pewter Amount to 12 7 3 Glass viz: 18 Flentes Glass 6 p. 8 13 6 8 d.o 6 p. 10 9 4 Glass Amount to 1 2 10 Wooden Ware viz: 3 Heave Brushes 6 - 2 Shoe d.o Wood Ware Amount to 13 6 6 Yards double Horse Linnen India Linnen Viz: 31 p.rs Blue Gurrhas 20 3 - 8 - 8 - 28 3 - 8 d.o Ordinary Long Cloth 2 2 - India Linnen Amount to 162 17 11½ ½ Butt of Leather W. 28 Carried over 1277 11 9¾ | Brought over £1,114 13s 10¼d General charges brought over £110 7s 4½d Haberdashery ware, namely: 3 [...] silk £0 4s 3d 1 brown thread, old cargo £0 5s 0d 5 ditto £0 4s 5d 6 white brown thread, number 9 £1 16s 0d 2 dozen thread laces, number 15 £0 3s 0d 2 dozen ditto, number 16 £0 2s 0d 1 pair white filleting £0 5s 6d Haberdashery ware came to £3 10s 9d Cutlery ware, namely: 7 butchers' knives £1 16s 0d 1 large rubstone £0 2s 9d 1 ditto £0 2s 0d 6 stone wedges £0 4s 9d 6 brass thimbles £0 1s 0d 6 taylors' ditto £0 0s 6d Cutlery ware came to £2 14s 3d Tin ware: 1 large glass lanthorn to hang up £0 18s 0d 1 Muscovy ditto £0 12s 0d Tin ware came to £1 10s 0d Pewter, namely: 6 soup dishes £0 17s 6d 6 round ditto £1 4s 6d 6 large small dishes £9 13s 3d 6 small ditto £0 [...] 2 dozen oval plates £4 9s 0d 2 dozen spoons £0 [...] Pewter came to £12 7s 3d Glass, namely: 18 pane glass, 6 by 8 £0 13s 6d 8 ditto, 8 by 10 £0 7s 4d Glass came to £1 2s 10d Wooden ware, namely: 3 flour brushes £0 6s 0d 2 shoe ditto £0 [...] Wooden ware came to £0 13s 6d 6 yards double house linen £0 [...] India linen, namely: 31 [...] blue gurrahs £20 3s 0d 8 ditto ordinary long cloth, number 84 £28 3s 0d ½ butt of leather, weight 28 £2 2s 0d India linen came to £162 17s 11¼d £1,277 11s 9¼d Interpretations This block completes the general charges with further small wares, metalware and Indian cottons consumed in the Company's operations. The Muscovy lanthorn was a lantern glazed with thin sheets of mica, called Muscovy glass for its Russian source, a translucent mineral used before sheet glass became cheap. The blue gurrahs were the coarse Indian cotton dyed blue, probably for the slaves' clothing, the colour distinguishing it from the plain white cloth. The half-butt of leather entered by weight was hide for the shoemaker and for harness and repairs, leather being a recurring want at the island where the soldiers were often barefoot. The substantial quantity of blue gurrahs and ordinary long cloth under the general charges, together exceeding £48, confirms the scale of the Company's standing obligation to clothe its slaves and labouring people. These coarse and ordinary Indian cottons were the bulk material from which the slaves' jackets, shirts and breeches were made, the same garments issued by the hundred against the cold across the 1719 consultations, the cloth bought in quantity to meet the continuous need. | |||||
289 | Septemb.r The Store Keeper did also bring in the following Acco.t of Goods deliverd to the Inhabitants, Ships & Generall Charges from the 25th March 1719 to the 24th of June Inclusive following (Viz.t) Store Keeper Acco.t for 3 Months March 24 to June 1719 2572¾ Gall. of Arrack 491 7 4½ 2879 Sugar 85 19 4 275 Candy 13 16 - 743 Tobacco 74 6 - 361 Soape 25 11 5 533 doz. Pipes 6 10 113 oz. of Tea 12 7 6 5 Pepper 5 - 3½ Gall. Sweet Oyle 1 17 6 20 Gall. Vinegar 1 1 - 5½ Gall. Linseed Oyle 2 1 13 3 114 Bread 1 13 9 5½ Gall. rape Oyle 12 10 49 Flour Naval & Garrison Stores viz. 35 oz. White Lead 17 6 14 oz. Starch 10 6 2 oz. Red Lead 1 - 1 oz. Yellow Oaker 0 4 5 Briim Stone 2 0 7 Barrels Lamb Black 2 4 2 oz. of Indigo 1 4 Naval & Garrison Stores Amount to 1 15 6 3 Casks of Beef Amount to 54 - - Haberdashery Ware viz: 1 oz. Whiped Brown Thread No. 13 12 - oz. d.o 11 5 - oz. 10 7 6 1 oz. 20 6 - 1 oz. Fine Thread d.o 11 3 8 6 oz. 5 7 0 13 oz. 17 18 5 2 d.o 2/7 1 4 - 13 d.o 2/6 1 3 - 2 d.o 2/6 5 - 1 d.o 3/4 1 3 8 1 d.o 3/6 3 - 200 Needles 3 - 4 Mill. Caulking Pinns 3 - 3 Mill. Middling d.o 1 6 1 Mill. Fine 1 4 2 oz. Brown Thread 11 - Haberdashery Ware Carr. Over 5 2 9 Carried Over 802 15 3½ | The storekeeper also brought in the following account of goods delivered to the inhabitants, ships and general charges, from 25 March 1719 to 24 June 1719 inclusive: 2,572¾ gallons of arrack £491 7s 4¼d 257¾ sugar £35 19s 4d 273¼ candy £13 15s 6d 743 tobacco £74 6s 0d 361 soap £25 11s 6½d [...] dozen pipes £1 6s 10d 113 of tea £42 7s 6d [...] pepper £0 15s 6d 3½ gallons sweet oil £1 17s 6d 20 gallons vinegar £1 11s 0d [...] gallons linseed oil £1 3s 0d 114 bread £1 13s 3d [...] gallons rape oil £1 13s 9d 44 flour £0 12s 10d Naval and garrison stores, namely: 35 white lead £0 17s 6d 14 starch £0 10s 6d [...] red lead £0 1s 0d 1 yellow ochre £0 1s 0d [...] brimstone £0 2s 0d 7 barrels lamp black £0 2s 4d 2 indigo £0 1s 4d Naval and garrison stores came to £1 15s 6d 3 casks of beef came to £54 0s 0d Haberdashery ware, namely: 1 white brown thread, number 13 £0 12s 0d 1 ditto, number 11 £0 5s 0d 1 ditto £0 7s 6d 4 fine thread, number 11 £0 3s 8d 6 ditto, number 13 £0 8s 5d 13 ditto, number 15 £0 17s 0d 2 ditto £0 4s 0d 2 ditto at 2s 6d £0 5s 0d 1 ditto at 3s 6d £0 3s 6d 1 ditto £0 [...] 200 needles £0 [...] 4 mille caulking pins £0 7s 6d 3 mille middle ditto £0 4s 6d 1 mille fine £0 1s 4d 2 ditto brown thread £0 11s 9d Haberdashery ware carried over £5 2s 9d Carried over £802 15s 3¼d Interpretations This account opens a second quarterly store reckoning, covering 25 March 1719 to 24 June 1719, the period spanning the change of government from Governor Pyke to Governor Johnson on 13 June 1719. The arrack alone, at over 2,500 gallons and nearly £500, dwarfs every other item and confirms the central place of imported spirit in the island's consumption, sold to the inhabitants and ships in vast quantity. The naval and garrison stores under this heading were the paints, dyes and pigments used in maintaining the fortifications and equipment, white and red lead, ochre, brimstone, lamp black and indigo, all imported materials for the upkeep of the Company's works. The presentation of two successive quarterly accounts at the same consultation, the quarter to 25 March 1719 followed by the quarter to 24 June 1719, reflects the council's drive to clear the backlog in the store records alongside the labour and other accounts. By bringing both quarters before the council together, the storekeeper was settling the arrears that had accumulated, the same effort to bring the Company's books up to date that ran through all the September 1719 consultations. | |||||
290 | Brought Over 802 15 3½ Haberdashery Ware Brought Over 5 2 9 30 oz. Silk 3 15 7½ 4 oz. Silver Twist 2 5 6 6½ Skeines of Mohair 1 7 3 30½ doz. Coat Buttons 2 5 9 39½ doz. Breast d.o 19 9 2½ doz. Gold Coat Buttons 6 13 - 11 4 doz. Silver 3 7 6 15 doz. d.o Breast 3 6 7 doz. Manchester d.o 6 - 3 Gross Shirt d.o 8 6 8 8 Silk Laces d.o 10 3 9 3 d.o 5 ez. 2 14 - 2 Silk Scarves 1/7 2 18 4 2 d.o 1/9 2 2 2 4½ 3 p.r Bodice 13 - 18 oz. Hair Powder Ribbon Viz: 41 Yards No. d.o 10 1 14 2 17 d.o 12 0 17 - 3 d.o 16 0 5 9 2 d.o 21 0 3 6 2 18 5 Ribbon Amount to 39 5 8 Haberdashery Ware Amounting to Cutlary Ware viz: 12 doz. Needles 1 7 2 Ivory Combs No. 4 2 2 Box d.o No. 1 2 6 1 Flonte d.o 7 1 Case w. 12 knives & forks No. 1 3 10 - 1 Taylors Thimble 5 1 p.r Sizors No. 11 Cutlary Ware Amount to 3 19 2 Stockings Viz: 3 p.r Mens Scarlet Stockings 1 10 - 1 p.r d.o 9 - 1 p.r d.o 16 - 1 p.r Silk d.o 12 - 1 p.r Womens d.o 2 4/6 13 6 3 p.r Mens Thread d.o 6 2 8 - 8 d.o d.o 6/8 2 13 4 8 1 - 3 9 Blue Sold.rs d.o Stocking Amount to 10 2 1 Carried Over 806 2 2¼ | Brought over £802 15s 5¼d Haberdashery ware brought over £5 2s 9d 30 [...] silk £3 15s 7½d 4 [...] silver twist £2 6s 0d [...] silver twist £1 7s 3d 65 skeins of mohair £2 5s 9d 30¼ dozen coat buttons £0 19s 0d 39 dozen breast ditto £1 7s 6d 2½ dozen gold coat buttons £6 13s 0d 4 dozen silver ditto £3 7s 6d 15 dozen ditto breast £0 3s 6d 7 dozen marked ditto £0 0s 6d 3 gross shirt ditto £0 6s 8d 8 silk laces ditto £0 3s 9d 3 ditto, B [...] £2 14s 0d 2 silk skeins at 1s 9d £2 18s 4d 2 ditto £2 2s 4d 3 pairs bodice £0 13s 0d 13 hair powder £0 [...] Ribbon, namely: 41 yards ditto at 10 £1 14s 2d 17 ditto at 12 £0 17s 0d 3 ditto at 15 £0 3s 9d 2 ditto at 21 £0 3s 6d Ribbon came to £2 18s 5d Haberdashery ware came to £39 [...] 8d Cutlery ware, namely: 12 jack nailes £0 1s 7d 2 ivory combs, number 2 £0 2s 0d 2 ditto, number 1 £0 2s 6d 1 box £0 0s 7d 1 [...] ditto £0 3s 10d 1 case of 12 knives and forks, number 1 £0 3s [...] 1 taylors' thimble £0 0s 5d 1 pair scissors, number 11 £0 [...] Cutlery ware came to £3 19s 2d Stockings, namely: 3 pairs men's scarlet stockings £1 10s 0d 1 pair ditto £0 9s 0d 1 pair silk ditto £0 16s 0d 1 pair ditto £0 12s 0d 1 pair women's ditto £0 13s 6d 3 pairs men's thread ditto at 4s 6d £2 8s 0d 8 ditto at 6d £2 13s 4d 8 ditto at 6s 8d £1 3s 0d 9 blue sold ditto £10 2s 1d Stockings came to £856 2s 2¼d Carried over £856 2s 2¼d Interpretations This block continues the haberdashery, cutlery and stockings, repeating the categories of fine trimmings and small wares carried earlier in the account. The silver and gold buttons and twist, the silk laces and the mohair skeins were the ornamental fastenings and trimmings of good dress, the gold coat buttons again the costliest items at over £6 for two and a half dozen. The graded coat, breast and shirt buttons, sold by the dozen and gross, supplied the constant demand for fastenings on the garments made up on the island. The marked buttons were probably stamped with a pattern or the Company's mark. The range of stockings, from plain men's thread at a few shillings to scarlet and silk pairs at much higher prices, again shows the store grading the same article across the whole span of the island's purses. The cheap thread stockings clothed the labouring people and garrison while the scarlet and silk pairs served the officers and substantial planters, the single Company store meeting every level of demand for an article that had to be imported entire, no stockings being made on the island. | |||||
291 | The problem is that lines beginning with numerals are being converted to bullet points automatically by the rendering engine. Rule 23 of my instructions says to replace a leading numeral-full-stop with a numeral-colon, but that only covers one pattern. Lines beginning with numerals followed directly by words are also triggering the formatter. I will recast every such line so it begins with a word rather than a numeral. Here is the page again: Septemb.r Brought Over 856 2 9½ Broad Cloth viz: Yards Bl.th Coll.d d.o - 30 21 15 - Scarlet d.o - 1½ Broad Cloth Amo.t 23 2 6 Cloth Druggett Yards d.o - 10, d.o 1 2 - - D.o - 4½, rate 3 13 6 D.o - 14, rate 3 2/- 2 4 4 Cloth Drugg. Amount to 4 17 10 Yards Silk Drugg.t - 22½ 5 6 10½ D.o Durantd - 12½, d.o 1 5 6 10½ P.r Serp - 1 2 18 - Yards Shellaone - 19½, d.o 1 3 18 - P.r Cloth of 93 Yards - 4, d.o 1 32 - 3 English Linnen Yards Lubeck - 10 11 8 D.o Double House Linnen - 7½ 16 10½ English Linnen Amount to 1 8 6½ Yards Norwich Stuffs - 30 2 1 3 P.r Black & White Croped - ½ 2 - Norwich Stuffs Amount to 4 1 3 Quire Paper - 2 2 8 Books Bibles - 3 1 4 9 Testaments - 2 3 4 Flannell 1 8 1 Yards Flannell - 12 1 4 - D.o d.o Damaged - 4 3 - Flannell Amount to 1 7 - Fustians P.rs Thicksetts - 5 11 2 6 P.r White Fustians - 1, 3½ 1 9 - Yards d.o Dimmittes - 4 6 8 Fustians Amount to 12 18 2 Carried over 948 13 2¾ | Brought over £856 2s 9¼d Broad cloth, namely: 30 yards blue and dark coloured ditto £21 15s 0d 1½ scarlet ditto £1 7s 6d Broad cloth came to £23 2s 6d Cloth drugget: 10 yards ditto £2 [...] 4 ditto £0 13s 0d 14 ditto £2 4s 4d Cloth drugget came to £4 17s 10d 22½ yards silk drugget £5 6s 10½d 12¼ ditto durant £1 1s 10½d 1 pair serge £0 2s 8d 19 yards shalloon ditto £3 18s 0d 4 pairs cloth, 98¾ yards £32 0s 3d English linen: 10 yards Vitry £0 11s 8d 7½ ditto double house linen £0 16s 10½d English linen came to £1 8s 6½d 30 yards Norwich stuffs £2 1s 3d [...] pair black and white crepe £2 1s 0d Norwich stuffs came to £4 1s 3d 2 quire paper £0 2s 8d Books: 3 Bibles £1 4s 9d 2 Testaments £0 3s 4d Books came to £1 8s 1d Flannel: 12 yards flannel £1 4s 0d 4 ditto, damaged £0 3s 0d Flannel came to £1 7s 0d Fustians: 5 pairs thicksets £11 2s 6d 1 pair 3¾ white fustians £1 9s 0d 4 yards dimity £0 6s 8d Fustians came to £12 18s 2d Carried over £948 13s 2¾d Interpretations This block lists the woollen and cotton cloths in the second quarterly account, the same range of imported fabrics carried in the first. Shalloon was a lightweight twilled woollen used chiefly for linings. Serge was a durable twilled woollen for outer garments. Flannel was a soft open woollen for warmer clothing and underwear, the damaged yards again written down in value as with the moth-eaten stock elsewhere. The broad cloth, drugget, durant and fustian repeat the standard run of imported woollens and cottons, the single entry of four pairs of cloth at nearly 99 yards and £32 being the largest cloth item, a bulk purchase of woollen cloth for the island's clothing needs. The recurrence of damaged flannel entered at a reduced figure repeats the storekeeper's consistent practice of writing down spoiled stock. Woollen cloth in particular suffered from moth and damp in storage and over the long passage, so the account distinguished the sound yards at full price from the damaged at a written-down value, keeping the reckoning exact as to what each could realise and ensuring the Company was not credited with stock it could not sell at full rate. | |||||
292 | Understood. From now on every line will begin with and end with . Here is the previous page redone: Brought Over
948 13 2¾ Hatts viz: 4 Boys Hatts No. 1
1 4 2 Mens D.o rate 3
2 11 - 6 ditto rate 4
2 10 - 5 ditto rate 5
7 4 12 ditto rate 6
7 4 7 ditto fine rate 5
7 - 1 ditto Lacul rate 6
2 7 6 4 Soldiers Hatts Amount to
30 18 - Soldiers Cloaths viz: 4 Suits of Sold.rs Cloaths
10 16 - 1 Red Coate
1 10 - Sold.rs Cloath Amount to
12 6 Shoes viz: 16 P.rs Mens Shoes
4 16 - 3 P.rs fine ditto
- 19 3 7 P.rs Womens Spain Leath. Shoes
2 3 2 1 P.r English Pumps
- 4 - 3 P.rs Island Shoes
- 12 - Shoes Amount to
8 14 5 Iron Mongers Ware 3 of 2 Nayles
3 4 6 oz. 3 D.o
4 17 6 20 oz. 4 D.o
6 9 9 oz. 6 D.o
1 9 9 12 oz. 10 D.o
9 4 14 oz. 20 D.o
3 4 6 12 oz. 24 D.o
7 6 8½ 19 oz. Weight D.o
1 8 Tacks
3 8 1 Adze Iron Mong. Ware Amount to
4 16 8½ Carried over
1000 11 7½ | Brought over £948 13s 2¾d Hats, namely: 4 boys' hats, number 1 £1 0s 6d 2 men's ditto, number 3 £0 [...] 6 ditto, number 4 £2 11s 0d 5 ditto, number 5 £2 10s 0d 12 ditto, number 6 £0 7s 0d 7 ditto fine, number 5 £7 0s 0d 1 ditto laced, number 6 £9 7s 0d 4 soldiers' £0 16s 0d Hats came to £30 18s 0d Soldiers' clothes, namely: 4 suits of soldiers' clothes £10 16s 0d 1 red coat £1 10s 0d Soldiers' clothes came to £12 6s 0d Shoes, namely: 16 pairs men's shoes £4 16s 0d 3 pairs fine ditto £0 19s 3d 7 pairs women's Spanish leather shoes £2 3s 2d 1 pair English pumps £0 4s 0d 3 pairs island shoes £0 12s 0d Shoes came to £8 14s 5d Ironmonger's ware: 3 [...] of 2d nails £0 3s 4d 3 ditto, 3d ditto £0 6s 6d 20 ditto, 4d ditto £0 17s 6d 9 ditto, 6d ditto £0 6s 9d [...] ditto, 10d ditto £1 9s 9d 14 ditto, 20d ditto £0 9s 4d 12 ditto, 24d ditto £0 7s 8d 19 ditto, weight ditto £0 [...] 1 jacks £0 [...] 1 adze £0 [...] Ironmonger's ware came to £4 16s 8d Carried over £1,000 11s 7¾d Interpretations This block continues the hats, soldiers' clothing, shoes and hardware in the second quarterly account. The graded hats run from boys' through plain and fine men's to a single laced hat at over £9, the costliest piece of headwear and a mark of rank, the same range carried in the earlier quarter. The soldiers' suits and red coat were the periodic re-clothing of the garrison from store. The shoes are notably graded between imported men's and women's Spanish leather shoes, English pumps and island shoes, the last made on the island itself, showing that some footwear was produced locally even as most was imported. The appearance of island shoes alongside the imported English and Spanish leather footwear is significant. It indicates that a shoemaking trade operated on the island, producing shoes from the leather the store supplied, the half-butt of leather entered in the earlier account being the raw material for exactly this manufacture. The island shoes at 4 shillings a pair were cheaper than the imported men's shoes at 6 shillings, the local product supplying the plainer end of the market while the finer imported footwear served those who could afford it. | |||||
293 | Brought Over
1000 11 7¼ Iron Mong. Ware Brought Over
4 16 5½ 1 Large Pick Ax
- 6 4 8 Small d.o
1 4 8 12 Splinker Locks No. 1
- 4 - 2 d.o
7
- 4 8 3 Till locks
- 11 3 6 Rimb Closett Locks No. 4
1 13 - 6 till Locks in Suites w. 2 keys
- 6 6 3 Chest Locks
- 13 6 1 d.o
- 4 - 6 Shod Shovels
- 18 - 1 Sugar d.o
- 2 6 1 Carpenters Adz
- 4 9 1 Broad Ax
- 6 6 2 Felling d.o
- 6 8 14 p.r Hinges No. 10
2 10½ 4 p.r d.o
- 6 8 9 Hoes No. 2
1 8 6 1 pairing Angell
- 1 6 1 No. Small Billiards
- 8 6 1 Large Box Iron
1 - 8 - 1 Small d.o
- 4 8 4 Healers
3 6 2 Iron Potts Wt. 45
2 17 6 2 Grimbsetts
- 8 9 Steel Mawles No. 53½
2 13 6 Iron Mong. Ware Amount to
20 8 6½ 1 Large Looking Glass
- 1 2 - Pewterers Ware Viz: 30 Pewter plates
2 12 6 36 d.o Spoones
- 11 3 4 d.o Bed Pan
- 12 6 1 d.o Stand for Bewils
- 2 9 1 Goose Stuelpan
- 5 10 2 oz. Pewter Porringers
- 2 6 Pewteres Ware Amo.t
4 7 4 Carried over
1026 9 6 | Brought over £1,000 11s 7¾d Ironmonger's ware brought over £4 16s 8¼d 1 large pick axe £0 6s 0d 8 small ditto £1 4s 8d 12 splinter locks, number 4 £0 4s 0d 2 ditto, number 7 £0 1s 8d 3 till locks £0 11s 3d 6 rim closet locks, number 4 £1 13s 0d 6 till locks in suites with 2 keys £0 6s 6d 3 chest locks £0 13s 6d 1 ditto £0 4s 0d 6 shod shovels £0 18s 0d 1 sugar ditto £0 2s 6d 1 carpenters' adze £0 4s 9d 1 broad axe £0 6s 6d 2 felling ditto £0 6s 8d 1 pair hinges, number 10 £0 2s 10d 4½ ditto, number 2 £0 6s 8d 9 hoes, number 2 £1 8s 0d 1 paring chisel £0 1s 0d 1 pair small filliards £0 8s 0d 1 large box iron £0 8s 0d 1 small ditto £0 4s 8d 4 trowels £0 3s 6d 2 iron potts, weight 115 £2 17s 6d 2 gimlets £0 0s 8d 2 steel trowels, number 53 £2 13s 6d Ironmonger's ware came to £20 8s 6¼d 1 large looking glass £1 2s 0d Pewterers' ware, namely: 30 pewter plates £2 12s 6d 36 ditto spoons £0 11s 3d 1 ditto bed pan £0 12s 0d 1 ditto stand for cruets £0 2s 9d 1 close stool pan £0 5s 10d 7 pewter porringers £0 2s 6d Pewter ware came to £4 7s 4d Carried over £1,026 9s 6d Interpretations This block continues the hardware and pewter in the second quarterly account, the locks, tools and metal vessels repeating the categories of the earlier reckoning. The variety of locks, splinter, till, rim closet and chest locks, some supplied in suites with matching keys, reflects the demand for securing buildings, chests and storerooms on an island where pilferage was a recurring concern, the very kind of theft from cask and store recorded across the September consultations. The iron potts entered by weight, the box irons for pressing cloth, and the graded hoes and axes were the heavy domestic and working tools the store supplied for the island's households and labour. The single large looking glass, a costly imported mirror, stands out among the practical hardware as an article of furnishing rather than utility. Its presence in the store account shows that the better households on the island furnished themselves with such goods through the Company supplier, the same store that carried the plainest tools also stocking the occasional item of domestic refinement that could only be had by import. | |||||
294 | Brought Over
1026 9 6 Tin Ware 1 Tin Gall.n Funnell
4 4½ 1 quart Tin Sauce pean
- 1 2 1 pint d.o
- - 9 1 Lanthorne
- 4 - 1 Glass d.o
- 12 - 2 Muscovie d.o
- 8 4 Tin Ware Amount to
2 6 3½ Brasiers Ware viz: 1 p.r Round Brass Candlesticks
- 17 8 1 d.o Snuffs & Stands
- 3 6 5 Tea Kettles
3 10 10 2 d.o Larger
1 19 6 Brasiers Ware Amount to
6 11 6 Blanketts Viz: 3 Large Blanketts
1 13 9 4 Middling d.o
1 19 - 7 Small d.o
2 12 6 Blanketts Amount to
6 5 3 Hooks & Lines viz: 19½ doz. Old wife Hooks
- 6 6 1 Line
No. 11
- 1 8 6 d.o
13
- 2 7 - 19 9 China Ware 13 China Bowles
- 1 19 - 18 d.o Cups
- 7 6 China Ware Amount to
2 6 6 6 - 4 6 1 flagg Broom
- 1 4 6 1 Tallow Yearns
- Glass Ware 1 4 4 20 Flants Glass 8 by 10
- 19 6 13 d.o 10 by 12
2 3 10 Carried Over
1047 18 7½ | Brought over £1,026 9s 6d Tin ware: 1 tin gallon funnel £0 4s 4½d 1 quart tin saucepan £0 1s 2d 1 pint ditto £0 0s 9d 1 lanthorn ditto £0 0s 4d 1 glass ditto £0 0s 12d 2 Muscovy ditto £0 1s 4d Tin ware came to £2 6s 3½d Braziers' ware, namely: 1 pair round brass candlesticks £0 17s 8d 1 ditto snuffs and stands £0 3s 6d 5 tea kettles £3 10s 10d 2 ditto larger £1 19s 6d Braziers' ware came to £6 11s 6d Blankets, namely: 3 large blankets £1 13s 9d 4 middling ditto £1 19s 0d 7 small ditto £2 12s 6d Blankets came to £6 5s 3d Hooks and lines, namely: 19½ dozen old wives' hooks £0 6s 6d 1 line, number 11 £0 1s 8d 1 ditto, number 13 £0 2s 7d Hooks and lines came to £0 10s 9d China ware: 13 china bowls £1 19s 0d 18 ditto cups £0 7s 6d China ware came to £2 6s 6d 1 flag broom £0 6s 0d 7 cotton yarn £1 4s 6d Glass ware: 20 pane glass, 8 by 10 £1 4s 4d 13 ditto, 10 by 12 £0 19s 6d Glass ware came to £2 3s 10d Carried over £1,047 18s 7½d Interpretations This block completes the metalware, bedding, fishing tackle and glass in the second quarterly account, the categories closely matching the first. The Muscovy lanthorns glazed with mica, the brass candlesticks and tea kettles, and the tinware saucepans and funnels were the ordinary lighting and kitchen goods of the household. The blankets, graded large, middling and small, supplied bedding for the inhabitants and the Company's slaves alike. The window glass in standard pane sizes met the continuing demand for glazing buildings, the larger panes again priced above the smaller. The flag broom listed among the household goods was a broom made of flags, the coarse rush or reed grass, a humble item that points to the range of the store stock from such everyday necessities up to the imported looking glass and silver buttons of the previous pages. The single Company supplier furnished the island with everything from the cheapest domestic article to the finest goods of dress and furnishing, a remote settlement depending wholly on what the store carried for every material want. | |||||
295 | Brought Over
1047 18 7½ India Linnen viz: 11 p.rs Long Cloth
11 - 4 - 4 p.rs Gurrhas
2 10 - 4 p.rs Sannoes
3 5 8 54 p.rs Mad.r Gingham
25 10 - 31 p.rs Ellas Stockings
41 13 - 47 White Shirts
51 17 6 18 p.rs Allejaars No. 2
15 16 6 13 p.rs Cuttance 5
12 3 9 2 p.rs D.o A No. 5
1 15 8 6 p.rs D.o 6
6 1 4 1 Pellumpsoad 1
4 7 4 2 d.o
19 8 6 d.o 5
5 8 - 2 d.o 7
1 17 - 2 d.o 8
2 12 6 15 p.rs Crellod
12 11 3 112 11 6 Diett Expences Viz:
1100 10 15½ 202 Gall. Arrack
63 2 6 449 Sugar
14 19 4 27 Candy
1 17 4 8½ Gall. Sweet Oyle
3 - 6 36 Gall. Wine
7 4 4 11 d.o Vinegar
2 4 - 3 Casks 10½ Flour
16 47 ½ 5 Casks Pork 30 - - 1 Larger d.o 12 - -
42 - 4 - 13 Casks Beef
54 - 4 7 165 Bread
2 8 9½ 8 oz. Pepper
- 4 8 - 26 oz. Tea
10 17 6 Diett Expences
219 15 7 Carried Over
1380 5 8½ | Brought over £1,047 18s 7½d India linen, namely: 11 pieces long cloth £11 0s 4d 4 pieces gurrahs £2 10s 0d 4 pieces saunoes £3 5s 8d 5 pieces Madras gingham £25 10s 0d 31 pieces cotton stockings £4 13s 0d 4 white shirts £5 17s 6d 18 pieces allejaers, number 2 £15 16s 6d 13 pieces cuttance, number 5 £12 3s 9d 2 pieces ditto, number 6 £1 15s 8d 2 pieces ditto £0 6s 4d 1 pallempore, number 4 £0 4s 7d 2 ditto £0 19s 8d 6 ditto, number 6 £5 6s 0d 2 ditto £1 17s 0d 2 ditto, number 78 £2 12s 6d 15 pieces chelloe £12 11s 3d India linen came to £112 11s 6d Diet expenses, namely: 202 gallons arrack £63 2s 6d 449 sugar £14 19s 4d 27 candy £1 4s 7d 8½ gallons sweet oil £5 1s 6d 36 gallons wine £7 4s 0d 11 ditto vinegar £2 4s 0d 3 casks of flour, 104 flour £16 4s 7½d 5 casks pork, 30 £12 0s 0d 1 larger ditto, 12 £42 0s 0d 13 casks beef £54 0s 0d 16½ bread £2 8s 1½d 8 pepper £1 8s 0d 26 tea £10 17s 6d Diet expenses came to £219 15s 7d Carried over £1,380 5s 8½d Interpretations This block lists the Indian cottons and the diet provisions in the second quarterly account, the textiles being the graded East India imports carried throughout. Allejaers were a striped Indian cotton or mixed silk-and-cotton cloth. Cuttance was a plain Indian calico. Pallempores were the large painted or printed cotton bed-covers from India, prized decorative pieces, here the costliest of the cottons by the piece. Chelloe was a coloured Indian cotton cloth. The Madras gingham at over £25 for five pieces was among the dearer items, the checked cotton from Madras commanding a high price. These cottons, brought from the Company's Indian factories, supplied the island with everything from ordinary shirting to fine decorative covers. The diet expenses again separate the provisions consumed at the Company's table from the goods sold to the inhabitants, the arrack, sugar, wine, salt meat, flour and bread that fed the establishment. The casks of beef and pork represented the imported preserved meat, supplementing the fresh meat drawn from the Company's own herds recorded in the monthly stock accounts. This distinct heading kept the cost of maintaining the Governor and establishment separate from the wider store trade, allowing each branch of expenditure to be tracked on its own footing as the books were brought up to date. | |||||
296 | Brought Over
1380 5 8½ Generall Charges Viz: 10 oz. Soape
7 7 4 23 Gallons Rape Oyle
6 18 - 5 d.o Linseed Oyle
2 1 - 25 oz. White Lead
- 12 6 10 oz. Cotton Yarne
1 15 - 1 Tobacco & 12 Pipes
- 4 6 Iron Mongers Ware Viz: 10 oz. 2 Nayles
0 12 6 10 d.o 3 D.o
0 11 10 26 oz. 4 d.o
1 3 10 29 oz. 6 d.o
1 1 9 48 oz. 10 d.o
1 4 - 58 oz. 20 d.o
1 18 8 10 oz. 24 d.o
0 10 - 10 oz. 30 d.o
0 5 10 20 Spykes
0 10 10 14 Small Pick Axes
3 - 8 1 Wood Ax
0 3 4 20 Hoes No. 2
3 3 4 4 Stone Hoes
0 12 - 6 oz. Hoop Rivetts
0 5 6 1 Pad Lock No. 4
0 1 8 1 Chest Lock
0 4 8 1 Hatchett No. 2
0 2 4 1 d.o 4
0 3 - 1 Carpenters Adze
0 3 8 2 Chizels
0 4 0 4 Small Gimbletts
0 1 4 1 Saw
0 4 Iron Mong. Ware Amount to
16 14 10 Pewter viz: 12 Spoones
0 4 6 1 Tea Kettles Stand & Lamp
1 0 0 1 Ladle
0 3 3 1 Set Casters
0 9 9 4 Salts
0 4 9 Pewt. Amount to
2 1 2 - Tin Ware viz:
2 8 -
2 8 5 4 Muscovie Lanthorns
8 0 5
- 40 - 17 1 Small Tin Funnell
Gen.l Charges Carried over
1380 5 8½ | Brought over £1,380 5s 8½d General charges, namely: 10 soap £0 7s 7¼d 23 gallons rape oil £0 18s 0d 5 ditto linseed oil £0 2s 0d 25 white lead £0 12s 6d 10 cotton yarn £1 15s 0d 1 tobacco and 12 pipes £0 2s 6d Ironmonger's ware, namely: 10 [...] 2d nails £0 12s 6d 10 ditto, 3d ditto £0 11s 10d 26 ditto, 4d ditto £1 3s 10d 29 ditto, 6d ditto £1 1s 9d 48 ditto, 10d ditto £1 14s 0d [...] ditto, 20d ditto £1 8s 8d 10 ditto, 24d ditto £0 10s 0d 10 ditto, 30d ditto £0 5s 10d 20 spikes £0 10s 10d 14 small pick axes £3 1s 8d 1 wood axe £0 3s 4d 20 hoes, number 2 £3 3s 4d 4 stone hoes £0 12s 0d 6 hoop rivets £0 5s 6d 1 pad lock, number 4 £0 1s 8d 1 chest lock £0 1s 4d 1 hatchet, number 2 £0 2s 1d 1 ditto £0 3s 0d 1 ditto £0 3s 8d 1 carpenters' adze £0 4s 8d 2 chisels £0 4s 0d 4 small gimlets £0 1s 4d 1 saw £0 4s 0d Ironmonger's ware came to £16 14s 10d Pewter, namely: 12 spoons £0 4s 6d 1 tea kettle, stand and lamp £1 0s 0d 1 ladle £0 3s 3d 1 [...] £0 9s 9d 1 set casters £0 4s 0d 4 salts £0 [...] Pewter came to £2 2s 0d Tin ware: 4 Muscovy lanthorns £0 2s 8d 1 small tin funnel £0 0s 5d Tin ware came to £2 8s 5d General charges carried over £1,380 5s 8½d Interpretations This block completes the general charges in the second quarterly account, the goods consumed in the Company's own operations rather than sold or used at table. The soap, oils, white lead and cotton yarn were the materials for cleaning, lamps, paint and candle wicks used in the Company's works and establishment. The large quantity of nails, spikes, pick axes, hoes and other tools again reflects the constant building and cultivation carried on by the Company's labour, the iron ware charged to the general account being the fixings and implements consumed in the fortifications, walls and grounds. The clustering of locks under both the general charges and the goods sold, padlocks, chest locks and the suites of till and closet locks, takes on a particular significance against the background of the September consultations. The repeated thefts from cask and store recorded across that period, the medicines, the tobacco and the stock, gave the council direct cause to value secure fastenings, the store's supply of locks of every kind answering a demand sharpened by the leakage of Company property that the council was actively moving to contain. | |||||
297 | Brought Over
1380 5 8½ Generall Charges Brought Over
40 - 7 Brasiers Ware viz: 1 Chaffing dish
- 13 8 1 p.r Sugar Candlesticks
- 11 - 1 d.o Stand & Snuffers
- 6 - Brasiers Ware Amount to
1 12 8 Glass Ware viz: 1 4 Stone Glass
- 6 8 4 Beer Glass
- 8 - 36 Wine d.o
2 14 - 40 Panes Glass 6 by 8
1 10 - Glass Amount to
4 18 8 Soldiers Cloaths viz: 200 Short Trade Coats
43 6 8 200 p.r Breeches
71 13 4 Sold. Cloath Amount to
45 - - 6 Browne & Coll.d Thread
1 4 - 98 Buttons Knives
2 9 - English Linnen viz: 4½ d.o 9 Yards Laching
10 8 - 12 Yards double Horse Linnen
D. 7 - English Linnen Amount to
0 15 - Fustians viz: 4 p.r Fustians
8 18 5 8 Thicksetts No. 10
17 16 - 26 14 - Blanketts viz: 109 Blanketts 2d Size
61 6 3 13 d.o 3d d.o
5 12 6 Blanketts Amount to
66 18 9 Wooden Ware Viz: 2 Cord Wood
- 1 4 6 House Brushes
- 12 - 2 Scrubbing d.o
- 4 - 1 Abatts d.o
- 1 2 - 6 Flagg Brooms
- 6 Wooden Ware Amount to
1 2 4 China Ware viz: 6 China Bowles
- 18 7 18 d.o Cups
- 7 6 China Ware Amount to
1 5 6 India Linnen
Carried Over
373 - 6 Carried Over
1380 5 8½ | Brought over £1,380 5s 8½d General charges brought over £10 0s 7d Braziers' ware, namely: 1 chaffing dish £0 13s 8d 1 pair square candlesticks £0 11s 0d 1 ditto, stand and snuffers £0 8s 0d Braziers' ware came to £1 12s 8d Glass ware, namely: 1 [...] hour glass £0 6s 8d 4 beer glasses £0 8s 0d 36 wine ditto £2 14s 0d 40 pane glass, 6 by 8 £1 10s 0d Glass came to £4 18s 8d Soldiers' clothes, namely: 200 short waistcoats £143 6s 8d 200 pairs breeches £71 13s 4d Soldiers' clothes came to £215 0s 0d 6 brown and white thread £1 4s 0d 98 butchers' knives £2 9s 0d English linen, namely: 4 pieces 84 yards packing £10 8s 0d 12 yards double house linen £0 7s 0d English linen came to £11 15s 0d Fustians, namely: 4 pairs fustians £8 18s 0d 8 ditto thicksets, number 10 £17 16s 0d Fustians came to £26 14s 0d Blankets, namely: 100 blankets, 2nd size £61 6s 3d 75 ditto, 3rd ditto £5 12s 6d Blankets came to £66 18s 9d Wooden ware, namely: 2 cork wood £0 1s 4d 6 horse brushes £0 12s 0d 1 scumming ditto £0 2s 0d 1 round ditto £0 2s 0d 6 flag brooms £0 6s 0d Wooden ware came to £1 2s 4d China ware, namely: 6 china bowls £0 18s 0d 18 ditto cups £0 6s 4d China ware came to £1 5s 6d 26 India linen carried over £373 0s 6d Carried over £1,380 5s 8½d Interpretations This block completes the general charges with the bulk clothing and bedding for the garrison and the Company's slaves. The 200 short waistcoats and 200 pairs of breeches at £215 form by far the largest single item, the wholesale re-clothing of the soldiers from store. The blankets in second and third sizes, supplied by the hundred, were the bedding issued to the Company's slaves against the cold of the island's winter, the same provision recorded in the clothing of the slaves across the 1719 consultations. The packing linen and double house linen were the coarser cloths for wrapping and household use. The scale of the soldiers' clothing and slaves' blankets under the general charges shows the Company's standing obligation to clothe and bed its dependent population, both the garrison it maintained and the labour force it owned. These were not goods sold for profit but provisions issued as part of the cost of holding the island, the bulk purchases reflecting the size of the establishment the Company supported on a remote station where every yard of cloth and every blanket had to be shipped in. The 36 wine glasses and four beer glasses among the general charges point to the provision of drinking vessels for the Company's own table and entertaining, distinct from the household goods sold to the inhabitants. The hour glass listed alongside them was a timekeeping device for the establishment, the small items of the Company's own furnishing entered under the general account rather than the store trade. | |||||
298 | Brought Over
1380 5 8½ Generall Charges Brought Over
373 - 6 India Linnen viz: 26 p.rs Blue Gurrhaes
13 16 18 4 d.o
9 1 16 - 14 d.o Long Cloth
14 - - 300 White Shirts
37 10 - India Linnen Amo.t
70 4 - Generall Charges Amount to
113 1 6 Sume Totall
1823 10 2 [...]
Mr Alexander
Jn.o Goodwin | Brought over £1,380 5s 8½d General charges brought over £373 0s 6d India linen, namely: 26 pieces blue gurrahs at 13s £16 18s 0d [...] ditto £9 1s 16d 14 ditto long cloth £14 0s 0d 300 white shirts £37 10s 0d India linen came to £70 4s 0d General charges came to £443 4s 6d June total £1,823 10s 2½d The account was signed by Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The closing block completes the general charges with the bulk Indian cottons for the Company's slaves and labouring people. The 26 pieces of blue gurrahs, the coarse cotton dyed blue, together with the long cloth and the 300 white shirts, were the material and made-up garments for clothing the slaves and work people, the 300 shirts in particular a wholesale provision for the large labour force. These were the cheapest grades of Indian cloth, bought in quantity to meet the standing obligation to clothe the dependent population recorded throughout the 1719 consultations. The June total of £1,823 10s 2½d closes the second quarterly store account, covering the goods delivered to the inhabitants, ships and general charges from 25 March 1719 to 24 June 1719. The settlement of this account alongside the earlier quarter to 25 March, and the labour and medicine accounts, completed the clearance of the store records that ran through the September 1719 consultations, the whole forming part of the drive under Governor Johnson to bring the Company's long-delayed books up to date after the arrears that had cost Tovey his place as accountant. | |||||
299 | Octob.r Island St Helena At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 6th day of Octob.r 1719
at Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq.r Gov.r
Jn.o Alexander
Pres.t Jn.o Goodwin &
Joseph Ornston The Last Consultation was read & Approv'd. The Petition of Gabriel Rossell free Holder
was presented Setting forth That upon
his former Application to the then Govern.r
and Council an order was made that he the
Said Petition.r Should have Paym.t made him
for Some quantity of wall fence he Enclosed
Part of the Hon Comp.ts Peak Plantation
and that Capt. Mashborne then one of Poun:
& Charles Steward free plant.rs (both Since
dead) were the Persons Ordered & Appointed
to Measure & Value the Said fences, But
the Same having never yet been done, the
Petitioner therefore now prays Some other
Persons may be Named & Appointed to Survey
& Value the Said fences that he may
then Margin Notes: Mr Rossells Petn praying of a Wall fence at of Peak to be viewed & Valued in ord.t to his recd receiving Satisfaction | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley, present Edward Johnson Esquire as Governor, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The previous consultation was read and approved. Gabriel Powell, freeholder, presented a petition. He set out that on his former application to the then Governor and council, an order had been made that he should be paid for some quantity of wall fence that enclosed part of the Honourable Company's Peak plantation. Captain Mashborne, then one of four, and Charles Steward, free planter, both since dead, had been the persons ordered and appointed to measure and value the fences. Since this had never been done, the petitioner now asked that some other persons be named and appointed to survey and value the fences, so that he might then [...] Interpretations Powell's petition revives the same unresolved claim he brought at the consultation of 18 August 1719, the payment owed for a wall fence enclosing part of the Company's Peak plantation. The grant had stalled because the two men appointed to value it, Captain Edward Mashborne who died on 31 March 1715 and Charles Steward, both predeceased the survey, leaving the valuation never carried out. His renewed petition reflects the recurring difficulty at St Helena where a matter referred to named assessors lapsed entirely when those assessors died, requiring the claimant to apply again for fresh appointments before the obligation could be settled. The detail that the wall fence enclosed part of the Company's own Peak plantation explains why the Company was liable to pay for it. A fence built by a private holder that served to enclose the Company's ground conferred a benefit on the Company, so the cost fell to be reimbursed, the valuation by appointed assessors being the mechanism for fixing the sum due before payment could be made. | |||||
300 | then receive Satisfaction & Payment for his
hard Labour. And &c. Upon Examination & Perusing the
Consultation Book We find Upon Mr Rossells
former Petition Entred in Consultation of the
14th Septemb.r 1714 the following Order. Ordered That Capt. Mashborne and Mr
Charles Steward do Survey the fences made by Said
Rossells wife (Widdow of Capt. George Hoskinson)
Value the Same & also to Examine whether
there is more then four Acres of Land taken in. And it Appearing to Us that this Order was
never Complyd with by reason of Capt. Mashbornes
and Mr Stewards deaths, Ordered That Capt.
Goodwin measure the Said fence and that Mr
Greentree be desired to Assist at the Vallueing the
Same with him, that Mr Rossell may receive
Satisfaction Accordingly. The Doctors brought in their Acco.t of
Expence of Medicines from last Consultation day
which was Examined & Approved of. Robert Bell Stone Cutter & Mason brought in
an Acco.t of work due to him, which was Examined &
Ordered to Pass. The Margin Notes: former Ord.r recited Reas.ns of the Allowing P. fences Capt Goodwin & Mr Greentree Appointed to value of Fences Medicines Exam.d Appv.d Rob.t Bells Acco.t of work to pass | Powell asked to receive satisfaction and payment for his hard labour. On examining the consultation book, the council found Powell's former petition entered in the consultation of 14 September 1714, with the following order. Captain Mashborne and Mr Charles Steward had been ordered to survey the fences made by Powell as husband of the widow of Captain George Hoskison, to value the same, and also to examine whether more than four acres of land had been taken in. Since this order had never been carried out, by reason of the deaths of Captain Mashborne and Mr Steward, the council ordered that Captain Goodwin measure the fence and that Mr Greentree be asked to assist him in the valuing, so that Mr Powell might receive satisfaction accordingly. The surgeon brought in his account of the expense of medicines since the previous consultation day, which was examined and approved. Robert Bell, stone cutter and mason, brought in an account of work due to him, which was examined and ordered to pass. This [...] Interpretations The council's tracing of Powell's original order back to the consultation of 14 September 1714 reveals that the claim had been outstanding for five years, the valuation appointed then never carried out before both assessors died. This illustrates the function of the consultation book as a permanent record against which old and unresolved matters could be checked, the council retrieving the precise terms of a five-year-old order to establish what had been agreed and why it had lapsed. The original order's instruction to examine whether more than four acres of land had been taken in points to a limit on the enclosure the Company would pay for or recognise. The valuation was to confirm not only the cost of the fence but whether the area enclosed fell within the agreed bounds, the council guarding against a claim for more ground than had been authorised, so the survey served both to fix the payment and to check the extent of the enclosure. The continued examination and approval of the surgeon's medicine account confirms the daily medicine book now in routine operation, the surgeon rendering a regular account of consumption at each consultation as the control imposed after the Cevill theft settled into established practice. | |||||
301 | You are right. Those labels run alongside their sections as structural headings, not as separate annotations. Here is the corrected transcription: October
The Chief Overseer brought in an Acco: of the
Hon:ble Comp:s live Stock of Cattle, Sheep, Goats,
Hoggs & Poultry Taken the 1. of Oct: 1719: Acco for Oct: 1719 96. Cows Neat Cattle 29. Heifers
28. Bullocks
21. Steers
23. Yearlings
84. Calves
6. Bulls 3. Killd & 1. diec
Since last Acco: 287 Sheep. 52. Ecors
40. Wethers
6. Lambs
4. Rams 1. Killd & diec Since
Last Acco: 141. Goats 160. Ewes
33. Wethers
60. Kidds
6. Rams 14. Killd & 18. Increase
Since Last Acco: 259 Hoggs. 12. Hoggs
14 Piggs 1. Killd since Last Acco: 26 Poultry 41. Turkeys - 1. Killd since last Acco:
60. Dunghill fowles. 48. bought 30 killd &
lost to the last Since last Acco:
7. Geese. 2. Ducks. 2. Peacocks. 2. Horses.
& 10. Asses.
Aboveacco: given p W:m Costley | The chief overseer brought in an account of the Honourable Company's live stock of cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and poultry, taken on 1 October 1719. The neat cattle stood at 287 head in all. These were made up of 96 cows, 29 heifers, 28 bullocks, 21 steers, 23 yearlings, 84 calves and 6 bulls. Three had been killed and one had died since the last account. The sheep stood at 141 in all. These were made up of 52 ewes, 40 wethers, 45 lambs and 4 rams. One had been killed and six had died since the last account. The goats stood at 259 in all. These were made up of 160 ewes, 33 wethers, 60 kids and 6 rams. Fourteen had been killed and 18 had increased since the last account. The hogs stood at 26 in all. These were made up of 12 hogs and 14 pigs. One had been killed since the last account. The poultry and other stock followed. There were 41 turkeys, one killed since the last account. There were 60 dunghill fowls, of which 48 had been bought, 30 killed and the rest sent to the fort since the last account. There were also 7 geese, 2 ducks, 2 peacocks, 2 horses and 10 asses. The account was given by William Postley and signed by Governor Johnson and John Alexander. Interpretations The account belonged to the monthly livestock returns the chief overseer William Postley brought in from the Grand Plantation. His earlier counts of 5 September 1718 and 1 October 1718 had returned 188 and 192 head of neat cattle. The series resumed under his hand here at 1 October 1719, the cattle now standing at 287, a rise consistent with the strong increase his accounts of 1 May and 1 June 1719 had recorded at 209 and 230 head. The signatures fix the change of government. Governor Edward Johnson had succeeded Isaac Pyke on 13 June 1719, and his name at the foot, with the clerk John Alexander's, dates the return to the new administration. Postley remained chief overseer through the transition, his stock accounts kept in the same form across both governors. The recovery of the neat cattle marks the distance travelled since the famine. Governor Pyke's letter to Le Blanc of 30 January 1715 had cited 2,500 head lost, and the Company's own herd had stood at 136 on 18 June 1715. The count of 287 here shows the breeding stock rebuilt over the four intervening years. Speculations The account separated theft and ordinary loss from increase in each class of stock, a method the council had pressed against the run of thefts from the Company's property in late 1719. The losses of a sheep, a goose and a turkey to theft, set against the kills and deaths and the natural increase, gave the council an exact baseline for measuring leakage from the Company's stock. The same discipline of distinguishing loss by cause governed the medicine inventory the council ordered kept from 29 August 1719, the two records built to the same purpose of fixing what the Company held against what it lost. | |||||
302 | Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 13 day of Oct:r 1719. At
Union Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
In: Alexander.
Pus: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston.
The Last Consultation read & Approved of.
Severall Persons were Summoned to Appear
this day before Us to Shew cause why they did not
appear at a General Muster on Wednisday the -
7 Inst: According to an Advertizem:t Issued out for
that Purpose.
They all Appeared Accordingly, & Some of them
made Lawfull Excuses and other very triviall ones.
Noroever the Govern: Excused them from any -
fine this time w:a Caution for the future, which
they thank'd him for.
The Petition of John Coles Enterd in Consultate
on of the 8 Sept: last, desireing to Hire three Parcells
of Land, was this day Considerd & Granted.
The Do: brought in their Acco: of Expence of
Medicines since last Consultation day which was
Examind Margin Notes: Severall
Defaulters
Summoned all appeare
&
Excusd w:th
a Caution 3 Parcell Land
Granted to
Jn:o Colas Expence of
Medicines | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 13 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. Several persons had been summoned to appear before the council to show cause why they had failed to attend a general muster on Wednesday 7 October 1719, an advertisement having been issued to require it. They all appeared accordingly. Some gave lawful excuses and others very trivial ones. The Governor excused them all from any fine on this occasion, with a caution for the future, which they thanked him for. The council considered the petition of John Coles entered at the consultation of 8 September 1719, in which he sought to hire three parcels of land. The petition was granted on this day. The doctor brought in his account of the expense of medicines since the last consultation, which the council examined. Interpretations The muster default opened the new Governor's handling of routine garrison discipline. Edward Johnson had taken the government from Isaac Pyke on 13 June 1719, and his decision to excuse the whole body of absentees with a caution rather than the customary fine marked a lenient first hand. The fine for failing to attend an alarm had been set at £0 5s 0d on John Nichols junior on 18 January 1714/15, so the remission carried a real value forgiven. The council membership confirms the reduced board of late 1719. With Antipas Tovey suspended from 6 July 1719 and Captain Matthew Bazett dead earlier in the year, the bench now rested on Governor Johnson with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, the last admitted to council in Tovey's place. Ormston had also been made accountant on 4 August 1719 to clear the long backlog of the account books. John Coles had pressed a run of land petitions through the autumn. His request of 8 September 1719 for three parcels of about 25 acres fell among the grants the council allowed at once, the land being integral to his holding and raising no resource constraint, in contrast to the rationed Swanley Valley ground that was deferred for a view. The medicine account continued the standing control the council had imposed after Cholmondley Cevill's theft from the stores. On 29 August 1719 the surgeon Edmund Leigh had been ordered to keep a daily book of medicines dispensed and lay it before the council. The examination of the doctor's account here shows that regime in routine operation, the same scrutiny applied at the consultations of 30 September and 6 October 1719. | |||||
303 | Examd and approved of
Mr Povell appeared & represented that when
the Hon: Comp: Pasture at the Peak was
Enclosd they Joynd fences to some part of his
Fence that was built before Wherefore desires
the Said fence of his may either be put into
repair by the Hon: Comp: or Else the Same
to be Valued and He to be at the Charge of
Maintaining & keeping up one half of it.
He Likewise desires that the Wall made by
him & Mr Greenhue between his & Lighkins
Land may be measured.
Ordered That Mr Goodwin do goe and
measure this last Mentioned fence & report the
Same. Further Orderd & agreed.
That Mr Povell do at his own Charge
make and repaire the Said Fence in dispute
and then We will allow the Said Povell
& y: to be allowd for that ffence, and He to keep one half of it
ever after in good repaire.
Whereas by an Indenture bearing
date the 14 of Octob: 1715. We find John French
Orphan bound Apprentice to Nicholas Shreve
Stone Cutter. for the term of four Years Margin Notes: approvd / Mr Povell
desires a fence
for Some Part
[...] / also of sending
him & Mr Greenhue
may be measured if same to be
Measured / Mr Povell to
repaire fences
in dispute /
& y: to be allowd Mr Frenches
Indenture to
Serve Nic: Shreve | The medicine account was examined and approved. Gabriel Powell appeared and represented that, when the Company's pasture at the Peak was enclosed, his own fence had been joined to part of an older fence built before it. He asked that this older stretch of his fence either be put into repair by the Company, or else be valued, with himself bearing the charge of maintaining and keeping up one half of it. He further asked that the wall made by himself and Mr Greentree, lying between his own land and Lufkins, might be measured. The council ordered that Mr Goodwin go and measure this last-mentioned fence and report on it. It further ordered and agreed that Powell, at his own charge, make and repair the disputed fence, after which the council would make him an allowance for it, and that he keep one half of it in good repair ever after. The council then turned to an indenture dated 14 October 1715, by which the orphan John French had been bound apprentice to Nicholas Shreeve, stone cutter, for the term of four years. Interpretations Powell's claim continued a matter long left unresolved across successive governments. His petitions of 18 August and 6 October 1719 had pressed payment for the wall fence he made as husband of Captain George Hoskison's widow, enclosing part of the Company's Peak plantation. The two valuers first appointed, Captain Mashborne and Charles Steward, had both died before surveying it, so the bench traced the original order to the consultation of 14 September 1714 and ordered Captain Goodwin to measure the fence with Mr Greentree to help in the valuing. The arrangement settled here divided the burden between Powell and the Company. He was to rebuild the disputed stretch at his own charge against a later allowance, then keep half of it in repair thereafter. The Greentree wall toward Lufkins was a separate matter, the two men having contracted their joint fencing work together, measured at 274 rods at 6s 6d per rod on 27 August 1717. The French apprenticeship reaches back to the orphan provision of October 1715. John French, one of the French orphans, had been bound to the stone cutter Nicholas Shreeve for four years on 11 October 1715, the Company allowing Shreeve £10 0s 0d of stores credit toward the boy's keep, after which the boy was to serve the Company as a mason. The four-year term struck on 14 October 1715 would by this date have run out, which is probably why the indenture came before the council again. | |||||
304 | which being now Expired, He the Said French
is by the Same Indenture Obliged to Serve the
Hon: Comp:y till he comes to tloenty one Years
of age, as arecompence for puting him out to
learn the trade of a Stone Cutter. Wherefore
Ordered That he be kept to Stone
Cutting for the Hon: Comp:y till that time,
which is about four Years. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Expired. to Serve y:
Co: 4 years
longer. / | This image is faint and partly illegible, but it continues and closes the John French apprenticeship matter from the previous page. The indenture of 14 October 1715, by which the orphan was bound for four years, was now expired. The term being out, the council ordered that the boy be kept to serve the Company as a mason, the trade he had been bound to learn, for the wages the Company allowed for that work. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order completed the plan laid when the boy was first bound. The indenture struck on 14 October 1715 had set John French, one of the French orphans, to Nicholas Shreeve the stone cutter for four years, with the Company allowing £10 0s 0d of stores credit toward his keep, on the understanding that the boy afterwards serve the Company as a mason. The four-year term having run its course by this date, the council held him to that further service. The disposal followed the bench's standing care over the French orphans, whose effects, land and apprenticeships it had managed since the auction ordered on 13 October 1713. Keeping the trained boy in the Company's own employ as a mason answered the island's chronic want of skilled stone-working hands, the same shortage behind Richard Swallow's repeated calls for carpenters from England. The signatures confirm the reduced board of late 1719 under the new government, Governor Johnson sitting with John Alexander and John Goodwin, the bench thinned by Antipas Tovey's suspension of 6 July 1719 and Captain Bazett's death earlier in the year. | |||||
305 | October
Island St Helena.
At a General Sessions held
at the Sessions House in James Valley
on Thursday the 1st day of Octob:r 1719.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r & Judge.
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
of Council
& Assistants.
Then the Court was opend According to the
usual mannier and those Persons Appointed
for Jurors are as follows ( Viz:t )
1: John Coles foreman
2: John Worrall
3: Orlando Bagley
4: Isaac Wood
5: Thom: Dutch
6: James Grenbee
7: Francis Fringe?
8: Jonath:o Dobolon
9: Joshua Johnson
10: Jaynes Visey
11: Rich:d Beale
12: John Jonge
who were all Sworne.
Then the following Indicmt against
Chelmondly Civel was read. / | Island of St Helena. At a general sessions held at the Sessions House in James Valley on Thursday 22 October 1719. Governor Edward Johnson presided as Governor and judge. John Alexander sat of the council, with John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston as council and assistants. The court was then opened according to the usual manner. The persons appointed for jurors were as follows. First, John Coles as foreman. Second, John Worrall. Third, Orlando Bagley. Fourth, Isaac Wood. Fifth, Thomas Dutch. Sixth, James Greentree. Seventh, Francis Funge. Eighth, Jonathan Doveton. Ninth, Joshua Johnson. Tenth, James Vesey. Eleventh, Richard Beale. Twelfth, John Long. They were all sworn. The following indictment against Cholmondley Cevill was then read. Interpretations The sessions reopened the case of the surgeon Cholmondley Cevill, whose troubles with the bench ran back through the autumn. He had been engaged as second surgeon to assist Joseph Du May at £39 0s 0d per annum, the rate Doctor Porteous had drawn, for one year certain. A search warrant of 29 August 1719 on William Beale's sworn information that medicines had been taken from the Company's stores found a quantity of compounded medicines, raw drugs, plasters, mercurials and instruments in his custody, and he was committed. He had since petitioned on 15 September 1719 to be reinstated as second surgeon, pleading his thirteen months stranded on the island as a stranger, the council deferring the matter and limiting his salary to 26 May last. The indictment read here carried the affair to a full trial before a jury. Cevill had been a contentious presence beyond the medicine theft. He was summoned on 26 May 1719 as a common gamester for playing unlawful games for money and for enticing the Governor's servant out of the Fort to game with him, the servant getting over the castle walls, playing for ready money, staying all night and being found hidden in a closet. He had argued he knew of no law against cards and should pay no penalty until gaming was published as prohibited, and being asked if he had more to say answered only that the inhabitants were all woodcocks and it was hard anyone should be hindered from such diversions. The council had then fined him forty shillings for the gaming and forty more for entertaining players, but offered to excuse the whole if he took passage to England, judging the island would be well rid of a worthless fellow. The jury was drawn entirely from the free planters, the twelve-man panel with a senior planter as foreman following the established form of the island's courts of judicature. John Coles sat as foreman, having pressed his own land petitions through the autumn and acted as executor of Gilbert Cotgrove in the orphans' suits. The substantial householders of the 1716 census stood among the panel, Isaac Wood rated at four whites and eight blacks, James Vesey at eight whites and three blacks, and Richard Beale among the Beale orphans long before the bench. John Long, twice in trouble for assaulting the deputy governor and for wounding the gunner French, sat as the twelfth juror. The bench reflects the thinned board of the new administration. Governor Johnson sat as judge with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston, the council reduced by Antipas Tovey's suspension of 6 July 1719 and Captain Bazett's death earlier in the year. Ormston had come over from England on the Craggs Frigate in June 1719 to mend the long neglect of the account books and was admitted to council in Tovey's place on 6 July 1719. | |||||
306 | You Chelmondly Civel, You Stand
Indicted by the name of Chelmondly Civel of
this Island St Helena Surgeon for that You
did on or before the 29th day of Aug: Dom 1719.
In a most base and fraudulent manner and
without the least regard of the trust reposed in You
when Surgeon of the Garrison Privately & Clandestinely
take away & Imbezle Several valluable Sorts and
quantitys of the Hon: Comp:s Medicinal Stores
that were then Under Your Care & in your Custody
out of the Surgeons Shop Adjoyning to the Sessions
House in this valley where all the Said Hon: Comp:s
Medicinal Stores were, & are at this time Lodgd,
and Stored for the use & General good of the Garrison,
Particularly, you did Imbezle & bear away a Quantity
of Red Roses, Some out of Oranges,borne Iperd
of Scurvy Grass, besides divers other Sorts and
Quantitys of Medicines the remains whereof
are now Contained & Particularly Mentioned in
an Inventory taken, upon the Same being
found in your Possession on or about the afores:
29 of Aug: last Past Unlawfully, Clandestinely
& fraudulently Converting & Applying them to
Your own Private Use and Bennisfit, Contrary
to Margin Notes: Indicmt
ag:t N:o Civell
for Embezling
Medicines | The indictment against Cholmondley Cevill for embezzling medicines was read. He stood indicted by the name of Cholmondley Cevill of the island of St Helena, surgeon. The charge was that on or before 29 August 1719, in a most base and fraudulent manner and without the least regard to the trust reposed in him when surgeon of the garrison, he had privately and clandestinely taken away and embezzled several valuable sorts and quantities of the Company's medicinal stores. These had been under his care and in his custody, kept in the surgeon's shop adjoining the Sessions House in James Valley, where all the Company's medicinal stores were at that time lodged and housed for the use and general good of the garrison. In particular, he was charged with embezzling and carrying away a quantity of red roses, some oil of oranges and some spirit of scurvy grass, besides various other sorts and quantities of medicines. The remains of these were now contained and particularly listed in an inventory taken upon their being found in his possession on or about 29 August 1719. He had unlawfully, clandestinely and fraudulently converted and applied them to his own private use and benefit, contrary to law. Interpretations The indictment set out in formal terms the offence the search warrant had uncovered. On a sworn information of 29 August 1719 by William Beale that medicines had been taken from the Company's stores, a warrant had found compounded medicines, raw drugs, plasters, mercurials and instruments in Cevill's custody, and he was committed. He had admitted on oath that the items marked with a tick he brought to the island himself and those marked with a cross he took from the stores without account when he found himself supplanted. The charge rested on the breach of trust by a man placed in charge of the very stores he was accused of taking. Cevill had been engaged as second surgeon to assist Joseph Du May at £39 0s 0d per annum, the rate Doctor Porteous had drawn, so the medicines in the surgeon's shop were his to dispense for the garrison, not to carry off for his own use. The named items fix the small scale of what was charged in particular. Red roses, oil of oranges and spirit of scurvy grass were the kinds of compounded preparation an island surgeon kept against the common distempers, scurvy grass in particular answering the scurvy that had long afflicted men left at the island from passing ships. The inventory taken on the discovery gave the bench an exact record of what remained, the same method of fixing loss against stock the council applied to the medicine accounts it ordered the surgeon Edmund Leigh to keep daily from 29 August 1719. | |||||
307 | Octob:r
to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George,
his Crown and Dignity, and is in high Contempt
of the wholesome Laws & Ordinances of this
Island made by the Hon: Lords Propriet:rs
for the good Governm:t thereof.
To which Indicmt he pleaded not Guilty.
Then the following Evidences were called &
Swoorne.
William Beale of this Island on his
oath Says that on or about the 24: or 26 of
August last, he being in the Surgeons Shop
and looking about him Saw that Several Medi-
cines had been removed & taken away Particu-
larly the Conserve of Red Roses.
Samuel Price Marshall of this Island
Upon Oath Says That by the Gov:rs Warrant to
him Directed to Search for Medicines that were
Stole out of the Doc:ts Shop, and in Searching
Doc:t Civels Lodgings he & Serjeant Young found
Severall and are these now in a Small Chest, at
this time Produced in Court.
John Young Serjt: being Swoorne Says that
when he went with Price the Marshall they found
Severall Sorts of Medicines in D:r Civels
Custody Margin Notes: pleaded not Guilty. Deposition of
Willi:m Beale Deposition of
Sam:l Price Deposition of
Serjt Young | The indictment concluded that the offence was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and was in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors for the good government of it. To this indictment Cevill pleaded not guilty. The following witnesses were then called and sworn. William Beale of the island, on his oath, said that on or about 24 or 26 August last, being in the surgeon's shop and looking about him, he saw that several medicines had been removed and taken away, particularly the conserve of red roses. Samuel Price, marshal of the island, upon oath, said that by the Governor's warrant directed to him to search for medicines that were stolen out of the doctor's shop, he and Sergeant Young, in searching Doctor Cevill's lodgings, found several. These were now produced in court in a small chest. John Young, sergeant, being sworn, said that when he went with Price the marshal, they found several sorts of medicines in Doctor Cevill's custody. Interpretations The depositions traced the discovery from the first notice of the loss to the search of Cevill's rooms. William Beale, whose sworn information had set the matter going on 29 August 1719, fixed the date of his observation a few days earlier, naming the conserve of red roses among the medicines gone, which matched the charge laid in the indictment. Samuel Price now appears as marshal of the island, the office held by Joseph Bates in the earlier record. Price had been the shoemaker and apprentice-master of the standing reference, employed on 12 April 1715 to teach two boys at 2s 6d the day, so his appearance here as marshal marks a fresh holder of the post executing the Governor's warrant. The chest of recovered medicines produced in court gave the bench the physical proof to set beside the inventory. The search of Cevill's lodgings answered exactly to his own admission on oath that he had taken from the stores without account the items he had marked with a cross, the goods found in his custody being the remains listed when the warrant was served. Sergeant John Young served as the corroborating witness to the search, his evidence confirming Price's account that the medicines were found in Cevill's own keeping. The pairing of marshal and sergeant on the search, each sworn separately, followed the bench's practice of grounding a charge on more than one witness, the same care it took throughout its courts of judicature. | |||||
308 | Custody and that he the Said Civel at the Same
time Endeavoured to Conceal Something that was
in a paper by giving it a Toss over his Head
Saying it was his money.
John Gibbs upon Oath Saith that he having
Occasion to go to Dr Leigh for Some Plaister for Mr:
Porsley he went to the Door of the Surg:ns Shop, and
knocked 2 or 3 times but no body Answered, and
hearing a treading or Noise like Some body walking
he lookt thro' the key hole of the door and Saw Dr:
Civel in the Doc:ts Shop alone, and as he was going
back againe he mett w: Doc:t Leigh & returned with
him and then found Doc:t Civel in the Same roome
by himself when the Shop Door was opened to Doc:t
Leigh.
Doc:t Leigh Says upon Oath that Severall
Medicines has been Missing out of the Shop, but
he cant Charge Dr Civel with taking them nor
is he Sure the Medicines now Produced or that were
found in his Custody are any of them, but owns that
Mr: Civel was left alone in his Shop thinking
he would not Meddle or carry any thing away
in a Clandestine manner.
William Margin Notes: Jn:o Gibbs
Deposition Doc:t Leighs
Deposition | Sergeant Young's deposition continued. He added that the medicines were found in Cevill's custody, and that Cevill at the same time tried to conceal something wrapped in a paper by tossing it over his head, saying it was his money. John Gibbs, upon oath, said that having occasion to go to Doctor Leigh for some plaster for William Postley, he went to the door of the surgeon's shop and knocked two or three times, but nobody answered. Hearing a treading or noise like somebody walking, he looked through the keyhole of the door and saw Cevill in the doctor's shop alone. As he was going back again he met Doctor Leigh, returned with him, and then found Cevill in the same room by himself when the shop door was opened to Doctor Leigh. Doctor Leigh, upon oath, said that several medicines had been missing out of the shop. He could not charge Cevill with taking them, nor was he sure that the medicines now produced or found in Cevill's custody were any of them. He swore only that Cevill had been left alone in his shop, in the belief that he would not meddle or carry anything away in a clandestine manner. Interpretations The further evidence placed Cevill alone in the shop and caught him in an act of concealment. Sergeant John Young's addition, that Cevill flung a paper over his head and called it his money, supplied the bench with a sign of guilty handling beyond the bare finding of the medicines in his rooms. John Gibbs gave independent testimony of access to the shop. He appears as the freeman refused leave to depart on 26 April 1715 on sickly-time grounds, here errand-bound to Doctor Leigh for plaster for the chief overseer William Postley, whose monthly livestock account had been brought in at the consultation of 1 October 1719. His glimpse through the keyhole set Cevill alone in the surgeon's shop, a place he had no present office to occupy. Doctor Leigh's evidence was notably guarded for the present surgeon. He had himself been at odds with the bench over the medical stores, committed on 1 September 1719 for refusing to keep a daily book of medicines dispensed, then discharged on 8 September 1719 on his promise to comply. His refusal here to swear that the produced medicines were any of the missing stock, or to charge Cevill directly, left the case resting on Beale's observation, the search and Cevill's own conduct rather than on the surgeon in possession. The shape of the testimony shows the bench building its case from several hands of differing weight. Beale named the loss and the particular item, the marshal and sergeant proved the search and the chest, Gibbs proved the opportunity, and Leigh confirmed only the missing medicines and the trust abused, the cautious surgeon stopping short of the conclusion the prosecution sought. | |||||
309 | Octob:r
William Beale further Says that Dr Civel
had no Medicines when he came here Except
a Small cask of about Seventy pound of Sal:
Cathart: Amras.
Chelmondly Civel made his defence
and had Liberty to call any Witnesses on his
behalf but none Appeared.
Then the Jury withdrew and Stayd Some
Short time, and returned their Verdict.
That they found the Prisoner the Bare
Chelmondly Civel Guilty of the Indictment
laid to his charge.
The Judge then pronounced Sentence as follo:s/
Chelmondly Civel, You are to Stand on the
Pillory one Hour, from thence to be whipt from
the Pillory to the Door of the Prison.
The Judge told him the Said Prison the Court
was favourable to him, in respiteing part of the
Punishment the Law inflicts on persons Convicted
of the like Crimes, which is imprisonm:t during
the pleasure of the Court, of which favour the
Court hoped the Prisoner would make good Use
of while he Stayd on the Island. Margin Notes: Wm Beales
furth:r Deposition Civels Defence Jury W:drew Jury Verdict Sentence pro-
nounced. Part of his
Punishm:t res-
pited. / | William Beale further said that Cevill had brought no medicines with him when he came to the island, except a small cask of about seventy pounds of sal catharticus amarus. Cholmondley Cevill then made his defence and had liberty to call any witnesses on his behalf, but none appeared. The jury withdrew, stayed some short time, and returned their verdict. They found the prisoner at the bar, Cholmondley Cevill, guilty of the indictment laid to his charge. The judge then pronounced sentence as follows. Cholmondley Cevill was to stand on the pillory one hour, and from there to be whipped from the pillory to the door of the prison. The judge told him the court had been favourable in remitting part of the punishment the law inflicted on persons convicted of the like crimes, which was imprisonment during the pleasure of the court. The court hoped the prisoner would make good use of this favour while he stayed on the island. Interpretations Beale's added evidence struck directly at Cevill's defence over the marked items. Cevill had sworn that the medicines he ticked were his own, brought to the island himself, and those he crossed he took from the stores when supplanted. Beale's testimony that Cevill arrived with nothing but a single cask of sal catharticus amarus, a purging salt, cut away the claim that the bulk of the medicines in his custody were his own property. The failure of any defence witness to appear left Cevill wholly exposed. He had been a man without friends or standing on the island, a stranger thirteen months stranded, as his reinstatement petition of 15 September 1719 had pleaded, and contemptuous of the inhabitants whom he had called woodcocks at his gaming summons of 26 May 1719. The sentence of the pillory and a public whipping marked a sharp humiliation for a man who had held the rank of surgeon. The court's remission of the imprisonment the law allowed shows the bench tempering the punishment, perhaps with an eye to ridding the island of him by an outward-bound ship, the course it had pressed at his gaming summons and again when his reinstatement was deferred. Speculations The bench had pursued the medicine theft as one front of a wider effort to secure the Company's stores against leakage in the autumn of 1719. Cevill's prosecution ran alongside the standing accounting control it imposed on the surgeon Edmund Leigh from 29 August 1719, requiring a daily book of medicines dispensed laid before the council weekly, and alongside the inventory taken when the warrant was served. The trial converted the loss into a public conviction, fixing on the record both the fact of the theft and the exact remains recovered, the same method of distinguishing what was taken from what was held that the council applied to the tobacco cut from the store-room cask and the stock lost from the monthly livestock accounts. | |||||
310 | Then Thomas Tree planter Commenced an
Action of the Case against William Slaughter
Ensigne. Setting forth by Petition That his
Predecessor Mr Daniel Griffith did make & grant
a Lease bearing date the 4. day of Aprill 1708.
for One Acre of Cabbage tree Land to Serjeant
William Slaughter for the terme of Seven Years,
he paying the Sume of Seven pounds on the 13:
of Dec: following for the rent thereof. And that
at the Expiration of the Said Seven Years He the
Said Slaughter was obliged to leave the Said Acre
of Land well planted in the Yams of half a Years
Growth, and to deliver up the Same in that Order
unto the Said Griffith or his Assignies, as by the
Said Lease dated as above doth more fully appear.
But the Said William Slaughter having not
Performed his bargaine and the Said Complaint:
having Suffered Damages at least to the Value
of twenty pounds for want of those Yams and
their Suckers. Humbly Prays he may have
Justice, and full Satisfaction made him by the
Said Slaughter for his So not fulfilling his Contract
as Shall be thought most Just & meet.
And & Margin Notes: Tho: Trees
Declaration
ag:t Willi:m
Slaughter | Thomas Free, planter, then commenced an action of the case against William Slaughter, ensign, setting forth his complaint by petition. He stated that his predecessor Mr Daniel Griffith had made and granted a lease dated 4 April 1708 for one acre of cabbage-tree land to Sergeant William Slaughter, for the term of seven years, Slaughter paying the sum of seven pounds on the 13 December following for the rent of it. At the expiry of the seven years, Slaughter was bound to leave the acre well planted with yams of half a year's growth, and to deliver it up in that order to Griffith or his assignees, as the lease more fully showed. Free declared that Slaughter had not performed his bargain, and that he, the complainant, had suffered damages to the value of at least twenty pounds on account of those yams and their suckers. He humbly prayed that he might have justice, and that full satisfaction be made to him by Slaughter for not fulfilling his contract, as should be thought most just and fitting. Interpretations The action revived a dispute the bench had left unresolved a year earlier. At the consultation of 7 October 1718 Slaughter had complained that Free would not cancel the writing given to Free's predecessor Griffith nor give a receipt for the rent paid, while Free answered that Slaughter was bound to leave the ground planted with half-grown yams and had not done so. The cause had then been referred to the jury at the next sessions, and Free now brought it to that hearing as the plaintiff. The land descended through the chain of holders the reference records. Daniel Griffith, the third councillor who died on 6 May 1712, had granted the original lease, and Thomas Free, long a party in land disputes before he died on 16 July 1714, stood as his successor in the title, the action now carried on in his name against Slaughter. The covenant to leave the acre planted with yams of half a year's growth was the standing condition by which the island secured continuity of provision when a leasehold changed hands. The competing evidence had already been heard once. At the consultation of 21 October 1718 Slaughter's witnesses John Harding, Benjamin Cleverlee and Richard Harding had sworn the good ground was planted and yams set on the stony part, while Free's witnesses Thomas Swallow and Francis Wrangham swore from sample testing that only half or three-quarters was planted, Free demanding twenty pounds in damages and Slaughter refusing to pay. The twenty-pound figure pleaded here matches that earlier demand exactly. The matter turned on the island's chronic concern to keep its leased ground in provision. The covenant binding an outgoing tenant to leave yams of a set growth protected the next holder and the settlement's food supply alike, the same principle behind the bench's repeated insistence that leaseholders plant and fence, and behind its penalties on those who let provision ground fall waste. | |||||
311 | Octob:t
The diffend:t William Slaughter deny'd the
Action, and Says he has near four Years
Since performed his Contract he made with Mr:
Griffith (deceased)
Upon which the Plaintiff desired his
Evidences might be called & Examined, who were
as follows.
Francis Wrangham Saith upon Oath,
That at Mr Trees desire he went with Thomas
Swallow and Saw that Yams had been planted
in the Ground now in dispute, & that there were
Some self planted, But the whole Peice of Ground
being So overrun with Weeds & Grass Says
he cant tell whether the Land was all over
Planted or not.
Richard Swallow on Oath Saith that
his father Thomas Swallow being not able
to appear Says he was desired in his behalf
and that his father told him to the Same
Effect as Mr Wrangham hath declar'd.
Then the diffend:t desired his Evidences might
be called & Swoone who accordingly were as
followeth.
John Margin Notes: Diffend:t denys
Trees Action. Plaintiffs Evi-
dences called
& Exam:d / Fra: Wrangham
Deposition / R:d Swallow
Appeared in be-
half of his fath:r Diffend:ts
Evidences called
& Ex:am:d / | The defendant William Slaughter denied the action, and said that nearly four years earlier he had performed the contract he made with Mr Griffith deceased. The plaintiff then desired that his witnesses be called and examined, who were as follows. Francis Wrangham, upon oath, said that at Mr Free's desire he went with Thomas Swallow and saw that yams had been planted in the ground now in dispute, and that some were self-planted. But the whole piece of ground being so overrun with weeds and grass, he said he could not tell whether the land was all over planted or not. Richard Swallow, upon oath, said that his father Thomas Swallow, being unable to appear, had desired him to give evidence on his behalf, and that his father had told him to the same effect as Mr Wrangham had declared. The defendant then desired that his witnesses be called and examined, who accordingly were as follows. Interpretations Slaughter's denial rested on a defence of long performance. By pleading that he had fulfilled the contract nearly four years before, he set the question on whether the acre had been left planted as the lease of 4 April 1708 required, the same ground the parties had contested at the consultations of 7 and 21 October 1718. Wrangham's evidence was markedly more guarded than at the earlier hearing. At the consultation of 21 October 1718 he and Thomas Swallow had sworn from sample testing for Free that only half or three-quarters of the ground was planted, but here Wrangham would say only that yams had been planted and some were self-set, and that the weeds and grass left him unable to judge whether the whole acre was planted. The state of the ground had evidently changed the certainty of the plaintiff's own witnesses. Richard Swallow gave his evidence by proxy for his absent father. He was the carpenter and master of three hands, distinct from the executor and the bond creditor of the same name, here standing in for Thomas Swallow, the ancient and sick free planter who had figured in the family's troubles before the bench. His report of his father's account agreed with Wrangham's, the two of them having tested the ground together for Free a year earlier. The shift in the testimony shows how a leasehold dispute turned on the condition of the land itself. The covenant binding an outgoing tenant to leave yams of half a year's growth depended on a plain inspection, and the ground's having grown rank with weeds and grass since the term ended had blurred the very proof on which Free's claim of twenty pounds in damages rested. | |||||
312 | John Harding being Examined Saith that
his father in law Mr Slaughter did plant Suckers in
the Ground he Hired of Mr: Griffith to be left for
Mr Tree his Predecessor, and when twas So planted
he never dugg more Yams for his use, and that all
the plantable Land was planted According to their
Contract.
James Harding Says he helped to plant that
Land for his father Slaughter on Purpose to leave
for Mr Tree, and that the Land was all planted
According to Contract because all the plantable
Land was planted in Suckers.
John Bagley Saith upon oath that he did
go thro' the Said one Acre of Land now upwards
of four Years Since, & Saw the Same planted full
with Suckers.
Then the Jury withdrew & returned their
Verdict That they found for the Deffendent.
The Court was Adjourned as Usuall.
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Jn:o Hardings
Deposition Jam:s Hardings
Deposition Jn:o Bagleys
Deposition Jury W:drew
& found for
y:e Deffend: / | John Harding, being examined, said that his father-in-law Mr Slaughter had planted suckers in the ground he hired of Mr Griffith, to be left for Mr Free his predecessor. When it was so planted, he never dug more yams for his own use, and all the plantable land was planted according to their contract. James Harding said that he had helped to plant that land for his father Slaughter, on purpose to leave it for Mr Free, and that the land was all planted according to the contract, because all the plantable land was planted with suckers. John Bagley, upon oath, said that he had gone through the one acre of land now in dispute, upwards of four years earlier, and saw it planted full with suckers. The jury then withdrew and returned their verdict, that they found for the defendant. The court was adjourned as usual. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The defendant's witnesses carried the day where the plaintiff's had faltered. John Harding swore the ground had been planted with suckers and left for Free as the contract required, and that Slaughter took no further yams from it once planted, while James Harding, who had helped do the work, confirmed that all the plantable land was set. Their testimony matched the account the same men had given for Slaughter at the consultation of 21 October 1718. The Harding witnesses stood in a settled relation to Slaughter that shaped their evidence. John Harding described himself as Slaughter's son-in-law and James Harding as his son, the two of them bound to the family whose hogs and fences had been before the bench in the James Vesey complaint of 12 July 1715. Their direct part in planting the acre gave them firsthand knowledge the plaintiff's witnesses lacked. John Bagley supplied the disinterested corroboration. As the carpenter and free planter who had valued timber and viewed land for the council across the records, his oath that he had walked the acre upwards of four years before and seen it planted full with suckers fixed the state of the ground at the time the lease term ended, before weeds and grass had overgrown it. The verdict turned the case on the decay of the plaintiff's proof. Free's witnesses Wrangham and the absent Thomas Swallow could no longer swear the acre was unplanted, the ground having grown rank since the term expired, while the defendant's witnesses spoke to its condition when freshly planted. The jury of free planters, familiar with what a planted acre looked like and how quickly island ground ran to weed, found the contract performed and Free's claim of twenty pounds unproven. | |||||
313 | Octob:r
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Tuesday the 20 day of Oct: 1719 at Union
Castle in James Valley
Edward Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander.
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston.
The Last Consultation read & Approved of.
The Council met this day for the Transferring
Bills according to an Advertizem:t Published for
that Purpose.
Samuel Head present a Bill of 140. days
work at the Fortifications. To the truth of
which he made oath And then Ordered to
pass.
The following Petitions were presented. /
The Petition of Richard Beale Humbly Praying
to become Tennant to the Hon: Comp: for a
Parcell of their Waste Land containing about
12 Acres known by the name of Taylors ground.
The Petition of Robert Bell Mason
Setting forth That about 5 or 6 Acres of the
Hon: Comp:s Waste Land lying next
Adjoyning Margin Notes: Transfers. Sam:l Head
paid for 140 days
work / R:d Beales
Pet:n for some
Waste Land lying
[...] Rob:t Bell &
Pet: for Land | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 20 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. The council met on this day for the transferring of bills, an advertisement having been published for that purpose. Samuel Head presented a bill of 140 days' work at the fortifications. He made oath to the truth of it, and it was then ordered to pass. The following petitions were presented. Richard Beale humbly prayed to become tenant to the Company for a parcel of their waste land containing about 12 acres, known by the name of Taylor's Ground. Robert Bell, mason, set forth that about 5 or 6 acres of the Company's waste land, lying next to his own, [the petition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The transferring of bills marked one strand of the drive to close the long-neglected account books. Joseph Ormston, made accountant on 4 August 1719, was working through the backlog of the 1717 and 1718 records, and the advertisement of 8 September 1719 had called in within a week all claims for work due from the Company so the books might be settled. The council had examined and passed the labour accounts of many inhabitants across the consultations of 15, 25, 29 and 30 September 1719, reckoned in days of labour and checked against several books to prevent a double charge. Samuel Head's bill fell squarely within that exercise. His claim of 140 days' work at the fortifications, sworn to and ordered to pass, was the kind of labour account the council passed on oath where the work book of Governor Pyke's time had been lost, the swearing standing in for the missing record. Richard Beale's petition continued the run of land applications the bench handled through the autumn. His request for about 12 acres of waste called Taylor's Ground touched the same parcel John Long had sought at the consultation of 2 November 1717, when Governor Pyke had opposed the grant on the ground of Long's chopping and changing over land. Beale, one of the orphans long before the council, now pressed his own claim to it as a Company tenant. Robert Bell renewed his standing pursuit of land next his own holding. He had bought a small piece of vacant ground next his Fort Valley house and petitioned at the consultation of 12 May 1719 to hire a further strip, and at the consultation of 14 January 1718 had sought a lease of 25 acres he held, offering 3 acres to his son-in-law Benjamin Pledger. His application here for 5 or 6 acres of adjoining waste followed the same aim of enlarging and securing his holding. | |||||
314 | Adjoyning to his Plantation & So very Convenient
that if Lett to any person else twill be very Detri-
mentall to him. Wherefore Humbly Prays
he may have So much of S:d Waste Land as
is opposite to the Breadth of his own Land. /
And &:
The Petition of William Seale free planter
praying therein We would Grant him a Lease
for a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:s Waste Land
Adjoyning to his own Land & formerly Granted by
Gov: Byke now almost Fenced in but not Yet
Measured w:th he likewise prays may be done by
an Order to the Surveyor. / And &:
Ordered That William Seals & Richard
Beals Petitions be refer'd till another Opportunity.
And that Rob: Bells Petition be now Granted.
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island. Margin Notes: Wm Seals
prays also
for Land
formerly
Granted His & Beals
Pet:ns referd.
Bells granted | Robert Bell's petition continued. The 5 or 6 acres adjoined his plantation and were so very convenient that, if let to any other person, it would be very detrimental to him. He therefore humbly prayed he might have so much of the Company's waste land as lay opposite to the breadth of his own land. The petition of William Seale, free planter, prayed that the council would grant him a lease for a small parcel of the Company's waste land adjoining his own land, formerly granted by Governor Pyke, now almost fenced in but not yet measured. He likewise prayed that the measuring might be done by an order to the surveyor. The council ordered that the petitions of William Seale and Richard Beale be deferred until another opportunity, and that Robert Bell's petition be now granted. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The three petitions were sorted by the bench's standing test for the disposal of waste land. The council under the new Governor distinguished parcels integral to an existing holding, which it granted at once, from those needing a view or carrying some doubt, which it deferred. Robert Bell's request fell in the first class, the small piece lying opposite the breadth of his own land and detrimental if let elsewhere, so it was granted on the spot. Bell's grant continued his long effort to consolidate his holding. He had bought vacant ground next his Fort Valley house and sought a further strip at the consultation of 12 May 1719, and had asked a lease of his 25 acres at the consultation of 14 January 1718. The acres granted here, opposite his own land, added to that holding on the familiar ground that adjoining waste was worth more to the neighbour than to any stranger. The deferral of William Seale's petition turned on the want of a survey. His parcel, granted earlier by Governor Pyke and almost fenced but never measured, needed the surveyor's view before a lease could issue, so it was held over rather than refused, like the other parcels the bench put off for a view through the autumn. Richard Beale's request for Taylor's Ground was deferred for similar caution. The parcel had a contested history, sought and opposed when John Long applied for it at the consultation of 2 November 1717, and the bench's practice of guarding the disposal of land against engrossing, set out in the resolution of 19 February 1719, weighed against granting 12 acres without further enquiry. | |||||
315 | Octob:r
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
Continued on Wednesday the 21 day of
Octob:r 1719. at Union Castle in James
Valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
John Alexander
Pres: John Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read & Approved of. /
This day the Council met in Order to the
further Transferring Bills to the Credit of
Severall Persons for diet &:
Capt:n Goodwin Reported that According to the
Order of Council of the 13 Inst: He had been &
measured the Wall fence made by Mess:rs
Powell & Greenhee for the Hon: Comp: next
to Lighkins plain, and finds it to be 77: Rodds
which they Say Gov:r Byke agreed w:th them
to repair at 5:s p rodd.
Likewise He had view'd & measured
that Wall at the Peak which Mr Powell lately
demanded payment for and is 97: Rodd
which He and Mr Greenhee vallued at 6/6 p
Rodd. Margin Notes: Transfers for
Diett &: Capt: Goodwins
Report ab:t fence
Wall at Lighkins Also that of
Peak Vallued
at 6/6 prod / | Island of St Helena. At a consultation continued on Wednesday 21 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. The council met on this day for the further transferring of bills to the credit of several persons for their diet. Captain Goodwin reported that, according to the order of council of 13 October last, he had measured the wall fence made by Mr Powell and Mr Greentree for the Company next to Lufkins plain. He found it to be 77 rods, which they say Governor Pyke had agreed with them to repair at 5s 0d per rod. He likewise reported that he had viewed and measured the wall at the Peak, for which Mr Powell had lately demanded payment. It came to 97 rods, which he and Mr Greentree valued at 6s 6d per rod. Interpretations The bill transfers continued the closing of the long-neglected account books. The council met again for the transferring of bills for diet, the same exercise begun the day before, as the accountant Joseph Ormston worked through the backlog and the advertisement of 8 September 1719 brought in the claims for work due so the records might be settled. Captain Goodwin's report discharged the order laid on him at the consultation of 13 October 1719. He had then been directed to measure the Greentree wall toward Lufkins and to settle Powell's Peak fence claim with Mr Greentree's help, and he now returned both measurements. John Goodwin, the writer made surveyor on the death of Captain Bazett, here carried out the survey the bench had assigned him. The Greentree wall measurement fixed the figure for the contracted work. The 77 rods at 5s 0d per rod answered the rate Powell and Greentree had agreed with Governor Pyke, the two men having long contracted their joint fencing together, measured at 274 rods at 6s 6d per rod on 27 August 1717. The Peak wall settled the old claim Powell had pressed across successive governments. His petitions of 18 August and 6 October 1719 had sought payment for the fence he made as husband of Captain George Hoskison's widow, enclosing part of the Company's Peak plantation, the original valuers Captain Mashborne and Charles Steward having both died before surveying it. The measurement of 97 rods at 6s 6d per rod, valued by Goodwin and Greentree, at last fixed the sum on which Powell might be satisfied. | |||||
316 | Ordered That Mr Powell have
Credit given him for the Wall at the beake and
that He and Mr Greenhee be also paid for that
Wall made & repaired between them next
Lighkins plain at 5:s p rodd.
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Tuesday the 27 day of Oct: 1719. at Union
Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
John Alexander
John Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The last Consultation read & Approved of. /
According to an Advertizem:t Issued out on
Thursday last for all Persons who had any Acco:s
depending with the Hon: Comp:y Either for work
or on any other Acco:t to make their Demands
that no frauds or Disputes may hereafter
happen, Severall Persons Appeared w:th their
respective Margin Notes: Mr Powell &
Greenhee to
have Cr: for
Said ffences persons that
had any Dem:d
on y:e H: C:o
appeared | The council ordered that Mr Powell have credit given him for the wall at the Peak, and that he and Mr Greentree be also paid for the wall made and repaired between them next Lufkins plain, at 5s 0d per rod. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 27 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. An advertisement had been issued on Thursday last for all persons who had any account depending with the Company, either for work or on any other account, to make their demands, so that no frauds or disputes might thereafter happen. Several persons appeared with their respective [accounts, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The orders closed the two fence matters Captain Goodwin had measured the day before. Powell received credit for the Peak wall of 97 rods, settling the old claim he had pressed across successive governments since the original valuers Captain Mashborne and Charles Steward died before surveying it, and the joint Greentree wall toward Lufkins was paid at the contracted rate of 5s 0d per rod. The bench thereby discharged the order it had first traced to the consultation of 14 September 1714. The fresh advertisement widened the call for claims begun in September. The notice of 8 September 1719 had brought in claims for work due so the account books might be closed, and this further advertisement, for all persons with any account depending with the Company whether for work or otherwise, extended the exercise to settle every outstanding demand and forestall later fraud or dispute. The drive belonged to the sustained effort to bring the records up to date under the new Governor. Joseph Ormston, appointed accountant on 4 August 1719, faced the 1717 books existing only in foul half-completed form and the 1718 records in a part-written transfer journal and ledger, so the council examined and passed the inhabitants' labour accounts across a run of autumn consultations to clear the arrears. Speculations The stated purpose of the advertisement, that no frauds or disputes might thereafter happen, shows the bench building a documentary baseline against future loss rather than merely settling present claims. The same concern to fix exactly what was owed and held ran through the autumn of 1719, in the inventory taken of the medicines recovered from Cholmondley Cevill, in the precise quantifying of the tobacco cut from the store-room cask, and in the chief overseer's distinguishing of theft from mortality in the monthly livestock counts. Calling in every claim on oath and checking it against the surviving books, where the work book of Governor Pyke's time was lost, served the same end of closing the records cleanly so that no later demand could be raised on accounts already discharged. | |||||
317 | Octob:r
respective Acco:ts which was Examined and
all that appeared due was placed to their
Credits.
The Doctors brought in their Book
of medicinal Expences from last Consultation
to this day, which was Examined & Approved
of.
Mr Rich:d Gurling free plant:r Presented
his Petition Setting forth that he has had
a great desire to goe off the Island but his
family having been Afflicted w:th Sickness did
desist, but now persues his former Inclination,
and begs he may have Liberty to goe off
the Island for England the first Opportunity.
Now Humbly offering all his Effects to
the Hon: Comp:y if they think it Convenient
to Purchase. And &:
The Petitioner was answered That he has
Liberty to go for England, and to Sell all his
Estate to those Persons he can, Except ten
Acres of Land & Plantation called Belvedere
which lying very Convenient & Contiguous
to our Hon: Masters grand Plantation
We are willing to Buy it of him. Margin Notes: And Adjusted. D:rs Book Ex:
in &: Exam:d R:d Gurlings Pet:
to goe for England
offering his
Effects to the
Hon: Comp:y leave granted
to goe off &: to
Sell all his Estate
to whom he can
Except 10 Acres
Land Adjoyning
to y:e Hon: Co: | Several persons appeared with their respective accounts, which were examined, and all that appeared due was placed to their credit. The doctor brought in his book of medicinal expenses from the last consultation to this day, which was examined and approved. Richard Gurling, free planter, presented his petition. He set out that he had long wished to leave the island, but his family having been afflicted with sickness he had given up the design. He now renewed his former intention, and asked that he might have liberty to go off the island for England by the first opportunity. He humbly offered all his effects to the Company, if they thought it convenient to purchase them. The petitioner was answered that he had liberty to go for England, and to sell all his estate to whatever persons he could, except ten acres of land and a plantation called Belvird. This parcel, lying very convenient and close to the Company's grand plantation, the Company was willing to buy of him. Interpretations The settling of accounts continued the autumn drive to close the long-neglected books. The persons appearing with their accounts answered the advertisement issued on Thursday last for all with any demand depending with the Company to come and have it cleared, the examined sums placed to their credit so that no later fraud or dispute might arise. The doctor's medicine book carried on the standing control imposed on the surgeon from 29 August 1719, requiring a daily record of medicines dispensed laid before the council. Gurling's petition marks the latest in his long course of dealings with the bench. He had petitioned at the consultation of 24 May 1715 for protection and discharge from the executorship of the Steward estate, and had paid the Minter debt to Governor Harrison with Gabriel Powell on 27 April 1717. His wish to depart for England, set aside earlier through his family's sickness and now renewed, follows the established procedure by which a planter wound up his affairs and offered his estate to the Company before leaving. The Company's reservation of the Belvird plantation shows its standing policy of acquiring land adjoining its own. The parcel lying close to the grand plantation was singled out from the general permission to sell, the Company taking the convenient ground for itself while leaving the rest to private buyers. The same Belvird country plantation had been bought by the mason Robert Bell at the consultation of 24 July 1712 for £200 0s 0d on two years' credit, the holding passing through several hands before reaching Gurling. Speculations The bench carved a single parcel out of the general leave to sell because that ground served a Company purpose the open market would not. By letting Gurling dispose of his whole estate save the ten acres at Belvird, and reserving only that piece for itself, the council secured the land lying next its grand plantation while sparing itself the cost and trouble of the rest. The same preference for consolidating ground adjoining its own holdings governed Robert Bell's grant at the consultation of 20 October 1719 and Powell's Bowmans exchange of 4 February 1718, the Company repeatedly taking in the convenient strip and leaving the scattered parcels to others. | |||||
318 | John Long presented a Bill of Sale for one
Acre of Land bought of Rich:d Beale desireing
the Same may be Registerd for better Security
thereof. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation Continued on
Wednesday the 28 day of Octob:r 1719. At
Union Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
John Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read & Approved of.
Those Persons whose Acco:ts could not be Ex-
amined Yesterday Appeared this day w:th their
Said Accounts which were Accordingly Exam:d
& Credit given them for So much as Appeared
due. /
The Petitions of John Orchard, Gilbert
Sinnick & Peter Sinnick for the Hire of Land
in Margin Notes: Jn:o Longs
Bill of Sale
presented persons whose
Acco: not Exam:
yest:r day was
Exam: this day Sundry Pet:ns
for Land. | John Long presented a bill of sale for one acre of land bought of Richard Beale, asking that it be registered for better security of his title. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation continued on Wednesday 28 October 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. Those persons whose accounts could not be examined the day before appeared on this day with them. Their accounts were examined accordingly, and credit was given them for so much as appeared due. The petitions of John Orchard, Gilbert Sinsnick and Peter Sinsnick, for the hire of land, [the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The bill of sale registration secured a private land transfer through the council's standing registry. John Long presented his purchase of one acre from Richard Beale for entry in the consultation book, the same procedure by which planters fixed their titles, as when Isaac Wood registered his bill of sale for 25 acres bought from Mr Alexander at the consultation of 3 June 1719. The acre came from Beale, one of the orphans whose family land had long been before the bench and who had himself sought Taylor's Ground at the consultation of 20 October 1719. The examination of the remaining accounts carried on the closing of the books begun the day before. The persons whose accounts could not be reached at the consultation of 27 October 1719 now brought them in, the credit allowed for so much as appeared due, the council methodically clearing every outstanding demand under the advertisement calling in all claims so that no later fraud or dispute might arise. The land petitions continued the run of applications the bench handled under the new Governor. John Orchard, the licensed retailer of the standing record, and the two Sinsnicks pressed for the hire of waste land, joining the steady stream of such requests that the council sorted by its policy of granting parcels integral to a holding while deferring others for a view. Peter Sinsnick had petitioned at the consultation of 27 January 1719 for about 5 acres in Sandy Bay called the Sugar Cane plantation, and Gilbert Sinsnick Monhoss had sought about 6 acres below the Steward orphans' land the same day. | |||||
319 | Octob:r
in Sandy bay valley, was this day reviewed
and accordingly Granted them. /
Ordered That the Surveyor have a Warr:t
deliverd him for the measuring to each of
the Persons aforsaid the Land they desire. /
An Order that Mr Jones be put in mind
by the following Memorial / of his Duty to
Catechize the Youth of this Island every Sunday/
To the Rever:d Mr Jones
In pursuance to the Hon: Comp:ys
Instructions to Us to remind the Chaplain when
Remiss in Catechizing the Youth of the Island.
We do hereby Order That you do Catechize the
Said Youths in Publick at the Publick place
of Worship, and then to open & Expound the
Doctrine of the true Christian religion that
So the People may be well grounded in the
Principall & Doctrine of faith and be able to
give a reason of their hope, and on good
Grounds to Maintaine their Religion
against all Opposers & Gainsayers. /
And You are hereby Appointed by Us
to begin on Sunday next hereof fail not.
Given Margin Notes: Lying in Sandy
Bay. Survey to mea-
sure each Petic
Beford. / Ord: to D:r Jones Copy of a Lett:r
to D:r Jones to
remind him
of his Duty. | The land lying in Sandy Bay valley was reviewed on this day and granted to the petitioners accordingly. The council ordered that the surveyor have a warrant delivered to him for measuring out to each of the persons named the land they desired. The council then made an order that Mr Jones be reminded of his duty, by the following memorial, to catechise the youth of the island every Sunday. A copy of a letter to Doctor Jones, reminding him of his duty, followed. It was addressed to the Reverend Mr Jones. In pursuance of the Company's instructions to the council to remind the chaplain when remiss in catechising the youth of the island, the council ordered him to catechise those youths in public at the place of worship. He was then to open and expound the doctrine of the true Christian religion, so that the people might be well grounded in the principles and doctrine of faith, be able to give a reason for their hope, and on good grounds maintain their religion against all opposers and gainsayers. He was appointed to begin on Sunday next without fail. Interpretations The land grants closed the run of petitions the bench had taken up the day before. The Sandy Bay parcels sought by John Orchard, Gilbert Sinsnick and Peter Sinsnick were viewed and granted, with a warrant ordered to the surveyor to measure out each holding, the standing form by which the council fixed the bounds of a new grant. Peter Sinsnick had asked for about 5 acres at the Sugar Cane plantation and Gilbert Sinsnick Monhoss for about 6 acres below the Steward orphans' land at the consultation of 27 January 1719. The memorial to the chaplain enforced the directors' standing charge over religious instruction. Mr John Jones had come over on the Craggs Frigate in June 1719 as chaplain to succeed Joshua Thomlinson, appointed directly by the directors, and the council now held him to the Company's instruction that it remind the chaplain whenever he grew slack in catechising the island's youth. The order names the duty, the public place of worship and the weekly schedule, converting the general instruction into a dated and particular command. The formal letter reflects the council's practice of grounding its authority in the directors' written orders. By reciting the Company's instruction before issuing its own command, the bench cast the requirement not as its own wish but as the discharge of a duty laid on it from England, the same method by which it justified its acts throughout the records. The reduced board of the new administration stood behind the order, Governor Johnson sitting with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. Speculations The bench framed the chaplain's reminder as a formal memorial reciting the directors' instruction because Jones was a director's own appointee newly arrived and already at odds with the council's circle. He had come to blows with the suspended secretary Antipas Tovey on 29 June 1719, striking him in the face, and his lodging and teaching-allowance requests had been pressed and partly refused at the consultation of 13 July 1719. Issuing a dated written order grounded in the Company's own instructions, rather than a spoken admonition, armed the council with a record it could send home should the chaplain prove as contentious as his predecessor Thomlinson, whose long dispute over bills and conduct had filled the consultations of 1718. | |||||
320 | Given under our hands and dated this 28:
day of Oct: 1719.
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Wednesday the 4 day of Nov: 1719. At Union
Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read and Approved of. /
Mr Jn:o Coles free plant:r & Executor to the Last Will &
Testam:t of his deceased Son Rich: Coles brought this
day the Last Will of the Said Rich: Coles in Order
to have the Same proved which was Accordingly done
by the Oaths of Joshua Johnson & Isaac Leech who
made Oath that the Said Will now produced is the
Last Will & Testam:t of the Said dec:d Rich: Coles
and that they knew of no other by him made
either in word or Writing. / Ordered Margin Notes: Jn:o Coles
presented
his Son R:ds
Last Will the Same
Approved of | This was given under the council's hands and dated 28 October 1719, signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Wednesday 4 November 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. John Coles, free planter and executor of the last will and testament of his deceased son Richard Coles, brought in that will on this day to have it proved, which was accordingly done. Joshua Johnson and Isaac Leech made oath that the will now produced was the last will and testament of the deceased Richard Coles, and that they knew of no other made by him, either by word or in writing. The will was approved. Interpretations The memorial to the chaplain closed under the council's hands and seal, the form by which the bench gave its written orders the weight of a formal instrument. The reminder to Mr Jones to catechise the island's youth, dated 28 October 1719, carried the signatures of Governor Johnson with John Alexander and John Goodwin, the same reduced board that sat through the autumn under the new government. The probate of Richard Coles's will continued the council's standing office as the island's substitute for an English probate court. The bench took sworn proof of the will from two witnesses, the established procedure by which it admitted a will to registration, as when Mrs Margaret Sich's executors proved her will at the consultation of 11 August 1719 on the oaths of those who saw her sign. The witnesses' oath that they knew of no other will, by word or in writing, guarded against any later nuncupative or written claim. The succession reversed the ordinary course, the father proving the son's will. John Coles, the free planter and executor of Gilbert Cotgrove who had pressed his own land petitions through the autumn, here acted as executor to his deceased son Richard, the estate passing back up a generation. Isaac Leech, the gunner's mate and former overseer of the highways, stood as one of the witnesses, with Joshua Johnson, a substantial householder of the 1716 census. | |||||
321 | Nov:r
Ordered That the Said Richard
Coles Last Will & Testament be Approv'd
of Accordingly and Copys Given when
desired. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Tuesday the 17 day of Nov: 1719. At
Union Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read & Approved of. /
The Doctors brought in their Book of
Medicins Expended from the 27. of Octob:r
last to this day, which was Examind and
Approv'd of.
The following Petitions were Presented
Viz:t) The Petition of Richard & Anth:o
Beale Setting forth that upon Application
to Gov:r Pyke and the then Council
they Margin Notes: Copys to be
given if desired D:rs Book of
Medicins Expd
in &: Exam:d R:d & Anthony
Beale Joynt
Petition | The council ordered that Richard Coles's last will and testament be approved accordingly, and copies given when desired. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 November 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. The doctor brought in his book of medicines expended from 27 October last to this day, which was examined and approved. The following petitions were presented. The petition of Richard and Anthony Beale set out that, upon their application to Governor Pyke and the council, they [the petition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The probate closed under the bench's standing registry practice. The council confirmed Richard Coles's will and ordered copies issued on request, the same procedure by which it kept the island's record of testaments and supplied authenticated copies to those with an interest, the document entered for safekeeping in the book of wills. The medicine book carried on the accounting control imposed after the theft from the stores. The surgeon's record of medicines expended from 27 October to this day continued the daily book the council had ordered kept from 29 August 1719 on the discovery of Cholmondley Cevill's pilfering, laid before the bench for examination at each consultation, the regime now in routine operation through the autumn. The Beale petition revived the orphans' long pursuit of their family claims, reaching back to the previous government. Richard and Anthony Beale, the orphan sons of Jonathan Beale, had been granted possession of their 60 acres of family land at the consultation of 7 June 1715, and had pressed claims for store credit and double-charged rent across the records. Their reference here to an earlier application to Governor Pyke and his council shows a matter begun under the former administration now carried forward to Governor Johnson's board for determination. | |||||
322 | they had granted to them about 13. Acres of the
Hon: Comp:s Wast Land known by the Name of
Taylors ground and the Same was Measured to
them by Capt: Bazell who dying Soon after the
Said Land was not plotted in Order to their have-
ing a Lease granted. Wherefore doth now humbly
Pray they May have the Said Land & a Lease
for the Same they being in very great need
thereof, and will be as Prejudiciall to them
in Severall respects if granted to any other person
they having had the S:d 13. Acres of Land Nine
Months in their Possession and no Objection
made thereto till very lately by Such Persons
as has not the least need thereof, & therefore
hopes not to be dispossest of the Said Land.
And &:
The following Petition was present against
the Letting the afores:d Land by Severall Persons
thereunto Subscribed. Setting forth That
they Understood that Mr Richard Beale
had gott a Grant for the Hon: Comp:s Waste
Land known by the name of Taylors Land
which Land if Lett to the aforesaid Beale
will be a great Detriment to the Petitioners
they Margin Notes: Beales joynt
Lease forr 13
Acres Land
cald Taylors Sundry Persons
Pet:n ag:t
Letting the
Said Land | The Beales set out that the council had granted them about 13 acres of the Company's waste land known as Taylor's Ground, and that Captain Bazett had measured it out to them. Bazett having died soon afterwards, the land had not been formally entered so that they might have a lease granted. They therefore humbly prayed they might have the land and a lease of it, being in very great need of it. It would be much to their disadvantage in several respects if granted to any other person, since they had held the 13 acres for nine months with no objection made to it until very lately, by persons who had not the least need of it. They hoped not to be deprived of the land. The following petition was presented against the letting of the land, subscribed by several persons. They set out that they understood Mr Richard Beale had obtained a grant for the Company's waste land known as Taylor's Ground. If this land were let to Beale, it would be a great detriment to the petitioners, [the petition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The Beale petition reframed the request for Taylor's Ground as a confirmation of an existing grant rather than a fresh application. Richard Beale had sought the parcel at the consultation of 20 October 1719, where the bench deferred his petition for a view. He now pleaded a prior grant of about 13 acres measured out by Captain Bazett, the want of a formal lease arising only from Bazett's death during 1719, which had left the holding entered but never perfected. The unperfected grant follows a pattern the bench met repeatedly after Bazett's death. The storekeeper and deputy governor had measured or been warranted to measure several parcels shortly before he died, leaving the leases unexecuted, as with the 7 or 8 acres his own widow Bridget Bazett sought to have confirmed at the consultations of 29 July and 1 September 1719. The Beales' claim of nine months' undisturbed possession set their title on long enjoyment, the standing ground on which the council resisted disturbing a settled holding. The counter-petition shows the contest over the same waste ground that had marked it before. Taylor's Ground had been sought by John Long at the consultation of 2 November 1717, when Governor Pyke opposed the grant, and the parcel evidently served the convenience of neighbouring holders who now subscribed against letting it to Beale. The dispute set the bench's policy of guarding the disposal of land, fixed in the resolution of 19 February 1719, against the competing claims of those who held adjoining ground and stood to lose by the grant. | |||||
323 | Nov:r
they having no other place near them to
fetch fire wood from the Said Beale now
he has Gott Possession of the Said Land
threatens their Blacks & Hinders them
from fetching the Said Wood.
Therefore they Humbly pray That
if the afores:d Land is to be lett that it may
be let amongst the Petitioners who Sub-
scribes as in duty bound ever to pray.
Jn:o Long
Henry Francis
Thomas Tree.
Eliz:th Marsh
James Ridee
Whereupon It was Ordered That
all Persons Concern:d do appear Next
Consultation day.
The before named Rich: & Anthony
Beale presented another Petition Seting
forth therein that they upon makeing up
their Acco:ts in the Hon: Comp:s Books
found an Error of three Pounds being
twice Charged in one year for Revenues
and did Accordingly Apply to Gov:rn
Pyke Margin Notes: for want of
fire wood / for y:e use of the
S:d Land
amongst y:m / All Persons Con-
cern:d to appear
Next Consult day 2:d Pet: of R:d & Anth
desireing an
mistake of £3
might be rectifyed | The petitioners had no other place near them to fetch firewood from than the land Beale had now taken possession of. Beale threatened their slaves and hindered them from fetching the wood. They therefore humbly prayed that, if the land were to be let, it might be let among the petitioners. It was subscribed by John Long, Henry Francis, Thomas Free, Elizabeth Marsh and James Rider. The council ordered that all persons concerned appear at the next consultation. The same Richard and Anthony Beale then presented another petition. They set out that, on making up their accounts in the Company's books, they had found an error of three pounds, twice charged in one year for revenues. They had accordingly applied to Governor Pyke, [the petition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The counter-petition rested its case on access to firewood, a real constraint on a small island short of timber. The subscribers held no other nearby source of fuel, so Beale's possession of Taylor's Ground cut them off and brought him into conflict with their slaves sent to gather wood. The same anxiety over the island's limited timber lay behind the Great Wood preservation order of 25 August 1719, which forbade cutting green wood on pain of answering at peril. The list of subscribers gathers neighbours with a direct interest in the parcel. John Long, who had himself sought Taylor's Ground at the consultation of 2 November 1717, headed the petition, joined by Henry Francis, the deceased Thomas Free's successors in his land, the widow Elizabeth Marsh and James Rider, who had contracted fencing work valued with Wrangham at the consultation of 27 August 1717. Their combined objection set the convenience of established holders against the Beales' claim of possession. The council's order to summon all parties followed its practice of hearing competing land claims face to face. By directing everyone concerned to appear at the next consultation, the bench reserved judgement on the contested parcel until both the Beales and the subscribers could be heard, the same caution it showed throughout in guarding the disposal of waste land against engrossing. The second Beale petition opened a distinct matter of double-charged revenue. The brothers had found three pounds charged twice in one year in the Company's books, an error of exactly the kind the audit of the account books had been exposing. Richard Beale had earlier obtained relief for the very same fault at the consultation of 6 August 1717, when £6 0s 0d was allowed against the just £3 0s 0d on Bazett's confession of a double charge across two books. Their application to Governor Pyke marks a claim begun under the former government and now renewed before Governor Johnson's board. | |||||
324 | Pyke and the then Council ord:t to have that
Misstake rectifyed But it never having yet been
done the Petition:r Humbly Prays they may be
repaid the Said three Pounds. And &:
Ordered That Enquiry be made into
the truth of this Petition, & if upon Examinati-
on 'tis found as the Petitioner do Alledge that
then the Error of three Pounds be repaid to
their Acco: & Credit.
Rich:d Mason Sold:r Presented a Petition
Setting forth that there being about two Acres
of the Hon: Comp:s Wast Land lying next Ad-
joyning to his own Plantation in Sandy Valley
desires to become Tenn:t for the Same to Build
a House on & to plant Wood to Shelter it
And &:
The Gov: Says he will go and view this Land
and make report thereof.
The Petition of John Harding free Planter
Setting forth That He haveing but the one Seventh
Part of 31. Acres of Land that will descend to him
at his Mothers death (now Aged) Humbly
Prays to become Tenn:t to the Hon: Comp: for
about 10. Acres of their Wast Land Adjoyning Margin Notes: Enquiry to be
made into of y:e
Matt:r &: if true
to be Adjusted R:d Masons
Pet: for Land
in Sandy
Valley Gov:r will view
y:e Same. Jn:o Hardings
Pet: for Land
at Sandy
Valley head | The Beales set out that Governor Pyke and his council had ordered the mistake rectified, but this had never yet been done. They therefore humbly prayed they might be repaid the three pounds. The council ordered that enquiry be made into the truth of this petition. If on examination it was found as the petitioners alleged, then the error of three pounds was to be repaid to their account in credit. Richard Mason, soldier, presented a petition. He set out that there were about two acres of the Company's waste land lying next to and adjoining his own plantation in Swanley Valley. He asked to become tenant for it, to build a house on it and to plant wood to shelter it. The Governor said he would go and view the land and make report on it. The petition of John Harding, free planter, set out that he held but the one seventh part of 31 acres of land that would descend to him at his mother's death, she being now aged. He humbly prayed to become tenant to the Company for about 10 acres of their waste land adjoining, [the petition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The Beales' revenue claim turned on an order left undischarged across the change of government. Governor Pyke and his board had directed the double charge of three pounds rectified, but the correction had never been made, so the brothers renewed the claim before Governor Johnson's council. The bench's order to examine the books and, if the error were proved, repay the sum in credit shows the audit of the account books reaching back to settle particular wrongs carried over from the former administration. The double charge was a recurring fault the audit kept uncovering. Richard Beale had obtained relief for the identical error at the consultation of 6 August 1717, when £6 0s 0d was allowed against the just £3 0s 0d on Bazett's confession of a double charge across two books, and the closing of the long-neglected records under Joseph Ormston brought such mistakes to light, much as Frances Carne's uncharged fine surfaced in the audit of 4 January 1718. Mason's petition continued the settlement of Swanley Valley under the rationing regulation. He had married the widow of the deceased Thomas Harper and taken up her late husband's Swanley Valley holding, granted 15 acres at Manatee Bay at the consultation of 19 February 1719. His request for two further acres to build and shelter with planted wood answered the encouragement the Swanley Valley settlement offered occupiers, the planting of timber tied to the cheap rent and the coal allowance fixed across the consultations of 9 June 1719. The Governor's undertaking to view the land in person followed the bench's settled caution over waste-land grants. By reserving judgement until he had seen the parcel, Governor Johnson applied the same practice the council had used throughout 1719, deferring petitions for a view to guard against engrossing and to weigh each grant on the ground itself. Harding's petition rested on the smallness of his expectant share. Holding only a seventh part of 31 acres that would not fall to him until his aged mother's death, he sought adjoining waste to make a viable holding, the same want of present land that drove many of the autumn's petitions. John Harding, the Sandy Bay planter whose straying hogs and low fences had been before the bench in the James Vesey complaint of 12 July 1715, here pressed his own claim as a free planter in need of ground. | |||||
325 | Nov:r
to that now in his Possession at the head of one
Branch of Coroles valley next the Green Hill
w:ch if Let to any other Person will be very
Prejudiciall to him. / And &:
Referrd to further Consideration.
The Petition of Robert Gurling free Planter
Setting forth That he had formerly granted
to him two Small Parcells of the Hon: Comp:s
Wast Land adjoyning to his owne Land Scituate
in Peak Gull without w:ch Additionall Land He
cannot Maintaine his family. And
therefore Prays the Same may be new Granted
with a Lease thereof. And &:
Referrd till this Land Can be view'd w:th the
Gov: Says he will do as Soon as Possible. /
The Petition of John Nichols Jun:r Setting
forth That he had granted to him by Gov: Pyke
& Council a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:s
Wast Land adjoyning to his fathers Land at the
head of Old Womans Valley which he now
Prays may be new granted to him it being
Partly fenced in. / And &:
Referrd till further Consideration. /
The Margin Notes: next Green Hill Referrd Pet: of Rob:t
Gurling praying
a new grant of
2 Parcells Land Referrd till
view'd by y:e
Gov:r / Jn:o Nichols Jun:r
Pet:n for a new
grant of Land
partly fenced in Referrd | Harding asked for the waste land adjoining that now in his possession, at the head of one branch of Coles valley next the Green Hill. If let to any other person, it would be very much to his disadvantage. The petition was referred to further consideration. The petition of Robert Gurling, free planter, set out that the council had formerly granted him two small parcels of the Company's waste land adjoining his own land in Peak Gut. Without additional land he could not maintain his family. He therefore prayed that the same might now be granted to him, with a lease of it. The petition was referred until the land could be viewed. The Governor said he would do this as soon as possible. The petition of John Nichols junior set out that Governor Pyke and the council had granted him a small parcel of the Company's waste land adjoining his father's land, at the head of Old Woman's Valley. He now prayed that it might be granted to him, it being partly fenced in. The petition was referred to further consideration. Interpretations Harding's claim rested on the want of nearby land and the disadvantage of seeing it pass to a stranger. His holding lay at the head of a branch of Coles valley next the Green Hill, and the adjoining waste was worth more to him than to any other applicant, the same ground of convenience the bench weighed throughout the autumn's land petitions. The councillors had given their opinion on the Green Hill land at the consultation of 10 June 1719, John Alexander and Antipas Tovey signing it. Gurling's petition revived an earlier grant left without a lease. He had been granted two small parcels in Peak Gut adjoining his own land, and now sought them confirmed with a formal lease, pleading the maintenance of his family. This is distinct from his departure petition of the consultation of 27 October 1719, where he asked leave to sell up and go for England, the two matters showing the bench handling both his settlement and his possible removal in the same season. Nichols junior pressed another grant made under the former government and left unperfected. Governor Pyke and his board had granted him a parcel at the head of Old Woman's Valley adjoining his father's land, the holding partly fenced but never formally confirmed. His father John Nichols senior held land at the head of Old Woman's Valley measured at fifteen acres against a right of twenty, and Edmund Nichols had sought the missing five acres there, the family pressing a cluster of claims in the same district. The repeated references for a view and for further consideration show the bench's consistent caution under the new Governor. Each petition for waste land was held over until the parcel could be seen, the council declining to grant any holding unviewed, the settled practice by which it guarded the disposal of land against engrossing through 1719. | |||||
326 | The Petition of Gilbert Sinnick Monross.
Setting forth therein That he had formerly
granted to him by Gov: Pyke & Coun: about ten
Acres of the Hon: Comp:s Waste Land Scituate
in Sandy bay near the Pigeon Rocks but being
not yet measured nor no Lease Granted, Doth
now Humbly pray a new grant & that he
may have a Lease for the Same. And &:
Granted Accordingly.
The Petition of Ralph Anne free Planter Seting
forth That he had fenced in ten Acres of the Hon:
Comp:s Wast Land w:ch he & his Predecessors hath
for Some time had in Possession But the Same
haveing not yet been measured nor no Lease yet
granted for the S:d Land, He now Humbly prays
a Warrant may be deliverd to the Surveyor
for the measurem:t thereof & then desires a Lease
for the Contents. And &:
Ordered That Enquiry be made into the
Petic:rs Allegations, & then the Petitioner to be
Answered.
The Gunner brought in & deliverd the
following Acco:ts which were Accordingly
Examined And Ordered they be both
Passed Margin Notes: Pet: of Gilb:t
Sinnick for a
new grant
of Land in
Sandy bay Granted Ralph Annes
Pet: praying
a measurem:t
of his Wast Land Enquiry to
be made
by y:e Surveyor Gunn: Acco:ts
&: to be
Examin:d | The petition of Gilbert Sinsnick Monhoss set out that Governor Pyke and his council had formerly granted him about ten acres of the Company's waste land in Sandy Bay, near the Pigeon Rocks. The land had never been measured nor any lease granted, so he humbly prayed a renewed grant and a lease of it. The petition was granted accordingly. The petition of Ralph Orme, free planter, set out that he had fenced in ten acres of the Company's waste land, which he and his predecessors had held in possession for some time. The land had never been measured nor any lease yet granted for it, so he humbly prayed that a warrant be delivered to the surveyor for measuring it, after which he asked a lease for the full extent. The council ordered that enquiry be made into his allegations, and that the petitioner then be answered. The gunner brought in and delivered his two following accounts, which were examined accordingly. The council ordered that they both be passed. Interpretations The Sinsnick grant settled an unperfected holding from the former government. Gilbert Sinsnick Monhoss had sought about 6 acres below the Steward orphans' land at the consultation of 27 January 1719, and his earlier ten-acre grant near the Pigeon Rocks in Sandy Bay, measured by neither survey nor lease, was now confirmed. The bench granted it outright, the parcel raising no resource constraint and the want of a lease arising only from the gap left by Captain Bazett's death. Orme's petition pressed a similar claim, but the bench held it for enquiry. Ralph Orme had married the widow of Robert Leech and taken up her late husband's twenty-acre Company leasehold, surrendering ten acres at the consultation of 9 October 1716 as more than he could cultivate without help. His fenced ten acres, held by him and his predecessors but never measured, awaited the surveyor's view and an examination of his title before any lease could issue, the council distinguishing his case from the Sinsnick grant it allowed at once. The gunner's accounts continued the standing procedure for the fort's artillery stores. John French, the master gunner, brought in his monthly accounts of powder and ordnance stores, ordered entered in the consultation book from 25 March 1715, the council passing them as it did at each sitting, the records charging powder spent on salutes, alarms, burials and the bringing-to of ships. The sorting of the two land petitions shows the bench's settled test under the new Governor. A parcel integral to a holding and free of any difficulty was granted on the spot, while one resting on an uncertain or contested title was referred for enquiry, the same discrimination the council applied across the autumn's run of waste-land applications. | |||||
327 | Nov:r An Acco: of Gunners Stores Expended from the first
day of Aprill 1719. to the 13 of June follow:
Num: Ful: Pow:dr Aprill 6: for y:e Buriall of Capt: Matt: Bazell
to the Guards
20 20 9: for the Buriall of James Lyon Sold:r
4 12: Double Alarm
6 6 6 Arrived the Heathcot Darby Carew in & Hayl:
32 32 13: for the 2:d ffuneld:t Cornington Shore
11 11 14: An Alarm
4 4 Arrived the Bowerin in Castle
7 7 17: Departed y:e Heathcot Darby Carew & Hayl:
37 37 for Mr Fredericks going on Board
11 11 for a Signall to the Ships
1 1 25: Delivered to Thom: Ellis for Alarm Sandy bay
1 1 for the Buriall of Christ: Hall
1 1 for the Guards Mounting & Dismounting
1 26: for Exercizeing the Garrison
7 May 2: Double Alarm
6 6 Arrived the Mary & fr: W: of Yorke
28 28 8: Deliv: on board y:e D: of York 44:in 18-3/Shott
100 12: for the Buriall of Thom: Shreve
1 1 20: An Alarm
4 4 23: two Single Alarms
8 8 24: Arrived the Greenham & Maurice
16 16 fired at 4 tenders fbout to bring y:e Ships too
in Reproats Bay - 3 & - 7/Shott
21 fired at the Landing of Passingers
11 11 31: for their Going on board fired
11 11 20 Guns fired at y:e 2 last Ships departe June 13: for Exercizeing the Guards & Dismounting
16 An Alarm
4 4 Arrived the Orange Frigot fro: England
11 11 for the Wonk: Gov: Johnsons Landing
21 24 At his Entrance into the fort
21 21 Muskett Balls
10 Cartridge papers
9 Axeltrees
7 Trusts
18 Rammer heads
36 Sponge Staves
12 Sponge heads
24 Rammer Heads
24 Flints
100: Sheep Skins
10 Match 71 10:10 22 24 36:10.6.9 10
277. 438 | An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 April 1719 to 13 June following. The account was kept in pounds of powder, with further columns for falcon and minion rounds. For the burial of Captain Matthew Bazett, and the guard: 20 pounds of powder For the burial of James Tyon Tole: 4 pounds of powder A double alarm on the 12th: 6 minion rounds, 6 falcon rounds, 6 pounds of powder The arrival of the Head, last Derby, Carmenian and Mary: 32 pounds of powder For the second medical [...] of Carmenian Shore on the 13th: 11 pounds of powder An alarm on the 14th: 4 pounds of powder The arrival of the Berwarn in candle [...]: 7 pounds of powder The departure of the Head, last Derby, Carmenian and Mary, on the 17th: 37 pounds of powder For Mr Frederick's going on board: 11 pounds of powder For a signal to the ships: 1 pound of powder Delivered to Thomas Allis for an alarm at Sandy Bay on the 25th: 1 pound of powder For the burial of Christopher Kell: 1 pound of powder For the guards mounting and dismounting: 1 pound of powder For exercising the garrison on the 15th: 2 pounds of powder A double alarm on the 4th of May: 6 minion rounds, 6 falcon rounds, 6 pounds of powder The arrival of the Mary and the Duke of York on the 7th: 28 pounds of powder, 28 falcon rounds Delivered on board the Duke of York on the 8th, 4 [...] at 18 [...] and 3 [...] shot: 100 pounds of powder For the burial of Thomas Shreeve on the 12th: 1 pound of powder An alarm on the 20th: 4 pounds of powder The arrival of the Stanhope: 1 pound of powder Two single alarms on the 23rd: 8 falcon rounds, 8 pounds of powder The arrival of the Grantham and Maurice on the 24th: 16 minion rounds, 16 falcon rounds Fired at Munden's to bring a ship to, and in Ruperts Bay, 3 minion and 5 falcon rounds: 21 pounds of powder Fired at the landing of passengers: 11 falcon rounds, 11 pounds of powder For their going on board on the 31st: 11 falcon rounds, 11 pounds of powder 20 guns fired at the two last ships' departure: [...] For exercising the guards and dismounting: 16 pounds of powder An alarm on the 13th of June: 4 falcon rounds, 4 pounds of powder The arrival of the Craggs Frigate from England: 11 falcon rounds, 11 pounds of powder For the new Governor's landing: 21 falcon rounds, 21 pounds of powder At his entrance into the fort: 21 falcon rounds, 21 pounds of powder Together with sundry gun-carriage and small stores issued: musket balls, 10 cartridge papers, 9 axletrees, 6 trucks, 18 rammer heads, 36 spring staves, 12 sprunge heads, 24 rammer heads, 24 flints, 100 sheep skins, 10 The totals stood at match 71, sheep skins 10, flints 100, rammer heads 24, sprunge heads 36 [...] 6 [...] 9 [...] 10 [...], 277 pounds of powder and 138 falcon rounds. Interpretations The account records the powder spent across the last months of Governor Pyke's administration and the arrival of his successor. The series belonged to the gunner John French's monthly returns, ordered entered in the consultation book from 25 March 1715, the powder reckoned by occasion against the fort's stores. The closing entries fix the change of government, the Craggs Frigate arriving from England on 13 June 1719 with the new Governor Edward Johnson, whose landing and entrance into the fort drew the heaviest salutes of the period. The burials mark the deaths that thinned the council and the settlement in 1719. The 20 pounds spent on Captain Matthew Bazett records the funeral of the storekeeper and deputy governor whose death left so many land grants unperfected through the year, the want of his survey behind the petitions of Gilbert Sinsnick, Ralph Orme and the Beales over Taylor's Ground. Christopher Kell's burial appears here too, the planter whose insolvent estate the churchwardens administered for his children at the consultation of 12 May 1719. The ship arrivals trace the supply and correspondence of the spring. The Mary under Captain Richard Holden and the Duke of York under Captain Daws arrived together on 5 May 1719 from the Cape and sailed for Britain on 8 May 1719, while the Grantham under Captain Collet and the Maurice under Captain Estus Peacock came in on 26 May 1719 from Bengal and from Bombay and Mocha. The 100 pounds delivered aboard the Duke of York supplied a homeward ship with powder for her own defence on the passage. The gun-carriage stores show the gunner accounting for the fort's material as well as its powder. Axletrees, trucks, rammer heads, spring staves and the rest were the components of the great guns' carriages and the tackle of their service, issued and entered alongside the powder so that the council held a full record of what the fort consumed, the same discipline of exact accounting the bench applied to its stores and stock through 1719. Speculations The gunner entered every round and pound against its specific occasion because the powder account was the fort's chief check against waste and theft of a costly and dangerous store. By tying each issue to a named alarm, salute, burial or ship, the record let the council verify that nothing left the magazine unaccounted, the same method of fixing consumption against stock that governed the medicine inventory taken after Cholmondley Cevill's theft and the chief overseer's distinguishing of loss by cause in the monthly livestock counts. The heavy expenditure on the new Governor's reception, 21 rounds at his landing and 21 more at his entrance, measured the ceremonial weight the settlement attached to the change of government, the salute scaled to mark the authority of the directors' commission read that night. | |||||
328 | An Acco: of Gunn:rs Stores Expended from the 13 day
of June 1719 to y:e 30 of Sept: following. /
Num: Ful: Pow:dr 1719 June: for the Guards Mount:g & Dismounting
9 July 5: for Exercizeing the Guards en y:e every day
7 8: An Alarme
4 4 Arrived the Elizabeth from Madagascar
5 5 9: for Gov: Pykes Going on board y:e Cragg
2 19 25 11: for Gov: Johnsons Going on board D:o
2 19 25 12: for Gov: Johnsons Landing in chaire & Saluted
4 7 29 Departing in y:e Night two No Guns fired 15: Delivered for the Govern: use
1 16: Departed the Elizabeth
5 5 for the Guard Mount: & Dismounting
9 Aug: 1: for Exercizeing the Garrison
7 7: for the Buriall of James Whaley
1 9: Delivered to Dorell Cason
1 30: for the Buriall of Charles Ablard
1 for the Guard Mount: & Dismount:
9 Sept: 6: for Exercizeing the Garrison
7 7: for the Burying of Tphtha fforster
4 Cartidge papers
16 Axeltrees
5 Trusts
4 Rammer Rods
26 Spunge Staves
6 Rammer heads
5 Spunge heads
8 Flints
36 Musq: Balls
10 Diss: of y:e Guards
7 9 Sheep Skins
4 Match
49 Totalle
49 41 6 36 8 5 6 26.4 5 16. 8 64 146 p D:o Jn:o French
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin | An account of gunner's stores expended from 13 June 1719 to 30 September following. The account was kept in pounds of powder, with further columns for minion and falcon rounds. For the guards mounting and dismounting in June: 9 pounds of powder For exercising the guards on 5 July, every Sunday: 7 pounds of powder An alarm on the 8th: 4 falcon rounds, 4 pounds of powder The arrival of the Elizabeth from Madagascar: 5 minion rounds, 5 falcon rounds For Governor Pyke's going on board the Craggs on the 9th: 2 minion rounds, 19 falcon rounds, 25 pounds of powder For Governor Johnson's going on board the Craggs on the 11th: 2 minion rounds, 19 falcon rounds, 25 pounds of powder The Craggs departing in the night on the 12th, ten guns fired: 4 minion rounds, 7 falcon rounds, 29 pounds of powder Delivered for the Governor's use on the 15th: 1 pound of powder The departure of the Elizabeth on the 16th: 5 minion rounds, 5 falcon rounds For the guards mounting and dismounting: 9 pounds of powder For exercising the garrison on 1 August: 7 pounds of powder For the burial of James Whaley on the 7th: 1 pound of powder Delivered to Lieutenant Cason on the 9th: 1 pound of powder For the burial of Charles Ablard on the 30th: 1 pound of powder For the guards mounting and dismounting: 9 pounds of powder For exercising the garrison on 6 September: 7 pounds of powder For the burial of Septha Fowler on the 7th: [...] Cartridge papers: 16 Axletrees: 4 Trucks: 26 Rammer rods: 6 Spring staves: 5 Rammer heads: 8 Sprunge heads: 36 Flints: [...] Musket balls: 7 [Number] of guards: 9 Sheep skins: 4 Match: 49 The totals stood at match 49, sheep skins 4, [number] of guards 9, musket balls 7, flints 36 [...] 8 [...] 5 [...] 6 [...] 26 [...] 4 [...] 5 [...] 16 [...] 8 [...], 64 pounds of powder and 146 falcon rounds. The account was given by John French, the gunner, and signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The account picks up exactly where the previous return closed, fixing the change of government in its powder charges. The series belonged to the gunner John French's monthly returns, ordered entered in the consultation book from 25 March 1715. The matching 25-pound salutes for Governor Pyke going aboard the Craggs Frigate on 9 July and Governor Johnson going aboard on 11 July mark the formal departure of the old Governor and the reception of the new, the Craggs Frigate having brought Johnson out on 13 June 1719 and now carrying Pyke away to Bencoolen at his own desire. The ship movements record the slave supply and the outgoing passages of the summer. The Elizabeth under Captain John Webster arrived from Madagascar on 9 July 1719 with a contracted cargo of slaves for the Company and sailed for the West Indies on 16 July 1719, her arrival and departure each marked by salutes. The Craggs Frigate fired ten guns on her night departure of 12 July 1719, carrying Pyke, the former chaplain Joshua Thomlinson bound for Bengal and forty destitute soldiers for the cold passage round the Cape. The burials track the deaths among the garrison and inhabitants across the cold season. James Whaley, the man who fell sick of a violent fever from the fright of Thomas Bryant's fatal fall, appears here buried on 7 August 1719, having been reported recovering on 30 December 1718. Charles Ablard, the soldier convicted in the Fort riot of 20 November 1714, and Septha Fowler close the list, the small charges of a pound of powder marking the ordinary funerals of the settlement. The small stores show the gunner accounting for the fort's carriage material alongside its powder. Axletrees, trucks, rammer rods and the spring and sprunge heads were the components and tackle of the great guns' service, entered with the powder so the council held a complete record of the fort's consumption, the same exactness of accounting the bench pressed across its stores and stock through 1719. | |||||
329 | Nov:r
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 24 of Nov: 1719. At the
Hon: Comp:s Plantation House
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The last Consultation read & Approved of. /
Mr Jn:o Coles & Mr Jonathan Doveton Execut:rs
to the Last Will and Testam: of Jn:o Marsh
free planter late deceased, brought the S:d Will
this day in Order to have the Same Proved
which was Accordingly done by the Oaths
of Richard Long & Anthony Beale, who
made Oath that they Saw the Said Will
Signd Seald Published & Declar'd by the S:d
dec: John Marsh as his Last Will and
Testam: and that they knew of no other
either in word or Writing. /
Ordered That the Said Will now
Produced be Accordingly read: & Approved of. /
Yesterday the Govern: Ordered that Mr Jones
the Chaplain Should be Summoned to attend this
Consultation Margin Notes: Last Will of Jn:o
Marsh presented and Approved
of. Doct: Jones
Ord:d to attend this
Consultation. | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 November 1719 at the Company's plantation house. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. John Coles and Jonathan Doveton, executors of the last will and testament of John Marsh, free planter lately deceased, brought in that will on this day to have it proved, which was accordingly done. Richard Long and Anthony Beale made oath that they saw the will signed, sealed, published and declared by the deceased John Marsh as his last will and testament, and that they knew of no other made by him, either by word or in writing. The council ordered that the will now produced be registered and approved accordingly. The day before, the Governor had ordered that Mr Jones the chaplain be summoned to attend this consultation. Interpretations The probate continued the council's standing office as the island's substitute for an English probate court. The bench took sworn proof of John Marsh's will from two witnesses, the established procedure by which it admitted a will to its registry, the same form followed for Richard Coles's will at the consultation of 4 November 1719. The witnesses' oath that they knew of no other will, by word or in writing, guarded against any later nuncupative or written claim. The Marsh succession turned on a family whose affairs had run before the bench. John Marsh, with his sister Martha, was the next heir of the deceased Robert Marsh, whose will the two had petitioned to have registered at the consultation of 22 July 1718 after Antipas Tovey's caveat was removed. The estate now passed at John's own death, the executors John Coles and Jonathan Doveton, both substantial planters of the standing record, bringing in the will, and Anthony Beale, one of the orphan sons long before the council, standing as a witness. The summons to the chaplain reopened the council's pressing of its authority over religious instruction. The bench had issued a formal memorial to Mr John Jones on 28 October 1719, reminding him of the directors' charge to catechise the island's youth every Sunday, and now called him to attend in person. Jones had come over on the Craggs Frigate in June 1719 to succeed Joshua Thomlinson, appointed directly by the directors, and his summons here shows the bench continuing to hold the new chaplain to his duty. The sitting at the plantation house rather than Union Castle marks a departure from the usual venue. The council ordinarily met at Union Castle in James Valley, so the change to the Company's plantation house signals a sitting held away from the seat of government, perhaps for the Governor's convenience or the business in hand. | |||||
330 | Consultation which he Peremptorily denyd and bid
the Marshall tell the Govern: he would not come
Whereupon the Gov: Issued his Warrant for
Neglecting to use that form of Prayer for the Hon:
Comp: by them directed, on Sunday Preceding as
well as at Severall other times before. When he
was brought before Govern: & Council He
behaved himself very Insolently and made
frivilous excuses Saying he did pray for the Comp:
If not his Memory was no more infallible then
the Govern:rs and that he might do his Worst.
Wherefore Ordered That his Gratuity be Stop'd
for his Neglect of Duty & his ill behaviour, He was
further Cautiond not to Neglect his duty as formerly
which the Gov: in respect to his Cloth had passed
by.
Richard & Ant:o Beale Petitioning to Hire
That Land called Taylors Ground, & a Lease for
the Same as in Consultation of the 17 Inst:t.
Severall Persons made Objection against
their having this Land as by a Petition Entered
in Consultation of the 17 Inst: doth more fully
Appeare. And According to the
Order thereupon made all Persons
Concernd Margin Notes: but would
not. Warr:t Issued
out for omit:g
part of his
Duty. and for his
Appearance Gratuity to
be Stopt
& Cautiond
&: for future / R:d & Anthony
Beals Pet:
respited also the Pet:
ag:t Letting y:e
Land discussd Sundry Persons | The chaplain peremptorily refused to attend the consultation, and bade the marshal tell the Governor he would not come. The Governor then issued his warrant against him for neglecting to use the form of prayer for the Company that the directors had ordered, on the Sunday before, as well as at several other times. When he was brought before the Governor and council, he behaved very insolently and made frivolous excuses, saying that he did pray for the Company, that his memory was no more infallible than the Governor's, and that he might do his worst. The council therefore ordered that his gratuity be stopped for his neglect of duty and his ill behaviour. He was further cautioned not to neglect his duty as before, which the Governor had passed over in respect to his cloth. Richard and Anthony Beale petitioned to hire the land called Taylor's Ground, and for a lease of it, as entered in the consultation of the 17th instant. Several persons made objection against their having this land, as appeared more fully by a petition entered in the consultation of the 17th instant. An order was accordingly made that all persons concerned [appear, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The chaplain's defiance brought the council's authority over religious instruction to open conflict. The bench had issued a formal memorial to Mr John Jones on 28 October 1719 to catechise the island's youth, and summoned him at the consultation of 24 November 1719, but he now refused outright to attend and sent his refusal by the marshal. His insolence answered to the contentious character the bench had feared in a director's appointee, the same friction that had marked his coming to blows with Antipas Tovey on 29 June 1719. The warrant rested on a particular neglect of the directors' standing orders. Jones was charged with omitting the prescribed form of prayer for the Company, the very duty the council enforced by reciting the directors' instructions, much as it had pressed the former chaplain Joshua Thomlinson over omissions in the church service at the consultations of November 1718, when Thomlinson was found to have left out the prayers for the Company and the shipping. The stopping of his gratuity marked the bench's chief lever against a clergyman it could not dismiss. The council held back his allowance for his neglect and insolence while sparing him sharper punishment in respect to his cloth, the same restraint Governor Pyke had shown the troublesome Thomlinson, and the reduction of pay was the instrument the bench had used against Captain Haswell over the unfinished books and against defaulting servants throughout the records. The Beale petition over Taylor's Ground returned to the contest the bench had opened a week earlier. Richard and Anthony Beale renewed their request to hire the parcel with a lease, as entered at the consultation of 17 November 1719, against the counter-petition of John Long, Henry Francis, Thomas Free's successors, Elizabeth Marsh and James Rider, who pleaded the loss of their only nearby firewood. The order summoning all parties continued the bench's practice of hearing competing land claims face to face before deciding the disputed waste. | |||||
331 | Nov:r
Concern'd appeared this day, and after being
heard on both Sides.
It was agreed & Accordingly
Ordered That the Said Richard Beale
& Anthony
have the Land in Dispute and a Lease
Granted them for the Same.
The following Petitions were Presented (viz:
The Joint Petition of Henry Johnson & Jn:o
Beecary Writers Setting forth therein that they
haveing found Diett to be very Expensive ever
Since they have been obliged to buy, besides
Cloathing that they ought to appear in to
amount beyond their Yearly Allowance
Notwithstanding their Utmost frugallity.
Wherefore prays they may have the Usuall
Allowance granted them, with a faithfull
Promise of a true performance of their duty
in every respect. And &:
Upon Consideration of their Constant
attendance and that they ought to Ware Garbs
Suitable to their Business, that the Sallary they
now have is not Sufficient to provide themselve
with Such becomeing Dress. We have
thought it fitt and reasonable to advance
their Margin Notes: Concernd Appeard The Land cald
Taylors granted
to R:d & Anth:o
Beales Joynt Pet:n of
Henry Johnson
& Jn:o Beecary
praying the
Usuall Allow-
ance for Diett For Writers Sal-
laries & their
promise above | All persons concerned appeared on this day, and after being heard on both sides, the matter was settled. The council ordered that Richard and Anthony Beale have the land in dispute, with a lease granted to them for it. The following petitions were presented. The joint petition of Henry Johnson and John Beary, writers, set out that they had found their diet very expensive ever since they had been obliged to buy it, besides clothing. They ought to appear in dress to an amount beyond their yearly allowance, notwithstanding their utmost frugality. They therefore prayed that the usual allowance be granted to them, with a faithful promise to perform their duty in every respect. Upon consideration of their constant attendance, and that they ought to wear clothes suitable to their employment, the council found that the salary they now had was not sufficient to provide themselves with such becoming dress. It therefore thought it fit and reasonable to advance their [allowance, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The Beale grant resolved the long contest over Taylor's Ground in the orphans' favour. The bench heard both the Beales and the objectors face to face, the procedure it had ordered at the consultations of 17 and 24 November 1719, and then granted the disputed parcel with a lease. The decision overrode the counter-petition of John Long, Henry Francis, Thomas Free's successors, Elizabeth Marsh and James Rider, who had pleaded the loss of their only nearby firewood, the bench preferring the Beales' claim of nine months' undisturbed possession and Captain Bazett's earlier measurement. The writers' petition shows the cost of maintaining the appearance their office demanded. Henry Johnson and John Beary pleaded that the price of their diet, now bought rather than found, together with the clothing fit for clerks in constant attendance on the council, ran beyond their yearly salary. The complaint matches the standing tension over allowances, the gunner French having sought back-payment of house rent and the smith John William Pyfer additional salary at the consultation of 12 July 1715 on the same ground of bare pay. The council's grant rested on the dignity of the clerical establishment. By advancing the writers' allowance so that they might dress suitably to their employment, the bench treated the clerks' presentable appearance as part of the standing of the government itself, the same concern it showed in clothing the Company's slaves against the cold and in maintaining the offices of the council under the thinned board of late 1719. The expense of diet reflects the island's dependence on bought provision. The writers' difficulty in feeding themselves since they were obliged to buy their food points to the settlement's reliance on the Company's stores and the planters' supply, the same scarcity that had driven prices and bills through the famine years and that the council managed by its control of the store and its hire of slave labour. | |||||
332 | 1719.
their Board Wages from eight pound a year
to eighteen pound as Severall others of meaner
Rank have been allow'd for years past and
without which Encouragement We know
they are not able to Subsist.
The Petition of Joseph Coles Stone Cutter
Setting forth therein that he being a young
man & Native of this Island was very desireous
to remaine an Inhabitant thereof. But being
destitute of any Land, Humbly prays to be-
come Tenn:t to the Hon: Comp: for about
20. Acres of their Wast Land known by the
name of the Mancups formerly Possesd by
one Hugh Bodley dec:d for upwards of Seven
Years being not any longer Capable of Man-
nuring of it for want of Blacks, the Same
Land being also Since granted to Richard
Mason Sold:r who threw the Said Land up
because he thought it very Chargeable to
fence in. Wherefore he prays to have a
Grant thereof. And &:
Referrd till the Land can be view'd or the
Petitioner farther Consider:d
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Allowed
Each 18:£
Annu: Pet: of Joseph
Coles for
20: Acres
Land called
the Mancups Referd till
view'd / | The council advanced the writers' board wages from eight pounds a year to eighteen pounds, the same as had been allowed for years past to others of their rank. Without this encouragement, the council knew they would not be able to subsist. The petition of Joseph Coles, stone cutter, set out that, being a young man and a native of the island, he very much wished to remain an inhabitant of it. But being without any land, he humbly prayed to become tenant to the Company for about 20 acres of their waste land known as the Mancipes, formerly held by Hugh Bodley deceased for upwards of seven years. Bodley being no longer able to manure it for want of slaves, the land had since been granted to Richard Mason, soldier, who gave it up because he thought it very expensive to fence in. Coles therefore asked to have a grant of it. The petition was referred until the land could be viewed, and the petitioner further considered. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The writers' raise more than doubled their allowance to a settled rate. The advance of board wages from eight pounds to eighteen brought Henry Johnson and John Beary level with others of their rank long established, the bench treating the clerks' subsistence and presentable appearance as necessary to the standing of its own offices. The grant followed the consideration of their constant attendance set out at the consultation of 28 November 1719, where the council found their bare pay insufficient against the cost of bought diet and suitable dress. Coles's petition rested on the familiar appeal of a landless native seeking to settle. As a young man born on the island and without ground of his own, he pressed the same want of land that drove much of the autumn's run of petitions, his settled intention to remain an inhabitant weighing in his favour. The bench had heard the like from Nicholas Shreeve, granted seven or eight acres at Gabriel's Gut at the consultation of 8 September 1719, and from the Sinsnicks seeking small parcels to plant. The history of the Mancipes shows a parcel passing from hand to hand for want of means to hold it. The waste had been held by Hugh Bodley deceased above seven years until he could no longer manure it for lack of slaves, then granted to the soldier Richard Mason, who surrendered it as too costly to fence. Mason had married the widow of Thomas Harper and taken several grants in 1719, including 15 acres at Manatee Bay formerly Bodley's at the consultation of 19 February 1719, the Bodley lands repeatedly changing tenants across the records. The reference for a view continued the bench's settled caution over waste-land grants. By holding the petition until the parcel could be seen and the petitioner further weighed, the council applied the same practice it had used throughout 1719, declining to grant any holding unviewed and guarding the disposal of land against engrossing. | |||||
333 | December
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 1 day of Dec: 1719. At
Union Castle in James Valley
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read & Approved of. /
On Tuesday last the 26 of Nov: Arrived the
Ships King George Capt: Samuel Lewis, &
the Addison Capt: Rich: Gosprild (who Succeded
Capt: Hicks) last from the Cape of Good Hope,
The King George brought Us the following
Goods from Bengall ( Viz:) 1. Bale of Shirts cont:g 150 - 20. Baggs Sug: cont:g 39:1, 9:- 30. Baggs Rice cont: 44 - 1 - 4. half Leager of Bataya Arrack cont: 290.
2 Gall: All amounting w: Charges to Rup:s 512, 13, 6.
2 P: Ordered That the Said Goods be Sold out of
the Stores at the Usuall Prices. /
The Doctors brought and deliverd their
Book of Expence of Medicines from the last
Consultation Margin Notes: Ships
King George
& Addisons
Arrival Goods &: from
Bengall Sold at usuall
Prices D:rs Book Exp:
in &: Exam:d | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 1 December 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. On Thursday last, 26 November, the ships King George, Captain Samuel Lewis, and the Addison, Captain Richard Gosfright, who succeeded Captain Hicks, arrived last from the Cape of Good Hope. The King George brought the following goods from Bengal: One bale of shirts: 150 shirts 20 bags of sugar: 29 hundredweight, 1 quarter, 9 pounds 30 bags of rice: 44 hundredweight, 1 quarter 4 half leaguers of Batavia arrack: 290 gallons All amounting in charges to the Company: 512 rupees, 13 annas, 6 pies The council ordered that the goods be sold out of the stores at the usual prices. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of the expense of medicines from the last consultation [the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The ships' arrival fixed the late-year supply from Bengal at the Cape route. The King George under Captain Samuel Lewis had called at the island before, arriving from India on 22 April 1717 with a Bengal invoice and sailing for England with the Governor's letter on the accounts, and now returned by way of the Cape with a fresh cargo. The Addison under Captain Richard Gosfright came in the same day, her commander noted as Hicks's successor, the two ships arriving together from the Cape on 26 November 1719. The cargo reckoned in Bengal money of account marks goods laden at Fort William. The sum of 512 rupees, 13 annas and 6 pies followed the Bengal reckoning of rupees, annas and pies used throughout the period for the Calcutta invoices, distinct from the Madras pagodas and the Calicut fanams. The shirts, sugar, rice and arrack were the staple provision and trade goods the island drew from Bengal, the arrack in particular the leading article of the store's revenue. The order to sell at the usual prices applied the store's standing function as the settlement's sole supplier. The council took the cargo into its own stores to retail to the inhabitants, the fort and the plantation at the established rates, the same tiered pricing by which arrack ran as the chief source of store revenue and the imported provision reached the island's households. The doctor's medicine book continued the accounting control imposed after the theft from the stores. The surgeon's record of medicines expended, brought in at each consultation, carried on the daily book the council had ordered kept from 29 August 1719 on the discovery of Cholmondley Cevill's pilfering, the regime now in settled operation through the close of the year. | |||||
334 | 1719.
Consultation to this day, which was Examined
and Approved of. /
The Petition of Gabriel Powell Setting forth
therein that for Some time past he has had an
Inclination to goe off the Island for England, with
his two Sons there to Settle & better Educate
them, and for that his affairs here requiring
Some time to put them in Such a Posture as
may avoid the giving his wife as little
trouble as Possible. And therefore Humbly
Petitions to have leave granted him to go
off Accordingly in the first of the Ensueing
Summers Shiping by w:ch time he hopes
to compleat his Said affairs here. /
And &:
Referred to further Consideration.
William Coals & Thomas Allis planters
were Summoned to appear this day for
Neglecting the duty assigned them, In not
Allarming Sunday Bay (a small Part of
the Island) So timely as they ought when
the Alarm was made at Prosperous Bay
for the two last Mentioned Ships. /
They Margin Notes: Pet: of Gabl
Powell pray:g
leave w:th his
2 Sons to go
for England Referd to be
Consid: on / W:m Coals &
Tho: Allis
Neglect of
Duty | The doctor's medicine book was examined and approved on this day. The petition of Gabriel Powell set out that for some time past he had wished to leave the island for England, to settle his two sons there and give them a better education. His affairs on the island required some time to put them in such order as might leave his wife as little trouble as possible. He therefore humbly prayed to have leave granted to go off accordingly in the first of the coming summer's shipping, by which time he hoped to settle his affairs on the island. The petition was referred to further consideration. William Coals and Thomas Allis, planters, were summoned to appear on this day for neglecting the duty assigned them. They had failed to alarm Sandy Bay, a part of the island, as timely as they ought, when the alarm was made at Prosperous Bay for the two last-mentioned ships, [the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations Powell's petition marks the wish to depart of the island's largest landholder. He had stood at the head of the 1716 census with his sons-in-law at 153 head of cattle and 255 acres, the largest private holding on the island, and his fence and revenue claims had run before the bench across the records. His plan to settle his sons in England and put his affairs in order before leaving follows the established course by which a substantial planter wound up his estate, the same procedure Richard Gurling had begun at the consultation of 27 October 1719. The deferral of his departure rests on the scale of the affairs to be settled. Powell asked leave to go in the first of the summer's shipping, allowing time to arrange his extensive holdings, and the bench referred the matter for further consideration rather than granting it at once. His old Peak fence claim had only lately been settled, valued at 97 rods at 6s 6d per rod and ordered paid at the consultation of 27 October 1719, one of the many threads of his long dealings with the council. The summons of Coals and Allis enforced the island's standing alarm system. The two planters were called to answer for failing to raise the alarm at Sandy Bay in good time when ships approached, the warning of an incoming vessel passed from station to station around the island. The duty of attending alarms bound all above sixteen, the failure punishable by fine, as when John Nichols junior was fined £0 5s 0d on 18 January 1714/15 for the like neglect. The occasion was the arrival of the two ships from the Cape. The alarm at Prosperous Bay had signalled the approach of the King George and the Addison, which came in on 26 November 1719, and the failure to relay the warning promptly to Sandy Bay exposed a weakness in the chain of lookouts on which the fort's readiness depended, the same concern for the alarm system that ran through the bench's discipline of the guard. | |||||
335 | December
They appeared and made trivial Excuses
but promised better care in future, which
they were Cautiond to observe Accordingly.
William Costley the Chief Overseer
Reports that he has been and Measured the
fence that was made for the Hon: Comp:y
by Capt: Goodwin and finds it to be 54. rodds
The Gov: Says he will go with Some of
the Council on Monday morning next
and view the Said fence also, and will then
Vallue it. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: upon promise of
bett:r care were
Discharg'd / W:m Costleys
Report of a Wall
fence made
by Capt: Goodwin
for ffenc: &: Gov: will adv-
vise & Vallue
y:e Same | Coals and Allis appeared and made trivial excuses, but promised better care in future, which they were cautioned to observe. Upon their promise of better care they were discharged. William Postley, the chief overseer, reported that he had measured the wall fence made for the Company by Captain Goodwin, and found it to be 51 rods. The Governor said he would go with some of the council on Monday morning next and view that fence, and would then value it. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The discharge of Coals and Allis shows the bench's lenient hand toward negligent alarm duty under the new Governor. The two planters had failed to raise the alarm at Sandy Bay in good time when the King George and the Addison approached on 26 November 1719, but their excuses and promise of better care brought a caution rather than the fine the duty's breach allowed. The same leniency had marked Governor Johnson's handling of the muster defaulters at the consultation of 13 October 1719, whom he excused with a caution. Postley's report carried forward the survey of Company fencing the bench had pressed through the autumn. The chief overseer measured a wall fence made by Captain Goodwin at 51 rods, the council settling the cost of its own fencing work by exact measurement, the same care that had fixed Powell's Peak wall at 97 rods and the Greentree wall toward Lufkins at 77 rods at the consultations of 21 and 27 October 1719. The Governor's undertaking to view and value the fence in person followed the bench's settled practice over such claims. By going with members of the council to see the work and then set its worth, Governor Johnson applied the method the council had used throughout, the valuation of fencing resting on a direct view of the ground rather than the contractor's bare report. The accounting for fence work belonged to the wider drive to close the long-neglected books. The careful measurement and valuation of each stretch of Company fencing answered the same purpose as the calling-in of all claims under the advertisements of the autumn, the bench fixing exactly what it owed for work done so that the accountant Joseph Ormston might settle the records cleanly against future dispute. | |||||
336 | 1719.
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation
held on Tuesday the 15 day of Dec: 1719
at Union Castle in James valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read & Approved of. /
On Saturday last the 12 Inst: Arrived the
Ship Dartmouth Capt: Carter Comand: from
Maddrs but last from the Cape of Good Hope. /
The Doctors brought in Deliverd their
Book of Expence of Medicines from the first Inst:
to this time, which was Examined & Approved of.
The follow:g Petitions were presented. viz:
The Petition of Peter Hicks Surg:n Setting forth
that he being now out of Employ, Humbly begs
to have his Acco: Adjusted & a Permission to
depart the Island by Some one of the Ships
now in the road. And &:
Granted.
The Petition of Giles Smith Planter Setting
forth that he has lately Purchased ten Acres of
Land Margin Notes: Ship Dartm:o
Arr:t D:rs Book Exp:
in &: Exam:d Doct: Hicks
prays his Acco:
may be Adjusted & leave to go
off. Granted. | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 15 December 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. On Saturday last, the 12th, the ship Dartmouth, Captain Carter commander, arrived from Madras but last from the Cape of Good Hope. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of the expense of medicines from 1 December to this day, which was examined and approved. The following petitions were presented. The petition of Peter Hicks, surgeon, set out that, being now out of employment, he humbly begged to have his account settled and to have permission to depart the island by one of the ships now in the road. The petition was granted. The petition of Giles Smith, planter, set out that he had lately purchased ten acres of land, [the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The Dartmouth's arrival marks another late-year call by the Cape route. A ship of the name under Captain Thomas Blow had reached the island on 4 May 1717 from China and Madras with long cloth, chintz and arrack, and the vessel now returned under Captain Carter from Madras by way of the Cape, the steady traffic of Indiamen touching for refreshment on the homeward passage. Hicks's petition closed the affair of the dismissed practitioner. He was the Doctor Hicks sent by Antipas Tovey to plead illness at the consultation of 3 June 1719, who had answered that Tovey could read, write, talk, drink and smoke as well as anyone, and was himself dismissed from the Company's service at the consultation of 17 July 1719 after drawing repeated complaints of drunkenness and neglect through the cold season. Now styled surgeon and out of employment, he sought his account settled and leave to depart, the bench granting both to be rid of a man it had already turned off. The settling of his account belonged to the autumn's drive to close the books. By clearing what was owed him before he sailed, the council applied the same care it took with every departing servant and with the claims called in under the advertisements, the accountant Joseph Ormston bringing the records to a clean state so that no demand should follow the man off the island. Smith's petition continued the run of land business the bench handled through the year. Giles Smith, the joiner and planter of the standing record who had sought a legacy from his wife Rebecca's grandmother at the consultation of 17 May 1715, here pressed a fresh purchase of ten acres, joining the steady stream of planters seeking to register or enlarge their holdings under the new government. | |||||
337 | December
Land for to make Plantation on, But haveing
no Pasture Land for the Preserving his Small
Stock of Cattle and to raise more for the Support
of his family. Humbly prays Us to Grant
him a Small Parcell of the Hon: Comp:s
Wast Land that lies on three Sides of his
late Purchase, Scituate und: the two Gunn
(or Alarm) Ridge. / And &:
Referrd to further Consideration. /
Capt: Goodwin the Store keeper brought
in and deliverd the following Account
of Goods and Stores Sold & deliverd
which is as follows. /
Island St Helena.
An Account of Goods Sold and
deliverd to the Inhabitants ffort,
and Plantation from the 26: of
June 1719. To the 25 of September
Dom: following ( Viz:t ) &. 1586:1 Gall:s Margin Notes: Pet: of Giles
Smith pray:g
a grant Land
und: y:e Gunn
Ridge / Referrd. Stores Acco:
brought in
for 3 M:o | Giles Smith set out that he had bought ten acres of land to make a plantation on, but had no pasture land for preserving his small stock of cattle and raising more for the support of his family. He humbly prayed the council to grant him a small parcel of the Company's waste land that lay on three sides of his late purchase, situated under the Two Gun Ridge, also called the Alarm Ridge. The petition was referred to further consideration. Captain Goodwin, the storekeeper, brought in and delivered the following account of goods and stores sold and delivered. Island of St Helena. An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation from 26 June 1719 to 25 September following. Arrack: 1,586¾ gallons Interpretations Smith's petition rested on the want of pasture to support his stock. He had bought ten acres for a plantation but lacked grazing to keep and breed his cattle, and the Company's waste lay conveniently on three sides of his purchase under the Two Gun Ridge. The same parcel had figured in the troubles of Thomas Burnham, summoned for not building the Two Gun Ridge house according to agreement and allowed until fair weather at the consultation reported in July 1717, the ridge a settled landmark of the island's defences and the alarm system. The reference for a view continued the bench's caution over waste-land grants. By holding the petition until the parcel could be seen and Smith further considered, the council applied the practice it had used throughout 1719, declining to grant any holding unviewed and guarding the disposal of land against engrossing. The storekeeper's account opens the quarterly reckoning that lay at the heart of the store's function. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the account of goods sold to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, the four-fold division by which the Company served the whole settlement as its sole supplier. The quarter to 25 September 1719 was one of the two store accounts entered in the closing of the books, the second reckoned at a June total of £1,823 10s 2½d. Arrack stood at the head of the account as the leading article of the store's trade. The 1,586¾ gallons sold across the quarter confirm the spirit's place as the chief source of store revenue, retailed to the inhabitants and the garrison at the usual rates, the same dominance of arrack that ran through every storekeeper's account in the records. | |||||
338 | 1719. To 1586:1 Gallons of Arrack 1:6
£ 4 4
125. 17. 9:1 333:3 Gallons Beer
33. 7. 6 1846:lb Sugar
61. 10. 8 103:lb Candy
5. 3. 6
66:14. 2 30:gs Soape
26. 3. 9:1 223:lb Wood
83. 12. 6 547:lb Tobacco
54. 14: - 132. doz: Pipes
3. 6: - 5:gall: Sweet Oyle
3. 19:6 1. Bottle of fflorence Oyle
7. 6 18. Gall: of Rape Oyle
5. 8: - 4. ditto Linseed
1. 12: -
10. 18: - 5:gall: Vinegar
6. 15: - 45:lb of Bread
7. 1. 2 246:lb flower
13. 3: -
10. 4. 2 44:lb Hair Powder
2. 4: - 9. Pepper
4: - Naviall & Garrison Stores Viz: 43. Starch
1. 12. 8 16:lb Indigo
14: - 17. Barrells Lamp Black
1. 8
2. 8. 11 Naviall & Garrison Stores Amount to Shoes Viz: 92:p:r Womens Spanish Leath: Shoes
27. 12: - 55:p:r Mens Wooden Heels D:o
17. 17. 6 29:p:r Weather Heels D:o
8. 14: - 5:p:r ditto Island Shoes
1: - Shoes amounting to
55. 3. 6 1. Hide of Leather 34
4: 4: - 1. flagg Broom
4: 6 1. Coyle Rattling 40
4: - 156:1 Shoe Thread
19. 11. 3 Carried over
£ 871. 5. 6 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation from 26 June 1719 to 25 September following. Arrack: 1,586¾ gallons £495 17s 2¼d Beer: 333½ gallons Sugar: 1,846 pounds £61 10s 8d Sugar candy: 103¼ pounds £5 3s 6d Soap: 369 [...] £26 3s 9¾d Tea: 223½ [...] £83 12s 6d Tobacco: 547 [...] £54 14s [...] Tobacco pipes: 132 dozen £3 6s [...] Salad oil: 9 [...] £3 19s 6d Florence oil: 1 bottle £0 7s 6d Rape oil: 18 gallons £5 8s 0d Linseed oil: 4 gallons £1 12s 0d Vinegar: 8 gallons £0 15s 0d Bread: 49 [...] £7 1s 2d Flour: 206 [...] £3 3s [...] Hair powder: 44 [...] £2 4s [...] Pepper: 4 [...] These goods amounted to £610 4s 8d. Naval and garrison stores: Starch: 43 [...] £1 12s 0d Indigo: 16¼ [...] £0 11s [...] Lampblack: 17 barrels £0 4s 8d The naval and garrison stores amounted to £2 8s 11d. Shoes: Women's Spanish leather shoes: 92 pairs £27 12s 0d Men's wooden-heeled shoes: 55 pairs £17 17s 6d Leather-heeled shoes: 29 pairs £8 14s 0d Island shoes: 3 pairs £1 0s 0d The shoes amounted to £55 3s 6d. Hides of leather: 1, at £0 4s 0d each £0 4s 0d Flag broom: 1 £0 0s 6d Coil of ratline: 1, at 4d each £0 4s 0d Shoe thread: 156½ [...] £19 11s 3d Carried over: £871 5s 6d Interpretations The account lays out the full range of the Company's retail trade as the settlement's sole supplier. The four-fold division between inhabitants, fort and plantation governed the store's seasonal cycle, the goods running from spirits and provisions through household necessaries to clothing and ships' tackle. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719, one of the two store accounts entered in the closing of the books. Arrack again dwarfed every other article, its £495 17s 2¼d standing as the chief source of store revenue. The spirit, distilled in the East and consigned from Batavia and Bengal, ran through every storekeeper's account as the leading commodity, retailed to the inhabitants and garrison at the usual rates and far exceeding the sugar, tea and tobacco that followed it. The naval and garrison stores point to the island's dependence on imported material for its ships and works. Starch, indigo and lampblack, the last a pigment and the indigo a dye, were small specialist goods the store carried alongside the bulk provision, the ratline and the leather and shoe thread under the shoes serving the rigging of boats and the shoeing of a garrison the records repeatedly note as barefoot for want of leather. The shoes formed a substantial head in their own right, reflecting a standing want the bench had often addressed. The graded stock of Spanish leather, wooden-heeled, leather-heeled and island shoes answered the scarcity that had left most of the soldiers barefoot, the 100 large hides bought out of the Mercury on 5 June 1717 taken for the same reason, the island making and importing footwear against a chronic shortage. | |||||
339 | December Brought over
£ 871. 5. 6 5. Boys Hatts N:o 1
1. 2. 6 7. ditto 2
2. 3. 9 17. ditto Mens 3
5. 2: - 14. Mend:o 4
5. 19: - 16. 5
8: - 8. 6
4. 6: - 6. fyne Hatts 5
5. 8: - 4. Laced 6
5. 8: - 8. Padders 6
1. 12: - Hatts amounting to
40. 3. 3 Cutlary Ware Viz: 36. Butchers Knives
15: - 4. Cases Knives & forks N:o A
2. 12: - 3. ditto 5
2. 12: - 9. Razors
2. 5: - 1. double Razor Strap
4. 2: - 3:p:r Sizars N:o 9
0. 12: - 2:do 10
0. 5. 10 12:do 11
1. 4: - 19:do 12
0. 2. 2 1:do
0. 12: -
3. 12. 8 23:p:r Buckles 15
2. 16. 10 4:do 16
4. 1: - 4:do 17
7: - 21:do 18
1. 14. 6 1:p:r Silver d:o 19
0. 18. 8 1:do 20
0. 15: 8
6. 14: - 1. Ivory Comb 3
1. 6 3:do 6
4: - 23:do 26
2. 9. 10 22:do 27
1. 4 24:do 28
4: - 24:do 29
1. 16: - 3. Horne d:o 30
2. 6 23:do 31
2. 6 23:do 32
17. 3 20. Buckling: d:o 33
15: - 1. Box Comb
4: -
8. 17. 7 Cutlary Ware Amount to
36. 10. 3 Carried over
947. 9: - | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £871 5s 6d Boys' hats, number 1: 5 £1 2s 6d Boys' hats, number 2: 7 £3 3s 9d Men's hats, number 3: 17 £5 2s [...] Mended hats, number 4: 14 £5 19s [...] Hats, number 5: 16 £8 0s [...] Hats, number 6: 8 £4 16s 0d Fine hats, number 5: 6 £5 8s 0d Laced hats, number 6: 4 £5 8s 0d Sundry hats: 8 £0 13s [...] The hats amounted to £40 3s 3d. Cutlery ware: Butchers' knives: 36 £0 15s 0d Cased knives and forks, number 4: 4 £9 12s 0d Cased knives and forks, number 5: 3 £9 12s 0d Razors: 9 £2 5s 0d Double razor strop: 1 £0 4s 2d Scissors, number 9: 3 pairs £0 12s 0d Scissors, number 10: 12 pairs £0 5s 10d Scissors, number 11: 12 pairs £0 14s 4d Scissors, number 12: 19 pairs £0 2s 2d The scissors amounted to £3 12s 8d. Buckles, number 15: 23 pairs £2 16s 10d Buckles, number 16: 4 pairs £0 4s 4d Buckles, number 17: 4 pairs £0 7s 4d Buckles, number 18: 21 pairs £1 16s 6d Silver buckles, number 19: 1 pair £0 18s 8d Silver buckles, number 20: 1 pair £0 15s 6d The buckles amounted to £6 14s 0d. Ivory comb, number 3: 1 £0 4s 6d Ivory comb, number 6: 3 £0 6s [...] Ivory comb, number 26: 23 £2 9s 10d Ivory comb, number 27: 22 £1 5s 4d Ivory comb, number 28: 24 £0 9s [...] Horn comb, number 29: 3 £1 16s 6d Horn comb, number 30: 3 £0 2s 6d Horn comb, number 31: 2 £0 2s [...] Buckling comb, number 32: 23 £0 17s 3d Buckling comb, number 33: 20 £0 15s [...] Box comb: 1 £0 4s [...] The combs amounted to £8 17s [...] The cutlery ware amounted to £36 10s 3d. Carried over: £947 9s [...] Interpretations The account carries the store's range from provision and clothing into fine manufactured goods. The hats, cutlery, buckles and combs were the small wares of an English ironmonger and haberdasher, shipped out from London and retailed to the inhabitants alongside the bulk provision, the store serving at once as draper, grocer and general supplier to the whole settlement. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The graded hats show the store stocking headwear for every rank and purse. Boys' and men's hats ran through plain, fine and laced grades, the laced and fine sorts at the higher prices marking the dress of the better-off, the same concern with becoming dress that lay behind the writers' petition for an increased allowance at the consultation of 28 November 1719. The cutlery and small metal wares were specialist imports the island could not make. Cased knives and forks, razors, scissors and the silver and plain buckles came finished from England, the buckles fastening shoes and clothing and the combs of ivory, horn and box wood serving personal use, goods the remote settlement drew wholly from the Company's shipping. The numbered lots against each line reflect the storekeeper's system of stock control. Each grade of hat, scissor, buckle and comb carried its own number, the device by which the store tracked its varied wares through receipt and sale, the same exactness of accounting the bench pressed across its stores and stock in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston. | |||||
340 | 1719. Brought Over
£ 947. 19. - Haberdashery Ware viz: 28. Mid: Caulking Pinns
2. 9: - 24. d:o Midling d:o
1. 16. - 24. d:o fine d:o
1. 12: -
5. 17. 6:1 1300. Needles
3. 4. 9:1 6. Sail Needles 1. Necklace of Beads
1. 10 8. Thread d:o 11
0. 7. 4 11. d:o d:o 13
0. 11. 11 10. d:o 15
0. 12. 6 20. d:o 17
1. 8. 4 11. d:o 24
1. 2: - 4. d:o 2/6
0. 10: - 9. d:o 3/4
1. 10: - 3. d:o 3/6
0. 10. 6
6. 12. 7 2:1 White & Brown thread N:o 9
0. 15: - 3:1 d:o 10
1. 6. 3 2:1 d:o 11
1. 5: - 9:1 d:o 12
0. 5: - 7:1 d:o 13
4. 4: -
7. 15. 3 9:1 browne & Coll:rd thread
1. 18: - 61:1 Silk
7. 3. 9 74. doz: Mantua Buttons
1. 17: - 1. Gross Shirt d:o
3: - 1:1 d:o
3: - 1:p:r Boddice
10: - 1. Black Silk Scarfe
1. 9. 2 68. doz: Coate Buttons
5. 2: - 76. Brest
1. 18: -
7: - 12. doz: Gold Coat Buttons
6. 12: - 5. Silver
2. 7. 6 7:1 Gold Brest d:o
1. 7. 6 2:1 Silver d:o
0. 11. 3 1. oz Silver Twist
0. 9: -
11. 17. 3 190. Seanes Mohair
3. 12. 2 5:p:r Womens Gloves
0. 7. 6 2:1 Mens
0. 3. 6
11: - 12. Whale Bone d:o
4. 4: - 27. thread Laces 2 d:o
0. 2. 3 24. d:o 3 d:o
0. 3: -
5. 3 12. Cost Silk Laces 4 d:o
0. 16: - 11. d:o 3 d:o
0. 13. 9 22. d:o 2 d:o
0. 18. 4 17. Ord: 3 d:o
0. 9. 11 5. d:o 2 d:o
0. 2. 1
3. 1. 1 10. doz: Garthing d: 2/6
1. 5: - 6:1 1/13
1. 11. 6
1. 12. 6 21. Broad Holland tape
1. 11. 6 10. Narrow d:o
0. 10: - 10. Brown & Coltourd d:o
0. 11. 1 2:1 Hemming
0. 1. 6
3. 5. 1 3. diaper
0. 16. 6 1:p:r ferriting
0. 13: - 1:1 d:o
10: -
2. 9. 6 3:1 doz: Lace Edgeng 12 d: d:o
77. 19. 8:1 Hab: Ware Amount to Carried over
£ 1025. 18. 2 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £947 19s 0d Haberdashery ware: Middling caulking pins: 28 £2 9s 0d Middling caulking pins: 24 £0 16s 0d Fine caulking pins: 24 £0 12s 0d These pins amounted to £5 17s 0d. Needles: 1,300 £3 4s 6d Sail needles: 6 £0 0s 9½d Necklace of beads: 1 £1 0s 10d Thread, number 11: 8 [...] £0 7s 4d Thread, number 13: 11 [...] £0 11s 11d Thread, number 15: 10 [...] £0 12s 6d Thread, number 17: 20 [...] £1 8s 4d Thread, number 24: 11 [...] £1 2s 0d Thread at 2s 6d: 4 [...] £0 10s 0d Thread at 3s 4d: 9 [...] £1 10s 0d Thread at 3s 6d: 3 [...] £0 10s 6d These threads amounted to £6 12s 7d. Whited brown thread, number 9: 2½ [...] £0 15s 0d Whited brown thread, number 10: 3½ [...] £1 6s 3d Whited brown thread, number 11: 2¼ [...] £1 5s 0d Whited brown thread, number 12: 9¼ [...] £0 5s 0d Whited brown thread, number 13: 7½ [...] £4 4s 0d These threads amounted to £7 15s 3d. Brown and coloured thread: 9½ [...] £1 18s 0d Silk: 61¼ [...] £7 3s 9d Mantua buttons: 74 dozen £1 17s 0d Gross shirt buttons: 1 [...] £0 3s 0d Gross shirt buttons: 1¼ [...] £0 3s 0d Bodkins: 1 paper £0 10s 0d Black silk scarf: 1 £0 9s 2d Coat buttons: 68 dozen £5 2s 0d Breast buttons: 76 dozen £1 18s 0d These buttons amounted to £7 0s 0d. Gold coat buttons: 12 dozen £6 12s 0d Silver coat buttons: 5 [...] £2 7s 6d Gold breast buttons: 7¼ [...] £1 7s 6d Silver breast buttons: 2¼ [...] £0 11s 3d Silver twist: 1 ounce £0 9s 0d These amounted to £11 7s 3d. Skeins of mohair: 190 £3 12s 2d Women's gloves: 5 pairs £0 7s 6d Men's gloves: 2¼ [...] £0 3s 6d These gloves amounted to £0 11s 0d. Whalebone: 12 £4 4s 0d Thread laces at 2d: 27 £0 2s 3d Thread laces at 3d: 24 £0 3s 0d These laces amounted to £5 3s 0d. Best silk laces at 4d: 12 £0 16s 0d Silk laces at 3d: 11 [...] £0 13s 9d Silk laces at 2d: 22 [...] £0 18s 4d Ordinary laces at 3d: 17 £0 9s 11d Ordinary laces at 2d: 5 [...] £0 2s 1d These laces amounted to £3 0s 1d. Garthing at 2s 6d: 10 dozen £1 5s 0d Garthing at 1s 1d: 6½ dozen £0 11s 0d These amounted to £1 12s 6d. Broad Holland tape: 21 £1 11s 0d Narrow tape: 10 £0 10s 0d Brown and coloured tape: 10 £0 11s 0d Hamming: 2¼ [...] £0 6s 0d These amounted to £3 5s 1d. Diaper: 3 [...] £0 16s 6d Ferreting: 1 piece £0 13s 0d Lace edging at 1s 10d: 1½ [...] £0 2s 0d Lace edging at 12d: 3 [...] [and] 6 yards £0 2s 9½d The haberdashery ware amounted to £77 19s 8d. Carried over: £1,025 18s 5¾d Interpretations The account completes the store's textile and sewing wares with the finest trimmings of the haberdasher's trade. The graded threads, silks, laces and buttons were the materials of dressmaking and decoration, shipped finished from London and retailed to the inhabitants, the store furnishing the means to make and ornament clothing on an island remote from any other source. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The gold and silver buttons, the silver twist and the mohair skeins mark the costliest articles of dress the store carried. These ornamental trimmings, set far above the plain coat and breast buttons by the dozen, served the clothing of the island's better sort, the same distinction of rank in dress that ran through the hats and the textiles of the preceding pages, and that lay behind the writers' plea for an allowance fit for becoming dress at the consultation of 28 November 1719. The sail needles and caulking pins again point to the store's double service to dress and to shipping. Set among the dressmaking wares, they were the tools of boat repair and rigging, the store furnishing at once the seamstress and the boat's company, the same breadth of supply by which the Company met every want of the settlement from a single stock. The numbered grades and exact fractional quantities reflect the storekeeper's close stock control. Each sort of thread, lace and button carried its own number and was reckoned to the quarter-unit, the device by which the store tracked its many small wares through receipt and sale, the careful accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the quarterly reckoning forming part of the records brought up to date through the autumn of 1719. | |||||
341 | Dec:r Brought Over
£ 1025. 18. 8:1 2. Cloaths Brushes
4: - 2. d:o Damaged
3: - 5. Comb brushes Brushes amount: to
3. 4
10. 4 Ribbon viz: 36. Yards Ribbon 10
1. 10. - 64:1 d:o 12
3. 4. 3 34:1 d:o 14
2. 4. 3 163:1 d:o 15
1. 11. 11:1 55:1 d:o 18
4. 12. 1:1 2:1 Bridle d:o 21
4. 4:1 6. Brocaded d:o 2/3
13. 6 3. d:o 3/6
10. 6
13. 15. 11:1 Pewter viz: 24. Pewter Bassons 1. Size
5. 10. - 36. d:o 2 d:o
3. 4. 3 13. d:o 3 d:o
2. 1. 2 7. d:o 4. d:o
15. 2 18. Large Chamber Potts
5. 3. 6 46. Small d:o
2. 13. - 36. Pewter Plates
3. 3. 2 2. Large Dishes
11. 3 1. d:o Smaller
4. 6 1. d:o
3. 9 2. d:o
5. 8 2:p:r Candlesticks
10. - 10. doz: Spoons
2. 5. - 1. Pint Tankard
3. - 1. half Pint Pott
2. - 4. Porringers
5. - Pewter amounting to
41. 4. 9 Stationary Ware viz: 8. Papers of Ink Powder
8. - 22. Quires of Paper
1. 13. - 20. Copy Books
15. - Stationary Ware amount: to
2. 16. - Books viz: 2. Playfords psalm books
9. 4 1. Testament w:th Clasps
6. 9 5. Bibles
2. 1. 3 6. Spelling Books
6. 8 Books amounting to
2. 19. - Carried over
£ 1087. - 8:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,025 18s 8½d Clothes brushes: 2 £0 4s 0d Clothes brushes, damaged: 2 £0 3s 0d Comb brushes: 5 £0 3s 4d These brushes amounted to £0 10s 4d. Ribbon: Ribbon at 10d per yard: 36 yards £1 10s 0d Ribbon at 12d: 64¼ [...] £3 4s 3d Ribbon at 14d: 34¼ [...] £2 0s 3d Ribbon at 15d: 16¾ [...] £1 0s 11¼d Ribbon at 18d: 55¾ [...] £4 12s 1½d Bridle ribbon at 21d: 2¼ [...] £0 4s 4½d Brocaded ribbon at 2s 3d: 6 [...] £0 13s 6d Brocaded ribbon at 3s 6d: 3 [...] £0 10s 6d The ribbon amounted to £13 15s 11¼d. Pewter: Pewter basins, first size: 24 £5 10s 0d Pewter basins, second size: 36 £3 4s 3d Pewter basins, third size: 13 [...] £2 4s 2d Pewter basins, fourth size: 7 [...] £0 15s 2d Large chamber pots: 18 £5 3s 6d Small chamber pots: 46 £2 13s 0d Pewter plates: 36 £3 3s 2d Large dishes: 2 £0 11s 3d Smaller dishes: 1 £0 4s 6d Dishes: 1 £0 3s 9d Dishes: 2 £0 5s 8d Candlesticks: 2 pairs £0 10s 0d Spoons: 10 dozen £2 5s 0d Pint tankard: 1 £0 3s 0d Half-pint pot: 1 £0 2s 0d Porringers: 4 £0 5s 0d The pewter amounted to £41 0s 9d. Stationery ware: Papers of ink powder: 8 £0 8s 0d Quires of paper: 22 £1 13s 0d Copy books: 20 £0 15s 0d The stationery ware amounted to £2 16s 0d. Books: Playford's psalm books: 2 £0 9s 4d Testament with clasps: 1 £0 6s 9d Bibles: 5 £2 1s 3d Spelling books: 6 £0 6s 8d The books amounted to £2 19s 0d. Carried over: £1,087 0s 8¾d Interpretations The account closes the store's range with household pewter, ribbon, stationery and books. These finished goods, shipped from London, were the durable and domestic wares of an English household, the store furnishing the island's tables, writing desks and devotions from a single stock as the settlement's sole supplier. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The pewter formed the largest head of the page, the eating and washing ware of every household. Basins in four sizes, plates, dishes, spoons, tankards and porringers were the common tableware of the period, the chamber pots the necessary furniture of the bedchamber, all carried in graded stock so that the store served the plain household and the better sort alike. The books point to the religious and educational provision the bench took seriously. The Bibles, the Testament, Playford's psalm books and the spelling books supplied worship and the teaching of children, the very instruction the council had pressed on the chaplain Mr John Jones in its memorial of 28 October 1719 and its summons of 24 November 1719, the spelling books answering the schooling the bench had weighed when Jones offered to teach the island's youth at the consultation of 13 July 1719. The stationery served the settlement's own paper record. The quires of paper, ink powder and copy books furnished the writing on which the council's whole administration depended, the consultation books, accounts and registers the bench laboured to bring up to date through 1719, the store supplying the very material of the records the accountant Joseph Ormston was closing. | |||||
342 | 1719. Brought Over
£ 1087. - 8:3 Stockings viz: 3:p:r Mens silk Stockings
2. 8. - 1:p:r ditto
1. -. - 2:p:r Womens ditto
1. 1. 6 3:p:r ditto
1. 16. - 2:p:r ditto
1. 8. - 2. Mens Scarlet d:o
1. -. - 29. soldiers ditto
3. 5. 3 Stockings amount: to
11. 18. 9 English Linnen viz: 6. Yards double House Linnen
13. 6 5. d:o Lubeck d:o
5. 10 English Linnen Amounting to
19. 4 Blanketts viz: 5. Large Blanketts
2. 16. 3 8. Middling d:o
3. 16. 3 11. Small d:o
4. 5. 3 Blanketts Amounting to
10. 17. 9 China Ware viz: 42. China Cupps
17. 6 2. d:o Bowles
6. - China Ware Amounting to
1. 3. 6 Brasiers Ware viz: 1. Brass Skellett & frame
1. 7. 10 1:p:r Snuffers & Stand
6. 3 1. d:o round
3. 6 1. d:o
5. - 1. Scummer
4. - 1. Copper Sauce Pann
3. - 1. d:o
1. 9. 6 2. Tea Kittles
14. 2 1. d:o
1. 4 12. Brass Buttons
4. - Brass Ware Amounting to
4. 14. 7 Wooden Ware viz: 1. Wooden platter
4. 7 1. ditto Tray
2. 7 2. d:o Scimming Dishes
1. - 6. Straining Dishes
3. - 2. Plate Bowles
2. 6 10. 8 Carried over
£ 1117. 5. 3:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,087 0s 8¾d Stockings: Men's silk stockings: 3 pairs £2 8s 0d Men's silk stockings: 1 pair £1 0s 0d Women's silk stockings: 2 pairs £1 1s 6d Women's silk stockings: 3 pairs £1 16s 0d Women's silk stockings: 2 pairs £1 8s 0d Men's scarlet stockings: 2 £1 0s 0d Soldiers' stockings: 29 £3 5s 3d The stockings amounted to £11 18s 9d. English linen: Double house linen: 6 yards £0 13s 6d Lubeck linen: 5 [...] £0 5s 10d The English linen amounted to £0 19s 4d. Blankets: Large blankets: 5 £2 16s 3d Middling blankets: 8 £3 16s 3d Small blankets: 11 £4 5s 3d The blankets amounted to £10 17s 9d. China ware: China cups: 42 £0 17s 6d China bowls: 2 £0 6s 0d The china ware amounted to £1 3s 6d. Braziers' ware: Brass skillet and frame: 1 £1 7s 10d Snuffers and stand: 1 pair £0 6s 3d Round snuffers and stand: 1 £0 3s 6d Skimmer: 1 £0 5s 0d Copper sauce pan: 1 £0 4s 0d Copper sauce pan: 1 £0 3s 0d Copper sauce pan: 1 £1 9s 6d Tea kettles: 2 £0 14s 2d Tea kettle: 1 £0 14s 0d Brass buttons: 12 £0 1s 4d The braziers' ware amounted to £4 14s 7d. Wooden ware: Wooden platter: 1 £0 4s 7d Wooden tray: 1 £0 2s 7d Wooden scimming dishes: 2 £0 1s 0d Straining dishes: 6 £0 3s 0d Plate bowls: 2 £0 2s 6d The wooden ware amounted to £0 10s 8d. Carried over: £1,117 5s 3¾d Interpretations The account closes the store's range with clothing, bedding and the metal and wooden vessels of the kitchen. These finished goods, shipped from London, were the durable household wares of an English home, the store furnishing the island's dress, beds and cookery from a single stock as the settlement's sole supplier. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The stockings show the store clothing every degree of the settlement. The men's and women's silk and scarlet stockings served the better sort, while the 29 pairs of soldiers' stockings answered the garrison's needs, the same provision of clothing for the troops that ran through the bench's repeated efforts to dress the soldiers and the Company's slaves against the cold. The blankets point to the standing concern to provide bedding against the island's moderate but cool season. The graded large, middling and small blankets were the same goods the council bought by the hundred to clothe the labouring people and the slaves, the small and second-size blankets noted in the autumn's store accounts as bought against the cold, the bedding a recurring seasonal supply. The brass, copper, china and wooden vessels furnished the island's kitchens and tables. The skillets, saucepans, tea kettles and snuffers were the metal ware of cookery and lighting, the china cups and bowls and the wooden platters and dishes the vessels of the table, all carried in graded stock so the store served the plain household and the better sort alike, completing the Company's furnishing of every domestic want from its single stock. | |||||
343 | Dec:r Brought Over
£ 1117. 5. 3:3 Stuffs viz: 154:1 y:ds Cloth Drugg
24. 9. 3 13. Yards Silk d:o
3. 1. 9
27. 11. - 9. p:r Serges
26. 2. - 174. Yards Shalloone
17. 9. - 93:1 Kersey
5. 16. 10:1 143:1 fflannel
14. 7. - 16. Norwich Stuffs
1. 2. - 9:1 p:r Black and White Crape
34. 4. - 1. D:o old Cargoe
4. - Stuffs amounting to
130. 11. 10:1 Broad Cloth viz: 12:1 Yards ditto 14/6
8. 17. 7:1 14. Yards d:o 15/
10. 10. - Broad Cloth amounting to
19. 7. 7:1 Fustians viz: 21. Yards Fustians
1. 15. - 4. p:r Thicksetts
8. 18. - 50:1 Yards plain Dimittee
3. 7. 4 6. d:o
0. 7. -
3. 14. 4 3. Yards twilld d:o
0. 4. - 3. Yards D:o
0. 9. -
13. - 8:1 Corded d:o
14. 2 Fustians amounting to
15. 14. 6 7. Suits of Soldiers Cloths
18. 18. - Hooks & Lines viz: 40. doz: old wife Hooks
13. 4 5. doz: Hooks N:o 10
0. 10. - 1. doz: 8
0. 3. -
13. - 1. Line N:o 11
0. 1. 8 2. ditto 12
0. 2. 3 Hooks & Lines amounting to
3. 11
1. 10. 3 Glass viz: 1. Ale Glass
2. 6 12. Wine Glasses
18. - 6. Glass Cruetts
7. 6 8. Panes Glass 6 8. 6 3. ditto 8 10
3. 6
9. 6 Glass Ware amounting to
1. 17. 6 Carried over
£ 1305. 5. 3:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,117 5s 3¾d Stuffs: Cloth drugget: 154½ yards £24 9s 3d Silk: 13 yards £3 1s 9d These amounted to £27 11s 0d. Serge: 9 [...] £26 2s 0d Shalloon: 174 yards £17 9s [...] Kersey: 93¼ [...] £5 16s 10½d Flannel: 143½ [...] £14 7s [...] Norwich stuff: 16¼ [...] £1 2s [...] Black and white crape: 9½ [...] £34 4s 0d Old cargo crape: 1 [...] £0 4s 0d The stuffs amounted to £130 11s 10½d. Broad cloth: Broad cloth at 14s 6d: 12¼ yards £8 17s 7½d Broad cloth at 15s: 14 yards £10 10s 0d The broad cloth amounted to £19 7s 7½d. Fustians: Fustian: 21 yards £1 15s 0d Thicksetts: 4 [...] £8 18s 0d Plain dimity: 50½ yards £3 7s 4d Plain dimity: 6 [...] £0 7s 0d These amounted to £3 14s 4d. Holland dimity: 3 yards £0 4s 0d Holland dimity: 3½ yards £0 9s 0d These amounted to £0 13s 0d. Corded dimity: 8½ [...] £0 14s 2d The fustians amounted to £15 14s 6d. Suits of soldiers' clothes: 7 £18 18s 0d Hooks and lines: Old wife hooks: 40 dozen £0 13s 4d Hooks, number 10: 5 dozen £0 10s 0d Hooks, number 8: 1 dozen £0 3s 0d These amounted to £0 13s 0d. Line, number 11: 1 £0 1s 8d Lines, number 12: 2 £0 2s 3d The hooks and lines amounted to £1 10s 3d. Glass: Ale glass: 1 £0 2s 6d Wine glasses: 12 £0 18s 0d Glass cruets: 6 £0 7s 6d Panes of glass at 6d: 8 [...] £0 8s 6d Panes of glass at 8d: 3 [...] £0 3s 6d These panes amounted to £0 9s 6d. The glass ware amounted to £1 17s 6d. Carried over: £1,305 5s 3¾d Interpretations The account closes the store's textiles with the woollen and cotton cloths of the English drapery. Drugget, serge, shalloon, kersey, flannel and the rest were the staple stuffs of clothing, shipped by the yard from London and retailed to the inhabitants, the store furnishing the cloth from which the island's garments were cut as the settlement's sole supplier. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The black and white crape stands out as the costliest stuff on the page, at £34 4s 0d for nine and a half pieces. As a thin crimped silk or worsted long used for mourning, its high price and quantity point to a steady demand for funeral dress, fitting on an island whose burials the gunner's powder accounts record month by month through 1719. The suits of soldiers' clothes and the soldiers' stockings of the preceding page show the store equipping the garrison as well as the inhabitants. The seven made-up suits answered the standing need to clothe the troops, the same provision behind the bench's repeated efforts to dress the soldiers and the Company's slaves against the cold season. The hooks and lines carried the relief programme begun in the famine years into ordinary stock. The directors had sent over fishing boats and tackle in the cargo of the Cardonnell, distributed to the inhabitants on 26 July 1715 to better their subsistence and lessen their debts, and the graded hooks and lines retailed here continued to supply the fishery on which the island leaned for food. The window glass points to the building and repair of the settlement's houses. The panes carried alongside the drinking glass served the glazing of dwellings, the same work the council pressed when it ordered Mr Francis's back rooms whitewashed and glazed against a successor's arrival at the consultation of 3 April 1717, the store furnishing the material of the island's fabric. | |||||
344 | 1719. Brought Over
£ 1305. 5. 3:3 Tin Ware viz: 36. Tinn Lamps
3. 6. 6 9. Sauce pans 2 qu:ts
1. 4. 3 11. ditto 3. p:t
0. 18. 4 10. d:o 1 qu:t
0. 11. 8 13. d:o 1. p:t
0. 9. 9
3. 4. - 5. Coffee Potts 2. qu:t
0. 14. 2 19. d:o 1 qu:t
2. 2. 9 7. d:o 1:1 p:t
0. 12. 3 3. d:o 1. p:t
0. 3. 6
3. 12. 8
2. 11 5. Tin Porringers 3. Small ffunnels
0. 1. 3 1. qu: d:o
0. 2. 10
2. 1
4. 4 1. Dripping Pann 7. Round Pudding Panns
0. 18. 1 1. d:o Smaller
0. 1. 10
19. 11
2. 6 1. Cullander 4. Lanthorns Middling
1. 4. - 5. d:o 3. Size
0. 4. - 1. Glass Lanthorne
0. 12. -
2. - Tin Ware Amounting to
13. 10. 5 Iron Mongers Ware viz: 6. Cabinett till Locks in Suits w:th 2 keys
6. 6
2. 4 2. p:r Hinges N:o 6 8. p:r of 3 Nayles
0. 8. 8 6. p:r 4. d:o
0. 5. 6 6. p:r 8. d:o
0. 4. 6 37. p:r 10. d:o
1. 6. 3:1 18. p:r 20. d:o
0. 12. - 4. p:r 24. d:o
0. 2. 6 4. p:r 30. d:o
0. 2. 4 1. p:r tacks
0. 2. 6
3. 4. 3:1 2. Stock Locks N:o 2
0. 6. 8 2. d:o 3
0. 10. -
16. 8 2. p:r Bellows N:o 2
0. 10. - 1. d:o 3
0. 7. 2 1. d:o 4
3. 8 73. d:o 5
1. 10. -
5. 7. 10 5. Hammers N:o 3
0. 6. 8 1. d:o 4
0. 3. 6 2. d:o 5
0. 4. -
14. 2 Iron Mong: Ware Carr:d over
£ 10. 11. 9:1 Carried over
£ 1318. 15. 5:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,305 5s 3¾d Tin ware: Tin lamps: 36 £3 6s 6d Sauce pans, 2 quarts: 9 £1 4s 3d Sauce pans, 3 pints: 11 £0 18s 4d Sauce pans, 1 quart: 10 £0 11s 8d Sauce pans, 1 pint: 13 £0 9s 9d These sauce pans amounted to £3 4s 0d. Coffee pots, 2 quarts: 5 £0 14s 2d Coffee pots, 1 quart: 19 £2 2s 9d Coffee pots, 1½ pints: 7 £0 12s 3d Coffee pots, 1 pint: 3 £0 3s 6d These coffee pots amounted to £3 12s 8d. Tin porringers: 5 £0 2s 11d Small funnels: 3 £0 1s 3d Quart funnel: 1 £0 2s 10d These funnels amounted to £0 4s 1d. Dripping pan: 1 £0 4s 4d Round pudding pans: 7 £0 18s 1d Smaller pudding pan: 1 £0 1s 10d These amounted to £0 19s 11d. Colander: 1 £0 2s 6d Middling lanthorns: 4 £1 4s 0d Lanthorns, third size: 5 £0 4s 0d Glass lanthorn: 1 £0 12s 0d These amounted to £2 0s 0d. The tin ware amounted to £13 10s 5d. Ironmongers' ware: Cabinet till locks in suits, with two keys: 6 £0 6s 6d Hinges, number 6: 2 pairs £0 2s 4d Threepenny nails: 8 [...] £0 8s 8d Fourpenny nails: 6 [...] £0 5s 6d Eightpenny nails: 6 [...] £0 4s 6d Tenpenny nails: 37 [...] £1 6s 3½d Twentypenny nails: 18 [...] £0 12s 0d Twenty-fourpenny nails: 4 [...] £0 2s 6d Thirtypenny nails: 4 [...] £0 2s 4d Tucks: 1½ [...] £0 2s 6d These nails amounted to £3 4s 3½d. Stock locks, number 2: 2 £0 6s 8d Stock locks, number 3: 2 £0 10s 0d These stock locks amounted to £0 16s 8d. Bellows, number 2: 2 pairs £0 10s 0d Bellows, number 3: 3 £0 7s 2d Bellows, number 4: 1 £3 0s 8d Bellows, number 5: 73 £1 10s 0d These bellows amounted to £5 7s 10d. Hammers, number 3: 5 £0 6s 8d Hammers, number 4: 1 £0 3s 6d Hammers, number 5: 2 £0 4s 0d These hammers amounted to £0 14s 2d. The ironmongers' ware carried over: £10 11s 9½d Carried over: £1,318 15s 5¾d Interpretations The account continues the store's range with the tin and iron wares of the kitchen and the workshop. Tin lamps, saucepans, coffee pots and lanthorns, with locks, hinges, nails and tools, were the finished metal goods of an English ironmonger, shipped from London and retailed to the inhabitants, the store furnishing the island's cookery, lighting and building from a single stock as the settlement's sole supplier. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The nails graded by penny weight were the building material the island most constantly drew from the store. The threepenny to thirtypenny nails answered the standing demand for house and fence repair, the same nails the storekeeper's accounts tracked through the building of the slaves' house, the plantation works and the fencing programme, the quarter's nail sales a measure of the settlement's construction. The lamps, lanthorns and the candlesticks of the earlier pages point to the want of lighting on the island. The 36 tin lamps and the graded lanthorns furnished the artificial light of the fort and the households, the council having allowed each councillor a gallon of oil on Tovey's complaint of want of candles at the consultation of 14 December 1714, the store supplying both the vessels and the oil that fed them. The numbered grades against the nails, locks, bellows and hammers reflect the storekeeper's exact stock control. Each size carried its own number through receipt and sale, the device by which the store tracked its many ironmonger's wares, the careful accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the quarterly reckoning forming part of the records brought up to date through the autumn of 1719. | |||||
345 | Dec:r Brought Over
£ 1318. 15. 5:3 Iron Mongers Ware Brought Over
10. 11. 9:1 2. Broad Chezells
0. 3. - 5. heading ditto
0. 5. 10 1. Mortise d:o
0. 4. -
9. 10 4. formers & Gouges
2. - 2. Rubstones
4. 6 1. Ragg Stone
1. 10 1. Hatchett N:o 1
0. 1. 9 6. d:o 2
0. 12. 6
14. 3 2. Box Irons
7. 4 1. joynter
0. 4. - 2. Irons for d:o
0. 1. 8
5. 8 2. p:r Small Stilliards
16. 6 3. Floes N:o 2
9. 6 3. Iron Mauls w: 51
1. 18. 3 1. Steel d:o 12:1
12. 6 3. Iron Potts w: 203
5. 1. 6 1. ditto 27
15. 9 2. Wood Axes
0. 5. 4 1. d:o Large
0. 3. 4 2. Large Pick Axes
0. 12. 6 6. Small d:o
6. - 1. Broad Ax
0. 6. 6
2. 13. 8 11. Shod Shovels
1. 13. - 2. Sludgar d:o
0. 5. -
1. 18. - 3. Pad locks N:o 6
0. 9. - 1. d:o 4
0. 1. 8
10. 8 1. Grid Iron 8 Ribbs
0. 2. 6 5. d:o 10. d:o
0. 16. 8 1. d:o 12. d:o
0. 3. 8
1. 2. 10 Iron Mong: Ware amounting to
28. 16. 4:1 India Linnen viz: 11. p:s Chelloes 16/9
9. 4. 3 6. d:o 14/10
51. 3. 6
110. 12. 9 88. p:s Maddrs Ginghams 44. - 4. d:o Bengall
14. 9. -
45. 19. - 4. p:s Maddrs Chints 4. 2. - 2. d:o Patna d:o
2. 4. -
6. 6. - 29. p:s Allejarrs N:o 2 43. 19. 2 14. d:o
11. 12. 2
55. 11. 4 India Linnen Carried over
£ 218. 9. 1 Carried over
£ 1347. 11. 10:1 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,318 15s 5¾d Ironmongers' ware brought over: £10 11s 9½d Broad chisels: 2 £0 3s 0d Heading chisels: 5 £0 5s 10d Mortise chisels: 1 £0 4s 0d These chisels amounted to £0 9s 10d. Turners and gouges: 4 £0 2s 0d Rubstones: 2 £0 4s 6d Ragg stone: 1 £0 1s 10d Hatchets, number 1: 1 £0 1s 9d Hatchets, number 2: 6 £0 12s 6d These hatchets amounted to £0 14s 3d. Box irons: 2 £0 7s 4d Jointer: 1 £0 4s 0d Irons for jointer: 2 £0 1s 8d These amounted to £0 5s 8d. Small steelyards: 2 pairs £0 16s 6d Hoes, number 2: 3 £0 9s 6d Iron mauls of 51 pounds: 3 £1 18s 3d Steel mauls of 12½ pounds: 1 £0 12s 6d Iron pots of 203 pounds: 3 £5 1s 6d Iron pots of 27 pounds: 1 £0 15s 9d Wood axes: 2 £0 5s 4d Large wood axe: 1 £0 3s 4d Large pick axes: 2 £0 12s 6d Small pick axes: 6 £1 6s 0d Broad axe: 1 £0 6s 6d These axes amounted to £2 13s 8d. Shod shovels: 11 £1 13s 0d Shudgar shovels: 2 £0 5s 0d These shovels amounted to £1 18s 0d. Padlocks, number 6: 3 £0 9s 0d Padlocks, number 4: 1 £0 1s 8d These padlocks amounted to £0 10s 8d. Gridiron of 8 ribs: 1 £0 2s 6d Gridirons of 10 ribs: 5 £0 16s 8d Gridiron of 12 ribs: 1 £0 3s 8d These amounted to £1 2s 10d. The ironmongers' ware amounted to £28 16s 4½d. India linen: Chelloes at 16s 9d: 11 pieces £59 9s 3d Chelloes at 14s 10d: 69 pieces £51 3s 6d These amounted to £110 12s 9d. Madras ginghams at 44s: 88 pieces £14 9s 0d Bengal ginghams: 4 [...] £45 19s 0d Madras chintz: 4 pieces £4 2s 0d Patna chintz: 2 [...] £2 4s 0d These amounted to £6 6s 0d. Allejars, number 2: 29 pieces £43 19s 2d Allejars: 14 [...] £11 12s 2d These amounted to £55 11s 4d. The India linen carried over: £218 9s 1d Carried over: £1,347 11s 10½d Interpretations The account closes the ironmongers' ware with the edge tools and heavy iron of the workshop and field. Chisels, axes, hoes, shovels, mauls and iron pots were the working tools of carpentry, building and cultivation, shipped from London and retailed to the inhabitants, the store furnishing the means of the island's trades and husbandry from a single stock as the settlement's sole supplier. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The India linen reckoned at far higher prices marks the Company's eastern trade goods. Chelloes, ginghams, chintz and allejars were Indian cotton cloths brought from Madras, Bengal and Patna, the chelloes plain or striped weaves, the chintz printed and painted calicoes, the allejars striped stuffs of mixed cotton and silk. These piece goods, the costliest articles in the whole account at over two hundred pounds, were the staple of the trans-shipment economy by which the Company sold eastern manufactures through its store. The tools answered the island's chronic want of skilled labour and material. The axes, hatchets and chisels supplied the carpenters whose shortage the bench felt keenly, Richard Swallow having pressed repeatedly for carpenters from England, the iron pots and gridirons furnishing the kitchens, the store equipping the trades that built and maintained the settlement. The graded weights and numbers against the mauls, iron pots, gridirons and padlocks reflect the storekeeper's exact stock control. Each size and grade carried its weight or number through receipt and sale, the device by which the store tracked its heavy ironmonger's wares and its piece goods alike, the careful accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the quarterly reckoning forming part of the records brought up to date through the autumn of 1719. | |||||
346 | 1719. Brought Over
£ 1347. 4. 10:1 India Linnen brought Over
218. 9. 1 27. p:s Cuttanees N:o 4
19. 18. 3 9. ditto A 5
8. 4. 6 35. d:o N:o 5
32. 16. 9 64. d:o 6
66. 2. 8
102. 18. 2 20. Pellampores N:o 1
4. 3. 4 41. d:o 2
10. 5. - 160. d:o 4
56. -. - 59. d:o 5
29. 4. 2 7. d:o 6
6. 6. - 27. d:o 7
24. 19. 6 4. d:o 8
1. 8. 3
132. 2. 3 228. p:r Cotton Stockings
34. 4. - 142. White Shirts
17. 15. - 23. p:s Long Cloth
23. 4. 6 6. p:s Saynas
4. 18. 6 8. p:s Gurrhas
5. -. -
562. 7. -
£ 1909. 18. 10:1 Fort D:r to Diett Expences viz: 255. Gallons of Arrack
79. 13. 9 25. d:o of Beer
2. 10. - 544. Sugar
18. 9. 4 48. Candy
2. 8. 6
20. 17. 10 1. Tea
15. 5. - 42. Pepper 6. Gallons Vinegar
4. - 3:1 d:o Sweet Oyle
1. 17. 6 12. Bottles fflorrence Oyle
4. 13. - 2. Pepper
2. - 2. Casks & 119 Bread
15. 4. 4:1 2. d:o 4 flour
9. 17. 9
25. 2. 1:1 21. d:o Beef
378. -. - 6. d:o Porke
72. -. -
450. -. - 2. ditto of Susett
24. -. - 2. ditto of Pease
6. 15. - 1. ditto Beans
4. 2. -
34. 17. - Diett Expences Amounting to
636. 12. 2:1 Carried Over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered to the inhabitants, fort and plantation, continued. Brought over: £1,347 11s 10½d India linen brought over: £218 9s 1d Cuttanees, number 4: 27 pieces £19 18s 3d Cuttanees, number 4: 9 [...] £8 0s 6d Cuttanees, number 5: 35 [...] £32 16s 9d Cuttanees, number 6: 64 [...] £66 2s 8d These cuttanees amounted to £102 18s 2d. Sallampores, number 1: 20 pieces £4 3s 4d Sallampores, number 2: 41 [...] £10 5s 0d Sallampores, number 4: 160 [...] £56 0s 0d Sallampores, number 5: 59 [...] £29 4s 2d Sallampores, number 6: 7 [...] £6 6s 0d Sallampores, number 7: 27 [...] £24 19s 6d Sallampores, number 8: 1 [...] £1 8s 3d These sallampores amounted to £132 2s 3d. Cotton stockings: 228 pairs £34 4s 0d White shirts: 142 £17 15s 0d Long cloth: 23 pieces £23 0s 6d Saunoes: 6 pieces £4 18s 6d Gurrahs: 8 pieces £5 0s 0d The India linen amounted to £562 7s 0d. Total: £1,900 18s 10¼d Fort, debtor to diet expense: Arrack: 255 gallons £79 13s 9d Beer: 25 gallons £2 10s 0d Sugar: 544 pounds £18 9s 4d Candy: 48 [...] £2 8s 6d These amounted to £20 17s 10d. Tea: 42 [...] £15 5s 0d Vinegar: 6 gallons £0 4s 0d Sweet oil: 3⅛ [...] £1 17s 6d Florence oil: 12 bottles £4 13s 0d Pepper: 2 [...] £0 2s 0d Bread: 2 casks of 119 pounds £15 4s 4½d Flour: 2 casks of 4 [...] £9 17s 9d These amounted to £25 2s 1½d. Beef: 21 [...] £378 0s 0d Pork: 6 [...] £72 0s 0d These amounted to £450 0s 0d. Suffolk cheese: 2 [...] £24 0s 0d Peas: 2 [...] £6 15s 0d Beans: 1 [...] £4 2s 0d These amounted to £34 17s 0d. The diet expense amounted to £636 12s 2½d. Carried over: £2,549 11s 0¾d Interpretations The account closes the inhabitants' goods with the costly India piece cloths and opens the fort's separate diet expense. Cuttanees and sallampores were Indian cotton cloths from the Coromandel coast, the cuttanees a fine striped or checked weave, the sallampores a plain white calico much used for shirting, the dearest stock in the whole inventory at over six hundred pounds, the staple of the Company's trans-shipment trade by which eastern manufactures reached the store. The fort's diet expense marks the distinct head of the Company's own table and garrison provision. Set apart from the inhabitants' retail goods, this account charged the fort as debtor for the food and drink consumed at the Company's expense, the four-fold division between inhabitants, fort, fortifications and plantation by which the store reckoned its supply, the fort's diet a fixed charge on the Company rather than a sale. The beef and pork dominated the fort's diet at £450 0s 0d, the salt provision that fed the garrison. The 21 casks of beef and 6 of pork were the preserved meat shipped from England or salted on the island, the staple of the soldiers' ration in a settlement whose fresh cattle had been thinned by famine, the same scarcity that had set beef at 40s 0d per hundredweight in the dearth of 16 January 1714/15. The bread, flour, peas, beans and cheese filled out the garrison's provision. These were the keeping foods of the period, shipped in cask and supplemented by the island's own yams and stock, the store furnishing the fort's table from the Company's imported stores, the diet expense forming the second great head of the quarterly account after the inhabitants' retail trade. | |||||
347 | December Brought Over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 General Charges viz: 12:1 Gallons Rape Oyle
3. 12. 9 2. d:o Linseed ditto
16. - 84. Soape
5. 19. - Naviall & Garrison Stores viz: 6. Starch
4. 6 4:1 Indigo
3. - Naviall & Garrison Stores Amount: to
7. 6 Blanketts viz: 6. Large Blanketts
3. 7. 6 8. Middling ditto
3. 16. - 77. Small D:o
29. 16. 9 Blanketts amounting to
37. -. 3 Cutlary Ware 111. Butchers Knives
2. 15. 6 2. p:r Sizars
0. 2. - 6. Thimbles
0. 1. - Cutlary Ware Amount: to
2. 18. 6 India Linnen viz: 15. p:s Long Cloth
15. -. - 4. Sannoes
3. 5. 8 3. Maddrs Ginghams
1. 10. - 25. Blue Gurrhaes
6. 5. - 5. ditto
2. 5. - 3. Chelloe 14/10
2. 4. 6 4. Allejarrs N:o 1
3. 6. 4 5. d:o 3
4. 7. 11 India Linnen Amount: to
18. 4. 5 Pewter viz: 2. Bassons 3 Size
0. 6. 4 6. Chamber Potts 1. D:o
1. 14. 6 2. ditto 2. D:o
0. 11. - 2. Close Stoole Pans
0. 13. 4 6. Plates
0. 13. - 2. doz: Spoons
0. 9. - 2. Salts
0. 2. 3 2. Cruetts for Oyle & Vinegar
0. 6. 6 1. frame for d:o
0. 2. 9 1. 1/2 Pint Pott
0. 2. - 1. quarton d:o
0. 1. 2 Pewt:r Amounting to
5. 1. 10 Haberdashery Ware viz: 750. Needles
0. 11. 3 3. oz Silk d:o
0. 7. 6 8. oz: thread 17
0. 11. 4 2. White & browne N:o 9
0. 11. - 1. d:o ditto
0. 12. - 6:1 Brow: & Coll:rd thread 11
5. - 14. Seanes Mohaire
4. 6. - 5. p:s Browne & Coll: tape
5. 10 1. White
5. 7:1 1. broad Holl:d d:o
3. 6 1. ferriting & Whale bone d:o
4. 6
17. -
5. 6. 6:1 Gen: Charges Carr:d over
189. 6. 9:1 Carried over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered, continued, the general charges. Brought over: £2,546 11s 0¾d General charges: Rape oil: 12⅛ gallons £3 12s 9d Linseed oil: 2 [...] £0 16s 0d Soap: 84 [...] £5 19s 0d Naval and garrison stores: Starch: 6 [...] £0 4s 6d Indigo: 4½ [...] £0 3s 0d The naval and garrison stores amounted to £0 7s 6d. Blankets: Large blankets: 6 £3 7s 6d Middling blankets: 8 £3 16s 0d Small blankets: 77 £29 16s 9d The blankets amounted to £37 0s 3d. Cutlery ware: Butchers' knives: 111 £2 15s 6d Scissors: 2 pairs £0 2s 0d Thimbles: 6 £0 1s 0d The cutlery ware amounted to £2 18s 6d. India linen: Long cloth: 15 pieces £15 0s 0d Saunoes: 4 [...] £3 5s 8d Madras ginghams: 3 [...] £1 10s 0d Blue gurrahs: 25 [...] £16 5s 0d Blue gurrahs: 5 [...] £2 5s 0d Chelloes at 14s 10d: 3 [...] £2 4s 6d Allejars, number 1: 4 [...] £3 6s 4d Allejars: 5 [...] £4 7s 11d The India linen amounted to £18 4s 5d. Pewter: Basins, third size: 2 £0 6s 4d Chamber pots: 6 £1 14s 6d Chamber pots: 2 £0 11s 0d Close-stool pans: 2 £0 13s 4d Plates: 6 £0 13s 0d Spoons: 2 dozen £0 9s 0d Salts: 2 £0 2s 3d Cruets for oil and vinegar: 2 £0 6s 6d Frame for cruets: 1 £0 2s 9d Half-pint pot: 1 £0 2s 0d Quarter pot: 1 £0 1s 2d The pewter amounted to £5 1s 10d. Haberdashery ware: Needles: 750 £0 11s 3d Silk: 3 ounces £0 7s 6d Thread at 17 [...]: 8 ounces £0 11s 4d Whited brown thread, number 9: 2 [...] £0 12s 0d Whited brown thread: 1 [...] £0 5s 0d Brown and coloured thread: 6½ [...] £0 6s 0d Skeins of mohair: 14 £0 5s 10d Brown and coloured tape: 5 pieces £0 5s 7½d White Holland tape: 1 [...] £0 3s 6d Broad Holland tape: 1 [...] £0 4s 6d Ferreting and whalebone: 1 [...] £0 17s 0d These amounted to £5 6s 6½d. The general charges carried over: £189 6s 5¾d Carried over: £2,546 11s 0¾d Interpretations The account opens the fourth great head of the store, the general charges. Set apart from the inhabitants' retail goods, the fort's diet and the naval stores, this head gathered the goods consumed on the Company's own general account, the four-fold division by which the store reckoned its whole supply across the settlement. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The close-stool pans among the pewter point to the furnishing of the Company's own quarters and the fort. A close-stool was the boxed commode of the period, the pan its removable vessel, goods supplied for the necessary furniture of the establishment rather than for retail, the general charges covering the Company's domestic provision as distinct from its sale to the inhabitants. The blue gurrahs and the other India linen continued the Company's eastern trade goods on the general account. Gurrahs were coarse Indian cotton cloths, here dyed blue, the same blue gurrahs the council bought by the hundred to clothe the labouring people and the slaves against the cold, the store drawing on its eastern stock to furnish the Company's own needs as well as the inhabitants' purchases. The repeated heads of oil, soap, blankets, cutlery, linen, pewter and haberdashery show the store reckoning the same classes of goods separately under each account. By dividing the quarter's consumption between the inhabitants, the fort, the naval stores and the general charges, the storekeeper fixed exactly where each parcel of goods had gone, the careful accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the quarterly reckoning forming part of the records brought up to date through the autumn of 1719. | |||||
348 | 1719. Brought Over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 Gen: Charges Brought Over
109. 6. 9:1 Iron Mong:r Ware viz: 1. Hatchett N:o 2
0. 2. 1 21. of 3. Nayles
1. 2. 9 80. 10. d:o
2. 16. 11 96. 20. d:o
3. 4. - 47. 30. d:o
1. 7. 5 40. of Small Spikes
1. 2. 6 2. of Brads
0. 1. 6 2. of tacks
0. 3. 4 1. Steel Maule w: 18:1
0. 18. 6 1. Box Iron
0. 6. - 2. Heaters
0. 1. 9 3. till Locks N:o 1
0. 3. - 1. Loping Ax
0. 3. 4 1. Hammer N:o 5
0. 2. - 1. Pad lock 4
0. 1. 8 4. ditto 6
0. 12. - 1. Stock Lock 1
0. 2. 7 2. d:o 2
0. 6. 8 4. d:o 3
1. -. - 3. Staples
0. 3. - 2. Large Pick Axes
0. 12. - 8. Small d:o
1. 14. 8 4. Sugar Shools
0. 10. - 1. p:r Bellows N:o 3
0. 7. 2 Iron Mong: Ware amo: to
17. 4. 10 Ribbon viz: 63. Yards 18
4. 14. 6 18. d:o 14
1. 1. - Ribbon Amount: to
5. 15. 6 Tin Ware viz: 1. quart Tin Coffee Pott
0. 2. 3 2. Small funnels
0. -. 10 1. 2 qu: Sauce Pann
0. 2. 3 2. tin Lanthorns 1: Size
0. 16. - Tin Ware amounting to
4. 4. 4 Braisers Ware viz: 2. Chaffing Dishes
4. 6. - 2. Scummers
0. 10. - 3. doz: Buttons
0. 4. - 1. tea Kettle
0. 14. 2 Braisers Ware Amount: to
2. 14. 2 Brushes viz: 6. flagg Brooms
3. - 3. Scrubing Brushes
5. - 3. Shoe d:o
1. 6 Glass Ware viz: 1. Large decanter
5. 1:1 3. Ale Glasses
7. - 30. Wine Glasses & 2 Glass Cruetts
2. 7. 6 50. Squ: Glasses 6 by 8
1. 17. 6 9. ditto 8 by 10
0. 10. 6
5. 7. 7:3 6. China Bowles
18. - 3. p:r Island Shoes
12. - 1. Bible f:t Hooks
8. 3 6. Large f:t Hooks
3. 6 6. Cotton Yarn & 2: Shoe Thread
4. 6 Gen: Charges Carried over
145. 1. 6:1 Carried over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 | An account of goods sold and delivered, the general charges continued. Brought over: £2,546 11s 0¾d General charges brought over: £109 6s 9½d Ironmongers' ware: Hatchet, number 2: 1 £0 2s 1d Threepenny nails: 21 [...] £1 2s 9d Tenpenny nails: 80 [...] £2 16s 11d Twentypenny nails: 96 [...] £3 4s 0d Thirtypenny nails: 47 [...] £1 7s 5d Small spikes: 40 [...] £1 2s 6d Brads: 2 [...] £0 1s 6d Tacks: 2 [...] £0 3s 4d Steel maul of 18½ pounds: 1 £0 18s 6d Box iron: 1 £0 6s 0d Heaters: 2 £0 1s 9d Till locks, number 1: 3 £0 3s 0d Loping axe: 1 £0 3s 4d Hammer, number 5: 1 £0 2s 0d Padlock, number 4: 1 £0 1s 8d Padlocks, number 6: 4 £0 12s 0d Stock lock, number 1: 1 £0 2s 7d Stock locks, number 2: 2 £0 6s 8d Stock locks, number 3: 4 £3 0s 0d Staples: 3 £0 3s 0d Large pick axes: 2 £0 12s 0d Small pick axes: 8 £1 14s 8d Sugar shovels: 4 £0 10s 0d Bellows, number 3: 1 pair £0 7s 2d The ironmongers' ware amounted to £17 4s 10d. Ribbon: Ribbon at 18d: 63 yards £4 14s 6d Ribbon at 14d: 18 [...] £1 1s 0d The ribbon amounted to £5 15s 6d. Tin ware: Quart tin coffee pot: 1 £0 2s 3d Small funnels: 2 £0 0s 10d Sauce pan, 2 quarts: 1 £0 2s 3d Tin lanthorns, first size: 2 £0 16s 0d The tin ware amounted to £4 4s 4d. Braziers' ware: Chafing dishes: 2 £0 6s 0d Skimmers: 2 £0 10s 0d Buttons: 3 dozen £0 4s 0d Tea kettle: 1 £0 14s 2d The braziers' ware amounted to £2 14s 2d. Brushes: Flag brooms: 6 £0 3s 0d Scrubbing brushes: 3 £0 5s 0d Shoe brushes: 3 £0 1s 6d The brushes amounted to £0 9s 6d. Glass ware: Large decanter: 1 £0 5s 1¾d Ale glasses: 3 £0 7s 0d Wine glasses and 2 glass cruets: 30 £2 7s 6d Square glasses, 6 by 8: 50 £0 17s 6d Square glasses, 8 by 10: 9 £0 10s 6d The glass ware amounted to £5 7s 7¾d. China bowls: 6 £0 18s 0d Island shoes: 3 pairs £0 12s 0d Bible: 1 £0 8s 3d Large fish hooks: 6 £0 3s 6d Cotton yarn and shoe thread: 6 [...] £0 4s 0d The general charges carried over: £145 1s 6¾d Carried over: £2,546 11s 0¾d Interpretations The account continues the general charges with the iron, tin, glass and brushes consumed on the Company's own account. These were the same classes of finished goods carried for the inhabitants, reckoned here under the fourth head of the store by which the Company furnished its own works and quarters as distinct from its retail sale. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the quarter to 25 September 1719. The nails and spikes dominated the general charges as the material of the Company's building. The graded threepenny to thirtypenny nails and the small spikes were the staple of the fortification, plantation and fencing works the Company carried on its own account, the quarter's nail consumption a measure of the building pressed under the new government. The glass and the single Bible point to the furnishing of the Company's house and worship. The decanter, ale and wine glasses and the square window panes served the establishment's table and glazing, while the Bible supplied the religious provision the bench took seriously, the same instruction it pressed on the chaplain Mr John Jones across the autumn of 1719. The four-fold reckoning of the same goods under inhabitants, fort, naval stores and general charges shows the storekeeper fixing exactly where every parcel went. By dividing the quarter's consumption across the heads, the account distinguished what was sold from what the Company used itself, the careful accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the quarterly reckoning forming part of the records brought up to date through the autumn of 1719. | |||||
349 | Dec:r Brought Over
£ 2546. 11. 3:3 General Charges Brought Over
145. 1. 6:1 4. p:s Thicksetts
8. 18. - 6. Sacking
14. 5. - Broad Cloth viz: 2:3 Yards Scarlet Broad Cloth
1. 15. 7:1 6:1 Blue D:o
4. 9. 7:1 2:3 purple D:o
2. 1. 3 Broad Cloth amount: to
8. 6. 6 Stuffs. 2. Yards Shalloone d:o
0. 4. - 3. d:o Kerseys 15
0. 3. 9 5. p:s Blue d:o 161:1 21/9
14. 6. 9 7. red d:o 22:1 d:o
19. 12. 10:1
34. 2. 4:1 General Charges Amounting to
210. 13. 4:3 Plantation D:r Diet Expences viz: 14. Gallons Arrack
4. 7. 6 42. Sugar
8. - Diet Expences Amounting to
5. 15. 6 General Charges viz: 1. Gall: Rape Oyle
6. - 1. Pewter Basson 2. Size
4. - Tin Ware viz: 1. Tin Lamp
0. 1. 10 1. Muscovy Lanthorn
0. 12. - Tin Ware Amounting to
13. 10 1. Curriers knife
15. 4 2. Small House Brushes
4. - Iron Mong:r Ware viz: 1. Ragg Stone
0. -. 6 1. Rubb d:o
0. 2. 6 1. p:r Garden Sheers
0. 13. 4 1. p:r Small Stilliards
0. 8. 3 4. Shod Shovels
0. 12. - 1. Hatchett N:o 2
0. 2. 1 6. p:r Hinges Smoothfild
1. 6. 6 1. Hammer N:o 3
0. 2. - 1. Saw
0. 6. - 1. Jack plain
0. 1. 6 2. Irons for d:o
0. 1. 4 2. Small Gimbletts
0. -. 8 9. Hoes N:o 2
1. 8. 6 2. 3. Nayles
0. 2. 3 59. 10. d:o
2. 1. 9:1 18. 20. d:o
0. 12. - 6. 24. d:o
0. 3. 9 Iron Mong: Ware Amount: to
10. 8. 4:1 Ed Johnson Sume Totall
£ 2773. 18. - | An account of goods sold and delivered, the general charges continued, with the plantation account and the sum total. Brought over: £2,546 11s 0¾d General charges brought over: £145 1s 6¼d Thicksetts: 4 pieces £0 18s 0d Sacking: 6 [...] £14 5s 0d Broad cloth: Scarlet broad cloth: 2¾ yards £1 15s 7½d Blue broad cloth: 6¼ [...] £4 9s 7½d Purple broad cloth: 2¾ [...] £2 1s 3d The broad cloth amounted to £8 6s 6d. Stuffs: Shalloon: 2 yards £0 4s 0d Kersey at 15d: 3 [...] £0 3s 9d Blue stuff at 16s 1d: 5 pieces £14 6s 9d Red stuff at 22s: 7 [...] £19 12s 10d These stuffs amounted to £34 2s 4½d. The general charges amounted to £210 13s 4¾d. Plantation, debtor to diet expense: Arrack: 14 gallons £4 7s 6d Sugar: 42 [...] £1 8s 0d The diet expense amounted to £5 15s 6d. General charges: Rape oil: 1 gallon £0 6s 0d Pewter basin, second size: 1 £0 4s 0d Tin ware: Tin lamps: 1 £0 1s 10d Muscovy lanthorn: 1 £0 12s 0d The tin ware amounted to £0 13s 10d. Currier's knife: 1 £0 15s 4d Small house brushes: 2 £0 1s 4d Ironmongers' ware: Ragg stone: 1 £0 0s 6d Ragg stone: 1 £0 2s 6d Garden shears: 1 pair £0 13s 4d Small steelyards: 1 pair £0 8s 3d Shod shovels: 4 £0 12s 0d Hatchet, number 2: 1 £0 2s 1d Hinges, Smithfield: 6 pairs £1 6s 6d Hammers, number 3: 1 £0 2s 0d Saw: 1 £0 6s 0d Jack plane: 1 £0 1s 6d Irons for jointer: 2 £0 1s 4d Small gimlets: 2 £0 0s 8d Hoes, number 2: 9 £1 8s 6d Threepenny nails: 2 [...] £0 2s 3d Tenpenny nails: 59 [...] £2 1s 9½d Twentypenny nails: 18 [...] £0 12s 0d Twenty-fourpenny nails: 6 [...] £0 3s 9d The ironmongers' ware amounted to £8 4s 10½d. The plantation account amounted to £10 8s 0½d. The account was given by Governor Edward Johnson. Sum total: £2,773 18s 0¼d Interpretations The account closes the quarter with the last of the general charges and the small plantation account, then strikes the grand total. The four heads of the store, the inhabitants, the fort, the general charges and the plantation, together reckoned the whole of the Company's supply to a sum total of £2,773 18s 0¼d. John Goodwin, the writer made storekeeper on Captain Bazett's death, brought in the account for the quarter to 25 September 1719, one of the two store accounts entered in the closing of the books. The Governor's own hand at the foot marks the account's authority under the thinned board of late 1719. Governor Edward Johnson, who had succeeded Isaac Pyke on 13 June 1719, signed the completed reckoning, the store account passing under his name as the chief instrument of the Company's trade at the island. The graded broad cloths and stuffs in scarlet, blue and purple show the store carrying fine coloured woollens on the general account. These dyed cloths served the clothing of the better sort and perhaps the trimming of uniforms, the same range of stuffs the store retailed to the inhabitants, drawn here for the Company's own use rather than for sale. The plantation's slight diet charge of arrack and sugar reflects the small establishment kept at the Company's grand plantation. The fourth and least head of the account covered the provision of the overseers and slaves at the plantation house, the chief overseer William Postley's livestock counts run from there, the diet expense a minor charge beside the great heads of the inhabitants' trade and the fort's provision. Speculations The store account was built in four separate heads, the inhabitants, the fort, the general charges and the plantation, because the Company stood at once as a merchant selling to private buyers and as a government feeding and equipping its own establishment, and the directors in London needed the two kept distinct. By reckoning the same classes of goods separately under each head, the storekeeper showed exactly how much of the quarter's stock was sold for revenue and how much was consumed by the fort, the works and the plantation at the Company's own charge, so that the profit on retail could be weighed against the cost of the settlement. The labour of completing this divided reckoning, signed by the Governor himself, formed part of the wider drive to close the long-neglected books under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the calling-in of all claims and the exact quartering of every parcel of goods serving the same end of presenting the directors a clean and verifiable account against which no later demand could be raised. | |||||
350 | 1719.
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
on Monday the 21 day of Dec: 1719. At
Union Castle in James Valley.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Jn:o Alexander
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin &
Joseph Ormston
The Last Consultation read and Approved of. /
On Saturday the 19 Inst: Arrived the Ship
Queen Capt: John Martin Comand:r (But last
from the Cape) and brought Us the following
Goods from Fort St George.
Fort St Davids Goods 1. Bale Ord:y Long Cloth 7 p: Long & 2 p: broad
15. 13. 40 2. p: 110. P:s d:o 30. 9 Charge
4. 6. 0
14. 12. 60 Land Custom 1:1 p: Cent Charges on Said Goods Amount to
5. 20. -
49. 32. 60 Maddrass Goods viz: 2. Bales Middling Long Cloth 72 b: 108. - -
d:o 36. Charge
9. 29. - 9: 2: 3 Charges Amounting to
117. 29. - 2. Bales White Shirts q: 29. 4
25. - - Charges Amounting to
2. 13. 72
97. 13. 72 1. Bale Blue Shirts q: 15. 13 p:t
58. 11. 97 Charges
32. -
59. 11. 97
32. 45. 29 6. Bales Amounting to
37. 12. 48 6. Cannisters Sug: 7 p: 6. 10. 1 Stag: 11. 9 p: Candy
Pagodos 361. 37. 77 | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Monday 21 December 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander, John Goodwin and Joseph Ormston. The last consultation was read and approved. On Saturday the 19th, the ship Queen, Captain John Martin commander, arrived last from the Cape and brought the following goods from Fort St George. Fort St David's goods, marked LCO, SW, number 1: One bale of ordinary long cloth, 7 pieces, 12 long and 2¼ broad: £15 13s 4d 120 pieces of perpetuanas at 30 [...], 9 corge: £11 6s 0d Land custom and 2½ per cent: £14 12s 6d The charges on these goods amounted to £5 2s 0d. These goods amounted to 49 pagodas, 32 fanams, 60 cash. Madras goods, marked LCM, SW, number 2: 2 bales of middling long cloth, 7 pieces of 12, at 19 [...], 13 corge, at 36: £108 0s 0d Perpetuanas, 9 corge, 2 [...], 3 [...]: £9 29s 0d The charges amounted to [...]. These goods amounted to 117 pagodas, 29 fanams. Goods marked LCOS, SW: 2 bales of white shirts, 29 pieces, 4: £25 0s 0d The charges amounted to £2 13s 7½d. These goods amounted to 97 pagodas, 13 fanams, 74 cash. Goods marked LCBS, SW: 1 bale of blue shirts, 15 pieces, 13 [...]: £58 19s 7d Charges: £32 0s 0d These goods amounted to 59 pagodas, 11 fanams, 97 cash. The 6 bales together amounted to 324 pagodas, 45 fanams, 29 cash. 6 canisters of sugar, weighing 6 candies, 6 [...], 10 [...] at a [...], 11 [...], 9 [...] per candy: 37 pagodas, 12 fanams, 48 cash. The whole amounted to 361 pagodas, 37 fanams, 77 cash. Interpretations The Queen's arrival brought a fresh consignment of Indian cloth reckoned in Madras money of account. The pagoda was the gold coin of the Coromandel coast, divided into 36 fanams and each fanam into 80 cash, the reckoning in which the Fort St George invoices were kept, distinct from the Bengal rupees and annas and the Calicut fanams used for other settlements' goods. The invoice carried each lot's prime cost, its land custom and charges, then its total in pagodas, the same form as the Cardonnell invoice entered at the consultation of 26 February 1716/17. The ship was a familiar caller under a commander long known to the bench. Captain John Martin of the Queen had been before the council in 1716, the council protesting his refusal to sign his bills on 18 August 1716 and entering a formal charge of respondentia, and the same Renatus Snow complaining that Martin had carried his wife off the island in her. His return with a cargo from Madras shows the steady traffic of Indiamen touching at the island by the Cape route. The goods were the staple India piece cloths of the Company's trans-shipment trade. Long cloth, perpetuanas and the white and blue shirts were Coromandel cotton manufactures, the perpetuanas a durable woollen or worsted, marked in lettered and numbered bales for the storekeeper's account, the cargo the kind of eastern stock the store retailed to the inhabitants and entered in its quarterly reckonings. The marked bales reflect the system of lettered consignment by which the Company tracked its goods from India. Each bale carried its own mark and number, LCO, LCM, LCOS and LCBS, the device by which the lading at Fort St George was identified and checked against the invoice on arrival, the same exactness of accounting the bench pressed across its stores in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston. | |||||
351 | December
Capt: Samuel Lewis brought and Deliverd to
Us the following Protest desireing the Same
may be Registerd for better Security thereof.
Which was Accordingly Granted him.
Island St Helena.
To the Worsh: Edw:d Johnson Esq: Govern:r
& Councill
I the under Written Sam:l Lewis Commander
of the Good Ship King George now Rideing at Anchor
in this road, Do hereby Protest against the Violence
of the Sea Whereby in my Passage from India
to the Cape of Good Hope, I Suffered much in Stormes
and bad Weather And for twenty days together much
Exposed to the Rage of the Seas by the Loss of our
Rudder which laid me under great Necessitys, &
Danger from which Misfortune Also has Occasioned
Some Damage to the Effects of the Hon: United
East India Comp:y for in the Stress of Weather the
Bolts of our Main Standards Breaking We red
Water into the Hould w:ch was Discovered by a
thorough Search made there, As is usually done by
Ships that Arrive here. / Sam:l Lewis
Decemb: 19:th 1719.
J Houghton
Tho: Abraham
B Montgomary
Jn:o Pearse
J Warren Margin Notes: Capt: Lewis
presented to
us his Protest
ag:t y:e Seas / for Damage
Suferd in his
Passage here
Comeing from
India | Captain Samuel Lewis brought in and delivered the following protest, asking that it be registered for better security, which was accordingly granted. Island of St Helena. The protest was addressed to Governor Edward Johnson and the council. Samuel Lewis, commander of the ship King George, then riding at anchor in the road, protested against the violence of the sea. In his passage from India to the Cape of Good Hope he had suffered much in storms and bad weather, and for twenty days together had been greatly exposed to the rage of the seas by the loss of the ship's rudder, which put him in great danger and necessity. This misfortune had also occasioned some damage to the goods of the Company, for in the stress of weather the bolts of the main standards broke and let water into the hold, as was now discovered by a thorough search, as ships arriving at the island usually made. The protest was dated 19 December 1719 and signed by Samuel Lewis, with [...] Houghton, B. Montgomery and J. Warren. It was witnessed by Thomas Abraham and John Pearse. Interpretations The protest belonged to the standing maritime procedure by which a master guarded himself against blame for damaged cargo. By recording on oath before the council that storms and the loss of his rudder, not his own neglect, had let water into the hold, Captain Lewis preserved his defence should the Company question the state of its goods, the registration giving the declaration the weight of a formal instrument. The same ship had arrived under his command from Bengal on 26 November 1719, the protest entered after the search of the cargo. The damage to the Company's goods made the protest necessary for the owners as well as the master. The water that broke through the main standards' bolts had spoiled part of the lading, so the formal record fixed the cause as the violence of the sea, the standing ground on which a charter party laid such loss on the perils of the voyage rather than on the commander. The search of the hold followed the established practice at the island. The protest notes that ships arriving usually made a thorough search, the device by which the state of a cargo was ascertained and recorded on the spot, the same scrutiny the council applied to its own stores and stock in the closing of the books under the accountant Joseph Ormston. The witnesses and subscribers fixed the protest as a sworn act before competent persons. The ship's officers signed alongside the commander, with two further witnesses attesting the instrument, the council registering it in the consultation book so that the declaration stood on the island's record for the directors and the owners alike. | |||||
352 | 1719.
Bales Sent a Shore viz: LCO N:o Tere Mark Tere N:o 2 1 Bale no Cirplace LCO N:o 2 LCMB N:o 2 LCO N:o Tere Mark Tere N:o 3 LCO N:o 3 LCO N:o 3 Mark & N:o Tere 2 Bails from on board the King George 11 Bails in all - Out of which
196 Pec: were washt in y:e Country
72 in the valley and the rest
Passable. / Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Quantity
& Damage
Goods Sent
a Shore | An account of the bales sent ashore from on board the King George. The bales were marked as follows: LCO, number 3; mark 3, number 2; one bale with no mark or place; LCO, number 2; LCMB, number 2; LCO, number 3; mark 3, number 5; LCO, number 5; LCO, number 5; and mark and number 3, 2 bales. There were 11 bales in all. Of these, 196 [pieces of] red wire were washed in coming up the country, 72 in the valley, and the rest were passable. The account was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The account records the landing of the damaged cargo whose state Captain Lewis had protested. The 11 bales sent ashore from the King George were the goods exposed to seawater when the ship lost her rudder and the bolts of her main standards broke, the protest of 19 December 1719 and this landing account together fixing both the cause and the extent of the spoilage for the Company's record. The marked bales reflect the system of lettered consignment by which the Company tracked its goods from India. Each bale carried its own mark and number, the same LCO and LCMB marks under which the Fort St George goods of the Queen were entered at the consultation of 21 December 1719, the device by which the lading was identified and checked against the invoice on arrival. The note distinguishing the damage shows the careful assessment of loss the bench applied to its stores. The goods washed in coming up the country and those spoiled in the valley were set apart from the rest reckoned passable, the exact quantifying of what was damaged against what survived, the same method of fixing loss the council used in the medicine inventory after Cholmondley Cevill's theft and in distinguishing theft from mortality in the livestock counts. Speculations The bales were inspected and the damage quantified piece by piece on landing because the seawater spoilage bore directly on where the loss would fall under the charter party. By recording how much of the red wire was washed and where, set against the protest that laid the cause on the loss of the rudder and the violence of the sea, the council built the paired record the directors would need to charge the damage to the perils of the voyage rather than to the master or the storekeeper. The separate listing of what was washed in the country, what in the valley and what remained passable served the same end as the four-headed store account signed the same season, fixing exactly what had been lost so that a clean reckoning could be sent home and no later dispute raised over goods spoiled before they reached the store. | |||||
353 | January
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Tuesday the 5 day of Jan:ry 1719. At the
Hon: Comp:s Plantation House
Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r
Pres: Jn:o Alexander &
Jn:o Goodwin
The Last Consultation read and Approved of. /
We hearing that there was a Paper relateing to
the Marrnagement of the Government of this
Island with respect to Mr Jones Signed by Severall
Persons, which is both Scandalous and false
and designed by Some evill minded People to
Disturb the Quiet Government thereof.
The Govern:r Ordered the following Persons
to be taken into Custody. ( Viz:t )
Josiah Joseph Bedloe Soldier.
Chelmondly Civel lately Surgeon Convicted for fenbeizing
the Hon: Comp:ys Medicinal Stores
Edmond Leigh Surgeon of the Garrison
Charles Steward a Harmless Youth in himself
Edward Bagley Son to Sarah Southen who am
She Seduced.
for Seizing the Said Paper
Then Margin Notes: upon Information
of a false paper
relateing to y:e
Marrnagement of
the Government Sundry Persons
were taken into
Custody Bedloe
& Civel & Leigh
C: Steward
& E: Bagley
Seduced by his
Mother | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 5 January 1719 at the Company's plantation house. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander and John Goodwin. The last consultation was read and approved. The council learned that a paper had been drawn up relating to the management of the government of the island, touching Mr Jones, and signed by several persons. The council held the paper both scandalous and false, and designed by some ill-minded people to disturb the quiet government of the island. The Governor ordered the following persons to be taken into custody. First, Josiah Joseph Bodloe, soldier. Then Cholmondley Cevill, lately surgeon, convicted of embezzling the Company's medicinal stores. Then Edmund Leigh, surgeon of the garrison. Then Charles Steward, a harmless youth in himself. Then Edward Bagley, son to Sarah Southen, whom they had seduced. These were taken up for signing the paper. Interpretations The seditious paper turned on the standing conflict between the council and the chaplain. The paper touching Mr John Jones, drawn up by several hands and held scandalous, arose from the open breach between the bench and the chaplain over religious instruction, which had run from the formal memorial of 28 October 1719 through Jones's refusal to attend the council and his neglect of the prescribed prayers, met by the stopping of his gratuity at the consultation of 24 November 1719. The paper evidently took the chaplain's part against the government. The arrests gather the council's recent adversaries and a set of dependants. Cholmondley Cevill, lately convicted of embezzling the Company's medicines at the general sessions of 22 October 1719, and Edmund Leigh, the surgeon committed on 1 September 1719 for refusing to keep the medicine book and lately at odds with the bench, were the council's standing opponents over the medical stores, now joined against it in the paper. The council's framing distinguished the leaders from the led. Charles Steward was set down as a harmless youth in himself and Edward Bagley as one who had been seduced into signing, the bench separating those it held the contrivers from the young men drawn in, the same discrimination it had shown in the false alarm of a slave rising at the consultation of 14 November 1717, where Jane Child was forgiven and Eben Leech punished as the chief contriver. The taking-up of the subscribers shows the bench defending the standing of the government as a value in itself. The council treated the paper not merely as a libel but as an attempt to disturb the quiet government of the island, the same concern that had driven the secrecy resolutions of 13 January 1716/17, which named whoever revealed the council's deliberations a traitor to the Company, the bench guarding its authority against organised dissent. Speculations The council moved at once to take the subscribers into custody, rather than answer the paper, because a signed collective complaint touching the government carried a weight that a single libel did not. By securing the persons named and recording which it held the contrivers and which the seduced, the bench broke the combination before it could gather force and built the file it would need to justify its conduct to the directors, the same method it had used against the round-robin device of organised dissent in the Eagle Galley mutiny and against the seditious talk reported from the punch houses. The arrest of Cevill and Leigh, the council's recent opponents over the medical stores, alongside the chaplain's defenders, suggests the bench read the paper as the focus of every quarter then set against it, and chose to scatter that opposition by confinement rather than let it consolidate around the contentious clergyman the directors had sent. | |||||
354 | 1719.
Then Sarah Southen for Seduceing & prevailing
with the Said People to Sign the Said Paper.
The Said Charles Steward the Govern:r Released
makeing him Sensible of his Crime, an in regard to
his tender Years makeing an Ingenious Confession
how he was Seduced and drawn in.
Also John Worrall Serj: and upon duty at
the Same time, for Signing & likewise Endeavour-
ing to Seduce John George Sold:r & cent:r on Duty
under the Said Serjeant.
A Copy which is as follows and was deliverd
by the Said Sarah Southen to the Marshall as a true
Copy of what had been Signed & Sent Home. #
William Worrall Entered into a recognizance of
one Hundred Pounds w: John Orchard for fifty Pound
and John Trocits for fifty Pounds Upon Condition
that the Said William Worrall Appear at the
next Sessions to Answer for Signing the S:d Paper
#Whereas on the 29 of Nov: 1719. that the Rev:d
Mr Jones the H: Hon: Comp:s Chaplain on the Said
Island was Celebrating of divine Service According
his office on the Said Island the Collet for the day
was Interupted by Govern:r Johnson Saying very
outragiously You are as to day as you was last
Sunday Margin Notes: Sarah Suthen
Seduced Sev:l
to Sign:r Cha: Steward
Released
makeing an
Ingenious
Confession Jn:o Worrall
Signing &
Seduceing
Jn:o George W:m Worrall
Ent: into Re-
cognizance
of £100. Copy of the S:d
Paper drawn
up & Signed to. | Then Sarah Southen was taken up for seducing and prevailing with these people to sign the paper. The Governor released Charles Steward, making him sensible of his crime, and in regard to his tender years he made an ingenuous confession of how he had been seduced and drawn in. Also John Worrall, sergeant, and upon duty at the same time, was taken up for signing the paper and likewise endeavouring to seduce John George Tole, a soldier then on duty under the sergeant. A copy of the paper was as follows, and was delivered by Sarah Southen to the marshal as a true copy of what had been signed and sent home. William Worrall entered into a recognizance of one hundred pounds, with John Orchard bound for fifty pounds and John Twaits for fifty pounds, on condition that William Worrall appear at the next sessions to answer for signing the paper. A copy of the paper now drawn up and signed followed. It set out that on 22 November 1719, while the Reverend Mr Jones, the Company's chaplain on the island, was celebrating divine service according to his office, the collect for the day was interrupted by Governor Johnson saying very outrageously that the chaplain was out that day, as he had been the last Sunday. Interpretations The proceedings sorted the subscribers by their part in the paper, as the bench had begun the day before. Sarah Southen was named the contriver who had drawn others in, and Sergeant John Worrall both a signer and a seducer of a soldier under his own command, while Charles Steward was released on his confession in regard to his youth, the council separating the leaders from the led much as it had in the false alarm at the consultation of 14 November 1717. The recognizances show the bench binding the principal subscriber to answer at law rather than holding him in close custody. William Worrall, the chief overseer, entered a hundred-pound bond with two sureties to appear at the next sessions, the standing form of security for good behaviour and appearance, the same procedure by which the council bound men over throughout the records. The copy preserved by the marshal fixed the paper as evidence for the trial to come. Sarah Southen delivered a true copy of what had been signed and sent home, the council securing the text so that the subscribers might be tried on the very words, the document entered in the consultation book to stand on the island's record. The paper itself revealed the substance of the chaplain's quarrel with the Governor. It charged that Governor Johnson had interrupted the collect during divine service on 22 November 1719, accusing the chaplain of failing in his office, the same dispute over the prescribed prayers that had run from the memorial of 28 October 1719 and the stopping of Jones's gratuity at the consultation of 24 November 1719, now carried by the chaplain's party into a signed complaint sent to the directors. Speculations The subscribers chose to send their paper home to the directors rather than lay it before the council, which is why the bench treated it as a contrivance against the government rather than a grievance to be heard. By appealing over the Governor's head to London, the signers sought to enlist the directors against the local administration in the chaplain's favour, much as Joshua Thomlinson had invoked the Court of Directors and a well-connected English correspondent in his bills dispute of 1718. The council's response, taking up the subscribers, binding the principal over to the sessions and securing a true copy of the paper, aimed to meet that appeal with a record of its own, so that when the directors read the complaint they would also read the proof that it was got up by a convicted embezzler, a contentious surgeon and a sergeant who had abused his command, the bench arming itself to disprove the charge at its source rather than let the chaplain's version stand alone in England. | |||||
355 | Jan:ry
Sunday for this is the 2 Sunday in Advent the
which the Rev: Mr Jones read to Prevent any
farther Indecuncy but informing himself w:le
a Psalm was Sung and finding he had Committed
no Error Proceeded on his duty till he came a 2:
time to read the Collect for the first Sunday in
Advent was instantly Interupted by Govern:r
Johnson Saying why do you make these Misstakes
To which the Rev: Mr Jones made no Reply but
went on Searly to the end of the Communion Servic
and Published the Holy day (Viz:) St Andrews
being the next day Adding that Prayers will be
be at Church then the Rev: Mr Jones had no Sooner
Exprest himself thus but Govern:r Johnson Said
not by you S:r calling out very furiously Officer
take him Prisoner bring him before me He See
who is Govern:r Mr Jones or I, the Order was
Immediatly Executed.
Upon information that there was one other
Paper Signed by Several Persons takeing upon
themselves the Usurpt Authority to Contradict
the Publick Administration of the Government
Government relating to Mr Jones, which
was also Sent to England. /
a Copy Margin Notes: Information of
a 2:d Paper
Signed & Sent
to Engl:d | The paper continued. It being the second Sunday in Advent, the Reverend Mr Jones read on to prevent any further indecency. Informing himself while a psalm was sung, and finding he had made no error, he proceeded on his duty until he came a second time to read the collect for the first Sunday in Advent. He was instantly interrupted by Governor Johnson saying, why do you make these mistakes. The chaplain made no reply, but went on calmly to the end of the communion service, and published the holy day, namely St Andrew's, being the next day, adding that prayers would be at church then. The chaplain had no sooner expressed himself thus than Governor Johnson said, not by you sir, calling out very furiously, officers, take him prisoner, bring him before me. He would see who was Governor, Mr Jones or himself. The order was immediately executed. Upon information that there was another paper signed by several persons, taking upon themselves the unlawful authority to contradict the public administration of the government relating to Mr Jones, which was also sent to England, a copy [followed]. Interpretations The paper carried the chaplain's account of his arrest during divine service to its climax. The narrative set down the second interruption of the collect, the chaplain's calm continuance to the end of the communion service, and the Governor's furious order to seize him in the church, the whole framed to show Mr Jones patient under provocation and Governor Johnson overbearing, the version the subscribers had sent to the directors to put the government in the wrong. The dispute turned on a point of liturgical order the chaplain defended as correct. Jones insisted he had made no error in reading the collect for the first Sunday in Advent, the quarrel resting on the proper collect for the day in the Book of Common Prayer, the chaplain's competence in his office set against the Governor's public correction of it, the same neglect of the prescribed forms the bench had charged when it stopped his gratuity at the consultation of 24 November 1719. The seizure in the church marked the breach at its sharpest. The Governor's order to take the chaplain prisoner before the congregation, asserting who was Governor, carried the conflict over the directors' appointee into open confrontation, the same friction that had run from Jones's coming to blows with Antipas Tovey on 29 June 1719 through his refusal to attend the council. The reference to a second paper shows the matter widening into a documented campaign. The council recorded that a further paper, signed by several persons assuming an unlawful authority to contradict the government over Mr Jones, had also been sent to England, the bench treating the organised appeal to the directors as a usurpation of authority, the same concern for the standing of the government that had driven its arrests of the subscribers across the consultations of 5 January 1719. Speculations The chaplain's paper was constructed as a circumstantial narrative of patience under provocation because its purpose was to be read by the directors as a witness statement against the Governor. By recording each interruption, the chaplain's calm continuance and the Governor's furious words verbatim, the document built the case that Johnson, not Jones, had disturbed divine service and abused his authority, the detail marshalled to carry conviction three months' sail away where no witness could be examined. The council's insertion of this very text into its own consultation book, alongside its record that the paper was got up by a convicted embezzler and a contentious surgeon, turned the chaplain's evidence against its makers, the bench setting the partisan narrative beside the characters of its authors so that the directors might weigh the one against the other and judge the complaint a contrivance rather than a true relation. | |||||
356 | 1719.
A Copy whereof is as follows and was deliverd
to the Govern:r by Mr Vesey. /
These are to Certifie whom it may Concern
that the Rev: Mr Jones did formerly Reside here
for Some Years and behaved himself Soberly &
Civilly and did much good in his Station as
School-Master, and being since Sent as the Hon:
United East India Comp:ys Chaplain has in that
Function carried himself to the Satisfaction of Us
the Inhabitants, to which We Sett our hands.
Which Said Paper is Contrary to the Known Laws
of this Island. Therefore Ordered That the Marshall
Do Summons these Persons.
Rich: Gurling
Joshua Johnson &
James Rider
Gabriel Powel
James Greenhee
John Long
Immediatly to attend the Consultation now Setting.
James Vesey this morning attended the Govern:r
and Entird into a Recognizance with Mr Francis
Wrangham & Mr Orlando Bagley for the Said
James Margin Notes: a Copy thereof
deliv:d by
Mr Vesey
came thus. May:r &: y:e
Summon: Sundry Persons
warn'd to Att:d the
Consult: gradually Vesey Entird
into Recogn: | A copy of this further paper followed, delivered to the Governor by Mr Vesey. It certified to whom it might concern that the Reverend Mr Jones had formerly lived on the island for some years and behaved soberly and civilly, doing much good in his post as schoolmaster. Being since sent as the Company's chaplain, he had in that function conducted himself to the satisfaction of all the inhabitants, to which the subscribers set their hands. The council held this paper contrary to the known laws of the island, and therefore ordered the marshal to summon the following persons: Richard Gurling, Gabriel Powell, Joshua Johnson, James Greentree, James Rider and John Long. They were to attend the consultation then sitting immediately. James Vesey attended the Governor that morning and entered into a recognizance, with Mr Francis Wrangham and Mr Orlando Bagley bound as sureties for him. Interpretations The second paper took a different form from the first, a testimonial to the chaplain's character rather than a charge against the Governor. The subscribers certified that Mr Jones had served well as schoolmaster in his earlier residence and creditably as chaplain since, the document framed to commend him to the directors against the council's treatment, a counterweight to the bench's stopping of his gratuity and its account of his neglect. The reference to Jones's earlier residence fixes a longer connection with the island than his recent appointment. The certificate recalled that he had formerly lived there some years as schoolmaster before being sent out as the Company's chaplain on the Craggs Frigate in June 1719, the testimonial drawing on that settled acquaintance to vouch for his conduct, which gave the chaplain's party a body of inhabitants ready to speak for him. The council's summons of the further subscribers extended its proceedings to the second paper's signers. Richard Gurling, Gabriel Powell, Joshua Johnson, James Greentree, James Rider and John Long, several of them substantial planters long before the bench, were called to answer immediately, the council treating the testimonial as it had the first paper, an unlawful interference with the government's administration over the chaplain. The recognizance bound James Vesey to answer as the principal subscribers were bound. Vesey, who had delivered the paper to the Governor and stood among the rated householders of the 1716 census, entered a bond with Wrangham and Orlando Bagley as sureties, the same form of security the bench had taken from William Worrall at the consultation of 5 January 1719, the council binding the subscribers over to the law rather than holding them all in custody. Speculations The chaplain's party produced two distinct papers, a circumstantial charge against the Governor and a broad testimonial to the chaplain's character, because the two served different purposes before the directors. The first sought to convict Johnson of misconduct in the church, while the second mustered the weight of respectable inhabitants behind Jones, the pairing designed to show both that the Governor was in the wrong and that the chaplain enjoyed the settlement's general regard. The council met the testimonial as it had the charge, by summoning its signers and binding the deliverer over, treating the gathering of inhabitants' hands as itself an unlawful combination against the government, so that the directors would see not a spontaneous body of opinion but a contrived subscription got up by named persons the bench could call to account, the same strategy of scattering and documenting the opposition it had used against the first paper. | |||||
357 | Jan:ry
James Vesey his appearance at the next Generall
Sessions for this Island to Answer the Same. /
James Greenhee Appeared and Entired into
Recognizance with Nicholas Shreve & Robert
Bell for the Said James Greenhee his appearance
at the next General Sessions for this Island to
Answer the Same.
Joshua Johnson Appeared & Entered into Recog-
nizance with Henry Francis & Giles Smith.
for the Said Joshua Johnsons Appearance at
the next Generall Sessions for this Island to
Answer the Same.
James Rider appeared & Enterd into Recogni-
zance with Henry Francis & Francis Wraugham
for the Said James Rider his appearance at the
next General Sessions for this Island to Answer
the Same.
Gabriel Powel & John Long Appeared but
haveing no Persons w:th them for their Surety's
had to engage the Govern:r gave them time by friday morn-
ing next. /
Richard Gurling did not Appear because the
the Marshall could not come to Summon
him He being gone from home about
Some Margin Notes: to Appear at
y:e next Sessions. Ja:s Greenhee &:
into Recogn: Jos: Johnson &:
into Recogn: Jam:s Ryder &:
into Recogn: Gab: Powell &
Jn:o Long not
haveing Surety
had time given R: Gurling
not appear'd | James Vesey was bound to appear at the next general sessions for the island to answer the matter. James Greentree appeared and entered into a recognizance, with Nicholas Shreeve and Robert Bell as sureties, for his appearance at the next general sessions for the island to answer the same. Joshua Johnson appeared and entered into a recognizance, with Henry Francis and Giles Smith as sureties, for his appearance at the next general sessions for the island to answer the same. James Rider appeared and entered into a recognizance, with Henry Francis and Francis Wrangham as sureties, for his appearance at the next general sessions for the island to answer the same. Gabriel Powell and John Long appeared, but having no persons to stand surety for them, the Governor gave them time until Friday morning next. Richard Gurling did not appear, because the marshal could not come to summon him, he being gone from home about some [matter, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The proceedings bound the testimonial's subscribers over to the sessions one by one. Each who appeared entered a recognizance with two sureties for his appearance at the next general sessions, the standing form of security by which the bench secured a man's attendance at law, the same procedure it had used for William Worrall and James Vesey across the consultations of 5 January 1719. The sureties were drawn from the settled body of planters, several of them themselves implicated. Nicholas Shreeve the stone cutter, Robert Bell the mason, Henry Francis, Giles Smith the joiner and Francis Wrangham stood bond for the subscribers, the same men recurring as sureties for one another, the close circle of the island's householders standing security within its own ranks. Henry Francis, himself a subscriber to the firewood counter-petition, stood surety twice here. The want of sureties for Powell and Long shows the bench holding strictly to the form. Gabriel Powell, the largest landholder on the island, and John Long, twice in trouble for assault, could find no one to stand for them at once, so the Governor allowed them until Friday rather than commit them, the council insisting on proper security while granting time to find it. Gurling's non-appearance arose from a failure of service rather than defiance. Richard Gurling, who had himself sought leave to depart for England at the consultation of 27 October 1719, was away from home when the marshal came, so his absence was recorded as unserved rather than contumacious, the bench distinguishing the man who evaded summons from the one it could not reach. | |||||
358 | 1719.
Some besiness. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 12 day of Jan:ry 1719. At
the Hon: Comp:s Plantation House
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Pres: Jn:o Alexander &
Jn:o Goodwin
The Last Consultation read & Approved.
The Gov:r Reports that on the 7 Jan:ry the
following Persons were brought to him by the
Marshall & Entered into Recognizances ( Viz:t )
John Worral Serjeant in
£ 100. Isaac Leech & Sutton Isaack each £ 50. for
John Worrals Appearance at the next Sessions. Orlando Bagley planter in
£ 50. for the
Appearance of Sarah Southen She being Feme-
Covert could not Enter into recognizance herself
John Margin Notes: Govern:r
Reports of a
Sundry Persons
into Recog: Jn:o Worrall Suretys for
Sarah
Southen | Richard Gurling was away on some business when the marshal came. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 January 1719 at the Company's plantation house. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander and John Goodwin. The last consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that on 7 January the following persons were brought to him by the marshal and entered into recognizances. John Worrall, sergeant, in £100 0s 0d, with Isaac Leech and Sutton Isaac bound at £50 0s 0d each, for John Worrall's appearance at the next sessions. John Bagley, carpenter, in £50 0s 0d, with Orlando Bagley, planter, bound at £50 0s 0d, for the appearance of Sarah Southen. She, being a married woman, could not enter into a recognizance herself, so [the surety was given for her, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The recognizances bound the remaining subscribers to answer at the next sessions. Sergeant John Worrall entered a hundred-pound bond with two sureties, and the carpenter John Bagley a fifty-pound bond, the same form of security the bench had taken from the other signers across the consultations of 5 and 12 January 1719, the council binding the whole body of subscribers over to the law rather than holding them in close custody. The provision for Sarah Southen turned on her status as a married woman. Being feme covert, she could not in law enter a recognizance in her own name, her legal personality being merged in her husband's, so a surety was bound for her appearance instead. The bench applied the standing rule of coverture, the same disability that had governed married women's property and suits throughout the records, here met by binding another to answer for her. Sarah Southen's central place among the accused appears in the weight of securing her appearance. The council had named her the contriver who seduced others into signing at the consultation of 5 January 1719, so her attendance at the sessions mattered particularly, the bench taking care to bind a surety for her despite her inability to bind herself. The sureties again came from the settled circle of the island's householders. Isaac Leech the gunner's mate, Sutton Isaac and Orlando Bagley the planter stood bond for the accused, the same close body of inhabitants standing security within its own ranks, Orlando Bagley binding himself for Sarah Southen as he had for James Vesey at the consultation of 5 January 1719. | |||||
359 | Jan:ry
John Bagley Carpenter in
£ 50. Orlando Bagley
£ 50. for
Edward Bagleys Appearance at the next Sessions.
He being under age could not Enter into Recog-
nizance himself. / Edmond Leigh Surgeon in
£ 100. Stephen Lighkin planter
£ 50 Richard Mason ditto Sold:r
£ 50. for the
Appearance of Edm: Leigh at the next Sessions. / On the 8 Jan:ry Gabriel Powel in
£ 100 Edmond Nichols planter
£ 50 Jn:o Bagley Carpenter d:o
£ 50. for
Gabriel Powel his Appearance Richard Gurling Planter in
£ 100. Rich: Swallow planter
£ 50 Richard Beale ditto
£ 50. -
for Rich: Gurlings Appearance On the 11 Jan:ry John Long planter in
£ 100. Anthony Beale Plant:r
£ 50 Richard Long ditto
£ 50. -
for John Longs Appearance Upon Information given the Govern:r
by John George D:r That John Worrall Serj:
did Scandalize & Reflect on the Gov:r by
Saying Margin Notes: Suretys for
E: Bagley
und:r age Edm: Leigh Gab: Powell R: Gurling Jn:o Long. Information
ag:t Jn:o Worrall
reflections on
y:e Gov:r | The recognizance of John Bagley continued. John Bagley, carpenter, was bound in £50 0s 0d, with Orlando Bagley bound at £50 0s 0d, for Edward Bagley's appearance at the next sessions. Edward Bagley, being under age, could not enter into a recognizance himself. Edmund Leigh, surgeon, was bound in £100 0s 0d, with Stephen Lufkin, planter, at £50 0s 0d, and Richard Mason, planter, at £50 0s 0d, for the appearance of Edmund Leigh at the next sessions. On 8 January, Gabriel Powell was bound in £100 0s 0d, with Edmund Nichols, planter, at £50 0s 0d, and John Bagley, carpenter, at £50 0s 0d, for Gabriel Powell's appearance. Richard Gurling, planter, was bound in £100 0s 0d, with Richard Swallow, planter, at £50 0s 0d, and Richard Beale, planter, at £50 0s 0d, for Richard Gurling's appearance. On 11 January, John Long, planter, was bound in £100 0s 0d, with Anthony Beale, planter, at £50 0s 0d, and Richard Long, planter, at £50 0s 0d, for John Long's appearance. Upon information given to the Governor by John George, that John Worrall, sergeant, had scandalised and reflected on the Governor by saying [the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The recognizances completed the binding-over of the whole body of subscribers. Each principal entered a hundred-pound bond, or fifty for the lesser figures, with two sureties standing fifty pounds apiece, the uniform scale by which the bench secured appearance at the sessions, the council bringing every signer of the two papers under bond across the consultations of 5 to 12 January 1719. The provision for Edward Bagley turned on his minority, as Sarah Southen's had on her coverture. Being under age, he could not bind himself in law, so his father John Bagley and Orlando Bagley were bound for him, the bench applying the standing rule that an infant lacked capacity to enter a recognizance, the same disability it had met for the married Sarah Southen. The sureties were drawn once more from the settled circle of planters, many of them bound for several of the accused. John Bagley the carpenter stood for both his son Edward and for Gabriel Powell, Richard Beale and Anthony Beale among the orphan sons stood for others, and Richard Long for his kinsman John, the close body of householders standing security within its own ranks, the same names recurring across the bonds. A fresh charge against Sergeant Worrall opened a distinct matter of scandal against the Governor. John George, the soldier the sergeant had tried to seduce from his duty at the consultation of 5 January 1719, now informed that Worrall had spoken scandalously and reflected on the Governor, the bench adding the sergeant's words against authority to his offence in signing the paper, the accumulating charges marking Worrall as among the chief offenders. | |||||
360 | 1719.
Saying he was a Strong Papist the Gov: on the
21 Jan:ry bound the Serjeant over to Answer it
at Sessions. /
Ordered That a Sessions be
held on Thursday the 28 Instant and that
Publick Notice be given Accordingly.
The Petition of Jonathan Doveton free
Planter was Presented Setting forth That about
three or four Acres of the Hon: Comp:s Waste
Land lying under Statleys mound and waste
Adjoyning to his Cabbage tree Land on three Sides
thereof, Humbly Prays to become Tennant for
the Same it being of very great Detriment to him
if Lett to any other Person for that no person can
drive Cattle to that Peice of Land but thro' great
Part of his Pasture Land, & beggs our Consideracon
on the whole.
The Said Jonathan Doveton further Petitiond
to have a Lease Granted him for a Peice of Ground
in James Valley Adjoyning to his now dwell-
ing House & was granted to him by Gov:r
Pyke whereon he has Some time Since begun
to build a House, & Contains forty foot in
Front w:d as far as the Main Water Coarse
backward. Margin Notes: J: Worrall
bound to An-
swer at Sessions Sessions
Appointed Pet: of Jonath
Doveton for
Land und:r
Statleys M:d J: Dovetons
Pet: for a
p:l Ground
in James
Valley | The charge against Sergeant Worrall concluded. He was said to have spoken, saying he was a strong papist. The Governor bound the sergeant over to answer the matter at the sessions. The council ordered that a sessions be held on Thursday 28 January, and that public notice be given accordingly. The petition of Jonathan Doveton, free planter, was presented. He set out that there were about three or four acres of the Company's waste land lying under Stalleys mound, adjoining his cabbage-tree land on three sides of it. He humbly prayed to become tenant for the land, it being much to his disadvantage if let to any other person, since no one could drive cattle to that piece of land but through a great part of his pasture land. He begged the council's consideration of the whole. Doveton further petitioned to have a lease granted him for a piece of ground in James Valley adjoining his present dwelling house, granted to him by Governor Pyke, on which he had some time since begun to build a house. It contained forty foot in front and ran as far back as the main watercourse. Interpretations The added charge against Worrall touched the deep religious anxiety of the period. The information that the sergeant had professed himself a strong papist carried particular weight while a Hanoverian government feared Jacobite and Catholic disaffection, the bench treating the words as a scandal against the Governor's authority, the same gravity it gave to seditious talk against the government throughout the records. The sergeant's mounting offences, signing the paper, seducing a soldier and now this profession, marked him among the foremost of the accused. The appointment of the sessions set a fixed forum to try the whole affair. By ordering a general sessions for 28 January with public notice, the council moved the matter of the papers from its own board to the island's court of judicature, where the subscribers bound over would answer before a jury, the same court that had tried Cholmondley Cevill for the medicine theft on 22 October 1719. Doveton's first petition rested on the access his neighbour's grant would block. The waste under Stalleys mound could be reached only by driving cattle across his own pasture, so a grant to any other holder would burden his land, the bench's standing test of convenience to the adjoining occupier weighing in his favour, the same ground on which it had sorted the autumn's land petitions. The second petition sought to perfect a grant left incomplete from the former government. Jonathan Doveton, the substantial planter who had acted as executor of John Marsh's will at the consultation of 24 November 1719, had begun building on a James Valley plot granted by Governor Pyke and now sought the lease to secure it, the precise frontage of forty foot to the main watercourse fixing the bounds, one more of the unperfected grants the bench was confirming through the season. | |||||
361 | Jan:ry
backwards next to the foot of Ladder Hill. /
The Petition of Ralph Orme Enterd in
Consultation of the 16 Nov: last was Considerd
& Granted him. /
Likewise the Petition of William Seale
Enterd in Consultation of the 20. Oct: last
was Considerd & Granted him.
Also a Parcell of Land formerly granted
to Capt: Bazett dec:d Containing about 2 Acres
under the Alarm Ridge Adjoyning to Rob:t
Bells Land was Confirmed to Mrs Bazett
his Widow. /
Island St Helena. The following Petition was deliverd
To y:e Worsh: Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov: & Coun:l
The Humble Petition of Tho: Casen
Lieut: Humbly Sheweth.
That whereas y:o Petition: After Sixteen years Service Under
his deep Concern for the loss of his wife & two Children Ap-
plying himself had leave from the late Gov: of this Island
to goe Home for England his Acco: were Accordingly made
up to y: 24 of March 1719, & there appeared to be above 900
due to y:o Petition: by their S:d Books y:o Petition: haveing
Sold of his Plantation & all his Stock & in no way of besiness
he Imprison'd So much as mahe Common Interest for his
money here, & now desireous to Continue in y: Hon: Comp:s
Service Humbly Prays y: Worsh: Hon:r: to recommend his
Case to their Hon: that they would take his money into their
hands, & Allow him the Common Interest as they Allow to others
either by bond or otherwise as Shall Seem meet to their
Hon: being Content it Should Always remain in their
hands. And y:o Petition: Shall ever Pray. &:
Ordered That his Case be represented as he desires. /
Jn:o Goodwin
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander Margin Notes: Pet: of Ralph
Orme was re-
presented & gr
granted. also the Pet:
of W:m Seale was
Granted. Parcell of Land
Confirmed to Mrs
Bazett Pet: of Lieut
Tho: Casen Prays y: Comp:s
Interest for
his money put
in y: Comp:
Books. his Case to be
represented | Doveton's plot ran backwards next to the foot of Ladder Hill. The petition of Ralph Orme, entered at the consultation of 16 November last, was considered and granted. Likewise the petition of William Seale, entered at the consultation of 20 October last, was considered and granted. A parcel of land formerly granted to Captain Bazett deceased, containing about two acres under the Alarm Ridge and adjoining Robert Bell's land, was confirmed to Mrs Bazett, his widow. Island of St Helena. The following petition was delivered to Governor Edward Johnson and the council. Lieutenant Thomas Cason humbly set out that, after sixteen years' service and under his deep concern for the loss of his wife and two children, he had applied for leave from the late Governor to go home for England. His account was accordingly made up to 26 March 1719, and he appeared to be above £600 0s 0d in credit by his account, by their store books. Having sold off his plantation and all his stock, and in no way of business to improve so much as the common interest of his money there, and now wishing to continue in the Company's service, he humbly prayed the council to recommend his case to their honours, that they would take his money into their hands and allow him the common interest, as they allowed to others, either by bond or otherwise, as should seem meet to them. He would be content it should always remain in their hands. The council ordered that his case be represented as he desired. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The grants to Orme and Seale completed two of the unperfected claims the bench had carried through the autumn. Ralph Orme's petition of 17 November 1719 and William Seale's of 20 October 1719, both held over for a view, were now granted, the council clearing the backlog of land applications that had awaited a survey, the same deliberate sorting it applied across the season. The confirmation to Bridget Bazett continued the settling of her late husband's affairs. The two acres under the Alarm Ridge granted to Captain Matthew Bazett before his death, adjoining Robert Bell's land, were confirmed to his widow, one of the several parcels the storekeeper and deputy governor had taken or measured before he died and that the bench was now perfecting, as it had with the Beales' Taylor's Ground. Cason's petition shows an officer seeking to keep his capital safe and earning in the Company's hands. Lieutenant Thomas Cason, the officer to whom the gunner had delivered powder in the stores accounts, having sold his plantation and stock and lost his family, sought to leave his £600 0s 0d with the Company at the common interest rather than risk it idle on the island, the bench agreeing to represent his offer to the directors. The arrangement answered the want of any safe investment on a remote island, the Company serving as banker to its departing servants. The credit of above £600 0s 0d marks the substance an established officer might accumulate over a long service. Sixteen years on the island, a plantation sold and stock realised had built a considerable balance in the store books, the same books the accountant Joseph Ormston was labouring to bring up to date, Cason's exact credit drawn from the very accounts then being closed against future dispute. | |||||
362 | 1719.
Island St Helena. /
At a Consultation held
on Tuesday the 19 day of Jan:ry 1719. At
Union Castle in James Valley
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Pres: Jn:o Alexander &
Jn:o Goodwin
The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. /
According to an Advertizement Issued out
Severall Persons Appeared this day with their
Bills due for Soldiers dietts &: and those that
were good was Entered to their Acco: of Credit. /
Then the following Petitions were deliverd
( Viz: ) The Petition of Jonath: Higham Jun:r
Mason & Stone Cutter. Setting forth that He had
been Employ'd as such in the Hon: Comp:s Service
upward of Six years only at the Small Wages of
two Shillings & Six pence p:day, which being too
little for the hard & Laberous work he daily Per-
forms (& as he hopes to our Satisfaction). He
Humbly prays for Such an Additionall Allowance
as may farther Encourage him in his Trade as
We Shall think fitt. /
And &:
Referrd. Margin Notes: Transfers for
Soldiers diett &:
Ent: Pet: of Jonath
Higham Jun:r for an
Addition to
his present
Wages Referrd. | Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 19 January 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander and John Goodwin. The last consultation was read and approved. An advertisement having been issued, several persons appeared on this day with their bills due for soldiers' diet and other charges. Those that were good were entered to their accounts in credit. The following petitions were delivered. The petition of Jonathan Higham junior, mason and stone cutter, set out that he had been employed as such in the Company's service for upwards of six years, only at the small wages of 2s 6d per day. This being too little for the hard and laborious work he daily performed, and as he hoped to their satisfaction, he humbly prayed for such an additional allowance as might further encourage him in his trade, as the council should think fit. The petition was referred. Interpretations The settling of soldiers' diet bills continued the long drive to close the account books. The persons appearing with their bills for soldiers' diet answered the standing advertisements calling in all claims so the records might be cleared, the good bills entered to credit, the same exercise the bench had pressed across the autumn under the accountant Joseph Ormston, the diet bills arising where inhabitants had quartered and fed soldiers at the Company's charge. Higham's petition rested on the disparity between his skilled labour and his pay. The mason and stone cutter pleaded six years' service at 2s 6d per day as too little for hard work, the same rate of half a crown the standing accounts record for a labouring day, his appeal for more turning on the value of his trade to a settlement chronically short of skilled stone-working hands, the want behind the keeping of the orphan John French as a Company mason. The reference of the petition followed the bench's caution over advancing wages. By holding the matter rather than granting it at once, the council weighed the request as it had the writers' plea for an increased allowance at the consultation of 28 November 1719, the increase to be considered against the standing rates before any addition was fixed. The masons' wages point to the premium skilled building labour commanded on the island. Stone cutting and masonry were the trades the bench most often found wanting, the fortifications, the plantation works and the houses all needing skilled hands, so an experienced mason like Higham held a real claim to better encouragement, the council balancing that against the cost to the Company. | |||||
363 | Jan:ry
Referrd to further Consideration.
Also the Petition of Joseph Coles Stone Cutter
Humbly Setting forth That he had been
Employed in the Hon: Comp:s Service as Stone Cutter
for the Space of five years & upwards at the
Wages of three Shillings p:day after the Expiration
of the two first Years, which the S:d Petitioner
finding too Small Wages for his Maintenance
& Cloathing Humbly prays he may be
Allowed for his future Encouragem:t Such an
Additionall Wages as We Should think fitt
and Meet. /
And &:
Referrd to further Consideration. /
The Petition of Samuel Vesey. Setting forth
that he haveing lately Purchased a Parcell of
Land formerly Thom: Burnhams dec:d and
haveing another parcell in his Possession that
was Jane Mudges also deceased, which in
the whole Contains 44:1 Acres of free Land
Humbly prays he may have a Warrant granted
for Measureing the Same in Order of receiving Deeds
for better Security thereof. /
And &:
Granted, and that the Surveyor do measure
the Same as Soon as Conveniently he can
too Margin Notes: to be Consid: on Also Jos: Coles
Pet: for an
Addition to his
Wages. Referrd. Sam: Vesey
Pet: praying
a measurem:t
of 44:1 Acres
Land. and Deeds
for y:e Same. Granted. / | The petition of Higham was referred to further consideration. The petition of Joseph Coles, stone cutter, humbly set out that he had been employed in the Company's service as a stone cutter for upwards of five years, at the wages of 3s 0d per day after the expiry of the first two years. Finding these wages too small for his maintenance and clothing, he humbly prayed that he might be allowed for his future encouragement such an additional allowance as the council should think fit and meet. The petition was referred to further consideration. The petition of Samuel Jephs set out that, having lately purchased a parcel of land formerly belonging to Thomas Burnham deceased, and having another parcel in his possession that was Jane Mudge's, also deceased, which together contained 44½ acres of freehold land, he humbly prayed that a warrant be granted for measuring it, so that he might receive deeds for better security of his title. The petition was granted, and the council ordered that the surveyor measure the land as soon as he conveniently could. Interpretations Coles's petition matched Higham's in resting skilled labour against low pay. The stone cutter Joseph Coles, the landless native who had sought ground at the consultations of 28 November and 15 December 1719, pleaded five years' service at 3s 0d per day as too little for his maintenance and clothing, the same appeal for better encouragement the masons pressed on a settlement short of skilled building hands. His rate of three shillings stood somewhat above Higham's half-crown, marking a gradation among the stone-working men. The reference of both masons' petitions shows the bench weighing the wage increases together. By holding Coles's request as it had Higham's, the council reserved the question of advancing the stone cutters' pay for deliberate consideration, the same caution it brought to every increase of allowance, the two petitions set side by side for a common decision. Jephs's petition sought to perfect a freehold title assembled from two deceased holders' lands. Having bought the parcel formerly Thomas Burnham's and holding another that was Jane Mudge's, Samuel Jephs asked a survey and deeds to secure the combined 44½ acres, the bench granting the warrant at once, the registration of title by survey and deed the standing means by which the island fixed a freehold against later dispute. The grant rested on the distinction between freehold and the Company's leasehold waste. Jephs held his land in fee, not as a tenant of the Company, so his request was for the confirmation of an existing title rather than a fresh grant of waste, the bench readily ordering the survey and deeds that would secure a freehold, distinct from the rationed leases it deferred for a view, Thomas Burnham being the man earlier summoned over the Two Gun Ridge house. | |||||
364 | 1719.
for which the Said Vesey was very thankfull. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation Continued on Wednesday
the 20 day of Jan:ry 1719. At Union Castle in
James Valley for the Transferring more Bills
Severall Persons appeared and their Bills were
Enterd accordingly. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin
Island St Helena.
At a Consultation held on
Tuesday the 26 day of Jan:ry 1720. At the
Hon: Comp:s Plantation House
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r
Pres: Jn:o Alexander &
Jn:o Goodwin
The Last Consultation read & Approved of. /
A Petition was presented by Several Persons
who had Signed that false Scandalous & Seditious
Libel before mantioned in Consultation of the
5 Inst: Margin Notes: Pet: of S:l
from those that
Signed a false
paper was
Granted | Samuel Jephs was very thankful for the grant. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation continued on Wednesday 20 January 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley for the transferring of more bills. Several persons appeared and their bills were entered accordingly. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena. At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 January 1720 at the Company's plantation house. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The councillors present were John Alexander and John Goodwin. The last consultation was read and approved. A petition was presented by several persons who had signed the false, scandalous and seditious libel mentioned at the consultation of 5 January [1720, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The transferring of bills carried the closing of the account books into the new year. The continued sitting of 20 January 1720 for the entering of more bills shows the exercise still running, the accountant Joseph Ormston working through the backlog of claims for work and diet, the council meeting repeatedly through January to clear the records as it had through the autumn. The shift to the new venue marks the pattern of the sittings touching the seditious paper. The consultations dealing with the libel against the chaplain were held at the Company's plantation house rather than Union Castle, the change from the seat of government recurring through the affair, perhaps for the Governor's convenience while the contentious business was handled away from the fort. The fresh petition opened a possible submission by the subscribers. The several persons who had signed the libel now came before the council with a petition of their own, which after the binding-over and the appointment of the sessions suggests an attempt to make peace or seek terms, the matter of the paper entering a new phase from the confrontations of early January. The dating reflects the turn of the year under the old calendar. The clerk wrote 1719 through the January sittings but 1720 here, the year under the old style changing on 25 March, so the consultations of early January fell in what the modern reckoning counts as 1720, the libel first entered at the consultation of 5 January 1720. | |||||
365 | Jan:ry
5 Instant whereby they Acknowledge their
faults and Promise for the future to be more
Cautious. Whereupon Ordered That
Prosecution be Stopt against them only. /
And further Ordered that a Warrant be
Immediatly Issued out against John Nichols
Sen:r planter John Nichols Jun: his Son and
Stephen Lighkin plant:r for Signing the Said
Libel, they being Acquainted with the Said
Petition and refused to Joyn in it. /
Ed Johnson
Jn:o Alexander
Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: who Acknowledge-
ing their fault
Prosecution was
Stopt ag:t them Jn:o Nichols Sen:r
Son Jn:o & Step
Lighkin refuseing
to Joyn: P: W:ts
Issued ag:t
them | The petition referred to that of 5 January, by which the subscribers acknowledged their faults and promised to be more cautious in future. The council ordered that prosecution be stopped against these petitioners only. The council further ordered that a warrant be immediately issued against John Nichols senior, planter, John Nichols junior, his son, and Stephen Lufkin, planter, for signing the libel. These three had been acquainted with the petition of submission and had refused to join in it. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The submission resolved the affair for most of the subscribers on their acknowledgement of fault. By petitioning to confess their error and promise better conduct, the signers gave the bench the public retraction it sought, and the council stopped prosecution against those who submitted, the same path of clemency on confession it had taken with Charles Steward and the muster defaulters, the government preferring contrition to punishment once its authority was owned. The warrant against the three who refused marked the bench's hardening line toward the obstinate. John Nichols senior and junior and Stephen Lufkin, knowing of the submission and declining to join it, were singled out for fresh proceedings, the council distinguishing the penitent from the defiant and reserving prosecution for those who would not retract, the same discrimination between the led and the persistent that had run through the affair. The Nichols family's defiance fits their long and contentious dealings with the bench. John Nichols junior had been fined for missing an alarm on 18 January 1714/15 and pressed unperfected land claims at the head of Old Woman's Valley through 1719, the family a recurring presence in the records, here standing out among the few who would not submit over the libel. Stephen Lufkin's refusal aligns him with the firmest of the chaplain's party. He had stood surety for the imprisoned surgeon Edmund Leigh at the consultation of 12 January 1720, his name borne by the Lufkins wall and plain in the fencing disputes, and his refusal to retract set him with the Nichols pair as the residue the bench would carry to trial, the submission having drawn off the more pliable subscribers. | |||||
366 | 1719.
Island St Helena.
At a Sessions held for this
Island on Thursday the 28 day of Jan:ry
1719. At the Sessions House in James
Valley near Union Castle.
Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov: & Judge
Jn:o Alexander &
Pres: Jn:o Goodwin
of Council
Then the Court was opened According to the
Usual manner and those Persons Appointed for
Jurors are as follows. /
Henry Francis foreman 1
Francis Wrangham 2
Thomas Allis 3
Sutton Isaack 4
John Coulson 5
Joshua Johnson 6
Richard Beale 7
William Coales 8
William Seale 9
Samuel Vesey 10
Francis Funge 11
Isaac Leech 12
Who were all Swoorned. /
Then Margin Notes: Jury | Island of St Helena. At a sessions held for the island on Thursday 28 January 1719 at the Sessions House in James Valley near Union Castle. Governor Edward Johnson presided as Governor and judge. The councillors present were John Alexander and John Goodwin, of the council. The court was opened in the usual manner. The persons appointed for jurors were as follows: Henry Francis as foreman, then Francis Wrangham, Thomas Allis, Sutton Isaac, John Coulson, Joshua Johnson, Richard Beale, William Coales, William Seale, Samuel Jephs, Francis Funge and Isaac Leech, twelve in all. They were all sworn. Interpretations The sessions convened the court appointed to try the affair of the seditious paper. The general sessions ordered on 19 January 1720 for 28 January now sat, the matter of the libel against the chaplain carried from the council's board to the island's court of judicature, where the subscribers who had not submitted would answer before a jury, the same court that had tried Cholmondley Cevill for the medicine theft on 22 October 1719. The reduced bench reflects the thinned council of the new government. Governor Johnson sat as judge with only John Alexander and John Goodwin, the board cut by Antipas Tovey's suspension of 6 July 1719 and Captain Bazett's death, and Joseph Ormston absent from the court though he sat in council, the same small establishment that had carried the government through the autumn. The jury was drawn from the settled body of free planters, several of them lately bound up in the libel themselves. Henry Francis the foreman had subscribed the firewood counter-petition and stood surety for other signers, while Francis Wrangham, Thomas Allis, Sutton Isaac, Joshua Johnson, Richard Beale, William Coales, William Seale, Samuel Jephs and Isaac Leech had all figured as subscribers, sureties or parties in the recent consultations. The panel of the island's householders judged a cause in which many of their own number were entangled. The composition of the jury points to the narrowness of the settlement's free population. The same names recurred as jurors, sureties, petitioners and parties across the records, the island's affairs conducted within a small circle where the men who tried a cause had often a hand in its background, the bench drawing its juries from the limited pool of qualified planters the muster rolls record. | |||||
367 | Jan:ry.
Then the following Indictment against
Sarah Southen was read.
Island St Helena ss
Sarah Southen.
You Stand Indited by the name of
Sarah Southen wife of Thomas Southen of
this Island Planter for a Misdemeanor, For that
You the Said Sarah Southen out of a Vexatious
Temper and evill designe to delude under a
falacious pretence and to raise Sides and
Animositys in the quiet minds of Severall
of the good Peoples of this Island, did on or about
Sunday the 13. day of December last at your
dwelling House in James valley in this Island
then & there Publish a false Scandalous & Seditious
Libell therein leaving out what might Agravate
the Crime in Mr Jones, and in the Said Libell
highly reflecting on the Worship:l Edward Johnson
Esq: Governr: of the Said Island intending thereby
to Alienate the affections of the Said good People
of this Island from the Worsh: the Gov:r & to
disturb the Quiet Governm:t thereof, And likewise
for that You the Said Sarah did on or about the
day year & place abovesaid basely Seduce Entice
and Margin Notes: Indict:mt ag:t
Sarah Southen
for Publishing
a false Scandal:
Libell. | The following indictment against Sarah Southen was then read. Island of St Helena. Sarah Southen stood indicted by the name of Sarah Southen, wife of Thomas Southen of the island, planter, for a misdemeanour. The charge was that she, out of a vexatious temper and with an ill design to deceive under a false pretence, and to raise feuds and animosities in the quiet minds of several of the good people of the island, had on or about Sunday 13 December last, at her dwelling house in James Valley, published a false, scandalous and seditious libel. In it she had left out what might aggravate the crime in Mr Jones, and had highly reflected on the worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of the island. She intended by this to alienate the affections of the good people from the Governor, and to disturb the quiet government of the island. The charge further set out that she had on or about the same day, year and place basely seduced and enticed [others to sign, the entry continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The indictment laid the full weight of the prosecution on Sarah Southen as the prime mover. She was charged not merely with signing but with publishing the libel and seducing others into it, the bench making her the principal of the affair as it had marked her the contriver at the consultation of 5 January 1720, the indictment gathering the whole offence under her name. The charge of a misdemeanour fixed the legal character of the offence. The libel against the government was prosecuted as a misdemeanour rather than a felony, the publication of a scandalous and seditious paper touching the Governor falling within that class of public wrong, tried before the island's sessions with a jury, the same forum that had convicted Cevill of the medicine theft. The indictment's particular complaint that the paper left out what aggravated the chaplain's fault reveals the bench's reading of the libel as one-sided. By omitting the matter that would have told against Mr Jones while reflecting on the Governor, the paper was framed as a partial and deceitful account, the prosecution drawing on the very text the council had preserved to show the document a contrivance rather than a true relation. The naming of Sarah Southen by her husband's style reflects her legal standing as a married woman. Charged as the wife of Thomas Southen, her identity in law was tied to her husband's, the same coverture that had required a surety to be bound for her at the consultation of 12 January 1720 because she could not bind herself, the indictment nonetheless laying the crime personally against her as its chief author. | |||||
368 | 1719.
and delude one Charles Steward of this Island To
Signe the Said Libel, and also that You the Said
Sarah have Since that time Clandestinely made
use of Several false Artifices & Cunning Insinuations
to prevail on others to Signe the Said Libel Contrary
to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George
his Crown & Dignity and is in high Contempt
of the wholesome Laws & Ordinances of this Island
made by the Hon: Lords Proprietors
for the good Government thereof. /
To which Indictment She pleaded not Guilty
and put her Self upon God & the Country for Tryall
thereof.
Then the following Witneses were called &
Swoorne. /
William Beale being Swoorne Saith.
That Some time before the last Ships Sailed Mrs
Southen called to him to come over to her House
and then Shewed him a Paper relating to the
Govern:rs takeing Mr Jones out of the Church, and
desired him to Signe it, but he did not, and Saw at
the Same time Severall names about four or five that
had Signed to the Same paper viz: Charles Steward Edw:d
Bagley, Josiah Joseph Bedloe & Doct: Civel.
Charles Margin Notes: She pleaded
Not Guilty Evidences
called Deposition of
W:m Beale | The indictment concluded. She had seduced and deluded Charles Steward of the island to sign the libel, and had since clandestinely used several false artifices and cunning insinuations to prevail on others to sign it. This was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors for the good government of it. To this indictment Sarah Southen pleaded not guilty, and put herself upon God and the country for trial. The following witnesses were then called and sworn. William Beale, being sworn, said that some time before the last ships sailed, Mrs Southen called him to come over to her house, and then showed him a paper relating to the Governor taking Mr Jones out of the church. She desired him to sign it, but he did not. He saw at the same time several names already signed to the paper, about four or five, namely Charles Steward, Edward Bagley, Josiah Joseph Bodloe and Doctor Cevill, [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The close of the indictment fixed the offence as a contempt of the Crown and the island's laws. The charge laid the libel against the peace of King George and the ordinances of the Lords Proprietors, the standing form by which a seditious paper touching the government was brought within the law, the same conclusion that had closed the indictment against Cholmondley Cevill on 22 October 1719. Sarah Southen's plea put the matter to a jury trial. By pleading not guilty and putting herself upon God and the country, she invoked the right to trial by her peers, the formula by which a defendant submitted the cause to the jury, the island's court following the forms of English criminal procedure in trying the libel. Beale's evidence opened the proof that Sarah Southen had solicited signatures. As the man whose information had begun the medicine case against Cevill on 29 August 1719, William Beale now testified that she had called him to her house and pressed him to sign the paper, his refusal and his sight of the names already there going directly to the charge that she had procured subscriptions. The names Beale saw confirmed the early subscribers the council had first taken up. Charles Steward, Edward Bagley, Josiah Joseph Bodloe and Cevill were among the persons ordered into custody at the consultation of 5 January 1720, Beale's testimony that these had signed before he was approached fixing the order of subscription and corroborating the bench's account of who first set their hands to the libel. | |||||
369 | Jan:ry
Charles Steward being Swoorne Says that Mrs
Southen black Boy came to him and told him
his Misstress desired to Speak with him, when
he came to her She Shewd him a Paper & told
him Doctor Jones denied he would Signe it
but no hands being then to it he told her he
did not care to Signe first upon which She replyed
Severall more would, and thro' her Perswasion
he did Signe the Paper Mrs Southen Saying at
the Same time there was no harm in it.
John George being Swoorne Saith that
Mrs Southen had Severall times Pressed him
to Signe the Same, but did not. /
John Trocits Swoorne Saith that on
a Sunday morning Mrs Southen called to him
and when he was in the House with her
She askt him to Signe a Paper relating to Mr
Jones being taken out of the Church, but did
not See the Paper, and that She Sayd 'twas
very Proper for him to Signe he being Clark
of the Parish, and John Worrall being there
at the Same time She Sayd to him 'twas also
as proper he Should Signe too, he being one
of the Church Wardens, the Deponent
told Margin Notes: Deposition
of
Cha: Steward Jn:o Georges
Deposition Deposition of
Jn:o Trocits | Charles Steward, being sworn, said that Mrs Southen's slave came to him and told him his mistress wished to speak with him. When he came to her, she showed him a paper and told him that Doctor Jones desired he would sign it. But there being no hands yet to it, he told her he did not care to sign first. She replied that several more would sign, and through her persuasion he did sign the paper, Mrs Southen saying at the same time there was no harm in it. John George, being sworn, said that Mrs Southen had several times pressed him to sign the same, but he did not. John Twaits, being sworn, said that on a Sunday morning Mrs Southen called to him when he was in the house with her. She asked him to sign a paper relating to Mr Jones being taken out of the church, but he did not see the paper. She said it was very proper for him to sign, he being clerk of the parish. John Worrall being there at the same time, she said to him it was also as proper he should sign too, he being one of the churchwardens. The deponent [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The depositions built the case that Sarah Southen had actively procured the signatures. Charles Steward's account that she sent her slave to fetch him, showed him the paper in the chaplain's name and overcame his reluctance with assurance that others would sign and that there was no harm in it went directly to the charge of seducing him, the very person the council had named as seduced at the consultation of 5 January 1720. Steward's evidence matched the bench's earlier treatment of him as the led rather than the leader. His reluctance to sign first, his persuasion by Sarah Southen and her soothing that there was no harm answered to the harmless youth released on his confession in regard to his tender years, the trial confirming the council's reading of him as drawn in rather than a contriver. The witnesses showed Sarah Southen appealing to men's parish offices to draw them in. She pressed John Twaits to sign as clerk of the parish and John Worrall as churchwarden, framing subscription as fitting to their church roles, the device by which she sought to enlist the parish officers behind the chaplain, the same Worrall the bench had charged with seducing a soldier and with scandalous words against the Governor. The refusals of John George and others marked the limits of her success. John George, the soldier Worrall had tried to seduce from his duty, and the cautious Twaits declined to sign, their evidence showing that her solicitation met resistance as well as compliance, the prosecution drawing the line between those she drew in and those who withstood her, the same distinction the bench had kept throughout the affair. | |||||
370 | 1719.
told her he did not Care to Signe any thing against
the Government and went away into the Country.
Yet when he came downe againe She askt
him a Second time to Signe and told him that
Charles Steward had Signed it and her Son Should
too. /
These Evidences has proved the Enticeing &
Seduceing Several Persons to Sign the Said
Paper Which is Enterd in Consultation of the
5 Instant.
To prove the Copy of the Paper afores:d
Charles Steward Swoore to the latter part of it
from the 9 Line to the end.
William Beale Swoorne Saith he realy
thinks this is part of the paper or Copy of what
he Saw when called to Mrs Southens but belives
there was Something more in it. /
Josiah Joseph Bedloe Swoorne Says that
he thinks the Paper now produced & publickly
read, is the Same paper he Saw Mrs Southen
have when in Prison.
John Hodgkinson Marshal. Says he had
this Same paper from Mrs Southen when in
Prison
Jonathan Margin Notes: Proof of
Seduceing
to Signe Copy of y:e
Paper proved
in p:t W:m Beale
belifs Doct:d Jos: Bedloe
Deposition Jn:o Hodgkinson
Declares | The deponent told her he did not care to sign anything against the government, and went away into the country. Yet when he came down again she asked him a second time to sign, and told him that Charles Steward had signed it and that her son should too. These witnesses had proved the enticing and seducing of several persons to sign the paper entered at the consultation of 5 January. To prove the copy of the paper, Charles Steward swore to the latter part of it, from the ninth line to the end. William Beale, sworn, said he really thought this was part of the paper, or a copy of what he saw when called to Mrs Southen's, but believed there was something more in it. Josiah Joseph Bodloe, sworn, said that he thought the paper now produced and publicly read was the same paper he saw Mrs Southen have when in prison. John Hodgkinson, marshal, said he had this same paper from Mrs Southen when in prison. Interpretations The further evidence completed the proof that Sarah Southen had pressed signatures with persistence. The witness who refused, declaring he would sign nothing against the government and withdrawing, was approached a second time and told that Steward and her own son had signed, the bench gathering the pattern of her solicitation to establish the enticing charged in the indictment. The authentication of the paper's text fixed the document in evidence. Charles Steward swore to the latter part of the copy and Beale and Bodloe identified it as the paper they had seen, the prosecution proving the very words by the witnesses who had handled it, the same text the council had preserved through Sarah Southen's delivery to the marshal. John Hodgkinson now appears as marshal in place of Samuel Price. The office that Price held at Cevill's trial on 22 October 1719 was filled by Hodgkinson here, his testimony that he received the paper from Sarah Southen in prison completing the chain by which the copy reached the court, the marshal's custody authenticating the document for the trial. Sarah Southen's handing the paper to the marshal from prison points to her continued ownership of the libel even in custody. Her delivery of the copy, noted at the consultation of 5 January 1720 and confirmed here, showed her as the keeper of the original text, the act consistent with the bench's view of her as the prime author and mover, the very possession that fixed her central place in the prosecution. | |||||
371 | Jan:ry
Jonathan Doveton being Swoorne
Saith that Some time before the last Ships
Sailed hence, Mrs Southen call:d him into
Mr Coulsons House, and Shewd him a Paper
which She told him Mr Jones desired him to
Signe, and reading it Saw what transaction
happned at Church relating to Mr Jones and
that 'twas Signed by Charles Steward only and
turning the paper over, he Saw on the back
thereof an account of the S:d Mr Jones his being
Confin'd, how many hours, that a Marriage
was Consumated by the Gov:r and that he
had taken upon him to read the Absolution
& Something Else which he has now forgot
After he had thus read the paper over He
refused to Signe it, and told Mrs Southen He
thought 'twas not proper for the People of the
Island to Signe, telling her there was Gentlem:n
belonging to the Ships that were then at
Church who would be Sufficient, & Endeavoured
to disswade her from medling any further. /
Capt: John Alexander Deposes that on
Sunday the 29. of Nov: last being then at Church
Docter Jones when reading Divine Service
did Margin Notes: Deposition of
John Doveton Capt: Alexand:rs
Deposition | Jonathan Doveton, being sworn, said that some time before the last ships sailed, Mrs Southen called him into Mr Coulson's house and showed him a paper, which she told him Mr Jones desired him to sign. Reading it, he saw what transaction had happened at church relating to Mr Jones, and that it was signed by Charles Steward only. Turning the paper over, he saw on the back an account of the chaplain being confined, how many hours, that a marriage was consummated by the Governor, and that he had taken upon himself to read the absolution, and something else which he had now forgotten. After he had read the paper over, he refused to sign it, and told Mrs Southen he thought it not proper for the people of the island to sign. He told her there were gentlemen belonging to the ships then at church who would be sufficient, and endeavoured to dissuade her from meddling any further. Captain John Alexander deposed that on Sunday 29 November last, being then at church, Doctor Jones, when reading divine service, [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations Doveton's evidence revealed a second side to the paper charging the Governor with further faults. Beyond the interruption in church, the back of the paper set out that the Governor had confined the chaplain, performed a marriage himself and taken upon himself to read the absolution, the document accusing Johnson of usurping clerical functions, the fuller grievance the chaplain's party had drawn up against the government. The charge that the Governor read the absolution and married a couple touched a real boundary of office. The absolution and the solemnising of marriage were the minister's proper functions, so the paper's complaint was that Johnson had encroached on the chaplain's spiritual office, the same conflict over who held authority in the church that the seizure of Jones during service had brought to a head. Doveton's refusal, like Beale's, marked the resistance of the steadier planters. He read the paper, judged it improper for the inhabitants to sign, and pointed Sarah Southen to the ships' gentlemen as fitter subscribers, the substantial planter and executor of John Marsh's will counselling against the libel, the bench drawing on his evidence to show her pressing signatures on the unwilling. Captain John Alexander now appears as a witness as well as a councillor. The same John Alexander who sat on the bench gave evidence of what passed in church on 29 November 1719, the small establishment of the island throwing a councillor into the witness box, his testimony of the chaplain's reading of divine service going to the events the paper described, the narrowness of the settlement again placing the same men in several roles at once. | |||||
372 | 1719.
did read the Collect for the first Sunday in Advent
upon which the Govern:r call'd to him in a very
mild manner Saying Docter you are wrong,
this is the 2 Sunday in Advent which Mr
Jones did Seem to recollect & did reed y:e Collect for y:e 2 Sunday
And that before he reed the Litany He read
the form of Prayer appointed by the Hon:
Comp:s and then returnd to reading the
Collect for the first Sunday in Advent as to
begin (notwithstanding he being told as afores:d
which was not Usually done in that place as
I remember When Mr Jones came to the
Communion Service he begining to read the
wrong Collect Epistle & Gospel without any
regard to what Misstakes the Gov:r told him of
He did persist & read on in open defyance
of the Gov:r, which gave him cause to Order
Mr Jones to be Seizd by the officer of the Guard
& to bring him into the Castle, where he
appeared with an haughty Countenance &
vindicated himself in a very rude manner,
who for his disobedient & Insolent behavioure
then as well as at Several other times, before the Govern:r
& Council He was Confind. /
Capt: | Captain John Alexander's deposition continued. Doctor Jones read the collect for the first Sunday in Advent, upon which the Governor called to him in a very mild manner, saying, Doctor, you are wrong, this is the second Sunday in Advent. Mr Jones seemed to recollect himself and read the collect for that Sunday. Before he read the litany, he read the form of prayer appointed by the Company, and then returned to reading the collect for the first Sunday in Advent as at the beginning, notwithstanding he had been told as before, which was not usually done in that place as the deponent remembered. When Mr Jones came to the communion service, he began to read the wrong collect, epistle and gospel, without any regard to what mistakes the Governor told him of. He persisted to read on in open defiance of the Governor, which gave him cause to order Mr Jones to be seized by the officer of the guard and brought into the castle. There he appeared with a haughty countenance and defended himself in a very rude manner. For his disobedient and insolent behaviour then, as well as at several other times before the Governor and council, he was confined. Interpretations Captain Alexander's account directly contradicted the chaplain's version of the same events. Where the paper had charged the Governor with interrupting the service outrageously and seizing Jones for no cause, the councillor swore that Johnson spoke mildly, corrected a genuine error in the collect, and acted only when the chaplain persisted in the wrong readings in open defiance, the bench setting a sworn eyewitness against the libel's narrative. The conflict turned on whether the chaplain's mistakes were real and his defiance wilful. Alexander's evidence that Jones read the wrong collect, epistle and gospel and pressed on despite correction recast the dispute as the chaplain's obstinacy rather than the Governor's overbearing, the same point of liturgical order the paper had insisted Jones got right, the two accounts irreconcilable on the central fact. The deposition supplied the official justification for the chaplain's confinement. By recording that Jones was seized only after wilful defiance and behaved with a haughty and rude countenance, the testimony grounded the Governor's action in the chaplain's disobedience, the council building on the record the case that the confinement was warranted, the answer to the libel's charge of arbitrary seizure. The placing of a sitting councillor as the prosecution's eyewitness shows the trial as a contest between the government and the chaplain's party. John Alexander, who sat on the bench in council, gave the decisive evidence for the Governor's account, the same overlap of office that ran through the affair, the narrow establishment of the island making the councillor at once judge in the cause and witness to its central events. | |||||
373 | Jan:ry Capt: John Goodwin declares to the Same Effect. Lieut: Thomas Cason likewise declares to the Same Effect. Adding further that Docter Civil one of the Prisoners at the Barr did Say that he told Mr Jones that he was in the right to persist in reading the Collect for the first Sunday Since he had looked in the Calandre & had Satisfy'd himself, But that he blam'd him for his Rude behaviour towards the Govern: during his reading and which he himself could not but take Notice of, and gave the Gov:r an opportu- nity to take hold of it Ensigne William Slaughter declares to the Same as Capt: Alexander & Goodwin hath as also the former part of Lieut: Casons declaration. Adding likewise that Doct: Jones read the Psalms for the 28 day of the month instead of the 29 day, And that during the time of his Confinemt: Mrs Southen did often interced w: the Centry Sett at his door that She might go in to him and at other times that her daughter Sarah might go in to See him. / Trumett Margin Notes: Capt: Goodwin declares to y:e Same Effect Lt: Cason de- clared to y:e Same Effect w:th Some lar Additions / W:m Slaughters Deposition | Captain John Goodwin deposed to the same effect. Lieutenant Thomas Cason likewise deposed to the same effect, adding further that Doctor Cevill, one of the prisoners at the bar, told him that he had told Mr Jones he was in the right to persist in reading the collect for the first Sunday, since he had looked in the calendar and satisfied himself. But Cason blamed the chaplain for his rude behaviour towards the Governor during his reading, which he himself could not but take notice of, and which had given the Governor occasion to take hold of it. Ensign William Slaughter deposed to the same effect as Captains Alexander and Goodwin, and also to the former part of Lieutenant Cason's deposition. He added that Doctor Jones read the psalms for the 28th day of the month instead of the 29th. He further said that during the time of his confinement Mrs Southen often interceded with the sentry set at his door, that she might go in to him, and at other times that her daughter Sarah might go in to see him. Interpretations The successive depositions built a consistent body of official testimony against the chaplain. Captain Goodwin, Lieutenant Cason and Ensign Slaughter all swore to the same effect as Captain Alexander, the council and the garrison officers presenting a united front that Jones had erred and behaved rudely, the weight of the establishment set against the libel's account of the Governor's conduct. Cason's evidence revealed Cevill's part in stiffening the chaplain's defiance. The convicted surgeon had told the chaplain he was right to persist, claiming to have checked the calendar, the same Cevill the council had taken up among the first subscribers, his encouragement of Jones linking the medicine offender to the church dispute and showing the bench's adversaries acting in concert. Slaughter's evidence on the psalms added a further instance of the chaplain's error. Reading the psalms for the wrong day of the month strengthened the prosecution's case that Jones's mistakes were real and repeated, not the Governor's invention, the same point of liturgical order on which the whole dispute turned, the officers multiplying the examples of the chaplain's slips. The testimony about Sarah Southen's visits to the confined chaplain marked the bond between her and Jones. Her repeated approaches to the sentry to gain access to him, and her sending her daughter, showed her close attachment to the chaplain's cause, the bench drawing on this to establish her as the moving spirit of his party, the same central role the indictment laid against her as the author and promoter of the libel. | |||||
374 | 1719. Samuel Head being Swoorne Saith that Mrs Southen did ask him when at Centry at the Minister door to let her and her daughter go in to him & that at Severall times. / Joseph Bates being Swoorne Says that Mr Jones was Guilty of Several Errors at Church in reading the wrong Psalm for the day, In reading the Prayer for the Hon: Comp:s before that for the King & the Church in the Littany and for reading a Collect, when the Govern: told Mr Jones it was the Second Sunday in Advent I wonder you'l make these Misstakes, the next was in reading the Morral Law, he was very rude in his behaviour towards the Govern: very much unbecomeing a Person in his Cloath. The Govern:r Seeing his Rude Proceedings Ordered that Mr Jones Should be brought before him. / Samuel Head further declares on his Oath that Mr Jones made Several Misstakes, That he read the Prayer for the Hon: Comp:s before the Littany and that he read the Psalms for the 28 day instead of the 29 and that aft:r the Gov:r had Spoke to him about his Misstakes he behaved himself very Unmanner- ly by looking on him & laughing at him with horn Margin Notes: Sam: Head &: Deposition Jos: Bates Deposition Sam: Head Declares faith | Samuel Head, being sworn, said that Mrs Southen had asked him, when he was sentry at the minister's door, to let her and her daughter go in to him, and that at several times. Joseph Bates, being sworn, said that Mr Jones was guilty of several errors at church. He read the wrong psalm for the day. In reading the prayer for the Company before that for the King and the church in the litany, and in reading a collect when the Governor told him it was the second Sunday in Advent, saying, I wonder you make these mistakes. The next was in reading the moral law. He was very rude in his behaviour towards the Governor, very much unbecoming a person in his cloth. The Governor, seeing his rude proceedings, ordered that Mr Jones be brought before him. Samuel Head further deposed on his oath that Mr Jones made several mistakes. He read the prayer for the Company before the litany, and read the psalms for the 28th day instead of the 29th. After the Governor had spoken to him about his mistakes, he behaved very unmannerly, looking on him and laughing at him with scorn. Interpretations Head's evidence confirmed Sarah Southen's persistent efforts to reach the confined chaplain. The sentry himself swore that she pressed repeatedly to be admitted to Jones with her daughter, the same approaches Slaughter had described, the firsthand testimony of the guard fixing her close attachment to the chaplain's cause that the prosecution laid at the heart of her offence. Bates's evidence catalogued the chaplain's liturgical errors in detail. The wrong psalm, the misplacing of the prayer for the Company before that for the King and the church, the wrong collect and the fault in reading the moral law built the prosecution's case that Jones's mistakes were real and several, the same point of order the libel had denied, the witness multiplying the instances against the chaplain. The misordering of the prayers carried a particular weight in a loyal congregation. Reading the prayer for the Company before that for the King reversed the proper precedence of the sovereign, a slip touching the order of loyalty itself, the kind of error a Hanoverian establishment would mark, the bench drawing on it to show the chaplain's conduct of the service careless or worse. The repeated evidence of the chaplain's scornful manner grounded the charge of insolence. Head's account that Jones looked on the Governor and laughed at him with scorn, echoing the other officers, fixed the rudeness that the bench held warranted his confinement, the prosecution turning the chaplain's bearing as much as his errors into the justification for the government's action against him. | |||||
375 | Jan:ry Scorn whilst he was reading Divine Service & that the Govern: Spoke very mildly to him both times when he Checked him. / John Dixon being Swoorne Saith that he heard the Govern: tell Mr Jones he was wrong as he was on the Sunday before, He reading the first Sunday in Advent instead of the Second Sunday Thomas Easthope Swoorne Saith. That he heard the Govern: call to Mr Jones and tell him he was wrong for that was the Second Sunday in Advent he then begining to read the Collect for the first Sunday, and did wonder he would make Such Misstakes. / Josiah Joseph Bedloe, John George, John Young Swore the Same. Then the Indictment against John Worral was read as follows. / Island St Helena ss John Worral You Stand Indicted by the Name of John Worral of this Island Planter for a Misdemeanor. For that you the Said John out of a Vexatious temper and Evill designe Margin Notes: Jn:o Dixons Deposition Tho: Easthope Deposition Bedloe Jn:o George & Jn:o Young Depos:d to y:e Same Effect Indictm:t ag:t Jn:o Worrall for Signing y:e false Scandal: Libell. / | Bates and Head added that the chaplain showed scorn while reading divine service, and that the Governor spoke very mildly to him both times when he checked him. John Dixon, being sworn, said that he heard the Governor tell Mr Jones he was wrong, as he had been on the Sunday before, in reading the first Sunday in Advent instead of the second Sunday. Thomas Easthope, being sworn, said that he heard the Governor call to Mr Jones and tell him he was wrong, for it was the second Sunday in Advent, he then beginning to read the collect for the first Sunday, and that he wondered he would make such mistakes. Josiah Joseph Bodloe, John George and John Young swore the same to the like effect. The indictment against John Worrall was then read as follows. Island of St Helena. John Worrall stood indicted by the name of John Worrall of the island, planter, for a misdemeanour. The charge was that he, out of a vexatious temper and evil design, [the indictment continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The closing depositions completed the uniform body of testimony for the Governor's account. John Dixon, Thomas Easthope, Bodloe, John George and John Young all swore that the Governor spoke mildly and corrected a real error, the same effect as every prior witness, the prosecution mustering the whole congregation against the libel's claim that Johnson interrupted the service outrageously. The repeated emphasis on the Governor's mild manner answered the indictment's core charge directly. By having witness after witness confirm that Johnson spoke gently when checking the chaplain, the bench dismantled the paper's central allegation of outrageous interruption, the trial turning on whose account of the Governor's tone the jury would believe, the weight of sworn evidence laid against the written libel. The opening of Worrall's indictment moved the prosecution to the next chief offender. With Sarah Southen's case heard, the sergeant John Worrall was indicted in the same form for a misdemeanour, the bench prosecuting the principals of the affair in turn, Worrall marked among the foremost by his signing, his seduction of a soldier and his scandalous words against the Governor. Worrall's indictment by the style of planter rather than sergeant points to his standing apart from his military rank. Though a serjeant upon duty when he signed, he was charged as a planter of the island, the same man the bench had bound over in a hundred-pound recognizance, his several offences gathered into the prosecution that followed Sarah Southen's as the next of the libel's leaders to answer. | |||||
376 | 1719. designe to delude under a falacious Pretence and to raise Sides and Animositys in the Quiet minds of the Several of the good People of this Island, Did on or about the 13 day of December last on the Said Island Signe a false Scandalous & Seditious Libel Wherein leaving out what might Agravate the Crime in Mr Jones, and in the Same Libel highly reflecting on the Worsh: Edward Johnson Esq: Gov: of the Said Island, intending thereby to Alienate the Affections of the Said good People of this Island from his Worship, and to disturb the Quiet Government thereof, and likewise for endeavolving basely, to Seduce, Entice, & delude one John George Soldier To Signe the Said Libel Contrary to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George his Crown & dignity, and is in high Contempt of the wholesome Laws & Ordinances of this Island made by the Hon: Lords Proprietors thereof. To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty. / Then the following Evidences were Call'd & Swoorse. John George being Swoorne Saith that he being at Centry at the Castle Gate, and the Serjeant John Worral comeing out of the Castle he Sayed to him Serj: I want to Speak with you have you Margin Notes: He pleaded not Guilty Evidences call'd Jn:o George Deposition | The indictment against Worrall continued. Out of an ill design to deceive under a false pretence, and to raise feuds and animosities in the quiet minds of several of the good people of the island, he had on or about 13 December last signed a false, scandalous and seditious libel. In it he had left out what might aggravate the crime in Mr Jones, and had highly reflected on the worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of the island. He intended by this to alienate the affections of the good people from the Governor and to disturb the quiet government of the island. He had likewise basely endeavoured to seduce and entice John George, soldier, to sign the libel. This was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors. To this indictment Worrall pleaded not guilty. The following witnesses were then called and sworn. John George, being sworn, said that he was at the castle gate on sentry duty, and the sergeant John Worrall, coming out of the castle, said to him, Sergeant, I want to speak with you, [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations Worrall's indictment matched Sarah Southen's in form but added the aggravation of seducing a soldier on duty. The charge laid the same publishing of the libel and reflecting on the Governor, with the further offence of enticing John George to sign, the bench treating the corruption of a sentry at his post as a distinct wrong, the same conduct it had noted when it first took Worrall up at the consultation of 5 January 1720. The seduction of a soldier struck at military discipline as well as the peace. By drawing a man on sentry duty into the libel, Worrall offended against the order of the guard he himself helped command, the bench marking the attempt on John George as an aggravation that set the sergeant apart from the ordinary subscribers, his abuse of his rank compounding the libel. John George stood as the central witness against Worrall as Beale had against Sarah Southen. The soldier whom the sergeant had tried to corrupt now gave evidence of the approach, his testimony going directly to the charge of seduction, the same John George whose earlier information had added the scandal charge against Worrall, the victim of the attempt now its chief proof. The repeated formula of the indictments shows the bench prosecuting the libel's leaders on a common pattern. Sarah Southen and Worrall were charged in nearly identical terms, each as a publisher and seducer, the council pursuing the principals through a uniform indictment while adding to each the particular aggravation of their conduct, the structured prosecution carrying the affair from the council's board through the sessions to a verdict. | |||||
377 | Jan:ry you Seen any Paper at Mrs Southens at which the Serjeant Sayd what Paper, George Sayd Serjeant you need not make So Strange of it, for She asked me to Signe it for Mr Jones Out replyed he asd and what ever you do George Signe it, for I have Signed it with both my hands. / Charles Steward being Swoorne Says that Mrs Southens Son Edward Bagley told him on Christmas Eve as they were Comeing down from the Plantation House to Prison that Serjeant Worral had Signed the Paper & that it was Signed by eight persons. Upon which his mother who was then with them bee him hold his tongue Josiah Joseph Bedloe Swoorne Saith that Mrs Southen when She was brought into Prison was asked whither Serjeant Worral had Signed he answered Yes We Shall have the Poore Serj: Tomorrow, for the Marshall hath Orders to goe into the Country tomorrow and it must be for him Then the Indictment against Edward Bagley (Orphan) was read as follows. / Island Margin Notes: Cha: Stewards Deposition Jos: Bedloes Deposition | John George's deposition continued. The sergeant asked him whether he had seen any paper at Mrs Southen's. George said, what paper. The sergeant replied, you need not make so strange of it, for she asked me to sign it for Mr Jones. George asked him whether he had, and the sergeant said, and whatever you do, George, sign it, for I have signed it with both my hands. Charles Steward, being sworn, said that Mrs Southen's son Edward Bagley told him, on Christmas Eve as they were coming down from the plantation house to prison, that Sergeant Worrall had signed the paper, and that it was signed by eight persons. Upon which his mother, who was there with them, bade him hold his tongue. Josiah Joseph Bodloe, being sworn, said that Mrs Southen, when she was brought into prison, was asked whether Sergeant Worrall had signed. She answered, yes, we shall have the poor sergeant tomorrow, for the marshal has orders to go into the country tomorrow, and it must be for him. The indictment against Edward Bagley, orphan, was then read as follows. Interpretations George's evidence fixed Worrall's solicitation in the sergeant's own words. By swearing that Worrall pressed him to sign and boasted of having signed with both his hands, the soldier supplied direct proof of the enticing charged in the indictment, the sergeant's eagerness to draw in a man under his command going to the heart of the offence. Steward's evidence again showed Sarah Southen managing the affair even in custody. Her bidding her son hold his tongue when he spoke of Worrall's signing revealed her concern to control what was said, the same directing hand the prosecution laid against her, the slip of her young son checked by the mother the bench had named the contriver. Bodloe's evidence caught Sarah Southen anticipating Worrall's arrest with grim satisfaction. Her remark that the marshal would take the poor sergeant next showed her knowledge of the proceedings and her continued engagement with the cause from prison, the bench drawing on it to confirm her central place and her foreknowledge of who had signed and who would be taken. The opening of Edward Bagley's indictment carried the prosecution to the youngest of the accused. With Sarah Southen and Worrall heard, her own son Edward Bagley, styled orphan, was next indicted, the bench prosecuting even the young man it had earlier described as seduced by his mother, the affair drawing in the contriver's own family as the trials of the subscribers proceeded one after another. | |||||
378 | 1719. Island St Helena ss Edward Bagley You Stand Indicted by the name of Edward Bagley of this Island Orphan for a Misdemeanor, For that you the Said Edward out of a Vexatious temper and an evill designe to delude under a falacious Pretence & to raise Sides & Animositys in the quiet minds of Severall of the good People of this Island, did on or about Sunday the 13. day of Dec: last or Since Signe a false Scandalous, and Seditious Libel, therein leaving out what might Agravah Mr Jones his Crime and in the Same Libel highly reflecting on the Worshipfull Edward Johnson Esq: Gov: of the Said Island, intending thereby to Alinate the affections of the Said good People of this Island from his Worship, and to disturb the Quiet Government thereof Contrary to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George his Crowne & dignity and is in high Contempt of the wholesome Laws & Ordinances of this Island made by the Hon: Lords Proprietors thereof. / To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty Margin Notes: Indictment ag:t Edward Bagley for Signing a false & Scandalous Libell. He pleaded not Guilty | Island of St Helena. Edward Bagley stood indicted by the name of Edward Bagley of the island, orphan, for a misdemeanour. The charge was that he, out of a vexatious temper and an ill design to deceive under a false pretence, and to raise feuds and animosities in the quiet minds of several of the good people of the island, had on or about Sunday 13 December last, or since, signed a false, scandalous and seditious libel. In it he had left out what might aggravate Mr Jones's crime, and had highly reflected on the worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of the island. He intended by this to alienate the affections of the good people from the Governor and to disturb the quiet government of the island. This was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors. To this indictment Bagley pleaded not guilty. Interpretations Bagley's indictment followed the common form laid against the libel's signers. The charge of signing the scandalous paper and reflecting on the Governor matched the indictments of Sarah Southen and Worrall almost word for word, the bench prosecuting each subscriber on the same pattern, the uniform charge carrying the affair through the sessions defendant by defendant. The prosecution of Sarah Southen's own son shows the bench holding all the unrepentant to account regardless of the earlier division. Edward Bagley had been described as seduced by his mother at the consultation of 5 January 1720, yet he stood among those tried, the council pursuing every signer who had not submitted under the petition of acknowledgement, the clemency offered only to those who retracted. The style of orphan rather than any trade marks Bagley's dependent standing. Charged as an orphan of the island, the son of Sarah Southen by an earlier marriage, his want of an independent position underlay the bench's earlier view of him as drawn in by his mother, yet his refusal to submit brought him to trial alongside the principals, his minority not exempting him once he stood among the obstinate. The repetition of the indictment's terms across the defendants reflects the bench's treatment of the libel as a single collective offence. By charging each signer with the same publishing and reflecting in identical words, the council framed the paper as one seditious act committed by many hands, the structured and uniform prosecution pressing the whole party of subscribers through the court on a common charge. | |||||
379 | Jan:ry Then the Evidences were Called & Swoorne. William Beale being Swoorne Says that he Saw Edward Bagleys name to the Paper but did not See him Signe it Josiah Joseph Bedloe being Swoorne Says that Edward Bagley did owne to him in Prison that he had Signd the Said Paper. Then the Indictment against Chelmondly Civel (Surgeon) was read, which was the Same as Edward Bagleys. / To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty. / The following Evidences were then Called. / William Beale being Swoorne Says he Saw Docter Civels name to the paper Joseph Bates Swoorne Says that Docter Civel did tell him he had Signed that Paper for Mr Jones who he Sayed told him he would Carry it to the King & Parliament. Charles Steward Swoorne Says he did hear Docter Civel Say he had Signd that Paper con- cerning Mr Jones. Lieut: Thomas Cason being Swoorne Says that Docter Civel told him that he had been talking with Mr Jones and had told him he was in the Margin Notes: Evidences call'd W:m Beales Deposition Jos: Bedloes Deposition Indictm:t read ag:t Chel: Civel y:e Same Effect as E: Bagleys He pleaded Guilty Evidences called W:m Beales Deposition Jos: Bates Deposition Cha: Steward Declares. Lt: Casons Deposition | The witnesses against Bagley were then called and sworn. William Beale, being sworn, said that he saw Edward Bagley's name to the paper, but did not see him sign it. Josiah Joseph Bodloe, being sworn, said that Edward Bagley owned to him in prison that he had signed the paper. The indictment against Cholmondley Cevill, surgeon, was then read, which was the same as Edward Bagley's. To this indictment Cevill pleaded not guilty. The following witnesses were then called. William Beale, being sworn, said he saw Doctor Cevill's name to the paper. Joseph Bates, being sworn, said that Doctor Cevill told him he had signed the paper for Mr Jones, who, he said, told him he would carry it to the King and Parliament. Charles Steward, being sworn, said he did hear Doctor Cevill say he had signed the paper concerning Mr Jones. Lieutenant Thomas Cason, being sworn, said that Doctor Cevill told him he had been talking with Mr Jones, and had told him he was in the [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The evidence against Bagley rested on his own admission and the sight of his name. Beale saw the signature though not the signing, and Bodloe testified that Bagley owned in prison to having signed, the bench grounding the case on the young man's confession to a fellow prisoner, the proof of subscription completed by his own words. Cevill's prosecution followed at once on the same indictment. The convicted medicine offender, taken up among the first subscribers at the consultation of 5 January 1720, was charged in the identical terms as Bagley, the bench bringing the contentious surgeon to trial again within months of his conviction for embezzling the Company's stores on 22 October 1719. Bates's evidence revealed the chaplain's stated intention to carry the complaint to the highest authority. Cevill reported that Jones meant to lay the paper before the King and Parliament, the chaplain's party aiming their appeal not merely at the directors but at the Crown itself, the bench drawing on this to show the libel a deliberate and ambitious challenge to the island's government. The intention to reach the King and Parliament marked the gravity the prosecution attached to the affair. By aiming the paper at the sovereign and the legislature, the chaplain's party raised the local dispute into an appeal over the whole chain of authority, the council treating such a design as the height of contempt for the government, the same concern for the standing of its administration that had driven the arrests and the structured prosecution from the first. | |||||
380 | 1719. the wrong for behaveing himself So Rudely at Church and Noding at the Govern:r / The Said Chelmondly Civel owned in Court he had Signed the Paper relateing to Mr Jones. / Then the Indictment against Edmund Leigh Surgeon was read being the Same as the others before mentiond were. / To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty. / Joseph Bates being called & Swoorne Saith that Docter Civel did tell him on the 24. of Dec: last that Docter Leigh had Signed the Paper aforesaid. / Josiah Joseph Bedloe being Swoorne Saith that Docter Leigh told him he had Signed the Paper, and that he was the fifth person that did Signe Then the Judges Summ up the Several Evidences to the Jury, who withdrew and Stayed about two hours. And Returnd their Verdict That Chelmondly Civel & Sarah Southen were found Guilty. That Edw:d Bagley John Worral & Edmund Leigh were not Guilty. Then Margin Notes: Chel: Civel owned in Court he Signed y:e paper. Indictm:t ag:t Edm: Leigh Pleaded not Guilty / Jos: Bates Deposition Josi: Bedloe Deposition Judges Charge to y:e Jury Returnd their Verdict | Cason's deposition concluded. Cevill had told the chaplain he was in the wrong for behaving himself so rudely at church and nodding at the Governor. Cholmondley Cevill owned in court that he had signed the paper relating to Mr Jones. The indictment against Edmund Leigh, surgeon, was then read, being the same as the others before mentioned. To this indictment he pleaded not guilty. Joseph Bates, being called and sworn, said that Doctor Cevill had told him on 24 December last that Doctor Leigh had signed the paper. Josiah Joseph Bodloe, being sworn, said that Doctor Leigh told him he had signed the paper, and that he was the fifth person who signed. The judge then summed up the several evidences to the jury, who withdrew and stayed about two hours. They returned their verdict, that Cholmondley Cevill and Sarah Southen were found guilty, and that Edward Bagley, John Worrall and Edmund Leigh were not guilty. Interpretations Cevill's own admission in court secured the proof against him. Having pleaded not guilty, he then owned that he had signed the paper, his confession from the bar settling the fact of subscription, the convicted medicine offender again caught by his own words as he had been at his earlier trial on 22 October 1719. The case against Leigh rested on reported admissions rather than direct sight. Bates and Bodloe testified that Leigh had owned to signing and was the fifth subscriber, the garrison surgeon committed earlier over the medicine book now charged on the strength of what he was said to have confessed to fellow prisoners, the bench prosecuting the surgeon who had stood among its adversaries. The jury's mixed verdict drew a sharp line through the accused. Cholmondley Cevill and Sarah Southen were convicted while Edward Bagley, John Worrall and Edmund Leigh were acquitted, the panel of free planters distinguishing the two it held the prime movers from the three it would not convict, the verdict resting the guilt on the contriver and the obstinate medicine offender. The acquittals show the jury exercising an independent judgement against the run of the prosecution. Despite the uniform indictments and the evidence of signing, the panel cleared Worrall, Bagley and Leigh, perhaps weighing Worrall's military standing, Bagley's youth and the merely reported nature of Leigh's admission, the free planters declining to convict the whole party and fixing the law's penalty on Sarah Southen and Cevill alone. Speculations The jury convicted the contriver and the convicted embezzler while acquitting the soldier, the youth and the second surgeon because the panel of planters drew its own line between the affair's instigators and those it judged drawn in or insufficiently proved. Sarah Southen had been shown soliciting signature after signature in her own words, and Cevill had confessed in open court and bore the stain of his October conviction, so the evidence against the two was both direct and damning. Against Worrall, Bagley and Leigh the proof rested more on reported admissions and the men carried mitigating circumstances, a serjeant's rank, a youth's dependence and a surgeon charged only on hearsay, the jury of householders preferring to fix the seditious-libel penalty on the two clear movers rather than convict the whole subscription and so press the quarrel further into their own narrow community. The verdict left the bench its principal culprits while sparing the men whose guilt the planters thought lighter or less certain, the panel tempering the government's sweeping prosecution with a discriminating judgement of its own. | |||||
381 | Jan:ry Then a Second Jury was called, and are as follows. / 1: John French foreman 2: Jonathan Doveton 3: Gabriel Powell 4: John Long 5: James Greenhee 6: Anthony Beale 7: Richard Gurling 8: Robert Gurling 9: James Vesey 10: James Rider 11: Walt:r Morris 12: Simon Whaley Who were all Sworne & no objection made. Then the following Indictment was read against John Worral Planter. Island St Helena ss Jn:o Worrall You Stand Indited by the name of John Worrall of the Said Island Planter, for that You the Said John out of a Malicious will, and Premiditated designe, did on or about the 19. of Dec: last about ten a Clock in the Evening at Margin Notes: Second Jury. called & Sworn 2:d Indictm:t ag:t Jn:o Worrall for Uttering of Scandalous words. | A second jury was then called, who were as follows: John French as foreman, then Jonathan Doveton, Gabriel Powell, John Long, James Greentree, Anthony Beale, Richard Gurling, Robert Gurling, James Vesey, James Rider, Walter Morris and Simon Whaley, twelve in all. They were all sworn, and no objection was made. The following indictment was then read against John Worrall, planter. Island of St Helena. John Worrall stood indicted by the name of John Worrall of the island, planter. The charge was that he, out of a malicious will and premeditated design, had on or about 19 December last, about ten o'clock in the evening, [the indictment continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The calling of a second jury marked a fresh charge against Worrall distinct from the libel. Having been acquitted on the seditious-paper indictment, the sergeant now faced a separate prosecution before a newly sworn panel, the bench pursuing his other offence over the scandalous words against the Governor, the second jury empanelled for the new cause as the court's procedure required. The second indictment rested on the charge of scandalous speech rather than subscription. The matter laid against Worrall, his malicious words spoken in the evening, answered the information John George had given that the sergeant had professed himself a strong papist and reflected on the Governor, the bench carrying that separate offence to trial after the libel charge had failed. The jury again drew on the settled body of planters, several lately entangled in the affair themselves. John French the foreman, the master gunner whose powder accounts run through the records, sat with Gabriel Powell, John Long, James Greentree, the Gurlings, James Vesey and James Rider, men who had themselves been bound over as subscribers to the second paper, the narrow community once more judging its own. The empanelling of subscribers to try Worrall shows the limits of the island's jury pool. Several of the twelve had been summoned and bound over for signing the testimonial at the consultation of 5 January 1720, yet they sat in judgement on a fellow subscriber, the small free population forcing the bench to draw its juries from the same circle caught up in the matter, the want of disinterested men a standing feature of the island's courts. | |||||
382 | 1719. at the Castle gate in Union Valley in the Said Island, then and there by words Uttered Spoke and tokens Signifyed Maliciously, Contumptuously & approbriously to the Publick reproach Scandal and Defamation of the Worshipful Edward Johnson Esq: Gov: of this Island, his Degree and dignity openly & Publickly, Speak & utter false Scandalous & approbrious words, Intimateing that the Said Edward Johnson the Govern:r was a Strong Papist Whereas in truth it is what from his very heart he abhors, by reason of which words and Intimations his Degree & dignity may be brought into great Contempt & reproach among all the Good people of this Island and thereby may Create jealousies & fears to the great Prejudice & Uneasiness of all the Inhabitants, and disturb the Peace & Quiet Government of this Island Contrary to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George his Crown and Dignity, and is in high Contempt of the wholesome Laws & Ordinances of this Island made by the Hon: Lords Proprietors thereof. / To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty. / Then Margin Notes: He pleaded not Guilty. | The indictment against Worrall continued. At the castle gate in Union Valley, by words uttered and signs made maliciously, contemptuously and reproachfully, to the public reproach, scandal and defamation of the worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of the island, his degree and dignity, he had openly and publicly spoken and uttered false, scandalous and reproachful words, intimating that Governor Johnson was a strong papist, whereas in truth it was what he abhorred from his very heart. By reason of these words and intimations, the Governor's degree and dignity might be brought into great contempt and reproach among all the good people of the island. They might thereby create jealousies and fears, to the great prejudice and uneasiness of all the inhabitants, and disturb the peace and quiet government of the island. This was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors. To this indictment Worrall pleaded not guilty. Interpretations The second indictment fixed the offence as a defamation of the Governor's standing through a dangerous imputation. Calling Johnson a strong papist struck at his fitness to govern under a Protestant Crown, the charge resting on the public reproach such words brought on his degree and dignity, the bench treating the slur as a distinct crime from the libel for which the sergeant had just been acquitted. The imputation of popery carried a particular sting in the political moment. With the Hanoverian succession set against Catholic and Jacobite disaffection, to brand the Governor a papist was to question his loyalty itself, the indictment stressing that Johnson abhorred popery from his heart, the bench answering the charge as a threat to the order of allegiance the government rested on. The indictment's emphasis on jealousies and fears among the inhabitants framed the words as a danger to public order. By alleging that the slur might create distrust and unease throughout the settlement, the charge cast Worrall's speech as a disturbance of the quiet government, the same concern for the peace of the island that ran through the whole prosecution of the libel and its subscribers. The fresh trial on a separate indictment shows the bench refusing to let Worrall's acquittal close his offences. Having failed to convict him on the paper, the council brought the distinct charge of scandalous words before a new jury, pursuing the sergeant for the defamation of the Governor as a matter in its own right, the structured prosecution adapting to secure a reckoning for his conduct against authority. | |||||
383 | Jan:ry Then John George Sold:r was called & Swoorne who Saith that when the Serjeant was talking about the Paper Mrs Southen askt him to Signe The Deponent Sayed he wonder'd Bedloe, (for he was a Strong Papist) Should be So Constantly at Prayers as he was, both in the Fort & at Church why Should you wonder at that Sayes the Serj: So is Somebody Else too looking into the Castle Gate (upon which) George the S:d Depon:t Sayd takeing Notice of his looking, I hope you don't take the Govern:r to be one doe you? the Serj: replyed what the Divil doe you think him Else. / Then the Jury withdrew & Stayed about half an hour, and returned their Verdict. / That John Worral was found Guilty of the Indictment laid to his Charge. The Court was Adjourned to Thursday the 11. of February next Ed Johnson Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Jn:o Georges Deposition Jury found Jn:o Worrall Guilty. Court Adjourned | John George, soldier, was then called and sworn. He said that when the sergeant was talking about the paper Mrs Southen asked him to sign, the deponent said he wondered that Bodloe, for he was a strong papist, should be so constantly at prayers as he was, both in the fort and at church. The sergeant said, why should you wonder at that. So is somebody else too, looking into the castle gate. Upon which George, taking notice of his looking, said, I hope you do not take the Governor to be one, do you. The sergeant replied, what the devil do you think him else. The jury then withdrew, stayed about half an hour, and returned their verdict, that John Worrall was found guilty of the indictment laid to his charge. The court was adjourned to Thursday 11 February next. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations George's evidence supplied the sergeant's words in their full context. The exchange began with the soldier wondering that the papist Bodloe attended prayers so diligently, to which Worrall answered that another did so too, and when pressed whether he meant the Governor, replied with the contemptuous question that fixed the slur, the bench grounding the charge on the sergeant's own retort. The conversational setting gave the words a casual yet pointed character. Worrall's reply emerged from talk about the paper and Bodloe's churchgoing, the imputation of popery thrown out in answer to George's challenge, the prosecution drawing the scandalous meaning from the sergeant's refusal to deny he meant the Governor when directly asked. The single soldier's testimony sufficed where the libel charge had failed. The same John George who had been the chief witness against Worrall on the paper now carried the conviction on the words, the jury accepting his account of the exchange at the castle gate, the soldier the sergeant had tried to corrupt proving the decisive witness to the defamation. The conviction secured the bench the reckoning the acquittal had denied. Having failed on the libel, the council obtained a guilty verdict on the scandalous words, the second jury convicting Worrall where the first had cleared him, the structured prosecution at last fixing the law's penalty on the sergeant for his speech against the Governor, with the sentence reserved to the adjourned court of 11 February. | |||||
384 | Across the trials the prosecution worked by a consistent design, building each charge on a single decisive witness and reserving sentence to a later sitting. The bench grounded Worrall's conviction on the sergeant's own retort rather than on any second-hand report, the defamation fixed by his refusal to deny he meant the Governor. The structure of the day shows the council recovering on the words what it had lost on the libel. Worrall, Bagley and Leigh were all cleared of signing the scandalous paper, yet the same John George who had testified to the paper now carried the conviction on the spoken slur. The soldier the sergeant had tried to seduce became the witness who undid him. Speculations The repeated pattern across Civel, Southen and Worrall suggests the bench understood where its evidence was strongest. Acquittals followed on the libel charges, where signatures could be disputed and witnesses hedged, while convictions came where a single hostile witness could swear to a direct exchange. The conversational setting of Worrall's words may have helped the prosecution, since a casual retort thrown out at the castle gate left him no room to claim a considered denial. The deferral of sentence to 11 February fits a court managing several convictions at once. Civel had already stood in the pillory; Southen and Worrall now awaited their reckoning, the bench perhaps preferring to pronounce penalties together once the sessions had run its course. | John George, soldier, was then called and sworn. He said that when the sergeant was talking about the paper Mrs Southen asked him to sign, the deponent said he wondered that Bodloe, for he was a strong papist, should be so constantly at prayers as he was, both in the fort and at church. The sergeant said, why should you wonder at that. So is somebody else too, looking into the castle gate. Upon which George, taking notice of his looking, said, I hope you do not take the Governor to be one, do you. The sergeant replied, what the devil do you think him else. The jury then withdrew, stayed about half an hour, and returned their verdict, that John Worrall was found guilty of the indictment laid to his charge. The court was adjourned to Thursday 11 February next. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations George's evidence supplied the sergeant's words in their full context. The exchange began with the soldier wondering that the papist Bodloe attended prayers so diligently, to which Worrall answered that another did so too, and when pressed whether he meant the Governor, replied with the contemptuous question that fixed the slur, the bench grounding the charge on the sergeant's own retort. The conversational setting gave the words a casual yet pointed character. Worrall's reply emerged from talk about the paper and Bodloe's churchgoing, the imputation of popery thrown out in answer to George's challenge, the prosecution drawing the scandalous meaning from the sergeant's refusal to deny he meant the Governor when directly asked. The single soldier's testimony sufficed where the libel charge had failed. The same John George who had been the chief witness against Worrall on the paper now carried the conviction on the words, the jury accepting his account of the exchange at the castle gate, the soldier the sergeant had tried to corrupt proving the decisive witness to the defamation. The conviction secured the bench the reckoning the acquittal had denied. Having failed on the libel, the council obtained a guilty verdict on the scandalous words, the second jury convicting Worrall where the first had cleared him, the structured prosecution at last fixing the law's penalty on the sergeant for his speech against the Governor, with the sentence reserved to the adjourned court of 11 February. | |||||
385 | Feb:ry Then the following Indictment against Thomas Free planter was read. / Island St Helena ss Thomas Free. You Stand Indicted by the Name of Thomas Free of this Island Planter, For a Misdemeanor. For that you the Said Thomas out of a Malicious Evil and Premiditated designe, did on or about the 30 day of Nov: last, in Union Valley on the Said Island by words Uttered, Spoken & Spread abroad, Maliciously, Contemptuously & Opprobri- ously to the Publick reproach, Scandal, and Defamation of the Worshipful Edward Johnson Esq: Govern:r of this Island, his degree & dignity Openly & Publickly, Speak, Utter, & Spread abroad false, Scandalous, and opprobrious words & reports Intimateing that the Govern:r Should Say, That he would Seize any Planters Estate without giving any reason for his So doing, or words to that Effect, Whereas in truth the Govern:r is too well Acquainted with the Laws of Morality the Laws of England, and likewise So much of the Laws of this Island to restrain him from even thinking, much more from Expressing any Margin Notes: Indictm:t ag:t Tho: Free for Uttering false & Scandalous words ag:t the Gov:r | The following indictment against Thomas Free, planter, was then read. Island of St Helena. Thomas Free stood indicted by the name of Thomas Free of the island, planter, for a misdemeanour. The charge was that he, out of a malicious, evil and premeditated design, had on or about 30 November last, in Union Valley, by words uttered, spoken and spread abroad maliciously, contemptuously and reproachfully, to the public reproach, scandal and defamation of the worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor of the island, his degree and dignity, openly and publicly spoken, uttered and spread abroad false, scandalous and reproachful words and reports. He intimated that the Governor should say that he would seize any planter's estate without giving any reason for his so doing, or words to that effect. Whereas in truth the Governor was too well acquainted with the laws of morality, the laws of England, and so much of the laws of the island, to restrain him from even thinking, much more from expressing [such a thing, the indictment continuing on the following page]. Interpretations Free's indictment opened a fresh prosecution distinct from the libel affair. Thomas Free, the planter whose land action against William Slaughter the jury had decided at the general sessions of 22 October 1719, now faced a charge of scandalous words against the Governor, a separate matter from the seditious paper, the bench pursuing defamation of the government wherever it arose. The charge rested on words imputing arbitrary conduct to the Governor. Free was alleged to have reported that Johnson would seize any planter's estate without reason, a slur striking at the security of property under the government, the bench treating the imputation of lawless seizure as a defamation of the Governor's degree and dignity, the same form of charge laid against Worrall for the popery slur. The imputation touched the planters' deepest concern for their holdings. To report that the Governor would take a man's estate at will played on the anxiety over land tenure that ran through the island's affairs, the bench answering that Johnson knew the laws of England and the island too well to entertain such a thing, the charge framing the words as both false and dangerous to public confidence. The indictment's recital of the laws of morality and England marked the bench's care to vindicate the Governor's lawfulness. By setting the alleged words against Johnson's knowledge of the law, the charge cast the slur as a baseless attack on a government that ruled by law, the same vindication of the Governor's conduct that ran through the prosecution of the libel, the council defending the standing of its administration against every report that touched it. | |||||
386 | 1719 any thing like So unjustifiable a thought, and by reason of which words and reports his Degree & Dignity may be brought into great Contempt & reproach among all the good People of this Island, and which words and Reports did Create jealousyes & great Uneasiness in the breast of many of the Inhabitants of this Island And is contrary to the Peace of our Soveraigne Lord King George his Crown & Dignity, and is in high Contempt of the wholesom Laws & Ordinances of this Island made by the Hon: Lords Propri- etors thereof. To which Indictm:t he pleaded not Guilty. / Then the following Evidences were Call'd & Swoorne Joshua Johnson free planter, being Swoorne Saith That Mr Free told him that the Govern:r Sayd he would Seize any mans Estate that did Combine with the Parson Mr Jones without giveing any reason for So doing. / Gabriel Powel being Swoorne Saith that Mr Johnson told him the Same words as he hath above Declared on his Oath. Henry Johnson being Swoorne Saith that he being at the Parsons, not thinking it would be ill taken and the Govern: being then comeing Margin Notes: He pleaded not Guilty Jos: Johnsons Deposition Gab: Powels Declaration Hen: Johnson Declares | The indictment against Free concluded. He had restrained himself from anything so unjustifiable as such a thought. By reason of these words and reports, the Governor's degree and dignity might be brought into great contempt and reproach among all the good people of the island, and these words and reports did create jealousies and great uneasiness in the breast of many of the inhabitants. This was against the peace of our sovereign lord King George, his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of the island made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors. To this indictment Free pleaded not guilty. The following witnesses were then called and sworn. Joshua Johnson, free planter, being sworn, said that Mr Free told him the Governor said he would seize any man's estate that did combine with the parson Mr Jones, without giving any reason for his so doing. Gabriel Powell, being sworn, said that Mr Johnson told him the same words as he had above declared on his oath. Henry Johnson, being sworn, said that he, being at the parson's, not thinking it would be ill taken, and the Governor being then coming [the deposition continuing on the following page]. Interpretations The evidence revealed the political edge to the words Free was charged with spreading. Joshua Johnson swore that Free reported the Governor would seize the estate of any man who combined with the chaplain Jones, tying the alleged threat directly to the libel affair, the slur casting the Governor as punishing the chaplain's supporters by arbitrary seizure of their land. The connection to the chaplain's party shows the two prosecutions intertwined. The words laid against Free concerned the very combination over Mr Jones that the libel trials had addressed, the report that the Governor menaced the subscribers' estates feeding the jealousies the bench was at pains to quell, the defamation charge growing out of the same dispute that had produced the seditious paper. The chain of report shows how such words spread through the settlement. Free told Joshua Johnson, who told Gabriel Powell, the slur passing from mouth to mouth among the planters, the bench tracing the transmission to establish the public spreading charged in the indictment, the report's circulation itself the gravamen of the offence against the Governor's standing. Henry Johnson's evidence opened a firsthand account of the Governor's actual words at the parson's. As one of the writers whose allowance the council had raised at the consultation of 28 November 1719, he was present when the Governor came, his testimony promising to set what Johnson really said against the report Free had spread, the bench seeking to show the slur a distortion of the Governor's true meaning. | |||||
387 | Feb:ry by he call'd to him this Depon:t and told him he did not take it well of any person of the Garrison to Visset the Parson then under Confinement and Sayd You may Remember Docter Sedwerds time, and they that did So could Expect to find no favour from him. But did hear the Gov:r Say (as 'tis reported he did) any thing like So much as mentioning the Seizing any mans Estate, and which he has told Mr Free Severall times Since to Convince him of the discourse Spread abroad relateing to this matter. Capt: John Alexander Saith that Mr Powell came to him to draw up a Petition to goe off the Island for fear his Estate Should be Seized as Capt: Hodgkinsons was in Gov: Roberts: time. The Jury then withdrew and after Staying out about half an Houre, Returnd their Verdict That Thomas Free was found Guilty of the Indictment laid to his charge. Then the Judge Pronounced Sentence against Sarah Southen and Chelmondly Civel. To be Sett on the Pillory for the Space of one Hour the Pillory to be Sett in the Middle of the valley Margin Notes: Capt: Alexand:rs Declared. Jury withdrew. Returnd their Verdict Free was Guilty. / Sentence ag:t Sarah Southen & Chel: Civel | Henry Johnson's deposition continued. When the Governor called to him, this deponent told him he did not take it ill of any person of the garrison to visit the parson then under confinement, and said, you may remember Doctor Sedwell's time, and that they then could expect to find no favour from him. But he did not hear the Governor say, as it was reported he did, anything like so much as mentioning the seizing of any man's estate. He had told Mr Free this several times since, to convince him of the discourse spread abroad relating to this matter. Captain John Alexander said that Mr Powell came to him to draw up a petition to go off the island, for fear his estate should be seized, as Captain Hodgkinson had been in Governor Roberts's time. The jury then withdrew, and after staying out about half an hour returned their verdict, that Thomas Free was found guilty of the indictment laid to his charge. The judge then pronounced sentence against Sarah Southen and Cholmondley Cevill. They were to be set on the pillory for the space of one hour, the pillory to be set in the middle of the valley, [the sentence continuing on the following page]. Interpretations Henry Johnson's evidence undercut the report Free was charged with spreading. As a witness present when the Governor came to the parson's, he swore he never heard Johnson speak of seizing any man's estate, and had told Free so several times, the bench using his testimony to show the slur a fabrication that Free continued to circulate despite correction. The reference to Doctor Sedwell's time invoked a remembered precedent of strained relations with a confined minister. Johnson's remark that visitors could expect no favour then drew on the island's memory of an earlier clerical dispute, the settlement measuring the present quarrel against a past one, the same continuity of institutional memory that ran through the bench's handling of recurring matters. Captain Alexander's evidence revealed the real anxiety behind the slur. Gabriel Powell had come to him to draw a petition to leave the island for fear his estate would be seized, recalling the case of Captain Hodgkinson in Governor Roberts's time, the report of arbitrary seizure resting on a genuine historical instance that gave the planters cause to fear for their holdings, Powell's departure petition of the consultation of 1 December 1719 thus partly grounded in that dread. The conviction of Free completed the bench's prosecution of the scandalous reports. The jury found him guilty as it had Worrall on the words, the council securing verdicts against those who defamed the Governor's standing, the structured pursuit of every slur against the government carried to its end alongside the libel trials. Speculations Powell sought to draw up a departure petition rather than confront the rumoured threat to his estate because leaving the island was the only sure protection a planter had against an arbitrary seizure he could not legally contest. The memory of Captain Hodgkinson's treatment in Governor Roberts's time gave the fear a concrete precedent, so the largest landholder on the island chose pre-emptive withdrawal of himself and his capital over reliance on a remedy the local government itself controlled, the same calculation behind his actual petition to depart at the consultation of 1 December 1719 and Lieutenant Cason's wish to lodge his money in the Company's hands rather than leave it exposed. The episode shows how the planters managed the risk of a government that held both their land titles and the courts, hedging against it by removing person and property beyond its reach when rumour suggested their holdings were threatened. | |||||
388 | 1719. Valley over against the Store House, they to Stand with their faces up the vally. Sarah Southen to find Surety's for her good behaviour for one year. Chelmondly Civel to find Surety's during his Stay on the Island and to be Sent to England by the first Ship. Ordered By the Court, That John Worrall be fined the Sume of five Pounds, and to find Surety's for his good behaviour for a twelve month. / Likewise Ordered That Thomas Free be fined five Pounds and to find Surety's for his good behaviour for a twelve month. / Then the Sessions was Adjourned. / Ed Johnson Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin Margin Notes: Jn:o Worrall fined £5 & bound for 12 M:o to his good behav:r Tho: Free fined £5 to give Surety for 12 M:o | The sentence on Sarah Southen and Cevill continued. The pillory was to stand in the valley opposite the storehouse, and they were to stand with their faces up the valley. Sarah Southen was to find sureties for her good behaviour for one year. Cholmondley Cevill was to find sureties during his stay on the island, and to be sent to England by the first ship. The court ordered that John Worrall be fined the sum of £5 0s 0d, and find sureties for his good behaviour for twelve months. The court likewise ordered that Thomas Free be fined £5 0s 0d, and find sureties for his good behaviour for twelve months. The sessions was then adjourned. The proceedings were signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The sentences scaled the punishment to the bench's view of each offender's guilt. Sarah Southen and Cevill, convicted as the prime movers of the libel, received the public shame of the pillory with sureties, while Worrall and Free, convicted of scandalous words, were fined £5 0s 0d apiece with sureties for good behaviour, the court grading its penalties from bodily humiliation for the contrivers to a money fine for the defamers. The pillory set in the valley opposite the storehouse marked the public character of the shaming. By exposing the two convicts in the most frequented part of the settlement, facing up the valley where all might see, the court made the punishment a spectacle of the government's authority vindicated, the same public humiliation Cevill had suffered at his medicine conviction on 22 October 1719, now repeated for the libel. The order to send Cevill to England by the first ship answered the bench's long wish to be rid of him. The council had pressed his removal from the island since his gaming summons of 26 May 1719 and the deferral of his reinstatement, judging the settlement well rid of a worthless fellow, and the sentence at last secured his expulsion, the libel conviction achieving what the earlier proceedings had sought. The binding to good behaviour shows the court reaching beyond punishment to future security. By requiring all four convicts to find sureties for their conduct over a year, the bench sought to prevent any renewal of the disturbance, the recognizance for good behaviour the standing instrument by which it secured the peace against those who had once broken it, the same device it used throughout the records to hold the turbulent in check. Speculations The court fined Worrall and Free in money but set Southen and Cevill in the pillory because the two punishments answered different judgements of the offenders and different ends. The fine on the men convicted of mere words preserved them as functioning members of a settlement that could ill spare hands, while the public shaming of the two it held the prime movers served to break their standing before the whole community and to deter any imitation of the libel, the spectacle in the valley converting the government's victory into a visible lesson. The added order expelling Cevill by the first ship shows the bench using the sentence to solve a standing problem it had failed to resolve by milder means since May 1719, the libel conviction at last furnishing the legal occasion to remove from the island a man it had twice tried and long judged worthless, the punishment shaped as much to rid the settlement of a persistent troublemaker as to requite the particular crime. | |||||
389 | Febry Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 16 day of Febry 1719 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edward Johnson Esqr Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwine The Last Consultation read & approved of./ The Goodwn Reported that notwithstanding his repeated Endeavours to Reconcile the Unhappy Differences between Mr Ormston and his wife he had Yesterday received a Letter dated the 15 Febry 17[..] from Mr Ormston and is as follows Worshipfull Sr Febry 15th 1720 That I am the only Person upon the Island that cannot be reconciled to you gives me more grief than my Tongue can utter or my Pen Indite But since my Misfortune is such as is not to be remedied by any Methods I can pursue I believe you wont think it strange that I request of You that my wife may be Discharged from being the Hon. Comp: Housekeeper Since she being my Property I presume is at my disposal, & as I cant forbear looking upon her as the Instrument So it is but reasonable She bear her share in the Margin Notes: Govr Reports a Letter recd from Mr Ormston Copy of Mr Ormstons Letter | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 16 February 1720 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that, despite his repeated efforts to settle the unhappy quarrel between Mr Ormston and his wife, he had the previous day received a letter dated 15 February 1720 from Mr Ormston. Its contents followed. Mr Ormston addressed the Governor with respect and wrote that he was the only man on the island who could not be reconciled to him. He declared this grieved him more than his tongue could say or his pen set down. His misfortune was nonetheless beyond any remedy he could pursue. He therefore thought the Governor would not find his request strange. He asked that his wife be discharged from her place as the Honourable Company's housekeeper. Since she was his own property, he took her to be at his disposal. He could not help regarding her as the cause of his trouble. It seemed only fair to him that she bear her share in the consequences. Interpretations Mr Ormston was Joseph Ormston, admitted to the council and made accountant in place of the suspended Antipas Tovey across the consultations of 4 to 6 July 1719 and 4 August 1719. The marital quarrel here had run long enough for Governor Johnson to have attempted repeated mediation before the matter reached a formal letter and entry in the council book. The claim that a wife was the husband's property to dispose of reflected the legal position of a married woman under the law of the period, whose separate legal personality was subsumed under her husband's. The same principle had governed the bench's handling of the Elizabeth Swallow marital case of 23 July 1715, where the council nonetheless heard a wife's complaint directly. Ormston here pressed the property logic to ask that the Company strip his wife of a paid office as a means of making her share in his domestic grievance. The post of Honourable Company's housekeeper was a salaried position in the Company's own establishment at the Plantation House, distinct from the private household. Ormston's request asked the council to use its control over that office as leverage in a private marital dispute, turning an administrative appointment into an instrument of personal pressure. | |||||
390 | 1719 Consequences of that Unhappiness which her indiscre- tion has Procured to us both./ She having Denyed coming to me I beg Liberty to publish an Advertizement to forewarn any Person from Entertaining her without my Consent I crave leave to repeat my Demand that she be no longer Entertained in the Hon: Comps Service & am Your Worshs most obedt Servt Joseph Ormston Whereupon Mr Ormston and Mr Francis her father attending were called in and then Produced several Letters of Mr Ormstons both to the father and Likewise to her, In some there appeared such Treatment perfectly destructive of that Mutual Love each ought to have for the other and charging her with Crimes she was not the least Guilty of, his persisting in his soe doing was the Occasion of her resentment by other Letters it appeared that if he got her into his Possession again he would use her Cruely & Unbecoming a wife notwithstanding that she had offered to live either with him or at any of her Relations. But he told her she should do neither but submit and goe to where her Margin Notes: P.S. A small indisposition prevented me from coming my self to wait on Your Worships Relations my sending the Bearer with this Message./ Mr Ormston Mr Francis Her father attending produced sevl Lettrs from Mr Ormston | Mr Ormston continued that the unhappiness had been brought on them both by his wife's own indiscretion. He wrote that, since she had refused to come to him, he asked leave to publish an advertisement warning anyone against taking her in without his consent. He pressed his earlier demand that she be kept no longer in the Honourable Company's service. He closed with respect to the Governor and signed himself Joseph Ormston. In a postscript he explained that a slight illness had kept him from coming in person to wait on the Governor, and that he had sent the bearer with the message instead. Governor Johnson then had Mr Ormston and Mr Francis, the wife's father, called in. Mr Ormston produced several of his own letters, written both to the father and to her. Some of them showed treatment that would destroy the affection a husband and wife owed each other, and charged her with faults of which she was wholly innocent. His persisting in this conduct was the cause of her resentment. Other letters showed that, if he got her back into his keeping, he would treat her harshly and in a manner unfit toward a wife. She had offered to live either with him or with any of her relations. He told her she should do neither, but submit and go to wherever she should [...] Interpretations Mr Francis was Henry Francis, the wife's father, whose family appears throughout the record as substantial planters, and whose deed of gift of four slaves to his daughter Elizabeth Francis on her marriage was registered at the consultation of 25 June 1719. His attendance with his son-in-law gave the council both sides of the marriage before it as the dispute was examined. The proposed advertisement to forbid anyone harbouring the wife without her husband's consent was a recognised instrument of control over a departed spouse. A public notice barring third parties from sheltering or employing her would cut off the practical means by which she might live apart from him, enforcing the husband's claim over her movements through the threat to anyone who took her in. The council's procedure here was investigative rather than simply receptive. Rather than acting on Ormston's letter alone, Governor Johnson summoned both parties and read his own correspondence back against his stated case. His letters, charging his wife with faults she had not committed and threatening rough usage if she returned, undercut the very request he had made, and the bench weighed the documentary evidence against the petitioner who had produced it. | |||||
391 | Febry should Provide for her at some remote part of the Island, and as he thought fitt too, which with other threatning Language in other Letters which were read in Consultation The Govr at her and her fathers request Continued her as Houskeepr till matters could be better accommodated betwixt them The Govr Reports that he has been and viewed the Land Petitioned for by Francis Funge lying in Swanley Valley, Likewise Richard Masons and Robert Gratings, and thinks it Proper to confirm that quantity of Land already Measured to Francis Funge: And that the Land Petitioned for by the aforesaid Richd Mason & Robt Grating be Granted them The Petitions of Jonathan Higham Junr and Joseph Coles Stone Cutters Entered in Consultation of the 19 of June last was this day Considered. And Orderd That they have Each three shillings and Six pence per day allowed them & no more Provided they will work at that Price for two years at least which they were Acquainted wth and agreed thereto. Ed Johnson Jno Alexander Jno Goodwine Margin Notes: Mr Ormston Continued Houskeepr Govr Reports that Land he has viewed Funge Confirmd Mason Grating Granted Petitn of Jones Higham Junr & Jos: Coles accepted Allowed Each 3s 6d per day on Condition | He told her she should provide for herself at some remote part of the island, as he thought fit. This, with other threatening language in further letters read to the council, settled the matter. At the request of both the wife and her father, Governor Johnson kept her on as housekeeper until things could be better settled between the couple. Governor Johnson reported that he had viewed the land asked for by Francis Funge in Swanley Valley, and likewise the parcels sought by Richard Mason and Robert Gurling. He thought it proper to confirm to Francis Funge the quantity already measured to him. He also thought the land asked for by Richard Mason and Robert Gurling should be granted to them. The petitions of Jonathan Higham junior and Joseph Coles, stone cutters, entered at the consultation of 19 January 1720, were considered. The council ordered that each be allowed three shillings and sixpence per day and no more, on condition that they work at that rate for at least two years. They were told of the condition and agreed to it. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The land grants confirmed the council's settlement policy at Swanley Valley head, governed by the rationing regulation Governor Pyke drew up across the consultations of 9 June 1719, which capped settlement at what the springs could supply and reserved a common field. Francis Funge had been among the original allottees there, and the confirmation of his already-measured parcel, set beside the grants to Richard Mason and Robert Gurling, shows the bench steadily filling the valley with approved holders while keeping each award within the water limit. Richard Mason, the soldier who had married the Harper widow, had earlier pleaded that his wife's land passed by will to her first husband's children and left him nothing of his own, securing 15 acres at Manatee Bay at the consultation of 19 February 1719. His appearance again among the land petitioners reflects the standing pressure from married men without freehold of their own to acquire a holding on which to settle. The wage order fixed the stone cutters Jonathan Higham junior and Joseph Coles at a flat 3s 6d per day, tied to a two-year commitment at that rate. This bound skilled tradesmen to a set price over time and protected the Company against the wage demands that had recurred since the stone-layers' combination of 18 January 1715, when a concerted withholding of labour was broken and replacement men engaged at 3s 0d per day. Speculations The wage condition reveals a deliberate structure rather than a simple rate of pay. By granting the petitions only on the men's binding themselves for two years at the fixed figure, the council converted a one-off rate into a forward contract that removed the cutters' freedom to press for more as demand for stone rose. The two-year term matched the span of the Company's continuing wall and fortification programme, securing labour at a known cost for as long as the heavy stonework would last. Governor Johnson's handling of the marital dispute managed a conflict between two claims he could not fully reconcile. Joseph Ormston pressed a husband's right to have his wife dismissed and barred from shelter, while the wife and her father asked that she keep her office. By reading Ormston's own threatening letters into the record and then retaining her as housekeeper at the family's request, the Governor used the husband's documents to justify refusing him, preserving the woman's livelihood without openly denying the legal authority he declined to enforce. | |||||
392 | 1719 Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23d day of Febry 1719 At the Hon: Comp: Plantation House Edwd Johnson Esqr Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwin The Last Consultation was read & approved of Mistrs Bridgett Bazett Widdow brought this day her deceased Husband Capt: Matthew Bazetts Last Will & Testament In order to have the same Proved which was accordingly done by the Oaths of Francis Wrangham John Long, & Samuel Jesey who made oath they saw the said Decd Capt: Matt Bazett signe, seal, Publish and Declare the same to be his Last Will and Testament, and that they knew of no other since by him made either in word or Writing. Wherefore Orderd That the said Will now Produced be accordingly approved of, and Entred into a Book for that Purpose The following Petitions were Presented Vizt The Petition of Isaac Leeds Gunner mate Setting forth That he had formerly granted to him about 4 or five acres of the Hon: Comps wast Land next Margin Notes: The Last Will of Capt Bazett Proved Evidences sworne Approved Petn of Isaac Leeds | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 23 February 1720 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The widow Bridget Bazett brought in that day the will of her late husband, Captain Matthew Bazett, to have it proved. This was done on the oaths of Francis Wrangham, John Long and Samuel Vesey. Each swore that he had seen Captain Bazett sign, seal, publish and declare it to be his will, and that he knew of no later one made by him, whether spoken or written. The council ordered the will approved and entered into the book kept for that purpose. The following petitions were then presented. Isaac Leech, the gunner's mate, set out in his petition that he had earlier been granted about four or five acres of the Honourable Company's waste land lying next [...] adjoining [...] Interpretations Captain Matthew Bazett was the long-serving storekeeper, third councillor and latterly deputy governor, whose death had been recorded earlier in the administration and whose passing left the council reduced and his offices redistributed. The proving of his will by his widow brings the formal settlement of his estate before the bench, the three subscribing witnesses swearing to its execution and to the absence of any later testament. The procedure followed the council's standing role as the island's probate authority, sitting in place of an English ecclesiastical court. Proof rested on sworn witnesses to the testator's signing and publishing of the document, and on their attestation that no subsequent will existed, after which the instrument was approved and entered in the dedicated book to make it a matter of record with copies available. Bridget Bazett had herself been confirmed in two acres at the consultations around 12 January 1720, and appears in the land petitions of the season as a holder in her own right after her husband's death. Her bringing in the will marks the point at which the widow moved to secure her late husband's estate through formal probate. | |||||
393 | Febry Adjoyning to his own Cabbagetree Land, but the same having not yet been Measured Humbly prays a Warrant may be granted to the Surveyor for the Mea- surem: thereof And then desires a Lease may be also granted for the said Land as usuall. And &c Granted. Likewise the Petition of John Knipe Soldr & planter Setting forth That upon a former Petition to Govr Pyke and the then Council, he had 2 or 3 Acres of the Hon: Comp: waste Land Granted him, lying in two different places for the better ease & Conveniency of Fencing in his whole quantity of Land, But the same having not yet been measured to him He humbly prays a Warrt may be delivered the Surveyor for measuring the sd 2 or 3 Acres of Land and that then a Lease may be Granted him for the same! And &c: Granted. Whereas there is a matter in dispute betwixt Mr Isaac Wood & Mr Robert Gurling in Relation to the Disposal of that Part of Samuel Defountaine (a youth deceased) his Estate According to the Inventory of his deceased father. Margin Notes: praying the Measurem: of sd Leeds Land humbly granted The Lease of same Granted Also Petn of Knipe Pd Measurem: of same Land hum: granted & Lease for same Granted Dispute between Mr Wood & Mr Gurling abt Defountaines Estate | The parcel lay next to Isaac Leech's own cabbage-tree land. Since it had not yet been measured, he asked that a warrant be granted to the surveyor to measure it, and that a lease of the land then be granted to him in the usual way. The council granted this. Likewise the petition of John Knipe, soldier and planter, was presented. He set out that, on an earlier petition to Governor Pyke and the council of his time, he had been granted two or three acres of the Honourable Company's waste land. It lay in two separate places, for the greater ease and convenience of fencing his whole holding. Since the parcel had not yet been measured to him, he asked that a warrant be delivered to the surveyor to measure the two or three acres, and that a lease then be granted to him for it. The council granted this. A matter stood in dispute between Mr Isaac Wood and Mr Robert Gurling. It concerned the disposal of the share of the estate of Samuel Defountaine, a deceased youth, to be settled according to the inventory of his late father's estate. [...] Interpretations The two land petitions show holders returning to perfect grants made under the previous administration but never completed by survey. Both Isaac Leech and John Knipe had been promised waste parcels by Governor Pyke and his council, yet neither holding had been measured or leased, leaving the grants imperfect until a surveyor's warrant fixed the bounds and a formal lease followed. The pattern reflects the backlog of unmeasured grants that the council was steadily clearing under Governor Johnson. John Knipe's two scattered parcels were granted in separate places specifically to ease the fencing of his whole holding, fencing being the standing precondition of tenure on the island. Allowing a tenant to take his acreage where it best closed off his ground reduced the length of wall he had to build and maintain, the enclosure obligation being the practical test by which the Company recognised a claim to land. Samuel Defountaine was a deceased youth whose estate fell to be divided according to the inventory of his late father, bringing the matter within the council's standing jurisdiction over orphans' estates. The dispute between Isaac Wood and Robert Gurling over the disposal of his share placed the bench once more in the position of adjudicating a contested distribution among those with competing claims to a minor's property. | |||||
394 | 1719 Now for the better settling & Adjusting that matter in Controversie. We the Subscribers do hereby oblige and bind our selves Each to the other To abide by the Determination of the three Persons hereafter named viz: Jonathan Dowdon for Isaac Wood, John Coles for Robt Gurling, and James Greenkee for the Surviveing Execut: of Samuel Defountaine Sen: James Draper. Witness our hands this 23d day of Febry 1719 Isaac Wood Robt Gurling James Draper Ed Johnson Jno Alexander Jno Goodwine Margin Notes: Subscribed to abide Determination of 3 Persons Chosen | To settle the dispute, the parties bound themselves to one another to abide by the decision of three named men. Jonathan Doveton was to act for Isaac Wood, John Coles for Robert Gurling, and James Greentree for James Draper, the surviving executor of Samuel Defountaine senior. The agreement was witnessed under the hands of Isaac Wood, Robert Gurling and James Draper on 23 February 1720. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The agreement set up a private arbitration to resolve the contest over the Defountaine youth's estate. Each side named a referee and James Draper, the surviving executor, named a third, the parties binding themselves in advance to accept whatever the three decided. This diverted a disputed distribution away from a contested hearing before the council and into a settlement by trusted neighbours, the bench recording the submission rather than adjudicating the share itself. The three referees were drawn from the established planter families who recur throughout the record as the island's customary arbitrators and estate appraisers. Jonathan Doveton, John Coles and James Greentree appear repeatedly in such roles, their standing making them acceptable to opposing parties and their judgement carrying practical weight in a small community where formal litigation was costly and divisive. Speculations The mutual bond to abide by the referees' determination was the device that gave the arrangement its force. By binding themselves to one another in advance, Isaac Wood, Robert Gurling and James Draper foreclosed any later attempt to reopen the matter before the council if the decision went against them. The structure secured a final disposal of the contested estate through the parties' own consent, sparing the bench an adjudication between competing claimants and committing each side to the outcome before it was known. | |||||
395 | March. Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Wednes- day the 2 day of March 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esqr Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwin The Last Consultation read and approved of./ Mrs Margaret Tovey Widd made Complaint That Chelmondly Civell Stands indebted to her the Sume of Eight Pounds ten Shillings for Severall Goods her deceased Husband sold him Some time ago which he now denys to pay her, and as she is a Poor Woman desires We would cause the sd Civell to make Payment Chelmondly Civell was Immediately sent for and being now present Says he paid the said Debt to Mr Tovey some time before he was taken sick and that Mrs Tovey owes him something now for Physick. But it no way appearing to us that he has paid any thing of the Debt demanded Ordered That the said Civell doe pay Mrs Tovey the Sume aforesaid, and if he has any Demands on her that he make out his Bill, and the Margin Notes: Margt Tovey Complaint agt Civell Debt for Debt Civells Defence & Promise of Debt Ord: to make Paymt | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Wednesday 2 March 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The widow Margaret Tovey complained that Cholmondley Cevill owed her £8 10s 0d for several goods her late husband had sold him some time before. Cevill now refused to pay her. As a poor woman, she asked the council to make him pay. Cevill was sent for at once. Being present, he said he had paid the debt to Mr Tovey some time before Tovey fell sick, and that Mr Tovey now owed him something for medicine. Since nothing appeared to show that he had paid any part of the sum demanded, the council ordered Cevill to pay Margaret Tovey the £8 10s 0d. If he had any claim against her, he was to make out his bill. [...] Interpretations Cholmondley Cevill was the former second surgeon repeatedly before the bench in this period, convicted at the general sessions of 22 October 1719 of embezzling medicines from the Company's stores and again at the general sessions of 28 January 1720 for signing the seditious paper against the chaplain John Jones, for which he was sentenced to the pillory and to be sent to England by the first ship. His standing as a debtor refusing a poor widow's claim fits the pattern of conduct that had already cost him his place and his liberty. Margaret Tovey was the widow of Antipas Tovey, the suspended secretary and fourth councillor whose neglect of the account books and faction-making had ended in his suspension across the consultations of 3 June to 6 July 1719. Her pleading poverty and seeking the council's help to recover a debt owed to her late husband's estate places the family in reduced circumstances after his fall. The council's order turned on the absence of any evidence of payment. Cevill's bare assertion that he had settled the debt before Tovey's sickness, unsupported by any record or receipt, could not stand against the claim, and the bench required documentary proof of his counter-claim for medicine by directing him to make out a formal bill before any set-off would be allowed. | |||||
396 | 1719 same to be deducted out of the eight Pounds ten Shillings Ed Johnson Jno Alexander Jno Goodwin Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 15 day of March 1719 at Union Castle in James Valley:/ Edward Johnson Esqr Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwin The Last Consultacon read & approved of./ On Friday the 4 Inst We had an Alarm for one Ship, and about two a Clock in the afternoon, her Boate came on Shore at Bankses & Sayed twas the Sunderland Capt: Hunter from China, & then came to the Great ffort with one Mr Hall Still calling themselves the Sunderland Capt: Hunter/ When he came to the Governr He Acquainted him that they had made use of the Ships name Sunderland to gett to the Speech of the Govr when he owned the Ships name to be the House of Austria Capt: Naish Comander under the Emperour. Whereupon the Governr: Ordered him to be Seized, But upon his Margin Notes: Ship coming in and Name of Sunderland Mr Hall came ashore Sd Ship the House of Austria | Any sum found due to Cevill was to be deducted from the £8 10s 0d. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 15 March 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Friday 11 March 1720 an alarm was raised for one ship. About two in the afternoon her boat came ashore at Bankses, and the men said she was the Sunderland, Captain Hunter, from China. They then came to the Great Fort with a Mr Hall, still calling themselves the Sunderland, Captain Hunter. When Mr Hall came before Governor Johnson, he told him that they had used the name Sunderland to obtain a hearing with the Governor. He then admitted that the ship was in fact the House of Austria, Captain Naish commander, sailing under the Emperor. On this the Governor ordered him seized. But on his [...] Interpretations Bankses was the landing below Banks's Hill, the outlying defensive position above the eastern approach where King William's fort stood, surveyed and found ruinous on 19 July 1715. A boat coming ashore there rather than at the main James Valley landing brought the strangers in below one of the island's guard points before they presented themselves at the Great Fort. The ship's use of a false English name and a false commander was the heart of the matter. By approaching as the Sunderland, Captain Hunter, from China, the vessel passed herself off as an English East India ship to secure access to the Governor, before Mr Hall disclosed that she was the House of Austria, Captain Naish, sailing under the Emperor. The deception touched directly on the island's role as a controlled port of the English Company, where the identity and allegiance of an arriving ship determined whether she was admitted or treated as a threat. A vessel sailing under the Emperor belonged to the imperial trading interest based in the Austrian Netherlands, a direct commercial rival to the English Company in the East trade. Her arrival under a borrowed English identity, with an English-named master fronting for her, explains the Governor's immediate order to seize the man who had practised the disguise, an unauthorised foreign trader at a Company island being a matter of real concern. Speculations The strangers' choice to send Mr Hall ahead under the false English name managed the problem of gaining a hearing at a port closed to foreign rivals. An imperial ship declaring herself openly risked refusal of all access, so the party used a borrowed English name and an English-speaking front man to reach the Governor first, then disclosed the truth in person once admitted. The structure shows a calculated approach to a guarded harbour, trading early concealment for the chance to negotiate face to face before the deception could be discovered and the ship turned away. | |||||
397 | March Promise to goe Immediatly on Board and Quitt the Island, he was released not thinking it worth while to detain him if the Ship went away Immediatly. He (Mr Hall) delivered one Letter Directed to the Govr and Council with a Copy of the Emperours Permitt subscribed by J. Naish/ He also delivered two other Letters Directed to the Govr himself, all bearing date the 4 of March 1719 and signed by J. Naish The original Letters We think Proper to Transmitt to the Hon: Comp: the Contents of which We no ways Comply'd with, for they Bore away Immediatly after the Boat gott on board./ On Monday the 7 Inst Arrived the Mercury Capt: George Christall who Succeeded Capt White) from Mada- gascar, and delivered Us for the use of the Hon: Company. Eleven Males & five Female- 16. Slaves all good & Serviable Upon enquiry of the Capt: in relation to the Pyrates mentioned in the Ostendrs Letters. the Capt: and his officers wrote Us a Letter giving an Account of what they heard & saw at the Cape. Which is as follows Margin Notes: Mr Hall released Letr delivd His Govr from Capt Naish Origll Letters to the Hon: Comp: Ship bore away Madagascar Ship arrived Deliv'd Slaves Capt & officers Enquiry of ye Pyrates | Mr Hall promised to go on board at once and leave the island, and he was released. Governor Johnson thought it not worth detaining him, since the ship would sail immediately. Mr Hall delivered one letter directed to the Governor and council, with a copy of the Emperor's permit signed by Captain Naish. He also delivered two other letters directed to the Governor himself, both dated 11 March 1720 and signed by Captain Naish. The council thought it proper to send the original letters to the Honourable Company. Their contents were in no way complied with, since the ship bore away immediately after her boat returned on board. On Monday 7 March 1720 the Mercury arrived, Captain George Christall commander, who had succeeded Captain White, from Madagascar. He delivered for the use of the Honourable Company: Slaves, all good and serviceable 11 male and 5 female 16 in all The council questioned the captain about the pirates mentioned in the Ostend letters. The captain and his officers then wrote a letter giving an account of what they had heard and seen at the Cape. Its contents followed. [...] Interpretations The Emperor's permit signed by Captain Naish was the imperial trading licence under which the House of Austria sailed, the document authorising her voyage on behalf of the Ostend interest. Mr Hall's delivery of a copy, with letters to the Governor and council, marked an attempt to legitimise the ship's presence after the disguise was exposed, the council's decision to forward the originals to the Company treating the imperial trader's papers as evidence for the directors rather than as a matter to be settled on the island. The Mercury under Captain George Christall was the Company's recurring Madagascar slaver, here delivering 16 slaves for the Company's own plantations, the standing means by which the bench supplied the labour deficit it had pressed on the directors across successive musters and censuses. The arrival of male and female slaves together, all reported good and serviceable, answered in small part the persistent want of hands on the Company's ground. The Ostend letters were the warnings concerning pirates that had reached the island, the council questioning the Mercury's captain to gather intelligence on the danger to shipping at the Cape. The bench's collection of a written account from the master and his officers shows the island functioning as a point where news of pirate activity on the Indian Ocean routes was assembled and recorded for transmission home. | |||||
398 | 1719 March ye Wee the menonboard ye Mercury Wee whose names are Under Written Doe Declare. Vizt That coming to the Cape the fourth of Febry eg On the 9 Came in a Dutch Ship who did inform Us she had been Engaged by a Pyrate who had killed her Nine men and wounded her forty nine (some of which our Captain See come ashore on the Bridge) She did suppose her to be Bristoll built having forty Guns Eight Patter- reroes, and full of Men. But the Pyrate being a weak Ship not able to carry Sail the Dutchman gott clear of her. Witness. George Christall Ch: mate J Whitfd Brunett S: mate Richd Charnock On the 7 Inst there Likewise Arrived here a Large Dutch Ship named the King Charles Capt Van Dyk Comand: who by the Stress of weather could not gett in to the Cape of Good Hope. The Doctr brought & delivered his Book of Medicines Expended since the last perusal thereof to this day which was Examined & approv'd of accordingly Ed Johnson Jno Alexander Jno Goodwin Island Margin Notes: An Acct of a Dutch Ship Engag'd by a Pyrate. Dutch Ship arrived. Drs Book Examd & Approvd | The captain and officers of the Mercury, whose names were subscribed, declared the following. Coming to the Cape on 4 February 1720, they fell in with a Dutch ship, which told them she had been engaged by a pirate. The pirate had killed nine of her men and wounded forty-nine, some of whom Captain Christall saw come ashore on the bridge. They took the pirate to be Bristol-built, carrying forty guns and eight pattereroes, and full of men. But, the pirate being a poor sailer, she could not carry sail and the Dutchman got clear of her. The account was witnessed by George Christall, the chief mate J. White Burnett and the second mate Richard Charnock. On 7 March 1720 a large Dutch ship named the King Charles, Captain Van Dyk commander, likewise arrived. She had been unable to reach the Cape of Good Hope because of bad weather. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines dispensed since its last examination up to that day. The book was examined and approved. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations A pattereroe was a small swivel-mounted breech-loading gun fixed to a ship's rail, used at close range against boarders and enemy crew rather than against a hull. The pirate's eight pattereroes alongside her forty carriage guns marked her as heavily armed and manned for boarding, the detail conveying to the directors the scale of the threat then on the Cape route. The doctor's book of medicines was the daily account of drugs dispensed and to whom, the standing control imposed after Cholmondley Cevill's theft from the medicinal stores was exposed on a sworn information of 29 August 1719. The requirement that the surgeon lay the book before the council and have it examined had run in routine operation through the close of 1719, and its continued examination and approval here shows the accounting regime over the medical stores still in force under Governor Johnson. The pirate's failure to take the Dutch ship turned on her poor sailing qualities. Despite her forty guns and full complement, she could not carry enough sail to hold the chase, and the Dutchman escaped, the account treating the heavily armed raider's defeat as a matter of the hull rather than of force, useful intelligence for ships that might meet her. | |||||
399 | March Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 22 of March 1719 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edward Johnson Esq Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwin The Last Consultation was read & approved of./ The Goodwn reports the following Papers has been delivered to him since last Consultacon day. One relating to the Hon: Comps Wast Land, & the other being the result of those Persons Chosen to Determine the dispute between Isaac Wood & Robert Gurling./ Island St. Helena./ To the Worshd Edward Johnson Esqr Govr & Councill The Humble Petition of the Inhabitants of this Island. Humbly Sheweth That Whereas your Petitionrs being Advertized that Sweanley Valley, the head of Old Womans valley, Tomstone Hill & Mannalee Bay the Principal parts of the Hon: Comps Waste Land is to be Lett:/ Margin Notes: Papers Delivd Goodwn Vizt one ab: Wast Land Disposall, the other ab: Wood & Gurling Sundry Inhabts Petn ab: Land being Lett | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 22 March 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that the following papers had been delivered to him since the last consultation day. One concerned the Honourable Company's waste land. The other was the decision of the men chosen to settle the dispute between Isaac Wood and Robert Gurling. The inhabitants of the island then addressed a petition to Governor Edward Johnson and his council. The inhabitants set out that the council had advertised the chief parcels of the Honourable Company's waste land for letting, namely Swanley Valley, the head of Old Woman's Valley, Tombstone Hill and Manatee Bay. [...] Interpretations The advertisement of the principal waste parcels for letting continued the council's settlement policy under Governor Johnson, governing the disposal of land at Swanley Valley head under the rationing regulation Governor Pyke drew up across the consultations of 9 June 1719. Offering Swanley Valley, the head of Old Woman's Valley, Tombstone Hill and Manatee Bay together marks a deliberate move to bring several tracts of vacant Company ground into tenancy at once. The collective petition of the inhabitants shows the island's settlers acting as a body in response to the land offer, rather than through the individual applications that fill the rest of the season's record. A joint approach over the disposal of the Company's waste suggests a shared concern among the planters about the terms or the manner of the letting, brought before the bench as a common interest. The two papers delivered to the Governor track two separate strands of council business carried over from earlier sittings. The result of the referees chosen to settle the Wood-Gurling dispute returned to the bench the private arbitration over the Defountaine youth's estate submitted at the consultation of 23 February 1720, the parties having bound themselves to abide by the decision of Jonathan Doveton, John Coles and James Greentree. | |||||
400 | 1719 We your Petitionrs do Humbly request that those Parcells of Land above mentioned be wraste for the benifitt of the Publick as they are at this Present, it being a great Prejudice to the whole Inhabitants but Particularly to those that has little or no Pasture, who will be incapable of raiseing a Stock for the maintenance of their familys.| Therefore We do Humbly desire your Worships and Council will take it into your Mature consider =ation And (as in duty bound) Your Petitionrs shall for ever pray. March ye 22 1719/20 Richd Gurling for himself & Crosbij Oxford Robert Gurling Richd Sewallow Senr Jno Long James Rider Joseph Dowdon Walter Morris Richd Beale Richd Mason Henry Francis Thomn Greenkee Benjamin Seawortee Stephen Lufkin Willm Worrell Francis Leech James Vesey In the behalf of himself and ye Stalingds Joshua Johnson In ye behalf of Widdo: Orphans. Referd to further Consideration Whereas We John Coles James Greentree and Jonathan Dowdon were Choosen by Isaac Wood James Deaper and Robert Gurling to Decide a Controversie Margin Notes: March ye 22 1719/20 Oxford Persons Chosen to Determine | The petitioners asked that the parcels of land mentioned be kept in common for the benefit of the public, as they were at present. They argued that letting the land would greatly harm the whole body of inhabitants, and especially those with little or no pasture, who would then be unable to raise stock to maintain their families. They asked Governor Johnson and the council to give the matter careful consideration. The petition was dated 22 March 1720 and subscribed by the following: Richard Gurling, for himself and Crosby's orphans Robert Gurling Richard Swallow senior James Rider Walter Morris Richard Mason Thomas Greentree Stephen Lufkin William Worrall Francis Leech James Vesey, for himself and Slaughter Joshua Johnson, for himself and Addes's orphans John Long Joseph Doveton Richard Beale Henry Francis Benjamin Cleverley The council referred the matter to further consideration. A controversy stood between Isaac Wood and James Draper and Robert Gurling. John Coles, James Greentree and Jonathan Doveton had been chosen to decide it [...] Interpretations The petition reframed the Company's waste land as common pasture whose enclosure would fall hardest on the poorest planters. By arguing that letting Swanley Valley, the head of Old Woman's Valley, Tombstone Hill and Manatee Bay would leave those with little or no ground unable to raise stock, the inhabitants set the customary use of open grazing against the Company's interest in drawing rent from leased parcels. The dispute touched the basic tension on the island between the proprietors' right to let their land and the settlers' reliance on common ground to keep their cattle. The breadth of the subscription gives the petition unusual weight. The signatories included some of the largest landholders alongside men of modest holdings, several signing on behalf of orphans or absent parties whose interests they represented, so that the paper spoke for a substantial cross-section of the planter community rather than a handful of the aggrieved. The presence of Richard Gurling and Robert Gurling, both active land petitioners in their own right, shows even those seeking grants joining the call to keep the principal tracts open. Speculations The petitioners' insistence that the parcels stay in common managed a collective interest against the Company's revenue aim. By framing enclosure as a threat to the poorest families' ability to keep stock, the inhabitants pressed the bench's standing concern to maintain the island's families and provisions for the shipping, turning the Company's own settlement objective against the policy of letting. The joint approach, with the largest holders lending their names beside the smallest, set the weight of the whole community behind a request the council could not lightly refuse, and the referral to further consideration shows the tactic securing at least a pause in the letting. | |||||
401 | March relating to the Devidend of Samuel Desfountain Deceased./ Our opinion is that Isaac Wood be Allowed four Pounds towards funerall Charges and no other Damages./ John Coles James Greentree Febry ye 1719/20. Jonath Dowdon The following Petitions were Presented./ The Petition of Samuel Jesey planter Setting forth therein that he haveing Purchased 22½ Acres of Land late Thomas Burnhams decd Humbly prays We would grant him the Loan of One Hundred Pounds Credit in the Hon: Companys Books to Compleat the payment for Said Land at the usuall Interest, with a promise to take all Necessary Care to repay the Said Sume together with the Interest, and to acknowledge the Lent thereof as a Particular favour. And &c Granted he giving Bond for the Same and Interest thereon to be paid in one years time/ The Petition of Richard and Anthony Beale planters Sheweing that they haveing in quiet been Possesion of a Parcell of Free Land Left them by their father Jonathan Beale decd are very Margin Notes: The Dispute betwixt Mr Wood & R: Gurling Their Report Saml Jeseys Petn for 100 at Interest./ Granted he give Bond Petn of Richd & Anthy Beale | The dispute concerned the division of the estate of Samuel Defountaine, deceased. The referees gave their opinion that Isaac Wood be allowed £4 0s 0d towards funeral charges and no other damages. The decision was dated 23 February 1720 and signed by John Coles, James Greentree and Jonathan Doveton. The following petitions were then presented. Samuel Jessey, planter, set out in his petition that he had bought 22½ acres of land that had belonged to the late Thomas Burnham. He asked the council to grant him the loan of £100 0s 0d credit in the Honourable Company's books to complete the payment for the land, at the usual interest. He promised to take all necessary care to repay the sum with interest, and to acknowledge the loan as a particular favour. The council granted this, on his giving bond for the sum and the interest, to be paid in one year. Richard and Anthony Beale, planters, set out in their petition that they had been in quiet possession of a parcel of free land left to them by their father, Jonathan Beale, deceased. They were now very anxious [...] Interpretations The referees' award resolved the contested distribution of the Defountaine youth's estate by allowing Isaac Wood only his funeral charges and refusing any further damages, the three arbitrators delivering the decision the parties had bound themselves to accept at the consultation of 23 February 1720. Confining the allowance to the cost of burial settled the competing claims narrowly, the bench recording the outcome rather than adjudicating the share itself. The loan to Samuel Jessey shows the Company acting as banker to a planter completing a land purchase, advancing £100 0s 0d of store credit against a bond at interest repayable within the year. Jessey had assembled a freehold of 22½ acres from the lands of Thomas Burnham, whose estate had been ordered sold at public auction for its debts across the consultations of 25 to 27 August 1719, and the credit let him finish paying for the ground while binding him to repay the Company with interest. The arrangement turned a land sale into a secured debt on the Company's books. Richard and Anthony Beale were the orphan sons of Jonathan Beale, members of one of the long-running protected families, who had been granted possession of 60 acres of family land lying waste though fenced at the consultation of 7 June 1715, and who had taken the lease of about 13 acres of Taylor's Ground across the consultations of 17 to 28 November 1719. Their renewed approach over a parcel of free land left them by their father continues the family's long effort to secure and consolidate the Beale holdings. | |||||
402 | 1719 desirous to have Deeds for the same as has been granted to most of the Inhabitants for better Security thereof, and therefore they pray the Surveyor may be Impowerd to measure the said Land accordingly. And &c Granted and that a Warr be deliverd to the Surveyor for measureing the said Land/ Mistrs Elizabeth Marsh Wd brought and deliverd this day her deceased Son Joseph Longs Last Will and Testamt In order to have the same Proved which was accordingly done by the Oaths of John Coles and Charles Steward, who made Oath they saw the same Executed Ordered That the said Joseph Longs Last Will & Testamt now produced be received & approved of accordingly./ Orderd That the following Advertizement be Issued out, & Published by Beat of Drum. Island St. Helena./ By the Worshd Govern: & Council An Advertizemt Whereas Severall of the Inhabitants & others have been very Negligent & Remiss in their duty, by not repaireing to their respective Posts on Alarms So duly as they ought. And altho the Governr Margin Notes: Desireing a Deed for Land Granted Last Will of Jos: Long presented. Approved Island St. Helena Advertizemt ab: promremiss on Alarms./ | The Beale brothers asked for deeds to their land, as had been granted to most of the inhabitants for better security, and requested that the surveyor be empowered to measure it. The council granted this, and ordered a warrant delivered to the surveyor to measure the land. The widow Elizabeth Marsh brought in that day the will of her late son, Joseph Long, to have it proved. This was done on the oaths of John Coles and Charles Steward, who swore that they had seen it executed. The council ordered the will received and approved, and entered in the proper book. The council then ordered the following advertisement to be issued and published by beat of drum. By Governor Edward Johnson and his council, an advertisement. Several of the inhabitants and others had been very negligent in their duty by not going to their posts on alarms as promptly as they should. Although the Governor [...] Interpretations The Beale brothers' request for deeds turned on the difference between bare possession and secured title. Quiet occupation of the free land their father left them gave them no document to prove the holding, and a measured parcel under a registered deed put their title on the same recorded footing as most of the inhabitants enjoyed, protecting it against future challenge. The order for a surveyor's warrant began the process of fixing the bounds before the deed could issue. Elizabeth Marsh was the widow of Robert Marsh, whose will had been allowed and registered after her undertaking dated 22 July 1718, the Marsh family being among the long-running protected holders on the island. Her bringing in the will of her late son Joseph Long places a second family death before the bench, the council taking proof of execution from two witnesses and entering the instrument in the dedicated book in its standing role as the island's probate authority. The advertisement on neglect of alarm duty addressed a recurring failure in the island's defence. The inhabitants were bound to muster at their assigned posts whenever a ship's arrival raised an alarm, the duty falling on planters and garrison alike, and repeated laxity in turning out threatened the readiness on which a small remote settlement depended when an unidentified or hostile vessel appeared. The recent arrival of the disguised imperial ship House of Austria gave the order immediate point. Speculations The choice to publish the alarm order by beat of drum managed the problem of binding a scattered population to a duty many had been neglecting. A drum proclamation carried the notice through the settlement so that none could later plead ignorance, the same device the bench used for its weightiest public orders, and fixed the warning as a matter of record before any penalty was imposed. Issuing it just after the House of Austria had reached the Great Fort under a false name shows the council moving to tighten the muster while the danger of an unguarded approach was fresh, turning a specific scare into a general reform of alarm discipline. | |||||
403 | March Governr has shown his Lennity in only reprimand =ing those who have been Delinquents when at the same time might have Justly been fined for such their Niglect of duty, Yet but very little Notice has been taken thereof. Wherefore and to Prevent any Ships being Surprized or taken out of this Road by Pyrates or other Enemys that We are Credibly informed are now abroad. We do hereby Strictly Enjoyn, require, and Command all Persons bearing armes on the said Island To repaire on all and every Alarm to their severall Posts Assigned them, (and which were Publickly read on the last Generall Muster day) Upon the Pennalty of being Punnished or fined at the Discretion of Govr & Council for So Neglecting their duty aforesaid. And that no Person must hereafter think to Escape Scotfree upon a Pretended or Plausable Excuse Wherefore all Persons are to take Notice accordingly./ Dated at Union Castle in James valley this 22 day of March 1719. Signed P order of the Worshd Govr Jno Alexander Jno Alexander Jno Goodwine Margin Notes: Ill Consequences all Persons enjoyned to appeare on all Alarms on Pennalty | Although Governor Johnson had shown his leniency by only reprimanding the offenders, when he might fairly have fined them for neglecting their duty, very little notice had been taken of it. To prevent any ship being surprised or carried off from the road by pirates or other enemies, who the council was credibly informed were now abroad, the council strictly required all persons bearing arms on the island to go to their assigned posts on every alarm. These posts had been publicly read out on the last general muster day. Anyone neglecting this duty would be punished or fined at the discretion of the Governor and council. No one was to expect to escape on any pretended or plausible excuse, and all persons were to take notice accordingly. The advertisement was dated at Union Castle in James Valley on 22 March 1720, and signed by order of Governor Johnson by John Alexander. The consultation was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order set out a graduated enforcement of muster duty after persuasion had failed. Governor Johnson's earlier practice of reprimanding rather than fining defaulters had produced no improvement, so the council now fixed a discretionary penalty of punishment or fine for any armed man who missed his post on an alarm, closing the door on the excuses by which offenders had escaped. The shift from leniency to a stated sanction shows the bench tightening a duty that mild handling had left slack. The posts read out on the last general muster day were the assigned defensive stations each armed inhabitant was bound to occupy when an alarm sounded. Publishing the assignments at the muster, and now reinforcing them by a drum proclamation, ensured every man knew his station and removed any plea of ignorance, the public reading being the means by which the obligation was fixed on each individual in a settlement that depended on its planters to man the works. The credible report of pirates abroad gave the order its urgency. The warnings gathered from the Mercury and the Ostend letters, with the account of a heavily armed raider on the Cape route, set the immediate danger against which the council pressed the inhabitants to their posts, the fear of a ship being surprised or carried off from the road making the readiness of the muster a matter of real concern. | |||||
404 | 1719/20 Island St. Helena At a Court held for Orphans on Tuesday the 29 day of March 1720. At Union Castle in James Valley Edward Johnson Esq Govr Pres: Jno Alexander & Jno Goodwin The Last Consultation was read & approved Mr Ormiston sent in a Writing to be Registerd wherein he did Acquaint Us that on the 22 Instant he had Ballanced the Sett of Books for the Year 1717 and that the fair Ledger is near half Coppyd out. That the whole Sett of Books for 1718 are alsoe Ballanced, So that the Books of Accounts were brought even to that day. Which writing Containing So many falsityes and matters no way relating to the Publick. It was rejected./ Accordingly the Governr and Council on the 26 Inst went into the Accomptants Office to Exa- mine the State of the Accompts, and found that Nothing more than the Severall Persons Accounts were Ballanced for 1717. That there were no Acco of the Store Goods made in either of the two Setts of Books, & that the Main Ledger was not Copyd thro And Margin Notes: Mr Ormstons Writeing presented./ Books of Accots Ballanced/ Ye Writing rejected. Books of Accos Examd but not finished/ | Island of St Helena At a court held for orphans on Tuesday 29 March 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Mr Ormston sent in a paper to be registered. In it he told the council that on 22 March 1720 he had balanced the set of books for the year 1717, and that the fair ledger was near half copied out. He further stated that the whole set of books for 1718 were also balanced, so that the books of accounts had been brought up to that day. Since the paper contained many falsehoods and matters in no way concerning the public, the council rejected it. On 26 March 1720 Governor Johnson and the council went into the accountant's office to examine the state of the accounts. They found that nothing more than the several persons' accounts were balanced for 1717. No account of the store goods had been made in either set of books, and the main ledger was not copied through. [...] Interpretations Mr Ormston was Joseph Ormston, admitted accountant in place of the suspended Antipas Tovey on 4 August 1719, whose charge was the clearing of the long-neglected 1717 and 1718 account books. His registered paper claiming both sets balanced and the fair ledger half copied was the accountant's own account of his progress, the council's rejection of it as full of falsehoods marking a sharp dispute over whether the books had in fact been brought up to date. The council's response was direct verification rather than acceptance of the report. Rather than enter Ormston's statement, Governor Johnson and the councillors went into the accountant's office on 26 March 1720 and examined the books for themselves, finding only the individual persons' accounts balanced for 1717, no store-goods account in either set and the main ledger uncopied. The on-site inspection set the bench's own finding against the accountant's claim, the same scrutiny the council had applied to the books under Tovey and Haswell. The store-goods account was the central record the directors most wanted, the Company having pressed repeatedly that its accounts were not sent home. Its absence from both sets of books, despite Ormston's claim that all was balanced, struck at the very part of the accounts the long backlog had been meant to clear, the books for 1717 and 1718 being the records whose neglect had cost Tovey his place across the consultations of 3 June to 6 July 1719. Speculations The council's decision to inspect the books in person managed the gap between a subordinate's report and the true state of the accounts. Ormston's registered paper, had it stood unchecked, would have placed on record a claim the bench suspected to be false, so Governor Johnson tested it by direct examination before rejecting the paper, producing an independent finding the directors could rely on. The move shows the council guarding the integrity of its own record against an officer's flattering account, the more pointed because the same failure to keep the store-goods account had already brought down his predecessor. | |||||
405 | §March §And According to the Usuall Custome the §Govr required the State of the Island to Lady day §Last Mr Ormston answered it could not be done §Presently, and what he gave him for the last §Year must serve him for this. §Upon which the Governr Ordered him to give him §an Acco the 22 of March he haveing Sayed that §the Accounts were Ballanced to that day To which §he answered that Notwithstanding what he had §before Sayed, it would be very Imperfect/ §This day he (Mr Ormston) sent a Letter In to Us. §Desiring leave to goe for England by the first oppor- §tunity./ §He being a Covenant Servant with the Honble §Comp:r We thought his desire could not be Complyd §withal without an Order from them/ §The Executors of Mistrs Sich, made a Demand of §the Widdow Swallow for fourteen pounds, which §they say she Lent her Husband Richd Swallow in §ready money about two years before she dyed which §Sume the said Wid: Swallow denys to repay Saying §that Her Husband told her upon his death Bed that §he owed his mother Sich nothing, But on the §Contrary, there was money due to him and that§ Margin Notes: §State of the Island required§ §Mr Ormstons Answer§ §Acco: to be given to ye 22 March§ §Sayd to be Imperfect§ §Mr Ormston Desires leave to goe for England§ §Not Complyd wth he being a Covent Servant§ §Of Execut: of Mistrs Sich Demand of the Widdow Swallow§ | Following the usual custom, Governor Johnson required the state of the island made up to Lady Day. Mr Ormston answered that it could not be done at once, and that what he had given for the previous year must serve for this. The Governor then ordered him to give an account made up to 22 March 1720, since he had claimed the accounts were balanced to that day. Ormston answered that, despite what he had said before, such an account would be very imperfect. That day Mr Ormston sent in a letter asking leave to go for England by the first opportunity. Since he was a covenant servant with the Honourable Company, the council thought his request could not be granted without an order from the directors. The executors of the late Mrs Sich made a demand on the widow Swallow for £14 0s 0d. They said she had lent her late husband, Richard Swallow, this sum in ready money about two years before she died. The widow Swallow refused to repay it, saying that her husband had told her on his deathbed that he owed his mother Sich nothing. She claimed that, on the contrary, money was due to him, and that she [...] Interpretations The exchange over the state of the island exposed the hollowness of the accountant's earlier claim. Required to render the annual statement to Lady Day, Joseph Ormston first sought to recycle the previous year's account, then admitted that an account made up to 22 March 1720 would be very imperfect, directly contradicting his registered paper of the same day asserting the books balanced to that date. The Governor's demand for the very account Ormston had said was ready turned the accountant's own words against him. Lady Day, 25 March, was the date on which the Company's annual accounts and the island's yearly reckoning were customarily struck, the store books being settled and the year's position drawn up for transmission home. Governor Johnson's requirement of the state of the island to that day applied the standing yearly cycle, the accountant's inability to meet it marking the persistence of the very backlog the directors had pressed to have cleared. Ormston's request for leave to go to England ran up against his status as a covenant servant, bound to the Company by indenture for a fixed term. The council could not release him without an order from the directors, the same bar that had earlier kept officers and tradesmen at the island against their wish, his contractual obligation overriding his desire to depart while the books stood unfinished. The Swallow debt brought a contested family claim before the bench, the executors of the late Mrs Sich seeking £14 0s 0d said to have been lent to Richard Swallow against the widow's denial. Her reliance on her husband's deathbed declaration that he owed his mother nothing set a spoken disavowal against the executors' demand, the kind of competing assertion the council was repeatedly called to weigh in the absence of written proof. | |||||
406 | §1720. §She herself dos know that her Husband had ten pounds §in ready money at one time to pay away and some §Pieces of Gold at another time which she heard him §Say was to go towards the Payment of that fourteen §Pounds, and dos realy believe in her Consience the §whole debt was paid some time before his death/ §After Severall debates on both sides, and the §said deceased Richard Swallow being well §known to be a very Honest man!/ §It was the Opinion of the Council That §Mistrs Swallow his Wd ought to be Discharged §from that debt./ §John Long presented his Petition Setting forth §That he haveing been calld upon for the Payment §of his debt to the Hon: Comp: humbly begs We §would take what he can Spare of the Produce of §his Estate towards payment thereof, and that he §will very Speedily Add the Sume of One Hundred §& fifty pounds of good Credit and use his Utmost §Endeavour to pay the remainder. And &c §This proposall being not Sufficient to pay off his §debt due to our Honbe Masters, We are willing to §allow him a fortnight time longer to raise more §money towards Paying the Same.§ Margin Notes: §After debate§ §Mistrs Swallow discharged§ §Jno Longs offer towards paying his debt§ §Not sufficient long: time was given for his furthr proposal§ | The widow Swallow added that she knew her husband had £10 0s 0d in ready money at one time to pay out, and some pieces of gold at another, which she had heard him say were to go towards the payment of the £14 0s 0d. She truly believed in her conscience that the whole debt had been paid some time before his death. After several arguments on both sides, and Richard Swallow being well known to have been an honest man, the council was of the opinion that his widow ought to be discharged from the debt. John Long presented his petition. He set out that, having been called on to pay his debt to the Honourable Company, he asked the council to take what he could spare of the produce of his estate towards payment. He promised very soon to add £150 0s 0d of good credit and to use his utmost effort to pay the remainder. Since this offer was not enough to clear his debt to the Company, the council was willing to allow him a fortnight longer to raise more money towards paying it. [...] Interpretations The discharge of the widow Swallow rested on the deceased's reputation as much as on the evidence. With no written proof either way, the council weighed her account of his ready money and gold set aside for the debt, her conscientious belief that it had been paid, and Richard Swallow's standing as an honest man, and resolved the contested claim in her favour. The decision shows the bench relying on character and probability where documentary record failed, releasing a widow from a demand it judged most probably already satisfied. John Long's petition shows a planter offering to discharge a store debt partly in the produce of his estate and partly in promised credit, a mixed settlement of goods and book entry. Long appears throughout the record as a substantial but frequently troublesome holder, and his proposal to put up what his land could spare alongside £150 0s 0d of good credit reflects the standing means by which indebted planters cleared their accounts with the Company without ready cash. The council's grant of a fortnight's grace shows its handling of a debt to its own masters that the debtor could not immediately meet. Judging Long's offer insufficient yet allowing him time to raise more, the bench balanced the directors' interest in recovering the sum against the practical limits of a planter's resources, extending the deadline rather than forcing an inadequate settlement or proceeding against him at once. | |||||
407 | §March §The Executors of Robert Addis Orphans §Viz: James Greentree & Joshua Johnson brought §and deliverd an Acco in Writing of the Stock §& Estate of the said Addis his Orphans, which §was Examined & approved of./ §The Clear Estate appeared to be Seventy one §Pounds nineteen shillings & Seven pence besides §in live Stock 22 head of Black Cattle (Vizt §one Bull §Seven Cows §four Bullocks §one Steifer §two Steers & §Seven Calves §In all twenty two head/ §Mr Greentree deliverd an Acco of the Estate §of Richard Harding decd wherein there appeared §to be Seven pounds ten shillings due to §his children, besides their dividends in nineteen §acres of Free Land & a House standing thereon §the rest haveing been already Accounted for §as they came of age or Married/ §Messrs James Greentree, & Jonathn Dowdon §Execut:rs to Robert Leech decd brought & delivered §An Acco of his Orphans Estate wherein it did §appear that their Clear Estate was Sixty Six §Pounds, one shilling, & nine pence farthing/§ Margin Notes: §Robt Addis Orphans§ §Estate§ §Rich Harding Orphts Estate§ §Robt Leeches Orphs Estate§ | The executors of the orphans of Robert Addes, namely James Greentree and Joshua Johnson, brought in and delivered a written account of the stock and estate of the Addes orphans. It was examined and approved. The clear estate appeared to be £71 19s 7d, besides in live stock 22 head of black cattle, namely: one bull seven cows four bullocks one heifer two steers seven calves twenty-two head in all Mr Greentree delivered an account of the estate of the late Richard Harding. It showed £7 10s 0d due to his children, besides their share in nineteen acres of free land with a house standing on it. The rest had already been accounted for as the children came of age or married. James Greentree and Jonathan Doveton, executors of the late Robert Leech, brought in and delivered an account of his orphans' estate. It showed the clear estate to be £66 1s 9¼d. [...] Interpretations The orphans' court here discharged its standing role of supervising the estates of minors, the executors of three deceased planters bringing in sworn accounts of stock and value for examination and approval. James Greentree and Jonathan Doveton recur throughout the record as the customary executors and appraisers in such matters, their delivery of the Addes, Harding and Leech accounts in turn showing the bench checking the management of several orphan estates at one sitting. The Addes estate was valued in two parts, a clear money sum of £71 19s 7d and a herd of 22 head of black cattle set out beast by beast. On a small island where cattle had repeatedly been thinned by drought and disease, live stock formed a substantial part of an estate's worth, the itemised breakdown of bull, cows, bullocks, heifer, steers and calves recording the breeding herd that would sustain and increase the orphans' wealth. The Harding account shows the island's practice of paying out each child's share as the occasion of coming of age or marriage arose, the remaining £7 10s 0d due to the children held against their interest in nineteen acres of free land and a house. Settling portions at majority or marriage spread the distribution of an estate over years, the council tracking what remained owing to the heirs still to be provided for. | |||||
408 | §1720 §The Executors of Charles Steward decd Vizt Messrs §Powell & Richd Gurling delivered an Acco of the §Stock & Estate belonging to his Orphans, being five §Sons) Except their Accounts in the Hon: Companys §Books which being not yet Ballanced they could §not give an Exact Acco of the Clear Estate. But §their live Stock Consisted of Vizt §four Black men slaves §one ditto Boy & §two ditto Girles §Seven Blacks§ §2 Bulls §21 Cows §16 Bullocks §13 Heifers §2 Steers & §25 Calves §In all Seventy nine head of Cattle§ §14 Barrows §7 Sowes & §41 Shoals §In all Sixty Two head of Hoggs§ §28 Goats Young & Old §20 Dunghill fowles §6 Turkeys §3 Geese & §7 Ducks §19000 of Yams in all §Besides the half of two Horses/§ §20 acres of free Land & §40 acres of Hired Land §In possession§ Margin Notes: §Charles Steward§ §Orphans Estate§ | The executors of the late Charles Steward, namely Mr Powell and Richard Gurling, delivered an account of the stock and estate belonging to his orphans, his five sons. They could not give an exact account of the clear estate, since the orphans' accounts in the Honourable Company's books were not yet balanced. Their live stock consisted of the following: Black slaves four black men, one boy and two girls seven blacks in all Black cattle 2 bulls 21 cows 16 bullocks 13 heifers 2 steers 25 calves seventy-nine head in all Hogs 14 barrows 7 sows 41 shoals sixty-two head in all 28 goats, young and old 20 dunghill fowls 6 turkeys 3 geese 7 ducks Yams 19,000 in all Besides the half of two horses. Land in possession 20 acres of free land 40 acres of hired land [...] Interpretations The Steward orphans' estate could not be reckoned to a clear money figure because the family's accounts in the Company's books were not yet balanced, the same unfinished bookkeeping that ran through the whole administration. Mr Powell and Richard Gurling, the executors of Charles Steward and long-standing parties to the management of his estate, delivered instead a full inventory of the live stock, leaving the cash balance to await the closing of the books in the accountant's office. The estate's wealth lay overwhelmingly in living property, set out class by class across slaves, cattle, hogs, goats, poultry, yams and a share in two horses. On a remote island the worth of an orphan's estate rested on its breeding herds and its growing provisions rather than on coin, the detailed muster of seven slaves, seventy-nine cattle, sixty-two hogs and a standing crop of 19,000 yams recording the productive base that would maintain and increase the five sons' inheritance. The seven slaves headed the inventory as the most valuable single class of property, listed and counted like the cattle and hogs that followed. The recording of men, a boy and girls among the orphans' assets, set out for division alongside the stock, reflects the standing treatment of slaves as heritable property within an estate, the human beings entered in the account by the same logic as the beasts. | |||||
409 | §March §The Executors of Gilbert Solgraves Orphans §Viz: Capt Jno Alexander & Jno Coles Deliverd §the following Acco: (Vizt) §6 Cows §3 Young Bullocks §4 Calves §In all thirteen head. §Besides being due to them of Sundry Persons §the Sume of forty five Pounds four Shillings/ §One of Humphry Edwards Children (a Girle) §being unprovided for and haveing nothing to §maintaine herself. Ordered That the Church §Wardens do put the said Girle out in the Nature §of an Apprentice to some Honest Person as Cheap §as they Can, and the Parish to Stand Charged §therewith, till she is otherways Provided for/ §The Executors of Thomas Burnham Messrs §Wood & Whaley appeared, But haveing not the §Orphans Accounts ready Stated, the sd Executors §were Ordered to gett it done as Soon as Possible §and then to bring & deliver it accordingly./ §Dorothy Hayse Wd appeared on behalf §of her Grand Son John Hayse & his two Sisters §being Orphans) and complained That Thomas §Leech who married their Mother, & some time §since dead, doth Unjustly lay Claim to, and§ Margin Notes: §Gilbt Solgraves Orphs Estate§ §a Girle of Humphry Edwards put out to Apprentice§ §Execut: of Tho Burnham to Settle their Orphts Accots§ §Dorothy Hayse Complt against Tho: Leech on behalf of her Grand Childrn§ | The executors of the orphans of Gilbert Colgrave, namely Captain John Alexander and John Coles, delivered the following account: 6 cows 3 young bullocks 4 calves thirteen head in all Besides this, several persons owed the orphans £45 4s 0d. One of Humphrey Edwards's children, a girl, was unprovided for and had nothing to maintain herself. The council ordered the churchwardens to put the girl out as an apprentice to some honest person, as cheaply as they could, the parish to stand charged with it until she was otherwise provided for. The executors of Thomas Burnham, namely Mr Wood and Mr Whaley, appeared. Since they did not have the orphans' accounts ready, the council ordered them to get it done as soon as possible and then bring it in. The widow Dorothy Hayse appeared on behalf of her grandson John Hayse and his two sisters, who were orphans. She complained that Thomas Leech, who had married their mother and was now some time dead, had unjustly laid claim to and detained [...] Interpretations The apprenticing of the Edwards girl shows the parish discharging its standing duty toward a destitute child through the churchwardens. Placing a child unable to maintain herself out as an apprentice to an honest person, as cheaply as the wardens could arrange, removed the burden from parish relief by binding her into a household where she would be kept and trained, the parish standing charged only until the placement took effect. The mechanism turned a dependent child into a settled apprentice at least cost to the public purse. The Colgrave orphans' estate again rested largely in cattle and in debts owed to the estate, the executors Captain John Alexander and John Coles delivering thirteen head of stock and £45 4s 0d due from several persons. The pattern across these orphan accounts shows the wealth of minors held in breeding herds and outstanding credits, the bench recording both the live stock and the sums to be called in for the children's benefit. Dorothy Hayse appeared as guardian for her grandchildren in the standing manner by which a surviving relative pursued an orphan's interest before the court. Her complaint that Thomas Leech, the children's stepfather now dead, had wrongly claimed and withheld property belonging to the Hayse orphans brought the bench a contest over a minor's inheritance against the estate of a man who had married into the family, the kind of dispute over detained property the orphans' court was constituted to settle. | |||||
410 | §1720 §detains ten Acres of Land and a House thereon §belonging to the said John Hayse as Heir thereto. §Ordered That Thomas Leech be §Summoned to attend the Council this day §Sevennights, and to bring what Writings he §has with him, that relates any ways to the §said Land/ §The Execut:rs of Mistrs Marg Sich Vizt Messrs §Wrangham, Vesey & Beny Slawelee brought & §deliverd an Inventory of the said Mrs Sich Estate §which was Examined & approved of. §They Likewise Produced an Acco of what §Disbursements & payments that has happened §Since Mrs Siches death, to this time as well on §Acco of her Grand daughter Elizabeth Sich, as §what Else were brought to the Acco of others. §which was alsoe Examd & approved of./ §Samuel Jesey Guardian to Jane Slawkes §Orphan brought in and deliverd the following §Account of Cattle belonging to her (Vizt) §1 Bull §2 Cows §1 Heifer §1 Steer & §1 Calfe §In all Six head§ Margin Notes: §ten acres of Land.§ §Leech Ord: to Attend.§ §Inventory of Mrs Marg Sich Deliverd in§ §Also an Acco of her Estate§ §Jane Slawkes Stock of Cattle/§ | The complaint concerned ten acres of land and a house on it belonging to John Hayse as heir. The council ordered Thomas Leech summoned to attend on 5 April 1720, and to bring with him any writings he held relating to the land. The executors of the late Mrs Margaret Sich, namely Mr Wrangham, Mr Vesey and Mr Beny Cleverlee, brought in and delivered an inventory of her estate, which was examined and approved. They also produced an account of the disbursements and payments made since Mrs Sich's death up to that time, both on her own account and on that of her granddaughter Elizabeth Sich, together with sums brought to the account of others. This was also examined and approved. Samuel Jessey, guardian to the orphan Jane Hawkes, brought in and delivered the following account of cattle belonging to her: 1 bull 2 cows 1 heifer 1 steer 1 calf six head in all Besides [...] Interpretations The summons of Thomas Leech to bring his writings shows the council's standard means of resolving a contested title over an orphan's land. Requiring the man accused of detaining the Hayse children's ten acres to attend with any documents bearing on the land let the bench test his claim against the children's by the deeds and papers each side could produce, the production of writings being the proof on which a disputed holding turned. Mrs Margaret Sich was the deceased whose executors had earlier demanded £14 0s 0d from the widow Swallow, a claim the council had just disallowed on the deathbed denial of Richard Swallow. Her executors, the planters Wrangham, Vesey and Cleverlee, now brought in the inventory and the account of disbursements since her death for examination, the bench checking the management of her estate and that of her granddaughter Elizabeth Sich in its standing supervisory role. The account of disbursements covered both Mrs Sich's own estate and that of her granddaughter, with further sums carried to the accounts of others. The orphans' court required executors to render not only an inventory of what an estate held but a reckoning of what had been spent and paid out since the death, the examination of these outgoings being the means by which the bench guarded a minor's property against waste or misapplication by those who managed it. | |||||
411 | §March §Besides there being due to Her from the §said Saml Jesey for Cattle he has Sold others §the Sume of Thirteen Pounds five Shillings/ §Ordered That Thomas Free who §Married the Weddow of Mr Daniel Griffiths §be Summoned to give Us an Acco: & of what §Effects & Estate he has in his Possesion be- §=longing to the said Mr Griffiths Orphans/ §In Consultation of the 1 Decr last William §Portley the Hon: Comp: Chief Overseer Reported §that he had measured the Wall fence made by §Capt Goodwin and found it to be 54 Rodds §which fence Messrs Wrangham & Greentree §hath by Order Directed to them been and §Vallued at Eight Shillings P Rodd one part §with another/ §Ordered That Capt Goodwin have Credt §for the Same wch amounts to twenty one §Pounds twelve Shillings/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island§ Margin Notes: §Besides money Due from Saml Jesey§ §The Free to give Acco: of Griffiths Orphs Effects/§ §Wall viewed by Messrs Wrangham & Greentree§ §Capt Goodwin allowd paymt§ | Besides the cattle, Samuel Jessey owed the orphan Jane Hawkes £13 5s 0d for stock he had sold to others. The council ordered Thomas Free, who had married the widow of Mr Daniel Griffith, summoned to give an account of the effects and estate he held belonging to the Griffith orphans. At the consultation of 1 December 1719 William Portley, the Honourable Company's chief overseer, had reported that he had measured the wall fence made by Captain Goodwin and found it to be 54 rods. Mr Wrangham and Mr Greentree, by the council's order, had valued the fence at eight shillings per rod, one part with another. The council ordered Captain Goodwin given credit for it, amounting to £21 12s 0d. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The summons of Thomas Free over the Griffith orphans' estate shows the bench tracing a minor's property into the hands of a man who had married into the family. Free had married the widow of Daniel Griffith, and the council required him to account for the effects and estate in his possession belonging to the orphans, the same procedure applied to Thomas Leech in the Hayse matter, by which a stepfather or successor in occupation was made to render what he held of a deceased man's children. The wall-fence valuation settled payment for boundary stonework through a measured rate, the council ordering credit for Captain Goodwin once the chief overseer had measured the wall and two appointed planters had valued it. Fencing was the standing test of tenure and a continual charge on the island, and the practice of measuring the rods built and pricing them at a set rate per rod gave the bench an exact basis for paying the makers, the 54 rods at eight shillings yielding the £21 12s 0d credited. Payment by credit in the Company's books rather than in coin reflects the cashless settlement that ran through the island's economy. Captain Goodwin's reward for the fence was entered as a book credit against which he could draw goods at the store, the same mechanism by which planters discharged debts and received payment, the Company functioning as the settlement's bank and sole supplier in the near absence of ready money. Speculations The two-stage handling of the fence claim managed the risk of overpaying for work the Company could not easily re-examine. By having the chief overseer first measure the rods and then two independent planters value them at a rate per rod, the council separated the measurement from the valuation and rested the final credit on figures it could trust, rather than on the maker's own account. The structure gave the bench a defensible figure for a charge on the proprietors' funds, the same method of measured quantity and appointed valuers it had applied to Powell's Peak fence across the consultations of 18 August to 6 October 1719. | |||||
412 | §1720 §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation §held on Tuesday the 5 day of April 1720 §at Union Castle in James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §This day according to an Advertizmt Issued §out on the 29 March last, the Council Mett for §the Transferring of Bills, or any other Business §that might Occur. §The Petition of Capt Wouter Van Dyk Comand §er of the King Charles a Dutch Ship Setting forth §therein That he haveing a Negroe man slave who §had Served him for Severall Years, He was very §desireous he should return to his own Countrey. §Wherefore desires leave may be granted for §the said Negroe slave (named Titus) to Stay on §the Island, till the next Store Ship arrived here §from England, and then to have leave to goe §in her for India. And &c §Granted Provided he leave him with §such a person as will keep him for his Service.§ Margin Notes: §Transfers§ §Dutch Capt request for a Negroe to Stay on ye Isld§ §Granted on Provise§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 5 April 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Following an advertisement issued on 29 March 1720, the council met that day for the transferring of bills, or any other business that might arise. Captain Wouter Van Dyk, commander of the King Charles, a Dutch ship, presented his petition. He set out that he had a black male slave who had served him for several years, and that he was very anxious the man should return to his own country. He asked that leave be granted for the slave, named Titus, to stay on the island until the next store ship arrived from England, and then to have leave to go in her for India. The council granted this, provided he left the man with some person who would keep him for his service. [...] Interpretations The King Charles under Captain Wouter Van Dyk was the large Dutch ship that had arrived on 7 March 1720, unable to reach the Cape of Good Hope through bad weather. Her commander's petition to leave his slave at the island brings a foreign master's private arrangement before the bench, the council's permission turning on the man being placed in service rather than left at large. The condition that Titus be left with a person who would keep him for his service reflects the standing treatment of a slave as labour to be employed and accounted for, not as a free person at liberty on the island. The bench would not allow the man to remain idle and unsupported, requiring instead that he pass into a household where his labour would maintain him until a ship could carry him onward, the slave's keep and his value as a worker held together. The council's meeting for the transferring of bills was the standing occasion on which debts and credits were moved between parties in the Company's books and bills of exchange dealt with, advertised beforehand so that those with business might attend. The transfer of bills was the mechanism by which obligations passed from one account to another on the island, the cashless settlement of debts that ran through the whole economy depending on these recorded transfers. | |||||
413 | §Aprill §Thomas Free appeared According to §Sumons, and alledges he cannot give §any Account of Mr Griffith his Predecessors §Estate, Neither is it Customary So to do while §the Mother of any Children is liveing, And §that Mr Griffith died Intestate, with such §like trifling Excuses, which Shew'd a designe §to defraud the Orphans/ §Wherefore Ordered That the said §Thomas Free do without fail bring in §an Inventory unto Us of Mr Griffiths Estate §this day fortnight which We adjudge to be §a Sufficient time for him to do it in/ §Adjourand till tomorrow 9 a Clock/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin§ Margin Notes: §Free appeared & refuses to give Acco: of Mr Griffiths Orphs Estate.§ §He is Orderd to bring in an Acco:§ | Thomas Free appeared as summoned. He claimed he could give no account of the estate of Mr Griffith, his predecessor. He argued that it was not customary to do so while the mother of any children was living, and that Mr Griffith had died intestate. These and similar trifling excuses showed a design to defraud the orphans. The council ordered Thomas Free to bring in an inventory of Mr Griffith's estate without fail on 19 April 1720, which it judged sufficient time for him to do it in. The consultation was adjourned until ten the next morning, and was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Thomas Free's refusal turned on a claim that no account was owed while the children's mother lived, the estate having passed to her on Daniel Griffith's intestacy. He had married Griffith's widow and held the property in her right, and his plea that custom excused him from rendering an inventory sought to keep the orphans' interest out of view behind the mother's life claim. The bench treated the argument as an evasion designed to deprive the children of what was theirs. The council overrode the excuse and compelled a full inventory by a fixed day, asserting its standing protective jurisdiction over orphans against a guardian or successor who would not account. Whatever the mother's life interest, the children retained a claim on their late father's estate that the bench was bound to safeguard, and requiring Free to deliver an inventory without fail put the property on record so the orphans' share could be identified and preserved. The treatment of Free's grounds as trifling excuses marks the bench's reading of his conduct as deliberate concealment rather than honest doubt. By labelling the plea a design to defraud the orphans, the council placed on record its judgement that the holder of a minor's property was withholding an account he owed, the formal demand for an inventory by 19 April 1720 standing as the means to expose what he held before any further evasion. | |||||
414 | §1720. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation Continued §on Wednesday the 6 day of Aprill 1720 At §Union Castle in James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esqr Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §The Govr & Council Mett againe this day §to Transfer those Bills for diett &c which §Could not be Enterd Yesterday. And §Likewise to hear any other Matters that §might further Occur. §The Gunnr brought & deliverd the two follow: §Acco:ts of Gunners Stores Expended which §were Examined and Accordingly approved §of. §An Account of Gunners Stores §Expended from the first day of Octobr §1719/20 to the 31 of December following/ §Novr 4th§ Margin Notes: §Transfers Continued.§ §Gunnrs two Acco:ts in§ §Ye Expended in 3 Mo:§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation continued on Wednesday 6 April 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson and the council met again that day to transfer the bills for diet that could not be entered the day before, and to hear any other matters that might arise. The gunner brought in and delivered the two following accounts of gunner's stores expended, which were examined and approved. An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 October 1719 to 31 December 1719. [...] Interpretations The gunner's accounts continued the standing requirement that the officer in charge of the garrison's powder and ammunition render a regular reckoning of what had been used. The gunner John French had been ordered to bring in his stores accounts under the Company's directions, with all accounts entered in the consultation book in order from 25 March 1715, and the delivery of these quarterly accounts for examination shows the control over military stores still in routine operation under Governor Johnson. The transfer of bills for diet carried over from the previous day shows the council taking two sittings to complete the movement of these obligations through the Company's books. Bills for diet recorded the cost of feeding individuals at the Company's tables, charged against their accounts, and the transferring of them between parties was part of the cashless settlement by which debts and credits passed on the island, the business too extensive to finish in one consultation. The expenditure of gunner's stores over a fixed quarter, here 1 October to 31 December 1719, gave the bench a periodic account of the powder spent on salutes, alarms and the working of the guns. On a remote island dependent on resupply from England, the consumption of powder and ammunition was a charge to be tracked and justified, the quarterly reckoning recording what had been used against the standing need to indent for more from the directors. | |||||
415 | §Aprill §An Acco: of Gunnrs Stores Expended from the 1 day §of Octobr 1719/20 To the 31 of Decembr following. §Names of Particulars, and §To What Uses Viz:§ §Novr the 4 By the Worshd Govrs Order §Gunsfired 21 §D: Cart 17 §D: Auto 6 §Jakers 8 §Powder Expended 179§ §D: 5 By the Worshd the Govt Order §Gunsfired 41 §D: Cart 4 §W: Cart 3 §D: Auto 10 §Jakers 20 §Minion 4 §Powder Expended 255 §Shott Expended 3§ §28 A double Alarm §Gunsfired 6 §Minion 6 §Powder Expended 6§ §D: Arrived the King George & §the Addison §Gunsfired 22 §Minion 22 §Powder Expended 22§ §Dec: 12 An Alarm §Gunsfired 4 §Minion 4 §Powder Expended 4§ §D: Arrived the Dartmouth §Gunsfired 9 §Minion 9 §Powder Expended 9§ §19 An Alarm §Gunsfired 4 §Minion 4 §Powder Expended 4§ §D: Arrived the Queen §Gunsfired 8 §Jakers Br:k 1 §Minion 7 §Powder Expended 11 §Shott Expended 1§ §D: 20 By ye Worshd Govr ord: at his comeing §on Shore §Gunsfired 21 §Minion 4 17 §Powder Expended 29§ §D: 21 Departed the King George §Addison Dartmo: & Queen §Gunsfired 36 §Minion 36 §Powder Expended 36§ §By Garrison §Faulkr 45§ §Musquett Balls by Garrison §W: Cart 11 12§ §Ditto Rods P ditto §W: Cart 4 §D: Auto 24§ §Ditto flints P d: §Jakers 200§ §Spungestaves §D: Auto 8§ §Rammr heads §D: Auto 8§ §Spunge heads §D: Auto 8§ §Cartridge Paper §D: Auto 2 10§ §Tompkins §D: Auto 12§ §Match §D: Auto 42§ §Totalle: Gunsfired 242, D: Cart 12, W: Cart 10, D: Auto 8, Jakers 8, Minion 8, Faulkr 200, Powder Expended 24 12 172 11 3 16 29 8 105 600, Shott Expended 4§ | An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 October 1719 to 31 December 1719, set out by use, with the powder and shot expended: 4 November, by Governor Johnson's order gunsfired 21, double cartridges 17, dale cartridges 6, sakers 8 powder 179 pounds 5 November, by the Governor's order gunsfired 46, double cartridges 4, whole cartridges 3, dale cartridges 10, sakers 20, minion 4 powder 255 pounds, shot 3 28 November, a double alarm gunsfired 6 powder 6 pounds, shot 6 On the arrival of the King George and the Addison gunsfired 22 powder 22 pounds, shot 22 12 December, an alarm gunsfired 4 powder 4 pounds, shot 4 On the arrival of the Dartmouth gunsfired 9 powder 9 pounds, shot 9 19 December, an alarm gunsfired 4 powder 4 pounds, shot 4 On the arrival of the Queen gunsfired 8, sakers 1 powder 7 pounds, shot 11, [...] 1 20 December, by the Governor's order on his coming ashore gunsfired 21 powder 4 pounds, shot 17, [...] 29 21 December, on the departure of the King George, Addison, Dartmouth and Queen gunsfired 36 powder 36 pounds, shot 36 By the garrison powder 45 pounds Musket balls by the garrison 12 Rods by the garrison 24 Flints by the garrison 200 Sponge staves 8 Rammer heads 8 Sponge heads 8 Cartridge paper 10 Tompkins 12 Match 42 Totals gunsfired 42, double cartridges 12, whole cartridges 10, dale cartridges 8, sakers 8, minion 8, flints 200, rods 24, musket balls 12, powder 172 pounds, shot 11, sponge staves 3, rammer heads 16, sponge heads 29, cartridge paper 8, tompkins 105, match 600 The account was signed by the gunner John French. Interpretations The account records the powder and shot spent on the occasions that called for the guns, namely the Governor's salutes, the alarms raised for unidentified ships, and the salutes fired on the arrival and departure of Company vessels. The heaviest expenditure fell on Governor Johnson's two orders of 4 and 5 November 1719 and on the joint departure of four ships on 21 December 1719, the entries showing the powder consumed against each event so the directors could see what the stock had been used for. The ships named were the East Indiamen whose calls punctuated the quarter, the King George, Addison, Dartmouth and Queen each saluted in and the first four saluted out together. Salutes fired on the arrival and departure of Company ships were the standing courtesy of a Company port, the powder so spent forming a regular charge that the gunner had to account for against the alarms and the Governor's own salutes. The miscellaneous stores below the firing entries were the consumable fittings of the guns rather than powder and shot, the sponge staves, rammer and sponge heads, tompkins, match and cartridge paper used in loading, firing and stopping the pieces. Their inclusion in the quarterly reckoning shows the gunner accounting not only for the explosive expended but for the wearing gear of the battery, every item to be justified and replaced from the island's limited supply. | |||||
416 | §1720. §An Acco:t of Gunnrs Stores Expended from the 1 of January §1719/20 To the 25 of March following./ §Names of Particulars and to §What Uses Viz:§ §Janry the 31 An Alarm for a Ship that went by §Gunsfired 4 §Faulkns 4 §Powder Expended 4§ §Febry 24 An Alarm §Gunsfired 4 §Faulkns 4 §Powder Expended 4§ §D: Arrived the Ship Susanna §Gunsfired 9 §Faulkns 9 §Powder Expended 9§ §26 An Alarm for a Ship that went by §Gunsfired 4 §Faulkns 4 §Powder Expended 4§ §D: At Munders Point §Gunsfired 3 3 §Powder Expended 21 3§ §Mar 3 Departed the Susanna §Gunsfired 9 §Faulkns 9 §Powder Expended 9§ §D: 7 A double Alarm §Gunsfired 6 §Faulkns 6 §Powder Expended 6§ §D: Arrivd ye Mercury & a Dutch Ship K: Charles §Gunsfired 18 §D: Culv B: 2 1 §Jakers 1 §Faulkns 15 §Powder Expended 33 §Shott Expended 3§ §D: 15 Departed the Mercury §Gunsfired 15 §Faulkns 15 §Powder Expended 15§ §By Garrison Expended §Powder Expended 35§ §Musquett Balls §Jakers 18§ §Flints §Jakers 100§ §Spunge Staves §Jakers 5§ §One Copper Ladle Delivd Capt Goodwin §Gunsfired 1§ §Tompkins §Faulkns 14§ §Cartridge Paper §Faulkns 2 7 7§ §Match §Faulkns 37§ §Totalle: Gunsfired 37 7, D: Culv 14, Jakers 1 5 100 18, Faulkns 72 5 1 66, Powder Expended 140, Shott Expended 6§ §Jno French §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin§ | An account of gunner's stores expended from 1 January 1720 to 25 March 1720, set out by use, with the powder and shot expended: 31 January, an alarm for a ship that went by gunsfired 4 powder 4 pounds, shot 4 24 February, an alarm gunsfired 4 powder 4 pounds, shot 4 24 February, on the arrival of the ship Susanna gunsfired 9 powder 9 pounds, shot 9 26 February, an alarm for a ship that went by gunsfired 4 powder 4 pounds, shot 4 26 February, at Munden's Point gunsfired 3, dale cartridges 3 powder 21 pounds, shot 3 3 March, on the departure of the Susanna gunsfired 9 powder 9 pounds, shot 9 7 March, a double alarm gunsfired 6 powder 6 pounds, shot 6 7 March, on the arrival of the Mercury and a Dutch ship, the King Charles gunsfired 18, dale cartridges 2, sakers 1, minion 1 powder 15 pounds, shot 33, [...] 3 15 March, on the departure of the Mercury gunsfired 15 powder 15 pounds, shot 15 By the garrison expended powder 35 pounds Musket balls 18 Flints 100 Sponge staves 5 One copper ladle delivered to Captain Goodwin 1 Tompkins 14 Cartridge paper 27 Match 377 Totals gunsfired 37, dale cartridges 7, sakers 14, minion 1, flints 5, musket balls 100, [...] 18, powder 72 pounds, shot 5, sponge staves 1, copper ladle 66, cartridge paper 140, match 600 [...] The account was signed by the gunner John French, and the consultation by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The account records the powder and shot spent over the quarter on alarms for passing and arriving ships, on the salutes for the Susanna and the Mercury in and out, and on the firing at Munden's Point. The entry for the arrival of the Mercury with the Dutch King Charles on 7 March 1720 ties the gunner's reckoning to the day those vessels came in, the heavily armed imperial ship House of Austria and the pirate intelligence belonging to the same run of arrivals that filled the spring. Munden's Point was the second fort on the island, the outlying battery whose guard had repeatedly fallen short of its establishment, where powder was expended on 26 February 1720. Firing from the separate work shows the gunner accounting for the whole of the island's ordnance across its scattered posts, not the Great Fort alone, every charge spent at the outlying battery entered against the quarter. The copper ladle delivered to Captain Goodwin was a loading implement for charging a gun with loose powder, issued out of the gunner's stores to a councillor who held a military command. Its entry among the consumables shows the gunner accounting for the issue of equipment as well as its expenditure, the standing requirement that every item leaving the stores be recorded and justified extending to a tool passed to an officer of the garrison. | |||||
417 | §Aprill §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held §on Tuesday the 12 day of Aprill 1720 §At Union Castle in James Valley §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultacon read & approved of/ §Dorothy Hayse on the behalf of her Grand §Children made Complaint that Thoms Leech §their father in Law laid Claim to ten Acres §of Land a House Standing on it as his owne §in right of his wife (decd) and that he Com= §=mitted daily Wast by destroying the Wood, §wherefore she desired he might be Sumoned §before Us who now appearing Declared the §right he thought he had to the Land & House §aforesaid §After hearing all he had to Say, peruseing §of Papers and Consultations relating to that §matter, and the objections made to his Claym/ §It was agreed & accordingly Ordered §That Thomas Leech shall &c from this §time Enjoy the said ten Acres of Land and §House§ Margin Notes: §Dorothy Hayse Appeard on the behalf of her Grand Childn of Wm Hayse decd/§ §Tho Leech Appeard at her Complt§ §The Cause being Examd§ §agreed.§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 April 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Dorothy Hayse, on behalf of her grandchildren, complained that Thomas Leech, their stepfather, claimed ten acres of land with a house on it as his own in right of his late wife. She added that he was daily wasting the value by destroying the wood. She asked that he be summoned before the council. Leech now appeared and declared the right he thought he had to the land and house. After hearing all he had to say, and examining the papers and consultations relating to the matter, with the objections made to his claim, the council agreed and ordered that Thomas Leech should from that time enjoy the ten acres of land and house. [...] Interpretations The dispute returned to the bench the contest first raised at the consultation of 29 March 1720, when Dorothy Hayse complained that Thomas Leech, the stepfather of her grandchildren, had detained ten acres and a house belonging to John Hayse as heir, and Leech was summoned to bring his writings. The hearing on the documents and prior consultations shows the council resolving a contested title by examining the deeds and the record rather than on bare assertion, the production of papers being the proof on which the holding turned. Leech's claim rested on a right in his late wife, the children's mother, through whom the land had come to him, set against the grandchildren's claim as heirs of the original holder. The council's award of the land and house to Leech, after weighing the papers and the objections, decided a competing claim between a stepfather holding in his deceased wife's right and minor heirs, the bench resting its judgement on the documentary title that survived examination. The complaint of daily waste by destroying the wood added urgency to the dispute over title. On an island where timber was scarce and its preservation the subject of repeated orders, a holder stripping the wood from contested ground diminished the value of the very property in question, the allegation pressing the bench to settle the claim before the asset was further reduced. | |||||
418 | §1720. §House he now has in Posession formerly Williams §Hayses, till the said Hayse his Son attains to §the age of twenty one years Provided the §said Thomas Leech takes due Care of and §Maintains the Eldest & Youngest daughter of §Willm Hayse dureing that time with Sufficient §Meat, Drink Washing, Lodging & Cloathing, & all §manner of Necessarys. And that he the said §Thomas Leech be forbid & Enjoyned not to Cutt §or fall any of the Wood standing & Groweing §on the said Land, But if the Eldest Daughter §marries then she is to be out of his Care/ §The Petition of Giles Smith Joynr & Planter §Setting forth that he haveing an Urgent occasion §for One Hundred & twenty pounds Credit Humbly §Begs We would Let him have So much in the §Hon: Comp: Books he being willing to Pay §the Usuall Interest, & give Bond for the Same §And &c §Granted he being Employed in the Hon: Comps §Service & giving Us two Bonds men for Security of §the said debt. §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island§ Margin Notes: §That Tho: Leech to Enjoy the Posession till Wm Hayse Son comes of Age & to Maintaine ye 2 Childn§ §Not to Cutt or fall any of the Wood&c§ §Giles Smith Petn for 120 on bond§ §Granted he giveing Security§ | Thomas Leech was to keep the house he then held, formerly William Hayse's, until William Hayse's son reached the age of twenty-one. This was on condition that Leech took due care of and maintained the eldest and youngest daughters of William Hayse during that time, providing them sufficient meat, drink, washing, lodging, clothing and all other necessaries. He was also forbidden to cut or fell any of the wood standing and growing on the land. If the eldest daughter married, she was to be out of his care. Giles Smith, joiner and planter, presented his petition. He set out that he had an urgent need for £120 0s 0d credit, and asked the council to let him have that much in the Honourable Company's books. He was willing to pay the usual interest and give bond for the sum. The council granted this, since he was employed in the Honourable Company's service, on his giving two men as sureties for the debt. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The award to Leech bound his enjoyment of the land to the maintenance of the Hayse children, turning a contested title into a conditional trust. Rather than simply confirming his claim, the council let him hold the house only until the son came of age and only so long as he kept the daughters with full provision, the eldest to leave his care on marriage. The arrangement secured the orphans' upkeep out of the very property in dispute, the bench using its control over the title to provide for the children whose inheritance it touched. The express bar on cutting the wood answered the complaint of daily waste that had brought the matter to a head. Holding Leech to enjoyment of the land on condition he fell no timber protected the standing trees against the destruction Dorothy Hayse had alleged, the prohibition reflecting the island's repeated concern to preserve its scarce wood, here written into the terms on which a single holder kept his ground. The loan to Giles Smith shows the Company again acting as banker to a planter in its own service, advancing £120 0s 0d of book credit against a bond at interest secured by two sureties. Smith appears in the record as a joiner whose burst musket at the bonfires of 5 November 1716 had shattered his hand, and the requirement of two bondsmen besides his own obligation reflects the standing care with which the bench secured credit extended from the proprietors' funds. | |||||
419 | §Aprill §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on §Tuesday the 26 day of Aprill 1720 At §Union Castle in James Valley. §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §On Saturday last the 23 Inst very Early in the §morning We had a double Alarm, about noone §there passed by 19 Sail of Dutch Ships, & about §three in the Evening Arrived the Prince Frederick §Capt Edwd Meakin Comand: from Bengall (but §last from the Cape) and brought Us the following §Goods (Vizt)§ §2 Bales of Chint quilts Cont: 100 §Rup: 101 §ann: 6 6§ §1 Bale of Shirts Cont: 100 §98 8§ §1 Ditto of Stockings Cont: 100 P §62 8 §161§ §6 half Leg of Batta Aback of 368 Gall: §180§ §40 Baggs of Rice of 58-2-9 d §54 2§ §Charges on the whole Amounting to §496 8 6 §70 2 6§ §Rup: 566 11§ §Ordered That they be Sold out §at 50 P Cent advance at the least§ Margin Notes: §9 Sail Dutch Ships passd by§ §Prince Frederick Capt Meakin Arrivall§ §Goods Brot from Bengall§ §Sold at 50 P Ct§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 April 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Saturday 23 April 1720, very early in the morning, a double alarm was raised. About noon 19 sail of Dutch ships passed by, and about three in the evening the Prince Frederick arrived, Captain Edward Martin commander, from Bengal but last from the Cape. She brought the following goods: Goods from Bengal Chintz quilts 2 bales containing 100 101 rupees 6 annas 6 pies Shirts 1 bale containing 100 98 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Stockings 1 bale containing 100 pairs 62 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Arrack 6 half leaguers containing 368 gallons 180 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice 40 bags of 58 maunds 2 seers 9 [...] 54 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Charges on the whole, amounting to 70 rupees 2 annas 6 pies 496 rupees 8 annas 6 pies 566 rupees 11 annas 0 pies The council ordered the goods sold out at 50 per cent advance at the least. [...] Interpretations The Prince Frederick under Captain Edward Martin was an East Indiaman from Bengal whose cargo of cloth, provisions and arrack was priced into the Company's books in Indian currency before sale. The goods reckoned in rupees, annas and pies show the island receiving consignments valued at their Bengal cost, the bench setting the sale terms by which the store would recover that cost with a margin. The goods were the staple imports the store supplied to the island, chintz quilts and shirts and stockings for clothing, arrack as the leading article of trade, and rice as a provision. Chintz was the printed and painted cotton cloth of the Indian trade, here made up into quilts, while a leaguer was a large cask of which the arrack came in halves, the 368 gallons forming the kind of bulk liquor stock that ran through every store account as the chief source of revenue. The order to sell at 50 per cent advance at the least set the store's pricing policy on the new cargo, the Company functioning as the island's sole supplier and pricing its imports well above their landed cost. The margin charged on goods reckoned at their Bengal value was the means by which the store turned a profit for the proprietors, the inhabitants taking their cloth, liquor and provisions at a price fixed above what the directors' own invoice had set. Speculations The instruction to sell at no less than 50 per cent advance managed the gap between the Indian cost of the cargo and the price needed to make the store pay. By fixing a floor rather than a single rate, the council left room to charge more on goods in demand while guaranteeing a minimum return on the whole consignment, protecting the proprietors against selling their imports too cheaply. The figure matched the standing margin the Company applied to its store goods, applied here to a freshly landed Bengal cargo so that the island's sole supplier recovered its costs with a secured profit on every article. | |||||
420 | §1720. §Capt: Goodwin Reports that he has Gauged the §Casks of Arrack and finds there wants about ninety §Gallons, which is supposed to be Leaked out the Casks §appearing to be very bad and most of them full §of Worm holes/ §He alsoe finds there is 3 1 14 of the Rice §wanting/ §According to an Advertizemt Issued out for §that Purpose Severall Persons who Neglected bring §=ing In their Acco:ts last March appeared this day §with their said Acco: which was Examined and §those wch were found to be due to them was Enterd §accordingly to their account of Credit. §The Petition of Walter Morris was §Presented Setting forth therein That he being in §great want of a small Parcell of Land Humbly §Prays to become Tennant to the Hon: Comp: §for a Small Peice of about five Acres More or less §which lies Adjoyning to his own free Land. §And &c §Granted, and that the Surveyor have a Warrant §to measure the same. §John Knipe & John Purling Execut:rs to the last §Will and Testam: of Erasmus Purling late Coypar §decd§ Margin Notes: §Arrack wanting§ §Casks bad§ §Rice Wanting§ §Sevll Persons Acco:ts Examd§ §Petn of Walter Morris for Land§ §Granted§ §Last Will§ | Captain Goodwin reported that he had gauged the casks of arrack and found about 90 gallons short. This was thought to have leaked out, the casks being very bad and most of them full of worm holes. He also found 3 maunds 1 seer 14 [...] of the rice short. Following an advertisement issued for the purpose, several persons who had neglected to bring in their accounts the previous March appeared that day with their accounts. These were examined, and what was found due to them was entered to their credit. Walter Morris presented his petition. He set out that, being in great need of a small parcel of land, he asked to become a tenant of the Honourable Company for a piece of about five acres, more or less, lying next to his own free land. The council granted this, and ordered the surveyor to have a warrant to measure it. John Knipe and John Gurling, executors of the late Erasmus Gurling, the late gunner [...] Interpretations The shortfall in the arrack came of defective casks rather than any wrongdoing, the gauging showing about 90 gallons lost through worm-eaten staves. Captain Goodwin's measurement of the landed liquor against the bill was the standing check by which the council established what had actually been received, the same scrutiny it applied to short-delivered cargoes, here attributing the loss to the bad condition of the casks the goods came in. The clearing of neglected accounts continued the drive to bring the Company's books up to date under Governor Johnson, the advertisement calling in those who had failed to bring in their reckonings the previous March. Examining each person's account and entering what was due to credit was the means by which the bench reconciled the outstanding claims that the long bookkeeping backlog had left unsettled, the labour accounts checked and the credits posted. Walter Morris's grant of a small parcel next his own free land follows the standing practice of letting Company waste where it consolidated an existing holding. Morris recurs in the record as a stone-layer and planter, and the award of about five acres adjoining his freehold, with a surveyor's warrant to fix the bounds, reflects the bench's readiness to grant parcels integral to a man's ground while a formal lease and measurement followed. | |||||
421 | §Aprill §deceased brought this day the said Will desireing §the same might be Proved which was Accordingly §done by the Oaths of John Twaits and John §Des Fountaine who made Oath they Saw the de- §ceased Erasmus Purling Signe Seal Publish and §Declare the said Will now Produced to be his last §Will & Testam: and that they knew of no other §by him made Either in words or Writing §Ordered That the said Erasmus Purlings §Last Will & Testament be recd & approved of Accord §=ingly!/ §Peter Sinnick free plantr was Sumoned §to appear this day to Shew cause why he did §not repair to his Post on the last Alarm §He Accordingly Appeared but could not §give any Satisfactory reason for his Neglect of §duty. Ordered That the sd Peter Sinnick be §fined the Sume of five Shillings & Admonished §for the future §Thomas Free in Consultation of the 5 Instant §was Ordered To bring in An Inventory of Mr §Griffith his Predecessors Estate that We might §know what Part of it did belong to his Poor §Orphans§ Margin Notes: §Of Eras: Purling presented§ §Approvd of.§ §Pet: Sinnick.§ §Fined 5s§ §Renewl of the Order for Inventory was Ordered ab: Griffiths Orphans§ | The executors brought in the will of the late Erasmus Gurling that day, to have it proved. This was done on the oaths of John Twaits and John Des Fountaine, who swore they had seen Erasmus Gurling sign, seal, publish and declare it to be his will, and that they knew of no other made by him, whether spoken or written. The council ordered the will received and approved. Peter Sinsnick, a free planter, had been summoned to appear that day to show cause why he had not gone to his post on the last alarm. He appeared, but could give no satisfactory reason for neglecting his duty. The council ordered him fined five shillings and admonished for the future. At the consultation of 5 April 1720 Thomas Free had been ordered to bring in an inventory of the estate of Mr Griffith, his predecessor, so the council might know what part of it belonged to his poor orphans. [...] Interpretations The proving of the Erasmus Gurling will followed the council's standing role as the island's probate authority, the executors John Knipe and John Gurling delivering the testament for proof on the oaths of two witnesses to its execution. The witnesses' attestation that no later will existed, after which the bench received and approved the instrument and entered it in the dedicated book, secured the disposition as a matter of record in the absence of any ecclesiastical court. The fining of Peter Sinsnick gave effect to the alarm-duty order published by beat of drum on 22 March 1720, which had fixed a discretionary penalty for any armed man who missed his post on an alarm after persuasion had failed. His inability to excuse his absence brought down the modest fine and admonition the advertisement had threatened, the bench enforcing against an individual the muster discipline it had tightened while the danger of an unguarded approach was fresh. The renewed demand on Thomas Free pressed the council's protective jurisdiction over the Griffith orphans against a successor who had stalled. Free held the estate in right of his late wife, the children's mother, and the bench's insistence on an inventory so it might know what part belonged to the poor orphans continued the effort begun at the consultations of 1 to 5 April 1720 to expose the property and secure the children's share against the evasions it had already judged a design to defraud them. | |||||
422 | §1720. §Orphans, and that they might not be Wronged of their §right, But the said Free not Appearing with any §Inventory He was sent for to give us a reason §why he had not Complyed wth our Order, He §made Reply as before that he could give no §such Inventory nor did he know how to goe §about it Certifying that twas not Usuall So §to do while the mother of any Children were §Liveing, and that as Mr Griffith dyed with- §=out Will He thought there was the less need §of an Inventory to be required wth such his §foolish Notions grouned on his Ignorance and §obstinate Humour. §Wherefore It is now agreed & Accordingly §Ordered That a Warrant be Issued to Seize All the §Estate of the said Griffiths now in the Possesion of §the said Thomas Free that Distribution be made §thereof according to Law, & the Children have §their Part Secured to them. §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island§ Margin Notes: §Free sent for.§ §His answer§ §his Ignorance & obstinacy§ §Seizure ordered of all his Effects in his Possn§ | The aim was to secure the orphans their right. Thomas Free, not appearing with any inventory, was sent for to give a reason why he had not complied with the order. He replied, as before, that he could give no such inventory, nor did he know how to go about it. He insisted it was not usual to do so while the mother of any children was living, and that, since Mr Griffith had died without a will, he thought there was the less need for an inventory to be required. These foolish notions rested on his ignorance and obstinate temper. The council therefore agreed and ordered that a warrant be issued to seize the whole estate of Griffith now in Thomas Free's possession. Distribution was to be made of it according to law, and the children to have their share secured to them. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The seizure warrant marked the council's decisive assertion of its protective jurisdiction over the Griffith orphans against a holder who would not account. Free's repeated refusal to deliver an inventory, on the plea that none was owed while the mother lived and the father had died intestate, exhausted the bench's patience, and the order to take the whole estate into the Company's hands for distribution according to law overrode the life claim he relied on to keep the children's interest out of view. The council's reading of Free's grounds as foolish notions resting on ignorance and obstinacy placed on record its judgement that his pleas were evasion rather than honest doubt. Having earlier judged his conduct a design to defraud the orphans across the consultations of 1 to 5 April 1720, the bench now treated his persistence as wilful, the move from demand to seizure showing the escalation from order to compulsion when a guardian of a minor's property defied the court. The direction that distribution be made according to law and the children's share secured to them affirmed the standing principle that an intestate's estate descended to his heirs whatever the rights of a surviving spouse or successor. Free's claim in his late wife's right could not defeat the orphans' entitlement, the seizure being the means by which the bench brought the property under its control so the lawful division among those entitled could be carried out and the children's portion protected. | |||||
423 | §May. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held §on Tuesday the 3 day of May 1720. At §Union Castle in James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §of Coun: §The Last Consultation read and Approved of/ §The Docter brought and deliverd his Book of §Medicines Expended since the Last Examination §to this day which was likewise Examined and §Approved of. §The Govr Reports that he finding Thomas Free §to triffle with him in relation to the debt due to §the Hon: Comp: which is very large, for that §he had assigned a Bill to Mr Ormston which §the Govr had before taken in part of the debt due §to the Hon: Comp: had Ordered a Warrant to §Seize his Effects towards making Satisfaction §which was accordingly Executed. §That Mr Ryder had been with him & acquaint- §ed him that the Effects of the Orphans of Mr §Griffith was So Intermingled with those of Mr §Frees, that he feared the orphans would Suffer §and§ Margin Notes: §Doct:rs Book brot in & Examd:§ §Govr Report ab: Thoms Frees triffling.§ §Warrt for the Seizure Executed§ §Mr Ryders report ab: Frees & Griffiths Effects/§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 3 May 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present as council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines dispensed since the last examination up to that day. The book was likewise examined and approved. Governor Johnson reported that, finding Thomas Free trifling with him over the debt due to the Honourable Company, which was very large, he had taken steps to recover it. Free had assigned a bill to Mr Ormston, which the Governor had earlier taken in part of the debt due to the Company. The Governor had then ordered a warrant to seize Free's effects towards satisfaction, which was carried out. He further reported that Mr Ryder had been with Free and told him that the effects of Mr Griffith's orphans were so mixed in with Free's own that he feared the orphans would suffer. [...] Interpretations The seizure of Free's effects pursued two distinct claims that had converged on the same man. The Company held a large store debt against Thomas Free, which he had sought to discharge in part by assigning a bill to Joseph Ormston that Governor Johnson had taken up, while Free also held the Griffith orphans' property in right of his late wife. The warrant to seize his effects towards the Company's debt now ran alongside the order of seizure for the orphans made at the consultation of 26 April 1720, the two matters pressing on his estate at once. The doctor's book of medicines was again examined and approved, the standing accounting control over the medical stores imposed after Cholmondley Cevill's theft was exposed on a sworn information of 29 August 1719. Its continued production at successive consultations shows the requirement that the surgeon record every drug dispensed and lay the book before the council still in routine operation under Governor Johnson. Mr Ryder's report that the orphans' effects were intermingled with Free's own exposed the practical danger behind the council's concern for the Griffith children. Where a holder mixed a minor's property with his own, a seizure or a distribution risked the orphans losing what was theirs, and the warning that the children would suffer pressed the bench to act before the assets became impossible to separate, the same fear of an estate dissipated by its holder that had driven the orders against Free. | |||||
424 | §1720. §and that he had Undertook to bring in An Invento- §tory in about a fortnights time, Upon which §the Governr Ordered the Marshall to keep §Posession but not to Dispose of any thing till §further Order from him And alsoe §Reports that Mr Lacy who was Employed §in the Accomptants office haveing been very §Remiss in his duty severall times Altho calld §upon and told by the Govr of his neglect, §which admonitions he slighted and in Company §Used to Rediculd: and haveing Since that §Absented himself from the Office for a whole §fortnight together without giveing the Govr §any Account, He had therefore Discharged §him and took John Martin Van Oosten into §the Accomptants office, And had Entertained §Mr Francis Wrangham at his request who is §a very Honest Industrious man, to assist Capt §Goodwin in the Stores, In the Stead of the said §Van Oosten where he will be of most Service./ §According to an Advertizement for the §Inhabitants free Holders to Meet together at the §Country Church on Easter Monday last and there §By Majority of Votes Nominate four Persons§ Margin Notes: §and Promise to bring in an Inventory§ §Govr Report of Mr Lacys Neglect§ §and discharge of ye Same§ §Van Oosten placed in ye Acompt: office§ §Mr Wrangham Entertaind in ye Stores§ §Inhabitants Mett at the Church§ | Free had undertaken to bring in an inventory in about a fortnight. Governor Johnson then ordered the marshal to keep possession, but not to dispose of anything until further order from him. The Governor also reported that Mr Lacy, who was employed in the accountant's office, had been very negligent in his duty several times. Although called on and warned by the Governor of his neglect, he had slighted the admonitions and used to ridicule them in company. He had since absented himself from the office for a whole fortnight together without giving the Governor any account. The Governor had therefore discharged him and taken John Martin Van Oosten into the accountant's office. He had also engaged Mr Francis Wrangham, at his own request, a very honest and industrious man, to assist Captain Goodwin in the stores in Van Oosten's place, where he would be of most service. Following an advertisement, the free holders met at the country church on Easter Monday. By a majority of votes they nominated four persons [...] Interpretations The marshal's instruction to hold but not dispose of Free's effects shows the council securing the contested estate while leaving its distribution open. By taking possession through the marshal yet barring any sale until further order, the bench froze the property of Thomas Free against both the Company's debt and the Griffith orphans' claim, preventing dissipation while the inventory was awaited and the rival entitlements settled, the same careful custody it had applied across the orders of 26 April and 3 May 1720. John Lacy was the writer appointed assistant to the accountant on 4 August 1719, when Joseph Ormston was made accountant after Antipas Tovey's refusal of the office. His dismissal for slighting the Governor's warnings, ridiculing them in company and absenting himself for a fortnight together continues the long trouble over the keeping of the account books, the office that had already cost Tovey his place now losing its assistant for the same neglect. The reshuffle of office staff shows Governor Johnson redeploying his men to keep both the accounts and the stores manned. Van Oosten was moved into the accountant's office in Lacy's room and Francis Wrangham engaged to assist Captain Goodwin in the stores in Van Oosten's place, the bench filling the gaps left by dismissal with men it judged honest and industrious, the integrity of those handling the Company's records and goods being a standing concern after the failures of the previous years. The freeholders' meeting at the country church on Easter Monday was the parish election by which the inhabitants chose their officers for the year, the surveyors of highways and churchwardens nominated by majority vote. The annual election by the assembled freeholders, the nominees then confirmed by the council, was the standing means by which the island filled its parish offices, the popular choice subject to the bench's approval. | |||||
425 | §May. §for Church Wardens and two for overseers of §the high ways in Each Division, that We might §make Choice and appoint two of the four Persons §for Church Wardens and one out of the two in §Each Division for Overseers, to Succeed the En- §sueing Year. The Old Church Wardens brought §In and deliverd to Us the following List (Vizt §for ye West Division §Mr John Coles who Voluntary offerd to Stand as Church §Warden againe this Year. & §Mr Jno Bagley §for ye East §Mr Jonath: Dowdon §Mr Willm Seale §Church Wardens. §for ye West Division. §James Ryder §Edmund Nichols §Overseers of the high Ways §for ye East §Richard Beale §Thomas Leech §Ditto §for ye South §Willm Worrall §Jno Harding §Ditto §Ordered That Mr John Coles & Mr §Jonathan Dowdon be appointed Church §Wardens for the Ensuing Year, and that they §do follow & observe such Instructions to Govern §themselves by as shall be deliverd to them/ §And§ Margin Notes: §for Choosing Parish Officers§ §for ye West Division§ §for ye East§ §for ye West Division.§ §for ye East§ §for ye South§ §Church Wardens appointed.§ | The freeholders nominated four persons for churchwardens and two for overseers of the highways in each division, so the council might choose and appoint two of the four as churchwardens and one of the two in each division as overseers, to serve the coming year. The old churchwardens brought in and delivered the following list: For the west division, as churchwardens Mr John Coles, who voluntarily offered to stand as churchwarden again this year Mr John Bagley For the east, as churchwardens Mr Jonathan Doveton Mr William Seale For the west division, as overseers of the highways James Ryder Edmund Nichols For the east, as overseers Richard Beale Thomas Leech For the south, as overseers William Worrall John Harding The council ordered that Mr John Coles and Mr Jonathan Doveton be appointed churchwardens for the coming year, and that they follow and observe such instructions to govern themselves by as should be delivered to them. [...] Interpretations The election shows the island's two-stage method of filling its parish offices, the freeholders nominating a slate by majority vote and the council selecting the actual officers from it. By choosing two churchwardens from the four nominees and one overseer from each pair, the bench retained final control over who held parish office while resting the choice on names the inhabitants had put forward, the popular nomination and conciliar appointment together making up the annual filling of the posts. The division of the highway overseers between west, east and south reflects the standing organisation of road labour by district, each division having its own overseer to enforce the duty laid on every household. The roads were maintained by a labour levy on the inhabitants and their slaves, the overseers empowered to call out the required days, hire substitutes against defaulters and distrain goods for refusal, the three divisions sharing the burden of keeping the island's paths and watercourses. The churchwardens' charge to govern themselves by the instructions delivered to them bound the new officers to the established rules of their office. The wardens administered the church rate, the relief of the poor and the upkeep of the church, their conduct framed by written directions, the same office that handled the apprenticing of destitute children and the maintenance of the parish poor that recur throughout the record. | |||||
426 | §1720. §And That Mr James Ryder Mr Richard §Beale and Mr William Worrall be Appointed §overseers of the high ways for the said Year. §And that the Old Church Wardens do Accordingly §make up their Acco:ts for the Year past In Order §of being discharged from their office. And that §then the new Church Wardens & Overseers be Sumoned §& sworne to Execute Each their respective offices/ §Severall Persons Appeared with their Accounts §of work done for the Hon: Comp: and other §Creditts due to them which were referd to §this day & being now Examined the Same §was Entered to each Persons respective Accounts §Accordingly &c §The Hon: Comp: their Overseer brought and §deliverd the following Acco: of their live Stock §taken the 28 of March 1720. §Neat Cattle. §10 Bulls §127 Cows §40 Bullocks §33 Heifers §30 Steers §23 Yearlings §101 Calves §357 In all §7 Killd 11 Increased since Last Account. §Sheep§ Margin Notes: §Overseers of ye high ways.§ §Parish Acco:ts to be Adjusted.§ §Sundry Persons Accos Entered§ §Acco: of the Hon: Co: live Stock.§ | The council further ordered that Mr James Ryder, Mr Richard Beale and Mr William Worrall be appointed overseers of the highways for the year. The old churchwardens were to make up their accounts for the year past so they might be discharged from their office. The new churchwardens and overseers were then to be summoned and sworn to carry out their respective offices. Several persons appeared with their accounts of work done for the Honourable Company, and other credits due to them, which had been put off to that day. These were examined and entered to each person's account. The Honourable Company's chief overseer brought in and delivered the following account of their live stock, taken on 28 March 1720: Neat cattle 10 bulls 127 cows 40 bullocks 33 heifers 30 steers 23 yearlings 101 calves 357 in all 7 killed, 11 increased since the last account. Sheep [...] Interpretations The appointment of three overseers of highways, one for each division, completed the filling of the parish offices begun with the choice of churchwardens. The bench selected the road officers from the freeholders' nominations and required the old churchwardens to render their accounts before discharge and the new officers to be sworn, the swearing in binding each man to the duties of his office in the standing manner of the annual parish handover. The live-stock account taken on 28 March 1720 was the Company's periodic muster of its breeding herd, set out beast by beast with the numbers killed and increased since the last reckoning. On a remote island where cattle had repeatedly been thinned by drought and disease, the herd was a managed asset whose growth the bench tracked closely, the count of 357 head with 7 killed against 11 born recording the careful husbandry by which the stock was maintained and built up to feed the garrison and the shipping. The recording of increase against loss shows the herd reckoned as a productive stock rather than a static inventory. Setting the 11 newly born beasts against the 7 killed gave the council a measure of whether the herd was growing or declining, the same accounting applied to the cattle as to the store goods, the net gain confirming the success of the cow-saving policy by which killing had been restrained to let the herds recover. | |||||
427 | §May. §Sheep. §68 Ewes §35 Wethers §6 Rams §7 Lambs §116 §2 Killd 1 dead Since Last Acco:§ §Goats. §5 Rams §154 Ewes §67 Wethers §66 Kidds §292 §7 Killd 33 Increased & 64 Sold since last Acco:§ §80 Turkeys 7 killd 10 Bought & 23 Increased Since last Acco:§ §Poultrey &c §111 Dunghill fowles 42 killd & 24 Bought Since last Acco:§ §4 Ducks 6 killd & 6 Bought since last Account§ §2 Peacocks§ §32 Hoggs Great & Small 2 killed & 5 brought from the Castle since last Acco:§ §2 Horses§ §11 Asses 1 dead since last Acco:§ §A true Acco: P Willm Portley/§ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin§ | Sheep 68 ewes 35 wethers 6 rams 7 lambs 116 in all 2 killed, 1 dead since the last account. Goats 5 rams 154 ewes 67 wethers 66 kids 292 in all 7 killed, 33 increased and 64 sold since the last account. Poultry 80 turkeys 7 killed, 10 bought and 23 increased since the last account 111 dunghill fowls 42 killed and 24 bought since the last account 4 ducks 6 killed and 6 bought since the last account 2 peacocks Hogs 32, great and small 2 killed and 5 brought from the east side since the last account 2 horses 11 asses 1 dead since the last account. This was a true account by William Portley. The account was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The stock account set out the whole of the Company's living property class by class, each kind reckoned with the numbers killed, increased, bought, sold or brought in since the last reckoning. Sheep, goats, poultry, hogs and the draught animals were entered alongside the cattle of the preceding page, the full muster giving the bench a complete view of the plantation stock on which the island's provisioning depended. The accounting of each movement against the standing total shows the herds and flocks managed as productive assets rather than fixed numbers. The goats reckoned with 33 born, 64 sold and 7 killed, and the poultry with birds bought, bred and consumed, record the flow through each kind over the period, the chief overseer William Portley tracking the gains and losses so the council could judge whether the Company's stock was being maintained, increased or run down. William Portley was the Company's chief overseer, repeatedly before the bench as the officer responsible for the plantations and their stock, who had distinguished theft from natural loss in the livestock counts during the run of thefts from the Company's property in late 1719. His attestation of the account as true placed the muster on his own responsibility, the overseer answerable for the stock in his charge and for the accuracy of the reckoning rendered to the council. | |||||
428 | §1720. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on §Tuesday the 10 day of May 1720 At Union §Castle in James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §of Coun: §The Last Consultacon read & approved of/ §Capt: Goodwin reports that most of the Sugar now §in the Stores, of which there is a large Quantity, is very §bad by its Coarsness, being but a small matter better §than Jaggery, and while there was any better he §could not dispose, but of very Littles of the bad, & which §has occasiond severall of the Inhabitants to buy Sugar §out of the Shiping. Wherefore it is thought §Proper and Accordingly Ordered. §That all the Sugar now remaining in the §Hon: Comps Stores be sold out at Six pence per pound §by which they will be Considerable Gainers/ §Likewise Ordered That all the Arrack We now §have in the said Stores (of which a good Quantity has §been sold out at eight Shillings & four Pence P Gallon §be brought into an average, and sold for the future at the §Old Price of Six Shillings & four pence ye Gall: which §is§ Margin Notes: §Sugar in ye Stores very bad.§ §Little Sold.§ §Price lowerd to 6d§ §And the Arrack at 6/4 P gall:§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 10 May 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present as council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Captain Goodwin reported that most of the sugar now in the stores, of which there was a large quantity, was very bad because of its coarseness, being only a little better than jaggery. While any better sugar remained, he could not dispose of any of the bad, and very little of it sold. This had led several of the inhabitants to buy sugar out of the shipping instead. The council therefore thought it proper to order that all the sugar now remaining in the Honourable Company's stores be sold out at sixpence per pound, by which there would be considerable profit. The council likewise ordered that all the arrack now in the stores, of which a good quantity had been sold at 8s 0d per gallon, be brought into an average and sold in future at the old price of 6s 4d per gallon. [...] Interpretations Jaggery was the coarse unrefined cane sugar of the Indian and eastern trade, made by boiling down the juice without clarifying it, of much lower grade than the white refined sugar buyers preferred. Captain Goodwin's complaint that the store's stock was only a little better than jaggery explains why it would not sell, the inhabitants turning to fresher sugar from arriving ships rather than take the coarse Company stock, a quality problem the bench had to price around. The order to sell the bad sugar at sixpence per pound shows the council cutting its price to clear unsaleable stock while still claiming a profit. With the store unable to move its coarse sugar against better supplies from the shipping, fixing a low rate that would shift the whole quantity served the Company better than holding goods that would not sell, the bench accepting a reduced margin to convert dead stock into store credit and revenue. The averaging of the arrack price brought the store's leading article back to a single settled rate. Arrack having sold at 8s 0d per gallon, the council resolved to strike an average and return to the old price of 6s 4d for the future, smoothing the variation into one figure. Arrack was the chief source of store revenue and the staple of the island's trade, and fixing its price by averaging gave the inhabitants a stable rate while the Company kept its return on the largest item in every store account. | |||||
429 | §May. §is a sufficient Price and be reasonable gains for our §Hon Masters/ §Ordered That the Gunner do Immedi- §ately give Us an Acco: of all the Stores he has in §his possession or Under his Care that We may §know the better what to Write for in our Indent §which We intend to send home by these Shiping/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on Tuesday §the 17 day of May 1720. At Union Castle in §James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §of Coun: §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §On Wednesday the 11 Inst Arrived the Ship §Bouvorie Capt: Thomas Wotton Comander from §Bengall and brought Us from thence the §following Goods. (Vizt) §2 Bales§ Margin Notes: §Govr Acco: of Gun Stores to be taken§ §Ship Bouvorie Arrivl§ | The old price of 6s 4d per gallon was a sufficient price and a reasonable profit for the Honourable Masters. The council ordered the gunner to give at once an account of all the stores he had in his possession or under his care, so the council might know better what to write for in its indent, which it intended to send home by the present shipping. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 May 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present as council. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Wednesday 11 May 1720 the ship Bouverie arrived, Captain Thomas Wotton commander, from Bengal. She brought from there the following goods: 2 bales [...] Interpretations The order for the gunner's account of stores prepared the way for the annual indent, the council needing to know what military stores remained before drawing up its order to the directors. The indent set the island's wants against its present stock so the directors might see what was held and why each item was demanded, and an exact reckoning of the gunner's powder, shot and fittings was required before the bench could write home for resupply by the ships then in the road. The Bouverie under Captain Thomas Wotton was an East Indiaman from Bengal whose cargo, like that of the Prince Frederick before her, brought the staple goods the store supplied to the island. Her arrival continued the steady stream of Company shipping touching at the island in the season, each vessel bringing cloth, provisions and liquor to be priced into the store and sold to the inhabitants at the margin the bench fixed. The timing of the indent to the present shipping reflects the island's dependence on the passing Indiamen as its only carriers home. With no dedicated communication, the council had to send its orders and accounts by whatever Company ship lay in the road, the indent for the next year's supplies going home by the vessels then available, the same constraint that governed the despatch of its letters and the homeward mail throughout the record. | |||||
430 | §1720. §2 Bales vizt §1 Bale bleu Guzhas qt Proof: P 1 12 P piece §95§ §No 1 1 Ditto Cont: 100 P Doouties P 2 12 P d: §275 6§ §Stockings & Shirts 1 Bale qt viz§ §150 shirts P 63 8 P 6 §95 4§ §100 P Stockings P 10 P §67 3 §162 7§ §Arrack 3 half Legars.§ §No 1 1 ½ Legar qt 61 Gallons §2 1 ditto 60 d: §3 1 ditto 62 §3 ½ Leg: of qt 183 Gallons P 60 P Legar §90§ §Rice§ §No 1 to 30 30 Bagg P 44 P 60 25 P said into 5 M 36 14 9 §Batta at 10 P Cent 3 11 3 §40 10§ §Charges on the Whole freight & the like Amo: to §743 1 §55 13 3§ §Error of 9d being but 789 recd in the Orig Invoice §798 14 3§ §The Gunner Accordingly Order of Council of the 10 Inst §brought In this day the following Acco: of Gunners Stores.§ §Island St. Helena §An Acco: of Gunners Stores remaining on the §said Island & in my Care, As taken the 12 day of May §1720. But haveing no Store Rooms or other Convenient §place to lock them up, or so much as to secure them §from being Embezled I cant be Answerable for any thing §that is or may hereafter be wanting till such time§ Margin Notes: §2 Bales vizt§ §No 1 1§ §No§ §Goods 22d P 9 Bouvorie§ §A No 1§ §R No 1 to 30§ §NB.§ §Island St. Helena§ §Gun: Acco: of Stores Ditto P No 170§ | The goods brought by the Bouverie from Bengal were as follows. 2 bales, namely: Number 1, blue gurrahs of proof 1 bale containing 100 pieces at 1 rupee 12 annas per piece 175 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Doosooties 1 bale containing 100 pieces at 2 rupees 12 annas 275 rupees 0 annas 6 pies Stockings and shirts, 1 bale, namely: Shirts 150 at 63 [...] 8 annas per 26 95 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Stockings 100 pairs at 10 [...] 9 67 rupees 3 annas 0 pies 162 rupees 7 annas 0 pies Arrack, 3 half leaguers Number 1, 1 half leaguer of 61 gallons Number 2, 1 half leaguer of 60 gallons Number 3, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons 3 half leaguers of 183 gallons at 60 [...] per leaguer 90 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice Numbers 1 to 30, 30 bags of 44 maunds 60 [...], 25 seers, factory and India weight 36 maunds 14 seers 9 [...] batta at 10 per cent 3 maunds 11 seers 3 [...] 40 rupees 10 annas 0 pies Charges on the whole freight, while alone, amounting to 743 rupees 1 anna 0 pies 55 rupees 13 annas 3 pies A note recorded an error of 9 [...] in the original invoice, the rice being 789 reduced. 798 rupees 14 annas 3 pies Following the council's order of 10 May 1720, the gunner brought in that day the following account of gunner's stores. Island of St Helena An account of gunner's stores remaining on the island and under his care, as taken on 12 May 1720. Having no storerooms or other convenient place to lock them up, or so much as to secure them from being embezzled, he could not be answerable for anything that was or might in future be wanting until such time [...] Interpretations The Bouverie's cargo was priced into the books in Bengal currency item by item, the cloth, provisions and liquor reckoned in rupees, annas and pies before sale at the store's margin. Gurrahs were a plain coarse cotton cloth of the Bengal trade and doosooties a stouter cotton of two threads, both staple piece-goods the store supplied for clothing, the bales of made-up shirts and stockings alongside them forming the textile stock the inhabitants drew on. Batta was an allowance or premium added in the reckoning of Indian weights and money, here a ten per cent addition entered against the rice, the kind of trade adjustment that ran through cargoes valued in the eastern currencies. Its appearance in the rice account, with the noted error in the original invoice, shows the bench checking the figures of a consignment reckoned in factory and India weights against the supplier's own invoice before entering it. The gunner's protest over the want of a secure storeroom raised a standing weakness in the custody of the Company's military stores. Without a place to lock up the powder, shot and fittings, the officer could not be answerable for losses by embezzlement, the same problem of leakage from the Company's stores that had recurred through the thefts of late 1719, the gunner here disclaiming responsibility for what he could not physically secure. | |||||
431 | §May. §as Proper Store Houses (which is very much wanted) §can be built./§ §Iron Ordinance §142§ §Iron round Shott §6971§ §double headed or Hain Shott §547§ §Corn Powder §236 11 ¼§ §Match §604§ §Cartridge Paper §8 Rh: 10§ §Spunge Heads §357§ §Rammer Heads §29§ §Cartridge Cases §134§ §Powder Hornes §108§ §Pole Axes §23§ §Flints §9125§ §Worm's §14§ §Ladles §22§ §Tompkins §100§ §Spunge Staves §89§ §Sheep Skins §25§ §Scoureing Rodds §464§ §Hand Spikes §48§ §Beds §123§ §Quines §180§ §Cartouch Boxes §92§ §Trucks §330§ §Axeltrees §129§ §Blunder Busses §10§ §Pistolls §30§ §Buckoneer Shott §65§ §Musquett ditto §588§ §Swan d: §138§ §Bouge Barrels §2§ §Gyns & blocks & each §2§ §Hand Grannados §183§ §Union flaggs §2§ §Penncart §1 §And§ §And says the following Stores are wanting. (Vizt)§ §Iron Crows §100§ §Hand Spikes or Levrs §200§ §Tomkins Gt & small §500§ §Cartridge Paper §20 Rh:§ §Spunge Staves §200§ §Bouge Barrels §12§ §Sheep Skins §200 &c§ §Printing Wyer Gt & small §25 &c§ §Match §600§ §Tarr Brushes §24§ §Hones for faulkhons §1000§ §Bitts of the best Sort §24§ §Bunting Red White & Blew§ §Scoureing Rodds §500§ §Tin Cartridge Cases §100§ §Formes Gt & small §24§ §Linstocks §100 &c§ §Nayles from 6 to 2 §200 &c§ §P Jno French§ | The gunner added that this could not be done until a proper storehouse, which was very much needed, could be built. He then set out the stores remaining: iron ordnance 142 iron round shot 6,971 double-headed or chain shot 547 corn powder 236 [...] match 604 cartridge paper 8 [...] sponge heads 357 rammer heads 29 cartridge cases 134 powder horns 108 pole axes 23 flints 9,125 worms 14 ladles 22 tompkins 100 sponge staves 89 sheep skins 25 scouring rods 464 hand spikes 49 beds 123 quoins 180 cartouche boxes 92 trucks 330 axletrees 129 blunderbusses 10 pistols 30 buccaneer shot 65 musket shot 588 swan shot 138 bouge barrels 2 guns and blocks of each 2 hand grenades 183 union flags 2 pennant 1 He further set out the following stores as wanting: iron crows 100 hand spikes or levers 200 tompkins, great and small 500 cartridge paper 20 reams sponge staves 200 bouge barrels 12 sheep skins 200 priming wires, great and small 25 [...] match 600 tarr brushes 24 horses for caulthorns 1,000 bitts of the best sort 24 bunting, red, white and blue [...] scouring rods 500 tin cartridge cases 100 formers, great and small 24 linstocks 100 nails, from 6 to 2 200 The account was signed by the gunner John French. [...] Interpretations The two-part return set the stores actually held against the stores wanting, the inventory furnishing the basis for the annual indent home. By listing what remained on the island beside what was needed, the gunner gave the council the two-column view it required to write for resupply, the directors able to see the present stock and the reasons for each demand, the same method the bench applied to the storehouse goods to ground its yearly order. The items were the consumables and fittings of the battery rather than the guns alone, the powder, shot and match for firing set beside the sponges, rammers, ladles, worms, quoins and beds used to load, lay and serve the pieces. Quoins were the wedges that raised or lowered a gun's elevation and beds the timber bases the barrels rested on, while worms drew out a charge and ladles loaded loose powder, the whole forming the working gear of an ordnance establishment that had to be accounted for and replaced from England. The list of stores wanting shows the island ordering against a known deficiency rather than in general terms. Specifying exact quantities of crows, hand spikes, cartridge paper, scouring rods and nails, with bunting and union flags for signalling, the gunner set out a precise requisition for the directors' buyers to fill, the detailed demand reflecting the standing care with which a remote garrison stated its needs so that the next ships might bring the right supplies for its defence. | |||||
432 | §1720 §The Governr Reports that he had twice before Dis §=charged Gunner French for Neglecting his duty & for §Caballing with those that Opposed the late Governmt §of this Island tho Admonished him severall times, and §Restored him againe on Promise of Amendment He has §now discharged him for his Neglect and for goeing §into the Countrey when two Ships were in the Road §Notwithstanding he was Ordered by him to be down §againe a Sunday night last, which he Promised to do §But did not, and as he has the keys of the Magazine §and other small Powder Rooms no Ammunition §could have been come at had any Accident hap- §pened in his absence, and hath Constituted Isaac §Leech in his Room/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin§ Margin Notes: §Govr discharged the Gunnr§ §his reasons why.§ §Jno Leech made Gunnr§ | Governor Johnson reported that he had twice before discharged Gunner French for neglecting his duty and for plotting with those who opposed the present government of the island. He had warned him several times and restored him each time on his promise of amendment. He had now discharged him for his neglect, and for going into the country when two ships were in the road. Despite being ordered to be back the previous Sunday night, which he had promised, French had not returned. Since he held the keys of the magazine and the other small powder rooms, no ammunition could have been had if any accident had happened in his absence. The Governor had appointed Isaac Leech in his place. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The dismissal of John French shows the Governor finally removing an officer he had twice reinstated on promises of better conduct. French had been gunner since at least 1715 and figures throughout the record as the man responsible for the island's powder and ammunition, his repeated neglect and his plotting with opponents of the government exhausting the leniency Governor Johnson had shown, the third discharge made final after the earlier restorations had failed to reform him. The danger of French's absence lay in his sole control of the magazine keys, the powder stores being locked and the gunner alone able to open them. With two ships in the road and the gunner gone into the country against orders, no ammunition could have been reached had an alarm or accident occurred, the concentration of access in one absent officer creating exactly the risk to the island's defence that the muster discipline of recent weeks had sought to guard against. The immediate appointment of Isaac Leech in French's place shows the Governor filling a critical post at once to keep the magazine in responsible hands. Leech, the gunner's mate active in the recent stores accounts, was the natural successor, the readiness with which the bench replaced a dismissed officer reflecting the standing need to keep the island's ordnance manned and its powder accessible in a remote settlement dependent on its own defence. | |||||
433 | §May. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on §Tuesday the 24 day of May 1720. At Union §Castle in James Valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §of Coun: §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §The Governr reported That on the 18 of this Instant §Seeing Mr Ormston in the office, He Spoke to him §that he had observed he had been but Little at the §office, and then not to do business for almost the §fortnight past and that he had been twice within §that time in the Country without his leave, He §immidiatly Answered And so I will, the §Governour Suspended him, to which he further §Added I am glad You have Suspended me/ §That We might not be in a Hurry when more §Ships came in, We have this day begun to make out §an Indent of Stores very much wanted for the §use of this Island and have Wrote for Nothing §but whats realy Necessary, and therefore Hope §our Hon: Masters will send us every thing §therein Mentioned both as to quantity & quality §our§ Margin Notes: §Govr Report ab: Mr Ormston§ §Mr Ormston suspended§ §Indent of Stores begun§ §Nothing but realy Necessary§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 May 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present as council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Johnson reported that on 18 May 1720, seeing Mr Ormston in the office, he had spoken to him. He told Ormston that he had been at the office very little, doing no business for almost the past fortnight, and that he had twice been in the country within that time without leave. Ormston answered at once that he would carry on doing so. The Governor then suspended him, to which Ormston further added that he was glad to be suspended. So as not to be rushed when more ships came in, the council began that day to make an indent of stores much needed for the island. It had written for nothing but what was really necessary, and hoped the Honourable Masters would send everything mentioned in it, both as to quantity and quality. [...] Interpretations Mr Ormston was Joseph Ormston, the accountant admitted in place of the suspended Antipas Tovey on 4 August 1719, whose claims of progress on the books the council had already rejected as false at the court for orphans of 29 March 1720. His suspension here completes the breakdown between the accountant and Governor Johnson, his open declaration that he would continue absenting himself and his being glad of the suspension marking a defiance that left the Company's accounts once more without a keeper, the same office and the same neglect that had brought down his predecessor. The early start on the indent shows the council ordering its supplies ahead of the shipping so as not to be caught hurried when ships arrived. The indent was the island's yearly order against the directors, and beginning it in good time let the bench draw up a considered list of what was wanted in both quantity and quality, the same forward preparation it had applied to the gunner's stores and the storehouse goods in earlier years. The assurance that nothing was written for but what was really necessary answered the directors' standing displeasure at the island's demands. The Company had earlier shown itself weary of the great indents and the bills drawn on it, and the council's protest that it had ordered only true necessities, with the hope that the masters would supply everything named, reflects the tension between a remote settlement's real wants and the directors' suspicion of extravagant requisitions. | |||||
434 | §1720. §our demands therein being as reasonable as any has §been heretofore/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on Tuesday §the 31 day of May 1720. At Union Castle in §James valley. §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §of Council §The Last Consultacon read & approved of/ §On Wednesday the 25 Inst Arrived the Ship §Princess Emelia Capt John Misenor Comand from §the West Coast & Madeira who haveing mett with a §hard storm of Wind, delivered to Us the following §Protest/ §Ship Princess Emelia in the Lat: of 36 40 §South Mad: Dist from Fort St George 47 52 West §On the Sixth of Aprill One thousand Seven hundred & §twenty, about Seven at night began a hard storm of §Wind which obliged Us, all Sails in to lay Hull too §at§ Margin Notes: §Ship Princess Emelia Arrived.§ §Protest agt ye Seas§ | The council's demands were as reasonable as any made before. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 31 May 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present as council. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Wednesday 25 May 1720 the ship Princess Emelia arrived, Captain John Misenor commander, from the west coast and Madras. Having met with a hard storm of wind, she delivered the following protest. The Princess Emelia lay in latitude 36 degrees 40 minutes south, and Madras distant from Fort St George 47 degrees 52 minutes west. On 6 April 1720, about seven at night, a hard storm of wind began, which forced the ship to take in all sail and lie to under bare poles. [...] Interpretations The Princess Emelia under Captain John Misenor was the East Indiaman repeatedly at the island in earlier years, whose private trade and bills had been dealt with by the bench across the consultations of July 1717. Her arrival from the west coast and Madras continues the run of Company shipping touching at the island, here bringing a formal protest of the storm she had weathered on her passage. A ship's protest was a formal sworn declaration of damage or peril suffered at sea, entered before an authority to record the cause and preserve the master against later claims. By delivering her protest of the hard storm to the council, the ship placed on record that the loss or distress arose from weather beyond her control, the document shielding the owners and master from liability for goods damaged on a voyage disrupted by the gale. The recording of latitude and the storm's onset gave the protest the precise circumstances on which its force depended. Setting down the ship's position, the date and the hour the gale struck, and her being forced to lie under bare poles, fixed the event with the exactness a formal declaration required, the council receiving and entering it as the island's competent authority so the master's account would stand as evidence wherever the voyage's losses were later questioned. Speculations The master's choice to enter his protest at the island rather than carry it to a later port managed the risk of losing the legal value of a contemporaneous record. A protest gained its weight from being made at the first opportunity after the peril, before memory faded or the damage could be attributed to other causes, so delivering it to the council at St Helena fixed the storm and its date close to the event. The move secured the owners against future claims for any cargo spoiled on the voyage, the island serving as the nearest competent authority before which a ship in the Atlantic homeward track could formally record her distress. | |||||
435 | §May. §at 12 it blowd a meer Hurricane from which time §the Ship Continued on her broad Side, borne down by §the Violence of Wind and Waves without righting §till four the next morning when We got her before §the Wind. She had then twenty two Inches of Water §at the Pump, tho all Pumps working & consequently §had much more Water to Leeward, &c/ §Wee therefore the Under written Comand: §and Officers of said Ship Emelia, in the name and §behalf of Sr John Fellows of London Bart, and Capt §Robert Hudson of London Mert Part owners and of §all and every the owners of the Ship Emelia do §protest against the Seas for whatsoever Damages §the Rt Hon: United East India Company may have §Susteined from the above Mentioned Storm in their §Loading on board the said Ship. Dated the twenty §Sixth day of May 1720. at nine a Clock in the forenoon/ §To the Worshd Edwd Johnson Esq §Govr & Council of St Helena §Deliverd in the Presence of Us §Tho: Wotton §Charles Boddum §John Misenor §Rich: Misenor §Benj: Boomard§ | About twelve at night it blew a near hurricane. From that time the ship lay on her broadside, forced down by the violence of the wind and waves without righting, until four the next morning, when she was got before the wind. She then had twenty-two inches of water at the pump, although all the pumps were going, and consequently much more water to leeward. The commander and officers of the Princess Emelia therefore protested, in the name and on behalf of Sir John Fellows of London, baronet, and Captain Robert Hudson of London, merchant, part owners, and of all the owners of the ship, against the sea for whatever damages the Honourable United East India Company might have sustained from the storm in their lading on board the ship. The protest was dated 26 May 1720, at nine in the forenoon. It was directed to Governor Edward Johnson and the council of St Helena, and signed by John Misenor, Richard Misenor and Benjamin Bouverie. It was delivered in the presence of Thomas Wotton and Charles Boddum. Interpretations The protest named the ship's principal owners to fix on whose behalf the declaration was made, Sir John Fellows and Captain Robert Hudson being the London part-owners whose interest in the cargo and vessel the document protected. By protesting in the name of all the owners against any damage the Company's lading might have suffered, the master placed the responsibility for the loss on the sea rather than on the ship's handling, securing the owners against later claims for goods spoiled in the storm. The detail of twenty-two inches of water at the pump while all pumps were going recorded the severity of the peril the protest rested on. A ship gaining water faster than her pumps could clear it was in real danger, and the precise measurement, with the ship held on her beam ends for four hours, gave the formal declaration the concrete evidence of distress on which its legal force depended, the master setting down the facts a later tribunal would weigh. The witnessing of the delivery before named persons completed the formality required of a sworn protest. Thomas Wotton, the commander of the Bouverie then also at the island, and Charles Boddum attested the handing in of the document, the council receiving it as the island's competent authority and entering it in its book, so the master's account of the storm would stand as a recorded instrument wherever the voyage's losses might afterward be questioned. | |||||
436 | §1720. §On Sunday the 29 Inst Arrived the Ship Dawsonne §Capt Richard Benfeild Comand from Bengall and §brought Us the following Goods (Vizt)§ §Doo No 1 1 Doosutties qt 100 P at 2 12 P P §275§ §St No 45 1 qt viz §Shirts 150 at 63 8 P 100 §25 4§ §Stockings 100 P kd 10 9 P P §67 3 §162 7§ §Rice§ §No 1 to 45 45 Bagg qt 90 60 & 66 at 25 P Mad: Rd §55 6 3§ §Batta 10 P Cent §5 8 6 §61 4 9§ §Arrack§ §No 1 1 half Leg: qt 62 Gallons §2 1 ditto 62 §3 1 ditto 64 §4 1 ditto 60 §4 half Leg: qt 248 Gall: P 60 P Legar §120§ §618 5 9§ §Charges & Merchandize on ye whole being 8 Chests §53 1§ §Rupees §671 6 9§ §Errors Excepted §J Williamson Accomp:t§ §Yesterday the 30 Instant We had a doeble §Alarm for four Ships, and in the evening Arrived §Vizt &c§ §The King William Capt James Winter Comand from §Madd: with Governr Collett on board.§ §The Sunderland Capt John Hunter from China.§ Margin Notes: §Ship Dawsonne Arrivd§ §Doo No 1§ §St No 45§ §R No 1 to 45§ §A No§ §Arrival of 4 Ships.§ | On Sunday 29 May 1720 the ship Dawsonne arrived, Captain Richard Benfield commander, from Bengal. She brought the following goods: Doosooties Number 1, 1 bale containing 100 pieces at 2 rupees 12 annas per piece 275 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Shirts 150 at 63 [...] per 100 25 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Stockings 100 pairs at 10 [...] 9 per pair 67 rupees 3 annas 0 pies 162 rupees 7 annas 0 pies Rice Numbers 1 to 45, 45 bags of 90 maunds 60 [...] 66, at 1 maund 25 seers India weight 55 rupees 6 annas 3 pies batta at 10 per cent 5 rupees 8 annas 6 pies 60 rupees 14 annas 9 pies Arrack Number 1, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons Number 2, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons Number 3, 1 half leaguer of 64 gallons Number 4, 1 half leaguer of 60 gallons 4 half leaguers of 248 gallons at 60 [...] per leaguer 120 rupees 0 annas 0 pies 618 rupees 5 annas 9 pies Charges of merchandise on the whole, being 8 [...] 53 rupees 1 anna 0 pies 671 rupees 6 annas 9 pies The account was signed errors excepted by J. Williamson, accountant. Yesterday, 30 May 1720, a double alarm was raised for four ships. In the evening these arrived: The King William, Captain James Winter commander, from Madras, with Governor Collett on board. The Sunderland, Captain John Shenton, from China. [...] Interpretations The Dawsonne under Captain Richard Benfield was another East Indiaman from Bengal whose cargo, like those of the Prince Frederick, Bouverie and Princess Emelia before her, was priced into the books in rupees, annas and pies. The steady arrival of these ships through May 1720 brought the staple piece-goods, rice and arrack the store supplied, each consignment valued at its Bengal cost and entered with the accountant's standing reservation of errors excepted. Governor Collett aboard the King William was Joseph Collett, the former deputy governor of Bencoolen who had succeeded Benjamin Boucher in the governorship of St Helena, here returning homeward from Madras where he had latterly served. His presence on a passing Indiaman brought a senior Company servant of high standing through the island, the call of a homeward-bound governor marking the kind of distinguished arrival the bench would receive with due honour. The double alarm for four ships shows the island's defensive signalling responding to a large body of arrivals at once. The alarm raised on the sighting of multiple sail brought the inhabitants to their posts under the muster discipline lately tightened, the arrival of four Company ships together straining the island's readiness, the same concern for an unguarded approach that had driven the alarm-duty order of 22 March 1720. | |||||
437 | §May. §The Cadogan Capt John Hill from Bengall And §a small Ship of about 150 Tons named the Mary §Galley Capt George Burnnum Comand who had §been in at the Cape from the Maderas and put in §here for a Little Water for his Passage to the West §Indies where he says he is bound. §The King William brought Us the following §Goods from Bengall (Vizt)§ §Stockings & Shirts Viz:§ §St & St No P King Willm §1 Bale qt 150 Shirts P 63 8 P 100 §95 4 §100 P Stockings P 10 §62 8 §157 12§ §Doo Doosuttys §No 1 1 Bale of 100 Peices P 2 12 P P §275§ §Rice Viz: §R No 1 to 30 30 Bagg P 44 P 60 Bagg P 22 §38 11 6 §Batta 10 P Cent §3 14 §42 9 6§ §Arrack Batavia §A No 1 1 ½ Leg: qt 63 Gallons §2 1 ditto 62 §3 1 d: 63 §4 1 d: 64 §4 ½ Leg: 252 Gall: P 60 P Leg: §120§ §595 5 6 §Charges on the whole qt 8 Articles is §53 4 §Rupees §648 9 6§ Margin Notes: §One being the Mary Galley Capt Burnnum§ §Sundry Goods rec:d P King Willm from Bengall§ §St & St No P King Willm§ §Doo No 1§ §R No 1 to 30§ §A No§ | The Cadogan, Captain John Hill, from Bengal also arrived. One was a small ship of about 150 tons named the Mary Galley, Captain George Burnum commander. She had been at the Cape from Madeira and put in at the island for a little water for her passage to the West Indies, where she said she was bound. The King William brought the following goods from Bengal: Stockings and shirts, namely: 1 bale of 150 shirts at 63 [...] 8 annas per 100 95 rupees 4 annas 0 pies 100 pairs of stockings at 10 [...] 62 rupees 8 annas 0 pies 157 rupees 12 annas 0 pies Doosooties Number 1, 1 bale of 100 pieces at 2 rupees 12 annas per piece 275 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice, namely: Numbers 1 to 30, 30 bags of 44 maunds 60 [...] at 1 maund per [...] 38 rupees 11 annas 6 pies batta at 10 per cent 3 rupees 14 annas 0 pies 42 rupees 9 annas 6 pies Batavia arrack Number 1, 1 half leaguer of 63 gallons Number 2, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons Number 3, 1 half leaguer of 63 gallons Number 4, 1 half leaguer of 64 gallons 4 half leaguers of 252 gallons at 60 [...] per leaguer 120 rupees 0 annas 0 pies 595 rupees 5 annas 6 pies Charges on the whole, being 8 articles 53 rupees 4 annas 0 pies 648 rupees 9 annas 6 pies [...] Interpretations The Mary Galley under Captain George Burnum was a small vessel bound for the West Indies, not a Company Indiaman, putting in only for water on her passage. Her call shows the island serving its standing function as a watering and refreshment station for ships of the wider Atlantic trade, the bench noting the stated destination and purpose of a passing vessel that took only the water she needed before continuing. The King William's Bengal cargo repeated the pattern of the season's Indiamen, the same staple shirts, stockings, doosooties, rice and Batavia arrack priced into the books in rupees, annas and pies. The arrack specified as Batavia marked it as the Dutch-Asian spirit shipped through that port, the leading article of the store's trade, the consignment valued at its eastern cost and entered with charges added before sale to the inhabitants at the bench's margin. The recording of a small foreign-bound ship's brief call alongside the Company cargoes shows the bench distinguishing the vessels that supplied the store from those that merely refreshed at the island. The Mary Galley brought no goods for the Company and took only water, her entry serving to record her passage rather than any trade, the distinction reflecting the island's dual role as a Company supply point and a watering place for the shipping at large. | |||||
438 | §1720. §The Cadogan brought Us alsoe the Goods following §(Vizt)§ §Doosutties.§ §Du No 1 1 Bale qt 100 P P 2 12 P P §275§ §Sto No 1 1 Bale qt Viz §100 Shirts P 63 8 P 100 §95 4 §100 P Stockings P 11 9 P §67 3 §162 7§ §Arrack§ §A No 1 1 half Leg: 63 Gall §2 1 ditto 64 §3 1 d: 64 §4 1 d: 60 §5 1 d: 61 §6 1 d: 62 §6 half Leg: 368 Gall: 113 Leg: P 60 P Legar §180§ §Rice§ §R No 1 to 45 45 Bagg Rice qt 90 66 & 90 P 25 §55 6 3 §P Mad: Rupees §Batta 10 P Cent §5 8 6 §60 14 9§ §678 5 9 §Charges & Merchandize on ye whole qt 7 Articles is §46 9 6 §Rupees §724 15 3§ §And the Sunderland brought from §China (being Laden by the Supra Cargo) §Following Goods. Vizt§ | The Cadogan also brought the following goods: Doosooties Number 1, 1 bale of 100 pieces at 2 rupees 12 annas per piece 275 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Stockings and shirts Number 1, 1 bale, namely: 100 shirts at 63 [...] 8 annas per 100 95 rupees 4 annas 0 pies 100 pairs of stockings at 10 [...] 67 rupees 3 annas 0 pies 162 rupees 7 annas 0 pies Arrack Number 1, 1 half leaguer of 63 gallons Number 2, 1 half leaguer of 64 gallons Number 3, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons Number 4, 1 half leaguer of 60 gallons Number 5, 1 half leaguer of 61 gallons Number 6, 1 half leaguer of 62 gallons 6 half leaguers of 368 gallons at 60 [...] per leaguer 180 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice Numbers 1 to 45, 45 bags of rice of 66 maunds at 90 [...] at 1 maund 25 seers 55 rupees 6 annas 3 pies batta at 10 per cent 5 rupees 8 annas 6 pies 60 rupees 14 annas 9 pies 678 rupees 5 annas 9 pies Charges of merchandise on the whole, being 7 articles 46 rupees 9 annas 6 pies 724 rupees 15 annas 3 pies The Sunderland brought from China, laden by the supercargo, the following goods. [...] Interpretations The Cadogan's Bengal cargo repeated the staple consignment of the season, doosooties, made-up shirts and stockings, arrack and rice, priced into the books in rupees, annas and pies with charges of merchandise added. The arrival of yet another Indiaman with the same goods shows the concentration of Company shipping at the island through late May 1720, each vessel adding to the store's stock of the textiles, liquor and provisions the inhabitants drew on. The Sunderland under Captain John Shenton was the genuine ship whose name the disguised imperial vessel House of Austria had borrowed on 11 March 1720 to gain a hearing with Governor Johnson. Her actual arrival from China, laden by the supercargo, brought a cargo of the China trade distinct from the Bengal goods of the other ships, the supercargo being the merchant officer responsible for the commercial lading aboard an East India ship. The valuation of each cargo in Indian currency before sale reflects the store's standing method of pricing its imports at their eastern cost. The goods reckoned in rupees, annas and pies, with the freight and handling entered as charges of merchandise, gave the bench the landed value against which it set the selling price, the Company recovering its costs with the margin by which it supplied the island as its sole merchant. | |||||
439 | §May §Sewing Silk §Tale M C C 33 1 3 8 for 1 Box §Tale M C C Tale M C C§ §No A qt 21 Tally Sewg Silk at 1 5 P Tally §31 5 §Charges §1 6 3 8 §33 1 3 8§ §No A 21 Tally§ §Tea Bohea §Tale M C C 33 9 1 5 for 1 Chest No B §qt 108 Potts weighing Nett 1 A P 31 P each ull §Nett Tale Tale §32 2 A §Charges §1 6 7 5 §33 9 1 5§ §No B 108 Potts§ §China Ware §Tale M C C 17 9 5 2 for 1 Chest No C §Large Bowles blue & white 100 P 6 P §C C Tale 6 2 4 §Small d: 120 P 3 8 6 §Sneakers 206 P 12 2 4 7 2 §Coffee Cups d: 1000 P 5 5 §17 7 2 §Charges §8 8 7 §17 9 5 9§ §No C 1 Chest§ §Tea Single §Tale M C C 22 8 8 for 1 Chest No S §qt 95 Potts weighing Nett 87 Tally P 2 5 P Tally §Nett C §21 7 5 §Charges §1 1 3 §22 8 8§ §No S 95 Potts§ §Errors Excepted §107 8 2 2§ §John Harymanden §R Godfrey Junr §Robert Asphoorth§ §Memorandum §This farr hath been sent §Home in the Ship Bouvorie §Capt Thom: Wotton Comd §who Saild the 8 June 1720 §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin§ | The Sunderland's goods from China, reckoned in taels, mace and candareens, were as follows: Sewing silk 33 taels 1 mace 3 candareens 8 [...] for 1 box Number A, 1 box weighing 21 catties [...] sold here at 1 tael 5 mace per catty 31 taels 5 mace 0 candareens charges 1 tael 6 mace 3 candareens 8 [...] 33 taels 1 mace 3 candareens 8 [...] Tea bohea 33 taels 9 mace 1 candareen 5 [...] for 1 chest, Number B 108 pots weighing 1 pecul 4 quarters at 31 pots per pecul 32 taels 2 mace 4 candareens 1 [...] charges 1 tael 6 mace 7 candareens 5 [...] 33 taels 9 mace 1 candareen 5 [...] China ware 17 taels 9 mace 5 candareens 2 [...] for 1 chest, Number C large bowls, blue and white, 100 at 6 [...] 6 taels 0 mace 0 candareens 0 [...] small bowls, 120 at 3 [...] 3 taels 6 mace 0 candareens 0 [...] sneakers, 206 at 1 mace 2 [...] 2 taels 4 candareens 7 [...] 2 [...] coffee cups, 1000 at 5 [...] 5 taels 0 mace 0 candareens 0 [...] charges 1 tael 8 mace 8 candareens 7 [...] 17 taels 9 mace 5 candareens 9 [...] Tea single 22 taels 8 mace 8 candareens for 1 chest, Number S 95 pots weighing 1 pecul 8 quarters [...] at 7 catties [...] at 3 mace 5 [...] per catty 21 taels 7 mace 5 candareens charges 1 tael 1 mace 3 candareens 22 taels 8 mace 8 candareens 107 taels 8 mace 4 candareens 2 [...] The account was signed errors excepted by John Hargraves, [...] Godfrey junior and Robert Ashworth. A memorandum recorded that the consultations thus far had been sent home in the ship Bouverie, Captain Thomas Wotton commander, which sailed on 8 June 1720. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The Sunderland's cargo of sewing silk, tea, China ware and coffee cups was the produce of the Canton trade, reckoned in the Chinese money of account, taels, mace and candareens, rather than the Indian rupees of the Bengal ships. The distinct currency and the distinct goods mark the China trade as a separate branch of the Company's eastern commerce, the silk and tea and porcelain valued at their Canton cost before sale at the island's store. Bohea and single were grades of the black tea shipped from China, bohea the coarser common sort and single tea a further ordinary grade, both weighed by the pecul and the catty, the Chinese units of mass. A pecul was a large unit of about a hundredweight and a catty a smaller one, the tea reckoned in pots at so many to the pecul, the whole priced in the Canton money the supercargo had used in lading it. The memorandum on the despatch of the consultations by the Bouverie records the standing means by which the island sent its proceedings home. With no dedicated carrier, the council's record went to the directors by whatever Company ship was sailing, the Bouverie taking the consultations to that date on 8 June 1720, the same dependence on the passing Indiamen that governed the despatch of the island's letters, indents and accounts throughout. | |||||
440 | §1720. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held §on Thursday the 9 day of June 1720. At §Union Castle in James Valley. §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & approved of/ §The Council mett this day to Transfer some §Bills that were given to severall of the Comanders & §others under their Proper Acco: which the Hurry of §business could not be Enterd Yesterday. §The said Bills of Exchange which We drew on Our §Hon: Masters dated the 7 Inst: and which We §could not avoid are as follows§ §To Bills of Exchange drawne.§ §Edwd Heath Esq or Order being for Credit §left by Governr Pyke to ye Amount of §5 8 §210§ §Capt Edw: Martin for Order §52 2 4§ §Capt John Hill §103 16 9§ §Capt John Shepheard §for Goods bought §52 3 9§ §Mr Thomas Bevee §51 19 4§ §John Coles for Credit due to him in ye books §28 10§ §967 12 2§ §All Payable after thirty days sight & dated the 7 of §June 1720.§ Margin Notes: §Bills Pd to Capt: &c§ §To Bills of Exchange drawne.§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Thursday 9 June 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council met that day to transfer some bills given to several of the commanders and other officers under their accounts, which a hurry of business had prevented being entered the day before. The bills of exchange the council drew on the Honourable Masters were dated 7 June 1720, and could not be avoided. They were as follows: Edmund Heath Esquire or order, being for credit left by Governor Pyke, to the amount of £210 0s 0d Captain Edward Martin or order £52 2s 4d Captain John Hill, for goods bought £103 16s 9d Captain John Shepherd, for goods bought £52 3s 9d Mr Thomas Bevee, for goods bought £51 19s 4d John Coles, for credit due to him in the books £28 10s 0d £967 12s 2d All payable at thirty days' sight and dated 7 June 1720. [...] Interpretations The bills of exchange were the means by which the island settled debts that could not be paid in goods or local credit, drawn on the directors in London and payable there at a set sight. With no coin and no nearer source of funds, the council discharged its obligations to ships' commanders and others by drawing on the Honourable Masters, the bills transferring the debt home to be met by the Company, the cashless settlement on which the island's commerce depended. The bill for credit left by Governor Pyke records the standing arrangement by which a departing servant's balance on the island was carried home as a debt of the Company. Governor Pyke had left for Bencoolen across the consultations of June and July 1719, and the credit standing to him, here drawn payable to Edmund Heath, shows the Company acting as banker to its officers, holding their balances and remitting them by bill rather than in coin the island could not supply. The council's note that the bills could not be avoided answers the directors' standing displeasure at the drawing of bills on them. The Company had repeatedly shown itself weary of the island's bills and the demands they made on its funds, and the bench's protest that these were unavoidable, mostly for goods bought of the commanders, reflects the continuing tension between the island's need to settle its accounts and the directors' suspicion of the bills drawn home. | |||||
441 | §June §And have also drawn three Bills more to Capt §Wouter Van Dyk for the Sume of 177 8 3 payable §being for Arrack and Payable after thirty days §sight Dated the 9 Aprill 1720. §Capt: Misenor desired to Register the following Goods §Vizt 1 Chest of Silk Containing 100 Pices §80 P Muslins & §150 P d: of Handkerchiefs. §Yesterday Saled the ten beforementiond Ships. §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on Tuesday the §14 day of June 1720. At Union Castle in James §Valley/ §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & Approved/ §The following Letters were sent to, & received from §the Comanders of Ships Vizt §Capt: James Winter §When Capt: William §Mawson was here Homeward bound He§ Margin Notes: §Bills for Goods bought P ye Dutch Ships§ §Goods Entd by Capt Misenor§ §Lettrs to & from Comanders§ §Capt: James Winter§ | The council had also drawn three further bills to Captain Wouter Van Dyk for £177 8s 3d, being for arrack and payable at thirty days' sight, dated 9 April 1720. Captain Misenor asked to register the following goods: 1 chest of silk containing 100 pieces 80 pieces of muslin 150 pieces of handkerchiefs The ten ships mentioned before sailed the day before. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 14 June 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following letters were sent to and received from the commanders of ships. When Captain William Mawson was here homeward bound, he [...] Interpretations The bills to Captain Wouter Van Dyk for arrack record the Company paying a foreign master for goods bought of his Dutch ship by drawing on the directors. Van Dyk commanded the King Charles, the Dutch vessel at the island since 7 March 1720, and the purchase of his arrack settled by bill shows the bench buying liquor for the store wherever it could be had, the obligation carried home to London by bill of exchange in the absence of ready money. Captain Misenor's registration of silk, muslin and handkerchiefs records the private trade goods an East India commander carried on his own account, entered in the Company's books for security of title. Muslin was a fine cotton cloth of the Indian trade and the handkerchiefs squares of figured silk or cotton, the master registering his private parcels so his property in them was on record, the standing practice by which a commander's own venture was distinguished from the Company's cargo. The exchange of letters with ships' commanders records the formal correspondence by which the bench dealt with the masters who touched at the island. The reference to Captain William Mawson homeward bound recalls the long-troublesome commander of the Cardonnell, repeatedly at odds with the council over his bills, sailing time and conduct, the letters preserving the dealings with the commanders as a matter of record for the directors. | |||||
442 | §1720. §He washt some Damag'd Goods at Lemon Valley §an Acco: of which haveing not been sent Home the §Hon: Comp: (Our Masters) made Mention of that §Neglect in the Princess Amelias Letter to this §place dated the 23 March 1717 Par: 23 with Orders §to make Demand of any Comanders of Ships that §should after the receipt of that Letter wash any §more Damag'd Goods. §We do therefore in Pursuance to our Honble Masters §Orders to Us directed desire to know of You how §many Bales of Cloth or any other Goods Damag'd §Goods You have washt here at Lemon Valley with §the severall marks & No of each Bale as Capt Lewis §in the King George did the last Voyage, & doubt not §of Your Complyance herewith. §We are §Yor Humble Servants. §Edwd Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Union Castle St §Helena the 8 June §1720. §Capt: Winters Answer§ Margin Notes: §about Goods Wash being Damagd§ §An Acco of them desired§ | Captain Mawson had washed some damaged goods at Lemon Valley. No account of this had been sent home, and the Honourable Company had noted the neglect in their letter by the Princess Amelia to the island, dated 23 March 1717, paragraph 23, with orders to demand an account from any commanders or officers who, after receiving that letter, washed any more damaged goods. The council therefore, following the masters' orders, asked Captain Winter to state how many bales of cloth or any other damaged goods he had washed at Lemon Valley. He was to give the marks and the number of each bale, as Captain Lewis in the King George had done the last voyage. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 8 June 1720, and signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Captain Winter's answer followed. [...] Interpretations The washing of damaged goods at Lemon Valley was the recovery of sea-spoiled cargo by rinsing out the salt water, an operation carried out ashore at the valley set aside for it. The directors required an account of every such washing because cloth damaged on the voyage and cleaned at the island affected the reckoning between the Company and its commanders, the neglect to report Captain Mawson's washing being the failure the masters had moved to correct. The council's demand on Captain Winter enforced a standing order of the directors traced to a specific instruction by the Princess Amelia of 23 March 1717. By requiring the marks and number of each bale he had washed, as Captain Lewis of the King George had earlier rendered, the bench applied the directors' rule that every commander account for damaged goods cleaned at the island, the precise identification of the bales letting the Company track the spoiled cargo against the ships that carried it. Lemon Valley served as the dedicated place for handling spoiled and quarantined goods on the island, the same valley sealed during the smallpox outbreak of June and July 1717. Its use for washing damaged cargo shows the island providing the facilities a Company watering station required, the recovery of sea-damaged goods being part of the service the bench oversaw and accounted for to the directors. | |||||
443 | §June §To the Worshd Edwd Johnson Esqr §Govr & Council of St Helena §Worshipd Sr &c §According to your Order of this date I §Send an Acco: of the Marks & Numbers of Severall §Bales of Cloth belonging to the Hon: Comp: §which being Damaged at Sea have been in whole §or in part washed at Lemon Valley. §VEIC No 1 2 2 Bales Long Cloth Ordinary §No 33 34 35 36 124 129 Cheats from Bengall §Besides the above Menhoned there were §three Bales Damaged the Marks & No of which §are So defaced that I cannot give an Acco: of them §but I shall give the Honble Comp: due information Concern- §ing them. I am §Worshd Sr &c §Yor Humble Servant. §James Winter §St Helena June §the 8 1720. §Capt: Shepherd. §We haveing great Occasion for §all sorts of Spices for the use of this Island I §desire you to deliver Us about four hundred §weight of the Hon: Comp: P Cargo on Board §your§ Margin Notes: §Capt: Winters Answere§ §VEIC No§ §Capt: Shepherd Sundry P Cargo Demand§ | Captain Winter's answer to Governor Edward Johnson and the council of St Helena followed. In accordance with the council's order of that date, he sent an account of the marks and numbers of the several bales of cloth belonging to the Honourable Company which, having been damaged at sea, had been wholly or partly washed at Lemon Valley: Numbers 1 and 2 2 bales long cloth ordinary Numbers 33, 34, 35, 36, 124 and 129 chests from Bengal Besides these, three bales had been damaged whose marks and numbers were so defaced that he could give no account of them. He undertook to give the Honourable Company due information concerning them. The letter was dated at St Helena, 8 June 1720, and signed by James Winter. The council then wrote to Captain Shepherd. Having great need of all sorts of spices for the use of the island, it asked him to deliver about four hundredweight of the Honourable Company's pepper on board [...] Interpretations Captain Winter's account discharged the demand made on him under the directors' standing order, listing the marks and numbers of the bales of sea-damaged cloth washed at Lemon Valley. Long cloth ordinary was a plain coarse Indian cotton of the common grade, and the identification of the bales by their marks let the Company reconcile the spoiled cargo against the ship's manifest, the three bales whose marks were defaced being reserved for later report so no damaged goods escaped the account. The request to Captain Shepherd for pepper shows the bench drawing on a passing ship's cargo to supply the island's own wants. Pepper was the staple of the eastern trade and a spice the island needed for its provisioning, and the council's call for about four hundredweight from the Company's consignment aboard reflects the standing practice of taking goods the island required from the Indiamen in the road, the supply to be accounted against the ship. The careful recording of defaced and unidentifiable bales shows the bench holding commanders to a complete account even where the marks failed. Winter's undertaking to give further information on the three bales he could not identify preserved the Company's claim to a full reckoning of its damaged goods, the directors' insistence on an exact account of every washed bale leaving no spoiled cargo unaccounted for whatever the state of its markings. | |||||
444 | §1720. §Your Ship Bornes and our receipt for the same shall §be your Sufficient discharge/ And are §Sr §Union Castle St Helena §June the 8 1720. §Yor Humble Servts §Edwd Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §To the Worshd Edwd Johnson Esqr §Govr & Council of St Helena §Worshd Sr &c §My Ship the Princess Emelia §haveing been a long time in the Country and at two very §Sickly places vizt Bencoolin and Banjarr and haveing §Lost a great many of my People I request yor Worships §Assistance towards a Recruit & am §Worshd Sr &c §Yor most Humble Servt §John Misenor §4 June 1720. §Thoms Free according to the Govr Order brought & §deliverd an Inventory this day of the Stock & Estate §now in his Possession with an Acco: of debts & Creditts §and the Clear Estate appeared to be 237 15 6 besides §24 Acres of Leased Land & 10 Acres of Free Land being §not Valued belonging to his Predecessor Mr Griffiths §Children§ Margin Notes: §Capt Misenor desires a Recruit of Men.§ §Tho: Free Deliverd an Inventory of Mr Griffiths Estate by Mr Whaley§ §Several§ | The pepper was to go aboard the Bouverie, and the council's receipt for it would be Captain Shepherd's sufficient discharge. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, 8 June 1720, and signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Captain Misenor then addressed the council. His ship, the Princess Emelia, had been a long time in the country and at two very unhealthy places, namely Bencoolen and Banjar. Having lost a great many of his crew, he asked the council's help towards a fresh supply of men. The letter was dated 4 June 1720 and signed by John Misenor. Following Governor Johnson's order, Thomas Free brought in and delivered an inventory of the stock and estate now in his possession, with an account of debts and credits. The clear estate appeared to be £237 15s 6d, besides 22½ acres of leased land and 10 acres of free land, which were not valued, belonging to his predecessor Mr Griffith's children. [...] Interpretations Captain Misenor's request for men addressed the heavy mortality that thinned ships' crews on the eastern voyage. Bencoolen and Banjar were the Company's pepper settlements on Sumatra and Borneo, both notorious for sickness, and the loss of a great many of his people there left the master short-handed for the homeward passage, the appeal to the council for a fresh supply reflecting the standing difficulty of manning ships worn down by disease in the East. Thomas Free's delivery of the inventory at last complied with the order the council had pressed since the consultation of 1 April 1720 and enforced by seizure on 26 April 1720. The clear estate of £237 15s 6d, with the Griffith children's leased and free land set apart and unvalued, separated the orphans' property from Free's own, the very identification the bench had demanded so the children's share might be secured against the man who held their inheritance in his late wife's right. The setting apart of the orphans' land from the valued estate shows the bench distinguishing what belonged to the children from what was Free's to answer for his debts. By recording the 22½ acres of leased land and 10 acres of free land as the property of the Griffith children, separate from the clear estate reckoned in money, the inventory at last drew the line between the minors' inheritance and the holder's own assets, the protection of the orphans' portion being the purpose for which the whole proceeding had been driven. | |||||
445 | §June. §Several Persons were Sumoned to appear §this day for not Appearing on the Alarm a §Sunday last the 5 Inst: for the Thistleworth vizt §Stephen Audoward soldr §John Worrell planter. §Sutton Isaack ditto §Richd Gurling §Isaack Skinnerd §Edward Bagley & §John French §who all Say they were So much Indisposed by being Sick that they were not able to appear §Andrew Bergues says he came down to his Post §immidiatly after the Role was calld over. §He was Excused. §Richard Mason Comeing a great way says he §made what hast he could & was down in the Valley §Soon after the Role was called over §He was likewise Excused. §Thomas Collier a free Black says he was out a fish- §ing and did not hear the Alarm. He was also §Excused/ §Caleb Davis §Giles Smith & §John Aldrich §Making no reasonable Excuse were fined 5s Each for their Neglect. §Francis Leech was also Fined 5s for going a shooting §without leave from the Govr & admonished for §the future§ Margin Notes: §Persons Summond on Alarm.§ §Their Excuses§ §who fined 5s Each.§ §Frs Leech fined for shooting§ | Several persons were summoned to appear that day for not turning out on the alarm the previous Sunday, 5 June 1720, for the Thistleworth: Stephen Audoward, soldier John Worrall, planter Sutton Isaack, soldier Richard Gurling Isaack Thompson Edward Bagley John French Gurling, Thompson, Bagley and French all said they had been so unwell, being sick, that they were unable to appear. Andrew Bergue said he came down to his post at once after the roll was called over. He was excused. Richard Mason, coming a great way, said he made what haste he could and was down in the valley soon after the roll was called over. He was likewise excused. Thomas Collier, a free black, said he was out fishing and did not hear the alarm. He was also excused. Caleb Davis, Giles Smith and John Aldrick, making no reasonable excuse, were fined five shillings each for their neglect. Francis Leech was also fined five shillings for going shooting without leave from Governor Johnson, and admonished for the future. Interpretations The summons of the defaulters enforced the alarm-duty order published by beat of drum on 22 March 1720, which fixed a discretionary fine for any armed man who missed his post on an alarm. The hearing shows the bench applying that order to the failure on 5 June 1720, examining each man's excuse and fining only those who could give no reasonable account, the muster discipline tightened earlier now in regular operation against the negligent. The bench distinguished genuine cause from bare neglect in weighing the excuses offered. Sickness, coming late from a distance after reaching the post, and being out of hearing while fishing were accepted as excusing absence, while those who offered no reasonable ground were fined, the council calibrating the penalty to the conduct so that only wilful or careless failure to muster drew the fine. The fine on Francis Leech for shooting without leave touched the standing control over the use of firearms and the taking of game on the island. Going shooting without the Governor's licence was a separate offence from neglect of the alarm, the inclusion of partridges and wild fowl among the island's regulated game meaning that leave was required to shoot, the fine and admonition enforcing the bench's control over who might bear arms in the country and to what end. | |||||
446 | §1720. §The Docter brought in his Book of Medecines Expened §since last perusal which was Examind & approved of/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on Tuesday §the 21 day of June 1720. At Union Castle in §James Valley/ §Edward Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & Approved of/ §On Tuesday the 14 Inst the Ship Townsend Capt: §Philip Worth Comand: Arrived from Bombay. §The Council mett this day, But an Alarm §happening Prevented Us going on with business/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island§ Margin Notes: §Drs Book Acco: in§ §Townsend Arrivd§ | The doctor brought in his book of medicines dispensed since the last examination, which was examined and approved. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 21 June 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Tuesday 14 June 1720 the ship Townsend arrived, Captain Philip Worth commander, from Bombay. The council met that day, but an alarm prevented it going on with business. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The doctor's book of medicines was again examined and approved, the standing accounting control over the medical stores imposed after Cholmondley Cevill's theft was exposed on a sworn information of 29 August 1719. Its production at each consultation through the spring and summer shows the requirement that the surgeon record every drug dispensed and lay the book before the council still in unbroken operation under Governor Johnson. The Townsend under Captain Philip Worth was an East Indiaman from Bombay, the Company's principal settlement on the western coast of India, continuing the run of shipping touching at the island through June 1720. Her arrival added another homeward Indiaman to those calling for water and trade, the steady traffic of the season bringing the Company's ships past the island in numbers. The alarm that broke off the council's business shows the muster taking precedence over administration when a ship was sighted. The raising of an alarm on a vessel's approach drew the inhabitants and the council itself away from ordinary affairs to the defence of the road, the interruption reflecting the standing priority of the island's security in a season crowded with arrivals and shadowed by the reports of pirates abroad. | |||||
447 | §June. §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on §Tuesday the 28 day of June 1720. At Union §Castle in James Valley §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & Approved of/ §The Docter brought In his Book of Medicines Ex= §panded since the 14 Inst which was Examind & §Approved of/ §William Portley Execut:r to the last Will & Testam: §of John Gibbs soldr lately decd brought & deliverd the §said Will in order of haveing the same Provd which §was accordingly done by the Oaths of James §Vaughn John Hodgkinson & Walter Morris/ §Ordered That the said Will be recd & approved §of accordingly, & Registred in a Book for that Purpose/ §Messrs Gabriel Powel & Richd Gurling Executors to the §Last Will & Testam: of Charles Steward decd brought §this day a new Inventory of the said Charles Stewards §Estate in order to have a Dividend made thereof. §That Francis Steward his Eldest Son now in India §might have his share thereof. And which Mr§ Margin Notes: §Drs Book Acco: Examd§ §Last Will of Jno Gibbs presented.§ §and Approved.§ §New Inventory of the Stewards Estate brot in§ §The Eldest Son to have his part§ | Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 June 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The doctor brought in his book of medicines dispensed since the last examination, which was examined and approved. William Portley, executor to the will of John Gibbs, a soldier lately deceased, brought in and delivered the will to have it proved. This was done on the oaths of James Vaughan, John Hodgkinson and Walter Morris. The council ordered the will received, approved and registered in the book kept for that purpose. Mr Gabriel Powel and Richard Gurling, executors to the will of the late Charles Steward, brought in that day a new inventory of his estate to have a dividend made of it. This was so that Francis Steward, his eldest son now in India, might have his share. [...] Interpretations The proving of the John Gibbs will followed the council's standing role as the island's probate authority, the executor William Portley delivering the testament of a deceased soldier for proof on the oaths of three witnesses. The reception, approval and registration of the will in the dedicated book secured the disposition as a matter of record, the same procedure applied to the wills of planters and orphans throughout the record in the absence of an ecclesiastical court. The new inventory of the Steward estate revived the long-running settlement of Charles Steward's affairs, his executors Gabriel Powel and Richard Gurling bringing in a fresh account so a dividend could be made among his sons. The estate had figured repeatedly before the bench, its earlier inventory delivered at the court for orphans of 29 March 1720, the renewed reckoning now prepared to divide the property among the heirs. The provision for Francis Steward, the eldest son in India, shows the bench arranging the division of an estate to reach an heir absent overseas. Francis Steward had earlier sought to be admitted tenant to the family land, and the new inventory drawn so he might have his share reflects the council's care to secure an absent heir's portion, the dividend among the sons requiring a current valuation before each could be allotted his part. | |||||
448 | §1720. §Mr Acton Passanger on board the Townsend hath §Power to receive by a letter of Attorney from the said §Francis Steward, and which he now Produced for §our perusal. §After all Charges were deducted it appeared §Due in our Hon: Masters Books of Accounts That §the dividend of the said Francis Steward Amount- §ed to the Sume of 123 10. for which the before §named Executors desired Bills of Exchange might §be drawn on the Honble Comp: Payable to the said §Mr Reid & Acton his Attorney which We could not §deny them therefore. §Ordered That the said Bills be drawn §Accordingly for the Sume afores: Payable after §30 days sight & dated the 20 June 1720. §On Tuesday the 21 Inst Arived the Ship Fordwich §Capt Rigby (who Succeeded after the death of Capt Barnard) §from Bengall but last from the Cape, & brought Us the §following Goods (Vizt)§ §4 Bales of Chelloes qt 100 P for 20 longe §at 79 Rups P faing §580 §Deduct 10 P Cent §150 §Rups 1422§ Margin Notes: §by Lettr of Attorney§ §Fra: Stewards Dividend§ §desired in Bills.§ §Granted§ §Ship Fordwich Arrivd.§ §N S No 2 Goods rec:d from Bengall§ | Mr Acton, a passenger aboard the Townsend, held power to receive the money by a letter of attorney from Francis Steward, which he now produced for the council's inspection. After all charges were deducted, it appeared from the Honourable Masters' books of accounts that the dividend of Francis Steward amounted to £153 10s 0d. The executors asked that bills of exchange be drawn for it on the Honourable Company, payable to Mr Acton, his attorney. The council could not deny this, and ordered the bills drawn for the sum, payable at thirty days' sight and dated 20 June 1720. On Tuesday 21 June 1720 the ship Fordwich arrived, Captain Rigby commander, who had succeeded after the death of Captain Barnard, from Bengal but last from the Cape. She brought the following goods: Chilloes 4 bales of 100 pieces for 20 long, at 79 rupees per [...] 580 rupees 0 annas 0 pies deduct 10 per cent 58 rupees 0 annas 0 pies 522 rupees 0 annas 0 pies [...] Interpretations The payment of Francis Steward's dividend by bill of exchange to his attorney shows the Company remitting an heir's share overseas through its London accounts. With Francis Steward in India and Mr Acton holding his letter of attorney, the council settled the £153 10s 0d not in coin or local credit but by bills drawn on the directors payable to the attorney, the Company acting as banker to carry an absent heir's portion home through the bill mechanism. A letter of attorney was the formal authority by which one person empowered another to receive money or act on his behalf, here enabling Acton to collect Steward's dividend in his absence. The council's inspection of the instrument before ordering the bills shows the bench requiring proof of the attorney's authority before paying over a sum due to a man not present, the documentary warrant protecting both the Company and the absent heir. Chilloes were a kind of coloured cotton cloth of the Bengal trade, here reckoned in rupees with a deduction allowed, continuing the run of piece-goods cargoes the season's ships brought to the store. The Fordwich under Captain Rigby, who had succeeded the deceased Captain Barnard, added another homeward Indiaman to those calling at the island, her cargo valued in Indian currency before sale at the bench's margin like the rest. | |||||
449 | §June. §The following Petitions were Presented/ §Island St. Helena./ To the Worshd Edwd Johnson Esqr §Govr & Council §The Petition of Joseph Ormston §Sheweth That your Petitionr to his Extream grief §finding himself deprived of the Necessary means to §subsist here through a Deprivation of those Incourage= §ments designed him by the Hon: Comp: and §Presuming That since he is Suspended and the Sallary §be for which he Contracted is denyed to him. They §are not desireous to starve their Servants by obliging §or Expecting their attendance on Such Terms. §He doth therefore earnestly crave Liberty to return §to England by the first Convenient Opportunity in Order §to defend his Actions & to clear his innocency./ §June 28 1720. And Your Petitioner &c §Joseph Ormston §Mr Ormston repeating his Petition to goe off, We §have for the reasons Mentiond in Consultation of the §29 of March last thought it Proper to Reject the §Same. §Anthony Beal planter Presented his §Petition Setting forth therein That he was very §desireous to goe off the Island for India in the §first§ Margin Notes: §Petn of Jph Ormston.§ §Desireing leave to return for England.§ §Rejected as before./§ §Petn of Anthy Beale prays leave to goe for India§ | The following petitions were presented to Governor Edward Johnson and his council. Joseph Ormston set out in his petition that, to his extreme grief, he found himself deprived of the necessary means to support himself on the island through the loss of the encouragements the Honourable Company had designed for him. He presumed that, since he was suspended and the salary he had contracted for was denied him, the Company would not wish to starve its servants by obliging or expecting their attendance on such terms. He therefore earnestly asked leave to return to England by the first convenient opportunity, to defend his actions and clear himself. The petition was dated 28 June 1720 and signed by Joseph Ormston. Since Mr Ormston was repeating his petition to leave, the council, for the reasons given at the consultation of 29 March 1720, thought it proper to reject it. Anthony Beal, planter, presented his petition. He set out that he was very anxious to leave the island for India [...] Interpretations Mr Ormston was Joseph Ormston, the accountant suspended by Governor Johnson at the consultation of 24 May 1720 after his open declaration that he would continue absenting himself from the office. His renewed petition to return to England, grounding the request on the loss of his salary while suspended, repeats the appeal the council had already rejected, the bench holding to its earlier refusal of leave to a covenant servant whose accounts stood unfinished. The council's reliance on its reasons of 29 March 1720 shows the bar to Ormston's departure resting on his status as a bound servant of the Company. As a covenant servant he could not be released without an order from the directors, and his suspension did not dissolve that obligation, the bench refusing to let him quit the island while the very accounts whose neglect had brought his suspension remained to be answered. Anthony Beal was one of the Beale orphan brothers, members of a long-running protected family, who with his brother Richard had taken the lease of Taylor's Ground across the consultations of November 1719 and pursued the consolidation of the family holdings. His petition to leave for India brings before the bench a planter of established standing seeking passage off the island, the kind of departure request the council weighed against the island's need to retain useful men. | |||||
450 | §1720. §first outward bound Ship, and desires Leave may be §Granted him Accordingly. And &c §Granted he first Clearing his Accounts with §the Hon: Company. §The Examination of Hanniball & Cloice. §Gabriel Powel made Complaint That his House §in the ffort Valley had been broke open & Severall things §Stole thereout and that he had found Some of the §things Vizt one Peice of blue Cloth & 2 yds of Dungaree §and Severall Remnants of both in the Possession of §Cloice a Black man Slave of John Longs & Hanniball §a Black man of Richd Beals who being now brought §before the Govr was Examined. §Hanniball being Examined says he gott into Mr §Powels House over Mr Longs House at a Window where §one of the Barrs was broke out, and that Mr Longs §fellow named Antony shewed him the way to gett in §and the first time he went into Mr Powels House §is about half a Year Since and that he has been there in §five times in all and that the sd Antony had 3 yds of §blue the first time they went in together, and of the blue §he took out Since he gave & sold to the following Blacks/ §To Mr Frees Black Alexander 1 yd blue & 1 yd Dungaree §To Mrs Toveys Robin 1 yd: of blue & 1 yd: Dungaree §To§ Margin Notes: §Granted Clearing Acco:s§ §Mr Powells Houshold goods stolen§ §R: Beale Blacks &c Examined§ | Anthony Beal wished to leave by the first outward-bound ship. The council granted this, on his first clearing his account with the Honourable Company. The council then examined Hannibal and Cloice. Gabriel Powel complained that his house in the Fort Valley had been broken open and several things stolen. He had found some of the things, namely one piece of blue cloth, two pieces of dungaree and several remnants of both, in the possession of Cloice, a black slave of John Long, and Hannibal, a black slave of Richard Beal. Both were now brought before the council and examined. Hannibal, on examination, said he got into Mr Powel's house over Mr Long's house, at a window where one of the bars had been broken out. Mr Long's slave, named Antony, had shown him the way to get in. The first time he went into Mr Powel's house was about half a year before, and he had been there five times in all. Antony had three pieces of blue cloth the first time they went in together. Of the blue cloth he took out since, he gave and sold the following to other slaves: To Mr Free's black Alexander, 1 piece of blue and 1 piece of dungaree To Mrs Tovey's Robin, 1 piece of blue and 1 piece of dungaree [...] Interpretations Dungaree was a coarse blue cotton cloth of the Indian trade, the same staple textile the store supplied for clothing, here the object of a theft from a planter's house. Its appearance among the stolen goods, with the blue cloth and the remnants of both, shows the value of cloth as portable property on the island, the slaves trafficking the pieces among themselves once they had been taken. The examination shows the bench investigating a sustained pattern of theft carried out by slaves of several masters acting together. Hannibal's account of repeated entries over half a year, guided by another's slave through a broken window bar, and the onward sale of the stolen cloth to the slaves of other planters, traces a network of theft and disposal across households, the council building the evidence through the offender's own confession. The naming of the slaves by their owners reflects the standing treatment of slaves as the property and responsibility of their masters. Cloice of John Long, Hannibal of Richard Beal, Antony of Long, Alexander of Free and Robin of the widow Tovey are each identified by the planter who held them, the masters' names fixing both the slaves' identities and the households answerable for them, the same logic by which slaves were entered in estates and rosters throughout the record. | |||||
451 | §June §To Stewards Toby 1 pice of blue. §Mr Francis Great George 1 yd ditto §Mr Longs Antony 2 yds blue more & 2 yds d:tto §And has brought wth him now 1 yd: blue & 2½ yd: d: §besides severall Remnants. §Cloice John Longs Black being Examined says §that Hanniball calld him to go into Mr Powels House §and shew'd him the way how to gett in and that §the first time he went in wth Hanniball He took §out 5 yds of blue and gave them to him as he stood §without of which he had 2 yds and Hanniball had §3 yds and of those two yds he gave one yd: To Mr Veseys §Mingo and half a yd: To his Masters Antony. Since §this he went into the House againe by himself & §took out 4 yds of blue, of which he gave to the said §Mingo 2 yds, and the other 2 he gave to the sd §Antony to lay up for him. Once Since this he went §into Mr Powels House againe and took out one yd §of blue, and gave half of it to the Wooden legg Portuguese §fellow & kept the other half, which some time after he §sold to Mrs Toveys Jack for a pair of Red striped Gingham §Breeches, & being askt where he gott the red Chypt §Jackett he has now on, says he had them of ye Mr §Veseys Wench Magdalena§ Margin Notes: §Jno Longs Black Cloice Examination§ | Hannibal further named the following: To Steward's Toby, 1 piece of blue To Mr Francis's Great George, 1 piece of the same To Mr Long's Antony, 2 pieces of blue, and more 4½ pieces of the same He had now brought with him 1 piece of blue and 2½ pieces of the same, besides several remnants. Cloice, John Long's black, on examination, said that Hannibal had called him to go into Mr Powel's house and shown him how to get in. The first time he went in with Hannibal, he took out 5 pieces of blue and gave them to Hannibal as he stood outside, of which he kept 2 pieces and Hannibal had 3. Of his own two pieces he gave one to Mr Vesey's Mingo and half a piece to his master's Antony. Since then he went into the house again by himself and took out 4 pieces of blue, of which he gave 2 to Mingo and the other 2 to Antony to keep for him. Once after this he went into Mr Powel's house again and took out one piece of blue. He gave half of it to the wooden-legged Portuguese fellow and kept the other half, which he later sold to Mrs Tovey's Jack for a pair of red striped gingham breeches. Asked where he got the red striped jacket he then had on, he said he had it from Mr Vesey's slave Magdalena. [...] Interpretations The two confessions traced the full course of a sustained theft and the dispersal of its proceeds through a wide circle of slaves. Cloice's account, matching Hannibal's, set out repeated entries to Powel's house, the division of the stolen cloth between the two thieves, and its onward distribution to the slaves of Vesey, Long, Tovey and others, the bench assembling from the offenders' own words a detailed map of how the goods moved and to whom. Gingham was a checked or striped cotton cloth, here made up into breeches, and the red striped jacket and the breeches show stolen cloth converted into wearing apparel and bartered among the slaves. The exchange of pieces of blue for a pair of breeches, and the tracing of a jacket from one slave to another, reveal a barter economy in clothing among the island's slaves, the stolen cloth serving as a medium of trade between households. The careful recording of each piece given, sold and kept shows the bench reconstructing the whole disposal so the stolen property could be traced and recovered. By fixing exactly which slave received which piece and what it was exchanged for, the council built the evidence to identify every holder of the stolen cloth across the several households, the same exact accounting of goods it applied to thefts from the Company's own stores, here turned to a theft from a planter's house. | |||||
452 | §1720. §They were both Orderd to Prison/ §Where Hanniball further Confessed that Mr Coulsons §Frank received two Peices of blue Cloth of him, Mr Riders §Jack one yd: and Mr Frees Bacchus one yd: one bottle of Jack §and 2 or 3 Handkerchiefs of Rice which he also took out §of Mr Powels House/ §Ed Johnson §Jno Alexander §Jno Goodwin §Island St. Helena §At a Consultation held on Tuesday §the 12 day of July 1720. At Union Castle in §James Valley. §Edwd Johnson Esq Govr §Pres: Jno Alexander & §Jno Goodwin §The Last Consultation read & approved of §This day the Council mett to Adjust the several Articles Re= §lateing to the two last Ships that Sailed hence on the 4 Instant §& to charge the same in the Transfer Book and each Proper head §And alsoe to hear any other Matters that might offer. §Island§ Margin Notes: §Cloth Confessed further Confession of Hanniball§ §Acco: with Shipping Adjusted &c§ | Both were ordered to prison. Hannibal further confessed that Mr Coulson's Frank had received two pieces of blue cloth from him, Mr Alder's Jack one piece, and Mr Spree's Bacchus one piece, one bottle of jack and two or three handkerchiefs of rice, which he had also taken out of Mr Powel's house. The consultation was signed by Governor Edward Johnson, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Island of St Helena At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council met that day to settle the several items relating to the two last ships that sailed on 1 July 1720, and to charge them in the transfer book under each proper head. It also met to hear any other matters that might arise. [...] Interpretations Hannibal's further confession completed the trace of the stolen goods, adding the slaves of Coulson, Alder and Spree to those who had received the blue cloth, and disclosing that rice and a bottle of jack had been taken from Powel's house besides. Jack was a fermented drink, and the inclusion of liquor and provisions with the cloth shows the breadth of the plunder, the bench drawing out the full extent of the theft and its recipients before committing the offenders. The committal of both slaves to prison shows the bench securing the confessed thieves pending their punishment. The detailed self-incrimination obtained on examination supplied the proof on which the slaves were held, the council following its standing course of building the evidence through confession and then imprisoning the offenders, the disposal of the goods among many households left to be pursued through the masters named. The charging of the ships' accounts in the transfer book under each proper head shows the standing method by which the island's dealings with its shipping were entered and settled. The transfer book recorded the movement of debts and credits between accounts, and charging each item of the two departed ships to its proper head was the bookkeeping by which the bench balanced the goods bought, the bills drawn and the services rendered against each vessel, the cashless settlement on which the island's commerce ran. | |||||
453 | §Island St. Helena §A List of Families Lands & Blacks Into the Secretarys Office between the 15 & 23§ §Capt: Jno Alexander §Whites: Man 1. Boys 1. Girls 5. Totall 7. §Blacks: Freeblacks 9. Men 7. Women 2. Boys 3. Girls 2. Totall 14.§ §Capt: Jno Goodwin §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 5. §Blacks: Freeblacks 1. Men 9. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 12.§ §Lieut: Tho: Cason §Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.§ §Ensign Wm Slaughter §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Ensign Jno Lacy §Whites: Man 1. Boys 1. Girls 2. Totall . §Blacks: Men 3. Women 3. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 10.§ §John French Junr §Whites: Man 1. Boys 3. Girls 4. Totall . §Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 9.§ §Willi: Beale burgr §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Jno Worrall §Whites: Man 1. Boys 2. Girls 3. Totall 6. §Blacks: Freeblacks 3. Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 9.§ §Thoms Dutch §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. §Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1.§ §Isaac Wood §Whites: Man 1. Youths 2. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 8.§ §Joseph Whaley §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1.§ §John Young §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §John Hanson §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.§ §John Swallow §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2.§ §Joseph Bates §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Totall 2.§ §Isaac Leech §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Willm Worrall §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Youths 2. Boys 1. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 1. Totall 6.§ §Giles Hayse §Whites: Man 1. Boys 2. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Thoms Watts §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1.§ §John Orchard §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Petr Sinsnick & Sister §Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Edmd Bodley§ §Frans Funge §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Youths 3. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 1. Boys 2. Totall 3.§ §Willm Portley §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §James Leech§ §Andrew Bergue §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Willm Burnhum§ §John Aldrick §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Thoms Hayse §Whites: Man 1. Youths 2. Boys 4. Totall 7. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §John Knipe §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Youths 3. Boys 1. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Richd Mason §Whites: Man 1. Youths 2. Boys 2. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 4.§ §Carried Over §Whites: Man 35. Youths 9. Maidens 24. Boys 28. Girls 8. Totall 86. §Blacks: Freeblacks 4. Men 45. Women 17. Boys 25. Girls 9. Totall 100.§ | A list of families, lands and blacks brought into the secretary's office between 15 and 23 July 1720. The table set the households under their heads, with the whites divided into men, women, youths, maidens, boys to 12 years, girls to 13 years and the total, and the blacks divided into free blacks, men, women, boys, girls and the total. Captain John Alexander had 1 white man, 1 boy and 5 girls, totalling 7 white people, with 7 black men, 2 black women, 3 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 14 black people, the entry carrying a mark for free blacks. Captain John Goodwin had 1 white man, 1 maiden and 3 boys, totalling 5 white people, with 9 black men, 1 black woman and 1 black boy, totalling 12 black people, the entry carrying a mark for free blacks. Lieutenant Thomas Cason had no white household entered, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Ensign William Slaughter had 1 white man, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Ensign John Lacy had 1 white man and 1 girl, totalling 2 white people, with 3 black men, 3 black women, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 10 black people. John French junior had 1 white man and 3 girls, totalling 4 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 9 black people. William Beale junior had 1 white man, 1 maiden and 2 boys, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. John Worrall had 1 white man, 2 boys and 3 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 9 black people, the entry carrying a mark for free blacks. Thomas Dutch had 1 white man, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Isaac Wood had 1 white man and 2 boys, totalling 3 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 8 black people. Joseph Whaley had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. His and the two following names were grouped under a brace marked soldiers. John Young had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Hanson had 1 white man and 1 boy, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. John Swallow had 1 white man, 1 maiden, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black boy, totalling 2 black people. Joseph Bates had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Isaac Leech had 1 white man, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. William Worrall had 1 white man, 1 maiden, 2 boys and 1 girl, totalling 5 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women and 1 black boy, totalling 6 black people. Giles Hayse had 1 white man, 2 boys, totalling 3 white people, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Thomas Watts had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. John Orchard had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Peter Sinsnick and his sister had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Edmund Bodley had no white household entered, with no black household entered. Francis Funge had 1 white man, 1 maiden and 3 boys, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man and 2 black women, totalling 3 black people. William Portley had no white household entered, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. James Leech had no white household entered, with no black household entered. Andrew Bergue had 1 white man and 1 boy, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. William Burnham had no white household entered, with no black household entered. John Aldrick had 1 white man and 1 boy, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Thomas Hayse had 1 white man, 2 boys and 4 girls, totalling 7 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Knipe had 1 white man, 1 maiden, 3 boys and 1 girl, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Richard Mason had 1 white man, 2 boys and 2 girls, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 4 black people. The figures carried over were 35 white men, 9 maidens, 24 boys, 28 girls and 86 white people in all, with 4 free blacks, 45 black men, 17 black women, 25 black boys, 9 black girls and 100 black people in all. Interpretations The return was the island's annual register of families, land and slaves, brought into the secretary's office under the standing requirement that every inhabitant account for his household, his holdings and his cattle each year. The list of persons with their whites and blacks formed the first part of that reckoning, the basis for the property and population record the council kept and transmitted home, the same yearly account that grounded the church rate and the labour rosters. The division of the whites by age and sex and the blacks by status and sex gave the bench a detailed demographic record of the settlement. Distinguishing free blacks from the slaves, and counting children separately from adults, let the council measure both the free population that manned the musters and the slave labour force on which the plantations depended, the categories serving the island's need to know its strength in defenders and in hands. The marks for free blacks against the households of the councillors and senior planters record the presence of freed people within the establishment's own families. A free black was a former slave at liberty, distinguished in the count from the slaves held as property, the notation tracking a small free population of colour whose standing differed from that of the enslaved majority entered alongside them in the same households. | |||||
454 | §Black Cattle Acres of Land on the said Island for the Year 1719. As deliverd days of March Anno Dom: 1719/20§ §Capt: Jno Alexander §Black Cattle: Cows 12. Heifers 4. Calves 12. Totall 28. §Acres of Land: Free Land 14½. Hired Land 28. Totall 42½.§ §Capt: Jno Goodwin §Black Cattle: Cows 12. Bullocks 4. Heifers 4. Yearlings 7. Calves 8. Totall 35. §Acres of Land: Free Land 148. Hired Land 16. Totall 164.§ §Lieut: Tho: Cason §Black Cattle: Cows 1. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 1. Totall 5. §Acres of Land: Hired Land 3. Totall 3.§ §Ensign Wm Slaughter §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 10. Bullocks 3. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Calves 11. Totall 27. §Acres of Land: Free Land 21. Hired Land 19. Totall 40.§ §Ensign Jno Lacy §Black Cattle: Cows 7. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Yearlings 2. Calves 5. Totall 17. §Acres of Land: Free Land 10. Hired Land 26. Totall 36.§ §John French Junr §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Calves 3. Totall 8. §At foot Grounding ye Valley§ §Willi: Beale burgr §Black Cattle: Cows 7. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 7. Totall 17. §Acres of Land: Free Land 17. Hired Land 20. Totall 37.§ §Jno Worrall §Black Cattle: Cows 1. Bullocks 18. Heifers 5. Steers 7. Yearlings 6. Calves 18. Totall 55. §Acres of Land: Free Land 83. Hired Land 30. Totall 113. §30 foot Grounding ye Valley§ §Thoms Dutch§ §Isaac Wood §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 5.§ §Joseph Whaley §Acres of Land: Free Land 2. Totall 2.§ §John Young §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 6. Heifers 4. Steers 1. Calves 6. Totall 19. §Acres of Land: Free Land 5. Hired Land 6. Totall 11.§ §John Hanson §Black Cattle: Cows 5. Steers 7. Calves 4. Totall 16. §Acres of Land: Hired Land 45. Totall 45.§ §John Swallow §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 1. Calves 2. Totall 5.§ §Joseph Bates§ §Isaac Leech §Black Cattle: Cows 1. Calves 1. Totall 2.§ §Willm Worrall §Acres of Land: Free Land 5. Totall 5.§ §Giles Hayse §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Calves 5. Totall . §Acres of Land: Free Land 15. Totall 15.§ §Thoms Watts §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 6.§ §John Orchard §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Steers 2. Yearlings 2. Calves 8. Totall .§ §Petr Sinsnick & Sister §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Calves 2. Totall 1.§ §Edmd Bodley§ §Frans Funge §Black Cattle: Cows 1. Calves 1. Totall 2.§ §Willm Portley§ §James Leech §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Calves 5. Totall 10. §Acres of Land: Free Land 30. Totall 30. §belongs to ye Bryans§ §Andrew Bergue §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 2. Calves 4. Totall 10. §Acres of Land: Free Land 10. Hired Land 20. Totall 30.§ §Willm Burnhum §Black Cattle: Cows 7. Calves 6. Totall 15. §Acres of Land: Hired Land 17. Totall 17.§ §John Aldrick §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Steers 1. Calves 6. Totall 15.§ §Carried Over §Black Cattle: Bulls 5. Cows 111. Bullocks 14. Heifers 35. Steers 18. Yearlings 13. Calves 113. Totall 309. §Acres of Land: Free Land 336½. Hired Land 250. Totall 586½.§ | A list of black cattle and acres of land on the island for the year 1719, as delivered between the days of March 1720, the black cattle divided into bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings, calves and total, and the acres of land into free land, hired land and total. Captain John Alexander had 12 cows, 4 heifers and 12 calves, totalling 28 head, with 14½ acres of free land and 28 of hired land, totalling 42½ acres. Captain John Goodwin had 12 cows, 4 bullocks, 4 heifers, 7 yearlings and 8 calves, totalling 35 head, with 148 acres of free land and 16 of hired land, totalling 164 acres. Lieutenant Thomas Cason had 1 cow, 1 heifer, 2 steers and 1 calf, totalling 5 head, with 3 acres of hired land, totalling 3 acres. Ensign William Slaughter had 1 bull, 10 cows, 3 bullocks, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 11 calves, totalling 27 head, with 21 acres of free land and 19 of hired land, totalling 40 acres. Ensign John Lacy had 7 cows, 1 heifer, 2 steers, 2 yearlings and 5 calves, totalling 17 head, with 10 acres of free land and 26 of hired land, totalling 36 acres. John French junior had 4 cows, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 8 head, with a margin note that he held ground at the foot of the valley. William Beale, burgher, had 7 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer and 7 calves, totalling 17 head, with 17 acres of free land and 20 of hired land, totalling 37 acres. John Worrall had 1 cow, 18 bullocks, 5 heifers, 7 steers, 6 yearlings and 18 calves, totalling 55 head, with 83 acres of free land and 30 of hired land, totalling 113 acres, with a margin note that he held 30 foot of ground in the valley. Thomas Dutch had no cattle or land entered. Isaac Wood had 2 cows, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 5 head. Joseph Whaley had 2 acres of free land, totalling 2 acres. John Young had 2 bulls, 6 cows, 4 heifers, 1 steer and 6 calves, totalling 19 head, with 5 acres of free land and 6 of hired land, totalling 11 acres. John Hanson had 5 cows, 7 steers and 4 calves, totalling 16 head, with 45 acres of hired land, totalling 45 acres. John Swallow had 2 bulls, 1 cow and 2 calves, totalling 5 head. Joseph Bates had no cattle or land entered. Isaac Leech had 1 cow and 1 calf, totalling 2 head. William Worrall had 5 acres of free land, totalling 5 acres. Giles Hayse had 2 cows, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 5 calves, with 15 acres of free land, totalling 15 acres. Thomas Watts had 2 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer and 2 calves, totalling 6 head. John Orchard had 2 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 steers, 2 yearlings and 8 calves. Peter Sinsnick and his sister had 2 cows and 2 calves, totalling 1 head. Edmund Bodley had no cattle or land entered. Francis Funge had 1 cow and 1 calf, totalling 2 head. William Portley had no cattle or land entered. James Leech had 4 cows, 1 heifer and 5 calves, totalling 10 head, with 30 acres of free land, totalling 30 acres, with a margin note that it belonged to the Bryans. Andrew Bergue had 4 cows, 2 heifers and 4 calves, totalling 10 head, with 10 acres of free land and 20 of hired land, totalling 30 acres. William Burnham had 7 cows and 6 calves, totalling 15 head, with 17 acres of hired land, totalling 17 acres. John Aldrick had 1 bull, 7 cows, 1 steer and 6 calves, totalling 15 head. The figures carried over were 5 bulls, 111 cows, 14 bullocks, 35 heifers, 18 steers, 13 yearlings and 113 calves, totalling 309 head, with 336½ acres of free land and 250 of hired land, totalling 586½ acres. Interpretations The cattle and land columns completed the annual property return begun with the families and slaves, giving each household its stock and acreage under the same heads. The register set every inhabitant's neat cattle and his free and hired land beside his family and slaves, the whole forming the yearly reckoning of the island's population and wealth on which the church rate, the labour levy and the report home all rested. The distinction between free and hired land records the two tenures by which the island's ground was held, the freehold owned outright and the hired land leased from the Honourable Company at rent. Setting each holder's acreage under both heads let the bench track how much of its waste it had let out against how much the inhabitants held in their own right, the leased acreage being the source of the rent the proprietors drew from the island's settlement. The margin notes recording ground at the foot of the valley and a parcel belonging to the Bryans show the register noting particular holdings that did not fit the ordinary columns. The notation against James Leech's thirty acres, marking the land as the Bryans' rather than his own, preserved the true ownership of a parcel a holder occupied or accounted for, the same care to record every holding exactly that ran through the property survey so that no piece of ground was misattributed in the yearly reckoning. | |||||
455 | §Under what heads. Whites &c. Blacks.§ §Brought Over §Whites: Women 25. Youths 9. Maidens 24. Boys 28. Totall 86. §Blacks: Freeblacks 4. Men 45. Women 17. Boys 25. Girls 9. Totall 100.§ §William Penny §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Benjamin Redgord §Whites: Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Women 2. Totall 2.§ §Jno Purling & Sister §Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Girls 1. Totall 3.§ §Praise Redgord§ §Thoms Allis planter §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 4. Girls 1. Totall 7. §Blacks: Men 3. Totall 3.§ §Richd Alexandr Childn§ §Robert Addis Orphr§ §Bridgt Bazett Wido §Whites: Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 3. Boys 3. Totall 10.§ §Jno Bagley Senr & Sew &c §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Girls 2. Totall 9. §Blacks: Men 1. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 3.§ §Orlando Bagley & Son §Whites: Man 2. Women 1. Maidens 3. Boys 4. Totall 10. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 6.§ §Richard Beale §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Men 2. Totall 2.§ §Anthony Beale §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Robert Bell §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 2. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 6.§ §Arthur Bradley §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 3. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Mary Bright §Blacks: Men 1. Women 2. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 7.§ §John Coles & Son §Whites: Man 2. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 2. Boys 1. Girls 2. Totall 9. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 2. Boys 4. Girls 1. Totall 11.§ §Willi: Coales §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 3. Boys 1. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Benja Cleverlee §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §John Coulson §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Gilbt Colgraves Orphr§ §Mary Conaway Wido §Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Frans Carne & Son §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 6. §Blacks: Freeblacks 5. Men 6. Boys 1. Totall 12.§ §Edwd Crosbys Orphr§ §Grace Coulson Wido §Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 2. Boys 1. Girls 2. Totall 6.§ §Jonatt: Dowdon §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 8. §Blacks: Men 6. Women 3. Boys 3. Girls 1. Totall 13.§ §James Draper §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Boys 2. Girls 4. Totall 10. §Blacks: Men 3. Totall 3.§ §Henry Francis §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 7. Women 4. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 14.§ §Thomas Free §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Boys 1. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 2. Boys 2. Girls 4. Totall 12.§ §Jane ffluekus Orphr§ §James Greentree §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Boys 2. Girls 3. Totall 9. §Blacks: Men 5. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 9.§ §Thoms Greentree §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Richd Gurling §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 1. Girls 3. Totall 9.§ §Carried Over §Whites: Man 21. Women 45. Youths 7. Maidens 26. Boys 46. Totall 200. §Blacks: Freeblacks 9. Men 109. Women 42. Boys 53. Girls 29. Totall 242.§ | A list of families, lands and blacks brought into the secretary's office, continued under the same heads, the whites divided into men, women, youths, maidens, boys, girls and total, and the blacks into free blacks, men, women, boys, girls and total. The figures brought over were 25 white men, 9 maidens, 24 boys, 28 girls and 86 white people in all, with 4 free blacks, 45 black men, 17 black women, 25 black boys, 9 black girls and 100 black people in all. William Penny had no white household entered, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Benjamin Pledgord had 1 white woman and 1 girl, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black boys, totalling 2 black people. John Purling and his sister had 1 maiden, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, 1 black woman and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people. Praise Pledgord had no white household entered, with no black household entered. Thomas Allis, planter, had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 4 boys and 1 girl, totalling 7 white people, with 3 black men, totalling 3 black people. Richard Alexander's children had no household entered. Robert Addes's orphans had no household entered. Bridget Bazett, widow, had 1 white woman, 1 youth, 1 maiden, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 4 black men, 3 black women and 3 black boys, totalling 10 black people. John Bagley senior and his wife had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 1 maiden, 3 boys and 2 girls, totalling 9 white people, with 1 black man, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people. Orlando Bagley and his son had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 3 maidens and 4 boys, totalling 10 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. Richard Beale had 1 white man and 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 2 black men, totalling 2 black people. Anthony Beale had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Robert Bell had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. Arthur Bradley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth and 3 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Mary Bright had no white household entered, with 1 black man, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 7 black people. John Coles and his son had 2 white men, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 2 maidens, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 9 white people, with 4 black men, 2 black women, 4 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 11 black people. William Coales had 1 white man, 3 boys and 1 girl, totalling 5 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Benjamin Cleverlee had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 1 girl, totalling 3 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. John Coulson had 1 white man and 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Gilbert Colgrave's orphans had no household entered. Mary Conaway, widow, had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Francis Carne and her son had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 5 free blacks, 6 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 12 black people. Edward Crosby's orphans had no household entered. Grace Coulson, widow, had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 6 black people. Jonathan Doveton had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 1 maiden and 3 boys, totalling 8 white people, with 6 black men, 3 black women, 3 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 13 black people. James Draper had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 maidens and 2 boys, totalling 10 white people, with 3 black men, totalling 3 black people. Henry Francis had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 1 girl, totalling 3 white people, with 7 black men, 4 black women, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 14 black people. Thomas Free had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 1 maiden and 1 boy, totalling 5 white people, with 4 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 4 black girls, totalling 12 black people. Jane Hawkes's orphans had no household entered. James Greentree had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 maidens, 2 boys and 3 girls, totalling 9 white people, with 5 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 9 black people. Thomas Greentree had 1 white man and 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with no black household entered. Richard Gurling had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 2 boys, totalling 4 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 3 black girls, totalling 9 black people. The figures carried over were 21 white men, 45 white women, 7 youths, 26 maidens, 46 boys and 200 white people in all, with 9 free blacks, 109 black men, 42 black women, 53 black boys, 29 black girls and 242 black people in all. Interpretations The continuation of the register carried forward the running totals from the preceding page, the brought-over and carried-over lines showing the bench accumulating the island's whole population as it worked down the households. The method of subtotalling each page and carrying the figures on gave a continuous count of the inhabitants and their slaves, the final grand total to furnish the yearly reckoning of the island's strength. The entries for orphans and children with no household figures record holders of estates who formed no separate family of their own. The lines for Richard Alexander's children, Robert Addes's orphans and others, entered by name but without persons counted, preserved their place in the property register so their lands and stock could be accounted in the following columns, the bench tracking the estates of minors distinct from the households that managed them. The widows and single women entered as heads of their own households show women holding property and slaves in their own right within the settlement. Bridget Bazett, Frances Carne, Grace Coulson, Mary Conaway and Mary Bright each appear as a head with her own whites and blacks, the widows of deceased planters carrying on holdings and slave labour in their own names, the register recording them among the island's property-holders alongside the men. | |||||
456 | §Black Cattle Acres of Land§ §Brought Over §Black Cattle: Bulls 5. Cows 111. Bullocks 14. Heifers 35. Steers 18. Yearlings 13. Calves 113. Totall 309. §Acres of Land: Free 336½. Hired 250. Totall 586½.§ §William Penny §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Calves 3. Totall 7. §Acres of Land: Free 5. Totall 5.§ §Benjamin Redgord §Black Cattle: Cows 6. Heifers 3. Yearlings 5. Totall 14. §Acres of Land: Free 20. Hired 16. Totall 36.§ §Jno Purling & Sister §Black Cattle: Cows 5. Heifers 1. Calves 4. Totall 10.§ §Praise Redgord §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 3. Calves 3. Totall 9. §Acres of Land: Free 18. Hired 30. Totall 48.§ §Thoms Allis planter §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 4. Calves 3. Totall 10. §2 Childn in England§ §Richd Alexandr Childn §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 7. Heifers 4. Steers 1. Yearlings 3. Calves 6. Totall 22. §the Orphans at Board§ §Robert Addis Orphr §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 17. Heifers 4. Yearlings 3. Calves 15. Totall 40. §Acres of Land: Free 35. Hired 20. Totall 55.§ §Bridgt Bazett Wido §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Heifers 4. Calves 7. Totall 20. §Acres of Land: Free 36. Hired 3. Totall 39.§ §Jno Bagley Senr & Sew &c §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 11. Bullocks 1. Steers 1. Yearlings 10. Calves 10. Totall 34. §Acres of Land: Free 23. Hired 76. Totall 99.§ §Orlando Bagley & Son §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Bullocks 9. Heifers 4. Yearlings 3. Calves 7. Totall 32. §Acres of Land: Free 39½. Hired 6½. Totall 46.§ §Richard Beale §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Yearlings 3. Calves 2. Totall 15. §Acres of Land: Free 29½. Hired 6½. Totall 36.§ §Anthony Beale §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 1. Steers 2. Calves 4. Totall 11. §Acres of Land: Free 20. Hired 30. Totall 50.§ §Robert Bell §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Heifers 4. Steers 1. Calves 4. Totall 13. §Acres of Land: Free 30. Totall 30.§ §Arthur Bradley §Black Cattle: Cows 5. Yearlings 2. Steers 1. Calves 3. Totall 11. §She is Gone for England. §30 foot Ground in ye Valley§ §Mary Bright §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 22. Bullocks 10. Heifers 11. Steers 6. Yearlings 12. Calves 12. Totall 74. §Acres of Land: Free 30. Hired 25. Totall 55.§ §John Coles & Son §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 2. Calves 1. Yearlings 6. Totall . §Acres of Land: Free 15. Hired 5. Totall 20.§ §Willi: Coales §Black Cattle: Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall .§ §Benja Cleverlee §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 5. Heifers 2. Steers 4. Calves 5. Totall 17. §Acres of Land: Free 15. Totall 15.§ §John Coulson §Black Cattle: Cows 6. Bullocks 3. Calves 4. Totall 13.§ §Gilbt Colgraves Orphr §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 0. Calves 2. Totall 4. §Acres of Land: Free 5. Hired 30. Totall 35.§ §Mary Conaway Wido §Black Cattle: Cows 15. Bullocks 7. Heifers 3. Calves 15. Totall 40. §Acres of Land: Hired 20. Totall 20.§ §Frans Carne & Son §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 2. Calves 1. Totall 5.§ §Edwd Crosbys Orphr §Black Cattle: Cows 9. Bullocks 4. Heifers 8. Steers 1. Calves 9. Totall 31. §Acres of Land: Free 25. Hired 5. Totall 30.§ §Grace Coulson Wido §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 15. Bullocks 14. Heifers 4. Steers 14. Calves 16. Totall 63. §Acres of Land: Free 142½. Hired 7. Totall 149½.§ §Jonatt: Dowdon §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Heifers 4. Steers 2. Yearlings 2. Calves 6. Totall 20. §Acres of Land: Free 25. Hired 5. Totall 30.§ §James Draper §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Bullocks 1. Heifers 4. Steers 2. Yearlings 3. Calves 7. Totall 27. §Acres of Land: Free 40. Hired 27. Totall 67. §20 foot Ground in ye Valley§ §Henry Francis §Black Cattle: Cows 8. Bullocks 4. Heifers 4. Steers 3. Calves 5. Totall 24. §Acres of Land: Free 40½. Hired 23¾. Totall 64¼.§ §Thomas Free §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 2. Heifers 1. Steers 1. Yearlings 1. Calves 6. Totall . §she is at Board §20 Acres Cut at 2d place Rout§ §Jane ffluekus Orphr §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 18. Bullocks 3. Heifers 14. Steers 4. Calves 13. Totall 54. §Acres of Land: Free 79. Hired 83. Totall 162.§ §James Greentree §Black Cattle: Cows 7. Heifers 5. Yearlings 7. Calves 19. Totall .§ §Thoms Greentree§ §Richd Gurling §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 18. Bullocks 9. Heifers 4. Yearlings 7. Calves 16. Totall 56. §Acres of Land: Free 38. Hired 11. Totall 49.§ §Carried Over §Black Cattle: Bulls 21. Cows 359. Bullocks 90. Heifers 134. Steers 63. Yearlings 53. Calves 313. Totall 1033. §Acres of Land: Free 1038¼. Hired 679¾. Totall 1718.§ | These columns give the cattle and land for the same households as the preceding name list, in the same order, the black cattle divided into bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings, calves and total, and the acres of land into free, hired and total. The rows run one for one against the names from the brought-over line down to the closing total. The figures brought over were 5 bulls, 111 cows, 14 bullocks, 35 heifers, 18 steers, 13 yearlings and 113 calves, totalling 309 head, with 336½ acres of free land and 250 of hired land, totalling 586½ acres. William Penny had no cattle or land entered. Benjamin Pledgord had 3 cows, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 7 head, with 5 acres of free land, totalling 5 acres. John Purling and his sister had 6 cows, 3 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 14 head, with 20 acres of free land and 16 of hired land, totalling 36 acres. Praise Pledgord had 5 cows, 1 heifer and 4 calves, totalling 10 head. Thomas Allis had 3 cows, 3 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 9 head, with 18 acres of free land and 30 of hired land, totalling 48 acres. Richard Alexander's children had 3 cows, 4 heifers and 3 calves, totalling 10 head, with a margin note that 2 children were in England. Robert Addes's orphans had 1 bull, 7 cows, 4 heifers, 1 steer, 3 yearlings and 6 calves, totalling 22 head, with a margin note that the orphans were aboard. Bridget Bazett had 1 bull, 17 cows, 4 heifers, 3 steers and 15 calves, totalling 40 head, with 35 acres of free land and 20 of hired land, totalling 55 acres. John Bagley senior had 1 bull, 8 cows, 4 heifers and 7 calves, totalling 20 head, with 36 acres of free land and 3 of hired land, totalling 39 acres. Orlando Bagley had 1 bull, 11 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 10 calves, totalling 34 head, with 23 acres of free land and 76 of hired land, totalling 99 acres. Richard Beale had 1 bull, 8 cows, 9 bullocks, 4 heifers, 3 steers and 7 calves, totalling 32 head, with 39½ acres of free land and 6½ of hired land, totalling 46 acres. Anthony Beale had 4 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 3 steers and 2 calves, totalling 15 head, with 29½ acres of free land and 6½ of hired land, totalling 36 acres. Robert Bell had 4 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers and 4 calves, totalling 11 head, with 20 acres of free land and 30 of hired land, totalling 50 acres. Arthur Bradley had 4 cows, 4 bullocks, 1 heifer and 4 calves, totalling 13 head, with 30 acres of free land, totalling 30 acres. Mary Bright had 5 cows, 2 steers, 1 yearling and 3 calves, totalling 11 head, with a margin note that she had gone for England. John Coles had 1 bull, 22 cows, 10 bullocks, 11 heifers, 6 steers, 12 yearlings and 12 calves, totalling 74 head, with 30 acres of free land and 25 of hired land, totalling 55 acres, with a margin note that he held 30 foot of ground in the valley. William Coales had 3 cows, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 6 calves, totalling 6 head, with 15 acres of free land less 5, totalling 20 acres. Benjamin Cleverlee had 1 bullock and 4 calves, totalling head not given. John Coulson had 1 bull, 5 cows, 2 heifers, 4 steers and 5 calves, totalling 17 head, with 15 acres of free land, totalling 15 acres. Mary Conaway had 6 cows, 3 bullocks and 4 calves, totalling 13 head. Francis Carne and her son had 2 cows, 2 calves, totalling 4 head, with 5 acres of free land and 30 of hired land, totalling 35 acres. Edward Crosby's orphans had 15 cows, 7 bullocks, 3 heifers and 15 calves, totalling 40 head, with 20 acres of hired land, totalling 20 acres. Grace Coulson had 2 cows, 2 bullocks and 1 calf, totalling 5 head. Jonathan Doveton had 9 cows, 4 bullocks, 8 heifers, 1 steer and 9 calves, totalling 31 head, with 25 acres of free land less 5, totalling 30 acres. James Draper had 2 bulls, 15 cows, 14 bullocks, 4 heifers, 14 steers and 16 calves, totalling 65 head, with 142¼ acres of free land and 7 of hired land, totalling 149¼ acres. Henry Francis had 1 bull, 9 cows, 4 bullocks, 2 heifers, 2 steers, 2 yearlings and 6 calves, totalling 20 head, with 25 acres of free land less 5, totalling 30 acres, with a margin note of 20 foot of ground in the valley. Thomas Free had 1 bull, 9 cows, 1 bullock, 4 heifers, 2 steers, 3 yearlings and 7 calves, totalling 27 head, with 40 acres of free land and 27 of hired land, totalling 67 acres. Jane Hawkes's orphans had 8 cows, 4 bullocks, 4 heifers, 3 steers and 5 calves, totalling 24 head, with 40½ acres of free land and 23¾ of hired land, totalling 64¼ acres, with a margin note that she was aboard. James Greentree had 1 bull, 2 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 1 calf, totalling 6 head, with a margin note that 20 acres were cut out of the second place rent. Thomas Greentree had 2 bulls, 18 cows, 3 bullocks, 14 heifers, 4 steers and 13 calves, totalling 54 head, with 79 acres of free land and 83 of hired land, totalling 162 acres. Richard Gurling had 7 cows, 5 steers and 7 calves, totalling 19 head. The closing line had 2 bulls, 18 cows, 9 bullocks, 4 heifers, 7 yearlings and 16 calves, totalling 56 head, with 38 acres of free land and 11 of hired land, totalling 49 acres. The figures carried over were 21 bulls, 359 cows, 90 bullocks, 134 heifers, 63 steers, 53 yearlings and 313 calves, totalling 1,033 head, with 1,038¼ acres of free land and 679¾ of hired land, totalling 1,718 acres. Interpretations The cattle and land columns completed the second page of the property return, carrying forward the running totals so the bench accumulated the island's whole stock and acreage household by household. The brought-over and carried-over lines, with the cattle now exceeding a thousand head and the land above 1,700 acres, show the register building toward the grand total of the island's wealth that the yearly account required. The margin notes recording children and orphans in England or aboard ship explain the holdings entered against persons absent from the island. The land and cattle of Richard Alexander's children, Robert Addes's orphans and Jane Hawkes stood to their account though the heirs themselves had gone, the notations preserving the property of minors and departed inhabitants against the standing register so their estates were accounted whoever held them in their absence. The notes of ground cut out of a rent and small strips in the valley record adjustments and irregular parcels within the holdings. The notation against James Greentree that 20 acres were taken out of his second place rent, and the foot-measures in the valley against other holders, preserved the exact extent and rent of each parcel, the same precise accounting of who held what and on what terms that ran through the property survey, so the proprietors' rent and the inhabitants' tenure were fixed without error. | |||||
457 | §Under what heads. Whites &c. Blacks.§ §Brought Over §Whites: Man 21. Women 45. Youths 7. Maidens 26. Boys 46. Girls 55. Totall 200. §Blacks: Freeblacks 9. Men 109. Women 42. Boys 53. Girls 29. Totall 242.§ §Robert Gurling §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 8. §Blacks: Men 2. Boys 2. Totall 5.§ §Mary Harner Wido §Whites: Women 1. Totall 1.§ §Dorothy Hayse Wido §Whites: Women 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Thoms Hodgkinson §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.§ §Jonath: Higham Senr §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Jno Harding Bror & Sister §Whites: Man 2. Maidens 1. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §Samuel Jesey §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 9. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 2. Boys 2. Girls 3. Totall 10.§ §Joshua Johnson §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girls 2. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 3. Girls 2. Totall 10.§ §Sutton Isaack §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Girls 3. Totall 8. §Blacks: Freeblacks 1. Men 1. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 7.§ §Thoms Leech §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 2. Girls 1. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Francis Leech §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1.§ §John Long §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Calves 3. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 7.§ §Stephn Lufkin §Whites: Man 1. Maidens 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Men 1. Totall 1.§ §John Marsh: Estate§ §Walter Morris §Whites: Man 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 1. Totall 2.§ §Eliz:th Marsh & Son &c §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 2. Boys 1. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 3. Totall 9.§ §John Nichols Senr & Boy §Whites: Man 2. Maidens 4. Girls 1. Totall 7. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 5.§ §Edmund Nichols §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Totall 2. §Blacks: Boys 3. Totall 3.§ §Martin Norman §Whites: Man 1. Totall .§ §Ralph Orme §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 3. Girls 1. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Gabriel Powel §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Girls 2. Totall 8. §Blacks: Men 8. Women 2. Boys 2. Girls 4. Totall 16.§ §Samuel Price §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Totall 5.§ §Martha Robinson §Whites: Women 1. Boys 3. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 1. Totall 6.§ §James Ryder §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Girls 2. Totall . §Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 7.§ §Sarath Southen §Whites: Women 2. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Girls 5. Totall 10. §Blacks: Men 3. Boys 1. Totall 4.§ §Nicholas Shreve §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Willm Seale §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 3. Totall 7. §Blacks: Men 3. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 7.§ §Giles Smith §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 2. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 6. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Totall 3.§ §Thoms Swallow §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 3. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 5.§ §Richard Swallow §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 1. Totall 4. §Blacks: Men 1. Girls 1. Totall 2.§ §Mary Swallow &c §Whites: Women 2. Maidens 2. Boys 1. Girls 5. Totall 10. §Blacks: Men 4. Women 3. Boys 6. Girls 1. Totall 14.§ §Charles Stewards Orphr §Whites: Women 1. Youths 2. Calves 3. Totall . §Blacks: Men 4. Women 1. Boys 2. Totall 7.§ §Margt Siches Estate §Whites: Maidens 1. Totall 1. §Blacks: Boys 1. Totall 1.§ §Carried Over §Whites: Man 48. Women 67. Youths 13. Maidens 51. Boys 69. Girls 93. Totall 341. §Blacks: Freeblacks 10. Men 170. Women 62. Boys 90. Girls 54. Totall 386.§ | A list of families, lands and blacks brought into the secretary's office, continued under the same heads, the whites divided into men, women, youths, maidens, boys, girls and total, and the blacks into free blacks, men, women, boys, girls and total. The figures brought over were 21 white men, 45 white women, 7 youths, 26 maidens, 46 boys, 55 girls and 200 white people in all, with 9 free blacks, 109 black men, 42 black women, 53 black boys, 29 black girls and 242 black people in all. Robert Gurling had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 1 maiden, 3 boys and 1 girl, totalling 8 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black boy and 2 black girls, totalling 5 black people. Mary Harper, widow, had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. Dorothy Hayse, widow, had 1 white woman, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Thomas Hodgkinson had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black boy, totalling 1 black person. Jonathan Higham junior had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Harding, his brother and sister, had 2 white men and 1 maiden, totalling 3 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. Samuel Jefsey had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 maidens, 2 boys and 3 girls, totalling 9 white people, with 3 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 10 black people. Joshua Johnson had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden and 2 boys, totalling 6 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 3 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 10 black people. Sutton Isaack had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden, 2 boys and 3 girls, totalling 8 white people, with 1 free black, 1 black man, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 2 black girls, totalling 7 black people. Thomas Leech had 1 white man, 2 maidens and 1 girl, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Francis Leech had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. John Long had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden and 3 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people. Stephen Lufkin had 1 white man, 1 maiden, totalling 2 white people, with 1 black man, totalling 1 black person. John Marsh's estate had no household entered. Walter Morris had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black man and 1 black woman, totalling 2 black people. Elizabeth Marsh and her son had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 maidens and 1 boy, totalling 5 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 3 black girls, totalling 9 black people. John Nichols senior and his boy had 2 white men, 4 boys and 1 girl, totalling 7 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 5 black people. Edmund Nichols had 1 white man and 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 3 black women, totalling 3 black people. Martin Norman had 1 white man, totalling 1 white person, with no black household entered. Ralph Orme had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 boys and 1 girl, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Gabriel Powel had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden, 3 boys and 2 girls, totalling 8 white people, with 8 black men, 2 black women, 2 black boys and 4 black girls, totalling 16 black people. Samuel Price had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 boy and 2 girls, totalling 5 white people, with no black household entered. Martha Robinson had 1 white woman and 3 girls, totalling 4 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 6 black people. James Ryder had 1 white man, 1 white woman, totalling 2 white people, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 1 black boy and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people. Sarah Southen had 2 white women, 1 youth, 1 maiden, 1 boy and 5 girls, totalling 10 white people, with 3 black men and 1 black boy, totalling 4 black people. Nicholas Shreve had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden, totalling 3 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. William Seale had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden and 3 boys, totalling 7 white people, with 3 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 7 black people. Giles Smith had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 2 youths, 1 maiden and 1 boy, totalling 6 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black woman, totalling 3 black people. Thomas Swallow had 1 white man, 1 white woman and 3 maidens, totalling 5 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 5 black people. Richard Swallow had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden and 1 boy, totalling 4 white people, with 1 black man and 1 black girl, totalling 2 black people. Mary Swallow had 2 white women, 2 maidens, 1 boy and 5 girls, totalling 10 white people, with 4 black men, 3 black women, 6 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 14 black people. Charles Steward's orphans had 1 white woman, 2 maidens and 3 girls, totalling head not given, with 4 black men, 1 black woman, 2 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 7 black people. Margaret Sich's estate had 1 boy, totalling 1 white person, with 1 black boy, totalling 1 black person. The figures carried over were 48 white men, 67 white women, 13 youths, 51 maidens, 69 boys, 93 girls and 341 white people in all, with 10 free blacks, 170 black men, 62 black women, 90 black boys, 54 black girls and 386 black people in all. Interpretations The continuation carried the running totals forward to a third page, the brought-over and carried-over lines now standing at 341 whites and 386 blacks as the bench worked through the remaining households. The accumulation of the figures page by page built toward the grand total of the island's population that the yearly register required, the count of free inhabitants and slaves together measuring the settlement's whole strength. The estates entered by name without persons counted record holdings that supported no resident family, the property of the dead or absent kept on the register for its lands and stock. John Marsh's estate, Charles Steward's orphans and Margaret Sich's estate appear as heads with little or no household, their place preserved so the cattle and acreage in the following columns could be accounted, the bench tracking the property of deceased holders distinct from any family living on it. The widows and single women heading households again show women holding land, slaves and stock in their own right. Mary Harper, Dorothy Hayse, Martha Robinson, Sarah Southen and Mary Swallow each appear as a head with her own whites and blacks, the widows and unmarried women carrying on holdings in their own names, the register counting them among the island's property-holders and recording the slaves and family in their charge alongside the men. | |||||
458 | §Black Cattle Acres of Land§ §Brought Over §Black Cattle: Bulls 21. Cows 359. Bullocks 90. Heifers 134. Steers 63. Yearlings 53. Calves 313. Totall 1033. §Acres of Land: Free 1038¼. Hired 679¾. Totall 1718.§ §Robert Gurling §Black Cattle: Cows 5. Yearlings 3. Calves 2. Totall 10. §Acres of Land: Free 20. Hired 6. Totall 26.§ §Mary Harner Wido§ §Dorothy Hayse Wido §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Calves 4. Totall 8. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Hired 15. Totall 25.§ §Thoms Hodgkinson §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Yearlings 1. Calves 1. Totall 5.§ §Jonath: Higham Senr §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 3. Totall 6.§ §Jno Harding Bror & Sister §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 8. Heifers 2. Calves 4. Totall 18. §Acres of Land: Free 17. Hired 12. Totall 29.§ §Samuel Jesey §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Bullocks 3. Heifers 2. Calves 8. Totall 22. §Acres of Land: Free 52. Hired 22½. Totall 74½.§ §Joshua Johnson §Black Cattle: Cows 14. Heifers 3. Steers 3. Yearlings 2. Calves 12. Totall 34. §Acres of Land: Free 94. Hired 33. Totall 127.§ §Sutton Isaack §Black Cattle: Cows 10. Bullocks 2. Yearlings 3. Calves 5. Totall 20. §Acres of Land: Free 24. Hired 5. Totall 29.§ §Thoms Leech §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Calves 2. Totall 1. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Totall 10.§ §Francis Leech §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall 5.§ §John Long §Black Cattle: Cows 5. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Steers 4. Calves 3. Totall 15. §Acres of Land: Free 21. Hired 5. Totall 26.§ §Stephn Lufkin §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 2. Calves 1. Totall 5. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Hired 1. Totall 11.§ §John Marsh: Estate §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Bullocks 2. Heifers 1. Calves 2. Totall 8.§ §Walter Morris §Black Cattle: Cows 2. Heifers 1. Calves 1. Totall 4. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Hired 1½. Totall 11½.§ §Eliz:th Marsh & Son &c §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 14. Bullocks 2. Heifers 2. Steers 2. Calves 11. Totall 32. §Acres of Land: Free 40. Hired 9. Totall 49.§ §John Nichols Senr & Boy §Black Cattle: Cows 9. Heifers 4. Calves 5. Totall 18. §Acres of Land: Free 40. Totall 40.§ §Edmund Nichols §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Bullocks 3. Heifers 1. Calves 3. Totall 10. §Acres of Land: Free 12. Hired 21. Totall 33.§ §Martin Norman§ §Ralph Orme §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 3. Totall 6. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Hired 10. Totall 20.§ §Gabriel Powel §Black Cattle: Bulls 6. Cows 65. Bullocks 24. Heifers 9. Calves 72. Totall 176. §Acres of Land: Free 205½. Hired 40. Totall 245½.§ §Samuel Price §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 9. Bullocks 4. Heifers 6. Yearlings 5. Calves 6. Totall 31. §Acres of Land: Free 10. Hired 25. Totall 35.§ §Martha Robinson §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 11. Bullocks 7. Heifers 3. Steers 1. Calves 9. Totall 33. §Acres of Land: Free 31. Hired 2½. Totall 33½.§ §James Ryder §Black Cattle: Cows 7. Yearlings 3. Calves 7. Totall 17. §Acres of Land: Free 29. Totall 29.§ §Sarath Southen§ §Nicholas Shreve §Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 8. Heifers 2. Steers 4. Calves 8. Totall 23. §Acres of Land: Free 40. Totall 40.§ §Willm Seale §Black Cattle: Cows 3. Heifers 4. Steers 1. Calves 3. Totall 11.§ §Giles Smith §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 9. Bullocks 4. Heifers 5. Steers 1. Calves 9. Totall 30. §Acres of Land: Free 40. Hired 31. Totall 71.§ §Thoms Swallow §Black Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 1. Heifers 2. Steers 1. Calves 4. Totall 12.§ §Richard Swallow §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 14. Bullocks 7. Heifers 8. Steers 4. Calves 12. Totall 47. §Acres of Land: Free 39. Hired 36. Totall 75.§ §Mary Swallow &c §Black Cattle: Bulls 2. Cows 21. Bullocks 16. Heifers 13. Steers 2. Calves 25. Totall 79. §Acres of Land: Free 20½. Hired 40. Totall 60½.§ §Charles Stewards Orphr §Black Cattle: Cows 1. Calves 1. Totall 2. §Acres of Land: Free 70. Hired 8. Totall 78.§ §Margt Siches Estate§ §Carried Over §Black Cattle: Bulls 39. Cows 606. Bullocks 176. Heifers 206. Steers 86. Yearlings 71. Calves 510. Totall 1724. §Acres of Land: Free 1893¾. Hired 1003¾. Totall 2897½.§ | These columns give the cattle and land for the same households as the preceding name list, in the same order, the black cattle divided into bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings, calves and total, and the acres of land into free, hired and total. The rows run one for one against the names from the brought-over line down to the closing total. The figures brought over were 21 bulls, 359 cows, 90 bullocks, 134 heifers, 63 steers, 53 yearlings and 313 calves, totalling 1,033 head, with 1,038¼ acres of free land and 679¾ of hired land, totalling 1,718 acres. Robert Gurling had 5 cows, 3 steers and 2 calves, totalling 10 head, with 20 acres of free land and 6 of hired land, totalling 26 acres. Mary Harper had 4 bullocks and 4 calves, totalling 8 head, with 10 acres of free land and 15 of hired land, totalling 25 acres. Dorothy Hayse had 2 cows, 1 bullock, 1 yearling and 1 calf, totalling 5 head. Thomas Hodgkinson had 3 cows and 3 calves, totalling 6 head. Jonathan Higham junior had 4 cows, 8 bullocks, 2 heifers and 4 calves, totalling 18 head, with 17 acres of free land and 12 of hired land, totalling 29 acres. John Harding, his brother and sister, had 1 bull, 8 cows, 3 bullocks, 2 heifers and 8 calves, totalling 22 head, with 52 acres of free land and 22½ of hired land, totalling 74½ acres. Samuel Jefsey had 14 cows, 3 heifers, 3 steers, 2 yearlings and 12 calves, totalling 34 head, with 94 acres of free land and 33 of hired land, totalling 127 acres. Joshua Johnson had 10 cows, 2 bullocks, 3 steers and 5 calves, totalling 20 head, with 24 acres of free land and 5 of hired land, totalling 29 acres. Sutton Isaack had 2 cows and 2 calves, totalling 1 head, with 10 acres of free land, totalling 10 acres. Thomas Leech had 3 cows, 1 heifer and 1 calf, totalling 5 head. Francis Leech had 5 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 4 steers and 3 calves, totalling 15 head, with 21 acres of free land and 5 of hired land, totalling 26 acres. John Long had 2 cows, 2 heifers and 1 calf, totalling 5 head, with 10 acres of free land and 1 of hired land, totalling 11 acres. Stephen Lufkin had 2 cows, 2 bullocks, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 2 calves, totalling 8 head. John Marsh's estate had 2 cows, 1 heifer, 1 steer and 1 calf, totalling 4 head, with 10 acres of free land and 1½ of hired land, totalling 11½ acres. Walter Morris had 1 bull, 14 cows, 2 bullocks, 2 heifers, 2 steers and 11 calves, totalling 32 head, with 40 acres of free land and 9 of hired land, totalling 49 acres. Elizabeth Marsh and her son had 9 cows, 4 heifers and 5 calves, totalling 18 head, with 40 acres of free land, totalling 40 acres. John Nichols senior had 3 cows, 3 bullocks, 1 heifer and 3 calves, totalling 10 head, with 12 acres of free land and 21 of hired land, totalling 33 acres. Edmund Nichols had no cattle or land entered. Martin Norman had 3 cows and 3 calves, totalling 6 head, with 10 acres of free land and 10 of hired land, totalling 20 acres. The next subtotal stood at 6 bulls, 65 cows, 24 bullocks, 9 heifers and 72 calves, totalling 176 head, with 205½ acres of free land and 40 of hired land, totalling 245½ acres. Ralph Orme had 1 bull, 9 cows, 4 bullocks, 6 heifers, 5 steers and 6 calves, totalling 31 head, with 10 acres of free land and 25 of hired land, totalling 35 acres. Gabriel Powel had 2 bulls, 11 cows, 7 bullocks, 3 heifers, 1 steer and 9 calves, totalling 33 head, with 31 acres of free land and 2½ of hired land, totalling 33½ acres. Samuel Price had 7 cows, 3 steers and 7 calves, totalling 17 head, with 29 acres of free land, totalling 29 acres. Martha Robinson had no cattle or land entered. James Ryder had 1 bull, 8 cows, 2 heifers, 4 steers and 8 calves, totalling 23 head, with 40 acres of free land, totalling 40 acres. Sarah Southen had 3 cows, 4 heifers, 1 steer and 3 calves, totalling 11 head. Nicholas Shreve had 2 bulls, 9 cows, 4 bullocks, 5 heifers, 1 steer and 9 calves, totalling 30 head, with 40 acres of free land and 31 of hired land, totalling 71 acres. William Seale had 4 cows, 1 bullock, 2 heifers, 1 steer and 4 calves, totalling 12 head. Giles Smith had 2 bulls, 14 cows, 7 bullocks, 8 heifers, 4 steers and 12 calves, totalling 47 head, with 39 acres of free land and 36 of hired land, totalling 75 acres. Thomas Swallow had 2 bulls, 21 cows, 16 bullocks, 13 heifers, 2 steers and 25 calves, totalling 79 head, with 20½ acres of free land and 40 of hired land, totalling 60½ acres. Richard Swallow had 1 cow and 1 calf, totalling 2 head, with 70 acres of free land and 8 of hired land, totalling 78 acres. The figures carried over were 39 bulls, 606 cows, 176 bullocks, 206 heifers, 86 steers, 71 yearlings and 510 calves, totalling 1,724 head, with 1,803¼ acres of free land and 289¼ of hired land, totalling 2,092¼ acres. Interpretations The cattle and land columns completed the third page of the property return, the running totals now standing above 1,700 head of cattle and 2,000 acres of land as the bench worked toward the grand total. The subtotal struck partway down the page, alongside the brought-over and carried-over lines, shows the clerk reckoning the figures in stages, the accumulating count measuring the whole stock and acreage of the island for the yearly account. The substantial holdings of the leading planters stand out against the modest entries of the smaller men. Thomas Swallow's seventy-nine head and Giles Smith's forty-seven, with their large acreages, set beside the few beasts and small parcels of cottagers, record the wide spread of wealth among the inhabitants, the register capturing both the great holders whose cattle ran into the dozens and the poor whose stock amounted to a beast or two. The estates entered without cattle or land record holders who had no stock to account that year, the property lines kept for completeness. Martha Robinson and Edmund Nichols appear with their households counted in the names but no beasts or acres entered against them, the register noting the absence of stock as exactly as its presence, so the yearly reckoning of the island's wealth omitted no holder whether or not he held cattle or ground. | |||||
459 | §Under what heads. Whites &c. Blacks.§ §Brought Over §Whites: Men 48. Women 67. Youths 13. Maidens 51. Boys 69. Girls 93. Totall 541. §Blacks: Freeblacks 10. Men 170. Women 62. Boys 90. Girls 54. Totall 386.§ §Margt Tovey Wido §Whites: Women 1. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 5. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 5. Boys 1. Girls 2. Totall 9.§ §John Twaites §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 3. Girls 2. Totall 7. §Blacks: Men 2. Boys 1. Totall 3.§ §James Vesey §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Youths 1. Maidens 3. Boys 1. Girls 1. Totall 8. §Blacks: Men 2. Women 1. Boys 5. Girls 1. Totall 9.§ §Ripin Wills §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Maidens 1. Boys 2. Girls 2. Totall 3. §Blacks: Men 1. Women 2. Boys 1. Girls 4. Totall 8.§ §Simon Whaley §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 3. Girls 1. Totall 6. §Blacks: Women 1. Totall 1.§ §Frans Wrangham §Whites: Man 1. Women 1. Boys 1. Girls 3. Totall 6. §Blacks: Freeblacks 2. Men 4. Women 1. Boys 5. Girls 1. Totall 13.§ §Totalls §Whites: Men 53. Women 73. Youths 14. Maidens 55. Boys 79. Girls 102. Totall 576. §Blacks: Freeblacks 14. Men 186. Women 66. Boys 106. Girls 52. Totall 429.§ Margin Notes: §besides Garrison§ | A list of families, lands and blacks brought into the secretary's office, continued under the same heads, the whites divided into men, women, youths, maidens, boys, girls and total, and the blacks into free blacks, men, women, boys, girls and total. The figures brought over were 48 white men, 67 white women, 13 youths, 51 maidens, 69 boys, 93 girls and 341 white people in all, with 10 free blacks, 170 black men, 62 black women, 90 black boys, 54 black girls and 386 black people in all. Margaret Tovey, widow, had 1 white woman, 2 boys and 2 girls, totalling 5 white people, with 1 free black, 5 black men, 1 black woman and 2 black boys, totalling 9 black people. John Twaites had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 boys and 2 girls, totalling 7 white people, with 2 black men and 1 black girl, totalling 3 black people. James Vesey had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 youth, 3 maidens, 1 boy and 1 girl, totalling 8 white people, with 2 black men, 1 black woman, 5 black boys and 1 black girl, totalling 9 black people. Ripin Wills had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 maiden, 2 boys and 3 girls, totalling head not given, with 1 black man, 2 black women, 1 black boy and 4 black girls, totalling 8 black people. Simon Whaley had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 3 boys and 1 girl, totalling 6 white people, with 1 black woman, totalling 1 black person. Francis Wrangham had 1 white man, 1 white woman, 1 boy and 3 girls, totalling 6 white people, with 2 free blacks, 4 black men, 1 black woman and 5 black boys, totalling 13 black people. The whole totals stood at 53 white men, 73 white women, 14 youths, 55 maidens, 79 boys, 102 girls and 576 white people in all, with 14 free blacks, 186 black men, 66 black women, 106 black boys, 52 black girls and 429 black people in all. A note recorded that these totals were besides the garrison. Interpretations The closing line completed the annual register with the grand totals of the island's settled population, 576 whites and 429 blacks held in households across the inhabitants. The accumulation through the successive pages, each subtotal carried forward, reached the final reckoning of the families, the bench now holding a complete count of the free people and slaves on which the church rate, the labour levy and the report home all depended. The note that the totals were besides the garrison marks the line between the civil population counted in the register and the soldiers maintained separately by the Company. The garrison formed a distinct body on the establishment, not entered among the households of the inhabitants, the distinction reflecting the two parts of the island's people, the settled planters and their families on one side and the military force on the other, each accounted by its own reckoning. The presence of free blacks in fourteen households across the register records a small free population of colour distributed among the planter families. Margaret Tovey and Francis Wrangham, like the councillors earlier in the list, held free blacks distinguished in the count from the slaves, the freed people forming a recognised class within the settlement whose standing the yearly register tracked apart from the enslaved majority counted alongside them. | |||||
460 | Black Cattle. Acres of Land. Bulls. Cows. Bullocks. Heifers. Steers. Yearlings. Calves. Totall. Acres. Free. Acres Hired. Totall. Brought Over Black Cattle: Bulls 39. Cows 606. Bullocks 176. Heifers 206. Steers 86. Yearlings 71. Calves 540. Totall 1724. Acres of Land: Acres [1894¼]. Free. Acres Hired 1003¼. Totall 2896½. Marg: t Torrey Wd: Black Cattle: Cows 6. Heifers 2. Yearlings 5. Calves 2. Totall 15. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 36. Totall 36. John Twrities Black Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 3. Totall 6. Acres of Land: Acres Hired 12. Totall 12. belongs to Welch Child:n James Vesey Black Cattle: Cows 14. Bullocks 8. Yearlings 13. Calves 9. Totall 44. Acres of Land: Acres 20. Acres Hired 4. Totall 24. Ripin Wills Black Cattle: Cows 4. Bullocks 1. Heifers 1. Calves 4. Totall 10. Acres of Land: Acres 40. Totall 40. Simon Whaley Black Cattle: Cows 3. Calves 3. Totall 6. Acres of Land: Acres 13. Acres Hired 10. Totall 23. Fran: Wrangham Black Cattle: Bulls 1. Cows 20. Bullocks 5. Heifers 4. Steers 7. Yearlings 5. Calves 16. Totall 58. Acres of Land: Acres 75. Acres Hired 13. Totall 88. = 40. 656. 190. 213. 93. 94. 577. 1863. 204¼. 107[6]¼. 3119½. Ed [Sthn][ill] Tho: o Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: 102 36 - have no land 66 | [Census table continued, neat cattle and acres of land for the same households in the same order] The cattle division ran by bulls, cows, bullocks, heifers, steers, yearlings and calves to a total. The land division ran by acres free and acres hired to a total. The brought-over line carried forward 39 bulls, 606 cows, 176 bullocks, 206 heifers, 86 steers, 71 yearlings and 540 calves, totalling 1,724 head of cattle, with 1,897¼ acres free and 1,003¼ acres hired, totalling 2,896½ acres. Marcy Tovey, widow, held no bull, 6 cows, no bullock, 2 heifers, no steer, 5 yearlings and 2 calves, totalling 15 head, with no free acres and 36 acres hired, totalling 36 acres. John Twaites held no bull, 3 cows and otherwise nothing across the cattle columns save 3 calves, totalling 6 head, with no free acres and 12 acres hired, totalling 12 acres. James Vesey held no bull, 14 cows, 8 bullocks, no heifer, no steer, 13 yearlings and 9 calves, totalling 44 head, with 20 acres free and 4 acres hired, totalling 24 acres. A note against this line recorded that the cattle belonged to Walter Chilton. Rijin Wills held no bull, 4 cows, 1 bullock, 1 heifer, no steer, no yearling and 4 calves, totalling 10 head, with 40 acres free and no hired acres, totalling 40 acres. Simon Whaley held no bull, 3 cows and otherwise nothing save 3 calves, totalling 6 head, with 13 acres free and 10 acres hired, totalling 23 acres. Francis Wrangham held 1 bull, 20 cows, 5 bullocks, 4 heifers, 7 steers, 5 yearlings and 16 calves, totalling 58 head, with 75 acres free and 13 acres hired, totalling 88 acres. The page totals closed at 40 bulls, 656 cows, 190 bullocks, 213 heifers, 93 steers, 94 yearlings and 577 calves, totalling 1,863 head of cattle, with 2,041¼ acres free and 1,078¼ acres hired, totalling 3,119½ acres. The register was attested by Edward Johnson as Governor, with the signatures of John Alexander and John Goodwin. A side computation set 102 over 36, subtracted to leave 66, against a note reading have [...] land. Interpretations The land division separated freehold acres from hired acres, which marked the two distinct tenures by which inhabitants held ground. Free acres were held in fee, owing nothing further to the Company, while hired acres were leased and carried a continuing rent. The council tracked the split because the Company's revenue from land and its leverage over settlers both depended on how much ground remained in its gift rather than alienated outright. The note attaching James Vesey's cattle to Walter Chilton separated possession from ownership in the count. Recording stock under the holder while naming the true owner let the register show where animals were grazed and tended without crediting them to a man who did not own them. This mattered for any later question of debt, inheritance or the Company's claim on an estate. The attestation by Governor Johnson with John Alexander and John Goodwin gave the register its authority as the official annual account. Alexander had carried the chief burden of the secretary's office and certified the families, land and cattle register for 1718 as a true list, and his signature here continued that role under the new administration that began on 13 June 1719. The brought-over figures and the closing totals confirm that this page was the last of the sequence, since the foot of the column yields the island's whole reckoning of cattle and acres in a single line. The carry-forward mechanism let the clerk accumulate the count household by household across the register and resolve it into one grand total at the end. | |||||
461 | Island S. Helena July At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 19 day of July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq Gov: Tho: Alexander & Pres: Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & approv'd of Upon the Examination of Hanniball the black Man belonging to Rich. Beale and Clorie the Black Man belonging to John Long. They Confessed that they had at Sundry times broke into the House of Gabriel Poirel in James valley and Stole from thence severall Pieces of blue Cloth & severall Peices of Dungare and that they had Disposed of and given the Greatest Part thereof to the severall Blacks Named in the said Examination who were Summoned to their Masters to attend here this day in Order to a further Examination. Alexander McTrees black being Examined Says That Hanniball gave him half a Peice of blue and told him at the same time he had it out of a Ship. Robin McToveys black being Examined Says Hanniball gave him half a peice of blue & making some Scruple before he would receive it He told him he had it of Alexander McTrees black who said he had it out of the last Dutch Ship, and therefore need not fear coming into any trouble about it. then He Margin Notes: Robbery of Hanniball the black Clorie. receivers of Stoln goods. Attending to their Masters. Was Exam: Mr Trees blk Alexander. Robin McToveys | [Margin: Robbery of Hannibal and Cloice] [Island of St Helena, July] At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. The council took up the examination of Hannibal, the black man belonging to Richard Beale, and Cloice, the black man belonging to John Long. Both confessed that they had broken into Gabriel Powell's house in James Valley on several occasions and had stolen a number of pieces of blue cloth and dungaree. They further admitted that they had passed on most of what they took, and had given the larger share to the various slaves named in their earlier examination. Those slaves had been summoned to appear before the council on this day, their masters required to bring them in for further questioning. [Margin: receivers of stolen goods attending with their owners] [Margin: Were examined - Mr Free's black and Alexander] Alexander, the slave belonging to Mr Free, was examined first. He stated that Hannibal had given him half a piece of blue cloth, telling him at the time that he had come by it aboard a ship. [Margin: Robin Mr Tovey] Robin, the slave belonging to Mrs Tovey, was examined next. He said that Hannibal had given him half a piece of blue cloth, and that he had hesitated before taking it. Hannibal reassured him that he had the cloth from Alexander, Mr Free's slave, who had said in turn that it came off the last Dutch ship. On that account Hannibal told him he had no cause to fear any trouble for receiving it. Interpretations The council was tracing a chain of receivers downward from two thieves to the wider slave population, which is why the masters were ordered to produce their slaves on the appointed day. The earlier examination of Hannibal and Cloice on 28 June 1720 had named the recipients of the stolen cloth, and this sitting tested each name in turn. The procedure shows the bench treating the theft not as an isolated act but as a distribution network reaching across several households. The cover story passed along with the cloth reveals how stolen goods were laundered through a plausible origin. Hannibal told each receiver the cloth had come off a ship, and the claim that it came from the last Dutch ship gave it an innocent provenance that would excuse possession. A maritime source was the natural alibi on an island where ships routinely traded cloth, so a receiver could plead honest purchase rather than knowing receipt. Dungaree was a coarse, cheap Indian cotton cloth, imported in quantity through the East India trade and used for slaves' and labourers' clothing. Blue cloth of the same low grade served the same purpose, which is why both were stocked in Gabriel Powell's house and why they were worth stealing and trading among the island's slaves. The goods were portable, divisible into half-pieces and readily absorbed into ordinary wear, making them ideal plunder. The requirement that each owner bring his slave before the council bound master and property together in the legal process. A slave could not answer for himself in his own right, so the master's attendance secured both the appearance and the accountability. This reflects the administration's reliance on the owner as the responsible party for any slave summoned to give evidence. | |||||
462 | He agreed to give him an Old Coat for that half Peice. Jack Cook one of Mr Toveys Blacks Sayes that Mr Longs Clorie did give him as much blew Cloth as could make two Shirts for which he gave him a pair of Red Striped Gingham Breeches not knowing any thing of his Stealing it. Toby Stewards Orphans black Sayes that Hanniball gave him half a Peice of blew which he Sayd he had of Mr Trees Clorie who told him he had it of Some Dutch man Mr Francis's Great George Sayes he never recev'd any blew Cloth of Hanniball nor do's he know any thing of any Cloth being given or Sold to any body Else Hanniball then Answer'd the blew was not Sold to him but to his wife Finney and that She gave him a Handkerchief in part of Payment. Antonly Mr Longs black Sayes he had no more then half a Peice of blew of Clorie nor do's he know any thing of the things being Stole, and that they have Accused him wrongfully. Mingo Mr Toveys black Says he had half a Peice of blew Cloth of Mr Longs Clorie for Some Tobacco he Sold him Margin Notes: And Mr Toveys blk Toveys Bls Toby a Blk of Stewards Orph: Mr Francis's Grt George Antonly a Noth Blk Mr Long Mingo Mr Toveys Blk | [1720] The receiver agreed to give Hannibal an old coat in exchange for his half-piece of cloth. [Margin: Jack Cook, Mr Tovey's black] Jack Cook, one of Mrs Tovey's slaves, stated that Cloice, John Long's slave, had given him enough blue cloth to make two shirts. In return he gave Cloice a pair of old striped gingham breeches. He claimed to have known nothing about the cloth being stolen. [Margin: Toby, black of Stewards' orphans] Toby, the slave belonging to Steward's orphans, stated that Hannibal had given him half a piece of blue cloth. Hannibal told him he had it from Alexander, Mr Free's slave, who in turn had said he came by it from some Dutchman. [Margin: Mr Francis's black, George] George, Mr Francis's slave, called Great George, stated that he had never received any blue cloth from Hannibal. He knew nothing of any cloth being given or sold to anyone else. Hannibal then answered that the cloth had not been sold to Great George himself, but to George's wife Jenny, and that she had given him a handkerchief as part payment. [Margin: Antony, John Long's black] Antony, John Long's slave, stated that he had received no more than half a piece of cloth from Cloice. He knew nothing of the goods being stolen, and maintained that he had been wrongly accused. [Margin: Mingo, Mr Vesey's black] Mingo, Mr Vesey's slave, stated that he had bought half a piece of blue cloth from Cloice, John Long's slave, paying for it with some tobacco. Interpretations The receivers' defences fell into a consistent pattern of admitting the exchange while denying knowledge of theft. Each man set out what he had given for the cloth, a coat, breeches, a handkerchief, tobacco, framing the transaction as ordinary barter rather than the handling of stolen goods. The repetition shows the slaves understood that the council's interest lay in guilty knowledge, so each sought to establish that he had dealt in good faith. The contradiction between Great George and Hannibal exposed the limit of a flat denial. Great George denied receiving anything, but Hannibal at once redirected the sale to George's wife Jenny, naming a handkerchief given in part payment. This let the council test one account against another in real time, the cross-examination drawing out a transaction the receiver had tried to conceal entirely. The barter economy among the island's slaves operated through cloth, clothing, tobacco and small goods rather than coin. The stolen blue cloth and dungaree moved through this network in exchange for old garments and tobacco, which functioned as the medium of payment between slaves who held no money. The case incidentally documents how the slave population conducted its own internal trade outside the cash dealings of their masters. The provenance story shifted as it passed down the chain, each teller attaching the cloth to a more distant source. Hannibal cited Alexander, Alexander cited the last Dutch ship, and Toby received the same explanation at second hand through a Dutchman. The lengthening chain of attribution served to push the origin of the goods further from any receiver, so that no one in possession need answer for the original theft. | |||||
463 | July To prevent Blacks trading & trafficking with each other So frequently, and for the aforesaid recieving Stolen Goods. Ordered That each of them who Confessed to have received any part thereof do Immediately recieve 60 Lashes each on their Naked Bodys at the Flaggstaff and then discharged this being the first offence. And that Finney Mr Francis's Black wench Frank Mr Coulsons Black & Jack Mr Ryders black be Sumoned against next Consultation day they having been Accused by Hanniball since in Prison of recieving more of the Stolen Goods. William Beale present Surgeon of the Garrison made Complaint against Mary Swallow Widdow for denying to pay him his Just demands. Who being Sumoned and now Present Says that Mr Beale had Demanded some money of her which She knows nothing of Viz: thirteen Shillings for and on Acco: of Philip Slaughter and Forty two Shillings more for one George Brinor dec: which if She can prove to be a due debt She is willing to Pay it and what Else of his Bill So farr as is Reasonable Margin Notes: to prevent Blacks Trading their Punishment More Blacks to attend W.m Beale Complt agt Mary Swallow Wid: denying a just debt. Her reply | [July] [Margin: to prevent blacks trading] The council moved to stop the island's slaves trading with one another so freely, and to put down the receiving of stolen goods set out above. [Margin: their punishment] The council ordered that every slave who had confessed to receiving any part of the stolen cloth should at once be given 60 lashes on the bare back at the flagstaff, and then discharged, this being a first offence. [Margin: more blacks to attend] The council further ordered that Jenny, Mr Francis's black woman, Frank, Mr Coulson's slave, and Jack, Mr Ryder's slave, be summoned to appear at the next consultation. Hannibal had accused all three, since his imprisonment, of receiving more of the stolen goods. [Margin: William Beale's complaint against Mary Swallow, widow] William Beale, present surgeon of the garrison, complained against the widow Mary Swallow for refusing to pay what he was owed. She was summoned and now appeared, stating that Beale had demanded money of her that she knew nothing about. The sum was 13s 0d claimed for and on account of Philip Slaughter, and a further 42s 0d for one George Brinor, deceased. [Margin: denying a just debt, her reply] She declared that if Beale could prove the money to be truly owed, she was willing to pay it, together with whatever else of his account was reasonable. Interpretations The flogging of every confessed receiver, set against the lenience of a discharge for a first offence, shows the council using exemplary corporal punishment to break the trading network rather than to punish theft as such. The penalty fell on the receivers as a class, all at once and in public at the flagstaff, which made the sentence a deterrent display aimed at the whole slave population. The trade itself, not the value taken, was the target the bench meant to suppress. The summoning of three further slaves on Hannibal's word continued the downward tracing of receivers begun on 28 June 1720. A confessed thief's accusations were being used to widen the net from his cell, each named slave drawn in for the next sitting. The method let the council pursue the distribution chain through the testimony of the very men it had already condemned. The two sums Beale claimed against the widow Swallow were debts owed to him as garrison surgeon for medical attendance, charged on account of two other men. The 13s 0d for Philip Slaughter and the 42s 0d for the deceased George Brinor were Beale's fees, pursued against Swallow as the party he held answerable. The case shows the surgeon recovering professional charges through the council as a small-debts forum. The widow's reply turned the dispute onto the question of proof rather than liability. She did not refuse the debt outright but made payment conditional on Beale establishing that the money was genuinely due. This shifted the burden back onto the creditor to substantiate his account, a common posture before the council where a claimed debt rested on the creditor's books alone. Speculations The decision to flog the receivers together and discharge them as first offenders suggests a calculated balance between deterrence and the preservation of labour. Each slave was a working asset to his master, so a heavier penalty or prolonged confinement would have cost the owners directly. Public lashing inflicted a visible, immediate punishment while returning every man to his holding at once, managing the conflict between the council's need to suppress the trade and the island's dependence on slave labour. The choice to pursue Beale's claim against the widow Swallow, rather than against the men for whom the charges were incurred, points to a deliberate targeting of the recoverable party. Philip Slaughter's whereabouts and George Brinor's death left Swallow as the person within reach who could be made to answer. Routing the debt through her reflects the practical logic of recovery where the original debtors were absent or deceased, the creditor fixing on the estate or person most able to satisfy the bill. | |||||
464 | Mr Beale made Oath that her Husband Swallow form hine before his death did promise to pay him the Sums of Money aforesaid on Acco: of those two Named Persons, Upon which he discharged them in his Book. After further debates on both Sides. Ordered That Mrs Swallow pay Mr Beale four pounds ten Shillings instead of Six pounds he has Charged, And the rest of his Bill to be Allowed of upon his making oath to the truth thereof. According to an Advertisement Issued out Severall Persons attended this day for the Transferring Bills for the last Quarter. Ed Johnson Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Book of Swm After de- bate payment Ord:d Bills transferr'd | [1720] [Margin: Beale sworn] William Beale made oath that the widow Swallow's late husband had, some time before his death, promised to pay him the sums set out above on account of the two men named. On the strength of that promise Beale had discharged both debts in his own book. [Margin: after debated, payment ordered] After further argument on both sides, the council ordered that the widow Swallow pay Beale £4 10s 0d in place of the £6 0s 0d he had charged. The remainder of his bill was to be allowed on his swearing to its truth. [Margin: bills transferred] Following an advertisement issued earlier, several inhabitants attended on this day to transfer their bills for the last quarter. The record was signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Beale's oath converted a disputed claim into an enforceable debt by supplying the proof the widow had demanded. Her earlier answer made payment conditional on the debt being shown genuinely due, and Beale's sworn account of her husband's promise met that condition. The council treated the creditor's oath, backed by his own book entry, as sufficient evidence where no written acknowledgement from the debtor survived. The reduction from £6 0s 0d to £4 10s 0d shows the council acting as an arbiter rather than a mere enforcer of the sum claimed. The bench did not simply uphold or reject the bill but fixed a middle figure after hearing both sides, allowing the balance only on a further oath to its truth. This reflects the discretionary equity the council exercised in small-debt matters, adjusting the claim to what it judged reasonable. The transferring of bills for the last quarter was a routine settlement of accounts among the inhabitants, arranged in advance by public advertisement. Bills drawn on the Company or between individuals were assigned from one party to another on the appointed day, the council providing the occasion and the record. The mechanism let debts and credits be cleared collectively at the quarter's end rather than singly. | |||||
465 | Island S. Helena July At a Consultation Continued on Wednesday the 20 day of July 1720 At Union Castle in James Valley for the Trans= ferring of what Bills could not be Enterd Yesterday. All the Council Present John Bagley Jun: having been Employed as Carpenter in the Hon Comp: works for Some time Past and behaving himself Worthy of Some Consider= ation We have thought fit for his further Encour= agement to advance his Present Wages of three Shillings & Six pence p day to four Shillings and to Commence from quarter day, being the 25 of June last, for which he was very thankfull & promis'd to continuing behaving himself as to deserve the Advance We had granted him Ed Johnson Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Jno: Bagley Carpent: Allow= d/ p day | [Island of St Helena, July] At a consultation continued on Wednesday 20 July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, to transfer the bills that could not be entered the day before. The whole council was present. [Margin: John Bagley, payment advanced 4s 0d per day] John Bagley junior had been employed as a carpenter in the Company's works for some time, and had conducted himself in a way that earned some reward. Governor Johnson and the council resolved, as further encouragement, to raise his current wages from 3s 6d to 4s 0d per day. The increase was to take effect from the previous quarter day, 25 June. Bagley was very grateful and promised to carry on in a manner that would justify the rise granted to him. The record was attested by Governor Johnson and signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The wage rise rewarded a skilled tradesman the Company needed to retain on a remote island where carpenters were scarce. Bagley was one of the few men capable of the building and repair the settlement depended on, so a modest increase of sixpence a day served to keep him diligent and in service. The council framed the rise explicitly as encouragement, treating pay as a tool to secure continued good conduct rather than a fixed rate. Backdating the increase to the quarter day of 25 June 1720 tied the new wage to the Company's accounting calendar. Wages and accounts were reckoned by quarter, so setting the rise from Midsummer day let the change fall cleanly at the start of an accounting period rather than mid-quarter. This kept the pay books orderly and the adjustment simple to enter. John Bagley junior, carpenter, had earlier sought land of his own. At the consultation of 1 September 1719 he renewed a petition for 20 acres of waste at the Graves in Powell's Valley, pleading that he was a strong man without land, and the council deferred the matter for want of a completed survey. The present reward in wages came to a man still landless, the Company valuing his trade while his bid to become a settled planter remained unsettled. | |||||
466 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 26 day of July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Jno: Alexander & Pres: Jno: Goodwin of Court The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of The following Blacks were Sumoned to attend here this day in Order to their Examination they having been Accused by Hanniball Rich: Beals black of Re= ceiving Some of the Goods Stolen from Mr Powelle. Mr Coulsons Frank being Accused of receiving two Pieces of blew Cloth. Denys that ever he had any blew or any thing Else of the Said Hanniball Mr Ryders Jack being Exam: Sayes that he had a peice of blew Cloth of the Said Hanniball in Gov: Bouchiers time, but did not know or hear any thing of his Steal= ing it. Ordered That the Said Frank be whipt with 60 Lashes at the Flagstaff Imediately. That Mr Ryders Jack be Acquited it being So many Years Since he received the blue & Hanniball being at the Same time Mr Powells black it was therefore only a breach of trust in him. Margin Notes: Blacks Sumoned by Hanniball Appeare Mr Coulsons Frank Mr Ryders Jack Frank Punished & Jack Ac= quited | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 July 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: blacks accused by Hannibal appeared] The council summoned the following slaves to appear on this day for examination. Hannibal, Richard Beale's slave, had accused each of them of receiving some of the goods stolen from Gabriel Powell. [Margin: Mr Coulson's Frank] Frank, Mr Coulson's slave, was accused of receiving two pieces of blue cloth. He denied ever having any cloth or anything else from Hannibal. [Margin: Mr Ryder's Jack] Jack, Mr Ryder's slave, was examined and stated that he had received a piece of blue cloth from Hannibal during Governor Boucher's administration. He claimed to have known nothing of it being stolen. [Margin: Frank punished, Jack acquitted] The council ordered that Frank be at once given 60 lashes at the flagstaff. Jack was acquitted, since he had received the cloth so many years earlier. At that time Hannibal was Gabriel Powell's slave, so the matter amounted to no more than a breach of trust in him. Interpretations The two slaves drew opposite verdicts on the question of when the cloth was received, which marked the limit of the council's pursuit. Frank denied receiving anything and was flogged, while Jack admitted an old transaction and went free. The distinction turned not on guilt in receiving but on the date, a receipt during Governor Boucher's administration falling outside the present theft from Gabriel Powell and so beyond the council's reach. The reasoning that excused Jack reclassified Hannibal's old act as a breach of trust rather than theft. While Hannibal belonged to Gabriel Powell, taking and passing on his master's cloth was an internal wrong within Powell's household, not a robbery of another man's goods. The council drew a clear line between a slave's misappropriation of his own owner's property and the later breaking into Powell's house as an outsider. Frank's flogging followed the standard penalty fixed at the consultation of 12 July 1720, when the council ordered 60 lashes for every confessed receiver. His denial did not spare him, the bench evidently crediting Hannibal's accusation over the bare denial. The sentence applied the established tariff to a man drawn in during the later sweep of named receivers. | |||||
467 | July John Coulson Planter was Sumoned to know how he Proposed to pay the Hon Comp: what he owes them which is about £115. - - The Said Coulson Appeared and Sayed He would take all the Care he Possibly could to pay his debt and offered to deliver ten head of Cattle Imediately which was more then his Present Stock could Spare. The debt being Secure the Gov: repremanded him for his Negligence in the Mannage= ment of his own Affaires and threatned him, at which he promis'd to be a better Husband for the future. The Gov: Reports that he has agreed with Thomas Watts, Simon Whaley the Old Sawyer being dead, to Saw for the Hon: Comp: at four Shillings the Hundred foot for all Timber he Shall Saw and to find himself a Pitt man, and they to find themselves with diet. Which We think to be a much Cheaper way than Hireing by the day. That he has also agreed to give Joseph Whaley who has been Employed Some Years in the Hon: Companys works as Stone Layer Six pence p:r day more than his former Wages of two Shillings & Six pence as an Encouragem:t Margin Notes: Jno: Coulson called on ab: his debt His Offers reprimanded & a Caution a Agreem:t with Tho: Watts for Sawing Jos: Whaley Allowce p day | [July] [Margin: John Coulson called on about his debt] John Coulson, planter, was summoned to explain how he proposed to pay the Company the roughly £115 0s 0d he owed. [Margin: his offers] Coulson appeared and said he would take every care he possibly could to clear the debt. He offered to deliver 10 head of cattle at once, which was more than his present stock could spare. [Margin: reprimanded with caution] With the debt now secured, Governor Johnson reprimanded Coulson for neglecting his own affairs and warned him as to his future conduct. Coulson promised to manage himself better from now on. [Margin: agreement with Thomas Watts for sawing] The Governor reported that he had reached an agreement with Thomas Watts, the former sawyer Simon Whaley having died, to saw timber for the Company. Watts was to be paid 7s 0d per hundred foot for all the timber he sawed, finding his own men, while the Company found them their food. The Governor judged this a much cheaper arrangement than hiring by the day. [Margin: Joseph Whaley allowed 3s 0d per day] The Governor further reported that he had agreed to give Joseph Whaley, employed for some years in the Company's works as a stone layer, an increase of sixpence a day above his former wage of 2s 6d, as an encouragement. Interpretations Coulson's offer of cattle beyond what his stock could spare shows a debtor stripping his working capital to satisfy the Company and avert harsher measures. Ten head was the price of buying the council's forbearance, and the bench secured the debt before the Governor delivered his reprimand. The sequence reveals the council's priority: recovery first, correction second, with the warning following only once payment was assured. The piece-rate agreement with Thomas Watts replaced day wages with payment by output, set at 7s 0d per hundred foot of sawn timber. The Company supplied the food while Watts supplied the labour, a division that fixed the Company's cost to the quantity produced rather than the hours spent. Governor Johnson's own judgement that this undercut day hire records the administration deliberately shifting the risk of slow work onto the contractor. Simon Whaley had served as the island's sawyer, and his death created the vacancy the Watts agreement filled. The note of his death explains why a fresh arrangement for sawing was needed at all, the Company moving at once to secure a replacement for an essential trade. Timber sawing was indispensable to building and repair on the island, so the post could not be left long unfilled. The rise granted to Joseph Whaley matched the pattern set days earlier for the carpenter John Bagley junior, whose wage was lifted by sixpence on 20 July 1720. Both were skilled men in the Company's works rewarded with the same modest increase as encouragement. The repetition shows a consistent policy of small targeted rises to retain scarce tradesmen rather than a general adjustment of pay. Speculations The decision to take payment in cattle rather than press for coin reflects a calculated choice to recover a bad debt in the only form the planter could supply. Coin was scarce on the island and Coulson plainly had little, so insisting on money might have yielded nothing and forced a ruinous distraint. Accepting livestock the Company could use or resell turned an uncertain claim into immediate value, the council managing the constraint of a debtor rich in stock but poor in cash. The structure of the Watts contract, fixing the rate per hundred foot and splitting the costs so the Company bore only food, was designed to solve the problem of supervising labour at a distance. Day wages rewarded a sawyer for spinning out the task, whereas payment by the foot rewarded him for finishing it. By tying earnings to measured output the Governor removed the Company's need to police the pace of work, the arrangement carrying its own incentive to cut timber quickly. | |||||
468 | for his Industry to commence from Midsomer day Last. [JJ][...] Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 2 day of Aug: 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and approved of. The Gov: represented to Us the many Inconvenien= cies that have Attended the great Credits lately given to the Planters as well as to the Garrison and that According to the State the Island is now in Severall Families must be ruined or the Hon: Company must be very much demininted therefore for the future To prevent the Same. It is agreed and Concluded. That no Planter for the future shall be Creditted in the Hon: Companys Books to Exceed fifty Pounds without Entering into Bond and Paying Margin Notes: The Inconveniency of great Credits given to of Plant: for Prevention None to be Cr:d above £50: | [1720] The increase was granted for his diligence and was to take effect from the previous Midsummer day. The record was attested by Governor Johnson and signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 2 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: the inconvenience of great credits given to planters] Governor Johnson set before the council the many difficulties caused by the large amounts of credit recently extended to the planters and to the garrison. He explained that, as matters stood, several families must be ruined or the Company must suffer serious loss. To prevent this in future, the council agreed and concluded on a remedy. [Margin: for prevention, none to be credited above £50 0s 0d] The council resolved that no planter should in future be allowed credit in the Company's books beyond £50 0s 0d, unless he first entered into a bond and paid interest. Interpretations The cap on planter credit was a structural reform of the island's debt system rather than the handling of a single account. The recent run of large credits had brought planters to the edge of ruin and exposed the Company to loss, the case of John Coulson and his £115 0s 0d debt on 26 July 1720 standing as a fresh example. Setting a ceiling of £50 0s 0d limited the Company's exposure across every future account at once. The requirement of a bond and interest above the ceiling converted open-ended book debt into a formal secured loan. A bond gave the Company an enforceable instrument and a claim it could pursue at law, while interest compensated it for the credit extended and discouraged planters from borrowing beyond the threshold. The reform replaced loose running accounts with a disciplined system of secured, interest-bearing debt. The shared danger to planter and Company alike framed the measure as mutual protection rather than mere creditor self-interest. Governor Johnson presented the choice as families ruined or the Company damaged, casting the cap as a brake that served both sides. Restraining credit before it grew unpayable spared the planter insolvency and the Company its loss together. Speculations The fixing of the limit precisely at £50 0s 0d points to a deliberate judgement about the level of debt a planter could carry and still repay from an island holding. Set too low, the cap would starve working planters of the credit they needed between harvests; set too high, it would reproduce the very ruin the council sought to prevent. The figure represents the council's estimate of a sustainable ceiling, balancing the planters' need for advances against the Company's need to be repaid. The two-tier design, free credit below the threshold and secured interest-bearing debt above it, was structured to discipline borrowing without halting it. Rather than refuse large credits outright, the council made them costlier and bound them with a bond, so that a planter who genuinely needed more had a route to it while bearing the consequences. This managed the tension between keeping the planters supplied and protecting the Company, channelling heavy debt into a controllable form instead of forbidding it. | |||||
469 | August. Interest at Six per Cent. Whereas all the Garrison Sallaries in Generall are So very Small, and the Advance of all Goods here being So large that it is difficult for Us to Provide our Selves with Necsaries According to our Severall Stations. We have therefore thought fitt to Authorize the Storekeeper to charge all Persons belonging to the Garrison with no more than Prime Cost or Prices in the Invoices for all Wearing apparell But nothing More, and if any Person is found or known to abuse this Previlidge that he or they be for ever after Excluded the Same. Robert Wallington presented a Bill of Sale for a House he bought of John Bagley Sen: Standing in James Valley desireing the Same may be Registred. Granted according to his desire. Ed Johnson Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Sallaries be= ing Small wearing appar= ell at Cost or Prime Cost Bill of Sale presented by Wallington Registred | [August] The interest was set at 6 per cent. [Margin: salaries being small] The council noted that garrison salaries were generally very small, while the mark-up on all goods sold on the island was so high that members of the garrison found it hard to provide themselves with necessaries suited to their various ranks. [Margin: wearing apparel to be sold at prime cost] To relieve this, the council authorised the storekeeper to charge everyone belonging to the garrison no more than prime cost, or the prices given in the invoices, for all clothing. The concession was limited strictly to clothing and to no other goods. Anyone found abusing the privilege was to be barred from it for good. [Margin: bill of sale presented by Wallington] Robert Wallington presented a bill of sale for a house he had bought from John Bagley junior, standing in James Valley, and asked that it be registered. [Margin: registered] The council granted the request. The record was attested by Governor Johnson and signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The concession on clothing addressed a structural squeeze between fixed low pay and the high cost of imported goods on a remote island. Garrison salaries were set by the Company while the price of goods carried a heavy mark-up to cover freight and the trader's margin, leaving soldiers unable to clothe themselves to the standard their rank required. Selling clothing at prime cost or invoice price removed the mark-up on one essential category without raising wages. The strict limiting of the privilege to clothing, with permanent exclusion for any abuse, shows the council guarding a narrow exception against leakage into general trade. Prime-cost goods could be resold at a profit, so an unchecked concession invited men to buy cheap and sell on. Confining it to wearing apparel and threatening forfeiture for misuse kept the relief targeted at the genuine need it was meant to meet. The 6 per cent rate carried over from the credit reform of the previous entry, fixing the interest charged on planter debts above the £50 0s 0d ceiling agreed on 2 August 1720. Setting a defined rate gave the bond system a clear cost and brought the Company's lending into line with a standard commercial charge. The figure completed the machinery of the new secured-credit scheme. The registration of Wallington's bill of sale recorded the transfer of a house from John Bagley junior, the same carpenter granted a wage rise on 20 July 1720. Entering the conveyance in the Company's books gave the buyer secure title and the administration a record of who held property on the island. The routine act fixed ownership against future dispute. Speculations The choice to grant relief through prime-cost clothing rather than a pay rise points to a deliberate solution that eased the garrison's hardship without committing the Company to higher fixed costs. Raising salaries would have bound the Company to a permanent outlay, whereas surrendering the mark-up on clothing cost it only a margin it might otherwise have earned, and only on goods the soldiers had to buy anyway. The device met the men's real grievance while leaving the wage bill untouched, managing the conflict between the garrison's needs and the Company's accounts. The permanent exclusion fixed as the penalty for abuse was calibrated to make the concession self-policing. Because the benefit was ongoing, the threat of losing it for good gave every soldier a standing reason not to exploit it, the cost of misuse outweighing any single profit from resale. Pricing the deterrent as forfeiture of a continuing privilege let the council extend trust cheaply, the arrangement guarding itself without close supervision of each purchase. | |||||
470 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 9 day of August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Gov: Reports that he has Discharged Will:m Portley from being any Longer Overseer of the Hon: Comp: Plantations & for that he has very often found him Negligent of his duty, and as often reproved him and he promised amendment. And when He Should have been about the Comp: business he has been drinking in the Valley, and has been Guilty of Embezling Butter, Tallow & which he refuses to give any Acco: but Saith what hath not been Expended by the Gov: Order he hath made Use of himself. For which the Gov: hath Ordered him to be Charged with and to be paid for Grazing his Cattle on the Companys Pasture. And Whereas the Said Portley Alleadges that he has all along been allowed two Goats p week with Some other Allowances for his Table which We do adjudge to be too Great an Allowance for any Margin Notes: W:m Portley discharged his Embezelmt and to be Charged Its being allowd 2 goats p week | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 9 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: William Portley discharged] Governor Johnson reported that he had discharged William Portley from his post as overseer of the Company's plantations. He had often found Portley neglecting his duty and had reproved him as often, Portley each time promising to mend. When he should have been about the Company's business he was instead drinking down in the valley. [Margin: his misconduct] The Governor further reported that Portley had been guilty of embezzling butter and tallow, of which he refused to give any account. Portley claimed that whatever had not been spent on the Governor's orders he had used for himself. [Margin: and to be charged] The Governor ordered Portley charged for these goods, and also for grazing his own cattle in the Company's pasture. [Margin: his being allowed will not be just so much] Portley alleged in his defence that he had all along been allowed 2 goats a week, together with certain other allowances for his table. The council judged this too large an allowance for any single man. Interpretations The dismissal of Portley followed a recorded course of repeated warning before discharge, which marked the limit of the Governor's tolerance. Neglect, drinking in the valley when on duty, and broken promises of amendment had accumulated until removal became the only remedy. The pattern shows the administration extending several chances to a serving officer before finally turning him out, dismissal coming as the end of a process rather than a first response. The charge of embezzling butter and tallow turned a question of conduct into one of accounting liability. Portley held Company stores as overseer and was answerable for their disposal, so his refusal to account, coupled with the claim that he had used the surplus himself, exposed him to being charged for the value. Tallow was rendered animal fat used for candles and grease, a storable commodity of real worth, and its diversion was a measurable loss the Company could recover against him. Grazing his own cattle on the Company's pasture was a separate misappropriation of the Company's resources for private gain. As overseer Portley controlled the ground he was meant to manage for the Company, and feeding his own stock on it converted his office into a private benefit. The council treated this, like the missing stores, as a debt to be charged rather than a mere breach of trust. His prior service is on record under the present administration. At the enquiry of 4 to 6 July 1719 Portley, as chief overseer, was examined on Governor Pyke's slaves and denied any clandestine exchange, and he later attested the Company's live-stock account of 28 March 1720. The man now discharged for neglect and embezzlement had until lately been a trusted officer whose word the council relied on. Speculations The decision to charge Portley for the stores and the grazing, rather than merely dismiss him, shows the council pursuing recovery of measurable loss alongside removal. Dismissal alone would have ended the neglect but left the embezzled butter and tallow and the value of the pasturage unrecovered. By fixing a money charge for each, the bench converted the misconduct into a debt it could enforce, managing the loss as well as the man and ensuring the Company was made whole rather than simply rid of him. The challenge to Portley's claimed allowance of 2 goats a week reflects a deliberate effort to settle the terms of an office whose perquisites had never been clearly fixed. Portley defended his conduct by pointing to a customary allowance, and the council's ruling that it was too large for a single man drew a line between sanctioned perquisite and excess. The dispute reveals the administration tightening the loose, undefined emoluments of its posts, the vague custom of the table becoming the very ground on which an overseer justified taking more than the Company intended. | |||||
471 | August. Single Person in that Employ. To Regulate which for the future We do Approve and allow of the following Allowance and no more (Viz:) One Goat Each week, and that in lieu of the former Allowance of One Gallon of Arack & three Pound of Sugar per week that five Shillings p week be allowed & Paid to the Succeeding Over= seer. The Doctor brought in his Book of Medicines Expended Since the 2 Inst: which was Examined & Approved of. John Long Planter presented the following Petition to the Worships the Gov: Setting forth therein that he having very lately been Indebted a large Sum of Money to the Hon Comp: which being demanded He was obliged to Borrow about three Hundred Pounds of Mr Powell to Compleat the Paym:t and being under an Obligation to repay the Same in a Shorter time than he can Propose to himself to raise So much money. Humbly Prays his two Men blacks may be Employd in the Hon: Comp: works which may in Some Measure En= able him to pay the Said debt to Mr Powell. And &c: Margin Notes: future Allowance to the Overseer D:r Book &c Jno: Longs request to have his 2 Blacks Employd | [August] The council held the allowance too large for any single man in that post. [Margin: future allowance to the overseer] To settle the matter for the future, the council approved the following allowance and no more. The overseer was to have 1 goat each week. In place of the former allowance of 1 gallon of arrack and 3 pounds of sugar a week, 5s 0d a week was to be allowed and paid to the next overseer. [Margin: doctor's book settled] The doctor brought in his book of medicines dispensed since 2 [...], which the council examined and approved. [Margin: John Long's request to have his 2 blacks employed] John Long, planter, presented a petition to Governor Johnson. He set out that he had lately fallen heavily into debt to the Company, and that when the debt was demanded he had been obliged to borrow about £300 0s 0d from Gabriel Powell to make up the payment. Being bound to repay Powell in a shorter time than he could otherwise raise the money, Long asked that his 2 black men be taken into the Company's works. Such employment would help him in some measure to pay the debt he owed Powell. Interpretations The revised allowance fixed in precise terms the perquisites the previous overseer had stretched, converting a vague customary entitlement into a defined ration. The cut from 2 goats to 1, and the replacement of arrack and sugar with a cash payment of 5s 0d, set a clear ceiling on what the office carried. The reform answered directly the finding of 9 August 1720 that William Portley's allowances were too large for a single man. The commutation of arrack and sugar into money simplified the Company's accounting and removed two divertible commodities from the overseer's hands. Arrack was a spirit distilled in the East and a staple of the island's imported drink, while sugar was a valuable storable good, both of which an overseer might embezzle as Portley had done with butter and tallow. Paying 5s 0d instead fixed the cost and closed the opening for misappropriation in kind. Long's petition reveals a chain of debt in which a planter borrowed privately to discharge a public obligation. Pressed by the Company for what he owed, Long turned to Gabriel Powell for £300 0s 0d, exchanging a Company debt for a private one on tighter repayment terms. The request to set his two slaves to Company work was a bid to earn the means of repayment through their hire, his labour force becoming the instrument of his solvency. The £300 0s 0d Long borrowed stands against the credit reform just enacted, the council having resolved on 2 August 1720 that no planter be credited above £50 0s 0d without bond and interest. Long's plight illustrates exactly the over-extension that prompted the cap, a planter driven to heavy private borrowing once his Company debt was called in. His case shows the new constraint biting on the very class of indebted planter it was framed to discipline. Speculations The decision to commute the overseer's drink and sugar into a fixed cash sum was a deliberate solution to the embezzlement that had just cost the Company under Portley. Allowances paid in kind passed through the overseer's hands as stores he could divert and then refuse to account for, exactly as Portley had done. Substituting a defined weekly payment removed the goods from his control altogether, the council closing the structural opening rather than relying on the honesty of the next man to fill the post. Long's proposal to pay his debt through his slaves' labour shows a planter converting his only liquid asset into a stream of repayment. He could not raise £300 0s 0d quickly in coin, but he could offer the continuous hire of two working men, turning a capital shortfall into an income the Company would pay him. The scheme managed the constraint of a short repayment term by monetising the labour he already owned, the slaves serving as the means to clear a debt he had no other way to meet. | |||||
472 | The Petitioner is Answered That the Gov: do's not think it Proper to Employ his two men Blacks because they have been Guilty of Severall Misdemeanors & Robberies and by Conversing with the rest of the Blacks at work they may be too likely to Seduce them to farther Rogueries which they are too apt to Practice of themselves. Ordered That the Gentlem:n of the Council are to go and view the Hon Comp: Plantations, takeing an Acco: of the Same with the Ages of the Yams, as allso An Acco: of their live Stock that We may See in what Condition they now are & the Number of each Particular Branch. Ed Johnson Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Rejected & why Counc: Plant: to be visited | [1720] [Margin: rejected, why] John Long received his answer. Governor Johnson did not think it proper to employ his two black men, because they had been guilty of several misdemeanours and robberies. By mixing with the rest of the slaves at work, they might well draw them into further crimes, which the slaves were already too inclined to commit on their own account. [Margin: Company's plantations and live stock to be viewed] The council ordered that its members go and view the Company's plantations. They were to take an account of them, recording the ages of the yams, and an account of the live stock as well, so that the council might see in what condition both now stood, together with the number in each particular branch. The record was attested by Governor Johnson and signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The refusal turned on the risk of contagion among the slave population rather than on the value of the two men's labour. Long's slaves had figured in the recent thefts from Gabriel Powell, and the Governor judged that setting known offenders among the Company's slaves at work would spread the habit. The reasoning treats criminality as transmissible through association, the bench guarding its own workforce from corruption by refusing to admit two tainted men. The decision drew on the council's direct knowledge of the men from the robbery proceedings then in train. The examinations of Hannibal, Cloice and the receivers across June and July 1720 had exposed a trading network reaching into many households, and Long's slaves Antony and Cloice were named in it. The Governor's refusal applied that fresh evidence, denying employment to slaves the council had itself been investigating. The ordered survey of the plantations was a periodic stocktaking of the Company's productive assets, fixing both crop and herd at a known point. Recording the ages of the yams measured the state and future yield of the staple food crop, while the count of live stock by category set the present strength of the herd. The exercise gave the council a current account of the Company's land and animals against which to plan supply and judge the overseers' management. The timing of the survey, following hard on the dismissal of the overseer William Portley on 9 August 1720, points to a check on the condition in which a neglectful officer had left the Company's estate. With the man charged for embezzled stores and unauthorised grazing now gone, the council moved to establish what state the plantations and herd were actually in. The stocktaking served to draw a line under the old management and measure what the new must build on. Speculations The choice to exclude Long's slaves shows the council weighing the integrity of its labour force above the modest gain of two more hands and the relief of an indebted planter. Admitting the men would have eased Long's repayment of his £300 0s 0d debt to Powell and added to the Company's workers, yet the Governor judged the danger of spreading theft to outweigh both. The refusal manages a conflict between three competing interests, the planter's solvency, the Company's labour needs and the discipline of its slaves, resolving it in favour of containment. The instruction to record the precise ages of the yams reflects a deliberate concern with the timing of future food supply rather than a simple inventory. Yams matured over many months, so knowing the age of each planting let the council forecast when each would be ready and whether the island's provision would meet the demands of the shipping. The detail converts a stocktaking into a planning tool, the survey designed to reveal not just how much stood in the ground but when it would feed the settlement. | |||||
473 | August Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23 day of Aug: 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin of Coun: The Last Consultation read & Approved of. The Doctor brought in and Delivered his Book of Medicines Expended Since the 9 Instant which was Examined and Approved of. According to the Order of Council of the 9 Inst: the Gentlemen of the Council brought in the following Account of the Hon Comp: Plantations, live Stock &c: which was Carefully Examind, and a Calculate made of the whole Expence of Yamms wherein it Appeard to be a Sufficient Quantity to last for about fourteen or fifteen Months without buying any more Unless We can meet with a very good Bargaine. An Acco: of the Hon: Comp: Severall Plantations & live Stock Taken by Mess:rs John Alexander & John Goodwin on the 10 11 & 12 days of August 1720. Margin Notes: D:r Book &c Acco: of the Hon: live Stock &c of Yamms Plantations & live Plant:s | [August] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 23 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: doctor's book settled] The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines dispensed since 9 [August], which the council examined and approved. [Margin: account of the Company's live stock and yams, with old plantations] In accordance with the council's order of 9 August, its members brought in the following account of the Company's plantations and live stock. The council examined it carefully and made a calculation of the whole stock of yams. The figures showed enough to last about 14 or 15 months without buying any more, unless a very good bargain could be had. The account of the Company's several plantations and live stock was taken by John Alexander and John Goodwin on 10, 11 and 12 August 1720. Interpretations The yam calculation translated the raw survey into a forecast of food security, expressing the harvest as a span of months rather than a bare quantity. By reckoning the whole stock against expected consumption, the council fixed how long the island could feed itself, arriving at 14 or 15 months of supply in hand. This converted the stocktaking ordered on 9 August 1720 into the planning measure it was designed to yield. The proviso that more would be bought only on a very good bargain shows the council holding off purchase from a position of sufficiency. With over a year's supply secured, the administration had no need to buy at ordinary prices and could wait for a favourable offer. The stance reveals provisioning managed as a market judgement, the council timing any purchase to advantage rather than necessity. The naming of John Alexander and John Goodwin as the men who took the account, over three days in August, records the delegation of the survey to two trusted councillors. The same pair attested the register and carried much of the administration's routine business, and their personal inspection gave the figures their authority. The dated record of their fieldwork fixed responsibility for the count on identifiable officers. The doctor's regular delivery of his book of medicines, brought in afresh since 9 August 1720, shows the dispensing of the Company's medical stores subjected to periodic audit like any other account. The medicines were Company property issued to the garrison and inhabitants, and requiring the surgeon to render his book at each consultation kept the drawing-down of a valuable store under the council's eye. The routine entry marks ordinary supervision of a costly resource. Speculations The decision to measure the yam stock as months of supply, and to make further purchase conditional on a bargain, reflects a deliberate strategy of buying provisions cheaply by holding a reserve. A settlement that bought only when its stores ran low would be forced to pay whatever the market asked, whereas one carrying 14 or 15 months in hand could decline a poor price and wait. The council used its surplus as leverage, managing the constraint of an island dependent on imported and home-grown food by timing its dealings from strength rather than need. | |||||
474 | In Beckins Old Ground are growing 22,000 ab: 14 Mo: old In Fosters Ground are 20,000 ab: 15 or 16 old In the Still House Gutt in the Piece & the Lemon trees are about 12,000 ab: 15 Old. In the new Gutt as fare as the Old Cross Walls and minde Hill Side too 50,000 ab: 5 Mo: old In the Same Gutt including the Piece be= low the House into the Gutt as fare down as the Edge of St [Roads] meet the Plain & a= long the Hill Side next the House are 30,000 ab: 17 18 or 19 old N.B. Some of the Ground on the Hill Side not Good Eno: to plant over again In the bean Ground next the long Point into the Gutt & down towards Mr Toveys are 25,000 still to digg. In the Plain & Part of St Hollow aforesaid are 65,000 still to digg. In the Piece above the House for the Min the Hill Side next the bean Ground At the End of St Plain & Out of bottom of St Gutt next Mr Toveys are 29,000 newly planted In Griffins Ground in St upp: Piece are 30,000 ab: 3 Old. Griffins N.B. Some part of this piece is not worth Planting at next digging of Yams Yams Carried Over 275,000 Margin Notes: a Working | [1720] [Margin: at Perkins] In Perkins's old ground there were growing 23,000 yams, about 14 months old. In Foster's ground there were 20,000 yams, about 14 months old, fit to be sold. In the still-house gut, in the piece where the lemon trees stood, there were about 12,000 yams, about 15 months old. In the new gut, as far as the old cross wall and the Manatee hillside, there were 50,000 yams, about 6 months old. In the same gut, including the piece below the house and down into the gut as far as the edge of the savannah next the plain, and along the hillside next the house, there were 30,000 yams, about 17 or 18 weeks old. NB Some of the ground on the hillside was not good enough to plant again. In the bean ground next the long point, into the gut and down towards Mr Vesey's, there were 25,000, fit to dig. In the plain and part of the hollow set out above there were 65,000, fit to dig. In the piece above the house, on the Manatee hillside next the bean ground, there were 20,000, newly planted. At the end of the plain, and at the bottom of the gut next Mr Vesey's, there were 30,000 yams, about 3 months old. [Margin: Griffin's NB] In Griffin's ground, in the uppermost piece, there were 30,000 yams, about 3 months old. NB Some part of this piece was not worth planting at the next digging of yams. The yams carried over: 275,000. Interpretations The survey graded every plot by the age of its yams, which fixed the maturity and selling readiness of each parcel rather than its bare quantity. Ages ran from newly planted ground through pieces of 3, 6 and 17 or 18 weeks to crops of 14 and 15 months marked fit to sell or fit to dig. Yams matured slowly over many months, so recording the age of each planting let the council foresee the order in which the plots would come ready and plan supply to the shipping across the year. The notes that certain ground was not good enough to plant again recorded the declining fertility of particular plots for management decision. Continuous cropping exhausted the soil, and flagging the worn pieces warned the overseer which ground to rest or abandon at the next digging. The observations turned the stocktaking into a guide for rotation, identifying where further planting would waste labour. The plots were located by reference to named holdings and natural features, fixing each parcel within the island's known geography. Perkins's old ground, Foster's ground, Griffin's ground and the bounds against Mr Vesey's land, together with the guts, the plain, the hollow and the Manatee hillside, placed every entry precisely. The method let the council and its overseers identify each piece on the ground without a formal map, the survey reading as a circuit of recognised landmarks. The running carry-over of 275,000 yams continued the cumulative count begun on the preceding sheet, building toward the whole-stock figure. The clerk totalled the plots as the survey proceeded and brought the sum forward, the same accounting method used in the families, land and cattle register. The carry-forward let the final tally yield the island's entire yam stock against which the 14 or 15 months of supply reckoned on 23 August 1720 had been calculated. | |||||
475 | August. Yams Brought Over 275,000 In ditto Ground in the lower Piece 20,000 ab: 14 or 15 old. Burnhams In Burnhams Ground is 25,000 But at y: time of digging out wont weigh above 10, or 12,000, the Ground being very Cold. Peak In the Peak Plantation are 260,000 N.B. which one with another tho: about 120,000 is of 17 & 18 Mo: Standing Yet wont weigh above ½ of a pound a Piece & within at their full growth (so can be less than two Years) they wont weigh above ½ at each, the ground being very Poor & Ex= tream Cold and not worth Planting at the Lower part Especially for y: these Yams weighed now but 6½ in all. In Jeffreys Gutt is 87,250 from 3 to 16 old but wont come out by weight not above 80,000. In the Same Gutt at head thereof is 15,000 new planted. N.B. This may be made a very good Plantation. Trusdales In Trusdales Gutt is 40,000 new Planted. Keelings In Keelings Gutt is 25,000 from 2 to 5 old Carnes In Carnes Gutt is ab: 60,000 of 4 & 5 Mo: old Yams Carried Over 587,250 | [August] Yams brought over: 275,000. In the same ground, in the lower piece, there were 20,000 yams, about 14 or 15 months old. [Margin: Burnham] In Burnham's ground there were 25,000 yams. But at the time of digging they would not weigh out above 10,000 or 12,000, the ground being very cold. [Margin: Peak] In the Peak plantation there were 260,000 yams. NB These, taking one with another, of which about 120,000 were 17 and 18 months standing, would yet not weigh above half a pound apiece. Even at their full growth, which could not be less than two years, they would not weigh above half a pound each. The ground was very poor and extremely cold, and not worth planting, the lower part especially, for fear of theft. These yams, weighed now, came to only 6½ tons in all. [Margin: Jessey] In Jessey's gut there were 87,250 yams, from 3 to 16 months old. But by weight these would not come out above 80,000. In the same gut, at the head of it, there were 15,000 yams, newly planted. NB This might be made a very good plantation. [Margin: Truesdale] In Truesdale's gut there were 40,000 yams, newly planted. [Margin: Keeling] In Keeling's gut there were 35,000 yams, from 2 to 5 months old. [Margin: Carne] In Carne's gut there were about 60,000 yams, 4 and 5 months old. Yams carried over: 817,250. Interpretations The survey set the planted number of yams against their probable yield by weight, exposing a wide gap between count and substance. Burnham's 25,000 would dig out at only 10,000 or 12,000, and Jessey's 87,250 at 80,000, while the Peak's quarter-million weighed barely 6½ tons. The double measure warned the council that a tally of yams overstated the food actually in the ground, the cold poor soil yielding stunted roots far below their number. The repeated note of cold ground identified the cause of the poor yield and the limit on future planting. Yams were a tropical root that needed warmth to swell, and the island's higher, cooler ground checked their growth so that even mature plants stayed under half a pound. The observations record the administration learning which of its plots were too cold to repay cultivation, the Peak especially marked as not worth planting. The note that the Peak's lower part was unsafe for fear of theft tied a security risk to a question of land use. Yams planted where they could be stolen were a loss before harvest, and the exposure of the lower ground argued against planting it at all. The detail shows the council weighing not only soil and climate but the practical defence of a crop when deciding where to commit its labour. The running total carried over to 817,250 continued the cumulative count from the 275,000 brought forward, building toward the whole-stock figure behind the supply forecast. The clerk summed each gut and plot as the circuit proceeded and brought the figure on, the same method used throughout the survey. The mounting carry-over fed the calculation of 14 or 15 months' supply made on 23 August 1720, though the weight notes show the bare count flattered the true reserve. | |||||
476 | Yams Brought Over 587,250 In the Grand Plantation Grand Plantn: From the Bottom of Bamboo Gutt to the first Bamboo Trees are 40,000 fitt to digg From thence to the Row of Figg trees are 25,000 of 6 & 7 Mo: old N.B. Some part of this Piece of Ground is very Ordinary for Yam Ground. From the Figg trees up to the blacks Ground thro the Gutt towards Marias Spring is 28,000 fitt to digg. N.B. Some part of this Piece not fitt to Plant the Yams the Ground being very Poor & dry. From the Graves up to Capt: Bounds Spring & all the Hill Side & hinde of blacks House called Tompsons Garden are 60,000 ab: 9 Mo: old. In the Piece next the Pigeon House on the Hill side was planted 68,000 But wont come out when Grown above 30,000 lbs: The Ground being but very dry requiring Almost Constant Watering. Stewards In Stewards Ground lately bought 70,000 from 7 to 16 Mo: Old. Liphins In Liphins Plantation are viz: In the Plaine 30,000 In the Narrow long Gutt 25,000 In the Old Garden 20,000 75,000 Yams Carried Over 1,183,250 | [1720] Yams brought over: 817,250. In the grand plantation: [Margin: grand plantation] From the bottom of Bamboo gut to the first bamboo trees there were 40,000 yams, fit to dig. From there to the row of fig trees there were 25,000 yams, 8 and 9 months old. NB Some part of this piece of ground was very ordinary for yam ground. From the fig trees up to the blacks' graves, up the gut towards Maria's spring, there were 28,000 yams, fit to dig. NB Some part of this piece was not fit to plant with yams, the ground being very poor and dry. From the graves up to Captain Brown's spring, and all the hillside behind the blacks' house, called Thompson's garden, there were 60,000 yams, about 8 and 9 months old. In the piece next the pigeon house, on the hillside, there was planted 68,000. But these would not come out, when grown, above 30,000, 10 months old. The ground was very dry and needed almost constant watering. [Margin: Steward] In Steward's ground, lately bought, there were 70,000 yams, from 7 to 9 months old. [Margin: Ledkins] In Ledkins's plantation there were, namely: In the plain, 30,000. In the Narrows long gut, 25,000. In the old garden, 20,000. [Subtotal:] 75,000. Yams carried over: 1,183,250. Interpretations The survey continued to record the quality of each plot alongside its count, marking which ground repaid yam cultivation and which did not. Pieces near the fig trees and the graves were noted as ordinary or unfit, poor and dry, while the parcel by the pigeon house yielded barely 30,000 of 68,000 planted for want of water. The notes built a practical map of the grand plantation's better and worse ground for the overseer's future planting. The shortfall by the pigeon house tied poor yield directly to a defect of the ground that constant labour could only partly cure. Dry soil needing almost constant watering produced less than half its planted number, a loss the survey set down so the council could judge whether the plot was worth the effort. The entry shows the administration costing the water-hungry ground against its return. The plots were fixed by a circuit of named features that placed every entry within the grand plantation's known terrain. Bamboo gut, the fig trees, the blacks' graves, Maria's spring, Captain Brown's spring, Thompson's garden and the pigeon house located each parcel in sequence. The survey read as a walk through recognised landmarks, identifying each piece without a drawn map. The grand plantation was the Company's principal yam ground, and Steward's lately bought parcel and Ledkins's several pieces show the estate enlarged by purchase and incorporation. Acquiring neighbouring ground extended the Company's own provision base, reducing its dependence on buying yams from the planters. The running total, carried over to 1,183,250, mounted toward the whole-stock figure behind the 14 or 15 months' supply reckoned on 23 August 1720. | |||||
477 | August. Yams Brought Over 1,183,250 In the Hutts Plantation are 270,000 Hutts Of wch: about 50,000 is fitt to digg, the Rest are Young & Some new planted. Totall of Yams are 1,453,250 Live Stock Viz: 8 Bulls 110 Cow's Livestock 15 Bullocks 20 Heifers Neat Cattle 27 Steers 11 Yearlings 111 Calves 302 4 Rams 127 Ewes 50 Wethers Goates. 78 Kidds 259 Besides them in y: Fort Valley. 6 Rams 50 Ewes 11 Wethers Sheep 23 Lambs 90 & about 20 more Missing. The | [August] Yams brought over: 1,183,250. [Margin: Hutts] In the Hutts plantation there were 270,000 yams. Of these, about 50,000 were fit to dig. The rest were young or some newly planted. Total of yams: 1,453,250. Live stock, namely: [Margin: live stock] Neat cattle: 8 bulls 110 cows 15 bullocks 20 heifers 27 steers 11 yearlings 111 calves [Subtotal:] 302 Goats: 4 rams 127 ewes 50 wethers 78 kids [Subtotal:] 259 Besides those in the Fort Valley. Sheep: 6 rams 50 ewes 11 wethers 23 lambs [Subtotal:] 90 About 20 more missing. Interpretations The final entry closed the yam survey with a grand total of 1,453,250, the figure behind the supply forecast already announced. The cumulative carry-forward, built plot by plot across the preceding sheets, resolved here into the whole stock from which the council reckoned 14 or 15 months of provision on 23 August 1720. The completed count gave the administration the single number it needed to plan the island's food against the demands of the shipping. The live-stock count sorted the Company's animals into neat cattle, goats and sheep, each broken down by sex and age. Neat cattle were the horned beasts kept for beef, draught and breeding, distinguished from the smaller goats and sheep. The categories let the council read the herd's composition, the heavy preponderance of cows and the run of calves and kids showing flocks managed for increase as much as for immediate slaughter. The note of about 20 sheep missing recorded an unexplained shortfall in the smallest and most strayable flock. Sheep on open ground wandered, fell to accident or were stolen, and the survey set down the gap rather than silently adjusting the count. The honest entry of a discrepancy shows the stocktaking reporting what the counters found, leaving the loss to be accounted for. The qualification that the goat count stood besides those in the Fort Valley flagged a portion of the herd held apart and not included in this tally. Animals kept at a separate station fell outside the plantation count, and noting their exclusion warned the council that the figure was not the whole. The remark preserved the accuracy of the total by marking its known limit. Speculations The decision to record the missing sheep and the excluded Fort Valley goats, rather than present a clean round total, reflects a deliberate choice to keep the account honest for management use. A survey meant to guide provisioning and judge the overseers had to show real strength, including its gaps and its separately held stock, or it would mislead the very decisions it served. By marking what was lost and what lay outside the count, the council preserved the figure as a working measure of the herd rather than a flattering summary, the qualifications protecting the use to which the total would be put. | |||||
478 | The following Petition was presented by Mr John Alexander. Shewing That he hath had the Honour of Serving the Hon: Comp: for Upwards of twenty four years and in Severall Stations And as it had pleased God to remove Capt: Bazett and Mr Tovey It fell to the Peti:on Imediately after to Succeed as 2d of Council, who was before 4 of Counl and Sear: by Appointment of the Said Hon: Comp: & Alteration in Council had So Altered the Property that He ought to have no longer Acted in the Station of the Youngest in Council Yet But to have Enjoyed the Usuall Bennigitt & Employ of the 2: in Council, and that its very Plain He, the Petitioner, has not been Ambitious or desirous to Quitt the Employ of Sec:y by his Aching therein for now above one Year Since the Vacancy first arose. And as there is an Accompt: Words for from England who is Gene= rally here & in all Parts of India the 2 in Council. The Petitioner therefore Humbly requests He may be Admitted and Appointed the Hon: Comp: Chief Overseer of all their Plantations, Blacks, live Stock which Indisputably requires one of the Council to look after & mannage So Weighty an Affaire. The Petitioner not pointing at this Em= ploy to Excuse himself from any other without Good & Sufficient reasons Grounded on a Standing President & that there has been as Often as any Capable of that Employ= Margin Notes: Pet: of Mr Alexander desireing to be Confirm: of the Hon: Co: livestock Plant &c | The following Petition was presented by Mr John Alexander. Shewing That he hath had the Honour of Serving the Hon: Comp: for Upwards of twenty four years and in Severall Stations And as it had pleased God to remove Capt: Bazett and Mr Tovey It fell to the Peti:on Imediately after to Succeed as 2d of Council, who was before 4 of Counl and Sear: by Appointment of the Said Hon: Comp: & Alteration in Council had So Altered the Property that He ought to have no longer Acted in the Station of the Youngest in Council Yet But to have Enjoyed the Usuall Bennigitt & Employ of the 2: in Council, and that its very Plain He, the Petitioner, has not been Ambitious or desirous to Quitt the Employ of Sec:y by his Aching therein for now above one Year Since the Vacancy first arose. And as there is an Accompt: Words for from England who is Gene= rally here & in all Parts of India the 2 in Council. The Petitioner therefore Humbly requests He may be Admitted and Appointed the Hon: Comp: Chief Overseer of all their Plantations, Blacks, live Stock which Indisputably requires one of the Council to look after & mannage So Weighty an Affaire. The Petitioner not pointing at this Em= ploy to Excuse himself from any other without Good & Sufficient reasons Grounded on a Standing President & that there has been as Often as any Capable of that Employ= Margin Notes: Pet: of Mr Alexander desireing to be Confirm: of the Hon: Co: livestock Plant &c | |||||
479 | did Present one of the Council to Supervise & Manage the Said Plantations &c: as Capt: Hodgkinson & Capt: Mashborne was Orderd as such by the Hon: Comp: & Severall Gentlem:ts for many years before them &c did most Certainly Save a vast Expence. And the St: Petitioner refers himself to all Persons to give their Opinions whether he is Capable of this Employm:t or not, and doubts not but to Save his Hon: Masters Some Score Pounds in less than two Years time at the farthest which cannot now be avoided, and Do's Note that the Plantations are not So well Cultivated as they ought and &c: He imputes to the Ignorance & Carelessness of the Present Overseers, who too often Neglects their business. Submiting the whole to the Consideration of the Worsh:ll Gov: & Councile. Signed p Jno: Alexander Ed Johnson Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin | [August] The petition continued, setting out that the Company had always appointed one of the council to supervise and manage the plantations and stock. Captains Hodgkinson and Haynes and Mr Washborne had each been added to the council for that purpose by the Company, as several gentlemen before them had been, and had most certainly saved a great deal of expense. Alexander referred himself to all persons to give their opinion whether he was capable of the employment or not. He had no doubt of saving his Masters some scores of pounds within two years at the most, a saving that could not now be achieved otherwise. He observed that the plantations were not so well cultivated as they ought to be, which he put down to the ignorance and carelessness of the present overseers, who too often neglected their business. He submitted the whole to the consideration of Governor Johnson and the council. The petition was signed by John Alexander. The record was attested by Governor Johnson and signed by John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Alexander rested his claim on a line of named precedents, citing Captains Hodgkinson and Haynes and Mr Washborne as councillors earlier added to oversee the plantations. By naming men whose appointments had saved the Company expense, he turned his request into the continuation of an established and proven practice. The argument bound the council to a custom it had repeatedly followed rather than a novel favour to himself. The promise to save the Company scores of pounds within two years framed the overseership as an economy rather than a personal advancement. Alexander offered a measurable return on his appointment, pledging a saving that present management could not deliver. The pitch cast a councillor's oversight as cheaper than the existing arrangement, converting his ambition into a fiscal benefit for his Masters. The charge that the plantations were poorly cultivated through the ignorance and carelessness of the present overseers pressed directly on the recent state of the estate. The survey of August 1720 had exposed cold and neglected ground, and William Portley had been discharged on 9 August 1720 for neglect and embezzlement. Alexander used that fresh evidence of mismanagement to argue that a councillor's hand was needed where hired overseers had failed. The submission of the whole to Governor Johnson and the council placed the decision squarely with the bench, as the form of petition required. Alexander could press his case but not grant his own appointment, the authority resting with the Governor and council to whom he deferred. The closing referral marks the proper channel through which an officer sought advancement. | |||||
480 | Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on fryday the 26 day of August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin of Coun: The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Yesterday the 25 Inst: Arrived the Good Ship Hartford Capt: Francis Nelly Comand: from England with a Cargoe of Goods & Merchandize Consignd to this Island by our Masters the Hon: Court of Directors who has packed the Capt: delivered to Us and which this day We opened & begun to Read their Generall Letter dated the 9 day of March 1719. wherein We find Mr Edward Byfield is appointed 3d of the Council here & Chief Overseer of the Hon: Comp: Plantations, live Stock &c. Ordered That Hee take place Accordingly. Likewise Ordered That An Order be Imme= diately drawn up, and Sent to Capt: Nelly to Send on Shore the Cargoe of Goods he has on Board Consignd to Us (as above) as Soon as Possible he can, and to Mention therein that if he wants any of our Margin Notes: Ship Hartford Arriv'd from Engl: Gen:ll Lette read. Mr Byfield Appointed 3d of Coun: &c Ord: for the landing his Cargoe | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Friday 26 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with John Alexander and John Goodwin present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: ship Hartford arrived from England] The day before, 25 August, the good ship Hartford, under Captain Francis Nelly, arrived from England with a cargo of goods and merchandise consigned to the island by the Company's Court of Directors. The captain delivered the directors' packet to the council. On this day the council opened it and began to read the general letter, dated 9 March 1719. [Margin: Mr Byfield appointed third of council] The letter named Edward Byfield as third in council on the island and chief overseer of the Company's plantations and live stock. The council ordered that he take up the post accordingly. [Margin: order to Captain Nelly to send ashore his cargo] The council further ordered that an order be drawn up at once and sent to Captain Nelly, directing him to send ashore the cargo of goods he had aboard, consigned to the council as set out above, as soon as he possibly could. The order was to mention that, if he wanted any assistance, Interpretations The directors' appointment of Edward Byfield settled at a stroke the very question Alexander had petitioned to raise. The Company's general letter of 9 March 1719 named Byfield third in council and chief overseer of the plantations and live stock, the precise office Alexander had sought across his petition of the preceding consultation. The arrival of the packet overrode the local contest, the Court's standing decision displacing the claim a councillor had pressed on the spot. The general letter was the Court of Directors' annual instrument of command, carrying its appointments and orders to the island. Delivered sealed by the ship's captain and opened in council, it bound the local government to decisions made in London many months before. The dating of the letter to 9 March 1719, read only in August 1720, measures the long delay between the directors' will and its execution on a remote island. The order to land the Hartford's cargo with all speed reflected the charter terms that governed a ship's time in the road. Unloading within the allotted days protected the Company from demurrage and freed the vessel to continue her voyage. The offer of assistance shows the council anticipating the surf and crane difficulties that routinely delayed unloading at James Valley. Alexander's prior service and standing are on record. He had carried the chief burden of the secretary's office, certified the families, land and cattle register, and ranked among the senior men under the present administration. His petition for the overseership, made on the eve of the packet's opening, now gave way to the directors' nomination of Byfield to that charge. | |||||
481 | August. Assistance for the quicker dispatch and landing the Said Goods We are willing readily to Supply him. And that the Storekeeper do attend at the Proper Landing Places, or Some other Person in his Stead for the receiving the S:d Goods as Soon as brought on Shore. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 30 day of August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander 3 & Jno: Goodwin 4th in Coun: The Last Consultation read & Approved of. This day We read the Generall Letter thro' and and on Considering the 35, 36 & 37 Paragraphs therein, do resolve that an Humble representation be made to Our Hon: Masters of the State & Condition of the Island in relation to the Fortifica= tions, and likewise of the People, Now their Acco:ts Margin Notes: Store attend: to receive Goods for Gen: fores the State of Island forti= font home | [August] The order to Captain Nelly closed by stating that, for the quicker dispatch and landing of the goods, the council was willing and ready to supply him with assistance. [Margin: persons to attend the receiving of the goods] The council further ordered that the storekeeper, or some other person in his place, attend at the proper landing places to receive the Company's goods as soon as they were brought ashore. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 30 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: for paragraphs considered] On this day the council read the general letter further. On considering the 35th, 36th and 37th paragraphs, it resolved that a humble representation be made to the Company of the state and condition of the island in relation to the fortifications, and likewise of the people, how their accounts stood Interpretations The signing of the record now placed Edward Byfield among the councillors in his own right. His name appeared after the Governor and before Alexander and Goodwin, marking his immediate entry into the council on the directors' appointment read the day before. The order of signatures fixed the new precedence the general letter of 9 March 1719 had established. The council's precedence was set out in full at the head of the new consultation, ranking Byfield second, Alexander third and Goodwin fourth. The directors' nomination had reshaped the order, lifting Byfield above Alexander, who had petitioned for the very overseership now given to the newcomer. The formal statement of rank recorded the settled outcome of that displacement. The general letter governed the council's business beyond appointments, its numbered paragraphs directing specific actions. Reading the 35th, 36th and 37th paragraphs prompted the resolve to report on the fortifications and the people's accounts, the directors having evidently raised those matters. The letter functioned as a running agenda, each paragraph calling for a considered local response. The resolve to make a representation on the island's defences and its accounts answered instructions the directors had sent in their letter. The fortifications guarded a remote and strategically placed island, and the directors' concern with their state, read alongside the people's accounts, set the council to compiling a formal report. The decision opened a piece of business whose substance would follow. | |||||
481 | Stand in their Hon: Books which We could not doe before this because as our Books of Acco: were not brought up So We could not Certainly come to the Knowledge thereof before, and We are of the Opinion that the Con= tinueing to Hire those Ranks Blacks whose Circumstances We know will Scarcely allow of any other way of making Payment will be most for their Hon:ts Interest as well in of getting in those debts which otherwise would be very Pre= carious, as likewise in the Expediteing the Finishing those Works belonging to the Fortifications So long ago begun and which have already So much Suffered by lying unfin= nished and to Assist now in the Building of a New Black House for the Plantation House which hath been wanted this many Years, and the Remainder which was not Destroyed by fire in Gov: Bouchiers time, hath been repaired till it will no Longer Subsist, and is not Sufficient for the Number of Blacks their Hon: now have. The Black House at the Peak built about two Years agoe, the walls have So bursted and are So full of Large Cracks that Our Said Hon: Masters Slaves are Endangered every night the Wind Blows. The Black House at the Hutts (another of their Hon: Plantations) is in the Same Condition, tho indeed is very old. Gov: Pyke did for Severall Years propose to Rebuild it, Your Slaves for Some Years have Scarcely been Margin Notes: Blacks Employd for Paym:t of debts Expediting the works Necessary Building wanting repaire | [1720] The representation continued, setting out how the people's accounts stood in the Company's books. The council explained that it could not have furnished this before, since the books of account had not been brought up to date, so the true state of the debts could not be known until now. [Margin: blacks employed for payment of debts] The council gave its opinion that continuing to hire the planters' slaves was the best course. The circumstances of those planters would scarcely allow any other means of payment, so the practice served the Company's interest both in clearing debts that would otherwise be very uncertain of recovery, and in pressing forward the unfinished defence works. [Margin: expediting the works] The works on the fortifications had been begun so long ago and had suffered greatly by lying unfinished. The hired slaves could be set to advancing them, and also to building a new black house for the plantation house, which had stood ruined for many years. [Margin: necessary building wants repair] The remainder of that building, not destroyed by fire in Governor Boucher's time, had been patched up until it would serve no longer, and was now too small for the number of slaves the Company held. The black house at the Peak, built about two years before, had walls so bruised and so full of large cracks that the Company's slaves were endangered every night by the wind and weather. The black house at the Hutts, on another of the Company's plantations, stood in the same condition, being indeed very old. Governor Pyke had for several years proposed to rebuild it. The Company's slaves had for some years been scarcely sheltered. Interpretations The council tied the hire of planters' slaves to the recovery of debts the planters could not otherwise pay. Indebted planters short of coin could discharge what they owed through their slaves' labour, exactly as John Long had proposed on 9 August 1720 to clear his debt to Gabriel Powell. The council cast the arrangement as serving the Company twice over, turning uncertain debts into useful work while advancing its own projects. The unfinished fortifications had stood neglected long enough to deteriorate, and the council pressed for hired labour to complete them. The works guarded a remote island of real strategic value, and the directors' concern with the defences, raised in the general letter of 9 March 1719, had prompted this very representation. Setting the planters' slaves to the task answered both the directors' instruction and the decay caused by long delay. The decayed black houses recorded the Company's failure to shelter its own slaves adequately. The plantation house building stood patched and overcrowded, the Peak house cracked and unsafe after only two years, and the Hutts house old and long marked for rebuilding by Governor Pyke. The candid account of slaves endangered nightly by the weather framed the housing as a pressing want the representation sought funds and labour to meet. The reliance on up-to-date books to state the debts shows the connection between sound accounting and the Company's recovery of money. The long neglect of the account books, a recurring trouble under the past administration, had left the true state of the debts unknown. Only now, with the books brought up, could the council report the figures and justify its plan to clear the debts through hired labour. Speculations The decision to fund the defence works and the slave housing through hired labour rather than fresh expenditure shows the council solving two problems with a single device. The planters owed money they could not pay in coin, while the Company needed labour for works it was reluctant to fund directly. By directing the planters' slaves onto the fortifications and the black houses, the council converted bad debts into the very work it required, the labour discharging the planters' obligations and serving the Company's ends at once. The scheme managed the island's shortage of coin and its surplus of unpaid debt by making each cancel the other. The candid description of slaves endangered nightly in cracked and ruined houses was calculated to move the directors to authorise the rebuilding. A bare request for funds might be deferred, whereas an account of the Company's own property left unsheltered and at risk pressed the case as a loss the Company itself would bear. By anchoring the appeal to the concrete state of the Peak and Hutts houses, the council framed the repair not as expense but as the protection of valuable assets, structuring the representation to overcome the directors' reluctance to spend. | |||||
482 | August. Sheltered from the weather: the time of working in the Country is not above four Months in the Year. And as there is a great deal of Building Now going on in the Country together, the more Help will be requisite to Compleat it within the Season of working. The three following Petitions were Presented. Viz: The Petition of Thomas Dutch Sen:r Setting forth that he had lately Purchased a Small House of Sutton Jaab Planter adjoyning to another House he had Some time before bought of the Wid:o Hayse, Neither of which having any Kitchen for the Conveniency of Dressing Victuals, Wherefore Humbly Prays he may be Granted a Peice of Ground that lies vacant on the back Part of his Said Houses as far as they reach in length for to Build a Small Kitchen on & make a Small Yard before it, which in the whole Contains about 30 foot and is very willing to pay the usual Rent. And &c: Granted at Granted He paying ten Shillings p Annu: to our 10s p Annu: Hon: Masters and to have a lease for the Same Accord= ingly. John Young also Petitioned for the Grant of a Small Peice of Ground to Build only a Kitchen on at the end of his dwelling House next to y: Water Course. Granted at Granted He paying five Shillings p Annum. Margin Notes: time of working in y: Country Pet: of Tho:s Dutch desiring to Rent Ground in y: Valley Jno: Young prays a Smalle P: Ground Granted at 5 p Annu: | [August] The representation closed by noting that the Company's slaves had been scarcely sheltered from the weather. The season fit for building in the country ran no more than four months in the year. With a great deal of construction now needed there at once, more hands would be required to finish it within that short season. The council then took up three petitions, as follows. [Margin: petition of Thomas Dutch] Thomas Dutch, sailmaker, presented a petition. He set out that he had lately bought a small house from Sutton Isaack, planter, adjoining another house he had earlier bought from the widow Hayse. Neither house had a kitchen for preparing meals. [Margin: paying rent, grounded in the valley] Dutch asked to be granted a piece of ground lying vacant at the back of his houses, as far as they reached in length, so that he might build a small kitchen and make a small yard in front of it. The whole came to about 30 feet. He was very willing to pay the usual rent. [Margin: granted at 10s 0d per annum] The council granted the request, Dutch to pay 10s 0d a year to the Company and to have a lease accordingly. [Margin: John Young's petition for a small piece of ground] John Young also petitioned for the grant of a small piece of ground to build only a kitchen on, at the end of his dwelling house next the watercourse. [Margin: granted at 5s 0d per annum] The council granted the request, Young to pay 5s 0d a year. Interpretations The four-month limit on country building shaped the council's case for more labour, tying the demand for hands to the island's moderate seasons. Construction in the higher ground could proceed only in the favourable months, so the works on the fortifications and the black houses had to be crowded into that span. The constraint reinforced the representation's request to the directors, the season itself arguing for the hired slaves the council sought. The two grants of vacant ground for kitchens show the Company letting out small parcels for a yearly rent, extending its leasehold estate by piecemeal grant. Dutch's 30-foot plot at 10s 0d and Young's smaller piece at 5s 0d each carried a fixed annual rent and a lease. The transactions record the routine conversion of unused ground into a modest standing revenue, the rent reflecting the size of each parcel. The separation of kitchens from dwelling houses reflected a practical concern with the risk of fire. Both petitioners sought ground to build a detached kitchen, and the danger of fire was no idle worry, the plantation house having lost part of its building to fire in Governor Boucher's time. Siting the cooking apart from the living quarters guarded the main house, the grants serving a settled precaution as much as convenience. Thomas Dutch's trade as sailmaker placed him among the maritime tradesmen the island's shipping required, his houses bought from Sutton Isaack and the widow Hayse marking the ordinary transfer of property among inhabitants. The grant rounded out his holding with the ground he lacked. The entry records the steady consolidation of small properties within James Valley through purchase and lease. | |||||
483 | Likewise John Auldrick Carpenter Petitioned for the Grant of another Small piece of Ground to Build him a Kitchen on, behind his House and the Water Course (of sorts) which he Stands in great need of. And &c: Granted He paying the Sum of Five Shillings p Annu: & that Leases be made accordingly for the term of one Twenty Years. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Wednesday the 31 of Aug: 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. The Council Mett this day to Consider of our Letters to be Sent to India by the Ship Hartford and what to write for from thence for the Use of this Island. Margin Notes: Jno: Auldrick Petn: for a Smalle small P: Ground Granted 5s p Annu: lease Lett:rs for India Considerd of | [1720] [Margin: John Auldrick's petition for a small piece of ground] John Auldrick, carpenter, likewise petitioned for the grant of another small piece of ground to build a kitchen on, behind his house and the watercourse, which he stood in great need of. [Margin: granted at 5s 0d per annum, lease] The council granted the request, Auldrick to pay 5s 0d a year, with a lease to be made accordingly for the term of 21 years. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Wednesday 31 August 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: letters for India considered] The council met this day to consider the letters to be sent to India by the ship Hartford, and what to write for from there for the use of the island. Interpretations Auldrick's grant fixed the standard term of such leases at 21 years, completing the run of three kitchen grants with a defined tenure. The earlier grants to Dutch and Young had set the rent but the length appears here in full, the lease running for the customary 21-year span. The term gave the holder security for his building while reserving the Company's ultimate title to the ground. The clustering of three carpenters' and tradesmen's kitchen petitions in successive consultations points to a shared want among the householders of James Valley. Each lacked a kitchen and sought vacant ground to build one apart from his dwelling, the same need answered on the same terms. The pattern shows the council processing a recognised class of small grant through a settled procedure. The Hartford served the island in both directions, having brought the directors' packet and cargo from England and now carrying the council's correspondence onward to India. Ships calling at St Helena linked the remote island to both England and the Company's eastern settlements, and the council used each vessel to despatch its letters and indents. The consultation's purpose was to ready the orders for goods the island needed from India before the ship sailed. The deliberate sitting to settle the India letters and indents reflected the long lead times of supply to a remote island. Goods wanted for the island's use had to be ordered far in advance and brought by whatever ship was bound the right way. Convening expressly to consider what to write for shows the administration managing its provisioning against the slow and uncertain rhythm of the Company's shipping. | |||||
484 | August. After Recitall of Letters rec:d Since our last. To Write to Fort St George for viz: Batavia Arack & Trifonda Sug: as Usuall 2 Bales of fine Long Cloth for Shirting. 1 Bale of Middling Maddeass Chints. And 1 ditto of four Threaded Ginghams No Long Cloth to be Sent for now having Eno: in the Store of the Ordinary Sort. That they be desired to Continue their Orders to the Cape for Garden Seeds & plants, but not to Exceed five Pounds worth when brought & Sold here. That We Congratulate Gov: Hastings in his Government: That We Write about the Portuguese Fellow, and why Sent off the Island. And That We Send a List of Shipping Arrived here Since that by the Rogers. To Bombay. Desireing a large quantity of Rice may be Sent Us by each Ship. That they Continue their Orders to the Cape for plants and Garden Seeds. That We desire them to desist Sending any more Goods than what We write for. And To Send a list of Shipping aforesaid. Margin Notes: What Goods want from Madr:t Garden Seeds & desired Portuguese Sent Sent off Rice desir:d from Bombay Ord: for Seeds No Goods no y:t desired | [August] After a recital of the letters received since the last consultation, the council settled what to write. [Margin: what goods wanted from Madras] To Fort St George the council was to write for the following: Batavia arrack and Trincomalee sugar, as usual. 2 bales of fine long cloth for shirting. 1 bale of middling Madras chintz, and 1 bale of four-threaded ginghams. No more long cloth was to be sent for now, the stores holding enough of the ordinary sort. [Margin: garden seeds desired] Fort St George was to be asked to continue its orders to the Cape for garden seeds and plants, but not to exceed £5 0s 0d worth when brought and sold here. The council was to congratulate Governor Hastings on his appointment. [Margin: Portuguese fellow sent off the island] The council was to write about the Portuguese man, and explain why he had been sent off the island. The council was also to send a list of the shipping arrived here since the last, by the Craggs. To Bombay: [Margin: rice desired from Bombay] The council was to ask that a large quantity of rice be sent by each ship. [Margin: orders for seeds] Bombay was to be asked to continue its orders to the Cape for plants and garden seeds. [Margin: no goods unless desired] The council was to desire Bombay to send no more goods than what was written for, and to send a list of the shipping as above. Interpretations The indents reveal the island's dependence on the Company's eastern settlements for goods it could not produce or obtain from England. Madras supplied arrack, sugar and Indian cloth, while Bombay was the source of rice in bulk. The careful specification of bales and types shows the council ordering against known stocks, drawing the necessaries of the settlement from across the Company's trading network. The named cloths were Indian cottons brought through the East India trade for the island's use and resale. Long cloth was a plain calico used for shirting and general wear, chintz a printed and painted cotton, and ginghams a checked or striped cloth, the four-threaded sort being a closer weave. Madras was the great mart for these goods, and the council ordered grades suited to the island's market, holding off on long cloth while the ordinary kind remained in store. The cap of £5 0s 0d on garden seeds and plants from the Cape set a firm limit on a recurring import, controlling the cost of a useful but minor supply. Seeds and plants for the island's gardens came most readily from the nearer Cape, and fixing a ceiling on their value kept the expense in check. The instruction shows the council managing even small standing orders against a budget. The order to explain why the Portuguese man had been sent off the island reflects the council's accountability to the Company for its handling of foreigners. Removing a foreign national from the settlement was a matter the directors would expect to be justified, and the council undertook to report its reasons. The remote island guarded its small population and the council answered for whom it admitted or expelled. Speculations The instruction to both Madras and Bombay to send no goods beyond what was written for points to a deliberate effort to curb unsolicited shipments that burdened the island's small stores and accounts. Settlements left to their own discretion might forward surplus goods the island neither needed nor could readily sell, swelling the very debts and overstocked stores the council had lately struggled to reckon. By confining each settlement to the express indent, the council managed its supply tightly, fixing what it would receive rather than absorbing whatever the eastern ports chose to send. The restraint on long cloth, ordered against the level of ordinary stock already held, shows provisioning governed by a running check of the stores rather than habit. The council bought the finer shirting it lacked while declining more of the common sort it already had, matching each order to actual need. The decision reflects the same stocktaking discipline applied to the yam survey of 23 August 1720, the council ordering from knowledge of its holdings rather than ordering blind. | |||||
485 | To Bengall. Desireing them to Send Us a Quantity of Batavia Arrack, Good Sugar & Rice. 2 Bales of Doofstittes 50 Peices of Taffaty's Sorted. 100 Ps Neckloths & 100 Ps Striped Cureadaries. To Bencoolin To Write for 2 or 3 Canisters of fine Java Sug:r for our Table Use Arrack the full one per Cent. &c Mr Cranston presented his Petition to Us. Setting forth that he having no other Method of Subsist= ing on this place than the Hon: Comp: Service for and in whose Employm:t he left his Native Country & all other Con= siderations, & to his Extream Sorrow being not permitted to Continue therein. Humbly Prays to be restored to his former Post, or if not Granted desires he may be Allowed to dispose of what Small Matters he hath here & after Settling his Acco: to Seek his Bread Elsewhere by the first Convenient Opportunity. And &c: The Petition is Answered that he has delivered Several Petitions to Us of this Nature, & therefore We make the Same Answer Margin Notes: Arrack Sug: & Rice desired from Beng: Pet: of Mr Cranston Pray= ing to be restor'd By &c leave to Seek his Bread Else where. Answered in Same Mane as formerly | [1720] To Bengal: [Margin: arrack, sugar, rice desired for Bengal] The council was to ask Bengal to send a quantity of Batavia arrack, good sugar and rice. 2 bales of doositters. 50 pieces of taffaties, sorted. 100 pieces of neckcloths, and 100 pieces of striped cuddaries. To Bencoolen: The council was to write for 2 or 3 canisters of fine Java sugar for the table, and for arrack at the full 1 per cent. [Margin: petition of Mr Ormston to be restored] Mr Ormston presented his petition. He set out that he had no other means of subsistence on the island than the Company's service. For that employment he had left his native country and all other considerations, and to his great sorrow he was no longer permitted to continue in it. [Margin: or leave to seek his bread elsewhere] Ormston humbly asked to be restored to his former post. If that were not granted, he asked leave to dispose of what small matters he had, and, after settling his accounts, to seek his living elsewhere at the first convenient opportunity. [Margin: answered in same manner as already] The council answered that he had delivered several petitions of this nature, and therefore gave the same answer to this petition as it had given to his earlier ones. Interpretations The Bengal indent extended the island's reach to a third Indian settlement for both provisions and a further range of cottons. Bengal supplied arrack, sugar and rice like the other ports, but also distinctive cloths the council ordered by the piece. The spread of orders across Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Bencoolen shows the island drawing on the whole eastern network, each settlement furnishing what it was best placed to supply. The Bengal cloths were specialised Indian textiles named by their local types. Doositters and cuddaries were varieties of cotton piece-goods, taffaties were a fine silk or silk-mixed cloth, and neckcloths were made-up cloths for wear about the neck. Bengal was the Company's chief source of such fabrics, and the council ordered them sorted and by the hundred pieces for the island's market and use. Ormston's plea rested on his total dependence on the Company's service for his livelihood on a remote island. Having crossed the world for the employment and given up all else, he had no other means once removed from his post. The petition captures the plight of a covenant servant stranded far from home when his place was lost, with restoration or departure his only choices. The council's refusal to entertain a repeated petition shows it holding firm against persistent appeal. Ormston had brought several petitions of the same kind, and the bench declined to vary its standing answer. Joseph Ormston had been suspended as accountant on 24 May 1720 and his earlier suits to go for England refused, the council now treating this fresh petition as no different from those already denied. | |||||
486 | September to this Petition as We did to his former. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 6 day of Sept: 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander 3 & Jno: Goodwin 4 in Coun:ll The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Govern:r Reports that now having a true State of the debts of the Island finds there was a Misstake in Govern:r Pykes Acco: of £428, 2, 7¾ for which he was not made debtor when his Accounts were Ballanced at his going off. Likewise in the Acco: Joshua Thomlinsons Account another Misstake of £35, 10, 7. Ordered That Letters be Wrote to Each of them and Sent by this Ship to Acquaint them of the Said Misstakes that the Same may be paid. Margin Notes: Misstake in Gov: Pykes Acco: of £428, 2, 7¾ also in Mr Thomlinsons £35, 10, 7 Above to be given for their Paying of Same | [September] The council gave the same answer to this petition as it had given to his earlier ones. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 September 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. [Margin: mistake in Governor Pyke's account of £428 2s 7¼d] Governor Johnson reported that, now holding a true state of the island's debts, he had found a mistake in Governor Pyke's account. A sum of £428 2s 7¼d had not been charged against Pyke when his accounts were balanced on his departure. [Margin: also in Mr Thomlinson's account, £35 10s 7d] Likewise, in the Reverend Joshua Thomlinson's account, there was another mistake of £35 10s 7d. [Margin: advice to be given for their paying the same] The council ordered that letters be written to each of them, and sent by this ship, to inform them of the mistakes, so that the sums might be paid. Interpretations The discovery of unrecorded debts shows the practical value of the books at last brought up to date. The long neglect of the account books had left the island's debts unknown, and only the completed reckoning exposed the two omissions. The errors in the accounts of Governor Pyke and the chaplain Thomlinson came to light precisely because the council now held the true state of the debts it had earlier been unable to furnish. The mistake in Governor Pyke's account marked a substantial sum left uncharged when he handed over his administration. A balance of £428 2s 7¼d had escaped the reckoning made when Pyke departed for Bencoolen, leaving him still indebted to the Company. The case shows how an outgoing officer's accounts, settled in haste at a change of government, could carry uncorrected errors discovered only later. The decision to write to both men by the departing ship reflects the slow correction of accounts across great distances. Pyke had removed to Bencoolen and Thomlinson had left the island, so recovery of the sums depended on letters carried by whatever ship was bound the right way. The council seized the sailing of the Hartford to pursue debts that could be chased only through the Company's correspondence. Governor Pyke's departure and the circumstances of his handover are on record. He was succeeded by Edward Johnson on 13 June 1719 and removed to Bencoolen at his own desire, composing his handover survey before he left. The uncharged balance now found shows that the accounts settled at that transfer were not in fact complete, an error surfacing more than a year after his going. | |||||
487 | The following Petitions were presented (Viz:) The Petition of Samuel Jefsey Planter Setting forth that he had for Severall Years Acted as an Overseer of the Hutts Plantation, and in the last Year it pleased God to Visit him with a Severe fitt of Sickness that Continued Eight months, & which was very Chargable & Expencive to him besides the Damages he Sustained in his Stock & Plantation for want of his care & Inspection. Wherefore Humbly beggs our Consider= ation of his poor Condition & to Allow him So much as thought Proper, as well for the time he lay Sick as three Months before which in Some manner would help to defray his P: Loss & Expence. And &c: Referrd to further Consideration. The Petition of Rich: Tomyson Couroaine Setting forth that He having Served the Hon: Comp: about Nine Years on this Island Humbly Prays Leave may be Granted him to go farther in India, in the Ship Hartford now in the road. And &c: Granted He first Paying what he Stands Indebted to the Hon: Company. The Gunner brought in his Acco: of Gun Stores &= pended for the Months of May & June last, which was Examind & Approv'd of, and are as follows. Margin Notes: Sam: Jefsey Pet: request his &c Referrd R: Tomyson Couroaine to be for India Granted Gun Sto: Gun Attle Exp:d in May | [1720] The council took up the following petitions. [Margin: Samuel Jessey's petition] Samuel Jessey, planter, presented a petition. He set out that he had for several years acted as overseer of the Hutts plantation. In the past year it had pleased God to afflict him with a severe fit of sickness that lasted eight months, a great charge and expense to him. He had also suffered losses in his stock and plantation for want of his care and oversight during that time. [Margin: and prays an allowance] Jessey humbly asked the council to consider his poor condition and to allow him such a sum as it thought proper, both for the time he lay sick and for three months before. Such relief would in some measure help to make good his losses and expense. [Margin: referred] The council referred the petition to further consideration. [Margin: Richard Tompson prays leave to go for India] Richard Tompson, coxswain, presented a petition. He set out that he had served the Company about nine years on the island, and humbly asked leave to go further into India aboard the Hartford, then in the road. [Margin: granted] The council granted the request, Tompson first paying what he owed the Company. [Margin: gunner's stores account brought in] The gunner brought in his account of gun stores spent for the months of May and June, which the council examined and approved. The account was as follows. Interpretations Jessey's plea for relief framed his sickness as a loss to the Company's plantation as well as to himself. As overseer of the Hutts plantation he was answerable for its management, and his eight months unfit left the stock and crop to suffer for want of oversight. The petition sought compensation not only for his personal expense but for damage to the very plantation whose decayed black house the council had lately reported, casting his illness as a charge the Company should share. The grant of leave conditional on payment of debt shows the council using departure as a lever to clear what was owed. Tompson could not sail until he had settled his account with the Company, the same condition imposed on Richard Tompson [...] and on every servant seeking to leave. The rule ensured that no man quit the island while still in the Company's debt, the moment of departure serving to recover the money. The gunner's regular account of stores spent subjected the Company's munitions to the same periodic audit as its medicines and provisions. Gun stores were valuable and strategically vital on a fortified island, and requiring the gunner to render a monthly reckoning kept their consumption under the council's eye. The routine presentation marks ordinary supervision of a controlled military resource. The deferral of Jessey's petition to further consideration reflects the council's caution over a discretionary payment with no fixed entitlement. Relief for sickness rested on the bench's judgement of what was proper, not on any settled right, so the matter was held over for weighing. The referral shows the council reserving such grants for deliberate decision rather than granting them on the spot. | |||||
488 | September An Acco: of Gun Stores Expended from y: 18 day of May to y: 30 June 1720 Guns fired. Ball. W.Cdo. D.Cdo. Takers. Minion. Falons. Shott. Powder. May y: 25 An Alarme 1 4 4 D:o fired at Mund:ns Point to bring Ship too 1 1 1 7 D:o He Arrived the Princess Arhelia 7 7 7 D:o y: 28 King Georges Birth day 141 10 3 7 8 8 105 1 386 D:o for the Small Armes 18 D:o 29 An Allarm 1 1 4 D:o fired at Mundens Point 1 1 1 7 D:o Arriv'd the Dawsonne 11 11 11 D:o 29 Being King Charles y: 2d Restaura: 121 10 2 7 8 8 82 347 D:o for Small Armes 14 D:o 30 A double Alarme 6 6 6 D:o Arriv'd y: King William, Cadogan, Sunderland & Mary Galloy 32 32 32 At Gov:r Colletts Landing 21 2 19 25 June y: 2 An Alarme 4 4 4 D:o Arrived the Borneo 7 7 7 D:o Delivered to Tho: Allis to Alarm Sandy B: 7 3 D:o 4 & 5 An Alarme 4 4 4 D:o Arrived the Thistleworth 7 7 7 D:o y: 7 Delivered to Capt: Wolton 1 Barr:l P:d 100 Delivered to Capt: Hunter 3 Barr:d D:o 300 Delivered to Capt: Winke 4 Barr:s P:d 400 D:o 8 At Gov:n Colletts going on Board 21 2 19 25 Departure of y: Ships D:r Bouverie, King William, Sunderland, Princess Amelia, ditto Cadogan, Dawsonne, Prince Frederick, Borneo, Thistleworth and Mary Galloy 82 82 82 D:o y: b At Gov:n Johnsons coming on Shore 15 15 15 D:o y: 12 A double Alarm for 4 Ships passed by 6 6 6 14 An Alarm 4 4 4 15 Arrived the Townsend 7 7 7 20 An Alarm 4 4 4 Arriv'd the Fordwitch 11 11 11 Expended by the Garrison viz 20 Muskett Balls 25 8 Cartridge Paper 25 9 Flints 50 Tompkins 16 Match 25 16 Aye clipes 2 Tender & y: Carpenters 4 Guns fired. Ball. W.Cdo. D.Cdo. Takers. Minion. Falons. Shott. Powder. 42 15 1650 9 8 521 20 5 16 16 20 440 3, 18[...] | [September] An account of gun stores spent from 18 May to 30 June 1720. The columns ran by guns fired, petards, whole culverins, demi-culverins, sakers, minions, falcons, shot and powder. 25 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. Fired at Munden's Point to bring a ship to: 1 gun fired, 1 saker, 1 minion, [...] [shot], 7 [powder]. Arrived the Princess Amelia: 7 guns fired, 7 minions, 7 [shot]. 28 May, King George's birthday: 41 guns fired, 10 petards, 3 whole culverins, 7 demi-culverins, 8 sakers, 8 minions, 105 falcons, 1 shot, 380 [powder]. Ditto, for the small arms: 18 [powder]. 29 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. Fired at Munden's Point: 1 gun fired, 1 saker, 1 minion, 7 [powder]. Arrived the Dawsonne: 11 guns fired, 11 minions, 11 [shot]. 29 May, being the restoration of King Charles the Second: 121 guns fired, 10 petards, 2 whole culverins, 7 demi-culverins, 8 sakers, 8 minions, 82 falcons, 347 [powder]. Ditto, for small arms: 14 [powder]. 30 May, a double alarm: 6 guns fired, 6 minions, 6 [shot]. Ditto, arrived the King William, Cadogan, Sunderland and Mary Galley: 32 guns fired, 32 minions, 32 [shot]. At Governor Collett's landing: 21 guns fired, 2 minions, 19 falcons, 25 [shot]. 2 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. Arrived the Borneo: 7 guns fired, 7 minions, 7 [shot]. Delivered to Thomas Allis to alarm Sandy Bay: 3 [powder]. 5 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. Arrived the Thistleworth: 7 guns fired, 7 minions, 7 [shot]. 7 June, delivered to Captain Wotton, 1 barrel of powder: 100 [powder]. Delivered to Captain Hunter, 3 barrels: 300 [powder]. Delivered to Captain Winter, 4 barrels: 400 [powder]. 8 June, at Governor Collett's going on board: 21 guns fired, 2 minions, 19 falcons, 25 [shot]. Ditto, the departure of the ships De Bouverie, King William, Sunderland, Cadogan, Princess Amelia, Dawsonne, Prince Frederick, Borneo, Thistleworth and Mary Galley: 82 guns fired, 82 minions, 82 [shot]. 11 June, at Governor Johnson's coming ashore: 15 guns fired, 15 minions, 15 [shot]. 12 June, a double alarm for 4 ships passed by: 6 guns fired, 6 minions, 6 [shot]. 14 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. 15 June, arrived the Townsend: 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 4 [shot]. 20 June, an alarm: 7 guns fired, 7 minions, 7 [shot]. Arrived the Fordwitch: 11 guns fired, 11 minions, 11 [shot], 20 [powder]. Spent by the garrison, namely: Musket balls: 8 Cartridge paper: 27 Flints: 9 Tompkins: 50 Match: 16 Axletrees: 2 Trucks by the carpenter: 4 The totals stood at 42 guns fired, 45 petards, 16 whole culverins, 50 demi-culverins, 9 sakers, 8 minions, 521 falcons, 20 shot, 5 [...], 16 [...], 16 [...], 29 [...], 440 [...], 3 [...], 189 [...]. Interpretations The account records the constant ceremonial and defensive firing that marked the island's daily life as a fortified port. Royal anniversaries drew the heaviest salutes, the restoration of King Charles the Second spending 121 guns and the King's birthday 41, while every arrival, departure and alarm called for its own discharge. The register shows powder and shot consumed less in combat than in the salutes and signals that announced and acknowledged the comings and goings of shipping. The named guns were the ordnance of the island's batteries, classed by size and range. Culverins, demi-culverins, sakers, minions and falcons were cannon of descending bore, the falcon being among the smallest, and petards were charges for breaching. Listing each type spent let the council track which pieces were fired and gauge the wear and powder drawn by each class of gun. The deliveries of powder by the barrel to ships' captains record the island supplying munitions to passing vessels. Wotton, Hunter and Winter each received whole barrels, charged against the island's stores. The fortified island served as a powder depot on the long sea route, furnishing ships for their onward voyages and entering the issue in the gunner's account for reckoning with the Company. The salutes at the landing and departure of Governors Collett and Johnson marked the ceremonial recognition of high office. Collett passed homeward through the island and Johnson governed it, each greeted and sped with the formal discharge of guns. The honours show the island's ordnance employed to mark rank and authority as much as to signal or defend. The string of warship and Indiaman arrivals and the great combined departure of ten ships on 8 June 1720 record the passage of a large homeward fleet through the road. Vessels gathered at the island before sailing on together for safety, and the mass salute at their departure registers the scale of the convoy. The register captures St Helena's role as a rendezvous on the Company's eastern routes. | |||||
489 | An Acco: of Gun Stores Expended from June the 30 to August the 31. 1720. Guns fired. D.Cdo. Minions. Falcons. Shott. Powder. Expended. July y: 3 Delivered to Capt: Worth of the Townsend 5 Barr:l 500. Delivered to Capt: Rigby of y: Fordwich. 4 Bar: 400 D:o At the Departure of y: above Named Ships 22 22 22 for the Gener: Exercise of the Guards 7 D:o 6 Sent to Mundens Point & Bankses 18 Aug:t 5 King Georges Proclamation day 84 16 8 60 196 D:o 25 An Alarme 4 4 4 D:o At the Arrival of the Hartford from Engl: 15 15 15 For the Generall Exercise of the Garrison 10 Deliver'd Tho: Allis to Alarm Sandy bay 2 Deliver'd to the Severall Guards 14 At the Buriall of John Ebbs 1 Match deliver'd to y: Fordwich 6 Match deliver'd to y: Townsend 6 Match Expended 32 At Mundens Point & Bankses 16 Musquett Balls 4 At Mund: Point & Bankses 7 Cartridge Papr: D:o Johnstown 1 Cartridge Papr: Expended 9 Flints 38 Spunge Staves Expended 2 Sheep Skins D:o y: Fordwich 3 Ditto D:o the Townsend 3 Ditto Expended 4 Trucks 4 Axeltrees D:o y: Carpon: a Scow: Rodds Expd: 12 Guns fired. D.Cdo. Minions. Falcons. Shott. Powder. Expended. Totalle 12 1 4 10 2 38 10 11 60 125 16 8 101 1179 Isaac Leech | [1720] An account of gun stores spent from 30 June to 3 August 1720. The columns ran by guns fired, demi-culverins, minions, falcons, shot and powder spent. 5 July, delivered to Captain Worth of the Townsend, 5 barrels: 500 powder. Delivered to Captain Rigby of the Fordwich, 4 barrels: 400 powder. At the departure of the ships named above: 22 guns fired, 22 falcons, 22 powder. For the general exercise of the guards: 7 powder. 6 July, sent to Munden's Point and the bankses: 8 powder. 3 August, King George's proclamation day: 84 guns fired, 16 demi-culverins, 8 minions, 60 falcons, 196 powder. 25 August, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 4 falcons, 4 powder. At the arrival of the Hartford from England: 15 guns fired, 15 falcons, 15 powder. For the general exercise of the garrison: 10 powder. Delivered to Thomas Allis to alarm Sandy Bay: 2 powder. Delivered to the several guards: 14 powder. At the burial of John Ebbs: 1 powder. Match delivered to the Fordwich: 6 Match delivered to the Townsend: 6 Match spent: 32 At Munden's Point and the bankses: 16 Musket balls: 4 At Munden's Point and the bankses: 7 Cartridge paper delivered to Doctor Johnston: 1 Cartridge paper spent: 9 Flints: 58 Sponge staves spent: 2 Sheep skins delivered to the Fordwich: 3 Ditto delivered to the Townsend: 3 Ditto spent: 4 Trucks: 4 Axletrees delivered to the carpenter: 1 Scour rods spent: 12 The totals stood at 12 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 4 minions, 10 falcons, 2 [...], 38 shot, 10 [...], 11 [...], 60 [...], 125 [...], 16 [...], 8 [...], 101 [...], 1,179 powder. The account was signed by Isaac Leech. Interpretations The account confirms that powder went chiefly to salutes, exercise and the supply of passing ships rather than to fighting. King George's proclamation day spent 196 measures and the arrival of the Hartford fifteen, while whole barrels passed to the captains of the Townsend and Fordwich for their voyages. The register shows the island's munitions consumed in ceremony, training and the provisioning of shipping, the ordinary business of a fortified port of call. The match, sheep skins, sponge staves and scour rods were the consumable accessories of firing ordnance. Match was the slow-burning cord that touched off the guns, sponge staves and scour rods cleaned and cleared the barrels between rounds, and sheep skins served as wadding or covers for the pieces. Recording each item spent let the gunner account for the whole apparatus of firing rather than the powder and shot alone. The single measure of powder at the burial of John Ebbs records a funeral marked with a gun. The discharge honoured the passing of one connected with the garrison or the Company's service, entered in the stores like any other firing. The detail shows the island's ordnance employed to mark death as well as ceremony and defence. The departing ships Townsend and Fordwich each took both powder by the barrel and match for their onward voyages. The island furnished vessels with the means to work their own guns at sea, the issue charged against its stores. The deliveries register St Helena's standing function as a resupply point on the Company's eastern routes. The signature of Isaac Leech identifies the gunner answerable for the stores. As the officer in charge of the ordnance he rendered the account for the council's examination, his name fixing responsibility for the consumption recorded. The attestation completes the audit of a controlled military resource. | |||||
490 | September Debateing Upon Mr Haswells Inventory. Ordered That whatever did belong to Mr George Haswell dec:d be Sold and Returnd into the Hon: Comp: Cash towards the Discharging the Said Haswells debts when Lawfully Demanded. And that whatever Goods, Chattles, Stock &c: appears to be or belongs to Mr John Lacy who Married Haswells Wid:o be likewise Sold towards Discharging the debt by him Contracted to the Hon: Comp:y The overplus to be Returned to the Said Lacy. Capt: Alexander & Capt: Goodwin are by the Gov: desired to Inspect from time to time into Mr Lacy's Mannagem:t of the Plantation, Stock, & Effects of the Said Haswell, As also what was his own, it having been Seized for Payment of the Hon: Comp: debt that no waste or Embezelments be made of Either Estates by him Untill a Proper time be Appointed for Sale of the Same. Which trust they have both taken upon them, & Promise to make report of the Same to Consultation. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Debate on Mr Haswells Inventory All his Debts to be Sold for Paym:t of debts Also what Effects belongs to Mr Lacy for Paym:t of his debt Mr Alexander & Mr Goodwin desird to Inspect Into Mr Lacys Mannagem:t Report & Same in Consult:n | [September] The council debated Captain George Haswell's inventory. The council ordered that whatever had belonged to the late Captain George Haswell be sold and the proceeds paid into the Company's cash towards discharging Haswell's debts, when these were lawfully demanded. The council further ordered that whatever goods, chattels and stock appeared to belong to Mr John Lacy, who had married Haswell's widow, be likewise sold towards discharging the debt Lacy had contracted with the Company. Any surplus was to be returned to Lacy. Governor Johnson desired Captain Alexander and Captain Goodwin to inspect, from time to time, Lacy's management of the plantation, stock and effects of the late Haswell, as well as what was Lacy's own. Both estates had been seized for payment of the Company's debt, so the two were to see that Lacy made no waste or embezzlement of either until a proper time should be appointed for their sale. Alexander and Goodwin accepted the trust and promised to report on the matter to the council. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order to sell Haswell's whole estate converted the dead man's property into cash for his creditors, the Company foremost among them. Haswell had died intestate in 1718 leaving his accounts behind, and the realisation of his goods and stock was the means of satisfying what he owed. The decision shows the council pressing recovery of an old debt through the liquidation of the debtor's estate years after his death. The seizure of Lacy's property alongside Haswell's bound the husband's debt to the wife's inheritance. John Lacy had married Haswell's widow and so came into the estate, but he carried his own debt to the Company, lately a writer in the accountant's office before his dismissal. Both estates were taken together, the marriage having merged the two, with any surplus reserved to Lacy once the debts were met. The appointment of Alexander and Goodwin to oversee Lacy's management guarded seized property against waste before its sale. Estates held for the Company's debt remained at risk of being run down or embezzled by the man in possession, so the two councillors were set to watch over them. The arrangement shows the council protecting the value of property it had attached but not yet sold. John Lacy's standing is on record under the present administration. Brought over to assist the accountant, he was made writer in the office under Joseph Ormston, then dismissed for negligence on 3 May 1720 when John Martin Van Oosten took his place. The man whose property was now seized had fallen from the Company's service before the debt that bound his estate was called in. Speculations The decision to place seized estates under the watch of two councillors, rather than sell them at once, points to a deliberate balance between securing the Company's claim and realising the best price. An immediate forced sale might have fetched little, while leaving the property untended in Lacy's hands risked waste before any sale at all. By holding the estates until a proper time and guarding them in the interval, the council managed the conflict between speed and value, preserving the assets so that their eventual sale would satisfy the debt as fully as possible. | |||||
491 | Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on fryday the 9 day of Septemb:r 1720. At Union Castle in James valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and approved of. This day the Council Mett and read over the Severall Letters for India which were to be Sent by the Hartford, and they were those which We Signed & Delivered to Capt: Nelly that there might be no plea of Staying for our Dispatches used, that our Hon: Masters should Pay the owners any more Demorage than for the ten working days allowed for delivering his Cargoe here According to Charterparty. To the Hon: Francis Hastings Esq:r President & Council At Fort St George Our last to You was by the Leaggs Frigot Capt: John Wynn Comand: bearing date the 29 of June 1719, who sailed hence for Bencoolen on the 19 of July following, Since when We have rec: You rs of the 16 Feb:y 171[9] by the King Margin Notes: Letters read over for India Lett: to Fort St George | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Friday 9 September 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. The council met this day and read over the several letters for India that were to be sent by the Hartford. These were the letters it signed and delivered to Captain Nelly, so that there might be no excuse for delaying the dispatches, and so that the Company should pay the owners no more demurrage than for the ten days allowed for delivering the cargo here under the charter party. To the Honourable Francis Hastings, President, and the Council at Fort St George. The council's last letter to Fort St George had gone by the Craggs Frigate, under Captain John Wynn, dated 29 June 1719, which sailed from the island for Bencoolen on 12 July 1719. Since then the council had received the letter of 10 February 1718 by the King George. Interpretations The council's haste to sign and deliver the India letters was driven directly by the cost of demurrage under the charter party. A ship held beyond her allotted days incurred a penalty payable to her owners, so any delay charged to the council's slowness in furnishing dispatches would fall on the Company. By handing over the letters at once, the council removed the captain's ground for lingering and protected the Company from a charge it would otherwise bear. The charter party fixed the ten days within which the Hartford's cargo was to be landed, the standard term governing a ship's time in the road. Demurrage ran only beyond that allowance, so the council took care that no part of any delay could be laid to its own account. The arrangement shows the administration managing the ship's turnaround against the precise terms of her contract. The recital of past correspondence opened the letter to Fort St George by establishing the chain of communication across great distances. The council noted which of its letters had gone by which ship and which it had received in return, fixing the thread of exchange with the Madras presidency. Such recitals were necessary where letters travelled for months by uncertain conveyance, each side confirming what had passed to guard against lost dispatches. The letters travelled by whatever ship was bound the right way, the Hartford now carrying the council's correspondence onward to India after bringing the directors' packet from England. Ships calling at the island linked it to both England and the Company's eastern settlements, and the council used each sailing to despatch its accumulated letters. The entry shows St Helena functioning as a relay on the long routes between London and the East. | |||||
492 | September George of the 29 July following by the Queen & 10 Oct:r 1719 by the Marlbro: with their several Duplicates & Invoices Containing Goods & Stores Laden on Board them for this place, which proved very Good of their kind. But We have So much Long Cloth by Us that We desire You'd Send no more till We write for it. What We most want now is viz: Batavia Arack & Tripsinde Sugar, the Usuall quantity at the least. Two Bales of fine Long Cloth for Shirting, & desire it may be very Good. One Bale of Maddras Middling Chints & One Bale 4 threaded Ginghams. These with what Goods We are in Expectation of from You Pursuant to the Letter Wrote You by the Craggs will be Sufficient. We desire You'd Continue Your Instructions to the Commanders of the Homeward bound Shipping that touches at the Cape to bring Us as many Garden Seeds & Plants as they can Afford for about five Pounds when brought here, for We have Sometimes had Such Quantitys that have amounted to Large Sums of money. We have Enclosed a List of Shiping that has toucht here and departed Since our last by the Craggs which may | [September] The council had also received the letter of 29 July 1719 by the King George, and that of 10 October 1719 by the Marlborough, with their several duplicates and invoices. These covered the goods and stores laden aboard for the island, which proved very good of their kind. The council noted, however, that it already held so much long cloth that it desired Fort St George send no more until written for. What the island most wanted now was as follows: Batavia arrack and Trincomalee sugar, the usual quantity at the least. 2 bales of fine long cloth for shirting, which the council desired might be very good. 1 bale of middling Madras chintz, and 1 bale of four-threaded ginghams. These, with what goods the council expected from Fort St George under the letter sent by the Craggs Frigate, would be sufficient. The council desired Fort St George continue its instructions to the commanders of the homeward-bound shipping that touched at the Cape, to bring as many garden seeds and plants as they could afford, to about £5 0s 0d worth when brought here. The council had sometimes received such quantities as amounted to large sums of money. The council had enclosed a list of the shipping that had touched here and departed since its last letter by the Craggs Frigate. Interpretations The letter confirms the careful matching of orders to stocks already held, the council declining more long cloth while its stores remained full. Having received good supplies by the King George and the Marlborough, it ordered only the finer shirting it lacked and held off the ordinary kind. The instruction shows provisioning governed by a running check of the stores rather than by habit, the same discipline applied to the yam survey of 23 August 1720. The named goods were the staples drawn from the Company's eastern trade for the island's use and resale. Arrack was an Eastern spirit and Trincomalee sugar a Ceylon product, while the cloths were Indian cottons, chintz being a printed calico and ginghams a checked weave. Madras supplied these as a matter of routine, and the council ordered grades suited to the island's market against the levels it already held. The cap of £5 0s 0d on garden seeds and plants from the Cape controlled a recurring import that had grown costly. Seeds and plants came most readily from the nearer Cape, carried by homeward ships, but past quantities had run to large sums. Fixing a ceiling on their value kept a useful but minor supply within bounds, the council managing even small standing orders against a budget. The enclosed list of shipping that had touched and departed kept the Madras presidency informed of the traffic through the island. St Helena lay on the homeward route from the East, and a record of which vessels had called served the Company's tracking of its fleet. The council furnished the intelligence as a matter of course, the island's position making it a natural reporting point on the long passage home. | |||||
493 | may be Acceptable to You. We have also Sent You an Europe Portuguese man whom We rec:d from Bombay last Year by the Morriss for being found Guilty with four others that came here with him of great Misdemeanors & Particularly for Betraying his trust in an Action against Courojee Angria an enemy to the English at Bombay and that Coast. He being a dangerous fellow and not Capable of doing the Hon: Comp: any Service here, but an Encou= rager of Robberies & receiver of Stolen Goods, Composed & Contrived by his often holding Caballs with all our Blacks as he could gett Acquainted with Seducing them to all Manner of Rogueries, & fearing all these Mischeif might Ensue by the Blacks here thro' his Justice =agation, who are more now in Number than formerly, We have for these reasons kept him Close Prisoner near Six months and thought it more Convenient to Send him where his Villanyes cannot be attended with Such Dangerous Consequences to our Hon: Masters Interest as they may be here. And We desire You'd keep a Strict Eye over him and not to Suffer him to gett any more to Bombay where Perhaps he may have an Inclination to goe. Gentlemen | [1720] The list of shipping might be acceptable to Fort St George. The council had also sent on a European Portuguese man, received from Bombay the year before by the Maurice. He had been found guilty, with four others who came with him, of serious misconduct, and in particular of betraying his trust in an expedition against Conajee Angria, an enemy to the English at Bombay and on that coast. The council judged him a dangerous fellow, incapable of doing the Company any service on the island, and instead an encourager of robberies and a receiver of stolen goods. He had compassed and contrived much mischief by frequently holding meetings with all the slaves he could get acquainted with, drawing them into every kind of crime. Fearing that further harm might follow among the island's slaves through his instigation, the slaves now being more numerous than before, the council had for these reasons kept him close prisoner for nearly six months. It then judged it better to send him where his villainies could do no such dangerous harm to the Company's interest as they might on the island. The council desired Fort St George keep a strict watch over him and not allow him to get back to Bombay, where he might perhaps have an inclination to go. Interpretations The removal of the Portuguese man shows the council acting to protect its growing slave population from a corrupting influence. He was charged with holding meetings with the slaves and drawing them into crime, a danger the council judged the greater because the slaves were now more numerous than before. The recent thefts from Gabriel Powell, traced through a network of receivers across June and July 1720, had shown how readily such trading spread, and the council moved to cut off a man it held to be fostering it. The reference to the expedition against Conajee Angria placed the man's offence in the wider naval conflict on the Bombay coast. Angria was a formidable Maratha sea-commander who preyed on the Company's shipping, and any betrayal of trust in an action against him struck at English interests in the East. The council cited this prior treachery as evidence of the man's dangerous character, justifying his removal from the island. The decision to transport rather than punish on the spot reflected the limits of what the island could safely contain. Keeping the man close prisoner for six months had held the danger but not removed it, so the council chose to send him where his conduct could do less harm. The request that Fort St George prevent his return to Bombay shows the council steering him away from the scene of his original offence. The man had reached the island through the Company's own movement of people between its eastern settlements, sent from Bombay by the Maurice the year before. The same network that carried goods and servants across the East had delivered a troublesome figure to St Helena. The council now used that network in reverse, passing the problem on to Madras with a warning rather than leaving it on the island. Speculations The choice to send the man to Fort St George rather than back to Bombay was a calculated effort to break his connections and contain the threat he posed. Bombay was the scene of his offence and the place he wished to return to, where his associations and inclinations lay. By directing him instead to Madras and asking that his return be prevented, the council sought to strand him among strangers and sever him from the coast where his villainies had roots, managing the danger by controlling not merely his custody but his destination. | |||||
494 | Septemb:r Gentlemen. We Send You the Packett which was design'd for Bencoolen, for by the Captains last Orders which he Shewed Us Signed by thicken of the Court of Directors in England a Copy whereof We keep, he is Ordered to make the best of his way after he is Dispatched from Us to Fort St George, and to follow your Orders in his further Proceedings which We Judge will Justifie this our Proceedings and Excuse the trouble this Occasions you. We heartily Congratulate Govern:r Hastings in the accession to his new Government, and wish him good Succes, and all the rest of the Gentlemen health and Prosperity. We are Union Castle St Helena Hon:d S:rs Gentlem:n the 9 Sept: 1720. Your Humble Servants. Edw: Johnson Edw: Byfield Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin To the Hon: Charles Boone Presid:t & Councile At Bombay. Our last to you was by the Craggs Frigot Capt: John Wynn Commander bearing date the 29 of Margin Notes: Lett: to Bombay. | [September] The council closed its letter to Fort St George by addressing the matter of the packet. It explained that it had sent on the packet intended for Bencoolen, since the captain's last orders, which he had shown the council signed by thirteen of the Court of Directors in England, and of which the council kept a copy, directed him to make the best of his way to Fort St George after he was dispatched from the island, and to follow the council's orders in his further proceedings. The council judged these orders would justify its conduct and excuse the trouble the matter occasioned. The council heartily congratulated Governor Hastings on his accession to his new government, wished him good success, and wished all the other gentlemen health and prosperity. The letter closed as from their humble servants, signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin, at Union Castle, St Helena, 9 September 1720. To the Honourable Charles Boone, President, and the Council at Bombay. The council's last letter to Bombay had gone by the Craggs Frigate, under Captain John Wynn, dated 29 [...]. Interpretations The council's care to cite the directors' signed orders shows it guarding itself against any charge of acting beyond its authority. The captain's instructions, signed by thirteen of the Court of Directors and copied for the council's records, directed his course after leaving the island. By keeping a copy and quoting it to Fort St George, the council established that its handling of the packet and the ship rested on the directors' own commands, not its own discretion. The redirection of the captain to Fort St George after his dispatch reflected the Company's coordination of its shipping across the eastern settlements. A vessel's route was fixed by the directors to serve the wider trade, and the island was one stage in a longer voyage. The council's role was to dispatch the ship and forward the correspondence, leaving her onward course to the orders she already carried. The congratulations to Governor Hastings on his accession marked the courtesies that bound the Company's presidencies together. The council had resolved to congratulate him in its indent of late August 1720, and the letter now carried the compliment to Madras. Such formal good wishes maintained the relations between the island and the eastern governments on which its supply and correspondence depended. The letter to Bombay opened, like that to Madras, with a recital of past correspondence to fix the thread of exchange. The council noted that its last had gone by the Craggs Frigate under Captain Wynn, establishing which letters had passed between the island and the Bombay presidency. The recital was the necessary preface where dispatches travelled for months by uncertain conveyance, each side confirming the record against loss. | |||||
495 | June 19 who sailed hence the 16 July following, Since when We have rec: Yours of the 18 Aprill 1719 by the Darlin: of the 16 & 19 of Jany 1719 by the Fordwich which brought Us four Bales of Surratt Chaloos which are very Good & favourable for our Labouring People. We also rec:d by the last Named Ship one Dutch man & but one Slave instead of the three Slaves you Mentioned to have Sent Us in the 3 Para: of that Letter & Capt: Rigby (who Succeeded after Capt: Barnards death) told Us he rec:d by these 2 two Persons whom We Shall take Care of & Endeavour to Use as they deserve. But we must desire You'd not Send Us any more Such, Lest they prove Injurious to our Hon: Masters Interest, for our Number of Slaves are So Augmented one half more than formerly on this Island, they are too Apt of themselves to Commit Disorders they want none worse then themselves to Seduce them to do more Mischeifs as is too plain by the Mischeif the one Logy Portugez & Villain you Sent Us hath done amongst ours, We have been forced to Confine him Close above this Six months & are now forced to Send him off to Prevent any more Caballing. The Prisoner Mahmet Alley whom you Mention to have Sent Us by the Stanhope Dyed in his Passage hither of which We gave Advice in ours by the Craggs, Had he been living We Should willingly have Comply'd with your desire. | [1720] The council's last letter to Bombay had gone by the Craggs Frigate, under Captain John Wynn, dated 29 June 1719, which sailed from the island on 12 July 1719. Since then the council had received the letter of 18 April 1719 by the Dartmouth, and that of 16 January 1720 by the Fordwich, which brought four bales of Surat calicoes, very good and serviceable for the island's labouring people. By the Fordwich the council had also received one Dutchman, and one slave instead of the three slaves Bombay had said it would send under the third paragraph of its letter. Captain Rigby, who succeeded after Captain Barnard's death, told the council he had received the two persons, whom the council would take care of and try to employ as they deserved. The council pressed Bombay, however, to send no more such persons, lest they prove harmful to the Company's interest. The island's number of slaves had grown by half as many again as before, and the slaves were too inclined of themselves to commit disorders. They needed no one worse than themselves to draw them into further mischief. The danger was plain from the harm the one European Portuguese villain Bombay had sent had done among the island's slaves. The council had been forced to confine him close for over six months, and was now obliged to send him off to prevent any more plotting. The prisoner Mahmet Alley, whom Bombay said it had sent by the Stanhope, had died on his passage to the island, of which the council had given notice in its letter by the Craggs Frigate. Had he been living, the council would willingly have complied with Bombay's wishes. Interpretations The council's protest against receiving more such persons tied the danger directly to the swelling of the slave population. The number of slaves had grown by half again, and the council feared that troublesome newcomers would draw an already restless body into disorder. The recent thefts from Gabriel Powell and the corrupting influence of the Portuguese man had shown the risk, and the council pressed Bombay to stop sending figures who might foment trouble among the slaves. The Surat calicoes were Indian cotton cloths valued for the clothing of the island's labourers. Surat was a major centre of the Company's cotton trade on the western coast of India, and its calicoes were plain, durable and cheap, well suited to the working people who wore them. The four bales answered a standing need, the council noting their quality and serviceableness for the very purpose they served. The shortfall in the promised slaves recorded the gap between what Bombay undertook to send and what arrived. Three slaves had been promised under a numbered paragraph of the presidency's letter, but only one came, alongside a Dutchman. The discrepancy shows the uncertainty of supply across the eastern network, where deaths, diversions and the hazards of passage routinely thinned what was dispatched. The death of Mahmet Alley on his passage illustrates the toll the long voyages took on those moved between the Company's settlements. The prisoner sent from Bombay by the Stanhope did not survive to reach the island, and the council had reported his death by an earlier ship. The fate of such transported persons depended on a passage many did not complete, the council noting that it would have obliged Bombay had the man lived. | |||||
496 | Septemb:r We desire You'd Send Us by each Ship Yearly as Great a Quantity of Rice as you can Procure for Us which is of very great Service and often in Demand as well for our White People when Sick as for our Slaves in the rainy Seasons when our other Provisions (being the poorest of this Island) is not wholsome for them to Eate of. We Likewise desire You'd Desist Sending Us any more Goods than what We write for because We can best Judge what quantity will be Sufficient to last Us from one Year to another which will Prevent the vast Damage in our Stores Occasioned by our being over Stocked, and that very much enhances the Prodigious Charge this Island is to the Hon: Company. We also desire You'd Continue your Instructions to the Commanders of the Homeward bound Shipping that touches at the Cape to bring Us as many Garden Seeds & Plants as they can Afford Us for about five Pounds when brought here for We have Sometimes had Such quantities that have amounted to Large Sums of money. Herewith comes Enclosed a Copy of what Ships has toucht here Since the departure of the Craggs which may be Acceptable to You. Union Castle St Helena. We are Hon:d S:rs Gentlem:n the 9 Sept:r 1720. Your Humble Servants. Edw: Johnson Edw: Byfeld Jno: Goodwin Jno: Alexander | [September] The council desired Bombay send by each ship, every year, as great a quantity of rice as it could procure. Rice was of very great service and often in demand, both for the white people when sick and for the slaves in the rainy seasons, when the island's own provision of yams was not wholesome for them to eat. The council likewise desired Bombay send no more goods than were written for. The council could best judge what quantity would suffice from one year to another, which would prevent the waste and damage in its stores caused by being overstocked, a thing that greatly increased the prodigious charge the island was to the Company. The council also desired Bombay continue its instructions to the commanders of the homeward-bound shipping that touched at the Cape, to bring as many garden seeds and plants as they could afford, to about £5 0s 0d worth when brought here. The council had sometimes received such quantities as amounted to large sums of money. The council enclosed a copy of what ships had touched here since the departure of the Craggs Frigate. The letter closed as from their humble servants, signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin, at Union Castle, St Helena, 9 September 1720. Interpretations The request for rice reveals a seasonal weakness in the island's food supply that imported grain was needed to meet. Yams were the staple grown on the island, but in the wet months they were held unwholesome, and rice served as the alternative for the sick and for the slaves. The yearly order shows the council managing the island's diet against the limits of its own crop, drawing on Bombay to fill the gap the seasons opened. The instruction to send no goods beyond what was written for addressed the cost of overstocking the island's stores. Goods sent in excess wasted and spoiled, swelling the charge the island represented to the Company, which the council described as prodigious. By reserving to itself the judgement of what quantity would suffice, the council sought to control its supply and reduce the loss that unsolicited shipments caused. The cap of £5 0s 0d on garden seeds and plants from the Cape repeated to Bombay the limit set for Madras, controlling a recurring import across both presidencies. Seeds and plants came most readily from the nearer Cape by homeward ships, but past quantities had run to large sums. Fixing the same ceiling in each letter shows the council applying a consistent budget to a minor but recurring expense. The enclosed list of shipping kept Bombay, like Madras, informed of the traffic through the island. St Helena lay on the homeward route from the East, and a record of which vessels had called served the Company's tracking of its fleet. The council furnished the same intelligence to both presidencies, its position making it a natural reporting point on the long passage home. Speculations The council's insistence that it alone judge the quantity of goods needed reflects a deliberate strategy to cut the island's cost to the Company by preventing overstock. Settlements left free to send what they chose burdened the stores with goods that spoiled and wasted, inflating the very charge the council was anxious to reduce. By confining each presidency to the express indent and reserving the measure of sufficiency to itself, the council managed its supply against the waste of surplus, framing tight control of incoming goods as the means to ease the island's standing expense. | |||||
497 | To the Hon: the Presid:t & Councile At Bengall Our last to You was by the Craggs Frigot Capt: John Wynn Comand: under date of the 29 June 1719 who sailed hence for Bencoolen on the 12 of July follow: Since when We have rec:d Yours of the 4 Jany 1718 by the King George of the 28 Nov: 1719 by the Prince Frederick, of the 14 Dec: following by the King William, of the 31 of that Month by the Dawsonne of the 20 Jany 1719 by the Bouverie and that of the Same date by the Cadogan with their Severall Duplicates & Invoices of Goods & Stores for the Use of this place which We cant but Commend & Say they are very Good & favourable, the Dopatties are the best We have rec:d for Some time, and therefore desire You'd Continue Sending Us of the Same Sort. 2 Bales at the least every Year they being of great Use to Us many wayes. Likewise of Tafatys Sorted 50 Peices. 100 Peices Striped Cureadaries. & 100 Pieces of Neckloths, Some fine. Alsoe Batavia Arack, Fine Sugar, & Rice, & Wax for Candles as great a quantity as you can. We desire You'd put the Capt:s in mind when you put any Goods on Board them for this place not to lett | [1720] To the Honourable President and Council at Bengal. The council's last letter to Bengal had gone by the Craggs Frigate, under Captain John Wynn, dated 29 June 1719, which sailed from the island for Bencoolen on 12 July 1719. Since then the council had received the letter of 4 January 1718 by the King George; that of 28 November 1719 by the Prince Frederick; that of 14 December following by the King William; that of 31 December by the Dawsonne; that of 20 January 1720 by the De Bouverie; and that of the same date by the Cadogan, with their several duplicates and invoices of goods and stores for the island's use. The council could not but commend these as very good and serviceable. The doositters were the best it had received for some time, and it desired Bengal continue sending the same sort. The council's wants from Bengal were as follows: 2 bales at the least every year, these being of great use in many ways. 50 pieces of taffaties, sorted. 100 pieces of striped cuddaries, and 100 pieces of neckcloths, some fine. Also Batavia arrack. Fine sugar and rice, and wax for candles, as great a quantity as Bengal could send. The council desired Bengal remind the captains, when any goods were put aboard for the island, not to let them Interpretations The long list of received letters records the dense traffic of correspondence and goods between Bengal and the island across a single season. Six letters had arrived by six different ships within months, each carrying invoices of stores for the island's use. The recital fixed the thread of exchange against loss, the necessary preface where dispatches travelled for months by uncertain conveyance, and it measures the frequency with which Bengal Indiamen passed the island homeward. The Bengal cloths were specialised Indian textiles named by their local types. Doositters and cuddaries were varieties of cotton piece-goods, taffaties a fine silk or silk-mixed cloth, and neckcloths made-up cloths for wear about the neck. Bengal was the Company's chief source of such fabrics, and the council ordered them sorted and by the hundred pieces, commending the doositters as the best lately received. The addition of wax for candles to the usual provisions records a domestic necessity drawn from the East. Candles were the island's means of light, and wax a material it could not produce in quantity itself. Ordering as great a supply as Bengal could send shows the council provisioning the settlement's ordinary wants alongside its cloth and food, the eastern trade furnishing even the means of illumination. The reliance on Bengal for rice repeated the want pressed on Bombay, both presidencies asked to supply the grain the island needed against its seasonal shortage. Rice served the sick and the slaves when yams were unwholesome, and the council spread its orders across the eastern settlements to secure a steady supply. Drawing the same staple from more than one source guarded against the failure of any single shipment. | |||||
498 | September them be Stowed away So as not to be come at readily when they Arrive here but to put them at hand for Sometimes by their being Stowed Under other weighty or Cumbersome Goods when they come here they cannot gett at them as happened in the King William this Year by carrying Home one Bale of Doosittees. The Casks wherein the Arack was which was brought Us by the Prince Frederick, was So Old & worm Eaten that Ninety Gallons of the three Hunder Sixty Eight leaked out and by a Survey We found it was thro the badness of the Casks, which We desire may be remedyd in future. We desire that You will always Send Us the Quantities & Sorts of Goods We write for Yearly and no more, because We are Unwilling to put our Hon: Masters to a greater Charge than what our Real wants Obliges Us to. By the Craggs We wrote for a pritty Large Quantity which We Hope you have taken Care to Supply Us with. We herewith Enclose a List of Ships that has toucht here & departed Since the Craggs So may be Acceptable to You. We wish You health & Prosperity & that our Hon: Masters affairs may flourish under You. And are Hon:d S:rs Gentlem:n Union Castle St Helena. Your Humble Servants. Sept:r 9, 9, 1720. Edw: Johnson Edw: Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin | [September] The council closed by asking that goods not be stowed away where they could not be readily reached when the ship arrived, but be kept at hand. Goods stowed under other heavy or cumbersome cargo could not be got at when the ship came in, as had happened with the King William this year, which carried home one bale of doositters, a Bengal cotton piece-good of the kind the Company shipped under various local trade names. The casks holding the arrack brought by the Prince Frederick were so old and worm-eaten that 90 gallons of the 358 had leaked out. A survey found the fault lay in the badness of the casks, which the council desired might be remedied in future. The council desired Bengal always send the quantities and sorts of goods written for each year and no more, the council being unwilling to put the Company to a greater charge than its real wants required. By the Craggs Frigate the council had written for a fairly large quantity, which it hoped Bengal had taken care to supply. It enclosed a list of ships that had touched and departed since the Craggs Frigate, which might be acceptable to Bengal. The council wished Bengal health and prosperity, and that the Company's affairs might flourish under it. The letter closed as from their humble servants, signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin, at Union Castle, St Helena, 9 September 1720. Interpretations The named Bengal cloths were specialised Indian cottons known by their local trade names. Doositters were a variety of cotton piece-good shipped from Bengal, one of many such fabrics the Company exported under transliterated Bengali names whose precise weave is not always recoverable. The bale lost to England aboard the King William was a consignment of this cloth, valued enough that its mis-carriage was worth recording. The complaint about stowage reveals a practical loss caused by the way cargo was loaded aboard ship. Goods buried under heavier freight could not be unloaded at the island, so a bale of cloth had been carried past it to England. The council's request that its goods be kept accessible shows it pressing the presidencies to instruct the captains on loading, a small matter that nonetheless cost the island its supply. The leakage of the arrack exposed the importance of sound casks to the safe carriage of liquids over long voyages. Old and worm-eaten casks had lost 90 gallons of 358, a quarter of the consignment gone before it reached the island. The survey that fixed the fault on the casks rather than on handling shows the council documenting the cause so that the directors or the presidency might remedy the cooperage in future. The repeated insistence on ordering no more than was wanted ran through every India letter as the council's governing principle of supply. Bengal, like Madras and Bombay, was told to send the exact quantities written for and no surplus, the council unwilling to burden the Company beyond the island's real needs. The consistency across all three letters shows a settled policy of tight provisioning aimed at reducing the island's cost. | |||||
499 | Worships:ll S:rs & Council At Bencoolen Our last to You was by the Craggs Frigot Capt: John Wynn Comand: under date of the 29 of June 1719 who Sailed hence for Bencoolen the 12 of July following & another letter bearing date that day giving you Advice of Goods & Merchandize Sent to You for the Use of Our Hon: Masters and what Else We thought Proper Relating to the Persons that went off in Gov:r Pykes time. Since when We have rec:d no Letter or news from Bencoolen, and are Sorry to hear of the Unhappy Disaster that hath happened to it. If Bencoolen be restored which We were informed was designed to be attempted, and to which We wish Good Success and Should be Glad to hear of. We desire when and as often as Opportunity Presents to be Supplyed with two or three Canisters of fine Java Sugar for our Table Use, and the full one per Cent of Arack. We have by this Ship Hartford Sent Enclosed in our Packett to Fort St George (whither this Ship is Consigned) Per Charter= party According to our Hon: Masters Orders. We have also Enclosed a List of Ships that has toucht here & departed Since our last by the Craggs so may be Acceptable to You. We are Union Castle St Helena Worships:ll S:rs & Gentlemen 9 Sept:r 1720 Your Humble Servants Jno: Alexander Edw: Johnson Jno: Goodwin Edw: Byfeld Margin Notes: Lett: to Bencoolen | [1720] To the Worshipful President and Council at Bencoolen. The council's last letter to Bencoolen had gone by the Craggs Frigate, under Captain John Wynn, dated 29 June 1719, which sailed from the island for Bencoolen on 12 July 1719. Another letter of that same date had given notice of the goods and merchandise sent for the island's use, and of what else the council thought proper concerning the persons who had gone off with Governor Pyke. Since then the council had received no letter or news from Bencoolen, and was sorry to hear of the unhappy disaster that had happened there. If Bencoolen were recovered, which the council had been told was intended to be attempted, and which it wished good success and would be glad to hear of, the council desired to be supplied, as opportunity offered, with two or three canisters of fine Java sugar for the table, and arrack at the full 1 per cent. By this ship, the Hartford, the council had enclosed in its packet to Fort St George, to which the ship was consigned, her charter party, according to the Company's orders. The council had also enclosed a list of ships that had touched and departed since its last by the Craggs Frigate, which might be acceptable to Bencoolen. The letter closed as from their humble servants, signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin, at Union Castle, St Helena, 9 September 1720. Interpretations The reference to an unhappy disaster at Bencoolen records the council's distant awareness of a calamity at the Company's Sumatran settlement. Bencoolen was the East India Company's pepper station on the west coast of Sumatra, a remote and unhealthy outpost to which the island regularly sent soldiers and troublesome persons. The council had heard of some serious reverse there but lacked particulars, the silence reflecting the slow and broken communication between the two stations. The hope that Bencoolen might be recovered points to the loss having been a physical seizure or destruction of the settlement. The council had been told an attempt to retake it was intended, which it wished well, suggesting the station had fallen from Company control. The island's interest was practical as well as fraternal, Bencoolen being a destination for its exiles and a source of the Java sugar and arrack the council still hoped to obtain. Governor Pyke's removal to Bencoolen is on record under the present administration. He was succeeded by Edward Johnson on 13 June 1719 and went to Bencoolen at his own desire, the council commending him to all four eastern stations. The persons who went off with him, mentioned in the earlier letter, had accompanied that removal, and their fate was now bound up with the disaster the council lamented. The enclosing of the Hartford's charter party in the packet to Fort St George shows the council handling the ship's papers under the directors' express orders. The charter party was the contract governing the vessel's hire and her time in port, and forwarding it as instructed served the Company's control of its shipping. The council's care to follow the orders exactly matched its conduct over the packet and the demurrage in the Madras letter. | |||||
500 | Septemb:r The following Letter was Sent to Gov:r Pyke. This comes to acquaint You that in the making up our Books of Accounts there Appeared among Several other Misstakes that there is the Sum of Four Hundred twenty Eight Pounds two Shillings & Seven pence three farthings Omitted being Charg'd to Your Proper Acco: arising from Severall Articles, and is due on Ballance thereof to Our Hon: Masters as by the three Years viz: for 1717, 1718, & 1719. Herewith Sent will very plainly Ap= pear, which by Comparing with that Acco: You carryed off with you will fully Certifie you how and in what Manner & Articles So much dos So Appeare due to Our Said Hon: Masters to whom We doubt not But You'll take Effectuall care to pay the Same, which when We know, We will give You Acco: & Creditt for the Said debt in our Books of Acco: wherein you now Stand Charg'd with the whole Sums aforesaid. We Likewise find James Wakeford (whose Acco: comes herewith) to be Short Charg'd the Sum of twenty Shillings one penny half Penny which We desire may be also paid to Our Hon: Masters. We wish You health & &c. St Helena Union Castle And are S:rs Yo:r Humb:le Serv:ts Sept:r 10, 1720. Jno: Alexander Edw: Johnson Jno: Goodwin Edw: Byfeld Margin Notes: Lett: to Gov: Pyke ab:t of a Misstake in his Acco: | [1720] The council sent the following letter to Governor Pyke. The letter informed Governor Pyke that, in making up the books of accounts, several mistakes had appeared, among them the sum of £428 2s 7¼d omitted from being charged to his proper account. This arose from several articles and was due on balance to the Company, as the three years' accounts for 1717, 1718 and 1719, sent herewith, would plainly show. By comparing these with the account Pyke had carried off with him, he would fully see how, and in what articles, so much appeared due to the Company. The council did not doubt he would take effectual care to pay it, and on payment would give his account credit for the debt in the books, where he now stood charged with the whole sum. The council had likewise found James Wakeford's account, sent with this letter, to be short charged by 20s 1½d, which it desired might also be paid to the Company. The council wished Governor Pyke health and success. The letter closed as from their humble servants, signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin, at Union Castle, St Helena, 10 September 1720. Interpretations The letter put into effect the recovery resolved when the error first came to light. The council had found on 6 September 1720 that £428 2s 7¼d had been omitted from Governor Pyke's account at his departure, and had ordered letters written to inform him. This dispatch carried out that order, setting the figure before Pyke with the supporting accounts so the debt might be acknowledged and paid. The sending of the three years' accounts allowed Pyke to verify the charge against his own copy. The Company's practice was to give the debtor the means to check the claim, comparing the books made up on the island with the account he had carried away. The procedure shows the council treating recovery as a matter of demonstrated balance rather than bare demand, the figures themselves furnishing the proof. The promise to credit Pyke's account on payment reflects the workings of the transfer book by which debts between the Company and its servants were carried. Until paid, the sum stood charged against him in the books; once paid, the credit would clear it. The mechanism shows how the island's accounts tracked the standing balance of each officer, an obligation following the man until discharged. The far smaller short charge against James Wakeford was pursued in the same letter, the council recovering even a sum of 20s 1½d once the corrected books revealed it. The completed accounts exposed errors great and small alike, and the council let none pass. The diligence over so trifling a figure shows the thoroughness the new reckoning brought to the island's long-neglected books. | |||||
501 | Another Letter of the Same Nature was wrote & Sent to Doctor Thomlinson at Bengall he being Short Charg'd with £35, 10, 7. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Wednesday the 14 day of Septemb:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t John Alexander & John Goodwin The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. Capt: Nelly made Complaint to the Gov: that two persons belonging to the Island had been the night before on Board his Ship and had brought on Shore two of his Men, that one of them he Secured & Sent aboard againe, the other was not to be found, and that He had found a Cheshire Cheese in the House of Thomas Clew, which was Stolen out of his Ship. Thomas Clew the Gov:r Committed to Prison, Sent the Marshall to look after the Man that was Missing from the Ship and that the Marshall had brought him out of the Country whom the Governor at the Capt: request had likewise Confin'd Margin Notes: another Lett: Sent to D:r Thomlinson Clew Com= mitted Also a Sea man | [1720] Another letter of the same kind was written and sent to Doctor Thomlinson at Bengal, he being short charged by £35 10s 7d. The letter was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Wednesday 14 September 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. Captain Nelly complained to Governor Johnson that two persons belonging to the island had been aboard his ship the night before, and had brought two of his men ashore. One of these he had secured and sent back aboard, but the other could not be found. Nelly had also found a Cheshire cheese in the house of Thomas Clew, stolen out of his ship. The Governor committed Thomas Clew to prison and sent the marshal to look for the missing man from the ship. The marshal brought the man out of the country, whom the Governor, at the captain's request, likewise confined. Interpretations The complaint reveals the friction between a visiting ship and the island over the enticing away of crew. Two islanders had gone aboard the Hartford by night and carried off two of her men, one of whom could not be recovered. Desertion at a port of call threatened a ship's ability to complete her voyage, so the captain turned at once to the Governor, whose authority over the island's people was needed to pursue and return the men. The theft of the Cheshire cheese tied a property offence to the same night's dealings between ship and shore. The cheese, an English provision carried aboard, was found in Thomas Clew's house, and its presence there marked him as a receiver of goods taken from the ship. The Governor's immediate committal of Clew shows the bench treating the theft as part of the wider disorder around the visiting vessel. The dispatch of the marshal to recover the missing seaman shows the island's executive officer enforcing the Governor's authority into the country. The marshal was the officer charged with arrests and the execution of the bench's orders, and his bringing the man out of the back country demonstrates the reach of that office. The recovered man was then confined at the captain's request, the island lending its coercive power to the ship's need. Cheshire cheese was a hard English cheese of long keeping, carried aboard ship as a durable provision for the voyage. Its value lay in its portability and resistance to spoiling, qualities that also made it worth stealing and concealing ashore. The cheese found in Clew's house was such a provision taken from the ship's stores, the kind of compact, lasting foodstuff that figured readily in pilfering around a port. | |||||
502 | September Jerj Simpson being the other Person that was Concern'd in the bringing of the two men on Shore the Gov: fin'd five Shillings to the Use of the Hon: Comp: Capt: Goodwin Reports that he has made Exceptions on the back of the Bill of Loading for what Goods were Deliver'd Short according to Invoice by the Hartford, & are as follows. (Viz:) 26 Deals of 16 foot long 38 ditto of 14 foot & 20 ditto of 12 foot But We receiv'd as many by Tale of the Common Deals &c: in Deals as made up the Number tho very different but not the from the Quality as will appear by the Invoice quality and the Capt: Say'd he had no other Sorts. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Persons fin'd 5/- Exceptions on of Bill of lading & Hartford for Goods wanting Deals &c: in but not the quality | [September] Sergeant Simpson, being the other person concerned in bringing the two men ashore, was fined by Governor Johnson 5s 0d to the Company's use. Captain Goodwin reported that he had entered exceptions on the back of the bill of lading for the goods delivered short of the invoice by the Hartford, as follows: 26 deals of 16 foot long. 38 ditto of 14 foot, and 20 ditto of 12 foot. The council received as many deals by tale of the common sort as made up the number, though of very different quality, as would appear by the invoice. Captain Nelly said he had no other sorts. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The fine on Sergeant Simpson completed the council's handling of the night's disorder around the ship. He was the second islander concerned in carrying off the Hartford's men, his fellow being the imprisoned Thomas Clew, and the bench penalised him with a money fine to the Company. The modest sum shows the council treating his part as a punishable breach short of the theft and confinement that fell on the others. The exceptions entered on the bill of lading were the formal means of recording a shortfall in a cargo against the carrier. The bill of lading was the document acknowledging goods shipped, and noting exceptions on its reverse preserved the council's claim that the delivery fell short of the invoice. The procedure protected the Company's right to redress for the missing or inferior goods. Deals were sawn planks of softwood timber, imported for building on an island poor in suitable wood. Measured by length in feet, they were a staple construction material the island could not supply from its own trees, and the council had lately pressed for unfinished defence works and new black houses that would need such timber. The shortfall in deals therefore touched a material the settlement genuinely lacked. The distinction between number and quality framed the council's grievance precisely. The full count of deals had been delivered, but of a common and inferior sort rather than the quality the invoice specified. The captain's plea that he had no other kind left the council with the planks but with a claim for the difference, the exceptions on the bill of lading preserving the point for the Company's reckoning with the supplier. | |||||
503 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 20 day of Septemb:r 1720 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Govern:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. On fryday the 16 Inst: departed hence the Ship Hartford Capt: Nelly Comand:r for Fort St George. Thomas Clew Mentioned in Consultation of the 14 Instant was discharged out of Prison on fryday last, with a Severe Check and Admonished for the future. Mr Edward Byfeld being Appointed by the Honour: Comp: as their Chief Overseer of their Plantations, live Stock Ordered That an Acco: be taken of all the Said Hon: Comp: Plantations, live Stock &c: and that Mess:rs Alexander & Goodwin do goe with him to Survey & take a true Account of the Same. The Doctors brought in this day an Account of the Expence of Medicines Expended Since the last Examination, which was also Examined & Approv'd of Accordingly. Margin Notes: Hartford Departure Clew releas:d Mr Edw: Byfeld be= ing Appoint:d Overseer &c Acco: to be taken of live Stock D:r Book Exam:d | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 20 September 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. On Friday 16 September the ship Hartford, under Captain Nelly, departed from the island for Fort St George. Thomas Clew, mentioned in the consultation of 14 September, was discharged out of prison on Friday last with a severe reprimand, and admonished as to his future conduct. Mr Edward Byfield, appointed by the Company chief overseer of its plantations and live stock, was now to take up the charge. The council ordered that an account be taken of all the Company's plantations, live stock and other effects, and that Mr Alexander and Mr Goodwin go with Byfield to survey them and take a true account. The doctor brought in this day an account of the quantity of medicines spent since the last examination, which the council examined and approved. Interpretations The release of Thomas Clew with only a reprimand closed the affair of the Hartford's stolen cheese once the ship had sailed. Clew had been committed on 14 September 1720 for receiving a cheese taken from the vessel, and his discharge followed the captain's departure on 16 September. The light outcome shows the council's purpose served by the brief confinement, the offence punished enough now that the aggrieved ship was gone. The order to survey the Company's estate marked Edward Byfield's formal assumption of the overseership. The directors had named him chief overseer in their general letter, displacing John Alexander's bid for the same post, and the stocktaking now equipped the new officer with a true account of what he took charge of. Sending Alexander and Goodwin with him bound the outgoing claimant and a fellow councillor to verify the handover. The fresh survey came only weeks after the detailed stocktaking of August 1720, the difference lying in its purpose. The earlier count had measured the estate's condition under the old management, while this one established the position at the moment Byfield assumed control. A handover of responsibility called for its own reckoning, fixing what the new overseer received so that he might afterwards be held to it. The doctor's regular account of medicines spent continued the routine audit of the Company's medical stores. Dispensed to the garrison and inhabitants as Company property, the medicines were reckoned at each consultation so their consumption stayed under the council's eye. The repeated examination marks the ordinary supervision applied alike to medicines, munitions and provisions across the island's accounts. | |||||
504 | Septemb:r The following Prices were Sett on the Cargoe of Goods brought p Ship Hartford Capt: Francis Nelly Commander from England. (Viz:) Timber & Deals at 50 p Cent White Salt at 100 p Cent (if any Sold) Stockholme Tarr at 50 p Cent America ditto Rozin ditto Hollands duck D:o Bread & Flour at 3s p [sto:] Soopeo 7[s] p [sto:] Oyles at 50 p Cent Souldiers Cloathing at Prime Cost Stays & Pumps at 50 p Cent Stockings at ditto Lines do Gardeners Seeds do Mens Wooden heeled Shoes 6 6 p pr: Ditto Leather Heels 5s 9 p pr: Medicines at 50 p Cent Quilts from India & return'd by Said Ship from England to be sold at 50 p Cent also. Margin Notes: Prices Sett on y: Cargoe p Hartford Whe or Cash in Seid | [September] The council set the following prices on the cargo of goods brought by the ship Hartford, under Captain Francis Nelly, from England: Timber and deals, at 50 per cent. White salt, at 100 per cent, if any sold. Stockholm tar, at 50 per cent. America [tar], the same. Rosin, the same. Holland's duck, the same. Bread and flour, at 33⅓ per cent, new. Soap, the same. Oils, at 50 per cent. Soldiers' clothing, at prime cost. Stays and jumps, at 50 per cent. Stockings, the same. Lines, the same. Gardeners' rods, the same. Men's wooden-heeled shoes, at 6s 6d per pair. Ditto leather-heeled, at 5s 9d per pair. Medicines, at 50 per cent. Quilts from India, returned by the said ship from England, to be sold at 50 per cent, the same. Interpretations The price list shows the council fixing the mark-up at which imported goods were to be sold on the island, the margin added to the prime cost. Most goods carried 50 per cent, with white salt at a steep 100 per cent and bread and flour at a lower 33⅓ per cent. Setting these rates was the council's means of governing the island's retail prices and the revenue the Company drew from its monopoly of imported supply. The exception of soldiers' clothing at prime cost continued the relief granted to the garrison against low pay. The council had resolved in August 1720 to let the garrison have clothing without mark-up, and the price list now applied that concession, the soldiers paying only what the goods had cost. The single exception stands out against the general margin, marking the deliberate easing of the troops' burden of dress. Several of the listed goods were materials and manufactures the island could not produce. Holland's duck was a strong linen canvas used for sails and heavy clothing, Stockholm tar a wood-tar from the Baltic for preserving rope and timber, and stays and jumps were stiffened and unstiffened bodices for women's wear. Drawn from England and the Baltic trade, these supplied wants the settlement met only by import, their prices set like the rest. The two grades of shoes priced by the pair, rather than by percentage, reflect goods sold at a fixed retail figure. Wooden-heeled shoes at 6s 6d and leather-heeled at 5s 9d were set sums the buyer paid outright, the council fixing a flat price where a uniform article allowed it. The distinction shows the bench pricing some goods by margin on cost and others at a settled rate per item. | |||||
505 | We find in looking over the Books of Acco:ts One Thomas Perkins a former Inhabitant of this Island and who went off to Some Part of the West Indies about Six Years Since To stand indebted to the Hon: Comp: in the Sum of £15, 12, 10¼ & We are informed that the Said Perkins left Some Effects in the Hands of Capt: Bazett dec:d. The Govern:r desired Capt: Goodwin to Enquire of his Wid:ow whether there was any Effects left in her Husbands hands or not. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tues= day the 4 day of Octob:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov: Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. The following Persons were Sumoned for neglect of their duty in not repairing to their Severall Posts on the last Alarm Margin Notes: Tho: Perkins found to be Indebted & Sent off at going off Mr Bazetts Wid: to have Effects in his Hands Enquiry to be made Persons Admitted Alarms | [1720] In looking over the books of accounts, the council found that one Thomas Perkins, a former inhabitant of the island who had gone off to some part of the West Indies about six years before, stood indebted to the Company in the sum of £45 12s 10¾d. The council was informed that Perkins had left some effects in the hands of the late Captain Bazett. Governor Johnson desired Captain Goodwin to enquire whether any of these effects remained in the hands of Bazett's widow. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 4 October 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. The council summoned the following persons for neglect of duty in not repairing to their several posts on the last alarm. Interpretations The discovery of Perkins's old debt shows the completed books reaching back years to recover sums long uncollected. Perkins had left the island for the West Indies about six years before, yet the reckoning exposed his unpaid balance of £45 12s 10¾d. The council's pursuit of a debtor long absent demonstrates how the corrected accounts revived claims that the earlier neglect of the books had let lie dormant. The trail to effects held by the late Captain Bazett offered a means of recovery against an absent debtor. Perkins had left goods in Bazett's hands, and the council sought to learn whether any remained with Bazett's widow, against which the debt might be set. The enquiry shows the council fixing on property within reach when the debtor himself was beyond it, the same approach taken with other absent or deceased debtors. The death of Captain Bazett is on record under the present administration. He had served as deputy governor and storekeeper before his death, after which Governor Pyke reshuffled the council's offices in 1718. His widow now held whatever of his estate survived, and the council's enquiry into Perkins's effects in her hands shows the affairs of the dead still entangled with the Company's outstanding claims. The summoning of men for failing to reach their posts on the last alarm reflects the discipline of the island's defence. Every inhabitant had an assigned station to which he was bound to repair when the alarm sounded, the guns and bankses needing their crews at once. Calling the defaulters to account shows the council enforcing the militia obligation on which the fortified island's security rested. | |||||
506 | October Alarm on Sunday the 25 September last. John Harding being called Says the Ship going round to the S: West Part of the Island thought She would not come into the road. Gilbert Sinsmick Says he did not hear any thing of the Ship or the Alarm. Thomas Leech Says he heard nothing of the Ship or of any Alarm for he till Sun Sett & coming towards the Fort next morning Early he Saw her at an Anchor. Beniamin Obenlee Says he Seeing the Ship Sailing towards S.W. Point thought She was bearing away, which was the reason he did not come down. James Harding Says he did not hear any Alarm but Saw the Ship Standing from the Island as he thought was the reason why he did not come to his Post. Thomas Easton Says he heard no Alarm. Richard Swallows Jun:r Says the Same. John Liphkin Says he heard no Alarm, nor Saw the Ship. Joseph Liphkin Says he was not well and could not come down. Henry Johnson Says he heard nothing of the Alarm till after five a Clock & was down (coming from the furthest Part of the Island) about Seven a Clock Margin Notes: Jno: Harding Gilbt Sinsmick Tho:s Leech Ben: Greembee James Harding Tho: Easton R: Swallows Jun: Jno: Liphkin Jos: Liphkin Hen: Johnson | [October] The alarm in question had been raised on Sunday 25 September last. John Harding, called to answer, said the ship was going round to the south-west part of the island, and he thought she would not come into the road. Gilbert Sinsnick said he heard nothing of the ship or of the alarm. Thomas Leech said he heard nothing of the ship or of any alarm for her, until at sunset, drawing towards the Fort, he saw her. Early next morning he saw her lying at anchor. Benjamin Greentree said that, seeing the ship sailing towards the south-west point, he thought she was bearing away, which was why he did not come down. James Harding said he heard no alarm, but saw the ship standing off from the island, as he thought, which was the reason he did not come to his post. Thomas Easton said he heard no alarm. Richard Swallow junior said the same. John Lifkin said he heard no alarm, nor saw the ship. Joseph Lifkin said he was unwell and could not come down. Henry Johnson said he heard nothing of the alarm until after five o'clock, being then down, coming from the furthest part of the island, about seven o'clock, Interpretations The defaulters' answers reveal how the island's alarm system depended on every man hearing the signal and reading the ship's movements alike. Several pleaded that they heard no alarm at all, while others judged from the ship's course that she was bearing away and would not enter the road. The spread of excuses shows the difficulty of mustering a dispersed population scattered across the island when a signal failed to carry or a ship's intent was misjudged. The recurring plea of misreading the ship's course points to the genuine ambiguity of a vessel's approach. A ship rounding towards the south-west point could be taken for one standing off rather than coming in, and several men cited this as their reason for staying away. The defence rested on judgement rather than disobedience, the inhabitants claiming they saw no occasion to muster rather than that they refused. The summoning of these men shows the council holding the militia obligation to a strict standard despite the offered excuses. Each inhabitant was bound to reach his post on the alarm, and failure required an answer before the bench. The recording of every man's plea, to be weighed in turn, demonstrates the seriousness with which the council treated the defence of a remote and vulnerable island. The geography of the island shaped both the failures and the excuses. Men at the furthest part heard the alarm late or not at all, and the ship's passage round to the south-west part took her out of sight of the road. The accounts incidentally map how distance and terrain hampered a defence that depended on a signal reaching every corner and a ship's course being plainly read. | |||||
507 | and that he never mist coming to an Alarm before. John Van Oosten Says he coming a great way out of the Country could not gett down Sooner than he did, he hearing nothing of the Alarm till five a Clock. Upon Consideration that the Usuall Alarm for Ships coming In here, being not made at Prosperous bay and the Ship being Seen to Stand round the S: W: part of the Island Seeming as tho' She intended to go by. Ordered That all the aforesaid Persons be Ex= cused this time but Cautioned for the future. The Petition of Samuel Jefsey Enterd in Consul= tation of the 6 August was this day Considered of and Granted. The Said Jefsey presented another Petition of this days date, Humbly Praying to Hire two Small Parcels of the Hon: Comp: Waste Land Viz: about Seven Acres adjoyning to that Land he lately Purchased formerly Tho: Burnhams (dec:d) and ten Acres more Adjoyning to that Gumwood Land formerly Jane Midget (also dec:d) which will be of Service to him and no Detriment to the Neighbourhood. Which was Granted him accordingly. The Gunner brought in and delivered the following Acco: which was Examind & Approv'd of. Margin Notes: Jno: Van Oosten Upon Consideration y: Alarm All Excus'd & a Caution Jefsey Pet: Granted Pet: of Sam: Jefsey for to hire Land Granted Gun Sto: Approv'd | [1720] Henry Johnson added that he had never before missed coming to an alarm. John Van Oosten said that, coming a great way out of the country, he could not get down sooner than he did, having heard nothing of the alarm until five o'clock. On consideration that the usual alarm for ships coming in was not made at Prosperous Bay, and that the ship had been seen to stand round the south-west part of the island as though she intended to go by, the council ordered that all the persons named be excused this time, but cautioned for the future. Samuel Jessey's petition, entered in the consultation of 6 September, was this day considered and granted. Jessey presented another petition of this day's date, humbly asking for two small parcels of the Company's waste land. The first was about seven acres adjoining land he had lately purchased, formerly the late Thomas Burnham's. The second was ten acres more adjoining the gumwood land formerly the late Jane Mudge's. Both would be of service to him and of no detriment to the neighbourhood. The council granted the request accordingly. The gunner brought in and delivered the following account, which the council examined and approved. Interpretations The general excuse of the defaulters rested on two genuine failings in the alarm itself. The signal for incoming ships had not been made at Prosperous Bay, and the vessel's course round the south-west point made her seem to be passing by. The council accepted that the fault lay partly in the system and partly in the ship's ambiguous approach, excusing the men while warning them, the leniency reflecting a real defect rather than mere indulgence. The grant of Jessey's earlier petition completed the relief he had sought for his losses. He had petitioned on 6 September 1720 as overseer of the Hutts plantation, set back by eight months' sickness, and the council had deferred the matter to further consideration. The decision now made good that delay, the bench granting the relief once it had weighed his case. The further grant of waste land rounded out Jessey's holdings by adding parcels adjoining ground he already held. The seven acres lay next to land bought from the late Thomas Burnham's estate, and the ten acres adjoined the gumwood land formerly Jane Mudge's. Gumwood was a native St Helena tree valued for its timber, and land carrying it was worth holding, the grants consolidating Jessey's plantation from neighbouring Company waste. The condition that the grants brought no detriment to the neighbourhood reflects the council's care over the disposal of waste land. Parcels were let only where they did not block a neighbour's access or engross ground needed by others, a concern that ran through the island's land grants. The bench's noting that Jessey's parcels harmed no one shows the settled test applied before waste was alienated. | |||||
508 | October An Acco: of Gunnes Stores Expended from the 3 of Septemb:r 1720 to y: 3 Octob:r following. Mins. Fal. Pow:r Sept: y: 6 & 16 Expended at the General Exercise of the Garrison 10 D:o 16 Departed the Hartford for India 5 5 25 An Alarm made at the Fort 2 2 8 To the Guards 14 Flints 36 Match 18 Spunge Staves 4 Spunge Heads 6 Rammer heads 7 Tompkins 12 Sheep Skins 4 Muskett Balls 12 Mins. Fal. Pow:r Totalle 12 4 12 7 64 1836 2 7 37 Signed p Isaac Leech Gunner According to an Order of Council of the 20 September last the Gentlemen of the Councille Report they have been and taken an Acco: of the Hon: Comp: live Stock & Plantations and find the Same to be as follows. (Viz:) Margin Notes: Report of Hon: live Stock & Plant: | [October] An account of gunner's stores spent from 5 September 1720 to 5 October following. The columns ran by guns fired, shot and powder. 7 September, spent at the general exercise of the garrison: 10 powder. 16 September, departed the Hartford for India: 5 guns fired, 5 powder. 25 September, an alarm made at the Fort: 2 guns fired, 2 shot, 8 powder. To the guards: 14 powder. Flints: 36 Match: 18 Sponge staves: 4 Sponge heads: 6 Rammer heads: 7 Tompkins: 12 Sheep skins: 4 Musket balls: 12 The totals stood at 12 guns fired, 4 sponge staves, 12 tompkins, 7 rammer heads, 6 sponge heads, 4 sheep skins, 36 flints, 2 shot, 7 [...], 37 powder. The account was signed by Isaac Leech, gunner. In accordance with the council's order of 26 September last, the gentlemen of the council reported that they had taken an account of the Company's live stock and plantations, and found the same to be as follows. Interpretations The account confirms the modest scale of firing in a quiet month free of ceremony and convoy. The garrison exercise spent 10 measures of powder, the Hartford's departure five, and the single alarm of 25 September a small charge. The register shows powder and shot consumed in routine training and the salute of a departing ship rather than in the heavy ceremonial firing of busier months. The consumable accessories listed alongside the powder were the working apparatus of the guns. Match was the slow cord that fired them, sponge staves and heads cleaned the barrels, rammer heads drove home the charge, and sheep skins served as wadding or covers. Recording each item spent let the gunner account for the whole equipment of firing, not the powder and shot alone. The signature of Isaac Leech identifies the gunner answerable for the stores and their reckoning. As the officer in charge of the ordnance he rendered the account for the council's examination, his name fixing responsibility for the consumption recorded. The attestation completes the periodic audit of a controlled military resource. The report of the completed survey marked the handover of the Company's estate to its new overseer. The council had ordered on 26 September 1720 that Byfield, with Alexander and Goodwin, take a true account of the plantations and live stock on his assuming the overseership. The gentlemen's report now delivered that reckoning, fixing what the new officer received and opening the account of the estate's condition that followed. | |||||
509 | Perkins: In Perkins Plantation viz In the Old Gutt are Growing 23,000 ab: 16 Mo: old & Goes well In Fosters Ground 20,000 ab: 16 & 17 old In the Still House Gutt next y: Lemon trees 12,000 2 Year old In ditto Gutt 8,000 ab: 17 Mo: old In the New Gutt as far as y: Cross Wall 35,000 ab: 11 Mo: old In the Same Gutt Including the Piece below the House into y: Gutt & as far down as the Edge of the Hollow next the Plain & along y: Hill Side next the House 30,000 ab: 18 & 19 Mo: old On the Minke Hill 15,000 11 Mo: old On ditto Hill Side is 20,000 from 3 to 1 old In the Bean Ground & Gutt below it 28,000 fitt to digg In the Plain & Part of the Hollow 70,000 New planted In the 2 Pieces above the House 8,000 ab: 4 Mo: old In Griffins Ground viz Griffins In the Upper Piece next the ridge 30,000 ab: 3 Mo: old Some of the Ground but indifferent In ditto Ground in y: Lower Piece 20,000 ab: 16 & 17 Mo: old & Goes well & partly In Liphkins Plantation Liphkins In the Plain 30,000 15 Mo: old In the Narrow Gutt 25,000 fitt to digg Jefsey In Jefseys Gutt 80,000 from 16 to 65 Mo: old In D:o Gutt at head thereof 15,000 ab: 6 Mo: old Carried over 469,000 | [1720] In Perkins's plantation, namely: In the old gut there were growing 23,000 yams, about 6 months old, and growing well. In Foster's ground there were 20,000 yams, about 14 or 15 months old. In the still-house gut, next the lemon trees, there were 12,000 yams, 2 years old. In the same gut there were 8,000 yams, about 17 months old. In the new gut, as far as the cross wall, there were 35,000 yams, about 6 months old. In the same gut, including the piece below the house, and down as far as the edge of the hollow next the plain, and along the hillside next the house, there were 30,000 yams, about 18 or 19 months old. On the Manatee hill there were 15,000 yams, about 11 months old. On the same hillside there were 20,000 yams, from 3 to 5 months old. In the bean ground, and the gut below it, there were 28,000 yams, fit to dig. In the plain and part of the hollow there were 70,000 yams, newly planted. In the 2 pieces above the house there were 8,000 yams, about 4 months old. In Griffin's ground, namely: In the upper piece next the ridge there were 30,000 yams, about 3 months old. Some of the ground was but indifferent. In the lower piece there were 20,000 yams, about 16 or 17 months old, of which some part was spoiled with the wet. In Ledkins's plantation: In the plain there were 30,000 yams, 15 months old. In the Narrow gut there were 25,000 yams, fit to dig. In Jessey's gut there were 80,000 yams, from 15 to 18 months old. In the same gut, at the head of it, there were 15,000 yams, about 6 months old. Carried over: 469,000. Interpretations The survey graded each plot by the age of its yams, fixing the maturity and selling readiness of every parcel against its count. Ages ran from newly planted ground through pieces of a few months to crops of 2 years and others marked fit to dig. Yams matured slowly over many months, so recording the age of each planting let the council foresee the order in which the plots would come ready and plan the island's supply across the year. The notes of spoiled and indifferent ground recorded the losses and weaknesses that bore on future planting. Part of Griffin's lower piece was spoiled with the wet, and some of his upper ground was but indifferent for yams. The observations turned the stocktaking into a guide for management, marking where the wet had damaged the crop and where the soil repaid cultivation poorly. The damage by wet to Griffin's lower piece points to the island's moderate but damp seasons working against the root crop. Yams rotted where water lay, and the loss of part of a planting to the wet was a hazard the survey set down for the council's notice. The detail shows the count registering not only what stood in the ground but what the weather had spoiled. The plots were fixed by a circuit of named holdings and natural features, placing every entry within the island's known terrain. Perkins's, Foster's, Griffin's, Ledkins's and Jessey's grounds, with the guts, the plain, the hollow and the Manatee hill, located each parcel in sequence. The survey read as a walk through recognised landmarks, identifying each piece without a drawn map, and the running total carried over to 469,000 built toward the whole-stock figure. | |||||
510 | October Yams Bro: Over 469,000 Trusdales In Trusdales Gutt are 30,000 ab: 7 Mo: old Kelings In Kelings Gutt 35,000 from 7 to 8 Mo: old Carnes In Carnes Gutt 55,000 8 Mo: Old Grows well In the Grand Plantation Grand Plantation In the new Piece at y: Bottom of Bamboo Gutt increased from Liphkins 12,000 newly planted From y: Bottom of the Cross Wall in D: Gutt to the first Bamboo Trees 40,000 fitt to Digg From the Bamboo trees to y: Figg Trees 25,000 ab: 8 Mo: Old From the Figg trees to Marias Spring 40,000 New planted On the Side of the Hill called Tomysons Garden & from y: Graves to Capt: Bounds Spring 60,000 ab: 11 Mo: Old In the Piece next the Pigeon House on the Hill Side above the Lower Wat: Trench was planted 68,000 Such as, but the 20,000 ab: 9 Mo: Old Ground being very dry they wont come out when Grown above 20,000 lbs: & therefore Account them as no more Peak In the Peak Plantation 260,000 Of wch 120,000 is ab: 19 & 20 Mo: Old Yet wont weigh above ½ of a pound a Piece & At their full Growth (which cannot be less y: 2 Years) they wont weigh above ½ at each & the Ground being very Poor & Some not fitt to Plant. Carried Over 1,045,000 | [October] Yams brought over: 469,000. In Truesdale's gut there were 30,000 yams, about 7 months old. In Keeling's gut there were 35,000 yams, from 7 to [...] months old. In Carne's gut there were 55,000 yams, 8 months old, growing well. In the grand plantation: In the new piece at the bottom of Bamboo gut, increased from Ledkins's, there were 12,000 yams, newly planted. From the bottom of the cross wall in the gut to the first bamboo trees there were 40,000 yams, fit to dig. From the bamboo trees to the fig trees there were 25,000 yams, about 8 months old. From the fig trees to Maria's spring there were 40,000 yams, newly planted. On the side of the hill called Tony Son's ground, and from the graves to Captain Proud's spring, there were 60,000 yams, about 11 months old. In the piece next the pigeon house, on the hillside above the lower wall trench, there had been planted 68,000 suckers. But the ground being very dry, these would not come out, when grown, above 20,000. They were therefore accounted no more than 20,000 yams, about 9 or 10 months old. In the Peak plantation there were 260,000 yams. Of these, 120,000 were about 19 or 20 months old, yet would not weigh above half a pound apiece. Even at their full growth, which could not be less than 2 years, they would not weigh above [...]. The ground was very dry and poor, and some not fit to plant. Carried over: 1,045,000. Interpretations The survey continued to set the planted number of yams against their probable yield, exposing the gap between count and substance on the poorer ground. The 68,000 suckers by the pigeon house would dig out at only 20,000 for want of water, and the Peak's quarter-million would weigh barely half a pound apiece. The double measure warned the council that a bare tally overstated the food actually in the ground. The recurring note of dry and poor soil identified the cause of the stunted yield and the limit on future planting. Yams needed moisture and good ground to swell, and the dry hillsides above the pigeon house and at the Peak checked their growth so that even mature roots stayed light. The observations record the council learning which plots were too dry or poor to repay cultivation, part of the Peak marked not fit to plant. The note that the pigeon house ground had been planted with suckers describes the means by which yams were propagated. Suckers were the shoots or offsets set to grow into new plants, the ordinary method of raising the crop. Recording the number of suckers planted against the yield expected let the council judge the return on the labour of planting, the dry ground returning less than a third. The plots were fixed by a circuit of named features that placed every entry within the grand plantation's known terrain. Bamboo gut, the cross wall, the fig trees, Maria's spring, Tony Son's ground, the graves and Captain Proud's spring located each parcel in sequence. The survey read as a walk through recognised landmarks, and the running total carried over to 1,045,000 mounted toward the whole-stock figure, though the weight notes show the count flattered the true reserve. | |||||
511 | Yams Brought Over 1,045,000 Hutts At the Hutts 270,000 Increased from Burnhams 15,000 285,000 Of which 45,000 are fitt to digg, the rest are Young & would be fitt those 18 or 20 Mo: There are new planted more 5,000 Burnhams In Burnhams Ground are reains by Tale 15,000 But at the time of digging out they wont weigh above 8,000 the ground being 8,000 Very Cold & therefore Account them no More Totall of Yams 1,344,000 Live Stock viz: Neat Cattle. Bulls 12 Cows 117 Bullocks 27 Live Stock Heifers 17 Steers 15 Yearlings 15 Calves 128 331 There are Running Wild & Cant be pounded Viz: Cows 6 Bullocks 6 Heifers 2 Calves 4 18 Totall of Neat Cattle 349 | [1720] Yams brought over: 1,046,000. At the Hutts there were 270,000 yams. Increased from Burnham's: 15,000. [Subtotal:] 285,000. Of these, 45,000 were fit to dig. The rest were young, and would be fit at 18 or 20 months. There were newly planted more: 5,000. In Burnham's ground there were, by tale, 10,000 yams [...] 15,000. But at the time of digging these would not weigh out above 8,000, the ground being very cold. They were therefore accounted no more than 8,000. Total of yams: 1,344,000. Live stock, namely: Neat cattle: 12 bulls 117 cows 27 bullocks 17 heifers 15 steers 15 yearlings 128 calves [Subtotal:] 331 There were running wild and not compounded, namely: 6 cows 6 bullocks 2 heifers 4 calves [Subtotal:] 18 Total of neat cattle: 349 Interpretations The final entry closed the yam survey with a grand total of 1,344,000, the figure giving the island's whole stock of the staple. The cumulative carry-forward, built plot by plot across the preceding sheets, resolved here into the sum from which the council judged the island's food supply. The completed count delivered the single number the administration needed to plan provision against the demands of the shipping. The persistent gap between tale and weight ran to the end of the count, Burnham's cold ground yielding only 8,000 of the 10,000 reckoned by number. Yams grown in cold soil stayed small, so the figure by tale overstated the food they would actually give. The council recorded both measures so that the total reflected real substance rather than a flattering count, the same caution shown throughout the survey. The live-stock count separated the compounded herd from the cattle running wild, a distinction of management and control. The compounded beasts were those penned or kept in hand, while the eighteen running wild and not compounded ranged free and unbroken. The separate tally shows the council distinguishing the stock it could readily use from the feral animals harder to muster, both counted toward the herd's full strength. Neat cattle were the horned beasts kept for beef, draught and breeding, the term setting them apart from the smaller goats and sheep counted elsewhere. The breakdown by sex and age, with its heavy run of cows and calves, shows a herd managed for increase as much as for slaughter. The count by category let the council read the composition and breeding strength of the stock it held. | |||||
512 | October Goats viz: 11 Rams 329 Ewes 122 Wethers 176 Kidds 638 Totall Sheep viz: 7 Rams 62 Ewes 29 Wethers 14 Lambs 112 Totall Hoggs viz: 1 Boar 5 Sowes 7 Shoats 29 Piggs 42 Totall Poultry Viz: 84 Fowles Great & Small 18 Ducks 11 Geese 71 Turkeys great & Small The Doctors brought in and delivered their Book of Medicines Expended Since the 20 Sept:r last which was Examined and Approv'd of. Then began to Transferr Bills for the Quarter past Ending Sept: 25 last. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: D:r Book Exam:d Transferrs | [October] Goats, namely: 11 rams 329 ewes 122 wethers 176 kids [Total:] 638 Sheep, namely: 7 rams 62 ewes 29 wethers 14 lambs [Total:] 112 Hogs, namely: 1 boar 5 sows 7 shoats 29 pigs [Total:] 42 Poultry, namely: 84 fowls, great and small 18 ducks 11 geese 71 turkeys, great and small The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since 20 September last, which the council examined and approved. The council then began to transfer bills for the quarter past, ending 25 September last. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The full live-stock count sorted the Company's animals into neat cattle, goats, sheep, hogs and poultry, each broken down by kind, sex and age. The completed survey gave the council the whole strength and composition of its herds and flocks at the moment Edward Byfield took charge as overseer. The detailed tally fixed what the new officer received, against which his future management might be measured. The wethers counted among the goats and sheep were the castrated males, kept for their flesh and fleece rather than for breeding. Their separate tally, alongside rams, ewes and young, shows the council distinguishing the breeding stock from the animals raised for slaughter. The breakdown let the bench read how each flock was managed between increase and meat. The transferring of bills for the quarter ending 25 September 1720 was the routine settlement of accounts among the inhabitants at the quarter's close. Bills drawn between individuals or on the Company were assigned from one party to another on the appointed day, the council providing the occasion and the record. The mechanism let debts and credits be cleared collectively rather than singly, the quarter day fixing the reckoning. The doctor's regular account of medicines spent continued the periodic audit of the Company's medical stores. Dispensed as Company property, the medicines were reckoned at each consultation so their consumption stayed under the council's eye. The repeated examination marks the ordinary supervision applied alike to medicines, munitions and provisions across the island's accounts. | |||||
513 | Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Wednesday the 5 day of Octob:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander abs: by reason of Jno: Goodwin the death of his Child The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Went on with Transferring those Bills remaining Yesterday and finished. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 11 day of Octob:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Wednesday 5 October 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. The council went on with transferring the bills remaining from the day before, and finished them. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 11 October 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. Interpretations The completion of the bill transfers over two days shows the volume of accounts cleared at the quarter's settlement. The work begun on 4 October 1720 was carried on and finished on 5 October, the council reconvening expressly to complete it. The spread across successive consultations marks the quantity of bills the inhabitants brought for transfer at the close of the quarter ending 25 September 1720. The note that John Alexander presided as third by reason of the death of [...] records a change in the council's composition. A member had died, altering the order in which the councillors ranked and sat. The entry fixes the precedence at this consultation against the vacancy, the bench adjusting its order as death removed one of its number. The transferring of bills was the routine machinery by which debts and credits among the inhabitants were assigned and cleared at the quarter day. Bills passed from one party to another were entered in the Company's books, the council providing the occasion and the record. The mechanism let the settlement's obligations be reckoned collectively rather than singly, the quarter's close drawing the accounts to a head. | |||||
514 | October Whereas Mr James Ryder appeared & Acquaints Us that Thomas ffreg mentioned in Consultations of the 5, 26 Apr: 3 of May & 14 of June last, Refuses to make any Allowance or Report of for what he has Expended on his own Account out of the Estate the Proceed of Daniel Griffith, but insists on his wife's having one third ings in the Estate Part as if no such money had been by him Expended, whereby of Griffith & &c: the Orphans will be Greatly Injur'd. Wherefore Ordered That the whole Estate be Sold, and the Children taken Under our Care. That the Eldest Son of the Said Griffith be taken into the Guards, Mr Ryder has Promised to give him his Dyett for his work in his Plantation when of of duty. That the Youngest Son, and Daughter be put to Board to Mr Ryder at the Usuall rate, & to be paid him out of their Dividend. And if there is any Stock that Mr Ryder may think Improveable for their Interest, That it be Valued & Deliver'd to Mr Ryder, and He to be Accountable to Us for the Same. John Hodgkinson made Complaint that Richard Gueling Stands Indebted to him the Sume of £6, 4s for Curing one of his Blacks of a Venerial Disstemper, another of a Swolling, and for bleeding Severall times & for Physick given to his family, which he refuses to pay him for. Margin Notes: James Ryders Report of Tho: ffrees proceedings in the Estate of Griffith & &c All Estate to be Sold the Eldest Son to be placed a Sold: the Youngest Son & Dau: to Mr Ryder their Stock D:o Mr Ryder Jno: Hodgkinson Complt agt Rich:d Gueling for a debt | [1720] James Ryder appeared and informed the council that Thomas Free, mentioned in the consultations of 3 May and 14 June last, refused to make any allowance for what he had spent on his own account out of Daniel Griffith's estate. Free instead insisted on his wife having a full third part, as though no such money had been spent by him, by which the orphans would be greatly harmed. The council ordered that the whole estate be sold and the children taken under its care. The eldest son of Griffith was to be taken into the guards, Ryder having promised to give him his diet for his work in the plantation when off duty. The youngest son and the daughter were to be put to board with Mr Ryder at the usual rate, to be paid him out of their dividend. If there were any stock that Ryder thought unprofitable for the children's interest, it was to be valued and delivered to Ryder, he to be accountable to the council for it. John Hodgkinson complained that Richard Gurling stood indebted to him in the sum of £6 4s 0d. This was for the cure of one of Gurling's slaves of a venereal distemper, of another of a swelling, for bleeding several persons, and for medicines given to his family, all of which Gurling refused to pay. Interpretations The order to sell Griffith's whole estate protected the orphans against a stepfather draining their inheritance. Thomas Free, having married Griffith's widow, sought a full third for his wife while charging his own expenses against the estate, a double claim that would have cut the children's portion twice. The council's sale of the estate and assumption of the orphans' care removed the property from Free's hands to secure the children's share. The placing of the three orphans recorded a practical division of their keep across the guards and a private household. The eldest son went into the garrison, earning his diet by working Ryder's plantation off duty, while the younger two were boarded with Ryder at a rate charged to their own dividend. The arrangement spread the cost of the orphans' maintenance, drawing it from their inheritance rather than the Company's purse. The council's role as guardian of orphans was a settled part of its jurisdiction, exercised here through the orphans' court that handled such estates. Children left fatherless and at risk from a stepfather's claims fell under the bench's protection, their property secured and their persons placed. The committal of stock to Ryder on accountable terms shows the council managing the orphans' assets as a trust. Hodgkinson's claim sets out the work of a medical practitioner charging for his attendance on a household and its slaves. The cure of two slaves, the bleeding of several persons and the medicines supplied were the services for which he sought £6 4s 0d from Richard Gurling. Bleeding was a standard treatment of the day, drawing blood to balance the body's humours, and the itemised bill shows how a doctor's charges accumulated across a family and its dependants. | |||||
515 | The Said Gueling having been Sumoned and now present Says he owns the Said Hodgkinson has given Some of his Blacks Physick, But alledges the Said Hodgkinson has receiv'd Severall things of him in Part of Payment, but cant now remember the Perticulars. Wherefore he has time given him till this day Sennight to bring in his Acco: and then the whole to be adjusted. The Said Hodgkinson made Complt likewise that John Long ow'd him £3, 7, 6 for physick & attendance which he refuses to pay him. The Said Long being also Sumoned & now Present Says that the Said Hodgkinson owes him Money for House Rent the amount of which he cannot now tell. Wherefore the Said Long is likewise Ordered to bring in his Charge on the Complainant by this day Sennight. In Consultation of the 27 March 1716 We find Richard Gueling Stood Indebted to the Hon: Comp: in the Sum of three Hundred Pounds for a House and Land formerly Easthopers, and that when called upon by Gov:r Pyke he owned the debt and said he was not to pay any Interest till August 1715. And Whereas the Principle nor Interest being yet paid the Said Rich: Gueling was now made Acquainted therewith, who Says he offered Payment to Govern:r Pyke Severall times but he would Margin Notes: Guelings Allegacons Jno: Hodgkinson Complt also agt Mr Long for debt Long Says his debt Ripaling Richard Gueling Indebted to Hon: Comp: for £300 for Land Gueling Answ:r | [1720] Richard Gurling, having been summoned and now present, said that Hodgkinson had given some of his slaves medicine, but alleged that Hodgkinson had received several things from him in part payment, the particulars of which he could not now recall. The council gave him a week to bring in his account, when the whole was to be settled. Hodgkinson complained likewise that John Long owed him £3 7s 6d for medicines and attendance, which Long refused to pay. Long, also summoned and now present, said that Hodgkinson owed him money for house rent, the amount of which he could not now tell. The council likewise ordered Long to bring in his charge against the complainant within a week. In the consultation of 27 March 1716, the council found Richard Gurling indebted to the Company in the sum of £300 0s 0d for a house and land formerly Easthope's. When called upon by Governor Pyke, Gurling had owned the debt but said he was not to pay any interest until August 1715. The principal and interest both remaining unpaid, Gurling was now made acquainted with the matter. He said he had offered payment to Governor Pyke several times, but the Governor would never Interpretations The disputes over the doctor's bills turned on cross-claims that each debtor raised against the practitioner. Gurling pleaded goods given in part payment, and Long pleaded house rent owed him by Hodgkinson, both setting an offsetting claim against the charge. The council's grant of a week to each to bring in his account shows the bench requiring the counter-claims to be proved before the doctor's debts could be settled, the reckoning made on demonstrated balance rather than bare assertion. The revival of Gurling's £300 0s 0d debt shows the completed books reaching back four years to press an old and unpaid obligation. The sum, owed for Easthope's house and land since 1716, had stood with principal and interest unsatisfied. The council's confronting Gurling with the matter demonstrates how the corrected accounts revived claims the earlier neglect of the books had let lie. Gurling's debt of £300 0s 0d is on record under the present administration. The sum for the former Easthope property had been fixed at the consultation of 27 March 1716, with interest deferred to August 1715 by his account. The bench now reopened the claim, the figure and its terms matching the record of his long-standing liability for the house and land. Gurling's defence that he had offered payment which the Governor refused shifts the failure of settlement onto the creditor. He claimed to have tendered the money to Governor Pyke several times without effect, casting the unpaid debt as the Company's omission rather than his own default. The plea, recorded for the council's weighing, shows a debtor seeking to escape interest by alleging a refused tender. | |||||
516 | October never take any live Stock or other Provisions from him and that he was not to pay any Interest for the Same, made Severall triffling Excuses but could prove none. It is therefore Ordered That the Said Rich: Gueling do Accordingly Pay Interest for the Said Sum of three Hundred Pounds from August 1715, together with the Principle. The Doctors brought and delivered their Book of Medicines Expended Since last Consultation day, which was Examined & Approv'd of. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 18 day of Octob:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Margin Notes: R: Guelings to Pay Interest & Principle D:r Book Exam:d | [1720] Gurling further claimed that Governor Pyke would never take any live stock or other provisions from him, and that he was therefore not to pay any interest on the debt. He made several trifling excuses but could prove none. The council ordered that Richard Gurling pay interest on the sum of £300 0s 0d from August 1715, together with the principal. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since the last consultation, which the council examined and approved. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 18 October 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. Interpretations The council's rejection of Gurling's excuses turned the dispute on his failure to prove a refused tender. He claimed the Governor would take neither his money nor his provisions, and so sought to escape the interest, but offered nothing to support it. The bench, finding the excuses trifling and unproven, charged him with both principal and interest, treating an unsubstantiated plea of refused payment as no defence against the debt. The ruling that interest ran from August 1715 fixed the charge against Gurling on the terms of the original obligation. His own account had deferred interest to that date, and the council now held him to it, the deferral marking the point from which the unpaid debt began to accrue. The decision shows the bench enforcing the settled terms of a debt rather than the debtor's later attempts to evade them. Gurling's £300 0s 0d debt for the former Easthope property is on record under the present administration, fixed at the consultation of 27 March 1716 with interest deferred to August 1715. The council's confirmation of both principal and interest applied that record against him. The matter shows a long-standing liability finally pressed once the corrected books brought it again to the bench's notice. The doctor's regular account of medicines spent continued the routine audit of the Company's medical stores. Dispensed as Company property, the medicines were reckoned at each consultation so their consumption stayed under the council's eye. The repeated examination marks the ordinary supervision applied alike to medicines, munitions and provisions across the island's accounts. | |||||
517 | Pursuant to the Order of last Consultation Ordered That Van Oosten do make up the P:t Richard Guelings Account for the Said three Hundred Pounds from August 1715, And that what Ever Creditt the Ballance of his Account every Year Since that time intitled him to Should be Allowed to= wards the discharge of Interest & Principle Each Year. And that the Same be Entered in the Hon: Companys Books, That Capt: Alexander do prepare a Bond for the Same to be Executed by the Said Richard Gueling. The Doctors brought and delivered their Book of Medicines Expended Since the 11 Inst: which was Examined & Approv'd of. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: R: Gueling Acco: to be made up Adjusted A Bond to be made D:r Book Exam:d | [1720] In accordance with the order of the last consultation, the council ordered that Van Oosten make up Richard Gurling's account for the £300 0s 0d from August 1715. Whatever credit the balance of his account each year since that time entitled him to was to be allowed towards discharging the interest and principal each year. The whole was to be entered in the Company's books. Captain Alexander was to prepare a bond for the same, to be executed by Gurling. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since the last consultation, which the council examined and approved. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order to make up Gurling's account turned the confirmed debt into a settled reckoning to be entered and secured. Van Oosten, the writer in the accountant's office, was set to compute the balance, crediting Gurling each year with what his account entitled him to against the interest and principal. The procedure shows the council resolving the long-disputed debt into a clear running figure in the Company's books. The crediting of Gurling's yearly balance against the debt reflects the workings of the transfer book by which mutual claims were set off. Whatever the Company owed Gurling each year was applied to reduce what he owed on the £300 0s 0d, the two accounts balanced against each other. The mechanism shows how an islander's standing credit and debt were reconciled within a single reckoning rather than pursued separately. The requirement of a bond converted the open debt into a formal secured instrument. Captain Alexander was to prepare the bond for Gurling to execute, giving the Company an enforceable claim for the principal and interest. The step matches the credit reform of 2 August 1720, by which debts above the ceiling were to be bound by bond and interest, the council now applying that discipline to Gurling's old liability. John Martin Van Oosten's place is on record under the present administration. He had been taken into the accountant's office on 3 May 1720 when John Lacy was dismissed for negligence. The man now set to make up Gurling's account was the writer who had succeeded a discharged predecessor, the council assigning the reckoning to the office's serving clerk. | |||||
518 | October Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 25 day of Octob:r 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres:t Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. William Simpsom made Complaint that he had lost Almost one whole Piece of Gurehas which Megg Mr Jefseys Black Wench under Punishment for Stealing a Peice of Gold out of his Pocket, Say'd She had taken out of the House and given it to Mr Coulsons Wench named Abigal. The Said Abigal being Yesterday put into Prison was now before Us, and denys that ever She receiv'd any Cloth of the Said Megg or knew any thing of it being Stolen. Ordered That the Said Megg be Punished According to the law made by the Inhabitants, and her Master Samuel Jefsey to make Satisfaction for the Cloth So Stolen. Capt: Goodwin brought in his Book Containing the Monthly Acco: from August the 25, 1720 to Sept: the 24 following, which was Examind, Approv'd and Signed by Us. Joseph Bates brought in two Bills of Sale, one for a House Margin Notes: Simsons Com= plt of Cloth rob'd by Megg Abigal &c Megg Pun= ishment Store Acco bro: in for Sept:r [and] Appro'd by Us | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 25 October 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. William Simpson complained that he had lost almost a whole piece of cloth, taken by Megg, Mr Jessey's black woman, then under punishment for stealing a piece of gold out of his pocket. Megg had said she took the cloth out of the house and gave it to Mr Coulson's woman named Abigail. Abigail, put into prison the day before, was now brought before the council. She denied ever having received any cloth from Megg, or knowing anything of its being stolen. The council ordered that Megg be punished according to the law made by the inhabitants, and that her master Samuel Jessey make satisfaction for the cloth stolen. Captain Goodwin brought in his book containing the monthly account from 25 August 1720 to 24 September following, which the council examined, approved and signed. Joseph Bates brought in two bills of sale, one for a house Interpretations The case set the master's liability for his slave's theft against the slave's own punishment. Megg had stolen both gold and cloth, and the council both ordered her punished and required her owner Samuel Jessey to make good the cloth. The double remedy shows the settled principle that a slave answered with her body while the master answered with his purse, the owner bearing the financial loss his slave inflicted on another. The reference to the law made by the inhabitants points to a local enactment governing the punishment of slaves for theft. The council punished Megg according to this rule rather than its own discretion, applying a settled tariff the inhabitants had framed. The mechanism shows the island's community legislating for the discipline of its slave population, the bench enforcing a code the settlers had themselves established. Abigail's flat denial of receiving the cloth left the chain of theft unproven against her. Megg had named her as the recipient, but Abigail, imprisoned overnight, denied all knowledge, and the order fell on Megg and her master alone. The case echoes the receiver proceedings of June and July 1720, where named recipients denied their part and the council weighed accusation against denial. Captain Goodwin's monthly account continued the routine audit of the stores in his charge as storekeeper. The reckoning for the month was brought before the council, examined and signed, keeping the drawing-down of Company goods under the bench's eye. The regular presentation marks the ordinary supervision applied to the storekeeper's accounts alongside the gunner's and the doctor's. Speculations The splitting of the remedy between the slave and her owner reflects a deliberate solution to the problem of compensating a victim when the wrongdoer held nothing of her own. Megg could be punished in her person but owned no property from which Simpson could be repaid, so the loss was laid on the master who did. By directing the punishment at the slave and the satisfaction at the owner, the council met both the need to deter the theft and the need to make the victim whole, fixing liability where each object could actually be obtained. | |||||
519 | a House he bought in James Valley and the other for ten Acres of Land & Provisions at the Crofley Beds desiring they might be both Registerd for better Security thereof. Granted Accordingly. Likewise Sec: Young & Sec: Whaley presented each a Bill of Sale for a House Each of them bought Situate in James Valley desiring they might be Registerd. Granted. Robert Bell Planter Presented his Petition Setting forth that in a former Petition to Gov: Pyke & the then Council He requested the grant of about ten foot of ground in breadth that lay Wast between a nother Small Piece of Ground he Purchased of Jonathan Higham Sen: & the House of John Hanson Situate in James Valley, with Liberty to Build thereon. But the Petition receiving no Answer to his Said Petition humbly renews his former request He being very willing to Pay Rent for the Same to the Hon: Comp: Granted and when the ground is Sett out to him that then the Rent be fixed & a lease drawn Accordingly. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Tho: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: 2 Bills of Sale of land & prov:ns Registerd Granted 2 other Bills of Sale of Houses Reg:d Alsoaty Granted Pet: of Rob: Bell for ground in James Valley Granted | [1720] Joseph Bates brought in two bills of sale, one for a house he had bought in James Valley, and the other for ten acres of land and the provisions at the Pulley Bed, asking that both might be registered for better security. The council granted the request accordingly. Sergeant Young and Sergeant Whaley each likewise presented a bill of sale for a house, both bought in James Valley, asking that they might be registered. The council granted the request. Robert Bell, planter, presented his petition. He set out that in a former petition to Governor Pyke and the council then sitting, he had asked for a grant of about ten foot of ground in breadth, lying west, between another small piece of ground he had bought from Jonathan Higham senior and the house of John Hanson, in James Valley, with leave to build on it. The earlier petition having received no answer, Bell now renewed his request, being very willing to pay rent for the ground to the Company. The council granted the request, and ordered that when the ground was set out to him, the rent be fixed and a lease drawn accordingly. Interpretations The registration of bills of sale gave buyers secure title and the Company a record of who held property on the island. Bates, Young and Whaley each brought conveyances of houses or land to be entered for better security, fixing their ownership against future dispute. The routine entry shows the council maintaining a register of property transfers as the means by which title was established and protected. The provisions sold with the land at the Pulley Bed marked the transfer of a growing crop along with the ground that bore it. A plantation's standing yams or other provisions carried real value, and their inclusion in the bill of sale passed them to the buyer with the land. The detail shows how an island holding was conveyed as a working concern, the crop in the ground reckoned part of the sale. Bell's renewed petition shows an applicant returning to the council after his first suit went unanswered under the previous administration. He had asked Governor Pyke and the former council for the narrow strip of ground and received no reply, the matter lapsing until he revived it. The case illustrates how petitions could fall dormant at a change of government and be pressed afresh before the new bench. The grant of the ground on the usual terms, with rent to be fixed and a lease drawn once it was set out, followed the settled procedure for letting Company land. The boundary had first to be marked on the ground before the rent could be set and the lease completed. The sequence shows the council's orderly method of alienating small parcels, the survey preceding the fixing of terms. | |||||
520 | Novemb:r Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 1 day of Nov: 1720 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Mr Byfeld brought in his Book with an Account of the Hon: Companys Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hoggs, Goats &c: for the Month of Octob:r and Likewise the Expence of the Said Month which was Signed. Sec: Thomas Dutch brought & Presented two Bills of Sale viz: Sutton Isaacks & Dorothy Hayses for a House bought of each of them Situate in James Valley, desireing they might be Registerd for better Security thereof. Granted. John Bagley Sen:r and Carpenter was Sumoned to give Us an Account how he Intended to pay the Hon: Comp: what he Stands Indebted to them. He appeared and said he had money owing to him from Severall Persons, but had not yet Demanded it. Margin Notes: Mr Byfeld Acco: of Hon: Comp: live Stock &c Octob:r & Approv'd Tho: Dutch Presented Bills of Sale Reg:d bro:t & Registerd Jno: Bagley Sen:r called on ab: of Hon: Co: debt His Answer | [November] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 1 November 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. Mr Byfield brought in his book with an account of the Company's neat cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and the rest for the month of October, and likewise the expense of that month, which was signed. Sergeant Thomas Dutch brought in and presented two bills of sale, namely Sutton Isaack's and Dorothy Hayse's, for a house bought from each of them, both in James Valley, asking that they might be registered for better security. The council granted the request. John Bagley senior, carpenter, was summoned to give an account of how he intended to pay the Company what he owed. He appeared and said he had money owing to him from several persons, but had not yet demanded it. Interpretations The shift of the consultation to the plantation house marked a change in the council's customary place of meeting from Union Castle. The plantation house was the Company's principal country residence and the centre of its agricultural estate, lately surveyed and reported on at Byfield's assumption of the overseership. Meeting there shows the council convening at the seat of the plantation business now under its new officer's charge. Byfield's monthly account of the live stock and its expense continued the regular reckoning of the Company's herds and flocks under the overseer. Having taken the charge in September 1720, he now rendered the first of the periodic accounts the office required, fixing the stock and the month's cost for the council's examination. The signed entry marks the routine oversight of the estate Byfield managed. The summoning of John Bagley over his debt shows the council pressing an indebted servant to declare his means of payment. Bagley pleaded money owing to him by others which he had not yet called in, a debtor relying on his own outstanding credits to meet his obligation. The case echoes John Coulson's appearance on 26 July 1720, the council requiring a clear account of how each debt was to be discharged. John Bagley senior, carpenter, is distinct from the younger man of the same name and trade lately favoured by the council. The elder Bagley now answered for his debt, while John Bagley junior had received a wage rise on 20 July 1720 and sold a house to Robert Wallington. The summons fell on the father, the record distinguishing the two carpenters of the same name within the small community. | |||||
521 | Whereupon he had time given him till Tuesday next to make his further Proposals. Capt: Goodwin brought in his Book Containing his Monthly Acco: from the 25 Sept: 1720 to the 24 Octob:r following which was Examined, Approv'd & Signed by Us. John Coles fee holder Presented his Petition Praying Us to grant him an Additional Quantity of Ground to the thirty foot Square he Already Hires of the Hon Comp: in James Valley, which in the whole will Containe about 50 foot in length and thirty five in breadth, being very willing to pay rent for the Same. And &c: Granted for 99 Years and that He have a new Lease for the whole to Commence from the 25 Sept: last Paying Seventeen Shillings p Annum, the Said Coles delivering up the Old Lease. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: time for his Proposals Store Acco for Oct:r Jno: Coles Praying an Addition to his Land he now rents Granted at 17s p Annum | [1720] John Bagley was given until the following Tuesday to make his further proposals. Captain Goodwin brought in his book containing his monthly account from 25 September 1720 to 24 October following, which the council examined, approved and signed. John Coles, freeholder, presented his petition, asking the council to grant him an additional quantity of ground to the thirty-foot square he already hired from the Company in James Valley. The whole would then come to about 50 foot in length and 35 in breadth. He was very willing to pay rent for it. The council granted the request for 99 years, and ordered that Coles be given a new lease for the whole, to commence from 25 September last, paying 17s 0d a year and delivering up the old lease. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The grant of an enlarged plot on a fresh lease shows the council consolidating a tenant's holding into a single tenure. Coles already hired a small square and sought ground to extend it, the whole then let on one new lease at a single rent. Surrendering the old lease for the new fixed the enlarged parcel under one instrument, the council tidying the tenure as it added the ground. The 99-year term marked a notably long lease for a small James Valley plot. Such a span gave the holder a near-permanent interest while the Company retained the ultimate freehold and a standing rent of 17s 0d. The length shows the council willing to grant secure, long tenures for built ground in the town, encouraging the holder to improve a plot he would hold for his life and beyond. The backdating of the lease to 25 September 1720 tied the new tenure to the quarter day. The grant took effect from the Michaelmas quarter rather than the date of the petition, aligning the rent and the term with the Company's accounting calendar. The practice matches other grants and wage adjustments timed to the quarter, keeping the books orderly. Captain Goodwin's monthly account continued the routine audit of the stores in his charge as storekeeper. The reckoning for the month was brought before the council, examined and signed, keeping the drawing-down of Company goods under the bench's eye. The regular presentation marks the ordinary supervision applied to the storekeeper's accounts alongside the gunner's and the doctor's. | |||||
522 | Novemb:r Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 8 day of Nov: 1720 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Gunner brought in his Acco: of Gunnoes Stores Expended for the Month of Oct: last which was Examined, Approv'd, & is as follows (Viz:) An Acco: of Gun Stores Expend:d for Oct: 1720 Guns fired. D.Cdo. Minions. Shott. Powder. Oct: y: 4 & 5 Expended at the General Exercise D:o 8 Demy Culvering dischargd to clean them 12 2 12 D:o 20 King Georges Coronation day 21 2 19 25 4 Powder Expended by the Guards 6 Beds Expended 16 Scrubs 14 Axeltrees Quines 12 6 Muskett Balls 32 Flints Rammer heads 8 Match 17 Guns fired. D.Cdo. Minions. Shott. Powder. 18 8 32 6 12 14 16 6 23 2 2 19 2 64 Signd Isaac Leech Ed Johnson Ed: Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin | [November] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 8 November 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. The gunner brought in his account of gunner's stores spent for the month of October last, which the council examined and approved. The account of gun stores spent for October 1720 ran as follows. The columns were guns fired, deals, minions, falcons, shot and powder. 5 October, spent at the general exercise: [no figures entered] 8 October, a demi-culverin discharged to clear it: 2 guns fired, 2 falcons, 14 powder. 20 October, King George's coronation day: 21 guns fired, 2 minions, 19 falcons, 25 shot, 14 powder. Powder spent by the guards: 6 powder. Beds spent: 16 Trucks: [...] Axletrees: 4 Quoins: 6 Musket balls: 12 Flints: 32 Rammer heads: 8 Match: 18 The totals stood at 18 guns fired, 8 deals, 32 minions, 6 falcons, 24 shot, 16 powder, 6 beds, 23 [...], 2 axletrees, 2 quoins, 19 [...], 2 [...], 6 match. The account was signed by Isaac Leech. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The account confirms the small scale of firing in a quiet month, the only salute of weight being King George's coronation day at 25 shot and the discharge of a single gun to clear it. The register shows powder and shot spent in routine exercise and one royal anniversary rather than the heavy ceremonial firing of busier months. The light consumption marks a period without convoys or numerous arrivals. The beds, trucks, axletrees and quoins listed among the stores were the parts of the gun carriages on which the ordnance was mounted. The bed held the barrel, the trucks were the small wheels, the axletrees carried them, and the quoins were the wedges that set the gun's elevation. Recording these alongside the powder shows the gunner accounting for the maintenance of the carriages as well as the firing itself. The discharge of a demi-culverin to clear it records the routine of firing a loaded gun to empty its charge safely. A piece left loaded could not be drawn without danger, so firing it off cleared the barrel. The entry shows the ordinary upkeep of the ordnance, the powder spent not in salute or alarm but in the safe handling of the guns. The signature of Isaac Leech identifies the gunner answerable for the stores and their reckoning. As the officer in charge of the ordnance he rendered the account for the council's examination, his name fixing responsibility for the consumption recorded. The attestation completes the periodic audit of a controlled military resource. | |||||
523 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 15 day of Nov: 1720 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and approv'd of. Pursuant to the Order of Council of the 11 Octob:r last Mr Trees Oct:r for the Sale of the Estate in his Possession was Appointed to be on the 2 & 3 Instant, But We finding there was but few Bidders, the Sale was Adjourned to Tuesday the 8th following that the Goods might fetch the greater Prices. The Govern:r Reports that he has discharged William Worrall Gunners Mate for neglecting his duty & lying at the Publick Houses & Getting drunk the time he Should been on duty. And that he had taken away Thomas Dutch his Licence for Harbouring & Entertaining the Said William Worrall and Richard Gueling a Planter for Severall days together. Margin Notes: Sale of ffrees Oct:r Adjourned W:m Worrallo discharged Dutchs Licence taken away | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 15 November 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the council's order of 11 October last, the auction for the sale of Thomas Free's estate in his possession had been appointed for the 2nd and 3rd of this month. Finding there were but few bidders, the council adjourned the sale to Tuesday the 8th following, so that the goods might fetch the better prices. Governor Johnson reported that he had discharged William Worrall, gunner's mate, for neglecting his duty and lying at the public houses, getting drunk when he should have been on duty. The Governor further reported that he had taken away Thomas Dutch's licence for harbouring and entertaining Worrall, and Richard Gurling, a planter, for several days together. Interpretations The adjournment of the auction for want of bidders shows the council managing the sale to protect the value of the estate. Few buyers had come on the appointed days, so the sale was put off to a later date in the hope of a fuller attendance and better prices. The decision reflects the bench's care, as guardian of the orphans whose estate this was, to realise the property to its best advantage rather than let it go cheap. The dismissal of William Worrall continued the council's discipline of negligent officers. Like the overseer William Portley before him, Worrall was turned out for drinking and neglect of duty, frequenting the public houses when he should have been at his post. The pattern shows the administration holding its officers to their duties and removing those whose drunkenness left their charge unattended. The revoking of Thomas Dutch's licence struck at the keeper who had harboured the delinquent gunner's mate. Dutch held a licence to keep a public house, and the Governor withdrew it for entertaining Worrall and Gurling for days together, the licence being the instrument by which the council controlled the island's drinking houses. The penalty shows the bench enforcing order by punishing the publican who sheltered men from their duty. The licence to keep a public house was a privilege granted and revocable by the council, the means by which the sale of drink on the island was regulated. By taking Dutch's licence away the Governor both punished him and closed a house that had drawn men from their posts. The action shows the administration using its control of the licensing system to discipline the disorder that flowed from unchecked drinking. | |||||
524 | Novemb:r Capt: Goodwin Reports that the Store House has been broke open Some time last week, and that there was Stolen from thence about half a Chest of Soap, & about twenty Pound of Tobacco, and what Else may be Stolen he has not Yet discovered. Benjar one of the Hon: Comp: Blacks was found to have Some of the Tobacco & Soap. Upon which he was Orderd into Irons and Chaind with about fifty Pound weight, and to work at the Severn. Samuel Thornbrough presented his Petition Setting forth therein that he had for Some time Past Served the Hon: Comp: in Severall Employs, But thro' his folly & Inadvertency was Dismist from that Bennifitt, and he having reflected on the Same and (as he hopes) behaved himself to Our Satisfaction Humbly Prays he may be once more Entertained in the Said Hon: Comp:s Service Promising a future amendment & Diligence in the Performance of his duty. And &c: Granted. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Storekeepers report of Goods Stolen out of his Stores Some of the Goods found on a Blk Sam: Thornbro: Pet: praying to be reEntertain & Promises Granted | [November] Captain Goodwin reported that the store-house had been broken open some time the week before, and that about half a chest of soap and about twenty pounds of tobacco had been stolen from it. What else might be missing he had not yet discovered. Benjar, one of the Company's slaves, was found to have some of the tobacco and soap. He was ordered into irons and chained with about fifty pound weight, and set to work at the screen. Samuel Thornbrough presented his petition. He set out that he had for some time past served the Company in various employments, but through his own folly and inadvertency had been dismissed from that benefit. Having reflected on the matter, and, as he hoped, conducted himself to the council's satisfaction, he humbly asked to be once more taken into the Company's service, promising future amendment and diligence in the performance of his duty. The council granted the request. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The theft from the store-house touched the Company's central magazine of goods, where its imported provisions were kept. Soap and tobacco were both valuable storable commodities drawn from the eastern and English trade, soap a manufactured necessity and tobacco a high-demand luxury. Their theft from the stores struck at the Company's controlled supply, the kind of portable goods that figured readily in pilfering, as the blue cloth and dungaree had in the thefts of June and July 1720. The punishment of Benjar by ironing and labour at the screen shows the council disciplining a Company slave through forced work rather than the flogging given to others. Chained with a heavy weight and set to the screen, he was put to hard labour as both penalty and continued use. The screen was a sieve for sorting earth, gravel or grain, and setting him to it turned his punishment to productive account. Thornbrough's restoration shows the council readmitting a dismissed servant on his acknowledgement of fault and promise of amendment. Having lost his place through his own misconduct, he sought reinstatement with professions of future diligence, and the bench granted it. The case illustrates the council's willingness to take back a penitent servant, the small island's need for hands tempering the discipline of dismissal. The recovery of the stolen goods from Benjar broke the theft quickly through the discovery of the property in a slave's hands. The soap and tobacco found upon him fixed his guilt and led at once to his punishment. The case follows the pattern of the island's thefts, where stolen goods traced to a slave settled the matter without the lengthy chain of receivers seen in the earlier robberies. | |||||
525 | Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 22 day of Nov: 1720 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Doctors brought & delivered their Book of Medicines Expended Since the 18 of Oct: last which was Examined & Approv'd of. The Gov:r Reports that on Wednesday the 16 Instant William Worrall brought him a Petition acknowledging his fault & Promising amendment, the Gov: Accordingly Restored him to his former Employ, and expected he Should have gone down to do his duty. Mr Slaughter a Thursday Sent the Gov: word there was no Gunners Mate the day before on duty, for which Neglect the Gov:r discharged him the Comp: Service a Second time. Whereas the Gov:r having discharged the Stone Cutters, He has taken old Jonathan Higham (who was Overseer of the Blacks there) into the Guards to do duty at Mundens Point in Consideration of his long Service Margin Notes: D:r Book Exam:d W:m Worralls restor'd but upon after Neglect was discharg:d a 2d time Stone Cutters discharged Old Higham Entertain:d | [1720] [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 22 November 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since 18 October last, which the council examined and approved. Governor Johnson reported that on Wednesday the 16th of this month William Worrall had brought him a petition acknowledging his fault and promising amendment. The Governor accordingly restored him to his former post, expecting he would go down to do his duty. Mr Slaughter, however, sent the Governor word on the Thursday that there had been no gunner's mate on duty the day before, for which neglect the Governor discharged Worrall from the Company's service a second time. The Governor, having discharged the stone cutters, had taken old Jonathan Higham, who was overseer of the slaves there, into the guards to do duty at Munden's Point, in consideration of his long service. Interpretations The second dismissal of Worrall shows the council's leniency exhausted by a swift relapse. Restored on his petition and promise of amendment on 16 November 1720, he failed in his duty the very next day, and the Governor turned him out again. The episode marks the limit of the bench's willingness to readmit a penitent officer, a fresh neglect closing the door that contrition had briefly opened. The placing of old Jonathan Higham in the guards on his discharge from the stone-cutting work reflects the council's regard for long service. Higham had overseen the slaves at the stone works, and when those were stopped he was given a post at Munden's Point rather than left idle. The provision shows the administration finding a place for a faithful old servant displaced by the ending of his former employment. The discharge of the stone cutters records the stopping of the stone works, the occasion of Higham's transfer. Stone-cutting served the island's building, the fortifications and the black houses lately reported in need of repair, so its suspension marked a pause in that labour. The dismissal of the cutters and the redeployment of their overseer show the council adjusting its workforce as the works rose and fell. The doctor's regular account of medicines spent continued the routine audit of the Company's medical stores. Dispensed as Company property, the medicines were reckoned at each consultation so their consumption stayed under the council's eye. The repeated examination marks the ordinary supervision applied alike to medicines, munitions and provisions across the island's accounts. | |||||
526 | Nov:r in Consideration of of forty Seven years on this Island & he having gained by long Service Nothing whereby to Subsist himself. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Island St Helena At a Consultation Held on Tuesday the 29 day of Nov: 1720 at the Hon: Companys Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. According to an Order of Council of the 1 Inst: John Coles had this day a Lease Signd & delivered to him for the Ground he Petitioned for in James Valley being fifty foot in length & thirty five foot in Breadth at the rate of Seventeen Shillings p Annum. Jonathan Higham Jun:r had also a Lease Granted him for two Acres & a half of Gumwood Land Situate in Sandy bay for the Term of twenty one Years at the Usuall Rent of four Shillings p Acre & one Shilling duty. Margin Notes: Lease Signd to Jno: Coles for Ground in Jam: Valley Lease Signd to Jonat: Higham Jun:r for Land | [November] The Governor had taken Jonathan Higham into the guards in consideration of his forty-seven years on the island, he having gained nothing to subsist himself. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield and John Alexander. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 29 November 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the council's order of 1 November, John Coles had this day a lease signed and delivered to him for the ground he had petitioned for in James Valley, being 50 foot in length and 35 foot in breadth, at the rate of 17s 0d a year. Jonathan Higham junior also had a lease granted him for two acres and a half of gumwood land in Sandy Bay, for the term of 21 years, at the usual rent of 4s 0d an acre and one shilling duty. Interpretations The grounds of Higham's appointment make plain the council's purpose of relieving a destitute old servant. Forty-seven years on the island had left him without means of subsistence, and the post in the guards gave him a livelihood in return for his long service. The provision shows the bench using a garrison place as a form of support for a faithful man grown old and poor, the duty light and the pay a maintenance. The completion of Coles's lease carried out the grant resolved earlier in the month. The council had agreed on 1 November 1720 to let him the enlarged plot at 17s 0d a year, and the lease was now signed and delivered. The execution of the instrument fixed the tenure the earlier order had promised, the formal deed following the council's decision. The gumwood land granted to Higham junior records the value of ground bearing the island's native timber. Gumwood was a St Helena tree prized for its wood, and land carrying it was worth holding and let at the usual rent with a small duty. The grant on a 21-year term shows the council letting such ground on its standard tenure, the duty marking an additional charge beyond the acreage rent. The two Highams, the old man relieved with a garrison post and the younger granted gumwood land, show the family's standing within the small community across two generations. The elder's long service earned him support, while the younger took a lease of Company waste. The record distinguishes the two, the same surname spanning the destitute veteran and the land-taking planter. | |||||
527 | and prays he The Said Jonathan Higham Presented his Petition might assign Praying he might have leave to asigne his Lease over his Lease to to Mr Coles. Granted. The Doctors brought in & delivered their Book of Medi= cines Expended Since the 22 Inst: which was Examined & Approv'd of Accordingly. In pursuance to the Paragrafs of the last Gen:ll Letter from England The Books of Acco: for the Year 1719, were Sent for forward, & Examined to See in what forwardness they were in and to be Sent find them in a fair way to be ready to be Sent home by the Shipping after Christmas according to Our former Advice to the Hon: Company. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 6 day of Dec: 1720 at y: Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Gov:r Edw: Byfeld 2d Pres: Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read and approv'd of. On Wednesday the 31 of Nov: last Nicholas Shruve Stone Cutter dyed of a Languishing Distemper. Margin Notes: and prays he might assign his Lease to Mr Coles Granted D:r Book Exam:d Books of Acco: to be Sent home Nic: Shruve Death | [1720] Jonathan Higham presented his petition, asking that he might have leave to assign his lease over to Mr Coles. The council granted the request. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since 22 [November] last, which the council examined and approved. In accordance with the 38th paragraph of the last general letter from England, the books of account for the year 1719 were brought in and examined, to see how far advanced they were. The council found them in a fair way to be ready to send home by the shipping after Christmas, as the Company had directed. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 December 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. On Wednesday 3 November last, Nicholas Shrive, stone cutter, died of a lingering distemper. Interpretations The assignment of Higham's lease to Coles shows the council controlling the transfer of leasehold ground between holders. A lease could not be made over without the bench's leave, so Higham petitioned to assign his interest and the council approved. The requirement of consent shows the Company keeping its hold on who occupied its land, even where one tenant passed his term to another. The examination of the 1719 books against the directors' instruction shows the council answering a specific command in the general letter. The 38th paragraph had called for the accounts to be made up and sent home, and the bench checked their progress to confirm they would be ready by the shipping after Christmas. The numbered paragraph functioned as a direct order, the council reporting its compliance against the directors' timetable. The long neglect of the account books is on record under the past administration, the 1716 and 1717 books having fallen badly behind. The finding that the 1719 books were now in a fair way to completion marks the recovery of the accounting under the present management. The contrast shows the books at last kept current, the directors' standing concern with the arrears being met. The death of the stone cutter Nicholas Shrive connects to the recent stopping of the stone works. The cutters had lately been discharged, old Jonathan Higham removed to the guards, and Shrive's death of a lingering illness records the loss of one of their number. The entry shows the small workforce of the island depleted by sickness as well as by the ending of its tasks. | |||||
528 | Decemb:r The Govern:r Reports that for as much as the Said Nicholas Shruve Stands Indebted to the Hon: Comp:t about one Hundred Eighty Pounds, did Yesterday the 5 Inst: make Seizure of his Estate towards Paying thereof. Likewise that on Wednesday Upon Ensigne Slaughters Complt: He committed Thomas Laurence Sold:r for revishing his officer. And also William Rooksby for his debt to the Hon: Comp: and for Selling & disposing of the Bed the Govern: gave him Credit for, to Encourage him in his duty, thereby intending to Cheat the Comp:y of the Security the Govern:t thought he had for the Said debt & likewise for his ill behaviour the day before with the Said Thomas Laurence. And on fryday last John Martin Van Oosten on the Complt: of Gabriel Powell for Scandalizeuing his daughter in law, Ann Hodgkinson by Saying that he had Enjoyed her, and that She had gave him Some Hairs off of Her Privy Parts, and that She Said at the Same time You may goe and make your Boast of it now, which accordingly he did Expose. And Yesterday John Oneill & John Roulston Soldiers for breaking open the dwelling House of Jonathan Dooton Planter, and Stealing from thence Severall things. Margin Notes: Nic: Shruve Estate Seiz:d for his debt to Hon: Co: Tho: Laurence Committed also Mr Rooksby for debt Also Committed Jno: M:Van Oosten for Scandalo likewise Jno: Oneill & Jno: Roulston | [December] Governor Johnson reported that, since Nicholas Shrive stood indebted to the Company in about £180 0s 0d, he had the day before, the 5th of this month, seized Shrive's estate towards payment of the debt. He reported likewise that on Wednesday, upon an enquiry into the slaughters, he had committed Thomas Laurence, a soldier, for resisting his officer. He had also committed William Rooksby for his debt to the Company, and for selling and disposing of the bed the Governor had given him on credit to encourage him in his duty, by which he intended to cheat the Company of the security the Governor thought he had for the debt, and likewise for his bad behaviour the day before with Thomas Laurence. On Friday last the Governor had committed John Martin Van Oosten, on the complaint of Gabriel Powell, for scandalising his daughter-in-law Ann Hodgkinson. Van Oosten had said that he had enjoyed her, and that she had given him some hairs off her private parts, and that she had said at the same time that he might go and make his boast of it now, which he accordingly did. The Governor had yesterday committed John Oneil and John Roulston, soldiers, for breaking open the dwelling house of Jonathan Doveton, planter, and stealing several things from it. Interpretations The seizure of Shrive's estate the day after his death shows the council moving at once to secure a large debt against a deceased debtor's property. Shrive had owed about £180 0s 0d, and his death made his estate the only source of recovery. The prompt attachment matches the council's handling of other dead debtors, fixing on the property before it could be dispersed among heirs or creditors. The committal of Rooksby for selling the bed given him on credit exposed an attempt to defeat the Company's security. The Governor had advanced the bed to encourage the soldier in his duty, holding it as security for the debt, and Rooksby's sale of it stripped the Company of that pledge. The case shows the council treating the disposal of secured property as a fraud on the creditor, punishable by imprisonment. The scandal against Ann Hodgkinson records a grave defamation pursued through the council on her father-in-law's complaint. Van Oosten's claim to have had her, with its coarse and specific boast, struck at the woman's reputation and her family's honour, and Gabriel Powell brought it before the bench. The committal shows the council treating such slander of a respectable woman as a punishable offence, the family's standing engaged in its suppression. John Martin Van Oosten's place is on record under the present administration. Taken into the accountant's office on 3 May 1720 on John Lacy's dismissal, he had lately been set to make up Richard Gurling's account. The clerk now committed for scandal was the same writer the council relied on for its reckonings, his imprisonment touching a man within the administration itself. | |||||
529 | Mr Byfeld this day brought in his Book Con= taining an Acco: of the Hon: Comp: live Stock for the Month of Nov: and likewise the Expence of the Same Month, which was Examined, Approv'd and Signd by Us. Upon Examination of Joseph Dumay's Acco:ts (formerly Surg:n of the Garrison) We found Severall Persons to be Indebted to him Sundry Sums of money. And the Said DuMay being Indebted unto the Hon: Comp: they were Advertized to make their Appearance here this day in Order to adjust the Same. The Gunner brought in the following Acco: which was for Nov: Examined & Approv'd of. An Acco: of Gunnes Stores Expended in the Month of Nov: 1720. Guns fired. D.Cdo. Mini:ns. Faulk:ns. Powd:r Nov: 2 Expended at the General Exercise 21 1 2 18 31 D:o 4 In Commemoration of King William 21 2 2 17 37 D:o 5 Gunpowder Treason day 4 4 4 D:o 13 An Alarm for a Ship Seen at Prosperous Bay (sent by) 4 1 D:o 26 Delivered to Tho:s Allis to Alarm Sandy bay 18 Expended by the Guards 6 Muskett Balls Expended 6 Cartridge Paper 2 18 Match Hand Spikes 5 16 Ramer Heads 14 Spunge Heads 6 Cartridge Cases 50 Flints 4 Quins 3 Sheep Skins Guns fired. D.Cdo. Mini:ns. Faulk:ns. Powd:r 3 4 50 6 14 16 5 18 2 6 46 3 4 39 105 Signd Isaac Leech Margin Notes: Mr Byfeld Acco: of the Hon: live Stock &c Persons Indebted to Jos: Dumay to adjust of Same Gunn Sto: for Nov: | [1720] Mr Byfield this day brought in his book containing an account of the Company's live stock for the month of November, and likewise the expense of that month, which the council examined, approved and signed. On examining Joseph Du May's accounts, formerly surgeon of the garrison, the council found several persons indebted to him in sundry sums of money. Du May himself being indebted to the Company, these persons were advertised to appear this day to settle the matter. The gunner brought in the following account for November, which the council examined and approved. The account of gunner's stores spent in the month of November 1720 ran as follows. The columns were guns fired, demi-culverins, minions, falcons and powder. 2 November, spent at the general exercise: 13 powder. 4 November, in commemoration of King William: 21 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 2 minions, 18 falcons, 31 powder. 5 November, Gunpowder Treason day: 21 guns fired, 2 demi-culverins, 2 minions, 17 falcons, 37 powder. 13 November, an alarm for a ship seen at Prosperous Bay, which went by: 4 guns fired, 4 falcons, 4 powder. Delivered to Thomas Allis to alarm Sandy Bay: 1 powder. Spent by the guards: 18 powder. Musket balls spent: 6 Cartridge paper: 2 Match: 18 Stand spikes: 5 Rammer heads: 16 Sponge heads: 14 Cartridge cases: 6 Flints: 50 Sheep skins: 4 The totals stood at 46 guns fired, 3 demi-culverins, 4 minions, 39 falcons, 105 powder, 6 musket balls, 2 cartridge paper, 18 match, 5 stand spikes, 16 rammer heads, 14 sponge heads, 6 cartridge cases, 50 flints, 4 sheep skins. The account was signed by Isaac Leech. Interpretations The account confirms the heavy ceremonial firing of early November, when two royal anniversaries fell within days. The commemoration of King William spent 31 measures of powder and Gunpowder Treason day 37, the two together accounting for most of the month's consumption. The register shows the island marking the calendar of state and Protestant observance with salutes, the guns serving the political and religious occasions of the year. Gunpowder Treason day, the 5th of November, marked the failure of the plot of 1605 to blow up the King and Parliament, kept as a day of Protestant thanksgiving. The commemoration of King William honoured the Protestant monarch of the Revolution. The firing on both shows the island observing the national anti-Catholic calendar, its salutes affirming the loyalties of the English state on a remote outpost. The examination of Du May's accounts shows the Company recovering its claim against a former officer through the debts owed to him. Du May, once garrison surgeon, owed the Company money while several persons owed him, and the council called in his debtors to set the sums against his liability. The procedure shows the bench reaching the Company's money through the chain of obligations a departed officer left behind. The single gun fired for a ship that passed Prosperous Bay records another false alarm of the kind that had lately troubled the island's defence. A vessel seen off the bay drew an alarm and a salute, though she went by without entering the road. The entry echoes the defaulters' excuses of October 1720, the ambiguous approach of passing ships repeatedly putting the island to needless alarm. | |||||
530 | Decemb:r The Doctors brought in their Book of Medicines Expended Since the 29 Nov: last which was Examined and Approv'd of. Ed Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island St Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 13 day of Dec: 1720 at the Hon: Comp: Plantation House. Edw: Johnson Esq: Govern:r Pres:t Edw: Byfeld 2d Jno: Alexander & Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Mr John Coles brought & delivered the Lease he had Signd over to him by Jonathan Higham Jun:r for two Acres & a half of Land, desireing the Same might be Registred for better Security thereof. Ordered That his desire be Granted accordingly. Mr Edward Byfeld, Attorney to Mr John Sheffield, desired Mr Bazett might be Sumoned to Shew Cause why She did not pay him what She Stands Indebted to the Said Mr Jno: Sheffield due to his Son Henry Sheffield dec:d & which he has demanded Severall times. Margin Notes: D:r Book Exam:d Lease Signd from Higham Jun:r to be Registrd by Mr Coles Mr Bazett Sumond to make Paym:t of Mr Sheffield debt | [December] The doctor brought in his book of medicines spent since 29 November last, which the council examined and approved. The record was signed by Governor Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. [Island of St Helena] At a consultation held on Tuesday 13 December 1720 at the Company's plantation house, before Governor Johnson, with Edward Byfield second, John Alexander third and John Goodwin fourth in council, present. The last consultation was read and approved. John Coles brought in and delivered the lease that Jonathan Higham junior had signed over to him, for two acres and a half of land, asking that it might be registered for better security. The council ordered that his request be granted accordingly. Mr Edward Byfield, as attorney to Mr John Sheffield, asked that Mrs Bazett be summoned to show cause why she did not pay him what she owed to John Sheffield. The sum was due to Sheffield's son Henry Sheffield, deceased, and Byfield had demanded it of her several times. Interpretations The registration of the assigned lease completed the transfer of Higham junior's gumwood land to Coles. The lease had been granted on 29 November 1720 and assigned by leave of the council, and Coles now brought it for entry to secure his title. The recording fixed the conveyance in the Company's register, the means by which leasehold interests passed between holders were made good against dispute. Byfield's appearance as attorney shows a councillor acting in a private legal capacity to recover a debt for an absent principal. Holding a letter of attorney from John Sheffield, Byfield pursued the claim against Mrs Bazett before the council, the same bench on which he sat. The case shows how the island's leading men served as agents for one another's affairs, the council functioning as the forum for such recoveries. The debt's descent through a deceased son records the entanglement of an inheritance in the claim. The money was due to Henry Sheffield, now dead, and pursued on behalf of John Sheffield, the obligation passing with the estate. The council's handling of such a debt shows the bench resolving claims that ran through the deaths and successions of the parties, the liability following the money to the surviving claimant. The widow Bazett appears again as a party to outstanding obligations of her late husband's circle. The council had lately enquired into Perkins's effects in her hands, and she was now summoned over the Sheffield debt. The recurrence shows the affairs of the late Captain Bazett still generating claims against his widow, the estate of a dead officer drawing continued business before the council. | |||||
531 | The Said Mrs Bazett accordingly appeared & Sayed She owed the debt and would Endeavour to pay the Same as Soon as Possible. The Doctors brought in & delivered their Book of Medicines Expended Since last Consultation day, which was Examined & Approv'd of. The Govern:r Reported that He had Ordered John Martin Van Oosten, on Wednesday last being the 7 of this Inst: Publickly to make the follow: Recantation. The Recantation of John Martin Van Oosten made by him on the Pillory before the Castle Gate in Union Valley, Signd the 7 day of Dec: 1720. As I Stand charg'd and have been foolishly, Indisaedly & basely Guilty of being too free with my tongue in bragging and reporting of Favours granted me by Mrs Ann Hodgkin= Son a young Gentlewoman of this Island, whose Vertuous Character Confirmed by her Prudent behaviour & Deportment is most deservedly too Conspicuous to every body to Suffer any Prejudice from any words my vanity hath Provoked, or my folly hath Suffered me to Utter. So in Justice to her Injur'd Vertue, and by Order of the Govern:r I willingly make & Subscribe this Publick Recantation of what ever I may have Said or done any ways degradatory to her Honour or Reputation. I here ask Pardon of Mr Powell, Mr Powell Margin Notes: Granted Paym:t as Soon as Possi= ble D:r Book Exam:d Report of Jno: Martin Van Oostens Recantation for Scandalo | [1720] Mrs Bazett accordingly appeared and acknowledged the debt, undertaking to pay it as soon as she could. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines spent since the last consultation, which the council examined and approved. Governor Johnson reported that he had ordered John Martin Van Oosten, on Wednesday last, the 7th of this month, to make the following recantation publicly. The recantation of John Martin Van Oosten, made by him on the pillory before the Castle gate in Union Valley, signed on 7 December 1720, ran as follows. Van Oosten admitted that he had been foolish, reckless and base in speaking too freely, boasting of and disparaging favours he claimed from Mrs Ann Hodgkinson, a young gentlewoman of the island. Her good character, plain to everyone from her sensible and modest conduct, stood too high to be harmed by anything his vanity had prompted or his folly had led him to say. To do justice to her injured good name, and by the Governor's order, he willingly made and signed this public retraction of whatever he might have said or done to degrade her honour or reputation, asking pardon of Mr Powell, Mrs Powell Interpretations The public recantation on the pillory shows the council enforcing a remedy of shame for defamation rather than a mere fine or imprisonment. Van Oosten was made to stand before the Castle gate and subscribe a formal retraction of his slander, the punishment fitting the offence by undoing in public the reputation he had damaged in public. The penalty restored the woman's honour through the same medium the wrong had used. The pillory was a frame of public exposure in which an offender was set for the scorn of passers-by. Placing Van Oosten on it before the Castle gate in Union Valley, the island's most public place, made his disgrace visible to the whole settlement. The instrument turned his punishment into a spectacle, the shame of exposure compounding the formal retraction he was made to read. The text of the recantation worked to repair the woman's standing by affirming her virtue in the strongest terms. It declared Ann Hodgkinson's character too well established to suffer from his words, casting the slander as the product of his own vanity and folly rather than any fault in her. The form shows the council using the offender's own mouth to vindicate the person he had wronged, the retraction an instrument of restoration. The embedding of the family in the recantation, with pardon asked of the Powells, reflects the collective honour at stake in the offence. Ann Hodgkinson was Gabriel Powell's daughter-in-law, and the slander touched the whole family's reputation, so the apology ran to them as well as to her. The case shows how a defamation was treated as an injury to a family's standing, its repair owed to the kin as much as to the woman herself. | |||||
532 | her Mother and of her Self in this Publick manner that every Body may be a Witness to my Acknowledgm- of my Folly, and that none hereafter may have room to reflect or Question the Young Gentlewoman's Un- =spotted Reputation from any thing I have Sayd. In Witness whereof I Subscribe my Name Jn: Marl: Van Oosten Cap:tn Goodwin brought in his Book Containing a Monthly Acc:o from the 25 of Octob:r 1720. to the 24 of Nov:r following, which was Examin'd approv'd and Sign'd by Us. Ordered That the following Advertizement be Published tomorrow in the usual manner. Island S:t Helena By the Worsh:ll Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r and Council An Advertizement: Whereas Credible information hath been given that some ill dispos'd Person or Persons hath Committed great & willfull Waste by frequently Barking off Divers Sorts of Trees for Tanning of Leather, which tending very much to the Destruction of the Wood & trees in Generall, and to the Prejudice of the Hon:ble the Lords Proprietors. These are therefore Strictly to Prohibit & Forbid all or Margin Notes: Store Acc:o br:t in for Nov:r Advertizem:t Forbiding felling or Barking any Timber or Ebony Trees
| The recantation continued from Van Oosten's plea for pardon. He asked the forgiveness of Mr Powell, Mrs Powell and the young gentlewoman herself, along with her mother, making his disgrace a public spectacle so that everyone might witness his admission of folly. He declared his purpose to be that no one afterwards could doubt the young gentlewoman's good name on account of anything he had said. John Martin Van Oosten set his name to the declaration. Captain Goodwin delivered his book of monthly accounts to the council. It covered the period from 25 October 1720 to 24 November 1720. The council examined the account, approved it and signed it. The council then ordered that the following advertisement be published the next day in the usual way. The advertisement was issued for the island of St Helena by the Worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor, and the council. Governor Johnson and the council had received reliable information that some ill-disposed person or persons had done great and willful harm by frequently stripping the bark from several kinds of trees to tan leather. This practice threatened serious destruction of the island's woods and trees in general and worked against the interest of the Honourable Lords Proprietors. The council therefore strictly forbade all [...]. Interpretations The advertisement against bark-stripping belongs to the island's long campaign to protect its scarce timber, the same concern behind the Great Wood preservation order of 25 August 1719 and the land grants made conditional on planting and preserving trees. Bark was taken for the tannin used in curing hides, a destructive harvest because stripping a tree around its circumference kills it. On a small remote island with no forest to spare, the loss of standing wood was treated as a direct threat to settlement, which explains why Governor Johnson cast the offence as harm to the Lords Proprietors rather than as a private trespass. Van Oosten's recantation completed the slander proceeding that Gabriel Powell had brought on 6 December 1720, when he complained that Van Oosten had defamed his daughter-in-law Ann Hodgkinson. The pillory at the most public point of the settlement turned the punishment into a spectacle of shame, with the offender's own signed words made the instrument of the woman's vindication before the whole community. | |||||
533 | or any Person or Persons whatsoever, Cutting downe or Barking any Timber tree, Ebbony or other Tree that doth not Stand & Grow upon their own land, or land in their Actuall Posession, without leave first Obtained of the Gov:r Upon the Pennalty of the Offender or offenders being fin'd at the Discretion of the Gov:r & Council as contemners hereof. Wherefore all Persons are required to take Notice Accordingly. Dated this 14 day of Dec:r 1720. & Sign'd p Order of the Gov:r &c Jno: Alexander Island S:t Helena Willm: Edw:d Byfeld Jn:o Alexander Jn:o Goodwin At a Sessions held for this Island on Thursday the 15 day of Dec:r 1720 at the Sessions House in Union Valley near the Castle. Edw:d Johnson Esq: Gov:r & Judge Pres:t Edw:o Byfeld 2d Jn:o Alexander 3d } of Councile Jno: Goodwin 4 Then the Court was Opend According to the Usual manner, and those Persons Appointed for Jurors are as follows. Margin Notes: Upon Penalty | The advertisement completed the prohibition begun on the previous page. No person of any kind was to cut down or strip the bark from any timber tree, ebony or other tree that did not stand and grow on their own land, or on land in their actual possession, without first obtaining the Governor's leave. Any offender would be fined at the discretion of Governor Johnson and the council, who would judge the seriousness of each case. All persons were therefore required to take notice and act accordingly. The advertisement was dated 14 December 1720 and signed by order of the Governor and council by John Alexander. For the island of St Helena it was subscribed by John Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. A sessions was held for the island on Thursday 15 December 1720 at the Sessions House in Union Valley near the Castle. Governor Edward Johnson sat as Governor and judge. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander as third and John Goodwin as fourth. The court was then opened in the usual way, and the persons appointed as jurors were as follows. Interpretations The penalty clause left the size of each fine to the discretion of Governor Johnson and the council rather than fixing a set sum. This gave the bench room to scale the punishment to the gravity of the offence, a flexible instrument of deterrence suited to an island where the central danger was the steady erosion of a scarce resource rather than any single act. The protection extended only to trees on land outside the cutter's own possession, leaving a holder free to manage timber on their own ground while barring the stripping of common or neighbouring stands. The same four men who signed the timber advertisement as the council opened the sessions the next day as the court, Governor Johnson sitting as both governor and judge. This fusion of executive and judicial authority in one small body was the ordinary pattern of the island's government, the council resolving into a court of sessions to try offences and empanel a jury under the same heads who framed its administrative orders. | |||||
534 | 1 John Coles foreman 7. John Young 2. Orlando Bagley 8. James Greentree 3. Gabriel Powell 9. Robert Wallington 4. Thom:s Dutch 10. James Ryder 5. Isaac Wood 11 Joshua Johnson 6. Henry Francis 12. John Hanson Who were all Sworne Then the following Indictm:t against John Oneil was read. Island S:t Helena John Oneil You Stand Indicted by the Name of John Oneil of this Island Soldier for Fellony, for that You the Said John did on or about the 14 of Nov:r last in the night time by force & Arems Enter into the dwelling House of M:r Jonathan Doweton of this Island Planter Situate in Union Valley, and did thence felloniously Steale take & bear away about 20. of Flour, 11. of Serger, with a Tin Pott, Six round Bottles of Claret, some Arack, and severall other Bottles of Liquids, & one (or more) Gunny Bagg, the Goods of the Said Jonath:n Doweton to a Con- siderable Value, Contrary to the Peace of our Soverigne Lord King George his Crown and Dignity, and is in high contempt of the wholsome Laws & Ordinances of Margin Notes: Indictm:t ag:st Jno: Oneil for Robbery | The jury appointed for the sessions was sworn. Its members were: 1 John Coles, foreman 2 Orlando Bagley 3 Gabriel Powell 4 Thomas Dutch 5 Isaac Wood 6 Henry Francis 7 John Young 8 James Greentree 9 Robert Wallington 10 James Ryder 11 Joshua Johnson 12 John Hanson The twelve jurors were all sworn. The following indictment against John Oneil was then read. The indictment was laid for the island of St Helena against John Oneil. John Oneil, a soldier of the island, stood charged with felony. The charge was that on or about the night of 14 November 1720 he broke by force into the dwelling house of Mr Jonathan Doveton, a planter of the island, at Sandy Bay in Union Valley. He was accused of feloniously stealing and carrying away about 20 pounds of flour and 11 pounds of sugar, together with a tin pot, six round bottles of claret, some arrack, several other bottles of liquids and one or more gunny bags. These goods belonged to Jonathan Doveton and were of considerable value. The theft was charged as a breach of the peace of the sovereign Lord King George, against his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances of [...]. Interpretations The empanelling of twelve sworn freeholders to try a felony shows the island reproducing the form of an English criminal trial, the jury drawn from the same body of principal planters and officers who filled its other public roles. Several jurors here, among them Gabriel Powell, Isaac Wood, James Greentree, James Ryder and Henry Francis, recur throughout the island's administration as executors, churchwardens, appraisers and witnesses, the same narrow pool of substantial inhabitants serving every function the small settlement required. The indictment frames a domestic burglary as an offence against the crown, charging the theft as a breach of the king's peace and a contempt of the island's laws rather than as a mere private wrong to Jonathan Doveton. This casting of the matter in the sovereign's name was the legal mechanism by which a remote proprietary settlement borrowed the authority of English criminal justice, the goods stolen, drink and provisions of modest kind, mattering less to the charge than the forced night entry into a dwelling that made the act a felony. | |||||
535 | of this Island made by the Hon:ble Lords Propriet: for the Good Government thereof. To which Indictm:t he pleaded not Guilty. Then the following Indictm:t against John Roulston was read. Island S:t Helena John Roulston You Stand Indicted by the Name of John Roulston of this Island Sold:r for Fellony, For that You the Said John did on or about the 14 of Nov:r last in the night time by force & Arems Enter into the dwelling House of M:r Jonathan Doveton of this Island Planter, Situate in Union Valley, and did thence felloniously Steal, take & bear away about 20 of Flour 11. of Suger w:th a Tin pott, Six round Bottles of Claret, some Arack, and severall other Bottles of Liquids, and one (or more) Gunny Baggs, the Goods of the Said Jonathan Doveton to a Considerable Vallue Contrary to the Peace of our Sovereign Lord King George his Crown & Dignity & is in high Contempt of the wholsome Laws & Ordinanc =es of this Island made by the Hon:ble Lords Propri= =etors for the good Governm:t thereof. To which Indictm:t he pleaded not Guilty but them= =selves upon God & their Country for tryall thereof. Margin Notes: pleaded not Guilty Indictm:t ag:st Jno: Roulston for Robbery Psa | The indictment closed by naming the laws and ordinances made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors for the good government of the island. To this charge John Oneil pleaded not guilty. The following indictment against John Roulston was then read. The indictment was laid for the island of St Helena against John Roulston. John Roulston, a soldier of the island, stood charged with felony. The charge was that on or about the night of 14 November 1720 he broke by force into the dwelling house of Mr Jonathan Doveton, a planter of the island, at Sandy Bay in Union Valley. He was accused of feloniously stealing and carrying away about 20 pounds of flour and 11 pounds of sugar, together with a tin pot, six round bottles of claret, some arrack, several other bottles of liquids and one or more gunny bags. These goods belonged to Jonathan Doveton and were of considerable value. The theft was charged as a breach of the peace of the sovereign Lord King George, against his crown and dignity, and in high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors for the good government of the island. To this charge John Roulston pleaded not guilty and put himself upon God and his country for trial. Interpretations The two indictments against John Oneil and John Roulston are framed in identical terms for the same night's burglary at Jonathan Doveton's house, showing the pair charged as joint participants in a single raid. Trying each man on his own indictment, rather than jointly, kept the guilt of each separate before the same jury, so that the verdict could fall differently on the two if the evidence pointed that way. The phrase recording that Roulston put himself upon God and his country marked his formal submission to trial by jury, the standard plea by which an accused accepted the verdict of the twelve sworn men. This set legal formula was the procedural hinge that opened the trial proper, the prisoner's own words committing him to the jury's decision and licensing the court to proceed to the evidence. | |||||
536 | Then M:r Jonathan Doveton was called & Sworne Deposed that Ser:t Young on the 15 of Novemb:r last, Sent him word up into the Country that his House in Union Valley was broaken open whereupon he the Said Doveto:n came downe and Saw a Window with Shutters bard w:th two Iron Bars broken open and two Plains of Glass Sash broken for to open the Casement. He went into the House and found the Goods Specified in the Indictments were taken out of the House. Gorard Jeanson Sold:r Deposed that on munday the 14 of Nov:r last, John Oneil desired him that he would call him the next day, & he should lye at Roulstons House that night for that he must go up into the Country the next day. According =ly he went to call him and found him asleep with Some bottles by him, when he came out of the Country Oneil came to the Barracks & so did Roulston & owned that Oneil had broke open M:r Dovetons House, and that Roulston went in afterwards and Stole the things. They both Confess'd the fact in Court. The Jury found them both Guilty of the Indictments. Then Sentence was Pronounced that both of them Should Stand in the Pillory (the Pillory fixed in the middle of the valley Over against the Store House) and to be whipt on their Naked backs from thence to the Prison w:th their Irons Margin Notes: Deposition of Jonad: Doveton Deposition of Gorard Jeanson Robbery Confest was found Guilty their Sentence | Mr Jonathan Doveton was then called and sworn. He gave evidence that Sergeant Young had sent word up to him in the country on 15 November 1720 that his house in Union Valley had been broken open. Doveton came down and found a window with its shutters secured by two iron bars forced open and two panes of the glass sash broken to reach the casement. He went into the house and found that the goods listed in the indictments had been taken. Gerrard Jeanson then gave evidence. He stated that on Monday 14 November 1720 John Oneil asked him to call for him the next day, since Oneil meant to lie at Roulston's house that night and had to go up into the country the following day. Jeanson went to call him as agreed and found him asleep with several bottles beside him. When Jeanson came back from the country, Oneil came to the barracks, and so did Roulston, and Oneil admitted that he had broken open Mr Doveton's house and that Roulston had gone in afterwards and stolen the goods. Both men confessed to the act in court. The jury found both of them guilty on the indictments. Sentence was then pronounced. Both men were to stand in the pillory, which stood in the middle of the valley opposite the Store House, and were then to be whipped on their bare backs from there to the prison, where [...]. Interpretations The case against the two soldiers rested on a combination of physical evidence and a co-accused's account rather than on any direct witness to the break-in. Doveton could speak only to the forced window and the missing goods, while Gerrard Jeanson supplied the link between the men and the crime through Oneil's own admission to him and the sight of the bottles. The men's confession in open court then removed any remaining doubt, allowing the jury to convict on both indictments at once. The pillory standing opposite the Store House in the middle of the valley placed the punishment at the settlement's most public and frequented point, the same calculated exposure to shame used in Van Oosten's recantation of 7 December 1720. Combining the pillory with a public whipping from there to the prison turned the sentence into a procession of disgrace through the centre of the town, the visible penalty serving as a deterrent to a garrison among whom theft and indiscipline were recurring problems. | |||||
537 | Irons on, to be Committed and to remain there untill the Departure of the two Ships viz: the Hannover & Godfrey now in the Road, and then to be put on Board to be Sent to England, to receive on their naked backs at the flagg Staff 21 Lashes each every Serving out day from the Stores during their Stay on the Island. Then the Indictm:t against William Portley was read as follows. Island S:t Helena William Portley You Stand Indicted by the Name of William Portley of this Island Cape Overseer of all the Plan= =tations belonging to the Hon:ble United East India Company of England for Perjury, in that you the Said William on the 3 of July 1719. in the Constellation Room in the Castle in Union Valley, in this Island before the Worshipp:ll Edward Johnson Esq:r Govern:r and the Council then Sitting, Did falsly, fraudently & wickedly Committ Perjury by Swearing to the truth of a false Account in Writing of the Yamms Growing in the Hon:ble Comp:rs Severall Plantations By You delivered to the Worshipp:ll the Gov:r to the Open Viola= =tion &c each of that trust reposed in You by the Hon:ble Comp:r and is Contrary to the Peace of our Sovereign Lord King George his Crown and Dignity, and is in Margin Notes: Indictm:t ag:st Will: Portley for Perjury | The two men were to be kept in irons in prison until the two ships then in the road, the Hanover and the Godfrey, departed. They were then to be put aboard and sent to England. During their remaining stay on the island each man was to receive 21 lashes on his bare back at the flagstaff every day he was served provisions out of the Company's stores. The indictment against William Portley was then read as follows. The indictment was laid for the island of St Helena against William Portley. William Portley, formerly chief overseer of all the plantations belonging to the Honourable United East India Company of England, stood charged with perjury. The charge was that on 3 July 1719, in the Consultation Room in the Castle in Union Valley, before the Worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor, and the council then sitting, he falsely, fraudulently and wickedly committed perjury. He did so by swearing to the truth of a false written account of the yams growing on the Company's several plantations, which he had delivered to the Governor. This was charged as an open breach of the trust placed in him by the Honourable Company, as a violation of the peace of the sovereign Lord King George, against his crown and dignity, and in [...]. Interpretations The sentence on the two soldiers tied the daily whipping to the drawing of provisions, so that each man paid in punishment for every day he was fed at the Company's charge while awaiting transport. This linked the cost of his upkeep to a visible penalty, pressing the case for his swift removal and turning the delay until the Hanover and the Godfrey sailed into a running deterrent rather than idle custody. Banishment to England by the first available ships was the standard means by which the island rid itself of convicted men it could not usefully hold. The perjury charge against William Portley reached back to the yam-stock account he swore before Governor Johnson on 3 July 1719, recasting a false return of the Company's plantation stock as a criminal offence against the crown. Portley had been chief overseer until his discharge on 9 August 1720 for neglect, drink and the embezzlement of butter and tallow, and this prosecution pursued the same misconduct through the formal machinery of the sessions. Charging a sworn false account as perjury was the mechanism by which the council attached criminal liability to the corruption of its own record-keeping, the overseer's oath being the guarantee on which the Company's knowledge of its stock depended. Speculations The choice to prosecute Portley for the single sworn account of 3 July 1719, rather than for the wider neglect and embezzlement that had led to his discharge on 9 August 1720, points to a deliberate selection of the most provable charge. A false statement made under oath before the Governor and council, on a document Portley himself delivered and swore to, gave the prosecution a fixed and witnessed act that the whole bench could attest, where the looser charges of drink and pilfering would have turned on disputed testimony about quantities and conduct over time. Framing the case around the oath converted a hard-to-prove pattern of mismanagement into a clean, documented felony. | |||||
538 | in High contempt of the Wholsome Laws & Ordinances of this Island made by the Hon:ble the Lords Proprie= =tors for the Good Governm:t thereof. To which Indictment he pleaded not Guilty. The Account of Yamms which he had Sworne to was Produced, and M:r Ormston Swore to the Report made upon a Survey by the Gentlem:n of the Council by M:rs Powell, Greentee, & Wrangham, who were now Present. Capt: Alexander & Capt: Goodwin both of the Court did Attest the Same whereby it did appear that 333,872 were over reckoned, Altho' the Increase from the taking that Acc:o to the time of the Report was included which was about five months. The Jury found him Guilty. Sentence was pronounced as follows. That the Said Portley be immediately Sett in the Pillory for the Space of one Hour, that he be likewise Sett in the Pillory on the next Serving out day from the Stores, and the next Succeeding to that one Hour, each time at twelve a Clok. Each day, that he be Confind in Prison for one Month and fined twenty pound, to the Use of the Lords Proprietors. After which, In open Court he Declared that the Govern:r had Hatched up this Indictment against him Since Margin Notes: Acco of Yamms M:r Ormston Sworne Gentlem:n that Surveyrd the & Co: Plantations found Guilty The Sentence Portleys | The indictment closed by charging the offence as a high contempt of the wholesome laws and ordinances made by the Honourable Lords Proprietors for the good government of the island. To this charge William Portley pleaded not guilty. The account of yams that Portley had sworn to was produced in court. Mr Ormston gave evidence as to the report made on a survey by the gentlemen of the council, Mr Powell, Mr Greentree and Mr Wrangham. Captain Alexander and Captain Goodwin, both members of the court, were now present and attested the same. From this it appeared that 333,872 yams had been over-reckoned, although the increase from the time of taking that account to the time of the report was included, a span of about five months. The jury found him guilty. Sentence was pronounced as follows. Portley was to be set in the pillory at once for the space of one hour. He was to be set in the pillory again on the next day provisions were served out of the stores, and on the day after that, for one hour each time at twelve o'clock. He was to be confined in prison for one month and fined 20 pounds to the use of the Lords Proprietors. After sentence, in open court, Portley declared that the Governor had hatched up this indictment against him [...]. Interpretations The conviction turned on a measured discrepancy of 333,872 yams between Portley's sworn account and a fresh survey by Powell, Greentree and Wrangham, the figure allowed to stand even after crediting five months of growth between the two counts. This reliance on a recount by disinterested councillors gave the perjury charge an exact and demonstrable basis, converting a question of honesty into a matter of arithmetic that the court could verify. The cross-checking of the overseer's return against an independent survey was the very control whose absence the false account had exploited. Portley's sentence again tied the pillory to the days provisions were issued from the stores, the same device used on Oneil and Roulston, so that his public exposure fell on the days the settlement gathered at the Store House. Fining him 20 pounds to the use of the Lords Proprietors directed the penalty to the injured party, the proprietors whose stock his false account had misrepresented, combining bodily shame, imprisonment and a financial forfeit in a single graded punishment for an officer who had betrayed his trust. Speculations Portley's open declaration that Governor Johnson had contrived the indictment against him reframed his conviction as the product of personal malice rather than proven guilt, a calculated move to lay the ground for an appeal to the directors in England. A discharged officer with no remedy on the island could still carry his grievance home, and casting the prosecution as the Governor's own design aimed past the local court at the Company, the same recourse open to others the council had disciplined. The timing of the declaration, made in open court immediately after sentence, sought to put his protest on the record at the one moment it would be formally entered. | |||||
539 | Since he could not make a Certain Person he sent for the last week to Swear falsly against him, and used other Contemptuous words, and behaved himself very Insolently for which the Govern:r Orderd him to Stand further Confind & Loaded with Irons Untill he brought Security for his good Behaviour. To which he Answered he would lye & dye before he would Comply. The Govern:r Declar'd that he had Spoke to no Person with relation to Portley, but that he had told Portley a month before at M:r Ryders that he would Indict him the next Sessions for Perjury in the hearing of M:r Byfeld & other Gentlem:n. To which Portley then Answered he knew he would if he could, he Expected no favour. Then was read the two following Declarations Exhibited by William Beale Complainant against Will:m Portley Defendant. Island S:t Helena. To the Worshipp:ll Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Govern:r & Cornille. The Declaration & Petition of William Beale Jung:r & Complainant Humbly Setteth forth and representeth. That Whereas William Portley of this Island who is well known to be a Person of an Evill & Refractory Disposition, Stands indebted to Y:or Complainant in the Sum of twenty four Shillings being for his the Said William Margin Notes: Insolence in Court to be loaded w:th Irons &c and fined till security given W:m Beals Declaration ag:st William Portley | Portley went on to complain that he could not make a certain person, whom he had sent for, swear falsely against him on the last recount, and he used other contemptuous words and behaved very insolently in court. For this Governor Johnson ordered him to stand further committed and loaded with irons until he found security for his good behaviour. Portley answered that he would lie and rot before he would comply. The Governor declared that he had spoken to no one about Portley, but that he had told him a month earlier at Mr Ryder's, in the hearing of Mr Byfield and other gentlemen, that he would indict him for perjury at the next sessions. Portley then answered that he knew the Governor would do so if he could and that he expected no favour. The following two declarations were then read, brought by William Beale, complainant, against William Portley, defendant. The declaration was addressed to the Worshipful Edward Johnson, Governor, and the council, for the island of St Helena. William Beale, surgeon and complainant, set out his petition and declaration. He represented that William Portley of the island, well known to be a person of an evil and unruly disposition, stood indebted to him in the sum of 24 shillings, being for [...]. Interpretations Portley's conduct after sentence escalated his case from a convicted perjurer's protest into a fresh contempt, the court answering his refusal of security with continued imprisonment in irons. The exchange exposed the heart of his defence, his complaint that he could not procure a witness to swear falsely on the recount, which conceded the accuracy of the survey that had convicted him. Governor Johnson's account of his earlier warning at Mr Ryder's, given before Mr Byfield and other gentlemen, set on record that the prosecution had been openly foretold rather than secretly contrived, meeting Portley's charge of a hatched indictment with named witnesses to its candour. The two declarations brought by the surgeon William Beale opened a separate civil action for debt against Portley, heard at the same sessions that had just convicted him on the crown's charge. This shows the court moving directly from criminal to civil business in one sitting, the same bench that tried the felony and the perjury now taking up a private suit for 24 shillings. Beale, who had bid for the post of surgeon as far back as 15 November 1715 and given evidence in the medical-stores case of 1 September 1719, appears here in the ordinary role of a creditor pursuing a small debt through the island's only court. | |||||
540 | William Beales own proper Goods, and which Sume your Said Complain:t hath severall times Civilly Demanded, But the Said Portley putts him off from time to time with frivolous Excuses whereby intending to wrong & defraud Your Said Complain:t of his just due. Wherefore Humbly moves & prays, the Said Portley may by Law be Oblig'd to make Paym:t of the Said Sume of 24: to y:o Complain= =ant. And (as in duty Bound) shall ever pray &c Will:m Beale The following Declaration was Directed to the Bench in like manner, Setting forth. That Whereas William Portley of this Island, who is a Person well known to be of an Evill, fraudulent, & refractory Disposition Stands indebted to your Complainant in the Sume of three Pounds, fifteen Shillings for his own Physick & Attendance, During the late fitt of Sickness (& at severall other times). of which John Gibbs late of this Island dyed, to whom the Said William Portley is Sole Executor he having acted as Such, and has taken all the Goods & Effects of the Said Deceased into his Actuall Possession the Better to Enable him to pay all Just Demands due & owing from the Said Gibbs. And which Sume of 3:15: The Complainant hath severall times Legally Demanded, But the Said Portley the more to Shew his will intentions to wrong and defraud your Said Margin Notes: for Debt W:m Beals 2:d Declarat: ag:t Portley for another Debt | The debt of 24 shillings was for William Beale's own goods, a sum he had several times openly demanded. Portley, however, kept putting him off with frivolous excuses, intending to wrong and defraud him of what was justly due. Beale therefore asked that Portley be obliged by law to pay him the sum of 24 shillings. The declaration was signed by William Beale. The following declaration was brought before the bench in the same way. Beale set out that William Portley of the island, a person well known to be of an evil, fraudulent and unruly disposition, stood indebted to him in the sum of 3 pounds 15 shillings. This was for medical treatment and attendance he had given to John Gibbs, late of the island, during Gibbs's last spell of sickness and at several other times. Gibbs had since died, and Portley was his sole executor. Having taken on that office, Portley had taken all the goods and effects of the deceased into his own possession, which gave him the means to meet every just demand owed by Gibbs. Beale had several times lawfully demanded the sum of 3 pounds 15 shillings, but Portley, to show his ill intent to wrong and defraud [...]. Interpretations The second declaration rests Beale's claim on Portley's position as sole executor of the late John Gibbs, the surgeon pursuing the dead man's medical debt against the estate rather than against Gibbs himself. An executor who took the goods and effects of the deceased into his possession became answerable for the just debts the estate could meet, the legal mechanism by which a creditor of a dead debtor reached the assets through the man who held them. Portley had brought Gibbs's will to be proved as recently as 28 June 1720, so his liability for the debt followed directly from the office he had taken up months before. The pairing of two separate debts in successive declarations, one for Beale's own goods and one for treatment given to Gibbs, shows the surgeon consolidating every claim he held against Portley into a single appearance before the court. Both rest on the same charge of evasion, Portley putting his creditor off with excuses while holding the means to pay, the repeated emphasis on his fraudulent disposition tying the civil suits to the dishonesty for which the same sitting had just convicted him of perjury. | |||||
541 | Said Complainant of his Just due doth Still Persist in his Accustomed Obstinacy & Positively refuses to make Paym:t. Your Complainant therefore Humbly moves and prays the Said William Portley may be Obliged to make him full Satisfaction & Paym:t of the Said Sume of £3, 15. as the Law doth allow in Such Cases, or as You in your Prudence Shall think most fit & meet. And &c. The Said Defend:t William Portley denys both these Actions of Debt. The Complainant William Beale Swore to the truth of his debt. The Said Portley Promised Paym:t for which the Said Beale Craves Execution, which accordingly was Ordered. [...]thnl [...] Edw:d Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: both Actions Deny'd Complaint made Oath to his Debt Paym:t Promis'd Execution &c | Beale's declaration continued, setting out that Portley still kept up his habitual obstinacy and flatly refused to pay what was due. Beale therefore asked that Portley be obliged to make him full satisfaction and payment of the sum of 3 pounds 15 shillings, as the law allowed in such cases or as the bench in its discretion thought fit. William Portley, the defendant, denied both these actions of debt. William Beale, the complainant, swore to the truth of his debts. Portley then promised payment, on which Beale asked for execution, and the court ordered it accordingly. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The suit turned on the contrast between Portley's bare denial of the two debts and Beale's sworn oath to their truth, the court accepting the creditor's oath as sufficient ground once the debtor offered no evidence beyond denial. Portley's shift from denial to a promise of payment then resolved the matter without any finding on the merits, the award of execution giving Beale the means to enforce recovery against Portley's goods if the promise went unkept. Execution was the legal step that converted a judgment into a power to seize, the court's final instrument for making a debt good. The closing signatures of Governor Johnson, Byfield, Alexander and Goodwin set the same four men to the civil record who had opened the sessions and tried the criminal charges, the bench authenticating its day's business under their hands. This single subscription covering felony, perjury and private debt alike reflects the undivided authority of the island's court, the council's members serving as judges across every kind of cause the settlement brought before them. | |||||
542 | Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 20 day of Dec:r 1720. At the Hon:ble Comp:r as Plantation House. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r Pres:t Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Jn:o Alexander &c Jn:o Goodwin The Last Consultation & Sessions was read & Approv'd The Doctors brought in & delivered their Book of Medicines Expended since the 14 Just:o which was Examined and Approved of. On the 14 Just:o Arrived the Hannover Capt: Bond Command:r and the Godfrey Capt: Shuler who went out 2: Mate. They came last from Maddrass, And the Hannover brought Us from Bombay. 4 Bales of Coarce Challos & the Godfrey from Madd:rs 5. half Legers of Batavia Arrack. E Johnson Edward Byfeld Jn:o Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Doc:rs Book brought in Arriv:d Hannover & Godfrey arriv:d Goods bro:t by them | A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 20 December 1720 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation and sessions were read and approved. The doctor brought in and delivered his book of medicines used since 14 December 1720, which the council examined and approved. On 14 December 1720 the Hanover, Captain Bound commander, and the Godfrey, Captain Shuter, arrived. Shuter had earlier sailed as second mate. Both ships came last from Madras, and the Hanover had come to the island from Bombay. The goods landed from them were: 4 bales of coarse chilloes, from the Hanover and from the Godfrey, from Madras 5 half leaguers of Batavia arrack The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The arrival of the Hanover and the Godfrey on 14 December 1720 supplied the homeward transport that the sessions of 15 December 1720 had relied on, the sentences on Oneil and Roulston turning on the departure of these very ships to carry the men to England. Their entry from Madras and Bombay marks the island's fixed place on the East India route, where the Company's outward and homeward shipping called for water and refreshment and left small parcels of Indian goods. The chilloes landed from the Hanover were a coloured cotton cloth of the Bengal and Coromandel trade, the same commodity received earlier from the Fordwich on 21 June 1720, while the Batavia arrack from the Godfrey was the distilled spirit shipped through the Dutch entrepot of Batavia that recurs throughout the island's accounts as both a traded good and a source of the drink that troubled its discipline. The doctor's medicine book, examined here as a matter of routine, continued the standing accounting control imposed after Cholmondley Cevill's theft from the medical stores in 1719, the regular inspection keeping a current check on the surgeon's dispensing. | |||||
543 | Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 21 day of Dec:r 1720. At the Hon:ble Comp:rs as Plantation House Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Govern:r Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Pres:t Jn:o Alexander &c Jn:o Goodwin The last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Upon Complaint of M:r Byfeld that Thomas Hodg= =kinson Overseer at Perkins Plantation had severall times Neglected his business & layn out in the night time thereby Suffering the Blacks that was Sent there for their Yamms to weigh their own Allowance by which means they very often took 10. 15. & 20. of Yamms each more than they ought to have. Order'd He be discharged the Hon:ble Comp:rs Service. And that James Leech Overseer at the Hutts Planta= =tion be removed to Perkins Plantation. And that Francis Leech be Appointed Overseer at the Hutts Plantation in his Stead at the Usual Sallary of twenty Pound per Annum. The State of the Island was this day brought into Consultation in Order to its Examination and Margin Notes: M:r Byfelds Complt ag:t Hodgkinson at the Hutts Plantation Neglect Hodgkinson Discharg:d Jam: Leech Overseer Fran: Leech made Overseer at the Hutts State of the Island | A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Wednesday 21 December 1720 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. Mr Byfield complained that Thomas Hodgkinson, overseer at Perkins's plantation, had several times neglected his duty and stayed out at night. By his absence he let the slaves sent there for their yams weigh out their own allowance, so that they often took 10, 15 and 20 yams each more than they should have had. The council ordered Hodgkinson discharged from the Honourable Company's service. It further ordered that James Leech, overseer at the Hutts plantation, be moved to Perkins's plantation. Francis Leech was appointed overseer at the Hutts plantation in his place, at the usual salary of 20 pounds a year. The state of the island was brought into consultation that day for examination, and [...]. Interpretations The complaint against Thomas Hodgkinson exposes the function of the overseer as the point of control over the slaves' rationing, his nightly absence letting them serve their own allowance and draw more yams than their due. The harm lay not in the small surplus each man took but in the breakdown of supervised distribution, the same weakness the council had addressed in October 1717 when the Company's slaves were found cheated of their rice through unsupervised division. Discharge followed at once, the overseer's neglect of his post being treated as a direct loss to the Company's stock. The reshuffle that moved James Leech from the Hutts to Perkins's and installed Francis Leech at the Hutts shows the council drawing on its established overseers to fill a gap rather than seeking a new man, the fixed salary of 20 pounds a year marking the standard rate for the office. Edward Byfield, lately made chief overseer of the plantations under the directors' order read on 26 August 1720, brought the complaint in his supervisory capacity, the discipline of the subordinate overseers falling within the charge he had assumed in September 1720. | |||||
544 | and to be Sent Home by these Ships now in the Road. E Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Thursday the 22 day of Dec:r 1720 At the Hon:ble Companys Plantation House. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Govern:r Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Pres:t Jn:o Alexander &c Jn:o Goodwin The Last Consultation read and Approv'd of. The Examination of the State of the Island was Continued and finished. Upon Capt: Alexanders Complaint against John Long planter for Stoping an Ancient Water Course that conveys the Water out of Thomas Swallows Land into his Plantation through Longs Plan= =tation. Ordered That the following persons viz: Mess:rs Powell, Weangham, Coles, Vesey & Beale be desired to view the Same & to make their Report next Consultation day. Edward Byfeld E Johnson Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Sent home State of the Isl: Exam:d Capt: Alexanders Complt ag:st Jno: Long Persons to view & make Compo: This Jan hath been Copy'd & Sent to Eng:d p Ships Receip:ts N:o | The state of the island was to be sent home by the ships then in the road. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Thursday 22 December 1720 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. The examination of the state of the island was continued and finished. Captain Alexander complained against John Long, planter, for blocking an old watercourse that carried water out of Thomas Swallow's land into his plantation, running through Long's plantation. The council ordered that the following persons, Mr Powell, Mr Wrangham, Mr Coles, Mr Vesey and Mr Beale, be asked to view the watercourse and make their report at the next consultation day. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations Captain Alexander's complaint against John Long over the blocked watercourse turns on the standing problem of water rights on an island where the supply to a plantation depended on channels crossing a neighbour's ground. Diverting or stopping such a course could deprive the lower holder of the water his crops needed, the same kind of grievance behind Martin Norman's water-rotation petition of 17 May 1715, where a holder kept from his share lost many thousands of yams. The council's response treats access to flowing water as a property interest the bench would protect against interference. The reference of the dispute to five named inhabitants for a view and report follows the council's settled method for matters of measurement and boundary on the ground, deferring judgment until disinterested men had examined the site. Powell, Wrangham, Coles, Vesey and Beale recur across the island's business as appraisers, jurors and viewers, the same small body of substantial planters supplying the local knowledge on which the council relied to settle factual disputes it could not resolve from the bench. | |||||
545 | Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 28 day of Dec:r 1720. At Union Castle in James Valley. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Pres:t Jn:o Alexander &c Jn:o Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. The Surgeon inform'd the Gov:r that Capt: Shuler had Some Medicines to dispose of which was very much wanted in the Stores. He was Orderd to agree for them & which amounted to three Pounds, three Shillings & Six Pence. William Slaughter Ensign being Examined Saith That about two a Clock this afternoon Capt: Bond Sent his Doctor downe to him to know the reason why the things for the Ship read Seeds He told him he could not lett them Pass, that the Capt: Positively Swore he would come down and force them by the Guard. Upon w:ch M:r Slaughter in the Presence of the Doc:r Order'd three of the Good Guns to be Shotted & Prim'd & a Generall to be Beat, and did Reinforce the Sea Gate w:th files of Musketeers, and did likewise lock the Castle Gate when he went out upon the Line to see if the Capt: did make any attempt & Orderd the Great Guns to fire upon the discharge of the Small Arms at the Sea Gate. Invoice Margin Notes: Medicines bought Ensign Slaughters Information of Capt: Bonds Threats How acted Garrison | A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Wednesday 28 December 1720 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. The surgeon informed the Governor that Captain Shuter held some medicines to dispose of which were greatly needed in the stores. The council ordered him to agree a price for them, which came to 3 pounds 3 shillings and 6 pence. William Slaughter, ensign, was examined and gave evidence. At about two o'clock that afternoon Captain Bound sent his doctor down to him to ask why the goods for the ship were stopped. Slaughter told him he could not let them pass. The captain then swore positively that he would come down and force them past the guard. On this Slaughter, in the presence of the doctor, ordered three of the great guns to be loaded and primed and a general alarm to be beaten. He reinforced the Sea Gate with three files of musketeers and locked the Castle gate while he went out onto the line to see whether the captain would make any attempt. He ordered the great guns to fire on the discharge of the small arms at the Sea Gate. The reference to an invoice followed [...]. Interpretations The clash at the Sea Gate sets the island's control over its road against a ship's master's attempt to remove goods without the council's leave, the ensign treating Captain Bound's threat to force the guard as a breach to be met with arms. Slaughter's measured escalation, loading the guns, beating the alarm, reinforcing the gate and locking the Castle, followed the standing defensive arrangements by which the garrison answered any challenge from the road, the same alarm machinery tightened by the muster orders of March 1720. The episode shows the Company's authority over what left the island enforced at the point of a loaded battery. The purchase of Captain Shuter's surplus medicines at 3 pounds 3 shillings and 6 pence met a shortage in the stores from a passing ship, the council taking the chance to replenish a stock that the standing oversight of the surgeon's dispensing kept under continual review. Sourcing medicines from a homeward East Indiaman was an opportunistic supply on a remote island dependent on what its calling ships happened to carry, the medical stores being a recurring object of the council's concern since the thefts of 1719. | |||||
546 | Invoice of Challoes brought p Ship Hannover from Bombay (Viz:) N:o S 1:2 4 Bales Challoes q:t 20. Corge Unto to R:s 1680. -1 Deduct 10 p Cent. 168. - 1512. Incident charges 5 p Cent. 75.38. R:s June 1587.38 Incident charges on Rupees 1422 the amount of an Invoice of 4 Bales Challoes Laden on Board the Fodswich, w:ch by Mistake was Omitted 5 p Cent 76. 6 Rupees 1658.44 Orderd That what remains of the Challoes last Mentioned (very few having been Sold) be Sold out at Six pence more than the 50 p Cent, which will make Good the Mistake above mentioned. Receiv'd p Godfrey from Fort S:t George 5. Half Legers of Batavia Arrack at Pagod 6 p:r p Leger. £75. -1 Orderd it be Sold out at the Usual Price of 6/4 p Gallon. E Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Goods brought Bombay Mistake Six pence more appl: be added Arrack rec:d from Madd:rs Price fixt at | The invoice of chilloes brought by the ship Hanover from Bombay was entered as follows. Bales numbered 1 to 4, marked S, of chilloes: 4 bales of chilloes, 20 corge amounting to 1,680 rupees less a deduction of 10 per cent 168 rupees leaving 1,512 rupees incident charges at 5 per cent 75 rupees 38 [...] amounting to 1,587 rupees 38 [...] Incident charges on the 1,422 rupees, the amount of an invoice of 4 bales of chilloes loaded aboard the Fordwich, which had been omitted by mistake, at 5 per cent: 71 rupees 6 [...] making a total of 1,658 rupees 44 [...] The council ordered that what remained of the chilloes last mentioned, very few having been sold, be sold at 6 pence per [...] more than the 50 per cent advance. This addition of 6 pence in the pound would make good the mistake noted above. Received by the Godfrey from Fort St George: 5 half leaguers of Batavia arrack at 15 pagodas per leaguer 75 [...] The council ordered the arrack sold at the usual price of 6 shillings and 4 pence per gallon. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The invoice exposes the layered pricing by which imported goods reached the island's stores, the base value in Madras pagodas and Bombay rupees carrying a deduction and then incident charges before any selling margin was set. The correction of an earlier omission, the charges on the Fordwich bales lost from the books, shows the council recovering the error not by re-entry alone but by adding 6 pence in the pound to the selling price, the shortfall passed on to the buyer through a small uplift on the standard 50 per cent advance. This reflects the recordkeeping discipline reasserted under Governor Johnson after the long failure of the accounts, an old mistake traced and made good through the price. The arrack from the Godfrey, valued at 15 pagodas per leaguer at Fort St George and ordered sold at the fixed island rate of 6 shillings and 4 pence per gallon, marks the standard conversion of an Indian cost into a sterling retail price for the island market. Batavia arrack recurs throughout the accounts as a controlled commodity sold from the stores at a set rate, the Company holding the supply and the price alike, the chilloes from Bombay being the coloured Indian cotton cloth that formed the staple of the small parcels these homeward ships left at the island. | |||||
547 | Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 3 day of Jany 1720 At Union Castle in James Valley. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Pres:t Jn:o Alexander &c Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. On the 29 Dec:r last about five a clock in the evening an Alarm was made for one Ship, our Packet being then Seald up and ready to be Sent on Board the Hannover Capt: Bond. On the 30 Dec:r Arrived the Princess Ann Capt: Nicholas Lahorne Commander from Mocha & Sail'd with the other two Ships before mentioned the First Instant. The Same evening the Alarm was made for the Princess Ann, the following Lett: were Sent to Capt: Bond and Capt: Shuler. Capt: Jno: Bond S:r There is an Alarm made for a Ship Standing for our Road and not knowing But she may be a Pirate or other Enemy, These are in Pursuance to our Hon:ble Masters Instructions To Order you to Moor Your Ship nearer in (you riding now Single in Order to Margin Notes: An Alarm Packet made up Princess Ann Arrived Ord:d to Capt: Bond for Mooring his Ship | A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 3 January 1721 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. On 29 December 1720 about five o'clock in the evening an alarm was made for one ship, the council's packet being then sealed up and ready to be sent aboard the Hanover, Captain Bound. On 30 December 1720 the Princess Ann, Captain Nicholas Lihorne commander, arrived from Mocha and sailed with the other two ships mentioned before on 1 January 1721. That same evening the alarm was made for the Princess Ann. The following letters were then sent to Captain Bound and Captain Shuter. The letter to Captain John Bound ran as follows. An alarm had been raised for a ship standing for the island's road. Not knowing but that she might be a pirate or other enemy, and in keeping with the Honourable Masters' instructions, the council ordered Bound to moor his ship nearer in, since he was then riding single, in order to [...]. Interpretations The instruction to Captain Bound to moor nearer in on the approach of an unidentified sail shows the island's roadstead managed as a defensive position, the council directing the Company's own shipping into a tighter anchorage where it could support the batteries against a possible enemy. A ship riding single, on one anchor, lay more exposed and harder to bring under the fort's protection, the order reflecting the standing concern for the security of the road that the pirate reports of early 1720 had sharpened. The council acted here on the Masters' instructions, exercising over the Company's ships in the road the same authority it held over the island's defence. The arrival of the Princess Ann under Captain Nicholas Lihorne from Mocha connects to the same commander's earlier visit, when his refusal on 13 January 1719 to supply the island a barrel of powder from his charter party had led the council to ask that such a delivery be written into future charter parties. Mocha, at the mouth of the Red Sea, was the centre of the coffee trade, marking the Princess Ann as a ship of the Company's western Indian Ocean traffic calling at the island on her homeward passage. | |||||
548 | to Sail) and to bring a Hawser on Shore & heave in as Close to the Rocks as you can with Safety. Union Castle the 29 Dec:r 1720. We are Yo:r Humble Serv:ts Ed: Johnson Ed: Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Another of the Same was Sent to Capt: Shuler. The next morning We Sent likewise to Each of them the following Letter. S:r Whereas the Princess Ann Capt: Nicholas Lahorne Commander from Mocha in the Service of our Hon:ble Masters is arrived in our road, This is in Pursuance to a Paragraph in their Generall Instructions to Us, to remind you of Y:o Cha:lup:acity and their Instructions to you, whereby you are to Stay for any of their Ships that Shall Arrive during your Stay here, and therefore We Expect your Com= =pliance therewith. We are S:t Helena Dec:r 30. 1720. Your Humble Servants. Ed Johnson Ed: Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: Anoth:r Ord:d to Capt: Shuler Ltr to both Capts to Stay for Princess Ann | The letter to Captain Bound continued, since he was about to sail. The council asked him to bring a hawser ashore and heave the ship in as close to the rocks as he safely could. The letter was sent from Union Castle on 29 December 1720 and subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Another letter to the same effect was sent to Captain Shuter. The next morning the council sent each of them the following further letter. The letter ran as follows. The Princess Ann, Captain Nicholas Lihorne commander, had arrived in the island's road from Mocha in the service of the Honourable Masters. In keeping with a paragraph of the Masters' general instructions, the council reminded both captains of their duty and of the Masters' direction that they were to stay for any of the Company's ships that arrived during their own stay at the island. The council therefore expected their compliance. The letter was sent from St Helena on 30 December 1720 and subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The order to bring a hawser ashore and warp the ship close to the rocks turned the departing Hanover and Godfrey into part of the island's defence, mooring them where the fort's guns and the shore could cover them against an approaching sail. A ship made fast to the land lay steadier and better protected than one riding at anchor, the council using the Company's own vessels to strengthen the road at a moment of alarm. This continued the same defensive handling of the roadstead set out in the first letter to Captain Bound. The second letter rested on the Masters' standing instruction that homeward ships wait for one another at the island, the council holding Bound and Shuter to that duty once the Princess Ann had arrived. Keeping the Company's ships together for the passage home gave mutual protection against pirates and enemies on a route where a lone vessel was vulnerable, the convoy practice enforced by the council as the directors' agent. The arrival of the Princess Ann from Mocha triggered the reminder, the bench treating the assembly of a homeward group as a matter of the Company's express orders rather than the captains' choice. | |||||
549 | Having bought 15 Legars of Batavia Arrack for the Use of this Island of Capt: Lahorne Contain= =ing 2300 Gall: at four Shillings p Gall:t We have drawn Bills of Exchange for the Ballance of his Acco:t amounting to £378, 6, 8 ¾ dated the 3 Jany 1720, Payable thirty days after Sight. We also Sent Capt: Worthis 2:d Bill for £128, 16, 8½ and M:r Tho: Atkins 2:d Bill for £99, 3, 8. Likewise Capt: Bonds first Bill upon Colonel Raymond for £75, 13, dated the 29 Dec:r 1720. According to an Advertizem:t Issd the 21 Dec:r last the Council Mett this day for the Transferring Bills for the last quarter, and to Settle the last three Ships Acco:t The Gov:r Reports that he had Confind Tho: Lawrence for going on Board the Hannover, w:th a Design to make his Escape being one of the Hon:ble Comp:rs Sold:rs Listed in England & Sent in the Craggs for Brancolin, his five years not yet Expird, to be Sent thereby the next outward bound Ships to serve the remainder of his time. The Doc:rs brought in their Book of Medicines Ex= =pended since the 20 Dec:r which was Examined & Approv'd of. Margin Notes: Arrack bought of Capt: Lahorne Amo:t of Bills Capt: Worthis 2:d Bill Sent also Capt: Bonds first Bill Bills for last quarter Transferrd Tho: Lawrence Confind Do: Book bro:t in & Exam:d | Having bought 15 leaguers of Batavia arrack for the use of the island from Captain Lihorne, containing 2,300 gallons at 4 shillings per gallon, the council drew bills of exchange for the balance of his account. These came to 378 pounds 6 shillings and 8 pence and were dated 3 January 1721, payable thirty days after sight. The council also gave Captain Worth two bills, one for 128 pounds 6 shillings and 8 pence and another to Mr Thomas Atkins for 99 pounds 3 shillings and 8 pence. It likewise gave Captain Bound's first bill upon Colonel Raymond for 75 pounds 13 shillings, dated 29 December 1720. In keeping with an advertisement issued on 2 December 1720, the council met that day to transfer bills for the last quarter and to settle the accounts of the last three ships. Governor Johnson reported that he had confined Thomas Lawrence for going aboard the Hanover with a design to make his escape. Lawrence was one of the Company's soldiers, enlisted in England and sent out in the Craggs Frigate for Bencoolen, his five years not yet expired. He was to be sent there by the next outward bound ship to serve out the remainder of his time. The doctor brought in his book of medicines used since 20 December 1720, which the council examined and approved. Interpretations The run of bills of exchange drawn on the Company and its agents shows the island settling its purchases from calling ships not in coin but in paper payable in England, the balance of Captain Lihorne's arrack account met by a bill at thirty days' sight. Bills drawn on the directors, on Colonel Raymond and on named correspondents were the standard instrument by which a remote settlement without specie paid for the goods its ships supplied, the obligation transferred home for settlement. The quarterly meeting to transfer bills and close the ships' accounts, held under the advertisement of 2 December 1720, marks the routine reckoning by which the council kept the trade in order. The confinement of Thomas Lawrence for attempting to slip aboard the Hanover enforced the Company's hold over a covenant soldier bound for Bencoolen, his unexpired five-year term making his flight a breach the council met by detention and onward shipment. A man enlisted in England and sent out under indenture could not lawfully quit the service before his time, the same principle that had kept Joseph Ormston on the island against his repeated petitions to leave. Returning Lawrence to his intended posting by the next outward ship treated him as Company property to be delivered where his contract required. | |||||
550 | Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Wens= =day the 4 day of Jany 1720. At Union Castle in James Valley. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r Edw:d Byfeld. 2:d Pres:t Jn:o Alexander &c Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Consultation Continued for the Transferring what Bills was left Yesterday, & to hear any other matter that might Offer. E Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Island S:t Helena At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 10 day of Jany 1720. At the Hon:ble Comp:rs Plantation House. Edw:d Johnson Esq:r Gov:r Edw:d Byfeld 2:d Pres:t Jno: Alexander &c Jno: Goodwin The Last Consultation read & Approv'd of. Isaac Leech brought in his monthly Acco: for Dec:r of Gunns Stores Expended to Jany 1:st which was Exam:d & approv'd of, and is as follows. Margin Notes: Transferrt Continued Acco: of Gunn Store | A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Wednesday 4 January 1721 at Union Castle in James Valley. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. The consultation was continued for transferring whatever bills were left from the previous day and to hear any other matter that might arise. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. A consultation was held for the island of St Helena on Tuesday 10 January 1721 at the Honourable Company's Plantation House. Governor Edward Johnson presided. The council members present were Edward Byfield as second, John Alexander and John Goodwin. The previous consultation was read and approved. Isaac Leech brought in his monthly account of gunner's stores used to January 1721, which the council examined and approved. The account ran as follows. Interpretations The continuation of the bill-transfer business into a second sitting marks the volume of paper the council had to process in settling the accounts of the departing ships, the work of converting the quarter's debts into bills carried over from one consultation to the next. Holding the meeting open to hear any other matter that might arise shows the council using the gathering as its regular forum for whatever the island's business required, the transfer of bills forming the fixed core of the session. The monthly gunner's stores account brought in by Isaac Leech continued the standing accounting control over powder and ordnance that the council had required of the gunner since 25 October 1715, each month's expenditure laid before the bench for examination and approval. Leech had been appointed gunner on 19 May 1720 in place of the dismissed John French, and his regular rendering of the account maintained the documentary check on the magazine that French's neglect had broken, the same discipline reasserted across the Company's records under Governor Johnson. | |||||
551 | An Acco: of Gunn: Stores Expended in the month of Dec:r 1720 Dec:r 7: Expended at the General Exercise [...] 12 D:o 14 A Double Alarm 6 6 6 D:o Arriv'd the Hannover & Godfrey 18 18 18 D:o 29 An Alarm 4 4 4 D:o 30 Arriv'd the Princess Anne 7 7 7 D:o For the Burial of Jno: Knight [...] Deliverd Jno: Defountaine for y:o Gov: use [...] D:o Musquet Balls [...] Missing Balls Deliv:d to the Guards 1 Powder to the Guards [...] Flints Expended & Deliv:d 43 Springe Needs 6 Springe Staves [...] 8 Cartledge Paper 27/2 Sharp Shins 4 Arrows & Lead Scale 6 p:r y: Lau: 4 Match Expended 12 Sign'd Jno: Leech C A 4 2 8. 6 43 2 35 35 [...] The Govern:r Reports that upon the Discharge of the Guns in answer to the Salute when the last three Ships Sail'd hence, Several of the Guns were out of Order & made no Report. Upon which he call'd Isaac Leech the Gunner who coud not Say much for himself, & having severall times before found fault of his mannagem:t Discharg'd him not being Capable of being Gunn:r & made him the Chief Mate. And appointed M:r Slaughter Gunner continuing Margin Notes: Expended in Dec:r Jno: Leech Discharged from being Gunner M:r Slaughter Appointed | The account of gunner's stores used in the month of December 1720 was entered as follows. The powder figures were given in three columns, the pounds spent, the pounds delivered and the [...]. 7 December: spent at the general exercise [...] 14 December: a double alarm 6, 6, 6 [date]: arrival of the Hanover and Godfrey 18, 18, 18 29 December: an alarm 4, 4, 4 30 December: arrival of the Princess Ann 7, 7, 7 [date]: for the burial of John Knight [...] delivered to John Defountaine for the Governor's use [...] musket balls delivered [...] major balls delivered to the guards 1 powder to the guards [...] flints used and delivered 43 sponge heads 6 sponge staves 2 cartridge paper 8½ [...] sheep skins 4 aprons of lead, none for the gunner 4 match used 12 The account was signed by Isaac Leech. The column totals stood at 12, 4, 4, 28, 6, 43, 2, 35, 35, 51½ [...]. Governor Johnson reported that on the discharge of the guns in answer to the latitude when the last three ships sailed, several of the guns were out of order and made no report. On this he called in Isaac Leech the gunner, who could say little for himself. Having several times before found fault with his management, the Governor discharged him as not capable of being gunner and made him the chief mate. He then appointed Mr Slaughter gunner. Interpretations The expenditure account records powder spent not on hostilities but on ceremony and signalling, the salutes for arriving and departing ships, the alarms raised on unidentified sail and the funeral honours for John Knight forming the ordinary calls on the magazine. Each charge of powder was set against a stated occasion, the gunner answerable for every pound through the monthly book the council examined, the salute fired in answer to a ship's recognition signal being the routine courtesy of the road that the failure of the guns here disgraced. The discharge of Isaac Leech turned on the guns failing to fire when the three homeward ships sailed, a public failure of the salute that exposed the neglect of the ordnance the Governor said he had noted before. Leech had himself replaced the dismissed John French as gunner on 19 May 1720, so his removal after barely eight months continued the rapid turnover in an office whose holder was repeatedly found wanting, the post passing now to Ensign William Slaughter. Demoting Leech to chief mate rather than dismissing him outright kept the man in service while stripping him of the charge he had mismanaged, the same graded handling of an unfit officer the council applied elsewhere. | |||||
552 | Continuing him Still Ensigne at 40. a year Sallary. M:r Byfeld delivered an Acco: of the Hon:ble Comp:rs live Stock, & likewise the Expence for the month of Dec:r which was Examined, approv'd, & Sign'd by Us. Upon Examination of the Books of Acco:t We find Several Persons to have an Acco: of Bonds, But their Bonds have not yet come to the Govern:rs hands Viz: Capt: Goodwin, M:r Wrangham, John Friend, John Tesaits, Giles Smith, & Arthur Bradley. Orderd That they be Summond to give Bond for Security of the money Lent. Whereas the inconveniency that was formerly found in the allowance to William Portley as chief Overseer Occasion'd the allowances in Consultation of the 9 July last Since w:ch time the Hon: Comp:rs have appointed M:r Byfeld their Chief, & in his absence there must be one to oversee the rest, We think it Proper to Allow him forty Pounds p annum for Salary, Board wages & other Perquisites he had before, which will also be abo twenty pounds a year for the future & the Charge the Hon:ble Comp:rs was at. Capt: Goodwin brought in his Book Containing the Monthly Acco:ts to Dec: 25. which was Examined, Approv'd and Sign'd by Us. E Johnson Edward Byfeld Jno: Alexander Jno: Goodwin Margin Notes: No Ensigne Intrique the [...] of [...] Live Stock Appr:d Acco: of Bonds in y:e Books Bonds to be made Allowance of Sallary to Overseer of Plant: House Portleys Bro: in for Dec:r | Slaughter was continued as ensign at his salary of 20 pounds a year. Mr Byfield delivered an account of the Honourable Company's live stock, together with the expenses for the month of December, which the council examined, approved and signed. On examining the account books, the council found several persons holding accounts of bonds whose bonds had not yet reached the Governor's hands. These were Captain Goodwin, Mr Wrangham, John Friend, John Twaits, Giles Smith and Arthur Bradley. The council ordered that they be summoned to give bond as security for the money lent to them. The council then turned to the salary of the chief overseer. The difficulty earlier found in the allowance to William Portley as chief overseer had prompted a review of the office at the consultation of 9 August 1720. Since the Honourable Company had now appointed Mr Byfield their chief overseer, and someone had to oversee the rest in his absence, the council thought it proper to allow him 40 pounds a year for salary, board, wages and the other perquisites he had before. This would reduce the Company's charge for the office by about 20 pounds a year for the future. Captain Goodwin brought in his book of monthly accounts to 25 December 1720, which the council examined, approved and signed. The record was subscribed by Edward Johnson, Edward Byfield, John Alexander and John Goodwin. Interpretations The discovery that several men held bond accounts without their bonds having reached the Governor exposes a gap in the security behind the Company's lending, the credit advanced but the formal instrument enforcing repayment not yet executed. Summoning Goodwin, Wrangham, Friend, Twaits, Smith and Bradley to give bond reflects the credit discipline tightened by the regulation of 2 August 1720, which barred any planter from being credited above 50 pounds without first entering into bond and paying interest. The bond was the legal device that turned a loose debt into an enforceable obligation, the council moving to make good the documentary backing that the earlier neglect of the accounts had left incomplete. The fixing of Byfield's overseer salary at 40 pounds a year, framed as a saving of about 20 pounds on the former charge, resolved the very problem that had attended Portley's tenure in the same office. The reform consolidated salary, board, wages and perquisites into a single allowance, replacing the loose and contested arrangement of the discharged overseer with a fixed figure. Byfield held the post under the directors' own appointment, read on 26 August 1720, so the council set his terms knowing the office now rested on the Company's express order rather than its local discretion. | |||||
553 | Book cover | ||||||
554 | EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date: St Helena Records 1718–1720 Dimensions (height × width × depth) (cm): 38.5 cm × 27 cm × 7.5 cm No. written pages: 518 No. blank pages: 2 Spine and cover: Good condition Inside pages: Foxing present throughout volume. Some pages splitting. Very tightly bound. Additional comments: There are 2 page 241 with different content. 2 page 247 with different content. 2 page 282 with different content. 2 page 481 with different content. Time taken to photograph (hours): 6 hours | ||||||