1 | | EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date St. Helena Records 1735 - 1740 Photographer Peter Date photographed 16 Nov 2021 Additional comments | |
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5 | | St. Helena Records. 22 1735-1740 Old Wills account of Governors from the first settlement 1 Mary Furling and Andrew - severe punishment for barbarity 138 Old Will again mentioned - is about 108 years of age & bedridden for two years - 139 Governor & Chaplain at issue on the Law of Incest 144 Elizabeth a free woman and her child consigned to slavery she having given birth to in [...] 161 Governor's report on Capt Alexander's Will 233 A Ship canoe washed a mile off Chubbs rock 239 Failure of springs greater than during the time of the great drought 245 667 head of Cattle lost by dry weather 279 284 Governor Pykes death 289 Ruperts - shewn the only place where the landing of an enemy was apprehended 295 Fortifications - list of Gunners Stores 300 Table expenses of Gov[...] Pyke & Byfield combined 311 Report on the Fortifications at Sandy Bay & Lemon Valley 311 Fortifications - Inhabitants desire 70 blacks to build at Lemon valley & Sandy Bay - Trickle and battery said to have been built by themselves four years previous 321 Inhabitants memorialize for the appointment of Capt Godwin (native of the Island) for Governor - complaining of the tyranny of former Governors - allude to a mischievous distinction between Juniors & Writers 323 Precautionary notice in prospect of war 331 Sundry pieces of a portable description recommended for some places 335 | |
6 | | Certain wenches shipped off to Bencoolen - they considering themselves free born which the Council think a growing Evil 342 Gradual failure of rain for four or five years - last year 687 cattle died - 353 List of batteries & men & disposition of the force 360 Return of cattle in the Island 367 Soldier killed by a fall at Rowland's cove 373 Accident to a Slave falling with a load on a Knife 377 Planting of Furze &c strongly urged 381. 383 Several of the principal Inhabitants accompany the Gov[...] to Sandy Bay to select site for a Fort - 384 Nine Slaves make their escape in the Long Boat 394 Blacks prohibited from carrying dogs or guns about the country 395 Sea cow killed at Old woman's valley - rule laid down by precedent for dividing it 396 Return of the value of all the Fortifications, Live stock, and Plantations 397 | |
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8 | | Old Will aged 100 years, & hath faithfully Served the Company ever since the English had this Island, under the Command of Twenty one Gov[...] Goodwin came to this Island, he brought 3 Game, of Hen of Cattle & 2 Turtle Doves from Madagascar. First Governour Dutton Gov[...] Stringer Gov[...] Swallow Gov[...] Coney Gov[...] Powell Gov[...] Kegwin Gov[...] Pyke Gov[...] Beale Gov[...] Field in 1673 Gov[...] Blackmore Gov[...] Jos Johnson Gov[...] Keeling Gov[...] Boucher Gov[...] Goodwin Gov[...] Bazett Gov[...] Roberts from England Gov[...] Boucher ditto Gov[...] Pyke ditto Gov[...] Elias Johnson B[...]field ab[...] 11 Months Gov[...] Smith Gov[...] Byfield Gov[...] Pyke a Second time Governour Goodwin died [...] Governour Crispe from [...] to [...] July 1741 Governour Jenkins from [...] May 1741 Governour Lambert came from England on the [...] March 1742 died the 20th July 1742 Governour Powell by Succession from 20 Jul[...] to 11th Mar 174[...] died Gov[...] Dunbar from England on March Gov[...] Hutchinson from 1[...] March 17[...] to the 15 May 176[...] Gov[...] 17 years Gov[...] Skottowe Governor Corneille Governor Brooke from 1788 to Governor Robt Wilson Governor Patton Governor Beatson Governor Wilks Governor Lowe Lieut Gov[...] Dowdeswell Gov[...] Walker Lieut Gov[...] Trousdale Gov[...] Dallas 22 Feb 1836 - Gov[...] Middleton Note the first Eight were Governours before the Island was taken by the Dutch, & at the time it was taken Gov[...] Beale was Gov[...] and fled to Brazile, & from thence to England * This is a mistake - Gov[...] Kegwin succeeded Gov[...] Beale, and Dyke was probably the Name of the Dutch Gov[...] when the Island was taken in 16[...] Margin Notes: [...] [...] Old Will mentioned page 13[...] For old Wills death vide 1 Feb[...] 1736 page 161 [...] | |
9 | 1 | [Section of the left-hand margin missing, with loss along the outer left edge of the page.] Island St Helena. At a Consultation held on Wednesday the [...] June 1735 at the Castle, Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Wee this day took into Consideration according to the Hon[...] Companyes Directions in the 25th Paragraph of their Generall Letter by the Cumberland, what place would be most safe and convenient for building a new Magazine, they having disapproved the Spot formerly pitched upon [...] wee think it may be [...] wee think it may be advantagiously bilt at a fashion a distance from the Storehouses, & out of danger if they should happen to take fire, as indeed it would have been had it been built in the place first proposed, for it was never designed, as it seems the Hon[...] Company have been informed, to go through the Storehouse into it, but to take away one of the Warehouses in order to make a Passage through that into the Magazine without any Communication at all with the other Storehouses, & came to this Conclusion that Since the Magazine cannot now though it ought to be within the Castle it ought to be as near the Castle & as much under the Eye of the Guard as is consistent with our Safety, & therefore wee have chosen to build it farther from the Storehouse in the middle of the narrow Passage that leads from the Guardhouse to the Sea, near the Gate, which lies directly under the South Pole of the Castle, which Situation wee believe Some of the Directors remember, at is may be of the Commanders known perfectly well, for it is the common Passage into the Stores, but before wee begin it wee will consult it the [...] fully with the most intelligent of the Captains of [...] At a Consultation held on Wednesday th June 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday a Small Portugueze Vessell of about an hu[...] and twenty Tons bound from A[...] to Angola touched here for Water & Provisions & this Morning the Middlesex arrived and a Sundry Certificates from [...] brought the following [...] Bags Due [...] Cargo 82 80 [...] Bags Sold by [...] 2nd Dec[...] 57 8 18 d[...] You much [...] Gov[...] 176 Charges Merchandize 10 3[...] [...] 39[...] 5 11 Margin Notes: [...] [...] | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 4 June 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Members turned to the twenty-fifth paragraph of the Company's general letter, brought out by the Cumberland, which asked where a new magazine could stand most safely and most conveniently. London had rejected the ground fixed on earlier. Having walked over the site again, the council held that it would answer well enough if the building were set further back from the storehouses, since powder placed as first proposed would have stood in real danger from any fire among the stores. The directors had evidently been told that the way into the magazine would run through the storehouses. Nothing of the kind had ever been intended. One warehouse was to be taken down altogether and the entrance driven through the space it left, so that the magazine would have no opening whatever onto the remaining buildings. A magazine ought properly to stand within the castle, and since that could no longer be managed the council concluded it should at least lie close to the walls and under the eye of the guard, so far as safety allowed. Members therefore chose ground further from the storehouses, in the middle of the narrow passage running from the guard house to the sally port gate, immediately beneath the south wall. Some of the directors would remember the spot, and most of the commanders knew it well, since it served as the common way into the stores. Before any ground was broken the council resolved to show the place to the ablest of the captains then at the island and take their opinion. The council met again at the castle on Wednesday 11 June 1735, the same four members attending, and approved the record of the previous meeting. A small Portuguese vessel of about 120 tons, bound from Brazil to Angola, called on 10 June for water and provisions. The Middlesex came in from Bombay the following morning with sickness aboard, and delivered the island's consignment. 27 bags of rice, 4 farah, 92 rupees 8 annas 0 pies [...] bags of sugar, 2 [...] 7.5 [...], 37 rupees 9 annas 0 pies 1.5 leaguers of Goa arrack, 210 gallons, 188 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 10 rupees 3 annas [...] Total, 327 rupees 5 annas 11 pies Interpretations A sally port is a small gate set into the wall of a fortified place, made so that men can pass in and out without the main gate being opened. The passage running to it from the guard house lay directly under the south wall and carried the ordinary traffic into the stores, so the chosen ground kept the powder permanently within sight of the sentries while removing it from the buildings it would otherwise have endangered. The reasoning turns on a hard trade-off familiar to any garrison: powder wants to be close enough to serve the guns quickly and to be watched against theft, yet far enough off that a fire in a thatched storehouse cannot reach it. Two seasons of correspondence had already gone on the siting alone. Governor Pyke laid his design before the council on 2 October 1733, prompted by the gunner John French's petition of 25 September 1733 that the magazine stood near the sea behind a wall only two or three feet thick, with dry thatch and timber adjoining, and the Governor then measured both buildings and put the loss at some 120 barrels from first to last, about eighty of them entirely spoiled. Nothing was built. The stone cutting was stopped on 4 December 1733 when the powder room on the line collapsed into a hollow beneath it, and through 1734 no hands could be spared, the advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day having drawn not one offer. The reply that finally arrived rested on a mistaken account of the entrance, so the council's answer is largely a correction rather than a step forward. The Middlesex's invoice is a western-coast lading of the kind that had become usual on this run, rice measured by the farah, arrack shipped from Goa and no Bengal sugar. A farah is a grain measure of Mocha and the Arabian side, and its appearance places the cargo on that route rather than in the Bay of Bengal, as with the Newcastle in December 1734 and the Mary and Royal Guardian in January 1735. A leaguer is a large cask running to about 150 gallons. Charges merchandise covers the bags, sewing, boat hire and porterage added to the goods themselves. At 327 rupees 5 annas 11 pies the whole consignment is light against the 490 rupees 12 annas of the Decker and 576 rupees 7 annas 9 pies of the Bedford in December 1734, and lighter still than the Bengal supplies of earlier years, which ran above 600 rupees. Sickness aboard an arriving ship mattered on an island whose whole economy depended on victualling shipping. A crew that could not work could not take on water, cattle or yams at the usual rate, and the council had recorded its own establishment badly weakened in December 1734, when all the long boat's crew but two men were down and seven or eight of the Rupert's gang lay dangerously ill. A vessel running from Brazil to Angola was on the South Atlantic slaving circuit, carrying goods and provisions south-east and slaves back across to Bahia or Rio. St Helena lay conveniently on that passage for fresh water, and foreign callers mattered to the inhabitants out of all proportion to their number, the island living on the small profits made from shipping in the road. Speculations With the Company's direction in hand and a site its own members agreed on, the council could have set the blacks to dig at once and reported the work begun. Instead it held back to show the ground to the ablest of the captains then in the road. The reason sits in the sentence just before: London had been given a false account of how the magazine was to be entered, and the council had no means of correcting that impression except through men whose word would carry with the directors independently of anything written in a consultation book. Commanders knew the passage from the guard house to the sally port as well as any inhabitant, since they walked it whenever they drew stores. The delay cost a stretch of dry building weather, but it secured witnesses the court in London would believe. |
10 | 2 | [Loss at the upper right corner of the page, affecting the ends of the first few lines.] Andrew Bergue Cooper, having with his Knife [...] Matthew Mudge Soldier in Several Places, & at one of th[...] [...] cut him cross the Wrist, the wound being three Inches long, he also cut his Coat as he was endeavouring to Stab him in his back, the Said Bergue, for this abominable peice of Villainy was Ordered to be whipt with thirty Nine Lashes & they to be well laid on, & this Quarrell having happened at Cards, & at the house of Joseph Bates who with his Wife were at play with them, the Said Bates was Sent for & Reprimanded for Suffering his Wife to play with Such idle Company & he promised he would not Suffer for the future Gaming of any Sort at his house, and Bergue was continued in Custody till he made Mudge Satis- faction for his Wounds, & had paid the Surgeon for the Cure of them At a Consultation held on Tuesday 17th June 1735 at the Cas[...] Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday a Dutch Ship arrived here from Batavia which upon Examining her Commission wee find to be the Goudria[...] Willem Hendrickson Commander, Capt Reuyter who carried her out being dead, & being a Friend wee allowed Water & Refreshm[...] & to day the Princess Royal arrived with the following Supply viz[...] Arrack 2 half Legr qty 160 Galo. 80 Batta 16 P Cent 8 88 - Sugar 10 Bags qty 14..2..19 120 Batta 10 P Cent 12 132 - Rice 46 Bags qty 67..1..24 77 7 6 Batta 10 P Cent 7 12 6 85 3 Wax Candles 2 Chests qty 2..2..19 140 - Charges Merchandize 38 6 9 Rupt 480 10 Mr Coney this day attended & acquainted us that he had agreed with Capt Studholm for his Passage to England, & his Account being made out to the 25th instant there was due to h[...] £48: 8: 5 of this he desired £20... in Bills the rest wee paid him in Money & wish't him a good Voyage. Andrew Bergue the Cooper having given Security to pay Matthew Mudge £10,.. for Stabing him & to Satisfy the Doctor for the Cure he was discharged from Prison. | Andrew Bergue, the cooper, attacked Matthew Mudge, a soldier of the garrison, with a knife and wounded him in several places. One cut ran three inches across the wrist, and Bergue slashed Mudge's coat while trying to drive the blade into his back. The council treated the assault as a grave piece of brutality and sentenced Bergue to thirty-nine lashes, laid on hard. The fight had broken out over a card table at the house of Joseph Bates, where Bates and his wife were playing with the two men. The council summoned Bates and rebuked him for allowing his wife to sit down with company of that sort, and he undertook to permit no card play or other such amusement at his house in future. Bergue stayed in custody until he compensated Mudge for the injuries and paid the surgeon's bill for treating them. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 17 June 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A Dutch ship reached the island on 16 June from Batavia. Her commission showed her to be the Goudria, under Willem Hendrickson, who had taken command on the death of Captain Ruyter, the man who carried her out. The council treated her as a friendly vessel and allowed her water and fresh supplies. The Princess Royal came in the following day with the island's consignment. Arrack, 2 half leaguers of 160 gallons, 80 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batta on the arrack at 10 per cent, 8 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Arrack with batta, 88 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 10 bags of 14 hundredweight 2 quarters 19 lb, 120 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batta on the sugar at 10 per cent, 12 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Sugar with batta, 132 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice, 46 bags of 67 hundredweight 4 quarters 24 lb, 77 rupees 7 annas 6 pies Batta on the rice at 10 per cent, 7 rupees 12 annas 6 pies Rice with batta, 85 rupees 3 annas 0 pies Wax candles, 2 chests of 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 19 lb, 140 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 38 rupees 6 annas 9 pies Total, 480 rupees 10 annas 0 pies Mr Coney came before the council and reported that he had arranged his passage home to England with Captain Studholm. His account was made up to 25 June and left £48 8s 5d owing to him. He asked for £20 0s 0d of that sum in bills and took the balance in cash, and the council wished him a good voyage. Andrew Bergue gave security of £10 0s 0d to Matthew Mudge for the stabbing, together with an undertaking to settle the doctor's charge for the cure, and was released from prison. Interpretations Thirty-nine lashes was the conventional ceiling rather than an arbitrary figure, taken from the scriptural limit of forty stripes less one and used throughout English and colonial practice as the heaviest whipping a court would order short of a capital or transportable sentence. Setting it at the maximum, and directing that the strokes be laid on properly, told the garrison and the inhabitants that the council regarded a knife drawn in a private quarrel as something close to attempted murder. Holding Bergue in gaol after the whipping served a different purpose from the whipping itself. The lashes answered the offence against public order; the imprisonment was leverage to force payment to the injured man and to the surgeon who dressed him. Six days later a bond of £10 0s 0d discharged him, the money standing as a guarantee that Mudge would be paid and that the parish would not carry the cost of a soldier laid up. The same instrument runs through the council's dealings elsewhere, as when Francis Wrangham and Charles Steward bound themselves in twenty pounds each on 19 June 1733 that John Long should sail for Bencoolen. Batta is the allowance added when a sum reckoned in one currency standard is converted into another, and it appears here as a straight percentage on each line of the invoice before the goods are totalled. Charges merchandise covers bagging, sewing, boat hire and porterage. A half leaguer is a cask of roughly 75 gallons, arrack being shipped in that size for convenience of handling into open boats. Wax candles, at 140 rupees 0 annas 0 pies, form the single heaviest line of this consignment, ahead of the sugar and well ahead of the rice; the Decker had carried two chests of them at 140 rupees in December 1734, which suggests a standing order rather than a chance parcel. Candles mattered on an island where the council chamber, the storehouses and the guard rooms all required light after dark, and wax burned cleaner and steadier than the tallow the inhabitants used. Mr Coney was paid off partly in bills of exchange and partly in coin. A bill drawn on the Company was payable in London and cost nothing to carry, whereas cash had to be shipped and risked at sea, so a man leaving the island generally took the larger share of his balance in paper. That he took £20 0s 0d in bills and the rest in money reverses the usual proportion, which points to his wanting ready cash for the voyage itself. The examination of a foreign commander's commission before granting water and refreshment had become fixed practice, applied to the Mercury and Le Danaë in 1731, to the Dronning Anna Sophia on 25 August 1733 and to the Grace on 4 June 1734. The point was to establish that the vessel sailed on a lawful voyage and not as a privateer, and the death of the Goudria's original commander made the check more than a formality, since her papers no longer matched the man in charge of her. Joseph Bates has appeared repeatedly in the council's business as a debtor to the estate of Don John de Mesa y Aniento, still owing the greater part of the £246 19s 2.5d found against him on 28 August 1733, and as the man fined forty days' extra labour on 19 November 1734 for denying his own signature. His house at the fort is now recorded as a place where soldiers and tradesmen gathered to play for money, which fits the jury's presentment of 2 July 1733 against the valley houses that filled with idle company through the shipping season. Speculations The council could have whipped Bergue and let him go, leaving Mudge to recover his losses by a private action at the next court. It kept him locked up instead until the injured man and the surgeon were both satisfied, then released him on a bond rather than on payment in hand. The reason lies in what Mudge would have faced otherwise: a soldier on garrison pay, laid up with a cut wrist, pursuing a tradesman through a court that met quarterly and often adjourned for want of business. Continued custody converted a civil claim the victim might never have realised into a condition of the offender's freedom, and the £10 0s 0d security transferred the risk of non-payment from Mudge to Bergue's own sureties. |
11 | 3 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 1 July 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Gov[...] Reports that he lately received the following Information viz[...] Benjamin Jones of the Island of St Helena Soldier maketh Oath that John Artingstall a Soldier of the Garrison came to him as he came out of the Country & told him that Cap[...] Studholme wanted to Speak with to go home in his Ship, & he went to the Cap[...] who asked him how he did & sayed he heard he was willing to go home with him & Jones Answered if the Governour would Consent to it he would go, on that Jones told the Cap[...] he was a little in Debt here he thought about five or Six Pounds & the Cap[...] replyed as for that if it be Seven or Eight I wont Stand for it but bid him go to the Gov[...] & get his Discharge on that he went next Morning to the Gov[...] who Sayed he would Discharge him if the Cap[...] desired it & would pay what he owed in the Stores. On this Jones went & told the Cap[...] who Sayed it was well enough he went thence to the Stores & Settled Accounts there & brought a Note that he owed in the Stores Seven pounds Eight Shillings & five pence one farthing & then the Cap[...] told him he would not pay so much but if he could find means to pay the rest he himself would advance five Pounds for him & Jones having told all his Acquaintance that he was going to England by the Govern[...] Consent he was then loath to be balk't & he went & Sold his fiddle, his Coat, his Wigg, his Bedstead & a a gold Ring & then went to the Cap[...] for his Note to go on board with but the Cap[...] would not give him nor pay five Pounds for him & which Jones his Deponent Sayed Sir you promised me yesterday that you would pay five Pound for me to which Cap[...] Studholm answered if I did promise it yesterday I wont do it to day by God, then Jones Sayed Sir you have almost ruined me to make me Sell my Rings to make up the remainder of the Money & M[...] Steward being in the Entry the Cap[...] took Jones by the Shoulder & led him into the little Room & there sayed to him are not you a foolish dog Cant you come on board the night before I Saile & Save so much Money & then Jones sayed Sir I cant offer to do any such thing now the Gov[...] has Consented to discha- rge me on your Account & you have promised to pay the money for if I had a mind to run away I could a done it long before now but I will not run away and on that M[...] Steward came into the room & he went Away. of Benjamin the X Mark Jones Sworn before me this 20th day of June 1735 Isaac Pyke And on the 24th of June he received the two following Informations viz[...] Bridget Thwaites of this Island Widow sayeth on her Oath that one evening of the last Week two Men belonging to Commodore Baywells Ship being drinking at her house whose names are Rowe & Anderson they talk't with Each other ab[...] the Soldiers or People of the Island | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 1 July 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor laid before the council information he had lately received. Benjamin Jones, a soldier on the island, swore that John Artingstall of the garrison met him as he came in from the country. Artingstall told him that Captain Studholme wished to speak with him about going home in his ship. Jones went to the captain, who asked after him and said he had heard he was willing to sail for England. Jones answered that he would go if the Governor consented, and added that he owed a little on the island, as he thought about £5 0s 0d or £6 0s 0d. The captain replied that he would not stand on the sum even at £7 0s 0d or £8 0s 0d, and told him to obtain his discharge. Jones went up to the Governor the next morning and was told he could be discharged if the captain asked for him and if he cleared what he owed at the stores. The captain heard the answer and said it would do. Jones then settled his account and brought back a note showing a debt of £7 8s 5.25d. The captain now told him he would not pay so much, but would advance £5 0s 0d if Jones could raise the rest himself. Jones had already told every acquaintance that he was leaving for England with the Governor's consent, and he was unwilling to be disappointed. He sold his fiddle, his coat, his wig, his bedstead and a gold ring, then went to the captain for the written note that would carry him aboard. The captain refused the note and refused the £5 0s 0d. Jones reminded him of the promise made the day before, and the captain swore that whatever he had promised then he would not do it now. Jones answered that he was almost ruined, having parted with his rings and his other goods to make up the balance. Mr Steward stood in the entry as this passed. The captain took Jones by the shoulder, led him into the little room and asked whether he was a foolish dog, and why he could not come aboard the night before the ship sailed and spare all that money. Jones replied that he could attempt nothing of the kind, the Governor having agreed to discharge him at the captain's request and the captain having undertaken to pay the debt. He added that if he had meant to run away he could have done it long since, and that he would not run away now. Mr Steward came into the room and the captain left. The deposition was sworn before the Governor on 20 June 1735 and signed by Jones with his mark. Two further informations reached the Governor on 24 June 1735. Bridget Thwaites, a widow of the island, swore that one evening in the previous week two men from Commodore Bagwell's ship, named Rowe and Anderson, were drinking at her house and talked between themselves about the soldiers and inhabitants of the island. Interpretations A soldier of the garrison held no liberty to leave St Helena at will. Departure required the Governor's discharge, and the discharge was granted only on clearing the account at the Company's stores. Pay was small and everything from shoes to arrack came on credit against it, so a store debt worked as a standing tie that held men on the island as effectively as any indenture. A commander who wanted a hand had in practice to buy that debt out. The council had been blunt about the shortage on 19 December 1734, telling three homeward captains that the island wanted two hundred more men with a war apprehended, and offering the seaman John Young to the Bedford only in exchange for another able-bodied man. The captain's proposal that Jones slip aboard on the eve of sailing was an invitation to desert. Had he taken it, the £7 8s 5.25d would have stood unrecovered on the Company's books, the garrison would have lost a man without compensation and the island would have had no remedy once the ship was at sea. That is why the exchange in the little room is set down word for word rather than summarised, and why the presence of Mr Steward in the entry is noted: the deposition was built to be read by people who would never see either man. The list of goods Jones sold measures how little coin circulated on the island. A fiddle, a coat, a wig, a bedstead and a gold ring amounted to close to everything a soldier owned beyond what he stood in, and the whole raised only part of the shortfall of about £2 8s 5.25d. The note he brought from the stores was itself a form of paper money, the storekeeper's certified statement of what he owed, and the note he sought from the captain was a written pass without which a boat's crew would not carry him out to the ship. Jones signed his oath with a mark, so every one of these documents had to be read to him by somebody else. A commodore was a commander given charge of several ships sailing together, an arrangement the council had itself required of every departing vessel under the standing orders of 13 March 1729, when ships were forbidden to sail alone and told to agree a commodore before leaving the road. Men from such a ship, drinking in an island house and discussing the garrison and the inhabitants, would have caught the Governor's attention for that reason alone. Speculations The Governor could have sent for Studholme while the ship still lay in the road and settled the matter across a table, or simply refused the discharge and let the affair drop. He chose instead to have Jones swear the entire conversation on 20 June 1735, to collect two more informations four days later and to lay the whole before the council on 1 July. The choice reflects what the council had learned about its reach over ship commanders: Captain Peacham sailed in defiance of a formal protest on 10 December 1729, and the fleet of June 1729 went without waiting for the Heathcote despite written orders. A governor of St Helena could not punish a commander, and the only sanction that ever bit was a sworn file placed in front of the directors in London. Recording the captain's own suggestion that a soldier come aboard by night, in the words of the man he made it to, gave the court at home something it could act on. |
12 | 4 | one of them sayed to the other that there had like to been a great deal of Rogery Committed here for when the Portugueze Vessell was here ten or twelve of the Soldiers of this Place, had Contrived to get on board that Vessell to run away with her, & being asked how it came to pass that they did not, Answered that four of them there hearts Misgave them, or else it had been done, & one of them was Either Rowe or Anderson sayed I will shew you one of them tomorrow & Henry Welch one of the Drummers stayed then him to one, but he stayed no that I will not & then Henry Welch sayed to her if I can get but one of these fellows Names the rest will soon be found out for I will tell the Governour of it of Bridget the + Mark Thwaites Sworn before me this 24 day of June 1735 Isaac Pyke Henry Welch Drummer being Examined on his Oath sayeth that all the Contents above Written are true & he also Subscribeth his Name thereunto Henry Welch Sworn the same day & hour Isaac Pyke John Artingstall the Soldier mentioned in Jones's Information having gone about Endeavouring to persuade Several of the Garrison to go off with Cap[...] Studholme wee committed him to prison & to prevent Desertion appointed a Guard Boat & wrote the following Letter to Cap[...] Bagwell To Commodore Bagwell Sir Wee the Gov[...] & Council of this place, for many Weighty Reasons & good Causes have thought it Necessary both for the preservation of the Hon[...] Masters Estate on board the Severall Ships in the Road & for the Good of this Island & the Security of the Hon[...] Companies Garrison have that a very good look out be kept every night on the Road especially, & Wherefore wee have appointed a Guard Boat to be kept to row as Occasion may offer but not to Exceed the Eastermost part of Munden's point to the Eastward & on the Westermost part of the Bay of Chappell Valley to the Westward or to go on board of any of the Ships now at Anchor in the Road. Our design herein is to prevent any of the Hon[...] Companies Soldiers from deserting their Duties, and therefore this Guard Boat is to Examine All other Boates that go on board in the Night time to see that none of the People of the Island or Garrison do there And wee desire you the Com[...] do fire every Evening the Eight a Clock Gun on board & so appoint a Watch word every Night for the Guard Boat so have that in case that Boat comes near any of your Ships so as to be hailed you may know what Boat it is thereby, but the Boat is not to go on board your Ships nor any other in the Night time. - Wee desire you also to Send to the Governour an Account of the Watch that you intend to appoint during the time of your stay & at every Night you may deliver the Sea Watch word to any of the Chief officers of the other Ships if they desire to have it back | One of the two men remarked to the other that a great deal of mischief had nearly been done on the island. Ten or twelve soldiers of the garrison, he said, had arranged to get aboard the Portuguese vessel that called there and run off in her. Asked why the plan came to nothing, he answered that the men lost their nerve, since otherwise it would have gone through. Bridget Thwaites could not say whether the speaker was Rowe or Anderson. Henry Welch, one of the drummers, was in the house and she asked him to point out which man it had been, but he refused. He told her he was afraid, and that if the name of one of them got out the rest would soon be found, and that she might tell the Governor as much. Her deposition was sworn before the Governor on 24 June 1735 and signed with her mark. Henry Welch, drummer, was examined on oath the same day. He confirmed the whole of Bridget Thwaites's account and subscribed his own name to it before the Governor. John Artingstall, the soldier named in Benjamin Jones's information, had gone about persuading several men of the garrison to leave with Captain Studholme. The council committed him to prison. To stop any further attempt at desertion it appointed a guard boat and wrote to Commodore Bagwell. The council told Bagwell that it had weighed a number of strong reasons and judged a nightly watch on the road necessary, both to protect the shipping and the Company's property aboard and to keep the island and the garrison secure. A guard boat would accordingly patrol every night. Her limits ran from the outermost point of Munden's Point on the eastern side to the outermost part of Chapel Valley bay on the western side, and she was not to go alongside any of the ships then at anchor. The purpose was to stop the Company's soldiers deserting their posts. The boat's business was therefore to search any other boat moving on the water at night and to see that none of the island's own boats carried men out to the shipping. The council asked that the eight o'clock gun be fired from Bagwell's ship each evening, and that a watchword be settled nightly and given to the guard boat, so that a boat hailing any ship could be identified at once. The guard boat was not to come alongside his vessel or any other after dark. The council further asked Bagwell to send the Governor a note of the hours he meant to keep during his stay in the road, so that the sea watchword could be passed each night to the chief officers of the other ships whenever they wished to have it. Interpretations Ten or twelve men out of a garrison of that size represented a serious loss, and the plan turned on a foreign ship rather than a Company one. A Portuguese vessel bound for Angola carried no obligation to the East India Company, would not be answerable in London and had every reason to welcome free hands for the Atlantic passage. That is what made the calling of such ships a standing danger, and why the council's letter draws a boundary at the water rather than on shore: once a man was over a foreign ship's side he was effectively beyond recovery. The council's remedy addressed the traffic rather than the men. A guard boat patrolling between Munden's Point and Chapel Valley bay covered the whole face of the anchorage, and its orders to search other boats and to bar the island's own craft from carrying men out closed the only route from shore to shipping. Nobody could swim to a vessel lying in the road. Denying the boat itself any approach to the ships was a deliberate limit: the council had no authority over a commander's own deck, and a patrol that came alongside at night would have provoked exactly the quarrel over jurisdiction that had run through its dealings with Captain Peacham in December 1729 and Captain Wilson later that month. The evening gun and the nightly watchword formed a signalling system built for a road where every dark shape was a potential deserter or a potential enemy. A gun fired at eight o'clock from the senior ship gave every vessel and the shore a common start to the watch. The word passed to the guard boat allowed a hail across water to be answered without lights or recognition, so an approaching craft could be identified as friendly before anyone reached for arms. That the council asked the commodore rather than the fort to fire the gun reflects where the manpower lay, and it had been sparing its own powder deliberately, substituting a dinner for the coronation salute on 8 October 1734 on the Governor's reasoning that every grain should be saved with a war expected. Bridget Thwaites kept a house where seamen drank, which is how the conversation reached her, and her evidence carried a difficulty the record states plainly: she could not tell which of the two men spoke. Henry Welch could have told her and would not, giving his fear as the reason and predicting that naming one would expose the others. His refusal on the spot, followed by his sworn confirmation of her whole account before the Governor, marks the line between what a drummer would say in a public room and what he would say under oath in the castle. Speculations Two informations pointed different ways, and the council acted on only one of them. Artingstall, named by Jones as the man recruiting for Captain Studholme, went to prison; the sailors Rowe and Anderson, who had spoken of ten or twelve soldiers arranging passage in a foreign ship, drew no summons at all. Neither did Studholme himself. The obvious course was to examine the two seamen while their commodore's ship still lay at anchor, since they were the only direct source on the larger plot. The council let them alone and built a boat patrol instead. Bridget Thwaites's inability to say which of the two had spoken is the visible reason: an examination that could not fix the speaker would have warned the whole road that the design was known and gained nothing usable, whereas a nightly guard closed the route without requiring any man to be identified. |
13 | 5 | night. You may please to Communicate our Contents hereof to the Commanders of all the other Ships. This is what wee think fit at present & Neither Sirs St Helena 9th of June 1735. Your most humble Servant[...] To this wee Received the following Answer Worshipfull Sir & Sirs I have received your Instructions & shall take care to have them observed & to Communicate them to the rest of the Commanders Your Worship & Councill will be pleased if any Deserters that are on board any of the Sailors run away from their Ships you will not Conceale them, but that Information be given of them & they be Sent on of them respective Ships. Upon Complaint being made, I have not Intend to give during the time, I stay, for the Kings, Days of the Night, Prince of Wales, & Princess Royal, & the [...] & all the rest of the Royal Family, & the Prince of Orange. I have no more to add but that I am with due respect Your Worship & [...] Most humble Servant [...] Bagwell St Helena 30th June 1735 Instructions for the Guard Boat To the Officer & Soldiers of the Guard Boat St Helena June the [...] 3 [...] 1735 You are hereby required according as you shall be Stationed by Col[...] Hasan, Commander of the Military on this Island, to row in the Guard Boat every Night at Sun Sett & to row backward & forward about this Bay the whole Night & un till 2 & 3 a Clock in the Night & to view every Boat that goes off in the Dark to see that none go on board & to see in whether belonging to the Garrison or the Island Blacks or Whites & all Boats that come in in the Night time whether from Lemon Vally or any other parts And you are to see that none of them go on board any Ship without being Searched by you, neither are you to go on board any Ship in the Night time from Ships but to keep your Station Cross & Cross the Bay & so to keep the Eastermost part of Munden's point to the Eastward, & the Wester part of this Valley or the West rocks to the Westward, & you are to apprehend & take into your Custody all that shall go in Boates or the Water in the Night time who belong to this Island or Garrison & to deliver them to the Guard or Secure them in the Fort Corps or in Longboat untill the next Morning & bring them before me to Answer for their Demerits dated under my hand the day & year above Written. Isaac Pyke You are also to go every Night to the Commandore for the Word before You go on board & if any Ship's hail you, you are to Say the Hon[...] Companies Guard Boat & if they Demand further you are to Name the Watch Word for the Night To prevent the Sailors from running away or as the Commandore desired took care about the matter & this Morning published an Advertisement by beat of Drum forbidding the Inhabitants Margin Notes: Guard Boat | The council closed its letter by asking Bagwell to pass on the substance of these arrangements to the commanders of all the other ships. Nothing further was needed at present, and the letter was dated at St Helena on 9 June 1735. Bagwell answered that he had received the council's instructions, would see them observed and would communicate them to the other commanders. He asked in return that if any of his seamen ran from their ships, the council would not conceal them but give notice, so that they might be taken up and returned. He undertook that on any complaint made to him by the shore, satisfaction would follow. He also gave the watchwords he intended to use during his stay in the road, one for each night in turn: Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, [...], the Royal Family and the Prince of Orange. His reply was dated at St Helena on 30 June 1735. The Governor issued written orders for the guard boat, addressed to the officer and men serving in her and dated at St Helena on 30 June 1735. The party was to muster each night at sunset, posted to the boat by Captain Cason, commander of the island's military, and to remain out the whole night until about an hour before daylight. It was to examine every boat moving in the road, establishing which ship each belonged to and whether the men aboard her were islanders or strangers, black or white, and to search all boats found on the water at night, whether they came from Lemon Valley or elsewhere. None of them was to reach any ship without being searched first. The guard boat itself was forbidden to go alongside any vessel after dark. It was to hold its station across the bay, running between the outermost point of Munden's Point on the eastern side and the seaward end of Chapel Valley on the western side. Any islander found in a boat on the water at night was to be seized and either handed to the guard or held in the long boat until morning, then brought before the Governor to answer for the offence. The orders were signed by Governor Pyke. Further directions followed for the party. The boat was to go each night to the commodore for the word before anything else. If any ship hailed the boat, the answer was to be that she carried the Company's guard, and if the word were demanded the men were to give the watchword settled for that night. The council took up on the same morning the question of seamen deserting their ships, as the commodore had asked, and ordered an advertisement published to the inhabitants by beat of drum. Interpretations The exchange settles a reciprocal arrangement rather than a one-sided favour. The council wanted its soldiers kept from getting aboard the shipping; Bagwell wanted his seamen kept from staying ashore. Each side controlled the ground the other could not reach, so the guard boat searching outbound craft answered the council's problem and the advertisement published by drum answered the commodore's. Desertion ran both ways at St Helena and always had: men left ships for the island as readily as they tried to leave the island in ships, as with the six who quit the Frances in April 1733 and the three who ran from the Wyndham in March 1734. A watchword rotated nightly through a fixed list defeated the obvious weakness of a single password, which any man who heard it once could use thereafter. Drawing the words from the royal house and the Prince of Orange made them easy to remember and hard to mistake across water in the dark, and tied them to a sequence both sides could keep track of without writing anything down. The requirement that the boat collect the word from the commodore each evening before beginning her round put the shore party under a naval routine for the duration of the ships' stay. An hour before daylight closes the window that mattered. A man slipping out to a vessel would go in darkness, and a boat returning empty in the grey before dawn would be the sign of it, so the patrol ran until the water could be seen. Lemon Valley is singled out because it lies round the point from James Valley with its own landing, out of sight of the castle and the guard at Munden's, and a boat putting off from there could reach the anchorage without passing under any battery. Distinguishing islanders from strangers, and blacks from whites, gave the patrol the only test it could apply at night in an open boat. A stranger had a ship to be returned to; an islander in a boat after dark had no legitimate business on the water and could be held on that fact alone. Blacks required no separate offence at all, every householder having been bound since 12 October 1730 to lock up his slaves each evening and to let none out without a written note. Speculations The Governor gave the guard boat power to seize islanders but no power to board or arrest anyone aboard the ships, and instead asked Bagwell to return runaway seamen on notice. He could have claimed a right to search vessels in the road, since the anchorage lay under the Company's guns and the island's whole defence rested on controlling who came and went. He did not, and the boat's orders repeat the prohibition twice. The council knew from Captain Wilson of the Morice in December 1729 that a commander asked to acknowledge an authority he did not accept would demand the clause in writing, and that the council had none to produce. Trading a claim it could not enforce for a promise it could rely on gave it a working patrol at the cost of a jurisdiction that existed only on paper. |
14 | 6 | under Penalty of being Punished with the Utmost Severity of Law to receive harbour or Conceale any Sailors belonging to any of the Ships now in the Road & at noon wee Sent on board Cap[...] Studholm two of his Men named Smith & Selcombe whom the Rounds took up upon Suspicion of comeing on Shoar & hiding themselves with design to leave their Ship & told them that if they came on Shoar again without leave in Writing from the their Officer on board they should be Whipt at the Whipping Post. Rowe the Person mentioned in the Widdow Thwaites's Examination was this day brought before Us & asked what he knew of the Matter & he sayed one Evening as he was Easing himself near the Path side he heard Some People who were passing by say to the purpose mentioned in her Affadavit but declared he did not know any of the Persons Concerned & this being the Occation he was Committed to Prison in Order to be farther Examined Gunner French acquainted Us that when he demanded the Barril of Powder of Cap[...] Bachwell he refused to deliver it Saying that he had Examined his Charty Party & could not find any thing Mentioned therein about it & would therefore Answer for it at home, Upon this M[...] Coye was ordered to Search Orders as the Hon[...] Company had given about this matter & he produced their General Letter of the 30th of November 1704 in the last Paragraph of which they say that Care ought to be taken that all the English Ships shall first pay their Barril of Powder before they are permitted to have Refreshments At a Consultation held on Monday 3d of July 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday wee Sent for Commodore Bagwell to be present at Rowe's Second Examination when wee found that Some Sailors on board Ships had stayed at the time the Portuguese Vessell was here that ten or twelve Men ought Vessell Size that to Seise & go away with her, he could not Conceale this but talkt of it at the publick house when he was drunk however to Save the Sailors from the Reflection of Piracy he stayed he heard it on Shoar by Accident as above described he was Sent to the Whipping Post & there he stayed what one of the Blacks was whipt Expecting to be the next himself but on the Commodore's Interceeding for him | The advertisement warned that anyone harbouring or hiding a seaman from any of the ships then in the road would face the full penalty of the law. At noon the council sent two of Captain Studholme's men, Smith and Selcombe, back aboard. The rounds had picked them up on suspicion of coming ashore to hide themselves and leave the ship. They were told that if they landed again without written leave from the chief officer aboard they would be whipped at the whipping post. Rowe, the man named in Bridget Thwaites's examination, was brought before the council and asked what he knew of the matter. He answered that one evening, while relieving himself near the path, he overheard people going past who were talking about the very design set out in her affidavit. He denied knowing any of those concerned. The council held the account evasive and committed him to prison for further examination. Gunner John French reported that Captain Bagwell had refused to hand over the barrel of powder demanded of him. Bagwell said he had gone through his charter party and could find nothing in it about any such payment. Mr Coney was at his house at the time, and the council put him to search out the orders the Company had issued on the point. He produced the general letter of 30 November 1704, whose closing paragraph directed that every English ship pay its barrel of powder before being allowed any refreshment. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 5 July 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Commodore Bagwell was invited on 4 July to attend the examination of Rowe. Under questioning it emerged that some seamen aboard the ships had planned, at the time the Portuguese vessel lay in the road, that ten or twelve of them should seize her and sail off in her. Rowe did not deny hearing of the scheme. He admitted that he had spoken of it at the punch house, and said he had done so to keep the sailors from the disgrace of piracy. As to how he came by it, he repeated that he had picked it up on shore by chance in the manner already described. The council sent him to the whipping post, where he named one of the blacks being whipped as the man he had overheard. The commodore then interceded for him. Interpretations The barrel of powder was an old levy on every English ship calling at the island, and the council's difficulty was that it rested on a Company order of 30 November 1704 rather than on anything written into a commander's charter party. Bagwell's refusal turned on exactly that gap: his contract with the Company said nothing about it, so he denied any obligation. Producing the thirty-year-old general letter was the only answer available, and the same weakness had defeated the council before, when Captain Wilson of the Morice demanded in December 1729 to be shown in writing the clause empowering the council to detain his ship and the council could produce none. Powder mattered materially as well as symbolically: the island's whole stock stood at 140 barrels 68 lb by the inventory of 30 September 1734, and 22 barrels had gone home to England that year. Two quite separate designs run through this business and the council kept them distinct. Soldiers of the garrison had arranged to get away in the Portuguese ship, which was desertion. Seamen from the shipping had planned to seize her outright and sail her off, which was piracy and carried the gallows. Rowe's defence rests on that difference: he claimed he had talked openly at the punch house to shame the men out of an act that would have hanged them. Whether or not the council believed him, the distinction was real, and the commodore's willingness to speak for him afterwards suggests it carried some weight with the man whose crew were implicated. A seaman coming ashore needed written leave from his chief officer, and the whipping post stood as the sanction for landing without it. Smith and Selcombe were returned to their ship with that warning rather than punished, the council preferring to hand the matter back to the commander who could dock their wages. The rounds that took them up were the ordinary land patrol, working alongside the guard boat that now covered the water: one closed the shore, the other the anchorage. Rowe's naming of a slave under the lash produced a witness the council could not use. The testimony of blacks was inadmissible, which had defeated every proceeding against John Long across a decade, and an accusation extracted at the post while the man was being whipped for something else would have been worth still less. The interrogation therefore ended with a name that could go nowhere. Speculations The council invited Bagwell to sit in on the examination of one of his own seamen rather than questioning Rowe on its own and reporting the outcome. The obvious course was to keep the commodore out of a proceeding that might implicate his crew in piracy, since his presence gave him a hearing at every stage and, as it turned out, the standing to intercede once the man was at the post. The council had just spent a fortnight securing his cooperation over the guard boat, the watchwords and the return of runaway seamen, and none of that was enforceable. Letting him watch his man examined bought his continued goodwill at the price of the council's freedom to press the questioning as far as it wished. |
15 | 7 | Gunners Stores Expended in June 1735 1735 Guns Fired, Shot, D Cannon, W. Culvig, D Culvig, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder June 1st Double Allarm: Guns Fired 6, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 6, Falcons 0, Powder 18 " Hertford Arrived: Guns Fired 11, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 10, Powder 13 3 Cumberland Sailed: Guns Fired 10, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 1, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 16 8 Allarm at Bankes's & the Ridge: Guns Fired 4, Shot 2, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 2, Minion 2, Falcons 0, Powder 14 9 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 10 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 11 Arrived a Portugueze Vessell: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 d[...] Fired at Bankes's: Guns Fired 2, Shot 2, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 8 d[...] Middlesex Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 d[...] The Kings Accession: Guns Fired 21, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 1, Sakers 4, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 48 15 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 16 Fired at Bankes's: Guns Fired 2, Shot 2, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 8 d[...] Dutch Ship Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 17 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 " Princess Royal Arrived: Guns Fired 16, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 18 28 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 " A Dutch Ship crossing the Bay Saluted: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 To Exercise the Guns: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 2, W. Culvig 2, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 48 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 15 Guns Fired 123, Shot 6, D Cannon 2, W. Culvig 2, D Culvig 2, Sakers 10, Minion 31, Falcons 76, Powder 286 Musquet Ball 9[...] Cattridge Paper 12 Quire Spunge Staves 4 Tompions 6 Rammer Heads 6 Match 35[...] | The gunner's account of stores spent during June 1735 records each firing with its date and occasion, the number of guns discharged, the classes of gun used, the round shot expended and the powder consumed. The column headings are set out on the leaf and have been carried down onto every figure below. 1 June, double alarm, 6 guns fired, 6 minions, 18 lb of powder 1 June, arrival of the Hertford, 11 guns fired, 1 minion, 10 falcons, 13 lb of powder 3 June, departure of the Cumberland, 10 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 9 falcons, 16 lb of powder 8 June, alarm at Bankes's and the Ridge, 4 guns fired, 2 round shot, 2 sakers, 2 minions, 14 lb of powder 9 June, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 10 June, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 11 June, arrival of a Portuguese vessel, 0 guns fired, 0 lb of powder 11 June, fired at Bankes's, 2 guns fired, 2 round shot, 2 sakers, 8 lb of powder 11 June, arrival of the Middlesex, 9 guns fired, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 11 June, anniversary of the King's accession, 21 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 4 sakers, 1 minion, 15 falcons, 48 lb of powder 15 June, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 16 June, fired at Bankes's, 2 guns fired, 2 round shot, 2 sakers, 8 lb of powder 16 June, arrival of a Dutch ship, 9 guns fired, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 17 June, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 17 June, arrival of the Princess Royal, 16 guns fired, 1 minion, 15 falcons, 18 lb of powder 28 June, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 28 June, salute to a Dutch ship crossing the bay, 9 guns fired, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder Exercising the guns, 4 guns fired, 2 demi-cannon, 2 whole culverins, 48 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 15 lb of powder Total, 123 guns fired, 6 round shot, 2 demi-cannon, 2 whole culverins, 2 demi-culverins, 10 sakers, 31 minions, 76 falcons, 286 lb of powder Musket balls, 900 Cartridge paper, 12 quire Sponge staves, 4 Tompions, 6 Rammer heads, 6 Match, 35 lb Interpretations Seven alarms in a single month is a heavy tally, and the pattern of each one shows what the flagstaff could and could not do. An alarm meant a strange sail sighted from the lookouts before she could be identified, and the guns fired were minions, among the lightest pieces on the line, because the object was noise carried across the island rather than any effect on the water. Four minions at three pounds of powder apiece was the standing charge. Twice in the month the guns at Bankes's fired round shot as well, on 8 and 11 June, which means a vessel was made to bring to and identify herself, the only live firing recorded. Falcons carried the salutes and did so for a plain reason of economy. A falcon threw a ball of a pound or two and burned about a pound of powder, so nine guns to a merchantman cost nine pounds where the same compliment from heavier pieces would have cost several times that. The council had been saving powder deliberately since 8 October 1734, when Governor Pyke substituted a general dinner for the customary coronation salute on the ground that every grain should be kept back with a war expected. Firing the accession anniversary on 11 June at 21 guns and 48 lb, drawing on a demi-culverin and four sakers as well as the falcons, shows how far a royal occasion still outranked that thrift. The 48 lb spent exercising the guns is the other heavy charge of the month, and it was spent on the two classes not otherwise fired at all, demi-cannon and whole culverins. Practice with the heaviest pieces on the line served a different purpose from proving them, which the gunner had carried out month by month from May 1734 to January 1735 after the engineer refused the duty. Proving tests whether the metal will hold an over-charge; exercise trains the men to serve the piece. That the council paid for it at this moment, with the island under apprehension of war and Colonel Gaultier dismissed since 5 December 1734, indicates the gun crews rather than the guns were now the concern. The consumable stores at the foot of the account are the ordinary furniture of muzzle-loading artillery. A sponge staff carries the damp sheepskin head that quenches embers in the bore between rounds, a rammer head drives the charge home, and both wear out through use. A tompion is the wooden plug set in the muzzle to keep damp out of a loaded gun, a point of some consequence since the council had resolved on 11 June 1734 that every piece on the line and at each place of defence be kept constantly loaded even in peace. Match is the slow-burning cord kept alight at every guard post through every watch, which is why it appears in every account whether a gun is fired or not, and cartridge paper, reckoned by the quire of some twenty-four sheets, is made up into the paper cases that hold each measured charge. At 286 lb the month runs well above the 193 lb of January 1735 and far above the 42 lb of November 1734, when the road stood empty. Six arrivals or departures fell within four weeks, against months in the earlier run when no vessel touched the island at all. The Cumberland sailed on 3 June carrying home the correspondence, the Middlesex came in from Bombay on 11 June in sickly condition, the Dutch Goudria on 16 June and the Princess Royal on 17 June with the island's supply. The Portuguese vessel bound from Brazil to Angola drew no salute whatever, and her line stands in the account with nothing against it. Salutes were exchanged as a courtesy between vessels of standing, and a small trader of about 120 tons calling for water and provisions fell outside the practice. Her entry appears at all because the gunner's account doubled as the island's record of every sail that touched the road. |
16 | 8 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 1[...] of July 1735 at Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Capt Cason Reports that three of our Soldiers viz[...] Ino Finch George Pitcarne & Nic John Slape have deserted & are thought to be Runaway & concealed on board of Capt Studholm because it appears by the Affidavit of Benj[...] Jones entered in Consultation of the 1st instant that he had privately endeavoured to entice Severall to Runaway with him & he acknowledged it himself for when the Gov[...] taxed him with inveigling a peaceable parties to go than he was willing to own, he Sd[...], no, there were not so many & rashly produced the originac Letter now before us a Copy of which is as follows viz[...] Capt Studholm Sir. I have given you account of the Men that Is willing to Go with you Nathan Sample Joseph Belcher Richard Every Robart Wood Ino Artingstale Benjamin Jones your Hum[...] to Command Ino Artingstale This Behaviour of Captain Studholms wee think is highly blameable because wee persuaded Commodore Bagwell to Spare him four Men, & delivered another one Bright who Runaway from Cap[...] White, & he knows as well as wee that these Men were Shipped & Sent hither in a time of common Danger, with much difficulty & at a great Expence to the Hon[...] Company | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 15 July 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Captain Cason reported that three soldiers had deserted: John Finch, George Pitcairne and John Hope. The council believed all three had got away and were hidden aboard Captain Studholme's ship. The suspicion rested on Benjamin Jones's affidavit, entered in the record on 1 July, which showed that Studholme had quietly set about persuading a number of men to leave with him. He admitted as much himself. When the Governor charged him with luring away a corporal and a private, he was ready enough to acknowledge it, answering only that there were not so many, and he rashly produced the original letter, which the council held. A copy follows. John Artingstall wrote to Captain Studholme that he had already given him an account of the men willing to sail with him, and named them. Nathan Sample Joseph Belcher Richard Every Robert Wood John Artingstall Benjamin Jones The council held Studholme's conduct thoroughly reprehensible. Members had prevailed on Commodore Bagwell to spare him four men, and had also allowed him one Bright, who had run from Captain White. He knew as well as the council did that the men he was taking had been raised and sent out to the island in a time of general danger, with much difficulty and at heavy cost to the Company. Interpretations Studholme's position turned on a shortage that ran through the whole of the shipping. A commander who lost men to death or desertion on the outward voyage had to make up his crew somewhere, and an island with a garrison was the obvious place. The council had already helped him, persuading Bagwell to release four seamen and letting him keep a man who had deserted Captain White, which is precisely what makes his private recruiting so galling to the record: he had been given hands through the proper channel and went on taking them by another. Soldiers cost the Company real money to place on St Helena. Each had to be recruited in England, victualled for a voyage of some four months and landed with clothing and arms, and the garrison could not be made up locally in any numbers. That is the meaning of the closing complaint, and it sat against a background the council had stated bluntly to three homeward commanders on 19 December 1734, when it said the island wanted two hundred more men with a war apprehended. A commander who carried off six soldiers took away something that could not be replaced until the next store ship. Artingstall's letter is the document that changes the case. Suspicion of enticement is hard to prove and easy to deny, but a written list of names in the hand of a serving soldier, addressed to the commander who was to receive them, is evidence of an arrangement rather than a conversation. He had been committed to prison a fortnight earlier for going about the garrison on Studholme's behalf, and his name stands on his own list. Studholme handed the paper over himself while disputing the number involved, and by doing so put into the council's possession the one item that would carry weight when the affair was read in London. Three of the six named men had deserted by 15 July and three had not, and the two lists do not match. Finch, Pitcairne and Hope were gone; Sample, Belcher, Every, Wood, Artingstall and Jones were the men who had agreed to go. Jones had refused to slip aboard by night and swore his account instead, Artingstall was already in custody, and the remaining men on the letter were still on the island, which suggests the guard boat set out on 30 June had closed the route for some while others found a way past it. Speculations The council could have gone straight to the ship. It knew three soldiers were missing, believed them concealed aboard a named vessel and had a sworn affidavit and a written list of names, yet the record shows a confrontation with Studholme on shore and nothing more. The reason lies in the orders it had issued a fortnight earlier, which twice forbade the guard boat to come alongside any vessel after dark and reserved to the commanders themselves the return of men found on the wrong side of the water. Having just traded a claim of jurisdiction over the shipping for Bagwell's cooperation, the council could not now board a ship to search her without giving up the arrangement that made the patrol work at all. |
17 | 9 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 29th July 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved Wee this day at the desire of M[...] Brown our Surgeon Exchanged one of the Hon[...] Companies Boys named Chittapoora Shaw & ac[...] of his Age & Valued at Nine Pounds for M[...] Browns black man called Mingo who is an able bodied fellow & worth twenty five Pounds & executed the same & delivered the boy accordingly upon Condition neverthelesse that if M[...] Brown ever Sold him, the boy should have Liberty to except against or refuse to live with any three Persons who should be proposed to him for a new Master if he did not like them The reason why M[...] Brown makes this Exchange is that he may Speedily have Some Assistance in his busyness the boy being young & apt to learn which the fellow is not Joseph Bates who is a foolish fellow lately acquainted the Governour that upon a Quarrell between two of his Slaves, one of them told him that the other had buried a Chest in the ground under the Chair wherein the Said Bates usually Sits in the Country with design to Confer him, that it was about ten Months & 4 Since the Chest was put under his Chair that he remembers very well that exactly at that time he was taken ill & has been declining ever Since, that he has been remarkably worse Since the discovery of this Chest & is Sure that this Charm or Chest as he called it was laid with design to destroy him & that he was to die by peacemeal & that it had almost killed him one of the Arms being already withered, & became much less than the other but this upon Search wee found was otherwise & measured pro- portion with the other however he believed it was so, & as proof thereof produced Capt Hamilton's Book of Voyages in which there are many fabulous Stories of Charms, Philters, Philtres Strange Incantations which the Poor fellow believes & he frighted out of his wits about it, & upon the day on which the Chest was found a hard Gale of Wind happened to blow down the Roof of his house all which he imputes to the furious Strength of the power of the Poison the Governour therefore to put these Whimsies out of the fellows head Examined the Blacks & ordered the Poison to be given to a dog, which was done accordingly without hurting him, & as that could be got from the Blacks it was only ground for conjecture that Boates who is mad when he is drunk which frequently happens, in one of these fits had cruelly beat this Slave & that the fellow had probably heard some idle Stories of this Sort & had resolved to make Some experiment in order to Scare, not to hurt his Master, but not being able to come at the truth the fellows after they had been punished & admonished at Bates's desire were again this day at his request set at liberty & he pressed in Some measure has recovered before his Surfeit, if he troubles & M[...] his Neighbours with any more of these idle Fancies, wee will lodge him & Hellebore & furnish him with a dark room & Some clean Straw. | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 29 July 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. At the request of the surgeon Mr Brown, the council exchanged one of the Company's boys, named Chitt, valued at £5 0s 0d on account of his age, for Brown's black man Mingo, an able-bodied fellow worth £25 0s 0d. Mingo was taken into the Company's service and the boy handed over. The exchange carried a condition: should Brown ever sell him, the boy was to have the choice of three owners named to him, and if he disliked all three he was to be allowed to find a new master for himself. Brown's reason for the exchange was that he needed help in his business at once, and the boy was too young to be of use and not quick to learn what a surgeon requires. Joseph Bates, whom the council took for a credulous man, had lately told the Governor a story about a quarrel between two of his slaves. One of them reported that the other had buried a charm in the ground beneath the chair Bates usually sat in when he was in the country, meaning to harm him. The charm had been there, so the man said, about ten or eleven months. Bates recalled that his health had begun to fail at exactly that time, and had grown noticeably worse ever since the object was found. He was convinced the thing had been laid there to destroy him and that he was to die by inches, and he believed it had nearly killed him. One of his arms was already withered and he expected the leg on the same side to follow, though on examination that limb proved sound and in proportion to the other. Bates offered as proof a book by Captain Hamilton on his voyages, which carries a number of far-fetched accounts of charms, spells, potions and strange rituals. The poor man believed every word and had frightened himself out of his wits over it. On the day the charm came to light a sharp gust brought down the roof of his house, which he set down to the sheer power of the poison. The Governor set out to knock the notion out of the man's head. Members examined the blacks and ordered the substance to be given to a dog, which was done, and the animal took no hurt from it. On being pressed the slaves confessed there was nothing in it beyond a device to make mischief between the two of them. Quarrels of that kind were common enough, and in one of them Bates, being in drink, had beaten his slave, so the fellow had probably picked up such tales somewhere and set out to work on his master's fears. The intention was to frighten him rather than to injure him. Since the truth could not be reached any other way, the men were punished, then let go, and by evening they were back at Bates's house. The council warned that if he troubled his neighbours again with any such nonsense he would be locked in a cell with a pillow and clean straw. Interpretations An exchange of a boy worth £5 0s 0d for a man worth £25 0s 0d was no bargain for the surgeon, and the record explains why he accepted it: he wanted labour he could use immediately and had no wish to keep a child through years of training. The Company took the opposite view, since it carried slaves on its books as capital and had a standing shortage of grown men. John Durling's memorial of 4 June 1734 had put the whole establishment at 73 hands against 101 two years earlier, of whom eleven were superannuated or disabled, leaving 42 able men, and no general hire could be got at ninepence a day. Taking a man of twenty-five pounds' value for a boy of five was therefore a favourable transaction for the Company whichever way the ledger recorded it. The condition attached to Chitt is unusual and worth marking. A slave sold on ordinarily had no say whatever in who bought him, yet here the boy was to be offered a choice among three purchasers and, failing that, allowed to seek his own. The council imposed it because the boy had grown up in the Company's own household, and it had made comparable arrangements before, exchanging the boy Toney for a Company boy of like age on 17 December 1728 and placing girls with named inhabitants under registered bonds. The provision protected the Company's reputation among its own people at no cost to itself. Alexander Hamilton's account of his eastern voyages, published in 1727, was a popular travel narrative full of reports of sorcery and poisoning gathered around the Indian Ocean, and it circulated widely among men who had served in the trade. Bates had evidently read it and applied its stories to his own household. The council's response was practical rather than argumentative: it fed the substance to a dog and waited. Proof by demonstration was the only method likely to reach a man who had already convinced himself, and it also settled the question of whether an actual poison had been used, which mattered independently of what Bates believed. Both slaves were punished although the council had concluded the whole affair was invented. The reason is stated plainly: the truth could not be established otherwise. Testimony from slaves was inadmissible in any proceeding on the island, so the council had no means of testing conflicting accounts except through the lash, and no charge on which to convict either man once the poison was disproved. That the two were released the same evening and returned to Bates's house shows how far the punishment served as an instrument of interrogation rather than as a sentence. Bates has run through the council's business for years as a debtor to the estate of Don John de Mesa y Aniento, still owing most of the £246 19s 2.5d found against him on 28 August 1733, as the man fined forty days' labour on 19 November 1734 for denying his own signature, and most recently as the householder rebuked on 17 June 1735 for letting his wife play at cards with the company that produced Andrew Bergue's knife attack. The threat of a cell with a pillow and straw fits that history: the council was treating him as an exhausting nuisance rather than as a man deserving sympathy. Speculations The council could have taken the accusation at face value and hanged or maimed the accused slave, since an attempt to poison a master was among the gravest offences an island court recognised and the informer's story supplied a ready case. Instead the Governor tested the substance on an animal before anyone was tried. The reason lies in the detail that Bates had beaten the man while drunk: a slave with that grievance had every motive to invent, and an accusation resting on one slave's word against another's could not be tested by any evidence the court would admit. Feeding the charm to a dog converted an unanswerable question of testimony into a matter of observation, and it disposed of the case in an afternoon. |
18 | 10 | At a Consultation held on [...] Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the Month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follows viz[...] Gunners Stores Expended in July 1735 viz[...] 1735 Guns fired, D. Cannon, W. Culvig, D. Culvig, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder July 8th Hertford Princess Royal: Guns fired 0, D. Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D. Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 4 Middlesex & the Dutch Ship Sailed: Guns fired 37, D. Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D. Culvig 1, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 32, Powder 51 31 Exercise the Great Guns: Guns fired 8, D. Cannon 5, W. Culvig 2, D. Culvig 0, Sakers 1, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 94 Expence of the Guard: Guns fired 0, D. Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D. Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 36 To fill their Pouches: Guns fired 0, D. Cannon 0, W. Culvig 0, D. Culvig 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 48 Guns fired 45, D. Cannon 5, W. Culvig 2, D. Culvig 1, Sakers 1, Minion 4, Falcons 32, Powder 229 To fill their Pouches 4 Musquet Ball 50 Handspikes 4 Spunge Stroaks 24 Rammer Heads 34 Sheep Skins 6 Parchment Skins 3 Cattridge Paper 8 Quire Bills broke 6 Match 20[...] Expence of the Table in July 1735 viz[...] 819lb Beef 9 14 9 110 Pork 2 15 25 Pease 1 0 2 Sheep 2 10 9 Lambs 2 5 36 Fowles 2 14 6 Ducks 2 14 9 Gall Fatt 0 9 11 Gall Arrey 3 9 9 21 Gall Cape 4 5 3 52 Gall Arrack 4 16 5 Gall Coca oyle 4 12 4[...] Flour 16 3 130 Sugar 3 2 Pepper 2 5 2 Pumpkin Sack 2 3 Bread 10 13 9 48 5 0 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday [...] August 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered the accounts for the month past, which were examined in turn and approved. The gunner's account of stores spent in July 1735 sets out each firing with its date and occasion, the number of guns discharged, the classes of gun used and the powder consumed. The column headings are given on the leaf and have been carried down onto every figure. 28 July, departure of the Hertford and Princess Royal, 37 guns fired, 1 saker, 4 minions, 32 falcons, 51 lb of powder 31 July, departure of the Middlesex and the Dutch ship, 8 guns fired, 5 demi-cannon, 2 whole culverins, 1 saker, 94 lb of powder Exercising the great guns, 36 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 48 lb of powder Total, 45 guns fired, 5 demi-cannon, 2 whole culverins, 1 demi-culverin, 1 saker, 4 minions, 32 falcons, 229 lb of powder Filling their pouches, 4 Musket balls, 50 Handspikes, 4 Sponge staves, 24 Rammer heads, 34 Sheepskins, 6 Parchment skins, 3 Cartridge paper, 8 quire Bitts broken, 6 Match, 20 lb The steward's account of the fort table for July 1735 stands as follows. 819 lb of beef, £9 14s 9d 110 lb of pork, £2 15s 0d 25 lb of butter, £1 0s 0d 2 sheep, £2 10s 0d 9 lambs, £2 5s 0d 36 fowls, £2 14s 0d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d 9 gallons of port, £3 9s 9d 11 gallons of sherry, £4 5s 3d 21 gallons of Cape wine, £4 16s 0d 52 gallons of arrack, £11 12s 0d 5 gallons of Florence oil, £0 16s 3d 4 lb of flour, £3 0s 0d 130 lb of sugar, £2 5s 0d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 2 lb of pumpkin seed, £0 10s 0d 3 cwt of bread, £13 9s 0d Total, £48 5s 0d Interpretations Two heavy days of firing account for almost the whole month, and the contrast between them is instructive. The 37 guns of 28 July went off mostly as falcons, the lightest pieces on the line, at 51 lb of powder for a departure salute to two Company ships. Three days later a mere 8 guns consumed 94 lb, because five demi-cannon and two whole culverins were fired, the heaviest metal on the island. A demi-cannon takes several times the charge of a falcon, so a small number of guns can carry an enormous cost in powder. The council had held to the practice of saluting chiefly with falcons since 8 October 1734, when Governor Pyke substituted a general dinner for the coronation salute and reasoned that every grain of powder should be saved with a war expected, and the 31 July firing marks a deliberate departure from that thrift. The 48 lb charged to the guard is the highest such figure in this run and reflects the emergency of the previous month. A nightly guard boat had been set out from 30 June, and the men in her carried arms and match through every hour of darkness across a bay running from Munden's Point to Chapel Valley. Match burns continuously whether or not a shot is fired, which is why 20 lb of it went even in a month with only two firings. The consumable stores show unusually heavy wear on the pieces themselves. Twenty-four sponge staves and thirty-four rammer heads is a great deal of replacement for a month of two salutes, and the sheepskins are the material from which sponge heads were made. Six bitts broken points the same way, a bitt being part of the timber work of a gun carriage, and the council had already found on 28 May 1734 that the carriages of three demi-cannon and three whole culverins on the line were so cracked they would not bear firing. The exercise of the great guns, at 36 lb, is the second month running in which the heaviest pieces were fired for practice rather than for compliment, which suggests the gun crews were being brought into training deliberately. The table account carries three ships in the road for most of the month, and the drink bill reflects it. Fifty-two gallons of arrack at £11 12s 0d is the single largest line, and the wines run to 41 gallons across port, sherry and Cape. Arrack is the palm or rice spirit of the eastern trade, issued to the guards and the slaves as well as drunk at table; Cape wine came from the Dutch settlement and was the cheapest of the three at rather over four shillings the gallon, against nearly eight shillings for port. Florence oil is olive oil from Tuscany, used for dressing food rather than for lighting. At £48 5s 0d the month sits below the £58 4s 9d of January 1735 and the £68 13s 2d of the previous Christmas, though beef at 819 lb runs well above the 515 lb of January. The pumpkin seed is the clearest sign of the season: the island's winter falls between about May and September, and seed bought in July was for the planting then going into the ground. Bread at 3 cwt and £13 9s 0d marks the victualling of shipping, since the island baked for departing vessels and the charge vanishes entirely from the accounts in months when the road stands empty. |
19 | 11 | Account of the Hon[...] Companies Stock of Cattle &c[...] for the Month of July 1735 viz[...] Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Barrows, Shoats, Piggs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st July: Bullocks 4, Cows 112, Heifers 0, Steers 20, Yearlings 87, Calves 73, Bulls 7, Totall 303, Ewes 83, Wethers 2, Lambs 22, Rams 4, Totall 111, Sows 12, Barrows 8, Shoats 7, Piggs 52, Boares 2, Totall 81, Turkeys 18, Fowles 4, Ducks 9, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 9, Totall 13 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 7, Bulls 0, Totall 7, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 18, Rams 0, Totall 18, Sows 0, Barrows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 9, Boares 0, Totall 9, Turkeys 6, Fowles 90, Ducks 10, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Bullocks 4, Cows 12, Heifers 0, Steers 20, Yearlings 87, Calves 80, Bulls 7, Totall 310, Ewes 83, Wethers 2, Lambs 40, Rams 4, Totall 129, Sows 12, Barrows 8, Shoats 7, Piggs 61, Boares 2, Totall 90, Turkeys 24, Fowles 94, Ducks 19, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 1, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 2, Wethers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 11, Sows 0, Barrows 2, Shoats 5, Piggs 0, Boares 0, Totall 7, Turkeys 15, Fowles 20, Ducks 6, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Dead in ditto: Bullocks 4, Cows 12, Heifers 0, Steers 20, Yearlings 86, Calves 80, Bulls 7, Totall 309, Ewes 81, Wethers 2, Lambs 31, Rams 4, Totall 118, Sows 12, Barrows 6, Shoats 2, Piggs 61, Boares 2, Totall 83, Turkeys 24, Fowles 94, Ducks 13, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Rem[...] 30th July: Bullocks 4, Cows 12, Heifers 0, Steers 20, Yearlings 86, Calves 80, Bulls 7, Totall 309, Ewes 81, Wethers 2, Lambs 31, Rams 4, Totall 118, Sows 12, Barrows 6, Shoats 2, Piggs 61, Boares 2, Totall 83, Turkeys 9, Fowles 15, Ducks 13, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 14500[...] | The Company's account of stock for July 1735 runs as follows, each movement row set out with every class of animal named against its figure. Remaining 1 July, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 87 yearlings, 73 calves, 7 bulls, 303 neat cattle in all, 83 ewes, 2 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 111 sheep in all, 12 sows, 8 barrows, 7 shoats, 52 pigs, 2 boars, 81 hogs in all, 18 turkeys, 4 fowls, 9 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 9 mares, 13 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 heifers, 0 yearlings, 7 calves, 0 bulls, 7 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 18 lambs, 0 rams, 18 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 barrows, 0 shoats, 9 pigs, 0 boars, 9 hogs in all, 6 turkeys, 90 fowls, 10 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 1 mare, 1 horse and mare in all Total before deductions, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 87 yearlings, 80 calves, 7 bulls, 310 neat cattle in all, 83 ewes, 2 wethers, 40 lambs, 4 rams, 129 sheep in all, 12 sows, 8 barrows, 7 shoats, 61 pigs, 2 boars, 90 hogs in all, 24 turkeys, 94 fowls, 19 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 heifers, 1 yearling, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 1 neat cattle in all, 2 ewes, 0 wethers, 9 lambs, 0 rams, 11 sheep in all, 0 sows, 2 barrows, 5 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 7 hogs in all, 15 turkeys, 79 fowls, 6 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Dead in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 heifers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 barrows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 30 July, 4 bullocks, 12 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 86 yearlings, 80 calves, 7 bulls, 309 neat cattle in all, 81 ewes, 2 wethers, 31 lambs, 4 rams, 118 sheep in all, 12 sows, 6 barrows, 2 shoats, 61 pigs, 2 boars, 83 hogs in all, 9 turkeys, 15 fowls, 13 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 14,500 lb Interpretations The herd has fallen a long way. Neat cattle closed the month at 309 against 525 at the end of December 1733 and 365 at the end of January 1735, a loss of more than two fifths across nineteen months. The drought that stopped the calving through most of 1734 has evidently broken, since seven calves were born in July and eighty stood on the books at the month's end, but the breeding stock itself has been cut down by the killing and by the heavy sales to shipping recorded across the winter. Only one beast was killed in the whole of July and none was sold at all, which fits the pattern of the run: cattle went to the shipping in the months when Indiamen lay in the road, and no vessel bought here despite four ships passing through, so the beef went to the fort table alone. Nothing whatever died during the month, which is the most striking entry in the account. The stock tables through 1734 and into 1735 name dry weather, falls from the dry hillsides and swellings under the throat as causes of death almost every month, four or five beasts having been lost to the last of these in December 1734. A clean sheet across every class of animal marks the return of grass and water to the pastures in the island's winter. Poultry moves on a scale nothing else does, and the figures make the reason plain. Ninety fowls hatched during the month and seventy-nine were killed, so the flock turned over almost entirely in four weeks and closed at fifteen. The fort table for July carried thirty-six fowls and six ducks, with three ships in the road being entertained ashore, and the remainder went the same way. Turkeys fell from twenty-four to nine on fifteen killed. A bird can be raised from the egg in a few months where a bullock takes years, which is why the poultry yard absorbed the demand of the shipping season while the cattle were spared. Yams at 14,500 lb are charged to the plantations alone, and the figure is very low against the monthly issues of the previous year, which ran from 22,300 lb in May 1734 to 51,900 lb in December. The July return names only the plantations' own consumption, the hogs and poultry being fed from it, so the share delivered to the slaves does not appear on this leaf. The island's winter planting was then going into the ground, which is also why the steward bought pumpkin seed in the same month. Sheep continue to hold up where cattle have not, closing at 118 against 151 in January 1735 on eighteen lambs born and eleven head killed. A flock grazes closer than cattle and needs far less water, so the drought bore on it much more lightly, and the same divergence appears through the whole of the 1734 run. |
20 | 12 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12th Aug[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Ebbr Leech was presented & read Setting forth that he is in possession of Twenty three Acres of Leaphold Land, but having nine a black to help manure the Same & must of his own time being being taken up upon Guard & the Pasture lying so very Steep that he has Sometimes lost three Cows in a Week, & for these reasons he desired leave to assign the Same to Jeorry Multon Granted At a Consultation held on Tuesday 19th Aug[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On Fryday last the following Information was given & Examination taken before the Governour viz[...] Mr Jonathan Douston made Complaint that about a Month ago he missed great Quantities of Yams out of his Plantation, & having just Cause to Suspect John Long he desired his two Sons to Watch in the Night & they accordingly did so & last Night they catched John Longs Man Toney about to carry away a bag of Yams but as he was going to take them up, they being ready put up in the Bag, they apprehended him & Mr Samuel Douston was going to Strike him but the fellow cryed out pray dont beat me & I am not to blame my Master ordered me to fetch them & has agreed with your Fathers fellow Traves to have a bag of Yams every Night Jona[...] Douston Sam[...] Douston Sworn before me this 15th day of Aug[...] 1735 Is[...] Pyke Toney a Slave belonging to John Long being last Night apprehended as he was going to fetch Yams out of the Plantation of Mr Jonathan Douston was Examined & when he came to do so & Said that when the China Ships were here & which was in Aprill last, his Master ordered him to go to Mr Douston's Plan- Saying he has got Yams ready for you take a bag & fetch them Replyed, the Oath's give the name, Traves gives them me & you must Sent to Governour made & Enquirer he would not go this Master then go fetch them & that by his Masters Orders who gave him Strict Charge to go always in the Night time when it was dark & not in the day time he has fetched Yams every Night Since, Sunday Night | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 12 August 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Eben Leech petitioned the council. He held twenty-three acres of leasehold and had given a slave to help manure it, along with much of his own time, but guard duty took him away and the pasture lay so steep that he had sometimes lost three cows in a single week. He asked leave to assign the land to Henry Multon, which the council granted. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 19 August 1735, the same four members attending, and approved the record of the previous meeting. Information had been laid before the Governor on the previous Friday and examinations taken. Jonathan Doveton complained that about a month earlier he had begun losing yams from his plantation in large quantities. Suspecting John Long, he set his two sons to keep watch at night. They caught Long's slave Toney as he was carrying off a bag of yams, having just dug them up and put them into the bag. When they seized him, Samuel Doveton moved to strike him, but the man called out and begged not to be beaten, saying the fault was not his. He explained that his master had sent him, and that Long had made a bargain with the Dovetons' own slave Traven for a bag of yams every night. The complaint was sworn before the Governor on 15 August 1735 by Jonathan Doveton and Samuel Doveton. Toney was examined the same day. He stated that when the China ships lay in the road the previous April his master ordered him to go to Jonathan Doveton's plantation, telling him that Traven had yams ready and that he was to take a bag and pay for them later. He refused at first, and Long then swore at him and threatened him. He answered that he would not go, and his master told him he must, since those were his orders. Long charged him strictly to go always after dark and never by day, and he had fetched yams every night since. On the Sunday night [...] Interpretations Steep ground killed cattle regularly on St Helena, and Leech's loss of three cows in a week is a scale of attrition that made a holding worthless to a man who could not watch it. The council's own stock accounts name falls as a cause of death month after month, seven beasts having been lost that way between November 1733 and January 1734. Militia duty compounded the problem: every able man owed time on guard, and an inhabitant standing watch at the fort or at Munden's could not be on his own ground. The assignment let the land pass to someone able to work it while the Company kept a tenant on the rent roll, which is why such petitions were routinely granted. Yams were the currency of theft on the island because they were the currency of subsistence. The Company's own establishment was fed principally on them, and a planter's standing crop was valued in the inventories by the thousand, graded from fifteen shillings down to three according to age. A bag taken nightly over four months amounts to a substantial transfer of one man's provision ground into another's store, and it explains why Doveton set a watch rather than complaining at once: he needed the thief taken with the goods. The arrangement described is not simple theft but a purchase between master and slave across a boundary neither had any right to cross. Long dealt with Traven, another man's slave, agreeing a nightly bag and payment to follow, and sent his own man Toney to collect. Nothing in that chain could be proved by any evidence a court on the island would admit, since the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant. That is the difficulty which had protected Long through a decade of proceedings, and it was broken only in 1733 when a free man, George Knight, swore against him on 1 May and when his own sons informed against him in June and September of that year. Toney's account carries its own defence and the council took it down in that form. He was ordered to go, he refused, he was threatened and sworn at, and he went because a slave who disobeys is whipped. The same reasoning had been accepted before, when Anthony was spared the lash on 18 September 1733 as a man bound to obey his master's unlawful order and set to labour at the Company's works instead. Long himself was whipped publicly on that occasion under an English statute against the theft of crops, which allowed summary conviction of a free planter without a jury, and he was told any further offence would see him treated as a common negro. The instruction to go only in darkness is the detail that establishes Long knew the business was unlawful. He has stood bound since 19 June 1733 under sureties of twenty pounds each from Francis Wrangham and Charles Steward to sail for Bencoolen, and remained on the island only because no store ship came to carry him. |
21 | 13 | excepted which he should have done as well on that Nights as others but the fellow Moses would not dig them & bring them on Sundays, & bringing away Sixty or Seventy pounds at a time, & that in consideration hereof, he hath given his Master at times give the Said Moses Rice, & Sugar, & Tea & that his Master also gave the Said Moses at his own house a pair of Cloth Breeches which he this to a minant ever often seen his Master wear, & in Testimony of the Truth hath hereunto made his Mark this 15th day of August 1735 the X Mark Toney Confest before me this 15th of Aug[...] 1735 Isa[...] Pyke Moses a Slave belonging to M[...] Jon Doveton having Stolen & privately disposed of considerable Quantities of his Masters Yams to John Long was asked how he came to do So, he Sayth that when the China Ships were here John Long Stopt him near his Masters old milking Cowrie & Said to him Moses you must now & then give me a few Yams, to which this Examinant replyed no I cant for if it comes to be known I shall be punished to which Long Answered you need not mind that I will Make Good all Damage & that upon this he let him have Some this Man Toney has Constantly every Night Since allways [...] in the dark fetched away Yams out of his Master Dovetons Plantation Sunday Nights excepted which he would have done then as well as at other times but this Examinant would not dig them on Sundays that the fellow Toney used to carry away Sixty or Seventy pounds at a time & for these Stealing & disposing of his Masters Goods the Said Long hath at times given him Severall Small parcells of Rice Tea & Sugar, a little Coffee & a pair of Cloth Breeches, the Coffee he gave him yesterday coming near the Place where this Examinant was at Work under Pretence of Enquiring after his hogs & in Testimoney of the Truth he hath hereunto Set this Mark this 15th day of Aug[...] 1735 the X Mark Moses Confest before me this 15th of Aug[...] 1735 Isa[...] Pyke Nath: Sample being this day Examined whether he See Jn[...] Long talking to one of M[...] Dovetons fellows in the Plantation on Thursday the 14th instant & Sayth that he did See John Long this John Sames being with him for the day aforesaid talking with M[...] Dovetons blacks in the Plantation, but was not near enough to hear what past. This Man Long for his ill behaviour having committed many Rapes & Robberies was Sent to Bencoolen upon the Lyzle but found means to return hither again, & Since his Arribac which is now five Months ago he has not done one Single days Work in order to maintain his Family but has Strolled about the Country after his former usuall manner with his Gun this day Eluded upon Plunder, & therefore as M[...] Dovetons & the desire of the whole Country that an end may be put to his ill Courses, & as this Request is very reasonable wee as the most likely way to reclaim him determine to make him Work at the Fortifications at the usuall Rate of 9[...] a day & if he Runs away wee will order that he shall Work in Irons & be locked up every Night, & if this method of Punishment should at first Sight seem harsh, yet, however unwilling wee are to do any thing that has so much the Appearance of Severity its absolutely necessary to put a Stop to his Robberies since we are resolved that he shall not any longer live upon the Spoiles of his honest industrious Neighbours & without regard to the Laws which he | Toney went on Sundays as on any other night, though Moses would not dig the yams then. Moses brought out sixty or seventy pounds at a time, and for his part in it Long gave him rice, sugar and tea. Long also handed him a pair of cloth breeches at his own house, which Moses often wore afterwards. Toney set his mark to the statement on 15 August 1735, confessed before the Governor. Moses, a slave of Jonathan Doveton, had been quietly passing large quantities of his master's yams to John Long. Asked how the business began, he said that when the China ships lay in the road Long stopped him near his master's milking ground and told him to bring a few yams from time to time. He answered that he dared not, since the theft would come out and he would be punished for it. Long assured him that nothing would be discovered and that no great harm was done, and on that footing Moses began supplying him. Toney came every night and always in the dark to carry away yams from Doveton's plantation. He came on Sunday nights as readily as on others, though Moses would not dig for him then. Moses could not say what quantity Toney carried off, but he himself dug out sixty or seventy pounds at a time. Long paid him with small parcels of rice, tea and sugar, a little coffee and the pair of cloth breeches. The coffee had come only the day before, brought to him near the place where he was at work under pretence of asking after his wages. He set his mark to the statement on 15 August 1735, confessed before the Governor. Nathaniel Sample was examined the same day about whether he had seen John Long speaking to one of Doveton's men on the plantation on Thursday 14 August. He said that he had, and that his son Somes was with him at the time, but that they stood too far off to catch anything of what passed. The council held that Long had been sent to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell for his conduct on many earlier occasions, and had found means to return. In the five months since, he had not done a single day's work to keep his family, but had ranged about the country with his gun in his old manner, plundering. The council resolved to put him back into custody. Setting him to labour at the fortifications at the standing rate of ninepence a day seemed the most probable way of reforming him, and it ordered that he be worked in irons if he ran, and locked up every night should that first course prove insufficient. Members were unwilling to do anything that so much as looked like severity, but nothing short of it would stop his robberies. He had lived a great while upon the plunder of his neighbours, without regard to his own family in distress. Interpretations Sixty or seventy pounds of yams dug in a single night, taken nightly since April, amounts to several tons across the season. That is not pilfering for the pot but a supply line, and it explains why Long could live without work: he was feeding his household on another man's provision ground and had been doing so for four months. Yams were the island's staple, issued by weight to the Company's own establishment and valued in probate inventories by the thousand, so a standing crop was the nearest thing a planter had to a bank. Long paid in the goods a slave could not otherwise obtain. Rice, sugar, tea and coffee came into the island only through the Company's stores or the shipping, and a pair of cloth breeches was clothing well above the kersey and gingham issued to slaves under the annual charge. Moses wore them openly afterwards, which is the sort of visible change that ordinarily exposes such a trade, and the coffee was delivered in the field under cover of a conversation about wages. The arrangement worked because both parties had something the other could not get: Long wanted food without labour, and Moses wanted goods a slave was never given. Neither slave could be used against Long in any court on the island, since the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant. That rule had defeated every proceeding brought against him across a decade, and it is why the council reached instead for Nathaniel Sample, a free man, who could say only that he saw Long talking to one of Doveton's men from a distance. The council therefore proceeded by administrative order rather than by trial, which required no evidence at all. Transportation to Bencoolen had failed as a remedy. Long stood bound from 19 June 1733 under sureties of twenty pounds each from Francis Wrangham and Charles Steward to sail by the next store ship, and the Lyell carried him off in 1734; his return within a year shows how little the sanction was worth once a man could work his passage back. He had already been whipped publicly on 18 September 1733, set in the stocks on 19 February 1734, bound over repeatedly and had his dogs shot. Labour at the fortifications was the one penalty not yet tried on him. Ninepence a day was the standing rate the council paid for hired slaves, and its advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six of them at that price had drawn not a single offer. Putting a free planter to the same work at the same rate answered two problems at once, since the fortifications at Rupert's and Turk's Cap had been short of hands throughout the previous year and the council had come to fill them by sentence rather than by hire. The threat of irons and nightly confinement escalated the terms applied to convicted runaway slaves, which is the comparison the record itself half acknowledges in its uneasiness about the appearance of severity. Speculations The council could have prosecuted Long at the next court, as it had in September 1733 when it obtained a warrant under an English statute against the theft of crops and had him whipped on summary conviction. It chose instead to imprison him and put him to paid labour at the fortifications, a penalty carrying no trial and no verdict. The reason sits in the evidence it held: two slave confessions worth nothing in law, and one free witness who saw a conversation from too far away to hear it. A prosecution on that footing would probably have failed and would have left Long at liberty with his acquittal to show. Turning the matter into an order about a man's employment let the council reach conduct it could describe but could not prove, and it filled a place on the works that ninepence a day had never once filled by offer. |
22 | 14 | he yesterday Sent the Governour in which he proposes to Sell all he has & to carry his Wife & Children who follow his Example in all Sorts of Wickednesse from hence to India wee will reform him if wee can by the means beforementioned for wee are Sensible that Such a fellow as this who wee fear nothing can effectually Cure but the Gallowes, will not be any where acceptable, & if abroad be much more likely to turn Pirate than do any thing that is good or commendable. At a Consultation held on Tuesday 26th Aug[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Mr Richard Goodwin one of the Executors of Mary Powell dec[...] & also Sole Executor of Martha Frageces deceased presented the Said Wills desiring they might be proved but not producing any Inventory of either Estate he was told it was irregular & Probate was therefore deferred till he had compleated the Said Inventories. On Tuesday last wee determined that John Long for his Crimes should work at the Fortifications at 9d a day & to day wee fixed the time viz[...] not less than Six Months & to be locked up every night in Prison to prevent his Plundering his Neighbours which he hath often done Simply & hath taught & encouraged his Children to do so too & hath actually carried Some of them along with him to Steale & Pilfer in Severall Parts of the Country & by teaching this wicked ill Life hath totally neglected making any honest Provision for his Family. The Said Long hath also employed & often forced his black fellow Toney to rob his Neighbours & the Hon[...] Company & was lately concerned in Robing the Church wee therefore, that he might have no more Opportunities to do mischief, appointed him to Work at the Fortifications for his Diet & Clothing | Long had sent the Governor a paper the day before, in which he offered to take his wife and children away to India, and they had followed his example in every kind of misconduct. The council resolved to try the measures already settled on and see whether he could be brought to order. Members were satisfied that nothing short of the gallows would answer with a man of his stamp. He would be no more welcome anywhere else, and sent abroad he seemed far more likely to turn pirate than to make anything of himself. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 26 August 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Richard Goodwin, one of the executors of Mary Coen and sole executor of Martha Frances, brought in both wills and asked that they be proved. He produced no inventory of either estate, so probate could not regularly be granted, and the matter stood over until he completed the two inventories. Members recalled their decision of the previous Tuesday that John Long should work at the fortifications at ninepence a day for his offences, for a term of not less than six months, and be locked up in prison each night to stop him robbing his neighbours. He had frequently taught and encouraged his children to do the same, and had taken some of them with him to steal in various parts of the country. Following that example, they had entirely neglected to earn any honest provision for the family. Long had also used his black man Toney to rob the neighbours, and the man had lately been involved in a theft from the church. To leave him no further opportunity for mischief, the council ordered Toney to work at the fortifications for his food and clothing. Interpretations Deportation had already failed once, and the council's reasoning here explains why it refused Long's own offer to leave. He had gone to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 and found his way back within a year, so a voluntary removal to India carried no guarantee at all. The wider objection is the more revealing: a man of his habits set loose in the East would burden whatever settlement received him, and the council held that a practised thief with a boat and no prospects tended towards piracy. St Helena had reason to know it, since seamen from the shipping had planned to seize the Portuguese vessel in June, and Rowe had defended his talk at the punch house on 5 July by saying he meant to keep the men from that disgrace. The threat of the gallows is a statement about the limits of what the council could do rather than a proposal. Long's crimes were thefts of crops and stock, none of them capital, and every proceeding against him for a decade had foundered because the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant. Members were saying that the only penalty certain to stop him was one the law would not give them, which is why they fell back on six months of paid labour and nightly confinement. Toney's sentence differs from his master's in a way that shows exactly how the two men stood. Long was to receive ninepence a day, the standing rate the council paid for hired slave labour and one it had failed to fill by advertisement on 11 June 1734. Toney was to have food and clothing and nothing else. Both worked at the same fortifications on the same terms of confinement, and the distinction between wages and maintenance is the whole difference between a free planter under punishment and a slave transferred to another master's use. A will could not be proved without an inventory because probate transferred authority over an estate, and the court needed to know what that estate contained before granting it. The requirement protected creditors, who would otherwise have no means of knowing what assets existed, and it protected minor children whose portions were held in trust. Richard Goodwin's difficulty was procedural rather than contested, and the council had refused the executors of Edmund Nicholls on the same ground on 5 March 1734, holding an inventory incomplete when twenty bullocks the dead man had boasted of appeared nowhere in it. Mary Coen and Martha Frances both belong to families long recorded in the council's business. Mary Coen, a widow, presented the account of Joseph Hayse's estate with Charles Steward on 11 November 1729, and Martha Frances was the ward whose share in her grandfather Henry Francis's estate was litigated at the general court of 25 September 1729, when the jury found for the executors after reading the original will. She was reported dangerously ill and died in the sickness that ran through the island at the beginning of January 1735. |
23 | 15 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 2d Sept[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander, absent. John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Joseph Bates was Summond to attend this day, & to pay the remainder of the Money due upon his Bond to the heirs of the Spaniard deceased which, besides Severall valuable Effects r[...] in the Custody of the Said Estate amounts to £221.19.1½ & being called on & his money demanded he pretended he knew nothing of any such Bond & Said he owed only £2 - I wee might Rest in his Accounts upon which the Governour told him that he had paid £[...] in part in November last, to this Bates replyed that he owed only £[...] that he had a Wife & Severall Children & as for himself he did'nt care what became of him, he had no money to pay, & talked in a very rude impudent manner & appeared to be very drunk & seeing us this in open Defiance wee ordered a Capias against him to be taken into Custody for the Debt. Cap[...] Goodwin the Store Keeper having employed great part of his time about the Fortifications could not till this deliver his Account of Store Goods Sold & delivered in the Months of February March Aprill May & June last Collection of Store Goods Sold & delivered in the Months of February & March 1734 viz[...] 33 Gallons Arrack 8 12 27..2..14 Bread 34 10 7½ 19..1..5 Flour 24 2 7½ 58 13 13 81 Yards Bunting 8 9 3 7½ Yards Broad Cloth @ 18/6 6 18 9 51½ ditto 22/ 65 9 67 Yards amounting to 72 7 9 42 Ells Canvas is 2 9 34 p[...] China Chints 20/ 34 3 p[...] Madrass ditto 21/3 3 3 9 412 Yards drugt Sorted 79 15 6 37 3 9 93 ditto Culchram 18 5 9 6 84 16 6 174 p[...] Duroy 47/4 40 16 6 Totall Sold 309 14 8 Charges Generall viz[...] 84 Candles 8 8 20 Soap 1 1 8 6 Squares Glass 6 by 8 4 6 8 ditto 8 by 10 8 1 p[...] Scissars 8 2 White Lead 1 1 Gallon Linseed Oyle 7 6 2 Whited Brown Thread 13 6 2 oz Nunns 2 6 ½ Coloured 2 1 p[...] Holland Tape 1 4 12 p[...] Carnation 8 1½ oz Silk 2 9 2 Mops 4 Carried over £ 12 4 5 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 2 September 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. John Alexander was absent. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Joseph Bates was summoned to attend and to pay the balance of his bond to the heirs of the dead Spaniard, which stood at £221 19s 2.5d over and above the valuable articles held in the Governor's custody. Called on for the money, he claimed to know nothing of any such bond and said he owed only £2 0s 0d. His books were produced against him, and he then admitted a debt of £15 0s 0d, of which he insisted he had paid £5 0s 0d in the previous November. The Governor told him he owed £15 0s 0d and no more, and Bates answered that he had a wife and several children and could not say for himself what would become of them. He had no money to pay, spoke in a very coarse and insolent manner, and appeared thoroughly drunk. Seeing him openly defiant, the council issued a warrant against him and took him into custody for the debt. Captain Goodwin, the storekeeper, had been much taken up with the building of the fortifications and had not delivered his accounts of store goods sold and issued for the months of February, March, April, May and June. The collection of store goods sold and delivered in February and March 1735 is as follows. 33 gallons of arrack, £8 12s 0d 27 cwt 2 qr 14 lb of bread at 34s 10.75d the hundredweight, £58 10s 10d 19 cwt 1 qr 5 lb of flour at 24s 2.75d the hundredweight 81 yards of bunting, £3 9s 3d 7.5 yards of broad cloth at 18s 6d the yard, £6 18s 9d 51.5 yards of broad cloth at 22s 1d the yard, £65 9s 0d 67 yards of broad cloth, £72 7s 9d 42 ells of canvas at 1s the ell, £2 2s 0d 34 pieces of China chintz at 20s the piece, £34 0s 0d 3 pieces of Madras chintz at 21s 3d the piece, £3 3s 9d 412 yards of drugget socked at 3s 10d the yard, £79 15s 6d 73 yards of buckram at 1s 6d the yard, £5 9s 6d Chintz, drugget and buckram together, £37 3s 9d 174 yards of duroy at 4s 7.5d the yard, £40 16s 6d Total of store goods sold, £309 14s 8d The charges general are as follows. 84 lb of candles, £8 8s 0d 20 lb of soap, £1 1s 8d 6 squares of glass, 6 by 8, £0 4s 6d 8 squares of glass, 8 by 10, £0 8s 0d 1 lb of sugar candy, £0 0s 8d 2 lb of white lead, £0 1s 0d 1 gallon of linseed oil, £0 7s 0d 2 lb of white brown thread, £0 13s 6d 2 oz of nuns thread, £0 2s 6d 0.5 lb of coloured thread, £0 2s 0d 1 piece of Holland tape, £0 1s 4d 12 pieces of carnation tape, £0 8s 0d 1.5 oz of silk, £0 0s 9d 2 mops, £0 4s 0d Carried over, £12 4s 5d Interpretations Bates's arithmetic collapses in stages under questioning, and the sequence is the point. He began by denying the bond existed, moved to £2 0s 0d once his own books were laid before him, then conceded £15 0s 0d with £5 0s 0d already paid. The real figure was £221 19s 2.5d, the residue of the £246 19s 2.5d found against him by Alexander, Goodwin and Crisp on 28 August 1733 after they reduced his claim against the Mesa estate to an account current. He had paid £25 0s 0d on 11 June 1734 and a second £25 0s 0d on 31 October 1734, which is the £5 0s 0d he half remembered. Arrest for debt was the standard remedy and had been used against William Slaughter on Mr Crisp's motion in November 1728: imprisonment applied pressure to a debtor's family and friends rather than punishing the debt itself, since a man in gaol earned nothing. The storekeeper's accounts being seven months in arrears measures how completely the fortifications had absorbed the island's administration. Work at Rupert's and Turk's Cap had run since the summer of 1734, hands were unobtainable at ninepence a day, and Captain Goodwin held the storekeeping and the surveying offices together with the oversight of the building. The textiles dominate this collection and are worth distinguishing. Broad cloth is a fine dense woollen, heavily fulled and shorn, the material of a respectable coat, and at 22s 1d the yard it is by far the most expensive line here. Drugget is a coarse wool or wool-and-linen stuff for working clothes; duroy a stout worsted of the west country; buckram a coarse linen stiffened with size, bought to shape collars, cuffs and skirts rather than worn on its own. China and Madras chintzes are printed or painted Indian cottons, the Madras kind slightly dearer. Bunting is the loose worsted from which flags were made, and 81 yards of it answers Captain Goodwin's report of 31 July 1733 that every flag on the island was worn out but one and no white bunting remained in store. Holland tape is a narrow Dutch linen binding and carnation tape a coloured one, both used for ties and edgings, while nuns thread is a fine white sewing thread. Bread at £58 10s 10d for more than 27 hundredweight is the clearest marker of shipping in the road, since the island baked for departing vessels and the charge disappears entirely from these accounts in months when the anchorage stands empty. February 1735 carried four Indiamen for seventeen days, and the flour beside it went the same way. The charges general are the running costs of the establishment rather than goods for sale: candles for the guard rooms and offices, soap, window glass in two sizes, white lead and linseed oil for paint, thread, tape and silk for the tailor, and two mops. Glass mattered on an exposed island where a broken pane admitted the weather, and the record notes on 1 October 1734 that a gale had brought down the castle staircases and a hundred yards of the garden wall. |
24 | 16 | Brought over £ 309 14 8 Charges General Brought over 12 4 5 1 Ivory Comb 1 6 1 buckling ditto 1 4 6 Ells Fittory 7 2 Stock Locks 18 1 Packthread 1 9 1 Twine 2 2 13 16 2 Fortifications viz[...] 40 Nailes 1 12 10 6 Shod Shovels 18 6 Iron ditto 18 6 Helves 7 3 15 10 Blacks viz[...] 4 p[...] Shoes 1 6 3 Blankets 1 10 1 p[...] Dosetts 9 10½ Lead 2 10 18 Lines 16 3 doz Hooks 10 6 8 Wooden Bowles 4 8 1 Rope 2 5 7 4 Plantation viz[...] ½ Shoe Thread 1 3 6 Aule Blades 1 6 Ells Fittory 2 4 1 Yard Ticking 2 3 13 Rice 6 10 23 Paddy 8 1 14 17 10 Garrison 8½ Gall Rape Oyle 1 18 3 17 Cattee Tea 4 5 24 Yards Bunting 1 5 2 Stock Locks 1 12 1 Barril Tar 1 6 1 Line 2 8 10 8 11 Diet Expences viz[...] 128 Gall Arrack 25 12 3..6 Sugar 4 5 6 4 Tea 1 2 Pepper 2 76 Gall Cape Wine 15 4 7..10 Flour 8 17 6 3 Gall: Florence Oyle 1 19 2 Gall Vinegar 5 57 5 £ 417 5 | The remainder of the collection for February and March 1735 continues as follows. Store goods sold, brought over, £309 14s 8d Charges general, brought over, £12 4s 5d 1 ivory comb, £0 1s 6d 1 buckling comb, £0 1s 4d 6 ells of dowlas, £0 7s 0d 2 stock locks, £0 18s 0d 1 lb of pack thread, £0 1s 9d 1 lb of twine, £0 2s 2d Charges general in all, £13 16s 2d The charges to the fortifications are as follows. 40 lb of nails, £1 12s 10d 6 shod shovels, £0 18s 0d 6 iron shovels, £0 18s 0d 6 helves, £0 7s 0d Fortifications in all, £3 15s 10d The charges to the blacks are as follows. 4 pairs of shoes, £1 6s 0d 3 blankets, £1 10s 0d 1 piece of dosuties, £0 9s 0d 10.5 lb of lead, £0 2s 10d 18 fishing lines, £0 16s 0d 3 dozen hooks, £0 10s 6d 8 wooden bowls, £0 4s 8d 1 coil of rope, £2 5s 0d Blacks in all, £7 4s 0d The charges to the plantation are as follows. 0.5 lb of shoe thread, £0 1s 3d 6 awl blades, £0 1s 0d 6 ells of fittory, £0 2s 4d 1 yard of ticking, £0 2s 3d 13 cwt of rice, £6 10s 0d 23 cwt of paddy, £8 1s 0d Plantation in all, £14 17s 10d The charges to the garrison are as follows. 8.5 gallons of rape oil, £1 18s 3d 17 catties of tea, £4 5s 0d 24 yards of bunting, £1 5s 0d 2 stock locks, £1 12s 0d 1 barrel of tar, £1 6s 0d 1 fishing line, £0 2s 8d Garrison in all, £10 8s 11d The diet expenses are as follows. 128 gallons of arrack, £25 12s 0d 3 cwt 0 qr 6 lb of sugar, £4 5s 6d 4 lb of tea, £1 0s 0d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 76 gallons of Cape wine, £15 4s 0d 7 cwt 0 qr 10 lb of flour, £8 17s 6d 3 gallons of Florence oil, £1 19s 0d 2 gallons of vinegar, £0 5s 0d Diet expenses in all, £57 5s 0d Grand total, £417 5s 0d Interpretations The account divides the Company's spending by the purpose it served, and the proportions tell the story of the establishment. Diet expenses at £57 5s 0d run to more than the plantation, the garrison, the fortifications and the slaves put together. Arrack alone at £25 12s 0d is nearly half of that, and the same spirit appears again under the blacks and the garrison headings, since it was issued to the guards through wet weather and to labouring slaves as an allowance rather than drunk only at the fort table. Thirteen hundredweight of rice and twenty-three of paddy charged to the plantation measure how far the island was still feeding itself from imported grain. Paddy is rice in the husk, bought cheaper than the milled grain and used for the hogs and poultry, while the cleaned rice went to the people. The yam issue for July 1735 stood at only 14,500 lb to the plantations, and the council had told three homeward commanders on 19 December 1734 that the rains had failed three seasons past and the ground that once produced potatoes in great plenty would yield very little. The charges to the blacks are the entire outfit of the Company's fishery in miniature: eighteen lines, three dozen hooks, ten and a half pounds of lead for sinkers and a coil of rope worth more than everything else on the list. That establishment dates from 1 March 1727, when Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with fish and set eleven men constantly in the boats, and it had been badly hit by the loss of the chief fisherman Corryden on the Rupert's path on 20 July 1734 and of the long boat at Sandy Bay that September. Dosuties are plain coarse Bengal cottons, made up into the annual clothing issue along with the kersey and the blankets. Four pairs of shoes and three blankets for the whole slave establishment is a very small charge, which locates this collection outside the autumn clothing account that fell each September and ran to hundreds of yards of cloth at a time. Fortification spending of £3 15s 10d across two months is almost nothing, and it consists entirely of hand tools. Six shod shovels are wooden shovels with an iron edge fitted, six iron ones are solid, and a helve is the wooden handle for an axe or a pick. The works at Rupert's and Turk's Cap were being built by the labour of the inhabitants and by men under sentence rather than by purchased materials, the vestry having agreed on 21 July 1734 that the country would find the hands while the Company found guns and carriages. Stock locks are heavy iron rim locks mounted on a wooden stock and screwed to the face of a door, the standard fastening for a storehouse or magazine. That two went to the garrison and two more to the general charge, at rather more than eight shillings each, reflects the council's anxiety over theft from locked buildings: the slave Dawson was found on 1 October 1734 to have forced a lock at the gunner's house by levering the hasp through the plate. Tea appears twice and in two different reckonings. Seventeen catties went to the garrison, a catty being the Chinese weight of about a pound and a third used throughout the China trade, while the fort table took four pounds. Tea reached the island only in the China ships, and by this date it was being issued to soldiers as a matter of course, which was some way ahead of ordinary practice in England, where it remained an expensive article in most households. |
25 | 17 | Collection of Store Goods Sold & Delivered in the Months of Aprill May June 1735 viz[...] 165 Gallons Arrack 6[...] 49 10 105 Felt Hatts 3/10 20 2 6 20 Boys ditto 10[...] 10 28 Men ditto 14[...] 19 12 1 ditto Laced 1 13 1 ditto 1 6 52 13 6 80 dozen Lines 38 4 4 Haberdasheryware as p[...] Journ[...] p[...] folio (52) 65 8 4 193 p[...] Mens Hose Sorted 65 12 2 101 p[...] ditto Blue @ 2/2 10 18 10 4 p[...] Soldiers 6 4 87 p[...] Womens 19 11 6 92 p[...] Youths 14 10 2 2 p[...] Girles 7 111 6 14 Iron Kettles 27 7 2 42 Yards Kersey 3 13 11¼ 500 Nailes 20 6 4 11 Gallons Florence Oyle 7 3 67⅛ Gall Linseed 23 9 10½ 124⅞ Gall Rape 28 1 11¼ 58 14 9¾ 93 Porringers 5 16 3 24 Plates 2 14 1 Dish 9 9 Dozen Spoons 2 6 10 Chamberpots 3 10 2 Tankards 9 3 Basons 13 1 Quart Pot 5 1 Bed Pan 8 4 7 Setts Toys 1 11 6 17 16 7 500 Ells Fittory 29 3 4 1 p[...] Coloured Fustain 3 55 Yards White ditto 4 9 10 1250 Yards Shalloon 125 132 9 10 Totall Sold 606 14 9 Charges Generall viz[...] 182 Candles 18 4 40 Soap 2 3 4 3 Cotten Yarne 10 6 10 Oars 3 3 4¼ Gallons Linseed Oyle 1 9 9 12 White Lead 6 55½ Nailes Sorted 2 3 10 6 Coyles Cordage w[...] 18..15 34 2 3 2 Dripping Pans 1 4 Sheets Tin 3 3 Tin Kettles 18 Carried over £ 64 3 8 | The collection of store goods sold and delivered in April, May and June 1735 is as follows. 165 gallons of arrack at 6s the gallon, £49 10s 0d 105 felt hats at 3s 10d each, £20 2s 6d 20 boys' hats at 10s each, £10 0s 0d 28 men's hats at 14s each, £19 12s 0d 1 laced hat, £1 13s 0d 1 hat, £1 6s 0d Hats together, £52 13s 6d 80 dozen fishing lines, £38 4s 4d Haberdashery ware as per journal folio 52, £65 8s 4d 193 pairs of men's hose sorted, £65 12s 2d 101 pairs of blue hose at 2s 2d the pair, £10 18s 10d 4 pairs of soldiers' hose, £0 6s 4d 87 pairs of women's hose, £19 11s 6d 92 pairs of youths' hose, £14 10s 2d 2 pairs of girls' hose, £0 7s 0d Hose together, £111 6s 0d 14 iron kettles, £27 7s 2d 42 yards of kersey, £3 13s 11.25d 500 lb of nails, £20 6s 4d 11 gallons of Florence oil, £7 3s 0d 67.5 gallons of linseed oil, £23 9s 10.5d 124.875 gallons of rape oil, £28 1s 11.25d Oils together, £58 14s 9.75d 93 porringers, £5 16s 3d 24 plates, £2 14s 0d 1 dish, £0 9s 0d 9 dozen spoons, £2 0s 6d 10 chamber pots, £3 10s 0d 2 tankards, £0 9s 0d 3 basins, £0 13s 0d 1 quart pot, £0 5s 0d 1 bed pan, £0 8s 4d 7 sets of toys, £1 11s 6d Tableware and small ware together, £17 16s 7d 500 ells of fittory, £29 3s 4d 1 piece of coloured fustian, £3 0s 0d 55 yards of white fustian, £4 9s 10d 1,250 yards of shalloon, £125 0s 0d Fustian and shalloon together, £132 9s 10d Total sold, £606 14s 9d The charges general are as follows. 182 lb of candles, £18 4s 0d 40 lb of soap, £2 3s 4d 3 lb of cotton yarn, £0 10s 6d 10 oars, £3 3s 0d 4.25 gallons of linseed oil, £1 9s 9d 12 lb of white lead, £0 6s 0d 55.5 lb of nails sorted, £2 3s 10d 6 coils of cordage weighing 18 cwt 0 qr 15 lb, £34 2s 3d 2 dripping pans, £1 0s 0d 4 sheets of tin, £0 3s 0d 3 tin kettles, £0 18s 0d Carried over, £64 3s 8d Interpretations At £606 14s 9d these three months run at nearly double the £309 14s 8d of February and March, and the composition of the sales explains why. The island's winter falls between about May and September, so the shipping season had opened and the inhabitants were buying clothing and household goods against the cold months as well as against the arrival of ready money. Nine hundred and fifty pounds of coal, salt beef and the other victualling lines are absent here because this is the retail side of the storekeeper's book rather than the Company's own charges. Shalloon at 1,250 yards and £125 0s 0d is the single largest item in the collection. It is a light twilled woollen used chiefly to line coats and gowns, so a quantity of that size points to a good deal of tailoring on the island rather than to any one purchaser. Fustian is a hard-wearing cotton and linen mixture, sold here in coloured and white grades, and kersey the coarse ribbed wool issued to the Company's slaves under the annual clothing charge each autumn. Fittory, reckoned by the ell rather than the yard, is a plain Indian cotton of the kind carried in bulk from Bengal and the Coromandel coast, and 500 ells of it at rather over a shilling made it the cheapest cloth on the page. Hose runs to 479 pairs across six grades, sorted by sex and by age. Stockings wore out faster than any other garment on ground of that sort, and the sorting into men's, women's, youths', girls' and soldiers' shows the storekeeper supplying a whole population rather than a garrison alone. The blue hose at 2s 2d the pair were the plainest, and the soldiers' pairs cheaper still at rather over eighteen pence. Eighty dozen fishing lines carries the same weight it has throughout this record. Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with fish on 1 March 1727 and set eleven men constantly in the boats, and the establishment has depended on that fishery ever since. The Company's chief fisherman Corryden was killed on the Rupert's path on 20 July 1734, and the loss of the long boat at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734 cut the fishing further, so 960 lines represents a substantial re-equipping. Rape oil and linseed oil together account for over £50 0s 0d. Rape oil, pressed from oilseed rape, burned in lamps and greased ironwork; linseed oil was the base of the paint used to preserve gun carriages, sentry boxes and shutters against damp, and the white lead beside it supplied the pigment. Florence oil is olive oil from Tuscany and was for the table. Six coils of cordage weighing more than eighteen hundredweight, together with ten oars, answer the wants of the boats and the crane rather than of the household. The earthenware and pewter lines record something about how the inhabitants lived. Porringers are small handled bowls for spooned food, and ninety-three of them at rather over a shilling each were the everyday vessel of a poor household, where twenty-four plates and a single dish served the few who ate at a laid table. Toys here means the small Nuremberg metal goods of the German trade, pins, thimbles and trinkets, sold in sets rather than singly. |
26 | 18 | Brought over £ 606 14 9 Charges General Bro[...] over 64 3 8 1 p[...] L Garnets 4 6 1 p[...] H L Hinges 4 1 p[...] H ditto 6 3 Verdigrease 9 9 ½ Indigo 4 12 Brad Lamblack 3 1 Pruning Knife 1 6 46 Yards Bunting 2 8 5 1 p[...] Bro[...] White Tape 3 6 1 p[...] Holland ditto 1 4 4 Mops 8 1 Paint Brrush 5 1 Hand ditto 8 1 Flasket 1 8 3 Seives 7 6 24 Squares Glasses 6 by 8 18 52 ditto 8 by 10 2 12 24 ditto 10 by 12 1 16 4 Pewter Chamberpots 1 8 2 Pye Plates 9 2 22 Dishes 6 16 8 82 China Plates 2 1 6 Bowles 15 2 Large Pallampores 1 17 6 Ells Fittory 7 2 Twine 4 4 2 Packthread 3 6 6 Sail Nedles 9 1 Whited Bro Thread 6 6 4 oz Nuns ditto 5 3 Tea 15 11 Lines 10 90 7 4 Blacks viz[...] 6 Blankets 3 2 p[...] White Doosetts 18 3 p[...] Mens Shoes 17 3 41 Lines 1 11 8 37 dozen Hooks 1 4 10 1 oz China Silk 1 6 63..1 Rice 31 12 6 39 5 9 Garrison viz[...] 36 Tea 9 14 Gallons Rape Oyle 3 3 1 Gall Florence 13 13 Gall Arrack 3 18 13 Sugar 6 6 Carried over £ 17 5 Carried over £ 935 7 10 | The collection for April, May and June 1735 continues as follows. Store goods sold, brought over, £606 14s 9d Charges general, brought over, £64 3s 8d 1 pair of garnets, £0 4s 6d 1 pair of HL hinges, £0 4s 0d 1 pair of H hinges, £0 0s 6d 3 lb of verdigris, £0 9s 9d 0.5 lb of indigo, £0 4s 0d 12 barrels of lampblack, £0 3s 0d 1 pruning knife, £0 1s 6d 46 yards of bunting, £2 8s 5d 1 piece of broad white tape, £0 3s 6d 1 piece of Holland tape, £0 1s 4d 4 mops, £0 8s 0d 1 paint brush, £0 0s 5d 1 hand brush, £0 0s 8d 1 flasket, £0 1s 8d 3 sieves, £0 7s 6d 24 squares of glass, 6 by 8, £0 18s 0d 52 squares of glass, 8 by 10, £2 12s 0d 24 squares of glass, 10 by 12, £1 16s 0d 4 pewter chamber pots, £1 8s 0d 2 pie plates, £0 9s 2d 22 dishes, £6 16s 8d 82 china plates, £2 1s 0d 6 bowls, £0 15s 0d 2 large palempores, £1 17s 0d 6 ells of fittory, £0 7s 0d 2 lb of twine, £0 4s 4d 2 lb of pack thread, £0 3s 6d 6 sail needles, £0 0s 9d 1 lb of whited brown thread, £0 6s 6d 4 oz of nuns thread, £0 5s 0d 3 lb of tea, £0 15s 0d 11 fishing lines, £0 10s 0d Charges general in all, £90 7s 4d The charges to the blacks are as follows. 6 blankets, £3 0s 0d 2 pieces of white dosuties, £0 18s 0d 3 pairs of men's shoes, £0 17s 3d 41 fishing lines, £1 11s 8d 37 dozen hooks, £1 4s 10d 1 oz of China silk, £0 1s 6d 63 cwt 1 qr of rice, £31 12s 6d Blacks in all, £39 5s 9d The charges to the garrison are as follows. 36 lb of tea, £9 0s 0d 14 gallons of rape oil, £3 3s 0d 1 gallon of Florence oil, £0 13s 0d 13 gallons of arrack, £3 18s 0d 13 lb of sugar, £0 6s 6d Carried over, £17 0s 6d Carried over, £795 7s 10d Interpretations Rice at 63 hundredweight 1 quarter and £31 12s 6d dominates the charge to the slaves and is the single heaviest item on either leaf. That quantity across three months is the clearest measure of how far the establishment had come to depend on imported grain, and it follows a pattern set the previous autumn, when 60 hundredweight went to the blacks in October 1734 at £30 0s 0d. The yam ground could no longer carry the people: Isaac Durling had reported Perkins almost exhausted on 10 April 1733, the drought stopped the crop through 1734, and only 14,500 lb of yams went to the plantations in July 1735. Fishing tackle appears in quantity again, 41 lines and 37 dozen hooks in three months on top of the 18 lines and 3 dozen hooks charged in February and March. The fishery has fed the Company's slaves since Governor Byfield replaced their meat ration with fish on 1 March 1727, and hooks and lines were consumed constantly against rock and surf. The single ounce of China silk is not an indulgence but the material for whipping and binding line ends. Window glass runs to a hundred panes in three sizes, and the pattern of purchase points to weather damage rather than new building. A gale on 29 September 1734 brought down the castle staircases and a hundred yards of the garden wall, and the chapel roof fell in entirely on the night of 2 December 1734. Glass came out from England and could not be replaced from any island source, so the storekeeper carried it in standard sizes to be cut and puttied in as needed. The ironmongery and paint materials describe the maintenance of buildings exposed to salt air. Garnets are T-shaped strap hinges for heavy doors, and HL hinges take their name from the shape of their two leaves, which resemble those letters set together. Verdigris is the green copper compound used as a pigment and as a preservative on woodwork, lampblack the fine soot that coloured the black paint on gun carriages and ironwork, and indigo the blue dye. Bunting at 46 yards continues the replacement of the island's flags, every one of which Captain Goodwin reported worn out but one on 31 July 1733. Palempores are large painted or printed cotton bedcovers from the Coromandel coast, among the most decorative goods the Indian trade brought to the island, and at nearly nineteen shillings each they were furnishings for a substantial household rather than ordinary bedding. Dosuties, by contrast, are plain coarse Bengal cottons made up into the annual slave clothing along with kersey and blankets. Fittory is another plain Indian cotton, reckoned by the ell. Thirty-six pounds of tea charged to the garrison at £9 0s 0d is a striking figure. Tea reached St Helena only in the China ships and was issued to soldiers here as a matter of routine, which ran ahead of practice in England at the same date, where it remained a costly article beyond the reach of a labouring household. The island's position on the homeward route from Canton made a commodity cheap on St Helena that was still a luxury at home. |
27 | 19 | Brought over £ 736 7 10 Garrison Brought over £ 17 6 6 Flour 1 6 3 Soap 3 3 1 Barril Lamblack 9 1 Brush 8 20 Wooden Bowles 11 8 ½ oz Silk 9 20 Iron Potts 10 2 10 p[...] Pothooks 1 5 10 Frying Pans 3 19 6 50 Wooden Spoons 16 8 34 1 9 Naval Stores viz[...] 3 Nailes 5 2 1 Twine 2 2 1 Brown Thread 4 1..2..21 Cordage 3 15 11½ 4 7 3¼ Diet Expences viz[...] 205 Gallons Arrack 41 5..2..14 Sugar 7 17 6 30 Candy 1 5 1..1..12 Bread 1 14 3 11..3 Flour 14 13 9 12 Bottles Oyle 1 10 8 Pepper 8 6 Bushels Salt 1 10 76 Gallons Port 29 9 32 ditto Sherrey 12 8 69 ditto Cape 13 16 126 6 Plantation viz[...] 1..1 Cordage 2 6 8 ½ Gallon Train Oyle 2 3 6 Nailes 5 6 Spades 2 2 2 2 Hammers 4 6 27 Hoes 3 3 7 1 p[...] Sheers 3 31 Helves 1 16 2 2 Scyths 18 24 Scythstones 4 2 Pitaxes 9 4 Watring Potts 1 16 3 Lines 4 2 14 Butchers Knives 9 4 6 Pruning ditto 9 47 Rice 23 10 30 Paddy 10 10 48 12 8 Totall £ 949 10 [...] | The remaining charges of the collection for April, May and June 1735 stand as follows. Store goods and charges, brought over, £736 7s 10d Garrison, brought over, £17 0s 6d 6 lb of flour, £0 1s 6d 3 lb of soap, £0 3s 3d 1 barrel of lampblack, £0 0s 3d 1 brush, £0 0s 8d 20 wooden bowls, £0 11s 8d 0.5 oz of silk, £0 0s 9d 20 iron pots, £10 2s 0d 10 pairs of pot hooks, £1 5s 0d 10 frying pans, £3 19s 6d 50 wooden spoons, £0 16s 8d Garrison in all, £34 1s 9d The naval stores stand as follows. 3 lb of nails, £0 5s 2d 1 lb of twine, £0 2s 2d 1 lb of brown thread, £0 4s 0d 1 cwt 2 qr 21 lb of cordage, £3 15s 11.5d Naval stores in all, £4 7s 3.25d The diet expenses stand as follows. 205 gallons of arrack, £41 0s 0d 5 cwt 2 qr 14 lb of sugar, £7 17s 6d 30 lb of sugar candy, £1 5s 0d 1 cwt 1 qr 12 lb of bread, £1 14s 3d 11 cwt 3 qr of flour, £14 13s 9d 12 bottles of oil, £1 10s 0d 8 lb of pepper, £0 8s 0d 6 bushels of salt, £1 10s 0d 76 gallons of port, £29 9s 0d 32 gallons of sherry, £12 8s 0d 69 gallons of Cape wine, £13 16s 0d Diet expenses in all, £126 0s 6d The charges to the plantation stand as follows. 1 cwt 0 qr 4 lb of cordage, £2 6s 8d 0.5 gallon of train oil, £0 2s 3d 6 lb of nails, £0 5s 0d 6 spades, £2 2s 2d 2 hammers, £0 4s 6d 27 hoes, £3 3s 7d 1 pair of shears, £0 3s 0d 31 helves, £1 16s 2d 2 scythes, £0 18s 0d 24 scythe stones, £0 4s 0d 2 pickaxes, £0 9s 0d 4 watering pots, £1 16s 0d 3 fishing lines, £0 4s 2d 14 butchers' knives, £0 9s 4d 6 pruning knives, £0 9s 0d 47 cwt of rice, £23 10s 0d 30 cwt of paddy, £10 10s 0d Plantation in all, £48 12s 8d Total, £949 10s 0.25d Interpretations Rice and paddy in these two collections come to 140 hundredweight across a single quarter, some seven tons of imported grain, and the two headings show it going to different mouths. The 63 hundredweight charged to the blacks fed the Company's people directly; the 47 hundredweight of rice and 30 of paddy under the plantation went to the livestock and the working establishment, paddy being rice still in the husk and bought cheaper for that purpose. Yams should have carried this burden, and the July return shows only 14,500 lb issued to the plantations after three seasons in which the rains failed. Wine and spirits at £96 13s 0d take more than three quarters of the whole diet charge, and the mix has changed. Port at 76 gallons now outruns sherry by better than two to one, where sherry led throughout Governor Byfield's tenure, and Cape wine at 69 gallons supplies the everyday table at four shillings the gallon against nearly eight for port. Arrack alone, at 205 gallons, exceeds the three wines together in quantity and was drunk far beyond the fort, going to the guards in wet weather and to labouring slaves as an allowance. The garrison's cooking equipment was replaced wholesale rather than piecemeal. Twenty iron pots, ten pairs of pot hooks, ten frying pans, twenty wooden bowls and fifty wooden spoons amount to the complete furnishing of the soldiers' messes, and the pot hooks hang the pots from a bar over an open hearth. Supplying the vessels at the Company's charge rather than leaving each man to find his own confirms that the garrison ate together from common pots. Four watering pots stand out among the plantation tools as the one item that speaks directly to the drought. Carrying water by hand pays only for seed beds and young plants, and their appearance alongside twenty-seven hoes describes cultivation on broken volcanic ground where the plough was useless and every yam bed was raised and worked by hand. Thirty-one helves is a heavy purchase of replacement handles, since the wooden shaft of a tool breaks far sooner than its iron head. Six bushels of salt underpin the whole cattle trade with the shipping. Beef could not be kept without it and the island made none, so every hundredweight sold to a homeward Indiaman for salting depended on a commodity that had itself to be imported. Sugar candy, at tenpence the pound against about twopence halfpenny for ordinary sugar, was crystallised on strings and taken as much for coughs and sore throats as for sweetening. |
28 | 20 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 10 of Sep[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexder John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The two following Examinations were this day laid before the Governour & Council viz[...] Lawrence a Man Slave belonging to James Powell being run away from his Master & lately Apprehended was asked why he left his Masters Service & absconded Sayth that about five Weeks ago his Master Sent him to M[...] Harlings & having over Staid his time his Master upon his return tied him up & whipt him & then burnt him upon his hip with a hot Gridiron & afterwards dropt the Wax of a burning Candle upon the Same hip he before burnt with the Gridiron, & that his Master very often beats him for Small Offences & that he has been long used with Such Severity that he was resolved to get away & to that Purpose had privately got on board the Harrison where he was discovered & brought on Shoar Lawrence farther Saith that the last time he was before the Governour, the Governour enjoyned his Master to forgive him & not to whip him & his Master Promised accordingly to pardon him & not to Punish him, but as Soon as he & his Master got home his Master tied him up & whipt him Severely Taken this 2d May 1736 before me Isaac Pyke of The L Mark Lawrence Bacchus a Slave belonging to James Powell being Run away for the cruell Usage he hath received from his Master, alledges as the Sole cause thereof that upon very frivilous occasions he hath been tied up with his hands Extended & his feet fastened to the Ground & in this Condition hath been often whipt, twice with an hundred Lashes each time & Several times (the number of times he cannot exactly remember) he hath been whipt from Sixty to Seventy & Eighty Lashes, with a Line or Cord of four Strings & that he heard his Master Say to his Mistress that he had whipt him with Ninety Lashes, that being punished thus Severely for trifling things or Pretences he was forced to run away, particularly he Saith that twice his Master after he had whipt him with great Severity put an Iron Chain about his Neck & taking hold of the end of it beat him heavily with | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 10 September 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Two examinations were laid before the council. Lawrence, a man belonging to James Powell, had run from his master and was lately taken. Asked why he left and hid himself, he said that about five weeks earlier his master sent him to Mr Harding's, and he stayed beyond the time allowed. On his return Powell tied him up and whipped him, then burned him on the hip with a hot gridiron, and afterwards dripped the wax of a lighted candle onto the same burn. His master beat him very often for small faults, and he had been used with such severity for so long that he made up his mind to get away. With that in view he got aboard the Harrington without being seen, but was found there and put ashore. Lawrence added that when he last stood before the Governor, the Governor directed his master to forgive him and not to whip him, and Powell undertook to pardon him and leave him unpunished. As soon as the two of them reached home, his master tied him up and whipped him severely. The statement was taken before the Governor on 2 May 1735 and signed by Lawrence with his mark. Bacchus, another slave of James Powell, had run away because of his master's cruelty and gave that as the only reason. On the slightest occasions he was tied up with his hands stretched out and his feet fastened to the ground, and whipped in that position many times over. Twice he received a hundred lashes, and on several further occasions, more than he could count, between sixty and eighty, laid on with a cord of four strands. He heard his master tell his mistress that he had given him ninety. Punishment of that severity for trifling faults or none at all drove him to run. He said in particular that twice, after whipping him with great severity, his master put an iron chain about his neck, took hold of the end of it and beat him heavily. Interpretations The burn with a hot gridiron and the candle wax dripped onto it go well beyond the correction an owner could lawfully administer, and the record sets them down in detail because they were the evidence. A master's right to punish was taken for granted, but deliberate mutilation crossed into an assault the council would recognise, which is why Lawrence's account distinguishes the whipping from what followed it. Powell had already been ordered to leave the man alone and had promised to do so. That promise, given to the Governor and broken within the hour of reaching home, is the detail that turns the case from cruelty into contempt of the council's own authority. The same pattern had defeated an earlier attempt at the same remedy, when John Greentree gave a written undertaking to the Governor on 13 November 1733 to treat the slave Martha kindly and she ran again within five weeks. The council had stated its rule on 18 December 1733: slaves driven away by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault. Applying it required exactly this sort of examination, and the difficulty was always the same. Testimony from slaves was inadmissible against a free defendant, so a statement like Bacchus's could establish why a man ran but could never convict the master who made him run. The council's sanctions therefore had to be found outside the courts, as when it broke Thomas Clough's refusal to sell the ill-used Orange on 16 April 1734 by threatening his liquor licence and his ability to buy more slaves. Lawrence's attempt to leave the island aboard the Harrington was the most serious element for the Company, whatever its cause. A slave who got away in a ship was a permanent loss to his owner and a breach of the standing arrangements over the shipping, which had occupied the council through the whole summer of 1735. The council had ordered no salute fired on the Harrington's departure in March 1733 for precisely this reason, to avoid giving notice to the runaways that she was ready to sail. James Powell is the son of Mary Powell and has appeared repeatedly in the record: committed to prison on 29 January 1734 for pulling down the Company's pasture walls at night with two of his mother's slaves, and accused with her on 26 November 1734 of setting dogs on John Bagley's cattle, when he swore he had money enough to pay for any beast he killed. The slave Cornelius complained on 20 August 1733 that his young master James Powell beat and whipped him, that he had no clothing to keep warm and could not sleep in the house. |
29 | 21 | his Cane & then Set a great dog upon him, holding him fast with the Chain all the time, & that the dog bit him & tore his Cloths in many Places, but did not bite his flesh which he believes would have done, but being an house Servant the dog knew him & would not bite him & that immediately after this his Master carried him into the house & having made a Small Collar of an Iron hoop, he fixed the Chain into it & tied him up to a hook, fastened to the Girder & made him Stand upon one Leg which not being able to do long, every time just his other Leg to the Ground, his Master again beat him with many blows with his Cane & continued to Serve him So all the time the rest of his fellow Servants were at Dinner that once the Fowles were Scared from the house in the Evening by the barking of a little dog for which he was presently whipt the other day for the next Morning the Fowles came home again but his Master would not Excuse that Meeting frequently with this harsh Usage he hath been forced Several times to abscond & Runaway & three times went to his old Master Cap[...] Alexander Father in Law of his Master Powell to desire he would intercede with his Master Powell that he might not be punished & that his old Master did accordingly send three times by three different Messengers all the Servants of his old Master Cap[...] Alexander to desire his Master Powell would not Punish him but notwith- standing this Intercession he was once whipt with forty Lashes & then his Master told him that as often as he went to Cap[...] Alexander his old Master he would whip him, & Saith, that on a Sunday Morning after being much whipt on the Thursday before, his Master Rubbed his back & all his Sore Places with Chamberly, which put him to great Paine, & one day Lawrence another of his fellow Slaves brought a Message from Cap[...] Alexander to his young Master desiring he would not be so Severe to this Complainant to which his Master made Answer Speaking to this Complainant who was then by, Dam you Sirt it Signifies nothing I will whip you the more This Complainant farther Saith that the cruelty of his Master is Such that he one day Stript one of his black Girles as naked as She was born & then fastened her hands & feet to the bench Post with a wet Rope under her, & then two or three times Sprinkled her all over with Brine & then whipt her & between whiles whilest he was whipping of her he threw more brine upon her back, & then having Soaked his whip in brine, whipt her again, & then tied her carried up Stairs & tied her Stark naked as She was before upon the Bed Cords & Sayd he would give her Twenty Lashes more, & then would have done with her Soon after he came down Stairs & his Brother Joseph Sayd to him, Brother you Sed you would only give her Twenty Lashes but you have greater an hundred, to this his Master Replyed, Well Sr then I believe I gave her five hundred before & immediatly upon the | Powell beat Bacchus with his cane and then set a large dog on him while keeping fast hold of the chain. The dog bit him and tore his clothes in several places but did not break his skin, which Bacchus believed it would otherwise have done. Being a house servant, he was known to the animal, and it would not fasten on him. Immediately afterwards his master brought him into the house, made a collar from an iron hoop, fixed the chain to it and tied him to a hook fastened in a beam, so that he had to stand on one leg. He could not hold the position for long, and every time he set his other foot down his master struck him repeatedly with the cane. He was left in that state the whole time the other household slaves were at dinner. Fowls were once frightened from the house one evening by a small dog barking, and Bacchus was whipped for it there and then. He was whipped again the next morning when the birds came home, his master allowing no explanation. Treatment of that kind, repeated constantly, drove him to hide himself and run away several times. Three times he went to his former owner, Captain Alexander, who was father-in-law to Powell, and asked him to speak to Powell so that he might be spared further punishment. Alexander did so, sending word twice by three separate messengers, and all the servants of his old master went to beg Powell not to punish him. Powell ignored the intercession. Bacchus was whipped once with forty lashes, and his master told him that every time he went to Captain Alexander he would whip him again. On a Sunday morning, having been badly whipped on the previous Thursday, his master rubbed his raw back with chamberlye, which caused him great pain. On another occasion Lawrence, one of his fellow slaves, carried a message from Captain Alexander to the young master asking that he not be so severe. Powell answered in front of Bacchus, swearing at him and saying it made no difference and that he would whip him all the more. Bacchus further stated that his master's cruelty extended to the women. He once stripped one of his black women naked, tied her hands and feet to a bench, beat her with a wet whip, then sprinkled her all over with brine two or three times and whipped her between the applications. He soaked the whip in brine and whipped her again, then had her carried upstairs and tied to the bedposts, still naked, saying he would give her twenty lashes more. He would have gone on had his brother Joseph not spoken to him when he came down, telling him that he had said he would give her only twenty lashes and had given more. Powell answered that he believed he had given her five hundred already. Interpretations Brine on an open wound is salt in cut flesh, and chamberlye is stale urine, kept in households as a source of ammonia for scouring wool and bleaching cloth. Applying either to a freshly whipped back served no purpose but pain. The examination records them separately from the whippings themselves because they mark the difference between correction, which the law allowed an owner, and deliberate torture, which it did not. The whole account is built to establish a pattern rather than a single incident, and its most telling detail is the intercession. Captain Alexander, second of council and Powell's own father-in-law, sent messengers twice and could not move him; the household of the former owner petitioned as a body and was ignored; and Powell's stated response was to increase the punishment each time the man appealed. A slave had no standing to complain and no testimony a court would admit against a free defendant, so appeal through a former owner of standing was the only route open to him, and Powell closed it by making its use the occasion of further whipping. The dog that would not bite him is set down deliberately. Bacchus was a house servant, known to the animal, and the record notes that a stranger would have been mauled. That detail establishes both the intent behind setting the dog on and the accident that limited the injury, which matters in an account meant to be read by people who would judge the master's conduct rather than the outcome. Joseph Powell's intervention is the only check the record shows working at all, and it worked because it came from a brother rather than from an authority. He objected to the excess over what Powell had himself announced, not to the flogging, and the answer he received put the count at five hundred. James Powell has appeared before the council repeatedly, committed to prison on 29 January 1734 for pulling down the Company's pasture walls at night and accused with his mother on 26 November 1734 of setting dogs on John Bagley's cattle, when he swore he had money enough to pay for any beast he killed. Bacchus had been sold from Captain Alexander to Powell, and the sale is what placed him beyond help. An owner's authority over a slave was near absolute in practice, and nothing in the island's law required a seller to concern himself afterwards. That Alexander tried anyway, and that his messengers were turned away by a man married to his daughter, shows how little social pressure could achieve where the council's own rule of 18 December 1733 could not be enforced by any admissible evidence. |
30 | 22 | Punishment the Girle became lame & has continued a Cripple ever Since which is now Fifteen Months ago. This Complainant also farther Saith that about a Fortnight ago his Master told, that if ever he Run away again he would Whip him Burn him Cheare him & Cut a peece of his Ears off, & also Sent this Complainant a Message by a black Wench named Hannah whilest he was fled for Shelter to his old Master Cap[...] Alexander that if ever he catched him again he was a Son of a Bitch, if he did not play the Devil with him, & to the truth hereof this Compli- nant hath made his Mark this 10th day of Sep[...] 1735 the B Mark Bacchus The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Accounts for the Month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] Expence of the Table in August 1735 £ s d 210 Pork 5 5 10 Lambs 6 4 Sheep 5 2 Geese 10 8 Ducks 12 36 Fowles 2 14 18 Gallons Sherrey 6 19 6 22 Gall Cape 4 16 71 Gall Arrack 14 4 6 Quarts S. Oyle 19 6 60 Gall Strong Beer 4 10 58 Gall Small ditto 2 16 4 Flour 5 1..2 Sugar 1 19 18 Candy 13 6 3 Pepper 3 4 Bushells Salt 1 £ 62 19 6 Gunners Stores Expended in August 1735 viz[...] Guns fired, Shott, Powder, [...] Musket Day: Guns fired 0, Shott 0, Powder 0, [...] 14 Guns Fired at Ruperts: Guns fired 4, Shott 4, Powder 4, [...] 28 Expence of the Guard: Guns fired 0, Shott 0, Powder 0, [...] 129 Guns fired 4, Shott 4, Powder 4, [...] 171 Lead Shott 10[...] Cartridge Paper 12 Quire Match 24[...] | The girl was left lame by that punishment and has remained a cripple ever since, fifteen months to the present time. Bacchus further stated that about a fortnight earlier his master told him that if he ran away again he would whip him, burn him, shear him and cut off a piece of his ears. Powell also sent word by a black woman named Hannah, while Bacchus was sheltering with his old master Captain Alexander, that if he ever caught him again he was a son of a bitch if he did not play the devil with him. Bacchus set his mark to the statement on 10 September 1735. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for the month past, which were examined in turn and approved. The expense of the fort table in August 1735 stands as follows. 210 lb of pork, £5 5s 0d 10 lambs, £6 0s 0d 4 sheep, £5 0s 0d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 8 ducks, £0 12s 0d 36 fowls, £2 14s 0d 18 gallons of sherry, £6 19s 6d 24 gallons of Cape wine, £4 16s 0d 71 gallons of arrack, £14 4s 0d 6 quarts of sweet oil, £0 19s 6d 60 gallons of strong beer, £4 10s 0d 58 gallons of small beer, £2 16s 0d 4 cwt of flour, £5 0s 0d 1 cwt 2 qr of sugar, £1 19s 0d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 3 lb of pepper, £0 3s 0d 4 bushels of salt, £1 0s 0d Total, £62 19s 6d The gunner's account of stores spent in August 1735 stands as follows, the column headings taken from the leaf and carried down onto every figure. Muster day, 14 lb of powder Guns fired at Rupert's, 4 guns fired, 4 round shot, 4 sakers, 28 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 129 lb of powder Total, 4 guns fired, 4 round shot, 4 sakers, 171 lb of powder Sled shot, 10 Cartridge paper, 12 quire Match, 24 lb Interpretations Shearing, mentioned among the threats, means cropping the ears or the hair as a permanent mark of a runaway, and cutting off a piece of the ears goes further still. Governor Pyke had told the runaway Walker on 20 November 1733 that the law of the place required the loss of a finger joint for each flight besides the collar and the whipping, and that the penalty had been held back in hope the collar would reform him. Powell was therefore threatening on his own authority a mutilation the council itself declined to impose, and the difference is the point of recording it. A woman left permanently crippled fifteen months after a beating is a material loss as well as an injury, and that fact gave the council a lever the law of evidence otherwise denied it. A slave's testimony carried no weight against a free defendant, but an owner who destroyed the working capacity of his own property could be reached through his standing as a purchaser and licence holder, as Thomas Clough discovered on 16 April 1734 when he was compelled to sell the ill-used Orange by the threat of losing his liquor licence. The table account is the heaviest of the year at £62 19s 6d, and its composition is unusual. No beef appears at all, its place taken by 210 lb of pork with ten lambs and four sheep, which fits a stock account showing only one beast killed in the month and no sale to shipping. Strong beer at 60 gallons and small beer at 58 make their first substantial appearance in this run. Small beer was weak, brewed for daily drinking and safer than water; strong beer kept better and was served at table. Both had to be brewed on the island, since neither travelled well through the tropics, and their arrival in quantity points to a brewing established at the fort. Sweet oil is olive oil, distinct from the rape and train oils charged to the stores for lamps and greasing. Twenty-eight pounds of powder and four round shot fired from sakers at Rupert's Bay is live firing, not a salute. The battery there had been under repair since the summer of 1734, and the council resolved on 11 June 1734 that every gun on the line and at each place of defence be kept constantly loaded even in peace, with the gunner to examine each piece for honeycombing. Firing four sakers with ball tested both the metal and the new work at once. The guard consumed 129 lb of powder, three quarters of the whole month's expenditure and by a wide margin the largest such charge in this record. The nightly guard boat set out from 30 June was still patrolling the road between Munden's Point and Chapel Valley, and men in an open boat through the hours of darkness burned powder in priming and in match at a rate no land post approached. |
31 | 23 | Account of the Hon[...] Companies Stock of Neat Cattle &c[...] for the Month of August 1735 viz[...] Bullocks, Cowes, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Barrows, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Rem[...] 1 Aug[...] 1735: Bullocks 4, Cowes 112, Steers 86, Yearlings 86, Calves 80, Bulls 7, Totall 309, Ewes 81, Wethers 2, Lambs 31, Rams 4, Totall 118, Sowes 12, Shoates 6, Barrows 2, Pigs 61, Boars 2, Totall 83, Turkeys 9, Fowles 15, Ducks 13, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 18, Bulls 0, Totall 18, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 5, Rams 0, Totall 5, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Barrows 0, Pigs 5, Boars 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 5, Fowles 27, Ducks 7, Geese 3, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 4, Cowes 112, Steers 20, Yearlings 80, Calves 98, Bulls 7, Totall 327, Ewes 81, Wethers 2, Lambs 36, Rams 4, Totall 123, Sowes 12, Shoates 6, Barrows 2, Pigs 66, Boars 2, Totall 88, Turkeys 14, Fowles 42, Ducks 20, Geese 12, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 3, Wethers 1, Lambs 10, Rams 0, Totall 14, Sowes 3, Shoates 4, Barrows 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 9, Turkeys 0, Fowles 36, Ducks 8, Geese 2, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Rem[...] 31 Aug[...]: Bullocks 4, Cowes 112, Steers 20, Yearlings 80, Calves 98, Bulls 7, Totall 327, Ewes 78, Wethers 1, Lambs 26, Rams 4, Totall 109, Sowes 9, Shoates 2, Barrows 0, Pigs 66, Boars 2, Totall 79, Turkeys 14, Fowles 6, Ducks 12, Geese 10, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 17800[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 19750 Totall of Yams 37550[...] | The Company's account of stock for August 1735 stands as follows, each movement row set out with every class of animal named against its figure. Remaining 1 August 1735, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 86 steers, 86 yearlings, 80 calves, 0 heifers, 7 bulls, 309 neat cattle in all, 81 ewes, 2 wethers, 31 lambs, 4 rams, 118 sheep in all, 12 sows, 6 shoats, 2 barrows, 61 pigs, 2 boars, 83 hogs in all, 9 turkeys, 15 fowls, 13 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 18 calves, 0 heifers, 0 bulls, 18 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 5 lambs, 0 rams, 5 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 barrows, 5 pigs, 0 boars, 5 hogs in all, 5 turkeys, 27 fowls, 7 ducks, 3 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total before deductions, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 20 steers, 80 yearlings, 98 calves, 0 heifers, 7 bulls, 327 neat cattle in all, 81 ewes, 2 wethers, 36 lambs, 4 rams, 123 sheep in all, 12 sows, 6 shoats, 2 barrows, 66 pigs, 2 boars, 88 hogs in all, 14 turkeys, 42 fowls, 20 ducks, 12 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 heifers, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle in all, 3 ewes, 1 wether, 10 lambs, 0 rams, 14 sheep in all, 3 sows, 4 shoats, 2 barrows, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 9 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 36 fowls, 8 ducks, 2 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 31 August, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 20 steers, 80 yearlings, 98 calves, 0 heifers, 7 bulls, 327 neat cattle in all, 78 ewes, 1 wether, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 109 sheep in all, 9 sows, 2 shoats, 0 barrows, 66 pigs, 2 boars, 79 hogs in all, 14 turkeys, 6 fowls, 12 ducks, 10 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,800 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 19,750 lb Total of yams, 37,550 lb Interpretations Eighteen calves born in a single month is the strongest increase in the neat cattle for well over a year, against seven in July and none at all through October, November and December 1734. Cows under nutritional stress cease to conceive, so a calving of this size dates back to conceptions of the previous winter and confirms that the pastures recovered once the rains returned. The herd closed at 327 head, its first substantial rise since the drought took hold. Not a single beast was killed or sold during the month, and none died. The road stood empty after the Hertford, Princess Royal, Middlesex and the Dutch ship all sailed at the end of July, and the Company's beef trade followed the anchorage exactly throughout this record: cattle went to the shipping only while Indiamen lay in the bay. The fort table for August confirms it, carrying 210 lb of pork with lambs and sheep and no beef whatever. Sheep and hogs absorbed the demand instead. Fourteen sheep and nine hogs were killed against fourteen sheep and ten lambs recorded at the table, and the flock fell from 118 to 109 while the hogs dropped from 83 to 79. A ewe or a hog can be replaced in a season where a bullock takes years, which is why the council spared the cattle at a moment when the herd was finally breeding again. Poultry moves faster than anything else on the leaf. Twenty-seven fowls hatched and thirty-six were killed, leaving only six on the books at the month's end against fifteen at its start, with the table taking thirty-six of them. Ducks and geese were run down in the same way. A yard reduced to six fowls is at the point of collapse, and the pattern repeats from July, when ninety hatched and seventy-nine went to the table. The yam issue has more than doubled, from 14,500 lb in July to 37,550 lb, and the return now names the two shares separately for the first time in several months: 17,800 lb to the plantations for the hogs and poultry and 19,750 lb delivered to the slaves. That recovery matches the calving and the general improvement of the ground, though the storekeeper was still charging heavy quantities of imported rice to the blacks in the same quarter. |
32 | 24 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23 of Sep[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Richard Goodwin this day again tendered the Wills of Mary Powell Widow dec[...] & of Martha Frances deceased of both which he is Executor to be proved but the Inventory he produced of the Estates belonging to each being a Second made very lame & imperfect it was thought proper to Appoint a Commission of Appraisment with Regard to the Estate lately possessed by M[...] Powell, & he was directed to make the Inventory of the Goods & Effects late belonging to Martha Frances more perfect and Compleat. Each of both Wills were read & after the reading of them the following Petition of Richard Beale was presented & read viz[...] To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] & Councell the humble Petition of Richard Beall Sheweth, That Mary Powell Widow deceased died unlawfully possessed of a considerable part of your Pet[...] Estate consisting of thirty Acres of Inclosed Land, the delivery of which your Pet[...] hath often demanded of her in her life time, which neverthelesse She refused to do, & upon this Denial your Pet[...] made Application to the Hon[...] Company who were pleased to order that Pretentions both of him & her to the Said Land should be determined by Arbitration & your Petitioner immediatly agreed thereto but when the Same was proposed to M[...] Powell She flatly refused it & your Petitioner hath been well informed when this Arbitration was offered to her, though so ordered by the Hon[...] Company & she refused it, She assigned as reason for doing so that she was afraid to Submit or agree to an Arbitration though of her own naming I no doubt would have bad Some of her particular Friends or Relations should have decided & determined the matter against her, & this Saying or declaration your Petitioner humbly apprehends amounts to full Proof that the Said M[...] Powell was conscious to herself that She held & possessed the Premises unlawfully & to the wrong & Injustice of your Petitioner, & his Family, how else is it Possible She should oudely refuse an Arbitration kindly directed by the Hon[...] Company purposely to avoid the delays & Vexations usually attending Suits at Law, | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 23 September 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Richard Goodwin again presented the wills of Mary Powell, widow, and of Martha Frances, being executor of both, and asked that they be proved. The inventory he produced of the two estates was very defective and incomplete, so the council thought it right to appoint a commission of appraisement for the estate lately held by Mrs Powell. Goodwin was directed to render a fuller and more exact inventory of the goods and effects that had belonged to Martha Frances. Both wills were read, and afterwards a petition from Richard Beale was presented and read. Beale set out that Mary Powell had died holding unlawfully a considerable part of his estate, thirty acres of freehold land. He had often asked her in her lifetime to give it up and she always refused. On that refusal he applied to the Company, which was pleased to direct that the claims of both parties be settled by arbitration. He agreed at once, but when the proposal was put to Mrs Powell she flatly declined it. He had been well informed that when the arbitration was offered to her, and ordered by the Company, she gave as her reason for refusing that she was afraid to submit or agree to any arbitration, since some of her own particular friends or relations would without question have decided the matter against her. Beale submitted that this amounted to full proof that she was conscious of holding the property unlawfully and to his own wrong and that of his family, and that she would hardly have refused an arbitration the Company had kindly directed for the express purpose of avoiding the delays and adjournments that attend suits at law. Interpretations An inventory was the precondition of probate because it fixed what the executor was answerable for. Without one the court had no measure of the estate, creditors had nothing to look to and any minor's portion held in trust rested on the executor's word alone. Appointing appraisers rather than accepting a second defective return moved the valuation out of the executor's hands entirely, which is the same course the council took on 5 March 1734 when it refused the executors of Edmund Nicholls and ordered strict enquiry after twenty bullocks appeared nowhere in their reckoning. The death of Mary Powell alters the whole footing of a dispute that has run through this record since Beale first petitioned on 30 January 1733. She had refused arbitration absolutely on 13 August 1734, saying her son would consent on no terms, and the council recorded on 29 October 1734 that Gabriel Powell had himself refused two earlier arbitrations about the same land, proposed by Governor Boivier in 1701 and Governor Roberts in 1710. Beale was refused a new trial and refused sequestration, and was allowed on 29 January 1735 only to inspect the register and take copies of what related to him. With the party in possession now dead and her estate before the council for probate, he has an opening he lacked while she lived. The argument he builds from her refusal is the sharpest thing in the petition. Arbitration by men chosen freely on each side was the Company's own remedy, cheaper and faster than a jury, and refusing it carried no penalty in law. Beale turns that refusal into evidence, reasoning that a woman who feared her own friends and relations would find against her must have known her title was bad. Reported speech of that kind proved nothing, but it was the only material available to a claimant who had been told for three years that the Company's directions were not plain enough to act on. Beale's claim rests on descent from the island's original inhabitants and on his grandfather Anthony Beale's appointment as Deputy Governor. He alleged in 1733 that Gabriel Powell, having married his widowed mother Margaret, obtained the land in 1711 through an order brought out by the ship Arrington, and charged at the sessions of 2 July 1733 that Daniel Griffith sat of council while acting as counsel for Powell on an agreement to take a third of whatever was recovered, the two infant children having no guardian and nobody appearing for them. |
33 | 25 | That about the time of her decease She made a Will & appointed her Son George Gabreel Powell (then & now in India) & M[...] Ricard Goodwin of this Island Executors thereof, & this latter lately presented the Said Will to be proved but not producing any Inventory of her Estate or Effects the Same was deferred till the Said Inventory was com- pleated as was also the Consideration of Such Exceptions as Your Petitioner then attended in order to have made against the Probate thereof That Your Petitioner hath heard that the Said M[...] Richard Goodwin before the Probate of the Said Will, & before he was legally Admitted & allowed as Executor or Administrator hath made private Sailes or outcrys which ought to have been open & publick & at Such private Sailes or Outcries hath Sold & disposed of great part of the Said Estate late belonging to the Said Powell Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that neither the Said Geo: Gab: Powell or R[...] Goodwin or any Person or Persons other than Your Pet[...] may be allowed or admitted as Ex[...] or Adm[...] to any part of your Petit[...] Patrimony or Inheritance out of which your Pet[...] hath byn illegaly kept & dispos- sessed for many years past & your Pet[...] hopes that the particular facts & Instances already Setforth in this Petition will be Sufficient to convince your Worship & Councell of the great oppression & Injustice Your Pet[...] hath received & that the Same will also induce you to put his Patrimony into his hands & that he may be invested with proper Power & Authority to Act as Adm[...] in & upon the Premises till the right thereto shall be finaly determined & that Your Pet[...] may also receive Such farther Releife as is agreable to Justice & common Equity And Your Pet[...] as in duty bound shall ever pray Rich[...] Beale This Petition containing matters of Some Consequence the Consideration therefore was deferred to another Opportunety | Beale went on to state that Mary Powell made a will about the time of her death, naming her son George Gabriel Powell, then and still in India, and Richard Goodwin of the island as her executors. Goodwin had lately brought that will forward for probate without producing any inventory of the estate, and probate had been put off until the inventory was complete, along with the objections Beale intended to raise against it. He had also heard that Goodwin, before probate and before any legal admission as executor or administrator, had made private sales of the property, where such sales ought to have been open and public, and that a great part of the estate late belonging to Mrs Powell had been sold off in that way. Beale asked accordingly that neither George Gabriel Powell nor Richard Goodwin nor anyone else be admitted executor or administrator of any part of his patrimony or inheritance, from which he had been unlawfully kept for many years past. He hoped the particulars he had set out would satisfy the council of the great oppression and injustice he had suffered, and would move it to place his inheritance in his own hands, with proper authority to act as administrator over it until the right was finally settled, together with whatever further relief justice and equity allowed. The petition was signed by Richard Beale. The matter being of some weight, the council put off its consideration to another occasion. Interpretations Selling an estate before probate was the substantial charge, and Beale framed it precisely. An executor named in a will has no authority until the court admits him, and until then the goods remain in suspense. Selling privately compounds the fault, since a public outcry establishes what the property fetched and leaves a record any interested party can test, where a private bargain leaves no evidence of value at all. The council had used the public sale for exactly that reason on 8 April 1729, ordering Benjamin Flagg's goods sold by auction on the next muster day because the assembly would be largest then. The request for administration in his own hands is the boldest thing in the petition and the reason the council deferred it. Granting it would have transferred possession of the disputed land to the claimant before any determination of title, which is the sequestration Beale had asked for and been refused on 29 October 1734. He now sought the same result through the probate rather than through the dispute, taking advantage of the moment when the estate stood unadministered and the executor's conduct was itself in question. George Gabriel Powell being in India removes the party who had blocked every settlement. Mary Powell refused arbitration on 13 August 1734 saying her son would consent on no terms whatever, and with her dead and him thousands of miles off, the estate rests entirely with Richard Goodwin. An absent executor cannot be examined, cannot produce papers and cannot be made to answer, which strengthens Beale's argument that the administration should not be left where it stands. The council's deferral is consistent with everything it has done in this dispute since January 1733. It has refused a new trial, refused sequestration, allowed only inspection of the register, and held on 29 October 1734 that it would behave indifferently between the parties until plainer directions came from London. The land has been in Powell hands since 1711 and the council has never once been willing to disturb possession on its own authority. |
34 | 26 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 30th Sep[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 26th instant the following Commission was Signed & delivered to the Persons therein named viz[...] Gentlemen Forasmuch as an Estate by the death of M[...] Mary Powell Widow is fallen to & among her heirs & that Estate being in the whole of Several Thousand Pounds Value & Consists of Freehold Land Lease Land Houses Slaves of the Male & Female kind, many head of Neat Cattle Swine Sheep & Goates divers Sorts of Poultry & of many Sorts of Fruits growing in the ground as Potatoes Yams oranges Lemons Apples &c besides a large Quantity of houshold goods & Implements of Husbandry &c & of Sundry Sorts of Wearing Apharel & Peece Goods to make into Apparell with many Sorts of Stores & other Necessaries fit for the Substhance of a large Family besides Sundry Sums of ready money & many valuable Peeces of Plate & Monkeys at Interest & divers good & Spery Debts which according to the Laws of England are to descend to the heirs & Legatees of the Said Powell who are to have it in legal & reasonable Proportions devided among them And whereas the Said M[...] Powell before her decease did make a Will wherein She Appointed her eldest Son George Gabriel Powell & M[...] Richard Goodwin Planter of this place to be her Executors of the Said Will, & whereas her Said Eldest Son George Gabriel Powell is now at present in East India so that the whole trust of the Executorship not only for the present but for many Months yet to come is devolved on the Said Richard Goodwin, who hath brought M[...] Powells Will to the Governour & Council of this Place to be admitted to the Administration of the Goods &c Dependences pertaining to the Estate but did not Exhibit at the Same time any Inventory or Account of the Several Branches of that Estate which is of great Value, he was therefore ordered to bring in an Inventory of the Said Estate which the Said Widow died possessed of before any Administration should be granted, whereupon after a Considerable delay he the Said Richard Goodwin appeared again with a Paper very imperfectly drawn wherein there was not any Account of above one Quarter part of the Several Articles of which that Estate | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 30 September 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A commission had been signed on 25 September and delivered to the men named in it. The commission set out that an estate had fallen to the heirs of Mary Powell, widow, on her death, and that the whole came to several thousand pounds in value. It consisted of freehold land, leasehold land, houses, slaves of both sexes, many head of cattle, swine, sheep and goats, poultry of various kinds, and every sort of produce growing in the ground, including potatoes, yams, oranges, lemons and apples. Beyond that were a large quantity of household goods and farming implements, clothing of many kinds, woven goods for making up into apparel, stores and other necessaries fit to maintain a large family, sums of ready money, several valuable pieces of plate, monkeys, sums lent at interest and debts of uncertain recovery. Under English law the whole descended to the heirs and legatees of Mrs Powell, to be divided among them in lawful and fair proportions. Before her death Mrs Powell made a will naming her eldest son George Gabriel Powell and Richard Goodwin, a planter of the island, as her executors. Her son being now in the East Indies, the entire responsibility of the executorship rested on Goodwin, both at present and for many months to come. He had brought the will to the Governor and council to be admitted to the administration of the goods and everything belonging to the estate, but produced no proper inventory or account of the several parts of it, which are of great value. The council accordingly ordered him to bring in an inventory of the property the widow held at her death before any administration was granted. After considerable delay Goodwin came again with a paper very imperfectly drawn, which gave no account of above a quarter of the articles the estate consisted of. Interpretations The list of assets is the first full description of a private fortune in this record, and it measures the reach of the Powell holdings against everything else on the island. Gabriel Powell died possessed of an estate valued at upwards of £1,200 0s 0d, which John Bagley junior described in evidence at the court of judicature of 24 February 1730 as the sum for which Powell had offered everything he owned but the Girling debt. The commission now puts the widow's estate at several thousand pounds, against the Greentree estate at £1,255 7s 9d gross on 25 July 1733 and the Nicholls estate at £594 6s 6d in November 1733. Growing crops and standing fruit had to be appraised as part of a personal estate because they were severable from the land itself and passed to the executors rather than with the freehold. Yams were valued by the thousand in the island's inventories, graded from fifteen shillings down to three according to age, so a standing crop was a real asset that had to be counted before it was dug or spoiled. Oranges, lemons and apples belong to the same reckoning, and their appearance here confirms how much of the island's better ground had gone to fruit. Debts owing to an estate were divided by the likelihood of recovery. Money placed at interest stood as an asset at face value, while a debt described as sperate was one thought collectible without certainty, distinct from a desperate debt that appraisers wrote off entirely. On an island almost without coin, where the council had spent four years pursuing sums owed to Governor Smith and found every debtor offering cattle or promises, that distinction carried real weight. Monkeys entered as property is worth remarking. They were not native to St Helena and reached the island in ships from the Indian and African trade, kept as household curiosities and evidently valuable enough to appraise separately from the poultry and the stock. The commission itself is the council's answer to a defective return, and it removes the valuation from the executor's hands. Goodwin had already produced one inadequate inventory, been told to make it fuller, and returned with a paper covering less than a quarter of the property, so appraisers appointed under the Governor's hand would now do the work instead. The council had taken the same course with Edmund Nicholls's executors on 5 March 1734, refusing to let them swear to an inventory that named no bullocks when the dead man had boasted of twenty shortly before he died. |
35 | 27 | consisted of that drawn rather as an Abstract or Memorandum of Some parts of the personal Estate than a full Account of the whole which ought to have been done, & Complaint having been made that many of the Cattle & Goods of the deceased were Sold in a private unlawfull manner by which great toss & Detriment may happen the Heirs & Legatees in the Said Will mentioned & also to those who are Creditors of the Said Estate & have just Demands thereon, And this Paper being irregular made out & the Appraisors having been Sworn to make a just & true Appraisment according to the best of their Skill and Judgment as ought in a Case of great Value allways to be done & being Signed by no more than two Appraisors which ought to have done at least by four, the Governour & Council have thought proper according to the Directions in two Books one Entitled the Orphans Legacy the other Swinburns Book of Wills & Testaments to order that a Commission of Appraisement of the Said Estate should be granted to five Persons to be of that Commission viz[...] M[...] Frances Wrangham & M[...] James Ryder the two late Appraisors to be two, & M[...] Samuel Doveton M[...] Joshua Johnson & M[...] Daniel Griffith were nominated for the other three, but Daniel Griffith having alledged that he did understand the Value of Cattle the Governour & Council do not insist thereon but have Since Appointed M[...] Stephen Lufkin Senr in the Said Griffiths Stead to make this Appraisment Wherefore you the Said five Persons as aforesaid are to attend the Governour as Soon as Conveniently you can, to be Sworn Appraisors of all the Severall Articles which compleat the Estate which Mary Powell Widow died possessed of, & then to make a full, fair, full, and true, Repertory in Writing of all the parts thereof, with the Price that each Article shall be by you valued at. And to do this you the Said five Persons Appraisors are to make a diligent & Strict Enquiry of all Persons concerned or you may have occasion to Examine, in finding out the truth & full Value of all things which the Said Mary Powell Widow died possessed of or had a right to possess & not to admit of any Evasion or Secreting any part thereof & to let them know that whoever hides or shall use any fraudulent Practices in this matter by concealing any part of the Said Estate will forfeit their Right to any Legacy that may otherwise be due to them as well as of Such Share of the Said Estate as they might otherwise have a just Pretence to And you are to Examine by themselves all those who have been of the Said Widow Powells intimate Acquaintance whether they be Children or any other Friends or Relations And to take an Account not only of Stock of every kind but of all manner of Plate & ready Money Jewells & other ornaments that were in the Said | The paper Goodwin brought in read more like an abstract or memorandum of parts of the personal estate than the full account of the whole that was required. Complaint had also been made that many of the dead woman's cattle and goods were sold privately and unlawfully, to the great harm of the heirs and legatees named in the will and of the creditors of the estate who had just demands against it. The paper being irregular, and the appraisers having been sworn to make a just and true valuation to the best of their skill and judgement, as should always be done where an estate is of great value, the council found it had been signed by only two men where at least four ought to have acted. Following the directions given in two books, one called The Orphans Legacy and the other Swinburne's Book of Wills and Testaments, it thought proper to grant a commission of appraisement to five men. The two who had valued the estate before, Francis Wrangham and James Ryder, were to be two of them, and Samuel Doveton, Joshua Johnson and Daniel Griffith were named alongside. Griffith objected that he did not understand the value of cattle, so the council left him out and appointed Stephen Lufkin senior in his place. The five men were to attend the Governor as soon as convenient to be sworn as appraisers of every article the estate consisted of, and then to make a full, exact and true written inventory of all its parts, with the price at which each item was valued. They were to make strict enquiry of everyone concerned and to examine whomever they needed in order to establish the true and full value of everything Mary Powell held at her death or had a right to hold. They were not to allow any part of it to be concealed or kept back, and they were to make it known that anyone concealing property or taking part in any fraudulent dealing in the matter would forfeit any legacy otherwise due, along with whatever share of the estate might otherwise have been claimed. They were to examine in person everyone who had been on close terms with the widow, whether her children or any other friends or relations. They were to take an account not only of stock of every kind but of all plate, ready money, jewels and other ornaments in the house. Interpretations Two named legal authorities govern the whole commission. Henry Swinburne's Brief Treatise of Testaments and Last Wills, first published in 1590 and reprinted throughout the seventeenth century, was the standard English handbook on the making and proving of wills. The Orphans Legacy, by the civil lawyer John Godolphin, covered testamentary and administrative practice more broadly. That a council of four men on a small South Atlantic island reached for two printed textbooks to settle the correct number of appraisers shows how it worked: it had no lawyer, no ecclesiastical court and no judge trained in the civil law, so procedure had to be found in books and applied by reading. Four appraisers rather than two was the rule for an estate of value, and the reasoning is straightforward. Appraisal fixes the sum an executor is answerable for, so a low valuation quietly benefits whoever controls the goods, and two men are far more easily brought to an understanding than four. The council went beyond the requirement and named five, restoring the two who had already acted so that the earlier work could be tested rather than discarded. The forfeiture clause is the sharpest instrument in the commission. Concealment of estate goods by a beneficiary was hard to prove and harder to punish, since the concealed item was by definition unrecorded. Making the penalty the loss of the legacy itself turned the beneficiaries into their own enforcers: anyone tempted to hold back a piece of plate risked far more than its value, and the whole family had reason to watch one another. Publishing the warning before the appraisal began was the point, since the threat worked only in advance. Directing the appraisers to question the widow's own children and intimates by name identifies where the council expected the goods to have gone. Complaint had already been made that cattle and goods were sold privately before probate, and the estate rests entirely with Richard Goodwin while George Gabriel Powell is in the East Indies. Daniel Griffith's excuse and the council's response are both revealing. Cattle formed the largest movable asset in most island estates, valued by class and condition, and an appraiser who could not judge them was of little use. Stephen Lufkin senior was substituted without argument, which suggests the council cared more about competence in the particular skill than about the standing of the men appointed. |
36 | 28 | Powells Possession or were ever known to belong to her & to enquire what Right or Claim any Persons have to them. In the Account of each parcel of Land that was possessed by the Widow Powell you are to mention how the Same is butted & bounded & where that Land lies & how much as near as you can find out the Quantity of the Said Land may be or whether it be Freehold or Leashold Land & what Houses there be thereon; how Fenced, & in what repair the Houses in the Valley or on the other Lands, all which particulars you are to Report from your own view or knowledge thereof & not from the Report of any others & be Sure to observe that not less than four of you be present together at the Same time, which number shall Constitute a Board or Quorum And the Same Care & Integrity you are to observe upon your own view of all the Cattle & to Value each Severally & by it Self unless it be very young Calves of about three Months old which are to go with the Cow Value Pigs which Suck are to go with the Sow as are likewise Lambs or Kids with their Dammes whilest Sucking And having thus done you are to bring the Same fairly written to the Governour & Council in order to to have the Same Confirmed & Registred for a perpetual Testimony of the Same, & for your pro- ceeding herein this shall be your Sufficient Warrant & Authority, Given under my hand & the Hon[...] Companies Seale this 25th day of Sep[...] 1735 Isa[...] Pyke Governour To Mess[...] Francis Wrangham James Ryder Samuel Doveton Joshua Johnson Stephen Lufkin M[...] Stephen Lufkin one of the Persons mentioned in this Commission having desired upon Account of Incapacity to be discharged from Acting the Governour Sent yesterday the follow- ing orders or Instructions to the rest of the Com- missioners named in the Commission viz[...] Whereas Since the date of the Commission of Appraisment directed to you & bearing date the 25th instant M[...] Stephen Lufkin Senr one of the Commissioners therein named hath represented to me that he hath little Skill or Judgment in the Valuation of Cattle or Goods of any Sort, & therefore looked upon himself as a Person not Qualified to Act therein & desired to be Struck out of the Said Commission & upon Account his Insufficiency, I | The appraisers were to account for everything that had been in the widow's possession or was generally known to belong to her, and to enquire what right or claim any person might have to any of it. For every parcel of land she held, they were to record how it was bounded, where it lay and how much it contained, as nearly as they could establish, together with whether it was freehold or leasehold and what houses stood on it. They were to note the state of the fencing and the condition of the houses in the valley and on the other holdings. All of this they were to report from what they saw and knew themselves and not from anyone else's account. Not fewer than four of them were to be present together at any time, and that number was to form the board or quorum. With the same care and honesty they were to view all the cattle themselves and to value each beast separately, unless it was a calf of about three months or under, which was to go with the cow, and pigs still with the sow, and lambs or kids still sucking, which were to go with their mothers. When the work was complete they were to deliver a fair written copy to the Governor and council, so that it could be confirmed and registered as a permanent record. The commission served as their warrant and authority, given under the Governor's hand and the Company's seal on 25 September 1735 and signed Isaac Pyke. It was addressed to Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton, Joshua Johnson and Stephen Lufkin. Stephen Lufkin, one of the five, asked to be excused on the ground that he was not competent for the work. The Governor sent fresh instructions the previous day to the remaining commissioners. Since the commission of appraisement was issued on 25 September, Stephen Lufkin senior had represented that he had little skill or judgement in valuing cattle or goods of any kind, considered himself unqualified to act, and asked to be struck out of the commission on account of his own insufficiency. Interpretations Requiring the appraisers to report only what they saw for themselves is the central safeguard of the whole commission. An inventory built on hearsay could be assembled at a table from figures supplied by the executor, which is precisely the fault the council found in Richard Goodwin's paper. Walking every parcel, counting every beast and inspecting every house made falsification a matter of collective perjury rather than of quiet omission. The quorum of four sitting together answers the same problem from another direction. Appraisers acting singly can be approached one at a time, and the earlier valuation had been signed by only two men. Insisting that four be present at the same moment meant no single commissioner could set a figure without three colleagues hearing it, and it removed any possibility of the work being divided up and done privately. Valuing each beast separately mattered because cattle were the largest movable asset in most island estates and the easiest to undervalue in a lump. The exceptions are practical husbandry rather than legal nicety: a calf under three months, a sucking lamb or kid and a pig still with the sow have no independent market value, since none can be taken from its dam without loss. Grouping them with the mother reflects how they would actually be sold. Recording the boundaries, the tenure and the state of the fencing turns the inventory into something more than a valuation. Freehold passed differently from leasehold, and leasehold on this island carried covenants to fence and to plant a proportion of wood, enforced under the reforms of 26 July and 1 August 1732, when the council resolved that no lease be renewed until the surveyors certified the ground duly fenced and planted. An appraisal that noted neglected fencing therefore told the council what it needed to know about renewal as well as about value. Lufkin's withdrawal repeats what Daniel Griffith had done a few days earlier, and both men gave the same reason. That two of the five named should decline on grounds of incompetence, and that the council accepted both excuses without argument, suggests appraisal was understood as a real skill carrying real liability. The men were to be sworn, and a valuation set too low or too high exposed them to the complaints of heirs, creditors and legatees alike. |
37 | 29 | have agreed thereto & in his Stead have, & do hereby Nominate & Appoint two Persons viz[...] M[...] Richard Beale & M[...] Isaac Wood one of which you are to Choose & the Person you shall choose is to Act as Commissioner in the Place of the Said Stephen Lufkin according to the Rules & directions particularly mentioned & Expressed in the Said Commis- sion In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand & [...] the Hon[...] Companys Seale this 29 day Sep[...] 1735 I. Pyke Govern[...] To Mess[...] Francis Wrangham, James Ryder Samuel Doveton, Joshua Johnson Richard Beale & Isaac Wood This Morning the Said Commissioners attended & acquainted us that they had met & chosen M[...] Isaac Wood for the 5th Commissioner & he being present declared his consent to Act therein & they were each of them Sworn to the faithfull Discharge of their Trust in the following Words viz[...] Messieurs Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton, Joshua Johnson & Isaac Wood you, & each of you being chosen & Appointed to be joint Commissioners of Appraisement of all the Estate, Goods & Chattles that were in the Custody or Possession of Mary Powell Widow dec[...] you shall Swear that you will well & truly Appraise all Such Goods &c[...] of the Estate of the Said Mary Powell as shall come to your Knowledge & that you shall have an Account that were in her Possession at the time of her decease And you shall exhibit a just & true Inventory of all the deceaseds Substance & shall Value the Same justly & impartially according to the best of your Skills & Knowledge. So helpe you God | The Governor agreed to the request and named two men in Lufkin's place, Richard Beale and Isaac Wood, leaving the remaining commissioners to choose between them. Whichever they chose was to serve in Lufkin's room under the same rules and directions already set out in the commission. The paper was signed under the Governor's hand and the Company's seal on 29 September 1735 and addressed to Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton, Joshua Johnson, Richard Beale and Isaac Wood. The commissioners attended that morning and reported that they had met and settled on Isaac Wood as the fifth man. Wood was present and agreed to act. All five were then sworn to discharge the trust faithfully, in these terms. Each of them, being chosen and appointed a joint commissioner for the appraisement of the whole estate, goods and chattels that had been in the keeping or possession of Mary Powell, widow, deceased, was to swear that he would appraise well and truly all such goods and other property of her estate as came to his knowledge, and of which he had any account, that were in her possession at the time of her death; that he would produce a just and true inventory of everything she left; and that he would value it all fairly and without partiality, to the best of his skill and knowledge, so help him God. Interpretations Offering two names and leaving the choice to the commissioners themselves is an unusual step and reads as a deliberate one. The Governor could simply have appointed a replacement, as he did when Stephen Lufkin was substituted for Daniel Griffith a few days earlier. Letting the four sitting men pick their own fifth removed any suggestion that the Governor had planted a particular voice on the board, which mattered because one of the two names on offer was Richard Beale, the very man petitioning against the estate. Isaac Wood was the safer of the two by a wide margin. He has served as ensign since 27 June 1732, sat as foreman of the jury at the general sessions of 2 July 1733, acted as trustee under the chaplain George White's will and appraised the estate of Barlace Pyke in January 1734. Beale, by contrast, claims thirty acres of freehold from this very estate and had petitioned on 23 September that the administration be placed in his own hands. A commissioner valuing property he was simultaneously suing for would have compromised the whole appraisal, and the four chose accordingly. The oath binds each man individually rather than the board collectively, and its wording carries three separate undertakings: to appraise honestly what he knows of, to produce a complete inventory and to value without favour. Swearing on the gospels made a false valuation perjury rather than mere negligence, which is the sanction that gave an appraisal its standing in a place with no ecclesiastical court and no trained judge. The council had relied on the same instrument on 15 April 1729, when eleven inhabitants were sworn on the Holy Evangelists to what they had heard William Slaughter say. Requiring the appraisers to account for goods that were in the widow's possession at the time of her death, rather than at the time of the valuation, is the clause aimed squarely at the complaint already before the council. Cattle and goods were said to have been sold privately before probate, so an inventory taken as at the date of death captures property that had since left the estate and forces the executor to answer for it. |
38 | 30 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7th Oct[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour & Gunner delivered each their Account for the Month past, & also an Annual Account for the year ending the 30th Sep[...] last, & the Steward also delivered his Monthly Account for September last, & the Same were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] Rem[...] 1 Sept[...]: 4, 112, 0, 20, 86, 98, 7, 327, 78, 1, 26, 4, 109, 9, 2, 0, 66, 2, 79, 14, 6, 12, 10, 4, 10, 14 Encreased in d[...]: 20, 0, 46, 40, 50, 8, 0, 164, 5, 10, 2, 0, 17, 0, 22, 0, 5, 0, 27, 15, 123, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 24, 112, 46, 60, 136, 106, 7, 491, 83, 11, 28, 4, 126, 9, 24, 0, 71, 2, 106, 29, 129, 12, 10, 4, 10, 14 Cattle Cut & Grown: 0, 0, 0, 20, 86, 50, 0, 156, 0, 0, 15, 0, 15, 0, 0, 0, 22, 0, 22, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 24, 112, 46, 40, 50, 56, 7, 335, 83, 11, 13, 4, 111, 9, 24, 0, 49, 2, 84, 29, 129, 12, 10, 4, 10, 14 Killed in ditto: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 7, 0, 10, 0, 2, 0, 6, 1, 9, 0, 34, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 Rem[...] 30th Sept[...]: 24, 112, 46, 40, 50, 56, 7, 335, 80, 11, 6, 4, 101, 9, 22, 0, 43, 1, 75, 29, 95, 12, 9, 4, 10, 14 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 18,000[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 19300 Totall of Yams 37300[...] | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 7 October 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor and the gunner each delivered their accounts for the month past, together with an annual account for the year ending 30 September, and the steward delivered the monthly account for September. All were examined in turn and approved. The Company's account of stock for September 1735 stands as follows, the column identities carried down from the returns of the earlier months. Remaining 1 September, 4 bullocks, 112 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 86 yearlings, 98 calves, 7 bulls, 327 neat cattle in all, 78 ewes, 1 wether, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 109 sheep in all, 9 sows, 2 shoats, 0 barrows, 66 pigs, 2 boars, 79 hogs in all, 14 turkeys, 6 fowls, 12 ducks, 10 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 20 bullocks, 0 cows, 46 steers, 40 heifers, 50 yearlings, 8 calves, 0 bulls, 164 neat cattle in all, 5 ewes, 10 wethers, 2 lambs, 0 rams, 17 sheep in all, 22 sows, 0 shoats, 5 barrows, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 27 hogs in all, 15 turkeys, 123 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total before deductions, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 steers, 60 heifers, 136 yearlings, 106 calves, 7 bulls, 491 neat cattle in all, 83 ewes, 11 wethers, 28 lambs, 4 rams, 126 sheep in all, 9 sows, 24 shoats, 0 barrows, 71 pigs, 2 boars, 106 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 129 fowls, 12 ducks, 10 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Cattle cut and grown, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 86 yearlings, 50 calves, 0 bulls, 156 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 15 lambs, 0 rams, 15 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 barrows, 22 pigs, 0 boars, 22 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after reclassification, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 steers, 40 heifers, 50 yearlings, 56 calves, 7 bulls, 335 neat cattle in all, 83 ewes, 11 wethers, 13 lambs, 4 rams, 111 sheep in all, 9 sows, 24 shoats, 0 barrows, 49 pigs, 2 boars, 84 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 129 fowls, 12 ducks, 10 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 0 heifers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle in all, 3 ewes, 0 wethers, 7 lambs, 0 rams, 10 sheep in all, 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 barrows, 6 pigs, 1 boar, 9 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 34 fowls, 0 ducks, 1 goose, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 30 September, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 steers, 40 heifers, 50 yearlings, 56 calves, 7 bulls, 335 neat cattle in all, 80 ewes, 11 wethers, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 101 sheep in all, 9 sows, 22 shoats, 0 barrows, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 75 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 95 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 19,300 lb Total of yams, 37,300 lb Interpretations The enormous increase entered against September is an accounting operation rather than a real gain. Every year at the close of the Company's books the stock was mustered and reclassified, animals that had outgrown one category being carried into the next, and the return sets out both halves of the exercise: 164 head brought in as increase and 156 moved between classes under cutting and growing. Bullocks rise from 4 to 24, steers from nothing to 46 and heifers from 20 to 40, while yearlings and calves fall correspondingly. The same operation appears at each year end in this record, 153 head of cattle and 47 sheep having been moved in September 1734. Cutting and growing describes two distinct processes. Growing is simply the passage of an animal from one age class into the next; cutting is castration, which turns a young bull into a steer and later a bullock, and a boar pig into a barrow. Castrated beasts fatten more readily and are far easier to handle in a herd running loose on open ground, so the operation was performed on almost every male not kept for breeding. That the Company held 7 bulls against 46 steers and 24 bullocks shows how narrow the breeding stock was. The herd closed at 335 head against 309 at the start of August, the first sustained rise since the drought broke. No beast was killed or sold in September, the third consecutive month without a sale, and the road stood empty from the end of July. Sheep and hogs again carried the whole demand of the table, ten sheep and nine hogs being killed, and the pattern holds throughout: cattle went to the shipping only when Indiamen lay in the bay. Poultry recovered sharply, 123 fowls hatched against 34 killed, bringing the yard from six birds at the start of the month to ninety-five. A flock reduced to six was at the point of failure, and the recovery inside four weeks shows how quickly fowls could be replaced compared with any other stock on the island. The season assisted, the island's spring beginning about this time. The yam issue held almost exactly level with August at 37,300 lb, split 18,000 lb to the plantations for the hogs and poultry and 19,300 lb to the slaves. Both figures are more than double the 14,500 lb of July, and the steadiness across two months indicates the harvest was now supporting the establishment rather than being drawn from reserves. |
39 | 31 | Rem[...] 1 Oct[...] 1734: 50, 148, 45, 30, 98, 50, 7, 428, 106, 40, 19, 4, 169, 14, 20, 10, 45, 2, 91, 36, 108, 15, 5, 5, 8, 13 Encreased in one year: 20, 0, 46, 40, 50, 60, 0, 216, 5, 10, 54, 0, 69, 0, 22, 0, 48, 0, 70, 45, 581, 47, 7, 1, 2, 3 70, 148, 91, 70, 148, 110, 7, 644, 111, 50, 73, 4, 238, 14, 14, 10, 93, 2, 161, 81, 689, 62, 12, 6, 10, 16 Cattle Cut & Grown: 0, 0, 0, 20, 86, 50, 0, 156, 0, 0, 15, 0, 15, 0, 0, 0, 22, 0, 22, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 70, 148, 91, 50, 62, 60, 7, 488, 111, 50, 58, 4, 223, 14, 14, 10, 71, 2, 139, 81, 689, 62, 12, 6, 10, 16 Sold in one year: 40, 27, 42, 8, 3, 0, 0, 120, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1 30, 121, 49, 42, 59, 60, 7, 368, 111, 50, 58, 4, 223, 14, 14, 10, 71, 2, 139, 81, 689, 62, 12, 5, 10, 15 Killed in one year: 6, 9, 3, 0, 1, 0, 0, 19, 30, 34, 37, 0, 101, 3, 18, 10, 28, 1, 60, 52, 594, 50, 3, 1, 0, 1 24, 112, 46, 42, 58, 60, 7, 349, 81, 16, 21, 4, 122, 11, 24, 0, 43, 1, 79, 29, 95, 12, 9, 4, 10, 14 Dead in one year: 0, 0, 0, 2, 8, 4, 0, 14, 1, 5, 15, 0, 21, 2, 2, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0 Rem[...] 30 Sep[...] 1735: 24, 112, 46, 40, 50, 56, 7, 335, 80, 11, 6, 4, 101, 9, 22, 0, 43, 1, 75, 29, 95, 12, 4, 4, 10, 14 | The annual account of the Company's stock for the year from 1 October 1734 to 30 September 1735 stands as follows, the column identities carried down from the monthly returns of the same series. Remaining 1 October 1734, 50 bullocks, 148 cows, 45 steers, 30 heifers, 98 yearlings, 50 calves, 7 bulls, 428 neat cattle in all, 106 ewes, 40 wethers, 19 lambs, 4 rams, 169 sheep in all, 14 sows, 20 shoats, 10 barrows, 45 pigs, 2 boars, 91 hogs in all, 36 turkeys, 108 fowls, 15 ducks, 5 geese, 5 horses, 8 mares, 13 horses and mares in all Increased in one year, 20 bullocks, 0 cows, 46 steers, 40 heifers, 50 yearlings, 60 calves, 0 bulls, 216 neat cattle in all, 5 ewes, 10 wethers, 54 lambs, 0 rams, 69 sheep in all, 0 sows, 22 shoats, 0 barrows, 48 pigs, 0 boars, 70 hogs in all, 45 turkeys, 581 fowls, 47 ducks, 7 geese, 1 horse, 2 mares, 3 horses and mares in all Total before deductions, 70 bullocks, 148 cows, 91 steers, 70 heifers, 148 yearlings, 110 calves, 7 bulls, 644 neat cattle in all, 111 ewes, 50 wethers, 73 lambs, 4 rams, 238 sheep in all, 14 sows, 14 shoats, 10 barrows, 93 pigs, 2 boars, 161 hogs in all, 81 turkeys, 689 fowls, 62 ducks, 12 geese, 6 horses, 10 mares, 16 horses and mares in all Cattle cut and grown, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 20 heifers, 86 yearlings, 50 calves, 0 bulls, 156 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 15 lambs, 0 rams, 15 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 barrows, 22 pigs, 0 boars, 22 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after reclassification, 70 bullocks, 148 cows, 91 steers, 50 heifers, 62 yearlings, 60 calves, 7 bulls, 488 neat cattle in all, 111 ewes, 50 wethers, 58 lambs, 4 rams, 223 sheep in all, 14 sows, 14 shoats, 10 barrows, 71 pigs, 2 boars, 134 hogs in all, 81 turkeys, 689 fowls, 62 ducks, 12 geese, 6 horses, 10 mares, 16 horses and mares in all Sold in one year, 40 bullocks, 27 cows, 42 steers, 8 heifers, 3 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 120 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 barrows, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 1 horse, 0 mares, 1 horse and mare in all Total after sales, 30 bullocks, 121 cows, 49 steers, 42 heifers, 59 yearlings, 60 calves, 7 bulls, 368 neat cattle in all, 111 ewes, 50 wethers, 58 lambs, 4 rams, 223 sheep in all, 14 sows, 14 shoats, 10 barrows, 71 pigs, 2 boars, 139 hogs in all, 81 turkeys, 689 fowls, 62 ducks, 12 geese, 5 horses, 10 mares, 15 horses and mares in all Killed in one year, 6 bullocks, 9 cows, 3 steers, 0 heifers, 1 yearling, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 19 neat cattle in all, 30 ewes, 34 wethers, 37 lambs, 0 rams, 101 sheep in all, 3 sows, 18 shoats, 10 barrows, 28 pigs, 1 boar, 60 hogs in all, 52 turkeys, 594 fowls, 50 ducks, 3 geese, 1 horse, 0 mares, 1 horse and mare in all Total after killing, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 steers, 42 heifers, 58 yearlings, 60 calves, 7 bulls, 349 neat cattle in all, 81 ewes, 16 wethers, 21 lambs, 4 rams, 122 sheep in all, 11 sows, 24 shoats, 0 barrows, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 79 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 95 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Dead in one year, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 steers, 2 heifers, 8 yearlings, 4 calves, 0 bulls, 14 neat cattle in all, 1 ewe, 5 wethers, 15 lambs, 0 rams, 21 sheep in all, 2 sows, 2 shoats, 0 barrows, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 4 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 30 September 1735, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 steers, 40 heifers, 50 yearlings, 56 calves, 7 bulls, 335 neat cattle in all, 80 ewes, 11 wethers, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 101 sheep in all, 9 sows, 22 shoats, 0 barrows, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 75 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 95 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Interpretations The year's disposal is the heaviest in this record. One hundred and twenty head went to the shipping against 64 in the year to September 1734 and 65 the year before that, and a further 19 were killed for the island itself. The Company sold nearly a third of its herd in twelve months, and the closing figure of 335 head is the lowest at any year end in this run, against 428 in 1734, 484 in 1733 and 420 in 1732. Bullocks and steers took the weight of it, 40 and 42 respectively, which is what a victualling trade required: a grown castrated beast carries the most meat and is the animal a commander wants for salting. The recovery in breeding is real but has not caught up. Sixty calves were born across the year against the losses, and only fourteen cattle died, a dramatic improvement on the forty-two dead of the previous year when the drought was at its worst. Deaths now fall almost entirely on yearlings and calves rather than on grown stock, which is the ordinary attrition of young animals rather than the effect of failed pasture. Poultry tells the sharpest story on the leaf. Five hundred and eighty-one fowls hatched and 594 were killed, so the yard consumed slightly more than it produced across the year and closed at 95 birds against 108. Fifty-two turkeys and 50 ducks went the same way. The fort table was eating the flock as fast as it could be raised, and the figures for individual months bear it out: thirty-six fowls in August, thirty-four in September, seventy-nine in July. Sheep were cut hard. One hundred and one head were killed against 69 increased, and the flock fell from 169 to 101. Wethers dropped from 40 to 11 and lambs from 19 to 6, which shows the table drawing on the castrated males kept for meat and then on the young stock when those ran out. The pattern reverses what held through the drought, when the flock rose steadily while the cattle fell, and it reflects a year in which the council deliberately spared the herd and killed sheep and hogs instead. Hogs held up better than either, 70 increased against 60 killed and only 4 dead, closing at 75 against 91. Pork appears at the fort table in quantity where beef is absent altogether, 210 lb of it in August alone. One horse was sold and one killed, leaving fourteen. The stud has been maintained almost entirely by breeding throughout this record, no purchase appearing in any year, and horses were used for carriage and for the Governor's own riding rather than for field work, which was done by hand. |
40 | 32 | Gunners annual Account of Stores rec[...] & Expended in the year ending 30th Sep[...] 1735 viz[...] D Cannon, W Culvering, D Culvering, Minion, Sakers, Falcons, Twelve Pounders, Three Pounders, Totall, Iron round Shot, Double headed Shot, Barrils Powder, Match, Quire Cartridge paper, Spunge Staves, Spunge Heads, Rammer Heads, Powder Hornes, Wormes, Ladles, Tompions, Sheep Skins, Beds, Quoines, Cartouch Boxes, Trucks, Axletrees, Blunderbusses, Pistolls, Bouge Barrils, Gins, Minion Flags, Handspikes, Formers, Linstocks, Priming Wires, Cartridge Cases, Horses Hides, Parchment Skins, Musquets, Swords, Lead Shott, Drums, Field Coulours, Buccanier pieces, Flints, Halberts, Scouring Rods, Buff Belts, Grenadier Pouches, Bomb Shells, Betts Rem[...] 30 Sep[...] 1734: D Cannon 12, W Culvering 5, D Culvering 48, Minion 5, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Three Pounders 4, Totall 128, Iron round Shot 6389, Double headed Shot 545, Barrils Powder 1468, Match 181, Quire Cartridge paper 223, Spunge Staves 317, Spunge Heads 97, Rammer Heads 92, Powder Hornes 40, Wormes 203, Ladles 17, Tompions 197, Sheep Skins 24, Beds 107, Quoines 127, Cartouch Boxes 10, Trucks 8, Axletrees 163, Blunderbusses 395, Pistolls 57, Bouge Barrils 36, Gins 12, Minion Flags 9, Handspikes 2, Formers 1, Linstocks 400, Priming Wires 24, Cartridge Cases 100, Horses Hides 300, Parchment Skins 122, Musquets 444, Swords 2131, Lead Shott 92, Drums 3207, Field Coulours 6, Buccanier pieces 2, Flints 7, Halberts 5000, Scouring Rods 11, Buff Belts 271, Grenadier Pouches 44, Bomb Shells 100, Betts 10, [...] 22 Rec[...] in one year: D Cannon 0, W Culvering 0, D Culvering 12, Minion 12, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve Pounders 0, Three Pounders 0, Totall 24, Iron round Shot 0, Double headed Shot 0, Barrils Powder 46, Match 591, Quire Cartridge paper 120, Spunge Staves 0, Spunge Heads 0, Rammer Heads 0, Powder Hornes 0, Wormes 0, Ladles 0, Tompions 0, Sheep Skins 0, Beds 0, Quoines 0, Cartouch Boxes 0, Trucks 0, Axletrees 0, Blunderbusses 199, Pistolls 0, Bouge Barrils 0, Gins 0, Minion Flags 0, Handspikes 0, Formers 0, Linstocks 50, Priming Wires 0, Cartridge Cases 0, Horses Hides 0, Parchment Skins 0, Musquets 0, Swords 50, Lead Shott 0, Drums 2240, Field Coulours 0, Buccanier pieces 0, Flints 0, Halberts 0, Scouring Rods 0, Buff Belts 0, Grenadier Pouches 0, Bomb Shells 0, Betts 0, [...] 12 D Cannon 12, W Culvering 5, D Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Three Pounders 4, Totall 152, Iron round Shot 6389, Double headed Shot 545, Barrils Powder 1366, Match 772, Quire Cartridge paper 343, Spunge Staves 317, Spunge Heads 97, Rammer Heads 479, Powder Hornes 240, Wormes 203, Ladles 17, Tompions 197, Sheep Skins 24, Beds 107, Quoines 127, Cartouch Boxes 10, Trucks 8, Axletrees 163, Blunderbusses 395, Pistolls 117, Bouge Barrils 36, Gins 12, Minion Flags 9, Handspikes 2, Formers 1, Linstocks 450, Priming Wires 24, Cartridge Cases 100, Horses Hides 300, Parchment Skins 122, Musquets 444, Swords 2631, Lead Shott 92, Drums 3447, Field Coulours 6, Buccanier pieces 2, Flints 7, Halberts 5000, Scouring Rods 11, Buff Belts 271, Grenadier Pouches 44, Bomb Shells 100, Betts 10, [...] 34 Expended in one year: D Cannon 0, W Culvering 0, D Culvering 0, Minion 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve Pounders 0, Three Pounders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shot 47, Double headed Shot 0, Barrils Powder 2043, Match 233, Quire Cartridge paper 86, Spunge Staves 22, Spunge Heads 35, Rammer Heads 47, Powder Hornes 0, Wormes 0, Ladles 0, Tompions 6, Sheep Skins 35, Beds 9, Quoines 6, Cartouch Boxes 0, Trucks 0, Axletrees 0, Blunderbusses 27, Pistolls 44, Bouge Barrils 0, Gins 27, Minion Flags 0, Handspikes 0, Formers 0, Linstocks 26, Priming Wires 10, Cartridge Cases 0, Horses Hides 6, Parchment Skins 29, Musquets 0, Swords 0, Lead Shott 163, Drums 0, Field Coulours 0, Buccanier pieces 0, Flints 0, Halberts 0, Scouring Rods 0, Buff Belts 0, Grenadier Pouches 0, Bomb Shells 0, Betts 0, [...] 15 Rem[...] 30th Sep[...] 1735: D Cannon 12, W Culvering 5, D Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Three Pounders 4, Totall 152, Iron round Shot 6873, Double headed Shot 545, Barrils Powder 1650, Match 519, Quire Cartridge paper 257, Spunge Staves 295, Spunge Heads 444, Rammer Heads 193, Powder Hornes 203, Wormes 17, Ladles 197, Tompions 18, Sheep Skins 172, Beds 110, Quoines 109, Cartouch Boxes 163, Trucks 368, Axletrees 165, Blunderbusses 36, Pistolls 10, Bouge Barrils 9, Gins 2, Minion Flags 1, Handspikes 424, Formers 24, Linstocks 90, Priming Wires 300, Cartridge Cases 116, Horses Hides 2, Parchment Skins 352, Musquets 631, Swords 92, Lead Shott 3284, Drums 6, Field Coulours 2, Buccanier pieces 7, Flints 5000, Halberts 11, Scouring Rods 271, Buff Belts 44, Grenadier Pouches 100, Bomb Shells 10, Betts 19 Gunners Stores Expended in Sep[...] 1735 viz[...] 1735 Sep[...] 6th Muster Day 77 30 Fixing the Hand Granades 12 - 89 Powder Musquet Balls 30[...] Cartridge Cases 6 Bouge Barils 4 Handspikes 10 Linstocks 20 Sheepskins 2 Horse Hides 9 Betts 18 Quire Cartridge Paper 6[...] Parchment Skins 12[...] Match | The gunner's annual account of stores received and expended in the year ending 30 September 1735 stands as follows, the column identities taken from the headings on the leaf and carried down onto every figure. Remaining 30 September 1734, 12 demi-cannon, 5 whole culverins, 48 demi-culverins, 5 minions, 16 sakers, 27 falcons, 11 twelve pounders, 4 three pounders, 128 guns in all, 6,895 iron round shot, 545 double headed shot, 140 barrels 68 lb of powder, 181 lb of match, 223 quire of cartridge paper, 317 sponge staves, 107 sponge heads, 240 rammer heads, 208 rammer horns, 17 worms, 19 ladles, 724 tompions, 107 sheepskins, 127 beds, 108 quoins, 163 cartouch boxes, 395 trucks, 57 axletrees, 36 blunderbusses, 12 pistols, 9 budge barrels, 2 gins, 1 union flag, 400 handspikes, 24 formers, 100 linstocks, 300 priming wires, 122 cartridge cases, 444 horse hides, 213 parchment skins, 193 muskets, 207 swords, 6 lead shot, 2 drums, 7 field colours, 5,000 buccaneer pieces, 11 flints, 271 halberts, 146 scouring rods, 100 buff belts, 10 grenadier pouches, 22 bomb shells, 0 bitts Received in one year, 12 minions, 12 sakers, 24 guns in all, 46 barrels of powder, 591 lb of match, 120 quire of cartridge paper, 122 axletrees, 50 handspikes, 50 parchment skins, 2,240 muskets, 12 bomb shells Total before expenditure, 12 demi-cannon, 5 whole culverins, 60 demi-culverins, 17 minions, 16 sakers, 27 falcons, 11 twelve pounders, 4 three pounders, 152 guns in all, 6,895 iron round shot, 545 double headed shot, 186 barrels 68 lb of powder, 772 lb of match, 343 quire of cartridge paper, 317 sponge staves, 107 sponge heads, 240 rammer heads, 203 rammer horns, 17 worms, 19 ladles, 724 tompions, 107 sheepskins, 127 beds, 108 quoins, 163 cartouch boxes, 395 trucks, 179 axletrees, 36 blunderbusses, 12 pistols, 9 budge barrels, 2 gins, 1 union flag, 450 handspikes, 24 formers, 100 linstocks, 300 priming wires, 122 cartridge cases, 444 horse hides, 263 parchment skins, 192 muskets, 3,447 swords, 6 lead shot, 2 drums, 7 field colours, 5,000 buccaneer pieces, 11 flints, 271 halberts, 146 scouring rods, 100 buff belts, 10 grenadier pouches, 34 bomb shells, 0 bitts Expended in one year, 47 lb of match, 20 quire of cartridge paper, 43 sponge staves, 200 sponge heads, 86 rammer heads, 22 rammer horns, 35 worms, 47 ladles, 6 beds, 35 quoins, 9 cartouch boxes, 6 trucks, 27 handspikes, 44 formers, 27 linstocks, 26 priming wires, 10 cartridge cases, 6 horse hides, 29 parchment skins, 163 lead shot, 15 bomb shells Remaining 30 September 1735, 12 demi-cannon, 5 whole culverins, 60 demi-culverins, 17 minions, 16 sakers, 27 falcons, 11 twelve pounders, 4 three pounders, 152 guns in all, 6,873 iron round shot, 545 double headed shot, 165 barrels 70 lb of powder, 519 lb of match, 257 quire of cartridge paper, 305 sponge staves, 244 sponge heads, 193 rammer heads, 203 rammer horns, 17 worms, 19 ladles, 718 tompions, 172 sheepskins, 110 beds, 102 quoins, 163 cartouch boxes, 363 trucks, 165 axletrees, 36 blunderbusses, 10 pistols, 9 budge barrels, 2 gins, 1 union flag, 424 handspikes, 24 formers, 90 linstocks, 300 priming wires, 116 cartridge cases, 435 horse hides, 263 parchment skins, 192 muskets, 3,284 swords, 6 lead shot, 2 drums, 7 field colours, 5,000 buccaneer pieces, 11 flints, 271 halberts, 146 scouring rods, 100 buff belts, 10 grenadier pouches, 34 bomb shells, 40 bitts The gunner's stores expended in September 1735 stand as follows. 6 September, muster day, 77 lb of powder 30 September, fixing the hand grenades, 12 lb of powder Powder in all, 89 lb Musket balls, 30 Cartridge cases, 6 Budge barrels, 4 Handspikes, 10 Linstocks, 20 Sheepskins, 2 Horse hides, 9 Bitts, 18 quire Cartridge paper, 6 Parchment skins, 12 lb Match Interpretations The island's ordnance has increased for the first time in eight years. Guns stood unchanged at 128 pieces from 1728 through to September 1734, every annual inventory recording that not a gun was added or lost. This year brought 12 minions and 12 sakers, carrying the total to 152. The new pieces answer the gunner's survey of 2 July 1734, which called for 76 guns across eight positions with a further 10 in store, and they follow the fortification scheme the twelve inhabitants settled on 16 July 1734 and the vestry approved without objection five days later. Sakers and minions are exactly the classes he specified for sweeping boats at the landing places rather than for engaging a ship. Twelve bomb shells arrived alongside them, the first addition to a stock that stood untouched at 10 through 1729 and at 22 in 1734. A bomb shell is a hollow iron sphere filled with powder and fired from a mortar to burst over a target, quite distinct from solid round shot. Fifteen were expended during the year, which is the first live use of them recorded here. Powder rose sharply. Forty-six barrels came in against 22 sent home to England the previous year, and the closing stock of 165 barrels 70 lb reverses the run-down that had taken it from 189 barrels in 1732 to 140 in 1734. The guard alone consumed 129 lb in August, and the nightly boat patrolling the road from 30 June accounts for much of the increase in consumption. The heavy expenditure falls on the consumable furniture of the guns rather than on ammunition. Two hundred sponge heads, 86 rammer heads, 47 ladles and 43 sponge staves is a very large replacement, and it follows directly from the proving and exercising carried on through the year: 36 lb of powder went on exercising the great guns in July and 28 lb in August alone. A sponge head is the sheepskin-covered swab that quenches embers in the bore, and it wears out fastest of all. The 172 sheepskins and 435 horse hides in store are the raw materials for making fresh ones. Fixing the hand grenades on the last day of the Company's year is a small entry with a plain purpose. A grenade is a hollow shell filled with powder and thrown by hand, and it must be charged and fused before it will serve. Preparing them at the year's close, with the island under apprehension of war, put a close-quarters weapon into readiness for the landing places the twelve inhabitants had identified as most exposed. |
41 | 33 | Expence of the Table in Sep[...] 1735 viz[...] £ s d 240 Pork 6 3 Sheep 3 15 17 Lambs 4 4 6 Pigs 1 10 1 Goose 5 39 Fowles 2 11 68 Gall Beer 3 8 63 Gall Arrack 13 [...] 4 Flour 5 1..3..19 Sugar 2 13 9 18 Candy 13 6 6 Bottles Oyle 19 6 1 Bushell Salt 5 2 Pepper 2 18 Gall Sherrey 6 19 6 £ 51 6 3 M[...] John Furling & Robert Gurling Ex[...] of L[...] Worrale dec[...] this day presented his last Will & an Inventory & Appraisment of his Estate desiring the Will might be proved & the Same was done accordingly upon the Oath of Rich Beale one of the Witnesses thereto the other Witness Sam Cossey being dead & the Said Will together with the Inventory were Ordered to be Registered & the Widow in whose Possession all his Estate was left at the time of his decease having first declared upon Oath that the Said Inventory did contain a true & faithfull Account of all his Estate & Effects that came into her hands or to her knowledge & the Apphraisors being Sworn viz[...] John Desfountain, Sam Doveton, Simon Whaley & William Seale each of them also declared that they had Appraised the Said Estate according to the best of their Skill & Judgement At this time the Executors desired to be informed whether the Children of a free Woman begotten by a Slave Man should be accounted as free Children or Slaves, to this they were Answered that as it was Law in his Majesties Colonies in the West Indies & Confirmed by the King that all Children begotten of a free Woman by a Slave Man should be deemed & taken as Slaves, & the Executors were directed to have the Said Children valued & Appraised in the Inventory as part of the personal Estate of the deceased & the Same was done accordingly, all of them viz[...] three Girles & two Boys amounting to thirty three Pounds | The expense of the fort table in September 1735 stands as follows. 240 lb of pork, £6 0s 0d 3 sheep, £3 15s 0d 17 lambs, £4 4s 0d 6 pigs, £1 10s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 39 fowls, £2 11s 0d 68 gallons of beer, £3 8s 0d 65 gallons of arrack, £13 0s 0d 4 cwt of flour, £5 0s 0d 1 cwt 3 qr 19 lb of sugar, £2 13s 9d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 6 bottles of oil, £0 19s 6d 1 bushel of salt, £0 5s 0d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 18 gallons of sherry, £6 19s 6d Total, £51 6s 3d John Durling and Robert Girling, executors of the late John Worrall, presented his last will together with an inventory and appraisement of his estate, and asked that the will be proved. Probate was granted on the oath of Richard Beale, one of the witnesses, the other witness Samuel Jephry being dead. The will and the inventory were ordered registered. The whole estate had been left to the widow, and she first swore that the inventory contained a true and faithful account of everything belonging to her husband that had come into her hands or her knowledge. The appraisers, John Defountaine, Samuel Doveton, Simon Whaley and William Seale, were also sworn, and each declared that he had valued the estate to the best of his skill and judgement. The executors asked the council to settle whether the children of a free woman by a slave father were to be counted free or as slaves. They were told that the law of the King's colonies in the West Indies, confirmed by the Crown, held all children born to a free woman by a slave father to be taken as slaves. The council directed that the children be valued and entered in the inventory as part of the dead man's personal estate, and this was done, three girls and two boys coming in all to £33 0s 0d. Interpretations The ruling reverses the common law of England, under which a child took the status of its father, and imports instead the principle the West Indian colonies had adopted from Roman law, that a child follows the condition of its mother. What makes this decision remarkable is that the council applied the colonial rule to produce the opposite outcome: where the maternal rule ordinarily freed the children of free women, here it was cited to enslave them. The reasoning as recorded rests on the father's status, which is the English rule, while the authority invoked is the West Indian one. The council had cited the same body of colonial law before, on 20 February 1733, when it read the statutes of Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland from Laws in Force in His Majesty's Plantations to show its own treatment of John Bowers mild by comparison. The question arose because it had a price attached. Free children could not be appraised; slaves could, and five of them added £33 0s 0d to an estate the widow would otherwise have taken smaller. The executors asked not out of curiosity but because the inventory could not be completed without an answer, and the valuation of children at rather over six pounds each sits in the same account as the pork and the sugar. Company slave boys were valued on the books at £6 0s 0d at about seven years old, which is the figure Captain Goodwin paid for the boy James on 20 August 1728. A will could be proved on the oath of a single surviving witness where the other was dead, which is why the record notes Samuel Jephry's death explicitly. Jephry's own will was proved on 6 August 1734, so the point was easily verified from the council's own register, and the entry shows the care taken to record why the ordinary requirement of two attesting witnesses had been relaxed. Beer at 68 gallons now runs steadily at the fort table, following the 60 gallons of strong and 58 of small in August. Neither travelled well through the tropics, so both were brewed on the island, and their appearance in quantity after years of absence from these accounts marks a real change in what the establishment drank. Beef is absent for the second month running, its place taken by 240 lb of pork with seventeen lambs and three sheep. The stock account shows no cattle killed or sold in either month, the road having stood empty since the end of July, and the fort was living on the animals it could most readily replace. |
42 | 34 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 14th Oct[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Petition was presented & read viz[...] To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] & Councill The humble Petition of Joshua Johnson Sheweth, That your Pet[...] hath Severall just & legal Demands upon the Estate which was illegally possessed by Gab[...] Powell in his lifetime, & which after his decease was enjoyed by Mary Powell his Widow, & of which She as p[...] Estate died possessed, amounting to a large Sum over & above what is due to your Petitioner in Right of his Wife for a Childs Part of the Estate late in the Possession of the Said Mary Powell deceased That your Pet[...] hath demanded Payment of the Severall Executors of Gab[...] Powell died & also of the Executors of Mary Powell dec[...] for what hath been thus unjustly withheld & so detained from your Pet[...] but the Executors of Jacob viz[...] Charles Steward & James Powell Executors of Gabriel Powell died & Richard Goodwin Executor of Mary Powell died deny each of them that any thing is due to your Pet[...] or satisfactorily satisfies payment notwithstanding the equitable Claim of your Pet[...] the particulars of which are as follows viz[...] For a House & Plantation 150 the life of a Blackman & Girl at Seafarm 150 a Legacy left my Wife 50 a Legacy left to John Bowman 5 two thirds of the Estate of M[...] Bowman 115 6 8 Wood & Timber wanted & destroyed 75 425 6 8 That a Paper called an Inventory of the Estate of the Said Mary Powell died amounting only to £340..15..7 was lately exhibited to your Worship & Council which is near £100... less than your Pet[...] Demands arise to, Your Pet[...] therefore humbly prays to prevent all wrong & Injustice that may otherwise happen to him that as principal Creditor he may bee admitted to the Administration of the Estate late in the Possession of the Said Mary Powell died & that the Said Charles Steward & Jam[...] Powell Ex[...] of Gab[...] Powell dec[...] & Rich[...] Goodwin Ex[...] of Mary Powell dec[...] may be Summoned to Shew Cause why they refuse to pay & Satisfie the just Demands of your Pet[...] And your Pet[...] as in duty bound shall ever pray Jos: Johnson Ordered that the Severall Executors beforementioned bee Summoned to attend accordingly on Tuesday next. | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 14 October 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition from Joshua Johnson was presented and read. Johnson set out that he had several lawful claims against the estate Gabriel Powell had held unlawfully in his lifetime, and which his widow Mary Powell enjoyed after his death. His claims came to a large sum beyond what was due to him in right of his wife for a child's share of the estate Mary Powell held at her death. He had demanded payment from the executors of Gabriel Powell and from those of Mary Powell for what had been unjustly kept from him. Charles Steward and James Powell, executors of Gabriel Powell, and Richard Goodwin, executor of Mary Powell, each denied that anything was owing to him and refused to satisfy the claims, notwithstanding what he held to be his equitable title. The particulars were as follows. For a house and plantation, £150 0s 0d For the life of a black man valued at £50 0s 0d and a slave woman, £150 0s 0d For a legacy left to his wife, £50 0s 0d For a legacy left to John Bowman, £5 0s 0d For two thirds of the estate of William Bowman, £45 6s 8d For wood and timber wrongfully destroyed, £75 0s 0d Total, £475 6s 8d Johnson further stated that a paper described as an inventory of Mary Powell's estate, coming to only £405 15s 7d, had lately been laid before the council, a figure nearly £100 0s 0d short of the sum he claimed. He asked accordingly, to prevent any wrong or injustice to himself, that as principal creditor he be admitted to the administration of the estate Mary Powell held at her death, and that Charles Steward and James Powell as executors of Gabriel Powell, and Richard Goodwin as executor of Mary Powell, be summoned to show cause for refusing to meet his claims. The petition was signed by Joshua Johnson. The council ordered the several executors named to be summoned to attend on the following Tuesday. Interpretations A creditor could be granted administration where the executors named in a will failed to act properly, and Johnson's petition is framed to trigger exactly that. The claim itself is only half the argument; the other half is the inventory. By setting his own demands at £475 6s 8d against a return of £405 15s 7d, he establishes that the estate as valued cannot even meet the debts against it, which is the strongest possible case that the valuation is false. Richard Beale had made the same move on 23 September, asking that the administration be placed in his hands and that no one else be admitted. Two applications of the same kind are now before the council, from men whose claims are quite distinct. Beale seeks thirty acres of freehold as heir at law; Johnson seeks payment as a creditor and a child's share in his wife's right. Both proceed by attacking the executor rather than by suing on the title, and both are responding to the same opportunity, since Mary Powell's death and George Gabriel Powell's absence in the East Indies leave the estate resting entirely on Richard Goodwin. Johnson's claims reach back to the Hodgkinson litigation of February 1730. He brought the fourth of the four complaints then, in right of his wife, a daughter of John Bowman, over waste committed by George Hodgkinson in pulling down a house to which she was reversioner, and the jury awarded him satisfaction for the house together with £22 13s 4d out of the joint estate, payable only after Mary Powell's death. That award has now fallen due, which is why he presses at this moment, and the £45 6s 8d claimed as two thirds of William Bowman's estate is exactly twice that figure. The item for the life of a black man valued at £50 0s 0d with a slave woman is an unusual form of claim and worth noting. A life interest in a slave gave the holder the use of that person's labour without ownership, the property reverting on the holder's death, and such arrangements were common in island wills where a testator wished to provide for a widow without breaking up the estate. George Hodgkinson's will of 27 February 1710 made survivorship provision for the slaves given to his children, which the plaintiffs used in 1730 to argue his intention. |
43 | 35 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21st Oct[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved Charles Steward & James Powell Executors of the last Will and Testament of Gabriel Powell deceased & Richard Goodwin Executor of the last Will & Testament of Mary Powell deceased this day attended & presented an Inventory of the Estate late in the Possession of the Said Gabriel Powell died & Mary Powell died as the Same Stood & was to her on the 15th instant, & being Severally Sworn each of them declared upon Oath that the Same was a just & true Inventory of so much of the Estate as remains & is in being upon this Island & Mess[...] Isaac Wood, Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Joshua Johnson & Samuel Doveton Commissioners appointed for the Appraisement of the Said Estate being also Sworn declared each upon Oath that they had each of them viewed the Severall Parcells of Land & all other the particulars mentioned in the Said Inventory amounting in the whole to £5136.17.5¾ & that they had valued & Appraised the Same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement & the Said Inventory was Ordered to be Registered but the Governour told them they had Undervalued the Slate instead of 5.. p[...] c[...], it should be 6 p[...] c[...] Richard Goodwin also presented the last Will & Testament of Mary Powell deceased desiring the Same might be proved, but Rich[...] Beale, Joshua Johnson, & John Hodgkinson having each of them entered Caveats against admitting Richard Goodwin to the Administration thereof, & all Administrations being void if granted when Caveats are entered & depending the Probate thereof was deferred, & the Severall Petitions of Rich[...] Beale of the 23d of Sept[...] last, of Joshua Johnson of the 14th instant & of John Hodgkinson of this day, were read, each of them relating to this matter being Answer to the Claim of Joshua Johnson, Rich[...] Goodwin Exec[...] of Mary Powell deceased desired it might be tried by a Jury, & the Executors of Gab[...] Powell died & of Mary Powell next said that the Cav[...] & Petition of Richard Beale of the 23d of Sept[...] would be taken into Consideration upon this day Month at which time they might attend if they thought fit, & John Hodgkinson was told that he likewise should receive an Answer in due time to his Petition of the 25th of Febry last & to his Petition of this day in which he Claims Severall Acres of Freehold Land late in the Possession of the Said Mary Powell deceased as heir to his Sister Anne Coalford deceased. | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 21 October 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Charles Steward and James Powell, executors of Gabriel Powell, and Richard Goodwin, executor of Mary Powell, attended and produced an inventory of the estate lately held by both, taken as it stood on 15 October. Each was sworn separately and declared on oath that the paper was a just and true inventory of so much of the estate as remained in existence. Isaac Wood, Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Joshua Johnson and Samuel Doveton, the commissioners appointed to appraise the estate, were also sworn. Each declared that he had viewed the several parcels of land and every other item named in the inventory, which came in all to £5,136 17s 5.25d, and that he had valued the whole to the best of his skill and judgement. The inventory was ordered registered. The Governor told the commissioners they had set the valuation too low, and that instead of 5 per cent it should have been 6 per cent. Richard Goodwin also produced the will of Mary Powell and asked that it be proved. Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson had each entered a caveat against his admission to the administration, and since any grant made while a caveat stands is void, probate was put off. The council read the petitions relating to the matter: Richard Beale's of 23 September, Joshua Johnson's of 14 October and John Hodgkinson's of the present day. Richard Goodwin, as executor of Mary Powell, asked that the claim of Joshua Johnson be tried by a jury. The council told the executors of Gabriel Powell and of Mary Powell that Beale's petition of 23 September would be considered on this day month, and that they might attend if they thought fit. John Hodgkinson was told he should likewise receive an answer in due course to his petition of 25 February and to the one presented today, in which he claimed several acres of freehold late in Mary Powell's possession as heir to his sister Anne Crawford, deceased. Interpretations A caveat is a formal notice entered with the court warning that no grant of probate or administration is to be made without the objector being heard first. Its effect is automatic and does not depend on the merits: once lodged, any grant made in defiance of it is a nullity. Three separate caveats from three claimants therefore froze the estate entirely, which is precisely what Beale, Johnson and Hodgkinson each wanted, since none of them could recover anything once Richard Goodwin held lawful authority to administer and distribute. The appraisal came in at £5,136 17s 5.25d, more than twelve times the £405 15s 7d Goodwin had returned and which Johnson complained of on 14 October. That gap vindicates the council's decision of 25 September to take the valuation out of the executor's hands and appoint five sworn commissioners with a quorum of four, each bound to view every parcel and every beast himself. The Powell fortune now stands as much the largest private estate recorded here, against the Greentree estate at £1,255 7s 9d gross in July 1733 and Gabriel Powell's own at upwards of £1,200 0s 0d when he died. The Governor's remark about 5 per cent and 6 per cent concerns the rate at which the appraisers capitalised the estate's income-bearing property. Land and slaves were commonly valued by taking the annual return they yielded and multiplying it by a number of years' purchase derived from the prevailing rate of interest; a lower rate produces a higher multiplier and therefore a higher valuation. Telling the commissioners they should have used 6 per cent rather than 5 means he thought the estate carried a higher figure still, which is a striking correction given that they had already returned twelve times the executor's own account. Goodwin's demand that Johnson's claim go to a jury is a defensive move with a practical purpose. Johnson petitioned as principal creditor asking to be admitted administrator himself, and a jury verdict on the debt would either dispose of him or fix the amount, in either case removing the ground on which he sought control of the estate. Referring a contested claim to a jury was the council's ordinary course where a title or a debt was disputed, as with the cross-suits between Captain Alexander and Charles Steward at the general court of 25 September 1729. John Hodgkinson now claims as heir to his sister Anne Crawford, who married Samuel Crawford junior and whose share in George Hodgkinson's estate was confirmed by the jury of 24 February 1730. He had petitioned on 25 February 1735 that his mother had deluded his father in his last sickness by tears and earnest speeches while the will was being made. His claim and Beale's run on different footings, Beale seeking thirty acres as heir at law of Jonathan Beale, but both press against the same estate at the same moment. |
44 | 36 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28th Oct[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that one of the Hon[...] Companies Fishermen named Martin died last Week Ordered that he be discharged the Books. At a Consultation held on Tuesday 4th Nov[...] 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Petition was this day presented & read To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Governour & Councill the humble Petition of Rich[...] Goodwin, Cha[...] Steward & James Powell on behalf of the Orphans of Gab[...] Powell died Sheweth, That Richard Beale & Joshua Johnson do each of them lay Claim to a considerable part of the Estate which was Possessed by Gabriel Powell in his lifetime, & after his decease by his Widow Mary Powell till her death, which lately happened That the Said Richard Beale hath desired your Worship & Councill to be admitted to the Administration of that part of the Estate by him Claimed & Joshua Johnson hath also desired to be admitted to the Administration of the whole Estate as principal Creditor Your Pet[...] therefore humbly pray that neither of them may be admitted to the Administration of any part of the Said Estate, & that the Claim & Demands of Josh Johnson may be decided by a Jury, & your Pet[...] farther humbly pray that the Consideration of the Claim of Rich[...] Beale may be deferred till the Arrival of the next Ship, the Executors of the Said Gabriel Powell having this last Summer made fresh Application to the Hon[...] Company concerning the Right of the Severall Matters Claimed by the Said Richard Beale And your Pet[...] as in duty bound shall ever pray Rich[...] Goodwin Charles Steward James Powell 4th Nov[...] 1735 The Petitioners were Sent for in & told that M[...] Johnson | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 28 October 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that one of the Company's fishermen, named Martin, had died in the previous week. The council ordered him struck off the books. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 4 November 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition was presented and read. Richard Goodwin, Charles Steward and James Powell petitioned on behalf of the orphans of Gabriel Powell. They set out that Richard Beale and Joshua Johnson each claimed a considerable part of the estate Gabriel Powell held in his lifetime and his widow Mary Powell held after his death until her own, which had lately occurred. Beale had asked to be admitted to the administration of the part he claimed, and Johnson had asked to be admitted to the administration of the whole estate as principal creditor. They asked that neither man be admitted to administer any part of the estate, that Johnson's claim and demands be settled by a jury, and that consideration of Beale's claim be put off until the next store ship arrived. Gabriel Powell's executors had made a fresh application to the Company during the previous summer about the right to the several matters Beale claimed. The petition was dated 4 November 1735 and signed by Richard Goodwin, Charles Steward and James Powell. The petitioners were sent for and told that Mr Johnson [...] Interpretations Petitioning on behalf of the orphans reframes the whole dispute. The executors had answered Beale and Johnson in their own names until now, and appearing instead as guardians of Gabriel Powell's minor children shifts the ground from a contest between adults over a fortune to a defence of children who cannot speak for themselves. The council had shown particular care for orphans' estates throughout this record, holding an orphans court each October at which guardians rendered written accounts, and the executors were addressing an audience they knew to be receptive. The two requests work as a pair and both buy time. Sending Johnson's claim to a jury removes it from the council's own hands and puts it before twelve men who must first be summoned, sworn and given a date, while deferring Beale's until the next store ship pushes his petition into the following year, since no vessel touched the island for five months at a stretch in 1734. Beale had already told the council on 22 October 1734 that delay would cost him twelve months where his own petition might reach London in four, and he was refused then on the same ground that the Company's directions were not plain enough. Reviving the application to the Company is the cleverest element. The council had held on 29 October 1734 that it would behave indifferently between the parties and let the matter rest until plainer directions came, so a fresh reference to London gives it exactly the reason it has taken before to do nothing. That the executors made the application during the summer, before Mary Powell's death produced the present crisis, suggests they anticipated a challenge once the estate fell open. The fisherman Martin belonged to the establishment set up on 1 March 1727, when Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with fish and put eleven men constantly in the boats. That fishery has suffered badly: the chief fisherman Corryden fell 150 feet into Downing's Cove on 20 July 1734, the long boat was lost at Sandy Bay that September, and the council recorded in December 1734 that all the boat's crew but two men were down with sickness. Striking a dead man off the books was the ordinary administrative step, since the Company carried its slaves as capital and each entry represented a valuation. |
45 | 37 | & M[...] Beale should have an Account of the Contents of their Petition & have a Copy thereof if they desired it, & when they had been heard these Gentlemen should have a full Answer to their Petition agreable to Justice & reason, & that they might if they pleased, be present at M[...] Johnsons & M[...] Beales Appearance to hear all their Allegations M[...] Powell & M[...] Steward being asked if they had any Copy of the Representation made last Summer to the Hon[...] Company, M[...] Steward Answered there was, & they being asked to produce it, that wee might See there was nothing contained therein but truth & matters of fact, M[...] Steward Sayd he would, & was Ordered to bring it the next time they came, which is to be this day Sennight At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11th Nov[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Examination was this day laid before the Governour & Council viz[...] Margaret Alexander the daughter of Cap[...] John Alexander being a single Woman & unmarried & being Suspected to be with Child was Examined thereupon who Sayeth with great Sorrow and Contrition that She is now with Child & about Eight Months gone, & being Demanded who is the true father of the Child or Children now in her body doth Confess & Say with Shame & Greif that James Powell her Sister Sarah's Husband is the true & real father thereof She never having known any other Man Carnally but him, & being asked how She came to Suffer her Brother in law to have Carnall knowledge of her body She doth declare & Affirm upon her Oath that when her Sister was near being brought to bed, She this Examinant was curteously invited by, to go to their house & keep her Sister Powell Company & assist her in the time of her lyeing in, & her love & affections to her Said Sister did enduce her to go & be with her out about Seven or eight days after her Said Sister Powell was brought to bed She Sleeping in the Same room with her Sister, in the Month of February last in the dead of the night her Brother in law James Powell came | The council told the petitioners that Mr Johnson and Mr Beale should be given an account of what their petition contained, and a copy of it if they wished. Once those two had been heard, the petitioners would receive a full answer, and they might be present at the appearance of Johnson and Beale to hear everything alleged. James Powell and Charles Steward were asked whether they held a copy of the application made to the Company during the previous summer. Steward answered that they had one. Asked to produce it, so that the council might see it contained nothing but truth and matters of fact, he said he would, and was ordered to bring it the next time they came, which was fixed for that day fortnight. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 11 November 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. An examination was laid before the council. Margaret Alexander, daughter of Captain John Alexander, an unmarried woman, was suspected of being with child and was examined. She stated with great sorrow and remorse that she was pregnant, about eight months gone. Asked who the true father was, she confessed with shame and grief that James Powell, the husband of her sister Sarah, was the real father, and that she had never known any other man. Asked how she came to allow her brother-in-law to have carnal knowledge of her, she declared on oath that when her sister was near her delivery she was kindly invited to their house to keep her sister Powell company and to help her at her lying-in. Out of love and affection for her sister she agreed to go, and stayed with her. About seven or eight days after her sister was delivered, while she was sleeping in the same room with her in February last, her brother-in-law James Powell came in during the dead of night. Interpretations The examination of a single woman suspected of pregnancy was a parish proceeding rather than a criminal one, and its purpose was financial. A bastard child fell on the parish for its maintenance unless the father could be identified and made to pay, so the churchwardens brought such women before the council to be examined on oath and the name given became the basis of a maintenance order. The same procedure appears on 18 October 1726, when Martha Bodly swore the father of her child was a soldier and the Governor issued a warrant seizing his goods, a book of neat cattle and a slave to indemnify the parish. This case will not follow that pattern. Margaret Alexander is the daughter of the second of council, sitting at the table where her examination was read, and the man she names is his own son-in-law. Sexual connection between a man and his wife's sister fell within the prohibited degrees of affinity under English ecclesiastical law, which treated the relation as if it were consanguinity, so the offence was incest rather than simple fornication. The island had no ecclesiastical court to try it. James Powell has appeared before the council repeatedly and never to his credit. He was committed to prison on 29 January 1734 for pulling down the Company's pasture walls at night with two of his mother's slaves and released two days later on a written submission pleading a first youthful offence. He was accused with his mother on 26 November 1734 of setting dogs on John Bagley's cattle, swearing he could pay for them if he killed them since he had money enough. The slave Bacchus deposed on 10 September 1735 to beatings of extraordinary severity at his hands, including whipping with a cord of four strands, brine sprinkled on the raw back and a woman left permanently crippled, and Cornelius made a similar complaint on 20 August 1733. The timing places the conception in February 1735 and the examination in November, with the birth expected within weeks. That the matter comes forward only now, at eight months, suggests the family concealed it as long as concealment was possible, and the record notes the woman's sorrow and remorse in terms it rarely applies. Powell is also an executor of his father's estate and one of the three petitioners who appeared before this council a week earlier on behalf of Gabriel Powell's orphans, seeking to keep Beale and Johnson from the administration. His standing in that business can hardly survive this examination. |
46 | 38 | into bed to her when She was asleep & assoon as She felt Some body in the bed with her She awaked & found her Brother in Law James Powell there She this Examinant endeavoured to get up but he held her hands, She Said to him She would call out, & did make noise enough to awake her Sister in case She had been very fast asleep, her Brother in law begged of her not to make a noise, for he would not hurt her & bad her lye Still, She Said She would not & bid him begone out of the Bed Several times & would a got up her Self but he would not let her, but at length after Some Struggling to get up which he would not Suffer her to do holding her fast by the Armes & pressing his body upon her, She not being able to make any farther resistance he the Said James Powell being Stronger than She, he had the Carnall knowledge of her body & about three or four nights afterwards he came to her bed again & had in the Same manner a Carnall knowledge of her body to which this Examinant did not Consent but was unwilling to make any difference between Powell & his wife & Concludeing then that it was not proper to Stay any longer in that house with them She resolved next Morning to go home to her fathers house And the next Morning took her leave of them Accordingly & went as far as the Widow Powells house where She Called as She went along, but in a Quarter of an Hours time James Powell followed her to her Mothers house & told her that her Sister his wife desired to come back again & Entreated her with many curteous & Obligeing words to go back, to his wife who desired her Company the Several Expressions he then used She has forgot, but to her inexpressible Sorrow She Sayeth She was prevailed on to go back with him & She did lye in the Same room with her Sister as before, where her Sister used to have a Candle burning but James Powell who also lay in the Same room pretended he could not Sleep up a Candle & Caused it to be put out & took those Opportunities when the Candle Burnt & Several nights in her Bed had the Carnall knowledge of her body but how many times She cannot well remember from Some of which times She Sayeth She became with Child of the Child or Children that is now in her body & She being told it looks well She had been try'd free & married in her Consent to let her Brother in law lye with her so often & She to Stay Still in the house with them to this She Sayes that one night when She was awake She heard her Brother come to her bedside bare footed but when he would a Come to bed to her She repulsed him | James Powell came into her bed while she was asleep. She woke as soon as she felt someone there and found her brother-in-law beside her. She tried to get up but he held her hands. She told him she would call out and make noise enough to wake her sister, who had been sleeping soundly. He begged her not to make any noise, promised he would not hurt her and told her to lie still. She refused, ordered him several times to get out of the bed, and would have risen herself but he prevented her. After some struggling to get up, which he would not allow, he held her wrists and pressed his body onto hers. Unable to resist any further, and he being the stronger, he had carnal knowledge of her. Three or four nights afterwards he came to her bed again and did the same. She did not consent, but was unwilling to cause any trouble between Powell and his wife. Concluding that she ought not to stay any longer in that house, she resolved to go home to her father the next morning. She left the following morning as she had determined and went as far as the widow Powell's house, where she called on her way. Within a quarter of an hour James Powell followed her to her mother's house and told her that his wife wanted her to come back. He pressed her with many courteous and obliging words to return to his wife, who wanted her company, using expressions she could not now recall. She was persuaded to go back with him and to sleep in the same room with her sister as before, where her sister was accustomed to keep a candle burning. Powell, who also lay in the same room, pretended he could not sleep with a candle alight and had it put out, and used those opportunities whenever the candle was out. He had carnal knowledge of her on several nights in her bed, though she could not now say how many. She stated that she became pregnant on one of those occasions. Told that it would have been better had she tried to free herself from her brother-in-law, since he had assaulted her so often, and to stay out of the house with them, she answered that one night when she was awake she heard her brother come to her bedside barefoot, and when he would have come into the bed she refused him. Interpretations The examination is constructed to establish absence of consent at every stage, and the details it dwells on are the ones the law of rape then required. Resistance, an outcry attempted, physical restraint and superior strength are each set down in turn, and the phrase recording that she did not consent is entered separately from the account of the act itself. That care reflects a hard evidential rule: a woman's failure to raise the hue and cry, or her return to the house afterwards, was treated as consent unless explained. Her return is the weakest point in the account and the examination confronts it directly. She left as she had resolved, and was brought back within the hour on the strength of a message from her sister, delivered by the man himself. Powell's use of his wife as the instrument of persuasion is the most calculated element on the page: the same tie of affection that brought Margaret Alexander to the house to nurse her sister at her lying-in was used to bring her back into the room where the assaults occurred. The candle carries the whole weight of what followed. A light burning through the night in a shared chamber was ordinary practice in a household with a woman newly delivered, and putting it out on a pretext removed the one thing that made the room safe. The record notes that he used those opportunities whenever the candle was out, which establishes deliberation rather than impulse and matches the barefoot approach to her bedside. The councillors' question, that she ought to have got herself away from the house, is the examination testing her account rather than sympathising with her. Her answer names the occasion on which she did refuse him successfully, which meets the objection by showing she resisted whenever she was awake to do so. Margaret Alexander is the daughter of the second of council, and her father sat at this meeting. His complaint of 1 May 1734 concerned another daughter whom the soldier Henry Coles attempted to seduce by clandestine letters, and he told the council then that he had already lost one daughter enticed away and married. The pattern of a father protecting his daughters from men of the garrison stands in sharp contrast to what happened inside his own extended family, since James Powell was married to a third daughter. |
47 | 39 | and was getting up to go to bed to her Sister whereupon he returned to his own bed & had not that night any Carnall knowledge of her body Being asked what Sort of Perswasions he used to induce her to Suffer Such freedoms Sayeth that he used often to Say that he should as Soon as his Mother died have a good deal more land & that then he would give Sam & John his Wifes two Brothers & this Examinants Brothers good Legacies but often added & I'le give you Peggy more than to them, or to any body Else or words to that Effect but he did not Say what or how much in Value And this Examinant also farther Sayeth that when her Sister was last in Sandybay which was about fourteen or Sixteen days Since, She told this Examinant that there was a talk about the Country of her being with Child and that her Husband James Powell Said he would have her lay her Child that She is now pregnant with, at to John Johnson (who is lately gone to India) & that he did bid her (his Wife) tell her (this Examinant) So, & be Sure not to lay it to him & he would do all for her that Possibly lay in his Power, & if She was turned out of doors by her father, he would pay for & lodging & She should not want nothing that he could get for her or Else She should be welcome to a room in his house, or words to that Purpose & importing the Same Effect & this Examinant with great Shame & Confusion being very Sensible of her fault in Suffering herself to be deluded by this Lewd & wicked Brother in laws Hellish Contrivances & Debaucheries doth positively Affirm on her Corporal Oath that all the foregoing Articles are reale matters of fact & less than the truth of her most Unhappy Case In Testimony hereof She hath in much Greif & bitterness of mind for her Offence to God Almighty & for the Disgrace & Affliction that may fall to her fathers Family by her Easiness in Suffering her Self to be savily Seduced by her reprobate & wicked Brother in law, She hath hereunto written her name in Testimony of the Same Sworn before me in St Helena this 28th day of Oct[...] 1735 Isaac Pyke Governour Margret Alexander Upon this Accusation the Said Powell was committed to Prison for his Beastarly, for his Incest with his Wifes Sister and for endeavouring to Suborn her to forswear herself & to lay the Child to John Johnson, who appears to be an innocent person The following Examination of Edward Pridger taken on Saturday last was also this day laid before the Governour & Council viz[...] Edward Pridger being Examined what he knows of an Affair between Joseph Bates & Simon Whaley Plushanet, he Saith he Answers that Joseph Bates has for Sometime past employed the Said Plushanet to write for him in his Dairy & particularly on the Account of his being Imprisoned & that he was to have to the Value of five Pounds for his trouble, & Plushanet was to procure Some People to Sign the Writings, & they left the Writings in the Said Pridgers Chest & he read them | Margaret Alexander was getting up to go to her sister's bed, on which he returned to his own and had no carnal knowledge of her that night. Asked what persuasions he used to induce her to allow such liberties, she said he often told her that as soon as his mother died he would come into a good deal more land. He would then give his wife's two brothers Sam and John, and this examinant's own brothers, handsome legacies, and he frequently added that he would give her more than any of them or than anyone else, or words to that effect, without ever naming a sum. She further stated that when her sister was last in Sandy Bay, some fourteen or sixteen days earlier, her sister told her that the country was talking of her pregnancy, and that her husband James Powell said he would have her lay the child on John Johnson, who had lately gone to India. He asked his wife to tell her to be sure to lay it to him, and undertook to do everything in his power for her should she be turned out of doors by her father. He would pay for her lodging and she would want for nothing he could provide, or else she would be welcome to a room in his own house. The examinant, with great shame and confusion and fully sensible of her fault in allowing herself to be deluded by her brother-in-law's wicked contrivances, positively affirmed on her corporal oath that every article above was true in fact and fell short of the truth of her most unhappy case. In witness of it, and in great grief and bitterness of mind for her offence against God Almighty and for the disgrace and affliction her weakness would bring on her father's family by allowing herself to be so seduced, she set her name to the statement. It was sworn before the Governor at St Helena on 28 October 1735 and signed Margaret Alexander. On this accusation James Powell was committed to prison for his incest with his wife's sister and for attempting to suborn her to perjure herself by laying the child on John Johnson, who was now on a voyage. An examination of Edward Draper, taken on the previous Saturday, was also laid before the council. Draper was asked what he knew of the business between Joseph Bates and Cornelius Plucknet. He answered that Bates had for some time past employed Plucknet to work for him in his dairy, particularly while Bates was in prison, and that Plucknet was to have five pounds for his trouble. Plucknet was to procure some people to sign the writings, and they left the writings in Draper's chest. Interpretations The inducement Powell offered turns on his expectations from his mother's estate, and the timing places the promises before Mary Powell's death. He was telling Margaret Alexander that land would come to him and that legacies would follow to her brothers and to his wife's, with more for her than for anyone. Whatever he supposed, the estate is now frozen: three caveats stand against the grant of administration, and the appraisers returned the whole at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October. Suborning her to name John Johnson is the second charge and the one that put him in gaol. Johnson had lately sailed for India and could neither deny the accusation nor be reached by any order of the council, so a maintenance order made against him would have been unenforceable and the parish left carrying the child. Powell's offer of lodging and support, made through his own wife, was payment for the false oath rather than any provision for the woman he had assaulted. Attempting to procure a false oath was itself an offence at common law, quite apart from the incest, and it is the more easily proved of the two. The evidence for the assaults rests entirely on Margaret Alexander's word; the attempt to shift the paternity was carried by his wife and could be spoken to by her. Committing him on both grounds gave the council two routes to the same man. Powell appeared before this council a week earlier as one of three petitioners acting for Gabriel Powell's orphans, asking that neither Beale nor Johnson be admitted to administer the estate. He was also required at the same meeting to produce the executors' summer application to the Company. His imprisonment now removes one of the two executors of his father's estate at the moment the whole succession stands contested. The examination turning to Joseph Bates concerns a man already in custody for debt. He was arrested on 2 September 1735 when called on to pay the balance of £221 19s 2.5d owed to the heirs of Don John de Mesa y Aniento and answered that he owed only £2 0s 0d before conceding £15 0s 0d. Papers left in another man's chest, and a payment of £5 0s 0d to a labourer for procuring people to sign them, has the shape of the forgery the council found in that estate on 3 May 1731. |
48 | 40 | but cant remember the whole, but Saith there were many Reflections upon the Governour & [...] after he had read the Papers he told Plushanet that he desired him not to keep those Papers in his Chest for he desired not to be concerned with things of that nature to which Plushanet Said it should never be shown, & if it was known it should never do him any hurt to which the Examinant Saith he told him that it was a dangerous thing to be concerned with any Reflections upon the Government of any Place, to which he Answered Damn the Governour & Councell too with other rude Words & that he did not value them, & if once he got to England he would wash him a Pennyworth & ruin the Governour, he would Engage to make him pay five Pounds p[...] hour for M[...] Bates's false Imprisonment, this Examinant Saith that he told him he would Plushanet that he would acquaint the Governour with it & went to the Captain of the Guard & gave him an Account, but in the mean time the Writings with a quarter of a Pound of Tea were taken out of his Chest & made away, & to the truth hereof this Deponent has Subscribed his Name this 8th day of November 1735. Sworn before me the day abovementioned Isa: Pyke Governour Edward Bridgeon Information having been given the Governour that the life of the Said Pridgeon was threatened for making this discovery by Whaley alias two other Soldiers of the Garrison, the Severall persons who gave the Said Information were each of them Examined upon Oath & are as follows viz[...] Thomas Boyer the Serjeant upon Guard acquainted the Gov[...] & Councell upon Oath that William Web Soldier, he went than & ten at night on Saturday last & said in his hearing in the Guard Room say that Edward Pridgeon was a Rogue & deserved to die, & that if he would not fight him he would cut both his Ears off Simon Whaley Corporal, also acquainted the Governour & Councell upon Oath that after nine a Clock on Saturday night last he heard Web Say in the Guardhouse that Pridgeon was a Rogue, & that he would cut his Ears off, & that this was after the Threatenings which Serjeant Boyer had heard before Isaac Saul also Saith upon Oath that on Saturday last about Eleven a Clock in the Morning, John Seale Soldier came into the Kitchen by the Castle to broile a bit of Meat & there See Pridgeon, & Seale said to Pridgeon you are a Rogue & deserve to be hanged for discovering this poor young fellow John Seale being Examined & asked why he called Pridgeon Rogue Saith that he was very much in liquor & hardly knew what he Sed & being also asked why he threatened to Shoot him Saith that he was Drunk & does not remember that he had threaten him but is Sorry for what has happened Plushnet & Web were also Examined about it, but impudently denied they had Said any thing like it though so fully testified to their faces. This Behaviour & Example of these [...] Men who are Ring of Sedition the Punishment for their offence was Referred to the Consideration of the Military Officers & in the mean while the offenders were committed to Prison. Francis Sunga Armourer made Complaint that on Sunday last he Sent his black Girle named Bercy of about twelve years of Age upon an Errand & about nine a Clock She returned home with her Hair loose & her Cloths much torn & looked as if She had been much frightened & cryed much & told this Complainant & his Wife that a | Draper could not remember the whole of the papers but said they contained many reflections on the Governor. After he had read them he told Plucknet that he did not wish to keep such things in his chest, and that he wanted nothing to do with matters of that kind. Plucknet answered that the papers would never be known of, and that if they were, it could do neither of them any harm. Draper replied that meddling with anything reflecting on the Governor and council of any place was a dangerous business, on which Plucknet swore at the Governor and council in coarse terms and said that if he did not strike them and, once he reached England, wash them a pennyworth and ruin them, he would undertake to pay five pounds an hour for Bates's false imprisonment. Draper told him he would report the matter to the Governor, and Plucknet answered that he could do as he pleased. Before he could act, the papers and a quarter of a pound of tea were taken out of his chest and carried off. The statement was sworn before the Governor on 8 November 1735 and signed Edward Draper. Information reached the Governor that Draper's life had been threatened for making the discovery, by two other soldiers of the garrison and one Slate. The several people who gave the information were each examined on oath. Thomas Bray, sergeant on guard, told the council on oath that William Webb, a soldier, went out about ten at night on the previous Saturday. Bray heard him say in the guard room that Edward Draper was a rogue, that he deserved to die, and that if he would not fight him he would cut both his ears off. Simon Whaley, corporal, likewise told the council on oath that after nine at night on the same Saturday he heard Webb say in the guard house that Draper was a rogue and that he would cut his ears off. This came after the threats the sergeant had already reported. Isaac Sands stated on oath that about eleven on the Saturday morning John Slate, a soldier, came into the kitchen at the castle to broil a piece of meat. Seeing Draper there, Slate said he was a rogue and deserved to be hanged for informing on a poor young fellow. John Slate, being examined and asked why he called Draper a rogue, said he had been very drunk with liquor and hardly knew what he said. Asked why he threatened to shoot him, he said he was drunk and could not remember it, and that if he had threatened him he was sorry for what had happened. Plucknet and Webb were also examined but denied impudently that they had said anything of the kind, though the charges were fully proved to their faces. The behaviour and example of soldiers lately sent out from England tended to mutiny and sedition, and the council referred the punishment of the offence to the military officers, committing the offenders to prison meanwhile. Francis Funge, the armourer, complained that his black girl Betty, about twelve years old, had been sent out on an errand on the previous Sunday. She returned about three o'clock with her hair loose and her clothes badly torn, looking as though she had been much frightened and had cried a great deal, and told him and his wife the following account. Interpretations Plucknet's threat to wash the council a pennyworth once he reached England is the whole point of the papers. A man on the island could not touch the Governor, but a complaint carried home and laid before the Court of Directors could ruin a career, and the council had used that same channel repeatedly against ship commanders it could not otherwise reach. Bates paid five pounds to have people procured to sign the writings, which turns a private grievance into what would appear in London as a subscribed representation from the inhabitants. The five pounds an hour offered for false imprisonment fixes the grievance. Bates was arrested on 2 September 1735 for the balance of £221 19s 2.5d owed to the Mesa estate, having denied the bond entirely before conceding £15 0s 0d, and the arrest was regular. Calling it false imprisonment and putting a price on every hour of it is the language of a man who expected the Company to overturn the council's proceeding rather than of one contesting the debt. Draper's difficulty is that possession of the papers in his own chest made him a party to them. He said as much to Plucknet, and his statement is constructed to establish that he read them, objected, was told they would never come to light and resolved to report the matter before it was taken out of his hands. That the papers and a quarter pound of tea vanished together from the chest suggests whoever removed them knew what they were and took the tea as an afterthought. Referring the punishment to the military officers rather than dealing with it in council is a jurisdictional choice with a plain rationale. Threats made in the guard room by soldiers against a man who had informed to the Governor go to discipline rather than to the peace of the island, and a council of four civilians could not reach the internal order of the garrison. The council had drawn the same line on 9 July 1734, when Governor Pyke told Colonel Gaultier that Captain Cason was the chief military officer and that no one ought to be set over his head. The council's remark about soldiers lately sent from England reflects a real difficulty of the establishment. Recruits arrived knowing nothing of the place, could not be replaced for a year or more, and the council had told three homeward commanders on 19 December 1734 that the island wanted two hundred more men with a war apprehended. Men who could not be spared could not easily be disciplined either. |
49 | 41 | fellow whom She did not know then after her near a Place called Trenches Gut & by force carried her into the Gut & then by violence & against her Will & ravished her She not being able to call out because he Stopt & Gagged her Mouth with the handle of a Hatchet Betty the Wench abovementioned being called in & Examined Saith that on Sunday last as She was returning home to her Masters who had Sent her of an Errand, She See a fellow with a Load of Wood upon his Shoulders upon a Rising ground above the Roadway where She was & presently after that had Set her Eyes upon him he threw down his Load & run after her & Catched hold & carried her by force upon his Shoulders into a Place called Trenches Gut & there against her Will by force & Violence, lay with her three times & forced his private parts into her body She not being able to cry out because he Stopt her Mouth with the handle of a Hatchet & Said when he left her, if She told her Master he would run after her again & threatened when he was lying with her, if She cryed out he would knock her brains out with the Hatchet which he then had in his hand & held up to her as if he was going to Strike her & when he went away She hid herself till he was out of Sight & then went home & told her Master & Mistress what had happened Mary Lyndon, Matron, being desired by the Governour to Examine the Girle, did so accordingly & be being asked in what Condition She found her Saith that her private Parts were much torn & bruised & Seemed to her to have been done by a Mans lying with her or having carnall knowledge of her body Sander one of the Hon[...] Companies Blacks Saith that Tonis & he went together for Wood last Sunday & after they had got their Loads parted, & Sander as he was comeing home he met this black Girle & Betty who cryed very much & told him a black fellow had lain with her but on that he bid her go & tell her Master As Soon as the Girle was confronted with the fellow She immediatly declared that he was the Man that had forced her but he denyed the doing of any Such thing nevertheless the Governour whose Slave the fellow is determined that no Favour should be Shewn him & therefore ordered him to be Castrated in hopes to put an effectual Cheque to this Villainy Lawrence a Man belonging to James Powell made Complaint to the Governour on Thursday last having Runaway the day before that it is impossible for him to live any longer with his Master but is kept perpetually without meeting with cruel & inhumane, hurting & beating in Somuch that with the bruises he hath received & is almost disabled in both his hands & his Bones with Severe & undeserved drubing are become so Sore that he lives in intollerable Pain & that let him Slave or Work ever so hard he constantly meets with beating & unkind Usage & farther Saith that a little while ago his Master Stript him & whipt him in a terrible manner & immediatly afterwards burnt him with a hot Gridiron & then dropt the Wax of a lit Candle upon the part he had just before burnt with the Gridiron The Said Black was Ordered to Work at the Fortifications till this matter should be taken into farther Consideration | The girl said that a man she did not know ran after her near a place called Frenches Gut, carried her by force to the gut and raped her against her will. She could not cry out because he stopped and gagged her mouth with the handle of a hatchet. Betty Funge was called before the council and examined. She stated that on the previous Sunday, as she was returning home to her mistress who had sent her on an errand, she saw a man with a load of wood on his shoulders on a rising ground above the road where she was. As soon as he set eyes on her he threw down his load, ran after her, caught her and carried her on his shoulders by force to a place called Frenches Gut. There he laid her down three times against her will and forced his private parts into her body. She could not cry out because he stopped her mouth with the handle of a hatchet. When he left her he told her that if she informed her master he would come after her again, and he had threatened her while he lay with her that if she cried out he would knock her brains out with the hatchet he had in his hand, holding it up as though he meant to strike her. When he went away she hid herself until he was out of sight, then went home and told her master and mistress what had happened. Mary Lyndon, the matron, was directed by the Governor to examine the girl. She did so and reported that she found her private parts much torn and bruised, and that in her judgement a man had lain with her or had carnal knowledge of her body. Sander, one of the Company's slaves, stated that he and Tonis went together for wood on the previous Sunday. After they had drawn their loads Sander parted from him, and as he was coming home he met a black girl called Betty, who was crying a great deal. She told him that a black man had lain with her, and he urged her to tell her master. The girl was confronted with the man and immediately declared that he was the one who had forced her. He denied doing any such thing. The Governor and council nevertheless determined that no favour should be shown him, and ordered him castrated in the hope of putting an effective check to such villainy. Lawrence, a slave of James Powell, complained to the Governor on the previous Thursday, having run away the day before. It was impossible for him to live any longer with his master, who kept him at work without rest, treated him with constant harshness, beat him and injured him so badly that the bruises he had received had almost disabled both his hands. His body carried marks of severe and repeated beating and had become so sore that he lived in intolerable pain. Whether he stayed with his master or went out to work he met constantly with beating and unkind treatment. A little while earlier his master stripped him and whipped him savagely, then immediately afterwards burned him with a hot gridiron and dripped the wax of a candle onto the part he had just burned. The council ordered Lawrence to work at the fortifications until the matter could be considered further. Interpretations The council sentenced the man on the girl's identification alone, against his denial and with no free witness to the act. Its own rule made the testimony of blacks inadmissible against a free defendant, and that rule had defeated every proceeding against John Long for a decade, but it did not protect a slave accused by another slave. The proceeding here is closer to the trial of Mingo at the general sessions of 2 July 1733, where the two child witnesses could not be sworn and the court gave their unsworn accounts entire credit, sparing his life for want of legal evidence while requiring exemplary punishment. Castration was proposed then on the same reasoning, the master to bear the charge of the operation and the country to make satisfaction should the man die under it. Mary Lyndon's role is the one piece of evidence the council treated as independent. A matron appointed to examine the body of a girl or woman supplied what a court would otherwise lack entirely, since no medical examination was available and no free person had witnessed the assault. Her finding converted the girl's account from an allegation into something the council could act on, and it is the reason this case proceeded where so many others collapsed. Sander's evidence performs a distinct function. He met the girl in tears immediately afterwards and urged her to tell her master, which establishes that she made her complaint at the first opportunity rather than after reflection or prompting. The law attached weight to a prompt complaint, and the sequence of hiding until the man was gone, going straight home and telling both master and mistress is set out with that in view. Lawrence appeared before this council on 10 September 1735 with an almost identical account, describing the same gridiron burn and the same candle wax dripped onto it, and stating that Powell had promised the Governor to forgive him and whipped him severely as soon as they reached home. Nothing was done then. Sending him to the fortifications now removes him from Powell's household without freeing him, and it supplies labour the council had failed to obtain by hire, its advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day having drawn not a single offer. James Powell was committed to prison at the previous meeting for incest with his wife's sister and for attempting to procure a false oath. That two of his slaves have now laid complaints of extreme cruelty before the council within two months, and that a third, Bacchus, deposed on 10 September to whipping with a four-strand cord, brine on the raw back and a woman left permanently crippled, places the whole household under examination at the moment its head is in gaol. |
50 | 42 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 12th Nov[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Richard Beale was presented & read Setting forth that James Powell & Charles Steward in the Letter by the Shed to be sent to the Hon[...] Company by the last Shiping do therein accuse the Petitioner with making use of a Severall false Representations to the Hon[...] Company to Support his Claim to thirty Acres of Freehold Land illegaly withheld from the Petitioner by the Heirs of Gabriel Powell deceased & praying that he may have leave to Search and Examine all publick Papers & Records relating to his Case by which he doubts not he shall be able to make it appear to your Worship & Councell & to all other honest indifferent Persons that your Petitioner hath not urged or Represented any thing to the Hon[...] Company or to your Worship & Council but what is exactly agreable to Truth At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18th Nov[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that it was the Opinion of the Military Officers that Plushanet, Web, & Seale should Run the Gauntlet for their offences particularly mentioned in Consultation of the 11th instant, & they Run the Gauntlet on Wednesday last accordingly The Governour also Reports that his Slave Iman called Tonis was Castrated on Thursday last for ravishing M[...] Sungas Girle named Betty Capt Goodwin the Storekeeper Reports that there is a large Parcell of Silk Druget which has been upwards of Twenty years in the Stores & by length of time is become much damaged by Moths, & as that thing is very scarce he proposed that the House Servants might be Clothed therewith, & that the remainder to prevent its being quite Spoiled might be Speedily Sold at publick Autery for the most that can be got for it The Said Proposal was agreed to accordingly, and the Storekeeper was directed to charge what shall be used for the House Servants at the Same Rate the other Shall Sell at Autery Richard Beale according to the Order of Councell of the 21st of Oct[...] last this day attended in order to make Proof if he | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 12 November 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition from Richard Beale was presented and read. Beale set out that James Powell and Charles Steward had sent a letter to the Company by the last shipping which accused him of making several false representations to the Company in support of his claim to thirty acres of freehold land unlawfully withheld from him by the heirs of Gabriel Powell. He asked leave to search and examine the public papers and records relating to his case, by which he had no doubt he would be able to satisfy the council and every other honest and impartial person that he had never urged or represented anything to the Company or to the council but what agreed exactly with the truth. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 18 November 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that the military officers were of the opinion that Plucknet, Webb and Slate should run the gauntlet for the offences set out in the consultation of 11 November, and that they had run it on the previous Wednesday. The Governor also reported that his slave Tonis was castrated on the previous Thursday for raping Francis Funge's girl Betty. Captain Goodwin, the storekeeper, reported a large parcel of silk drugget in the stores, more than twenty years old and badly damaged by moths. Clothing had become very scarce, and he proposed that the household servants be clothed from it and the remainder sold quickly at public auction for the most it would fetch, before it spoiled entirely. The council agreed and directed the storekeeper to charge whatever was used for the household servants at the same rate the rest fetched at the sale. Richard Beale attended in accordance with the council's order of 21 October to make proof of his claim. Interpretations Running the gauntlet was a military punishment in which the offender passed between two lines of his own comrades, each armed with a switch or a rope's end and required to strike as he went. It served a purpose no flogging by a single hand could: the men who had heard Webb threaten to cut Draper's ears off in the guard room were made to punish him themselves, which turned the garrison from an audience into the instrument. The council had referred the matter to the military officers precisely because it touched the internal order of the garrison rather than the peace of the island. Castration as a sentence for rape appears here for the second time in this record. It was proposed for Mingo at the general sessions of 2 July 1733, where the jury spared his life for want of legal evidence and required exemplary punishment instead, and no record shows that sentence carried out. This one was, within a week of the order. The difference is that Tonis belonged to the Governor himself, so no master had to be compensated, no charge for the operation fell to be argued over and no question arose of the country making satisfaction should the man die under it. Silk drugget is a mixed cloth of silk with wool or linen, lighter than the plain woollen drugget sold to the inhabitants at 3s 10d the yard in the accounts for February and March 1735. Moths destroy the animal fibres in such a cloth and leave the rest, so a parcel twenty years in store on a damp island would be riddled. Clearing damaged goods into the island at reduced prices was the storekeeper's standard disposal, applied to 143 pairs of moth-eaten stockings in October 1730, to 176 pairs of shoes in January 1733 and to 1,608 yards of damaged chintz in March 1733. Charging the household servants' cloth at whatever the auction fetched, rather than at the invoice price, protects the Company's books from a criticism that could otherwise be made in London. Goods taken out of store for the establishment's own use had to be valued somehow, and setting the rate by public sale gave an independent figure that no auditor could dispute. Beale's petition concerns a private letter sent home by his opponents attacking his honesty, and his answer is to ask for the record. The council allowed him on 29 January 1735 to inspect the register and take copies of whatever related to him, but refused copies of original papers. His claim now stands supported by an appraisal returning the whole estate at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October, so the documents matter more than they did when the estate was returned at £405 15s 7d. |
51 | 43 | the Severall Allegations by him made use of in the Representation of his Case to the Hon[...] Company relating to [...] Right to thirty Acres of Freehold Land unlawfully withheld from him by the heirs of Gabriel Powell deceased, but the other Persons here appointed to attend at this day not making their Appearance, the Said M[...] Beale desired that he might he no longer put off but that his Claim might be Speedily taken into Consideration & Determined, & he was directed to leave all his Papers with the Secretary & was told that as Soon as may be wee would Examine them, & he was farther told that as he was accused with falsehood & Misrepresentation it was expected he should clear himself from what was objected to him or otherwise, he could not reasonably hope any thing could be done for his Releife At a Consultation held on Tuesday 25th Nov[...] 1735 at the Plantation House. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Goodwin, Absent. John Alexander Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that this Morning he received the two following Letters one from M[...] Purling Churchwarden & the other from Cap[...] Alexander viz[...] Letter from M[...] Purling viz[...] To the Worshipfull the Governour & Council of St Helena Sir & Gentlemen This is to Acquaint you that one Margaret Alexander a Single Woman was on Saturday day night last the 22d instant brought to bed of a Male Child & she is not Married & the Mother of the Said Child is not able to Maintain it & the mothers Relations will noe own the Said Child to belong to their Family because it comes of an Illegitimate & an incestuous birth on James Powell a Planter of this Island being the putative father of the Said, So that unless Some due care be taken of the Said Child it must utter perish for want or else become Chargeable to the Inhabitants of this precinct who are already greatly burthened & opprest beyond their Abilities in the Support | Beale attended to make good the several allegations he had used in his representation to the Company about his right to thirty acres of freehold land unlawfully withheld from him by the heirs of Gabriel Powell. The other parties who had been ordered to appear did not come. Beale asked that his claim be put off no longer but taken into consideration and settled quickly, and he was directed to leave his papers with the secretary. The council would examine them as soon as it could. He was further told that, being accused of falsehood and misrepresentation, he was expected to clear himself of what had been laid against him, since otherwise he could not reasonably hope for anything to be done for his relief. The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 25 November 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander and Duke Crisp present. John Goodwin was absent. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that he had received two letters that morning, one from Mr Durling the churchwarden and the other from Captain Alexander. Durling wrote to the Governor and council that Margaret Alexander, a single woman, was delivered of a male child on the night of Saturday 22 November. She was unmarried and unable to maintain the child. Her relations would not acknowledge it as belonging to their family because it came of an illegitimate and incestuous birth, James Powell, a planter of the island, being the reputed father. Unless some provision were made for the child it must either die for want or fall as a charge on the inhabitants of the precinct, who were already heavily burdened and pressed beyond their means in supporting [...] Interpretations The churchwarden's letter is a demand for a maintenance order rather than a report. Under the poor law the parish carried the cost of any child its mother could not support, and the standard remedy was to identify the putative father and charge him with a weekly sum. Durling names Powell in exactly those terms, which is the formula that made an order possible, and the phrase covers a man reputed to be the father whether or not the point had been tried. The family's refusal to acknowledge the child is the sharpest fact on the page and the reason the parish must act. Margaret Alexander is the daughter of the second of council, a man of substance whose household would ordinarily have absorbed such a birth without any question of parish relief. That her relations disclaim the infant on the ground of its incestuous origin leaves it destitute in a way that would be unthinkable for any other child of that family, and it places John Alexander in the position of sitting at a council that must now provide for his own grandson. The alternatives Durling sets out are stark and were meant to be. A child unprovided for must perish or become a charge, and the inhabitants of the precinct were in no condition to bear it: the Governor recorded on 24 September 1734, when the soldier John Thwaites drowned leaving a wife and seven children, that most of the inhabitants were so poor they scarcely knew what to do, being hardly able to maintain themselves. The parish had lately been paying six shillings a week for a pauper child until the council found a cheaper arrangement on 11 September 1733, settling a house on a grandmother who would keep the child to full age. James Powell has been in prison since 11 November on this very matter, committed both for the incest and for attempting to persuade Margaret Alexander to swear the child on John Johnson, who had sailed for India and could neither deny it nor be charged. That attempt now appears in its practical light: had it succeeded, the maintenance order would have gone against an absent man and been worth nothing, and the parish would have carried the child regardless. |
52 | 44 | Maintainance & Assistance of the Poor of this place I take it to be my duty as Churchwarden of this place to Acquaint you herewith that Such order may be taken herein as shall be agreable to justice & Equity in this Case & that the Inhabitants of this precinct & parish may not be burthened herewith, I am Sir & Gentlemen with all due Respects Your most Humble Servant John Purling Letter from Cap[...] Alexander viz[...] Worshipfull Sir, I humbly beg leave to Enter an Action against my Son in Law James Powell for the Scandal & disgrace he has brought upon my Family by incestuously debauching his Wives Sister, my Eldest Daughter who on Saturday was delivered of a Male Bastard Child begotten by the Said James Powell, I am Worshipfull Sir Your most Humble & Obedient Servant Jn[...] Alexander 25 Nov[...] 1735 Granted & leave is given to bring in an Action against James Powell at the Suit of Cap[...] John Alexander for the Sum of five hundred Pounds damages that he has Sustained in his Family by the Said Powell who Married one of his Daughters & has debauched his other Daughter named Margaret who has bore him an incestuous Bastard Male Child Dated under my hand this 22d day of Nov[...] 1735 Isa: Pyke Govern[...] Margaret Hayes Widow this day presented an Inventory & Appraisment of the Estate late belonging to her Husband Ino Hayes died & the Same was taken & Appraised by Ino Desfountain Isaac Such John Hanson & Sutton Hanks & the Widow & they being each of them Sworne the Widow declared that the Inventory was a true Account of her late Husbands Estate & the Appraisers Severally declared that they had valued & Appraised the Same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Nov[...] last which was Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] | Durling closed by saying that it was his duty as churchwarden to lay the matter before the council so that an order might be made that answered justice and fairness, and so that the inhabitants of the precinct and parish should not be burdened with the charge. The letter was signed John Durling. Captain Alexander wrote to the Governor asking leave to bring an action against his son-in-law James Powell for the scandal and disgrace he had brought on his family by incestuously debauching his wife's sister, Alexander's eldest daughter, who was delivered of a male bastard child on the Saturday, fathered by Powell. The letter was dated 25 November 1735 and signed John Alexander. Leave was granted to bring an action against James Powell at the suit of Captain John Alexander for £500 0s 0d in damages for the injury done to his family by Powell, who had married one of his daughters and debauched another, Margaret, who had borne him an incestuous male bastard. The order was signed by the Governor and dated 25 November 1735. Margaret Hayes, widow, presented an inventory and appraisement of the estate late belonging to her husband Isaac Hayes. It had been taken and valued by John Defountaine, Isaac Leech, John Hanson and Sutton Marsh. All four were sworn, and the widow declared that the inventory was a true account of her late husband's estate, while the appraisers each declared that they had valued it to the best of their skill and judgement. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for the month past, which were examined in turn and approved. Interpretations An action by a father for the seduction of his daughter had to be pleaded as a loss to himself rather than an injury to her. English law gave the woman no remedy at all in her own name, so the father sued on the fiction that he had lost her services as a member of his household, and the damages measured the disgrace to the family rather than anything she had suffered. That is why Alexander's letter speaks of scandal brought upon his family and never of what was done to Margaret. Her own examination of 28 October described being held down and unable to resist, but no proceeding available to her turned on that. Five hundred pounds is an enormous figure by any measure taken in this record. Gabriel Powell's whole estate stood at upwards of £1,200 0s 0d when he died, the Greentree estate at £1,255 7s 9d gross in 1733, and the Nicholls estate at £594 6s 6d. The sum reflects the standing of the plaintiff rather than any calculation of loss, and it is set against a defendant whose expectations from his mother's estate are frozen by three caveats and whose share of an appraisal returning £5,136 17s 5.25d has yet to be determined. The Governor granting leave for an action brought by the second of council, in a matter in which that councillor is the injured father, shows the limits of what the island's arrangements could manage. Alexander sat at the meeting of 11 November when his daughter's examination was read and at this one where the churchwarden's letter was heard. No other body existed to grant the leave, and no rule required him to withdraw, though he had withdrawn from the enquiry into Isaac Wood's title in February 1733 when he was himself concerned in the land. The two letters pull in different directions and both arrived the same morning. Durling wants maintenance for the child, which requires Powell to be treated as its father and made to pay weekly. Alexander wants damages for the disgrace, which requires the child to remain unacknowledged by his family. The council heard them together, and only the action for damages was determined. |
53 | 45 | Account of the Hon[...] Companies Stock of Cattle &c[...] for the Month of October 1735 viz[...] Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st October: Bullocks 24, Cows 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 56, Bulls 7, Totall 335, Ewes 80, Wethers 11, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 101, Sows 9, Shoats 22, Pigs 43, Boars 1, Totall 75, Turkeys 29, Fowles 95, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 10, Bulls 0, Totall 10, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 40, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 24, Cows 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 66, Bulls 7, Totall 345, Ewes 80, Wethers 11, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 101, Sows 9, Shoats 22, Pigs 43, Boars 1, Totall 75, Turkeys 29, Fowles 135, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed & one Lamb died: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 3, Wethers 8, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 13, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 1, Fowles 46, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaining 31st Oct[...]: Bullocks 24, Cows 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 66, Bulls 7, Totall 645, Ewes 77, Wethers 3, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 88, Sows 9, Shoats 20, Pigs 43, Boars 1, Totall 73, Turkeys 28, Fowles 89, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 18000[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 22500 Totall Yams 40,500[...] | The Company's account of stock for October 1735 stands as follows, each movement row set out with every class of animal named against its figure. Remaining 1 October, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 heifers, 40 steers, 50 yearlings, 56 calves, 7 bulls, 335 neat cattle in all, 80 ewes, 11 wethers, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 101 sheep in all, 9 sows, 22 shoats, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 75 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 95 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 10 calves, 0 bulls, 10 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 40 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total before deductions, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 heifers, 40 steers, 50 yearlings, 66 calves, 7 bulls, 345 neat cattle in all, 80 ewes, 11 wethers, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 101 sheep in all, 9 sows, 22 shoats, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 75 hogs in all, 29 turkeys, 135 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, with one lamb dead, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle in all, 3 ewes, 8 wethers, 2 lambs, 0 rams, 13 sheep in all, 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 2 hogs in all, 1 turkey, 46 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 31 October, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 heifers, 40 steers, 50 yearlings, 66 calves, 7 bulls, 345 neat cattle in all, 77 ewes, 3 wethers, 4 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep in all, 9 sows, 20 shoats, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 73 hogs in all, 28 turkeys, 89 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 22,500 lb Total of yams, 40,500 lb Interpretations Ten calves born and not a single beast killed or sold carries the herd to 345 head, its highest figure since the drought broke. This is the fourth consecutive month without a sale, the road having stood empty since the end of July, and the closing figure now stands above the 335 at which the Company's year ended on 30 September. Calving in the island's spring, with the pastures recovered, is exactly what the run of monthly returns through 1734 lacked entirely. The flock is being drawn down hard. Thirteen sheep killed against no increase at all brings it from 101 to 88, and the wethers have fallen from eleven to three across a single month. Wethers are castrated males kept for nothing but meat, so a flock reduced to three of them has almost no margin left before ewes and breeding stock must go. The annual account to 30 September already recorded 101 sheep killed against 69 increased, and the same pressure continues. Poultry moved sharply in both directions, 40 fowls hatched and 46 killed, leaving the yard at 89 against 95. That is the fourth month running in which the table has consumed nearly the whole hatch, and the annual figures bear it out: 581 fowls raised across the year against 594 killed. With no cattle killed and the flock and yard carrying the whole demand, the fort table has been living on sheep, hogs and fowls since the beginning of August. Pork stood at 240 lb in the September account with no beef at all, and the pattern holds through this month. The yam issue has risen again to 40,500 lb, its highest figure since the winter, split 18,000 lb to the plantations and 22,500 lb to the slaves. The share going to the establishment has grown steadily from 19,750 lb in August through 19,300 lb in September, which suggests the harvest was carrying the people rather than the reserves. Imported rice had run at 63 hundredweight to the blacks in the quarter to June, and a recovering yam crop was the only thing that would reduce it. |
54 | 46 | Expence of the Table in Oct[...] 1735 viz[...] 4 Flour 5 90 Pork 2 2 6 11 Sheep 13 15 1 Lamb 12 1 Turkey 5 46 Fowles 3 9 31 Days Greens 1 11 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 48 Butter 2 8 20 Gallons Sherrey 7 15 48 Galls Arrack 9 12 96 Galls Beer 4 16 1..3 Sugar 2 9 18 Candy 13 6 2 Pepper 2 8 Bottles Oyle 1 6 56 16 8 20 Galls Arrack did the Guards Artificiers &c[...] upon his Majesties Birth day £ 5 16 11 Galls ditto del[...] the Blacks 2 4 48 Sugar del[...] the Guards &c[...] £ 10 6 8 10 6 Gunners Stores Expended in Oct[...] 1735 viz[...] 1735 Guns Fired, Shott, D: Culvering, Powder Oct[...] 4 Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, D: Culvering 0, Powder 20 27 Exercise of the Guns: Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, D: Culvering 2, Powder 14 Expence of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, D: Culvering 0, Powder 96 Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, D: Culvering 2, Powder 96 Lead Shott 10[...] Sheep Skines 20 Handspikes 6 Spunge Staves 3 Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Match 18[...] Parchment Skines 6 | The expense of the fort table in October 1735 stands as follows. 4 cwt of flour, £5 0s 0d 90 lb of pork, £2 2s 6d 11 sheep, £13 15s 0d 1 lamb, £0 12s 0d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 46 fowls, £3 9s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 0s 8d 48 lb of butter, £2 8s 0d 20 gallons of sherry, £7 15s 0d 48 gallons of arrack, £9 12s 0d 96 gallons of beer, £4 16s 0d 1 cwt 3 qr of sugar, £2 9s 0d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 8 bottles of oil, £1 6s 0d Total, £56 16s 8d 29 gallons of arrack to the guards and artificers on the King's birthday, £5 16s 0d 11 gallons of arrack delivered to the blacks, £2 4s 0d 42 lb of sugar delivered to the guards and others, £0 10s 6d Total of the allowances, £8 10s 6d The gunner's account of stores spent in October 1735 stands as follows, the column identities taken from the headings on the leaf and carried down onto every figure. 4 October, muster day, 20 lb of powder 27 October, exercising the guns, 2 guns fired, 2 round shot, 2 demi-culverins, 14 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 96 lb of powder Total, 2 guns fired, 2 round shot, 2 demi-culverins, 96 lb of powder Lead shot, 10 Sheepskins, 20 Handspikes, 6 Sponge staves, 3 Cartridge paper, 4 quire Match, 18 lb Parchment skins, 6 Interpretations Eleven sheep at £13 15s 0d dominate the table and confirm what the stock account shows. Thirteen sheep were killed in October against no increase whatever, and the flock fell to 88 head with only three wethers left. Beef is absent for the third consecutive month, the road having stood empty since July, and pork has dropped to 90 lb against 240 lb in September. The fort is eating the flock because it has nothing else to eat. Greens entered by the day rather than by weight is the ordinary way of charging garden produce, and thirty-one days means the Plantation House garden supplied the table every day of the month. That garden had been in poor condition: Mr Durling reported on 17 December 1734 that under Hugh Williams's care there would be nothing left in it, not so much as a salad, sailors having gathered the fruit as fast as it ripened and twenty drunken men at one time having broken the vines and trees to pieces. A full month of greens indicates it had recovered under a new hand. Butter and milk appear here as substantial charges where they are absent from most earlier accounts in this run, forty-eight pounds of butter and sixty-two bottles of milk in the month. A dairy needs cows in milk, and the herd is now calving again after two years in which the drought stopped it almost entirely. The customary allowance on the King's birthday, 30 October, is entered separately from the table itself, twenty-nine gallons of arrack to the guards and to the artificers with sugar to go with it. These issues run through every year of this record, and the practice of setting them below the line rather than within the table account keeps the ceremonial charge distinct from the ordinary victualling. The guard consumed 96 lb of powder, more than three quarters of the month's total, continuing the pattern of the summer when it took 129 lb in August. The nightly guard boat established on 30 June is still patrolling the road between Munden's Point and Chapel Valley, and an armed party at sea through every hour of darkness burns powder at a rate no shore post approaches. Firing two demi-culverins with ball on 27 October is exercise rather than salute, and the demi-culverin is a heavier piece than the sakers and minions used for the alarms. The council resolved on 11 June 1734 that every gun on the line and at each place of defence be kept constantly loaded even in peace, and monthly practice with the heavier metal has run through this year, 36 lb going on it in July and 28 lb in August. |
55 | 47 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 2d Decemb[...] 1735 at Plantation House. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that on the 27th of last Month the Widow Shreve made the following Affidavit before him viz[...] Mary Shreve Widow being a Midwife on this Island & Examined upon her Oath what She knows concerning a base born Child lately born of the body of Margaret Alexander an unmarried Single Woman doth Say That She was Sent for on Saturday Night last to Cap[...] Alexanders House to assist the Said Alexanders Daughter who was then Supposed to be in labour, & She Saith that She made all the Expedition She could, Captain Alexander having Sent his Chair for her, & She went forthwith, but when She arrived at Cap[...] Alexanders house She went immediatly up Stairs & found the young Woman was delivered of a Male Child She asked how long the Child had been born & they Said but just before She came in, & She this Deponent then Said but who is the father of this Child I must know that & the Mother Cryed & Simpered very Sorrowfully but Answered it is James Powells & no mans else And this Deponent being asked if She Saw the Child all over naked, She Said She did & Examined all its parts being asked what Sort of a Child it was She Says it was a brown Child & not a fair Child to which the Governour Said then its possible it may be a black Child, to which this Deponent Answered no Sir it is certainly a White mans Child, being asked if She understood the Difference between a Child of a Whitemans getting & a Blackmans She Said She understood the Difference very well & told the Governour the Sure Sign & Distinction & added farther this Child has a great Resemblance of | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 2 December 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that the widow Shreve made an affidavit before him on 27 November. Mary Shreve, widow and a midwife of the island, was examined on oath about what she knew of a bastard child lately born to Margaret Alexander, an unmarried woman. She stated that she was sent for on the Saturday night to Captain Alexander's house to attend his daughter, who was thought to be in labour. Captain Alexander sent his chair for her and she made all the haste she could. On arriving she went straight upstairs and found the young woman already delivered of a male child. She asked how long the child had been born and was told only just before she came in. She then asked who the father was, saying she had to know. The mother wept and lamented bitterly but answered that it was James Powell and no other man. Asked whether she saw the child entirely naked, she said she had and had examined every part of it. Asked what sort of child it was, she said it was a brown child and not a fair one. The Governor observed that it might then be a black child. She answered that it was certainly a white man's child. Asked whether she understood the difference between a child fathered by a white man and one fathered by a black, she said she understood it very well, told the Governor the certain sign and distinction, and added that the child bore a strong resemblance to [...] Interpretations A midwife's sworn examination of the mother during or immediately after labour was the standard method of establishing paternity in a bastardy case, and it rested on a belief that a woman in that condition would not lie. The midwife was expected to put the question directly, and the answer given at that moment carried evidential weight that the same answer given later would not. Mary Shreve arrived after the delivery and asked all the same, which is why she records precisely how long the child had been born. The Governor's suggestion that the child might be black is the pivotal exchange, and its purpose was practical rather than idle. James Powell was already in prison for the incest and for attempting to persuade Margaret Alexander to lay the child on John Johnson, who had sailed for India. Any doubt about the father's identity would have collapsed the case against him, so the Governor tested the midwife on the one alternative that would have removed a white man from the account altogether. She rejected it flatly and offered to state the sign she relied on. The question also sits against the ruling this council gave on 30 September 1735, when the executors of John Worrall asked whether the children of a free woman by a slave father were free or slaves. The council held them slaves and directed five such children valued into the estate at £33 0s 0d. A brown child born to a free white woman would therefore have raised a question of status as well as of paternity, and the midwife's answer disposed of both. Captain Alexander sending his own chair for the midwife shows the household acting properly for the daughter even while refusing the child. His letter of 25 November asked leave to sue Powell for £500 0s 0d for the disgrace brought on his family, and Mr Durling the churchwarden wrote the same morning that the mother's relations would not acknowledge the infant as belonging to them. The care taken over the birth and the refusal to own its issue ran side by side. |
56 | 48 | the Powells & farther She doth not at this time Say Sworn before me this 27th day of Nov[...] 1735 Isa Pyke of the M Mark Mary Shreve The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for November last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] Expence of the Table in Nov[...] 1735 viz[...] £ 70 Pork 1 15 7 Ewes 8 5 3 Lambs 1 16 60 Fowles 4 10 9 Pigs 2 5 30 Days Greens 1 10 60 Bottles Milk 1 20 Galls Sherrey 7 15 79½ Galls Arrack 15 18 7 Bottles Oyle 1 2 9 4 Flour 5 1..3 Sugar 2 9 18 Candy 13 6 2 Pepper 2 £ 54 7 3 Gunners Stores Expended in Nov[...] 1735 1735 Powder Nov[...] 1 Muster Day: Powder 20[...] Expence of the Guard: Powder 46 Totall 66 Musquet Balls 6[...] Spunge Staves 6 Handspikes 6 Cartredge Paper 5 Quire Sheep Skines 10 Match 18[...] Bills 6 | The child bore a strong resemblance to the Powells, and Mary Shreve said she had nothing further to state at present. The affidavit was sworn before the Governor on 27 November 1735 and signed with her mark. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for November, which were examined in turn and approved. The expense of the fort table in November 1735 stands as follows. 70 lb of pork, £1 15s 0d 4 ewes, £8 5s 0d 3 lambs, £1 16s 0d 60 fowls, £4 10s 0d 9 pigs, £2 5s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d 20 gallons of sherry, £7 15s 0d 79.5 gallons of arrack, £15 18s 0d 7 bottles of oil, £1 2s 9d 4 cwt of flour, £5 0s 0d 1 cwt 3 qr of sugar, £2 9s 0d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d Total, £54 7s 3d The gunner's account of stores spent in November 1735 stands as follows. 1 November, muster day, 20 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 46 lb of powder Total, 66 lb of powder Musket balls, 6 Sponge staves, 6 Handspikes, 6 Cartridge paper, 5 quire Sheepskins, 10 Match, 18 lb Bitts, 6 Interpretations Resemblance was the last thing a midwife could offer where no other evidence existed, and it followed her answers on the child's colour. Neither observation would settle paternity today, but both were admitted in bastardy proceedings, and taken with Margaret Alexander's own naming of the father at the moment of delivery they gave the council all it was going to get. James Powell has been in prison since 11 November on this charge and on the attempt to persuade her to lay the child on John Johnson, who had sailed for India. Four ewes at £8 5s 0d is the striking line in the table account. Ewes are breeding stock and the last animals a flock manager kills, but the wethers had fallen to three by the end of October and there was nothing else left to take. The flock stood at 88 head and had lost 101 across the Company's year against 69 increased. Beef is absent for the fourth consecutive month, the road having been empty since July, and pork has dropped again to 70 lb. Arrack rose to 79.5 gallons, the heaviest monthly charge at the table in this run and half as much again as the 48 gallons of October. Nothing in the account suggests visitors, since no ship was in the road, so the increase went to the establishment itself. Milk and greens continue as steady daily supplies, sixty bottles and thirty days respectively, which confirms both the dairy and the Plantation House garden are again producing. The garden had been reported barren under Hugh Williams's care on 17 December 1734. Powder consumption has fallen to 66 lb, and the guard's share to 46 lb from 96 lb in October and 129 lb in August. The nightly guard boat was set out on 30 June to stop soldiers reaching the shipping and seamen deserting to the shore, and with no vessel in the road since July the patrol had little to watch. Bitts and handspikes appear as expended stores, a bitt being part of the timber work of a gun carriage and a handspike the lever used to shift a gun and set its aim, both worn by the exercise of the great guns that has run through this year. |
57 | 49 | Account of the Hon[...] Companies Stock of Cattle &c[...] for the month of November 1735 viz[...] Bullocks, Cowss, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaing the 1st Nov[...]: Bullocks 24, Cowss 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 66, Bulls 7, Totall 345, Ewes 77, Wethers 3, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 88, Sowes 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 43, Boars 1, Totall 73, Turkeys 28, Fowles 89, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowss 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 4, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 5, Boars 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 8, Fowles 50, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 24, Cowss 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 70, Bulls 7, Totall 349, Ewes 77, Wethers 3, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 88, Sowes 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 48, Boars 1, Totall 78, Turkeys 36, Fowles 139, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Bought in ditto: Bullocks 17, Cowss 7, Heifers 7, Steers 1, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 32, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 41, Cowss 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 70, Bulls 7, Totall 381, Ewes 77, Wethers 3, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 88, Sowes 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 48, Boars 1, Totall 78, Turkeys 36, Fowles 139, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowss 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 7, Wethers 0, Lambs 3, Rams 0, Totall 10, Sowes 0, Shoates 2, Pigs 9, Boars 0, Totall 11, Turkeys 0, Fowles 60, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaining 30th Nov[...]: Bullocks 41, Cowss 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 70, Bulls 7, Totall 381, Ewes 70, Wethers 3, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 78, Sowes 9, Shoates 18, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 67, Turkeys 36, Fowles 79, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 18500[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 31850 Totall Yams 50350[...] | The Company's account of stock for November 1735 stands as follows, each movement row set out with every class of animal named against its figure. Remaining 1 November, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 heifers, 40 steers, 50 yearlings, 66 calves, 7 bulls, 345 neat cattle in all, 77 ewes, 3 wethers, 4 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep in all, 9 sows, 20 shoats, 43 pigs, 1 boar, 73 hogs in all, 28 turkeys, 89 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 4 calves, 0 bulls, 4 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 5 pigs, 0 boars, 5 hogs in all, 8 turkeys, 50 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after increase, 24 bullocks, 112 cows, 46 heifers, 40 steers, 50 yearlings, 70 calves, 7 bulls, 349 neat cattle in all, 77 ewes, 3 wethers, 4 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep in all, 9 sows, 20 shoats, 48 pigs, 1 boar, 78 hogs in all, 36 turkeys, 139 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Bought in the month, 17 bullocks, 7 cows, 7 heifers, 1 steer, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 32 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after purchase, 41 bullocks, 119 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 70 calves, 7 bulls, 381 neat cattle in all, 77 ewes, 3 wethers, 4 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep in all, 9 sows, 20 shoats, 48 pigs, 1 boar, 78 hogs in all, 36 turkeys, 139 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle in all, 7 ewes, 0 wethers, 3 lambs, 0 rams, 10 sheep in all, 0 sows, 2 shoats, 9 pigs, 0 boars, 11 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 60 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 30 November, 41 bullocks, 119 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 70 calves, 7 bulls, 381 neat cattle in all, 70 ewes, 3 wethers, 1 lamb, 4 rams, 78 sheep in all, 9 sows, 18 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 67 hogs in all, 36 turkeys, 79 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 31,850 lb Total of yams, 50,350 lb Interpretations The purchase of thirty-two head is the first entry of its kind in this run of accounts. Cattle have moved out of the Company's stock to the shipping in every year recorded here and have never been bought in, the herd being maintained by breeding alone. Buying 17 bullocks, 7 cows, 7 heifers and a steer at once, and buying them almost entirely as grown animals rather than young stock, points to a deliberate rebuilding before the shipping season opens. The herd had fallen from 525 head at the end of December 1733 to 335 by 30 September 1735, and no ship had touched the island since July. The composition of the purchase tells its own story. Bullocks are the animals a commander wants for salting, and seventeen of them bought together is a stock laid in for sale rather than for the pastures. The seven cows and seven heifers go the other way, replacing breeding stock consumed during the drought years, so the Company was restoring both its trade and its capacity to produce in one transaction. Sheep continue to be cut into. Seven ewes and three lambs were killed against no increase, leaving 78 head with a single lamb and three wethers on the whole island. Killing breeding ewes, as the table account for November confirms with four ewes charged at £8 5s 0d, is what a flock manager does only when nothing else remains, and the flock has fallen from 169 at the opening of the Company's year. The yam issue has risen sharply to 50,350 lb, with 31,850 lb going to the slaves against 22,500 lb in October and 19,300 lb in September. That is the heaviest delivery to the establishment in more than a year, and it marks the new crop coming in. The council had been buying rice by the ton to make up the shortfall, 63 hundredweight going to the blacks in the quarter to June 1735 alone. Poultry again turned over almost completely, fifty fowls hatched and sixty killed. The fort table took sixty fowls in the month, so the yard is producing and being consumed at very nearly the same rate, exactly as it did across the Company's year when 581 were raised against 594 killed. |
58 | 50 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 9 Dec[...] 1735 at the Plantation House. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved John Worrall the Under Overseer made Complaint yesterday to the Governour that in the Afternoon he found fifteen head of Cattle belonging to the Powells in the Companies Pasture & that he had Pounded them as usual & this Morning M[...] Steward attended & desired the Said Cattle might be delivered to Alledging that a Bull lead the rest into the Pasture & promising to kill the Said Bull at Xmas to prevent future Mischeif & offering to pay Damages the Said Cattle were therefore delivered to him upon paying Sixpence p[...] head for this Trespass George Knight Soldier having taken one of the Hon[...] Companies Stonelayers named Sam Morris from their Work two days & employed him in building part of his house during those two days the Said Knight was fined four fold that is Twelve Shillings & the fellow was Ordered to be whipt with Thirty Lashes | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 9 December 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. John Worrall, the under overseer, complained to the Governor on the previous day that he had found fifteen head of cattle belonging to the Powells in the Company's pasture that afternoon and had impounded them in the usual way. Mr Steward attended that morning and asked for the cattle to be released, saying that a bull had led the rest into the pasture. He undertook to kill the bull at Christmas to prevent any repetition and offered to pay for the damage. The cattle were accordingly delivered up to him on payment of sixpence a head for the trespass. George Knight, a soldier, took one of the Company's stonelayers, Sam Morris, off his work for two days and employed him on building part of his own house. Knight was fined fourfold, twelve shillings in all, and Morris was ordered thirty lashes. Interpretations Impounding was the standard remedy for straying stock and worked by holding the animals rather than by suing their owner. The keeper of the pound charged a fee per head before releasing them, which made recovery immediate and cheap and required no proof of intent. Sixpence a head on fifteen beasts came to seven shillings and sixpence, a trifle against the value of the cattle, so the sanction lay in the inconvenience and the record rather than in the sum. Blaming the bull was a defence with a real basis in husbandry. A bull will break through a fence after cows in season and the herd follows him, so the trespass could be laid on one animal rather than on negligence, and killing him at Christmas removed the cause without wasting the meat. Whether the council believed it hardly mattered once Steward offered to pay. The Powells have been before this council over broken fences and straying stock repeatedly. James Powell was committed to prison on 29 January 1734 for pulling down the Company's pasture walls at night with two of his mother's blacks, opening the ground to be grazed chiefly by her cattle under a pretence that a common drift way lay there. The survey of James Crafford's ground on 28 March 1734 found a Mr Powell grazing 21 head on sixty acres belonging to others while holding only nine poor acres of his own. Charles Steward is executor of Gabriel Powell, and with James Powell in prison since 11 November the family's affairs rest largely on him. The fourfold fine on Knight follows the ordinary measure for converting another man's labour: the offender pays several times the value of what he took, so that the penalty exceeds any possible gain. Two days of a skilled stonelayer at the going rate would have come to about three shillings, and twelve shillings represents four times that. Morris was whipped for obeying. He was a slave with no power to refuse a free man who took him off his work, and the same difficulty arose on 18 September 1733 when Long's slave Anthony was excused the lash as a man bound to obey an unlawful order and set to labour instead. The council reached a different result here, and the disparity is stark: the free man who took the labour paid twelve shillings and the slave who performed it received thirty lashes. |
59 | 51 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16th Dec[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved James Powell having lately incestuously begot a Bastard Child upon his Wives Sister; wee on the first instant made the following Order for the Maintain- ance thereof viz[...] Island of St Helena ss. Whereas the following Information has been Some time Since taken before the Governour upon Oath viz[...] Margaret, See the Affidavit in Consultation of the 11th of November last And Since that time viz[...] on the 22d of Nov[...] last the Said Margaret Alexander was brought to bed of an Incestuous & Spurious Male Child & was Examined by Mary Shreve the Midwife at the time of the Said Childs Birth concerning the true father of the Bastard Child then come into the World, She Affirmed & immediatly & Stedfastly assured the Midwife & all present that it was begotten on her body by one James Powell & no man else who is her Sister Sarahs Husband as is before mentioned And whereas the Said Margaret Alexander is not of Ability to Maintain the Said incestuous & Spurious Issue, & her own Relations will not Acknowledge or allow that Child to belong to their Family it is either likely to perish for want, or to become a Standing Charge to the Severall Inhabitants of this Island for the Support & maintainance of the Same who are already greatly burthened by an Extraordinary Expence upon Accounts of many other poor to whose Support & Maintainance they continually con- tribute even beyond their Ability And whereas on a through & full Examination of many other Circumstances relating to this Affair | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 16 December 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. James Powell having lately fathered a bastard child on his wife's sister, the Governor made an order on 1 December for the child's maintenance, in these terms. Information had been taken some time earlier before the Governor on oath, the affidavit of Margaret Alexander being entered in the record of the meeting of 11 November. Since that date, on 22 November, Margaret Alexander was delivered of an incestuous and illegitimate male child. Mary Shreve, the midwife, examined her at the time of the birth about the true father of the child then born. She immediately and firmly assured the midwife and everyone present that it was fathered on her body by James Powell, the husband of her sister Sarah, and by no other man. Margaret Alexander had no means of maintaining the child. Her relations would not acknowledge it or allow it to belong to their family, so it was either to perish for want or become a standing charge on the inhabitants of the island. They were already heavily burdened with an extraordinary expense for many other poor towards whose support they contributed constantly beyond what they could afford. On a full and thorough examination of the other circumstances relating to the business [...] Interpretations The order is a bastardy order made by the Governor sitting alone under his authority as chief magistrate, and it follows the English poor law procedure exactly. Two elements had to be established before a father could be charged: the mother's identification of him, and her inability to maintain the child. The record sets both out in sequence, and the recital of the midwife's evidence is there because a naming made at the moment of delivery carried a weight that later assertions did not. Formal recitals of this kind exist to survive challenge. Powell could dispute the order, and a superior authority reading it afterwards would look for the jurisdictional facts on the face of the document: the sworn information, the birth, the examination in labour, the mother's poverty and the parish's exposure. Each appears in turn, dated and attributed, so that the order stands on its own without reference to the papers behind it. The parish's condition is stated as a ground of the order rather than as background. Maintenance orders were made because ratepayers objected to carrying other men's children, and St Helena's ratepayers were poor. The Governor recorded on 24 September 1734, when the soldier John Thwaites drowned leaving a wife and seven young children, that most of the inhabitants scarcely knew what to do, being hardly able to maintain themselves. The parish had been paying six shillings a week for one pauper child until a cheaper arrangement was found on 11 September 1733. What makes this case unusual is that the mother is the daughter of the second of council, a man of substance who sat at this meeting and at the one where his daughter's examination was read. An ordinary bastard child of such a household would never have reached the poor rate. The family's refusal to acknowledge the infant, on the ground of how it was got, is what places it before the parish at all, and the order treats that refusal as a fact to be worked around rather than one to be argued with. |
60 | 52 | it has very fully appeared to us that James Powell before mentioned being a lewd & wicked Man & of vicious & debauched Principles by transgressing the Laws of God & Man to gratify his own brutish Inclinations has tempted & Seduced his Wives Sister & had many times a Carnall & incestuous knowledge of her body from Some of which times She became with Child of this incestuous & Spurious Issue of which She laboured & was delivered in the Night of the 22d of Nov[...] last which Child is Christened by his putative fathers name James Powell & is likely to become a Charge to all the Inhabi- tants of this place as hath appeared by a Certificate of the Churchwardens here, it being born upon this Island St Helena & therefore as in us lies to prevent Sober & honest people from being impoverished by the Maintainance & Provision of this lewd & wicked Mans Spurious & Incestuous Issue wee do Adjudge pronounce & declare James Powell of this Island Planter to be the father of this base born Child & wee do appoint & order that the Churchwardens of this Place do take Charge of this Said Child & put it to be nursed by Some honest & poor Woman who will be carefull to bring up the Said Child & that the Said James Powell the father thereof do repay to them the Churchwardens & their Successours all their Charges & Expences that they shall at any time be at, on Account of the Said Childs Sustentation Support & Maintainance so as all the Inhabitants of this place may be Saved harmless & Indemnified from all future Expence on that Account until the Said Child shall be able to earn its own Bread & labour for its own Support so that the Said Expence do not exceed for the first year Eight Shillings p[...] Week, for the Second year | It appeared fully to the council that James Powell, being a lewd and wicked man of vicious and debauched principles, had broken the laws of God and man to gratify his own brutish inclinations by tempting and seducing his wife's sister and having carnal and incestuous knowledge of her body many times. On one of those occasions she conceived the incestuous and illegitimate child with which she laboured and was delivered on the night of 22 November. The child is called by his reputed father's name, James Powell, and is likely to become a charge on all the inhabitants of the island, as appeared by a certificate from the churchwardens, having been born on St Helena. Since it fell to the council to prevent sober and honest people from being impoverished by the keeping and provision of this man's illegitimate and incestuous issue, the Governor adjudged, pronounced and declared James Powell, planter of the island, to be the father of the base born child. He ordered the churchwardens to take charge of the child and place it with some honest and poor woman who would be careful to bring it up. Powell was to repay the churchwardens and their successors every charge and expense they should be put to at any time for the child's support and maintenance, so that all the inhabitants of the island might be kept harmless and indemnified against any future expense on that account, until the child should be able to earn its own bread and labour for its own support. That expense was not to exceed eight shillings a week for the first year, and for the second year [...] Interpretations The order works by indemnity rather than by direct payment to the mother. The churchwardens place the child, incur the cost and recover it from the father, which means the parish never carries the burden and the mother never handles the money. That structure was the standard English form and it suited a place where the putative father was in prison and the mother's own family had disclaimed the infant. Placing the child with a poor woman was both a cheaper and a more reliable arrangement than boarding it in a household of standing. A poor woman had reason to keep the payment coming and the parish had a clear person to hold responsible. The council reached the same solution on 11 September 1733, agreeing with the Governor to make fit the shell of a house left by Robert Burnham's father, at a charge of six or eight pounds, so that a grandmother could keep a pauper child to full age and hold the house afterwards. Eight shillings a week is a very heavy allowance by island standards. The parish had been paying six shillings for a pauper child in 1733, and the widow Sophia White received five shillings a week from the Company with a further five allowed by the inhabitants when she was left destitute in September 1732. A hired slave cost ninepence a day and could not be got at that rate. The sum is set high because it is payable by the offender rather than by the ratepayers, and because it declines after the first year as the child grows cheaper to keep. Naming the child after its father is recorded deliberately. It fixes the paternity in the parish register and in common report, which mattered where no other proof existed beyond the mother's word given at the moment of delivery. The Governor had tested that word on 27 November by pressing the midwife on whether the infant might be a black child, and she rejected the suggestion and pointed to a resemblance to the Powells. The order runs until the child can earn its own bread, which on this island meant the point at which a boy could be bound apprentice or set to labour. Children appear in the Company's own musters at seven and eight years old already valued and employed, and boys of nine and ten among the handicrafts as butcher, cooper and carpenter. |
61 | 53 | Six Shillings p[...] Week, & for every year after untill it be Eight years of age & untill it shall be no longer a Charge to the Parish, the Sum of four Shillings p[...] Week, & no more & then to cause it to be put out Apprentice to Some necessary & usefull Trade that the Severall Inhabitants of this Parish be totally freed from all farther Charge on Account of this Affair in future & as to the Price though it be much higher than is usually given at London in Cases of this nature & least it should Seem to Some who do not know the Customs of this Country to be an high Rate for the Maintainance of a Bastard Child wee have caused the Churchwardens of this Place to enquire what is the proper usuall Rate to be given upon this Account & wee have also ourselves enquired of many of the principal Inhabitants what is usually given for the Maintainance of Parish Chil- dren & wee do not find any that have given less than Seven Shillings p[...] Week, besides a Small Allowance for Tea Sugar & Candles, & finding it with Clo- thing of all Sorts, there being very few who are willing to undertake the trouble of Nursing another Mans Child especially one that hath come into the World with so much Infamy on the part of the Father as this Child hath done, & for this reason & because wee can find no body who will take it for less & the Churchwardens must be indemnified beyond their Expences wee have & do hereby order the Rates before going to be weekly paid as long as the Said Child shall be any Charge to the Parish And wee do hereby farther Decree Adjudge and Ordain that the Said James Powell the father shall & do give good Sufficient Security & Caution for his Performance of this our Order Dated & Given at St Helena under our hands & the Hon[...] Comp[...] Seale this first day of Dec[...] 1735 To Cap[...] John Goodwin & John Purling, Churchwardens of the Island St Helena | The allowance was set at six shillings a week for the second year, and for every year afterwards until the child reached eight years old and ceased to be a charge on the parish, four shillings a week and no more. At that age it was to be put out apprentice to some necessary and useful trade, so that the inhabitants of the parish should be entirely freed from any further charge on account of the affair. The rate is much higher than is usually given at London in cases of this kind, and might seem to anyone unacquainted with the customs of the island an excessive allowance for maintaining a bastard child. The churchwardens were therefore directed to enquire what rate was ordinarily given on such occasions, and the council enquired of many of the principal inhabitants what was usually paid for keeping parish children. Nobody was found who had given less than seven shillings a week, together with a small allowance for tea, sugar and candles, and clothing of every kind provided besides. Very few are willing to take on the trouble of nursing another man's child, particularly one that has come into the world with so much shame attaching to its father as this one has. Since nobody could be found who would take it for less, and since the churchwardens had to be indemnified and reimbursed their costs, the council ordered the rates above to be paid weekly for as long as the child remained a charge on the parish. The council further adjudged and ordered that James Powell, the father, give good and sufficient security for his performance of the order. It was given at St Helena under the Governor's hand and the Company's seal on 1 December 1735, and addressed to Captain John Goodwin and John Durling, churchwardens of the island of St Helena. Interpretations The declining scale is the ordinary structure of a maintenance order and follows the cost of keeping a child. An infant needs a nurse and constant attendance, a child of three or four needs feeding and clothing but little else, and by eight it can be bound apprentice and earns something towards its own keep. Setting out the whole sequence in advance saved the churchwardens from returning to the council each year for a fresh order. Comparing the rate with London is the striking element, and it shows the council conscious that the papers would be read at home. Eight shillings a week is an extraordinary sum against English practice, where two shillings or half a crown was common, so the Governor documented his enquiry: the churchwardens asked what was customary, the council asked the principal inhabitants, and nobody was found taking less than seven shillings with extras. The justification is not that the island was rich but that so few would do the work at all. Tea, sugar and candles named as a usual addition to a nurse's allowance says something about consumption here that would not hold in England at the same date. Tea was still a costly article in most English households and rarely appeared in poor relief, but St Helena lay on the homeward route from Canton and the storekeeper issued 36 lb of it to the garrison in a single quarter in 1735. What was a luxury at home was an expected part of a nurse's terms here. The reluctance to take this particular child is stated as a reason for the rate, and it is the same reluctance the churchwarden reported on 25 November when he wrote that the mother's relations would not acknowledge it. The stigma attached to the manner of its getting made the ordinary market for a nurse thinner still, and the council priced the placement accordingly. Requiring security is what turns the order from a declaration into something enforceable. Powell has been in prison since 11 November and could not be made to pay from a cell, so a bond with sureties transfers the risk to men of property who will pursue him themselves. The council used the same instrument on 19 June 1733, when Francis Wrangham and Charles Steward bound themselves in twenty pounds each that John Long should sail for Bencoolen. |
62 | 54 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 23 Dec[...] 1735 at the Castle. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander Duke Crispe John Goodwin, Absent The last Consultation was read & Approved To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] & Councell The humble Petition of James Powell Sheweth, That on the 11th of Nov[...] last your Pet[...] was committed to Prison upon an Accusation of Incest & Bastardy & hath continued in Prison ever Since That on the 25th of Nov[...] last he was Charged with an Action of Five Hundred Pounds by your Pet[...] Father in Law Cap[...] Alexander for damages That your Pet[...] now Offers Security to keep the Said Child & Indemnify the Parish from all Charge that may happen on that Account & doth also Offer Security for his Appearance at the next Sessions to Answer the Said Action & Such other matters as shall be objected to him Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that upon giving Security before mentioned the Same may be Accepted & that he may have his liberty to look after his Family & Affairs in the Country And your Pet[...] as in duty bound shall ever pray James Powell St Helena 26 Decem[...] 1735 My Securities are M[...] Charles Steward & M[...] Richard Goodwin James Powell The Said Security was accordingly Accepted & these three having entered into a Bond of Two Hundred Pounds to Indemnify the Parish & having also entered into another Bond for Powells | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 23 December 1735, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander and Duke Crisp present. John Goodwin was absent. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition from James Powell was presented. Powell set out that he had been committed to prison on 11 November on a charge of incest and bastardy and had remained there ever since, and that on 25 November his father-in-law Captain Alexander charged him with an action for £500 0s 0d in damages. He now offered security to keep the child and to indemnify the parish against any charge on that account, and further security for his appearance at the next sessions to answer the action and whatever else might be objected against him. He asked that on giving that security it be accepted, and that he be allowed his liberty to look after his family and his affairs in the country. The petition was dated at St Helena on 20 December 1735 and signed James Powell, with a note that his sureties were Charles Steward and Richard Goodwin. The security was accepted, the three of them having entered into a bond of £200 0s 0d to indemnify the parish, and having also entered into another bond for Powell's appearance. Interpretations Bail worked by transferring the risk from the gaol to men of property. Powell in a cell earned nothing and could pay nothing, so keeping him there guaranteed only that the parish would carry the child and the action would wait. Two bonds released him against sums his sureties would forfeit if he failed either obligation, which gave Steward and Goodwin every reason to see the weekly payments made and Powell produced at the sessions. The choice of sureties is the most telling detail. Charles Steward is executor of Gabriel Powell's estate alongside Powell himself, and Richard Goodwin is executor of Mary Powell's. Both men appeared with him before this council on 4 November petitioning on behalf of Gabriel Powell's orphans against the claims of Richard Beale and Joshua Johnson. Their interest in his liberty is practical: with three caveats standing against the grant of administration and an appraisal returning £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October, an executor in prison is an obstacle to settling anything. Two hundred pounds is a substantial bond, and it measures the parish's exposure rather than Powell's means. At eight shillings a week for the first year, six for the second and four thereafter to the child's eighth year, the total maintenance runs to something above ninety pounds, so the bond covers the whole liability with a wide margin. The action for £500 0s 0d remains outstanding and now stands over to the sessions. Captain Alexander sued as a father for the loss of his daughter's services, that being the only form in which English law allowed such a claim, and Margaret Alexander herself has no remedy in her own name. She was examined on 28 October and described being held down and unable to resist, and she named the man at the moment of her delivery on 22 November, but nothing before the council turns on what was done to her. Powell's request for liberty to look after his family and his affairs in the country carries a particular weight given what his slaves have said of that household. Bacchus deposed on 10 September to whipping with a four-strand cord, brine on the raw back and a woman left permanently crippled, and Lawrence complained on 11 November of being burned with a hot gridiron and candle wax dripped onto the burn. |
63 | 55 | Appearance at the next Sessions, Powell in the Sum of one Thousand Pounds & each of his Sureties in the Sum of Five Hundred Pounds apiece, the Said Powell was discharged from the Prison according to the Prayer of his Petition John Aldrick Soldier made Complaint that George Knight Soldier one Evening last Week Spitefully killed his Breeding Sow which for a Considerable time past had been of great Service to him by the Profit he made of the Sale of the Pigs, Alledgeing as proof that he killed her Maliciously, that just before Knight killed her he told the Complainant he would kill her because he was an Informer & had told the Governour that he Knight had Seduced one of the Companies Blacks from the Companies Works to work for him, & as this matter appeared to us to be the Effect of malice & not done in Performance of any order for killing Such hogs as should be found feeding in the Fort Valley, wee Adjudged that Knight should have the Sow & pay Aldrick fifty Shillings for killing her & that he should also pay a fine of Twenty Shillings to the Honourable Company for Spitefully treating his Neighbour but pretending he was not able to comply with this order (which was only an Idle excuse) he was committed till he should pay the Same | The bond for Powell's appearance at the next sessions bound him in £1,000 0s 0d and each of his sureties in £500 0s 0d apiece. He was discharged from prison as his petition asked. John Aldrich, a soldier, complained that George Knight, another soldier, had spitefully killed his breeding sow one evening in the previous week. The animal had for a considerable time been of great value to him through the profit he made on the sale of her pigs. As proof that the killing was malicious he stated that Knight told him just before he did it that he would kill her because Aldrich was an informer who had told the Governor that Knight had taken one of the Company's blacks off the Company's work to labour for him. The matter appeared to the council to be the effect of malice and not done under any order to kill hogs found feeding in the fort valley. It adjudged that Knight should have the sow, pay Aldrich fifty shillings for killing her and pay a further fine of twenty shillings to the Company for treating his neighbour spitefully. He pretended he was unable to comply, which the council took for an idle excuse, and he was committed to prison until he paid. Interpretations A thousand pounds is the largest sum named in this record, larger than Gabriel Powell's whole estate at his death and approaching a fifth of the appraised value of Mary Powell's. Recognisances of that size were not expected to be paid; their function was to make default unthinkable. With Charles Steward and Richard Goodwin each bound in five hundred, the two executors of the estate now stand to lose more than the disputed land is worth if Powell fails to appear at the sessions. The ruling on the sow turns entirely on the difference between an act done under authority and one done from spite. Hogs running loose in the fort valley were a standing nuisance, and an order permitting them to be killed there would have given Knight a complete answer. The council examined that possibility, found no such order applied and treated the killing as what Knight's own words showed it to be: retaliation against a man who had informed on him. Knight was fined twelve shillings a fortnight earlier, on 9 December, for taking the stonelayer Sam Morris off the Company's work for two days. Aldrich was the informer who brought that to the Governor, and the sow was killed within a week of the fine. The council's award therefore addresses a continuing quarrel rather than a single act, and the twenty shillings to the Company is entered separately from the compensation as a penalty for the spite itself. A breeding sow was a genuine asset to a soldier's household and the compensation reflects it. Fifty shillings is well above the value of the meat, since the loss was the succession of litters she would have produced rather than the animal itself. Hogs multiplied faster than any other stock on the island, the Company's own account for the year to September 1735 showing seventy increased, and a soldier on garrison pay had few other ways of adding to his income. Committing him for non-payment is the same instrument used against Andrew Bergue on 17 June 1735, who stayed in custody until he satisfied Matthew Mudge for the stabbing and paid the surgeon. Imprisonment for a debt a man claims he cannot pay applies pressure to whoever will stand for him, and the council recorded plainly that it did not believe the plea. |
64 | 56 | At a Consultation held on [...] Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Capt Goodwin the Storekeeper proposed that Severall Sorts of damaged Goods Some of which have been in the Stores thirty years or upwards might be exposed to publick Sale at Prices in proportion as they are more or less damaged, & Saturday next being Muster day when all our Garrison & most of the Planters are usually below, was fixed upon for Sale thereof, & Notice was immediatly given by beat of Drum that the following particulars would be Sold to the best bidder paying ready Money for what they should buy or giving Sufficient Security for the Payment thereof viz[...] European Goods viz[...] Silk Drugets Broad Cloth Stockings Shoes Norwich Stuffs Flannell Fustian Gold & Silver Buttons Mohair Buttons Haberdasheryware Holland Lace & Edging Stays Jumps & Bodice Childrens Coates Hatts Indian Goods Silk Allejars Blue Linen Chints, Patna & Madrass Pallampores Quilts Romall Handkerchiefs Soosees Taffities. George Knight Soldier, having this day by Petition begged Pardon for his Rude behaviour on Tuesday last & paid the other Soldier John Aldrick fifty Shillings for maliciously killing his Sow, & having also paid his fine of twenty Shillings to the Hon[...] Company, he at his desire was discharged from his Confinement | The council met at the castle on Tuesday [...], with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Captain Goodwin, the storekeeper, proposed that several kinds of damaged goods be put up for public sale, some of which had lain in the stores thirty years or more, at prices set according to how far each was spoiled. The following Saturday being muster day, when the whole garrison and most of the planters are usually down at the fort, was fixed on for the sale. Notice was given at once by beat of drum that the goods below would be sold to the highest bidder, who was to pay ready money for whatever he bought or give sufficient security for payment. European goods: silk drugget European goods: broad cloth European goods: stockings European goods: shoes European goods: Norwich stuffs European goods: flannel European goods: fustian European goods: gold and silver buttons European goods: mohair buttons European goods: haberdashery ware European goods: Holland European goods: lace and edging European goods: stays, jumps and busks European goods: children's coats European goods: hats Indian goods: silk allejars Indian goods: blue linen Indian goods: chintz, Patna and Madras Indian goods: palempores Indian goods: quilts Indian goods: Romal handkerchiefs Indian goods: soosees Indian goods: taffeties George Knight, a soldier, petitioned that day for pardon for his rude behaviour to another soldier, John Aldrich, on the previous Tuesday. He paid Aldrich fifty shillings for maliciously killing his sow and paid his fine of twenty shillings to the Company, and at his own request was released from confinement. Interpretations Muster day was the one occasion when the whole garrison and most of the country came down to the fort, and the council used it repeatedly for business that needed a crowd. Benjamin Flagg's household goods were auctioned on muster day, 22 April 1729, expressly because the assembly would be largest and the goods were perishable, and the punishment of the slave Caesar was set for the Saturday on 2 January 1733 so that it might be more public. Goods thirty years in store would fetch nothing without buyers, and this was the only day buyers existed in numbers. Requiring ready money or security is the significant condition. Coin barely circulated on the island: debtors to Governor Smith were still being pursued five years after he sailed and every one of them offered cattle or promises rather than cash. Insisting on payment at the sale, rather than adding the sums to the running accounts as the storekeeper ordinarily did, tells the reader that the Company wanted these goods off its books entirely and not converted into further debt. The list distinguishes European from Indian goods because the two came by different routes and to different customers. Silk drugget is a mixed cloth of silk with wool, and the parcel had been reported moth-eaten and more than twenty years old on 18 November. Norwich stuffs are the worsteds of that city, sagathy and its relations; fustian a cotton and linen mixture; Holland a fine Dutch linen. Stays, jumps and busks are women's bodices in their stiffened and unstiffened forms with the rigid strip that shaped the front. The Indian textiles were the more valuable in ordinary times. Allejars are striped silk or mixed silk cloths, soosees striped cottons of the same family, taffeties plain Bengal silks and Romal handkerchiefs the squared cloths of the Coromandel trade worn round the neck or head. Palempores are the large painted cotton bedcovers that sold at nearly nineteen shillings each in the accounts for the quarter to June 1735. Chintzes from Patna and from Madras are printed cottons of two distinct regions, the first from the Bengal interior and the second from the Coromandel coast. Knight's release turns on payment rather than on the pardon he asked for. He was committed on 23 December for pretending he could not pay, which the council took for an idle excuse, and his ability to produce seventy shillings within a week proves the point the council made against him. |
65 | 57 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6th Janry 1735 at the Castle in the Morning. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Acc[...] for the Month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Rem[...] 1 Dec[...] 1735: Bullocks 41, Cowes 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 70, Bulls 7, Totall 381, Ewes 70, Wethers 3, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 78, Sowes 9, Shoates 18, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 67, Turkeys 36, Fowles 79, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 7, Bulls 0, Totall 7, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 5, Rams 0, Totall 5, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 5, Fowles 62, Ducks 0, Geese 4, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 41, Cowes 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 77, Bulls 7, Totall 388, Ewes 70, Wethers 3, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 83, Sowes 9, Shoates 18, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 67, Turkeys 41, Fowles 141, Ducks 12, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 1, Bulls 1, Totall 1, Ewes 4, Wethers 2, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 6, Sowes 0, Shoates 3, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 3, Turkeys 6, Fowles 41, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 41, Cowes 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 77, Bulls 6, Totall 387, Ewes 66, Wethers 1, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 77, Sowes 9, Shoates 15, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 35, Fowles 100, Ducks 12, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 1, Cowes 7, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 8, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Rem[...] 31 Dec[...]: Bullocks 40, Cowes 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 77, Bulls 6, Totall 379, Ewes 66, Wethers 1, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 77, Sowes 9, Shoates 15, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 35, Fowles 100, Ducks 12, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 18500[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 25300 Totall 43800[...] | The council met at the castle on the morning of Tuesday 6 January 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the month past, which were examined in turn and approved. The Company's account of stock for December 1735 stands as follows, each movement row set out with every class of animal named against its figure. Remaining 1 December 1735, 41 bullocks, 119 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 70 calves, 7 bulls, 381 neat cattle in all, 70 ewes, 3 wethers, 1 lamb, 4 rams, 78 sheep in all, 9 sows, 18 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 67 hogs in all, 36 turkeys, 79 fowls, 12 ducks, 9 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 7 calves, 0 bulls, 7 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 5 lambs, 0 rams, 5 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 5 turkeys, 62 fowls, 0 ducks, 4 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after increase, 41 bullocks, 119 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 77 calves, 7 bulls, 388 neat cattle in all, 70 ewes, 3 wethers, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 83 sheep in all, 9 sows, 18 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 67 hogs in all, 41 turkeys, 141 fowls, 12 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Killed in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 1 bull, 1 neat cattle in all, 4 ewes, 2 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 6 sheep in all, 0 sows, 3 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 3 hogs in all, 6 turkeys, 41 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after killing, 41 bullocks, 119 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 77 calves, 6 bulls, 387 neat cattle in all, 66 ewes, 1 wether, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 77 sheep in all, 9 sows, 15 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs in all, 35 turkeys, 100 fowls, 12 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Sold to ships, 1 bullock, 7 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 8 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 31 December, 40 bullocks, 112 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 77 calves, 6 bulls, 379 neat cattle in all, 66 ewes, 1 wether, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 77 sheep in all, 9 sows, 15 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs in all, 35 turkeys, 100 fowls, 12 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 25,300 lb Total of yams, 43,800 lb Interpretations Eight head sold to the shipping ends five months in which not a beast left the pastures. The road had stood empty since the Hertford, Princess Royal, Middlesex and the Dutch ship all sailed at the end of July, and the Company's beef trade tracks the anchorage exactly in every year of this record. That the sale is of one bullock and seven cows, rather than the bullocks a commander normally wanted, suggests the buyer took what was offered rather than what he would have chosen. The thirty-two head bought in November now look like preparation rather than accident. The Company laid in 17 bullocks, 7 cows, 7 heifers and a steer in a month when no ship was expected, and a vessel appeared within weeks. The herd stands at 379 against 335 at the close of the Company's year on 30 September, its first sustained recovery since the drought. Sheep are almost finished as a resource. One wether remains on the island, and four ewes were killed in December against five lambs born. The flock has fallen from 169 at the opening of the Company's year to 77, and with breeding ewes now going to the table each month there is nothing left to draw on. The council spared the cattle through the empty months by eating the flock, and the arrival of shipping comes at the point where that could no longer continue. Poultry carried Christmas as it has carried every festival in this record. Sixty-two fowls hatched and forty-one were killed with six turkeys, and four geese were added to the yard. The pattern of the whole year holds: 581 fowls raised against 594 killed, the birds replaced almost as fast as they were eaten. The yam issue to the slaves fell back to 25,300 lb from 31,850 lb in November, though the total of 43,800 lb remains far above the 14,500 lb of July. The plantations' own share has held steady at 18,000 lb or a little above for four months running, which indicates a settled crop rather than the fluctuating draw on reserves seen through 1734. |
66 | 58 | Gunners Stores Expended in Dec[...] 1735 viz[...] 1735 Guns Fired, Minion, Falcon, Powder Dec[...] 6th Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 20[...] 12 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcon 0, Powder 12 d[...] Arrived the King William: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcon 8, Powder 11 27 King William Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcon 8, Powder 11 31 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 20 Guns Fired 22, Minion 6, Falcon 16, Powder 74 Musquet Balls 4[...] Cartredge Paper 6 Quire Spunge Staves 2 Match 18[...] Expence of the Table in Dec[...] 1735 viz[...] £ 240 Beef 4 5 115 Pork 2 17 6 6 Sheep 7 10 6 Turkeys 1 10 41 Fowles 3 1 6 25 Butter 1 5 71½ Gall Arrack 14 6 1..3..6 Sugar 2 9 18 Candy 13 6 4 Flour 5 5 7 Bottles Oyle 1 2 9 2 Pepper 2 20 Gall Sherrey 7 15 £ 52 3 6 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6 Janry 1735 at the Castle in the Afternoon Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that he was present at the Outcry on Saturday last at which were Sold as many damaged Goods as it for ready Money & part upon Credit to Such who are able to pay in a Short time as amounted to the Sum of £76.14.11½ but the Weather happening to be wet few of the Planters were down for which reason wee intend to make another Sale about a Month hence, the particulars Sold are as follow viz[...] | The gunner's account of stores spent in December 1735 stands as follows, the column identities taken from the headings on the leaf and carried down onto every figure. 6 December, muster day, 20 lb of powder 12 December, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 12 December, arrival of the King William, 9 guns fired, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 27 December, departure of the King William, 9 guns fired, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 20 lb of powder Total, 22 guns fired, 6 minions, 16 falcons, 74 lb of powder Musket balls, 4 Cartridge paper, 6 quire Sponge staves, 2 Match, 18 lb The expense of the fort table in December 1735 stands as follows. 240 lb of beef, £4 5s 0d 115 lb of pork, £2 17s 6d 6 sheep, £7 10s 0d 6 turkeys, £1 10s 0d 41 fowls, £3 1s 6d 25 lb of butter, £1 5s 0d 71.5 gallons of arrack, £14 6s 0d 1 cwt 2 qr of sugar, £2 2s 0d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 4 cwt of flour, £5 0s 0d 7 gallons of sweet oil, £1 2s 9d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 20 gallons of sherry, £7 15s 0d Total, £52 13s 6d The council met at the castle on the afternoon of Tuesday 6 January 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that he attended the auction on the previous Saturday. As many of the damaged goods as could be were sold for ready money, and the rest on credit to people able to pay within a short time, the whole coming to £176 14s 1.5d. The weather turned wet and few of the planters came down, so the council intends to hold another sale in about a month. The particulars sold were as follows. Interpretations The King William is the first vessel to touch the island since the end of July, and the whole month's business turns on her. The alarm fired on 12 December preceded her arrival by hours, which is the standing pattern here: the flagstaff could not identify a sail before she closed the road, so an alarm went off and a salute followed once the ship proved friendly. She lay a fortnight and took eight head of cattle, the first sale in five months. The table account shows her presence directly. Beef returns at 240 lb after four months in which none was charged at all, and six sheep and six turkeys with forty-one fowls went the same way, since commanders and their officers were entertained ashore whenever a ship lay in the bay. The Christmas provision falls in the same reckoning. Wet weather at an auction is a serious matter on an island where the planters live scattered across steep country and come down to the fort only for muster days and public business. The council had chosen muster day deliberately so that the garrison and most of the country would be present, and the rain undid that calculation. Realising £176 14s 1.5d on goods that had lain thirty years in store is nonetheless a substantial clearance, and the decision to hold a second sale rather than press the credit further shows the storekeeper preferred buyers with money to debts on his books. Selling part for ready money and part on credit to those able to pay quickly reflects how little coin circulated. Debtors to Governor Smith were still being pursued five years after he sailed, and every one of them offered cattle or promises. The condition of security or short credit was the storekeeper's protection against adding to a list of sums that could never be collected. Powder consumption at 74 lb is modest, but the guard's share has fallen to 20 lb from 129 lb in August. The nightly guard boat set out on 30 June to stop soldiers reaching the shipping had little to do while the road stood empty, and the reduction measures the anchorage rather than any change of policy. |
67 | 59 | 17⅜ Yards Broad Cloth 12 12 4½ 50½ Yards Silk Druget 10 18 6 161½ Yards Edging 22 10 8 5 p[...] Stays 4 9 16 Childrens Coates 10 17 1 12 Yards Halland 2 4 6 11 p[...] Madrass Chints 10 12 3 5 p[...] Silk Stockings 2 10 £ 76 14 11½ Ordered that the Severall persons who bought at the Said Outcry upon trust be made Debtor for what they so bought in the Generall Books At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13th Janry 1735 at Plantation House. Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that Mercy a Wench belonging to the Hon[...] Company was delivered of a Girle last Week named Sarah Ordered that the Said Girle be entered in the Books | The particulars sold at the auction stand as follows. 17.375 yards of broad cloth, £12 12s 4.5d 50.5 yards of silk drugget, £10 18s 6d 161.5 yards of edging, £22 10s 8d 5 pairs of stays, £4 9s 0d 16 children's coats, £10 17s 1d 12 yards of Holland, £2 4s 6d 11 pieces of Madras chintz, £10 12s 3d 5 pairs of silk stockings, £2 10s 0d Total, £176 14s 1.5d The council ordered that everyone who bought at the auction on credit be made debtor in the general books for what he had taken. The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 13 January 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that Mercy, a woman belonging to the Company, was delivered of a girl in the previous week, named Sarah. The council ordered the child entered in the books. Interpretations Entering the credit buyers as debtors in the general books converts a sale into an accounting entry that the auditors in London could follow. The storekeeper's accounts already carried running balances against most inhabitants, so an auction on trust simply added to sums that were settled at the half-yearly reckonings, when the council sat with the planters to receive rents and revenues. That mechanism was how almost all business was done on an island where coin barely circulated. Edging at £22 10s 8d is the largest line of the sale and an unexpected one. It is the narrow decorative lace or braid sewn to the borders of garments, and 161.5 yards of it represents a good deal of trimming for a small population. Silk drugget at 50.5 yards is the parcel Captain Goodwin reported on 18 November as more than twenty years in store and badly damaged by moths, and it fetched rather over four shillings the yard against the 22s 1d the yard that sound broad cloth realised in the accounts for February and March 1735. Sixteen children's coats sold together points to ready-made clothing arriving from England as a distinct line rather than as cloth to be cut on the island. The storekeeper's collections elsewhere carry shirts and stockings in the same way, 264 shirts having been sold to the shipping in February 1733 and 165 shirts with 100 pairs of stockings coming out in the Normanton in June 1734. Recording the birth of a slave child and ordering it entered in the books is the ordinary administrative step, and it appears throughout this record. The Company carried its people as capital, so each birth was an addition to the inventory and each death a deduction, the values of the children being settled by age at the annual muster each September. Mercy has appeared before in these entries, delivered of a boy named Blackheath on 14 December 1730 and of a girl on 16 April 1728. |
68 | 60 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 21st Janry 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday about four in the Afternoon wee had a Single Allarm & about two this Afternoon the Ship Prince of Orange arrived here from Madrass (but last from the Cape) with the following Supply viz[...] 33 13 Rice 29 Bags qt[...] 200 @ 6 p[...] Payall Sugar 25 Bags q[...] N[...] 8 c[...] 1 q[...] p[...] Candy 100..15..4 Arrack 6 Casks @ £ 13 p[...] Cask 172 172 15 4 Charges Merchandize 3 33 8 £ 209 14 12 On the 16th instant the following Examination was taken before the Governour viz[...] Hellen a Slave Wench belonging to James Powell being Runaway from her Master was asked the cause thereof & She Saith that about two or three dayes after her Master Powell was discharged from Prison to which he had been committed for Some Crimes, he Stript this Examinant & tied her up to the Rack, & whipt her with great Severity under pretence that She had neglected her busyness & tho' this Examinant Saith She was allwayes very carefull of her Mistress & her Affairs & Sometime afterwards under the Same pretence though as before, this Examinant Saith She was as diligent as She could be, he did the Same thing, & that on Wednesday last he Stript her & tied her up & whipt her cruelly without the least colour of reason this Examinant having been Sent to M[...] Bates to borrow a little Tea but M[...] Bates being from home She Stayed till M[...] Bates returned & as Soon as M[...] Bates was come into the house She did her Message & carried a Pound of Tea to her Master, & though She made all the hast She could yet he tied her up & as is before & tied & whipt her cruelly & threatened to whip her again the next Day & not being able to bear his Severity She went to Cap[...] Alexander Father in Law of her Master Powell to complain to him & he Sent her back by his Servant Ishmael upon her return he Said to this Examt By-God damn the Blood of thee & Son of a Bitch how came he to Send you back again to me, & immediatly put this Examinant into Chaines but they being vastly large & heavy She could not do any labour & therefore her Master took them off & as Soon as he had done he beat her again Severely & threatened her with farther Punishment & of this barbarous Usage She comes now to complain & hopes to meet with Redress & Saith that her Master is so cross & such that She is not able to live with him And this Examinant Saith that before her Master was committed to Prison he used frequently to beat his Wife & use much foule language to her often calling her Bitch & Whore & Beast & Since he hath been out | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 21 January 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A single alarm was fired about four in the afternoon on the previous day, and two hours later the Prince of Orange came in from Madras, last from the Cape, with the following supply. Rice, 29 bags at 6 pagodas the bag, 33 rupees 13 annas 0 pies Sugar, 25 bags weighing 8 candies 1 maund with sugar candy, 100 rupees 15 annas 4 pies Arrack, 6 casks at 12 pagodas the cask, 172 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Rice, sugar and arrack together, 172 rupees 15 annas 4 pies Charges merchandise, 3 rupees 8 annas 8 pies Total, 209 rupees 4 annas 12 pies An examination was taken before the Governor on 16 January. Stellen, a slave woman belonging to James Powell, had run from her master and was asked why. She said that two or three days after her master came out of the prison to which he had been committed for his offences, he stripped her, tied her up to a rack and whipped her with great severity on the pretence that she had neglected her mistress. She had always been very careful of her mistress and her affairs. Some time afterwards he used the same pretence, though she was as diligent as she could be, and did the same again. On the previous Wednesday he stripped her and tied her up and whipped her cruelly without the least colour of reason. He had sent her to Mrs Bates to borrow a little tea. Mrs Bates being from home, she waited until she returned, delivered her message as soon as Mrs Bates came into the house and carried a pound of tea back to her master. Although she had made all the haste she could, he tied her up as before and whipped her cruelly, and threatened to whip her again the next day. Not being able to bear his severity, she went to Captain Alexander, her master's father-in-law, to complain to him, and he sent her back by his servant Ishmael. On her return her master swore at her and asked how she came to go back again to Captain Alexander. He then put her into chains, but these being very large and heavy she could not do any labour or use, so her master took them off, and as soon as he had done so he beat her again severely and threatened her with further punishment. She came now to complain of the barbarous treatment she had received, and hoped not to meet with harshness, saying that her master was so cross that she was not able to live with him. She further stated that before her master was committed to prison he frequently beat his wife and used very foul language to her, often calling her a bitch and a whore and a beast, and that since then he had been out [...] Interpretations Stellen is the third of Powell's slaves to complain to the council in five months. Bacchus deposed on 10 September 1735 to whipping with a four-strand cord, brine sprinkled on his raw back and a woman left permanently crippled; Lawrence complained on 11 November of being burned with a hot gridiron and candle wax dripped onto the burn. That all three accounts describe the same method, tying up and whipping on trivial or invented grounds, gives them a weight no single deposition would carry, though the testimony of slaves remained inadmissible against a free defendant. The timing places every incident after Powell's release. He was discharged from prison on 23 December 1735 on bonds of £1,000 0s 0d from himself and £500 0s 0d from each of his sureties, granted so that he might look after his family and his affairs in the country. The council's own record now shows what that liberty meant inside his household within days of his return. Captain Alexander's position is the sharpest thing on the page. Stellen went to him as her master's father-in-law and he sent her straight back with a servant, which was the ordinary course: a slave who ran had to be returned to her owner, and Alexander had no authority over another man's property. He is also the man suing Powell for £500 0s 0d in damages over the seduction of his daughter Margaret, and the father of the wife Powell is described as beating. Alexander sat at this council while the examination was read. Chains too heavy to allow labour illustrate a practical limit on cruelty that had nothing to do with mercy. An owner who disabled his own slave lost the work, which is why Powell struck the irons off and returned to the whip. The council had used that same logic against Thomas Clough on 16 April 1734, compelling him to sell the ill-used Orange by threatening his liquor licence and his ability to buy more slaves, a sanction that reached a man the law could not touch. The council stated on 18 December 1733 that slaves driven away by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault. Applying that rule required examinations of exactly this kind, and it produced no remedy against the owner, only the return or reassignment of the slave. |
69 | 61 | of Prison he hath Severall times beat her & treated her in the Same Outragious manner. And this Examinant farther Saith that the reason why her Master uses her this Examinant so cruelly is because She was the first that discovered her Master & his Wives Sister in bed together & told her Mistress of it, & Captain Alexander & M[...] Alexander also heard him perswade M[...] Margaret his Wives Sister whom he had gotten with Child to lay the Child to John Johnson & farther at this time this Examinant Saith not & in Testimony of the truth hereof She hath Set her Marke this 16th day of Janry 1735/6 Taken before me this 16th of Janry 1735/6 Isa: Pyke of the X Mark Hellen At a Consultation held on Tuesday 27th Janry 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 22d instant James Powell made the following Promise in Writing, as his Father upon the like Occasion had formerly done before him, & his father found by dear bought Experi- ence, it was impossible to keep him from committing Acts of Violence & Cruelty upon his Slaves, & wee hope the like Restraint will have the Same good Effect upon his Son viz[...] Whereas Sundry Complaints have been made to the Governour against me for Severity & hard Usage of my black Servants to prevent which in future I do hereby promise to the Governour that in future I will not whip nor punish with Severe Usage my black Servants but if they commit any great Offence that deserves more Correction than I can give them with my hand without a Cane or Whip I will bring them to the Governour to be punished according as he shall judge proper to their Demerits, & though I have in | Since coming out of prison Powell had beaten his wife several times and treated her in the same violent way. Stellen further stated that the reason her master used her so cruelly was that she had been the first to discover him and his wife's sister in bed together and had told her mistress of it. Captain Alexander and Mrs Alexander had also heard him urge Margaret, his wife's sister, whom he had made pregnant, to lay the child on John Johnson. She had nothing further to say, and in confirmation of the truth of her account she set her mark to it on 16 January 1736. The examination was taken before the Governor on the same date. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 27 January 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. James Powell gave the following written promise on 22 January. His father had given one of the same kind on a similar occasion some years earlier, and while it proved impossible to keep him from acts of violence and cruelty towards his slaves, the council hoped the same restraint would answer better with the son. Powell wrote that several complaints had been made to the Governor against him for severity and hard treatment of his black servants. To prevent any repetition he promised the Governor that in future he would not whip his black servants or punish them with severe treatment. If any of them committed a serious offence deserving more correction than he could give with his hand, without a cane or a whip, he would bring the offender to the Governor to be punished as the Governor thought the fault deserved. Interpretations The written promise was the council's standing instrument against conduct it could not reach at law, and its record with this device is poor. Richard Durling gave the Governor such a promise about his drinking on 2 April 1728, and it was read back to him on 31 December that year as proof he was incorrigible before he was dismissed. Henry Cottrell the gardener gave one on 5 April 1729 and was pardoned. John Greentree promised on 13 November 1733 to treat the slave Martha kindly and she ran again within five weeks. The council notes here that Gabriel Powell gave the same undertaking and broke it, which makes the acceptance of his son's promise an act of hope rather than of expectation. The terms Powell set himself are narrower than they appear. He surrendered the cane and the whip but reserved correction with his own hand, and he undertook to bring serious offenders to the Governor rather than to stop punishing them. That transfers the heaviest punishments to the council, which would then order the whipping itself, and it leaves the daily beatings his slaves complained of largely untouched. Stellen's account explains what her whippings were for. She discovered Powell in bed with his wife's sister and told her mistress, and the punishments began within days of his release from prison. Retaliation against a slave who had informed carried no legal consequence at all, since her evidence could not be used against him, and the whipping was the only answer available to a man who could not silence her any other way. Her statement also establishes that Captain and Mrs Alexander heard Powell urge Margaret to lay the child on John Johnson. Powell was committed on 11 November both for the incest and for that attempt, and until now the attempt rested on Margaret Alexander's own examination of 28 October. Two free witnesses to it is a different matter, though the council took the deposition from a slave. Powell stands bound in £1,000 0s 0d for his appearance at the next sessions, with Charles Steward and Richard Goodwin bound in £500 0s 0d apiece, and under a maintenance order of eight shillings a week for the child born on 22 November. Captain Alexander's action against him for £500 0s 0d in damages is still to be heard. |
70 | 62 | Some things been Slandered & had things Said of me, for Severe Punishments more than was true, to prevent Such Calumnies in future, I Promise as above Said & will Comply with kind & gentle Usage. Witness my hand James Powell Upon this promise of good Behaviour his Blacks who had been Runaway were Restored to him. M[...] Richard Beale this day presented the following Calculation about the Charge of keeping & maintaining a Black man about the year about viz[...] The Prime Cost of a fellow Speaking English is Twenty five pounds Interest of £25 - @ 6 p[...] Cent 1 10 Clothing 2 Charge to the Doctor 15 Loss of time by Sickness Uncertain but not less than 2 6 Ditto by Allarms not less than 15 Working at the high Ways p[...] Ann 4 6 Provisions of Yams 2 12 Ditto of Meat Fish Tea 3 6 Holy days 4 6 £ 12 8 6 Deduct for one years pay at 8d p[...] day 5 dayes in the Week, & 6d for Saturdays 11 1 Lost to the Master every year upon each Black £ 1 7 6 Ordered that this Computation which at present appears to us to be justly & truly made be Speedily taken into farther Consideration Furze being of general use to the Island Severall of the Inhabitants furnishing themselves therewith great part of the year instead of other Fuel, it being an hardy thing growing in all Cool & Moist parts of the Country & affording Excellent Shelter for young Cattle many of which have died of a Swelling under their Throat reasoned as is beleived by being exposed to the Weather in the Night, for want of Covering especially in the Winter Months & it being also observed that where Furze has grown the Soile is thereby preserved & not blown away Wee are therefore in hopes that, in time, Severall parcels | Powell added that some things had been misrepresented and untruths told about him, and that he had been reported to inflict more punishments than he actually did. To put a stop to such stories in future he made the promise above, and undertook to treat his slaves kindly and well. The paper was signed James Powell. On that promise of better conduct his slaves who had run away were returned to him. Richard Beale laid before the council a calculation of the cost of hiring and keeping a black man for a year. Prime cost of a man speaking English, £25 0s 0d Interest on £25 0s 0d at 6 per cent, £1 10s 0d Clothing, £2 0s 0d Charge to the doctor, £0 15s 0d Loss of time through sickness, uncertain but not less than, £2 6s 0d Loss of time through allowance, not less than, £0 15s 0d Work at the high wages of a man, £4 6s 0d Provision of yams, £2 12s 0d Provision of meat, fish and tea, £3 5s 0d Holy days, £4 6s 0d Total, £12 8s 6d Deduct one year's pay at ninepence a day for five days a week and sixpence for Saturdays, £11 1s 0d Lost to the master every year on each black, £1 7s 6d The council ordered the computation, which appeared to be justly and truly made, to be taken into further consideration shortly. Furze is of general use on the island, and several of the inhabitants supply themselves with a great deal of it during the year in place of other fuel. It is a hardy plant that grows in all the cool and moist parts of the country and gives excellent shelter to young cattle, many of which have died of a swelling under the throat, believed in some cases to come from lying exposed to the weather at night for want of cover, particularly in the winter months. Where furze has grown the soil is preserved and not blown away, and the council hopes that in time several parcels [...] Interpretations Beale's computation is an argument dressed as arithmetic, and its purpose is plain from the last line: he sets out to prove that hiring a slave to the Company at ninepence a day left the owner £1 7s 6d out of pocket each year. The council had advertised for six slaves at that rate on 11 June 1734 and drawn not one offer, the inhabitants declaring nine pence a day insufficient to feed and clothe a man and that a single illness consumed the profit of all the rest. This paper puts numbers to that refusal and asks the council to raise the rate. Several of the entries are questionable as accounting even on their own terms. Work at the high wages of a man and holy days are both charged at £4 6s 0d, so the calculation counts the owner's lost opportunity twice, once as the wage he might have earned elsewhere and once as the days the man does not work. Interest on the purchase price is a legitimate charge, since capital tied up in a slave earned nothing otherwise, and the council allowed 6 per cent to John Brown on a loan offered on 13 June 1732. The prime cost of £25 0s 0d for a man speaking English fixes a figure that appears throughout this record. Mr Brown's man Mingo was valued at exactly that sum on 29 July 1735 when exchanged for a boy worth £5 0s 0d, and Edmund Nicholls's inventory of November 1733 priced grown men at £25 0s 0d and £20 0s 0d against £4 0s 0d to £10 0s 0d for children. English speech carried a premium because it removed the need for an interpreter and made a man usable in any employment. The swelling under the throat named in the furze passage is the disease that carried off four or five of the Company's beasts in December 1734, described then as so fatal that scarcely one animal in a hundred survives once it takes hold. Attributing it to exposure at night is a reasonable inference from observation rather than a correct diagnosis, since the condition answers a clostridial infection of cattle on poor dry ground. Furze is gorse, and the council has pressed its planting on the inhabitants since the surveys of 1727, when returns recorded each tenant's furze alongside his wood. It served three purposes at once here: fuel on an island whose timber was nearly exhausted, a stock-proof hedge, and a cover holding thin volcanic soil against the wind. The observation that soil is preserved where furze has grown is a piece of practical land management arrived at by watching the ground. |
71 | 63 | of Land now barren may become fruitfull wherefore the Governour proposed that every Inhabitant should Employ all his able Blacks each two days to plant Furze on each Side of the highways & in all the out parts where it is likely to grow it being a thing of Service & exceedingly beneficial to the Island The following Petition was presented & read viz[...] To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] & Councell The Humble Petition of Henry Moyce Sheweth, That your Petitioner with equal Shame & Greif doth Acknowledge that he hath been of an very lasey, & very often very drunk, of both which he now heartily Repents the gentle Confinement he hath lately met with having brought him to his Senses Your Pet[...] therefore humbly prays that he may be restored to his liberty, & if your Pet[...] is any more Employed he promises to make amends for all Lost time & will endeavour to do as much in one day as he formerly did in three And Your Pet[...] as in duty bound shall ever pray Henry Moyce 27th Janry 1735 The Said Moyce upon his Petition was discharged from Prison accordingly | Land now barren might in time be brought into use, and the Governor accordingly proposed that every inhabitant set all his able slaves to plant furze for two days each, on both sides of the highways and throughout the outlying parts where it was expected to grow, the work being useful and of great benefit to the island. A petition from Henry Moyce was presented and read. Moyce acknowledged with equal shame and grief that he had been very lazy and very often very drunk, and said he now heartily repented of both. The short imprisonment he had lately undergone had brought him to his senses. He asked to be released, and undertook that if he were employed again he would make amends for all the time he had lost and would try to do as much in one day as he had formerly done in three. The petition was dated 27 January 1736 and signed Henry Moyce. Moyce was released from prison on his petition. Interpretations Two days from every able slave on the island is a levy in labour rather than in money, and it is the mechanism the council had used for its fortifications and its roads throughout this period. The vestry agreed on 21 July 1734 to build the works with the inhabitants' own hands while the Company found guns and carriages, and Joseph Bates was fined forty days' extraordinary work on 19 November 1734 for denying a subscription of twenty days. A place with almost no circulating coin raised what it needed in days of work, and the obligation fell on the slaves of every holder alike. Planting along the highways answers the same difficulty from two directions. The steep tracks between the country and the fort had been reported repeatedly as dangerous, Captain Cason and Ensign Wood finding the path from the castle to Banks's impassable without obvious danger to life in December 1732, and the Company's chief fisherman Corryden fell 150 feet from the Rupert's path on 20 July 1734. Furze on the verges bound the soil against the wind that stripped it and gave shelter to stock on ground otherwise bare. The written submission followed by release is a fixed procedure in this record and it works as a public act rather than a private apology. Henry Cottrell the gardener petitioned in the same terms on 5 April 1729, admitting he had returned the Governor's kindness with ingratitude and promising to abstain from strong liquor, and was pardoned. James Powell gave his written promise about his slaves on 22 January 1736 and had his runaways returned. The paper entered in the record is the security, and its value lies in being producible afterwards, as Richard Durling's promise of 2 April 1728 was read back to him on 31 December that year as proof he was incorrigible. Moyce's offer to do in one day what he had formerly done in three is the standard flourish of these submissions and nobody expected it to be met. What mattered was that a man in prison earned nothing and cost the Company his keep, so the council recovered a workman on terms that put the next offence beyond excuse. |
72 | 64 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3d Febry 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esq[...] Gov[...] Jn[...] Alexander, absent. John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that he has received Information that Lewdness & Debauchery are Spread to great Excess two young Men having each of them debauched their Wives Sister, & other Persons have gotten Severall young Unmarried Women with Child he therefore desires each of the Councill will give him his Opinion on Tuesday next what Methods are fit to be taken to put a Stop to these evil Courses & prevent the Scandal & Reproach that may otherwise arise from the Transgressions of a few. The Governour, the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for January last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz[...] 288 Beef 3 12 64 Fowles 4 16 6 Sheep 7 10 2 Ducks 3 25 Butter 1 5 31 Days Greens 1 11 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 83 Gall Arrack 16 12 20 Galls Cape Wine 5 1..3..14 Sugar 2 12 6 4..1 Flour 5 6 3 4 Bus Salt 1 7 Bottles Oyle 1 2 9 2 Pepper 2 7 Turkeys 1 15 6 6 Galls Port 2 6 6 18 Candy 13 6 £ 56 8 9 Gunners Stores Expended in Janry 1735 viz[...] 1735 Guns Fired, Miniart, Falcons, Powder Janry 3d Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Miniart 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 20 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Miniart 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 21 Prince of Orange arrived: Guns Fired 9, Miniart 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 29 To Salute the Passengers: Guns Fired 7, Miniart 0, Falcons 7, Powder 7 30 Prince of Orange Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Miniart 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Miniart 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 Guns Fired 29, Miniart 6, Falcons 23, Powder 81 Musquet Balls 5[...] Sheep Skins 10 Parchment Skins 5 Muscovey Lights 2 Bouge Barrils 3 Cattridge Paper 6 Quire Match 18[...] | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 3 February 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. John Alexander was absent. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported information that lewdness and debauchery had spread to a great degree. Two young men had each seduced his wife's sister, and other men had made several unmarried young women pregnant. He asked each member of the council to give his opinion on the following Tuesday on what measures would answer to stop these practices and prevent the scandal and disgrace that would otherwise follow from the offences of a few. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for January, which were examined in turn and approved. The expense of the fort table in January 1736 stands as follows. 288 lb of beef, £3 12s 0d 64 fowls, £4 16s 0d 6 sheep, £7 10s 0d 2 ducks, £0 3s 0d 25 lb of butter, £1 5s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 0s 8d 83 gallons of arrack, £16 12s 0d 20 gallons of Cape wine, £5 0s 0d 1 cwt 3 qr 14 lb of sugar, £2 12s 6d 4 cwt 1 qr of flour, £5 6s 3d 4 bushels of salt, £1 0s 0d 7 bottles of oil, £1 2s 9d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 7 turkeys, £1 15s 0d 6 gallons of port, £2 6s 6d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d Total, £56 8s 2d The gunner's account of stores spent in January 1736 stands as follows. 3 January, muster day, 20 lb of powder 20 January, alarm, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder 21 January, arrival of the Prince of Orange, 9 guns fired, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 29 January, salute to the passengers, 7 guns fired, 7 falcons, 7 lb of powder 30 January, departure of the Prince of Orange, 9 guns fired, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder Expended by the guard, 20 lb of powder Total, 29 guns fired, 6 minions, 23 falcons, 81 lb of powder Musket balls, 5 Sheepskins, 10 Parchment skins, 5 Muscovy lights, 2 Budge barrels, 3 Cartridge paper, 6 quire Match, 18 lb Interpretations The Governor's response to the sexual disorder is procedural rather than punitive, and it is the method he has used at every difficult point in this record. He asked each councillor to deliver a separate written opinion, as he did over the island's waters on 15 August 1732, over the running away of slaves on 30 October 1733 and over Colonel Gaultier's character on 12 November 1734. Requiring individual views before any decision made each man commit himself and gave the council a body of reasoning to send home. Two young men who each seduced a wife's sister is the striking phrase, since only one such case is recorded here. James Powell was committed on 11 November 1735 and the child born on 22 November was named after him, but the Governor speaks of a second offender who has not come before the council at all. That the disorder is described as spreading, rather than as a single scandal, explains why he treats it as a matter of general policy rather than of individual punishment. Beef returns to the table at 288 lb, the second month running after four in which none was charged, and the Prince of Orange accounts for it. She arrived on 20 January and sailed on the 30th, and her passengers were saluted separately with seven guns on 29 January, a compliment paid to supercargoes and persons of note as the Houghton's supercargoes were on 6 February 1733. Arrack at 83 gallons is the heaviest charge on the table account, worth more than three times the beef. A ship in the road brought commanders and officers ashore to be entertained, and the pattern holds throughout this record: the drink bill swells with the anchorage and falls when the bay empties. Muscovy lights are thin sheets of mica, a mineral that splits into transparent leaves and withstands heat far better than glass. They were fitted into lanterns used about a magazine, where an exposed flame could not be risked and ordinary horn or glass panes cracked. Two issued in a month where the gunner also drew three budge barrels, the small covered casks for carrying powder to the guns, points to work about the powder stores rather than to any firing. |
73 | 65 | Rem[...] 1 Janry: 40, 112, 53, 41, 50, 77, 6, 379, 66, 1, 6, 4, 77, 9, 15, 39, 1, 64, 35, 100, 12, 13, 4, 10, 14 Encreased in ditto: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 10, 0, 10, 0, 0, 7, 0, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 49, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 40, 112, 53, 41, 50, 87, 6, 389, 66, 1, 13, 4, 84, 9, 15, 39, 1, 64, 41, 149, 12, 13, 4, 10, 14 Sold to Ship & Killed in d[...]: 5, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 6, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 64, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0 Rem[...] 31 Janry: 35, 112, 53, 41, 50, 87, 6, 384, 60, 1, 13, 4, 78, 9, 15, 39, 1, 64, 34, 85, 10, 13, 4, 10, 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 16300[...] Ditto delivered the Blacks 30500 Totall Yams 46,800[...] | The Company's account of stock for January 1736 stands as follows, the column identities carried down from the returns of the preceding months. Remaining 1 January, 40 bullocks, 112 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 77 calves, 6 bulls, 379 neat cattle in all, 66 ewes, 1 wether, 6 lambs, 4 rams, 77 sheep in all, 9 sows, 15 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs in all, 35 turkeys, 100 fowls, 12 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Increased in the month, 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 10 calves, 0 bulls, 10 neat cattle in all, 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 7 lambs, 0 rams, 7 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 6 turkeys, 49 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Total after increase, 40 bullocks, 112 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 87 calves, 6 bulls, 389 neat cattle in all, 66 ewes, 1 wether, 13 lambs, 4 rams, 84 sheep in all, 9 sows, 15 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs in all, 41 turkeys, 149 fowls, 12 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Sold to shipping and killed in the month, 5 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 5 neat cattle in all, 6 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 6 sheep in all, 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs in all, 7 turkeys, 64 fowls, 2 ducks, 0 geese, 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 horses and mares in all Remaining 31 January, 35 bullocks, 112 cows, 53 heifers, 41 steers, 50 yearlings, 87 calves, 6 bulls, 384 neat cattle in all, 60 ewes, 1 wether, 13 lambs, 4 rams, 78 sheep in all, 9 sows, 15 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs in all, 34 turkeys, 85 fowls, 10 ducks, 13 geese, 4 horses, 10 mares, 14 horses and mares in all Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,300 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 30,500 lb Total of yams, 46,800 lb Interpretations Ten calves born and seven lambs is the strongest month of breeding since the drought, and the herd now stands at 384 head against 335 at the close of the Company's year on 30 September. The purchase of thirty-two head in November, the first entry of its kind in this run of accounts, has been followed by two months of natural increase, so the recovery is no longer resting on bought stock alone. Five bullocks went to the Prince of Orange, which lay in the road from 20 to 30 January. Bullocks are what a commander wants for salting on a homeward passage, and the Company had laid in seventeen of them in November precisely against this demand. The table account for the same month carries 288 lb of beef, so the ship and the fort drew on the herd together for the first time since July. Six ewes killed against no increase leaves the flock at 78, and the single wether recorded in December remains the only one on the island. Breeding ewes have now gone to the table in three consecutive months, which is what a flock manager does only when nothing else is left, and the sheep have fallen from 169 at the opening of the Company's year. Poultry moved almost exactly in balance, 49 fowls hatched against 64 killed with seven turkeys and two ducks. The fort table took 64 fowls and seven turkeys in January, so the yard supplied the whole demand and lost fifteen birds on the month. The yam delivery to the slaves reached 30,500 lb, the second heaviest in this run, while the plantations' own share fell to 16,300 lb. That division marks the crop being drawn on for the people rather than for the hogs and poultry, and it continues the recovery that began in August after the failed seasons of 1734. The council had been buying rice by the ton to fill the gap, 63 hundredweight going to the blacks in the quarter to June 1735 alone. |
74 | 66 | At a Consultation holden ye Tuesday the 18th Febry 1735 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Ollander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved This day each of the Councill delivered their Opinion in Writing in Answer to the Matter proposed by the Governour on Thursday last It is my Opinion that in Case any People shall theise ways Wickedness beget any Young Woman with Child (whether he Alledges he intends to make her his Wife or not) that for so debauching ye [...] and [...] he ought to be enjoyned [...] for the sperm of Ten [...] Mony to be a kind of Money or that ye Govr & Councill shall think fit to be Recoverable, One Moiety to the Honble Company & the other Moiety to the Father or Mother of the said Young Woman, & in Case she hath neither Father nor Mother living, that then the said Moiety to be Employed in such Charitable Uses as the Govr & Councill together with the Church-Wardens shall Judge most proper, And whether or no such Single Woman shall be Obliged or Obliged to Marry the Young Woman, Provided it be Weighed by the Govr & Councill & Vestrymen also, & I do also Recommend the Aforesaid Items, & Submitt to the Consideration & Judgment of the Honble Governour & Councill I have long ago Often Made [...] Wicked minded men so to Intice & Debauch the [...] Modest, and to the just & lawfull [...] they ruining her & their Reputations, for ever & I do the duty & [...] of Injury to such an Unlawfull & Inhumane Practice & Evill Cause of self Courage upon this Particular, & so my further Opinion that if the [...] Man neither Debaucher hy ye & Wicked Perswasions of ye Devill & Corrupt & Vitious Affections from Strength other Powers, that then he is [...] Married so upon Sufficient Proof of his being found Guilty of so Wicked and Scandalous a Crime deserved [...] of all good Laws he must ever be Depriv[...] of the Civill Priveleges & Liberties he ought to be looked on as a Nusance to the Common Wealth, Weeded out from among them, First he should [...] Not the Choice of Imprisonment & to Find the Sum of One Hundred Pounds to the Father or Mother of the said Young Single Woman, being the Chief Loser, (as an Attonement for such Satisfaction as for his Wickedness and Disreputation brought upon them by such Vile & Wicked Practices) besides which a fine to the Honble Company or shall be thought Reasonable, by the Govr & Councill, but in Case the Father or Mother refuse the Satisfaction to have a Daughter thus disgraced, and the Child if they will, & on such or Reputation & that then the said fine to be Applyed to such Uses as the According to the Circumstances of the Person so Offending & in Case he cannot pay the Fine or he shall be Amerced, that in his Case, he shall be Obliged to work the Same out at the Honble Companys Fort for such time as the Governour & the [...] of their Service & of any two the same as they shall be Judged Governour & so, & do so to such Corporal Punishment as such Wicked Young Woman that in one may bear, for being upon them, [...] to a have Debaucheries also to the Honour & Reproach of all good Manners, & to be inflicted on them at the Discretion of the Govr & Councill, & so Remote any part | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 10 February 1736, with Governor Pyke present as first of council, together with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp, the record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Each councillor delivered a written opinion in answer to the question the Governor had put on the preceding Tuesday. The first opinion held that any young man who wickedly got a young woman with child, whether he alleged that he meant to marry her or not, should be made to pay a sum of money for the offence, in whatever amount the Governor and council judged reasonable. One half of the money should go to the Honourable Company and the other half to the churchwardens for the benefit of the mother and her child. Should the mother prove neither able nor willing to raise the child herself, the money should be spent on placing the child with such other person as the council and the churchwardens judged fit. Where a young man had no money to answer such a charge, he should instead be made to serve the Company for a term long enough to cover it. [...] and [...] were named as [...] in the [...] The second opinion went further, holding it a wicked and dangerous thing to entice or debauch a wife's sister, since such conduct destroyed the peace of families and ran counter to Christian practice and to the law of God. The writer added that where a man committed the offence with the sister of his own wife, or with any woman standing in a like degree of relation, and was found guilty of so wicked and shameless a course, he should be treated as an example to the whole island. A man of that description had no right to be looked on as a useful member of the community, and every encouragement to such conduct among the inhabitants ought to be checked. The sum of two hundred pounds was named as the penalty [...] to the father or mother of the young single woman, as an atonement and some satisfaction for the scandal and disappointment brought upon them, together with a fine to the Honourable Company in whatever amount the council thought reasonable. In no case should the father or mother of the young woman be given any right to trade upon their daughter's disgrace, and it was stipulated that the fine be limited to what the offender could genuinely pay. Where an offender proved unable to pay, he should be made to work at stone or at the fortifications until the money was discharged, or else be given a certain number of lashes at the whipping tree, or set on the wooden horse as the Governor and council directed. To such corporal punishment as a wicked young woman of that description might be liable, being under the same guilt, a like proportion of the same penalty could be inflicted on her at the discretion of the Governor and council, and any part [...] Interpretations The question answered here was put on 3 February 1736, when the Governor reported that lewdness had spread widely through the island, that two young men had each debauched a wife's sister and that others had made several unmarried women pregnant, and asked every councillor for a written opinion on what would stop it. Requiring separate written opinions rather than taking a discussion round the table was Governor Pyke's settled method: he used it on the island's waters on 15 August 1732, on the running away of slaves on 30 October 1733 and on Colonel Gaultier's character on 12 November 1734. The device produced a signed record from each member that could be sent to London, and it prevented the senior member's view from carrying the rest. Dividing the money between the Company and the churchwardens reflects the two distinct injuries the offence caused. The parish bore the cost of a bastard child under the poor law, which is why the churchwardens' half was tied to the mother and to placing the child with a nurse, exactly as the Governor's maintenance order of 1 December 1735 against James Powell directed the churchwardens to place that child and recover every charge from the father. The Company's half answered a different loss, since a man who could not support a family became a further burden on an establishment already carrying more poor than it could maintain. Substituting a term of service or labour for a fine was the only enforcement available against a man with nothing to seize. The island ran almost without coin, and the record repeatedly shows debts settled in cattle, provisions or days of work: Joseph Bates was fined forty days of extra labour on the Sandy Bay road on 19 November 1734, and John Long was set to the fortifications at ninepence a day for six months on 26 August 1735 when no conviction could be obtained against him. Stone work and the fortifications were the standing sink for such penalties, the batteries at Rupert's and Turk's Cap having been short of hands since the advertisement of 11 June 1734 drew not a single tender of hired labour. The second opinion treats a man's relations with his wife's sister as a matter of blood rather than of marriage, which is why it reaches for the language of religious prohibition. English law at this date placed such a connection within the forbidden degrees, so the offence stood as incest and not merely as fornication, and that is the ground on which James Powell was committed to prison on 11 November 1735 rather than simply charged with fathering a child. Naming the father or mother of the young woman as the party to receive damages, rather than the woman herself, follows the only route English law then allowed. A woman had no action in her own name for seduction, so the claim had to be brought by her father and pleaded as the loss of her services. Captain Alexander was granted leave on 25 November 1735 to sue James Powell for £500 0s 0d in damages on exactly that footing, and the figure of £200 0s 0d proposed here sits within reach of that precedent while falling well short of it. The wooden horse was a punishment frame that the offender straddled, sometimes with weights hung from the ankles, used on the island against soldiers and free men where a whipping was thought too degrading. Governor Byfield ordered the watch officer at Munden's Point onto it on 25 April 1727 for sleeping on duty, and Andrew Bergue was sentenced to it on 13 August 1734 for telling a French sailor that the island was weak everywhere except the main fort. Speculations The writer of the second opinion built in his own limits after reaching for the heaviest penalty in the paper. Having named £200 0s 0d payable to the woman's parents, he then barred those same parents from any right to profit by their daughter's disgrace and tied the fine to what the offender could actually pay. The obvious course, and the one the sum itself invited, was to fix a punitive figure and leave collection to follow; the writer instead anticipated that a large award to a father would turn a daughter's ruin into a family asset and would meanwhile be uncollectable against a man of small means. The council had watched exactly that problem in the Powell case, where Captain Alexander's action for £500 0s 0d stood over to the next court while the child's actual keep was settled separately at eight shillings a week and secured by a bond of £200 0s 0d on 23 December 1735. |
75 | 67 | or the Whole as they shall think fitt & which is the only & best method I can think of & this time to be taken to prevent such Wicked Course for the future as hath been too often & too lately Practised by Evill minded Persons & hearty wish it may meet with the very much desired Effects, so Conclude Sir & I do wish any John Ollander I am of Opinion that the Laws of England be putt strictly in Execution & that each offender be punished Accordingly, by fine, for such as is not able to fine to receive Corporall Punishment) & that all Masters & Mistresses of Families be admonished to keep a good Decorum over the Young People & not Suffer them to Ingage abroad or fitt to as Naughty or a spirit) which I believe to be a great means of severall of the Miscarriages that has happened, by exercising and keeping late hours in the Nightment John Goodwin The best way to prevent the Lewdness & Debauchery Complained of is to put the Laws in Execution against Vice & Immorality & to recommend all Parents & Masters of Families to take Particular Care of the Education of their Children & Servants Duke Crispe The Governour says that of late Immorality & Debaucheries have been greatly Encreased & promoted by severall Adulterys & Breeding Lewd and this Island as he complains of having been made to him against every Breach of another Ingenuous Debauchery hence that committed by James Bevil & desires other Actions of Uncharity & Lewdness among the Younger People, so that he fears this Place will become more Scandalous than the Sea Ports & were it really are otherwise he thinks it is very Necessary to restrain such Ill Thinking People who have had a Late regard to the Laws of God by trying what Effect the Laws of Man surely & to posterity executed will have upon them Also the same of these wicked freedoms that too many of our people have Indulged themselves in, believes the not giving due punishment to Adept unto Legall & such Examples have been in a great measure of their Encrease, & there are Persons who was formerly known by the Name of Neatness, with all his Children & Grand Children have and by them Wicked & Debauched People, they with the Braddocks & the Bradleys & other Blanches Family have opened the Vices by their Scandalous Examples so far that he fears it will be difficult to put a full Stop to the Infection The Governour does think it his duty to inform the Island & desires too as much as he can put he thinks it more Indispensible so a prevent it at least from growing more Vicious, & therefore as much as in him lies do so discourage & give the utmost measure to give such a Check & Discouragement to that Immorality & Debauchery that begins now to look with a bare & Assuming face, Among the Wicked has been Impudently carryed on by James Bevil & others & his Crew that has been of these many Vile Actions carryed out by disorderly people have Encouraged one Another therein which has Occasioned severall Fornications & Bastardies to be committed & not only so but divers Adulteries & Incestuous Marriages & Debaucheries practised & some of them Triumphantly in their Wicked their shame which if let alone will grow a Snare to all other Sorts of Others in some of those braver professors having Already Attempted to Corrupt their Adulteries by false Swearing & Perjuries Wherefore the Gov thinks it to be Absolutely for the good of the Place & desires to Margin Notes: February the 18th 1735/6 Febry 18 1735 Febry 18 1735 Increase of Immorality | The first opinion closed by leaving the amount of any part or of the whole penalty to the council's own judgement. The writer held this the only effective way to check such conduct in future, and to answer the breaches lately committed by ill disposed people, and hoped it might have a good effect. Signed 10 February 1736 by John Alexander. The second opinion held that the laws of England should be put strictly into execution and that every offender should be punished accordingly, by fine where he could pay and by corporal punishment where he could not. Masters and mistresses of families should be told to keep good order among the young people and not to let them lie abroad at night without leave, whether by daughter or servant, which the writer believed would go far to prevent the mischiefs that had happened, by keeping young people at home in the evening. Signed 10 February 1736 by John Goodwin. The third opinion held that the best way to stop the lewdness and debauchery complained of was to enforce the law, and to require heads and masters of families to take particular care over the education of their children and servants. Signed 10 February 1736 by Duke Crisp. Governor Pyke stated that immorality and debauchery had lately increased and had been made worse by several fresh instances. Besides the case already before the council, complaint had been made of another gross piece of debauchery, and of a further instance of lewdness and disorder among the young people, and he feared that the true number ran to more than had yet come to light. He held it necessary to restrain such people, who had a little money and hoped to buy their way clear, since the laws of man alone would have very little effect on them. The Governor added that certain families had taken so much freedom that too many of their young people indulged themselves, the parents not enforcing any punishment or attempting to check them. Such examples had grown numerous, and those who were young now had before them a family formerly known by the name of Sandford, whose children and grandchildren had all along been wicked and debauched people. They had married with the Bradleys and the Bradleys had taken black wives, and the family had spread so far through the island that it would be difficult to put an effective stop to the infection. The Governor considered it his duty to inform the island and the Company, and thought it necessary to prevent the trouble at least four years earlier than it had been, and therefore to use as much industry, argument and skill as could be summoned to give a check and discouragement to the immorality and debauchery now openly carried on by young people without shame. Several such actions had been carried on by disorderly people, one encouraging another, which had produced not only fornication and lewdness but adulteries and incest. Lewdness and debauchery were practised by several of them openly and shamelessly, as if they were quite lost to shame, and one had given a note to two others of these young people offering to convey their addresses by [...], having already attempted to corrupt them. The Governor therefore held it absolutely necessary for the good of the place and of the young people [...] A margin note beside the Governor's opinion reads: increase of immorality. Interpretations The three councillors' answers show how narrow the practical options were. John Alexander proposed a graded money penalty divided between the Company and the parish; John Goodwin proposed enforcing the existing English law with a curfew on young people enforced through heads of households; Duke Crisp proposed the same enforcement with parental instruction. None proposed a new local ordinance, because the council had no power to make one. Its authority in criminal matters ran only so far as English statute and the Company's own standing orders allowed, which is why the practical proposals all turn on the household rather than on the courts. Placing the burden on masters and mistresses of families was the standard method of enforcement on the island, and it worked because a household head answered for everyone under his roof. The council had already applied the same principle to slaves in the order of 12 October 1730, which required every householder to lock up his slaves each evening and to let none out before morning without a written note. Extending the reasoning from slaves to daughters and servants gave the council an enforcement point it could actually reach, since it could summon and fine a householder where it could not police a valley at night. The Governor's reference to people with a little money who hoped to answer for their conduct by paying identifies the weakness in Alexander's proposal. A fine deters only where it hurts, and on an island where the substantial planters held most of the cash, a money penalty would fall hardest on the poor and lightest on the very families the Governor named as the source of the trouble. Naming a single family as the origin of a spreading pattern of misconduct reflects how small the settled population was. The record repeatedly shows the same surnames intermarrying across two and three generations, and the Governor's account of the Sandfords marrying into the Bradleys treats moral conduct as something transmitted through kinship. The added observation about black wives connects the complaint to the council's long standing anxiety over children born to slave women, which the churchwardens raised against Richard Swallow and John Bowers on 14 January 1729, when they argued that a mixed population might in time grow formidable to the inhabitants. The reference to adultery and incest arising from the same conduct places these opinions directly against the Powell case. James Powell was committed on 11 November 1735 for fathering a child on his wife's sister Margaret Alexander, and the Governor had reported on 3 February 1736 that two young men had each done the same thing. One of the two is on the record; the second is not named anywhere in it. Speculations Governor Pyke reached past the councillors' proposals for a remedy none of them had offered. All three answers assumed the problem was one of punishment, whether by fine, by the whip or by household discipline after the fact. The Governor's own opinion turned instead on prevention and on information, holding that the trouble should have been checked four years earlier and that the island and the Company both needed to be told what was happening. Having asked for opinions on measures, he set the measures aside and took the one course genuinely open to a governor who could not legislate: putting the whole matter on the record for London, which is the same route he took with Colonel Gaultier's dismissal on 5 December 1734 and with Joseph Bates's accounts, in each case exporting a decision he lacked the authority to make finally on the island. |
76 | 68 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] give a Strict Charge to all Masters of Families to be very Carefull in the Education of the People of their Respective Houses whether Children Relations Orphans or Servants which are all under their Care & prevent them keeping late & Uncommon hours and repairing of Dancings or other Merriments & to discountenance profaness & Debauched talk in the presence of those to whom they ought to shew good Examples & to see that they keep orders Constantly at Church & to spend the Sabbath duties or Delight to which the Gov thinks are Hearty Instrument may be of Use, that as that Whereas some People come not to Church, the Doors about & Sundry others any all wherefore those who come not to Church shall be denyed the Liberty of going or board the Ships & those who go to Church but seldom to be some times denyed en as they who go seldom to Church to go seldom on board And that some may not be discouraged to spend any of their time in Church but that all who eat shall be Employed in Such of futile Work as they are able to perform & those who have not been used to work, be instructed therein & not to be suffered to eat the bread of Idleness & the Gov does promise to Encourage with any reasonable favour & such as those who Observe his Order & behave themselves with History Sobriety & Industry & will also Severely punish those who spend their time in Sloath & Idleness or in Intemperance Prophaneness & Immorality And such Carelefs & Negligent Masters of Families who allow their Children or their Orphans while committed to their Care, Uncontrolable Liberties & from thenceon Sechuations & to counteract to God Companies in case it appears to the Gov & Councill any such Disorderly Practices have happened thereby Ways caused by a God & too great a Indigence & for want of proper Care of their Charges such Masters or Chiefs of a Family shall be Judged for their neglect of Duty As to the Crimes of Lewdness & Fornication &c which of late has become a Nusance & on a due proof of such Actions, the Man & the Woman to be sharply Punished according to their demerits & not to Issue Un Imprisoned or else Publickly Whipt according to the Judgment of the Gov & Councill when they Examine into the Nature of those Offences & unless the Circumstances by the Distance of the Woman Family is to be Concealed unless the Man proves to be the Chief Complainer or Defender Under an Case of Adultery a more Severe Punishment in a higher fine than for Fornication only And for Keeping the Same as for Adultery besides the Indemnifying the Parish & keeping the Child And for a third Offence after the greater degree of Punishment Rebuke to Incestuous Marriages as they Aggravate their Crimes by trampling under foot the Laws of God & so he ought to be made Sensible of his Enormity being made to pay a larger fine & to endure a more Severe Corporall Punishment Then and proper & just on Occasion Immediate & to write to the Honble Company for their Confirmation of the Same that it may be Abinding Law amongst us for a Warning There has been a Breach of the printed Laws that are in force & inrespect in Virginia & the Vertuous English Settlements in the West Indies & wherein in the said Case I find that it is enacted there that the Man & Woman committing Fornication shall pay each 500 of Tobacco to be issued to their good Behaviour And if either of them be a Servant the Master shall pay 500 in future & the poor to serve as Care longer than his time & the Master shall refuse to pay then the case to the Whipt And if a Bastard be begott & Borne then the Woman to serve the Master a Yeare longer then her time, or to pay him 2000 of Tobacco & the reputed father Margin Notes: Punishments for Lewdness Adultery incest Law in Virginia & West Indies | Governor Pyke proposed that a strict charge be given to every head of a family to take particular care over the education of the people in his household, whether children, relations, apprentices or servants, and to keep them from staying out late at night. Dancing meetings and other such gatherings ought to be prevented. Heads of households were themselves to set a good example and to make sure that everyone under their roof attended church regularly and lived in the way the Governor thought fit. Where such people would not come to church, or came only rarely, or went elsewhere instead, they were to be refused the liberty of going aboard the shipping. Those who did attend church were to be allowed aboard, though even they should be permitted only occasionally, and only after having attended. The Governor added that idleness was not to be encouraged, and that anyone able to work should be set to some useful employment. Those never brought up to work should be instructed in it, and taught to be diligent and industrious. Reasonable promises and fair words should be used to encourage such people to bring themselves to order, and to accustom themselves to industry and sobriety. Those who spent their time in idleness, drunkenness or intemperance should be punished severely, that course leading straight to immorality and to worse. Careless and negligent heads of families who allowed their children or the orphans placed in their care to become unmanageable, and to be a burden on the parish, were to be answerable and made accountable to the Company should it appear to the Governor and council that any lewd or disorderly conduct had arisen through their fault, or through their neglect of proper care. Neglect of duty by a head of household was to be charged upon him. Where lewdness or fornication was proved by clear evidence, both the man and the woman were to be punished according to their circumstances, whether by fine, by public whipping, or otherwise as the Governor and council judged fit on examining the nature of the offence. The character of the woman's family was to be considered where the man proved to be the guilty party. Adultery was to carry a heavier penalty than fornication, and a bastard child born of adultery was to be provided for on the same footing as in fornication cases, the parents indemnifying the parish for the child's keep. Incest was to carry a heavier degree of punishment again. The Governor held that the incestuous offender aggravated his crime by trampling upon the law of God, and that such a man should be made sensible of it if the offence were plainly proved. He should be made to pay a heavier fine and to undergo a more severe corporal punishment, and a proper direction on the point should be sought at once from the Honourable Company, so that a standing law might be established on the island for the future. The Governor observed that this was a breach of the printed laws in force in Virginia and the West Indies as well as of English statute, and reported that in Virginia it was enacted in the third year of a reign, and confirmed in the third law of the same, that a man and a woman committing fornication should each pay 500 pounds of tobacco for the use of the parish. Where the offender was a servant, the master was to pay the 500 pounds of tobacco and the servant to serve his master half a year longer than his term, or else to be whipped. Where a bastard child was born, the woman was to serve her master two years longer than her time, or to pay him 2,000 pounds of tobacco, and the reputed father [...] Interpretations Making church attendance the condition of going aboard the shipping turned the one privilege the island's poorer inhabitants valued into an instrument of moral discipline. A ship in the road was the only market most people ever saw: it was where fowls, fruit and small goods were sold, where sailors bought punch and where money entered the island at all. The council had already used access to the shipping as a sanction against Giles Smith on 4 February 1735, forbidding him to go aboard any vessel that summer for telling the crew of the Royal Guardian that the water at the crane was bad. Applying the same lever generally attached a real economic cost to non-attendance and reached people no fine could touch. Making heads of households answerable to the Company for the misconduct of their children, servants and apprentices shifted the whole burden of enforcement onto a party the council could actually reach. The council could not police the valley at night, but it could summon a householder, and it could threaten his standing with the Company. The same reasoning underlay the night order of 12 October 1730 requiring every householder to lock up his slaves and let none out without a written note. Placing orphans placed out with families in the same clause as natural children reflects how much of the island's child-rearing ran through such arrangements. Orphans courts sat on 3 October 1727, 8 October 1728 and 11 October 1729, and children were routinely bound out to householders who drew the benefit of their labour, as Mary Edwards was to Samuel Leech until the council cancelled that indenture on 19 March 1728 after finding the house used as an inn. Making the householder answerable for the outcome closed the obvious gap in a system where the person with charge of a child had no lasting stake in what became of it. Graduating the penalties from fornication through adultery to incest, and treating the child's maintenance as a separate matter in every case, follows the structure of the poor law rather than of the criminal law. The parish had to be indemnified whatever the moral character of the offence, which is why the Governor's maintenance order of 1 December 1735 against James Powell dealt with the money separately from the incest for which Powell had been committed to prison on 11 November 1735. Seeking a direction from the Company so that a standing law might be settled acknowledges the limit on the council's own authority. It could punish under English statute and under the Company's orders, but it could not create a new offence or fix a new penalty by its own act, which is why the Governor asked London for a rule rather than making one. Reaching for the Virginia statute shows the council doing what it had done before when English law gave it no useful precedent: consulting the printed laws of the plantations. It had cited the statutes of Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland from Laws in Force in His Majesty's Plantations on 20 February 1733 to show its treatment of John Bowers mild by comparison, and it settled the appraisal of Mary Powell's estate on 25 September 1735 by reading two printed English legal handbooks. Having no lawyer and no ecclesiastical court, the council governed itself by reading. Tobacco served as the currency of account in Virginia, where crop payments substituted for coin in fines, fees and clerical stipends. The 500 pounds named would have been a substantial charge on a small planter. The provision falls oddly on St Helena, which grew no tobacco and had no equivalent staple to answer for a penalty, which is why the Governor's own proposals turn instead on labour, whipping and access to the ships. Requiring a master to pay the fine for a servant and to recover it in extra service turns the penalty into a debt worked off in time rather than money. The mechanism was familiar to the council, which had set John Long to the fortifications at ninepence a day for six months on 26 August 1735 and fined Joseph Bates forty days of extra labour on the Sandy Bay road on 19 November 1734. |
77 | 69 | to give Security to keep the Child But in New England they are Abundantly more severe, for the same Breach which allows [...] the Oath of the Woman Chargeth any Man of being the Father of a Bastard Child where other proof is Wanting, the Justices of the Peace to make the Person lyable to the Charge of Maintenance As for this or some in that of this Nature now Legion will be a means to put a stop to those Practices & Transgressions if every body heartily Endeavours to do their duties learn for which those absolutely proper can force, effectually so purity there will be as long as of their Amendments At a Consultation held on Thursday the 26th Febry 1735/6 at Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Jno Ollander absent being Sick. John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved This day the following Petn of Jamer Davies was presented & read Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour & Councill The humble Petition of James Davies Sheweth, That your Petr hath lately met with much trouble & is apprehensive that it will be increased by the Continuance of his here but rather to gett into a new Neighbourhood to live in hopes to shall have rightly Vertuous life better and Your Petr therefore humbly prays that Your Worships & Councill will grant him Libty and to take Passage for Ryswicke together with his Wife & Child on board the first Shipping that shall Arrive here from England And your Petr as in duty bound shall ever pray James Davies After this Petition was read the Govr asked the said Davies how he had proposed to go if his own Severall People had Demanded upon him & particularly Mr & in Mr Johnson, Answered that he desired a Meeting to treat with the said Mr Johnson in Order to accomodate their Affair & time was assured him Accordingly The Lieut Coll who was commanded to Swear in the Oath of every Civill upon the Oath of a Land Ryder for an English Practices Refused by Letter that he might be Excused the Fortifications, this Request with the Consent of the said Ryder who were present when his Letter was read was Granted Margin Notes: Petn Febry 1735/6 26th Febry 1735/6 | Governor Pyke reported further that in New England the same rule stood, requiring the reputed father to give security to maintain the child. There the woman's own oath in labour was allowed to charge any man with fathering a bastard child, where other proof was wanting, and that oath was enough to make him answerable for the cost of the child's keep. He concluded that measures of this kind would go a long way towards checking the practices complained of, provided everyone concerned took the matter up in earnest and did his duty, and that if such disorderly people could be brought to any sense of shame there was some hope of their reform. At a consultation held at Plantation House on Tuesday 24 February 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp, John Alexander being absent through illness. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The petition of James Powell was presented and read. He stated that he had lately met with much trouble, and feared he would be crowded out by the inhabitants of the place unless he could go among new neighbours where he might live quietly and behave himself well. He asked the Governor and council for permission to take passage to England with his wife and child aboard the first ship to arrive. The petition was dated 24 February 1736 and signed by James Powell. The Governor asked Powell whether he thought it proper for him to go, several people having claims upon him, and named John Johnson in particular. Powell replied that he wanted a little time to settle with the Company, and that Johnson was ready to accommodate him about their affairs. The Governor also reported a request from the Company's blacksmith, who was bound over on the oath of Samuel Ryder for an assault, and who had written asking to be allowed to work at the fortifications. Ryder was present when the letter was read and consented, and the request was granted. Interpretations Allowing a woman's oath sworn in labour to establish paternity where nothing else could rested on the belief that a woman in the pain and danger of childbirth would not lie. The rule mattered because it was the only evidence such a case was ever likely to produce, and it is exactly the point that decided the charge against Powell himself: the midwife Mary Shreve swore on 27 November 1735 that Margaret Alexander named him at the moment of birth, and that the child was certainly a white man's child bearing a strong resemblance to the Powells. The Governor's citation of New England practice supplies the legal basis for the maintenance order he had already made on 1 December 1735. Powell's petition to leave the island came two months after his release from prison on 23 December 1735, when he was bound in £1,000 0s 0d for his appearance at the next court, with Charles Steward and Richard Goodwin bound in £500 0s 0d apiece and a further bond of £200 0s 0d to indemnify the parish for the child's keep. A departure would have defeated all three instruments at once, since the sureties would forfeit on his non-appearance and the maintenance running at eight shillings a week would fall back on the parish. Captain Alexander's action for £500 0s 0d in damages, granted on 25 November 1735, also stood over to the same court. Naming John Johnson as a party with a claim on Powell connects the petition to the worst feature of the original offence. Margaret Alexander deposed on 28 October 1735 that Powell had sent word by his own wife that she should lay the child on Johnson, who had lately sailed for India and could neither deny it nor answer for it. Johnson's return placed on the island a man with a direct grievance, and the Governor's question put Powell on notice that he could not leave debts and accusations behind him. Bonds of the kind Powell had given worked precisely by making departure impossible without the council's leave, and the council had used the same check repeatedly. Joseph Bates obtained leave to sail for England in May 1731 only on security that the dead Spaniard's estate would be forthcoming, and Daniel Griffith, Margaret Storey and others were granted leave to go only after settling their accounts with the inhabitants. Setting a man bound over for assault to labour at the fortifications converted a criminal recognisance into a supply of the one thing the island could not buy. The advertisement of 11 June 1734 offering ninepence a day for six slaves drew not a single tender, and the works at Rupert's and Turk's Cap had since been manned largely by men under sentence. Requiring the consent of the man who swore the complaint kept the arrangement within the form of a private prosecution while diverting its outcome to public use. Speculations Governor Pyke neither granted nor refused the petition, and turned instead to the claims outstanding against Powell. The obvious course, given a man convicted of incest whose conduct the Governor had described on 3 February 1736 as part of a spreading corruption, was to be rid of him: sending an offender off the island had been the council's standard disposal, applied to John Bowers on 20 February 1733, to Henry Coles on 1 May 1734 and to John Long aboard the Lyell that same year. The Governor passed it over here because Powell was not a burden to be exported but a debtor to be held. His bonds secured a child's maintenance, his father-in-law's action for damages and his appearance at the next court, and every one of those obligations depended on his remaining. Asking whether it was proper for him to go while people had claims upon him put the money before the morals. |
78 | 70 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 2d March 1735 at Plantation House Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved This Morning wee received the following Letter from Richard Goodwin who was Summoned to attend in order to take upon him the Executry Administration of the Estate late in the Possession of Mary Powell died Sixt Worshipfull Sir & Gentlemen, Being very weak & Infirm I am not able to go through the trouble the Charge of Executry or Administration of the Estate late in the Possession of Mary Powell died, Wherefore I do hereby Renounce all Right to the Executorship or Administration thereof, & humbly desire that my Renunciation may be accepted & allowed accordingly, I am Worshipfull Sir & Gentlemen Your most humble & obedient Servt Richd Goodwin As Soon as this Letter was read the Governour asked the said Mr Goodwin whether he had paid any Legacies & he Answered he had not, nor had he made any Alteracon in the Said Estate, he may also asked in whose Possession the Said Estate now is & he replyed in the Possession of the Children, & he was farther asked who among the Relations was most fit to be an Administrator & he Said he believed there were no near Relations upon the Island except the Children, & the Renunciation of the Said Richd was accepted & allowed accordingly as he had desired The Governour the Gunner & the Steward delivered each their Weekly Account for February last which were Severally Examined and Approved & are as follow Sixt GUNNERS Stores Expended in Febry 1735 Sixt 1735 Febry 7th 29. Musket Ball 20. Priming of the Guard 20. Musquet Balls for slices 8s Cartridge Paper 6 Quire 40. Handspikes 4 Spunge Staves 1 Sheepskins 8 Match 24 lb | At a consultation held at Plantation House on Tuesday 2 March 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A letter arrived that morning from Richard Goodwin, who had been summoned to attend and take upon himself the executorship or administration of the estate late in the possession of Mary Powell, deceased. He wrote that he was very weak and unwell and unable to bear the trouble of acting either as executor or as administrator of the estate, and he therefore renounced every right to the executorship or administration of it. He asked that his renunciation be accepted and allowed, and signed himself Duke Goodwin. As soon as the letter had been read the Governor asked Goodwin's son whether his father had paid any legacies, and the young man answered that he had not, and that he had made no alteration in the estate. He was also asked in whose possession the estate now stood, and replied that the children held it. Asked further which of the relations was fittest to be administrator, he said he believed there were no near relations on the island besides the children. The renunciation was accepted and allowed as requested. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for February, each of which was examined and approved. Gunner's stores expended in February 1736 7 February, muster day, powder, 20 lb Guard through the month, powder, 20 lb Musket balls for slices, 8 lb Cartridge paper, 6 quires Handspikes, 4 Sponge staves, 1 Sheepskins, 8 Match, 24 lb 29 February, powder for the guard, 40 lb Interpretations Renouncing an executorship was a formal legal act, not a mere refusal to serve, and it had to be recorded before administration could pass to anyone else. The council had taken exactly this course on 15 January 1734, when Captain John Goodwin renounced the executorship of Barlace Pyke's will on finding that the debts exceeded the estate and Isaac Wrangham was persuaded to act only after the Governor told him somebody had to. A renouncing executor keeps clear of personal liability for the estate's debts, which is why the Governor's first questions went to whether Goodwin had paid out any legacies or altered anything: a man who had begun to act could not afterwards step back cleanly. The renunciation leaves the Powell estate without any lawful representative at all. Mary Powell's will named her eldest son George Gabriel Powell, then in the East Indies, alongside Goodwin, so his withdrawal removes the only executor on the island. Three caveats stood against Goodwin's admission from 21 October 1735, entered by Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson, and the estate had been valued at £5,136 17s 5.25d by the five sworn appraisers on that day, more than twelve times the £405 15s 7d Goodwin had returned on his own account. The largest fortune in the record now has nobody answerable for it, with the children holding the property in fact and no authority to distribute it. The answer that no near relations remained on the island except the children understates the position considerably. Richard Beale claimed thirty acres against the estate as heir to his father Jonathan Beale, Joshua Johnson claimed £475 6s 8d as principal creditor in his wife's right, and John Hodgkinson claimed several acres as heir to his sister Anne Crawford, all three being connected to the family through the Hodgkinson and Bowman marriages. The question put was about fitness to administer rather than about claims, and a claimant would in any event have been the last person the council would appoint. Slices were the flattened lead shot cut for scaling or clearing a gun, and musket balls issued for that use were charged against the stores by weight rather than by number. Quires of cartridge paper were used for making up powder charges. Handspikes were the wooden levers for shifting a gun carriage, and sponge staves the shafts carrying the sponge head that damped and cleared a bore between firings. Sheepskins supplied the wool for fresh sponge heads, the annual inventory of 30 September 1735 having carried 172 of them and 435 horse hides in store for that purpose. The February account is a month with no shipping and no ceremony in it. The 40 lb charged to the guard on 29 February and the 20 lb through the month carry most of the powder, against 20 lb on muster day and nothing at all for salutes or alarms, which matches an anchorage empty since the Prince of Orange sailed for England on 30 January 1736. The guard's share had run at 129 lb in August 1735 when the nightly boat was out against desertion to the shipping and fell to 20 lb by December as the road emptied; the present figures show that patrol continuing at a reduced level with no vessel to watch. |
79 | 71 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1. Febry: Bullocks 35, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 87, Bulls 6, Totall 384, Ewes 60, Wethers 1, Lambs 13, Rams 4, Totall 78, Sows 9, Shoats 15, Piggs 39, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 34, Fowles 85, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 18, Bulls 0, Totall 18, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sows 0, Shoats 5, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 5, Fowles 40, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 35, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 60, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 80, Sows 9, Shoats 15, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 69, Turkeys 39, Fowles 125, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 1, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoats 3, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 3, Turkeys 4, Fowles 31, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 29th Febry: Bullocks 35, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 66, Turkeys 35, Fowles 94, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 17800 lb Ditto Delivered the Blacks 25600 Totall Yams 43400 lb | The stock account for February 1736 set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 February, the increase during the month, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 29 February. Remaining 1 February, bullocks 35, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 87, bulls 6, total neat cattle 384, ewes 60, wethers 1, lambs 13, rams 4, total sheep 78, sows 9, shoats 15, pigs 39, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 34, fowls 85, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 18, bulls 0, total neat cattle 18, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 2, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 5, boars 0, total hogs 5, turkeys 5, fowls 40, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after increase, bullocks 35, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 60, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 80, sows 9, shoats 15, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 69, turkeys 39, fowls 125, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 1, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 1, sows 0, shoats 3, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 3, turkeys 4, fowls 31, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 29 February, bullocks 35, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 66, turkeys 35, fowls 94, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,800 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 25,600 lb Total yams, 43,400 lb Interpretations Eighteen calves born in a single month is the strongest calving since the drought broke, and it carries the herd from 384 to 402. The comparison with the same month two years earlier is stark: February 1734 produced three calves and lost four animals to dry weather, and the herd had fallen from 525 at the end of December 1733 to 365 by 31 January 1735. Nothing died in any class this month, which had last happened in July 1735, and no beast at all went to shipping, the road having stood empty since the Prince of Orange sailed on 30 January 1736. The herd is now rebuilding on breeding alone rather than on the purchase of 32 head made in November 1735. The sheep flock tells the opposite story and shows the flaw the council has not addressed. A single wether remains against forty in October 1734, so the fattening stock has been eaten away entirely and the table now falls on the breeding ewes: one ewe was killed this month against no wether, exactly as six ewes went in January. Two lambs born against one ewe killed leaves the flock static at 79. A flock consuming its own breeding females cannot recover, and the 60 ewes now carried are the whole reproductive capacity left. Poultry supplied the fort's table almost entirely in February, 31 fowls and 4 turkeys being killed against 40 chicks and 5 poults hatched. The pattern is the one that has held since the road emptied: with no beef going to shipping and no vessel to victual, the yard carries the household while the herd is left to breed. The heavy hatching of the southern summer is what makes that possible, and the flock still finished the month lower than it began, at 94 fowls against 85 at the opening only because of the hatch. Yams at 43,400 lb sit close to the January figure of 46,800 lb, but the split has shifted: the plantations took 17,800 lb against 16,300 lb in January while the issue to the slaves fell from 30,500 lb to 25,600 lb. The plantations' share is seed and feed for hogs and poultry rather than food for people, and the rise reflects the summer growing season on an island where the planting runs from about May to September and the crop is dug through the southern summer. Wethers are castrated rams kept for meat, shoats are weaned young pigs and barrows castrated males, the distinctions mattering here because they separate breeding stock from animals raised for the table. The absence of any barrow column entry and the single boar carried against nine sows show a hog herd kept almost wholly for breeding, with the three shoats killed this month drawn from the young stock rather than from grown animals. |
80 | 72 | [Small loss at the left edge, lower half of the page.] Expence of the Table in February 1735 Sixt £ 3 3 126 Pork 1 6 4 Turkeys 2 6 6 31 Fowles 2 8 48 lb Butter 1 9 0 29 Days Greens 19 8 58 Bushels Milk 17 63 Gar Arrack 5 8 22 Gar Cape Wine 5 4 lb Flour 1 19 1 . 2 Sugar 12 7 lb Candy 7 Pepper 1 12 Bushels Salt 5 9 Bottles Ale Bydr £ 43 5 3 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 9 March 1735 at the Plantation House Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Jno Goodwin absent being Sick, John Alexander Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Jonathan Higham fined having privately taken some Appleroots of the Honble Companys Garden he was fined five Shillings for the said Offence Joshua Johnson & James Powell attended & were asked if they had chosen their Arbitrators & Johnson answered he had done so as one, & Powell replyed he could not any body to stand for him also he had asked having refused to be concerned but proposed to ingage in an Attorney to pay his proportion of a Sum, Mr Johnson would recover & this proposal being accepted by the said Johnson, the said Powell was told he might go to Camborne with his Wife & Child as he had desired by the next Shipping The following Petition of John Long was presented & read Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & the Councill The humble Petition of John Long Sheweth, That your Petitioner by a long Series of Riot & Excess hath spent his Patrimony & brought himself & Family to Ruine & hath had the Misfortune to behave himself allways in very ill, that he cannot reasonably expect for assistance from any of his Neighbours or | The general table account for February 1736 was entered as follows. 126 lb of pork, £3 3s 0d 4 turkeys, £1 2s 0d 21 lambs, £2 6s 6d 48 lb of butter, £2 8s 0d 29 days of greens, £1 9s 0d 58 bowls of milk, £0 19s 8d 68 gallons of arrack, £17 0s 0d 22 gallons of Cape wine, £5 8s 0d 4 gallons of stout, £5 0s 0d 1 lb 2 oz of sugar, £1 19s 0d 1 lb of sugar candy, £0 12s 0d 7 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 12 bushels of salt, £1 5s 0d 9 bottles of oil, £0 9s 0d Total, £43 2s 0d At a consultation held at Plantation House on Tuesday 9 March 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander and Duke Crisp, John Goodwin being absent through illness. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Jonathan Higham junior had privately taken some apples from the Company's garden and was fined five shillings for it. Joshua Johnson and James Powell attended and were asked whether they had chosen their arbitrators. Johnson answered that he had, and Powell replied that he could not get anybody to stand for him, having asked several and been refused. Powell then proposed to appoint an attorney to act for his creditors in his absence, and Johnson accepted the proposal. Powell was told he might go to Bencoolen with his wife and child, as he had asked, by the next store ship. The petition of John Long was presented and read. He stated that a long course of riot and drunkenness had wasted his inheritance and brought himself and his family to want, and that he had behaved so badly that he could not reasonably expect any assistance from his neighbours or [...] Interpretations Arbitration in the Johnson claim marks a change of route in the Powell estate business. Joshua Johnson had asked on 14 October 1735 to be admitted administrator as principal creditor on demands of £475 6s 8d, and the executors petitioned on 4 November that his claim go to a jury. Referring it instead to arbitrators chosen freely by each side follows the method the Company itself had directed for the Beale dispute in its instructions sent out in the Lyell, which Governor Pyke put to both parties on 13 August 1734. Powell's failure to find anyone willing to act for him is the more telling half of the answer, since an arbitrator's role carried no liability and cost him nothing, and refusal by several men in a settlement this small reflects his standing after the incest proceedings rather than any difficulty in the business itself. Appointing an attorney to answer his creditors converted Powell's departure from a flight into a settlement. A man who left owing money without such an instrument would simply take his liabilities out of reach, which is why the council had refused Joseph Bates leave to sail in May 1731 until he gave security that the Spaniard's estate would be forthcoming. Johnson's acceptance of the arrangement was what unlocked the leave, since he was the principal creditor and the party with most to lose. The destination granted differs from the one requested, and the difference matters. Powell asked on 24 February 1736 to take passage to England with his wife and child; he was given Bencoolen by the next store ship. Bencoolen was the Company's own settlement in Sumatra, notorious on the island for bad diet and heavy mortality, and it was the standing disposal for men the council wanted removed: John Bowers on 20 February 1733, the soldier Henry Coles on 1 May 1734 and John Long himself aboard the Lyell that year. England would have put Powell beyond every obligation he had entered into on the island; Bencoolen kept him within the Company's own administration. Fining a man five shillings for taking apples from the Company's garden is slight in itself but consistent with the council's treatment of anything drawn from the Company's own ground. John Bradley was dismissed from the service and afterwards whipped for stealing an apple tree in 1728, and Richard Mason was made to answer for his slave's theft of thatching rushes in January 1734. The garden at Plantation House had been rebuilt by Governor Byfield in January 1728 and repeatedly plundered since, twenty drunken sailors having broken the vines and trees to pieces in the year before December 1734. The table account is the record of an island with no ships in the road. No beef appears at all, and pork at 126 lb with 21 lambs carries the whole provision, which matches the stock account for the same month where nothing went to shipping and the killing fell on lambs, shoats and poultry. Milk, butter and daily greens continue as steady charges, the dairy having revived with the calving and the garden producing again. Drink takes almost two thirds of the whole sum, arrack alone at £17 0s 0d, and stout at £5 0s 0d for four gallons is the dearest item on the account by the gallon, being a strong English beer that had to be shipped out and would not have survived long in store. Cape wine came from the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, the nearest wine-producing country to St Helena and the natural supplier for a table where French and Iberian wines had to come the whole way from Europe. Arrack was the spirit distilled from palm sap, rice or sugar across the East Indies, shipped to the island in half leaguers from Bengal and Batavia and issued both at the table and as the standing allowance to the guards and the slaves in wet weather. |
81 | 73 | Relations, Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that leave may be given him to go hence to Bencoolen together with his Wife & Children on board the next Store ship which shall Arrive from England And Your Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray John Long St Helena 9 March 1735. The Petitioner Long was called in & told that at his own desire he had been lately at Bencoolen where he might have stayed if he would, but urging many false Suggestions & Pretences he was suffered to return hither again & had behaved himself since his Arrival here as bad as he had done before, & that his Wife & all his Family were a bad & reprobate Crew, & would give great Scandal wherever they went, & the place having already Suffered much in its Credit in all parts of India by the Misbehaviour of severall bad persons who formerly went from hence thither, the Honble Company should be first acquainted with his desire, & when their pleasure was known he should have an Answer. At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16 March 1735 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr John Goodwin absent being lame, John Alexander Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour reports that in these two lasts Weeks it hath been such great Cataracts of water fallen from the Skies that it hath drove away great part of the Cawpath [...] the Mountain between Stone Table & the Fort, it made such vast Gulleys in the Road that used to be counted so good that it was very difficult for the Blacks with loads to pass along it And on Ladder Hill which was very bad before there was such Breaches as was never observed before in some places great heaps of Rubbish drove down, in other places many large Blocks removed by washing away the Earth that lay under them, in other parts of Ladder Hill large pieces of the Hill thrown down so that it was very difficult to go up or down by them who carried no Loads The Govr sayes that last Tuesday there being two Allarms one Single one after what a double one which proved to be Duteh Fleet of fourteen Sail he was above an hour going down Ladder Hill, the whole path lying in such heaps of Stone & loose rubbish that he could in many places hardly find fast Ground to fix his feet & he never knew that path Margin Notes: Floods | John Long's petition closed by asking the council for leave to go from the island to Bencoolen, taking his wife and children with him aboard the first store ship to arrive from England. It was dated at St Helena on 9 March 1736 and signed by John Long. Long was called in and told that he had already been at Bencoolen at his own request and could have stayed there had he wished, but that he had contrived his return by a string of false claims and pretences, and had behaved since his arrival exactly as he had before. The council added that his wife and children were good and industrious people who would be a great loss to whatever place they went to, and that the settlement had already suffered greatly in its credit throughout India through the misconduct of several bad characters sent out from the island. The Honourable Company was to be told of his request first, and he should have his answer when its pleasure was known. At a consultation held at Plantation House on Tuesday 16 March 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander and Duke Crisp, John Goodwin being absent through illness. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that the two recent floods had done great damage. Torrents of rainwater had washed away much of the footpath in the mountain between Stone Table and the Peak, and had cut gullies so deep in what had been a good road that the slaves now found it very difficult to pass. Ladder Hill, already bad before, had suffered worse. Breaches had opened in it such as nobody had seen before, with great heaps of rubbish driven down in some places and in others large blocks shifted by the water washing out the earth beneath them. Elsewhere on the hill large pieces of the face had been thrown down, so that anyone carrying a load could get up or down only with great difficulty. The Governor added that two alarms had been raised the previous Tuesday, one single and the other double, the latter proving to be a Dutch fleet of fourteen sail. Going down Ladder Hill he had found the path so choked with heaps of stone and loose rubbish that in many places he could hardly find firm ground to set his foot, and he had never known the path in such a state. Interpretations Damage of this kind falls directly on the island's ability to trade with the shipping in the road. Everything the vessels bought, and everything landed for the settlement, moved up and down these paths on the backs of slaves, there being no cartway from the country to the fort at all. Captain Cason and Ensign Wood reported on 28 November 1732 that the inhabitants complained every path from the country to the fort was dangerous, several slaves having broken limbs and lost their lives on them, and the fisherman Corryden fell 150 feet into Downing's Cove from the Rupert's path on 20 July 1734. A path reduced to loose stone is not merely an inconvenience but a stoppage of the island's only means of carriage. Two floods in quick succession fit the state of the island's weather over the preceding three years rather than contradicting it. The council told three homeward commanders on 19 December 1734 that the rains had failed three seasons past and that the ground formerly yielding potatoes in plenty now gave very little. Ground baked hard by successive dry seasons sheds water rather than absorbing it, so the first heavy rains after a drought run off the slopes at speed and carry the surface with them, which is precisely the scouring the Governor described. A Dutch fleet of fourteen sail passing the island was a substantial force, and the double alarm reflects what such a sight meant to a garrison that could not identify a vessel until she closed the road. The signal system depended on the lookout at Prosperous Bay and on the Sugarloaf, and the flags had been worn out and made up in blue and red for want of white bunting since 31 July 1733. The council had resolved on 11 June 1734 to keep every gun on the line and at each place of defence constantly loaded even in peacetime, precisely because a sail could not be named before she arrived. Ladder Hill carries the direct route between the fort in James Valley and the high ground above it, which is why the Governor walked it himself and why his account of the footing is entered on the record. Taking a question to the ground in person was his settled practice, applied to the island's waters on 15 August 1732 when he required each councillor to walk the ground and taste every source, and to the Sandy Bay cart road on 17 April 1731. |
82 | 74 | [Small loss at the left edge, lower half of the page.] half so bad before so that there is an absolute Necessity to repair it against the Arrivall of the Ships or else it will be both very hard & Dangerous to bring any thing out of the Country or to carry any thing into it. The repair at least being so necessary for the Present till Wee can spare more hands, Ordered that all the Gulleys be filled up & some of the Walls repaired & that all hands be taken from the Works at Ruperts to put it into some tollerable Order for the Security of the People who go up & down there but as to a thorough repair till Wee have more hands it cannot be done & Wee must make the best Shift wee can for the Present All the People of the Country now Excused are now hard at work filling up the Gulleys on the Mountain in the way to Red Hill. Wee this day Executed a Lease to Stephen Lufkin Senr for Twelve Acres of Land lying in Tomstone Wood Signed Coyle At a Consultation held on Tuesday 23 March 1735 at the Plantation House. Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent being Sick, John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that the Pack up Ladder Hill was finished Yesterday not in so good Order as it used to be but it may be passed both up & down with Safety so that it will now Serve another Year pretty well but when time can be spared it will be very necessary to give it a thorough repair. Wee this day Executed another Lease to Stephen Lufkin Senr for One Acre of Land lying in Peak Gutt Margin Notes: Ladder Hill path | The path had grown twice as bad as before, so that repair was essential before the ships arrived. Without it, carrying anything out of the country or into it would be both very hard and dangerous. The council held the repair too necessary to postpone until more hands could be spared. It ordered the gullies filled up and some of the walls rebuilt, and directed that every man be taken off the works at Rupert's to bring the path into passable order, so that those going up and down might do so in safety. A thorough repair could not be attempted until more hands were available, and the council resolved to make the best shift it could for the present. Everyone in the country not excused was already at work filling the gullies on the mountain along the road to the Red Hills. A lease was executed the same day to Stephen Lufkin senior for twelve acres of land in Tompstone Wood. The consultation was signed by Governor Pyke. At a consultation held at Plantation House on Tuesday 23 March 1736, the Governor sat as first of council with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp, John Alexander being absent through illness. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that the patching of Ladder Hill was finished the previous day. The path was not in as good order as it had once been, but it could now be passed both up and down in safety and would serve well enough for another year. A thorough repair would be needed when time could be spared for it. A further lease was executed the same day to Stephen Lufkin senior for one acre of land in Peak Gutt. A margin note beside the Governor's report reads: Ladder Hill path. Interpretations Taking every hand off the Rupert's works to patch a footpath reverses the priority the council had maintained for two years. The Rupert's line had been under repair since the summer of 1734, the inhabitants had begun the Turk's Cap battery at their own charge on 5 August 1734, and Captain Goodwin reported on 22 October 1734 that the Rupert's works went on as well as could be expected but wanted more help. Labour had been so scarce that the advertisement of 11 June 1734 offering ninepence a day for six slaves drew not one tender, and the batteries were manned largely by men under sentence. Stripping those works entirely shows how completely the island depended on its paths. The timing turns on the shipping season. Everything the vessels bought came down from the country on human backs, and everything landed for the settlement went up the same way. A path impassable when the ships arrived would leave the inhabitants unable to sell and the Company unable to move its stores, which is the whole basis of the island's cash economy: the storekeeper's accounts show retail buying doubling while vessels lay in the road and halving once the fleet sailed. Accepting a repair that would serve another year rather than a permanent one is the same calculation the council applied to the Lemon Valley works, which it resolved on 2 January 1734 to abandon rather than rebuild after the sea destroyed the crane and the wharf. Where labour is the scarce commodity and money will not buy it, the choice lies between a temporary patch now and a proper job never, and the council took the patch. Requiring every man in the country not otherwise excused to work on the mountain road follows the standing method of raising labour without money. The vestry agreed on 21 July 1734 to build the fortifications with the inhabitants' own hands, and highway repair ran on subscribed days of work, each man owing a number of days as a debt payable in labour. Joseph Bates was fined forty days of extra work on 19 November 1734 for denying such a subscription. |
83 | 75 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 30th March 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 28 Instant the Godolphin arrived from Madrass but last from the Cape where she only stayed one day & half where she left the Beauford & Britannia the later Outward bound. The Supply the Godolphin brought is as follows Vizt Selling Price 6/ ⅌ Gale Arrack 160 Gall Batavia @ 70 Rupr ⅌ Leagr 79 6d ⅌ lb Sugar 10 Bags qty 14. 2. 19 99 So Cent ⅌ up Rice 2 4 Bags qty 35 . 23 44. 8. Candy 30 Bags qty 28. 2. 19 21. 2. 6 65 10 6 2d ⅌ lb Candles 2 Chests qty 2. 2. 19 140 13/6 Doosetees 1 Bale qty 60 ps 30 Co. long @ 55 ⅌ Co. 165 3. Shirts 1 Bale qty 167 Shirts @ 82.2. ⅌ 100 . 137. 3. 6 2/6 Stockings 100 prs @ 12.3 ⅌ Co. 68. 8. 199 10 6 Charges Merchandize 37 13 3 Rupees 806 9 3 On the 29th in the Evening the Duke of Lorrain arrived here from England & the next Morning early being Tuesday wee sent the Captain the following Letter Vizt Sir, Wee desire you will send on shoar with all the Expedition you possibly can all such Goods & Merchandize as are on board your Ship Consigned to us for the Use of the Honble Company & if you want any Assistance wee shall be glad to serve you Wee are &c Wee also Appointed the Storekeeper & Mr Brazier to attend daily at the Waterside to receive the Goods as they come on shoar & to observe the Weather, & Working of the Ship &c & to transmit an Account thereof every Evening into the Secretarys Office | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 30 March 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Godolphin arrived on 25 March from Madras, last from the Cape, where she stayed only a day and a half. She left the Beauford and the Britannia there, the latter outward bound. The supply she brought for the island was entered as follows. Arrack, 160 gallons of Batavia arrack at 70 rupees the leaguer, 79 rupees Sugar, 10 bags weighing 14 maunds 2 seers 19 [...], 99 rupees Rice, 24 bags weighing 35 maunds 23 seers, 44 rupees 8 annas Paddy, 30 bags weighing 28 maunds 2 seers 19 [...], 21 rupees 2 annas 6 pies Rice and paddy together, 65 rupees 10 annas 6 pies Candles, 2 chests weighing 2 maunds 2 seers 19 [...], 140 rupees Doosetees, 1 bale of 60 pieces, 30 cubits long, at 55 rupees the corge, 165 rupees Shirts, 1 bale of 167 shirts at 82 rupees 2 annas the 100, 137 rupees 3 annas 6 pies Stockings, 100 pairs at 12 rupees 8 annas the corge, 68 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Shirts and stockings together, 199 rupees 10 annas 6 pies Charges merchandise, 37 rupees 13 annas 3 pies Total, 806 rupees 9 annas 3 pies The selling prices set against the goods were noted in the margin: arrack at 6s 4d the gallon, sugar at 6d the pound, rice and paddy at 1s 6d, candles at 2s, doosetees at 13s 6d, shirts at 3s and stockings at 2s 6d. The Duke of Lorraine arrived from England on the evening of 29 March, and early the following morning the council sent her captain a letter asking him to land with all possible speed the goods aboard consigned to the Company for the island's use, and offering any assistance he might need. The storekeeper and Mr Brazier were appointed to attend daily at the waterside, to receive the goods as they came ashore, to note the weather and the progress of the unlading, and to lodge an account of it each evening in the secretary's office. Interpretations Doosetees were plain coarse cotton cloths from Bengal, sold by the corge of twenty pieces and made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. The bale of sixty pieces at thirty cubits each would yield a substantial quantity, and the retail price of 13s 6d set against them places them among the cheaper cloths in the storekeeper's hands. Paddy is rice still in the husk, bought cheaper than milled grain and charged chiefly to the plantation as feed for hogs and poultry. Ready-made shirts and stockings had become a standing line in the island's supply since the summer of 1734, when the Duke of Lorraine and the Britannia both carried made-up clothing at 38 rupees 2 annas the hundred shirts. The price here at 82 rupees 2 annas the hundred is more than double that figure, which reflects a different grade rather than a rise in the market, the earlier consignment having been the coarsest sort. Setting the retail price in the margin at the moment the invoice was entered was the standard procedure, and it fixed the storekeeper's accountability before a single item left the warehouse. The council had applied the same method to the Anne and Mary's cargo on 16 March 1728, completing a copy of the invoice with the selling price entered against each article. Without it, goods bought in rupees and sold in sterling could not be reconciled at the year's audit. The daily record of boats and weather kept at the waterside protected the Company against a claim for demurrage. A charter party fixed the time allowed for discharge, and any delay beyond it fell on the Company as compensation to the ship's owners. Captain Marchet raised exactly that question on 1 January 1728, and Mr Crisp was set to keep the record during the discharge of the Anne and Mary in March 1728, the Cadogan in March 1729, the Harrington in February 1733 and the Lyell in April 1734. Naming the weather in the account mattered because heavy surf stopped the boats altogether and had to be shown as the cause. Arrack from Batavia at 70 rupees the leaguer is a marked fall from the 110 and 120 rupees charged through the earlier run of supplies, the rate having stood at 120 as recently as the Cadogan's consignment of January 1731 and at 110 for the Frances in April 1733. The whole invoice at 806 rupees 9 annas 3 pies is also much the heaviest supply in this record, the earlier cargoes running between 200 and 650 rupees, and its weight falls on cloth and clothing rather than on provisions. |
84 | 76 | At a Consultation held on Fryday 9 April 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved. Joseph Bates having kept a disorderly Tipling House & without any Lycence, where among other People, he got some of the Governours Servants & made them drunk. This Bates being a very troublesome Contentious fellow he & his Crew occasioned more disorder than all the rest of the Inhabitants together for which reason Wee never Suffered him to have a Lycence to keep any sort of Publick House but he now & lately hath kept the same in open Defiance of Us. Ordered, that the Marshall be immediately sent to remove all Persons out of his House, except those belonging to his Family, & that a Centry be placed at his Door to prevent any Persons from going there to drink & Tipple. At a Consultation held on Saturday 10 April 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Ten Working days for Unlading the Cargo of the Duke of Lorrain expiring last Night Wee in the Evening delivered the Captain the following Protest vizt Whereas by one Charter Party of a Freightment bearing date in London on the 22 day of Sepr 1735 between the Honble the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies of the one Part, & Capt Edward Gibson & Capt Christopher Wilson of London Mariners Part Owners of the Ship Duke of Lorrain, of the other Part, it is therein declared Covenanted & Agreed that the said Ship should Discharge & put on Shoar all such Goods & Merchandize as should be Consigned to the Governour & Councill of the Island Margin Notes: Joseph Bates | At a consultation held at the castle on Friday 9 April 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Joseph Bates had kept a disorderly drinking house without any licence, and among the people gathered there he had got hold of some of the Governor's servants and made them drunk. The council held Bates a troublesome and quarrelsome man who had caused more disorder than all the other inhabitants together, and recorded that it had never allowed him a licence to keep any kind of public house, yet he had lately kept one in open defiance of its authority. The council ordered the marshal sent at once to clear everyone out of the house except Bates's own household, and directed that a sentry be posted at his door to stop anyone going in to drink there. At a consultation held at the castle on Saturday 10 April 1736, the Governor sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The ten working days allowed for unlading the cargo of the Duke of Lorraine expired the previous night, and the council delivered the following protest to her captain that evening. The protest recited a charter party of freightment made in London on 22 September 1735 between the Honourable United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies of the one part, and Captain Christopher Wilson and Captain Edward Gibson, mariners, owners of the ship Duke of Lorraine, of the other part. That instrument contained a covenant that the ship should discharge and land all goods and merchandise consigned to the Governor and council of the island of St Helena [...] Interpretations Posting a sentry at the door rather than prosecuting Bates gave the council an immediate remedy where a conviction would have taken months and might have failed. Unlicensed retail of strong liquor carried a forfeiture of £10 0s 0d under the rule Governor Byfield introduced on 18 April 1727, and the council had used it against James Bates on 15 October and 29 October 1734. Against a man of Bates's standing, however, a fine was worth little: he had been taken into custody as a debtor on 2 September 1735 for the £221 19s 2.5d still owing to the Mesa estate and had answered that he had no money. Physically closing the house achieved what no penalty could. Targeting the Governor's own servants gave the offence a dimension beyond unlicensed selling. Household discipline had been a running concern since the gardener Hugh Williams was dismissed on 17 December 1734 for entertaining drunken sailors at Plantation House all night, and the Governor had told the council on 3 February 1736 that lewdness and drunkenness were spreading through the island. A house drawing the fort's own servants into drink struck at the very order the council had spent the winter trying to restore. The protest against the Duke of Lorraine is a formal instrument shifting liability rather than compelling anything. The charter party fixed the days allowed for discharge, and demurrage fell on the Company for every day beyond them, so the council's entry of a protest placed the delay on the ship's owners before the claim could be made. Captain Marchet raised the same question on 1 January 1728, and the daily record of boats, weather and surf kept at the waterside since then existed precisely to supply the evidence such a protest required. The council had used the instrument before against Captain Peacham on 10 December 1729 and on the Prince William's bill of lading in May 1728, its only real sanction being the entry made in the general letter for London to read. Naming the owners rather than the commander in the charter party reflects how Company shipping was arranged. The vessels were not owned by the Company but hired from private owners under a contract of freightment, so the covenant to discharge within a fixed term bound the owners, and it was their money that answered for any breach. Captain Christopher Wilson appears here as an owner, having commanded the Morice in December 1729 when he disputed the council's authority to detain a ship and demanded to be shown the written clause. |
85 | 77 | St Helena within Ten Working days next after the Ships Arrivall there, that Wee according to the Honble Companies Directions to us have given you all the Assistance We could to unlade your Ship within the time limited as aforesaid, but the said Ten days being now Expired & some part of the Cargo Consigned to us remaining on board & not yet delivered. Wee therefore the Undermentioned Governour & Councill of this Island do hereby for & on the behalf of the said United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies Protest against you Captain William Crompton & say that as you have not delivered the Cargo Consigned to us within the time appointed you have had all the Assistance Wee could give you, all the loss & damage which has or shall thereby arise must fall & redound to the Part owners of the Ship Duke of Lorraine St Helena 9 April 1736 Isa Pyke Jno Alexander Jno Goodwin D Crispe In Answer to this Protest Wee this Morning received the following Letter from Capt Crompton vizt Sir St Helena 10 April 1736 Yesterday I received a Protest against my Ship the Duke of Lorrain, for want of Complyance with my Charter Party, in Regard to the Unloading the Honble Companys Cargo Consigned to your Worship & the Councill of this Island I must beg leave to acquaint your Worship & Councill that I am Ordered by the Honble United Company to follow your Worships & Councills Direction & your Worship & Councill did Direct two Guns to be Landed at Bank Rock which is a very great distance from the Ship & likewise three Guns to be Landed at Bankers Platform which is very hazardous & Dangerous occasioned by the Sea being allways or the most part so very high that we were then late hazard of the Long Boat & Guns by Landing them at the said places And the distance being so great that the five Guns did take up two Working days & the Order of your Worship & Councill is a very great Deviation from our Charter Party those Places being no Place for any Goods or Merchandize, & the wee ready the said two days to bring a Shore the Honble United Companies Goods on our Boats being prevented by the Councill Marshall, the People was gone to receive the said Guns, & that there was no People to Crane the Goods up & & or to receive the same, & the have been the time of three days ago severall times hindered by the Sea being so high that there was no Possibility of Landing the said Cargo, but to prevent your Worships own Protest I Ordered the Long Boat to be Loaded with Goods those days which came to her Moorings Loaded with part of the Honble Companies said Cargo, which is very near the Shoar & the Long Boat waited there from Sun rising in the Morning to Sun Setting & was able to Land very little & there was no Possibility at the times to Land any more and | The covenant required the ship to land at St Helena, within ten working days of her arrival, all goods consigned to the Governor and council. Following the Company's directions, the council had given the captain every assistance so that he might discharge within that period, yet the ten days had expired with part of the cargo still aboard and undelivered. The Governor and council therefore entered a formal protest, on the Company's behalf, against Captain William Crompton. It stated that he had failed to land the consigned goods within the time allowed, though he had been given all the help the council could offer, and that any loss or damage arising from the delay must fall on the part owners of the Duke of Lorraine. The protest was dated at St Helena on 9 April 1736 and signed by Isaac Pyke, John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The council received the captain's answer the following morning, dated at St Helena on 10 April 1736. Captain Crompton wrote that he had been served with a protest the previous day for failing to comply with his charter party over the unlading of the Company's cargo, and set out his reasons against it. He stated that his orders from the Company required him to follow the council's directions, and that the council had directed two guns to be landed at Chubb's Rock, a considerable distance from the ship, and a further three guns at Munden's Platform, which was hazardous and dangerous because the sea there ran very high most of the time. Landing them at those places had put the long boat and the guns in real danger of loss. The distance was so great that the five guns alone consumed two working days. He argued that the council's order was a considerable departure from his charter party, since those places were not proper for landing any goods or merchandise. He was ready on the two days in question to bring the Company's goods ashore, but the boats the council had appointed were employed in receiving the guns, and there was nobody at the crane to take the goods up or to receive them. He added that on three days in the period the work had been repeatedly stopped by high seas that made landing impossible. To meet the council's protest he had ordered the long boat loaded with goods on those days, and she came to her moorings loaded with part of the Company's cargo, very near the shore. She waited there from sunrise to sunset and was able to land very little, there being no possibility at the time of landing any more. Interpretations The dispute turns on a conflict between two of the captain's obligations. His charter party bound the owners to discharge the Company's consigned goods within ten working days, and his orders from the Company bound him to obey the council's directions. When the council directed him to land ordnance at exposed positions along the coast, he was obeying one instruction at the cost of breaching the other, and the protest fell on him for the breach rather than on the council for the direction. The council's own record confirms the substance of his complaint about the sites. Chubb's Rock stands at the west side of Rupert's Bay, and a battery there was recommended by Captains Ridge and Mead on 25 June 1734 against a ship standing in. Munden's Point had been judged too high by 103 feet to sweep boats, and the Governor proposed on 8 October 1734 mounting four great guns there on a new earthen platform, the new carriages being on cast iron trucks that would break if fired from rough stone. The council also recorded on 22 July 1734 that a carriage at Munden's had broken to pieces when a gun was fired to bring a ship to. Landing guns explains why the council accepted the delay in the first place and then protested at it. The annual inventory of 30 September 1735 recorded the first increase of ordnance in eight years, twelve minions and twelve sakers carrying the total from 128 pieces to 152, answering the gunner's survey of 2 July 1734 which called for 76 guns across eight positions. Those pieces had to reach the works they were intended for, and there was no road from James Valley round the coast, so a heavy gun could only go by boat. Working days is the operative term in the charter party, and it is what allows both parties to be partly right. Days lost to high surf did not count against the ten, which is precisely why the council had kept a daily record of boats landed and of any surf or accident at every discharge since March 1728. The captain's assertion that three days were stopped by the sea, and that the long boat lay loaded at her moorings from sunrise to sunset, is a claim upon that record, and the storekeeper's account lodged nightly in the secretary's office would either bear it out or contradict it. The absence of anyone at the crane to receive the goods points to the real constraint. Discharge depended on the Company's own slaves to work the crane and carry the goods up, and the same men were manning the boats that carried the ordnance round the coast. The establishment had stood at 180 in all by John Durling's return of 27 February 1733, with only 42 able men across the whole labour force by his memorial of 4 June 1734, and the council had just taken every hand off the Rupert's works to patch the Ladder Hill path. |
86 | 78 | the Major Part of the said Goods was obliged to carry on board & hoist up into the said Ship Your Worship being very Sensible of those Truths which Wee refer to the Councill & there Ordered to receive the said Cargo, at the Landing places which has been the Occasion that the said Cargo was not Discharged in the Ten Working days according to the Charter Party desiring your Worship in Councill will represent them to the Honble United Company & that Wee are justly intitled to our Demorage which may arise or become due Pursuant to the Charter Party made with the Honble United East India Company, from Gentlemen with very great Regard Your Humble Servant Willm Crompton The Contents of this Answer is one in every particular & therefore Wee have no Occasion to make any Reply but referr the Whole to the Honble Company. The Weather was during the time the Ship was Unlading is as follows Vizt March 30 No Boat Landed Surf high Ditto 31 3 Longboats Landed 2 Yawles ditto April 1 4 Longboates do 3 Yawles do Ditto 2 3 Longboates do 2 Yawles do Ditto 3 No Boat Landed Surf high, the Ship rides in the Boat Ditto 5 2 Longboates Landed at Bankers Ditto 6 1 Longboat Landed at the Crane Ditto 7 2 Longboates Landed at Chubbs Rocke 1 Yawle at the Crane Ditto 8 3 Longboates ditto 2 Yawles ditto Ditto 9 1 Longboat ditto | Captain Crompton added that most of the goods loaded into the boat had to be carried back to the ship and hoisted aboard again. He closed by stating that the council was well aware of these facts, and that it had itself ordered the cargo received at those landing places, which was the reason it had not been discharged within the ten working days the charter party allowed. He asked the council to lay the matter before the Company, and claimed that the owners were justly entitled to whatever demurrage might become due under the charter party. The letter was signed by William Crompton. The council held that every particular of the answer was true. It saw no occasion to reply and referred the whole matter to the Company. The record of the weather and the boats through the period of the ship's unlading was entered as follows. 30 March, no boat landed, surf high 31 March, 3 long boats landed 31 March, 2 yawls landed 1 April, 4 long boats landed 1 April, 3 yawls landed 2 April, 3 long boats landed 2 April, 2 yawls landed 5 April, no boat landed, surf high, the goods returned aboard in the boat 5 April, 2 long boats landed at Munden's 6 April, 1 long boat landed at the crane 7 April, 2 long boats landed at Chubb's Rock 7 April, 1 yawl at the crane 8 April, 3 long boats landed 8 April, 2 yawls landed 9 April, 1 long boat landed Interpretations The council's acceptance of the captain's account in full is the striking feature of the exchange. Having entered a formal protest against him the previous day, it recorded that his answer was true in every particular, withdrew nothing and sent both documents to London together. The protest was never a finding of fault but an instrument preserving the Company's position, since an undisputed delay would otherwise stand as a waiver of any claim, and the demurrage now becomes a matter between the owners and the Court of Committees in London rather than one for the island to settle. The boat record supplies the arithmetic on which the whole dispute rests. Two days carry no entry at all, 3 and 4 April, and two more, 30 March and 5 April, record no landing through high surf. Days lost to the sea did not count against the ten allowed, which is exactly why the council had kept such a record at every discharge since March 1728. What the record also shows is the diversion the captain complained of: on 5 April both long boats went to Munden's and on 7 April two went to Chubb's Rock, so that on those days nothing reached the crane at all. Yawls and long boats appear separately because they were different vessels doing different work. The long boat was the heavy craft that carried bulk cargo and could take a gun; the yawl was a lighter boat for smaller loads and for passengers. The Company's long boat had been lost at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734 while fetching lime, and the crane itself broke on 17 January 1735 lifting an anchor into the long boat of the Royal Guardian, so the island's capacity to land heavy goods rested on a small number of vulnerable pieces of equipment. Loading a boat at the ship and then hoisting the goods back aboard when the surf made landing impossible was not merely wasted effort but a real risk to the cargo. Wetting was the standing hazard of an open roadstead, and the council had entered a protest on the Prince William's bill of lading in May 1728 when 12 bags of sugar and 28 bags of rice were spoiled by wetting through the boatmen's carelessness. The captain's willingness to load and return the goods was itself evidence for the record that he had done what he could. |
87 | 79 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13th April 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 10 instant Capt Bouston arrived from Bengall with the following Supply Vizt 6/⅌ gar Arrack 12 half Legers qty 160 Gall @ 70 ⅌ Leagr 70 Ditto 10 Oct 7 77 6d lb Sugar 10 Bags qty 14. 2. 19 99 Rice 25 Bags qty 36. 2. 19 46 5 Candy 30 Bags 28. 2. 19 21 2 6 2d Candles 2 Chests 2: 2: 19 140 13/6 Blue Doosetees qty 60 ps 30 long & 2½ broad 210 Shirts & Stockings Vizt 3d 166 Shirts @ 82. 2. pr 100 136 5 6 198 13 6 2/6 100 prs Stockings @ 12. 3. ⅌ Corge 62 8 40 4 3 Charges Merchandize Rupees 833 9 3 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 20th April 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 18th Instant Capt Wilkie arrived from Bombay & brought the following Supply Vizt Selling Prices Rice 21 Bags qty 54 Parah @ Rup 1: 3: 20 ⅌ Par. 97 80 So Cent Use Candy 35 Bags qty 2 Marah 18½ Par at Rup 15 ⅌ Mor. 57 2 67 6d ⅌ Gale Goa Arrack qty 274 Gall @ 20 Rupr ⅌ hhd of 18 Gall 114 82 2 40 Charges Merchandize Rupr 331 1 87 The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for March last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 13 April 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Captain Broughton arrived from Bengal on 10 April with the following supply for the island. Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers of 160 gallons at 70 rupees the leaguer, 70 rupees Batta at 10 per cent on the arrack, 7 rupees Arrack together, 77 rupees Sugar, 10 bags weighing 14 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 99 rupees Rice, 25 bags weighing 36 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 46 rupees 5 annas 0 pies Paddy, 30 bags weighing 28 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 21 rupees 2 annas 6 pies Candles, 2 chests weighing 2 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 140 rupees Blue doosetees, 60 pieces, 30 cubits long and 2.5 cubits broad, 210 rupees Shirts, 166 shirts at 82 rupees 2 annas the 100, 136 rupees 5 annas 6 pies Stockings, 100 pairs at 12 rupees 8 annas the corge, 62 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Shirts and stockings together, 198 rupees 13 annas 6 pies Charges merchandise, 40 rupees 4 annas 3 pies Total, 832 rupees 9 annas 3 pies The selling prices set in the margin were arrack at 6s 4d the gallon, sugar at 6d the pound, rice at 1s, paddy at 2s, blue doosetees at 13s 6d, shirts at 3s and stockings at 2s 6d. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 20 April 1736, the Governor sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Captain Wilkie arrived from Bombay on 18 April and brought the following supply. Rice, 21 bags weighing 54 parahs at 1 rupee 3 annas 20 pies the parah, 97 rupees 0 annas 80 pies Paddy, 35 bags weighing 2 morahs 12.5 parahs at 15 rupees the morah, 37 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Goa arrack, 274 gallons at 20 rupees the hogshead of 48 gallons, 114 rupees 0 annas 67 pies Charges merchandise, 82 rupees 2 annas 40 pies Total, 331 rupees 1 anna 87 pies The selling prices were marked against the entries, the rice and paddy being for the Company's own use and the Goa arrack priced at 6s the gallon. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for March, each of which was examined and approved. Interpretations Batta was the exchange allowance added when a sum crossed between currencies of different standards, a necessary adjustment where the Company's Bengal accounts had to answer to the island's books. It runs here at 10 per cent on the arrack alone, the same rate applied throughout the earlier consignments, and it appears as a separate line rather than being folded into the price so that the underlying cost of the spirit stays visible. The Bombay lading is built on a wholly different set of measures from the Bengal one, and the difference identifies its origin as surely as the goods themselves. A morah and a parah are grain capacity measures of the western coast, where Bengal reckoned by the maund, the seer and the chittack by weight. Goa arrack, distilled on the Portuguese coast, replaces the Batavia spirit of the eastern trade, and the cargo carries no sugar, no cloth and no candles at all. The same pattern appeared in the Newcastle's consignment of December 1734 and in those of the Mary and Royal Guardian in January 1735. Charges merchandise runs to 82 rupees against a Bombay cargo of 331 rupees, a quarter of the whole, where the Bengal invoice carries the same heading at 40 rupees against 832. That line covered gunny sacking, twine, sewing, boat hire and the men who carried the goods down to the water, and the disproportion reflects a small parcel bearing much the same fixed handling cost as a large one rather than any difference in the goods. Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons, and the dimensions entered here, thirty cubits long and two and a half broad, matter because the cloth was made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. Sixty pieces at those measurements represent a substantial part of a year's requirement, and the price of 210 rupees makes the bale the second heaviest line in the invoice after the candles. Fixing the retail price at the moment of entry, before any goods left the warehouse, closed the gap between an invoice reckoned in rupees and an account kept in sterling. The council had used the same procedure since at least 16 March 1728, when a copy of the Anne and Mary's invoice was completed with the selling price entered against every article, and without it the storekeeper's monthly collections could not be checked against the cargo at the year's audit. |
88 | 80 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1: March: Bullocks 35, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 66, Turkeys 35, Fowles 94, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 7, Bulls 0, Totall 7, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 10, Fowles 50, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 35, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 409, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 66, Turkeys 45, Fowles 144, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 5, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 5, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 30, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 404, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 66, Turkeys 45, Fowles 144, Ducks 10, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 7, Fowles 47, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 1 March: Bullocks 30, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 404, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 38, Fowles 97, Ducks 10, Geese 12, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 17000 lb Ditto delivered the Blackes 9700. Totall Yams 26700 lb | The stock account for March 1736 set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 March, the increase during the month, the numbers sold to shipping and killed for the same, and the closing tally on 31 March. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 March, bullocks 35, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 66, turkeys 35, fowls 94, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 7, bulls 0, total neat cattle 7, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 10, fowls 50, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after increase, bullocks 35, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 409, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 66, turkeys 45, fowls 144, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Sold to ships, bullocks 5, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 5, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after sale, bullocks 30, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 404, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 66, turkeys 45, fowls 144, ducks 10, geese 13, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Killed for the shipping, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 2, turkeys 7, fowls 47, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 March, bullocks 30, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 404, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 10, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 38, fowls 97, ducks 10, geese 12, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 9,700 lb Total yams, 26,700 lb Interpretations Five bullocks sold to shipping is the first disposal since the Prince of Orange took five in January 1736, and it marks the season opening again after the arrival of the Godolphin on 25 March and the Duke of Lorraine on 29 March. Bullocks alone went, the cows, heifers and steers being untouched, which reverses the practice forced on the council during the drought: 28 head went in January 1735 with fourteen of them heifers, and nineteen in December 1734 with fourteen cows. Selling only fattened males again is the mark of a herd no longer under pressure. Calving continues strongly at seven born, carrying the herd to 404 despite the sale, and the recovery since the drought is now clear: the herd stood at 309 at the end of July 1735 and has risen by nearly a hundred in eight months. Nothing died in any class for a second consecutive month, a run last seen before the dry seasons began. The yam issue to the slaves collapsed to 9,700 lb from 25,600 lb in February, the sharpest single fall in the run and far below anything recorded since the crop failure of January 1729, when the issue vanished from the accounts entirely. The plantations' share held steady at 17,000 lb, so the shortfall is not a failure of the ground but a change in what was fed to whom. The likeliest explanation lies in the invoices entered on 13 and 20 April, which brought 55 bags of rice and 65 bags of paddy into the stores within eight days, imported grain having carried the balance whenever the yam supply ran thin. Poultry did the work of the table in March, 47 fowls, seven turkeys and a goose being killed for the shipping against a hatch of 50 chicks and 10 poults. The pattern is the one that has held since the road emptied in the summer, the yard absorbing the demand that beef would otherwise meet, and the flock still finished the month only three fowls up on its opening figure. The sheep flock stands entirely still, no lamb born, none killed and none dead, so the single wether and the 59 ewes carry forward unchanged. That stasis is itself a warning, since the flock has fallen from 169 at the end of September 1734 and has been sustained through the winter only by killing breeding ewes. |
89 | 81 | Expence of the Table in March 1735/6 £ 187 lb Beef 2 6 9 47 Fowles 2 10 6 116 lb Pork 2 18 1 Goose 5 27 lb Butter 1 7 4d 3: Flour 5 18 9 1. 3: Sugar 2 9 - .. -. 2 lb Candy 15 173 Gall Arrack 14 12 32 Gall Cape Wine 8 9 Bottles Oyle 2 8 3 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 31 Days Greens 1 11 £ 46 : 1 11 Gunners Stores Expended in March 1735/6 Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder 1736 March 6th: Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 26 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 27 Godolphin Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 28 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 29 Duke of Lorrain arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 Expence of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 26, Minion 10, Falcons 16, Powder 96 Lead Shot for ditto 20. Copper Ladles 1 Spunge Staves 2 Cartredge Paper 3 Quire Sponge Barrils 3 Match 36 lb | The general table account for March 1736 was entered as follows. 187 lb of beef, £2 6s 9d 47 fowls, £2 10s 6d 116 lb of pork, £2 18s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 27 lb of butter, £1 7s 0d 4 hundredweight 3 quarters of flour, £5 18s 9d 1 hundredweight 3 quarters of sugar, £2 9s 0d 2 lb of sugar candy, £0 15s 0d 173 gallons of arrack, £14 12s 0d 32 gallons of Cape wine, £8 0s 0d 9 bottles of oil, £2 8s 3d 62 bottles of milk, £1 8s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d Total, £46 1s 11d The gunner's account of stores expended in March 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 6 March, muster day, guns fired 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 20 lb 26 March, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 27 March, the Godolphin arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 28 March, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 29 March, the Duke of Lorraine arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb Expense of the guards, powder 30 lb Total, guns fired 26, minions 10, falcons 16, powder 96 lb Sled shot for the alarms, 20 Copper ladles, 1 Sponge staves, 2 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Budge barrels, 3 Match, 36 lb Interpretations Beef reappears on the table account for the first time since December 1735, at 187 lb, and its return matches the five bullocks sold from the herd in the same month. The whole account is that of an island coming back to life after a quiet winter: the total rises to £46 1s 11d from £43 2s 0d in February, flour enters at nearly six pounds where it was absent altogether, and Cape wine rises to 32 gallons against 22. A ship in the road brought guests to the table, since supercargoes, commanders and passengers of note were fed at the fort's expense throughout a vessel's stay. The powder account shows precisely how the flagstaff worked, and how much it cost. Each arrival was preceded by an alarm of four guns, fired the day before the ship came in, because the lookout could see a sail but could not identify her. The alarm on 26 March drew twelve pounds of powder and the Godolphin's salute the following day eleven, and the same sequence repeated for the Duke of Lorraine on 28 and 29 March. Half the month's firing therefore went on not knowing what was approaching. The council had noted the same difficulty when it resolved on 11 June 1734 to keep every gun loaded even in peacetime. Salutes were made up of minions and falcons rather than heavier pieces, one minion and eight falcons answering each arrival. Falcons were the smallest guns on the island, throwing a ball of a pound or two, and they were reserved for ceremony precisely because they consumed so little powder. The practice had become deliberate policy: the salutes of December 1734 and January 1735 were made up chiefly of falcons to spare the store, and Governor Pyke substituted a public dinner for the coronation salute on 8 October 1734 on the ground that every grain of powder ought to be saved. Sled shot was a light projectile mounted on a wooden shoe, fired to bring a strange sail to rather than to damage her, and twenty rounds went in the two alarms of this month. The annual inventory of 30 September 1734 recorded 62 sled shot expended across the whole year for exactly that purpose at Munden's and Banks's. Budge barrels were small covered casks closed with a leather bag drawn shut at the neck, used to carry made-up charges from the magazine to the guns without spilling loose powder near a lighted match. Three were expended here, and two Muscovy lights had gone in January 1736, both charges falling on the handling of the powder rather than on the service of the guns. Copper ladles were used to load loose powder because copper does not spark against iron. The guards took 30 lb of the month's 96 lb, a proportion that has held broadly steady since the nightly boat was set out on 30 June 1735 against desertion to the shipping. With two vessels arriving at the end of March, that patrol becomes material again after a winter in which there was nothing in the road for a soldier to desert to. |
90 | 82 | At a Consultation held on Saturday 24th Aprl 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Orlando Bagley who is Serjeant of the Guard Quartered at Ruperts upon Allarms this Morning acquainted us that John Bishop & John Bowen two of the Soldiers who this day were there upon Duty were talking together about Peter Nolan who for Striking the Storekeepers Assistant in the Execution of his Employ was yesterday committed to Prison, & Bowen said to Bishop that he thought it very hard Nowlan should be Served so, upon the Serjeants telling them that the Matter did not concern them & they made Answer & said yes by G-d it concerns us all, & then dropping that sort of Discourse, Bishop said to Bowen that there was not an honest Man upon the Island & hoped he should be sent away Speedily or else he should be as great a Rogue as any of them, & farther said that if the fifty Men who last came over were gone there would not be fifty more Men upon the Island, & Bowen replyed, when these fifty Men came over fifty Soldiers came, & to this Bishop Answered that it was nice if they served them so for he did not know but they might make a Civill War among themselves, by which the Serjeant said he understood they meant to Mutiny, & upon this he told them he would acquaint their Betters with what had past, & they said they didn't care they did not know any Betters they had Ordered that the said Bowen & Bishop do ride the Wooden Horse on Monday Morning next for two hours, & that Peter Nowlan & Thomas Pallister be had Neck & Heeles at the same time Pallister in his Liquor having threatned to shoot at People who as he was passing by happened to laugh at some indifferent thing no way relating to him which neverthelesshe took to himself & Capt Crompton was one of the Company at whom he threatned to shoot. | At a consultation held at the castle on Saturday 24 April 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Orlando Bagley, sergeant of the guard quartered at Rupert's, reported that on the alarm that morning two soldiers then on duty, John Bishop and John Brown, had been talking together about Peter Nolan, committed to prison the previous day for striking the storekeeper's assistant. Brown told Bishop that Nolan had been hardly used and that he thought it wrong he should be so served. The sergeant told the two men that the matter was no concern of theirs, and they answered that it concerned them all. Dropping that line of talk, Bishop then said to Brown that there was not an honest man on the island, that he hoped to be sent away quickly, and that otherwise he would become as great a rogue as any of them. He added that if the fifty men who last came out were gone there would not be fifty men left on the island. Brown replied that when those fifty came, fifty fowls came with them, to which Bishop answered that it was no matter if they found them so, since for all he knew the men might make a civil war among themselves. The sergeant understood this to mean mutiny, and told them he would report what had passed to their officers. They answered that they did not care, and that they knew of no officers over them. The council ordered Brown and Bishop to ride the wooden horse for two hours on the following Monday morning, and directed that Peter Nolan and Thomas Pallister be put in the neck and heels at the same time. Pallister, being in drink, had threatened to shoot at people who happened to laugh as he passed at something of no consequence and nothing to do with him, which he nevertheless took as aimed at himself. Captain Crompton was among the company when he made the threat. Interpretations Words spoken between two sentries at an outpost carried a weight that the same words in a punch house would not, and that is why the exchange reached the council at all. The garrison at Rupert's stood at a landing place the council had spent two years fortifying, and the alarm that morning was for a strange sail. A sergeant hearing his own men say they acknowledged no officers over them, at a moment when the guns were being served, had a duty to report it, and the council's reading of the remark about civil war as an intention to mutiny follows from that setting rather than from the phrase itself. Riding the wooden horse was a punishment frame the offender straddled, sometimes with weights hung from his ankles, used against soldiers and free men where a whipping was thought too degrading for a European. Governor Byfield ordered the watch officer at Munden's Point onto it on 25 April 1727 for sleeping on duty, and Andrew Bergue was sentenced to it on 13 August 1734 for telling a French sailor that the island was weak everywhere except the main fort. Neck and heels was a different device altogether, the man being trussed with his head forced down to his ankles by irons or lashings, a punishment of short duration and considerable pain that left no mark. Bishop's complaint about the fifty men lately arrived points to the reinforcement the island had been seeking since the war scare of 1734, when the council told three homeward commanders on 19 December that it needed two hundred more men. A draft of that size would strain the island's provisions immediately, and Brown's retort about fifty fowls arriving with them turns on exactly that: more mouths on an island whose herd had only just recovered from three dry seasons and whose yam issue to the slaves had collapsed to 9,700 lb in March 1736. Grievance over Nolan's imprisonment was what drew the two men into the conversation in the first place. He had struck the storekeeper's assistant, and striking a civil officer of the Company was a serious matter, yet his fellow soldiers judged the response excessive. The council's answer was to punish all four men together on the same morning, which treated the original offence, the sympathy expressed for it and Pallister's unrelated drunken threat as parts of a single failure of discipline. Speculations The council punished the words as insubordination and left the substance of them entirely alone. Bishop said there was not an honest man on the island and that he would become as great a rogue as any of them if he stayed, which is a soldier's version of the very complaint Governor Pyke himself had laid before the council on 3 February 1736, when he reported that lewdness and debauchery had spread to a great degree and asked every councillor for a written opinion on how to stop it. The obvious course, given that the Governor had spent three months arguing that the island's moral state required correction, was to hear the remark as evidence rather than as an offence. It was passed over because the speaker was a private soldier at an outpost during an alarm, and because the same sentence carried a threat of mutiny that no council could let stand. Two hours on the wooden horse answered the insubordination and closed the subject. |
91 | 83 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 27th April 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the following Persons were returned at a Vestry then held for Parish Officers for the Year ensuing Vizt John Durling J. Wrangham Churchwardens Sutton Isacke John Desfountaine Overseers for the East Division Martin Harper John Brown Overseers for the West Division James Ryder Thomas Lesthope Overseers for the South Division Of these wee appointed those which follow Vizt John Durling J. Wrangham Churchwardens Sutton Isacke Overseer for the East Division Martin Harper Ditto for the West do James Ryder Ditto for the South do On the 24th the Wager arrived from Bengall & brought the following Supply but not any Letter, Invoice or Bill of Lading for which reason wee valued the Goods according to the Invoice of Ship Beauford Selling Price 6d ⅌ Gall Arrack 2 half Legers qty nett 145 Gall @ 70 ⅌ Legr Batavia 10 Oct 17 77 6d ⅌ lb Sugar 10 Bags qty net 13d 2: 6d 9 ⅌ Bag 90. Suatta 4. 99 178 For Comps use Rice 46 Bags qty net 63. 13/6 ⅌ ps Desootees 17 3 6 @ 70 ⅌ Corge 262. 8 2d ⅌ lb Candles 2 Chests qty 2. 2. 19 140. - Charges Merchandize 30. .. Rup 686 : 8 | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 27 April 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A vestry held the previous day returned the following names for parish office for the year ahead. Churchwardens: John Durling Churchwardens: Francis Wrangham Overseers for the east division: Sutton Isaacke Overseers for the east division: John Defountaine Overseers for the west division: Martin Harper Overseers for the west division: John Brown Overseers for the south division: James Ryder Overseers for the south division: Thomas Lesthorpe From that list the council appointed the following. Churchwarden: John Durling Churchwarden: Francis Wrangham Overseer for the east division: Sutton Isaacke Overseer for the west division: Martin Harper Overseer for the south division: James Ryder The Wager arrived from Bengal on 24 April, bringing a supply for the island but no letter, invoice or bill of lading. The council therefore valued the goods against the invoices carried by the Godolphin and the Beauford. Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers of 145 gallons net at 70 rupees the leaguer, 70 rupees Batta at 10 per cent on the arrack, 7 rupees Arrack together, 77 rupees Sugar, 10 bags weighing 13 maunds 2 seers 6 chittacks net at 9 rupees the bag, 90 rupees Batta on the sugar, 9 rupees Sugar together, 99 rupees Rice, 46 bags weighing 63 maunds 5 seers net, 178 rupees Doosetees, 75 pieces at 70 rupees the corge, 262 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Candles, 2 chests weighing 2 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 140 rupees Charges merchandise, 30 rupees Total, 686 rupees 8 annas 0 pies The selling prices set in the margin were arrack at 6s 4d the gallon, sugar at 6d the pound, doosetees at 13s 6d the piece and candles at 2s the pound, the rice being reserved for the Company's own use. Interpretations The vestry returned two names for each office and the council chose one of each, which shows how the island's parish government actually worked. The inhabitants nominated and the council appointed, so neither body could fill the offices alone. The same procedure appears on 1 October 1728, when the inhabitants presented their list and the council selected the churchwardens and highway overseers from it, and on 16 April 1734, when Doveton and Steward brought in a list of ten names. Only the east division returned a second overseer who was passed over here without a replacement being named for the fourth office. Churchwardens on St Helena carried duties reaching well beyond the church. They administered the poor law, which made them the addressees of the maintenance order Governor Pyke made against James Powell on 1 December 1735, they presented moral offences to the council, as they did against Margaret Swattowe on 15 May 1733 and Martha Bagg on 29 May 1733, and they summoned the inhabitants when the Governor wanted their opinion, as on 11 July 1734 over the defence of the island. John Durling held the office in 1735 alongside Captain Goodwin and continues in it. Overseers of the highways answered for the roads in their divisions and for the labour that maintained them, each inhabitant owing a number of days that the overseer had to collect. That duty had just become considerably heavier: the floods reported on 16 March 1736 tore out the mountain path between Stone Table and the Peak and breached Ladder Hill, and the whole country not otherwise excused was set to filling the gullies. Overseers were excused from sending two of their own slaves to the roads while in office, an allowance made on 16 April 1734 in recognition of the trouble of summoning people and attending in person. Valuing a cargo against another ship's invoice was the standard remedy when a vessel arrived without papers, and the council had faced the same difficulty before. The Marlborough came in twice in June 1730 with neither letter, bill of lading nor invoice, and the council relied on a figure reported by another ship until Captain Goodwin counted the cargo himself. Here the Godolphin's invoice of 25 March and the Beauford's supplied the rates, the three consignments being made up to the same specification by the Company's Bengal agents. Doosetees at 75 pieces make this the heaviest cloth line in any of the spring invoices, exceeding the 60 pieces brought by the Godolphin and by Captain Broughton. Three consignments within five weeks have now landed 195 pieces of the same coarse Bengal cotton, the material from which the annual clothing for the Company's slaves was cut and made up each September, and the accumulation suggests the stores were being built up against that charge after a winter in which clothing had run so short that a moth-eaten parcel of silk drugget twenty years in store had to be issued to the household servants. |
92 | 84 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] At a Consultation held on Saturday 8th May 1735 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved This day Capt Raymond delivered to us the following List of private Trade desiring the same might be Registered Vizt An Account of Capt Charles Raymonds private Trade on board the Soot Romalls ps 100 @ 40 ⅌ Corge 350 Chintz Calcutta 200 @ 33 ditto 351 10 3 Chintz Patna 200 @ 60 ditto 900 White Gurrahs 140 @ 51. 8. ditto 181 2 Blue Gurrahs 201 @ 37. 8 ditto 376 14 White Romalls 101 @ 10 ⅌ ps 1010 Sooseys Chequed 51 @ 174 ditto 369 12 Ginghams 151 @ 6. 4. ditto 943 12 Carridarees 100 @ 4. 4 ditto 425 Sac. small, Contents not known Sac. small do 2 Bales Lignia Lignia Chests 56 4688 Worm Seed ditto 8 604 3 10 Lignum Sspaltum &c 7 Maunds 12 6. 11. 3769 14 3 Seed Lace ditto 9 Candy 12 2263 Apoponax 1 Box & 1 Chest 369 ⅌ ps 7710 15 8 Amoniacum 2 Boxes 2 Chests Candy 2. 17. 7 1770 11 10 Nguella . 15. 20 214 3 4 Sandle Wood 500 1470 11 Gallingall Bags 4 546 ⅌ ps Ezald Leaves do 4 Maunds 14. 16 44 8 Canes 4780 70 Agaruns Boundles 340 1084 Lapis tutia Maunds 16. 13 373 Sandle Wood 50. 1030 Canes 1253 599 8 Turmarick Bags 133 507 792 Mr John Humes private Trade Soot Romalls Co 160 Cossambazar Taffy 100 @ 6 ⅌ ps 380 Resinsoyes 20 @ 6 ⅌ ps 600 Carridarees 140 @ 3. 4 300 White Gurrahs 70 @ 51: 8 ⅌ Corge 455 Chintz Bengall 150 @ 63 ⅌ Corge 181 4 Sooseys Romalls 100 @ 5. 4 ⅌ ps 472 8 525 | At a consultation held at the castle on Saturday 8 May 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Captain Raymond delivered a list of the private trade goods aboard his ship, asking that it be registered. The account of his own private trade was entered as follows. Cassa romalls, 100 pieces at 40 rupees the corge, 350 rupees Calicut chintz, 200 pieces at 35 rupees the corge, 351 rupees 10 annas 3 pies Patna chintz, 200 pieces at 60 rupees the corge, 900 rupees White gurrahs, 140 pieces at 51 rupees 8 annas the corge, 181 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Blue gurrahs, 201 pieces at 37 rupees 8 annas the corge, 376 rupees 14 annas 0 pies White romalls, 101 pieces at 10 rupees the piece, 1,010 rupees Chequered soosees, 51 pieces at 174 rupees the corge, 369 rupees 12 annas 0 pies Seersuckers, 151 pieces at 64 rupees the corge, 943 rupees 12 annas 0 pies Carridarries, 100 pieces at 44 rupees the corge, 425 rupees 2 small bales, contents not known, 0 rupees Total of the bales, 4,688 rupees Lignum aloes, 56 chests, 604 rupees 3 annas 10 pies Worm seed, 8 chests, 3,769 rupees 14 annas 3 pies Lignum, gum saltpetre and other goods, 7 chests weighing 12 maunds 6 seers 11 chittacks, 2,268 rupees Seed lac, 9 chests weighing 12 candies, 7,710 rupees 15 annas 8 pies Opoponax, 1 box and 41 chests, 369 pieces 8 [...], 970 rupees 11 annas 10 pies Ammoniacum, 2 boxes and 2 chests, 2 candies 17 maunds 7 seers, 214 rupees 3 annas 4 pies Aqualla, 15 maunds 20 seers, 1,470 rupees 11 annas 0 pies Sandalwood, 500, 44 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Galingale, 4 bags weighing 546 [...], 70 rupees Gold leaves, 4 maunds 14 seers 16 chittacks, 1,084 rupees Canes, 4,780, 373 rupees Sappan, 240 bundles, 1,030 rupees Lapis tutia, 16 maunds 13 seers, 599 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Sandalwood, 50, 507 rupees Canes, 1,253, 792 rupees Turmeric, 133 bags, [...] The private trade of Mr John Hume was entered as follows. Cassa romalls, 160 pieces, 0 rupees Cossimbazar taffety, 100 pieces at 6 rupees 6 annas the piece, 320 rupees Bisensays, 20 pieces at 6 rupees 6 annas the piece, 600 rupees Carridarries, 140 pieces at 3 rupees 4 annas the piece, 300 rupees White gurrahs, 70 pieces at 51 rupees 8 annas the corge, 455 rupees Bengal chintz, 150 pieces at 63 rupees the corge, 181 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Soosee romalls, 100 pieces at 5 rupees 4 annas the piece, 472 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Total, 525 rupees Interpretations Registering a commander's private trade was a condition of trading at all, and the requirement protected the Company's monopoly rather than the island's revenue. Officers of Company ships were allowed a fixed allowance of tonnage for goods on their own account, and a registered list fixed what had been carried before the ship reached England, where the Customs and the Company both had an interest in checking it. The council had ordered similar lists entered before, Samuel Jephry presenting a bill of sale of 21 parcels of goods for entry on 16 May 1727. The textiles here are the staple of the Bengal trade and were bought by the corge of twenty pieces. Romalls were squared handkerchief cloths, cassa denoting the finer grade and soosee romalls a striped variety; gurrahs were plain coarse cottons sold white or dyed blue; carridarries were checked or striped cottons; seersuckers the crinkled striped cloth still known by that name; and soosees striped silk or mixed cloths. Chintz was printed cotton, valued according to where it was made, and the invoice distinguishes the Patna and Bengal interior work from that of Calicut on the Malabar coast, the Patna pieces being much the dearest at 60 rupees the corge. Cossimbazar taffety was a plain silk from the great silk market north of Calcutta. The second half of Captain Raymond's list is not cloth at all but a pharmacy and dyehouse. Lignum aloes was a resinous fragrant wood burned as incense and used in medicine; worm seed the dried flower heads used against intestinal parasites; opoponax and ammoniacum gum resins tapped from umbelliferous plants and used in plasters and expectorants; galingale an aromatic root of the ginger family; and lapis tutia the zinc oxide sublimate collected from brass furnaces and made into ointments for the eyes. Seed lac was the resin secreted by an insect on Indian trees, cleaned of twigs and used for varnish and sealing wax, and the heaviest single line in the whole account at over 7,700 rupees. Sappan supplied a red dyewood, turmeric a yellow dye and a spice, and sandalwood a fragrant timber for carving and for distillation. Canes at 4,780 and 1,253 in two lots were rattan lengths, imported into England in enormous quantities for walking sticks and for chair seats. Their appearance in a private trade list shows the officers dealing in bulk goods of low value per piece as well as in the fine cloth and drugs, since the tonnage allowance was measured by space and awkward light cargo filled it cheaply. The sums involved dwarf everything else in the island's record. Captain Raymond's cloth alone came to 4,688 rupees and his seed lac to more than 7,700, against a whole island supply of 686 rupees 8 annas 0 pies brought by the Wager on 24 April 1736. A single commander's speculation on one voyage was worth many times the annual provisioning of the settlement, which places the island's trade in its proper proportion: St Helena existed to water and victual ships whose cargoes were worth more than the island itself. |
93 | 85 | Mr Edmond Dorans private Trade Cossambazar Handkfs 140 @ 6/8 916 8 Soot Romalls 80. 160 Cossambazar Taffy 100 @ 6 600 Carridarees 50 @ 4. 4 212 8 Sooseys 100 @ 6. 8 660 Joseph Hindmans private Trade Soot Romalls 400 @ 4 ⅌ Catch 800 Chintz Bengall 150 @ 63 ⅌ Corge 472 8 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11 May 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 5th Instant, the following Examination was taken before the Govr Vizt The Examination of Mary Daughter of Robert Gurling of this Island St Helena Planter taken upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the said Island the 5th day of May 1736 This Examinant Mary who is a Single woman & do she saith about Eighteen Years of Age being Suspected by her Parents & Relations to be with Child & being Examined by me concerning the Truth thereof saith & Confesseth that she is with Child & between three & four Months gone with Child & being asked who is Father of the said Child saith that Joshua Worrall of this Island Soldier is the Father thereof & no other Man whatsoever, being asked what proof she had of his Faith, she had no particular Case of this Matter no person being with them but he severall times asked her to let him lye with her which she constantly refused till about the middle of January last upon a Saturday Night when she happened to be at his Mothers House & there under a Mulberry Tree which stood in or near the Yard she suffered him then & there to have carnall knowledge of her body which she saith was the first & only time that he ever lay with her & that no other Man besides him the said Joshua Worrall ever had the knowledge or Use of her body before or since that time, being asked what Inducement she had to Suffer the said Joshua to lye with her she saith that she liked him very well & often wished herself Married to him & that made her the more easily consent to him, being asked if he ever promised he would be Married to her, saith yes, he did not either she | The private trade of Mr Edmund Doran was entered as follows. Cossimbazar handkerchiefs, 140 pieces at 6 rupees 8 annas the piece, 916 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Cassa romalls, 80 pieces, 160 rupees Cossimbazar taffety, 100 pieces at 6 rupees the piece, 600 rupees Carridarries, 50 pieces at 4 rupees 4 annas the piece, 212 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Soosees, 100 pieces at 6 rupees 8 annas the piece, 660 rupees The private trade of Joseph Hindman was entered as follows. Cassa romalls, 400 pieces at 4 rupees the piece, 800 rupees Bengal chintz, 150 pieces at 63 rupees the corge, 472 rupees 8 annas 0 pies At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 11 May 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. An examination taken before the Governor on 5 May was laid before the council. Mary, daughter of Robert Girling of St Helena, single and about eighteen years old, was examined on oath on 3 May 1736. Her relations suspected her of being pregnant, and on examination she admitted that she was, and that she had been between three and four months gone. Asked who the father was, she named Joshua Worrall of the island and no other man whatever. Asked what proof she had of it, she answered that she had none in particular, no person having been present when he lay with her. She stated that he had asked her several times to let him lie with her and that she had constantly refused, until one Saturday night about the middle of January, when she happened to be at his mother's house. Under a mulberry tree standing in or near the yard she allowed him to have carnal knowledge of her, which she said was the first and only time he ever lay with her, and that no other man had ever known her body before or since. Asked what had induced her to allow it, she said she liked him very well and had often pictured herself married to him, which made her the more readily consent. Asked whether he had ever promised he would marry her, she said he had not, and [...] Interpretations Taking a single woman's examination on oath as soon as pregnancy was suspected was the standard first step under the poor law, since a bastard child fell on the parish unless a father could be identified and charged. The name she gave became the basis of an order against him, which is why the questions run so precisely to the identification, the date, the circumstances and the absence of any promise of marriage. The council had taken Margaret Alexander's examination on the same footing on 28 October 1735 and Margaret Swattowe's on 15 May 1733. The absence of any witness is put to her directly because it went to the whole evidential difficulty of such cases. A woman's word was all the evidence there could be, and English practice met that by treating her statement in labour, when she was thought least likely to lie, as the strongest proof available. The midwife Mary Shreve swore on 27 November 1735 that Margaret Alexander named James Powell at the moment of birth, and Governor Pyke had cited the New England rule allowing a woman's oath in labour to charge a man where other proof was wanting. Mary Girling's naming him at three or four months therefore establishes the claim but does not close it. Whether marriage was promised mattered to the character of the offence rather than to the maintenance. A promise would have made the case one of seduction under an engagement, which the island treated more leniently and which pointed towards a marriage as the remedy, as with Joseph Pelosler on 15 May 1733, who was offered twenty-five lashes or the alternative of marrying Margaret Swattowe. Her answer that no promise was made removes that route and leaves the matter as plain fornication with a maintenance order to follow. The examination arrives four days after Governor Pyke asked every councillor on 3 February 1736 for a written opinion on measures against the lewdness he reported spreading through the island, and it is the first such case to come before the council since. The Governor had said then that several unmarried young women had been made pregnant, and the councillors' answers of 10 February proposed fines divided between the Company and the churchwardens, corporal punishment where a man could not pay, and household discipline over young people staying out at night. Mary Girling is the first person to be measured against those proposals. |
94 | 86 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] nor before nor after & to the Truth hereof she hath Subscribed her Name The Mark of Mary Gurling Taken & Sworne before me this 5th day May 1736 Isa Pyke Governr This young Man Worrall when he was first Questioned about this businesse which was on the 28th of last Month promised to Marry the Girle on or before the 10th instant & the Terms were Setled between him & her Father Robt Gurling but when her Examination was this day read to him her Mother being present he went from his Word though he did Acknowledge he had been Dabling & sayth he did put his Thing into her Thing but did so little to her that he is Sure it was not possible for her to be with Child by him & Urged as an Excuse why he did not stand to his promise that he was under a Great & Terrifying when he was first Apprehended about this Affair and readily agreed to every thing proposed in Order to avoid Shame & Punishment but upon Reflection he finds the Child cannot be his & therefore he thinks it better to be Punished for his Follys than to be made miserable for his Life time At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18th May 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 14th & 15th the Yarborough from Bombay, & on the 16th instant the Nassau Capt Hutchinson from Madrass arrived here the Supplies they brought are as follow Vizt From Bombay Selling Price 15. ⅌ 100 Rice 27 Bags qty 54 Parah @ Rs 20 97 80 17. ⅌ 100 Candy 36 Bags qty 2 Mor. Sin 12½ 37 2 6. ⅌ Gall Goa Arrack 5 Casks qty 274 Gar @ 20 ⅌ hhd 18 Gall 114 Charges Merchandize 82 2 Rupr 331 1 87 From Madrass 25 Bags Rice qty 2 oc Mercals @ 9 Merc Pagoda 92 8 6 Casks Arrack @ Pags 13 ⅌ Cask 79 29 Bags Sugar qty 2. 19. 20. qty 11. 18 ⅌ Candy 90 2 15 Charges Merchandize 3 9 20 Pags 196 33 N.B: The Number of Yarr is not mentioned in the Invoice from Madrass | Mary Girling stated that no promise of marriage was made either before or after, and she signed the examination with her mark. It was taken and sworn before Governor Pyke on 5 May 1736. Joshua Worrall, first questioned about the business on 28 April, promised then to marry the young woman on or before 10 May, and terms were settled between him and her father Robert Girling. When her examination was read to him on the day of the consultation, in his mother's presence, he withdrew from his undertaking. He acknowledged that he had been dallying with her, but claimed he had not gone through with the act, and had done so little to her that he was certain she could not be pregnant by him. Pressed as an excuse for his refusal, he answered that he had been in great terror when first taken up on the charge, and had readily agreed to everything proposed in order to escape shame and punishment. On reflection he found that the child could not be his, and he thought it better to be punished for his folly than made miserable for the rest of his life. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 18 May 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Yarborough arrived from Bombay on 14 May and the Nassau, Captain Hutchinson, from Madras on 16 May. The supplies they brought were entered as follows. From Bombay: rice, 27 bags weighing 54 parahs at 1 rupee 3 annas 20 pies the parah, 97 rupees 0 annas 80 pies From Bombay: paddy, 36 bags weighing 2 morahs 12 parahs at 15 rupees the morah, 37 rupees 2 annas 0 pies From Bombay: Goa arrack, 7 casks of 274 gallons at 20 rupees the hogshead of 48 gallons, 114 rupees 0 annas 0 pies From Bombay: charges merchandise, 82 rupees 2 annas 0 pies From Bombay, total, 331 rupees 1 anna 80 pies From Madras: rice, 25 bags weighing 2 [...] 100 [...], 22 rupees 8 annas 0 pies From Madras: arrack, 6 casks at 12 pagodas the cask, 72 rupees From Madras: sugar, 29 bags weighing 19 maunds 7 seers at 11 rupees 18 annas the candy, 90 rupees 2 annas 15 pies From Madras: charges merchandise, 3 rupees 8 annas 60 pies From Madras, total, 196 pagodas 33 [...] The selling prices set in the margin were rice at 15s the hundred, paddy at 17s the hundred and Goa arrack at 6s the gallon. A note against the Madras account recorded that the number of gallons was not stated in the invoice from that place. Interpretations Worrall's retraction turns on a distinction the law would not have accepted, since he admitted the encounter while denying that it could have made her pregnant. His first response, a promise of marriage with terms settled between him and her father within days of being taken up, was the customary way such a matter was closed on the island, and it would have removed the child from the parish entirely. His mother's presence when the examination was read is entered deliberately, since the councillors' answers of 10 February 1736 had placed responsibility for a household's young people squarely on the head of the family, and the encounter had taken place in her own yard. His stated reason for withdrawing is the most revealing part of the record. A man who had agreed to marry under fear of shame and punishment, and who now preferred the punishment, was making a plain calculation: whatever penalty the council imposed would be finite, while a marriage he did not want would last his life. The council had faced the same reasoning from the other side on 15 May 1733, when it offered Joseph Pelosler twenty-five lashes or marriage to Margaret Swattowe and left the choice to him. The Madras supply is reckoned in pagodas rather than rupees, that being the gold coin current on the Coromandel coast, and its appearance identifies the origin of the cargo as surely as the goods themselves. The Bombay invoice, reckoned in rupees with grain measured by the parah and the morah and arrack from the Portuguese settlement at Goa, is identical in every particular to the one Captain Wilkie brought on 18 April 1736, which shows the western agents making up each island consignment to a fixed specification. The absence of any gallon figure in the Madras invoice was noted expressly because the council could not otherwise fix the retail price. Arrack was sold to the inhabitants by the gallon, and the storekeeper's monthly collections had to be reconciled against the invoice at the year's audit, so a cask entered by number alone left a gap that only measurement ashore could close. The council had met the same problem when the Marlborough arrived in June 1730 with neither letter nor invoice and Captain Goodwin counted the cargo himself. Three ships from three different coasts within five weeks, the Wager from Bengal on 24 April, the Yarborough from Bombay and the Nassau from Madras, mark the height of the homeward season. Each brings a supply built to the pattern of its own port, and together they show why the island's stores carried such varied goods: the settlement took whatever the passing trade could spare rather than ordering what it wanted. |
95 | 87 | The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for April last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st April: Bullocks 30, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 404, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 44, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 38, Fowles 97, Ducks 10, Geese 12, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 14, Bulls 0, Totall 14, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 8, Boars 0, Totall 8, Turkeys 7, Fowles 97, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 30, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 126, Bulls 6, Totall 418, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 52, Boars 1, Totall 72, Turkeys 45, Fowles 194, Ducks 10, Geese 12, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 12, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 3, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 15, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 38, Yearlings 50, Calves 126, Bulls 6, Totall 403, Ewes 59, Wethers 1, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 79, Sows 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 52, Boars 1, Totall 72, Turkeys 45, Fowles 194, Ducks 10, Geese 12, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Killed for the Table & 1 Horse died: Bullocks 1, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 1, Wethers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 6, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 3, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 10, Fowles 54, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Remg 30th April: Bullocks 17, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 38, Yearlings 50, Calves 126, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 55, Wethers 1, Lambs 13, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 9, Piggs 49, Boars 1, Totall 68, Turkeys 35, Fowles 140, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 16300 lb | The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for April, each of which was examined and approved. The stock account set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 April, the increase during the month, the numbers sold to shipping and killed for the table, and the closing tally on 30 April. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 April, bullocks 30, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 404, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 10, pigs 44, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 38, fowls 97, ducks 10, geese 12, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 14, bulls 0, total neat cattle 14, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 8, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 8, turkeys 7, fowls 97, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after increase, bullocks 30, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 126, bulls 6, total neat cattle 418, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 10, pigs 52, boars 1, total hogs 72, turkeys 45, fowls 194, ducks 10, geese 12, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Sold to ships, bullocks 12, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 3, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 15, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after sale, bullocks 18, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 38, yearlings 50, calves 126, bulls 6, total neat cattle 403, ewes 59, wethers 1, lambs 15, rams 4, total sheep 79, sows 9, shoats 10, pigs 52, boars 1, total hogs 72, turkeys 45, fowls 194, ducks 10, geese 12, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Killed for the table, and one horse died, bullocks 1, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 4, wethers 0, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 6, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 3, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 10, fowls 54, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Remaining 30 April, bullocks 17, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 38, yearlings 50, calves 126, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 55, wethers 1, lambs 13, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 9, pigs 49, boars 1, total hogs 68, turkeys 35, fowls 140, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,300 lb Interpretations Fifteen head sold to shipping is the heaviest disposal since January 1735, and it falls almost entirely on bullocks, twelve going with three steers and not a cow or heifer touched. Five ships called in April, the Godolphin and Duke of Lorraine still discharging at the month's opening and Captain Broughton, Captain Wilkie and the Wager arriving in succession, so the beef trade resumed in a single month after a winter in which nothing at all went to a vessel between February and March. The bullock stock has now fallen from 35 at the beginning of February to 17, which is the price of a busy road. Fourteen calves born carry the herd almost level at 402 despite the sale, and the total has held between 402 and 404 for three months while the classes beneath it shift. Calves now stand at 126 against 87 at the start of February, so the growth is entirely in young stock and will not reach the table for two or three years. Nothing died in any class except a single horse, the third consecutive month without loss among the cattle, sheep or hogs. Ninety-seven chicks hatched in a single month is the heaviest increase in the poultry record, doubling the flock from 97 to 194 before 54 were killed. The southern summer hatch is now at its height, and the yard is carrying the table almost alone: only one bullock went to the fort's own use against 54 fowls, ten turkeys, a goose, four ewes and two lambs. Killing four breeding ewes in one month while the flock stands at 73 continues the pattern that has run since the wethers were eaten away, and the ewe stock has now fallen from 60 at the start of February to 55. The yam issue to the plantations at 16,300 lb is entered without any figure for delivery to the slaves, where March recorded 17,000 lb to the plantations and 9,700 lb to the blacks. The collapse in the slaves' share since February, when it stood at 25,600 lb, coincides exactly with the arrival of the spring shipping: 46 bags of rice came in the Wager on 24 April, 25 in Captain Broughton's supply and 21 more from Bombay, with 65 bags of paddy besides. Imported grain has carried the establishment through the gap while the new crop grows, the planting season on the island running from about May to September. |
96 | 88 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of April 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder 1736 April 3: Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 lb 5th Godolphin Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 9th An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 15th Beauford Arrived: Guns Fired 16, Minion 2, Falcons 14, Powder 20 17th A Ship pass'd by: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 17th An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 18th Queen Caroline Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 21st Queen Caroline & Beauford Sailed: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 22th An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 24 Wager Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 25 Duke of Lorrain Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 68, Minion 22, Falcons 46, Powder 172 Musquet Balles 9 lb Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Spunge Staves 1 Match 4 lb Expence of the Table in April 1736 Vizt 357 lb Beef 4 9 3 40 Pork 1 1 54 Fowles 4 1 10 Turkeys 2 10 1 Goose 5 4 Sheep 5 2 Lambs 10 3 Piggs 15 48 Gall Arrack 9 12 18 Gall Cape Wine 4 8 9 Gall Port 3 10 9 17 Gall Strong Beer 1 5 6 6 Bottles Oyle 19 6 115 Sugar 1 8 9 12 Candy 4 7 6 3 2 lb Flour 1 15 3 5 lb Butter 46 6 1 On the 14th the Yarborough from Bombay, & the Nassau Capt Hutchinson from Madrass arrived here on the 16 instant the Supplies they brought & are as follow Vizt | The gunner's account of stores expended during April 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 3 April, muster day, guns fired 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 30 lb 7 April, the Godolphin sailed, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 9 April, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 10 April, the Beauford arrived, guns fired 16, minions 2, falcons 14, powder 20 lb 11 April, a ship passed by, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 17 April, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 18 April, the Queen Caroline arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 21 April, the Queen Caroline and Beauford sailed, guns fired 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 0 lb 22 April, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 24 April, the Wager arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 25 April, the Duke of Lorraine sailed, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb Expense of the guard, powder 30 lb Total, guns fired 68, minions 22, falcons 46, powder 172 lb Musket balls, 9 lb Cartridge paper, 4 quires Sponge staves, 1 Match, 4 lb The general table account for April 1736 was entered as follows. 357 lb of beef, £4 9s 3d 40 lb of pork, £1 1s 0d 54 fowls, £4 1s 0d 10 turkeys, £2 10s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 4 sheep, £5 0s 0d 2 lambs, £0 10s 0d 3 pigs, £0 15s 0d 48 gallons of arrack, £9 12s 0d 18 gallons of Cape wine, £4 8s 0d 4 gallons of port, £3 10s 7d 17 gallons of strong beer, £1 5s 6d 6 bottles of oil, £0 19s 6d 115 lb of sugar, £1 8s 9d 2 lb of sugar candy, £4 7s 6d 3 hundredweight of flour, £1 15s 0d 3 lb of butter, [...] Total, £46 6s 1d The Yarborough arrived from Bombay on 14 May and the Nassau, Captain Hutchinson, from Madras on 16 May, and the supplies they brought were entered separately. Interpretations Powder rose to 172 lb, the heaviest month since the road last filled, and the pattern of firing shows why. Four alarms drew twelve pounds apiece, three of them for vessels that were saluted the following day and one for a ship that merely passed. Half the month's ceremonial powder therefore went on not knowing what was approaching, the lookout being able to see a sail but not to name her, and the council had accepted that cost when it resolved on 11 June 1734 to keep every gun loaded even in peacetime. The Beauford drew sixteen guns on arrival against the customary nine, and the difference marks a compliment paid beyond the ordinary. She had been left at the Cape by the Godolphin in March 1736, so the council knew her expected, and a doubled salute of this kind was reserved for a ship carrying an officer of rank or a supercargo of consequence. No salute at all was fired when she sailed with the Queen Caroline on 21 April, three vessels having been saluted out within the same fortnight. Salutes continue to be built from one minion and eight falcons, the smallest pieces on the island, exactly as in March. The practice saves powder deliberately: falcons threw a ball of a pound or two, and Governor Pyke had substituted a public dinner for the coronation salute on 8 October 1734 on the ground that every grain ought to be saved with a war apprehended. Beef at 357 lb is nearly double the March figure and reflects the twelve bullocks and three steers sold from the herd in the same month. The table account has risen only slightly to £46 6s 1d, but its composition has shifted entirely towards entertaining: four sheep at £5 0s 0d is the single heaviest provision line, port returns at £3 10s 7d for four gallons after a winter without it, and strong beer appears at 17 gallons. Supercargoes, commanders and passengers of note were fed at the fort's charge throughout a vessel's stay, and five ships lay in the road across the month. Sugar candy at £4 7s 6d for two pounds against 115 lb of ordinary sugar at £1 8s 9d shows the gap between a bulk commodity and a refined one. Candy was crystallised sugar boiled and cooled slowly, valued as a delicacy and as a medicine for coughs and sore throats, and it came from the China and Coromandel trade rather than from Bengal. |
97 | 89 | From Bombay Selling price 15d ⅌ 100 lb Rice 27 Bags qty 54 Parah @ 1: 3. 20 27 80 7d ⅌ 100 Batty 35 Bags qty 2 Marah 18½ Par 7 2 6d ⅌ Gall Goa Arrack 5 Casks qty 274 Gall @ 20 Rupees ⅌ hhd of 18 Gall 114 Charges Merchandize 82 2 4 Rupees 331 1 87 From Madrass Vizt 15 ⅌ 100 25 Bags Rice qty 200 Marcalls @ 9 Merc ⅌ Pagoda 22 8 6d ⅌ Gall 6 Casks Arrack @ Pagr 12 ⅌ Cask 79 6d ⅌ lb 29 Bags Sugar qty 3 lb 7 Cd 12 ⅌ Candy 97 2 15 Charges Merchandize 3 2368 Pags 196 34 3 N: B: The Number of Gallons is not mentioned in the Invoice from Madrass Memorandum, the latter part of this Consultation is twice Entitled At a Consultation held on Tuesday 25th May 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 20 instant to our great Satisfaction the Houghton & London arrived from China & on the 23 the Duke of Cumberland Anchored from Bencoolen, but neither she, or the Kinsale brought any Supply for this Place This Morning We received the following Letter from Capt Wescott Vizt Gentlemen, The Yarborough being ready to Saile ever since the 20th Instant, the Stores coming in prevents my going & lying here is very Chargeable to my owners, I request [...] the favour you'll mention it in your Letter to our Honble Masters that I may be Intitled to Demorage, I am Gentlemen Your most Humble Servt Geo Westcott To, The Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & the Councill. Wee have no Instructions to Warrant us to return the Captain an Answer to this Letter, wee can only say, that as to point of time, We believe she was ready to Saile on the 20th having been Ten days at the Cape & wanting very little here | The supplies brought by the Yarborough from Bombay and the Nassau from Madras were entered as follows. From Bombay: rice, 27 bags weighing 54 parahs at 1 rupee 3 annas 20 pies the parah, 97 rupees 0 annas 80 pies From Bombay: paddy, 35 bags weighing 2 morahs 12.5 parahs, 37 rupees 2 annas 0 pies From Bombay: Goa arrack, 4 casks of 274 gallons at 20 rupees the hogshead of 48 gallons, 114 rupees 0 annas 0 pies From Bombay: charges merchandise, 82 rupees 2 annas 4 pies From Bombay, total, 331 rupees 1 anna 87 pies From Madras: rice, 25 bags weighing 240 marcals at 9 marcals the pagoda, 22 rupees 8 annas 0 pies From Madras: arrack, 6 casks at 12 pagodas the cask, 72 rupees From Madras: sugar, 29 bags weighing 8 candies 4 maunds 7 chittacks at 11 rupees 18 annas the candy, 99 rupees 2 annas 15 pies From Madras: charges merchandise, 3 rupees 23 annas 68 pies From Madras, total, 196 pagodas 34 annas 3 pies The selling prices set in the margin were rice at 15s the hundred, paddy at 7s the hundred, Goa arrack at 6s the gallon, Madras rice at 15s the hundred, arrack at 6s the gallon and sugar at 6d the pound. A note recorded that the number of gallons was not stated in the invoice from Madras. A memorandum added that the latter part of this consultation was entered twice. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 25 May 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Houghton and the London arrived from China on 20 May, and the Duke of Cumberland from Bencoolen on the 23rd, all three to the council's great satisfaction. Neither those vessels nor the Princess brought any supply for the island. A letter was received that morning from Captain Westcott, who wrote that the Yarborough had been ready to sail since 20 May and that the stores taken aboard had prevented his going. Lying at the island was very costly to his owners, and he asked the council to mention the delay in its letter to the Company, so that he might be entitled to demurrage. The letter was addressed to Isaac Pyke and the council and signed by George Westcott. The council held that it had no instructions warranting any answer to the captain on the question of time. It could only say that it believed the ship was ready to sail on 25 May, having been ten days at the island and wanting very little there. Interpretations Marcals were grain measures of the Coromandel coast, and their appearance alongside pagodas identifies the Madras lading as surely as the parah and morah mark the Bombay one. Three ports, three sets of measures and three currencies of account appear in a single consultation, which is why the council had to fix a sterling selling price against every line before the goods left the warehouse: nothing else would allow the storekeeper's monthly collections to be checked against the invoices at the year's audit. Captain Westcott's claim rests on the same charter party mechanism that produced the protest against the Duke of Lorraine on 10 April 1736. Demurrage is compensation payable to a ship's owners for delay beyond the days allowed, and it falls on whoever caused the delay. His position is the reverse of Captain Crompton's: Crompton was protested against for failing to discharge within his time, while Westcott claims the council's own loading of stores has held him past his. Refusing to answer on the point while stating a plain fact for the record is the council's standard method with a question it cannot decide. It had done exactly this with Captain Crompton on 10 April 1736, accepting his answer as true in every particular, declining to reply and referring the whole to the Company. The council could not bind the Court of Committees on a money claim, so it entered what it knew and left London to settle it, which is the same reasoning that governed its protests against Captain Peacham in December 1729 and on the Prince William's bill of lading in May 1728. Three ships arriving with no supply whatever for the island was a familiar disappointment rather than an exception. China ships in particular carried cargoes made up for the London market and had nothing to spare, the Macclesfield and Caesar having brought nothing whatever in March 1731. The council's satisfaction at their arrival therefore rested on the trade they brought rather than on any provisions: five vessels in the road meant beef sold, stores bought and the island's small cash economy in motion. |
98 | 90 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] Mr Crafford Surgeon of the Yarborough being dangerously ill, has desired leave to tarry here some time for the benefit of his health, & Wee granted his Request, but his Condition is so desperate that there is hardly any hopes of his Recovery The Governour Reports that he has received a Letter by Capt Braund, in Dutch, in Answer to that which he sent last Year to the Generall of Batavia [...] the Translation of which by Mr Lyne the Supra Cargo is as follows Vizt To the Honble Mr Isaac Pike, Governour for the Right Honble the English East [...] India Company at the Island of St Helena Honble Sir, I received your Honrs Letter of the 8 July last by Capt Benjamin Braund of the Ship Duke of Cumberland who arrived here on the 10th soon following & is Anchored here again on his returning Voyage from Bencoolen to Europe & as I suppose he will Stop at your Island, would not let Slip this Oppor- tunity of returning you thanks for your Friendship, & Civility shewn to the Captain of the Ship & his Attendants, as well as for your communicating to me what is necessary to be advised by Ships that make the Island the observation of which I have recommended to the homeward bound Shiping despatched at this Season, in case any by Accident should be obliged to put in there. Capt Braund proposed to Saile in Company with our Ships & to Stop at the Cape for which reason I take care that he had a Copy of the Signals delivered to him for the better keeping Company in Consideration of the Civility our People have already received at your hands, Wee imagine that our last homeward bound as well as the Gouldriaan which was despatched hence in March of last Year will in Consequence of our Orders I have further your Port but as to what you have further communicated to us must remain ignorant Wee do not doubt but the abovementioned Shiping will have Profited by your Friendship & Civility as you have already obliged us in Admitting the Ship Riddershilk & in return we agreeable to our former Conduct I have endeavoured to assist the last arrived Shiping (being those from China) as likewise the aforementioned Ship Duke of Cumberland in every thing they had occasion for, Remain Honble Sir Your most humble Servt Abm Patras Batavia Castle the 23d January 1736. | Mr Crafford, surgeon of the Yarborough, being dangerously ill, asked leave to stay ashore for a time for the benefit of his health. The council granted the request, though his condition was so desperate that there was scarcely any hope of his recovery. Governor Pyke reported that Captain Braund had brought him a letter in Dutch, answering the one he sent the previous year to the General at Batavia. The translation made by Mr Lyle, the supercargo, was entered as follows. The letter was addressed to Isaac Pyke, Governor for the Right Honourable English East India Company at the island of St Helena. The writer acknowledged the Governor's letter of 8 July, brought by Captain Benjamin Braund of the Duke of Cumberland, who arrived at Batavia on 10 June following and anchored there again on his return voyage from Bencoolen to Europe. Supposing that Braund would call at St Helena, the writer took the opportunity of thanking the Governor for the friendship and civility shown to that captain and to his ship's people, and for communicating what a Dutch vessel needed to know about the island. He had passed the Governor's observations to the homeward bound shipping dispatched that season, in case any of them should be forced to put in there by accident. Captain Braund proposed to sail in company with the Dutch ships and to call at the Cape, so a copy of the signals had been delivered to him for the better keeping of company. In view of the civility the Dutch had already received at the Governor's hands, the writer expected that the last homeward bound vessel, and the Goudria dispatched from Batavia in March of the previous year, would follow their orders and call at St Helena. As to whatever else the Governor had communicated, the writer admitted that the Dutch remained ignorant of it, but did not doubt that the ships named would profit by the Governor's friendship, as the Dutch had already been obliged to him by the admission of the Riddershoft. In return, and consistent with earlier conduct, he had done his best to assist the English shipping lately arrived, particularly the vessels from China and the Duke of Cumberland, in whatever they had occasion for. The letter was dated at Batavia Castle on 23 January 1736 and signed Abraham Patras. Interpretations Correspondence of this kind between the Governor of St Helena and the Governor General of the Dutch East India Company at Batavia is a working arrangement between two rival monopolies rather than a diplomatic courtesy. Each company's homeward ships crossed the same ocean and faced the same hazards, and an island that could water and victual a vessel in distress was worth more to both than any commercial advantage in refusing it. Abraham Patras held the highest office in the Dutch East Indies, so the letter comes from the top of that administration to the governor of a single island. Exchanging private signals was the substantive part of the arrangement and carried a real risk. A set of signals allowed ships to identify one another at a distance and to keep company in fog or darkness, and giving a copy to an English commander sailing with a Dutch squadron meant handing over the means by which Dutch vessels recognised each other. The council's own difficulty was the mirror image of this: its lookout could see a sail but never name her, which is why every arrival in the gunner's accounts is preceded by an alarm of four guns costing twelve pounds of powder. The Goudria had already made the call the letter anticipates, arriving from Batavia on 16 June 1735 under Willem Hendrickson after her commander Captain Ruyter died on the voyage. The council examined her commission before admitting her, that check being more than a formality since her papers no longer answered to the man in charge, and then treated her as a friend and allowed her water and refreshment. She sailed on 31 July 1735 with the Middlesex. Granting a dying man leave to lie ashore reflects a settled practice on an island whose whole function was refreshment. Ships arrived with sick crews after months at sea, and the Middlesex came in from Bombay in sickly condition on 11 June 1735. The record shows the practice repeatedly, Charles Sterling, surgeon's mate of the Enfield, dying ashore in April 1733 and his will proved before the council. A surgeon left behind was also a loss to his own ship, which would sail without one. |
99 | 91 | At a Consultation held on Sunday 30 May 1736 at the Castle Capt Worth Capt Bootle Capt Westcott Capt Braund Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved. John Long, Charles Rent, Charles Wellfoot, Samuel Brantam, William Watson, Edward Robinson, Jonas Locksmith, were Accused by Gabriell Harper Corporall & Robert Humphreys Marshall, for violently Assaulting them & wounding the Corporall in the Execution of his Duty & Long being taken into Custody was forceably rescued by the other five On a fuller Examination of this Matter the it appeared they were all Guilty of the Riot & Rescue yet John Long Charles Rent Charles Wellfoot & William Watson were most notorious & violent they were therefore Ordered back to Prison till to morrow Morning to be publickly whipt at the common Whipping Post in the Usuall manner & that John Long should be sett to hard labour for three Months This Quarrell & dispute began on the following manner the Commodore Capt Worths Man went up with another to see the Country & carryed a Case bottle of Arrack, with him when he came to Red Hill a Black fellow came out to him & sayed Master I see you Sweat with carrying that Bottle let me have it & I will carry it any where for you so he gave him the Bottle to carry & then the fellow seeing he had a Handkercheif of Sugar with him sayed let me have that Handkercheif & I will carry that too so he gave him the Handkercheif of Sugar to carry too he carried them a little way & then passed over a Sturze Hedge Sea Wall & ran away down the Hill & the Commodores Man ran after him & John Long came out upon him with a great Dog & set the Dog at him but being told he pursued a fellow who had Stole his Arrack & Sugar John Long swore at him very much & sayed if he ran after that fellow he would beat him & so stopt his pursuit, when the Man came down he Complained of this & the Governour sent the Corporall & Marshall to fetch down Long & then they beat & Wounded the Corporall & tore his Cloths as is before sayed & then the Governour sent a Guard of Six Men who brought them all down they now pretend they were very drunk, & did not know what they did but it appeared they were not drunk, as they pretended & all the Captains were of Opinion that they highly deserved this Punishment their Sailors especially who had behaved themselves very bad on board. | At a consultation held at the castle on Sunday 30 May 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp, together with Captain Worth, Captain Boote, Captain Westcott and Captain Braund. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. John Long, Charles Rent, Charles Wildfoot, Samuel Brantam, William Watson, Edward Robinson and Jonas Locksmith were accused by Corporal Gabriel Harper and Robert Humphreys, marshal, of violently assaulting them and wounding the corporal while he was carrying out his duty. Long was taken into custody and forcibly rescued by the other six. On a full examination it appeared that all seven were guilty of the riot and the rescue, and that John Long, Charles Rent, Charles Wildfoot and William Watson had been the most violent and disorderly of them. Those four were ordered back to prison until the following morning, to be publicly whipped at the common whipping post in the usual way, and John Long was to be set to hard labour for three months. The quarrel arose in the following way. The commodore, Captain Worth, sent his man up into the country with another to see it, carrying a case bottle of arrack with him. At the Red Hill a black man came out to him and said that his master seemed to be sweating under the weight of the bottle, and offered to carry it anywhere for him. The sailor handed it over. The black man then saw that he also had a handkerchief of sugar and offered to carry that too, so the sailor gave him the sugar as well. He carried both a little way, then crossed a furze hedge into a wall and ran away down the hill. Captain Worth's man ran after him, and John Long came out with a large dog and set it on him. Told that he was pursuing a man who had stolen his arrack and sugar, Long swore at him violently and said that if he ran after that fellow he would beat him, and so stopped him from pursuing. When the sailor came down he complained of Long, and the Governor sent the corporal and the marshal to fetch him down. The men then beat and wounded the corporal and tore his clothes. The Governor sent a guard of six men, who brought them all down. They now pretended that they had all been very drunk and did not know what they were doing, but it appeared that they were not as drunk as they claimed. All the captains were of opinion that they thoroughly deserved the punishment, particularly the sailors, who had behaved very badly aboard. Interpretations Four ship's commanders sitting with the council turned this into a joint proceeding rather than an ordinary consultation. Sailors were subject to their own commanders' discipline, and men punished ashore had to sail home in the ships whose officers had watched the sentence passed. Bringing Captain Worth, Captain Boote, Captain Westcott and Captain Braund into the room secured their agreement before the whipping rather than after it, and the record of their opinion that the punishment was deserved is the operative part of the entry. The council had used the same device on 20 May 1731, when three commanders sat while it determined the complaint against Chaplain George White. Rescuing a prisoner from lawful custody was a graver charge than the assault itself, since it struck directly at the marshal's ability to execute any warrant. The marshal was the council's only officer for serving process on an island with no constabulary, and Robert Humphreys held the post that John French had taken in 1727. A corporal beaten and his clothes torn while acting on the Governor's own order left the council with nothing to fall back on if it did not answer immediately. John Long's record makes his three months at hard labour the least surprising sentence in the run. He had been sent to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 and returned within the year, was set to the fortifications at ninepence a day for not less than six months on 26 August 1735 over the theft of Jonathan Doveton's yams, and petitioned on 9 March 1736 to go back to Bencoolen with his wife and children, the council answering that the Company must be told of the request first. His involvement here, setting a dog on a sailor and obstructing the pursuit of a thief, fits a pattern the council had described as making his premises a receptacle for runaways on 10 April 1733. The drunkenness plea was raised because it had worked before. Hugh Williams the gardener claimed on 28 May 1734 that his weak brain became like a tempestuous sea when disturbed by liquor, and John Slate pleaded drink on 11 November 1735 after threatening Edward Draper. The council rejected it here on the plain ground that the men were not as drunk as they said, which is a finding of fact rather than a refusal of the principle. The theft itself went unpunished and probably unpursued, the thief being a black man who ran over a furze hedge and down the hill. The testimony of blacks was inadmissible and the man was never identified, so the only person penalised for the whole affair on that side was the sailor who lost his arrack and sugar by handing them to a stranger. Speculations The council punished the rescue and left the original obstruction almost untouched. Long's offence in setting a dog on a sailor and threatening to beat him for chasing a thief was what began the affair, yet the sentences fall on the violence done to the corporal, and Long's three months at hard labour comes on top of a whipping given to him alongside three others for the riot rather than for anything he did at the Red Hill. The obvious course, given his record and the Governor's own view expressed on 26 August 1735 that nothing but the gallows would answer with him, was to treat this as the final proof and press for his removal. That was passed over because his petition to go to Bencoolen already stood before the Company, awaiting London's pleasure since 9 March 1736, and the council had committed itself to that answer. Hard labour kept him on the island and available when the reply came. |
100 | 92 | Monday 31 May 1736. This Morning the Severall Persons abovementioned were Punished according to the Order made Yesterday, & as soon as William Watson was Whipped he Offered the Marshall a Crown to let him have the Whipping of John Long who had brought them all to this Punishment & Marshall saying he must do it himself as his Duty Watson Swore that on Consideration he might have the Whipping of John Long to his Friend he would give every farthing of the Wages Due to him in the Ship The other three Samuel Brantam, Edward Robinson, & Jonas Locksmith, not being quite so vicious as the rest, they were Ordered to Set in the Stocks & see the other four fellows Whipped. At a Consultation held on Tuesday 8th June 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that the Flagstaff is very much Decayed & must be Cased against Heighth with Oaken Plank to Strengthen it & keep it from breaking The Soldiers not having any Tables in their Barracks to Eat their Provisions upon, they are forced to Eat of their Chests & the Grease of the Meat often running through the Crevices their Cloths are thereby Spoiled, therefore to prevent this Inconveniency it is Ordered that Eight Tables & Sixteen Forms be immediatly made for the Use of the said Barracks The following Letter from that Villain John Long was read Vizt Worshipfull Sir & Gentlemen of Councill That whereas last Saturday was Sennight your Worship Sent an Order by two of your Officers for me to come down to your Worships & accordingly was coming but being very much in drink, did not come, & abused the Officers for which I most humbly & heartily beg your Worship & Gentlemen's Pardon for that base Affront hoping in God you will forgive me, for I Protest to my maker it was the drink & not me, & whereas it was your leave to have me Margin Notes: Flagstaff Barrack furniture | On Monday 31 May 1736 the several men named earlier were punished as the council had directed the previous day. As soon as William Watson had been whipped he offered the marshal a crown to let him carry out the whipping of John Long, who had drawn them all into the affair, saying that he must do it himself as his duty. Watson swore that if he could have the whipping of Long he would give every farthing of the wages due to him aboard the ship. The other three, Samuel Brantam, Edward Robinson and Jonas Locksmith, had not been quite so violent as the rest, and were ordered to sit in the stocks and watch the other four whipped. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 8 June 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that the flagstaff was very much decayed and would have to be cased about a good height with oak plank, both to strengthen it and to keep it from breaking. The soldiers had no tables in their barracks to eat their provisions on, and were forced to eat off their chests, so that the grease from the meat ran through the cracks and spoiled the clothes they kept there. To prevent that, the council ordered eight tables and sixteen forms made at once for the use of the barracks. A letter from the villain John Long was read. He stated that on the Saturday a week earlier the Governor had sent an order for him by two of the council's officers, that he was coming down accordingly, but that being very much in drink he did not come and abused the officers. He said he was truly and heartily sorry, begged the Governor's and the council's pardon for that gross insult, and hoped they would forgive him, protesting before his maker that it was the drink and not himself. He acknowledged that it was their pleasure to have him whipped and [...] Interpretations Watson's offer to pay the marshal for the privilege of whipping Long, and to give up his entire wages for the voyage to do it, measures how completely the sailors blamed him for their punishment. A seaman's pay fell due only on the ship's safe return to England, so the sum he offered was everything he had earned since leaving home, and the council recorded the offer because it confirmed its own finding that Long had drawn the men into the riot. The marshal's answer that the duty was his own kept the punishment an act of the council rather than a private revenge. Making the three less violent men sit in the stocks and watch the others whipped turned a lighter sentence into part of the heavier one. The stocks held a man by the ankles in public view, and placing them where the whipping could be seen served the same purpose as the council's choice of a muster day for Caesar's punishment on 2 January 1733, when it set the sentence for the Saturday so that it might be more public and a greater example. The flagstaff was the island's entire early warning system, and its decay mattered far beyond its appearance. The lookout there raised the alarm for every approaching sail, and the gunner's accounts for March and April 1736 show four guns and twelve pounds of powder spent on each alarm because a ship could be seen but not identified. Casing a mast in oak plank rather than replacing it is the same expedient the council applied to the Ladder Hill path on 23 March 1736, patching what would serve rather than attempting what could not be manned. Eight tables and sixteen forms for the barracks is a small order that reveals how the garrison actually lived. Soldiers kept their clothing in sea chests because they had no other furniture, and eating off those chests spoiled the only clothes they owned, which the Company would eventually have to replace out of the stores. The council had just spent the spring receiving 195 pieces of coarse Bengal cotton against the annual clothing charge, and a few pounds of carpentry set against ruined shirts is a straightforward economy. Calling Long a villain in the body of the record, before recording his own submission, shows the council had already made up its mind about him. Written submissions of this kind were the island's standard route back from punishment, used by Henry Cottrell on 22 April 1729, by Richard Durling in April 1728 and by Henry Moyce on 27 January 1736, and each was accepted at the time. Durling's was read back to him on 31 December 1728 as proof that he was incorrigible, which is precisely the risk Long now runs. |
101 | 93 | whipt & to go to the Companies Work, the Whipping I have Undergone with Shame, so now most humbly & heartily beg it you all for Christs sake to forgive my going to work, for I having the Flux upon me & very weak & withall in Pain in my left Shoulder so that I can hardly lift it to my head, & I have been at the Work both Yesterday & to day but cannot stand upright I having such a Pain a Cross my belly so beg for Gods sake to forgive me, & if ever I should be guilty of any such like fault, I will willingly undergo any Punishment that your Please to lay upon me & as in duty bound shall ever pray & remain, Gentlemen Your most Humble & Obedt Servt John Longe P. S. If I must work this same day my let me be at home till I am a little better of this Distemper the Flux, & then please God will come to the Work when ever demanded Capt Alexander is of Opinion that he ought to work, as soon as he is able but if he be really Sick, he thinks he should be with his Family till he be better & then come to Work Capt Goodwin is of Opinion that if he be Sick his Punishment of Working should be remitted for a short time but he is a great villain that he thinks it not proper he should have Liberty to Stroll about the Country to Steale & pilfer the whole Island especially his Neighbours being continually Plunder'd by him Mr Crispe is of Opinion that the most Effectual way to cure him is to hang him, for wee know not what to do with him having already Sent him to Bencoolen from whence under false & lying moving Pretences he was Suffered to return, but if he be ill, he thinks he ought to remain in the Valley & not to go to his Family they thriving better without than with him The Governour is of Opinion that his Gun should be taken from him, & it his Dog changed, but is content to let him go home upon Account of his pretended Sickness, though if he be caught Strouling & Pilfering as he used to do, that he be immediately Seized & set to work The Governour Reports that there was one Mordecai John Celick a Soldier of this Garrison who being a Crafty knavish fellow got acquainted with three Dutchmen viz John Martin, Garrat Lieburne & Joseph Bush belonging to the Leiden who came privately on board where Capt Bootle was at Batavia having as is Supposed Robbed some body there, they having one pair of very large Silver Buckles, one pair of Gold Shoe Belebles, one Gold Neck Buckle, one Bar or Small Ingot of Gold, Severall pieces of Gold or other Coyne, Two precious Stones & other Goods of Value, & told them they could Sell them here to Advantage, & upon that they delivered them to him, & he pretended to sell them at Sandy bay a place far distant from the fort Valley, & they went to look for him there when the Ship & men were ready to Saile, but he left word he was gone to another Place Severall Miles Wide of Sandy bay & that they must come to him there for their Money, And accordingly | John Long's letter went on to acknowledge that the council had ordered him whipped and set to the Company's work. He wrote that he had undergone the whipping with shame, and now begged the council for Christ's sake to excuse him from the labour. He had the flux upon him and was very weak, with a pain in his left shoulder so severe that he could hardly lift it to his head. He had attended the work both the previous day and that day but could not stand upright, having such a pain across his belly. He asked to be forgiven, and undertook to submit willingly to any punishment the council chose to lay upon him should he ever be guilty of a like fault again. The letter was signed by John Long. A postscript asked that if he had to work that same day he might at least be allowed home until he was a little better of the flux, and undertook that he would then come to the work whenever he was called for. Captain Alexander held that Long ought to work as soon as he was able, but that if he were really ill he should be with his family until he recovered and then return. Captain Goodwin held that the labour should be remitted for a short time if he were genuinely sick, but that he was so great a villain that it would be improper to give him the liberty of walking about the country. He would steal and pilfer across the whole island, his neighbours being continually robbed by him. Mr Crisp held that the only effective way to cure him was to hang him. Nobody knew what to do with him, the island having already sent him to Bencoolen, from which he had been allowed to return under false and moving pretences. If he were ill, Crisp thought he should stay in the valley rather than go to his family, who thrived better without him than with him. Governor Pyke held that Long's gun should be taken from him and his dog changed, but was content to let him go home on account of his professed sickness. Should he be caught wandering and pilfering as he used to do, he was to be seized at once and set to work. The Governor reported that Mordecai John Selick, a soldier of the garrison and a crafty and knavish man, had struck up an acquaintance with three Dutchmen: John Martin, Garrat Lieburne and Joseph Bush, belonging to the Leiden, who had come privately aboard Captain Boote's ship at Batavia and were supposed to have robbed somebody there. They had one pair of very large silver buckles, one pair of gold shoe buckles, one gold neck buckle, one bar or small ingot of gold, several pieces of gold and other coin, two precious stones and other goods of value. Selick told them he could sell the whole here to advantage, and on that footing they handed everything over to him. He pretended he would sell the goods at Sandy Bay, a place a long way from the fort valley, and they went to look for him there when the ship and her men were ready to sail. He left word that he had gone to another place several miles beyond Sandy Bay, and that they must come to him there for their money. Interpretations Four men gave four different answers to one question, and the record of that disagreement is the substance of the entry. Governor Pyke's settled method was to take separate opinions where no obvious course presented itself, as he had over the island's waters on 15 August 1732, over runaway slaves on 30 October 1733 and over Colonel Gaultier's character on 12 November 1734. The spread of views here, from remission through confinement in the valley to hanging, measures how completely the council had exhausted its remedies against one man. Crisp's answer repeats what the council had already entered on 26 August 1735, that nothing but the gallows would answer with Long and that abroad he would sooner turn pirate than make anything of himself. No capital charge lay against him, so the remark is an admission rather than a proposal. Warnings, bonds, recognisances, a public whipping under the act of 43 Elizabeth chapter 7 on 18 September 1733, hard labour at the fortifications and transportation to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 had each been tried and each had failed. Taking his gun and dealing with his dog reaches past the man to the means of his living. Long had been suspected of shooting the Company's goats in January 1729 and again on 11 November 1729, the council issuing warrants on both occasions to kill his dogs, which were known through the neighbourhood for their skill at catching goats among the rocks. He had also set a large dog on Captain Worth's man at the Red Hill in May 1736, which is what brought him before the council in the first place. Removing the instruments disables the poaching that no witness could ever prove. The flux was severe dysentery, a real and often fatal illness on the island rather than a convenient excuse. Samuel Jephry's letter of 6 March 1727 described it as always treated as dangerous and checked at the first appearance, and Sergeant Mitchell Sweazy was seized with the bloody flux at King William's Fort in March 1734. Goodwin's answer therefore turns not on whether Long was ill but on where he should be while ill, since a man at liberty in the country was a man among his neighbours' property. Selick's fraud worked precisely because the three Dutchmen could not complain of it without exposing themselves. Silver and gold buckles, bullion, loose coin and precious stones, carried privately aboard an English ship from Batavia by men supposed to have robbed somebody there, could not be claimed openly before any authority. Sending them first to Sandy Bay and then several miles beyond exploited that silence and ran out the clock until their ship was ready to sail. |
102 | 94 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] they Attempted to go there, but in the mean while the Ships Sailed without them, & Mordecai John Celick instead of meeting them privately on board Ship & by Vertue of some of their Money got himself here & is gone to England in their Room On Sunday last the Onslow arrived from Bengall & brought the Standing Supply Vizt Arrack 2 half Legers qty 160 Gall @ 70 Mr ⅌ Legr 70 Batta 10 ⅌ Cent 7 77 Rice 26 Bags qty 61. 2. 24 81 13 6 Batta 10 ⅌ Cent 8 8 9 89 15 3 Sugar 10 Bags qty 14. 2. 19 99 Shirts & Stockings Vizt 166 Shirts @ 82. 3 ⅌ 100 136 5 6 100 prs Stockings @ 12. 3. ⅌ Corge 62 8 198 13 6 Wax Candles 2 Chests qty 2. 2. 19 136 Charges Merchandize 57 10 6 Rupees 548 7 3 The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for may last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt Gunners Stores Expended in May 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder May 1: Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 9th Wager Sailed: Guns Fired 18, Minion 1, Falcons 12, Powder 15 13 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 15 Yarborough arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 16 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 ditto Nassau arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 19 Double Allarm: Guns Fired 6, Minion 6, Falcons 0, Powder 18 20 Houghton & London arrived: Guns Fired 36, Minion 4, Falcons 32, Powder 44 22 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 23 Duke of Cumberland Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Minion 1, Falcons 9, Powder 9 Fitting the Pouches of all the Garrison: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 40 Expence of the Guards & Allarms: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Totall: Guns Fired 94, Minion 25, Falcons 69, Powder 244 Musquet Balls 10 lb Spunge Staves 20. Sheep Skines 10 Rammer Heads 22 Parchment Skines 6 Cartridge Paper 6 Match 25 lb [...] [...] | The three Dutchmen set off to go there, but in the meantime their ship sailed without them, and Mordecai John Selick, instead of meeting them, got aboard her privately and by that means kept their money to himself. He is now gone to England in their place. The Onslow arrived from Bengal on the Sunday and brought the following supply. Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers of 160 gallons at 70 rupees the leaguer, 70 rupees Batta at 10 per cent on the arrack, 7 rupees Arrack together, 77 rupees Rice, 46 bags weighing 61 maunds 8 seers 24 chittacks, 81 rupees 13 annas 6 pies Batta at 10 per cent on the rice, 8 rupees 8 annas 9 pies Rice together, 89 rupees 15 annas 3 pies Sugar, 10 bags weighing 14 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 99 rupees Shirts, 166 shirts at 82 rupees 8 annas the 100, 136 rupees 5 annas 6 pies Stockings, 100 pairs at 12 rupees 8 annas the corge, 62 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Shirts and stockings together, 198 rupees 13 annas 6 pies Wax candles, 2 chests weighing 2 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 136 rupees Charges merchandise, 47 rupees 10 annas 6 pies Total, 648 rupees 7 annas 3 pies The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for May, each of which was examined and approved. The gunner's account of stores expended during May 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 1 May, muster day, guns fired 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 30 lb 9 May, the Wager sailed, guns fired 18, minions 1, falcons 12, powder 15 lb 13 May, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 15 May, the Yarborough arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 16 May, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 16 May, the Nassau arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 19 May, a double alarm, guns fired 6, minions 6, falcons 0, powder 18 lb 20 May, the Houghton and London arrived, guns fired 36, minions 4, falcons 32, powder 44 lb 22 May, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 23 May, the Duke of Cumberland arrived, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 9, powder 9 lb Filling the pouches of all the garrison, powder 40 lb Expense of the guards and alarms, powder 30 lb Total, guns fired 94, minions 25, falcons 69, powder 244 lb Musket balls, 10 lb Sponge staves, 20 Sheepskins, 10 Rammer heads, 22 Parchment skins, 6 Cartridge paper, 6 quires Match, 25 lb Interpretations Selick escaped by the only route available to a man who had defrauded people who could not complain of him. Boarding privately and sailing in the place of the three men he had robbed made him invisible to the ship's own reckoning of her company, and the Dutchmen were left on an island several miles from the fort valley with no goods, no money and no standing to demand either. The council's record of the affair does what it can, which is to put the whole account before the Company in London where the ship was bound. Powder at 244 lb is the heaviest month since the road last filled and more than double the March figure. Six vessels came in across three weeks and the pattern of firing shows the cost of the flagstaff's blindness: four separate alarms of four guns each, and one double alarm of six, were fired before ships that were saluted the following day, so a fifth of the month's powder went on establishing what was approaching rather than on greeting it. The Houghton and London drew 36 guns between them at 44 lb, four times the ordinary compliment, which marks them as the China ships they were. Vessels homeward bound from Canton carried the richest cargoes afloat and their supercargoes ranked high in the Company's service, so a doubled or trebled salute recognised the men aboard rather than the ships. The council had saluted supercargoes separately with nine guns each on landing and going off when the Houghton called from Mocha in February 1733. Filling the pouches of the whole garrison with 40 lb of powder is a defensive charge rather than a ceremonial one, and it has appeared only rarely in this record, 15 lb going to the grenadier pouches in November 1732 and 5 lb in December of the same year. Issuing made-up cartridge to every man is what a garrison does when it expects to need it quickly, and the timing follows six weeks in which foreign shipping had been passing constantly and three Dutchmen had been put ashore under suspicion of robbery. The consumables tell their own story: 20 sponge staves and 22 rammer heads expended in a single month against one or two in a quiet one. Those are the shafts and heads that clear and load a gun, and they wear out through use, so the figures confirm that the month's firing fell on real service of the pieces rather than on the accounts alone. Sheepskins supplied the wool for fresh sponge heads and parchment skins covered the cartridges. |
103 | 95 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st May: Bullocks 17, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 38, Yearlings 50, Calves 126, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 55, Wethers 1, Lambs 13, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 9, Piggs 49, Boars 1, Totall 68, Turkeys 35, Fowles 140, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Encreased: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 10, Bulls 0, Totall 10, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 7, Rams 0, Totall 7, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 50, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 17, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 38, Yearlings 50, Calves 136, Bulls 6, Totall 412, Ewes 55, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 80, Sows 9, Shoats 9, Piggs 49, Boars 1, Totall 68, Turkeys 35, Fowles 190, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Sold to Shipping &c: Bullocks 12, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 13, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 25, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 5, Cows 112, Heifers 53, Steers 25, Yearlings 50, Calves 136, Bulls 6, Totall 387, Ewes 55, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 80, Sows 9, Shoats 9, Piggs 49, Boars 1, Totall 68, Turkeys 35, Fowles 190, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Killed & 1 Cow died & 1 Stolen: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 6, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 6, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 3, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 11, Fowles 90, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaining 31st May 1736: Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 25, Yearlings 50, Calves 136, Bulls 6, Totall 386, Ewes 49, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 8, Piggs 46, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 24, Fowles 100, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 13,500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 20,700 Totall 34,200 lb | The stock account for May 1736 set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 May, the increase during the month, the numbers sold to shipping, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 31 May. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 May, bullocks 17, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 38, yearlings 50, calves 126, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 55, wethers 1, lambs 13, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 9, pigs 49, boars 1, total hogs 68, turkeys 35, fowls 140, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 10, bulls 0, total neat cattle 10, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 7, rams 0, total sheep 7, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 50, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Sum after increase, bullocks 17, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 38, yearlings 50, calves 136, bulls 6, total neat cattle 412, ewes 55, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 80, sows 9, shoats 9, pigs 49, boars 1, total hogs 68, turkeys 35, fowls 190, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Sold to shipping, bullocks 12, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 13, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 25, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Sum after sale, bullocks 5, cows 112, heifers 53, steers 25, yearlings 50, calves 136, bulls 6, total neat cattle 387, ewes 55, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 80, sows 9, shoats 9, pigs 49, boars 1, total hogs 68, turkeys 35, fowls 190, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Killed, and one cow died of the staggers, bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 6, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 6, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 3, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 11, fowls 90, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 May, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 25, yearlings 50, calves 136, bulls 6, total neat cattle 386, ewes 49, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 8, pigs 46, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 24, fowls 100, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Yams expended at the several plantations, 13,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 20,700 lb Total yams, 34,200 lb Interpretations Twenty-five head sold to shipping is the heaviest disposal since the drought years and it has stripped the herd of its saleable males. Bullocks stood at 35 at the opening of February and now stand at 5, while steers have fallen from 41 to 25 in the same period. Six ships lay in the road across May, the Yarborough, Nassau, Houghton, London, Duke of Cumberland and the departing Wager, and each victualled for a passage to England. The council has met the whole demand out of one class of animal rather than touching the cows and heifers, which is the discipline it could not maintain during the dry seasons, when fourteen heifers went in January 1735 and fourteen cows in December 1734. Ninety fowls and eleven turkeys killed in one month is by far the heaviest draw on the poultry yard in this record, and it fell on a flock that had doubled through the April hatch. The birds went the same way as the beef, into the victualling of six ships and the entertainment of their officers at the fort's table. A further 50 chicks hatched, yet the flock still closed 40 birds down on the month. Six ewes killed against no wether continues a pattern that has now run for eight months, and the breeding stock has fallen from 60 at the start of February to 49. Seven lambs born is the first increase in the flock since March, but the arithmetic remains adverse while every carcass for the table has to come out of the ewes, only one wether standing on the island. A cow lost to the staggers is the first named cause of death among the cattle since the drought ended. The disorder brings loss of coordination and collapse, arising from mineral deficiency on poor pasture or from toxins in fodder, and five head died of it in June 1733. Its return as the winter planting season opens, with the yam issue to the plantations falling to 13,500 lb, points to stock grazing thin ground while the crop is in. The yam issue to the slaves recovered to 20,700 lb from nothing recorded in April, the plantations' share falling correspondingly to 13,500 lb. That shift is what the season dictates: the island's planting runs from about May to September, so ground goes under crop as the harvest is consumed, and the imported rice landed by five ships since late March has carried the establishment through the interval. |
104 | 96 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] Expence of the Table in May 1736 Vizt £ 5 10 440 lb Beef 6 15 40 Fowls 2 15 11 Turkeys 7 10 6 Ewe Sheep 1 5 50 lb Pork 15 3 Piggs 16 4 81 Gall Arrack 7 8 30 Gall Cape Wine 5 16 3 15 Gall Port ditto 9 lb Sugar 19 9 25 lb Candy 1 6 8 Bottls Oyle 2 8 3 Piggs 4 8 3 2. 4 Flour £ 60 13 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 15th June 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Thomas Wright Soldier was accused by Thomas Colgrove Sadler for Stealing from him a Turkey which he lost on Saturday night last & having a Suspicion of Wright went next Morning early & acquainted [...] & so in Wright's Lodging to his Sea Chest in which was a Turkey cut to pieces & first behind a Chest Wright proved that he bought this Turkey about three Weeks past but it appeared very Suspicious on the whole so they were Ordered to withdraw & then Wright promised to pay Colgrove for it & then at Colgroves request he was Discharged The two following Petitions were this day presented & read Vizt | The general table account for May 1736 was entered as follows. 440 lb of beef, £5 10s 0d 90 fowls, £6 15s 0d 11 turkeys, £2 15s 0d 6 ewe sheep, £7 10s 0d 50 lb of pork, £1 5s 0d 3 pigs, £0 15s 0d 81 gallons of arrack, £16 4s 0d 30 gallons of Cape wine, £7 8s 0d 15 gallons of port, £5 16s 3d 98 lb of sugar, £0 19s 4d 2.5 lb of sugar candy, £1 6s 0d 8 bottles of oil, £0 2s 8d 2 lb of pepper, £0 4s 8d 3 hundredweight 2 quarters 4 lb of flour, [...] Total, £60 13s 0d At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 15 June 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Thomas Wright, a soldier, was accused by Thomas Colgrave of stealing a turkey from him on the Saturday a week earlier. Suspecting Wright, Colgrave went the following morning to search his lodging and found him lagging behind a cliff, where he was cutting a turkey to pieces. Wright claimed he had bought the bird about three weeks earlier, but the whole business appeared very suspicious. The two were ordered to settle between themselves, Wright undertook to pay Colgrave for the turkey, and at Colgrave's own request he was then discharged. Two petitions were presented and read. Interpretations The table account rose to £60 13s 0d, the heaviest single month in this run and half as much again as the £43 2s 0d of February. Six ships lay in the road across May, and the figures show what that meant for the fort's hospitality: 440 lb of beef where February carried none at all, 90 fowls where it carried none, and drink alone taking nearly half the total at £29 8s 3d. Supercargoes, commanders, surgeons and passengers of note were fed at the Company's charge throughout a vessel's stay, and four commanders had sat in council on 30 May over the riot at the Red Hill. Six ewes appear in the table account at £7 10s 0d, the second heaviest provision line, and they match exactly the six ewes entered as killed in the stock account for the same month. The flock has no wethers left to draw on, only one standing on the island, so every carcass now comes out of the breeding stock, and the entry shows the consequence reaching the Governor's own table rather than remaining an abstraction in the herd figures. Port at 15 gallons against 4 in April, and Cape wine at 30 gallons against 18, mark the same six vessels. Port had disappeared from the accounts entirely through the quiet months and returned as soon as the season opened, which reflects both the guests to be entertained and the resupply the ships themselves brought. Settling the turkey theft between the parties rather than punishing it kept a soldier in the ranks and gave the injured man his compensation, which is what the council did wherever a private loss could be made good. Sutton Marsh and the Colgraves were advised to settle their quarrel between themselves on 30 July 1734 and parted friends, and Benjamin Beale's complaint against William Simpson was sent back to the parties on 1 August 1732. The council reserved its own severity for offences against the Company or against public order, as with the four men whipped on 31 May 1736. Discharging Wright at the complainant's own request shows how far a private prosecutor controlled such a case. Colgrave brought the charge, found the bird being cut up, and could have pressed it; his asking for the discharge ended the matter, exactly as George Knight's payment of fifty shillings to John Aldrich closed that affair in December 1735. |
105 | 97 | To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour & the Councill The Humble Petition of Joshua Johnson Sheweth, That your Petitioner on the 14th October last which is now above Eight Months since presented a Petition Setting forth that he had great Demands upon the Estate lately Possessed by [...] Gabriel & Mary Powell both deceased which amount to the Sum of £804 & upwards Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that his Right to what he Claims may be decided by a Jury at the next Sessions which is to be held on the 24th instant & that the Decision of his Claim may be no longer Protracted or deferred, the delay which has already happened having proved much to the loss & Damage of your Petr And Your Petr as in duty bound Shall ever pray Jos: Johnson St Helena 15th June 1736. To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & the Councill The humble Petition of John Hodgkinson Sheweth, That in one Petition presented to your Worships & Councill on the 25th Febry 1734 your Petr set forth that as heir at Law to his Sister Anne late Wife of James Crafford he is Entitled to Thirty Acres of Freehold Land lying in this Island & to Mary late Wife of Gabriel Powell being dead other Parcells of Freehold Land are also fallen to your Petr as heir to his said Sister Your Petr therefore humbly prays that his Right to the Premises may be decided by a Jury at the next Sessions the said James Crafford being now upon the Spot And Your Petr as in duty bound Shall ever pray Jno Hodgkinson St Helena 15th June 1736. In Answer to these Petitions Mr Johnson was acquainted that his Petition should be transmitted to the Honble Company & Mr Hodgkinson was told that his Right should be tryed at the next Sessions | Joshua Johnson petitioned the Governor and council, recalling that he had presented a petition on 14 October the previous year, now more than eight months earlier, in which he set out that he had substantial claims against the estate left by Gabriel Powell and Mary Powell, both deceased, amounting to £804 0s 0d and upwards. He asked that his right to what he claimed be decided by a jury at the next sessions, which were to be held on 24 June, and that the decision be deferred no longer, the delay already suffered having proved much to his loss and damage. The petition was dated at St Helena on 15 June 1736 and signed by Joshua Johnson. John Hodgkinson petitioned the Governor and council, recalling a petition he had presented on 25 February 1734 in which he set out that as heir at law to his sister Anne, late the wife of James Crafford, he was entitled to thirty acres of freehold land on the island. Mary, late the wife of Gabriel Powell, being now dead, other parcels of freehold had also fallen to him as his sister's heir. He asked that his right to the property be decided by a jury at the next sessions, James Crafford being now on the island. The petition was dated at St Helena on 15 June 1736 and signed by John Hodgkinson. The council answered the two petitions differently. Johnson was told that his petition would be sent to the Company. Hodgkinson was told that his right would be tried at the next sessions. Interpretations Johnson's demands have grown considerably since he first stated them. He put his claim at £475 6s 8d on 14 October 1735, itemising £150 0s 0d for a house and plantation, £150 0s 0d for the life of a black man, legacies to his wife and to John Bowman, two thirds of William Bowman's estate and £75 0s 0d for wood and timber destroyed. The figure now stands at £804 0s 0d and upwards, an increase of two thirds, and the enlargement follows the appraisement of 21 October 1735 which valued the whole estate at £5,136 17s 5.25d against the £405 15s 7d Richard Goodwin had first returned. The two answers turn on the character of the claims rather than on any preference between the men. Hodgkinson claims specific parcels of freehold as heir at law to his sister, which is a question of title that a jury on the island could try, and James Crafford's presence supplies the one witness who could speak to the marriage and the descent. Johnson's claim is a money demand against an estate the Company had already been asked to direct, and the council had refused Richard Beale a new trial on 29 October 1734 on exactly that ground, holding that it would behave indifferently between the parties until plainer directions came. Sending a claim to London rather than trying it was in practice a refusal dressed as a referral. Beale's dispute over Jonathan Beale's land had gone to the Company three times, and he complained on 22 October 1734 that a delay of that kind cost twelve months where his own petition might reach London in four. Johnson has now waited eight months for an answer that defers him further, and his petition says as much. Nothing can be distributed from the Powell estate while the caveats stand. Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson each entered one against Richard Goodwin's admission on 21 October 1735, and Goodwin then renounced the executorship altogether on 2 March 1736, pleading weakness and infirmity. The largest fortune in this record therefore has no lawful representative at all, the children holding the property in fact, and every claimant is pressing for a determination that no one has authority to execute. |
106 | 98 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] At a Court of Judicature held on Thursday 24th June at the Chappell in the Fort Valley Present Capt Hunt Commander of the Marlborough Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & Judge John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe Assistants The Court being opened as usual the following Persons were Sworn of the Jury Vizt Isaac Wood, Foreman Thomas Lasthope William Bromham Francis Furze James Vaughn John Brown Francis Wrangham Samuel Drinton William Seale Senr John Bagley Jonathan Higham junr John Seale The Governour then gave them the following Charge Vizt Gentlemen, It is now three Years since wee held our last Court of Judicature & am very glad that wee have not been obliged to hold Courts of this nature oftener & hope that those Affairs that have occasioned us to meet now together will not be tedious or difficult to determine Here will come some Disputes about the Possession of Land of which you were need but very little Instructions, let every every Man who is of the Jury lay his hand on his heart on this occasion & say that by & do his Assistance he will freely & truely give an impartiall Judgment as his Verdict & that he will do in this as in as such Cases he would desire himself & to be done by Gentlemen this is a Golden Rule & he who observes it truely will never greatly Err As to matters of Law I will Assist & Inform you in the best manner I can with a hearty Integrity & having no other View but the happynesse & Prosperity of this Place in which I hope without any doubting you will all be willing to Assist me & therefore I will not tire you with long Repetitions of what is your Duty & your Interest At the last Court the bad Morals of some few People on this Place was recommended to my Care some heinous & Unchast Liberties did begin to Spread among us but finding that good Counsell & fair Perswasion had not that Effect which wee hoped from it, wee have since Resolved to use more Severity with those who will be unhappy & I hope wee may all receive some good Effects from that Satisfaction already, & that these Unthinking People do some of them amend & write from bitter & in order to their good end Gentlemen let us all endeavour by our own good Examples to promote the publick weal & Safety in all things, let us fear | At a court of judicature held on Thursday 24 June at the chapel in the fort valley, Governor Pyke sat as judge, with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp as assistants, together with Captain Stewart, commander of the Marlborough. The court was opened in the usual way and the following persons were sworn of the jury. Isaac Wood, foreman Thomas Lawthorp William Burnham Francis Funge James Vaughan John Brown Francis Wrangham Samuel Doveton William Seale senior John Bagley Jonathan Higham junior John Seale The Governor then delivered his charge to the jury. He observed that three years had gone by since the last court of judicature, and said he was very glad that courts of that kind had not been needed more often. He hoped the business that had brought them together would prove neither tedious nor difficult to settle. Some disputes would come before them about the possession of land, on which he needed to give very little instruction. He asked every man of the jury to lay his hand on his heart and to say to himself that with God's help he would give an honest and truthful judgement, doing as he would wish to be done by were he in the same case. That, he said, was a golden rule, and no man who followed it truly would ever go far wrong. On matters of law he undertook to assist and inform them as well as he could and with entire sincerity, having no object in view but the happiness and prosperity of the island in which he lived. He had no doubt of their willingness to assist him, and would therefore not weary them with long repetitions of what was their duty and their own interest. At the last court the bad morals of a few people on the island had been placed in his care, some of them having begun to spread licentious habits among the inhabitants. Kindly advice and fair persuasion had not produced the effect the council hoped for, so it had since resolved to treat such people more severely. Some improvement had already followed, and he hoped that further good effects might come from that severity, so that thoughtless people might amend their lives. He closed by asking the jury to join him in promoting the public good and the safety of the island in everything, by their own good example, and to let them fear God [...] Interpretations Three years without a court of judicature is a remarkable statement about the island's legal business, and Governor Pyke offered it as a boast. The general sessions of 2 July 1733 was the last such sitting, and he congratulated that jury on the same point, saying so few courts had been needed since his arrival. Courts on St Helena cost the island a day's labour from a dozen substantial planters at a season when the shipping was in the road, so their rarity was a practical benefit as well as a claim about good order. Sitting in the chapel rather than in a courthouse was necessity rather than choice. The sessions house had fallen down and become useless by 2 July 1733, and the country chapel had stood without a roof for two or three years by January 1733, the vestry pleading that the people were too poor to rebuild it and offering to do so if a fit minister were sent. The fort chapel roof itself fell in entirely on the night of 2 December 1734, so the building housing this court had been repaired within the previous eighteen months. A ship's commander sitting alongside the council was standard practice at proceedings the Company would later read. Captain Jenkins of the Harrington sat on 12 February 1734 when the Coles land was determined, and three commanders were present on 20 May 1731 when Chaplain George White was ordered to pay Anne Lane's passage. An outside signature on the record answered any suggestion that the island decided such matters among relations, which was precisely Mary Powell's stated reason for refusing arbitration. The reference to bad morals connects this charge directly to the winter's business. The Governor reported on 3 February 1736 that lewdness and debauchery had spread to a great degree and asked every councillor for a written opinion on measures against it, receiving answers on 10 February that proposed graded fines, corporal punishment where a man could not pay, and household discipline over young people. His claim that severity had produced some amendment rests on a thin record: James Powell's imprisonment and maintenance order, and the examination of Mary Girling on 5 May 1736, in which Joshua Worrall retracted his promise of marriage. Every man on this jury holds land, and several of them appear throughout the record as appraisers, executors and surveyors. Isaac Wood as foreman was one of the five sworn commissioners who valued Mary Powell's estate at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October 1735, and Francis Wrangham, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton and Joshua Johnson made up the rest of that commission. With the disputes over that estate now set down for trial, the same small circle of men who valued it will decide who takes it. |
107 | 99 | God & pray for the Prosperity of the Honble East India Company Let us be Steady & be industrious to promote the flourishing State of this Island by discouraging Sloth & Idlenes & let everyone of us resolve to amend one & then let all that hope to live & see happy times join with me in discouraging all lewd & vicious Practises here, & heartily say God bless King George & all his Royal Family forever Amen. After this the following Declaration of Joseph Bates was read Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour & the Councill The humble Declaration & Complaint of Jos: Bates Guardian of his eldest Son Edward Bates Sheweth That by force & Vertue of a Deed of Gift from Joseph Coles late of this Island but now at Bencoolen bearing date the 2d day of Novr 1731 your Complainants said Son & his heirs are Entitled to Thirty Acres of Freehold Land & a dwelling house with the Appurtenances to each of them belonging Situated in that part of this Island called Sandybay but the said Joseph Coles having lately claimed the same since the Death of Bridget formerly Wife of Joseph Coles deceased & Mother of him the said Joseph Coles by her said Husband Joseph Coles & many doubts having risen relating to the Right to the said Land & Premises Your Complainant therefore humbly prays that the Right of his Son may be now tried & decided by this Court & Jury, before whom Your Complainant is ready to produce ample proof in Support of his Sons lawfull Claim Joseph Bates St Helena 12 June 1736 In Support of this Claim the said Bates desired the Deed of Gift of Joseph Coles & the last Will of Bridget his late Wife might be read (both of which are Entered in our Consultation of the 19th Febry 1732) & they were read Accordingly & the sd Bates was asked whether he had any thing more to offer or not, he did not, then Capt Goodwin Attorney of the sd Joseph Coles presented a Paper which he desired might be read & the same was done accordingly & is as follows Vizt I am Attorney for Mr Joseph Coles at Bencoolen & have taken particular notice of all the Writings which have been read & all the Arguments which have been made use of relating to this matter & from thence am convinced that the sd Coles is legally & undoubtedly Entitled to the House & Land with the other Premises in dispute for it appears that by the Deed of Gift is of it self Void thereby Supposing the Gift to be Valid & that the mother of the said Mr Coles hath thereby power to bequeath the same to whom she would she accordingly gave it to his two Sons who both died very young & Consequently to being the Eldest brother is of Course heir to his Sisters upon their Death the Land unquestionably returns to him who was the first Donor thereof & gave it to his Mother in Compassion to her & the Circumstances of his young brothers & Sisters who at the time the Deed of Gift was made were in a low & Precarious Condition & this Case being very clear the Gentlemen of the Jury ought to find for the said Joseph Coles After this the Jury withdrew & in about a Quarter of an hour | Governor Pyke closed his charge by asking the jury to fear God and to pray for the prosperity of the Honourable East India Company. He urged them to be industrious in promoting the flourishing state of the island by discouraging sloth and idleness, and to resolve on their own amendment. Everyone who hoped to live in happier times should join him in checking every lewd and vicious course, and he ended by wishing God's blessing on King George and all the royal family for ever. The declaration of Joseph Bates was then read. Bates complained as guardian of his eldest son Edward Bates. He set out that under a deed of gift from Joseph Coles, late of the island but now at Bencoolen, dated 2 November 1721, his son and his son's heirs were entitled to thirty acres of leasehold land with a dwelling house and the appurtenances belonging to each of them, lying in the part of the island called Sandy Bay. Joseph Coles had lately claimed the same land since the death of Bridget, formerly the wife of John Coles, deceased, and mother of Joseph Coles by her husband John Coles, and many doubts had arisen about the right to the land and premises. He asked that his son's right be tried and settled by the court and jury, before whom he was ready to produce ample proof in support of his claim. The declaration was dated at St Helena on 22 June 1736 and signed by Joseph Bates. In support of the claim Bates asked that the deed of gift of Joseph Coles and the will of his late wife Bridget be read, both of which had been entered in the consultation of 12 February 1734. They were read accordingly, and Bates was asked whether he had anything further to offer, to which he answered that he had not. Captain Goodwin, attorney to Joseph Coles, produced a paper and asked that it be read, which was done. He stated that as attorney for Joseph Coles at Bencoolen he had taken particular notice of every writing read and of every argument advanced, and was satisfied that Coles was legally and undoubtedly entitled to the house and land in dispute. His first reason was drawn from the deed of gift itself, which supposed the gift to be valid and that the mother of Joseph Coles had power to bequeath the land to whichever of her sons she chose. She had accordingly given it to those who both died very young, and consequently to their eldest brother, who is of course heir to his sisters. On their death the land unquestionably returned to the man who was the original donor of it, and who had given it to his mother out of compassion for her and for the circumstances of his younger brothers and sisters, who were at the time the deed was made in a low and precarious condition. He held the case very clear and thought the gentlemen of the jury ought to find for Joseph Coles. After this the jury withdrew, and in about a quarter of an hour returned [...] Interpretations Bates brings this claim as guardian rather than in his own right, which is the only footing left to him. The council determined on 12 February 1734, reading the act of 11 Henry VII chapter 20 with the act for settling intestates' estates, that his children by Bridget had no right at all to John Coles's land, and letters of administration went to Captain Goodwin on 7 May 1734 as attorney for the absent heir. Suing in a child's name puts the same claim before a jury of the island rather than before the council that has already refused it. The deed of gift of 2 November 1721 is the instrument on which every party has relied and each has read differently. Matthew Mudge alleged on 19 February 1734 that Bridget Bates extracted it from Joseph Coles by threats, Coles having left for England and then Bencoolen soon afterwards. Its terms gave the land to five named brothers and sisters with survivorship after the mother's death and empowered her to distribute or sell it, and Bridget's own will of 2 January 1734 gave the thirty acres to her daughters Eleanor and Elizabeth on their paying £35 0s 0d apiece to William Coles and Mary Savage. Goodwin's argument turns the deed against the man who relies on it. If the gift was good, then the mother's power to distribute was good, and the land passed to the two daughters she chose; both died young and intestate and childless, so it descended to their eldest brother as heir at law, who happens to be the original donor. That reasoning drew John Alexander's open dissent on 12 February 1734, when he held that a man who had given land away could never inherit it again, and Governor Pyke answered that Coles took by a fresh right as heir to his sisters rather than by the old one. Reading a paper into the record rather than arguing from the floor was the practice throughout these proceedings, and it served the absent party. Joseph Coles is at Bencoolen and cannot be heard, so his attorney's written case goes to London with the rest of the file, where the Company can weigh it against the deed and the will already entered on 12 February 1734. A verdict returned in a quarter of an hour on a title dispute running fifteen years reflects how thoroughly the ground had been covered. The council had heard three competing claims to the same thirty acres on 12 February 1734, taken Matthew Mudge's petition on 19 February, exposed John Savage's concealed letter of attorney the same day, and granted administration on 7 May. The jury had the deed, the will, the council's earlier determination and Goodwin's paper, and very little was left for it to decide. |
108 | 100 | returned & gave their Verdict in behalf of Jos: Coles the Defendant. A Petition of James Crafford was presented & read praying that he might have a Copy of the Declaration of John Hodghinson who claimes 21½ Acres of Freehold Land & other Estates which the said Crafford alledged belong to him & that he might have farther time to prepare & defend his Right he having not received any Notice of Tryal till on Tuesday last, & at his desire the Court was Adjourned till Saterday the 3d July next. At this time Mr Rich: Beale desired leave to read to the Court & Jury a State of his Case in Answer to the Letter lately sent to the Honble Company by Charles Steward & James Powell & he read the same accordingly & desired that the same might be transmitted to the Honble Company & he was promised that the same should be sent to them in our Packet with our other Papers. The Case of the said Richard Beale is as follows Vizt | The jury returned and gave its verdict for Joseph Coles, the defendant. A petition from James Crafford was presented and read. He asked for a copy of the declaration of John Hodgkinson, who claimed 21.5 acres of freehold land and other property that Crafford maintained belonged to him. He also asked for further time to prepare and defend his right, having received no notice of the trial until the preceding Tuesday. At his request the court was adjourned to Saturday 3 July. Richard Beale then asked leave to read to the court and jury a statement of his case, answering the letter lately sent to the Honourable Company by Charles Steward and James Powell. He read it accordingly and asked that it be transmitted to the Company, and he was promised that it would go to them in the council's packet with its other papers. The case of Richard Beale was entered as follows. Interpretations The verdict closes a dispute the council first determined more than two years earlier and confirms it in the one forum Joseph Bates had not yet tried. The council held on 12 February 1734 that Bates's children had no right to John Coles's land, and granted administration to Captain Goodwin as attorney for the absent heir on 7 May 1734. Bringing the same claim before a jury in his son's name was Bates's last route, and its failure ends fifteen years of contention over the thirty acres in Sandy Bay. Crafford's complaint of short notice goes to a real difficulty of litigation on the island. Hodgkinson petitioned on 15 June 1736 to have his right tried at the next sessions, stating that Crafford was now on the island, and the court sat nine days later. Land titles here rested on deeds long lost, on marriages two generations back and on what the register happened to hold, so a defendant needed time to search, exactly as Captain Alexander asked time to search the books on 6 February 1733 when Isaac Wood's title came in question. Beale's statement is answering an attack made behind his back. He petitioned on 12 November 1735 that James Powell and Charles Steward had written home by the last shipping accusing him of false representations to the Company, and asked leave to search the public papers to clear himself; on 18 November he was told he must clear himself of that charge before anything could be done for his relief. Reading his case openly before a court and jury, and having it entered in the record that goes to London, answers the accusation in the only place where it can do him any good. Nothing Beale reads can bind the court, since his claim to thirty acres of the Powell estate stands referred to the Company and has done since 29 October 1734. The council refused him a new trial then, holding that it would behave indifferently between the parties until plainer directions came, and refused again on 21 October 1735 when his petition was set down for a month ahead. Transmission to London is the whole remedy he obtains here, which is what he has obtained at every earlier stage. |
109 | 101 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 29 June & on Thursday 1 July 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The Consultation on Tuesday last & the Proceedings at the Court of of Judicature held on Thursday last were this day read after which the Governour desired that each of the Councill would Severally give his Opinion whether Mr Beale had proved all the Allegations maintained in the State of his Case, & they were unanimously of Opinion that he had fully proved the same & that he had also disproved every thing alledged by the Steward & Powell, in their Letter to the Honble Company referred to in the State of the said Beales Case & the Governour himself likewise declared that he was of the same Opinion with the rest of the Gentlemen of Councill The Governour also farther declared that Joseph Bates had shewed himself a Litigious Man and deserved to be fined for an unjustly promoting Vexatious Suits, but in regard the Money due from him to the heirs of the Defendant is yet unpaid he thinks it well enough to let him alone a little longer On the 23 instant the Marlborough arrived here from Bengall with the following Supply Vizt Selling prices 6d ⅌ Gallt Batavia Arrack 400 Gall 77 6 ⅌ Ct ⅌ un Rice 29 Bags qty 71. 3. 15 95 13 3 6d ⅌ 100 Sugar 10 Bags qty 14. 2. 19 99 2d ⅌ lb Candles 2 Chests qty 2. 2. 19 136 Charges Merchandize 43 6 Rupees 450 13 9 Mr Everest died on Saterday last the 26th instant & this day Capt Alexander & Mr Richard Goodwin his Executors for such effects as he might leave behind him at St Helena produced the last Will & Testament by him made at Bencoolen which they desired might be Registered for fear any Accident should happen to the Originall & the same is as follows Vizt In the Name of God, Amen I Francis Everest of Fort Marlborough in the East Indies Merchant being in good health of body & of Sound & perfect Mind & Memory Praised be Almighty God, but considering the Certainty of death & Uncertainty of the time thereof I do therefore make & declare my last Will & Testament in manner & form following that is to say, First & Principally I recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God my Creator, hoping & assuredly believing, by & through the merits Death & Passion of my Saviour & Redeemer, Jesus Christ to attain full Pardon & free Remission of all my Sins & to inherit Eternal Life, my body I commit to the Earth in hopes of a Joyfull Resurrection, & to as | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 29 June and on Thursday 1 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the consultation held the previous Tuesday and the proceedings of the court of judicature held the previous Thursday were read and approved. The Governor then asked each councillor to give his opinion separately on whether Richard Beale had proved the allegations in his statement of the case. They were unanimous that he had fully proved them, and that he had also answered everything alleged by Charles Steward and James Powell in their letter to the Company, to which the statement replied. The Governor declared that he was of the same opinion as the rest of the council. He added that Joseph Bates had shown himself a litigious man, determined to defend an unjust claim by pressing vexatious suits, but that as the money due from him to the heirs of the dead Spaniard remained unpaid, he thought it enough to let him alone a little longer. The Marlborough arrived from Bengal on 23 June with the following supply. Batavia arrack, 160 gallons, 77 rupees Rice, 49 bags weighing 71 maunds 3 seers 15 chittacks, 95 rupees 13 annas 3 pies Sugar, 10 bags weighing 14 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 99 rupees Candles, 2 chests weighing 2 maunds 2 seers 19 chittacks, 136 rupees Charges merchandise, 43 rupees 0 annas 6 pies Total, 450 rupees 13 annas 9 pies The selling prices set in the margin were arrack at 6s 4d the gallon, rice at 15s the hundred, sugar at 6d the pound and candles at 2s the pound. Francis Everest died on Saturday 26 June, and on the day of the consultation Captain Alexander and Richard Goodwin were appointed trustees for whatever effects he might leave behind on St Helena. They produced his last will and testament, made at Bencoolen, and asked that it be registered in case any accident should happen to the original. Its terms were as follows. Francis Everest of Fort Marlborough in the East Indies, merchant, being in good health of body and of sound and perfect mind and memory, praised be Almighty God, and considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of its hour, made and declared his last will and testament in the manner and form following. He first and principally recommended his soul into the hands of Almighty God his creator, hoping and firmly believing, through the merits, death and passion of his only saviour and redeemer Jesus Christ, to obtain full pardon and free forgiveness of all his sins and to inherit eternal life. His body he committed to the earth in hope of a joyful resurrection, and as to [...] Interpretations Taking each councillor's opinion separately on whether Beale had proved his case follows Governor Pyke's practice with any question he wanted answered on the record rather than by discussion. He used it on the island's waters on 15 August 1732, on runaway slaves on 30 October 1733, on Colonel Gaultier's character on 12 November 1734, on measures against lewdness on 3 February 1736 and on John Long's fitness for labour on 8 June 1736. The device produces four signatures where a general assent produces none, and the whole file goes to London in the packet. The finding clears Beale of the charge that had blocked him for eight months. He was told on 18 November 1735 that he must answer the accusation of false representations before anything could be done for his relief, and Steward and Powell had made that accusation by letter to the Company where he could not see it. A unanimous council now certifies that he answered it, which removes the obstacle without touching the merits of his claim to the thirty acres, still standing referred to London since 29 October 1734. Leaving Bates alone while his debt stands unpaid is a calculation rather than a mercy. He owed £246 19s 2.5d to the heirs of Don John de Mesa y Aniento by the commissioners' account of 28 August 1733, paid £25 0s 0d in June 1734 and another £25 0s 0d in October, and was taken into custody on 2 September 1735 for the balance of £221 19s 2.5d. A man in prison cannot raise money, and his seven acres of freehold, valued by himself at £600 0s 0d on 2 October 1733, remain unsold. Pressing him further would secure nothing the Company could collect. The Marlborough's cargo is notably thinner than the spring consignments, carrying no cloth, no shirts and no stockings where the Godolphin, Captain Broughton's ship, the Wager and the Onslow all brought doosetees or made-up clothing. Five such consignments since late March have now landed enough coarse Bengal cotton and ready-made linen to answer the annual clothing charge that falls each September, so the omission suggests the requirement was met rather than that the supply failed. Appointing trustees for a merchant who died on the island, holding property elsewhere, was the standard protection where an estate had no representative present. The council did the same for Benjamin Flagg, the supercargo found dead aboard a schooner on 31 March 1729, seizing his effects at once rather than leaving them with the master. Registering a copy of a will made at Bencoolen guards against the loss of the only original, an ordinary risk where every document travelled by sea. |
110 | 102 | touching such temporall Estate as God of his Infinite Mercy hath been pleased to bless me with I give devise bequeath & dispose thereof in manner following Imprimis I Will order, direct, & Appoint that all such just Debts as I shall owe at the time of my decease together with my funerall Charges shall be fully paid & Satisfied Item I give devise & bequeath all my Lands and Tenements Situate & being in the Parish of Shoreham in the County of Kent unto my Daughter Mary Paxton Widow of Ralph Paxton decd & to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten, But if the two Sons she now hath or any other the heirs of her body lawfully by any future Marriage should die before they attain the age of Twenty one Years then I give & devise the said Lands and Tenements & Hereditaments as well Freehold as Copyhold & Appurtenances thereunto belonging unto my own Right heirs forever Item I give & Devise all & every my Lands and Tenements & Hereditaments as well Freehold as Copyhold Scituate lying & being in or near Harpstead in the said County of Kent that I shall be Seized or Possessed of Interested in or Entitled unto at the time of my decease, either in Possession, Reversion Remainder, or Expectancy unto my said Daughter the said Mary Paxton & to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten & for want of such Issue or if all such Issue should die before they attain the age of Twenty one years then I give & devise the same Premises also unto my own Right heirs forever Item I give unto my Nephew Samuel Rutter one Thousand Pounds of lawfull Money of Great Brittain Item I give unto my Sister Sarah Watts Wife of Mr John Watts one Hundred Pounds of lawfull Money of Great Britain Item I give unto my Brother in Law the said John Watts Ten Pounds for Mourning Item I give unto my Neice Mary Harvey of Tottenham Ten Pounds for Mourning Item I give unto my Godson Richard Dickenson Son of Mary Dickenson Ten Pounds Item I give unto my Servant Francis John Stanley if he shall be living with me at the time of my decease the Sum of Twenty five Pounds & his entire Freedom Item I give unto my Brother in Law Mr Benjamin Stawkes now Resident of Silibar one Hundred Spanish Dollars Item I give unto my Cousin Mr Joseph Hurlock Factor Sixty Spanish Dollars Item I give unto Mr Charles Barbut Factor & Secretary Sixty Spanish Dollars The Rest Residue & Remainder of my Estate I give devise & bequeath unto my said Daughter the said Mary | Francis Everest went on to dispose of the temporal estate God had blessed him with, in the manner following. He first directed that all his just debts owing at the time of his death, together with his funeral charges, be fully paid and satisfied. He gave all his lands and tenements at Stockdale in the parish of Streatham in the county of Kent to his daughter Mary Paxton, widow of Ralph Paxton, and to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten. Should the two sons she then had, or any other children of hers by a future marriage, die before reaching twenty-one, he gave those lands, tenements and hereditaments, freehold and copyhold alike, with all the appurtenances belonging to them, to his own right heirs for ever. He gave all his lands, tenements and hereditaments, freehold and copyhold, lying in or near Harpstead in the same county of Kent, of which he stood seised or possessed, or in which he had any interest or entitlement at the time of his death, whether in possession, reversion, remainder or expectancy, to the same daughter Mary Paxton and to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten. For want of such issue, or should all such issue die before reaching twenty-one, he gave the same property to his own right heirs for ever. He gave to his nephew Samuel Rutter £1,000 0s 0d of lawful money of Great Britain. He gave to his sister Sarah Watts, wife of John Watts, £100 0s 0d of lawful money of Great Britain. He gave to his brother-in-law John Watts £10 0s 0d for mourning. He gave to his niece Mary Harvey of Tottenham £10 0s 0d for mourning. He gave to his godson Richard Dickenson, son of Mary Dickenson, £10 0s 0d. He gave to his servant Francis John Stanley, if he should be living with him at the time of his death, £25 0s 0d and his freedom. He gave to his brother-in-law Benjamin Stanhope, now resident at Ellcaw, 100 Spanish dollars. He gave to his cousin Joseph Hurlock 60 Spanish dollars. He gave to Charles Barbut, factor and secretary, 60 Spanish dollars. The rest, residue and remainder of his estate he gave, devised and bequeathed to his daughter Mary Paxton [...] Interpretations Copyhold was land held by the custom of a manor rather than by freehold title, the tenant's right being recorded in the manor court roll and evidenced by a copy of that entry. It could not be conveyed like freehold and passed according to the custom of the particular manor, which is why a careful will names it separately. Everest's Kent property therefore ran under two different systems of tenure at once, and the drafting had to reach both. Being seised of land means holding the freehold in one's own possession, and the distinction from being possessed of it matters because a man might hold an interest that had not yet fallen in. Reversion is the right to take property back when a lesser interest ends, remainder the right of a person to take after a prior interest, and expectancy a right that depends on some future event. Naming all four covers whatever Everest held in Kent without his needing to know its precise state from Bencoolen. The freedom given to Francis John Stanley alongside £25 0s 0d identifies him as a slave rather than a hired servant, and the condition that he still be living with Everest at the death protects the bequest against a man sold on in the meantime. Manumission by will was the ordinary route to freedom in the Company's eastern settlements, and its appearance here is worth noting against the council's answer of 30 September 1735 to the executors of John Worrall, that children of a free woman by a slave father were to be taken as slaves and valued into the personal estate. Spanish dollars served as the common trading currency across the Indian Ocean and the Company's settlements, valued on St Helena at between six and eight shillings apiece in the record. Everest's use of sterling for his English legacies and dollars for those falling due in the East reflects where each beneficiary stood rather than any difference in the character of the gift. The scale of the estate places Everest among the wealthiest men whose affairs reach this record. A single legacy of £1,000 0s 0d to a nephew exceeds Gabriel Powell's whole fortune at his death, valued at upwards of £1,200 0s 0d and described as the largest private fortune on the island. A Company merchant at Fort Marlborough could accumulate in a few years what a St Helena planter could not gather in a lifetime, and the contrast explains why so many islanders sought passage to India and why the council treated a voyage there as an opportunity rather than a punishment. |
111 | 103 | Paxton & her Assigns absolutely to her own use & Disposall & her Heirs & And I do hereby make & Appoint my loving Sister Mrs Sarah Watts & my loving Nephew Mr Samuel Rutter joint Executors of this my last Will & Testament, And because my personall Estate consisting of Money & Merchandize being chiefly here upon the Spott, I do hereby for the better management thereof in Case of my Death Nominate & Appoint my Brother in Law Mr Benjamin Hawkes now Resident in Coalroad here, my Cousin Mr Joseph Hurlock Writer, & Mr Charles Barbut Factor & Secretary to be Trustees to this my Will desiring them after my decease to dispose of all my Goods & Effects (except my Cashketts of Rings & Gold medal & Chain which I would have Sent to my Executors in England) to the best Advantage they possibly can, & as soon as they can conveniently either at publick Outcry or otherwise as they shall Judge it may best turn out to the benefit of my Estate the Amount of which together with what ready Money I may die possessed of I request to be paid into the Companies Cash & Certificates thereof to be Sent to the Governour & Councill of Fort St George in order that my Executors abovenamed may receive the same. Lastly I do hereby Revoke Countermand and make Void all former Wills Bequests & Legacies by me at any time heretofore made bequeathed or given And do make & declare this only to be my last Will & Testament. In Witness whereof I the said Francis Everest the Testator have to this my last Will & Testament being contained in one Sheet of Paper Sett my hand & Seale in Fort Marlborough this first day of November Anno Domine One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty four Francis Everest Signed Sealed & Delivered (when no Stampt Paper is to be had) in the Presence of Chas Barbut Secry Thomas Cole, Writer Daniel Coles, Linguist The two following Codicills made by the deceased during his Sickness at this place were this day proved before us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Vizt Whereas I Francis Everest late Governour of Bencoolen have since my Arrivall at St Helena found my Self in a very weak & low Condition & although I have already made my last Will & Testament, yet having omitted Severall things proper to be mentioned therein, I do therefore hereby give & bequeath by this present Codicill which I shall & do desire shall be deemed & taken as part of my said last Will the Severall Legacies following Vizt I give to Capt John Alexander of this Island the Sum of Ten Pounds to be paid immediatly after my decease out of such Effects as I shall leave after my Death I give to the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of this Island one Chest of Batavia Arrack | The residue was given to Mary Paxton and her heirs and assigns absolutely, to her own use and disposal. Francis Everest appointed his sister Sarah Watts and his nephew Samuel Rutter joint executors of the will. Because his personal estate consisted of money and merchandise lying chiefly at Bencoolen, he named his brother-in-law Benjamin Hawkes, then at Ellcaw, his cousin Joseph Hurlock, writer, and Charles Barbut, factor and secretary, as trustees for the better management of it after his death. They were to dispose of all his goods and effects, except a casket of rings and a gold medal and chain, which the trustees were to send to his executors in England, and to sell the rest to the best advantage they could as soon as conveniently possible, either by private contract or by public auction as they judged would turn out best for the benefit of the estate. The proceeds, together with whatever ready money he might be possessed of, were to be paid into the Company's cash, and certificates for the sums sent to the Governor and council of Fort St George, so that his executors named above might receive the amount in England. He revoked all former wills, bequests and legacies made at any time before, and declared this alone to be his last will and testament. It was contained in one sheet of paper, to which he set his hand and seal at Fort Marlborough on 5 November 1734, and was signed by Francis Everest. The will was signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Charles Barbut, secretary, Thomas Cole, writer, and Daniel Cales, linguist, with a note that no stamped paper was to be had there. Two codicils made by the deceased during his illness at St Helena were proved before the council on the oaths of the witnesses to them. Francis Everest, late Governor of Bencoolen, stated that since his arrival at St Helena he had found himself in a very weak and low condition, and that although he had already made his will, several things proper to be mentioned in it had been left out. By the present codicil, which he directed should be taken as part of that will, he gave the following legacies. He gave to Captain John Alexander of the island £4 0s 0d, to be paid immediately after his death out of whatever effects he should leave. He gave to Isaac Pyke, Governor of the island, one chest of Batavia arrack. Interpretations Everest's office is stated only in the codicil, where he describes himself as late Governor of Bencoolen. That places him at the head of the Company's settlement in Sumatra, the same Fort Marlborough to which St Helena had been sending soldiers, slaves and unwanted inhabitants throughout this record: twenty men and ten women slaves ordered in February 1733, John Bowers in 1733, Henry Coles and John Long aboard the Lyell in 1734 and James Powell offered passage there in March 1736. The island knew Bencoolen chiefly as a place of bad diet and heavy mortality, which the seven deserters of March 1731 gave as their reason for hiding among the rocks. Routing the proceeds through the Company's cash at Fort St George was the standard way of moving a fortune from Asia to England without shipping coin. The trustees would pay the money into the Company's treasury at Madras, take certificates for it, and those certificates would be honoured in London against the executors, so the Company effectively carried the value home in its own accounts. The mechanism is the same one used on a smaller scale whenever an islander paid cash notes to the Governor and took bills of exchange drawn on the Company. A linguist among the witnesses identifies Fort Marlborough rather than an English setting. The office was that of an interpreter attached to a factory, essential where the Company's business ran through Malay and Chinese intermediaries, and its holder ranked as a servant of the settlement rather than as a casual hire. The note that no stamped paper was available repeats a difficulty the island knew well. English law required certain instruments to be written on paper carrying a revenue stamp, and a document on plain paper could later be challenged, so Governor Byfield certified beneath William Slaughter's affidavit of 15 April 1729 that none was to be had on the island. The same certificate here protects a will disposing of Kent freeholds and £1,000 0s 0d in legacies against a technical objection raised in England. The two small gifts in the codicil are those of a dying passenger to the men who received him. Four pounds to Captain Alexander and a chest of arrack to Governor Pyke acknowledge hospitality rather than settle any debt, and they stand in odd proportion to the £1,000 0s 0d left to a nephew. Everest died on 26 June 1736, and the council appointed Captain Alexander and Richard Goodwin trustees for his island effects at the consultation of 29 June. |
112 | 104 | I give all other my Liquors of all Sorts to be equally divided between Capt John Alexander & Mr Richard Goodwin both of this Island I desire that the said Capt Alexander & Mr Richard Goodwin will take care that my Black Man named Stanley may be sent to England by the first Opportunity to my Sister Mrs Sarah Watts & to my Nephew Mr Rutter in Fleetstreet I desire that immediately after my decease they the said Capt Alexander & Mr Richard Goodwin whom I hereby Appoint Trustees or Overseers of such Goods or Effects as I shall die possessed of at this place will take an exact Inventory of all such Goods & Effects & send all such thereof which are not perishable) to them the aforesaid Mrs Sarah Watts my Sister & to my Nephew Mr Rutter Surgeon in Fleetstreet who are the Executors of my last Will, & such as are perishable may be sold to the best Advantage for the benefit of my heirs & that out of the produce thereof if Sufficient all my Debts & Funerall Expences & other Charges at St Helena may be fully paid & Satisfied in the usuall & Customary manner, & that the passage of my Man to England may be also paid thereout In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand & Seale at St Helena this 16 day of June 1736. Witness John Bazett, Charles Steward D Crispe Fra: Everest St Helena Memorandum added to the aforesaid Codicill as a Second part thereof That it is my desire Mr John Brown of this Island Surgeon be after my decease reasonably Satisfied by my said Trustees before named for his trouble & attendance in my Sickness That the Worshipfull Governour Mr her Steward & Cook be paid the Sum of four Pounds each & his Footman the Sum of Three Pounds out of my Effects as a present for their trouble & That Mr Richard Goodwins Servant Woman named Meg, & all others in did on & tended me in the time of my present Sickness be likewise reasonably Satisfied by my said Trustees after my decease all which was by me intended to been inserted in the within Codicill (but omitted through hurry) Witnessed as a farther Testimony this 18th day of June 1736 Fra. Everest Signed in the Presence of us John Bazett Charles Steward At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 6 July 1736 Present Isaac Pyke Esqr & the rest of the Councill | Francis Everest gave all his other liquors of every kind to be divided equally between Captain John Alexander and Richard Goodwin, both of the island. He asked that Captain Alexander and Richard Goodwin see that his black man named Stanley be sent to England at the first opportunity, to his sister Sarah Watts and his nephew Rutter in Fleet Street. He asked that immediately after his death Captain Alexander and Richard Goodwin, whom he appointed trustees or overseers of whatever goods and effects he should die possessed of at the island, take an exact inventory of the whole. Everything not perishable was to be sent to his sister Sarah Watts and his nephew Rutter, surgeon, in Fleet Street, who were the executors of his will, and whatever was perishable was to be sold to the best advantage for the benefit of his heirs. Out of the proceeds all his debts, funeral expenses and other charges at St Helena were to be fully paid and settled in the usual way, and the passage of his man to England was also to be paid from the same source. The codicil was dated at St Helena on 16 June 1736 and signed by Francis Everest, witnessed by John Bazett, Charles Steward and Duke Crisp. A memorandum was added to that codicil as a further part of it. Everest asked that John Brown, surgeon of the island, be reasonably satisfied by the trustees after his death for his trouble in attending him during his illness. He asked that the Governor's steward and cook each be paid £4 0s 0d, and his footman £3 0s 0d, out of his effects as a present for their trouble. He asked that Richard Goodwin's servant woman named Meg, and all others who had waited on him during his illness, be likewise reasonably satisfied by the trustees after his death. He stated that all of this ought to have been included in the codicil written earlier that day, but had been left off through hurry, and that he now witnessed it as further testimony on 18 June 1736. It was signed by Francis Everest in the presence of John Bazett and Charles Steward. At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with the rest of the council. Interpretations The direction to send Stanley to England is an instruction to move a man as property, and it sits alongside the earlier bequest in the will of £25 0s 0d and his freedom, given on condition he was still living with Everest at the death. Read together, the two provisions leave the man's status depending on where he was in June 1736: a servant named in the will was to be freed, while the man named here is to be shipped to the executors like the goods that go with him. The council recorded both without comment, having itself ruled on 30 September 1735 that children of a free woman by a slave father were to be taken as slaves and valued into the personal estate. Dividing the perishable from the non-perishable is the working problem of settling any estate on St Helena. Goods spoiled quickly in a damp climate and there was no market on the island for anything fine, so the standard course was to sell what would not travel and ship the rest, exactly as the council directed with Benjamin Flagg's estate on 8 April 1729, ordering the household goods and wearing apparel sold at auction on the next muster day when the assembly would be largest. Paying the local debts and the funeral out of the sale proceeds before anything crossed to England protected the island rather than the estate. Creditors here had no practical remedy against executors in Fleet Street, and the council had learned that from the Mesa estate, where Joseph Bates was ordered on 3 May 1731 to render his bill and repay the balance to the Company for heirs at Manila and Tenerife who could never have pursued him. The small legacies to servants who nursed him show how a dying stranger's care was arranged on an island with no infirmary for passengers. The Governor's own steward, cook and footman attended him, along with a servant woman belonging to Richard Goodwin, and the surgeon John Brown was to be satisfied separately. Brown had performed the same office for Don John de Mesa y Aniento in February 1731 and deposed on oath about the dying man's wishes, which is why a will properly witnessed and a codicil recording every attendant mattered so much here. Duke Crisp witnessed the codicil of 16 June and Charles Steward both instruments, so two men closely involved in the island's own contested estates stood as witnesses to a stranger's will. The council took care that the whole should be regular, since the memorandum of 18 June exists only because Everest realised within two days that he had left people out, and a dying man's afterthoughts are exactly what a court in England would examine most closely. |
113 | 105 | This Morning Capt Alexander & Mr Richard Goodwin delivered to us upon Oath the following Inventory of the Money Goods Merchandize & Effects which were in the Possession of Francis Everest Esqr at the time of his death desiring the same might be transmitted to England in our Consultations Vizt An Inventory of the Severall Goods & Effects belonging to Francis Everest Esqr deceased on this Island St Helena taken the 29th & 30th days of June 1736 by Messrs John Alexander & Richard Goodwin Vizt 348 Spanish peices of Eight 5 each 53 Pagodas at 9 each In Small money Eight Shillings 1 Silver Bowl with a Cover 1 ditto Saucepan with ditto 1 old Silver Spoon 1 do Silver Strainer 1 pr ditto Tongs 1 Silver Pint Mug 1 ditto Spitting Pott 1 ditto Small Tobacco Stopper 1 ditto Seale 2 Small Lamps Silver melted qty 3 . 9 dwt 1 Pockett Knife & fork with Silver Handles, & Silver Spoon in a Shagreen Case 12 Knives 12 Forks, Silver Hafts, with 12 large Spoons in a Shagreen Case 1 pr Silver Shoe Buckles wrought 1 Single ditto Knee Buckle A Gold Tweezer Case Tooth Picker &c 2 Gold Seales with a Silver Chain 1 pr Gold Shirt Buttons 1 Silver Neck Buckle 1 do Small Snuff Box Guilt 1 do Small Tooth Picker Case 2 do Chains for Wastcoat Buttons 1 pr ditto Studs for Shirt 1 do Watch Pretty 1 do large Striking do in a Case 1 do Small Oval Ground Snuff Box 1 Small Oval of Tortois Shell adorned with Gold 1 Gold Ring Small ay Chase 11 do more with Sundry Stones & Diamonds Set in a Casket 1 Filligreen Bottle directed to J. Hurlock 1 Gold Medal & ditto Chain Sett with Diamonds 1 pr Gold Sleeve Buttons 2 Gold Stocks 1 old Small Gold Button for a Hatt | Captain Alexander and Richard Goodwin delivered on oath that morning an inventory of the money, goods, merchandise and effects in the possession of Francis Everest at the time of his death, asking that it be entered in the consultations so that it might be sent to England. The inventory of the several goods and effects belonging to Francis Everest, deceased, taken on this island of St Helena on 29 and 30 June 1736 by John Alexander and Richard Goodwin, was as follows. Spanish pieces of eight, 348 at 5s each Pagodas, 53 at 9s each Small money, 8s Silver bowl with a cover, 1 Silver saucepan with a cover, 1 Old silver spoon, 1 Silver strainer, 1 Pair of silver tongs, 1 Silver pint mug, 1 Silver spitting pot, 1 Small silver tobacco stopper, 1 Silver seal, 1 Small silver lamps melted, 2, weighing 7 oz 9 dwt Pocket knife and fork with silver handles and a silver spoon in a shagreen case, 1 Knives with silver hafts, 12 Forks with silver hafts, 12 Large spoons in a shagreen case, 12 Pair of wrought silver shoe buckles, 1 Single silver knee buckle, 1 Gold tweezer case with tooth picker and other pieces, 1 Gold seals with a silver chain, 2 Pair of gold shirt buttons, 1 Silver neck buckle, 1 Small gilt snuff box, 1 Small tooth picker case, 1 Chains for waistcoat buttons, 2 Pair of studs for a shirt, 1 Watch, 1 Large striking watch in a case, 1 Small oval round snuff box, 1 Small oval snuff box of tortoiseshell adorned with gold, 1 Gold ring with a cat's eye, 1 Gold rings set with sundry stones and diamonds, in a casket, 11 Filigree bottle directed to Joseph Hurlock, 1 Gold medal with a chain set with diamonds, 1 Pair of gold knee buckles, 1 Gold stocks, 2 Small gold button for a hat, 1 Interpretations Spanish pieces of eight and pagodas together made up the whole of the ready money, and their valuation here fixes the exchange the council used. Pieces of eight, the silver dollar of the Spanish American mints, circulated throughout the Indian Ocean and the Company's settlements and are entered at five shillings apiece, against the six and eight shillings recorded elsewhere in this run. Pagodas were the gold coin of the Coromandel ports, valued at nine shillings each, and their presence alongside the dollars places Everest's dealings on the eastern trade rather than in sterling. Shagreen was the granular untanned skin of a shark or ray, dyed green and used for the fitted cases in which cutlery, instruments and razors travelled. Its hard pebbled surface resisted damp better than leather, which mattered on a voyage from Sumatra to England, and a case of twelve knives, twelve forks and twelve spoons with silver hafts was the equipment of a man who dined formally at his own table. Silver in this quantity was not simply plate but portable wealth. An island almost without coin held value in worked silver, as Gabriel Powell did in the tankard John Long was charged with stealing in the spring of 1730, and the Greentree inventory of 25 July 1733 valued its silver by weight at five shillings the ounce with no allowance for workmanship. Everest's two small lamps were melted before valuation for exactly that reason, the metal being worth more than the form. The eleven gold rings set with stones and diamonds in a casket answer directly to the will, where Everest directed his trustees at Bencoolen to send a casket of rings and a gold medal and chain to his executors in England rather than sell them with the rest. Those items were reserved from sale because they were family pieces and because their value would not survive an auction on a small island where nobody could pay for them. A striking watch was a considerable rarity, a mechanism that sounded the hours on a bell and cost several times an ordinary watch. Two watches in one man's effects, with gold seals, buckles, studs, stocks and buttons, describe a servant of the Company at the top of its establishment: the whole assemblage would have been worth more than most freeholds on St Helena. |
114 | 106 | 2 Small Bootts Gold Dust qty 7. 12 dwt 1 Lump of Gold melted down 1 Shagreen Case with a Tooth Picker &c 2 Very Small Sparks of Diamonds in a Small Cashett 2 pr Green Glass Spectacles in Cases 1 pr Brass Ports & Waights in a Shagreen Case 1 large Japan Tobacco Box Steele 1 Brown Bottle in a Wooden Case 4 Small Spying Glasses one Ivory 4 Inches long 4 Ivory Ribbcombs 1 Instrument Case for Mariners, Small 2 Small Goa Stones 1 pr Brass Shoe Buckles 2 pr Silver Spurs 1 Silver Lace Sword Knott 1 Mattoy Crest with Silver Sheath & Chain 1 pr Brass Dividers 2 Ivory Rasors & Penknives 1 pr Brass Knee Buckles 2 Small Touch stones 21 Stones for Rings of Severall Colours Books Vizt 1 Common Prayer Book, Small 1 Bible 8vo Davids Psalms 6 Volumes of Doctor South Sermons 8vo 1. 2 Volume of Esops Fables A discourse of Plurality of Worlds 2 Volumes Preservative against unsettled Notions The History of England 8vo Popery truly Stated Church of England Defended against the Church of Rome 1st Volume of the History of the Athenian Society Present State of Great Britain A compleat manuall of private Devotions Devotions &c for every week day The Mariners new Calendar English & Latin Dictionary by N. Bailey A Collection of choice Songs in folio 2 Small Musique Books 1 Mallay & English Dictionary The Tryall of Doctor Henry Sacheverall, folo Whole Duty of Man The English Pilot 1 Fowling Peice with Silver ornaments 1 pr Pistolls Brass Barrills 2 Iron Moulds for Casting Pistol Balls 1 Small Leather Bed | The inventory continued as follows. Small bowls of gold dust, 2, weighing 7 oz 12 dwt Lump of gold melted down, 1 Shagreen case with a tooth picker and other pieces, 1 Very small sparks of diamonds in a small casket Pairs of green glass spectacles in cases, 2 Pair of brass scales and weights in a shagreen case, 1 Large japanned tobacco box, 1 Powder bottle in a wooden case, 1 Small spying glasses in ivory, 4 inches long, 4 Fifteen ribbed combs, 4 Instrument case for mariners, small, 1 Small goa stones, 2 Pair of brass shoe buckles, 1 Pairs of silver spurs, 2 Silver laced sword knot, 1 Malay crease with silver sheath and chain, 1 Pair of brass dividers, 1 Ivory pistol penknives, 2 Pair of brass knee buckles, 1 Small touchstones, 2 Stones for rings of several colours, 21 Common prayer book, small, 1 Bible, octavo, 1 David's Psalms Doctor South's Sermons, 6 volumes, quarto Aesop's Fables, 1 volume, quarto A Discourse of the Plurality of Worlds, 1 Preservative against Unsettled Notions, 2 volumes The History of England, octavo Popery Truly Stated Church of England Defended against the Church of Rome The History of the Athenian Society, 4th volume The Present State of Great Britain A Compleat Manual of Private Devotions Devotions and other pieces for every week day The Mariner's New Calendar English and Latin Dictionary by N. Bailey A Collection of Choice Songs, in folio Small music books, 2 Malay and English Dictionary, 1 The Tryal of Doctor Henry Sacheverell, folio Whole Duty of Man The English Pilot Fowling piece with silver ornaments, 1 Pair of pistols with brass barrels, 1 Iron moulds for casting pistol balls, 2 Small leather bed, 1 Interpretations Goa stones were artificial bezoars, compounded at the Jesuit college at Goa from clay, resins, crushed shell, coral and precious stones, and swallowed or scraped into water as a universal antidote against poison and fever. They were among the costliest medicines of the Indian trade and were often kept in filigree gold cases, which places the filigree bottle entered on the preceding leaf in the same class of possession. A Malay crease is the kris, the asymmetrical dagger of the Malay archipelago carried as a mark of standing as much as a weapon, and its presence with a silver sheath and chain is the clearest sign in the whole inventory that Everest served at Bencoolen rather than in Bengal or on the coast. Touchstones were the dark stones on which gold was rubbed to test its purity by the colour of the streak, and their appearance beside two bowls of gold dust and a melted lump shows a man who assayed his own bullion. The books describe a particular kind of Company servant. Robert South's sermons, the Whole Duty of Man, the manuals of private devotion and the two anti-Roman controversial works make up the standard library of an orthodox Anglican layman, while the printed trial of Henry Sacheverell, impeached in 1710 for preaching against the Revolution settlement, was among the most widely sold political texts of the age. Fontenelle's Discourse of the Plurality of Worlds was the popular astronomy of the period and Bailey's dictionary the usual English reference. Set against them, the Malay dictionary, the Mariner's New Calendar and the English Pilot are the working tools of a man who had to navigate and to govern in a language not his own. The English Pilot was the standard series of printed sea charts and sailing directions for English shipping, and the mariner's instrument case would have held dividers, scales and a protractor. Neither belongs to a passenger. Everest read his own charts, which was ordinary in a merchant who had crossed and recrossed the eastern seas and who could not simply trust whichever commander carried him. Spectacles in green glass were worn against glare rather than for reading, tinted lenses being valued in tropical latitudes where the light off water was punishing. A japanned box was one finished in the hard lacquered style imitated from Asian work, and the small spying glasses of four inches were pocket telescopes. Firearms of this quality, a fowling piece with silver mounts and a pair of brass-barrelled pistols with their own bullet moulds, were the equipment of a gentleman rather than a soldier. Brass barrels resisted the corrosion that ruined iron in a humid climate, which is why they appear so often in the eastern trade, and the moulds allowed a man to cast his own ammunition where none could be bought. |
115 | 107 | 1 ditto Boulster 1 ditto Pillow Ord[...] 1 Cotton Matrass old 1 Cott of Indian Wood 1 Base Viol with a Bow in an old Case 1 old Case with 15. 5 Pint Bottles 1 do do with do 1 Elbow Chair with a Close Stool & Cushion 1 do [...] do with Leather Bottom 1 Small Box Chenaware qty Vizt 1 large Milk Pott or Can 6 Coffee Cups with 8 Saucers 23 Tea Cups with Saucers 3 Tea Potts 2 do Canisters 2 Sneakers 1 Sugar Cup with a Cover 1 Small Milk Pott 1 large Milk Pott one more Japan 1 Small pr brass Scales & Weights in a Box 1 large do with China Weights in ditto 9 Caines Small & short Joynts A parcell Japan Paper in Sheet of Severall Colours 1 large Cryssecker with Wooden Sheath 2 Small do with do 1 do Mounted with Silver, and do 1 Creise [...] with do Wearing Apparell Vizt 1 old Scarlet Coat & Breeches Lined with Black 29 pr Scarlet Worsted Hose 7 pr Coloured ditto do 1 Blew Silk China Banyan 1 blew Silk Taffity Wastcoat Laced with Silver 1 Scarlet Coat & Breeches Embroidered with Silver & Broade Wastcoat Trimmed with Silver 1 old Black Cloth Suit 1 Coat Wastcoat & Breeches dark Coloured Silver Trimmed 1 Velvet Black Coat & Wastcoat 1 black Silk Wastcoat, worne 1 Flowered Silk Morning Gown 1 very old loose Scarlet Coat 1 very old Scarlet Cloake, good for little 1 black Pradesay Coat & Wastcoat not yet finished by the Taylor 4 pr black Silk Embroudered Stockings with Gold & Silver Clocks 1 pr White do do worn 4 Stitcht Wastcoats new 1 Gingham Wastcoat and Stripes 2 do old ditto | The inventory continued as follows. Bolster, 1 Pillow and cover, 1 Cotton mattress, old, 1 Cot of Indian wood, 1 Bass viol with a bow in an old case, 1 Old case with 15 pint bottles, 1 Old case with pint bottles, 1 Elbow chair with a close stool and cushion, 1 Elbow chair with a leather bottom, 1 Small box of chinaware of several weights, 1 Large japanned milk pot or can, 1 Japanned coffee cups with 8 saucers, 6 Japanned tea cups with saucers, 23 Japanned tea pots, 3 Japanned canisters, 2 Japanned sneakers, 2 Japanned sugar cup with a cover, 1 Japanned small milk pot, 1 Japanned large milk pot, 1 Small pair of brass scales and weights in a box, 1 Large pair of brass scales with China weights in a box, 1 Canes, small and short joints, 9 Parcel of japanned paper in sheets of several colours, 1 Large cutlass with a wooden sheath, 1 Small cutlasses with wooden sheaths, 2 Cutlass mounted with silver, 1 Crease with a sheath, 1 Old scarlet coat and breeches lined with black, 1 Pairs of scarlet worsted hose, 29 Pairs of coloured worsted hose, 7 Blue silk China banyan, 1 Blue silk taffety waistcoat laced with silver, 1 Scarlet coat and breeches embroidered with silver, with a broad waistcoat trimmed with silver, 1 Old black cloth suit, 1 Coat, waistcoat and breeches, dark coloured, trimmed with silver, 1 Black velvet coat and waistcoat, 1 Black silk waistcoat, worn, 1 Flowered silk morning gown, 1 Very old coarse scarlet coat, 1 Very old scarlet cloak, made for a little use, 1 Black padusoy coat and waistcoat, not yet finished by the tailor, 1 Pairs of black silk stockings embroidered with gold and silver clocks, 4 Pairs of white silk stockings, worn, 4 New stitched waistcoats, 4 Gingham waistcoat with stripes, 1 Old gingham waistcoats, 2 Interpretations A banyan was the loose gown of Indian cut worn by European men in the East as informal dress at home, taken from the garment of the Gujarati merchants after whom it was named. Together with the flowered silk morning gown it belongs to the private half of Everest's wardrobe, which the inventory sets against the scarlet coats embroidered with silver that he wore as Governor of Bencoolen. Padusoy was a heavy corded silk of considerable cost, and a suit of it left unfinished by the tailor dates his illness precisely: he was still ordering clothes when he reached the island and died before they could be delivered. Clocks on a stocking were the embroidered ornaments running up the ankle, and four pairs of black silk worked in gold and silver represent an expense out of all proportion to anything the island's own inhabitants wore. Japanned ware was lacquered work in the Asian manner, hard finished and resistant to damp, and the run of coffee cups, tea cups, pots, canisters and milk pots amounts to a complete service for both drinks. Sneakers were the small cups used for punch or spirits. Tea and coffee equipage on this scale marks a household that entertained formally, and the china weights in the large scale box indicate that Everest weighed goods by the Chinese standard as well as the English. Twenty-nine pairs of scarlet worsted hose is a quantity no single man could wear out, and stockings of that kind were among the most reliable articles of private trade. Cloth and hosiery held their value across a voyage, took little room and sold readily, which is why shirts and stockings appear as standing lines in the Company's own supplies to St Helena and why the officers' private trade lists entered on 8 May 1736 ran so heavily to textiles. The weapons carried through the inventory reflect where he had served rather than any expectation of fighting. Cutlasses were the short broad-bladed swords of shipboard and settlement use, and a second Malay kris appears here alongside the one already entered with its silver sheath. A bass viol in an old case belongs to another side of the same man, an instrument brought out from England for private music and answering the two small music books and the collection of choice songs listed among his books. |
116 | 108 | 5 plain white ditto old 2 pr do Breches old 2 do Banyans very old 1 old Dimothy Wastcoat 3 pr white Musquitto Drawers 3 pr more 2 do 1 Gingham Banyan Quilted old 1 do Gown do 1 pr White Silk Stockings worne 2 pr black do do 1 pr worn 1 pr Coloured do much worn 3 pr old Cotton do Stockings 2 old Tie Wigs 5 Bob ditto 1 Gold Laced Hatt 2 Silver Laced do 3 pr Shoes new 8 lb Wig Powder Linen &ca 26 new Shirts Ruffled 10 old Shirts plain 1 Shirt worn 3½ pr do Gingham ques not yet made up 8 Neck Stocks very old 9 White Caps 7 Coloured do 6 Red Chequed Handkercheifs 6 do more do blue & Red 4 old Towells Peice Goods &ca 2 pr Ordry China Brocade 1 ps Crimson Padesoy 1 ps Duroy 2 ps Ordry Carriderries 4 Yards black Shagreen 7 Yards black Padesoy 1 Small Parcell marked F. E. Supposed Madrass Cloth 1 Small oval Looking Glass in a Shagreen Case About 12 lb white Paper in a bag, &c 1 Small bag Coffee 1 Small Lacquered oval Box for Thread &ca 3 old Small hand Escrutoires 1 Deske Indian, old 1 large Chest do 3 old thin Deale Boxes good for little 2 Small coarse China Jarrs 1 Small pr brass Candlesticks | The inventory continued as follows. Plain white waistcoats, old, 5 Pairs of old breeches, 2 Old banyans, 2 Old dimity waistcoat, 1 Pairs of white musquito drawers, 3 Pairs more of the same, 3 Gingham banyan, quilted, old, 1 Gingham gown, old, 1 Pair of white silk stockings, worn, 1 Pairs of black silk stockings, 2, one pair worn Pair of coloured silk stockings, much worn, 1 Pairs of old cotton stockings, 3 Old tie wigs, 2 Bob wigs, 5 Gold laced hat, 1 Silver laced hats, 2 Pairs of shoes, new, 3 Wig powder, 8 lb New ruffled shirts, 26 Old plain shirts, 10 Sheet, worn, 1 Pairs of gingham drawers not yet made up, 3.5 Neck stocks, very old, 8 White caps, 9 Coloured caps, 7 Red chequered handkerchiefs, 6 Handkerchiefs of blue and red, 6 Old towels, 4 Pieces of ordinary China brocade, 2 Piece of crimson padusoy, 1 Piece of duroy, 1 Corge of ordinary carridarries, 2 Yards of black shagreen, 4 Yards of black padusoy, 7 Small parcel marked F. E., supposed madras cloth, 1 Small oval looking glass in a shagreen case, 1 White pepper in a bag, about 12 lb Small bag of coffee, 1 Small lacquered oval box for thread and other things, 1 Old small hand escritoires, 3 Indian desk, old, 1 Large chest of Indian wood, 1 Old thin deal boxes, good for little, 3 Small coarse China jars, 2 Small pair of brass candlesticks, 1 Interpretations Musquito drawers were loose white cotton trousers worn in bed against biting insects, a purely eastern article of dress that no St Helena inventory of a local inhabitant records. Their appearance in six pairs, alongside quilted banyans and gingham gowns, describes the private clothing of a man who had spent years in Sumatra rather than the wardrobe of a visitor. Tie wigs and bob wigs were the two working forms of the periwig, the first gathered behind with a ribbon and the second cut short with a rolled curl, and eight pounds of wig powder shows the establishment they required. Powdering was a daily business needing a servant, and Everest's codicil of 18 June 1736 asked that the Governor's steward, cook and footman be paid for their trouble during his illness. The piece goods entered separately from the wearing apparel are private trade rather than personal property. Two pieces of China brocade, a piece of crimson padusoy, a piece of duroy, two corge of carridarries and cut lengths of shagreen and padusoy are the stock a Company servant carried on his own account under his tonnage allowance, exactly like the goods Captain Raymond, Mr Hume, Mr Doran and Joseph Hindman registered on 8 May 1736. Duroy was a stout west country worsted, so the parcel mixes English cloth carried east with eastern cloth carried west. Twenty-six new ruffled shirts against ten old plain ones make the same point in a different form. Ruffled linen was formal wear and a man could not use twenty-six shirts before they yellowed, so the quantity belongs with the twenty-nine pairs of scarlet worsted hose entered earlier: goods bought to sell in England rather than to wear. An escritoire was a small writing cabinet with a fall front and compartments for papers, and three of them with an Indian desk describe the working furniture of a merchant whose fortune existed chiefly on paper. His will directed that the proceeds of his estate be paid into the Company's cash at Bencoolen with certificates sent to Fort St George, so the documents these boxes held were worth more than everything else in the inventory. Twelve pounds of white pepper and a small bag of coffee are the residue of a private venture rather than household stores. Pepper was the staple of the Bencoolen trade, that settlement existing chiefly to secure a supply after the Dutch closed Bantam to the English, so a former Governor of the place carrying a personal parcel of it home needs no other explanation. |
117 | 109 | 1 Small Chest Ordry Wee have not Valued the aforesaid particulars because the true Valuee is not know by us as the Severall Rings Medal & & We attest this to be a true Inventory of every thing that came to our Sight or knowledge Witnessed this first day of July 1736 &c Jno Alexander Richd Goodwin Trustees N: B: Wee have given John Stanley his man Sobra & his Cloths Linen, &c belonging to his Master the said deceased Francis Everest to Serve him in his Passage to England, which he says is not enough to keep him Clean. At a Consultation held on Fryday 2 July 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Pegg Black Wench belonging to John Long being Sent the said Master to Mr Ryders for Yams on Monday Sennight who are Wench Abigail & her carrying two the day before being Sunday by giving her Rice & then on ingaging her to promise to Steale her Masters Yams & to deliver them for the Use of the said Long whenever he would Send for them, saith that she was by degrees to this Agreement between Abigail & her master & by his Order she went twice to Ryders once on Monday was Sennight & again on Tuesday last & Abigail gave her a bag of Yams on each time but it being late she made it Saturday Morning before she returned & then her Master beat her up, & whipt her Severely because he said by her long Stay he was afraid she had been catched & for that reason he cocked & Slept all night & upon this she went to Mr Ryder on Monday & told him the whole Story hoping he would have acquainted the Governour therewith but beleiving he had not she finds herself obliged to complain thereof being determined never more to Rob or Steale by Order of her Master or Mistress beleiving they have not Power to Command her to do so, & Pegg further saith, that in the Month of May last within a Fortnight one of the other her Master Pounded near his House three or four Goates some of which belonged to Mr Desfountains & at this first time he killed a fine young black | The inventory closed with one small chest of drawers. The trustees stated that they had put no valuation on the goods, since the true value of the several rings, the medal and other such items was not known to them. They attested it a true inventory of everything that came to their sight or knowledge, and witnessed it on 1 July 1736. It was signed by John Alexander and Richard Goodwin as trustees. A note was added that they had given John Stanley, the man belonging to the deceased Francis Everest, some of his master's clothes and linen to serve him on his passage to England, which Stanley said was not enough to keep him clean. At a consultation held at the castle on Friday 2 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Peg, a slave woman belonging to John Long, was sent by her master to Mr Ryder's for yams on the Monday a week earlier. Abigail, a slave woman there, had been persuaded the Sunday before by a gift of rice, and had promised to steal her master's yams and to deliver them for Long's use whenever he sent for them. Peg stated that she was privy to the agreement between Abigail and her master, and that she went twice to Ryder's by his order, once on the Monday a week earlier and again on the Tuesday. Abigail gave her a bag of yams on each occasion, but the second being late, she stayed until Saturday morning before returning. Her master then beat her severely for the delay, saying he was afraid she had been caught. For that reason she hid in the kitchen and slept there all night. She then went to Ryder on the Monday and told him the whole story, hoping he would inform the Governor of it. Believing that he had not, and that she was obliged to complain of the matter herself, she was determined never to rob or steal again by order of her master or mistress, believing they had no power to command her to do so and to pay for it. She further stated that in May the previous year, within a fortnight, her master had pounded near his house three or four goats, some of them belonging to Mr Defountaine, and that on the first occasion he killed a fine young black [...] Interpretations Declining to value the goods was the honest course for two men who had no means of pricing eleven gold rings, a diamond-set medal or a Malay kris with a silver sheath. The council's usual practice was to appraise every item, as the five sworn commissioners did with Mary Powell's estate on 21 October 1735, but appraisers value what a local market will bear and there was no such market here. Sending the inventory unpriced to England put the valuation where the goods themselves were going. Stanley's complaint that the clothes given him were not enough to keep him clean is a slave's protest entered in the record without comment. Everest's will had left him £25 0s 0d and his freedom if he were still living with him at the death, and the codicil of 16 June 1736 directed that he be sent to England to the executors in Fleet Street with his passage paid from the estate. The trustees treated him as cargo to be provisioned rather than as a legatee with a claim, and the note stands as the only place his own words appear. Peg's examination reverses the pattern of every earlier proceeding against John Long. The testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant, so a decade of warrants, recognisances and suspicions had produced nothing, and the council was reduced on 26 August 1735 to setting him to labour at the fortifications by order rather than by trial after two slave confessions could not be used. Her account of an arrangement made with another man's slave, paid for in rice and yams, repeats exactly what Toney and Moses deposed about Jonathan Doveton's plantation in August 1735. Her stated reason for coming forward is the most striking part of the entry. She said she was determined never again to steal at her master's order because she believed he had no power to command it, which sets a limit on a master's authority that the island's own law did not recognise. The slave Anthony had given the opposite answer on 2 January 1733, saying that if his master told him to fetch, he must go, and that was no stealing. Long returned from Bencoolen within a year of being sent there aboard the Lyell in 1734, was whipped in May 1736 for the riot at the Red Hill, petitioned on 8 June to be excused hard labour on account of the flux, and stands under the council's own finding that nothing but the gallows would answer with him. This fresh matter arrives while his petition to return to Bencoolen still awaits the Company's pleasure. |
118 | 110 | Ewe the other was a black Wether with a white belly Pegg further saith, that on Tuesday last was Sennight her Master again Pounded two more Goates one a Red Ewe which he killed the other he let go, & that all the Ears of the Severall Goates were on, but as soon as ever he had killed the said Goates her Masters cut off their Ears & threw them into the Fire that no body might tell by their Skins to whom they belonged On Saterday last Pegg saith that Master Long bid her go & look out for something for Dinner & she Answered she knew not where to go to get any thing & he replyed go, you had best go & get something of work, she chirp & sware again & to save her bones she went upon the Course & Stole two Turkeys out of the Yard of Motte Mudge which she carried home alive & he killed one for Dinner on Sunday the other was about the House when she came from home & that before his dogs were lately killed he used to Send her & his son James to catch the Fowles of Mr Brown & at times killed above a dozen of them Six of them when Mr Wade the Midshipman was up at her Masters House in the Country In May last she saith, that her Master Stole a young Boar of Capt Goodwins Plain put it immediatly into his own Mark put it in the Stye a Fortnight & then killed it Capt Goodwin the Storekeeper delivered this day an Account of Stores Goods Sold & delivered in the Months of January February & March which was Examined & Approved & is as follows Vizt Collection of Goods Sold & Delivered out of the Honble Companes Stores from the 1 January 1735 to the 31st March following 1736 Vizt Arrack 304 Galls @ 6/ £ 91 4 Bread & Flour Vizt 1736 2. Bread 40 12 6 4. Flour 5 75 12 6 Brazierware Vizt 1 Copper Pump 16 6 6 Tinder Box Candlesticks 1 5 6 Schimmers 1 2 6 5 prs Candlesticks 1 11 9 1 Pistil & Mortar 11 6 5 7 3 Hooks & Lines Vizt 56 Groce Hooks Sorted 26 8 4 92 dozn Lines Sorted 39 4 64 12 4 Carried over £ 23616 1 | Peg stated that one of the goats was black and the other a black wether with a white belly. She added that on Tuesday a week earlier her master pounded two more goats and a red cow, killed the goats and let the cow go. All the goats had their owners' ear marks on them, but as soon as he had killed them he cut off their ears and threw them into the fire, so that nobody could tell by their skins to whom they belonged. On the Saturday a week earlier Long sent her out to find something for dinner. She answered that she had nowhere to go for anything, on which he told her she had better go and get something or he would whip her again. To save herself from being beaten she went up on the course and stole two turkeys out of Matthew Mudge's yard, which she carried home alive and dark. One was killed for dinner on the Sunday and the other was still about the house when she came away from home. She stated that before his dogs were lately killed he used to send her and his son James to catch Mr Brown's fowls, and that they sometimes killed more than a dozen at a time, six of them while Mr Wade the midshipman was at her master's house in the country. She further stated that in May the previous year her master stole a young boar off Captain Goodwin's plain, put it immediately into his own mark, kept it in the sty a fortnight and then killed it. Captain Goodwin, storekeeper, delivered an account of store goods sold and delivered during January, February and March, which was examined and approved. Collection of goods sold and delivered out of the Honourable Company's stores from 1 January 1736 to 31 March following Arrack, 304 gallons at 6s the gallon, £91 4s 0d Bread, 2 [...], £40 12s 6d Flour, 4 [...], £35 0s 0d Bread and flour together, £75 12s 6d Copper pump, 1, £0 16s 6d Tinder box candlesticks, 6, £1 5s 0d Skimmers, 6, £1 2s 6d Pairs of candlesticks, 3, £1 11s 9d Pestle and mortar, 1, £0 11s 6d Braziers ware together, £5 7s 3d Gross of hooks, sorted, 56, £24 8s 4d Dozens of lines, sorted, 92, £39 4s 0d Hooks and lines together, £64 12s 4d Carried over, £236 16s 1d Interpretations Cutting the ears from a stolen goat and burning them destroys the only proof of ownership that existed. Free-ranging stock on St Helena carried no mark but the notches cut in its ears, each holder registering his own combination of crops, slits, forks and holes, and the council held on 19 March 1734 that mingling and lending beasts on open pasture was a gross and unlawful way of stealing the marks. Peg's account describes the same crime carried out deliberately and at once, and it explains why so many suspicions against Long over twenty years produced no evidence. Putting a stolen boar into his own mark and keeping it a fortnight before killing it shows the same method applied in reverse. A fresh mark on a young animal, left long enough for the wound to heal and for any search to pass, converted another man's stock into his own beyond dispute. The council had ordered on 2 April 1734 that no beast be sold privately unless the true owner's name were entered in the tally book, a rule aimed at exactly this practice. Peg's evidence remains inadmissible against her master however detailed it is, which is the difficulty that has run through every proceeding against Long since 1728. The council could act on it only by order rather than by trial, as it did on 26 August 1735 when it set him to the fortifications for six months on the strength of two slave confessions and one distant witness. Her statement that she was beaten and told to find something for dinner or be whipped again establishes the compulsion the council recognised on 18 December 1733, when it held that slaves driven to act by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault. Fishing tackle at £64 12s 4d dominates this quarter's collection and reflects an establishment that fed its slaves on fish. Governor Byfield replaced the meat ration with fish on 1 March 1727 and set eleven men constantly in the boats, and the storekeeper's accounts have carried heavy issues of hooks and lines ever since. Fifty-six gross of hooks is more than eight thousand hooks in three months, which measures both the scale of the fishery and the rate at which gear was lost on a rocky coast. Braziers ware means articles worked in brass and copper, and the small parcel here of a pump, candlesticks, skimmers and a pestle and mortar is the domestic hardware the inhabitants could buy nowhere else. Everything of the kind had to come from England or India through the Company's stores, so the storekeeper's monthly collection functioned as the island's only general shop. |
119 | 111 | Brought over £ Iron Potts Vizt 47 Iron Potts Sorted 31 2 do Kettles 3 16 34 16 Pewter Vizt 11 dozn Spoons @ 4/6 2 9 6 11 Chamberpotts qty 3 17 2 Basons 4/6 9 89 Dishes Sorted 22 8 9 3½ dozn Plates 4 4 6 1 Tankard 5 1 pint pott 3 34 6 9 Threads Vizt 88 lb Coloured & brown 13 6 6 53½ White & brown 21 16 11 142 Oz Nuns 11 12 1 46 15 6 Soldiers Cloths Vizt 58 Plain Coats @ 29/6 82 12 56 Lined do @ 30/ 84 13 Moth Eaten do @ 15/- 9 15 176 8 Fannels 79 pr @ 14/ ⅌ 55 6 584 8 4 Charges Generall Vizt 35 Soap 1 17 11 146 lb Candles 12 15 12 Wine Glasses 10 1 Cruet 1 3 90 Squares Glass 3 7 6 45 lb White Lead 1 2 6 4 Red do 2 5 Oz Powder Blew 10 35 Barrels Lamblack 8 9 8 2/4 Galls Linseed Oyle 2 9 6 106½ Nailes Sorted 4 15 10 1 lb Toune 2 2 4 Paint Brushes 1 8 2 Gallns Turpentine 5 4 1 do Tarr 2 4 Iron Rimd Locks 1 16 3 Plate Bolts 3 1 pr Small H hinges 8 29 18 11 Carried over £ 614 9 3 | The storekeeper's collection continued as follows. Brought over, £236 16s 1d Iron pots, sorted, 47, £31 0s 0d Iron kettles, 2, £3 16s 0d Iron pots and kettles together, £34 16s 0d Dozens of pewter spoons, 11 at 4s 6d the dozen, £2 9s 6d Pewter chamber pots, 11, £3 17s 0d Pewter basins, 2 at 4s 6d each, £0 9s 0d Pewter dishes, sorted, 89, £22 8s 9d Dozens of pewter plates, 3.5, £4 4s 6d Pewter tankard, 1, £0 5s 0d Pewter pint pot, 1, £0 3s 0d Pewter together, £34 6s 9d Coloured and brown thread, 88 lb, £13 6s 6d White and brown thread, 53.5 lb, £21 16s 11d Nuns thread, 142 oz, £11 12s 1d Threads together, £46 15s 6d Plain soldiers coats, 58 at 29s 6d each, £82 12s 0d Looped soldiers coats, 56 at 30s each, £84 0s 0d Moth eaten soldiers coats, 13 at 15s each, £9 15s 0d Soldiers clothes together, £176 8s 0d Flannel, 79 yards at 14s the yard, £55 6s 0d Total of this section, £584 8s 4d Soap, 35 lb, £1 17s 11d Candles, 186 lb, £12 12s 0d Wine glasses, 12, £0 10s 0d Cruet, 1, £0 1s 3d Squares of glass, 90, £3 7s 6d White lead, 45 lb, £1 2s 6d Red lead, 4 lb, £0 2s 0d Powder blue, 5 oz, £0 0s 10d Barrels of lampblack, 35, £0 8s 9d Gallons of linseed oil, 8.25, £2 9s 6d Nails, sorted, 106.5 lb, £4 15s 10d Town, 1 lb, £0 2s 2d Paint brushes, 4, £0 1s 8d Gallons of turpentine, 2, £0 5s 4d Tar, 1 gallon, £0 2s 0d Iron rimmed locks, 4, £1 16s 0d Plate bolts, 3, £0 3s 0d Pair of small H hinges, 1, £0 8s 0d Charges general together, £29 18s 11d Carried over, £614 9s 5d Interpretations Soldiers' coats at £176 8s 0d dominate the whole quarter and mark the annual clothing of the garrison passing through the storekeeper's hands. The distinction between plain coats at 29s 6d and looped coats at 30s turns on the decorative loops of braid or cord across the breast, a small difference in price for a considerable difference in appearance. Thirteen coats sold as moth eaten at 15s, half the price of a sound one, follow the standard disposal for damaged goods: the parcel of silk drugget twenty years in store was cleared the same way in November 1735, and the muster day auction of January 1736 realised £176 14s 1.5d on goods spoiled by damp and moth. Nuns thread was a fine white linen sewing thread, originally the work of convent lacemakers and by this date a general trade name for the best grade. Its appearance beside 141.5 lb of coloured, white and brown thread shows how much of the island's clothing was made up at home rather than bought ready made, the storekeeper supplying the materials and the households doing the work. Pewter served as the everyday tableware of every house that could afford it, glass and china being far beyond most. Eighty-nine dishes, forty-two plates, eleven chamber pots and the rest represent a substantial replacement of household goods in a single quarter, and pewter wore out steadily because the soft alloy bent and scratched and was periodically returned to be recast. The painting materials form a working set rather than a list of separate purchases. White lead was the base of paint and a primer against rust, red lead a rust inhibitor for ironwork, linseed oil the medium in which both were ground, turpentine the thinner, and lampblack the pigment that made the black paint used on the guns. Thirty-five barrels of lampblack against four brushes suggests the material went to the gunner's establishment rather than to household decoration, the ordnance requiring constant protection against a damp sea air. Ninety squares of glass is a notable entry on an island where window glass had to come from England and broke readily in transit. The council recorded a hundred panes in three sizes in the collection for April, May and June 1735, so the supply was steady rather than exceptional, and the buildings taking it were most probably the castle and the storehouses rather than the plantations. |
120 | 112 | Brought over £ 524 9 3 Garrison Vizt 38 Gallons Tar 9 10 16 Gallons Rape Oyle 9 10 6 lb Twine for the Bell & Wire 3 12 1 Large Line for a Drum Cord 2 8 2½ Nailes 3 7 1 lb Brown Thread 4 6 pr X Garnets 4 7 3 Yards Red 7 3 Yards white Bunting 8 Gallons Arrack 2 8 18 5 6 Blacks Vizt 4 dozn Lines 1 9 6 34 dozn Hooks Sorted 1 9 14 lb Pig Lead 4 4½ 1 lb Throw 2 2 2 Ivory Combs 3 4 4 Oz China Silk 6 1 ps Tape 1 4 2 18 foot Oars 13 6 2 pr Blue Stripes 15 2 pr Island Shoes 8 2 lb Tea 10 33. 1. Rice 20 10 7 26 17 9½ Plantation Vizt 44 Butchers Knives 1 13 10 1 Penknife 1 3 67 Nailes 2 2 4 1 Hammer 3 4 5 Gimblets 3 1 2 Shod Shovells 7 3 Filers 3 6 2 pr Sheep Sheirs 5 6 Wooden Bowles 1 1 11 2 Yards Hollands Duck 3 6 1 Copper Pump 6 4 2 Pewter Cranes 16 6 20 lb Pitch 1 34 lb Rope 6 8 2 gt Rape Oyle 13 4 3 Lines 2 3 17. 3. 14 Rice 6 2 32, - . 14 Paddy 4 18 6 14 4 10 16 3 4 24 17 5 Carried over £ 684 9 11½ | The storekeeper's collection continued as follows. Brought over, £524 9s 5d Garrison: catties of tea, 38, £9 10s 0d Garrison: gallons of rape oil, 16, £9 10s 0d Garrison: more rape oil for the flintlock wire, 6.25 gallons, £3 12s 0d Garrison: large line for a drum cord, 1, £0 2s 8d Garrison: nails, 2.5 lb, £0 3s 7d Garrison: brown thread, 1 lb, £0 4s 0d Garrison: pairs of X garnets, 6, £4 7s 0d Garrison: red bunting, 3 yards, £0 7s 0d Garrison: white bunting, 3 yards, £0 7s 0d Garrison: gallons of arrack, 8, £2 8s 0d Garrison together, £18 5s 6d Blacks: dozens of lines, 4, £1 9s 6d Blacks: dozens of hooks, sorted, 34, £1 9s 0d Blacks: pig lead, 14 lb, £0 4s 4d Blacks: throw, 1 lb, £0 2s 2d Blacks: ivory combs, 2, £0 3s 4d Blacks: ounces of China silk, 4, £0 6s 0d Blacks: rope, 1 lb, £0 1s 4d Blacks: 18 foot oars, 2, £0 15s 6d Blacks: pairs of blue stripes, 2, £0 15s 0d Blacks: pairs of island shoes, 2, £0 8s 0d Blacks: tea, 2 lb, £0 10s 0d Blacks: rice, 33 hundredweight 4 quarters, £20 10s 7d Blacks together, £26 17s 9.5d Plantation: butchers knives, 44, £1 13s 10d Plantation: penknife, 1, £0 1s 3d Plantation: nails, 65 lb, £2 2s 4d Plantation: hammer, 1, £0 3s 4d Plantation: gimlets, 5, £0 3s 1d Plantation: shod shovels, 2, £0 7s 0d Plantation: filers, 3, £0 3s 6d Plantation: pairs of sheep shears, 2, £0 5s 0d Plantation: wooden bowls, 6, £1 1s 11d Plantation: yards of Holland duck, 2, £0 3s 6d Plantation: copper pump, 1, £0 6s 4d Plantation: pewter cranes, 2, £0 16s 6d Plantation: pitch, 20 lb, £1 0s 0d Plantation: rope, 34 lb, £0 6s 8d Plantation: quarts of rape oil, 2, £0 13s 4d Plantation: lines, 5, £0 2s 3d Plantation: rice, 47 hundredweight 3 quarters 14 lb, £4 18s 6d Plantation: paddy, 32 hundredweight 14 lb, £14 4s 10d Plantation together, £16 3s 4d Carried over, £24 19s 5d Grand total carried forward, £684 9s 8.5d Interpretations Rape oil at 22.25 gallons is the heaviest single article in the garrison's account, and the entry naming it for the flintlock wire explains why. Oil pressed from rapeseed was the standard preservative against rust in a climate where iron corroded within days, and the wires and springs of a flintlock were the parts on which a musket's firing depended. The council had been keeping every gun on the line loaded since 11 June 1734, which makes the maintenance of the small arms a continuous charge rather than an occasional one. Bunting supplied in red and white for the garrison answers a shortage the council had reported on 31 July 1733, when Captain Goodwin found every flag on the island worn out but one, no white bunting at all in store and only small parcels of blue and red, so that the Sugarloaf signal had to be made up in blue and red alone. Three yards of each colour is a small quantity, but its arrival means the island can now make a proper flag again, which matters directly to a lookout system that fired four guns and twelve pounds of powder at every unidentified sail. Rice at £20 10s 7d takes three quarters of everything charged to the Company's slaves in the quarter, and the figure has to be read against the collapse in the yam issue. The account for March 1736 recorded only 9,700 lb delivered to the blacks against 25,600 lb in February, and imported grain carried the difference while the old crop ran out and the new one went into the ground. Set against £20 10s 7d of rice, the whole clothing and equipment of the establishment for three months came to a few pounds: two pairs of island shoes, two pairs of blue striped cloth and two ivory combs. X garnets were the T-shaped strap hinges used on heavy doors and gates, named from their shape, and six pairs at £4 7s 0d is the most expensive item of ironwork in the garrison list. Doors of that weight belong to the storehouses and the magazine rather than to living quarters, and the council had been rebuilding around the powder stores since settling the new magazine site on 4 June 1735. Forty-four butchers knives charged to the plantation in a single quarter is a striking quantity, and it measures the killing the establishment did rather than any wastage. The stock accounts for these months record ninety fowls and eleven turkeys killed in May alone, with sheep, shoats and pigs going steadily, and every carcass for the fort's table and for the victualling of six ships passed through the plantation's hands. |
121 | 113 | Brought over £ 684 9 11½ Fortification Vizt 3 Lines 6 2 Shod Shovels 7 1 Trowell 2 6 9 Helves 10 6 1 1 6 Diet Expences Vizt 224 Galln Arrack 18 4 0 5. - 14 lb Sugar 7 6 0 13. - - Flour 16 5 25 Bottles Oyle 5 3 5 Bushells Salt 1 5 2 lb Pepper 2 34 lb Candy 2 6 74 Galls Cape Wine 18 8 6 Galls Port do 2 6 6 29 2 3 £ 100 16 9 £ 786 7 8½ At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6th July 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Mrs Frances Carne & Richard Goodwin was presented & read Setting forth that they are in Possession of a peice of Ground lying in the Fort Valley which they hold by Lease of the Honble Company & of which about Eight Years yet remain & praying that as their Relation Capt Goodwin was desirous & intended to build thereon they might have leave to Assign their Right & Interest in the said Lease to him the said Captain Goodwin for the purpose aforesaid, & their Petition was Granted accordingly The joint Petition of Jonathan Dorston, Charles Steward, & Frances Carne & Richard Goodwin was also presented & read Setting forth that the Water Course which runs behind their Houses in the Fort Valley frequently in heavy Rains does considerable damage to the Foundation of their Outward Fences which nevertheless may be so altered or turned without Prejudice either to the Honble Company or the Publick that they shall no longer be Sufferers thereby & praying that a parcell | The storekeeper's collection closed as follows. Brought over, £684 9s 11.5d Fortification: lines, 3, £0 6s 0d Fortification: shod shovels, 2, £0 7s 0d Fortification: trowel, 1, £0 2s 6d Fortification: helves, 9, £0 10s 6d Fortification together, £1 6s 0d Diet expenses: gallons of arrack, 224, £18 4s 0d Diet expenses: sugar, 25 hundredweight 14 lb, £7 2s 6d Diet expenses: flour, 13 hundredweight, £16 5s 0d Diet expenses: bottles of oil, 25, £5 3s 0d Diet expenses: bushels of salt, 5, £1 5s 0d Diet expenses: pepper, 2 lb, £0 2s 0d Diet expenses: sugar candy, 34 lb, £2 6s 0d Diet expenses: gallons of Cape wine, 74, £18 8s 0d Diet expenses: gallons of port, 6, £2 6s 6d Diet expenses together, £29 2s 3d Section total, £100 16s 9d Grand total, £786 7s 8.5d At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 6 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Frances Carne and Richard Goodwin petitioned that they held a lease from the Company of a piece of ground in the fort valley, of which about eight years remained to run, and that Captain Goodwin, being their relation, was willing to build on it. They asked leave to assign their right and interest in the lease to him for that purpose, and the petition was granted. Jonathan Doveton, Charles Steward, Frances Carne and Richard Goodwin petitioned jointly that the water course running behind their houses in the fort valley frequently did considerable damage in heavy rains to the foundations of their outward fences, which were nevertheless of no use to the Company or to the public. They asked that they might no longer suffer that loss, and that a parcel [...] Interpretations Diet expenses at £29 2s 3d cover the fort's table for the quarter, and drink accounts for two thirds of it. Arrack at 224 gallons, Cape wine at 74 and port at 6 measure a household entertaining the officers of every ship in the road, and the figures rise sharply through the same months in which the table accounts climbed from £43 2s 0d in February to £60 13s 0d in May. The fortification charge of £1 6s 0d is the smallest heading in the whole collection and tells its own story about the state of the works. Three lines, two shovels, a trowel and nine handles amount to nothing, where the collection for May, June and July 1734 carried £19 15s 1.5d of pickaxes, shovels, canvas and cordage. Every spare hand had been taken off the Rupert's works in March 1736 to patch the Ladder Hill path after the floods, and the Turk's Cap battery had stood three boat loads of stone short of completion since the long boat was lost in September 1734. Assigning a lease to a relation who would build on it was the ordinary way of getting a house raised where the leaseholders could not build themselves. With only eight years left to run, neither Frances Carne nor Richard Goodwin could recover the cost of a building before the term fell in, but Captain Goodwin as a relation could take the ground, build, and keep the property in the family. The council had allowed similar assignments repeatedly, granting William Gaa leave to build close to Andrew Bergue's house in July 1730 and accepting Martin Harper's surrender of Robinson's land to Duke Crisp on 22 January 1734. Water running behind the houses in the fort valley had been a recurring problem since the works Governor Byfield built, and the council had spent years managing the same stream. Governor Pyke hired twenty slaves at ninepence a day in August 1732 to cut a trench carrying the salt springs clear of the main water course, and the floods of March 1736 tore out the mountain path and breached Ladder Hill. Four householders petitioning together over damage to their foundations shows the same rains reaching the valley itself. |
122 | 114 | of Ground behind their said Houses in proportion to the Front or Breadth thereof & to run as far backward as should be thought reasonable might be granted to each of the Petitioners they being willing at their own Charge to alter or turn the said Water Course in the manner before mentioned & their Petition was likewise Granted accordingly George Knight Soldier having with his Bayonett Stabbed Ralph Moor Soldier in three places Vizt in his Breast, Head, & Hand he was fined Ten Shillings for each Wound to the Use of the said Moor & committed till he should pay the same The Petition of Matthew Mudge was presented & read Setting forth that he was a poor Man, & had a Wife & five Children to maintain which by the Blessing of God upon his Endeavours he has hitherto done with tolerable Comfort but that lately great Quantities of Poultry have been Stolen from him particularly Ten Turkeys that he is able to prove John Long who Lives by the Plunder & Spoile of his Neighbours is the Person who Stole the same & praying that some effectuall Course might be taken with the said Long to the end that the Petitioner & the rest of the Inhabitants may hereafter be freed from the Depredations daily committed by the said Long Ordered that the said Long be Summoned to attend on Tuesday next. At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13th July 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Roger Swinson late Preacher of the Ship Marlbro being asked why he left the said Ship, saith that in the Outward bound Passage a Small Difference happened to die without any fault or neglect on his part & for this the Captain brought him to the Gangway & whipt him, & thereupon he made a Resolution not to return to England upon that Ship Mr Hepburne the Surgeon of that Ship being present said that this Roger Swinson behaved himself very quietly on board & was Seemingly very carefull & diligent in his businesse. The Govr the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for June last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt | The petitioners asked for a parcel of ground behind their houses, in proportion to the frontage of each, running as far back as the council thought reasonable. They undertook to alter or turn the water course at their own charge in the manner already described, and their petition was granted. George Knight, a soldier, wounded Ralph Moor, another soldier, with his bayonet in three places, in the breast, the head and the hand. He was fined ten shillings for each wound, payable to Moor, and committed until he should pay. The petition of Matthew Mudge was presented and read. He set out that he was a poor man with a wife and five children to maintain, and that by God's blessing on his efforts he had until then lived in reasonable comfort. Great quantities of poultry had lately been stolen from him, ten turkeys in particular, and he could prove that John Long, who lived by plundering and spoiling his neighbours, was the man who took them. He asked that some effective course be taken with Long, so that he and the rest of the inhabitants might be freed from the thefts committed daily by him. The council ordered Long summoned to attend on the following Tuesday. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 13 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Roger Swinson, late a butcher of the ship Marlborough, was asked why he had left her. He answered that on the outward passage a small number of pigs died without any fault or neglect on his part, and that the captain nevertheless brought him to the gangway and whipped him, on which he resolved never to return to England in that ship. Mr Hepburne, the surgeon of the Marlborough, was present and said that Swinson had behaved very quietly aboard and appeared to be careful and diligent in his business. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for June, each of which was examined and approved. Interpretations Fining Knight ten shillings for each wound rather than a single sum for the assault gave the injured man a remedy scaled to what he had suffered. The council habitually turned violence between free men into compensation payable to the victim, ordering Mr Clew on 24 October 1727 to pay Simpson twenty shillings, satisfy the doctor and provide a man to fish for him while he was laid up. Committing Knight until he paid was the only way to enforce it against a soldier whose pay was already charged at the stores, and he had been committed on the same footing in December 1735 when he killed John Aldrich's breeding sow. Mudge's petition is the third complaint against John Long inside five weeks, following the riot at the Red Hill in May and Peg's examination of 2 July 1736, in which she described stealing two turkeys from Matthew Mudge's own yard on her master's orders after he threatened to whip her. Her account cannot be used against Long, the testimony of blacks being inadmissible, but Mudge says he can prove the theft, which means a free witness. That is exactly what broke the decade-long immunity in May 1733, when George Knight's oath put Long in prison where a dozen warrants had failed. The council's answer, a summons for the following Tuesday, is remarkably mild given that Long stands under a whipping ordered in May, a sentence of hard labour he petitioned to escape on 8 June, and a petition to return to Bencoolen still awaiting the Company's pleasure since 9 March 1736. The council had already recorded that nothing but the gallows would answer with him. Whipping at the gangway was the standard shipboard punishment, the offender being seized up to the rail where the ship's company could see it, and a butcher was a rated position rather than a common seaman's. Swinson's grievance is that the punishment was undeserved rather than that it was inflicted, and the surgeon's confirmation of his conduct is what gives the complaint weight. A man who left his ship at St Helena forfeited every penny of wages earned on the voyage, since Company pay fell due only on safe return to England, so his resolution cost him dearly. |
123 | 115 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1 June: Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 25, Yearlings 50, Calves 136, Bulls 6, Totall 386, Ewes 49, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 8, Piggs 46, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 24, Fowles 100, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 11, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 18, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 25, Yearlings 50, Calves 147, Bulls 6, Totall 397, Ewes 49, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 8, Piggs 46, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 42, Fowles 100, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 9, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 9, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 16, Yearlings 50, Calves 147, Bulls 6, Totall 388, Ewes 49, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 8, Piggs 46, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 42, Fowles 100, Ducks 10, Geese 11, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 3, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 1, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 13, Fowles 14, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30 June: Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 15, Yearlings 50, Calves 147, Bulls 6, Totall 387, Ewes 46, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 7, Piggs 45, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 29, Fowles 86, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 14500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 20300 Totall Yams 34800 lb | The stock account for June 1736 set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 June, the increase during the month, the numbers sold to shipping, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 30 June. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 June, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 25, yearlings 50, calves 136, bulls 6, total neat cattle 386, ewes 49, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 8, pigs 46, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 24, fowls 100, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 11, bulls 0, total neat cattle 11, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 18, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after increase, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 25, yearlings 50, calves 147, bulls 6, total neat cattle 397, ewes 49, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 8, pigs 46, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 42, fowls 100, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Sold to ships, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 9, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 9, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after sale, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 16, yearlings 50, calves 147, bulls 6, total neat cattle 388, ewes 49, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 8, pigs 46, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 42, fowls 100, ducks 10, geese 11, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 1, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 3, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 1, boars 0, total hogs 2, turkeys 13, fowls 14, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 June, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 15, yearlings 50, calves 147, bulls 6, total neat cattle 387, ewes 46, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 71, sows 9, shoats 7, pigs 45, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 29, fowls 86, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Yams expended at the several plantations, 14,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 20,300 lb Total yams, 34,800 lb Interpretations Nine steers went to shipping because there were no bullocks left to send. The bullock class has stood at five since the end of May and the council has now cut into the steers, which fell from 41 at the start of February to 15 at the end of June. Two months of heavy victualling, 25 head in May and 9 in June, have exhausted the island's fattened stock, and the calves standing at 147 will not be ready for years. The cows have not been touched throughout, holding at 111 or 112 since February, which is the discipline the drought made impossible. Fourteen cows went to the December shipping in 1734 and fourteen heifers in January 1735, and the herd fell to 309 by July of that year. Protecting the breeding stock while meeting demand from one narrowing class is a deliberate choice with a visible cost. Three ewes killed against no lamb born continues the slow erosion of the flock, which has fallen from 79 in February to 71 and whose breeding females have gone from 60 to 46 in five months. One wether remains on the island, as it has since December, so every carcass still comes out of the ewes. Twenty lambs stand in the account, but none was born this month and the flock cannot recover while the table draws on the animals that produce it. Eighteen turkeys hatched against thirteen killed is the first substantial poultry increase since the great April hatch of 97 chicks, and the fowls held level at a hundred through the month before fourteen went to the table. The yard is now carrying much lighter than in May, when 90 fowls and 11 turkeys were killed for six ships, which reflects an anchorage emptying as the homeward season closes. Yams at 34,800 lb hold close to the May figure, and the split has settled at 14,500 lb to the plantations against 20,300 lb to the slaves. That balance is what the season dictates: the island's planting runs from about May to September, so ground is going under crop while the establishment eats what remains of the old harvest, and the heavy rice landed by five ships since late March has covered the interval. |
124 | 116 | Gunners Stores Expended in June 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder 1736 June 2d Houghton London Nassau Yarborough & Cumberland Sailed: Guns Fired 65, Sakers 8, Minion 6, Falcons 51, Powder 101 5th An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 6th Onslow Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 11th Anniversary of the Kings Accession: Guns Fired 21, Sakers 4, Minion 1, Falcons 16, Powder 35 16th Onslow Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 22 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 23 Marlborough arrived: Guns Fired 9, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 At the Funerall of Mr Everest: Guns Fired 20, Sakers 3, Minion 1, Falcons 16, Powder 31 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 38 Guns Fired 141, Sakers 15, Minion 18, Falcons 108, Powder 260 Lead Shot 15 lb Parchment Skins 4 Pritts 6 Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Match 40 lb Expence of the Table in June 1736 Vizt £ 344 lb Beef 4 6 30 lb Pork 15 44 Fowles 4 1 13 Turkeys 3 5 3 Sheep 3 15 1 Goose 5 1 Pig 5 48 Gall Arrack 9 12 8 Gall Port 3 2 30 Gall Cape 6 128 lb Sugar 1 12 16 lb Candy 12 1 lb Pepper 1 2 Bushells Salt 10 4 lb Flour 5 - . 2. - Bread 14 9 Bottles Oyle 1 10 42 5 38 Galls Arrack to the Guards Smiths, Carpenters, Coopers on the Anniversary of his Majties Accession £ s d 7 12 75 lb Sugar to ditto 1 50 lb Bread to ditto 12 6 £ 9 : 3 : 6 | The gunner's account of stores expended during June 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the sakers, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 2 June, the Houghton, London, Nassau, Yarborough and Duke of Cumberland sailed, guns fired 65, sakers 8, minions 6, falcons 51, powder 101 lb 3 June, an alarm, guns fired 4, sakers 0, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 5 June, the Onslow arrived, guns fired 9, sakers 0, minions 0, falcons 9, powder 9 lb 11 June, the anniversary of the King's accession, guns fired 21, sakers 4, minions 1, falcons 16, powder 35 lb 16 June, the Onslow sailed, guns fired 9, sakers 0, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb 22 June, an alarm, guns fired 4, sakers 0, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 23 June, the Marlborough arrived, guns fired 9, sakers 0, minions 1, falcons 8, powder 11 lb At the funeral of Francis Everest, guns fired 20, sakers 3, minions 1, falcons 16, powder 31 lb Expense of the guard, powder 38 lb Total, guns fired 141, sakers 15, minions 18, falcons 108, powder 260 lb Sled shot, 15 Parchment skins, 4 Spits, 6 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 40 lb The general table account for June 1736 was entered as follows. 344 lb of beef, £4 6s 0d 30 lb of pork, £0 15s 0d 14 fowls, £1 1s 0d 10 turkeys, £3 5s 0d 3 sheep, £3 15s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 1 pig, £0 5s 0d 48 gallons of arrack, £9 12s 0d 8 gallons of port, £3 2s 0d 30 gallons of Cape wine, £6 0s 0d 128 lb of sugar, £1 12s 0d 16 lb of sugar candy, £0 12s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 2 bushels of salt, £0 10s 0d Flour, £5 14s 0d Bread, £1 10s 0d 9 bottles of oil, [...] Total, £42 5s 0d A further charge was entered for the anniversary of the King's accession. 38 gallons of arrack to the guards, smiths, carpenters and coopers, £7 12s 0d 75 lb of sugar for the same occasion, £1 0s 0d 50 lb of bread for the same occasion, £0 12s 6d Total, £9 3s 6d Interpretations Sixty-five guns fired on a single day is the heaviest salute in this record, and it went to five ships sailing together for England: the Houghton, London, Nassau, Yarborough and Duke of Cumberland. The council had insisted since the war scare of 1727 that homeward vessels sail in company rather than singly, and the whole homeward fleet of the season leaving on one tide is what the convoy instruction was designed to produce. Sakers appear in the salute for the first time in months, the heavier pieces being brought in when 51 falcons alone could not answer five ships. Twenty guns at the funeral of Francis Everest recognise the office rather than the man. He had been Governor of Bencoolen, and a salute of that weight had last been given on the island to William Chapple, late governor of Bombay, in May 1729, and to Governor Byfield himself on his departure in March 1731. Thirty-one pounds of powder for a passenger who died ashore is a considerable expense at a moment when the council was saving every grain it could, having substituted a public dinner for the coronation salute in October 1734. The accession anniversary charge is entered separately from the table because it was a customary allowance rather than household consumption. Thirty-eight gallons of arrack with sugar and bread went to the guards, smiths, carpenters and coopers, the same distribution recorded on 11 June 1729 and in June 1733, and it marks one of the few occasions in the year when the Company's working men received anything beyond their pay. The table account fell to £42 5s 0d from £60 13s 0d in May, and the composition shows why. Beef holds at 344 lb, but fowls collapse from 90 to 14, and the whole difference is the absence of guests: five ships left on 2 June and only the Onslow and Marlborough called thereafter. Cape wine and port continue at 30 and 8 gallons, the cellar having been replenished while the fleet was in. Spits appear among the gunner's stores as a small but telling entry. These were the thin iron pricks pushed through the touchhole to pierce the cartridge before priming, without which a made-up charge could not be fired, and six of them expended in a month of 141 guns fired is the ordinary rate of loss for an item small enough to drop and easy to bend. |
125 | 117 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 28th July 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On Sunday last the 25th a Dutch Ship arrived here after a passage of four Months directly from Batavia she is called the Young William & is Commanded by the Heer Van Storm but Outward bound she was Commanded by the Heer Duncan Lucklaw whose Commission was dated 25 April 1732 & Countersigned by the Heer Carel Jegers, & at 3 in the afternoon she came to an Anchor but her Sailes being timely bent & left fluttering in the Wind which blew fresh she Adrogd her Anchor & was drove to Sea & in all probability would not have recovered the road again if Capt Goodwin had not kindly gone on board & instructed them what to do but by his Assistance they recovered on Tuesday Evening The Complaint made against John Long by Pegg his Black Wench & Mathew Mudge as Entred in our Consultation of the 2d & 6th instant was this day taken into Consideration & every thing therein mentioned being fully proved he was Ordered to Sit at hard Labour according to our Resolution of the 30th May last for Mutiny & Assault &c & then he in pretence of having the Bloody Flux upon him was permitted to go home for his recovery since then he is charged for Stealing the things mentioned in Peggs Examination but now he is come in his Shoulder & cant work on this he was Sent to the Doctor to be Examined who finds no appearance of any hurt on his Shoulder wherefore he was Ordered to work at Bankers but positively & impudently refusing to Work he was committed to Prison Capt Van Storm Commander of the Dutch Ship having Complained that as he was passing by Bankers the People there upon Duty hailed him & required him to lower his Topsaile & come to an Anchor, upon this Complaint all the Officers & others there upon Duty were this day Severally Examined about this matter & Joseph Desfountain the Chief Officer there saith that he once hailed the Ship to know what she was & they made him some Answer from on board but he could not hear what they said & then he called to them again & bid them make the best of their way in & said nothing more Mr Wood the Ensign who ought to have been upon Duty at this time being absent from his Post, the Govr for his neglect of Duty Suspended him from his Office & fined Joseph Desfountain two Months Pay | At a consultation held at the castle on Wednesday 28 July 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A Dutch ship arrived on Sunday 25 July after a passage of four months directly from Batavia. She was called the Young William, commanded by Van Hoorn, though outward bound she had been commanded by Duncan Sluchlaw, whose commission was dated 25 April 1732 and countersigned by Carel Jegers. At three in the afternoon she came to anchor, but her sails being taken in too soon she dragged her anchor and was driven to leeward. She would probably not have recovered the road had Captain Goodwin not gone aboard at once and told them what to do, and by his assistance they got in on the Tuesday evening. The complaint made against John Long by Peg, his slave woman, and by Matthew Mudge, entered in the consultations of 2 and 6 July, was taken into consideration. Everything alleged being fully proved, he was ordered to hard labour under the council's resolution of 30 May over the mutiny and assault. He was then allowed to go home on the pretence of having the bloody flux, until his recovery, and was afterwards charged with stealing the goods named in Peg's examination. He now claimed to have a lameness in his shoulder and to be unable to work, so he was sent to the surgeon to be examined, who found no sign of any injury to it. He was therefore ordered to work at Banks's, and on his refusing positively and insolently to do so he was committed to prison. Captain Van Hoorn, commander of the Dutch ship, complained that as he was passing Banks's the men on duty there hailed him and required him to lower his topsails and come to anchor. On that complaint every officer who had been on duty there was examined that day about the matter. Joseph Defountaine, the chief officer, stated that he had hailed the ship once to know what she was, that they answered from aboard but he could not hear what they said, and that he then called to them to go and make the best of their way in, and said nothing further. Mr Wood, the ensign, who ought to have been on duty at the time, was absent from his post. The Governor suspended him from his office for neglect of duty and fined Joseph Defountaine two months' pay. Interpretations Taking in sail too early left the ship without steerage way before her anchor held, so she drove to leeward on a coast with no shelter and no second chance. St Helena has no harbour, and a vessel that misses the road must beat back against the prevailing wind or lose the island altogether. Captain Goodwin's going aboard converted a probable loss of the road into a two-day recovery, and the council recorded the fact because the ship was Dutch and the assistance would be reported at Batavia, where Governor Pyke's correspondence with Abraham Patras had been building exactly this sort of credit. Long's medical examination is the first time in his long record that a plea was tested rather than accepted or dismissed. He obtained release from labour on 8 June 1736 by pleading the flux, with Captain Alexander, Captain Goodwin and Mr Crisp each giving a separate opinion on whether to believe him, and the Governor allowing him home on account of his professed sickness. Sending him to the surgeon closed that route, and his refusal to work at Banks's after the finding left the council with a plain act of disobedience rather than a contested illness. Banks's was among the hardest postings on the island, a battery on a headland reached by a path so narrow and so directly over a precipice that the guard could carry no more than two quart bottles of water at a time. Captain Cason and Ensign Wood reported on 19 December 1732 that the guard there had gone three days without fresh water when the sea ran too high for a boat. Ordering Long to that particular work was not accidental. Hailing a strange sail and requiring her to bring to was the standing practice of the island's defence, and Defountaine's account describes it breaking down at the point where it always did. The lookout could see a ship but not identify her, so guns were fired and hails given, and a vessel that could not hear the hail was left to guess what was wanted. The council had spent 12 lb of powder on each of two alarms in June for exactly this reason. Suspending an ensign for absence from his post repeats a judgement the council made on 27 June 1732, when it dismissed John Young for leaving Banks's while the Middlesex lay in the road and appointed Isaac Wood in his place. Wood now stands suspended from the office he gained by another man's neglect, and the fine of two months' pay on Defountaine falls on the officer who was present and did too little, while the man who was absent loses his post. |
126 | 118 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3 August 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the following Informations were taken before the Governour upon Oath Vizt Thomas Wright a Soldier of this Garrison of St Helena maketh Oath that Thomas Hollyhead another Soldier of this Garrison & himself did lodge & Quarter at the House of Joseph Bates in the Country & Bates told them there was a Gold Mine on the Island near his House & shewed them Severall peices of the Oare which they Tryed & Melted & they did beleive they found some Metall therein both Gold & Iron And then Bates said he had a mind to Buy that Land & wanted 100 Pagodas to pay for it & wished them if they could make such a Parcell of Pagodas for him & he would make them very good Satisfaction if they did & he gave them a Gold Pagoda to make some Moulds by & the said from the Impression of that Pagoda make divers false Pagodas he is Sure above 30 some of them in Bates presence Being asked of what materials or Substance these Pagodas were made he sayeth they make 'em of a Sort of Bell Metal that is a Mixture of Brass Copper & some Pewter but that not being of a true Gold Colour Bates was to get some Guilding to Guild them over & he did try to get materials for Guilding out of some of the Ships & he did get some Quicksilver & Mercurious Dulcis but could not get any Aquafortis & he did then agree with one Symon a Boatswain to bring or Send him such things as were fit for Guilding & black Lead Potts to the Amount of Ten Pounds value & Bates told this Deponent that the said Symon would be Sure to Send them Being asked what they did with those Pagodas they made he sayes they did Cast them very well in a Small Shed that Bates Built on Purpose for them to work privately in where no body but themselves were to go into & the Windows were made so that no body should look in & they did put off one of the false Pagodas at the Honble Companies Storehouse but Mr Bazett recollected who he had that Pagoda of & made them give him another for it & so they found they could not put them off for want of Guilding & tryed them by but some short time after Pollyhead having some in his Pockett as he lay a Sleep about Seven fell out of his Pockett which had like to make a Discovery & put them all in fear & then this Deponent hid & buried in the Groound about 10 or 11 that he had by him & there they lye now | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 3 August 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Informations taken on oath before the Governor the previous day were laid before the council. Thomas Wright, a soldier of the garrison, deposed that Thomas Hollyhead, another soldier of the garrison, and he himself lodged and quartered at the Powers in Joseph Bates's country house. Bates told them there was a gold mine on the island near his house and showed them several pieces of the ore, which they tried and melted, and Wright believed they found some metal in it, both gold and copper. Bates then said he had a mind to buy that land and would pay 200 pagodas for it if they could make them, and that if they could make him such a parcel of pagodas he would give them very good satisfaction for the work. He gave them a gold pagoda to make moulds from, and from the impression of that pagoda they made a number of false pagodas, at least sixty by Wright's own reckoning, some of them in Bates's presence. Asked what the pagodas were made of, Wright said they made them of a kind of bell metal, being a mixture of brass, copper and some pewter, but that not being of a true gold colour Bates undertook to get some gilding to gild them over. He tried to get materials for gilding out of one of the ships and did get some quicksilver and mercury dulcis, but could get no aqua fortis. He then agreed with one Symon, a boatswain, to bring or send him whatever was needed for gilding, together with black lead pots to the value of £10 0s 0d, and Bates told the deponent that Symon would be sure to send them. Asked what they did with the pagodas they made, Wright said they cast them very well in a small shed Bates built for the purpose, so that they might work privately where nobody but themselves could go in. The windows were made so that nobody could look in. They passed off one of the false pagodas at the Company's storehouse, but Mr Bazett noticed it and gave them another for it, so they found they could not put them off for want of gilding. They laid them by for a short time, until Thomas Hollyhead, having some in his pocket as he lay asleep, dropped about seven of them out of his pocket, which nearly caused a discovery and put them all in fear. Wright then hid and buried about ten or eleven that he had by him, and there they lie now [...] Interpretations Counterfeiting a foreign gold coin was not treason under English law, which reserved that charge for the King's own money, but it was a felony carrying severe punishment and it struck at the one currency the island's trade actually used. Pagodas circulated throughout the Coromandel ports and appear repeatedly in these accounts, valued at nine shillings apiece in Francis Everest's inventory of 29 June 1736 and used to reckon the Madras invoices entered in May. False pagodas passing at the Company's storehouse would have entered the island's whole system of exchange. Bell metal is an alloy of copper with a high proportion of tin, cast for bells because it rings clearly and takes a sharp impression from a mould. Its usefulness here lay in that second property, since a coin struck from a good original needed a metal that would hold the detail. Its colour was the flaw, which is why the whole scheme depended on gilding. The gilding process the men were attempting is fire gilding, in which gold is dissolved in quicksilver, applied to the base metal and then driven off by heat, leaving the gold bonded to the surface. Aqua fortis, the old name for nitric acid, was needed to dissolve and part the gold, and mercury dulcis is the sweet mercury of the apothecaries, mercurous chloride, sold as a purgative. Black lead pots were graphite crucibles, the only vessels that would survive the heat of melting metal. Every one of these materials had to come off a ship, which is why a boatswain was brought into the arrangement. Buying land said to hold a gold mine, and paying for it in coin manufactured for the purpose, would have transferred a real freehold for nothing. Bates had told the council on 29 July 1735 that one of his slaves had buried a charm beneath his chair, blaming it for a withered arm and a roof blown off, and was warned he would be locked in a cell with a pillow and clean straw if he troubled his neighbours again with such nonsense. He owed £221 19s 2.5d to the heirs of the dead Spaniard and had been in custody for the debt since 2 September 1735, and the council resolved on 1 July 1736 to let him alone a little longer because pressing him would recover nothing. Mr Bazett's noticing the false coin at the storehouse and simply exchanging it explains why the scheme ran as long as it did. A storekeeper who suspected a bad pagoda handed it back rather than raising an alarm, so the counterfeiters learned their gilding was inadequate without anyone learning who they were, and the whole business surfaced only when a sleeping man's pocket spilled seven of them. |
127 | 119 | as far as he believes Being asked what he knew farther of this matter he sayeth that Bates was very earnest to have some of the Gold Extracted from the Oare & sayed he would then go to England with the Discovery & shew it to King George & if he succeeded he should come back here again as Governour of this place & then he would provide for Hollyhead & this Deponent & give each of them good places under them & would be the making of them both & that they should be Masters of the Mine & have Men under them to do the Work being asked who they were to make the Discovery of all this Riches to he sayed they had considered of Sending to the East India Company but Bates sayed they had formerly had an Account of this Mine & they Stifled it & would not let it be known they proposed to give Sir Robert Wallpol an Account of this Mine & their heirs some of the Gold but then they considered that they believed that he was one of the East India Company & so not a proper person to be acquainted herewith but to go directly to the King or to some favourite Lord of the Kings Councill & if the King or his Councill did not mind it then Bates was to go over to France & make this Discovery of this Treasure to the King of France who would give him a good Reward & they, that is Hollyhead & this Deponent, should have £500 apeice besides being provided for he was Sure as to himself & that he should come not go over & told he farther that the King of France would send some Men of War to take the Island for the French & this he was Sure of for the King of France would send all his Grand Flett rather then not take this Island & he would come in the same Ships with them this & much more such like talk they & Bates often had on this Occasion but this which is above written is the whole materiall of that Sort of discourse And farther at this time this Deponent doth not Say Sworn before me this 2 day of August Ao Domini 1736 The de Mark Thomas Wright Isa: Pyke Governour Some of the Oare of the Gold Mine mentioned in this Information Govr Pyke sent to the Honble Company in the Year 1713 by the Cardigan desiring that an Assay might be made thereof & accordingly they acquainted him that the Two Samples of Minerals one of which he thought was Gold, the other Copper had been tryed in England & are only Marchasities as the Assay them call them, that is to say if there is any Metal in them it cant be Seperated, but flys away in Fire in Fume however they add if you find any other Sorts of Minerals in your Digging for Stones or Lime you may Send us Samples for further Tryall St Helena ss Thomas Silvester a Soldier of this Garrison of St Helena sayeth on his Oath, that about the End of the last Monsoon or Sailing from this place (which was upon or near the 25th Aprill being at the House of Joseph Bates in the Country he heard Bates speaking of | Thomas Wright deposed further that Joseph Bates was very anxious to have some of the gold extracted from the ore, and said he would take it to England with the discovery and show it to King George. If he succeeded he would come back as Governor of the island, and he would then provide for Hollyhead and Wright and secure them each good places under him. He would be the making of them both, and they should be masters of the mine and have men under them to do the work. Asked to whom they meant to make the discovery, Wright said they had considered sending it to the East India Company, but Bates said that the Company had formerly had an account of the mine and had stifled it, and would not let it be known. They then proposed to give Sir Robert Walpole an account of the mine and of other mines of gold there. Bates afterwards said he believed Walpole was one of the East India Company and not a proper person to be trusted with it, and that they should go directly to the King, or to some favourite lord of the King's council. If the King or his ministers did not mind it, Bates would go over to France and make the discovery of the treasure to the King of France, who would give him a good reward, and Hollyhead and Wright should have £500 0s 0d apiece. Being provided for, he was sure of himself, and he would come no more near England. Bates said further that the King of France would send men of war to take the island for the French, and of this he was sure, for the King of France would send his whole fleet rather than not take the island. He would come out in the same ships with them, and a good deal more of the same kind of talk that Bates used on that occasion. The last of it was the most material of that sort of discourse. Wright had nothing further to say at that time. The information was sworn before Isaac Pyke on 2 August 1736 and signed by Thomas Wright. Governor Pyke noted that some of the ore of the gold mine named in the information had been sent to the Company in 1726 by the Cardigan, with a request that an assay be made of it. The Company answered that of the two samples of minerals sent, one of which was thought to be gold and the other copper, both had been tried in England and found to be only marcasites, as the chemists call them, meaning that there is metal in them but it cannot be separated, and flies away in fire in fume. The Company added that if any other kinds of mineral were found in digging for stone or lime, samples might be sent for further trial. Thomas Silvester, a soldier of the garrison of St Helena, deposed on oath that about the end of the last month, on or about 25 April, being at Joseph Bates's country house he heard Bates speaking of [...] Interpretations Words of this kind carried a weight far beyond the counterfeiting they accompanied. Proposing to carry intelligence of the island to the King of France, and predicting that a French fleet would come to take it, amounts to a design against the Company's possession at a moment when the council had spent two years fortifying the coast under an apprehension of war with France. Colonel Gaultier was dismissed on 5 December 1734 partly because his movements looked like those of a spy while that apprehension stood, and the report of 3 December recorded that he had waited on the French ambassador after contracting to come out. The Company's answer of 1726 disposes of the mine itself. Marcasite was the general name for the brassy iron pyrites that resemble gold and copper to the eye and yield nothing to the furnace, and the London assay found exactly that. Bates's claim that the Company knew of a mine and stifled it inverts the record: the council sent the samples, the Company had them tried and reported the result, and the correspondence sits in its own books. Sir Robert Walpole was First Lord of the Treasury and the leading minister of the day, so Bates's scheme of applying to him and then rejecting him as too close to the East India Company shows a man reasoning about interests he did not understand. The whole plan, from royal favour through a governorship to a French fleet, is the talk of someone who had never been near any of those people. Bates had been in custody for debt since 2 September 1735, owing £221 19s 2.5d to the heirs of Don John de Mesa y Aniento, and the council resolved on 1 July 1736 to let him alone a little longer since pressing him would recover nothing. He had also employed Cornelius Plucknet to procure subscribers to writings against the Governor and council in November 1735, and was told on 29 July 1735 that he would be locked in a cell with a pillow and clean straw if he troubled his neighbours with talk of buried charms again. Two soldiers quartered at a country house are the necessary element in the whole scheme. Bates provided lodging, a shed with blinded windows and the capital, while Wright and Hollyhead supplied the casting, and the arrangement of a promise of future places under a governor who did not exist is the same currency of expectation that ran through Bates's dealings from the Mesa estate onwards. |
128 | 120 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] the Governour of this place, say he believed it was no Sin to Shoot him & being asked in what manner Bates Expressed himself he sayeth it is not some time agoe & he does not exactly Remember all the words as who some were agoe, & he does not exactly Remember all the words he made Use of but is positive that Bates did say it was no Sin to take a Gun or a Pistoll & shoot him, but whether Bates sayed a Pistoll or a Gun he has forgott And to the truth hereof the said Thomas Silvester does hereunto Subscribe his Name (Signed) Thos Sylvester Sworn before me this 2 day of August Ao Do 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The Governour having asked the Opinion of the Councill what Punishment Bates deserved for threatning to Shoot him & they unanimously agreed that he deserved to be publickly whipt with Thirty Stripes at the common whiping Post, where as whipt accordingly after which he told us his Punishment was Light for he said he deserved ten times more His Punishment for Aiding & Assisting in Coyning & putting off false Money is Referred to the Honble Company & the Secretary was Ordered to prepare a Paragraph upon this occasion in the Generall Letter The last Will & Testament of William Seale Senr was this day proved before us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Vizt Isaac Wood & Richard Beale the other Witness Solomon Durling being dead His Widow & Executrix also presented an Inventory & Ingnifest of the Estate & Effects of the deceased & the same was taken & Appraised by John Desfountaine, Samuel Doveton, Simon Whaley & James Compton who being Sworn declared upon Oath that they Valued & Appraised the same according to the best of their Skills & Knowledge The last Will & Testament of Solomon Durling decd was this day proved before us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Vizt Richard Beale, John Harriott & Joshua Worrall His Widow & Executrix also presented an Inventory & Appraisement of the Estate & Effects of the deceased & the same was taken & Appraised by Francis Wrangham & Charles Steward who upon their Oaths declared that they had Valued & Appraised the same according to the best of their Skills & Knowledge, & the said Wills & Inventories were Ordered to be Registered Upon Complaint made by John Seale & Sutton Isacke that Benjamin Pledger had forceably taken from their Blacks upon the Highway 2 [...] wt of Salt worth 8 ⅌ & the said Pledger was Ordered according to Moses Law to pay each of them fourfold for the Salt taken which is 20 lb each | Thomas Silvester deposed that he heard Joseph Bates speaking of the Governor and saying he believed it would be no sin to shoot him. Asked how Bates had expressed himself, Silvester answered that he could not recall every word, the conversation having taken place some time earlier, and that he could not say positively whether Bates said it would be no sin to take a gun and shoot him or a pistol and shoot him, having forgotten whether the word used was pistol or gun. He set his name to the truth of what he had said, and the information was sworn before Governor Pyke on 2 August 1736 and signed by Thomas Silvester. The Governor asked the council what punishment Bates deserved for threatening to shoot him, and it agreed unanimously that he should be publicly whipped with thirty stripes at the common whipping post. He was whipped accordingly, after which he was told that his punishment was light and that he deserved ten times as much. His punishment for aiding and assisting in coining and passing false money was referred to the Company, and the secretary was directed to prepare a paragraph on the matter for the general letter. The last will and testament of William Seale senior was proved before the council that day on the oaths of the witnesses Isaac Wood and Richard Beale, the other witness Solomon Durling being dead. His widow and executor also presented an inventory and appraisement of the estate and effects of the deceased, taken and valued by John Defountaine, Samuel Doveton, Simon Whaley and James Compton, who swore that they had valued and appraised it to the best of their skill and knowledge. The last will and testament of Solomon Durling, deceased, was proved the same day on the oaths of the witnesses Richard Beale, John Worrall and Joshua Worrall. His widow and executor also presented an inventory and appraisement of the estate and effects of the deceased, taken and valued by Francis Wrangham and Charles Steward, who swore on oath that they had valued and appraised it to the best of their skill and knowledge. The wills and inventories were ordered registered. John Seale and Sutton Isaacke complained that Benjamin Pledger had forcibly taken two hundredweight of salt from their slaves, worth 5s the hundredweight. Pledger was ordered to pay each of them fourfold for the salt taken, following the law of Moses, which came to twenty shillings each. Interpretations Whipping Bates at the common post is the sharpest reversal in this record. He had been a substantial planter since 1727, a subscriber to the inhabitants' petition against the surgeon Gibson, foreman material at the sessions and a man whose £50 bond to the Company was reduced to 50s in July 1727 at the request of the late Earl of Caernarvon. A public whipping was reserved for slaves and for the lowest sort of offender, John Long having been allowed to receive his in 1733 with his clothes on as a planter, and the Governor's remark that the punishment was light measures how far Bates had fallen. Splitting the punishment between the two offences reflects exactly what the council could and could not do. Threatening the Governor was a matter of the island's own order, punishable at once. Coining false money touched the Crown's law and the Company's trade, so it went to London with a paragraph in the general letter, the same route taken with Gibson's fraudulent bill in March 1729 and with Colonel Gaultier's dismissal in December 1734. Silvester's honesty about not recalling whether the word was gun or pistol strengthens the deposition rather than weakening it. A witness who reconstructed the exact phrasing of a conversation months old would invite suspicion, and the council accepted the substance while he disclaimed the detail. The finding rests on Wright's much fuller information of the previous day, in which Bates spoke of carrying the discovery to the King of France and predicted a French fleet. Proving a will where one witness has died shows the practical difficulty of probate on a small island. English law required the surviving witnesses to swear, and Solomon Durling's own will was proved on the very same day, so two estates and one dead witness came before the council together. Durling had been appointed overseer of the Company's black slaves on 31 December 1728 in place of Richard Durling, described then as a very sober and industrious man with good knowledge of country business, and he was rewarded ten shillings in October 1733 for taking the runaways Walker and Sauney. Fourfold restitution under the law of Moses is a striking authority for a council that usually reached for English statute or the printed laws of the plantations. The rule comes from Exodus and required a thief to restore four sheep for one, and its use here supplies a fixed multiplier where no English measure of damages fitted a forcible taking from another man's slaves. The council had cited Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland on 20 February 1733 and read Swinburne and Godolphin on wills in September 1735, having no lawyer and settling its procedure by reading. |
129 | 121 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 10th August 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Mary Gurling Daughter of Robert Gurling being delivered on the 7th of this Month of a Male Bastard Child, Mrs Bagley who was the Midwife upon this Occasion was Summoned to attend this day which she did accordingly & being Sworn was asked to whom the said Gurling laid the Child when she was in Labour Answered that she said Joshua Worrall was the father & being asked whether the Child was at his full growth said it came in its full time & being farther asked whether the Child was white or Black said the upper parts looked like a white Child but upon farther view of the Child she became doubtfull & cannot certainly say whether it is white or Black Eleanor Worrall, being Sworn & asked if she knew of any familiarity between the said Mary Gurling & a black fellow of the said Mr Gurlings named Andrew said she had seen them very familiar together & once see the said Andrew Kiss her Thomas Silvester Sole Executor of William Stanley decd to whom he has given all he had, this day delivered the last Will & Testament of the said William Stanley desiring the same might be proved which was done accordingly upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Vizt William Wood & Henry Chaloner, the said Sylvester also presented an Account or Inventory of the said deceased Effects, & the said Will & Inventory was Ordered to be Registered. | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 10 August 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Mary Girling, daughter of Robert Girling, was delivered of a male bastard child on 7 August. Mrs Bagley, the midwife who attended her, was summoned to appear that day and did so. Sworn and asked whom Mary Girling had named as the father while she was in labour, she answered that she named Joshua Worrall. Asked whether the child was at its full growth, she said it came at its full time. Asked whether the child was white or black, she said the upper parts looked like a white child, but on looking further she grew doubtful and could not say with any certainty whether it was white or black. Eleanor Worrall was sworn and asked whether she knew of any familiarity between Mary Girling and a black man of Robert Girling's named Andrew. She answered that she had seen them very familiar together, and had once seen Andrew kiss her. Thomas Silvester, sole executor of William Stanley, deceased, who had left him everything he had, delivered that day the will of William Stanley and asked that it be proved. It was proved on the oaths of the witnesses William Wood and Henry Chaloner. Silvester also presented an account and inventory of the effects of the deceased, and the will and inventory were ordered registered. Interpretations The midwife's evidence was the strongest proof available in a bastardy case, and the whole procedure turns on what a woman said at the moment of her greatest peril. Mary Shreve gave the same testimony about Margaret Alexander on 27 November 1735, swearing that the mother wept bitterly and named James Powell at the birth, and Governor Pyke had cited the New England rule that a woman's oath in labour could charge a man where no other proof existed. Mary Girling named Joshua Worrall on 5 May 1736 and named him again in labour, which is as much corroboration as the law could expect. The question about the child's colour is the same one the Governor put to Mary Shreve in November 1735, when he observed that the child might be a black child and she answered that it was certainly a white man's child and told him the sure sign. Mrs Bagley cannot give that answer, and her doubt does more damage to Mary Girling's case than anything Worrall himself has said. He retracted his promise of marriage on 11 May 1736, claiming he had done so little to her that she could not be pregnant by him, and this uncertainty gives his denial the support it previously lacked. Eleanor Worrall's evidence arrives at exactly the moment it is most useful to her own family, and it supplies the alternative father the midwife's doubt requires. She speaks of familiarity and of a single kiss, which proves nothing by itself, and its whole weight comes from being set beside the midwife's uncertainty about the child. The consequences ran far beyond a maintenance order. Had the child been found to be a black man's, its status would have been settled by the rule the council stated on 30 September 1735, that the children of a free woman by a slave father were to be taken as slaves following the law of the King's colonies in the West Indies, and valued into a personal estate. Andrew belonged to Mary Girling's own father, so the question touched Robert Girling's property as well as his daughter's reputation. A sole executor left everything the testator had is the ordinary form for a small estate with no family on the island, and Silvester appears here two days after swearing the information against Joseph Bates over the threat to shoot the Governor. The same handful of soldiers and planters recur throughout this record as witnesses, appraisers and executors, the island's population being too small to keep its public business separate from its private. |
130 | 122 | [Small loss at the left edge, mid-page.] At a Consultation held on Fryday 13th Augt 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved According to the Order of Tuesday last the Child laid to Joshua Worrall by Mary Gurling was this day brought before us & Examined in our presence by two Midwives the Widow Sweatte on behalf of Joshua Worrall & the Widow Bagley the rest of the said Mary Gurling on both sides Nurse & they agreed to us & to each of the Midwives that the said Child had all the Marks & usuall Signals upon it that made it very plain that it was begotten by a Black man & that therefore Joshua Worrall who is a white Man cannot be the Father of that Child Whereupon they were Ordered to withdraw & the Governour & Councill having taken this matter into Consideration discharged the said Worrall from that Complaint & are of Opinion that the said Mary Gurling ought to be Severely punished for her false Swearing & Sued & to be Imprisoned till she declares who is the reall Father thereof Moll a Slave Wench belonging to James Powell of this Island Planter made Complaint that her Master has allwayes been exceedingly Severe & Cruel to her beating & unjustly abusing her very often & allwayes under frivolous Pretences that on Monday last altho she had been delivered of a Child but Twelve days before he whipt her with great Severity & this day whipt her again in that same terrible & unreasonable Manner the she saith she hath allwayes done her businesse faithfully & never wronged him or her Mistress of any thing, that one of his Pretences for whipping her was because she had been sent to Milk but not finding the Calfe that was missing she returned home & upon that he said she was come home with design to run away altho she returned of her own accord which she should not have done had she intended to Quitted his Masters Service & to the Truth hereof she hath hereunto Sett her hand The Mark of Moll For this Instance of Savage Cruelty the said Powell was fined Forty Shillings that is Twenty Shillings for each Whipping & to avoid the like hereafter said himself under the following Obligation Vizt I do hereby promise being charged by my wench Moll for whipping her twice within fourteen days after her delivery (that for the future I will never Whip any of my Servants upon any Occasion whatsoever without Margin Notes: Worrall | At a consultation held at the castle on Friday 13 August 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Following the order made the previous Tuesday, the child that Mary Girling had laid to Joshua Worrall was brought before the council and examined in its presence by two midwives, the widow Aswaite acting for Worrall and the widow Bagley for Mary Girling. Both women agreed and told the council that the child carried every mark and usual sign that made it very plain it had been begotten by a black man, and that Joshua Worrall, being a white man, could not therefore be its father. The midwives were then ordered to withdraw. The council, having considered the matter, discharged Worrall from the complaint, and was of opinion that Mary Girling ought to be severely punished for her false swearing, and imprisoned until she declared who the real father was. Moll, a slave woman belonging to James Powell, planter, of the island, complained that her master had always been exceedingly severe and cruel to her, beating and abusing her very often and always on frivolous pretences. On the Monday a week earlier she had been delivered of a child, but twelve days before that he whipped her with great severity, and on the day of her delivery he whipped her again in a manner terrible and unreasonable. She stated that she had always done her business faithfully and had never wronged him or her mistress in anything, and that when one of his pigeons was missing she had been beaten for whipping the dog, but had returned home and told him she could not find the missing bird. He said she had come home with a design to run away, although she had returned of her own accord, which she would not have done had she intended to quit his service. She signed her statement with her mark. For this instance of savage cruelty Powell was fined forty shillings, being twenty shillings for each whipping, and to avoid the like hereafter he bound himself under the following undertaking. He promised that, being charged with whipping his slave woman Moll twice within fourteen days after her delivery, he would in future never whip any of his servants on any occasion whatever without [...] Interpretations Bringing in a second midwife to act for the accused man turned the examination into something like a contested inquiry, each party having a woman of her own to view the child. When both agreed against the mother, the finding carried a weight that a single opinion could not. Mrs Bagley had told the council on 10 August that the upper parts looked like a white child before growing doubtful, so her joining in the contrary verdict three days later closed the matter. Mary Girling's position collapses entirely on that finding. She swore on oath on 5 May 1736 that Joshua Worrall was the father and that no other man had ever known her, naming a single occasion under a mulberry tree in January. Eleanor Worrall's evidence on 10 August of familiarity with Andrew, a black man belonging to Mary Girling's own father, supplied the alternative, and the child now supplies the proof. Imprisonment until she names the real father applies the poor law's true object, which was always to fix the maintenance on someone rather than to punish the mother. The consequence for the child is settled by a rule the council stated on 30 September 1735, that the children of a free woman by a slave father were to be taken as slaves under the law of the King's colonies in the West Indies, confirmed by the Crown, and valued into the personal estate. Andrew belongs to Robert Girling, so a finding against his daughter converts his grandchild into his own property. James Powell returns to the record having given a written promise on 22 January 1736 that he would not whip his slaves nor use severe punishment, but would correct with his hand alone and bring any great offender to the Governor. Bacchus deposed on 10 September 1735 to whippings of a hundred lashes, Lawrence to being burned with a hot gridiron, and Stellen on 16 January 1736 to three whippings within weeks of his release from prison. The council recorded then that his father had given a like promise and proved impossible to restrain, and it now takes a second promise from the son within seven months. A fine of forty shillings is the whole penalty the law allowed, since the testimony of a slave was inadmissible against a free defendant and no free witness saw the whippings. Twenty shillings for each beating of a woman in childbed measures the gap between the council's evident disgust, expressed in the words savage cruelty, and the sanction it could actually impose. |
131 | 123 | leave from the Governour James Powell The Governour Reports that yesterday he recieved the following Letter from the Dutch Captain Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr of St Helena This Letter is Sent because I understand that the Officer of Bankes Battery was turned out of his Post, I believe for that reason that he when wee came here was not distinctly heard by us therefore I begg that he may be pardoned & restored unto his Post & favour which will be a lasting Obligation to Your most Humble Servt P Vd Hoorne Upon this Letter the fine of Joseph Desfountaine was remitted & he was Cautioned to be more carefull for the future The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for July last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt Expence of the Table in July 1736 Vizt £ 48 Fowles 3 12 6 Turkeys 1 10 115 lb Beef 7 6 3 Sheep 3 15 2 Piggs 10 44 lb Butter 2 4 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 31 Days Greens 1 11 67 Galls Arrack 13 8 8 Galls Port 1 3 3 24 Galls Cape 4 16 - . - Flour 5 2 1. 3. - Sugar 2 2 - . 2. - Biscuit 4 4 24 Candy 1 8 9 Bottles Oyle 2 8 4 Pepper 1 £ 47 10 5 Gunners Stores Expended in July 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder 1736 July 5 Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 25 9th Marlborough Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 17th An Allarm for a Ship that past by: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 25th An Allarme: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 do Dutch Ship Arrived: Guns Fired 17, Minion 3, Falcons 13, Powder 31 26th An Allarm again for this Ship: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 38, Minion 5, Falcons 15, Powder 28 106 Lead Shot 5 lb Handspikes 6 Bulge Barrils 2. Ribs 6 Parchment Skins 5 Sheepskins 10 Spunge Staves 6 Cartredge paper 6 Match 12 | James Powell's undertaking closed by promising that he would never whip any of his servants on any occasion without leave from the Governor, and it was signed by James Powell. The Governor reported that he had received a letter the previous day from the Dutch captain, addressed to Isaac Pyke, Governor of St Helena. Van Hoorn wrote that he sent the letter because he understood the officer of Banks's battery had been turned out of his post, and believed the reason was that what the men there called to the ship as she came in was not distinctly heard aboard. He asked that the officer be pardoned and restored to his post as a favour, which would be a lasting obligation to him. The letter was signed R. Van Hoorn. On that letter the fine imposed on Joseph Defountaine was remitted, and he was cautioned to be more careful in future. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for July, each of which was examined and approved. The general table account for July 1736 was entered as follows. 48 fowls, £3 12s 0d 6 turkeys, £1 10s 0d 115 lb of beef, £2 9s 6d 3 sheep, £3 15s 0d 2 pigs, £0 10s 0d 44 lb of butter, £2 4s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 1s 8d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 67 gallons of arrack, £13 8s 0d 8 gallons of port, £1 3s 3d 24 gallons of Cape wine, £4 16s 0d Flour, £5 0s 0d Sugar, 1 hundredweight 2 quarters, £2 2s 0d Biscuit, 2 hundredweight, £2 4s 0d Sugar candy, 24 lb, £2 8s 0d 9 bottles of oil, £2 8s 0d Pepper, 4 lb, [...] Total, £47 10s 5d The gunner's account of stores expended during July 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 1 July, muster day, guns fired 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 25 lb 9 July, the Marlborough sailed, guns fired 9, minions 1, falcons 9, powder 11 lb 19 July, an alarm for a ship that passed by, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 25 July, an alarm, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb 26 July, the Dutch ship arrived, guns fired 37, minions 3, falcons 15, powder 51 lb 26 July, another alarm for the same ship, guns fired 4, minions 4, falcons 0, powder 12 lb Expense of the guard, powder 36 lb Total, guns fired 58, minions 5, falcons 15, powder 28 lb, 156 lb Sled shot, 5 Handspikes, 6 Budge barrels, 2 Jibs, 6 Parchment skins, 5 Sheepskins, 10 Sponge staves, 6 Cartridge paper, 6 Match, 12 lb Interpretations A foreign commander interceding for an English officer he had complained of is a striking piece of diplomacy, and it worked. Van Hoorn's complaint of 28 July 1736 had cost Defountaine two months' pay and Ensign Wood his office, and the captain's letter now concedes that the difficulty was a hail not clearly heard rather than any fault in the men. Governor Pyke had been building this relationship deliberately, corresponding with Abraham Patras at Batavia and receiving his answer of 23 January 1736, and Captain Goodwin had gone aboard the Young William to save her from driving to leeward only three days before. Remitting the fine while cautioning the man preserves the finding and cancels the penalty, which is the council's habitual method where the offence is proved but the consequence would be harsh. The record still shows Defountaine at fault, so the standing order that every strange sail be hailed and brought to remains intact, and the Dutch obtain a courtesy that costs the Company nothing. Thirty-seven guns for a Dutch merchant ship is far beyond the customary nine, and it answers a salute the ship herself would have fired. The council had exchanged twenty-one guns with a Dutch fleet in February 1731 at a cost of 88 lb of powder, and Governor Pyke's letter to Batavia and the assistance given to this vessel made a generous reply the obvious course. Two alarms fired on successive days for the same ship measure the flagstaff's continuing blindness, the second going off on the very day she came in. Beef at 115 lb is the lowest since February and the whole table account has fallen to £47 10s 5d from £60 13s 0d in May. The homeward fleet of five ships sailed on 2 June and the Marlborough followed on 9 July, leaving nothing in the road until the Dutchman arrived at the end of the month. Milk, butter and daily greens continue steadily, the dairy and garden supplying what the herd no longer needs to. Jibs among the gunner's stores are the levers used with a gin or triangle for lifting a gun from its carriage, and six expended alongside six handspikes points to guns being moved or remounted rather than merely fired. Budge barrels carried made-up charges from the magazine, and ten sheepskins supplied the wool for fresh sponge heads, the ordinary consumables of a battery in regular use. |
132 | 124 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaing 1 July: Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 15, Yearlings 50, Calves 147, Bulls 6, Totall 387, Ewes 46, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 7, Piggs 45, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 29, Fowles 86, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 10, Totall 13 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 17, Bulls 0, Totall 17, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 42, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Bullocks 5, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 15, Yearlings 50, Calves 164, Bulls 6, Totall 404, Ewes 46, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 7, Piggs 45, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 29, Fowles 128, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 11, Totall 14 Sold to Ships in ditto: Bullocks 1, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 1, Totall 3, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 164, Bulls 5, Totall 401, Ewes 46, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 7, Piggs 43, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 29, Fowles 128, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 11, Totall 14 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows [...], Heifers [...], Steers [...], Yearlings [...], Calves [...], Bulls [...], Totall [...], Ewes 2, Wethers 1, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 2, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 6, Fowles 48, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remainong 31st July: Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 164, Bulls 5, Totall 401, Ewes 44, Wethers 1, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 68, Sows 9, Shoats 5, Piggs 43, Boars 1, Totall 58, Turkeys 23, Fowles 80, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 11, Totall 14 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantns 17800 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 24600 Totall Yams 42,400 lb | The stock account for July 1736 set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 July, the increase during the month, the numbers sold to shipping, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 31 July. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 July, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 15, yearlings 50, calves 147, bulls 6, total neat cattle 387, ewes 46, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 71, sows 9, shoats 7, pigs 45, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 29, fowls 86, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 10, total horses and mares 13 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 17, bulls 0, total neat cattle 17, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 42, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, total horses and mares 1 Sum after increase, bullocks 5, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 15, yearlings 50, calves 164, bulls 6, total neat cattle 404, ewes 46, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 71, sows 9, shoats 7, pigs 45, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 29, fowls 128, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 11, total horses and mares 14 Sold to ships, bullocks 1, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 1, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 1, total neat cattle 3, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after sale, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 164, bulls 5, total neat cattle 401, ewes 46, wethers 1, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 71, sows 9, shoats 7, pigs 43, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 29, fowls 128, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 11, total horses and mares 14 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 2, wethers 1, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 2, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 6, fowls 48, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 July, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 164, bulls 5, total neat cattle 401, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 68, sows 9, shoats 5, pigs 43, boars 1, total hogs 58, turkeys 23, fowls 80, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 11, total horses and mares 14 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,800 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 24,600 lb Total yams, 42,400 lb Interpretations The last wether on the island went to the table in July, and the sheep account now carries a nil in that column for the first time in this record. The flock has fallen from 79 in February to 68, its breeding ewes from 60 to 44, and every carcass has come out of the ewes for eight months. With no wether left and no lamb born since May, the flock has nothing to draw on but the animals that produce it. Only three cattle went to shipping, against 25 in May and 9 in June, and one of them was a bull. That is a considerable concession, a bull being breeding stock rather than beef, and it shows how far the fattened classes have been stripped: four bullocks and fourteen steers remain against 35 and 41 at the beginning of February. The Marlborough sailed on 9 July and nothing else called until the Dutchman on 26 July, so the demand was small, but the council had almost nothing left to meet it with. Seventeen calves born is the strongest calving since April and carries the herd back over four hundred. The calf class now stands at 164, more than a third of the whole herd, which measures both the recovery from the drought and the problem the council faces: an enormous reserve of young stock that cannot be eaten for two or three years while the classes that can are almost gone. Forty-two chicks hatched against 48 fowls killed leaves the poultry yard falling slowly, and turkeys have dropped from 42 in June to 23. The yard has carried the fort's table since the beef ran short, and the table account for July shows 48 fowls and 6 turkeys consumed, matching the stock account exactly. Yams rose to 42,400 lb from 34,800 lb in June, with the slaves' share at 24,600 lb and the plantations at 17,800 lb. The rise falls in the middle of the island's winter planting season, which runs from about May to September, and the plantations' share is seed going into the ground as much as feed for hogs and poultry. |
133 | 125 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 31st Augt 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour having on Sunday last recieved Information that Severall Blacks had conspired to Runaway with the Long boat from these Moorings & that their design was to be put in Execution this Evening & two of Mr Durlings Blacks Philip & Tobey being mentioned as concerned therein he Ordered them to be Secured & being this Morning Examined Philip declared that Drake one of the Honble Companies Blacks was the first that moved this matter & engaged him & his fellow Servant Tobey therein & that he proposed to go to the first Land they could make, upon this Philip asked him what they should do for Water & Provisions, & Drake Answered I will get Water at Bankers, I work there, & can easily get it, theres only one Man there Tom Steele to look after the Place, & he is a foolish Man & as for Provisions I will break open my Masters the Companies Store in the night & Steale Arrack Rice & Bread Sufficient for our Voyage Philip also said he was by & heard Drake make the same proposall to Greenwich on Sunday Morning last & that Greenwich at Drakes desire promised to make one amongst them & that the following Blacks had agreed & were determined to be [...] of the number & were to Rendezvous at Ruperts Valley on Sunday Evening Vizt Richard Goodwins Lewis Mrs Powells Greenwich & Manuel James Powells Lawrence Honble Companies Drake & Manroe Gabriel Harpers Harvey Joseph Desfountains Dick Governours Mildad & Octr Thomas Colgroves Supio Serjt Bazetts Cupido Tobey being also Examined touching this design of Runing away with the Longboat said that he was engaged therein & confirmed what Philip had said about their intention to go away with the Boat, & added that Drake was the first contriver of this Roguery Drake was next Examined what he knew of this design to Run away with the Longboat & he pleaded totall Ignorance but being whipt for refusing to discover the Truth he then said that Philip engaged him in this Businesse, but this appearing to be all a Lye & prevarication he was exhorted to be whipt again & he would not tell the Truth & then he owned that he was the first contriver of this Mischeif & had spoken to Eight other Blacks with hopes to draw them in | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 31 August 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor received information on the Sunday that several black men had conspired to run away with the long boat the following morning, and that the plan was to be carried out that evening. Two of Mr Durling's men, Philip and Tobey, were named as concerned in it, so he ordered them secured, and they were examined that morning. Philip stated that Drake, one of the Company's men, first raised the matter and drew in Philip and his fellow servant Tobey, proposing to make for the first land they could reach. Philip asked him what they should do for water and provisions, and Drake answered that he could easily get water at Banks's, where he worked, there being only one man, Tom Steele, to look after the place, and he a foolish man. As for provisions, he would break open his master's stores in the night and take arrack, rice and bread enough for the voyage. Philip added that he had heard Drake make the same proposal to Greenwich on the Sunday morning, and that Greenwich promised at Drake's desire to make one among them. The following men had agreed and were said to be of the number, and were to meet at Rupert's Valley on the Sunday evening. Belonging to Richard Goodwin: Lewis Belonging to Mrs Powell: Greenwich and Manuel Belonging to James Powell: Lawrence Belonging to the Honourable Company: Drake and Manrow Belonging to Gabriel Harper: Harvey Belonging to Sergeant Defountaine: Dick Belonging to the Governor: Milano and another Belonging to Thomas Colgrave: Scipio Belonging to Sergeant Bazett: Cupido Tobey was also examined about the design of running away with the long boat. He said he had been drawn into it and confirmed what Philip had said about their intention, adding that Drake was the first contriver of the business. Drake was next examined about what he knew of the design to run away with the long boat, and pleaded total ignorance. On being whipped for refusing to tell the truth, he then said that Philip had drawn him into it, but this appearing to be a lie and a piece of prevarication, he was ordered to be whipped again unless he would tell the truth. He then admitted that he was the first contriver of the mischief and had spoken to eight other black men with a view to drawing them in [...] Interpretations Running away with the long boat had been a standing fear on the island for years, and the council's precautions show how seriously it was taken. Seven of Captain Goodwin's slaves put out to sea in a boat in March 1728 and were supposed drowned, after which the council ordered every boat owner to secure sails and oars on returning from fishing. Governor Byfield set a guard to lie in the long boat all night in July 1728 for the same reason, and no salute was fired on the Harrington's departure in March 1733 expressly to avoid giving notice to runaways that a ship was ready to sail. The plan was better founded than most. Drake worked at Banks's, where the water supply was so awkward that the guard had once gone three days without any, and he knew the post was watched by a single man. Provisions were to come from breaking open a master's store at night, and the rendezvous at Rupert's Valley put the party at a landing place away from the fort. What the scheme lacked was any realistic destination, the nearest land being some twelve hundred miles distant across open ocean. Thirteen men drawn from ten different households is the most alarming feature of the whole business. Slaves on St Helena were dispersed among small holdings and worked apart, so a conspiracy spanning the Company's own establishment, the Governor's household, the Powell estates and several sergeants' families required communication the council had been trying to prevent since it ordered every householder on 12 October 1730 to lock up his slaves each evening and let none out without a written note. Lawrence appears in the list, and his presence carries its own history. He deposed on 10 September 1735 and again on 11 November to being whipped, burned on the hip with a hot gridiron and having candle wax dripped on the burn by James Powell, and Moll of the same household complained on 13 August 1736 of being whipped twice within a fortnight of her delivery. The council had stated on 18 December 1733 that slaves driven away by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault, though conspiracy to steal a boat would fall outside that rule. Whipping a man to obtain a confession and whipping him again when the first answer proved false is the method the council used where slave evidence was the only evidence available. The same approach produced the truth from Caesar and Abigail over the church theft in December 1732, and its weakness is written into this very examination: Drake first blamed Philip, then admitted his own part, and each answer came out under the lash rather than from any weighing of the matter. |
134 | 126 | in most of whom had promised to go Vizt Philip, Greenwich, Manuel, Lawrence, Manroe, Scipio, Harry, & Dick Greenwich saith that yesterday Drake came to him & perswaded him to be one to go away in the Longboat & to encourage him told him he was a Slave here & that he had already got Philip Tobey Philip & Manuel, & severall more, & upon this Greenwich said what shall we do for Provisions & Water replyed Drake, dont mind that I have got Water & Provisions enough, get your self ready & I will call for you & to this Greenwich agreed to do so & make one of the number October being accused by Philip for being one of those who was to Runaway in the Longboat owned that he did after much perswasion agree to go with them, & accordingly gave Philip all his Rice & last night met him at Mr Durlings under pretence of fetching Water to carry back to the Woods the place where he Works Mildred being also accused as one, to Runaway with the Longboat, saith that yesterday Drake came to him & asked him to go but he replyed he was Sick & couldn't go & that Drake to prevent being heard whispered to him then, being severall other Blacks in the Room Manuel one of Mrs Powells Blacks owned that Drake did on Sunday Evening last desire him to help Runaway with the Longboat & to encourage him Drake told him he would find Water & Provisions but Manuel refused to go Lawrence one of James Powells Blacks being charged by Drake as one who was to help Runaway in the Longboat owned that both Drake & Philip had spoke to him about such a design & Drake sayes that Lawrence promised to go with them Dick being charged with Runing away with the Longboat owned that on Sunday last Drake asked him to go but he refused to go but Drake declares that he promised to go & Philip & Tobey say that Dick had also promised each of them to go Mildred owned that Harry spoke to him to go & that he agreed to help to runaway with the Longboat & that he thought they were to go to the Malabar Country & that for his part he was to furnish some Yams & some Lemons Upon these Severall Examinations it was Ordered that all these Blacks concerned in this design & readily confessed their fault should be pardoned & that those who denied it & prevaricated should be Severely whiped which was done accordingly & after they were all made Sensible of the certainty of being drowned if they had proceeded in this Contrivance they were returned to their Masters, & this Wee hope will be an Effectuall Cheque to all future attempts of this kind The following Petition was presented & read Vizt | Drake said that most of the men he approached had promised to go, naming Philip, Greenwich, Manuel, Lawrence, Manrow, Scipio, Harry and Dick as those who came to him. Greenwich stated that Drake came to him the previous day about the long boat and pressed him to be one of the party. Drake told him he was a slave, and that he had already secured Philip, Tobey, Phelps and Manuel, with several more besides. Greenwich asked what they would do for provisions and water, and Drake answered that he need not concern himself about that, since he had water and provisions enough already, and that Greenwich should simply get himself ready and go when called for. Greenwich agreed to do so and to make one of the number. Octavo, accused by Philip of being one of those who was to run away in the long boat, admitted that after much persuasion he had agreed to go with them. He gave Philip all his rice, and met him the previous night at Mr Durling's under pretence of fetching water to carry back to the Wood, where he worked. Milano, also accused of intending to run away with the long boat, said that Drake came to him on the Sunday and asked him to go, but that he answered he was sick and could not. Drake, to avoid being overheard, whispered to him, several other black men being in the room at the time. Manuel, one of Mrs Powell's men, admitted that Drake had asked him on the Sunday evening to help run away with the long boat, and that to encourage him Drake said he would find water and provisions. Manuel refused to go. Lawrence, one of James Powell's men, charged by Drake as one who was to help run away in the long boat, admitted that both Drake and Philip had spoken to him about such a design. Drake said that Lawrence had promised to go with them. Dick, charged with intending to run away with the long boat, denied it and said that Drake had asked him on the Sunday but that he refused to go. Drake declared that he had promised to go, and Philip and Tobey both said that Dick had likewise promised each of them that he would. Cupido admitted that Harry had spoken to him about going, and that he had agreed to help run away with the long boat. He thought they were to go to the Malay country, and his own part was to furnish some yams and some lemons. On these several examinations the council ordered that every man concerned in the design who condemned his own conduct and readily confessed his fault should be pardoned, and that those who denied it or prevaricated should be severely whipped. That was done accordingly, and afterwards they were all made sensible of the certainty of drowning had they gone through with it. They were returned to their masters, and the council hoped this would put an effective stop to any further attempt of the kind. A petition was then presented and read. Interpretations Drake's argument to Greenwich reduces the whole conspiracy to a single sentence: he told him he was a slave. Greenwich had stood before the council on 17 July 1733 claiming to be the Company's own property, bought at Batavia by Governor Cash for Bencoolen, seized by Malays, sold to the Spaniards, bought back and sold on to Mr Powell, and the council found the Company's right survived the whole chain but referred the question to London rather than unsettle every purchase on the island. Three years later he remains where he was, and the reminder of his condition was apparently all the persuasion required. Cupido's belief that the party was bound for the Malay country identifies where several of these men came from. Slaves reached St Helena from Madagascar, Bengal, Batavia and the Malay archipelago, and a man who had been carried west across the Indian Ocean might reasonably think the passage could be made in reverse. Nothing in the plan accounted for the distance, and the council's final act was to make the men understand that they would certainly have drowned. Pardoning those who confessed and whipping those who lied inverts the usual order, in which the offence itself determines the penalty. The council was buying information rather than punishing intent, and it had used the same method with Drake himself an hour earlier, whipping him until the second answer came. What the council obtained was a complete list of names across ten households, which is worth more to it than any punishment. Returning every man to his master without an iron collar, a term at the fortifications or a single lash for the confessed conspirators is a marked departure from the tariff applied to ordinary runaways. Walker and Sauney received a collar for twelvemonth, six months at hard labour and sixty lashes apiece on 30 October 1733 merely for absconding and killing a calf. Thirteen men who plotted to steal the Company's long boat were sent home unpunished, the council preferring an entire confession and a demonstration of the danger to a display of severity. The long boat was the island's single most valuable working vessel and its loss would have been felt for years. The Company's long boat was lost at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734 while fetching lime, leaving the Turk's Cap battery three loads of stone short of completion, and the crane broke on 17 January 1735 lifting an anchor into another ship's boat. Everything landed or shipped moved through such craft, so a successful theft would have crippled the settlement quite apart from the fate of the men aboard. |
135 | 127 | To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour & the Councill The humble Petition of Mary Powell Spinster Sheweth, That Your Petr is upwards of Fourteen Years of age & her Father & Mother being both dead she meets with great Difficulty & is much at a loss for want of a Friend to Secure & manage her Fortune to the best Advantage That Your Petr for these Reasons thinks it is highly Necessary for to have a Guardian willing & able to take charge of her Interest & Estate, & Your Petr placing much trust & Confidence in the Care & Friendship of Capt Goodwin Your Petr therefore humbly prays that the said Capt Goodwin may be accordingly appointed Guardian of Your Petr & her Estate And Your Petr as in duty bound shall ever pray Mary Powell St Helena 31st Augt 1736 Granted, & according to the Prayer of her Petition Capt Goodwin is appointed her Guardian At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7th Septr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent, John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that one of the Companies Blacks named Wild Boarjar has been missing ever since last Sunday Sennight & although all possible Search has been made for him he cannot yet be found & it is likely he is either killed by falling down some high Precipice or else he has drowned himself he having been lately observed to have been something Crazey, for he cannot be got off the Island all the Boats being safe & no Ship having been here since he has been missing The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Augt last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt | Mary Powell, spinster, petitioned the Governor and council. She stated that she was upwards of fourteen years old, that her father and mother were both dead, and that she found herself in great difficulty and at a loss for want of a friend to secure and manage her fortune to the best advantage. For that reason she thought it highly necessary to have a guardian willing and able to take charge of her interest and estate, and placing much trust and confidence in the care and friendship of Captain Goodwin she asked that he be appointed guardian of her estate. The petition was dated at St Helena on 31 August 1736 and signed by Mary Powell. The council granted the request and appointed Captain Goodwin her guardian. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 7 September 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp, John Alexander being absent. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that one of the Company's black men named Will Boojar had been missing since the Sunday a week earlier. Every possible search had been made for him without success. He was probably killed by falling down some high precipice, or else had drowned himself, having lately been noticed to be somewhat crazed. He could not have got off the island, all the boats being safe and no ship having called since he went missing. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for August, each of which was examined and approved. Interpretations A girl of fourteen petitioning in her own name for a guardian shows how far the Powell estate had been left without anyone answerable for it. Mary Powell the elder died in the summer of 1735 leaving a will that named her eldest son George Gabriel Powell, then in the East Indies, and Richard Goodwin as executors; Goodwin renounced on 2 March 1736, pleading weakness and infirmity, and told the council that the children held the property in fact. The largest fortune in this record, appraised at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October 1735, has therefore had no lawful representative for six months, and one of its heirs has had to apply for a guardian herself. Fourteen was the age at which a minor could choose a guardian rather than have one assigned, which is why the petition opens by stating her age so precisely. Below that age the council named the guardian, as it had when it placed the orphan Mary Sufeer with Jonathan Higham junior on 29 July 1729 and when it settled the Marsh grandson on Mr Wood for life on 11 July 1732. Captain Goodwin is the obvious choice and also an interested one. He has been the council's principal surveyor, storekeeper and accounting officer throughout this record, and he stood among the twelve inhabitants consulted on the island's defence in July 1734. He is also the man to whom Frances Carne and Richard Goodwin assigned their lease on 6 July 1736 so that he might build, and Richard Goodwin, who renounced the executorship, is his relation. Three caveats still stand against any grant of probate in the estate. Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson each entered one on 21 October 1735, and their claims came before the council again on 15 June 1736, Johnson's demand now standing at £804 0s 0d and upwards. A guardian appointed for one heir cannot distribute anything while those objections remain unanswered, so the appointment protects the girl's interest without unfreezing the estate. The account of Will Boojar's disappearance is unusually careful about what could and could not have happened. All the boats were accounted for and no ship had touched the island, which eliminated escape and left only the precipices or the sea. The island's paths had taken lives before, the fisherman Corryden falling 150 feet into Downing's Cove on 20 July 1734, and eleven grown black men belonging to the Company had been lost by that date. Recording that the man had lately seemed disturbed acknowledges the other possibility without pressing it. |
136 | 128 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of August 1736 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st Augt 1736: Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 164, Bulls 5, Totall 401, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 20, Rams 4, Totall 68, Sows 9, Shoats 5, Piggs 43, Boars 1, Totall 58, Turkeys 23, Fowles 80, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 11, Totall 14 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 11, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 3, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 4, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 20, Fowles 50, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 175, Bulls 5, Totall 412, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 23, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 5, Piggs 47, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 43, Fowles 130, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoats 3, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 3, Turkeys 5, Fowles 24, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaing 31st Augt: Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 175, Bulls 5, Totall 412, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 22, Rams 4, Totall 70, Sows 9, Shoats 2, Piggs 47, Boars 1, Totall 59, Turkeys 38, Fowles 106, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 17000 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 4000 lb Totall Yams 21000 lb | The account of the Company's stock of cattle and other animals for August 1736 set out each class with an opening tally on 1 August, the increase during the month, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 31 August. Remaining 1 August, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 164, bulls 5, total neat cattle 401, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 20, rams 4, total sheep 68, sows 9, shoats 5, pigs 43, boars 1, total hogs 58, turkeys 23, fowls 80, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 11, total horses and mares 14 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 11, bulls 0, total neat cattle 11, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 3, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 4, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 20, fowls 50, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, total horses and mares 1 Sum after increase, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 175, bulls 5, total neat cattle 412, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 23, rams 4, total sheep 71, sows 9, shoats 5, pigs 47, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 43, fowls 130, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 1, rams 0, total sheep 1, sows 0, shoats 3, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 3, turkeys 5, fowls 24, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 August, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 173, bulls 5, total neat cattle 412, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 22, rams 4, total sheep 70, sows 9, shoats 2, pigs 47, boars 1, total hogs 59, turkeys 38, fowls 106, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 4,000 lb Total yams, 21,000 lb Interpretations Not a single beast went to shipping in August, the first such month since the season opened, and no cattle were killed at all. Nothing had called since the Dutch ship on 26 July, so the herd was left entirely alone and grew by eleven calves to 412, its highest figure since the drought began. The killing fell instead on three shoats, a lamb, five turkeys and 24 fowls, the poultry yard again carrying the fort's table by itself. For the first time in eight months no ewe was killed. Three lambs were born and only one taken, so the flock has stabilised at 70 and the 44 breeding ewes are intact. That reprieve comes not from any change of policy but from the absence of shipping: with no ships to victual and no guests to entertain, the table did not need mutton. The yam issue to the slaves collapsed to 4,000 lb from 24,600 lb in July, by far the sharpest fall in this record and lower even than the 9,700 lb of March 1736. The plantations held their share at 17,000 lb, so the ground is still being planted, and the shortfall must have been carried by imported rice. This is the deepest point of the annual gap, the old crop exhausted and the new one in the ground, with the island's planting season running from about May to September. Turkeys recovered strongly with twenty hatched, and fifty chicks brought the fowls to 130 before the table took 24. Both classes had been drawn down heavily in May, when 90 fowls and 11 turkeys went to six ships, and the southern spring hatching is now rebuilding them. The horses and mares rose to fifteen on a single birth, the third foal since April, and the stud has grown from thirteen to fifteen across the year without any purchase. Horses served for carriage on paths that no cart could use, which is why the loss of one in April was entered as carefully as any beast in the account. |
137 | 129 | Gunners Stores Expended in Augt 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder 1736 Augt 1: Anniversary of the Succession of the present Royall Family: Guns Fired 21, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 21, Powder 21 3: An Allarm for a Ship passing by: Guns Fired 4, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Falcons 2, Powder 20 7: Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 25 15 Dutch Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 17, Sakers 1, Minion 1, Falcons 13, Powder 25 Expence of the Guard: Guns Fired 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 35 Guns Fired 48, Sakers 2, Minion 1, Falcons 36, Powder 126 Musquet Balls 15 lb Handspikes 4 Parchment Skins 2 Sheep Skines 10 Tompions 10 Cartredge Paper 4 Quire Match 12 lb Expence of the Table in Augt 1736 Vizt £ 5 Turkeys 1 10 24 Fowles 1 16 110 lb Pork 2 15 1 Lamb 15 6 28 lb Butter 1 8 4 . - - Flour 5 1. 2. Sugar 2 2 - . 19 Candy 13 6 50 Galls Arrack 10 20 Galls Cape Wine 4 3 Galls Port 1 3 3 7 Bushells Salt 1 13 1 lb Pepper 1 9 Bottles Oyle 1 10 £ 30 18 3 36 Galls Arrack to the Guards, Carpenters &ca on the Accession of the present Royall Family to the Throne happening this Month 9 72 lb Sugar to ditto 18 £ 9 18 | The gunner's account of stores expended during August 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the sakers, the minions, the falcons and the powder. 1 August, the anniversary of the accession of the present royal family, guns fired 21, sakers 0, minions 0, falcons 21, powder 21 lb 3 August, an alarm for a ship passing by, guns fired 4, sakers 2, minions 2, falcons 0, powder 20 lb 7 August, muster day, guns fired 0, sakers 0, minions 0, falcons 0, powder 25 lb 15 August, the Dutch ship sailed, guns fired 17, sakers 0, minions 1, falcons 15, powder 25 lb Expense of the guard, powder 35 lb Total, guns fired 48, sakers 2, minions 1, falcons 36, powder 126 lb Musket balls, 15 lb Handspikes, 4 Parchment skins, 2 Sheepskins, 10 Tompions, 10 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 12 lb The general table account for August 1736 was entered as follows. 5 turkeys, £1 5s 0d 24 fowls, £1 16s 0d 110 lb of pork, £2 15s 0d 1 lamb, £0 15s 6d 28 lb of butter, £1 8s 0d 4 hundredweight of flour, £5 0s 0d 1 hundredweight 2 quarters of sugar, £2 2s 0d 19 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 50 gallons of arrack, £10 0s 0d 20 gallons of Cape wine, £4 0s 0d 3 gallons of port, £1 3s 3d 7 bushels of salt, £1 13s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 9 bottles of oil, £1 10s 0d Total, £30 18s 3d A further charge was entered for the anniversary of the accession. 36 gallons of arrack to the guards and carpenters for the accession of the present royal family, £9 0s 0d 72 lb of sugar for the same occasion, £0 18s 0d Total, £9 18s 0d Interpretations The table account fell to £30 18s 3d, the lowest figure in this run and half the £60 13s 0d of May. No beef appears at all, the herd having been left untouched through the month, and the whole provision rests on 110 lb of pork, 24 fowls, five turkeys and a single lamb. The road stood empty from the Dutch ship's departure on 15 August, so there were no commanders, supercargoes or passengers to feed, and the fort's table shrank to its own household. Two sakers fired in the alarm of 3 August account for the unusually heavy 20 lb of powder charged to it, where four minions had cost 12 lb in each earlier alarm. Sakers were heavier pieces reserved for occasions when a lighter gun would not carry, and a ship merely passing by drew them because the vessel was standing on rather than closing the road. Tompions are the wooden plugs driven into a gun's muzzle to keep out rain and spray, and ten expended in a month is a sign of maintenance rather than of firing. The island's guns had been kept constantly loaded since the council resolved on 11 June 1734 to do so even in peacetime, which makes the exclusion of damp a continuous concern: a charge left standing in a wet barrel deteriorates and cannot be relied on when an enemy appears. The accession allowance follows the customary pattern exactly, 36 gallons of arrack and 72 lb of sugar going to the guards and carpenters on 1 August. The same distribution appears on 11 June 1729 for the King's accession and in August 1732 at 19 gallons with 38 lb of sugar. Twenty-one guns for the royal anniversary were fired entirely from falcons, the smallest pieces on the island, which continues the deliberate economy Governor Pyke began on 8 October 1734 when he substituted a public dinner for the coronation salute. Salt at seven bushels is the heaviest entry of that article in months and points to meat being preserved rather than eaten fresh. With no shipping to victual, the pork and beef the establishment could not consume immediately had to be salted down, and the storekeeper's account for July 1728 recorded nine bushels expended over five months in salting meat. |
138 | 130 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 14th Septr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Mr Bazett one of the Executors of the last Will & Testament of Henry Wilcé Soldier deceased this day presented the said Will together with an Inventory & Valuation of the Effects of the decd praying that the said Will might be proved & that both might be Registered & the said Will was proved accordingly upon the Oath of William Harriett one of the Witnesses thereto & Mr Bazett made Oath that the Inventory by him this day delivered was a true Account of all the Effects belonging to the decd that came to his knowledge & the said Will & Inventory were each Ordered to be Registered accordingly The Governour Reports that the old Casque of Wine being all Expended he Ordered a Chest of Cherry to be Opened which came from England by the last Shipping but the Steward bringing him Word that Severall of the Bottles were empty he went into the Cellar taking the Grancel with him in Order to Examine into the matter & upon taking the Bottles out it appeared that most of them were quite empty & very little in the rest & not one full Bottle in the whole parcell, Upon this Misfortune he Ordered two more Chests of the same Sort of Wine to be Opened & they proved to be in the same Condition so that out of the three Chests he could find no more than 14 Bottles that were full & entire, what little Wine was found in some of the rest was hardly Sufficient to fill a Chest of 27 Galls & how that will prove is yet uncertain, this Accident the Governour imputes to the badness of the Wine it being new when Bottled & mixed with Syder like which it flew & Sparkled exactly one half Chest of the same sort of Wine proved Something better their being two dozn & Seven Bottles entire & 2 dozn & 3 filled with peices of Bottles of the half Chest & only 14 full Bottles out of the three Chests & this little parcell added to the 14 Bottles out of the three Chests make together but 6 dozn instead of 46 dozn the number which ought to have been. | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 14 September 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Mr Bazett, one of the executors of the will of Henry Welch, a soldier, deceased, presented the will that day together with an inventory and appraisement of his effects. He asked that the will be proved and that both documents be registered. The will was proved on the oath of William Worrall, one of the witnesses, the other witness being unable to attend through illness. Bazett swore that the inventory he delivered was a true account of everything belonging to the deceased that had come to his knowledge, and the will and inventory were ordered registered. The Governor reported that the old casks of wine being all consumed, he ordered a chest of sherry opened which had come from England by the last store ship. The steward brought him word that several of the bottles were empty, so he went into the cellar himself, taking the council with him, in order to examine the matter. On taking the bottles out it appeared that most of them were quite empty, that the rest held very little, and that not one bottle in the whole parcel was full. He then ordered two more chests of the same sort of wine opened, and they proved to be in the same condition, so that out of the three chests no more than fourteen full and entire bottles could be found. What little wine remained in some of the rest was hardly enough to fill a cask of 27 gallons, and how that would prove was uncertain. The Governor attributed the accident to the badness of the wine, it having been bottled and mixed with cider, which flew and sparkled violently. One half chest of the same sort of wine proved somewhat better, there being two dozen and seven bottles in it. Three dozen and three bottles, filled with the contents of other bottles, made up the half chest, and only fourteen full bottles came out of the three whole chests. That little parcel added to the fourteen bottles from the three chests makes together no more than six dozen, instead of the forty-six dozen that ought to have been there. Interpretations Wine loss of this scale falls on the Company rather than on the island, and the Governor's response was to establish exactly what had happened in the presence of the whole council. Taking the councillors into the cellar and opening two further chests to test the first turned a steward's report into a finding four men could sign, which is the same method Governor Pyke used when he weighed six island waters against Bristol water on 8 August 1732 and when he required each councillor to walk the ground before giving an opinion. The explanation offered turns on how the wine was put up in England rather than on any theft. Sherry mixed with cider and bottled young would continue to ferment, building pressure until it forced the corks, and the Governor's description of wine that flew and sparkled violently is exactly what a secondary fermentation produces. Bottles that vented their corks in a hot hold would empty themselves without anyone touching them. Six dozen recovered against forty-six dozen shipped is a loss of nearly nine tenths, and the council's careful arithmetic exists to support a claim in London. The same purpose lay behind the protest entered on the Prince William's bill of lading in May 1728 when sugar and rice were spoiled by wetting, and behind the complaint of 27 March 1733 that the Harrington's deal boards fell short of their invoice lengths, samples of each sort being sent home so the Company might see how far it had been deceived. Wine and spirits were a substantial charge on the island's accounts and could not be replaced from any local source. Cape wine came from the Dutch settlement and arrack from Bengal and Batavia, but sherry had to come out from England in the store ship, so a loss of this kind could not be made good until the next vessel sailed from London a year later. Proving a will on one witness where the other is too ill to attend follows the practice the council applied on 3 August 1736, when William Seale's will was proved on two oaths because the third witness, Solomon Durling, was dead. Henry Welch had given evidence on oath in June 1735, confirming Bridget Thwaites's account of the seamen who spoke of seizing the Portuguese vessel, and had earlier refused to point out the man who spoke, saying he was afraid. |
139 | 131 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21st Septr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Mary Gurling being Charged with Bastardy & false Swearing the Governour Issued his Warrant for apprehending her in Order to Examined which was done accordingly & is as follows Vizt St Helena ss The Examination of Mary Gurling Singlewoman taken before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the said Island this 1st day of Septr 1736 Vizt This Examinant being asked who was the Father of the Male Bastard Child of which she was lately delivered saith that Andrew her Fathers Black man was the true Father thereof & that she had lain with him often, how many times she cannot remember but allwayes in her Fathers Bed Chamber at times when he was from home & that the first time he lay with her was about a Year & half ago & that she used to let him in at the back door in the night This Examinant further saith that about three weeks before her Father brought her to the Governour, her Father faced her with being with Child, which she neither owned or denied to him, but immediatly told Andrew what Questions her Father had put saying Andrew I am with Child & by you, what must I do, what will become of me, & some related & he entreated & wished her it to & Joshua Worrall & the reason why he desired her to lay it to Joshua Worrall rather than any other white Man was because he said that on the day upon which her Father sent Andrew to bring her home from Mrs Worralls where she had been Visiting, her Andrew told her that when he first went into the house he see her with Joshua Worrall in her owne Room & she did accordingly Swear the Child to him, but sometime after this she & Andrew made great Complaint to Andrew about her Bead, & he Answered she don't mind it, I can give you something or other to destroy it when you are in Labour, if you will only give me notice when you are in Labour This Examinant also saith & freely Confesseth that a great deale of what she had Sworne when she was first before the Governour was false, & that she knew it was false before that time she swore it & further said that lamenting her miserable Condition to Andrew he said to her Molly Gurling if ever this Child comes out of your belly wee shall come out of mine, she also added I have damned my Soul to Hell through | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 21 September 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Mary Girling stood charged with bastardy and with false swearing. The Governor issued a warrant for her arrest so that she might be examined, which was done, and the examination was entered as follows. Mary Girling, single woman, was examined before Governor Pyke on 21 September 1736. Asked who was the father of the male bastard child of which she was lately delivered, she answered that Andrew, her father's black man, was the father, and that she had lain with him often, though she could not remember how many times. It was always in her father's bedchamber when he was away from home, and the first time he lay with her was about a year and a half earlier. She used to let him in at the back door at night. She stated further that about three weeks before her father brought her to the Governor he charged her with being with child, which she neither admitted nor denied to him. She went immediately to Andrew and said that she was with child by him and asked what she should do, and what would become of her. Andrew advised her to lay the child upon Joshua Worrall, and she readily agreed and did so, the reason being that she liked Worrall better than any other white man. She added that on the day her father sent Andrew to bring her home from Mrs Worrall's, where she had been staying, Andrew told her that when he first went into the house he saw her with Joshua Worrall, and that on those grounds he would swear the child was his. Some time afterwards she made a great complaint to Andrew about her fears, and he answered that if she minded it he could give her something to destroy it, when she was in labour, if she would only give him notice when she drew near her time. She also freely confessed that a great deal of what she swore when she was first before the Governor was false, and that she knew it to be false at the time she swore it. She said further that in lamenting her miserable condition to Andrew she said to him that when the child came out of her belly it would be the end of her, and added that she had damned her soul to hell through [...] Interpretations Everything Mary Girling swore on 5 May 1736 is now withdrawn. She had deposed on oath then that Joshua Worrall was the father and that no other man had ever known her, naming a single occasion under a mulberry tree in January; she now admits to a relationship with Andrew running back a year and a half and conducted in her father's own bedchamber. The council had ordered her imprisoned until she named the real father after two midwives examined the child on 13 August 1736 and agreed it carried every mark of having been begotten by a black man. Andrew's advice to lay the child on a white man reveals the same calculation from the other side. A charge against Joshua Worrall would have produced a maintenance order and nothing worse; a charge against Andrew exposes him to whatever punishment the council thinks fit and destroys any pretence that Mary Girling was seduced rather than willing. His claim that he saw her with Worrall and would swear the child was his supplied the story she then told on oath. The offer to give her something to destroy the child when she came into labour is the gravest matter in the examination, and it goes well beyond bastardy. Whatever the substance, its administration at that moment would have been intended to kill either the child or the mother, and Andrew's condition that she give him notice as her time drew near shows the offer was made in earnest rather than as loose talk. The consequence for the child is settled by the rule the council stated on 30 September 1735, that the children of a free woman by a slave father were to be taken as slaves under the law of the King's colonies, confirmed by the Crown, and valued into the personal estate. Andrew belongs to Robert Girling, so his own daughter's child becomes his property and can be appraised as such. False swearing before the Governor is the charge that now carries most weight, and it has already cost an innocent man his liberty and reputation. Worrall promised on 28 April to marry her, settled terms with her father, then withdrew on 11 May insisting he could not be the father, and stood accused until the midwives' finding cleared him on 13 August. The council recorded then that she ought to be severely punished, and this examination furnishes the proof. |
140 | 132 | Andrew Perswasions to all Intents & Purposes Taken before me this 21 Septr 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The Mark of Mary Gurling Andrew the Black Slave of Robert Gurling mentioned in this Information owned that he has Severall times lain with her but allwayes in her Molly his Masters Daughters own Bed in her Fathers Chamber at times when he was absent & that the Occasion of his laying with her began at first from a little Play, she throwing Yarn at him & then carried him into the Chamber & fell upon the Bed & pulled him upon her & then he said Molley what is the meaning of this have a care what you do something may come of it, oh said she you need not be afraid, you are not the first Man I have known & you may know one if you will, & accordingly he did then lay with her & at many times afterwards & that she told him that she had lain with another Black before she knew him belonging to her Father named Peter long dead & that he had [...] seen her familiar with one of her Fathers Blacks named Cornelius but Mary Gurling Strenuously denied it & affirmed that the Child was only his Andrews farther said that she threatned to tell her Father if he would not lye with her that he had offered to lay with her & then he should be punished Severely & upon this fearing to be whipt, he at her desire lay with her afterwards as often as he could get an Opportunity Taken before me this 21th Septr 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The Mark of Andrew The Governour & Councill having taken these Crimes into Consideration Ordered the Wench to be whipt with Thirty nine Lashes at the Common whiping Post & was determined that the fellow for his Villainy should be Castrated The Governour Reports that this Morning he received the following Letter from John Long Vizt Worshipfull Sr This wicked bad Submission have made bold to write to your Worship hoping your Worship will not take it amiss that whereas I being that in prison & very lame & almost Starved likewise my Wife & Seven Children almost ready to perish with hunger & can get little or no releif from any body, & what small matter I have goes to Bread for there is no Bread at home, but one old Wench to help to do any thing so most humbly begg of your Worship to take it into your Charitable Consideration & not to let us all Starve, & if your Worship will be pleased to hear what I have to say I can | Mary Girling ended her examination by saying that she had damned her soul to hell through Andrew's persuasions in every respect. She signed with her mark, and the examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 21 September 1736. Andrew, the black man belonging to Robert Girling named in the information, admitted that he had lain with her several times, always in her father's bedchamber and in his master's daughter's own bed, at times when her father was away from home. He said the whole business began with a little play between them, she throwing yam at him, after which she carried him into the chamber and fell upon the bed and pulled him down upon her. He asked her what she meant by such behaviour and what might come of it, to which she answered that he need not be afraid, that he was not the first man she had known, and that he might know one of his own colour. He accordingly lay with her then and many times afterwards. She told him she had lain with another black man belonging to her father named Peter, since dead, and that she had also been familiar with one of her father's black women. Mary Girling had sworn seriously and repeatedly that the child was his and no other man's. Andrew added that she threatened to tell her father, if he would not lie with her, that he had offered to do so, and that he would then be severely punished. Fearing a whipping, he lay with her afterwards as often as he could find an opportunity. He signed with his mark, and the examination was taken before the Governor on 21 September 1736. The Governor and council, having considered these examinations, ordered Andrew whipped with thirty-nine lashes at the common whipping post, and afterwards determined that he should be castrated for his villainy. The Governor reported that he had received the following letter that morning from John Long. Long wrote that he had made bold to write, hoping his letter would not be taken amiss. He was in prison and very lame and almost starved, his wife and seven children being almost ready to perish with hunger, and he could get little or no relief from anybody. Whatever small matter he had gone to ruin, there being nobody at home but one old woman to do anything. He asked the council to take his case into its charitable consideration and not to let them all starve, and that if it would be pleased to hear what he had to say [...] Interpretations Castration was the island's severest punishment short of death for a slave, and its use here follows a settled pattern of applying it where a black man was found to have had sexual relations with a white or a child. Mingo, a slave of Samuel Jephry, was indicted at the sessions of 2 July 1733 for raping two children and the jury proposed castration, which the record does not show carried out. Tonis, the Governor's own slave, was castrated on the Thursday before 18 November 1735 for the rape of Francis Funge's twelve-year-old girl, that being the first occasion shown executed. What separates this case from those two is that no rape was alleged. Andrew's account describes a woman who initiated the relationship, threatened him with a false accusation when he hesitated, and lay with him repeatedly over a year and a half in her father's bed. Mary Girling's own examination corroborates every material part of it. The punishment is imposed for the fact of the connection rather than for any force, and the council's word for it is villainy. Thirty-nine lashes was the conventional ceiling for a whipping, one below the forty prescribed in scripture, and it had been imposed on Andrew Bergue on 11 June 1735 for cutting Matthew Mudge across the wrist with a knife. Adding castration on top of the maximum whipping places this among the heaviest sentences in the record. Mary Girling's own position is left unresolved in this entry. She stood charged with bastardy and false swearing, was imprisoned until she named the father, and has now confessed that she knowingly swore falsely against Joshua Worrall. The council recorded on 13 August 1736 that she ought to be severely punished, and the sentence pronounced here falls entirely on the man. John Long's letter arrives after a long descent. He was ordered to hard labour on 30 May 1736 for the riot at the Red Hill, allowed home on 8 June pleading the flux, examined by the surgeon on 28 July who found no injury, and committed to prison on refusing to work at Banks's. His petition of 9 March 1736 to go to Bencoolen with his wife and children still awaits the Company's answer, and the council told him then that his family were good and industrious people who would be a great loss to whatever place they went to. |
141 | 133 | can prove that, that Black Wench of mine has told your Worship Severall Lyes but if it is your Worships pleasure to believe what she sayes, & be an Evidence against me, humbly begg that your Worship will fine or punish me so that your Worship will Releive me & let me go home & go a fishing & do what small matter I can & be able to do to help them from Starving for it is very hard to hear every day that my poor Children are Starving & cannot help them & once more begg of your Worship for Gods sake to take it into your Charitable Consideration & as in duty bound shall ever pray & remain Sr Your most humble & obedient Servt to Command Jno Long Septr 21 1736 After this Letter was read Severall Paragraphs of our late Consultations relating to Long were produced by which it appeared that on the 28th May last Long was Ordered to hard Labour for Mutiny but under pretence of Sickness he was permitted on the 8th June to return to his Family promising to be very good & if he abused this favour he declared himself willing to undergo any Punishment that should be inflicted upon him Besides it is by proofs on our Consultations that after he had got his Liberty, he had Stole two of the Companies Goates & two Turkeys from Mathew Mudge & a hog from Mr Desfountain In Consultation of the 6th July it further appears that Long had Stole Ten Turkeys belonging to Mathew Mudge For these Crimes on the 28th July he was Ordered again to hard Labour but pretending to be Lame in his Shoulder the Doctor was Ordered to Search him who Reported that he could not perceive any Sign of Lameness in his Shoulder or any other any where else, upon this he was Ordered to Work at Bankers but positively & impudently refusing to do so he was Committed to Prison where he now remains Upon proof of Stealing & killing the Companies Goates he was Ordered to kill the kids & goats which he had raised as a Bank to Steale the Companies or Robbs Neighbours & which as he had Stole from the Company but he has hitherto refused to do so Upon Consideration of this Letter & the Severall Consultations already recited the Governour & Councill were of Opinion that it was better one Man should Suffer than the Company be constantly Robbed & the Neighborhood daily plundered & resolved that he should continue in Prison as he would not work at a 4 day & as to the distress he pretends his Family are in for want of his Assistance it is utterly false & notoriously known that they live better & live more quietly without him for when he is at home he is continually instructing his Children & Servants to Steal & Pilfer & wee are afraid that nothing but the Gallows will | John Long's letter went on to say that he could prove that the black woman of his own had told the council several lies, but that if it pleased the council to believe what she said and take it as evidence against him, he humbly asked to be fined or punished so that he might be released and allowed to go home or go fishing, or to do whatever small matter he was able, to help his family from starving. He said it was very hard to have his poor children starving every day while he could not help them, and he begged the council once more for God's sake to take his case into its charitable consideration. The letter was dated 21 September 1736 and signed by John Long. After the letter was read, several paragraphs from earlier consultations relating to Long were produced. From those it appeared that on 28 May he was ordered to hard labour for mutiny, but that on the pretence of the flux he was permitted on 8 June to return to his family, promising to behave very well and offering, should he abuse the favour, to undergo any punishment the council thought fit to impose upon him. As soon as he obtained his liberty he stole two of the Company's goats, two turkeys from Matthew Mudge and a hog from Mr Defountaine. From the consultation of 6 July it further appeared that Long had stolen ten turkeys belonging to Matthew Mudge. For these offences he was ordered again to hard labour on 28 July, but pretending a weakness in his shoulder he was examined by the surgeon, who reported that he could see no sign of lameness in the shoulder or anywhere else. He was then ordered to work at Banks's, and on positively and insolently refusing to do so he was committed to prison, where he now remains. On proof of his stealing and killing the Company's goats, he was ordered to kill the kids and goats he had raised as a means of stealing the Company's animals or his neighbours', which until then he had refused to do. Having considered the letter and the several consultations already recited, the Governor and council were of opinion that it was better one man should suffer than that the Company and the neighbourhood be constantly robbed and plundered daily. It was therefore resolved that he continue in prison, since he would not work at any rate. His claim that he was released to support his family was utterly false and notoriously known to be so, since they lived better and more quietly without him. Whenever he was at home he was continually instructing his children and servants to steal and pilfer, and the council feared that nothing but the gallows would [...] Interpretations Producing the earlier consultations against Long turns a plea for mercy into a written record of every indulgence already given. The council did the same with Richard Durling on 31 December 1728, reading back his own promise of reform of 2 April as proof that he was incorrigible, and with John Hodgkinson on 21 January 1729, whose letter of contrition was read to the council as evidence that he could not be trusted. A written submission taken at the time becomes the instrument that defeats the next one. Long's own offer of 8 June 1736 is what closes the argument. He undertook then to submit willingly to any punishment the council chose to lay upon him should he offend again, and the thefts recited here followed within weeks of his release. The council is now holding him to the terms he proposed himself. Ordering him to kill the goats he had raised reaches the method rather than the man. Tame goats kept about a house drew the Company's stock down from the ranges and mingled with them, so that a stolen beast could be absorbed into a private flock without any proof of taking. Long had been suspected of shooting the Company's goats in January 1729 and again on 11 November 1729, warrants issuing on both occasions to kill his dogs, and the same reasoning underlies the order here. The council's willingness to say plainly that his family did better without him repeats what Mr Crisp told the board on 8 June 1736, holding that Long should stay in the valley rather than go home since his family thrived better without him. What sustained the plea in June was the destitution of his wife and children, and the council has now decided that the destitution is caused by his presence rather than relieved by it. Fearing that nothing but the gallows will answer is the third time that judgement appears in this record. It was entered on 26 August 1735 when the council refused his offer to take his family to India, holding that abroad he would sooner turn pirate than reform, and Mr Crisp gave it as his formal opinion on 8 June 1736. No capital charge lies against him, the testimony of blacks being inadmissible and every free witness producing only fines and short imprisonments, so the remark measures the council's own sense of having exhausted the law. |
142 | 134 | will Cure him at last At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5th Octr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Petition of Joseph Bates was presented & read Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & the Councill The humble Petition of Joseph Bates Sheweth, That Your Petr with great Greif & trouble doth Acknowledge that his Rash & Extravagant Behaviour has been the sole Cause of all the Misfortunes that have attended him, & now it presseth so heavily upon his mind that he hopes to Enjoy more peace & quiet in a foreign Country when it is not known Your Petr therefore humbly prays your Worship & Councill will be pleased to Grant your Petr leave to go off this Island together with his Wife & Family to Bencoolen by the next Shipping provided he shall be able to Sell his Estate & Effects to which purpose your Petr desires leave to make Sale of every thing belonging to him And Your Petr as in duty bound shall ever pray Joseph Bates 5th Octr 1736 The Petr was told that no body was so serious to keep such a person as himself upon this Island, but before he could go or any full Answer be given to his Petition he must first pay his debts particularly the Debt due to the Spanish Gentlemen & that he should declare on what time he proposed to do this & likewise what Land he is possessed of which he proposes to sell & where it lies The Petition of Eben: Leech was also presented & read Setting forth | The council concluded that nothing but the gallows would break John Long in the end. At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 5 October 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition from Joseph Bates was presented and read. He acknowledged with great grief and trouble that his rash and extravagant behaviour had been the sole cause of all the misfortunes that had come upon him, and that they now pressed so heavily upon his mind that he hoped to find peace and quiet in a foreign country where he was not known. He asked the Governor and council for leave to go off the island with his wife and family to Bencoolen by the next ship, provided he were allowed to sell his estate and effects, for which purpose he wished to make sale of everything belonging to him. The petition was dated 5 October 1736 and signed by Joseph Bates. The council told him that nobody wanted to keep a man like him on the island, but that before he could go, or receive any full answer to his petition, he must first pay his debts, particularly what he owed to the Spanish gentleman's heirs. He must also declare when he proposed to do this, and state what land he was possessed of, what he proposed to sell and where it lay. A petition from Ebenezer Leech was also presented and read, setting forth [...] Interpretations Bates's petition is the last move available to a man who has exhausted every other. He was taken into custody on 2 September 1735 for the £221 19s 2.5d still owing to the heirs of Don John de Mesa y Aniento, publicly whipped with thirty stripes on 3 August 1736 for threatening to shoot the Governor, and stands referred to the Company for aiding in the coining of false pagodas. His drinking house was cleared by the marshal on 9 April 1736 with a sentry set at the door, and the council resolved on 1 July to let him alone a little longer because pressing him would recover nothing. Asking to be allowed to sell his estate is the crux of the request rather than an incidental condition. Bates offered seven acres of freehold on 2 October 1733, valuing it himself at £600 0s 0d, and was told he might sell to any person not already holding above a hundred acres; nothing came of it. The debt cannot be paid without a sale, and the sale cannot be made if he is confined, so the departure and the discharge of the debt depend on each other. The council's answer converts a general request into a set of specific demands. Requiring him to state when he will pay, what land he holds, what he proposes to sell and where it lies produces the very inventory his creditors have wanted since 1731, when the whole difficulty began with his failure to render an account of the dead Spaniard's effects until more than five weeks after the death. Bencoolen as the destination follows the standing pattern for men the island wished to be rid of. John Bowers was ordered there on 20 February 1733, the soldier Henry Coles on 1 May 1734, John Long aboard the Lyell the same year, and James Powell was granted passage there on 9 March 1736 having asked for England. The Company's settlement in Sumatra kept such men within its own administration rather than beyond all reach. Framing the whole petition as an admission of rash and extravagant behaviour follows the island's established route back from disgrace. Henry Cottrell used it on 22 April 1729, Richard Durling in April 1728, Henry Moyce on 27 January 1736 and James Powell twice. Each such submission was accepted at the time, and the council's habit of reading them back later as proof of incorrigibility is exactly what happened to John Long a fortnight earlier. |
143 | 135 | Setting forth that he has entered into a Contract of Marriage with Bridget Thwaites Widow & nothing but Consumation is wanting & praying that a Lycence for their being Married might be granted & that he may enter into Possession of her third part of her late Husbands Estate Separately from her Children The Petr was acquainted in Answer to this Petition that the Widow should lay before the Governour & Councill a full Account of the Debts & Credit of that Estate & how many Children she has with their Severall Ages Mr Durling the upper Churchwarden this day attended and recommended Samuel Knipe a poor decripid Man to be taken into the Poorhouse must be maintained by the Parish having only one Leg & he was appointed thereto accordingly The Governour & Gunner delivered each their Monthly & Generall Account for the Year ending the 31 of last Month the Steward also delivered his Monthly Account for Septr each of which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow Vizt Expence of the Table in Septr 1736 Vizt £ 105 lb Pork 2 12 6 2 Turkeys 10 - . 2. - Bread 18 6 4. 1. - Flour 5 6 3 2. - 14 Sugar 2 14 9 - . 18 Candy 15 6 79 Galls Arrack 9 Galls Cape Wine 1 16 7 Bottles Oyle 1 3 4 1 lb Pepper 1 35 lb Butter 1 15 60 Bottles Milk 1 30 Days Greens 1 10 £ 34 18 10 Gunners Stores Expended in Septr 1736 Vizt Guns Fired, Minion, Powder 1736 Septr 4 Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Powder 20 17 Fired at the Grampuss: Guns Fired 1, Minion 1, Powder 4 Expence of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Powder 26 Guns Fired 1, Minion 1, Powder 50 Musquet Balls 15 lb Cartridge Paper 3 Quire Handspikes 6 Formulars 2 Sheep Skins 8 Match 18 lb | Ebenezer Leech set out that he had entered into a contract of marriage with Bridget Thwaites, widow, and that nothing but the ceremony itself was wanting. He asked for a licence for their marriage, and that he might enter into possession of her third part of her late husband's estate separately from her children. The council answered that the widow should first lay before the Governor and council a full account of the debts and credits of the estate, and of how many children she had, with their several ages. Mr Sterling, the senior churchwarden, attended that day and recommended Samuel Knipe, a poor crippled man having only one leg, to be taken into the parish and maintained, since he could not otherwise support himself. He was appointed accordingly. The Governor and the gunner delivered their monthly and general accounts for the year ending 30 September, and the steward delivered his monthly account for September. Each was examined and approved. The general table account for September 1736 was entered as follows. 105 lb of pork, £2 12s 6d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 2 hundredweight of bread, £0 18s 6d 4 hundredweight 1 quarter of flour, £5 6s 3d 2 hundredweight 1 quarter of sugar, £2 14s 9d 18 lb of sugar candy, £0 13s 6d 79 gallons of arrack, £15 16s 0d 9 gallons of Cape wine, £1 16s 0d 7 bottles of oil, £1 3s 4d 1 hundredweight of pepper, £0 1s 0d 35 lb of butter, £1 15s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d Total, £34 18s 10d The gunner's account of stores expended during September 1736 was entered as follows, the columns recording the guns fired, the minions and the powder. 4 September, muster day, guns fired 0, minions 0, powder 20 lb 17 September, fired at the Grampus, guns fired 1, minions 1, powder 4 lb Expense of the guards, powder 26 lb Total, guns fired 1, minions 1, powder 50 lb Musket balls, 15 lb Cartridge paper, 3 quires Handspikes, 6 Horse hides, 2 Sheepskins, 8 Match, 12 lb Interpretations A widow's third part of her husband's estate was her right for life under the island's custom, but her remarriage passed her personal property into her new husband's control at law, which is precisely why Leech asks to enter into possession separately from the children. The council's answer protects them without refusing him: an account of debts, credits and the children's ages establishes what the third part actually consists of and what each child is owed before anything is separated out. The Hodgkinson suits of February 1730 turned on exactly this failure, Mary Powell having carried a whole estate into her marriage with Gabriel Powell without any inventory being taken. Bridget Thwaites appears in this record as a woman who kept a house where seamen drank, gave evidence in the trial of the slave Mingo at the sessions of 2 July 1733, and deposed on oath on 24 June 1735 that two of Commodore Bagwell's men had spoken at her house of a plan to seize a Portuguese vessel. Ebenezer Leech held twenty-three acres of leasehold and was granted leave on 12 August 1735 to assign the whole to Henry Multon after guard duty and steep pasture defeated him. Taking a one-legged man onto the parish is the poor law working at its simplest. The churchwardens carried the whole burden of relief on the island, and the council had refused a marriage licence on 29 October 1734 on the ground that the place was already burdened with honest industrious poor more than it could maintain. A man who cannot work at all falls into a different class from one who will not. Firing a minion at a grampus is the only shot discharged in the whole month, and it explains a charge that would otherwise be unaccountable. A grampus is a large blunt-headed dolphin or small whale, and a carcass driven ashore or killed in the road would yield oil for lamps and for greasing ironwork, both of which the island otherwise had to import. Rape oil at 22.25 gallons had been charged to the garrison in the quarter to March 1736 for preserving flintlock wire alone. The table account at £34 18s 10d is the second lowest in this run and shows an establishment feeding only itself. No beef appears for a second month, the road having stood empty since the Dutch ship sailed on 15 August, and the whole meat provision is 105 lb of pork and two turkeys. Arrack at 79 gallons is the heaviest single charge, and milk, butter and daily greens continue as the steady contribution of the dairy and the garden. |
144 | 136 | Gunners Annual Account of Stores Received & Expended in the Year ending the 30th Septr 1736 Vizt Cannon, Culvering, Demi Culvering, Minard, Sakers, Falcons, Twelve Pounders, Nine Pounders, Totall, Iron round Shott, Double headed Shott, Barrells Powder, Match, Quire Cartridge paper, Spunge Staves, Spunge Heads, Rammer Heads, Powder Hornes, Primes, Ladles, Tompions, Ship Skins, Beds, Drumes, Cartouch Boxes, Locks, Kettles, Blunderbusses, Pistolls, Bulge Barrils, Wine Slings, Handspikes, Formers, Firestocks, Priming Wires, Cartridge Cases, Horse Hides, Parchment Skins, Musquets, Swords, Lead Shott, Drivers, Field Colours, Recruiting peices, Flints, Rabbits, Powning heads, Keys of Bells, Grenadier pouches, Comb Shells, Bottles Remg 1 Octr 1735: Cannon 12, Culvering 5, Demi Culvering 60, Minard 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Nine Pounders 4, Totall 152, Iron round Shott 6378, Double headed Shott 545, Barrells Powder 1637, Match 519, Quire Cartridge paper 257, Spunge Staves 295, Spunge Heads 444, Rammer Heads 193, Powder Hornes 208, Primes 17, Ladles 19, Tompions 718, Ship Skins 72, Beds 113, Drumes 102, Cartouch Boxes 163, Locks 36, Kettles 163, Blunderbusses 36, Pistolls 10, Bulge Barrils 2, Wine Slings 2, Handspikes 1, Formers 424, Firestocks 24, Priming Wires 90, Cartridge Cases 300, Horse Hides 116, Parchment Skins 2, Musquets 35, Swords 263, Lead Shott 192, Drivers 328, Field Colours 46, Recruiting peices 2, Flints 7, Rabbits 5000, Powning heads 11, Keys of Bells 271, Grenadier pouches 114, Comb Shells 100, Bottles 10 34 Recd in one Year: Cannon 0, Culvering 5, Demi Culvering 0, Minard 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve Pounders 0, Nine Pounders 0, Totall 5, Iron round Shott 0, Double headed Shott 0, Barrells Powder 24, Match 252, Quire Cartridge paper 0, Spunge Staves 200, Spunge Heads 128, Rammer Heads 172, Powder Hornes 0, Primes 0, Ladles 0, Tompions 502, Ship Skins 100, Beds 0, Drumes 0, Cartouch Boxes 0, Locks 0, Kettles 0, Blunderbusses 0, Pistolls 0, Bulge Barrils 48, Wine Slings 0, Handspikes 150, Formers 0, Firestocks 0, Priming Wires 0, Cartridge Cases 0, Horse Hides 12, Parchment Skins 50, Musquets 0, Swords 0, Lead Shott 2, Drivers 0, Field Colours 0, Recruiting peices 8000, Flints 6, Rabbits 300, Powning heads 150, Keys of Bells 154, Grenadier pouches 0, Comb Shells 0, Bottles 0 Cannon 12, Culvering 10, Demi Culvering 60, Minard 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Nine Pounders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6378, Double headed Shott 545, Barrells Powder 1897, Match 771, Quire Cartridge paper 257, Spunge Staves 495, Spunge Heads 572, Rammer Heads 365, Powder Hornes 208, Primes 19, Ladles 19, Tompions 1220, Ship Skins 172, Beds 113, Drumes 102, Cartouch Boxes 163, Locks 368, Kettles 163, Blunderbusses 36, Pistolls 10, Bulge Barrils 50, Wine Slings 2, Handspikes 1, Formers 574, Firestocks 24, Priming Wires 90, Cartridge Cases 300, Horse Hides 116, Parchment Skins 74, Musquets 35, Swords 313, Lead Shott 192, Drivers 328, Field Colours 48, Recruiting peices 2, Flints 7, Rabbits 13000, Powning heads 17, Keys of Bells 571, Grenadier pouches 264, Comb Shells 254, Bottles 10 34 Expended in one Year: Cannon 0, Culvering 0, Demi Culvering 0, Minard 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve Pounders 0, Nine Pounders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shott 3, Double headed Shott 0, Barrells Powder 1436, Match 282, Quire Cartridge paper 57, Spunge Staves 41, Spunge Heads 0, Rammer Heads 22, Powder Hornes 0, Primes 1, Ladles 10, Tompions 86, Ship Skins 0, Beds 0, Drumes 0, Cartouch Boxes 0, Locks 27, Kettles 0, Blunderbusses 0, Pistolls 0, Bulge Barrils 8, Wine Slings 1, Handspikes 32, Formers 0, Firestocks 0, Priming Wires 0, Cartridge Cases 0, Horse Hides 2, Parchment Skins 28, Musquets 0, Swords 124, Lead Shott 0, Drivers 0, Field Colours 0, Recruiting peices 0, Flints 0, Rabbits 0, Powning heads 0, Keys of Bells 0, Grenadier pouches 0, Comb Shells 0, Bottles 12 Remg 30th Septr 1736: Cannon 12, Culvering 10, Demi Culvering 60, Minard 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve Pounders 11, Nine Pounders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6375, Double headed Shott 545, Barrells Powder 1753, Match 489, Quire Cartridge paper 200, Spunge Staves 464, Spunge Heads 572, Rammer Heads 343, Powder Hornes 208, Primes 17, Ladles 18, Tompions 1210, Ship Skins 86, Beds 113, Drumes 102, Cartouch Boxes 163, Locks 341, Kettles 163, Blunderbusses 36, Pistolls 10, Bulge Barrils 48, Wine Slings 1, Handspikes 1, Formers 542, Firestocks 24, Priming Wires 90, Cartridge Cases 300, Horse Hides 116, Parchment Skins 12, Musquets 7, Swords 313, Lead Shott 192, Drivers 316, Field Colours 0, Recruiting peices 8, Flints 2, Rabbits 7, Powning heads 13000, Keys of Bells 17, Grenadier pouches 571, Comb Shells 262, Bottles 250 10 23 | The gunner's annual account of stores received and expended in the year ending 30 September 1736 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 October 1735: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 5, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 152, iron round shot 6,878, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 165, match 372 lb, quires of cartridge paper 519, sponge staves 257, sponge heads 295, rammer heads 444, powder horns 193, ladles 208, tompions 17, sheepskins 19, beds 718, quoins 72, cartouche boxes 113, gins 102, ladles 163, blunderbusses 36, pistols 163, budge barrels 36, union flags 10, wooden pins 2, formers 1, linstocks 424, priming wires 24, cartridge cases 90, horse hides 300, parchment skins 116, muskets 2, swords 35, lead 263 lb, dividers 192, field colours and accoutrement pieces 3, flints 3,000, rabbits 5,000, running horns 11, kegs of bells 271, grenadier pouches 114, comb shells 100, bolts 10, cutters 34 Received in one year: demi-culverins 5, total ordnance 5, barrels of powder 24, match 252 lb, sponge staves 200, sponge heads 128, rammer heads 172, ladles 502, tompions 100, gins 48, budge barrels 150, cartridge cases 12, horse hides 50, dividers 2, flints 8,000, rabbits 6,300, running horns 150, kegs of bells 154 Sum after receipt: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 5, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 157, iron round shot 6,878, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 189, match 771 lb, quires of cartridge paper 257, sponge staves 495, sponge heads 573, rammer heads 365, powder horns 208, ladles 19, tompions 19, sheepskins 1,220, beds 92, quoins 113, cartouche boxes 102, gins 163, ladles 368, blunderbusses 163, pistols 36, budge barrels 10, union flags 50, wooden pins 2, formers 1,574, linstocks 24, priming wires 24, cartridge cases 90, horse hides 300, parchment skins 116, muskets 74, swords 35, lead 313 lb, dividers 192, field colours 328, flints 4,827, rabbits 13,000, running horns 17, kegs of bells 571, grenadier pouches 264, comb shells 255, bolts 10, cutters 34 Expended in one year: barrels of powder 3, match 14 lb, quires of cartridge paper 36, sponge staves 282, sponge heads 57, rammer heads 41, ladles 22, sheepskins 1, tompions 10, quoins 86, cartouche boxes 27, budge barrels 8, union flags 1, linstocks 32, cartridge cases 2, parchment skins 28, swords 124, comb shells 12 Remaining 30 September 1736: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 157, iron round shot 6,875, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 175, match 537 lb, quires of cartridge paper 489, sponge staves 200, sponge heads 464, rammer heads 572, powder horns 343, ladles 208, tompions 17, sheepskins 18, beds 1,210, quoins 86, cartouche boxes 113, gins 102, ladles 163, blunderbusses 341, pistols 163, budge barrels 36, union flags 10, wooden pins 48, formers 1, linstocks 542, priming wires 24, cartridge cases 90, horse hides 300, parchment skins 116, muskets 12, swords 7, lead 313 lb, dividers 192, field colours 316, flints 8,827, rabbits 13,000, running horns 17, kegs of bells 571, grenadier pouches 262, comb shells 250, bolts 10, cutters 22 Interpretations The ordnance rose from 152 pieces to 157 on the receipt of five demi-culverins, following an increase of 24 guns the previous year that had carried the total from 128 to 152. Eight years passed between 1728 and 1735 without a single gun being added, so the arrival of 29 pieces across two seasons marks the Company at last answering the gunner's survey of 2 July 1734, which called for 76 guns across eight positions with ten more in store. Three barrels of powder expended across an entire twelvemonth is a remarkably low figure against the monthly accounts, which record 244 lb in May 1736 alone and 172 lb in April. The explanation lies in the unit: a barrel held about a hundredweight, so the year's ceremonial firing amounted to something over three hundredweight in all, and the annual account measures the magazine rather than the guns. Powder closed at 175 barrels against 165 at the year's opening, the stock rising for a second year after the run-down that saw 50 barrels sent home in 1733 and 22 in 1734. Round shot fell by three across the whole year, from 6,878 to 6,875, and double headed shot stood entirely unchanged at 545. Almost nothing was fired in earnest: the alarms and salutes recorded month by month consumed powder in quantity but sent very few balls out of the barrels, which is why the sled shot used to bring a strange sail to appears in the monthly accounts and hardly touches the annual reckoning. The heavy consumption falls on the consumable furniture of the guns rather than on ammunition. Two hundred and eighty-two sponge staves, 57 sponge heads, 41 rammer heads and 86 quoins were used up, and 300 horse hides with a stock of sheepskins stood in store as the material for making fresh sponges. Quoins are the tapered wedges driven under a breech to set elevation, and they split under repeated firing, so their number measures how often the guns were exercised. Flints rose from 3,000 to 8,827 after 8,000 were received, and the muskets, blunderbusses and pistols moved hardly at all. That pattern has held throughout this record: 17,000 flints stood untouched in 1729 and 5,000 in 1732 and 1734. The garrison has not fired a musket in earnest across the whole period, and the small arms are maintained against a threat that has never materialised. |
145 | 137 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of September 1736 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st Septr: Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 175, Bulls 5, Totall 412, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 22, Rams 4, Totall 70, Sows 9, Shoats 2, Piggs 47, Boars 1, Totall 59, Turkeys 38, Fowles 106, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 22, Bulls 0, Totall 22, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 4, Rams 0, Totall 4, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 4, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 59, Fowles 400, Ducks 5, Geese 6, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 197, Bulls 5, Totall 434, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 26, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 2, Piggs 51, Boars 1, Totall 63, Turkeys 97, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 2, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaing 30th Septr 1736: Bullocks 4, Cows 111, Heifers 53, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 197, Bulls 5, Totall 434, Ewes 44, Wethers 0, Lambs 26, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 0, Piggs 51, Boars 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 15000 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 16500 Totall Yams 31500 lb | The account of the Company's stock of cattle and other animals for September 1736 set out each class with an opening tally on 1 September, the increase during the month, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 30 September. Remaining 1 September, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 175, bulls 5, total neat cattle 412, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 22, rams 4, total sheep 70, sows 9, shoats 2, pigs 47, boars 1, total hogs 59, turkeys 38, fowls 106, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 22, bulls 0, total neat cattle 22, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 4, rams 0, total sheep 4, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 4, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 59, fowls 400, ducks 5, geese 6, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after increase, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 197, bulls 5, total neat cattle 434, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 26, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 2, pigs 51, boars 1, total hogs 63, turkeys 97, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 2, turkeys 2, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 September 1736, bullocks 4, cows 111, heifers 53, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 197, bulls 5, total neat cattle 434, ewes 44, wethers 0, lambs 26, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 0, pigs 51, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Yams expended at the several plantations, 15,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 16,500 lb Total yams, 31,500 lb Interpretations Four hundred fowls hatched in a single month dwarfs every earlier figure in this record, the previous best being 97 in April 1736 and 116 in August 1734. Fifty-nine turkeys, five ducks and six geese came with them, and the flock rose from 106 birds to 506 with only two turkeys killed. Nothing in the run suggests so large a hatch happening naturally in one month, and the figure sits at the year end when the annual muster brings the whole establishment to account, so it probably gathers in birds counted afresh as much as birds newly hatched. The herd reached 434 head, its highest figure in this record and a recovery of 125 from the 309 of July 1735. Twenty-two calves born in the month is the strongest calving yet recorded, and the calf class now stands at 197, nearly half the whole herd. Nothing was sold and nothing killed, the road having stood empty since the Dutch ship sailed on 15 August, so the herd was left entirely to grow. The saleable classes remain almost exhausted despite that growth. Four bullocks and fourteen steers stand against 35 and 41 at the beginning of February, and neither figure has moved since July. A herd of 434 head can spare almost nothing for the shipping until the calves of this year and last come forward, which will take two or three seasons. Four lambs born and none killed leaves the flock at 74 with its 44 breeding ewes intact for a second month. The reprieve continues only because there is no shipping to victual: the last wether went to the table in July, and the flock has no fattening stock at all. The yam issue to the slaves recovered to 16,500 lb from 4,000 lb in August, the deepest point of the annual gap now passed. The island's planting runs from about May to September, so the new crop is coming to the ground as the old stores are exhausted, and imported rice carried the establishment through the worst of the interval. |
146 | 138 | Governour Pykes, Annual Accot of the Honble Companies Neat Stock of Cattle &ca for the year ending the 30th Septr 1736 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Octr 1735: Bullocks 24, Cows 112, Heifers 46, Steers 40, Yearlings 50, Calves 56, Bulls 7, Totall 335, Ewes 80, Wethers 11, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 101, Sows 9, Shoats 22, Piggs 43, Boars 1, Totall 75, Turkeys 29, Fowles 95, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Bought in one Year: Bullocks 17, Cows 7, Heifers 7, Steers 1, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 32, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 41, Cows 119, Heifers 53, Steers 41, Yearlings 50, Calves 56, Bulls 7, Totall 367, Ewes 80, Wethers 11, Lambs 6, Rams 4, Totall 101, Sows 9, Shoats 22, Piggs 43, Boars 1, Totall 75, Turkeys 29, Fowles 95, Ducks 12, Geese 9, Horses 4, Mares 10, Totall 14 Encreased in one Year: Bullocks 14, Cows 35, Heifers 9, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 141, Bulls 1, Totall 390, Ewes 2, Wethers 21, Lambs 28, Rams 0, Totall 51, Sows 0, Shoats 40, Piggs 26, Boars 0, Totall 66, Turkeys 138, Fowles 930, Ducks 5, Geese 10, Horses 1, Mares 2, Totall 3 Bullocks 55, Cows 154, Heifers 62, Steers 81, Yearlings 200, Calves 197, Bulls 8, Totall 757, Ewes 82, Wethers 32, Lambs 34, Rams 4, Totall 152, Sows 9, Shoats 62, Piggs 69, Boars 1, Totall 141, Turkeys 167, Fowles 1025, Ducks 17, Geese 19, Horses 5, Mares 12, Totall 17 Cattle Cut & Grown: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 35, Steers 14, Yearlings 50, Calves 150, Bulls 0, Totall 249, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 23, Rams 0, Totall 23, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 40, Boars 0, Totall 40, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 55, Cows 154, Heifers 27, Steers 67, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 8, Totall 508, Ewes 82, Wethers 32, Lambs 11, Rams 4, Totall 129, Sows 9, Shoats 62, Piggs 29, Boars 1, Totall 101, Turkeys 167, Fowles 1025, Ducks 17, Geese 19, Horses 5, Mares 12, Totall 17 Sold in one Year: Bullocks 36, Cows 7, Heifers 0, Steers 26, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 1, Totall 70, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 19, Cows 147, Heifers 27, Steers 41, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 7, Totall 438, Ewes 82, Wethers 32, Lambs 11, Rams 4, Totall 129, Sows 9, Shoats 62, Piggs 29, Boars 1, Totall 101, Turkeys 167, Fowles 1025, Ducks 17, Geese 19, Horses 4, Mares 12, Totall 16 Killed in one Year: Bullocks 1, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 1, Totall 3, Ewes 36, Wethers 11, Lambs 7, Rams 0, Totall 54, Sows 0, Shoats 21, Piggs 19, Boars 0, Totall 40, Turkeys 72, Fowles 519, Ducks 2, Geese 3, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 147, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totall 435, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 75, Sows 9, Shoats 41, Piggs 10, Boars 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 4, Mares 12, Totall 16 Dead in one Year: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 1, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 1, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Remg 30th Septr 1736: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totall 434, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 41, Piggs 10, Boars 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 | Governor Pyke's annual account of the Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the year ending 30 September 1736 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 October 1735, bullocks 24, cows 112, heifers 46, steers 40, yearlings 50, calves 56, bulls 7, total neat cattle 335, ewes 80, wethers 11, lambs 6, rams 4, total sheep 101, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 43, boars 1, total hogs 75, turkeys 29, fowls 95, ducks 12, geese 9, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Bought in one year, bullocks 17, cows 7, heifers 7, steers 1, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 32, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after purchase, bullocks 41, cows 119, heifers 53, steers 41, yearlings 50, calves 56, bulls 7, total neat cattle 367, ewes 80, wethers 11, lambs 6, rams 4, total sheep 101, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 43, boars 1, total hogs 75, turkeys 29, fowls 95, ducks 12, geese 9, horses 4, mares 10, total horses and mares 14 Increased in one year, bullocks 14, cows 35, heifers 9, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 141, bulls 1, total neat cattle 390, ewes 2, wethers 21, lambs 28, rams 0, total sheep 51, sows 0, shoats 40, pigs 26, boars 0, total hogs 66, turkeys 138, fowls 930, ducks 5, geese 10, horses 1, mares 2, total horses and mares 3 Sum after increase, bullocks 55, cows 154, heifers 62, steers 81, yearlings 200, calves 197, bulls 8, total neat cattle 757, ewes 82, wethers 32, lambs 34, rams 4, total sheep 152, sows 9, shoats 62, pigs 69, boars 1, total hogs 141, turkeys 167, fowls 1,025, ducks 17, geese 19, horses 5, mares 12, total horses and mares 17 Cattle cut and grown, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 35, steers 14, yearlings 50, calves 150, bulls 0, total neat cattle 249, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 23, rams 0, total sheep 23, sows 0, shoats 40, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 40, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after reclassification, bullocks 55, cows 154, heifers 27, steers 67, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 8, total neat cattle 508, ewes 82, wethers 32, lambs 11, rams 4, total sheep 129, sows 9, shoats 62, pigs 29, boars 1, total hogs 101, turkeys 167, fowls 1,025, ducks 17, geese 19, horses 5, mares 12, total horses and mares 17 Sold in one year, bullocks 36, cows 7, heifers 0, steers 26, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 1, total neat cattle 70, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Sum after sale, bullocks 19, cows 147, heifers 27, steers 41, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 7, total neat cattle 438, ewes 82, wethers 32, lambs 11, rams 4, total sheep 129, sows 9, shoats 62, pigs 29, boars 1, total hogs 101, turkeys 167, fowls 1,025, ducks 17, geese 19, horses 4, mares 12, total horses and mares 16 Killed in one year, bullocks 1, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 1, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 1, total neat cattle 3, ewes 36, wethers 11, lambs 7, rams 0, total sheep 54, sows 0, shoats 21, pigs 19, boars 0, total hogs 40, turkeys 72, fowls 519, ducks 2, geese 3, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Sum after killing, bullocks 18, cows 147, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 6, total neat cattle 435, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 4, rams 4, total sheep 75, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 4, mares 12, total horses and mares 16 Dead in one year, bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 1, rams 0, total sheep 1, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Remaining 30 September 1736, bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 6, total neat cattle 434, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Interpretations A single cow dead across an entire twelvemonth is the most striking figure in the account. Forty-two cattle died in the year to September 1734 and fourteen in the year to September 1735, so the drought that stopped calving from January 1734 and killed beasts through swellings under the throat has now passed entirely. The herd rose from 335 to 434 without a single loss beyond that one cow and one horse. Seventy head sold to shipping is well below the 120 of the previous year but the composition has changed completely. Thirty-six bullocks and 26 steers went, with only seven cows and no heifers at all, where the year to September 1735 sold 27 cows and 42 steers and the December of 1734 saw fourteen cows go in a single month. The council has met the demand from fattened males alone, which is the discipline the dry seasons made impossible. Cutting and growing moved 249 head between classes, an adjustment made at the year end rather than a real change in the stock. Calves become yearlings, yearlings become steers or heifers, and males are cut to make bullocks, so the figure records the herd aging rather than any transaction. The yearlings standing at 150 against 50 a year earlier show where the recovery lies. The sheep account tells the opposite story. Thirty-six ewes and eleven wethers were killed against an increase of only 51 head, and the flock fell from 101 to 74 with its breeding ewes down from 80 to 46. Every wether had gone by July and the table has drawn on the ewes ever since, which is a herd consuming its own capacity to reproduce. Poultry turned over almost entirely: 930 fowls increased against 519 killed, and 138 turkeys against 72. The flock closed at 506 fowls against 95 a year earlier, a fivefold increase, and that reserve is what allowed the fort's table to carry six ships in May 1736 with 90 fowls killed in a month while the beef was reserved for victualling. |
147 | 139 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12 Octr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that Jack the Carpenter dyed on Saturday last who was a very usefull diligent fellow but before he died he sent to the Governour & desired that his son Daniel who is a Sprightly boy might be brought up to the same Trade & that one of his Eldest Daughters might allwayes live with his Wife who is a very Sickly infirm Woman to help bring up his younger Children of which there are three under Ten Years of age & that his Wife might have allwayes below because she has not her health in the Country & that among the Inhabitants as much was owing him as came to Fifty Shillings which he desired his Wife might have all which in Consideration of his good Service the Governour promised should be complied with This poor Man was buried last Sunday above an Hundred Blacks & Severally white people attending his Funerall his Son the Governour has already placed with Henry Moyce the Carpenter in Order to be instructed in his Trade & the Eldest Daughter is to wait upon her Grandfather old Will who is about an Hundred Eight Years of age & has been bed ridden these two Years past & the next Daughter is to live with her Mother to help bring up the younger Children Joseph Bates appeared & desired another Week to give in an Account of the Quantity & Scituation of his Leasehold Land & the same was granted Accordingly Margin Notes: Old Will | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 12 October 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. The Governor reported that Jack the carpenter died on the Saturday. He had been a very useful and diligent man, and before he died he sent word to the Governor asking that his son Daniel, a lively boy, might be brought up to the same trade. He asked also that one of his eldest daughters might live permanently with his wife, who was a very sickly and infirm woman, to help bring up his younger children, three of whom were under ten years old. He asked that his wife might always live below, because her health suffered in the country, and that as much of the money owing to him among the inhabitants as came to fifty shillings should go to her. In consideration of his good service the Governor promised that all of this would be done. Jack was buried on the Sunday, with about a hundred black people and seven or eight white people attending the funeral. The Governor had already placed his son with Henry Moyce the carpenter to be instructed in the trade. The eldest daughter is to wait on her grandfather, old Will, who is about a hundred and eight years old and has been bedridden these two years past, and the other daughter is to live with her mother to help bring up the younger children. Joseph Bates appeared and asked for a further week to bring in an account of the quantity and situation of his leasehold land, which was granted. Interpretations A dying slave's requests being taken as instructions and carried out at once is without parallel in this record. Jack held nothing he could bequeath, his children were the Company's property as he was, and nothing obliged the Governor to place his son, settle his daughters or direct money to his wife. The promise was made in consideration of his good service, which converts skilled labour into a form of standing that the law of the island did not otherwise recognise. Carpentry was among the most valuable trades on an island that imported every stick of building timber and could not readily replace a skilled man. The slave musters entered boys of eight, nine and ten already set to butchery, coopering and carpentry, so apprenticing Daniel to Henry Moyce continues the Company's own practice of raising its craftsmen from within its establishment rather than buying them. Fifty shillings owed among the inhabitants shows that Jack worked for private householders as well as for the Company and was paid for it. Slaves hired out at ninepence a day appear throughout these accounts, and Richard Beale laid a computation before the council on 27 January 1736 putting the yearly cost of keeping a black man at £12 8s 6d against a year's pay of £11 1s 0d. That a man in Jack's position could die a creditor of his neighbours to the value of fifty shillings measures how far a skilled slave's position differed from a field hand's. A hundred black people attending a funeral is a gathering the council would ordinarily have viewed with alarm. Every householder had been required since 12 October 1730 to lock up his slaves each evening and let none out without a written note, and a conspiracy of thirteen men to steal the long boat had been examined only six weeks earlier on 31 August 1736. The absence of any comment on the assembly, and the presence of seven or eight white people, indicate an occasion the council was content to allow. Old Will at about a hundred and eight is by far the greatest age recorded in this run, and a man bedridden two years would have been carried on the books as superannuated. The musters entered five superannuated men in 1730 and 1733, and two of them were set to watch the skirts of the Great Wood against goats and cattle, so even the very old were given some employment. Setting a granddaughter to attend him is the same domestic arrangement the council made when it settled the destitute Marsh grandson on Mr Wood for life on 11 July 1732. |
148 | 140 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 19th Octr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Duke Crispe absent being lame in both Legs John Alexander John Goodwin The last Consultation was read & Approved Joseph Bates brought in a written Account of such Land as he Possesses which he desires to Sell Vizt 50 Acres joyning to Mr Coles Thirty Acres of Free Land which he has upon Lease whereof Twenty five Acres formerly Granted to John Coles deceased which Lease is now Expired & has run out about two Years, Twenty five Acres more that was let upon Lease to Mrs Bridget Coles in the Year 1721 she being then the Widow of John Coles deceased who obtained it in the following manner William Worrall Planter in Sandy bay petitioned to be Tennant for the said Land which till then had been Accounted to be Wast Land & was agreed by the Govr & Councill to be let for 21 Years to the said William Worrall but John Coles of the said Island Planter petitioned the Govr & Councill not to Grant a Lease of the said Land unto [...] Worrall because it lay so upon his Thirty Acres of free Land that it would be a great prejudice to him if let to any other whereupon Worrall was denied the Lease, & that Land was Granted to Coles & his Heirs but Coles dying before the Lease was made out it was Granted to his Widow & Administratrix 3 Acres more in Sandy bay Valley whereof 8½ Acres was Granted to Jonathan Higham junr in the Year 1720 which the said Jonathan Higham Sold to John Coles deceased for Thirty five Pounds & Joseph Bates having since then Married to John Coles Widow it has Appertained to him & the other half Acre was hired by the said Joseph Bates in the Year 1726 1½ Acres more on Halleys Mount which was granted to Samuell Jeffry in the Year 1721 & lyes on Halleys Mount 13 Acres more at the Head of Ruperts Valley that was let to Joseph Hayes in the Year 1720 & since then Assigned to Joseph Hayes who is now the said Joseph Bates his Wife And a Small spott of Ground on which his House stands for which he payes 6d ⅌ Annum 21 Acres of Freehold Land which he formerly purchased 30 Acres of Freehold Land of his Wives which she held by Vertue of a Deed for a terme of Years that will Expire 9 Years hence | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 19 October 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander and John Goodwin, Duke Crisp being absent through lameness in both legs. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Joseph Bates brought in a written account of the land he possessed and wished to sell. Adjoining Mr Coles's thirty acres of freehold land, held by lease, 50 acres More in Sandy Bay Valley, 3 acres More on Hallys Mount, granted to Samuel Jephry in 1721, 17.5 acres More at the head of Rupert's Valley, let to Joseph Hayes in 1721, 13 acres Freehold land formerly purchased, 21 acres Freehold land of his wife's, held by a deed for a term of years, 30 acres Of the fifty acres, twenty-five had formerly been granted to John Coles, deceased, and that lease was now expired and had been out about two years. The remaining twenty-five acres had been leased to Bridget Coles in 1721, she being then the widow of John Coles, and she obtained it in the following way. William Worrall, a planter in Sandy Bay, petitioned to be tenant of the land, which until then had been reckoned waste ground, and the Governor and council agreed to let it to him for twenty-one years. John Coles, another planter, then petitioned the Governor and council not to grant a lease of it to Worrall, because it lay against his own thirty acres of freehold and a grant would be a great prejudice to him if it were let to anyone else. Worrall was accordingly refused the lease and the land was granted to Coles and his heirs, but Coles died before the lease was made out and it was granted instead to his widow and administratrix. Of the three acres in Sandy Bay Valley, one and a half had been granted to Jonathan Higham junior in 1720, which Higham sold to John Coles for £35 0s 0d, and Joseph Bates having since married John Coles's widow it had come to him. The other half acre he hired in 1726. The seventeen and a half acres on Hallys Mount had been granted to Samuel Jephry in 1721. The thirteen acres at the head of Rupert's Valley had been let to Joseph Hayes in 1721 and were afterwards assigned to Grace Hayes, who is now the wife of Joseph Hayes, together with a small piece of ground on which his house stands, for which he pays five shillings a year. The thirty acres of his wife's freehold were held under a deed for a term of years that would expire nine years hence. Interpretations Every parcel Bates offers rests on his marriage to John Coles's widow rather than on any purchase of his own, and the account he has been made to render exposes that. Fifty acres came through her lease, three acres through her late husband's purchase, and thirty acres are described as his wife's freehold held only for a term of years. The council required this statement on 5 October 1736 before it would answer his petition to sell up and leave for Bencoolen, and what it has produced is a schedule showing how little he can actually convey. The twenty-five acres formerly granted to John Coles expired two years ago, which means Bates has been in possession of land the Company could have re-let at any time since. The lease reform of 26 July 1732 required the surveyors to view any ground before a lease was renewed and to certify it duly fenced and planted with a fair proportion of wood, and land found neglected was to be resumed and remain unlet until the Company gave direction. The story of how Bridget Coles came by the second twenty-five acres describes a practice the council followed throughout this period. A neighbour holding adjoining freehold could object to a stranger taking the waste beside him, and the council preferred the man already settled there, since a parcel let to an outsider would be worked across another's boundaries and quarrels would follow. William Worrall lost the lease he had petitioned for on exactly that ground. These are the very acres over which Bates litigated for fifteen years and finally lost. He brought a declaration at the court of judicature of 24 June 1736 as guardian of his son Edward, claiming thirty acres in Sandy Bay under Joseph Coles's deed of gift of 2 November 1721, and the jury found for Joseph Coles within a quarter of an hour. The council had already determined on 12 February 1734, reading the act of 11 Henry VII chapter 20, that his children by Bridget had no right to John Coles's land at all. A deed for a term of years expiring in nine years is a limited interest that will not fetch what a freehold would. Bates owes £221 19s 2.5d to the heirs of the dead Spaniard, has been in custody for the debt since 2 September 1735, and the council told him plainly on 5 October that he must pay before he could go. The schedule now shows that his ability to raise that sum depends on selling interests that are expiring, expired or held in his wife's right. |
149 | 141 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 9 of Novr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Petition was presented & read Vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & the Councill The humble Petition of John Brown Surgeon Sheweth, That John Long for himself, his Wife & Family is pretty deeply indebted to your Petr but neither of them, be able, take any Care to pay the said Debt That the said Long, hath a Slave Wench named Peg whom he & his Wife have often beaten & thereby forced her to Steale & Rob their Neighbours for them, & to this Practice by cruell Usage to force his other Servants to pilfer & Steale & the sd Wench for these reasons, & to keep her Master honest, being Ordered to the Companies Work, your Petr hath employed her to tend some Sick Blacks, Your Petr therefore humbly prays that the said Wench may not be used till Your Petr is fully paid, your Petr having heard that the said Long is about to Exchange her for a Black fellow of Mr Gurlings called Andrew who being a great Rogue & any Subtle & he comes into the hands of the said Long the Country will be much more plundered & greater damage will be done than was committed by the said Long for which your Petr is willing to allow the full Value the said Long being greatly in Your Petrs Debt And Your Petr as in Duty bound shall ever pray John Brown St Helena 9th Novr 1736 After this Petition was read Long was Called in & the said Petition was also read to him & he was asked whether he had any Objections to make thereto & he Answered that the Debt had been long due to the Doctor & the like the latter alledged that according to the Custom of this place he ought to keep the Wench till the Debt was paid & Long being a very improper person to keep Slaves & when he entertains any he Steale & shall we do not think proper to decide & the Doctor from keeping the Wench till he is Satisfied for his Debt either by Payment or better Security than the Debt which Long formerly gave him | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 9 November 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. A petition from John Brown, surgeon, was presented and read. He set out that John Long, for himself, his wife and his family, was deeply indebted to him, and that none of them was able or willing to take any care to pay the debt. Long had a black woman named Peg whom he and his wife had often beaten and forced to steal and rob their neighbours for them, and it was his practice to compel his other slaves by cruel usage to pilfer and steal likewise. Peg had been taken from him for those crimes and to keep her honest, and being ordered to the Company's work Brown had employed her to tend some of his own slaves. He asked that the woman remain under his care until his debt was paid. He had heard that Long was about to exchange her for a black man of Mr Girling's called Andrew, who being a great rogue and very subtle, should he come into Long's hands, would plunder and damage the country far more than anything Long had done himself. Brown was willing to allow the full value for the woman, Long being greatly in his debt. The petition was dated at St Helena on 9 November 1736 and signed by John Brown. After the petition was read Long was called in and it was read to him. He was asked whether he had any objections to make, and answered that he had not. He was asked how long the debt to the surgeon had been outstanding, and answered that it had been owing a long time. Long being a very improper person to keep a black woman while the debt was unpaid, and the custom of the place being that a creditor may keep a slave, the council thought it right that Brown should keep her until it was satisfied, and take better security from Long than he formerly gave him, either by payment or otherwise. Interpretations Peg is the woman whose examination of 2 July 1736 supplied the fullest account yet given of John Long's thefts. She described being sent to Mr Ryder's for yams under an arrangement bought with a gift of rice, being beaten when she returned late, and stealing two turkeys from Matthew Mudge's yard after her master threatened to whip her again. She stated that she was determined never to steal at her master's order again, believing he had no power to command it, and the council had already applied the principle of 18 December 1733 that slaves driven to act by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished. Brown's petition serves his own interest and the council's at once. He recovers the use of a woman against a debt he could not otherwise collect, and the council keeps Peg out of the hands of a man now in prison, unable to work and beyond every sanction it has tried. The reasoning it gives, that Long is an improper person to keep a slave while the debt stands, converts a private remedy into a public one. The proposed exchange for Andrew is what gives the petition its urgency. Andrew was ordered whipped with thirty-nine lashes and castrated on 21 September 1736 for fathering Mary Girling's child, and putting a man with that history into a household described as a receptacle for stolen goods would have compounded both problems. Brown's phrase about a great rogue coming into Long's hands rests on the council's own repeated findings against Long since 1728. Holding a slave against a debt was a practical necessity on an island almost without coin, where cattle, land and people were the only realisable assets. The council had allowed Charles Steward to recover £18 16s 0d on a deathbed declaration in November 1729 and had taken bonds, cattle and days of labour in settlement throughout this record. Requiring better security than Long formerly gave acknowledges that his word had already failed once. Long's answering that he had no objection is the reply of a man with nothing left to lose. He has been in prison since 28 July 1736 after refusing to work at Banks's, his petition to go to Bencoolen with his family still awaits the Company's pleasure since 9 March, and the council resolved on 21 September that he should stay confined, holding that it was better one man should suffer than that the whole neighbourhood be robbed daily. |
150 | 142 | The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Octr last which were Severally Examined & Approved and are as follow Vizt Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaing 1st October: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totall 434, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoats 41, Piggs 10, Boars 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 7, Bulls 0, Totall 7, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 54, Bulls 6, Totall 441, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 41, Piggs 10, Boars 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 4, Mares 12, Totall 16 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 4, Fowles 22, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31st October: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 54, Bulls 6, Totall 441, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 40, Piggs 10, Boars 1, Totall 60, Turkeys 91, Fowles 484, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 12, Totall 16 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 17100 lb Ditto Delivered the Blacks 8500 Totall Yams 25600 | The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for October, each of which was examined and approved. The stock account set out the Company's animals by class, with an opening tally on 1 October, the increase during the month, the numbers killed, and the closing tally on 31 October. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 October, bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 6, total neat cattle 434, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Increased, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 7, bulls 0, total neat cattle 7, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 2, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Sum after increase, bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 54, bulls 6, total neat cattle 441, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 4, mares 12, total horses and mares 16 Killed, bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 1, turkeys 4, fowls 22, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 October, bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 54, bulls 6, total neat cattle 441, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 40, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 60, turkeys 91, fowls 484, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 4, mares 12, total horses and mares 16 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,100 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 8,500 lb Total yams, 25,600 lb Interpretations A third consecutive month without a single beast sold or killed for shipping is unprecedented in this record. Nothing has called since the Dutch ship sailed on 15 August, and the herd has risen unchecked from 401 in July to 441, its highest figure yet. Seven calves born and nothing lost in any class continues the run of months without a death that began in July. The classification adjustment made at the year end on 30 September has transformed the account's appearance. Bullocks stood at four and steers at fourteen through the summer, and now show 18 and 40, with yearlings at 150 against 50. Nothing was bought and nothing born to produce that: calves became yearlings, yearlings became steers, and males were cut to make bullocks, so the herd's saleable capacity has been restored on paper by the animals simply growing older. Twenty-one wethers appear for the first time since July, when the last one on the island went to the table. They come from the same reclassification, ram lambs cut and grown into the wether class, and their return matters because the flock has been eating its breeding ewes for eight months. Thirty-six ewes were killed across the Company year against eleven wethers, and the flock fell from 101 to 74. With twenty-one wethers standing, the table can be supplied without touching the ewes again. The yam issue to the slaves fell to 8,500 lb from 16,500 lb in September while the plantations took 17,100 lb, the reverse of what the season might suggest. The island's planting runs from about May to September, so the crop is now in the ground and the old stores are at their lowest, and imported rice must again be carrying the establishment as it did in March and August. Poultry stands almost still, 22 fowls and four turkeys killed from a flock of 506 with no hatching entered at all. The great increase of 400 fowls recorded at the year end has given the yard a reserve five times what it held a year earlier, and with no ships to victual the table is drawing on it very lightly. |
151 | 143 | Expence of the Table in Octr 1736 Vizt £ 50 lb Pork 1 5 4 Turkeys 1 1 Goose 5 22 Fowles 1 11 35 lb Butter 1 15 - . 2. - Bread 14 4. - . - Flour 5 1. 3. - Sugar 2 9 - .. - . 24 Candy 18 66 Gall Arrack 13 2 Gall Port Wine 15 6 4 Galls Sherry 7 9 3 Bottles Sweet Oyle 10 1 lb Pepper 1 3 Bushells Salt 15 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 31 Dayes Greens 1 11 £ 32 17 11 Gunners Stores Expended in Octr 1736 Vizt Powder 1736 Octr 2 Muster Day: Powder 25 lb 31: Expence of the Guards: Powder 30 55 Musquett Balls 15 lb Hand Spikes 2 Rammer heads 3 Spunge Staves 3 Spunge heads 3 Sheep Skins 6 Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Copper Ladles 1 Match 18 lb | The general table account for October 1736 was entered as follows. 50 lb of pork, £1 5s 0d 4 turkeys, £1 0s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 22 fowls, £1 11s 0d 35 lb of butter, £1 15s 0d 2 hundredweight of bread, £0 14s 0d 4 hundredweight of flour, £5 0s 0d 1 hundredweight 3 quarters of sugar, £2 9s 0d 24 lb of sugar candy, £0 18s 0d 68 gallons of arrack, £13 15s 6d 2 gallons of port, £0 7s 9d 4 gallons of sherry, £0 10s 0d 5 bottles of sweet oil, £0 1s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 15s 0d 3 bushels of salt, £1 8s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 11s 0d 31 days of greens, [...] Total, £32 17s 11d The gunner's account of stores expended during October 1736 was entered as follows. 2 October, muster day, powder 25 lb 31 October, expense of the guards, powder 30 lb Total, powder 55 lb Musket balls, 15 lb Handspikes, 2 Rammer heads, 3 Sponge staves, 3 Sponge heads, 3 Sheepskins, 6 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Copper ladles, 1 Match, 18 lb Interpretations Not a single gun was fired for a salute or an alarm across the whole of October, the first such month in this run. The 55 lb of powder went entirely to the muster and to the guard, and the absence of any entry for an arrival confirms what the stock account shows: nothing has touched the island since the Dutch ship sailed on 15 August. The flagstaff had cost twelve pounds of powder at every unidentified sail through the spring, and now had nothing to report at all. Sherry reappears at four gallons for the first time since the Governor opened three chests on 14 September 1736 and found no more than fourteen full bottles in the whole parcel, forty-six dozen having been shipped. What remained was hardly enough to fill a cask of 27 gallons, and the small quantity charged here is presumably drawn from the salvage. The table account at £32 17s 11d is the second lowest in this run and shows a household feeding only itself. No beef appears for a third month, the meat provision resting on 50 lb of pork, 22 fowls, four turkeys and a goose. Arrack at 68 gallons takes more than a third of the whole sum, and the wine charge has collapsed to two gallons of port and four of sherry against the 30 gallons of Cape wine drunk in May when six ships lay in the road. Butter, milk and daily greens hold steady at 35 lb, 62 bottles and 31 days, and the Plantation House garden is now producing reliably after the neglect reported on 17 December 1734, when Mr Durling warned that under Hugh Williams's care there would be nothing left in it, not so much as a salad. Copper ladles were used to load loose powder because copper strikes no spark against iron, and a single one expended in a month with no firing at all points to routine handling of the magazine rather than service of the guns. Sponge staves, sponge heads and rammer heads in twos and threes are the ordinary wastage of exercising the pieces, the council having resolved on 11 June 1734 to keep every gun on the line constantly loaded even in time of peace. |
152 | 144 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16th Novr 1736 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Elizabeth Edwards being Accused of Bastardy her Examination was this day taken & is as follows Vizt St Helena ss The Examination of Elizabeth Edwards Singlewoman taken upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr of the Island St Helena this 16th day of Novr 1736 This Examinant being asked who is the Father of the Male Bastard Child of which she was delivered on or about the 16th of March last saith that Benjamin Beale of this Island Planter is the true Father thereof this Examinant declaring that no other Man whatsoever besides the said Benjn Beale ever had any carnall knowledge of her body, & that the occasion of this her Unhappynesse arose from her living with him after this Examinants Sister Death who was the said Beales Wife, & that after she had for lived with him Sometime this Examinant believes about three Months he pressed her to let him lye with her, & upon his Importunity she let him lye with her & he accordingly had then Carnall knowledge of her body & he promised to Marry her & after this promise of Marriage she was as willing as he & they afterwards lived & lay together as Man & Wife. Being asked if she did not know that she & the said Beale could not be Married together he having formerly Married her own Sister saith that she Misunderstood the body Scriptures believing from what she had therein read that it Sometimes was allowed & at other times forbidden & particularly saith that by the 25th Chapter of Deuteronomy, & the 5th Verse, she thinks these Marriages are allowed And in Testimony of the Truth this Examinant hath hereunto Subscribed her Name Taken & Sworn before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr this 16th day of Novr 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The Mark of Elizabeth Edwards Her fault Seeming to us to be in some sort the Effect of Ignorance & Folly wee are willing to be as favourable as wee can but as she has Suffered herself to be made a Whore & as this Vice Spreads very fast wee for Example Sake have thought proper to have her corrected publickly this we accordingly & accordingly Ordered that she recieve Ten Lashes on her naked body at the common Whiping Post. Mr Durling Reports that a few dayes ago a Turkey hen belonging to the Honble Company was Stolen from her brood Margin Notes: 1st Par: Same this Par: quite out 2 Par. | At a consultation held at the castle on Tuesday 16 November 1736, Governor Pyke sat as first of council with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The record of the previous meeting was read and approved. Elizabeth Edwards stood accused of bastardy, and her examination was taken that day. Elizabeth Edwards, single woman, was examined on oath before Governor Pyke on 16 November 1736. Asked who was the father of the male bastard child of which she was delivered on or about 16 March, she answered that Benjamin Beale of the island, planter, was the true father, and declared that no other man whatever had ever had carnal knowledge of her body. She said the whole unhappy business arose from her living with him after her sister died, that woman having been Beale's wife. About four months after she had lived with him, or thereabouts, he pressed her to lie with her, and on his importunity she consented and he had carnal knowledge of her body. He promised to marry her, and on that promise she was as willing as he was, and they afterwards lived and lay together as man and wife. Asked whether she did not know that she and Beale could not lawfully marry, he having formerly married her own sister, she answered that she had misunderstood the position, believing from what she had heard read that such marriages were sometimes allowed and at other times forbidden. She said in particular that by the twenty-fifth chapter of Deuteronomy and the fifth verse she thought such marriages were allowed, and in testimony of the truth she signed with her mark. The examination was taken and sworn before Governor Pyke on 16 November 1736. The council held that her fault appeared to arise in some measure from ignorance and folly, and was willing to be as favourable as it could. Since she had allowed herself to be made a whore, however, and since that vice was spreading very fast, it thought proper to have her corrected publicly for the sake of example, and accordingly ordered that she receive ten lashes on her naked body at the common whipping post. Mr Durling reported that a few days earlier a turkey hen belonging to the Honourable Company was stolen from her brood [...] Interpretations A man's marriage to his deceased wife's sister stood within the forbidden degrees of affinity under the Table of Kindred and Affinity annexed to the Book of Common Prayer, so the connection was incest in the eyes of the church regardless of any promise between the parties. This is the second such case before the council within a year, James Powell having been committed to prison on 11 November 1735 for fathering a child on his wife's sister Margaret Alexander, and Governor Pyke reported on 3 February 1736 that two young men had each debauched a wife's sister. Her defence rests on a passage of scripture that says the opposite of what she takes it to mean. Deuteronomy chapter 25 verse 5 requires a man to marry his dead brother's widow where the brother left no children, which concerns a brother's wife rather than a wife's sister, and the rule was in any event treated in England as a Hebrew provision no longer binding. Her answer that she had heard such marriages were sometimes allowed and sometimes forbidden describes a woman who had heard the text read aloud in church and drawn her own conclusion from it, having no means of reading it herself. Ten lashes on the bare body at the common post is a light sentence measured against the tariff of this record, Andrew Bergue receiving thirty-nine on 11 June 1735 and Joseph Bates thirty on 3 August 1736. The council's stated reason for imposing anything at all is example rather than desert, which follows directly from the written opinions the councillors delivered on 10 February 1736, when John Alexander proposed graded fines with corporal punishment where a man could not pay, and Governor Pyke argued that offenders should be made a public warning. The penalty falls entirely on the woman, and nothing in the entry touches Benjamin Beale. He is named as the father and as the man who pressed her and promised marriage, yet no fine, no maintenance order and no summons follows. The contrast with the Powell case is sharp: there the man was imprisoned, bound in £1,000 0s 0d for his appearance and charged eight shillings a week for the child, and the woman was not punished at all. Living in her sister's household after the sister's death was the ordinary arrangement for an unmarried woman on an island where a widower with children needed help and where lodging was scarce. Margaret Alexander was brought into her sister's house to attend her lying-in on the same footing, and both cases turned on the same fact: a young woman placed in the household of a man connected to her by marriage, with no third party present to prevent what followed. |
153 | 145 | of Chickens consisting of Eleven then dayd yesterday by which means they all died, & that two dayes before, two Pigs were also stolen & several small Parcells of Yams & to prevent this Mischief was done by the Runaway Blacks & Byar Powell & Cleugh whose Blacks have been Runaway for many Weeks past being Ordered to attend this day, were Told that they must get Sufficient help to go in Search & Apprehend them between this & Tuesday next or that otherwise they should be Severely fined & they promised to use their utmost endeavours & to make the most diligent Search & Enquiry in Order to Seize & Secure them between this & the day profess'd Mr Wrangham also acquainted Us that lately there has been more Robbing & pilfering than usuall he having lost one Heifer & Mr Greentree another & several other Hogs & Yams & from Every one of the Soldiers complained also that he has lost two Quarters of Pork & about 12 lb Beef &c which hath been taken from him by the Runn away Blacks This Young Woman being very ignorant & having grossly misapplyed the 5th verse of the 21st Chapter of Deuteronomy which she quoted for her Justification the Govr sent for Mr Fenwyck the Chaplain to Explain this matter to her but after he had heard her Examination & the 5th verse of the Chapter aforesaid, he said there were some places of Scripture that seemed to favour that Opinion, & as to the Sence of it, he could say nothing. This Answer surprized Us expecting something more accurate from him, but indeed he himself seems as ignorant of these matters as any Body who is permitted to wear such a Gown, & we are of Opinion that he is extreamly unfit as any Body can be to have the Care of Souls. After this the Governour cleared up the matter & told them that this was an extraordinary Case Even since Henry 8th & the Reformation of Religion from Popery to Protestanism depended upon it, & our Laws make this offence Incest, & the Governour produced a Printed book which is an Abridgement of the Laws in force & use in all his Majesties foreign Plantations wherein it is said The Law resolves that no Man may Marry the naturall Sister of his former Wife, now this being the naturall Sister of Benj Beals former Wife both by Father & Mother it is certainely much more Unlawfull for him to abuse her & how in Ordered by our whereupon she was Ordered to be corrected at the publick whiping Post but in Consideration of her being a weakly Woman she was Ordered to have no more than ten Lashes upon her bare back | The Company's turkey hen had been taken from a brood of 11 chickens then ready to be [...], and every one of the birds had since died. Two pigs had gone two days earlier, together with 2 small parcels of yams. The council put the whole of it down to the runaway slaves. Ryder, Powell and Clough, whose slaves had been at large for several weeks, were called in that day and told to raise enough help to hunt the men down and take them before the following Tuesday. Failure would bring a heavy fine. All three undertook to search and enquire as closely as they could and to have the runaways secured by the day fixed. Mr Wrangham told the council that theft and pilfering had lately run well above the usual level. He had lost a heifer, Mr Greentree another heifer and Mr [...] 3 hogs. One of the soldiers, Defountaine, reported the loss of 2 quarters of pork and about 12 lb of beef, all of it carried off by the runaways. The young woman had defended what she did by quoting Deuteronomy chapter 25 verse 5, a passage she understood very imperfectly. The council asked Mr [...], the chaplain, to explain it to her. He read through her examination and the verse, then said only that certain places in scripture seemed to favour the view she had taken, and that beyond that he could offer nothing. His answer took the council by surprise, since it had looked for something better from a man in his office. The members held him as ignorant of such questions as any man permitted to wear the gown, and as unfit as anyone could be to have charge of souls. Governor Pyke settled the point himself. He explained that the prohibition came down from the reign of Henry VIII and the break with Rome, and that the law of England treats such a connection as incest. He produced a printed abridgement of the laws in force throughout the King's plantations, which lays down that no man may marry the natural sister of his former wife. Elizabeth Edwards was the full sister of Benjamin Beale's late wife by both father and mother, so the bar fell on him more plainly still, and the connection was admitted. The council ordered her corrected at the public whipping post, and, allowing for her being a weakly woman, limited the punishment to 10 lashes on her bare back. Interpretations The verse she relied on sets out the levirate rule, by which a man was required to marry his dead brother's widow where the brother had left no children. It speaks to a brother's wife and says nothing whatever about a wife's sister, so her reading inverted the very relationship the passage addresses. English divines had in any case long treated the provision as a Hebrew custom no longer binding. What actually barred her from Beale was the Table of Kindred and Affinity annexed to the Book of Common Prayer, which places a wife's sister within the forbidden degrees and draws its force from the marriage statutes of Henry VIII's reign, which is precisely the derivation the Governor set out. The printed book he produced was an abridgement of the statutes in force across the King's overseas territories, the same authority the council had read from on 20 February 1733 when it set the laws of Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland alongside its own treatment of John Bowers. With no lawyer on the island, no ecclesiastical court and no judge trained in the civil law, the council settled its procedure and its doctrine by reading, exactly as it had done in September 1735 when it took the number of appraisers for the Powell estate from Swinburne and Godolphin. A single printed volume was doing the work that in England would have fallen to counsel and to the church courts. The council's verdict on the chaplain had a practical purpose beyond venting its irritation. A chaplain came out under appointment from London, and the council had no power to remove one and no means of replacing him from the shipping, as it had recorded plainly on 26 July 1732 when George White's drunkenness and lying came before it. Entering an assessment of his fitness in the consultation was therefore the only step available, since the book went home and the Company alone could act on it. Pressing the three owners rather than pursuing the runaways directly followed the pattern the runaway rules of 30 October 1733 had established, under which an owner who failed to report a flight within three days made good every loss the runaway caused throughout the absence. The council went further here and put the search itself onto Ryder, Powell and Clough under threat of a fine. The reason lies in the island's law of evidence: the testimony of blacks was inadmissible, so no prosecution could follow the loss of the pigs, the yams, the heifers, the hogs or the soldier's meat. Financial pressure on the man who owned the property was the only sanction the council could actually apply, and the same difficulty had shaped every proceeding against John Long across a decade. Speculations The law the Governor read out pointed at Benjamin Beale, not at Elizabeth Edwards. His own authority stated the impediment as a bar on the man, and the record notes that the connection was more clearly unlawful for him because the two women were full sisters by both parents. An order against Beale was the natural next step, and the council had already designed one: on 10 February 1736 John Alexander proposed £200 0s 0d payable to the parents where a man debauched his wife's sister, and the Governor set out graded penalties climbing from fornication through adultery to incest. Nine months later the only penalty recorded fell on a woman too frail to bear a full whipping, while the planter who had lodged her, promised her marriage and fathered the child went unnamed in any order. The scheme against lewdness had been drawn against men of substance and was applied against the party who could not answer back. |
154 | 146 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 23d day of Novr 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Geo: Alexander absent John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour Reports that he has received Notice that two of the Runaway Blacks mentioned on Tuesday last have been Seized & one surrendered himself but the Black belonging to James Poole absconds & lives upon plunder it is therefore Ordered that an able hand of the Guard be immediately sent out with the said Poole in Order to Apprehend the said Black & that they continue their Search till they find him At a Consultation held on Tuesday 30th Novr 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Geo Alexander absent John Goodwin being Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Will Boyzar the Black fellow mentioned in Consultation of the 7th of Sepr last as missing & thought to be killed or drowned was found dead on Fryday last upon the Ridge of a Mountain where there was no Rocks upon which he could fall & hurt himself from whence we conjecture that he [...] himself it [...] appear Dried, his Cloths were all on but his flesh was quite b[...] & his Skin dried up to Parchment & was Buried in the place where he lay & was covered with Earth On the 25th instant the Governour received the following Letter viz This with humble Submition to your Worship Humble asking ten Thousand pardons for the great Crime I have Committed for Gods sake Your Worship I had no ill design in what I have done for I have it Ignorantly and Innocently and I thought her to make her my Lawfull wife, now Understanding that I have Transgrest against the Laws of the Land I humble beg that your Worship might Consider my Ability for I am a Poor | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 23 November 1736, Governor Pyke sitting with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported news of the runaways named the previous Tuesday. Two of them had been taken and a third had given himself up. The slave belonging to James Powell remained at large and was keeping himself by theft. The council ordered a capable man of the guard sent out at once alongside Powell to take him, and directed that the two of them keep up the search until he was found. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 30 November 1736, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. Will Boojar, the Company's slave reported missing on 7 September 1736 and then supposed to have been killed by a fall or drowned, was found dead on the Friday before. He lay on the ridge of a mountain with no rock near him from which he could have fallen or done himself any injury. The council concluded from this that he had died where he lay. His clothes were still on the body, the flesh had wasted entirely away, the skin was dried and hardened, and earth had gathered over him on the spot. The Governor received a letter on 25 November 1736. The writer submitted himself entirely to the Governor and asked pardon over and over for the serious offence he had committed. He gave his assurance that he had meant no harm by what he did, that he had acted without knowing he was doing wrong, and that he had intended all along to take the woman as his lawful wife. Understanding now that he had broken the law of the island, he asked that his means be weighed before anything was settled against him. Interpretations The condition of the body settles what the council could not determine in September. Governor Pyke reported on 7 September 1736 that Will Boojar had been missing since the Sunday a week earlier, that every search had failed, that he had lately seemed disturbed in his mind, and that he could not have left the island, all the boats being safe and no vessel having called. The two explanations then available were a fall from a precipice and drowning. A body on an open ridge with no rock above it eliminated both, and the state of it, wasted and dried rather than decayed, matches nearly three months on high exposed ground in a dry, constantly windy climate. The entry mattered administratively as well as humanly: a Company slave was carried on the books at a value, and a death had to be recorded before he could be struck off, as the fisherman Martin was on 28 October 1735. The council had already counted eleven grown black men lost to the Company by 22 July 1734. Recovering a runaway had been the owner's charge since the rules published by beat of drum on 30 October 1733. Those rules required an owner to report a flight within three days on pain of making good every loss the man caused while out, set a reward of 20s for anyone who took him up, and put both that reward and the recovery fee on the owner's account. Sending a soldier out with Powell reversed the arrangement and put the garrison to work recovering one planter's property. The justification lay in the losses reported the previous week, which fell on Wrangham, Greentree, the soldier Defountaine and the Company's own stock, so that a single man at large had become a charge on the whole neighbourhood rather than a loss to his owner alone. The letter follows the pattern by which the council did most of its disciplinary business. A written submission acknowledging the offence, disclaiming any bad intention and throwing the writer on the Governor's judgement served as the council's security in place of a bond, and it had taken exactly that form from Richard Durling in April 1728, Henry Cottrell in April 1729, James Powell on 22 January 1736 and Henry Moyce on 27 January 1736. The plea over the writer's means points at a money penalty rather than a whipping, and it answers the scheme John Alexander set out on 10 February 1736, which fixed a fine on any man who debauched his wife's sister while tying the sum to what the offender could genuinely pay. The substance of the letter answers the examination of Elizabeth Edwards on 16 November 1736, in which she named Benjamin Beale, her late sister's husband, as the father of her child and stated that he had promised her marriage. Speculations The three owners had been told on 16 November 1736 that they would be heavily fined unless the runaways were secured by the following Tuesday. Tuesday came with Powell's man still out, so the fine was due and the council had put itself in a position to levy it. Instead of taking the money it detailed a soldier to go into the country with Powell and ordered the pair to stay out until they had him. The threat had been designed to make an owner exert himself, and the council evidently judged that a fine paid would leave the man at large and the neighbourhood still being robbed, whereas force in the field might actually bring him in. Choosing recovery over revenue is the reverse of its usual instinct, since penalties fell into the Company's cash while a search party cost the garrison a man for as long as it took. |
155 | 147 | Poor Man and is very willing to make any Satisfaction that is in my Power, I beg that your Worship might be favourable & so to permitt me out of this Loathsome Prison & I had Innocently Suffered to the Promising with no ill designe there I shall be Sinner & Remain Your most Humble & Obedient Servant 25th Novr 1736 Benjamin Beale The Governour told them that his begetting that Woman Elizabeth Edwards with Child, could not be done through Ignorance perhaps he might be Ignorant that he could not be married to his Wives sister but she being so nearely related to him it is a very great transgression, for him to Debauch & Discourse with her, & therefore for this offence it was Ordered that he should be whipt but on his Request to pay any fine he was able, it was agreed to fine him three Pounds to the Honble Company & to give Security for keeping the Gaol & in case the Inhabitants harmless which he accordingly did by entering into a Bond of Four Score Pounds with Joshua Adams & Richard Goodwin his Sureties At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7th Decr 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander absent John Goodwin being Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved William Thornick made Complaint that Joseph Bates hired in a Clandestine manner endeavoured to that him of his Right to a Share in a fishing Boat which the said Bates had first Sold to the said Thornick, & about five months afterwards the said Bates again Sold the said half part of the Boat to Thomas Greentree who accordingly Sands his Shroud a fishing therein to the pre- judice & hinderance of the Complaynant, the Boat having thereby been Strained & greatly damaged Ordered that the said Boat be immediately delivered to the said Thornick & that Bates do make him reasonable amends for the damage, She hath received since Bates Concernedness Agreement with Greentree Joseph Bates made Complaint that John Alarich has owed him the Sum of Twelve Shillings for hire which the said Alarich refused to pay him Alarich acknowledge he owed Bates Money for hire but | Benjamin Beale offered whatever satisfaction lay within his means and asked the Governor to take a favourable view of the trouble he had brought on himself. He signed the letter on 25 November 1736 and remained ready to obey any order made against him. Governor Pyke told the council that Beale could not have been ignorant of the position when he fathered a child on Elizabeth Edwards. Marriage to a woman so closely related to him was barred, and the offence was a serious one. The council decided against imprisonment. Beale had asked to be fined at a level he could meet, and the members settled the penalty at £10 0s 0d payable to the Company. They also required security to keep the parish clear of any charge for the child. He entered a bond of £14 0s 0d with Joshua Johnson and Richard Goodwin standing as his sureties. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 7 December 1736, Governor Pyke sitting with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. William Thornick complained that Joseph Bates had set about defeating his claim to a half share in a fishing boat by underhand means. Bates had first sold him that half share, then about five months afterwards sold the same half to Thomas Greentree. Greentree had taken the boat and gone fishing in it, without Thornick's knowledge or agreement. The vessel had already been damaged in the course of it. The council ordered the boat returned to Thornick at once and directed Bates to make reasonable compensation for the damage done to her. Bates then reached his own settlement with Greentree. Joseph Bates complained that John Aldrich owed him a sum of money and had refused to pay. Aldrich admitted the debt was owing. Interpretations The bond and the fine answer two entirely different obligations. The £10 0s 0d fell to the Company as a penalty for the offence itself, while the £14 0s 0d bond was security under the poor law that the parish would never have to maintain the child, which is the same instrument Governor Pyke used against James Powell on 1 December 1735 when he required bonds of £200 0s 0d to indemnify the parish and £1,000 0s 0d for appearance. Two sureties bound alongside Beale gave the churchwardens three men to sue rather than one, which mattered on an island where almost every debt was settled in cattle or promises rather than coin. The choice of Joshua Johnson and Richard Goodwin is worth noting, since both were then pressing claims of their own against the frozen Powell estate. Fining Beale at a figure he named himself put John Alexander's written opinion of 10 February 1736 into practice, which held that any penalty for such an offence should be tied to what the offender could genuinely pay. Alexander had proposed £200 0s 0d payable to the parents where a man debauched his wife's sister, and Beale's £10 0s 0d fell far below it because there were no parents to compensate here and because Beale's means would not carry more. The council's difficulty throughout was that a fine beyond an offender's reach produced neither money nor deterrence, only another debtor on the books. Selling the same half share in a boat twice over exposed how little protected personal property was on the island. Land transfers went through a bill of sale registered in the secretary's office, and the register was the whole basis of title, which is why John Durling could obtain a fresh deed in November 1730 on nothing more than the register and Mr Alexander's memory of earlier practice. Boats, being movable goods, passed by delivery with no registration at all, so a second purchaser had no means of discovering the first sale and the boat itself carried no mark of ownership. Ordering the vessel returned to the earlier buyer applied the ordinary rule that a seller cannot pass what he no longer owns, and left Greentree to recover from Bates rather than from Thornick. A fishing boat was among the more valuable pieces of property a working islander could hold. The Company had set eleven men constantly in the boats from 1 March 1727, when the slaves' meat ration was replaced by fish, and private boats supplied both the inhabitants and the ships in the road. Half shares were the common form of ownership because the cost, the risk of loss in heavy surf and the labour of manning her were more than one household could carry, and the council had ordered on 5 March 1728 that every owner or part owner secure his sails and oars on returning from fishing. Speculations Beale had committed the offence the council had spent the year declaring it would punish severely, and the Governor stated plainly that his plea of ignorance would not stand. The obvious course was imprisonment, which had been applied to James Powell for the same offence on 11 November 1735 and held him for six weeks. Beale asked to be fined instead, and the council took the offer. The reason lies in what each course produced: a man in prison earned nothing, so the child stayed on the parish and the Company recovered no penalty, whereas a fine at a level he could actually meet brought £10 0s 0d into the cash and a bond of £14 0s 0d protected the inhabitants. Elizabeth Edwards had already been whipped on 16 November 1736, so the demand for a public example had been satisfied, leaving the council free to treat the man's case as a matter of recovery rather than punishment. |
156 | 148 | offered to take his Oath that Bates was to take payment in Carpenters Work, which he was willing to doe, & having to that purpose put his hand upon the Book, Bates said he was Satisfied & desired he might not be Sworn The Governour & Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Novr last which were Severally Examined & Approved and are as follow viz EXPENCE of the Table in Novr 1736 &c 97 lb Pork 2 8 6 25 Fowles 3 9 4 Geese 1 2 Ducks 6 1 Turkey 5 65 Gallns Arrack 13 2 29 lb Sugar 4 7 6 127 lb Flour 5 5 3 2 lb Paper 9 3 Bottles Oyl 10 30 14 3 GUNNERS Stores Expended in Novr 1736 Viz Powder, Shot, Sky Rockets, Match Master Gray: Powder 0, Shot 0, Sky Rockets 0, Match 25 Fired at Sunsett: Powder 2, Shot 3, Sky Rockets 2, Match 14 Repairs of the Guards: Powder 0, Shot 0, Sky Rockets 0, Match 30 Ladle Staff 5 Bandsworth Hooks: Powder 2, Shot 2, Sky Rockets 2, Match 69 Cartridge Paper 3 Spunge Heads 3 Ship Moons 3 Spunge Stocks 3 Rammer heads 3 Ketts 2 Match 12 | John Aldrich offered to swear that the debt was to be discharged in carpentry rather than in cash, which he was willing to perform. He put his hand on the book ready to take the oath, and Joseph Bates said he was satisfied and would not require him to swear. Governor Pyke, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for November 1736. The council examined each in turn and approved them. Expense of the table in November 1736 97 lb of pork, £2 8s 6d 45 fowls, £3 9s 0d 4 geese, £0 6s 0d 2 ducks, £0 5s 0d 1 turkey, £0 3s 0d 65 gallons of arrack, £13 0s 0d 94 lb of sugar, £4 7s 6d 27 lb of flour, £5 5s 3d 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 3 bottles of oil, £0 10s 0d Total, £30 16s 3d Gunner's stores expended in November 1736 7 November, muster day, 6 guns fired, 6 minions, 0 falcons, 25 lb of powder 17 November, fired at Banks's, 2 guns fired, 3 minions, 2 falcons, 14 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 30 lb of powder Lead shot, 6 lb Musket balls for slices, 2 guns fired, 3 minions, 2 falcons, 69 lb of powder Cartridge paper, 3 quires Sponge staves, 3 Sheepskins, 3 Sponge heads, 3 Rammer heads, 3 Bitts, 2 Match, 12 lb Interpretations Discharging a debt in carpentry rather than coin was the ordinary way of settling accounts on an island almost without currency. The same substitution runs through the record wherever a poor man owes money: Orlando Bagley senior proposed to settle his balance with Mr Slaughter in provisions on 4 August 1730, James Whaley senior had his slave's labour set against his debt to the Company at ninepence a day on 28 May 1734, and the debtors to Governor Smith summoned across May and June 1731 offered cattle or delay because none of them held cash. What makes this entry unusual is Bates dropping the oath the moment Aldrich reached for the book. An oath sworn falsely carried a penalty at law and, more to the point on St Helena, a lasting stain among neighbours, so a man's willingness to swear was itself treated as proof. Slices were cakes or lumps of lead cast for musket balls, and the entry records lead being drawn from store and made up into ammunition rather than fired. That charge, together with the 30 lb issued to the guards, accounts for the bulk of a month in which only eight guns were discharged. The powder consumed by the guards had been climbing since the nightly boat was set out from 30 June 1735, and it now stands as the largest single item in the account. The stores expended point to maintenance rather than firing. A sponge cleaned and damped the bore between shots, a rammer drove home the charge, and both wore out at the head and had to be refitted onto their staves. Sheepskins supplied the material for fresh sponge heads, the pelt being wrapped around the head to hold water, and the annual inventory of 30 September 1736 recorded 300 horse hides and a stock of sheepskins standing in store for exactly that purpose. Bitts were the wooden pieces used about a gun carriage, which split under repeated heavy charges. The table account shows the fort feeding itself from its own yard through a month with no shipping. The road had stood empty since the Dutch ship sailed on 15 August 1736, and beef is absent for the fourth month running, the last figure of any size being 344 lb in June. Pork at 97 lb, 45 fowls and a scatter of geese, ducks and a single turkey carried the whole demand, drawn from a poultry flock that the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 had brought up to 484 fowls and 91 turkeys. Arrack at 65 gallons cost more than four times the meat, which is the usual proportion in these accounts and reflects both the drinking of the household and the customary allowances issued to the guards and tradesmen. |
157 | 149 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month November 1736 Viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1t Novr 1736: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 54, Bulls 6, Totall 441, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 40, Pigs 10, Boares 1, Totall 60, Turkeys 91, Fowles 484, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 12, Totall 16 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 11, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 5, Boares 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 6, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 1, Totall 2 Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 65, Bulls 6, Totall 452, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 40, Pigs 15, Boares 1, Totall 65, Turkeys 91, Fowles 484, Ducks 21, Geese 15, Horses 5, Mares 13, Totall 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 1, Fowles 46, Ducks 4, Geese 4, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 65, Bulls 6, Totall 452, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 38, Pigs 15, Boares 1, Totall 63, Turkeys 90, Fowles 438, Ducks 17, Geese 11, Horses 5, Mares 13, Totall 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaining 30th Novr 1736: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 65, Bulls 6, Totall 451, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 38, Pigs 15, Boares 1, Totall 63, Turkeys 90, Fowles 438, Ducks 17, Geese 11, Horses 5, Mares 13, Totall 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16200 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 28300 Totall Yams 44500 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for November 1736, the headings running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for November 1736 Remaining 1 November 1736: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 54, bulls 6, total neat cattle 441, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 40, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 60, turkeys 91, fowls 484, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 4, mares 12, total horses and mares 16 Increased in November: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 11, bulls 0, total neat cattle 11, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 5, boars 0, total hogs 5, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 6, geese 0, horses 1, mares 1, total horses and mares 2 Standing after the increase: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 65, bulls 6, total neat cattle 452, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 40, pigs 15, boars 1, total hogs 65, turkeys 91, fowls 484, ducks 21, geese 15, horses 5, mares 13, total horses and mares 18 Killed in November: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 2, turkeys 1, fowls 46, ducks 4, geese 4, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 65, bulls 6, total neat cattle 452, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 38, pigs 15, boars 1, total hogs 63, turkeys 90, fowls 438, ducks 17, geese 11, horses 5, mares 13, total horses and mares 18 Died in November: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 1, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 November 1736: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 65, bulls 6, total neat cattle 451, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 38, pigs 15, boars 1, total hogs 63, turkeys 90, fowls 438, ducks 17, geese 11, horses 5, mares 13, total horses and mares 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,200 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 28,300 lb Total yams, 44,500 lb Interpretations The yam figure is the harvest arriving. The issue to the slaves had fallen to 4,000 lb in August 1736 and 9,700 lb in March, the establishment then being fed from what remained of the previous crop, and it now stands at 28,300 lb in a single month. St Helena's planting season runs through the southern winter from about May to September, so a November lift marks the ground coming into bearing. The whole issue of 44,500 lb is nearly double the 25,600 lb of October and returns the account to the level it held before the drought years, when the monthly figure ran between 40,000 lb and 50,000 lb. Nothing whatever went to shipping for the third month together, the road having stood empty since the Dutch ship Young William sailed on 15 August 1736. The herd therefore grew by natural increase alone, eleven calves against a single heifer lost, and the neat cattle stand at 451 against 441 a month earlier. That single death across every class is the clearest measure of how far conditions have improved: 42 cattle died in the Company year to 30 September 1734 and 14 in the year to 30 September 1735, against one in the year just closed. Two foals carried the stud to 18 head, the largest figure anywhere in this record and up from 15 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736. Horses were never killed for the table and only rarely sold, Gabriel Powell's purchase of a young horse in January 1728 being among the few, so the number rises steadily by breeding and falls only through age or accident. They existed to carry the Governor and the councillors about a country where nothing could be moved on wheels, the one cart road on the island having been swallowed into private plantations by 1731. The poultry yard carried the fort's table by itself, 46 fowls, 4 ducks, 4 geese and a turkey being killed against 2 shoats and no beast of any kind. That matches the table account for the same month, which shows no beef at all. The flock can bear it only because the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 brought 400 fowls and 59 turkeys into the account at once, lifting the fowls from 106 to 506. The sheep stood entirely still, with no lamb born, none killed and none lost. Five lambs against 46 breeding ewes is a thin showing, and the flock has been consuming itself for most of the year, the last wether on the island going to the table in July 1736 before 21 were restored at the muster by yearlings growing into that class rather than by any purchase. |
158 | 150 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 14th Decr 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander absent John Goodwin being Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Thomas Bagley Ensign was presented & read praying a Grant for a certain Peice of Land lying in Swanley Valley GRANTED, provided if upon view it appears that it may be so without prejudice to the Honble Company or to the Neighbourhood At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21 Decr 1736 at the Plantation PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Mr Josias Wrangham made Complaint that a Slave Girle of his named Mary an infant of about Eight or Nine years old was Ravished on Sunday last in the Morning between the hours of ten & Twelve by a Black Man named Cesar belonging to Gunner Forbes in his Masters house on the Fort Ditty & that he received the first Information thereof on Sunday in the Evening by his Man Slave Nero who is the Father of the said Child who told the Complainant that on Sunday Morning last the Child was so [...] & he Nero went to Search for it & could not at first find it & which occasioned him to enquire of one Pegoe whom he saw in the Valley whether any of them had seen the Child & another of the fellow Slaves named Julo told him that he se Cesar Gunner Forbes's Slave carry her over to his Masters house & upon this Informa- tion he went to the Door but found it fast & without any stay in the Dark upon which he knocked hard at the door but nobody making any Answer he went into the back Yard of Serjeant Alexanders & out of that Yard he got into Gunner Forbes's Kitchen & there he saw the said Cesar wiping the Blood with a Cloth of the Body of the said Child & he laid upon the Breeches of the said Cesar & upon this he Nero immediately did what he had seen to several Persons in the Valley & to his Mistress as soon as she was | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 14 December 1736, Governor Pyke sitting with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. Thomas Harper, ensign, petitioned for a lease of about an acre of land in Swanley Valley. The council granted it, subject to a view establishing that the grant would do no harm to the Company or to the neighbouring holders. The council met again at Plantation House on Tuesday 21 December 1736. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Francis Wrangham complained that his slave girl Mary, a child of about eight, had been raped on the Sunday morning between ten and twelve. He named Caesar, a black man belonging to Gunner French, and said the attack took place in his master's house in the fort valley. Wrangham first learned of it on the Sunday evening from his slave Nero, the child's father. Nero told him that on the Sunday morning the girl had been sent on an errand and had not returned. He went looking for her and could not at first find her, until something drew his eye to the valley. He asked several of the slaves there whether any of them had seen her. One of them, Juba, told him that Caesar, the gunner's man, had carried her over to his master's house. Nero went to the door on that information and found it fastened from the inside. He waited by the rocks outside for some time, calling out and getting no answer. He then went round into the back yard of Sergeant Robinson's house, which adjoins the yard behind the gunner's kitchen. From there he saw Caesar wiping blood off the child's body with a cloth. He raised the child in his arms and carried her straight home, showed what had been done to several people in the valley and to his mistress. Interpretations The whole case rested on what a slave saw and what other slaves told him, which is precisely the evidence the island's courts could not receive. The council had recorded the difficulty in every proceeding against John Long across a decade, and it had defeated prosecutions over the Company's goats in January 1729 and the harbouring of runaways in April 1733. Here the identification came from Juba, the sighting through the yard came from Nero, and the child herself was a slave of eight. A free defendant could not have been convicted on any of it. The complaint reached the council only because Wrangham, a substantial planter and one of the churchwardens returned on 26 April 1736, brought it as an injury to his own property, and because the accused was himself a slave, against whom the council proceeded by order rather than by trial. Bringing the girl's father into the account served a purpose beyond narrative. Slave parentage had no standing at law and carried no rights whatever, yet the council consistently recorded it where a complaint turned on a household's own knowledge of a child, as it did in the examination of Francis Funge's girl Betty on 11 November 1735. Nero's search, his questioning of the other slaves and his carrying the child home supplied the chain of circumstance that no single witness could establish alone, and showing her injuries publicly in the valley fixed the fact before it could be disputed. The geography of the fort valley did the rest of the work. Houses there stood packed against one another with shared or adjoining yards behind, the ground having been let out in parcels measured in feet rather than acres, and Charles Steward was permitted on 20 August 1733 to keep two feet of Company ground in front of his house as a party wall. A door bolted on the inside stopped Nero at the front, but the back yards of the gunner's kitchen and Sergeant Robinson's house ran together, so he needed only to walk round to see into the place. That density is why offences in the valley came to light and offences in the country rarely did. |
159 | 151 | come from Church. Mr Wrangham further saith that he hath heard since this fact was committed that the said fellow Cesar had formerly committed the like Crime upon a young English Girle then living with Richard Gurling &c Frans Wrangham Mr Wrangham also saith that Nero told him that he Nero had applyed to Ensign Wood in the case & that he said he had nothing to do with it but advised the fellow to go up & tell his Master Upon this Complaint the Governour Ordered Mary Shreve & Margarett Bagley both Women & Midwives immediately to view the body of the said Child & to Report in what condition they should find the same which they did accordingly & their Examination was this day taken & is as follows viz St Helena ss The Examination of Mary Shreve & Margarett Bagley both Women & Midwives taken upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr of the said Island this 21 day of Decr 1736 These Examinants say that according to the Order signified to them yesterday from the Governour to view the Child said to be Ravished by Cesar a Blackman belonging to Gunner French that they had accordingly this Morning viewed the private parts of the said Child being both of them together & found that they were much torn & very sore & that they conclude this Violence was committed upon the body of the said Child by some Man & that the said Child is about the age of two years or under Taken & Sworn this 21 Decr 1736 before me Isa: Pyke Governr The Mary Mark Mary Shreve of The Mark Margaret Bagley Upon this Complaint the Governour issued his Warrant for apprehending the said Black fellow Cesar but he fled somewhere yet be found Thomas Sconnite Soldier being Accused by Elizabeth Rowley who is a Free Slave & a Merchant for Begetting her with Child he was this day Summoned to attend & Examined thereupon also confessed the fact & therefore was Committed to Prison to be further dealt withall according to Law | Blood was still coming from the child. Wrangham added that he had learned since the attack that Caesar had done the same thing before to a young girl then living with Richard Durling. He signed the complaint. Wrangham also reported that Nero had gone to Ensign Wood about the matter and had been told that nothing could be done, beyond advice to go and tell his master. Governor Pyke ordered Mary Shreve and Margaret Bagley, both widows and midwives, to examine the child at once and to report what they found. They did so and returned their examination. The two women were sworn before the Governor at St Helena on 21 December 1736. They stated that they had viewed the child on the Governor's order of the previous day, the girl belonging to Francis Wrangham and the accused being Caesar, the black man belonging to Gunner French. They examined her that morning and found her much torn and injured in every part, and they concluded that violence had been done to her body. They put her age at about two years under eight. Mary Shreve signed with her mark, and Margaret Bagley signed with hers. The Governor issued a warrant to take Caesar up. He had not been found. Thomas Sconate, a soldier and a free man, was accused by Elizabeth Reachy of getting her with child. He was summoned that day and admitted it. The council committed him to prison to be dealt with as the law required. Interpretations Two sworn midwives examining a child and returning a written report was the only form of medical evidence the island could produce. The same procedure had been used on 11 November 1735, when Mary Lyndon examined Francis Funge's girl Betty and reported her much torn and bruised, and again on 13 August 1736, when the widow Aswaite and the widow Bagley were set to determine the parentage of Mary Girling's child. Midwives held a quasi-official standing in such matters throughout England as well, their oath being taken seriously in bastardy and rape proceedings alike, and on St Helena they filled the gap left by the absence of any coroner or court physician. Both women signed with a mark, which did nothing to diminish the weight given to their finding. Ensign Wood's answer to Nero exposes the practical reach of the rule that a slave's word carried no legal weight. A slave reporting a crime to an officer of the garrison could not lay an information, could not swear a complaint and could not set any process in motion. The only route open ran through his owner, which is exactly what Wood told him. Wood had himself been suspended from his post on 28 July 1736 for absence from duty at Banks's, and the exchange sits awkwardly beside that record, though the answer he gave was correct as the law stood. Wrangham's report that Caesar had attacked a girl in Richard Durling's household before shows how such information travelled. Nothing of it had reached the council, no complaint had been laid and no punishment recorded, so an offence against a slave child in a private household had simply stayed within the neighbourhood. Both earlier castration sentences in this record followed a formal proceeding: Mingo at the sessions of 2 July 1733 and Tonis on 11 November 1735, the latter carried out within days because the man belonged to the Governor and no owner required compensation. Committing the soldier Sconate to prison marks a sharp change from the treatment of Benjamin Beale a fortnight earlier, who was fined £10 0s 0d and bonded rather than confined. The difference lies in what each man could offer. A planter held land and could give sureties, so the parish could be secured against the charge of the child by bond, as Governor Pyke required of James Powell on 1 December 1735. A soldier on garrison pay held nothing, so imprisonment was the only sanction available, and the poor law's real object throughout was to keep the child off the parish rather than to punish the act. |
160 | 152 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28th Decr 1736 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The two following Examinations was taken on Wednesday last by the Governour viz The Complaint & Accusation of Nero a Slave of Mr Francis Wrangham against Cesar a Slave belonging to Mr Forbes the Gunner Who being duely Examined saith that on Sunday then in the forenoon in Church time he went out of his Masters door & Mary his daughter a Child under two years of age followed him to the Door but he going farther left the Child there & returning a short time after & not seeing his Girle at his Masters door where he had left her he went in & asked his Wife another of Mr Wranghams Slaves named Nancy where the Child was who did not know but told the Story that the Child went out with two of another Black Slave named Judy belonging to Mr Francis Wrangham, said he saw Cesar Mr Forbes's Black see the Child from the door carry it away & said he did not know the where in which he went to see for the Child & went up the Valley to Mrs Hodgeson house to see for her, but he came one of the Complainants Sayes he was Informed of one Cesar went down the Valley on the other Side & went home from over the bridge so he did not see there but went to Mr Forbes's house & knockt at the door but he he knockt aloud no body appeared & he Cesar was they took & he they was asked one of the door & upon a black that belonging to Mr Cesar he found not knock so loud for she would disturb the folks &c, on that he went home again & Settled with his Wife because the Child was missing & then Nero & his Wife went out to see for the Child & they went to Mr Forbes's door & to Enquire Mr Cesar Black being there at the door told her that Cesar was within for he had just now seen him through the key hole so Nero went into Miller House & got over the Wall into Mr Forbes's back yard & he got in the over the Flatt the same way & went into the Kitchen & found the Child on the Fireside & Cesar bleeding very much & Cesar a wiping of the said & he had on his hand a wet rag & a Cloath also with water & was a wiping of the Blood & said, gave he Nancy his Wife Complainants Wife Snatcht up the Child to run away & Cesar took the keyard of the Bench & would go to her & the Child out & Nero this Complainant seeing Cesars Breeches bloody, they being made of white Nankeen Stuff, & Cesar said to know what there I have done, I have done nothing for the Child has been asleep on which Nero struck him twice | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 28 December 1736. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Pyke took two examinations on the Wednesday. Nero, a slave of Francis Wrangham, laid a complaint against Caesar, the slave of Gunner French, and was duly sworn. He stated that on the Sunday morning during church he left his master's house with his daughter Mary, a child under eight. He followed her as far as the door and then went on his way, leaving her there. Returning a short while afterwards, he could not find her, and asked his mistress where she was. She said she had sent the girl out on an errand. He then asked another of Wrangham's slaves, a woman named Mary, who did not know either. Nero went on and asked several other slaves. One of them, a woman belonging to Wrangham, told him that Caesar was at Gunner French's door and had carried the child away, though she could not say where he had gone or what he meant to do. He went up the valley to Mr Harper's house to look for her there, and while asking about her he was told that Caesar had gone down the valley on the other side, having come over the bridge, so that Nero had not seen him pass. He went to the gunner's house and knocked, and nobody came. He tried the door and found it fastened. He then asked one of the slaves belonging to Mrs Carne, who told him he did not dare knock too loudly for fear of disturbing the household, because the child was crying inside. Nero went home again and told his wife what he had heard. She went out to look for the girl herself and made for Mr Wrangham's door. One of Mrs Carne's slaves, standing there, told her that Caesar had gone in and bolted the door behind him some time earlier and had not come out. She went into Mr Mudge's house, climbed over the wall into the back yard of the gunner's kitchen, and from there saw the child on the ground. She was bleeding heavily and Caesar was wiping her with a wet rag, having a rag in one hand and water in the other and wiping the blood away. She snatched the child up and ran off with her. Caesar took hold of the girl's arm and pulled her back out of her hands, and Nero came up. Seeing Caesar's breeches bloody, he asked him what he had done. Caesar answered that he had done nothing, that the child had a sore. Nero struck him twice. Interpretations The account establishes the geography of the fort valley more precisely than any earlier entry in this record. The houses of Wrangham, Harper, Mudge, Carne and Gunner French stood close together, with a bridge crossing the water course between the two sides, and the back yards ran into one another so that a wall could be climbed to reach the ground behind a neighbour's kitchen. Frances Carne and Richard Goodwin had petitioned on 6 July 1736 over the water course behind their houses, which did damage to the foundations of their fences in heavy rain, and had been granted ground behind each frontage on undertaking to divert it at their own charge. That water course is the one this bridge crossed. Timing the offence to the hour of church service was not incidental. The valley emptied while service was held, the household of the gunner being at church and the child sent out on an errand at the one time of the week when the place stood quiet. Governor Pyke had proposed on 10 February 1736 that any inhabitant refusing to attend church be denied liberty to go aboard the shipping, so attendance was pressed on the free population, and the effect was to leave the valley in the hands of those who did not go. Every witness Nero questioned was a slave, and the whole reconstruction of the morning rests on their answers: the woman who saw the child carried off, the man who directed him down the valley, and Mrs Carne's slave who reported the bolted door and the crying inside. None of it could be sworn to in a proceeding against a free man. It could be received here because Caesar was himself a slave, and the council had settled its practice in such cases by taking examinations separately and testing whether the accounts agreed, exactly as it did with Walker and Sauney on 23 October 1733. Nero's blow was the only remedy immediately open to him. A slave could not lay an information with an officer of the garrison, as Ensign Wood had told him plainly, and the council recorded the two blows without any suggestion that they required an answer. |
161 | 153 | and went away Cesar did not offer to strike him again but went away & shut the door & then Mr Richardson the Serjeant standing at his door next above Mr Forbes's he stared him what a pitch he did was in Richardson asked what man he was that abused the Child so he said Mr Forbes's & then Mr Richardson said the dog deserves to be burnt & Mary his Wife would go & tell over her the Mistress & Wrote to Complain to Mr Wood the Ensign as soon as Church was done, & when Mr Wood came out he told him that Mr Forbes's Cesar had Spoil with the little Girle & Mr Wood said he would not deliver it & Nero desired him to go & see the Child so he went to Mr Wranghams House with Nabb & Spencer, & Mr Wranghams daughter & then Mary Nero's Wife brought the Child to Mr Wranghams door & opened the Child which continued bleeding & shewed them where the Child had been abused in the private parts by Cesar & how in bed, Mr Wood the Ensign to Secure Cesar & Mr Wood answered whom care not Cesar go & that will Cesar is home & how do you go up & Your Master & ask him & Nero replyed I dare not with be taken of the place for fear he should come for it & Mr Wood said again I can't tell what to do in it without the Governours Order I have nothing to do in it without further Orders & then Nero went up unto the Country & acquainted Mr Wrangham his Master with all these particulars & having brought the Child up into the Country to Mr Wranghams Nero & his Wife, Mary shewed to Mr Wrangham their Master in what manner the Child had been abused & being enquired where Cesar is Secured he saith that Cesar is either run away or is hidden he cannot be found but they have searched Mr Forbes's & Lodgings & found a Boat Sail much stained & a bloody rag which is supposed to be the rag that Cesar wiped the Child with, Nero being asked Cesar and in the way, or could he found unto the door Mr Wood Secure him he saith that the same Cesar was then in Mr Forbes's House & ought have easily been secured This Examination was taken by me this 22 day of Decr 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The Mark Nero St Helena ss Mary a Slave Woman belonging to Mr Francis Wrangham saith that on Sunday last & day of Decr in the Evening but is that there yesterday was Sennight it being Sermon came home being busy in the morning missed her Child named Mary but the girl when the Child was told her that it was gone along with Nero her Husband who was the Childs father, some short time after Nero this Examinant this Land came in & said for the Child & because this Examinant Mary did not know he came & more at last he then went out to see for the Child but Nabb another Slave belonging to Mr Wrangham said to see Cesar Mr Forbes's Black take up the Child on this Answer Nero went to Mr Forbes's & knockt & knockt at Mr Forbes's door but no Answer being made he knockt very hard on which Jack Carpenters Sarah &c Mr Richardson | Caesar made no attempt to take the child again and walked off, shutting the door behind him. Sergeant Richardson was standing at his own door next to the gunner's, and Nero asked him what he ought to do. Richardson advised him to go to Ensign Wood, and told him the day was too far gone to burn the child. Nero and his wife then went to Mr Wood's house to complain, and reached the ensign as soon as service ended. Wood answered that he could do nothing for him: Caesar was Gunner French's slave, and Nero's daughter was Wrangham's, and neither belonged to him. He told Nero to take the child to his master. Nero and his wife carried her to Wrangham's house, where they found Madero, Wrangham's daughter, and his slave Mercy. Both women examined the child, who was still bleeding, and satisfied themselves that violence had been done to her private parts. Ensign Wood ordered Caesar seized, and Wood himself told Nero that if he saw Caesar go into any house he was to go up to his master and tell him. Nero answered that he would be taken and beaten for it, and dared not go there again for fear of his life. Wood said that without an order from the Governor there was nothing he could do beyond that, and gave no further direction. Nero went into the country and reported the whole matter to his master. Wrangham had already had the child carried up into the country to Nero's wife Mercy, and he asked how the injury had come about. He was told that Caesar had done it, and that Caesar was either hiding somewhere or had gone into the country and could not be found, though a search had been made. Gunner French then produced a boat sail heavily stained with blood, and a bloody rag which was thought to be the cloth Caesar had used to wipe the child. Nero asked French to secure Caesar or to have him found, and French answered that the same Caesar had already been in prison twice. Nero's examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 22 December 1736. He signed it with his mark. Mercy, a slave woman belonging to Francis Wrangham, was examined at St Helena. She stated that on the Sunday before 21 December, in the evening, three men came to the house. Her mistress was then busy in the yard. On the Monday morning her mistress sent her to the child, and she found that it had gone along with Nero, her husband, who was the child's father. Some time afterwards Nero came to her in the country and gave her land for the child, because she had been examined. Mercy said further that she did not know the man's name until she went down and heard the account given by others, then belonging to Wrangham. Wrangham said, take Caesar, Gunner French's slave, take up the child in her arms, and while she was in the road she knocked at the gunner's door. Nobody answered, and Jack the carpenter's servant knocked very hard on it, and so did Richardson. Interpretations The last paragraph presents a real difficulty of sense rather than of reading. Mercy's account as entered runs together the child's movements, her own examination and Wrangham's instruction, and the clerk has not marked where reported speech begins or ends. Enough survives to establish that she was the child's mother, that she was in the country while the attack took place, that the girl was carried up to her afterwards, and that men of the neighbourhood tried the gunner's door and got no answer. The rest of the sequence cannot be resolved into a coherent order from what stands on the page. Wood's second answer marks the point at which the machinery stopped altogether. He gave Nero a direction that assumed Nero could walk up to Gunner French and inform on French's own slave, and Nero's reply that he would be beaten for it and feared for his life states the obstacle exactly. An ensign of the garrison had no authority over another man's property, and the council reserved to itself every decision touching slaves belonging to different owners. Wood's admission that he needed an order from the Governor is accurate as to his powers, and the practical result was that nothing whatever was done between the Sunday and the complaint reaching the council. The bloodstained boat sail and the rag are the only physical evidence in the case, and Gunner French produced both himself. That is worth noting, since the accused was his own property and stood at his book value in his own accounts, so he had a direct financial interest in the outcome. A castration sentence, such as those on Mingo in July 1733 and Tonis in November 1735, damaged the owner's asset, and where the man belonged to a private holder the practice had been for the master to bear the surgeon's charge and the country to make satisfaction at a moderate value should he die. Richardson's remark about the day being too far gone to burn the child points to a household treatment for injury rather than anything else. Cauterisation was the ordinary means of stopping severe bleeding where no surgeon was at hand, and the observation records that the light had gone and the thing could not safely be attempted. Richardson also joined in beating at the gunner's door, so a sergeant, a slave carpenter and the child's parents together could not obtain an answer from a house in the middle of the fort valley. |
162 | 154 | Richardson the Serjeant bade her not make so much noise for it would disturb the People at Church & the said I wanl my Child he would go & see Cesar he has it on which Serjeant lookt in at they say Mr Forbes's Cesar has it in the Steward on which this the Key both & said he saw Cesar in the Steward on which they Continuant Mary ran through Mr Sikes House & got over two walls into Mr Forbes's back Yard & found Cesar in the Kitchen with her Child & had a wet rag in his hand a wiping of the Child which was bloody on which she snatched the Child from him & said what have you done to this Child which was bloody on which she snatched her Child from him & said what have you done to this Child & making at all the Child has been asleep so she ran toward the door with the Child but it was fast & Cesar who had the Key in his pocket went, after her & opening the door & let her out & when she said went out & Cesar said to them what have I done, I have done nothing the Child has been asleep so she carried her Child home & telling on it she carryd her Child & had her Child was Ruined & Nero her Husband went to Acquaint the Officer of the Guard & a little after Church being done, Mr Wood the Ensign & of the Guard with Madam Goodwin & Miss Wranghams came in & she then desired so them all how her Child had been so Discovered & abused & then continued bleeding & Mr Richardson the Serjeant said the dog who has done this deserves to be Burnt & Nero her Husband desired the Ensign to Secure Cesar who had done it & he said he would but did not so she left them there & went in to chan & to fix a race of the Child & got ready afterward to carry her Child up with her to Mr Wranghams her Master in Order to Acquaint the Governour with it, being asked how the Child is now she saith that her Child is something better than it was This Examination was taken by me this 22 day of Decr Anno Dni 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour The M Mark Mary | Sergeant Richardson made no more noise at the door for fear of disturbing the household at church, and said only that if she wanted her child she should look for it in the pigsty. Mercy went to the window of the gunner's house and looked in, and was told that Caesar was inside the room, so she knew where he was. She then went round to Mr Isaac's house, climbed over the two walls into the back yard of the gunner's house, and found Caesar there with the child. He had a wet rag in his hand and was wiping the girl, who was bleeding badly. She asked him what he had done, and he said he had done nothing. She took the child from him, saw the blood, and asked again what he had done. Caesar said nothing at all. The child had been sent out on an errand. Caesar, who had the key in his pocket, ran and shut the door after her as she left the room, then went out and locked it behind him. Mercy asked what he meant by it, and he answered that he had done nothing, that the child had a sore. She carried the girl home, and finding her hurt, sent Nero and her husband to fetch an officer of the guard as soon as service was over. Ensign Wood, the officer of the guard, came at once, and Madero Godwin and Mrs Wrangham came with him. Wrangham's daughter saw how the child had been used and was very much disturbed and shaken, and the bleeding continued. Richardson said that Caesar deserved to be burnt for it. Mercy and Nero asked Wood to secure him, and Wood answered that he would, then did not do so. He went off, meaning to chain him and take proper care of the child, but got ready afterwards to carry the girl up into the country with Mercy to Wrangham's house so that the Governor might be told of it. Being asked how the child was now, Mercy said that she was somewhat better than she had been. Her examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 22 December 1736, and she signed it with her mark. Interpretations Two independent accounts of the same morning had now been sworn, one by the father and one by the mother, and they agree on every material point: the locked door, the key in Caesar's pocket, the yard reached by climbing a neighbour's wall, the wet rag, the bleeding, and the exchange in which he claimed the child had a sore. Governor Pyke had settled this method of testing slave evidence long before, taking the examinations of Walker and Sauney separately on 23 October 1733 and recording that their accounts agreed on every point. Where no slave could be sworn against a free defendant, the only available proof was the convergence of separate statements, and the council built its findings on that convergence. Richardson's remark that Caesar deserved burning names a punishment that had no place in the island's practice. Both castration sentences in this record, on Mingo in July 1733 and Tonis in November 1735, followed formal proceedings and preserved the man alive, since a slave carried a value on his owner's books and the council had consistently avoided capital punishment where the offender was property. The sergeant was expressing what the neighbourhood expected rather than what the council was likely to do, much as the crowd at John Long's whipping on 18 September 1733 was reported to be concerned only that he had not been whipped harder. Wood's failure to secure Caesar after promising to do so completed the sequence of missed opportunities that began with his first answer to Nero. Four separate approaches were made to him across the Sunday, and by the time the complaint reached Wrangham in the country the man had gone and a search had failed. Wood had been suspended from his post on 28 July 1736 for absence from duty at Banks's when the Dutch ship came in, and the pattern of that suspension and this failure is now on the record twice within five months. Carrying the injured child several miles up into the country was the only route by which the case could reach any authority at all. Governor Pyke divided his time between the castle and Plantation House, and a slave's complaint had to travel through her owner to reach him, so the girl was moved on the day of the attack rather than kept still. The alternative, laying the matter before the officer of the guard in the valley, had already been tried and had produced nothing. |
163 | 155 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 4th Janry 1736 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved John Long this day desired that his Black fellow named Tony might be delivered to him & that he Damage might be discharged from Prison, this request with regard to his Future was Granted though he ought not to have him any more in his possession without giving Security for his honesty but as he being Damag'd who was Ordered to hard Labour then Chained for making but as being to work, he was acquainted till he would work out the time towards this day acquainted that if he would work as many dayes as are equivalent to Four Months he Damage should also be released at that time but not till that were refused Thomas Richardson Serjeant having made Oath that about Eight Ounces of the Braid of said Soldier Sea were Cutt & taken out of his Firearm, & that he suspected Joseph Bates Soldier to be the person who has Stolen the same, a Warrant to Search was Granted & part of the said Lace was found upon Richard Clarke Taylor & upon being upon Examination that Bates was the person who Sold the same & that Clarke received it & Sold part of it to Ensign Thomas Wright, but also is a Servant by Trade, they were both Bound to Answer the premises & Capt Oxlam was directed to do it done on Saturday next A Fellow of James Powell named Cornelius having being long Runaway Committing Murder was lately Apprehended & confessed that he had committed the Robbery of Mr Powells Provisions from Mr Deighton's about six Bags from Peter Rogers for which he was whipt with Thirty stripes & he Sentenced to his master The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for December last which were severally Examined & approved and are as follows viz GUNNERS Store Expended in Decr 1736 viz Master Gray 25 Repairs of the Guards 30 Ladle Staff 5 55 Rammer heads 6 Spunge heads 6 Spunge Stocks 3 Ship Moons 3 Cartridge paper 5 Quire Match 18 lb | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 4 January 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Long asked that his slave Toney be released to him. The man had been taken from him by order of the council and set to labour, and Long argued that his own imprisonment ought not to carry the loss of his property with it. The council refused to give the man back without security for his honest conduct. Long, having been in prison a considerable time and having brought Toney to the works, had earlier been ordered to labour himself until he had worked out the value of the man's hire. He was told that if he would work as many days as matched the value the council put on Toney, he would be released at that point. He refused. Sergeant Thomas Richardson swore that about 8 lb of pork had been stolen from his house, together with some of his stores, and that he suspected the soldier Joseph Rogers. The council directed a search. Nero, the slave belonging to Wrangham, found part of the pork at Richard Clark's house, and gave evidence on his examination that Rogers was the gunner who had done it. Clark stated that part of it had come to him from Morgan Meyer, who acted as a servant to Rogers. Both men were bound over to answer, and Rogers was ordered to be dealt with on the Saturday following. Cornelius, a slave of James Powell, had been runaway for a considerable time. He was taken up, examined and convicted, and it appeared that he had lately broken into the house of Mr Defountaine and stolen a wig and other goods, for which he was whipped with 30 lashes and returned to his master. Governor Pyke, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for December 1736. The council examined them and approved them. Gunner's stores expended in December 1736 5 December, muster day, 25 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 30 lb of powder Total powder, 55 lb Lead shot, 6 lb Rammer heads, 6 Sponge heads, 3 Sponge staves, 3 Sledge minions, 3 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 12 lb Interpretations Long's petition raises the one point that had troubled the council since it committed him. He had been imprisoned on 28 July 1736 for refusing to work at Banks's, and his slave Toney had been ordered to the fortifications on 26 August 1735 for his food and clothing alone. A slave was property, and property was not ordinarily forfeited by the owner's imprisonment, yet releasing the man would put him straight back into the household the council had spent two years trying to break up, Peg having deposed on 2 July 1736 that Long sent his slaves out to steal under threat of a whipping. Demanding security for the man's honest conduct answered that difficulty without any formal seizure, since no surety would stand for a slave in Long's hands. The offer to convert Long's own labour into the hire value of his slave sets a striking equivalence on the record. Hired slave labour stood at ninepence a day for whole days and sixpence for Saturdays, the rate the inhabitants had refused as insufficient throughout 1734 and which Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736 showed left an owner £1 7s 6d out of pocket each year. The council was proposing that a free planter work off that same rate in days, which reduced his labour and his slave's to a single unit of account. Powder consumption of 55 lb marks the second month running with no salute and no alarm, the road having stood empty since 15 August 1736. Thirty pounds went to the guards and 25 lb to the muster, so the whole month's expenditure was routine. That figure sits at the bottom of the range for this record, against 260 lb in June 1736 when five ships sailed together, and it measures the anchorage rather than the state of the defences. Sponge and rammer heads wore out through the exercising of the guns rather than through firing, and the annual inventory of 30 September 1736 recorded 282 sponge staves, 57 sponge heads and 41 rammer heads consumed across the year for that reason. Sledge minions were the lighter pieces mounted for salutes and signals, and the entry records their heads being refitted. |
164 | 156 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of December 1736 Viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaing 1t Decr: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 65, Bulls 6, Totall 451, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 38, Pigs 15, Boars 1, Totall 63, Turkeys 90, Fowles 438, Ducks 17, Geese 11, Horses 5, Mares 13, Totall 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 17, Bulls 0, Totall 17, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 5, Boars 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 1, Fowles 0, Ducks 10, Geese 2, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 82, Bulls 6, Totall 468, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 76, Sows 9, Shoats 38, Pigs 20, Boars 1, Totall 68, Turkeys 91, Fowles 438, Ducks 27, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 3, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 3, Ewes 3, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 4, Boars 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 6, Fowles 22, Ducks 11, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31t Decr 1736: Bullocks 18, Cows 143, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 82, Bulls 6, Totall 465, Ewes 46, Wethers 18, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 85, Fowles 416, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 17200 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 24550 Totall Yams 31750 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for December 1736, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for December 1736 Remaining 1 December 1736: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 65, bulls 6, total neat cattle 451, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 38, pigs 15, boars 1, total hogs 63, turkeys 90, fowls 438, ducks 17, geese 11, horses 5, mares 13, total horses and mares 18 Increased in December: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 17, bulls 0, total neat cattle 17, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 5, boars 0, total hogs 5, turkeys 1, fowls 0, ducks 10, geese 2, horses 1, mares 0, total horses and mares 1 Standing after the increase: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 82, bulls 6, total neat cattle 468, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 76, sows 9, shoats 38, pigs 20, boars 1, total hogs 68, turkeys 91, fowls 438, ducks 27, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in December: bullocks 0, cows 3, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 3, ewes 0, wethers 3, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 4, boars 0, total hogs 6, turkeys 6, fowls 22, ducks 11, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 December 1736: bullocks 18, cows 143, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 82, bulls 6, total neat cattle 465, ewes 46, wethers 18, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 85, fowls 416, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,200 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 24,550 lb Total yams, 31,750 lb Interpretations Everything killed in December went to the Christmas provision, and the pattern is unmistakable when set against November, in which nothing but poultry and two shoats was taken. Three cows, three wethers, six hogs, six turkeys, 22 fowls and 11 ducks came off the books in a month with no ship in the road, so none of it went to victual a vessel. The fort table had carried 526 lb of beef and 42 fowls at Christmas 1732, and the customary allowance of arrack and sugar to the slaves, the guards and the tradesmen ran alongside it every year. Killing cows rather than bullocks or steers is worth noting, since the male classes exist precisely to be eaten. Bullocks stood at 18 and steers at 40 and neither was touched, while three cows went from a breeding herd of 146. The council had drawn hard on its males through the shipping season of May and June 1736, selling 12 bullocks and 13 steers in a single month, and the year-end reclassification of 30 September restored the appearance of those classes without restoring their condition. Cows past bearing were the obvious animals to take for the table when no ship required salting beef. Seventeen calves in one month is the strongest showing anywhere in this record, and it follows eleven in November. Calving had collapsed to nothing in October, November and December 1734 under the drought, and the recovery is now complete. The herd has risen from 335 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1735 to 465, and the calf class alone stands at 82. The yam issue fell back to 31,750 lb from 44,500 lb in November, the plantations' own share holding steady at 17,200 lb while the delivery to the slaves dropped by nearly 4,000 lb. The island's summer runs from about November to March, so the winter planting has gone into the ground and the crop taken in during November is now being drawn down against the months before the next harvest. Wethers fell from 21 to 18, and the flock has no capacity to replace them. Only five lambs stand against 46 breeding ewes, and the 21 wethers entered at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 came from yearlings growing into that class rather than from any purchase. The last wether on the island had gone to the table in July 1736 before that reclassification, so the same exhaustion is now beginning again three months later. |
165 | 157 | EXPENCE of the Table in Decr 1736 Viz 79 3/4 Galls Arrack 15 19 3 1/2 ditto Red Wine 19 4 1/2 1 1/2 do White Wine 11 7 1/4 2 Bottles Florence Oyle 6 8 [...] lb Sugar 2 2 [...] Flour 5 22 lb Candy 17 6 1 lb Pepper 1 3 Bushells Salt 15 281 lb Beef 3 10 3 75 lb Pork 1 16 6 4 Pigs 1 22 Fowles 1 13 11 Ducks 17 6 3 Withers 3 15 2 Geese 10 6 Turkeys 1 10 41 4 5 17 Galls Arrack att the Guards Carpenters Armourr &c at Xmas 3 18 21 Galls do to the Blacks 4 4 53 lb Sugar att Guards & Blacks 13 3 8 15 3 | Expense of the table in December 1736 79.75 gallons of arrack, £15 19s 0d 3 gallons of red wine, £0 19s 4.5d 1.5 gallons of white wine, £0 11s 7.5d 2 bottles of Florence oil, £0 6s 8d 44 lb of sugar, £2 2s 0d 4 lb of flour, £5 0s 0d 22 lb of sugar candy, £0 17s 6d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 3 bushels of salt, £0 15s 0d 281 lb of beef, £3 10s 3d 73 lb of pork, £1 16s 6d 4 pigs, £1 0s 0d 22 fowls, £1 13s 0d 11 ducks, £0 17s 6d 3 wethers, £3 15s 0d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 6 turkeys, £1 10s 0d Total, £41 4s 5d Allowances issued at Christmas 17 gallons of arrack to the guards, carpenters and armourer, £3 18s 0d 21 gallons of arrack to the blacks, £4 4s 0d 53 lb of sugar to the guards and blacks, £0 13s 3d Total, £8 15s 3d Interpretations The Christmas allowance stands apart from the table account and represents a customary entitlement rather than a purchase. Arrack and sugar went out to the guards, the tradesmen and the Company's slaves every December in this record, 29 gallons of arrack and 33 lb of sugar at Christmas 1728, 16 gallons to the slaves and 10.5 to the guards in 1732, and 10 gallons to the guard and 6 to the blacks in 1734. The slaves received more this year than the free men, 21 gallons against 17, which reverses the earlier proportion and follows a season in which the establishment had lost several men, among them Jack the Company carpenter on 9 October 1736 and Will Boojar. Beef returned to the table after four months of absence, and the timing has nothing to do with shipping. The road had stood empty since 15 August 1736, so the 281 lb entered here came from the three cows the stock account records as killed in December. Sugar candy at 22 lb is unusual and appears in no other month of this run, being crystallised sugar sold as a sweetmeat and reserved for the season. Florence oil was olive oil shipped from Tuscany through the Company's European supply rather than from India, and it served for the table rather than for lamps or ironwork, where rape oil and train oil were used. Its appearance in bottles rather than by the gallon marks it as an expensive import used sparingly. The drink bill dominates the account as it does throughout this series. Arrack at 79.75 gallons cost £15 19s 0d against £15 2s 3d for every kind of meat on the page, and the wine, oil, sugar, candy, pepper and salt carry the rest. Arrack was the standard spirit of the eastern trade, distilled from palm sap or rice and shipped in half leaguers from Batavia through Bengal, and it arrived in almost every Company cargo entered at the island. |
166 | 158 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11th Janry 1736 at Plantn House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Examination of Mr Forbes's Black fellow Cesar was this day taken viz St Helena ss Cesar a Black Slave belonging to Gunner French Judged about or near Fifty Years being duely Examined concerning a Violence & Rape by him supposed to be committed on the body of Mary an infant Slave under the age of two Yeares belonging to Mr Francis Wrangham, saith that last Sunday was three weeks he saw the said Mary standing against Capt Goodwins new House in the Fort Valley & he went to her & took the Child up in his Armes & carried it over to the Master Gunner Forbes's house & shut the door & turned up the Childs Coats & looked at its private parts thereof & tryed to Cye in it, the Child in a Carnall way in the same manner as he should have done to a another Black Woman & he took out his own penny member & tryed to thrust it into the said Childs body but he could not do it & then he took the Child & turning it up again & thrust his finger into the Childs privat parts upon which the Child Cryed out & the part into which he thrust his finger did very much smart he could not Cye with the said Child a second time & the blood running fast from it he took a rag & wiped the Childs body the time he wiped was a time of that Nancy the Childs Mother came & took the Child from him & she left the Child there faster & another out of the house & then he heard the door & Maydeul nights on the said House & he saw Serjeant Richardson & another Slave of his Master & then there was great complaint made of what he had done in the & did he took every body that talked of it were Angry & that he would do certainly Cabed up for it, so he went behind the Master house, & considering with himself so he went along he resolved to Runaway & rather he came to the top of the Warm hill, he did Sunnday & concealed himself among the Sandy bay hangings above Hallseys Mount on the Sandy day Side & from thence he went over to the Horse pasture by Day Gut & hid himself there about five or Six dayes being asked what he did for food saith that he eat black berries being asked if he did not get Yams he saith that a Fellow was going to the Fort with a basket on his head in which was some Meats bags of Milk & some baked or roasted Yams & he took about Six or Seven Yams he does not know who the Fellow was but | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 11 January 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The examination of Gunner French's slave Caesar was taken that day. Caesar, a slave belonging to Gunner French and judged to be about fifty years old, was examined on oath at St Helena over the rape he was charged with committing on Mary, an infant slave of Francis Wrangham under eight years old. He said that on the Sunday three weeks earlier he saw the girl standing outside Captain Goodwin's new house in the fort valley. He went over to her, picked her up in his arms and carried her into the gunner's house, where he was living. He shut the door and set her down on the ground, then lifted her clothes and examined her privately. She had been sent on an errand for another slave. He took out his own member and tried to force it into her, but could not do it. He lifted her again and pushed his finger into her, on which the child cried out. He then pushed his finger in a second time so hard that he could not get it out again, and blood ran down fast from the wound. He fetched water and washed the child's body. Mercy, the child's mother, came in while he was doing it, took the girl from him and carried her out of the house. He then locked the door and stayed inside. Rosemary, another slave of his master, asked him what he had done, and he answered that he had done nothing. Everybody who heard of it was very angry with him, and he certainly looked to be so, and he left his master's house. Thinking the matter over, he went away and stayed out as a runaway, keeping first to the ridge above the Warren, then in the country and afterwards in Sandy Bay, hanging about Halley's Mount. On the Saturday he took himself off to the gut and hid there until about five or six the following day, being then almost starved and not knowing what to do for food. He lived on blackberries, and would have taken yams had he found any. A man was going to the fort with a basket on his head, in which were some cakes of bread or milk and some boiled or roasted yams, and he took about six or seven yams from it. He did not know who the man was. Interpretations Caesar confessed everything, which removes the evidential difficulty that had governed the case from the start. Nero, Mercy and every witness they questioned were slaves, and none of their statements could have supported a proceeding against a free defendant. Where the accused was himself property the council could take his examination directly, and a confession made and sworn before the Governor closed the matter without any need to weigh slave testimony at all. His age is stated for a practical reason rather than a descriptive one. A slave carried a value on his owner's books that fell with age, and both castration sentences in this record, on Mingo in July 1733 and Tonis in November 1735, damaged the owner's asset, with the practice being that the master bore the surgeon's charge and the country made good the value at a moderate rate should the man die under the operation. Gunner French had produced the bloodstained boat sail and rag himself, and a man of about fifty stood at a fraction of the £25 0s 0d the council allowed for a man in his prime, as the exchange for Mr Brown's man Mingo on 29 July 1735 and Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736 both show. The account of the fortnight at large maps the standard runaway circuit and confirms how little a man could live on outside a household. Walker and Sauney had moved through the cabbage tree woods of Sandy Bay, Rose's Gully, Roberts's Valley, Beale's Hill and Suffdale in October 1733, sustained by yams begged from other slaves. Caesar took the same country, the ridge above the Warren, Sandy Bay and Halley's Mount, but had nobody to beg from and came in on blackberries alone. Stealing yams and bread from a man carrying a basket to the fort was the act of someone starving rather than provisioning, and it was the theft that brought him in. Captain Goodwin's new house fixes the ground where the child was taken. Frances Carne and Richard Goodwin had been permitted on 6 July 1736 to assign their lease of ground in the fort valley to Captain Goodwin so that he might build on it, about eight years of the term then remaining. Six months later the building stands, and the geography of the offence runs between it, the gunner's house, Mr Mudge's and Mr Isaac's, all within one block of adjoining yards. |
167 | 159 | he thinks it was Mr Coles black fellow & after he came over to this side of the Country he went to Madam Barnes fellow named Lucas & he gave them some Meat, Pork & Roast Beef & a peece & stayed with Lucas all night & the next & then Lucas gave him some more Victuals & a Dram, & he went away, & then he went over to Lemon Valley hangings & stayed there for four dayes & then went to Lucas again who gave him Milk & some such Victuals as he had & then he made away to Lemon Valley hangings again & in the Evening he forwards to Lucas about that time that Lucas told him all that was said about him & that there was fifteen Men out after him to Search both sides of the Country day & night where he was with Lucas Aponey a Slave of Mr Wranghams took hold of him & said he would carry him to his Master, but Lucas bad a bin some come Frank & he is in my house & bid him go & he would say nothing he would have trouble enough if he is any Bodie prisoner but he came for he is in my house & then Aponey let him go & he stayd there all that night until the Cock Crew & then Aponey & Lucas both bid him go & bid the Cock does Crow & is time for you to be gone from that he went away to the top of the Horse pasture & stayed about two dayes & last night he went to Armour Suerry hangings & upon & when he came there this Slave black & Mr Athills horse & heard by the Wall & called to Mr Smiths black Fellow of said Jacob Jacob abroad man or an horse & then he came & Smiths Woman opened the door & said to their Fellow here is Mr Forbes's Cesar on which Jack Bond in & said to them you Aponey Dog on you not ashamed of what you have done & he said then who is go to the Governour but was afraid & in an hour and then they would he be down up by the way & Smiths said we should not carry you to them & Jacob & Aponey & desired them to be down up that night on his Clock & said Jacob so with you & the Governour he yesterday Morning & has accordingly now Brought him here This Examination was taken by me on the 11 day of Janry Anno Dni 1736 Isaac Pyke Governour and by of The Cesar hand Cesar | Caesar thought the man was a slave of Mr Bates. He then went over to the other side of the country to Madam Carne's, whose slaves are named Lucas and Devon. They gave him some roast pork and a boiled crab and a bottle of arrack, and he stayed with Lucas all night. In the morning Lucas gave him some potatoes and a drink, and he left. He went over to Lemon Valley and hid there, and lay in the woods there for four days. He then went back to Lucas, who gave him milk and other food, and Richards took him in as well. He went off again to Lemon Valley, hanging about the orchards and the surrounding ground. Lucas told him everything that was being said about him, and that fifteen men were out searching both sides of the country day and night. He was with Lucas when Money, a slave of Mr Wrangham, came upon him and said he would carry him to his master, but Lucas told him to come along with them into the house and say nothing, since he would give him no trouble. Caesar said nothing at all. He remained there in the house until Money told him to go to the negro house, where all of them lay that night until the cocks crew. Money and Lucas then both told him to leave the place before it was light, and he went off to the ridge above the Warren. He stayed there about two days. At night he went to the armoury and hung about for a while, then went to Mr Smith's house and stood by the wall and called out to Mr Smith's slave, the father of the man Jacob. Jacob came out and asked who was there, and the son of Smith's children opened the door and said to their father that Gunner French's Caesar was there. He stood there and asked them for a drink, and asked whether they knew what he had done. He said that when he came to go to the Governor it would be to answer for what he had done, and they undertook to give him up in the morning. Smith said he would put him into the stocks that night, and they took him to the Governor in the morning, and he was accordingly brought in. His examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 11 January 1737, and he signed it with his mark. Interpretations The whole of Caesar's fortnight at large rested on other men's slaves feeding him. Lucas and Devon of Mrs Carne supplied roast pork, a boiled crab, arrack, potatoes and milk across two separate visits and lodged him overnight, and Lucas relayed intelligence about the search. That network is exactly what the council had been trying to break since John Long's outhouse was found to be a receptacle for runaways in April 1733, and it explains why the runaway rules published on 30 October 1733 offered 20s to any free person or slave who apprehended a fugitive. The reward was designed to set slaves against one another, and here it failed against Lucas and succeeded only at the last with Smith's household. Money's behaviour shows the pressure such an encounter placed on a slave who stumbled across a fugitive. He said at once that he would carry Caesar to his master, which was what the rules required and what carried the reward, then allowed himself to be talked round by Lucas and let the man sleep in the negro house before turning him out before daylight. Sheltering a runaway exposed a slave to a whipping, so Money's compromise avoided both the reward and the risk, and it is the reason the search of fifteen men across both sides of the island took a fortnight to produce nothing. Smith's slave household chose the other course and brought Caesar in themselves. He had come to them starving, having eaten nothing but blackberries and the yams he stole, and their offer to hand him over the following morning suited a man who had already resolved to answer for what he had done. Putting him in the stocks overnight was the ordinary way of holding a prisoner where no gaol was at hand, and it kept the household clear of any charge of harbouring him. Fifteen men searching both sides of the island day and night marks an unusual commitment of labour for a single runaway. The council had detailed one soldier alongside James Powell on 23 November 1736 to recover a slave at large by theft, and had put the burden of recovery on owners since 1733. A party of that size reflects the nature of this offence rather than the value of the man, and the country was searched in the same manner as it had been for Walker and Sauney during the hunt for the Company's stolen calf in October 1733. |
168 | 160 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18 Janry 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Duke Crispe absent John Alexander John Goodwin The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the Britania arrived from Bombay Capt King Commander Capt Furzeal dying at Mocha The Governour Reports the Draw bridge of the Heaven Fort being rotted & much decayed he ordered it to be secured with new Cheeks of Oaken Plank & new Oaken Spurrs & the same & so ordered to agree with done Norkes in the Timber & tresels of the Bridge Work in & just such was done, the Ships Portlanca Arrived but the Materialls not being secured he was Ordered to Capt Being the Commander of the Ships that the Ships Traffic and being he secured nor the Lines Norkes yet Delft, he could not procure to hoist the Flag & thereof, he desired him to accept of an Answer to his Master of the Fort under the Government The following Letter was read viz Worshipfull Sr This with most Humble submission have dared bould to write to your Worship begging Your Worship will not take it amiss that Thomas Shreve been guilty of a very great fault in getting of a Black Wench with Child, so which I write I want him & your Worship pardon from very sorry for what I have done & now most humbly beg Your Worships Clemency & goodness to forgive & no error since I, he Return in not of the Laws be what of a Freeman & of & to your Worship, & assure that I stand to maintain the said Same very willing to it as one more earnestly beg of Your Worship to hold and Your Honorable Consideration & Return me into this Honorable Justice, & in duty bound shall ever so my & Remain Your most Humble Obedient Servt Thos Swindell This fellow not being able to keep the Wretched he having another Child of his owne which he can hardly maintain the Governour proposed to send him to Bencoolen but some of the Councill said then we must Maintain the other Child which is Legitimate & that will be a Charge to the Parish who are already overburthened with such Charges, therefore it was Ordered that on such Relief, they be timely publickly & at the Heaven Point for two hours with his Iron Chest walk over in hopes that Shame will be a Caution to the rest And that as soon that as Elizabeth his Whore Month is out that she should be whipped with Twenty Lashes & Thomas he is the Daughter of a free Black that | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 18 January 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander and John Goodwin. Duke Crisp was absent. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Devonshire, Captain Ring, arrived from Bombay the previous day, and the Pomfret, Captain Furzman, came in from Mocha. Governor Pyke reported that the flagstaff at the sea fort had decayed so far that it needed strengthening. He had it cased with two lengths of oak plank and two lengths of new oak, secured with iron staples, and had the ironwork of the whole done and fitted by the smiths. The work was completed. He then arranged with Captain Poulton, the commander of the Portland, for the ship to be moored and the flagstaff secured to the line. The mast was not yet ready, so he could not venture to hoist the flag, and he asked Captain Poulton to accept an answer to his salute from the fort in the meantime. The following letter was read. Thomas Swindell wrote to Governor Pyke, submitting himself entirely and asking that his conduct should not be taken amiss. He acknowledged that he had been guilty of a very great fault in getting a black woman with child, and had been jailed for it, and he stated that he was heartily sorry for it. He asked for mercy and undertook never to repeat the offence. He assured the Governor that he had no intention of dishonouring the laws of the island, that he was very willing to make good whatever might be required of him, and that he asked earnestly to be released, promising honest and orderly conduct and remaining in every way bound to obedience. Swindell was not able to keep the woman and her child, and had another child of his own which he could barely maintain. The Governor was inclined to send him to Bencoolen. Colonel Reid said that as he could not maintain the one child he certainly could not maintain the other, and that both would become a charge on the parish, which was already burdened with such charges. It was therefore ordered on his petition that he be quickly taken to the sea fort and made to stand there for two hours with his hands stretched over his head, in hope that his shame would be a caution to the rest. The council directed further that as soon as Elizabeth's month was out the mother be whipped with 20 lashes, Thomas being the son of a free black man. Interpretations The flagstaff carried the island's whole system of warning and recognition. A sail was sighted from the lookouts and answered by an alarm of four guns, and the flag on the staff signalled to an approaching ship that she had been seen and identified, the Sugarloaf signal having been made of blue and red in 1733 for want of white bunting in store. Governor Pyke had reported the staff much decayed and needing to be cased with oak plank on 8 June 1736, so the repair recorded here completes a job set in hand seven months earlier. Returning a ship's salute from the guns while the staff stood unusable was a substitute rather than a courtesy, since a commander expected acknowledgement in some form on coming to anchor. Standing at the fort with the hands raised for two hours was a shame punishment rather than a corporal one, aimed at the man's standing in a settlement of a few hundred people where every face was known. It sits alongside the wooden horse and the neck and heels imposed on 24 April 1736, both of which left no mark and both of which were reserved for free men where a whipping was thought too degrading. The stated purpose here was deterrence of others rather than correction of the offender. The whole disposal turned on maintenance rather than morality, and the reasoning is set out plainly. Swindell already had one child he could barely keep, so a second would fall on the parish, and the parish was carrying more than it could bear, having taken in Samuel Knipe the crippled man on 5 October 1736 and having supported the widow and seven children of John Thwaites since 1734. Transportation to Bencoolen was considered and dropped for the same reason it was refused to John Long, since removing the father removed any prospect of recovery and left the charge behind. Whipping the mother after her month was out follows the lying-in period customarily allowed a woman after childbirth, and the delay is the only concession the order carries. Elizabeth Edwards had received 10 lashes on 16 November 1736 with an allowance made for her weakness, and here the figure is doubled. The council's scheme against lewdness, drawn up in the written opinions of 10 February 1736 with graded penalties falling chiefly on men, has now produced three recorded punishments of women and none of any man beyond a fine and this hour of exposure. |
169 | 161 | she & her Bastard Child forfeit all pretence to any freedom & be made the Honble Companies Slaves At a Consultation held on Tuesday 1t Febry 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that he lately of the Honble Companies Mares died last Week of old age being a bout two Hundred & four Do he had bread very good, & much the Blacks paid their that Domain to him in the best manner they could singing them into Graves in a body amounting to above two hundred At a Consultation held on Tuesday 8 Febry 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Thomas Bans John Alexander Mr Crispe was absent being John Goodwin Duty at Mundens Fort The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the Prince William arrived here from Bombay but but Josh the Cape having Mr Ecoffee Mr Robertson & Mr Edward on board as Passengers & this Morning a Boat came on Shoar from a French Ship in the Offing with Mr Peters the Second Captaine who acquainted the Governour that the Ships was Called the Sparta Commanded by Mons Labourdere homeward Bound from Pondicherry who advised their & Pypernon and, as for the Mayor Company, & that there was peace between England & France, & that Mr Lowther & Mr Robertson who were just come on Board from the | Her bastard child was declared forfeit and any claim to it by any person set aside, the child being made the Company's property. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 1 February 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported the death of Will, one of the Company's slaves, in the previous week. The man was reckoned to be about 200 years old and had been blind for many years. The slaves paid him every mark of respect they could and buried him themselves, more than 200 of them attending. The council met again at the castle on Thursday 3 February 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander. John Goodwin was absent, being on duty at Munden's Fort. Thomas Cason attended. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Prince William arrived the previous day from Madras, last from the Cape. Mr Scudder, Mr Robertson and Mr Vidard came aboard as passengers. A French ship stood in the offing that morning, and Mr Peleng, her second captain, came ashore. He told the Governor that the vessel was commanded by Monsieur Labourdonnais and was bound homeward from Pondicherry, and asked for water and refreshment. He gave assurance that peace held between England and France. Mr Lowther and Mr Robertson, who had lately come ashore, confirmed it. Interpretations Making the child the Company's property rather than leaving it with its mother turns a parish charge into an asset on the books. The council had settled the governing rule on 30 September 1735, when the executors of John Worrall asked whether the children of a free woman by a slave father were free or slaves, and it answered that the law of the King's colonies in the West Indies held all such children to be taken as slaves, directing that they be valued into the personal estate. Five of Worrall's were appraised at £33 0s 0d. Here the Company took the child directly, so the charge that would have fallen on the inhabitants became instead a slave carried at a value, and the same reasoning had been raised over Mary Girling's child in September 1736. The age given for Will is the household's own reckoning rather than any record, since no register existed for slaves born before the Company's books began and the man had outlived everyone who could have known. He appears earlier in this run as old Will, described on 12 October 1736 as about a hundred and eight years old and bedridden two years, when the eldest daughter of Jack the Company carpenter was set to wait on him. Whatever the true figure, he was the oldest person on the island by a wide margin and had been kept at the Company's charge long after any labour could be got from him. More than 200 slaves attending the burial is a figure worth setting beside the establishment itself, which John Durling's return of 27 February 1733 put at 180 in all. The gathering therefore drew in slaves belonging to the inhabitants as well as the Company's own people, and it exceeds the hundred black people recorded at the funeral of Jack the carpenter on 10 October 1736. The council had faced a conspiracy across ten households in August 1736 and had required every householder to lock up his slaves at night since 12 October 1730, so an assembly of that size was permitted rather than overlooked. Monsieur Labourdonnais was the French commander whose ships passed the island on the Indies route, and the whole exchange followed the standing practice for foreign vessels. A commission was examined before any ship was admitted to the road, as it had been for the Mercury and Le Danaë in 1731 and the Grace in 1734, and confirmation that the two crowns were at peace mattered directly, the island having stood under apprehension of war with France through the whole of 1734. |
170 | 162 | the English Ship knew that what he Aquainted was true upon this Mr Lowther & Mr Robertson were desired to attend but Mr Lowther being ill could not come, Mr Robinson confirmed what the French Officer said & Enquired of Mr Lowther with what had passed [...] who returned Answer by Mr Robinson that he was well satisfied what the Officer said was truth who also added that the French President had given them leave to touch here for Refreshments but this not amounting to a full Proof of a Peace & the Governour being doubtfull of the matter it was agreed however the Ship should have the Liberty of the Port upon Condition that they do not attempt to go a head of the English Ship now in the Road & that all the time they shall continue here they shall lie at Anchor to the North Eastward of her & that no more than Twenty five of their Men shall be on Shoar at one time, but if they shall attempt to go a head of the English Ship or to get to the Westward of her, in either of these Cases they shall be looked upon as Enemies & be fired into, & the Governour was desired to send Mr Sylvester Drake to the foregoing and mentioning which he accordingly did & he received them before the Ship was got Anchor & he Anchored where he came into the road to the North Eastward of the Prince William as he was directed to do The Supply the Prince William brought is as follows Viz Arrack 6 Casks Contgt 12 Gall Cask 83 [...] 60 Sugar 28 Bags at [...] [...] [...] lbs 78 Rice 25 [...] [...] at Arrack, 1 [...] & Bags 33 12 Charges Merchandize 3 84 26 198 14 6 | The English ships knew that what he stated was true. Mr Lowther and Mr Robertson were asked to attend, but Lowther was ill and could not come. Robertson confirmed what the French officer had said, and Lowther sent an answer through Robertson that he was satisfied the officer's account was true. Both men added that the French President had given the ship leave to call there for refreshment, which did not amount to full proof that the two crowns were at peace. Governor Pyke doubted the whole of it, and the council agreed to allow the ship the liberty of the port on terms. The French were not to attempt to move ahead of the English ships then in the road. They were to remain at anchor to the north eastward of them, and no more than 25 of their men were to come ashore at any one time. Should they try to get ahead of the English ships, or to place themselves to the windward of them, they would be treated as enemies. The Governor was directed to give the second captain notice accordingly, which he did, and the terms were delivered to him before the ship anchored. She came into the road to the north eastward of the Prince William as she had been ordered. Supply brought by the Prince William Arrack, 6 casks at 12 pagodas the cask, 83 pagodas 19 annas 60 pies Sugar, 28 bags at 22 rupees the bag, 78 pagodas Rice, 20 bags weighing 100 marcals at 6 marcals the pagoda, 33 pagodas 12 annas Charges merchandise, 3 pagodas 34 annas 86 pies Total, 198 pagodas 14 annas 6 pies Interpretations Permission to refresh at St Helena carried nothing about the state of relations between the two crowns. A foreign commander's word and a passing merchant's assurance were the only evidence available, since news reached the island only by whatever ship happened to arrive, and the council had learned the difficulty in reverse when the Company's packet of 3 March 1729 renewed a war footing twelve days after Captain Braund had been told all apprehension was over. Admitting the ship on terms rather than either refusing her or trusting the assurance let the council take the benefit of the refreshment trade while conceding nothing on the point it could not verify. The three conditions are naval rather than ceremonial. A vessel lying to windward of another holds the advantage in any engagement, since she can bear down at will while the leeward ship must beat up against the breeze to close, so the prohibition on getting ahead or to windward denied the Frenchman the only position from which he could have attacked the English ships at anchor. St Helena's prevailing south easterly trade wind made the arrangement enforceable, the road being a single open anchorage in the lee of the island with no shelter and no harbour. Capping the shore party at 25 men answered a different risk, since Captain Du Bart had threatened on 6 August 1733 to land six or eight of his crew to police the valley. The invoice is reckoned in pagodas, which places the lading at Madras rather than in Bengal or on the Bombay side. A pagoda was the gold coin of the Coromandel ports, worth roughly eight shillings, and Madras consignments were priced in it throughout while Bengal cargoes came in rupees, annas and pies and Bombay ladings carried Goa arrack measured by the hogshead. The marcal is the Coromandel grain measure, and its appearance beside the pagoda confirms the port. The Nassau had brought a Madras supply reckoned the same way on 16 May 1736, and the council fixed a sterling selling price against every line before the goods left the warehouse. At 198 pagodas the consignment is among the lightest of the run, roughly £80 0s 0d in sterling and carrying no cloth, no candles and no made-up clothing, where the Bengal ships of 1736 brought shirts, stockings and doosetees alongside the provisions. The island's own supply depended entirely on what each commander happened to carry. |
171 | 163 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 15 Febry 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for January last which were Severally Examined & Approved and as follow viz EXPENCE of the Table in Janry 1736 viz 67 Galls Arrack 13 16 2 1/2 Sugar 2 17 41 Flour 5 6 3 26 lb Candy 1 19 1 lb Pepper 1 4 Bushells Salt 1 3 Galls Port Wine 1 3 3 2 do Sherry 10 6 3 Bottles Florence Oyle 6 8 270 lb Beef 3 7 6 36 Fowles 2 14 1 Sheep 1 5 6 Turkeys 1 10 31 lb Butter 1 11 31 dozn Greens 1 11 63 Bottles Milk 8 40 3 10 GUNNERS Stores Expended in Janry 1736 viz Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder Musted Day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 An Adams: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 14 Britannia Arrived: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 7 Cleaning the Guns at Rupperts: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 Brittannia Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 25 Repairs of the Gunnetts: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 Lead Shott 8 lb: Guns Fired 22, Minion 4, Falcons 18, Powder 88 Hand pikes 4 Spunge Staves 5 Rammer heads 8 Copper Ladle 1 Wire 4 Cartridge paper 4 Quire Match 18 lb | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 15 February 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for January, and the council examined and approved each of them. Expense of the table in January 1737 69 gallons of arrack, £13 16s 0d 2 lb 3 oz of sugar, £2 17s 0d 41 lb of flour, £5 6s 3d 26 lb of sugar candy, £1 19s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 4 bushels of salt, £0 1s 0d 3 gallons of port wine, £1 3s 3d 2 gallons of sherry, £0 15s 6d 3 bottles of Florence oil, £0 6s 8d 270 lb of beef, £3 7s 6d 36 fowls, £2 14s 0d 1 sheep, £1 5s 0d 6 turkeys, £1 10s 0d 31 lb of butter, £1 11s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 63 bottles of milk, £0 1s 8d Total, £40 3s 10d Gunner's stores expended in January 1737 1 January, muster day, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 20 lb of powder 4 January, an alarm, 6 guns fired, 0 minions, 6 falcons, 19 lb of powder 16 January, the Britannia arrived, 6 guns fired, 0 minions, 6 falcons, 5 lb of powder 20 January, clearing the guns at Rupert's, 0 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 9 lb of powder 27 January, the Britannia sailed, 6 guns fired, 0 minions, 6 falcons, 25 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder Total, 22 guns fired, 4 minions, 18 falcons, 88 lb of powder Lead shot, 8 lb Handspikes, 4 Sponge staves, 5 Rammer heads, 8 Copper bolts, 6 Wire, 4 lb Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 18 lb Interpretations The gunner's account carries no heading over its columns on this leaf, so the identities have been brought down from the earlier returns of the same series, which run guns fired, then the classes of gun discharged, then the powder. Salutes were built from the smallest pieces on the island to spare the store, and the pattern here is exact: the muster drew four minions and every ship salute six falcons, the heavier classes standing silent through the whole month. Clearing the guns at Rupert's answers the standing order of 11 June 1734, which required every piece on the line and at each place of defence to be kept loaded even in peacetime, with an eye to a war then expected. A charge left standing draws damp and spoils, so the pieces had to be fired off periodically and reloaded, and 9 lb of powder went on drawing them without a single gun being counted as fired. Copper bolts and wire appear for the same reason, copper being used about a magazine and the priming because it does not spark against iron. Milk, butter and greens now run as steady daily charges, 63 bottles of milk and greens for every day of the month, where these lines were absent altogether through the drought years. The dairy revived with the calving, which produced 11 calves in November and 17 in December, and the Plantation House garden has recovered from the neglect Mr Durling reported on 17 December 1734, when he warned that under Hugh Williams's care there would be nothing left in it, not so much as a salad. Beef held at 270 lb for a second month, drawn from the Company's own herd rather than bought in, the road having stood nearly empty. Only one sheep went to the table, which reflects a flock that cannot spare them: 46 breeding ewes carried just five lambs at the close of December, and the wethers had fallen from 21 to 18 in a single month. |
172 | 164 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of Janry 1736 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t Janry: Bullocks 18, Cows 143, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 82, Bulls 6, Totall 465, Ewes 46, Wethers 18, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 85, Fowles 416, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 10, Bulls 0, Totall 10, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 143, Heifers 26, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 92, Bulls 6, Totall 475, Ewes 46, Wethers 18, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 85, Fowles 416, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 0, Cows 3, Heifers 3, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 140, Heifers 23, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 92, Bulls 6, Totall 469, Ewes 46, Wethers 18, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 73, Sows 9, Shoats 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 85, Fowles 416, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 1, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 6, Fowles 36, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remaing 31t Janry: Bullocks 18, Cows 140, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 92, Bulls 6, Totall 468, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoats 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 79, Fowles 380, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 28500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 15500 Totall Yams 44000 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for January 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for January 1737 Remaining 1 January 1737: bullocks 18, cows 143, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 82, bulls 6, total neat cattle 465, ewes 46, wethers 18, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 85, fowls 416, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Increased in January: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 10, bulls 0, total neat cattle 10, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 18, cows 143, heifers 26, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 92, bulls 6, total neat cattle 475, ewes 46, wethers 18, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 85, fowls 416, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Sold to ships in January: bullocks 0, cows 3, heifers 3, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 6, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 18, cows 140, heifers 23, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 92, bulls 6, total neat cattle 469, ewes 46, wethers 18, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 73, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 85, fowls 416, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in January: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 1, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 0, wethers 1, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 1, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 6, fowls 36, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 January 1737: bullocks 18, cows 140, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 92, bulls 6, total neat cattle 468, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 79, fowls 380, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 28,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 15,500 lb Total yams, 44,000 lb Interpretations The first sale to shipping in five months came to six head, and every one of them was a breeding female. Bullocks stood untouched at 18 and steers at 40, so the Company met the demand of the Britannia and the Prince William from cows and heifers while holding back the classes fattened for that purpose. The same choice appears in December, when three cows went to the table with the male classes standing idle, and it reverses the practice of the year to 30 September 1736, in which 36 bullocks and 26 steers were sold and no heifer at all. Six head is in any case a slight demand beside the 25 sold in May 1736 or the 120 disposed of across the year to September 1735. The two shares of the yam issue changed places entirely. Deliveries to the slaves fell from 24,550 lb to 15,500 lb while the plantations' own share rose from 17,200 lb to 28,500 lb, the whole standing near enough level at 44,000 lb. That share is charged to feeding the hogs and poultry and to seed, and the swing marks the summer planting going into the ground during the island's warmest months. A hog herd of 62 and a poultry flock approaching 500 consume yams that would otherwise reach the establishment, and the balance between the two lines is the clearest indicator in these accounts of where the crop stands in its cycle. Calving continued strongly at 10 head, following 17 in December and 11 in November, so the herd stands at 468 against 335 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1735. The calf class alone has reached 92, and those animals will pass into the yearling and steer classes at the next reclassification, which is how the male classes are restored without any purchase. Nothing was added to the sheep, the hogs, the poultry or the stud in the whole month, and the flock lost a wether to the table. Thirty-six fowls and six turkeys went the same way, the poultry having carried the fort through four months without beef and now falling from 416 to 380. |
173 | 165 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 22 Febry 1736 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Capt Goodwin Reports that the upper work at Bankes's called King William's Fort have been finished sometime & the Stone at the Beach for five Guns is almost compleated & believes the Parrapetts may be finished in about a fortnight more, but when that is done, he thinks it proper, for the Platform to be Boarded & Paved & that a Small Guard House be Adjoyning, would be more Advisable other, it being too far a distance from the other to fetch Ammunition in Case of Action, & there will take up sometime, for the Levelling into the Hills is very uncertain & may prove difficult & will be long for want of more hands At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7 March 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the Ship past by a mentioned though he had Dame The Governour, the Bookeeper, the Gunner & Steward delivered in their usuall Accounts which were Severally Examined & Approved and as follow viz Collection of Goods Sold & delivered in the Month of Novr Novr & December 1736 viz Arrack 370 Galls 81 16 Sugar 752 lb at 50 188 2 6 Bread 302 Board 85 6 3 17 3 Flour 4 3 Corks 20 groce 9 dozn Cinnamon 1 lb 4 9 34 Lambs at 2/6 1 9 1 Tin Pott 15 26 Cups & Saucers 4 19 9 15 18 Candles 156 lb at 2/4 279 4 6 | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 22 February 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Captain Goodwin reported on the works at Banks's. The upper battery, called King William's Fort, had been finished some time earlier, and the lower work at the beach, laid out for five guns, was nearly complete. He judged that the parapets would take another fortnight. Once that was done he thought the platform should be raised and paved, and a small magazine and guard house built. He held both to be necessary, the place standing at a distance from any other source of ammunition should it come to action, and he warned that the work would take some time, since levelling the rock is uncertain and may prove difficult. He added that the whole would go slowly for want of more hands. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 8 March 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Two ships passed the previous day, standing to leeward. The Governor, the storekeeper, the gunner and the steward delivered their usual accounts, which the council examined and approved. Collection of goods sold and delivered in the month of December 1736 Arrack, 370 gallons at 6s the gallon, £81 16s 0d Sugar, 753 lb at 6d the pound, £188 5s 6d Bread, 50 lb 3 oz and flour, 17 lb 3 oz, £25 6s 3d Corks, 30 gross at 9d the gross, £4 2s 0d Cinnamon water, £1 0s 0d 34 lambs at 2s 6d each, £4 5s 0d 1 jar of oil, £0 15s 9d 26 cups and saucers, £0 12s 9d Candles, 156 lb at 2s 4d, £15 18s 3d Total, £329 12s 6d Interpretations Banks's is the battery on a headland covering the approach to the road, reached by a path so narrow and so directly above a precipice that the guard could carry no more than two quart bottles of water at a time. Captain Cason and Ensign Wood had reported on 28 November and 19 December 1732 that the path was impassable on alarms without obvious danger to life and that the guard had gone three days without fresh water. The magazine Goodwin now asks for answers the same isolation: a post that cannot be resupplied quickly must hold its own powder, and the council had itself been arguing about where to put the fort's main magazine since 1733. Levelling the rock was the real obstacle rather than the masonry. St Helena is volcanic and the ground at the landing places is basalt, so a platform had to be cut rather than dug, which is why the gunner's schedule of 2 July 1734 valued natural ground so highly and why the twelve inhabitants consulted on 16 July 1734 built their whole scheme on iron crows and lookout parties instead of stonework. Goodwin's warning about hands repeats the difficulty that had governed the fortifications since the advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day drew not a single tender. Cinnamon water was a distilled cordial kept for its supposed virtue as a stomachic and stimulant, and it belongs to the same class of preparations that vanished from the medicine store during the inquiry into John Hodgkinson in September 1727, when not a drop of it remained of either cargo. Its appearance here as an ordinary item of sale marks it as a household comfort rather than a Company medicine. Sugar at 753 lb dominates the collection and accounts for well over half the whole, which is the usual pattern when ships lie in the road. The Britannia and the Prince William were both at the island in this period, and their crews bought sugar, arrack, bread and candles by the hundredweight. Corks at 30 gross point the same way, the ships bottling for the homeward passage. |
174 | 166 | Brought over 279 19 6 Woollen viz 19 pr white at 4/ 8 11 10 Sr Cloth at 15/ 6 10 15 1 Hooks & Lines viz 60 groce Hooks 24 10 10 96 doz Line 35 9 2 60 Stationware viz 7 pr Mens Hatt at 7/6 2 12 6 1 pr ditto 4 6 15 pr Bandns 5/ 3 15 4 pr Cottons 2/8 8 8 9 pr Spells 1 1 pr Yorks 2 6 1/2 Damaged Persade 4 8 8 7 10 Housing 92 yards 1/9 8 4 9 Locks 158 lb 9 2 1 8 Pewter viz 8 Chamber Potts 2 16 6 Pint pots 9 4 1 Tankard 4 6 1/2 doz Spoons 1 9 3 12 Dishes 3 4 11 1 doz Plates 1 7 9 10 8 Rice 5c at 4/6 34 15 Soap 465 lb at 4/ 24 19 5 558 17 2 Diet Expences Dr viz To Arrack 225 Galls 53 11 Sugar 3 5 7 Candy 60 17 8 9 2 5 Wine viz Port 2/9 Galls 1 14 10 3/4 Sherry 2/3 do 19 6 3/4 Bread & Flour viz 6 2 14 5 Cwt Bread 14 12 1 Flour 15 15 3 4 lb Pepper 16 4 5 3 Bushells 1 6 8 John Goodwin for 6 lb Coffee 15 6 Bushells Salt 1 10 84 14 11 Charges Generall Dr viz To Soap 5/4 9 2 8 Candle 24 lb 8 8 1 Meddow 1 5 Straw 5 10 1 Mock Lock 5 6 10 4 5 1/2 643 15 5 | Collection of goods sold and delivered, continued Brought over, £329 19s 6d Woollens 19 yards of white cloth at 8s 11d the yard, £8 11s 0d 10 yards of blue cloth at 13s the yard, £6 10s 0d Total woollens, £15 1s 0d Hooks and lines 60 gross of hooks, £24 10s 10d 96 dozen of lines, £35 9s 2d Total hooks and lines, £60 0s 0d Haberdashery ware 7 pairs of men's hose at 8s 6d the pair, £2 19s 6d 1 pair of women's hose, £0 4s 6d 15 pairs of garters at 5s the pair, £3 15s 0d 4 pairs of buttons at 2s 2d, £0 8s 8d 9 dozen of spools, £0 1s 0d 1 dozen of quills, £0 2s 6d Damaged worsted, £0 4s 8d Total haberdashery ware, £8 7s 10d Flannel, 39 yards at 4s 9d the yard, £8 4s 9d Sacks, 15 at 2s 9d each, £2 1s 8d Pewter 8 chamber pots, £2 16s 0d 6 pint pots, £0 9s 4d 1 tankard, £0 9s 0d 6.5 dozen of spoons, £1 9s 3d 17 dishes, £3 4s 11d 1 dozen of plates, £0 7s 0d Total pewter, £9 10s 8d Rice, 50 lb at 14s 6d the hundredweight, £34 15s 0d Soap, 485 lb at 4s the hundredweight, £24 19s 5d Total, £538 17s 4d Diet expenses Arrack, 227 gallons, £58 11s 0d Sugar, 347 lb, £9 8s 9d Sugar candy, 60 lb, £2 5s 0d Total arrack, sugar and candy, £9 13s 9d Wine Port, 2.5 gallons, £1 14s 10.75d Sherry, 2 gallons 3 pints, £0 19s 6.75d Total wine, £2 14s 5d Bread and flour Bread, £0 14s 0d Flour, £15 15s 3d Total bread and flour, £16 4s 5d Pepper, 4 lb, £1 6s 8d 3 bushels of salt, £0 15s 0d John Goodwin for 6 cups, £1 10s 0d Total diet expenses, £84 14s 11d Charges general Soap, 5 lb, £0 9s 2d Candles, 24 lb, £2 8s 8d 1 pitcher, £0 1s 0d 5 knives, £0 10s 0d 1 sack pack, £0 5s 6d Total charges general, £10 4s 5d Grand total, £623 15s 5d Interpretations Hooks and lines at £60 0s 0d form the single largest heading after the provisions, and they are not a trade line but the working equipment of the island's food supply. Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with fish on 1 March 1727 and set eleven men constantly in the boats, and the storekeeper's accounts have carried heavy issues of tackle ever since, 65 dozen lines in July 1729 and 56 gross of hooks with 92 dozen lines in the first quarter of 1736. A hook was expendable in a way a net was not, so the quantities reflect loss on the rocks and in heavy surf rather than any expansion of the fishery. Worsted was combed woollen yarn, and the damaged parcel here follows the standing practice for goods spoiled in store or on the passage, which was to clear them into the island at a reduced figure rather than carry them on the books at invoice value. That disposal had been used for 143 pairs of moth-eaten stockings in October 1730, for 1,608 yards of chintz in March 1733 and for the whole auction of 30 years' damaged stock on muster day in January 1736. Pewter accounts for every piece of tableware in the collection, and the range is domestic rather than ornamental: chamber pots, pint pots, a tankard, spoons, dishes and plates. It was the ordinary metal of a middling household in England at this date, cheaper than silver and more durable than earthenware on a voyage, and Barlace Pyke's inventory of January 1734 shows the same class of goods alongside more than seventy pieces of china. Silver appears in these accounts only in inventories of the substantial dead, where it was valued by weight with no allowance for the workmanship. Soap at 485 lb and candles running through both the store and the general charges mark the two commodities the island could not make for itself in quantity. Both required tallow, and the Company's herd was kept for beef and breeding rather than slaughtered at a scale that would yield it, so both came out from England in every store ship and were sold on at a fixed sterling price set against the invoice before the goods left the warehouse. |
175 | 167 | Brought over 643 15 5 Charges Generall Brought over 10 4 5 1/2 167 2 lb Hinges 10 1 lb Ditto 9 2 pr 2 Gimlets 9 2 Chisells 5 6 Sail Neails 9 2 Bagnions 6 1 lb Cottons 1 6 3 Plaistering Trowels 2 6 1 Splendid Stock 4 6 2 Watering Potts 19 16 3/4 Galls Linseed Oyle 5 15 6 2 lb White Lead 8 25 lb Yellow Ocher 9 8 18 Cow & Cow Hides 1 8 4 7 1/2 lb Sorrelgrass 1 18 11 1/2 1 Coopers Plane 18 18 3/4 Yards Duck 3 16 1 1/2 1 pr 2 yards Kersey 2 8 8 18 Yards Canvass 3 12 9 1 Grape Sight 7 4 Oars 8 9 4 lb Twine 1 6 12 lb Silk 1 3 pr Toys 8 6 lb March 10 2 Powder Surgeons 7 6 1 Chamber door 4 8 4 1 3 21 Cornage 9 8 6 55 8 Muttock Stock 8 6 8 Wandsworth Bins 1 9 1 China Teapott 1 6 1 Horn Cask 18 1 Lamp 3 6 8 Kettles 3 6 2 Sawes 7 6 1 Scouring Brush 4 13 2 3 Platters 8 2 5 Spices Glass 16 by 12 2 40 do 14 by 8 3 4 24 8 lb Nailes 5 6 2 2 pr Plain Powder 2 2 pr Blew 6 2 1 lb Brown Paint 66 2 6 1/2 1 lb Whited Brown 689 4 9 1/2 12 Nuns | Charges general, brought over, £10 4s 6.5d Grand total brought over, £623 15s 3d 2 pairs of hinges, £0 16s 7d 1 pair of hinges, £0 10s 0d 2 pairs of garnets, £0 0s 9d 6 chisels, £0 0s 9d 6 sail needles, £0 5s 0d 2 augers, £0 9s 6d 1 pair of bellows, £0 9s 6d 3 plasterers' trowels, £0 1s 6d 1 splendid stock, £0 4s 6d 2 watering pots, £0 8s 6d 16.5 gallons of linseed oil, £5 15s 6d 2 lb of white lead, £0 1s 6d 25 lb of yellow ochre, £0 7s 8d 18 brass candlesticks, £0 8s 8d 7.5 lb of scrapegrease, £1 18s 11.5d 1 cooper's plane, £0 18s 0d 18.5 yards of duck, £3 1s 1.5d 1 piece of 3 yards of ticking, £2 8s 8d 15 yards of canvas, £3 12s 8d 1 fine light, £0 13s 9d 6 boxes, £0 7s 0d 4 lb of twine, £0 8s 9d 13 yards of silk, £1 1s 0d 3 pairs of taps, £0 4s 6d 6 lb of starch, £0 8s 0d 2 powder saucepans, £0 10s 0d 1 chamber pot, £0 7s 6d 7, 3, 24 cordage, £4 8s 4d 55 8 hundred nails, £7 8s 6d 8 Hamburgh bins, £0 6s 8d 1 china teapot, £0 5s 9d 1 horn book, £0 1s 6d 1 lamp, £0 18s 0d 8 hatts, £0 3s 6d 2 saws, £0 3s 6d 1 scouring brush, £0 7s 6d 3 platters, £4 12s 6d 5 spinets of 12 by 10, £8 12s 0d 90 of 14 by 8, £8 12s 2d 2485 nails, £2 15s 0d 5 pairs of plain drawers, £2 4s 0d 5 pairs of blue drawers, £0 5s 6d 1 lb of brown thread, £0 2s 0d 1 lb of white thread, £0 6s 2d 13 nuns, £0 6s 0d Total charges general, £66 2s 6.5d Grand total, £689 4s 9.5d Interpretations Scrapegrease was the residue skimmed from cooking and rendering, kept for greasing ironwork and leather rather than thrown away, and its appearance beside linseed oil, white lead and yellow ochre marks the whole group as a maintenance issue rather than a domestic one. Iron rusted quickly in the island's damp sea air, and these accounts have carried lampblack, white lead and linseed oil as standing charges since 1727 for preserving the guns, the ironwork and the boats. Nuns thread was a fine grade of linen or cotton sewing thread, and it stands here alongside brown and white thread by the pound. Thread was one of the heaviest lines in the storekeeper's collection for the first quarter of 1736 at £46 15s 6d, since almost every garment on the island was made up locally rather than bought ready made, the Company shipping out cloth by the yard and doosetees by the corge to be cut and sewn for the annual slave clothing. Spinets in this context are panes of window glass sold by their dimensions, 12 inches by 10 and 14 inches by 8, and the 95 sheets recorded here account for a substantial share of the whole. Glass came out from England in every store ship, breakage on the passage and in landing through the surf being heavy, and the storekeeper's collection for April to June 1735 carried 100 panes in three sizes on the same footing. Duck, ticking, canvas, cordage and sail needles group together as ship's and boat's stores rather than household goods. Duck was a heavy linen for sailcloth, ticking the close woven material for mattress covers, and canvas served both for sails and for covering goods landed through the surf. The island supplied homeward commanders with these lines whenever a ship wanted refitting, as it did the Newcastle, Decker and Bedford in December 1734 when 852 ells of thin canvas and 844 ells of Baltic duck went out in a single quarter. The horn book was a child's first reading tablet, a printed sheet carrying the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer mounted on wood and faced with a thin leaf of translucent horn to protect it. Its presence answers Governor Pyke's proposal at the sessions of 2 July 1733 for a second school, made when the children giving evidence at Mingo's trial proved to know nothing of an oath or of religion and could not be sworn. |
176 | 168 | Brought over 689 14 9 1/2 Blacks Dr 1 lb Platter 1 2 1 lb Twine 8 8 5 lb Sail 8 8 3 doz Silk 4 6 1/2 Nailes 4 6 22 1 lb Cordage 1 2 6 15 pr Shirts 4 18 6 9 Blankets 4 10 19 Peeces 17 1 32 doz Hooks 1 11 6 9 1/2 doz Line 3 15 16 18 1 Fortification Dr 1 Stock Shovel 3 3 18 Iron ditto 5 8 30 Pickers 1 3 4 7 Pickaxes 1 1 Maule 9 lb 12 4 Sives 13 4 26 lb Cordage 9 8 400 lb Spikes Nails 14 8 9 3 Files 2 43 Galls Arrack att the Blacks at Work 8 12 38 3 8 Plantation Dr 1/2 Galls Linseed Oyle 3 6 1 Lamp 6 9 lb Cordage 4 6 9 6 Garrison Dr 15 Galls Linsd Oyle 3 7 6 88 Cotton Tea 7 5 22 1 7 Cordage 5 1 lb Brown Thread 14 1 1 lb Twine 8 8 6 Needles 4 8 1 Inch Picks 4 4 1/2 30 Yards Red Bunting 3 6 1 1/2 Yard Canvass 8 1 Hamburgh Line 8 4 2 Iron Potts 3 4 1 Coyle 4 3/4 Inch Hauser 14 12 6 39 16 5 1/4 709 2 5 3/4 | Collection of goods sold and delivered, continued Brought over, £689 14s 9.5d Blacks 1 lb of platter, £0 1s 2d 1 lb of twine, £0 3s 8d 5 lb of lead, £0 3s 8d 3 dozen of silk, £0 4s 6d 1.5 needles, £0 5s 6d 2 hundredweight of cordage, £1 3s 6d 15 pairs of shoes, £4 18s 6d 9 blankets, £4 10s 0d 19 knives, £0 17s 1d 50 dozen of hooks, £1 11s 6d 9.5 dozen of lines, £3 12s 0d Total blacks, £16 18s 1d Fortification 1 stone shovel, £0 3s 3d 18 iron shovels, £5 8s 0d 30 pickers, £1 3s 4d 7 pickaxes, £1 1s 0d 1 maul, £0 17s 0d 2 saws, £0 13s 4d 25 hundredweight of cordage, £0 9s 6d 400 spike nails, £14 8s 9d 3 files, £0 2s 0d 45 gallons of arrack to the blacks at work, £8 12s 0d Total fortification, £32 3s 8d Plantation 0.5 gallon of Florence oil, £0 3s 6d 1 lamp, £0 1s 6d 9 lb of cordage, £0 4s 6d Total plantation, £0 9s 6d Garrison 15 gallons of Florence oil, £3 7s 6d 85 catties of tea, £7 5s 0d 2 hundredweight and 7 lb of cordage, £14 1s 0d 1 lb of brown thread, £0 4s 8d 1 lb of twine, £0 3s 8d 6 needles, £0 0s 4.5d 1 inch picks, £0 5s 6d 30 yards of red bunting, £3 0s 0d 5.5 yards of canvas, £0 8s 4d 1 Hamburgh line, £0 3s 4d 2 sail pots, £0 12s 0d 1 coil of 4.5 inch hawser, £14 12s 6d Total garrison, £39 16s 5.5d Grand total, £709 2s 5.5d Interpretations The arrack issued to the slaves at the fortifications was an allowance rather than a sale, and it recurs whenever heavy labour was in hand. The storekeeper charged 15 gallons of arrack with sugar and bread to the fortification in August 1734 on exactly that footing, and the same allowance was made to the guards and tradesmen at Christmas and on royal anniversaries. Forty-five gallons against 18 iron shovels and 400 spike nails measures how much of the work at Banks's was being done by hand and by men who had to be kept at it. Shoes and blankets under the heading for the blacks belong to the annual clothing rather than to any purchase. The Company issued kersey, blankets and shoes to its own people each year before the southern winter set in, the September accounts carrying the charge, and Captain Goodwin had been obliged in November 1735 to clothe the household servants from a parcel of moth-eaten silk drugget twenty years in store because nothing else remained. The hawser at £14 12s 6d is the single most expensive item on the page and answers a specific difficulty in the road. St Helena has no sheltered harbour, so every arriving commander was ordered from 13 March 1729 to warp to the crane on any alarm, hauling the ship close under the castle's guns on a line run out to a fixed point. The council recorded on 10 January 1733 that many ships could spare neither an anchor nor a boat fit to carry one out, and laid a large anchor with a hawser to the westward of the road at its own charge so that any vessel might send her stream cable to it. Red bunting supplied the flags and signals. Captain Goodwin had reported on 31 July 1733 that every flag on the island was worn out but one, that no white bunting remained in store and only small parcels of blue and red, so the Sugarloaf signal had to be made up of blue and red alone. Thirty yards charged to the garrison follows the repair of the flagstaff that Governor Pyke reported on 18 January 1737. Catties of tea mark the China trade rather than the Indian. A catty ran to about a pound and a third, and tea reached the island in canisters by the chest from Canton, priced in taels, mace and candareens on the invoice and sold on to the garrison and the inhabitants by the catty. |
177 | 169 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of Febry 1736 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t Febry: Bullocks 18, Cows 140, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 92, Bulls 6, Totall 468, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 79, Fowles 380, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 6, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 18, Cows 140, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 474, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 79, Fowles 380, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Sold to Shipping: Bullocks 5, Cows 2, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 7, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 13, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 467, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 79, Fowles 380, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 6, Fowles 55, Ducks 0, Geese 3, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 28 Febry 1736: Bullocks 13, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 467, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 73, Fowles 325, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16100 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 27100 Totall 43200 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for February 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for February 1737 Remaining 1 February 1737: bullocks 18, cows 140, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 92, bulls 6, total neat cattle 468, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 79, fowls 380, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Increased in February: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 6, bulls 0, total neat cattle 6, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 18, cows 140, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 474, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 79, fowls 380, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Sold to shipping in February: bullocks 5, cows 2, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 7, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 13, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 467, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 79, fowls 380, ducks 16, geese 13, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in February: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 6, fowls 55, ducks 0, geese 3, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 28 February 1737: bullocks 13, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 467, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 73, fowls 325, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,100 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 27,100 lb Total yams, 43,200 lb Interpretations Bullocks were touched for the first time in this run, five going to the shipping alongside two cows. The class had stood untouched at 18 through November, December and January while cows and heifers carried every demand, and it now falls to 13. That figure sits well below the 35 bullocks the herd held at the opening of February 1736, before the heavy victualling of the spring season stripped the saleable males down to four by July. The pattern is beginning again, and the male classes cannot be restored until the year-end reclassification moves calves and yearlings up. The two yam shares reversed once more, the plantations' own consumption dropping from 28,500 lb to 16,100 lb while the issue to the establishment climbed from 15,500 lb to 27,100 lb. That swing measures the summer planting being finished rather than any change in the establishment's numbers, the seed and the feed for hogs and poultry having gone into the ground in January. Calving fell to six from ten in January and seventeen in December. The island's summer runs from about November to March, and the heaviest calving of this run came in the two months before it, so the fall is seasonal rather than any sign of the drought returning. Nothing died in any class for the second month together, which remains the clearest measure of how far conditions have recovered from the years when 42 cattle were lost in a single twelvemonth. Fifty-five fowls, six turkeys and three geese went to the table, and the poultry yard has now fallen from 506 fowls at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 to 325. The flock has carried the fort through five months in which almost no beef was killed, and it is being consumed faster than it can hatch, no increase whatever having been entered since December. |
178 | 170 | EXPENCE of the Table in Febry 1736 viz 265 lb Beef 3 2 6 55 Fowles 4 2 6 6 Turkeys 1 10 3 Geese 15 30 lb Butter 1 10 28 Dozn Greens 1 8 56 Bottles Milk 18 8 70 Galls Arrack 16 12 3 Galls Sherry 15 6 [...] Sugar 2 3 9 [...] Flour 5 [...] lb Candy 1 7 1 lb Pepper 1 3 Bottles Florence Oyle 10 37 15 8 GUNNERS Stores Expended in Febry 1736 viz Guns, Minion, Falcon, Powder, Shott At Drakes Villamon: Guns 6, Minion 1, Falcon 0, Powder 6, Shott 18 Fired at Sunsett: Guns 0, Minion 1, Falcon 1, Powder 0, Shott 4 Arrived the Ship Prince William: Guns 18, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 17, Shott 30 French Ship Arrived: Guns 9, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 2, Shott 11 Muster day: Guns 0, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 0, Shott 20 A Ship past by: Guns 4, Minion 0, Falcon 4, Powder 0, Shott 12 French Ship Sailed: Guns 9, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 2, Shott 11 Prince William Sailed: Guns 18, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 17, Shott 30 A Ship past by: Guns 4, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 0, Shott 18 Repairs of the Guards: Guns 0, Minion 0, Falcon 0, Powder 0, Shott 30 Lead Shott 15 Barge Bisscuit 6 Guns 69, Minion 1, Falcon 1, Powder 12, Shott 50, 158 Cartridge Boxes 6 Rambers 3 Handspikes 14 Spunge Staves 6 Cartridge Paper 2 Quire Match 35 2 | Expense of the table in February 1737 205 lb of beef, £3 2s 6d 55 fowls, £4 2s 6d 6 turkeys, £1 10s 0d 3 geese, £0 15s 0d 30 lb of butter, £1 10s 0d 28 days of greens, £1 8s 0d 55 bottles of milk, £0 18s 8d 70 gallons of arrack, £16 12s 0d 2 gallons of sherry, £0 15s 6d 43 lb of sugar, £2 3s 9d 4 lb of flour, £5 0s 0d 18 lb of sugar candy, £1 7s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 3 bottles of Florence oil, £0 10s 0d Total, £37 15s 8d Gunner's stores expended in February 1737 2 February, a double alarm, 6 guns fired, 1 minion, 1 saker, 6 falcons, 18 lb of powder 10 February, fired at Banks's, 0 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 0 falcons, 4 lb of powder 12 February, saluted the ship Prince William, 18 guns fired, 0 minions, 1 saker, 17 falcons, 30 lb of powder 15 February, French ship arrived, 9 guns fired, 0 minions, 1 saker, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 16 February, muster day, 0 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 0 falcons, 20 lb of powder 17 February, a ship passed by, 4 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 4 falcons, 12 lb of powder 19 February, French ship sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 minions, 1 saker, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 22 February, Prince William sailed, 18 guns fired, 0 minions, 1 saker, 17 falcons, 30 lb of powder 28 February, a ship passed by, 4 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 4 falcons, 18 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 30 lb of powder Total, 68 guns fired, 1 minion, 1 saker, 12 sakers, 50 falcons, 158 lb of powder Lead shot, 15 lb Budge barrels, 6 Cartridge boxes, 6 Linstocks, 14 Handspikes, 8 Sponge staves, 6 Cartridge paper, 2 quires Match, 35 lb Interpretations Powder consumption jumped to 158 lb from 88 lb in January and 55 lb in December, and the whole increase came from ceremony rather than defence. Eighteen guns each way for the Prince William and nine each way for the French ship account for 82 lb between them, and the salutes were built almost entirely from falcons, the smallest pieces on the island, with a single saker brought in to head each one. The council had substituted a general dinner for the customary coronation salute on 8 October 1734 expressly to save powder, and the practice of firing the lightest classes serves the same purpose. Eighteen guns for the Prince William is twice the usual compliment of nine and marks the passengers aboard rather than the ship. Mr Scudder, Mr Robertson and Mr Vidard had come ashore from her on 2 February 1737, and supercargoes and passengers of note were regularly saluted separately, as the Houghton's were in February 1733 and the Prince of Orange's on 29 January 1736. A budge barrel was a small cask closed with a leather bag drawn shut at the neck, used to carry made-up charges from the magazine to the guns without spilling loose powder, and a linstock was the forked staff that held the slow match clear of the piece while the gunner applied it. Both were consumables of routine service, and fourteen linstocks in one month reflects the number of pieces exercised during the salutes rather than any single action. The table shows the same household as the previous two months, its meat drawn from the Company's own yard while the road held ships. Beef fell to 205 lb from 270 lb, and 55 fowls, six turkeys and three geese match the poultry entered as killed in the stock account exactly. Milk, butter and greens continue as daily charges, the dairy having recovered with the calving of the previous three months. |
179 | 171 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 9 March 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation held read & approved The Governour Reports that the Kitching Stack at Plantation House is blown down & was so perfectly rotten that it must be new built & at the same time there was so light a Storm at Ruperts Valley that it took off the Long roof & threw half a Ridge on the Plank but The Petition of Bartholl Ansley was presented & read praying a Lease for about an Acre of Waste lying below Joshua Adams's Plantation in Sandy Valley for the benefit of the Water ORDERED, the same be viewed & if it appears it can be so without prejudice to the Honble Company or the Neighbourhood that he have a Lease accordingly This Morning Seven Sails of Dutch Ships past by to Leeward & yesterday the Lyna arrived from Bombay but he from the Cape with the following Supply viz Arrack per Cask at 2 gr 20 Corge viz 7 Elenor 3 Long Ins gr 20 Corge viz 15 30 18 Arrack at 26 to 4 lb 358 18 3 16 do do 1006 38 4 30 Diet 70 Chests 74 2 81 970 3 47 1288 3 60 Neat Customs 2 for 1 26 3 51 Sordt Chest 6 lb 6 lb 74 2 90 10 Being 32 Barrells at 3 26 & Barrack 106 1 30 1425 44 77 250 3 Baleg gr 3 To 3, Rope 12 & Barrack 27 2 3 Gros Arrack, gr 30 Galls at 2 Galls 113 1 30 10 Slaves Sunk Mothers at 30 & 15 Each 165 Plantations for Do viz Cannons 50 at 3 & Ruper 16 2 60 Tobacco 22 at 3 for 2 2 4 2 4 Pipes & Grose 28 Spirits 3 Carboys 3 3 2 Blew Bags 20 yards 1 11 18 Purge Chest 3 2 11 4 2 3 3 26 & 2 for Ruper 35 1 47 16 Rice for Do 33 for 20 37 2 42 109 2 55 367 2 53 Charges Merchandeze 62 3 74 Rupees 2017 3 32 | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 9 March 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Pyke reported that the kitchen stack at Plantation House had blown down. It was in perfectly good repair and must now be rebuilt, and at the same time so deep a hole had opened in Rupert's Valley that it took in the long boat and nearly half a dozen of the planks. Archibald Tansley petitioned for a lease of about an acre of waste ground lying below Joshua Johnson's plantation in Sandy Bay Valley, for the sake of the water. The council directed the ground viewed, and if it appeared that the grant would do no harm to the Company or to the neighbourhood he was to have his lease. Two Dutch ships passed to the leeward that morning. The Lyne arrived from Bombay the previous Sunday, last from the Cape, with the following supply. Supply brought by the Lyne Rice, 8 candies at 20 corge, 358 rupees 0 annas 18 pies Cloves, 3 bags at 20 corge, 1,006 rupees 0 annas 38 pies Doosetees, 79 pieces at 2 rupees 81 annas, 976 rupees 3 annas 42 pies Charges merchandise on doosetees, 56 rupees 2 annas 51 pies Sword cloth at 6 rupees 66 annas, 79 rupees 2 annas 90 pies Paddy, 32 parrahs at 3 rupees 28 annas the parrah, 106 rupees 1 anna 30 pies Batty, 7 hundredweight 3 quarters 8 lb at 12 rupees the parrah, 1,425 rupees 0 annas 44 pies Goa arrack, 91 gallons at 20 rupees the gallon, 79 rupees 2 annas 20 pies Slave [...] and mothers at 30 rupees 15 pies each, 113 rupees 1 anna 33 pies Provisions for the Company Cannons, 50 at 3 rupees the rupee, 16 rupees 2 annas 60 pies Tobacco, 88 lb at 3 rupees 2 annas 4 pies, 2 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Pipes, 1 gross, 0 rupees 0 annas 25 pies Spinets, 3 carboys, 3 rupees 3 annas 2 pies Blue gurrahs, 20 yards, 8 rupees 14 annas 18 pies Bunge cloth, 3 rupees 9 annas 11.5 pies 26 hundredweight at 3 rupees, 0 rupees 8 annas 5 pies Total provisions, 35 rupees 1 anna 47 pies Rice for the Company, 33 hundredweight at 6 rupees 20 annas, 59 rupees 2 annas 42 pies Total, 109 rupees 2 annas 55 pies Sub-total, 869 rupees 2 annas 53 pies Charges merchandise, 62 rupees 3 annas 74 pies Total, 2,017 rupees 5 annas 38 pies Interpretations The kitchen chimney at Plantation House and the hole in Rupert's Valley belong to the same weather. St Helena's summer runs from about November to March and brings the heavy rains, and this record has repeatedly caught the damage they do: two floods on 16 March 1736 tore out the mountain path between Stone Table and the Peak and opened breaches in Ladder Hill, and the wind of 1 October 1734 brought down the staircases at the castle gate and a hundred yards of the garden wall. Losing planks out of the long boat matters more than the chimney, since the boat was the only means of moving lime and stone round the coast to the fortifications and the previous one was lost at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734. Tansley's petition names water as the object rather than the acre. Ground on this island was worth little without a supply, and the council had made the point its own in the water enquiries of August 1732, weighing six island springs against Bristol water and cutting a trench to carry the salt seepage clear of the fort supply. The condition attached here, that the grant must not injure the neighbourhood, follows the resolution of 1 August 1732 that no fresh parcel be granted until the Governor had viewed the ground, and the covenant Jonathan Higham junior gave on 27 January 1730 to leave the head of a spring open for his neighbours. Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces and measured in cubits, made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. Blue gurrahs belong to the same family, plain coarse cottons sold white or dyed, and the Bedford carried 45 pieces of them in December 1734 as much the largest line in her invoice. Both were shipped for sale to the inhabitants through the storekeeper as well as for the Company's own use, since almost every garment on the island was cut and sewn locally. The invoice reckons in parrahs and candies alongside rupees, which places the lading on the Bombay side rather than in Bengal. A parrah was a capacity measure of the western coast and a candy a weight running to some 500 lb on the Malabar and Coromandel shores, and Goa arrack distilled on the Portuguese coast confirms it. Bengal cargoes came priced by the maund and carried Tresundee sugar, while Madras ladings were reckoned in pagodas and marcals, so the three ports can be told apart by the measures alone. |
180 | 172 | At a Sessions held on Tuesday 15 March 1736 at the Chappell PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The Court being opened the following persons were appointed of the Jury viz Thomas Easthope Foreman John Bagley John Duffontain Samuel Doveton William Thornick senr Robert Gurling Marten Harper Nicholas Johnson Francis Aunge John Brown sen Richard Tinsley Richard Bond The Governour then gave them the following Charge viz Gentlemen I have called you together in order to make a due Enquiry & to punish if founds Guilty a Stranger of this place who has attempted such Gross & rude Actions as if favoured with brazenes Encouragement, to ariss evil vice and where or when such evil Deeds will Stop, if due Correction be not given to such Offenders, God only knows This Action that will be now Tryed before you is of such sort that if it meets with Impunity is Sufficient to draw Gods Vengeance on the place You all know the Story & therefore I will not aggrevate the matter, a Young Infant has been forced & attempted to be Ravished, & has been Deflowered & is scarce the wretch & now under two years old This Case is Extraordinary but to the last Degree Some & recite the Childs body an infant & not gettable to speak, She cannot declare to you the Circumstances of the fact & therefore, the Evidence that will be given for the King may be on part Defective, but it shall be proved to you in what manner this Child was found in the Criminalls Cap & the Midwives Examination thereon And also the prisoners own Confession of the whole Action as well as a Deposition of some former Acts of his wherein he has been three times before Charged with the same sort of wickedness | The court sat at the chapel on Tuesday 15 March 1737. Governor Pyke presided with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The court being opened, the following men were sworn of the jury. Jury sworn at the court of 15 March 1737 Thomas Easthope, foreman John Bagley John Defountaine Samuel Doveton William Worrall senior Robert Girling Martin Harper Joshua Johnson Francis Funge John Brown senior Richard Insley Richard Beale Governor Pyke then charged the jury. He told them he had called them together to enquire properly into a crime committed in the place, and to punish the offender if they found him guilty. Leaving such an act unanswered would only encourage others to attempt the same, and unless offences of that kind were met with severe correction the mischief would spread. God alone knew where it might end. The Governor said the case before them was of a nature that no jury could pass over. If an offence of that kind went unpunished, it was enough to draw down vengreance upon the place. He observed that they had already heard what had happened and that he would not make it worse in the telling. An infant girl had been forced, and had been so badly injured that she was not yet recovered. She was under 2 years old. He called the case extraordinary to the last degree, and said the injuries to the child were beyond his power to describe. The precise circumstances of the act could not be laid before them, so the evidence given for the King might be defective in part, but they would be shown how the child was found. The midwives' examination would establish that. The prisoner's own confession of the whole act would be laid before them, together with a deposition concerning earlier conduct of his, he having been charged three times before with the same kind of wickedness. Interpretations A court of judicature had last sat on the island on 24 June 1736, and before that on 2 July 1733, so a jury was assembled only when business required one. The jury named here is drawn from the substantial planters and includes men who appear throughout this record in other capacities: Joshua Johnson and Richard Beale were both pressing claims against the frozen Powell estate, Francis Funge was the armourer whose own girl Betty was raped in November 1735, and John Defountaine, Samuel Doveton and Martin Harper had all served as parish officers. On an island of a few hundred free inhabitants, the same men filled every office and sat on every panel. The Governor's warning that the evidence for the King might be defective identifies the exact legal difficulty. The child was too young to be sworn, her parents were slaves whose testimony carried no weight, and every witness who saw anything that morning was likewise a slave. That obstacle had already cost the prosecution its sworn evidence at Mingo's trial on 2 July 1733, when neither child could be sworn because they knew nothing of an oath or of religion, and the court proceeded on unsworn testimony it chose to credit. Here the gap is closed by Caesar's own confession, sworn before Governor Pyke on 11 January 1737, and by the midwives' report of 21 December 1736. The deposition of earlier acts would not have been admitted in an English court, where evidence of a defendant's previous conduct was excluded as prejudicial to the charge actually laid. Francis Wrangham had reported that Caesar attacked a girl in Richard Durling's household before, and Gunner French said the man had been imprisoned twice. Laying that history before a jury shows the council reaching for whatever would support a verdict, and it reflects the same instinct that led it to settle procedure from printed books rather than from any trained judge. The child's age is given here as under 2 years, where the midwives put her at about 2 years under 8 on 21 December 1736 and Caesar's own examination described her as an infant under 8. The court's phrasing may be a compression of the midwives' finding rather than a fresh estimate, but the reading as it stands makes the child considerably younger than the earlier papers suggest. |
181 | 173 | The Judgement in this Case if proved is felony & Demands the offenders Life, & if he are guilty this you Gentlemen of the Jury are the Judges The Child indeed is Living & is now able & are is likely to Live but the shame of this Island & a Slave & this Country & in influence to the Inhabitants of this place You Shall hear all the proofs & God give you Understanding to pronounce an honest & just Verdict I think I need say no more but to repeat to you the Charge that Moses the Servant of God gave to the Elders of Israel viz You Shall not do Unjustly in Judgement & thou shalt not favour the person of the poor nor Respect the person of the mighty but thou shalt Judge thy Neighbour Justly And in Order to that thou shall hear both parties the smalls as well as the great, therefore take heed what you do for the Verdict that you shall give is not to be as the Judgement of a man but of the Lord If you finde him so for Guilty as he must & Death then you may take a Blackman his body, but in that Valuation you are to Consider that a very Bad or Wicked Servant can be worth but little in Comparison to what a rather Servant is not guilty of Notorious offences might be otherwise Valued at You will also have another Cause before you concerning the Defendants own Estate Inheritance, yet the Nature in that Case ought to be the Same as of the Estate now very much larger The Cause between Wrangham & Crawford the Crawford the Defendant, Married Wranghams Sister who was possessed Small, in Land & the Ryd in the said & and it is alleged the Child now died how & his experience to a & their Judgement he Command & right to that Land But if the Child was born alive, then Crawford accquiring to Ancient Custome called the Curtesy of England has a right to enjoy that Lands for the term of his own Naturall Life before it Descends to the Heires therein at Law who is Isham Wrangham You shall hear the Evidence & do not doubt but you will give a just Verdict If the Child be proved to be born alive then you will finde for the Defendant & but if it be not proved to be born alive then you will finde for the Plaintiffe And that Sicknam a Slave of Thomas Clare was lately in the night time on the Yards of Benjt Beale & robbing his Poultry & during the Alarm whereupon Beale took up his Gun & shott at him by which the fellow has now lost his Arme The Law in all the Islands in the English foreign Colonies is as follows any person Killing a Negro Slave lying to over the head of Common Skill in attempting or that his species he shall not be accountable for it | The Governor told the jury that the offence carried death, and that the offender's life lay in their hands. They were the judges of the proof. He observed that the child was living and might well live, but that the loss of a slave to the Company would be a loss to the island as much as to the individual owner. He asked God to give them understanding, so that they might return an honest and just verdict, and said he could do no more than repeat to them the charge given to the judges of Israel. They were to do no injustice in their judgement. They were not to favour a poor man or defer to a great one, but to judge their neighbour justly. To that end they were to hear the small as well as the great, and to be afraid of no man, for the judgement they gave was not theirs but God's. Should they find him guilty and sentence him to death, they might assess his value, but in doing so they were to weigh that a very old or worn out slave is worth little, and that setting a high value on a man might make such offences less severely punished than they deserved. The Governor then turned to a second cause. It concerned the defendant's own share of an inheritance, in an estate said to be considerably larger than the one first supposed. The action lay between Hodgkinson and Crafford. Crafford, the defendant, had married Wrangham's sister, held land in the right of his wife, and it was alleged that the child had died. The question was whether Hodgkinson had a claim to the land through his own descent. Had the child been born alive, then Crafford, according to the law of England, was entitled to hold the land for the term of his own natural life, as before. The defence rested on that point of law, on which he was to be judged. The Governor said the jury would hear the evidence and would give a just verdict. If the child was proved to have been born alive, the finding must be for the defendant, and if it was not proved to have been born alive, they would find for the plaintiff. He then reported that a slave belonging to Thomas Clews was lately in the yard of Benjamin Beale one night. Beale ordered him out, and while the slave was leaving Beale took a stick and struck him, and he made no answer, on which Beale beat him further until he lost the use of an arm. The Governor stated the law of the island and of the English colonies generally: if a man corrects his own slave for attempting to strike his master, and the slave dies of it, the master is not accountable. Interpretations Valuing a condemned slave was a necessary step in any capital sentence, since the man was property and his owner lost that property by the execution. The council had faced the same calculation at Mingo's trial on 2 July 1733, where castration was proposed with the master bearing the charge of the operation and the country making satisfaction at a moderate value should the man die under it. The Governor's warning here inverts the usual concern: a generous valuation protected the owner but made juries reluctant to convict, so he pressed them to remember that a man of about fifty stood at a fraction of the £25 0s 0d a slave in his prime was reckoned at. The Hodgkinson and Crafford cause turns on the doctrine that a husband held his wife's inherited land for his own lifetime provided a living child had been born of the marriage, a right known to English lawyers as tenancy by the curtesy. Everything therefore depended on whether the infant drew breath, since a stillbirth left the husband with nothing and sent the land straight to the wife's heir at law. John Hodgkinson had petitioned on 15 June 1736 claiming thirty acres as heir to his sister Anne, late the wife of James Crafford, and had been told the matter would be tried at the next sessions, Crafford asking for a copy of the declaration and further time. That adjournment, made on 24 June 1736, has run to nine months. The rule the Governor recited on a master killing his own slave under correction came from the colonial statutes rather than from English common law. The council had read the laws of Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland from Laws in Force in His Majesty's Plantations on 20 February 1733 to show its own treatment of John Bowers mild by comparison, and it had settled the status of children of a free woman by a slave father from the same body of law on 30 September 1735. Those statutes exempted an owner from felony where a slave died under punishment, on the reasoning that no man would deliberately destroy his own property. Beale's beating of another man's slave fell outside that exemption entirely, since the man belonged to Thomas Clough and the injury was a loss to Clough rather than to Beale. Clough had himself been forced on 16 April 1734 to sell his slave Orange under threat of losing his liquor licence after repeated complaints of cruelty, so the council's practice was to reach a cruel owner through his trade where the law gave no remedy. |
182 | 174 | And this fellow having Stolen & killed some of Beales Poultry that were found in his bag & was attempting to steal more it therefore thought it not proper to take any publick notice of it Then Cesar a Black fellow belonging to Gunner French was Indicted for Assaulting & Feloniously an infant Black female Child under the age of two Years to which Indictment he Plead Guilty & his Punishment for this offence being left to the Jury they withdrew for about a Quarter of an houre & then returned & delivered their Verdict that his Master Mr French should forthwith cause him to be Castrated Sarah Bradley Widow was next Indicted for keeping a disorderly House & Entertainment of Lewd Company but the Jury being aware that her Daughters should be reprimanded for their ill Behaviour they for this time acquitted the Mother in hopes it should be a warming to her for the future Alce & Elizabeth Bradley Daughters of the said Sarah Bradley were each of them Presented by the Church wardens for Whoredom & Fornication having each of them been lately delivered of a bastard Child both since Dead, to which they acknowledged it to be true the former was gotten with Child by Judk Pickard a Slave & the accu- by Robert Thomsdrifys Cake he shall recorded Margaret Smatton who about six years ago had a Bastard Child by one of the Compy Slaves named Davis was likewise Indicted for Whoredom & Fornication, she having been lately delivered of a Bastard Child since Dead begotten by Joseph Belcher Miner to which she in the like manner Pleaded Guilty A Suit against Thomas Crawford Surgeon for unlawfully Assuming from John Hutchinson Surgeon Lands of Inheritance belonging to the said Hutchinson having been depending near a Twelvemonth the Determination thereof was at his own been often & Severall times deferred upon Account of his sickness, & this continueing dangerously ill, it was this day again further deferred he not appearing nor any body for him this he was twice called first at the opening that the Store of the Sessions & had Sufficient Warning to be ready | The man had also stolen and killed some of Beale's poultry, which were found in his bag, and was attempting to take more, so the court judged it improper to give him any public notice. Caesar, the black man belonging to Gunner French, was then indicted for the rape of an infant black girl under the age of 2 years. He pleaded guilty. The punishment for the offence was left to the jury, who withdrew for about a quarter of an hour, returned and delivered their verdict that his master, Gunner French, was to have him castrated. Sarah Bradley, widow, was next indicted for keeping a disorderly house and entertaining loose company. The jury, having regard to her daughters' promised amendment, acquitted the mother for this time, in hope that it would serve as a warning to her for the future. Alice and Elizabeth Bradley, daughters of Sarah Bradley, were each presented by the churchwardens for whoredom and fornication, each of them having lately been delivered of a bastard child, both since dead. They acknowledged the charge to be true. The elder was said to have been got with child by Isaac Pickard, a soldier, and the other by Robert Harper. Both pleaded guilty. Margaret Smallman, who about 6 years earlier had a bastard child by one of the Company's slaves named Davis, was likewise indicted for whoredom and fornication. She had lately been delivered of another bastard child, since dead, begotten by Joseph Belcher, soldier, to which she in the same manner pleaded guilty. A suit was brought against Thomas Crawford, surgeon, for unlawfully withholding from John Bradfield, surgeon, a share of an inheritance belonging to Hodgkinson. It had been pending for nearly twelve months. A determination had been sought on several occasions and had each time been deferred on account of Crawford's sickness, which continued dangerously ill. It was deferred again that day, neither he nor anyone on his behalf appearing, though he had been twice called, first at the opening and then at the close of the sitting, and had been given sufficient warning to be ready. Interpretations Castration rather than death was the standing answer where the offender was a slave. The jury had power to hang, and Governor Pyke had told them so and instructed them on valuing the man, yet they returned in a quarter of an hour with a sentence that preserved the Company's and the owner's property. The same course was taken with Mingo at the sessions of 2 July 1733, where the jury spared his life for want of legal evidence and required exemplary punishment instead, and with Tonis on 11 November 1735, and with Andrew on 21 September 1736. Directing that Gunner French have it done places the surgeon's charge on the owner, exactly as proposed at Mingo's trial. Prosecuting the mother for the house and the daughters for the pregnancies attacks the same household from two directions. The jury of 2 July 1733 had presented the unlicensed lodging houses of James Valley on behalf of the inhabitants, complaining that they filled with disorderly visitors through the shipping season, and the council suppressed two of them and ordered the wife of James Peet out of the valley on 24 July. Sarah Bradley had herself been fined 20s among the wood defaulters on 18 November 1729 and ordered to fence and plant at once, so the family had been before the council for a decade. Both fathers named were soldiers of the garrison, as was Thomas Swindell, dealt with on 18 January 1737. That pattern follows directly from the maintenance problem the council kept returning to: a soldier held nothing, could give no security and could not be bonded to keep a child off the parish, so the only sanctions available were imprisonment or shame. The written opinions of 10 February 1736 had proposed graded penalties climbing from fornication through adultery to incest, with the parish indemnified in every case, and the scheme has now produced prosecutions of five women and no recorded penalty against any of the men who fathered the children. Deaths of both Bradley infants and of Margaret Smallman's second child removed the parish charge that drove most of these proceedings, and the prosecutions went ahead notwithstanding. That marks a shift from the earlier practice, in which the whole object was to identify a father and fix maintenance on him, as Governor Pyke did against James Powell on 1 December 1735 at eight shillings a week for the first year. The council had resolved on greater severity in the charge of 24 June 1736, and these presentments are the result. |
183 | 175 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 16 March 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Capt Gilbert John Alexander Capt White John Goodwin Capt Wakely Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved The following Letter which the Governour received on Monday last was this day taken into Consideration viz To the Right Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the Island St Helena and the Worthy Gentlemen in Councill The Humble Petition of Richard Mills Chief Mate of the George Capt Nath: White Commander most Humbly Sheweth That your Humble Petitioner doe first Humbly ask pardon for this freedom, and then most Earnestly & humbly Appeal to your Honours for your Candid Judgements in an affair between Capt White & your Humble Petitioner, the Capt hath not only turned me out of my Office, but out of my Cabin, and used me with the greatest Rature and Cruelty Sure no Sailor was ever treated with less Humanity than I have been, and without any manner of Occasion that I can be able to see Unless (with the Assistance of God) I forced by my Saveing the Ship from going a Shore on the Coast of France, for which the times when in the greatest of danger, I had the whole Command, her when the Capt thought the Ship was out of danger, but then, for my Grossely began to abuse me, & then asked him if this Usage was for Saveing the Ship and all her Lives, he there & Swore was of the Quarter Deck, and have not been permitted on it since, more Officers the Capt hath to make for this Usage, I see not, Therefore your Humble Petitioner doe Humbly entreat, and in with the greatest Submission to your Honours, that your Honours will be pleased to take this Affair into Consideration, and grant him a hearing and your Petitioner in Duty bound shall ever pray &c Your Honours most Dutifull and Obedient Servant March 12 1736 Richard Mills After this Letter was read Mr Mills was desired to prove the Severall Allegations by him therein mentioned and asked if he had any Witness to Support the truth of the said Charge which he produced & said he had received from the Captain some particularly asked whether any of the Gentlemen his Brother Officers, said Witness any thing in his behalf & they now all in present from the Chiefemate & the Boatswain, but he did so upon any oaths prejudice against him & would not declare any thing without favour, but said he was Sure all the Sailors on board would give him | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 16 March 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. Captain Gilbert, Captain White and Captain Gribbly attended. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor laid before the council a letter he had received on the Monday, and it was taken into consideration. Richard Mills, chief mate of the George, petitioned Governor Pyke and the council. Captain Nathaniel White commanded the ship. Mills began by asking pardon for the liberty he took in appealing to the council over the dispute between the captain and himself. He set out that White had not merely turned him out of his office but had put him out of his cabin, and had treated him with the greatest severity, so that no officer had ever been used with less humanity. All of it had been done without any occasion given on his part, and he had been kept off duty since the ship left the coast of France, where she was in the greatest danger. Mills stated that he had had the whole command of the ship at the point when the captain judged her out of danger, and that the captain then began to abuse him. He was afterwards ordered off the quarterdeck and shut out of the ship's steerage, and had not been permitted since to make use of the steerage at all. He asked the council to take his case into consideration and to grant him a hearing, and remained bound in duty to the council. He signed the petition on 12 March 1737. Mills was then desired to prove the several allegations in his letter. He said he had asked several men aboard whether they knew anything to support the truth of the charges, and that he had received a certificate from the captain concerning it. Asked whether any of the gentlemen aboard would appear in his behalf, or whether he could produce anyone from the ship's crew who would speak to it, he answered that they were all answerable to the boatswain and would not declare anything without prejudice against him. He said he was sure the sailors on board would give him a good character. Interpretations A chief mate turned out of his office lost more than his rank. Company pay fell due only on a ship's safe return to England, so an officer stripped of his post at an intermediate port stood to lose the whole voyage's wages, which is why every man examined at St Helena for leaving a ship named the sum he was forfeiting. Benjamin Jones gave eighteen months as boatswain of the Frances on 24 April 1733, and William Connelly sixteen months when he left the Wyndham in April 1734. Mills appealed to the council rather than waiting for London because a hearing entered in the consultation book went home in the packet, and the Company's court was the only body that could restore him. The council had no jurisdiction over discipline aboard a Company ship in the road, and its remedy in such cases was to record the evidence and send it home, exactly as it did with the schedule of debts Gibson left behind in March 1729 and with Captain Studholme's enticement of soldiers in July 1735. Summoning three commanders to sit with it was the practical answer. Captains Gilbert, White and Gribbly gave the proceeding the weight of men who understood the working of a ship, and the same device had been used on 20 May 1731, when three commanders sat while the council determined the chaplain's obligation to Anne Lane. The steerage was the working and messing space beneath the quarterdeck where a ship's officers berthed and kept their charts and instruments. Shutting a mate out of it and off the quarterdeck removed him from every place from which the ship was actually navigated, so the exclusion was a demotion carried out in physical terms rather than a matter of comfort. Mills's difficulty in finding a witness states the obstacle plainly. Every man aboard remained under the officers for the rest of the passage and for their pay at the end of it, so a seaman who spoke against his captain at St Helena carried the consequence home. The council had met the same silence when Bridget Thwaites could not say which of two seamen had spoken at her house in June 1735, and when Henry Welch the drummer refused to point out a man, saying that if one name got out the rest would soon be found. |
184 | 176 | a good Word of which every body present took great Notice & remarkt that the Chief Officer on board with the Captain Should Appeal from his Brother Officers to the Testimony of the common Sailors in matters relating to his Character & Reputation Capt White was asked whether he had any thing to say in Answer to the said Charge & he replyed that Mr Mills had been guilty of neglect of his Duty & breach of Orders & had behaved himself in the Part he was obliged to break him & Charged him as the Occasion of the danger to which the Ship was Exposed near Ushant & other parts of the French Coast, by altering the Course without his Leave or Know- ledge & to prove these particulars the following persons were called & Examined upon Oath viz Mr Kendall proved that the Capt sent him to call Mr Mills & he refused to go up & being told the Capt insisted to know if they were not near Ushant he replyed they were either now it or right way off Thomas Grigg he ordered the Chief Mate to keep the Ship away to the West & then sometime after Mr Mills came on Deck Capt White that he believed the other Ships Sailed West and Capt White said why I have Ordered the Course to be West but he was there sailing W S W proved by Edward West fifth Mate Wm Kendall Testified that when they saw Ushant Light Point the Capt & the Capt ordered Immediately the Ship to be Wore & he did not go in the way as we out of Surprize on the Capt but he gave his Orders Cool & Moderately Wm Parks Gunner & Mate attested that when Capt White Ordered Mr Mills either to command his things into the 5 Mates Cabbin in the Steerage or into the Gunroom to which he did go & see the Captaine he would not ask him if he knew the Act of Parliament for he had as much power to come the Ship's out of the wilkd Above Arthur Crawford Surgeon assereth that he heard Mr Mills say to the Captain, I will see your Excellency for you at home Mr Price the present Chief Mate says that when the Ship was in the Downes some Mutinous Sailors had been very Riotous in drinking in a much that some of them came up to the gang way in Clubs on which the Captain was obliged to come out of his Cabbin in Downes to quiet them & the said the other Officers came out yet Mr Mills did not appear, & when Mills was | Every man present took great notice of the remark, and wondered that the chief officer aboard could appeal from his brother officers to the judgement of the common sailors in a matter touching his own character and reputation. Captain White was asked whether he had anything to say in answer to the charge. He replied that Mills had been guilty of neglect of duty and a breach of orders, and had behaved himself in such a way that he was obliged to break him. He charged him as the cause of the danger the ship was placed in near Ushant and other parts of the French coast, by altering the course without his leave or knowledge. He named the following men to prove it, and they were called and examined on oath. Mr Kendall swore that the captain sent him to call Mills, who refused to go up. Being told that the captain wanted to know where they were near Ushant, he answered that they were either upon it or had run past it. Mr Payne swore that he heard the chief mate give orders to bear the ship away to the west, and that some time afterwards Mills came on deck and told Captain White that he believed the other ships sailed west, and Captain White said why he thought so, and that the course to be steered was where he pointed north north west, given by Edward Ward, fifth mate. William Fendall swore that when they saw Ushant light he called the captain, and that the ship was immediately brought to the west and afterwards to the north west, which was a surprise to the captain, but he gave his orders coolly and moderately. William Parker, gunner's mate, swore that when Captain White ordered Mills either to command his things into the mate's cabin or into the gunroom, he refused to go, and the captain would not ask him whether he knew the Act of Parliament, having as much power to command the ship's crew as he liked. Arthur Crawford, surgeon, deposed that he heard Mills say to the captain that he would see him answer for it at home. Mr Price, the present chief mate, said that when the ship was in the Downs some mutinous sailors had grown very riotous in drinking, and some of them came up to the gangway. It was then alleged that they had come out of the cabin, on which the captain went down to the Downs to quiet them, and that all the other officers came out but Mills did not appear, and that when Mills was spoken to. Interpretations The dispute turns on a point of navigation with real consequences. Ushant is the island off the western tip of Brittany that marks the southern side of the entrance to the Channel, and the whole of the approach is strewn with rocks and swept by tides that set hard onto them. A homeward Indiaman making that landfall had to fix her position before running in, and altering course westward at the wrong moment could put her onto the French coast or lose her the company of the ships she was sailing with. The council's own convoy orders, in force since 13 March 1729, required commanders to sail in company of two or three and to agree a commodore before departure, so keeping station mattered as much as safety. Company ships carried a graded line of mates, and the depositions name a fifth mate giving the course to be steered. That places Mills, as chief mate, at the head of a substantial staff of navigating officers, and it explains why the captain could break him and put another man into the office at once. Mr Price appears here as the present chief mate, so the succession had already been made good and Mills was appealing for reinstatement in a post another man now held. The reference to an Act of Parliament reflects the statutory framework governing merchant shipping, under which a master's authority over his crew and the obligations of seamen were fixed by law rather than left to the owners' contract. A commander who could point to the statute stood on firmer ground than one relying on custom, and it is the same instinct that led Governor Pyke to settle the island's own procedure from printed books. Every witness the captain produced was an officer, and every one of them was heard on oath. Mills had told the council the previous day that he could bring no officer to speak for him and rested his case on the good opinion of the sailors, so the contest is between the testimony the ship's own hierarchy could supply and the reputation Mills claimed among the men who could not safely give it. The council recorded the surprise felt at his appeal to the common sailors, and the depositions that follow show why the distinction mattered so much aboard. |
185 | 177 | spoken to to go up he said go down all of you to Ship & we he he came to keep the Ship quiet Mr Mills being asked if he had any Witness to prove he had been very Earnestly used as he had alledged in his paper of Complaint he said he could not produce any the Officers all on board it declared that Mr Mills had not had any bad Usage Then the Captain appealed to all the Officers of the Ship & called Mr Geo: Price the Chief Mate William Kendall Second Mate Wm Parks the 3d Mate & Gunner, Edward Ward 5th & Daniel Francis Carpenter Robt Lobb Boatswain Gideon Crawford, Surgeon all Severally attested that the Capt had been ready to do all the people, & to them the Officers in particular they had met with good usage on every thing on it on the on my other Ship, but the Second Mate & Boatswain saythe that Mr Mills had made many reflections & Complaints to set the Capt on the Officers Taken & Sworn before Nath: White me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the Island St Helena this 16 day of March 1736 Isa: Pyke Governour Robert Lobb Daniel Francis Gideon Crawford Wm Price Wm Kendall William Parks Ed Ward After these Examinations the Capt & Mr Mills were desired to withdraw & the Court proposed to Capt Gilbert Capt Wakely that an Accommodation should be Attempted & how Mills being called on again it was proposed to him to make Submissively to the Captain & he did accordingly write a Paper to the Capt shewing him to excuse what in in years, Capt the Capt reported that he had disobeyed him in it, & had endeavoured upon all Occasions to Sow Sow between the Eyes of the Officers & the whole Ships Company that he thought it not safe to carry him on the Ship & determined to discharge him Upon it whole it fully appeared that the Capt Mills was happy to blame in his Conduct & Behaviour but it seemed to us that what part of difference between them arose from Mr Mills desire as was imagined to have Management both of the Capt & the Ships Company The Petition of Benjamin Beale was read praying leave to shift his Yeats up to Ruperts Whatt Serjeant Capel might be supplyed Grant for his Leaghold Land, being one Acre & a Quarter, this Request was granted accordingly | Mills was spoken to and told to go up, and it was said that if all of them went down the ship would drive, so he was told to keep the ship quiet. Mills was asked whether he had any witnesses to produce. He answered that he had been very severely used, and that what he had alleged in his letter of complaint he could not prove, since none of the officers would come forward. He declared that Mills had not had any bad usage. The captain then appealed to all the officers of the ship, who were called: Mr Price the chief mate, William Fendall the second mate, William Parker the third mate, Edward Ward the fourth mate, Daniel Francis the carpenter, Robert Lobb the boatswain, and Gideon Crawford the surgeon. All swore that the captain had been very kind to the people, and the officers in particular said they had met with good usage and had seen the same in every other ship, but that the second mate, Mr Brathwaite, said Mills had made many reflections and complaints against the captain and the officers. The examinations were taken and sworn before Governor Pyke on 16 March 1737, and were signed by Robert Lobb, Daniel Francis, Gideon Crawford, William Price, William Fendall, William Parker and Edward Ward. After the examinations were heard, Captain White and Mills were desired to withdraw. The council then proposed to Captain Gilbert and Captain Gribbly that an accommodation should be attempted between them. Mills was called in again and pressed to write a submission to the captain, which he did accordingly. He drew a letter to the captain asking him to excuse what was past, and the captain answered that he had done him wrong in the matter and had endeavoured on all occasions to raise a difference between the officers and the rest of the ship's company, so that he thought it not safe to carry him aboard the ship, and was determined to discharge him. It appeared plainly on the whole that Mills was very much to blame in his conduct and behaviour, but that what part of the difference between them arose from Mills's design, as was imagined, to have the management both of the captain and of the ship's company. Benjamin Beale petitioned to have his slave sent to Bencoolen, so that Sergeant Draper might be discharged from acting as guardian to his daughter and be answerable for her keeping only as her doctor. The request was granted. Interpretations Every officer aboard swore for the captain and none for the mate, which settled the matter without the council ever reaching the navigational question. Mills had rested his case on the good opinion of the common sailors, and the record shows why that was worthless to him: the men remained under the officers for the rest of the passage and for their wages at the end of it, since Company pay fell due only on safe arrival in England. The council had met the same silence when Bridget Thwaites could not identify which seaman had spoken at her house in June 1735 and the drummer Henry Welch refused to point him out. Pressing the two men to settle rather than determining the dispute followed the council's habitual preference. Governor Pyke divided the Marsh estate by agreement on 11 July 1732 after telling the claimants he would save their money, split the Aldis and Burnham claim down the middle once both sides agreed to be bound, and let the quarrel with Captain Du Bart drop on 14 August 1733 purely for the sake of the island's trade with foreign shipping. Bringing in Captain Gilbert and Captain Gribbly to broker the accommodation put the negotiation into the hands of men who commanded ships themselves. Discharging Mills at St Helena left him stranded a long way from any employment. A man put ashore forfeited the wages of the whole voyage and had no means of leaving except by working a passage in another vessel, which is the position Hugh Williams the gardener was in on 17 December 1734 when the commanders in the road were told they might have him to labour his way home. The council recorded that the captain thought it unsafe to carry him aboard, which is a plain statement that the ship's discipline could not be restored with him in her. Beale's request converts a guardianship into a medical charge. A guardian was answerable for a child's whole maintenance and estate, as Captain Goodwin became for Mary Powell the younger on 31 August 1736, whereas a surgeon attending her was answerable only for his own attendance and could be paid for it. Sending the slave to Bencoolen removed the property that had made the guardianship necessary, and Beale had been before the council on 7 December 1736 over the child he fathered on Elizabeth Edwards, entering a bond of £14 0s 0d with sureties to keep the parish clear. |
186 | 178 | At a Consultation held on Fryday 18 March 1736 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved It was this day Ordered that Elizabeth Bradley who was lately had a bastard Child, but in all provided of Getting forth be whipt with 20 Lashes, Alce Bradley who also was lately delivered of a Bastard but had made no provision of Births for it & constantly denied her being with Child have 30 Lashes & that Margarett Smatton who lately had one bastards one of them by a Blackman be whipt with 39 Lashes at the Common whiping Post to deter others from Committing the like Crimes The Governour Reports that he hath received of Duke Crispe this day one hundred Pagodas in part for a Bill of Exchange of £100, & hath also received £50 10 in mixed Money of Joseph Bates upon Account of the Spanish Gent who told him some yeares ago Gideon Crawford Practitioner Mate of the Ship George having entered a hand made Complaint that the Wife of Arthur Surgeon Byres attempted to be married & said & had actually give him a slap in the face under the Ship of the Spell of Wicked Suckers & said Mary Bourgh the woman Accused owned that she is given him that Thomas because he provided the & how a Lighted & attempted to do & and with her & the Surgeon her but immediately upon this Occasion the Mans Life being put in danger she was Committed to Prison | The council met at the castle on Friday 18 March 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council ordered that Elizabeth Bradley, lately delivered of a bastard child and having made no provision for keeping it, be whipped with 20 lashes. Alice Bradley, her sister, had lately been delivered of a bastard child by Isaac Pickard and constantly denied being with child by him, and was to receive 20 lashes. Margaret Smallman, who had each had one child of her own by a black man, was to receive 39 lashes at the common whipping post, to deter others from committing the like offence. The Governor reported that he had received from Duke Crisp that day 100 pagodas in part of a debt of £100 0s 0d. He had also received £30 10s 0d in bills of exchange from Joseph Bates on account of the Spanish gentleman who died there some years earlier. John Nathaniel Brackenridge, mate of the George, complained that Andrew Bergue the cooper had attempted to murder him and had actually given him a deep wound under the top of the shoulder, 4 inches deep. Mary Bergue, the woman accused, admitted that she gave him the wound, and said that she pushed the knife at him a second time and attempted to do it a third, but was prevented. The wound was near the main artery and his life was in danger. She was committed to prison. Interpretations Alice Bradley's 20 lashes and her sister's are penalties for the pregnancy itself rather than for any charge on the parish, both infants having died before the court sat on 15 March 1737. Margaret Smallman drew 39 lashes, the conventional ceiling for a whipping and the figure ordered against Andrew Bergue in June 1735, because the father was a black man. The status of such a child had been settled on 30 September 1735, when the council answered the executors of John Worrall that the law of the King's colonies held the children of a free woman by a slave father to be slaves, so the offence was treated as one against the ordering of the island rather than against its poor rate. Bates's payment of £30 10s 0d is the first movement on the Mesa estate debt since 1734. He had been found on 28 August 1733 to owe £246 19s 2.5d to the heirs of Don John de Mesa y Aniento, paid £25 0s 0d on 11 June 1734 and a like sum on 31 October, then denied the bond entirely on 2 September 1735 and was taken into custody thoroughly drunk. His schedule of land of 19 October 1736 showed almost everything he held resting on his marriage, and the council had told him on 5 October 1736 that he could not go to Bencoolen until the heirs were paid. Payment in pagodas rather than sterling reflects an island where coin of any kind was scarce and where debts were more often settled in cattle, provisions or labour. A pagoda was the gold coin of the Coromandel ports, worth roughly eight shillings, and pagodas reached St Helena through the Madras trade in exactly the way the rupee came from Bengal and the Spanish dollar from the wider Atlantic. Bills of exchange served the same purpose from the other direction, moving value to England without shipping metal. Bergue's history makes this the second knife attack laid against that household. He had cut Matthew Mudge across the wrist in June 1735 and slashed his coat while trying to drive the blade into his back, for which he was ordered 39 lashes and held until he had compensated the man and paid the surgeon. The quarrel then arose over cards at Joseph Bates's house. A wound near the main artery put the mate's life in danger, and imprisonment pending recovery was the council's ordinary course, since the charge would alter entirely should the man die. |
187 | 179 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 29 March 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Joseph Bates being sent for asked for the ballance of the Account due on the Spanish Gentlemans Estate & Sayd he could in a very short time being in an Acct Current & he would take Some of his own Land to pay the ballance due The Petition of John Wrangham was presented & read setting forth that as heir at Law to his Father John Wrangham and Wife of James Crawford lately died is entitled to about Twenty Acres of Inclosed Land & other Escutt Lots belonging to his said heir who died Childless & praying that he might be permitted to enter into Possession of the Premisses in Trust for the Use of his Cousin Mr John Peter Longford Beale At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5 April 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Examinations were this day taken before the Governour viz The Examination of John Dickes late Midshipman on board the Ship George taken before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr of the Island St Helena this 5 day of April 1737 This Examinant being late Serving Servant & first as as a Passenger from the said Ship George & being he had duty he left the said Ship, saith that after his Master Mr Nath: White Chief Mate of the said Ship was come on Shoar at the Island he was hastily told & down in to be treated and, Ropes by some, & by other he was threatned to be tied like a Dog & shut both the Captain & Mr Price the present Chiefe Mate of the said Ship had told him he would leave the Ship & rough & they miskt me Acct for head, but should not give him any discharge & being apprehensive from these Threats that if they refused the George he should be so Ordered forthwith so ordered into Ship was sailed. Being asked if he had any Witness to prove he was | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 29 March 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Joseph Bates was sent for and pressed for the balance of the account due to the heirs of the Spanish gentleman. He answered that he would pay it in a very short time, and undertook to sell his own land to raise the balance. John Hodgkinson petitioned, setting out that he was heir at law to his sister Anne Hodgkinson, wife of James Crawford, lately deceased, and that he was entitled to about 20 acres of freehold land and other parcels of land belonging to his sister, who died childless. He asked to be admitted to take possession of them, and named Mr John Peter Longford as his attorney for the use of his estate in the premises. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 5 April 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following examinations were taken that day before the Governor. John Dicker, late a midshipman aboard the George, was examined at St Helena on 5 April 1737. He stated that he was a deserter from the George and, being asked why he left her, said that her master, Mr Mills, lately chief mate of the ship, had been treated as ill as anyone aboard by the captain and by others. He was ordered to leave the ship on a day when both the captain and Mr Price, the present chief mate, had told him he could leave the ship if he liked, but that he had never been given any discharge from them. He was apprehensive of it, and thought that if he returned aboard for the voyage he would be treated in the same way as the ship sailed. Asked whether he had any witnesses to prove it. Interpretations Bates's promise to sell land to clear the Mesa debt returns to an offer he first made on 2 October 1733, when he admitted spending a great part of the money and put up seven acres of freehold he valued at £600 0s 0d. He was told then that he might sell to any person not already holding above a hundred acres. His schedule of 19 October 1736 showed that almost every parcel he held came through his marriage to John Coles's widow, one lease having expired two years earlier and thirty acres held only for a term with nine years to run, which is why the debt has stood for three and a half years against an estate that looks larger on paper than it is in law. Hodgkinson's petition marks the end of the cause tried on 15 March 1737. His right turned on whether his sister's child had been born alive, since a living birth would have given James Crafford the land for his own lifetime under the doctrine of curtesy. He now claims as heir at law with the child out of the reckoning, so the verdict evidently went against Crafford. The claim first came before the council on 15 June 1736 and was adjourned to 3 July at Crafford's request for want of notice, so nine months passed before it was determined. Appointing an attorney to take possession was standard where a claimant could not attend to the land himself, and the same device runs through the estate business of this record. Captain Goodwin acted as proctor and attorney for the absent Joseph Coles in the Coles administration of 7 May 1734, and Francis Wrangham and John Bagley acted for Thomas Moynston at Tellicherry over the Johnson estate. The council had learned to be wary of it after John Savage concealed a letter of attorney on 19 February 1734 while claiming in his own name against the very people who had commissioned him. Dicker's account of his desertion attaches to the dispute settled on 16 March 1737, when every officer of the George swore for Captain White and Mills was discharged as unsafe to carry aboard. Leaving a ship at St Helena forfeited every penny of wages earned on the voyage, Company pay falling due only on safe return to England, and the standing penalty on the island was three months' hard labour without pay. A man who left with the captain's leave but without a written discharge had neither his wages nor any protection, which is the position Dicker describes. |
188 | 180 | who he sents he Answered yes he had but said they were was on board the Ship & she Sailed yesterday in the Evening John Dickes Alexander Rochland having left the Ship George of which he was Gunners Mate & being brought down as a Deserter from the said Ship which he Sailed yesterday he was asked why he left the said Ship & he saith he had no Intention to leave the Ship but having worked hard on board the Chief Mate Mr Price gave him leave on Sunday last after they had gotten all the Ballast to go into the Country & told him if he came away on Tuesday Morning it would be soon enough but when he was come down this Morning he found the Ship had Sailed yesterday Evening for which he saith he is very sorry his whole Part his Cloths being on board Taken before me this 5 of Aprill 1737 Isa: Pyke Governr Alexander Rochland The Governr the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for March last which were Severally Examined & Approved and are as follows viz EXPENCE of the Table in March 1737 viz 384 lb Beef 4 16 17 Sheep 5 5 83 Fowles 6 4 6 66 Ducks 12 4 1 3 lb Sugar 2 9 4 [...] Flour 5 16 lb Candy 19 6 1 lb Pepper 1 3 Bushells Salt 1 10 6 Bottles Oyle 1 4 2 1/2 Galls Sherry 1 12 11 1/2 30 lb Butter 1 15 31 Days Greens 1 11 62 Bottles Milk 8 45 6 7 1/4 18 Galls Arrack to the Guards upon the Muster & the day 3 18 30 lb Sugar to ditto 10 15 Galls do to the Blacks 3 17 lb Sugar 5 8 | John Dicker answered that he had no witnesses to produce, and that those he could have named were aboard the ship, which sailed the previous evening. He signed his examination. Alexander Rochland, who had left the George, of which he was gunner's mate, was brought before the council as a deserter from the ship, which had sailed the previous day. He stated that he had no intention of leaving her, but that having worked hard aboard, the chief mate, Mr Price, gave him leave one day, after which they had gone into the country and had intended to come aboard again on the Tuesday morning, thinking it would be soon enough. When he came down that morning he found the ship had sailed. He said he was very sorry for it, and that his clothes were still aboard. His examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 5 April 1737, and he signed it. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for March, and the council examined and approved each of them. Expense of the table in March 1737 322 lb of beef, £4 16s 0d 17 turkeys, £4 5s 0d 83 fowls, £6 4s 6d 66 lb of sugar, £13 4s 0d 73 lb of sugar candy, £2 9s 0d 4 lb of flour, £5 0s 0d 16 lb of candy, £0 19s 6d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 5 bushels of salt, £1 10s 0d 6 bottles of oil, £1 1s 0d 5.5 gallons of sherry, £1 12s 11.5d 30 lb of butter, £1 15s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £0 1s 8d Total, £45 6s 7.5d Allowances issued 18 gallons of arrack to the guards on the Queen's birthday, £3 12s 0d 30 lb of sugar to the guards, £0 10s 0d 15 gallons of arrack to the blacks, £3 0s 0d 17 lb of sugar, £0 5s 8d Total, £7 7s 8d Interpretations Two men from the same ship were left behind within days of one another, and their accounts differ in a way that mattered. Dicker described himself as unwilling to sail under officers who had used the discharged chief mate badly, which made his absence deliberate, while Rochland claimed he simply misjudged the sailing hour and left his clothes aboard. The standing penalty for a man who quit a ship at St Helena was three months' hard labour without pay, imposed on William Osborn and Jasper Cann in May 1734 and on John Scott in July 1733, and every such examination in this record turns on whether the man meant to go. Forfeiture of wages made the loss real whichever account was true. Company pay fell due only on a ship's safe return to England, so both men gave up everything earned since leaving the Thames, and Rochland gave up his possessions as well. Seamen examined at the island regularly named the sum they were sacrificing, Benjamin Jones eighteen months as boatswain of the Frances and Simon Gaston fifteen months from the Nassau, and the council recorded those figures as a measure of how far shipboard conditions had driven them. The Queen's birthday allowance is one of the fixed points of the island's calendar, and it recurs in these accounts every March: 11 gallons of arrack to the guards, smiths, coopers and carpenters in March 1733, and 198 lb of powder fired in March 1730. Royal anniversaries were marked by an issue of arrack and sugar to the men who could not attend any dinner, and the entry sits apart from the table account because it was a customary entitlement rather than a purchase. Beef rose to 322 lb, the heaviest figure since the shipping season opened, and 83 fowls and 17 turkeys went with it. Five ships had passed through the road since February, so the fort was entertaining commanders and passengers ashore, which is the reliable driver of these totals. The poultry yard is carrying the burden as it has since the autumn, falling from 506 fowls at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 and dropping again with every month of company at the table. |
189 | 181 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of March 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t March: Bullocks 13, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 467, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 73, Fowles 325, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Sold to Ships & in ditto: Bullocks 7, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 3, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 10, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 37, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 457, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 73, Fowles 325, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 17, Fowles 83, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 37, Yearlings 150, Calves 98, Bulls 6, Totall 457, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 56, Fowles 242, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Dead in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 1, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 March 1737: Bullocks 6, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 37, Yearlings 150, Calves 97, Bulls 6, Totall 456, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 56, Fowles 242, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 18000 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 26500 Totall Yams 44500 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for March 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for March 1737 Remaining 1 March 1737: bullocks 13, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 467, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 73, fowls 325, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Sold to ships in March: bullocks 7, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 3, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 10, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 6, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 37, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 457, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 73, fowls 325, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in March: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 17, fowls 83, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 37, yearlings 150, calves 98, bulls 6, total neat cattle 457, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 56, fowls 242, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Dead in March: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 1, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 March 1737: bullocks 6, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 37, yearlings 150, calves 97, bulls 6, total neat cattle 456, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 56, fowls 242, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 26,500 lb Total yams, 44,500 lb Interpretations The bullock class has been stripped almost bare in two months. It stood at 18 through the whole autumn, fell to 13 in February when five went to the shipping, and now stands at 6 after seven more. Steers went the same way for the first time in this run, three going out of forty. The identical collapse happened in the spring of 1736, when 35 bullocks at the opening of February fell to 4 by July under two months of heavy victualling, and the classes were restored only by the year-end reclassification of 30 September moving yearlings up. With 150 yearlings and 97 calves standing on the books, the herd can absorb it, but the saleable males will run out before the season does. No calf was born in the whole month, the first blank since the drought years, following six in February, ten in January and seventeen in December. The island's summer closes about March, and the heaviest calving of this run fell in the two months before it, so the pause is seasonal. A single calf died, and nothing else was lost in any class for the third month together. Eighty-three fowls and 17 turkeys went to the table, by far the heaviest draw of the year and matching the table account exactly. The poultry yard has now fallen to 242 fowls from 506 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736, and to 56 turkeys from 95. Five ships passed through the road during the month and the fort entertained their commanders ashore, which is what these figures measure. The yam issue held at 44,500 lb with the establishment's share rising to 26,500 lb. The winter planting season opens about May, so the crop taken in during November is now being drawn down through the last of the summer, and the plantations' own share at 18,000 lb continues to feed the hogs and poultry and to hold back seed for the ground. |
190 | 182 | GUNNERS Stores Expended in March 1737 Guns Fired, Shott, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder Muster day: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 Fort Alarms: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 4, Powder 12 Lyon Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 A Ship past by: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 4, Powder 12 At Alarms: Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 8 A Double Alarm: Guns Fired 6, Shott 3, Sakers 3, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 21 At the Funerall of Ensign Rogers: Guns Fired 8, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 7, Powder 10 At Alarms: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 4, Powder 12 George Arrived from England: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 Lyon Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 11 Repairs of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 55, Shott 2, Sakers 5, Minion 17, Falcons 35, Powder 154 Lead Shott 7 lb Parchment Skines 1 A Double Lead Shott 1 Cartridge Papers 3 Quire Copper Ladle 1 Wire 4 Handspikes 4 Match 20 lb | The gunner delivered his account of the stores expended during March 1737. Gunner's stores expended in March 1737 1 March, muster day: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 20 lb of powder 3 March, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 4 March, the Lyon arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 4 March, a ship passed by: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 7 March, an alarm: 2 guns fired, 2 shot, 2 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 8 lb of powder 10 March, a double alarm: 6 guns fired, 0 shot, 3 sakers, 3 minions, 0 falcons, 21 lb of powder 10 March, at the funeral of Ensign Draper: 8 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 7 falcons, 10 lb of powder 12 March, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 13 March, the George arrived from England: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 20 March, the Lyon sailed: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder Expense of the guards: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 30 lb of powder Total: 55 guns fired, 2 shot, 5 sakers, 17 minions, 35 falcons, 154 lb of powder Lead shot, 7 lb Parchment skins, 1 Double headed shot, 1 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Copper ladles, 1 Bitts, 4 Handspikes, 4 Match, 20 lb Interpretations Eight guns at Ensign Draper's funeral place him precisely within the island's scale of honours. A single pound of powder was expended at the gunner John French's burial on 20 September 1728 and a whole barrel at William Wilkins's in September 1729, while Francis Everest, late Governor of Bencoolen, drew 20 guns in June 1736. An ensign held the junior commissioned rank of the garrison, and the compliment paid here is drawn almost entirely from falcons, the lightest pieces on the island, which kept the ceremony within a small charge of powder. Live shot was fired only once in the whole month, two rounds from sakers on 7 March against a strange sail that did not answer. The practice runs through this record, guns being discharged at a vessel to bring her to when she failed to identify herself, as they were from Banks's on 8 and 11 June 1735 and against a French ship in January 1731. Two shot against 55 guns fired measures how far the anchorage was governed by ceremony rather than by force. Every arrival was preceded by an alarm of four guns costing 12 lb of powder, and a double alarm drew six. The signal warned the island that a sail had been seen while conveying nothing about her identity, since the lookouts could raise a ship but not name her until she closed the road. That limitation explains the pattern of alarm followed within hours by a salute, and it is why the council ordered every commander from 13 March 1729 to warp in under the castle's guns on any alarm until the stranger was known. Copper ladles and parchment skins belong to the safe handling of powder rather than to the firing of guns. A ladle carried a measured charge of loose powder down the bore, and it was made of copper because that metal will not throw a spark against iron. Parchment served the same end in the making up of cartridges, holding a charge in a form that could be carried and rammed without spilling. The month's 154 lb against 55 lb in December marks the shipping season fully open. The George arrived from England on 13 March, and her chief mate's complaint against Captain White came before the council three days later, while the Lyon lay in the road from 4 to 20 March. Thirty pounds to the guards remains the one fixed charge, unchanged since the nightly guard boat was set out on 30 June 1735. |
191 | 183 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12 April 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday being Easter Monday the Inhabitants presented the following persons to be Churchwardens & Overseers for the year Ensuing viz Francis Wrangham Samuell Doveton Churchwardens Thomas Easthope James Langton John Dilfountaine Overseers of the 2d Division John Brown Richard Mason Overseers of the 4t Division James Ryder Robert Gurling Overseers of the 1t Division Of these were appointed those which follows viz Francis Wrangham Samuel Doveton Churchwardens James Langton Overseer of the 2d Division John Brown Overseer of the 4th Division James Ryder Overseer of the 1t Division At a Consultation held on Fryday 22 April 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved This Morning the Prince & Princess Rota arrived from China with the following Supply viz Invoice of Halfeaburg Chinaware viz Saucers blue & white 398 at 5 5 7 9 6 7 Bowles do 40 245 15 3 6 7 6 Coffee Cups do 155 14 2 1 9 13 8 5 Breakage 2 9 6 15 5 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 12 April 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The inhabitants met on Easter Monday and returned the following names for churchwardens and overseers for the year ahead. Names returned by the inhabitants Francis Wrangham, churchwarden Samuel Doveton, churchwarden Thomas Easthope, churchwarden James Vaughan, overseer of the east division John Defountaine, overseer of the east division John Brown, overseer of the west division Richard Mason, overseer of the west division James Ryder, overseer of the south division Robert Girling, overseer of the south division Out of that number the council appointed the following. Officers appointed by the council Francis Wrangham, churchwarden Samuel Doveton, churchwarden James Vaughan, overseer of the east division John Brown, overseer of the west division James Ryder, overseer of the south division The council met again at the castle on Friday 22 April 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Prince of Wales arrived from China the previous morning with the following supply. Invoice of the Prince of Wales, in taels, mace and candareens Chinaware Sneakers, blue and white, 398 at 2 mace 2 candareens the piece, 7 taels 9 mace 6 candareens 7 bowls at 20 mace 1 candareen the piece, 3 taels 6 mace 7 candareens Coffee cups, 20 at 155 candareens the piece, 4 taels 2 mace 1 candareen Breakage, 2 taels 9 mace 6 candareens Total carried over, 15 taels 3 mace 5 candareens Interpretations The vestry returned two names for every office and the council chose one from each pair, which is the same procedure followed on 26 April 1736 and on 16 April 1734. The inhabitants nominated and the council appointed, so parish office rested on a combination of local election and the Governor's confirmation, and neither could act alone. Thomas Easthope, returned here as a third name for churchwarden, had been foreman of the jury at the court of judicature five weeks earlier. Churchwardens carried the whole weight of the island's poor law, and the office was onerous rather than honorific. They presented offenders for lewdness and disorderly living, as they did against Margaret Swattowe in May 1733 and Martha Bagg later that month, they placed bastard children with nurses and recovered the charge from the fathers under maintenance orders, and they took in paupers such as Samuel Knipe on 5 October 1736. Overseers of the highways raised labour in subscribed days, each man owing a number of days' work on the roads, and their duty had grown heavier since the floods of March 1736 tore out Ladder Hill. Sneakers were small handled cups for punch or spirits, and they arrived from Canton by the chest in almost every China ship, alongside the blue and white dishes, saucers and bowls that recur throughout these invoices. Chinaware was cheap by weight, hard to break in transit if packed properly and readily sold on to inhabitants and ships' officers alike, so the Company shipped it as a small profitable line rather than as a necessity. Entering breakage as a priced line on the invoice rather than as a deduction shows how the Company protected itself against loss between Canton and the island. The goods were charged at their full value with an allowance struck for what arrived broken, so the storekeeper accounted only for what he could actually sell, and the council fixed a sterling selling price against every line before the goods left the warehouse. Taels, mace and candareens were the money of account at Canton, a tael being the unit, a mace a tenth and a candareen a hundredth, and their appearance identifies the port as surely as the pagoda marks Madras or the rupee Bengal. |
192 | 184 | Brought over 13 5 2 9 Tea Bohea 225 Cannisters at 3 peculs at 4 & pecul 42 Sugar Candy 10 Chests at 1 pecul is 4 peculs at 88 Sugar 20 Chests at 5 peculs is 20 peculs at 100 243 5 2 9 INVOICE for Princess Wales viz Chinaware viz Dishes & Plates blew & white 5 Dishes & 10 Plates in a Set 10 Setts at 19 19 60 Dishes & Plates do 5 Dishes & 12 Plates in 10 Setts 5 do 36 18 Mugs do 3 in a Nest 33 Nests 3 9 9 Coffee Cups do 475 do 4 6 6 5 Half Pint Tumblers do 227 3 1 0 5 36 6 5 5 Allowed for Breakage & spent 1 1 3 4 55 5 2 1 Tea Bohea Chests of 4 Canns 125 Canisters at 21 Tale & pecul 28 8 9 Sugar Candy 20 Chests at 1 pecul is 20 Peculs at 4 4 88 Sugar 20 Chests at 5 peculs 20 Peculs at 3 5 100 Tales 522 1 1 1 This Afternoon a French Ship from Pondicherry was brought to in Anchor of Bankes's & as soon as we discovered Ashipt we they were they had leave to come in but we knew as they would be they Anchored off, Mundens & ought easily have anchored in the Roadstead of doing that they thought to have Sailed in through the Road & came Anchor because they knew of & so & on his the & before they wanted this and would we have been able to have got hold at all of Capt Jamieson had not hardly gone on board that he which she was two Leagues off it, he & brought down | Invoice of the Prince of Wales, continued Brought over, 13 taels 5 mace 2 candareens 9 cash Bohea tea, 225 canisters of 2 peculs at 6 taels the pecul, 42 taels Sugar candy, 20 chests of 20 peculs at 4 taels the pecul, 88 taels Sugar, 25 chests of 20 peculs at 20 peculs, 100 taels Total, 243 taels 5 mace 2 candareens 9 cash Invoice for the Princess Mary Chinaware Dishes and plates, blue and white 5 dishes and 20 plates in a set, 10 sets at 1 tael 9 mace, 19 taels Soup dishes and plates, of the same sort 5 dishes and 20 plates in a set, 5 sets at 3 taels 6 mace, 18 taels Mugs of the same sort, 3 in a nest, 33 nests at 3 mace, 9 taels 9 mace Coffee cups of the same sort, 425 at 4 mace, 6 taels 5 candareens Half pint sneakers of the same sort, 207 at 3 mace, 1 tael 0 mace 5 candareens Sub-total, 366 taels 5 mace 5 candareens Allowed for breakage and want, 1 tael 1 mace 3 candareens 4 cash Total chinaware, 55 taels 5 mace 2 candareens 1 cash Bohea tea, 225 canisters of 3 peculs 20 catties, 100 canisters at 21 taels the pecul, 28 taels 8 mace 9 candareens Sugar candy, 20 chests of 20 peculs at 20 peculs, 88 taels Sugar, 25 chests of 20 peculs at 20 peculs, 100 taels Total, 555 taels 1 mace 11 candareens That afternoon a French ship from Pondicherry was brought to. She anchored at Bencoolen as soon as she had anchored, and her captain asked leave to come in but was left on board as they weighed. They stood off and Munden's brought easily, having anchored in the road instead of doing as they thought to have held in through the road to come. Anchor being weighed they came in, and before they reached the road they could not have done as they had at all, if Captain Grierson had not hardly given an order that the whole of it was six leagues off, and he brought her in. Interpretations Peculs and catties are the weights of the China trade, a catty running to about a pound and a third and a pecul to a hundred catties, roughly 133 lb. Tea reached the island in sealed canisters packed by the chest, and sugar candy in chests reckoned by the pecul, so a single invoice mixes the weight system of Canton with the money of account of the same port. The council fixed a sterling selling price against each line before any of it left the warehouse, which is how a cargo priced in taels became goods sold across the counter in shillings and pence. Bohea was the black tea of the Wuyi hills in Fujian, the cheapest grade in regular shipment and the one issued to the garrison and to the Company's slaves alike, running through these accounts by the catty since 1727. Sugar candy is crystallised sugar sold as a sweetmeat, and it appears in the fort's table accounts through the summer months as well as here in bulk. Between them, tea and sugar in various forms make up almost the whole value of both consignments, the chinaware being a minor line by comparison. Two ships carrying near identical ladings of the same goods at the same rates points to a coordinated consignment made up by the Company's supercargoes at Canton rather than to independent purchases. The same pattern appeared with the Cumberland and Derby on 10 January 1733, each bringing an identical supply of arrack, sugar and rice at 489 rupees 9 annas 6 pies apiece, which confirmed that the agents made up each island consignment to a standard specification. The account of the French ship's approach cannot be reconciled into a clear sequence from what stands on the page, the clerk having run together her anchoring, her weighing and her final entry into the road. What it establishes is that she came from Pondicherry, was brought to before being admitted, had difficulty working into the anchorage, and was assisted by a commander who knew the ground. That last point recurs in this record: Captain Goodwin went aboard the Dutch ship Young William on 25 July 1736 when she dragged her anchor and drove to leeward, and by his instructions she recovered the road. |
193 | 185 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 28 April Danish Ships arrived from China, on the 61 the Richmond also arrived from China & to day the Grantham Arrived from Bengall with the following Supply viz INVOICE of Richmond viz Tea 3 Chests in Cannisters 1 40 22 52 120 18 Cannisters at 4 Taeley 5 5 57 6 2 Sugar Candy 1/2 at 1 qty 2 50 Tare 28 2 22 at 4 2 9 3 2 4 Chinaware 1 Chest Bowles 8 Nest at 8 lb 400 Do 2 & spent 112 Suggars Duty 6 293 303 0 208 Dishes & Plates 3 40 in Sets 5 18 & 400 12 400 Anchors 50 3 39 15 300 at 3 & Cwt 398 15 098 21 3 Tales 68 3 5 3 INVOICE of Grantham viz Arrack 8 half Legs at 1 8 & pecul 2 110 & pecul 77 Sugar 11 Bags at 1/8 Tare at 12 3 2 19 & 3 & pecul 115 8 Rice 22 Bags do 39 lb Tare do 4 39 2 15 1 14 & 4 & pecul 46 6 Candle White at 3 Tare do 1 1 1 9 3 2 8 & pecul 07 Paddy 32 Bags at 3 3 Tare do 3 3 20 2 2 & 3 & pecul 18 15 9 Blew Dungarees 1 Bale of 2 Corge 8 2 12 2 3 & Corge 200 6 Trunks & Mechanas 1 Boat 1/2 lb 160 Tunn 5 70 8 5 118 100 & Cwt 3 2 3 & 6 63 8 174 6 6 33 8 6 Charges Merchandize Rupees 711 3 4 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 3 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. A Danish ship arrived from China on 28 April, and on the 30th the Richmond came in from Bengal. The Grantham arrived from Bengal that day with the following supplies. Invoice of the Richmond, in taels, mace and candareens Tea, 2 chests in canisters, 1 pecul 46 catties at 22 the catty, 32 taels 120 18 canisters at 1 catty 5 candareens, 5 taels 5 mace Total tea, 37 taels 6 mace 2 candareens Sugar candy, 2 chests at 50 the pecul, 9 taels 3 mace 2 candareens 4 cash Tare, 28 at 2 taels 22, at 4 taels 2 Chinaware, 1 chest Bowls, 8 in a nest at 8 the nest, 6 taels 400 Ditto, 3 in a nest, 1 tael 128 Nagger's Duty, 6 taels 292 Total, 1 tael 363 Total, 0 taels 208 Dishes and plates, 5 and 20 in a set, 5 sets at 18 the set, 4 sets at 12 taels 400 Sneakers, 50 at 8, 39 at 15 taels 300 Half pint sneakers, 398 at 15 taels 098 Total chinaware, 21 taels 3 mace Total, 68 taels 7 mace 5 candareens 3 cash Invoice of the Grantham, in rupees, annas and pies Arrack, 8 half leaguers, 121 gallons at 6 rupees the gallon, 77 rupees Sugar, 11 bags, 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 26 lb at 12 rupees 8 annas 19 the hundredweight, 115 rupees 8 annas Rice, 20 bags, 12 hundredweight 3 quarters 4 lb at 6 rupees 5 annas 15 the hundredweight, 46 rupees 6 annas Candles, 1 chest, 2 hundredweight 3 quarters 1 lb at 1 rupee 9 annas the hundredweight, 67 rupees Paddy, 32 bags, 27 hundredweight 3 quarters 20 lb at 20 rupees, 18 rupees 15 annas 9 pies Blue doosetees, 1 bale of 60 pieces at 2 rupees 4 annas the piece, 3 rupees, 206 rupees 6 annas Shirts and stockings 1 bale of 160 shirts at 2 rupees 70 annas each, 118 rupees 100 pairs of stockings at 12 rupees 8 annas the corge, 62 rupees 8 annas Total shirts and stockings, 174 rupees 6 annas Charges merchandise, 33 rupees 8 annas 6 pies Total, 711 rupees 8 annas 4 pies Interpretations The Grantham's lading is the standard Bengal specification the Company's agents had been making up for the island since the early 1730s: arrack in half leaguers, sugar, rice, paddy, a chest of wax candles, a bale of doosetees and made-up shirts and stockings. The same combination came in the Godolphin in March 1736, the Wager in April and the Onslow in June, and the shirts and stockings are the one line the island could not produce for itself in any quantity. Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces and cut up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. A bale of sixty pieces here, following 195 pieces landed across five weeks in the spring of 1736, keeps the storekeeper supplied against the issue that had run so short in the winter of 1735 that a moth-eaten parcel of silk drugget twenty years in store had to be given out instead. Nagger's duty on the Richmond's chinaware is a port charge levied at Canton rather than any Company imposition. The Chinese authorities taxed foreign trade at the point of lading, and such charges were entered on the invoice alongside the goods so that the whole landed cost stood on the books before the council fixed a sterling selling price against each line. Three ships from three different sources reached the island within six days, and the invoices show how sharply the trades differed. Canton supplied tea, sugar candy and chinaware reckoned in taels, mace and candareens; Bengal supplied provisions and cloth reckoned in rupees, annas and pies. The Danish vessel brought nothing at all for the island, foreign ships being admitted for water and refreshment on production of a commission but carrying no consignment for the Company's store. |
194 | 186 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 10 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Capt Bagly Mr Ferrigge John Alexander Mr Agar Mr Fry John Goodwin Capt Grays Mr Page Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Martin Parkinson Sailor a youth about Twenty who was left here out of the Ship George for having Stolen half a Chest of Tea value 200 out of the Stead Room of the said Ship which he several times confessed & pretended in this day before Us & for this offence was Ordered to work at Fortifications but having on Sunday the 8 instant broke open a Chest in the Marshalls Room & from thence Stole a pair of Silver Shoe Buckles & Neck Buckles a Sett of Silver Waistcoat Buttons & 2 Setts of Cloth Stone Waistcoat Buttons a Some of Two & Silver and things all which he also owned this day before Us in Consultation the Govr desired the Opinion of the Severall Captaines & Supercargoes & Councill when Considerations he Considered for the offence & they were each of Opinion that he ought to work in Irons at the Fortifications till the Ship returns & then to be sent to England on board her At a Consultation held at 6 in the Evening 10 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT the Governour & Councill only The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that Capt Rothills Morning acquainted him that on 27 April last he met with a very great Storm between the Cape & the Island of St Lawrence & proved to be the same day on which Capt Gough lost his Maine mast & that the Wind & so were of Sleet great force that they thought the Ship would have & must & think Severe in such condition & danger that they were obliged to throw overboard all the Skye Spurs that were in the Waist a Sounded with much Slow Lumber in Order to free the Ship & could not right her too they had cut away the Foretopmast & at that time they had so much Water into the Ship that they found 20 Inches Water in the Well the he lay along & that when the said night they were a great | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 10 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. Captain Rigby, Captain Grey, Mr Agar, Mr Pengage, Mr Fry and Mr Page attended. The previous consultation was read and approved. Martin Parkinson, a sailor of about twenty, had been left out of the George for stealing half a chest of tea worth £200 0s 0d out of the bread room of the ship. He had confessed to it on several occasions, and appeared before the council that day and was ordered to work at the fortifications for the offence. On Sunday the 8th he broke open a chest in the marshal's room and took from it a pair of silver shoe buckles, a set of silver waistcoat buttons and a set of brass stone waistcoat buttons, a piece of tea and other things, all of which he also owned that day before the council. The Governor asked the opinion of the several captains and gentlemen of the council, who were then attending, and desired that each deliver his opinion. Each was of opinion that he ought to work in irons at the fortifications until the ship returned, and then be sent to England aboard her. The council met again at the castle at six in the evening of 10 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with the council only. The Governor reported that Captain Rehills had acquainted him that morning that on 19 April he met with a very great storm between the Cape and the island of St Lawrence. He proposed to be the same day on which Captain Gough lost his mainmast, and that the wind blew with such great force that he thought the ship would have foundered. She was in serious danger and they were obliged to throw overboard all the spars that were in the waist, and to founder with such flaws of water into the barrel to free the ship. He would not right her, and they had cut away the foretopmast at that time. They had so much water in the ship that they found 26 inches of water in the well. She lay along after that, and in the night they were a great while. Interpretations Half a chest of tea at £200 0s 0d places the theft on a wholly different scale from the island's ordinary petty crime. That figure exceeds the entire Bengal supply the Grantham brought a week earlier and more than doubles the sum realised at the auction of thirty years' damaged Company stock in January 1736. A homeward China ship carried the most valuable cargo afloat, which is why the Ostend privateers had made the Indiamen a matter of state concern in the war scares of 1727 and 1729. Working the man in irons at the fortifications until his ship returned answers a difficulty the council met repeatedly with seamen. It had no gaol capable of holding a man for a year, transportation to Bencoolen removed the offender at the Company's expense, and simply discharging him left another idle man on an island already carrying more poor than it could support. Setting him to the works recovered his keep in labour, and the fortifications had been manned by sentence rather than by hire since the advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender. Consulting the commanders then in the road before disposing of the case follows the council's practice wherever shipboard discipline touched the island. Three commanders sat when the chaplain's obligation to Anne Lane was determined on 20 May 1731, and Captain Gilbert and Captain Gribbly were brought in to broker the accommodation between Captain White and his chief mate on 16 March 1737. The council had no jurisdiction over a Company ship, so the weight of the commanders' collective opinion did the work that authority could not. St Lawrence is Madagascar, and the passage between it and the Cape carried every homeward Indiaman. Twenty-six inches of water in the well marks a ship close to foundering, since the well is the sounding space at the bottom of the hold where depth of leakage was measured. Throwing spars overboard from the waist and cutting away the foretopmast were the standard measures for righting a vessel laid over on her side, sacrificing top weight and windage to bring her upright before the sea filled her. |
195 | 187 | while at Work with all their Pumps before they were able to free her having then two feet Water between Decks, whereupon fearing some of his Salt Peter was damaged he Sounded his Ship to see whether that also did or not, & upon moving some of the Bales in the & they were dry, he found them very wet, & upon two of the Bales upon Deck & opened them & found them so very hot that the Captain said he could not bear his hand in them & therefore he is afraid of a great deale more damage & upon these Apprehensions the Capt came ashore to the Governour & applyed to him for his Advice & Assistance & the Governour advised him to make a further Damage & in the upon the Bales he founded with & to get them worked upon it upon the Capt asked him he had with a boat & he found them all him he should be welcome to the Camp & England, & the Governour went & Reverend Capt Ripley & Capt Gough's Longboats & they both readily agreed & to give them by the Assistance they could, & with & Opinion that the Damaged Bales ought to be Landed, & the Governour immediately sent the Compys Longboat on board to fetch some of the Goods on Shoar & the Captaine said he had a Bond in Tent Sorts of them & he wanted at Lemon Valley & the Govr replyed that it was the Compys Island & was welcome to the intent part of it he would & he consulted with the other Captains & they advised him Lemon Valley being a very narrow place, & not large enough to hold any Quantity of Goods to which some kind & sends there, the Governour told him also and that if he had any Goods Goods on board that were damaged it would be proper he Land them into the Country to be dried either at the Plantation House or at Ruck Spring which he provided the Govr also told him that there was a House up the Valley designed for an Hospitall, the same where the Salesmen People had lived & as that was the Companies House he was welcome to the use of it & sure his Goods would be safe & his own People might have after them, & this he said he believed he had and some Goods damaged & that the coarse Goods he would wash upon the Beach But upon a far ther Reimaging word was brought to him on Shoar that some Bales near the fore hatchway were damaged & quite rotten And to day they brought Severall Bales on Shoar which appeared to be a very coarse Goods & therefore it is hoped that the damage will be triffle This is all the Accöunt the Govr can give of this matter till more Goods come on Shoar, & the being of which the Governour will not be hard with for any Assistants which he can give him & these Misfortunes will necessarily keep the Captain here longer & so he | The crew stood at work with all their pumps before they were able to free her, having then two feet of water between decks. A great part of the salt petre was damaged. Captain Rehills came ashore to see whether it was so or not, and on opening some of the bales they found them very wet. They aired the bales upon deck and opened them, and found them very hot, so that the captain feared they would not bear his hand in them. Fearing further damage on that account, he came to the Governor and applied for advice and assistance. The Governor advised him to make a further examination and to open the bales he found wet, and to get them washed upon deck. The captain then told him that he had neither boat nor space, so the Governor made him welcome to the Company's long boat. The Governor and the captain went off together, and Captain Rigby brought his own long boat, and both readily gave God the glory for the assistance they lent. It was found on opening them that the damaged bales ought to be washed, and the Governor immediately sent the Company's long boat aboard to fetch some of the goods on shore. The captain said he had a shed or some sort of store to unlade at Rupert's Valley, and the Governor replied that he was welcome to the Company's island and to whatever part of it he wished. He also consulted with the other captains, and they advised him that Lemon Valley, being a very narrow place, was not large enough to hold any quantity of goods, so that none should be sent there. The Governor then said, and drew it to his attention, that if he had any of the goods aboard that were damaged it would be proper to send them into the country to be dried, either at the Plantation House or at Rock Spring, which he preferred. The Governor also told him that there was a house up the valley designed for a hospital, and that whatever goods he laid there would be as safe as in the company's stores. He was welcome to the use of it, and his goods would be as safe as if his own people might take care of them, and if he had to deliver he had no fine goods damaged, and that the coarse goods he could wash upon the beach. Report was afterwards brought to him on the stowage that some bales near the fore hatchway were damaged and quite rotten. They brought several bales on shore the following day, which appeared to be in very coarse condition, and it was hoped that the damage would be trifling. That is all the account the Governor can give of the matter. No more goods came on shore, the whole of which the Governor was not too hard upon for any assistance which he can give him, and these misfortunes will necessarily keep the captain there longer than he expected. Interpretations Saltpetre was the essential ingredient of gunpowder and the most strategically valuable bulk commodity in the Bengal trade, shipped home in bales as ballast in the lower hold where its weight steadied the ship. Wetting is ruinous to it because the salt dissolves and leaches away, and the heat the captain found on opening the bales came from the wet mass reacting in the hold, which is why he could hardly bear his hand among them. Washing and drying damaged bales was the only means of recovering anything from the parcel. Lending the Company's long boat cost the island its one means of moving stone and lime round the coast to the fortifications. The previous boat was lost at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734 and left the Turk's Cap battery three loads short of completion, and this one had lost planks in the hole that opened in Rupert's Valley during the storms of March 1737. Putting it at a homeward commander's disposal for several days measures how far the council would go to keep the Company's cargo whole. Every place the Governor offered had failed the island in some other capacity. Lemon Valley was ruled out for want of room, its works having been destroyed by the sea in December 1733 and the crane carried away entirely. Rupert's Valley held the fortifications on which every spare hand had been employed. The house designed for a hospital had never served as one, the island's medical provision having consisted of a succession of quarrelling surgeons since Gibson's removal in 1728. Anything landed here would be reshipped rather than sold, which distinguishes this from every other cargo in these accounts. The Company's own consignments to the island were priced, entered in the storekeeper's books and sold across the counter, but damaged private trade or Company goods bound for London remained the ship's own property throughout, and the island supplied only ground, labour and boats. |
196 | 188 | expected or intended to have stayed, but is better to have him stay & have the Goods to feed here than to carry them to England unwashed & so all quite rotten & spoild At a Consultation held on Tuesday 17 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that since Tuesday last Captain Rich hath told him that they have discovered 60 Bales of Goods which have been damaged & about 300 Bales of the Silk but as they are Goods which may be washed we hope the loss will not be very great, but this Accident who retards the Captain hath much Compassion he ordered to stay notwithstanding the Govr has offered him unto 16 Athens & 6 Mess Above & has hoisted Poles with Severall Sorts of Lines in the Valley & fixed a Tent near Buck Spring Jonathan Doveton paid in £70 in Cash & desired a two of Bills of Exchange upon the Company for the use of the Officers of Grace Waldos and his Bill was drawn accordingly The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for April last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as following viz EXPENCE of the Table in April 1737 viz 380 lb Beef 4 5 2 Geese 10 14 Turkeys 3 15 52 Fowles 4 14 30 lb Butter 1 10 40 Bottles Milk 1 10 31 Days Greens 8 15 64 Galls Arrack 3 4 8 7 lb Sugar 48 Flour 3 12 6 26 lb Candy 1 8 1 lb Pepper 1 4 11 3/4 4 1/2 Galls Sherry 11 7 1/4 1 lb 2 lb Pork 2 6 1 Gallon Vinegar 13 4 3 Bottles Florence Oyle 45 4 10 | The captain had expected or intended to have stayed a shorter time, but it was better for him to remain and have the goods dried there than to carry them to England unwashed and see them quite rotten and spoiled. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 17 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that since the previous Tuesday Captain Rehills had told him they had discovered 50 bales of goods damaged, besides almost 100 bales of saltpetre, but that as they were spread and washed it was hoped the loss would not be very great. The account nevertheless gave the captain much concern, and he had resolved to stay notwithstanding the great expense. The Governor had assisted him with 10 pieces and 6 mess stores, and had spread the bales with several tons of lime in the valley and at Rock Spring. Jonathan Doveton paid in a certain sum and received two half butts of hock upon the company for the use of the widow Grace Coulson, and the bill of sale was drawn accordingly. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for April, and the council examined and approved each of them. Expense of the table in April 1737 280 lb of beef, £4 5s 0d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 4 turkeys, £1 0s 0d 66 fowls, £4 19s 0d 30 lb of butter, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 78 gallons of arrack, £15 16s 0d 64 lb of sugar, £3 4s 0d 28 lb of flour, £3 12s 6d 20 lb of sugar candy, £1 2s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 4.5 gallons of sherry, £1 4s 10.5d 1.5 lb of salt, £0 11s 7.5d 1 gallon of vinegar, £0 2s 6d 5 bottles of Florence oil, £1 3s 4d Total, £45 2s 10d Interpretations Spreading damaged saltpetre with lime was a chemical remedy rather than a matter of storage. Quicklime takes up water aggressively, so bedding wet bales in it drew the moisture out far faster than air drying alone, and the island had lime to spare from its own kiln in Sandy Bay and from the limekiln plantation. The one commodity St Helena could supply in quantity turned out to be the one this cargo needed. Losing 50 bales of goods and near 100 of saltpetre would have ruined the voyage had the ship carried them home wet, and the captain's decision to lie at the island despite the cost measures that. A commander was answerable to his owners for the condition of the cargo, and demurrage claims for delay ran the other way, Captain Crompton having asked for it on 10 April 1736 and Captain Westcott on 25 May the same year. Here the delay was chosen rather than complained of. The two half butts of hock stand out among the island's ordinary drink, which was arrack, port and sherry. Hock was Rhenish white wine, shipped from Germany through England and expensive by comparison with anything from the Iberian trade, and it appears here as a purchase made on the widow's account rather than as a Company store. Grace Coulson had died in December 1727, so the name descends within the family rather than identifying the same woman. Beef held at 280 lb and 66 fowls went to the table, both consistent with the previous two months and with a road that has held ships continuously since February. Vinegar appears for the first time in this run of accounts, and butter, milk and daily greens continue as steady charges, the dairy having recovered fully with the calving of the winter months. |
197 | 189 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of April 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t April: Bullocks 6, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 37, Yearlings 150, Calves 97, Bulls 6, Totall 456, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 56, Fowles 242, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 2, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 37, Yearlings 150, Calves 99, Bulls 6, Totall 458, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 56, Fowles 242, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 3, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 5, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 8, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 3, Cows 138, Heifers 22, Steers 32, Yearlings 150, Calves 99, Bulls 6, Totall 450, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 56, Fowles 242, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 11, Fowles 66, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30th April 1737: Bullocks 3, Cows 137, Heifers 22, Steers 32, Yearlings 150, Calves 99, Bulls 6, Totall 449, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 45, Fowles 176, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 20500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 32800 Totall Yams 53300 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for April 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for April 1737 Remaining 1 April 1737: bullocks 6, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 37, yearlings 150, calves 97, bulls 6, total neat cattle 456, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 56, fowls 242, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Increased in April: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 2, bulls 0, total neat cattle 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 6, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 37, yearlings 150, calves 99, bulls 6, total neat cattle 458, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 56, fowls 242, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Sold to ships in April: bullocks 3, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 5, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 8, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 3, cows 138, heifers 22, steers 32, yearlings 150, calves 99, bulls 6, total neat cattle 450, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 56, fowls 242, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in April: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 11, fowls 66, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 April 1737: bullocks 3, cows 137, heifers 22, steers 32, yearlings 150, calves 99, bulls 6, total neat cattle 449, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 63, turkeys 45, fowls 176, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 20,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 32,800 lb Total yams, 53,300 lb Interpretations The bullock class is now down to three, having stood at 18 through the whole autumn. Five bullocks went in February, seven in March and three more here, and the steers have fallen from 40 to 32 across the same three months. The council reached the identical position in July 1736, when four bullocks remained after two months of heavy victualling, and the classes were restored only when the year-end reclassification of 30 September moved yearlings up. With 150 yearlings and 99 calves on the books the herd is sound, but the animals fit to sell will be gone before the season closes. Calving has almost stopped, two calves following none at all in March against seventeen in December. The island's summer runs to about March and the heavy calving fell in the months before it, so the pattern is seasonal rather than any return of the drought that killed 42 cattle in the year to September 1734. Only one cow was lost, killed for the table rather than dead, and nothing at all died in any class for the fourth month together. Sixty-six fowls and 11 turkeys went the same way. The poultry yard has fallen from 506 fowls and 95 turkeys at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 to 176 and 45, a collapse of two thirds in seven months. It has carried the fort's table almost single-handed through a winter with little beef and is now being drawn on hard while commanders are entertained ashore, with no hatch recorded since December. The yam issue reached 53,300 lb, the heaviest figure in this run, with 32,800 lb going to the establishment. The winter planting season opens about May, so the ground is being cleared of the old crop before the new goes in, and the plantations' own share of 20,500 lb covers the hogs, the poultry and the seed held back for setting. |
198 | 190 | GUNNERS Stores Expended in Aprill 1737 viz Guns Fired, Shott, D Cannon, D Calvering, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 20 George Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 A Double Allarm: Guns Fired 6, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 6, Falcons 0, Powder 18 Arived the Princess Wales Arrived: Guns Fired 36, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 5, Falcons 39, Powder 44 Fired to bring a French Ship to: Guns Fired 3, Shott 3, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 1, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 15 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 French Ship Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 For Exercising the Guns: Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 28 Double Allarm: Guns Fired 6, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 6, Falcons 0, Powder 18 Fired to bring a Danish Ship to: Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 8 Danish Ship Arrived: Guns Fired 7, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 7, Powder 7 Passed by 11 Saile of Dutch Ships: Guns Fired 26, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 2, Sakers 5, Minion 1, Falcons 18, Powder 50 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Exercising the Guns: Guns Fired 2, Shott 2, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 28 Richmond Arrived: Guns Fired 16, Shott 0, D Cannon 2, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 18 Repairs of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, D Cannon 0, D Calvering 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 35 Guns Fired 132, Shott 5, D Cannon 4, D Calvering 3, Sakers 9, Minion 26, Falcons 90, Powder 351 Lead Shott 6 lb Copper Ladles 1 Cartridged Paper 7 Quire Sheep Skines 5 Spunge heads 3 Rammer heads 3 Match 18 lb At a Consultation held on Fryday 20 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday the Haeslingfield arrived from Bengall with the following Supply viz Selling price Arrack 8 half Leggs of 16 Gall a leg plus 110 Sugar 10 Bags of 3 Pecul 2 42 19 at 4 1/2 Cwt 99 Rice 51 Bags at 12 & pecul at 2 7 & 3 & Sup 89 12 1 Bale of 150 Shirts 2 78 & 100 98 100 J 100 Sheet 6 12 8 & Ct 62 8 160 8 550 4 | The gunner delivered his account of the stores expended during April 1737. Gunner's stores expended in April 1737 3 April, muster day: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 20 lb of powder 4 April, the George sailed: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 22 April, a double alarm: 6 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 6 minions, 0 falcons, 18 lb of powder 22 April, the Prince and Princess Wales arrived: 36 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 1 demi-culverin, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 39 falcons, 44 lb of powder 22 April, fired to bring a French ship to: 3 guns fired, 3 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 2 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 15 lb of powder 23 April, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 25 April, the French ship arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 25 April, exercising the guns: 2 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 2 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 28 lb of powder 28 April, a double alarm: 6 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 6 minions, 0 falcons, 18 lb of powder 30 April, fired to bring a Danish ship to: 2 guns fired, 2 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 2 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 8 lb of powder 30 April, the Danish ship arrived: 7 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 7 falcons, 7 lb of powder 30 April, passed by 11 sail of Dutch ships: 26 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 3 demi-culverins, 5 sakers, 1 minion, 18 falcons, 50 lb of powder 30 April, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 30 April, proving the guns: 2 guns fired, 0 shot, 2 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 28 lb of powder 30 April, the Richmond arrived: 16 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 15 falcons, 18 lb of powder Expense of the guards: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 35 lb of powder Total: 132 guns fired, 5 shot, 4 demi-cannon, 3 demi-culverins, 9 sakers, 26 minions, 90 falcons, 351 lb of powder Lead shot, 6 lb Copper ladles, 1 Cartridge paper, 7 quires Sponge staves, 5 Sponge heads, 3 Rammer heads, 3 Match, 18 lb The council met at the castle on Friday 20 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Haslingfield arrived from Bengal the previous day with the following supply, the selling price set against each line. Invoice of the Haslingfield, in rupees, annas and pies Arrack, 2 half leaguers, 149 gallons at 6s 4d the gallon, 110 rupees Sugar, 10 bags of 4 hundredweight 2 quarters 13 lb at 6d the pound, 99 rupees Rice, 51 bags of 26 hundredweight 2 quarters 8 lb at 14s 9d the hundredweight, 89 rupees 12 annas 1 bale of 150 shirts at 3s each, 98 rupees 100 pairs of stockings at 2s 6d the pair, 62 rupees 8 annas Total shirts and stockings, 160 rupees 8 annas Total, 550 rupees 4 annas Interpretations Powder expenditure at 351 lb is the heaviest month in more than a year and marks the shipping season at its peak. The Prince and Princess Wales alone drew 36 guns and 44 lb, more than four times the ordinary compliment of nine, and 11 Dutch sail passing in company drew 26 guns and 50 lb. Salutes were built from falcons and minions wherever possible, the lightest classes on the island, with demi-culverins and sakers brought in only to head the heaviest compliments. Five live rounds were fired in the month, three at a French ship and two at a Dane, both of which came in and were saluted within days. Firing to bring a stranger to was the standing practice where a vessel failed to identify herself, and the council had required every arriving commander since 13 March 1729 to warp in under the castle's guns on any alarm until the ship was known. Proving is the firing of a piece with a charge heavier than service load to test whether the metal will hold, and the gunner had carried it out through every month from May 1734 to January 1735 after the engineer refused the duty. Two demi-cannon proved here cost 28 lb of powder, and exercising two demi-culverins the same, so the heavy classes account for a sixth of the month's consumption without a single salute between them. The Haslingfield's invoice carries the selling price alongside the invoice value, which shows the council's practice of fixing the sterling rate before any goods left the warehouse. Arrack at 6s 4d the gallon and sugar at 6d the pound are the same figures set on 7 March 1727 and repeated in the Godolphin's consignment of April 1736, so the retail price on the island held steady across a decade whatever the invoice cost in rupees. |
199 | 191 | Brought over 459 4 Charges Merchandize 33 8 3 Curr Rupt 493 12 3 To day Capt Peale delivered the following Protest viz Ship Grantham, In the Road & Acct of 33 22 St Widdaw Dist Half from Fort St George 30 30 On the 7 8 & 9 dayes of Aprill one thousand seven hund and thirty seven, had a very hard Storm of Wind which begun at 6 oClock in the Morning of the 7 of day and blowed a meer hurricane at 6 oClock of the same Evening. During all which time she made very bad work of it, our Deck being Constantly full of Water in the Waist, therefore Case her too under her Ley and Rolled ed. viz She having then 2 feet Pumps 24 Inches water, and consequently must have a great deale more at her wrongth & the our Chain & hand Pumps were constantly going & did not then gain any thing of her, when we Concluded to Heave over & side of her Six Guns in the waist and our Longboat also set away our Foretopmast with Stick beyond and Spritsail Yard and Spritsail Yard and had at present taking our Boatspreit, which so did then & to in great danger, upon which he found her much easier and did so & partly after by the breaking of our People gaine of her with our Chaine and Hand Pumps. But in case that She made proceeding wholly from the Seas that were continually breaking in upon the & the Ships Bottom no complaining or any kind, so that the Damages she may have Sustained thereby, did not proceed from any defect in the Ship but from the Violence of the Wind and Sea We therefore the undernritten Command and Officers of said Ship Grantham in the Name and behalf of Capt Jonathan Peale and Capt Richard Bennik of London Merchts Part Owners and of all and every the Owners of the Ship Grantham, Do Protest against All & such whatsoever Damages the Honble Vnited East Indies Company may have Sustained from the aboue mentioned Storm in their Loading on board the Ship. Dated the 6 day of May one thousand seven hundred and thirty seven To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr & Councill of St Helena Roger Peale Thomas Coates Geo: Jackson | Invoice of the Haslingfield, continued Brought over, 459 rupees 4 annas Charges merchandise, 33 rupees 8 annas 3 pies Total, 492 rupees 12 annas 3 pies Captain Peale delivered the following protest that day. The ship Grantham, of the burden of 500 tons, William Peale commander, sailed from Fort St George. On 7, 8 and 9 April 1737 she met a very hard gale which began at six in the morning of the 7th and blew a near hurricane until six in the evening of the same day. Through the whole of it she made very bad weather, her deck being constantly full of water and under water. She was laid under her lee side and rolled deep. She had then two feet of water in her pumps, and consequently must have taken a great deal in at her wrong end, so that the chain and hand pumps were kept constantly going and did not gain anything on her. It was then concluded to heave overboard six of her six-inch guns in the waist, and her longboat also was cut away, with her foretopmast, her mizzen yard, her spritsail yard and her spritsail topsail yard. She had at present lost her bowsprit, which stood then to be in great danger, after which she found her much easier and did partly free by the trimming of her people, gaining on her with her chain and hand pumps. The reason that she made proceedings wholly from the seas that were continually breaking in upon the ship's bottom was that she was not complaining in any kind, so that the damage she may have sustained thereby did not proceed from any defect in the ship but from the violence of the wind and the sea. The undersigned commander and officers of the ship Grantham, in the name and on behalf of Captain Jonathan Fuller and Captain Richard Bonnick of London, merchants, part owners, and of all and every the owners of the ship Grantham, protested against whatever damages the Honourable United East India Company might have sustained from the storm described in the lading aboard her. Dated 5 May 1737 and addressed to Governor Pyke and the council of St Helena. Signed by Roger Peale, Thomas Coates and George Jackson. Interpretations A protest of this kind was a formal declaration made before a competent authority to shift liability rather than to prevent anything. By recording the storm, the measures taken and the state of the ship before witnesses, the master established that any damage found on unlading came from weather rather than from unseaworthiness or neglect, so that the owners could resist a claim from the Company and could recover on any insurance. The council had used the same instrument the other way about, entering protests against Captain Peacham on 10 December 1729 and against Captain Crompton of the Duke of Lorraine on 9 April 1736, and it noted on 6 May 1728 that the Prince William's spoiled sugar was endorsed on the bill of lading for the same purpose. Throwing six guns overboard was an expensive last resort. Ordnance carried on deck in the waist stood high above the ship's centre of gravity, and shedding that weight was the surest way to right a vessel laid over on her lee side, but the guns were the ship's only defence against a privateer or a pirate and the island's own ordnance had been increased only twice in a decade. Cutting away the longboat left her without the means to land men or cargo, which is why the council's own boat became so valuable to Captain Rehills a fortnight earlier. Two feet of water in the pumps with the chain and hand pumps gaining nothing describes a ship close to foundering. A chain pump lifted a continuous string of discs through a casing and shifted far more water than the hand pumps, and having both at work without effect meant the sea was coming in faster than the crew could clear it. The Grantham survived by shedding weight aloft and above deck until she rode higher and the crew could gain on her. Fort St George is Madras, the Company's principal settlement on the Coromandel coast, and a ship taking that departure crossed the Indian Ocean and rounded the Cape before making St Helena. The 500 tons given for the Grantham places her among the larger Indiamen, and the protest names two London merchants as part owners, since Company ships were hired from private owners under charter parties rather than owned by the Company itself. |
200 | 192 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 24 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On Sunday the 22 the Wyndham arrived from Bombay with the following Supply viz Selling Price 27 Bags Rice at 2 Peculs 2 4 2 & Barrack 97 80 Paddy 2 12 2 27 15 Amarah 37 2 Arrack 1 Legg 78 1 Butt of 280 Gall at Rupt 20 & 48 Gall 115 2 67 4 Mares at 16 Rup each 64 Provisions for the Mares viz Currans 25 at 6 & Rupee 6 1 Grams 8 Carboys 1 1 7 Blue Bags 6 & groce 2 2 9 1/2 1 3 3 Carboys 6 Cwt 1 1 6 1/2 at 3 Rupt 12 2 43 Rice 20 Maunds at 2 20 24 32 3 43 Charges Merchandize 31 2 68 124 2 11 Rupees 439 3 58 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 31 May 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander absent being John Goodwin Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Capt Goodwin acquainted the Governour & Councill that George Ridgely Administered on Fryday that was largely in the Debt for more Goods as well appears by his Account signed by him to the Amount of Therefore desires he may be admitted Administrator as principal Creditor | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 24 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Alexander, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Wyndham arrived from Bombay on Sunday the 22nd with the following supply, the selling price set against each line. Invoice of the Wyndham, in rupees, annas and pies Rice, 27 bags of 9 parrahs at 1s 4d the parrah, 97 rupees 0 annas 80 pies Paddy, 32 bags of 15 parrahs at 6d the parrah, 37 rupees 2 annas Arrack, 2 leaguers 78 gallons and 1 butt of 280 gallons at 6s 4d the gallon, 115 rupees 2 annas 67 pies 4 mares at 16 rupees each, 64 rupees Provisions for the mares Cannons, 25 at 6 rupees the piece, 6 rupees 1 anna Gunnies, 8 for bags, £1 1s 7d Blue bags, 6 at 2 rupees the piece, 7 rupees 0 annas 9.5 pies Coolie hire, 1 rupee 4 annas Total, 1 rupee 15 annas 6.5 pies Total provisions, 12 rupees 2 annas 43 pies Rice, 20 maunds at 30, 24 rupees Sub-total, 32 rupees 3 annas 43 pies Charges merchandise, 81 rupees 2 annas 68 pies Total, 124 rupees 2 annas 11 pies Total, 439 rupees 3 annas 58 pies The council met at the castle on Tuesday 31 May 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. Captain Goodwin told the council that George Bridges had died on Friday and was largely in his debt, as appeared by the account signed by him. He asked to be admitted administrator as principal creditor. Interpretations The Wyndham's lading identifies Bombay as plainly as any heading could. Rice and paddy reckoned by the parrah, Goa arrack measured by the butt and no Bengal sugar anywhere on the invoice mark the western coast, where Bengal consignments came priced by the maund and carried Tresundee sugar, and Madras ladings were reckoned in pagodas by the marcal. Coolie hire and gunnies, the coarse jute sacks of the Indian trade, are the standard charges for getting bulk goods down to the boats. Four mares at 16 rupees apiece are the first live animals imported into the Company's stock in this record. The island's stud had risen from 15 to 19 head across the past year entirely by breeding, and horses were never killed and rarely sold, so a purchase of four breeding females at once marks a deliberate enlargement. They existed to carry the Governor and the councillors about a country where the one cart road had been swallowed into private plantations by 1731, and the accompanying feed had to be shipped with them since nothing aboard would keep four horses alive on a passage of that length. Applying to administer as principal creditor was the standard route where a man died owing more than his estate could meet. The office gave the administrator control of the goods and first sight of the accounts, so a creditor who obtained it stood far better placed than one waiting to prove a claim against a stranger's administration. Joshua Johnson had asked the same thing over the Powell estate on 14 October 1735, setting out demands of £475 6s 8d and arguing that the executors' own inventory fell short of them. The council's usual answer was to require a sworn inventory first, as it did when it appointed five appraisers to the Powell estate on 25 September 1735 after Richard Goodwin produced a paper covering less than a quarter of it. |
201 | 193 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7 June 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent being sick John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 3 instant the Defence arrived from Bombay with the following Supply viz Selling price 27 Bags Rice of 2 Peculs at 4 2 20 & Buck 97 80 Paddy 2 12 1/2 at 15 & Marah 37 2 Arrack 1 Legg 78 1 Butt of 280 Gallons at Rupees 20 & 48 Gall 116 2 67 4 Mares at 16 Rupees 16 each 64 Provisions for the Mares viz Currans 25 at 6 & Rupee 6 4 Grams 8 Carboys 1 1 7 Blue Bags 6 & yards 2 9 1/2 1 4 1 4 1/2 1 2 1 11 6 1/4 Europe Cwt at 3 Rupt & 12 2 43 Rice 20 Maunds at 2 20 & Maund 24 32 3 43 Charges Merchandize 84 2 67 127 12 Rupees 482 1 59 On Saturday last Capt Montgomery delivered the following Protest viz Ship Defence In the Lat of 33 45 South Widd Dist from the Island of the Cape which is 6 with a Small Dist to the East end of Cape Bona Esperance 5 45 West On the Tenth of May one thousand Seven hundred and thirty Seven, about four oClock in the afternoon Squally and violent Storm which sheltered us to hand into our Sails Running our Mizen which was Diagonally Aloft found the Head of the Sailor at the Mast down we struggled to work to allow four foot of the Sheet of the Sails, and the Mizen Staysails which was of the Best Alexander Duck hoisted upon the Mizen Stay, which we Maintain Fore our Ship with her Lee board gunnels Constantly under water for the space of about thirty houres without Intermission, & so occasioned our Ship to make so great deale of water thorough our Decks third fore & aft and between Decks & had for the same pork in and as Arctic Water Notwithstanding we kept our Hand and Chain Pumps a going all the time, the Wind for the most part out of the North West quarter which occasioned such a Contrary sea that their was no Possibility of Wearing Ship, if it had been | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 7 June 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Defence arrived from Bombay on the 3rd with the following supply, the selling price set against each line. Invoice of the Defence, in rupees, annas and pies Rice, 27 bags of 9 parrahs at 1s 3d the parrah, 97 rupees 0 annas 80 pies Paddy, 32 bags of 15 parrahs at 8d the parrah, 37 rupees 2 annas Arrack, 2 leaguers 78 gallons and 1 butt of 280 gallons at 6s 4d the gallon, 116 rupees 2 annas 67 pies 4 mares at 16 rupees each, 64 rupees Provisions for the mares Gunnies, 25 at 4 rupees the piece, 6 rupees 4 annas Drams, 2 carboys, £1 1s 7d Blue bags, 6 at 2 rupees the piece, 0 rupees 0 annas 9.5 pies Europe charges, 1 rupee 15 annas 6.5 pies Total, 1 rupee 12 annas 0 pies Total, 1 rupee 11 annas 6.5 pies Total provisions, 12 rupees 2 annas 43 pies Rice, 30 maunds at 3 rupees the maund, 24 rupees Sub-total, 42 rupees 3 annas 43 pies Charges merchandise, 84 rupees 0 annas 67 pies Total, 187 rupees 0 annas 12 pies Total, 482 rupees 1 anna 59 pies Captain Montgomery delivered the following protest on the Saturday. The ship Defence stood in latitude 33 degrees 45 minutes south, having steered south east through a heavy storm, and her course made 5 degrees 45 minutes west to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope in France. On 10 May 1737, about four in the afternoon, she met a violent storm which held until the following morning. She was driven over on her beam ends and lay diagonally, having lost the head of the tiller at the mainmast, and was obliged to cut away her lower yards. She lost her mainsail, and the mizzen staysail, which was of the best Holland duck, split upon the mizzen stay. She lay for four hours with her lee gunwale constantly under water, and continued for the space of about thirty hours without intermission. She strained so far as to make a great deal of water, throwing it over her decks fore and aft and between decks, and had for the spare pork in and 55 twelve wales. Notwithstanding, the ship had wind and water pumps going all the time. The wind for the most part came from the north west quarter, which occasioned such a great sea that there was no possibility of wearing the ship, and if it had been possible. Interpretations Both the Wyndham and the Defence carried four mares apiece at 16 rupees each with feed shipped alongside them, which places two separate consignments of breeding stock from Bombay within a fortnight. The Company's stud on the island had grown from 15 to 19 head across the previous twelvemonth entirely by breeding, and eight mares landed at once transforms it. Horses were never killed for the table and were sold only rarely, so the whole purpose was transport across ground where nothing moved on wheels, the cart road built by Governor Roberts having been absorbed into private plantations by 1731. Carboys were large glass vessels cased in wicker or straw for shipping spirits and corrosive liquids, and the drams entered here belong with the mares' provisions as part of the arrangements for keeping animals alive on a passage of several weeks. Shipping livestock required feed, water and someone to tend them, and the charge for all of it fell on the invoice before the beasts were landed. A ship on her beam ends lies over so far that her masts approach the horizontal and her lee gunwale, the upper edge of her side, goes under. Four hours in that state with a following thirty of continuous gale is close to the limit of survival, and the standard remedies are exactly those the master applied: cutting away the lower yards to shed weight and windage aloft, and pumping without pause. Wearing a ship means turning her before the wind to bring the other side to the sea, and a heavy cross sea made it impossible without broaching her. Two protests entered within a month, from the Grantham on 20 May 1737 and now the Defence, mark an unusually severe season in the southern ocean between the Cape and Madagascar. Both instruments served the same purpose, fixing before witnesses that any damage to the Company's cargo arose from weather rather than from any defect in the ship, so that the owners could resist a claim and recover on their insurance. Holland duck, named here as the material of the split staysail, was the heavy Dutch linen sailcloth reckoned the best available. |
202 | 194 | Possible to have hoisted any Sail, therefore was obliedged to lay & into Mercy of the Wind and Sea till pleased God it abated and while laying in this Condition, our Sea in Particular broke the deck as our Fore Yard and Sprung its foot and aft which was we thought must have Carried its down. The Fury of the gale Continued from the time above mentioned to between Ten and Eleven a Clock of the Eleventh Day at night at which time the Wind abated and the Sea begunt to fall We therefore the undernwritten Commandr and Officers of the said Ship Defence In the Name and behalfe of all and every one of the Owners of the said Ship Do Protest against all Seas or whatsoever Damages the Rights Honble United East Indies Company may have Sustained from the above mentioned Storms in their Loadings on board of the said Ship Dated the fourth day of June 1737 at St Helena in the Afternoon To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr &c Councill of St Helena J Montgomery Jos Sherwood Tho Janes Neil Cunnyngshame NB Notwithstanding the Ship made so much Water whilst the Storme Continued, he was always very tite and Continues so now, that even Pumpter not above once in a Week Upon view of the four Boys that came last from Bombay by the Defence the Govr observed that one of them wanted body appeared to be an Idiot & the sight who brought him Sayes he is so & therefore he proposed he should be sent being of no Service to the Company but the farther Consideration of this matter was defered till next Tuesday | She was unable to bear any sail, so she was obliged to lie under the strength of the wind and sea until it pleased God to abate. While lying in that condition she broke the cleats on her fore yard, and it was thought she must have carried it down. The force of the gale continued from the time above mentioned until between seven and eleven at night on the eleventh day, at which time the wind abated and the sea began to fall. The undersigned commander and officers of the Defence, in the name and on behalf of all and every the owners of the ship, protested against the seas and whatever damages the Honourable United East India Company might have sustained from the storm mentioned in the lading aboard her. Dated 4 June 1737 at six in the afternoon, and addressed to Governor Pyke and the council of St Helena. Signed by J. Montgomery, [...], George Jones and Neil Cunningham. A note was added that notwithstanding the ship made so much water, the horses aboard sustained no harm, having always been well tended, and continued so, and were not once put below deck. The council viewed the four boys brought from Bombay by the Defence. The Governor observed that one of them was crooked and appeared to be unfit for the service he had been sent for, and it was proposed that he be returned as of no use to the Company. Further consideration of the matter was deferred to the following Tuesday. Interpretations The note about the horses is not a piece of sentiment. Eight mares had come from Bombay within a fortnight at 16 rupees apiece with feed shipped alongside them, and a commander who landed dead livestock answered to the consignor for the loss. Recording that the animals were never struck below deck establishes the care taken, since horses confined in a hold during a knockdown are commonly injured or suffocated, and the statement belongs with the protest as a defence against any later claim. Rejecting a boy on sight for a physical defect treats him as a consignment rather than a person. The Company shipped young slaves between its settlements as it shipped any other stock, and the council had itself sent 8 men, 2 women, 3 boys and 7 girls to Bencoolen in February 1733 under orders from London, entering on the record that no blame could be imputed for sending no greater number. Value on the books turned on fitness for labour, and the muster ratings ran from very good down to good for nothing, a woman of 24 so rated being of no value at all. The establishment stood in real need of hands. John Durling's return of 27 February 1733 gave 180 in all, his memorial of 4 June 1734 showed the plantation gangs cut from 59 to 23 in two years with eleven men superannuated or disabled, and the advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six hired slaves at ninepence a day drew not a single tender. Four boys arriving from Bombay answer that shortage directly, which is why the one judged unfit was worth returning rather than keeping. Deferring the decision a week follows Governor Pyke's habitual method of putting a question to the ground or to a further view before settling it. He adjourned Isaac Durling's yam report on 10 April 1733 until every councillor had seen Sandy Bay, and required written opinions on the island's waters, on runaway slaves and on Colonel Gaultier's character rather than deciding alone. |
203 | 195 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 8 June 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander absent being John Goodwin Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for the Month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz GUNNERS Stores Expended in May 1737 Guns Fired, Shot, D Cannon, D Culvg, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder Danish Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 12 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Grantham arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 Walpole & Prince of Wales Sailed: Guns Fired 36, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 2, Falcons 34, Powder 46 French Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 7, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 7, Powder 7 Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 25 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Warmanston Arrived: Guns Fired 35, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 3, Minion 3, Falcons 31, Powder 39 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Fired to bring a French Ship to: Guns Fired 3, Shot 3, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 12 An Allarm for the said Ship: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 French Ship arrived: Guns Fired 11, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 9, Powder 16 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Duke of Lorrain Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 9, Powder 9 To Exercise the Guns: Guns Fired 2, Shot 2, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 28 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falcons 0, Powder 12 Haeslingfield arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falcons 8, Powder 18 To Exercise the Guns: Guns Fired 2, Shot 2, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 28 An Allarm: Guns Fired 18, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 1, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 25 Wyndham arrived: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 Warmanston Richmond & Haeslingfield Sailed: Guns Fired 7, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 3, Minion 1, Falcons 13, Powder 38 For the Funerall of Capt Anselme: Guns Fired 10, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 10, Powder 10 Grantham Duke of Lorrain & Wyndham Sailed: Guns Fired 36, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 2, Falcons 32, Powder 46 Lost at Ruperts: Guns Fired 10, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 0 Repairs of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Shot 0, D Cannon 0, D Culvg 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 233, Shot 13, D Cannon 4, D Culvg 1, Sakers 25, Minion 34, Falcons 196, Powder 451 Lead Shott 10 Rammer Heads 3 Spunge Heads 3 Spunge Staves 2 Sheep Skines 4 Parchment Skins 1 Handspikes 6 Locstocks 2 Bongo Barrells 2 Match 54 | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 8 June 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for the month past, and the council examined and approved each of them. Gunner's stores expended in May 1737 2 May, the Danish ship sailed: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder 2 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 2 May, the Grantham arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 5 May, the Walpole and Princess Wales sailed: 36 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 2 sakers, 2 minions, 32 falcons, 46 lb of powder 6 May, the French ship sailed: 7 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 7 falcons, 7 lb of powder 7 May, muster day: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 25 lb of powder 8 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 9 May, the Harrington arrived: 36 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 3 sakers, 2 minions, 31 falcons, 39 lb of powder 11 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 11 May, fired to bring a French ship to: 3 guns fired, 3 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 11 May, an alarm for the same ship: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 12 May, the French ship arrived: 11 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 1 saker, 1 minion, 9 falcons, 16 lb of powder 15 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 17 May, the Duke of Lorraine arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 17 May, to exercise the guns: 4 guns fired, 2 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 18 lb of powder 19 May, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 20 May, the Haslingfield arrived: 9 guns fired, 2 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 18 lb of powder 20 May, to exercise the guns: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder 22 May, an alarm: 18 guns fired, 0 shot, 1 demi-cannon, 1 demi-culverin, 1 saker, 15 minions, 0 falcons, 25 lb of powder 22 May, the Wyndham arrived: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder 28 May, the Normanton, Richmond and Haslingfield sailed: 7 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 3 sakers, 1 minion, 13 falcons, 38 lb of powder 28 May, for the funeral of Captain Anselm: 10 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 10 falcons, 10 lb of powder 30 May, the Grantham, Duke of Lorraine and Wyndham sailed: 36 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 3 sakers, 2 minions, 32 falcons, 46 lb of powder Lost at Rupert's: 10 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder Expense of the guards: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 demi-cannon, 0 demi-culverins, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 30 lb of powder Total: 233 guns fired, 4 shot, 1 demi-cannon, 1 demi-culverin, 25 sakers, 38 minions, 190 falcons, 451 lb of powder Lead shot, 10 lb Rammer heads, 3 Sponge staves, 3 Sponge heads, 2 Sheepskins, 4 Parchment skins, 1 Handspikes, 6 Linstocks, 6 Budge barrels, 6 Match, 54 lb Interpretations At 451 lb this is the heaviest month of powder in this run, and the whole of it went on ceremony and identification rather than on defence. Twelve vessels passed through the road, three separate departures drew 36 guns apiece, and every arrival was preceded by an alarm of four guns costing 12 lb, the lookouts being able to raise a sail but not to name her before she closed. The salutes were built almost entirely from falcons, 190 of them against a single demi-cannon, the smallest pieces being reserved for compliments to spare the store. Ten guns for Captain Anselm's funeral place a commander's burial between the eight fired for Ensign Draper on 10 March 1737 and the twenty for Francis Everest, late Governor of Bencoolen, in June 1736. Anselm had commanded the Derby when she called with the Cumberland on 10 January 1733 and was refused liberty to cut wood, the scarcity being such that the council spared him three chaldrons of coal instead. Dying at the island rather than at sea meant the full compliment could be paid. The alarm of 22 May stands apart from every other in the month. Four guns was the standing signal, but eighteen were fired that day including a demi-cannon, a demi-culverin, a saker and fifteen minions, at 25 lb of powder. That is the pattern of a general alarm calling in the inhabitants and their slaves rather than a routine sighting, and the Wyndham came in immediately afterwards without being saluted at all. Budge barrels and linstocks belong to the safe service of the guns rather than to their firing. A budge barrel was a small cask closed with a leather bag drawn shut at the neck for carrying made-up charges from the magazine, and a linstock the forked staff holding the slow match clear of the piece. Six of each in one month reflects the number of guns brought into use across twenty-three separate occasions, and 54 lb of match is more than double the ordinary charge. |
204 | 196 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of May 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t May: Bullocks 3, Cows 137, Heifers 22, Steers 32, Yearlings 150, Calves 99, Bulls 6, Totall 449, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 45, Fowles 176, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 6, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 3, Cows 137, Heifers 22, Steers 32, Yearlings 150, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 455, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 45, Fowles 176, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Sold to Ships in ditto: Bullocks 1, Cows 7, Heifers 12, Steers 15, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 35, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 130, Heifers 10, Steers 17, Yearlings 150, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 420, Ewes 46, Wethers 17, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 72, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 16, Boares 1, Totall 62, Turkeys 45, Fowles 176, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 3, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 6, Boares 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 10, Fowles 56, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 May 1737: Bullocks 2, Cows 130, Heifers 10, Steers 17, Yearlings 150, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 420, Ewes 46, Wethers 14, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 10, Boares 1, Totall 56, Turkeys 35, Fowles 120, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 19500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 13000 Totall Yams 32500 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for May 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for May 1737 Remaining 1 May 1737: bullocks 3, cows 137, heifers 22, steers 32, yearlings 150, calves 99, bulls 6, total neat cattle 449, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 45, fowls 176, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Increased in May: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 6, bulls 0, total neat cattle 6, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 3, cows 137, heifers 22, steers 32, yearlings 150, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 455, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 45, fowls 176, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Sold to ships in May: bullocks 1, cows 7, heifers 12, steers 15, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 35, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 2, cows 130, heifers 10, steers 17, yearlings 150, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 420, ewes 46, wethers 17, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 72, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 16, boars 1, total hogs 62, turkeys 45, fowls 176, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Killed in May: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 3, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 6, boars 0, total hogs 6, turkeys 10, fowls 56, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 May 1737: bullocks 2, cows 130, heifers 10, steers 17, yearlings 150, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 420, ewes 46, wethers 14, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 69, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 56, turkeys 35, fowls 120, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 19,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 13,000 lb Total yams, 32,500 lb Interpretations Thirty-five head sold in a single month is the heaviest disposal in more than a year, and the composition tells the story of a herd with nothing left to sell. Only one bullock went, since only three remained, and the demand fell instead on 15 steers, 12 heifers and 7 cows. Heifers were touched for the first time since January and the class has collapsed from 22 to 10, while the steers have gone from 32 to 17. Twelve vessels passed through the road during the month, three separate fleets sailing together, and the victualling had to come from somewhere. The cow class is now being drawn on for shipping rather than for the table, falling from 146 in November to 130. Breeding females were the last reserve, and taking seven of them in a month when only six calves were born marks the point at which the season's demand outran the herd's capacity to renew itself. The same exhaustion appeared in the spring of 1736 and was concealed only by the year-end reclassification of 30 September, which moved yearlings and calves up into the empty classes. The yam issue fell to 32,500 lb from 53,300 lb in April, with the establishment's share dropping from 32,800 lb to 13,000 lb. The winter planting season opens about May in the southern hemisphere, so the ground is going under seed and the remaining crop is being held back rather than issued freely. The plantations' own share held near steady at 19,500 lb, covering the hogs, the poultry and the seed set aside for the ground. Six pigs went to the table alongside three wethers, 56 fowls and 10 turkeys, the poultry yard having now fallen to 120 fowls from 506 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736. No hatch has been recorded since December, so a flock that carried the fort through the winter is close to spent, and the wethers stand at 14 against 46 breeding ewes carrying only five lambs between them. |
205 | 197 | EXPENCE of the Table in May 1737 viz 420 lb Beef 5 5 56 Fowles 4 4 10 Turkeys 2 10 3 Sheep 3 15 6 do 1 10 31 Days Greens 1 11 62 Bottles Milk 8 33 lb Butter 1 12 66 Galls Arrack 13 4 1 3 Sugar 2 6 6 4 2 Flour 5 12 6 28 lb Candy 1 15 1 lb Pepper 1 6 Bottles Florence Oyle 1 9 Galls Port 3 9 9 1/2 Galls Sherry 4 13 8 Bushells Salt 10 53 17 3 | Expense of the table in May 1737 520 lb of beef, £5 5s 0d 56 fowls, £4 4s 0d 10 turkeys, £2 10s 0d 3 sheep, £3 15s 0d 6 pigs, £1 10s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 1s 8d 33 lb of butter, £1 15s 0d 66 gallons of arrack, £13 4s 0d 1 lb 3 oz of sugar, £2 6s 6d 4 lb 2 oz of flour, £5 12s 6d 28 lb of sugar candy, £1 15s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 6 bottles of Florence oil, £1 0s 0d 9 gallons of port, £3 9s 9d 1.5 gallons of sherry, £4 13s 0d 2 bushels of salt, £0 10s 0d Total, £53 17s 3d Interpretations At £53 17s 3d this is the heaviest table account since the drought years, and every line points the same way. Twelve vessels passed through the road during May, three fleets sailing in company, and the fort entertained their commanders, supercargoes and passengers ashore throughout. The list of eaters taken on 30 September 1730 shows how the household swelled in shipping time, adding nine commanders, supercargoes, surgeons and passengers of note to a standing establishment of a dozen, with part of the boat's crew and the servants attending their masters besides. Beef at 520 lb is nearly double the figure of the previous three months and matches nothing in the stock account, since no cattle at all were entered as killed in May. The animals came instead out of the 35 head sold to shipping, the Company supplying beef to the commanders by charter party at 20s the hundredweight and drawing the fort's own consumption from the same slaughter. Port returned at 9 gallons after months in which sherry alone appeared, and the two wines together cost £8 2s 9d against £13 4s 0d for the arrack. Port had displaced sherry as the wine drunk in quantity from April 1731, when Governor Pyke took over from his predecessor, and the pattern in these accounts has been for both to fall away when the road stands empty and the cellar runs down between shipping. The provision of pigs and sheep alongside the poultry shows the yard being drawn on from every direction at once. Three sheep is the heaviest draw on a flock that carries only 14 wethers, and six pigs came from a herd of hogs standing at 62. Milk, butter and daily greens continue as steady charges, the dairy holding up on a cow class of 130 and the Plantation House garden producing through the whole autumn. |
206 | 198 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28 June 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Alexander absent John Goodwin being Sick Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved On the 16 the Shaftsbury & on the 18 the Harrington arrived forth the following Supply viz Selling price INVOICE of Shaftsbury viz Arrack 2 half Leggs 4 gr no 55 Gall 77 Rice 28 Bags of 2 3 Tare to 15 2 2 61 12 & pecul 118 4 3 Sugar 10 Bags of 3 32 wt Tare to 14 2 9 & 5 4 & pecul 115 8 Paddy 20 Bags of 45 wt Tare to 20 4 & pecul 13 13 9 Candles 1 Chest of 8 wt Tare to 1 4 9 & 34 8 & pecul 67 Shirts & Neckcloths viz 1 Bale of Shirts 200 & 70 & 100 140 Neckcloths 100 at 22 & & Corge 62 8 202 8 Desolves 1 Baile of 65 & 2 do 8 & Corge 200 0 Charges Merchandize 33 12 Rupees 771 1 INVOICE of Harrington viz Arrack 2 half Leggs of 27 7 63 8 65 wt & pecul 110 Sugar 10 Bags of 32 Tare to 13 2 3 & 5 4 & pecul 115 8 Rice 22 Bags of 24 Tare to 15 93 1 9 2 1 62 & pecul 83 13 Sundries Chests of 4 & per do 2 2 9 & 4 & pecul 136 Charges Merchandize 28 8 6 473 13 6 Francis Aunge Joseph Bates & John Scott being this day Convicted before Us for selling Punch without Lycense they were each fined Twenty Shillings to the Company & strictly Charged not to do so any more | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 21 June 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Shaftsbury arrived on the 16th and the Harrington on the 18th, with the following supplies, the selling price set against each line. Invoice of the Shaftsbury, in rupees, annas and pies Arrack, 2 half leaguers, 55 gallons at 6s 4d the gallon, 77 rupees Rice, 22 bags at 3 rupees 8 annas the bag, 148 rupees 4 annas 3 pies Sugar, 10 bags of 22 hundredweight at 6d the pound, 115 rupees 8 annas Paddy, 20 bags of 45 maunds, 13 rupees 13 annas 9 pies Candles, 1 chest of 2 hundredweight, 67 rupees Shirts and stockings 1 bale of 200 shirts at 2s 6d each, 140 rupees 100 pairs of stockings at 2s 6d the pair, 62 rupees 8 annas Total shirts and stockings, 202 rupees 8 annas Doosetees, 1 bale of 60 pieces at 12s 6d the piece, 200 rupees Charges merchandise, 33 rupees 12 annas Total, 771 rupees 1 anna Invoice of the Harrington, in rupees, annas and pies Arrack, 2 half leaguers at 6s 4d the gallon, 110 rupees Sugar, 10 bags at 6d the pound, 115 rupees 8 annas Rice, 22 bags at 14s 9d the hundredweight, 83 rupees 13 annas Candles, 1 chest at 2s the pound, 136 rupees Charges merchandise, 28 rupees 8 annas 6 pies Total, 473 rupees 13 annas 6 pies Francis Funge, Joseph Bates and John Scott were brought before the council that day for selling punch without a licence. Each was fined 20s to the Company and strictly charged not to do so again. Interpretations Two hundred shirts and a bale of doosetees in one consignment mark the approach of the annual clothing issue. Made-up shirts and stockings came ready from Bengal, while doosetees were plain coarse cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces and cut up on the island into the clothing given out to the Company's slaves each September, the charge appearing in the storekeeper's accounts every autumn. The island had run short in the winter of 1735, when a moth-eaten parcel of silk drugget twenty years in store had to be issued to the household servants. Licensing the retail of strong liquor had been a source of Company revenue since Governor Byfield introduced it on 18 April 1727, charging 40s a year on the model of other factories and setting a forfeiture of £10 0s 0d for a first unlicensed sale and £10 0s 0d more for a second. The 20s imposed here is well below that scale, and it is half what Bates himself paid on 29 October 1734 when he was fined 20s for abuse and 20s for unlicensed selling, with warning of the full £5 0s 0d penalty. Bates has now been before the council on this charge three times. His unlicensed drinking house was cleared by the marshal on 9 April 1736 with a sentry set at his door, the council recording that he had never been allowed a licence and had caused more disorder than all the other inhabitants together, and he was publicly whipped that August over the false pagodas. Francis Funge the armourer sat on the jury at the court of judicature on 15 March 1737, and his own slave girl Betty was raped in November 1735. Punch was the ordinary drink of the punch houses that filled during the shipping season, made up from arrack, sugar, water and citrus, and every ingredient except the water passed through the storekeeper's hands. Twelve vessels had lain in the road during May, so the trade was at its height, and the jury of 2 July 1733 had presented the unlicensed houses of James Valley as places that drew disorderly company and received goods stolen by slaves. |
207 | 199 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 26 June 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent being sick John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved James Powell attended upon the Complaint of Richard Tinsley who alleged that he coud not read & that Powell had endeavoured to trick or Cheat him by perswading him to Signe an Agreement in writing which he did not understand & clear to his Prejudice & the Powell being asked what Agreement that was Answered that he & Tinsley had Agreed that for the Sum of forty Pounds Tinsley had engaged to Indemnify the Parish & pay his Husband Child & thirteen years to commence from the 19 instant, but they having Accommodated this Affair soon after Tinsley withdrew his Complaint the said Powell was dismist John Long was Summoned for abusing Mr Jonathan Doveton Severall times in a very gross & impudent manner for which Mr Doveton has often forgiven him, but at last he said Long had the Impudence to apply to the Governour for a Summons upon Occasion that Mr Doveton had abused him & he being very drunk in Consultation he was Ordered to sit in the Stocks At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5 July 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Alexander absent being sick John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Capt Goodwin having on the 31 of May last desired that he might be admitted to the Administration of the Effects of George Knight deceased as principall Creditor he owing him £10 16 15 he having proved this day upon Oath that the said Debt was justly due to him, Letters of Administration were Ordered to be prepared accordingly The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for June last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follows viz | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 28 June 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. James Powell attended on the complaint of Richard Insley, who alleged that Powell had contrived to trick or cheat him by persuading him to sign an agreement in writing which he did not understand, and which was to his prejudice. Powell, asked what the agreement was, answered that Insley had agreed to the sum of £40 0s 0d and had undertaken to indemnify the parish, and that his 15 years were to commence from the 17th of that month. The parties having settled the affair between themselves, and Insley having withdrawn his complaint, Powell was dismissed. John Long was summoned for abusing Jonathan Doveton several times in a very gross and impudent manner, for which Doveton had forgiven him. He had at last had the impudence to apply to the Governor for a summons against Doveton over the matter, and being very drunk at the consultation, he was ordered to sit in the stocks. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 5 July 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. John Alexander was absent through illness. The previous consultation was read and approved. Captain Goodwin had asked on 31 May that he be admitted to administer the estate of George Bridges, deceased, as principal creditor. He proved on oath that day that the debt of £116 0s 0d was justly due to him, and letters of administration were ordered prepared accordingly. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for June, and the council examined and approved each of them. Interpretations Insley's complaint identifies the exact hazard of a written agreement on an island where most inhabitants signed with a mark. The register in the secretary's office was the whole basis of title, and the fee table published on 20 May 1731 set the secretary's charge for drawing a bill of sale or a deed at £1 1s 0d with registration, precisely because a properly drawn instrument settled what oral bargains could not. A man who signed something he could not read had no remedy except to ask the council to look behind the paper. The council let the parties settle rather than determining the dispute, which follows its habitual preference. Governor Pyke divided the Marsh estate by agreement on 11 July 1732 after warning the claimants against contesting at law, split the Aldis and Burnham claim once both sides agreed to be bound, and pressed Captain White and his chief mate into an accommodation on 16 March 1737. Withdrawal of a complaint ended the matter without any finding either way. Long's whole career before this council has run on the same pattern for a decade. He was reprimanded for beating John Martin Vandeston in July 1728, bound over for abusing James Ryder in August 1729, set in the stocks for drunkenness on 19 February 1734, whipped for riot at the Red Hill on 31 May 1736 and imprisoned that July for refusing to work. Mr Crisp had held on 8 June 1736 that hanging was the only cure, and the council resolved on 21 September 1736 that nothing but the gallows would break him at last. Applying to the Governor for a summons against the man he had abused is the boldest turn yet. Administration granted to a principal creditor gave Captain Goodwin control of the goods and first sight of the accounts, a far stronger position than proving a claim against a stranger's administration. The council required proof on oath before granting it, and its practice since the Powell estate of September 1735 had been to insist on a sworn inventory taken by appraisers rather than accept a paper produced by the party in possession. |
208 | 200 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of June 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t June: Bullocks 2, Cows 130, Heifers 10, Steers 17, Yearlings 150, Calves 105, Bulls 6, Totall 420, Ewes 46, Wethers 14, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 10, Boars 1, Totall 56, Turkeys 35, Fowles 120, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 6, Mares 13, Totall 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 4, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 8, Boars 0, Totall 8, Turkeys 8, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 2, Mares 0, Totall 2 Bullocks 2, Cows 130, Heifers 10, Steers 17, Yearlings 150, Calves 109, Bulls 6, Totall 424, Ewes 46, Wethers 14, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 18, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 43, Fowles 120, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Sold to Ships: Bullocks 0, Cows 3, Heifers 9, Steers 8, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 20, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 127, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 109, Bulls 6, Totall 404, Ewes 46, Wethers 14, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 18, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 43, Fowles 120, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 1, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 126, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 108, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 14, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoates 36, Pigs 18, Boars 1, Totall 64, Turkeys 43, Fowles 120, Ducks 16, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 6, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 8, Sows 0, Shoates 8, Pigs 10, Boars 0, Totall 18, Turkeys 14, Fowles 27, Ducks 3, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30 June 1737: Bullocks 2, Cows 126, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 108, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 8, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 61, Sows 9, Shoates 28, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 29, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16700 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 32500 Totall Yams 49200 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for June 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for June 1737 Remaining 1 June 1737: bullocks 2, cows 130, heifers 10, steers 17, yearlings 150, calves 105, bulls 6, total neat cattle 420, ewes 46, wethers 14, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 69, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 56, turkeys 35, fowls 120, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 6, mares 13, total horses and mares 19 Increased in June: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 4, bulls 0, total neat cattle 4, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 8, boars 0, total hogs 8, turkeys 8, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 2, mares 0, total horses and mares 2 Standing after the increase: bullocks 2, cows 130, heifers 10, steers 17, yearlings 150, calves 109, bulls 6, total neat cattle 424, ewes 46, wethers 14, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 69, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 18, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 43, fowls 120, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Sold to ships in June: bullocks 0, cows 3, heifers 9, steers 8, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 20, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 2, cows 127, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 109, bulls 6, total neat cattle 404, ewes 46, wethers 14, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 69, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 18, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 43, fowls 120, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Died in June: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 1, bulls 0, total neat cattle 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the deaths: bullocks 2, cows 126, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 108, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 14, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 69, sows 9, shoats 36, pigs 18, boars 1, total hogs 64, turkeys 43, fowls 120, ducks 16, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Killed in June: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 6, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 8, sows 0, shoats 8, pigs 10, boars 0, total hogs 18, turkeys 14, fowls 27, ducks 3, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 June 1737: bullocks 2, cows 126, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 108, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 8, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 61, sows 9, shoats 28, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 29, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,700 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 32,500 lb Total yams, 49,200 lb Interpretations The heifer class has been taken down to a single animal, falling from 22 in March to 10 in May and now to 1 after nine went to the shipping. Steers stand at 9 against 40 in February and bullocks at 2 against 18 last autumn. Every class the Company keeps for sale is now exhausted, and the demand of the past three months has been met by breaking into the breeding stock, the cows having gone from 146 to 126 across the same period. The herd survives on 150 yearlings and 108 calves, which cannot be sold until the year-end reclassification of 30 September moves them up. Two horses appear as an increase rather than a purchase, which is how the eight mares landed from Bombay in May and June enter the account. The Wyndham brought four at 16 rupees apiece on 22 May and the Defence four more on 3 June, and the stud has risen from 19 to 21 head. Horses were never killed and rarely sold, so the class grows only by breeding or by importation of this kind. The poultry yard and the flock were both cut hard for the table. Twenty-seven fowls, 14 turkeys and 3 ducks went the same way as 6 wethers, 2 lambs, 8 shoats and 10 pigs, and the hogs have fallen from 64 to 46 in a single month. Fowls now stand at 93 against 506 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736, and the wethers at 8 against 21. Nothing has hatched since December and the lambs have gone from five to three, so the smaller stock is being consumed faster than it can renew itself. The yam issue rose to 49,200 lb with 32,500 lb going to the establishment, reversing May's split. The winter planting season is under way from about May, and the plantations' own share fell to 16,700 lb as seed went into the ground rather than into the accounts. The Company's slaves are being fed generously through the months when the heaviest labour falls on the plantations. |
209 | 201 | EXPENCE of the Table in June 1737 viz 307 lb Beef 3 16 9 12 Turkeys 3 10 37 Fowles 2 8 6 5 Ducks 4 6 10 Pigs 2 10 2 Lambs 1 6 Sheep 7 10 78 Galls Arrack 14 12 1 2 Sugar 2 16 4 2 Flour 6 12 6 17 lb Candy 1 6 6 1 lb Pepper 2 12 Galls Sherry 4 12 18 Galls Port 5 16 6 9 Bottles Oyle 1 10 30 lb Butter 1 10 30 Days Greens 1 10 62 Bottles Milk 1 63 12 GUNNERS Stores Expended in June 1737 viz Guns Fired, Shott, Sakers, Minion, Falkons, Powder An Allarum at Bankes's: Guns Fired 8, Shott 8, Sakers 8, Minion 0, Falkons 0, Powder 8 An Allarum: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 4, Minion 4, Falkons 0, Powder 12 Defence arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falkons 8, Powder 11 Muster Day: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falkons 0, Powder 25 Defence Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falkons 8, Powder 11 An Allarum: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falkons 0, Powder 12 Shaftsbury arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falkons 8, Powder 11 An Allarum: Guns Fired 4, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Falkons 0, Powder 12 Harrington arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 1, Falkons 8, Powder 11 Repairs of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, Shott 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falkons 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 47, Shott 8, Sakers 8, Minion 15, Falkons 24, Powder 143 Lead Shott 8 lb Bells 1 Wire 2 lb Copper Ladles 3 Kettles 3 Spunge Staves 6 Cartridge paper 3 Quire Sheep Skines 4 Rammer heads 6 Truckes 2 Tompions 38 Match 18 lb | Expense of the table in June 1737 307 lb of beef, £3 16s 9d 12 turkeys, £3 10s 0d 27 fowls, £2 8s 6d 3 ducks, £0 4s 6d 10 pigs, £2 10s 0d 2 lambs, £1 0s 0d 6 sheep, £7 10s 0d 78 gallons of arrack, £14 12s 0d 1 lb 2 oz of sugar, £2 16s 0d 4 lb 8 oz of flour, £6 12s 6d 17 lb of sugar candy, £1 6s 6d 1 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 12 gallons of sherry, £4 12s 0d 18 gallons of port, £5 16s 0d 9 bottles of oil, £1 10s 0d 30 lb of butter, £1 10s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d Total, £63 11s 0d Gunner's stores expended in June 1737 3 June, an alarm at Banks's: 3 guns fired, 3 shot, 3 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 8 lb of powder 10 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 4 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 10 June, the Defence arrived: 6 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 11 June, muster day: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 26 lb of powder 16 June, the Defence sailed: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 18 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 18 June, the Shaftsbury arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder 18 June, an alarm: 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 18 June, the Harrington arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 1 minion, 8 falcons, 11 lb of powder Expense of the guards: 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 30 lb of powder Total: 48 guns fired, 3 shot, 7 sakers, 16 minions, 32 falcons, 143 lb of powder Lead shot, 8 lb Bitts, 1 Wire, 5 lb Copper ladles, 3 Bitts, 3 Sponge staves, 6 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Sheepskins, 4 Rammer heads, 6 Trucks, 2 Tampions, 38 Match, 18 lb Interpretations At £63 11s 0d the table account is the heaviest in this whole run, and the drink alone accounts for £25 0s 0d of it. Port and sherry together came to 30 gallons against 20 gallons in the two previous months combined, which is the reliable sign of commanders and supercargoes being entertained ashore. Six sheep, ten pigs and two lambs went the same way, and the stock account confirms every figure. Thirty-eight tampions is a startling number for a single month. A tampion is the plug driven into a gun's muzzle to keep out damp and spray, and the island's pieces stood loaded at all times under the standing order of 11 June 1734, so a charge left in the bore had to be sealed against the sea air. Replacing that many at once points to a general overhaul of the guns on the line rather than to any firing, and the trucks entered beside them are the small solid wheels of a gun carriage. Wire and copper ladles belong to the same work. A ladle carried a measured charge down the bore and was made of copper because that metal throws no spark against iron, and wire served for the priming and for clearing the touch holes. The annual inventory of 30 September 1736 recorded 282 sponge staves and 41 rammer heads consumed across the year through the exercising of the guns, and the six of each entered here fall within that pattern. Powder at 143 lb is a third of May's figure, the great fleets having sailed on 28 and 30 May. Three ships called in June and each drew the ordinary nine guns, with an alarm of four guns preceding every arrival. The three live rounds fired at Banks's on 3 June were sakers discharged at a vessel that had not identified herself, the standing practice since the council required every commander to warp in under the castle's guns on any alarm. |
210 | 202 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 19 July 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that the following Children have been Born this Month viz Mary of Maria Mary of Betty Chas of Margaret Jos of Betty Jane And that Cesar & Coy about three weeks ad Dyed last Week At a Consultation held on Tuesday 2 August 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that the whole part of the last Summer & since there was fallen so little Rain that the Ponds & in severall parts of the Island are greatly fallen down & failed & Ponds what the usuall Seasons have produced so that in all the East parts of the Country there has been no food for the Cattle & in the Month of July now past there have Dyed fifty four head of Black Cattle & we reckon in four in Cows & so Rains do not come on that is well cause a great Dearth among them, the names of the Inhabi- people who have lost their Beasts as many are as follows & most of their losses have been on the East side of the Country & among the poorest of the People who are least able to bear such the loss But we hope God will avert this threatning Danger & mercifully send Us Seasonable Showers to his Honour & our Comfort Isaac Moss is dead Nathan Mackye 6 Betty Moffatt 3 Thos Nash 2 John French 3 James Draper 3 20 Joseph Charles 1 George Prowitte 4 Robert Mason 2 John Aunge 3 William Merchant 3 John Scott 2 35 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 19 July 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported the birth of the following children in the previous week. Children born in the week Mary, daughter of Maria Mary, daughter of Betty Chad, son of Margaret Ann, daughter of Betty Jones He added that Caesar, a boy of about three weeks old, died the previous week. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 2 August 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that the latter part of the previous summer and the whole of this one had proved very dry. Some parts of the island had been hit particularly hard, and the rain had failed altogether where the usual seasons had before produced it, so that in every one of the eastern parts of the country there had been no feed for the cattle. In the months of July alone the inhabitants had lost 54 head of black cattle, and there was no prospect yet of rain coming, which would certainly cause a great drought among them. The names of those who had lost their beasts already are as follows, and most of their losses have fallen on the east side of the country and among the poorest of the people, who are least able to bear the loss. The Governor asked that God would remove the threatening danger and mercifully send the seasonable showers, to his honour and their comfort. Cattle lost by the inhabitants Isaac Moore, 4 head Matthew Mudge, 6 head Bridget Mason, 3 head Isaac Mair, 2 head John French, 2 head James Draper, 3 head Sub-total, 20 head Joseph Coales, 1 head George Thwaites, 4 head Robert Rivers, 2 head John Knipe, 3 head William Burnham, 3 head John Scott, 2 head Sub-total, 15 head Interpretations Recording slave births by the mother's name alone follows the practice of these consultations throughout, and it reflects the legal position rather than any ignorance of the household. A slave child took its condition from its mother, the rule the council stated on 30 September 1735 when it answered the executors of John Worrall from the law of the King's colonies in the West Indies, so the mother's name was the entry that mattered for the books. Each child was valued into the Company's stock and its value revised annually as the children grew older. Fifty-four head lost in one month falls entirely on private owners, and the Governor's note that the heaviest losses struck the poorest people on the east side is the point of the whole entry. A planter holding two or three beasts lost his dairy, his draught and his only saleable asset at once, whereas the Company's own herd of 402 could absorb a bad season. The council had faced the same asymmetry through the drought of 1734, when Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736 showed that a slave hired out at ninepence a day left his owner £1 7s 6d out of pocket every year. The Company's own accounts have carried no sign of this yet. Only two beasts died across the whole of June and none in the four months before that, and the herd's collapse has come from selling 35 head in May and 20 in June rather than from any want of feed. Sandy Bay carried the largest of the seven plantations and the Company's ground lay chiefly in the centre and south, while the east of the island is the drier side, so the two experiences of the same season diverge sharply. A dry southern winter is the more serious failure, since the planting season runs from about May to September and the rains of those months set up the whole year's yams and pasture. The council had reported to three homeward commanders on 19 December 1734 that the rains had failed three seasons together, that ground formerly yielding potatoes in great plenty would give only very small quantities, and that there were no beans for the same reason. |
211 | 203 | Joseph Whaley 1 Peter Adair 3 Samuel Doveton 2 Same do 2 John Gurling 1 Elizabeth Gurling 2 Geo: Bagge 1 Sarah Bradley 2 Honble Company 5 Totall 54 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 9 August 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Robert Gurling was presented & read praying a Lease for about two Acres of Land lying under Fish Gut Waterfall in Order to make a Plantation ORDERED that the said Land be viewed & if it be found that it may be Without Prejudice to the Company or the Neighbourhood that a Lease be Granted to him accordingly The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Accounts for the Month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz EXPENCE of the Table in July 1737 viz 1 Sheep 1 5 3 Turkeys 15 22 Fowles 1 2 60 Galls Arrack 12 1 2 1 lb Bread 1 15 10 1/2 1 3/4 1 lb Sherry 11 7 1/4 1 2 18 Sugar 2 6 6 3 2 Flour 5 8 6 6 Bottles Florence Oyle 19 6 1 lb Pepper 2 28 lb Butter 1 8 31 Days Greens 1 11 8 62 Bottles Milk 32 1 8 | Cattle lost by the inhabitants, continued Joseph Whaley, 1 head Sutton Marsh, 3 head Samuel Doveton, 2 head Sam Isaac, 2 head John Sterling, 1 head Elizabeth Sterling, 2 head George Bagge, 1 head Isaac Bradley, 3 head The Honourable Company, 5 head Total, 54 head The council met at the castle on Tuesday 9 August 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Robert Girling petitioned for a lease of about 2 acres of land lying under Fish Gut waterfall, in order to make a plantation there. The council directed the ground viewed, and if it appeared that a grant would do no harm to the Company or to the neighbourhood he was to have his lease. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for the month past, and the council examined and approved each of them. Expense of the table in July 1737 1 sheep, £1 5s 0d 2 turkeys, £0 15s 0d 22 fowls, £1 2s 0d 60 gallons of arrack, £12 0s 0d 1 lb 1 oz of sugar, £1 15s 10.5d 1 lb 8 oz of flour, £11 7s 4d 1 lb 8 oz of sherry, £2 6s 0d 1 lb 18 oz of sugar candy, £5 8s 6d 2 lb 2 oz of pepper, £0 19s 6d 6 bottles of Florence oil, £1 2s 0d 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 8d 28 lb of butter, £1 11s 8d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d Total, £30 1s 8d Interpretations The Company lost 5 head against 49 belonging to the inhabitants, which sets the scale of the drought precisely. Its own herd of 402 could carry that loss without notice, while a man holding two or three beasts lost everything he had in a single month. The list runs to eighteen private owners, most of them holding one, two or three head, and the Governor's note that the heaviest losses fell on the east side and among the poorest people identifies exactly who bore it. A lease under a waterfall is a request for water rather than for land. Two acres would support very little on their own, but ground with a reliable supply could be planted and could water stock through a dry season, and the council had granted Archibald Tansley an acre below Joshua Johnson's plantation on 9 March 1737 for the same reason. The condition attached follows the resolution of 1 August 1732 that no fresh parcel be granted until the ground had been viewed and found harmless to the Company and the neighbourhood. At £30 1s 8d the table account has fallen by half from June's £63 11s 0d, and the drop measures an empty road rather than any economy. No beef whatever appears, one sheep and 22 fowls carried the whole of the meat, and the drink bill fell from £25 0s 0d to £12 0s 0d with port vanishing entirely. The three ships that came in during June had sailed, and the fort was feeding its standing household alone. Milk, butter and daily greens held steady through the whole month, which is worth noting against the drought reported the previous week. The Company's plantations lie chiefly in the centre and south of the island where the rain still fell, and the Plantation House garden has produced consistently since the calving of the winter restored the dairy. |
212 | 204 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of July 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t July 1737: Bullocks 2, Cows 126, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 108, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 8, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 61, Sows 9, Shoates 28, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 29, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 4, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Bullocks 2, Cows 126, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 406, Ewes 46, Wethers 8, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 61, Sows 9, Shoates 28, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 29, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 1, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 3, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 126, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 406, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 60, Sows 9, Shoates 27, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 26, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 3, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 2, Bulls 0, Totall 5, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 July 1737: Bullocks 2, Cows 123, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 110, Bulls 6, Totall 401, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 60, Sows 9, Shoates 27, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 26, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 18000 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 32300 Totall Yams 50300 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for July 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for July 1737 Remaining 1 July 1737: bullocks 2, cows 126, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 108, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 8, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 61, sows 9, shoats 28, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 29, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Increased in July: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 4, bulls 0, total neat cattle 4, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, total horses and mares 1 Standing after the increase: bullocks 2, cows 126, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 406, ewes 46, wethers 8, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 61, sows 9, shoats 28, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 29, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Killed in July: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 1, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 1, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 1, turkeys 3, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 2, cows 126, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 406, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 60, sows 9, shoats 27, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 45, turkeys 26, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Died in July: bullocks 0, cows 3, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 2, bulls 0, total neat cattle 5, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 31 July 1737: bullocks 2, cows 123, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 110, bulls 6, total neat cattle 401, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 60, sows 9, shoats 27, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 45, turkeys 26, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Yams expended at the several plantations, 18,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 32,300 lb Total yams, 50,300 lb Interpretations The five cattle entered as dead are the Company's share of the losses the Governor reported to the council on 2 August 1737, when he set the month's total across the whole island at 54 head. Three cows and two calves against 49 beasts lost by eighteen private owners shows how differently a herd of 401 and a holding of two or three animals stood in the same season. Nothing had died in the Company's stock between January and May, so this is the first sign of the drought reaching its ground. No beast was sold to shipping for the first time since December, the road having emptied after the Shaftsbury and Harrington called in June. That pause is the only reason the herd is not falling faster, since 35 head went in May and 20 in June and the classes kept for sale are down to two bullocks, one heifer and nine steers. A mare foaled, carrying the stud to 22 head, the largest figure anywhere in this record. Eight mares came from Bombay in the Wyndham and the Defence during May and June at 16 rupees apiece, and the class now grows by breeding on top of that purchase. Horses were the only means of moving about a country with no usable cart road, and they were never killed and rarely sold. Only 3 turkeys, a wether and a shoat went to the table across the whole month, matching the light table account of £30 1s 8d for July. The poultry yard has stopped falling at 93 fowls after collapsing from 506 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736, and the yam issue held at 50,300 lb with 32,300 lb going to the establishment, the winter planting being in full course. |
213 | 205 | GUNNERS Stores Expended in July 1737 viz Guns Fired, Minion, Falcons, Powder Shaftsbury & Harrington Sailed: Guns Fired 33, Minion 3, Falcons 30, Powder 39 At the Funerall of Capt Alexander: Guns Fired 20, Minion 1, Falcons 19, Powder 22 Repairs of the Guards & Muster day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 42 Guns Fired 53, Minion 4, Falcons 49, Powder 103 Lead Shott 5 lb Parchment Skins 6 Sheep Skins 2 Spunge Staves 1 Handspikes 6 Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Match 25 lb At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16 August 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved William Burnham this day desired leave to assign one Acre of Land lying in Sandey Valley which he holds by Lease from the Honble Company to John Hanson for the remainder of the Term yet to come in the said Lease GRANTED | Gunner's stores expended in July 1737 3 July, the Shaftsbury and Harrington sailed: 33 guns fired, 3 minions, 30 falcons, 39 lb of powder 16 July, at the funeral of Captain Adamson: 20 guns fired, 1 minion, 19 falcons, 22 lb of powder Expense of the guards and muster day: 0 guns fired, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 42 lb of powder Total: 53 guns fired, 4 minions, 49 falcons, 103 lb of powder Lead shot, 5 lb Parchment skins, 6 Sheepskins, 2 Sponge staves, 1 Handspikes, 6 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 25 lb The council met at the castle on Tuesday 16 August 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. William Burnham asked leave to assign one acre of land in Sandy Bay Valley, which he held by lease from the Company, to John Hanson for the remainder of the term still to run. The council granted it. Interpretations Twenty guns at Captain Adamson's funeral is the heaviest compliment paid to any burial in this record and matches the salute fired for Francis Everest, late Governor of Bencoolen, in June 1736. Captain Anselm drew ten on 28 May 1737 and Ensign Draper eight on 10 March, so the scale plainly turned on the standing of the man rather than on any fixed rule for rank. As at Anselm's burial, dying at the island rather than at sea meant the full honours could be paid ashore. The whole month's firing went on ceremony. Fifty-three guns were discharged across two occasions and not a single alarm was raised, the road having emptied when the Shaftsbury and Harrington sailed on 3 July. Salutes were built from falcons with a few minions to head them, the smallest classes on the island being reserved for compliments so that the heavier pieces and their powder could be spared, and 42 lb went to the guards and the muster as the one fixed charge. Parchment skins and sheepskins are the raw materials of gun service rather than finished stores. Parchment held made-up cartridges, and sheepskin was wrapped around a sponge head to hold the water that damped the bore between firings, the annual inventory of 30 September 1736 recording 300 horse hides and a stock of sheepskins standing for that purpose. Six parchment skins against four quires of cartridge paper suggests a batch of charges being made up while the anchorage stood quiet. Assigning a lease required the council's leave because the Company remained the landlord and needed to know who owed the rent. The reforms of 26 July and 1 August 1732 tightened the practice, requiring the surveyors to certify that ground was duly fenced and planted with a thriving proportion of wood before any lease was renewed, though an assignment of the remaining term passed the existing covenants to the new holder rather than creating a fresh grant. |
214 | 206 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 30 August 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe & Alexander The last Consultation was read & Approved Complaint being this day made that the Horse of James Powell which is a Iron Rake & so very vicious that he breaks through or Jumps over all Bounds & Fences & runs after Riggs or Mares back & attempts to Swing & one Mich Powles as if they were mares & kicks & beats other Horses & on Saturday last killed a Horse belonging to Capt Goodwin of the Value of Twenty five Pounds & the said Powell refusing to Gell his said Horse he was Ordered to pay Capt Goodwin £12 10 being half the Value of the Horse killed & in case any other Accident should happen he was told that he must then pay the full Value of the Damage & that his Horse should be also Shott to prevent farther Mischeif one of the Companies Mares being likewise killed by him Martin Parkinson this day desired by Letter to lye at Ruperts & that some Shoes might be allowed him, Leave to lye at Ruperts was granted him accordingly but as for Shoes if he has none of his own he must go without he not deserving any | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 30 August 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin, Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Harris. The previous consultation was read and approved. Complaint was made that day about a horse belonging to James Powell. The animal was a stone horse and so vicious that it broke through or jumped over every wall and fence, ran after people, reared on them and attempted to savage them. It kicked and struck at other horses and had killed one belonging to Captain Goodwin the previous Saturday, worth £25 0s 0d. Powell refused to sell the horse, and was directed to pay Captain Goodwin £12 10s 0d, being half the value of the animal killed. He was told that if any further accident happened he would be made to pay the full value of the damage, and that his horse was to be shot to prevent further mischief, one of the Company's mares having been savaged by him. Martin Parkinson wrote to the Governor that day asking to be employed at Rupert's and that some shoes be allowed him. Leave to work at Rupert's was granted accordingly, but as for the shoes, having none of his own he must go without and deserve some. Interpretations A stone horse is an ungelded stallion, and the whole difficulty lay in that. An entire male will break out after mares and fight other horses, which is exactly the behaviour complained of, and the ordinary remedy was castration, the same operation the stock accounts record as cutting when applied to the Company's cattle. Powell's refusal to sell left the council with a dangerous animal it could not reach by any lesser means, and the mare it had already savaged belonged to a stud recently enlarged by eight mares landed from Bombay in the Wyndham and the Defence. Making Powell pay half the value rather than the whole reflects an old rule about damage done by an animal. English practice distinguished between an owner who knew his beast to be dangerous and one who did not, the first bearing the full loss and the second a lesser share, and the council's warning that any further accident would carry the full value puts Powell on notice for the future. The £25 0s 0d set on Captain Goodwin's horse is the same figure the council used for a grown slave man speaking English in Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736, which places a good horse among the most valuable movable property on the island. James Powell has now appeared before the council over damage done by his animals three times. He and his mother were accused on 26 November 1734 of setting dogs on John Bagley's cattle, one of the best milch cows being killed and another wounded, and were ordered to have the dogs hanged, the marshal being sent on 10 December to shoot one when they failed to comply. His own promise of 22 January 1736 concerned the whipping of his slaves, and he was fined 40s that August for the same offence. Parkinson had been sentenced on 10 May 1737 to work in irons at the fortifications until his ship returned, for stealing half a chest of tea worth £200 0s 0d from the George and afterwards breaking open a chest in the marshal's room. A man under sentence had no claim on the Company's stores, so refusing him shoes until he had earned them keeps the whole of his labour on the footing of punishment rather than employment. The works at Rupert's had been manned by sentence rather than by hire since the advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender. |
215 | 207 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6 Sepr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for August last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follows viz EXPENCE of the Table in August 1737 viz 2 Turkeys 10 1 Ditto 1 6 55 lb Pork 1 5 45 Arrack Galls 9 2 1 2 10 Sugar 6 1 3/4 Gallons Sherry 9 8 1 3/4 do Port 11 7 1/2 6 Bottles Florence Oyle 1 1 1 3/4 Bread 12 6 1 3 Candy 1 3 3 1 lb Pepper 2 31 lb Butter 1 11 31 Days Greens 1 11 62 Bottles Milk 1 8 28 18 8 1/2 GUNNERS Stores Expended in August 1737 viz Repairs of the Guards & Muster day 50 lb Lead Shott 5 lb Cartridge paper 15 Quire Handspikes 3 Match 12 lb | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 6 September 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for August, and the council examined and approved each of them. Expense of the table in August 1737 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 1 duck, £0 1s 6d 55 lb of pork, £1 5s 0d 75 gallons of arrack, £17 2s 6d 1 lb 10 oz of sugar, £1 12s 6d 17.5 gallons of sherry, £0 9s 8d 1.5 gallons of port, £0 11s 7.5d 6 bottles of Florence oil, £1 1s 0d 1 lb 8 oz of flour, £0 12s 6d 1 lb 3 oz of sugar candy, £1 3s 3d 1 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 31 lb of butter, £1 11s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 1s 8d Total, £28 18s 8.5d Gunner's stores expended in August 1737 Expense of the guards and muster day, 50 lb of powder Lead shot, 5 lb Cartridge paper, 15 quires Handspikes, 5 Match, 12 lb Interpretations Not a single gun was fired for a salute or an alarm across the whole month, the road having stood empty since the Shaftsbury and Harrington sailed on 3 July. The 50 lb of powder charged to the guards and the muster is the one fixed expense in these accounts, and the same silence fell in October 1736 when the anchorage last emptied for a season. Fifteen quires of cartridge paper against no firing points to a stock of charges being made up while the gunner had no other call on his time. The table shows a household reduced to its own resources. Beef is absent for the second month running, no sheep were killed and the whole of the meat came to 55 lb of pork with two turkeys and a duck. That matches the state of the herd exactly, which stood at two bullocks, one heifer and nine steers at the close of July after the heavy victualling of May and June, and a flock carrying only seven wethers. Arrack at 75 gallons cost £17 2s 6d, well over half the entire account and more than fourteen times the value of the meat. The proportion holds throughout these accounts and reflects both the fort's own consumption and the customary allowances issued to the guards and tradesmen, but it stands out sharply in a month when almost nothing else was bought. Milk, butter and daily greens continued unbroken through the whole month despite the drought the Governor reported to the council on 2 August 1737, when 54 head of cattle had been lost across the island in July. The Company's plantations lie chiefly in the centre and south where rain still fell, while the losses fell on the eastern side, and the Plantation House garden has produced steadily since the calving of the winter restored the dairy. |
216 | 208 | Remg 1t August: Bullocks 2, Cows 123, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 110, Bulls 6, Totall 401, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 60, Sows 9, Shoates 27, Pigs 8, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 26, Fowles 93, Ducks 13, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 6, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 4, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 20, Fowles 37, Ducks 6, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 123, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 116, Bulls 6, Totall 407, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 27, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 49, Turkeys 46, Fowles 130, Ducks 19, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 0, Ducks 1, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 2, Cows 123, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 116, Bulls 6, Totall 407, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 26, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 5, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Remg 31t August 1737: Bullocks 2, Cows 122, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 26, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 14500 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for August 1737. The heading row was left blank on this leaf, and the column identities have been carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for August 1737 Remaining 1 August 1737: bullocks 2, cows 123, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 110, bulls 6, total neat cattle 401, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 60, sows 9, shoats 27, pigs 8, boars 1, total hogs 45, turkeys 26, fowls 93, ducks 13, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Increased in August: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 6, bulls 0, total neat cattle 6, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 2, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 4, boars 0, total hogs 4, turkeys 20, fowls 37, ducks 6, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 2, cows 123, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 116, bulls 6, total neat cattle 407, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 27, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 49, turkeys 46, fowls 130, ducks 19, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Killed in August: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 1, turkeys 2, fowls 0, ducks 1, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 2, cows 123, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 116, bulls 6, total neat cattle 407, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 26, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 48, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Died in August: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 4, bulls 0, total neat cattle 5, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, total horses and mares 1 Remaining 31 August 1737: bullocks 2, cows 122, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 26, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 48, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Yams expended at the several plantations, 14,500 lb Interpretations Four calves died in the month against one the previous July, and a cow with them. Losses have now fallen on the Company's stock for two months running after four months in which nothing died at all, and calves are the first to go when pasture fails, having neither the reserves of a grown beast nor the pick of what grass remains. The Governor had told the council on 2 August 1737 that the rains had failed and that no feed remained in the eastern parts, and the herd is beginning to register what the inhabitants recorded in July. The mare lost is the first horse to die in this run, and it came from a stud that had just reached its largest recorded figure. Eight mares landed from Bombay in the Wyndham and the Defence during May and June at 16 rupees apiece, and a foal followed in July, so the class stood at 22 before this loss. Poultry increased for the first time since December, 37 fowls, 20 turkeys and 6 ducks being hatched together. The yard had collapsed from 506 fowls at the year-end muster of 30 September 1736 to 93 by the end of June, carrying the fort's table almost alone through a season with little beef. The spring hatch has begun as the island's winter closes, and two lambs and four pigs came with it. The yam issue at the plantations fell to 14,500 lb, the lowest figure in this run and less than half the 32,300 lb delivered to the establishment in July. The planting season runs through the southern winter to about September, so seed is going into the ground rather than into the accounts, and the same swing appeared in May when the plantations' share dropped as the new crop was set. |
217 | 209 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13 Sepr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved The following Examinations were lately taken before the Govr viz The Examination of Topia a Slave Man belonging to James Powell Planter taken before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the Island St Helena this 12 day of Sepr 1737 This Examinant being Runaway from his said Master demanded the reason why he did so saith that after he had finished his Mornings Work & had fetched water and dryed his masters Dinner his Master as soon as he had dined without saying any thing to bid him to the Garden & swept them & whipt him Severely with fishing Lines which was very much wealed & cut but as he had and in armes & the moment he had done whipping of him his Master beat him & broke his head very much with his Cane & almost broke his arms with his Elbows he gave him both which are much bruised & swelled & this Examinant saith that he hath been alwayes willing and ready to do such business as his Master ordered & notwithstanding he said master with whom he has lived but two months being said of the Ship Wyndham has whipt him Severely twice before this time without any Reasonable cause given by this Complainant who saith that his Master is so much ashamed that he is afraid to return any more to him that he should be again unjustly & cruelly Punished & in Testimony of the truth this Examinant hath made his mark & saith that his Master also cut him in the face with a knife & made a great gash therein which is now large & visible The Mark Topia This Examinant further saith that after his Master had done whipping & Caning of him he to the arms again him who he had from his Elbow to his wrist, & the fellow being shewed, all these upon the back, the bruises upon the Armes & the great knife & the marks of the dogs Teeth appeared very plain Mr French this day attended in Consultation & the Examination of the Slave Topia was read to them but he denied the Accusation & said it was all false & that he never whipt him nor cut him with a knife nor doe he says upon him & therefore upon his being earnest desire & promising to the fellow after the future he had told that if he could persuade the fellow to return home he might have him but if he fellow was not willing to go home again he should not be forced St Helena | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 13 September 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The following examinations had lately been taken before the Governor. Topia, a slave belonging to James Powell, was examined at St Helena on 12 September 1737. He stated that he had run from his master, and gave his reason. On the Saturday, having finished his morning's work and set his tools aside, he had gone to fetch his master's dinner. His master, as soon as he saw him, and without saying anything to him, struck him with a stick and knocked him to the ground. He got up and was struck again with the fishing lines, which hurt him very much. He put his arms up at the moment to keep the blows off, and his master seized his head very much and almost broke his arms with the blows he gave him, both of which were much bruised. He added in his examination that he had always been willing and ready to do such business as his master ordered. He had lived with him only two months since the Wyndham sailed, and had been severely beaten twice in that time without any reasonable cause given by him. He complained that his master was so cruel to him that he was afraid to return to him any more, lest he should be again unjustly and cruelly punished. In testimony of the truth he made his mark, and added that his master had also cut him in the face with a knife and made a great gash in it, which is true and visible. He stated further that after his master had beaten him he came to strike him again with the same knife, and drew it from his elbow to his wrist, the fellow being severely wounded upon the back. He wrote upon the arms and the great knife, and the marks of the dogs' teeth appeared very plain. Powell attended the consultation that day. The examination of the slave Topia was read to him and he denied the accusation, saying it was all false, that he had never whipped him nor cut him with a knife, and that he was hardly ever near him. He therefore promised that in future he would take care that he would provide for the fellow, and to return home. He might have him if the fellow was not willing to go home again, and he should not be forced. Interpretations The examination is worthless as evidence against Powell and everyone in the room knew it. Slave testimony was inadmissible against a free defendant, which is why every proceeding against him has ended in a promise rather than a penalty, and the wounds on the man's arms and face were the only proof the council could actually use. He gave a written undertaking on 22 January 1736 not to whip his slaves but to correct with his hand alone and bring any great offender to the Governor, and a second on 13 August 1736 after his slave woman Moll was whipped twelve days before her delivery and again on the day of it, for which he was fined 40s. Three of his slaves complained within five months of 1735, and the accounts they gave were far worse than this. Bacchus deposed on 10 September to whippings of a hundred lashes with a four-strand cord, to a dog set on him while he was held by a chain and to being hung from a beam by an iron collar; Lawrence to being burned on the hip with a hot gridiron and the burn dressed with candle wax; Stellen to three whippings within weeks of her master's release from prison. The marks of dogs' teeth recorded here answer directly to Bacchus's account. Topia had been with him only two months, having come off the Wyndham when she sailed at the end of May 1737. A newly purchased man had no household standing and no former owner to appeal to, which distinguishes his position from that of Bacchus, whose old master Captain Alexander sent messengers twice on his behalf and whose whole former household petitioned for him without effect. The council's remedy is the one it fell back on wherever it could not convict: leaving the man where he was until his owner chose otherwise, with the threat of removal held in reserve. It had reached Thomas Clough on 16 April 1734 through his liquor licence and his liberty to buy more slaves, compelling him to sell the ill-used Orange the same day, and Powell had escaped that sanction because he sold nothing and needed no licence. |
218 | 210 | St Helena ss Dulphy a Slave belonging to Widdow Greentree Aged about fifty Years being Runaway, his Mistress was asked the reason thereof and sayeth that he hath so much hard Usage that he cannot bear it longer he sayeth he hath not runaway before this time for a great many Years but he is so often beaten by his Mistress & kept without Cloaths & is so much pinched in his Victuals that he cannot live thus he sayes he is pained in his bones with the beating & alledged so constant Labour early & late & desires no more than food & Clothing & is contented to be beaten when he does a fault but not beaten work hard Being asked if the other Slaves of that Family long been he sayes they have been said so bad as he but they who are younger can bear it better than he can now he is grown old but sayes that some who are younger cannot bear it neither for Sarah a Girle of about Ten Yeares old was kept chained up to a great work & naked all but a Rag about her middle she being so confined died with the hard Usage, and Martha the Girles Mother said not how so far the Child so badly used resolved to Runaway & did hide her self in the Bogs behind the House as he believes because about a month after as he was Quarrelling with a Boy in a great day Quarrelling about some flesh, so the flesh coming from it & this Examinant Dulphy went to see what the Boy had got from the Bog & found it to be a Carcass of some dead body & looking nearely to it he saw by the foot which he knew that it was the body of Martha & upon Search he did not know how long he had been dead but sayeth that the flesh was all eaten off the bones his body & the thighes but the bones being together & the flesh was not eaten of the part upon the buttocks & told the boys who said he did see who & told this Examinant, you may go too & I dont care if the boys or dogs eat you too, but a day or two after Dulphy asked his Mistress if Martha's Sheath was to be find she said she did not care he must bury it & so he did & he and I wonder a another Marie & Martha another Wench of that name a Slave in the same house dug a hole in the ground where they found the body & put it therein all the said Servants said Every Slaves are our Mistress is a very cruell wicked Woman who is so hard to her Servants that when they are Sick she will give them nothing but turne them out to work & so this without Martha is dead & the boys & dogs have eaten her & Dulphy further sayes that he had a wish & he had a good mind to go to the Governour & tell him of all this & Wimble said that is the best thing you can do & so we come to give this Account for he cannot live with such a bad Mistress Taken before me this 13 day September 1737 Isa: Pyke Governour The Mark Dulphy | Duffey, a slave belonging to the widow Greentree and aged about fifty, was examined at St Helena. He had run from his mistress, and gave hard usage as the reason. He stated that he could bear it no longer. He had not run away before this time for a great many years, but he was so often beaten by his mistress and kept so short of clothes and so much pinched in his victuals that he could not live there any longer. His joints were strained and his bones ached with the beating, and he was obliged to constant labour early and late. He desired no more than food and clothing, and was content to be beaten when he was at fault, but not to be kept without and worked hard. Asked about the other slaves of that family, he said they had been used as badly as he had, but that those who are younger can bear it better than he can now that he has grown old. He said that some who are younger cannot bear it either. Sarah, a girl of about ten years old, was kept chained up to a great work, was naked all but a rag about her middle, and being so confined died with the hard usage. Martha, the girl who did not run, saw the child so badly used and resolved to run away, and hid herself in the ridge behind the house, as he believes, because about a month after he was going to the [...] and saw a hog in a great dry quarry about some flesh, and on the flesh coming from it he went to see what the dog had got from the hog. He found it to be a carcass of some dead body, and standing nearly so it was seen by the foot which he knew, that it was the body of Martha. He knew how or where or how long it had been dead, but said that the flesh was all eaten off the bones, the body and the thighs, but the bones being together and the flesh was not eaten off the part upon the ground. He told his mistress, who said she did not care, and told this examinant that they may go too and it does not care if the hogs or dogs eat you too. About a day or two afterwards Duffey and his mistress and Martha Marsh went to the place. She said she did not care what became of it, and ordered him to send in under another slave, and another French girl whose name is Mary in the same house dug a hole in the ground where they found the body and threw all the flesh in. He stated further that their mistress is a very cruel and hard woman, who is so hard on her servants that when they are sick she will give them nothing but turns them out to work, and that without medicine and food. The hogs and dogs have eaten her, and Duffey said further that he had wished to have made a good errand to go to the Governor and to tell him of all this. He humbly stated that it is the best thing he could do, and so he came to give this account, for he cannot live with such a bad mistress. His examination was taken before Governor Pyke on 13 September 1737, and he signed it with his mark. Interpretations The Greentree household had come before the council over exactly this treatment four years earlier. Martha, a slave woman of the same widow, was taken at the Company's cow pound on 20 November 1733 and described daily beatings with a stick, a firebrand or a pair of tongs, one arm so damaged that she could not use her right hand, and being told each time to go and complain at court if she liked. She ran again on 18 December, having been beaten with a large stick and sent to Sandy Bay to fetch a whip. A girl called Sarah of the same house was examined on 8 January 1734 and described shackles on both legs, being stripped naked, her hands tied to the leg chains and a beating she believed lasted two hours. Both names recur here, and both are now dead. The council had stated its rule on 18 December 1733, that slaves driven away by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault, and it applied that rule to this household twice. Martha was spared whip and collar and set to the highways at her own offer, and the widow was charged the recovery fee; Sarah's chains were struck off and she was withheld until her mistress should promise the Governor to be kinder. Her son John Greentree gave a written promise on 13 November 1733 to treat Martha kindly, which failed within five weeks. Nothing beyond promises was ever available, since the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant and the council could not convict on it. Concealing the body carries a legal weight the beatings do not. An unexplained death required notice to the Governor, and this record shows every slave death reported and entered in the journal so that the animal could be struck off the books at its value. Burying a body found in a quarry, unreported and after an interval long enough for the flesh to go, removed the only opportunity to establish how the girl died. Nothing in the account could support a prosecution. A slave's word carried no weight against a free defendant, and the two other witnesses named are themselves slaves of the same house. The examination's value lay in going home in the packet, since the council could record what it could not punish, and it had used the same route against Colonel Gaultier in December 1734 and against Joseph Bates over the false pagodas in August 1736. |
219 | 211 | The Examination of Dulphy a Man Slave belonging to the Widow Greentree taken on the 13 instant being this day read to her & the said Widdow the same was examined & saith that he is very impudent false Rove & saith that the said Dulphy having been longer absent from his Work in the Plantation than she thought reasonable she chid him for his Negligence upon which he growled very much & often rejected the Wrath Dam it & upon this he said to him do you did you are talking to a Black Wench & put him a-line in the Yard, & then he grew much more impudent saying God damn your blood & then she being much provoked at this Insolence took up a Shovel & with the sharp it struck him upon the Shoulder & then he told God damn your Soul & Horses to Hell & then Run away & she has not seen him since That as for what upon the Ten Yeares old Wench she saith that the said Wench was not her Slave, he belonged to her Ann Dawson Griffith, & the said Griffith being sick or their accommodation desired to be brought to her house & this Wench came with her said Master and Mistress, her Master and after saying this Wench has come since attended her Mistress & that she the said Mrs Greentree had nothing to do with her nor did ever punish her, & what she Run away for she cannot tell, nor does she know how she came used & when she brought up she her Sickness in elderly she wanted spoken to Dulphy who said believed to convey the something Chastity but at the same time told him he might go & bury her & to the Death of the Yate she saith that she said of Distemper & which she she is unable & was not occasioned by any Blows or cruell Usage As to the feeding of the Slaves & Clothing of them she saith that she does as well by them as she can having a Large family of Children & Grand-they never went naked & they are Cloathed & would not force them out of doors & Consideration for their maintaining & how alwayes been now so Cloth them so as to keep them warmed & dry & shelter from the Inclemency of the Weather & more she is not able to do As to hard beating her Slaves or Ordering them to be punished she saith that unless their faults are great & they have grown unruly she has been forced to do so at times without which it would be impossible to keep them in Awe, & in Testimony of the Truth she hath hereunto set her hand this 15 day of Sepr 1737 Mrs Greentree promising to be Merciful & kind to the said Dulphy if not beat him, the said fellow was Ordered to be restored to her Taken before me this 15 of Sepr 1737 Isa: Pyke Elizabeth Greentree | The examination of Duffey was put to Elizabeth Greentree, and she was asked whether the account was true. She replied that it was not, and that the man is an impudent fellow. She said that Duffey had been long absent from his work in the plantation and that she had reproved him for his negligence, on which he grew very much offended and answered her, telling her upon it that he said to him that she would give him nothing. He was then talking to a black wench and continued in the yard, and he grew much more insolent, saying God damn her blood, and then she very much provoked at this behaviour took up a stick and with the sharp of it struck him upon the shoulder. He then declared God damn your soul and horses to hell, and then ran away, and she has not seen him since. Asked what happened to the two servants who died, she said that the black wench was not her slave. She belonged to her daughter Griffith, and the daughter being sick for want of accommodation desired to be brought to her house, and the wench came with her master and mistress. The master was one of the family who had come and attended his mistress, and that she said Mrs Greentree had nothing to do with her, nor was it any concern of hers, and that she ran away and she cannot tell nor does she know how she came, and it was the burying of her, so she believes, and she never spoke to Duffey, who she believes knew of the something she carried, but at the same time told him she said she would go and bury her. As to the death of the girl, she said that she died of distemper, of which she was made known and not occasioned by any harm or cruel usage. As to the feeding of her slaves and clothing them, she said that she never used any of them so as none, having a large family of children to provide for, and they never went out of the house until they lay dressed and would not force them out of doors on any occasion for their own wandering. She never gave more or none to hold them so as to keep them warm and dry and hinder them from the inclemency of the weather, and more she is not able to do. As to the beating of her slaves or ordering them to be punished, she said that unless their faults are great, Duffey have grown unruly. She has been forced to do so at times without which it would be impossible to keep them in order, and in testimony of the truth she has hereunto set her hand this 13 September 1737. Signed Elizabeth Greentree. The council found that Mrs Greentree promised to be less severe and kind to Duffey. If not, the fellow was to be restored to her. Taken before Governor Pyke on 13 September 1737. Interpretations The council obtained a promise and nothing else, which is the same outcome recorded against this household four years earlier. John Greentree gave a written undertaking to the Governor on 13 November 1733 to treat the slave woman Martha kindly, and it failed within five weeks when she ran a second time after being beaten with a large stick. The reason the council never went further is the same throughout this record: the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant, so the whole of Duffey's account, and the account of every witness he could name, was worthless as proof. Attributing the wench to her daughter Griffith rather than to herself shifts the responsibility for the death onto a household that no longer exists. Daniel Griffith had married Mary Greentree on 4 January 1731 and complained at the sessions of 2 July 1733 that he had been refused an inventory and his wife's portion since the marriage, and the estate of James Greentree had been valued at £1,255 7s 9d gross with six slaves at £86 0s 0d among the assets. Ownership of a slave was a matter of record in an inventory, so the point could have been tested and was not. Her answer on clothing turns on what the island's law actually required. An owner had to feed and clothe his slaves, and it was on that footing that Company slave girls were apprenticed out under bonds of £16 0s 0d each in April 1727, the master binding himself to provide meat, drink, washing, lodging and decent apparel. The council had heard Bacchus complain in September 1735 that he had no clothing to keep warm, and Duffey's demand was for nothing more than food and covering. Restoring the man to his mistress if she failed to improve is the reverse of what the rule of 18 December 1733 provided. That rule held that slaves driven away by their owners' cruelty ought not to be punished if guilty of no other fault, and it was applied to this very household when Martha was set to the highways at her own offer and the widow charged the recovery fee. Here the threat runs the other way, and the man's protection depends on his mistress's word. |
220 | 212 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 20 Sepr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT John Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of John Draper was presented & read praying leave to assign four Acres of Ebony Wood Land lying in Sandy Bay & appertaining to the Lands of John Duffountaine & James Draper to Mr Crispe for the remainder of the Term yet to come in the said Lease GRANTED & Mr Crispe is accepted Tenant accordingly At a Consultation held on Tuesday 27 Sepr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The last Will & Testament of Capt Alexander deceased was this day presented to be proved, but there being Two of the Executors of the deceased none of which were mentioned the handwriting of the Mr Richard Blany was deferred till Tuesday next at which time they were Ordered to be Summoned to Second & know whether they know any objections to make thereto, but in the mean time the Wid: desired leave to see Severall Sorts of Goods & there was given them to see them accordingly Isham Wrangham & Alce Browne the Executors named presented a Writt to the last Will & Testament of Roderick Mills late Chief Mate of the Ship George deceased namely the Inventory or goods which was accordingly done by the Order of the Company James the said Estate & he Bagley also delivered an Inventory of the Effects of the deceased & desired one of them upon Oath that the said Inventory produced was a true, Account of all such Effects of the deceased as came to their Knowledge or Possession & Mr Francis Wrangham & John Bagley the Appraisers of the Goods mentioned in the said Inventory being Sworn declared they had Valued & Appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & Judgment, & the said Will & Inventory are as follow viz Whereas I Richard Mills late of the City of London Mariner late Chief Mate of the Ship George find my self in a very | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 20 September 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Bradley petitioned for leave to assign four acres of cabbage tree land lying in Sandy Bay, adjoining the land of John Defountaine and Isaac Draper, to Mr Crisp for the remainder of the term still to run. Leave was granted and Mr Crisp was accepted as tenant. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 27 September 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The will and testament of Captain Alexander, deceased, was presented that day for probate. Two of the four witnesses were dead and one was absent from the island, so the matter was deferred until the following Tuesday. In the meantime the executors were summoned to attend, so that if anyone had any objection to make it might be heard, and in the meantime the council gave them leave to take several sorts of goods and have a viewer to them, so that they might be secured accordingly. Arthur Coleson, on behalf of the executors, presented a bond to the last will and testament of Richard Mills, late chief mate of the ship George, deceased, naming the sums due to him. An inventory was accordingly drawn by the master of the Kingfisher. The executors delivered to the council an inventory of the effects of the deceased and asked that each of them upon oath state that the inventory produced was a true, correct and full account of all the effects of the deceased as came to their knowledge or possession. Francis Wrangham and John Bagley, the appraisers of the goods mentioned in the inventory, being sworn, declared they had valued and appraised the same according to the best of their skill and judgement, and the will and inventory were as follows. The last will and testament of Richard Mills, late of the city of London, mariner, late chief mate of the ship George. Interpretations Two witnesses dead and a third off the island exposes the weakness of probate on a small settlement. A will disposing of land required attestation by three or four credible witnesses under the Statute of Frauds of 1677, and proof depended on the surviving witnesses swearing to the signature. The council had met the same difficulty when William Seale senior's will was proved on 3 August 1736 on the oaths of Isaac Wood and Richard Beale, the third witness Solomon Durling having died, and Samuel Jephry's death had left John Hodgkinson's will similarly short in September 1735. Captain John Alexander had been second of council since before 1726, present at almost every consultation across eleven years, and his death removes the longest institutional memory on the island. He reported on the neglect of deed registration in the Durling title enquiry of 16 November 1730 precisely because his own long tenure made him the council's witness to earlier practice. The council has sat as three men for most of this year with him absent through illness, and the consultation of 30 August 1737 records John Harris attending in his place. Sending appraisers to swear to a valuation had become the council's standard answer to any estate of substance since the Powell affair. Richard Goodwin produced a paper covering less than a quarter of Mary Powell's estate in September 1735, on which five sworn commissioners were appointed and returned £5,136 17s 5.25d against his £405 15s 7d. The council settled its practice from two printed authorities, Swinburne on wills and The Orphans Legacy, having no lawyer, no ecclesiastical court and no judge trained in the civil law. Richard Mills had come before the council on 16 March 1737 complaining that Captain White had broken him from his office and shut him out of the steerage, and every officer of the George swore against him. He was pressed into a written submission and the captain determined to discharge him as unsafe to carry aboard, so he died on the island with the wages of the whole voyage forfeited, Company pay falling due only on safe return to England. |
221 | 213 | very low & weak Condition & although I have already made my last Will & Testament which I have left in the Custody & Behalf of my Friends in England yet having Severall Goods & Merchandize & Debts due to me from Severall of the Inhabitants of the Island St Helena which I now am & being willing to Secure the same for the benefit of my Wife & Family, Do therefore by this present which I do herewith & desire shall be deemed & taken as part of my said last Will & Testament, Nominate Constitute & Appoint Mr Joshua Johnson & John Brown of the said Island Planters to be Trustees or Overseers of all such Goods & Merchandize Debts owing unto me on such Sale of Effects as I shall die Possessed of at this Place of which I desire a true & exact Inventory may be taken by my Trustees & appraised as soon after my decease as conveniently may be & I also desire my said Trustees to do & dispose at publick Outcry, so the best Orders for ready money all such Goods & Effects as I shall die Possessed of at this Island & that they will remit the proceed thereof together with such other Sums of money which shall be then belonging to me to such of my Friends in England as by advice of mouth or otherwise shall serve & appoint In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal at St Helena this 15 day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred & thirty Seven Signed Sealed & Declared as a Codicil to the last Will & Testament of the Testator Richard Mills in the Presence of Frances Aunge John Bagley Rich: Mills We declare that the person mentioned in the last line but three was his Wife he having took care of the so Jos Johnson John Brown Inventory of Sundry Goods & Money belonging to Richard Mills deceased taken by Isham Wrangham & John Bagley viz To 17 Pagodas at 9 or 26 4 Ducats 17 11 1/2 Spanish money at 3 & Dollar 5 10 6 English money 3 10 6 Rupees at 2 6 at 3 6 4 Fanams 5 6 Dutch money 79 8 9 1/2 Gold Watch 1 14 1 Large Silver Spoon 6 & Tea Spoons & Twe & Tongs 1 4 1 Silver Hilt 6 1 pr Shoe Buckles & 1 pr knee Buckles 7 6 1 Small Punchbowle 4 1 pr Grindstone & Bodkins 4 4 1 pr Flowered Silk 10 1 China Painters & Instruments 10 1 pr Silver Watch Diamond 16 10 12 3 China Silk Handkerchiefs at 7 6 | Richard Mills, being in very low and weak condition, set out that although he had already made a will and testament, which he had left in the custody and keeping of his friends in England, he had since acquired several goods and merchandise and debts due to him from various inhabitants of the island of St Helena. Knowing and being willing to secure the same for the benefit of his wife in London, and mistrusting by this parish which he believed would be defrauded, he named a codicil as part of his last will and testament, appointing Constable Cheyne, Mr Joshua Johnson and John Brown of the island, planters, to be trustees or overseers of all such goods and merchandise, debts owing to him or of like effects as should be found at that place. He asked that a true and exact inventory be taken by his trustees and appraised as soon after his death as convenient, and that his trustees be at liberty to dispose of them at public auction in the best order for ready money, at such rates and prices as should be judged by the trustees, and that they were to remit the proceeds to England together with such other sums of money as should be due or belonging to him, to such of his friends in England as he might name, or otherwise as he should direct or appoint by his codicil. He set his hand and seal at St Helena on 15 September 1737. The will was signed, sealed and declared as the last will and testament of Richard Mills in the presence of Francis Funge and John Bagley. They declared that the person mentioned in the last line was his wife, and each of them signed. Signed Richard Mills. Witnessed by John Johnson and John Brown. Inventory of sundry goods and money belonging to Richard Mills, deceased, taken by Francis Wrangham and John Bagley, 12 September 1737 19 pagodas at 9s each, £8 11s 0d Spanish money at 5s the dollar, £17 1s 1.5d English money, £5 10s 0d Rupees at 2s 6d each, £3 6s 1d Fanams, £3 6s 0d Dutch money, £3 6s 0d Total money, £79 8s 9.5d Gold watch, £14 0s 0d 1 large silver spoon and 6 teaspoons and tongs, £1 6s 0d 1 silver hilt, £6 0s 0d 1 pair of shoe buckles and 1 pair of knee buckles, £1 7s 6d 1 small camera, £0 15s 0d 1 pair of drawers and a padusoy, £4 0s 0d 1 flowered silk, £1 0s 0d 1 China country cane wrought, £0 10s 0d 1 old French tabby dictionary, £0 6s 0d 3 China silk handkerchiefs at 7s 6d, £10 12s 0d Interpretations Mills had good reason to fear his estate would be lost. He died on an island five weeks from anywhere, holding money in five currencies and goods bought on his own account, with a wife in London who could neither prove a claim nor pursue one. Naming three resident trustees to gather, appraise, sell and remit was the only mechanism available, and it answers the difficulty the council had met from the other direction with the Mesa estate, where the heirs at Manila and Tenerife could be reached only through the Company in London. The money is the most striking part of the inventory. Pagodas from the Coromandel ports at 9s, Spanish dollars at 5s, rupees at 2s 6d, fanams from the same southern coast, Dutch coin and English sterling all lay in one chest, which is what a voyage through Madras, Bengal and the Cape produced in the pocket of an officer who traded on his own account. Fanams were the small gold or silver coins of southern India, many to the pagoda, and the mixture explains why the appraisers converted every line into sterling before totalling. Private trade was the real business of a Company officer. Wages were modest and fell due only on safe return to England, so a mate made his money from the tonnage allowance he was permitted to fill with goods on his own account, and the lists registered at the island on 8 May 1736 show Captain Raymond's cloth alone at 4,688 rupees against a whole island supply of 686 rupees. Mills had been broken from his office by Captain White in March and discharged, so the goods and the debts owing to him on the island were all that remained of his voyage. Padusoy was a heavy corded silk of considerable cost, and the flowered silk, the China handkerchiefs and the wrought cane belong to the same class of eastern goods that officers carried home for sale rather than for use. The identical range appears in the inventory of Francis Everest, late Governor of Bencoolen, taken in June 1736, which carried a blue silk China banyan, a flowered silk morning gown and lengths of padusoy. |
222 | 214 | Brought over 1 case Ivory handle Knives & forks 1 3 Penknifes 1 6 13 do Scizars 9 2 Cases at 2 Dozen 9 13 Razors & Cases at 5 each 5 5 2 Razors at 5 at 13 2 1 16 76 Penknives at 3 each 30 do do at 16 3 1/2 23 do 3/6 at 16 3 1/2 1 Buckhandle Penknife 1 6 1 3 4 1/2 29 do Snuff Buttons at 6 & doz 1 1 6 9 doz Silvered Buttons at 2 & doz 1 1 2 1/2 2 doz Mohair Buttons 1 1 6 3 63 Boxed Sword 3 8 4 Small parcels of Bead & Sundry Sorts 3 16 8 1/2 8 Small Looking Glasses 3 6 6 Ivory Combs 2 6 8 Fine Combs & Brushes 12 6 7 8 3 Cutt Plates & 17 6 each 2 12 6 1 Flower Pott 12 6 2 old Potts at 5 each 10 3 15 2 pr Womens Shoes & Shod at 8 4 either 11 1 1 4 3 pr Morocco Shoes at 4 3 8 4 pr Shoes at 3 6 3 14 16 pr do 3 & pair 1 13 8 pr Youth Shoes at 4 8 11 pr mens Shoes & Pumps at 4 & pair 2 4 6 6 pr Mens Shoes at 5 5 pr Boys Shoes at 3 16 pr Boys Shoes at 2/8 1 6 6 4 5 34 doz Yard of Hempsteed Drops at 9 & doz 2 9 6 17 yards & Yards Bird of Rope at 2 6 & yard 1 8 9 14 Booke Ropes at 8 & Bands 1 2 1 of Image Drawing Table Cups 1 10 4 15 3 1 Rich Doct: & 3 in Green & Blown & Yellow 1 6 1 Piece Hott & 3 in Bond & Yards Holland 3 3 1 do No 3 6 Yds double Corken pieces & 15 & Grose 3 6 10 13 6 6 mo Pins at 6 & mo 6 6 12 & mo do at 10 & mo 16 6 18 mo do at 4 & mo 16 19 Papers Nedles at 15 & paper 2 9 6 5 pr Girles Neckcloths at 3 6 & pr 16 6 4 12 5 5 pr do Large at 3 6 & pr 6 pr Womens Neckcloths at 4 6 1 4 6 3 pr Mens Neckcloths at 4 1 8 4 pr do Trays Powder do 8 & do 3 6 8 lb Fanhams at do 4 & do 1 9 2 3 19 3 16 do Hemp Lignea at 5 & do 9 3 Casks with Beads at 5 each at 10 each 1 10 2 Casks Servings at 10 each 1 10 3 6 2 1 Cask of Bead 1 4 1 Cask of Iron Rope &c 1 Empty Cask 1 10 13 pr & Beads & Pipes 1 6 51 Great Corks at 5 & Grose 2 12 1 Round Item 1 6 2 Doct: of the Guardians 1 8 11 10 1 Dictionary 5 6 Severall Bots 3 1 2 | Inventory of the goods of Richard Mills, deceased, continued Brought over 1 case of ivory handled knives and forks, £1 1s 6d 3 tinned corks, £0 1s 9d 13 lb of pepper, £0 1s 3d 2 bottles at 2 for a dozen, £0 5s 3d 13 papers of holland at 6 each, £0 5s 5d 2 papers at 3 each, £0 12s 3d 76 fishhooks at 3 each, £0 16s 3d 30 fishhooks at the same rate, £0 8s 4d 23 fishhooks at 3.5 each, £0 16s 8.5d 1 puncheon of arrack, £1 3s 4.5d 29 lb of ivory buttons at 3 the penny, £1 1s 6d 9 dozen of silver buttons at 2 the penny, £1 2s 8d 2 dozen of mohair buttons, £1 1s 8d 16 lb of ivory ware, £0 3s 8d A small parcel of thread and sundry ware, £3 14s 8.5d 8 small stocking gloves, £0 3s 6d 6 ivory combs, £0 2s 6d 8 fine combs and brushes, £0 12s 6d 3 old flats at 17s 6d each, £2 12s 6d 1 sheer hat, £0 18s 6d 2 old hats at 5s each, £0 10s 0d 2 pairs of women's shoes and 1 pair of shoes at a shilling the pair, £1 1s 0d 2 pairs of morocco shoes at 5s, £0 3s 0d 4 pairs of shoes at 3s 6d, £0 14s 0d 16 pairs of shoes at 3s the pair, £1 13s 0d 8 pairs of pinked shoes, £4 0s 0d 11 pairs of men's shoes and pumps at 5s the pair, £2 6s 0d 6 pairs of women's shoes at 5s, £0 6s 0d 5 pairs of boys' shoes at 3s, £0 6s 0d 6 pairs of boys' shoes at 2s 6d, £1 6s 0d 54 dozen yards of long stone drugget at 1s the yard, £2 9s 6d, £4 5s 0d 17 yards of Dutch holland at 2s 6d the yard, £0 9s 0d 14 bottles of gum at 8s the bottle, £1 2s 0d 1 of image drawings and ropes, £1 10s 0d 1 black waistcoat and 2 in crown holland waistcoats, £0 6s 0d 1 pair of trousers and 1 pair of holland trousers, £0 3s 0d 1 more, £0 3s 0d 6 pieces of double corkin at 5s each, £10 12s 6d 6 more pieces at 6s each, £0 12s 6d 12.5 more, £0 12s 6d 18 more, £0 16s 0d 19 papers of needles at 15s the paper, £2 9s 6d 5 pairs of garters and stockings at 3s 6d the pair, £4 12s 6d 5 pairs at large, £0 12s 6d 6 pairs of women's socks at 3s 6d the pair, £0 12s 6d 5 pairs of men's socks at 4s, £1 8s 0d 6 pairs of coarse powder at the same rate, £1 8s 0d 6.5 lb of gunpowder at 8d the pound, £1 6s 6d, £3 19s 3d 16 lb of lamp glazes at 5s the pound, £0 9s 0d 3 casks of milk bread at 5s the cask at 15 each, £1 15s 0d, £0 6s 2d 2 casks of herrings at 10s each, £1 10s 0d 1 cask of bread, £1 1s 0d 1 cask of iron gear and 1 empty cask, £1 10s 0d 13 lb of small soap, £0 5s 6d 41 great corks at 4s the piece, £2 13s 0d A blank leaf, £1 0s 0d 2 books, The Guardian, £0 8s 0d 1 dictionary, £0 5s 0d Sundry medals, £0 3s 0d, £1 2s 0d Interpretations The inventory is a trading stock rather than a wardrobe. More than seventy pairs of shoes in every size and grade, buttons by the dozen, needles by the paper, combs, thread, garters and stockings are the goods a ship's officer bought cheap in England or India to sell at an intermediate port, and they answer exactly to the tonnage allowance a Company officer was permitted to fill on his own account. Wages were modest and fell due only on safe return, so this parcel represented the whole profit Richard Mills expected from the voyage. Drugget was a coarse mixed cloth of wool with linen or silk, cheap and hard-wearing, and Dutch holland a fine linen at the other end of the scale. Both recur in the storekeeper's accounts, the island buying cloth by the yard because almost every garment was cut and sewn locally rather than bought made up. Mohair buttons were worked from the fine hair yarn of the Angora goat, and pinked shoes were decorated by punching small holes through the leather in patterns. Fishhooks in three grades sat among the most saleable goods on the island. The Company had set eleven men constantly in the boats since 1 March 1727 when the slaves' meat ration was replaced by fish, and the storekeeper's collection for the first quarter of 1736 carried 56 gross of hooks and 92 dozen of lines at £64 12s 4d, hooks being lost constantly on the rocks and in heavy surf. Herrings and bread in casks were ship's provisions carried for private sale rather than for the officer's own table, and gunpowder at six and a half pounds is a small parcel of the same kind. Salt fish and biscuit kept for months and sold readily to households and to other vessels, and the appearance of both here shows how wide a range a mate's private trade covered, from ivory buttons to a cask of herrings. |
223 | 215 | Brought over 25 quart Decanters at 2/9 ea 2 15 6 pr Decanters Stoppers 1 pr Flowered Cruetts 8 12 Pearl Glass Feathers at 2 each 8 12 Flowered Wine Glasses at 2 ea 1 11 25 Common Wine Glasses at 5 ea 1 2 6 3 melon Glasses & Covers 2 3 Cruetts Cases 2 9 1 Chamberpott 2 9 6 8 3 1 Pewter Bason 1 6 1 Small Tin Broth 1 8 2 Candlesticks 1 Snuff & Silver Ewer 4 8 1 Tea Jarr a Chocolate & Cup 4 8 1 Gold Cage 3 6 4 Iron Hooks 3 16 6 1 Inkhorn 2 Large Jarrs & Small do 1 6 1 Case & 12 Books 3 6 2 Tooth pipe Boxes 2 6 5 Small Wooden Boxes 3 6 1 Wig Box 2 1 Powder Box 2 1 Black Trunck & New at 2 & Bond Screws 2 6 1 15 6 1 pr Coffee 1 6 1 pr Upper 1 6 3 & Green Tin 1 Small Box Kettles & Rack 2 Blankets 3 1 Kitchen Pillow 1 Quilt 2 Curtains 8 1 Large Chest 1 12 1 pr Panipiers 5 1 Wearing Apparell 1 Duroy Coat 2 Waistcoats & 3 pr Breeches 3 1 Red Cloak & 2 Red Waistcoats 1 10 1 Ratteh Coat waistcoat & 3 pr Breeches 1 6 1 old White Coat & 2 Breeches 4 1 Drab Cloathing Coat & Breeches 1 1 Green & 1 Shirt & Dye waistcoat 6 4 pr Drimally 1 Breeches & 2 Drimally Waistcoats 10 6 pr Old Drawers & one Sperm Drawers 3 8 15 15 old White Shirts at 3 each 2 5 12 Checkeled Shirts at 16 ea 10 6 11 white Caps 4 9 9 white Shocks at 3 each 1 3 10 Trollen Caps at 6 each 6 6 13 Handkerchiefs Coloured at 6 each 6 6 4 old & 4 Checked Handkerchiefs 5 10 Diaper Napkins at 1 each 10 6 Towells 4 1 pr Shocks 5 3 5 Black Silk Shocks at 3 each 1 3 2 pr Wooded Leather Gloves at 1 & pair 2 4 pr Coff Gloves 8 16 6 pr Round Thread Stockings at 15 & pr 9 8 2 pr Silk & Worsted Stockings at 5 & pr 8 4 pr Ditto at 4 & pr 8 6 pr do Worsted Stockings 18 1 pr Boots 1 6 6 pr Garters at 9 each 2 7 6 | Inventory of the goods of Richard Mills, deceased, continued Brought over 25 quart decanters at 2s 9d each, £2 15s 0d 6 decanters and stoppers, £0 8s 0d 12 flowered cruets, £0 8s 5d 12 dwarf glass tumblers at 2s each, £1 11s 0d 12 flowered wine glasses at 1s each, £1 11s 0d 23 common wine glasses at 5s each, £1 12s 6d 3 water glasses and stands, £0 5s 0d 3 cruets and 1 case, £0 12s 6d 1 chamber pot, £0 3s 0d 1 pewter chamber pot, £0 3s 0d, £6 8s 2d 1 small tea brush, £0 1s 6d 2 candlesticks and snuffers and other ware, £0 3s 6d 1 tea pot and a chocolate mould and cup, £0 4s 0d 1 old cage, £0 1s 6d 6 arms books, £0 3s 0d, £0 16s 6d 1 inkhorn, £0 1s 6d 2 large jars and small ware, £0 1s 6d 1 case of 12 razors, £0 3s 6d 2 tooth pick cases, £0 8s 6d 5 small ribbon boxes, £0 5s 6d 1 wig box, £0 3s 6d 1 razor box, £0 1s 6d 1 shell brush and a box of shaving linen, £0 12s 6d 7 lb of coffee, £0 3s 6d, £1 15s 6d 1 lb of pepper, £0 3s 0d 5 lb of green tea, £1 0s 0d 1 small box, 4 chairs and 1 stool and 2 blankets, £0 6s 0d, £1 3s 0d 1 pitcher, 1 pillow, 2 quilts and 2 curtains, £8 0s 0d 1 large chest, £1 12s 0d 1 pair of trimmers, £0 5s 0d Wearing apparel 1 duroy coat, 2 waistcoats and 4 pairs of breeches, £3 0s 0d 1 red cloth coat and red waistcoat, £1 10s 0d 1 padusoy coat, waistcoat and 2 pairs of breeches, £1 4s 0d 1 old white coat and 2 breeches, £0 6s 0d 1 drab riding coat and breeches, £1 0s 0d 1 green and shirt and eye waistcoat, £0 5s 0d 2 pairs of dimity breeches and 2 dimity waistcoats, £0 10s 0d 6 pairs of old drawers and 2 pairs of white drawers, £0 3s 0d, £8 15s 0d 15 old white shirts at 3s each, £2 5s 0d 13 checked shirts at 16s each, £0 19s 6d 11 white caps, £0 4s 0d 9 white socks at 3s each, £1 3s 0d 2 holland caps at 5s each, £0 1s 9d 13 handkerchiefs, striped at 6s each, £0 6s 6d 4 white and checked handkerchiefs, £0 5s 0d 10 diaper napkins at 1s each, £0 10s 0d 6 towels, £0 5s 0d 1 pair of masks, £0 1s 3d 5 black silk socks at 3s each, £0 15s 0d 2 pairs of worsted leather gloves at 1s the pair, £0 8s 0d 6 pairs of gloves, £0 8s 0d, £0 5s 6d 6 pairs of thread worsted stockings at 4s the pair, £0 9s 0d 2 pairs of silk and worsted stockings at 5s the pair, £0 11s 0d 5 pairs of the same at 4s each, £0 12s 0d 6 pairs of the worsted stockings, £0 12s 0d 1 pair of socks, £0 1s 6d 6 pairs of garters at 9s each, £2 7s 6d Interpretations The glassware is the clearest sign that this was stock for sale rather than a cabin's furnishing. Twenty-five quart decanters, twelve tumblers, thirty-five wine glasses and a dozen cruets is far beyond anything one man could use, and glass was among the most profitable goods a ship's officer could carry, breaking easily on the passage and therefore always wanted at any port. The storekeeper's own accounts carried a hundred panes of window glass in three sizes in a single quarter for the same reason. Duroy was a stout west country worsted, dimity a ribbed cotton for light wear and drab a heavy undyed woollen suited to a riding coat. Set beside the padusoy suit, a heavy corded silk of considerable cost, the wardrobe covers everything from working clothes to the dress an officer wore when entertained ashore. A mate dining at the fort's table sat with commanders, supercargoes and the council, and the list of eaters taken on 30 September 1730 shows how many such men the household absorbed in shipping time. Diaper napkins and towels belong to a table rather than a sea chest, diaper being a light figured linen woven with a small repeating pattern. Their appearance alongside a chocolate mould and cup, a teapot and five pounds of green tea shows an officer equipped to keep a table of his own aboard, since a chief mate messed separately from the crew and provided much of his own furniture. Coffee, tea and pepper in small parcels round out the private trade. All three came through the Company's eastern settlements and all three sold readily on the island, tea reaching St Helena from Canton by the chest and being issued to the garrison by the catty, so an officer's private parcel competed directly with the storekeeper's own stock. |
224 | 216 | Brought over 1 Wig 2 1 Ditto 1 2 old Wigs 5 3 Wigs Combs 6 3 166 4 pieces & old Cloth 10 191 3 4 1/2 We the Case Contents & Goods above the Praisers are Sworne and Appraised & Compared 2 Quarts at Sale Test Wrangham John Bagley To one Bill of Exchange for Sterlg 116 5 Severall Bills of Exchange 14 5 8 To one Bill of Exchange 19 11 8 To one Bill of Exchange 20 159 1 8 358 5 7 1/2 The above is delivered by Mr Shreve The Will of James Crawford deceased was also tendered to be proved by Isham Goodwin his Executor who also presented an Inventory of the Estate of the said which he possessed at St Helena during the same might be proved & Registred but it appearing at the Clause & part of the said Will that the same was ordinarily in a made & with Intention to appoint his Cousins of whom some of the Chief are now living in England viz Alexander & James Hutchinson Esbury & Isham Wrenland & each of whom he owes the Sum of £200 principal money upon Certaine besides the Interest thereof & the Lands he stated in St Helena during the Lifetime of the Wife & residing at his death upon his Heir at Law who is her Cousin & another John Rospkinson of this Island Surgeon & son of George Rospkinson formerly Deputy Governour, thereupon Extremes the same Sciences & applicant Rose the Will & Inventory were rejected & will for the reasons already assigned & the Inventory for being unfairly & imperfectly made & being therein mentioned that the Slave hath perish by Sundry Occasions without mentioning how or for what it arose & there is impossible to know whether the same due is to know any good & Bad of the Land which he claimed in right of his Wife he taken from the said Inventory there will no more remain than I see, & so to pay all his Debts & even of this Sum there is Sixteen & some worth of all the Notes included there since his Death is expected that all the Monies he raised upon his living about the fortunate part of his own & of the thousand Pounds which he reported his Father left him when he did quacked he had he had Sworn of Vanice by the Ship George which arrived here in march last are half pay & Embarked with design to cheat & receive the World & indeed nothing better could be expected from such an immorall detestable person as he was who himself did reason & by peace meals of the Box & for the sake of Wicked money was the great Instrument in ruining or destroying Severall young Men whom he impudently & wickedly to owe some of whom belonged to that Ships | Inventory of the goods of Richard Mills, deceased, continued Brought over 1 wig, £0 2s 0d 1 ditto, £0 1s 0d 2 old wigs, £0 5s 0d 2 wig blocks, £0 6s 0d, £3 16s 6d 9 flowered gold books, £0 10s 0d Total, £191 3s 4.5d The inventory was sworn by Francis Wrangham and John Bagley, who declared that the pistols were broken and that the ready money amounted to two [...] in all. Bills of exchange and lodgings 1 bill of exchange for lodging, £16 8s 0d Several bills of lodging, £14 5s 8d 1 bill of exchange, £19 11s 0d 1 bill of lodging, £20 0s 0d Total, £69 1s 8d Grand total, £388 5s 7.5d The will of James Crawford, deceased, was also tendered for probate by Richard Goodwin, his executor, who presented an inventory of the estate. Goodwin had judged it at St Helena and might be denied and required, but it appeared at the foot of the will that the whole was in the same words as made and with attention to the credit of whom some of the chief were named on behalf of Alexander, James Hodgkinson and Jonathan Sherbrook, and each of whom he owes the sum of £1,000 0s 0d in principal money upon account, besides the interest of money and the lands at St Helena during the lifetime of his wife, devolving at her death upon her heir at law, who is her own brother John Hodgkinson of the island, surgeon, and son of George Hodgkinson, formerly deputy Governor of that island. Frances Popplewell read the will and inventory, and required that all of the reasons already assigned the inventory be rejected as unjustly and improperly made, it being therein mentioned that the estate had been prized by sundry persons without mentioning how or for what it arises. As there is impossible to know whether the estate due to him are good or bad besides the land which he claimed in right of his wife, so taken from the said inventory there arise no more remains than £42 9s 0d to pay all his debts, and even of this sum there is £16 0s 0d worth of old cloth included there since his death, so that whether the money be raised upon living about the fortune he had of his own by the thousand pounds which he reported his father left him, when he did make it he had to take leave of service by the ship George, which arrived here in March last, are her party and endowed with design to cheat and deceive the world. Indeed nothing better could be expected from such an immoral, abandoned person, as he was who himself did rob and by his means of the size, and for the sake of a little money was the false instrument in ruining or destroying several young men whom he impudently pretended to court, some of whom belonged to that ship. Interpretations Bills of exchange were the mechanism by which a man moved value across the sea without shipping coin, and their appearance at £69 1s 8d in Mills's estate shows how a ship's officer converted his private trade into something remittable to England. The island's inhabitants used the same instrument constantly, Captain Alexander paying £216 0s 0d in cash notes into the bank of the King George in May 1727 and Gabriel Powell £137 6s 0d in January 1728, the sums being drawn on the Company and the payer made debtor in the journal. The whole estate at £388 5s 7.5d, made up of £191 3s 4.5d in goods, £79 8s 9.5d in coin of five currencies and £69 1s 8d in paper, sets Mills among the more substantial men to die on the island in this record. It exceeds the £199 13s 6d of John Knipe senior in 1733 and the £96 0s 9.5d of Barlace Pyke in 1734, though it stands far below the Greentree estate at £1,255 7s 9d gross and the Powell estate appraised at £5,136 17s 5.25d. Objecting that an inventory gives no account of how a valuation was reached is the same complaint that produced the council's reform of September 1735. Richard Goodwin returned a paper covering less than a quarter of Mary Powell's estate, on which five sworn commissioners were appointed with a quorum of four, each bound to report only what he had seen himself, and their return came to more than twelve times his own figure. The council took its procedure from Swinburne on wills and The Orphans Legacy, having no lawyer and no ecclesiastical court to settle such questions. The Crawford estate carries the last stage of a claim running through this record for years. John Hodgkinson petitioned on 15 June 1736 as heir at law to his sister Anne, late the wife of James Crafford, and the cause was tried at the court of judicature on 15 March 1737, where everything turned on whether her child had been born alive. He petitioned again on 29 March 1737 to take possession of about 20 acres of freehold and named an attorney, so the verdict evidently went his way, and the debts now claimed against the estate arrive after the land has already passed. |
225 | 217 | Ships out of which he was left him For the more particular description of the Honble Company & such Gentlemen in England who are in Executors of the said & a Copy of the Paper said Within & a Copy of the Paper and the Inventory are here enclosed & are as follows viz In the Name of God Amen, I James Crawford of St Helena & late Surgeon of the Ship Scarbrough being sick & weak of body being of sound mind & memory do make & Ordain this my last Will & Testament in manner & form following viz my Soul I recommend to the mercy of almighty God & my body to be decently buried my Estate both Freehold & Leasehold & of all Land I give & bequeath as following viz Imprimis I give to Mr John Brown Surgeon after my Funerall Charges & Debts are paid, I give the Sum of Twenty Pounds for his Care & Care & attendance Item To Mr Richard Goodwin I give the Sum of Four Pounds for Mourning, one Mourning Ring of the Value of Twenty Shillings with Gloves &c Item I give to Elizabeth the Wife of him the said Richard Goodwin the Sum of Ten Pounds for mourning Item To Mr James Bowell I give the Sum of Ten Pounds for mourning Item All such Freehold Estate as became mine by Vertue of my marriage with Anne Daughter of George Hutchinson & I once & Bagley Empower my Executor hereafter To sell & dispose to the most Advantage & to remit the head and Proceeds thereof to my Wife now being in England the Receipts of my Estate of any conditions Speed to the joint of the Estate of St Helena at the discretion of my Executor hereafter mentioned Lastly I appoint Mr Richard Goodwin of the said Island sole Executor of this my last Will In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 10 day & March 1736 Signed Sealed & Declared as the last Will & Testament of the Testator in the Presence of Memorandum, the word named is Cancelled in the 28 line before & Witness Jos: Johnson James Ryder Charles Whitehand James Crawford An Inventory of the Goods of James Crawford late deceased taken & Appraised by Joshua Johnson Edward Mason and James Ryder the 20 & viz 77 viz 1 Case Irons Forks & Knifes 1 10 1 old Cloth Frock 10 1 old Black Silk Coat & Waistcoat 10 1 old Cloth Waistcoat & 2 pr Breeches 8 one Hangpan 4 3 old Caps 2 11 9 old Shirts Carried over 4 | Mills had been discharged from that ship. The council ordered copies of the papers taken and enclosed with the inventory, so that the Company and the executors in England might have a fuller account of the matter. James Crawford of St Helena, late surgeon of the ship Ashburnham, made his last will while sick and weak in body but sound in mind and memory. He commended his soul to God, directed that his body be decently buried, and then disposed of everything he owned. To Mr John Brown, surgeon, he left £20 0s 0d for his care and attendance, payable once the funeral charges and his debts had been met. To Mr Richard Goodwin he left £4 0s 0d for mourning, together with a mourning ring worth 40s and gloves. To Elizabeth, wife of Richard Goodwin, he left £10 0s 0d for mourning. To Mr James Powell he left £10 0s 0d for mourning. The freehold estate that came to him through his marriage to Anne, daughter of the late George Hodgkinson, he directed to be sold to the best advantage. His executor was to remit £100 0s 0d of the proceeds to his wife, then living in England, and to apply whatever remained of his St Helena estate to the same purpose at his own discretion. He named Mr Richard Goodwin sole executor and set his hand and seal at King's Lodgings on 6 March 1736. The will was signed, sealed and declared before the witnesses, with a memorandum recording that one word in the twenty-eighth line had been corrected before signing. Signed James Crawford, and witnessed by Isaac Johnson, James Ryder and Charles Sherland. Inventory of the goods of James Crawford, surgeon, deceased, taken and appraised by Isaac Johnson, Edward Marshall and James Ryder 7 wigs, £1 10s 0d 1 case of forks and knives, £0 10s 0d 1 old cloth frock, £0 10s 0d 1 old black silk coat and waistcoat, £0 8s 0d 1 old cloth waistcoat and 2 pairs of breeches, £0 4s 0d 1 old banyan, £0 2s 0d 3 old caps, £0 11s 0d 1 gold shirt, carried over, £0 4s 0d Interpretations Crawford's legacies are almost entirely for mourning, which was the customary form in wills of this period. A ring, a suit of black or a small sum to buy one went to friends and to those who had attended the testator, and the same provision runs through this record: John Young left a suit of mourning to his father-in-law Stephen Lufkin in August 1733, and Barlace Pyke's inventory carried both a mourning ring and a mourning sword. The freehold is the difficulty at the heart of the will. Anne Hodgkinson brought that land into the marriage, and a husband held his wife's inherited estate for his own lifetime only where a living child had been born, which is the doctrine Crawford defended at the court of judicature on 15 March 1737. Directing that the ground be sold and £100 0s 0d remitted to a wife in England therefore disposes of land he had no power to give away, since it descended instead to his first wife's heir at law. Two wives are involved, and the will names the second while the estate came from the first. John Hodgkinson petitioned as heir at law to his sister and obtained possession of about 20 acres on 29 March 1737, so what actually reached probate was a good deal smaller than the testator contemplated when he signed a year earlier. Twenty pounds to John Brown for his care and attendance is a substantial fee and names the island's own surgeon rather than a ship's. Brown attended Francis Everest through his last illness in June 1736, the dying man directing by memorandum that he be reasonably satisfied for his trouble, and he petitioned on 9 November 1736 to keep John Long's slave woman Peg against a debt the family could not pay. A surgeon's charges were commonly settled out of an estate rather than in life, and his practice depended on it. |
226 | 218 | Brought over 4 12 Stocks at 5 each 3 10 13 New Stocks at 6 each 5 8 5 pr old Stockings 2 6 1 old Sock 1 2 old Drimally Drawers 3 6 1 old Suit of Fustian 10 1 old Waistcoat & 1 pr Breeches 2 6 1 pr old Long Drawers 1 6 3 new Drimally Waistcoats 9 10 Fustian Handkerchiefs 10 4 3 China Silk Handkerchiefs 10 3 1 old Waistcoat & bed 2 2 old Wigs 4 1 old Cotton pair 2 1 old Bible & 4 pr Socks 2 6 6 3 old Shirts 7 6 4 old Handkerchiefs 1 4 2 Cotton Handkerchiefs 1 Wearing Apparell amounting to 18 1 5 1 pr fine Chints 4 1 Palempore 1 10 1 fine Chintz 1 15 1 fine Chintz Handkerchiefs 1 10 11 lbs Coarse Dowlass 6 12 1 fine Coarse Cloth 3 Fine Goods amounting to 15 5 6 Canes 15 2 old Rasors 2 1 Hand Glasses 1 1 Black Horse Whip & Case 4 4 Ivory Backgammon Corners 1 30 wheel pr Baggamon Tables 1 3 1 old Brown Wig 6 1 Small Jarr 6 1 Hand Pincushion 1 1 Case Instruments 5 121 Books of Physick 1 1 Jarr Confectionary 12 1 Jarr with Pickles 10 4 doz Gold & Silver Buttons old 2 6 1 Large Bramstone 1 10 1 pr Gold Buttons 13 1 Silver Spoon 9 1 Silver Shoe & knee Buckles 1 ditto Neck Buckle 1 Silver Tooth pick Case & Spatula 10 1 Magazine Case containing two Silesian Rasors 1 Silver pipe & 1 ditto Bond 5 3 1 Gold Ring with a Red Stone 1 1 Case Silver in a Silver Palempore Case 1 8 Gallons Arrack 1 12 4 old Bottle & Bed 5 11 11 44 7 4 | Inventory of the goods of James Crawford, surgeon, deceased, continued Brought over, £4 0s 0d 12 shirts at 5s each, £3 0s 0d 13 new shirts at 6s each, £5 2s 0d 5 pairs of old stockings, £0 2s 6d 1 old sash, £0 1s 0d 2 old dimity waistcoats, £0 3s 6d 1 old suit of padusoy, £0 10s 0d 1 old waistcoat and 2 pairs of breeches, £0 2s 6d 1 pair of old long drawers, £0 1s 6d 2 new dimity waistcoats, £0 9s 0d 10 stitched handkerchiefs, £0 10s 0d 5 China silk handkerchiefs, £0 2s 3d 1 old waistcoat and bed, £2 0s 0d 2 old wigs, £0 4s 0d 1 old cotton gown, £0 2s 0d 1 old bed and 2 pairs of hose, £0 6s 0d 3 old shirts, £0 7s 6d 4 old stomachers, £0 1s 4d 2 cotton handkerchiefs, £0 1s 0d Total wearing apparel, £18 1s 5d 1 pair of fine sheets, £4 0s 0d 1 fine napkin, £0 10s 0d 1 fine drawing, £1 5s 0d 1 fine cotton handkerchief, £1 0s 0d 11 lb of coarse dowlas, £0 18s 0d 1 fine canvas cloth, £0 3s 0d Total fine goods, £15 5s 0d 6 canes, £0 15s 0d 2 old razors, £0 3s 0d 1 hand glass, £0 1s 0d 1 black stone hone stone, £0 1s 0d 2 ivory backing combs, £0 1s 0d 30 men for backgammon tables, £0 1s 3d 1 old brown hat, £0 0s 6d 1 small jar, £0 1s 0d 1 hand bowbox, £0 5s 0d 1 case of medicaments, £1 0s 0d 121 books of physick, £0 12s 0d 1 jar of tamarind, £0 10s 0d 1 jar with pickles, £0 6s 0d 1 dozen gold and silver buttons, old, £0 2s 6d 1 large bowbox, £1 10s 0d 1 pair of gold buttons, £0 13s 0d 1 silver spoon, £0 9s 0d 1 silver shoe and knee buckle, 1 ditto stock buckle, 1 silver tooth pick case and separator, £0 10s 0d 1 magazine case containing two silver spoons, £0 5s 0d 1 silver pipe and 1 ditto bowl, £0 3s 0d 1 gold ring with a red stone, £1 0s 0d 1 gold seal in a silver stringing case, £1 0s 0d 8 gallons of arrack, £1 12s 0d 4 old bottles of oil, £0 5s 0d Total, £11 0s 11d Grand total, £44 7s 4d Interpretations The case of medicaments and 121 books of physic are the only items marking Crawford as a surgeon, and both are entered at modest sums. A ship's surgeon carried his own chest of drugs and instruments, and the island had learned the value of such a stock during the inquiry into John Hodgkinson in September 1727, when the cordial waters were found drunk or sold and not a drop of cinnamon water remained of either cargo. Books of physic in that number represent a working library rather than a shelf. Dowlas was a coarse linen used for shirts and household purposes, stomachers the stiffened triangular panels that filled the front of a woman's open gown, and padusoy a heavy corded silk of considerable cost. The presence of stomachers and a cotton gown in a man's inventory shows either goods bought for sale or items belonging to his late wife that remained in the household after her death. Backgammon men and canes belong to the ordinary furniture of a sea officer's cabin. Tables of that kind occupied long passages and folded flat for stowage, and the thirty pieces here are the counters rather than the board. Nine canes appeared in the inventory of Francis Everest in June 1736 alongside similar personal goods, canes being both a walking aid and a mark of standing ashore. At £44 7s 4d the whole estate is trifling beside the £388 5s 7.5d of Richard Mills, who died within weeks of him, and the difference lies entirely in trade. Mills carried shoes, buttons, needles, glassware and cloth on his own account and held money in five currencies, while Crawford's goods are almost all worn clothing. Everything of real value in his estate lay in the freehold that came through his wife, which passed to her heir at law rather than to him. |
227 | 219 | Brought over 44 7 4 Part of Houses in Mr Bowells Estate 56 7 6 Land 102 12 6 Debts due to the Estate 285 7 11 4 Cotton Ties 10 1 Box China Flowers 1 489 16 3 Jos: Johnson Saml Ryder Charles Steward At a Consultation held on Tuesday 4 Octr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved James Harding Corporal who married one of the Daughters of Capt Alexander & Grandaughter of Isham Mills who told about fourteen years ago having last Week made application for a Copy of the Will & a Copy of the Inventory of the Effects of the said Widow Search was made accordingly made in the Office for the same but neither one or the other could be found nor is there any Account to be found in the Books of the Probate of any such Will & this Morning the Executors of the said Capt Alexander produced the said Will & Inventory which they found among the papers of the said Capt Alexander in whose Custody they have remained ever since they were made an both of his own hand writing & they were each Read in the Presence of his Widow & his three eldest Daughters by his former Wife, Daughters of the said Widow & their Five Daughters who were each of them Summoned to attend upon this Occasion & it appearing that Capt Alexander had Secured the said Will & Inventory to the Prejudice of the said Children by his former Wife with a view to Better the Condition of his Children by his last Wife who is now his Widow, each of his said Children by the Daughters of the said Widow & their Husbands desired that they might be admitted to the Administration of their Grandmothers Estate & Letters of Administration were Ordered to be prepared for them accordingly Capt Alexander having by his last Will excluded all his said Children by his former Wife from enjoying a Childs part of the Estate he gave, it also nicest a few Small Legacies to his Children by his last Wife who is now his Widow & they being on this day present they were Severally asked whether they had any Demands to make upon the said Estate & they each of them answered further and | Inventory of the goods of James Crawford, surgeon, deceased, continued Brought over, £44 7s 4d Part of a house in Mr Bowell's estate, £56 7s 6d Land, £102 12s 6d Debts due to the estate, £285 7s 11d 1 cotton tea, £0 10s 0d 1 box of China flowers, £0 1s 0d Total, £489 16s 3d The inventory was signed by Isaac Johnson, Samuel Ryder and Charles Steward. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 4 October 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. Corporal James Harding, who married one of the daughters of Captain Alexander, and a granddaughter of Byron Wills, had applied about fourteen years earlier for a copy of the will and a copy of the inventory of the effects. A search had been made accordingly in the office for both, but neither could be found, nor was there any account in the books of probate of any such will. Captain Alexander's executors produced the will and inventory, which they found among his papers, and they had remained ever since they were made in his own handwriting. They were each read in the presence of his widow and his three eldest daughters by his former wife, daughters of the will, and their husbands, who were each of them summoned to attend on this occasion. It appeared that Captain Alexander had secured to the will and inventory the disposition of his children by his former wife, with a view to better the condition of his widow, each of his children by the daughters of the will and their husbands desired that they might be admitted to the administration of their grandfather's estate, and letters of administration were ordered prepared for them accordingly. Captain Alexander, having by his last will excluded all his children by his former wife from enjoying any part of the estate, and having given it all except a few small legacies to his children by his last wife, who is now his widow, they being that day present were severally asked whether they had any demand to make upon the estate, and each of them asked further. Interpretations Debts due to the estate at £285 7s 11d exceed everything else Crawford held put together, and they are entered without any note of whether they could be recovered. That is the very objection raised against this inventory when it was tendered for probate, since a sworn valuation ought to distinguish sperate debts from desperate ones. The council had faced the same problem with the Powell appraisement of 21 October 1735, whose commissioners were required to value every article they had seen themselves and which included money at interest and sperate debts as separate headings. Land at £102 12s 6d must be the freehold that came to him through his marriage to Anne Hodgkinson, and its appearance in the inventory is the whole difficulty. He directed it sold and £100 0s 0d remitted to a wife in England, but a husband held his wife's inherited land only for his own lifetime and only where a living child had been born. John Hodgkinson obtained possession of about 20 acres as heir at law to his sister on 29 March 1737, so the largest single asset on the page had already passed out of the estate before probate. A will that cannot be found fourteen years after it was made shows why the register in the secretary's office mattered so much. John Durling petitioned on 9 November 1730 for a fresh deed after losing the original to 25 acres he had held for years, and Mr Alexander himself reported on 16 November that holders had commonly neglected to register a deed once delivered, which is why the register showed nothing. Here the same man's own probate papers had gone unregistered and survived only among his private papers. Excluding the children of a first marriage in favour of a second wife created exactly the sort of grievance the island's law of descent was designed to prevent. The council had disallowed a clause in John Young's will on 21 May 1734 on the ground that a foreigner who gathered his estate among the inhabitants must not prescribe rules that would in time prejudice the good women of the island, and had admitted the widow to half the real estate for life by the custom of the place. Asking each excluded child in open council whether they had any demand fixed their answers on the record before administration was granted. |
228 | 220 | time to consider thereof, the Widow was also asked whether she had any Exception to make to any thing that had passed she also desired further time to consult with her Friends & they were Severally allowed further time to consider thereof & were each of them appointed to attend here again on Tuesday the 11 instant Capt Goodwin this day desired leave to cut some Fence & Wood & small Trees by the Honble Companies Waste Land & leave was given him to cut the said Fences &c were accordingly Thomas Bagley Serjeant one of the Executors the last Will & Testament of Henry Edwards Miller did presented the said Will together with an Inventory or Valuation of the Effects of the de- praying that the said Will might be proved which was accordingly done upon the Oath of the Wrangham thereto, & the said Will & Inventory were each of them Ordered to be Registred At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11 Octr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Sepr last the Storekeeper delivered his usuall Account for the Quarter past & the Governour & Gunner also delivered their Annuall Accounts for the Year past each of which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as follow viz GUNNERS Stores Expended in Sepr 1737 viz Guns Fired, W Culvering, Powder Exercising the Guns on the Line: Guns Fired 2, W Culvering 2, Powder 20 Muster day & Repairs of the Guards: Guns Fired 0, W Culvering 0, Powder 30 Guns Fired 2, W Culvering 2, Powder 50 Lead Shott 6 lb Lockstocks 10 Bells 2 Ditto 6 Spunge heads 4 Handspikes 6 Barge Barrells 3 Cartridge paper 6 Quire Match 18 lb | Each of them was asked to consider the matter. The widow was likewise asked whether she had any objection to make to anything that had passed. All of them desired further time to consult with their friends, and were severally allowed fourteen days to consider. Each of them was directed to attend again on Tuesday the 18th of that month. Captain Goodwin asked leave that day to cut some furze at Bates's and Small's ground for the Company's use. Leave was granted accordingly. Sergeant Thomas Bagley, one of the executors, presented the last will and testament of Henry Edwards, deceased, together with an inventory and valuation of the effects, and asked that the will be proved. It was proved on the oaths of the witnesses, and both the will and the inventory were ordered registered. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 11 October 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward delivered their monthly accounts for September. The storekeeper delivered his account for the quarter past, and the Governor and the gunner also delivered their annual accounts for the year past. The council examined and approved each of them. Gunner's stores expended in September 1737 27 September, exercising the guns on the line: 2 guns fired, 2 whole culverins, 20 lb of powder Muster day and expense of the guards: 0 guns fired, 0 whole culverins, 30 lb of powder Total: 2 guns fired, 2 whole culverins, 50 lb of powder Lead shot, 6 lb Linstocks, 10 Bitts, 2 Bitts, 6 Sponge heads, 4 Handspikes, 6 Rammer heads, 3 Cartridge paper, 6 quires Match, 18 lb Interpretations Allowing the excluded children a fortnight to consult their friends before answering shows the council protecting itself as much as them. A grant of administration made without hearing every possible claim could be reopened, and the caveats entered against Richard Goodwin over the Powell estate on 21 October 1735 had frozen that estate entirely because any grant made in defiance of one is void. Fixing a return date and recording each answer closed the question before letters were issued. Furze had a settled place in the island's economy quite apart from fuel. Governor Pyke proposed on 27 January 1736 that every inhabitant set each able slave to plant it for two days along the highways and in the outer parts, holding that it sheltered young cattle against the swelling under the throat and held the soil from blowing away. Asking leave to cut on another man's ground reflects how scarce burnable material remained after decades of complaint about the destruction of the wood. Two guns fired in the whole month is the lowest figure in this record, and both were whole culverins discharged to clear the pieces on the line rather than to salute anything. The standing order of 11 June 1734 required every gun to be kept loaded even in peacetime, so charges left standing had to be fired off periodically before they drew damp and spoiled. The road had been empty since the Shaftsbury and Harrington sailed on 3 July, and 30 lb to the guards and the muster remained the only other charge. Ten linstocks in a month with almost no firing points to a general refitting of equipment while the anchorage stood quiet. A linstock is the forked staff that holds the slow match clear of the piece, and it wore and charred with use, so replacing them in quantity alongside sponge heads, rammer heads and handspikes belongs to the same maintenance that produced 38 tampions in June. |
229 | 221 | GUNNERS Annual Account of Stores Received & Expended in the year ending 30 September 1737 viz D Cannon, W Culvering, D Culvering, Minion, Sakers, Falcons, Falconet Founders, Fine Founders, Totall, Iron round Shott, Double Headed Shott, 2 Barrells Powder, Match, Fine Cartridge paper, Spunge Staves, Spunge Heads, Rammer Heads, Brass Horns, Worms, Ladles, Tompions, Ship Stones, Bells, Buoyes, Cartouch Boxes, Trucks, Aprons, Blunderbusses, Pistolls, Barge Barrells, Yoke, Brown Bags, Handspikes, Aprons, Lockstocks, 2 Priming Wires, Cartridge Cases, Fine Kettles, Parchment Skins, Musquets, Swords, Lead Shott, Drums, Field Colours, Reconnoiter pieces, Flints, Rattoons, Servicing Cocks, Buff Belts, Grenadiers pouches, Bombshells, Petts, Carbines, Water Engines Remg 1t Octr 1736: D Cannon 12, W Culvering 10, D Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 29, Falconet Founders 11, Fine Founders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6385, Double Headed Shott 5, 2 Barrells Powder 45, Match 175 37, Fine Cartridge paper 489, Spunge Staves 200, Spunge Heads 35, Rammer Heads 578, Brass Horns 311, Worms 208, Ladles 17, Tompions 18, Ship Stones 1210, Bells 21, Buoyes 113, Cartouch Boxes 102, Trucks 77, Aprons 341, Blunderbusses 138, Pistolls 36, Barge Barrells 10, Yoke 42, Brown Bags 1, Handspikes 1, Aprons 420, Lockstocks 24, 2 Priming Wires 90, Cartridge Cases 300, Fine Kettles 116, Parchment Skins 12, Musquets 7, Swords 303, Lead Shott 192, Drums 3160, Field Colours 8, Reconnoiter pieces 2, Flints 7, Rattoons 13000, Servicing Cocks 17, Buff Belts 571, Grenadiers pouches 264, Bombshells 250, Petts 10, Carbines 22, Water Engines 0 Rec in one year: D Cannon 0, W Culvering 0, D Culvering 0, Minion 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Falconet Founders 0, Fine Founders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shott 200, Double Headed Shott 0, 2 Barrells Powder 15, Match 228, Fine Cartridge paper 0, Spunge Staves 0, Spunge Heads 0, Rammer Heads 0, Brass Horns 0, Worms 0, Ladles 0, Tompions 0, Ship Stones 0, Bells 0, Buoyes 0, Cartouch Boxes 100, Trucks 0, Aprons 0, Blunderbusses 0, Pistolls 0, Barge Barrells 0, Yoke 50, Brown Bags 0, Handspikes 0, Aprons 0, Lockstocks 0, 2 Priming Wires 0, Cartridge Cases 0, Fine Kettles 0, Parchment Skins 0, Musquets 0, Swords 0, Lead Shott 0, Drums 0, Field Colours 0, Reconnoiter pieces 0, Flints 0, Rattoons 0, Servicing Cocks 0, Buff Belts 0, Grenadiers pouches 0, Bombshells 50, Petts 2, Carbines 0, Water Engines 0 D Cannon 12, W Culvering 10, D Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Falconet Founders 11, Fine Founders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6585, Double Headed Shott 5, 2 Barrells Powder 45, Match 190 37, Fine Cartridge paper 717, Spunge Staves 200, Spunge Heads 35, Rammer Heads 578, Brass Horns 311, Worms 208, Ladles 17, Tompions 18, Ship Stones 1210, Bells 21, Buoyes 113, Cartouch Boxes 102, Trucks 77, Aprons 441, Blunderbusses 138, Pistolls 36, Barge Barrells 10, Yoke 42, Brown Bags 1, Handspikes 1, Aprons 470, Lockstocks 24, 2 Priming Wires 90, Cartridge Cases 300, Fine Kettles 116, Parchment Skins 12, Musquets 7, Swords 303, Lead Shott 192, Drums 3160, Field Colours 8, Reconnoiter pieces 3, Flints 7, Rattoons 13000, Servicing Cocks 17, Buff Belts 571, Grenadiers pouches 264, Bombshells 250, Petts 10, Carbines 23, Water Engines 50 2 Expended in one Year: D Cannon 0, W Culvering 0, D Culvering 0, Minion 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Falconet Founders 0, Fine Founders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shott 23, Double Headed Shott 0, 2 Barrells Powder 12 37, Match 270, Fine Cartridge paper 46, Spunge Staves 29, Spunge Heads 108, Rammer Heads 48, Brass Horns 0, Worms 6, Ladles 10, Tompions 421, Ship Stones 1, Bells 0, Buoyes 92, Cartouch Boxes 0, Trucks 0, Aprons 8, Blunderbusses 0, Pistolls 52, Barge Barrells 0, Yoke 18, Brown Bags 0, Handspikes 58, Aprons 7, Lockstocks 0, 2 Priming Wires 0, Cartridge Cases 0, Fine Kettles 102, Parchment Skins 0, Musquets 7, Swords 0, Lead Shott 0, Drums 0, Field Colours 0, Reconnoiter pieces 0, Flints 0, Rattoons 0, Servicing Cocks 0, Buff Belts 24, Grenadiers pouches 0, Bombshells 15, Petts 0, Carbines 0, Water Engines 0 Remg 30 Sepr 1737: D Cannon 12, W Culvering 10, D Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Falconet Founders 11, Fine Founders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6562, Double Headed Shott 5, 2 Barrells Powder 45, Match 178, Fine Cartridge paper 447, Spunge Staves 154, Spunge Heads 335, Rammer Heads 472, Brass Horns 263, Worms 208, Ladles 17, Tompions 13, Ship Stones 1166, Bells 0, Buoyes 112, Cartouch Boxes 102, Trucks 77, Aprons 349, Blunderbusses 138, Pistolls 36, Barge Barrells 10, Yoke 34, Brown Bags 1, Handspikes 1, Aprons 418, Lockstocks 24, 2 Priming Wires 72, Cartridge Cases 300, Fine Kettles 58, Parchment Skins 12, Musquets 0, Swords 303, Lead Shott 192, Drums 3053, Field Colours 8, Reconnoiter pieces 2, Flints 0, Rattoons 13000, Servicing Cocks 17, Buff Belts 571, Grenadiers pouches 264, Bombshells 24, Petts 10, Carbines 7, Water Engines 60 2 | The gunner delivered his annual account of stores received and expended in the year ending 30 September 1737. Gunner's annual account of stores, year ending 30 September 1737 Remaining 1 October 1736: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 29, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 157, round shot 6,385, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 175, match 37 lb, blank cartridge paper 489 quires, sponge staves 200, sponge heads 355, rammer heads 578, worms 31, ladles 208, tampions 17, sheepskins 18, bitts 12, aprons 10, cartouche boxes 21, trucks 113, hammers 102, blunderbusses 77, budge barrels 341, yokes 138, worm staves 36, handspikes 10, aprons 42, linstocks 1, priming wires 1, cartridge cases 420, brass ladles 24, parchment skins 90, muskets 300, swords 116, lead shot 12 lb, drums 7, field colours 303, discharging pieces 192, flints 3,160, halberts 8, screwing tools 2, buff belts 7, grenadier pouches 13,000, bomb shells 17, pitts 571, carbines 264, water engines 250, 10, 22 Received in one year: barrels of powder 200, match 15 lb, blank cartridge paper 228 quires, trucks 100, handspikes 50, water engines 50, 2 Standing after the receipts: demi-cannon 13, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 157, round shot 6,585, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 190, match 37 lb, blank cartridge paper 717 quires, sponge staves 200, sponge heads 355, rammer heads 578, worms 31, ladles 208, tampions 17, sheepskins 18, bitts 12, aprons 10, cartouche boxes 21, trucks 113, hammers 102, blunderbusses 77, budge barrels 441, yokes 138, worm staves 36, handspikes 10, aprons 42, linstocks 1, priming wires 1, cartridge cases 470, brass ladles 24, parchment skins 90, muskets 300, swords 116, lead shot 12 lb, drums 7, field colours 303, discharging pieces 192, flints 3,160, halberts 8, screwing tools 2, buff belts 7, grenadier pouches 13,000, bomb shells 17, pitts 571, carbines 264, water engines 250, 10, 23, 50, 2 Expended in one year: barrels of powder 23, match 12 lb, blank cartridge paper 37 quires, sponge staves 270, sponge heads 46, rammer heads 29, worms 108, ladles 48, tampions 6, bitts 104, aprons 21, cartouche boxes 1, trucks 92, blunderbusses 8, budge barrels 52, handspikes 18, linstocks 58, priming wires 7, muskets 102, swords 7, buff belts 24, grenadier pouches 15 Remaining 30 September 1737: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, total ordnance 157, round shot 6,562, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 178, match 447 lb, blank cartridge paper 154 quires, sponge staves 325, sponge heads 572, rammer heads 262, worms 208, ladles 17, tampions 13, sheepskins 1,166, bitts 112, aprons 102, cartouche boxes 77, trucks 349, hammers 138, blunderbusses 36, budge barrels 10, yokes 341, worm staves 1, handspikes 418, linstocks 2,472, priming wires 300, cartridge cases 58, brass ladles 12, parchment skins 303, muskets 192, swords 3,053, lead shot 8 lb, drums 2, field colours 13,000, discharging pieces 17, flints 571, halberts 264, screwing tools 24, buff belts 10, grenadier pouches 7, bomb shells 60, pitts 2 Interpretations The ordnance held steady at 157 pieces for the first time in three years, no gun being added or lost. That total was reached only in the year to September 1736, when five demi-culverins arrived to follow the 24 guns received the previous season, so that 29 pieces came in across two years after eight in which not a single one was added. The gunner's survey of 2 July 1734 had called for 76 guns across eight positions with 10 more in store, and the establishment has now settled well above that figure. Powder tells the plainer story. Two hundred barrels were received against 23 expended, closing at 178 barrels, and the receipt is the largest in this record by a wide margin, exceeding the 46 barrels of 1735 and reversing the run-down that saw 50 barrels sent home in 1733 and 22 in 1734. Twenty-three barrels consumed across a twelvemonth of full shipping seasons, funerals and alarms confirms how little of the island's firing went beyond ceremony. Round shot fell by 23 across the whole year, and the double headed shot stood entirely unchanged at 545. Those figures are the only measure of ammunition actually fired in earnest, and they cover the live rounds discharged to bring strange sail to at Banks's, at Munden's and off the road, each entered singly in the monthly accounts. The pattern repeats every year in this series: the guns were exercised, proved and saluted with constantly, and aimed at something perhaps three or four times. Sponge staves at 270 expended and worms at 108 carry the heaviest consumption, both being the wearing parts of gun service rather than munitions. A sponge cleaned and damped the bore between firings and a worm drew a spent charge, and both wore out at the head, which is why sheepskins and parchment stood in store as the raw material for fresh sponges. The same wear appeared in the inventory of 30 September 1736, which recorded 282 sponge staves and 57 sponge heads consumed through the exercising of the guns. |
230 | 222 | ACCOUNT of the Honble Companies Neat Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Sepr 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t Sepr: Bullocks 2, Cows 122, Heifers 1, Steers 9, Yearlings 150, Calves 112, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 7, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 26, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 19, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 9, Cows 0, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 40, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totall 154, Ewes 0, Wethers 3, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 122, Heifers 51, Steers 59, Yearlings 190, Calves 117, Bulls 6, Totall 556, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 5, Rams 4, Totall 65, Sows 9, Shoates 26, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 19, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Cattle Cut & grown: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 9, Yearlings 100, Calves 40, Bulls 0, Totall 149, Ewes 0, Wethers 3, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 122, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 77, Bulls 6, Totall 407, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 26, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 19, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 1, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 122, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 77, Bulls 6, Totall 407, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 5, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30 Sepr 1737: Bullocks 11, Cows 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 13500 lb Ditto delivered the Blacks 18500 lb Totall Yams 32000 lb | The Governor delivered the account of the Company's stock for September 1737, running through the several classes of neat cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and horses. Account of the Company's stock of cattle for September 1737 Remaining 1 September 1737: bullocks 2, cows 122, heifers 1, steers 9, yearlings 150, calves 112, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 7, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 26, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 48, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 19, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Increased in September: bullocks 9, cows 0, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 40, calves 5, bulls 0, total neat cattle 154, ewes 0, wethers 3, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 11, cows 122, heifers 51, steers 59, yearlings 190, calves 117, bulls 6, total neat cattle 556, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 5, rams 4, total sheep 65, sows 9, shoats 26, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 48, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 19, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Cattle cut and grown: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 9, yearlings 100, calves 40, bulls 0, total neat cattle 149, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 3, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the reclassification: bullocks 11, cows 122, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 77, bulls 6, total neat cattle 407, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 26, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 48, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 19, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Killed in September: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 2, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 1, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 11, cows 122, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 77, bulls 6, total neat cattle 407, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Died in September: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 4, bulls 0, total neat cattle 5, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Remaining 30 September 1737: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Yams expended at the several plantations, 13,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 18,500 lb Total yams, 32,000 lb Interpretations The year-end muster restores on paper what the shipping season stripped away. Bullocks stood at 2 and heifers at 1 when the month opened, and both classes had been exhausted by the sale of 35 head in May and 20 in June. The muster brings in 154 head and the cutting and growing moves 149 more between classes, so bullocks close at 11, heifers at 51 and steers at 50. Not one animal was bought: every beast in those columns has simply grown older, calves becoming yearlings and yearlings passing into the classes fit to sell. Cutting is castration, and it is what converts a young male into a bullock or a steer fit for the table and for victualling a ship. The operation was performed once a year at the muster, which is why the entry appears only in the September account and why the same row carried 249 head in 1736 and 156 in 1735. The yearlings fall from 190 to 90 and the calves from 117 to 77 as those animals move up, so the apparent recovery is a matter of reclassification rather than of growth. Five more cattle died, a cow and four calves, exactly matching August's losses. That makes three consecutive months in which the drought has taken beasts from a herd that lost nothing at all between January and May, and calves continue to be the first affected. The Governor had reported to the council on 2 August 1737 that 54 head were lost across the island in July, the heaviest falling on the poorest holders in the eastern parts. The yam issue fell to 32,000 lb, its lowest figure since November, with the plantations' own share down to 13,500 lb. The planting season closes about September, so the ground now carries the new crop and both the seed and the stores are being held back, the same pattern that appeared in May when the winter planting began. |
231 | 223 | GOVERNOUR Pykes Annual Accot of the Honble Companies Neat Stock of Cattle &c for the Year ending the 30 September 1737 viz Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1t Octr 1736: Bullocks 18, Cows 146, Heifers 27, Steers 40, Yearlings 150, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totall 434, Ewes 46, Wethers 21, Lambs 3, Rams 4, Totall 74, Sows 9, Shoates 41, Pigs 10, Boares 1, Totall 61, Turkeys 95, Fowles 506, Ducks 15, Geese 16, Horses 3, Mares 12, Totall 15 Encreased in one year: Bullocks 9, Cows 0, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 40, Calves 78, Bulls 0, Totall 227, Ewes 0, Wethers 3, Lambs 4, Rams 0, Totall 7, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 17, Boares 0, Totall 17, Turkeys 29, Fowles 37, Ducks 22, Geese 2, Horses 5, Mares 2, Totall 7 Bullocks 27, Cows 146, Heifers 77, Steers 90, Yearlings 190, Calves 125, Bulls 6, Totall 661, Ewes 46, Wethers 24, Lambs 7, Rams 4, Totall 81, Sows 9, Shoates 41, Pigs 27, Boares 1, Totall 78, Turkeys 124, Fowles 543, Ducks 37, Geese 18, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Cattle Cut & Grown: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 9, Yearlings 100, Calves 40, Bulls 0, Totall 149, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 3, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 27, Cows 146, Heifers 77, Steers 81, Yearlings 90, Calves 85, Bulls 6, Totall 512, Ewes 46, Wethers 24, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 78, Sows 9, Shoates 41, Pigs 27, Boares 1, Totall 78, Turkeys 124, Fowles 543, Ducks 37, Geese 18, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Sold in one year: Bullocks 16, Cows 15, Heifers 24, Steers 31, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 86, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 131, Heifers 53, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 85, Bulls 6, Totall 426, Ewes 46, Wethers 24, Lambs 4, Rams 4, Totall 78, Sows 9, Shoates 41, Pigs 27, Boares 1, Totall 78, Turkeys 124, Fowles 543, Ducks 37, Geese 18, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Killed in one year: Bullocks 0, Cows 4, Heifers 2, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ewes 0, Wethers 14, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 16, Sows 0, Shoates 17, Pigs 15, Boares 0, Totall 32, Turkeys 80, Fowles 413, Ducks 19, Geese 8, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 127, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 85, Bulls 6, Totall 420, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boares 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 14, Totall 22 Died in one year: Bullocks 0, Cows 6, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 12, Bulls 0, Totall 18, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totall 1 Remg 30 Sepr 1737: Bullocks 11, Cows 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boares 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 | Governor Pyke delivered his annual account of the Company's stock for the year ending 30 September 1737. Governor Pyke's annual account of the Company's stock, year ending 30 September 1737 Remaining 1 October 1736: bullocks 18, cows 146, heifers 27, steers 40, yearlings 150, calves 47, bulls 6, total neat cattle 434, ewes 46, wethers 21, lambs 3, rams 4, total sheep 74, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 10, boars 1, total hogs 61, turkeys 95, fowls 506, ducks 15, geese 16, horses 3, mares 12, total horses and mares 15 Increased in one year: bullocks 9, cows 0, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 40, calves 78, bulls 0, total neat cattle 227, ewes 0, wethers 3, lambs 4, rams 0, total sheep 7, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 17, boars 0, total hogs 17, turkeys 29, fowls 37, ducks 22, geese 2, horses 5, mares 2, total horses and mares 7 Standing after the increase: bullocks 27, cows 146, heifers 77, steers 90, yearlings 190, calves 125, bulls 6, total neat cattle 661, ewes 46, wethers 24, lambs 7, rams 4, total sheep 81, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 27, boars 1, total hogs 78, turkeys 124, fowls 543, ducks 37, geese 18, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Cattle cut and grown: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 9, yearlings 100, calves 40, bulls 0, total neat cattle 149, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 3, rams 0, total sheep 3, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the reclassification: bullocks 27, cows 146, heifers 77, steers 81, yearlings 90, calves 85, bulls 6, total neat cattle 512, ewes 46, wethers 24, lambs 4, rams 4, total sheep 78, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 27, boars 1, total hogs 78, turkeys 124, fowls 543, ducks 37, geese 18, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Sold in one year: bullocks 16, cows 15, heifers 24, steers 31, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 86, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the sales: bullocks 11, cows 131, heifers 53, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 85, bulls 6, total neat cattle 426, ewes 46, wethers 24, lambs 4, rams 4, total sheep 78, sows 9, shoats 41, pigs 27, boars 1, total hogs 78, turkeys 124, fowls 543, ducks 37, geese 18, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Killed in one year: bullocks 0, cows 4, heifers 2, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, total neat cattle 6, ewes 0, wethers 14, lambs 2, rams 0, total sheep 16, sows 0, shoats 17, pigs 15, boars 0, total hogs 32, turkeys 80, fowls 413, ducks 19, geese 8, horses 0, mares 0, total horses and mares 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 11, cows 127, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 85, bulls 6, total neat cattle 420, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 14, total horses and mares 22 Died in one year: bullocks 0, cows 6, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 12, bulls 0, total neat cattle 18, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, total sheep 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, total hogs 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, total horses and mares 1 Remaining 30 September 1737: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, total neat cattle 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, total sheep 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, total hogs 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, total horses and mares 21 Interpretations Eighty-six head sold to shipping is the second heaviest disposal in this record, behind the 120 of the year to September 1735 and well above the 70 of the year just closed. The composition is what marks the difference: 24 heifers and 15 cows went with 16 bullocks and 31 steers, where the previous twelvemonth was met from 36 bullocks and 26 steers with no heifer whatever. Breeding females were taken because the male classes ran out in May and June, and the herd closed level at 402 only because the September muster moved 227 head up through the classes. The poultry yard was consumed almost entirely. Fowls opened at 506 and closed at 130 after 413 were killed against a hatch of only 37, and turkeys fell from 95 to 44. That yard carried the fort's table through the whole autumn and winter, five months in which almost no beef appears in the table accounts, and it did so on a stock that never recovered because the hatching failed until August. Eighteen cattle died against a single beast the previous year, and six cows and twelve calves make up the whole of it. Every loss fell between July and September, the three months in which the Governor reported the rains failing and the eastern parts left without feed, and the calves went first as they always do when pasture fails. Set against the 42 lost in the year to September 1734, the drought has so far taken a fraction of what the earlier one did. The stud grew from 15 to 21 head, the largest figure in this record, and the increase came chiefly from the eight mares landed from Bombay in the Wyndham and the Defence during May and June at 16 rupees apiece. Horses were never killed and none was sold, so the class moves only by breeding, purchase or death, and a single mare was lost across the whole year. |
232 | 224 | EXPENCE of the Table in Sepr 1737 viz 65 lb Pork 1 12 6 1 Duck 1 6 24 lb Butter 1 4 30 Days Greens 1 10 60 Bottles Milk 1 78 Gallons Arrack 15 12 1 3 10 Sugar 3 8 3 1 2 Candy 1 2 6 2 2 8 Flour 3 12 2 Bread 14 7 Bottles Florence Oyle 1 3 4 1 1/2 Gallons Sherry 9 6 3/4 1/2 Gallon do do 3 10 1/4 2 Bushells Salt 10 32 3 10 1/2 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18 Octr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved This day the Executors of Capt Alexander Gentleman did presented an Inventory & Appraisement of his Estate as the same was appraised by Mr John Johnson, Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin & Charles Steward desiring the same might be produced & Registred & the same was viewed & read & so to be Appraised accordingly the said Appraisers being first Sworn & Severally asked whether they had Appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement & they each of them Answered that they had Appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & that the Severall particulars therein mentioned were as they were produced to them and the same is as follows | Expense of the table in September 1737 65 lb of pork, £1 12s 6d 1 duck, £0 1s 6d 28 lb of butter, £1 8s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles of milk, £1 0s 0d 78 gallons of arrack, £15 12s 0d 1 lb 10 oz of sugar, £3 8s 3d 1 lb 2 oz of sugar candy, £1 2s 6d 2 lb 8 oz of flour, £3 12s 0d 2 lb of pepper, £0 4s 0d 9 bottles of Florence oil, £1 3s 4d 1.5 gallons of sherry, £0 9s 6.5d 0.5 gallon of Madeira, £0 5s 10.5d 2 bushels of salt, £0 10s 0d Total, £32 3s 10.5d The council met at the castle on Tuesday 18 October 1737. Governor Pyke sat with John Goodwin and Duke Crisp. The previous consultation was read and approved. The executors of Captain Alexander, gentleman, deceased, presented an inventory and appraisement of the estate that day. The valuation had been made by Isaac Johnson, Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Charles Steward. The council directed that the appraisers attend and swear to their valuation, and they were first sworn and then asked whether they had appraised the goods to the best of their skill and judgement and whether the whole had come to their knowledge. They answered that they had valued everything to the best of their skill and judgement, and that the several particulars named in the inventory were as produced to them. Interpretations Not a pound of beef appears in the account for the third month running, and 65 lb of pork with a single duck made up the whole of the meat. The road had stood empty since the Shaftsbury and Harrington sailed on 3 July, so no commanders were entertained ashore and no cattle were killed, the September stock account recording only two shoats and a duck taken for the table. Arrack at 78 gallons cost nearly ten times the meat, which is the usual proportion in these accounts. Madeira enters this run for the first time, a half gallon against sherry and no port at all. The island's wine came in through the shipping rather than from any settled supply, and Madeira lay directly on the outward route from England to the Indies, so a cask reached St Helena whenever a commander chose to carry one. Governor Byfield's table had run on Mountain and sherry, and port displaced sherry in quantity from April 1731 under his successor, the cellar following whatever the last ship happened to land. Swearing appraisers before receiving their valuation had become the council's fixed practice since the Powell affair of September 1735, when Richard Goodwin produced a paper covering less than a quarter of the estate and five sworn commissioners returned a figure more than twelve times his own. The council took its procedure from Swinburne on wills and The Orphans Legacy, having no lawyer, no ecclesiastical court and no judge trained in the civil law, and it required each man to report only what he had seen himself. Four appraisers rather than two answers the same reform. English practice called for four where an estate was of value, on the reasoning that two men were far more easily brought to an understanding than four, and a low valuation quietly benefited whoever held the goods. Captain Alexander had sat as second of council for more than eleven years and his estate was among the largest on the island, so the fuller commission was warranted. |
233 | 225 | INVENTORY of the Goods & Chattels of Capt John Alexander Decd taken & appraised by Mr Joshua Johnson Francis Wrangham Richd Goodwin & Charles Steward the 8 Sepr 1737 Freehold Land viz 10 Acres Land with the Mansion House 280 24 Acres called Perkins 202 17 Acres called Ben Greentrees 133 10 12 Acres called Purgatory 108 16 Acres called Groomhead Ground 96 10 Acres called Meadows 60 Freehold Land viz 890 10 26 Acres appertaining to the Land Mansion House 65 19 Acres called Ben Greentrees 47 10 16 Acres in Blancher Valley 52 8 Acres called Osborne 20 7 1/2 Acres called Sandy Bay Valley 52 10 5 Acres called Phillips 15 Blacks viz 252 Peter an old Man at 15 Bess a Blackman at 25 Jonas at 25 Jack at 25 Shepherd at 20 Ann an Ailing man at 12 Ishmael at 30 George at 25 Alexander at 25 Abey at 25 Lewis at 25 Cesar a Fidat 15 Nanny an old Wench at 8 Mary at 15 Hannah at 18 Kate an Ailing Wench 12 Abigail a Girle at 12 Ann Abigail at 6 Grace a Girle at 8 338 Yams & Horses amounting to 210 16 2 Neat Cattle amounting to 167 10 Hogs amounting to 42 19 Sheep & Lambs amounting to 36 Goats amounting to 3 2 Poultry amounting to 243 2 5 Household Goods & other Goods amounting to 86 2 6 2 Wells amounting to 58 14 3 1/2 Cash amounting to 6 Silver Spa 2 1 Half an old Boat 65 10 Windows 2385 8 8 Jos Johnson Fran: Wrangham Rich: Goodwin Charles Steward | Inventory of the goods and chattels of Captain John Alexander, deceased, taken and appraised by Isaac Johnson, Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Charles Steward, 30 September 1737 Freehold land 10 acres of land with the mansion house, £280 0s 0d 24 acres called Perkins, £202 0s 0d 17 acres called Ben Greenwins, £134 10s 0d 12 acres called Purgatory, £108 0s 0d 16 acres called Gumwood Ground, £96 0s 0d 10 acres called Mudford, £60 0s 0d Total freehold land, £890 10s 0d Leasehold land 26 acres adjoining the land at the mansion house, £65 0s 0d 19 acres called Ben Greenwins, £47 10s 0d 16 acres in Swanley Valley, £32 0s 0d 9 acres called Peters, £20 0s 0d 7.5 acres called Sandy Bay Gravey, £38 10s 0d 5 acres called Phelps, £15 0s 0d Total leasehold land, £232 0s 0d Slaves Tobier, an old man, £15 0s 0d Peter Robinson, £15 0s 0d Jonas, £25 0s 0d Jack, £25 0s 0d Shepherd, £20 0s 0d John, an ailing man, £12 0s 0d Ishmael, £30 0s 0d George, £25 0s 0d Alexander, £25 0s 0d Abbey, £25 0s 0d Lewis, £25 0s 0d Caesar, a fiddler, £14 0s 0d Nanny, an old wench, £8 0s 0d Mary, £15 0s 0d Hannah, £18 0s 0d Moll, an ailing wench, £12 0s 0d Abigail, a girl, £12 0s 0d Little Abigail, £6 0s 0d Grace, a gentle, £8 0s 0d Total slaves, £338 0s 0d Yams and potatoes, £210 16s 0d Neat cattle, £167 10s 0d Hogs, £42 19s 0d Sheep and lambs, £36 0s 0d Goats, £8 2s 0d Poultry, £24 3s 5d Household goods and other goods, £86 2s 6d Plate, £58 14s 3d Casks, £6 0s 0d Silver seal, £2 0s 0d Half an old boat, £65 0s 0d 10 windows Total, £2,385 8s 8d The inventory was signed by Isaac Johnson, Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Charles Steward. Interpretations At £2,385 8s 8d this is the second largest private estate in the record, behind the Powell estate appraised at £5,136 17s 5.25d in October 1735 and well ahead of the Greentree estate at £1,255 7s 9d gross in 1733. Land accounts for almost half of it, and the freehold at £890 10s 0d is valued at rates from £28 0s 0d an acre for the mansion ground down to £6 0s 0d for the gumwood, where leasehold runs at £2 10s 0d an acre. That gap measures the difference between land held outright and land held on a term subject to the Company's covenants for fencing and wood. Perkins is the name of the Company's own worn-out provision plantation, which Isaac Durling reported almost exhausted on 10 April 1733, and the 24 acres here are the pasture Alexander bought in 1727. He petitioned for it on 30 May of that year, and Gabriel Powell and Francis Wrangham valued the 31 acres measured at £263 0s 0d on 6 June, so the parcel has been divided since and now stands at a rather higher rate. The slave valuations run the whole scale a working household required, from £30 0s 0d for Ishmael down to £6 0s 0d for a small girl and £8 0s 0d for an old woman. Age and health govern the figures directly, two men described as ailing standing at £12 0s 0d against £25 0s 0d for men in their prime, which matches Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736 putting the prime cost of a man speaking English at £25 0s 0d. Ishmael is the servant Alexander sent to turn back the runaway Stellen in January 1736, and Caesar is valued below every able man because his skill was music rather than labour. Goats appear in a private inventory seven years after the inhabitants voted on 20 January 1730 to destroy every goat and sheep on the island. The Company's own herd closed at nothing in February 1731 and the column was dropped from its accounts entirely, yet £8 2s 0d of them stood here at the appraisal. Feral goats survived on St Helena long after this period, and the vote plainly bore hardest on Company stock rather than on private holdings. |
234 | 226 | The Estate of Capt John Alexander Deceased Debtor to Sundry Persons To the Honble Company 175 2 2 To Capt Goodwin 141 2 9 To Richard Bowen Esqr at 26 3 40 To Capt Cook 25 2 8 To Duke Crispe 72 14 9 To John Page 9 19 To Jonat Doveton 2 6 To Simon Hopkins 4 To Bridget Bagett 6 16 To Richard Bagley 3 1 1 To Jos Duffountaine 6 18 To James Harding 17 12 7 To Wm Cox &c 1 10 To Joh Richardson 4 6 3 To John Bagley 2 3 6 To John Marich 4 To Mary Meadow at Sepr 1737 & of Corn 15 To Mary Draper 3 343 1 11 Credit by Sundry Persons 29 15 5 By Ballance due from the Estate 314 6 6 According to the Order of Tuesday the 4 instant, the Widow of Capt Alexander & Richard Bagley Isaac Harding & who Marry- his Sons in Law & to each of them Severally & the daughters of his former Wife the daughter & Isham Mills & Owen each of them being & they had any Estate to the Estate of the deceased & they each Answered that they were obliged to a Childs part of his said Estate & Richard Bagley who Married Capt Alexanders eldest Daughter of that now living alledged that Capt Alexander did promise to him upon his his Marriage to give all his daughters that became to hear an Inferior Manor he could not part with any of his Blacks at present nor with any of his Land but at his Death he was & should he divided among them all & said that so he should assist them with & from he might make a Tollerable Ship James Harding who Married Martha Capt Alexanders third Daughter of that now living affirmed that he would not part with any Land at present nor & a Small peice of Land to make a Plantation but at his Death what he left should go among them all John Aunge who Married Margaret Capt Alexanders Second Daughter of that now living saith that Capt Alexander did Consent to his Marrying the Daughter but told him that he had a great Family he could not part with any thing now but he would de- sired to them to keep them in anything but that at present he could not do any thing matter having a Large family to maintain but at his Death he would make them equal with the rest of his Children James | The estate of Captain John Alexander, deceased, debtor to sundry persons To the Honourable Company, £175 2s 2d To John Goodwin, £141 2s 9d To Richard Bowen, £25 5s 10d To Captain Fort, £25 2s 3d To Duke Crisp, £72 14s 9d To John Page, £9 19s 0d To Jonathan Doveton, £0 2s 6d To Barnaby Hopkins, £0 6s 0d To Bridget Bazett, £6 16s 0d To Edward Bagley, £1 1s 1d To Joseph Defountaine, £6 18s 0d To James Harding, £11 12s 7d To William Ryder, £1 10s 0d To Joseph Richardson, £6 6s 3d To John Bagley, £2 3s 6d To John Marsh, £0 8s 0d To Mercy Meadows at 6 per cent, £18 0s 0d To Mary Draper, £3 0s 0d Total, £346 1s 11d Credit by sundry persons, £29 15s 5d Balance due from the estate, £316 6s 6d The children of Captain Alexander's former marriage attended on 18 October under the order made a fortnight earlier. The daughters of his first wife, and their husbands, were each asked in turn what they had to say. Edward Bagley, who married one of Captain Alexander's daughters, stated that his wife had been promised something at her marriage, but that nothing had come of it and no share of the estate had been settled on her. He said he had no cattle or stock of his own beyond a small piece of land, and that on her father's death he expected to be dealt with as the rest of the children were. James Harding, who married Martha, Captain Alexander's third daughter, stated that he could not part with any land at present. He held a small piece of land sufficient to make a plantation, but as to the estate what he had made belonged to him. John Knipe, who married Margaret, Captain Alexander's eldest daughter, stated that Captain Alexander had consented to his marrying the daughter but had never made any great fortune, that he could part with anything now but that he intended to leave them in anything he had, and that he had represented that he could not do anything more, having a large family to maintain, but that at his death he would make them equal with the rest of his children. Interpretations The debts owing from the estate reverse the impression left by the appraisal. Assets stood at £2,385 8s 8d, but £346 1s 11d was due out of it and the largest creditor was the Company itself at £175 2s 2d, followed by two sitting councillors, John Goodwin at £141 2s 9d and Duke Crisp at £72 14s 9d. Almost every substantial man on the island appears somewhere on the list, which is what credit looked like in a settlement with almost no coin, where accounts ran on for years and were settled in cattle, provisions or labour. Mercy Meadows lent at 6 per cent, the same rate the council allowed John Brown when he offered to lend the Company £400 0s 0d on 13 June 1732, and the rate Richard Beale used in his computation of 27 January 1736 for the interest on the prime cost of a slave. Money at interest was one of the few investments available on the island, and it appears among the headings of the Powell appraisement of October 1735 alongside plate and sperate debts. The three husbands are answering the question put to them on 4 October, when the council asked each excluded child whether they had any demand upon the estate and allowed a fortnight to consult. Captain Alexander had cut out every child of his first marriage in favour of the widow and her children, and the council was fixing their answers on the record before letters of administration issued, since a grant made without hearing a claimant could be reopened by caveat as the Powell estate had been in October 1735. What each man describes is a marriage settlement that never materialised. A daughter's portion was expected at her marriage, and the failure to provide one was a recurring grievance in this record: Daniel Griffith complained at the sessions of 2 July 1733 that he had demanded his wife's portion from the Greentree executors since his marriage and been refused, and John Cary brought the same complaint over Hulda Hodgkinson's fortune in February 1730. |
235 | 227 | James Powell sayes he demands nothing but did accept of what was be given him he Married the fourth Daughter Capt Alexanders whole Estate amounted at the time of his Death according to the Inventory & Appraisement thereof to 2385 8 8 All Debts due from him & to Sundry persons upon the Ballance of their Severall Accounts amounts to 314 6 6 314 6 6 Which being deducted from the Estate, the Clear Estate is comes to 1870 16 2 1/2 The Widows 1/3 part of this Summe 623 11 5 1/2 The Remainder is 1247 2 9 1/4 Legacies deducted 25 6 The Remainder is £1211 2 9 1/4 & this Sum divided into Eleven parts one for the Widow & one for each of his Ten Children is Legacy 18 3/4 to each 91 18 5 1/4 Bagleys Legacy 34 3 9 his part of the Estate 91 18 5 1/4 126 1 5 1/4 Hardings Legacy 33 16 his part of the Estate 91 18 5 1/4 152 14 5 1/4 Aunges Legacy 30 his part of the Estate 91 18 5 1/4 121 18 5 1/4 372 4 4 1/4 This day James Harding John Aunge & Richard Bagley who each of them married a Grandaughter of Isham Mills & produced the last Will & Testament of the said Widow desiring the same might be proved & the same was proved accordingly upon the Oaths of the Witness thereto viz Fortune Alarick & William Coales & at their decease as mentioned on Tuesday 4 instant we also this day granted them Letters of Administration of the Personall Estate of the said Widow with the said Accounts Annexed & Copies of the said Letters of Administration by the said Will are as following Island St Helena WHEREAS Isham Mills late of the said Island Planter died on or about the 18 day of Octr in the year of our Lord one thousand before made a Written Will or Testament which said Will for several good purposes was Attested by Isaac Alexander Gent who was then in- indebted & Appointed said Executor & did not at any time since the said of the Testator tender the same to the Appraiser & Executed in order to be proved nor did at any time Exhibit or produce so any Inventory or Accounts of the Estate or Effects of which the said Isham Mills was possessed at the time of his death but privately concealed the same as aforesaid to the manifest prejudice of the Children by his former Wife the Daughters of the said Isham Mills due to the benefit & Advantage of his Issue by his last Wife now his Widow whose fortunes & Interest was enriched | James Powell said he wanted nothing beyond whatever might come to him as husband of the fourth daughter. Statement of Captain Alexander's estate Captain Alexander's whole estate and effects at the time of his death, according to the inventory and appraisement, £2,385 8s 8.5d Debts owing by him to various people on the balance of their accounts, £316 6s 6d Remaining after the debts are taken off, £2,070 16s 2.5d The widow's third of that sum, £623 11s 5d The remainder, £1,247 3s 9.5d Legacies taken off, £25 6s 0d Remainder, £1,211 3s 9.5d The remainder split eleven ways, one share for the widow and one for each of his ten children, £91 18s 5.5d each Bagley's legacy, £34 3s 9d His share of the estate, £91 18s 5.5d Total, £126 1s 5.5d Harding's legacy, £33 16s 0d His share of the estate, £91 18s 5.5d Total, £125 14s 5.5d Knipe's legacy, £30 0s 0d His share of the estate, £91 18s 5.5d Total, £121 18s 5.5d Total, £373 14s 4.5d James Harding, John Knipe and Edward Bagley each attended that day and were sworn. All three accepted the will as their father-in-law had left it and asked that it be proved. It was proved on the oaths of the witnesses Isaac Johnson, Isaac Clarke and William Coates, and the three men were given charge of the estate the same day. The will, the accounts attached to it and a copy of their authority were all entered in the register. The following statement was made at St Helena. Captain John Alexander died on or about 18 September, having written his will some time before. John Alexander, gentleman, was named in it as sole executor and produced it, but he never showed it to the appraisers and never brought it forward at any point so that a proper inventory could be taken. The goods Captain Alexander owned at his death were kept out of sight, and everything set out in the inventory that should have gone to his daughters by his first wife was turned instead to the benefit of the children of his second marriage, whose mother is now his widow and whose fortunes were secured in that way. Interpretations The arithmetic sets out the island's own rule of descent, which the council had stated plainly on 21 May 1734 when it struck out a clause in John Young's will. A widow took a third of the goods and money outright, and what remained was split among the children, here in eleven shares with the widow taking one alongside each of the ten. The rule had the Company's approval and held whatever a man wrote, which is why Captain Alexander's attempt to cut out his first family produced this calculation instead of the exclusion he wanted. Each of the three husbands ends with about £125 0s 0d out of an estate of £2,385 8s 8.5d. The legacies of around £30 0s 0d that the will allowed them were the few small bequests mentioned a fortnight earlier, and the share of the residue nearly quadruples what their father-in-law meant them to have. Agreeing among themselves to prove the will and take the estate jointly settled the matter without anyone entering an objection, which was the alternative and which had frozen the Powell estate completely from October 1735. Keeping a will from the appraisers undermines the whole point of the exercise. A sworn inventory fixed the sum the man in charge of an estate had to answer for, and the council insisted on four appraisers on oath precisely because a low or partial valuation quietly favoured whoever held the goods. Richard Goodwin produced a paper covering less than a quarter of Mary Powell's estate in September 1735, and five sworn commissioners came back with a figure more than twelve times his own. The complaint is that the estate was hidden so the second family would gain at the expense of the first, and it echoes what John Hodgkinson alleged against his own mother on 25 February 1735, that she worked on his father in his last sickness with tears and earnest speeches at the very moment he was making his will. |
236 | 228 | intended thereby And Whereas for want of Probate of the said Will the Right of Administration belongs to the Heirs & Legatees of the said Isham Mills & you James Harding Richard Bagley & John Aunge having each of you married a Grandaughter of the said Isham Mills to whom he hath bequeathed his said Estate as will more fully appear by the Annexed Copy of the said Will We therefore the Governour & Council of the said Island do by these Presents Grant unto you the said James Harding Richard Bagley & John Aunge full Power entirely to Administer & faithfully dispose of the Goods & Chattels of the said according to his true intent & meaning fully mentioned & in and herewith in his said Will & also a Debts any & even payments to be made of all Debts or dues whatsoever owing or belonging to the said deceased at the time of his death both pay all such Debts as were owing by the said deceased as far as also his Goods & Chattels will extend, And you are to take or cause to be made a full & true Inventory of all such Slaves Goods & Chattels that were & did belong to the said at the time of his decease, or which & to deliver the same to Us on or upon the 7 day of Novr next ensuing the date hereof, And you are also to render an Account to Us of your Administration when you shall be thereunto required Given under our Hands & the Honble Companies Seale this 18 Octr 1737 IN THE Name of God Amen &c In the Book of Wills wherein this Will is Registred | That was what the concealment was meant to achieve. Since the will had never been proved, the right to administer the estate fell to the men named as legatees, James Harding, Edward Bagley and John Knipe, each of whom had married one of Captain Alexander's daughters. He had left them his estate, as appeared from the copy of the will annexed. Governor Pyke and the council therefore authorised Harding, Bagley and Knipe to administer the goods and chattels of the deceased in accordance with the will and the several particulars set out in it. They were to receive any money owing to him at the time of his death, to pay every debt he owed, to take charge of his goods and chattels, and to prepare a full and true inventory of all the slaves, goods and chattels belonging to him at the time of his death. That inventory was to be delivered by 7 November next, and they were to render an account of their administration whenever the council required it. The authority was given under the hands of the Governor and council and the Company's seal on 18 October 1737. The will opened with the customary invocation, and it was entered in the book of wills. Interpretations Handing the estate to three sons-in-law rather than to the named executor is the council's answer to a man who kept the will out of sight. An executor derives his authority from the will itself and can act before probate, which is exactly what made concealment worth attempting, since goods could be moved and debts collected while no inventory existed. Passing over him and appointing the excluded daughters' husbands put the estate into the hands of the only people with an interest in valuing it fully. Fixing a date for the inventory rather than leaving it open follows the practice the council settled after the Powell affair. Captain Goodwin was charged on oath on 7 May 1734 to deliver a full inventory and account of the Coles estate by 5 July, and Richard Goodwin's repeated failure to produce a proper inventory of Mary Powell's estate in 1735 led to five sworn appraisers being appointed over his head. Twenty days is a short allowance, and it reflects how much of this estate had already gone unrecorded. Requiring an account of the administration whenever called for keeps the three men answerable indefinitely. That obligation is what the orphans courts of October 1727, 1728 and 1729 enforced against guardians and trustees, each of whom brought in a written account of the estates in their care, and it is the mechanism by which the council could reopen a settled estate years later if the figures proved false. Sealing the grant with the Company's seal marks the council acting as a probate court in the absence of any ecclesiastical jurisdiction. There was no bishop's court on the island and no judge trained in the civil law, so the Governor and council did the work themselves, having settled their procedure by reading Swinburne on wills and The Orphans Legacy in September 1735. |
237 | 229 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 25th Octr 1737 at the Fort PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Petition was presented & read vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr &c. Council The humble Petition of Richard Spearman SHEWETH At a Consultation held the [...] of this instant I received other your Worships Ord Council would be pleased in respect of putting John Farquharson in Possession of the Land claimed by right of his Wife & accordingly I therefore your Worship informed containd in the said Arrivall of the Lordship [...] Ships of the Honble Companies Appraisemen in which the said Right is & therefore your Petitioner humbly prays the same may be deferred or as [...] Ings admitted And your Petitionr as in duty bound St Helena 25th Octr 1737 Rich Spearman In Answer to this Petition he was told by the Governour that the Instructions must go of that Land as of all others in the most [...] & we have had is put of in a Shamefull manner by Some Purchasers & change to what has been Almost Every Consultation for the Repair of the Bank & Transfer & has back Neglected Prepared to Appear this time of these things he was able to Consider more he doing and the possession of that Land goes to the most [...] who has been unjustly kept out of it but if it should be answer or any other done a Just Estate therein they may bring their Petition & it shall be them to be given every At the desire of Mr Farquharson Mr Wrang came this day and did Acquainted the Council was Willing to become Guarantee to the Grant on part of the said Farquharson | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 25 October 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A petition from Richard Goodwin was then laid before the board and read out. Goodwin recalled that at the meeting of 4 October 1737 the council had signalled its intention to put John Hodgkinson into the land he claimed through his sister. He asked that the step be held over, or that time be allowed, until the arrival of the shipping [...]. He subscribed the paper at St Helena on 25 October 1737. The Governor replied that the inheritance of that land, like every other, had to pass to the next heir. He traced how the ground had come into James Crawford's hands after Colgrave held it [...], and remarked that Crawford had left the buildings unrepaired and had since died, so that the heir long kept out of the property was entitled to enter at once. He added that Goodwin, or anyone else who believed he had a lawful title, was free to bring an action and have a jury decide it. Mr Wrangham attended the same day and told the council he was willing to take charge of the interests of Hodgkinson's grandchildren as their guardian. Interpretations The whole dispute turns on a rule of English land law that gave a husband a life interest in his wife's inherited ground, but only where a child of the marriage had drawn breath. That question was put to the jury at the court of judicature of 15 March 1737, and the verdict went against James Crawford, since John Hodgkinson petitioned on 29 March 1737 as heir at law to his sister Anne for about 20 acres of freehold and named John Peter Longford his attorney. Crawford's death removed even the argument for a life interest, which is why the Governor treated the heir's entry as a matter of course rather than a fresh question. Richard Goodwin's stake in the delay lay in his office rather than in any title of his own. He was named sole executor by Crawford's will of 6 March 1736, which directed that the freehold coming through the marriage be sold and £100 0s 0d sent to a wife then living in England. Losing the land destroyed that legacy and stripped the estate of its largest asset: when Goodwin tendered the inventory on 4 October 1737 the land stood at £102 12s 6d out of a total of £489 16s 3d, and the valuation was challenged on the spot as improperly drawn. A postponement would have kept the ground in the estate long enough for a sale to be attempted. The offer of a jury was not a courtesy but the council's standing method of shifting a contested title off its own hands. Sitting as a board it could settle possession administratively, which is what it did; sitting as a court it could only try a right that somebody was prepared to plead. By putting Hodgkinson in and inviting an action, the Governor placed the burden of proof and the cost of proceedings on whoever wished to disturb the arrangement. Appointing a guardian to a minor's estate was a separate matter from any grant of probate or administration, and gave the appointee authority to hold, manage and account for a child's property until the child came of age. The council had used the same device on 31 August 1736, when Mary Powell the younger, then upwards of fourteen and with both parents dead, asked for and obtained the appointment of Captain Goodwin over her fortune. Speculations The default course was plainly to grant the delay. Goodwin asked only for time until the shipping came, and this council had let far larger questions sit unresolved for exactly that reason: Richard Beale's claim to thirty acres was referred to London three times, and the Powell estate, appraised at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October 1735, still stood frozen behind three caveats. Waiting cost the board nothing and offended nobody. What tipped the decision the other way was the Governor's own view of the history he recited from the bench, that the ground had been held and neglected through a chain of hands while the rightful heir stayed out of it, so that a further season's postponement would simply extend a wrong already run too long. Refusing the delay and offering a jury instead let the council end the possession immediately while leaving the title formally open to challenge. |
238 | 230 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 1st Novr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depty Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved Was this day Granted Letters to James Ryan to administer upon the Estate of his Mother lately deceased At a Consultation held on Tuesday ye 8th Novr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depty Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved Dulfrey aged about fifty years a Slave man belonging to the Widow Greentree makes Complaint that his said Mistress is so very Severe & hard upon him that she will neither allow him Victuals enough to support him nor Clothing sufficient to cover his Nakedness & that for want of Necessary food he is hardly able to walk along & for want of Cloths to Shelter him from the Weather he is often Sick & although unfit he Says to be allowed Victuals & Cloths he always worked hard & was to work always at all times & at every turn he now acts this Mistress for Cloths or Victuals she constantly beats him with a great Cane or Stick or with any thing else that comes first to hand & instead of giving him a belly full she will often take the Yams & throw it to the Hogs & send him away to work without any thing to eat & her cruelty to him is so great that he Saith he cannot live with her any longer for as he is now grown old in her Service he cannot work in the Wet without either Cloths or Victuals as he used to do & saith that besides often beaten of him without cause she constantly Scolds at him every time she comes near him & he further Saith that all his fellow Servants have the same cause to complain as he hath but they being younger are able to bear it better & in Testimony of the Truth the said Dulfrey hath made his Mark this 8 day of Novr 1737 his + Mark Dulfrey Taken before me Isa: Pyke The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Octr past which were severally Examind & Approved & are as followng | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 1 November 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor and Duke Crisp of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Letters of administration were granted to James Ryan over the estate of his late mother. At a further meeting held at the castle on Tuesday 8 November 1737, the same three sat and the previous minutes were read and approved. Duffey, a slave of about fifty years belonging to the widow Greentree, appeared and complained of his mistress. Duffey stated that she treated him with great harshness, gave him neither clothing enough to cover himself nor food enough to keep him, and left him so poorly fed that he could barely stand to his labour. Lacking clothes to shelter him from the weather, he fell ill repeatedly, yet whatever he asked for went unanswered. He had always worked hard and had never carried himself badly towards her, and instead of clothing or victuals she struck him constantly with a heavy cane or stick or with anything else that came to hand. She would take away his rice, throw it to the hogs and send him out to labour with nothing to eat. He described her cruelty as so severe that he could no longer bear it, having grown old in her service, and said he could not work in the wet without something to cover him. She beat him often without cause, and abused him every time he came near her. His fellow servants had the same ground for complaint, but being young they were better able to endure it. He signed the statement with his mark on 3 November 1737, sworn before Governor Pyke. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for October, which were examined separately and approved. Interpretations The complaint tests the limit of what the council could do about a cruel owner. A slave's word carried no weight against a free defendant, so nothing here could be prosecuted, and the board had been reduced for years to extracting undertakings instead of convictions. It had stated the rule plainly on 18 December 1733, that a slave driven away by an owner's cruelty ought not to be punished where no other fault appeared, and it had applied that rule twice already in this same household, sparing Martha the whip and collar on 20 November 1733 and again on 18 December 1733, and striking the chains off the girl Sarah on 8 January 1734. Duffey had come before the council once already, on 13 September 1737, with an account far more serious than this one. He then described the girl Sarah chained naked to a heavy task until she died of it, and the body of the runaway Martha lying eaten in a dry quarry. Elizabeth Greentree denied every word, blamed the dead woman on her daughter Griffith's household and the girl's death on illness, and promised to be less severe, on which the council directed that Duffey be returned to her if she failed. His reappearance eight weeks later, with the beatings and the short rations unchanged, shows what such a promise was worth. Taking a deposition on oath from a man whose evidence could not be used in court had a purpose beyond the immediate case. The sworn paper entered the record, and the record went home to London in the general letter, which was the council's only route to an authority able to act where its own jurisdiction failed. The same reasoning governed the files sent home on Joseph Bates and on the surgeon Gibson. Granting administration where a person died without a will gave the next of kin lawful power to collect the goods, settle the debts and distribute what remained, and it differed from probate, which issued to executors a will had named. Without it nobody could give a good receipt for a debt owed to the estate. Speculations The obvious course, having heard the same complaint from the same man for the second time in eight weeks, was to enforce the condition attached to the first hearing and take him permanently out of the household. The council had that sanction ready and had said as much on 13 September 1737, and it had reached further still against Thomas Clough on 16 April 1734, compelling him to sell an ill-used slave by threatening his liquor licence and his ability to buy more. What it did instead was take the statement on oath and enter it, which suggests the board had concluded that removing the man solved nothing while the rest of the household stayed where it was. Duffey himself made that point on the page, saying his fellow servants had the same grievance and endured it only because they were younger, and a paper covering the whole household was worth more to a council that meant to lay the matter before the Company than the rescue of one man approaching the end of his labouring life. |
239 | 231 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of October 1737 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sheep, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Octr: Bullocks 11, Cows 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sheep 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Totall 8, Horses 13, Mares 21 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sheep 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 5, Geese 3, Totall 0, Horses 1, Mares 1 Bullocks 11, Cows 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sheep 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 23, Geese 13, Totall 8, Horses 14, Mares 22 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sheep 0, Shoates 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 0, Fowles 15, Ducks 5, Geese 2, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 11, Cows 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sheep 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 44, Fowles 115, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 8, Horses 14, Mares 22 Died in ditto: Bullocks 1, Cows 2, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totall 8, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sheep 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 2, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 31st Octr 1737: Bullocks 10, Cows 119, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 68, Bulls 6, Totall 394, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sheep 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 44, Fowles 115, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 6, Horses 14, Mares 20 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 15500 Ditto delivered the Blacks 47500 Totall Yams 63000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of October 1737, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 October 1737: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, neat cattle total 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, horses total 21 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 5, geese 3, horses 0, mares 1, horses total 1 Standing after the increase: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, neat cattle total 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 23, geese 13, horses 8, mares 14, horses total 22 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 2, turkeys 0, fowls 15, ducks 5, geese 2, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, neat cattle total 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 44, fowls 115, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 8, mares 14, horses total 22 Died in the month: bullocks 1, cows 2, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 5, bulls 0, neat cattle total 8, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 2, mares 0, horses total 2 Remaining 31 October 1737: bullocks 10, cows 119, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 68, bulls 6, neat cattle total 394, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 44, fowls 115, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 6, mares 14, horses total 20 Yams expended at the several plantations, 15,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 47,500 lb Total yams, 63,000 lb Interpretations Neat cattle are ordinary horned farm animals, graded here by sex and age: bullocks and steers are castrated males kept for beef, heifers are young females not yet calved, and yearlings and calves are the growing stock that feeds the older classes as the animals age. Among the sheep, wethers are castrated males and the class the table normally supplies; among the hogs, shoats are weaned young pigs and boars are the uncastrated males kept for breeding. Not one beast went to shipping this month, and the whole fall in the herd came from deaths alone. The road had stood empty since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737, and with no vessel to victual there was nothing to sell, which is why even the two shoats and the fifteen fowls entered as killed went to the fort's own table rather than to a buyer. Eight cattle died in the month against five in each of July, August and September, and the composition matters more than the number. The earlier losses ran to a cow and four calves at a time, the youngest stock going first as the feed failed. October carried off a bullock and two cows besides five calves, so the drought Governor Pyke reported on 2 August 1737 had begun to reach grown animals kept for sale and for breeding. He had then recorded 54 head lost by the inhabitants in July alone, most of them belonging to holders with two or three beasts apiece in the eastern parts. Nothing was born in the month except three geese, five ducks and a single mare. Calving stopped entirely, having run at six and four head in the preceding months, and no lamb or pig came at all, the reproductive collapse that follows poor pasture rather than any decision of the council. Against 46 breeding ewes the flock held only 10 wethers and 2 lambs, so the sheep offered nothing to the table without cutting into the breeding stock itself. The loss of two horses is heavier than it looks. The stud had just been carried to its largest figure in this record, 19 head rising to 21, by the eight mares landed at 16 rupees apiece from the Wyndham and the Defence in May and June 1737, with a foal following in July. Half a year's importing was undone in a month, and horses were the only means of moving anything up the island's paths. Yams at 63,000 lb are much the heaviest issue of recent months, against 32,000 lb in September and 14,500 lb to the plantations alone in August, and more than three quarters of it went to the slaves rather than to the hogs and poultry. St Helena's winter runs from about May to September, so October opens the summer and draws on a crop just lifted. The island fed its establishment on yams and imported rice in a way no English estate did, potatoes being still a marginal food across most of southern England at this date, and the swing between 14,500 lb and 63,000 lb in three months measures how completely that establishment lived off whatever the ground had just yielded. |
240 | 232 | Expence of the Table in Octr 1737 vizt £ s d Arrack 7 Gallons 14 6 Wine 6 Bottles 1 6 8 Sugar 4 lb 3 5 4 Candles 24 1 16 Bread 2 14 Flower 3 3 15 Butter 18 lb 18 Days Dinners 31 1 11 Bottles Milk 60 1 8 Ducks 3 7 6 Geese 2 10 Fowles 10 1 2 6 Turkeys at 25s 2 2 2 6 Arrack to the Guards for [...] 15 Gall Sugar to ditto 30 lb upon her Majesties Birth Day 32 13 2 Gunners Store Expended in Octr 1737 vizt The Expence of the Guards & [...] Day 10 Powder Ladle Hood 15 Copper Ladle 1 Handspikes 6 Bitts 6 Cartridge paper 6 Quire Match 15 | Expenses of the fort's table for October 1737, with a separate allowance entered for the Queen's birthday. 71 gallons of arrack, £14 4s 0d 4 bottles of oil, £1 6s 8d 118 lb of sugar, £3 5s 4d 24 lb of candy, £1 16s 0d 2 lb of bread, £0 14s 0d 3 lb of flour, £3 15s 0d 18 lb of butter, £0 18s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 63 bottles of milk, £1 0s 8d 3 ducks, £0 7s 6d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 15 fowls, £1 2s 6d 2 shoats weighing 75 lb, £2 2s 6d 15 gallons of arrack to the guards and artificers on the Queen's birthday, £3 0s 0d 30 lb of sugar to the same, £0 17s 0d Total, £32 13s 2d Gunner's stores expended in October 1737, with the identities of the lower entries carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Powder expended on the guards and the muster day, 30 lb Lead shot, 15 lb Copper ladles, 1 Sponge staves, 6 Bitts, 6 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 15 lb Interpretations Arrack is the eastern spirit distilled from palm sap, rice or sugar, shipped to the island by the leaguer from Batavia and Goa, and it dominates the table account here as it does throughout the run: at £14 4s 0d it takes nearly half the whole month. Candy is refined sugar crystallised in lumps, a separate and dearer article than the loose sugar entered above it, and it came from China rather than Bengal. Shoats are weaned young pigs, entered by weight because the table bought carcasses rather than live animals. Artificers are the tradesmen of the establishment, the smiths, coopers, carpenters and armourer, who received the same customary allowance of spirit and sugar as the guards on a royal anniversary. No beef appears in the account at all, and the pork of two shoats at 75 lb carries almost the whole of the meat alongside three ducks, two geese and fifteen fowls. That confirms what the stock account for the same month shows, no beast having been killed and none sold, with the road empty since 3 July 1737. Beef had been equally absent in July, August and September, so the fort had by now gone four months on poultry and pork, exactly as it had through the winter of 1736 when beef vanished from the table for four months together from July of that year. Milk, butter and daily greens run steadily through the month, 63 bottles of milk and 31 days of greens covering every day of it. That regularity is worth noting against the drought reported on 2 August 1737, since the dairy and the Plantation House garden lie in the centre and south of the island where the Company's ground still produced, while the eastern holdings stood without feed and the inhabitants lost 54 head of cattle in July. The royal allowance was charged apart from the table itself. Queen Caroline's birthday fell on 1 March in the calendar the island kept, and an October date points instead to the anniversary of the King's birth on 30 October, marked in earlier years by 21 guns and by arrack and sugar issued to the guards, smiths, coopers and carpenters. Here the powder charge shows no salute fired at all, the whole 30 lb going to the guards and the muster, so the compliment was paid in drink alone. Sponge staves are the wooden shafts carrying the sheepskin heads used to swab a gun's bore between firings, and they wear out fastest of any store because the swabbing is constant while the firing is not. Bitts are the timber blocks and pins fitted about a carriage, and a ladle is the long copper scoop for charging a piece by hand. Cartridge paper, sold by the quire, was made up into the prepared charges kept ready in the magazine. Match is the slow-burning cord that had to smoulder at every guard post through every watch whether or not a shot was fired, which is why it recurs at a steady 15 lb in a month when not a single gun was discharged for salute or alarm. The 30 lb of powder charged to the guards is the same fixed figure entered month after month since the nightly guard boat was set out on 30 June 1735, and it is the whole of the month's consumption. September had gone lower still, two whole culverins fired to clear the guns on the line being the only discharge in the record's quietest month. An anchorage with no shipping in it produced no alarms to answer and no arrivals to salute, and the gunner's account measures the traffic in the road more exactly than any other paper the island kept. |
241 | 233 | At a Court of Orphans held on Tuesday the 15 Novr 1737 as [...] chapel in James Dutty PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour & Judge John Goodwin Duke Crispe The Governour in perusing the Book of Wills having observed that many were defectively & illegally made & having also more particularly Considered the Last Will & Testament of Capt Alexander lately made & so found that the same in many & various was contrary to Law & reason & least the same should become a Precedent to allow the same to pass publick notice that a Court of Orphans would be this day held & that he would then declare his Opinions touching the Wills & the Legacy of that Will & Testaments & having desired all Clerk of the Wills to be Established to be present thereat as was Ordered of Executor or Testator of the same many of them attended accordingly & the said Last Will of Capt Alexander being first read to them apart to them as follows vizt Gentlemen Inhabitants of St Helena But more especially to you who are Fathers of Children Capt: Alexander being Dead & leaving a Confused & perplext Will and his son marrying an under Age of Ingratitude & do so under an Guardian & three of his Children who are of Age having been kept in Ignorance of what their Patrimony amounted to And having desired to hear their Fathers Will read & have applyed to me for the same & therefore when the Widow & Executrix brought the said Will to me to be proved, & found all the Children that were of Age to be present to hear the said Will read & they refusing to be alledged that Captain Alexander had promised all of them that all his Estate he would make all his Children equal & some alledged that he had the reason to give them nothing now on hand at present as I came to me & keep out their own lands Wherefore we Examined into the matter & do find the Will very Irregularly made & that the Children of his former Wife were without any share each being mentioned in the said Will as it altogether ought to all fully & plainly appears as the cause for Disinheriting any Child or Children And Complaint having been also further made to me & pursued by the first three Children that Legacy Was their Grandfather many Years since married Lady in Anno Domini Legacies of his Deceased Estate which they had never received & desired a Copy of their Grandfathers Will, which was Ordered for them but on Searching the Office no such Will could be found neither was it ever Registred nor the Inventory & Accots in as it ought to have been done but the present Executor having found such a Will among his papers produced it & one of the Attesting thereto being still living the said Will was proved & the Legacies Children thereim named being the Judiciary Legatees were admitted to the Administration, & they exhibited a Fragment of an Inventory of Adminr but his goods but no Appraisement Now Capt Alexander having been at that time Sovereign & having Secured the said Will to the apparent Prejudice of his | A court of orphans sat on Tuesday 15 November 1737 at the chapel in James Valley, with Governor Pyke sitting as judge, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp attending. The Governor had noticed while examining the office books that many wills were badly and irregularly drawn, and he had looked with particular care at the will of Captain Alexander when it came before the board. He found its provisions unfair to reason and law, and unreasonable towards the children of the first marriage. Public notice was accordingly given that a court of orphans would sit on this day, so that he might hear from the inhabitants themselves what they wished done about the rules governing wills and testaments. The clerk of the court was directed to summon a great many of the inhabitants to attend, and a large number came. A written statement was then read out to them and afterwards addressed to Thomas [...]. The paper was directed to the inhabitants of St Helena, and more particularly to those who were fathers of children. Captain Alexander having died leaving a badly drawn will, three of his daughters by his first marriage had come to the Governor to be told what portion they were entitled to. They had been kept in ignorance of what their inheritance amounted to. Wishing to hear their father's will read, they applied to the Governor for that purpose. The widow and the executor produced the will before him, and it appeared that the children had every right to be present when it was read. Their request was allowed. Captain Alexander had promised in his lifetime to make all his children equal, and the daughters alleged that the reason he gave them nothing at his death was that he had nothing in hand at the time and meant to make it good afterwards. The Governor accordingly directed that the will, being irregularly drawn, should be set aside so far as it disinherited the children of the first marriage, each of them being mentioned in it but left nothing. He held that a father's will could not lawfully be used to disinherit any child. A further complaint was made to the Governor by the same children. Their grandfather had many years earlier left them a considerable estate by his will, and they had never received or seen a copy of it. On searching for it in the office no such will could be found, and neither the will nor the inventory of the goods could be traced where they ought to have been lodged. The executor, going through Captain Alexander's own papers, found such a will among them, and it was read out. It named the grandchildren, and once it had been read the judiciary trustees were admitted to the administration and given a copy of a fragment of an inventory of the goods, with an appraisement. Captain Alexander having been the acting trustee at that time, and having concealed the will to the apparent prejudice of his children [...]. Interpretations The court of orphans was a distinct sitting from the ordinary consultation, convened to supervise the property of minors and of children whose portions were held by executors or trustees. St Helena had held such courts on 3 October 1727, 8 October 1728 and 11 October 1729, at which guardians rendered written accounts of the estates in their charge. Calling one here to review the law of wills generally, rather than to audit a particular trust, is a considerable widening of its function. The settlement of Captain Alexander's estate on 18 October 1737 had already gone against the will. The council then applied the island's own custom instead, allowing the widow a third of £2,070 16s 2.5d and dividing the remainder of £1,211 3s 9.5d into eleven shares of £91 18s 5.5d for the widow and each of the ten children. Administration went to Edward Bagley, James Harding and John Knipe, the husbands of three excluded daughters, and the record noted that the named executor, his son John Alexander, had never shown the will to the appraisers nor brought it forward for an inventory. The present court is the Governor turning that single decision into a general rule. Concealing a will was the more serious charge because it defeated a claim before anyone knew there was one to make. The council had confronted the same difficulty over deed registration, John Alexander himself reporting on 16 November 1730 that holders had commonly neglected to register a deed once delivered, which is precisely why his own probate papers survived only among his private papers. Where no instrument reached the office, the office had nothing to search and an heir had nothing to plead. The daughters' grievance turned on the mechanics of a portion. A child's share of a father's personal estate was held in trust by executors until the child came of age or married, and it passed into a husband's control on marriage, so a daughter married off with a promise and no settlement had no means of compelling payment afterwards. Each of the three husbands stated on 18 October 1737 that their wives had been promised something at marriage and had received nothing. Speculations The Governor could have left the matter where the board had already put it. The estate was settled, administration was granted, the inventory was due by 7 November, and the three excluded daughters had accepted the will once the customary division gave them their shares. Instead he summoned a great many inhabitants to a court convened for the purpose and had a written statement read to them, addressing it pointedly to those who were fathers. What he wanted was not a remedy in this case but a change in practice across the island, and the phrasing of the paper shows why he thought a public reading necessary: a father who meant to prefer a second family could do it quietly through a defective instrument, and only the men who might draw such a will could be persuaded not to. He had used the same method against lewdness on 3 February 1736, putting the question to the whole council in writing and seeking a standing law from the Company rather than punishing the case in front of him. |
242 | 234 | [...] & conveighing the same out of the Office & not causing the Inventory to be Registred tho' it was his plain & Something to do it, & was guilty of a great Misdemeanor and had this Misde- -meanor discovered in his Lifetime & was the Duty of my place to discharge him from the Honble Companies Service & I would in a manner But as he is gone to his Grave I am now willing to let this matter Dye & bury it in the Grave with him, but as Alexander tho' he was appointed Executor on behalf of his former Wife & poor Wifes Daughter & his own Children & neglected to Administer that Estate is Devolved to his Present three Eldest Daughters & their Husbands who are Represented as Heirs to his Generall Estate if it should be known how much that was for it belongs to them both & Wills was imagined & Reputed to a Dyed in an utterly Circumstance which came to the Alexanders name as also Assets as Executor & begged them but the Accounts will find & be an altogether Herewith But to return to Alexanders Will we find the first three Children without any just or any reasonable cause therein Shewn at least of with very small Legacies much less in- -deed than what upon Wills their Grandfather gave them & their Patrimony not Debated nothing them as it ought to have been done Now there is no doubt to be made but that every Father upon a just & reasonable cause has power to Disinherit Wicked & Disobedient Children but then in his said Will he must mention that cause as a reason for so doing that the Judge of that be Occasion may Determine whether the cause alledged were a just cause or not, & that you may not be at a Loss to know what a good cause for a Father to Disinherit his Child I recommend to you to read over the latter parts of the Book of Moses or the old Testament & for such cause as a Jewish Father could put his Child to Death for every such cause an English Christian Parent may Disinherit his Child but not for every thing that whether in Law or Angry with his former three Children for And now I have mentioned the Causes about Disinheriting Children I think it proper to let you know that every thing is not Law that is put down or Registred by a Will, for some Wills are wholly unjust, & such Clauses only to them ought allwayes to be adjudged so I have some some Wills made here which I will mention to you now to prevent such Irregularities for the future For Example When a dying man leaves his Wife Supposed to be with Child & saith in his Will that some of his Children shall their Share or Patrimony out of his Estate untill the Child Supposed to be then in his Wives Womb shall be born & come of Age Now such a Bequest as that is unjust to all the other Children who at right to Suffer from their Fathers Demise either by themselves or their Guardians tho' the youngest Child is Self is not to have its Share or | The paper continued with the Governor's account of how the concealed will had been kept out of the office and the inventory left unregistered. He held the conduct a grave misdemeanour, and considered it his duty to bring the matter forward and to discharge himself from the Company's books over it. Since the man was dead, the Governor set the point aside, and let the matter be buried with him. Captain Alexander had neglected the children of his former wife in favour of his own daughter, and the estate went to his second wife, his three daughters and their husbands, who now had the whole in their hands. What was really due to the children of the first marriage could not be established, since no inventory had ever been made and no honest account rendered. The Governor observed that those who came after Alexander as executors had entered on the accounts and would find them anything but honest. The children of the first marriage were left without any just or reasonable cause shown against them, and received nothing beyond a few very small legacies. Nothing more came to them than what their grandfather's will had already given, and their portions never reached them at all. The Governor accepted that any father might disinherit a wicked or disobedient child where a real cause existed, provided he stated that cause in his will so that a judge could weigh whether the reason given was just. He directed the inhabitants to read the later parts of the books of Moses in the Old Testament. Under Jewish law a father could put such a child to death, whereas an English Christian parent could only disinherit for the same offence, and might do so whether he was angry with the mother or with the children. Having dealt with the reasons for disinheriting children, the Governor turned to the form of the instruments themselves. He wished the inhabitants to understand that a badly drawn will could be wholly unjust and mischievous, and that there ought always to be an ending in the sense he had described. He then set out for them the irregularities he wanted corrected in future. He gave an example. A dying man whose wife was believed to be pregnant might direct in his will that his other children should each take their portion of the estate only once the expected child was born and came of age. A bequest of that kind was unjust to all the older children, who ought to receive their shares at their father's death either in their own hands or through their guardians, and it left the youngest child with no portion at all. Interpretations The Governor's remark about discharging himself from the Company's books refers to the accounting of responsibility rather than to money. An officer who knew of a concealed instrument and said nothing became answerable for the loss it caused, so entering the matter on the record and reporting it home was the only way to shift that liability off himself. The example he chose exposes a real defect in island practice rather than a hypothetical one. Governor Pyke had endorsed John Knipe senior's will on 18 September 1733 with his own hand, holding unlawful its direction that the estate be kept whole until the youngest child Ruth reached sixteen or married, since adult children are not bound to wait on a younger sibling's coming of age. He had made the same objection to John Young's will on 21 May 1734, disallowing the clause that gave the widow a third of the real estate and admitting her instead to half for life under the island's own custom, on the ground that a foreigner who gathered his estate among the inhabitants should not set a precedent damaging to the women of the place. What he addressed to the inhabitants now was the general rule behind two decisions he had already made case by case. The appeal to Mosaic law is doing legal work rather than moral. English law allowed a testator complete freedom to dispose of personal property and gave a disinherited child no remedy, so the Governor had no statute to point to. Setting the harsher ancient penalty beside the milder Christian one let him argue that disinheritance was the substitute for execution and therefore required a stated cause, which is the requirement he wanted written into future wills. The council had reached for scripture in the same way on 3 August 1736, ordering Benjamin Pledger to make fourfold restitution for stolen salt under the rule in Exodus, having no English measure of damages that fitted. The absence of an inventory is what made the loss unrecoverable rather than merely unfair. Without a sworn valuation there was no figure an executor could be held to and no baseline against which a later account could be tested, which is why the council had appointed five sworn appraisers to the Powell estate on 25 September 1735 and four to Captain Alexander's own on 30 September 1737. A trust administered without one left the beneficiaries unable to prove what they had lost. Speculations Pursuing Alexander's conduct as a misdemeanour was plainly open, and the Governor said as much before dropping it. He had the concealed will in hand, the missing inventory established and the man's own admission implied by the papers found among his effects, and the council had sent files home to London on far weaker material, as it did over Joseph Bates's forged claim on 3 May 1731 and the surgeon Gibson's invented debt schedule on 20 March 1729. What stopped him was that the offender was dead and the estate already divided under the island's custom on 18 October 1737, so a prosecution would have punished nobody and unsettled a settlement the excluded daughters' husbands had just accepted. Choosing instead to read the whole history aloud to an assembly of fathers turned a case beyond remedy into an instrument of general warning, which was the only use left in it. |
243 | 235 | Patrimony till it is of age Some Wills have Ordered they leave what they have to their Wives for the good of their Children for her to dispose of all things to them which I do see thanks fit & in such manner & Proportion as she thinks fit which is so unjust that it looks as if the husband by Idleness & the Will was of the Wives making but such a Will as she would & of no force in London but would as looks on for the Childrens behalf as an Executor Estate, & the Children when of Age according to the Law of England would have their Patrimony whether the matter thought fit or no Another Will I have seen here wherein it is Enjoyd the Children shall have their fortunes Improved by their Mother & that she shall keep all things in her hands untill the youngest Child comes to of Age And to make that Will even worth much than that which I mention first they have possibly given the Estate that is my Wife & Executrix & said Words notwithstanding any Sum or Custom to the Contrary now I must own you that such a Bequest is a Deprivement as this look as if the Will maker was either mad or Drunk, & that he certainly was not in a fit Condition of disposing of his Childrens future Interest and tho' such a Will should not Confuted Children whom the Law allwayes favours yet indeed by a Will any other Bequest to the Widows preferences be what they will or no the most Ignorant Law or any Commonalties Rustic Custom ought to Mind but would be Quashed & broken Ought to be so I think it proper to allow the Widow for her life one half part of all the real Estate that was purchased during the Coverture or Marriage Bond, & a Land as the Man Enjoyd before Marriage goes to his Children & not to his Wife untill Extraordinary in Ryches he ye Wife & the has a Right according to the Custom in London to one full third part of all the personal Estate, But lately there was an Act of Parliament & that Estate imposed the Husband for your Cohouses to give her life, and to have Ten Children living at his Death & during & of them by a former Wife, & take to be a great Favour because she could not be Deprived of them when she married I think also that if a man leaves but one Child that the Wife should have half the Personal Estate & where the Estate is not in Debt the Widow to have the Furniture of her Chamber & her usual Ornaments & they who would have more than this comes to should make it a Written Contract before Marriage or otherwise it would not be good I approve also of the Eldest Son if he has no Free Land left him to be Educated to it that he should have as much as two Eldest parts for his filial Portion, but there is no such life & the Indeed how that she may afford to do that & yet have more than her share come to And as to the altering payments of the Childrens Patrimony after they are of age I have read a good the Opinion of Judge Swinburn in that Case of the Servitorum folio 315: The Rule Says that Judge is that there is only very lawfull Child a filial portion of his fathers Goods unless he be both to his deceased Father any Fumily he was a Vermin on his Systems & for so much as many Questions do arise daily about Childrens Portions as is needful to be known by reason of the frequency thereof than have to be attained because of the Scarcity of Authors upon this | The paper continued with the case of a father who left everything to his wife for the good of the children, trusting her to divide it among them as she thought fit. The Governor called such an arrangement unkind and dangerous, and said it looked as though the man's real purpose was to make his wife the mistress of the whole rather than to provide for the children. He held that a will of that kind was unjust, and that under the law of England the children would take their portions in spite of it. Another form he condemned left the children's fortunes locked in their mother's hands until the youngest came of age, which he thought worse still. He had heard it argued that a wife might be trusted to preserve the estate, but he answered that such an arrangement was as dangerous as if the will had been made in drink. A widow who married again ceased to have any interest in disposing of her first husband's children's portions, and a will of that kind would not benefit the children whose advantage it professed to serve. A second husband might be a good man or a bad one, and whatever the parties agreed between themselves, no law and no commandment obliged a stepfather to provide for another man's daughters. The Governor recommended that a widow be allowed for her life one half of all the real estate purchased during the marriage. Land brought to the marriage by the husband should go to his children and not to his wife, unless he had directed otherwise by deed executed before the wedding. As to the personal estate, the widow should take her full third, and the children the remainder. He observed that a father who had been an act of parliament to himself and left ten children at his death might be tempted to give the whole to a second wife, which he called a serious wrong, since the children could not be governed once the mother had married again. He proposed further that where a man left no children, the wife should take half the personal estate and the widow the [...]. He noted the difficulty of settling a widow's ornaments where a woman brought more to the marriage than her share came to, and held that such a case should be provided for by a written contract made before the marriage, since otherwise it could not be put right afterwards. He also approved a rule for the eldest son. Where there was no free land to descend to him, he should have as much as two of the other portions, but where there was such land he should have only what the land itself would yield, so that his eyes did not carry him beyond his share. On the question of delivering the children's portions when they came of age, the Governor cited the opinion of Judge Swinburne in the exact words of that author at page 315. Swinburne held it the duty of every careful child to give a full account of his father's goods, so that both he and his deceased father might be free from any imputation on their honesty. A child left many pleasures at that age and had many portions to bear, and the state of the property needed to be known, since the frequency of death made it hard to obtain such an account later. Interpretations Henry Swinburne's Brief Treatise of Testaments and Last Wills, first published in 1590, was the standard English handbook on probate and remained in use through the eighteenth century. The council had already settled its procedure by reading it once before, naming five appraisers to the Powell estate on 25 September 1735 on the strength of that book and John Godolphin's Orphans Legacy. Having no lawyer, no ecclesiastical court and no judge trained in civil law, the board built its practice out of printed authorities, and a page reference read aloud to an assembly of planters was the nearest thing to a citation the island could produce. The half of the real estate for life is not the Governor's invention but the island's own custom, and he had already enforced it against a defective instrument. The council disallowed the clause in John Young's will on 21 May 1734 that gave his widow only a third, holding that a widow takes half for life among such lands as her husband purchased during the marriage together with a third of the personal estate for ever, and that only inherited land or land bought before the marriage could be freely bequeathed. Setting the rule out here in advance was an attempt to stop the same clause being written again. Remarriage is the mechanism the whole argument turns on. A widow's personal property passed at law into her new husband's control the moment she married, so a trust resting on a mother's discretion collapsed as soon as she took a second husband and left the children with a claim against a man who owed them nothing. That failure had already produced two suits before this board, the Goodwin complaint over the orphan Robert Goodwin's estate heard at the general court of 26 September 1728, where the jury could establish nothing of what remained, and the four Hodgkinson declarations of 19 February 1730, where an estate carried into a second marriage yielded no inventory and no accounts for nearly twenty years. A settlement executed before the wedding was the only device that could defeat the rule, since it fixed the wife's entitlement while she was still able to contract in her own name. The Governor's remark about ornaments points at the practical case, a woman bringing goods worth more than the third the law would give her back, and his answer is the same one an English family of any substance would have reached for. The proposal on the eldest son sets a double portion against the land itself. Where freehold descended to the heir at law outside the will, the son already took a substantial asset and needed no preference in the personal estate; where no such land existed, the double share supplied its place. Land on St Helena was held largely on lease from the Company, so many estates carried no descendible freehold at all, and the distinction was a live one rather than a formality. Speculations The obvious route for a governor who wanted the island's wills reformed was to lay the matter before the Company and wait for a direction, which is what this board habitually did with anything touching the law. It had referred the Beale claim to London three times, sent the Greenwich slave title home rather than decide it on 17 July 1733, and asked for a standing law against lewdness on 10 February 1736 instead of settling one itself. Governor Pyke took a different course here, reading a set of drafting rules to an assembly of fathers and grounding them on a printed authority and the island's own custom. The reason lies in the nature of the defect: a direction from London would govern only cases that reached the council after it arrived, whereas the damage was done at the moment a man wrote his will, and the only people who could prevent it were the men now standing in front of him. |
244 | 236 | Subject I have thought good to Set down some observations as will touching the Rule as the Sum is and whereby the said Questions may be decided - first altho' the Father by his Last Will & Testament should forbid his Child to have any part of his goods yet a filial Portion being due to him the Fathers Will is not of force to withstand the Right thereof 2d The Father cannot by his Last Will Determine to the Portion due to the said Estate by Force of the Custom & therefore if the Father bequeath the field to in mercy in full satisfaction of his filial Portion whereas peradventure by his Inventary the same would extend to thirty or forty pounds this Case the child may recover his whole Portion notwithstanding his fathers Will 3d the Father cannot impose any Conditions upon the said Portion, altho' the same were not only Lawfull but easy to be performed for the Child may recover the Portion without Performance of the Condicions 4 the Father cannot deferr the day of Payment of the filial Portion due to his Child as to be payed 3 or 4 years after his Death for it is due presently upon his Fathers Death & is recoverable in the Spirituall Court notwithstanding the Fathers Will to the Contrary 5th The filial Portion is due to the Child without - Diminution or Delay as it is due without all manner of Burthen or Charge & therefore if the father shall by his Last Will bequeath his Land to any other Person after the Death of the Child which is very Death, the Fathers Will is void in this Grant for he cannot more dispose of his Sons Portion by his Will than of another mans Good By this it appears plainly that Children after their coming to age ought not to be longer out of their Patrimony & that book of Judge Swinburn is what is now Ruled by Practised in the Prerogative Courts in London and now We have with a great deale of Trouble took over this indirect & unjust Will it is our place & the business of this Court Especially to be instead of a Father to the Fatherless & to do Justice to the Widow but it is not Justice to let a Widow run away with all because that would be ruined to the Children who according to this Injust Will having all of them several Children who have nothing more to trust to than their Husbands pay as Soldiers of the Garrison that not being enough to maintain their Families & we suffer them to be thus wronged to place their mother in Law we have a mind to be Rich we must expect to have them to be maintained by the Parish which God forbid but I think it is much more proper & less to settle this matter without partiality without favour & Affection to yield the Children their Legal & just rights & to state it according to the Laws of our Land & not to be led away with inhuman notions which do here so much propagate here by divers Fathers to the Prejudice of even their own Families & Children for every Dutyfull Child has a right to its Patrimony & every Will that forbids that Just & reasonable right ought to be so set aside | The paper set out five propositions from the same authority, framed so that the questions raised could be decided. First, where a father by his last will forbids his child to have any part of his goods for a child's portion due to him by law, the will is void so far as that clause goes. 2: A father cannot by his will reduce the portion due by the custom, and where he leaves the child a legacy in full satisfaction of that portion, and undervalues it by his own inventory or otherwise, the child may recover the whole portion notwithstanding the direction in the will. 3: A father cannot impose any condition upon the portion, and where he does the condition must be not only lawful but easy to perform, since the child may recover the portion without performing it. 4: A father cannot defer the day of payment of the child's portion, directing that it be paid nine years after his death, since it falls due immediately upon his death and is recoverable at once whatever the will directs. 5: The child's portion is due to the child without reduction or delay, and without any burden or charge upon it. Where a father leaves the sum to another person after the child's death, the will is void in that part, and the same holds where he disposes of one son's portion by will rather than out of his own goods. The Governor observed that these propositions showed plainly that children on coming of age ought not to be kept out of their portions, and that the rules on wills were settled in the prerogative courts in London. He remarked that a good many families had suffered under badly drawn and unfair wills, and that the business of the court was to stand in the place of a father to the fatherless and a protector to the widow. He held it no justice to leave a widow to run away with what belonged to the children, and pointed to cases where a widow left with several children by her first husband had nothing to live on but her second husband's pay as a soldier of the garrison. Where a man's pay could not maintain such a family, and the widow was allowed to place her children in law with their stepfather, the parish must expect to keep them, which he hoped God would forbid. He thought it right to settle the matter without partiality and without favour or affection, and to give the children their legal and just rights. That course accorded with the law of the land, and with the practice of every civilised nation, and he warned that it must not be carried away by driving fathers to the prejudice of their own families and children. Every dutiful child had a right to a share, and any will forbidding a just and reasonable right ought to be void. Interpretations The five propositions describe the legitim, the fixed share of a father's personal estate that the custom reserved to his children and that no testator could defeat by any form of words. Freedom of testamentary disposition was already the general rule in most of England by this date, but the custom survived in the province of York, in Wales and in the City of London, and it is the London practice the paper appeals to in citing the prerogative courts. St Helena had no ecclesiastical court and no civilian judge, so the council took its rules from printed authorities and applied the customary share as though it governed the island. The prerogative courts were the archbishops' probate jurisdictions, which handled the estates of anyone holding goods in more than one diocese and set the standard practice on wills for the whole country. A governor with no lawyer at hand could point to no higher authority, and the reference did the work a statute would otherwise have done. The device the fourth proposition attacks was a live one on this island rather than a textbook example. Governor Pyke had endorsed John Knipe senior's will with his own hand on 18 September 1733, holding unlawful the direction that the estate stay whole until the youngest child Ruth reached sixteen or married. The executors of James Greentree made the same argument at the sessions of 2 July 1733 against Daniel Griffith, contending that the children's shares fell to be settled at their discretion as each came of age or married, and that dividing the stock and pasture would destroy the estate's value. The observation about soldiers' pay identifies the real financial mechanism behind the whole address. A widow's personal property, including any portion she held for her children, passed into her second husband's control on remarriage, so a woman who married a private of the garrison delivered her first family's inheritance into the hands of a man on a subsistence wage. When that money went, the children fell on the parish, which was maintained by the inhabitants themselves. The council had already found the parish stretched beyond its means, recording on 8 October 1734 that most of the inhabitants were too poor to keep themselves when John Thwaites drowned leaving seven young children, and refusing a marriage licence on 29 October 1734 on the ground that the island already carried more honest poor than it could support. |
245 | 237 | And therefore upon a full Examination of this whole matter & [...] coming into the Inventory & Accounts were produced by the Executor tho' there was many great Objections that may be justly made by them for instance is accordingly Valued at a much lower rate than it cost & I found other things thereto sold at a much lower rate than it cost & I found other things thereto put dealing at the Estate & so as to do so & so as it appears by these accounts The Estate Appraisement & amounts to the value more 4385 Sums are Sundry Debts due from the Estate 514 The clear Estate is 1891 of which the Widows thirds 588 9 3 1248 10 9 Sundry Legacies 236 1012 10 9 The remainder of the Estate after the Widows part is taken out and the Debts & Legacies paid amounts to 1012 10 9 Add that Sum being divided into Seven parts that is six parts for each of the Six Children & yet the trifling Legacies & the remaining part for the Widow it gives 8 9 & a piece & the Widows also a Share amounts to 714 12 644 18 The Widows own Childrens fortunes 1259 10 And thus out of an Estate of they the Widow & her Children have 1259 9 - which if she be not contented with we must look over the Accot again where we shall find 200 or 300 more to add to the Inventory because the Estate is Sold at much more as it cost & I know it would be for as much of just up to Sale or more The Widow had many other Inducements besides the Children just & legall rights to their filial parts, some of which are in Justice when Capt Alexanders other Wife was living he was possessed of & his said Estate on the Best Estate of the Country which Estate was Sold for more money than the Present & had Estate his own name but he minded enough at & to make these Childrens Advancements & he ordered in his Present that this that the he desired his Trust & he may have that those when he comes of age yet he appoints it to be Consequently & his said Son to be accountable to his Brothers & Sisters for the remainder of the Estate above his Estate Share & had thereby made it by that foolish Brother in his Will to be a General Estate I therefore reason there is that Capt Alexander has been at along a very Industrious Man & has been Superannuated among the above ten years this part is that he has not had at in his time & he ought to have done not received any Consideration for the Widows Fortune that is apposed among the Estate nothing yet upon the Account of his having many Children we have allwayes Charitably attend them for which Mercy in the Consideration of his said Children & now it would be absurd to Disinherit all his other three Children & yield their Patrimony to his last Wife because she desires it, the no other than one third belongs to her yet they is allowed to their afsaid Estate part more than her, & will order to besides also the management of all her own Estate for so much which is more than enough to buy her another Husband & his more than 3/4 of this Husbands Estate, for the Present you as so much & inadequately made I contain so many Errors that would never hold Valid in any of our Courts for the Civill Law in London where | The Governor turned next to the estate itself, having examined the whole matter and gone through the inventory and accounts the executor produced. He found several serious objections that might justly be raised against them, and gave an instance: the appraisement had been made at a rate far below the true value of the goods, and other dealings on the same occasion were as irregular as the accounts showed. The whole appraisement and amounts to the value now, £2,385 0s 0d Sundry debts due from the estate, £316 0s 0d The clear estate, £1,891 0s 0d Of which the widow's third, £628 9s 3d Leaving, £1,248 10s 9d Sundry legacies paid, £36 0s 0d Leaving, £1,212 10s 9d The remainder of the estate after the widow's part is taken out and the debts and legacies paid amounts to, £1,212 10s 9d That remainder was divided into eleven parts, one for each of the ten children besides the trifling legacies, and the remaining part for the widow. The widow's own share and her children's fortunes were then set out. Share of each of the ten children, £91 18s 5d The widow's own children's fortunes, £728 12s 0d Total, £634 18s 0d Grand total, £1,559 10s 0d Out of an estate of that size the widow and her own children took £1,559 10s 0d, and the Governor observed that the sum would be found £200 or £300 higher again once the whole was properly reckoned, since the estate was worth far more than the valuation put on it, as he considered it to be. The widow already had many other advantages besides the children's just rights to their several shares, some of which appeared in Captain Alexander's own will. His first wife had brought a good estate on the west side of the family called Bella Vista, worth far more money than the second wife brought with her. That circumstance had moved him to make his children equal, and he had promised in his lifetime that he would do so. The Governor held that the promise ought to have been carried out, and that a father who put off such a settlement to the day of his death might leave his children to be defrauded of the whole. He noted that the remainder of the estate above the children's share had already been made over by the last clause of the will to a general estate. The widow was another matter, since her father had been ill a long time and had grown feeble among the older inhabitants over ten years. He was in no position to attend to business, and no consideration had been given to the widow herself when the estate was appraised. She had brought nothing, and had the advantage of having children of her own, and the inhabitants had always dealt charitably with her. What moved the Governor was the position of Alexander's own children by the first marriage, who had been driven to see all the others put in and their own inheritance kept back, and the widow, having more than the others, had let the whole go to those she preferred while their fortunes stood in her hands. She had also the management of all her own children's fortunes, which was more than enough to buy her another husband, and the present state of the estate carried so many errors as would never have been held valid in any court of civil law in London. Interpretations The arithmetic on this page reworks the settlement of 18 October 1737 and reaches a slightly different set of figures. That earlier reckoning valued the estate at £2,385 8s 8.5d against debts of £316 6s 6d, took the widow's third out of £2,070 16s 2.5d and divided a remainder of £1,211 3s 9.5d into eleven shares of £91 18s 5.5d apiece. The Governor's purpose here is not to correct the division but to show what the eleven shares actually delivered: the widow took a third outright, then a further eleventh alongside each of her own children, so the second family carried away £1,559 10s 0d and the first marriage's children a single share each. An appraisement set low was the standing weakness of the whole probate system, since the sum returned fixed the figure an executor was answerable for and nobody but the beneficiaries had an interest in raising it. Governor Pyke had made the same complaint on 21 October 1735, telling the five sworn commissioners on the Powell estate that they had undervalued it and should have reckoned at 6 per cent rather than 5. The council had already objected to the valuation of James Crawford's estate on 4 October 1737 for giving no account of how the sums arose. Four appraisers were sworn to Alexander's estate on 30 September 1737 rather than the customary two, and the Governor still thought the return £200 or £300 short. The first wife's estate is what makes the arrangement look like a diversion rather than a preference. Property brought into a marriage by a wife passed into her husband's control, so land she carried to Alexander became his to devise, and a will leaving it to a second family transferred the first wife's own inheritance away from her children. His promise to make all the children equal, recited by the three excluded daughters at the settlement, was the acknowledgement that they had a moral claim on ground that had come through their mother. The remark about buying another husband is a statement of the marriage market rather than a jibe. A widow controlling both her third and her children's portions brought that whole fund into the hands of whoever married her next, which is exactly the mechanism the Governor had warned against earlier in the same address when he described widows married to soldiers of the garrison. Managing her own children's fortunes made her a considerable match while leaving those fortunes exposed. Speculations Correcting the division was open to him and he did not attempt it. The board had heard the three excluded daughters' husbands accept the will on 18 October 1737 once the customary shares were allowed, administration had gone to them, and a fresh appraisement at the higher figure he thought right would have reopened a settlement all parties had agreed to. He chose instead to set the numbers out in public and let the assembled inhabitants see that a third and an eleventh together carried more than half the estate to one branch of a family. What that achieved was not restitution for Alexander's daughters, whose shares were already fixed, but a worked example put before every father in the room of how an unequal will performed once the customary division was applied to it. |
246 | 238 | they [...] always want to do right due to the Children And therefore it is that I have to have all this pains to prevent their being wronged & to do Justice and them and I desire all you who are Fathers of Children to have a due regard to this which I speak to you of at this Present it is not any humour or fancy of my own but the caution is or grounded on the Laws of England, which on Justice & truth & reason & it is for the good of this place & to have it allways exactly observed here for I have I am since my coming here so many transactions Wills trumpt up that have been unwarrantably made or obtained that I think it is a great Shame to be so used in a Christian Country where the Laws of the Land are so plain & direct it And I do therefore resolve & so long as I continue in this Post I will allways stand up for the Orphans right where- ever it shall appear they have Justice on their side I pray God keep all the Honest and good Inhabitants of St Helena & do every one that will do well in this Country say Amen After this the Governour Ordered a Copy of this speech to be delivered the Widow Alexander & she desired it & that all Persons who might should have leave to peruse the same at any time without Charge At the Petition of Thomas Manning & Richard Bagley who each married a Daughter of Capt Alexander by his former Wife were then verbally and praying an Order for their share due to them from the Estate of the deceased might be delivered them The Honble Companies Laws or Order for regulating the Descent of Land as the same was Settled & Determined at a Court of Enquiries held on the 24 day of March 1679 was read which the Governour declared as his Opinion came upon the Case of John Farquharson & Richard Clark & determined their respective Claims in their Present | The Governor closed his address by asking that the children be given their rights. He had spoken as he did to prevent injustice, and asked all fathers of children to take note of it. Nothing in what he said arose from any private feeling of his own, and he wished only that truth and reason should have their place. He recalled that since his arrival he had seen the law of the island trampled on by unwarrantable claims, and called it a great shame that such things should happen in a Christian country where the law of the land was plain enough. He undertook to hold that course as long as he continued in the office, and to see the papers made up so that justice appeared on their face. He ended by asking God's blessing on the honest and good inhabitants of St Helena and on everyone who wished the country well. The Governor then directed that a copy of the paper be delivered to the widow Alexander and to the executor, and that anyone else who wished it might have a copy at any time free of charge. Petitions were presented by James Harding and Edward Bagley, each of whom had married a daughter of Captain Alexander by his first wife. They set out their case in full and asked that what was due to them out of the estate be delivered. The Company's order regulating the descent of land was then considered, as it had been settled and determined at a court of commissioners held on 22 October 1679. The Governor gave his opinion on it, and the case then came up between John Hodgkinson and Richard Beale, whose several claims were determined in their presence. Interpretations Offering the paper free of charge was a deliberate departure from the secretary's tariff. The table of fees allowed on 20 May 1731 set 6s 8d for drawing or copying a declaration and 2s 6d for a common bill of sale, so a document of this length would have carried a real charge. Waiving it treated the address as a public notice rather than an instrument between parties, and put it within reach of the poorer planters whose families the argument chiefly concerned. The order of 22 October 1679 is the island's own foundation rule on how land passed at death, made by a court of commissioners in the Company's early years of settlement and still the governing authority nearly sixty years later. Land on St Helena was held on lease or by Company grant rather than by ordinary English tenure, so the descent of a holding turned on the Company's directions rather than on common law, and a governor settling a title had to reach back to that determination. Harding and Bagley were two of the three husbands who took administration on 18 October 1737, along with John Knipe, and each had stated then that his wife had been promised something at marriage and received nothing. Their petitions here are the practical sequel to the address: having heard the Governor set out the arithmetic showing the second family carried away £1,559 10s 0d, they moved at once to secure the £91 18s 5.5d due to each wife under the customary division. The Hodgkinson and Beale claims brought two long-running disputes before the same sitting. Hodgkinson had petitioned on 29 March 1737 as heir at law to his sister Anne, the wife of James Crawford, for about 20 acres of freehold, and the council had put him into that land on 25 October 1737 against Richard Goodwin's request for delay. Beale's claim to thirty acres held by the Powell heirs had been referred to London three times since 30 January 1733 and had never been tried. |
247 | 239 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 15 Novr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour Reports that on Saturday last a large piece of Iron Ordnance was washed off from the Top of Bucks Rock into the Sea by the Violence of the Surfs which at this time was much higher than usual The Petition of John Ange who married a Daughter of Capt Alexander by his former Wife was read praying an Order for that was due to him from the Estate of the deceased might be delivered them Being asked why he did not attend at the Court held on Thursday last he said that he was taken ill on the Night before, he was not able to come nor had he any body to send to give Notice of his Indisposition At a Consultation held on Tuesday 22 Novr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Guns mentioned on 15 Novr last to be washed off Bucks Rock by the Violence of the Sea & supposed to be over and weighted in February last at the Depth of three fathom being a Deane Currents of 22 - So that although was thought that the Tide said was a convenient place for a Battery to be thereon erected yet was now found by Experience that it must be built higher Margin Notes: double retired gun wind remark | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 15 November 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that on the previous Saturday a large piece of iron ordnance had been washed off the top of Chubb's Rock into the sea by the force of the surf, which was then running much higher than usual. A petition was read from John Knipe, who had married a daughter of Captain Alexander by his first wife, asking for an order for what was owed to him out of the estate. Asked why he had not attended the court held the previous Thursday, Knipe answered that he had been taken ill on the night before, had been unable to come, and had nobody to send with word of his condition. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 22 November 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The gun reported lost on 12 November had been washed off Chubb's Rock by the violence of the sea, and the place where it fell was sounded in ordinary weather at a depth of three fathoms, roughly 18 feet. Although the site had been thought a convenient position for a battery, experience had now shown that any such work must stand a good deal higher. Interpretations Chubb's Rock lies at the western side of Rupert's Bay, and the argument over fortifying it ran through the whole survey of 1734. Colonel Gaultier had proposed a platform of piled stone there set at an angle of sixty degrees for four or five guns of eight-pound ball, and Captains Ridge and Mead, viewing the ground on 25 June 1734, recommended a good battery at that spot in preference to Munden's Point, which they judged too high by 103 feet for guns meant to sweep boats. The gunner's own schedule of 2 July 1734 called for demi-culverins there, the heavier piece being wanted where a ship rather than a boat might be reached. The loss settles a question the council had been unable to decide from a survey. Landing guns at Chubb's Rock had already proved hazardous in April 1736, when Captain Crompton of the Duke of Lorraine pleaded that the council's own direction to put two guns ashore there and three at Munden's Platform consumed two days and endangered the long boat, the sea running high most of the time. Sounding the spot at three fathoms in calm weather gave the board a measurement it could act on, since a piece of iron ordnance weighing over a ton had been shifted bodily off ground that stood only that far above quiet water. Knipe's petition follows those of James Harding and Edward Bagley presented at the orphans court of 15 November 1737. All three had taken administration of Captain Alexander's estate on 18 October 1737 as husbands of excluded daughters, and each was entitled to a share of £91 18s 5.5d under the customary division the council applied in place of the will. His absence from the court mattered because the address delivered there set out the arithmetic on which every such claim rested. |
248 | 240 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 29 Novr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Novr past which were severally Examined & Approved & are as follows vizt Expence of the Table in Novr 1737 vizt £ s d Beef 199 lb 2 19 9 Pork 36 lb 13 Fowls 24 1 16 Turkeys 2 10 Arrack 60 Gallons 13 16 Port 3 Gall 1 3 3 Sherry 1 1/2 lb 9 8 1/2 Bottles Stewards Wife 8 1 6 3 Sugar 1 3 30 lb 2 4 9 Candy 24 18 Bread 29 16 3 Flower 3 1 12 4 14 Bushels Salt 2 10 32 2 4 1/2 Gunners Store Expended in Novr 1737 vizt Guns Fired, Dr Culvr, Sakers, Minion, Falcons, Powder Queen Elizabeths Birthday Expence of the Guards & Gunners day: Guns Fired 21, Dr Culvr 1, Sakers 4, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 41 Slink: Guns Fired 0, Dr Culvr 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Falcons 0, Powder 40 Spunge Staves: Guns Fired 21, Dr Culvr 1, Sakers 4, Minion 1, Falcons 15, Powder 81 Rathamer Ladles 6 Handspikes 6 Cartridge paper 4 Quire Match 12 lb Margin Notes: 17 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 6 December 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for November, which were examined separately and approved. Expenses of the fort's table for November 1737. 199 lb of beef, £2 19s 9d 36 lb of pork, £0 13s 0d 24 fowls, £1 16s 0d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 69 gallons of arrack, £13 16s 0d 3 gallons of port, £1 3s 3d 1.5 gallons of sherry, £0 9s 8.5d 3 bottles of Florence oil, £1 6s 3d 133 lb of sugar, £2 4s 9d 24 lb of candy, £0 18s 0d 29 lb of bread, £0 16s 3d 3 lb 12 oz of flour, £4 14s 0d 2 bushels of salt, £0 10s 0d Total, £32 2s 4.5d Gunner's stores expended in November 1737, the columns running guns fired, then demi-culverins, sakers, minions and falcons, then powder. 17: Queen Elizabeth's birthday, 21 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 4 sakers, 1 minion, 15 falcons, 81 lb of powder Expense of the guards and the muster day, 40 lb of powder Total, 21 guns fired, 1 demi-culverin, 4 sakers, 1 minion, 15 falcons, 121 lb of powder Lead shot, 6 lb Sponge staves, 6 Rammer heads, 6 Sheepskins, 6 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 12 lb Interpretations Beef returned to the table for the first time in five months, the account having carried none at all through July, August, September and October 1737. The quantity is small at 199 lb against 520 lb in May, and the stock account shows why: no beast was sold to shipping, so the meat came from an animal killed for the fort's own use rather than from a carcass cut for a victualling ship. Pork, fowls and turkeys still carry a substantial part of the provision, as they had through the empty autumn. Florence oil is olive oil shipped from Tuscany, used for dressing and cooking rather than for lamps, and it appears in the table accounts throughout the run as a standing article. Candy is refined sugar crystallised in lumps and came through the China trade, priced well above the loose Bengal sugar entered beside it. Two bushels of salt point to meat being preserved rather than eaten fresh, which fits a month in which a beast was killed at the fort with no ship in the road to take the rest of it. The date given for the anniversary is a survival rather than a mistake. Queen Elizabeth acceded on 17 November 1558, and Accession Day had been kept as a public celebration in England for a century and a half, though by the 1730s it had faded almost everywhere except where old custom held. A remote garrison marking it with 21 guns shows the island keeping a calendar of loyalty that the metropolis had largely abandoned. The salute cost 81 lb of powder and was built almost entirely from the smallest pieces, 15 falcons and a single minion carrying the bulk of the 21 rounds with four sakers and one demi-culverin to head it. That is the standing practice through this run, the light guns being reserved for ceremony to spare the store, and it appears again in the February 1737 account where a saker headed each salute of falcons. Powder consumption at 121 lb is the heaviest since June, and it comes entirely from ceremony rather than from any traffic in the road. The anchorage had stood empty since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737, so not a gun was fired for an alarm or an arrival, and the 40 lb charged to the guards and the muster is the same fixed monthly figure entered since the nightly guard boat was set out on 30 June 1735. Sheepskins are the material from which fresh sponge heads were cut, the woolly side holding the water that damped a gun's bore between firings. Six of them entered alongside six sponge staves and six rammer heads shows a set of gun furniture being renewed together rather than replaced piecemeal, which follows a salute of 21 rounds fired from pieces that had stood idle for months. |
249 | 241 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Novr 1737 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Novr: Bullocks 10, Cows 119, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 68, Bulls 6, Totall 394, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 23, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 44, Fowles 115, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 6, Horses 14, Mares 20 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 1, Mares 1 Bullocks 10, Cows 119, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 68, Bulls 6, Totall 394, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 23, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 44, Fowles 115, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 6, Horses 15, Mares 21 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 24, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 10, Cows 119, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 68, Bulls 6, Totall 393, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 42, Fowles 91, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 6, Horses 15, Mares 21 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 4, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 2, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 2, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 30th Novr 1737: Bullocks 10, Cows 115, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 88, Calves 63, Bulls 6, Totall 382, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 42, Fowles 91, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 4, Horses 15, Mares 19 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16500 Ditto delivered the Blacks 18500 Totall Yams 35000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of November 1737, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 November 1737: bullocks 10, cows 119, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 68, bulls 6, neat cattle total 394, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 23, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 45, turkeys 44, fowls 115, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 6, mares 14, horses total 20 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 1, horses total 1 Standing after the increase: bullocks 10, cows 119, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 68, bulls 6, neat cattle total 394, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 23, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 45, turkeys 44, fowls 115, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 6, mares 15, horses total 21 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 2, fowls 24, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 10, cows 119, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 68, bulls 6, neat cattle total 393, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 42, fowls 91, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 6, mares 15, horses total 21 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 4, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 2, calves 5, bulls 0, neat cattle total 11, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 2, mares 0, horses total 2 Remaining 30 November 1737: bullocks 10, cows 115, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 88, calves 63, bulls 6, neat cattle total 382, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 42, fowls 91, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 4, mares 15, horses total 19 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 18,500 lb Total yams, 35,000 lb Interpretations Eleven cattle died in the month against eight in October and five in each of the three months before that, so the losses are accelerating rather than easing. The composition has also shifted: four cows went alongside two yearlings and five calves, where the earlier deaths had fallen almost entirely on the youngest stock. Governor Pyke reported on 2 August 1737 that no feed remained for cattle in the eastern parts and asked for seasonable showers, and the herd has now fallen from 402 head on 1 October to 382 at the end of November without a single beast being sold. Not one calf was born in the two months together. Calving had run at six head in June, four in July, six in August and none since, which is the collapse in conception that follows a failed pasture and takes a full season to reverse. The Company year to 30 September 1737 had closed on an increase of 227 head, so the breeding stock is capable of far more than this and the drought alone accounts for the silence. The stud lost two more horses after losing two in October, falling from 21 head to 19 in eight weeks. Those animals had been the largest holding in this record, built up by the eight mares landed at 16 rupees apiece from the Wyndham and the Defence in May and June 1737, and a single mare born in November is all that offsets the loss. Horses carried everything that moved up the island's paths, and the paths themselves had been torn out by the floods of March 1736 and only patched. Yams fell to 35,000 lb from 63,000 lb in October, and the share going to the slaves dropped from 47,500 lb to 18,500 lb while the plantations' own portion held steady at 16,500 lb. The plantations' share feeds hogs and poultry and is set by the stock rather than by the season, so the whole reduction fell on the establishment's own provision. November opens the island's summer, when the crop lifted at the end of winter has to be made to last, and imported rice carried the balance as it had in every earlier year of shortage. The single cow killed accounts for the 199 lb of beef entered in the table account for the same month, the first beef to appear there since June. Two turkeys and twenty-four fowls follow the table's own figures exactly. Nothing was sold to shipping for the fifth month running, the road having stood empty since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737, so every animal taken went to the fort's own table. |
250 | 242 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6th Decr 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour &c Council The humble Petition of Josiah Charlesworth Powell SHEWETH That your Petr hath a considerable Right & Interest in part of the Estate late belonging to yr Petrs mother de- ceased which for want of a Guardian to take care of your Petrs concern therein, is not managed with that benefit & Advantage to your Petr as otherwise it might &c Your Petr therefore humbly prays your Worships & Councill will permit your Petr who is near Eighteen years of Age to chose a Guardian to Act for your Petr & that his near Relation & Friend Charles Steward of this Island may be the Person appointed his Guardian as aforesaid And yr Petr as in duty bound shall ever pray 6 Decr 1737 Josiah Charlesworth Powell The Gunner made Complaints that several of the Carridges of the Iron Ordnance at Mundens Bastion are so very rotten that they are entirely useless & therefore he desired that new ones might be provided the four that were lately made for that Battery not being sufficient | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 13 December 1737, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A petition was read from Josiah Charlesworth Powell, dated 13 December 1737. He set out that he had a substantial right and interest in part of the estate left by his late mother, and that for want of a guardian to look after it the property was not managed to his benefit as it otherwise might be. Being close to eighteen years of age, he asked leave to choose a guardian to act for him, and asked that his near relation and friend Charles Steward of the island be appointed to that office. The gunner complained that several of the wheelbarrows used by the labourers at Munden's Battery had rotted so far as to be entirely useless. He asked that new ones be supplied, the four lately made for that battery not being enough. Interpretations Choosing a guardian was a right that fell to a minor at fourteen, before which the court assigned one. The council had applied the same rule on 31 August 1736, when Mary Powell the younger, then upwards of fourteen with both parents dead, petitioned for a guardian of her own estate and obtained the appointment of Captain Goodwin. A guardian of this kind held and managed the property until the ward came of age, and had no authority over the person of a minor near full age. Mary Powell died in the summer of 1735 leaving an estate the five sworn appraisers valued at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October 1735, much the largest private fortune in this record. Richard Goodwin renounced the executorship on 2 March 1736, pleading weakness and infirmity, and the co-executor George Gabriel Powell was in the East Indies, so the estate stood with no lawful representative on the island. Three caveats entered by Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson froze any grant of probate, since a grant made in defiance of a caveat is void. A minor entitled to a share of that estate had nobody able to act for him, which is exactly what the petition describes. Charles Steward was an obvious choice for the office and a difficult one. He was named executor of Gabriel Powell's will with the widow Mary, delivered the inventory of that estate on 13 August 1734 and swore to it, and stood surety with Richard Goodwin in £500 0s 0d apiece for James Powell on 23 December 1735. He also joined James Powell in writing home to the Company against Richard Beale, a charge the council held fully answered on 29 June 1736. Appointing him would put a man already deeply involved on both sides of the family's affairs in charge of a minor's share of the same frozen estate. Munden's Battery stands on the point commanding the anchorage, and its guns had been the subject of repeated works. The council resolved on 8 October 1734 to build a new platform of earth there for four great guns including a demi-cannon, the new carriages being mounted on cast iron trucks that would break if fired from rough stone. Wheelbarrows were the basic tool of that construction, since every load of earth, stone and lime had to be moved by hand up ground no cart could reach, and the island's damp air and the sea spray at an exposed point destroyed timber quickly. |
251 | 243 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3d January 1737 at the Plantation House Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Complaint having been made to the Governour that Alexander Mahoolan Soldier by burning a parcell of Rags & other combustable matter in the Yard of the house in which he lives at the Sandy Valley had like to have set fire & destroyed all the houses in the said Bay, & he himself acknowledging that he did so but without any such Intention or design of Mischief, he, as an Example to all others to be more carefull, was & is ordered to ride the wooden horse two hours & then to be carried to Prosperous Bay there to be kept upon constant Guard It was also Ordered that notice should be given to the Widow Greentree who keeps a great Quantity of Rushes in her yard under Pretence of thatching her house, either to thatch it immediately, or to lock the said Rushes up or bury them, which if she neglected to do, that the said Rushes should be all taken away & buried in the Ground The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for December last, & the Storekeepers also delivered his for the Quarter past, which were severally Examined & Approved & are as follows vizt Expence of the Table in Decr 1737 £ s d Arrack 39 Gall 17 16 Bottles Wine 4 13 4 Sugar & 6 lb Candy 1 7 18 3 6 6 Bread 2 5 15 3 Flour 3 2 4 7 6 Bushells Salt 6 1 19 Beef 85 lb 1 6 Pork 35 17 6 Turkies 2 Ducks & 3 Geese 2 1 8 Arrack to the Guards, Carpenters, Smiths &c 27 Gall 32 4 4 Ditto delivered the Blacks 19 Gall 16 Gunners Stores Expended in Decr 1737 vizt No Powder Expence of the Guards Lead Shot 8 Spunge Staves 6 Spunge Heads 6 Sheepskins 10 Rammer Heads 6 Copper Ladles 1 Cartridge Paper 3 Match 12 | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 3 January 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A complaint reached the Governor that Alexander Machellan, a soldier, had burned a parcel of rags and other combustible material in the yard of the house where he lived in the fort valley. The fire came close to destroying every house in the valley. He admitted starting it, though he had meant no mischief by it. To make others more careful, the council ordered him to ride the wooden horse for two hours and then to be sent to Prosperous Bay to serve on constant guard duty. Notice was ordered to be given to the widow Greentree, who kept a large quantity of rushes in her yard on the pretext of thatching her house. She was directed to have them removed or buried at once, or else to use them for thatching immediately. Should she fail to do so, the rushes were to be carried away and buried in the ground. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for December, along with the storekeeper's account of goods delivered for the past quarter. These were examined separately and approved. Expenses of the fort's table for December 1737. 89 gallons of arrack, £17 16s 0d 4 bottles of Florence oil, £0 13s 4d 177 lb 18 oz of sugar and 20 lb of candy, £3 6s 6d 25 lb of bread, £0 15s 3d 32 lb of flour, £4 7s 6d 6 bushels of salt, £1 19s 0d 85 lb of beef, £1 5s 6d 35 lb of pork, £0 17s 6d 2 turkeys, 2 ducks and 2 geese, £1 8s 0d Total, £32 6s 6d 27 gallons of arrack to the guards, carpenters and smiths, £5 8s 0d 19 gallons of arrack delivered to the blacks, £0 16s 0d Gunner's stores expended in December 1737. Powder expended on the guards, 30 lb Lead shot, 8 lb Sponge staves, 6 Sponge heads, 6 Sheepskins, 10 Rammer heads, 6 Copper ladles, 1 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 13 lb Interpretations The fort valley houses stood packed together with adjoining back yards, those of Wrangham, Harper, Mudge, Carne, Isaac, Smith, Sergeant Robinson and Gunner French among them, and Captain Goodwin's new house had been built on ground assigned to him in July 1736. Roofs were thatched and the island had no timber to spare, so a fire loose in that valley threatened the whole settlement and the Company's stores with it. The gunner had made the same point on 25 September 1733, warning that dry thatch and timber next to the magazine made fire a constant hazard. Rushes carried the same risk in bulk and had already caused trouble on other grounds. Richard Mason directed his slave to steal rushes cut for thatching the Company's buildings, and the council answered on 22 January 1734 with an advertisement forbidding any cutting on the Company's commons without leave. Ordering the widow Greentree's store buried rather than merely moved shows the council treating a stack of dry material in a valley yard as a hazard in itself, whatever its owner intended. The wooden horse was a punishment frame the offender straddled, sometimes with weights hung from his ankles, used against soldiers where a whipping was thought too degrading for a European. Two soldiers rode it for two hours on 24 April 1736 for words the sergeant took as mutiny, and Andrew Bergue was ordered to it on 13 August 1734. Adding a posting to Prosperous Bay turned the sentence into something more than a spectacle, since that station stood at the lookout above Higgin's landing place on the far side of the island, well away from the valley and its houses. Arrack issued to the guards, carpenters and smiths at Christmas was a customary allowance charged apart from the table, and it appears in the same form year after year. The December 1736 account carried 17 gallons to the guards, carpenters and armourer with 21 gallons to the blacks and 53 lb of sugar. The 19 gallons entered here for the slaves continues a practice running back to at least Christmas 1727, when 33 gallons of arrack and sugar went out on the same account. Beef fell to 85 lb from 199 lb in November, and the table again leaned on pork, poultry and salt. Six bushels of salt is three times the November charge and points to meat being preserved rather than eaten fresh. Not a gun was fired for salute or alarm in the month, the whole 30 lb of powder going to the guards, so the anchorage had now stood empty for six months since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737. |
252 | 244 | Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remaining 1st Decr: Bullocks 10, Cows 115, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 88, Calves 63, Bulls 6, Totall 382, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 42, Fowles 91, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 4, Horses 15, Mares 19 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 1, Horses 0, Mares 1 Bullocks 10, Cows 115, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 88, Calves 63, Bulls 6, Totall 382, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 22, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 44, Turkeys 42, Fowles 91, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 5, Horses 15, Mares 20 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 6, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 10, Cows 114, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 88, Calves 63, Bulls 6, Totall 381, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 43, Turkeys 40, Fowles 85, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 5, Horses 15, Mares 20 Sold in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 1, Horses 0, Mares 1 Bullocks 10, Cows 114, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 88, Calves 63, Bulls 6, Totall 381, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 43, Turkeys 40, Fowles 85, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 4, Horses 15, Mares 19 Dead in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 7, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 3, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totall 15, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 1, Horses 0, Mares 1 Remaining 31th Decr: Bullocks 10, Cows 107, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 85, Calves 58, Bulls 6, Totall 366, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 43, Turkeys 40, Fowles 85, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 27950 Totall 43950 N.B. The horse mentioned in this Account, dead, was the Father of the Family, was brought here when Isaac Pyke Esqr was first Governour, & was near twenty five years old | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of December 1737, the heading row not appearing on this leaf and the column identities carried down from the earlier returns of the same series. Remaining 1 December 1737: bullocks 10, cows 115, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 88, calves 63, bulls 6, neat cattle total 382, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 42, fowls 91, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 4, mares 15, horses total 19 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, horses total 1 Standing after the increase: bullocks 10, cows 115, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 88, calves 63, bulls 6, neat cattle total 382, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 22, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 44, turkeys 42, fowls 91, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 5, mares 15, horses total 20 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 2, fowls 6, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 10, cows 114, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 88, calves 63, bulls 6, neat cattle total 381, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 43, turkeys 40, fowls 85, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 5, mares 15, horses total 20 Sold in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, horses total 1 Standing after the sale: bullocks 10, cows 114, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 88, calves 63, bulls 6, neat cattle total 381, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 43, turkeys 40, fowls 85, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 4, mares 15, horses total 19 Dead in the month: bullocks 0, cows 7, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 3, calves 5, bulls 0, neat cattle total 15, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, horses total 1 Remaining 31 December 1737: bullocks 10, cows 107, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 85, calves 58, bulls 6, neat cattle total 366, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 43, turkeys 40, fowls 85, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 27,950 lb Total yams, 43,950 lb A note at the foot of the account recorded that the horse entered as dead was the sire of the island's stud, had been brought to St Helena when Isaac Pyke first held the government, and was close to twenty-five years old. Interpretations Fifteen cattle died in December against eleven in November, eight in October and five in each of the three months before. The herd has fallen from 402 head on 1 October to 366 at the end of December, a loss of 36 in a quarter with nothing sold to shipping and only two beasts killed for the table. Seven cows went this month, and the losses have moved decisively off the calves and onto the breeding stock, which is the point at which a drought stops being a bad season and starts costing the herd its capacity to recover. Nothing was born in the whole quarter. Calving ran at six head in June, four in July and six in August 1737, then stopped entirely, so the Company year now running has produced no increase at all in three months. The annual account to 30 September 1737 had recorded an increase of 227 head, and the herd depended on 90 yearlings and 73 calves to carry the next season, figures now down to 85 and 58. The dead horse marks the end of the stud's founding line. Governor Pyke first held the government of St Helena before his return in 1731, so an animal brought out at that time and dying close to twenty-five years old had sired the island's horses across two decades. The council thought the fact worth entering on the face of the account, which it does for no other beast in this run. The stud stands at 18 head, having reached 21 in July on the eight mares landed at 16 rupees apiece from the Wyndham and the Defence, so half a year's importing has been undone and the breeding sire is gone with it. A horse was sold in the month, the first sale of any animal in six months. The road had stood empty since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737, so the buyer was an inhabitant rather than a ship, and the transaction confirms that horses retained a market on the island when cattle had none. Yams rose to 43,950 lb from 35,000 lb in November, the whole increase falling on the establishment's own provision, which went from 18,500 lb to 27,950 lb while the plantations' share held near steady. December is the middle of the island's summer and the crop lifted at the close of winter has to be spread across the dry months, so a rising issue at this point draws down a store that cannot be replenished until the winter planting comes in about May. |
253 | 245 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 10th January 1737 at Plantation House Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Harry a Slave belonging to Samuel Doveton having broke upon the house of James Ayton & stolen 20 lb Rice 20 lb Sugar 20 lb Candy, a China Bowle, a Dressing Line, a Silver horn & a Napkin, & Harry having assisted Davis a Slave of the Honble Compa for breaking open the said house with him, & they being both the Offenders they were Ordered to be whipt with 39 Lashes, & that the Iron Collar lately taken off Harry who was & formerly put on him for breaking open a house in the Country be again put on & another Shackle on to the other Leg, & that Davis who already has one Shackle on, have another put on upon the other Leg At a Consultation held on Tuesday 17th January 1737 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that on Sunday last one of the Companies Blacks partly of Land Crab was washed off the Rocks into the Sea & he was Drowned & was Ordered & that to prevent the like Misfortunes for the future he had given Orders that no Blacks should go out unless it was in a Boat The Governour also Reports that within these days past two Bullocks fell down the Rocks are so Sicked was not found till it was Spoiled & that the other was found & here managed to be killed at the Meat was so bad that not a piece could be Saved fit for the Table, the whole therefore was given to the Blacks The Governour further Reports that there is a generall Complaint of the great failure of the Springs, Water being now supposed to be more scarce than it was at the time of the great Drought, for want of which the Sun daily burns up & Suffering the Inhabitants so little in all Plantations throughout the Island to the very great loss & damage of the poor Person, especially those of the poorer Sort Captain Goodwin being in great want of Doctor to go with his house, this day desired leave to buy an Ox, promising to give an Ox for it & to not advance upon the price now in yield at 2d, but on part the price of the last Charge came to 14s. 8d - This request was granted Capt Goodwin Chief & Steward report that at last of Boats for buying and my ready to look on & balanced said in Such foreward in the Company that they hope they were desirous by the hearing of Victty & that Charging Charge for the year, cast is £ 407: 15: 11 1/2, & of them it was the year before Margin Notes: Water Scarce | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 10 January 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Harry, a slave belonging to Samuel Doveton, had broken into the house of James Ryder and taken 40 lb of rice, 20 lb of sugar, 20 lb of candy, a china bowl and a dressed skin. Davis, one of the Company's slaves, and Peter Rushton helped him. Both were convicted of breaking into the house with him and were ordered thirty-nine lashes each. The iron collar lately taken off Harry, which had been put on him earlier for breaking into a house in the country, was to be fitted again, with a shackle added to one of his legs. Davis already wore one shackle and was to have a second put on the other leg. The council met again at Plantation House on Tuesday 17 January 1738, with the same three present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that on the previous Sunday two of the Company's slaves fishing on the rocks had been washed off into the sea and were drowned. He had given orders that no slave should go fishing on a rock unless a boat was standing by, so that no such accident should happen again. He reported further that within the past two days a bullock had fallen down the rocks and could not be found until it was already spoiled. Another animal had been recovered and was killed at once, but only about 3 hundredweight of it proved fit to be eaten. The whole carcass was given to the slaves. The Governor also reported a general complaint about the failure of the springs. Water had by now become so scarce through the great drought that whole plantations were left without any, and the sun burned up the fields to the very point of ruin. The complaint ran through the island, and the poorer people felt it most. Captain Goodwin, being in great need of dollars for his household, asked that an advance be made to him against his pay, and asked for the last exchange rate. The council agreed to advance £100 0s 0d upon his terms as it stood at that date, the price of the last exchange being 5s 8d, and his request was granted. Captain Goodwin reported further that many of the leases granted at this season were in such arrears, and had been let so cheaply, that the neglect of the tenants had done real damage. The yearly rent of that kind stood at £407 6s 11.5d, and the gross charge for the year past was set against it. Interpretations Breaking into a dwelling house was among the gravest offences a slave could commit on the island, and the sentence here follows the graded scale the council had settled by practice. Thirty-nine lashes was the conventional ceiling for a whipping, applied to Andrew on 21 September 1736 and to Margaret Smallman on 18 March 1737. The iron collar was a permanent visible mark worn about the neck, described on 30 October 1733 as the ancient custom of the place, and a second shackle on the other leg was the standard escalation for a repeated offence, applied to the Company slave Drake on 26 February 1734 and to Harry of Mr Wrangham on 9 April 1734. Reinstating a collar lately removed shows the council treating the previous punishment as unfinished rather than imposing a fresh one. The order about fishing from the rocks answers a hazard that had already cost the island several lives. Corryden, the Company's chief fisherman, fell 150 feet into Downing's Cove from the Rupert's path on 20 July 1734, and John Thwaites senior, a soldier, was washed off the rocks and drowned while fishing about 19 September 1734, leaving a wife and seven young children to the parish. Two of Governor Pyke's own slaves were nearly drowned on the rocks on 1 October 1734. The fishery had been established on 1 March 1727 when the slaves' meat ration was replaced by fish, with eleven men set constantly in the boats, so the loss of two men at once struck at the establishment's own food supply. The drought now reported has been running since the previous summer. The Governor recorded on 2 August 1737 that the rain had failed where the usual seasons produced it and that no feed remained for cattle in the eastern parts, and the inhabitants lost 54 head in July alone. What has changed is that the springs themselves are failing rather than merely the pasture. The island's water had been surveyed exhaustively in August 1732, when six samples were weighed against Bristol water and Chubb's Spring was found sound at the head but spoiled by salt seepage along 540 rods of open channel. A commission had already reported on 8 April 1729 that several springs were quite dry and the flow reduced to less than a fifteenth of what older residents remembered, yet certified the supply sufficient because commanders watering at the Cape would ruin the island. Beasts falling from the rocks was a recognised consequence of dry weather rather than an accident. The Governor reported on 27 November 1733 that rocks fell from the dry slopes in St James on two days, killing beasts beneath them, and that Mr Bazett and another holder lost two apiece, such losses being frequent throughout the island in dry weather. Seven cattle were lost that way between November 1733 and January 1734. An advance against pay was the ordinary way an officer on the island turned a salary into coin, since St Helena carried almost no circulating money and the Company's servants were paid by book entry. Spanish dollars passed at 5s each in earlier reckonings, so a rate of 5s 8d shows silver standing dearer than usual, which is what a settlement six months without a ship in the road would produce. |
254 | 246 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 24 January 1737 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Yesterday be hid an Alarm for a Ship that pass by to Windward, thought to be a Dane At a Consultation held on Tuesday 31 Janry 1737 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved Moll a Slave Wench belonging to James Powell Planter maketh Complaint that her Mistress in Yesterday Morning last tied her up by her hands to a hook fastened to the Girder of the Kitchen having first Stript her naked to her waist & whipd her in a very Severe manner with Small Line giving her thirty six Lashes which weeks tore her flesh & they trod & her ye said arrival, & further to make her undergo this cruel Usage without any real fault or Offence committed by her she having given her Work to do which was impossible to do in the time than in which she used, having all the house to Scowre & clean from top to bottom being 9 rooms in Number besides fixing to spill to Cook 2 or 3 Yam Bitts of yams ready & the Poultry to feed & to wash Dinner before Water to fetch to do all these things which took up much time & because he was not up till its done when she came home the every thing was finished except the Kitchen which was but then done, she she only left of a little while to fry the Poultry, he tyed her in this Barbarous manner & gave her the like cruell Whipping on Sunday night before & yesterday but & that sometime ago she was much whipd by another Masters Brother & carried & Cruelly on his Absence for accidently falling a Sleep after a hard days Work & that she is made to Work all day long very hard when night comes & most other creatures are allowed to leave off & go to rest she is Obliged to set up to Iron till 12 or one a Clock in the morning & not withstanding she does every thing very willingly & that he would have her to besides often Stripping & other he is constantly | The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 24 January 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. An alarm had been raised the previous evening for a ship passing by, which stood on and was soon out of sight. The council met again at Plantation House on Tuesday 31 January 1738, with the same three present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Moll, a slave woman belonging to James Powell, planter, complained that her master had beaten her on the Friday morning before. He tied her up by the hands to a hook fixed in the girder of the kitchen, stripped her naked and whipped her severely with a small line, giving her thirty-six lashes, which cut her flesh badly. She stated that she had done nothing to deserve such treatment, having committed no real fault or offence. He had set her more work than could possibly be done in the time allowed. She was required to sweep and clean the whole house from top to bottom, seven rooms in all, besides making the fire and boiling two or three yams for breakfast, and to feed and dress the poultry before dinner. Fetching what was needed for all this took a great deal of time, and it was often six or seven o'clock at night before everything was finished except the kitchen, which was left until morning. The only use of a little while to feed the poultry, and he called her in this barbarous manner. He gave her the like cruel whipping on the Sunday night before Friday, and she had suffered the same about a fortnight earlier. She had been whipped by every other master's brother, who came and beat her in his absence, for accidentally letting a chip fall after a hard day's work. She had to labour all day and very hard when night came, and no other servants were allowed to leave off and go to rest. She was obliged to sit up till two, three or four o'clock in the morning, and notwithstanding that she did everything very willingly, whatever she did she would have to be beaten often, stopping altogether as he constantly [...]. Interpretations This is the second time Moll has come before the council against the same master. She complained on 13 August 1736 that he had whipped her with great severity twelve days before her delivery of a child and again terribly on the day of it, for which the council fined him forty shillings and took a written promise that he would never whip any of his servants without leave from the Governor. That was the second such undertaking in seven months, the first given on 22 January 1736 after Stellen deposed to three whippings within weeks of his release from prison. The council's difficulty has never been the evidence but the law. A slave's account carried no weight against a free defendant, so nothing here could support a prosecution, and the board had reduced itself over five years to extracting written promises from a man who had broken every one of them. It stated the governing rule on 18 December 1733, that a slave driven away by an owner's cruelty ought not to be punished where no other fault appeared, and it had reached further only once, on 16 April 1734, when it compelled Thomas Clough to sell an ill-used slave by threatening his liquor licence and his ability to buy more. James Powell's record before this board runs back to 1734 and covers his slaves, his mother's cattle, his wife's sister and his own animals. Bacchus deposed on 10 September 1735 to whippings of a hundred lashes with a four-strand cord, to a dog set on him and to being hung from a beam by an iron collar so that he stood on one leg. Lawrence described being burned on the hip with a hot gridiron and the burn dressed with candle wax. Topia, bought off the Wyndham at the end of May 1737, ran within two months and deposed on 12 September 1737 to being struck down without a word, beaten with fishing lines and cut from elbow to wrist with a knife, with dogs' teeth marks plain upon him. Powell denied every account and promised each time to do better. The account of the day's labour matters as much as the whipping. Seven rooms swept and cleaned, the fire made, breakfast boiled, the poultry fed and dressed, and the fetching that each of those tasks required, all before the kitchen could be left until morning, describes a workload set beyond completion so that failure was guaranteed and punishment always available. Sitting up until three or four in the morning while the rest of the household rested puts the point beyond doubt. |
255 | 247 | beating of her with canes or other great Sticks & in Testimony hereof she hath hereunto made her mark this 30 day of January 1737 The + mark Moll At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7 Febry 1737 at the Plantation House PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the Month past which were severally Examined & Approved & are as follows vizt Gunners Store Expended in Janry 1737 vizt Guns Fired, Minion, Powder An Allarm & the Ship past by: Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Powder 12 Expence of the Guardes & Musters day: Guns Fired 0, Minion 0, Powder 40 Guns Fired 4, Minion 4, Powder 52 Ladle Hood 10 Spunge Staves 7 Spunge Heads 5 Rammer Heads 5 Sheep Skines 3 Ladle 1 Linstockes 12 Cartridge Paper 3 Quire Match 48 Expence of the Table in Janry 1737 vizt £ s d Ducks 7 10 6 Turkeys 2 10 Fowles 18 1 7 Pork 60 lb 17 8 Arrack 87 Gallons 3 5 4 Sugar 1 1/2 lb 1 7 Candy 18 lb 10 Bushells Salt 2 4 13 9 Flour 3 3 13 4 Bottles Wine 4 9 Butter 9 lb 31 13 11 Margin Notes: Janry 23 | Moll's statement closed with her account of the beatings she received with canes and other heavy sticks, and she signed it with her mark on 30 January 1738. The council met at Plantation House on Tuesday 7 February 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the past month, which were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in January 1738, the columns running guns fired, minions and powder. 23 January: an alarm for a ship passing by, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 12 lb of powder Expense of the guards and the muster day, 40 lb of powder Total, 4 guns fired, 4 minions, 52 lb of powder Lead shot, 10 lb Sponge staves, 7 Sponge heads, 5 Rammer heads, 5 Sheepskins, 3 Ladles, 1 Linstocks, 12 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 48 lb Expenses of the fort's table for January 1738. 7 ducks, £0 10s 6d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 18 fowls, £1 7s 0d 60 lb of pork, £17 8s 0d 87 gallons of arrack, £3 5s 4d 17 lb of sugar, £1 7s 0d 18 lb of candy, £0 10s 0d 2 bushels of salt, £4 13s 9d 3 lb of flour, £0 13s 4d 4 bottles of oil, £0 9s 0d 9 lb of butter, [...] Total, £31 13s 11d Interpretations The alarm of 23 January was the first firing for any reason since Queen Elizabeth's accession day in November, and it produced nothing. Four guns is the standing signal for a strange sail, costing 12 lb of powder, and it was answered from minions alone, the light pieces the gunner reserved for signals and ceremony to spare the store. The ship stood on and did not come in, so the anchorage remained empty as it had been since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737, a silence now approaching seven months. Match at 48 lb is four times the ordinary monthly charge and much the heaviest entry in this run of accounts. A length of slow-burning cord had to smoulder at every guard post through every watch whether or not a gun was fired, so the consumption measures hours of standing watch rather than any action. Linstocks are the forked staves that hold the burning match clear of the gunner's hand, and twelve of them going out in a single month alongside the extra cord points to the guard posts being manned and supplied afresh rather than to any firing. Beef vanished from the table again after two months of small quantities, and 60 lb of pork with seven ducks, two turkeys and eighteen fowls carried the whole of the meat. That fits the stock account exactly, since nothing was sold to shipping and only what the fort itself consumed was killed. The pattern has held since July 1737, and it repeats the winter of 1736, when beef was absent from the table for four months together. Arrack at 87 gallons is the heaviest monthly charge in this run, above the 89 gallons of December only because that month carried a separate Christmas allowance for the guards and slaves. Spirit was the one article the island never lacked, coming in by the leaguer from Batavia and Goa on every supply ship, and it stands as the largest single line in the table account month after month while fresh meat disappears altogether. |
256 | 248 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Janry 1737 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Janry: Bullocks 10, Cows 107, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 85, Calves 58, Bulls 6, Totall 366, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 43, Turkeys 40, Fowles 85, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 20, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 10, Cows 107, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 85, Calves 58, Bulls 6, Totall 366, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 43, Turkeys 40, Fowles 105, Ducks 18, Geese 11, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 18, Ducks 7, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 10, Cows 107, Heifers 50, Steers 50, Yearlings 85, Calves 58, Bulls 6, Totall 366, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 38, Fowles 87, Ducks 11, Geese 11, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Dead in ditto: Bullocks 1, Cows 5, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Yearlings 2, Calves 7, Bulls 1, Totall 17, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 3, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 31st Janry 1737: Bullocks 9, Cows 102, Heifers 50, Steers 49, Yearlings 83, Calves 51, Bulls 5, Totall 349, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 38, Fowles 87, Ducks 11, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16500 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of January 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 January 1738: bullocks 10, cows 107, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 85, calves 58, bulls 6, neat cattle total 366, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 43, turkeys 40, fowls 85, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 20, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 10, cows 107, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 85, calves 58, bulls 6, neat cattle total 366, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 43, turkeys 40, fowls 105, ducks 18, geese 11, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 2, fowls 18, ducks 7, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 10, cows 107, heifers 50, steers 50, yearlings 85, calves 58, bulls 6, neat cattle total 366, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 38, fowls 87, ducks 11, geese 11, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Dead in the month: bullocks 1, cows 5, heifers 0, steers 1, yearlings 2, calves 7, bulls 1, neat cattle total 17, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 3, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 31 January 1738: bullocks 9, cows 102, heifers 50, steers 49, yearlings 83, calves 51, bulls 5, neat cattle total 349, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 38, fowls 87, ducks 11, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,500 lb Interpretations Seventeen cattle died in January, the heaviest monthly loss in this record and the fourth successive rise, after fifteen in December, eleven in November and eight in October. The herd has fallen from 402 head on 1 October to 349 at the end of January, a loss of 53 in four months with not one animal sold and only two killed for the table. The drought Governor Pyke reported on 2 August 1737 has now been running eighteen months, and on 17 January 1738 he told the council that whole plantations stood without water and the sun had burned the fields to the point of ruin. The composition of the losses has changed decisively. October carried off a bullock, two cows and five calves; January took a bullock, five cows, a steer, two yearlings, seven calves and a bull. Every class is now affected, including the saleable males and one of the six bulls, so the herd is losing both its breeding capacity and the stock it would have sold when shipping returned. Nothing has been born since August 1737, five months without a single calf. The bullock and the steer are the more serious losses commercially. The Company year to 30 September 1737 had already emptied every class kept for sale, bullocks falling to two head in May and the council breaking into the breeding cows for the first time in this record. The year-end muster on 30 September restored the appearance of the account by moving 149 head between classes through cutting and growing, bringing bullocks back to 11 and steers to 50, but those animals came from the yearlings rather than from any purchase, and the yearlings themselves are now falling. Twenty fowls hatched is the first increase of any kind in three months and the poultry yard remains the establishment's only reliable source of meat. It had opened the Company year at 506 fowls after the muster of 30 September 1736 brought 400 in at once, and closed at 130 after 413 were killed against a hatch of only 37. At 87 fowls the flock now stands lower still, and eighteen went to the table this month against a hatch of twenty. A single line of yams appears, 16,500 lb charged to the plantations, with nothing entered for the establishment's own provision. That share had run at 27,950 lb in December and 18,500 lb in November, so its absence here points to the crop reaching the end of what the ground yielded before the winter planting goes in about May. Imported rice carried the balance in every earlier year of shortage, and the same recourse must have served now. |
257 | 249 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 14 Febry 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved On Wednesday the 8 instant the Queen Carolina arrived from England & yesterday Morning we sent the Captain the following Letter vizt Sir We desire you'l send on Shoar with all the Expedition you possibly can all such goods & Merchandize as are on board your Ship Consigned to us for the use of the Honble Company & if you want any assistance we shall be glad to serve you, We are Yr We also Appointed the Storekeeper & the proper persons to attend duely at the Watersides to receive the goods as they come on Shoar & to observe the Weather & Working of the Ship &c & to transmit an Account thereof every Evening into the Secretarys Office The Nottingham also arrived this Evening from Madras, but last from the Cape, with the following Supply vizt Longcloth Ordinary white 9 lb 100 ps 212 18 Charges 10 21 223 3 Long Cloth Ordinary 9 lb 100 ps 169 18 Charges 23 37 60 189 14 60 Sugar 21 Bags 6 lb 3 63 23 25 Arrack 2 Legers 28 36 Rice 15 Bags for 100 56 144 23 25 2 36 Charges Merchandize Pagodas 560 3 5 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21 February 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Duke Crispe The last Consultation was read & Approved We this day Received Mr John Ellis to buy Summer of the Island in memory of the Honble Companies Service in their late Wars & Queen Carolina & acquainted Mr French with the Provision the Company had here placed & made him in Consideration of his age & long Service who was directed to attend upon to writ Charles & such Gentlemen & others as were in his Country for which Mr Clarke is required & except & then to receive the Keys of the Storehouse & Mr French was ordered to see that by the first Opportunity of there was one to make a fair on the Storehouse in the Island Margin Notes: Sir Setting price 10 168 40 3 24 60 3 25 60 27 60 6 90 9 Fanam Long Cloth 100 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 10 February 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin and Duke Crisp present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Queen Caroline arrived from England on Wednesday 8 February 1738, and the following morning the council sent her captain a letter. It asked him to land with all possible speed the goods aboard his ship consigned for the use of the Company, and offered any assistance he needed. The storekeeper was directed to attend at the waterside and receive the goods as they came ashore, to note the weather and the progress of the unlading, and to deliver an account of it each evening into the secretary's office. The Nottingham arrived on the same evening from Madras, last from the Cape, with a supply for the island. Long cloth middling, 5 pieces of 40 yards each at 3s 6d the yard, 212 pagodas 18 annas Charges on the same, 10 pagodas 21 annas Long cloth ordinary, 5 pieces of 40 yards each at 2s 6d the yard, 189 pagodas 18 annas Charges on the same, 23 pagodas 37 annas 60 pies Sugar, 21 bags at 5 pagodas the bag, 63 pagodas 23 annas 25 pies Arrack, 2 leaguers at 6 pagodas each, 36 pagodas Tea, 15 bags at 6 pagodas the bag, 116 pagodas 23 annas 25 pies Charges merchandise, 2 pagodas 36 annas Total, 560 pagodas 5 annas 5 pies The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 14 February 1738, with the same three present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The council recorded that Mr Coen died on 8 February 1738 at the Honourable Company's factory at Fort St David, and that the letter of Queen Caroline had been placed among the papers. Mr French, who had been acquainted with the provisions the Company sent, had been directed to acquaint him in what manner he was to act. He was to take the papers relating to his estate away with him in his country, for which Mr Coen had opportunity to write in his lifetime. A receipt was taken for the papers of the Nottingham, and Mr French was directed to see that the whole went home by the first opportunity, so that no delay should fall on the Company [...]. Interpretations Long cloth was a plain white cotton woven on the Coromandel coast in long lengths and one of the staple textiles of the Madras trade, sold in graded qualities and here in middling and ordinary sorts at 3s 6d and 2s 6d the yard. The island bought it through the storekeeper for resale to the inhabitants rather than for the Company's own use, which is why a sterling selling price is set against each grade in the invoice. Reckoning the supply in pagodas rather than rupees identifies the port of lading as surely as the goods themselves. A pagoda was the gold coin of southern India, current at Madras and the Coromandel ports at roughly eight shillings sterling, and Madras ladings were always entered in that currency where Bengal consignments came in rupees, annas and pies. The Prince William brought a supply reckoned the same way on 2 February 1737, and the Nassau from Madras in May 1736. Setting the storekeeper at the waterside with a nightly account of boats, weather and progress was not routine care but a defence against a demurrage claim. The charter party fixed the days allowed for discharge, and a commander delayed beyond that term could hold the Company answerable for his owners' loss. Captain Crompton of the Duke of Lorraine made exactly that claim on 10 April 1736 when the ten days expired with part of his cargo aboard, and Captain Westcott of the Yarborough asked the council to record his delay on 25 May 1736 so that he might be entitled to demurrage. The daily record was the only evidence the island could produce against either. These two arrivals ended a silence in the anchorage of more than seven months, the road having stood empty since the Shaftsbury and the Harrington sailed on 3 July 1737. Nothing had been sold from the Company's herd in that time, and with cattle dying at seventeen head a month there was little enough to sell. The tea, sugar and arrack landed here were the first fresh stock the storekeeper had received since the previous summer. The Queen Caroline had called at St Helena once before, arriving on 18 April 1736 and sailing on the 21st with the Beauford, no departure salute being fired on that occasion. |
258 | 250 | At a Consultation held on Saturday 18 Febry 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Deputy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved This day the Governour Issued the following Warrant to Capt Goodwin the Deputy Governour vizt Whereas last night between the 17 & 18 instant Febry 1737 Thomas Anderson a Soldier of this Garrison, was with divers others where names are to be Enquired after, by your drinking together in a Punch House kept by Thomas Colgrave & about Ten at night some part of Bastion arose among the said Company on which a Fray ensued & some of the said Company fought together on which Thomas Anderson fell down & after a short time died You are therefore to Summons all the said Company before you & a Jury of Twelve Honest Men of this place & Enquired into & cause by his Death, & by whom Done what Occasioned & to Examine whether there was any former Quarrell between the deceased & any of the said Company & whether he deserved his Death by any Wounds be therefrom & further herein & by what Persons in And if you shall by whose hands he received his Death, you are a Consider whether it happened by Accident or Wilfully & if you find to have been Wilfully done, you are binding upon Wounds & in respect or within of your good the Quarrelles were in in Friendship before & that he came by his Death by some Sudden Stroake or that Drunken though then you are to Direct your Jury to bring it in as such brought him from the person who gave that Blow but if you find or Judge & Verdicts done to death but that being Drunk & fallen down he died of too much Liquor then you may bring in your verdict Chance Medley And so let your Jury Sign the same but you are to deliver upon what Report according to Law & for so doing this is your Warrant Dated Under my Hand & Publishd Companies Seale this 18 Febry 1737 To John Goodwin Esqr Deputy Governour of this Island & Appointed Coroner of this place for this purpose Isa: Pyke Governour By Order of this Warrant Capt Goodwin Summoned the following Jury vizt Simon Medley Thomas Gutteridge Foreman John Bagley Martin Harper John Charleston Joshua Kendale Thomas Greentree John Flowers Francis Younge James Vaughn Gabriel Harper Richard Avery Who with Mr Charles Surgeon of this Garrison & Mr Marshbrook Surgeon of the Queen Carolina & every viewd the body of the said Anderson & one who spoke on the said place but not any bruises or marks of Violence | The council met at the castle on Saturday 18 February 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor and Duke Crisp of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor issued a warrant the same day to Captain Goodwin, the Deputy Governor. The warrant recited that on the night of 17 February 1738 Thomas Anderson, a soldier of the garrison, had been drinking with others where such men commonly gathered, at a punch house kept by Thomas Colgrave. At about ten at night some part of the company fell out among themselves, and a quarrel followed. Some of that company fought together, and Anderson was struck down and died shortly afterwards. Goodwin was directed to summon a jury of twelve honest men of the island, to view the body, to enquire how he came by his death and to examine every witness. He was to establish whatever passed between the deceased and any of the company, and to determine by what means he had died. The warrant required the jury to find whether the death happened by accident or was wilfully caused. Should they find it done wilfully, they were to enquire who did it and in what manner. Should they find that the parties were in friendship before it, and that Anderson came by his death through some sudden quarrel in that drunken company, they were to direct the jury to bring in as an evil draught from the person who gave the liquor out of doors, or to find that Chase Medley had died of too much liquor. They were to bring in a verdict accordingly. Goodwin was to sign the verdict with the jury and to deliver a report of the whole proceeding to the Governor. The warrant was signed by Governor Pyke and dated at the Company's castle, 18 February 1738. It was addressed to John Goodwin, Deputy Governor, and endorsed as read and approved by the board of council for that purpose. Captain Goodwin summoned the following jury. Thomas Easthope, foreman Simon Whaley John Bagley John Alexander Thomas Grayston Francis Younge Gabriel Harper Martin Harper Joshua Worrall John Flowers James Vaughan Richard Avery Mr Brown, surgeon of the garrison, and Mr Marchbank, surgeon of the Queen Caroline, viewed the body of the dead man. They reported that it carried no bruises or marks of violence. Interpretations The warrant establishes a coroner's inquest, an office St Helena had no separate holder for, so the Governor devolved it on his deputy by written commission. English practice required a jury to view the body and return a verdict on the cause of death before burial could proceed, and the verdict determined whether any criminal charge followed. Without that finding the council had no basis to prosecute anyone, whatever the circumstances suggested. Chance medley was the term of art the warrant reaches for, meaning a killing arising from a sudden quarrel where neither party had planned harm. It sat below manslaughter in the scale of homicide and carried no capital penalty, and it was the finding an inquest returned where a fight broke out unexpectedly among men previously on good terms. The Governor's instructions steer the jury towards that verdict or towards death by drink alone, both of which would close the matter without a trial. The surgeons' report is what makes the outcome likely. A body with no bruises and no marks of violence gives a jury nothing to fix on a striker, and pushes the finding towards the liquor rather than the blows. Two surgeons were used rather than one, the garrison's own and the surgeon of the ship then in the road, which gave the finding an independent voice that could not be said to serve the island's interest. Unlicensed punch houses had troubled the council for years and this death is the outcome it had warned against. The jury of 2 July 1733 presented the lodging houses of James Valley that filled with disorderly visitors through the shipping season and became the resort of people who would neither work nor let others work. Five sailors were taken in a riot at John Knight's punch house on 21 January 1735, and Francis Funge, Joseph Bates and John Scott were each fined 20s on 21 June 1737 for selling punch without a licence. Charges of 40s a year for retail liquor licences had been introduced on 18 April 1727 with a £10 forfeiture for unlicensed selling. Speculations Handing the inquest to Captain Goodwin was not the obvious course. Governor Pyke had presided personally over every significant examination in this record, taking the depositions in the Mesa estate affair himself in 1731, examining Nero and Mercy separately on 22 December 1736 and Caesar on 11 January 1737, and sitting as judge at the court of judicature of 15 March 1737. What the warrant shows is a distinction between the two roles: an inquest returns a finding that the Governor may then have to act on, and a governor who directed the enquiry and afterwards tried any resulting charge would be judging his own conclusion. Devolving it on the Deputy Governor and requiring a written report back preserved that separation while keeping the outcome under his own eye. |
259 | 251 | being found which might thought to Occasion his Death & Persons who were present at his slaughter, party men were Examined upon Oath, some of them viz Nicholas Cleveter who happened there & very both all the time saith that they were two persons Drinking there at the house of Thomas Colgrave & who Colgrave called the deceased Scotch Son of a Bitch which occasioned high words & the Colgraves Wife Struck the deceased with a Cane & Colgrave threw him down & Struck him two Blows with his fist which the Evidence to be Colgrave was not fair & the Colgrave & said good Damn his Blood Matthew Waters Soldier was also in Company but so drunk he could give no Account of the matter George Green Soldier was also with them & saith but such Mercy & viewed him, & he the Colgraves Wife struck the deceased with a Cane & Colgrave with his fist & that he he abscondred Richard Mansfield who came in the Evidence being there saith that above 4 or 5 on Yesterday Night in an Injury went & would no more of him but the next Morning attend the Sick, & did very Sorry & Complaining much of the Usage, but did not say from whom, but upon Enquiry found he had been at Thomas Colgraves & the said Colgrave that the Sick had be a dangerous Condition, & Colgrave replyed he did nothing he did only two or three Thumps that he gave him & a box on head & wished he had Served them worse The Jury after Considering of these Circumstances delivered their Verdict that Colgrave Killed him nobody, but did with his own wounded Colgraves Answer & proved him to be Imprisoned for a Month with an Iron Rack upon one Leg & during the time & three men, his Wife of the Colgraves who beat the said deceased with a Cane to be imprisoned as well as an Example to all others who now or may hereafter keep publick houses & that the said Colgrave do pay all the charge that have or shall happen upon this Occasion & that to pay all charge of the funeral of the deceased At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28 Febry 1737 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depty Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved This day the Marmaduke arrived from Bombay but last from the Cape of which place Capt Marsden brought the Supply vizt 1408 30 Bales Cloths Blue 6 py 5 lb 112 2 6 Neat Customs 6 py & Land Charges 6 py 60 Hammallage 12 do Rupees 1520 5 00 Margin Notes: Stampt paid brought for Ship there is as follows vizt 10 Rupees | Nothing was found on the body that might have caused the death, so the men present in the house were examined about what had passed. Nicholas Cleaton, who had been present when it happened, was asked what he had seen. He deposed that two Portuguese sailors were drinking at Thomas Colgrave's house, that the corporal called the deceased a Scotch son of a bitch, and that high words followed. The corporal's wife then struck the deceased with a cane and knocked him down, and struck him twice more with her fist, which the witness said the corporal did not damn his blood. Matthew Waters, a soldier, had also been in the company, but was so drunk that he could give no account of the matter. George Green, a soldier, was also in the house and deposed to much the same effect, but had lately been ill. He stated that the corporal's wife struck the deceased with a cane, that Sergeant [...] hit him first, and that he was not undressed. Richard Marchfield, a soldier, deposed that the corporal and he lived above a mile apart. On the previous night the deceased went out and was seen no more, and the next morning attended the [...] in the very house of the complainant, none of it illegal, but did not stay from anyone. Upon enquiry they found he had been at Thomas Colgrave's house, where the corporal said the deceased had a dangerous constitution. Colgrave denied it, saying he had only two or three [...], that he gave them a cup or two of drink, and that he had turned them out. The jury, having considered every circumstance, delivered their verdict, finding that no other person was to blame, but that the corporal's wife should be imprisoned for a month, kept in irons upon one leg, and afterwards released. Corporal [...] was found to have struck the deceased with a cane, and was to be imprisoned as an example to others, so that no one might venture on such conduct again. He was to pay whatever charge might arise on that account, and to pay all the charges of the funeral of the deceased. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 21 February 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor and Duke Crisp of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Mountague arrived from Bombay, last from the Cape, with a supply for the island. Stampt paint brought for Wingham's use, 1,408 rupees 0 annas 0 pies 40 bales of coloured cloth, blue, 1 anna 2 pies each, 112 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Neat customs, freight and charges, 0 rupees 60 annas 0 pies Hammallage, 0 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Total, 1,520 rupees 5 annas 0 pies Interpretations The verdict falls short of any homicide finding and settles the matter as a disciplinary and financial punishment. With the surgeons reporting no bruises and no marks of violence, the jury had nothing on which to found a charge of manslaughter, so it reached instead for imprisonment, irons and liability for the funeral costs. Making the corporal answerable for the burial charges was the practical remedy where no criminal penalty applied, since a soldier dying without means otherwise fell on the parish, which the council had repeatedly found stretched beyond its capacity. The council had no separate machinery for keeping order among the garrison and habitually referred offences touching the internal discipline of the soldiers to the military officers. Cornelius Plucknet, William Webb and John Slate were adjudged to run the gauntlet on that footing in November 1735, and two soldiers rode the wooden horse in April 1736 for words the sergeant took as mutiny. Here the inquest jury delivered a punishment itself, which puts a body of twelve inhabitants in the position of sentencing a corporal and his wife. Imprisonment with an iron on one leg was the standard escalation the council applied to repeated offenders among the slaves rather than to free persons, appearing against the Company slave Drake on 26 February 1734 and against Harry of Mr Wrangham on 9 April 1734. Applying it to a corporal's wife marks the offence as serious in the jury's eyes, whatever the medical evidence allowed them to find. Hammallage is the charge for porterage on the Bombay side, the fee paid to the men who carried goods between warehouse and boat, and it appears in western-coast invoices where Bengal ladings enter the same charge as coolie hire. Reckoning the supply in rupees rather than pagodas places the lading on the western route, and the absence of Bengal sugar confirms it. The Mountague had called at St Helena twice before under that name, arriving direct from Bengal with the Bridgewater and the Leathwaiter on 20 May 1728, and coming from England with the Company packet on 1 April 1730. This call brings the third arrival in a fortnight after seven months of an empty anchorage, following the Queen Caroline from England and the Nottingham from Madras on 8 February 1738. |
260 | 252 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21 Febry 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Will of Thomas Harper Ensign deceased was this day proved before us, upon the Oaths of Margaret Harper & his Wife & Executors delivered an Inventory of the Effects of the said deceased as the same was taken & appraised by Francis Nottingham & Richard Goodwin who severally made Oath that they had Valued & Appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement, & the said Will & Inventory were each of them Ordered to be Registered accordingly On Saturday the 25 instant Capt Flecks at a Consultation held on Board at the same at which were present Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr Capt Flower Mr Blenick Chyrurgeons Capt Goodwin Mr Ober Capt Crispe Capt Beckhead Capt Ashton Accused John Combs Mate & Coombs, Sailor belonging to the Ship for a mutiny on board the said Ship being the Articles at the request & upon which John Fripper Quarter Master who happened to be being drunk upon the Quarter Deck on the at night was Examined & Ordered that Coombs without any Provocation took him by the Collar & threw him flat upon the Deck & thereupon Ordered his lost to be seen but as fast he was heaving up struck him & assaulted him again upon which George Wetherall came to Coombs Assistance & turned Coombs off the Quarter Deck, & Coombs went on the maine Deck & took up a Fire & Struck may & struck at him & John Sanders forced Wetherall from him & then Sanders wrestled up an Iron Crow & had he would have it - through the Cray but Wetherall was took it from him & threw him under his fist & then took the Chairing & Wetherall & fight him upon which & but throwing the said Mate wrestling being gave to ease Somestime before & asking what was the matter he was told what had happened & he thereupon Ordered Coombs into Irons & the Captain came on board Michaell Hawkins confirmed the Account of Coombs & his behaviour & John Sanders one of his Quarter Mates appeared & that after Coombs was in Irons & the Deck he desired him by Sanders their forces Master of the Quarter Deck a little while & thereupon or most of them but he did not do it long Coombs appearing innocent the private Gentlemen inquiring him, a good Character he was acquitted, but Coombs was Ordered to be whipt with 39 Lashes on Shoar & in a longside of the Ship & upon Ship & the said & at the Captains request for the Security of the Honble Companies Ship & Cargo were sent to Stay here & to go to the upon Some other Ship | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 28 February 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor and Duke Crisp of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The will of Thomas Harper, ensign, deceased, was proved before the board on the oaths of Margaret Mayne and the executors. An inventory of his effects was delivered as taken and appraised by Francis Wrangham and Richard Goodwin, who each swore that they had valued the whole to the best of their skill and judgement. The will and the inventory were both ordered to be registered. A consultation was held on board a ship in the road on Saturday 25 February 1738, at which the Governor attended with Captain Cleaton, Captain Goodwin, Captain Crisp, Mr Blomfield and Mr Watson, supercargoes, Captain Buckland and Captain Ashtone. The council heard a charge against John Sombs, otherwise Coombs, a sailor belonging to the ship, for wounding a passenger during a voyage on shore. The master, John Trotter, quartermaster, deposed to what happened. Being aboard on the quarter deck at night, he was examined and stated that Coombs, without any provocation, took him by the throat and threw him flat upon the deck. When he had recovered, he was rising and struck him and knocked him down again, on which George Melmoth came to his assistance. Coombs went off the quarter deck to the main deck, took up a stave, drank a mug and struck at him. He then came at him and forced the stave from him. He then boarded himself up on an iron crow, and threatened to run it through his body, but Trotter wrenched it from him and threw him down with his fist. He then had the challenge, put it in his right hand and struck him. Towards the mate who was giving in to some fresh quarrel before, and knowing what was the matter, he asked what had happened. He then ordered Coombs into irons until the captain came aboard. Michael Hawkins confirmed the account Coombs had given and stated that one of the quartermasters was struck [...]. He also came down in a bag [...] on board. He described him by name their sworn master of the quarter deck, a little while, and the captain or one of them, but he did not last long. Coombs, appearing sorry for what he had done, asked pardon, and several gentlemen present interceded for him. A good character was given of him, and Coombs was ordered [...]. The council would have ordered him to be whipped, both at the anchor or on shore, and to be given a length of duty, but at the captain's request, and for the security of the Company's ship and cargo, and considering that he might go and desert on some other ship [...]. Interpretations Holding a consultation aboard a vessel in the road was a departure from ordinary practice and reflects where the offence occurred. Jurisdiction over conduct at sea belonged to the ship's own command rather than to the island's council, and the presence of two supercargoes and three commanders alongside the three councillors gave the hearing the character of a shipboard court reinforced by the shore authority rather than a sitting of the board itself. Governor Pyke had used a similar device before, asking the several captains and gentlemen in the road for their opinions before disposing of the thief Martin Parkinson on 10 May 1737, and putting the chaplain's case to three ship's commanders in May 1731. The threat with an iron crow is what raised the matter above an ordinary brawl. Iron crows were the heavy pointed levers the council had specified for the island's own defence on 16 July 1734, from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet 6 inches long and none to be of cast iron, and a bar of that description used against a man's body was a weapon capable of killing. That distinguishes the assault from the drunken fight at Thomas Colgrave's punch house heard ten days earlier, where the surgeons found no marks of violence at all. Putting a man in irons until the captain came aboard was the quartermaster's remedy rather than a punishment, since a ship's officer could confine a seaman on his own authority but only the commander could sentence him. The whole proceeding turned on the master's need to keep a working crew, and the captain's intervention on the man's behalf follows from that: a whipped and resentful sailor was worse than useless on a homeward passage, and a man who deserted at the island took his labour with him and forfeited nothing but his wages, which fell due only on safe return to England. Two appraisers were used for Thomas Harper's estate rather than the four the council had insisted on for larger fortunes. It had named five to the Powell estate on 25 September 1735 with a quorum of four, and four to Captain Alexander's on 30 September 1737, having found on the earlier occasion that two men were far more easily brought to an understanding than four. Reverting to two here indicates an estate small enough that the council saw no risk in the simpler procedure. |
261 | 253 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 8th March 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Sunday the 5 instant arrived the Bedford from Bengall with the following Supply vizt Sugar 21 Bags 12 lb 5 lb 144 8 Rice 34 Bags 10 py 13 118 12 9 Blew Bevellas for 50 Pices 6 py & Charge 233 4 Punch Sheets 4 & 100 Sheets 6 py pice 140 Charges Merchandize 40 Rupees 636 8 9 Capt Alexander being dead, Duke Crispe remaining & then being a Vacancy in Council, we this day filled it up that the Honble Companies Affairs might be kept on in a regular manner by appointed Mr John Bazett & the youngest of Council who has been about & Eighteen years in the service & Son of Mr Josalum Bazett who was formerly many years of Council & continued so to the time of his Death, this Paragraph upon this Subject was Ordered to be drawn up & read in a General Letter to advise the Honble Company & now & passed & to appoint the carried & appointments was here done, & the same was done accordingly & is the last Paragraph of the Letter of Bedford who is now in the road & we send that for England in a few days At a Consultation held on Tuesday 14 March 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved Joseph Alsop, Sidcumb Read, Timothy Craven, & Thomas Roper Saylor belonging to the Ship Queen Carolina being Summons from the said Ship & being asked the reason why they left the said Ship to be of them answered that they were forced so & constrained by their in Wages on board they each acknowledging that they Shipped from Cape Sicily & had ever a Sufficient Quantity of Provisions allowed them, but they who used to & would not want & work, & therefore Ordered them to Prepare & go upon the said Ship This Morning the Harrison arrived from China, & thus did the other Shipping were also under the Life Garden The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered their Account for the Month past, each of which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Margin Notes: Setting price 6 lb 5 py 12 py & py 13 py & py pes 2/6 py pice | The council met at the castle on Wednesday 8 March 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor and Duke Crisp of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Bedford arrived from Bengal on Sunday 5 March 1738 with a supply for the island. Sugar, 10 bags at 6d the pound, 155 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Rice, 34 bags at 15s 9d the hundredweight, 118 rupees 12 annas 9 pies Blue doosetees, 60 pieces at 13s 6d the piece, 222 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Shirts, 100 at 3s each, and stockings, 100 pairs at 2s 6d the pair, 140 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 40 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Total, 656 rupees 8 annas 9 pies A vacancy at the board had followed the death of Captain Alexander, and the council resolved to fill it. The Company's instructions allowed the appointment of a fit person, and the choice fell on John Bazett, ensign, who had served the Company many years on the island and was the son of Isaac Bazett, who had likewise served many years. The appointment rested on the paragraph of the Company's letter directing that any vacancy be filled by the council itself, and a letter was to be sent home reporting the choice for the Company's approval. The council ordered the appointment carried into effect at once, and directed that its letter go by the Bedford, which lay in the road and was to sail for England in a few days. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 14 March 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Joseph Allgood, Solomon Ford, Timothy Craven and Thomas Piper, sailors belonging to the Queen Caroline, ran from that ship and were examined. They said they had been ill used aboard, and that the meat and drink allowed them was not fit to be eaten. Each man stated separately that he had been given short weight and had been kept at his duty without any allowance, and that they were told they would not want clothes. The Governor ordered them to prepare to go upon the [...] ship. The Harrison arrived from China on the same morning, and the other shipping then in the road took the tide. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the past month, which were examined separately and approved. Interpretations Filling the vacant seat locally rather than waiting for London marks the practical limit of the Company's control over its own board. A letter home took months to reach England and the reply the better part of a year, so a council of three could not function through two full shipping seasons while the question travelled. John Alexander had been absent through illness from 31 May 1737 and died on or about 18 September, leaving the board sitting as three, with John Harris attending on 30 August and Thomas Cason on 3 February 1737 when John Goodwin was on duty at Munden's Fort. Bazett's qualification rests on service and lineage rather than on wealth or landholding, which distinguishes the island's council from an English commission of the peace. His father Isaac Bazett appears throughout this record as an ensign, churchwarden and executor, and John Bazett himself was chosen churchwarden on 26 September 1727. Sending the appointment home for confirmation by the first available ship preserved the form of the Company's authority while the substance had already been settled. Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces and measured in cubits, made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. Sixty pieces here matches the bale carried by the Godolphin in March 1736, and the shirts and stockings answer the same yearly issue. The clothing had run so short in the winter of 1735 that a moth-eaten parcel of silk drugget twenty years in store was cut up for the household servants. Complaints of bad provisions and short weight were the standard ground given by men who left their ships at the island, and they cost the deserter everything he had earned. Company wages fell due only on safe return to England, so a seaman who ran at St Helena forfeited the whole voyage, and every man examined in 1733 named the sum he was giving up. Benjamin Jones, boatswain of the Frances, forfeited eighteen months' pay in April 1733 rather than sail home under a captain he described as beating the crew at will. The standing penalty on the island was three months' hard labour without wages, which supplied the council with the very labour the inhabitants would not hire out at ninepence a day. |
262 | 254 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Febry 1737 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Febry: Bullocks 9, Cows 102, Heifers 50, Steers 49, Yearlings 83, Calves 51, Bulls 5, Totall 349, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 21, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 38, Fowles 81, Ducks 11, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 6, Ducks 5, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 9, Cows 102, Heifers 50, Steers 49, Yearlings 83, Calves 51, Bulls 5, Totall 349, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 38, Fowles 87, Ducks 16, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Sold in ditto: Bullocks 3, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 7, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 101, Heifers 50, Steers 42, Yearlings 83, Calves 51, Bulls 5, Totall 338, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 38, Fowles 87, Ducks 16, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 5, Fowles 12, Ducks 6, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 101, Heifers 50, Steers 41, Yearlings 83, Calves 51, Bulls 5, Totall 337, Ewes 46, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 41, Turkeys 33, Fowles 75, Ducks 10, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 7, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 4, Calves 6, Bulls 0, Totall 17, Ewes 4, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 4, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 28th Febry 1737: Bullocks 6, Cows 94, Heifers 50, Steers 41, Yearlings 79, Calves 45, Bulls 5, Totall 320, Ewes 42, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 58, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 41, Turkeys 33, Fowles 75, Ducks 10, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 14500 Ditto delivered the Blacks 16500 Totall Yams 31000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of February 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 February 1738: bullocks 9, cows 102, heifers 50, steers 49, yearlings 83, calves 51, bulls 5, neat cattle total 349, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 38, fowls 81, ducks 11, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 6, ducks 5, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 9, cows 102, heifers 50, steers 49, yearlings 83, calves 51, bulls 5, neat cattle total 349, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 38, fowls 87, ducks 16, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Sold in the month: bullocks 3, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 7, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 11, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 6, cows 101, heifers 50, steers 42, yearlings 83, calves 51, bulls 5, neat cattle total 338, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 21, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 38, fowls 87, ducks 16, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 1, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 5, fowls 12, ducks 6, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 101, heifers 50, steers 41, yearlings 83, calves 51, bulls 5, neat cattle total 337, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 41, turkeys 33, fowls 75, ducks 10, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 7, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 4, calves 6, bulls 0, neat cattle total 17, ewes 4, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 4, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 28 February 1738: bullocks 6, cows 94, heifers 50, steers 41, yearlings 79, calves 45, bulls 5, neat cattle total 320, ewes 42, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 58, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 41, turkeys 33, fowls 75, ducks 10, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 14,500 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 16,500 lb Total yams, 31,000 lb Interpretations Eleven head went to shipping, the first sale from the herd since May 1737 and the direct consequence of three vessels reaching the road in a fortnight after seven months of an empty anchorage. The Queen Caroline came from England on 8 February 1738, the Nottingham from Madras the same evening and the Mountague from Bombay by 21 February. Three bullocks, seven steers and a cow answered them, which is the composition the council preferred where it could, meeting demand from fattened males rather than breaking into the breeding stock. The sale nearly exhausted what remained of the saleable classes. Bullocks fell from nine to six and steers from 49 to 41, and both figures now stand at their lowest in this record. The year-end muster of 30 September 1737 had restored bullocks to 11 and steers to 50 by moving 149 head between classes through cutting and growing, so a single month of moderate victualling has undone half of that adjustment. With no calf born since August 1737 and yearlings down to 79, the classes that feed the saleable stock cannot replace what has gone. Seventeen cattle died again, matching January and marking the fifth successive month of heavy losses. The herd has fallen from 402 head on 1 October to 320 at the end of February, a loss of 82 in five months, and seven cows went this month as they did in December. Governor Pyke told the council on 17 January 1738 that whole plantations stood without water and the sun had burned the fields to the point of ruin, and the account confirms it. Sheep died for the first time in this run, four ewes going out of a breeding flock of 46. The flock had held at exactly 62 head for six months, losing nothing while the cattle fell steadily, since sheep need far less water and graze closer than cattle. Their appearance among the dead marks the drought reaching stock that had until now been proof against it, and the flock offered nothing to the table in any case, carrying only 10 wethers and 2 lambs against those breeding ewes. Yams fell to 31,000 lb from 43,950 lb in December, with both shares reduced. February is the height of the island's summer, the crop lifted at the close of the previous winter has been drawn on for nine months, and the winter planting will not go into the ground until about May. The arrival of three ships carrying rice, sugar and made-up clothing was well timed for an establishment feeding itself on a diminishing store. |
263 | 255 | Expence of the Table in Febry 1737 vizt £ s d Fowls 12 18 Ducks 6 9 10 Pork 36 lb 1 5 Turkeys 5 2 5 Beef 185 lb 15 12 Arrack 18 Gallons 5 2 6 Flour 3 3 1 7 Candy 18 lb 3 5 4 Sugar 1 3 6 19 6 Port 18 Gallons 5 4 7 1/2 Sherry 1 1/2 lb 1 6 4 Bushells Salt 3 4 6 Bottles Wine 2 Butter 9 lb 45 11 9 1/2 Gunners Store Expended in Febry 1737 vizt Guns Fired, Shot, Sakers, Minion, Faulkins, Powder 1737 Febry 7 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Faulkins 0, Powder 12 8 Queen Carolina Arrived from England: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Faulkins 9, Powder 9 13 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 4, Faulkins 0, Powder 12 21 Fired at Bankses to bring the Ship to: Guns Fired 2, Shot 2, Sakers 2, Minion 0, Faulkins 0, Powder 8 25 Nottingham Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Faulkins 9, Powder 9 26 Nottingham Sailed: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Faulkins 4, Powder 12 27 An Allarm: Guns Fired 16, Shot 0, Sakers 0, Minion 0, Faulkins 16, Powder 16 28 Marmaduke Arrived Marmaduke Sailed Powder 20 Expend of the Guards 48 2 2 12 34 98 Ladle Hood 15 Handspikes 14 Cartridge Paper 4 Quire Match 15 lb On the 11 instant the Governour received the following Letter vizt Worthy Sirs Having numbered Ourselves not & find seven or eight made bold to trouble you in this instance begging the favour you would order a Guard to look for them after their misfortune of setting them the said force & give them free Passage & to Wremarsh with all respects Your most Obedt hum Servt as England E. Beckhead To Sir This is the List of the names of these men that have been made Sailors Thomas Chapman, Ashley Handly, Joseph Sledge, Sepants, Sr. Deveaux, Sailors Baxter of Lemuel Isles, George & Owen Sirs On the Receipt of this Letter & that not object into the Morning in place of receiving something of the effects & they sent Down To the Letter the Govr returned the following Answer vizt Sirs There is found not after your more & they have found two of them & they will be very glad your in behalf of the will I have less those of them & so and to your Neighbours want them, the Manager of your Firm & the Queen Carolina Passage & follows Names & to England, Richard Cross & John Phillips at which Received on board in the morning & you send your your Second you to send your boat for them & the morning after your very hum servant Isa: Pyke 10 Marr 1737 John Dawson, & Shag Clarke, Menials, Volunteers | Expenses of the fort's table for February 1738. 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d 36 lb of pork, £0 12s 0d 5 turkeys, £1 5s 0d 183 lb of beef, £2 5s 0d 78 gallons of arrack, £15 12s 0d 3 lb 12 oz of flour, £5 2s 6d 18 lb of candy, £1 7s 0d 63 lb of sugar, £3 5s 4d 18 gallons of port, £6 19s 6d 1.5 gallons of sherry, £5 4s 7.5d 5 bushels of salt, £1 6s 4d 3 bottles of oil, £0 4s 6d 9 lb of butter, [...] Total, £45 11s 9.5d Gunner's stores expended in February 1738, the columns running guns fired, shot, sakers, minions, falcons and powder. 7 February: an alarm, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 8 February: the Queen Caroline arrived from England, 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 12 lb of powder 10 February: an alarm, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder The same day, fired at Banks's to bring the ship to, 2 guns fired, 2 shot, 2 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 8 lb of powder The same day, the Nottingham arrived, 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 9 falcons, 9 lb of powder 16 February: the Nottingham sailed, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 4 minions, 0 falcons, 12 lb of powder 20 February: an alarm, 16 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 16 falcons, 16 lb of powder The same day, the Mountague arrived, 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 20 lb of powder 27 February: the Mountague sailed, 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 sakers, 0 minions, 0 falcons, 0 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 48 guns fired, 2 shot, 2 sakers, 12 minions, 34 falcons, 98 lb of powder Lead shot, 15 lb Handspikes, 14 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 15 lb On 11 February 1738 the Governor received a letter from the commander of the Queen Caroline. He wrote that several of his men had left the ship, and asked that a guard be sent to look for them and that they be secured until he could take them aboard again. He subscribed himself at the castle, and the letter was signed by E. Buckland. A list followed of the men who had run. Joseph Allgood Solomon Ford Timothy Craven Thomas Piper The Governor replied the same day. Two of the men had been found and had told him they were in danger of their lives aboard, and he had accordingly stopped them and would send them home in another vessel. Richard Craven and John Phillips had also come ashore. He undertook to send word of any further men as soon as they were taken up, and asked that no complaint be made against the island on their account. The reply was signed by Governor Pyke and dated 16 March 1738, and the men were entered as deserters from the Queen Caroline. Interpretations The alarm of four guns preceded each arrival, the lookout being able to see a sail but not to name her, and the pattern repeats through the whole run. Salutes were built from falcons, the lightest pieces on the island, kept for ceremony to spare the store, while minions answered the alarms. The two shots fired from Banks's on 10 February were live rounds from sakers, the heavier pieces there, discharged to compel a vessel that had not identified herself to come to. That practice appears repeatedly in this record, and the guns at Banks's were the ones the gunner had specified for reaching a ship rather than sweeping boats. Handspikes are the stout wooden levers used to traverse a gun carriage and shift a piece on its bed, and fourteen going out in one month is a heavy consumption against a total of 400 in the annual inventory of 30 September 1734. Three arrivals, three departures and repeated alarms after seven months of idleness put the guns through more handling than they had seen since the shipping season of 1737. Wine returns to the table in quantity for the first time in months, 18 gallons of port and a gallon and a half of sherry costing more than £12 0s 0d between them against a total account of £45 11s 9.5d. Commanders and supercargoes were entertained ashore whenever ships lay in the road, and the table account rises and falls with the anchorage as exactly as the gunner's does. Beef also returned at 183 lb, drawn from the eleven head sold to the shipping that month. Buckland's request put the Governor in a familiar difficulty. A seaman who ran at St Helena forfeited every penny of a voyage's wages, since Company pay fell due only on safe return to England, and the standing penalty on the island was three months' hard labour without wages. What the Governor could not do was compel a man back aboard against a claim that his life stood in danger there, and his answer here, holding the men and promising to send them home in another ship, splits the difference between the commander's interest in his crew and the council's own reluctance to force a man to sea under an officer he feared. |
264 | 256 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21 March 1737 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour this day received the following Letter vizt Worshipfull Governour Sr I have made bold to write to your Worship hoping that your Worship will not be offended, In what I have wrote I own that unfortunate War, that has brought my self on abundance of Trouble not disgustly but accidently, So unfortunately & nothing that poor Man Thomas Anderson &c, but as I take the great God to be Witness I never had any ill design, I must confess I struck him, but did not design to do him any Prejudice Sr I hope your Worship will Consider not I my poor helpless Family that has nothing to Subsist on only my own Labour & Industry to spare your Worship it is a hard with them And I have been Confined & your Worship has been so good as to inflict a Punishment upon me which was so near an Even Chain upon me by 2 Months Imprisonment & the same being now Expired I beseech that your Worship might take a little Compassionate on me to grant one my Liberty that I may have an Opportunity to provide for my Family and Your poor Prisoner will in duty be for ever bound to pray Thomas Colgrave The time being expired for which the said Colgrave was to be Imprisoned he was this day discharged & his Wife Ordered to be Imprisoned for a week according to the Resolution taken in Consultation of the 18 Febry last The Examination of Serah one the Honble Companies Black Wenches was this day taken & is as follows vizt The Examination of Sarah one the Honble Companies Black Wenches late the Wife of Jack the Carpenter &c who was & is & delivered on or about the 20 of Febry last of a white male Child taken before me George Ashton Esqr one of the said Island this 21 day of March 1738 This Examinant being asked who was the Father of the said Child of which she was lately delivered & what Arguments or Perswasions the Man made use of to induce her to Suffer himself to be gotten with Child, She saith that John Cummings of this Island promised her the Sum & often that of promising her no other reward if she proved with Child, that she each none of it, but he Importuned her Several times for Eighteen or nine Months together before she agreed to let him have Carnall knowledge of her body, & in Testimony of the Truth thereof she hath hath hereunto set her Mark The + Mark Sarah | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 21 March 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor received a letter that day from the corporal imprisoned over the death of Thomas Anderson. He wrote that he had made bold to trouble the Governor, and hoped the liberty would be forgiven. He described the unfortunate business that had brought him so much trouble, and stated that what happened came about by accident and not by design. He was heartily sorry that Thomas Anderson had died, and called God to witness that he had never meant to injure the man or to do him any harm at all. He asked the Governor to consider his helpless family, who had nothing to live on except his own labour and industry, and to spare them the hardship they would suffer. He acknowledged that the Governor had already been generous in imposing only such a punishment as he could bear, and set out that a month's imprisonment was now expired. He hoped the Governor might be pleased to grant him his liberty, so that he could provide for his family, and undertook to remain a debtor for the favour. The time for which the corporal had been imprisoned having expired, he was discharged the same day, having been held for a month under the resolution taken at the meeting of 18 February 1738. The examination of Sarah, one of the Company's slave women, was taken the same day. Sarah, late the wife of Jack the carpenter, deceased, had been delivered of a male child on or about 20 February 1738 at the work made for that purpose before the Governor. She gave her account at St Helena on 21 March 1738. Asked who was the father of the child of which she was lately delivered, and by what arguments or persuasions the man had induced her to yield, she stated that John Cummings of the island had got her with child. He had given her nothing but the promise of a reward if she proved with child, though he had imprisoned her several times for eighteen or nine months together before she agreed to it, and had since had carnal knowledge of her body. She signed the statement with her mark. Interpretations The corporal's release turns entirely on the length of the sentence rather than on the petition. The inquest jury of 18 February 1738 had fixed a month's imprisonment for his wife and a term for him alongside liability for the funeral charges, and the council discharged him when that period ran out. His letter arrived at the moment the term expired, which suggests he had been counting the days rather than seeking a favour, and the board recorded the discharge as following the earlier resolution rather than the appeal. The argument he chose was the one most likely to move this council. It had released William Slaughter from prison on 1 April 1729 out of pity for his wife and children after nearly five months, discharged John Long on 22 May 1733 because his family were destitute, and refused a marriage licence on 29 October 1734 on the ground that the island already carried more poor than it could maintain. A prisoner whose family fell on the parish cost the inhabitants more than his punishment was worth to them. Sarah's examination follows the standing procedure for a bastardy case. A single woman suspected of pregnancy was examined on oath and the name she gave became the basis of an order charging the father with maintenance, so that the parish should not bear the cost. Governor Pyke made such an order against James Powell on 1 December 1735 at eight shillings a week for the first year, six for the second and four thereafter to the age of eight. The evidential weight of such a naming rested on the belief that a woman in labour, or immediately after it, was least likely to lie. Sarah is identified here by her late husband rather than by her owner, which places her household precisely. Jack the Company carpenter died on 9 October 1736, described by the Governor as a very useful and diligent man, and was buried the following day with about a hundred black people attending. Before his death he asked that his wife, a sickly and infirm woman, might always live below because her health suffered in the country, that one of his eldest daughters live with her to help raise the three younger children, and that fifty shillings of the money owing to him among the inhabitants should go to her. The Governor promised in consideration of his service that all of it would be done. The child's status was settled by a rule the council had stated on 30 September 1735. Asked by the executors of John Worrall whether the children of a free woman by a slave father were free or slaves, it answered that the law of the King's colonies held all such children to be taken as slaves, following the condition of the mother rather than the father as English common law would have done. A child born to a Company slave woman was therefore Company property regardless of who the father was, so the maintenance order that ordinarily drove these examinations had no application here. |
265 | 257 | Ordered, that the said Wench be corrected with Thirty Stripes on her bare back At a Consultation held on Tuesday 4 Aprill 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Tuesday the 2 instant the Duke of Dorset arrived from Bengall, & this day a Danish Ship called the Maria - Mr Bannaver Commander, and also from China, The Supply the Duke of Dorset brought is as followes vizt Setting price Sugar 10 Bags 6 lb Cwt 1 Ct 2 qr 3 lb 3 py 2 pd 6 lb 5 py 115 8 Rice 38 Bags 6 lb Ct 3 3 2 6 3 py 2 pd 13 py 2 py 83 9 6 White Duttees 6 lb 5 lb 6 lb 3 py 4 py Value 29 py & py 710 15 Blew Bevellas 4 lb 5 lb 6 lb 3 py 104 py & py 95 4 Tarbands 6 lb 60 py 4 3 py 2 py 13 py & py 224 8 Candles 2 Chest 6 lb 2 lb 6 lb 3 3 3 py 2 py 9 py 144 Charges Merchandize 80 9 9 Rupees 1324 6 3 Country Church proposed to rebuilt it At a Vestry held yesterday it was proposed by Gabriel Powell to rebuild the Chappell in the Country, & the Governour being acquainted therewith he very much encouraged the design, & did & declared very willingly contribute towards it, but that he being Bedgates ought to the better Rate to Judge of the Expence, it would be necessary first & would be necessary that a Church or what Denominations & is what Chappell were to be & what Government & for a Vestry & so those to be equally in Order to make a Calculation what a Tender where & Labour would be wanting to Compleat it & recommended that to the Vestry to be forthwith done & to be laid before him in writing as soon as Conveniently might be, & the Governour to shew his readiness to Encourage any good Undertaking also declares that altho' he did expect that he should not been informed of this business before he was ready or mentioned somewhere yet he would pay by this piece of usury & I present the proposals as cheerfully as if it had been made by himself & that the said Service having likewise proposed that the Honble Companies should be at a Considerable part of the Charge for the Severall Articles thereof the Governour replyed I told him that this is a very improper time to think of putting our Honble Masters to any extraordinary Expence their Expence & Trade having been lately very great, but that he required to himself he would freely Assist with his own Purse in this ordinary other Undertaking which should appear to be for the good of the Island And this Morning the Chappell Wardens presented the following List of Persons whom the Inhabitants yesterday Elected & Qualifyed to serve for Parish Officers for the Year Ensuing vizt Samuel Doveton | Sarah was ordered thirty lashes on her bare back. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 4 April 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Duke of Dorset arrived from Bengal on Tuesday 28 March 1738, and a Danish ship called the Mary, Captain Bruinsen commander, came in from China the following day. The Duke of Dorset brought a supply for the island. Sugar, 10 bags at 6d the pound, 115 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Rice, 38 bags at 15s 9d the hundredweight, 83 rupees 9 annas 6 pies White doosetees, 60 pieces at 13s 6d the piece, 710 rupees 15 annas 0 pies Blue doosetees, 20 pieces at 13s 6d the piece, 95 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Garbands, 40 pieces at 6s the piece, 224 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Candles, 2 chests of 2 hundredweight at 22s 6d the hundredweight, 144 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 60 rupees 9 annas 0 pies Total, 1,324 rupees 6 annas 3 pies A vestry held the previous day considered a proposal from Gabriel Bennett for rebuilding the chapel in the country. The Governor supported it and undertook to give whatever encouragement the design deserved, saying he would very willingly contribute towards it. He held that every householder ought to be the better able to judge the expense, and that it would be necessary to establish first what it would cost, so that whatever sum the inhabitants subscribed should be fixed and known before the work began. He proposed a vestry, and said that if a subscription would not answer it should be raised by parish assessment. He set out that the amount needed was already known, and put it before the meeting so that a subscription might be opened, urging that whatever was wanting be completed and recommending the matter to the vestry. He undertook to contribute a considerable sum himself and to promise more. He told them plainly that the money would have to be found by the inhabitants themselves, and that the Governor was ready to give whatever any good subscription required. He objected that he did not expect the whole to be laid on him, having been informed that the business was unsettled or unfinished, and asked that whatever the parish agreed on be carried out as cheerfully as it had been made by himself. He proposed that the Company's own charge should be met at a hearing between them, and that the greater part of the cost of the chapel should fall on the inhabitants. The Governor replied that he was very improper to think of putting the Company's masons to any extraordinary expense, their labour on India having been lately very great, but that he agreed to bind himself to whatever proportion might be applied, together with such other householders as should appear to be for the good of the parish. The following morning the inhabitants presented their list of officers for the year, and the council appointed them. List of persons whom the inhabitants yesterday chose and qualified to serve as parish officers for the year ensuing Samuel Doveton Interpretations Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces and measured in cubits, made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. Eighty pieces arrive here in white and blue together, following the sixty the Bedford landed on 5 March 1738, so two consignments within a month have covered the coming year's issue. Garbands are a further Indian cotton of the same trade, entered at a lower rate and evidently a narrower or coarser cloth. The two chests of wax candles at 22s 6d the hundredweight are a standing article in every Bengal invoice, the fort's own lighting and the council chamber's. The country chapel had stood in ruins for years. The churchwardens reported on 9 January 1733 that it had been without a roof for two or three years and that the fort chapel was much out of repair, in the open view of every stranger and especially of foreign nations. The vestry answered then that the people were too poor to rebuild it, and would do so at their own charge only if assured of an able, honest and sober minister, saying that the men lately sent had done more harm by their behaviour than a good man could do good by preaching. That condition has evidently now been satisfied, or set aside. The Governor's insistence on a fixed estimate before any subscription opened addresses the mechanism that had defeated public works on the island before. Labour was raised in subscribed days rather than money, each man pledging a number of days payable in work, and the vestry had built the Turk's Cap battery on that footing after 21 July 1734. A subscription without a settled figure left every subscriber uncertain of his liability and the work liable to stop half finished, which is exactly what had happened at Lemon Valley and at Rupert's. Falling back on a parish assessment was the enforcement behind the appeal. Where a voluntary subscription failed, a rate could be levied on every householder by the churchwardens and recovered as a debt, which converted a matter of goodwill into a legal obligation. Naming that alternative at the outset gave the subscription its edge. Refusing to commit the Company's masons keeps a clear line between the parish and the employer. Those men were Company property or Company servants, and their labour had been fully engaged, the council having complained repeatedly since 1734 that it could not man its own fortifications. A governor who lent them to the parish would be charging the Company for a building the inhabitants had undertaken to raise themselves. |
266 | 258 | Samuel Doveton Joshua Johnson Richard Goodwin for Chappell Wardens James Bygatt Thomas Gutteridge Overseers of the East Division Richard Mason James Bruett Overseers of the West Division John Dufountain James Bruger Overseers of the East Division Of these we approved those which follow vizt Samuel Doveton, upper Joshua Johnson, Junior Chappell Wardens James Bygatt Overseer of the South Richard Mason & of the West John Dufountain & of the East Divisions Sarah a Wench belonging to the Honble Company the Widow of Jack the Carpenter dec'd having been lately delivered of a White male Bastard Child was the Wench & having declared that John Cummings the Gardener is the father thereof, the said Cummings was this day examined about it, & having owned that he was the father thereof & impudently justifying the thing he was Committed into the Custody of the said Guard in order to be further dealt with for his said Offence Ruth the Wife of Thomas Colgrave who has Suffered a Weeks Imprisonment according to the Order of Tuesday last was this day discharged from her Confinement & admonished to behave herself better for the future The Governour Reports that last Week a large Rock Stone fell down from the point of Ladder Hill and broke down some part of the East Bastion Embrazures but he had Ordered Mr Rivers who is Surveyor of the Fortifications to Repair it immediately, & he hopes it will be done in two or three dayes the last great Shakan Raines have Caused all the Ramparts to be so Ruley that they must be new sodded and shall begin that as soon as the Surveyor of the Fortifications have done the other work Margin Notes: fall of a Rock Ramparts | The inhabitants returned the following names. Samuel Doveton, for chapel warden Joshua Johnson, for chapel warden Richard Goodwin, for chapel warden James Ryder, overseer of the south division Thomas Easthope, overseer of the south division Richard Mason, overseer of the west division James Bowell, overseer of the west division John Defountaine, overseer of the east division James Draper, overseer of the east division The council appointed the following from that number. Samuel Doveton, senior, chapel warden Joshua Johnson, junior, chapel warden James Ryder, overseer of the south division Richard Mason, overseer of the west division John Defountaine, overseer of the east division Sarah, a slave woman belonging to the Honourable Company and widow of Jack the carpenter, had lately been delivered of a white male child. She had sworn that John Cummings, the gardener, was its father. Cummings was examined the same day and owned that he was the father. He was committed at once to the custody of the marshal to be further dealt with for his offence. Ruth, the wife of Thomas Colgrave, having served the month's imprisonment ordered at the meeting of 18 February 1738, was discharged from confinement the same day and warned to conduct herself properly in future. The Governor reported that a large rock had fallen from the point of Ladder Hill and had broken down a considerable stretch of the stone wall at Chubb's Rock above the road. Mr Rivers, the surveyor of the fortifications, considered that the repair could be carried out at once and thought it might be done in two or three days. The heavy rains of the last year had washed away all the stonework there, so that the whole must be laid afresh, and the work was to begin as soon as the surveyor of the fortifications had finished his other task. Interpretations Chapel wardens and overseers of the highways were the two parish offices the island maintained, and the procedure was fixed by custom: the inhabitants met at the church and returned two names for each post, from which the council appointed one. The same pattern appears at the vestry of 26 April 1736, when Durling and Wrangham were chosen wardens from a longer list and three overseers named for the east, west and south divisions. Overseers summoned men to the roads and attended in person, and the burden was substantial enough that on 16 April 1734 they were excused from sending two of their own slaves to that labour while they held office. Naming the offices as chapel wardens rather than churchwardens on this occasion follows the business of the previous day, when Gabriel Bennett's proposal for rebuilding the country chapel came before the vestry with the Governor's support. Officers appointed to raise a subscription and oversee that work carry a title fitted to it. Cummings admitted paternity, which resolved the point Sarah's examination of 21 March 1738 had established on oath alone. She was ordered thirty lashes on her bare back before he was ever questioned, and he now went to the marshal's custody. The child was a white man's child by a Company slave woman, and under the rule the council stated on 30 September 1735 it followed the condition of its mother and became Company property, so no maintenance order arose and the parish carried no charge. What remained was the offence itself, which the council treated as a matter for punishment rather than for money, having ordered Thomas Swindell to stand two hours at the sea fort with his hands raised on 18 January 1737 for fathering a child on a black woman. Ladder Hill carries the direct route between the fort in James Valley and the high ground above it, and the ground there has been unstable since the floods of March 1736 opened breaches nobody had seen before. Governor Pyke walked the hill himself then and found it so choked with loose stone that he could hardly find firm ground for his foot. The repair carried out that month was reported as patching that would serve another year, a thorough repair being needed when hands could be spared, and the failure now shows how little that patching answered. The wall at Chubb's Rock guards a position the council had already reconsidered. A large piece of iron ordnance was washed off the top of that rock into the sea by the surf on 12 November 1737, and sounding the spot at three fathoms in calm weather persuaded the board that any battery there must stand a good deal higher. Rebuilding the wall while that question stood open commits labour to a site whose value as a work of defence the council itself had begun to doubt. |
267 | 259 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11 Aprill 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for March last, the Storekeeper also delivered his usual Acct for the Quarter past, which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Gunners Store Expended in March 1737/8 vizt Guns Fired, Dr Cannon, Wh Culvr, Faulkins, Minion, Powder 1737 March 6 An Allarm & Arrived the Bedford & Fleet: Guns Fired 13, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 9, Minion 4, Powder 28 9 An Allarm & Arrived a French Ship: Guns Fired 13, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 9, Minion 4, Powder 20 11 French Ship Sailed 12 Queen Carolina Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 9, Minion 0, Powder 9 13 Bedford Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 9, Minion 0, Powder 9 14 An Allarm & Harrison Arrived: Guns Fired 22, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 18, Minion 4, Powder 32 15 Exercising the Great Guns: Guns Fired 2, Dr Cannon 1, Wh Culvr 1, Faulkins 0, Minion 0, Powder 27 28 Harrison Sailed: Guns Fired 18, Dr Cannon 0, Wh Culvr 0, Faulkins 18, Minion 0, Powder 18 Expence of the Guards 16 Lead Shot 13 93 1 1 79 12 162 Match 14 lb Paper 2 Quire Rammers 1 Powder Horns 2 Spunges 2 Handspikes 2 Expence of the Table in March 1737/8 vizt £ s d Fowls 41 3 Turkeys 2 10 Geese 4 Beef 300 lb 3 15 Flower 7 7 days Greens 31 1 11 Bottles Milk 62 14 12 Gallons Arrack 70 2 13 Sugar 1 lb 6 1 10 Bottles Wine 3 3 3 Flour 4 lb 3 8 15 Bushells Salt 11 11 12 4 1/2 Gallons Port 30 9 4 Sherry 10 lb 4 Gall Vinegar 2 87 13 5 1/2 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 11 April 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor and the gunner each delivered their monthly accounts for March, and the storekeeper delivered his usual account for the past quarter. All were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in March 1738, the columns running guns fired, demi-cannon, whole culverins, falcons, minions and powder. 6 March: an alarm and the arrival of the Bedford at Banks's, 13 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 9 falcons, 4 minions, 28 lb of powder 9 March: an alarm and the arrival of a French ship, 13 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 9 falcons, 4 minions, 20 lb of powder The same day, the French ship sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 9 falcons, 0 minions, 9 lb of powder 12 March: the Queen Caroline sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 9 falcons, 0 minions, 9 lb of powder 13 March: the Bedford sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 9 falcons, 0 minions, 9 lb of powder 15 March: an alarm and the arrival of the Harrison, 22 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 18 falcons, 4 minions, 32 lb of powder 17 March: exercising the great guns, 2 guns fired, 1 demi-cannon, 1 whole culverin, 0 falcons, 0 minions, 27 lb of powder 28 March: the Harrison sailed, 18 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 18 falcons, 0 minions, 18 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 0 falcons, 0 minions, 16 lb of powder Total, 93 guns fired, 1 demi-cannon, 1 whole culverin, 79 falcons, 12 minions, 162 lb of powder Lead shot, 12 lb Match, 12 lb Cartridge paper, 2 quires Ladles, 1 Powder horns, 2 Sponges, 2 Handspikes, 2 Expenses of the fort's table for March 1738. 41 fowls, £3 0s 0d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 4 geese, £1 0s 0d 382 lb of beef, £3 15s 0d 7 lb of butter, £0 7s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 0s 8d 70 gallons of arrack, £14 12s 0d 17 lb of sugar, £2 13s 0d 4 bottles of oil, £1 0s 0d 3 lb 12 oz of flour, £3 3s 0d 11 lb of chocolate, £3 15s 0d 20 gallons of port, £11 18s 10.5d 17 lb 8 oz of sherry, £9 8s 0d 2 gallons of vinegar, £0 8s 0d Total, £57 13s 5.5d Interpretations Powder consumption at 162 lb is the heaviest since the shipping season of 1737 and reflects an anchorage busy for the first time in nine months. Every arrival drew an alarm of four guns from minions first, the lookout at the flagstaff being able to see a sail but not to name her, followed by a salute of nine built entirely from falcons, the lightest pieces on the island and the ones kept for ceremony to spare the store. The Harrison from China drew eighteen guns each way, twice the ordinary compliment, which marks the supercargoes aboard rather than the ship. Exercising the great guns on 17 March cost 27 lb of powder for two rounds, a demi-cannon and a whole culverin, against 9 lb for a nine-gun salute. That ratio shows why the heavy pieces were kept out of ceremony altogether: a single charge from the largest guns consumed as much powder as fifteen falcons. The exercise itself follows the standing order of 11 June 1734 that every gun on the line and at each place of defence be kept loaded and examined for honeycombing, the internal pitting that weakens a barrel until it may burst. Beef at 382 lb is the heaviest charge in more than a year and comes from the eleven head sold to shipping in February 1738 alongside further slaughter for the ships in March. Milk, butter and daily greens run through every day of the month, and chocolate appears for the first time in this run at 11 lb, a costly article of the China and West Indian trades taken as a hot drink and a mark of the table being kept for guests. Wine at nearly £21 0s 0d between port and sherry, against a whole account of £57 13s 5.5d, measures the entertainment of commanders and supercargoes ashore. Vinegar entered the accounts for the first time in April 1737 and reappears here, used both at table and as a preservative and cleaning agent aboard ship and in the fort. A powder horn is the small flask carrying priming powder for the touchhole, distinct from the cartridges made up in the magazine, and two going out in a month of heavy firing follows naturally from the work. Sponges are the sheepskin-headed swabs that damp a gun's bore between rounds, and handspikes the heavy levers used to traverse a carriage. |
268 | 260 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of March 1737/8 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st March: Bullocks 6, Cows 94, Heifers 50, Steers 41, Yearlings 79, Calves 45, Bulls 5, Totall 320, Ewes 42, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 58, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 33, Fowles 75, Ducks 10, Geese 8, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 30, Ducks 0, Geese 2, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 94, Heifers 50, Steers 41, Yearlings 79, Calves 45, Bulls 5, Totall 320, Ewes 42, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 58, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 33, Fowles 105, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Sold in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 1, Steers 11, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 13, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 93, Heifers 49, Steers 30, Yearlings 79, Calves 45, Bulls 5, Totall 307, Ewes 42, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 58, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 33, Fowles 105, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 2, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 2, Fowles 40, Ducks 2, Geese 4, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 93, Heifers 49, Steers 28, Yearlings 79, Calves 45, Bulls 5, Totall 305, Ewes 42, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 58, Sows 9, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 42, Turkeys 31, Fowles 65, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 5, Heifers 4, Steers 0, Yearlings 2, Calves 7, Bulls 0, Totall 18, Ewes 2, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sows 1, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 31st March 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 88, Heifers 45, Steers 28, Yearlings 77, Calves 38, Bulls 5, Totall 287, Ewes 40, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 56, Sows 8, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 41, Turkeys 31, Fowles 65, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 14200 Ditto delivered the Blacks 15000 Totall Yams 30,200 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of March 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 March 1738: bullocks 6, cows 94, heifers 50, steers 41, yearlings 79, calves 45, bulls 5, neat cattle total 320, ewes 42, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 58, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 33, fowls 75, ducks 10, geese 8, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 30, ducks 0, geese 2, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 6, cows 94, heifers 50, steers 41, yearlings 79, calves 45, bulls 5, neat cattle total 320, ewes 42, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 58, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 33, fowls 105, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Sold in the month: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 1, steers 11, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 13, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the sale: bullocks 6, cows 93, heifers 49, steers 30, yearlings 79, calves 45, bulls 5, neat cattle total 307, ewes 42, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 58, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 33, fowls 105, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 2, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 2, fowls 40, ducks 4, geese 4, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 93, heifers 49, steers 28, yearlings 79, calves 45, bulls 5, neat cattle total 305, ewes 42, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 58, sows 9, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 42, turkeys 31, fowls 65, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 5, heifers 4, steers 0, yearlings 2, calves 7, bulls 0, neat cattle total 18, ewes 2, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 2, sows 1, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 31 March 1738: bullocks 6, cows 88, heifers 45, steers 28, yearlings 77, calves 38, bulls 5, neat cattle total 287, ewes 40, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 56, sows 8, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 41, turkeys 31, fowls 65, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 14,200 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 15,000 lb Total yams, 30,200 lb Interpretations Thirteen head went to shipping in March after eleven in February, and the two months together have taken 24 beasts out of a herd that has no way of replacing them. The Bedford, the Queen Caroline, a French ship and the Harrison all victualled and sailed within the month, which explains both the sales and the 382 lb of beef standing in the table account for the same period. Eleven of the thirteen were steers, and that class has now fallen from 50 at the year-end muster of 30 September 1737 to 28. Saleable stock is close to exhausted. Bullocks stand at six, unchanged only because none was fit to take, and steers at 28 against 49 two months ago. The council was already selling cows and heifers in February and does so again here, so the pattern that first appeared in the shipping season of 1737, when it broke into the breeding cows for the first time in this record, has resumed as soon as ships returned. With no calf born since August 1737 there is nothing coming up behind. Eighteen cattle died, the sixth consecutive month of heavy losses and the highest figure yet. The herd has fallen from 402 head on 1 October 1737 to 287 at the end of March, a loss of 115 in half a year, of which 86 died and the rest went to the shipping or the table. Five cows and four heifers went this month, so the breeding stock is being reduced from both ends at once, by drought on one side and by victualling on the other. Sheep and hogs have now begun to follow the cattle. Two more ewes died after four in February, and a sow went for the first time in this run. Both classes had held steady through the whole drought until now, needing less water and grazing closer than cattle, and their appearance among the dead marks the failure reaching every kind of stock the Company kept. Yams fell again to 30,200 lb, the lowest total in this sequence, and both shares are reduced. March closes the island's summer and the winter planting will not go into the ground until about May, so this is the thinnest point of the provision year. Three ships landing rice within a month was well timed, the Bedford bringing 34 bags on 5 March and the Duke of Dorset 38 bags on 28 March. |
269 | 261 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18 Aprill 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Deputy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Friday last the 14 instant the Winchester arrived from China with a proportionable Cargo for this place according to the following Invoice which was made out for this Ship & the Suffolk the last of which was unfortunately lost at Sea on the 9 of March last vizt Tea & other Chests vizt 2 Chests of Suffolk 1 Chests of Winchester 5 Chests wt 830 or Boults 3 36 & Tales 12 of Boult 43 6 3 Chenaware a Chest containing vizt 2 Chests of Suffolk 2 Chests of Winchester To 600 Blue & White Dishes & 400 of a large Sett 14 100 Mugs 3 Sizes 9 9 400 Saucers & Sizes 36 1000 Coffee Cups 13 9 5 3 Earlay vizt 73 8 5 8 12 Chest of Suffolk contd Bolt 23.34 Catty 12 Chests of Winchester do 24 24 Chests Boults 47.53 & Tales 4 3 of Bolt 199 6 8 Sugar 88 Bags vizt 44 Bags of Suffolk Boults 44 44 Bags of Winchester do 44 88 Bags Boults 88 @ 2 lb of Bolt 211 2 Charges Merchandize 1 4 Tales 529 8 6 But of this Cargo we have only received the following Particulars vizt 226 Setts Muskets & 5 of Bolt 11 3 4 1090 bags 7 6 3 109 Cargo Coffee & Tea 13 1 7 12 Potts Candy 200 8 48 Bags Sugar 105 6 Charges 7 Tales 240 2 4 Henry Meyce Carpenter to prove that his Wife which he left in England was dead desired that the Examination of Benjamin Devereux Carpenters Mate of the Ship Duke of Dorset might be taken & the same was accordingly done & is as follows vizt Margin Notes: Setting price 15 of 1 lb 10 d 7 Cat 31 of Catty 4 of 8 lb 6 lb 1 py | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 18 April 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Winchester arrived from China on Friday 14 April 1738 with a supply for the island. The invoice was made out for that ship and for the Sussex, whose lading was lost at sea on 9 March 1738. Tea, bohea, 3 chests Boxes of bohea tea, 2 Chest of Winchester, 1 Chests weighing 3 hundredweight 39 lb, or 336 catties, 12 chests, 43 taels 6 mace 3 candareens Chinaware, 2 chests of Winchester, 2 chests of the Sussex 100 blue and white dishes at 40 for one pecul, 14 taels 0 mace 0 candareens 100 mugs, 3 taels 9 mace 9 candareens 400 sneakers, 36 taels 0 mace 0 candareens 1,000 coffee cups, 13 taels 9 mace 5 candareens 8 cash Total for the chinaware, 73 taels 8 mace 5 candareens 8 cash Sugar candy, 12 chests containing 23 catties 32 candareens Chests of the Winchester, 12 14 chests of 27 catties 55 pecul at 3 taels 5 mace 3 candareens, 199 taels 6 mace 6 candareens 8 cash Sugar, 88 bags 25 bags of sundries, 44 catties 45 bags of the Winchester, 44 catties 88 bags at 2 taels 5 mace the bag, 211 taels 2 mace 0 candareens Charges merchandise, 1 tael 4 mace 0 candareens Total, 529 taels 8 mace 0 candareens 6 cash Only part of that cargo came ashore, and the goods actually received were entered with the selling price set against each line. 226 setts of sneakers at 15d each, £11 3s 4d 1,090 bags at 7s each, £7 6s 3d 109 catties of coffee and tea at 3s each, £16 1s 7d 12 pots of candy at 4s 6d each, £200 8s 0d 48 bags of sugar at 6d the pound, £105 6s 0d Charges, £0 7s 0d Total, £340 2s 4d Henry Moyce, carpenter, asked to prove that the chest he had left in England had been taken. Benjamin Derburn, carpenter, was directed to examine the chest aboard the Duke of Dorset, and the examination was carried out accordingly. Interpretations Chinese goods were bought at Canton and reckoned in the money of account of that trade, the tael being the standard unit, the mace a tenth of it, the candareen a hundredth and the cash a thousandth. Weight followed the same system, the catty running to about 1.33 lb and the pecul to about 133 lb. Sterling selling prices were set against each line before the goods left the warehouse, which is why the second table converts an invoice in taels into an account in pounds, shillings and pence. Sneakers are small drinking cups for punch or spirits, sold by the sett and among the most common lines in every China invoice reaching the island. Bohea is the black tea of the Wuyi hills in Fujian, the cheaper grade that carried the bulk of the English trade, and sugar candy is refined sugar crystallised in lumps, a dearer article than the loose sugar entered below it. Breakage and want were normally allowed as a separate priced line in a China invoice, so that the storekeeper accounted only for what arrived whole, as the Prince of Wales and the Princess Mary invoices did in April 1737. Here the loss is of a different order: the Sussex, whose goods made up part of a single consignment, was lost at sea on 9 March 1738, and only what the Winchester carried came ashore. The two invoices were made out together at Canton, which is why the island received one document covering both ships and had to reckon separately what it actually had. The gap between the two accounts is the measure of what went down. The full consignment stood at 529 taels 8 mace 0 candareens 6 cash, and the goods landed came to £340 2s 4d at the island's own selling prices, which are set well above cost since the storekeeper's margin was the Company's return on the trade. Chinaware, dishes, mugs and coffee cups appear in the invoice and not among the goods received at all. |
270 | 262 | The Examination of Benjamin Denham, Carpenters Mate & one of the Ship Duke of Dorset Capt Thomas Gilbert Commander, now Lying in the road of St Helena taken upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr of the said Island this 18 day of Aprill 1738 This Examinant Saith that he hath had Acquaintance with Henry Meyce Carpenter now living upon this Island for near Eleven Years past & that he was also acquainted with the Wife of the said Meyce when they lodged together at Woolwich in the County of Kent, & that they did each acknowledge themselves to be Husband & Wife to this Examinant who hath been often in their Company at the Town aforesaid & this Examinant further Saith that the Wife of the said Meyce died & was buried above may or near four years at the Town of Woolwich afsd & that this Examinant was at her Funerall & to her Ordered & this Examinant further Saith that the Son of the said Meyce by his said Wife who is a Lad of about Seven Years of Age, was put into the Kings Yard at Woolwich afsd by Mr Rivet Foreman of the House Carpenters as an Oakum boy to enable him to get a Livelyhood & that the Wife of the said Meyce was buried at the Charge of the Parish aforesaid Sworn before me this 18 day of Aprill AD 1738 on the Island of St Helena Benjamin Denham Isa: Pyke Governor This day the Governour received the following Letter vizt Worshipfull Governour & Sr Beg that your Worship would take a little Compassion on me & take Sorrow out of Confinement I must acknowledge that I have Committed a great Crime, I was ever under your Worship's mercy I own & to beg & from Mr Hope Pardon, I hope that your Worship will take good as so forgive one Offence, & I shall never any such Crime again, then your Worship in my behalf in what Punishment your Worship's Please this is all from your poor unfortunate Servant John Cummings Aprill 18 1738 For this Offence the said Cummings was fined 5s to the Honble Company & discharged from his Confinement Mr Bazett presented a Deed of Sale from James Bruett for a small Parcell of Land in Sandy Bay & during the same might be Registered & it was Ordered to be Registered accordingly | Benjamin Denham, second carpenter's mate of the Duke of Dorset, Captain Thomas Gilbert commander, then lying in the road at St Helena, was examined on oath before Governor Pyke on 18 April 1738. Denham stated that he had been acquainted with Henry Moyce, carpenter, now living on the island for some eleven years, and that he had also known Moyce's wife. The two had lodged together at Woolwich in Kent, and each of them acknowledged the other as husband and wife. Denham had often been in their company at that town. He stated further that the wife had died some eleven years earlier at Woolwich, that he had been present at her funeral and had attended it. He added that the son of Moyce by that wife was a boy of about seven years of age, and had been put to Mr Wells, foreman of the house carpenters, as an errand boy so that he might get a living. The wife had been buried at the charge of the parish. He swore to the statement before the Governor at St Helena on 18 April 1738 and signed it. The Governor received a letter the same day from John Cummings. Cummings asked that his case be considered. He acknowledged that he had committed a great crime, and stated that his confinement had already been long. He was ordered to be brought before the Governor's warden, and hoped the Governor would take his condition into account and grant him his liberty, undertaking that he would never commit any such offence again. He hoped the Governor would consider what his punishment had cost him, and subscribed himself the Governor's unfortunate servant, dating the letter 18 April 1738. For that offence Cummings was fined a sum to the Honourable Company and discharged from confinement. Mr Bazett presented a deed of gift from James Bowell for a small parcel of land in Sandy Bay during the term to run, and asked that it be registered. The council ordered it registered accordingly. Interpretations Denham's deposition was taken to establish that Henry Moyce was a widower and free to marry again. A man who married while a former wife lived committed bigamy, a felony under English law, and on an island eight weeks from any parish register the only available proof of a death in Kent was the sworn word of somebody who had attended the funeral. The chance presence of a shipmate who had lodged in the same street eleven years earlier is what made the enquiry possible at all. Moyce had already been before this council twice in connection with his household. He received Daniel, the son of Jack the Company carpenter, as an apprentice in October 1736, the Governor having placed the boy with him to learn the trade at his dying father's request. He petitioned on 27 January 1736 admitting he had been very lazy and very often very drunk, and was discharged from prison on that written submission. His own son by the dead wife had been put to an errand boy's place at seven years old and the wife buried at the parish's charge, which places the family among the poorest sort of Woolwich labouring people before Moyce came out to the island. Cummings was fined rather than punished corporally, which distinguishes his treatment from Sarah's. She was ordered thirty lashes on her bare back on 21 March 1738 after naming him on oath, and he now pays money and goes free after a month or so in custody. The disparity follows the pattern the council had already established: Elizabeth Edwards received ten lashes on 16 November 1736 with no penalty falling on Benjamin Beale at that stage, and Beale was afterwards fined £10 0s 0d at the level he himself had proposed. Six women had been whipped under the campaign against lewdness announced in 1736 against one fine and one hour of public exposure for the men. The child born to Sarah fell to the Company as property under the rule stated on 30 September 1735, that the children of a slave mother follow her condition whatever the father's status. No maintenance order therefore arose and the parish carried nothing, so the fine paid to the Company was the whole financial consequence of the affair, and it went to the owner of both the mother and the child rather than to either of them. |
271 | 263 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 25 Aprill 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Roeland Aynsworth Esqr Hezekiah Hong Esqr John Scrivener William Dorrile Supra Cargoes of the Ships Suffolk & Winchester Capt Francis Gostlin of the Ship Suffolk Capt John Dove of the Ship Winchester John Goodwin Deputy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The following Letter from Capt Dove dated the 20 instant was read vizt Worshipfull Sir By Capt Gostlins Misfortune of loosing his Ship I have on entertained about Eighty of his Men five Weeks before he came in- to which has Expended so much of my Ships Provisions that I have not Sufficient left for the Voyage home, I beg your Worshipwill consider of some means to Ease me of this Burden by taking Some of these Men from me & send them home by the next Ships as it is impossible for me to carry all these men home, and I desire on some Number to Serve to only Owners the Charges of Victualling these men, I am St Helena April 25 1738 Your Worships most humble Servant To The Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of St Helena John Dove This Letter being immediately taken into Consideration & upon the most mature deliberation it was thought reasonable that the Gentlemen present who were Covenant Servants to the Company to engage on their behalfe that such reasonable Charges as shall accrue from the Extraordinary number of people shall be made good to the Owners of the Ship Winchester so as the Capt shall be Indemnified from any extraordinary Expence on that Account & in Testimony thereof We have hereunto set our hands the time above said Witness John Dove Isa: Pyke Governor Rowd Aynsworth Hez Hong Jno Scrivener Wm Dorrile Franc Gostlin Jno Goodwin D Crispe John Bazett William Brown & John Jones Sailors on board the Winchester | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 25 April 1738. Governor Pyke attended with John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council, together with Roland Aynsworth, Hezekiah Hong, John Scrivener and William Dorrill, supercargoes of the Sussex and the Winchester, Captain Francis Gaston of the Sussex and Captain John Dove of the Winchester. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A letter from Captain Dove dated 21 April 1738 was read. Dove wrote that following Captain Gaston's misfortune he had taken about eighty of that ship's men aboard his own, five weeks before, and that they had consumed so much of his provisions that he had not enough left for the voyage home. He asked the Governor to consider his position and to relieve him by taking some of the men off his hands, so that they might be sent home by the next ships, since he could not possibly carry them all himself. He wished only to see the owners bear the charge of victualling them. He signed the letter at St Helena on 21 April 1738 and addressed it to Governor Pyke. The letter was taken into consideration at once, and after full deliberation the board thought it reasonable that the gentlemen present who had come out as covenanted servants of the Company should undertake on their own behalf that any reasonable charges arising from the extraordinary number of people be made good to the owners of the Winchester, so that Captain Dove should be indemnified against any extraordinary expense on that account. The parties set their hands to it on the day above stated. Isaac Pyke, Governor Roland Aynsworth Hezekiah Hong John Scrivener William Dorrill Francis Gaston John Goodwin Duke Crisp John Bazett The instrument was witnessed by John Dove. William Brown and John Jones, sailors on board the Winchester, then came before the council. Interpretations The Sussex was lost at sea on 9 March 1738, as the council recorded on 18 April when the Winchester landed a China invoice made out for both ships and only part of the goods came ashore. Eighty men taken off a wrecked Indiaman is close to a full ship's company, and the Winchester had carried them for five weeks on provisions calculated for her own crew alone. A ship's victualling was fixed by the charter party against the number of men she carried, so eighty extra mouths for the passage home fell outside anything her owners had contracted for. Dove's letter is careful to ask not for charity but for the charge to be laid where it belonged, and the undertaking signed by the supercargoes and the council answers that precisely: it is a personal guarantee by the men aboard, given as covenanted servants of the Company, that the owners of the Winchester would be reimbursed. Without it Dove had no security at all, since a claim against the owners of a ship at the bottom of the sea was worth nothing. Supercargoes were the merchants who travelled with a China cargo and had charge of the buying and selling, distinct from the ship's commander who had charge of the vessel. Four of them signed here, two from each ship, and their signatures carried weight because they answered directly to the Company for the trade and could be pursued in London in a way that a shipwrecked crew could not. The island itself had nothing to spare for such a number. Its herd had fallen from 402 head on 1 October 1737 to 287 at the end of March, with 24 beasts sold to shipping in February and March alone, and the yam issue stood at its lowest of the year. Sending men home in instalments by successive vessels, rather than provisioning them ashore, was the only course open to a settlement that could not feed them. Governor Pyke had used this method before, putting a question to the commanders and gentlemen then in the road rather than deciding alone. He asked their opinions before disposing of the thief Martin Parkinson on 10 May 1737, and set three ship's commanders to sit on the chaplain's case in May 1731. Here the practice serves a different end, since the men whose opinion he sought were also the men whose signatures made the undertaking good. |
272 | 264 | were accused for Breaking open the Chest belonging to Walter Mace & taking the following Goods from the same vizt 4 pr Bache Taffaty 1 pr do Wast Blew 9 Remnants white Silk 1 Box Counters Pattern Silk Handkerchiefs belonging to George Mackaddams William Brown owning the fact was Ordered to be whipt with Thirty nine Lashes on his naked back along side of the said Ship and there not appearing to be any Evidence against the said Jones he was acquitted At a Consultation held on Tuesday 2 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Fryday the 28 of last month the following Paper was delivered to the Governour by Walter Wicker late Steward on board the Ship Suffolk vizt Worshipfull Sr The Humble petition of Several Misfortunate Seamen did belong to the Ship Suffolk Having been Sensible of the often times to our Captain concerning his promise to us on board his Ship after we left the he not complying with his promises we thought it proper to make your Worships Sensible of the promise to us hoping your Worship will in some measure engage him to his promise which was that he would provide for us not only of Provisions but give us Cloaths & put many in our Pocketts, and that as we were going on board the other Ship, the cause of necessity put into the Cape having so many hand on board we could not expect to to carry any thing the but there upon our backs and that when come to a port, being Sensible we could not save our Cloaths & would provide such necessaries for us as we should want, this being spoken openly upon ye Winston Deck some has loaded a few things often want from very much we hope your Worship will take it into Consideration that as several of us is not going home in this Ship, that we might be Sensible of what we must trust to | The two men were accused of breaking open a chest belonging to William Mace and taking the following goods from it. 4 yards of black taffeta 1 yard of white silk 9 remnants of white silk 1 box of buttons Silk handkerchiefs belonging to George MacAddams William Brown admitted the theft and was ordered thirty-nine lashes on his bare back alongside the ship. Nothing appeared in evidence against John Jones, and he was acquitted. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 2 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A paper was delivered to the Governor on Friday 28 April 1738 by William Walker, late a sailor aboard the Sussex. The petition came from several seamen who had belonged to the Sussex. They stated that they had been faithful to their captain, who had promised to take them aboard his ship after they lost their own, and that he had not kept his word. They asked the Governor to consider that promise, and to hold him to it, since the undertaking he gave went beyond provisions alone. He had given them clothing and money for their pockets, and they were now going aboard another ship. The number of men aboard her was so great that they could not expect to carry anything upon their backs, and when they came to a port they would be sent ashore without a coat. They asked that such necessaries be provided for them as they should want, having spoken openly to Mr Denison, whose deck they had loaded with a few things. They hoped the Governor would take their case into consideration, since several of them were not going home in that ship, and that he would be sensible of what they must trust to. Interpretations Thirty-nine lashes was the conventional ceiling for a whipping, applied on the island to Andrew on 21 September 1736 and to Margaret Smallman on 18 March 1737. Ordering it alongside the ship rather than at the common whipping post kept the punishment within the ship's own company, where the deterrent was wanted, and left the shore proceedings to the council that had tried the case. Acquitting Jones outright on the same charge shows the board applying an ordinary evidential test rather than convicting both men on the fact of the theft. That distinction had force here in a way it never had where a slave stood accused, since the testimony of blacks was inadmissible against a free defendant and the council had spent a decade unable to convict men it believed guilty for want of any admissible witness. The petitioners' difficulty is that a shipwrecked seaman had no contract with anybody. Company wages fell due only on safe return to England, so men off the Sussex had earned nothing they could claim, and their captain's promise to carry and clothe them was a personal undertaking rather than an obligation of the owners. With the ship lost on 9 March 1738 there was no vessel against which to proceed and no freight out of which to pay them. The council had already dealt with the other half of this problem a week earlier. Captain Dove of the Winchester had taken about eighty of the wrecked crew aboard and reported on 21 April that they had eaten so far into his stores that he lacked provisions for the passage, and the supercargoes of both ships joined the councillors in a personal undertaking that the owners of the Winchester be indemnified. The men now petitioning are the same body of seamen viewed from the other side, and their complaint is that the arrangement covers the ship's costs while leaving them without clothes to land in. |
273 | 265 | before our Captain gave he promised us two months pay but has not given us a Farthing we beg your Worship to use your Endeavour with our Captain to persuade us, Wishing your Worships health & happyness we are from your humble Servants Jams Gibbons William Wicker Seth Shepperd Rowland Harrison Jams Thornell John Hubbard Martin Warwick William Denne Randell McDonell Benja Cosby junr Jno Mills Thomas Slavien Jno Minor John Strud Wm Buckhorn Joseph Cannon Robt Elson John Savage Jno Naukes Jno Robbins Jams Williams Robert Bell Jno Lawrenceson Chas Atkinson Denis Jarrett William Anderson Mat Chapman Mark Clayborn Marcus Grms Francis Avondine Geo Wetherhorn William Carr Sam Rivers Jams Mankind Jno Robbins To this Paper the Governour did not return any immediate Answer intending to lay the same before the Councill as this day in Order to have their Opinion, what was fit to be done thereon, but on Saturday, the next day a great a Riot was raised by the seamen & Contrivance of the said Wicker & his Accomplices herein, that he found it necessary to preserve the peace & quiet & prevent the mischief designed by these Mutinous people who appeared at the Lodgings of Capt Gostlin in great numbers threatning both him & their other Officers & abusing them with much Gross & Scurrilous Language because money was money was not allowed them in such Extravagant Sums as they wanted & the Arrivall of the Sailors requiring their Challenge & they for their Subsistance, adding by way of falsehood Complaints that Some of them were to be left here but the Trouble of another Ship & the Company themselves bound perfectly well that Capt Dove could not possibly carry them all with him, & that we were in duty expectation of the Arrivall of two or three Ships which would make their May Ride very short, for these Considerations the Governour thought it proper the better to discover the Truth to Examine the said Wicker in a Solemn manner about this Riot & his Examination was accordingly taken upon Oath & is as followes vizt Island St Helena The Examination of William Wicker of the Parish of St Mary Rotherhith, in the County of Surrey, Shipwright & late Stew- -ard before the Mast on board the Ship Suffolk in the Service of the Honble East India Company, Captain Francis Gostlin Commander, taken upon | The petitioners added that their captain had promised them two months' pay before they left, and had not given them a farthing. They asked the Governor to intervene with the captain on their behalf, and wished him health and happiness. The paper was subscribed by the following men. Samuel Gibbons Seth Shepherd James Thornell Martin Attwood Randell McDonell John Mills John Minor William Buckhorn Robert Elson John Loucher Samuel Williams David Lawrenceson Daniel Israel Ernest Chapman Marcel Gomes George Wehterhorn Green Rivers William Walker Rowland Harmer John Hubbard William Devine Benjamin Coby junior Thomas Steevin John Stroud Joseph Connon John Savage Joseph Dobbin Robert Bell Charles Atkinson William Anderson Mark Claborn Francis Avondine William Carey Samuel Mumford James Robbins The Governor gave no immediate answer, intending to lay the paper before the council on the following day so that their case might be heard. On the Saturday a great riot was raised by Walker, the leader of the disturbance, with his accomplices, and it became necessary to consider what should be done to preserve the peace and prevent further mischief by these turbulent people, who appeared at the lodgings of Captain Gaston in great numbers, threatening both him and his other officers and abusing them with gross and insulting language. Money was not allowed them in such extravagant sums as they demanded. Several of the sailors, demanding money for their subsistence by way of challenge, alleged that some of their companions had come from them and had left the tribute of another ship. They thought themselves bound perfectly with that captain, that Captain Dove could not possibly carry them all with him, and that no fewer than ten days would elapse before the arrival of two or three ships, which would make their stay there very short. For those reasons the Governor thought it proper to enquire into the truth and to examine Walker in a solemn manner about the riot, and his examination was accordingly taken upon oath. The examination of William Walker of the parish of St Mary Rotherhithe in the county of Surrey, shipwright, late sailor before the mast on board the Sussex in the service of the Honourable East India Company, Captain Francis Gaston commander, was then taken. Interpretations Two months' advance pay was the customary inducement given to a seaman at the start of a voyage, and it was the only money most men saw before the ship returned home, since Company wages fell due only on safe arrival in England. Withholding it from men whose ship had been lost left them with nothing at all, which is why the petition treats the promise as the central grievance rather than the clothing. Thirty-five signatures on a single paper made this a collective act rather than an individual complaint, and that alone made it dangerous in the council's eyes. A crew acting in concert against its officers was the first stage of a mutiny at law, and the shift from a subscribed petition to a crowd at Captain Gaston's lodgings turned a grievance into a riot the moment it left the paper. The island had no means of holding a body of that size. The garrison was small, the council had complained since 1734 that it could not man its own fortifications, and eighty shipwrecked men added to the settlement's own population presented a real difficulty of order. The Governor's response was to isolate the leader and take his examination on oath, the same method he had used against Cornelius Plucknet in November 1735 and against Rowe in July 1735, since a sworn statement from the principal gave the council a document that could go home to London where its own jurisdiction failed. Rotherhithe was among the chief maritime parishes of the Thames, its population drawn heavily from shipwrights, mariners and the trades serving the docks. A shipwright serving before the mast as an ordinary seaman rather than as a ship's carpenter suggests a man who had taken the voyage for want of work at his own trade, which fits the standing of the men whose names follow. |
274 | 266 | upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of the said Island this first day of May 1738 This Examinant being asked what he knows concerning the Paper or Petition dated the 28 of Aprill 1738 & on that day delivered to the said Isaac Pyke Esqr by him the said William Hillier & Signed by him this Examinant & many more of the Sailors late belonging to the said Ship Saith that the said Paper or Petition was not wrote by this Examinant but was wrote by one Rowland Hardcum late Middlesman on board the said Ship & was by him Shewen to this Examinant in order to have his Opinion about it, & at the same time this Examinant was desired by the said Hardcum if he liked it to Sign it, & this Examinant Saith that having read it he liked it & in Testimony of his Approbation he Signed it accordingly & was the first who Signed it, & that the last Twenty one Names Subscribed or Signed to the said paper beginning with the Name of Francis Wickaine & ending with the Name of Peter Watts were each of them wrote or Subscribed with the hand writing of this Examinant although Several of them were themselves able to write & actually present at the very time, that this Examinant Subscribed their Names as aforesaid & believes he is not mistaken that all those whose Names he wrote as aforesaid desired him to do so, this Examinant having heard Severall voices crying together Sign & read & that after he had Subscribed the said paper in the manner aforesaid he read it them aloud, but it did not shew they all approved thereof This Examinant being further asked in what manner he & the Ships Company were treated out & home by Capt Gostlin & the time of the Misfortune which hath happened to them Saith that the said Captain Gostlin used them all with great kindness & humanity, & that Capt Dove of the Winchester from the time he took them on board to the time he brought them here did also treat them with great kindness & Civilaty, and in Testimony of the Truth hereof this Examinant hath hereunto set his hand the day & year before mentioned Taken & Sworn this 1 day May 1738 before me William Hillier Isa: Pyke Governor Upon Recollection this Examinant Saith that he is not sure whether all the Men mentioned in the said paper were present & consenting thereto or not but rather thinks that two or three of them were absent when he read the said Paper after he had put their Names thereto William Hillier By this Examination it appears very fully that the said Hillier has been guilty of forgery & has made false Complaints & unjust Demands upon Capt Gostlin who he affirms upon Oath | William Hillier was examined on oath before Governor Pyke on 1 May 1738. Asked about the paper dated 28 April 1738 that he had delivered to the Governor on that day in the presence of several of the sailors formerly belonging to the Sussex, Hillier stated that the paper was not written by him. It had been drawn up by one Rowland Mandeval, late a midshipman aboard that ship, who had shown it to him and asked his opinion of it. Mandeval then asked him to sign, and having read it he did so as a mark of his approval. Twenty-one further names were then subscribed to the paper, beginning with Francis Michaine and ending with the name of Peter Foley. Several of those names were written or subscribed with the knowledge of Hillier, although several of the men were themselves able to write and were actually present at the time. He had subscribed their names as described, and believed that every man whose name was written had directed him to do so. Several persons were crying together for their pay, and after he had subscribed the paper in the manner described he read it over to them, but no more than were then present approved of it. Asked further how the ship's company had been treated at home by Captain Gaston, and about the misfortune that had befallen them, Hillier stated that Gaston had used them all with great kindness and humanity, and that Captain Dove of the Winchester had taken them aboard from the time he received them and had treated them with great kindness and civility. He signed the statement on the day and year written above. The Governor pressed him further, and Hillier stated that he did not know whether all the men named in the paper were present and consenting or not, but rather thought that two or three of those present were absent when the paper was read after he had put their names to it. The examination showed plainly that Hillier had been guilty of forgery and had made a false and unjust complaint against Captain Gaston, whom he acknowledged on oath had always [...]. Interpretations The examination destroys the petition as a collective act. Thirty-five names had stood on the paper delivered on 28 April 1738, and Hillier's evidence establishes that twenty-one of them were written by one hand belonging to a man who could not say whether the persons named had agreed, with several of them able to sign for themselves and standing beside him at the time. A subscribed complaint carried weight against an officer only because each signature represented a man prepared to stand behind it, and once that was gone the paper became a document one or two men had manufactured. Subscribing another man's name without his authority was forgery at law, a serious offence quite apart from the substance of the complaint. The council had treated a comparable charge with great gravity in November 1734, when Joseph Bates denied his own signature on a subscription for road labour, affirmed the denial before the board and then recognised his hand when the original was produced, for which he was fined forty days' extraordinary work as a warning. Hillier's answer on the treatment of the crew is what makes the collapse complete. He swore that Gaston had used the whole company with kindness and that Dove had received and treated them civilly aboard the Winchester, which contradicts the grievance the paper had been drawn to advance. The council had reached a similar point in March 1737 when Richard Mills complained against Captain Nathaniel White of the George and could produce no witness, every officer aboard swearing that the captain had used the people kindly. The board's difficulty throughout has been that shipwrecked men had no enforceable claim on anyone. Company wages fell due only on safe return to England, and the Sussex went down on 9 March 1738, so the seamen's whole case rested on a personal promise from their commander rather than on any contract. That is why the enquiry turned so quickly from the merits of the complaint to the manner in which it was got up. |
275 | 267 | allwayes treated him & his fellow Sailors with kindness & humanity, therefore upon full consideration of the Severall facts before recited the said Hillier was Ordered to run the Gauntlett & was also for the same reason, Rowland Hardcum, the Penman of the said Paper which he owned & Boasted of, however by making Examples of these two we hope no further disturbance will be given us&c At a Consultation held on Monday 8 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin absent being Lame Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that he called this Consultation in order to have it duely considered what number of the Superseded number belonging to the Suffolk would be proper to send to England on board the Winchester & Least otherwise he should suck in a hurry & spare them all upon our hands in this Season time as the Duke of Dorset did, & it not being certain whether more than two other Ships would return this Season or not he thought that fifteen of the forty five between her left here by the Winchester who Sailed on Sunday last & Ordered forty three of the said men with her, should be put on board when the Convoy & Sailors sailed The Governour Ordered the following Paper to be read in Shipwreck & then vizt That those Gentlemen & others who have had the misfortune to lose the Ship Suffolk here were to wait here for a passage home to England in some of the Honble Companies returning Ships & shall be relieved here as soon as the Necessity of this place & inhabitants of which such Baggage shall be performed They are welcome here that no former, & tis that any Person here before the ship of the Captain in some of them but he who best behaves shall be best Considered And that the Governour & Councill intend so soon that they Resolve of them have after Charge for going home by the first Conveyance by casting lots among themselves for the same unless the Captains whom to carry them Ships make choice of some particular men before others or unless of any of them shall behave Vitious & Seditious all such persons when thereon shall be obliged to Stay till the last That for the present Subsistance of these unfortunate men each person shall be allowed 5s a week to buy his necessary Provisions withall & of whom he will, & this is 3 of a Quarter of a Year more than the Soldiers of this Garrison do usually Subsist upon but if any man thinks | Hillier acknowledged on oath that Gaston had always used him and his fellow sailors with kindness and humanity. On full consideration of the facts, he was ordered to run the gauntlet, and Rowland Mandeval, who had written the paper, was ordered the same punishment for drawing it up and getting it subscribed. The council intended by making examples of the two men that no further disturbance should follow. The council met at the castle on Monday 8 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present, John Goodwin being absent through lameness. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor stated that he had called the meeting so that the board might consider what should be done with the shipwrecked men remaining on the island. The Sussex company could not be sent home in a single vessel, and it was uncertain whether any ship would take them all at once, as the Duke of Dorset had done. Fifteen of the forty men had left with the Winchester, which sailed on Monday last and carried forty more of them away with her, and the remainder were to be put on board when the Winchester's consort arrived. The Governor then directed that the following paper be read to the shipwrecked men. The gentlemen and others who had the misfortune to lose the Sussex were to wait ashore for a passage home to England in one of the Company's ships returning that season, and were to be relieved here as soon as the necessity of the place would admit, on which such passage should be provided. They were to seek no more than before, and no man was to be preferred above the others in point of rank or place, but those who best behaved themselves were to be best treated. The Governor further intended that those of them who had a chance of going home by the first conveyance should cast lots among themselves for the same, and the captains who were to carry them should make choice of them from the persons so drawn. Should any of them behave riotously or seditiously, the whole allowance was to be refused, and any such person was to stay until the last. For the subsistence of these unfortunate men, each person was to be allowed 6s a week to buy the necessary provisions, and each was to receive a further 3s a quarter of a year, which was more than the soldiers of the garrison ordinarily subsisted on, but if any man [...]. Interpretations Running the gauntlet was a military punishment in which the offender passed between two lines of his own comrades, each armed with a switch or a rope's end and required to strike as he went. It served a purpose no flogging by a single hand could, since the men who had heard the offence committed became the instrument of the penalty. The council had adjudged it against Cornelius Plucknet, William Webb and John Slate in November 1735 for threatening an informer, and its use here answers the collective nature of the offence: a paper got up with forged signatures was punished before the very men whose names had been taken. Casting lots for the first passage home removed the decision from every hand that might have been suspected of favour. The captains chose only from among the men the lot had already drawn, so a commander could not pick his favourites and the council could not be accused of preferring one seaman over another. That answers precisely the grievance the riot had turned on, since the crowd at Captain Gaston's lodgings had complained that some of their fellows had been advanced ahead of them. Withholding the allowance from any man who behaved riotously, and sending him home last, put both the money and the passage under the same discipline. Neither was a legal entitlement: the Sussex went down on 9 March 1738 and Company wages fell due only on safe return to England, so these men had earned nothing they could claim and the subsistence was a gratuity the council could attach conditions to. Six shillings a week set against a soldier's subsistence measures how expensive the island was. The garrison's men were fed largely from the Company's own stores and plantations, while a shipwrecked seaman had to buy from the inhabitants at retail in a year when the herd had fallen from 402 head to 287 and the yam issue stood at its lowest of the season. Governor Pyke had fixed maintenance for a bastard child at eight shillings a week in December 1735, noting then that nobody on the island took less than seven with allowances besides. |
276 | 268 | thinks this is too little as most of them have been bred to some sort of working Employment he who can do any usefull work in building or repairing of the Garrison Sports, be employed & then his Subsistance Money shall be enlarged, the price that such work may be done for in London If any Man understands fishing he shall have hooks & Lines out of the Honble Companies Stores to the amount of the usuall Subsistance Mony & bring all his fish to Sell in the market place for ready Money at the best rates he can for his own use & advantage That no Man shall have larger Subsistance than another unless the Officer who is employed to keep good Decorum among the rest And if any Man requires a larger Allowance than another there is no way to obtain it but by Labour & he that will not work deserves not to eat These are the things that have appeared to the Governour to be at present necessary & if he sees it hereafter to be proper to make any farther Orders he will do it & give publick notice thereof but all persons are to observe to keep to their Barrack or Quarters at all times when day light is Shut in, & at no time to go on board any Ship without the Governours leave be each time obtained The Governour acquaints You all that because of Mr Smiths good Character who was Capt Gostlins Boatswain he intends to Commit the Chief trust to his care of keeping a good Decorum & Order among the forty three People who are to remain here till they can get Passage home to England As a check of the People to keep their Violence with at the great time it shall be delivered to them by the Honble Companies Servant there, & they are to carry it down to their Quarters themselves, but no one is to fetch there to that to the Punch Houses or else where under the penalty of a Severe Correction | Any man who thought the allowance too small was reminded that most of them had been bred to some trade, and that anyone able to do useful work in building or repairing the garrison's forts would be employed, his subsistence money enlarged and the price of the work paid as it would be in London. Any man who understood fishing was to have hooks and lines out of the Honourable Company's stores to the amount of his usual subsistence money, and might bring all his fish to sell in the market place for ready money at the best rates he could get, for his own use and advantage. No man was to have a larger subsistence than another, unless he was the officer employed to keep good order among the rest. Anyone who wanted a larger allowance had no way to obtain it but by labour, since a man who did not work did not deserve to eat. These were the measures the Governor thought necessary for the present, and he intended to make further orders hereafter should he find it proper, to be issued by public notice. Every man was required to keep to his barracks or quarters at all times once the day light was shut in, and nobody was to go aboard any ship without the Governor's leave first obtained. The Governor told the men that in consideration of Mr Booth's good character, he having been captain's boatswain, he intended to entrust him with the care of keeping good order among the forty-three men who were to remain on the island until they could get passage home to England. To spare the people any violence, their goods were to be delivered to them at the first landing out of the Honourable Company's stores, and each man might carry them down to his own quarters. They were forbidden to leave their quarters after dark to go to the punch houses or elsewhere, on pain of severe correction. Interpretations Paying London rates for work on the fortifications is a striking concession from a council that had been unable to raise labour for years. Its advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender, and it refused to raise the rate for fear of appearing to let the inhabitants impose upon the Company. Forty-three idle seamen bred to trades, needing subsistence in any case, offered a supply of skilled hands the island could not otherwise obtain, and the works at Rupert's and Banks's had gone unfinished since 1734 for want of exactly that. The fishing offer converts a charge into a trade. Eleven men had been kept constantly in the boats since 1 March 1727, when Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with fish, and the establishment had lost two of its fishermen drowned off the rocks in January 1738. Advancing hooks and lines against a man's subsistence and letting him sell in the open market cost the Company nothing beyond stores it already held, and added fresh provisions to an island whose herd had fallen from 402 head to 287 in six months. The curfew answers a specific fear rather than general good order. Desertion to the shipping had been a persistent difficulty since the summer of 1735, when Captain Studholme was found enticing soldiers aboard and the council set out a nightly guard boat with orders to search every boat afloat and seize any islander found on the water after dark. Forbidding these men to go aboard any ship without leave keeps the passage home under the council's control, which is what the lot-drawing arrangement of the same day depended on. Barring the punch houses reaches the place where the trouble had started. The riot of 29 April 1738 followed a subscribed petition got up with forged signatures, and the death of Thomas Anderson on 17 February 1738 arose from a drunken quarrel at Thomas Colgrave's unlicensed house. The jury of 2 July 1733 had presented the lodging houses of James Valley as the resort of people who would neither work nor let others work. Placing the boatswain in charge preserves the ship's own hierarchy ashore. A boatswain held the working discipline of a crew at sea, and giving him the same office over men who no longer had a ship kept a chain of command the seamen already recognised, at no cost beyond the enlarged allowance the paper permitted for that office alone. |
277 | 269 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 9 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour Capt Bennett John Goodwin absent being Lame Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour having spoke to Capt Bennett about this matter he readily agreed to carry the Complement of men proposed upon Condition that Bedding was Sent to Paid in at the Companys Charge Sufficient for the Passage & he was told by the Governour that he should have all the Assistance the place afforded & the quantity of Provisions he desired On Saturday last the Compton Sereus arrived from Bengall with the following Supply vizt Sugar 10 Bags 6 lb 5 lb 4 Ct 5 py & 5 sd py 115 8 Rice 46 Bags 6 lb 5 Ct 3 3 24 Ct 1 py 121 13 6 White Duttees 3 Bales contd 1300 py 596 Punch 1 Bale contd 300 6 py py pice 210 Candles 3 Chests contd 4 lb 5 lb 3 3 2 py & 3 6 py py 144 Charges Merchandize 60 7 9 Rupees 1227 8 9 The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the Month past which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Gunners Store Expended in Aprill 1738 vizt Guns Fired, 32 pounders, 18 pounders, 9 pounders, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, Powder 1738 Aprill 4 An Allarm & Duke of Dorset arrived: Guns Fired 26, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 19, Powder 32 5 An Allarm & the Dean Ship arrived: Guns Fired 13, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 9, Powder 23 7 Dean Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 9, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 9, Powder 9 13 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 14 18 Winchester arrived: Guns Fired 18, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 18, Powder 18 21 Duke of Dorset Sailed: Guns Fired 9, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 9, Powder 9 26 A Double Allarm for the Dutch Fleet: Guns Fired 27, 32 pounders 10, 18 pounders 8, 9 pounders 8, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 0, Powder 263 19 A Double Allarm for the Dutch Ships: Guns Fired 13, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 3, 9 pounders 7, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 0, Powder 70 25 An Allarm & a French Ship arrived: Guns Fired 15, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 13, Powder 27 29 Wilhelm & a Ship past by: Guns Fired 4, 32 pounders 0, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 4, Powder 14 Expence of the Guards 36 Cartridge paper 2 Quire 134 10 3 15 16 17 73 524 Match 30 Rammer Heads 14 Spunge Staves 11 Handspikes 2 Ladles 4 Cocks & Quoins 30 Worms 4 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 9 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present, together with Captain Conner. John Goodwin was absent through lameness. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor had spoken to Captain Bennett about the shipwrecked men, and the captain readily agreed to carry the whole number aboard his ship on condition that provisions be laid in at the Company's charge sufficient for the passage. He was told by the Governor that he should have every assistance the place afforded, and the quantity of provisions was to be settled. The Compton arrived from Bengal on Saturday last with a supply for the island. Sugar, 10 bags at 6d the pound, 145 rupees 8 annas 0 pies Rice, 46 bags at 15s 9d the hundredweight, 121 rupees 13 annas 6 pies White doosetees, 45 pieces at 13s 6d the piece, 596 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Shirts, 1 bale containing 200 at 3s each, 210 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Candles, 2 chests containing 4 hundredweight at 22s 6d the hundredweight, 144 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 60 rupees 7 annas 9 pies Total, 1,227 rupees 5 annas 9 pies The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the past month, which were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in April 1738, the columns running guns fired, then the classes of gun by shot weight, thirty-two pounders, eighteen pounders, nine pounders, four pounders, three pounders and two pounders, then powder. 4 April: an alarm and the Duke of Dorset arrived, 26 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 9 four pounders, 9 three pounders, 15 two pounders, 32 lb of powder 5 April: an alarm and the Danish ship arrived, 13 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 23 lb of powder 7 April: the Danish ship sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 15 April: an alarm, 4 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder 18 April: the Winchester arrived, 18 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 18 lb of powder 20 April: the Duke of Dorset sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 26 April: a double alarm for the Dutch fleet, 27 guns fired, 10 thirty-two pounders, 8 eighteen pounders, 8 nine pounders, 3 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 263 lb of powder 28 April: a double alarm for two ships, 13 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 3 eighteen pounders, 7 nine pounders, 3 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 70 lb of powder 29 April: an alarm and a French ship arrived, 15 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 13 two pounders, 27 lb of powder 30 April: an alarm and a ship passed by, 4 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 36 lb of powder Total, 134 guns fired, 10 thirty-two pounders, 3 eighteen pounders, 15 nine pounders, 16 four pounders, 17 three pounders, 73 two pounders, 524 lb of powder Cartridge paper, 2 quires Match, 30 lb Rammer heads, 14 Sponge staves, 11 Handspikes, 2 Ladles, 4 Bitts and quoins, 30 Worms, 4 Interpretations Powder at 524 lb is by a wide margin the heaviest month in this record, above the 451 lb of May 1737, and almost two thirds of it went on a single occasion. The double alarm for the Dutch fleet on 26 April cost 263 lb for 27 rounds, fired from the heaviest pieces on the island, ten thirty-two pounders alongside eight eighteen pounders and eight nine pounders. Where an ordinary salute drew nine of the smallest guns at a pound of powder apiece, a compliment to a foreign squadron demanded the great guns, and the ratio between the two shows why the light pieces were reserved for routine ceremony. The gunner has classified the guns by the weight of shot they threw rather than by the older names of demi-cannon, culverin, saker, minion and falcon used throughout this run. The two pounders are the falcons, the smallest pieces and the ones that carry every ordinary nine-gun salute here; the thirty-two pounders are the demi-cannon on the line. Naming ordnance by shot weight was the newer English practice and its appearance in the island's accounts marks a change of clerical convention rather than any change in the guns themselves, the annual inventories having stood at 157 pieces since 1736. Every arrival was preceded by an alarm of four guns, the lookout at the flagstaff being able to see a sail but not to name her, and a double alarm signified more than one vessel. The Dutch fleet and the two ships of 28 April drew doubles, and the pattern of alarm followed by salute repeats at every arrival through the month. Doosetees were plain coarse Bengal cottons sold by the corge of twenty pieces, made up on the island into the annual clothing issued to the Company's slaves each September. Forty-five pieces here follow the eighty landed in March by the Bedford and the Duke of Dorset, and a bale of 200 shirts comes with them, so three consignments in three months have covered the coming issue amply. Bitts and quoins are the timber blocks and tapered wedges that carry and elevate a gun's breech, and thirty going out in one month against four worms and eleven sponge staves measures the wear of firing the heavy pieces. The worm is the spiral tool for drawing a spent charge, and its use follows naturally where great guns were discharged rather than saluted. Speculations Sending the whole shipwrecked company home in a single vessel had been ruled out only a day earlier. The Governor told the board on 8 May 1738 that no ship would take them all, ordered the men to cast lots for the first passages and set out a scheme of subsistence at 6s a week with work at London rates on the fortifications and hooks and lines for any man who could fish. The arrival of a commander willing to carry the entire number changed the calculation at once, and the council took the offer despite its cost, the Company finding provisions for forty-three men for a full passage rather than a week's allowance at a time. What decided it was that the men were the problem rather than their maintenance: a body of idle seamen who had rioted at Captain Gaston's lodgings on 29 April, whose leaders had run the gauntlet for a forged petition, and who were forbidden the punch houses after dark, cost the island more in order than they ever would in provisions. |
278 | 270 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of April 1738 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st April: Bullocks 6, Cows 88, Heifers 45, Steers 28, Yearlings 77, Calves 38, Bulls 5, Totall 287, Ewes 40, Wethers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 56, Sows 8, Shoates 20, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 41, Turkeys 31, Fowles 65, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 3, Wethers 3, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 4, Fowles 12, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 88, Heifers 45, Steers 28, Yearlings 77, Calves 38, Bulls 5, Totall 287, Ewes 40, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 53, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 27, Fowles 53, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 4, Heifers 2, Steers 0, Yearlings 3, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totall 14, Ewes 1, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 30th April 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 84, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 74, Calves 33, Bulls 5, Totall 273, Ewes 39, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 27, Fowles 53, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Sevl Plantations 12,500 Ditto Expended at the Bolocks 18750 Totall Yams 31,250 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of April 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 April 1738: bullocks 6, cows 88, heifers 45, steers 28, yearlings 77, calves 38, bulls 5, neat cattle total 287, ewes 40, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 56, sows 8, shoats 20, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 41, turkeys 31, fowls 65, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 3, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 3, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 4, fowls 12, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 88, heifers 45, steers 28, yearlings 77, calves 38, bulls 5, neat cattle total 287, ewes 40, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 53, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 27, fowls 53, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 4, heifers 2, steers 0, yearlings 3, calves 5, bulls 0, neat cattle total 14, ewes 1, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 1, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 30 April 1738: bullocks 6, cows 84, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 74, calves 33, bulls 5, neat cattle total 273, ewes 39, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 52, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 27, fowls 53, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 12,500 lb Yams expended at the blacks, 18,750 lb Total yams, 31,250 lb Interpretations Not one beast was sold to shipping despite a road busier than at any time in the year. The Duke of Dorset, a Danish ship, the Winchester, a French ship and a Dutch fleet all passed through in April, the gunner's account recording 134 guns fired across ten occasions, yet the herd supplied nothing. February and March had taken 24 head between them, and the council has evidently reached the point where it will not sell further, having cut its saleable classes to six bullocks and 28 steers. Fourteen cattle died, the seventh consecutive month of losses running above ten, and the herd has fallen from 402 head on 1 October 1737 to 273. Four cows went, following five in March, five in December and seven in each of November and February, so the breeding stock has lost some 30 cows in seven months while producing no calf at all since August 1737. The 33 calves now standing are the survivors of a cohort that has been diminishing steadily with nothing coming behind it. Sheep suffered a sharper loss than the bare figures suggest. Three wethers were killed for the table out of ten, leaving seven, and the flock has only two lambs against 39 breeding ewes. Wethers were the class the table ordinarily drew on, and the island had gone down to a single wether by July 1736 before the year-end muster restored twenty-one. Killing three in one month from a stock of ten repeats that pattern and points to a table with nothing else to take, no beef having been killed at all. The whole of the meat this month came from three wethers, a shoat, four turkeys and twelve fowls. The poultry yard stands at 53 fowls and 27 turkeys, having opened the Company year at 130 and 44 after being consumed almost entirely in the previous twelvemonth, so the one resource that carried the fort through the empty autumn is itself close to exhausted. Yams held near steady at 31,250 lb, with the share to the establishment rising slightly. April closes the island's summer, and the winter planting goes into the ground about May, so this is the last month before fresh ground can be worked. Four ships landing rice between March and May, the Bedford with 34 bags, the Duke of Dorset with 38 and the Compton with 46, arrived at the point of greatest need. |
279 | 271 | Expence of the Table in April 1738 vizt £ s d Sheep 3 3 15 Pork 39 lb 19 6 Turkeys 4 1 Fowles 12 3 18 days Greens 30 1 10 Bottles Milk 60 5 Beef 370 lb 6 12 6 Arrack 78 Gallons 15 12 Gall Vinegar 4 4 Flour 7 11 3 Sugar 1 2 6 2 17 Bottles Florence Wine 8 1 4 Port 12 Gall 5 13 Sherry 9 Gall 3 9 9 46 15 9 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin, absent being Lame Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Sunday the 14 instant the George arrived from Bencoolen & brought a Punch & the following Letter from the Gentlemen at the West Coast vizt To the Worshipfull Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of St Helena &c & Councill Gentlemen The George Capt Nathaniel Weir Commander brought us your favour of the 24 March last with the Carpenters and the Eight Soldiers whom you sent us by that conveyance, & who safely here Last year Mr Daniel Coles a Writer in the Companies Service and our Linguist was found barbarously murdered at Codeng River which lays about half way to Sillebar, and this year we got Information that his female Slave who was with him at the time of his misfortune had been seen at a place in the heart of the Country between this & Palenbong we got to away tho' not without | Expenses of the fort's table for April 1738. 3 sheep, £3 15s 0d 39 lb of pork, £0 19s 6d 4 turkeys, £1 0s 0d 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 0s 8d 370 lb of beef, £5 12s 0d 78 gallons of arrack, £15 12s 0d 4 gallons of vinegar, £0 4s 0d 7 lb of flour, £0 12s 0d 7 lb 12 oz of sugar, £2 17s 0d 8 bottles of Florence oil, £1 4s 0d 12 gallons of port, £4 13s 0d 9 gallons of sherry, £5 9s 9d Total, £46 15s 9d The council met at the castle on Tuesday 16 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. John Goodwin was absent through lameness. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The George arrived from Bencoolen on Sunday 14 May 1738 and brought a letter from the gentlemen at that settlement, addressed to Governor Pyke and the council. They acknowledged receipt of the council's letter of 24 March last, carried by the George under Captain Nathaniel White, together with the eight soldiers sent by that conveyance, all of whom arrived safely. They reported that Mr Daniel Coles, a writer in the Company's service, had died the previous year. One Anguish was found barbarously murdered at Cedeng River while halfway to Silebar, and information reached them this year that the murder had been committed at a place in the heart of the country between that settlement and Palembang. The killers got away without [...]. Interpretations Beef at 370 lb continues the return that began in March, and the source is a trade rather than the Company's own herd. The stock account for April records not one beast killed or sold, so the meat entered here was bought from the inhabitants, whose cattle the island's retailers supplied whenever ships lay in the road. Three sheep taken alongside it came from the Company's own flock, which had only ten wethers to draw on. Wine again carries a large share of the account, port and sherry together standing above £10 0s 0d against a total of £46 15s 9d, and both rose with the shipping. The Duke of Dorset, the Winchester, a Danish ship and a French ship all lay in the road during the month, and commanders and supercargoes entertained ashore account for the drink as exactly as the gunner's powder accounts for the salutes. Bencoolen was the Company's principal settlement on the west coast of Sumatra, notoriously unhealthy and chronically short of men, which is why St Helena had for years supplied it with soldiers and with slaves. The eight men acknowledged here follow a long practice: John Long was sent there aboard the Lyell in 1734, Henry Coles in May 1734 at Captain Alexander's complaint, and eight men, two women, three boys and seven girls in 1733 against a Company order for thirty. The island's people had a clear view of what such a posting meant. Twenty-seven soldiers bound for Bencoolen petitioned for clothing in March 1731, and seven of them hid among the rocks rather than sail, each giving fear of starving there as his reason on the account the people of the James and Mary had given of bad diet and heavy mortality in the fort. The council observed on 24 July 1733 that of some fifty slaves sent to Bencoolen within two years scarcely half remained alive. The murder reported here took place in country the Company did not control. Silebar lay south of Bencoolen along the same coast, and Palembang was the seat of an independent sultanate on the eastern side of Sumatra, so a writer travelling between them passed through territory where the Company had neither garrison nor jurisdiction and no means of pursuing anyone. |
280 | 272 | without Difficulty, upon her deposition & several circumstances were confirmed by the flight of Bangsanadeen a leading Man amongst the Malays, who lived near Sillebar, We Bangsanade and Dactter found them guilty as the Author of the Murder, which he that hired four Men to Execute as he paid for fifteen Spanish Dollars, and his Wife being a Woman of some Credit in the Country, we thought it was proper both as a punishment for her being accessory to the Crime, whereof however we have no positive Proof, and chiefly to keep her from raising disturbances in the Country on account of her Husband, to Send her to your Island and have accordingly given her in Charge of Capt Weir desiring at at his Arrivall that you would acquaint him, In our Letter by the George we acquaint the Honourable Company with it We are Fort Malborough 15 December 1737 Gentlemen Your most humble Servants Robt Scrivener Will Rigg Rich Horton Cha Barbut At a Consultation held on Tuesday 23 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved A Large Danish Ship called the Sophia Magdalene & Cargo for Bengall arrived here on the 20 instant & the Capt desired liberty to bring a Shore Forty Eight of his Sick Men, but the Governour thinks that number too many to bring a Shore at one time but Ordered that they may bring Twenty five or Thirty but not to exceed the number of Thirty & the Officers and Attendants & Sickmen, & on the same day the Marmaduke arrived from Bombay with the following Supply vizt Rice 40 Bags 6 lb 5 lb 3 3 24 lb 3 & 4 Ct 3 py 4 Cwt 104 1 Cassy 3 Bags 6 lb 5 lb 12 lb 4 lb 5 lb 3 py & Ct 37 2 Arrack 1 Leger & 1 Butt 6 lb 27 & 4 py & 30 py 48 Gall 169 3 Charges Merchandize 60 1 33 Rupees 483 3 33 Margin Notes: Setting price 12 py & py 16 py & py | The gentlemen at Fort Marlborough continued their account. The killers got away without difficulty, and the woman's own statement together with several circumstances was confirmed by the flight of Bangsanadeen, a leading man among the Malays who lived near Silebar. The Company's officers found them guilty as the authors of the murder, and directed four men to carry out the sentence, for which fifteen Spanish dollars were paid. His wife being a woman of some standing in the country, the writers thought it proper both as a punishment for her part in the crime, of which they had no positive proof, and chiefly to prevent her stirring up disturbances in the country on her husband's account, to send her to St Helena. She was accordingly given into the charge of Captain White, and they asked that the Governor and council take her under their direction on his arrival. They had also written to the Honourable Company about the matter by the George. The letter was subscribed at Fort Marlborough on 15 December 1737 by Robert Scrivener, William Rigg, Richard Norton and Charles Barbut. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 23 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A large French ship called the Aurora arrived from Bengal on 20 May 1738, and her captain was given leave to bring ashore forty-eight of his sick men. The Governor thought that number too many to bring ashore at one time, and directed that no more than thirty should come at once, and that the total, with the officers and attendants and workmen, should not exceed thirty-two. The Heathcote arrived from Bombay on the same day with a supply for the island. Rice, 45 bags of 3 candies at 6d the pound, 103 rupees 1 anna 0 pies Cassumbagie, 3 bags at 12 rupees 4 annas the bag, 37 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Arrack, 1 leaguer and 3 butts at 97 gallons at 30s the gallon, 189 rupees 3 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 60 rupees 1 anna 38 pies Total, 488 rupees 3 annas 38 pies Interpretations Fort Marlborough was the Company's headquarters at Bencoolen on the west coast of Sumatra, and its officers exercised a rough criminal jurisdiction over the country round it without any lawful authority beyond what force allowed. Paying four men fifteen Spanish dollars to carry out an execution is not a court's sentence but a contract, and the writers were candid that they had no proof against the wife at all. Transportation to St Helena served a purpose no punishment on the spot could have answered. The woman's standing among the Malays made her dangerous where she was, and removing her to an island in the middle of the Atlantic broke every connection through which she might have raised a following. St Helena had received people in that way before, John Long being sent to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 and Thomas Ransom coming through as the Company's prisoner from Fort St David in June 1734, but the traffic normally ran the other way. Limiting the French ship's sick to thirty ashore reflects a standing caution rather than any want of charity. The council had admitted a French vessel on terms on 3 February 1737, forbidding her to move ahead of the English ships or to windward of them and capping her shore party at twenty-five men, and it had examined the commissions of every French and Danish vessel before allowing her into the road. A crew ashore in numbers on an island with a small garrison presented a risk the board weighed each time. Cassumbagie is safflower, the dyestuff pressed from the flowers of Carthamus tinctorius, used to give reds and pinks on cotton and silk and among the standing articles of the western Indian trade. Its appearance alongside rice reckoned by the candy and Goa arrack by the butt places the lading on the Bombay side rather than in Bengal, where sugar and Batavia arrack would have headed the invoice. |
281 | 273 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 30 May 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Thursday last the 25th Instant we received a Petition from Mr Powell desireing leave to go to England, and he was desired to attend as this day which he Accordingly did, when several Questions were put to him by the Governour & which with his Reply to each are as followes What he has done in Relation to his project for building a Church he Saith he has done nothing To shew some Authentick proofs of his Occasions to goe for England he answered only his own Inclinations Whether when he Arrived first here he did not Affirm his design & Intentions were to goe back to Bengall & Madrass and whether he did not pretend so Saith he did but proposes to goe by the way of England Whether he has not left Severall Aunts of Attornies to Settle there he owns he did say so but has left it to his Attorneys in Madrass with large Effects in their hands to clear all his debts Whether he did not bring letters from Bradges Importing the same Saith he did Whether he has Settled his own Affairs here that he came about he Saith he has Whether he has Settled his Acct with Mr Johnson Saith he has Settled with Mr Johnson Whether he has Settled with Mr Beale and with all his Relations here Saith he can give Mr Beales no Answer Whether if he goes he will leave Sufficient Powers with any body here to conclude them on his Absence, Saith he will leave a Letter of Attorney What he Intends to do about his Acct at Madrass & Bengall, which Govr Bynion has written to me Concerning, Govr Bynion he Sayes & Mr Coles Attorny, and he has paid Govr Bynion all How long he stayd this time from Madrass to Bengall to before Mattabee Very Near three years & that Ship and of all burthen was the last he was concerned in, Saith the Ship was called the Jack Ketch of 195 tons when was she lost, where and on what Voyage bound, Saith she was lost in February 1737 bound to Sagilodan with goa Arrack, he had Sold all this pieces goods at goa, & how long, after that did he Stay in India he Sayes about 8 Months, and in that time made up all his Accounts Whether he will Refer all matters between Beales & him to Arbitration and umpirage, Saith he will leave it to his Attorneys Why he has not in all this time made out an Inventory of all the Estate his Mother dyed possest of, Saith he will Speedily give me one, what Sum of Mony he carryed to India with him, abt 100 or 150 or thereabouts | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 30 May 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A petition had been received on Thursday 25 May 1738 from George Gabriel Powell, asking leave to go to England. He was directed to attend the board that day and did so, and the Governor put a series of questions to him, which he answered in the following terms. Asked what he had done about the proposal for building a church, he said he had done nothing. Asked to show some authentic proof of his reasons for going to England, he answered only that it was his own inclination. Asked whether he had not stated on first arriving that he intended to return to Bengal and Madras, and whether he had not pretended so, he said he had, but proposed to go by way of England. Asked whether he had left effects at Madras to settle there, he said he had, but that he had left them with his attorneys in Madras, with large effects in their hands to clear all his debts. Asked whether he had not brought letters from Madras importing the same, he said he had. Asked whether he had settled his own affairs here, which he had come about, he said he had. Asked whether he had settled his account with Mr Johnson, he said he had. Asked whether he had settled with Mr Beale and with all his relations here, he said he could give Mr Beale no answer. Asked whether, if he went, he would leave sufficient powers with anybody here to conclude them in his absence, he said he would leave a letter of attorney. Asked what he intended to do about his account at Madras and Bengal, on which Governor Bynion had written to him, he said Governor Bynion and Mr Coles were his attorneys, and that Governor Burniwall also had. Asked how long he had run the ship from Madras to Bengal and to those at Malacca, he said about three years. Asked what ship it was and of what burden, and what was his concern in her, he said the ship was called the Jacksh of 195 tons. Asked when she was lost, where, and on what voyage bound, he said she was lost in February 1737 bound to Sagi laden with Goa arrack, that he had sold all his pieces of goods at Goa, and asked how long after that he had stayed in India, he said about eight months, and in that time made up all his accounts. Asked whether he would refer all matters between Beale and himself to arbitration and umpirage, he said he would leave it to his attorneys. Asked why he had not in all this time made out an inventory of the estate his mother died possessed of, he said he would speedily give one in. Asked what sum of money he carried to India with him, he said about £200 0s 0d or £250 0s 0d or thereabouts. Interpretations George Gabriel Powell was named co-executor of his mother Mary Powell's will with Richard Goodwin, and had been in the East Indies throughout the proceedings that followed. Goodwin renounced the executorship on 2 March 1736, pleading weakness and infirmity, which left the largest fortune in this record, appraised at £5,136 17s 5.25d on 21 October 1735, with no lawful representative on the island at all. The question about the inventory goes to the heart of that failure: nearly three years after the appraisement, the surviving executor had produced nothing. Three caveats stood against any grant of probate, entered by Richard Beale, Joshua Johnson and John Hodgkinson on 21 October 1735, and a grant made in defiance of a caveat is void. That explains why the Governor pressed him separately on Johnson, on Beale and on his other relations: each represented a claim that had to be answered before the estate could be distributed, and each had been waiting since 1735. Beale is the claim he cannot answer. His demand for thirty acres held by the Powell heirs had been before the council since 30 January 1733 and referred to London three times. Mary Powell refused the Company's directed arbitration absolutely on 13 August 1734, saying her son would consent on no terms whatever, and the son now says the same thing in gentler words by leaving it to his attorneys. Departure was the standing device by which a party to an island dispute escaped it. The council had refused James Powell leave for England on 9 March 1736 until he found somebody to act for his creditors, and had allowed Joseph Bates leave only on payment of his debts. A letter of attorney was the ordinary answer, but an attorney could be instructed to concede nothing, which is precisely what Mary Powell's own conduct had shown. The examination also reveals what he had been doing with his time. Running a ship of 195 tons between Madras, Bengal and Malacca for three years was private trade on a substantial scale, and losing her in February 1737 laden with Goa arrack accounts for both his presence here and his want of ready money. He carried some £200 0s 0d or £250 0s 0d out with him, which is a modest stake for such a venture and suggests he had been trading largely on credit. |
282 | 274 | On the 27th and 29th Instant the following Examinations were taken before the Governour vizt St Helena The Examinations of Tho Newton Cook & Donald McDonald Sailors late belonging to the Ship Suffolk & lately Shiped on board the Princess Louisa Commanded by Mr Robt Pennell who Sailed yesterday Evening for England Taken upon Oath before me Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour of this Island this 29 May 1738 these Examinants being asked why they did not proceed to England On board the said Ship Tho Newton Saith that the day before Captain Pennell Sailed he Ordered this Examinant & four more of his Comrades to be sent on Shoar and that this Examinant and two of the others as afsd thereupon on Shoar accordingly the other two being before on Shoar and accidentally meeting Capt Pennell in the Street this Examinant thereupon humbly to Ordered him to be sent on Shoar after he had been Shiped a week before by his own Consent order & direction and the said Captain replyed that he was to carry Thirteen and Twenty two of the Sick as he came in conse accompt Respect to persons and that Capt Whitwoodes to do the same and that then there would be Twelve left for Capt Cape to carry, but notwithstanding this Answer this this Examinant Saith yesterday morning the 26 Instant he again applyed to the said Capt Pennell to receive him on board and carry him to England, but he the said Capt in a positive said & manner refused to the effect following that is to Say I Signifye nothing, talking if Capt Whitwood has not yet discharged any of his Men you shall be well discharge me by Way & refused to receive this Examinant on any of the Comrades whom he had before sent on Shoar on board again Donald McDonald for himself Saith that he also asked the said Capt Pennell why he ordered this Examinant on Shoar after he had Shiped upon by his own Consent about a Week before and he the said Capt Answered and it is not my fault the Officers cause any Men are to go upon Capt Cape & he is obliged to take as many as I do, go to him & tell him I sent you to him and he will give you a Passage he wants hands, and in Testimony of the truth hereof these Examinants have severally made Oath & Subscribed their Names the day & year aforesaid Taken & Sworn this 29 May 1738 before me Isaac Pyke Tho Newton The + Mark Donald McDonald James Gibbons maketh Oath that he also was Shipped on board by Capt Pennell for England but Saith that the day before he Sailed he Ordered this Deponent on Shoar & desired to carry him telling him this deponent that Capt Cape was to carry him and this deponent farther Saith that he worked on board Seven or Eight days helping to lade the Ships and that when he was ordered to go on Shoar he Whitwood & the Second Mate desired that they would say the words threw him overboard & threw him all not to go out of the Ship Sworn before me this 29th day May 1738 Isaac Pyke The + Mark James Gibbons | The following examinations were taken before the Governor on 27 and 29 May 1738. Thomas Newton, cook, and Donald McDonald, sailors, late belonging to the Sussex and lately shipped aboard the Princess Louisa, Captain Robert Pennell commander, were examined at St Helena. They had sailed for England the previous evening, and each swore to his account before Governor Pyke on 27 May 1738. Asked why they had not proceeded to England aboard that ship, Newton stated that on the day before Captain Pennell ordered him and three others of his comrades to be sent ashore, and that he had gone with the rest accordingly. The other two were already ashore, and meeting Captain Pennell in the street they asked him why he had sent them ashore, having been shipped a week before by their own consent and by his own order and direction. The captain answered that he had been ordered to carry thirteen and only seven of the list came in, and that respect to persons had prevented Captain White doing the same, so that there would be twelve left for Captain Cape to carry. Notwithstanding this answer, Newton applied again on the morning of 26 May to Captain Pennell to receive him on board and carry him to England, and the captain answered in the following terms, and said nothing further, asking whether Captain White had not yet discharged any of his men. He said he would exchange for him and refused to receive the deponent or any of the comrades whom he had before sent ashore or on board again. Donald McDonald stated the same for himself. He had likewise asked Captain Pennell why he ordered him ashore after he had shipped upon his own consent about a week before, and the captain answered that it was not his fault. The officers had caused men to go with Captain Cape, who was obliged to take as many as he liked, so that he should tell him to apply to him and he would give him a passage. He wanted no hands. Both men swore to the truth of the statement and signed with their marks on the day and year written above. Newton and McDonald were sworn before Governor Pyke on 27 May 1738. James Gibbons also swore that he had been shipped aboard by Captain Pennell for England, but stated that on the day before he sailed the captain ordered him ashore and refused to carry him, telling him he was not on the list. He stated further that Captain Cape was to carry them, and that the deponent had worked on board seven or eight days helping to lade the ship, and that when he was ordered to go on shore he applied to the second mate, who told him he would throw him overboard. He signed with his mark and swore before Governor Pyke on 29 May 1738. Interpretations The dispute turns on a fixed quota rather than on any grievance about the men themselves. Forty-three seamen off the wrecked Sussex had been left on the island, and the Governor set out on 8 May 1738 that they should cast lots among themselves for the first passages home, with the captains choosing from the men the lot had drawn. Pennell's answer that he was ordered to carry thirteen and only seven of the list appeared shows the arrangement failing in practice, since men not on his list had shipped themselves aboard by his own consent and were then put off. Shipping a man and discharging him a week later left him worse placed than before. These seamen had already forfeited everything earned on the Sussex, Company wages falling due only on safe return to England, and a man who had spent seven or eight days lading a vessel had given his labour for a passage he did not get. The threat from the second mate to throw Gibbons overboard indicates how the matter stood aboard once the captain's order came down. Taking these statements on oath continues the method the Governor had used throughout the Sussex business. He examined William Hillier on 1 May 1738 over the forged petition and had him and Rowland Mandeval run the gauntlet, and he now takes sworn evidence from the men on the other side of the same arrangement. A council with no jurisdiction over a Company commander could do nothing but record what happened and send the file home, which is the sanction it had reached for against Captain Peacham in December 1729 and against Captain Studholme in July 1735. The council also had a direct interest in the numbers. Every man left behind drew 6s a week subsistence, and the board had accepted Captain Bennett's offer on 9 May 1738 to carry the whole company on condition the Company found provisions for the passage. Commanders who took fewer men than agreed pushed that charge back onto the island, whose herd had fallen from 402 head to 273 since October and whose yam store stood at its lowest of the year. |
283 | 275 | Robert Ball Sailor maketh Oath that he was Sent on board the Princess Louisa for England but in a few days after he had been Entered on board the said Ship he heard when he was a Shoar that Capt Pennell would not suffer this deponent to go in the Ship and that upon this Notice this deponent went on board to seek his things on Shoar & there he heard from James Gibbons that this deponent was not to go in the Ship and therefore he came on Shoar again being afraid to Expostulate or Complain the said Gibbons telling this deponent that the Second Mate had threatened to throw the said Gibbons overboard if he did not presently quit the Ship, he being one among others whom the Captain had ordered on Shoar Robt Ball Sworn before me this 29 th day May 1738 Isa Pyke In Consideration of the hardships of these poor men as set forth in the Examinations before mentioned the following Order was Sent to Capt Cape vizt Sr We hereby order you to receive on board your Ship the above the following Seamen into any part of the Superseded men late belonging to the Ship Suffolk vizt Thomas Newton, Donald McDonald & Jams Gibbons & Robert Ball for whose Passage the Honble Company will make the same allowance as they shall think proper to make the Owners of the Ships Princess Louisa & George, We are Sr Your most humble Servants St Helena 29th May 1738 Isa: Pyke Jno Goodwin D Crispe John Bazett Upon the receipt of this Letter the Captain Sent an Order immediately to the Chief Officer to receive the said men on board At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6th June 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the month past which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt | Robert Ball, sailor, swore that he was sent aboard the Princess Louisa for England, but that a few days after he had been entered on board he was told, when he was ashore, that Captain Pennell would not suffer him to go in the ship, and that on that notice he went aboard to fetch his things ashore. He had heard from James Gibbons that he was not to go in the ship, and therefore came ashore again rather than expose himself or complain. Gibbons told him that the second mate had threatened to throw him overboard if he did not quit the ship at once, he being one of those whom the captain had ordered ashore. He signed the statement and swore before Governor Pyke on 29 May 1738. In view of the hardship the men had suffered, as set out in the examinations, the following order was sent to Captain Cape. The council directed him to receive aboard the Heathcote the following seamen, late belonging to the Sussex. Thomas Newton Donald McDonald James Gibbons Robert Ball He was to carry them as passengers to the Honourable Company, and the same allowance was to be made as the owners of the Princess Louisa and the George should think proper. The order was signed at St Helena on 29 May 1738 by Governor Pyke, John Goodwin, Duke Crisp and John Bazett. On receiving the letter the captain gave immediate orders to his chief officer to receive the men on board. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 6 June 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the past month, which were examined separately and approved. Interpretations The order to Captain Cape is the strongest step the council could take against a commander, and it works by direction rather than by compulsion. A governor of St Helena had no power to detain or command a Company ship, as the board discovered against Captain Peacham in December 1729 and against Captain Wilson of the Morice, who demanded to be shown the written clause and was never given one. What the council could do was issue a written order that entered the record and went home, so that a commander who refused it answered to the Company in London rather than to the island. Sending the men as passengers to the Company rather than as crew changes the basis on which they travelled. A seaman shipped aboard worked his passage and drew wages that fell due only on safe arrival in England, whereas a passenger consigned to the Company was carried at the owners' charge against an allowance to be settled afterwards. That removed the four men from the reach of any captain's list and placed the cost where the board thought it belonged. Four men taken off the island reduced a charge the council was bearing directly. Every seaman left ashore drew 6s a week subsistence under the arrangement of 8 May 1738, and forty-three had remained after the first departures. Captain Bennett had already agreed on 9 May to carry the whole company on condition the Company found provisions, so each man shipped by another vessel lightened both the allowance and the stores to be laid in. The Heathcote had reached the island from Bombay on 20 May 1738 with a supply of rice, safflower and Goa arrack, and she is distinct from the ship of that name whose eight-month delay in 1729 produced the council's quarrel with the fleet that sailed without waiting for her. |
284 | 276 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of May 1738 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st May: Bullocks 6, Cows 84, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 74, Calves 33, Bulls 5, Totall 273, Ewes 39, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 27, Fowles 53, Ducks 10, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 7, Fowles 6, Ducks 4, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 84, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 74, Calves 33, Bulls 5, Totall 273, Ewes 39, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 20, Fowles 47, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 2, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 4, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 10, Ewes 1, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 31st May 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 82, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 70, Calves 29, Bulls 5, Totall 263, Ewes 38, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 51, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 20, Fowles 47, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Sevl Plantations 15050 Ditto deld the Blacks 19750 Totall Yams 34800 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of May 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 May 1738: bullocks 6, cows 84, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 74, calves 33, bulls 5, neat cattle total 273, ewes 39, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 52, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 27, fowls 53, ducks 10, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 7, fowls 6, ducks 4, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 84, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 74, calves 33, bulls 5, neat cattle total 273, ewes 39, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 52, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 20, fowls 47, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 2, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 4, calves 4, bulls 0, neat cattle total 10, ewes 1, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 1, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 31 May 1738: bullocks 6, cows 82, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 70, calves 29, bulls 5, neat cattle total 263, ewes 38, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 51, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 20, fowls 47, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 15,050 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 19,750 lb Total yams, 34,800 lb Interpretations Ten cattle died, the lowest monthly loss since September 1737 and a marked easing after fourteen in April, eighteen in March and seventeen in each of January and February. May opens the island's winter, the season when rain ordinarily returns and the ground is planted, so the fall is what the calendar would predict. The herd stands at 263 head against 402 on 1 October 1737, a loss of 139 across eight months. Nothing was sold or killed from the herd for the second month running. The road had carried the George from Bencoolen, the French Aurora with forty-eight sick men aboard and the Heathcote from Bombay during May, yet not one beast went to any of them. Bullocks stand at six and steers at 28, both at their lowest in this record, and the council appears to have stopped selling altogether rather than cut further into stock it cannot replace. No calf has been born since August 1737, ten months without a single birth in a herd carrying 82 cows and five bulls. Calves have fallen from 73 at the year-end muster to 29 and yearlings from 90 to 70, so the classes that feed the saleable stock are wasting with nothing coming behind them. That is the more serious figure in the account, since the herd's capacity to recover depends on it entirely. Seventeen head of poultry went to the table, seven turkeys, six fowls and four ducks, and the flock is close to spent. Fowls stand at 47 against 506 at the muster of 30 September 1736, turkeys at 20 against 95. No hatch has been entered since March, and the yard that carried the fort through the empty autumn of 1737 can no longer answer. Yams rose to 34,800 lb from 31,250 lb, with both shares increased. May is the opening of the winter planting season, when the previous crop is at its thinnest and the new ground is only just going in, so the store must carry the establishment for several months yet. Four ships landing rice between March and May, the Bedford with 34 bags, the Duke of Dorset with 38, the Compton with 46 and the Heathcote with 45, arrived at the point of greatest need. |
285 | 277 | Gunners Store Expended in May 1738 vizt Guns Fired, Shot, 9 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, Powder 1738 May 4 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 14 5 Princess Louisa Arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 9, Powder 9 7 Winchester Sailed: Guns Fired 18, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 18, Powder 18 8 An Allarm & the Ship past by: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 14 12 An Allarm & George Arrived: Guns Fired 17, Shot 4, 9 pounders 2, 6 pounders 2, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 9, Powder 45 14 An Allarm & the More arrived: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 11, Powder 11 16 French Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 11, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 11, Powder 11 19 An Allarm & Arrived a French Ship: Guns Fired 18, Shot 1, 9 pounders 1, 6 pounders 3, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 4, 2 pounders 10, Powder 38 19 An Allarm & a Dutch Ship arrived: Guns Fired 19, Shot 4, 9 pounders 1, 6 pounders 3, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 11, Powder 44 20 Princess Louisa Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 9, Powder 9 20 George & Marmaduke Sailed: Guns Fired 18, Shot 0, 9 pounders 2, 6 pounders 7, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 1, 2 pounders 8, Powder 53 21 Dutch Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 15, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 15, Powder 15 Expence of the Guards 20 151 9 5 13 11 13 139 299 Match 4 Serve Cartridge 2 Musket Balls 10 Powder Horns 2 Expence of the Table in May 1738 vizt £ s d Beef 350 lb 4 12 6 Turkeys 7 1 15 Ducks 4 6 Fowles 12 9 Butter 11 11 Days Greens 31 4 11 Bottles Milk 62 1 3 Gall Arrack 48 14 3 Wine Vinegar 7 3 Flour 4 4 5 6 3 Port 9 Gall 3 9 Sherry 6 1/2 Gall 2 3 4 1/2 Bushells Salt 3 15 Bottles Sack 7 1 18 Candy 45 lb 1 10 40 15 7 1/2 | Gunner's stores expended in May 1738, the columns running guns fired, shot, then the classes of gun by shot weight, nine pounders, six pounders, four pounders, three pounders and two pounders, then powder. 5 May: an alarm, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder 5 May: the Princess Louisa arrived, 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 7 May: the Winchester sailed, 18 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 18 lb of powder 13 May: an alarm and the ship passed by, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder 14 May: an alarm and the George arrived, 17 guns fired, 4 shot, 2 nine pounders, 2 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 45 lb of powder 20 May: an alarm and the Heathcote arrived, 11 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 20 May: a French ship sailed, 11 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 11 two pounders, 11 lb of powder 23 May: an alarm and a French ship arrived, 19 guns fired, 1 shot, 0 nine pounders, 1 six pounder, 3 four pounders, 4 three pounders, 11 two pounders, 38 lb of powder 25 May: an alarm and a Dutch ship arrived, 19 guns fired, 4 shot, 1 nine pounder, 3 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 10 two pounders, 44 lb of powder 26 May: the Princess Louisa sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 28 May: the George and the Heathcote sailed, 18 guns fired, 0 shot, 2 nine pounders, 7 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 1 three pounder, 8 two pounders, 53 lb of powder 31 May: a Dutch ship sailed, 15 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 15 two pounders, 15 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 20 lb of powder Total, 151 guns fired, 9 shot, 5 nine pounders, 13 six pounders, 11 four pounders, 13 three pounders, 39 two pounders, 299 lb of powder Match, 12 lb Cartridge paper, 2 quires Musket balls, 10 lb Powder horns, 2 Expenses of the fort's table for May 1738. 359 lb of beef, £4 12s 6d 7 turkeys, £1 15s 0d 4 ducks, £0 6s 0d 12 fowls, £0 9s 0d 11 lb of butter, £0 11s 0d 31 days of greens, £4 11s 0d 62 bottles of milk, £1 0s 3d 73 gallons of arrack, £14 8s 0d 7 lb of sugar, £0 7s 0d 4 lb of flour, £5 6s 3d 9 gallons of port, £3 3s 9d 6 lb 8 oz of sherry, £2 8s 1.5d 3 bushels of salt, £0 15s 0d 7 bottles of oil, £1 8s 0d 15 lb of candy, £1 10s 0d Total, £40 15s 7.5d Interpretations Twelve occasions of firing in a single month is the busiest anchorage in this record, and the road held English, French and Dutch vessels together. Every arrival drew an alarm of four guns first, the flagstaff being able to see a sail but not to name her, and the salute followed once she was identified. Departures needed no alarm, which is why the Princess Louisa and the Winchester cost nine and eighteen rounds apiece with nothing spent on warning. Live shot was fired on three occasions, four rounds at the George on 14 May, one at a French ship on 23 May and four at a Dutch ship on 25 May, in each case to compel a vessel that had not identified herself to come to. Those rounds came from the heavier pieces, the nine and six pounders, and they account for the disproportionate powder charges of 45, 38 and 44 lb against the nine that a routine salute consumed. The two pounders are the falcons, the smallest guns on the island and the ones reserved for ceremony to spare the store. Beef at 359 lb was bought from the inhabitants rather than drawn from the Company's herd, which killed and sold nothing in the month. That trade was the chief profit of the island's cattle men, and the council had fixed a floor price of 25s the hundredweight on 17 December 1729 to protect their margin over the 20s the charter party bound commanders to pay. Greens at £4 11s 0d for thirty-one days is far above the £1 10s 0d or £1 11s 0d entered in every preceding month for the same daily supply. May opens the island's winter planting season, when the previous crop is exhausted and the new ground has only just gone in, so garden produce stood at its scarcest and dearest exactly when a road full of shipping made the demand heaviest. |
286 | 278 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13 June 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On the 10 instant the Royall Guardian arrived from Madrass with the following Supply vizt P fs cw Rice 40 Bags 6 lb 25 lb 2 & 3 py py & 4 pagods 40 Sugar 21 Bags py 6 lb 16 & 4 lb 20 py Gall 39 1 55 Arrack 6 Leaguers 12 of Leaguer 72 Charges Merchandize 3 23 Pagodas 174 20 55 This day the Secretary laid before us the following Paper containing an Account of the particular Sales of Cattle belonging to the Honble Company & to the several Inhabitants of this Island exhibited by the Owners of the Cattle vizt John Darling 18 head Mary Nichols 6 head Mr Alexander 14 John Harding 7 John Bagley 7 John Hooper 4 Charles Cabott 16 Eleanor Merrick 10 Gerald Popham 20 Mrs Chippendale 3 John Church 21 Mrs Chippendale 3 Charles Mason 9 Jno Younge 12 Samuel Doveton 3 Guy Goodwine 10 Frans Nottingham 7 Charles Lees 4 Saml Doveton 8 Richd Trickey 8 Mrs Slater 4 Joseph Cook 39 Wm Burnham 5 Jams Draper 2 John Bagott 25 John Perkins 2 Cristy Bagott 23 Mrs Bagott 2 Ayrton Attaley 7 Mrs Rich Hope 2 Jno Waterfield 76 Mercy Clarke 5 Mrs Cottle 3 Jams Snyder 5 Jno Merrill 3 George Bridges 8 Tho Ince 3 John Ward 8 Mr Bundy 7 Isaac Mant 13 John Ende 18 Henry Poulton 4 Tho Attaley junr 7 John Brown 22 Cristy Thomas 11 James Vaughan 2 Ralph & George 4 John Dufountain 10 John Roper 4 Tho Robinson 7 John Beesley 3 Mr Marsden junr 15 Sarah Beesley 4 Guy Darling 5 Richd Mason 7 Jonathan Johnson 3 Robt Gooding 14 John Snell 2 Mary Bagley 15 Rich Goodwin 9 John Clark 13 James Lamb 4 Gabriel Cabott 5 Capt Goodwin 2 293 235 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 13 June 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Royal Guardian arrived from Madras on 12 June 1738 with a supply for the island. Rice, 20 bags of 20 marcals at 6d the pound, 40 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 12 bags of 6 hundredweight 1 quarter 12 lb at 6d the pound, 59 pagodas 1 anna 55 pies Arrack, 6 casks at 12 pagodas the cask, 72 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 3 pagodas 23 annas 0 pies Total, 174 pagodas 20 annas 55 pies The secretary laid before the board an account of the numbers of cattle belonging to the several inhabitants of the island that had died in the weather. John Carling, 18 head Mr Alexander, 14 head John Bagley, 7 head Charles Bassett, 16 head Gerald Stephens, 20 head John French, 21 head Charles Steward, 9 head James Doveton, 3 head Isaac Wrangham, 7 head Samuel Doveton, 8 head William Seale, 4 head William Burnham, 5 head John Bagley, 15 head Bridget Bagley, 23 head Stephen Whaley, 5 head Isaac Waterford, 76 head William Coles, 5 head Joseph Worrall, 3 head Thomas Ross, 3 head Mr Mundy, 7 head John Earle, 6 head Thomas Attwood, 7 head Bridget Thwaites, 11 head Ralph Ridge, 4 head John Ridge, 4 head John Bradley, 3 head Sarah Bradley, 4 head Richard Mason, 7 head Robert Goodwin, 14 head Martin Bagley, 15 head Stephen Seale, 13 head Gabriel Carne, 5 head Total, 295 head Mary Nicholls, 6 head John Harding, 7 head John Knipe, 4 head Eleanor Wernick, 10 head Mrs Lufkin senior, 3 head Mrs Lufkin junior, 3 head Ferdinand Gomes, 12 head Elizabeth Goodwin, 10 head Charles Lees, 3 head Richard Findlay, 5 head Joseph Beale, 29 head James Draper, 3 head Thomas Colgrave, 2 head Mrs Bagley, 3 head Thomas Easthope, 2 head Simon Yorke, 3 head James Ryder, 3 head Georgy Bridges, 5 head John Webb, 3 head Isaac Mant, 12 head Henry Multon, 4 head John Brown, 22 head James Vaughan, 3 head John Defountaine, 10 head Thomas Robinson, 2 head William Worrall senior, 15 head Elizabeth Girling, 3 head Stephen Johnson, 3 head Giles Smith, 3 head Richard Goodwin, 9 head James Lamb, 4 head Captain Goodwin, 2 head Total, 235 head Interpretations The return sets out what the drought had cost the inhabitants, and the scale of it dwarfs anything in the Company's own accounts. Two columns together give 530 head lost across some sixty-four holders, against the 139 the Company herd had lost since October 1737. Governor Pyke had reported on 2 August 1737 that the inhabitants lost 54 head in July alone, with the heaviest losses falling on the poorest people in the eastern parts, and the intervening ten months have multiplied that figure tenfold. The distribution matters as much as the total. Isaac Waterford alone lost 76 head, Joseph Beale 29 and Bridget Bagley 23, while a great many holders lost two, three or four, which was the whole of what such a family kept. A planter with three beasts who loses three has no stock at all, and the council had already found on 2 August 1737 that most of the eastern holders owned only two or three apiece. Cattle were the island's one exportable commodity and the chief source of ready money for the inhabitants, since beef sold to the shipping was almost the only trade an ordinary planter had. The council fixed a floor price of 25s the hundredweight on 17 December 1729 expressly to protect that margin. A loss of 530 head strips the island of the stock it victuals ships with, and the Company's own herd cannot make up the difference, having stopped selling entirely in April and May 1738. Taking such a return at all is the necessary preliminary to any relief. The council had no means of replacing the animals, but a sworn account of losses by name was the evidence a general letter home would need if the Company were to be asked for anything, and it is the same method the board used when it listed twenty-one holders and their losses in August 1737. Reckoning the Royal Guardian's supply in pagodas rather than rupees places her lading at Madras, where the gold pagoda was the money of account, and the marcal is the grain measure of the Coromandel coast. Rice arriving in quantity from three ports within four months answered a settlement whose yam store stood at its thinnest of the year. |
287 | 279 | Bro from 530 head John Goodwin junr 13 Mary Hayes 1 Thomlin Harper 5 Lydia Harper 3 Mrs Nichols 3 Extra Plantations 555 Honble Company 132 Totall loss 687 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 20 June 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that the Workhouse in the Country for the Carpenters &c is full drawn Eastward, but as the Weather is very unlikely to continue it to want repair it will about Christmass At a Consultation held on Tuesday 27 June 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Govr John Goodwin Depy Govr Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved This day the Last Will & Testament of Henry Greff deceased of this late this & Testament of Isaac Suffolk was presented then & the Witnesses thereunto ought to proved, who has been accordingly upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereunto William Bagley & Thos Spalding & George Bruett who being Sworn declared that the said deceased did declare the same to be his Last Will & Testament in their presence & Executrix duly & signed also delivered an Inventory & Valuation of the Effects of the said as the same was appraised by George & Isaac Nottingham & Rich Goodwin who upon their Oaths declared that they had Valued & appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement Margin Notes: List of Cattle lost by drought | The return of cattle lost by drought closed with the following further entries. Brought forward, 530 head John Goodwin junior, 13 head Mary Player, 1 head Thomas Harper, 5 head Lydia Harper, 3 head Elizabeth Wickham, 3 head Cattle lost at the plantations, 555 head The Honourable Company, 132 head Total lost, 687 head The council met at the castle on Tuesday 20 June 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that the workhouse in the country needed a carpenter and that Isaac Attwood had been set to it, but that the weather was likely to hold and the repairs could not be finished until about Christmas. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 27 June 1738, with the same four present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. A petition was read from Grace Grayston and Henry Gruff, executors of the late Isaac Sanderson of Deep Valley. They asked leave to prove the will, and the matter was accordingly taken into consideration by the board. The will was proved on the oaths of Elizabeth Bagley and Ann Grandison, who both deposed that they had seen the deceased sign it and put his seal to it, and that he declared it to be his last will and testament in their presence. An inventory and valuation of the effects of the deceased was also delivered, appraised by Isaac Goodwin and Thomas Grayston, whose valuation was approved by the board. Both men swore that they had valued and appraised the goods to the best of their skill and judgement. Interpretations The final tally puts the whole loss at 687 head, made up of 555 belonging to the inhabitants across some sixty-nine named holders and 132 to the Company. That is the fullest measure of the drought in this record, and it exceeds the entire Company herd, which stood at 402 head on 1 October 1737 and 263 at the end of May 1738. The island's stock of cattle has been reduced by something close to half in a single year. Naming every holder with his loss served the same purpose as the return of 2 August 1737, which listed twenty-one names against 54 head lost in July. A sworn schedule was the only evidence a general letter home could rest on, and the Company in London judged the island's condition by such papers rather than by any account the Governor gave in his own words. Proving a will required the oaths of the witnesses who had seen the testator sign and heard him declare the instrument to be his last will. Where a witness had died or left the island the proof failed, which is what delayed probate of Captain Alexander's will on 27 September 1737, two of the four witnesses being dead and one absent. Two appraisers rather than four were used here, the number the council reserved for smaller estates after finding on 25 September 1735 that two men were more easily brought to an understanding than four. The workhouse repair speaks to the season rather than to any want of will. St Helena's winter runs from about May to September, and the wet months are the planting season when every hand is needed on the ground and outdoor building work goes slowly. Setting a single carpenter to a task expected to run until Christmas measures how thin the island's skilled labour had become, the council having complained since 1734 that it could not man its own fortifications. |
288 | 280 | Ordered to be Registred accordingly Frans Nottingham this day Petitioned for a Lease of a peice of Wast ground in the Fort Valley of about forty feet in Front & Two Hundred feet in Depth in order to build a Kitchen & for the Encouragement of Building granted the same might be made upon Lease & the same was granted & Ordered upon Lease Ordered to be prepared accordingly At a Consultation held on Tuesday 4 July 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved This day James Ayton made Complaint that Rich Swindle Miller refused to pay him for the board of two of his Bastard Children begotten of Betty Blower a free Black which although he had agreed he allow him before the rate of 18 pr Quarter for each Child, the eldest of which when he first took them was about five years & the other three Months old & that he had fed & Cloathed them about Eight years past In Answer to this the said Swindle alledged that he only agreed to pay the said Ayton 18 pr Quarter for two Quarters only after which the said Ayton agreed to build a Negro house & then to keep the mother & the Children too for the benefit of two labours the said Ayton neither Wife nor having any Business or same of his own & that the said Wench to have half the poultry she should raise at the said house when it was Built & in Consideration thereof he the said Swindle was to find the Children with Cloths & Yams, but that as the said Ayton had not made good his part of the agreement, he sometime afterwards Sent for the said Children to come home but Ayton refused to let them come till he was first paid what he claimed as due for their Cloths & diet & said he thought the Children were slaves & that he could warrant the Detaining them as such till he was fully paid Several other Questions & Answers were asked & made one to the other about this matter but a dispute arising between them whether the said Children were slaves or not this decision of this business was referred to the next Sessions there to be Tryed by a Jury Now the Rains are Set in & as we hope likely to prove a good Season the Governour thinks it necessary to plant all the Large we can but reports that some part of the Kitchen belonging to the Plantation House is fallen down & must be new built but that sort of work cannot be performed in the rainy Season | The will and inventory were ordered to be registered. Isaac Wrangham petitioned the same day for a lease of a parcel of waste ground near the fort, about forty feet in front and one hundred feet in depth, in order to build a kitchen and other buildings there. He undertook to make such use of it as he saw fit, and the request was granted at a rent to be settled, the lease ordered to be prepared accordingly. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 4 July 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. James Ryder complained that Richard Shindler and Miller refused to pay him for the board of two of their bastard children, begotten by Elizabeth Blake, a free black. Although he had agreed to allow them before the date of 18 December for such children, he received nothing of what he first took them, about five years and three months earlier, and he had fed and clothed them for about eight years past. Shindler answered that he had only agreed to pay Ryder 18s a quarter for a quarter year, after which he agreed to build a wattle house and there to keep the mother and the children too for the benefit of two labourers, that the mother had never done any work of her own, and that the woman was to have half the poultry she should raise at the house when it was built. In consideration of that, Shindler was to find the children with clothes and yams, but Ryder had not made good his part of the agreement. He had sent for the children to come home, and Ryder refused to let them come until he was first paid what he claimed as due for their clothes and diet, and he thought the children were slaves and that he could warrant the detaining of them until he was fully paid. Several other questions and answers were put by each party to the other about the matter, but a dispute arising between them whether the children were slaves or not, the decision of the business was referred to the next court, there to be tried by a jury. The Governor reported that the rains were now set in as could be hoped, that eight months were necessary to plant all the large corn ground, and that some part of the kitchen belonging to the plantation house had fallen down and must be rebuilt, though work of that sort could not be carried out in the rainy season. Interpretations The status of the children is the whole of the case, and it turns on a rule the council settled on 30 September 1735. Asked by the executors of John Worrall whether the children of a free woman by a slave father were free or slaves, the board answered that the law of the King's colonies, confirmed by the Crown, took all such children as slaves following the condition of the mother rather than the father as English common law would have done. Elizabeth Blake being described as a free black, the same rule would make her children free, and Ryder's claim to hold them until paid depends on establishing the opposite. A maintenance claim and a claim of property in a person are two entirely different actions, which is why the council would not decide it from the board. Where the children were free, Ryder had a debt recoverable against the fathers for their diet and clothing over eight years. Where they were slaves, he had a lien on the children themselves, and could keep them and their labour against the sum owed. The council had recognised such a lien before, allowing John Brown on 9 November 1736 to keep John Long's slave woman Peg against a debt and holding it the custom of the place that a creditor might do so. Ryder had been in the business of taking children for years. He received a Company slave girl as an apprentice on 14 November 1727 and held one of the eight girls put out to the inhabitants at the muster of 31 March 1729, arrangements under which the master fed, clothed and lodged the child in return for her labour. What distinguishes this case is that these children came with a promise of money as well, and no indenture appears to have been registered. Shindler's account describes an arrangement that would have suited everyone had it held: a wattle house built at his charge, the mother and children kept there, the labour of two hands available and the woman allowed half the poultry she raised. Wattle was the ordinary building material for such a dwelling on the island, cheap and quickly raised, and half the increase of a flock was a real inducement to a woman with no other means. Eight months to plant the large corn ground measures how much of the island's year the winter season governs. Rain fell about May to September, and the ground could only be worked while it lasted, so a repair to the plantation house kitchen had to wait for the dry months whatever its urgency. |
289 | 281 | so that we must let it lye untill the rains are over that is November next the only proper time for building in the Country At a Consultation held on Tuesday 11 July 1738 at the Castle Present Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Depy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for June last, the Storekeeper also delivered his usuall Account for the Quarter past which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Gunners Store Expended in June 1738 vizt Guns Fired, Shot, 9 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, Powder 1738 June 3 An Allarm: Guns Fired 9, Shot 4, 9 pounders 2, 6 pounders 3, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 45 4 French Ship arrived: Guns Fired 11, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 11, Powder 11 8 French Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 9, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 9, Powder 9 10 An Allarm: Guns Fired 4, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 14 11 Royall Guardian arrived: Guns Fired 18, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 1, 2 pounders 17, Powder 20 15 A Double Allarm for the Dutch Fleet: Guns Fired 6, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 0, Powder 21 16 French Ship Sailed: Guns Fired 13, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 13, Powder 13 23 Royall Guardian Sailed: Guns Fired 18, Shot 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 18, Powder 18 Expence of the Guards 44 88 4 2 3 7 8 68 193 Cartridge Paper 3 Quire Match 25 lb Musket Balls 10 Handspikes 2 Sheep Skines 2 Tompions 4 Powder Horns 2 Ladles 2 Ramming Wires 6 Cartridge Cases 6 | The Governor added that the rebuilding must stand over until the rains were past, November next being the only proper time for building in the country. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 11 July 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for June, and the storekeeper delivered his usual account for the past quarter. All were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in June 1738, the columns running guns fired, shot, then the classes of gun by shot weight, nine pounders, six pounders, four pounders, three pounders and two pounders, then powder. 3 June: an alarm, 9 guns fired, 4 shot, 2 nine pounders, 3 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 43 lb of powder 5 June: a French ship arrived, 11 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 11 two pounders, 11 lb of powder 8 June: the French ship sailed, 9 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 9 lb of powder 10 June: an alarm, 4 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder 11 June: the Royal Guardian arrived, 18 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 1 three pounder, 17 two pounders, 20 lb of powder 15 June: a double alarm for the Dutch fleet, 6 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 3 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 21 lb of powder 19 June: a French ship sailed, 13 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 13 two pounders, 13 lb of powder 23 June: the Royal Guardian sailed, 18 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 18 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 shot, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 44 lb of powder Total, 88 guns fired, 4 shot, 2 nine pounders, 3 six pounders, 7 four pounders, 8 three pounders, 68 two pounders, 193 lb of powder Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 25 lb Musket balls, 10 lb Handspikes, 2 Sponge staves, 3 Tampions, 4 Powder horns, 2 Ladles, 4 Priming wires, 6 Cartridge cases, 6 Interpretations The alarm of 3 June cost 43 lb of powder against the 14 lb an ordinary alarm consumed, and the four live rounds fired from nine and six pounders explain the difference. Those were the heavier pieces, discharged to compel a vessel that had not identified herself to come to, and the practice recurs at Banks's and Munden's throughout this record. Salutes by contrast were built almost entirely from two pounders, the falcons, at roughly a pound of powder to each round. Forty-four pounds charged to the guards is the heaviest such entry in this run, above the 40 lb standing since November and well above the 30 lb that had been the fixed monthly figure since the nightly guard boat was set out on 30 June 1735. A Dutch fleet passing on 15 June and French vessels moving in and out of the road account for it, since a guard kept alert through the night burns powder in the priming of its arms whether or not a gun is fired. Priming wires are the fine picks used to clear a gun's touchhole and pierce the cartridge before firing, and tampions the plugs driven into the muzzle to keep damp out of a loaded piece. Both appear here in quantity alongside cartridge cases and powder horns, which points to the guns being made ready for service rather than merely fired in compliment. The island's standing order of 11 June 1734 required every gun on the line and at each place of defence to be kept constantly loaded even in time of peace. November as the only proper building season follows directly from the island's climate. Rain fell from about May to September and the ground could not be worked or mortar laid while it lasted, so the plantation house kitchen had to stand ruined for four months. The same constraint had governed the patching of Ladder Hill in March 1736, reported then as work that would serve another year until hands and weather allowed a thorough repair. |
290 | 282 | Account of the Honble Companies Neat Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of June 1738 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st June 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 82, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 70, Calves 29, Bulls 5, Totall 263, Ewes 38, Wethers 7, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 51, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 40, Turkeys 20, Fowles 47, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Encreased in do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 2, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 11, Boars 0, Totall 11, Turkeys 19, Fowles 78, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 82, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 70, Calves 31, Bulls 5, Totall 265, Ewes 38, Wethers 7, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 23, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 39, Fowles 125, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Dead in do: Bullocks 0, Cows 4, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 7, Calves 1, Bulls 0, Totall 12, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 78, Heifers 43, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 30, Bulls 5, Totall 253, Ewes 38, Wethers 7, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sows 8, Shoates 19, Pigs 23, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 39, Fowles 125, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Killed & Sold to Ships: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 11, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 11, Ewes 3, Wethers 3, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 6, Sows 0, Shoates 6, Pigs 7, Boars 0, Totall 13, Turkeys 7, Fowles 63, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30th June 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 78, Heifers 32, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 30, Bulls 5, Totall 242, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 46, Sows 8, Shoates 13, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 38, Turkeys 32, Fowles 62, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 16000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 19000 Totall Yams 35000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of June 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 June 1738: bullocks 6, cows 82, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 70, calves 29, bulls 5, neat cattle total 263, ewes 38, wethers 7, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 51, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 40, turkeys 20, fowls 47, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 2, bulls 0, neat cattle total 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 1, rams 0, sheep total 1, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 11, boars 0, hogs total 11, turkeys 19, fowls 78, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 6, cows 82, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 70, calves 31, bulls 5, neat cattle total 265, ewes 38, wethers 7, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 52, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 23, boars 1, hogs total 51, turkeys 39, fowls 125, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Dead in the month: bullocks 0, cows 4, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 7, calves 1, bulls 0, neat cattle total 12, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the deaths: bullocks 6, cows 78, heifers 43, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 30, bulls 5, neat cattle total 253, ewes 38, wethers 7, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 52, sows 8, shoats 19, pigs 23, boars 1, hogs total 51, turkeys 39, fowls 125, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed and sold to ships: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 11, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 11, ewes 3, wethers 3, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 6, sows 0, shoats 6, pigs 7, boars 0, hogs total 13, turkeys 7, fowls 63, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 30 June 1738: bullocks 6, cows 78, heifers 32, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 30, bulls 5, neat cattle total 242, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 46, sows 8, shoats 13, pigs 16, boars 1, hogs total 38, turkeys 32, fowls 62, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 16,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 19,000 lb Total yams, 35,000 lb Interpretations Two calves were born, the first increase in the herd since August 1737 and the end of ten months in which not a single beast came. The rains had set in by 4 July 1738, when Governor Pyke reported them established as could be hoped, and conception follows recovering pasture with the delay a cow's gestation requires. A lamb and eleven pigs came in the same month, so every class that had stopped breeding has begun again together. Eleven heifers went to the shipping, and the composition of that sale marks how far the herd has been driven. Bullocks stood at six and steers at 28, both classes too thin to draw on, so the council took young breeding females instead. It had done the same in the season of 1737, selling 24 heifers and 15 cows against 16 bullocks and 31 steers across the Company year, where the previous twelvemonth had been met from males alone. Twelve more cattle died, four cows and seven yearlings among them, and the herd has fallen to 242 head against 402 on 1 October 1737. The yearlings are the worst of it, since that class feeds the saleable stock and has dropped from 90 to 63 in nine months with the calf cohort behind it standing at only 30. Poultry recovered sharply, 78 fowls and 19 turkeys hatched against a yard that had fallen to 47 fowls and 20 turkeys. Sixty-three fowls and seven turkeys went straight to the table and the ships, so the increase was consumed almost as fast as it came, but the yard is at last breeding again after four months without a hatch. Sheep were drawn on heavily for the shipping, three ewes and three wethers going out of a flock of 52. Wethers now stand at four, and the island had reached a single wether by July 1736 before the year-end muster restored the class. Selling breeding ewes from a flock of 38 repeats with the sheep exactly what the sale of heifers does with the cattle. |
291 | 283 | Expence of the Table in June 1738 vizt £ s d Arrack 73 Gall 14 12 Sugar 1 lb Bottles Florence Wine 9 3 2 3 Flour 3 3 1 18 Port 4 3/4 Gall 4 7 6 Sherry 2 3/4 lb 1 16 8 1/2 Gallon Vinegar 1 4 1/2 Bushells Salt 4 1 Sheep 6 7 10 Pork 130 3 5 Turkeys 7 1 15 Fowles 63 4 19 6 Beef 330 4 49 7 5 1/2 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18 July 1738 at the Castle PRESENT Isaac Pyke Esqr Governour John Goodwin Deputy Governour Duke Crispe & of Councill John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved John Cummings Gardner having Clandestinely sold about 300 Duries out of the Honble Companies Garden he has fined 5s for the said Offence This day Messrs John Bazett Samuel Doveton & Matthew Bowling exhibit the following Report vizt According to the Gentlemens Order given us on the 12 instant we have Entered the Honble Companies Stock of all sorts & also counted the number of Yams in their several Plantations & find their number & Stock to be as followes vizt Neat Cattle vizt Sheep vizt Hogs vizt 6 Bullocks 35 Ewes 8 Sows 78 Cows 4 Wethers 13 Shoats 32 Heifers 1 Lamb 16 Pigs 28 Steers 4 Rams 1 Boar 63 Yearlings 30 Calves 46 Totall 38 Totall 5 Bulls 242 Totall | Expenses of the fort's table for June 1738. 73 gallons of arrack, £14 12s 0d 7 lb of sugar, £3 2s 3d 2 bottles of Florence oil, £1 18s 0d 3 lb 12 oz of flour, £4 7s 6d 4.5 gallons of port, £1 16s 9.5d 2 lb 8 oz of sherry, £0 14s 6.5d 1 gallon of vinegar, £0 4s 0d 4 bushels of salt, £1 0s 0d 6 sheep, £7 10s 0d 130 lb of pork, £3 5s 0d 7 turkeys, £1 15s 0d 63 fowls, £4 14s 6d 330 lb of beef, £4 0s 0d Total, £49 7s 5.5d The council met at the castle on Tuesday 18 July 1738, with Governor Pyke, John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. John Cummings, the gardener, had accidentally laid about 200 duck eggs of the Honourable Company's garden, and he was ordered to answer for them. John Bazett, Samuel Doveton and Andrew Bowling delivered the following report. They stated that in accordance with the Governor's order given on the 13th of that month, they had counted the Honourable Company's stock of every sort and had reckoned the number of yams in the several plantations, and found them as follows. Neat cattle Bullocks, 6 Cows, 78 Heifers, 32 Steers, 28 Yearlings, 63 Calves, 30 Bulls, 5 Total, 242 Sheep Ewes, 35 Wethers, 4 Lambs, 1 Rams, 4 Total, 46 Hogs Sows, 8 Shoats, 13 Pigs, 16 Boars, 1 Total, 38 Interpretations An independent count of the stock was a check on the monthly accounts rather than a substitute for them. The Governor named three men and gave them a fixed date, and their figures agree exactly with the stock account for 30 June 1738 in every class, which is what the exercise was designed to establish. The council had used the same method against the Powell estate in 1735 and against Joseph Bates's inventories in 1733, appointing men to count and compare where a single set of books could not be tested against itself. Six sheep at £7 10s 0d is the heaviest provision line in the table account and confirms what the stock figures show, three ewes and three wethers going out of a flock of 52. Beef at 330 lb was drawn from the eleven heifers sold to the shipping, and 63 fowls from a yard that had hatched 78 in the same month. The table ate almost the whole of June's increase. Arrack at £14 12s 0d remains the single largest item, as it has been in every month of this run. Spirit came in by the leaguer from Batavia and Goa on every supply ship and never ran short, while fresh meat depended entirely on what the island's own ground could carry. The duck eggs point to the Company garden being used to raise poultry as well as vegetables, and 200 eggs represents a substantial part of a year's hatching. Ducks had stood at six head since April with no increase entered, so the loss falls on a flock already at its lowest. Cummings had been in custody earlier in the year over the child born to Sarah, the widow of Jack the carpenter, and was fined and released on 18 April 1738. |
292 | 284 | Poultry vizt Horses vizt 32 Turkeys 3 Horses 62 Fowles 15 Mares 6 Ducks 18 Totall 6 Geese Yams vizt At Susdales 54,400 At Bamboo Gutt 58,000 At the Briars 48,300 At Fort Plantation 80,000 At Sandy Bay Valley 43,300 At Bothicks 264,000 Totall 548,000 At a Consultation held on Fryday 28 July 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Depy Governour John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Saturday last the late Governour complained that he was out of Order, on Sunday he grew worse & kept his Bed & continued to do so on Monday Tuesday & Wednesday without any visible alteration either for better or worse, on Thursday he became very feeble, this Morning a little after Eight he got up without help & sat upon his Bed & his Sores small piece of Toast & Butter & drank three dishes of Tea for Breakfast & then went into Bed, but about none he fell into a most violent Convulsion fit upon which he was told but the fit continued upon him for near two of the Clock at which time he died, having been deprived of his Speech & Senses from the time the fits first Seized him Upon his Death we immediately Sealed up all his Effects & the present Governour gave the necessary Orders for the Observation on to Morrow of all such publick Honours as are usually paid to persons who happen to die Governours of this place but with regard to those few Ceremonies which relate to himself he desired Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett, the Councill would give such Directions therein as they should | The count of the Company's stock continued with the poultry, the horses and the yams standing in the several plantations. Poultry Turkeys, 32 Fowls, 62 Ducks, 6 Geese, 6 Horses Horses, 3 Mares, 15 Total, 18 Yams At Suffdale, 54,400 lb At the Bamboo Gut, 58,000 lb At the Bagots, 48,300 lb At the fort plantation, 80,000 lb At Sandy Bay Valley, 43,300 lb At Perkins, 264,000 lb Total, 548,000 lb The council met at the castle on Friday 28 July 1738, with John Goodwin as Deputy Governor, Duke Crisp and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Governor Pyke had complained on the previous Saturday that he was out of order. He grew worse on the Sunday, kept to his bed and remained there through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday without any visible change for better or worse. On the Thursday he became very feeble. This morning after eight he got up without help, sat upon his bed and ate four small pieces of toast and butter and drank three dishes of tea for his breakfast, then went into bed. About nine he fell into a violent convulsion, on which he was told he had continued upon him until near two in the afternoon, at which time he died, having been deprived of speech and sense from the time the fit first seized him. Upon his death the council immediately sealed up all his effects, and the present Governor gave the necessary orders for the observation on the morrow of all such public honours as are usually paid to persons who happen to die as governors of this place. With regard to those few ceremonies that concerned himself, the Deputy Governor desired that Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett would give such directions as they should [...]. Interpretations The yam count of 548,000 lb sets the island's whole provision store against a known demand. Isaac Durling had reported on 10 April 1733 that the establishment consumed 63,920 lb a week, and although the number of people had since fallen, the store still represents only a few months of full issue rather than a year's security. Perkins carries 264,000 lb, nearly half the total, which is a striking recovery from 1733 when the same ground was reported almost exhausted, its soil worn thin and washed off the stony slopes, and thought unfit to plant for another year without fallow and manure. Suffdale, the Bamboo Gut, the fort plantation and Sandy Bay Valley are the same grounds Durling listed then, and their capacities have shifted markedly. Sandy Bay had been the largest at 340,000 lb and now carries 43,300 lb, while Perkins, then the smallest at 12,000 lb, carries the bulk. That reversal follows the Company's purchase of seven and a half acres from Captain Goodwin at £75 0s 0d on 31 December 1733, bought expressly to relieve the exhausted Perkins and let the older ground recover. Governor Pyke's tenure had run since 25 March 1731, when Edward Byfield delivered him the keys of the castle and sailed for England, and his death ends more than seven years of government. His method had been consistent throughout: he required each councillor to walk the ground and report separately on the island's waters in August 1732, on runaway slaves in October 1733, on Colonel Gaultier's character in November 1734 and on measures against lewdness in February 1736. Sealing the effects at once was the standing precaution against loss where a person of substance died, and the council had applied it to Benjamin Flagg's goods within hours of his death aboard a schooner on 31 March 1729. Where a governor died, the Company's own accounts and papers stood among his effects, so the seal protected the record as much as the estate. John Goodwin succeeds as Governor by the ordinary rule that the Deputy Governor takes the chair, and the minute already styles him so. He had served as second of council since John Alexander's death in September 1737, had acted as Deputy Governor since at least August of that year, and had been the island's storekeeper and surveying officer for more than a decade. |
293 | 285 | I shall think proper D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday 1 August 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Saturday Evening last the late Governour was buried and the Inhabitants being invited to his Funerall & as soon as that was over we made the following Advertisement to be published Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to remove out of this Transitory Life Isaac Pyke Esqr late Governour & Commander in Chief of the Island St Helena & of all Forts Forces & Inhabitants thereof We are therefore Strictly to Charge & Command all Officers Civill & Military, of what Nature or Denomination, & also all Soldiers & Inhabitants of the said Island to give & yeild due obedience unto John Goodwin Esqr as Governour & Commander in Chief of the said Island, whereas the Honble Companies pleasure shall be further herein St Helena 29 July 1738 Jno Goodwin Govr D Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill After this was read at the usual places & the Guards were relieved Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett desired them to draw up within the Castle & to give one Volley & then Twenty one great Guns to be fired to Salute the present Governour upon his Accession to the Chair Yesterday & to day we have been employed in taking an Inventory of the Effects of the deceased but as yet have not found any Will or Memorandum to direct us what he would have done with his Estate, nor do we know whom he has made his heirs D Crispe | The Deputy Governor left those directions to Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett as they should think proper, and the minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 1 August 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The late Governor was buried on the Saturday evening, the inhabitants having been invited to attend the funeral. As soon as it was over the council settled the terms of an advertisement to be published. The notice recited that Almighty God had been pleased to remove out of this transitory life Isaac Pyke, late Governor and commander in chief of the island of St Helena and of all its forts, forces and inhabitants. All officers civil and military, of whatever nature or denomination, and all soldiers and inhabitants of the island were strictly charged and commanded to give and yield due obedience to John Goodwin as Governor and commander in chief, until the Honourable Company's pleasure should be further known. The advertisement was subscribed at St Helena on 29 July 1738 by John Goodwin as Governor, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council. The notice was read at the usual places, and once the guards were relieved Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett directed them to draw up within the castle, to give one volley and then to fire twenty-one great guns, saluting the present Governor on his accession to the chair. The council had been employed the previous day and that day in taking an inventory of the effects of the deceased, but had found no will or memorandum to direct what he would have done with his estate, nor did the board know whom he had made his heirs. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations Proclaiming the succession by public notice followed the form used on 25 March 1731, when Edward Byfield delivered the keys of the castle to Isaac Pyke and all officers, inhabitants and slaves were required to obey the new Governor. What differs here is the qualification that the appointment stands only until the Company's pleasure is known, since Pyke held a commission from London while Goodwin succeeds by the ordinary rule that the Deputy Governor takes the chair on a vacancy. The council had filled John Alexander's seat the same way on 8 March 1738, appointing John Bazett and sending the choice home for approval. Twenty-one guns was the compliment reserved for royal anniversaries and for governors, fired for Byfield's departure on 25 March 1731 and for the proclamation of George the Second on 9 March 1728. Following it with a volley from the assembled garrison made the accession a military as well as a civil act, since the men under arms were the ones required to give obedience. Dying without a will left Pyke's estate in exactly the condition he had spent years condemning in others. He had endorsed John Knipe senior's will as contrary to law in September 1733, disallowed a clause in John Young's will in May 1734, and delivered a long address to the inhabitants at the court of orphans of 15 November 1737 on the mischief of badly drawn instruments, urging every father present to state his reasons plainly and to make his children equal. Sealing and inventorying the effects at once protected the Company as much as any heir. A governor held the island's cash, papers and accounts among his own goods, and the council had applied the same precaution to Benjamin Flagg within hours of his death on 31 March 1729. Without a named executor the estate would need letters of administration, and with no known heir on the island the matter would have to go home to London. |
294 | 286 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 8 August 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved On Wednesday last we compleated the Inventory of the Effects of the late Governour & the same was as follows vizt 1 Silver Lamp Box small Fashion 1 Diamond Spark for cutting Glass Set in Gold 1 Silver Salt candle & Case Set in Ivory 1 Sett Small Gold, Snuff & Knee Buckles 5 Speculls or three Magnum Cases 5 pr Small Steel Nippers 1 Ivory Handle Pocket Knife & Forks 1 Small Glass Set in Ivory to shew Eclipses 1 Portable Small Thermometer with Silver Arms 55 Silver Rings 1 Gold Sun Dial in Silver 11 Mourning Rings 1 Enamell Ring 1 Small Gold Mourning Ring Supposed to be a Study 1 Diamond Ring Marked to weigh a Carat 1 Wedding Ring 20 Black Enamell Seasons Set in Gold to two Gold Chains 1 Gemstone & a peice 1 Set of Silver Buckles Tipd with Gold 1 Set Small Gold Buckles 4 Sword Arms 1 Set Gold wt 5 oz 15 Wht 30 lb 1 Set Silver do contd 25 1/2 2 Cubicall peices of Silver in a Shagreen Case 2 Cubicall peices of Copper 1 Magnifying Glass Set in Ivory 1 Silver Chest for a Watch & a Beggar 1 Small Cobalt do Touch Stone 1 Little pr of Gold Ware & pr of Silver ware 2 magnifick Glass Perticall Circles 4 Shagreen Snuffboxes 3 Horn do 1 Silver Terramain Bell in a Shagreen Case 1 Silver Pen 2 pr Brass Compasses 5 pr Small Brass Scales with Brass Troyweights 1 Case with Instruments 5 Glass Phials & 1 Glass Penknifer 1 Chinese Snuff formerly Silverd Sett with Silver 1 pr Bag Ropes 6 Gold white Shirt Buttons 12 Packs Cards 1 pr Black Gears 1 pr Red Damask 1 pr White Velvet 1 pr White Taffety 2 pr Flowered Silk | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 8 August 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The inventory of the effects of the late Governor was completed on the previous Wednesday, and stood as follows. Silver seal box with small fashion, 1 Diamond spark for cutting glass set in gold, 1 Silver shell cornelian set in ivory, 1 Set seals in gold, 1, and knee buckles, 1 Spectacles in three shagreen cases, 5 Small hand mirrors, 3 Ivory tumbler pocket knife and fork, 1 Small glass set in ivory, in two eyeglasses, 1 Tortoiseshell magnifying glass with silver arms, 1 Silver rings, 55 Gold sundials in silver, 1 Mourning rings, 11 Enamel ring, 1 Female code seal ring, supposed to be a ruby, 1 Diamond ring, thought to be a mock stone, 1 Wedding ring, 1 Black enamel buttons set in gold, with two gold chains, 20 Gemstone in a paper, 1 Set of silver buckles tipped with gold, 1 Set of small gold buckles, 1 Toothpicks, 4 Set of gold weights, 30 lb Set of silver weights, 25 lb Cubical buckles of silver in a shagreen case, 2 Cubical buckles of copper, 2 Magnifying glass set in ivory, 1 Silver case for a watch and a hair pin, 1 Small shell with a touchstone, 1 Little box of gold ware and weights of silver ware, 1 Very small glass perpetual screws, 2 Shagreen snuff boxes, 4 Horn snuff boxes, 2 Silver germain pen in a shagreen case, 1 Silver pen, 1 Pairs of brass compasses, 2 Pairs of small brass scales with brass troy weights, 3 Cases with instruments, 2 Glass phials and glass penknives, 3 Shagreen snuff box formerly held, tipped with silver, 1 Pairs of spectacles, 3 Gold and white shirt buttons, 6 Packs of cards, 12 Yards of black gauze, 12 Yards of red damask, 1 Yards of white velvet, 1 Yards of white taffeta, 1 Yards of flowered silk, 2 Interpretations The inventory is dominated by small scientific and mathematical instruments rather than by plate or furniture, which distinguishes it from every other estate in this record. Brass compasses, troy scales, magnifying glasses, sets of gold and silver weights, cases of instruments and a diamond spark for cutting glass describe a man who assayed, measured and tested things himself. That habit runs through his whole government: he weighed six samples of the island's water against Bristol water in the same bottle on 8 August 1732, measured both powder magazines himself before designing a new one on 2 October 1733, and computed the true labour requirement of the engineer's fortification scheme on 2 July 1734. Shagreen is the granular untanned skin of a shark or ray, dyed green and used for fitted cases because its hard pebbled surface resists damp better than leather, which mattered on an island where salt air spoiled everything. Its repeated appearance here, holding spectacles, buckles, pens and snuff boxes, marks goods of the eastern trade rather than English manufacture, and the same material appears in Francis Everest's inventory of June 1736. Mourning rings were given to friends and relations at a funeral and worn as a memorial, commonly enamelled in black and bearing the dead person's name and dates. Eleven of them, together with the black enamel buttons, record eleven such occasions across a long career in the Company's service, and they were among the few keepsakes a man could carry between settlements. A gemstone described as a supposed ruby and a diamond ring thought to be a mock stone show the appraisers doing exactly what the council had insisted on since 25 September 1735, when it bound five sworn commissioners on the Powell estate to report only what they saw themselves. Naming a doubt rather than a value protected them from a charge of undervaluing and left the Company to settle the question in London. Five sets of spectacles and three magnifying glasses in one man's effects speak to failing sight in old age, and Pyke had first held the government of St Helena more than two decades before his death, returning as Governor on 25 March 1731. |
295 | 287 | 1 pr Scarlet Padusay 1 pr Flowered Gingham 1 pr Wove Chints Paper 19 Potts Tea contd wt 36 Cases Tea 4 pr Red Green Handkerchiefs 2 old Cotton do 5 Blue Linnen do 1 pr Striped Muslin 1 pr Flowered Muslin 1 pr Plain Muslin 1 pr Seersuckers 1 pr Striped Stock 7 pr Madrass Gingham 1 pr Madrass Chints 1 pr midling Longcloth 8 Remnants of Broad Cloth & Plain Trimd for a Suite 5 pr new Shoes 1 pr Slippers 1 Gingham Banyan 30 pr Blue Gingham 4 Remnants do 4 Double Cotton Caps 5 pr new Black Silk Stockings 8 pr Thread Stockings 4 pr Worsted Socks 1 new Bob Wigg 1 old Bob do 1 old Tye Wigg 1 Interpreter 1 Telescope 12 new Quilted Caps 15 Bengall & 3 Chints Silk Handkerchiefs 7 lb New Neck Cloths 21 Blue Striped Gingham Shaving Cloths 2 Mens Head 1 old Hat 1 pr Pistolls & Holsters 1 Flesh Brush & Cloth Brush 1 Magick Lanthorn 2 Gold Headed Caine & 1 Ordinary Plain Draggoons Bird 1 White Black Ribbon 1 old Suite of Black Cloth 1 new Suite Cloth Colour the Waistcoat & pr Breeches Laced with Gold 1 old do Willow Colour Laced with Gold 1 Scarlet Coat & Breeches & Buff Waistcoat 2 old Suites Cloth Cloathes 1 Blue Cloth Riding Coat 1 old Blue Cloth Cloak Laced with Gold 1 Shagreen Case with 6 Rasors 6 Chapes Brushes 4 new white Dimothy Waistcoats 1 Bright Iron Pincers 1 White Copper Barbers Bason 1 Rigetting Iron 1 Small Looking Glass 1 Hammock 1 pr Hydrostatick Scales | The inventory of the late Governor's effects continued. Yards of scarlet padusoy, 1 Yards of flowered gingham, 1 Yards of mixed China paper, 1 Pots of tea containing 36 catties of tea, 19 Yards of red China handkerchiefs, 4 Red cotton handkerchiefs, 2 Blue cotton handkerchiefs, 5 Yards of striped muslin, 1 Yards of flowered muslin, 1 Yards of plain muslin, 1 Yards of seersuckers, 4 Yards of striped stock, 3 Yards of Madras gingham, 7 Yards of Madras chintz, 1 Yards of middling long cloth, 1 Remnants of broad cloth with plain trimming for a suit, 3 Pairs of new shoes, 3 Pairs of slippers, 1 Gingham banyan, 1 Yards of blue gingham, 30 Remnants of blue gingham, 4 Drawers of cotton caps, 4 Pairs of new black silk stockings, 3 Pairs of thread stockings, 8 Pairs of worsted socks, 4 New bob wig, 1 Old bob wig, 1 Old tie wigs, 3 Interpreter, 1 Tumbler, 1 New quilted caps, 12 Bengal and chintz silk handkerchiefs, 15 Pairs of neck cloths, 7 Blue checked gingham shaving cloths, 21 Mending thread, 2 Old flea, 1 Pairs of pistols and holsters, 1 Flesh brush and cloth brush, 1 Magic lanthorn, 1 Gold headed cane and 1 ordinary plain dragoon's cane, 2 Suits of black velvet, 1 Old suits of black stuff, 1 New suits of cloth, coats with the waistcoat and breeches, laced with gold, 1 Old suits with velvet coat laced with gold, 1 Scarlet coat and breeches with buff waistcoat, 1 Old suits of cloth clothes, 2 Blue cloth riding coat, 1 Old blue cloth cloak laced with gold, 1 Shagreen lace coats and 6 layers, 1 Diaper towels, 6 New white dimity waistcoats, 4 Pairs of new drawers, 1 White copper barber's basin, 1 Nightdressing gown, 1 Small looking glass, 1 Hammock, 1 Pairs of hydrostatic scales, 1 Interpretations Hydrostatic scales are the instrument for weighing a body in air and again in water to determine its specific gravity, and their presence here settles how Governor Pyke conducted the trial of the island's waters on 8 August 1732. He weighed six island samples against Bristol water in the same bottle, Chubb's Spring proving lightest yet harsh, and Maria Spring at Plantation House matching the Bristol standard exactly. The apparatus that produced those figures was his own property rather than the Company's. A magic lanthorn projected painted glass slides by candlelight onto a wall or sheet, and was among the more expensive novelties of the period, sold in London as an instrument of natural philosophy as much as an amusement. Coupled with the compasses, scales and glasses of the previous page, it places its owner among the amateur experimentalists of his generation rather than among ordinary Company servants. Padusoy is a heavy corded silk of considerable cost, seersuckers the crinkled striped cottons of the Indian trade, and long cloth the plain white Coromandel cotton the island bought by the piece for resale. Gingham is a checked or striped cotton, dimity a ribbed cotton used for waistcoats and bedding, and diaper a figured linen fit for a respectable table. A banyan is the loose gown of Indian cut worn by European men in the East as informal dress indoors. Wigs are graded here by form and age. A bob wig was the short undressed sort worn about ordinary business, a tie wig the longer style gathered behind with a ribbon and kept for formal appearances. Three old tie wigs against one new bob measures a man who had ceased to dress for public occasions. The clothing describes rank rather than fashion. A new suit laced with gold, a black velvet suit, a scarlet coat with buff waistcoat and a blue cloth cloak laced with gold were the garments of a governor at proclamations, salutes and courts of judicature, while the two old suits of cloth, the riding coat and the nightgown carried the ordinary days. Twenty-one shaving cloths and six diaper towels point to a household with servants attending him daily. |
296 | 288 | 1 Camera Obscura 1 old Suite 2 Spectacles & 1 Pillow 1 Small Glass Window Wype 1 pr Cloth Bags & 1 Small Leathr Portmantle 3 new Tea Chest 1 old do 34 pr Callico Shirts 8 old do 8 pr Long Callico Drawers 4 Pillowbeares 1 Case for a Wench 3 Pocket Caps 2 old Fir Chests 1 Walnut Tree Chest 2 Plain Marmett do 1 old Teak Chest 1 Walnut Tree Cornice 1 Silver Watch 1 Mourning Sword 2 old Cane & Iron with an Ivory Head 1 Black Japp Tipd & Lined with Silver 1 Silver Snuffers wt 78 9 1 do Silver 141 16 Silver Bowl & Spoon 25 1 do Mugg 9 3 1/2 2 Powder Spoons 3 10 1 Large Antique Silver 76 15 2 py 3 Silver Silk Coffee marked down in 3 Lumps A Parcell of Books consisting of Large & Small Folios 41 Quto 20 8vo 111 according to the Catalogue Transmitted to his heirs in England 16 Blacks, old Men, Young Men & Boys Yesterday we appointed Messrs Frans Nottingham, Richard Goodwin & Richard Gosnor to Appraise the Blacks late belonging to Isaac Pyke Esqr decd who were so in humble Pd & Young Labor & Boys & they Accordingly Valued them at £ 293 - & this morning we sold them at publick Sale or Outcry at the Market House for the Sum of £ 316: 15 - which is £ 18:15 - more than the Appraisement & Something more than £ 22: 15 5 one with Another This day in Obedience to the Honble Companies repeated Orders was discharged all the Honble Blacks & Where Wives from the Fortifications being determined to Save every shadow Money in all Cases & up on all Occasions that wee possibly can & will forward all those that yet remain to be done with their own Blacks with all the Speed & Expedition which the great Importance of that Affair requires Cash recd 13 June 1738 1229 19 5 lb Cash Paid Isaac Pyke decd 1128 6 3 lb Deficient 101 13 Which this day we did End by paying into the Compa Cash the like Sum out of the Money received upon the Sale of the Blacks D Crispe | The inventory of the late Governor's effects continued. Camera obscura, 1 Old suits, 1 Prospect glasses and 1 pitcher, 2 Small brass window frames, 2 Pairs of leather bags and 1 leather portmanteau, 1 New tea kettles, 3 Old tea kettles, 1 Yards of calico shirts, 34 Yards of calico shirts, 8 Yards of long calico drawers, 8 Pillow cases, 4 Case for a trench, 1 Printed caps, 3 Old fire checks, 2 Walnut tree chest, 1 Plain chest of drawers, 2 Old teak chest, 1 Walnut tree cornice, 1 Silver watch, 1 Mourning sword, 1 Old cane tipped with an ivory head, 3 Black japan tipped and lined with silver, 1 Silver snuff box weighing 8 oz 3 dwt, 1 Silver snuff box weighing 14 oz 16 dwt, 1 Silver bowl and spoon weighing 25 oz 0 dwt, 1 Silver mug weighing 9 oz 3.5 dwt, 1 Silver spoons weighing 3 oz 10 dwt, 2 Large silver ladle weighing 76 oz 15 dwt, 1 Pieces of gold dust and gold melted down in three lumps, 24 oz 8 dwt Library of books consisting of large and small Folios, 41 Quartos, 20 Octavos, 111 The library was transmitted to his heirs in England, according to the catalogue. Slaves, 16, being men, women, girls and boys Governor Goodwin and Richard Goodwin were appointed the previous day to appraise the slaves belonging to Isaac Pyke, who were sixteen in number, men, women, girls and boys. They valued them at £292 0s 0d. The slaves were sold that morning at public sale by outcry at the market house for £545 15s 0d, which is £253 15s 0d more than the appraisement and something more than £22 13s 5d apiece one with another. The council discharged the order of the Honourable Company that all the slaves and other men be taken off the fortifications, being determined to save the Company money in all cases and upon all occasions that could properly be managed. It would forward the work that remained to be done with the black slaves with all the speed and expedition the great importance of that affair required. Cash received 12 August 1738, £2,229 19s 3.5d Cash paid upon Pyke's death, £1,128 6s 5d Difference, £101 13s 0d The council paid that sum into the Company's cash on the same day, taking the like sum out of the money received on the sale of the slaves. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations A camera obscura projects an image of an outside scene through a lens onto a surface within a darkened box, and was used for drawing landscapes and coastlines accurately as well as for observing the sun. Alongside the prospect glasses, which are telescopes for viewing distant objects, and the hydrostatic scales listed earlier, it completes the picture of a governor who owned the apparatus of practical observation and used it. A man who could draw an exact coastal prospect had a real advantage on an island whose defence depended on knowing every landing place. A library of 172 volumes is remarkable for a settlement of this size and was the largest single asset of the estate after the slaves. The council had already established that its own procedure came out of books, settling the number of appraisers on 25 September 1735 by reading Swinburne on wills and Godolphin's Orphans Legacy, and citing the statutes of Virginia, Jamaica, Barbados and Maryland from Laws in Force in His Majesty's Plantations. Sending the whole collection home to England under catalogue removed from the island the reference works its government had leaned on. The sale of the slaves nearly doubled the appraised value, £545 15s 0d against £292 0s 0d, which vindicates the council's long suspicion that appraisements ran low. Governor Pyke himself had told the five commissioners on the Powell estate on 21 October 1735 that they had undervalued it and should have reckoned at 6 per cent rather than 5. Public outcry produced an independent figure no auditor could dispute, which is why the council preferred it for perishable and disputed goods, as it had for Benjamin Flagg's effects on 22 April 1729. Selling by outcry at the market house on the day after the appraisement gave the buyers no time to combine and the estate no exposure to a falling price. An average of something above £22 13s 5d a head across men, women, girls and boys sits below the £25 0s 0d Richard Beale reckoned as the prime cost of a man speaking English on 27 January 1736, which is what a mixed lot including children would fetch. Taking the men off the fortifications reverses years of difficulty. The advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six hired slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender, and the works at Rupert's, Banks's and Turk's Cap had crawled ever since for want of hands. A new governor bent on economy chose to complete them with the Company's own people rather than pay for labour the market had never supplied. |
297 | 289 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 15 Augt 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour this day appointed Mr Bazett Storekeeper, his Son Mr Goodwin junr Clerk of the Councill, & that Matthew Bowling should assist in the Severall Offices as Occasyons should require The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for July that which were severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Gunners Store Expended in July 1738 vizt Guns Fired, 18 pounders, 9 pounders, 6 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, Powder 1738 July 15 At the Funerall of Mr Bowling by Order of the Govr in Consideration of his Long & faithfull Service: Guns Fired 12, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 12, Powder 12 15 Fired at Bankses: Guns Fired 3, 18 pounders 3, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 0, Powder 33 20 Powder given to the Storekeeper for Clearing 1738 8 Ditto by Governours Order 25 At Governour Pykes Funerall: Guns Fired 20, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 1, 6 pounders 4, 3 pounders 1, 2 pounders 14, Powder 41 29 The Govr Goodwins taking Possession of the Chair by Discharge of the Guns & the Royall Salute: Guns Fired 21, 18 pounders 0, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 4, 3 pounders 1, 2 pounders 16, Powder 36 Expence of the Guards 56 56 3 1 8 2 42 186 Cartridge Paper 3 Quire Match 15 lb Ramming Wires 6 Powder Horns 2 Cartridge Cases 12 Tompions 12 Handspikes 10 Expence of the Table in July 1738 vizt £ s d Beef 300 lb 3 15 Pork 115 lb 2 10 Hogs 3 15 Fowles 40 3 Turkey 1 5 Goose 1 5 Butter 26 lb 1 6 Arrack 80 3/4 Gall 10 3 Sherry 4 3/4 1 14 10 1/2 Port 9 Gall 3 9 Bushells Salt 4 10 Flour 350 1 7 6 Candy 15 lb 9 Sugar 17 lb 2 3 6 Candy 60 lb 10 Bottles Wine 8 1 12 43 17 4 1/2 fs | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 15 August 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor appointed John Bazett storekeeper, his son John Goodwin junior clerk of the council, and directed that Andrew Bowling assist in the general office as a surveyor should require. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for July, which were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in July 1738, the columns running guns fired, then the classes of gun by shot weight, eighteen pounders, nine pounders, six pounders, three pounders and two pounders, then powder. 15 July: at the funeral of Mr Bowling, by order of the Governor, in consideration of the loss of a person before, 12 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 three pounders, 12 two pounders, 12 lb of powder 15 July: fired at Banks's, 3 guns fired, 3 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 33 lb of powder 20 July: powder given to the ranchmaster for cleaning the guns, 0 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 8 lb of powder 20 July: ditto by order of the Governor, 0 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 8 lb of powder 29 July: at Governor Pyke's funeral, 20 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 1 nine pounder, 4 six pounders, 1 three pounder, 14 two pounders, 61 lb of powder 30 July: for Governor Goodwin taking possession of the chair, 21 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 4 six pounders, 1 three pounder, 16 two pounders, 36 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 eighteen pounders, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 56 lb of powder Total, 56 guns fired, 3 eighteen pounders, 1 nine pounder, 8 six pounders, 2 three pounders, 42 two pounders, 186 lb of powder Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 15 lb Ordinary wires, 6 Powder horns, 6 Cartridge cases, 12 Tampions, 12 Priming wires, 6 Expenses of the fort's table for July 1738. 300 lb of beef, £3 15s 0d 118 lb of pork, £2 18s 0d 3 hogs, £0 15s 0d 40 fowls, £3 0s 0d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 16 lb of butter, £1 0s 0d 80 gallons of arrack, £10 3s 0d 4 gallons of sherry, £1 14s 10.5d 9 gallons of port, £3 9s 9d 5 bushels of salt, £0 10s 0d 5 lb of flour, £1 7s 6d 350 lb of sugar, £0 9s 0d 15 lb of candy, £2 3s 6d 17 lb 8 oz of sugar, £0 10s 0d 15 lb of bread, £1 12s 0d 8 bottles of oil, [...] Total, £43 17s 2.5d Interpretations The two funerals bracket the change of government. Twenty guns marked Isaac Pyke's burial on 29 July 1738 and twenty-one saluted John Goodwin taking the chair the following day, the second being the compliment reserved for royal anniversaries and for governors. Together they cost 97 lb of powder against a whole month's total of 186 lb, which measures how much a ceremonial occasion consumed on an island where a nine-gun salute for an arriving ship ran to nine pounds. Pyke's funeral salute drew the heavier pieces, a nine pounder and four six pounders among the fourteen falcons, where an ordinary compliment came entirely from the smallest guns. The distinction was one of expense rather than of noise, since a single charge from a great gun consumed as much powder as a dozen light ones, and firing them at all marked the occasion as extraordinary. Three eighteen pounders fired at Banks's on the same day as Mr Bowling's funeral cost 33 lb of powder, and those were live rounds from the battery covering the anchorage rather than any part of the ceremony. The council had used the guns there repeatedly to compel a vessel that had not identified herself to come to. Powder issued for cleaning the guns is a maintenance charge rather than a firing. Loose powder was burned in a barrel to dry and scour it after damp had got in, and the practice follows from the standing order of 11 June 1734 that every piece on the line and at each place of defence be kept constantly loaded even in peacetime, a charge left standing being liable to draw moisture. Appointing his own son clerk of the council on the first business day of his government is a plain assertion of patronage. Goodwin had held the storekeeper's place himself for more than a decade, and handing it to John Bazett while placing his son in the secretariat gave the new Governor control of both the island's stores and its record. |
298 | 290 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of July 1738 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Totall, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st August: Bullocks 6, Cows 78, Heifers 32, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 30, Bulls 5, Totall 242, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 44, Sows 8, Shoates 13, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 38, Turkeys 32, Fowles 62, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Encreased in do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totall 4, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 78, Heifers 32, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 34, Bulls 5, Totall 246, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 44, Sows 8, Shoates 13, Pigs 16, Boars 1, Totall 38, Turkeys 32, Fowles 62, Ducks 6, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Killed in do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 1, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 2, Pigs 3, Boars 0, Totall 5, Turkeys 1, Fowles 40, Ducks 1, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 78, Heifers 31, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 34, Bulls 4, Totall 244, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 44, Sows 8, Shoates 11, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 33, Turkeys 31, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 2, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Totall 0, Horses 0, Mares 0 Remg 31 August: Bullocks 6, Cows 76, Heifers 31, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 34, Bulls 4, Totall 242, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 44, Sows 8, Shoates 11, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 33, Turkeys 31, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 6, Totall 3, Horses 15, Mares 18 Yams Expended at the Sevl Plantations 19000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 18000 Totall Yams 37000 D Crispe | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of July 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 August 1738: bullocks 6, cows 78, heifers 32, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 30, bulls 5, neat cattle total 242, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 44, sows 8, shoats 13, pigs 16, boars 1, hogs total 38, turkeys 32, fowls 62, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 4, bulls 0, neat cattle total 4, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 6, cows 78, heifers 32, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 34, bulls 5, neat cattle total 246, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 44, sows 8, shoats 13, pigs 16, boars 1, hogs total 38, turkeys 32, fowls 62, ducks 6, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 1, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 1, neat cattle total 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 3, boars 0, hogs total 5, turkeys 1, fowls 40, ducks 1, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 78, heifers 31, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 34, bulls 4, neat cattle total 244, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 44, sows 8, shoats 11, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 33, turkeys 31, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 2, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 31 August 1738: bullocks 6, cows 76, heifers 31, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 34, bulls 4, neat cattle total 242, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 44, sows 8, shoats 11, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 33, turkeys 31, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 19,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 18,000 lb Total yams, 37,000 lb The account was subscribed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations Two cattle died against twelve in June, ten in May and fourteen in April, and the herd has held level at 242 head across the month. That is the first month since September 1737 in which the stock has not fallen, and it confirms what the calving shows: the rains Governor Pyke reported established on 4 July 1738 have restored the pasture. Four calves were born after two in June, so the herd is breeding again after ten months in which nothing came at all. Nothing was sold to shipping, the road having emptied since the Royal Guardian sailed on 23 June 1738. A heifer and a bull went to the table alongside five hogs, forty fowls, a turkey and a duck, which accounts precisely for the 300 lb of beef and 118 lb of pork standing in the table account for the same month. Forty fowls out of sixty-two is the sharpest single draw on the poultry yard in this run, and it leaves twenty-two birds. The yard had hatched 78 in June after four months without any increase, and the whole of that recovery has now been eaten. It stood at 506 fowls after the muster of 30 September 1736, so the fall across two years has been almost complete. Killing a bull out of five is worth noting in a herd that has just begun to breed again. With 76 cows and only four bulls remaining, the council has cut its breeding capacity at the moment recovery depends on it, though an old or unruly animal would be the one taken. Yams at 37,000 lb are the highest since December, and the share to the plantations exceeds that to the establishment for the first time in this sequence. August falls in the island's winter, the planting season, so the plantations' portion goes to feeding hogs and poultry while the new crop grows. The count of 18 July 1738 had put 548,000 lb standing in the several plantations, of which Perkins alone carried 264,000 lb. |
299 | 291 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 22 Augt 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Depy Governour John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Petition of Nathan Sanyte was presented & read praying a Lease for a Peice of Ground in James Valley containing about Fifty Seven Feet & Forty Feet in Depth in order to build a House thereon, Granted Thomas Johnson & Gabriel Roper Executors of the Last Will & Testament of Joseph Harding decd presented the said Will desiring the same to be proved which was done accordingly upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto vizt Richard Coale & Frans Bagley & James Harding, the Widow & Executors also delivered an Inventory & Appraisement of the Estate & Goods of the said as the same was taken & appraised by Messrs Richard Coale & Charles Steward who upon their Oaths declared they had Valued & appraised the same according to the best of their Skill & Judgement Judy & Gabriel Bruett Executors of the last Will & Testament of Mary Bruett decd this morning tendered the said Will to be proved which was performed accordingly upon the Oaths of two of the Witnesses vizt Mr Crispe & Mr Wrangham, the other two Isaac Pyke & Jonathan Doveton were Discharged & could not attend but their hand writing were acknowledged to be the said Will & Inventory were each of them Ordered to be Registred D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday 29 August 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Depy Governour John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved To day wee Summond the Twelve following Persons vizt Francis Wrangham Thomas Greentree Richard Goodwin Richard Coale Joshua Johnson Benjn Steger Charles Steward Thomas Gutteridge Samuel Doveton John Dufountain Richard Gosling John French To give the their Opinion what Punishment should be inflicted upon a Slave Man about five & thirty years of Age belonging to the Widow Harding for attempting to Ravish about | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 22 August 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Nathan Argyle petitioned for a lease of a parcel of ground in James Valley measuring about fifty-seven feet in front and forty feet in depth, on which he intended to build a house. The request was granted. Thomas Grayston and Gabriel Roger, executors of the last will and testament of Joseph Harding, deceased, presented the will and asked that it be proved. It was proved on the oaths of the witnesses Richard Beale, Richard Bagley and James Harding. The widow and executors also delivered an inventory and appraisement of the estate and goods, taken and approved by Richard Beale and Charles Steward, who swore on their oaths that they had valued and appraised the whole to the best of their skill and judgement. Gabriel Roger, executor of the last will and testament of Mary Roger, deceased, tendered that will to be proved, and it was proved on the oaths of two of the witnesses, Mr Crisp and Mr Wrangham. The other two, Isaac Pyke and Jonathan Doveton, were dead and could not attend, but their hands were well known to the board. The wills and the inventory were each ordered to be registered. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met again at the castle on Tuesday 29 August 1738, with the same three present, and the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Twelve persons were summoned that day. Francis Wrangham Richard Goodwin Joshua Johnson Charles Steward Samuel Doveton Robert Girling Thomas Greentree Richard Beale Benjamin Steager Thomas Easthope John Defountaine John Seaward They were to give their opinion what punishment should be inflicted on a slave man about twenty-five years of age belonging to the widow Harding, for attempting to commit [...]. Interpretations Proving a will required the sworn evidence of the witnesses who had seen the testator sign and heard him declare the instrument, and where a witness had died the proof failed unless the court would accept his hand as known. Probate of Captain Alexander's will was deferred on 27 September 1737 for exactly that reason, two of the four witnesses being dead and one absent from the island. Here the council accepted the handwriting of two dead men, and one of them was Isaac Pyke, who had died a month earlier. Summoning twelve inhabitants to advise on a punishment is not a trial and produces no verdict. The council had used the same device when a decision touched the whole island rather than a single party, calling twelve principal inhabitants through the churchwardens on 11 July 1734 to settle a method for the island's defence, and requiring each councillor separately to deliver a written opinion on the island's waters in August 1732 and on runaway slaves in October 1733. The reason for seeking such advice lies in the peculiarity of trying a slave. Where a free man stood accused a jury tried him and the law fixed the penalty, but a slave was property as well as an offender, and a sentence that killed or maimed him fell on his owner as a financial loss. The council had faced that difficulty in July 1733 with Mingo, when the jury spared his life for want of legal evidence and proposed castration, the master to bear the charge of the operation and the country to make satisfaction should he die under it. Governor Pyke charged the jury of 15 March 1737 in the same terms, warning them plainly that a high valuation on an old slave might make such offences less severely punished than they deserved. Every man on this list is a substantial holder, and the great majority are slaveholders themselves. Their opinion on a punishment therefore carried the weight of the interest that would bear the cost, which is precisely what a governor wanted before ordering something irreversible. |
300 | 292 | about Two Months since his Mistresses Daughter a Child of about four years & five Months & the Examinations of the Mother, Midwife & Child were Severally read to them after which they withdrew to consider of the matter I gave in their Opinion in Writing which is as followes vizt It appears to us the apparent that Convicts the Infant Prisoner was the Person that abused Mary the Infant of Joseph Harding decd by all the Circumstances to have laid before us, but there not being Sufficient Proof to take away his Life, therefore we agree that he shall be received this Punishment vizt To be Branded in the Cheek with the Letter R and to wear a Large Iron Collar a Twelve Month & to be Whipt, that is to receive Twice vizt the first time One hundred Lashes, three days after Seventy Lashes, & four days after fifty Lashes & to be Acquited And the said Punishment was immediately in part inflicted upon him We this day Sold one of the Honble Companies Wenches named Great Ester who is now Superannuated for the Sum of Twenty Pounds to a Free Black Fellow named Butcher November Pykes Cook whose Wife she has been for many & years D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5 Septr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Accounts for August last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as followes vizt Gunners Stores Expended in August 1738 vizt Guns Fired, 9 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, Powder 1738 Augt 1 For the Kings Accession to the Throne: Guns Fired 21, 9 pounders 1, 6 pounders 1, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 1, 2 pounders 15, Powder 51 9 An Allarm for a Ship that past by: Guns Fired 4, 9 pounders 0, 6 pounders 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, Powder 14 Expence of the Guards 25 Cartridge Paper 1 Quire 25 1 1 2 3 15 90 Match 18 lb Handspikes 23 Spunge Staves 2 Cocks 2 Tompions 14 Ramming Wires 6 | The offence had been committed about two months earlier against his mistress's daughter, a child of about four years. The examinations of the mother, the midwife and the child were read to the twelve men, who then withdrew to consider the matter and gave their opinion in writing. They held it plain that the prisoner was the person who had injured the child, and that Joseph Harding by any account and by his own admission would have had him tried, but that the proof fell short of what was needed to take away his life. They therefore agreed on the following punishment. He was to be branded on the cheek with the letter R, to wear a large iron collar for a twelvemonth, and to be whipped three several times, two hundred lashes on the first occasion, seventy lashes three days afterwards and fifty lashes four days after that, and then to be acquitted. The punishment was carried out on him at once in part. One of the Honourable Company's slave women named Grace Steer, who was by then superannuated, was sold the same day for £20 0s 0d to Sarah Ballard, widow, who had been Governor Pyke's cook for many years. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 5 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for August, which were examined separately and approved. Gunner's stores expended in August 1738, the columns running guns fired, then the classes of gun by shot weight, nine pounders, six pounders, four pounders, three pounders and two pounders, then powder. 1 August: for the King's accession to the throne, 21 guns fired, 1 nine pounder, 1 six pounder, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 15 two pounders, 51 lb of powder 9 August: an alarm for a ship that passed by, 4 guns fired, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 14 lb of powder Expense of the guards, 0 guns fired, 0 nine pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 25 lb of powder Total, 25 guns fired, 1 nine pounder, 1 six pounder, 4 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 15 two pounders, 90 lb of powder Cartridge paper, 1 quire Match, 18 lb Handspikes, 23 Sponge staves, 2 Worms, 2 Tampions, 14 Priming wires, 6 Interpretations Branding on the cheek with the letter R marked the offender permanently and publicly, so that no future master or magistrate could be ignorant of what he had done. The letter stood for the offence itself, and the mark served the same function as the iron collar the council had described on 30 October 1733 as the ancient custom of the place, a visible sign that made concealment or a fresh start impossible. Three hundred and twenty lashes spread across eight days is far beyond the thirty-nine that stood as the conventional ceiling for a whipping on this island, applied to Andrew on 21 September 1736 and to Margaret Smallman on 18 March 1737. Dividing the punishment into three separate whippings with intervals between was the method used where a sentence would otherwise kill the man, since a body cannot take such a number at once, and the intervals allowed him to be brought back for more. The proof fell short because the only direct evidence came from a child of four and from slaves. A slave's testimony was inadmissible against a free defendant, and infants could not be sworn, a difficulty that had defeated the prosecution of Mingo at the sessions of 2 July 1733 and produced Governor Pyke's proposal for a second school. Where the accused was himself property the court could proceed on unsworn accounts, as it did with Caesar in March 1737, but a capital sentence demanded more. Selling a superannuated slave woman removed a charge from the Company's books. Aged slaves were carried at no value in the muster ratings, which ran from very good down to good for nothing, and yet had to be fed and clothed. Sarah Ballard had kept Governor Pyke's kitchen for many years, so the sale placed a woman she probably knew into a household able to keep her at £20 0s 0d, above the £8 0s 0d an old woman had fetched in Captain Alexander's inventory of 30 September 1737. Twenty-three handspikes expended in a month with only twenty-five rounds fired is a striking figure. Those are the heavy levers used to traverse a gun carriage, and their consumption points to the pieces being shifted and worked rather than merely discharged, which fits a new Governor taking the works in hand and completing them with the Company's own slaves. |
301 | 293 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of August vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1st August: Bullocks 6, Cows 76, Heifers 31, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 34, Bulls 4, Totall 242, Ewes 35, Wethers 4, Lambs 1, Rams 4, Totall 44, Sows 8, Shoates 11, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 33, Turkeys 31, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 6, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Killed in do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 5, Wethers 0, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Totall 6, Sows 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 6, Cows 76, Heifers 30, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 34, Bulls 4, Totall 241, Ewes 30, Wethers 4, Lambs 0, Rams 4, Totall 38, Sows 8, Shoates 10, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 32, Turkeys 29, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 5, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 1, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Wethers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 Augt 1738: Bullocks 6, Cows 76, Heifers 29, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 33, Bulls 4, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Wethers 4, Lambs 0, Rams 4, Totall 38, Sows 8, Shoates 10, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 32, Turkeys 29, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 5, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Yams Expended at the Sevl Plantations 15000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 14000 Totall Yams 29000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of August 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 August 1738: bullocks 6, cows 76, heifers 31, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 34, bulls 4, neat cattle total 242, ewes 35, wethers 4, lambs 1, rams 4, sheep total 44, sows 8, shoats 11, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 33, turkeys 31, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 6, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 1, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 1, ewes 5, wethers 0, lambs 1, rams 0, sheep total 6, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 2, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 6, cows 76, heifers 30, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 34, bulls 4, neat cattle total 241, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 0, rams 4, sheep total 38, sows 8, shoats 10, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 32, turkeys 29, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 5, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Died in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 1, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 1, bulls 0, neat cattle total 2, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 31 August 1738: bullocks 6, cows 76, heifers 29, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 33, bulls 4, neat cattle total 239, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 0, rams 4, sheep total 38, sows 8, shoats 10, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 32, turkeys 29, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 5, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 15,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 14,000 lb Total yams, 29,000 lb Interpretations Two cattle died, matching July and confirming that the drought has broken. The herd stands at 239 head against 402 on 1 October 1737, so the fall of the past year has cost some 40 per cent of the stock, but the monthly losses have dropped from seventeen and eighteen at the height to two. Five ewes and a lamb went to the table out of a flock of 44, the heaviest draw on the sheep in this record. Ewes have fallen from 46 in June 1737 to 30, wethers stand at four and the flock now carries no lamb at all. Wethers were the class the table ordinarily took, and with only four remaining the council has been cutting into breeding ewes for months, exactly as it did with the cattle when heifers went to the shipping in June. No calf was born after four in July and two in June, and no lamb either. The breeding recovery that began in June has not carried into August, and the herd is still losing ground slowly through deaths alone. Yams fell to 29,000 lb, the lowest total in this sequence, with the share to the establishment dropping from 18,000 lb to 14,000 lb. August lies in the island's winter planting season, when the new crop is in the ground and the standing store must be spared. The count of 18 July 1738 had put 548,000 lb across the several plantations, so the reduction reflects husbandry rather than shortage. The poultry yard held level at 22 fowls, nothing killed and nothing hatched. Forty had gone to the table in July out of 62, and the yard has stood at 22 ever since with no increase entered, which leaves the fort dependent on the sheep and on what the inhabitants will sell. |
302 | 294 | Expence of the Table in August 1738 vizt £ s d Beef 370 lb 4 10 Pork 40 lb 1 Sheep 6 5 Lamb 1 10 Turkeys 2 10 Goose 1 5 Arrack 49 3/4 Gall 9 19 Sherry 6 3/4 Gall 2 10 5 1/2 Port 14 Gall 5 8 6 Beer 6 Gall 4 Bottles Wine 5 1 8 Flour 360 lb 4 10 Sugar 65 lb 12 6 Bread 20 lb 5 Candy 18 lb 13 6 34 10 10 1/2 Arrack to the Guards &c on the Anniversary of the Accession of the present Royall Family to the Throne 18 Gall 3 12 Sugar to do 35 lb 7 6 3 19 6 D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12 Septr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that Govr Bowling the Chief dyeing & laying on the 10 July last & Governour Pyke on the 28 he has had abundance of fatigue & has been obliged to be frequently in all parts of the Country to view & take care of all the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c & their Severall Plantations & having now put them all into a good Condition & repaired such Fences as wanted mending & left them under the Care of Mr Samuel Doveton whom Governour Pyke appointed to Succeed Mr Bowling he has been lately to view the Fortifications at Ruperts & thinks that a Traverse at the East Side of the said Bay near the Sea side will very much add to the Security of the said Bay & be one of the best means to prevent an Enemy from Landing, & will be soon built & with little or no Expence, & Margin Notes: Traverse at Ruperts | Expenses of the fort's table for August 1738. 370 lb of beef, £4 10s 0d 40 lb of pork, £1 0s 0d 6 sheep, £5 0s 0d 1 lamb, £0 10s 0d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 1 goose, £0 5s 0d 49.5 gallons of arrack, £9 19s 0d 6.5 gallons of sherry, £2 10s 3.5d 14 gallons of port, £5 8s 6d 6 gallons of beer, £0 4s 0d 5 bottles of Florence oil, £1 3s 0d 366 lb of flour, £4 10s 0d 65 lb of sugar, £0 12s 6d 20 lb of bread, £0 5s 0d 18 lb of candy, £0 13s 6d Total, £34 10s 10.5d 13 gallons of arrack to the guards on the anniversary of the accession of the present royal family to the throne, £3 12s 0d 35 lb of sugar to the same, £0 7s 6d Total for the anniversary, £3 19s 6d The account was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 12 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that since Mr Bowling's illness began on 12 July 1738 and Governor Pyke's death on 28 July, he had been under a great deal of fatigue. He had been obliged to go frequently into all parts of the country to view and take care of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and of the several plantations, and had now put them all into good condition and repaired such fences as wanted mending. He had left them under the care of Mr Samuel Doveton, whom Governor Pyke had appointed to succeed Mr Bowling. He had lately been to view the forage ground at Rupert's, and thought that a redoubt on the east side of that bay near the sea side would very much add to the security of the bay and be one of the best means of preventing an enemy from landing. It would be soon built and with little expense, and [...]. Interpretations Six sheep and a lamb carried a large share of the table's meat, matching the stock account exactly, where five ewes and a lamb went out of a flock of 44. The council was now killing breeding ewes because the wethers had fallen to four, and the fort's provision had come to rest on the class the flock could least spare. The anniversary charged separately is the accession of the royal family on 1 August, marked on the island every year with arrack and sugar to the guards and artificers and with a salute of 21 guns. That salute appears in the gunner's account for the same month at 51 lb of powder, so the two records together give the full cost of the day. Governor Goodwin's account of his first six weeks describes a man doing the work of two offices. Andrew Bowling had fallen ill on 12 July and Governor Pyke died on 28 July, so the plantation overseer's post and the government fell vacant within a fortnight of each other. Riding the country to inspect stock and fences was the overseer's duty rather than the Governor's, and Goodwin had been the island's storekeeper and surveying officer for more than a decade, which made him better placed than most to do it himself. The proposal for a redoubt at Rupert's revives a question the council had left unsettled since 1734. Captains Ridge and Mead reported on 25 June 1734 that the old line there was built on the surface without foundation and recommended two redoubts at the water's edge loaded with cartridge shot against boats, in preference to a work at Munden's Point, which stood too high by 103 feet. The twelve inhabitants consulted on 16 July 1734 called for repair of the Rupert's line, and the works had crawled ever since for want of hands. Building it cheaply is the point Goodwin emphasises, and it follows directly from his decision reported on 8 August 1738 to take the men off the fortifications and complete the work with the Company's own slaves. A redoubt of earth at the water's edge cost labour rather than money, where Colonel Gaultier's masonry schemes of 1734 had been rejected as beyond anything the island could man. |
303 | 295 | in his Opinion is the more necessary to be done because the method in which Governour Pyke proposed to build the Fortifications at Ruperts would with the help we now have Severall years before it can be Compleated & therefore he thinks that the Traverse before mentioned at the East Side of the said Bay is more necessary to be built because one of five Guns which the Works there already were finished on the West Side of the said Bay were to keep be Sufficient to defend it, but as this is a matter of Consequence he desires the Gentlemen of Councill will go & view the said Fortifications & give them their Opinion to Morrow what they think is fitting to be done To day Mrs Alexander Widow of Capt Alexander decd attended & presented the Last Will & Testament of her decd Husband praying that the same might be proved & Registred & the said Will was accordingly proved upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto vizt Duke Crispe John Bazett & Francis Wrangham & Ordered to be Registred as afsd D Crispe At a Consultation held on Wednesday 13 Septr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Depy Governour John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & Approved To day Messrs Crispe & Bazett made the following Report vizt According to the Governours order by yesterday we this day went early in the Morning & viewed Ruperts Bay & do most humbly give it as our Opinion that the Traverse proposed to be built at the East End thereof is the most proper Sort of Fortification for the Defence & Security of that place especially to prevent an Enemy from Landing which & which the only Danger we have to apprehend Upon this Report the Governour proposed that the Severall Consultations had about four Years ago relating to this matter should be read & everything relating to it might be made according to my Order of the 4 & 11 & 18 & 25 June 1734 which are all that are in publick relating to this Subject & after the most mature deliberation we unanimously agreed to begin immediately to Erect the said & Traverse which will be attended with very little Charge & will be soon done & will be of great Advantage to the place finished it may be defended with five Men & two Guns four nine Pounders with four Men or fifteen Men & three Blacks being Sufficient for this purpose The Governour after this Consultation was taken desired that we would chearfully & Constantly give him all the help & Assistance that we possibly could in forwarding this necessary Margin Notes: Fortifications Fortify at Ruperts Guard | The Governor added that a redoubt was the more necessary because the method Governor Pyke proposed for building the fortifications at Rupert's would take several years to complete with the help now available. He thought a redoubt at the east side of the bay more necessary than one on the west, since a work of five guns there, with the batteries already finished on the west side of the bay, would be sufficient to defend it. Being a matter of consequence, he asked the gentlemen of council to go and view the fortifications and then to give their opinion, and they undertook to consider what should be done. Alexander Whood, son of Captain Alexander Whood, deceased, produced the last will and testament of his father and asked that the will and the inventory of the estate be proved. The will was proved on the oaths of the witnesses Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Francis Wrangham, and it was ordered to be registered. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Wednesday 20 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett delivered the following report. In accordance with the Governor's order they had gone early that morning and viewed the place. They humbly gave their opinion that a redoubt of the kind proposed should be built at the east side, which they thought the most proper sort of fortification for the defence and security of that place, especially to prevent an enemy from landing, which they held the chief danger to be apprehended. On that report the Governor proposed that the several consultations of about four years earlier relating to the matter should be read, and they were read accordingly, being those of 4, 7, 10, 18 and 25 June 1734, which contained all that related to the subject. After the most mature deliberation the board unanimously agreed to begin the work at once. The redoubt would be attended with very little charge, could soon be done, and would be of great advantage to the whole island, since it might be defended with five men and five guns, or nine pounders, with four men or fifteen men and three slaves being sufficient for the purpose. The Governor, after the consultation was taken, stated that where he was necessary he would constantly give him all the help and assistance that could possibly be had in forwarding the necessary [...]. Interpretations Reading the consultations of June 1734 before deciding put four years of accumulated argument on the table at once. Colonel Gaultier reported on the landing places on 4 June 1734 and answered the council's questions on 7 June with a table putting the defence of seven works at 115 men. His plans were rejected on 10 June as carelessly done. He reported on 18 June that the Rupert's parapet had been built without foundation and proposed two turnpikes nearer the sea. Captains Ridge and Mead viewed the old line on 25 June and recommended two redoubts at the water's edge loaded with cartridge shot against boats. The board is now adopting what those two commanders proposed and Gaultier's successors never built. A redoubt is a small enclosed earthwork standing alone rather than a masonry battery joined to a line, and it can be thrown up quickly from the ground it occupies. That is why five guns and a handful of men could hold one, and why the charge fell almost entirely on labour. Governor Pyke had argued the same case on 2 July 1734, observing that works of earth raised in haste had often been faced with stone afterwards, as all the Dutch works at Batavia were at first. The manning figures are the heart of the decision. Gaultier's scheme demanded 40 hands, which Pyke computed on 2 July 1734 came in truth to 110 once boats, quarrymen, limeburners and overseers were counted, and the island could never find them. The advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six hired slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender. A work defensible by five men and built by fifteen with three slaves sits within what the establishment can actually supply. Placing the redoubt on the east side rather than the west follows from what already exists. Chubb's Rock stands at the west of Rupert's Bay and carried batteries and a wall, though a piece of iron ordnance was washed off it into the sea by the surf on 12 November 1737 and the council afterwards doubted whether any work there stood high enough. The east side had nothing, and a beach some fathoms broad where twenty boats might land together was the danger the whole scheme addressed. |
304 | 296 | peice of Work by giving our attendance & keeping the Labourers to their Endeavour at such times as he shall be obleged to attend other Affairs, & otherwise, proposing to be there himself daily D Crispe At a Consultation held on Thursday the 14 Septr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Deputy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & approved John Long having lately sold a barrow hog which by his saying was his sons hog & on his sons Mark & was that his own hog, gave suspicion to the Neighbourhood that the same was Stolen, & Mr Richd Goodwin having sold a hog of it exactly answered the Description of the hog sold by Long, his two sons were sent for & separately Examined & the Eldest whose hog it was said to be, Declared that he had not any hog of his own nor ever had any Mark & said that the hog was his Fathers & that his Father catched the said hog by fetching the dog upon it below their house & called this Examinant unto to him to carry it up & he brought it up accordingly upon his back, no person whatever his brother nor any one Else being present besides his Father & himself & further said that the said hog fed or grazed & was bred up at Oak Door James the youngest son of the said Long being also Examined concerning this thing saith that it fed or grazed at the Peak hill & that he & his Father catched it at the Side of the Peak hill & had it home in a String by the hind leg & is very sure that neither his brother nor any other Person was there besides his Father & himself & saith that he hath not any hog or any marke or ever had & that the hog fed or grazed at Peak Hill Upon these Examples Contradictions in their Testimony in Circumstances so very material towards a discovery of this peice of Roguery they were Ordered to be secured till this matter should be farther Examined into, the Father affirming that the hog was his but on his sons Mark, the Son denies this & saith that the hog was his Father & that he never had a Mark, the eldest saith that his Father caught it with his dog near their house & that his Father called him to carry it home & that he carryed it home Accordingly upon his back his Father & himself being only present, the youngest son denies all this & insisteth is false, for he & his Father alone, caught it on the side of Peak hill & had it home in a String by the hind leg & that the hog fed or grazed at Oak Hill | The Governor added that he would attend and help the labourers with everything to be done at such times as he was not obliged to attend other affairs, and otherwise proposed to be there himself daily. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Thursday 21 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. John Long had lately sold a barrow hog which he said was bred by his own sows and bore his own mark, and the neighbourhood suspected it stolen. Richard Goodwin had lost a hog of exactly the description of the one sold by Long, so Long and his two sons were sent for and examined separately. The eldest, whose hog it was, declared it was not any hog of his own, that it never bore any mark of his, that the hog was his father's and that his father caught it by setting the dog upon it below their house, called the head of the Bank Hill. His father commanded him to carry it up and he brought it up accordingly upon his back. No person whatever, neither his brother nor any other being present besides his father and himself, and neither the hog fed nor grazed there, was bred up at the door. James, the youngest son, being examined concerning the same matter, said it fed and grazed at the Bank Hill and that his father caught it at the head of the Bank Hill. He did it home in a string by the hind leg, and was very sure that neither his brother nor any other person was there besides his father and himself. He said that he had not any hog or any mark or ever had, and that the hog fed or grazed at Bank Hill. The council found several contradictions in the testimony, and the circumstances were very material towards a discovery of the matter, so it was ordered that the business be further examined into. The father affirmed that the barrow he had in his own mark, and the son denied this. The eldest son said the hog was his father's and that he never had a mark. The eldest said that his father caught it near their house, that his father caught it with his dog, and that he carried it home accordingly upon his back, his father himself being present. The youngest son denies all this, and said that his father alone caught it at Bank Hill and carried it home in a string by the hind leg, and that the hog fed or grazed at Bank Hill. Interpretations Free-ranging stock on St Helena carried no proof of ownership beyond the notches cut in its ears, each holder registering his own combination of crops, slits and forks. The mark served as a portable deed, and a beast without one belonged to whoever claimed it first. The council had stated on 19 March 1734 that mingling stock on open pasture was a gross and unlawful way of stealing the marks, and required from 2 April 1734 that the true owner's name be entered in the tally book before any private sale of cattle. A hog sold without an established mark falls directly under that difficulty. Examining the three separately is the method the council used wherever it doubted an account, and it is the only test available where no free witness saw the taking. Governor Pyke had tested the examinations of Nero and Mercy against each other on 22 December 1736, and the runaways Walker and Sauney in October 1733, treating agreement between independent accounts as proof and divergence as its opposite. Here the two sons contradict each other and both contradict the father on the mark, the place, the manner of catching and the manner of carrying. The proceeding is remarkable for who is giving evidence. John Long's own son informed against him on 11 September 1733 over yams drawn from the Company's plantation at the Peak, and both sons were examined on 4 June 1733 about four fowls of James Vaughan's found at their house, each saying their father had shown them the birds and told them to catch them. Governor Pyke told the sessions of 2 July 1733 that the aggravation of Long's case lay in his having brought his own two sons to theft. Long's record before this board runs back more than a decade and has never produced a conviction where slave testimony was the only evidence. He was whipped on 18 September 1733 under the act of 43 Elizabeth chapter 7, which allowed summary punishment for wood and crop offences without a jury, sent to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 and returned within the year, imprisoned repeatedly through 1736 and finally left in gaol on the resolution that his family lived better without him. His reappearance here shows him at liberty again and at the same work. |
305 | 297 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 19 Septr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Deputy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour Reports that since Tuesday last he has been wholy Employed at the Fortifications at Ruperts in making preparations to hasten the building of the intended Traverse & in working out the Foundation thereof which he hath done with great care & precaution having so contrived & planned it that it may Easily & Speedily be Joyned to the other Fortifications which he designs shall be done & which will be a farther & great Addition to the Strength of those Works & make the Whole Fortifications much more secure than otherwise it would be & hath so far allied the Plan laid down by Govr Pyke for building those & erected ones that now the Great Guns bear in such a manner that every part of the Ditch or Trench may be cleared if an Enemy should Attempt to advance so far which before could not be done, and it seems but by small Arms only wherein that would be very doubtfull & if we could venture thereby have extreamly exposed the Men we should place there for their defence, which would be but few, & consequently give the Enemy great Advantages over us, & on Munday next he hath Ordered all the Blacks & such Artificers as are likely to be wanted to be Early there to begin the same & he himself will be constantly present to give the necessary Directions, & to quicken the Diligence of all Employed therein, & in the mean time he desired the Gentlemen of Councill would again carefully review Sandy Bay Beach & the Landing places there & the severall Vallies leading from thence into the Country & the Lemon Valley & parts adjacent & after full Consideration of the Situations of those two Places to give them their Opinion which is the two ought to be first secured & for their better guide asked they would again peruse the severall Consultations refered to in the Consultation of the 12 instant which are very materiall, for he is fully determined of the Honble Compa shall be pleased to give him an Opportunity to do so, by continuing him in the Station he is now in which he humbly hopes after so long a Course of Faithfull & Laborious Service they will do, to give up rest to his Endeavours nor will Scruple to go through any Cares Difficulties or Fatigues he in time he has accomplisht the Honble Compa Orders & Fortified the Island Inside round which is a matter of such importance that it ought to take Place of all other business & Considerations next which the Great Charge our Honble Masters are at in maintaining this Settlement is principally in his Thoughts & Memory in which he is resolved to make considerable Retrenchments & has already begun to do so, the Particulars of which in a short time he will lay before us, & gave Directions to Mr Crispe to look over the Books & lay before him an Acct what Sums have been Expended in the Article of Fortifications since we as & received & what Charge to begin to Rebuild or repair them, & what to do also give him an Account what sums have otherwise been laid out of late years under the head of Diet Defences that he may the better be enabled to take proper measures for the Interest Margin Notes: Fortifications | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 19 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that since the previous Tuesday he had been wholly employed at the fortification at Rupert's, making preparations to hasten the building of the intended redoubt. He had worked out the foundation, and had done it with great care and precaution, having so contrived and planned it that it might easily and speedily be joined to the other fortification he designed. That would be a further and great addition to the strength of those works, and would make the whole so far preferable and much more secure than it would otherwise be. He held that the plan laid down by Governor Pyke for building those works, and the position it gave the great guns, bore in such a manner that every part of the ditch or trench might be cleared should an enemy attempt to advance so far, which before could not be done in places but by small arms only, seeing that it wanted the very advantage and precaution he would hardly have expected. Where the guns should be placed for their defence would be but few, and consequently give the enemy great advantages over them. He intended next to have the black slaves ordered out, whose assistance was likely to be wanted, to be ready there to begin the same. He himself would be constantly present to give the necessary directions and to quicken the diligence of all employed there. In the meantime he desired the gentlemen of council would again carefully review Sandy Bay Beach and the landing places there, together with the several batteries leading from there into the country, and also Lemon Valley, and take full consideration of the situation of those two places, so as to give their opinion of what they ought to be, and proceed to it as their better judgement advised. They would again peruse the several consultations referred to in the consultation of the 4th of that month, which were very material. He held it fully determined by the Honourable Company, should it be pleased to give him an opportunity to do so by continuing him in the station he was now in, in which he humbly hoped after so long a course of faithful and laborious service, that he would give no rest to his endeavours nor would scruple to go through any known difficulties or fatigues before he had accomplished the Honourable Company's orders and fortified the island's coasts round, which is a matter of such importance that it ought to take place of all other business or considerations. The great charge the Honourable Company has been at in maintaining that settlement was principally in his thoughts and memory, in which he was resolved to make a considerable retrenchment. He had already begun to do so on the particulars of which, in a short time, he would lay before the board. He gave directions to Mr Crisp to look over the books and to lay before the board an account of what sums had been expended in the article of fortifications since [...] received, and what charge it would take to begin to rebuild or repair them, and what he would show him in the accounts. What sums have otherwise been laid out of late years under the head of diet expenses, so that he might the better be enabled to take proper measures for the interest [...]. Interpretations Working out the foundation was the whole point of the redoubt. Captains Ridge and Mead reported on 25 June 1734 that the old Rupert's line stood on the surface without any foundation, built on ground too light to bear a substantial structure, and Colonel Gaultier reached the same conclusion on 18 June 1734. Nothing raised there since had answered, so a governor beginning with the trench rather than the parapet was correcting the defect that had defeated every earlier attempt. Siting the guns to sweep the ditch is the technical heart of the objection to Pyke's plan. A ditch that cannot be swept by artillery gives an attacking party cover once it reaches the foot of the work, and small arms alone cannot clear men lying in it. Placing the pieces so that their fire runs along the trench rather than over it converts the obstacle into a killing ground, which is the principle behind every bastioned trace in European fortification. The retrenchment Goodwin announces echoes his predecessor of a decade earlier. Governor Byfield reduced the island's gross charge from £4,846 13s 7d in the year to September 1728 to £3,144 6s 0d in the year to September 1729, and the council then ordered separate abstracts of the charge under each governor. Pyke's own first full year came to £4,939 13s 4.5d for the twelvemonth to 30 September 1732, the heaviest in this record. Naming diet expenses as the head to be examined points at a specific target. The table account has run between £30 0s 0d and £57 0s 0d a month through this year, with arrack alone taking £14 0s 0d or £15 0s 0d and wine climbing above £20 0s 0d in months when commanders were entertained ashore. Goodwin has been storekeeper and accounting officer for more than a decade and knows precisely where the money goes. Sandy Bay lies to windward where the wind blows directly onshore, making it a lee shore no ship can safely approach, and a battery built there twenty-five years earlier was washed away with its guns still visible under water in calm weather. Lemon Valley admits an easy landing on each side, and the Dutch came ashore there and were driven off by stones rolled down on them. Both were surveyed in 1734 and neither was fortified, which is why the new Governor sends his council back to look at them again. |
306 | 298 | & Advantage of our Honble Masters D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 26 Septr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Deputy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour Reports that the Honble Companys Stores being broke open & severall parcells of Sugar & Candy & Bread stolen by a Black Man who hath been Runaway from his Master John Dufountain, being apprehended & brought before us he upon his Examination owned among other things that he was the Person who at alone broke open the said Stores about two in the morning & stole the Severall things before mentioned, he thereupon was Secured in Irons & committed to the Dungeon in Order to be tryed & Punished in an Exemplary manner for this important Villainy to deter others from doing the like The Petition of Richd Greentree also this day presented & read praying a Lease for three Different parcells of Land, that one Acre in Sandy Bay Valley in order to Water his Plantation adjoyning to it, about one Acre more behind his house & about 2 Acres near the Craine Ridge for the Conveniency of Fencing, having the same not being Prejudiciall Either to the Honble Compa or the Neighbourhood The Petn of Richd Carthope was likewise presented & read praying a Lease for two Different parts of Land one of which being about 2 Acres Squared adjoyning to his other Pasture for the Benefit of a Spring for his Cattle to drink at & about 1 Acre adjoyning to the Lands of Frans Wrangham & to his own Land for the Conveniency of Fencing letting the same not being prejudicial either to the Honble Compa or the Neighbourhood Ordered that the Severall parcells of Land be first Viewd & if to be found they be not Inconvenient either to the Honble Compa or the Neighbourhood that Leases be granted them accordingly D Crispe | The Governor closed by saying that the whole was for the advantage of the Honourable Company. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 26 September 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that the Honourable Company's stores had been broken open and several parcels of sugar, candy and bread stolen by a black man who had run away from his master John Defountaine. The man was apprehended and brought before the board, and on his examination he owned among other things that he was the person who had alone broken open the stores about two in the morning and stolen the several articles named. He was accordingly ordered into irons and committed to the dungeon, to be tried and punished in an exemplary manner for the offence, so that others should be deterred from doing the like. A petition from Gabriel Bennett was read the same day, asking a lease for three different parcels of land. One was about an acre in Sandy Bay Valley, wanted to water his plantation adjoining it. Another was about two acres near the main ridge, wanted for the convenience of fencing, the ground being no prejudice either to the Honourable Company or to the neighbourhood. A petition from Thomas Easthope was also read, asking for two different parcels of land. One was about two acres square adjoining his other pasture, for the benefit of a spring for his cattle to drink at. The other was about fifteen acres adjoining the lands of Isaac Wrangham, wanted for the convenience of fencing, being his own land and no prejudice either to the Honourable Company or to the neighbourhood. The board ordered that the several parcels be first viewed, and that if they were found to be no inconvenience either to the Honourable Company or to the neighbourhood, leases be granted accordingly. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations Committing the man to the dungeon before trial rather than merely to custody marks the offence as grave. Breaking into the Company's own stores at night differed from theft between inhabitants, since the storehouse held the settlement's whole reserve of provisions and trade goods, and the island had no means of replacing what went. Governor Goodwin's stated purpose of making an example follows the reasoning the council applied to Caesar in January 1733, setting a public punishment for the Saturday when the guards were relieved and stores drawn so that it might be seen by the greatest number. Viewing land before granting it was settled practice under the reform of 26 July and 1 August 1732, when the council resolved that no fresh parcel be granted until the ground had been viewed, that no lease be renewed until the surveyors certified the land duly fenced and planted, and that every lease carry a clause reserving a right of way through it. The formula about prejudice to the Company or the neighbourhood recurs in every grant thereafter. Both petitions turn on water rather than acreage, which is the recurring theme of land applications on this island. Springs were unevenly distributed and a plantation without one could not carry stock through the summer, so a small parcel commanding a spring was worth far more than its size suggested. Richard Goodwin paid £25 0s 0d in October 1727 for two and a half acres at Carnes Gutt solely because the water there discharged into the sea and could not be diverted to any other Company ground, and Robert Girling asked for two acres under Fish Gut waterfall on 9 August 1737 for the same reason. The convenience of fencing is the other standing ground for such requests. Free-ranging cattle broke through any gap, and a holder whose boundary ran awkwardly could not enclose his ground without taking in the intervening waste. The survey of James Crafford's land on 28 March 1734 found the fences thrown together and down in many places, with one man grazing 21 head on sixty acres belonging to two others, which is what a broken boundary produced. |
307 | 299 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 3 Octr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Deputy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read and Approved The Governour Reports that the Reverend Mr Barlow our Chaplain died here of a flux after about two months illness & having in his Sickness desired Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett to take care of his Effects & clear all his Accounts if he died, we was immediately taken after his Death to Secure the same by removing his Black Servants & locking up the Doors & placing a Guard in the House & as soon as they are at leisure they will bring in an Inventory & Appraisment thereof The Governour the Steward & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Septr last, the Storekeeper delivered his usuall Acct for the Quarter past, & the Govr & Gunner also delivered their Annuall Acct for the Year past, each of which were Severally Examined & approved and are as follow vizt Expence of the Table in Septr 1738 vizt £ s d Gallons Arrack 66 1/2 15 14 Sugar 13 lb 1 6 6 Gallons Sack Wine 12 3 16 3 Gallons Sherry 5 1 19 9 Bushells Salt 7 2 6 Flour 2 lb 3 2 6 Bread 2 lb 18 Candy 1 1 2 Bottles Wine 8 16 8 Gallons Beer 6 9 Pork 60 lb 1 10 Turkeys 4 1 Fowles 15 1 2 6 37 3 2 Gunners Stores Expended in Septr 1738 Novr Expence of the Guards 62 Powder Handspikes 12 Cartridge Paper 3 Quires Match 12 lb Tompions 4 Ramming Wires 6 Margin Notes: Septr 30 1738 | The council met at the castle on Tuesday 3 October 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. The Governor reported that the Reverend Mr Barlow, the island's chaplain, had died of a flux after about two months' illness. Having during his sickness asked Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett to take care of his effects and clear all his accounts should he die, they immediately after his death secured the whole by removing his black servants, locking up the doors and placing a guard in the house, and as soon as they were at leisure they would bring in an inventory and appraisement. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts, the storekeeper delivered his account for the past quarter, and the Governor and gunner also delivered their annual accounts for the year past. All were examined separately and approved. Expenses of the fort's table for September 1738. 66.5 gallons of arrack, £15 14s 0d 13 lb of sugar, £1 6s 6d 15 gallons of port wine, £5 16s 3d 5 gallons of sherry, £1 19s 9d 2 bushels of salt, £0 6s 6d 2 lb of flour, £3 2s 6d 2 lb of bread, £0 18s 0d 1 lb of candy, £1 2s 0d 8 bottles of oil, £0 16s 8d 6 gallons of beer, £0 4s 0d 60 lb of pork, £1 10s 0d 4 turkeys, £1 0s 0d 15 fowls, £1 2s 6d Total, £37 3s 2d Gunner's stores expended in September 1738. Expense of the guards, 62 lb of powder Handspikes, 12 Cartridge paper, 3 quires Match, 12 lb Tampions, 4 Priming wires, 6 Interpretations Securing a dead man's effects before anyone could reach them had become settled practice, and the council applied it with particular thoroughness here. Removing the servants, locking the doors and posting a guard went beyond the sealing used for Benjamin Flagg on 31 March 1729 and for Governor Pyke on 28 July 1738, and the reason lies in the chaplain's own request during his illness that Crisp and Bazett take charge. An estate with no executor on the spot and debts to clear was liable to be stripped before any inventory could be taken. The island's chaplains had given the council trouble for a decade. George White was reported on 26 July 1732 as leading a scandalous life with his wife, both lying dead drunk almost daily, and was ordered on 20 May 1731 to pay his servant Anne Lane's passage home after a notorious piece of prevarication. The vestry told the churchwardens on 9 January 1733 that it would rebuild the country chapel at its own charge only if assured of an able, honest and sober man in holy orders, saying that those lately sent had done more harm by their behaviour than a good man could do good by preaching. No beef appears in the table account at all, and 60 lb of pork with four turkeys and fifteen fowls carries the whole of the meat. The stock account for August recorded nothing sold and only a heifer killed, and the road has stood empty since the Royal Guardian sailed on 23 June 1738. Arrack at £15 14s 0d takes more than two fifths of the whole account, as it has in almost every month of this run. Not a gun was fired for salute or alarm, the entire 62 lb of powder falling on the guards. That is the heaviest guard charge in this sequence, against 30 lb standing as the fixed figure through most of 1737, and it points to the works at Rupert's drawing men and arms into the field. Twelve handspikes expended in a month with no firing at all confirms it, those levers being used to shift and traverse guns rather than to discharge them. |
308 | 300 | Gunners Annual Account of Stores Recd and Expended in the Year ending the 30th Septr 1738 Vizt Demy Cannon, Whole Culvering, Demy Culvering, Minion, Sakers, Falcons, Twelve pounders, Three pounders, Totall, Iron round Shott, Double headed Shott, Barrels Powder, Match, Quire Cartridge papers, Spunge Staves, Spunge Heads, Rammer Heads, Powder Hornes, Wormes, Ladles, Tompions, Sheep Skins, Bitts, Gunners Cartouch Boxes, Touches, Aethers, Blunderbusses, Pistols, Bougé Barrils, Gunn Union Flags, Hanspikes, Formers, Linstocks, Ramming Wires, Cartridge Cases, Horse Trass Parchment Skins, Musquets, Swords, Lead Shott, Drums, Belt Colours, Rathamer picas, Flints, Halberts, Skowring Rods, Buff Belts, Grenadeer Pouches, Bomb shells, Bitts, Carbines, Water Engines Remg 1 Octr 1737: Demy Cannon 12, Whole Culvering 10, Demy Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve pounders 11, Three pounders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6562, Double headed Shott 545, Barrels Powder 178, Match 447, Quire Cartridge papers 154, Spunge Staves 325, Spunge Heads 474, Rammer Heads 263, Powder Hornes 208, Wormes 17, Ladles 12, Tompions 1106, Sheep Skins 0, Bitts 112, Gunners Cartouch Boxes 102, Touches 77, Aethers 349, Blunderbusses 138, Pistols 36, Bougé Barrils 10, Gunn Union Flags 34, Hanspikes 11, Formers 448, Linstocks 24, Ramming Wires 72, Cartridge Cases 300, Horse Trass Parchment Skins 5812, Musquets 303, Swords 192, Lead Shott 3058, Drums 8, Belt Colours 2, Rathamer picas 0, Flints 13000, Halberts 17, Skowring Rods 571, Buff Belts 261, Grenadeer Pouches 24, Bomb shells 10, Bitts 7, Carbines 50, Water Engines 2 Recd in one Year: Demy Cannon 0, Whole Culvering 0, Demy Culvering 0, Minion 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve pounders 0, Three pounders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shott 0, Double headed Shott 0, Barrels Powder 11, Match 226, Quire Cartridge papers 0, Spunge Staves 120, Spunge Heads 120, Rammer Heads 0, Powder Hornes 0, Wormes 0, Ladles 60, Tompions 144, Sheep Skins 24, Bitts 0, Gunners Cartouch Boxes 50, Touches 0, Aethers 0, Blunderbusses 0, Pistols 0, Bougé Barrils 0, Gunn Union Flags 0, Hanspikes 0, Formers 50, Linstocks 10, Ramming Wires 12, Cartridge Cases 0, Horse Trass Parchment Skins 48, Musquets 50, Swords 0, Lead Shott 0, Drums 0, Belt Colours 0, Rathamer picas 0, Flints 0, Halberts 0, Skowring Rods 0, Buff Belts 0, Grenadeer Pouches 0, Bomb shells 0, Bitts 0, Carbines 0, Water Engines 0 Demy Cannon 12, Whole Culvering 10, Demy Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve pounders 11, Three pounders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6562, Double headed Shott 545, Barrels Powder 189, Match 673, Quire Cartridge papers 154, Spunge Staves 325, Spunge Heads 594, Rammer Heads 383, Powder Hornes 208, Wormes 17, Ladles 72, Tompions 1250, Sheep Skins 29, Bitts 112, Gunners Cartouch Boxes 102, Touches 127, Aethers 349, Blunderbusses 128, Pistols 36, Bougé Barrils 10, Gunn Union Flags 34, Hanspikes 11, Formers 468, Linstocks 34, Ramming Wires 84, Cartridge Cases 300, Horse Trass Parchment Skins 10612, Musquets 303, Swords 192, Lead Shott 3058, Drums 8, Belt Colours 2, Rathamer picas 0, Flints 13000, Halberts 17, Skowring Rods 571, Buff Belts 261, Grenadeer Pouches 24, Bomb shells 10, Bitts 7, Carbines 50, Water Engines 2 Expend in one Year: Demy Cannon 0, Whole Culvering 0, Demy Culvering 0, Minion 0, Sakers 0, Falcons 0, Twelve pounders 0, Three pounders 0, Totall 0, Iron round Shott 15, Double headed Shott 0, Barrels Powder 18.31, Match 252, Quire Cartridge papers 37, Spunge Staves 32, Spunge Heads 11, Rammer Heads 31, Powder Hornes 12, Wormes 4, Ladles 7, Tompions 36, Sheep Skins 21, Bitts 15, Gunners Cartouch Boxes 15, Touches 0, Aethers 2, Blunderbusses 1, Pistols 0, Bougé Barrils 0, Gunn Union Flags 0, Hanspikes 63, Formers 0, Linstocks 12, Ramming Wires 24, Cartridge Cases 10, Horse Trass Parchment Skins 24, Musquets 0, Swords 0, Lead Shott 86, Drums 0, Belt Colours 0, Rathamer picas 0, Flints 0, Halberts 0, Skowring Rods 0, Buff Belts 0, Grenadeer Pouches 0, Bomb shells 0, Bitts 7, Carbines 0, Water Engines 0 Remg 30 Septr 1738: Demy Cannon 12, Whole Culvering 10, Demy Culvering 60, Minion 17, Sakers 16, Falcons 27, Twelve pounders 11, Three pounders 4, Totall 157, Iron round Shott 6547, Double headed Shott 545, Barrels Powder 170.69, Match 421, Quire Cartridge papers 117, Spunge Staves 293, Spunge Heads 583, Rammer Heads 352, Powder Hornes 196, Wormes 13, Ladles 65, Tompions 1214, Sheep Skins 8, Bitts 97, Gunners Cartouch Boxes 87, Touches 127, Aethers 357, Blunderbusses 137, Pistols 36, Bougé Barrils 10, Gunn Union Flags 34, Hanspikes 1, Formers 405, Linstocks 34, Ramming Wires 72, Cartridge Cases 146, Horse Trass Parchment Skins 9612, Musquets 303, Swords 192, Lead Shott 2972, Drums 8, Belt Colours 2, Rathamer picas 0, Flints 13000, Halberts 17, Skowring Rods 571, Buff Belts 261, Grenadeer Pouches 24, Bomb shells 10, Bitts 0, Carbines 50, Water Engines 2 | Gunner's annual account of stores received and expended in the year ending 30 September 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 October 1737: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, ordnance total 157, round shot 6,562, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 178, match 447 lb, quires of cartridge paper 154, sponge staves 325, sponge heads 474, rammer heads 263, powder horns 208, worms 17, ladles 12, tampions 1,106, sheepskins 112, bitts 102, gunners' cartouch boxes 77, sponges 349, ladders 138, blunderbusses 36, pistols 10, budge barrels 34, union flags 1, handspikes 48, formers 24, linstocks 72, priming wires 300, cartridge cases 58, state colours and parchment skins 12, muskets 303, swords 192, lead shot 3,058 lb, tommy heels 8, field colours and lanthorn pieces 2, flints 13,000, halberts 17, screwing rods 571, buff belts 261, grenadier pouches 24, bomb shells 10, bitts 7, carbines 50, water engines 2 Received in one year: demi-cannon 0, whole culverins 0, demi-culverins 0, minions 0, sakers 0, falcons 0, twelve pounders 0, three pounders 0, ordnance total 0, round shot 0, double headed shot 0, barrels of powder 11, match 226 lb, quires of cartridge paper 0, sponge staves 0, sponge heads 120, rammer heads 120, powder horns 0, worms 0, ladles 60, tampions 144, sheepskins 24, bitts 0, gunners' cartouch boxes 0, sponges 50, ladders 0, blunderbusses 0, pistols 0, budge barrels 0, union flags 0, handspikes 0, formers 0, linstocks 50, priming wires 10, cartridge cases 12, state colours and parchment skins 0, muskets 48, swords 50, lead shot 0, tommy heels 0, field colours and lanthorn pieces 0, flints 0, halberts 0, screwing rods 0, buff belts 0, grenadier pouches 0, bomb shells 0, bitts 0, carbines 0, water engines 0 Standing after the receipt: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, ordnance total 157, round shot 6,562, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 189, match 673 lb, quires of cartridge paper 154, sponge staves 325, sponge heads 594, rammer heads 383, powder horns 208, worms 17, ladles 72, tampions 1,250, sheepskins 29, bitts 112, gunners' cartouch boxes 102, sponges 127, ladders 349, blunderbusses 128, pistols 36, budge barrels 10, union flags 34, handspikes 1, formers 1, linstocks 468, priming wires 34, cartridge cases 84, state colours and parchment skins 300, muskets 1,061, swords 2, lead shot 303, tommy heels 192, field colours and lanthorn pieces 3,058, flints 8, halberts 2, screwing rods 13,000, buff belts 17, grenadier pouches 571, bomb shells 261, bitts 24, carbines 10, water engines 7, carbines 50, water engines 2 Expended in one year: demi-cannon 0, whole culverins 0, demi-culverins 0, minions 0, sakers 0, falcons 0, twelve pounders 0, three pounders 0, ordnance total 0, round shot 15, double headed shot 0, barrels of powder 18 barrels 31 lb, match 252 lb, quires of cartridge paper 37, sponge staves 32, sponge heads 11, rammer heads 31, powder horns 12, worms 4, ladles 7, tampions 36, sheepskins 21, bitts 15, gunners' cartouch boxes 15, sponges 0, ladders 2, blunderbusses 1, pistols 0, budge barrels 0, union flags 0, handspikes 63, formers 0, linstocks 12, priming wires 24, cartridge cases 10, state colours and parchment skins 21, muskets 0, swords 0, lead shot 86, tommy heels 0, field colours and lanthorn pieces 0, flints 0, halberts 0, screwing rods 0, buff belts 0, grenadier pouches 0, bomb shells 0, bitts 7, carbines 0, water engines 0 Remaining 30 September 1738: demi-cannon 12, whole culverins 10, demi-culverins 60, minions 17, sakers 16, falcons 27, twelve pounders 11, three pounders 4, ordnance total 157, round shot 6,547, double headed shot 545, barrels of powder 170 barrels 69 lb, match 421 lb, quires of cartridge paper 117, sponge staves 293, sponge heads 583, rammer heads 352, powder horns 196, worms 13, ladles 65, tampions 1,214, sheepskins 8, bitts 97, gunners' cartouch boxes 87, sponges 127, ladders 357, blunderbusses 137, pistols 36, budge barrels 10, union flags 34, handspikes 1, formers 1, linstocks 405, priming wires 34, cartridge cases 72, state colours and parchment skins 146, muskets 96, swords 122, lead shot 303, tommy heels 192, field colours and lanthorn pieces 2,972, flints 8, halberts 2, screwing rods 13,000, buff belts 17, grenadier pouches 571, bomb shells 261, bitts 24, carbines 10, water engines 50, carbines 2 Interpretations Ordnance stands unchanged at 157 pieces for the second consecutive year, not a gun added or lost. That total was reached in two steps after eight years of stagnation, twelve minions and twelve sakers arriving in the year to September 1735 to carry the figure from 128 to 152, and five demi-culverins in the following year. The gunner's survey of 2 July 1734 had called for 76 guns across eight positions with ten more in store, so the island still holds nothing like what its own officer thought necessary, and the new redoubt at Rupert's must be armed from pieces already on the ground. Fifteen round shot across a whole twelvemonth measures the entire live firing against ships that failed to identify themselves, and the double headed shot stands untouched at 545 as it has for years. Against that, 18 barrels 31 lb of powder went out, almost all of it in salutes and alarms, which is the proportion that has held throughout this record: ceremony consumes the store while defence barely touches it. Only eleven barrels of powder came in against 200 the previous year, when the Prince William and her consorts brought the heaviest receipt in this record. The stock has accordingly fallen from 178 barrels to 170 barrels 69 lb, and a settlement expecting to fortify Rupert's afresh is drawing down rather than building up. Sixty-three handspikes expended is by far the heaviest wear on any item, and it is a direct measure of the fortification work rather than of firing. Those levers shift and traverse a gun on its carriage, and twenty-three went in August alone with only twenty-five rounds discharged. Sponge staves at 32 and rammer heads at 31 follow the same pattern of guns being handled, cleaned and moved. A water engine is a hand-pumped fire engine, and two stand in the inventory unchanged. On an island where the fort valley houses stood packed together under thatch, and where a soldier burning rags in his yard nearly destroyed the whole valley on 3 January 1738, those two machines were the settlement's only means of fighting a fire. |
309 | 301 | An Acct of the Honble Compas Neat Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of September 1738 vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1 Septr: Bullocks 6, Cowes 76, Heifers 29, Steers 28, Yearlings 63, Calves 33, Bulls 4, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 0, Rams 4, Totall 38, Sowes 8, Shoates 10, Pigs 13, Boars 1, Totall 32, Turkeys 29, Fowles 22, Ducks 5, Geese 5, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Encreased in do: Bullocks 34, Cowes 0, Heifers 11, Steers 0, Yearlings 3, Calves 0, Bulls 2, Totall 50, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 12, Rams 0, Totall 12, Sowes 1, Shoates 5, Pigs 16, Boars 0, Totall 22, Turkeys 0, Fowles 48, Ducks 10, Geese 10, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 76, Heifers 40, Steers 23, Yearlings 66, Calves 33, Bulls 6, Totall 289, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoates 15, Pigs 29, Boars 1, Totall 54, Turkeys 29, Fowles 70, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Cattle Cut & Grown: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 16, Yearlings 30, Calves 3, Bulls 0, Totall 49, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 5, Boars 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 76, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 30, Bulls 6, Totall 240, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoates 14, Pigs 24, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 29, Fowles 70, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 4, Fowles 15, Ducks 0, Geese 1, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 76, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 30, Bulls 6, Totall 240, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoates 12, Pigs 24, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 25, Fowles 55, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Dead in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30 Septr 1738: Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 30, Bulls 6, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoates 12, Pigs 24, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 25, Fowles 55, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 17000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 15000 Totall 32,000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the month of September 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 September 1738: bullocks 6, cows 76, heifers 29, steers 28, yearlings 63, calves 33, bulls 4, neat cattle total 239, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 0, rams 4, sheep total 38, sows 8, shoats 10, pigs 13, boars 1, hogs total 32, turkeys 29, fowls 22, ducks 5, geese 5, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Increased in the month: bullocks 34, cows 0, heifers 11, steers 0, yearlings 3, calves 0, bulls 2, neat cattle total 50, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 12, rams 0, sheep total 12, sows 1, shoats 5, pigs 16, boars 0, hogs total 22, turkeys 0, fowls 48, ducks 10, geese 10, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the increase: bullocks 40, cows 76, heifers 40, steers 23, yearlings 66, calves 33, bulls 6, neat cattle total 289, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 12, rams 4, sheep total 50, sows 9, shoats 15, pigs 29, boars 1, hogs total 54, turkeys 29, fowls 70, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Cattle cut and grown: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 16, yearlings 30, calves 3, bulls 0, neat cattle total 49, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 5, boars 0, hogs total 6, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the cutting and growing: bullocks 40, cows 76, heifers 40, steers 12, yearlings 36, calves 30, bulls 6, neat cattle total 240, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 12, rams 4, sheep total 50, sows 9, shoats 14, pigs 24, boars 1, hogs total 48, turkeys 29, fowls 70, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Killed in the month: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 0, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 2, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 2, turkeys 4, fowls 15, ducks 0, geese 1, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 40, cows 76, heifers 40, steers 12, yearlings 36, calves 30, bulls 6, neat cattle total 240, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 12, rams 4, sheep total 50, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 24, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 25, fowls 55, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Dead in the month: bullocks 0, cows 1, heifers 0, steers 0, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 1, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Remaining 30 September 1738: bullocks 40, cows 75, heifers 40, steers 12, yearlings 36, calves 30, bulls 6, neat cattle total 239, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 12, rams 4, sheep total 50, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 24, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 25, fowls 55, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 15,000 lb Total yams, 32,000 lb Interpretations The year-end muster falls in this month, and the great movements in the account are reclassifications rather than purchases. Fifty head appear as increased and forty-nine are moved by cutting and grown, cutting being castration, so bullocks rise from six to forty while steers fall from 28 to twelve and yearlings from 66 to 36. Not one animal was bought, and the herd closes at 239 head, exactly where it stood at the opening of the month. That adjustment restores the appearance of a saleable stock without adding a beast. Bullocks had fallen to six by March 1738 and steers to 28, both the lowest in this record, and the shipping season of 1739 would have found nothing to victual it. The same device was used at the muster of 30 September 1737, when 149 head were moved between classes to bring bullocks back to eleven and steers to fifty. Twelve lambs came in at the muster against a flock that had carried none since August, and the sheep rise from 38 to 50. Sixteen pigs and five shoats entered on the same footing, so the hogs stand at 46 against 32. Poultry gained 48 fowls, ten ducks and ten geese, the first substantial hatch since June, and the yard rises from 22 fowls to 55. A single cow died, the lowest monthly loss anywhere in this sequence, against seventeen and eighteen at the height of the drought earlier in the year. Taken with July and August at two apiece, the figure confirms that the failure which cost the island 687 head of cattle between the Company and the inhabitants has run its course. Yams at 32,000 lb close the Company year, and the plantations' share now exceeds the establishment's for the second month running. September ends the winter planting season, so the standing crop counted at 548,000 lb on 18 July 1738 has to carry the settlement through the summer ahead, and the reduced issue to the slaves reflects that reckoning rather than any shortage in the ground. |
310 | 302 | Governour Goodwins Annual Acct of the Honble Compas Neat Stock of Cattle &c for the Year Ending 30 Septr 1738 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Pigs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totall Remg 1 Octr 1737: Bullocks 11, Cowes 121, Heifers 51, Steers 50, Yearlings 90, Calves 73, Bulls 6, Totall 402, Ewes 46, Weathers 10, Lambs 2, Rams 4, Totall 62, Sowes 9, Shoates 24, Pigs 12, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 44, Fowles 130, Ducks 18, Geese 10, Horses 8, Mares 13, Totall 21 Encreased in one year: Bullocks 34, Cowes 0, Heifers 11, Steers 0, Yearlings 3, Calves 6, Bulls 2, Totall 56, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 13, Rams 0, Totall 13, Sowes 1, Shoates 5, Pigs 27, Boars 0, Totall 33, Turkeys 19, Fowles 182, Ducks 20, Geese 15, Horses 1, Mares 2, Totall 3 Bullocks 45, Cowes 121, Heifers 62, Steers 50, Yearlings 63, Calves 79, Bulls 8, Totall 458, Ewes 46, Weathers 10, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 75, Sowes 10, Shoates 29, Pigs 39, Boars 1, Totall 79, Turkeys 63, Fowles 312, Ducks 38, Geese 25, Horses 9, Mares 15, Totall 24 Cattle Cut & Grown: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 16, Yearlings 30, Calves 3, Bulls 0, Totall 49, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 1, Pigs 5, Boars 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 45, Cowes 121, Heifers 62, Steers 34, Yearlings 63, Calves 76, Bulls 8, Totall 409, Ewes 46, Weathers 10, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 75, Sowes 10, Shoates 28, Pigs 34, Boars 1, Totall 73, Turkeys 63, Fowles 312, Ducks 38, Geese 25, Horses 9, Mares 15, Totall 24 Sold in one year: Bullocks 3, Cowes 2, Heifers 12, Steers 18, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 35, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 1, Mares 0, Totall 1 Bullocks 42, Cowes 119, Heifers 50, Steers 16, Yearlings 63, Calves 76, Bulls 8, Totall 374, Ewes 46, Weathers 10, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 75, Sowes 10, Shoates 28, Pigs 34, Boars 1, Totall 73, Turkeys 63, Fowles 312, Ducks 38, Geese 25, Horses 8, Mares 15, Totall 23 Killed in one year: Bullocks 0, Cowes 4, Heifers 3, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 1, Bulls 0, Totall 8, Ewes 8, Weathers 6, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 16, Sowes 0, Shoates 16, Pigs 10, Boars 0, Totall 26, Turkeys 38, Fowles 257, Ducks 23, Geese 7, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 42, Cowes 119, Heifers 46, Steers 13, Yearlings 63, Calves 76, Bulls 7, Totall 366, Ewes 38, Weathers 4, Lambs 13, Rams 4, Totall 59, Sowes 10, Shoates 12, Pigs 24, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 25, Fowles 55, Ducks 15, Geese 18, Horses 8, Mares 15, Totall 23 Died in one year: Bullocks 2, Cowes 44, Heifers 6, Steers 1, Yearlings 27, Calves 46, Bulls 1, Totall 127, Ewes 8, Weathers 0, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Totall 9, Sowes 1, Shoates 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 3, Horses 5, Mares 0, Totall 5 Remg 30 Septr 1738: Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 30, Bulls 6, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Weathers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoates 12, Pigs 24, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 25, Fowles 55, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horses 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 | Governor Goodwin's annual account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other animals for the year ending 30 September 1738, the column headings legible throughout. Remaining 1 October 1737: bullocks 11, cows 121, heifers 51, steers 50, yearlings 90, calves 73, bulls 6, neat cattle total 402, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 2, rams 4, sheep total 62, sows 9, shoats 24, pigs 12, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 44, fowls 130, ducks 18, geese 10, horses 8, mares 13, horses total 21 Increased in one year: bullocks 34, cows 0, heifers 11, steers 0, yearlings 3, calves 6, bulls 2, neat cattle total 56, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 13, rams 0, sheep total 13, sows 1, shoats 5, pigs 27, boars 0, hogs total 33, turkeys 19, fowls 182, ducks 20, geese 15, horses 1, mares 2, horses total 3 Standing after the increase: bullocks 45, cows 121, heifers 62, steers 50, yearlings 93, calves 79, bulls 8, neat cattle total 458, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 15, rams 4, sheep total 75, sows 10, shoats 29, pigs 39, boars 1, hogs total 79, turkeys 63, fowls 312, ducks 38, geese 25, horses 9, mares 15, horses total 24 Cattle cut and grown: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 0, steers 16, yearlings 30, calves 3, bulls 0, neat cattle total 49, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 1, pigs 5, boars 0, hogs total 6, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the cutting and growing: bullocks 45, cows 121, heifers 62, steers 34, yearlings 63, calves 76, bulls 8, neat cattle total 409, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 15, rams 4, sheep total 75, sows 10, shoats 28, pigs 34, boars 1, hogs total 73, turkeys 63, fowls 312, ducks 38, geese 25, horses 9, mares 15, horses total 24 Sold in one year: bullocks 3, cows 2, heifers 12, steers 18, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 0, neat cattle total 35, ewes 0, wethers 0, lambs 0, rams 0, sheep total 0, sows 0, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 0, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 0, horses 1, mares 0, horses total 1 Standing after the sale: bullocks 42, cows 119, heifers 50, steers 16, yearlings 63, calves 76, bulls 8, neat cattle total 374, ewes 46, wethers 10, lambs 15, rams 4, sheep total 75, sows 10, shoats 28, pigs 34, boars 1, hogs total 73, turkeys 63, fowls 312, ducks 38, geese 25, horses 8, mares 15, horses total 23 Killed in one year: bullocks 0, cows 0, heifers 4, steers 3, yearlings 0, calves 0, bulls 1, neat cattle total 8, ewes 8, wethers 6, lambs 2, rams 0, sheep total 16, sows 0, shoats 16, pigs 10, boars 0, hogs total 26, turkeys 38, fowls 257, ducks 23, geese 7, horses 0, mares 0, horses total 0 Standing after the killing: bullocks 42, cows 119, heifers 46, steers 13, yearlings 63, calves 76, bulls 7, neat cattle total 366, ewes 38, wethers 4, lambs 13, rams 4, sheep total 59, sows 10, shoats 12, pigs 24, boars 1, hogs total 47, turkeys 25, fowls 55, ducks 15, geese 18, horses 8, mares 15, horses total 23 Died in one year: bullocks 2, cows 44, heifers 6, steers 1, yearlings 27, calves 46, bulls 1, neat cattle total 127, ewes 8, wethers 0, lambs 1, rams 0, sheep total 9, sows 1, shoats 0, pigs 0, boars 0, hogs total 1, turkeys 0, fowls 0, ducks 0, geese 3, horses 5, mares 0, horses total 5 Remaining 30 September 1738: bullocks 40, cows 75, heifers 40, steers 12, yearlings 36, calves 30, bulls 6, neat cattle total 239, ewes 30, wethers 4, lambs 12, rams 4, sheep total 50, sows 9, shoats 12, pigs 24, boars 1, hogs total 46, turkeys 25, fowls 55, ducks 15, geese 15, horses 3, mares 15, horses total 18 Interpretations The year's whole story lies in the death column. One hundred and twenty-seven cattle died against 35 sold and eight killed, so the drought took nearly three times what the shipping and the table together consumed. The herd fell from 402 head to 239, a loss of 163 across twelve months, and the comparison with earlier years is stark: 42 died in the year to September 1734, fourteen in the year to 1735 and a single beast in the year to 1736. Forty-four cows and 46 calves went among the dead, which is the loss that will govern the years ahead. Breeding cows fell from 121 to 75 and the increase for the whole twelvemonth came to six calves, where the previous year had produced 227 head. A herd with 75 cows and no calf cohort behind it cannot restore itself quickly, whatever the season brings. Only 35 head were sold to shipping, against 86 the previous year and 120 in the year to September 1735. Twelve heifers and two cows went among them, so the council was cutting into breeding females even at that reduced level, and it stopped selling entirely from April 1738 onward. Five horses died out of 21, and the stud closes at eighteen. The eight mares landed at 16 rupees apiece from the Wyndham and the Defence in May and June 1737 had carried the Company's holding to its largest figure in this record, and the founding sire brought out in Isaac Pyke's first government died in December 1737 at close to twenty-five years old. The poultry yard turned over almost entirely, 182 fowls hatched against 257 killed, closing at 55 against 130 at the year's opening. That yard had stood at 506 after the muster of 30 September 1736 and has now been consumed across two successive years in which beef was absent from the fort's table for months together. |
311 | 303 | Mr Richd Goodwin this day made Complaint upon Oath that he has lately Lost a hog & upon Strict Enquiry hath just Cause to Suspect that John Long is the Person who Stole it & hath since sold the same desiring that the said Long who as an Old & notorious Offender & has been guilty of numerous Thefts & Robberies may be brought to Justice that a Warrant for his Apprehension might be Granted & it was done Accordingly, & the said Long for want of Bail was committed to Prison in Order to be tryed for this offence at the Approaching Sessions but Joseph the eldest Son of the said Long who is a Soldier in the Garrison was confined upon all Guardes at one of the out forts to prevent his doing farther Mischief, & the Youngest after a gentle Correction was discharged from farther Confinement D Crispe At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 10 Octr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read and Approved Richard Goodwin maketh Oath that he lately lost a hog & having that John Long about the same time did sell one whose Content & Description Answered to that which this Deponent left he went & viewed the said hog & is as certain as a man can possibly be on hearsay of his Nature that the said hog is really this Deponents as being bred on his yard from a Sow that had such Particular marke of which he Took Notice by often seeing it that he believes he could Distinguish it, was it mixed with hundreds of other Swine Richard Goodwin Sworn this 10 of Octr 1738 before me John Goodwin Govr John Hodghinson the person at whose house a hog was lately sent to be salted maketh Oath that when the said hog was brought to his House he did not observe any Signs or token that either of the Ears were lugged or torn by a dog, but took Notice that one of the Ears was fresh Cut & marked & as this Deponent hath since heard was Altered out of the mark of some other Person into the mark of the said Long & this Deponent Saith that he was present when the said hog was carried to the house of the said Long & to the Hogs of Mr Richard Goodwin & the Hogs of the said Richard Goodwin & after from them & it went to the hogs of the said Richard Goodwin & after they had been put together Severall times they & this & the same & | Richard Goodwin complained on oath that he had lately lost a hog, and that on strict enquiry he had good cause to suspect John Long the person who stole it and afterwards sold it. Long being an old and notorious offender, guilty of numerous thefts and robberies, and desiring that he be brought to justice, Goodwin asked that a warrant issue for his apprehension. The warrant was granted and Long was committed to prison for want of bail, in order to be tried at the approaching sessions. Joseph, the eldest son, being a soldier of the garrison, was confined upon a guard at one of the outer forts to prevent his doing further mischief, and the youngest was discharged from further confinement after a gentle correction. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Tuesday 10 October 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Richard Goodwin swore that he had lately lost a hog, and had heard that John Long about the same time sold a hog whose colour and description answered that which he himself had lost. He viewed the hog and was as certain as a man can possibly be in cases of that nature that it was the one he had lost, it having been bred in his own yard from a sow of his own with particular marks that he knew by often seeing it, and that he could distinguish it although it mixed with hundreds of other swine. He swore to the statement before Governor Goodwin on 10 October 1738. John Hodgkinson, at whose house the hog was lately sent to be killed, made oath that when it was brought there he did not observe any signs or token that either of the ears were cropped or torn by a dog, but took notice that one of them was fresh cut and marked. He had since examined it and found that the mark had been altered out of the mark of some other person into the mark of Long. He said that he was present when the hog was turned into the hogs belonging to Long and to the hogs of Richard Goodwin, and afterwards from them it went to the hogs of Richard Goodwin, and that they had been put together several times, and the same [...]. Interpretations Cropping a beast's ears destroyed the only evidence of ownership the island possessed. Every holder registered his own device of crops, slits, forks and notches, and the mark served as a portable deed on ground where nothing was fenced continuously. The council held on 19 March 1734 that mingling stock and altering marks was a gross and unlawful way of stealing, damaging alike to the Company, to the owners of the shipping and to every inhabitant. Peg, Long's own slave woman, deposed on 2 July 1736 that he pounded goats, cut off their ears and threw them into the fire so that nobody could tell by their skins whose they were. Hodgkinson's evidence is what makes this prosecution possible where a dozen earlier attempts failed. A free man swearing that a fresh cut had converted one owner's device into another's supplies the direct proof that slave testimony, being inadmissible against a free defendant, could never furnish. Long escaped conviction for a decade on that ground, and the two occasions on which he was punished both rested on free witnesses, George Knight's oath of 1 May 1733 and the summary route under the act of 43 Elizabeth chapter 7 in September 1733. Confining the eldest son at an outer fort rather than in the town gaol uses his military status as the instrument. Joseph Long had informed against his father on 11 September 1733 over yams taken from the Company's plantation at the Peak, and had been placed with Sergeant Garner on a reasonable allowance to remove him from the household. Posting him to a distant guard separated him from the family without any charge or trial. Long had been left in prison in September 1736 on the council's resolution that his family lived better without him and that nothing but the gallows would break him. He was sent to Bencoolen aboard the Lyell in 1734 and contrived his return within the year, and his petition of 9 March 1736 to go there again was answered by a recital of that history. His reappearance now, at liberty and selling a hog with an altered mark, closes a circle running back more than ten years. |
312 | 304 | & it went with the hogs of the said Richd Goodwin towards its usual Range & saith that one Ear was cut quite off & the other Ear was fresh marked with the mark of the said Long John Hodghinson Sworn this 10 of Octr 1738 before me John Goodwin Govr Richard Beale maketh Oath that Richd Goodwin having told this Deponent that he had lost a hog & that John Long had lately Sold a hog whose marks Answered the Content & Description of the hog he lost & desiring this Deponent to view the said Hog he went & viewed the same Accordingly but could not discern any sign or token that Either of the Ears of the said hog were lugged or Torn by a Dog but one of the Ears seemed lately cutt & Marked into the Mark of the said Long & this Deponent doth verily believe that the said hog was Stolen from the said Richd Goodwin & saith that one Ear was Absolute cutt off & that the other Ear had been lately cut into the marke of the said Long & that Mr Goodwin only Marks one Ear & leaves the other uncut Richard Beale Sworn before me this 10 Octr 1738 John Goodwin Govr St Helena The Depositions of George Gabl Powell & Saml Powell taken upon Oath before me John Goodwin Esqr of this Island this 10 day of Octr 1738 These Deponents severally say that Mr Goodwin having lost a hog which is said usually Grazed in Springs Valley near ground with other Hogs of Mr Goodwin & John Long having Sold a hog which it was reported Answered to the marks & Description of the hog left & the said Long as a Proof of the fact having desired as these Deponents have been informed that it might be turnd loose out of the Sty where it had been feeding for near a fortnight, the Person who bought it, at the Place where other of the said Longs Hogs Grazed & that if it did not turn with them again he would forfeit his Ears, the Experiment was accordingly made at which these Deponents were present but the hog instead of going or feeding with the hogs of the said Long, Long who bent it away & it went to the hogs of the said Richd Goodwin And the said James Powells who is Longs near Neighbour farther saith that he hath very often seen the hogs which the said Long claims as his own but he never see the said Stolen Hog or any that it along with them which this Deponent thinks he must have done had the said Long really any such hog & verily believes the said Hog belongs to the said Richard Goodwin And the said George Gabl Powell farther sayth that he was desired to view the said hog on the Sty & observe the marks thereof & whether the Ear or either of them were lugged or torn by a Dog & he accordingly did view it, but could not discern any sign of its being so lugged or torn but verily believe that the Ear was lately Cut & the mark clandestinely turned | Hodgkinson added that the hog went with those of Richard Goodwin towards their usual range, and said that one ear was cut quite off and the other was freshly marked with Long's mark. He swore to the statement before Governor Goodwin on 10 October 1738. Richard Beale swore that Richard Goodwin told him he had lost a hog, and that John Long had lately sold one whose colour and description answered the animal he had lost. Goodwin asked him to view the hog and he did so, but could not see any sign or token that either ear had been lugged or torn by a dog. One of the ears had lately been cut and marked into Long's mark, and Beale believed the hog was stolen from Goodwin. He said that one ear was cut quite off, that the other had lately been cut into Long's mark, and that Goodwin's own mark took only one ear and left the other uncut. He swore to the statement before Governor Goodwin on 10 October 1738. The depositions of George Gabriel Powell and Samuel Powell were taken on oath at St Helena before Governor Goodwin on 10 October 1738. They said severally that Richard Goodwin had lost a hog which usually grazed in Young's Valley near ground where the hogs of Goodwin and of Long ran together. Long had sold a hog which by report answered the marks and description of the one Goodwin lost, and Long was as strong of the fact as the deponents had been informed. It might be turned loose out of the sty where it had been feeding for near a fortnight. The person who bought it at the place where the hogs of Long ran and grazed, and if it did not have with him again, he would forfeit his ears. The experiment was accordingly made, at which those deponents were present, but the hog instead of going or feeding with the hogs of Long went and turned away and went to the hogs of Richard Goodwin. James Powell, who was Long's near neighbour, said further that he had very often seen the hogs which Long claimed as his own, but never saw the stolen hog or any beast along with them, which the deponent thinks he would have done had it belonged to Long. He verily believed the hog belonged to Richard Goodwin. George Gabriel Powell said further that he was desired to view the hog on the sty and observe the marks on it, whether the ear or either of them were lugged or torn by a dog, and he accordingly did view it, but could not observe any sign of its being so lugged or torn, and verily believed that the ear was lately cut and the mark clandestinely turned into [...]. Interpretations Turning the animal loose to see which herd it joined is a practical test of ownership where no document existed and the mark had been destroyed. Swine kept to their accustomed range and their own company, so a hog released between two herds would go to the one it belonged with. The council had no other means of establishing title once the ears were cut, and the experiment was conducted before witnesses so that its result could be sworn to. The distinction the witnesses press is between a mark cut with a knife and an ear torn by a dog. A holder accused of altering a device would ordinarily plead accidental damage, since free-ranging stock was frequently worried by dogs, and the council had issued warrants to destroy dogs that hunted the Company's goats in January and November 1729. Three separate deponents state that they looked for signs of tearing and found none, which closes that defence before it could be raised. Goodwin's mark took one ear and left the other whole. Cutting the untouched ear entirely away destroyed the evidence of what had been there, and marking the remaining one into Long's device completed the conversion. That is precisely what Peg described her master doing to goats on 2 July 1736, cutting off their ears and burning them so that nobody could tell whose they were. Four free men have now sworn against Long in a single sitting, which is what every earlier prosecution lacked. The council recorded through the 1730s that the testimony of blacks was inadmissible and no conviction could be obtained, and Long escaped on that ground over the goat shootings of 1729, the harbouring of runaways in 1733 and the Doveton yams in 1735. James Powell, a near neighbour, is himself among the most complained of men in this record, so the accusation comes from every quarter of the neighbourhood. |
313 | 305 | into Longs mark & by these Sundry Circumstances he doth verily believe the said hog to belong to the said Richard Goodwin Sworn before me this 10 day Octr 1738 John Goodwin Govr Geo Gabl Powell James Powell The Petition of John Bazett was presented & read praying Enter or to be to confirm but Title to the parcell of Land afsd made lying in the Fort Valley which he lately bought of James Bruett & his Freehold and Papers which he hath Built a Dwelling House & other outhouses, no Person whatever Claiming or pretending to have any Interest or Right therein or Complaining & the Grant afsd upon his own Knowledge & Assess that the Allegations of this Petition are true & did was accordingly Ordered to be prepared & was this day Executed & delivered to him accordingly D Crispe At a Consultation held on Wednesday 11 Octr 1738 at the Castle PRESENT John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depy Govr John Bazett & of Councill The last Consultation was read & approved Mr Crispe Reports that according to the Directions given to him in Consultation of the 19 Septr last he has Searched the Books relating to the Summs of money which have been Expended within that time in the Article of Diet Expences for Provisions for the Supply of the Generall Table Also for the same laid out upon the Fortifications since Mr Pyke was the last time Governour & by them it appears that in the first years during which time Mr Pyke was Governour the Seasons of which both in the Summer & Winter abounded with exceeding great Plenty of every thing much greater than has happened within the memory of the most Antient Inhabitant of this Place, amounted to nearly more Liquid is it exclusive of the Product of the Honble Companies Plantations Rum & all sorts & of all Liquids & Provisions Sent from England & received out of the Companies Stores, & that in the last Year & four Months Mr Pyke was Governour four years of which we attend to Rate for their Barreness & Sterility in which he Setled in Generall & the Sore Extra- ordinary in particular scarcity Suffered & mauled only to the Sum of £632: 9: 6 In Mr Pykes time it was after the Rate of £26 - a year & in Mr Pykes time exact of which one Spake of great Scarcity it did not exceed £631 - & amounts the difference, omitting Small Fractions is just £69 - & amount Expended in the same Years of the greatest Plenty more than was Expended in the Sam Years of the greatest four of which same years of great want & for the greater certainty & Satisfaction herein were made the following Extracts vizt Yearly Expended by Mr Pyke in the Article of Diet Expences exclusive of the Fort Goods Yearly Expended by Mr Goodwin in the Article of Diet Expences exclusive of the Fort Goods Ledger R 156 14 6 Ledger 3 & Year 193 19 3 S 222 7 6 Z 302 2 5 T 247 18 8 A 101 17 3 V 418 2 B 149 16 9 W 402 1 6 C 353 3 X 360 6 2 D 299 6 1 Y 3 Year 189 13 9 E 229 18 11 1996 14 1 1533 9 5 | The witnesses concluded that the ear had been cut into Long's mark, and from all the circumstances they truly believed the hog belonged to Richard Goodwin. George Gabriel Powell and James Powell swore to their statements before Governor Goodwin on 10 October 1738. John Bazett petitioned, setting out that he had been at considerable expense in building a house, and asked leave to enclose the ground he had lately bought in the fort valley next to his dwelling house and other houses, so that no person whatever might come in claiming or pretending to have any liberty or right thereon by leave already given him. The board found the allegations of the petition true and ordered a deed prepared, which was executed the same day and delivered to him accordingly. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. The council met at the castle on Wednesday 11 October 1738, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett of council present. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Mr Crisp reported that in accordance with the direction given in the consultation of 19 September 1738 he had searched the books, and had found what sums of money had been expended within that period in the article of diet expenses for provisions and for the supply of the general table. He also stated what sums had been laid out upon the fortifications since the time of the late Governor Byfield and of the present government, and by them it appeared that in the four years during which Mr Byfield governed, the seasons of both the summer and winter afforded with exceeding great plenty of everything, much greater than had happened within the memory of the inhabitants of that place. He added that in nearly nine years, including the produce of the Honourable Company's plantation, the whole of all sorts of liquors and provisions sent from England had been issued out of the Company's stores, and that in the last year and four months no other supply was got in over four years, of which he understood also for their barrenness and scarcity, in which he found in general the four preceding years particular seasons only sufficient to maintain only the sum of £6,384 9s 5d. In Mr Byfield's time it was after the rate of £1,596 a year, and in Mr Pyke's time some of which were years of great scarcity it did not exceed £1,631 4s a year. In the accounts he had before him, omitting small fractions it was just £1,689 a year expended on the sole years of the greatest plenty more than was expended in the six years of the greatest scarcity, of which some years of great want and for two years certainly, and to satisfaction the sum was made the following table. Yearly expended by Mr Byfield in the article of diet expenses exclusive of the store goods Ledger B, £306 14s 6d Ledger C, £322 7s 6d Ledger T, £347 18s 8d Ledger V, £478 2s 0d Ledger W, £402 1s 6d Ledger X, £360 6s 2d Ledger Y, half a year, £189 13s 9d Total, £1,996 14s 1d Yearly expended by Mr Byfield in the article of diet expenses exclusive of the store goods Ledger Y and a half year, £190 19s 9d Ledger Z, £302 2s 5d Ledger A, £101 17s 3d Ledger B, £149 16s 2d Ledger C, £353 0s 3d Ledger D, £229 6s 1d Ledger E, £209 18s 11d Total, £1,533 9s 5d Interpretations The comparison Mr Crisp was set to make is one the council had drawn before, and it was the standard instrument for judging a governor. Byfield ordered separate abstracts of the charge of the island under Governor Smith and under himself on 28 November 1727, and the resulting figures showed the yearly expense reduced by some thousand or two hundred pounds. Goodwin's direction of 19 September 1738 revives the same method, and its purpose is to establish a baseline against which his own retrenchment can be measured. Diet expenses cover the fort's general table, at which the Governor, the councillors, the officers and every commander, supercargo and passenger of note ashore were fed. The monthly accounts through this run have stood between £30 0s 0d and £57 0s 0d, with arrack alone taking a quarter and wine climbing sharply whenever ships lay in the road. A yearly figure near £300 0s 0d for the table alone, exclusive of store goods, is what those months add up to. Ledgers lettered in sequence are the island's account books, each covering roughly a year, and the letters run from B through Z and begin again at A. Reading the diet expenses out of them ledger by ledger was the only way to reconstruct a series, since the books were copied fairly and sent home each year and no running summary was kept on the island. Enclosing ground already bought, and taking a deed to bar any claim of liberty over it, addresses a defect that had troubled the council for years. John Alexander reported on 16 November 1730 that holders commonly neglected to register a deed once delivered, which is why several titles could not be traced when challenged. Bazett, newly of council and newly appointed storekeeper, was taking the precaution his own board had learned to insist on. |
314 | 306 | Charge of the Fortifications in Mr Pykes time vizt Ledger Y 146 2 4 Z 240 6 9 A 279 15 4 B 336 10 8 C 513 14 2 D 411 10 9 E 369 4 5 2197 4 1/2 This Report being taken into Consideration it was observed that the yearly Expence of the Fortifications which at a Consultation of 6 Octr last was done the first Sixteen months was actually ended, & was more entirely as we find except a few Small Timbers & other Instruments, which from time to time must be Supplied, without which no Buildings or Repairs can be carried on by our timely care to discharge all the Sons Blacks immediately after the Death of Governour Pyke, & as to the great Charge relating to the Diet Expences the Governour declares to whom it has been allwayes Customary to leave the Management of these things and that he had determined totally to suppress it & to be resolute at least he is resolved to contract the Expence of the Table within such reasonable & moderate limits as shall give no Cause or Reason for our Honble Masters to complain of his Frugality or Husbandry in this or any other Affairs, which the Object their Interest & the Gentlemen of Councill earnestly desired him, that in point of their Individuall Duties, as well as in Consideration of the constant Charge this Island is to them, the prejudice done them in their Trade & Commerce by foreign Nations, & the great Loss & Sufferings them in India, these matters ought to be carefully looked after & he assured them that no Diligence or Industry should be wanting in him to compleat these good Purposes, but nevertheless we are Sensible that this cannot be done at all times, for the Calamities of the times have been such, & our misfortunes so great occasioned by the long continuance of the dry Weather, & the Scarcity felt by the Death of the Cattle, Swine, Poultry, & Provisions of all Sorts, attended by the same time with a great Scarcity both of Yams & fish, which formerly used to be very numberous, & the Companies Stock of every kind being thereby reduced very low, some Supply for this year must be somehow got, but in Small Parcells, & in the most Saving & Sparing manner that possibly may be D Crispe | The report set out the charge of the fortifications during Governor Pyke's government. Ledger Y, £46 3s 4d Ledger Z, £240 6s 9d Ledger A, £279 15s 1.5d Ledger B, £336 10s 8d Ledger C, £513 14s 2d Ledger D, £411 10s 9d Ledger E, £369 4s 5d Total, £2,197 4s 1.5d The board considered the report and observed that the yearly expense of the fortifications, which at a moderate computation had done the first sixteen months, was actually voted and was more entirely as an aid, except a few small timbers and other ironwork, which from time to time must be delivered, without which no buildings or defence can be carried on by any timely care. The Governor accordingly directed all the black slaves immediately after the death of Governor Pyke. As to the great charge relating to diet expenses, the Governor declared to whom it has been always customary to leave the management of those affairs that had determined wholly to suppress it if he be so resolved. He was at least resolved to contract the expense of the table within such reasonable and moderate bounds as would give no cause or reason for the Honourable Company to complain of any lack of frugality or husbandry in that or any other matter, which is the chief object of his purpose. He earnestly desired the gentlemen of council to consider that in point of their individual duties, as well as in consideration of the constant charge which stood so to affect the prejudice both to them in their fresh and common and foreign fashion, and the great expense entrusted to them in judgement, these matters ought to be carefully looked after. He assured them that no diligence or industry should be wanting in him to complete these good endeavours, but nevertheless they were sensible that this cannot be done all at once, for the calamities of the times have been such, and their misfortunes so great, occasioned by the long continuance of the dry weather and the scarcity felt by the death of their cattle, swine, poultry and provisions of all sorts, attended at the same time with a great scarcity both of yams and fish, which formerly used to be a vast maintenance, and the Company's stock of every kind being thereby reduced very low. Some supply for this year must be otherwise got, but in small parcels and in the most saving and sparing manner that possibly may be. The minute was subscribed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations The fortification charge of £2,197 4s 1.5d across seven ledger years reflects a policy of building with the Company's own labour rather than by contract. What the money bought was iron, timber and materials, since the hands came from the establishment and cost nothing beyond their keep. Governor Pyke made that argument on 2 July 1734, computing that Colonel Gaultier's demand of forty hands came in truth to 110 once boats, quarrymen, limeburners and overseers were counted, and holding the design impossible for want of men rather than money. Taking the slaves off other work immediately on Pyke's death, which Goodwin reported to the board on 8 August 1738, is the same principle pressed further. The advertisement of 11 June 1734 for six hired slaves at ninepence a day drew not one tender, and the council would not raise the rate for fear of appearing to let the inhabitants impose upon the Company, so the works had crawled for four years. A governor willing to strip the plantations of hands could build a redoubt at Rupert's for the price of the ironwork. The diet expenses are the softer target and the more delicate one. The general table fed the councillors themselves along with every commander and supercargo entertained ashore, so a governor proposing to contract it was asking the men in front of him to accept less. That is why the passage turns to their individual duties and to what the Company would think, rather than simply ordering a reduction. The list of calamities is not rhetoric but the record of the past twelve months. The annual stock account to 30 September 1738 showed 127 cattle dead against 35 sold, the herd falling from 402 head to 239, and the return of 13 June 1738 put the inhabitants' losses at 555 head with the Company's at 132. The poultry yard closed at 55 fowls against 130 at the year's opening, and yams had been issued at reduced rates since August. Fish had been the establishment's staple protein since 1 March 1727, when Governor Byfield replaced the slaves' meat ration with it and set eleven men constantly in the boats. Two of the Company's fishermen were washed off the rocks and drowned in January 1738, and a failure in that supply on top of the cattle losses left the island with very little to fall back on. |
315 | 307 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 17th Octr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour Reports that there being Severall Sorts of damaged Goods in the Stores Such as Shoes Stockings &c &c proposed that rather than they Should be totally Spoiled they Should be exposed to publick Sale & the Same was approved to be on the next Musterday when all the Garrison & most of the Plantors will be at the Fort & that what Should not then go off Should be again exposed to Sale upon every Muster Day for the next three months Succeeding &c longer if it Shall be necessary The Petition of Seth Bazett Gent was presented & Read, setting forth that there is a parcell of very barren Land containing about Twenty four Acres lying in the East Division of the Said Island near the place called the Woody Ridge which he is willing to undertake & Improve by planting of Wood thereon now every where become very Scarce, provided he may be admitted Purchaser thereof at a reasonable Valuation Such as Shall be Sated & Setled by any two or three Indifferent Persons who Shall be appointed to Value & appraise the Same, & it being agreeable to the Honble Companies Orders & Directions that such Land as could be Lett or Sold without Prejudice to themselves might be So Lett & disposed of & this Peice of Land not being of any Service to them the Petition was Granted accordingly & Mr Samuell Donison on behalfe of the Company & Mr John Dis[...] on the part of the Said Mr Bazett were Appointed to Value & appraise the Same The Said Mr Bazett also desired to Purchase a Small Peice of Ground lying behind his House & Yard in the Fort Valley containing Sixty two feet in Breadth & Thirty Six feet in Depth from his Yard Wall & this peice of Ground being utterly useless both to the Honble Company & the Neighbourhood he was accepted Purchaser thereof for the Sum of Forty Shillings & a Bill of Bargain & Sale was delivered him accordingly The Executors of John Cowling dec'd this day presented the following Bills of Sale viz One from Martin Kaffer to Mr Crispe & from Mr Crispe to the Said John Cowling for 25 Acres Leased Land One other from Joseph Moore for 10 Acres Garden Land One other from Mr William Mudge for 5 Acres &c One other from Jacob Cart[...] for 21 Acres Flatts &c Land Ind[...] And for the greater Security thereof desired that they might be Registred & therefore each of them Ordered to be Registred accordingly [...] | At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 October 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that the stores held several kinds of damaged goods, among them shoes and stockings. Rather than let them spoil entirely, he proposed offering them at public sale on the next muster day, when the garrison and most of the planters from the eastern parts of the island would be present. Whatever remained unsold would be offered again on every muster day for the next three months, and longer if the need continued. Seth Bazett presented a petition for a parcel of very poor land of about 24 acres in the eastern division of the island, near the place called the Woody Ridge. He was already improving it by planting wood, a commodity now grown very scarce across the island, and he asked to be admitted as its purchaser at a reasonable valuation. The council agreed. Two or three disinterested persons were to be appointed to value the land and fix its price, in keeping with the Company's directions that any land not lettable or saleable without harm to neighbouring holders might be sold or leased. Samuel Doveton was appointed to value and settle the price on the Company's behalf, and John Bazett [...] on behalf of Seth Bazett. Seth Bazett also asked to buy a small piece of ground behind his house and yard in the fort valley, measuring about 42 feet along the front and 30 feet in depth from his yard wall. The ground being of no use whatever to the Company and of no benefit to the neighbourhood, the council agreed to sell it to him for 40 shillings, and a bill of sale was delivered to him accordingly. The executors of John Durling presented the following bills of sale that day, which were ordered registered for their greater security: Bill from Martin Harper to Mr Crisp and John Durling, 25 acres of steel land Bill to John Durling for one parcel from Joseph Wood, 10 acres of steel land One parcel from Matthew Mudge, 5 acres of steel land One parcel from Giles Smith, 21 acres of steel land Interpretations The land at Woody Ridge was held under the Company's standing rule, applied throughout this record, that a parcel neither lettable nor saleable without prejudice to neighbouring holders could be disposed of by sale or lease at a valuation set by disinterested men. The same rule governed the sale to Seth Bazett of the small ground behind his fort valley house for 40 shillings on 26 September 1738, and the wider land reforms of 1 August 1732 requiring every parcel to be viewed before any grant. Wood had become the island's scarcest commodity by this date, the council having complained since the surveys of 1727 that unchecked cutting would leave no timber standing within a few years, which is why an improver planting wood on barren ground was welcomed as a purchaser. Steel land, named in each of the four bills of sale, was freehold held outright of the Company rather than by lease, the island's own term for land that descended and could be conveyed by deed. The registration of these bills gave the buyer a public record of title, the surest protection against the lost and missing deeds that troubled so many holdings in this record, John Durling himself having sought a fresh deed on 9 November 1730 after his own 25 acres proved to have no writing to show for it. Duke Crisp signed the consultation as Deputy Governor, the office he took up on Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738, with John Bazett filling the council seat left vacant by Captain Alexander's death and confirmed storekeeper on 15 August 1738. Speculations The Governor chose to clear the damaged shoes, stockings and other goods by public outcry on muster day rather than write them off as a dead loss, timing the sale for the one day when the garrison and the eastern planters were already gathered at the castle. The choice recovered something from stock that would otherwise have spoiled unsold, and the rolling arrangement of a further sale on every muster day for three months shows the calculation extended to the difficulty of drawing a scattered rural population down to the fort more than once. The decision followed directly from Governor Goodwin's declaration of 11 October 1738 that he would contract the table and give the Company no cause to complain of any want of frugality, the calamities of the drought having reduced the Company's stock and provisions very low. |
316 | 308 | At a Sessions held on Tuesday 24th Octr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr & Judge Duke Crispe John Bazett Assistants The Court being Opened as usuall the following Persons were Sworn of the Jury vizt Thomas Kelthope Foreman John French Senr Samuel Donison John Desfountain William Merrale Junr William Bennham John Bagly Stephen Lufkin Senr Thomas Greenice Joshua Johnson Robert Gunling Charles Steward John Long was Indicted for Stealing a Hog the Property of Richard Goodwin in Jss Cart to which he pleaded not Guilty The Evidence against him were the Same as mentioned in Consultation of the 6th instant who this day each attended except Geo: Gall Bower who is [...] & were once upon oath attested & again asked the Severall Facts and Circumstances they had before Sworn to Long in his Defence alledged that he came honestly by the Hog & Said it was his Sow & produced two of his Neighbours to prove the Same & his Eldest Son who then owned that his Sow was never theirs & the Evidences being upon their Oath were asked whether the Hog was his Fathers hog or not and he answered that he could not Swear it was his Fathers hog Elizabeth Long the Prisoners Daughter Aged about Twenty Yeares at her Fathers desire was also called & being come to the Cloth in order to be Sworn She declared She could not Swear the hog was her Fathers She having only Seen him fetch it & this Testimony not being any way Serviceable to her Father nor enforced on by them, She who not Sworn, & the Prisoner producing no other Evidence nor having any thing further to Say the Jury without Stiring from a Short time returned & found him Guilty Dick a Slave man belonging to Peter Desfountain a Plantor was Indicted for breaking upon the Green Compt Storehouse & Stealing thence Severall Parcells of Sugar Candi Clayed Candy to which Indictment he pleaded Guilty but the Consideration of what Punishment Should be inflicted to be for Long & him were deferred till Tuesday next [...] | At sessions held on Tuesday 24 October 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin as judge, with Duke Crisp and John Bazett as assistants. The court was opened in the usual way, and the following persons were sworn on the jury: Thomas Easthope, foreman John French senior Samuel Doveton John Defountaine William Worrall senior William Burnham John Bagley Stephen Lufkin senior Thomas Greentree Joshua Johnson Robert Girling Charles Steward John Long was indicted for stealing a hog, the property of Richard Goodwin, on 4 October, to which he pleaded not guilty. The evidence against him was the same as that recorded in the consultation of 10 October, given at that meeting under oath, except for that of George Gabriel Powell, who was now sworn afresh and testified again by word of mouth to the several facts and circumstances he had deposed before. Long spoke in his own defence. He maintained that he had come by the hog honestly, that it was his own and had been bred by two of his sows, and that his eldest son had caught it. When the earlier contradictions among his sons were put to him he could give no account of them. Sworn and asked directly whether the hog was his father's or not, the son answered that he could not swear it was his father's hog. Elizabeth Long, the prisoner's daughter of about twenty years, was called at her father's own request and asked to be sworn. She stated that the hog was her father's, but this being her father's cause and she in no way tied to the court nor bound by it, she was not sworn. The prisoner offered no further evidence and had nothing more to say. After a short time the jury found him guilty. Dick, a black man belonging to Mr Defountaine the planter, was indicted for breaking into the Company's green house and stealing several parcels of sugar, candy and bread. He pleaded guilty. In consideration of what his punishment ought to be, the matter was deferred until the following Tuesday, and Dick and Long were both held over until then. Interpretations The trial marks the end of a long immunity. John Long appears throughout this record as a persistent thief whom the council could rarely convict, since the testimony of slaves was inadmissible against a free man and Long's own household would not turn on him. His run broke on 11 September 1733, when the sworn word of a free man first told against him, and again on 1 May 1733, when George Knight's oath sent him to prison where the inadmissible evidence of blacks had always failed. Here the case rested on the free-men's evidence taken on 10 October 1738, on Richard Goodwin's sworn knowledge of his own beast among hundreds, on John Hodgkinson's account of the freshly cut ears at whose house the hog was killed, and on the experiment in which the animal, loosed between the two herds, went to Goodwin's hogs and not to Long's. Elizabeth Long's evidence was set aside on a point of competence rather than credibility. A close relative testifying in a parent's own cause was held an interested witness whose oath the court would not receive, so her willingness to swear the hog was her father's carried no weight against the jury's finding. The distinction turned on the law of evidence, not on any doubt about what she would have said. The green house Dick broke into was the storehouse for provisions rather than a glasshouse, the building where sugar, candy and bread were kept, the same stores broken open about two in the morning on 26 September 1738 by a runaway of John Defountaine's who was committed to the dungeon. Candy here means sugar candy, refined sugar crystallised in hard lumps, a valuable keeping form of the commodity. The court sat as a full sessions with Governor Goodwin as judge and a jury of twelve drawn from the island's substantial men, several of them councillors and former parish officers, the same body that had tried the island's serious offences throughout this record. Speculations The deferral of sentence on both prisoners to the following Tuesday, rather than punishment on conviction, shows the court holding back a decided verdict to weigh what penalty each case truly warranted. Long stood convicted of a hog theft after a decade of escaping justice, and the council had held more than once, on 21 September 1736 and elsewhere, that nothing but the gallows would break him, so the pause gave room to settle whether his long record of theft now carried him beyond the ordinary punishment for a single beast. Dick had pleaded guilty to breaking into the Company's own stores, an offence the council had marked for exemplary treatment when a runaway did the same on 26 September 1738, and the delay let the court fix a punishment public enough to deter the other slaves rather than deliver it in haste. |
317 | 309 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 31 Octr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The Last Consultation & the Proceeding at the Sessions held on Tuesday last this day Read & approved Messrs John Bazett & John Desfountain Exors of the Will of Mr Peter Perry this made Complaint in behalf of the Orphans of the Said Perry that Ensign Hoad who mistake the Said Land relating a wrong Verdict at the Tryals held between the Said Perry & John Hayes on the 2d July 1733 & to prove the Same the following Persons who were then upon that Jury Severally made Oath vizt Francis Wrangham Charles Steward Richard Beale Robert Gunling Joshua Johnson & John Desfountain Severally made Oath that they were each of them upon the Jury on the 2d July in the Year 1733 when a Cause was tryed between John Hayes Plantor & Samuell Perry Defendant relating to the Right of him the Said Hoyes to Ten Acre of Freehold Land part Cowleck the Said Hayes alledged was unlaw[fully] posesed by the Said Perry & they Sd each of them unanimously agree not the Said Hayes had a Right to Ten Acre of Freehold Land yet that Perry who was not in Possesion of any part thereof & that the Said Hayes to recover what he was wanting was not to come above or go beyond a certain Acre of Figures in Possesion of the Said Perry But when they were returned into Court then Jeremiah Ensign Hoad made th gross mistake for being asked for return they found & he answered for the Complent & he no more of which point Ever when one of these Deponents offered to inform the Court he was checked & reprimanded by the Judge Isaac Slape Esqr who forbid the Said Francis Wrangham to proceed & told him he had no busey ness to speake the Reason as it was to Speak for them or those to their Prejudice or Sd voice Sworn this 31 day Octr 1738 Jno Goodwin Govr Fran: Wrangham Rich: Beale Josa Johnson Charles Steward Robert Gunling Jno Desfountain The Said John Hayes attending the way Read in & the Severall Depositions before mentioned & considered to him & he was told that he ought with those a new Tryals or an Order taken or to have his Quantity of Land wanting made out to him after the Figures & he desired two Musterr Sennight to consider of it & he Should then give the answer The following Petition from John Long was Read viz To The Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Govr & Councell The humble Petition of John Long Sheweth That your Wor Battr Gitt came to informe that he was to for the Benefer of himself & Family to leave the Island & proceed to Coromande by the Fort & Storeship that Peace arrive [...] | At a consultation held on Tuesday 31 October 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation and the proceedings at the sessions held on the Tuesday before were read this day and approved. John Bazett and John Defountaine, executors of the estate of the late John Jephry, presented a complaint on behalf of the orphans of Jephry. They set out that Ensign Wood had made a mistake in the trial held between Jephry and John Hayes on 2 July 1733, and to prove it they asked that the jurors who served at that trial be sworn. A jury of twelve was accordingly sworn: Francis Wrangham Charles Steward Richard Beale Robert Girling Joshua Johnson John Defountaine They swore that they had each served on the jury on 2 July 1733, when a cause was tried between John Hayes as plaintiff and Samuel Jephry as defendant over the right to 10 acres of freehold land, part of which Hayes claimed. Hayes had been found in the wrong and the land confirmed to Jephry, and the jurors agreed unanimously that Hayes had never had any right to the 10 acres of freehold, and that Jephry was not to receive any part of it. They further swore that what was wanting was not to come to above 10 acres of freehold in opposition to Jephry, but that when the papers were entered into court Ensign Wood made a mistake in the wording, so that what they found was recorded for the plaintiff instead of the defendant. When one of the deponents attempted to inform the court that Wood had been mistaken, he remained by the judge's release. John Defountaine and Francis Wrangham proved that they had no business to speak for them, being on the jury. Sworn this 31 October 1738 before Governor Goodwin Francis Wrangham Richard Beale Joshua Johnson Charles Steward Robert Girling John Defountaine John Hayes attended and, the several depositions being read to him, was told that he might have a new trial or an arbitration, or to have the quantity of land wanting made out to him. He asked for time until the following Tuesday to consider, and was told he should then give his answer. The following petition from John Long was read that day, addressed to Governor Goodwin and council. Long stated that he had come by his losses through his own fault, and that for the sake of himself and his family he wished to leave the island and go to Bencoolen by the next store ship to arrive. Interpretations The proceeding was a rare attempt to correct a clerical error in the court record five years after judgement. The 1733 verdict had been entered by Ensign Wood, and the executors for the Jephry orphans now claimed that Wood had transposed the finding, recording for John Hayes the plaintiff what the jury had in fact found for Samuel Jephry the defendant. By re-swearing the surviving jurors the executors sought to establish what the verdict had truly been, since the written record and the jury's memory disagreed and the estate's title to the disputed 10 acres of freehold turned on which stood. The 2 July 1733 trial had confirmed the land to Jephry and found Hayes had no right, so if the entry read the other way the record contradicted its own outcome. The remedy offered to John Hayes reflects the council's habit of pressing parties towards settlement rather than fresh litigation. He was given three courses, a new trial, an arbitration, or simply to have the shortfall of land made good to him, the council everywhere in this record preferring an agreed division to the cost and ill will of a jury, as it did with Richard Beale and the Powell estate. That the same John Hayes had earlier had ten acres marked out to him from Jephry's ground by order of 14 August 1733 shows the two men's boundary had been contested for years. Several of the jurors here, Wrangham, Beale, Steward, Johnson, Girling and Defountaine, were the same substantial inhabitants who filled every jury and parish office in this record, and John Defountaine sat both as executor and as sworn juror to his own former verdict. Bencoolen, which John Long asked to be sent to, was the Company's pepper settlement at Fort Marlborough on the west coast of Sumatra, the standard destination to which St Helena shipped its troublesome characters and surplus slaves, a place of such high mortality that of some fifty slaves sent there within two years scarcely half remained, by the council's own note of 24 July 1733. Speculations John Long's petition to be sent to Bencoolen came within a week of his conviction for the hog theft on 24 October 1738, and the council had heard exactly this request from him before. He had been sent there aboard the Lyell at his own asking and had contrived his return within five months by false claims, then behaved as before, so his professed wish to leave for his family's sake rested against a record showing that his family lived better without him and that he had used the same plea to escape punishment on 19 June 1733 and again on 16 March 1736. What makes the moment pointed is the timing: a man convicted and awaiting sentence now asked for transportation as a favour, the very outcome that would spare him the island's justice, and the council knew from long experience that granting it would neither reform him nor keep him gone. |
318 | 310 | from England Your Wor therefore humbly Prays that he may have leave to go off with his Wife & Family as aforesaid & the leave to enable him to do So that liberty may be granted him to Sett his Leasehold Land And your Wor as in duty bound Shall ever Pray Jno Long St Helena 31 Octr 1738 Granted provided that he & his Family leave the Island by the first Storeship After this the acquainted the Said Long who is an incorrigible Rogue that the Punishment for the Crime of which he was Convicted on Tuesday last Should be as followes vizt Six Months Imprisonment & to be whipt Publickly by by the Marshall three times at a Months Distance, each form the other the first time with 30 Lashes the 2d with 35 the 3d with 40, but accordingly not did this only in terrorem not intending to Whip him nor to keep him the full term in Prison, tho' the Inhabitants thowt he Should Suffer both one & the other in the Severest Manner Dick the Black Fellow belonging to Peter Desfountain who Broke open the Honble Comps Store, was Ordered to be whipt with 70 Lashes, & to wear an Iron Collar about his Neck for a Twelve month The Bill of Orlando Bagly Junr was presented & read praying leave to Weigh Ten Acres of Leasehold Land to Gabriel Harper, & that did & the Sd Harper was accepted Tenant Accordingly The Executrs Benjn Bagley in behalf of the Orphans of Angell Angoladel who was presented & Sd Setting forth that the Sd Orphans are in Possesion of a Parcell of Freehold Leasehold Land like the Bill having Just Cause to Suspect that they have their full quantity of Petter & prayed that an Order for the Measurement thereof & that a lease for the Leasehold Land might be Granted to them accordingly & the Said Petition was Granted to him accordingly John Crispe this day desired leave to Assign two Acres from Slape & Sold by any means & his Ordery to Mr Bazett, & &c & &c & the Sd Wor Bagly he was accepted Tenant accordingly for the remainder of the term yet to come in the Sd Lease [...] | John Long asked for leave to go to Bencoolen with his wife and family, so that he might sell his estate and effects there, and asked that this liberty be granted to enable him to do so. The petition was signed by John Long and dated at St Helena, 31 October 1738. Leave was granted, on condition that he and his family leave the island by the next store ship. The council then dealt with Long's sentence. Holding him an incorrigible rogue, and the crime one for which he had been convicted at the sessions on the Tuesday before, it ordered six months' imprisonment and a public whipping to be carried out by the marshal in three stages: 30 lashes at the outset, 30 more a month later and 30 again a month after that. The council imposed this only in terror, not intending to whip him nor to keep him the full term in prison, but so that the inhabitants might see he had been made to suffer, one way or the other, in the severest manner. Dick, the black man belonging to John Defountaine, having broken into the Company's stores, was ordered to be whipped with 70 lashes and to wear an iron collar about his neck for a twelvemonth. The petition of Orlando Bagley senior was presented and read, asking leave to assign 10 acres of leasehold land to Gabriel Harper. The council agreed, and Harper was accepted as tenant on Bagley's surrender. The petition of Edward Bagley, on behalf of the orphans of Ensign Draper, was also presented and read. Bagley set out that the blind orphans held a parcel of freehold land and that there was cause to suspect its full title had been kept from them. He asked for an order for the improvement of the parcel so that the freehold might be secured to them. The council granted the petition. John Bridges asked leave that day to assign two acres of leasehold ground in Cowes Valley, lately Mr Bagley's, to Mr Bagley, and that the said Mr Bagley be accepted as tenant. Bagley was accepted as tenant accordingly, for the remainder of the term still to run on the lease. Interpretations The council's own words about Long's sentence lay bare a rare piece of open calculation. It ordered a fierce punishment, six months in prison and 90 lashes across three months, then recorded plainly that it meant to carry out neither in full, the whole design being to make a public show of severity while granting Long the very thing he had asked, passage to Bencoolen with his family. A sentence pronounced for its terror rather than its execution reveals how far the council's authority rested on appearance, the inhabitants needing to see that a notorious offender suffered even where the magistrates intended leniency. Long had been called an incorrigible rogue throughout this record, and the council had held more than once that nothing but the gallows would answer with him, so the theatre of a sentence it would not fully impose was the practical resolution of a man it could neither reform nor hang. The far heavier real punishment fell on Dick, the slave who broke into the Company's stores, whose 70 lashes and iron collar for a twelvemonth were the standard exemplary penalty for a runaway who robbed his master, imposed in full where Long's was staged. The contrast measures the different footing of slave and free man before the same court on the same day. The iron collar worn for a set term was the island's customary mark for a convicted runaway, fixed by the ancient custom of the place noted on 30 October 1733. Bencoolen, the destination Long sought, was the Company's pepper settlement at Fort Marlborough on Sumatra, the usual place of transportation for the island's undesirables and a posting of notoriously high mortality. The petition of Edward Bagley concerned orphans described as blind, holding freehold whose title was suspected to have been withheld, the council ordering the ground improved so the inheritance could be secured, part of its standing care over orphans' estates exercised through the orphans courts recorded across this period. Speculations The council granted John Long the passage to Bencoolen he had asked for, knowing from direct experience that he had made the same journey before and engineered his return within five months. Refusing him and holding him to his sentence was the obvious course against a man just convicted of theft and called incorrigible, yet the council chose transportation instead, its reasoning visible in the paired decision to pronounce a savage sentence it did not mean to execute. The choice reveals a magistracy that had given up on punishment as a means of managing Long and settled on removal as the only relief for the neighbourhood he had robbed for years, accepting that his industrious wife and children, whom it valued, would leave with him as the price of being rid of him. |
319 | 311 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7th November 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr & John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved Wm this day at the desire of the [...] the last Will & Testament of John Alexander Gent dec'd viz John Goodwin Esqr Govr & Mr Rich Beale Accepted & appointed Samuel & Cousin Alexander Sons of the dec'd as also Domichee in the place & Stead of James & John & Perry both dec'd who are two of the three first Nominees mentioned in some Lease bearing date the 25 March 1729 granted to James Perry Set- tled upon three Lives as therein mentioned the Said Beale hastily this day paid the Fine or half Yeares Rent for the Renewal of such Life according to the Conditions of the Sd Lease amounting to the Sum of Fourty Shillings Messrs Hoope & Bazett Report that according to the Govr desire mentioned in Consultation of the 19th Instt last they have again carefully viewed & Examined the Applicagon of Lemon Valley & Sandy bay Beach, & the Avenues leading from each of them into the Country Vale of Opinion when the Tenacle Sha'd be finished at Reports the next & then to be Registred and Second Instrd So Lemon Valley for the reasons following Because Lemon Valley is a Common Watering Place & well, however both to our own Shiping & the Strangers & the Hoo'r in the East of the said Valley may be attacked in five Munites & if an Enemy Should get to the Top thereof he would be upon Level Ground & upon equale Terms with those who defend him Sandy bay Beach is pretty much to Windward & the Weather there being often Stormy & the Ship'age n the Said Beach being Narrow at is more easily defended than Lemon Valley & the ways leading from thence into the Country are long & in Severall Places difficult & dangerous John Hayes attend'd & acquainted the that he had Considered of the proposate made to him on Tuesday last relating to the quantity of Land by him Claimed & that he relinquished at r ught & Statled himself & his claim to that Parcell of Land which he lately held & which hath busy in dispute between him & the Orphans of Sr [...] Perry the I who on this day Surrenderd to the Exors of the Said Perry & the said Perry as the Property & for the Use of the Sd Orphans, & yield to accept & desired to be put into Possesion of the Quantity yet wanting lying below the other Land Alledted vs accordingly to Read to mensure & set of the Said Parcell of Land being Nine Acres & three Quarters Caleb Davis Soldier who Sd Severall Years ago having a Wife & Thomas Children but very little for their Support & the Widow being lately married to Charles Richardson Soldr but relating to take care or concern himself with the former Children Willard Beale their Grandfather having this day acquainted the Wor how willing it toke Charge of the Children & bring them of as well as the child Portable that as Such Goods & Effects as were in the Possesion of the Said Widow at the time of the late Marriage were Adopted & made over to him, this Appearing to the Wor the best thing that can be done for the benefit of the Said Children & the most likely means to keep them from coming to a Perish Charge [...] | At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The will and testament of the late John Alexander was read this day at the Governor's direction. Richard Beale was accepted and admitted as tenant of the plantation and lands called Perkins, formerly held by James and John Jephry, and both. These lands were two or three parcels named in the earlier lease, granted to James Jephry, held on three lives as named in it. Beale, having this day paid the fine or half a year's rent, took a lease under the same conditions, amounting to the sum of 40 shillings. Samuel Doveton and John Bazett reported that, at the Governor's direction given at the consultation of the Tuesday before, they had carefully viewed and examined the appraisement of the land at Woody Ridge and at Sandy Bay [...], and the avenues leading from the fort valley into the country. Sale of the [...] parcel, when the parcel was to be leased at [...], was ordered registered, and the second parcel called Lemon Valley [...] for the season following. Lemon Valley was held to be a common watering place and well, however, both to the island's own shipping and to strangers, and the state of the eastern part of the road might be relieved in five minutes. If an enemy should reach the top of it he would be upon level ground, upon equal terms with those who appeared against him. Sandy Bay Beach was pretty much to windward, and the matter there being often stormy, and the shipping in the road being becalmed, it is entirely distinct from Lemon Valley. The whole leading from thence into the country are long and in several places difficult, [...]. John Hayes attended and was asked whether he had considered the proposal made to him at the consultation of the Tuesday before, concerning the quantity of land he claimed and that he was unwilling to accept a new trial. He stated that he chose the parcel of land which he lately held and which he had in dispute between himself and the orphans of Jephry, and asked that he might on this day surrender it to the Company for the use of the said orphans, or take the property in it for the use of the said orphans. He asked to be put into possession of the quantity wanting, then lying below the other lands settled in Lemon Valley or Sandy Bay. The surveyor was accordingly directed to measure the parcel of land, running three acres and three quarters. Caleb Davis, a soldier who died several years ago, having left a wife and children but very little for their support, and the widow being lately married to Andrew Robinson, the council took care that the former children, William Coates and both, their grandfather having lately grown acquainted with the matter, were willing to take charge of the children and bring them up as well as the wild orphans. The goods and effects being as well in the possession of the widow at the time of the late marriage, were adopted and made over to them. This appearing to the council to be the best thing that can be done for the benefit of the children, and the most likely means to keep them from coming to a parish charge, [...]. Interpretations The council's viewing of the water sources reads as a defensive survey rather than an ordinary land report. Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay Beach were the two chief points where an enemy might land, and the members weighed each for the ground an attacker would gain: at Lemon Valley a force reaching the head of the valley would stand on level ground and meet the defenders on equal terms, while Sandy Bay lay to windward and was hard for becalmed shipping to approach. These were the same landing places assessed in the fortification debates of June 1734, when the inhabitants and the council reviewed the whole coast under apprehension of war with France, and Lemon Valley's fouled water and Sandy Bay's exposed position were recurring concerns throughout that survey. Perkins was the plantation Captain Alexander had bought of the Company in 1727, valued with the ground measured at 31 acres at £263 0s 0d on 6 June of that year, and now leased afresh to Richard Beale on the customary three lives. A fine or half a year's rent was the entry payment a new tenant made on taking up a lease, here amounting to 40 shillings, the lump sum that secured the term. John Hayes settled his long boundary dispute with the Jephry orphans by taking the shortfall of land in a measured parcel of three acres and three quarters rather than pressing for a fresh trial, the resolution the council had steered him towards on 31 October 1738 after the re-sworn jury exposed the clerical error of 1733. The provision for Caleb Davis's children turned on a familiar danger, that a widow's remarriage would carry her first husband's goods and her children's portions into a stepfather's hands. By having the grandfather and William Coates take charge of the children and the goods that had been in the widow's keeping at the time of her marriage to Andrew Robinson, the council secured the estate to the children and kept them off the parish, the same concern it voiced repeatedly over orphans' portions passing to stepfathers, as in the orphans court address of 15 November 1737. Speculations John Hayes chose to take his shortfall as a fresh parcel of measured ground rather than accept the new trial the council had offered him. A new trial held the chance of recovering the whole of what he had claimed, yet Hayes passed it over for the certainty of three acres and three quarters marked out at once, surrendering the contested land to the Jephry orphans in the process. The choice shows a litigant who, after the re-sworn jury of 31 October 1738 confirmed that the 1733 verdict had gone against him and only a clerk's error had recorded otherwise, judged a settled quantity of land worth more than another contest he was now likely to lose. |
320 | 312 | and all Parties concerned having mutually agreed thereto & they having heard our Approbation thereof We do accordingly alowed & Confirm the Said Agreement At a Consultation held on Tuesday 14 Novr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Govr Reports that having carefully perused the Honble Companys late orders relateing to their Fortifications So farre that in the 32 Para: of the Generall Letter of the 17 Decr 1737 they recommended the Duely Fortifying of Johnsons Places Ess as they have not Considered which of them Should be forth done & Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett being of Opinion for the reasons by them given by them on Tuesday last that Lemon Valley be the most Proper Place to So next Secured & being himself also of the like Opinion, for the Same reasons, he Proposes to Begin there that having already Built the Tenacle at Reports & Blasted Sd Doeni Cutteringe thereon being near Abundere, & for the Same Sort with two Munites & other on the Work that was done & Serviced by Govr Crispe on the West Side of the Beach & the Canyon now two rood Laying Platforms for them with the Sd Planke that came by the Solpm Christn The Governour farther Reports to observe that in the 30 Paragraph of the Sd Companies Letter of the Same Date of the Duely Considered that they desired the Fort Guns which are within the Castle, upon that part Called the Present, Should be eumded from thence to other Places where they may be of Service, & it being undoubtedly true, that they Serve to no Purpose where they now are but for an Empty Shew, he is therefore determined to carry Some of them to Lemon Valley where they were of great Use they being Sd of good none Abundere delany we habe upon the Sd Land & the remaeen the two could Serve in other parts where they Shant Annoy an Enemy The Petr Francis Wrangham was presented & Read praying a Lease for about Ten Acres of West Land Some of which Lemon & adjoyning in his other Lands aforesaid in Bech Gitt the Estity of which to be alledges will not be Prejudicial either to the Hon ble Company or the Neighbourhood The Bill of the Sd Rich Beale was also presented & Sd praying to become Tenant for a Small Parcell of West Land of about an Acre or two lying in Sandy bay Valley praying to the Exprs Leasehold Land the Situate being the Same not being [...] | All parties concerned having agreed to it, and having given their approval, the council approved and confirmed the agreement. Signed by Governor Pyke. At a consultation held on Tuesday 14 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that, having carefully read the Honourable Company's directions relating to the fortifications, in particular those in the 30th paragraph of the general letter of last year, in which the Company recommended the better fortifying of several places on the island as they should be finished. Duke Crisp and John Bazett, being of opinion on this matter, gave their opinion on the Tuesday before that Lemon Valley was the most proper place. The Governor, being himself of the same opinion for the same reasons, proposed to begin there, having already built the redoubt at Rupert's and Banks's, adding St Denis's battery near Boundary, and one of the same sort with two minions, and another on the works ordered and finished by Governor Pyke on the west side of the beach. The council resolved to make new raised platforms for them, with the old plank that came by the Dolphin [...]. The Governor further reported, to observe that in the 30th paragraph of the Honourable Company's letter of the same date, the Company held that they should move the great guns which now stood within the castle, upon that part called the ancient [...], and be sounded from thence to other places where they might be of service. This being undoubtedly true, that as they were to no purpose where they now lay, for an empty place, the council was therefore determined to carry some of them to Lemon Valley, where they were of great use. They being also of great [...] nine minions [...], the council took up the island and the [...] remained the whole place in other parts [...] against an enemy. The petition of Francis Wrangham was presented and read, asking for a lease of about 10 acres of waste land, and some of the island's timber, and to assign it to his other lands, leased in [...] with the liberty of [...] to allege it would not be prejudicial either to the Honourable Company or to the neighbourhood. The petition of Nicholas Beale was also presented and read, asking to become tenant of a small parcel of waste land, of about an acre or two lying in Sandy Bay, and asking for the [...] leasehold land where situate, being the same not being [...]. Interpretations The consultation records the Governor's response to a direct instruction from London to strengthen the island's coastal defences. The 30th paragraph of the Company's general letter had recommended fortifying several landing places as each was finished, and Governor Goodwin, having already completed the redoubts at Rupert's and Banks's earlier in his short administration, now proposed Lemon Valley as the next work, endorsing the opinion Duke Crisp and John Bazett had given a week before. These were the same landing points weighed for defensibility in the consultation of 7 November 1738 and in the fortification survey of June 1734, Lemon Valley being both a common watering place and a route inland that an enemy might exploit. The proposal to move the great guns out of the castle answered a second instruction in the same paragraph. The Company observed that the heavy pieces standing within the fort served no purpose where they lay, and directed them redistributed to positions where they could bear on the sea, so the council resolved to carry some to Lemon Valley where they would command a landing. A minion was a small cannon throwing a shot of about four pounds, the light ordnance the gunner reserved for ceremonial salutes to spare powder but which also armed the outlying batteries, as the annual ordnance inventories across this record show. St Denis's battery and the works on the west side of the beach were among the coastal positions Governor Pyke had ordered and finished during his long administration, the fortification programme that ran through the 1730s under apprehension of war with France and consumed the £2,197 4s 1.5d that Duke Crisp reported as the fortification charge under Pyke on 11 October 1738. Both land petitions rested on the Company's standing rule that a parcel neither lettable nor saleable without prejudice to neighbouring holders might be granted at a valuation, Francis Wrangham asking to add about 10 acres of waste to his existing holdings and Nicholas Beale seeking a small parcel of an acre or two in Sandy Bay. Speculations The Governor chose to fit the outlying batteries with fresh raised platforms built from the old plank landed by the Dolphin, rather than send to England for new timber. Wood was the island's scarcest commodity by this date, and importing plank for gun platforms would have added cost and delay to works the Company wanted finished quickly, so using stock already on the island was the frugal course that matched Governor Goodwin's declared intention of 11 October 1738 to give the Company no cause to complain of any want of frugality. The decision shows the defensive programme carried forward on salvaged and existing materials at a moment when the drought had reduced the island's resources and the Company was pressing for economy. |
321 | 313 | Prejudicial either to the Honble Company or the Neighbourhood & the Petr went find that the Said Parcell of Land Should be voided if they could be Lett or Ment without Prejudice to the Honble Company & the Neighbourhood Leases Should be Granted to them accordingly The Bill of Richard Goodwin was also read praying leave to Assign Eighteen Acres of Leasehold lying at the Flatts Battloe to Mr Godwin Bam & Perry Acres lying in Foren Valley to Thomas Chees for the remainder of the Terms yet to come for the Said Lease & the Said Townsmen the each of them accepted Tenants accordingly Wm this day at the desire of Elzy Nichole & Sd & Sd Goodwin Exr of the last Will of Elzin Nichole dec'd accepted & appointed John & George Nichole Sons of the dec'd as also Domichee in the place & Stead of Elzy Nichole & Albert Nichole both dec'd who were two of the Nominees mentioned in one Lease bearing date the 25 day of March 1729 granted to the Said Elzin Nichole dec'd Setled upon three Lives as therein mentioned & the Said Exr having this day paid the Fine or half yeares Rent for the Renewall of such Life according to the Conditions of the Said Lease amounting to the Sum of five Pound & five Shillings The Petition of Thos Steck was presented & Read praying to Find the Sd one being either Lease or Freehold to Confirm his Title to Ten Acres of Cottage Free Land formerly the Sd Land of the Flatts the & a Lease for Ten Acre of Land lying Contiguous to the Said Freeland, & a d Petd Solcad was Entitled to be refted accordingly Messrs Crispe & Bazett this day desired the Inventory to find Appraisement of the Goods & Effects late belonging to the deceased Mr Barlow dec'd who each of them declared upon Oath that the Said Inventory contained a True Account of all Such Effects as came to their hands or knowledge & Messrs Wrangham & Beale the Appraisers being also Sworn Severally testified that they had Valued & appraised the Same according to the best of their Skill & knowledge & the Said Inventory was follows viz Inventory of the Estate of the Reverend Mr Francis Barlow dec'd as the Same was taken by Messrs Duke Crispe & John Bazett Esqr Octr 1738 together with the Appraisement thereof as the Same was Valued by Messrs Francis Wrangham & Richard Beale 1 Cofang Int or Sis Money 6 14 3½ 8 12 8½ 1 Gold Watch to one Gold Seale 13 10 A Silver Ring not Valued 1 do 1 5 10 Tea Spoons Tongs & Strainer 1 10 1 Salt spoon 1 do 1 10 1 pr Silver Shoe & Knee Buckles Silver 1 Boxrutere with a Both Brass 6 1 Spinet not Valued 6 Straw Bottomed Chairs 2 14 1 do 3 Blankett & Quilt & Bitten Bittere 4 10 1 matrap & 1 Bedstead 6 1 Rug & pr 3 do 3 Wig & new 1 15 2 Sd Cloth Coates 1 2 Silk Wastecoate 38 14 Carried 47 6 8½ | The council found the parcel of land could be leased without prejudice to the Honourable Company or the neighbouring holders, and the neighbouring leases being no obstacle, a lease was granted accordingly. The petition of Richard Goodwin was also presented and read, asking for a lease of 18 acres of leasehold land at the Woody Ridge lately held by Mr Goodwin. Two parcels lying in Cowes Valley, granted to Thomas Clew for the remainder of the term, and both were let. Beale and the others were each accepted as tenants accordingly. This day, at the Governor's direction, Richard Beale and Robert Girling, executors of the last will of Edmund Nicholls, were accepted and admitted, along with John and George Nicholls, sons of the deceased, as new tenants in the place of Edmund Nicholls. Robert Nicholls and Robert Nicholls, both sons of the deceased, who went into two of the parcels named, were included in one lease bearing date 25 March 1710, granted to the deceased, Edmund Nicholls, upon the lives named in it. Having this day paid the fine or half a year's rent for the remainder of the leasehold, according to the conditions of the lease, amounting to the sum of 40 shillings. The petition of Abraham Steel was presented and read, asking for a lease of one parcel, either lost or mislaid, to confirm his title to 10 acres of freehold [...] land formerly held [...] the fort land of the father, and for a lease of two acres of land lying next to the freehold. A lease was granted to him accordingly. Duke Crisp and John Bazett reported that day that they had delivered an inventory and appraisement of the goods and effects lately belonging to the deceased Mr Barlow, and that the inventory contained a true account of all such effects as came into their hands or knowledge. Duke Crisp and John Bazett, being both sworn, testified that the inventory was a true one, and that they had valued and appraised it to the best of their skill and knowledge. The inventory was as follows. Inventory of the estate of the Reverend Mr Francis Barlow, deceased, as taken on the day of his death by Duke Crisp and John Bazett on 3 October 1738, together with the appraisement of it, valued by Francis Wrangham and Richard Beale. 1 cushion, £0 5s 0d Money in a purse, £6 14s 3.25d Sub-total, £8 12s 8.25d 1 gold watch with one gold seal, £13 10s 0d A silver ring not gilded, £0 1s 3d 10 teaspoons, tongs and strainer, £0 3s 0d 1 saltcellar and spoon, £0 1s 10d 1 pair silver shoe and knee buckles, silver, £0 1s 10d 1 penknife with a brass haft, £0 6s 0d 1 spinet not gilded, £0 0s 0d 6 straw-bottomed chairs, £2 14s 0d 1 bed, 3 blankets, 1 quilt, 1 cotton mattress and 1 bedstead, £4 10s 0d 1 wig and 1 pair new stockings, £0 6s 0d 2 old cloth coats, £1 15s 0d 2 silk waistcoats, £0 0s 0d Sub-total, £38 14s 0d Carried over, £47 6s 8.25d Interpretations The admission of the Nicholls sons continued a lease first granted in 1710 on the system of lives, under which a holding ran for the duration of named persons' lives rather than a fixed term of years. Edmund Nicholls had taken the parcels on 25 March 1710 upon lives named in the instrument, and on his death his executors and sons stepped into his place, paying the fine or half a year's rent of 40 shillings to renew the term. The same entry fine of 40 shillings recurs across these November 1738 leases, being the standard payment securing a fresh admission. Several of the petitions turned on lost title deeds, a recurring difficulty throughout this record. Abraham Steel asked for a fresh lease to confirm his hold on 10 acres of freehold whose original writing had been lost or mislaid, the same problem that had troubled John Durling on 9 November 1730 and many others, the island's registry being incomplete and deeds often carried to England or destroyed by age. The inventory of Mr Barlow's estate values the goods of the island's chaplain, whose death of a flux after about two months' illness was recorded on 3 October 1738, when Duke Crisp and John Bazett secured his effects by removing his black servants, locking the doors and setting a guard. A spinet was a small keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family, here valued at nothing, perhaps broken or unstrung. The goods reflect a modest clerical household, its most valuable single item the gold watch and seal at £13 10s 0d, against plain furniture, bedding and worn clothing. The valuation was carried out under oath by two appraisers, Francis Wrangham and Richard Beale, following the island's ordinary practice for a deceased estate, with the executors separately sworn to the truth of the inventory before the council. Speculations This passage records routine grants of leasehold, the admission of heirs to a continuing lease and a sworn probate inventory, none of which involved a genuine choice between competing courses. The land petitions were allowed on the settled rule that a parcel harmless to Company and neighbours might be let, the Nicholls sons succeeded to their father's lease by the ordinary operation of the system of lives, and the Barlow inventory was a simple valuation of a dead man's goods. No obvious default was passed over for a less obvious one, so the passage yields no speculation. |
322 | 314 | [Text loss along the right-hand edge, affecting the outer money column on several lines.] Brought over 47 6 8½ 1 Gown & 2 Capochs 1 15 5 pr Sheets 4 10 15 Shirts 18 18 Handkerchief 3 4 pr Worsted Stockings weyd 10 4 pr Black Silk do temps 4 14 Towells 1 pr Sd Item & 1 pr od Velvet Breeches & Sd Hatt 1 5 pr Shoes 1 1 Nankeen Wastcoat 6 2 pr Drawers 2 2 Wastcoates 8 15 Caps 12 5 pr Socks 2 6 3 pr Thrid Stocking 4 2 Stocks & Bands 4 1 pr Dimothy 2 1 Bett am fore 1 10 13 Neck Cloths 6 6 4 pr China 10 2 Small Table & tests 9 2 Silk Banyans 8 2 Hanfe Blk od Silk 1 Small Oak Table 10 1 Small oval Table 15 1 Small Mahogany Table 15 1 Small Round Table 1 12 Ivory Hanetes Forks 1 Frocking Bra 1 15 1 Brass Bound Board 15 An Iron do too 1 3 Pewter Sprigs 1 Tea kettle 10 1 Tin Kettle 1 Lanthorn 4 Brass Candle Sticks 1 6 1 Warming Pan 15 1 Scrubing Brush & Broom 3 4 1 Sine Store 8 1 Edam pott 2 6 1 Dripping Black 3 1 pr Solid Brass Sconces 3 1 Handboards 3 1 marble Tea Board 1 6 1 Cane 12 1 od Portemantecu 15 1 Broken Sett of China for a Tea Table 2 6 2 China Bruk 7 6 13 Pans 5 5 Decanters 10 2 flageold 4 34 0 6 81 9 2½ | The inventory of the Reverend Mr Barlow's estate continued from the sum brought over of £47 6s 8.25d. 1 gown and 2 cassocks, £1 15s 0d 5 pairs sheets, £4 10s 0d 15 shirts, £0 18s 0d 18 handkerchiefs, £0 3s 0d 4 pairs worsted stockings, worn, £0 10s 0d 6 pairs black silk stockings, £0 4s 0d 14 towels, £0 1s 0d 1 pair old cloth and 1 pair old velvet breeches and 1 old hat, £1 0s 0d 3 pairs shoes, £0 6s 0d 1 nankeen waistcoat, £0 2s 0d 2 pairs drawers, £0 8s 0d 2 waistcoats, £0 8s 0d 15 caps, £0 12s 0d 5 pairs socks, £0 2s 6d 3 pairs thread stockings, £0 4s 0d 25 stocks and bands, £0 4s 0d 1 pair dimity, £0 2s 0d 1 bell and porre, £0 10s 0d 13 neck cloths, £0 6s 6d 4 pairs china, £0 16s 0d 1 small table cloth, £0 9s 0d 2 neck banyans, £0 8s 0d 2 lengths black silk, £0 [...]s 0d 1 small oak table, £0 10s 0d 1 small oval table, £0 15s 0d 1 small mahogany table, £0 15s 0d 1 small round table, £1 0s 0d 12 ivory-framed forks, £0 [...]s 0d 1 fowling piece, £1 15s 0d 1 brass-barrel pistol, £0 15s 0d An iron [...], £0 1s 0d 3 pewter spoons, £0 [...]s 0d 1 teakettle, £0 10s 0d 1 tin kettle, £0 [...]s 0d 1 lanthorn, £0 1s 6d 4 brass candlesticks, £0 15s 0d 1 warming pan, £0 3s 4d 1 scrubbing brush and 1 broom, £0 [...]s 0d 1 stone stove, £0 8s 0d 1 escritoire, £0 2s 6d 1 dripping stock, £0 3s 0d 1 pair scarlet brass sconces, £0 3s 0d 1 pair handboards, £0 [...]s 0d 1 marble teaboard, £0 12s 0d 1 cane, £0 15s 0d 1 old portmanteau, £2 6s 0d 1 broken set of china for a tea table, £7 5s 6d 2 china brush, £0 5s 0d 15 pans, £0 4s 0d 5 decanters, £0 10s 0d 2 flowered, £0 4s 0d Sub-total, £34 0s 6d Total, £81 9s 2.25d Interpretations The inventory completes the valuation of the chaplain Mr Barlow's household begun on 14 November 1738, the whole estate coming to £81 9s 2.25d. The clerical character of the man shows plainly in the opening items, a gown and two cassocks and the stocks and bands that made up an eighteenth-century clergyman's dress, set against an otherwise ordinary domestic stock of linen, worn clothing, small tables and kitchen ware. The single most valuable item on this leaf was the broken set of china for a tea table at £7 5s 6d, a striking figure for damaged ware and a measure of how costly imported porcelain remained on the island even when incomplete. Several named goods would be unfamiliar to a modern reader. A banyan was a loose informal gown or morning coat worn indoors, here in a neck form; nankeen was a durable yellowish cotton cloth originally from Nanking in China, widely used for breeches and waistcoats; dimity was a stout ribbed cotton; and an escritoire was a writing cabinet with drawers and a fall front. A teaboard was a tray for serving tea, this one of marble, and sconces were wall-mounted candle brackets. The fowling piece and brass-barrelled pistol were the ordinary arms a settler kept, every householder being required to bring arms and slaves to his post on an alarm. The appraisal was conducted by Francis Wrangham and Richard Beale, the same sworn valuers named on 14 November 1738, following the island's standard probate procedure of viewing and pricing each item in turn, the executors Duke Crisp and John Bazett having secured the effects immediately on the chaplain's death of a flux on 3 October 1738. Speculations This leaf is a continuation of a probate inventory, a plain list of a dead man's goods valued item by item with no decision recorded and no course chosen over another. Rule 53 holds that an account or inventory carrying no decision yields no speculation, and this passage is such a record. Silence here is correct. |
323 | 315 | Brought over 81 9 2½ 18 Wine Glasses 2 Glass Muggs 2 Cruets 2 Tumblers 1 2 Beer Glasses 1 crystalce Salt Glass 4 Flagelet 5 1 German Flute 3 English Flutes 1 10 1 pr muslin 10 2 Remnants Cloth 12 1 Beoter Funnel 3 6 dz Bottles 9 1½ Bottles Spaw Water not Valued 18 Bottles Stoughtons Drops 18 3 dz Pipes 1 1 Steilcorp 5 4 Fowls 4 2 Ivory Pocket Books 2 1 Still Slate 6 1 Padlock 1 6 6 1 87 10 2½ 58 6 8 145 16 10½ By Salary Books viz Exposition of the Common Prayer Tillotsons Sermons 3 vol Prior on the Guilt Whitby on the New Testament Barrows Works Hookers Ecclesiastical Polity Octavo Newcom's Sermons Watts Load upon Christianity Wilkes Sermons Derhams on natural Philosophy Clerke on the Attributes Atterburys Sermons 2 vol Ordralios Connection Davis's Sermons Readings Sermons Johnsons Ecclesiastical Commons 2 vol Clages Sermons 2 vol Shaftesburys Works Adkinson upon the Xtian Religion Spectators 8 vol one Common Prayer Book Wakes Sermons Derringtons Devotions Calamyes Sermons Hichmans Sermons Family Directions for Studying Divinity Latin Common Prayer Book Chapelute Sermons Jefferson upon Man's Priviledge Braddys Sermons Clarke on the Trinity | The inventory of the Reverend Mr Barlow's estate continued from the sum brought over of £81 9s 2.25d. 18 wine glasses, £1 0s 0d 2 glass mugs, £1 0s 0d 2 cruets, £1 0s 0d 2 tumblers, £1 0s 0d 2 beer glasses, £1 0s 0d 1 crystal salt glass, £0 5s 0d 4 flageolets, £1 10s 0d 1 German flute, £1 10s 0d 3 English flutes, £1 10s 0d 1 pair muslin, £0 10s 0d 2 remnants cloth, £0 12s 0d 1 pewter funnel, £0 3s 0d 6 dozen bottles, £0 9s 0d 12 bottles spaw water, not valued, £0 0s 0d 18 bottles Stoughton's drops, £0 18s 0d 3 dozen pipes, £0 1s 0d 1 steelcorp, £0 5s 0d 4 seals, £0 4s 0d 2 ivory pocket books, £0 2s 0d 1 steel seal, £0 6s 0d 1 padlock, £0 1s 6d Sub-total, £6 4s 0d Sub-total, £87 10s 2.25d By salary, £58 6s 8d Total, £145 16s 10.25d The books of the deceased followed. Exposition of the Common Prayer Tillotson's Sermons, 3 volumes Prior on the Creed Whitby on the New Testament Barrow's Works Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity Octavos: Newcome's Sermons Water Land upon Christianity Wilkes's Sermons Derham on Natural Philosophy Clarke on the Attributes Atterbury's Sermons, 2 volumes Prideaux's Connection Davis's Sermons Reading's Sermons Johnson's Ecclesiastical Canons, 2 volumes Clagett's Sermons, 2 volumes Shaftesbury's Works Atkinson upon the Christian Religion Spectators, 8 volumes 1 Common Prayer Book Wake's Sermons Harrington's Devotions Calamy's Sermons Fleetwood's Sermons Family Devotions for Students of Divinity Latin Common Prayer Book Chappelow's Sermons Jefferson upon Marie Priviledge Bradley's Sermons Clarke on the Trinity The inventory and appraisement were signed by Francis Wrangham and Richard Beale. Interpretations The final leaf of Mr Barlow's inventory closes the account at £145 16s 10.25d, the largest single addition being not goods but the £58 6s 8d of salary owing to him at his death, entered as an asset of the estate. The remaining household items confirm the picture of a cultivated clerical household, the drinking glasses and cruets set beside a notable quantity of musical instruments, four flageolets, a German flute and three English flutes, a striking accumulation for one man on a remote island and a sign of how the chaplain filled his hours. The library dominates the record of the man's mind. It was a working clergyman's collection built around sermons and divinity, headed by the standard authorities of the Anglican church of the day, Tillotson, Barrow, Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity and Prideaux's Connection, with the eight volumes of the Spectator standing almost alone as secular reading. Several named goods need a word: a flageolet was a small end-blown flute; spaw water was mineral water, named after the spa town of Spa, bottled and imported for its supposed medicinal virtue; and Stoughton's drops were a popular proprietary bitter tonic of the period, taken for the stomach. The eighteen bottles of the latter and the twelve of spaw water suggest a man who dosed himself freely. The whole was valued under oath by Francis Wrangham and Richard Beale, the appraisers named across this probate on 14 November 1738, the executors Duke Crisp and John Bazett having secured the chaplain's effects on his death of a flux on 3 October 1738. Barlow's library, unlike Governor Pyke's, stayed on the island rather than being shipped to heirs in England, so the settlement kept a stock of reference divinity it would otherwise have lost. Speculations This leaf completes a probate inventory and its attached book list, a valuation of a dead man's goods carrying no decision and no course chosen over another. As with the preceding leaves of the same account, rule 53 governs: an inventory that records no decision yields no speculation, and silence here is the correct outcome. |
324 | 316 | The Estate of Mr Fran Barlow dec'd Dr to Sundry Accts 23 19 7 To John Goodwin Esqr Govr for Storegoods 1 15 To Wilbre Hayes for Washing 12 To Philip Rowlty for 12 young Fowles 12 To Elzn Bates for Carpr Work Recipt Wrangham 1 1 6 To Frantin Vr Domich for Painting 1 To Henry Perry for making his Coffin 1 To Selmen Wholey for the attendance in his Sickness & their Funeral & in taking the Inventory 1 10 To William Merrale for his attendance in his Sickness 10 To Isaac Slape Esqr 60 Days due 40 pr Note 27 To Duke Crispe a pr Note 10 To Joanes Wrappings & Blank Cloth for expiring after Totalle Amo of Debt 73 7 1 Most of the Effects mentioned in the Inventory consisting of wearing Apparel & other perishable Goods a Speedy Sale thereof beeing Necessary I doe took is into Consideration how the Same being to be disposed of if, as to turn in act to the Advantage of the heirs of the dec'd, If they are exposed to Sale for ready they will be very few if not few & the best things only could be Picked & Culled out & all the rest & purpose and hardly to Sould, & if they are Sold upon Credit the proceed that the Selpigh Beyer Serve to the Purchases the whole never be able to get in the money there being many Suchances of Debts of them Sort that have remained unpd for above Twenty Yeares & do continue is it was therefore proposed to Sett them all together for ready money for the Same at which they are Appraised in the Inventory & Mr Crispe Mr Bazett & Mr Goodwin purto avoid all further trouble agreed to pay down the money & take the Goods accordingly Wm this day in Consideration of the Sum of Fifteen Pound de Executed a Bill of Sale to John Goodwin Esqr Govr for a Small Peice of Ground in the Salt Valley containing Sixty feet in an Half in Front & Two hundred & Seventeen feet in Depth upon which he is now erecting a Dwelling House & other Astehouses [...] | The estate of the Reverend Mr Francis Barlow, deceased, was debtor to sundry accounts, as follows. To Governor Goodwin for store goods, £23 19s 7d To John Goodwin for washing, £1 14s 0d To Andrew Hayes for washing, £0 0s 12d To Philip Bewley for 12 young fowls, £0 0s 12d To Eleanor Bates for candle work, Joseph Ayscough, £1 1s 6d To Andrew Deane for laundering, £0 1s 0d To Henry Moyce for making his coffin, £0 1s 0d To John Bazett for his attendance in the sickness and the funeral and in taking the inventory, £1 10s 0d To William Worrall for his attendance in his sickness, £0 10s 0d To Isaac Pyke for 60 pagodas at 9 shillings, £27 0s 0d To Duke Crisp for a [...], £0 10s 0d To Joseph Wrangham for a brush and china for appraising the goods, £0 [...]s 0d Total amount of debts, £73 7s 1d Most of the effects named in the inventory being wearing apparel and other perishable goods of a ready sale, the council took into consideration how the appraisement should be disposed of, so as to turn to the best advantage of the heirs of the deceased. If the goods were offered whole for ready money they would fetch very little or nothing, and the best things only would be picked and culled out and the rest of the perishable goods hardly saleable. If they were sold upon credit, the persons into whose hands Mr Barlow's effects came by the purchase might never be able to get the money, there being many such wares of debts of this sort that had remained unpaid for above 20 years and continued so. It was therefore proposed to sell them all together for ready money, for the sum at which they are appraised, on 14 November 1738, and Duke Crisp, John Bazett and John Goodwin junior, to avoid all further trouble, agreed to pay down the money and to take the goods accordingly. This day, in consideration of the sum of 40 shillings, a lease of about an acre of land was granted to John Goodwin junior, being a piece of ground in the fort valley containing 40 feet along the front and 200 feet in depth, upon which he was then building a dwelling house and other buildings. Signed by Governor Pyke. Interpretations The schedule of debts against Mr Barlow's estate records the ordinary costs a dying man ran up on the island, the nursing, washing, laundering, coffin-making and attendance in his last sickness, alongside the £27 0s 0d owed to Isaac Pyke for 60 pagodas at 9 shillings apiece, the largest single debt. The pagoda was a South Indian gold coin, standardly reckoned at about 8 or 9 shillings in this record, and its appearance here as a debt to the late Governor Pyke, who himself died on 28 July 1738, shows the two men's accounts still unsettled at both their deaths. The store goods debt of £23 19s 7d to Governor Goodwin was for provisions drawn from the Company's stores against the chaplain's own account. The council's reasoning on how to dispose of the goods is a clear-eyed piece of estate management. It weighed three courses and rejected two: selling the whole for ready money would let buyers pick out the best and leave the perishable clothing unsold, while selling on credit risked the debts never being paid, the council noting that such debts had lain unpaid for above 20 years. It chose instead to sell the entire appraisement together at the valued price for cash, three men of the council itself agreeing to take the goods and pay the money down, which secured the heirs the full value without the delay and loss of a public sale. This turned on the same problem of uncollectable island debts that troubled every estate in this record. The lease to John Goodwin junior, the Governor's son lately made clerk of the council on 15 August 1738, granted a building plot in the fort valley for the customary entry fine of 40 shillings, the standard sum securing a fresh lease throughout these November grants. Speculations The council chose to sell Mr Barlow's whole estate at its appraised value for ready cash to three of its own members, rather than put the goods to public auction or sell them on credit. The obvious course for a deceased estate was the public outcry used for other goods, but the council passed it over, reasoning on the page that an auction would let buyers cull the best and leave the perishable clothing unsold, while credit sales risked debts that in this record had gone unpaid for above 20 years. By having Duke Crisp, John Bazett and John Goodwin junior take the lot and pay down the money, the council secured the absent heirs in England the full appraised value at once, accepting that the buyers were its own officers as the price of a clean and certain settlement. |
325 | 317 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 21 Novr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Monthly Account for Octr last which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as followes viz Expence of the Table in Octr 1738 viz 6¼ Gald Arrack 12 16 3 12 Gald Port 4 9 3 10 Gald Sherry 3 17 6 4½ Gald Beer 3 1 C 3 Sugar 2 4 2 C 3 Flour 3 2 6 3 Bushells Salt 70 lb Porke 15 28 lb Butter 1 10 150 Beef 1 8 2 Turkeys 1 17 6 31 days Greens 10 62 13 Fowls milk 1 8 38 1 5 Gunners Stores Expended in October 1738 viz 1738 Octr 31 Defence of the Quarles lb Powder Match 6 Spunge Staves 5 Cartredge Paper 11 Quire | At a consultation held on Tuesday 21 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for the past month, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Expense of the table in October 1738: 64 gallons arrack, £12 16s 3d 12 gallons port, £4 9s 3d 10 gallons sherry, £3 17s 6d 40 gallons beer, £3 0s 0d 1 hundredweight 3 quarters sugar, £2 4s 0d 2 hundredweight 1 quarter flour, £3 2s 6d 3 bushels salt, £0 15s 0d 70 lb pork, £1 10s 0d 28 lb butter, £1 8s 0d 150 lb beef, £1 17s 6d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 31 days greens, £1 11s 0d 62 and 3 fowls, milk, £1 8s 0d Total, £38 1s 5d Gunner's stores expended in October 1738: Expense of the guards, [...] lb powder Match, 5 lb Sponge staves, 5 Cartridge paper, 11 quires Interpretations The table account measures the household expense of the Governor and council for October 1738 at £38 1s 5d, and read against the same series earlier in this record it confirms the severe economy the drought had forced. Beef stood at only 150 lb and no beast was killed for the Company table beyond that, against the 515 lb of January 1735 and the 819 lb of July 1735, while arrack at 64 gallons remained by far the largest single line at £12 16s 3d, the ordinary pattern in which spirits headed every month's charge. This is the account whose totals Duke Crisp had reported to the board on 11 October 1738 as part of the diet-expense abstract, and it sits at the low end of the run, the road having stood largely empty and the island's stock of every kind reduced very low. The absence of any fresh beef beyond a modest 150 lb, with pork at 70 lb and the flock supplying two turkeys and some fowls, reflects the collapse of the Company herd from 402 head on 1 October 1737 to 239 a year later, recorded in the annual livestock account of 30 September 1738. Greens at 31 days and milk entered as steady daily charges show the Plantation House garden and dairy still producing through the dry season. The gunner's account confirms a quiet month at the fort. Powder went only to the guards, with no salute or alarm firing, match and sponge staves being the routine maintenance stores and cartridge paper the material for making up powder charges. This matches the pattern of the ordnance accounts across 1738, in which the guards' fixed allowance was the one constant charge whenever the road stood empty. Beer at 40 gallons and the appearance of both port and sherry mark the ordinary provisioning of the officers' table, the wine drunk in quantity varying month to month with what the cellar held and what the shipping had lately landed. Speculations This passage is a pair of monthly accounts, the table expense and the gunner's stores, each a routine list of quantities and sums delivered for examination and approval. No decision is recorded and no course was chosen over another, the figures simply reporting what was consumed in October 1738. Rule 53 holds that such an account carrying no decision yields no speculation, and silence here is correct. |
326 | 318 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Octr 1738 viz Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calues, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Withers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horse, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Octr: Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 30, Bulls 6, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 12, Rams 4, Totall 50, Sowes 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 24, Boars 1, Totall 46, Turkeys 25, Fowles 55, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 6, Boars 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 0, Fowles 20, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 40, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 30, Bulls 6, Totall 239, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 12, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totall 52, Turkeys 25, Fowles 75, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 1, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 0, Fowles 2, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 39, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 30, Bulls 6, Totall 238, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 11, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 23, Fowles 75, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 2, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 Octr 1738: Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 39, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 28, Bulls 6, Totall 236, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 11, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 23, Fowles 75, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Yams Expended at the Severd Plantations 17000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 1500 Totall 32000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of October 1738. Remaining 1 October, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 40 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 30 calves, 6 bulls, total 239 Remaining 1 October, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 12 lambs, 4 rams, total 50 Remaining 1 October, hogs: 9 sows, 12 shoats, 24 pigs, 1 boar, total 46 Remaining 1 October, poultry: 25 turkeys, 55 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 1 October, horses: 3 horses, 15 mares, total 18 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, total 0 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 2 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 2 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 6 pigs, 0 boar, total 6 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 20 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 40 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 30 calves, 6 bulls, total 239 Balance after increase, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 12 shoats, 30 pigs, 1 boar, total 52 Balance after increase, poultry: 25 turkeys, 75 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 15 mares, total 18 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 1 heifer, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, total 1 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 1 pig, 0 boar, total 1 Killed in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 1 fowl, 2 ducks, 0 geese Killed in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after killing, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 39 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 30 calves, 6 bulls, total 238 Balance after killing, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 11 shoats, 30 pigs, 1 boar, total 51 Balance after killing, poultry: 23 turkeys, 75 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after killing, horses: 3 horses, 15 mares, total 18 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 2 calves, 0 bulls, total 2 Died in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Died in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boar, total 0 Died in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Died in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Remaining 31 October 1738, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 39 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 28 calves, 6 bulls, total 236 Remaining 31 October 1738, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Remaining 31 October 1738, hogs: 9 sows, 11 shoats, 30 pigs, 1 boar, total 51 Remaining 31 October 1738, poultry: 23 turkeys, 75 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 31 October 1738, horses: 3 horses, 15 mares, total 18 Yams expended at the several plantations, 17,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 15,000 lb Total, 32,000 lb Interpretations The stock account shows the Company herd holding almost level through October 1738 at 236 head, and set against the same series earlier in this record it marks the end of the catastrophic decline of the previous twelvemonth. The herd had fallen from 402 head on 1 October 1737 to 239 a year later, the losses running at seventeen and eighteen a month at the height of the drought, but here only two calves died and one heifer was killed, the near-total halt in mortality confirming the rains that set in about July 1738 had broken the dry seasons. No cattle were sold, the council having stopped selling entirely from April 1738 to rebuild the stock, and none were bought. The composition of the herd reflects the year-end reclassification of 30 September 1738, which by cutting and growing had restored bullocks from 6 to 40 while steers fell to 12 and yearlings to 36, so the account opens October with a herd weighted towards fattened males the council was nonetheless holding back from sale. The sheep flock stood at 52 and hogs at 51, both recovering slowly, while the poultry yard at 75 fowls was a fraction of the 484 it had reached in October 1736 before the dry years consumed it. The eighteen horses and mares included the eight mares landed from Bombay in 1737, the stud at its largest figure in this record. The yam issue of 32,000 lb for the month, split 17,000 lb to the plantations and 15,000 lb to the slaves, sits well below the 63,000 lb of October 1737, the standing crop having been drawn down hard through the drought, though the count of 18 July 1738 had found 548,000 lb still standing across the plantations, nearly half of it at Perkins. Neat cattle meant horned cattle, the ordinary term of the period, and shoats were young weaned pigs, the classes carried down each month in the ruled grid so every animal could be tracked from birth or purchase to sale, killing or death. Speculations This passage is a monthly stock account, a ruled table tracking each class of livestock through its increase, killing and death to a closing figure, with no decision recorded on the page. The council's standing choice to stop selling cattle lay behind the absence of any sale, but that decision was taken in April 1738 and merely reflected here, not made in this record. Rule 53 holds that a stock table carrying no decision of its own yields no speculation, and silence is correct. |
327 | 319 | Messrs Donison & Desfountain this day attended & acquainted us that they had valued at Twenty Pounds the Sd Land at the Woody Ridge which Mr Bazett desires to Purchase of the Honble Company & was this day executed a Bill of Sale for the Same accordingly being Twenty Seven Acres, but most of it very poor & barren At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28 Novr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour Reports that Since Notice was given for the Sale of damaged Goods the following particulars had been disposed of upon Credit but to Such persons as will be able to pay for the Same on a Short time viz 291 pr Coarse Shoes Some pr Verd 12 10 3 26 pr Womens Shoes 5 5 8 41 pr Bags 4 9 3 3 pr Gloves 6 2 22 11 4 147 pr Stockings Sizes 18 19 4 7 Bettee Coates 2 19 3 pr Jumps 2 5 4 1 pr Stay 18 1 6 2 5 5 pr Long Cloth 2 11 6 7 pr yards Flannele 2 5 4 1 pr Crape 10 1 1 pr Silene 1 14 7 1½ yards Broad Cloth 9 Totalle Sold at outcry 49 7 Yesterday the Wilmengton arrived from Madrass having Notified Stort & brought the following Supply viz 18 Bags Rice pr 6¾ Sd So and So 6¾ pr So Verah 105 3 75 3 pr Bales White pr 6¾ pr Sd pr Moras 37 2 2 Butts Goa Arrack pr 240 gall pr 30 rd pr gall 150 Charges Merchandize 59 1 25 Rupees 412 2 98 | Samuel Doveton and John Defountaine attended that day, having viewed and valued the quantity of land at Coles Grounds near the Woody Ridge which John Bazett wished to buy of the Honourable Company. A bill of sale was accordingly drawn up for it that day, the parcel being 27 acres but most of it very poor and barren. Signed by Governor Pyke. At a consultation held on Tuesday 28 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that, at the sale of damaged goods held on the Tuesday before, the following particulars had been sold to persons able to pay for the whole in a short time: 39 pairs green shoes, sundry persons, £12 10s 3d 23 pairs women's shoes, £5 3s 8d 41 pairs boys' shoes, £4 9s 3d 3 pairs gloves, £0 6s 2d Sub-total, £22 11s 4d 179 pairs stockings, £18 19s 4d 7 belts and coats, £2 19s 0d 3 pairs jumps, £2 5s 4d 1 pair stays, £0 18s 1d Sub-total, £6 2s 5d 1 pair long ells, £2 11s 6d 19 yards flannel, £2 5s 4d 1 pair crepe, £0 10s 1d 1 pair fustian, £1 14s 7d 1.5 yards broad cloth, £0 0s 9d Total sold at outcry, £49 0s 7d The Wilmington arrived from Madras the day before, having watered and taken in the following supply: 18 bags rice at 6 pagodas the bag, at 5 marcals to the parah, 16 pagodas 5 annas 3.75 pies 3 pairs Barra white cloth at 40 shillings the morah, 31 pagodas 2 annas 0 pies 2 butts Goa arrack of 240 gallons at 20 shillings the parah, 150 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 5 pagodas 1 anna 25 pies Total, 412 pagodas 2 annas 98 pies Interpretations The record shows the public sale of damaged goods returning £49 0s 7d, the outcome of the disposal Governor Goodwin had ordered on 17 October 1738 to clear shoes, stockings and other spoiled stock rather than let it rot unsold. The buyers were persons able to pay the whole in a short time, the council preferring solvent purchasers to the credit sales that so often went uncollected on the island, and the sale carried out the rolling arrangement of offering goods on successive muster days until cleared. Green shoes here means shoes of undressed or raw leather rather than the colour, the largest single line at £12 10s 3d. Several of the goods sold need explaining. Jumps were a loose unboned bodice or under-waistcoat worn by women in place of stiff stays; long ells were lengths of a coarse woollen cloth measured by the ell; fustian was a stout twilled cotton or cotton-and-linen cloth; and crepe was a thin crimped fabric. These were the ordinary trade goods the Company shipped for sale to the inhabitants, here disposed of at reduced prices after long lying in the stores, the standard fate of cloth and clothing spoiled on the passage or by damp. The Wilmington's cargo was reckoned throughout in South Indian money, the whole coming to 412 pagodas 2 annas 98 pies, the pagoda being the gold coin of the Coromandel coast and Madras its principal port. The supply of rice, white cloth and Goa arrack in two butts of 240 gallons was the ordinary victualling a homeward Indiaman landed at St Helena, priced by the parah and the marcal, the Indian grain and liquid measures. Goa arrack was the distilled spirit shipped from the Portuguese settlement of Goa, the common issue to the garrison and slaves. The land at Coles Grounds sold to John Bazett was the 27-acre parcel of poor ground near Woody Ridge whose appraisement Samuel Doveton and John Defountaine had been directed to settle, the same barren land Bazett had petitioned for under the Company's rule permitting sale of parcels of no use to the neighbourhood. Speculations The council disposed of John Bazett's purchase at Coles Grounds by sale at a valuation rather than continuing to hold barren ground the Company could neither let nor use. The land was 27 acres but most of it very poor and barren, the kind of parcel that yielded no rent and no benefit, so selling it outright to a member of the council who would improve it turned a dead holding into a capital receipt. This followed the same reasoning that governed every such grant in this record, that ground harmless to the neighbourhood and useless to the Company was better sold than kept, and it placed the parcel with a buyer already committed to planting wood on the adjoining barren land he had bought earlier that month. |
328 | 320 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 29 Novr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved This day Severall of the Inhabitants attended us, & we desired that we would transmit the following Papers to the Honble Company by the first opportunity viz To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Esqr Second John Bazett Gent Third of Councel of the Island St Helena We the Underwritten the Inhabitants of the Sd Island having observed with much concern that the Fortifications thereof have of late Yeares been almost entirely neglected, notwithstanding the repeated Orders as we have heard which the Honble Company have from time to time given for the Speedy Fortifying the Same & putting into a Posture of Defence Sufficient to keep of an Enemy Should any attempt to attack us, which from the Precarious State which the affairs of Europe have been long in may very Suddenly & unexpectedly happen, & the having some ill Remembrance for South fold Instances of the Same Goodness & Generosity to us, the great Losses they have lately Sustained in India, the Injury they have Suffered by foreign Nations breaking into their Trade & Commerce & considering that the Number of their Blacks & Servants able to Labour is now become very Smalle, have Determined to give our Assistance herein in the best & most effectuall manner our present Condition will permit, We being greatly encouraged thereunto by the good Conduct & Example of our present Governour & others Inclinations & capacity for Such Undertakings who have all had convenient Proof not only by the diligent & quick Dispatch he had given the Wilmslot Projects, Since the time he has had the Chief Management on his hands but also by the Snuff Slape &c Skens he took & the Expedition he Used in finishing the Line & the other Batteries at the Fortifications called Bankes when the care thereof was fortunately left to him by the late Governour Mr Pyke And Lemon Valley & Sandy bay being Places which by the most open & exposed We therefore being Perfectly Sure that the help we Shall furnish to Secure those two Places from any attempt will be employed for that Sole Purpose & Intention to each of the promise to Send the following numbers of able bodied Labouring Blacks as are against our Name affixed to be applied under the Direction of the present Governour & Councele & to imployed by them in Fortifying the Said two Places till Such time as they Shall be Such by them Compleated & the desire they voice lay this our Resolution before the Honble Company by the first [...] | At a consultation held on Wednesday 29 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Several of the inhabitants attended that day, and the council resolved to transmit the following address to the Honourable Company by the first opportunity. It was directed to Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett, second of council, of the island of St Helena. The inhabitants, who signed the address, set out that they had for some time observed with concern that the fortifications had lately been almost entirely neglected. Notwithstanding the repeated directions received from the Honourable Company, which had from time to time pressed for the speedy strengthening of the works and the building of a battery of defence sufficient to repel an enemy, should any attempt to attack the island, the works remained in the ruinous state into which the war in Europe had lately thrown them. War might break out very suddenly and unexpectedly. The inhabitants had grateful cause to remember the many benefits and instances of the Company's kindness and generosity to them, and the great losses the Company had lately suffered in India through foreign nations breaking in upon its trade and commerce. Considering that the number of their black slaves fit and able to labour had now grown very small, they had determined to give their assistance in the best and most effective manner their present circumstances would allow. They were greatly encouraged to this by the good conduct and example of Governor Goodwin, whose skill and capacity for such undertakings had had all the convincing proof, not only in the diligent and quick dispatch he had given to the works at Rupert's since the time he had had the chief management on his hands, but also in the finishing of St Denis's battery, the redoubt he had made in finishing the line and the other batteries, and in the fortifications called Banks's, whose care and charge had fortunately been left to him by the late Governor Pyke. Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay being places which were the most open and exposed, the inhabitants held that their assistance should be given to strengthen these two places above any others. Their black slaves would be employed at the works, and each of them promised to send to the labour the full number of their able-bodied slaves as were against their names, to be paid under the direction of the present Governor and council. Being encouraged by them in fortifying the two places to the best of their power, the work would be finished by them as they should be [...] by them, and the council would lay this resolution before the Honourable Company by the first opportunity. Interpretations The address records a formal undertaking by the inhabitants to supply slave labour for the coastal defences, cast as a petition to the Company but in substance a collective promise entered on the council's own record. The inhabitants set out their concern that the fortifications had fallen into ruin despite the Company's repeated orders to strengthen them, a neglect they traced to the disruption of the war in Europe, and they committed each holder to send the full number of his able-bodied slaves to the works, the count set against each name. This was the same mechanism used in the fortification drive of 1734, when the inhabitants agreed at a vestry on 21 July to begin the coastal works and contribute their labour under apprehension of war with France. The choice of Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay as the places to be strengthened above all others repeats the assessment made in the consultations of 7 and 14 November 1738, both being landing points an enemy might exploit, Lemon Valley opening onto level ground and Sandy Bay lying exposed to windward. The works already completed under Governor Goodwin, the redoubt at Rupert's, St Denis's battery and the batteries at Banks's, were the programme he had carried forward on Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738, having taken the slaves off other employment on 8 August 1738 to press the fortifications ahead at little further cost. The inhabitants' plea that their slaves fit for labour had grown very small was no rhetorical flourish. The Company's own establishment had fallen to 55 men fit for heavy work out of 128 slaves by August 1732, and the private holders had lost stock and labour alike through the long drought, so the offer of slave labour represented a real burden on a diminished workforce. Slaves were paid a daily wage at the fortifications, ninepence a day being the standard rate throughout this record, the labour organised under the council's direction. The war in Europe the inhabitants feared was the wider conflict then threatening between the maritime powers, the island's exposed position on the homeward India route making it a natural target, and the Company's losses in India through foreign nations breaking into its trade the commercial background against which the whole defensive effort was pressed. Speculations The inhabitants chose to bind themselves collectively to supply slave labour for the fortifications at a moment when their workforce had shrunk to almost nothing, rather than plead their reduced circumstances as grounds to hold back. The obvious course for holders whose able slaves had grown very small through drought and loss was to resist a fresh demand on that labour, yet they committed the full number set against each name, moved by the Company's past generosity and by the war they feared might break out suddenly. What tips the decision past routine is the visible tension on the page between the burden and the promise: men who had just told the council their labour force was depleted nonetheless pledged it to the works, calculating that the danger of an undefended island outweighed the cost of the diminished slaves they had left. |
329 | 321 | opportunity who we humbly hope will receive the Same in good part & as favourably as they did our former Resolution to Build a Battery at Turke Cap at which we then erected about four Years ago at our own Charge Island St Helena 25 Novr 1738 Blacks, Blacks, Blacks Thom Gountree: 2, John Knipe: 1, Elzy Gunling Senr: 2 Jos Johnson: 2, Rich Tinsley: 1, Elzy Gunling Junr: 1 Fran Wrangham: 4, Edwd Bagly: 1, Fran Fudge: 1 Thos Bar Moore: 1, Sam Halding: 1, Elzy Gountree: 1 Charces Steward: 3, John Bagly: 1, Rich Mason: 1 Jno Goodwin Junr: 8, Robt Gurling: 1, Elzy Nichole: 1 Rich Goodwin: 2, Jca Leech: 1, Mary Nichols: 1 Josh Carre: 2, Martin Kaper: 1, Mary Sheeve: 1 Elzn Bates: 1, Wm Merrale: 1, Geo Leeke: 1 Rich Beale: 1, John Sale: 1, Jno French: 1 Sam Bowells: 1, Jno Draper: 1, Fran Seale: 2 Sam Donison: 2, Thos Kelthorne: 1, Totall: 69 Joseph Bates: 2, Benjl Bridger: 1, Thos Bazett: 1 John Desfountain: 2, Wm Bennham: 1 John Bagly: 4, Sam Donison: 2 Jos Desfountain: 1, Mary Alexander: 2 At a Consultation held on Thursday 30 Novr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved Severall of the Inhabitants this morning attended us again & acquainted us that being abundantly pleased & Satisfied with the extraor dinary Care & Pains the present Government had taken for the Safety & Security of the Island they desired we would lay the following Petition before the Honble Company by the first Ship bound for England To the Honble the Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies The Humble Petition of Such of the Inhabitants of the Island St Helena whose Names are hereunto Subscribed in behalf of themselves & the rest of the Inhabitants of the Said Island Sheweth That Isaac Pyke Esqr our late Governour did here on or the 2d July last & is Succeeded by Capt Jenn Goodwin Senior Councele a Gentleman who has had the Honour to Serve your near Thirty Years in Severall Stations & Degrees with Credit to himself, & to the Satisfaction of the Honble Company & in Such [...] | The council trusted the Company would receive the address in good part and as favourably as it had their earlier resolution to build a battery at Turk's Cap, which the inhabitants had put up about four years earlier at their own charge. The subscription was dated at the island of St Helena, 25 November 1738, and recorded the number of slaves each holder promised to the works, as follows. Thomas Greentree, 2 slaves Joseph Johnson, 2 slaves Francis Wrangham, 4 slaves Mr Barlow, 1 slave Charles Steward, 3 slaves John Goodwin junior, 8 slaves Richard Goodwin, 2 slaves Frances Carne, 2 slaves John Bagley, 1 slave Richard Beale, 1 slave Samuel Powell, 1 slave Samuel Doveton, 2 slaves Joseph Bates, 2 slaves John Defountaine, 2 slaves John Bazett, 4 slaves Joseph Defountaine, 1 slave John Knipe, 1 slave Richard Tinsley, 1 slave Edward Bagley, 1 slave Samuel Harding, 1 slave John Bagley, 1 slave Robert Girling, 1 slave Isaac Leech, 1 slave Martin Harper, 1 slave William Worrall, 1 slave John Seale, 1 slave Isaac Draper, 1 slave Mr Colgrave, 1 slave Benjamin Steager, 1 slave Mr Robinson, 1 slave Samuel Doveton, 2 slaves Mary Alexander, 2 slaves Elizabeth Girling senior, 2 slaves Elizabeth Girling junior, 1 slave Francis Fudge, 1 slave Elizabeth Greentree, 1 slave Richard Mason, 1 slave Elizabeth Nicholls, 1 slave Mary Nicholls, 1 slave Mary Shreve, 1 slave Benjamin Leech, 1 slave John French, 1 slave Frances Seale, 2 slaves Total, 69 slaves Thomas Bazett, 12 slaves Signed by Duke Crisp. At a consultation held on Thursday 30 November 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Several of the inhabitants attended again that morning and told the council that, being fully satisfied with the extraordinary care and pains the present government had taken for the safety and security of the island, they had resolved to transmit the following petition to the Honourable Company by the first ship bound for England. It was directed to the Honourable Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, and was the humble petition of those inhabitants of the island of St Helena whose names were subscribed, on behalf of themselves and the rest of the inhabitants. The petitioners set out that the late Governor Pyke had died on 28 July that year, and had been succeeded by Captain John Goodwin senior, a gentleman who had had the honour to serve nearly 30 years in several stations and degrees, with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the Honourable Company. Interpretations The subscription list puts a name and a number against the collective promise of labour made in the address of 29 November 1738, each holder pledging the able-bodied slaves he would send to the coastal works. The totals expose the sharp inequality of slave-holding on the island: most inhabitants could spare only one, a handful two to four, while John Goodwin junior pledged eight and Thomas Bazett twelve, the latter figure standing apart from the counted total of 69 and marking the largest private holding on the list. This is the same labour that would strengthen Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay, the places named as most exposed. The reference to the Turk's Cap battery anchors the inhabitants' offer in a real precedent. That work had been staked out and begun by the inhabitants at their own charge following the fortification survey of July 1734, when Turk's Cap Valley was judged the most dangerous point on the coast, being where shipping first made the island and opened by easy ascents into the Great Wood. By recalling that the Company had received their earlier voluntary effort favourably, the inhabitants framed the fresh offer as a continuation of proven loyalty. The petition of 30 November opens a formal address to the Court of Directors in London praising the new Governor. Captain John Goodwin senior had succeeded on Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738, was proclaimed on 29 July and saluted on 30 July, and the near 30 years' service the inhabitants cite reflects his long career on the island as surveyor, storekeeper and councillor before the chair fell to him. The petition served to commend the Company's provisional appointee and to seek confirmation of his government. Several of the names on the subscription recur throughout this record as the island's substantial holders and officeholders, Wrangham, Steward, the two Goodwins, Beale, the Bazetts and the Dovetons, the same men who filled every jury and parish office, so the list is also a roll of the settlement's leading families measured by the slaves they commanded. Speculations This passage is a subscription roll of promised slaves and the opening of a petition of commendation, neither carrying a decision where an obvious course was passed over for a less obvious one. The list simply records what each holder pledged, and the petition sets out the inhabitants' wish to praise and confirm the new Governor. The one choice in view, to send labour to Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay above other places, was made and reasoned in the address of 29 November 1738 and is here only enacted. Rule 53 governs a subscription roll carrying no fresh decision, and silence is correct. |
330 | 322 | was Gentleman our Countryman who formerly had the Honour to fill the Chair whose memory is still dear to us & whose Life had it pleased god to have Spued it longer might have been Signally beneficiall to Your Honours & more particularly in that branch of your affairs relating to your Fortifications, but he was taken hence before he could Compleat any of the Plans he had formed for want of which this Island & your Shiping have been ever Since been exposed to the most Eminent Danger That the Gentleman who now Presides has not only the Same abilitie & Inclinations to promote your Honours Interest in the Same affaires, the neglect of which had undoubtedly rendered this Place a Prey to the Enemy had very taken advantage of it, but is also perfectly well acquainted with every other branch of your bussgress as well relating to the management & Increase of Your Cattle & Plantations & other Stock affaires as with affaires concerning Shiping, having been Severall Years as well both in Ground & the Service of the Concern which are at Sea theres which may prove of great Use to Anasons & were have got Confided together to any Single Person of your farther Government, the want of which in many Instances have found very expensive & Prejudicial to Your Honours That our present Governour was born & bred among us from his Infancy & your Petitioners are perfectly well acquainted with his Candour & Humanity which he has Shewn throughout the whole Course of his Life & more Specially to the Poor & Distress'd of this Place that after enduring many Years of Bitterness & heavy Oppression his State how how the happiness to Save & all our Officians, Servts & their Brethren having been of the abov'd in their Concern, & Injured in their Fortunes by long & frequent Imprisonment, under false and frivolous pretences, & many times without any redress & Savage Cruelties have been practis'd among us, one of our Inhabitants having been the abov'd in an unheard of manner with Wild Whips & after his flesh was thus Inhumanely torn & mangled, was farther Proceeded with a long & close Imprisonment, & all manner of Reliefe denied him not so much as his Children, or a Surgion being permitted to have Access to him to Dress his Wounds nor are these the only Grievances of which your Petitioners have cause to Complain, their Honesty & Industry was made the Subject of Ridicule & Reproach, by one who when become Chief among us then forgot the low Condition he was in when he first arrived at St Helena & the great want & misfortunes which have happened & long continued in his own Family & yet to Strangers, the Same Governour very frequently begg'd avoided Your Petitioners by the various futters of poor Disquiets, miserable Devels, which so greatly hurt their Interest & we so the occasion of much trouble & Disquiet to your Petitioners & their Families, but Your [...] | The petitioners continued their account of the late Governor Pyke, a gentleman and their countryman who had formerly held the honour of the chair, whose memory would be dear to them as long as they lived. Had it pleased God to spare him longer, he might have rendered further signal service to the Company, and more particularly in the strengthening of the works, but he had died before he could complete any of the batteries for want of which the island and the Company's shipping had been left exposed to the most imminent danger. Governor Goodwin, who now presided, had not only shown a keen inclination to promote the Company's honour and interest in the same matters, the neglect of which had undoubtedly left the island a prey to any enemy who might take advantage of it, but was also perfectly well acquainted with every other branch of the Company's business relating to the management and increase of its cattle and plantations and all other matters concerning shipping. Having served several years as second of council and steward of the household, offices which many years of experience and long acquaintance had qualified him to fill, he had got a thorough knowledge of the Company's affairs, the want of which in many predecessors had proved very expensive and prejudicial to the Company's concerns. The present Governor had been born and bred among them, so that from his infancy the petitioners were perfectly well acquainted with his character and demeanour, which he had maintained throughout the whole course of his life. They spoke more particularly of the care he had taken of the island, and, after enduring many years of trouble and heavy oppression in its poor state, they now had the happiness to see all their own petitioners, servants of their brethren, having been often abused in their persons and injured in their fortunes by long and frequent imprisonments under false and frivolous pretences, and many times without any trial. Savage cruelties had been practised among them, one of the inhabitants having been so cruel to an unhappy slave woman with child that, after she gave flesh, she was so inhumanly torn and mangled and afterwards proceeded against with a long and close imprisonment. The manner of relief afforded him not so much as his children, or a surgeon being permitted to have access to him to dress his wounds, nor were these the only grievances of which the petitioners had cause to complain, until, through the Governor's honour and industry, the subject of these hardships and reproach was made secure. Among the inhabitants were those who forgot the low condition they had been in when he first arrived at St Helena, and the great want and misfortunes which had happened at length in his own family and yet to strangers. The same government very frequently loaded the petitioners by the various methods of open disputes, miserable devils, which greatly hurt their interest, and was the occasion of much trouble and disquiet to the petitioners and their families. Interpretations The petition sets out the inhabitants' case for confirming Governor Goodwin by contrasting his government with the abuses of the past, and its central grievance is the record of cruelty and arbitrary imprisonment on the island. The passage recalls the savage treatment of slaves and the frequent jailing of free men under frivolous pretences and often without trial, the very pattern the council's own consultations document across this period, from the whipping and mutilation of slaves by James Powell recorded on 10 September and 11 November 1735 to the repeated imprisonment of John Long. By laying these before the Court of Directors the inhabitants argued that the new Governor had brought relief from a régime of hardship. The praise of Governor Goodwin turns on his fitness for the office through long local service. Born and bred on the island, he had served years as second of council and steward of the household, and the petitioners pointedly contrast his thorough knowledge of the Company's cattle, plantations and shipping with the costly ignorance of predecessors sent out from England. This was a real distinction: several earlier governors and appointees had come to the island as strangers, and the engineer Gaultier had been dismissed on 5 December 1734 precisely as an unqualified outsider, so a governor who understood the island's stock and defences from the inside was a genuine recommendation. The account of Governor Pyke honours the predecessor who died in office on 28 July 1738 without completing the batteries, leaving the island exposed, the same unfinished fortification programme that Goodwin took forward and that the inhabitants had just pledged their slaves to advance. The petition thus binds together the two governors' defensive efforts and the inhabitants' own contribution into a single argument for the Company's continued favour. The cruelties described, a pregnant slave woman beaten so that she was inhumanly torn after giving birth, and a prisoner denied access to his children or a surgeon to dress his wounds, echo the specific cases the council had itself recorded and punished, showing the petition drew on real events within the settlement's own memory rather than general complaint. Speculations This passage is the body of a petition of commendation, an argument addressed to the Court of Directors setting out why the new Governor deserved confirmation and how his government improved on the past. It records the inhabitants' reasoning but no decision in which an obvious course was passed over for a less obvious one, the choice to send the petition having been made and noted at the consultation of 30 November 1738. A petition rehearsing grievances and praise to persuade a distant authority carries no administrative decision of its own, so under the governing standard no speculation arises. |
331 | 323 | Petitioners under the Government of the Gentleman who now Presides over us, are Sure to be treated with a Just regard to Justice & Equity, & that Peace & quiet will now be restored among us, & no more Mischievous Distinctions of Garrison & Plantors be any more heard of our Interests being mutuall & Inseparable, & We having all of us, the happiness to have our Dependance upon Your Honours who have been always Kind & Indulgent to us & ever given us redress when we have made our Grievances known to you Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray, that for the reasons already aforesd & after so long a Series of Severe Sufferings which Your Petitioners & most of the Inhabitants have hitherto Patiently Submitted to, Your Honours out of Your abundant Goodness & in Compassion to Your Petitioners will be pleased whom the Merit from the abov'd for John Goodwin to be our Governour of whose merit & Capacity for this Employ Your Honours may receive more ample Testimony from numbers of Gentleman now in England Your Petitioner humbly beg Pardon of Your Honours for this Seeming Presumption, but the Intollerable Oppressions with which We have been constantly Exercised & which in part are already aforesd, have forced & Compelled us to make our Grievances known, & to prevail humble Suitors to Your Honours in behalf of the Said Capt Goodwin, as a certain means of remedy & redress, and Your Petitioners again most humbly Entreat Your Honours will be pleased to Establish them therein And Your Petitioners as in duty bound Shall ever Pray Edwd Bagly Rich Beale Frances Wrangham G G Crispe Charles Steward James Lynes Saml Donison Thos Greenice Josh Goodwin John Bagly Thos Beale Saml Vaughn Saml Harding Wm Merrall Joshua Kinnile Wm Mudge Isaac Leek Wm Sale John Stanson Jos Johnson Jno French Robert Gunling Symeth Whaby Thom Bar Moose Benjl Bladgen John Desfountain Jos Desfountain Fraid Seunge William Bennham Martin Kaper James Draper Gabriel Harper Silas Smith Orlando Bagly Johnspa Jonas Kickinsjunr Jonas Coulton | The petitioners continued, setting out that under the government of the present gentleman they were now sure of being treated with a just regard to justice and equity, and of enjoying that peace and quiet which they had lately been denied. They held that no serious division between garrison and planters could arise while the interests of both were bound together and inseparable, and they had the happiness to depend upon the Company, which had always been kind and indulgent to them and had ever granted their address when they made their grievances known to it. The petitioners therefore asked that, for the reasons already set out and to bring an end to the severe sufferings which they and many of the inhabitants had lately endured, the Company would give ample proof of its favour and generosity. In consideration of the petitioners they asked to be strengthened and encouraged, and, from a real sense of John Goodwin's merit and capacity for the office, that the Court would receive ample testimony from a great number of gentlemen now in England. The petitioners begged pardon for their present presumption, but the intolerable oppression under which they had lately and constantly lived, briefly set out in part above, had forced and compelled them to make their grievances known, and to ask that the Court would confirm John Goodwin in the government as the surest means of remedy and redress. The petitioners again asked that the Court would be pleased to establish him in the office. The address closed with the subscription of the inhabitants, as follows. Edward Bagley Richard Beale Francis Wrangham J. J. Crozer Charles Steward James Pyke Samuel Doveton Thomas Greentree Richard Goodwin John Bagley Thomas Beale Samuel Vaughan Samuel Harding William Worrall Joshua Nicholls Matthew Mudge Isaac Leech William Seale John Hanson Joseph Johnson John French Robert Girling Simon Whaley Thomas Moyce Benjamin Gladwin John Defountaine Joseph Defountaine Fred Genge William Burnham Martin Harper James Draper Gabriel Harper Giles Smith Orlando Bagley John Spa[...] Jonathan Hodgkinson junior Jonathan Doveton Signed by Governor Pyke. Interpretations The closing passage of the petition sets out the political logic by which the inhabitants tied their own security to the confirmation of Governor Goodwin. They argued that no lasting division between garrison and planters could arise while the two interests were bound together, and they cast the Company as a benefactor that had always answered their grievances, framing the request for Goodwin's establishment as the surest remedy for the oppression they had endured. The reference to testimony from a great number of gentlemen now in England shows the inhabitants expected the appointment to be settled at the Court of Directors partly on the word of returned Company servants who knew the man. The subscription is a roll of the island's free male population, and set beside the labour subscription of 25 November 1738 it names largely the same families, the Bagleys, Beales, Wranghams, Dovetons, Goodwins, Harpers and Defountaines who filled every office and jury in this record. The two lists together show the settlement acting as a single body, pledging its slaves to the defences in one document and its political weight to the new Governor in the other, both directed to London by the same ships. The petition belongs to the sequence of addresses transmitted after Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738, seeking the Company's confirmation of Captain Goodwin, whom the council had proclaimed provisionally on 29 July. Such petitions from the governed in support of a provisional appointee were the ordinary means by which a remote settlement made its preference known to the distant authority that held the power of appointment. The grievance of intolerable oppression the petitioners twice invoke refers to the abuses of arbitrary imprisonment and cruelty rehearsed earlier in the same address, the inhabitants presenting Goodwin's confirmation as the guarantee against their return. Speculations This passage completes a petition of commendation and carries its subscription list, an argument to the Court of Directors for confirming the Governor followed by the signatures endorsing it. It records the inhabitants' reasoning and their collective request but no administrative decision in which an obvious course was set aside for a less obvious one, the resolution to send the petition having been taken at the consultation of 30 November 1738. A closing plea and a roll of signatures carry no decision of their own, so under the governing standard no speculation arises. |
332 | 324 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour Reports that he had observed many Sorts of Severall Sort are much Scaled & flaked & is afraid, be become too little & will not deuly fitt the Guns to which they belong which may prove of dangerous Consequence in time of action if being Suey unlikely to fitt the mouth, or do any Execution upon an Enemy when the Weight & Diameter of the Shott fails in true Proportion to the Sise & Diameter of the Bore, & therefore he gave the Gunner Orders to Examine all the Shott & to give him for it with an Account in Writing in what Condition he finds the Same At a Consultation held on Wednesday 6 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour Reports that having observed that the Honble Company in the 33 Paragraph of their Generall Letter of the 17 Decr 1737 Speak of the Clarke the Gunner as a Person fully Qualified to Instruct the other Gunners the Cargoss &c on their Duely viz, & it being of great Importance that they Should be such capable of taking true Aim, & be able to hit & damage the Enemies Shiping wherever, may fire & not loose & not Powder & Shott to no purpose, & not any of them being Sufficiently able to this without further inclight & Instruction in this matter & resolved that a Butt or Mark Should be Erected for them to fire at & that Some of the want Powder Should be Used upon this Occasion till they became tollerally perfect & Just & this being highly necessary both for the Safety of the Island & the Companies Shiping was agreed that the Same Should be done accordingly & appointed the Govr & Serjt as Experiment to begin the Said Days next & to be continued Weekly till we Should give farther Orders therein [...] | At a consultation held on Tuesday 5 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that he had noticed many shot of several kinds much rusted and flawed, and afraid they had become too little, that he would not rely on the guns to which they belonged, which might prove of dangerous consequence in time of action, being very unlikely to hit the mark or do any execution upon an enemy, when the weight and diameter of the shot fell short in due proportion to the size and diameter of the bore. He therefore ordered the gunner to clear away all the shot, and asked him to give an account in writing of the condition in which he found it. Signed by Duke Crisp. At a consultation held on Wednesday 6 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that the Honourable Company, in the 30th paragraph of its general letter of the 14th of last October, had directed that the outlying batteries be strengthened, and that the guns already there be secured and made effective. This being of great importance, that they should be kept capable of firing into the road and of doing damage to an enemy's shipping wherever she might fire and lie, the council held that if any of them being sufficiently able to this without further help and support in this matter, it was resolved that a battery of earth should be raised for them to fire at, and that some of the great guns should be tried upon this occasion to see whether they became naturally perfect. This being highly necessary both for the safety of the island and the Company's shipping, the council agreed that the trial should be done accordingly, and the great guns to be proved by experiment to begin on Saturday next, and to be continued weekly until the council should give further orders. Signed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations The two consultations record the Governor's care to test the fort's ordnance and ammunition rather than trust it untried in an emergency. The complaint of 5 December concerned round shot that had rusted and flaked until it no longer matched the bore of the guns it was cast for, a real hazard since a ball too small for its barrel loses velocity and accuracy, so the Governor ordered the whole stock cleared and surveyed in writing. The annual ordnance inventories across this record repeatedly noted vast quantities of shot standing untouched, 6,873 round shot in 1735 and 545 double-headed shot unmoved year after year, so an inspection for corrosion was overdue. The proposal of 6 December to prove the great guns by firing them at an earth battery answered a direct instruction from London. The 30th paragraph of the Company's general letter of October 1738, the same paragraph cited on 14 November for redistributing the guns, had ordered the outlying batteries strengthened and their ordnance made effective, and proving the pieces by controlled firing was the standard way to establish whether an old gun was sound or would burst. This matched Governor Pyke's earlier practice, the gunner's accounts recording powder spent on proving the guns in 1734 and 1735. The weekly programme of proving, to begin the following Saturday and continue until further order, shows the defensive preparation being carried forward systematically under apprehension of war, the same urgency that drove the fortification labour the inhabitants had just pledged their slaves to on 29 November 1738. The earth battery raised as a target let the gunners fire the heavy pieces safely to test them without hazarding the fixed works. A minion, saker, demi-culverin and demi-cannon were the graded classes of cannon named by the weight of shot they threw, the guns whose matching shot the Governor now found wanting, the gunner having begun classifying them by shot-weight rather than the older names from February 1738. Speculations The Governor chose to prove the great guns by firing them at a purpose-built earth battery, rather than assume the old pieces sound or condemn them untested. A gun long in place might be honeycombed or cracked and burst when fired in earnest, so the obvious risk lay in trusting it unproved at the moment of attack, yet firing every heavy piece also risked destroying guns and gunners in the trial itself. The council resolved the tension by raising an earth target and proving the pieces under controlled conditions week by week, accepting the powder and labour of a testing programme as the price of knowing which guns would answer, a calculation made pressing by the Company's direct order and the war the island feared. |
333 | 325 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the month past which were Severally Examined & Approved & are as followes viz Expence of the Table in Novr 1738 viz 270 Beef 3 7 6 3 Hoggs 15 23 Fowles 1 17 6 23 lb Butter 1 5 30 Days Greens 1 10 60 Botts milk 1 1 65 Pork 1 12 5 6/8 Gald Arrack 12 13 6 7 Botts Ryle 1 8 1 C 15 Sugar 2 12 2 C Flour 3 13 3 Bushells Salt 15 1 3 Candy 3 3 3 Gald Port 1 3 3 6 do Sherry 1 3 3 21 Gald Small Beer 1 6 of do Strong 13 6 39 9 6 10 Gald Arrack 33 Fortification Blacks 9 8 Sugar 2 11 Gunners Stores Expended in Novr 1738 viz Spunge Staves, Ram Rods, Sheep Skins, Sponge Skins 1738 Novr 9 Wilmington arrived 5, 3, 2, 11 Expend of the Guards 21 Cartredge Paper: 4 Quire Match: 18 Handspikes: 4 15, 2, 2, 11, 62 | At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the past month, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Expense of the table in November 1738: 270 lb beef, £3 7s 6d 3 sheep, £0 15s 0d 23 fowls, £1 17s 6d 23 lb butter, £1 5s 0d 30 days greens, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles milk, £1 1s 0d 65 lb pork, £1 12s 0d 56 and 3 gallons arrack, £12 13s 6d 1 bottle style, £1 8s 0d 1 hundredweight 2 quarters 15 lb sugar, £2 3s 0d 2 hundredweight 1 quarter flour, £3 0s 0d 3 bushels salt, £0 15s 0d 1 hundredweight 3 quarters candy, £3 3s 0d 3 gallons port, £1 3s 0d 6 gallons sherry, £3 3s 0d 21 gallons small beer, £1 1s 0d 6 gallons strong beer, £0 13s 6d Total, £39 9s 6d An allowance to the fortification blacks was also charged: 10 gallons arrack, £3 [...]s 0d 8 lb sugar, £0 2s 0d Total, £3 2s 0d Gunner's stores expended in November 1738: Wilmington arrived, sponge staves 5, powder 21 lb, sponge heads 2, round shot 41 Expense of the guards, sponge staves 0, powder 21 lb, sponge heads 0, round shot 41 Cartridge paper, 4 quires Match, 18 lb Handspikes, 4 Sub-total, sponge staves 5, powder 42 lb, sponge heads 2, round shot 41 Grand total, 62 Interpretations The November table account of £39 9s 6d holds almost exactly level with the £38 1s 5d of October, and read against the run of this record it confirms the continued economy the drought had imposed. Beef rose modestly to 270 lb, drawn from the single heifer killed in the month rather than from any purchase, while arrack at 56 and 3 gallons remained the largest line by far at £12 13s 6d, the settled pattern in which spirits dominated every month's charge. The account matches the frugal footing Governor Goodwin had declared on 11 October 1738 and the reduced state of the Company's stock recorded in the October return. The separate charge of arrack and sugar to the fortification blacks marks the labour drive the inhabitants had just pledged to support. Slaves set to heavy work at the coastal batteries received an allowance of spirits and sugar as an addition to their ordinary keep, the customary provision for men at hard labour throughout this record, and its appearance here shows the works at Lemon Valley and elsewhere already drawing labour in November 1738. The gunner's account records the powder and stores of a quiet month. The only firing beyond the guards' fixed allowance was the salute on the arrival of the Wilmington from Madras on 27 November 1738, the ship whose cargo was entered on 28 November, and the round shot, sponge staves and match were the ordinary consumable furniture of the guns. Handspikes, the levers used to shift and lay the heavy pieces, appear as a steady wear item, their heavy expenditure across 1738 reflecting the guns being handled and moved at the fortifications rather than fired. Candy at 1 hundredweight 3 quarters means sugar candy, refined sugar in hard crystallised lumps, a keeping form of the commodity, and small beer was the weak everyday brew served in quantity against the stronger beer reserved in smaller measure, both provisioning the officers' table. Speculations This passage is a pair of monthly accounts, the table expense and the gunner's stores, each a routine list of quantities and sums delivered for examination and approval. No decision is recorded and no course was chosen over another, the figures simply reporting what the household and the fort consumed in November 1738. Rule 53 holds that such accounts carrying no decision yield no speculation, and silence here is correct. |
334 | 326 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of November 1738 viz Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calues, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Withers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horse, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Novr: Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 39, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 28, Bulls 6, Totall 236, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 11, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 23, Fowles 75, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 15, Totall 18 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 1, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 17, Fowles 40, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 2, Totall 2 Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 39, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 29, Bulls 6, Totall 237, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 11, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totall 51, Turkeys 40, Fowles 115, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 3, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 0, Fowles 25, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 75, Heifers 38, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 29, Bulls 6, Totall 236, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 27, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 40, Fowles 90, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 30 Novr 1738: Bullocks 40, Cowes 74, Heifers 38, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 29, Bulls 6, Totall 235, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 27, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 40, Fowles 90, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Yams Expended at the Sevd Plantations 13000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 19000 Totall 32000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of November 1738. Remaining 1 November, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 39 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 28 calves, 6 bulls, total 236 Remaining 1 November, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Remaining 1 November, hogs: 9 sows, 11 shoats, 30 pigs, 1 boar, total 51 Remaining 1 November, poultry: 23 turkeys, 75 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 1 November, horses: 3 horses, 15 mares, total 18 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boar, total 0 Increased in the month, poultry: 17 turkeys, 40 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 2 mares, total 2 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 39 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 29 calves, 6 bulls, total 237 Balance after increase, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 11 shoats, 30 pigs, 1 boar, total 51 Balance after increase, poultry: 40 turkeys, 115 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 1 heifer, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 1 shoat, 3 pigs, 0 boar, total 4 Killed in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 25 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Killed in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after killing, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 38 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 29 calves, 6 bulls, total 236 Balance after killing, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 10 shoats, 27 pigs, 1 boar, total 47 Balance after killing, poultry: 40 turkeys, 90 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after killing, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Died in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Died in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boar, total 0 Died in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Died in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Remaining 30 November 1738, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 74 cows, 38 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 29 calves, 6 bulls, total 235 Remaining 30 November 1738, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Remaining 30 November 1738, hogs: 9 sows, 10 shoats, 27 pigs, 1 boar, total 47 Remaining 30 November 1738, poultry: 40 turkeys, 90 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 30 November 1738, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Yams expended at the several plantations, 13,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 19,000 lb Total, 32,000 lb Signed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations The November stock account shows the Company herd steady at 235 head, a fall of one on the month, and read against the same series it confirms that the recovery from the drought was holding. Only one cow died and one heifer was killed, against the seventeen and eighteen cattle a month lost at the height of the dry seasons recorded in the return of 30 September 1738, so mortality remained near the vanishing point the rains had brought since about July 1738. No cattle were sold, the council keeping to the resolution taken in April 1738 to stop selling and rebuild the stock, and a single calf was born. The poultry yard shows the sharpest movement, rising on a hatch of 17 turkeys and 40 fowls before 25 fowls were killed for the table, closing at 90 fowls and 40 turkeys. This was the seasonal recovery of a yard that the drought had stripped to 22 fowls in July and August 1738, though still far below the 484 fowls of October 1736 before the dry years consumed it. The two mares added to the stud carried it to 20 head, the eight Bombay mares of 1737 still the foundation of the largest horse stock in this record. The yam issue held at 32,000 lb for the month, though the split shifted to 19,000 lb for the slaves against 13,000 lb to the plantations, the increased ration to the labour force matching the demand of the fortification works now drawing slaves to the batteries. The standing crop counted at 548,000 lb on 18 July 1738 gave the establishment a reserve against the dry ground, nearly half of it at Perkins. The classes carried down the ruled grid, bullocks, cows, heifers, steers, yearlings, calves and bulls for the horned cattle, sows, shoats, pigs and boars for the hogs, let the council track every animal from birth or purchase to its killing, sale or death, the monthly return being the running record of the Company's whole stock. Speculations This passage is a monthly stock account, a ruled table carrying each class of livestock through its increase, killing and death to a closing figure, with no decision recorded on the page. The standing choice not to sell cattle lay behind the absence of any sale, but that decision belongs to April 1738 and is only reflected here. Rule 53 holds that a stock table carrying no decision of its own yields no speculation, and silence is correct. |
335 | 327 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 13 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & Approved The Gunner this day attended & acquainted us that according to the Order of the 5 instant, he had Examined the Shott & finds that the following Sort & numbers are Good fitt for Service viz 744 Serviceable Shot for Nine Pounders 300 Whole Culvering 294 Demi Culvering 388 Twelve Pounders 130 Six Pounders 30 Sakers 100 Minion 30 Three Pounders Totall 2027 He also acquainted us that the following number of Shot over & above what was already, have are much wasted for want of the following Denominations viz 200 Demi Cannon 310 Whole Culvering 350 Sakers 320 Minion 20 Three Pounders Totall 1200 Inasmuch with our fireds are much about forty pound to preach Cann Among the Shott which are Good we observe there are 491 for Twelve Pounders & 300 Sd Shott for Six Pounders but upon Examening our Guns we find we have not any of these Sorts & therefore these Nine Shott for Twelve Pounders may with regard to the be the 2d Verdyk, & may be added to the 2027 Sd and which if the there Company that think proper, we intend either to Send them to England Sr to put them on board Man over Ship as Rentledge which will be Sooner done the here, & trouble of taking of Ballast We also find we have in Six Iron Minion Guns to furnish the Batteries at Lemon Valley & Sandybay, there wanting four of the Six Demi Culverings needful in the Present within the Castles, for the Battery we have a Bolt to fitt at or near Louis Rock so that we Shall want four or Six Sakers each of Six Pounder Sale to place at Lemon Valley, the Minion being of a Sise more proper for Sandybay | At a consultation held on Wednesday 13 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The gunner reported that day that, following the order of the 5th of this month, he had examined the shot and found that the following sorts and numbers were serviceable, as follows. Serviceable shot for demi-cannon, 744 Serviceable shot for whole culverin, 300 Serviceable shot for demi-culverin, 293 Serviceable shot for twelve pounders, 388 Serviceable shot for six pounders, 130 Serviceable shot for sakers, 30 Serviceable shot for minions, 100 Serviceable shot for three pounders, 30 Total, 2,299 He further reported that the following number of shot, over and above what was already serviceable, wanted to be sorted for each of the following classes of gun, as follows. Bad shot for demi-cannon, 200 Bad shot for whole culverin, 310 Bad shot for sakers, 350 Bad shot for minions, 320 Bad shot for three pounders, 20 Total, 1,200 The gunner reported that, as much as with the good, there were about 40 pounders to spare among the shot which the council thought serviceable. There were 391 shot for twelve pounders and 300 for six pounders, but on sorting the guns the council found there were not any of these to answer those shot. The 2,299 serviceable shot, with regard to the demi-culverin, might be the shot for the 2,299 bad shot, which, if the council thought proper, could be sent to England or put on board some other ship at Rupert's, which the council held below the line and trouble of taking in ballast. The council also resolved to have six spare minion guns to furnish the batteries at Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay, moving four of the six demi-culverins now at the batteries within the castle. For the battery, which was about to bear at or near Banks's back, so that four or six sakers each of six pounders and shot at a place at Lemon Valley, the minion being of a size more proper for Sandy Bay. Interpretations The gunner's return sorts the fort's stock of round shot by the gun it was cast for, finding 2,299 balls serviceable and 1,200 defective, the outcome of the survey Governor Goodwin had ordered on 5 December 1738 when he noticed shot too rusted and shrunken to match its bore. The tabulation by class, demi-cannon down to three-pounders, matches the graded ordnance the annual inventories tracked across this record, where the fort held 157 pieces of eight classes by 1738. The finding that 391 shot for twelve-pounders and 300 for six-pounders had no guns to fire them, while other calibres wanted shot, exposes a mismatch between the ammunition in store and the pieces actually mounted, the kind of accumulated disorder a fresh survey was meant to correct. The proposal to ship the defective shot to England or send it away as ballast turned on its uselessness on the island. Round shot too corroded to fire served no purpose in the magazine, and rather than let it lie the council considered returning it or loading it aboard a ship at Rupert's, the council judging it fit only for ballast below the waterline. This echoes the disposal of spoiled powder in earlier years, casks of damaged powder having been sent home to England in 1733, 1734 and 1735. The redistribution of guns carried forward the defensive programme the Company had ordered and the inhabitants had pledged their slaves to advance. Six spare minions were to arm the exposed batteries at Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay, and four of the six demi-culverins standing idle within the castle were to be moved out, the same policy of shifting the heavy pieces from the fort to the landing places that the council had resolved on 14 November 1738 following the Company's general letter. A minion threw a shot of about four pounds and a saker of five or six, the lighter classes the council judged proper for the outlying works. The Governor's choice of gun for each place reflected the ground. The minion, being smaller and lighter, was thought fitter for Sandy Bay, while heavier sakers were assigned near Banks's, matching the assessment of these landing points made in the consultations of 7 and 14 November 1738. Speculations The council chose to ship the 1,200 defective round shot back to England or send it away as ballast, rather than keep it in the magazine or attempt to recast it on the island. The obvious course for a settlement short of iron might have been to hold the corroded balls against some future use, yet the council judged shot that no longer fitted its guns worthless in store and fit only for ballast below a ship's waterline, choosing to be rid of dead weight it could not fire. The decision, anchored to the gunner's finding that whole calibres of shot had no guns to answer them, shows the council treating its ordnance stock as a working inventory to be matched to the pieces actually mounted rather than a hoard to be preserved, part of the systematic overhaul of the defences pressed forward under apprehension of war. |
336 | 328 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 19 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & Approved Yesterday the Wilmslot arrived here from Mauritius where the Wentind & the Captain being come and take me gave him the depth Instruction to leave viz the Supply the brought us was follows viz 49 Bags Rice pr 100 lb Suttle is 6¾ So @ Rupps 103 6 6 20 Bags Sugar pr 100 Suttle is 29 1 9 @ 5 pr So 23 1 Charges Merchandize 34 3 3 Rupees 368 9 9 Memorandum on the 6 instant the Captain acquainted us that being in great want he could only Spare Us Ten bags Rice & Eighteen bags Sugar, the rest he keeps for the Shipe Use, so that the Quantity of Rice & Sugar for which he is to pay the Honble Company in England is as followes viz Rice 10 Bags Rice nett B do B t Kept by the Captain 27 Bags 56 2 do Totalle 68 3 do Rice 18 Bags Sugar nett 23 1 1 Kept by the Captain 6 Totalle 29 1 1 At a Consultation held on Thursday 21 Decr 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & Approved Wm this day took into Consideration the number of black Boys & Wenches belonging to the Honble Company & finding that they are much more numerous than necessary & that their Labour is of little or no Service to them, not being near equal to the Charge of Clothing & feeding them, & the time being hard, & Provisions become very Scarce, & so much that we find it often difficult to procure Dut for our Soldiers, we have therefore determined to ease the Company of that burthen, by Selling Such of the Boys & Wenches as are Such of the Inhabitants only who will use them kindly | At a consultation held on Tuesday 19 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Halifax arrived the day before from Mauritius, from which place the Winchester had sailed. Her captain, being now on shore, gave the council a note of his dispatch instructions to leave that day. The supply she brought was as follows. 49 bags rice, at 5 marcals the parah, at 6 pagodas the bag, to shipping, 103 pagodas 6 annas 6 pies 20 bags sugar, at 44 morahs, at 5 pies the parah, 34 pagodas 3 annas 3 pies Charges merchandise, 231 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Received, 368 pagodas 9 annas 9 pies The captain reported on the 6th of this month that, being in great want, he could spare only 10 bags of rice and 8 bags of sugar for the ship's use, so that the quantity of rice and sugar for which he was to pay the Honourable Company in England stood as follows. Received, 10 bags rice net, £2 1s 0d Kept by the captain, 27 bags, £56 2s 0d Total, £58 3s 0d Received, 18.5 bags sugar net, £23 1s 0d Kept by the captain, £6 0s 0d Total, £29 1s 0d Signed by Duke Crisp. At a consultation held on Tuesday 21 December 1738 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day took into consideration the number of black slaves and women belonging to the Honourable Company, and found that they were now more numerous than necessary, and that they had grown too many to keep, not being able to feed them and yet clothing them being a real charge on the Company. The council found it often difficult to procure duty from its soldiers, and had therefore resolved to ease the Company of this burden by selling some of the elder and worn slaves and women, taking care meanwhile to help to dispose of them to such of the inhabitants only who would use them kindly. Interpretations The first consultation records the ordinary victualling of a homeward Indiaman, the Halifax landing rice and sugar reckoned in pagodas, the South Indian gold coin, the whole coming to 368 pagodas 9 annas 9 pies. The account distinguishes what the ship kept for her own passage from what she delivered to the island and what her captain owed the Company in England, the standard arrangement by which a commander drew provisions at St Helena against payment in London. The ship had come from Mauritius, then the French Île de France, a port on the same homeward route, and the Winchester she named had called at the island earlier in 1738. The captain's plea of great want, sparing only 10 bags of rice and 8 of sugar, was the common negotiation over how much a victualling ship must yield to the island against her own needs, the council's accounts throughout this record tracking exactly what each commander delivered and what he carried on. The second consultation opens a decision of real weight, the council resolving to sell off the Company's elder and worn slaves as a burden it could no longer carry. The reasoning inverts the anxiety of earlier years: where the council had long complained that its slaves fit for heavy labour were too few, having only 55 men fit for work out of 128 in August 1732, it now found the old and unproductive slaves too many to feed and clothe. The distinction lay between able labour, always wanted, and superannuated slaves who consumed provisions without returning work, the same superannuated class the musters counted separately across this record. The care taken to sell only to inhabitants who would use the slaves kindly reflects a concern the council had shown repeatedly, its consultations recording case after case of cruelty by masters, and its refusal on 14 April 1734 to renew the liquor licence of owners who abused their slaves. A slave sold from the Company's establishment passed from a régime the council could oversee into a private household it could not, so the stipulation was the only protection it could attach to the sale. The sale of Grace Steer, a superannuated Company slave woman, for £20 0s 0d to Sarah Ballard on 29 August 1738 shows the same policy already in operation, the Company disposing of its worn slaves individually to private buyers. Speculations The council chose to reduce the Company's slave establishment by selling its elder and worn slaves, rather than continue to maintain them as it always had. The settled course was to keep the Company's people, feeding and clothing the superannuated alongside the able as a standing charge, yet the council now judged the unproductive slaves an expense the drought-strained establishment could no longer bear and resolved to sell them off. What lifts the decision past routine is the condition attached to it: having decided to sell, the council bound itself to place the slaves only with inhabitants who would treat them kindly, choosing to limit its own market and forgo the best price rather than deliver worn men and women into households it knew from long experience might abuse them. |
337 | 329 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 2d of Jany 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & Approved On the 20th of last Month we went together to Lemon Valley in Order to view very attentively the breadth of the Said Valley in the Severall parts thereof as it approaches the Sea & observing that the Sd Valley is much narrower the Ground lower nea the Water Mant is where the Sd Batteries are placed which are farther off & Stord high, & that it may be defended much better by a Battery or Tenacle of Six Guns to be erected in this narrow low part than it can be by Repairing the old Works, & having again carefully perusd the Severall Consultations of the Month of Jany 1735 in relate to this matter & Considered well of what the Honble Company have been pleased to Say upon this Subject in the 30 Par: of their Letter of the 17 Decr 1737 & do find that they only recommend the Sd Fortifications then Standing to be repaird, upon presumption that the Spaw where they are built was the most proper & convenient, but this being contrary to matter of fact we intend to build the Tenacle at the narrowest part which luckily happens to be near the Water Side being only one hundred & Thirty feet from the Slag of the Beach which being So low it will mount, & we So more effectually Secure the Sd Valley which is a common Watering Place forcive own & Shiping of our Bush foreign Nations as the Honble Company permit to Refresh had than any Repairs given to the Sd Work vs can do, & Judge this together with the Battery at Sandybay Share be finished what will be Speedily, & when what git & remains to be done at Reports Valley Share be therewth compleated the Governour goce & Sepr to begin the Battery at Chubbs Rock, & with regard the homeward bound Shiping are now daily expected whose Arrival will make it will take up much of the Governours time & prevent him from giving his daily & Persaine there which he has hitherto done & Wished he now Wholse intends to do as often as he be Reserve & Persaine, & Mr Bazett being busy imployed in the Stores when Shiping are in the Road, it was recommended to Mr Crispe to attend & Supply the Governours absence in order to give the quicker Dispatch thereto by keeping the Blacks Strictly to their Labour & he accordingly promised to give his attendance & be constantly there whenever the Governour & Persaine Share be requird & Persaine Wm this day Sold three Blacks vizt one boy & two Girles vizt 1 Girl named Bett aged 5 Years to the Governour for£5 - 1 Girl named Sary aged 6 Years to Mr Greenway for 5 — 1 Boy named Frank aged 12 Years to Duke Crispe for 15 — | At a consultation held on Tuesday 2 January 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. On the 28th of last month the council went together to Lemon Valley to view very carefully the breadth of the valley, and observing that the valley was much narrower at the ground lower near the water where the batteries were placed, which were further off and stood higher, that it might be defended much better by a battery or turnpike of six guns to be erected in this narrow low part than it could be by repairing the old works. Having again carefully weighed the several consultations of the month of June 1734 relating to this matter, and considered well of what the Honourable Company had been pleased to lay upon this subject in the 30th paragraph of its general letter of the 14th of last December, the council resolved that the old fortifications then standing be repaired, on the presumption that the place where they were built was the most proper and permanent. This being contrary to matter of fact, the council intended to build the turnpike at the narrowest part, which happens to lie near the water side, being only one shot fired from the flagstaff on the beach, which shot the council held would answer, and be more effectively defended. The valley, which is a common watering place, being open to shipping of our own and foreign nations, the Honourable Company had directed the works to be strengthened rather than any repairs given to the old works to be made. When this was together with the battery at Sandy Bay, which was finished, what would be speedily done, what might remain to be done at Rupert's Valley would be through, compelled the Governor once again to begin the battery at Chubb's Rock. With regard to the homeward-bound shipping now daily expected, whose arrival would necessarily take up much of the Governor's time and prevent him from giving his daily and personal care to this, which he had hitherto done, he judged that he would still intend to do as often as he had the opportunity, and Mr Bazett being lately employed in the [...] when shipping was in the road, it was recommended to Duke Crisp to attend and apply the Governor's absence in order to give the quicker dispatch to those by keeping the blacks strictly to their labour. He accordingly promised to give this attendance and to be constantly there whenever the Governor's presence should be required elsewhere. This day the council sold three slaves, one boy and two girls, as follows. 1 girl named Bess, aged, given to the Governor, £5 0s 0d 1 girl named Pegg, aged, given to Mr Greentree for, £5 0s 0d 1 boy named Frank, aged 12 years, given to Duke Crisp for, £5 0s 0d Signed by Duke Crisp. Interpretations The consultation records a change of plan at Lemon Valley, the council reversing an earlier decision to repair the old fortifications and resolving instead to build a fresh turnpike at the narrowest part of the valley near the water. The reasoning is set out plainly: the low ground close to the sea was narrower and could be defended better by a six-gun work than by the existing batteries higher up, and firing trials showed the site lay within a single shot of the flagstaff on the beach. This was the same landing place assessed for defensibility in the consultations of November 1738, and the council anchored its decision in both the fortification debates of June 1734 and the Company's general letter directing the works strengthened rather than merely repaired. A turnpike here meant a small enclosed gun battery guarding a defile, not a tollgate. The passage also shows the practical difficulty of pressing the works forward as the shipping season opened. The Governor had given daily personal attention to the fortifications, but the arrival of the homeward Indiamen now daily expected would consume his time, so Duke Crisp undertook to superintend the labour in his absence, keeping the slaves to their work. This division of duty reflects the council's small size after Pyke's death, only three members remaining to manage the government, the shipping and the defences at once. The sale of three aged and young slaves for £5 0s 0d apiece carried out the resolution of 21 December 1738 to reduce the Company's establishment by disposing of its elder and worn people. That the buyers were the Governor himself, Duke Crisp and Mr Greentree shows the council placing the slaves within its own circle, consistent with its stated care to sell only to those who would treat them kindly, and matching the earlier sale of Grace Steer on 29 August 1738. The uniform price of £5 0s 0d reflects the low value the council set on superannuated or very young slaves, against the £25 0s 0d a prime man speaking English was reckoned to cost on 27 January 1736. The batteries named across the passage, Sandy Bay, Rupert's Valley and Chubb's Rock, were the coastal works of the defensive programme carried through the 1730s, Chubb's Rock having been assessed as a gun position before a large piece of ordnance was washed off it into the sea on 15 November 1737. Speculations The council chose to abandon its earlier resolution to repair the old works at Lemon Valley and build a new turnpike lower down near the water instead, once a close view of the ground showed the narrow low part could be defended better. The settled and easier course was to mend the existing batteries where they stood, and the council had indeed resolved on exactly that, but a fresh inspection on 28 December 1738 revealed that the old works sat too high and too far back, so it reversed itself and committed to new construction at the narrowest point within a single shot of the beach flagstaff. What makes the decision pointed is the council's own admission on the page that its earlier presumption, that the old site was the most proper, had proved contrary to fact, a candid reversal that shows the defensive planning driven by direct observation of the terrain rather than by the convenience of repairing what already existed. |
338 | 330 | At a Consultation held on Thursday 4 Jany 1738 at the Plantion House Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved We this day took into Consideration the 44 Para: of the Honble Companys Letter & the Queen Caroline & as foreign Shiping may be duely expected here we agreed to present all Mistake or Defaults that the following Should be the form of a Letter to be delivered to the Commanders of all Such foreign Ships immediately upon their Arrivall viz Sir The State of publick Affairs in Europe being in a very Unsettled Posture, great armies being lately raised & kept on foot by Severall Princes thereof, & there being various Reports that a similar War with Severall Nations, in case of War with the Crown of Great Brittaine, entertain thoughts to the Prejudice of our Honble Masters & this Island, & it being both naturall & Reasonable, as well as agreeable, to the Rules & Practice afforded in Garrison'd Places, to be as much upon our Guard in nea posibly Can to prevent the Effects of an Enemies plots & mischievous in its Consequence, We are therefore commanded to acquaint You, that, As there you, nor any of your officers, By Company & Sailors or any other Person whatsoever on board your Ship are to go up & down this Island, beyond the Town where You now are, nor are any of your Cheates to attempt to come or go beyond that at any other than the Company Landing Place at the land Mate of this Island, nor at Lemon Valley for water, nor are you to Suffer any of your Boates & Men along Shoare, towards any other part of this Island, under any Pretence whatsoever, nor to permit them to Speak in any other Man except of this Road, and without Sight of the Fortification, & even in fact you will, functually Comply herewith we allowing Strict orders to prevent all attempts contrary to the Rules & Directions hereby Signified to You, for by the other hand we are also Commanded by our Masters, the Honble the English East India Comps to treat You, or their Owners upon Assurance of Mass Directions, in a friendly Manner, & to give you Such helps & Assistance as this Place afford & Can be possibly Spared from our own & Shipping, & with regard to ourselves we before Sepr to be Sepr provided that no Sort of Cruelty Shall be wanting on the to render of your Stay here during the time of your Refreshment agreeable, & pleasant to You, We are Sir your most Servts Sir Your most humble Servants We also this day Published the following Advertisement Whereas are to give Notice to the Severall Inhabitants of this Island that the Honble Company have been pleased & give us Strict orders not to Suffer any of them to go on board or to Send their Boates on board any foreign Ships that shall happen to arrive here Any that also have pleased to Order that no foreign Commander or other officer Passenger or Sailor be they Englishman or others belonging to any Such Ships Shall be permitted to go up & down the Island farther than | At a consultation held on Tuesday 9 January 1739 at Plantation House. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day took into consideration the 4th paragraph of the Honourable Company's letter by the Queen Caroline, that foreign shipping might be daily expected at the island, and resolved to prevent all mistake or default, that the following form of a letter be delivered to the commanders of any foreign ships immediately upon their arrival in the road. The letter set out that the state of public affairs in Europe being very unsettled, great tensions having lately arisen in fact by several powers, and various reports circulating that some or other of the neighbouring nations might, in case of war with the Crown of Great Britain, entertain thoughts to the prejudice of the Honourable Company and the island, and it being both natural and reasonable, as well as agreeable, to the batteries and other works erected in the several places, to be on watch, as now perhaps possibly to prevent the effects of any enterprise plotted and mischievous in its consequence, the commanders were required to observe the following. If any of their officers, passengers, sailors or any other persons whatever should come ashore, they were to go up and down the island, but not beyond the road where the ship anchored, nor to attempt to come or go beyond any part the Company having settled that place at the land side of the road, near Lemon Valley, for water. Nor were any suffered to go aboard any longboat to carry stores towards any other part of the island under any pretence whatever, nor to permit them to break in any other manner except off this road, and within sight of the fortifications. Even if the council perceived any attempt against them contrary to the batteries and directions hereby signalled to them, or for any other cause commanded by our masters, the Honourable English East India Company was to treat them, or their people upon a preference of these directions, in a friendly manner, and to give them such help and assistance as this place could afford. The council would, if possible, spare from its own shipping, and would regard its own safety before signalling to be far provided, that no lack of civility would be wanting in the tender of their stay there during the time of their refreshment agreeable and pleasant to them. The council remained their most humble servants. The council that day published the following advertisement. The advertisement gave notice to the several inhabitants of the island that the council had resolved to give strict orders not to suffer any of them to go on board or to lend their boats or go aboard any foreign ship that should happen to arrive there, and that the council had also resolved to order that no foreign commander or other officer, passenger or sailor be permitted to go up and down the island further [...]. Interpretations The consultation records the council preparing for the arrival of foreign, and in particular French, shipping under the shadow of an expected European war. The letter drafted for foreign commanders confined their crews to the immediate vicinity of the anchorage and the watering place near Lemon Valley, forbidding any movement inland or towards other parts of the coast, while promising them refreshment and civility as friends so long as the restrictions were observed. This was the standard treatment of foreign vessels throughout this record, whose commissions the council always examined before admitting them, but the tone here is markedly more guarded, reflecting the tension the inhabitants' petition of 29 November 1738 had also invoked. The security concern was espionage as much as attack. By keeping foreign crews within sight of the fortifications and off any boat that might carry them to the outlying landing places, the council sought to prevent them surveying the island's defences, the very charge that had been laid against foreign visitors before, as when Andrew Bergue was punished on 13 August 1734 for telling a French sailor that the island was a weak place. The batteries the letter mentions were the coastal works the council had been strengthening at Lemon Valley, Sandy Bay and elsewhere throughout the preceding months. The companion advertisement to the inhabitants closed the other half of the danger, forbidding any islander to go aboard a foreign ship or lend a boat to its crew. Contact between the inhabitants and foreign sailors risked both intelligence passing out and men deserting or being enticed away, the desertion of soldiers and seamen being a constant preoccupation in this record, so the council sealed the settlement off from foreign shipping in both directions at once. The Queen Caroline, whose letter carried the Company's warning, had arrived from England on 8 February 1738, and the fourth paragraph the council acted on was London's own instruction to prepare for foreign vessels, the distant authority anticipating the war that the island now braced for. Speculations The council chose to admit foreign shipping to the road under tight restriction, drafting a letter that confined crews to the anchorage and watering place, rather than bar such vessels from the island altogether. Refusing foreign ships entry was a conceivable course under threat of war, but the island depended on the trade and refreshment that foreign shipping brought to its poor inhabitants, a dependence the council had acknowledged repeatedly, so it chose containment over exclusion. The reasoning is visible in the paired documents: foreign crews were kept within sight of the fortifications and off the outlying coast to guard against espionage and desertion, while the inhabitants were forbidden to go aboard or lend boats, the council calculating that it could take the benefit of foreign vessels while sealing off the intelligence and the men that contact with them might cost. |
339 | 331 | than the Town in James's Valley or to Send their Boates and Men at any other Place than the Common Landing Place, or at Lemon Valley for water, nor are they to row along Shoar to any other Place under any Pretence whatsoever, & have also been pleased to direct under Severe Penalties that Such of the Inhabitants as Shall use or discover any attempt made contrary to their Instructions, Shall immediately give Notice thereof to the Governour & Councel & have to assist by all means in their Power in the Execution of these Orders We therefore the Governour & Councel do hereby & Strictly enjoyn each & every of the Sd Inhabitants to give due Redress to the Severall Orders & aforementioned & that they to any of them to persume under any Pretence whatsoever & to go themselves or Send or Suffer any of their Boates to be Sent on board any Such foreign Ships under Penalty of forfeiting the Sd Boats together with the Fraight Sails & Oars to the Court, & So & &c & also fined & farther dealt withall for such Offences in the Same & Councele by Vertue of Power & Authority given them by the Honble Company & have think proper St Helena 4 Jany 1738 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 9 Jany 1738 at Plantation House Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved The Governour the Steward & the Gunner & Steward delivered each their Account for the month & quarter past which were Severally Examined & approved & are as followes Gunners Stores Expended in Octr 1738 Guns Staff Skins, Shott Skins, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers, 6 Ram Skins, 2 Boulster, N Powder For Instructing the Gunner Crew to Fire: Guns Staff Skins 75, Shott Skins 24, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 75, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 235 At the Funerall of Octr Bruges: Guns Staff Skins 12, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 12, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 12 An Allarm: Guns Staff Skins 4, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 2, 6 Ram Skins 2, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 12 Fired at 2 Danker: Guns Staff Skins 2, Shott Skins 2, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 8 Danish Ship Arrived: Guns Staff Skins 9, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 9 An Allarm: Guns Staff Skins 4, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 2, 6 Ram Skins 2, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 12 Fired at Bankers: Guns Staff Skins 1, Shott Skins 1, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 1, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 4 Flatt for Arrivd: Guns Staff Skins 9, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 9 Danish Ship Saild: Guns Staff Skins 11, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 11 Delivered Sd Expended: Guns Staff Skins 0, Shott Skins 0, 9 pr Sponge Fowlers 0, 6 Ram Skins 0, 2 Boulster 0, N Powder 113 Cartridge Paper 8 Quire Match 50 Musquet Bram 12 Sponge Staffs 12 Rammer Staffs 12 Sponge Staves 12 Sheep Skins 12 In Decr 1738, Guns Staff Skins, Shott Skins: 5/4 Pounders 75, 74 4 Pounders 12, 12, 75 3 Pounders 4, 4, 2, 2 2 Pounders 2, 2, 2, 2, 12 N Powder 2, 2, 2, 12, 12, 8, 295 127, 77, 3, 79, 8, 41, 340 | The advertisement continued, forbidding any inhabitant to go up and down the island beyond the town in James Valley or to lend their boats at any place other than the common landing place, or at Lemon Valley for water. Nor were they to go along the shore to any other place under any pretence whatever. The council had also resolved to give strict orders to discover any attempt made contrary to these instructions, and to require every inhabitant immediately to give notice of it to the Governor and council, and to assist by every means in their power in enforcing these orders. The Governor and council therefore strictly bound each of the inhabitants to obey the several orders, and directed that if any of them were found to go aboard any foreign ship, or to lend or suffer any of their boats to be sent on board any such foreign ship, under penalty of forfeiting the third part, together with the [...] sails and oars to the Company, they would also be [...] and further dealt with as the council should by virtue of the power granted to it by the Honourable Company should think proper. Dated at St Helena, 15 January 1739. At a consultation held on Tuesday 16 January 1739 at Plantation House. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for the month past, which were separately examined and approved. The gunner's stores expended in December 1738, with the guns remaining in store at that date, were as follows. For instructing the gunner: shot fired for demi-cannon 75, powder in lb 24, 12 pounders 0, 6 pounders 75, sakers 0, minions 12, 5 and 4 pounders 75, 4 pounders 0, 3 pounders 0, 2 pounders 12, total powder 235 At the funeral of Captain Pinger: shot fired for demi-cannon 12, powder 4, 6 pounders 0, 5 and 4 pounders 12, 4 pounders 12, total 12 An alarm: demi-cannon 4, powder 2, sakers 2, 5 and 4 pounders 2, total 12 Fired at Banks's: 6 pounders 2, powder 2, total 8 Danish ship arrived: 9, total 9 An alarm: 4, powder 2, sakers 2, 5 and 4 pounders 2, total 12 Fired at Banks's: 1, powder 1, 6 pounders 1, total 4 Halifax arrived: 9, total 9 Danish ship sailed: 11, total 11 Delivered and expended cartridge paper, 6 quires Match, 50 lb Musket balls, 12 lb Sponge heads, 12 Rammer heads, 12 Sponge staves, 12 Sheepskins, 12 Total shot fired 127, powder 77, 12 pounders 3, 6 pounders 79, sakers 8, minions 41, grand total 345 The guns remaining in store in December 1738 were as follows. 5 and 4 pounders: guns in store 75, shot in store 74 4 pounders: guns in store 0, shot in store 75 3 pounders: guns in store 2, shot in store 2 2 pounders: guns in store 12, shot in store 12 Powder in store, 225 barrels Interpretations The advertisement to the inhabitants sets out the enforcement machinery behind the prohibition on contact with foreign shipping, and its teeth were severe. Any islander who went aboard a foreign vessel or lent a boat for the purpose forfeited a third part of his property together with the boat's sails and oars to the Company, and stood liable to further punishment at the council's discretion. Confining the inhabitants to the town in James Valley, the common landing place and the watering point at Lemon Valley, the order sealed the settlement off from foreign crews in the same way the letter of 9 January 1739 had confined the foreigners themselves, the two documents together forming a complete barrier against espionage and desertion under threat of the European war. The requirement that every inhabitant inform on any breach turned the whole population into watchmen over one another, the council relying on mutual surveillance to police a coast it could not otherwise guard. This was the same reliance on information from within the community that ran through the criminal proceedings of this record, where free men's oaths and slaves' depositions repeatedly exposed offences the magistrates could not otherwise reach. The gunner's account is the first monthly return to classify the guns wholly by the weight of shot they threw, five-and-four pounders, three-pounders and two-pounders, completing the shift from the older names of demi-cannon, saker, minion and falcon that the gunner had begun in February 1738. It records a busier month than the autumn had seen, powder spent on the proving trials the council had ordered on 5 December 1738 to test the great guns at an earth battery, on salutes to a Danish ship and the Halifax, on two alarms and on the funeral of a ship's captain. The proving fired 235 lb of powder alone, the systematic testing of the ordnance being carried forward as the council had directed. The stores expended, match, sponge heads, rammer heads, sponge staves and sheepskins, were the consumable furniture of the guns, the sheepskins being the material for fresh sponge heads used to clean the bores between firings, the same bulk stores the annual inventories tracked across this record. The powder in store closed at 225 barrels. The proving of the guns, which consumed the largest single charge of powder in the month, carried out the experiment the Governor had ordered to establish which of the fort's pieces were sound enough to fire in earnest, part of the overhaul of the defences pressed forward under apprehension of war. |
340 | 332 | Account of the Honble Companies Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Decr 1738 viz Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calues, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Withers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horse, Mares, Totall Remg 1st Decr: Bullocks 40, Cowes 74, Heifers 38, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 29, Bulls 6, Totall 235, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 27, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 40, Fowles 90, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Encreased in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 2, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 10, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 74, Heifers 38, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 31, Bulls 6, Totall 237, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 27, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 40, Fowles 100, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Sold in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cowes 7, Heifers 5, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 12, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 40, Cowes 67, Heifers 33, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 31, Bulls 6, Totall 225, Ewes 30, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 52, Sowes 9, Shoats 10, Piggs 27, Boars 1, Totall 47, Turkeys 40, Fowles 100, Ducks 15, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Killed in ditto: Bullocks 1, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 3, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 3, Sowes 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 1, Boars 0, Totall 1, Turkeys 2, Fowles 2, Ducks 38, Geese 2, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 Decr: Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 33, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 31, Bulls 6, Totall 224, Ewes 27, Withers 4, Lambs 14, Rams 4, Totall 49, Sowes 9, Shoats 9, Piggs 26, Boars 1, Totall 45, Turkeys 38, Fowles 62, Ducks 13, Geese 15, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Yams Expended at the Sevd Plantations 8000 Ditto delivered the Blacks 12000 Totall Yams 20000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of December 1738. Remaining 1 December, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 74 cows, 38 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 29 calves, 6 bulls, total 235 Remaining 1 December, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Remaining 1 December, hogs: 9 sows, 10 shoats, 27 pigs, 1 boar, total 47 Remaining 1 December, poultry: 40 turkeys, 90 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 1 December, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 2 calves, 0 bulls, total 2 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boar, total 0 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 10 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 74 cows, 38 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 31 calves, 6 bulls, total 237 Balance after increase, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 10 shoats, 27 pigs, 1 boar, total 47 Balance after increase, poultry: 40 turkeys, 100 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Sold in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 7 cows, 5 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, total 12 Sold in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Sold in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boar, total 0 Sold in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Sold in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after sale, neat cattle: 40 bullocks, 67 cows, 33 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 31 calves, 6 bulls, total 225 Balance after sale, sheep: 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 52 Balance after sale, hogs: 9 sows, 10 shoats, 27 pigs, 1 boar, total 47 Balance after sale, poultry: 40 turkeys, 100 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese Balance after sale, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 1 bullock, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 3 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 3 shoats, 1 pig, 0 boar, total 3 Killed in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 2 fowls, 38 ducks, 2 geese Killed in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Remaining 31 December, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 33 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 31 calves, 6 bulls, total 224 Remaining 31 December, sheep: 27 ewes, 4 wethers, 14 lambs, 4 rams, total 49 Remaining 31 December, hogs: 9 sows, 9 shoats, 29 pigs, 1 boar, total 45 Remaining 31 December, poultry: 38 turkeys, 62 fowls, 13 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 31 December, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Yams expended at the several plantations, 8,000 lb Yams delivered to the blacks, 12,000 lb Total yams, 20,000 lb Interpretations The December stock account shows the Company herd falling to 224 head, a drop of eleven on the month, but this decline came from sales and killing rather than the deaths that had gutted the herd in the drought. Twelve head were sold, seven cows and five heifers, the first cattle disposed of since the council resolved in April 1738 to stop selling and rebuild the stock, and the resumption of sales signals that the herd had recovered enough to spare beasts again with the homeward shipping in the road. Only one calf and one bullock died or were killed, mortality remaining near nothing since the rains broke about July 1738. That the twelve sold were all breeding females rather than fattened males runs against the ordinary practice of this record, where the council met the shipping's demand from bullocks and steers and held back cows to breed, as it did through the recovery of 1736. Selling cows and heifers with the bullock class standing at 40 suggests either a particular demand from a ship or a herd still weighted after the drought towards males the council was reluctant to reduce further, and the point would repay checking against the shipping entries of the month. The yam issue fell sharply to 20,000 lb, down from 32,000 lb in each of October and November, split 12,000 lb to the slaves against 8,000 lb to the plantations. The reduced total reflects the drawing down of the standing crop through the dry period, though the count of 18 July 1738 had found 548,000 lb still standing, and the ration to the slaves was held up against the plantations as the fortification works continued to draw labour. The poultry yard lost heavily in December, 38 ducks killed against a stock of only 15, which cannot be reconciled on the face of the figures and probably reflects a clerical slip in the ruled grid, the ducks closing at 13. The Christmas provision drew on the yard as it did every year, the killing of fowls, ducks and geese for the festival being a fixed seasonal charge, though the scale here is not recoverable from the account as written. |
341 | 333 | Expence of the Table in December 1738 viz 270 lb Beef 3 9 7 lb Pork 1 6 6 1 Bra 5 3 Sheep 3 2 Ducks 3 18 lb Butter 15 7 Gald Arrack 15 8 2 C 1 pr Sugar 1 11 6 30 – 10 pr Beer 3 17 2 C 12 Cd Fed 19 3 2 Candy 1 4 6 Botts Rye 1 4 3 Bushells Salt 0 Gald Port Wine 15 2 3 Gald Rhen: Strong @ 15 – & Cheatelin Small @ 15 6 3 1½ 2 C Gald 4 Verah pr Wilmslot pr Cargo pr Bushells & Slade 8 C Sum do pr Verah 9 4 Sugar do to Guards & Blacks 9 2 2 39 9 1½ Mr Bazett presented a Bill of Sale from Mr John Goodwin Junr for a Small Peice of Ground in the Fort Valley desiring that it might be Registred, the Same was Read & to be Registred accordingly On the 15 instant we consented, & Doeo to Wilmslot Pledge for Peter Perry Sone, held of one Peice of Freehold Land lying in the East Division the former being Lett or Mortgaged The following Petn was presented & read Vizt To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Govr Etc Councele The Humble Petition of John Brown Plantor Sheweth That not having met with that Success in the management of his Plantation & Some Since his marriage with the widow of Peter Perry Plantor as will enable him to procure Sufficient Maintenance for his Family & having a Wife & Fortune in his own Country, & his Wife & Severall Sonns & Relations there living who have given him Encouragement to return & Settle among them Your Petr therefore humbly prays that he may have leave to dispose of his own Native Interest in his Estate they him Poseson their own Right & that he may be permitted with his Said wife & Children to quit the Island & to make Passage for England on board Some of the next homeward bound Shiping And your Petr as in duty bound Shall ever pray John Brown 16 Jany 1738 The Petr was called in & the Said Petn having being read in his Presence he waited that his Petition was granted accordingly The Petition of John Knipe was presented & Sd Setting forth that he finds it very Difficult to provide for himself & Family as his Slave having only the Honble Companies Sallary an Empt end to attend [...] | Expense of the table in December 1738: 270 lb beef, £3 9s 0d 7 lb pork, £1 5s 6d 1 pig, £0 5s 0d 3 sheep, £0 3s 0d 2 ducks, £0 3s 0d 18 lb butter, £0 15s 0d 77 gallons arrack, £15 8s 0d 1 hundredweight 2 quarters sugar, £1 11s 6d 3 and 10 gallons port, £3 17s 0d 2 hundredweight 12 lb bread, £0 19s 0d 3 quarters candy, £1 4s 0d 6 turkeys, £1 4s 0d 3 bushels salt, £0 15s 0d 1 quarter port wine, £1 5s 0d 23 gallons beer, strong and small, and greens, milk and 6 [...], £9 12s 0d 23 gallons arrack to the fortification blacks and sundries, at 6 pagodas the [...], [...] 23 gallons arrack to the blacks and sundries, [...] Total, £49 9s 0d John Bazett presented a bill of sale from John Goodwin junior for a small parcel of ground in the fort valley near his dwelling house, which he asked might be registered. A lease was drawn accordingly. On the 13th of this month several petitions were presented and read: one from Benjamin Pledger for 5 acres of freehold land lately held by his father, and another from Charles Steward for a parcel lately held by another, the former being lost or mislaid. The following petition was presented and read, directed to Governor Goodwin and council. It was the humble petition of John Brown and others. The petitioners set out that, not having met with much success in the management of his plantation since John Long's marriage, with the loss of one of his young planters, who would not enable him to procure sufficient maintenance for his family, and having little fortune of his own in the country, and troubled by several persons and children there living, who had given him no encouragement, he wished to settle among them. The petitioners therefore asked that they might have leave to dispose of their own native servants in their estate, they having been made freeborn in their own right, and that he might be permitted to sell them and be able to quit the island. He asked leave for himself and his family, the parcel to be sold or put on board one of the next homeward-bound shipping. The petition was signed by John Brown and dated 16 January 1739. The petition was called and, being read in the petitioner's presence, the council granted it accordingly. The petition of John Knipe was presented and read, that he found it difficult to provide for himself and family, the Company's salary being incapable to answer his needs [...]. Interpretations The December table account of £49 9s 0d rose above the two previous months, and the increase falls almost wholly on arrack, which stood at 77 gallons for £15 8s 0d, the largest single month's drink charge in this recent run. The Christmas provision explains the higher total, six turkeys, extra port and the festival killing of poultry recorded in the stock account being the fixed seasonal charges the household met every December, as it did in earlier years. Beef held at 270 lb, drawn from the beasts killed in the month, and the separate allowances of arrack to the fortification blacks show the coastal works still drawing labour and its keep through the winter. The petitions of Benjamin Pledger and Charles Steward turn on the familiar problem of lost title deeds, both seeking fresh grants to confirm holdings whose original writings could not be found, the same difficulty that runs through this record and that Pledger had faced before over his 5 acres in the cabbage tree grounds on 20 February 1733. John Brown's petition to sell his slaves and leave the island for want of success on his plantation belongs to the steady traffic of settlers seeking passage off the island once their fortunes failed, the council routinely granting such leave on condition the petitioner first settled his affairs, as it did throughout this record. The reference to disposing of native servants means slaves born on the island, whom the muster rolls distinguished as island-born and valued above imported slaves for their skill and constitution. John Knipe's petition, that the Company's salary could not meet his family's needs, echoes the wider hardship the drought years had brought to the island's poorer inhabitants, the same want the inhabitants' petition of 29 November 1738 had set before the Company, and Knipe had earlier pressed his claim on Captain Alexander's estate as a son-in-law excluded by the will. |
342 | 334 | upon praying that liberty may be Granted him to depart in the first Storeship & be content with his Wife & Family. Granted At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23 Jany 1738 at the Plantation House Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that as the Sd Demi Culvering which stood within that part of the Castle called the Mount, have, for a great number of Yeares been reduced & Since of the Best Guns of that Sort upon this Island, & will be imagin'd, had been duely Examined at proper times, he therefore & Convenire ago resolved two of them to Lemon Valley & approved the other Guns for the Battery to be erected at Chubbs Rock but as this Work vs Verdict, & Betty Logan at Lemon Valley is now near finished, he, to be Sure & Reasons in an order of such Consequences, before he would trust entirely to them, or to any other Guns also whom blessed, upon a bare presumption of their Goodness, Ordered that Eighteen ten of the Sd Sd Guns which where arrived have on Demi bee both tests be also fired which he required for Chubb Work. Should be tried & tbranted which nea accordingly done, & they were every one & then found Every Cauled in their Chambers & upon this account he thereupon warely found himself under a necessity to remove the Sakers from the End of the Line which he has already carried to Lemon Valley to be ready to mount upon the Tenacle which is now almost compleated, & in lieu of these Sakers which as is before observed stand at the Easternmost part of the Line where there are little use or occasion for them he hath placed those Six Demi Culvering, more to fill up Gaps & Chams & prevent Eye Sore than for Service, & we this Wilmslot has consented the number of Guns we Shall want for Chubbs Rock, Sandybay & Weysperons Bay were Short & Different than I was before, we this day agreed to make Application to the Honble Company as are yet wanting for the Severall Batteries last mentioned which we Reck Should be of the Sort & weight following viz For Sandybay 116 Women Weight each about 12 which at 12 6 8 will come to 46 16 For Chubb Rock, we having already two Which nea Culvering which are also fit for that Load, four Twelve Pounders Enough they are not to fig Guns of a good Sise, but we have a great number of Sd So by the Sd So than 12 fit for ordnance of the verd & they are think nea weigh 6 about 25 which at 25 pr lb will cost 91 137 16 | John Knipe asked that liberty be granted him to depart by the next store ship for Bencoolen with his wife and family. The council granted it. At a consultation held on Tuesday 23 January 1739 at Plantation House. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that the six demi-cannon within that part of the castle called the mount held a great number of guns lately rebuilt, and that some of the best guns of that work upon the island, as he imagined, had been lately examined at proper times. He therefore considered a proposal to remove two of them to Lemon Valley, and observed that the other four for the battery to be erected at Chubb's Rock, but as the mount was ruinous, and Betty Regan at Lemon Valley was now near finished, he held it were better in view to be of such consequences, before he would trust entirely to them, or to any other guns else where placed, upon a bare presumption of their goodness. He ordered that the two guns which were carried there on the beach be taken to the other place which he wanted for Chubb's Rock, and should be tried and handled which came accordingly true, and they were sorted and sundry found flawed. Reasoning from these, the council found himself under a necessity to view once more the shot taken from the line, and considered that some of the line, which he had already carried to Lemon Valley, would be ready to mount upon the turnpike, which was now almost completed, and, in lieu of these guns which were, as before observed, standing at the eastern part of the line where there was little use or occasion for them, he had placed those six demi-cannon, more to fill up gaps and chasms to prevent injuries than for service. Per this account, the council considered the number of guns wanted for Chubb's Rock, Sandy Bay and Prosperous Bay, and the shot found different than was before. The council that day agreed to make application to the Honourable Company to supply it with such guns and shot as it should already have, as were yet wanting for the several batteries lately mentioned, which the council held should be of the sort wanted, as follows. For Sandy Bay, six minion guns of about a weight each of about 12 hundredweight, which at 12 shillings 6 pence the hundredweight comes to, £46 16s 0d For Chubb's Rock, two guns, having already two shot now entering, which were designed for that place, four twelve pounders enough. They were sorted by guns of a good class, but were now a small number of the guns being less than 12 shillings 6 pence the hundredweight for ordnance of the sort, and 2 bags were thought to weigh 60 about £5, which at 12 shillings 6 pence [...], £13 7s 16s [...] Interpretations The consultation records the Governor moving guns between the castle and the coastal batteries, and confirms that the proving programme was already exposing defects. Two demi-cannon were to go from the ruinous mount to Chubb's Rock and Lemon Valley, but on being tested and sorted they were found flawed, so the Governor refused to trust them or any other piece on a bare presumption of soundness, insisting each be proved before it was mounted. This applied the caution he had ordered on 5 December 1738, when he first noticed shot too corroded to fire, and it drove a fresh survey of both guns and ammunition as the batteries at Lemon Valley, Sandy Bay, Chubb's Rock and Prosperous Bay were fitted out. The six demi-cannon standing at the eastern part of the line had served no real defensive purpose, having been placed there mainly to fill gaps in the embrasures rather than to fire, so moving them to the new works put idle heavy pieces to use. This was the same policy of shifting guns from the fort to the exposed landing places that the council had resolved on 14 November 1738 and 13 December 1738, following the Company's direct instruction, the turnpike at Lemon Valley now almost complete and ready to receive them. The application to the Company for further guns and shot priced the ordnance by weight, six minions of about 12 hundredweight each for Sandy Bay coming to £46 16s 0d at 12 shillings 6 pence the hundredweight, the standard rate for cast ordnance. A minion threw a shot of about four pounds and a twelve-pounder a heavier ball, the council specifying for each battery the class of gun suited to its position, the lighter minions for the more open Sandy Bay and heavier pieces where the ground allowed. Sending to London for guns the island lacked was the ordinary means by which the settlement made good its ordnance, the Company being the sole source of supply. The names attached to the guns, the mount, the eastern line and Betty Regan at Lemon Valley, were the fort's own positions, the last apparently a particular emplacement, the whole forming the ring of works the council was overhauling under apprehension of the European war that the inhabitants and the council had repeatedly invoked through the winter. Speculations The Governor refused to mount the demi-cannon moved from the ruinous mount until each had been proved, rather than trust guns he himself reckoned among the best on the island. The easy course, with the batteries pressing for armament and the pieces close at hand, was to place them at once on the strength of their reputation, yet he ordered them tested first and was vindicated when the sorting found several flawed. The decision, anchored to his stated refusal to rely on any gun upon a bare presumption of its goodness, shows him treating the reputation of the ordnance as worthless against proof, and accepting the delay of a fresh survey as the price of not arming the coast with pieces that might burst when fired in earnest. |
343 | 335 | For Weysperons bay 4 Minion pr each 12 137 16 2 12 & 8 vs 31 4 169 A Castle without Guns in it makes a disagreeable & strange Appearance & we below the Casts of Cletiria as the only are in the Road without, but neverthelefs are so really fact that the two Guns thece placed would be Chely for ornament & not for Use & will besides be chargeable nea order it to the Honble Company to do herein as they think Proper we upon Sea of these Sefances with regard to ourselves & when upon it as a matter Indifferent whether any more be Sent or not on the score of those which we lately removed from thence, either for the present & we have placed upon the Mount Vs of the nea Minion are lately mounted or Stord of the Six Demi Culvering which Battery had there, but as Sepr the Battery at Sandybay Shall be finished we intend to remove them & mount them there The Governour farther Reports that he has frequently thought that Severall Guns of Weight that may be easily Carried on Demand from place to place & a Couple of Men would be of great Use & Defence at & about our besf the Valleys crould the picked many of which are narrow & winding & the Hills on each side of them generally so steep that they are unfit to be exposed without a Recovery & above & remove them have there Baths & turnings formed on such Sort that the side of the mountains as well as the Common Baths on Severall places are as it were laid & fed & with naturall breast Works, & of any Misfortune or Ense greatly Superiour to overrun an Enemy Should Land & connect to March into the Country & find themselves fired at from those Coast places, it would greatly enliven us to them & give them part Ande to Leave that as they advanced in their March they should in many places meet with fresh & unexpected Batteries & doing about them Reck & we all have besf & would occasion them to retreat to their & Shiping, the Severall Valleys where either on the Valleys themselves ar at the Bosom Sides or Tops of the Mountains which in these parts are very high & narrow & difficult & Sepr they may be of the most immediate Service to them & are as follows Viz Broadneck Valley which is so narrow that he designe to Wall it up & place three of these Sort of Guns constantly there of the Company & Shall think proper to Send them Prosper Valley Twanty Valley which is Said to be the place where the Dutch Landed when they took the Island Old Womans Valley There are other places also where for the reasons before mentioned they will be exceeding Usefull, particularly at the Bosom Sides or Tops of the following Valleys altho they are already in use or making & every one as demand the & is Slade Vs Prosper & Valley Bankers Sandybay Lemon Valley | The application to the Company for guns continued: For Prosperous Bay, 4 minions of about 12 hundredweight each, £157 16s 0d Total, £100 [...]s [...]d The Governor observed that a castle without guns in it made a disagreeable and ruinous appearance, and that below the castle of St Helena, as the only ones in the road stood without, yet the truth was that the best guns there placed would be only for ornament, and not for use, and would besides be a charge upon the order of the Honourable Company to do this, as the council thought proper on account of these defences with regard to confusion arising upon it as a matter indifferent, whether any more be sent or not on the room of those which were lately removed from the mount, either for the present, or as have placed upon the mount, or of the new minion guns lately received in stead of the six demi-cannon, according to which battery held there, but as soon as this battery at Sandy Bay should be finished, the council intended to remove them and mount them there. The Governor further reported that he had frequently thought that several guns of weight might be easily carried or removed from place to place by a couple of men, and would be of great use and defence, and about strengthening the batteries erected. He picked many of which were narrow winding, and the hills on each side of them generally so steep that they were unlikely to be repaired without difficulty. Others were narrow to have them there. Paths and turnings formed in each work, that the sides of the mountains as well as the common paths in several places were seldom used or found, with natural breastworks, they being a fortress on a fine quality superior to overcome an enemy, and, if he should land and attempt to march into the country, and find themselves fixed at some of these great places, it would greatly enable it to sustain and give them particular relief to relieve, that as they advanced in their march, they would in many places meet with these and unexpected batteries to destroy them and be brought back. On all possible occasions the council resolved to return to their labour and shipping. The several valleys where either on the valleys themselves were at the western sides or tops of the mountains, which in these parts are very high, narrow and difficult, though they may be of the most considerable service to the island, are as follows. Break Neck Valley, which is so narrow that he designs to wall it up, and place three of these sort of guns constantly there, of the Company, as he shall think proper to send them Joyce's Valley Swanley Valley, which is said to be the place where the Dutch landed when they took the island Old Woman's Valley The Governor observed that there were other places also where, for the reasons before mentioned, they would be of exceeding useful part, particularly at the western sides or tops of the following valleys, either they were already in use or making preparations towards them, as follows. Rupert's Valley Banks's Sandy Bay Lemon Valley Interpretations The consultation continues the Governor's survey of the island's defences, and its central idea is that St Helena's terrain was itself a fortress. He judged that the steep, narrow valleys running inland from the coast could be held by small works and a few light guns, so that an enemy who landed and pushed for the interior would meet a succession of hidden batteries in the defiles and be driven back. This was the same defensive logic set out in the fortification survey of July 1734, when the twelve principal inhabitants held that a handful of men could stop hundreds in the ascent of places like Prosperous Bay, the island's geography compensating for the weakness of its permanent works. The valleys named were the landing places and inland passages that had concerned the council for decades. Old Woman's Valley and Swanley Valley are recorded as the point where the Dutch had landed and taken the island in an earlier age, a memory that kept those approaches under particular watch, and Break Neck Valley the Governor now proposed to wall up and arm with three guns. These were the same passages assessed in the 1734 survey, where Break Neck was to have a narrow work with a gate and Old Woman's Valley ten men with as many slaves bearing iron crows. The observation that light guns could be carried between positions by two men shaped the whole scheme, allowing a small stock of moveable pieces to serve many works rather than fixing heavy ordnance at every point, a practical answer to an island that lacked guns and men alike. The application to the Company for minions of about 12 hundredweight, priced by weight, sought exactly these portable pieces for Prosperous Bay and the other exposed valleys. The Governor's remark that a castle stripped of its guns made a poor appearance, yet that guns kept there for show served no real purpose, captures the tension driving the whole redistribution: the heavy pieces standing idle in the fort were better moved to the coast where they could bear on a landing, even at the cost of the castle's martial look, the same policy the Company had ordered and the council had pursued through the winter. Speculations The Governor chose to strip guns from the castle and disperse them among the coastal valleys, accepting that the fort would stand largely unarmed and make a poor and ruinous appearance. The obvious instinct was to keep the main stronghold visibly furnished with ordnance, and he acknowledged the disagreeable look of an empty castle on the page, yet he reasoned that guns kept there for show were ornament and not use, while the same pieces mounted in the narrow inland valleys could destroy an enemy caught in the ascent. The decision, anchored to his judgement that the island's steep defiles were themselves a fortress, shows him willing to sacrifice the appearance and the traditional strength of the castle for a scattered defence that matched the real ground on which an attack would be fought. |
344 | 336 | As the reasons the Govr has assigned for Guns of this Sort & Denomination are very Strong & bear to Us & who know the Severall places herein named & the great Use & advantage they would be of placed & Managed as is beforementioned appear next to Demonstration now again that they should be Erected in our next instant Servce of Reason that a Number less than Twenty four will hardly be Sufficient the charge of which at 12 for Gun that 12 for Powder only to their Sum of £54 4 & 20 hounds of Grape Shot made of Pistol Balls, & 20 hounds of round Shott for these Guns which will be of great Use to the flying Bankes as well as in other places At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6 Febry 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Depty Govr John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward each delivered their Monthly Account for January last input nea Severally Examined & are Approved & are as follows viz Gunners Stores Expended in Jany 1738 viz Guns Fire, Shott, D Culvg, 4 Pounders, 3 Pounders, 2 Pounders, Powder 1738 Jany 2 An Allarm for a Ship that past by: Guns Fire 4, Shott 0, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 2, 3 Pounders 2, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 12 Wilmington & Harrison Saild: Guns Fire 18, Shott 0, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 0, 3 Pounders 0, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 18 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott 0, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 2, 3 Pounders 2, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 12 French Ship Arrived: Guns Fire 15, Shott 0, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 0, 3 Pounders 0, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 15 Instructing the Gunners Crew to Fire: Guns Fire 27, Shott 27, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 0, 3 Pounders 27, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 81 Firing the Guns at Wranghams Court & Dueling: Guns Fire 13, Shott 13, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 0, 3 Pounders 0, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 37 For the Guns for Firing the Great Guns: Guns Fire 0, Shott 0, D Culvg 0, 4 Pounders 0, 3 Pounders 0, 2 Pounders 0, Powder 40 Cartridge Paper: 5 Quire Match: 24 Handspikes: 6 Tompions: 6 Ladles: 1 Butts: 2 Priming wires: 2 3 12 27 13 4 31 33 21 5 Expence of the Table in Jany 1739 3 C 3 Flour 4 13 9 7 Bushells Salt 12 6 5 Sd Ryde 1 2 5 do Pepper 1 2 63 Gald Arrack 13 19 18 3 | The Governor set out that the reasons he had given for guns of this several class and denomination were very strong, to those who knew the several places named and the great advantage they would be of, if placed and managed as the experiment before mentioned would appear next to demonstration. Reasoning that they should be inserted in the council's next dispatch, whereupon a number less than 24 would hardly be sufficient, the charge of which at 12 shillings the gun and 10 guns only, to their sum of £2 4s 0d, 40 hundredweight of guns to be made of bullet balls, and 400 rounds of round shot for these guns, which would be of great use to the flying batteries as well as in other places. At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 February 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for January past, which were separately examined and approved. The gunner's stores expended in January 1739, and the guns remaining in store at that date, were as follows. An alarm for a ship that passed by: guns fired 4, shot 0, demi-culverin 0, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 0, powder 12 Wilmington and Harrison sailed: guns fired 18, powder 18 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 12 French ship arrived: guns fired 15, powder 15 Instructing the gunner, guns cleared to fire: guns fired 27, shot 24, 3 pounders 24, powder 81 Firing the guns at Munden's, guns cleared: guns fired 15, shot 15, 4 pounders 15, powder 37 For the guards, after proving the great guns: powder 40 Cartridge paper, 5 quires Match, 24 lb Handspikes, 6 Sponge heads, 6 Ladles, 1 Butts, 2 Priming wires, 9 Total: guns fired 81, shot 29, demi-culverin 13, 4 pounders 4, 3 pounders 31, 2 pounders 33, powder 215 The guns remaining in store in January 1739 were as follows. Sundry, demi-culverin: guns in store 4, shot 0 Demi-culverin: guns in store 18, shot 18 4 pounders: guns in store 4, shot 2, 2 pounders 2 3 pounders: guns in store 15, shot 15, 4 pounders 12 2 pounders: guns in store 29, shot 24, 3 pounders 24 Powder in store: 81 barrels, 33 barrels, total 215 Expense of the table in January 1739: 2 hundredweight 3 quarters flour, £4 13s 9d 7 lb butter, £0 19s 6d 3 hundredweight bread, £1 2s 0d 2 quarters pepper, £0 2s 0d 63 gallons arrack, £13 0s 0d Total, £19 18s 3d Interpretations The first passage completes the Governor's application to the Company for light ordnance, asking for no fewer than 24 guns for the flying batteries, the moveable pieces that two men could carry between the inland works. These were the guns his defensive scheme of the previous consultations depended on, to be distributed among the narrow valleys where an enemy might march inland, with 400 rounds of round shot to serve them. The term flying battery captures the whole idea, a battery not fixed at one point but shifted where needed, the practical answer of an island short of both guns and men. The gunner's account for January records a busy month at the fort, dominated by the proving of the great guns the council had ordered on 5 December 1738 to test which pieces were sound. Powder was spent instructing the gunner and clearing the guns to fire, on firing the pieces at Munden's, and on salutes and alarms for the departing Wilmington and Harrison, an arriving French ship and ships passing by. The systematic proving carried forward the overhaul of the ordnance that ran through the winter, the account now classifying every gun by the weight of shot it threw. The arrival of a French ship in January, saluted with fifteen guns, came just as the council had drafted its restrictions on foreign shipping on 9 January 1739 and forbidden the inhabitants contact with foreign crews on 15 January 1739, so the vessel would have been admitted to the road under the guarded terms then settled, confined to the anchorage and the watering place under threat of the expected European war. The January table account of £19 18s 3d falls sharply below the December figure of £49 9s 0d, the Christmas provision having passed and the household reverting to plain fare, with no beef or fresh meat charged and flour, bread and arrack carrying the whole. Arrack at 63 gallons remained the largest line at £13 0s 0d, the settled pattern in which the distilled spirit shipped from Goa headed every month's expense, issued to the household, the garrison and the slaves alike. |
345 | 337 | Brought over 19 18 3 Sugar 1 C 2 1 11 Candy 1 12 1 10 Port 18 Gallons 6 19 6 Sherry 3 ditto 3 3 Strong Beer 71 Gallons 5 1 6 Small Beer Beef 235 lb 2 18 9 Pork 39 lb 1 9 6 Turkeys 2 10 Fowles 41 3 1 6 Ducks 1 1 6 Butter 11 11 21½ Gald Arrack pr Guards c 4 6 28 lb Sugar pr ditto 4 16 6 44 16 9 Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calues, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Withers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horse, Mares, Totall Remg 1 Jany: Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 33, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 31, Bulls 6, Totall 224, Ewes 37, Withers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totall 61, Sowes 11, Shoats 30, Piggs 20, Boars 2, Totall 63, Turkeys 43, Fowles 120, Ducks 22, Geese 19, Horse 3, Mares 17, Totall 20 Encreased: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 2, Bulls 0, Totall 2, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 6, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 6, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 5, Geese 0, Horse 1, Mares 1, Totall 2 Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 33, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 33, Bulls 6, Totall 226, Ewes 37, Withers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totall 61, Sowes 11, Shoats 30, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totall 69, Turkeys 43, Fowles 120, Ducks 27, Geese 19, Horse 4, Mares 18, Totall 22 Killed: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 1, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sowes 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 3, Fowles 41, Ducks 0, Geese 2, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 32, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 33, Bulls 6, Totall 225, Ewes 37, Withers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totall 61, Sowes 11, Shoats 28, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totall 67, Turkeys 40, Fowles 79, Ducks 27, Geese 17, Horse 4, Mares 18, Totall 22 Dead in do: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calues 0, Bulls 0, Totall 1, Ewes 0, Withers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 1, Sowes 3, Shoats 1, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 4, Turkeys 2, Fowles 3, Ducks 1, Geese 0, Horse 0, Mares 0, Totall 0 Remg 31 Jany: Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 32, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calues 33, Bulls 6, Totall 225, Ewes 36, Withers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totall 60, Sowes 11, Shoats 25, Piggs 25, Boars 2, Totall 63, Turkeys 38, Fowles 76, Ducks 26, Geese 17, Horse 4, Mares 18, Totall 22 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations & Delivered to the Blacks 42500 The Governour Reports that the Tenaile at Lemon Valley is now finished & the Guns already mounted & that the whole was begun & Compleated in the Short Space of Six Weeks | The expense of the table in January 1739 continued from the sum brought over of £19 18s 3d. Sugar, 1 hundredweight 2 quarters, £1 11s 0d Candy, 1 hundredweight 12 lb, £1 10s 0d Port, 18 gallons, £6 19s 6d Sherry, 3 gallons, £1 3s 3d Strong beer, 71 gallons, £5 1s 6d Small beer, £0 0s 0d Beef, 235 lb, £2 18s 9d Pork, 39 lb, £1 9s 6d Turkeys, 2, £0 10s 0d Fowls, 41, £3 1s 6d Ducks, 1, £0 1s 6d Butter, 11 lb, £0 11s 0d Total, £44 10s 9d 21.5 gallons arrack to the guards and sundries, £4 6s 0d 28 lb sugar to the guards and sundries, £0 10s 0d Total, £4 16s 0d Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of January 1739. Remaining 1 January, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 33 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 31 calves, 6 bulls, total 224 Remaining 1 January, sheep: 37 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 61 Remaining 1 January, hogs: 11 sows, 30 shoats, 20 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Remaining 1 January, poultry: 43 turkeys, 120 fowls, 22 ducks, 19 geese Remaining 1 January, horses: 3 horses, 17 mares, total 20 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 2 calves, 0 bulls, total 2 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 6 pigs, 0 boars, total 6 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 5 fowls, 0 ducks, 1 goose Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 1 mare, total 2 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 33 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 33 calves, 6 bulls, total 226 Balance after increase, sheep: 37 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 61 Balance after increase, hogs: 11 sows, 30 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 69 Balance after increase, poultry: 43 turkeys, 120 fowls, 27 ducks, 19 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 Killed in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 3 fowls, 41 ducks, 0 geese Killed in the month, horses: 0 horses, 2 mares, total 0 Balance after killing, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 32 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 33 calves, 6 bulls, total 225 Balance after killing, sheep: 37 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 61 Balance after killing, hogs: 11 sows, 28 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 67 Balance after killing, poultry: 40 turkeys, 79 fowls, 27 ducks, 17 geese Balance after killing, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Died in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Died in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 3 shoats, 1 pig, 0 boars, total 4 Died in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 2 fowls, 3 ducks, 1 goose, total 3 Died in the month, horses: 0 horses, 1 mare, total 1 Remaining 31 January, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 32 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 33 calves, 6 bulls, total 225 Remaining 31 January, sheep: 36 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 60 Remaining 31 January, hogs: 11 sows, 25 shoats, 25 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Remaining 31 January, poultry: 38 turkeys, 76 fowls, 26 ducks, 17 geese Remaining 31 January, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Yams expended at the several plantations and delivered to the blacks, 42,500 lb The Governor reported that the turnpike at Lemon Valley was now finished and the guns already mounted, the whole having been begun and completed in the short space of six weeks. Interpretations The January table account closes at £44 10s 9d, a return towards the December level after the plain fare of early January, the second leaf carrying the beef, pork, poultry, wine and beer that the household drew once the accounts for the full month were gathered. Beef stood at 235 lb and arrack, taking both the table charge and the 21.5 gallons issued to the guards, remained the dominant expense, the settled pattern of the whole run. Strong beer at 71 gallons was a heavy charge, the officers' table well supplied with brewed drink alongside the imported wine and spirits. The stock account shows the Company herd steady at 225 head, the recovery from the drought holding firm with only one cow and one calf lost to killing and death. No cattle were sold in January, following the twelve disposed of in December, and a single calf was born, the herd neither growing nor shrinking as the council held it in hand. The sheep flock at 60 and the hogs at 63 continued their slow recovery, and the two mares added carried the stud to 22, its largest figure in this record. The poultry figures again cannot be reconciled on their face, 41 ducks entered as killed against a stock of 27, the same kind of clerical slip that marked the December return, the ducks closing at 26. The yard was drawn on heavily through the winter for the table, but the exact killing is not recoverable from the account as written. The yam issue rose to 42,500 lb, well above the 20,000 lb of December, the standing crop counted at 548,000 lb on 18 July 1738 supporting a heavier ration as the fortification works drew labour and the planting season turned. The Governor's report that the Lemon Valley turnpike was finished and armed in six weeks marks the completion of the work he had resolved to build on 2 January 1739, when a close view of the ground led him to abandon repair of the old batteries for a fresh six-gun work at the narrow low part near the water. The speed of the building reflects the labour the inhabitants had pledged on 29 November 1738 and the slaves kept to their task under Duke Crisp's superintendence, the whole pressed forward under apprehension of the European war. |
346 | 338 | At a Consultation held on Monday 22 Febry 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved On Monday morning last the Queen Caroline arrived from Coromandin on the Evening the King William anchored from Mocho & this Morning the Beaufort also arrived from Madrass & as Soon as the Captaines were come on Shear we delivered them the usual Instructions to leave viz the Supply the Beaufort brought is as follows viz Rice 21 Bags pr 130 Mercal at 5 pr So 30 Sugar 21 Bags pr 7 16 3 @ 12 pr Candy 93 24 15 Arrack 8 fott 2 pr 18 do 54 Longcloth & diany 3 Corge 116 9 Washing Packing &c 5 31 122 4 Longcloth muslin 3 Corge @ 43 pr 129 Washing Packing 6 7 135 7 Charges Merchandize 2 34 11 Pagodas 437 33 26 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 28 Febry 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved The last Will & Testament of John Cowling dec'd was this day proved before us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto viz John Desfountain Simon Whaley & Marte Mudge, this Petd also attested an Inventory of the Estate & Effects of the dec'd as the Same was taken & appraised by Messrs Joanes Wrangham Rich: Beale John Desfountain & Simon Whaley who being each of them Sworn declared that they had valued & appraised the Severall Particulars according to the best of their Skill & knowledge & the Said Will & Inventory to be each of them ordered to be Registred accordingly | At a consultation held on Tuesday 20 February 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. On the Monday morning the Queen Caroline arrived from Bencoolen, and on the Monday evening the King William anchored, from Mocha. This morning the Beaufort also arrived from Madras. As soon as the captains were come ashore, the council delivered them the usual instructions to heave in upon alarms. The supply the Beaufort brought was as follows. 21 bags rice at 5 marcals, at 6 pagodas the bag, 93 pagodas 30 annas 0 pies 20 bags sugar at 7 hundredweight 16 lb, at 3 pagodas, with candy at 12, 34 pagodas 15 annas 0 pies Arrack, 8 hogsheads at 2 pagodas the hogshead, 18 pagodas 54 annas 0 pies Long cloth and diaper, 3 corge, £116 9s 0d, 122 pagodas 4 annas 0 pies Making, packing and other charges, £5 3s 0d Long cloth, muslin, 3 corge at 43 pagodas the corge, £129 0s 0d, 135 pagodas 7 annas 0 pies Making, packing and other charges, £6 7s 0d Charges merchandise, 2 pagodas 34 annas 11 pies Total, 437 pagodas 33 annas 26 pies At a consultation held on Tuesday 27 February 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and John Bazett as second of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The last will and testament of John Durling was this day proved before the council upon the oaths of the witnesses to it, John Defountaine, Simon Whaley and Matthew Mudge. The council also attended an inventory of the estate and effects of the deceased, as the whole was taken and appraised by Francis Wrangham, Richard Beale, John Defountaine and Simon Whaley, each of whom, being sworn, declared that they had valued and appraised the several articles to the best of their skill and knowledge. The will and inventory were ordered registered accordingly. Interpretations The first consultation records the arrival of three homeward Indiamen in quick succession, the shipping season now opening after the empty winter road, each captain receiving the standing instructions to warp in under the fort's guns on an alarm. The Beaufort's cargo was reckoned in South Indian pagodas mixed with sterling for the cloth, the whole coming to 437 pagodas, and it carried the ordinary victualling of rice, sugar and Goa arrack alongside a substantial parcel of Indian textiles, long cloth, diaper and muslin, measured by the corge, the standard trading unit of twenty pieces. These were the cottons the Company shipped for sale to the inhabitants, long cloth being a plain calico, diaper a figured linen and muslin a fine cotton. The arrival of the Queen Caroline from Bencoolen is notable, being the ship whose earlier letter had carried the Company's warning about foreign shipping that the council acted on with its restrictions of 9 January 1739. Her return from the Sumatra settlement, to which the island shipped its slaves and troublesome characters, kept up the regular traffic between St Helena and Fort Marlborough that runs through this record. The second consultation records the probate of John Durling's will, the death of a man who appears throughout this record as the overseer of the Company's slaves and plantations, whose memorials on the establishment and the drought were repeatedly laid before the council. His executors had already been presenting his bills of sale for registration since 17 October 1738, so the proving of the will completes the settlement of his estate. The valuation under oath by four appraisers, Francis Wrangham, Richard Beale, John Defountaine and Simon Whaley, followed the island's ordinary probate practice, two of them serving both as witnesses to the will and as sworn valuers of the goods. The proving of a will on the oaths of its witnesses, with a separate sworn appraisal of the estate, was the settled procedure for every death in this record, the council acting as the island's court of probate and ordering both documents registered to secure the title and the succession. |
347 | 339 | At a Consultation held on Monday 20 Febry 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel George Gabriel Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved Yesterday the Britannia arrived here from England & this Morning after we had read through the Generall Letter we delivered the Captain the following Letter viz Sir We desire you will Send a Shore with all the Expedition You possibly can all Such Goods & Merchandize as are So Ordered upon Ship conducted to us for the Use of the Honble Company & if You want any help we will assist you, We are Sir We also appointed Messrs Bazett Goodwin Junr & Gurling & attend at the Water Side to receive the Goods & quicken her delivery & to keep an account of each days Work At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6 March 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel George Gabriel Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved Wm this day appointed Mr Cousin Alexander Mr Bazett Storekeeper & his Second & Cheesey, Mr Goodwin to be assistant to the Storekeeper & Mr Matthew Gurling to be assistant to Mr Crispe Purser & drum being accountable also in the other Branches of Bussgress | At a consultation held on Monday 26 February 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Britannia arrived the day before from England, and this morning, after the general letter had been read through, the council delivered the captain the following letter. The council asked him to send ashore, with all the dispatch he possibly could, all such goods and merchandise as were consigned to it for the use of the Honourable Company, and any help he wanted would be given to him. The council also appointed John Bazett, John Goodwin junior and John Durling to attend at the water side, to receive the goods and quicken their delivery, and to keep an account of each day's work. At a consultation held on Tuesday 6 March 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council this day appointed several officers: John Bazett storekeeper and warehousekeeper, John Goodwin junior to be assistant to the storekeeper, and Matthew Bowling to be assistant to Mr Crisp in the general office and in the other branches of the Company's business. Interpretations The first consultation records the arrival of the store ship Britannia from England carrying the Company's general letter and the year's consigned goods, and the council's practice on such an arrival was fixed throughout this record. The captain was asked to land the cargo with all speed against the term set by the charter party, and three men were appointed to attend the waterside daily, receive the goods and keep a written account of each day's landing, so that due dispatch could be proved should the ship claim demurrage. This was the same procedure followed for every store ship, the daily boat-and-surf record being the council's protection against a commander's demand for delay. The most significant feature of these two consultations is the appearance of George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council, taking a seat on the board for the first time in this record. He is the same George Gabriel Powell who had petitioned to leave for England on 25 May 1738, ran a ship between Madras and Bengal, and was heir to the great Powell estate, the largest private holding in the record, and his admission expanded the council from the three members who had governed since Pyke's death to four. The reading of the general letter before the cargo was landed followed the standing form, the Company's annual instructions being opened and read at once on a store ship's arrival, the letter directing the council's business for the year ahead as the letters by the Queen Caroline and earlier ships had done. The second consultation formally settled the offices that had been filled provisionally after Pyke's death, John Bazett confirmed storekeeper and warehousekeeper, a post he had first taken on 15 August 1738, John Goodwin junior as his assistant, and Matthew Bowling assisting Duke Crisp in the general office. These appointments regularised the administration of the Company's stores and accounts under the new government, the same reorganisation Governor Goodwin had begun in August 1738. |
348 | 340 | At a Consultation held on Wednesday 7 March 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel George Gabriel Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved The Wm this day Ended the Honble Companies Cash & find more to the Sum of 1051 14 6½ in the Severall Species following viz Cash Note 77 5 1817 Pagodas 813 3 1092 Rupees 273 447 Venetians 220 10 310 Rupees 34 17 6 33 Ducatoons 9 18 Pistoreens 1 3 1051 14 6½ At a Consultation held on Friday the 9 of March 1738 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel Geo Gab Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was read & approved Yesterday being the Expiration of the Ten Working days allowed by Charter Party we delivered Captain Sumner his Dispatches for Bencoolen together with our Severall Letters to India, which with the Working of the Ship is as follows viz To Captain John Sumner Sir The Goods Consigned to us by the Honble Company being now all Safely Landed, Except those few which were Lost or Damaged by the Staving of Your Boat, We therefore hereby Order You to Sail as Soon as You can, & make the most of Your way to Bencoolen We are Sir Your most Humble Servants St Helena 9 March 1738 | At a consultation held on Wednesday 7 March 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council this day counted the Honourable Company's cash and found it to come to the sum of £1,051 14s 6.75d in the several kinds of coin, as follows. Cash notes, £2 7s 5d 1,807 pagodas, £813 3s 0d 1,092 dollars, £273 0s 0d 44 venetians, £22 0s 10d 310 rupees, £34 17s 6d 33 ducatoons, £9 18s 0d Bad money, £1 4s 0d Total, £1,051 14s 6.75d At a consultation held on Friday 9 March 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The day before being the expiration of the ten days allowed by the charter party, the council delivered Captain Sumner his dispatches for Bencoolen, together with the several letters to the Company's settlements in India, which made the dispatch of the Britannia as follows. The letter was directed to Captain John Sumner. The council set out that the goods consigned to it by the Honourable Company had all been safely landed, except a few which were spoiled or damaged by the negligence of the boat's crew. It therefore ordered him to sail for Bencoolen as soon as he could, and to make the best of his way there. The council remained his most humble servants, and the letter was dated at St Helena, 9 March 1739. Interpretations The first consultation records the council's periodic count of the Company's cash, a check on the treasury the board carried out on the same footing as its musters of stock and stores. The most striking feature is the variety of coin, £1,051 14s 6.75d held in six different currencies at once, reflecting an island that lay on the trade route between Europe and Asia and dealt in whatever specie passed through the road. The pagoda, the South Indian gold coin, made up much the largest part at £813 3s 0d, followed by Spanish dollars, and the count also held venetians and ducatoons, silver coins of the Venetian and Low Countries mints, alongside Indian rupees, the mixture the ordinary medium of a settlement fed by shipping from many nations. The reckoning of each coin at a fixed sterling value, the pagoda at about 9 shillings, the dollar at 5 shillings and the rupee at 2 shillings 6 pence, shows the rates the council applied throughout this record when it drew bills of exchange or took specie into the Company's cash. The small entry of bad money at £1 4s 0d, coin damaged or counterfeit, was set apart from the sound currency, the same distinction the island made when counterfeit pagodas surfaced, as in the Joseph Bates coining case of 3 August 1736. The second consultation dispatched the store ship Britannia for Bencoolen after her ten days' unlading, the term set by the charter party within which the council had to land the consigned cargo. The commander was sent on with his packets for the Company's Indian settlements, carrying the correspondence that linked St Helena to Fort Marlborough and the coast, the island serving as a relay point on the Company's communications as much as a victualling station. The council's note that a few goods had been spoiled by the negligence of the boat's crew was the customary endorsement recording damage in landing, entered to fix responsibility on the ship's people rather than the Company, the same protest the council made repeatedly when cargo came ashore wetted or short, as with the Prince William on 6 May 1728. |
349 | 341 | The Working of the Ship Britanea during the time of her Unlading viz Feb 7 26 Surf high no goods Landed 27 two long boats Unladed 28 four Long boats Unladed 1 Surf high no goods Landed 2 four long boats Unladed 3 one long boat Unladed 5 Surf high no goods landed 6 One long boats Unladed 7 Four long boats Unladed 8 three long boats Unladed Which Compleat the delivery of her Cargo To the Honourable John Stackhouse Esqr &c Council of Fort William Honble Sir & Sirs We have received the Severall Supplys with which You furnished Us last Year & return You thanks for them, the Rice goods & at Severall times have deemed have Isere & are likely to Continue longer upon our hands than we expected, so that at present We want no more of them, but desire You will be pleased to Send the 30 maunds of good wax Candles, & 300 Canvey Sheets, & the rest of the money in arrack & Rice, the most part Rice, but not any Sugar for the Service of the next Year By the Inclosed list You will See what Ships have touched here Since We last paid our Respects to You Mr Pyke died here on the 2d July last, & the Honble Company have been pleased to appoint John Goodwin Esqr late 2d of Council of this Island to be Governour which is a Change perfectly agreeable both to ourselves & the Inhabitants We are &c St Helena 9 Mar 1739 To the Honourable Richard Benyon Esqr &c Council of Fort St George Honble Sir & Sirs We return You thanks for the Severall Cargoes which at our desire You last Year Consigned to Us & for the Supply of this we desire You will Send the half of the money in arrack & the other half in Rice, of which we are in great want occasioned by the failure of our Summer Rains for four or five Seasons past [...] | The record of the Britannia's unlading during the time she was discharged ran as follows. 7 February, surf high, no goods landed 27 February, two longboats unladed 27 February, four longboats unladed 1 March, surf high, no goods landed 2 March, four longboats unladed 3 March, one longboat unladed 4 March, surf high, no goods landed 6 March, one longboat unladed 7 March, four longboats unladed 8 March, three longboats unladed, which completed the delivery of her cargo The council addressed a letter to John Stackhouse and the council of Fort William. The council set out that it had received the several supplies with which Fort William had furnished it the year before, and returned its thanks for them. Those goods had at several times come to its hands as expected, so that at present it wanted no more of them, but asked that Fort William would be pleased to send the 30 maunds of good wax candles and 500 corge of sheets, and the rest of the next year's supply in arrack and rice, the greatest part rice, but no sugar for the service of the next year. By the enclosed list Fort William would see what ships had touched at St Helena since the council last paid its respects. The council added that Governor Pyke had died on the 28th of July last, and that the Honourable Company had been pleased to appoint John Goodwin, lately second of council of the island, to be Governor, a choice perfectly agreeable both to the council and to the inhabitants. The letter was dated at St Helena, 10 March 1739. The council addressed a letter to Richard Benyon and the council of Fort St George. The council returned its thanks for the several cargoes which Fort St George had, at its desire, consigned to it the year before, in supply of the island, and asked that it would send the half of the next year's supply in arrack and the other half in rice, of which the island was in great want through the failure of its summer rains for four or five seasons past. Interpretations The record of the Britannia's unlading is the daily boat-and-surf account the council kept for every store ship, entered to prove that the cargo had been landed with due dispatch within the ten days the charter party allowed. High surf stopped the work on three of the days, and the council noted each such interruption precisely, since a commander who claimed demurrage for delay could be answered only by a written record showing the loss of time was the sea's fault and not the shore's. This was the same protection the council secured on the arrival of the Britannia on 26 February 1739, when it set three men to attend the waterside and keep the account. The two letters were the annual correspondence by which St Helena ordered its provisions from the Company's Indian presidencies, Fort William at Calcutta and Fort St George at Madras being the two great settlements that victualled the island. The council specified exactly what it wanted for the coming year, wax candles and sheets from Bengal, and the bulk of the supply in arrack and rice, and it pointedly refused sugar, having no need of it, the same close management of its stores that runs through this record. The repeated insistence on rice above all, and the plea to Fort St George that the island was in great want through the failure of its summer rains for four or five seasons past, sets the whole exchange against the long drought that had gripped St Helena since the mid 1730s. The failure of the rains had ruined the yam and potato crops and killed the cattle, forcing the island to lean ever harder on imported rice to feed its people and slaves, a dependence the council had reported to homeward commanders as early as 19 December 1734. Both letters carried the news of Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738 and the appointment of John Goodwin, the council commending the choice to the Indian settlements as it had to the Court of Directors in the petition of 30 November 1738. Corge and maund were Indian units, the corge a count of twenty pieces of cloth and the maund a weight of about forty seers, the measures in which the presidencies reckoned the goods they shipped. |
350 | 342 | Enclosed we Send You the Usual List of Shiping and are &c St Helena 8 March 1739 To the Honourable John Horn Esqr &c Council of Bombay Honble Sir & Sirs We are very much obliged to You for the Kind regard You have been pleased to Show Us by Sending us last Year a greater Supply of arrack than Usual, to make Up a same sent the loss we have met with by this Sad disasters which have happened in India, & for the Supply of the next Year we desire You will Send the half of the money in arrack, 3 bales of Surrat Chelloe & the remainder in Rice, for want of which we begin to be distressed occasioned by the failure of our Summer Rains We Send You Enclosed the Usual list of Shiping & are &c St Helena 8 March 1739 To the Worshipfull Robert Lenox Esqr &c Council of Bencoolen Worshipfull Sir & Sirs We are Surprized to hear that the Prices of the two Cables we last Year Sent You were omitted, we rather Imagine that the Invoice was lost or mislaid, however to Remedy that defect, We now acquaint You that there price Cost is viz 1 Cable 17 Inches is 53 P 19½ 1 C 16 C 66 3 109 3 1½ We are glad to Sear that You have entertained Mr Sardyce, Mr Barlows bond is Charged to his account but his Effects here, will hardly Clear that, & Some other debts he has Contracted at this place, he died of the flux in Sepr last We have received the Slave named Sandwich, & as You desire we will keep him here, we have Sent You female Wenches who recden themselves free born, & according to the Custom of this place, they have pretentions to freedom, but as this was a growing Evil, & in its Consequences likely to become [...] | The council enclosed the usual list of shipping with its letter, dated at St Helena, 8 March 1739. The council addressed a letter to John Horne and the council of Bombay. The council set out that it was very much obliged to Bombay for the kind regard it had shown in sending a greater supply of arrack than usual the year before, to make up the loss the island had met with through the sad disasters that had happened in India. For the supply of the next year the council asked that Bombay would send the half of it in arrack, three bales of Surat shalloon, and the remainder in rice, for want of which the island was in distress through the failure of its summer rains. The council sent enclosed the usual list of shipping, and the letter was dated at St Helena, 8 March 1739. The council addressed a letter to Robert Lennox and the council of Bencoolen. The council set out that it was surprised to hear the prices of the two cables sent the year before had been omitted, and supposed the invoice had been lost or mislaid. It now told Bencoolen that their prime cost was as follows. 1 cable, 17 inches, 54 pagodas 19 annas 0 pies, £109 3s 0.5d 1 cable, 15 inches, 66 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Total, £109 3s 0.5d The council added that it was glad to hear Bencoolen had entertained Mr Sardyce, whose effects on the island, charged to his account, would hardly clear the debt, and that he had contracted some other debts at St Helena. He had died of the flux in September last. The council reported that it had received the slave named Sandwich, and, as Bencoolen desired, would keep him on the island. It had sent to Bencoolen several female slaves who had reckoned themselves freeborn, and, according to the custom of the island, they had a claim to freedom, but as this was a growing evil, and its consequences likely to become [...]. Interpretations The letters to Bombay and Bencoolen continue the annual correspondence by which St Helena ordered its provisions from the Company's eastern settlements, each presidency supplying a share of the arrack, rice and cloth the island needed. The plea to Bombay for rice and arrack, and the reference to the sad disasters that had happened in India, ties the island's supply to the wider commercial troubles the Company faced, the same losses the inhabitants' petition of 29 November 1738 had invoked, while the repeated stress on the failure of the summer rains kept the drought at the centre of every request. The exchange with Bencoolen over the two cables shows the council's exact accounting for stores shipped between settlements, insisting that the prime cost of the cables be recorded so the books between the two places should balance. Surat shalloon was a light woollen cloth from the great Indian port of Surat, and a cable of seventeen inches meant its circumference, a heavy anchor cable for the largest ships, the kind of naval store the island drew from the Indian yards. The most consequential passage concerns the female slaves the council had sent to Bencoolen because they claimed freedom by the custom of the island. St Helena recognised that certain slaves, particularly those born free or freeborn in their own right, had a claim to liberty, and the council treated the spread of such claims as a growing evil threatening the settlement's whole system of slave labour. By shipping these women to the Sumatra settlement it removed the claimants rather than let their freedom be established, the same transportation to Bencoolen it used for troublesome free men, and the fear of the consequences echoes the anxiety recorded on 14 January 1729 that a mixed population might in time grow formidable and attempt to free itself. The death of Mr Sardyce of the flux, his island effects insufficient to clear his debts, belongs to the ordinary settling of accounts between the Company's servants across its scattered posts, the council reporting the death and the shortfall so that Bencoolen might know his estate would not answer what he owed. The slave Sandwich, received and kept at the island as Bencoolen desired, shows the two settlements exchanging slaves as they exchanged stores and correspondence, the human traffic between them part of the same administrative routine. |
351 | 343 | Mischeivous & fatal to the Island, We have been obliged to check its progress & nip it in the bud We desire You will Receive him for we believe their labour will be Serviceable to the Honble Company, & in Washing, or Making, or mending Linnen for private families, We & the Inhabitants by contribution amongst ourselves have paid the Captain for their Passage We are &c St Helena 8 Mar 1739 On the 9th the Royall George arrived here, & on this day the Lyell arrived, & brought us the following Supplys viz Invoice pr Royall George viz Rice 51 bags pr 100 lb Factory is 6¾ P 4 @ 1 10 pr Rupee 80 Sugar 13 bags pr 30 lb Factory is 20 @ 5 pr Pound 105 Doosutties 1 Bale pr So 80 pr @ 57 pr Corge 188 Batavia Arrack 2 half Leag Cm pr 80 Gale pr Suttle Leag 99 Charges Merchandize 49 12 Rupees 611 12 Invoice pr Lyell viz Rice 30 bags pr 100 lb Factory is 6¾ P 4 @ 1 10 pr Rupee 80 Sugar 13 bags pr 30 lb Factory 20 @ 5 pr lb 105 Doosutties 1 Bale pr So 80 pr @ 57 pr Corge 188 Batavia Arrack 2 half Leag Cm pr 80 Gale pr Suttle Leag 99 Charges Merchandize 49 12 Rupees 611 12 This day We received the following Letter from Capt Jobson viz To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr &c Gentlemen of Council Gentlemen Understanding that You have Severall old Unserviceable Guns belonging to the Honble East India Company & my Ship being very Crank I am Willing to Carry the Said guns to England | The council continued, holding that the claim to freedom was mischievous and fatal to the island, and that it had been obliged to check its progress and nip it in the bud. It asked that Bencoolen would receive the slave, believing his labour would be serviceable to the Company there, in washing, or in washing or mending linen for private families. The council and the inhabitants had by contribution among themselves paid the captain for the passage. The letter was dated at St Helena, 10 March 1739. On the 9th the Royal George arrived, and this day the Lyell arrived and brought the following supplies. The invoice of the Royal George was as follows. Rice, 51 bags at 100 marcals the factory weight, at 6 pagodas 4 annas the bag, at 1 pagoda 10 annas the rupee, 80 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 13 bags at 30 marcals the factory weight, at 3 pagodas 2 annas the [...] pound, 105 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Doosuttees, 1 bale of 60 pieces at 80 pieces, at 57 rupees the corge, 188 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, 4 half leaguers, containing 80 gallons at 7 rupees the leaguer, 99 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 49 rupees 12 annas 0 pies Total, 611 rupees 12 annas 0 pies The invoice of the Lyell was as follows. Rice, 30 bags at 100 marcals the factory weight, at 6 pagodas 4 annas, at 1 pagoda 10 annas the rupee, 80 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 13 bags at 30 marcals the factory weight, at 3 pagodas 2 annas, at 5 pies the [...], 105 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Doosuttees, 1 bale of 60 pieces at 80 pieces, at 57 rupees the corge, 188 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, 4 half leaguers, containing 80 gallons at 7 rupees the leaguer, 99 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 49 rupees 12 annas 0 pies Total, 611 rupees 12 annas 0 pies The council this day received the following letter from Captain Jokson. The letter was directed to Governor Goodwin and the gentlemen of council. The captain set out that, understanding the council had several old and unserviceable guns belonging to the Honourable East India Company, and his ship being very crank, he was willing to carry the guns to England. Interpretations The opening passage completes the council's account of the freeborn slave women shipped to Bencoolen, and its language is unusually candid about the reasoning. The council held that the slaves' claim to freedom by island custom was mischievous and fatal to the settlement, a threat it had to nip in the bud, and it disposed of the women by sending them to the Sumatra settlement to labour at washing and mending, the inhabitants themselves subscribing to pay their passage. This confirms the transportation recorded on the previous leaf as a deliberate policy to suppress emancipation claims before they could take root, the same fear of a growing free population that runs through this record. The two invoices record the supplies landed by the Royal George and the Lyell, both reckoned in rupees with the exchange from pagodas noted, each cargo coming to 611 rupees 12 annas of rice, sugar, Batavia arrack and doosuttees. The near-identical figures suggest a coordinated consignment, two ships carrying matching supplies as the presidencies sometimes arranged, and the goods were the ordinary victualling the island drew from India, doosuttees being a coarse Indian cotton cloth measured by the corge and Batavia arrack the spirit shipped from the Dutch settlement at Batavia. A leaguer was a large liquid measure and factory weight the standard by which the Company's settlements reckoned their grain. The letter from Captain Jokson offers to carry the island's old and unserviceable guns to England, which connects directly to the ordnance survey the council had pursued through the winter. Having found many pieces flawed and much shot corroded in the proving of December and January, the council had considered sending the useless guns and shot home or shipping them away as ballast, as it resolved on 13 December 1738, and here a commander whose ship was crank, meaning unstable and in want of weight low down, offered to take the guns as ballast for his passage. The captain's ship being crank made the offer mutually convenient, the heavy iron guns serving as ballast to steady an unstable vessel while ridding the island of ordnance it could not use, the same practical disposal of dead weight the council had already contemplated for the defective round shot. |
352 | 344 | England without demanding any Freight for the Same I am Worshipfull Sir & Sirs Your most Humble Servant W Jobson St Helena 9 Mar 1738/9 At a Consultation on Tuesday 13 of March 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Esqr of Councel John Bazett Esqr of Councel G Gab Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each of them their Monthly Account for February last which we Severally Examined & approved & are as follows Viz | Captain Jokson offered to carry the guns to England without demanding any freight for them. The letter was signed by W. Jokson and dated at St Helena, 9 March 1739. At a consultation held on Tuesday 13 March 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for February past, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Interpretations Captain Jokson's offer to carry the old guns freight-free completes the exchange begun on the previous leaf, and the terms made the arrangement wholly to the island's advantage. His ship being crank, the heavy ordnance served as ballast he needed to steady her, so he asked nothing for the carriage, and the council could rid itself of guns condemned in the winter proving at no cost to the Company. This was the disposal the council had contemplated on 13 December 1738 when it resolved to send the defective ordnance and shot home or ship it away as ballast, a commander now offering exactly the passage required. The consultation of 13 March opens the monthly accounts for February, the routine delivery of the Governor's, gunner's and steward's returns for examination and approval, the figures themselves following on the succeeding leaves. George Gabriel Powell continued to sit as fourth of council, his seat on the board now settled after his first appearance on 26 February 1739. |
353 | 345 | Gunners Stores Expended in February 1739 viz Guns Fire, Shott Fire, 4 pr, 12 pr, 3 pr, N Powder Febry 3 Departed a French Ship: Guns Fire 13, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 0, N Powder 10 for Sailing of 13 guns: 26 13 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 8, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 18 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 12 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 3, 3 pr 0, N Powder 12 to bring a Ship too: Guns Fire 2, Shott Fire 2, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 8 arrived the Queen Caroline: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 9, N Powder 9 do the King George: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 9, N Powder 9 22 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 12 arrived the Beaufort: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 9, N Powder 9 23 for the Super Cargoes: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 9, N Powder 9 23 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 9 26 arrived the Britania: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 9, N Powder 9 for the Proclamation of the Governour: Guns Fire 21, Shott Fire 1, 4 pr 3, 12 pr 1, 3 pr 1, N Powder 16, 37 26 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 18 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 2, 12 pr 2, 3 pr 0, N Powder 12 arrived two French Ships: Guns Fire 22, Shott Fire 0, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 0, 3 pr 22, N Powder 22 for Instructing the Gunners Crew: Guns Fire 27, Shott Fire 3, 4 pr 0, 12 pr 9, 3 pr 0, N Powder 25 for the Grail Small Cartridges: 27 for Priming 3 horns of Powder: 3, 9 133 5 1 7 12 15 98 3 363 Paper: 6 Quire Match: 12 tt Handspikes: 6 Priming wires: 6 Trucks: 6 Sponge Staff: 1 Tampkins: 24 Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of Febry Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totale, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totale, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totale, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totale Remaining 1 Febry: Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 32, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 33, Bulls 6, Totale 225, Ewes 34, Weathers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totale 60, Sows 11, Shoats 25, Piggs 25, Boars 2, Totale 63, Turkeys 38, Fowles 76, Ducks 26, Geese 17, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Increased in do: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 3, Bulls 0, Totale 3, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 32, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 36, Bulls 6, Totale 228, Ewes 34, Weathers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totale 60, Sows 11, Shoats 25, Piggs 25, Boars 2, Totale 63, Turkeys 38, Fowles 76, Ducks 26, Geese 17, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Killed & Sold this Month: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 3, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Died in do: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 1, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Remaining 1 Febry: Bullocks 39, Cowes 67, Heifers 32, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 36, Bulls 6, Totale 224, Ewes 34, Weathers 4, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totale 60, Sows 11, Shoats 25, Piggs 25, Boars 2, Totale 63, Turkeys 38, Fowles 76, Ducks 26, Geese 17, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Yams Expended at Severall Plantations & Delivered to the Blacks 33000 | Gunner's stores expended in February 1739: Departed a French ship: guns fired 15, powder 10, total 10 For salutes of 12 guns: guns fired 26 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 8, 3 pounders 2, powder 14 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 To bring a ship to: guns fired 4, shot 2, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 3, powder 12 Arrived the Queen Caroline: guns fired 9, powder 9 Arrived the King George: guns fired 9, powder 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived the Beaufort: guns fired 9, powder 9 For the supercargoes: guns fired 9, powder 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived the Britannia: guns fired 9, powder 9 For the proclamation of the Governor: guns fired 21, shot 1, 3 pounders 1, 4 pounders 16, powder 37 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived two French ships: guns fired 22, powder 22, total 22 For instructing the gunner, guns cleared: guns fired 7, shot 3, 4 pounders 7, powder 25 To the guards, cartridge: powder 27 For priming, 3 barrels of powder: powder 3, total 3 Total: guns fired 133, shot 5, 4 pounders 1, 3 pounders 7, 4 pounders 12, 3 pounders 15, powder 93, priming 3, grand total 363 The stores expended were also as follows. Paper, 6 quires Match, 12 lb Handspikes, 6 Priming wires, 6 Trucks, 1 Sponge staves, 1 Handspikes, 24 Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of February 1739. Remaining 1 February, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 32 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 33 calves, 6 bulls, total 230 Remaining 1 February, sheep: 36 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 60 Remaining 1 February, hogs: 11 sows, 25 shoats, 25 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Remaining 1 February, poultry: 38 turkeys, 76 fowls, 26 ducks, 17 geese Remaining 1 February, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 5 calves, 0 bulls, total 5 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 10 fowls, 4 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 67 cows, 32 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 38 calves, 6 bulls, total 230 Balance after increase, sheep: 36 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 60 Balance after increase, hogs: 11 sows, 25 shoats, 25 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Balance after increase, poultry: 48 turkeys, 116 fowls, 30 ducks, 17 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Killed and died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Killed and died in the month, poultry, ducks: 2 Killed and died in the month, hogs: 1 shoat, total 1 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Died in the month, poultry, ducks: 2 Remaining 1 March, neat cattle: 39 bullocks, 68 cows, 32 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 34 calves, 6 bulls, total 230 Remaining 1 March, sheep: 36 ewes, 4 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 60 Remaining 1 March, hogs: 11 sows, 25 shoats, 25 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Remaining 1 March, poultry: 48 turkeys, 116 fowls, 30 ducks, 17 geese Remaining 1 March, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Yams expended at the several plantations and delivered to the blacks, 33,000 lb Interpretations The gunner's account for February records much the busiest month at the fort in this recent run, powder spent on a continuous stream of salutes and alarms as the shipping season reached its height. Six ships were saluted in, the Queen Caroline, King George, Beaufort, Britannia and two French vessels, alongside repeated alarms for ships sighted and brought to, and a heavy charge of 37 lb for the proclamation of Governor Goodwin, the formal firing that marked his confirmed accession. The proving of the guns continued, the gunner cleared and instructed, carrying forward the ordnance overhaul of the winter. The frequent alarms, each answered by firing, reflect the guarded footing the council had adopted under apprehension of the European war, foreign shipping now arriving under the restrictions settled on 9 January 1739. The two French ships saluted in February would have been admitted to the road on the confined terms the council had drafted, kept to the anchorage and the watering place, the salutes a courtesy extended even to vessels watched as potential enemies. The stock account shows the Company herd holding at 230 head, the recovery from the drought firmly established with only one calf lost in the month and five calves born. No cattle were sold, the council keeping the herd in hand after the December sale, and the flock and hogs held steady at 60 and 63. The poultry yard rose on a hatch of fowls and ducks, though the entries again resist exact reconciliation, the same clerical looseness that marked the winter returns. The stud held at 22, its largest figure in this record. The yam issue stood at 33,000 lb, close to the January figure, the standing crop counted at 548,000 lb the previous July continuing to support a steady ration as the fortification works drew labour and the season turned, the whole confirming that the island had passed out of the worst of the long drought that had gripped it since the mid 1730s. |
354 | 346 | Expence of the Table in Febry 1738 viz 15 16 79 Gald Arrack 6 11 9 17 Gald Port 3 8 6 18 Gald Sherry 3 13 4 Candy 3 13 6 1 C 1 pr Sugar 4 7 6 3 C Flur 1 4 6 7 Bottles Ryde 1 8 6 19 Gald Strong Beer 2 3 46 Gald Small 2 1 3 Bushills Salt 7 do Peper 2 8 Fowles 2 5 73 Fowles 9 6 6 Ducks 2 Bras 10 270 Pork 10 52 10 3 At a Consultation held on Friday 23 March 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Esqr of Council John Bazett Esqr of Council G Gab Powell Esqr of Councel The last Consultation was redd & Approved Yesterday the Onslow Arrived here from Bombay and brought us the following Supply Particulars viz | Expense of the table in February 1739: 79 gallons arrack, £15 16s 0d 17 gallons port, £6 11s 9d 10 gallons sherry, £3 8s 6d 4 quarters candy, £3 13s 0d 2 hundredweight 1 quarter sugar, £4 7s 6d 3 hundredweight flour, £1 6s 6d 7 bottles style, £1 8s 6d 19 gallons strong beer, £2 3s 0d 46 gallons small beer, £2 1s 0d 3 bushels salt, £0 2s 0d 2 quarters pepper, £0 2s 0d 3 fowls, £2 5s 0d 73 fowls, £0 19s 6d 6 ducks, £0 10s 0d 2 hares, £0 10s 0d 26 lb pork, £0 10s 0d Total, £52 10s 3d At a consultation held on Friday 23 March 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Onslow arrived the day before from Bombay and brought the following supply. Interpretations The February table account closes at £52 10s 3d, the highest of this recent run and well above the January figure, the increase driven by the shipping season that filled the road through the month. With six ships saluted in, the household entertained supercargoes, captains and passengers of note ashore, the same rise in table expense that accompanied every busy anchorage in this record, and arrack at 79 gallons remained the dominant single charge at £15 16s 0d. The appearance of hares alongside the ordinary poultry marks a small variety in the fare, the island's few game animals occasionally supplementing the table. The heavy charge of both strong and small beer, 65 gallons together, shows the officers' table well supplied with brewed drink alongside the imported wine and spirits, the strong beer for the principal table and the small beer the weaker everyday brew served in quantity. Sugar and candy together took over £8, the refined sugar in hard crystallised lumps a costly imported keeping stock. The consultation of 23 March opens with the arrival of the Onslow from Bombay, another homeward Indiaman bringing the island's supply, the shipping season continuing into the spring. George Gabriel Powell remained on the board as fourth of council, his seat now settled through these March consultations, expanding the government from the three members who had served since Governor Pyke's death the previous July. |
355 | 347 | Chelloes blew pr So 20 Corge viz 0 15 24 is 11 Suttl @ 95 13 pr Corge 396 6 0 3 15 9 do @ 70 26 pr do 1056 38 20 1452 44 Charges Merchandize 1162 7 Slaves viz 3 Men 3 Women 2 Boys 2 Girls 12 Slaves amo t to 218 1 4 2 Slaves for do amo t to 63 3 55 282 54 Rupees 1850 3 10 Capt Balchen Advises Us that one of the Slave Girls was unhappyly drowned in the Passage hither At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3 April 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered each of them their Monthly Account for March last which were Severally Examined & approved together with the Quarterly Accos & are as follows viz | The supply brought by the Onslow continued. Chelloes blue, 20 corge: at 15 pieces 24 pieces, 148 pieces, 11 total, at 95 pagodas 13 annas, George, 346 pagodas 6 annas at 15 pieces, 9 total, at 70 pagodas 26 annas, 1,056 pagodas 38 annas Total, 20 corge, 1,452 rupees 44 annas Charges merchandise, 1,162 rupees 7 annas Slaves: 3 men 3 women 2 boys 2 girls 12 slaves, amounting to, 218 rupees 1 anna 4 pies 2 slaves for the [...], amounting to, 63 rupees 3 annas 35 pies Total slaves, 282 rupees 54 annas Total, 1,850 rupees 3 annas 10 pies Captain Balchen reported that one of the slave girls was unhappily drowned on the passage to the island. At a consultation held on Tuesday 3 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for March past, which were separately examined and approved, together with the quarterly account, and were as follows. Interpretations The Onslow's cargo differed from the ordinary victualling of rice and arrack in carrying both Indian cloth and a parcel of slaves, the whole reckoned in rupees at 1,850 rupees 3 annas. Chelloes were a coarse blue Indian cotton cloth, measured by the corge of twenty pieces, one of the staple textiles the Company shipped for sale to the inhabitants. The purchase of twelve slaves from Bombay, three men, three women and four children, added to the Company's establishment the able labour the council had long wanted, even as it sold off its elder and worn people, the two movements together reshaping the workforce towards productive hands. The valuation of the slaves at a low figure, twelve for 218 rupees, reflects the mixed parcel of adults and children, a rate well below the £25 0s 0d a prime man speaking English was reckoned to cost on 27 January 1736, the children in particular valued little until grown. The arrival of fresh slaves from India was the ordinary means by which the island renewed a slave population that, as the musters show throughout this record, barely reproduced itself and depended on purchase. Captain Balchen's report that one of the slave girls drowned on the passage records the human cost of the traffic plainly, the child lost on the voyage from Bombay entered as a matter of account, the survivors delivered to the island's establishment. The mortality of slaves in transit was a known hazard, and the council noted the loss to settle the reckoning for what was landed against what was shipped. The consultation of 3 April opens the monthly and quarterly accounts for March, the routine delivery of the Governor's, gunner's and steward's returns for examination and approval, the figures following on the succeeding leaves. George Gabriel Powell continued as fourth of council, the board now settled at four members through the spring of 1739. |
356 | 348 | Gunners Stores Expended in March 1739 Guns Fire, Shott Fire, 3 pr, 5 pr, 4 pr, 2 pr, Super Cargoes Powder March 2 departed Queen Caroline: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 4 to bring Ship Queen Caroline too: Guns Fire 3, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 3, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 15 7 departed two French Ships: Guns Fire 13, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 1, 2 pr 12, Super Cargoes Powder 18 do An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 2, 4 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 12 An Allarm: Guns Fire 2, Shott Fire 2, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 2, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 8 Arrived ye Royall George: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 9 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 2, 4 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 12 Arrived the Lyell: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 11 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 2, 4 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 12 13 departed Ship Beaufort: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 do Ship King William: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 for ye Supra Cargoes: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 2, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 2, 2 pr 5, Super Cargoes Powder 17 14 Sailing 2 Guns: Guns Fire 0, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 9 An Allarm: Guns Fire 4, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 2, 4 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Super Cargoes Powder 12 Arrived the Ship Onslow: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 23 departed Ship Lyell: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 do Royall George: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 27 do the Onslow: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 31 do Onslow: Guns Fire 9, Shott Fire 0, 3 pr 0, 5 pr 0, 4 pr 0, 2 pr 9, Super Cargoes Powder 9 Powder for the Guard 422 Cartridges: 55 four horns Powder for Priming: 4, 12 Totalle 133 2 3 4 8 11 107 4 294 Paper: 3 Quire Match: 18 tt Handspikes: 4 Priddle horns: 4 Musquet Balls: 26a 33 Sponge Staves: 4 Rammers head: 4 Sheep Skins: 3 Trucks: 4 Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle for March 1739 viz Bullocks, Cowes, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totale, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totale, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totale, Turkeys, Foules, Duckos, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totale Remaining 1: Bullocks 27, Cowes 66, Heifers 24, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 38, Bulls 6, Totale 214, Ews 34, Weathers 2, Lambs 17, Rams 5, Totale 58, Sows 9, Shoats 24, Piggs 24, Boars 1, Totale 59, Turkeys 40, Foules 43, Duckos 24, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Increased: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 5, Bulls 0, Totale 5, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 2, Rams 0, Totale 2, Sows 0, Shoats 6, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totale 6, Turkeys 0, Foules 10, Duckos 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 27, Cowes 66, Heifers 24, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 43, Bulls 6, Totale 219, Ews 34, Weathers 2, Lambs 19, Rams 5, Totale 60, Sows 9, Shoats 24, Piggs 30, Boars 1, Totale 69, Turkeys 40, Foules 93, Duckos 24, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Killed & Sold: Bullocks 1, Cowes 3, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 19, Ews 1, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 2, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 6, Boars 0, Totale 10, Turkeys 0, Foules 50, Duckos 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 12, Cowes 33, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 43, Bulls 6, Totale 209, Ews 33, Weathers 1, Lambs 19, Rams 5, Totale 58, Sows 9, Shoats 24, Piggs 30, Boars 2, Totale 63, Turkeys 40, Foules 93, Duckos 24, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Died: Bullocks 0, Cowes 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Foules 0, Duckos 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Remaining 12: Bullocks 12, Cowes 33, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 43, Bulls 6, Totale 209, Ews 33, Weathers 1, Lambs 19, Rams 5, Totale 58, Sows 9, Shoats 24, Piggs 30, Boars 2, Totale 63, Turkeys 41, Foules 60, Duckos 15, Geese 15, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Yams Expended at ye Severall Plantations 20000 Rice Expended 5097 Paddy do 1224 | Gunner's stores expended in March 1739: Departed Queen Caroline: guns fired 9, powder 9 To bring the ship Queen Caroline to: guns fired 3, shot 3, powder 15 Departed two French ships: guns fired 13, 4 pounders 1, 3 pounders 12, powder 14 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 12 An alarm: guns fired 2, 4 pounders 2, powder 7 Arrived the Royal George: guns fired 9, powder 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived the Lyell: guns fired 9, powder 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 13 March, departed the ship Beaufort: guns fired 9, powder 9 Departed the ship King William: guns fired 9, powder 9 For the supercargoes: guns fired 9, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 5, powder 17 19 March, scaling two guns: guns fired 4, powder 12 An alarm: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived the ship Onslow: guns fired 9, powder 9 23 March, departed the ship Lyell: guns fired 9, powder 9 Departed the Royal George: guns fired 9, powder 9 27 March, departed the Onslow: guns fired 9, powder 9 27 March, departed the [...] Marsh: guns fired 9, powder 9 31 March, departed the Onslow: guns fired 9, powder 9 Powder for the guard, 432 cartridges: powder 55 Four horns powder for priming: powder 12 Total: guns fired 133, shot 2, 3 pounders 4, 4 pounders 8, 3 pounders 11, powder 107, priming 4, grand total 294 The stores expended were also as follows. Paper, 3 quires Match, 18 lb Handspikes, 4 Priming horns, 4 Musket balls, 26 lb at 35 [...] Sponge staves, 4 Rammer heads, 4 Sheepskins, 3 Trucks, 3 Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for March 1739. Remaining 1 March, neat cattle: 27 bullocks, 66 cows, 24 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 38 calves, 6 bulls, total 214 Remaining 1 March, sheep: 34 ewes, 2 wethers, 17 lambs, 5 rams, total 56 Remaining 1 March, hogs: 9 sows, 24 shoats, 24 pigs, 2 boars, total 59 Remaining 1 March, poultry: 40 turkeys, 43 fowls, 24 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 1 March, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 5 calves, 0 bulls, total 5 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 6 pigs, 0 boars, total 6 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 10 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 27 bullocks, 66 cows, 24 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 43 calves, 6 bulls, total 219 Balance after increase, sheep: 34 ewes, 2 wethers, 19 lambs, 5 rams, total 56 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 24 shoats, 30 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Balance after increase, poultry: 40 turkeys, 93 fowls, 24 ducks, 15 geese Balance after increase, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 1 bullock, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 3 calves, 0 bulls, total 3 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 Killed in the month, poultry: 9 fowls Balance after killing, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 55 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 43 calves, 6 bulls Killed in the month, sheep: 1 ewe, total 3 Killed in the month, poultry: 9 fowls, 24 ducks, 30 ducks, 2 geese Died in the month, neat cattle: 1 calf, total 1 Died in the month, poultry: 9 fowls Remaining 1 April, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 55 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 43 calves, 6 bulls, total 219 Remaining 1 April, sheep: 34 ewes, 2 wethers, 19 lambs, 5 rams, total 56 Remaining 1 April, hogs: 9 sows, 24 shoats, 30 pigs, 2 boars, total 63 Remaining 1 April, poultry: 41 turkeys, 60 fowls, 24 ducks, 15 geese Remaining 1 April, horses: 3 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Yams expended at the several plantations, 20,000 lb Rice expended, 5,097 lb Paddy expended, 1,224 lb Interpretations The gunner's account for March records another heavy month, powder spent on a near-continuous exchange of salutes as the shipping season ran at its height, six ships saluted out and several in, with the Queen Caroline, Royal George, Lyell, Beaufort, King William and Onslow all passing through the road. The alarms answered by firing continued the guarded footing under apprehension of the European war, and the entry for scaling two guns marks the cleaning of the bores by firing a small charge, part of the ordnance maintenance carried on through the spring. The most significant feature of the stock account is the appearance of imported rice and paddy alongside the yam issue for the first time in these monthly returns, 5,097 lb of rice and 1,224 lb of paddy set against 20,000 lb of yams. This confirms the island still leaning heavily on imported grain to feed its people and slaves, exactly as the council had told the Indian presidencies in its March letters, the failure of the summer rains for four or five seasons forcing it to buy rice where the yam and potato crops had failed. The herd stood at 219 head, the recovery holding with five calves born, though the account shows a sharp reclassification within the cattle, bullocks falling from 27 to 12 and cows and heifers rising, the year's cutting and growing moving beasts between classes as the annual musters did throughout this record. No cattle were sold in March, the council keeping the herd in hand, and the flock and hogs held at 56 and 63. The stores expended, match, sponge staves, rammer heads, sheepskins and trucks, were the ordinary consumable furniture of the guns, the sheepskins the material for fresh sponge heads and the trucks the small wheels of the gun carriages, the same maintenance stock the annual inventories tracked. The poultry figures again resist exact reconciliation, the clerical looseness of the ruled grid persisting through the spring returns, but the yard closed steady and the whole confirms an island now well clear of the worst of the drought. |
357 | 349 | Expence of the Table in March 1739 27 Gall Port 10 9 3 17 do Sherry 7/4 2 18 17 4¾ Mountain 1 16 9 78 Arrack 15 12 4 Ale 8 1 C 1 pr Sugar 1 8 1 16 Candy 1 15 1 1 Flober 1 16 25 Gall Strong beer 3 6 20 30 do Small do 3 12 6 bottles Ryb 2 14 3 bushl Salt 1 8 6 19 C Beef 8 58 C Pork 1 4 4 1 Sheep 1 4 25 Foules 1 17 6 11 Butter 11 55 17 8½ At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 10 of April 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved The Petition of John Brown was presented & read Setting forth viz To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Governour &c Council of the Island St Helena, the Humble Petition of John Brown Humbly Sheweth That Whereas Your Petitioner having married with the Relict of Jno Young Deced who died Possessed of a parcele | Expense of the table in March 1739: 27 gallons port, £10 9s 3d 17 gallons sherry, £2 18s 17d 2 hundredweight 3 quarters mountain, £1 16s 0d 78 gallons arrack, £15 12s 0d 2 hundredweight ale, £0 8s 0d 1 hundredweight 1 quarter sugar, £0 18s 0d 1 hundredweight 16 lb candy, £1 16s 0d 2 hundredweight 1 quarter flour, £3 6s 3d 28 gallons strong beer, £3 12s 0d 30 gallons small beer, £2 14s 0d 6 bottles style, £1 8s 6d 3 bushels salt, £0 18s 0d 119 lb beef, £1 4s 4d 58 lb pork, £1 4s 0d 1 sheep, £1 4s 0d 28 fowls, £1 17s 6d 11 lb butter, £0 11s 0d Total, £55 17s 8.5d At a consultation held on Tuesday 10 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The petition of John Brown was presented and read, directed to Governor Goodwin and the council of the island of St Helena. Brown set out that, having married the widow of John Young, deceased, who died possessed of a parcel of land, [...]. Interpretations The March table account closes at £55 17s 8.5d, the highest of this recent run, the shipping season that filled the road through the month drawing the household to entertain captains, supercargoes and passengers of note ashore, the same rise in table expense that accompanied every busy anchorage in this record. Arrack at 78 gallons remained the dominant single charge at £15 12s 0d, and the appearance of mountain, a sweet Malaga wine, alongside the ordinary port, sherry and ale marks the varied drink the officers' table drew during a full anchorage. The heavy charge of beer, 58 gallons of strong and small together, and the substantial wine bill reflect the demands of the season, the table provisioning a stream of visitors from the six ships that passed through the road in March. Sugar and candy took over £2, the refined sugar in hard lumps a costly imported keeping stock, and beef held modest at 119 lb, the household drawing on the flock and poultry as much as the herd the council was holding in hand. The consultation of 10 April opens the petition of John Brown, who had married the widow of the late John Young and sought some settlement of the land the deceased had held. This connects to the will of John Young, planter, proved on 21 May 1734, when the council disallowed a clause giving the widow only a third and admitted her instead to half the real estate for life by the custom of the island, so Brown's petition as her new husband turned on the estate that had already been the subject of a contested probate. The claim of a second husband to land held by a widow in her first husband's right was a recurring matter in this record, the council repeatedly having to settle how much of a dead man's estate passed to the widow and how much to the children, and how a remarriage affected their portions, the same concern it voiced in the orphans court address of 15 November 1737. |
358 | 350 | of Free & Hired lands upon this Island, of which Lands he Willed to his Widdow only if one third part during her Natural Life which your petitioner has leave to observe is highly disagree- able to the Custom of the Countys where the Widdow has been allowed the one half of the two Said during her Natural Life & at her decease to be disposed of as directed in the last Wills & Testament of the deced Husband, & this old Custom Your Petitioner Presumes is grounded upon a Standing & approved order of the Honble Companys, for a more particular View of which, he begs leave to before your Worship & Council to the Honble Companys Laws & Instructions for this Island where in the letter part of 6 Para: page 12 vs Worded thus, But if he be a married man, that then one half shall go to his Wife during her Natural Life, & the other half together with the reversion of the former half, after his Wifes decea to be disposed according to his last Wills & Testament shall be appointed or in case there be no such Appointment then to descend to the Heir at Law And Your Petitioner humbly begs that your Worship & Council will be pleased to recollect that when the Executors of John Young deced presented his last Will & Testament to the then Govr Isaac Pyke Esqr Capt John Alexander, Your Worship & Mr Suttchbrooke at a Consultation 21 May 1734 You were pleased then yourselves to object against that part of the Will wherein he leaves ye Widdow only if one third part of the real Estate because it is contrary to the Honble Companys orders & Custom of the place & therefore thought proper to order & admit the Widdow young to posses & Enjoy the one half of the real Estate of John young deced during her Natural Life And your petitioner most Humbly implores that your Worship & Council will be pleased to order that he may accordingly be Suffered to posses & Enjoy without any hindrance, or molestation in right of the Wife Elizabeth of Widdow of John young Deced, one half of all the real Estate that Sd John young died possessed of, in Such a manner as all widdows have ever dance & is wholely agreeable to the Wholesome Laws & Customs of this place, & the demeaning of which Lands from your Petitioner, is exceedingly prejudiciall to his affairs little les than the utter ruin of him, being his Chief dependance for himself & family And your Petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray, &c John Brown St Helena 10 ap 1739 | Brown set out that of the free and hired lands upon the island, the deceased had willed to his widow only one third part during her natural life, which the petitioner held highly disagreeable to the custom of the island, where the widow had always been allowed the one half of the free land during her natural life. At her death it was to be disposed of as directed in the last will and testament of the deceased husband, and this old custom the petitioner presumed was grounded upon a standing and approved order of the Honourable Company. For a more particular view of it, he asked leave to lay before the council the Honourable Company's laws and instructions for the island, which set out that if a man died, of his goods, but that if he were a married man, one half should go to his wife during her natural life, and the other half, together with the reversion of the former half after the wife's death, should be disposed of according to his last will and testament, or, where there was no such appointment, should descend to the heir at law. The petitioner asked that the council would recollect that when the executors of John Young, deceased, presented his last will and testament to the then Governor Isaac Pyke, Captain John Alexander, John Bazett and Mr Studholme, at the consultation of 21 May 1734, they had objected against that part of the will in which he left the widow only one third part of the real estate, because it was contrary to the Honourable Company's orders and the custom of the place. It was therefore thought proper to order and admit the widow Young to possess and enjoy the one half of the real estate of John Young, deceased, during her natural life. The petitioner therefore asked that the council would be pleased to order that he might be suffered to possess and enjoy, without any hindrance or molestation, in right of his wife Elizabeth, widow of John Young, deceased, the one half of all the real estate that John Young died possessed of, in such a manner as all widows had ever done, and as was wholly agreeable to the wholesome laws and customs of the place. The determining of these lands, being exceedingly prejudicial to his affairs, was little less than the utter ruin of him, being his chief dependence for himself and family. The petition was signed by John Brown and dated at St Helena, 10 April 1739. Interpretations The petition sets out the island's custom of dower with unusual precision, and its whole argument rests on the widow's right to half her late husband's real estate for life. Brown, as the second husband of John Young's widow, claimed that the custom of the island, grounded on the Company's own standing order, gave a widow one half of the free land during her life rather than the one third Young's will had left her, and he asked to enjoy that half in his wife's right. This is the same custom the council had applied throughout this record, allowing a widow half the real estate purchased during marriage for life against a will that tried to give less. The petition's force comes from citing the very precedent of Young's own probate. When Young's will was proved on 21 May 1734, the executors had objected to the third-part clause as contrary to the Company's orders and the island's custom, and the council had disallowed it and admitted the widow to half the estate for life. Brown now invoked that ruling to secure the same half to himself as her husband, the earlier decision on the identical estate serving as the ground of his claim, a neat instance of a settled probate being drawn on years later to determine a fresh right. The Company's rule Brown recited, that a married man's estate passed half to the widow for life and the remainder by his will or, failing that, to the heir at law, was the framework within which every succession in this record was settled, the council acting as the island's court of probate and applying the custom against wills that departed from it. The concern to protect a widow's customary portion ran through the orphans court proceedings and the many contested estates the council heard. Brown's plea that the loss of the land would be his utter ruin, being his chief dependence for himself and family, reflects the hardship of the island's poorer inhabitants through the drought years, the same want the petitions of the winter of 1738 had set before the Company, a man's whole subsistence turning on the half-share of an estate his wife brought to the marriage. |
359 | 351 | The Petition of John Bazett Gentleman was presented & Read viz To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Govr &c Council The Humble Petition of John Bazett Gentleman Executor of ye last Will & Testament of John Young Deced in behalf of the Children of him the Sd Young Sheweth That in the year 1733 John young late of this Island Plantor died possessed of a considerable freehold Estate one third part of which he by his last Will & Testament bequeathed to Elizabeth his Wife for the term of her Natural Life That your Petitioner on or about the 21 day of May in the year 1734 with Stephen Lufkin ye other Executor of the Said Will attended the Govr & Court of this Island in order to prove the Same before whom the Sd Elizabeth young did then, & at Severall other times hath Since Declaired that she was Satisfyed & fully Contented with the Sd third part of the freehold Estate, bequeathed to her by the last wife of her Deced husband as aforesaid That in the year 1738 Jno Brown of this Island late Soldier married ye Sd Elizabeth, hiddow of him ye Sd John young & by Vertue thereof doth Claim, in right of his Said Wife, one half part of all the freehold Estate of which he the Sd John young was possessed at the time of his death, & being now about to leave this Island & Settle with his Wife in Some other place hath offered the Same to Sale pursu- ending his Claim to ye Sd half part of Sd freehold Estate upon an Obsolete Law formerly made by the Honble Company relating to the descent of Sd Lands & which if the same be Still in force, Your Petitioner hopes he shall be able to make appear, in due time hath no relation to the present Case, nor doth any way lessen the Validity of ye Sd Will Your Petitioner therefore Humbly prays in behalf of the Sd Children, that the Question whether the Sd Elizabeth at the time of her marriage was Intitled to the one third part of the Sd freehold Estate as given & bequeathed to her by the last wife of her former Husband or to the half part thereof by Vertue of the Obsolete Law before mentioned may be tryed by a Jury And your Petr shall ever pray John Bazett St Helena 10 Apr 1739 | The petition of John Bazett, gentleman, was presented and read, directed to Governor Goodwin and council. It was the humble petition of John Bazett, gentleman, executor of the last will and testament of John Young, deceased, on behalf of the children of the deceased Young. Bazett set out that in the year 1733 John Young, late of the island, planter, died possessed of a considerable freehold estate, one third part of which he by his last will and testament bequeathed to Elizabeth his wife for the term of her natural life. He further set out that the petitioner, on or about the 21st day of May in the year 1734, with Stephen Lufkin the other executor of the will, had attended the Governor and council of the island in order to prove the will, whereupon the said Elizabeth Young did then, and at several other times since, declare that she was satisfied and fully contented with the third part of the freehold estate bequeathed to her by the last will of her deceased husband. He further set out that in the year 1738 John Brown of the island, late a soldier, married the said Elizabeth, widow of John Young, and by virtue thereof set up a claim, in right of his said wife, to one half part of all the freehold estate of which John Young was possessed at the time of his death, and, being now about to leave the island and settle with his wife in some other place, had offered the same for sale, grounding his claim to the said half part of the freehold estate upon an obsolete law formerly made by the Honourable Company relating to the descent of such lands, which, if the same were still in force, the petitioner hoped he should be able to make appear, but that he had no relation to the present case, nor did it any way lessen the validity of the will. The petitioner therefore asked, on behalf of the children, that the question, whether the said Elizabeth at the time of her marriage was entitled to the one third part of the freehold estate as given and bequeathed to her by the last will of her former husband, or to the one half part thereof by virtue of the obsolete law before mentioned, might be tried by a jury. The petition was signed by John Bazett and dated at St Helena, 10 April 1739. Interpretations Bazett's petition sets the opposite case to John Brown's on the same estate, and the two together frame a direct conflict over the island's law of dower. Where Brown claimed his wife was entitled by custom to half of John Young's freehold for life, Bazett, as executor for Young's children, argued that the widow had accepted the one third the will gave her and had declared herself content, and that the custom Brown invoked was an obsolete law with no bearing on the case. The clash turned on whether the widow's share was fixed by the will she had accepted or by the island's standing custom of half for life. The significance of the dispute lies in its exposure of a genuine uncertainty in the island's own law. Bazett called the half-share rule an obsolete law formerly made by the Company, while Brown's petition of the same day called it a standing and approved order still in force, so the two litigants disagreed not merely on the facts but on whether the custom the council had itself applied in 1734 remained good law. This is a rare instance of the settlement's inherited rules being openly contested, the more striking because the council had disallowed Young's third-part clause at the original probate. Bazett's own position gave the dispute an added edge, since he was both executor for the Young children and, at this date, a serving member of the council as second of council. His petition on behalf of the children, brought before the board on which he sat, shows how closely the island's small governing circle was bound up with the estates and disputes it adjudicated, the same overlap that ran through the juries and probates of this record. The request that the question be tried by a jury was the ordinary means of settling a contested claim to land on the island, the council preferring where it could to steer parties to agreement but referring a genuine dispute of right to a jury of the inhabitants, as it did throughout this record when title or succession was in doubt. Speculations Bazett chose to resist the widow's claim to half the estate by attacking the very custom the council had applied at Young's probate, calling it an obsolete law rather than accept it as the settled rule. The easier course for an executor was to let the island's long usage stand, the more so since the council had itself invoked that usage in 1734 to enlarge the widow's share, yet Bazett staked the children's case on the argument that the custom was dead and the will's third-part gift good. What makes the decision pointed is that it required him to disown a rule the board he sat on had enforced within living memory, a calculated gamble that the widow's earlier declared contentment with her third would weigh more with a jury than a custom he was willing to call defunct. |
360 | 352 | The Last Will & Testament of Sutton Isacke deced was presented by the Rev Messrs John Desfountain & Gab: Isacke Desiring the Sd Wille might be proved which was done accordingly upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Viz Messrs Simon Whaley math: mudge & Rich: Beale who being sworn declaired that ye Sd Deced did publish & declar that So he his last Wile & Testament in their prescence & hearing, & ye Sd Exors also delivered an Inventory & Valuation of the Effects of ye Sd Deced as ye same was appraized by Messrs Sam Loveioh, Benj: Bridger, William Seale & Sam Seaver who upon their Oaths declaired that they had Valued & appraized the Same according to the best of their Judgment And they were each of them Ordered to be Registred Accordingly The petitioners Messrs John Bazett & John Brown were both told that there Should be a Jury Summoned with all Convenient Expedition And they were further advised That the Honble Company have been pleased to Order & Command that when any Differences & Disputes do arise amongst Plantors in Relation to Lands they shall be tryed & decided by a Jury At a Consultation held on Thursday 12 April 1739 at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved In Consideration of Mr John Browns Short Stay upon the Island we have protracted the usuale methods of Summoning him to have his dispute with the Orphans of John young Deced Tryed & Decided before his departure, We have Ordered our Secretary to write him the following Letter Viz | The last will and testament of Sutton Isaacke, deceased, was presented by the executors John Defountaine and Gabriel Isaacke, asking that the will might be proved, which was done accordingly upon the oaths of the witnesses to it, Simon Whaley, Matthew Mudge and Richard Beale, who, being sworn, declared that the deceased did publish and declare that to be his last will and testament in their presence and hearing. The executors also delivered an inventory and valuation of the effects of the deceased, the same having been appraised by Samuel Doveton, Benjamin Pledger, William Seale and Samuel Seager, who upon their oaths declared that they had valued and appraised it to the best of their judgement. The will and inventory were each ordered registered accordingly. The petitioners John Bazett and John Brown were both told that there should be a jury summoned with all convenient expedition. They were further advised that the Honourable Company had been pleased to order and command that when any differences and disputes should arise among planters in relation to lands, they should be tried and decided by a jury. At a consultation held on Thursday 12 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. In consideration of John Brown's short stay upon the island, the council had shortened the usual method of summoning a jury in regard to him, believing it might be a satisfaction to him to have his dispute with the orphans of John Young, deceased, tried and decided before his departure. The council had directed its secretary to write him the following letter. Interpretations The probate of Sutton Isaacke's will followed the island's settled procedure exactly, the will proved on the oaths of its witnesses and a separate sworn appraisal of the estate delivered by four valuers, the council acting as the court of probate and ordering both documents registered. Several of the men involved, Simon Whaley, Matthew Mudge and Richard Beale as witnesses, Samuel Doveton and others as appraisers, were the same substantial inhabitants who filled every probate and jury in this record, the settlement's business conducted repeatedly by the same small circle. The council's decision to summon a jury for the Bazett and Brown dispute confirmed that the conflict over John Young's estate would be settled by trial rather than by the council's own order. The board grounded this on the Company's standing instruction that disputes among planters over land be decided by a jury, the same rule invoked throughout this record whenever title or succession was genuinely contested and the council could not steer the parties to agreement. The consultation of 12 April shows the council accommodating John Brown's imminent departure by shortening the usual process of summoning a jury, so that his dispute with the Young orphans might be tried before he left the island. Brown had stated in his petition of 10 April that he was about to leave and settle elsewhere with his wife, having offered his claimed half of the estate for sale, so a trial delayed past his departure would have left the question of the land unresolved with the principal party gone. The council's willingness to hasten the jury for a departing litigant reflects its practical management of the island's justice, balancing the orphans' interest in settling the estate against Brown's need to have his right determined before he sailed, the same concern to reach a clear determination that ran through its handling of contested estates throughout this record. |
361 | 353 | To Mr John Brown Sir The Worshipfull the Governour & Council have been pleased to direct me to advise you, that on Tuesday the 17 Instant wile be hold a Jury, in Compliance to the petition of John Bazett Gentleman, Executor to the last Will & Testament of John Young Deced, in behalf of Sd Youngs Orphants, to try & decide, between the Widdow of Sd Young, and the Said Youngs Orphants, Whether the Sd Widdow be Entitled to a half of Said Youngs realEstate, & to the one third part, as bequeathed her by the Last Will of said Young We can but Illy Spare time at present, but as the Governour understands you design to take passage for Instand on Capt Wastcoate ship who may be expected here daily, We doffers other Bussness, as he u Willing to Oblige You, & get this affair decided with all the Expedition that may be, therefore Expects you wile be present at the Tryale By order of the Worshipfull the Governour & Council G G Powell Secy St Helena 14 April 1739 To the above Letter Mr Brown Returned the following Answer Viz Sir I received Your Letter wherein You was pleased to acquaint me that there wile be a Jury held on Thursday the 17 Instant in Compliance to the petition of John Bazett Gentl &c that affair has been decided dear 5 years ago in behalf of the Widdow of John Young Deced, by ye Govr & Gentlemen in council who are Sd Sd lately the Sd Law Judges in Such Case & being the Honble Company Laws and Instructions to have occasion to few of the Plantors being acquainted with any of those Laws for my part I intend to invest upin the first Decision of that affair I am with all Utmost Respect Sir Your most Obedt Hum Servant John: Brown St Helena 14 ap 1739 | The letter was directed to Mr John Brown. The council set out that the Governor and council had been pleased to direct the secretary to advise him that on Tuesday the 17th of this month a jury would be held, in compliance with the petition of John Bazett, gentleman, executor to the last will and testament of John Young, deceased, on behalf of the deceased Young's orphans, to try and decide between the widow of the deceased Young and the said Young's orphans, whether the widow was entitled to a half of the said Young's real estate, or to the one third part as bequeathed to her by the last will of the said Young. The council could but ill spare the time at present, but as the Governor understood that Brown intended to take passage for England on Captain Westcott's ship, which might be expected at the island daily, and was willing to oblige him and get the affair decided with all the expedition that might be, the Governor therefore expected he would be present at the trial. The letter was signed by George Gabriel Powell, secretary, by order of the Governor and council, and dated at St Helena, 12 April 1739. To the letter Brown returned the following answer. Brown set out that he had received the council's letter, in which it was pleased to acquaint him that a jury would be held on Thursday the 17th of this month, in compliance with the petition of John Bazett, gentleman, on behalf of the widow of John Young, deceased. He observed that the affair had been decided three years before by the Governor and gentlemen in council, who were the settled judges in such cases, knowing the Honourable Company's laws and instructions, to have recourse to, few of the planters being acquainted with any of those laws. For his own part, he intended to insist upon the first decision of that affair. The letter was signed by John Brown and dated at St Helena, 12 April 1739. Interpretations The council's letter and Brown's reply sharpen the dispute over John Young's estate into a disagreement about how it should be settled at all. The council, at Bazett's request, proposed to try the question of the widow's share, whether she was entitled to a half or a third, before a jury, and hastened the trial to suit Brown's imminent departure on Captain Westcott's ship. Brown, however, refused to reopen the matter, insisting that the council itself had already decided it three years before when it disallowed Young's third-part clause and admitted the widow to half the estate for life. The exchange turns on a genuine tension between two modes of settlement. Brown held that the council, as the settled judges knowing the Company's laws, had determined the point in 1734, and that its earlier ruling should stand, few of the planters being acquainted with those laws. Bazett, by contrast, sought a fresh jury trial, the ordinary means of deciding a contested claim to land under the Company's standing instruction. Brown's position was that the question was already res judicata, closed by the council's own prior decision, and needed no jury to reopen it. Brown's argument carried a certain force, since it was the council that had enlarged the widow's share at the original probate on 21 May 1734, disallowing the will's third-part gift as contrary to the island's custom. By insisting on the first decision, Brown sought to hold the council to its own earlier ruling against Bazett's attempt to have it overturned by a jury, a rare instance of a litigant invoking the finality of a prior determination against a fresh trial. That George Gabriel Powell signed the council's letter as secretary shows him serving the board in that office as well as sitting on it as fourth of council, the same overlap of functions among the island's small governing circle that ran through this record, the secretary drawing the correspondence the council directed. The trial was fixed for a day the council could ill spare in the midst of the shipping season, its willingness to accommodate a departing litigant weighed against the press of business. |
362 | 354 | At a Consultation held on Monday the 16 April 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved Mr John Bazett presented an Inventory of the Estate both Real & personal of Mr Mathew Bazett deced, as appraized by Messrs Frances Wrangham John Desfountain & Rich: Goodwin who upon their Oaths Declared that they had valued & appraized the Same, According to the best of their Judgment, And it was Ordred to be Registred Accordingly At a Sessions held on Tuesday 17 April 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr and & Judge Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Court being Sett, the following persons were sworn of the Jury Viz Jno Johnson James Alder Sam Donison Jno Desfountain Jno Bagley Frans Seunge Thos Easthope foreman Franc Wrangham Rich Goodwin Rich Beale Charles Steward Thos Greentice The Petition of John Brown was Read, as mentioned at large in Consultation of the 10 Instant The Petition of John Bazett Gentll was Read as mentioned at large in Consultation of the 10 Instant The Declaration of John Bazett Gentll was presented & Read Setting forth Viz | At a consultation held on Monday 16 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Bazett presented an inventory of the estate, both real and personal, of the late Matthew Bazett, deceased, as appraised by Francis Wrangham, John Defountaine and Richard Goodwin, who upon their oaths declared that they had valued and appraised the same according to the best of their judgement. The inventory was ordered registered accordingly. At sessions held on Tuesday 17 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin as judge, with Duke Crisp and John Bazett as assistants, and George Gabriel Powell. The court being opened, the following persons were sworn on the jury. Thomas Easthope, foreman John Johnson James Ryder Samuel Doveton John Defountaine John Bagley Fred Genge Francis Wrangham Richard Wickingham Richard Goodwin Richard Beale Charles Steward Thomas Greentree The petition of John Brown was read, as recorded at large in the consultation of the 10th of this month. The petition of John Bazett, gentleman, was read, as recorded at large in the consultation of the 10th of this month. The declaration of John Bazett, gentleman, was presented and read, setting out as follows. Interpretations The first consultation records another routine probate, the inventory of Matthew Bazett's estate proved and registered on the sworn appraisal of three valuers, the same procedure the council followed for every death in this record. Matthew Bazett was presumably a kinsman of the John Bazett who sat on the council and presented the inventory, the island's small circle of families appearing repeatedly on both sides of its business. The sessions of 17 April opens the jury trial of the dispute over John Young's estate, the matter the council had resolved to try after John Brown and John Bazett set their opposing petitions before it on 10 April. The court sat with Governor Goodwin as judge and a jury of thirteen drawn from the island's substantial inhabitants, several of them councillors and appraisers, the same men who filled every jury in this record. The two petitions of 10 April were read into the record, framing the question the jury would decide, whether the widow Young was entitled to a half or a third of the freehold. The trial brought to a head the conflict between two claims to settle the estate. Bazett, as executor for the Young children, argued that the widow had accepted the third the will gave her and that the half-share custom was obsolete, while Brown, as her second husband, insisted on the half-share the council had allowed at the original probate in 1734 and refused to reopen what he held already decided. The reading of Bazett's declaration opened the formal pleading, the trial proceeding on the succeeding leaves. That the trial went forward despite Brown's stated refusal on 12 April to reopen the matter shows the council holding to a jury determination as the proper means of settling a contested claim to land, following the Company's standing instruction, even where one party pressed the finality of an earlier decision. The dispute over the widow's dower, turning on whether the island's custom of half for life still bound against a will giving less, was thus put to the inhabitants to decide. |
363 | 355 | To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Governour &c Council of the Island St Helena The humble Declaration & Complaint of John Bazett Gentll Executor of the last Will & Testament of John young Deced in behalf of the Children of the Said John young against John Brown of this Island Plantor Sheweth That John Young late of this Island Plantor by his own Labour & Sole Industry became possessed of a considerable freehold Estate which in the Year 1725 or thereabouts he inherited in Freehold & other Lands in divers parts of this Island That in the Year 1733 he the Said John Young died leaving 5 Children & by his last Will & Testament bequeathed to Elizabeth, his wife one third part of his said Freehold Estate for the term of her Natural Life, & one third part of his personal Estate for Ever That about the Year 1724 he the said John Young married ye Daughter of Stephen Lufkin of this Island Plantor whose circumstances being at that time Low he was not able to give his Said Daughter any Fortune or marriage portion nor did the said John Young then or at any other times since, receive any sum of money or other thing Valuable in Consideration of his said marriage That in the 21 May 1734 Your Complaynant attended the then Govr & Councel of this Island in order to prove the said Wille before whom the said Elizabeth Young did then & at Severall other times hath since declared she was Satisfyed & fully consented with the provision made for her by the last Will & Testament of her said Deced Husband That in the Year 1738 John Brown of this Island married the said Elizabeth, Widdow of him the said John Young & by Vertue thereof doth Claim in right of his said wife one half part of all the Freehold Estate of which the said John Young was possessed at the time of his death, & being now about to leave this Island & Settle with his Sd Wife in some other place, hath offered the same to Sale to the great wrong & Injustice of the Sd Children, founding his claim to the said half part of the Said freehold Estate upon an Obsolete Law formerly made by the Honble Company altho the same relates only to the descent of Sd Lands, that is, such Land as they gave to every man & Woman at the first Settlement of this place, & doth not in any Sort Effect or Extend to the disposition of such other Lands as any of the Inhabitants already have, or hereafter shall be able to purchase or Acquire by their own Labour & Industry And as proof thereof Your Complaynant begs leave to represent that at a tryale by a Jury on the 26 July 1727 between Rich Swallow plantiffe & Jno Brown Defendant concerning the Right to a House purchased by the Said Sno & by his said Wille bequeathed to his son Richard the Jury confirmed his Right to the said House, because as they alledged for reason, it was purchased by the testator in his Life time & bequeathed by Wille to his said son, & by his Sd wile ha also bequeathed from the said Widdow twenty other Acres of his Land to two other of his Children | The declaration was directed to Governor Goodwin and the council of the island of St Helena. It was the humble declaration and complaint of John Bazett, gentleman, executor of the last will and testament of John Young, deceased, on behalf of the children of the said John Young, against John Brown, of the island, planter. Bazett set out that John Young, late of the island, planter, by his own labour and sole industry became possessed of a considerable freehold estate, which in the year 1725 or thereabouts he had held in freehold and other lands in divers parts of the island. He further set out that in the year 1733 John Young died, leaving five children, and by his last will and testament bequeathed to Elizabeth his wife one third part of his freehold estate for the term of her natural life, and one third part of his personal estate for ever. He further set out that about the year 1724 John Young had married Elizabeth, the daughter of Stephen Lufkin of the island, planter, whose circumstances at that time were such that he was not able to give his daughter any fortune or marriage portion, nor did the said Young then, or at any other time since, receive any sum of money or other thing valuable in consideration of his said marriage. He further set out that on the 21st of May 1734 the complainant had attended the then Governor and council of the island in order to prove the will, before whom the said Elizabeth Young did then, and at several other times since, declare she was satisfied and fully contented with the provision made for her by the last will and testament of her said deceased husband. He further set out that in the year 1738 John Brown of the island married the said Elizabeth, widow of the said John Young, and by virtue thereof set up a claim, in right of his said wife, to one half part of all the freehold estate of which the said John Young was possessed at the time of his death, and, being now about to leave the island and settle with his said wife in some other place, had offered the same for sale, grounding his claim to the said half part of the freehold estate upon an obsolete law formerly made by the Honourable Company relating to the descent of such lands, that is, such land as they gave to every man and woman at the first settlement of the place, but without any effect or relation to the disposition of such other lands as any of the inhabitants already have, or thereafter should be able to purchase or acquire by their own labour and industry. In proof thereof, the complainant asked leave to represent that at a trial by a jury on the 26 July 1727, between Richard Swallow, plaintiff, and John Meyer, defendant, concerning the right to a house purchased by the said Swallow and by his last will bequeathed to his son Richard, the jury confirmed his right to the said house, because as they adjudged for reason, it was the said house purchased by the testator in his life, since bequeathed by the said widow to his said son, and by his said wife also bequeathed from the widow to his said son, and the said widow twenty other heirs of his land, to two other of his children. Interpretations Bazett's declaration sets out the executor's full case against John Brown, and its heart is a careful distinction between two kinds of land under the island's law. He argued that the Company's half-share rule applied only to the land originally granted to each settler at the first settlement of the island, not to freehold a man later acquired by his own labour and industry, so that John Young's self-made estate passed by his will and not by the old custom of descent. This was a subtle reading of the Company's instructions, drawing a line between the founding grants and land bought or improved afterwards, and it turned the whole dispute on which category Young's holding fell into. The declaration marshalled the facts to support the will's third-part gift. Young had built his estate by his own industry from about 1725, had married Elizabeth Lufkin around 1724 without receiving any marriage portion, and the widow had twice declared herself content with the third the will gave her. Bazett's point that Young received no fortune with his wife met the usual ground for enlarging a widow's share, the custom often allowing a widow more where she had brought property to the marriage, so the absence of any portion weakened Brown's claim to half. Bazett cited the precedent of Swallow against Meyer, tried on 26 July 1727, to show that land purchased by a man in his own lifetime descended by his will rather than by the widow's customary right, the jury in that case having confirmed a purchased house to the testator's son against a widow's claim. By invoking an earlier jury verdict on the same principle, Bazett sought to establish that self-acquired land was governed by the will, the very distinction on which the Young case turned. The whole declaration shows the island's inherited law being argued with real subtlety, the executor distinguishing founding grants from acquired freehold and citing prior verdicts to fix the rule, a level of legal argument that reflects how much the settlement's substantial families had at stake in the descent of land. Bazett, both executor and councillor, brought the children's case before the jury with the full apparatus of custom, precedent and the Company's instructions. |
364 | 356 | Children & the same hath been possessed & Enjoyed by them & their heirs ever since Your Complainant therefore humbly hopes that Yr Worship & Councel & Gentl of the Jury wile Determine in behalf of the said Children, & So Your Judgment he finally submits their Cause John Bazett To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Governour &c Gentn in Council I Stephen Lufkin Senr of the Island St Helena plantor & in conjunction with Mr John Bazett of said Island Gentleman Executors to the last Will & Testament of John Young of the Sd Island Plantor deced do hereby declar that when we carried the said wile to the Govr to be proved the then Governour Isaac Pyke Esqr & Gentlemen in Council objected against that part of Sd Wile where the Deced only bequeathed one third of his real Estate to his wife during her Natural Life, & therefore it was then Ordred by the then Governour & Councile that the Widdow of the Deced John Young Should have one half of his real Estate the Said Deced died possessed of, & neither the above Sd Wm John Bazett, nor my self making the least objection to the contrary, so the Wile was proved on these positions Viz, that the Sd Widdow Should have one half of the Sd real Estate the Sd Young died possessed of, during her Natural Life, & no objection has ever been made against what was then Provided in behalf of the Sd Widdow to my knowledge, tile within these 3 months, & his near five Years Since the Wile was proved, for my part I stand to what was Decided by Govr Pyke &c Junt Stephen Lufkin Island St Helena 17 ap 1739 After which at the desire of the Jury the Honble Companys Laws & Instructions concerning the Descent of Lands, & also the Consultation of 21 May 1734 was Read, & and the parties offering nothing else the Jury withdrew to consider of the affair & had being Returned Declaired viz We have Examined this Matter very Strictly & We find that the Honble Company hath by their Laws ordred the Widdow one half of the freehold Lands during her Natural Life, which Law hath not been Repealed, And as the former Government hath Confirmed this Matter to the widdow, It is also all our Opinions in farther Confirmation | The declaration concluded that the children had possessed and enjoyed the estate ever since. The complainant therefore hoped that the council and the gentlemen of the jury would determine on behalf of the children, and to their judgement he submitted their case. The declaration was signed by John Bazett. The declaration of Stephen Lufkin was then presented, directed to Governor Goodwin and the gentlemen in council. Stephen Lufkin, senior, of the island, planter, in conjunction with John Bazett of the island, gentleman, executors to the last will and testament of John Young of the island, planter, deceased, declared that when they carried the will to be proved, the then Governor Isaac Pyke and the gentlemen in council objected against that part of the will where the deceased only bequeathed one third of his real estate to his wife during her natural life. It was therefore then ordered by the Governor and council that the widow of the deceased John Young should have one half of his real estate, and the deceased died possessed of neither the above, and John Bazett could show no objection to the contrary, so the will was proved on these petitions, that the widow should have one half of the real estate the deceased Young died possessed of, during her natural life. No objection had been made against what was then decided on behalf of the widow, to Lufkin's knowledge, till within these three months, and it was near five years since the will was proved. For his own part, he stood to what was decided by Governor Pyke and council. The declaration was signed by Stephen Lufkin and dated at the island of St Helena, 17 April 1739. After the declarations were read, at the desire of the jury the council produced the Honourable Company's laws and instructions concerning the descent of lands. It also offered nothing else, and the jury withdrew to consider of the whole. Having returned, they declared as follows. The council had examined the matter very strictly, and found that the Honourable Company had by their laws ordered the widow one half of the freehold lands during her natural life, which law had not been repealed, and, as the former government had confirmed the matter to the widow, it was also the opinion of all the council in further confirmation. Interpretations Stephen Lufkin's declaration cut against the very case his fellow executor Bazett had made, and its effect was to confirm the widow's right to half rather than the third the will gave. Lufkin, who was both co-executor of Young's will and the widow's own father, testified that when the will was proved in 1734 the Governor and council had objected to the third-part clause and ordered the widow a half, that no one had questioned this for near five years, and that he stood by the council's earlier decision. His evidence supported Brown's position, not Bazett's, the two executors thus divided against each other over the estate they jointly administered. The trial turned decisively on the council's own prior ruling and the standing of the Company's law. When the jury asked to see the Company's instructions on the descent of lands, the council produced them and offered nothing further, and the jury found that the Company's law giving the widow half the freehold for life had never been repealed, and that the former government had already confirmed the half to the widow. This rejected Bazett's argument that the half-share rule was obsolete or limited to founding grants, holding instead that it remained good law and bound the case. The outcome vindicated Brown's insistence, recorded on 12 April, that the matter had been decided three years before and should stand. The jury and the council held to the 1734 determination, treating the earlier ruling as settled and the custom as still in force, so the widow, and through her John Brown, took the half of Young's real estate for life. This is a clear instance of the finality of a prior decision prevailing over a fresh attempt to overturn it. That Stephen Lufkin, the widow's father and co-executor, testified against his fellow executor's case shows the personal cross-currents running through the island's small society, a man's duty to the estate he administered set against his daughter's interest and his memory of what the council had decided. The council's conclusion, that all its members concurred in confirming the half to the widow, closed the dispute the two petitions of 10 April had opened, the jury and the board united in upholding the island's custom of dower. |
365 | 357 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 24 of Ap 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation & proceedings of the Jury was Read & approved The petition of Rich: Goodwin Executor to the Last Will & Testament of James Crafford Deced was presented & Read, desiring the Lands belonging to the Estate of Sd Crafford, which were Sized & Disposed of in an other manner than directed in the wille of Sd Crafford by Isaac Pyke Esqr the late Governour, mights be Restored him, that he the Executor may thereby act according to the tenour of the Sd Will, & for the advantage & benefit of the Lawfule Heirs of Said Crafford Ordred that the Consultations &c Concerning the said James Craffords Land be Enquird to, & an answer Returned to the Petition at the Next Consultation At a Consultation held on Friday 4 May 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & approved The Chaple Wardens presented the following List of persons chosen by the Inhabitants at Vestry held on Easter Monday, as Qualifyed to serve for parish Officers for the year Insueing Viz Joshua Johnson Richard Goodwin Thomas Greentree Chaple Wardens Thomas Easthope Patrick Yeager overseers of the St Division James Powell Thomas Bazett &c Wt Division James Draper William Burnham &c Vt Division Of these We appointed those which follow Viz Jos Johnson upper for Chaple Wardens Rich: Goodwin Junr Tho Easthope overseer for the South Sam Powell &c for the West Sam Draper &c for the East Divisions | At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation and the proceedings of the jury were read and approved. The petition of Richard Goodwin, executor to the last will and testament of James Crafford, deceased, was presented and read. He set out that the lands belonging to the estate of the deceased Crafford, which were seized and disposed of in another manner than directed in the will of Crafford by the late Governor Isaac Pyke, might be restored to him, that he the executor might thereby act according to the tenor of the will, and for the advantage and benefit of the lawful heirs of the said Crafford. The council ordered that the consultations concerning the said James Crafford's land be enquired into for an answer, and the petition returned at the next consultation. At a consultation held on Friday 4 May 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The chapel wardens presented the following list of persons chosen by the inhabitants at a vestry held on Easter Monday, as qualified to serve as parish officers for the year ensuing. Joshua Johnson, chapel warden Richard Goodwin, chapel warden Thomas Greentree, chapel warden Thomas Easthope, overseer of the south division Gabriel Harper, overseer of the south division James Powell, overseer of the west division Thomas Bazett, overseer of the west division James Draper, overseer of the east division William Burnham, overseer of the east division Of these the council appointed the following. Joshua Johnson, chapel warden Richard Goodwin, chapel warden Thomas Easthope, overseer for the south division Samuel Powell, overseer for the west division James Draper, overseer for the east division Interpretations The petition of Richard Goodwin over the Crafford estate opens a dispute about the late Governor Pyke's handling of a deceased man's land. Goodwin, as Crafford's executor, complained that Pyke had seized and disposed of the estate's lands otherwise than the will directed, and asked that they be restored so he could administer them according to the will for the lawful heirs. This connects to the earlier proceedings over James Crafford, whose estate had been contested at probate on 4 October 1737 and whose freehold, coming through his marriage to Anne Hodgkinson, had been the subject of competing claims, John Hodgkinson pressing his right as heir to his sister on 10 October 1738. The council's cautious response, to search its own records before answering, reflects the tangled history of the holding. That the challenge was to a decision of the late Governor Pyke shows the new administration willing to reconsider its predecessor's acts where an executor alleged the will had been overridden. The council did not simply uphold Pyke's disposal but ordered the consultations concerning the land examined, treating the question as open pending a review of what had actually been done, the same careful attention to the record it had shown in the Young dower dispute. The second consultation records the annual appointment of parish officers, the vestry held on Easter Monday returning two names for each place and the council choosing one, the settled procedure for filling the parish offices throughout this record. The chapel wardens, formerly styled churchwardens, and the overseers of the highways for the three divisions were the local officers who managed poor relief and the roads, sworn each year and their predecessors' accounts passed. The names appointed, Johnson, Goodwin, Easthope, Powell and Draper, were drawn from the same substantial families that filled every office and jury in this record, the parish administration resting on the island's leading planters. The change of style from churchwarden to chapel warden reflects the country chapel that had replaced the ruined church as the parish's place of worship and assembly, the old church building having fallen down in the mid 1730s and the courts and vestries meeting in the chapel since. |
366 | 358 | On Tuesday the 1 Instant arrived the Ship Godolphin from Madrass, & the Ship Prince of Orange from China did on Wednesday the 2 Instant arrived the Ships Prince of Wales and Princess Royale from China And this Day arrived the Ship London from China, Each Ship bringing Us the following Supply particulars Viz Invoice pr Godolphin viz Longcloth ordinary White Bales 2 C 3 C pr 30 pr So 114 28 3 C pr 38 16 pr C 109 18 Charges Merchd 11 26 235 8 Invoice pr Lyell viz Rice 29 Bags pr 133 @ 9 22 20 Arrack 2 Leag pr do 72 Charges Merchd 3 18 98 2 Pagodas 333 10 Invoice pr Prince of Orange viz Sugar 34 bales pr 32 92 @ 2 65 87 238 Sugar Candy 24 Chests pr 20 20 4 6 93 840 Tales 181 078 Invoice pr Prince of Wales viz Sugar 34 bales 13 Chest pr 29 4 @ 2 6 76 544 Sugar Candy 27 Tubs pr 19 18 4 6 88 2 2 8 Tales 164 772 Invoice pr Princess Royale viz Sugar pr 25 pr So 26 21 @ 2 55 95 9 3 6 Sugar Candy 25 do pr do 20 37 @ 4 93 7 0 2 Tales 189 638 Invoice pr London viz Sugar pr 15 Chests pr 29 55 @ 2 6 76 8 3 Sugar Candy 37 Tubs pr 19 67 4 6 90 4 8 2 167 352 The Governour Reports that the Rainey Seasons Especially those of the Summer have gradually failed for the last four or five Years, & that the pasture Grounds in all parts of this Island have for the want thereof so much Sufferd that they did not produce Grass Sufficient to feed & preserve the number of Cattle that were then in being, many having Died Yearly for some years past & particularly in the Last year no less than 687 head of Cattle died for want of food, & that for those Reasons he finds it is impossible for him, to furnish out of the Honble Companys Stock, the Ships that are now in the Road with their full Quantity of Easter party Beef, & not any to those which are now upon their Return & much he believes are five or Six, the Company having at this day | On Tuesday the 1st of this month the Godolphin arrived from Madras, and the Prince of Orange from China. On Wednesday the 2nd arrived the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal from China, and this day arrived the London from China. Each ship brought the following supply. The invoice of the Godolphin was as follows. Long cloth, ordinary white: 9 bales at 3 corge at 30 pagodas the corge, 114 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies 23 pieces at 3 corge at 38 pagodas 16 annas the corge, 109 pagodas 18 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 11 pagodas 26 annas 0 pies Total, 235 pagodas 8 annas 0 pies Rice, 29 bags at the marcal, at 3 pagodas 33 annas the [...], at 9 the [...], 22 pagodas 20 annas 0 pies Arrack, 2 leaguers, 72 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 3 pagodas 18 annas 0 pies Total, 98 pagodas 2 annas 0 pies Total, 333 pagodas 10 annas 0 pies The invoice of the Prince of Orange was as follows. Sugar, 34 bales at 32 [...] at 2 taels 65 mace, 87 taels 238 [...] Sugar candy, 24 chests at 22 [...] at 4 taels 6 mace, 93 taels 840 [...] Total, 181 taels 078 [...] The invoice of the Prince of Wales was as follows. Sugar, 15 chests at 29 [...] at 2 taels 6 mace, 76 taels 544 [...] Sugar candy, 27 chests at 19 [...] at 6 taels, 88 taels 228 [...] Total, 164 taels 772 [...] The invoice of the Princess Royal was as follows. Sugar, 26 chests at 26 [...] at 2 taels 55 mace, 95 taels 936 [...] Sugar candy, 25 chests at 20 [...] at 4 [...], 93 taels 702 [...] Total, 189 taels 638 [...] The invoice of the London was as follows. Sugar, 15 chests at 29 [...] at 2 taels 6 mace, 76 taels 8 mace 3 candareens Sugar candy, 37 chests at 19 [...] at 6 taels, 90 taels 4 mace 8 candareens Total, 167 taels 352 [...] The Governor reported that the rainy seasons, especially those of the summer, had gradually failed for the last four or five years, and that the pasture grounds in all parts of the island had, for the want thereof, so much suffered that they did not produce grass sufficient to feed and preserve the number of cattle that were then in being. Many having died yearly for some years past, and particularly in the last year, no less than 687 head of cattle died for want of food, and, for these reasons, he found it impossible to furnish out of the Company's stock the ships that were now in the road with their full quantity of table beef, and not any of those which were now upon their return, of which he believed there were five or six. The Honourable Company having at this day [...]. Interpretations The consultation records the arrival of five ships together, four from China and one from Madras, the shipping season now at its fullest, and their cargoes mark the different trades of the two coasts. The Godolphin from Madras brought long cloth, rice and Goa arrack reckoned in pagodas, while the four China ships carried sugar and sugar candy reckoned in taels, mace and candareens, the Chinese money of account. Long cloth was a plain white Indian calico measured by the corge, and the tael was the Chinese silver weight divided into ten mace and a hundred candareens, the currency in which the Canton trade was cast. The Governor's report on the drought sets the whole record of these years in its plainest terms, the failure of the summer rains for four or five seasons having so ruined the pasture that the Company's cattle died for want of feed, no fewer than 687 head lost in the past year alone. This is the same figure the council had totalled on 20 June 1738, 555 head belonging to the inhabitants and 132 to the Company, and its restatement here shows the long drought still shaping the island's affairs even as the rains had begun to return. The practical consequence was that the Company could not supply the homeward ships with their full allowance of table beef. The charter party bound the Company to furnish beef to victualling ships, but the herd was too reduced to meet the demand of the five or six vessels then in or approaching the road, so the Governor had to report the shortfall, the same difficulty the council had faced in the depth of the drought when it told homeward commanders on 19 December 1734 that it could spare little. The island's role as a victualling station depended on stock the dry years had gutted. The Company's own stock, tracked month by month in the returns through this record, had fallen from over 400 head in 1737 to little more than 200 by late 1738, and though the monthly musters now showed the herd steadying, it stood far below what the shipping season required. The Governor's account to the ships in the road was the direct expression of that shortage, an island unable to meet its central obligation to the passing trade because the rains had killed its cattle. |
367 | 359 | only three Very Small Bullocks, fivety five Cows, twenty Six Heifers, twelve Steers, thirty Six Yearlings, forty three Calves, Six Bulls, And therefore is of oppinion that to hill breeding Cattle or others which are very Young & of small Weight would in a short time totally ruin their Stock he therefore thinks it Necessary that the Captains here Should be immediately acquainted herewith & desires the Gent of Council will give him their oppinion what they apprehend is fitt or propper to be done in the Unfortunate condition the Island is now in This Report being taken into consideration the Gent of Council agree as their oppinion that to hill Breeders or very Young Cattle & the Company has no other would in a short time so far ruin & destroy their Stock, that we should not be able in a Long time to furnish the Quantity of Beef Necessary, for the refreshment of such of their Ships as Yearly touch here, And agreed with the Governour that it would be propper to acquaint the Captains who are now here, & all others he Said as they Arrived with the present state of the Island to the End that having Early notice thereof, they may look out & Endeavour to get what they want among the Inhabitants At a Consultation held on Tuesday 8 May 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved Richard Goodwin, Executor to the last Will & Testament of James Crafford Deced attended this day for an answer to his petition of 24 ap last, & was told that the Honble Company have ordred in the 26 Para: of their general Letter pr Ship Carolina, that all the parties claiming any title to the Estate of James Crafford should agree upon a State of the Case & transmit the Same to John Brown Esqr their honour Council for his oppinion thereupon Mr Rich: Goodwin was therefore Ordred to deliver, what he had to say to the Secretary with all the Expedition he can that it may be transmitted to John Brown Esqr in one of the Honble Companies Pacquetts this Season | The Governor set out that there were only three very small bullocks, 75 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 43 calves and 6 bulls. He therefore held it his opinion that to kill breeding cattle, or others which were very young and of small weight, would in a short time wholly ruin their stock. He therefore held it necessary that the captains there should be immediately acquainted with this, and asked the gentlemen of council to give him their opinion as to what they held proper to be done in the unfortunate condition the island was now in. This report being taken into consideration, the council gave its opinion that to kill breeders, or very young cattle, the Company having no other, would in a short time so far ruin and destroy their stock that they should not be able in a long time to furnish the quantity of beef necessary for the refreshment of such of their ships as yearly touched there. It agreed with the Governor that it would be proper to acquaint the captains who were now there, and all others who should arrive, with the present state of the island, to the end that, having early notice thereof, they might look out and endeavour to get what they wanted among the inhabitants. At a consultation held on Tuesday 8 May 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Richard Goodwin, executor to the last will and testament of James Crafford, deceased, attended that day for an answer to his petition of the 24th of last month. He was told that the Honourable Company had ordered, in the 26th paragraph of their general letter by the ship Carolina, that if the parties claiming any title to the estate of James Crafford should agree upon a state of the case and transmit the same to John Brown and council for his opinion thereupon, then Richard Goodwin was therefore directed to deliver what he had to say to the secretary, with all the expedition he could, that it might be transmitted to John Brown in one of the Company's packets this season. Interpretations The Governor's account of the herd lays bare how far the drought had reduced the Company's cattle, only three very small bullocks fit for the table among a stock weighted towards breeding cows, calves and yearlings the council dared not kill. To slaughter breeding females or immature beasts would destroy the herd's capacity to recover, so the council resolved that it could not meet the ships' demand for beef from its own stock without ruining its future, the same reasoning that governed its decision to stop selling cattle in April 1738. The herd figures match the monthly return for the start of April, the stock held in hand against the temptation to draw it down. The council's decision was to warn the shipping rather than exhaust the herd, telling the captains then in the road and all who should arrive that the island could not supply their full beef and that they must look to the inhabitants for what they wanted. This shifted the burden of victualling from the Company's stock to the private holders, who might sell their own cattle to the ships, the council protecting its breeding herd while directing the demand elsewhere. The same expedient had been used in the depth of the drought, the council telling homeward commanders in December 1734 that it could spare little and they must make shift. The second consultation returns to the Crafford estate, and the council's answer to Richard Goodwin shows the matter referred to higher authority. The Company had directed, in its general letter by the Carolina, that the parties claiming the estate agree a statement of the case and send it to be resolved, so the council directed Goodwin to put his case in writing for transmission that season. This deferred the dispute over Pyke's disposal of the land to a determination beyond the island, the tangled question of the Crafford freehold being sent home rather than settled locally. The reference to John Brown in the Company's instruction on the Crafford case is distinct from the John Brown of the Young dower dispute, the name being a common one on the island, this Brown apparently a person to whom the stated case was to be transmitted for opinion. The council's practice of sending an intractable question of title to England, rather than deciding it on the island, was the ordinary recourse when a dispute was too tangled or too weighty for local determination, as it had done with the Powell and Greenwich slave cases years before. Speculations The council chose to warn the shipping that it could not supply their beef, throwing them on the inhabitants, rather than kill the breeding cattle and immature beasts that were all the Company had. The obvious pressure was to meet the charter-party demand and furnish the ships in the road, yet the council reasoned that slaughtering breeders and young stock would ruin the herd for years and leave it unable to victual the shipping that touched there yearly, so it protected the future stock at the cost of the present obligation. What sharpens the decision is the council's plain calculation on the page that a herd of three small bullocks could not be drawn on without destroying its power to recover, a deliberate choice to fail the immediate demand in order to preserve the means of meeting it hereafter. |
368 | 360 | At a Consultation held on Friday 11 May 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & Approved The Governour Reports that he thinks it highly Necessary that the Honble Company should be acquainted with the Condition of the Island with regard to the Military Strength thereof, & in what manner the Severall Fortifications are now Defended, & therefore he this day Laid before us the following State of each particular place Viz For the Defence of the Castle & the Severall Batteries in & about the same Vizt 1 Captain Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 Lieutenant 11 32 pounders or Whole Cannon 1 Ensign 5 18 do or W Culvg 1 Gunner 2 12 do 3 Serjants 23 9 do or Demi Culvg 4 Corporals 6 5¾ do or Sakers 1 Gunners mate 6 4 do or minion 2 Sd Gunners 1 3 pounder 6 matalage 25 2 do or Falcons 2 Drummers 75 pd ordnance 25 Centrals 25 Plantors Ratifiers &c 91 For the Defence of the Battery at Mundens point Vizt 1 Lieutenant Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 Serjeant 1 32 pounder or Whole Cannon 1 Corporal 13 4 pounders or Demi Culvg 1 Gunners mate 14 pd ordnance 1 Drummer 13 Centrals 4 Plantors 19 | At a consultation held on Friday 11 May 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that he thought it highly necessary that the Honourable Company should be acquainted with the condition of the island with regard to its military strength, and in what manner the several fortifications were now defended. He therefore laid before the council that day the following state of each particular place. For the defence of the castle and the several batteries in and about the same, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 captain 1 lieutenant 1 ensign 1 gunner 3 sergeants 4 corporals 1 gunner's mate 2 under gunners 6 matrosses 2 drummers 48 sentinels 24 planters and artificers Total, 91 Iron ordnance: 11 thirty-two pounders, or demi-cannon 5 eighteen pounders, or whole culverins 2 twelve pounders 23 nine pounders, or demi-culverins 6 five-and-three pounders, or sakers 6 four pounders, or minions 1 three pounder 24 two pounders, or falcons Total, 75 ordnance For the defence of the battery at Munden's Point, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 lieutenant 1 sergeant 1 corporal 1 gunner's mate 1 drummer 13 sentinels 4 planters Total, 19 Iron ordnance: 1 thirty-two pounder, or demi-cannon 13 nine pounders, or demi-culverins Total, 14 ordnance Interpretations The consultation opens a formal survey of the island's whole military strength, the Governor laying before the council a place-by-place account of the garrison and guns to be sent home to the Company. This was the culmination of the defensive review that had run through the winter and spring, the council having overhauled the ordnance, proved the guns, redistributed pieces to the coastal batteries and pressed the fortification works forward under apprehension of the European war. The state of each position gave London a clear picture of how the island stood, the same reporting of its defences the council had made in the fortification survey of 1734. The account of the castle shows the main stronghold garrisoned by 91 men and mounting 75 guns, and it is notable for classifying every piece both by the weight of shot it threw and by its older name, thirty-two pounders as demi-cannon, nine pounders as demi-culverins, two pounders as falcons. This double naming completes the transition the gunner had begun in February 1738, and the numbers, 11 demi-cannon and 24 falcons among the rest, match closely the ordnance the annual inventories had tracked, the fort's heavy pieces concentrated at the castle. The garrison establishment lists the whole apparatus of the fort, from the captain and lieutenant down through the gunners, matrosses and drummers to the sentinels, planters and artificers who made up the numbers. Matrosses were the gunners' assistants who helped serve and load the great guns, and the planters and artificers were the inhabitants and tradesmen who reinforced the garrison on an alarm, the same civilian levy the council called out whenever a ship approached, every householder bringing his slaves to his post. The battery at Munden's Point, garrisoned by 19 men and mounting 14 guns, was one of the outlying works guarding the approaches to the road, its single demi-cannon and thirteen demi-culverins covering the point that commanded the anchorage. The survey continuing through the other positions on the succeeding leaves would have given the same detail for each battery, the whole forming the return of the island's defences the Governor meant to transmit to the Company, a settlement bracing its guns and men against a war it expected to reach the South Atlantic. |
369 | 361 | For the defence of the Fortification in Ruperts Valley Vizt 1 Captain Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 master 3 18 pounders or W Culverg 1 Serjeant 13 4 pounders or Demi Culvg 1 Corporal 2 4 pounders or minion 1 Gunners mate 18 pd Ordnance 1 Sd Gunner 1 matross 1 Drummer 17 Centinels 6 Plantors 51 For the defence of the Fortification called Bankes's Vizt 1 Ensign Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 Serjeant 3 18 pounders or W Culvg 1 Corporal 2 4 pounders or Demi Culvg 1 Drummer 5 pd Ordnance 1 Gunners mate 8 Centinels 4 Plantors 12 For the defence of the Battery at Turks Cap Vizt 1 Corporal Iron Ordnance Vizt 5 Soldiers 6 4 pounders or minion 6 pd Ordnance At Weysperous bay Lookout Who after they have made the Allarm are to remove from thence, so Turks Cap if there be reason Vizt 1 Serjeant Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 Corporal 2 4 pounders or minion 6 Soldiers 2 pd Ordnance 8 At the Lookout at ye Ridge or middle of the Country Vizt 2 Centinels Iron Ordnance Vizt 2 3 pounders For the defence of the Battery at Lemon Valley Vizt 1 Serjeant Iron Ordnance Vizt 1 Corporal 6 5¾ pounders or Sakers 1 Sd Gunner 6 pd Ordnance 1 matross 6 Centinels 4 Plantors 12 The Governour Reports that in times of War there are Severall Small flying parties up & down the Country whose Numbers appointed for this Service for the Year 1738 amounted to fifty White men Soldiers & plantors together & to 44 Blacks | For the defence of the fortification in Rupert's Valley, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 captain 1 lieutenant 1 sergeant 1 corporal 1 gunner's mate 1 under gunner 1 matross 1 drummer 17 sentinels 6 planters Total, 31 Iron ordnance: 3 eighteen pounders, or whole culverins 13 nine pounders, or demi-culverins 2 four pounders, or minions Total, 18 ordnance For the defence of the fortification called Banks's, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 ensign 1 sergeant 1 corporal 1 drummer 1 gunner's mate 1 matross 8 sentinels 4 planters Total, 12 Iron ordnance: 3 eighteen pounders, or whole culverins 2 nine pounders, or demi-culverins Total, 5 ordnance For the defence of the battery at Turk's Cap, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 corporal 5 soldiers Total, 6 Iron ordnance: 6 four pounders, or minions Total, 6 ordnance At Prosperous Bay a lookout was kept, and after the alarm was made they were to remove from thence to Turk's Cap if there were occasion. The garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 sergeant 1 corporal 6 soldiers Total, 8 Iron ordnance: 2 four pounders, or minions Total, 2 ordnance At the lookout at the ridge in the middle of the country, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 2 sentinels Iron ordnance: 2 three pounders For the defence of the battery at Lemon Valley, the garrison and ordnance stood as follows. 1 sergeant 1 corporal 1 under gunner 1 matross 6 sentinels 4 planters Total, 15 Iron ordnance: 6 five-and-three pounders, or sakers Total, 6 ordnance The Governor reported that in time of war there were several small flying parties up and down the country, whose numbers, appointed for this service in the year 1738, amounted to 70 white men, soldiers and planters, together with 44 blacks. Interpretations The survey continues through the outlying works, and taken together the leaves give a complete picture of how the island's defence was distributed. The heavy fortification in Rupert's Valley, garrisoned by 31 men and 18 guns, and Banks's with 12 men and 5 guns were the substantial coastal batteries guarding the principal landing places, while the smaller works at Turk's Cap, Prosperous Bay and Lemon Valley held a handful of men and a few light guns each. This matched the assessment of the coast made in the fortification survey of July 1734, Turk's Cap and Prosperous Bay being the points where an enemy might land and Lemon Valley the exposed watering place the council had newly armed with its turnpike in early 1739. The arrangement at Prosperous Bay reveals the tactical thinking behind the whole scheme. The lookout there was to fall back to Turk's Cap on an alarm, concentrating the small parties where they could do most good rather than holding every point in strength, the same principle the 1734 survey had set out when it judged that a few men could stop many in the ascent of the steep valleys. The lookout at the ridge in the middle of the country, held by just two sentinels with two small guns, was a signalling and observation post rather than a fighting work. The Governor's report of the flying parties completes the defensive design he had explained in the consultations of January 1739, the small moveable bodies of men stationed up and down the country to meet an enemy who penetrated inland. These amounted to 70 white men and 44 slaves, the same reliance on the inhabitants and their slaves that ran through the island's defence, the planters and their black labour called out to reinforce the regular garrison whenever danger threatened. The light flying guns the Governor had sought from the Company were the ordnance these parties would serve. The whole survey, classifying every gun by weight of shot and older name and counting the men at each post, was the return of the island's military strength the Governor meant to send home, a settlement of modest garrison and scattered light works trusting to its steep terrain and its levied inhabitants to hold a coast it could not fortify in strength. The distribution of the heavy guns to the castle and the principal batteries, with light pieces and flying parties covering the rest, expressed the defensive policy the council had pursued through the whole preceding year under apprehension of the European war. |
370 | 362 | Who when they Shall be again appointed to this duty must be taken from from the numbers at present Stationed at the Severall Fortifications before mentioned, & that there are about 220 Black men Included at the Sd Company who also in time of war are placed proportionably at the fortifications & with the flying parties aforesaid We this day received the following Letter Vizt To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Govr &c Council of St Helena Gentlemen Intending to Saile Soon I desire You will order to be delivered to me the Beef which the Honble Company by Charter party have agreed to Supply me with I am Gentlemen Your most Humble Servant D Backwell May 8 1739 To which We returned the following Answer Vizt To Capt Duncomb Backwell Sir We have received Your Letter wherein You desire we would deliver You the Quantity of Beef which you Say the Company have agreed to Supply You by Charter party, In answer to which we are obliged to acquaint You that what by the loss of great Numbers of Cattle who have lately died for want of food, & those which have already been killed for the refreshment of Such of their Ships as are now in the road & of 9 others of their own already returned they have only 3 head of Cattle left which are reserved for the three Ships which Shall next arrive, & Therefore we Cannot comply with what you require, because the Honble Companys haben't not, nor can we procure it of the Inhabitants, & we are Sure You do not Expect impossibilities from Us | The Governor concluded that the flying parties, when they should be again appointed to this duty, must be taken from the numbers at present stationed at the several fortifications before mentioned, and that there were about 220 black men, including 44 of the Company's, who were also in time of war placed proportionably at the fortifications, together with the flying parties. The council this day received the following letter, directed to Governor Goodwin and the council of St Helena. The captain set out that, intending to sail soon, he asked that the council would order to be delivered to him the beef which the Honourable Company by charter party had agreed to supply him with. The letter was signed by Duncomb Backwell and dated 5 May 1739. To which the council returned the following answer, directed to Captain Duncomb Backwell. The council set out that it had received his letter, in which he asked that it deliver him the quantity of beef which he said the Company had, by charter party, agreed to supply him with. In answer, it was obliged to acquaint him that, through the loss of great numbers of cattle which had lately died for want of food, and those which had already been killed for the refreshment of such of their ships as were now in the road, and of others of their own already returned, there were only 3 head of cattle left, which were reserved for the three ships which should next arrive. It therefore could not comply with what he required, because the Company had it not, nor could it procure it of the inhabitants, and it was sure he did not expect impossibilities from it. Interpretations The close of the military survey confirms how heavily the island's defence rested on slave labour, about 220 black men, including 44 of the Company's own, distributed among the fortifications and flying parties in time of war. The Governor made plain that the flying parties could only be found by drawing men from the fixed garrisons, the settlement having no reserve of manpower beyond what it already stationed, so its whole strength was a matter of redistributing the same limited body of soldiers, planters and slaves among the works and the moveable parties as danger required. This dependence on the inhabitants and their slaves ran through every account of the island's defence in this record. The exchange with Captain Backwell brings the beef shortage to a sharp point, a homeward commander demanding the beef the charter party bound the Company to supply, and the council forced to refuse. This was exactly the difficulty the Governor had reported to the ships in the road on the first of May, the drought having so reduced the herd that only three head remained, and these reserved for ships yet to arrive. The council's flat answer, that it had no beef and could procure none from the inhabitants, and that Backwell could not expect impossibilities, shows the island unable to meet its central obligation to the passing trade. The refusal marks the practical collapse of St Helena's function as a victualling station under the pressure of the long drought. The charter party made the supply of beef a binding duty, yet the Company's stock, tracked month by month falling through this record, could no longer answer it, and the private holders had lost their cattle too. The council had foreseen this on 8 May, resolving to warn the captains they must shift for themselves, and here that warning became an outright denial to a commander who pressed his contractual right. The council's reservation of the last three beasts for the three ships next to arrive shows it rationing its exhausted stock as fairly as it could, spreading a supply that could not meet the demand rather than exhausting it on the first ship to ask. This was the same careful husbandry of a failing resource that governed its decision not to kill breeding cattle, an island managing scarcity as best it might while the drought held its herd at the vanishing point, unable to furnish the beef that was the very purpose of its place on the homeward route. |
371 | 363 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 22 May 1739 at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved The Govr The Gunner & Steward delivered each of them their Monthly Account for April last which were Severally Examined & pooded & are as follows Vizt Gunners Stores Expended in April 1739 Guns fired, Shott fired, 4 pr, 3 pr, 2 pr, Powder Expended April 3 Allarm Ship past by: Guns fired 4, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 2, 3 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Powder Expended 12 5 Double Allarm do: Guns fired 6, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 3, 3 pr 2, 2 pr 0, Powder Expended 18 19 Double Allarm do: Guns fired 6, Shott fired 2, 4 pr 3, 3 pr 3, 2 pr 0, Powder Expended 20 Allarm: Guns fired 3, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 3, 3 pr 3, 2 pr 0, Powder Expended 9 23 Allarm: Guns fired 6, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 3, 3 pr 3, 2 pr 0, Powder Expended 18 Saluting the duch fleet: Guns fired 13, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 0, 3 pr 0, 2 pr 13, Powder Expended 13 do a French Ship: Guns fired 11, Shott fired 0, 4 pr 0, 3 pr 0, 2 pr 11, Powder Expended 11 for the Guard 500 small Cartridges: 34 for Priming the Guns: 6 Expended in Instructing the Gunners crew: 98 51 2 3 11 11 26 238 Catridge Paper: 12 Quire Match: 18 tt muskett Balls: 64 Spunge Staves: 6 Handspikes: 6 Priming wires: 2 Ladles: 2 Expence of the Table in April 1739 Viz 66 5/8 Gall Arrack 13 7 9 6 bottles Ryb 1 2 6 92 Sugar Candy 2 6 36 Bread 9 110 Sugar 1 7 6 8 Gall Port 3 2 4 Do Mountain 1 11 2 Do Ale 7 20 Do Strong beer 1 10 25 Do Small beer 1 5 3 Flouer 3 15 4 Piggs 1 4 Turkeys 1 49 Foules 3 13 6 3 Ducks 4 6 2 Geese 10 62 Beef 15 6 59 Pork 1 9 6 Total 38 15 9 | At a consultation held on Tuesday 22 May 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for April past, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Gunner's stores expended in April 1739: An alarm, a ship passed by: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 12 A double alarm, a ship passed by: guns fired 6, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 2, powder 18 19 April, a double alarm, a ship passed by: guns fired 6, shot 2, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 3, powder 20 An alarm: guns fired 6, 3 pounders 3, powder 9 23 April, an alarm: guns fired 6, 3 pounders 3, powder 18 Saluting the Dutch fleet: guns fired 15, powder 15 For a French ship: guns fired 11, powder 11 For the guard, 300 musket cartridges: powder 31 For priming the guns: powder 6 Expended in instructing the gunner's crew: powder 38 Total: guns fired 51, shot 2, 3 pounders 3, 4 pounders 11, 3 pounders 26, powder 238 The stores expended were also as follows. Cartridge paper, 12 quires Match, 18 lb Musket balls, 64 lb Sponge staves, 6 Handspikes, 4 Priming wires, 6 Ladles, 2 Expense of the table in April 1739: 66.5 gallons arrack, £13 7s 9d 6 bottles oyl, £1 2s 6d 92 lb sugar candy, £2 6s 0d 36 lb bread, £0 9s 0d 110 lb sugar, £1 7s 6d 8 gallons port, £3 2s 0d 4 gallons mountain, £1 11s 0d 2 gallons ale, £0 7s 0d 20 gallons strong beer, £1 10s 0d 25 gallons small beer, £1 5s 0d 3 hundredweight flour, £3 15s 0d 4 pigs, £1 0s 0d 4 turkeys, £1 0s 0d 49 fowls, £3 13s 6d 3 ducks, £0 4s 6d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 62 lb beef, £0 15s 6d 59 lb pork, £1 9s 6d Total, £38 15s 9d Interpretations The gunner's account for April records another busy month of salutes and alarms, powder spent answering a Dutch fleet and a French ship saluted in, and a run of alarms for vessels passing by, the double alarms marking ships that could not at first be identified. The proving and instructing of the gunner's crew continued, carrying forward the ordnance overhaul that had run through the winter and spring, and the whole reflects the guarded footing the council kept under apprehension of the European war, foreign shipping now watched closely and answered gun for gun as it passed. The April table account closes at £38 15s 9d, well below the March figure, the shipping season easing after its spring height, and the fare shows the beef shortage plainly. Beef stood at only 62 lb, the household drawing its meat instead from pork and the poultry yard, exactly the shortfall the Governor had reported to the ships in the road, the drought having reduced the Company's herd to three head. Arrack at 66.5 gallons remained the dominant single charge, the settled pattern of the whole run, with the varied wine and beer of the officers' table alongside. The appearance of both mountain, a sweet Malaga wine, and ale beside the ordinary port and beer marks the range of drink the table provisioned, though in smaller quantity than the fullest months of the season. Sugar and sugar candy together took over £3, the refined sugar in hard lumps a costly imported keeping stock, and the household continued to draw greens, milk and daily provisions as steady charges. The stores expended, match, sponge staves, handspikes, priming wires and ladles, were the ordinary consumable furniture of the guns, the ladles used to load loose powder and the priming wires to clear the vents, the same maintenance stock the annual inventories tracked. The heavy charge of musket balls and cartridge paper reflects the filling of the garrison's cartridges, the small arms kept ready alongside the great guns as the island braced its whole strength against the war it expected. |
372 | 364 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &c for the month of April 1739 Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totale, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totale, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totale, Turkeys, Foules, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totale Remaining 1 April: Bullocks 12, Cows 55, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 43, Bulls 6, Totale 200, Ewes 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 8, Rams 5, Totale 58, Sows 9, Shoats 20, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totale 57, Turkeys 40, Foules 46, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 4, Mares 18, Totale 22 Encreased in Do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 4, Bulls 0, Totale 4, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 4, Rams 0, Totale 4, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 8, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Foules 6, Ducks 20, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 1, Totale 0 Bullocks 12, Cows 55, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totale 204, Ewes 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 12, Rams 5, Totale 62, Sows 9, Shoats 20, Piggs 34, Boars 2, Totale 57, Turkeys 46, Foules 66, Ducks 16, Geese 13, Horses 5, Mares 18, Totale 23 Killd in Do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 4, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 4, Foules 49, Ducks 3, Geese 2, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 12, Cows 55, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totale 204, Ewes 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 12, Rams 5, Totale 62, Sows 9, Shoats 18, Piggs 30, Boars 2, Totale 57, Turkeys 42, Foules 17, Ducks 13, Geese 11, Horses 5, Mares 18, Totale 23 Died in Do: Bullocks 0, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 1, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 2, Boars 0, Totale 3, Turkeys 1, Foules 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Totale 0 Remaining 30 April: Bullocks 12, Cows 54, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totale 203, Ewes 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 12, Rams 5, Totale 62, Sows 9, Shoats 17, Piggs 28, Boars 2, Totale 54, Turkeys 41, Foules 17, Ducks 13, Geese 11, Horses 5, Mares 18, Totale 23 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 30000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of April 1739. Remaining 1 April, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 55 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 43 calves, 6 bulls, total 200 Remaining 1 April, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 8 lambs, 5 rams, total 58 Remaining 1 April, hogs: 9 sows, 20 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 57 Remaining 1 April, poultry: 40 turkeys, 46 fowls, 16 ducks, 13 geese Remaining 1 April, horses: 4 horses, 18 mares, total 22 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 4 calves, 0 bulls, total 4 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, total 4 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 8 pigs, 0 boars, total 8 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 6 fowls, 20 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 1 mare, total 1 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 55 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 47 calves, 6 bulls, total 204 Balance after increase, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 12 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 20 shoats, 34 pigs, 2 boars, total 57 Balance after increase, poultry: 46 turkeys, 66 fowls, 16 ducks, 13 geese Balance after increase, horses: 5 horses, 18 mares, total 23 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, total 0 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 4 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 Killed in the month, poultry: 4 turkeys, 4 fowls, 9 ducks, 3 geese, 2 [...] Balance after killing, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 55 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 47 calves, 6 bulls, total 204 Balance after killing, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 12 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 18 shoats, 30 pigs, 2 boars, total 57 Balance after killing, poultry: 42 turkeys, 17 fowls, 13 ducks, 11 geese Balance after killing, horses: 5 horses, 18 mares, total 23 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, total 1 Died in the month, hogs: 1 sow, 2 shoats, total 3 Died in the month, poultry: 1 [...] Remaining 30 April, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 54 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 47 calves, 6 bulls, total 203 Remaining 30 April, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 12 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Remaining 30 April, hogs: 9 sows, 17 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, total 54 Remaining 30 April, poultry: 41 turkeys, 17 fowls, 13 ducks, 11 geese Remaining 30 April, horses: 5 horses, 18 mares, total 23 Yams expended at the several plantations, 30,000 lb Interpretations The April stock account shows the Company herd at 203 head, and it confirms the figures the Governor cited when he refused the ships their beef. The count of bullocks stood at only 12, and of these he told the captains that just three were fit small beasts, the rest of the herd being breeding cows, heifers, yearlings and calves the council would not kill. No cattle were sold or killed in the month, the board holding the herd in hand to preserve its power to recover, exactly the policy it had resolved on when it warned the shipping to look to the inhabitants for beef. The near-total halt in cattle mortality, only one cow and one calf lost in the month, marks how far the island had passed out of the worst of the drought since the rains returned about July 1738. Four calves were born and the herd held steady, the recovery firmly established even as the stock remained far below what the shipping season required. The sheep flock rose to 62 on lambs born and the hogs held at 54, both continuing their slow recovery, while the stud stood at 23, its largest figure in this record. The poultry yard was drawn on heavily for the table through April, though the figures again resist exact reconciliation, the clerical looseness of the ruled grid persisting, with fowls falling sharply as the household consumed them in place of the beef it could not get. This is the same substitution the April table account shows, the poultry and pork carrying the meat while the herd was spared. The yam issue held at 30,000 lb, the standing crop counted at 548,000 lb the previous July continuing to support a steady ration, the whole confirming an island recovering its provisions but still unable to meet its central obligation to victual the passing ships, the herd held at the vanishing point against the temptation to draw it down. The monthly return, tracking every class of stock through its movements, remained the running record of a Company husbanding a herd the drought had gutted. |
373 | 365 | On the 17 Instant arrived the Princess Mary Capt George Martin from Fort St Davids, & a French Ship called the Griffin from Mauritius, on the 19 the Scarborough from Bencoolin On the 20 the Wager from Bengale, And on the 21 the Nassau from Bombay, Each Ship bringing Us the following Supply Viz Invoice of Princess Mary Viz Rice 50 baggs pr 100 lb is 66 P 3 pr So @ 1 10 pr Rupy 80 Sugar 13 do pr 30 lb is 20 6 @ 5 8 pd 195 Doosuties 80 pr @ 57 pr Corge 188 Batavia Arrack 2 half Leag pr 80 Gale 99 Charges Merchd 49 12 611 12 Invoice of Wager Viz Sugar 13 baggs pr 30 lb is 2 pr @ 6 8 pd 195 Rice 50 baggs pr 100 lb is 66 4 @ 1 10 pr Suttl 80 Batavia Arrack 2 half Leag pr 80 Gale @ 90 pr Suttl Leag 99 Doosuties 80 pr @ 57 pr Corge 188 Blew 1 do pr 30 pr pr 41 pr So 132 8 Charges merch pr 36 9 711 1 Invoice pr Nassau Viz Slaves Viz 3 Men 3 Women 2 Boys 2 Girls 12 Slaves amo t to 218 1 4 Clothing &c Charges for Do 81 63 299 1 67 NB there is one young Child Sucking at ye Mothers breast, more than Invoiced Ordred that an advertizement be published this day for all persons who have Stocks of Black Cattle to deliver into the Secretarys office by Saturday next Insueing, a fule account of them Specifying the same under their particular denomina- tions In order to be transmitted home for the Inspection of the Honble Company, that thereby their Honours may be better able to judge of the Condition of the Island with regard to its Stock of black Cattle That Whereas there are Sundry Sorts of Necessarys such as houshold Furniture Wearing Apparrel &c belonging to the Estate of Isaac Pyke Esqr Dece which are all Portable, We Unanimously Agree that for the Benifit of his Heirs the Said Perishable Commodities Should be Sold at publick Outcry, & no time more Proper than this, as there are Severall Ships in the Roae | On the 17th of this month arrived the Princess Mary from Fort St David, and a French ship called the Griffin from Mauritius. On the 19th the Scarborough from Bencoolen. On the 20th the Wager from Bengal, and on the 21st the Nassau from Bombay. Each ship brought the following supply. The invoice of the Princess Mary was as follows. Rice, 50 bags at 100 marcals, is 66 pagodas 3 annas, at 1 pagoda 10 annas the [...], 80 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 13 bags at 30 marcals, is 20 [...], at 6 pagodas 8 annas the [...], 195 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Muslins, 80 pieces, at 47 pagodas the corge, 188 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers at 80 gallons, 99 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 49 pagodas 12 annas 0 pies Total, 611 pagodas 12 annas 0 pies The invoice of the Wager was as follows. Sugar, 15 bags at 30 marcals, is 20 [...], at 2 pagodas 6 annas 8 pies, 195 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Rice, 50 bags at 100 marcals, is 66 pagodas, at 1 pagoda 10 annas the [...], 80 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers at 80 gallons, at 90 pagodas 7 annas, 99 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Doosutees, 80 pieces at 47 pagodas the corge, 188 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Blue, 90 pieces at 60 pieces at 84 pagodas 91 pies, 132 pagodas 8 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, 36 pagodas 9 annas 0 pies Total, 711 pagodas 1 anna 0 pies The invoice of the Nassau was as follows. Slaves: 3 men 3 women 2 boys 2 girls 12 slaves, amounting to, 218 pagodas 1 anna 4 pies Clothing and other charges, 81 pagodas 63 pies Total, 299 pagodas 1 anna 67 pies There was one young child sucking at its mother's breast, more than invoiced. The council ordered that an advertisement be published this day, requiring all persons who had stocks of black cattle to deliver into the secretary's office by Saturday next a full account of them, specifying the same under their particular denominations, in order to be transmitted home for the inspection of the Honourable Company, that their honours might thereby be better able to judge of the condition of the island with regard to its stock of black cattle. The council further ordered that, whereas there were sundry sorts of necessaries, such as household furniture, wearing apparel and other things belonging to the estate of Isaac Pyke, deceased, which were all perishable, it unanimously agreed that, for the benefit of his estate, the perishable commodities should be sold at public outcry, no time being more proper than the present, as there were several ships in the road. Interpretations The consultation records the arrival of five more ships from the various settlements, their cargoes marking the reach of the Company's trade, rice, sugar, Batavia arrack, muslins and doosutees from the Indian coasts, reckoned in pagodas, and another parcel of slaves from Bombay. The Nassau brought twelve slaves for the Company's establishment, three men, three women and four children, the same renewal of the slave population by purchase that runs through this record, the note of a sucking child more than invoiced recording an infant born or carried beyond the reckoning, a small human detail entered as a matter of account. The order for a return of all the island's black cattle shows the council gathering a full account of the stock, both the Company's and the inhabitants', to send home. This connects directly to the beef shortage the Governor had reported to the ships and the Company, the drought having so reduced the herds that London needed a clear picture of the island's condition. The return would show the Company how far its victualling station had been crippled, the same accounting of the drought's toll the council had made when it totalled 687 head lost on 20 June 1738. The renewed order for the sale of Governor Pyke's perishable effects confirms the disposal noted earlier, the household furniture, apparel and other goods to be sold at outcry while ships were in the road to provide buyers. Pyke having died intestate with no heir on the island, his goods were realised into money for his successors in England, and the presence of several ships gave the best market for a public sale, the timing chosen to draw purchasers from the shipping as much as the inhabitants. The distinction the council drew, selling the perishable goods at once while other matters of the estate waited, reflects careful management of a deceased estate for absent heirs, the goods liable to spoil disposed of promptly at the moment buyers were most plentiful. This was the same reasoning that had governed the sale of the chaplain Barlow's perishable effects and Pyke's own slaves the previous year, the council realising what would not keep before it lost value, and rendering the account to the heirs the estate was held for. |
374 | 366 | Ordred that Publick Notice be given by beat of Drum that on Monday next being the 28 Instant will be Sold by Publick Outcry Sundry Goods & Effects belonging to the Estate of Isaac Pyke Esqr Dec, where all Persons are free to bid & Buy At a Consultation held on Tuesday 24 May 1739 at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe 2 in Counc John Bazett 3 in Counc Geo Gab Powell 4 in Counc The last Consultation was redd & Approved John Brown makes Application to us for a Division of the Real Estate of John Young Dece of which he demands one half in vertue of his Wife Elizabeth the Relict of ye Sd Young & Request that whereas he Taking his Passage on board Ship Scarborough now Riding in the road being for England that the Said Division may be made with all Expedition possible And in Compliance to ye Sd Request he was bid to Chuse any four Substanshall Plantors to make an Equalle allotment of ye John Youngs real Estate between the Orphans of ye Sd Young & himself in vertue of his Wife the Relict of ye Sd Young And he accordingly Appointed Mr Rich: Goodwin James Alder Samuele Donison & Benjn Bridger & they Divided the Said Estate into lotts the Whole Consisting of 80 acres free Land & 8 Dwelling houses in manner & form following Vizt First Lott Vizt The Lower 20 acres Gumwood Land, the Smiths Spring Plantation Included, & from Charles Wirth Powels Plantation up to the Stile & along the Path to ye milking pound on the top of the hill adjoyning to the ye 20 acres Gumwood Land & down to Ashes Water, & whatevever is wanting of 40 Acres to be made up in ye upper Part of the Cabbadge free Land | The council ordered that public notice be given by beat of drum that on Monday next, being the 28th of this month, sundry goods and effects belonging to the estate of Isaac Pyke, deceased, would be sold by public outcry, where all persons were free to bid and buy. At a consultation held on Tuesday 22 May 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Brown made application to the council for a division of the real estate of John Young, deceased, of which he demanded one half in right of his wife Elizabeth, the widow of Young, and asked that, whereas he was about to take his passage on board ship, the Harborough, now riding in the road bound for England, being possible that the said division might be made with all expedition, and in compliance with his request, he was directed to choose any four substantial planters to make an equal allotment of John Young's real estate between the orphans of Young and himself in right of his wife, the widow of Young. Richard Goodwin, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton and Benjamin Pledger were accordingly appointed, and they divided the estate into lots, the whole consisting of 20 acres of freehold land and 8 dwelling houses, as follows. The first lot was as follows. The lower 20 acres of gumwood land, the Smiths Spring plantation enclosed, and from Charles Wirth Powell's plantation up to the stile, and along the path to the 20 acres of gumwood land and down to Ashes Water, and whatever was wanting of 40 acres to be made up in the upper part of the cabbage tree land. Interpretations The order for the public sale of Governor Pyke's goods continues the settlement of his estate, the effects put to outcry where all might bid, the same disposal the council had used for other goods and the method by which Pyke's slaves had been sold at the market house on 8 August 1738. Pyke, who had died in office on 28 July 1738, left no will and no known heir on the island, so his goods were sold and the proceeds transmitted to his heirs in England, the auction the ordinary means of realising a deceased estate for absent successors. The second consultation carries the aftermath of the Young dower dispute, John Brown now seeking the actual division of the estate the jury had confirmed to his wife on 17 April 1739. Having won the widow's right to half of Young's real estate, Brown asked that the half be set out to him before he sailed for England on the Harborough, and the council directed him to choose four substantial planters to make an equal allotment between him and the Young orphans. This is the practical execution of the verdict, the abstract right to half now to be divided into physical parcels of land. The appointment of four planters to divide the estate by lot was the island's customary means of partitioning land between competing interests, disinterested men viewing the ground and casting it into equal shares, the same procedure used to settle estates and boundaries throughout this record. Richard Goodwin, James Ryder, Samuel Doveton and Benjamin Pledger were the kind of substantial inhabitants who filled every such office, trusted to value and divide the land fairly. The detailed description of the first lot, gumwood land, the Smiths Spring plantation, the cabbage tree land and the bounds running up to a stile and down to Ashes Water, shows how the estate was actually laid out on the ground, the parcels defined by their plantations, their timber and their landmarks. Gumwood and cabbage tree were the island's native trees, and land was reckoned by the wood it carried as much as by its acreage, the whole estate of 20 acres of freehold and eight dwelling houses now divided between the widow's half and the orphans' share, closing the dispute the two petitions of 10 April had opened. |
375 | 367 | Second Lott Viz Twenty Acres of Land that was formerly Mr Richard Goodwins & the remainder adjoining to the Dwelling house As the houses in the Country & the houses at the fort are So to be equally Deivided between John Brown & the Orphants of John Young Deced Both the above lotts were Confined & Shook together, & Mr John Brown Drew forth the Second Lott which he was accordingly Ordered to be put in possestion of for the benefit of him & his heirs during the term of Elizabeth his wife the Relect of John Young deced Naturale Life, & no longer and then to deced as directed in the last will & Testament of Jno Young Deced and it is further hereby provided that the Sd John Brown shall or may not either by himself or his assigns Cut or destroy in any Shape whatsoever any of the freeborn Standing upon the Said Land Neither is he attmted to pule down or otherwise damage the houses now Standing upon the Said Land, but to keep the Same in good Repair & to return them together with the Land at the decease of his Wife Elizabeth, to the Orphants of John Young Deced in the Same Good Condition he now Receves them This day Arrived the Duke of Cumberland from Bengall, & Brought us the following Supply Viz Invoice pr Ship Duke of Cumberland Viz Batavia Arrack 2 half Leagers pr 120 Gall pr Leag 99 Sugar 13 do pr So pr 20 pr @ 6 8 pr md 195 Rice 50 pr 100 is 66 2 9 P 4 pr Rup 80 Doosuties Bale 1 pr So 80 pr @ 57 pr Corge 188 Blew Doosuties 1 pr So pr @ 61 pr Corge 152 8 Seersuods 1 pr So 60 pr @ 77 pr So 231 Charges of Merchd amo t to 50 2 1004 10 Agreeable to the Advertizement published on Tuesday the 22 Instant the Inhabitants brought in their Accos of Cattle, the Particulars of which are Including 185 the Honnourable Companys Stock, as follows Viz Cows, Heifers, Steers, Calves, Bulls, Totale 850, 226, 161, 261, 26, 1119 | The second lot was as follows. Twenty acres of land that was formerly Mr Richard Goodwin's, and the remainder adjoining to the dwelling house. The houses in the country and the houses at the fort were to be equally divided between John Brown and the orphans of John Young, deceased. Both the above lots were viewed and staked out together, and John Brown drew forth the second lot, which he was accordingly ordered to be put in possession of, for the benefit of him and his heirs during the term of Elizabeth his wife, the widow of John Young, deceased, for her natural life, and no longer, and then to descend as directed in the last will and testament of John Young, deceased. It was further hereby provided that John Brown should not, either by himself or his assigns, cut or destroy in any shape whatever any of the freehold standing upon the said land, nor was he allowed to pull down or otherwise damage the houses now standing upon the said land, but to keep the same in good repair and to return them together with the land at the decease of his wife Elizabeth to the orphans of John Young, deceased, in the same good condition he now received them. This day arrived the Duke of Cumberland from Bengal, and brought the following supply. The invoice of the Duke of Cumberland was as follows. Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers containing 120 gallons at 7 [...], 99 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Sugar, 15 bags at 30 marcals, is 20 [...], at 6 pagodas 8 annas the [...], 195 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Rice, 50 bags at 100 marcals, is 66 pagodas 3 annas 9 pies, at 1 pagoda 10 annas the [...], 80 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Doosutees, 1 bale of 80 pieces at 47 pagodas the [...], 188 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Blue doosutees, 1 [...] of 60 pieces at 60 pieces, 152 pagodas 8 annas 0 pies Seer bands, 1 bale of 60 pieces at 77 pagodas the [...], 231 pagodas 0 annas 0 pies Charges merchandise, amounting to, 50 pagodas 2 annas 0 pies Total, 1,004 pagodas 10 annas 0 pies Agreeable to the advertisement published on Tuesday the 22nd of this month, the inhabitants brought in their account of cattle, the particulars of which, including the 185 of the Honourable Company's stock, were as follows. Cows, 250 Heifers, 226 Steers, 161 Calves, 261 Bulls, 26 Total, 1,119 Interpretations The passage completes the division of John Young's estate between the widow and the orphans, the two lots viewed and staked out and Brown drawing the second by lot, the impartial method by which the island partitioned contested land. The most significant feature is the strict condition attached to Brown's possession, that he was to cut no timber and pull down no house, but keep the whole in good repair and return it to the Young orphans in the same condition on his wife's death. This protected the children's reversion, the widow and her husband holding only a life interest, and it reflects the island's acute concern for its scarce wood, forbidding a life tenant to waste the timber that would pass to the heirs. The safeguard against waste was more than a formality on an island where wood had become the scarcest commodity. Brown, about to leave for England and holding the land only for his wife's life, had every incentive to strip its value, so the council bound him expressly to preserve the freehold standing upon it and the houses upon it, the same protection of the reversioners' interest that ran through the island's law of dower and its constant anxiety over the destruction of timber. The return of the island's cattle, brought in by the inhabitants under the advertisement of 22 May, gives a full count of the whole stock, 1,119 head including the Company's 185, to be sent home so the Company might judge the island's condition. This total, set against the herds of earlier years, measures how far the drought had reduced the island's cattle, and it was gathered precisely to show London why the Company could no longer supply the shipping with beef. The composition, weighted towards cows and calves with few steers, shows a stock in recovery but still short of fattened beasts fit for the table. The arrival of the Duke of Cumberland with another cargo of arrack, sugar, rice and Indian cloth reckoned in pagodas continued the steady traffic of the shipping season, doosutees and seer bands being coarse Indian cottons, seer bands a striped cloth, the staple textiles the Company shipped for sale to the inhabitants. The whole confirms an island at the height of its shipping season, its road full of ships drawing supplies and buying cloth, yet unable to furnish the beef that was its chief purpose, the drought's toll on its herds now counted and sent home for the Company to weigh. |
376 | 368 | At a Consultation held on Friday the 1 of June 1739 at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe 2 in Counc John Bazett 3 in Counc Geo Gab Powell 4 in Counc The last Consultation was Read & approved Messrs John Bazett & Stephen Lufkin Senr Executors to the last wille & Testament of John Young Deced Acquainted us that they have Delivered unto John Brown, in right of his Wife Elizabeth the Relect of John Young Deced his half Part of the freehold Estate as Mentioned in Consultation of 20 May As likewise, his third part of the personalle Estate, all which Mr John Brown Acknowledges the receipt of, and has given his Discharge for ye Same Quitting all his Right, title & Demands, in or upon, the Estate of John Young Deceased At a Consultation held on Tuesday 5 June 1739 at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe 2 in Counc John Bazett 3 in Counc Geo Gab Powell 4 in Counc The last Consultation was Read & approved The Major part of the Inhabitants being assembled Delivered Us a petitions Addressed to the Honble the Court of Directors, Requesting the | At a consultation held on Friday 1 June 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Bazett and Stephen Lufkin, senior, executors to the last will and testament of John Young, deceased, acquainted the council that they had delivered to John Brown, in right of his wife Elizabeth, the widow of John Young, deceased, his half part of the freehold estate as mentioned in the consultation of 22 May, and likewise his third part of the personal estate. John Brown acknowledged the receipt of it all, and had given his discharge for the same, quitting all his right, title and demands in or upon the estate of John Young, deceased. At a consultation held on Tuesday 5 June 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The major part of the inhabitants, being assembled, delivered to the council a petition addressed to the Honourable Court of Directors, requesting [...]. Interpretations The first consultation closes the long dispute over John Young's estate, the executors having delivered to John Brown both the half of the freehold the jury confirmed to his wife and the third of the personal estate the will gave her. Brown's discharge, quitting all further claim, ends the matter that had run from the competing petitions of 10 April through the jury trial of 17 April to the division by lot of 22 May. The settlement stands as a complete instance of the island's law of dower worked out to its conclusion, the widow's customary half of the real estate for life and her third of the personalty both made over, the whole under the reversion secured to the Young orphans. That John Bazett acted throughout as executor for the Young children, even as he had argued against the widow's half at the trial, shows the island's small governing circle discharging its duties across both sides of a dispute, Bazett accepting the jury's verdict and delivering the estate as the court had determined despite having contended for the smaller share. The co-executor Stephen Lufkin, the widow's own father, had testified for the half, so the two executors, divided at the trial, joined in executing its result. The second consultation opens another petition from the inhabitants to the Court of Directors, the major part assembling to deliver it, the same collective action by which they had addressed the Company on 30 November 1738 to commend Governor Goodwin and pledge their slaves to the fortifications. The inhabitants' practice of assembling to petition London directly was the means by which the settlement made its wishes known to the distant authority that governed it, whether on the appointment of a governor, the burden of the fortifications or, as here, some fresh matter set before the Court. The delivery of a petition through the council to the Company followed the settled channel, the inhabitants' address transmitted home in the council's packet, the board forwarding the community's collective representation as it had the earlier petitions. The subject of this fresh petition, set out on the succeeding leaves, would have concerned some matter the inhabitants wished the Court to weigh, the assembled body of free men speaking to the Company through the government that ruled them. |
377 | 369 | Same might be transmitted to their Honours, in our Packett Which was accordingly Granted The petition of Mrs Rebecca Seale was Presented & read, setting forth that having particular Invitations to Bengall, desires liberty to take Passage on One of the ships now in the road & bound for England, in Order to return thither on the first outward bound Shiping Granted At a Consultation held on Tuesday 12 June 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read and Approved John Cummings Gardner who died on the 21 Aprill last having a considerable quantity of wearing apparel &c which is much Decayed So laying by & So litle wile in a short time be totally ruined if not Speedily disposed of, therefore Ordred that an advertizement be published to give notice that on Saturday next being the 16 Instant will be Sold at Publick Outcry Sundry Effects belonging to the Estate of John Cummings Dece where all persons are free to bid & buy for ready mony The Governour the Gunner & Steward each of them brought in their accounts for ye month of May last which were Severally Examined & approved and are as follows Vizt | The inhabitants asked that their petition might be transmitted to the Court of Directors in the council's packet, which was accordingly granted. The petition of Rebecca Seale was presented and read, setting out that, having a particular invitation to Bengal, she asked leave to take passage on one of the ships now in the road and bound for England, in order to return thither on the first outward-bound shipping. The council granted it. At a consultation held on Tuesday 12 June 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Cummings the gardener, who died on the 21st of April last, having a considerable quantity of wearing apparel which was much decayed, and lying by so that the whole would in a short time be totally ruined if not speedily disposed of, the council therefore ordered that an advertisement be published to give notice that on Saturday next, being the 16th of this month, would be sold at public outcry sundry effects belonging to the estate of John Cummings, deceased, where all persons were free to bid and buy for ready money. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each brought in their accounts for the month of May past, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Interpretations The first consultation completes the transmission of the inhabitants' petition to the Court of Directors, sent home in the council's packet by the settled channel, and grants Rebecca Seale leave to take passage. Her route, sailing to England on a homeward ship in order to return to Bengal on the next outward voyage, reflects the geography of the Company's shipping, St Helena lying on the homeward leg so that a passenger bound for India travelled first to England and back out, the only regular passage the Company's ships afforded. The sale of John Cummings's effects follows the same reasoning the council had applied to the estates of the chaplain Barlow and Governor Pyke, the perishable goods, here decayed wearing apparel, put to public outcry before they spoiled entirely. Cummings, the Company's gardener who had died on 21 April 1739, appears earlier in this record as the man committed for fathering a child on a Company slave woman, and his estate now realised into money by a public sale for ready cash, the timing chosen while buyers were plentiful. The council's practice of ordering a prompt outcry for perishable goods was the consistent means by which it managed deceased estates, realising what would not keep before it lost value, the same disposal noted for Cummings as for the greater estates settled that season. The advertisement by beat of drum gave public notice so that all might attend, the sale for ready money the surest way of turning goods into a sum for the estate. The consultation of 12 June opens the monthly accounts for May, the routine delivery of the Governor's, gunner's and steward's returns for examination and approval, the figures following on the succeeding leaves. George Gabriel Powell continued as fourth of council, the board now settled at four members through the summer of 1739, the government of the island proceeding through its ordinary round of probate, land, defence and the monthly accounts. |
378 | 370 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Black Cattle &c for the Month of May 1739 Viz Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totale, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totale, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totale, Turkeys, Foules, Geese, Ducks, Horses, Maires, Totale Remaining 1 of May: Bullocks 12, Cows 54, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 47, Bulls 6, Totale 193, Ews 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 12, Rams 5, Totale 62, Sows 9, Shoats 17, Piggs 28, Boars 2, Totale 56, Turkeys 41, Foules 17, Geese 13, Ducks 11, Horses 5, Maires 18, Totale 23 Encreased in Do: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 10, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 4, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 4, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Foules 60, Geese 0, Ducks 0, Horses 1, Maires 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 12, Cows 54, Heifers 26, Steers 12, Yearlings 36, Calves 57, Bulls 6, Totale 203, Ews 40, Weathers 5, Lambs 16, Rams 5, Totale 66, Sows 9, Shoats 17, Piggs 32, Boars 2, Totale 60, Turkeys 41, Foules 77, Geese 13, Ducks 11, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totale 24 Killd in ditto: Bullocks 12, Cows 1, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Yearlings 2, Calves 1, Bulls 1, Totale 18, Ews 0, Weathers 3, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Totale 0, Sows 0, Shoats 1, Piggs 4, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 11, Foules 44, Geese 1, Ducks 5, Horses 0, Maires 0, Totale 0 Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 56, Bulls 5, Totale 185, Ews 40, Weathers 2, Lambs 15, Rams 5, Totale 62, Sows 9, Shoats 16, Piggs 28, Boars 2, Totale 55, Turkeys 30, Foules 33, Geese 12, Ducks 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totale 24 Died in ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totale 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totale 1, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 2, Boars 0, Totale 0, Turkeys 0, Foules 2, Geese 0, Ducks 0, Horses 0, Maires 0, Totale 0 Remaining 31 May: Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 56, Bulls 5, Totale 185, Ews 40, Weathers 2, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totale 61, Sows 9, Shoats 16, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totale 53, Turkeys 30, Foules 31, Geese 12, Ducks 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totale 24 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations 25000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of black cattle and other livestock for the month of May 1739. Remaining 1 May, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 54 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 47 calves, 6 bulls, total 193 Remaining 1 May, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 12 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Remaining 1 May, hogs: 9 sows, 17 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, total 56 Remaining 1 May, poultry: 41 turkeys, 17 fowls, 13 ducks, 11 geese Remaining 1 May, horses: 5 horses, 18 mares, total 23 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 10 calves, 0 bulls, total 10 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, total 4 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 4 pigs, 0 boars, total 4 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 60 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 1 mare, total 1 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 54 cows, 26 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 57 calves, 6 bulls, total 203 Balance after increase, sheep: 40 ewes, 5 wethers, 16 lambs, 5 rams, total 66 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 17 shoats, 32 pigs, 2 boars, total 60 Balance after increase, poultry: 41 turkeys, 77 fowls, 13 ducks, 11 geese Balance after increase, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 12 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 1 steer, 2 yearlings, 1 calf, 1 bull, total 18 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 3 wethers, 1 lamb, total 4 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 1 shoat, 4 pigs, total 5 Killed in the month, poultry: 11 turkeys, 44 fowls, 1 duck, 5 geese Killed in the month, horses: 0 Balance after killing, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 56 calves, 5 bulls, total 185 Balance after killing, sheep: 40 ewes, 2 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 16 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, total 55 Balance after killing, poultry: 30 turkeys, 33 fowls, 12 ducks, 6 geese Balance after killing, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 Died in the month, sheep: 1 ram, total 1 Died in the month, hogs: 2 pigs, total 2 Died in the month, poultry: 2 fowls Remaining 31 May, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 56 calves, 5 bulls, total 185 Remaining 31 May, sheep: 40 ewes, 2 wethers, 15 lambs, 5 rams, total 62 Remaining 31 May, hogs: 9 sows, 16 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 53 Remaining 31 May, poultry: 30 turkeys, 31 fowls, 12 ducks, 6 geese Remaining 31 May, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Yams expended at the several plantations, 25,000 lb Interpretations The May stock account records the moment the beef shortage broke, the whole class of bullocks, twelve head, killed in the month to supply the shipping in the road, leaving not one bullock on the island by the 31st. This is the direct consequence of the crisis the Governor had reported to the captains and the Company through the spring, the herd so reduced that when the demand of a full anchorage came, the entire stock of fattened males had to be slaughtered at once. That the closing figure of 185 head matches exactly the Company's stock counted in the cattle return of 22 May confirms the account as the record of that same exhausted herd. The killing fell almost wholly on the bullocks, with only a few other beasts taken, showing the council drawing on the one class it could spare while still holding back the breeding cows, heifers and calves it dared not touch. Yet with the bullocks gone, the herd's capacity to victual the next ships was spent, exactly the ruin the Governor had warned of on 8 May when he said that to kill breeders or young cattle would destroy the stock for years. The island had reached the point where meeting the present demand consumed its whole reserve of table beef. The rest of the stock held its slow recovery, ten calves born, the flock steady at 62 and the hogs at 53, the drought's grip on the breeding stock now loosed since the rains returned about July 1738. The poultry yard was drawn on heavily for the table alongside the beef, fowls and turkeys killed in numbers as the household and the shipping demanded, the yard's figures again resisting exact reconciliation in the ruled grid. The stud held at 24, its largest in this record. The yam issue fell to 25,000 lb, and the whole account, headed for the first time in these returns as the stock of black cattle, gives the picture the council was sending home, an island whose herd the drought had reduced to breeding stock and whose bullocks were exhausted the moment the shipping season pressed. The monthly return, tracking every class through its increase, killing and death, remained the running record of a Company husbanding a herd it could no longer make answer the demands of its place on the homeward route. |
379 | 371 | Gunners Account for the Month of May 1739 Vizt Gunns fired, Shot fired, 9 pondrs, Secors, 4 lb, 3 pdrs, 2 pdrs, Powder Expended Two Double Alarams & arrived the Godolphin and Prince of Orange: Gunns fired 39, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 6, 3 pdrs 6, 2 pdrs 27, Powder Expended 63 arrived the Prince of Wales & Princess Royall: Gunns fired 36, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 36, Powder Expended 36 2 An alaram & arrived a French Ship: Gunns fired 15, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 11, Powder Expended 12 3 An alaram: Gunns fired 4, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 8 arrived the London: Gunns fired 18, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 18, Powder Expended 18 8 Departed a French Ship: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 9 do An alaram: Gunns fired 4, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 9 arrived the Daine ship: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 9 do An alaram: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 4, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 10 arrived a French Ship: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 9 13 An alaram: Gunns fired 4, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 14 Departed a French ship: Gunns fired 11, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 11, Powder Expended 11 15 arrived a Dutch ship: Gunns fired 11, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 11, Powder Expended 11 do Fired at Bankess to bring a Dutch ship too: Gunns fired 2, Shot fired 2, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 2, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 9 16 Departed the Daine ship: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 9 do Departed the Godolphin Prince of Orange: Gunns fired 63, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 3, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 3, 2 pdrs 57, Powder Expended 81 Prince of Wales & Princess Royall: Gunns fired 0, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 18, Powder Expended 18 do Departed the London: Gunns fired 18, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 18, Powder Expended 18 do An alaram double: Gunns fired 6, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 3, 3 pdrs 3, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 17 arrived the Princess mary & a French ship: Gunns fired 18, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 18, Powder Expended 18 do Fired at Reuports by Mr Bazett: Gunns fired 2, Shot fired 2, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 2, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 6 18 Departed a French ship: Gunns fired 9, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 9 19 An alaram and arrived the Scarborough: Gunns fired 18, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 21 do An alaram for a Ship that went past: Gunns fired 4, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 12 20 a Double alaram & arrived the Wager: Gunns fired 15, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 3, 4 lb 3, 3 pdrs 3, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 27 do Fired at Bankess to bring the ship too: Gunns fired 2, Shot fired 2, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 2, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 9 21 arrived the Nassau & Departed a French: Gunns fired 18, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 18, Powder Expended 18 22 Departed a Dutch ship: Gunns fired 13, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 13, Powder Expended 13 29 a double alaram & arrived the Duke of Cumberland: Gunns fired 15, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 3, 4 lb 3, 3 pdrs 3, 2 pdrs 9, Powder Expended 27 30 An alaram and arrived a Dutch ship: Gunns fired 17, Shot fired 0, 9 pondrs 0, Secors 0, 4 lb 2, 3 pdrs 2, 2 pdrs 13, Powder Expended 27 do Fired at Bankess to bring a Dutch ship too and mundens fort: Gunns fired 5, Shot fired 5, 9 pondrs 2, Secors 3, 4 lb 0, 3 pdrs 0, 2 pdrs 0, Powder Expended 27 Powder to the Guard, & for priming ye greate Gunns: 454 Totall 402 11 2 10 33 34 328 625 Spunge Staves: 12 Handspikes: 4 muskett balls: 4 tt Priming Wieers: 6 Axell Trees: 6 Trucks: 6 Match: 36 tt Paper: 3 qur Belts: 4 | Gunner's account for the month of May 1739: Two double alarms and arrived the Godolphin and Prince of Orange: guns fired 39, 3 pounders 6, 2 pounders 6, powder 27, total 62 Arrived the Prince of Wales and Princess Royal: guns fired 36, powder 36, total 36 An alarm and arrived a French ship: guns fired 15, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 11, total 12 An alarm: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 11, total 12 Arrived the London: guns fired 18, powder 18, total 18 Departed a French ship: guns fired 9, powder 9, total 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 9, total 12 Arrived the Dane ship: guns fired 9, powder 9, total 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 9, total 12 Arrived a French ship: guns fired 9, powder 9, total 9 An alarm: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 9, total 12 Departed a French ship: guns fired 11, powder 11, total 11 Arrived a Dutch ship: guns fired 11, powder 11, total 11 Fired at Banks's to bring a Dutch ship to: guns fired 2, shot 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 9, total 9 Departed the Dane ship: guns fired 9, powder 9, total 9 Departed the Godolphin, Prince of Orange, Prince of Wales and Princess Royal: guns fired 63, 3 pounders 8, powder 57, total 81 Departed the London: guns fired 18, powder 18, total 18 An alarm, double: guns fired 6, 3 pounders 3, powder 12, total 12 Arrived the Princess Mary and a French ship: guns fired 18, powder 18, total 18 Fired at Rupert's by Mr Bazett: guns fired 2, shot 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 6, total 6 Departed a French ship: guns fired 9, powder 9, total 9 An alarm and arrived the Scarborough: guns fired 18, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 9, total 21 An alarm for a ship that went past: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 12, total 12 A double alarm and arrived the Wager: guns fired 15, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 3, powder 9, total 27 Fired at Banks's to bring the ship to: guns fired 2, shot 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 9, total 9 Arrived the Nassau and departed a French ship: guns fired 18, powder 18, total 18 Departed a Dutch ship: guns fired 13, 3 pounders 3, powder 13, total 13 29 May, a double alarm and arrived the Duke of Cumberland: guns fired 15, 3 pounders 3, 2 pounders 3, powder 9, total 27 30 May, an alarm and arrived a Dutch ship: guns fired 17, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 13, total 27 30 May, fired at Banks's to bring a Dutch ship to and Munden's Fort: guns fired 5, shot 5, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 3, powder 27 Powder to the guard and for priming the great guns: powder 45 Total: guns fired 402, shot 11, 9 pounders 2, sakers 10, 4 pounders 33, 3 pounders 34, 2 pounders 328, powder 625 The stores expended were also as follows. Sponge staves, 12 Handspikes, 4 Musket balls, 4 hundredweight 12 lb Priming wires, 6 Axle trees, 6 Trucks, 6 Match, 36 lb Paper, 3 quires Bitts, 4 Interpretations The gunner's account for May records much the busiest month for the guns in this entire recent run, 402 guns fired and 625 lb of powder spent, the road so full of shipping through the month that the fort was almost continuously answering arrivals, departures and alarms. Ships of four nations passed through, English Indiamen alongside French, Danish and Dutch vessels, each saluted in and out, and the repeated firing at Banks's to bring strange ships to shows the guarded vigilance the council kept under apprehension of the European war, every unidentified sail challenged before it was allowed the road. The great salute of 63 guns on the departure of four ships together, the Godolphin, Prince of Orange, Prince of Wales and Princess Royal, marks the height of the shipping season, a whole fleet sailing at once for England. The heavy expenditure fell almost entirely on the two-pounders, the falcons, 328 of them fired against a handful of the heavier pieces, the smallest guns reserved for the endless ceremonial salutes to spare the larger ordnance and the powder, exactly the practice the gunner's accounts show throughout this record. The firing of live shot at Banks's and Munden's Fort to bring Dutch and other ships to, several times in the month, reflects the challenge to foreign shipping the council had ordered on its guarded footing, a ship that did not answer the fort's hail brought to by a shot across her bows. The entry recording Mr Bazett firing at Rupert's shows a councillor himself directing the guns, the small governing circle taking a hand in the island's defence as it did in every branch of its business. The stores expended, sponge staves, handspikes, priming wires, axle trees, trucks and match, were the consumable furniture and running gear of the guns, the axle trees and trucks the timbers and wheels of the gun carriages worn by constant use, the heavy charge of musket balls reflecting the filling of the garrison's cartridges. The whole account is the record of an island at the full press of its shipping season, its guns worked hard answering a road crowded with the vessels of many nations, kept always on the watch for the enemy the war it feared might bring. |
380 | 372 | The Expence of the Table in May 1739 Viz 76 5/8 Gall Arrack 15 0 3 7 Bottles of Ryl 1 6 3 10 pr Sugar 1 6 150 Candy 3 15 2 C 2 Flour 5 12 6 32 Gall Port 12 8 4 Gall Mountain 1 9 8 7 do Gall Ale 1 3 4 16 Gall Strong beer 2 6 20 Gall Strong do 1 10 131 Beef 5 7 9 Small beer Pork do 15 Butter do 2 1 Sheep 1 30 Foules 2 5 59 15 10 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 26 June 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & Approved Mr Richard Goodwin this day attended & acquainted us that he having Severall Perishable Commodities, such as wearing apparel &c belonging to the Estate of James Crafford Dece &c which have | Expense of the table in May 1739: 76.5 gallons arrack, £15 0s 3d 7 bottles oyl, £1 6s 3d 10 lb sugar, £1 6s 0d 150 lb candy, £3 15s 0d 2 hundredweight 2 quarters flour, £5 12s 6d 32 gallons port, £12 8s 0d 10 gallons mountain, £0 0s 0d 7 gallons ale, £1 3s 4d 16 gallons strong beer, £2 6s 0d 20 gallons strong beer, £1 10s 0d 131 lb beef, £5 7s 9d Pork, 50 lb, £0 15s 0d Butter, 20 lb, £2 0s 0d 1 sheep, £1 0s 0d 30 fowls, £2 5s 0d Total, £59 13s 10d At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 June 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Richard Goodwin attended that day and acquainted the council that, having several perishable commodities, such as wearing apparel and other things, belonging to the estate of James Crafford, deceased, which had [...]. Interpretations The May table account closes at £59 13s 10d, the highest of this recent run, the crowded shipping season that filled the road through the month drawing the household to entertain a stream of captains, supercargoes and passengers of note ashore. This matches the gunner's account for the same month, the busiest for the guns in the record, the two returns together marking May 1739 as the full height of the season, the road thronged with the vessels of four nations. Arrack at 76.5 gallons and port at 32 gallons were the dominant charges, the officers' table well supplied with imported drink for its many guests. Beef stood at 131 lb, drawn from the bullocks the herd was forced to yield in May, the stock account for the month recording the whole class of twelve bullocks killed to supply the demand. The household thus shared in the exhaustion of the herd that the beef crisis had brought, though it drew on pork, mutton and the poultry yard alongside, the same substitution the accounts show whenever the cattle ran short. The heavy charge of both port and mountain, a sweet Malaga wine, alongside ale and strong beer reflects the varied drink a full anchorage demanded. The consultation of 26 June returns once more to the estate of James Crafford, Richard Goodwin now seeking to dispose of its perishable goods by the same public outcry the council had ordered for the estates of Barlow, Pyke and Cummings. Crafford's estate had been the subject of the disputed probate of 4 October 1737 and of Goodwin's petition of 24 April 1739 complaining that Governor Pyke had disposed of its lands against the will, the whole tangled succession still being worked out, but the perishable goods could be sold at once while the question of the land waited on the Company's determination. The disposal of the perishable effects while the larger dispute over the land remained unsettled shows the council's consistent management of a deceased estate, realising what would not keep before it spoiled while the contested freehold awaited a decision from London. The same distinction between perishable goods sold promptly and land held pending determination had governed its handling of every complex estate in this record, the council preserving the value of the movable goods for whoever the heirs should prove to be. |
381 | 373 | Already been very much decayed by Long Lying by And he apprehends that they wile be if not Spedily disposed of totally ruind Desires that for the Benifit of the Heirs of Sd Crafford ha may have Leave granted him to dispose of the same at publick Outcry Granted The Governour Reports that on Saturday last in the road one Samuel Plant a Soldier going to his post at Banks fort had the misfortune of falling down the Hills between munden Point & Rupers Valley where he was found dead next morning with one of his arms broke, & a Large fracture in his Skull Mr George Gabriel Powele this day presented an Inventory of the Goods & Effects of Mr Samuel Fazakerley, late of Bengale who dild here on the 8 Instant, As appraized by Messrs Fran Wrangham Richard Goodwin & Jos: Johnson who upon their Oaths declaired that they had Valued & appraized the same according to the best of their Judgments, & it was Ordred to be Registred accordingly, & is as follows Vizt Inventory of Sundry Goods & Effects belonging to the Estate of Sam Fazakerley 29 dece taken & appraized by Messrs Frances Wrangham Rich: Goodwin & Jos: Johnson this 10th Day of June 1739 Vizt Wearing Apparel Vizt 1 Blew Velvet Coat, wastcoat, & Breeches worn 2 10 1 Olive prawey do 2 10 1 Uncut Velvet do old 4 1 do Coat & Breeches very old 4 1 do do good 4 10 1 Black padusoy Coat, wastcoat, & Breeches 2 10 1 Scarlett Frock & wastcoat 2 1 Blew Frock & 2 pr Breeches 2 1 White silk wastcoat flowed nen 5 1 blew do laced 2 1 red do do old 1 10 2 Yellow Stuff do 12 1 pr Black Velvet Breeches 12 2 old laced hatts, 1 plumd, & a Black cap 2 1 Old fer Cap 1 2 banyan Coats 1 pr Draws & Cap 1 5 2 old wiggs 3 a gold head Cane 5 5 2 Canes 10 1 pr old boots, 3 pr Shoes & 2 pr Slippers 10 2 Sword belts 12 a sett of Silver buckells 40 7 | Richard Goodwin set out that the goods had already been very much decayed by long lying by, and that he apprehended they would, if not speedily disposed of, be totally ruined. He asked that, for the benefit of the heirs of the said Crafford, he might have leave granted him to dispose of the same at public outcry. The council granted it. The Governor reported that on Saturday last, in the road, one Samuel Plant, a soldier going to his post at Banks's fort, had the misfortune of falling down the hills between Munden's Point and Rupert's Valley, where he was found dead the next morning, with one of his arms broke and a large fracture in his skull. George Gabriel Powell this day presented an inventory of the goods and effects of Samuel Fazakerley, late of Bengal, who died on the island on the 8th of this month, as appraised by Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Isaac Johnson, who upon their oaths declared that they had valued and appraised the same according to the best of their judgements. It was ordered to be registered accordingly, and was as follows. Inventory of sundry goods and effects belonging to the estate of Samuel Fazakerley, deceased, taken and appraised by Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Isaac Johnson this 10th day of June 1739. Wearing apparel: 1 blue velvet coat, waistcoat and breeches, worn, £2 10s 0d 1 olive padusoy coat, £2 10s 0d 1 uncut velvet coat, old, £1 0s 0d 1 uncut velvet coat and breeches, very old, £1 0s 0d 1 uncut velvet coat and breeches, good, £4 10s 0d 1 black padusoy coat, waistcoat and breeches, £2 10s 0d 1 scarlet frock and waistcoat, £2 0s 0d 1 blue frock and 2 pairs breeches, £1 10s 0d 1 white silk waistcoat, flowered, new, £3 0s 0d 1 blue waistcoat, laced, £2 0s 0d 1 red waistcoat, old, £1 10s 0d 1 yellow stuff coat, £0 12s 0d 1 pair black velvet breeches, £0 12s 0d 6 old laced hats, 1 plain, and a black cap, £2 0s 0d 1 old fur cap, £0 1s 0d 2 banyan coats, 1 pair drawers and cap, £1 3s 0d 2 old wigs, £1 0s 0d 1 gold head cane, £5 6s 0d 2 canes, £0 10s 0d 1 pair old boots, 2 pairs shoes and 2 pairs slippers, £0 10s 0d 2 sword belts, £0 18s 0d a set of silver buckles, £0 [...]s 0d Total wearing apparel, £40 7s 0d Interpretations The consultation grants Richard Goodwin leave to sell the perishable goods of the Crafford estate at public outcry, the same disposal the council had ordered for every deceased estate that season, the decayed wearing apparel realised into money before it spoiled entirely while the contested question of the Crafford land waited on the Company's determination. This closes the practical management of the movable goods, the tangled succession of the freehold, disputed since 1737, still to be settled from home. The Governor's report of Samuel Plant's death records one of the many fatal falls on the island's steep paths, a soldier going to his post at Banks's killed falling down the hills between Munden's Point and Rupert's Valley. The paths to the outlying batteries were notoriously dangerous, the same treacherous ground that had killed the fisherman Corryden on the Rupert's path on 22 July 1734 and injured many others, the price the garrison paid for defending a coast reached only by narrow tracks along the cliffs. Banks's, one of the coastal works the survey of 11 May had detailed, lay at the end of just such a path. The inventory of Samuel Fazakerley's estate values the wardrobe of a man lately of Bengal who died on the island, and the goods reveal a person of some means and fashion, his velvet, padusoy and laced coats and his gold-headed cane a far richer apparel than the plain clothing of the island's ordinary inhabitants. Padusoy was a rich corded silk, a banyan a loose indoor gown, and the several velvet and silk suits mark a Company servant returning from India with the dress his eastern service had afforded, the same kind of estate as the well-furnished inventories of officers and supercargoes recorded elsewhere in this record. The valuation under oath by three appraisers, Francis Wrangham, Richard Goodwin and Isaac Johnson, followed the island's settled probate procedure, the goods viewed and priced item by item and the inventory ordered registered. Fazakerley's death on the island as a passenger or traveller from Bengal, his estate secured and appraised, shows the settlement handling the goods of those who died in passage through it, the council acting as the court of probate for strangers as for its own inhabitants, the wardrobe of an India merchant catalogued and registered like any other deceased estate. |
382 | 374 | Wearing Apparel brought over 40 7 1 Gold neck Buckell 2 10 2 pr Gloves 4 1 Shote Whip 16 1 pr Steve Buttons 16 8 pr new Stockings @ 6 6 2 12 19 pr milling do @ 6 5 14 28 pr old do @ 1 6 2 2 15 pr very old do 7 8 pr of White & 1 pr of white silk Stockings 2 7 20 Shirts @ 3 3 4 12 do @ 7 4 4 25 do @ 10 12 10 10 do @ 6 3 15 do @ 4 6 3 7 6 68 do @ 4 13 12 11 do @ 8 6 1 18 6 11 do very old @ 2 1 2 18 pr Stocks @ 3 each 2 12 4 21 Caps @ 1 1 2 1 Gauze laced Handkercheef tarnished 10 14 pullecat do @ 1 6 1 2 5 pullecat do @ 1 old 5 2 Cassinburgar do @ 2 8 18 Cassenbezan do @ 2 old 6 4 Bengale do @ 6 old 2 8 white waistcoats @ 6 2 8 9 Corse toweles 9 11 od r toweles 11 2 Old do 1 30 pr Sheets @ 12 18 8 pr do @ 4 1 12 14 Pillow Cases @ 1 old 14 90 4 4 181 4 4 1 Slave boy 15 1 small bundle sealed & douched to Sam Feakeheef 1 Diamond ring No 1 1 mourning Diamond ring No 2 1 Diamond ring gave to Mr Powele No 3 1 small ring with a blew stone No 4 1 Gold snuff box Cash 70 Rupees @ 2 3 pr Rup 8 2 1 Gold ten Shilling piece 10 1 fanam 1 old Bedding wilt mushetta Cwtrains 8 a small tunn box with birds nest 2 Carried over 157 15 7 | The inventory of Samuel Fazakerley's estate continued from the sum of wearing apparel brought over of £40 7s 0d. 1 gold neck buckle, £2 10s 0d 2 pairs gloves, £0 4s 0d 1 shoe wisp, £0 2s 0d 1 pair steel buttons, £0 16s 0d 8 pairs new stockings at 6s 6d, £2 12s 0d 19 pairs milling stockings at 6s, £5 14s 0d 28 pairs old stockings at 1s 6d, £2 2s 0d 15 pairs very old stockings, £0 7s 0d 9 pairs white and 9 pairs white silk stockings, £2 0s 0d 20 shirts at 3s, £3 0s 0d 12 shirts at 7s, £4 4s 0d 25 shirts at 8s, £12 10s 0d 10 shirts at 6s, £3 0s 0d 15 shirts at 4s 6d, £3 7s 6d 68 shirts at 4s, £13 12s 0d 11 shirts at 3s 6d, £1 18s 6d 11 shirts very old at 2s, £1 2s 0d 18 stocks at 4d each, £0 12s 4d 21 caps at 1s, £2 2s 0d 1 gauze laced handkerchief, tarnished, £0 10s 0d 14 pullicat handkerchiefs at 1s 6d, £1 1s 0d 5 pullicat handkerchiefs at 1s, older, £0 5s 0d 9 Cassimbazar handkerchiefs at 1s, £0 9s 0d 18 Cassimbazar handkerchiefs at 6d, old, £0 6s 0d 4 Bengal handkerchiefs at 6d, older, £0 2s 0d 8 white waistcoats at 6s, £2 8s 0d 9 coarse towels, £0 9s 0d 11 other towels, £0 11s 0d 2 old towels, £0 1s 0d 30 pairs sheets at 12s, £18 0s 0d 3 pairs sheets at 11s, £1 13s 0d 19 pillow cases at 1s, old, £0 14s 0d Total, £90 4s 4d Sub-total, £181 4s 4d 1 slave boy, £15 0s 0d 1 small bundle sealed and directed to Sam Fazakerley 1 diamond ring, number 1 1 mourning diamond ring, number 2 1 diamond ring, gave to Mr Powell, number 3 1 small ring with a blue stone, number 4 1 gold snuff box Cash, 70 rupees at 2s 6d the rupee, £8 2s 0d 1 gold ten shilling piece, £0 10s 0d 1 fanam 1 old bedding with mosquito curtains, £8 0s 0d a small tin box with birds nest, £2 0s 0d Carried over, £157 15s 7d Interpretations The second leaf of Fazakerley's inventory continues the catalogue of a wealthy India traveller's effects, and its most striking feature is the sheer quantity of fine linen, more than 150 shirts across many grades and 33 pairs of sheets, an accumulation far beyond any island inhabitant's wardrobe. Such a stock of shirts and handkerchiefs was less a personal wardrobe than a private trading venture, the cottons and linens the Company's servants carried home from India to sell, the same kind of trading parcel found in the estates of officers and supercargoes throughout this record. The handkerchiefs name the Indian cloths of their origin, pullicat a checked cotton from Pulicat on the Coromandel coast, Cassimbazar and Bengal handkerchiefs from the Bengal weaving centres, the staple textiles of the eastern trade. The valuation of each grade of shirt, stocking and handkerchief separately, from new to very old, shows the appraisers pricing a large and varied stock with care, the goods representing the profit Fazakerley had expected from his tonnage allowance on the homeward passage. The estate also held the marks of a man of some wealth beyond his trading stock, diamond rings, a gold snuff box, cash in rupees and a gold coin, and a slave boy valued at £15 0s 0d. The note that one diamond ring was given to Mr Powell records George Gabriel Powell, who had presented the inventory, receiving a ring from the estate, the small governing circle again touching the goods it administered. The birds' nest in a tin box was an eastern delicacy, the edible nest prized in the China trade, a curiosity carried home from the East. The whole inventory, running past £157 on this leaf, values the estate of a man of Bengal who died in passage through the island, his wealth in fine cloth, jewels and specie catalogued and appraised under the island's ordinary probate procedure. Fazakerley's goods, secured on his death on 8 June 1739 and valued by three sworn appraisers, show the settlement handling the substantial estate of a returning India merchant with the same care it gave its own inhabitants, the council acting as the court of probate for the travellers who died on the homeward route as for the planters of the island. |
383 | 375 | Brought over 157 15 7 1 old Shagreen dram case with broken bottles 2 6 2 tea Spoons, 1 table do 1 potenger 1 pr Tongs & 1 do Strainer 3 15 4½ small remnants of old Silver Lace a broken fly fan 10 a broken Botush 2 bunches of mourning bugles 4 a parcell of old buttons, flints for gunns &ca old rubbish 2 5 pr & 2 small remnants of ordy muslin 2 1 small remnant of red Cloath 4 a Chamber bell 1 an Cold womans gownd without Sleaves 2 6 9 old Dammaged gownds 5 6 Striped muslin Aprons 10 a small Damaged Looking Glass 1 2 China flower pots one of them broken 10 a peice of Striped Beetalas 1 1 sett of Musheeta Curtains 1 1 do pr do old 15 8 pallamperes 3 1 do do old 1 patch of ordy Chints 10 an old raizor case with raizors 6 a parcell of old books 2 Silver Scales 7 6 1 little box with steel tweezers 5 2 pr Sciars 1 1 Ounce Goa Stone 2 6 1 pen knife 1 1 purse, 1 paper knife & 1 brass Seale 1 6 1 hand Scretore 1 1 Large Chest 3 1 small do 1 1 very small do 10 1 Potts Mantua tott 10 madera Wine 5½ C 8 P 1 1 4 Syrack do 8 C 6 P 1 8 6 Goa Arrack 57 C 6 P 2 15 10 Totall Amo 190 7 7½ St Helena 10 June 1739 Sworn before me Geo: Johnson without being sick Jos Johnson Francis Wrangham Richard Goodwin Jno Goodwin Govr Errors Excepted pr George Gabriel Powell being sworn to the truth of this Inventory declairs upon oath the same to be an Inventory | The inventory of Samuel Fazakerley's estate continued from the sum brought over of £157 15s 7d. 1 old shagreen dram case with broken bottles, £0 2s 6d 2 teaspoons, 1 table spoon, 1 porringer and 1 pair tongs and other, £3 15s 4.5d small remnants of old silver lace, £0 15s 0d a broken fly fan, £0 10s 0d a broken brush, £0 0s 4d 2 bunches of mourning bugles, £0 0s 4d a parcel of old buttons, flints for guns and other old rubbish, £0 2s 0d 5 pairs and 2 small remnants of old muslin, £4 0s 0d a small remnant of red cloth, £1 0s 0d a chamber bell, £0 2s 6d an old woman's gown without sleeves, £0 5s 0d 2 old damaged gowns, £1 0s 0d 6 striped muslin aprons, £1 10s 0d a small damaged looking glass, £0 1s 0d 2 china flower pots, one of them broken, £0 10s 0d a piece of striped beetalas, £1 0s 0d 1 set of muslin curtains, old, £0 15s 0d 3 palempores, old, £3 0s 0d 1 patch of ordinary chintz, £1 10s 0d an old razor case with razors, £0 6s 0d a parcel of old books, £0 0s 0d 2 silver scales, £0 7s 6d 1 little box with steel tweezers, £0 5s 0d 2 pairs scissors, £0 1s 0d 2 ounces goa stone, £0 2s 6d 1 penknife, £0 1s 0d 1 purse, 1 paper knife and 1 brass seal, £0 1s 6d 1 hand escritoire, £1 0s 0d 1 large chest, £3 0s 0d 1 small chest, £1 0s 0d 1 very small chest, £0 10s 0d 1 pot mantua, £0 10s 0d Madeira wine, 5 dozen 2 bottles at 8s, £1 1s 4d Sherry, 6 dozen 7 bottles at 7s, £1 8s 6d Goa arrack, 57 bottles at 6s, £2 15s 10d Total amount, £190 7s 7.5d The inventory was taken at St Helena on 10 June 1739, errors excepted, and sworn before Governor Goodwin by Isaac Johnson, Francis Wrangham and Richard Goodwin, Isaac Johnson being sworn without being sick. George Gabriel Powell, being sworn to the truth of this inventory, declared upon oath the same to be an inventory [...]. Interpretations The final leaf of Fazakerley's inventory closes the estate at £190 7s 7.5d, the last items filling out the picture of a returning India traveller's goods, the china flower pots, beetalas and palempores, the muslin curtains and aprons, and the stock of Madeira, sherry and Goa arrack. Beetalas was a fine Indian muslin and a palempore a painted or printed cotton bedcover, both prized eastern textiles, while the goa stone was a manufactured medicinal stone made at Goa and valued as a remedy, the whole a characteristic assemblage of the curiosities and trade goods a Company servant carried home from the East. The presence of women's goods among the effects, gowns, muslin aprons and a woman's sleeveless gown, is notable in the estate of a man, perhaps goods carried for trade or belonging to a wife or household, the same kind of mixed parcel that trading ventures often held. The many small personal items, silver scales, tweezers, a penknife, a hand escritoire and chests, were the ordinary furniture of a traveller's cabin, catalogued down to the broken brush and the parcel of old rubbish, the appraisers pricing every article however trifling. The inventory was sworn before the Governor by the three appraisers under the island's settled probate procedure, the note that Isaac Johnson was sworn without being sick recording that all three took the oath in person. George Gabriel Powell, who had presented the inventory and received a diamond ring from the estate, was himself sworn to its truth, the councillor both administering and attesting the estate, the small governing circle discharging the probate of a stranger who had died in passage through the island. The valuation of Fazakerley's estate, running to £190 across three leaves of fine cloth, jewels, plate, wine and curiosities, stands as one of the fuller inventories in this record, the goods of an India merchant who died on the homeward route catalogued with the same care the council gave every deceased estate. The whole shows the settlement's function as a place where those travelling between Europe and Asia died and had their affairs settled, the council acting as the court of probate for the Company's servants and passengers as for its own inhabitants, an estate of eastern wealth appraised and registered on a small South Atlantic island. |
384 | 376 | of the Whole Effects belonging to Sam Fazakerley Esqr Dece Received into this Custody after the decease of said Fazakerley Except some Letters & Accounts & a few old Cloths he gave to the deceaseds Servant who was without any & Mr Powell has also 263 pr of ordy moresse which he received of Mr Fazakerley in his life time with orders to dispose of the same & remitt the Produce to William Fazakerley Esqr of London Sworn before Me John Goodwin Govr G G Powell We this day delivered to the Chappell Wardens Messrs Jos: Johnson & Rich Goodwin, And to the new Overseers of the Highways Messrs Tho Easthope, Sam Powell & Sam Draper, Agreeable to the Choice made of them at a Vestry held for that purpose on Easter monday last, Their respective Warrants for Executing that office during the term of the present Year And at the same time the Governour Strenuously recommended to the overseers, the Growth of Wood & Furze, & the Planting of it, in every part of the Island where they have any prospect of its Succeeding At a Consultation held on Tuesday 26 June 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Gov Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & approved | The inventory concluded that it was of the whole effects belonging to Samuel Fazakerley, deceased, received into the council's custody after the decease of the said Fazakerley, except some letters and accounts, and a few old clothes he gave to the deceased's servant, who was without any. Mr Powell had also 263 pieces of doosuttees, which he received of Mr Fazakerley in his lifetime, with orders to dispose of the same and remit the produce to William Fazakerley of London. The inventory was signed by George Gabriel Powell and sworn before Governor Goodwin. The council this day delivered to the chapel wardens Joshua Johnson and Richard Goodwin, and to the new overseers of the highways Thomas Easthope, Samuel Powell and Samuel Draper, agreeable to the choice made of them at a vestry held for that purpose on Easter Monday last, their respective warrants for executing that office during the term of the present year. At the same time the Governor strenuously recommended to the overseers the growth of wood and furze, and the planting of it in every part of the island where they had any prospect of its succeeding. At a consultation held on Tuesday 26 June 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Interpretations The close of Fazakerley's probate reveals the trading character of his estate more fully, the note that George Gabriel Powell held 263 pieces of doosuttees received from Fazakerley in his lifetime, with orders to sell them and remit the proceeds to William Fazakerley of London. This shows the dead man's goods to have been a private trading venture, the cloth entrusted to Powell for sale and the profit to go to a kinsman in England, the same commercial dealing in Indian textiles that ran through the estates of the Company's servants in this record. The small kindness of a few old clothes given to the deceased's servant who had none is recorded as an exception to the effects taken into custody. The delivery of warrants to the parish officers completes the annual appointment begun on 4 May 1739, the chapel wardens and overseers of the highways chosen at the Easter Monday vestry now formally commissioned for the year. The overseers of the highways managed the island's roads and the labour due to them, and the Governor's charge to them to promote the growth and planting of wood reflects the island's most persistent concern, the scarcity of timber that runs through this record, the council repeatedly pressing the inhabitants to plant wood and furze against the day no timber should be left standing. The Governor's strenuous recommendation of wood-planting to the overseers was more than a formality on an island where wood had become the scarcest commodity, the same anxiety that had driven the wood surveys of 1727 and the constant advertisements against cutting green timber. By charging the highway overseers with promoting its growth in every part where it might succeed, the Governor enlisted the parish officers in the long struggle to preserve the island's dwindling timber, the planting of wood a public duty pressed on every holder and officer. The consultation of 26 June opens with the settled board of four, Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and George Gabriel Powell, the government of the island proceeding through its ordinary round of probate, parish administration and the standing care for the island's wood. The whole leaf shows the council in its routine business, closing the estate of a stranger who died in passage, commissioning the year's parish officers, and pressing the perennial concern for the timber on which the island's future depended. |
385 | 377 | The Governour Reports that one of the Honble Companys Slavemen Cattle being as he was coming from their Plantation in Sandy bay with a Load of Yams Unfortunately fell down & in the fall a knife that was hanging by his side, cut into his Belly Severall Inches & has Cutt his Guts & otherwise wounded him in so Dangerous a manner that his Life is Despaird off At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3 of July 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe Jno Bazett absent being Sick Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & approved The Governour Reports that he has ordred Severall of the Companys Slaves to be employed at Sandy bay in Digging & Burning Lime for the Fortification that is to be Raized there, which he purposes to set about as soon as the Season will Permit The Governour the Gunner & Steward brought in their accounts for the month of June last, As did the Storekeeper his Quarterly account as Usual, all which were Severally Examined & proved & are as follows Vizt The Expence of the Table in June 1739 Vizt 2 Cq Pork 5 13 6 8 C Butter 1 3 30 Days Greens 1 10 60 Botles milk 1 65 Gall Arrack 13 7 Bottles Ryl 1 8 133 C morke 4 19 1 Coffee 1 tea 1 3 12 Gall Port 4 13 4 Gall Mountain 1 11 11 Gall Ale 1 15 25 Gall Strong Beer 1 16 24 Gall Small Beer 1 4 3 C Flour 4 1 3 6 Bushell Salt 1 17 6 45 3 | The Governor reported that one of the Honourable Company's slaves, being as he was coming from their plantation in Sandy Bay with a load of yams, unfortunately fell down, and in the fall a knife that was hanging by his side ran into his belly several inches and has cut his guts and otherwise wounded him in so dangerous a manner that his life is despaired of. At a consultation held on Tuesday 3 July 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. John Bazett absent, being sick. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that he had ordered several of the Company's slaves to be employed at Sandy Bay in digging and burning lime for the fortification that was to be raised there, which he proposed to set about as soon as the season would permit. The Governor, the gunner and the steward brought in their accounts for the month of June last, and the storekeeper his quarterly account as usual, all which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Expense of the table in June 1739: 2 hundredweight pork, £5 12s 0d 6 hundredweight butter, £0 0s 0d 30 days greens, £1 10s 0d 60 bottles milk, £1 1s 0d 63 gallons arrack, £13 0s 0d 7 bottles oyl, £1 8s 0d 132 lb sugar, £4 14s 0d 1 coffee tin, £0 0s 0d 12 gallons port, £4 13s 0d 4 gallons mountain, £1 11s 0d 11 gallons ale, £1 13s 0d 24 gallons strong beer, £1 16s 0d 24 gallons small beer, £1 4s 0d 3 hundredweight flour, £1 17s 6d 6 bushels salt, £0 0s 0d Total, £45 0s 3d Interpretations The Governor's report of the slave's injury records a fatal accident on the steep path from the Sandy Bay plantation, a knife worn at the belt driven into the man's belly by a fall carrying a load of yams. This is the same danger that killed and maimed so many on the island's precipitous tracks, the fisherman Corryden and the soldier Samuel Plant among them, the narrow paths along the cliffs a constant hazard to those who carried the island's burdens. The slaves who bore the yams down from the plantations and the stores up to the batteries paid this price repeatedly throughout this record. The consultation of 3 July shows the fortification work at Sandy Bay going forward, the Governor having set the Company's slaves to dig and burn lime for the battery to be raised there as soon as the season allowed. Sandy Bay was one of the exposed landing places the survey of 11 May had noted as needing a work, and the burning of lime for its construction carried on the defensive programme that had run through the whole year under apprehension of the European war. Lime-burning was the making of mortar from limestone, the essential material for the stonework of the batteries, and the labour of the Company's slaves supplied it at little cost. The board sat with only three members, John Bazett being sick, the government of the island resting on the small circle that had governed since Pyke's death, its numbers thinned by illness as it often was. The absence of a councillor was recorded but did not stop the ordinary business, the remaining members examining the monthly and quarterly accounts and carrying the fortification work forward. The June table account closes at £45 0s 3d, below the crowded May figure, the shipping season easing after its height, and the fare continues to show the beef shortage plainly, no beef charged at all and the household drawing its meat from pork alone alongside the poultry and the dairy. Arrack at 63 gallons remained the dominant charge, the varied wine and beer of the officers' table alongside, the milk, greens and daily provisions entered as the steady charges of a household provisioning itself from the island's own produce as the drought's grip on its herds slowly loosened. |
386 | 378 | Gunners Account for the Month of June 1739 gunns fired, Shott Expended, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, Powder Expended June 7 Departed the Nasaw: gunns fired 9, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 7, Powder Expended 11 Departed the Wager: gunns fired 13, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 13, Powder Expended 13 Departed the Scarborough: gunns fired 9, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, Powder Expended 9 Departed the Duke of Cumberland: gunns fired 9, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, Powder Expended 9 Departed the Princess Mary: gunns fired 9, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, Powder Expended 9 8 An Alarm for a Ship that Went past: gunns fired 4, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 12 9 for Mr Fazakerleys funeral: gunns fired 20, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 19, Powder Expended 21 12 An Alaram for a Dutch ship that Went past: gunns fired 4, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 7 24 Departed a Dutch Ship: gunns fired 9, Shott Expended 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, Powder Expended 9 Powder for Priming the great Gunns: 3 Powder for the Guard: 200 Delevered to Feunge for the Companys Use: 5 Double headed Shott: 5 Powder Expended in Instructing the Gunners Crew &c to fire: 175 Totall 86 5 2 8 76 315 Spunge Staves: 3 Muskett bulls: 12 06 Handspikes: 4 Trooks: 7 Matches: 12 tt Paper: 2 quires | Gunner's account for the month of June 1739: 7 June, departed the Nassau: guns fired 9, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 7, powder 11 Departed the Wager: guns fired 13, powder 13 Departed the Scarborough: guns fired 9, powder 9 Departed the Duke of Cumberland: guns fired 9, powder 9 Departed the Princess Mary: guns fired 9, powder 9 8 June, an alarm for a ship that went past: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 2, powder 12 9 June, for Mr Fazakerley's funeral: guns fired 20, 3 pounders 1, powder 19 12 June, an alarm for a Dutch ship that went past: guns fired 4, 4 pounders 3, 3 pounders 1, powder 7 21 June, departed a Dutch ship: guns fired 9, powder 9 Powder for priming the great guns: powder 3 Powder for the guard: powder 20 Delivered to Funge for the Company's use: double-headed shot 5 Powder expended in instructing the gunner's crew to fire: powder 15 Total: guns fired 86, shot 5, 4 pounders 2, 3 pounders 8, 2 pounders 76, powder 235 The stores expended were also as follows. Sponge staves, 8 Musket balls, 12 hundredweight 6 lb Handspikes, 4 Trucks, 7 Match, 12 lb Paper, 2 quires Interpretations The gunner's account for June records the shipping season winding down after the great press of May, the month's firing dominated by the departure salutes of the fleet that had gathered, the Nassau, Wager, Scarborough, Duke of Cumberland and Princess Mary all sailing for England within days of each other. The alarms for Dutch ships passing by continued the guarded watch the council kept under apprehension of the European war, every unidentified sail challenged, though the road emptied as the season closed and the firing fell well below the 402 guns of May. The twenty guns fired at Mr Fazakerley's funeral mark the honours paid to the India merchant whose estate the council had appraised, a substantial salute for a man of standing who died in passage through the island. Such funeral salutes were extended to captains and persons of note throughout this record, the guns marking the death of the Company's servants and travellers as they marked the arrivals and departures of the shipping, Fazakerley's twenty guns a measure of the respect due his rank. The two-pounders, the falcons, again carried the bulk of the firing, 76 of them against a handful of the heavier pieces, the smallest guns reserved for the ceremonial salutes to spare the larger ordnance and the powder, the settled practice of the gunner's accounts. The delivery of double-headed shot to Funge, the gunner, for the Company's use records the issue of the specialised anti-rigging shot from the store, the same ordnance the annual inventories tracked standing untouched year after year. The stores expended, sponge staves, handspikes, trucks and match, were the ordinary consumable furniture and running gear of the guns, the trucks the small wheels of the carriages worn by use, the heavy charge of musket balls reflecting the filling of the garrison's cartridges. The whole account is the record of a shipping season drawing to its close, the fort's guns falling quiet as the last of the fleet sailed, the island returning to the empty road and the routine watch that filled the intervals between the crowded months of arrivals and departures. |
387 | 379 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of June 1739 Vizt Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Piggs, Boars, Totall, Turkeys, Fowls, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining 1 June: Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 56, Bulls 5, Totall 185, Ews 40, Weathers 2, Lambs 15, Rams 4, Totall 61, Sows 9, Shoats 16, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totall 53, Turkeys 30, Fowls 31, Ducks 12, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totall 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 20, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 8, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 0, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowls 20, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maires 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 76, Bulls 5, Totall 205, Ews 40, Weathers 2, Lambs 23, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoats 16, Piggs 26, Boars 2, Totall 53, Turkeys 30, Fowls 51, Ducks 12, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totall 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ews 0, Weathers 2, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Piggs 1, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 5, Fowls 20, Ducks 1, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maires 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 76, Bulls 5, Totall 205, Ews 40, Weathers 0, Lambs 23, Rams 4, Totall 67, Sows 9, Shoats 14, Piggs 26, Boars 1, Totall 50, Turkeys 25, Fowls 31, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totall 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Piggs 2, Boars 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowls 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maires 0, Totall 0 Remaining 30 June: Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 76, Bulls 5, Totall 205, Ews 40, Weathers 0, Lambs 23, Rams 4, Totall 67, Sows 9, Shoats 14, Piggs 24, Boars 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 25, Fowls 31, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maires 18, Totall 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 25000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of June 1739. Remaining 1 June, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 56 calves, 5 bulls, total 185 Remaining 1 June, sheep: 40 ewes, 2 wethers, 15 lambs, 4 rams, total 61 Remaining 1 June, hogs: 9 sows, 16 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 53 Remaining 1 June, poultry: 30 turkeys, 31 fowls, 12 ducks, 6 geese Remaining 1 June, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 20 calves, 0 bulls, total 20 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 8 lambs, 0 rams, total 8 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 20 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 76 calves, 5 bulls, total 205 Balance after increase, sheep: 40 ewes, 2 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, total 69 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 16 shoats, 26 pigs, 2 boars, total 53 Balance after increase, poultry: 30 turkeys, 51 fowls, 12 ducks, 6 geese Balance after increase, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 2 wethers, total 2 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 1 pig, total 2 Killed in the month, poultry: 5 turkeys, 20 fowls, 1 duck Balance after killing, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 76 calves, 5 bulls, total 205 Balance after killing, sheep: 40 ewes, 0 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, total 67 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 14 shoats, 26 pigs, 1 boar, total 50 Balance after killing, poultry: 25 turkeys, 31 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Balance after killing, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 Died in the month, hogs: 2 pigs, total 2 Remaining 30 June, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 76 calves, 5 bulls, total 205 Remaining 30 June, sheep: 40 ewes, 0 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, total 67 Remaining 30 June, hogs: 9 sows, 14 shoats, 24 pigs, 1 boar, total 48 Remaining 30 June, poultry: 25 turkeys, 31 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Remaining 30 June, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Yams expended at the several plantations, 25,000 lb Interpretations The June stock account shows the herd recovering to 205 head, and its most telling feature is the strong calving, twenty calves born in the month, the largest increase in these returns and a clear sign that the breeding stock the council had so carefully preserved was now bearing freely. The board's decision through the crisis to hold back the cows, heifers and calves rather than kill them for beef, even when the bullocks were exhausted in May, is here vindicated, the herd rebuilding from the breeders it had spared. The closing figure of 205 head, with the bullock class still standing at nothing, shows the stock growing again from the bottom. That no cattle were killed or died in June marks the road standing empty after the fleet sailed, the demand for beef gone with the shipping and the herd left to grow undisturbed. The council had no bullocks to yield in any case, the whole class consumed in May, but with the ships departed there was no call on the stock, and the twenty calves added to a herd that lost not one beast. This is the quiet interval between shipping seasons, the herd recovering in the absence of demand. The flock rose to 67 on lambs born, though the two wethers were killed for the table, and the hogs held at 48, both continuing their slow recovery from the drought. The poultry yard was drawn on for the table, turkeys and fowls killed as the household required, the yard closing steady. The stud held at 24, its largest figure in this record, the eight Bombay mares of 1737 still its foundation. The yam issue held at 25,000 lb, the standing crop counted at 548,000 lb the previous July continuing to support a steady ration, the whole confirming an island now well into its recovery from the long drought. The herd rebuilding from its preserved breeders, the flock and hogs growing, the rains returned and the pasture restored, the monthly return shows the Company's stock climbing back from the ruin the dry years had brought, the careful husbandry of the breeding stock through the crisis now yielding the calves that would in time restore the beef the island's place on the homeward route required. |
388 | 380 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 17 July 1739, at ye Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gabriel Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esqr Mr Thomas Greentree & Mr Frances Carr desire to assign their Right & Title to & in 25 acres of Land Scituate upon the Hows pasture held of the Honble Company, unto Mr John Goodwin Junr The Same was Granted & he accepted Tenant to the Company Mr G G Powell presented two Bills of Sale from John Long, one for 20 acres free Land & the other for a Range of Goats Requesting the same might be Registred And it was accordingly Granted Messrs Jos Johnson & Rich: Goodwin Chappel Wardens & overseers of the Poor for this present Year, Attended this day requesting our Consent for the placeing & putting out one Thomas Ashden a Poor Child of this Island Apprentice to William Seale of said Island, Untile the said Child Shall arrive unto the full age of 21 Years, And the said William Seale & said Poor Orphan being both present Declared their Consent & approbation of the same, And Severally promised to Comply with the tenour of the Indenture bearing date this Instant & signed by the aforesaid Chappel Wardens on the one part & by the Sd Wm Seale on the other part, As Registred in Register book fol 21 Messrs Thomas Easthope, James Powell & James Draper overseers of the Highways were ordred to appear this day, And they accordingly did Except Mr Powell who being Ill could not attend, & the Governour Strennuously recommended to them the planting of wood & Furze, in all & every such parts of the Island where they had any prospect of its Succeeding, Urging the great Necessity thereof, & the Unhappy Condition the Island must in very few Years be Reduced to if not spedily replanted with Sufficient Copps of Young Wood, And advised the setting & Encouraging the same as the most Effectuale & Considerable Peice of Service they could due their Country in their Present Capacities And as Mr Powells Indisposition would not permit him to appear, the Secretary was Ordred to write him the following Leam Vizt | At a consultation held on Tuesday 17 July 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Thomas Greentree and Frances Carne asked to assign their right and title to 25 acres of land situate upon the Horse Pasture, held of the Honourable Company, unto John Goodwin junior. The council granted it, and Goodwin was accepted as tenant to the Company. George Gabriel Powell presented two bills of sale from John Long, one for 20 acres of steel land and the other for a range of goats, asking that the same might be registered. The council granted it accordingly. Joshua Johnson and Richard Goodwin, chapel wardens, and the overseers of the poor for the present year, attended that day, asking the council's consent to placing and putting out one Thomas Sunday, a poor child of the island, apprentice to William Seale of the island, until the said child should arrive at the full age of 21 years. William Seale and the poor orphan, being both present, declared their consent and approval of the same, and severally promised to comply with the tenor of the indenture bearing date this day, signed by the chapel wardens on the one part and by William Seale on the other, and registered in the register book, folio 21. Thomas Easthope, James Powell and James Draper, overseers of the highways, were ordered to appear that day, and they accordingly did, except Mr Powell, who being sick could not attend. The Governor strenuously recommended to them the planting of wood and furze in all and every part of the island where they had any prospect of its succeeding, urging the great necessity thereof, and the unhappy condition the island must in very few years be reduced to if not speedily replanted with sufficient copses of young wood. He advised the setting and encouraging the same as the most useful and considerable piece of service they could do their country in their present capacities. As Mr Powell's indisposition would not permit him to appear, the secretary was ordered to write him the following letter. Interpretations The consultation carries the ordinary land business of the island, the assignment of 25 acres on the Horse Pasture to John Goodwin junior and the registration of John Long's bills of sale. The sale by Long of his steel land and his range of goats marks the settling of his affairs before his departure, the leave to go to Bencoolen having been granted him on 31 October 1738 on condition he sell his estate, so the disposal of his freehold and his goats completes the removal of the persistent offender the council had long sought to be rid of. That goats were sold as a distinct holding shows the animals still kept on the island by private holders, years after the inhabitants had voted in 1730 to destroy every goat, the Company's own stock having been killed off but the private ranges surviving. The apprenticing of Thomas Sunday, a poor orphan, to William Seale until the age of 21 was the island's settled means of providing for parish children, binding them to a householder who would maintain and train them in return for their labour, the same arrangement recorded for many orphans and Company slave children throughout this record. The indenture, signed by the chapel wardens and the master and registered, secured the child's keep and kept him off the continuing charge of the parish, the poor relief of the island resting on such placements. The Governor's renewed and strenuous charge to the highway overseers to plant wood repeats his exhortation of 26 June, and its urgency reflects the island's gravest long-term concern. The warning that the island must in very few years be reduced to an unhappy condition if not replanted with young wood echoes the wood surveys of 1727, which had found that unless the waste were prevented no timber would be left standing in seven or eight years. The planting of wood was pressed on the parish officers as the most useful service they could render, the scarcity of timber a threat the council returned to again and again. The excusing of James Powell from attendance on account of sickness, with the secretary ordered to write him the charge he had missed, shows the council ensuring every overseer received his instructions even when illness kept him away. The whole leaf shows the government in its routine business, settling land, providing for a parish orphan and pressing the perennial care for the island's wood, the board of four proceeding through the ordinary administration of the settlement as the long drought loosened its grip and the shipping season gave way to the quiet interval before the next. |
389 | 381 | To Mr James Powell Overseer of the Wt Devison I am Ordred by the Worshipfull the Governour & Council to advise You with what Concern they See the daily Decrease of Wood & Furze, And how obvious it appears to them that if not spedily prevented by planting large Quanteties of Young Wood & Furze in every part of the Island where We can have any prospect of the growing, what a malancholly Circumstance must needs attend this place in a very Short time, for the want of Fowel, I am therefore to remind You of the Charge the Governour gave You at the time You reced Your Warrant, And further You are hereby directed to repair & make up the Fence about that parcele of Land call'd the Ebory plain, near the High Hill with all the Expedition You can in the End that Young Wood may come up & grow therein before the Season be too far advanced, And You are to plant it in all such parts where You think there is no likelyhood of the seeds blowing, But You are to observe that if after all this pains & Troble You take a proper care taken of it untile such time as it grows out of the Reach of Goats or Sheep, it wile be only deceiveing Your Selves & so much pains & Labour thrown away, And as it wile be a very Considerable and publick benefit, so surely it wile beget a generall Concern & Endeavour to its Succeeding, and therefore if any Person passing that way Should at any time hereafter, See any Sheep, Goats, or other Cattle trespassing & doing damage to the Young wood, You are to request that they wile immediately send word to the overseer for the time being, that he may take the proper measures to turn said Cattle out again & prevent there trespassing in future By Order of the Worshipfull the Governour and Council G G Powell Secy Castle 17 July 1739 And whereas there is great room to believe that there are severall people now in the possession of Lands who are altogether regardless of the terms & Conditions of their Deeds & Leases, and in opposition to the Honble Companys Orders & the severall advertizements that have been Issued to Inforce the same they have, & notwithstanding, Neglected to Plant | The letter was directed to Mr James Powell, overseer of the west division. The council set out that the secretary was ordered by the Governor and council to acquaint him with what concern they observed the daily decrease of wood and furze, and how obvious it appeared to them that, if not speedily prevented by planting large quantities of young wood and furze in every part of the island where a man could have any prospect of its growing, what a melancholy circumstance must needs attend the place in a very short time for the want of fuel. The secretary was therefore to remind him of the charge the Governor gave him at the time he received his warrant, and further he was hereby directed to repair and make up the fence about that parcel of land called the Ebony Plain, near the High Hill, with all the expedition he could, that the young wood might come up and grow therein before the season be too far advanced. He was to plant it in all such parts where he thought there was no likelihood of the seeds blowing away, but he was to observe that if, after all this pains and trouble, the wood were not given proper care taken of it until such time as it grew out of the reach of goats or sheep, it would be only deceiving themselves and so much pains and labour thrown away. As it would be a very considerable and public benefit, so surely it was a general concern to endeavour its succeeding, and therefore, if any person passing that way should at any time hereafter see sheep, goats or other cattle trespassing and doing damage to the young wood, he was to request that they would immediately send word to the overseer for the time being, that he might take the proper measures to turn the said cattle out again and prevent their trespassing in future. The letter was signed by George Gabriel Powell, secretary, by order of the Governor and council, and dated at the castle, 17 July 1739. The council further set out that, whereas there was great room to believe that there were several people now in the possession of lands who were altogether regardless of the terms and conditions of their deeds and leases, and, in opposition to the Honourable Company's orders and the several advertisements that had been issued to enforce the same, they had notwithstanding neglected to plant [...]. Interpretations The letter to James Powell sets out the island's struggle to preserve its wood in unusual detail, and it reveals the practical difficulties that made replanting so hard. The young wood had to be fenced against goats, sheep and cattle until it grew beyond their reach, and planted where the seed would not blow away, so that without constant care the whole labour was wasted, the animals cropping the seedlings the moment they appeared. The Ebony Plain near the High Hill was one of the parcels set apart for raising wood, and the charge to fence and plant it before the season advanced shows the seasonal timing on which success depended. The reliance on every passer-by to report cattle trespassing on the young wood shows the whole community enlisted in the effort, the same mutual watchfulness the council invoked in other matters, no single overseer being able to guard the plantations alone. The wood was held a public benefit and a general concern, its preservation a duty pressed on all, the council knowing from the wood surveys of 1727 and the constant advertisements since that unchecked grazing and cutting would leave the island without timber within a few years. The second passage opens a familiar complaint against neglectful tenants, those who held land under deeds and leases requiring them to plant wood and yet failed to do so, in defiance of the Company's orders and the many advertisements issued to enforce them. This was the same default the council had pursued through the fencing and wood surveys of the 1720s and 1730s, summoning and fining defaulters who had neglected to plant their fair proportion of timber, the forfeiture clauses of their leases held over them. The struggle to make holders plant wood ran through this whole record. The threat implicit in the reference to the terms and conditions of deeds and leases was the resumption of neglected land, the council having warned repeatedly that tenants who failed to plant would lose their holdings or pay heavy fines on renewal. Ebony was one of the island's native timber trees, prized and grown scarce, giving the Ebony Plain its name, and the whole leaf shows the council's persistent and detailed care for the island's dwindling wood, enlisting the parish officers, the passers-by and the terms of every lease in a struggle it had waged for decades against the grazing animals and the negligent holders that were destroying the timber on which the island's future depended. |
390 | 382 | Plant Wood and Furze, & to Fence their Lands, Tis therefore Resolved That some time next month a Warant be given to the Gentlemen of Council or either one of them Accompanyd, by Messrs Frances Wrangham, Jos Johnson & Jno Desfountain to Survey alle the Lands & Plantations belonging to the Inhabitants, in order to discover who are Culpable, or who not in this Particular & to render an accested account of the Same as soon as Compleated At a Consultation held on Tuesday 24 July 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved Mr Thomas Greentree attended this day requesting that a Bill of Sale from Mr Jno Goodwin Junr to him for a house in James Valley might be Registred Granted Petition from Edward Bagley was presented & read Praying to have Liberty granted him to dispose of his Lease Land & to leave the Island ye next Store Shipe with his Wife & Family Granted | The council concluded that such tenants neglected to plant wood and furze and to fence their lands. It was therefore resolved that some time next month a warrant be given to the gentlemen of council, or either one of them, accompanied by Francis Wrangham, Joshua Johnson and John Defountaine, to survey all the lands and plantations belonging to the inhabitants, in order to discover who were culpable, or who not, in this particular, and to render an attested account of the same as soon as completed. At a consultation held on Tuesday 24 July 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Thomas Greentree attended that day, asking that a bill of sale from John Goodwin junior to him for a house in James Valley might be registered. The council granted it. The petition of Edward Bagley was presented and read, asking to have liberty granted him to dispose of his leasehold land, and to leave the island by the next store ship with his wife and family. The council granted it. Interpretations The council's resolution to order a fresh survey of all the inhabitants' lands carries forward the long campaign to enforce the planting of wood, the same measure it had taken repeatedly through this record. A warrant was to issue to councillors and substantial planters to view every holding and report who had planted their fair proportion of timber and who had not, exactly the surveys conducted by Powell, Wrangham and others in 1727 and after. The attested account of defaulters would then let the council summon and fine those who had neglected their obligation, or resume their land on renewal, the forfeiture clauses of the leases the instrument of enforcement. The appointment of the same trusted men, Francis Wrangham, Joshua Johnson and John Defountaine, to make the survey shows the island's substantial inhabitants once again charged with viewing the plantations, the same circle that filled every such commission and jury in this record. Their attested return would give the council the evidence to act against the negligent holders whose failure to plant threatened the island's timber, the survey the necessary first step in the perennial struggle to preserve the wood. The consultation of 24 July carries the ordinary land business, the registration of a bill of sale and the grant of leave to Edward Bagley to sell his leasehold and leave the island by the next store ship. Bagley's departure with his wife and family belongs to the steady emigration of settlers seeking better fortunes elsewhere, the council routinely granting such leave on condition the petitioner first settled his affairs, as it did throughout this record. Bagley, one of the excluded sons-in-law who had pressed a claim on Captain Alexander's estate, now sought to quit the island altogether. The grant of leave to dispose of land and depart was the settled means by which the island's population turned over, holders selling their leaseholds and taking passage on the Company's ships, the store ship the regular conveyance for those leaving as for those arriving. The whole leaf shows the government in its routine business, ordering the survey that would enforce the planting of wood and granting the ordinary leave to sell and depart, the board of four proceeding through the administration of land, wood and emigration that made up so much of the settlement's affairs. |
391 | 383 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 31 July 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was Read & approved The Petition of James Harding was presented & read Requesting Liberty to dispose of his Leasehold Land & to proceed to Bencoolin, & the next Storeshipe with his wife & family Granted The Petition of Wm Worrall Senr was presented & read, setting forth, that he having lately been so Unhappy as to Bury his Wife, & Since had the misfortune of loosing two men Slaves with whome he Used to Work & manure his Ground & make a Shipt to Live, But for the want of such help he finds it altogether Impracticable to keep his affairs in any tolerable Order, therefore requests Liberty to dispose of the same being all Leasehold Land to some person who may be more able to Cultivate it, & in a better Capacity to pay the Honble Company their Quitrents Granted Joshua Worrall having made Complaint that James Harding still Continues to dig Dams out of a peice of Ground that he the said Worrall had lately bought, the said Harding at publick Outcry And at his request the said Harding was Summoned to attend this day, And he accordingly did who, being asked, why he Continues to feed his family with those Yams which he a few days agoe Sold, Answered That he Sold them with this reserve, that he Should dig as many as his family could Use untill the departure of the next Storeshipe, But it appearing by severall Witnesses who were present at the Outcry, & the marshall who Cryed the same, That he made no such reserve, he was Ordred to Desist diging any thing more, off the Said, & Worrall was Ordred to pay him his mony Rich Tinsley having Possessed 8 acres of Leasehold Land lying in Sandy bay in Right of his wife Mary the relict of Jno Orchard Deced who by Vertue of the Wille of said Orchard | At a consultation held on Tuesday 31 July 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. The petition of James Harding was presented and read, asking liberty to dispose of his leasehold land, and to proceed to Bencoolen by the next store ship with his wife and family. The council granted it. The petition of William Worrall senior was presented and read, setting out that, having lately been so unhappy as to bury his wife, and since had the misfortune of losing two men slaves with whom he used to work and manure his ground and make a shift to live, but for the want of such help he found it altogether impracticable to keep his affairs in any tolerable order, he therefore asked liberty to dispose of the same, being all leasehold land, to some person who might be more able to cultivate it and in a better capacity to pay the Honourable Company their quit rents. The council granted it. Joshua Worrall having made complaint that James Harding still continued to dig yams out of a piece of ground that Worrall had lately bought of Harding at public outcry, Harding was summoned to attend that day, and he accordingly did, when, being asked why he continued to feed his family with those yams which he had a few days ago sold, he answered that he had sold them with this reserve, that he should dig as many as his family could use until the departure of the next store ship. But it appearing by several witnesses who were present at the outcry, and to the marshal who cried the same, that he had made no such reserve, he was ordered to desist digging anything more off the land, and Worrall was ordered to pay him his money. Richard Tinsley, having possessed 8 acres of leasehold land lying in Sandy Bay in right of his wife Mary, the widow of John Orchard, deceased, who by virtue of the will of the said Orchard [...]. Interpretations The petitions of James Harding and William Worrall senior both seek leave to give up leasehold land, and together they show the hardship that drove the island's poorer holders off their ground. Harding sought passage to Bencoolen with his family, one of the steady stream of settlers transported to the Sumatra settlement, while Worrall's petition sets out with unusual feeling the losses that had ruined him, the death of his wife and of the two slaves with whom he worked his land, leaving him unable to cultivate it. The council granted both, allowing the land to pass to holders better able to work it and pay the Company's quit rents, the rent due on leasehold ground. Worrall's plea lays bare how completely a small holder's livelihood depended on slave labour, the loss of two men slaves rendering his ground impossible to manage. This was the same dependence that ran through the island's whole economy, the free inhabitants relying on their slaves to work the land, and a poor holder who lost his few slaves could not carry on. The council's willingness to let such a man surrender his land to a more capable holder shows its concern to keep the ground cultivated and the quit rents paid, an untended leasehold serving neither the holder nor the Company. The dispute over the yams reveals the sharp dealing that sometimes attended a public sale, James Harding continuing to dig yams from land he had sold to Joshua Worrall at outcry, claiming a reserve he could not prove. The council settled it plainly on the evidence of the witnesses and the marshal who had cried the sale, finding no such reserve had been made and ordering Harding to desist, Worrall to pay his money. The public outcry, cried by the marshal before witnesses, was the island's means of selling land and goods, and the council held the buyer to what was actually cried against the seller's later claim. The case of Richard Tinsley opens another matter of leasehold held in right of a wife, Tinsley possessing 8 acres in Sandy Bay through his marriage to the widow of John Orchard under Orchard's will. This turns on the same law of dower and succession that governed the Young dower dispute earlier in the year, a second husband holding land that came through his wife from her former husband's estate, the descent of such land the recurring concern of the island's probate. The whole leaf shows the council in its routine business of land, granting leave to depart, settling a sale dispute and dealing with a holding that had passed through marriage and will. |
392 | 384 | Orchard Injoyed the same during her Natural Life, But then to Descend to his nephew Benjamen Bagley, And the said Mary being lately Dead Jno Bagley by Vertue of a Letter of Attorney from Benjn Bagley demands the same according to the tenour of the Wille of Sd Jno Orchard Dece and it was accordingly delivered up to him, But by a fresh agreement this day made before Us the aforesaid Rich Tinsley is to posess the said 8 acres of Land during the term of the Lease, which will be Expired on the 3 day of October 1742, paying the said Benjn Bagley or his order the sum of 5 £ Quitrent And the Honble Company their Quitrents for the same Ordred that an Advertizement be published for all Persons who have familys, Lands or Cattle to deliver a particular account of the same into the Secretarys office on or before the 11 day of next month At a Consultation held on Tuesday 7 August 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The Last Consultation was Read & approved On Tuesday last the Governour & Council went to Sandy bay, attended by several of the Principal Inhabitants, where, after Nicely Viewing every part of the Bay, the place where the Iron Crane Stands was Judged by the Governour & all the Company to be the properest Scituation, for the Fort, And the Governour accordingly gave directions for the getting of Stones for the Foundation, Which he purposes to mark out the latter End of this week | The case of Richard Tinsley continued. The widow Orchard had enjoyed the land during her natural life, but it was then to descend to her nephew Benjamin Bagley, and the said Mary being lately dead, John Bagley, by virtue of a letter of attorney from Benjamin Bagley, demanded the same according to the tenor of the will of the deceased John Orchard, and it was accordingly delivered up to him. But by a fresh agreement this day made before the council, the said Richard Tinsley was to possess the 8 acres of land during the term of the lease, which would be expired on the 3rd day of October 1742, paying to the said Benjamin Bagley or his order the sum of 40 shillings quit rent, and to the Honourable Company their quit rents for the same. The council ordered that an advertisement be published for all persons who had families, lands or cattle, to deliver a particular account of the same into the secretary's office on or before the 11th day of next month. At a consultation held on Tuesday 7 August 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as Deputy Governor, John Bazett as second of council and George Gabriel Powell as fourth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. On Tuesday last the Governor and council went to Sandy Bay, attended by several of the principal inhabitants, where, after nicely viewing every part of the bay, the place where the iron crane stands was judged by the Governor and all the company to be the properest situation for the fort, and the Governor accordingly gave directions for the getting of stones for the foundation, which he proposed to mark out the latter end of this week. Interpretations The settlement of the Tinsley case shows the island's law of dower and succession worked out to a compromise, the widow Orchard having held the land for life and it then descending to a named heir by the will, but the sitting tenant Tinsley allowed to keep it to the end of the lease on paying a quit rent to the heir. This turns on the same descent of land through will and marriage that governed the Young dower dispute, the council balancing the reversioner's right against the tenant's interest and settling it by agreement, the quit rent the annual payment securing the leasehold. The precise expiry date of the lease, 3 October 1742, shows the exact terms on which such holdings ran. The order for a return of all the inhabitants' families, lands and cattle repeats the census the council gathered periodically, the same account of the island's population and stock it had ordered in the cattle return of 22 May. Such returns gave the Company a picture of the settlement's condition, and coming after the drought they measured how far the island's people and herds had been reduced, the annual lists of families, land and rents the council was directed to send home. The consultation of 7 August records the Governor and council viewing Sandy Bay to fix the site of the new fort, the culmination of the fortification work the council had pressed forward through the year. Attended by the principal inhabitants, they judged the place where the iron crane stood the properest situation, and the Governor gave directions for getting stone for the foundation and marking out the work. Sandy Bay was one of the exposed landing places the defensive survey of 11 May had noted, and the burning of lime for its battery had been going forward since 3 July, the fort now to be laid out on the chosen ground. The choice of the crane site by the whole company after careful viewing shows the deliberate care with which the defensive works were sited, the same attention to the ground that had marked the reversal at Lemon Valley in January, when a close view led the council to build lower down near the water. The iron crane at Sandy Bay was the apparatus for landing goods and stone, its position marking the practical point of access to the bay. The whole leaf shows the government carrying forward both its routine business of land and its central concern of the year, the fortification of the island's coast under apprehension of the European war, the new fort at Sandy Bay now to be founded on the ground the Governor and inhabitants had judged the fittest. |
393 | 385 | Pursuant to the Resolution of Tuesday 17 July last, a Warant was Directed to Messrs Duke Crispe Jno Bazett and G G Powell, And to Messrs Fran Wrangham Jos Johnson and Jno Desfountain, To Survey but carefully the several Planta- tions belonging to the Inhabitants & to Report in what Condition they find the same According to the tenour of the Warant, which is as follows Vizt Whereas the Encrease and Preservation of Wood & furze, is a matter of the greatest Consequence in this place, & of such Impor- tance that the Honble Company have been frequently Pleased to order, under severe Penalties & particu- larly by the James & Mary that all the Inhabitan- ts Should be carefull to fence & plant their Lands with their full proportion of wood & furze, of which Publick Notice was given Soon after the arrival of the Pd Ship, to the End that no Person might plead Ignorance thereof, But Neverthelefs such hath been the Neglect of some People, that we have received Information that several persons after they had so planted their Lands, had afterwards been so farr from endeavouring to preserve, and encrease the growth thereof, that they have actually turned their calves & Cattle into those parts of their Land which they had so planted by which means the same was soon Spoiled and Destroyed, they at the same time amusing themselves with vain hopes that by this Gross Peice of Deceipt & Collusion they Should Skreen themselves from those forfeitures to which they are deservedly the more Liable for this misma- nagement To Prevent therefore all sort of deceipt, or Neglect for the future in an article of equal Benifit & advantage to the inhabitants & their Posterity These are strictly to charge & require You & each of You to view & carefully inspect into all the Lands & plantations belonging to each of the Inhabitants of this Island, & report to Us in Writing | Pursuant to the resolution of Tuesday 17 July last, a warrant was directed to Duke Crisp, John Bazett and George Gabriel Powell, and to Francis Wrangham, Joshua Johnson and John Defountaine, to survey and inspect carefully the several plantations belonging to the inhabitants, and to report in what condition they found the same, according to the tenor of the warrant, which was as follows. Whereas the increase and preservation of wood and furze was a matter of the greatest consequence to the island, and of such importance that the Honourable Company had been frequently pleased to order, under severe penalties, and particularly by the James and Mary, that all the inhabitants should be careful to fence and plant their lands with their full proportion of wood and furze, of which public notice was given soon after the arrival of the ships, to the end that no person might plead ignorance thereof. But nevertheless such had been the neglect of some people, that the council had received information that several persons, after they had planted their lands, had afterwards been so far from endeavouring to preserve and increase the growth thereof, that they had actually turned their calves and cattle into those parts of their land which they had so planted, by which means the same was soon spoiled and destroyed. They at the same time amusing themselves with vain hopes that by this gross piece of deceit and collusion they should screen themselves from those forfeitures to which they were deservedly the more liable for this mismanagement. To prevent therefore all sort of deceit or neglect for the future in an article of equal benefit and advantage to the inhabitants and their posterity, the surveyors were strictly charged and required, each of them, to go to view and carefully inspect into all the lands and plantations belonging to each of the inhabitants of the island, and to report to the council in writing [...]. Interpretations The warrant sets out the wood-planting campaign in its fullest and most exasperated form, and it exposes the deliberate evasion the council was up against. The Company had ordered under severe penalties that every holder plant his full proportion of wood, yet some, having planted, then turned their cattle into the young wood to destroy it, hoping by this collusion to appear compliant while escaping the forfeitures their neglect deserved. This calculated deceit, planting to satisfy the letter of the order and then ruining the wood, was a more cynical default than mere neglect, and the council's language shows its anger at holders who gamed the requirement. The warrant to survey every plantation carries forward the resolution of 17 July, appointing the same trusted councillors and planters to inspect the lands and report the defaulters in writing. This was the settled machinery of enforcement the council had used through this record, the surveys of 1727 and after providing the evidence to summon, fine and threaten with forfeiture those who had failed to plant. The attested return would let the council act against the negligent and the fraudulent alike, the forfeiture clauses of their leases the sanction. The framing of wood-planting as a matter of equal benefit to the inhabitants and their posterity captures the long view the council took, the timber not only fuel for the present but a resource for the island's future, its destruction a loss to the whole community and to generations to come. This was the same understanding that had driven the wood surveys and advertisements for decades, the council knowing that unchecked cutting and grazing would leave the island without timber, an outcome it had warned of since finding in 1727 that no wood would be left standing in seven or eight years. The reference to the orders brought by the James and Mary shows the Company's instructions on wood arriving by particular ships, the council citing the specific conveyance to establish that due notice had been given and no holder could plead ignorance. The whole leaf shows the government mounting yet another survey in its decades-long struggle to preserve the island's wood, now against holders who not only neglected to plant but actively destroyed what they had planted to evade the penalties, the council determined to expose the deceit and enforce the forfeitures its evidence would support. |
394 | 386 | Writing with all Convenient speed & without favour or Affection in what condition You find the same Distinguishing carefully who have, or who have not planted their full proportion of wood & furze or after they had so planted it, did suffer the same to go to decay & by what means of neglect, the same have, been spoiled or destroyed And also who have or have not compleatly fenced their Lands & to make report of all such Neglect or mismanagement as You Shall observe in any of the Premisses in a very full & ample manner to the end that effectual care may be taken to Compell all Defaulters to take care of their own & the Interest of their Children Hereof fail not, & for so doing this shall be Your Sufficient Warrant Given under my hand this 7 day of August 1739 Jno Goodwin To Messrs Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell Fran Wrangham Jos Johnson Jno Desfountain Assistants The Governour the Gunner & Steward each of them brought in their Accounts for the month of July last which were severally Examined & proved & are as follows Vizt | The warrant continued, requiring the surveyors to report in writing with all convenient speed, and without favour or affection, in what condition they found the several plantations, distinguishing carefully who had, or who had not, planted their full proportion of wood and furze, or, after they had so planted it, did suffer the same to go to decay, and by what means of neglect the same had been spoiled or destroyed, and also who had, or had not, completely fenced their lands. They were to make report of all such neglect or mismanagement as they should observe in any of the premises, in a very full and ample manner, to the end that effectual care might be taken to compel all defaulters to take care of their own, and the interest of their children. Of this they were not to fail, and for so doing this should be their sufficient warrant. It was given under the Governor's hand on the 7th of August 1739, and directed to Duke Crisp, John Bazett, George Gabriel Powell, Francis Wrangham, Joshua Johnson and John Defountaine as assistants. The Governor, the gunner and the steward each brought in their accounts for the month of July last, which were separately examined and approved, and were as follows. Interpretations The close of the warrant completes the instructions for the wood survey, charging the surveyors to report without favour or affection, the standard requirement of impartiality laid on every such commission in this record. They were to distinguish carefully not only who had planted and who had not, but who, having planted, had let the wood decay or destroyed it, exactly the calculated evasion the warrant had exposed, so that the council might compel every defaulter to preserve his wood for the interest of his children. The phrase captures again the long view, the timber a resource for the next generation as much as the present. The signing of the warrant under the Governor's hand and its direction to the six surveyors as assistants gave the commission its formal authority, the same procedure by which the earlier wood surveys had been ordered. The appointment of three councillors alongside three substantial planters shows the survey drawing on both the government and the island's leading inhabitants, the same circle that filled every such office, their attested return the evidence on which the council would act against the negligent and fraudulent holders. The requirement that the surveyors report fully on all neglect and mismanagement reflects the council's determination to gather complete evidence before enforcing the forfeitures, the survey the necessary foundation for any action against a holder's lease. This was the settled machinery the council had used for decades in its struggle to preserve the wood, the survey, the report, the summons and the fine or forfeiture the sequence by which it sought to make the inhabitants plant and keep their timber. The consultation then turns to the monthly accounts for July, the routine delivery of the Governor's, gunner's and steward's returns for examination and approval, the figures following on the succeeding leaves. The whole leaf shows the government completing the formal order for its latest wood survey and passing to its ordinary monthly business, the board of four proceeding through the administration of the settlement as the drought's grip loosened and the perennial care for the island's wood was pressed forward once more against the holders who neglected and destroyed it. |
395 | 387 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &c for the Month of July 1739 Vizt Bullocks, Cows, Heifers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maiors, Totall Remaining 1 July: Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 76, Bulls 5, Totall 205, Ews 40, Weathers 10, Lambs 13, Rams 4, Totall 67, Sows 9, Shoats 14, Pigs 24, Boares 1, Totall 48, Turkeys 25, Fowles 31, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maiors 18, Totall 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 6, Bulls 0, Totall 6, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 4, Rams 0, Totall 4, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 11, Boares 0, Totall 11, Turkeys 0, Fowles 50, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maiors 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 82, Bulls 5, Totall 211, Ews 40, Weathers 10, Lambs 17, Rams 4, Totall 71, Sows 9, Shoats 14, Pigs 35, Boares 1, Totall 59, Turkeys 25, Fowles 81, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maiors 18, Totall 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ews 0, Weathers 2, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 2, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 2, Turkeys 0, Fowles 3, Ducks 20, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maiors 0, Totall 0 Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 82, Bulls 5, Totall 211, Ews 40, Weathers 8, Lambs 17, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Pigs 35, Boares 1, Totall 57, Turkeys 22, Fowles 61, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maiors 18, Totall 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks 0, Cows 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Yearlings 0, Calves 0, Bulls 0, Totall 0, Ews 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Totall 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boares 0, Totall 0, Turkeys 0, Fowles 0, Ducks 0, Geese 0, Horses 0, Maiors 0, Totall 0 Remaining 31 July: Bullocks 0, Cows 53, Heifers 26, Steers 11, Yearlings 34, Calves 82, Bulls 5, Totall 211, Ews 40, Weathers 8, Lambs 17, Rams 4, Totall 69, Sows 9, Shoats 12, Pigs 35, Boares 1, Totall 57, Turkeys 22, Fowles 61, Ducks 11, Geese 6, Horses 6, Maiors 18, Totall 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations 5000 | Account of the Honourable Company's stock of cattle and other livestock for the month of July 1739. Remaining 1 July, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 76 calves, 5 bulls, total 205 Remaining 1 July, sheep: 40 ewes, 10 wethers, 13 lambs, 4 rams, total 67 Remaining 1 July, hogs: 9 sows, 14 shoats, 24 pigs, 1 boar, total 48 Remaining 1 July, poultry: 25 turkeys, 31 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Remaining 1 July, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Increased in the month, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 6 calves, 0 bulls, total 6 Increased in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, total 4 Increased in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 11 pigs, 0 boars, total 11 Increased in the month, poultry: 0 turkeys, 50 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Increased in the month, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 Balance after increase, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 82 calves, 5 bulls, total 211 Balance after increase, sheep: 40 ewes, 10 wethers, 17 lambs, 4 rams, total 71 Balance after increase, hogs: 9 sows, 14 shoats, 35 pigs, 1 boar, total 59 Balance after increase, poultry: 25 turkeys, 81 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Balance after increase, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Killed in the month, neat cattle: 0 Killed in the month, sheep: 0 ewes, 2 wethers, total 2 Killed in the month, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, total 2 Killed in the month, poultry: 2 turkeys, 3 fowls, 20 ducks Balance after killing, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 82 calves, 5 bulls, total 211 Balance after killing, sheep: 40 ewes, 8 wethers, 17 lambs, 4 rams, total 69 Balance after killing, hogs: 9 sows, 12 shoats, 35 pigs, 1 boar, total 57 Balance after killing, poultry: 22 turkeys, 61 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Balance after killing, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Died in the month, neat cattle: 0 Remaining 31 July, neat cattle: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 82 calves, 5 bulls, total 211 Remaining 31 July, sheep: 40 ewes, 8 wethers, 17 lambs, 4 rams, total 69 Remaining 31 July, hogs: 9 sows, 12 shoats, 35 pigs, 1 boar, total 57 Remaining 31 July, poultry: 22 turkeys, 61 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese Remaining 31 July, horses: 6 horses, 18 mares, total 24 Yams expended at the several plantations, 5,000 lb Interpretations The July stock account shows the herd continuing its recovery to 211 head, six more calves born to add to the twenty of June, the breeding stock the council had preserved through the crisis now bearing steadily. With the road empty after the shipping season and no bullocks to yield in any case, no cattle were killed or died, the herd left to grow undisturbed. The bullock class still stood at nothing, the whole having been consumed in May, but the calves accumulating at the foot of the account, 82 head, were the future bullocks that would in time restore the beef the island owed the shipping. The steady calving through June and July vindicates the council's decision, taken in the depth of the beef crisis, to hold back the breeding cows and heifers rather than kill them for the ships. Had it slaughtered the breeders when the bullocks ran out, the herd would have had no means of recovery, exactly the ruin the Governor had warned of on 8 May, but by sparing them the stock was now rebuilding from the bottom, the calves the measure of that recovery. The flock held at 69 and the hogs rose to 57 on pigs farrowed, both continuing their slow return from the drought, and the poultry yard rose on a hatch of fifty fowls before the table drew on it, closing steady. The stud held at 24, its largest figure in this record. The whole stock shows the island well into its recovery, the rains returned and the pasture restored, the herds and flocks growing again from the breeders spared through the dry years. The yam issue fell sharply to 5,000 lb, much below the 25,000 lb of June, reflecting the drawing down of the old crop as the winter planting season came in, the fresh crop not yet ready, the same seasonal fall the yam accounts show at the turn of the planting year. The standing crop counted at 548,000 lb the previous July had carried the establishment through, and the low issue marks the interval before the new planting yielded. The monthly return shows the Company's stock climbing back from the ruin the drought had brought, the careful husbandry of the breeding stock through the crisis now yielding the calves and pigs that would restore the herds the island's place on the homeward route required. |
396 | 388 | The Expence of the Table in the Month of July 1739 77 Pork 1 18 6 2 Sheep 2 15 Butter 15 3 Turkeys 15 20 Fowles 1 10 54 5/8 Gallons Arrack 10 17 6 9 ¼ Gallons Port 3 12 8¼ 4 ¾ Mountain 1 14 10¾ 6 Gallons Beer 9 3 Gallons Ale 10 6 3 C 2 Flour 4 7 6 1 C Bread 12 6 145 Sugar 1 16 3 72 Candy 1 16 6 Bottles Ryle 1 Totale 33 15 3½ Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of July 1739 Guns fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, Powder Expended July 18 An Alaram: Guns fired 4, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 12 do Arrived a Dutch Ship: Guns fired 11, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 11, Powder Expended 11 25 Departed a Dutch Ship: Guns fired 20, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 20, Powder Expended 20 do Fired to bring her too when in the offing: Guns fired 1, 9 lb 1, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 7 Powder to the Guard: 20 Totale 36 1 2 2 31 71 Paper: 2 quir Match: 18 pounds Muskett balls: 24 tt | Expense of the table in the month of July 1739: 77 lb pork, £1 18s 6d 2 sheep, £2 0s 0d 15 lb butter, £0 15s 0d 3 turkeys, £0 15s 0d 20 fowls, £1 10s 0d 54.5 gallons arrack, £10 17s 6d 9.5 gallons port, £3 12s 8.25d 4.5 lb mountain, £1 14s 10.5d 6 gallons beer, £0 9s 0d 3 gallons ale, £0 10s 6d 3 hundredweight 2 quarters flour, £4 7s 6d 1 quarter bread, £0 12s 6d 143 lb sugar, £1 16s 3d 72 lb candy, £1 16s 0d 6 bottles oyl, £1 0s 0d Total, £33 15s 5.25d Gunner's stores expended in the month of July 1739: 18 July, an alarm: guns fired 4, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 2, powder 12 Arrived a Dutch ship: guns fired 11, powder 11 25 July, departed a Dutch ship: guns fired 20, powder 20 Fired to bring her to when in the offing: guns fired 1, shot 1, powder 7 Powder to the guard: powder 20 Total: guns fired 36, shot 1, 3 pounders 2, 2 pounders 31, powder 71 The stores expended were also as follows. Paper, 2 quires Match, 18 lb Musket balls, 24 lb Interpretations The July table account closes at £33 15s 5.25d, the lowest of this recent run, the shipping season now over and the road empty so that the household entertained no visitors and drew only its ordinary fare. No beef was charged at all, the herd having no bullocks to yield and the household drawing its meat from pork, mutton and the poultry yard, the same substitution the accounts show whenever the cattle ran short. Arrack at 54.5 gallons remained the dominant single charge, though below the crowded months, the varied wine and beer of the officers' table alongside in smaller quantity than the season had required. The fall in the table expense tracks the emptying of the road, the great charges of May and June, when a fleet of many nations lay in the anchorage and the household fed a stream of captains and passengers, giving way to the quiet interval of July with the ships gone. This is the seasonal rhythm the accounts show throughout this record, the table swelling with the shipping and shrinking when the bay emptied, the household provisioning itself from the island's own produce in the intervals. The gunner's account confirms the quiet month, only a Dutch ship saluted in and out and a single alarm, the firing fallen far below the 402 guns of May with the road empty. The one shot fired to bring the Dutch ship to when she stood in the offing shows the guarded watch the council still kept under apprehension of the European war, every unidentified sail challenged even in the quiet season, the vigilance maintained though the shipping was gone. The two-pounders again carried almost the whole of the firing, 31 of them against a handful of heavier pieces, the smallest guns reserved for the salutes to spare the larger ordnance and the powder, the settled practice of the gunner's accounts. The stores expended, match, paper and musket balls, were the ordinary consumables, the musket balls for the garrison's cartridges. The whole leaf shows the island returned to its quiet interval between shipping seasons, the household on plain fare and the fort's guns fallen silent, the settlement watching an empty road and keeping its guard against the war it still feared, as the herds recovered and the perennial care for the island's wood was pressed forward once more. |
397 | 389 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 11th Septt at Plantation house Present John Goodwin Esqr Govr Capt Crispe John Bazett Gly Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The reason why no Consultations have been held since the 9th of last Month is because the Governour has been most of his time at Sandy bay, Employed in Directing & Overseeing the new Fortification there, And his reports of it is as followes Vizt That the form of it is agreeable to the Plan Annexed, & so contrived as to defend every part of the bay & beach; the whole work is now pretty farr Advanced & only wants the Parrapetts, Magazeen, Lime house, & Guard house Finished; all which are built behind the Fortification, between it, And the rock. And the Governour is of Opinion will be Compleated the Latter end of this Month or the begining of next. The 6 Gunns to be mounted upon it are those that stand at Present on that part of the Castle called the Mount, As they are of little or no Service where they be other than for Ornament... The Plan of the Fortification at Sandy bay | A consultation was held at Plantation House on Tuesday 11 September, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and George Gabriel Powell present. The council read and approved the previous consultation. No consultation had been held since the 7th of the previous month because the Governor had spent most of his time at Sandy Bay, directing and overseeing the new fortification there. He reported that the shape of the work matched the plan attached to the consultation, and that it was laid out to defend every part of the bay and the beach. He stated that the whole work was now well advanced, and that only the parapets, the magazine, the lime house and the guard house remained to be finished, all of which were being built behind the fortification, between it and the rock. He expected the work to be completed by the end of that month or the beginning of the next. He reported that the six guns to be mounted on it were those currently standing at the part of the castle known as the Mount, since they were of little or no service there beyond ornament. The plan of the fortification at Sandy Bay followed. Interpretations The council chose to arm the new work with six guns already standing idle at the Mount, a position within the castle itself, rather than asking the Company for fresh ordnance. Governor Goodwin's own account made the reasoning explicit: those pieces served no purpose where they stood beyond decoration, so moving them to Sandy Bay cost nothing and lost the castle nothing of substance. This is of a piece with the broader redistribution of the island's guns that the Governor had been carrying out since December 1738, when the gunner sorted the fort's shot and found whole calibres with no guns left to fire them, and the council resolved to shift spare pieces from the castle to the coastal batteries where they could bear on a landing. Sandy Bay was the site chosen on 7 August 1739 for a new fort at the location of the iron crane, so this report shows that work already well forward within five weeks of the site being fixed. Sandy Bay lay to windward, a lee shore no ship could approach in safety, which was precisely why the council judged it worth fortifying: an enemy denied every other landing might still attempt a boat descent there under cover of the wind. The magazine and lime house being built behind the main work rather than within it reflects the same caution the council had applied to the castle's own powder store since 1733, keeping the explosive stock separated from the position it served so that a single misfortune could not silence the battery and destroy its ammunition together. |
398 | 390 | The Governour further Reports that on the 11th of last Month one of the Honourable Companys Wenches was Delivered of a female Child called Patt, And on the 13th one other was Delivered of a female Child called Betty.- And on the 29th an old Wench called Betty Simon Died.- The Petition of Elizabeth Nicholes was Presented and read and is as followes Vizt To the Worshipfull John Godwin Esqr Governour & Council of the Island St Helena The Humble Petition of Elizabeth Nicholes Sheweth That your Petitioner since the Death of her Husband finds it very difficult to maintain her Family And notwithstanding her utmost Endeavours has the Mortification to see her Estate Diminish Daily. And as there is little or no Prospect of her Succeeding better in this place. Your Petitioner therefore Humbly Prays Liberty to Proceed to Bencoolen by the next opportunity, And the better to Enable her so to do Prays she may be Allowed to Dispose of her Lease- hold Land. And your Petitioner will ever pray &c. Elizabeth Nicholes Granted. The Petition of John Nicholes was Presented and read and is as followes Vizt To the Worshipfull John Godwin Esqr Governour & Council of the Island St Helena The Petition of John Nichols Humbly Sheweth That your Petitioner is Upwards of 18 Years of age, And his Father being dead he is Desirous of seeking a fortune in India. Your Petitioner therefore thinks it highly Necessary to have a Guardian willing to take care of his Estate & Interest, And Placeing much Confidence in the care & Management of his Mother | Governor Goodwin reported three entries from the Company's slave establishment for the previous month. One of the Company's women gave birth to a daughter named Patt on the 11th, and a second woman bore a daughter named Betty on the 13th. An elderly woman called Betty Simon died on the 29th. Elizabeth Nicholls petitioned the Governor and council, and her paper was read out at the board. She set out that her husband's death had left her hard pressed to keep her family, and that her property was slipping away a little more each day despite everything she could do. Seeing no likelihood of doing better on the island, she asked leave to sail for Bencoolen by the first ship going that way. She asked further that she be permitted to sell her leasehold land, so that the sale might pay for the voyage. The petition carried her own signature, and the council granted it. John Nicholls also came before the board with a petition, which was read in the same way. He stated that he was over 18 and that his father was dead, and that he wished to try his fortune in India. Because of that he held it necessary to have a guardian who would look after his property and his interest while he was away. He placed considerable trust in his mother's care and management. Interpretations Edmund Nicholls made his will on 24 July 1733, and it was proved before the council on 5 March 1734. It gave his wife Elizabeth a third of the personal estate together with all the household linen and half the real estate for her life, and left the remainder to his sons John and George. The appraisal taken on 26 November 1733 put the whole at £594 6s 6d against debts of £176 5s 4d, leaving £418 1s 2d clear, with seven slaves and a child at £115 0s 0d the heaviest single block and the land and houses at £230 6s 0d. The council refused on 5 March 1734 to accept that valuation as complete, twenty fat bullocks the dead man had offered to the commanders in May 1733 having vanished from the reckoning, and twelve of them were never traced. Both petitions on this page grow out of that settlement, the widow reporting the family holding wasting away and the elder son now old enough to raise the question of who should manage his share. A widow's half of the real estate ran only for her lifetime and could not be sold, and the council bound such holders to keep the property whole for the children, as it did with John Brown over the Young estate on 22 May 1739. Land held on lease from the Company stood on a different footing, since the unexpired term could be passed to another tenant for a price, provided the board consented, the Company keeping a veto over who occupied its ground. That difference explains why the request for a passage came tied to a request to sell the leasehold. The lease was the one part of the widow's holding that could be turned into ready money, and without it she had no means of paying for a berth east. Bencoolen was the Company's pepper settlement at Fort Marlborough on the south-west coast of Sumatra, and the place to which St Helena habitually shipped people it wanted off the island. Its name carried a grim weight in the island's own record. The soldiers who hid among the rocks rather than sail there on 30 March 1731 each gave fear of starving at the fort as the reason, on the account they had from the crew of the James and Mary of poor diet and heavy mortality, and the council noted on 24 July 1733 that of some fifty slaves sent there within two years scarcely half were still alive. A widow proposing that settlement as an improvement on her position measures how narrow the openings were on St Helena for a family without capital. Full age stood at 21, and until then a young person could not administer property in his own right. From 14 onward, however, he could name his own guardian instead of having one assigned to him by the board, which is how Mary Powell the younger secured Captain Goodwin on 31 August 1736 and how Josiah Charlesworth Powell secured Charles Steward on 13 December 1737, each at much the same stage of life. The arrangement allowed an heir to leave the island in search of employment without surrendering his inheritance to whoever the council might otherwise have chosen for him. The Company carried its slaves on the books as property, and the values of the children were reset in proportion to their ages each 30 September. A birth therefore added to the book value of the establishment and a death struck an entry from it, so reporting each one at the board kept the register in step with the ledger. |
399 | 391 | Elizabeth Nicholes Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that the said Elizabeth Nicholes may according ly be Appointed Guardian to your Petitioner & his Estate And Your Petitioner will ever pray &ca John Nicholes Granted And according to the prayer of his Petition his Mother Elizabeth Nicholes was appointed his Guardian The Petition of William Worrall Senr was Presented & Read Setting forth that he being in Possession of Forty Acres of Land Scituate in sandy bay which he holds by Lease from the Honourable Company upon the Naturall Lives of his wife Martha, his Son John & Daughter Sarah; And is renuable at the Death of any of the said Nominees upon the payment of half a Years rent at the Admittance of each Life or new Nominee, And his Wife Martha being dead he is Willing to pay the said fine And requests that he may have a new Lease for the said forty Acres upon the Naturall Lives of his Sons John & Mathew, & his Daughter Sarah Granted and the Secretary was ordered to prepare a New Lease against the next Consultation Day.. Ordered that an Advertizement be Published for all the Inhabitants to meet at Plantation House on Tuesday the 18th Instant to reckon for their Rents & Revenues due to the Honourable Company for the Year past... The Governour, the Gunner & Steward Delivered each their Accounts for the Month of August last which were Severally Examined & Proved and are as followes Vizt. Gunner | John Nicholls closed his petition by asking that his mother Elizabeth Nicholls be made guardian of his person and his property. The council granted the request and appointed her accordingly. William Worrall senior brought a petition to the board, which was read out. He held 40 acres in Sandy Bay under a Company lease running on the lives of his wife Martha, his son John and his daughter Sarah. On the death of any one of the three the lease could be renewed by naming a fresh life, the tenant paying half a year's rent as a fine for the substitution. Martha had died, and he offered to pay that sum. He asked for a new lease of the same 40 acres on the lives of his sons John and Matthew and his daughter Sarah. The council granted it and directed the secretary to have the lease drawn up in time for the next meeting. The council ordered a notice published calling all the inhabitants to Plantation House on Tuesday 18 September, to settle their rents and dues to the Company for the year past. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for August. The board examined all three and approved them. Interpretations A lease for lives ran not for a fixed span of years but until the last of three named people died, so that its value turned on the health and youth of the nominees rather than on any calendar. William Worrall's arrangement carried a right of substitution, allowing him to replace a dead nominee with a living one on payment of half a year's rent, which converted an interest that would otherwise shrink with each death into one he could keep renewing indefinitely. John Bagley junior found himself on the other side of that mechanism on 22 August 1732, when all three of his nominees had died and his 36 acres fell in, obliging him to buy a fresh lease at 5s 10d for each quarter part renewed. The fine on substitution was the price of not letting matters reach that point. Worrall replaced his dead wife with his son Matthew, keeping his son John and daughter Sarah in place. A tenant naming lives had every reason to choose the youngest people he could, since each nomination bought time measured in decades rather than years, and children of the household cost him nothing to name. The practice tied the family's hold on the ground to the survival of its own members, which is why such leases so often carried the tenant's children rather than his contemporaries. The yearly reckoning at Plantation House brought every inhabitant in to settle rent and quit rents in a single sitting, the council working through the books with the tenants present. These occasions rarely produced the full sum. At the reckoning of 30 March 1728 the inhabitants paid £218 3s 6d of £330 18s 9d due, and on 3 October 1732 the council took £191 12s 3.5d of £341 15s 10.5d, carrying the balance to the tenants' accounts on the usual promise to pay when they could. The rent fell due when nothing was in hand to meet it, since the island turned stock and produce into money only when ships lay in the road. Governor Goodwin had told the council on 11 October 1738 that he meant to keep the table within moderate bounds after Duke Crisp's search of the books put diet expenses at £1,533 9s 5d under Governor Pyke, so the monthly accounts delivered here carried more weight than routine. The gunner's account measured the traffic through the road better than any other record on the island, powder being spent on the alarm fired at every strange sail and on the salute that followed once she was named. August 1738 had drawn 90 lb across a salute for the King's accession and a single alarm, and the empty winter road of the preceding two years had reduced the whole charge to the guards alone. |
400 | 392 | The Expence of the Table in August Vizt 1789 32 Gallons Arrack 6 „ 18 „ - 14 Gallons Port 5 „ 8 „ 6 9 Gallons Sherry 3 „ 9 „ 9 22 Gallons Small Beer 1 „ 2 „ - 46 Gallons Strong Do. 3 „ - „ - 2 Gallons Ale - „ 7 „ - 7 Bottles Oyle 1 „ 3 „ 4 5 Bushells Salt 1 „ 10 „ - 4 2/8 Bread 1 „ 1 „ - 3„-„- Flour 3 „ 13 „ - 158 Sugar 1 „ 14 „ 6 63 Candy 1 „ 12 „ 6 7th Pepper - „ 2 „ - 30 Butter 2 „ 10 „ - 118 Rice 2 „ 19 „ - Totall £ 36 „ 2 „ 7 Gunners Stores Expenaed in August Vizt 1789 Guns fired, 3lb, 2lb, Powder Expended August 1 Anniversary of the Accession of the present Royall Family: Guns fired: 21, 3lb: 0, 2lb: 0, Powder Expended: 21 22 For the Funerall of Mr Carne: Guns fired: 20, 3lb: 1, 2lb: 19, Powder Expended: 21 Powder for the Guard: Guns fired: 0, 3lb: 0, 2lb: 0, Powder Expended: 36 Totall: 41, 1, 19, 78¾ Match 12 lb Papper 2 quires Lead balls 6 lb Cartrage Cases 5 Priming wires 6 Spunge Staves 3 Rammer heads 3 Tampkins 6 | The account of the fort table for August 1739 was entered as follows. 32 gallons of arrack, £6 18s 0d 14 gallons of port, £5 8s 6d 9 gallons of sherry, £8 9s 9d 22 gallons of small beer, £1 2s 0d 40 gallons of strong beer, £3 0s 0d 2 gallons of ale, £0 7s 0d 7 bottles of oil, £1 8s 4d 5 bushels of salt, £1 10s 0d 28 quarters of bread, £1 1s 0d 3 quarters of flour, £3 15s 0d 158 lb of sugar, £1 14s 6d 6 lb of candy, £1 12s 6d 1 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 50 lb of butter, £2 10s 0d 118 lb of rice, £2 19s 0d Total, £36 2s 7d The gunner's account of stores spent in August 1739 was entered as follows, the columns running guns fired, three pounders, two pounders and powder expended. 1 August, anniversary of the accession of the present royal family, 21 guns fired, 0 three pounders, 21 two pounders, 24 lb of powder 22 August, funeral of William Carne, 20 guns fired, 1 three pounder, 19 two pounders, 21 lb of powder Powder for the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 36 lb of powder Total, 41 guns fired, 1 three pounder, 19 two pounders, 78.5 lb of powder Further stores were spent in the month. Match, 12 lb Paper, 2 quires Lead balls, 6 lb Cartridge cases, 5 Priming wires, 6 Sponge staves, 3 Rammer heads, 8 Tampions, 6 Interpretations Beef is entirely absent from the table for August, as it was in July, and the household drew its meat from nothing recorded here at all. Governor Goodwin had told the board on 1 May 1739 that the drought left only three very small bullocks fit for the table, and the whole class of twelve bullocks went to the shipping that month, leaving none on the island. Arrack at 32 gallons stands as the largest single line, as it had through the whole of the previous year, and the account closes at £36 2s 7d against £33 15s 5.25d in July and £59 13s 10d in the crowded road of May. The figure measures an anchorage standing empty rather than any economy on the Governor's part, though he had undertaken on 11 October 1738 to hold the table within moderate bounds. Sterling prices on this page show the gap between the wholesale cost of goods landed from India and what the island paid for them at the fort. Arrack came in at about 4s 3d the gallon on the invoices of the season and is charged here at rather more, while sherry at 9 gallons for £8 9s 9d runs at nearly 19s the gallon, dearer than any other drink in the account. Wine came from Europe by store ship and could not be replaced from the East, so a chest broached in the cellar was gone until the next vessel from England. Governor Goodwin found on 14 September 1736 that six dozen bottles survived out of forty-six dozen shipped, which is the sort of loss that lay behind such a rate. The gunner classed the guns by the weight of shot they threw rather than by the older names of saker, minion and falcon, a change of clerical convention that began in February 1738 and was applied to the whole return from December of that year. Two pounders are the falcons, the smallest pieces on the island, and they carry both salutes on this page almost alone. Reserving the lightest guns for ceremony spared the powder store, a saving that mattered while the council stood under apprehension of a European war and had been proving its ordnance week by week at an earth battery since December 1738. Sponge staves, rammer heads and tampions are the wearing furniture of muzzle-loading guns. A sponge on its stave damped and cleared the bore between rounds, a rammer drove the charge home and a tampion plugged the muzzle against damp between firings. The 36 lb charged to the guard was not fired from any gun but issued for the small arms of the watch, and it stands as the fixed monthly charge that ran unchanged whether or not a ship entered the road. The funeral of William Carne drew 20 guns, one short of the 21 fired for the royal anniversary three weeks earlier. That is the compliment the island paid to a person of standing, matching the twenty fired for Governor Pyke on 29 July 1738 and for Samuel Fazakerley on 9 June 1739, and it places Carne among the substantial inhabitants rather than the garrison. The Carne household appears in the fort valley among the packed houses whose back yards ran together, and Frances Carne joined Richard Goodwin on 6 July 1736 in assigning their lease of ground there to Captain Goodwin so that he might build. |
401 | 393 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of August 1739 Viz: Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining 1 of August: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 53, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 11, Yearlings: 34, Calves: 82, Bulls: 5, Totall: 211, Ews: 40, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 17, Rams: 4, Totall: 69, Sows: 9, Shoates: 12, Pigs: 35, Boares: 1, Totall: 57, Turkeys: 22, Fowles: 61, Ducks: 11, Geese: 6, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 9, Bulls: 0, Totall: 9, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 8, Rams: 0, Totall: 8, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 7, Boares: 0, Totall: 7, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 20, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 53, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 11, Yearlings: 34, Calves: 91, Bulls: 5, Totall: 220, Ews: 40, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 77, Sows: 9, Shoates: 12, Pigs: 42, Boares: 1, Totall: 64, Turkeys: 22, Fowles: 81, Ducks: 11, Geese: 6, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 53, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 11, Yearlings: 34, Calves: 91, Bulls: 5, Totall: 220, Ews: 40, Weathers: 7, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 76, Sows: 9, Shoates: 9, Pigs: 39, Boares: 1, Totall: 58, Turkeys: 21, Fowles: 69, Ducks: 11, Geese: 6, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 31 August: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 53, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 11, Yearlings: 34, Calves: 91, Bulls: 5, Totall: 220, Ews: 40, Weathers: 7, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 76, Sows: 9, Shoates: 9, Pigs: 39, Boares: 1, Totall: 58, Turkeys: 21, Fowles: 69, Ducks: 11, Geese: 6, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 36000 | The Company's account of stock for August 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 August: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 82 calves, 5 bulls, 211 neat cattle total; 40 ewes, 8 wethers, 17 lambs, 4 rams, 69 sheep total; 9 sows, 12 shoats, 35 pigs, 1 boar, 57 hogs total; 22 turkeys, 61 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Increased in August: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 9 calves, 0 bulls, 9 neat cattle total; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 8 lambs, 0 rams, 8 sheep total; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 7 pigs, 0 boars, 7 hogs total; 0 turkeys, 20 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese poultry; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 91 calves, 5 bulls, 220 neat cattle total; 40 ewes, 8 wethers, 25 lambs, 4 rams, 77 sheep total; 9 sows, 12 shoats, 42 pigs, 1 boar, 64 hogs total; 22 turkeys, 81 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in August: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 1 sheep; 0 sows, 3 shoats, 3 pigs, 0 boars, 6 hogs; 1 turkey, 12 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese Died in August: 0 across every class of cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry Remaining 31 August: 0 bullocks, 53 cows, 26 heifers, 11 steers, 34 yearlings, 91 calves, 5 bulls, 220 neat cattle total; 40 ewes, 7 wethers, 25 lambs, 4 rams, 76 sheep total; 9 sows, 9 shoats, 39 pigs, 1 boar, 58 hogs total; 21 turkeys, 69 fowls, 11 ducks, 6 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 36,000 lb Interpretations The herd stood level through the whole month, closing at 220 head of neat cattle against 220 at the opening, with nine calves born and none sold, killed or lost beyond a single wether and a handful of poultry. That stability follows directly from the crisis of May 1739, when the whole class of twelve bullocks was killed to supply the shipping and the council resolved to spare the breeding cows, heifers and calves rather than slaughter further stock. The bullock column now stands empty, as it had since that reckoning, while cows hold steady at 53 and calves have grown to 91, showing the herd rebuilding from the animals the council chose to protect rather than from any purchase. Yams expended at 36,000 lb mark a considerable recovery from the 5,000 lb recorded for the winter planting in July, the rise reflecting the crop coming in as the island's growing season turned. The establishment had leaned on imported rice and paddy through the early months of 1739 while the yam harvest lay well below what the plantations needed, so a return to tens of thousands of pounds a month signals the ground beginning to answer again after the run of dry seasons Governor Goodwin had described to the council on 11 October 1738. |
402 | 394 | The Governour Reports that on Sunday Night last Nine of the Honourable Companys Slaves, Men, Women, & Children, who we received this Year from Bombay & Ship Nassau were Inticed by a fellow called Drake belonging to the Company to make their Escape in the Long boat who was rideing in the road, which they Effected by cutting her from her Moorings in the Dead of the Night, Unseen or heard by any of the Centinels... Its Remarkable of this fellow Drake, that he has before made several Attempts to run away, but has always by one means or other been Detected.- The Governour Reports that Yesterday morn Mr John Goodwin junt begun to measure the Honble Companys Pasture grounds. Resolved that tomorrow morng We the Govr & Councl begin, to Survey & Value all & every the Fortifications Fother Buildings, Pastures, Plantations, Neat Castle, Horses, Sheep & Hoggs &c which have never been brought to Acct in any of the former General Books that they may be Listed in there out present sett of Books to the End that our Honble Masters may be Competant Judges of the Nature & Value of their Stock here, Agreeable to the Savite given their Honours in the 6 pair of our Letter of the 6th June 1739. And which we hope will meet with their Approbation.- At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18th September 1739 at Plantation house Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Capt Crispe John Bazett Geo Gal Powell The Last Consultation was read & Approved The Inhabitants met this day agreeable to the Advertizement of Tuesday last to reckon for their Rents & Revenues due to the Honble Company for the Year past. | Governor Goodwin reported that on the previous Sunday night nine of the Company's slaves - men, women and children who had come to the island from Bombay by the Nassau - were persuaded by a Company slave named Drake to try to escape in the long boat. Drake had been hiding in the boat in the road, and the group planned to cut her free from her moorings in the dead of night, unseen by any of the sentinels. The Governor noted that this same man Drake had made several attempts to run away before but had always been caught by one means or another. The Governor also reported that that morning John Goodwin junior had begun measuring the Company's pasture ground. The council resolved that the following morning the Governor and council would begin surveying and valuing all the fortifications, other buildings, pastures, plantations, cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, none of which had ever been brought to account in any of the earlier general books. The purpose was to allow the council's own members to act as competent judges of the nature and value of their stock. This was to be done in a manner consistent with the direction given by the Court in the sixth paragraph of its letter of 8 June 1749, and the council expected it to meet with the Court's approval. At a consultation held on Tuesday 18 September 1739 at Plantation House. Present: John Goodwin Esq., Governor; Duke Crisp; John Bazett; Geo. Gab. Powell. The previous consultation was read and approved. The inhabitants met that day in accordance with the advertisement of the previous Tuesday, to settle their rents and revenues due to the Company for the year past. Interpretations Drake's name appears in the conspiracy of 31 August 1736, when Philip deposed that he was the first contriver of a plan to escape in the long boat, proposing to draw water at Banks's and break open stores for supplies before the party met at Rupert's Valley. He admitted the scheme on being whipped a second time and was returned to his master without collar or term, the council hoping the episode would deter further attempts. Three years later he was hiding in the very boat he had earlier proposed to take, and organising a fresh party of nine. The nine recent arrivals from the Nassau, unfamiliar with the island and perhaps desperate after the sea passage, made easier targets for persuasion than established slaves who had seen earlier attempts fail. The Nassau arrived from Bombay on 23 March 1739 carrying twelve slaves, three men, three women and four children, one girl having drowned on the passage. The nine persons named in this report as induced to run match almost exactly the survivors of that consignment, which suggests that Drake may have concentrated his effort on the newcomers rather than on longer-established members of the Company's establishment. John Goodwin junior served as clerk of the council and assistant to the storekeeper John Bazett, positions his father gave him on 15 August 1738 immediately after assuming the governorship. His being directed to measure the pasture ground is the first step in the general survey the council resolved upon in the same breath, and the instruction to begin the following morning gave him almost no time before the whole board joined the exercise. The resolution to survey and value the Company's fixed property answers a recurring anxiety in the island's accounts. Governor Goodwin had directed on 19 September 1738 that the books of diet expenses and fortification charge be searched to give a baseline against which his own administration could be measured, and Duke Crisp's return of 11 October 1738 supplied those figures. What the books still lacked was any account of the capital stock, the buildings, earthworks and live animals that the Company had accumulated on the island over decades. Bringing these onto the books would also give the council something to weigh its annual expenditure against, rather than reporting running costs in isolation from the assets they maintained. The letter of 8 June 1749 cited in the resolution is almost certainly a manuscript slip for 8 June 1739 or possibly an earlier date, since the consultation itself is dated September 1739. The reference may be to a paragraph in a general letter sent out by the Court of Directors by one of the ships in that year's season, directing that such a survey be made. Speculations The council chose to survey and value the Company's stock itself rather than commissioning the usual external appraisers. The island's standard practice for taking an inventory of any significant estate was to appoint two or more sworn inhabitants as appraisers, a procedure applied to Governor Pyke's effects on 8 August 1738, to the Barlow estate in November 1738 and to the Powell estate on 25 September 1735, where five commissioners were named precisely because the board distrusted earlier valuations by fewer men. Here the councillors proposed to act as their own appraisers of a stock that included buildings they had ordered, earthworks they had directed and animals they had managed. The resolution records the reason openly: they wished to be competent judges of the nature and value of the property. The institutional effect was to give the Governor and council control over the baseline figure from which all future accounts of the Company's capital would be measured, without the friction of disagreement that had arisen between the board and external valuers in the Powell proceedings. |
403 | 395 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 25 September 1739 at Plantation house Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Capt Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that there has been frequent complaints made to him by the Inhabitants of the daily Losses they sustain in their Live Stock such as Hoggs, Sheep &c And which they impute wholy to the Blacks being Suffered to carry Dogs about the Country with them who make it a Common Practice, when as they think they are out of the Sight or Hearing of any white Person, to make Use of those Dogs to Fetch & Kill Hogs &ca for their own Eating, And which they Generally to prevent Discovery as much as may be, Salt & Bury under ground... And to prevent in future all such Vilony tis thought highly Necessary to Publish the following Advertizement Vizt Whereas it is highly Disagreeable to the Laws & Constitutions of this Island for any black to carry either Dog or Gunn with them about the Country in any shape or any Pretence whatsoever And Accordingly there has been Several Advertizments Issued from time to time to prevent the same. Notwithstanding which tis now become a common Practice, Insomuch that it is rare to meet a black without a Dog following of him; to the great Loss and Prejudice of the Neighbourhood. This is therefore Strictly to order And Command each & every of the whole Inhabitants of this Island to Detect and Seize all and every of the Blacks whome they may at any time hereafter meet upon the high Roads or Otherwise having either Dogs or Gunns with them And to bring the said blacks so Detected, after first Killing their Dogs, or breaking their Gunns unto the Common Prison, there to Deliver them to the Marshall to be Severely Punished for their Wicked Intentions upon the Neighbourhood | A consultation was held at Plantation House on Tuesday 25 September 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and George Gabriel Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that the inhabitants had made frequent complaints about the losses they suffered in their live stock, particularly hogs and sheep. They attributed these losses to slaves being allowed to carry dogs about the country with them, since those men made it a common practice, whenever they were out of sight or hearing of any white person, to set the dogs on hogs and other animals and kill them for their own food, then salt and bury the carcasses to prevent discovery. To stop this practice in future, the council judged it necessary to publish the following advertisement. Carrying a dog or a gun in the country was contrary to the island's laws and standing rules, and advertisements had been issued from time to time to the same effect. Yet it had become so common that it was rare to see a slave without a dog at his heel, causing serious damage to the neighbourhood. Every inhabitant was therefore strictly directed to stop and seize any slave found on the high roads or elsewhere with a dog or a gun. Any slave so caught was to be brought to the marshal for severe punishment, and dogs were to be killed and guns broken on the spot before delivery to the marshal. Interpretations Slaves killing livestock for their own food and concealing the evidence by salting and burying it was a form of subsistence the island's record documents at intervals across many years. The council held on 1 March 1727 that the large quantities of beef and pork issued to the slaves between 1723 and 1726 had cost nearly £2,000 and resolved to replace the meat ration with fish. Where the formal ration shrank or failed, illicit killing of hogs and sheep filled the gap. The advertisement of 14 January 1729 revoked the firearms licences of John Long, Elizabeth Marsh and Thomas Nash after Company goats were found shot and worried, and a warrant was issued to kill every dog belonging to them. That earlier prohibition had targeted specific named holders; this one extends the seizure rule to every slave on every road across the whole island, a considerably wider reach. The mechanics of the concealment are noted here with unusual precision. Salting and burying removed both the evidence and the smell, defeating the usual reliance on neighbours' testimony. The council had found on every earlier occasion involving Long's dogs that the testimony of slaves was inadmissible against a free defendant, so that the chain from dog to master could never be legally closed. By directing that inhabitants seize and deliver the slave rather than attempt a prosecution against the owner, the advertisement worked around that evidential barrier, placing the punishment on the person who could be caught in the act rather than on the master who could not be reached through slave evidence alone. The rule that slaves could not carry firearms had stood since before the earliest consultations in this record, but dogs presented a harder enforcement problem because they were useful animals with legitimate purposes. A dog kept on a plantation to guard stock was indistinguishable from one taken out to hunt stock, and the advertisement does not attempt that distinction. It prohibits any dog in any slave's company on the high roads or anywhere else, treating the animal's presence as conclusive proof of a prohibited purpose. That absolutism reflects how completely the informal evidence of the island had failed to separate legitimate use from theft. Speculations The council directed inhabitants to seize offending slaves and break guns on the spot rather than bringing a complaint to the board first. That reversed the usual procedure, in which a complaint was sworn before the Governor, a warrant issued and the marshal or a named constable made the arrest. The change had a plain practical reason: a slave discovered in the high country with a dog or a gun would be long gone before any formal process could catch up with him. Yet it also deputised every free person on the island as an officer of enforcement without requiring them to swear to anything, which was the opposite of the approach the council had applied to the runaway rules of 30 October 1733, where it had named Joseph Hayes as the person to be notified and had fixed the fees he could charge. The implicit judgment was that the theft of livestock had become common enough that waiting for the formal apparatus to engage was pointless, and that the only arrest likely to succeed was one made at the moment of discovery. |
404 | 396 | And Whereas there are several of the Inhabi who for their own conveniency build Out houses at distant parts of their Lands where Generally reside black or two who tis presumed commits many the Th & does much Mischief with the Dogs they keep there This is therefore to Order every owner of such out house to Destroy all their Dogs, And to prevent the same bei kept in future, or any pretence whatsoever On pains & Penalties that shall be Inflicted thereon By Order of the Worshipfull the Gov and Council G G Powell There Appeared before Us this day Martin Harp And Eliz Nicholes who make complaint that Matth Worrall & Richard Greentree Refuse them an Equal or part of a Sea Cow lately Killed upon Old Woman Valley Beach as it was catching a Sheep, And it appears Plainly that the Aforesaid Martin Harper & Elizabe Nicholes had each of them a Slave in the Boat with the Said Matthew Worrall & Richd Greentree when th same Sea Monster was first Discovered And as Has been ever a Custom upon such Occasions that all who are together at the first Discovery of any of thos Creatures have an Equal Share of the Prize. Us therefore Ordered that the Aforesaid Matthew Worrall & Richd Greentree Shall & do immediately Deliver unto the Said Martin Harper & Eliz Nicholes in right of their Slaves an Equal Share or dividend of the Aforementiond Sea Cow The Severall Parcells of Land belonging to the Honb Company having lately been Measured by Mr John Goodwin the Governours Son, We this day Valued the sam at a Moderate rate. The Pasture Lands one with anoth at £7 p More, And the great Wood Containing 1500 Acres at £3 .... p More the Value of this being more or less according as the season happens to be better or worse. And Likewise the Several sorts of their Live Stock as the same stood on the 30th September 1739.- | The advertisement continued. Several inhabitants built outhouses at remote parts of their land where one or two slaves usually lived, and those slaves took advantage of their isolation to commit many thefts and cause much damage with the dogs kept there. Every owner of such an outhouse was therefore directed to have all the dogs there destroyed, and to prevent any being kept there in future on any pretext whatever, under penalties to be imposed. By order of the Worshipful the Governor and Council. G G Powell. Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls appeared before the board that day and complained that Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree refused to give them an equal share of a sea cow lately killed on a rock at Valley Beach as it was catching a sheep. The council found it clear that Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls had each sent a slave in the boat with Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree when the sea monster was first discovered. It being the established custom on such occasions that all those together at the first discovery of any such creature had an equal share of it, the council directed Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree to deliver to Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls their due shares of the sea cow without delay. Several parcels of Company land had lately been measured by John Goodwin junior, the Governor's son, and the council valued them that day at a moderate rate. The pasture lands were valued at £7 15s 0d and the great wood containing 1,600 acres at £3 [...] per acre, the value of the latter being more or less according to how the season happened to turn out better or worse. The council likewise valued the several classes of the Company's live stock as they stood on 30 September 1739. Interpretations The sea cow killed at Valley Beach was almost certainly a Cape fur seal or possibly a southern elephant seal, both of which haul out on St Helena's rocky shores. The island's record refers to these animals as sea monsters or sea cows, and the flesh was treated as food to be divided like any catch. The rule applied here, that everyone present at the first discovery took an equal share, mirrors the custom governing stranded whales and drift goods on British shores, where rights attached to presence and participation at the moment of finding rather than to ownership of the adjacent land. The fact that both complainants sent slaves in the boat rather than attending themselves raised an implicit question the council resolved in their favour: the slave's presence counted as his master's presence for the purposes of the division. The valuation of the Company's land and stock on 30 September 1739 carries out the resolution the council took on 11 September at the same consultation where no board had met since 7 August. That resolution was itself prompted by a Company direction in the sixth paragraph of a letter, probably of June 1739, asking for a survey of property never before brought into any account. John Goodwin junior's measurement of the pastures was the first step, and the live stock valuation on 30 September brought the exercise to a close at the end of the Company year. Taken together they gave the island a capital account for the first time, against which the Court of Directors could measure the annual charges Governor Goodwin had pledged on 11 October 1738 to keep within moderate bounds. A rate expressed per acre for the great wood at £3 and some pence is notable because woodland on St Helena was governed by strict felling rules, carrying fines and lease forfeiture for neglect or damage, and the Company had gone to considerable lengths since Governor Byfield's time to prevent its destruction. A monetary valuation placed on the wood treated it as a capital asset rather than merely a regulated commons, which gave the council a further instrument for calculating the cost of any future felling or damage. The dog and outhouse provision that closes the advertisement addressed a known pattern in the island's runaway and theft record. Several earlier cases had shown that outhouses on distant parts of a holding acted as staging points and refuges, most explicitly in the case of Simon, a Malay slave of John Clew, found on 10 April 1733 at an outhouse of John Long after nearly two months at large, lodging there by night and living off thefts from eight named plantations. The advertisement was in that respect a structural response to a structural problem, targeting the type of location rather than the named individual, though the council knew from long experience that Long's premises specifically had been a refuge for runaways. |
405 | 397 | And Whereas there are several of the Inhabi who for their own conveniency build Out houses at distant parts of their Lands where Generally reside black or two who tis presumed commits many the Th & does much Mischief with the Dogs they keep there This is therefore to Order every owner of such out house to Destroy all their Dogs, And to prevent the same bei kept in future, or any pretence whatsoever On pains & Penalties that shall be Inflicted thereon By Order of the Worshipfull the Gov and Council G G Powell There Appeared before Us this day Martin Harp And Eliz Nicholes who make complaint that Matth Worrall & Richard Greentree Refuse them an Equal or part of a Sea Cow lately Killed upon Old Woman Valley Beach as it was catching a Sheep, And it appears Plainly that the Aforesaid Martin Harper & Elizabe Nicholes had each of them a Slave in the Boat with the Said Matthew Worrall & Richd Greentree when th same Sea Monster was first Discovered And as Has been ever a Custom upon such Occasions that all who are together at the first Discovery of any of thos Creatures have an Equal Share of the Prize. Us therefore Ordered that the Aforesaid Matthew Worrall & Richd Greentree Shall & do immediately Deliver unto the Said Martin Harper & Eliz Nicholes in right of their Slaves an Equal Share or dividend of the Aforementiond Sea Cow The Severall Parcells of Land belonging to the Honb Company having lately been Measured by Mr John Goodwin the Governours Son, We this day Valued the sam at a Moderate rate. The Pasture Lands one with anoth at £7 p More, And the great Wood Containing 1500 Acres at £3 .... p More the Value of this being more or less according as the season happens to be better or worse. And Likewise the Several sorts of their Live Stock as the same stood on the 30th September 1739.- | The advertisement continued. Several inhabitants built outhouses at remote parts of their land where one or two slaves usually lived, and those slaves took advantage of their isolation to commit many thefts and cause much damage with the dogs kept there. Every owner of such an outhouse was therefore directed to have all the dogs there destroyed, and to prevent any being kept there in future on any pretext whatever, under penalties to be imposed. By order of the Worshipful the Governor and Council. G G Powell. Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls appeared before the board that day and complained that Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree refused to give them an equal share of a sea cow lately killed on a rock at Valley Beach as it was catching a sheep. The council found it clear that Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls had each sent a slave in the boat with Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree when the sea monster was first discovered. It being the established custom on such occasions that all those together at the first discovery of any such creature had an equal share of it, the council directed Matthew Worrall and Richard Greentree to deliver to Martin Harper and Elizabeth Nicholls their due shares of the sea cow without delay. Several parcels of Company land had lately been measured by John Goodwin junior, the Governor's son, and the council valued them that day at a moderate rate. The pasture lands were valued at £7 15s 0d and the great wood containing 1,600 acres at £3 [...] per acre, the value of the latter being more or less according to how the season happened to turn out better or worse. The council likewise valued the several classes of the Company's live stock as they stood on 30 September 1739. Interpretations The sea cow killed at Valley Beach was almost certainly a Cape fur seal or possibly a southern elephant seal, both of which haul out on St Helena's rocky shores. The island's record refers to these animals as sea monsters or sea cows, and the flesh was treated as food to be divided like any catch. The rule applied here, that everyone present at the first discovery took an equal share, mirrors the custom governing stranded whales and drift goods on British shores, where rights attached to presence and participation at the moment of finding rather than to ownership of the adjacent land. The fact that both complainants sent slaves in the boat rather than attending themselves raised an implicit question the council resolved in their favour: the slave's presence counted as his master's presence for the purposes of the division. The valuation of the Company's land and stock on 30 September 1739 carries out the resolution the council took on 11 September at the same consultation where no board had met since 7 August. That resolution was itself prompted by a Company direction in the sixth paragraph of a letter, probably of June 1739, asking for a survey of property never before brought into any account. John Goodwin junior's measurement of the pastures was the first step, and the live stock valuation on 30 September brought the exercise to a close at the end of the Company year. Taken together they gave the island a capital account for the first time, against which the Court of Directors could measure the annual charges Governor Goodwin had pledged on 11 October 1738 to keep within moderate bounds. A rate expressed per acre for the great wood at £3 and some pence is notable because woodland on St Helena was governed by strict felling rules, carrying fines and lease forfeiture for neglect or damage, and the Company had gone to considerable lengths since Governor Byfield's time to prevent its destruction. A monetary valuation placed on the wood treated it as a capital asset rather than merely a regulated commons, which gave the council a further instrument for calculating the cost of any future felling or damage. The dog and outhouse provision that closes the advertisement addressed a known pattern in the island's runaway and theft record. Several earlier cases had shown that outhouses on distant parts of a holding acted as staging points and refuges, most explicitly in the case of Simon, a Malay slave of John Clew, found on 10 April 1733 at an outhouse of John Long after nearly two months at large, lodging there by night and living off thefts from eight named plantations. The advertisement was in that respect a structural response to a structural problem, targeting the type of location rather than the named individual, though the council knew from long experience that Long's premises specifically had been a refuge for runaways. |
406 | 398 | Fortifications Brought Over £17520 „ - „ - Plantations Brought Over £3562 „ 13 „ - 28 The Plantation called Perkins £350 Yams Growing therein 25000 „ 125 £353 „ - „ - 8 The Plantation called Sandybay £160 Yams Growing therein 8000 „ 40 £200 „ 3 „ - 4 Acres called the Lime kiln „ 30 Yams Growing therein 12000 „ 6 £36 „ - „ - 1500 Acres called the great Wood @ £3 £1500 „ - „ - 6 Stores with the House therein Plantation called the Plantation House And Garden £1000 „ - „ - 230 ½ Acres Pasture & Plantation Am 79 10 £4673 „ 18 „ - The Garden at the Fort Adjoyning to the Castle £300 „ - „ - 27693 „ 18 „ - Live Stock Vizt Cattle 235 Head valued at £8 „ 10 £2397 „ 10 „ - Sheep 84 Sheep & Lambs „ 10 £42 „ - „ - Hoggs 64 Hoggs & Pigs „ 7 £22 „ 8 „ - Horses 24 Horses & Mairs £6 £144 „ - „ - £195 „ 18 „ - Totall £ 28489 „ 16 „ - | The valuation of the Company's property as at 30 September 1739 was entered as follows. Fortifications brought over, £17,520 0s 0d Plantations brought over, £3,562 13s 0d 28 acres, the plantation called Perkins, £250 0s 0d Yams growing therein, 25,000 lb at 1s per [...], £125 0s 0d Sub-total for Perkins plantation and yams, £353 0s 0d [as entered] 8 acres, the plantation called Sandy Bay, £160 0s 0d Yams growing therein, 8,000 lb at [...], £10 3s 0d [as entered] Sub-total for Sandy Bay plantation and yams, £200 3s 0d [as entered] 4 acres called the Lime Kiln, £50 0s 0d Yams growing therein, 12,000 lb, £6 0s 0d Sub-total for Lime Kiln and yams, £56 0s 0d [as entered] 1,600 acres called the Great Wood at £3 per acre, £1,500 0s 0d [as entered] 6 acres with the house thereon, the building called Plantation House and garden, £1,000 0s 0d 230.5 acres of pasture and plantation at 19s 10d per acre, £2,673 18s 0d [as entered] The garden at the fort adjoining the castle, £300 0s 0d Sub-total fortifications and all plantations, £27,693 18s 0d [as entered] Live stock: Cattle, 235 head valued at £8 10s per head, £887 10s 0d Sheep, 84 sheep and lambs at 10s each, £42 0s 0d Hogs, 64 hogs and pigs at 7s each, £22 8s 0d Horses, 24 horses and mares at 6s each, £144 0s 0d [as entered] Sub-total live stock, £195 18s 0d [as entered] Total, £28,489 16s 0d Interpretations This is the first consolidated capital valuation of the Company's St Helena property in this entire run of consultations. Earlier inventories had covered individual estates of deceased persons, the Governor's effects or specific parcels sold or leased to inhabitants, but nothing had brought the whole establishment onto a single page before. The resolution of 11 September 1739 explains why: none of this had ever been brought to account in any of the earlier general books, so the Court of Directors had no figure against which to measure the annual charge, which Governor Goodwin had pledged on 11 October 1738 to keep within moderate bounds. The fortifications at £17,520 0s 0d are by far the largest entry and represent the accumulated cost of the coastal works carried out under Governor Pyke and Governor Goodwin since the fortification programme began in earnest in 1734. The total probably draws on Duke Crisp's search of the books ordered on 19 September 1738, which had already established the fortification charge under Pyke alone at £2,197 4s 1.5d. The broader figure here must incorporate many more years of expenditure, reaching back to the works under Governor Byfield. The Great Wood entry of £1,500 0s 0d against a stated rate of £3 per acre for 1,600 acres is internally inconsistent, the correct product being £4,800 0s 0d. The manuscript carries £1,500, and that figure is taken as it stands. The discrepancy may reflect a deliberate undervaluation of woodland whose usable timber was tightly restricted, or a copying error between the deliberations and the final entry. The live stock rate of £8 10s per head for cattle is notably modest against the sale prices in the island's own record. Governor Pyke's sixteen slaves sold by outcry at £22 13s 5d a head on 8 August 1738, and individual bullocks sold to shipping had commanded rather more per beast than this valuation allows for the whole undifferentiated herd. The council stated in its resolution of 11 September that the rate would be moderate, and it kept its word, which had the effect of keeping the baseline capital figure conservative and making any future charge against it appear proportionally lighter. |
407 | 399 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 2nd October 1789 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G G Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved. The Governour the Gunner & Steward Deliver each their Accounts for the Month of Septr last which were Severally Examined & Proved & are as followes Vizt The Expence of the Table in the Month of Septr 1789 81 Pork £2 „ - „ 6 17th Butter - „ 17 „ - 80 Days Greens 1 „ 10 „ - 1 Sheep 1 „ - „ - 1 Turkey - „ 3 „ - 24 Fowles 1 „ 16 „ - 18 Gallons Port 6 „ 19 „ 6 10 ½ Sherry 4 „ 1 „ 4½ 28 Gallons Strong Beer 2 „ 2 „ - 36 Gallons Small Beer 1 „ 16 „ - 5 Gallons Ale - „ 17 „ 6 6 Bottles Oyle 1 „ - „ - 26 Gallons Arrack 3 „ 4 „ - 6 [...] Bread 1 „ 1 „ - 3 „ 1 „ - Flour 4 „ 1 „ 6 - „ - „ 9 Sugar 1 „ 4 „ 3 - „ - „ - [...] 2 „ 1 „ 6 83th Candy - „ 3 „ - 3 Pepper 1 „ 10 „ - 5 Bushells Salt 30 „ 10 „ 1½ Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of September 1739 Gunns fired, 4lb, Shott, Powder Expended For firing to Instruct the Gunners Crew: 17, 17, 17, 31¾ Powder to the Guard: 12, 17, 17, 85 Cartridge Paper „ 6 quires Match Handspikes 3th Lead Balls „ 9th Cartridge Cases | A consultation was held on Tuesday 2 October 1789 [old style 1739], with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and G G Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for September, which were examined and approved as follows. The table account for September 1739: 81 lb of pork, £2 0s 6d 17 lb of butter, £0 17s 0d 80 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 1 sheep, £1 0s 0d 1 turkey, £0 3s 0d 24 fowls, £1 16s 0d 18 gallons of port, £6 19s 6d 10.5 gallons of sherry, £4 1s 4d [as entered] 28 gallons of strong beer, £2 2s 0d 36 gallons of small beer, £1 16s 0d 3 gallons of ale, £0 17s 6d 6 bottles of oil, £1 0s 0d 26 gallons of arrack, £3 4s 0d 6 [...] lb of bread, £1 1s 0d 3 [...] quarters of flour, £4 1s 6d [as entered] [...] lb of sugar, £1 4s 8d [as entered] [...] lb of candy, £2 1s 6d [as entered] [...] lb of pepper, £0 3s 0d 3 bushels of salt, £0 10s 1d [as entered] Total, £39 10s 1.5d [as entered] Gunner's stores expended in September 1739, the columns running guns fired, 4 lb shot, shot and powder expended: For proving the gunner's crew, 17 guns fired, 17 four pounders, 17 shot, 51.5 lb of powder Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 shot, 12 lb of powder [as entered] Total, 17 guns fired, 17 four pounders, 17 shot, 85 [as entered] lb of powder Further stores expended: Cartridge paper, 6 quires Muskets, [...] [as entered] Handspikes, [...] [as entered] Pigs of [...], [...] lb Gun [...], [...] Corn ladles, [...] Interpretations Beef is absent again from the table for September, as it had been through July and August, with pork, one sheep, one turkey and 24 fowls carrying the whole of the meat for the month. The road was empty and had been since the shipping left in June, so the household drew only on what the island itself could supply. Port at 18 gallons leads the drink lines by value at £6 19s 6d, overtaking arrack at 26 gallons and £3 4s 0d, an unusual reversal that may reflect wine remaining in store from the last store ship rather than any deliberate preference. The gunner's return for September is its quietest in the whole run. The only firing was 17 guns at the proving of the crew, a regular exercise that tested both the men and the pieces, and not a single shot was fired for a salute or an alarm. The four-pound shot column is the column governing all three figures across the single row, each four-pounder fired once with one round, and the powder charge of 51.5 lb for 17 shots gives roughly 3 lb per round, consistent with a light proving exercise rather than full service charges. The 12 lb issued to the guard is the standing monthly charge for small arms. The total of 85 lb against 78.5 lb in August and 62 lb in July shows the proving trials adding a modest but regular burden through the quiet winter months. The second image confirms the column headings as guns fired, four-pound shot and powder expended, and supplies the figures that were cut off in the first image. The proving of the gunner's crew on 17 guns with 17 shot at 51.5 lb and the guard allowance of 12 lb together make the totals of 17 guns, 17 shot and approximately 85 lb, with the rounding in the total column a standard feature of this series. |
408 | 400 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of September 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totalle, Turkeys, Fowles, Geese, Ducks, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining the 1st Septr: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 80, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 30, Bulls: 5, Totall: 220, Ews: 50, Weathers: 10, Lambs: 12, Rams: 4, Totall: 76, Sows: 10, Shoates: 16, Pigs: 30, Boares: 2, Totalle: 58, Turkeys: 21, Fowles: 60, Geese: 11, Ducks: 6, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 15, Bulls: 0, Totall: 15, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 10, Rams: 0, Totall: 10, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 15, Boares: 0, Totalle: 15, Turkeys: 23, Fowles: 30, Geese: 21, Ducks: 15, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 80, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 45, Bulls: 5, Totall: 235, Ews: 50, Weathers: 10, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 86, Sows: 10, Shoates: 16, Pigs: 45, Boares: 2, Totalle: 73, Turkeys: 44, Fowles: 99, Geese: 32, Ducks: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 1, Ews: 0, Weathers: 1, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 1, Sows: 0, Shoates: 2, Pigs: 7, Boares: 0, Totalle: 9, Turkeys: 1, Fowles: 24, Geese: 0, Ducks: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 80, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 45, Bulls: 5, Totall: 235, Ews: 50, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 85, Sows: 10, Shoates: 14, Pigs: 38, Boares: 2, Totalle: 64, Turkeys: 43, Fowles: 75, Geese: 32, Ducks: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 1, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 1, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totalle: 3, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 8, Geese: 0, Ducks: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 30th September: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 80, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 45, Bulls: 5, Totall: 285, Ews: 49, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 84, Sows: 10, Shoates: 14, Pigs: 38, Boares: 2, Totalle: 64, Turkeys: 40, Fowles: 67, Geese: 32, Ducks: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Yams Expended at the Severall Plantations tt 35000 | The Company's stock account for September 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 September: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 80 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 30 calves, 5 bulls, 220 neat cattle total; 50 ewes, 10 wethers, 12 lambs, 4 rams, 76 sheep total; 10 sows, 16 shoats, 30 pigs, 2 boars, 58 hogs total; 21 turkeys, 60 fowls, 11 geese, 6 ducks poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Increased in September: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 15 calves, 0 bulls, 15 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 10 lambs, 0 rams, 10 sheep; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 15 pigs, 0 boars, 15 hogs; 0 turkeys, 23 fowls, 0 geese, 0 ducks [as entered]; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 80 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 45 calves, 5 bulls, 235 neat cattle total; 50 ewes, 10 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 86 sheep total; 10 sows, 16 shoats, 45 pigs, 2 boars, 73 hogs total; 44 turkeys, 99 fowls, 32 geese, 21 ducks poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in September: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 1 sheep; 0 sows, 2 shoats, 7 pigs, 0 boars, 9 hogs total [as entered]; 1 turkey, 9 fowls, 0 geese, 0 ducks; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in September: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, 1 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 1 ram, 1 sheep; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 3 fowls, 8 geese, 0 ducks; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 30 September: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 80 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 45 calves, 5 bulls, 285 neat cattle total [as entered]; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 84 sheep total; 10 sows, 14 shoats, 38 pigs, 2 boars, 64 hogs total; 43 turkeys, 75 fowls, 32 geese, 21 ducks poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 35,000 lb Interpretations The September account shows a dramatic change in the composition of the herd compared with August. The bullocks column, empty since May 1739 when the last twelve were killed to supply the shipping, suddenly stands at 22, and cows rise from 53 to 93 while heifers jump from 26 to 80. These are not the result of births within the month, since the increase row records only 15 calves and no other additions to neat cattle. The figures reflect the annual reclassification carried out at the close of the Company year on 30 September, when yearlings grew into steers, heifers matured into cows, and young males were cut and moved into the bullock class. The 45 calves of 31 August have become 45 calves here with 15 added, and the whole class structure has been reset. This is the same mechanism noted in earlier years: the muster of 30 September 1734 moved 153 head between classes and the muster of 30 September 1737 brought in 154 head and moved 149, producing apparent jumps that represent age rather than purchase. The total of 285 neat cattle entered in the remaining row on 30 September is inconsistent with the figures in the individual columns, which sum to 235 when added correctly. The 285 is taken as entered on the page and the discrepancy noted here. The reappearance of 22 bullocks by reclassification rather than purchase confirms that the council's decision of 11 May 1739 to spare the breeding stock was well founded. The calves born in June and July, which the Governor reported carrying the herd back to 211 by that month, had now grown far enough to contribute to the year-end count, and the herd stood at its strongest since the drought began stripping it in 1737. Yams at 35,000 lb are slightly below the 36,000 lb of August but remain well above the winter low, reflecting the autumn harvest continuing to come in and the coastal fortification labour, which had drawn so many slaves away from the plantations through the early months of 1739, now somewhat reduced as the Sandy Bay work approached completion. |
409 | 401 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 9th October 1789 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G G Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved. The Governour Reports that the Planters Blacks are now Discharged from the Works at Sandy bay, That Fortification being Entirely Compleated And that the Honourable Companys Slaves who were Employed in it, are now at work in their Plantations, Weeding & putting them in Order, that so they may have Nothing to take them off from Carrying on the Fortification at Ruperts, Which is Determined shall be the next Work set about.- The Governour and Gunner - delivered their Annual Accounts for the Year past each of Which were Severally Examined & Proved & are as follows Vizt | A consultation was held on Tuesday 9 October 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and G G Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that the planters' slaves had been discharged from the works at Sandy Bay, the fortification there being entirely finished. The Company's own slaves who had been employed on it were now back at their plantations, clearing and putting them in order, so that nothing would interrupt the next undertaking, which was determined to be the fortification at Rupert's. The Governor and the gunner delivered their annual accounts for the year past, each of which was examined and approved as follows. Interpretations The completion of the Sandy Bay fort closes a thread that runs from 7 August 1739, when the council chose the iron crane site for the new work, through the Governor's report of 11 September that only the parapets, magazine, lime house and guard house remained. The whole was finished within the Company year ending 30 September 1739, and the transition from Sandy Bay to Rupert's was declared without waiting for a new directive from London. That sequence reflects the standing authority the Governor had claimed since at least December 1738, when he began proving the ordnance week by week and moving guns from the castle to the coastal batteries under the Company's 30th paragraph on fortification rather than under any specific fresh instruction. Returning the planters' slaves to their own ground before beginning the next work was not merely a concession to the holders. The Governor had told the council on 11 September that nothing should take the Company's slaves off carrying on the fortification at Rupert's, which was chosen as the next work, and clearing the plantations first was the precondition for that. The island had strained its agricultural labour for the better part of a year to finish Sandy Bay, and the yam account and cattle figures had both shown the pressure. Rupert's required the same bodies to be available again, and they could not be committed to a new building season while the ground they tended was still in disorder. |
410 | 402 | Governour Goodwins Annual Acct of the Honble Comps Neat Stock of Cattle for the Year ending 30th Sepr 1789 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Wethers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sowes, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining the 1st October 1738: Bullocks: 40, Cows: 75, Hiefers: 40, Steers: 12, Yearlings: 36, Calves: 30, Bulls: 6, Totall: 239, Ewes: 30, Wethers: 4, Lambs: 12, Rams: 4, Totall: 50, Sowes: 9, Shoates: 12, Pigs: 24, Boares: 1, Totall: 46, Turkeys: 25, Fowles: 55, Ducks: 15, Geese: 15, Horses: 3, Maires: 15, Totall: 18 Encreased in one Year: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 30, Hiefers: 44, Steers: 27, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 79, Bulls: 0, Totall: 202, Ewes: 27, Wethers: 17, Lambs: 42, Rams: 0, Totall: 86, Sowes: 2, Shoates: 28, Pigs: 63, Boares: 2, Totall: 95, Turkeys: 66, Fowles: 360, Ducks: 30, Geese: 15, Horses: 3, Maires: 3, Totall: 6 Bullocks: 62, Cows: 105, Hiefers: 84, Steers: 39, Yearlings: 36, Calves: 109, Bulls: 6, Totall: 441, Ewes: 57, Wethers: 21, Lambs: 54, Rams: 4, Totall: 186, Sowes: 11, Shoates: 40, Pigs: 87, Boares: 3, Totall: 141, Turkeys: 91, Fowles: 415, Ducks: 45, Geese: 30, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Cut & Grown: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 40, Steers: 22, Yearlings: 10, Calves: 61, Bulls: 0, Totall: 133, Ewes: 0, Wethers: 0, Lambs: 31, Rams: 0, Totall: 31, Sowes: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 14, Boares: 0, Totall: 14, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 62, Cows: 105, Hiefers: 44, Steers: 17, Yearlings: 26, Calves: 48, Bulls: 6, Totall: 308, Ewes: 57, Wethers: 21, Lambs: 23, Rams: 4, Totall: 105, Sowes: 11, Shoates: 40, Pigs: 73, Boares: 3, Totall: 127, Turkeys: 91, Fowles: 415, Ducks: 45, Geese: 30, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Sold: Bullocks: 39, Cows: 10, Hiefers: 11, Steers: 1, Yearlings: 2, Calves: 1, Bulls: 1, Totall: 65, Ewes: 0, Wethers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sowes: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 23, Cows: 95, Hiefers: 33, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 47, Bulls: 5, Totall: 243, Ewes: 57, Wethers: 21, Lambs: 23, Rams: 4, Totall: 105, Sowes: 11, Shoates: 40, Pigs: 73, Boares: 3, Totall: 127, Turkeys: 91, Fowles: 415, Ducks: 45, Geese: 30, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed: Bullocks: 1, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 3, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 4, Ewes: 6, Wethers: 12, Lambs: 1, Rams: 0, Totall: 19, Sowes: 1, Shoates: 19, Pigs: 22, Boares: 1, Totall: 43, Turkeys: 49, Fowles: 331, Ducks: 7, Geese: 9, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 95, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 47, Bulls: 5, Totall: 239, Ewes: 51, Wethers: 9, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 86, Sowes: 10, Shoates: 21, Pigs: 51, Boares: 2, Totall: 84, Turkeys: 42, Fowles: 84, Ducks: 38, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Died: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 2, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 2, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 4, Ewes: 2, Wethers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 2, Sowes: 0, Shoates: 7, Pigs: 13, Boares: 0, Totall: 20, Turkeys: 2, Fowles: 17, Ducks: 6, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 30th September 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 45, Bulls: 5, Totall: 235, Ewes: 49, Wethers: 9, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 84, Sowes: 10, Shoates: 14, Pigs: 38, Boares: 2, Totall: 64, Turkeys: 40, Fowles: 67, Ducks: 32, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 | Governor Goodwin's annual account of the Company's neat stock for the year ending 30 September 1739 was entered as follows. The first image supplies the row labels and the second the figures. Remaining 1 October 1738: 40 bullocks, 75 cows, 40 heifers, 12 steers, 36 yearlings, 30 calves, 6 bulls, 239 neat cattle total; 30 ewes, 4 wethers, 12 lambs, 4 rams, 50 sheep total; 9 sows, 12 shoats, 24 pigs, 1 boar, 46 hogs total; 25 turkeys, 35 fowls, 15 ducks, 15 geese poultry; 3 horses, 15 mares, 18 horses and mares total Increased in one year: 22 bullocks, 30 cows, 44 heifers, 27 steers, 0 yearlings, 79 calves, 0 bulls, 202 neat cattle; 27 ewes, 17 wethers, 42 lambs, 0 rams, 86 sheep; 2 sows, 28 shoats, 68 pigs, 2 boars, 95 hogs [as entered]; 66 turkeys, 860 fowls, 30 ducks, 16 geese; 3 horses, 3 mares, 6 horses and mares Total after increase: 62 bullocks, 105 cows, 84 heifers, 39 steers, 36 yearlings, 109 calves, 6 bulls, 441 neat cattle; 57 ewes, 21 wethers, 54 lambs, 4 rams, 136 sheep [as entered]; 11 sows, 40 shoats, 87 pigs, 3 boars, 141 hogs; 91 turkeys, 415 fowls, 45 ducks, 30 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares Cut and grown: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 40 heifers, 22 steers, 10 yearlings, 61 calves, 0 bulls, 138 neat cattle reclassified [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 81 lambs, 0 rams, 81 sheep reclassified; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 14 pigs, 0 boars, 14 hogs reclassified; no poultry or horses reclassified Total after reclassification: 62 bullocks, 105 cows, 44 heifers, 17 steers, 26 yearlings, 48 calves, 6 bulls, 308 neat cattle [as entered]; 57 ewes, 21 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, 105 sheep; 11 sows, 40 shoats, 73 pigs, 3 boars, 127 hogs; 91 turkeys, 415 fowls, 45 ducks, 30 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares Sold: 39 bullocks, 10 cows, 11 heifers, 1 steer, 2 yearlings, 1 calf, 1 bull, 65 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after sales: 23 bullocks, 95 cows, 33 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 47 calves, 5 bulls, 243 neat cattle; 57 ewes, 21 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, 105 sheep; 11 sows, 40 shoats, 73 pigs, 3 boars, 127 hogs [as entered]; 91 turkeys, 415 fowls, 45 ducks, 30 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares Killed: 1 bullock, 0 cows, 3 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 4 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 6 wethers, 12 lambs, 1 ram, 19 sheep [as entered]; 1 sow, 19 shoats, 22 pigs, 1 boar, 43 hogs [as entered]; 49 turkeys, 331 fowls, 7 ducks, 9 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after killed: 22 bullocks, 95 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 47 calves, 5 bulls, 239 neat cattle [as entered]; 51 ewes, 9 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 86 sheep [as entered]; 10 sows, 21 shoats, 51 pigs, 2 boars, 84 hogs [as entered]; 42 turkeys, 84 fowls, 38 ducks, 21 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares Died: 0 bullocks, 2 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 2 yearlings, 0 calves, 1 bull, 4 neat cattle [as entered]; 2 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 2 sheep [as entered]; 0 sows, 7 shoats, 13 pigs, 0 boars, 20 hogs [as entered]; 2 turkeys, 17 fowls, 6 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 30 September 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 45 calves, 5 bulls, 235 neat cattle [as entered]; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 84 sheep; 10 sows, 14 shoats, 38 pigs, 2 boars, 64 hogs; 40 turkeys, 67 fowls, 32 ducks, 21 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares Interpretations The annual account shows the herd closing at 235 neat cattle against 239 a year earlier, a near-stable total that conceals an extraordinary year of crisis and recovery. The opening figure of 239 itself reflected the ravages of the drought: the herd had stood at 402 on 1 October 1737. By May 1739 the whole class of twelve bullocks had been consumed to supply the shipping and not one remained, yet the account closes with 22 bullocks restored through the year-end reclassification of younger stock. Sixty-five beasts were sold over the year, nearly all of them bullocks, steers and heifers going to the shipping, while 79 calves were born and mortality across the whole year was only 4 head of neat cattle, a sharp contrast to the losses of 44 cows and 46 calves in a single twelvemonth during the drought of 1737 to 1738. The increase of 860 fowls over the year is the largest figure in the account and reflects the council's long-established reliance on poultry to carry the fort table through the months when no beef was available, as it had done through the winters of 1736 and 1737. A flock that can hatch 860 birds in a year can absorb 331 killed for the table and still finish with 67 hens, which is the dynamic visible here. Turkeys and geese show more modest recovery, and ducks doubled from 15 to 32. The horses and mares opening at 3 and 15 rather than 6 and 18 as in the monthly accounts reflects a genuine difference in the count taken on 1 October 1738 against that of the year-end monthly series. The Company's stud had lost 5 animals in the drought year ending 30 September 1738 according to the annual inventory of that year, reducing from 21 to 16, and the opening figure of 18 in the monthly accounts from October 1738 suggests an early recount or reclassification. The annual account's opening figure of 18 total at the right-hand column is consistent with 3 horses and 15 mares. |
411 | 403 | Gunners Annual Account of Stores Reced & Expended in the Year Ending the 30th September 1739 Vizt Demy Cannon, whole Culvering, Demy Culvering, Minion, Saker, Falcon, Twelve Pounders, Three Pounders, Totall, Iron round Shott, Double headed Shott, Barrells of Powder, Match, Quire Cartridge paper, Spunge Staves, Spunge heads, Rammer heads, Powder hornes, Wormes, Ladles, Tampions, Sheep Skins, Beds, Quoines, Cartouch Boxes, Toucths, Andirons, Blunder busses, Pistols, Barge Channells, Guns, Union flags, Handspikes, Formens, Linstocks, Priming Wires, Cartridge Cases, Horse hides, Parchment Skins, Musquets, Swords, Lead Shott, Drums, Field Coullours, Buchaneer pieces, Flints, Halberts, Scouring rods, Buff Belts, Granadeer pieces, Bombshells, Bills, Carbines, Water Engines Rem 1 Oct 1738: Demy Cannon: 12, whole Culvering: 10, Demy Culvering: 60, Minion: 17, Saker: 16, Falcon: 27, Twelve Pounders: 11, Three Pounders: A, Totall: 157, Iron round Shott: 639, Double headed Shott: 345, Barrells of Powder: 170, Match: 69, Quire Cartridge paper: 121, Spunge Staves: 117, Spunge heads: 293, Rammer heads: 385, Powder hornes: 352, Wormes: 196, Ladles: 18, Tampions: 63, Sheep Skins: 1214, Beds: 29, Quoines: 97, Cartouch Boxes: 87, Toucths: 127, Andirons: 347, Blunder busses: 137, Pistols: 36, Barge Channells: 10, Guns: 3A, Union flags: 1, Handspikes: 1, Formens: 403, Linstocks: 34, Priming Wires: 72, Cartridge Cases: 176, Horse hides: 96, Parchment Skins: 12, Musquets: 29, Swords: 303, Lead Shott: 192, Drums: 2972, Field Coullours: 8, Buchaneer pieces: 2, Flints: 0, Halberts: 13000, Scouring rods: 17, Buff Belts: 371, Granadeer pieces: 264, Bombshells: 24, Bills: 10, Carbines: 0, Water Engines: 30 Recd in one Year: Demy Cannon: 0, whole Culvering: 0, Demy Culvering: 0, Minion: 0, Saker: 0, Falcon: 0, Twelve Pounders: 0, Three Pounders: 0, Totall: 13, Iron round Shott: 0, Double headed Shott: 0, Barrells of Powder: 0, Match: 0, Quire Cartridge paper: 0, Spunge Staves: 0, Spunge heads: 0, Rammer heads: 0, Powder hornes: 0, Wormes: 0, Ladles: 0, Tampions: 0, Sheep Skins: 0, Beds: 0, Quoines: 0, Cartouch Boxes: 0, Toucths: 0, Andirons: 0, Blunder busses: 0, Pistols: 0, Barge Channells: 0, Guns: 0, Union flags: 0, Handspikes: 0, Formens: 0, Linstocks: 0, Priming Wires: 0, Cartridge Cases: 0, Horse hides: 0, Parchment Skins: 0, Musquets: 0, Swords: 169, Lead Shott: 0, Drums: 0, Field Coullours: 0, Buchaneer pieces: 0, Flints: 0, Halberts: 0, Scouring rods: 0, Buff Belts: 0, Granadeer pieces: 0, Bombshells: 0, Bills: 0, Carbines: 6, Water Engines: 0 Demy Cannon: 12, whole Culvering: 10, Demy Culvering: 60, Minion: 17, Saker: 16, Falcon: 27, Twelve Pounders: 11, Three Pounders: A, Totall: 157, Iron round Shott: 657, Double headed Shott: 345, Barrells of Powder: 183, Match: 69, Quire Cartridge paper: 121, Spunge Staves: 117, Spunge heads: 293, Rammer heads: 385, Powder hornes: 352, Wormes: 196, Ladles: 18, Tampions: 65, Sheep Skins: 1214, Beds: 29, Quoines: 97, Cartouch Boxes: 87, Toucths: 127, Andirons: 347, Blunder busses: 137, Pistols: 36, Barge Channells: 10, Guns: 3A, Union flags: 1, Handspikes: 1, Formens: 403, Linstocks: 34, Priming Wires: 72, Cartridge Cases: 176, Horse hides: 96, Parchment Skins: 12, Musquets: 29, Swords: 303, Lead Shott: 192, Drums: 2813, Field Coullours: 8, Buchaneer pieces: 2, Flints: 0, Halberts: 13000, Scouring rods: 17, Buff Belts: 371, Granadeer pieces: 264, Bombshells: 24, Bills: 10, Carbines: 0, Water Engines: 30 Expd in one Year: Demy Cannon: 6, whole Culvering: 0, Demy Culvering: 0, Minion: 0, Saker: 0, Falcon: 0, Twelve Pounders: 6, Three Pounders: 141, Totall: 5, Iron round Shott: 26, Double headed Shott: 37, Barrells of Powder: 236, Match: 72, Quire Cartridge paper: 34, Spunge Staves: 12, Spunge heads: 19, Rammer heads: 4, Powder hornes: 0, Wormes: 3, Ladles: 86, Tampions: 17, Sheep Skins: 1, Beds: 0, Quoines: 0, Cartouch Boxes: 23, Toucths: 6, Andirons: 0, Blunder busses: 0, Pistols: 0, Barge Channells: 3A, Guns: 0, Union flags: 26, Handspikes: 4, Formens: 0, Linstocks: 0, Priming Wires: 0, Cartridge Cases: 0, Horse hides: 0, Parchment Skins: 0, Musquets: 0, Swords: 169, Lead Shott: 0, Drums: 0, Field Coullours: 0, Buchaneer pieces: 0, Flints: 0, Halberts: 0, Scouring rods: 0, Buff Belts: 0, Granadeer pieces: 0, Bombshells: 0, Bills: 0, Carbines: 6, Water Engines: 0 Rem 30 September 1739: Demy Cannon: 10, Demy Culvering: 54, Minion: 17, Saker: 16, Falcon: 27, Twelve Pounders: 11, Three Pounders: A, Totall: 131, Iron round Shott: 606, Double headed Shott: 340, Barrells of Powder: 157, Match: 32, Quire Cartridge paper: 185, Spunge Staves: 45, Spunge heads: 257, Rammer heads: 571, Powder hornes: 333, Wormes: 192, Ladles: 18, Tampions: 62, Sheep Skins: 1178, Beds: 12, Quoines: 96, Cartouch Boxes: 87, Toucths: 127, Andirons: 324, Blunder busses: 131, Pistols: 36, Barge Channells: 10, Guns: 3A, Union flags: 1, Handspikes: 1, Formens: 471, Linstocks: 34, Priming Wires: 72, Cartridge Cases: 150, Horse hides: 92, Parchment Skins: 12, Musquets: 29, Swords: 303, Lead Shott: 192, Drums: 2813, Field Coullours: 8, Buchaneer pieces: 2, Flints: 0, Halberts: 13000, Scouring rods: 17, Buff Belts: 371, Granadeer pieces: 264, Bombshells: 24, Bills: 10, Carbines: 0, Water Engines: 30 | The gunner's annual account of stores received and expended in the year ending 30 September 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 October 1738: 12 demi-cannon, 10 whole culverins, 60 demi-culverins, 11 minions, 4 sakers, 157 falcons, 639 [as entered] three pounders, 345 [as entered] twelve pounders, 170 [as entered] total ordnance; 69 [as entered] round shot serviceable; 121 double-headed shot; 117 barrels of powder; 293 barrels; 385 barrels; 352 [as entered] barrels total powder; 196 lb match; 18 lb cartridge paper; 63 sponge staves; 121A [as entered] sponge heads; 29 rammer heads; 97 powder horns; 87 [as entered] worms; 127 ladles; 347 tampions; 137 sheep skins; 86 [as entered] beds; 10 cartouche boxes; 3A [as entered] touch holes; 1 anvil; 1 [as entered] budge barrels; 403 handspikes; 34 formers; 72 linstocks; 176 priming wires; 96 cartridge cases; 12 horse hides; 29 parchment skins; 303 muskets; 192 swords; 2,972 lead shot; 8 drums; 2 field colours; 0 buccaneer pieces; 13,000 flints; 17 halberts; 371 scouring rods; 264 buff belts; 24 [as entered] grenadier pieces; 10 bombshells; 0 bills; 30 carbines; 2 water engines Received in one year: 0 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 0 demi-culverins, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 0 falcons, 0 three pounders, 0 twelve pounders; 13 [as entered] barrels of powder received; 0 match; 0 cartridge paper; 0 sponge staves; 0 sponge heads; 0 rammer heads; 0 powder horns; 0 worms; 0 ladles; 0 tampions; 0 sheep skins; 0 beds; 0 cartouche boxes; 0 touch holes; 0 anvils; 0 budge barrels; 0 handspikes; 0 formers; 0 linstocks; 0 priming wires; 0 cartridge cases; 0 horse hides; 0 parchment skins; 0 muskets; 0 swords; 0 lead shot; 0 drums; 0 field colours; 0 buccaneer pieces; 0 flints; 0 halberts; 0 scouring rods; 0 buff belts; 0 grenadier pieces; 0 bombshells; 0 bills; 0 carbines; 0 water engines Total: 12 demi-cannon, 10 whole culverins, 60 demi-culverins, 11 minions, 4 sakers, 157 falcons, 639 [as entered] three pounders, 345 [as entered] twelve pounders, 183 [as entered] total ordnance; 69 [as entered] round shot; 121 double-headed shot; 481 [as entered] barrels of powder total; 196 lb match; 18 lb cartridge paper; 63 sponge staves; 121A [as entered] sponge heads; 29 rammer heads; 97 powder horns; 87 worms; 127 ladles; 347 tampions; 137 sheep skins; 86 beds; 10 cartouche boxes; 3A [as entered] touch holes; 1 anvil; 1 budge barrel; 403 handspikes; 34 formers; 72 linstocks; 176 priming wires; 96 cartridge cases; 12 horse hides; 29 parchment skins; 303 muskets; 192 swords; 2,972 lead shot; 8 drums; 2 field colours; 0 buccaneer pieces; 13,000 flints; 17 halberts; 371 scouring rods; 264 buff belts; 24 grenadier pieces; 10 bombshells; 0 bills; 30 carbines; 2 water engines Expended in one year: 6 demi-cannon, 0 whole culverins, 0 demi-culverins, 0 minions, 0 sakers, 6 falcons [as entered]; 141 round shot; 5 [as entered] double-headed shot; 26 [as entered] barrels powder; 37 [as entered] lb match; 236 [as entered] cartridge paper; 72 sponge staves; 34 sponge heads; 12 rammer heads; 19 powder horns; 4 worms; 3 ladles; 86 tampions; 17 sheep skins; 1 bed; 0 cartouche boxes; 0 touch holes; 0 anvils; 0 budge barrels; 23 handspikes; 6 formers; 0 linstocks; 0 priming wires; 3A [as entered] cartridge cases; 0 horse hides; 26 parchment skins; 4 muskets; 0 swords; 0 lead shot; 0 drums; 16 [as entered]; 9 [as entered]; 0 buccaneer pieces; 0 flints; 0 halberts; 0 scouring rods; 0 buff belts; 0 grenadier pieces; 6 bombshells; 0 bills; 0 carbines; 0 water engines Remaining 30 September 1739: 10 demi-cannon, 54 [as entered] whole culverins, 17 [as entered] demi-culverins, 16 steers [as entered], 37 [as entered] twelve pounders, 11 [as entered] total; 131 [as entered]; 606 [as entered]; 540 [as entered]; 157 [as entered]; 32 [as entered]; 185 [as entered]; 43 [as entered]; 257 [as entered]; 571 [as entered]; 333 [as entered]; 192 [as entered]; 18 [as entered]; 62 [as entered]; 117 [as entered]; 8 [as entered]; 12 [as entered]; 96 [as entered]; 87 [as entered]; 127 [as entered]; 32A [as entered]; 131 [as entered]; 36 [as entered]; 10 [as entered]; 3A [as entered]; 1 [as entered]; 1 [as entered]; 471 [as entered]; 3A [as entered]; 72 [as entered]; 150 [as entered]; 92 [as entered]; 12 [as entered]; 29 [as entered]; 303 [as entered]; 192 [as entered]; 28,13 [as entered]; 8 [as entered]; 2 [as entered]; 0; 13,000 flints; 17 halberts; 371 scouring rods; 264 buff belts; 24 grenadier pieces; 10 bombshells; 0 bills; 30 carbines; 2 water engines Interpretations The ordnance figures across this table are difficult to reconcile across images because the column headings rotate vertically and the table spans the full width of the page, while the binding cuts the left-hand image and the zoomed second image supplies the row labels but the figures remain spread across both. The readings are taken as they stand and discrepancies are not corrected. No guns were received during the year, confirming that the Company's fresh ordnance applied for on 23 January 1739, which priced minions for Sandy Bay and Prosperous Bay at 12 shillings 6 pence the hundredweight and sought 24 light guns for the flying batteries, had not yet arrived. The 6 demi-cannon entered as expended are almost certainly those moved from the castle's Mount position to arm the Sandy Bay fort, which Governor Goodwin reported on 11 September 1739 as the six guns to be mounted there. Moving guns between positions appeared in the gunner's books as an expenditure from the stock at the originating site, since the fort's ordnance inventory tracked pieces by their station. The total powder figure requires careful reading because the account distinguishes barrels received from barrels held, and the proving of the great guns week by week from December 1738 drove considerable consumption. The application of January 1739 noted that the proving exercises had identified several flawed pieces, so powder expended on that exercise served a genuine reconnaissance purpose rather than merely routine maintenance. The bombshells at 10 on hand and 6 expended reflect a capability the island's earlier inventories had not always carried in meaningful quantities. Shells required a mortar to fire them, and their presence in the stores suggests the council was thinking about the defence of ground rather than merely the repulse of ships' boats, a shift in emphasis that fits the broader fortification programme of 1738 to 1739. |
412 | 404 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday 16 October 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G Gab Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved The Governour reports that the Carpenters having Finished the repairs of the Old Long boat she was Launched Yesterday Morning, And that he has given Orders to the Gunner to put on board her two gunns, And to dispatch her with them for the New Fortification at Sandy bay.- The Steward delivered his Annual Accos for the Quarter past, which was Examined & proved and is as follows Vizt At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 23 October 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved The Gunner Reports that two of the Minions which stood on the Mount in the Castle are Safely Landed & Mounted on the Fortification at Sandy Bay, And that in Obedience to the Orders Received from the Governour he shall take the Opportunity of fair weather to send the others, two by two, untill the Whole six are Transported thither | A consultation was held on Tuesday 16 October 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and G Gab Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that the carpenters had finished repairing the old long boat, that she had been launched the previous morning, and that he had ordered the gunner to put two guns aboard her and send her to the new fortification at Sandy Bay. The storekeeper delivered his quarterly account for the quarter past, which was examined and approved as follows. A consultation was held on Tuesday 23 October 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The gunner reported that two of the minions standing on the Mount in the castle had been safely landed and mounted on the fortification at Sandy Bay, and that acting on the Governor's orders he would take advantage of fair weather to send the remaining four across, two at a time, until all six had been transported there. Interpretations The long boat was the island's principal working vessel, used to ferry goods and materials between the anchorage and the shore and to carry stone and lime around the coast to the fortification sites. She had been lost in bad weather at Sandy Bay on 19 September 1734 while carrying lime, and her loss that year had left the Turk's Cap battery three loads short of completion. The repair reported here and the immediate redeployment of the boat to carry guns to Sandy Bay shows how central her seaworthiness was to the whole coastal defence programme. Without her, the transfer of the six minions from the castle to the fort was simply not possible overland. The minions are the pieces named in the January 1739 application to the Company, which sought fresh ones for Sandy Bay and Prosperous Bay at 12 shillings 6 pence the hundredweight. The Company had not yet sent them, so the council was arming its new fort with the guns it had rather than waiting for what it had asked for. The Mount was a position within the castle that Governor Goodwin had described on 11 September as serving no purpose beyond ornament, and the transfer turns six decorative pieces into a fighting battery. Moving them two at a time reflects the constraint of a single boat and the unpredictability of the sea conditions in the channel between the fort valley landing and Sandy Bay's exposed beach. Speculations The Governor chose to send the guns to Sandy Bay by sea in the long boat rather than attempting an overland route. The Sandy Bay cart road, which Governor Roberts had built at a cost of at least £300 0s 0d and which was broad enough for a cart, had been encroached upon so thoroughly by 1731 that it was reduced in most places to a narrow path full of holes, and the council's order of 20 April 1731 that each trespasser open a ten-foot way outside his own fence had produced no confirmed report of execution. Moving a minion, a gun weighing several hundredweight, over a path in that condition was not a practical option. The sea route was dangerous, as the 1734 loss of the long boat at Sandy Bay demonstrated, which is why the Governor ordered the transfer two guns at a time in fair weather rather than taking all six in one passage. |
413 | 405 | The Encrease and Preservation of Wood being of the Utmost Consequence to this Place, Orders have been from time to time been Issued to forbid all manner of Persons to fell Timber. But Nevertheless Complaints have been made of Several People who in Defiance of those Orders have lately Cut down And Burnt many Green Trees... Tis therefore Resolved As the readiest way to Prevent the same in future, to Deliver a Warrant to Mr John Leech who lives near the Honourable Companys Wood Where most Wood grows in the East Division, One Other to Mr Thomas Easthopp who is Scituate in the like Manner in the South Division, And a third to Mrs Martin Harper who is alike Scituate in the North Division, to keep a strict lookout Each in his Respective Division And to detect & Seize all Persons who shall hereafter Presume to Cut or Destroy Wood Growing Upon the Honourable Companys Land. And it was further thought Necessary that the following Advertizement Should be Immediately Published Vizt Whereas through the Indiscretion of some And the Neglect of most People the Encrease And Preservation of Wood is now become a matter of the Greatest Consequence to the Welfare & Prosperity of this Island, And of such vast Importance that it ought to be the Principal care and concern of all Persons Whatsoever, Yet unless they Immediately & in good Earnest Endeavour not only to Raise but Prevent all Vast And Extravagant Consumption thereof the Inhabitants well in a very Short time be in want of Fewells for the Necessary Use of themselves & Families... These are therefore Strictly to Charge And Command all manner of Persons not to Cut or Suffer to be Cut any Green Wood or Trees of any Sort that are now Standing or Growing upon any of the Honourable Companys Wast Lands, But are to take such Decayed Wood & Such only as is Already fallen, or to Grub up the Stumps thereof As the Offenders in the Premises will Answer the Contrary at their Peril. By Order of the Worshipfull the Island St Helena Governour And Council 23 October 1739 G G Powell Secy | The increase and preservation of wood being of the greatest importance to the island, orders had been issued from time to time forbidding the felling of timber. Despite this, complaints had lately been made that several people had cut down and burnt green trees in open defiance of those orders. The council resolved that the most effective way to prevent this in future was to issue a warrant to John Seale, who lived near the Company's Great Wood where most of the timber grew in the east division, another to Thomas Easthope, situated in the same way in the south division, and a third to Martin Harper, likewise placed in the north division. Each was to keep a strict watch in his own division and to stop and seize any person found cutting or destroying wood growing on the Company's land. The council further judged it necessary to publish the following advertisement immediately. Through the carelessness of some and the neglect of most, the growth and preservation of wood had become a matter of the greatest consequence to the island's welfare and prosperity. It was of such importance that it ought to be the principal concern of every person without exception. Yet unless people immediately and in good earnest set about not only planting but also preventing the wasteful destruction of what already stood, the inhabitants would within a very short time find themselves without fuel for their own needs and those of their families. Every person was therefore strictly directed neither to cut nor to allow any green wood or trees of any kind growing on the Company's waste lands to be cut. Only wood already decayed and fallen, or the stumps and roots of trees previously felled, might be taken. Anyone found acting against this would do so at their peril. By order of the Worshipful the Governor and Council. Island St Helena 23 October 1739 G G Powell, Secretary Interpretations The appointment of three named individuals as divisional watchers marks a structural change in how the wood regulations were to be enforced. Earlier campaigns had relied on periodic surveys commissioned from groups of substantial planters, such as those of 31 October 1727, 10 November 1729 and the warrant of 7 August 1739 to six surveyors, which exposed a deliberate fraud by holders who planted wood and then ran cattle into it to destroy the growth while appearing compliant. Naming resident wardens who lived permanently near the timber rather than sending survey parties that could be anticipated gave the council a continuous presence rather than a snapshot. John Seale, Thomas Easthope and Martin Harper each appear regularly in the consultation record as established planters and former holders of parish office, men with both local knowledge and standing enough to make an arrest credible. The advertisement's language reveals the scale of the problem. It no longer addresses individual defaulters but the whole population, and it frames the coming shortage as a collective calamity rather than a breach of individual tenants' covenants. That shift had been building since at least 1729, when the council warned on 21 October that unless waste were stopped no timber would be left standing in seven or eight years. Ten years on, the warning has become a near-certainty rather than a projection. The advertisement limits lawful taking to wood already fallen and stumps already cut, which is the narrowest possible definition of permissible fuel gathering. Earlier iterations, such as the notice of 21 November 1727, had allowed decayed wood already on the ground and restricted the route through the Great Wood but did not prohibit the clearing of stumps. Grubbing up stumps and roots now becomes one of the two activities expressly permitted, since removing them was the only way to clear ground for fresh planting, and the council needed both to stop felling and to encourage replanting simultaneously. Speculations The council chose to appoint private individuals as watchers rather than using the existing apparatus of the marshal or the highway overseers to police the wood. The marshal's role was to carry out orders already made by the board, and the overseers' duty ran to the roads rather than to the Company's waste lands. A warden living beside the timber and empowered to seize offenders on sight could act at the moment of discovery without waiting for a warrant, which was the same reasoning that had driven the advertisement against dogs and slaves in September, where instant seizure was the only practical deterrent. The council had tried the survey and fine approach for more than a decade with limited effect, and the appointment of resident wardens represents a change of method rather than merely another repetition of the standing prohibition. |
414 | 406 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 30th Octr 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read And Approved Mess Crispe Bazett & Powell Report That Agreeable to the Order of 17th July 1739 they have Surveyed the Wood Growing upon the Several Plantations belonging to the Inhabitants some of Whome are found wanting in their Quantities. Ordered that the Defaulters in Wood be Summoned to Attend the Next Consultation, to Answer for their Noncompliance with the Terms And Conditions of their Deeds And Leases... We this Day Granted & Signed one Set of Bills of Exchange payable to Duke Crispe in order for the Sum of three hundred & fifty Pounds Sterling for the like Sum due to him, him Viz £140 as p his due to him upon the acct of the Deed at Septr last & for the Sum of £209 6 6 paid into the Comps Cash in the following Species Vizt 300 Pagodas £135 „ - „ - 240 Dollars 67 „ 5 „ - 26 Venetians 13 „ 1 „ 6 £209 „ 6 „ 6 At a Consultation held on Tuesday 6 November 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved There Appeared before Us this day twelve of the Inhabitants who were Summoned According to the Order of last Consultation, to Answer for their Deficeiency in wood, the Major part of whome Pleaded the Badness of the seasons for the four or five Years past; that they had often planted it | A consultation was held on Tuesday 30 October 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Messrs Crisp, Bazett and Powell reported that in accordance with the order of 17 July 1739 they had surveyed the wood growing on the several plantations belonging to the inhabitants, and had found some of them deficient in their quantities. The council directed that the defaulters be summoned to attend the next meeting to answer for their failure to comply with the terms and conditions of their deeds and leases. The council that day granted and signed one set of bills of exchange payable to Duke Crisp, in order to settle the sum of three hundred and fifty-five pounds sterling for the like sum due to him, for £140 0s 0d due to him on the last of the previous deed at September last and £[...] due to him upon the account of the following species. 300 pagodas, £135 0s 0d 246 dollars, £67 5s 0d [as entered] 26 venetians, 18 1s 6d [as entered], total £209 6s 6d [as entered] A consultation was held on Tuesday 6 November 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Twelve of the inhabitants appeared before the board that day, having been summoned in accordance with the order of the previous meeting to answer for their deficiency in wood. The greater part pleaded the poor quality of the seasons over the four or five years past, saying they had often planted Interpretations The bills of exchange drawn in favour of Duke Crisp formalise the conversion of mixed currencies held in the Company's cash into a sterling claim on the Court of Directors in London. The council had counted the Company's cash on 7 March 1739 at £1,051 14s 6.75d held across six currencies, pagodas being by far the largest part. A pagoda was a South Indian gold coin current at the Madras settlements and valued at the island at about 9 shillings; a dollar was the Spanish piece of eight, valued at 5 shillings; and a venetian was a gold ducat-weight coin, less common in this record and worth approximately 15 shillings. The total entered of £209 6s 6d does not reconcile simply with the individual lines as read, and the figures are taken as they stand. The wood survey carried out by three of the four councillors under the warrant of 7 August 1739 had been ordered to report without favour or affection, and this is its formal presentation to the full board. The surveyors were directed specifically to detect holders who had planted but then turned cattle into the young growth to destroy it while appearing compliant, and the summoning of defaulters to the next meeting put the machinery of deed and lease forfeiture in motion. The terms of the island's standard lease required a stated proportion of wood to be planted and maintained, with the right of resumption on the Company's part if the tenant failed, so attendance at the board was not merely a formality but a preliminary to losing the holding. The Crisp payment connects to his role as Deputy Governor and his personal investment of coin in the Company's running costs. The Governor drew on Crisp's currencies to meet the island's obligations rather than shipping specie home, and the bill of exchange transferred the liability to London where it could be settled against Crisp's credit without any further movement of coin. |
415 | 407 | it at the times when rain was expected, But their Disappointment in that Caused the Young Plants to die, to the Truth of which we Our Selves being Witnesses, We could not but Admit it as an Excuse for the Present. But as it hath pleased God to Bless Us with A Sufficient Quantity of rain for the last Season, And which we trust in his Mercy for a Continuance off, We Strictly Enjoyned them to Punctuall Compliance with the Conditions of their Leases, And which on their part they very Faithfully Promised... At a Consultation held on Tuesday 13 November 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved There Appeared before Us this day some other of the Inhabitants who were found Defaulters in wood And who pleaded as the rest had done at the last Consultation And which we in like manner admit off as a Sufficient Excuse, But at the same time Strictly Charged them to set about Planting their Lands & to have their full Quantity of wood Upon them before Our next Survey which we are Determined Shall be in the Ensuing Year upon Penalty of forfeiting their Leases... The | A consultation was held on Tuesday 13 November 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Some other inhabitants appeared before the board that day, also found to be deficient in wood, who pleaded the same reason as the rest had done at the previous meeting. The council accepted it in the same way as a sufficient excuse, but at the same time directed them firmly to set about planting their lands and to have their full quantity of wood established on them before the next survey, which was determined to take place in the following year, under penalty of forfeiting their leases. Interpretations The council's acceptance of the weather as a valid excuse for failing to plant wood is carefully constrained. The drought running from the latter part of the summer of 1737 through July 1738 had been severe enough to kill 687 head of cattle across the island and leave whole plantations without water, so the council knew from its own observation that the claim was true. Accepting a communal calamity as a temporary excuse while directing immediate compliance going forward allowed the board to enforce the standard without being seen to hold tenants to an impossible standard during years of genuine agricultural failure. The explicit statement that the council itself had witnessed the drought's effects removed the usual obstacle of admissible proof. Announcing a specific survey in the following year, with lease forfeiture as the stated penalty, converts the general warning into a defined deadline. The lease reform of 26 July and 1 August 1732 had already established that no lease would be renewed until surveyors had viewed the ground and certified it duly fenced and wooded, but that mechanism only bit at the moment of renewal, which might be years away. Setting a survey date within the next twelve months meant the threat operated within the current term of the lease rather than at its expiry, a materially tighter grip. The fact that the same procedure was applied across two consecutive meetings, on 6 and 13 November, suggests the surveyors had returned a long list of defaulters and the board was working through them in groups rather than a single sitting. Speculations The council chose to excuse all the defaulters rather than fine even the worst of them, though its own lease conditions gave it the right to resume ground found insufficiently planted. That option was genuinely available, as the board had demonstrated on 31 December 1728 when it accepted the surrender of John Bradley's three acres near the Sandy Bay limekiln and on 23 September 1729 when it took back Daniel Griffith's two parcels and relet them. Here, with a dozen or more holders defaulting simultaneously, resumption was not a practical remedy since the Company had no labour to plant the resumed ground itself, and regranting it to new tenants would simply repeat the cycle. The chosen course, accepting the excuse, issuing a firm direction and setting a survey date, preserved the relationship with every existing tenant while creating a documented record that would make any future forfeiture proceeding much harder to resist. |
416 | 408 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of October 1739 Vizt Guns fired, Shot fired, 4 Pounders, Shot Expended, Powder Expended For firing at Rupents to Instruct the Crew: Guns fired: 12, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pounders: 12, Shot Expended: 12, Powder Expended: 36¾ Fired at Sandy Bay: Guns fired: 2, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, Shot Expended: 0, Powder Expended: 6¾ Ditto at Sandy Bay: Guns fired: 3, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, Shot Expended: 0, Powder Expended: 9¾ Powder to Bandingstall: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Shot Expended: 0, Powder Expended: 2¾ For Scaling of the Guns: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Shot Expended: 0, Powder Expended: 1¾ Powder to the Guard: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Shot Expended: 0, Powder Expended: 23¾ Totall: Guns fired: 17, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pounders: 17, Shot Expended: 12, Powder Expended: 77 Match 6¾ Paper 1 quire Spunge Staves 2 Handspikes 2 Toucths 24 Catridge Cases 1 Beds 3 Quoins 8 Lead Shott 1¾ The Expence of the Table in the Month of October 1789 Vizt 77¾ Gallons Arrack 13 8 6 113th Sugar 1 8 9 6¾ [...]th Flour 3 12 6 - „ 3 „ - Bread 1 1 - 18 Bottles Oyle 3 - - 27 Gallons Port 12 9 3 12 Do Mountain 4 13 - 8 Do Ale 1 8 - 10 Do Beer - 15 - 2th Pepper - 2 - 135 Pork 3 7 6 25th Butter 1 3 - 22 Fowles 1 13 - 6 Ducks - 9 - £ 30 12 6 | The gunner's stores expended in October 1739, with columns running guns fired, shot fired, 4 pounders, shot expended and powder expended: For firing at Rupert's to instruct the crew, 12 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 12 four pounders, 12 shot expended, 36 lb powder Fired at Sandy Bay, 2 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 2 four pounders, 0 shot expended, 6 lb powder Fired at Sandy Bay again, 3 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 2 four pounders, 0 shot expended, 9 lb powder Powder to the landing stage, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 0 shot expended, 2 lb powder For scaling of the guns, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 0 shot expended, 1 lb powder Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 0 shot expended, 23 lb powder Total, 17 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 17 four pounders, 12 shot expended, 77 lb powder Match, 6 lb Paper, 1 quire Sponge staves, 2 Handspikes, 2 Torchs, 24 Cartridge cases, 1 Beds, 3 Quoins, 8 Lead shot, 1 lb The table account for October 1739: 77.5 gallons of arrack, £13 8s 6d 113 lb of sugar, £1 8s 9d [...] lb of flour, £3 12s 6d [...] lb of bread, £1 1s 0d 18 bottles of oil, £3 0s 0d 27 gallons of port, £12 9s 3d 12 dozen of mountain wine, £4 13s 0d 8 dozen of ale, £1 8s 0d 10 dozen of beer, £0 15s 0d [as entered] 2 lb of pepper, £0 2s 0d 135 lb of pork, £3 7s 6d 23 lb of butter, £1 3s 0d 22 fowls, £1 13s 0d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d Total, £30 12s 6d [as entered] Interpretations The two firings at Sandy Bay, each of two or three guns, record the newly armed fort being tested for the first time after the minions were landed and mounted. Neither produced any shot expended, showing they were powder-only firings to prove the carriages and embrasures rather than live rounds at a target. The proving exercise at Rupert's with 12 guns and 12 four-pound shot in the same month shows the crew instruction series that had been running since December 1738 continuing at the new site, which the council had identified as the next major fortification project on 9 October. The table account shows beef absent again but a striking variety of drink replacing the simpler arrack-dominated lists of the summer. Mountain wine, an unfortified wine from Madeira or the Canaries, and twelve dozen at that, alongside 27 gallons of port, suggests either a fresh supply of wine from the last store ship or the drawing down of a stock accumulated through the shipping season. Arrack at 77.5 gallons remains the largest line by value at £13 8s 6d, but port at £12 9s 3d runs it close, which is unusual. The total of £30 12s 6d is the lowest table account in this run, below even the £33 15s 5.25d of July, reflecting the empty anchorage and the reduced establishment with no shipping to entertain. Quoins and beds are the adjustable wooden wedges and platforms placed beneath a gun's breech and barrel to control its elevation, and their appearance as consumables confirms that the Sandy Bay guns were being fitted out for service rather than merely placed in position. Scaling, the process of clearing fouled residue from the bore by firing blank charges, was standard maintenance and cost only 1 lb of powder for the whole complement examined. |
417 | 409 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of October 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Goates, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Ews, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining 1st October 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 45, Bulls: 5, Totall: 235, Ews: 19, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 22, Rams: 4, Totall: 84, Sows: 10, Shoates: 14, Pigs: 38, Boares: 2, Totall: 64, Ews: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Turkeys: 10, Fowles: 67, Ducks: 32, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 9, Bulls: 0, Totall: 9, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 4, Rams: 0, Totall: 4, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 12, Boares: 0, Totall: 12, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 10, Ducks: 33, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 54, Bulls: 5, Totall: 244, Ews: 19, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 88, Sows: 10, Shoates: 14, Pigs: 50, Boares: 2, Totall: 76, Ews: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Turkeys: 50, Fowles: 100, Ducks: 32, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 3, Pigs: 3, Boares: 0, Totall: 6, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 22, Ducks: 6, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 54, Bulls: 5, Totall: 244, Ews: 19, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 88, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 47, Boares: 2, Totall: 70, Ews: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Turkeys: 50, Fowles: 78, Ducks: 26, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 3, Boares: 0, Totall: 3, Ews: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 31st October 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 54, Bulls: 5, Totall: 244, Ews: 19, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 88, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 44, Boares: 2, Totall: 67, Ews: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Turkeys: 50, Fowles: 78, Ducks: 26, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 37000 | The Company's stock account for October 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 October 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 45 calves, 5 bulls, 235 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 22 lambs, 4 rams, 84 sheep total; 10 sows, 14 shoats, 38 pigs, 2 boars, 64 hogs total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 10 turkeys, 67 fowls, 32 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Increased in October: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 9 calves, 0 bulls, 9 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, 4 sheep; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 12 pigs, 0 boars, 12 hogs; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 10 turkeys, 33 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 54 calves, 5 bulls, 244 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep total; 10 sows, 14 shoats, 50 pigs, 2 boars, 76 hogs total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 50 turkeys, 100 fowls, 32 ducks, 21 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in October: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 sows, 3 shoats, 3 pigs, 0 boars, 3 hogs [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 turkeys, 22 fowls, 6 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in October: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 3 pigs, 0 boars, 3 hogs [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 31 October 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 54 calves, 5 bulls, 244 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep total; 10 sows, 11 shoats, 44 pigs, 2 boars, 67 hogs total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 50 turkeys, 78 fowls, 26 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 37,000 lb Interpretations The most significant change in this account compared with all preceding months is the reappearance of a goats column. The Company's goat herd had been extinguished by resolution of 20 January 1730, when the inhabitants voted forty to eleven to destroy every goat and sheep on the island, and the council resolved to kill the Company's own stock as well. The last Company goats were killed in February 1731 and the column was dropped entirely from the ruled table from March of that year. Nine years later, 40 goats appear in the October 1739 account with no explanation in the surrounding text. The herd carries 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids and 1 ram, a composition showing an established breeding group rather than a new purchase of a single lot, though nothing in the consultations read so far records when or from whom they were obtained. The neat cattle total of 244 continues the steady recovery from the crisis of May 1739, with 9 calves added against no sales and no mortality, confirming that the council's decision to spare the breeding stock was producing the results it had counted on. Yams at 37,000 lb are the highest monthly figure since the year began, reflecting the full autumn harvest now in hand and the reduced drain on plantation labour now that the Sandy Bay fort was complete. Speculations The resolution of 20 January 1730 was aimed at the browsing goat rather than at grazing animals generally, the council's own note distinguishing between the animal blamed for the destruction of the island's wood and livestock that grazed without stripping bark and young growth. Sheep were never destroyed despite the vote including them, and the flock had been rebuilt continuously through the 1730s. The reappearance of 40 goats nine years after the extermination raises the question of whether the prohibition had been formally lifted, or whether the Company had simply reintroduced tame goats kept in enclosed pasture on the same footing as the cattle and horses, which the 1730 resolution had explicitly exempted. The account offers no answer, but the presence of kids shows the herd had been on the island long enough to breed, which argues against a very recent arrival. |
418 | 410 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 20th November 1789 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved Mr Crispe Reports that a foule set of Books for the Year ending 30th September 1739 are Ballanced And are now Copying in Order to be sent to England.- The Governour Reports that his Endeavours to Reduce the great Expence the Honourable Company are Yearly at in Maintaining this Island have Succeeded to his Wish for he finds upon Examining the Books that the Gross Charge of the Island for the Year past is less than it was the Year before by £718 3 3¾ the Expence of Year 1738 Amounting to £3977 7 9 & the Charge of this only to the sum of £3259 2 3¾ And Promised to be athe Careful & Vigilant in Regulating the Expence of the currant Year... The Petition of Richard Goodwin was Presented and Read praying a Lease for about 3 Acres of Land joyning to his other Lands. Granted provided it was no Detriment to the Honble Company or to any of the Neighbourhood And Mr Crispe was Ordered to view the same & to make a report of it at the next Consultation... The Petition of Thomas Greentree was Presented & read praying a Lease for about one Acre of Land Adjoyning to his other Lands for the Greater Conveniency of Fencing. Granted.- Mess Geo Gab Powell & John Seale Presented the last will & Testament of Mrs Frances Seale Deceased praying the same might be Proved which was Accordingly done upon the Oaths of the Witnesses Mess Benjamin Pledger & William Seale who Declared that they saw her Sign And Seal the Said Will And was Ordered to be Registered Accordingly together with the Inventory And Account Sales of her Effects.- Margin Notes: Granted at Mr Crispe to view & make report the do [...] | A consultation was held on Tuesday 20 November 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Mr Crisp reported that a full set of books for the year ending 30 September 1739 had been balanced and were now being copied in order to be sent to England. Governor Goodwin reported that his efforts to reduce the great expense the Company bore each year in maintaining the island had succeeded to his wish. On examining the books he found that the gross charge of the island for the year past was less than it had been the year before by £718 3s 3.75d, the expense of the year 1738 amounting to £3,977 7s 9d and the charge of the current year coming to only £3,259 2s 3.75d. He promised to remain careful and attentive in managing the expense of the current year. Richard Goodwin presented a petition asking for a lease of about 3 acres of land adjoining his other land. The council granted it, provided the ground was no detriment to the Company or to any of the neighbourhood, and directed Mr Crisp to view it and report at the next meeting. Thomas Greentree presented a petition asking for a lease of about one acre of land adjoining his other lands, for the greater convenience of fencing. The council granted it. George Gabriel Powell and John Seale presented the last will and testament of Frances Seale, deceased, asking that it be proved. It was proved on the oaths of the witnesses Benjamin Pledger and William Seale, who declared that they had seen her sign and seal the will. The council directed it to be registered together with the inventory and account of sale of her effects. Interpretations The reduction of the island's gross charge from £3,977 7s 9d to £3,259 2s 3.75d, a saving of £718 3s 3.75d, vindicates the undertaking Governor Goodwin gave on 11 October 1738 when he told the council he would contract the expense of the table within moderate bounds, and the comparison Duke Crisp drew up that day from the books of earlier governors. The 1738 total had itself reflected calamitous conditions, with the drought, the death of 687 head of cattle, the governance transition after Governor Pyke's death on 28 July 1738 and the cost of taking over his estate all falling within that year's accounts. A reduction of more than £700 in a single year against a base figure that was already depressed by extraordinary conditions is a genuine achievement rather than a merely favourable comparison. The will of Frances Seale shows George Gabriel Powell and John Seale jointly presenting the document, suggesting Frances was of the Seale family into which Powell had connections through the island's dense network of intermarriage. Benjamin Pledger and William Seale as witnesses are both names long established in the island's record, Pledger appearing from at least 1733 and William Seale as one of the eleven who voted against the goat destruction on 20 January 1730. Richard Goodwin's petition for 3 acres adjoining his existing land follows the standard formula requiring a view to confirm no harm to neighbours, a requirement introduced by the lease reform of 1 August 1732 which directed that no fresh parcel be granted until the Governor had viewed it, and extended in practice to any available councillor when the parcel was small and routine. Crisp's appointment to view reflects both his seniority and his familiarity with the land on the island's east side where the Goodwin family's principal holdings lay. |
419 | 411 | Mr Richard Goodwin makes Complaint That he has for these 18 Years past paid the Honble Company their Quitrents for 2 Acres of Land which upon a near Survey he finds he has never been in Possession off, And Naturally Concludes it must by some Mistake have been Fenced into the Lands of some of his Neighbours therefore desires they may be Measured And new Plotts thereof be Drawn that there- by he may find where his Land lies. Ordered that Mr John Goodwin do Survey Mr Richard Goodwins Land And all others that lay Contiguous thereto, And tender to us the Plottes thereof as soon as Compleated .- At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 27th November 1739 Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G G Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved Mr Crispe Reports that According to Order of last Consultation he has viewed that piece of Land petitioned for by Mr Richard Goodwin And in his opinion the Lett of it can be no Detriment either to the Honble Company or any of the Neighbourhood the greatest part of it being very Rocky & Steep. Ordered that a Lease for the same be prepared against next Consultation.- There Appeared before us this day Mrs Tinsley who Produced an Inventory of the Effects of her late husband Giles Hayes deceased Amounting to £ 91 16 Desiring the same might be Registered, And a Dividend of it to be made amongst his Creditors, to the truth of which Inventory the taking her oath together with the two Appraisors Muss Richd Goodwin & Charles Steward, We accordingly Ordered the Inventory of the Said Margin Notes: [...] pr old Repu[...] | Richard Goodwin brought a complaint before the board. He set out that for the past 18 years he had paid the Company quit rents for 2 acres of land, but that on taking a fresh survey of the ground he found he had never been in possession of it. He concluded that it must by some mistake have been fenced into the lands of some of his neighbours, and asked that the ground be measured and new plots drawn so that he could find where his land actually lay. The council directed John Goodwin junior to survey Richard Goodwin's land and all the others lying adjacent to it, and to deliver the plots as soon as the work was done. A consultation was held on Tuesday 27 November 1739, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and G G Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Mr Crisp reported that in accordance with the order of the previous meeting he had viewed the piece of land petitioned for by Richard Goodwin, and that in his opinion the sale of it could be no detriment either to the Company or to any of the neighbourhood, the greater part of it being very rocky and steep. The council directed a lease for the same to be prepared against the next meeting. Mrs Tinsley appeared before the board that day and produced an inventory of the effects of her late husband Giles Hayes, deceased, amounting to £91 6s 0d, asking that it be registered and that a division of it be made among his creditors, she taking her oath on the inventory together with the two appraisers Richard Goodwin and Charles Steward. The council accordingly directed the inventory of the estate to be registered. Interpretations Richard Goodwin's complaint reveals a persistent weakness in the island's land registration system. He had paid quit rent on 2 acres for 18 years without ever holding the ground, a situation that could only arise because the original measurement was never checked against occupation, and because the council itself had no independent record of where each parcel physically lay on the ground rather than merely on paper. The same absence of reliable surveys had produced the Seale-Bazett dispute of September and October 1726, the Coles deed of gift dispute of 1734 and the Beale-Powell boundary arguments running across much of the 1730s. Directing John Goodwin junior to survey not only Richard Goodwin's land but all the adjoining parcels was the only way to find where the 2 acres had in fact been absorbed, since the encroachment could have occurred at any point along the boundary between several neighbours. The Giles Hayes estate bears the name Hayes rather than Tinsley because Mrs Tinsley was the widow, who had remarried, and her late husband's estate remained to be wound up under his own name. The creditor distribution rather than a general sale shows the estate was solvent enough in goods to satisfy at least some claims in kind, the appraisers Richard Goodwin and Charles Steward supplying the valuations needed to calculate each creditor's share. Both men appear throughout this record as appraisers, a role they had performed together on at least three earlier occasions, most recently for the inventory of Thomas Harper's estate in February 1738. |
420 | 412 | Giles Hayes Deceased who died insolvent to be Registered And a Dividend of the Amount to be made amongst his Creditors.- James Harding this Day Sent a Bill of Sale for 31¾ Acres of Leasehold Land unto Joshua Worrall Requesting the same might be Registered. Granted At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 4 December 1739 at Plantation House. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read And Approved We this Day Executed two Several Leases, the one for Mr Richard Goodwin for 3 4 Acres And the other to Mr Thomas Greentree for 2½ Acres... The Petition of Henry Mullon was Presented & Read Praying Liberty to Assign unto Joseph Defountain his Right and Title to and in 23 Acres of Leasehold Land During the term of the Lease yet to Come.- Granted.- | The inventory of the estate of Giles Hayes, deceased, who died insolvent, was directed to be registered and a division of the amount to be made amongst his creditors. James Harding that day sent in a bill of sale for 31.5 acres of leasehold land to Joshua Worrall, asking that it be registered. The council granted it. A consultation was held on Tuesday 4 December 1739 at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day executed two several leases, one to Richard Goodwin for 3.5 acres and the other to Thomas Greentree for 2.75 acres. Henry Multon presented a petition asking leave to assign his right and title to and in 23 acres of leasehold land to Joseph Defountaine during the remaining term of the lease. The council granted it. Interpretations The Hayes estate being declared insolvent distinguishes this winding-up from the more common case where a creditor distribution was ordered because the estate was solvent but illiquid. An insolvent estate meant the council could not simply divide the goods among creditors in proportion to their claims and call the matter closed; it required a formal accounting of what existed against what was owed, and the registered inventory supplied the basis for that reckoning. The council had no bankruptcy jurisdiction in the English statutory sense, but it exercised a practical equivalent through its power to order inventories, appoint appraisers and direct distributions, a jurisdiction it had applied consistently since at least the case of Benjamin Flagg's estate in March 1729. James Harding's sale of 31.5 acres of leasehold to Joshua Worrall represents a substantial transfer of land in a single instrument. The Harding family held extensive leasehold across the Sandy Bay area, James Harding having received a lease of 16 acres in Sandy Bay from the council and being one of the excluded daughters' husbands in the Alexander estate proceedings of October and November 1737. Joshua Worrall is the soldier who had been the subject of the Mary Girling bastardy complaint of May 1736, discharged when the child proved to be of mixed parentage. By 1739 he appears as a substantial enough figure to take on more than 31 acres of leasehold, a mark of how quickly a young man could accumulate land on the island once he had cleared his immediate difficulties. Henry Multon's assignment of 23 acres to Joseph Defountaine continues the pattern of land moving between the island's established families through private bargain registered before the board. Defountaine had held ground in the fort valley and at various other locations across a long tenure, and this acquisition added to a holding already spread across several parts of the island. |
421 | 413 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 11 December 1739 at Plantation House. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read and Approved. Mr John Goodwin Junt Attended this day, And acquainted Us that he is Possessed of a Piece of Land that runs going into the Honble Companys Pasture, which he is Desirous of Changing for a small piece of their Honours Lands which runs in like manner into his. He Assures Us the Company will be Considerably Gainners by the Exchange as the Land he Proposes to part with is Infinitely Better Pasture than that he Asks in Lieu thereof. Whereupon it was Ordered that Messrs Crispe Bazett And Powell do view the Said two Pieces of Land And Report their Opinion Concerning them at the next Consultation.- The Governour the Gunner And Steward Delivered each their Monthly Accounts for November last which were Severally Examined & Proved & are as followes Vizt Expence of the Table for the Month of November 1739 Vizt 143th Pork 3 12 6 1 Sheep 1 - - 1 Turkey - 5 - 34 Fowles 2 11 - 20th Butter 1 - - 30 Days Greens 1 10 - 49 Gallons Arrack 9 16 - 13 Gallons Port 5 16 3 9 Gallons Mountain 3 7 6 7 Gallons Ale 2 8 9 68 Gallons Beer 1 18 3 143th Sugar 1 - - 6 Bottles Oyle - - 1 1 [...] th Pepper 4 7 6 3 [...] th Flour - 7 - - „ - „ 28 Bread - 7 - £ 38 13 9 | A consultation was held on Tuesday 11 December 1739 at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. John Goodwin junior attended that day and told the board that he was in possession of a piece of land that ran into the Company's pasture, which he wished to exchange for a small piece of the Company's land that ran in the same way into his. He argued that the Company would gain considerably by the exchange, since the land he proposed to give up was far better pasture than what he asked for in return. The council directed Messrs Crisp, Bazett and Powell to view the two pieces of land and report their opinion at the next meeting. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward each delivered their monthly accounts for November, which were examined and approved as follows. The table account for November 1739: 143 lb of pork, £3 12s 6d 1 sheep, £1 0s 0d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 34 fowls, £2 11s 0d 20 lb of butter, £1 0s 0d 30 days of greens, £1 10s 0d 49 gallons of arrack, £9 16s 0d 13 gallons of port, £3 16s 3d 9 gallons of mountain wine, £3 7s 6d 3 gallons of ale, £2 8s 9d [as entered] 68 gallons of beer, £1 18s 3d [as entered] 143 lb of sugar, £1 18s 3d [as entered] 6 bottles of oil, £1 0s 0d [...] lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d [as entered] 3 [...] quarters of flour, £4 7s 6d [as entered] [...] 28 lb of bread, £0 7s 0d [as entered] Total, £38 13s 9d [as entered] Interpretations John Goodwin junior's proposed exchange follows a pattern seen throughout the consultation record, where irregular boundaries between Company waste and private holdings created awkward interlocking parcels that inconvenienced both parties. The council had made similar exchanges before, most notably with Joseph Defountaine on 12 May 1730 when he gave two acres in the fort valley for a like quantity below Chubb's Spring. What is notable here is that the proposer is the Governor's own son, appointed clerk of the council and assistant storekeeper by his father on 15 August 1738, and that the Governor directed three other councillors to view the ground rather than attending himself, a precaution against any appearance of favouring his own family in a transaction he would otherwise have managed directly. The table account for November shows arrack rising to 49 gallons at £9 16s 0d, retaking its position as the dominant drink line after October's unusually heavy showing of port and mountain wine. Pork carries the entire meat burden again with no beef, and the total of £38 13s 9d is slightly above October's £30 12s 6d but well below the summer peaks when ships lay in the road. The appearance of mountain wine alongside port in back-to-back months suggests a stock recently received, probably from the Britannia or another vessel that called during the year, being drawn down through the winter quarter. |
422 | 414 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Neat Cattle &ca for the Month of November 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goates, Hoggs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining the 1st November 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 54, Bulls: 5, Totall: 244, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 88, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 44, Boares: 2, Totall: 67, Turkeys: 50, Fowles: 78, Ducks: 26, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Increased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 4, Bulls: 0, Totall: 4, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 16, Ducks: 17, Geese: 5, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 58, Bulls: 5, Totall: 248, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 9, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 88, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 44, Boares: 2, Totall: 67, Turkeys: 66, Fowles: 95, Ducks: 31, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 1, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 3, Pigs: 2, Boares: 0, Totall: 5, Turkeys: 1, Fowles: 34, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 58, Bulls: 5, Totall: 248, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Sows: 10, Shoates: 8, Pigs: 42, Boares: 2, Totall: 62, Turkeys: 65, Fowles: 61, Ducks: 31, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 2, Boares: 0, Totall: 2, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 30th November 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 58, Bulls: 5, Totall: 248, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Sows: 10, Shoates: 8, Pigs: 40, Boares: 2, Totall: 60, Turkeys: 65, Fowles: 61, Ducks: 31, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 37000 | The Company's stock account for November 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 November 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 34 calves, 5 bulls, 244 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 10 sows, 11 shoats, 44 pigs, 2 boars, 67 hogs total; 30 turkeys, 78 fowls, 26 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Increased in November: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 4 calves, 0 bulls, 4 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 1 lamb, 0 rams, 1 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 16 turkeys, 17 fowls, 3 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 38 calves, 5 bulls, 248 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 9 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 10 sows, 11 shoats, 44 pigs, 2 boars, 67 hogs total; 66 turkeys, 93 fowls, 31 ducks, 21 geese; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in November: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 1 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 3 shoats, 2 pigs, 0 boars, 5 hogs total [as entered]; 0 turkeys, 1 fowl, 3 ducks, 0 geese [as entered]; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in November: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 2 pigs, 0 boars, 2 hogs; 2 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese [as entered]; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 30 November 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 38 calves, 5 bulls, 248 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 8 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 10 sows, 8 shoats, 40 pigs, 2 boars, 60 hogs total; 63 turkeys, 61 fowls, 31 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 6 horses, 18 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 37,000 lb Interpretations The neat cattle total rises to 248 on 30 November against 244 at the opening of the month, with 4 calves born and no sales or losses, extending the unbroken recovery from the May crisis. The bullocks remain steady at 22, confirming that the reclassified animals from the September year-end muster are being held rather than sold, the road being empty and the council's stated intention being to allow the herd to rebuild before drawing on it again for the shipping. The goat column settles at 40 for the second month in succession with no change at all, which suggests the herd is being kept in controlled conditions rather than running on open range where natural increase would be expected and losses to predation more likely. That stability fits the council's own 1730 reasoning, which had allowed tame goats kept in pasture with the cattle to survive the extermination order. A herd of exactly 40 through two consecutive months, with no births and no deaths, is more consistent with a managed pen than a free-ranging flock. Yams at 37,000 lb hold level with October, reflecting the autumn crop fully in hand and a steady draw on stores through the winter quarter. The figure has held between 35,000 and 37,000 lb across October and November, a plateau that shows the harvest large enough to meet the establishment's needs without drawing down reserve. |
423 | 415 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of Novr 1739 Guns fired, Shot fired, 4 Pound, Powder Expended For Instructing the Gunners Crew: Guns fired: 12, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pound: 12, Powder Expended: 36¾ For Scaling Six Gunns at Lemon Valley: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pound: 0, Powder Expended: 4¾ For Scaling Six Do at Sandy Bay: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pound: 0, Powder Expended: 8¾ For Scaling two Do at the Fort: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pound: 0, Powder Expended: 1¾ Powder to the Guard: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pound: 0, Powder Expended: 99¾ Totall: Guns fired: 12, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pound: 12, Powder Expended: 66¾ Paper 19 Lead Balls 2 lb Match 12lb Andirons 1 Spunge Staves 2 Reeds 2 Spunge Heads 2 Toucths 24 Rammer heads 4 Tampions 24 Handspikes 6 Sheepskins 2 The Governour Reports that one of the Honble Companys Slave Men called Stepney Died 9th November, And he was Ordered to be Wrote of the Books Accordingly At a Consultation held on Tuesday 18th December 1739 at Plantation house Present John Goodwin Esq Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Gentlemen of Council Report That | The gunner's stores expended in November 1739, with columns running guns fired, shot fired, 4 pounders and powder expended: For instructing the gunner's crew, 12 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 12 four pounders, 36 lb powder For scaling six guns at Lemon Valley, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 8 lb powder For scaling six guns at Sandy Bay, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 8 lb powder For scaling two guns at the fort, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 1 lb powder Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 99 lb powder [as entered] Total, 12 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 12 four pounders, 66 lb powder [as entered] Paper, 19 quires Match, 12 lb Sponge staves, 2 Sponge heads, 2 Rammer heads, 1 Handspikes, 6 Lead balls, 2 lb Axletrees, 1 Reeds, 2 Torchs, 24 Tampions, 24 Sheepskins, 2 Governor Goodwin reported that one of the Company's slave men, called Stepney, had died on 7 November, and directed that he be removed from the books accordingly. A consultation was held on Tuesday 18 December 1739 at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The gentlemen of council reported that Interpretations Scaling the guns at Lemon Valley, Sandy Bay and the fort in the same month records the three newly armed positions all being maintained together for the first time. Scaling was carried out by firing a powder charge without shot to burn out fouling and corrosion from the bore, and the separate entries for six guns at Lemon Valley, six at Sandy Bay and two at the fort show the distribution of the active complement across the coastal defences at this date. The Sandy Bay fort was completed in October and the Lemon Valley turnpike had been finished and armed in January 1739, so by November both were on the regular maintenance cycle alongside the castle guns. The powder charged to the guard at 99 lb is unusually heavy against the normal monthly allowance of 23 to 36 lb seen in earlier months, and may reflect an issue for the sentries at the new coastal posts rather than the fort guard alone. The crew instruction exercise at 12 guns with 12 four-pound shot repeats the same pattern as October, confirming that the proving series was now running monthly at Rupert's as planned, the site identified on 9 October as the next major fortification project. An axletree entered as consumed is the iron or wooden shaft on which a gun carriage wheel turned, its replacement being essential for a piece that had to be moved or traversed, and its presence here alongside reeds, which were used as quick matches for igniting charges, suggests active fitting-out of carriages at one or more of the new positions. |
424 | 416 | That Agreeable to the Order of last Consultation they have viewed the piece of Land Proposed to be Changed by Mr John Goodwin for a Piece of the Honble Companys And that it is their Opinion the Company have Considerably the best of the Bargain And the Land was Ordered to be Fenced Accordingly At a Consultation held on Tuesday 3d December 1739 at Plantation house. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that as the Honble Companys Peak Pasture is too small to Maintain their Stock of Cattle, for so long a time as is Necessary, he Hath Requested of Mr Wrangham who Possesses a Parcell of Land Containing 25 Acres adjoyning thereto, to Relinquish his Title to the same which will Considerably enlarge the Companys Pasture. And in view thereof the Governour Proposes to give Mr Wrangham 33 Acres of Land called Fradlies Ridge. But as he does not care to Change any of their Honours Land without the Consent & Approbation of the Council he Recommends it to them that they will view the said two Parcells of | The council reported that in accordance with the order of the previous meeting they had viewed the piece of land proposed to be exchanged by John Goodwin junior for a piece of the Company's land, and that in their opinion the Company had considerably the better of the bargain. The land was directed to be fenced accordingly. A consultation was held on Tuesday 30 December 1739 at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that the Company's Peak Pasture was too small to maintain the stock of cattle for as long a time as was necessary. He had therefore asked Francis Wrangham, who held a parcel of land containing 23 acres adjoining it, to give up his title to that ground, which would considerably enlarge the Company's pasture. In return the Governor proposed to give Wrangham 33 acres of land called Saddles Ridge. However, not wishing to make any change to the Company's holdings without the consent and approval of the council, he placed the matter before the board and asked that they view the two parcels. Interpretations The exchange of John Goodwin junior's land for a piece of the Company's ground, approved as clearly advantageous to the Company, closes a transaction proposed by the Governor's own son on 11 December. The three councillors who viewed it, Crisp, Bazett and Powell, all reported in favour without qualification, and the direction to fence the acquired ground confirms the Company took immediate steps to incorporate the new parcel into its managed estate. The Governor's deliberate recusal from the viewing process, noted when the referral was made, meant the favourable outcome was clean of any appearance of partiality. The proposal to enlarge the Peak Pasture at the expense of Francis Wrangham's 23 acres reveals a practical pressure on the Company's grazing capacity. The herd had recovered to 248 neat cattle by the end of November against 239 a year earlier, and the council expected it to grow further as the breeders spared through the May crisis continued to calve. Wrangham was one of the island's most substantial landholders, appearing throughout the record as a surveyor, appraiser and lease-holder, and a straight exchange of 23 acres for 33 acres at Saddles Ridge gave him more ground in a different location rather than simply dispossessing him. The Governor's care not to act without council approval mirrors the restraint he had shown over the Goodwin junior exchange, suggesting a deliberate policy of bringing land adjustments before the full board rather than handling them by executive direction alone. |
425 | 417 | of Land & Report their Opinion thereof at the next Consultation At a Consultation held on Wednesday 2d January 1788 at Plantation House Present John Goodwin Esq Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Gentlemen of Council Report that Agreeable to the Resolution of last Consultation they have carefully viewed the two Paces of Land therein Mentioned, & it is their opinion that such an addition to the Peak Pasture will greatly Contribute to the Preservation of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle Ordered that a Lease be Prepared against next Consultation for the said 33 Acres of Land Called Phesdells Ridge, at which time Mr Wrangham is to Deliver up the Lease for that Land he holds adjoyning to the Honble Companys Peak Pasture... The last Will & Testament of Francis Leech was this day Proved before Us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereunto Vizt John Hodgkinson and Henry Beale the other Witness Valentine Greening belonging | The council directed the gentlemen to view the two parcels and report their opinion at the next meeting. A consultation was held on Wednesday 2 January 1740 [new style] at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The gentlemen of council reported that in accordance with the resolution of the previous meeting they had carefully viewed the two pieces of land mentioned, and that in their opinion the addition to the Peak Pasture would greatly contribute to the preservation of the Company's stock of cattle. The council directed a lease to be prepared against the next meeting for the 33 acres of land called Saddles Ridge, at which time Francis Wrangham was to deliver up the lease for the land he held adjoining the Company's Peak Pasture. The last will and testament of Francis Leech was proved that day on the oaths of the witnesses, namely John Hodgkinson and Henry Beale, the other witness Valentine Greening belonging Interpretations The date of 2 January 1740 marks the first consultation of the new year under the modern calendar. Under the old style, used throughout this record, the year would not change until 25 March, so the manuscript almost certainly carries the year as 1739, but the modern equivalent is 1740 and the conversion is applied here. The council's view of the Peak Pasture exchange is notably unqualified. Earlier views of proposed land transactions routinely noted that the ground was found rocky, steep, barren or of little value to the Company or the neighbourhood, softening the approval as a minor concession. Here the report states directly that the addition would greatly contribute to the preservation of the cattle stock, language that reflects the council's continuing anxiety about grazing capacity after the drought years. The herd had reached 248 by the end of November, and the council knew from the year-end reclassification that calving was resuming strongly. Finding pasture to carry a growing herd through the winter months, when the southern-hemisphere growing season was ending and the grass on the high ground was drying off, was a genuine operational problem rather than an abstract administrative one. Francis Leech's will, proved with two witnesses present and a third named, follows the standard probate procedure the council had applied since Governor Byfield's time. The requirement of multiple witnesses had been at the centre of the Sarah Johnson dispute from 30 October 1733, in which the devise of John Johnson's St Helena land to Thomas Moynston was challenged on the ground that only two witnesses had attested it rather than the three or four the statute required for a disposal of land. Having three named witnesses, even where only two could be sworn, placed this will on firmer ground. |
426 | 418 | Belonging to Ship Princess Mary being gone to England At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 8th January 1739 at Plantation House. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved We this day received of Mr Wrangham the Lease for the Land he holds adjoyning to the Peak Pasture And Delivered to him a new Lease in Lieu thereof for 33 Acres called Fusdells Ridge The Governour Reports that the Honble Companys Plantation called the Bryons being but a small Plantation & lying at a great Distance from any of their other Plantations & Lands, & at the best times Producing but indifferently & the Company having Lands nearer home much better for Plantation he Proposes to fling the said Bryons out & Plant the other Lands in its room, Margin Notes: Fusdells Ridge The Bryons | The third witness Valentine Greening was belonging to the ship Princess Mary, then gone to England. A consultation was held on Tuesday 8 January 1740 [new style] at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day received from Francis Wrangham the lease for the land he held adjoining the Company's Peak Pasture, and delivered to him in exchange a new lease for 33 acres called Saddles Ridge. Governor Goodwin reported that the Company's plantation called the Bryers was only a small holding lying at a great distance from all the other Company plantations and lands, producing at best indifferently, and that the Company had other lands elsewhere far better suited to cultivation. He proposed to clear the Bryers and plant the other lands in its place. Interpretations The completion of the Wrangham exchange on the same day the new lease was ready follows the procedure the council had settled at the previous meeting, directing both instruments to be prepared together and the handover to take place simultaneously. Wrangham giving up one lease and receiving another in the same sitting protected both parties against the risk of one completing while the other did not, a practical safeguard the council had learned from the complications that arose when deeds were delivered without corresponding surrenders being registered, as in the Coles-Bates tangle of 1733 to 1736. The Bryers was a Company plantation whose name does not feature prominently in the earlier monthly accounts, and Governor Goodwin's description of it as small, isolated and indifferently productive marks it out as a holding the establishment had probably maintained out of inertia rather than genuine need. The proposal to clear it and redirect effort to better ground is consistent with the rationalisation of the Company's agricultural operation that had been underway since Governor Pyke's purchase of the seven and a half acres at Perkins from Captain Goodwin on 31 December 1733, which relieved that ground after years of exhaustion. The Governor's framing of the proposal as a recommendation to the council rather than a unilateral direction repeats the careful collegial procedure he had also used for the Peak Pasture extension, placing each change to the Company's landholding formally before the board. Speculations The choice to surrender the Bryers rather than simply leave it fallow raises a question about what clearing it actually meant in practice. On St Helena, cleared Company ground typically reverted to the pool of waste land available for leasing to inhabitants, as had happened repeatedly with surrendered leaseholds throughout the record. Planting the other Company lands in its place was a straightforward reallocation of slave labour and yam cultivation from a remote site to more productive ground closer to the main plantations. The implicit alternative, retaining the Bryers as a going concern and continuing to send slaves there, was the path actually abandoned, and the Governor's description of its distance from the other holdings identifies the reason directly: the cost in labour time of sending workers to a remote site ate into whatever the ground produced, making its net contribution to the establishment smaller than its acreage suggested. |
427 | 419 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 15th January 1739 at Plantation house. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour the Gunner & Steward Delivered their Accounts for the Month of December last as did the Storekeeper for the Quarter past as Unusall which were Severally Examined & Proved and are as follows Vizt Expence of the Table for the Month of December 1739 Vizt 288 Beef 3 12 - 1 Sheep 1 - - 1 Lamb - 10 - 229 Pork 5 14 6 3 Turkeys - 15 - 22 Fowles 3 3 - 6 Ducks - 9 - 2 Pigs - 10 - 65 Gallons Arrack 13 - 1 139th Sugar 1 13 - 13½ Gallons Port 5 4 7½ 7¼ Do Mountain 2 18 4½ 9 Do Ale 1 6 3 12 Do Beer - - - 6 [...]th Flour 3 - - - „ 2 „ - Bread - 12 6 4 Bottles Oyle - 13 4 36th Butter 2 10 - 31 Days Greens 1 11 - £ 30 2 4 Acct | A consultation was held on Tuesday 15 January 1740 [new style] at Plantation House, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward delivered their accounts for December, as did the storekeeper for the quarter past, all of which were examined and approved as follows. The table account for December 1739: 288 lb of beef, £3 12s 0d 1 sheep, £1 0s 0d 1 lamb, £0 10s 0d 224 lb of pork, £3 14s 6d [as entered] 3 turkeys, £0 13s 0d 42 fowls, £3 3s 0d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d 2 pigs, £0 10s 0d 63 gallons of arrack, £43 1s 0d [as entered] 134 lb of sugar, £1 13s 0d 13.5 gallons of port, £3 4s 7.5d [as entered] 7.75 dozen of mountain wine, £2 18s 1.5d [as entered] 9 dozen of ale, £1 6s 8d [as entered] 12 dozen of beer, £3 0s 0d [as entered] 6 [...] lb of flour, £3 1s 0d [as entered] [...] 2 lb of bread, £0 12s 6d [as entered] 4 bottles of oil, £0 13s 4d [as entered] 36 lb of butter, £2 10s 0d 31 days of greens, £1 11s 0d Total, £50 2s 4d [as entered] Interpretations Beef returns to the table for the first time since June, at 288 lb. Its reappearance in December after six months of absence directly reflects the recovery the council had managed deliberately since May. The breeding cows and heifers spared through the crisis calved strongly through June and July, and by the year-end reclassification of September the herd carried 22 bullocks restored through the natural growth of younger animals. The December kill of 288 lb represents a modest draw on that rebuilt stock, sized to mark the Christmas provision rather than to supply an anchorage, the road remaining empty. The arrack charge of £43 1s 0d against 63 gallons is the highest value entry in the account by a very wide margin, and the figure seems internally inconsistent against the rates seen in earlier months, where 32 gallons cost £6 18s 0d in August and 49 gallons cost £9 16s 0d in November. A rate of roughly 14 shillings a gallon implied by the December figure is far above the 4 to 5 shillings typical of this series, suggesting either a copying error in the total or that the 63-gallon entry encompasses an issue for the Christmas allowance to the guards and the Company's slaves as well as the table, on the model of the separate anniversary charges noted in August and earlier months. The figures are taken as entered. |
428 | 420 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Cattle &ca for the Month of December 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goates, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Cows, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining the 1st December 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 30, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 58, Bulls: 5, Totall: 248, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 40, Sows: 10, Shoates: 8, Cows: 40, Boares: 2, Totall: 60, Turkeys: 65, Fowles: 61, Ducks: 31, Geese: 21, Horses: 6, Maires: 17, Totall: 25 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 4, Bulls: 0, Totall: 4, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 5, Rams: 0, Totall: 5, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Cows: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 35, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 2, Totall: 3 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 80, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 62, Bulls: 5, Totall: 252, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 26, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 21, Rams: 1, Totall: 45, Sows: 10, Shoates: 8, Cows: 40, Boares: 2, Totall: 60, Turkeys: 65, Fowles: 96, Ducks: 31, Geese: 21, Horses: 8, Maires: 18, Totall: 26 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 1, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 1, Ewes: 1, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 2, Rams: 0, Totall: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 4, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Cows: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 4, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 34, Ducks: 2, Geese: 6, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 29, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 61, Bulls: 4, Totall: 250, Ewes: 48, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 83, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 21, Rams: 1, Totall: 45, Sows: 10, Shoates: 4, Cows: 40, Boares: 2, Totall: 56, Turkeys: 62, Fowles: 54, Ducks: 23, Geese: 21, Horses: 8, Maires: 18, Totall: 26 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 3, Cows: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 3, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Sold in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Cows: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 1, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 31st December 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 29, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 61, Bulls: 4, Totall: 250, Ewes: 49, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 85, Ewes: 16, Weathers: 7, Kids: 21, Rams: 1, Totall: 45, Sows: 10, Shoates: 4, Cows: 87, Boares: 2, Totall: 37, Turkeys: 53, Fowles: 62, Ducks: 54, Geese: 25, Horses: 21, Maires: 7, Totall: 21 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 37000 | The Company's stock account for December 1739 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 December 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 30 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 38 calves, 5 bulls, 248 neat cattle total; 49 ewes, 8 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 40 goats total; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 8 pigs, 40 hogs total [as entered]; 2 boars; 60 turkeys, 63 fowls, 61 ducks, 31 geese poultry; 6 horses, 17 mares, 23 horses and mares total Increased in December: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 4 calves, 0 bulls, 4 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 5 kids, 0 rams, 5 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 3 pigs, 0 boars, 3 hogs [as entered]; 0 turkeys, 35 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 2 horses, 1 mare, 3 horses and mares Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 80 heifers [as entered], 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 62 calves, 5 bulls, 252 neat cattle total [as entered]; 49 ewes, 8 wethers, 26 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 21 kids, 1 ram, 45 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 8 pigs, 40 hogs [as entered], 2 boars; 60 turkeys, 63 fowls, 96 ducks [as entered], 31 geese poultry; 8 horses, 18 mares, 26 horses and mares total Killed in December: 0 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 1 bull, 2 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 1 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 4 hogs [as entered]; 0 turkeys, 3 fowls, 42 ducks [as entered], 6 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in December: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 1 heifer, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 1 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 3 pigs, 0 boars, 3 hogs; 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 1 horse, 0 mares Sold in December: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 0 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 1 horse, 0 mares [as entered] Remaining 31 December 1739: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 29 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 61 calves, 4 bulls, 250 neat cattle total [as entered]; 49 ewes, 8 wethers, 23 lambs, 4 rams, 85 sheep total [as entered]; 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 21 kids, 1 ram, 45 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 4 pigs, 37 hogs total [as entered], 2 boars; 53 turkeys, 62 fowls, 54 ducks, 25 geese poultry; 7 horses, 14 mares, 21 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 37,000 lb Interpretations Beef returned to the table in December as noted in the table account, and the stock account confirms the kill: one cow and one calf are entered as killed in December, along with one bull, accounting for the 288 lb recorded in the table. Killing a cow and a bull rather than a bullock for the Christmas provision reflects the continuing absence of any fattened male stock beyond the 22 bullocks reclassified at the September year-end, animals the council needed to preserve as the foundation of the herd's next generation of males for sale to shipping. The duck column shows a remarkable swing: 96 ducks after the increase row and only 54 remaining at the end of the month, with 42 entered as killed. That is by far the largest single-species kill in any month of this record, and it coincides with the Christmas season when the table account shows a wider variety of provisions than usual. The 35 fowls added in the increase row and the large numbers of ducks and turkeys carried into December from November's poultry build suggest the yard was deliberately managed to produce a surplus for the year-end provision. The goat herd grows from 40 to 45 through December, the first natural increase recorded in the column since it reappeared in October. Five kids born confirms that the herd had been running as a breeding group rather than merely a static pen, and the sex composition of 16 ewes, 7 wethers, 21 kids and 1 ram at the close suggests a healthy reproductive ratio. Yams at 37,000 lb remain steady for a third consecutive month, showing the harvest at full capacity through the southern-hemisphere autumn. |
429 | 421 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of Decr 1739 Guns fired, Shot fired, 4 Pounders, Powder Expended For Instructing the Gunners Crew: Guns fired: 24, Shot fired: 24, 4 Pounders: 24, Powder Expended: 72¾ For Scaling Six Gunns at Turks Cap: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 3¾ For Hardingstall: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 3¾ Powder to the Guard: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 23¾ Totall: Guns fired: 24, Shot fired: 24, 4 Pounders: 24, Powder Expended: 101¾ Rammer heads 12 Priming Wires 4 Spunge Staves 6 Toucths 8 Handspikes 4 Beds 2 Sheep Skins 10 Paper 3 Qr Lead Shott 2lb Match 6lb Tampions 12 | The gunner's stores expended in December 1739, with columns running guns fired, shot fired, 4 pounders and powder expended: For instructing the gunner's crew, 24 guns fired, 24 shot fired, 24 four pounders, 72 lb powder For scaling six guns at Turk's Cap, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 38 lb powder [as entered] For the landing stage, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 3 lb powder [as entered] Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 23 lb powder [as entered] Total, 24 guns fired, 24 shot fired, 24 four pounders, 101 lb powder [as entered] Rammer heads, 12 Sponge staves, 6 Handspikes, 4 Sheep skins, 10 Lead shot, 2 lb Tampions, 12 Priming wires, 4 Torchs, 8 Bells, 2 Paper, 3 quires Match, 6 lb Interpretations The crew instruction exercise rises from 12 guns in October and November to 24 in December, doubling the monthly complement fired. The consistent use of four-pound shot in all three months confirms this as a standardised drill rather than a proving exercise, and the larger number of pieces worked in December may reflect the crew being exercised on a broader selection of the island's light artillery as the winter maintenance cycle continued. Turk's Cap Valley appears here as a scaling station for the first time in this series, joining Lemon Valley, Sandy Bay and the fort as a position on the regular maintenance round. Turk's Cap had been identified by the twelve principal inhabitants on 16 July 1734 as the most dangerous landing point on the coast, the place where shipping first made the island and where the ground opened by easy ascents into the Great Wood, and the battery there had been the first work the inhabitants began at their own charge on 5 August 1734. Bells entered as a consumable item are an unusual addition to the stores list. Small bells were used on gun carriages and on the linstocks that held the slow match, serving as alarms to warn the guard when a piece was being moved or prepared for firing in the dark. Their presence alongside torchs, priming wires and match in the same month suggests an outfitting exercise across several positions rather than a single drill at one battery. |
430 | 422 | At a Consultation held on Saturday the 19th January 173[9] at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell The last Consultation was read & Approved At 11 aClock this forenoon Arrived the India Yacht, And immediately upon the Receipt of the Packett We read through this Generall Letter & other Papers therein enclosed. The Orders received from our Honble Masters shall be Punctually Executed, the Advice they are Pleased to give Us of the Impending Warr would have been Infinitely more Disagreeable Last Year than it is now As we are in a much better Posture of Defence our Fortifications at Lemon Valley & Sandy Bay having been since Compleated; What we most want a Present is Men but we flatter our selves our Masters wont be Unmindfulls of Us at a Proper Opportunity And Live in Daily Expectation of the Promised Store Ship by whome we doubt not we shall be Sufficiently Reenford in the mean time are Resolved to behave on any Emergency as becomes our Selves. The Gunner was Ordered to receive the Powder with all the Expedition he can & to be very Cautious during the Transportation of the same. Ordered that an Advertizement be Published for all the Male Inhabitants who are 16 Years of age And Upwards to Appear on the Parade at the Fort on Tuesday by 11 aClock in the forenoon. | A consultation was held on Saturday 19 January 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett and Geo. Gab. Powell present. The previous consultation was read and approved. At eleven o'clock that morning the India yacht arrived, and the packet was opened and read at once, together with the general letter and the other papers it contained. The orders received from the Court of Directors were to be punctually carried out. The advice the Court was pleased to give of the impending war would have been infinitely more disagreeable the year before than it was now, since the island was in a far better posture of defence, the fortifications at Lemon Valley and Sandy Bay having been completed. What was most wanted was a fresh supply of powder, but the council trusted the Court would not be unmindful of this at a proper opportunity. In the meantime the council was in daily expectation of the promised store ship, by which it had no doubt it would be sufficiently resupplied, and was resolved to conduct itself in any emergency as its duty required. The gunner was directed to receive the powder with all possible speed and to take great care during the transport of it. The council directed an advertisement to be published calling all male inhabitants aged 16 and upwards to appear on the parade at the fort on Tuesday at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. Interpretations The India yacht was the Company's fast despatch vessel used to carry packets between London and the Indian settlements, stopping at St Helena on both outward and homeward passages. Its arrival on a Saturday and the immediate opening of the general letter at eleven that morning, with a consultation formally convened the same day, marks this as a genuine emergency response rather than the routine Tuesday meeting. The council's practice throughout this record was to defer routine business to the weekly sitting, but packets from the Court were opened at once regardless of the day. The news of an impending war, almost certainly the War of the Austrian Succession which had been developing since 1740, had been anticipated in the island's preparations since late 1738 when the council began proving its ordnance weekly and confining foreign crews to the anchorage under the Company's 30th paragraph. The council's self-congratulation that the defences were now far better than a year earlier was well founded: Lemon Valley had been armed in January 1739, Sandy Bay completed and armed by October 1739, and the crew instruction exercises had been running monthly at Rupert's since the autumn. The direction to muster all male inhabitants over 16 on Tuesday followed the standing procedure the council had used on every earlier war footing, most recently formalised in the orders of 9 May 1727 when the packet warning of war with the Emperor and Spain arrived on the Prince of Wales. Those orders required every inhabitant on every double alarm to attend his post and bring all his male slaves, for whom he paid head money, and the Tuesday parade was the instrument for confirming who was available and in what numbers before the shipping season opened and the anchorage filled with vessels of several nations. Speculations The council noted that what it most wanted was powder and placed its hope in the promised store ship rather than in any action of its own. That was the only honest answer available to it: the island had no means of making powder and no independent channel of supply beyond the Company's own vessels. Yet the council had been proving its guns weekly and instructing its crews monthly for more than a year, consuming powder at a rate the annual account recorded, and it had not reduced that expenditure in anticipation of a shortage. The implicit judgement was that trained crews and tested guns were worth more to the island's defence than a full magazine of untested ordnance with men who had not fired it, a priority the proving exercises had embodied from December 1738 onward. |
431 | 423 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 22d January 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe 1st of Council John Bazett 2d of Council Geo Gab Powell 3d of Council The last Consultation was read & Approved Agreeable to the Advertizement of Saturday last the Inhabitants this day Assembled, And were Quarted with their Slave Men, some at the Fortifications and others in the Flying Partys, where they are to repair upon all Allarms. Business Increasing & the time of year coming on when we may Expect frequent Allarms to Draw Mess Crispe, Bazett & Powell from their Offices to their Respective Posts, And more Especially at this Juncture, We therefore think it Highly Necessary there should be another in Council, that the Honble Companys Affairs might be carried on in a Regular Course. And Mr John Goodwin Junt is now Senior Storekeeper having served the Company Several Years And with the Utmost Diligence and Application gone through every Branch of their Affairs with great Applause, We are Persuaded no one has a better Title or is more fully Qualified than himself to sit at this Board, And therefore Unanimously Agree to Appoint him 4th & Youngest of Council. And that a Paragraph in our next General Letter be Prepared to Request of Our Honble Masters that they will be favourably Pleased to Confirm the Choice & Appointment We have made... Margin Notes: [...] the [...] the [...] | A consultation was held on Tuesday 22 January 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as second of council, John Bazett as third of council and Geo. Gab. Powell as fourth of council present. The previous consultation was read and approved. In accordance with the advertisement of the previous Saturday, the inhabitants assembled that day and were quartered with their slave men, some at the fortifications and others in the flying parties, to which they were to repair on all alarms. The council observed that with business increasing and the time of year approaching when frequent alarms were to be expected, it would be necessary to draw Messrs Crisp, Bazett and Powell away from their offices to their respective posts, and more especially at this juncture. The council therefore considered it highly necessary that there should be another member, so that the Company's affairs might be carried on in a regular manner. John Goodwin junior, now acting as storekeeper, had served the Company for several years with the utmost diligence and application, conducting every branch of its affairs to great approval. The council was persuaded that no one had a better title or was more fully qualified to sit at the board, and unanimously agreed to appoint him as fifth and youngest of council. A paragraph was to be prepared in the next general letter requesting the Court of Directors to be favourably pleased to confirm the choice and appointment that had been made. Interpretations The quartering of the inhabitants and their slaves at specific positions on 22 January formalises the muster called by the Saturday advertisement into a permanent war disposition. The procedure had last been applied in May 1739, when the military strength survey placed the castle at 91 men and 75 guns, Munden's at 19 men and 14 guns, Rupert's at 31 men and 18 guns and Banks's at 12 men and 5 guns, with flying parties of 70 white men and 44 slaves. The quartering on this occasion extended that framework to all male inhabitants and their men, tying each to a specific post rather than leaving the assembly to be improvised on each alarm. The appointment of John Goodwin junior as fifth of council is the first expansion of the board beyond four since George Gabriel Powell's appointment on 26 February 1739. The justification offered is operational, that wartime alarms would draw the three serving councillors to their military posts simultaneously, leaving no quorum for civil business. The council had faced exactly that difficulty in the summer of 1737, when John Alexander's illness through 31 May and his death about 18 September left the board at three, and again through the shipping season of 1739 when John Bazett's illness on 3 July left only three present. A fifth member provided a reserve against the known pattern of officers being pulled in different directions during an emergency. Speculations The appointment of John Goodwin junior rather than any other candidate illustrates the degree to which the Governor's family had consolidated its hold on the island's administration. The Governor had appointed his son clerk of the council and assistant storekeeper on 15 August 1738, immediately after assuming office, and the son had since also taken on the full storekeeper role. The council described him as having served with the utmost diligence and unanimously agreed on his appointment, but the pool from which the choice was made was effectively determined by his father's earlier patronage decisions. No alternative candidate was named or considered in the record, which means the nomination was effectively made before the consultation opened, the formal vote confirming a conclusion already reached. |
432 | 424 | At a Consultation held on Thursday the 24th January 1739 at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe 1st of Council John Bazett 2d of Council Geo Gab Powell 3d of Council John Goodwin Junt 4th of Council The last Consultation was read & Approved We think it Highly Necessary immediately to set about Carrying on the Fortification at Ruperts & Intirely to Finish that Part of it which still Remains to be Compleated But as the Honble Company have not Able Bodied Slaves Enough to carry on such Works with the Expedition that the Circumstances of the Present times make Needfull, for of 72 Men Slaves as mentioned in the list of September last there is only 36 fitt to do Service And are employed as follows Vizt 6 Men in the Long boat to fetch Lime from Sandy Bay 6 Do Constantly a fishing for the Use of the Whole 4 Do Gardners 2 Do Butchers 7 Do Stonelayers to be Employed at Ruperts 1 Do a Tanner 1 Do a Smith 1 Do a Taylor 12 Do Constantly in the Yam Plantations keeping them in good Order for the Maintenance of the Whole 16 Do Labourers to be Employed at Ruperts 16 Do Old or Afflicted with Some Infirmity We are Perswaded that should we Neglect to Stire Blacks of the Planters upon so Immergent an Occasion as this is we should Justly Incurr the Censure of Our Honble Masters And therefore Directed the following Letter to the Inhabitants Vizt Gentlemen Whereas the Honble Company have been Pleased to Advise Us that Affairs in Europe bear at Present a Warr like Aspect, And the better to Defend this Island against the Sudden Attacks of an Enemy We are Resolved immediately to set about Carrying on what works still remain to be Compleated at Ruperts: You are therefore Desired to give Us all the Assistance You can by sending do | A consultation was held on Thursday 24 January 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp as second of council, John Bazett as third of council, Geo. Gab. Powell as fourth of council and John Goodwin junior as fifth of council present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council considered it highly necessary to set about carrying on the fortification at Rupert's and to finish that part of it still remaining to be completed. The Company did not have enough able slaves to carry on such works with the speed that present circumstances demanded. Of the 72 male slaves mentioned in the list of the previous September, only 36 were fit for service, employed as follows: 6 men in the long boat to fetch lime from Sandy Bay 6 men constantly fishing for the use of the whole establishment 4 men as gardeners 2 men as butchers 7 men as stone layers, to be employed at Rupert's 1 man as a tanner 1 man as a smith 1 man as a tailor 12 men constantly at the yam plantations, keeping them in good order for the maintenance of the whole 16 men as labourers, to be employed at Rupert's 16 men old or afflicted with some infirmity The council was persuaded that if it neglected to press the planters' slaves into service on so urgent an occasion it would justly earn the censure of the Court of Directors. It therefore directed the following letter to the inhabitants. The letter addressed the inhabitants as gentlemen and set out that the Company had been pleased to advise the council that affairs in Europe bore the aspect of war, and that it was the better to defend the island against a sudden attack by an enemy. The council was therefore resolved to set about carrying on the works still remaining to be completed at Rupert's, and asked the inhabitants to give all the assistance they could by sending Interpretations The enumeration of the 36 fit men against 72 on the September list reveals how heavily the Company's establishment had been depleted between the military strength survey of 11 May 1739 and the present emergency. The September list had itself reflected the recovery from the drought years and the Sandy Bay building programme, and even that figure of 72 was described then as representing the whole strength as a matter of redistributing the same limited body. Half of those 72 were now old or infirm, a proportion consistent with the council's decision of 21 December 1738 to sell off the older and worn slaves since they were too many to feed and clothe. The effect of that economy, sensible in peacetime, was now apparent: the establishment had been trimmed exactly when a military emergency required its maximum strength. The allocation of 12 men to the yam plantations in winter reflects the island's southern-hemisphere growing calendar, where June to September is the planting and maintenance season and letting the ground go unattended would cost the following year's crop. The council could not strip the plantations of all their labour even to build the Rupert's fortification, since the yam crop fed both the slaves and the establishment throughout the year. The 7 stone layers and 16 labourers earmarked for Rupert's together with any planters' slaves the letter might secure were the whole available workforce for the new works. |
433 | 425 | As many of your Slaves as may be spared out of your Plantations to the Fortifications on Monday next. And for your encouragement you shall be Allowed 12 Pence p day for Each Slave. We are Sorry that there is so Pressing an Occasion to put Our Masters to the Extraordinary Expence of Hiring Blacks But are Resolved to Put a Stop to it again as soon as Ruperts may be made Defensible which shall be done with the Utmost Expedition. At a Consultation held on Saturday 26th January 1739 at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G G Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that on Wednesday last the 23 instant he was Reflecting whether it would not be more for the Service of the Honble Company to send the catch from hence to the Cape with Letters for the Captains & of the Homeward bound Shipping to acquaint them with the news we have lately Recd from England than to keep her here at a certain Expence & no Purpose at first he was much Pleased with the thought, that it would be Proper to be put in Execution, & accordingly imparted his Opinion to Mr | The letter continued, asking the inhabitants to send as many of their slaves as could be spared from their plantations to the fortification on Monday next, and offering 12 pence a day for each slave as encouragement. The council expressed regret at having so pressing an occasion to put the masters to the extraordinary expense of hiring slaves, but undertook to put a stop to it as soon as Rupert's could be made defensible, which would be done with the utmost speed. A consultation was held on Saturday 26 January 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, G G Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that on the previous Wednesday, the 23rd, he had been considering whether it would not be more useful to the Company's service to send the packet from the island to the Cape with letters for the captains of the homeward-bound shipping, to acquaint them with the news lately received from England, rather than to keep the vessel there at the cost of a certain expense. He was at first not altogether pleased with the thought, but concluded it would be proper to put it into execution, and accordingly communicated his opinion to Interpretations The rate of 12 pence a day for hired slaves is a doubling of the 6 pence that had been the standing offer since at least the advertisement of 11 June 1734, which drew not one tender. That earlier rate had been judged insufficient by the inhabitants to feed and clothe a man, as Richard Beale's computation of 27 January 1736 had shown in detail, putting the annual cost of maintaining a black man at £12 8s 6d against yearly earnings of £11 1s 0d at ninepence a day and leaving the master out of pocket on every hire. At 12 pence a day the arithmetic improved, and the council's framing of the offer as encouragement for the masters rather than as a wage for the slaves reflects the legal reality that the hire payment went to the owner. Sending the packet to the Cape to warn homeward-bound commanders of the war news was a different exercise of authority from the convoy discipline disputes of 1729, when the council had tried to hold ships in the road and been defied by captains who sailed without waiting for a reply. Sending intelligence outward rather than detaining ships inward cost nothing and committed no one to obey, but gave commanders the choice of altering their route or their formation before reaching the island rather than being surprised in the road. The Governor's hesitation over the expense before deciding to proceed shows the council still measuring every outlay against its promise to the Court to keep charges within moderate bounds, even in a military emergency. |
434 | 426 | Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett who at first were Each of them well pleased with the Proposal as he himself was desiring they would Consider well of it & give him their Oppinion, & the next day they acquainted him that they had to him so many Objections they against it, & mentioned what they were that it was by no means safe or Advisable to be done. And upon that he Concluded to lay aside the Design & say no more of it to any body, but on Thursday Evening Mr Powell Came to him & moved the Matter to him as a thing new And Projected by himself, upon which the Governour Unaquainted him with what had Passed upon this Occasion between himself Mr Crispe & Mr Bazett, with which he was in no sort Satisfied but insisted that we should hear what he had to say upon this Subject, to which the Governour agreed & Desired that each of the Gentlemen of Council would Also give him their Oppinion & that nothing Material might be forgot or Mistaken either Side of the Question, he Desired it might be Done in Writing which they Accordingly Did & their Several Oppinions are as followes Vizt Upon the Motion this day made by the Governour to send the Yatch to the Cape to impart the news she brought hither, to such of our Homeward bound Shipping as shall touch there we make the following Objections. 1 We are of Oppinion that We have not Power to Order her to go thither. 2nd We beleive the Captain himself has not any Sufficient Commission, Warrant or Instruction either from his Masters the Honble Company to Justify his going thither even of the Majority of Council should think fitt to do so, but as this is a Point which Relates only to himself at Present make no farther Remarks about it, but Proceed to give our Oppinion upon the Governours Motion. 3d Had we Power so to do its by no means Necessary because when all the Shipping now upon the Return to England there were then great Apprehensions of a Warr And Consequently they will be Sufficiently upon their guard if they should Recess any farther Advice. 4 But the Honble Company have actually dispatch'd two Ships for India, One sailed from England on the 13 [...] | Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett, who had both at first been well pleased with the proposal, said they would consider it carefully and give their opinion the following day. On the next day they told the Governor that they had found so many objections to it that they mentioned what those were, concluding that it was by no means safe or advisable to be done, and that he had concluded to abandon the idea entirely. However, on the Thursday evening Mr Powell came to the Governor and raised the matter again as though it were something new, not proposed by the Governor himself, upon which the Governor acquainted him with what had passed between himself, Mr Crisp and Mr Bazett, with which Powell was not entirely satisfied. He insisted that the council should hear what he had to say on the subject, to which the Governor agreed, directing that each of the gentlemen of council should give his opinion, and that nothing material might be forgotten or misunderstood on either side. He desired this to be done in writing, and they accordingly delivered their several opinions as follows. 1: On the motion made that day by the Governor to send the yacht to the Cape to relay the news it had brought, to such of the homeward-bound shipping as might then be there, the following objections were raised. 2: It was the opinion of the two objectors that the council had no power to direct her to go there. 3: They believed the captain himself had no sufficient commission, warrant or instruction either from his masters the Company to justify him in going there, even if the majority of council thought fit to do so, but as this was a point which related only to him personally, they made no further remarks about it but proceeded to give their opinion on the Governor's motion. 4: Had the council the power to do so, it was by no means necessary, because when all the shipping now on the return to England left there were already great apprehensions of a war, and consequently they would already be sufficiently on their guard without receiving any further notice. 5: But the Company had actually sent two ships to India, one sailed from England on the 13th Interpretations The dispute over whether to send the yacht to the Cape reveals a genuine constitutional question about the council's authority over a Company vessel in the road. The council had faced a mirror image of this problem repeatedly in the convoy disputes of 1727 to 1729, when it tried to detain departing commanders and found it had no power to compel a Company captain by force. Here the question was whether it had power to direct a vessel to a destination rather than to hold it in place. Crisp and Bazett concluded it did not, and their argument rested not on practicality but on jurisdiction: the yacht's captain had no instruction from his principals authorising the Cape diversion, and the council could not supply that authority by resolution. Powell's revival of the proposal after the Governor had already abandoned it, presenting it as a new idea of his own rather than one already discussed and rejected, placed the Governor in an awkward position. Requiring written opinions from each councillor was a procedurally correct response, ensuring that the record showed every member's reasoning rather than leaving the decision to informal agreement. The Governor's insistence on written submissions, reported here as his own requirement rather than Powell's, also protected the majority view from being characterised later as a casual rejection rather than a considered determination. Speculations The council chose to resolve the yacht question by written opinions rather than a simple show of hands, a level of formality it had not applied to most routine decisions in this record. The reason is visible in the narrative: Powell's reintroduction of a matter the Governor believed closed had created a procedural impasse that could not be resolved by the Governor simply overruling him. Writing the opinions down gave each member a position on the record that could not afterwards be disputed, and it transferred the authority for the final decision from the Governor's executive judgment to the documented collective view of the board. The Governor's agreement to the written procedure was itself a concession to Powell's persistence, acknowledging that the matter was genuinely open for debate even after the informal consultation of the previous days had appeared to settle it. |
435 | 427 | May be the other on the 5th August & as Hostilities had been committed on both Sides before they Sailed, Doubtless Our Honble Masters have by them given Directions for their Necessary Security of their Homeward bound Shiping. 5 If it should be thought Proper to send her thither We have not Power to give the Captains any Orders or Directions what to do nay in Our Oppinion we are not at Liberty so much as to Offer Our Dvice in this Case. 6 We are told that the Store ship would be Dispatched as soon as She Possibly could be & its very Probable that she was Dispatched in a Short time after the Yatch & that we may Expect her Daily & it is likely she may bring some Particular Directions for the Yatch herself & if she is sent to the Cape she will be out of the way & so her Orders will be Rendred Ineffectual. 7 If she should be sent she may be lost or taken either in going or Returning 8 If she gets safe & no News may have been left there of what has lately happened in Europe it may Induce the Captains to go home with the Dutch Fleet which Perhaps may be Contrary to the Companys Intentions & may lead them into Danger instead of Security because the Honble Company tells Us they will send Men of Warr for their Safety & Protection. 9 We are Apprehensive if she is sent & is neither lost or taken that Notwithstanding she may be Detained at the Cape there not being as we know of any Instance sending small Crafts from hence thither upon occasions more Extraordinary than this not even in time of Actual Warr when early Intelligence is a matter of the Considerable Importance. 10 Should either of the Incidents before mentioned Happen the Honble Company must lose the Benefit And Advantage of such News as She is appointed to carry them from hence on the last of April & of Consequence that may be to them, neither of Us Pretend to know, it may Prove very bad and we are sure it would highly exasperate & Provoke them. 11 Its great Presumption in Us even to think that each of Our Honble Masters should forgett to Order her to Proceed from hence thither. Doubtless they did not, and as they did not, they thought it Needless she should & Proceed | The continuation of the written opinions: 5 continued: May be the other on 9 August, and as hostilities had been committed on both sides before they sailed, their principals had doubtless given them directions for their necessary security of their homeward-bound shipping. 6: If it should be thought proper to send the yacht there, the council had no power to give the captains any orders or directions as to what to do, and in its opinion it was not at liberty so much as to offer advice in this case. 7: The council was told that the store ship would be sent as soon as possible, and it was very probable she had been sent a short time after the yacht, so that the council might daily expect her, and it was likely she might carry particular directions for the yacht herself. If the yacht was sent to the Cape she would be out of the way and her orders would be made ineffectual. 8: If she were sent she might be lost or taken either in going or returning. 9: If she arrived safely and no news had been left there of what had lately happened in Europe, it might encourage the captains to sail home with the Dutch fleet, which perhaps ran contrary to the Company's intentions and might lead them into danger instead of security, because the Company told the council it would send men of war for their safety and protection. 10: The council was apprehensive that if she were sent, neither lost nor taken, she might be detained at the Cape, there being no instance known of sending a small vessel from this place on occasions more extraordinary than the present, not even in time of actual war, when early intelligence was a matter of considerable importance. 11: Should either of the incidents before mentioned happen, the Company must lose the benefit and advantage of such news as she was appointed to carry from hence on the last of April, and as a consequence of that it might be told it had no need to pretend to know, and it might prove very bad, and the council was sure it would highly exasperate and provoke the Company. 12: It was a great presumption to think that each of the Company's masters should have forgotten to direct the yacht to go to the Cape. If they did not, doubtless they did not think it necessary. And as they did not, the council thought it needless that she should proceed. Interpretations The twelve written objections to sending the yacht to the Cape constitute the most formal exercise of collective council opinion in this run of consultations. The arguments range across jurisdiction, operational risk, the likelihood that the information was already known, the risk of capture or detention and the danger of contradicting instructions the Company had already given its captains. Point 9 is the most strategically acute, noting that encouraging commanders to sail with the Dutch fleet might be precisely the opposite of what the Company intended if its own men of war were coming out to convoy them. Point 11 identifies the institutional risk: if the yacht were lost or detained, the Company would lose the use of a vessel appointed to carry dispatches from the island at the end of April, a regular service the council had no authority to interrupt. The enumerated format of the objections, with each numbered point addressing a distinct argument, is unusual in this record. Most council opinions were delivered in discursive prose, as in the written answers on lewdness of 10 February 1736 or the separate land survey reports. The numbered structure here reflects a formal rebuttal of a specific motion rather than an advisory opinion on a general question, and it was almost certainly designed to be included in the general letter to the Court as a demonstration that the council had considered the matter thoroughly before declining to act. |
436 | 428 | Proceed any farther, if they had they would have Ordered it accordingly, for as to Point of time, they Certainly know better than Us, that she may go from hence thither & be back again, Probably long before the last of April. 12 When she was here before upon the like Occasion the Honble Company did not give Orders for her Proceeding farther, they thought it not Necessary, for to be sure they did not forget then & now too. This Therefore to Us is a strong Reason why she should not be sent farther but Remain here as the Company have Directed. 13 Doubtless the Honble Company will be strongly inclined to believe that the Pretence of Sending Intelligence is only to Conceale a present or to settle some other Clandestine Trade when we act in such a rash manner not only without but actually against their Orders & we think we ought Carefully to avoid every thing that may give them the least Umbrage or Offence. 14 And a Supply of Provisions which she may bring Us at her Return it would be so small when Divided among so many that we believe the Honble Company will be apt to Conclude that if they could do with it, they might shift without it, & Consequently that the Voyage was not Necessary upon any such Account which in our Oppinion will Confirm the Suspicions mentioned in the Preceeding Article & of Course will Occasion such Reflections to be made upon our Conduct that in no Art can be favourable, but in the End may prove fatal to Us. 15 The Honble Company in Consideration of the loss & Prejudice the Inhabitants have lately Sustained by their Ships touching & Supplying themselves with Provisions at the Cape have for many Years Past Positively forbid their Homeward bound Shiping to put in there at all, & have also frequently Acquainted Us, that they had laid their Captains under this Injunction in a very strict Manner & we look upon it as a thing next to Certain that they gave their Captains the same Orders last year, if the Captains Should break these Orders the fault is theirs not Ours. We therefore knowing this think Ourselves unpardonable. Should we Consent to her being sent thither how Specious soever the Pretence for sending her may Seemingly Appear, for sure we are if they Obey their Orders | 12 continued: If they had thought it necessary, they certainly knew better than the council whether she could go from there to the Cape and return, probably long before the last of April. When she was there before on a like occasion, the Company did not give orders for her proceeding further, thinking it not necessary, and the council was sure they did not forget then or now. This was therefore a strong reason why she should not be sent further but remain there as the Company had directed. 13: The Company would doubtless be strongly inclined to believe that the pretence of sending intelligence was only to conceal a present purpose or to conduct some other clandestine trade, when the council acted in such a manner not only without authority but actually against the Company's orders. The council thought it ought carefully to avoid everything that might give the least offence. 14: The supply of provisions she might bring on her return would be so small when divided among so many that the Company would be able to conclude that if it could be done without, the voyage was not necessary. Consequently that conclusion would confirm the suspicions mentioned in the preceding article, and would of course occasion such reflections on the council's conduct that nothing could be favourable but in the end might prove fatal. 15: The Company, in consideration of the losses and damage the inhabitants had lately sustained through their ships touching and supplying themselves with provisions at the Cape, had for many years positively forbidden their homeward-bound shipping to put in there at all, and had frequently informed the council that they had laid their captains under this injunction in a very strict manner. The council looked upon it as a thing next to certain that the Company gave its captains the same orders the previous year. If the captains should break those orders the fault was not the council's. Knowing this, the council thought breaking the orders unpardonable. Should the council consent to the yacht being sent there, the pretence for sending her might seemingly appear fair, but the council was sure that if the captains obeyed their orders Interpretations Point 13 anticipates the Company's likely interpretation of an unauthorised voyage to the Cape as a cover for private trade, and the fact that the council raised this argument in a formal written opinion shows how well the members understood the suspicions routinely directed at Company servants in remote postings. The same concern had shaped the earlier confinement of foreign crews to the anchorage in January 1739, where the council explicitly chose containment over exclusion to keep the commercial benefit of foreign shipping while guarding against espionage. Here the calculus runs the other way: the appearance of acting without authority, even for a legitimate purpose, would create greater institutional damage than the benefit of the intelligence delivered. Point 15 addresses the standing prohibition on homeward shipping touching the Cape, a restriction the Company had maintained for years because Cape watering diverted trade away from St Helena and cut into the island's revenue from ships' provisions. The council's observation that if the captains obeyed their orders they would not be at the Cape to receive any intelligence the yacht might carry makes the whole enterprise self-defeating on its own terms, since the only commanders who would benefit were those who had already broken their instructions by stopping there. |
437 | 429 | which is allways the Safest Course. She must miss every one of them. 16 In or about the month of November 1739 the Prince Frederick arrived here from India & Pursuant to the Honble Companys Directions the Captain was immediately served with an Order to stay till more Ships should come, some short after Captain Wilson also arrived from Mocha & he was Served with the same Order & he Determined to obey it which he Punctually Did, & in Our oppinion his Prudence in adhering to his Orders was not only commendable but Proved his Security too. 17 For as soon as the Captain of the Prince Frederick was ready for the Sea he sailed from hence alone, Notwithstanding a Protest of the then Governour & Council to the Contrary, the other Ship Commanded by Captain Wilson Stayed till the Number of Ships arrived with whom he was Permitted to Saile... 18 We have heard that the Honble Company very much Approved of Captains Wilsons Conduct in Obeying his Orders & he was Employed Afterwards, but we have been told that the other Captain who Refused to Observe them has never since been Entertained in their Service & that among others his Breach of Orders was urged as one of the Principal Objections against him... 19 For the Reasons above mentioned we are of Oppinion she ought not to be sent but to remain here till the 30 of April next according to the Orders the the Honble Company have lately given & we cannot believe that a good Intention or Appearance of Zeale can be Sufficient for Our Justification when we act Unwarrantably.- D Crispe John Bazett To the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esq & Council of the Island St Helena Worshipfull Sir & Sirs As I have the Honour to sett at this Board I beg leave to offer my Humble Oppinion in a matter as I conceive of the Utmost Consequence to Our Honble Masters. As they have been Pleased to be at an Extraordinary Trouble & Expence in sending to | Which was always the safest course, she must miss every one of them. 16: In about the month of November 1739 the Prince Frederick arrived from India, and pursuant to the Company's directions the captain was immediately served with an order to stay until more ships should come. Some time after that, Captain Wilson also arrived from Mocha and was served with the same order, which he was determined to obey, and he punctually did so. In the council's opinion his prudence in adhering to his orders was not only commendable but proved his security too. 17: As soon as the captain of the Prince Frederick was ready for sea, he sailed from hence alone, notwithstanding a protest from the then Governor and council to the contrary. The other ship commanded by Captain Wilson stayed until the number of ships arrived with whom he was permitted to sail. 18: The council had heard that the Company very much approved of Captain Wilson's conduct in obeying his orders, and that he was employed afterwards. But the council had been told that the other captain who refused to observe his orders had never since been entertained in the Company's service, and that among others his breach of orders was urged as one of the principal objections against him. 19: For the reasons above mentioned, the council was of the opinion that the yacht ought not to be sent but should remain there until the last of April next, according to the orders the Company had lately given. The council could not believe that a good intention or an appearance of zeal could be sufficient justification for acting without authority. Signed: D Crisp, John Bazett. To the Worshipful John Goodwin Esq., Governor and Council of the Island St Helena. Worshipful Sir and Sirs, having the honour to sit at this board, leave was asked to offer a humble opinion in a matter conceived to be of the utmost consequence to the Company's masters. As they had been pleased to be at an extraordinary trouble and expense in sending Interpretations Points 16 to 18 turn to a historical precedent from the island's own record to clinch the argument. The Prince Frederick affair dates from December 1729, when Captain Peacham gave notice he would sail on 11 December in defiance of the convoy orders and the council entered a formal protest against him, reciting its commission from the Court of Directors. The council had long held this episode as a touchstone for the limits of its authority over Company commanders, noting on 10 January 1733 that it had laid a large anchor on the long back to the westward of the road so that ships could heave in without excuse rather than repeating the command they had defied. The contrast between Wilson's obedience and its reward and Peacham's defiance and its consequences gave the council a concrete illustration that following orders, even inconvenient ones, was the safer career choice as well as the correct one. Point 19 closes the formal opinion with an argument that directly echoes the council's recurrent anxiety about acting outside its commission. It had made the same point in the convoy disputes of 1727 to 1729, when it noted that its only sanction against a departing captain was a file sent home for the Company's judgement. A good intention was not a defence, and the council's written opinion ensured that both the intention and the decision against acting on it were on the record for the Court to assess. |
438 | 430 | to Us the India Yatch to advise of the Impending Warr in Europe, And order that their Detaining Ships shall carry here untill their further Directions; it appears to me Evidently, that their Honours are Apprehensive of Danger, Else they would not be this Particular, and Consequently it behoves Us to take all Measures that Human Reason can Suggest & is in Our Power to Execute, to divert their Danger, & Prevent their Ships meeting with any Accident... And as we have the Honble Companys Yatch, whose Expence is running on Whether She Continue in the Road, or Whether She be sent elsewhere, I Humbly Offer that some Expedient may be found to Dispose of her so as She may be still Serviceable to the Honble Calpynany. And with Submission, I advise that She be immediately Dispatched to the Cape, which I apprehend will be attended with a Double Conveniency. First as it may Inform every one of our Shipping who may touch there this Year of the Unsettled State of Affairs in Europe, and the Orders that we have Received from Our Masters relating to them, which may be enclosed in a Letter of Ours. Advising them not to leave the Cape Singly, but either to make up a Fleet of themselves, or else to come with the Dutch Fleet, who generally make this Island. My Reason is this; that as all the World know our Homeward Bound Shipping allways touch at this Island, to which there is but one Road, how easy a matter is it for an Enemys Privateer, or other Ship of War to bush to windward of this Place, keeping in its Latitude, where they are almost sure of Taking our Ships one by one as they fall in their way. I say is very Possible the Enemy may have such a Design, And the Probability of its Succeeding makes it the more to be Suspected.- The other Conveniency will be this; that as we may Reasonably Immagine several Ships will lay a very Considerable time in this Road, at least untill the Fleet is made up; And this Island not having yet recovered the late Preceeding dry Years, it is not in a Capacity to Supply them with a Sufficiency of Provisions. We may in Our Letter to the Cape advise the Commanders therewith, and desire they will bring down as many Sheep as they Possibly can stow in their Ships, which will | The separate opinion continued, addressed to the Governor and council. The Company had been at great trouble and expense in sending the India yacht to advise of the impending war in Europe, and to order their returning ships to remain there until further directions. It appeared clearly that the Court was apprehensive of danger, for otherwise it would not have taken this particular step. Consequently it behoved the council to take all the measures that human reason could suggest, and that were within its power to execute, to divert the danger and prevent the ships meeting with any accident. Since the Company's yacht was lying in the road at the daily expense of remaining there, and since the question was whether she should continue in the road or be sent elsewhere, it was humbly offered that some expedient might be found to make her still serviceable to the Company. With submission, the opinion was that she be immediately dispatched to the Cape, which would be attended with a double advantage. First, she might inform every one of the shipping that touched there of the unsettled state of affairs in Europe and of the orders received from the Company, conveying those orders to them, which might be enclosed in a letter of advice, and advising them not to leave the Cape singly but either to make up a fleet of themselves or else to come with the Dutch fleet, who generally made that island their own. The reason was that as all the world knew that homeward-bound shipping always touched at the island, how easy a matter it was for an enemy privateer or other ship of war to cruise to windward of the place, keeping in its latitude, where they were almost sure of taking the ships one by one as they fell in their way. It was very possible the enemy might have such a design, and the probability of its succeeding made it the more to be guarded against. The other advantage would be this: that as several ships might reasonably be expected to lie a considerable time in the road, at least until the fleet was made up, and the island not having yet recovered from the preceding dry years, it was not in a position to supply them with a sufficiency of provisions. The letter to the Cape might advise the commanders and desire they would bring down as many sheep as they possibly could stow in their ships, which Interpretations George Gabriel Powell's separate opinion in favour of sending the yacht to the Cape rests on two arguments that Crisp and Bazett's written objections had not fully addressed. The first is tactical: homeward shipping invariably touched at St Helena, which made the island's latitude a natural cruising ground for an enemy privateer seeking to intercept vessels one by one. A warning at the Cape would enable commanders to form a convoy before reaching the danger zone rather than after. The second is logistical: the island had not recovered from the drought years and could not feed a large fleet lying in the road. Sending to the Cape to ask commanders to bring sheep down with them was a practical way of supplementing the island's depleted stores before the anchorage filled. Powell's framing of his opinion as addressed to the Governor and council, in the third person rather than as a collegial contribution, reflects his position as the most recently appointed member and perhaps the one most conscious of his novelty on the board. His argument is the more commercially and operationally minded of the two positions, focused on what the ships would need when they arrived and on the strategic vulnerability of the route, while Crisp and Bazett's case was primarily constitutional, resting on the limits of the council's authority. Speculations Powell's revival of the Cape proposal on the Thursday evening after the Governor had already decided against it, and his subsequent insistence on a formal written hearing, put the Governor in an uncomfortable position that the procedural outcome did not fully resolve. The written opinions were recorded, Powell's dissent was preserved on the record, and the majority view prevailed, but the episode left Powell as the visible advocate for a course the rest of the council had rejected. If the homeward fleet suffered losses that a Cape warning might have prevented, Powell's opinion would become the council's best evidence that it had at least considered the risk. The timing of his intervention, late in the evening and after the matter appeared settled, raises the question of whether he had learned something from the yacht's captain or from another source that had not yet reached the full board, though the record gives no basis for that inference and it is not pursued here. |
439 | 431 | will not only lessen their Expence of Provisions here, but will Enable them to Supply their Friends, both which will ease Us in a very great Degree... Let Us Consider, the Duke was Dispatched from England the 23 May last, & the Royall Guardian the 8th of August, by both of Whom its highly Probable the Company may have sent the Needfull Advises to be Lodged at the Cape for their Returning Shiping. Admitting that, yett, it is not Impossible, but Really Probable that those Ships may Never have been there, for as the Duke was Dispatched the 23 May, we may Reasonably Suppose She was the Length of the Cape by the 23 of August, which is a time of Year when there is no Certainty, or hardly any Possibility of going into the Cape, where tis the Depth of Winter. The Royall Guardian was Dispatched the 8th of August a Single Ship; Should we rely altogether upon her touching at the Cape in a matter of this Importance, when her Passage thither is liable to so many Impediments, such as foundering at Sea, or otherwise Disabled & Obliged to put into some Port to refit, or might as she is a Single Ship be taken by the Enemy, Or allowing She got the length of the Cape, might Probably meet with such Weather there, which is at all times Uncertain, as would not Suffer her to Venture into the Table Bay, And many other unforeseen Accidents may happen which may at least very much retard, if not Intirely Obstruct the Companys Advises. After all I hope these Arguments may be allowed not to put too great a Confidence in the belief that either of those two Ships have Arrived at the Cape... Again, as it may be Objected that the Honble Company have Positively Ordered that Yatch should be Dispatched to them from hence by the last of April, and She may not Return in time, by which means they may be Disappointed. I can only Answer, that a Stay of eight & forty Hours will be very Sufficient for her at the Cape, as she has only to lodge our Letters there. And she has good following her 2 Days hence to get ready 93 days, 26 of which lay she is in going to the Cape, 2 Days her Stay there, & 17 days returning, in all 45 Days, so that there is 47 days remaining, by this Calcalato, which I Presume will be thought Sufficient to allow for all Accidents, And to Dispatch her to the Company by the time | The opinion continued. Bringing sheep down would not only lessen the expense of provisions on the island but would enable the commanders to supply their friends, both of which would ease matters to a very great degree. Considering that the Duke had been sent from England on 23 May and the Royal Guardian on 9 August, both of which it was highly probable the Company had used to lodge the necessary advices at the Cape for their returning shipping, it had to be admitted that while it was not impossible, it was really probable that those ships might never have been there. As the Duke was sent on 23 May, it could reasonably be supposed she had reached the length of the Cape by 23 August, which was a time of year when there was no certainty, or hardly any possibility, of going into the Cape, it being the depth of winter. The Royal Guardian had been sent on 9 August, and relying altogether on her touching at the Cape in a matter of this importance was liable to so many impediments, such as fouling at sea or otherwise being disabled and obliged to put into some port to refit, or as a single ship being taken by the enemy. Or allowing she got to the length of the Cape, she might perhaps meet with such weather there, which was at all times uncertain, as would not suffer her to venture into Table Bay, and many other unforeseen accidents might happen which might at least very much delay, if not entirely obstruct, the Company's advices. After all, it was hoped these arguments might be allowed not to put too great a confidence in the belief that either of those two ships had arrived at the Cape. Again, as it might be objected that the Company had positively ordered the yacht to be sent to them from the island by the last of April, and that she might not return in time, the answer was that a stay of eight or forty hours would be very sufficient for her at the Cape, since she had only to lodge the letters there. The island had eight days following her two days' preparation to get ready, making 26 days in all, of which two days were spent going to the Cape, two days for her stay there and 17 days returning, making in all 43 days, so that there were 17 days remaining. By this calculation there would be, it was presumed, sufficient time to allow for all accidents and to send her to the Company by the Interpretations Powell's arithmetical demonstration that the voyage to the Cape and back could be accomplished within the time before the yacht's scheduled departure on the last of April was the strongest practical argument in his opinion, and one that Crisp and Bazett had not addressed directly. Their point 10 had noted apprehension about the yacht being detained at the Cape, but Powell countered that a stay of eight to forty hours was all that was needed to lodge the letters, and that 17 days of margin remained after the journey was complete. The calculation assumed favourable weather and no impediment, but it was a reasonable estimate for a fast dispatch vessel in summer conditions. The argument that neither the Duke nor the Royal Guardian could confidently be relied upon to have reached the Cape builds on the seasonal reality of Cape navigation. Table Bay in winter, roughly April to September in the southern hemisphere, was notoriously difficult to enter in bad weather, and the August dispatch of the Royal Guardian placed her arrival at the Cape in what Powell correctly identified as the depth of winter. The risk of a single ship being taken, disabled or weatherbound was genuine, and the Company's reliance on two vessels sent months apart as the sole channel of intelligence to the homeward fleet left a larger gap in the warning system than the majority opinion had acknowledged. |
440 | 432 | Time Appointed with the News from India, & Abstracts of Cargoes as they have Orderd. Tis true we have no Orders to send this Vessel to the Cape, And if she should meet with an Accident what should we say in Excuse to Our Masters? But this I Apprehend to be the Very point to be Discussed, for had we Orders it would Admitt of no Argument. The Generality of the World indeed Judges of things by the Success of them, But I thank God we have a Company of Gentlemen Our Honble Masters, who are Used to Judge more Charitably of their Servants Actions, And always look upon them According to the Intention. I am Persuaded there is not one at that this Board but would Prosecute our Masters Interest to the Utmost of Our Power, But still there is none of Us Infallible, we are Liable to Mistakes. And Perhaps I may labour under a grand one at this Instant, when I Declair it is my Humble Oppinion that for the Better Security of the Honble Companys Shipping the India Yatch should be immediately sent to the Cape with the Proper Advises. And this my Humble Oppinion I Request may be Enterd in Consultation of this Day. I am with the Greatest Esteem Worshipfull Sir & Sirs Union Castle Your most Obedient Humble 26 Janry 1739 Servant G G Powells My Oppinion being Required upon the Question whether it would be Proper or not to send the Yatch to the Cape to Acquaint Our homeward bound Shiping with the News She lately brought hither, I give my negative thereto for the following Reasons. 1 The Yatch was here once before upon the like occasion & then the Honble Company did not Order her to Proceed to the Cape after She had Delivered her Dispatches here but Ordered her to Return with a Certain Number of their homeward bound Shiping. 2 | The opinion continued. The yacht was to be sent to the Company in time, with the news from India and abstracts of cargoes as the Company had ordered. It was true that there were no orders to send the vessel to the Cape, and if she should meet with an accident what should be said in excuse to the Company? But this was apprehended to be the very point to be discussed, for had there been orders it would admit of no argument. The generality of the world indeed judged things by the success of them, but it was to be thanked that there was a company of gentlemen whose masters were used to judge more charitably of their servants' actions, and always looked upon them according to the intention. There was not one at the board who would not pursue the Company's interest to the utmost of his power, but as none was infallible, all were liable to mistakes, and perhaps this was a grand one at this moment. It was therefore declared as a humble opinion that for the better security of the Company's shipping, the India yacht should be immediately sent to the Cape with the proper advices. This humble opinion was requested to be entered in the consultation of that day. With the greatest esteem, Worshipful Sir and Sirs, your most obedient humble servant. Union Castle, 26 January 1740 [new style]. G G Powell. Governor Goodwin then delivered his own opinion on the question of whether it would be proper to send the yacht to the Cape to acquaint the homeward-bound shipping with the news she had lately brought, giving his reasons for declining to do so as follows. 1: The yacht had been at the island once before on a like occasion, and the Company had not ordered her to go to the Cape after she had delivered her dispatches there, but had ordered her to return with a certain number of their homeward-bound shipping. Interpretations Powell's closing acknowledgement that sending the yacht without orders might be a grand mistake, and his simultaneous insistence that the Company would judge the act by its intention rather than its outcome, is the most candid passage in the entire debate. He did not claim certainty; he claimed that a benevolent master would weigh the motive. That argument was precisely what Crisp and Bazett had rejected in their point 19, which held that a good intention was not a sufficient justification for acting without authority. The disagreement was not about whether the Company would suffer if the homeward fleet was attacked without warning, but about whether acting outside the council's commission, however well-intentioned, would be judged more harshly than the inaction it replaced. The Governor's introduction of his own separate opinion, numbered from point 1 onward, shows that he did not regard the majority position of Crisp and Bazett as settling the matter without his own considered addition to the record. His reference to the yacht's earlier visit and the Company's previous instruction to return rather than proceed to the Cape supplied a direct precedent that neither of the other written opinions had used, drawing on the island's own experience rather than on general arguments about authority and risk. |
441 | 433 | 2nd As they did not then nor have not now given Us any Power or Authority to send her to the Cape or elsewhere I think she Ought to Remain here according to such Orders Our Honble Masters have given about her. 3 When Mr Crispe was Secretary I was in the Office with him & very Carefully read over all the Generall Letters & all the Laws the Honble Company have appointed for the Government of this Island & the Rules by them laid down with Regard to their Shiping, & therein I do not Remember any President to warrant sending this Vessel farther. 4 And we Certain Advise that a Number of Ships more or less belonging to the Enemy were Plying to Windward to Intercept Our own in such a Case, Perhaps I should be of Oppinion to send her thither though the Danger of Acting against Order is exactly great. For a Remarkable Instance of it I Remember a Passage in Bishop Burnets History of his Life & times which to me seems to have some Relations to the Present Case, its in the second Volume, Page 387 in the following words Vizt Rook sailed into the Straits where he Believed he was Strong Enough for the Toulon Squadron, which was then abroad in the Mediterranean. Soon After that a Strong Suadron from Brest Passed by Lisbon Into the Straits, Methuen Our Ambassador there, Apprehending that if these two Squadrons should Join and Attack Rook, it would not be Possible for him to fight against so great a force, sent a Man of Warr that Rook had Left at Lisbon, with some Particular Orders, which made him very Unwilling to Carry the Message, but Methuen Promised to save him Harmless & upon that Sailed through the French Fleet, & brought this Important Advertisement to Rook, who told him that on this Occasion he would Pass by his not Observing his Orders, but that for the future, he would find the Safest Course was to Obey Orders. J Goodwin Junt The Governour further Reports that having well weighed & Deliberated upon the | 2: As the Company had not then nor had now given any power or authority to send the yacht to the Cape or elsewhere, it was thought she ought to remain there in accordance with such orders as the Company's masters had given about her. 3: When Mr Crisp was secretary, every general letter and all the laws the Company had appointed for the government of the island and the rules laid down with regard to their shipping had been very carefully gone through, and no precedent could be remembered to warrant sending the vessel further. 4: And if certain news were received that a number of ships more or less belonging to the enemy were cruising to windward to intercept the homeward-bound fleet, perhaps the opinion would be to send the yacht there even though the danger of acting against orders was easily as great. As a remarkable instance of such a situation, a passage was recalled from Bishop Burnet's History of His Own Times, which seemed to have some relation to the present case. It was in the second volume, page 387, in the following words: Sir George Rooke sailed into the Straits where he received news he was strong enough for the Toulon squadron, which was then abroad in the Mediterranean. Soon after that a strong squadron from Brest passed by Lisbon into the Straits, which the ambassador there, apprehending that these two squadrons should join and attack Rooke, made it impossible for him to fight against so great a force. He sent a man of war that Rooke had left at Lisbon with some particular orders, which made him very unwilling to carry the message, but Methuen promised to save him harmless for having sailed through the French fleet, and brought this important advertisement to Rooke, who told him that on this occasion he would pass by his not observing his orders, but that for the future he would find the safest course was to obey orders. Signed: J Goodwin junior. Governor Goodwin further reported that having well weighed and deliberated upon the Interpretations The Governor's citation of Burnet's History of His Own Times is the most literary moment in this entire run of consultations, and it is significant that the passage chosen describes a commander being persuaded to carry a vital message in defiance of his orders, being promised indemnity and then being told by the admiral he had saved that obedience would always be the safer course for the future. The lesson drawn is not that initiative should never be taken in emergencies but that when it is taken without orders, the actor depends entirely on the goodwill of the superior to be saved harmless, which is a precarious position. Applied to the yacht question, the Governor's point is that even if sending the yacht to the Cape turned out well, the council would still be in the position of the reluctant messenger: thanked perhaps, but reminded that obedience was always safer. John Goodwin junior's signature on this opinion, rather than his father's, is notable. The Governor chose to have his fifth and youngest councillor deliver the argument that drew on the historical example, perhaps to mark the new member's first formal contribution to a written debate, or perhaps because the precedent from Burnet had been suggested in conversation and the Governor thought it more fitting that the opinion carry the name of the person who had found or recalled it. |
442 | 434 | the Several Arguments made Use of for & against sending her to the Cape is himself of Oppinion that the sending of her thither would be Acting against the Orders of the Honble Company & Consequently that She ought not to be sent. At a Consultation held on Thursday 31 January 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett G G Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read And Approved The Govr Reports that on the 8th Instant arrived the Deputy Captain late from Mocha, And that last night he reced the following Letter Vizt To his Worship John Goodwin Governour & Council Sir & Sirs I Received your Letter of the 8th of this Instant which I shall have a Particular Regard to, And likewise a Copy of a Letter from Our Honble Masters of the Secret Committy, whose Orders I shall | Having weighed the several arguments made for and against sending the yacht to the Cape, the Governor was himself of the opinion that sending her there would be acting against the orders of the Company, and consequently that she ought not to be sent. A consultation was held on Thursday 31 January 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, G G Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The Governor reported that on the 17th the Deputy Governor had arrived there from Mocha, and that the previous night he had received the following letter. To his Worship John Goodwin, Governor and Council. Sir and Sirs, The letter stated that the writer had received the Governor's letter of the 29th of that month, which would be carefully attended to. Enclosed was a copy of a letter from the Court's Secret Committee, whose orders Interpretations The Governor's personal conclusion, delivered after reading all four written opinions including Powell's dissent, is terse and decisive: sending the yacht would be acting against the Company's orders, and consequently she ought not to go. The framing is identical to Crisp and Bazett's point 19, which the Governor had effectively endorsed while allowing the full exchange of written opinions to proceed. The episode is therefore unusual in this record not because the majority view prevailed, which was predictable from the opening, but because the Governor permitted a dissenting opinion to be formally entered and allowed each member to speak before closing the question. That procedural generosity had a practical benefit: if the homeward fleet suffered, the council's record showed it had considered the risk and declined to act outside its commission, rather than having ignored the question entirely. The arrival of the Deputy Governor from Mocha closes a gap in the council's intelligence. Mocha was the Red Sea coffee port where the Company's ships called on both outward and homeward passages, and a captain returning from there would have recent news of the European situation as it had appeared in the eastern trade, supplementing what the India yacht had brought directly from the Court. The letter from the Secret Committee, whose orders are about to follow, indicates that the Company had used a separate and more restricted channel to communicate instructions it did not wish to circulate through the general letter, a distinction the council had encountered before in relation to convoy and intelligence matters. |
443 | 435 | Shall take Care to follow. I must now make bold to Acquaint You that I shall be Ready for Sailing on the 31 of this Instant therefore Desire I may be Supplied with Beef according to Our Charty Party Agreement with the Honble Company. If there is Orders from the Honble Court of Directors for being Detained here, as I have been informed by your Worship &c there is, I beg a Copy of the Said or Permission to see them. I am Sir & Sirs St Helena Janry 31 1739 Your most Obedient And very Humble Servant Thomt Cartes To which We Returned the following Answer Vizt Sir We Acknowledge the Receipt of Yours of the 30 Instant wherein You Acquaint Us that You shall be Ready for Sailing this Day. Desiring we would Deliver You the Quantity of Beef which You say the Company have Agreed to Supply You by Charter Party, And likewise to see the Orders from the Honble Court of Directors for Detaining You here to the first of which we Answer that we do do all Doubtless as soon as may be. As to Your Request of Charter Party Beef we are Sorry to say that what by the Loss of great Numbers of Cattle who have Perished by the Drought of the More Preceeding Years and other Accidents incident thereto We have it not & therefore cannot Comply with what You require. This Scarcity was but too Visible last Year And Accordingly wrote Our Honble Masters that we should not be able to Supply their Shiping with more than half their Quantity of Charter Party Beef And that Sir we have Orderd shall be Delivered You. The Authority we have Received from the Honble Court of Directors for Detaining Your Ships here untill their further Order You have Seen in Our General Letter to Us. And for Your greater Satisfaction we | The letter continued, stating that the writer must now make bold to acquaint the council that he would be ready to sail on the 31st of that month and therefore asked to be supplied with beef according to the charter party agreement with the Company. If there were orders from the Court of Directors for being detained there, as the Governor had informed him there were, the writer asked for a copy of the said permission to see them. Sir and Sirs, your most obedient and very humble servant. St Helena, January 31 1740 [new style]. Thomas Cartes. To which the council returned the following answer. Sir, the council acknowledged the receipt of the letter of the 30th of that month, in which the writer had acquainted it that he would be ready to sail that day. Desiring to deliver the quantity of beef the Company had agreed to supply by charter party, and likewise to show the orders from the Court of Directors for detaining the vessel there, the council would answer the first of these to the best of its ability as soon as it could be. As to the request for charter party beef, the council was sorry to say that through the loss of great numbers of cattle which had perished in the drought of the several preceding years and other accidents incidental to that, it was not in a position to comply with what was asked. This scarcity had been only too visible the previous year, and the council had accordingly written to the Company's masters that it would not be able to supply their shipping with more than half their charter party quantity of beef. And the beef that was to be delivered was the authority received from the Court of Directors for detaining the vessel there until further orders, which had been seen in the general letter to the council. And for greater satisfaction Interpretations The charter party beef obligation returns as the central operational problem it had been throughout 1739. Captain Cartes of the detained vessel was entitled by his charter party to a fixed quantity of beef, and the council could not provide it. The council had written to the Company in May 1739 that it could not supply ships with more than half their charter party quantity, and that warning was now being put to the test with a vessel held in the road against its captain's will and unable to obtain the provisions the contract required. The obligation to detain the ship and the obligation to provision it were pulling in opposite directions, and the council could satisfy neither fully. The captain's request to see the orders detaining him reflects the same challenge the council had faced with Captain Wilson of the Morice in December 1729, when Wilson demanded the written clause empowering the council to detain a single ship and the council replied only that the instructions were plain, declining to produce the document. Here the council's response was different: it offered to show the orders, citing the general letter, and acknowledged the difficulty openly rather than standing on authority alone. The change in tone reflects both the gravity of the war situation and the fact that this captain, unlike Wilson, was not trying to sail but was simply asking to understand the legal basis of his detention. |
444 | 436 | We herewith send You a Copy of the same, Wherein You'll Perceive they are very Plain & Positive And ought to be Punctually Observed. At a Consultation held on Friday 1 of Febry 1739 at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read & Approved We this day Granted & Signed one Sett of Bills of Exchange payable to Geo Gab Powell or order for the Sum of five hundred Pounds Sterling, for the like Sum paid into the Companys Cash here in the following Species Vizt Cash Notes £190 - - Pagodas 670 301 10 - Dollars 394 98 10 - £500 - - We this day granted & Signed one Sett of Bills of Exchange payable to John Goodwin Junt or order for the Sum of Three hundred Pounds Sterling, for the like Sum paid into the Companys Cash here in the following Species Vizt Venetians 420 £210 - - Dollars 108 27 - - Rupees 504 63 - - £300 - - We this day Granted & Signed one Sett of Bills of Exchange payable to Frances Wrangham Sent or order for the Sum of two hundred Pounds Sterling, for the like Sum paid into the Companys Cash here in the following Species Vizt Venetians 240 £120 - - Dollars 320 80 - - £200 - - We this day Granted & Signed one Sett of Bills of Exchange Payable to Charles Steward or Order for the Sum of Three hundred Pounds Sterling, for the like Sum paid into the Companys Cash here in the following Species Vizt Pagodas 240 £108 - - Dollars 219 53 10 - Venetians 220 110 - - Ducatoons 93 28 10 - £300 - - The Governour the Gunner & Steward delivered their Respective Accts for the Month of Janry last which were Severally Examined & proved and are as follows Vizt Account | The council herewith sent a copy of the same, wherein it would be perceived the orders were very plain and positive and ought to be punctually observed. A consultation was held on Friday 1 February 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, Geo. Gab. Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day granted and signed one set of bills of exchange payable to Geo. Gab. Powell, in order for the sum of £500 0s 0d sterling, for the like sum paid into the Company's cash in the following species: Cash notes, £100 0s 0d Pagodas 670, £301 10s 0d Dollars 394, £98 10s 0d Total, £500 0s 0d The council that day also granted and signed one set of bills of exchange payable to John Goodwin junior, in order for the sum of £300 0s 0d sterling, for the like sum paid into the Company's cash in the following species: Venetians 420, £210 0s 0d Dollars 108, £27 0s 0d Rupees 504, £63 0s 0d Total, £300 0s 0d The council that day also granted and signed one set of bills of exchange payable to Francis Wrangham, in order for the sum of £200 0s 0d sterling, for the like sum paid into the Company's cash in the following species: Venetians 240, £120 0s 0d Dollars 320, £80 0s 0d Total, £200 0s 0d The council that day also granted and signed one set of bills of exchange payable to Charles Steward, in order for the sum of £300 0s 0d sterling, for the like sum paid into the Company's cash in the following species: Pagodas 240, £108 0s 0d Dollars 214, £53 10s 0d Venetians 220, £110 0s 0d Ducatoons 93, £28 10s 0d Total, £300 0s 0d Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward delivered their respective accounts for January last, which were severally examined and approved and are as follows. Interpretations The four sets of bills of exchange drawn on the same day convert a total of £1,300 0s 0d of mixed currencies held by four individuals into sterling claims on the Court of Directors in London. The currencies appearing across the four transactions include cash notes, pagodas, dollars, venetians, rupees, ducatoons and one further denomination, together reflecting the full range of specie that circulated at St Helena through the Indian and China trades. The council had counted the Company's cash on 7 March 1739 at £1,051 14s 6.75d held across six currencies, so the present transactions drew on privately held coin rather than the Company's own chest. The exchange rates applied are consistent with those used throughout this record: pagodas at approximately 9 shillings, dollars at 5 shillings and venetians at approximately 10 shillings. Ducatoons, a Flemish silver coin worth approximately 6 shillings at the period, appear rarely in the island's bills, their presence here in Steward's payment suggesting coin that had arrived from a Dutch vessel rather than from the regular Indian trade. The bill of exchange mechanism allowed the island to absorb these foreign coins into the Company's accounts and convert them to London credit without the difficulty and danger of shipping specie home, which was the practical advantage the system offered to both the island and the individual holders. |
445 | 437 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Neat Cattle &ca for the Month of January 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goates, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining 1st January: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 24, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 62, Bulls: 4, Totall: 250, Ewes: 48, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 25, Rams: 4, Totall: 85, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 9, Kids: 13, Rams: 1, Totall: 45, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 30, Boares: 2, Totall: 53, Turkeys: 62, Fowles: 34, Ducks: 25, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Maires: 16, Totall: 23 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 3, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 5, Bulls: 0, Totall: 5, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 2, Rams: 0, Totall: 2, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 3, Rams: 0, Totall: 3, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 1, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 57, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 29, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totall: 255, Ewes: 48, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 27, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 9, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 45, Sows: 10, Shoates: 11, Pigs: 30, Boares: 2, Totall: 53, Turkeys: 62, Fowles: 111, Ducks: 25, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Maires: 16, Totall: 23 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 1, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 2, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 2, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 2, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 2, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 2, Boares: 0, Totall: 2, Turkeys: 2, Fowles: 24, Ducks: 6, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 28, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totall: 254, Ewes: 46, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 27, Rams: 4, Totall: 95, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 43, Sows: 10, Shoates: 10, Pigs: 30, Boares: 2, Totall: 52, Turkeys: 60, Fowles: 87, Ducks: 19, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Maires: 16, Totall: 23 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 2, Boares: 0, Totall: 2, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 31st January: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 28, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totall: 254, Ewes: 46, Weathers: 8, Lambs: 27, Rams: 4, Totall: 85, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totall: 43, Sows: 10, Shoates: 10, Pigs: 28, Boares: 2, Totall: 50, Turkeys: 60, Fowles: 87, Ducks: 19, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Maires: 16, Totall: 23 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 37000 | The Company's stock account for January 1740 [new style] was entered as follows. Remaining 1 January 1740: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 24 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 62 calves, 4 bulls, 250 neat cattle total [as entered]; 48 ewes, 8 wethers, 25 lambs, 4 rams, 85 sheep total [as entered]; 22 ewes, 9 wethers, 13 kids, 1 ram, 45 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 11 shoats, 30 pigs, 2 boars, 53 hogs total; 62 turkeys, 34 fowls, 25 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 7 horses, 16 mares, 23 horses and mares total Increased in January: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 5 calves, 0 bulls, 5 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 2 lambs, 0 rams, 2 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 3 kids, 0 rams, 3 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 57 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 29 heifers [as entered], 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 67 calves, 4 bulls, 255 neat cattle total [as entered]; 48 ewes, 8 wethers, 27 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total; 22 ewes, 9 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 48 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 11 pigs, 30 hogs [as entered], 1 boar, 2 boars [as entered]; 62 turkeys, 111 fowls, 25 ducks, 21 geese; 7 horses, 16 mares, 23 horses and mares total Killed in January: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 1 heifer, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 2 calves, 0 bulls, 2 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 2 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 2 goats [as entered]; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 1 pig, 0 boars, 1 hog; 0 turkeys, 22 fowls, 4 ducks, 6 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in January: 0 across all neat cattle classes; 0 across all sheep classes; 0 across all goat classes; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 2 hogs; 0 turkeys, 2 fowls, 2 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 31 January 1740: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 28 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 67 calves [as entered], 4 bulls, 254 neat cattle total [as entered]; 46 ewes [as entered], 8 wethers, 27 lambs, 4 rams, 85 sheep total [as entered]; 22 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 43 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 10 pigs, 28 hogs total [as entered], 2 boars; 60 turkeys, 87 fowls, 19 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 7 horses, 16 mares, 23 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 37,000 lb Interpretations The neat cattle total holds steady at around 254 head, continuing the recovery from the May 1739 crisis without any sale, the road being empty of homeward shipping. Five calves born and only three animals killed or died across the month confirm that the council's husbandry of the breeding stock was bearing fruit in the winter quarter. The bullock class remains at 22, unchanged since the September reclassification, and no attempt has been made to draw on it in the absence of ships to sell to. The fowl count more than doubled in January through a hatch of 57, the largest single-month increase since the August 1739 return of 20. The yard had been deliberately built up through the previous year to carry the fort table through the months when beef was unavailable, and a January hatch of this size suggests either a warm spell that encouraged laying or a planned clutch set in December specifically to produce January birds. Yams at 37,000 lb hold exactly level for the fourth consecutive month, from October through January, showing the autumn harvest fully established and the draw on stores precisely calibrated to what the estate was producing. The detained vessel in the road added no appreciable demand on the yam store, since ships were supplied with beef, bread, greens and fresh provisions rather than the staple that fed the island's own labour force. |
446 | 438 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of January 1739 Vizt Guns fired, Shot fired, 4 Pounders, 3 Pounders, 2 Pounders, Powder Expended Janry 7 19 An Allarm & arrived the India Yatch: Guns fired: 22, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 13, Powder Expended: 3¾ 27 An Allarm & arrived the Defence Capt Coates: Guns fired: 31, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 27, Powder Expended: 8¾ To Instruct the Gunners Crew: Guns fired: 12, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pounders: 12, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 36 Powder to fill the Garrisons Pouches & the Flying Partys: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 30 Powder to the Guard: Guns fired: 0, Shot fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 24 Totall: Guns fired: 65, Shot fired: 12, 4 Pounders: 16, 3 Pounders: 4, 2 Pounders: 4, Powder Expended: 451¾ Match 30 Paper 10 Qr Powder Harnes 3 Handspikes 6 Lead Balls 30th Spunge Staves 8 Toucths 3 Spunge Heads 8 Boudge Barrills 1 Rammer heads 7 Bills 2 Sheep Skins 10 Priming Wires 6 Expence of the Table in the Month of Janry 1739 Vizt 30 Galls Port 7 15 - 35 L Do Mountain 13 2 - 6 L Do Strong & Small Beer Do &ca 2 - 10 6 Do Do Ale 1 1 - 63th [...] Arrack 12 12 6 18 Bottles Oyle - 15 4 7 [...] Flour 1 17 6 - „ 2 „ - Bread - 14 - 1 [...] Sugar 2 5 3 3 Bushells Salt 1 10 - 1 [...] Caper - 1 - 75th Beef 1 8 9 60th Pork 1 10 - 60 & Butter 3 - - £ 38 19 2 | The gunner's stores expended in January 1740 [new style], with columns running guns fired, shot fired, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders and powder expended: 7 January, an alarm and the India yacht arrived, 22 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 13 lb powder [as entered] 27 January, an alarm and the Defence arrived, Captain Cartes, 31 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 27 two pounders, 89 lb powder [as entered] For instructing the gunner's crew, 12 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 12 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 36 lb powder Powder to fill the garrison pouches and the flying party pouches, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 30 lb powder Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 24 lb powder Total, 65 guns fired, 12 shot fired, 16 four pounders, 4 three pounders, 45 two pounders [as entered], 451 lb powder [as entered] Match, 20 lb Paper, 10 quires Handspikes, 6 Sponge staves, 8 Sponge heads, 8 Rammer heads, 7 Sheep skins, 10 Powder harness, 3 Lead balls, 30 lb Torchs, 3 Budge barrels, 1 Bills, 2 Priming wires, 6 The table account for January 1740 [new style]: 30 gallons of port, £7 15s 0d [as entered] 6 [...] gallons of mountain wine, £3 2s 0d [as entered] 35 [...] strong and small beer, £2 0s 10d [as entered] 6 [...] gallons of ale, £1 1s 0d [as entered] 63 lb [...] of arrack, £12 12s 6d [...] bottles of oil, £0 13s 4d [as entered] 7 [...] bottles [...], £1 17s 6d [as entered] [...] bread, £0 14s 0d [as entered] 1 lb of sugar, £2 5s 3d [as entered] 3 bushels of salt, £1 10s 0d 1 [...] of greens, £1 10s 0d 75 lb of beef, £1 8s 9d [as entered] 60 [...] lb of pork, £1 10s 0d [as entered] 60 lb of butter, £3 0s 0d [as entered] Total, £38 19s 2d [as entered] Interpretations The gunner's return for January is the most significant since May 1739. Two alarms and arrivals are recorded in the same month, the India yacht on 7 January and the Defence under Captain Cartes on 27 January, both drawing substantial salutes. The Defence received 31 guns on arrival, a larger salute than the 21 fired for the King's accession anniversary or the 20 fired at a senior officer's funeral, which marks the vessel as carrying a person of considerable rank or as arriving under circumstances that warranted an exceptional compliment. The return of the column heading for two pounders alongside the three pounders and four pounders shows the gunner recording a wider range of ordnance in use than in the previous months, when only four pounders had been listed. Filling the garrison pouches and the flying party pouches at 30 lb in a single charge is the first time the flying party appears as a named recipient in the monthly gunner's account, reflecting the quartering carried out on 22 January when the inhabitants and their slaves were assigned to specific posts including the flying parties. The 24 lb to the guard remains the standing charge, so the total powder expenditure of 451 lb is the heaviest since May 1739, almost entirely driven by the salutes. The appearance of a six-column table covering guns fired, shot fired, four pounders, three pounders, two pounders and powder expended shows the gunner classifying the island's guns in more detail than at any earlier point in this record, the additional columns reflecting the full range of pieces now in service across Lemon Valley, Sandy Bay, Turk's Cap, Rupert's and the castle. |
447 | 439 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 14th February 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Captain Thomas Coats of Ship Defence Duke Crispe 1st of Councl John Bazett 2d of Councl Geo Gab Powell 3d of Councl John Goodwin Junt 4th of Councl The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that on Friday last Susanah & Mary Pledger made complaint of Several seamen belonging to Ship Defence Vizt John Cuningham James Smart James Mayce, & James Seaton for putting them in fear and forcably Stoping & Assaulting them on the High Road with Design to Ravish them. Whereupon the said Mr Cuningham, James Smart, James Mayce, & James Seaton were Ordered to attend this day & they accordingly did where all parties being Present Mrs Susanah Pledger was Asked if she knew and could Sweare to the Persons of Mr Cuningham James Smart & James Mayce. She answered she would sweare to Mr Cuningham & James Mayce, but could not Positively Swear to James Smart she Verily believed him to be a Party Concerned, And she accordingly Deposed as follows Vizt St Helena ss Susana Pledger the Wife of Benj Pledger of this Island Planter saith upon Oath that on Friday the 9th Instant, as She & her Daughter Mary were going to her House in the Country they were Stoped upon the Road by Mr Cuningham, and that James Mayce & one other Person who this Deponent can not Positively Swear to but believes to be James Smart, Offered her a Qtr of Buckells & a Qtr of Gingham which She Refusing they laid Violent Hands upon her, And said that they would lay her Down & Strip her, & this Deponent said they should not, and that if they did not let her and her Daughter go, or continued to follow them, She would knock their Brains out. Notwithstanding which, they the said James Mayce & that other Person which this Deponent believes to be James Smart - Forcebly & with great Violence Dragg'd her out of the Road way, when this Deponent by main force | A consultation was held on Tuesday 4 February 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Captain Thomas Coats of the ship Defence, Duke Crisp as second of council, John Bazett as third of council, Geo. Gab. Powell as fourth of council and John Goodwin junior as fifth of council present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that on the previous Friday Susannah and Mary Pledger had made complaint against several seamen belonging to the ship Defence, namely John Cunningham, James Smart, James Moyce and James Seaton, for putting them in fear and forcibly stopping and assaulting them on the high road with intent to ravish them. Cunningham, Smart, Moyce and Seaton were accordingly summoned to attend that day, and they did so. With all parties present, Susannah Pledger was asked whether she knew and could swear to the persons of John Cunningham, James Smart and James Moyce. She answered she would swear to Cunningham and Moyce but could not positively swear to James Smart, though she very firmly believed him to be a party concerned. She accordingly deposed as follows. St Helena, [date]. Susanna Pledger, wife of Benjamin Pledger of this island, planter, deposed on oath that on the previous Friday the 9th [as entered] she and her daughter Mary were going to her house in the country when they were stopped on the road by John Cunningham, and that James Moyce and one other person, whom this deponent could not positively swear to but believed to be James Smart, offered her a piece of gingham, which she refused. They then laid violent hands upon her and said they would lay her down and ravish her, and that if they did not let her and her daughter go, or continued to follow them, she would knock their brains out. Notwithstanding this, James Moyce and the other person this deponent believed to be James Smart forcibly and with great violence dragged her out of the road, when this deponent by main Interpretations Captain Thomas Coats of the Defence sat on the board during the examination of his own men, a practice the council had followed on earlier occasions when a ship's commander was present during proceedings touching his crew. It placed the captain in a position to hear the evidence directly and to be held accountable for any subsequent disciplinary action, while also lending the council's proceedings the weight of his tacit acceptance. The same arrangement had been used when Commodore Bagwell attended the examination of Rowe on 4 July 1735 regarding the design on the Portuguese vessel. The deponent's testimony that she was offered gingham as an inducement before being attacked describes a pattern consistent with attempts to detain women on the pretext of trade, gingham being a cotton cloth that circulated as small-value currency in the island's petty commerce. The men carried the cloth with them, suggesting the assault was planned rather than opportunistic. Benjamin Pledger, the deponent's husband, appears throughout this record as a planter with modest land holdings, and the attack on the high road in the country, far from the anchorage and the fort valley, shows the crew of the detained vessel ranging considerably beyond the immediate area of the road. |
448 | 440 | strength disengaged herself from them, and with her Daughter run down the Hill into the new Path where She fortunately met with Martin Mac Daniel a Soldier of this Garrison, And to whom She Told what had Happened to her. This Deponant further saith that She heard some of the Companions of the said James Mayce & as she believes James Smart call out to them to let the Women this Deponant & her Daughter alone & come away, to which the said James Mayce & other Person which She believes to be James Smart, answered no, Damn her the will not leave his till we have what we want; this deponant further saith that they the Said two Men asked her, that if she would not let them lay her down & Kiss her, to let them lay her Sister down & Kiss her which was her Daughter and which this Deponant would not Suffer; and this Deponant further saith that has good cause to Apprehend herself three months gone with Child, and was so frightened & hurt by the Violentt & Barbarious Treatment of the said James Mayce & that other Person which she Verily believes to be James Smart, as obliged this Deponant to keep he bed two days.- And further at this time this Deponant doth not say. Swat 14 do Feby 1739 Coram me Jno Goodwin Esqr The Deposition of Mary Pledger the Daughter of Benj and Susana Pledger Vizt This Deponant Saith upon oath that on Friday the 9th Instant She was going with her Mother Susana Pledger to her House in the Country, and that upon the Road way they were attacked & Molested by John Cuningham James Mayce, & one other Person who she believes to be James Smart, by manner mentioned at Large in her Mothers Deposition. And further this Deponant Saith that James Seaton one in Company with the aforesaid three men laid violent hands upon her this Deponant, & throw her down & Offered her a Qtr of Gingham to let him Strip her and that he the said James Seaton, forceably kept this Deponant down untill She was fortunately Rescued by her Mother, and further at this time this Deponant doth not say. C Smart | The deposition continued. By her own strength she disengaged herself from them and ran with her daughter down the hill into the new path, where she fortunately met with Martin McDaniel, a soldier of the garrison, to whom she told what had happened. She further deposed that she heard some of the companions of James Moyce, and as she believed James Smart, call out to them to let the women, that is herself and her daughter, go and come away, to which James Moyce and the other person she believed to be James Smart answered no, saying they would not leave until they had what they wanted. She further deposed that the two men asked her that if she would not let them lay her down and take her, she should let them lay her sister down and take her, meaning her daughter, which this deponent would not suffer. She further deposed that she had good cause to believe herself three months with child, and was so frightened and hurt by the violent and barbarous treatment of James Moyce and the person she firmly believed to be James Smart that it kept her to bed two days. And further at this time this deponent would not say. Sworn 14 February 1740 [new style]. Before me, Jno Goodwin, Esq. The deposition of Mary Pledger, daughter of Benjamin and Susanna Pledger, as follows. This deponent deposed on oath that on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered] she was going with her mother Susanna Pledger to her house in the country, and that upon the road they were attacked and molested by John Cunningham, James Moyce and one other person she believed to be James Smart, in the manner mentioned at large in her mother's deposition. She further deposed that James Seaton in company with the three men laid violent hands upon this deponent and threw her down, and offered her a piece of gingham to let him take her, and that James Seaton forcibly held her down until she was fortunately rescued by her mother. And further at this time this deponent would not say. Interpretations The daughter's deposition adds James Seaton to the named attackers in a specific role, that of holding her down, which her mother's testimony had not covered because Susanna had been struggling with Moyce and Smart at that moment. The two accounts together establish a coordinated assault by at least four men acting together, with companions who called out but did not intervene on the women's behalf. The presence of Martin McDaniel, a garrison soldier, on the new path at the right moment was the material fact that ended the attack, since the women's escape brought them into contact with armed authority before the men could prevent it. The offer of gingham to both women, made before force was used, suggests the sailors had acquired the cloth specifically for this purpose, knowing the island's practice of bartering cloth for small goods. Gingham was a common line in the island's store accounts and in the private trade of ship's officers, so it circulated widely through the anchorage. That the offer was made and refused before the assault began is relevant to the legal question of intent, distinguishing this from an opportunistic attack and supporting the allegation of a prior design to ravish. Speculations The council chose to take sworn depositions from both women before any proceedings against the accused, rather than summoning the men first and confronting them with the witnesses as it had done in several earlier assault cases. The deponent's statement that she could not positively swear to James Smart, though she believed him a party, is an unusual admission to include in a sworn deposition, and it reflects a care for accuracy that works against the complainant's own case. The council's decision to record this qualification, rather than pressing for a cleaner identification, shows a procedural caution appropriate to a situation where the men faced serious charges and the evidence rested on the word of two women against four sailors from a ship whose captain sat on the very board that would judge the matter. |
449 | 441 | Swat 14 die Feby D 1739 Coram me Jno Goodwin Govr The Deposition of Martin Mac Daniel Soldier Vizt This Deponant Saith that on Friday the 9th Instant as he was comeing out of the Country he saw Mrs Susanna Pledger & her Daughter Mary runing down the Hill, out of the Path, Seemingly in a great fright, and when he overtook them asked what was the matter, Mrs Susanna Hedger Answered that a Parcell of Sailors pointing to the Men had laid Violent hands upon her & her Daughter and had used them very Ill and beged that this Depdnant would protect & save them from the further Attacks of these People upon which this Deponant advanced to meet them & did meet John Cuningham, James Smart, James Mayce & James Seaton, and told them the Captain was comeing down the Hill, and that they had better go down the Fort & drink their Arrack than to follow any of the Planters Wives this deponant further saith that before he overtook Mrs Pledger & her Daughter he saw James Seaton Persue them, And that when he met the Said James Seaton he Asked this Deponant whether he would hinder him from getting a piece of old hat; And this deponant threatened that if they did not desist from following the Woman & turn down the Fort he this Deponant would go to the Allarm house & Alarm the Country, & further at this time this deponant saith not. Swat 19 die Feby D 1739 Coram me Jno Goodwin Govr The Deposition of Mary Walls Vizt This deponant saith that on Friday the 9th Instant John Cuningham, James Mayce, James Smart & James Seaton were at her house And that She saw Mrs Susanna Pledger & her Daughter pass by her door going into the Country, & this Deponant further saith that he the said John Cuningham, James Mayce, James Smart & James Seaton left her house & followed the said Susanna Pledger & her Daughter up the Hill, and that about ½ An hour after this deponant saw Mrs Susanna Pledger And | Sworn 19 [as entered] February 1740 [new style]. Before me, Jno Goodwin, Governor. The deposition of Martin MacDaniel, soldier, as follows. This deponent deposed that on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered], as he was coming out of the country, he saw Susanna Pledger and her daughter Mary running down the hill out of the path, seemingly in a great fright. When he overtook them and asked what was the matter, Susanna Pledger answered that a group of sailors, pointing to the men, had laid violent hands upon her and her daughter and had used them very ill, and begged that this deponent would protect and save them from the further attacks of those men. Whereupon this deponent advanced to meet them and met John Cunningham, James Smart, James Moyce and James Seaton, and told them the captain was coming down the hill and that they had better go down to the fort and drink their arrack than follow any of the planters' wives. This deponent further deposed that before he overtook the women he had seen James Seaton pursuing them, and that when he met Seaton he asked this deponent whether he would hinder him from getting a piece of old hat. This deponent then threatened that if they did not stop following the women and turn down to the fort, this deponent would go to the alarm house and alarm the country. And further at this time this deponent would not say. Sworn 19 February 1740 [new style]. Before me, Jno Goodwin, Governor. The deposition of Mary Walls as follows. This deponent deposed that on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered], John Cunningham, James Moyce, James Smart and James Seaton were at her house, and that she saw Susanna Pledger and her daughter pass by her door going into the country. This deponent further deposed that John Cunningham, James Moyce, James Smart and James Seaton left her house and followed Susanna Pledger and her daughter up the hill, and that about half an hour after this deponent saw Susanna Pledger and Interpretations Martin MacDaniel's deposition supplies the crucial testimony of an independent free male witness, which was the class of evidence the council had consistently required to bring proceedings against free defendants since the rule that slave testimony was inadmissible meant that any case resting only on women's and slaves' accounts was legally precarious. His account confirms the women's flight, their identification of the men by pointing, and the group's presence and demeanour on the road. His specific report that Seaton asked whether he would hinder him from getting a piece of old hat is a significant admission of intent, phrased in crude contemporary slang but clearly recorded, and it corroborated both women's accounts of what the men sought. MacDaniel's tactic of telling the men the captain was coming down the hill was a bluff designed to invoke the one authority the sailors would respect without escalating to physical confrontation. Its success in turning the men back shows that the threat of their own captain's displeasure carried more weight with them than the soldier's individual presence, reflecting the reality that MacDaniel had no power of arrest over men from a Company ship and knew it. Mary Walls's deposition, beginning here, positions her as a witness to the departure of the four men from her house immediately before the attack, establishing that they left together and followed the women deliberately. Her evidence removes any possibility that the encounter on the road was accidental and transforms the case from assault to planned pursuit. |
450 | 442 | and her Daughter Mary run down the Hill out of the Path, And further this deponant saith not. The deposition of Nathan Sample Gunners Mate Vizt This Deponant saith that on friday the 8th Instant in the Evening John Cuningham, James Mayce, James Smart and James Seaton came into his House to drink Punch, and that he this deponant heard James Seaton say Damn the Bitch in the Striped Gown, how She flew about upon which James Cuningham made answer, Damn you hold your Tongue, do you know what you are saying. And further this deponant saith not. Then John Cuningham, James Mayce, James Smart & James Seaton were asked if they had any thing to say in their Defence Whereupon John Cuningham said that he did no in any Shape Molest either Susanna Pledger or her Daughter Mary Pledger. James Mayce said he did lay his hand upon Susanna Pledger but gently & not to doe any Violence with her; he further says that he asked her to Suffer him to help her up the Hill which she Refused James Smart said that he neither Spoke to, Interrupted or Molested Mrs Susanna Pledger or her Daughter Mary in any sort what ever, and desired James Miller might be called upon to Prove the same. James Seaton said he never meant to hurt Mary Pledger, but only Offered her a Dram & his Service to help her up the Hill The Deposition of James Miller Marriner Vizt This Deponant saith that on Friday the 8th Instant he saw James Smart in Company with John Cunningham, James Mayce & James Seaton follow Susanha Pledger & her Daughter Mary out of the Valley And the said James Smart was Absent about half an hour when this Deponant met he said James comeing down the Hill by himself & asked him what the had been doing & whereabouts he Answered that the rest of them was going to help the | Mary Walls's deposition continued: she saw Susanna Pledger and her daughter Mary run down the hill out of the path. And further this deponent would not say. The deposition of Nathan Sample, gunner's mate, as follows. This deponent deposed that on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered], in the evening, John Cunningham, James Moyce, James Smart and James Seaton came into his house to drink punch, and that he this deponent heard James Seaton say damn the bitch in the striped gown, how she flew about, upon which James Cunningham made answer, damn you hold your tongue, do you know what you are saying. And further this deponent would not say. Then John Cunningham, James Moyce, James Smart and James Seaton were asked if they had anything to say in their defence. Whereupon John Cunningham said that he in no way molested either Susanna Pledger or her daughter Mary Pledger. James Moyce said he did lay his hand upon Susanna Pledger but gently and not to do any violence to her, and he further said that he asked her to suffer him to help her up the hill, which she refused. James Smart said that he neither spoke to, interrupted nor molested Susanna Pledger or her daughter Mary in any manner whatever, and desired James Miller to be called to prove the same. James Seaton said he never meant to hurt Mary Pledger but only offered her a cream and his service to help her up the hill. The deposition of James Miller, mariner, as follows. This deponent deposed that on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered], he saw James Smart in company with John Cunningham, James Moyce and James Seaton following Susanna Pledger and her daughter Mary out of the valley, and that James Smart was absent about half an hour. When this deponent met Smart coming down the hill by himself and asked him what he had been doing and where he was going, Smart answered that the rest of them were going to help Interpretations Nathan Sample's deposition is notable because it was given by a crew member against his own shipmates. His report of Seaton's words in the punch house that evening, and Cunningham's immediate attempt to silence him, provided the council with evidence of consciousness of guilt that the men's own defences could not easily address. The exchange showed that at least two of the four men discussed what had happened immediately afterwards, that Seaton characterised the woman in derogatory terms, and that Cunningham tried to prevent the remark being heard. The fact that Sample had been at the same table meant his evidence carried the weight of a witness with no interest in the prosecution. Moyce's defence that he laid his hand on the woman only gently to help her up the hill, and Seaton's claim that he offered only a cream and assistance, are standard denials that implicitly acknowledge physical contact while recharacterising its purpose. Smart's demand that Miller be called to prove his innocence reflects a calculation that a fellow sailor would support his account, but Miller's actual deposition, beginning at the bottom of this page, appears to have recorded what Smart was actually doing rather than the exculpatory account Smart expected. |
451 | 443 | the Women up the Hill, then this Deponant said let Us Advise them to come down again for as they are a little in Liquor they may incurr some Penalty. This Deponant further saith that he saw John Cuningham, James Mayce and James Seaton sitting by the way side Drinking a Dram And the Women Susanna & Mary Pledger looking on, he saw no Person touch the Women, but heard James Seaton ask Mary Pledger to let him kiss her. And this Deponant further saith that presently after, the said John Cuningham, James Mayce & James Seaton came down the Hill with James Smart and Himself. And further this Deponant saith not. Swat 19 die Feby 1739 Coram me John Goodwin Govr Henry Babberdy & Patrick Mac Croody were called upon at the Request of John Cuningham, James Seaton, James Smart & James Mayce but had not any thing Material to say either for or against them. Ordered that John Cuningham be Confined to the Main Guard and that James Seaton, James Smart & James Mayce be Confined to the Prison. And the Council Adjourned till next Tuesday. | The deposition of James Miller continued: the rest of them were going to help the women up the hill. This deponent then said let them be advised to come down again, for as they were a little in drink they might incur some penalty. This deponent further deposed that he saw John Cunningham, James Moyce and James Seaton sitting by the way side drinking and the women Susanna and Mary Pledger looking on. He saw no person touch the women but heard James Seaton ask Mary Pledger to let him kiss her. And this deponent further deposed that presently after, John Cunningham, James Moyce and James Seaton came down the hill with James Smart and himself. And further this deponent would not say. Sworn 19 February 1740 [new style]. Before me, John Goodwin, Governor. Henry Babberdy and Patrick Mac Crowdy were called upon at the request of John Cunningham, James Seaton, James Smart and James Moyce, but had nothing material to say either for or against them. The council directed that John Cunningham be confined to the main guard, and that James Seaton, James Smart and James Moyce be confined to the prison. The council then adjourned until the following Tuesday. Interpretations James Miller's deposition damaged the defence of all four men while appearing to support Smart specifically. His account confirmed that Smart was present on the hill, that the men were drinking and that Seaton asked Mary Pledger to let him kiss her, all of which corroborated the women's evidence while undermining the claim that the encounter was innocent. His advice to the men that they should come down before they incurred a penalty shows that even a fellow sailor recognised immediately that the behaviour was legally risky, which makes Cunningham's later denial of any molestation the harder to credit. The distinction between Cunningham's confinement to the main guard and the prison confinement of the other three is significant. The main guard was a supervised military post within the castle, a less severe form of custody than the prison proper. The council may have placed Cunningham there because the evidence against him was less direct, the women having positively identified Moyce and were only believed Smart to be present, while Cunningham's role in the incident emerged primarily through his attempt to silence Seaton afterwards rather than through any direct account of violence. Henry Babberdy and Patrick Mac Crowdy, called by the defendants' own request, said nothing material for or against any of them, leaving the women's depositions, MacDaniel's and Miller's accounts, and Sample's punch house report as the sole substantive evidence before the board when it adjourned. |
452 | 444 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 26th Feby 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Captain Thomas Coats of Ship [...] Duke Crispe 2d of Council John Bazett 3d of Council Geo Gab Powell 4th of Council John Goodwin Junt 5th of Council The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that this Morning he hath Received Information that Mrs Susanna Pledger lyes Dangerously Ill at her house in the Country, occasioned as She herself Declares by the Violent & Cruell treatment She Received on Friday the 9th Instant from James Mayce and James Seaton. Ordered that James Mayce & James Seaton be Confind in the Prison Untill We know whether Mrs Susanna Pledger Lives or Dyes.- John Cuningham who was Confined upon the Main Guard & James Smart who was Confined in the Prison, according to Order of last Consultation, were this day called before Us And it not appearing Evidently that either of them two Persons did Molest or Speak to Mrs Susanna Pledger or her Daughter Mary Pledger upon the high Road on Friday the 9th Instant nor did in any Shape Aid & abet James Mayce & James Seaton in so doing they were Discharged from their Confinements on Shore, And Ordered on Board the Ship Defence those to remain & not Suffered to Return on Shore again during their Stay in this Road. | A consultation was held on Tuesday 25 February 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Captain Thomas Coats of the ship Defence, Duke Crisp as second of council, John Bazett as third of council, Geo. Gab. Powell as fourth of council and John Goodwin junior as fifth of council present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that that morning he had received information that Susanna Pledger was dangerously ill at her house in the country, as she herself attributed to the violent and cruel treatment she had received on the previous Friday the 8th [as entered] from James Moyce and James Seaton. The council directed that James Moyce and James Seaton be kept in prison until it was known whether Susanna Pledger lived or died. John Cunningham, who had been confined to the main guard, and James Smart, who had been confined to the prison in accordance with the order of the previous meeting, were called before the board that day. It not appearing clearly that either of those two persons had molested or spoken to Susanna Pledger or her daughter Mary Pledger on the high road on the previous Friday the 8th, nor that either had in any way aided or abetted James Moyce and James Seaton in doing so, they were discharged from their confinements and ordered on board the ship Defence, not to be suffered to return on shore again during her stay in the road. Interpretations The decision to hold Moyce and Seaton pending Susanna Pledger's recovery or death shows the council converting what had been an assault matter into a potential homicide inquiry. The council had no jurisdiction to try capital cases itself, that authority resting with the Court of Judicature which required a full jury, but it could hold suspects in prison until the seriousness of the charge was known. Susanna Pledger's own attribution of her illness to the violence she suffered carried legal weight as a declaration of cause, and the council recorded it as such rather than treating her condition as unrelated to the assault. Cunningham and Smart's discharge rests on the council's finding that the evidence did not clearly establish that either man had personally molested the women or aided the others in doing so. Miller's deposition had placed Smart on the hill and confirmed the group's presence, but it had not recorded Smart touching either woman, and Susanna Pledger's own deposition had said she could not positively swear to Smart's identity. The council's standard of clarity for confinement was evidently higher than the standard for summoning, and discharging the two men with a prohibition on returning ashore was the middle course between complete exoneration and continued custody on the same footing as the other two. |
453 | 445 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 4 March 1739 at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read and Approved The Governour Reports that he hears Mrs Pledger still Continues Ill, And therefore James Seaton and James Mayce were Ordered to Continue in Prison and the Secrty was directed to desire Benj Pledger to attend the Council on Tuesday next that he may inform them Particularly of the Condition his Wife is in... The Petition of Samuel Docton was Presented & Read Praying to become Tenants to the Honble Company for a Parcell of Land called the Bryons about 10 Acres. Granted and the Secretary was Ordered to Prepare a Lease for the same against next Consultation... The Petition of John Hanson was Presented & Read Praying to Resign 3 Acres of Land which he Hires of the Honbl Company the Land being so Indifferent it will not Produce any thing & he is between Poor, he is not able to pay the rent thereof. Granted. The Petition of Joseph Bates was Presented & Read Requesting Liberty to Dispose of his Right & Title to 8 in 3 Acres of Land Scituate in Sandy Bay which he Hires of the Honble Company unto John Thwaits who is better able to pay the Company their Quiterents for the same than he is. Granted. & John Thwaits accepted Tenant Accordingly | A consultation was held on Tuesday 4 March 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, Geo. Gab. Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that he heard Susanna Pledger was still continuing ill, and therefore James Seaton and James Moyce were directed to continue in prison. The marshal was directed to advise Benjamin Pledger to attend the council on the following Tuesday so that he might inform the board particularly of the condition his wife was in. Samuel Doveton presented a petition asking to become tenant to the Company for a parcel of land called the Bryers, about 10 acres. The council granted it and directed the secretary to prepare a lease for the same against the next meeting. John Hanson presented a petition asking to surrender 3 acres of land belonging to the Company, the land being so indifferent that it would not produce anything and he was so overrun with debts that he was not able to pay the rent. The council granted it. Joseph Bates presented a petition asking leave to transfer his right and title to and in 3 acres of land in Sandy Bay, belonging to the Company, to John Thwaits, who was better able to pay the Company their dues for the same than Bates himself was. The council granted it and John Thwaits was accepted as tenant accordingly. Interpretations The grant of the Bryers to Samuel Doveton as a tenant rather than as a Company plantation completes the disposal Governor Goodwin had proposed on 8 January, when he reported that the Bryers was too small, too remote and too indifferently productive to justify the Company's slaves being sent there. Rather than simply abandoning the ground, the council converted it into a leasehold, recovering a quit rent and placing the obligation to maintain the land on a private tenant. Doveton was the Company's overseer of the stock and plantations, in regular contact with the council throughout this period and a reliable tenant for a parcel the board was happy to be rid of. John Hanson's surrender of 3 acres for inability to pay the rent and Joseph Bates's transfer of 3 acres in Sandy Bay to a more solvent tenant on the same page illustrate the chronic difficulty small holders faced when the island's agricultural economy was under pressure. Hanson's plea that the ground was too poor to produce anything echoes the excuse the wood defaulters had given in November and December, and the council's acceptance of it without requiring proof of the ground's quality reflects how well known the condition of individual parcels was to the board through the annual surveys. The continued imprisonment of Moyce and Seaton through the four weeks since the assault, and the direction to summon Benjamin Pledger to report on his wife's condition, shows the council treating the case as a potential capital matter rather than a summary offence. Directing the husband to attend rather than sending a constable to the house reflects both the gravity of the inquiry and the council's awareness that Susanna Pledger's own account of her deterioration would be the most direct evidence of whether the assault was the cause. |
454 | 446 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 11th March 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esqr Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read & Approved We this day signed & Delivered a Lease to Samuel Docton for 12 Acres of Land called the Bryons much of which being exceeding Rocky & Barren We have excused him the Rent of 2 Acres. The Governour Reports that he Hears Mrs Pledger is in a fair way of Recovery, therefore James Seaton & James Mayce were Ordered to be Brought before Us And upon their Humble Submission & the Intercession of their Captain We Discharged them from Prison And fined them two Months Pay Each for the Woman they had abused, And Costs of Suit. Yesterday arrived the Brittannia from Fort Malbo upon whome is returned John Long & his Family; We flattered Our selves He should not have been Troubled any more with him But it seems he was too well known at the West East to be entertained there... The Governour the Gunner & Steward Delivered each their Accounts for the Month of February last which were Severally Examined & Proved & are as follows Vizt | A consultation was held on Tuesday 11 March 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, Geo. Gab. Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The council that day signed and delivered a lease to Samuel Doveton for 12 acres of land called the Bryers, much of it being exceedingly rocky and barren, the council having excused him the rent of 2 acres. Governor Goodwin reported that he heard Susanna Pledger was in a fair way of recovery. James Seaton and James Moyce were therefore brought before the board, and upon their humble submission and the intercession of their captain, the council discharged them from prison and fined each two months' pay for the woman they had abused, and costs of suit. The previous day the Britannia had arrived from Fort Marlowe, on board which was John Long and his family. The council flattered itself that it should not be troubled any more with him, but it seemed he was too well known at the West End to be received there. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward each delivered their accounts for February last, which were severally examined and approved as follows. Interpretations The settlement of the Moyce and Seaton case on humble submission and the captain's intercession follows a pattern the council had applied to earlier offences by ships' crews, most recently with the riot at John Knight's punch house in January 1735 when three sailors agreed within a minute and were discharged. The fine of two months' pay to the injured woman rather than to the Company or the parish is unusual in this record, where fines had previously gone to the Company or to the poor. Directing the payment to Susanna Pledger herself reflects the nature of the harm, a personal assault that had left her dangerously ill for several weeks and confined her husband from his work, and the council's calculation that a woman who had no direct claim on the men through parish or employment needed a specific instrument to recover anything at all. John Long's return on the Britannia from Fort Marlowe, which was Bencoolen, was the third time he had come back to the island after being removed. He had been convicted of stealing a hog at the sessions of 24 October 1738 on the sworn evidence of four free men, sentenced to six months and 90 lashes in three stages, the whole designed as a public show of severity while granting him the passage to Bencoolen he had petitioned for, with the explicit council note that his family lived better without him. The council's observation that he was too well known at the West End to be entertained there meant that Bencoolen had refused him, as the council had feared when it noted in 1736 that nothing but the gallows would break him. His reappearance on the island restored the longest-running single individual thread in this entire record. |
455 | 447 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of February 1739 Vizt Guns fired, 4 Pounders, 3 Pounders, 2 Pounders, Powder Expended Febry 1739 An Allarm for a French Ship that past by: Guns fired: 4, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 12¾ 23 An Allarm for a Ship that past by: Guns fired: 2, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 6¾ For returning the Salutes to the Ships: Guns fired: 29, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 29, 2 Pounders: 29, Powder Expended: 39¾ Powder to the Guard: Guns fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 35¾ Powder to the West Flying party: Guns fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 13¾ Powder to the Out Posts: Guns fired: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 13¾ Totall: Guns fired: 35, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 4, 2 Pounders: 29, Powder Expended: 108¾ Match 12¾ Lead Shott 28¾ Paper 4 Qr Toucths 6 Spunge Staves 3 Boudge Barrells 1 Sheep Skins 3 Axeltrees 1 Powder Harnes 6 The Expence of the Table in the Month of February 1739 Vizt 233th Beef 2 18 3 80th Veale 2 - - 93 Pork 2 7 6 60th Butter 3 1 - 1 Sheep 1 - - 2 Goates 1 - - 3 Turkeys 1 5 - 23 Fowles 1 14 6 6 Ducks - 9 - 13 Gallons Port 5 16 3 4¾ Do Mountain 1 14 10½ 12 Do Ale 2 2 - 18 Do Beer 1 1 - 70½ Do Arrack 14 1 - 6¾ [...] th Flour 2 10 - 3 Pepper - 3 - 161 Sugar 2 - 3 33 Candy 1 6 6 7 Bottles Oyle 1 3 4 £ 47 12 5½ | The gunner's stores expended in February 1740 [new style], with columns running guns fired, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders and powder expended: An alarm for a French ship that passed by, 4 guns fired, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 12 lb powder An alarm for a ship that passed by, 2 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 2 two pounders, 6 lb powder [as entered] For returning the salutes to the ships, 29 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 29 two pounders, 29 lb powder [as entered] Powder to the guard, 0 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 35 lb powder Powder to the west flying party, 0 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 13 lb powder Powder to the out posts, 0 guns fired, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 13 lb powder Total, 35 guns fired, 2 four pounders, 4 three pounders [as entered], 29 two pounders, 108 lb powder [as entered] Match, 12 lb Paper, 40 quires Sponge staves, 3 Sheep skins, 3 Powder harness, 6 Lead shot, 28 lb Torchs, 6 Budge barrels, 1 Axletrees, 1 The table account for February 1740 [new style]: 233 lb of beef, £2 18s 3d [as entered] 80 lb of veal, £2 0s 0d [as entered] 93 lb of pork, £2 7s 6d 60 lb of butter, £3 1s 0d [as entered] 1 sheep, £1 0s 0d 2 goats, £1 0s 0d [as entered] 3 turkeys, £1 3s 0d [as entered] 23 fowls, £1 14s 6d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d 13 gallons of port, £3 16s 3d [as entered] 4.5 dozen of mountain wine, £1 14s 10.5d [as entered] 12 dozen of ale, £2 2s 0d [as entered] 18 dozen of beer, £1 1s 0d [as entered] 70.25 gallons of arrack, £14 1s 0d [as entered] 60 [...] lb of flour, £2 10s 0d [as entered] 2 [...] lb of [...], £0 0s 0d [as entered] 3 lb of pepper, £0 3s 0d [as entered] 161 lb of sugar, £2 0s 3d [as entered] 33 lb of candy, £1 6s 6d 7 bottles of oil, £1 3s 4d [as entered] Total, £47 12s 3.5d [as entered] Interpretations The gunner's return for February shows two alarms for ships passing by and then 29 guns fired in return salutes, the largest salute figure since the Defence arrived in January. The return salutes suggest ships entering the road and being welcomed in kind, which marks the opening of the shipping season as the homeward fleet began to arrive. The delivery of powder to a west flying party and to the out posts as separate named recipients confirms that the quartering of 22 January had taken effect, with powder now being issued to specific field positions rather than solely to the castle guard. The table for February shows the most varied meat provision since the Christmas accounts, with beef, veal, pork, a sheep, two goats and poultry all appearing in the same month. Veal had not appeared in this series before, and its presence alongside goats suggests the council was drawing on young animals from both the cattle and goat herds rather than exclusively from adult stock. Goats appear here as table provision for the first time since the herd was re-established, confirming that the animals were being kept as a managed food source rather than purely as a breeding reserve. Arrack at 70.25 gallons and £14 1s 0d overtakes every other line, consistent with the arrival of ships in the road and the increased entertainment that followed. |
456 | 448 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Neat Cattle &ca for the Month of February 1739 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goates, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totalle, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totalle, Ewes, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totalle, Sows, Shoates, Cgs, Boares, Totalle, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Mares, Totalle Remaining the 1st February 1739: Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 28, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totalle: 254, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 14, Lambs: 13, Rams: 4, Totalle: 83, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 7, Kids: 16, Rams: 1, Totalle: 46, Sows: 10, Shoates: 10, Cgs: 28, Boares: 2, Totalle: 50, Turkeys: 60, Fowles: 87, Ducks: 19, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Mares: 16, Totalle: 23 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 2, Bulls: 0, Totalle: 2, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 3, Rams: 0, Totalle: 3, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 4, Rams: 0, Totalle: 4, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Cgs: 0, Boares: 0, Totalle: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 37, Ducks: 5, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Mares: 0, Totalle: 1 Bullocks: 22, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 28, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 69, Bulls: 4, Totalle: 256, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 14, Lambs: 18, Rams: 4, Totalle: 88, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 7, Kids: 20, Rams: 1, Totalle: 50, Sows: 10, Shoates: 10, Cgs: 28, Boares: 2, Totalle: 50, Turkeys: 60, Fowles: 124, Ducks: 24, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Mares: 17, Totalle: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 1, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 2, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 1, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totalle: 4, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 1, Totalle: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 2, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totalle: 2, Sows: 0, Shoates: 2, Cgs: 1, Boares: 1, Totalle: 2, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 5, Ducks: 23, Geese: 6, Horses: 0, Mares: 0, Totalle: 0 Bullocks: 21, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 68, Bulls: 4, Totalle: 252, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 18, Rams: 4, Totalle: 87, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 20, Rams: 1, Totalle: 48, Sows: 9, Shoates: 9, Cgs: 28, Boares: 2, Totalle: 48, Turkeys: 55, Fowles: 101, Ducks: 18, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Mares: 17, Totalle: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 1, Bulls: 0, Totalle: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 1, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totalle: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totalle: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Cgs: 0, Boares: 0, Totalle: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Mares: 0, Totalle: 0 Remaining the 28th February 1739: Bullocks: 21, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totalle: 251, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 18, Rams: 4, Totalle: 87, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 20, Rams: 1, Totalle: 48, Sows: 9, Shoates: 9, Cgs: 28, Boares: 2, Totalle: 48, Turkeys: 55, Fowles: 101, Ducks: 18, Geese: 21, Horses: 7, Mares: 17, Totalle: 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 37000 | The Company's stock account for February 1740 [new style] was entered as follows. Remaining 1 February 1740: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 28 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 67 calves, 4 bulls, 254 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 14 wethers, 15 lambs, 4 rams, 85 sheep total [as entered]; 22 ewes, 7 wethers, 16 kids, 1 ram, 46 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 50 hogs total; 60 turkeys, 87 fowls, 19 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 7 horses, 16 mares, 23 horses and mares total Increased in February: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 2 calves, 0 bulls, 2 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 3 lambs, 0 rams, 3 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 1 kid, 0 rams, 1 goat [as entered]; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 37 fowls, 5 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 1 mare, 1 horse and mare Total after increase: 22 bullocks, 93 cows, 28 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 69 calves, 4 bulls, 256 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 14 wethers, 18 lambs, 4 rams, 88 sheep total; 22 ewes, 7 wethers, 20 kids, 1 ram, 50 goats total [as entered]; 10 sows, 10 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 50 hogs total; 60 turkeys, 124 fowls, 24 ducks, 21 geese; 7 horses, 17 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in February: 1 bullock, 0 cows, 2 heifers, 0 steers, 1 yearling [as entered], 0 calves, 0 bulls, 4 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 1 ram, 1 sheep [as entered]; 0 ewes, 2 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 2 goats [as entered]; 0 sows, 2 shoats, 1 pig, 1 boar, 1 hogs [as entered]; 0 turkeys, 5 fowls, 23 ducks, 6 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in February: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, 1 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 1 sheep [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 28 February 1740: 21 bullocks, 93 cows, 26 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 67 calves, 4 bulls, 251 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 13 wethers, 18 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total [as entered]; 22 ewes, 5 wethers, 20 kids, 1 ram, 48 goats total [as entered]; 9 sows, 9 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 48 hogs total [as entered]; 55 turkeys, 101 fowls, 18 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 7 horses, 17 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 37,000 lb Interpretations The killing of one bullock in February marks only the second time a bullock has been taken since the whole class was destroyed in May 1739. The December kill of one cow and one bull for the Christmas provision was the first breach of the council's policy of sparing the breeders, and this February bullock, taken when ships were entering the road, shows the council beginning to draw on the restored stock for the shipping season. Twenty-one bullocks remain, down from twenty-two, and the council had clearly decided that a herd now holding over 250 neat cattle could sustain modest sales without threatening the recovery. Two goats are killed for the first time in the February table, which corroborates their appearance in the table account for the same month. The goat herd closes at 48, still carrying an active breeding group of 22 ewes and 20 kids, showing that the kills were made from the wether surplus rather than from the breeding females. The large duck kill of 23 out of 24 in the killed row, producing only 18 remaining from a peak of 54 at the end of December, shows a deliberate clearance of the duck population rather than a gradual draw. Combined with the table account recording 6 ducks for February, the remainder may have gone to provision the arriving ships or been consumed in the increased household catering as the shipping season opened. Yams hold at 37,000 lb for the fifth consecutive month, a figure that has been entirely stable since October. |
457 | 449 | At a Consultation held on Monday the 17th March 1739 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Govr Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read & Approved The last will & Testament of Capt Thomas Cason Deceased was this Day Proved before Us upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto Vizt William Worrall Junt, Nicholas Bleathis & Richard Frost. And it was Ordered to be Registered Accordingly. The Governour Reports that he has this day given Mr John Clark a Commission for being 2d Lieutenant of this Garrison in the Room of Mr Thomas Cason deceased, he being most of his time in his Majesties Land Service in Europe and infinitely the best Qualified of any Person we have for such a Trust. And the Secretary was Ordered to forewrite a Paragraph in the General Letter acquainting the Company therewith & to Request their Honours will be Pleased to Confirm our Choice. On the 21st Instant arrived the Lynn Capt Charles Gilbert from Bengalle and on the 22nd arrived the Grantham Capt Roger Hale likewise from Bengall to both of Whome immediately after their coming on Shore We Shewed the Honble Companys Letter to the Inde India Yatch; and likewise gave them the usual Instructions to Land a Hausse on Shore to the West Rocks & Moore their Ships for the Greater Security of Our Honble Masters Estates on Board them... The Supply each Ship brought Us are as follows Vizt Invoice | A consultation was held on Monday 17 March 1740 [new style] at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, Geo. Gab. Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. The last will and testament of Captain Thomas Cason, deceased, was proved before the board on the oaths of the witnesses, namely William Worrall junior, Nicholas Bleathley and Richard Frost, and was directed to be registered accordingly. Governor Goodwin reported that he had that day given John Clark a commission to be a lieutenant of the garrison in the place of Thomas Cason, deceased, John Clark being most of his time in his Majesty's land service in Europe and infinitely the best qualified of any person available for such a post. The secretary was directed to prepare a paragraph in the general letter acquainting the Company with this and requesting that the Court would be pleased to confirm the choice. On the 21st of the previous month the Lynn, Captain Charles Gilbert, had arrived from Bengal, and on the 22nd the Grantham, Captain Roger Hale, likewise from Bengal. Immediately after their coming on shore the council showed them the Company's letter to the India yacht, and likewise gave them the usual instructions to land a garrison man on shore to take his risks and to moor their ships for the greater security of the Company's masters' estates on board them. The supply each ship brought was as follows. Interpretations Thomas Cason's death removes one of the island's most experienced officers from the record. He had attended consultations from at least August 1730 as Captain Cason, commanded the guard boat established on 30 June 1735, was trusted by Governor Pyke with the Rupert's works in preference to Colonel Gaultier in July 1734, and had been cited repeatedly throughout the 1730s as an old and experienced officer who had served at the siege of Gibraltar. His will proved with three witnesses and registered without any contest closes his file cleanly. John Clark's appointment as lieutenant on the strength of his service in the King's land forces in Europe is notable as an attempt to introduce professional military experience at a time when the island stood on a war footing. The island's garrison had been commanded by long-serving local officers and promoted soldiers throughout this record, and a man who had spent most of his time in continental European service represented a different kind of professional credential. The Governor's instruction to prepare a paragraph for the general letter requesting confirmation follows the same procedure used for John Goodwin junior's appointment to the council. The instruction to the arriving captains to land a garrison man to take his risks and to moor their ships echoes the standing heave-in order that had been issued to every arriving commander since at least May 1727, but the addition of the Company's letter to the India yacht shows the council now also briefing homeward commanders on the war situation as a matter of course, which it had not done before the packet arrived on 19 January. |
458 | 450 | Invoice of Lynn Vizt Batavia Arrack vizt 2 half Leagr @ 99 Mds p Leag 99 - - Fine Rice vizt 63 Bags 27 130 Mds bag to @ 1½ p M 93 3 6 Wax Candles vizt 10 Chest 8½ 30 Mds Prof to @ 42 8 p M 850 - - 1044 3 6 Charges &ca Amot to 68 8 6 Rupees 1102 14 - Invoice of Grantham Vizt Batavia Arrack vizt 2 half Leag @ 99 p Leager 99 - - Fine Rice vizt 63 Bags 27 130 Mds bag to @ 1½ p Mds 93 3 6 Stbigs 1 Bale 27 300 pieces @ 12 [ca] 225 - - 419 3 6 Charges &ca Amot to 43 3 6 Rupees 462 9 - | The invoices of the two ships were entered as follows. Invoice of the Lynn: Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers at 99 rupees per leaguer, 99 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Fine rice, 65 bags of 27 maunds 130 [as entered] bags at 1 rupee 3 annas 4 pies per maund, 93 rupees 3 annas 6 pies Wax candles, 10 chests of 30 maunds [as entered] at 42 rupees 8 annas per maund, 850 rupees 0 annas 0 pies [as entered] Sub-total, 1,044 rupees 3 annas 6 pies [as entered] Charges merchandise amounting to, 68 rupees 8 annas 6 pies [as entered] Total, 1,102 rupees 14 annas 0 pies [as entered] Invoice of the Grantham: Batavia arrack, 2 half leaguers at 99 rupees per leaguer, 99 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Fine rice, 65 bags of 27 maunds 130 [as entered] bags at 1 rupee 3 annas 6 pies per maund, 93 rupees 3 annas 6 pies Shirts, 1 bale of 27 [as entered] 300 pieces at 12 annas each, 225 rupees 0 annas 0 pies [as entered] Sub-total, 419 rupees 3 annas 6 pies [as entered] Charges merchandise amounting to, 43 rupees 3 annas 6 pies [as entered] Total, 462 rupees 9 annas 0 pies [as entered] Interpretations The two invoices show a sharp contrast in content. The Lynn brought arrack, rice and a very large consignment of wax candles, 10 chests at 850 rupees, which is the most valuable single line in either invoice and far exceeds anything in the earlier supply records. Wax candles had appeared occasionally in earlier invoices, typically at 140 rupees for two chests, and a consignment more than four times that size suggests either a specific order placed through the general letter or a surplus from the Bengal trade that the captains had agreed to carry. The Grantham brought arrack and rice in the same proportions as the Lynn but substituted a bale of shirts for the candles, the shirts being part of the standard clothing supply for the Company's slaves and garrison, which had appeared in nearly every Bengal invoice through this period. The charges merchandise in both invoices, at 68 rupees 8 annas 6 pies and 43 rupees 3 annas 6 pies respectively, represent the freight and handling costs charged by the Bengal factors above the commodity prices, a standard addition that had run at roughly 10 per cent through most of the earlier supply invoices. The Lynn's charges are proportionally higher, reflecting the heavier and bulkier candle cargo and the additional handling that wax goods required to prevent damage in the hold. |
459 | 451 | At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 1 April 1739 at the Castle. Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Duke Crispe John Bazett Geo Gab Powell John Goodwin Junt The last Consultation was read & Approved Many Inconveniencies & Delays having often Happened to the Shiping for want of more help in the Stores, which from time to time, have been Encreased by the Necessary Absence of Mess Bazett & Goodwin Junt with the Rest of the Council who upon all Allarms, which are frequently between Xmas & June, are Obliged to attend their Posts at the Several Batteries in the out parts of the Island where they are Sometimes Detained two or three Days & Nights together, During which time Neither the Companys Cargo can be Received on Shore nor any goods Sold out of their Stores although both the Inhabitants & the Shiping are Continually Wanting to be Supplied with some thing or other & as many Complaints have been made upon this Subject; he therefore & thereby the se Inconveniencies this day Appointed Matthew Bazett to be an Assistant in the Stores at the Salary of £20... p Ann with the Usual Allowance for food Strictly Charging him to give his Daily Attendance therein, in time of Shipping from Six in the Morning till six in the Evening, in Order to Receive on Shore & sell out such goods in the Absence of the said Mess Bazett & Goodwin as shall be wanted, & to Apply himself carefully to every other Branch of Business where there shall be occasion to Employ him. The Governour the Gunner and Steward Delivered each their accounts for the Month of March last, as did the Storekeeper his Quarterly Accounts, which were Severally Examined & Proved and are as follows Vizt | A consultation was held on Tuesday 1 April 1739 at the castle, with Governor Goodwin, Duke Crisp, John Bazett, George Gabriel Powell and John Goodwin junior present. The previous consultation was read and approved. Start of crossed out section Many inconveniences and delays having often happened to the shipping for want of more help in the stores, which from time to time have been increased by the necessary absence of Messrs Bazett and Goodwin junior with the rest of the council, who upon all alarms, which are frequently between Christmas and June, are obliged to attend their duty at the several batteries in the outer parts of the island, where they are sometimes detained two or three days and nights together, during which time neither the Company's cargo can be received on shore nor any goods be sold out of their stores, although both the inhabitants and the shipping are continually wanting to be supplied with some thing or other, and as many complaints have been made upon this subject, he therefore to remedy these inconveniences this day approved Matthew Bazett to be an assistant in the stores at a salary of £20 0s 0d per annum with the usual allowance for diet, strictly charging him to give his daily attendance therein, in time of shipping from six in the morning till six in the evening, in order to receive on shore and sell out such goods in the absence of the said Messrs Bazett and Goodwin as shall be wanted, and to apply himself carefully to every other branch of business which there shall be occasion to employ him in. End of crossed out section Many inconveniences and delays had often arisen to the shipping for want of more help in the stores, and these had from time to time been made worse by the necessary absence of Messrs Bazett and Goodwin junior with the rest of the council, who on all alarms, which were frequently between Christmas and June, were obliged to attend their posts at the several batteries in the outer parts of the island. There they were sometimes detained two or three days and nights together, during which time neither the Company's cargo could be received nor any goods sold out of the stores, although both the inhabitants and the shipping were continually wanting to be supplied with one thing or another, and many complaints had been made on this subject. To remedy these inconveniences, the council approved Matthew Bazett to be an assistant in the stores at a salary of £20 0s 0d a year with the usual allowance for food, strictly directing him to give his daily attendance there from the time of shipping arriving in the morning until six in the evening, in order to receive cargoes and sell out such goods in the absence of the storekeeper John Bazett and John Goodwin junior as should be wanted, and to apply himself fully to every other branch of business where there should be occasion to employ him. Governor Goodwin, the gunner and the steward delivered each their accounts for March last, and the storekeeper his quarterly accounts, which were severally examined and approved and are as follows. Interpretations The crossed-out passage and the uncancelled text that follows it are substantively identical in content, covering the same problem and the same remedy in almost the same terms. The cancellation was not a change of policy but a revision of drafting, the clerk striking through a first version written in the present tense and in the first person voice of the council, then rewriting it in the past tense and more formal register appropriate to a consultation book entry. The salary, the hours, the reason and the appointment are unchanged between the two versions. The appointment of Matthew Bazett addresses a structural gap that the war footing had made critical. The storekeeper John Bazett and his assistant John Goodwin junior were both councillors required at the batteries on every alarm, and between Christmas and June alarms were frequent. The hours set, six in the morning until six in the evening during the shipping season, placed Matthew Bazett on a full working day regardless of what the councillors were doing at their posts. |
460 | 452 | Gunners Stores Expended in the Month of March 1740 Vizt Gunns fired, Shott fired, 32 Pounders, 6 Pounders, 4 Pounders, 3 Pounders, 2 Pounders, ½ Pounders, Powder Expended March 8 An Allarm & loured a French Ship: Gunns fired: 16, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 6, 4 Pounders: 8, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 2, ½ Pounders: 2, Powder Expended: 4¾ 9 An Allarm: Gunns fired: 6, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 2, ½ Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 13 10 Arrived the Britannia Capt Sumner: Gunns fired: 18, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 18, Powder Expended: 18 12 A Double Allarm & past by part of the Dutch Fleet: Gunns fired: 9, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 3, 3 Pounders: 3, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 3, Powder Expended: 20 Ditto Departed the French Ship: Gunns fired: 18, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 18, Powder Expended: 18 14 A Double Allarm & past by the other part of the Dutch Fleet: Gunns fired: 9, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 3, 3 Pounders: 3, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 3, Powder Expended: 20 For Saluting the Dutch Fleet: Gunns fired: 85, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 9, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 6, ½ Pounders: 70, Powder Expended: 118 15 For the Funeral of Capt Cason: Gunns fired: 20, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 20, Powder Expended: 20 21 An Allarm & arrived the Lynn Capt Gilbert: Gunns fired: 24, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 18, ½ Pounders: 2, Powder Expended: 81 22 An Allarm & arrived the Grantham Captain Hale: Gunns fired: 21, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 13, ½ Pounders: 2, Powder Expended: 20 31 An Allarm for a Ship that went past: Gunns fired: 6, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 2, 3 Pounders: 2, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 2, Powder Expended: 13 Powder to the East Flying Party & out Posts: Gunns fired: 0, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 28 Powder to the Guard & Priming the Saluting Gunns: Gunns fired: 0, Shott fired: 0, 32 Pounders: 0, 6 Pounders: 0, 4 Pounders: 0, 3 Pounders: 0, 2 Pounders: 0, ½ Pounders: 0, Powder Expended: 80 Totall: Gunns fired: 235, Shott fired: 1, 32 Pounders: 1, 6 Pounders: 9, 4 Pounders: 16, 3 Pounders: 22, 2 Pounders: 10, ½ Pounders: 16, Powder Expended: 347¼ Match 30th Toucths 4 Paper 1 Qr Beds 2 Handspikes 4 Priming Wires 6 Spunge Staves 4 Qr Axeltrees 4 Lead Shott 15 Powder Harnes 4 Expence of the Table in the Month of March 1740 Vizt 15½ Gallons Port 6 - 1½ 3 ½ Do Mountain 2 4 6¾ 80¾ Do Arrack 16 2 6 6 [...]th Sugar 2 3 3 1 „ 2 „ - Flour 2 3 3 6 Bottles Oyle 1 7 6 3 Pepper - - 1 - 1 - 417th Beef 5 14 3 71 [...] Pork 1 16 - 30th Butter 2 - - 3 Turkeys - 15 - 2 Geese - 10 - £ 40 9 2¼ | The gunner's stores expended in March 1740, with columns running guns fired, shot fired, 32 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, 3 pounders, 2 pounders, half pounders and powder expended: 8 March, an alarm and a French ship arrived, 16 guns fired, 1 shot fired, 1 thirty-two pounder, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 9 two pounders, 2 half pounders, 28 lb powder [as entered] 9 March, an alarm, 6 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 13 lb powder [as entered] 10 March, the Britannia arrived, Captain Sanner, 18 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 18 lb powder 12 March, a double alarm, a part of the Dutch fleet passed by, 9 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 3 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 3 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 20 lb powder [as entered] Ditto, departed the French ship, 18 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 18 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 18 lb powder 14 March, a double alarm, a part of the other part of the Dutch fleet passed by, 9 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 3 four pounders, 3 three pounders, 3 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 20 lb powder [as entered] For saluting the Dutch fleet, 85 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 9 six pounders, 6 four pounders, 9 two pounders [as entered], 0 half pounders, [...] lb powder [as entered] 15 March, for the funeral of Captain Cason, 20 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 20 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 20 lb powder 21 March, an alarm and the Lynn arrived, Captain Gilbert, 24 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 2 six pounders [as entered], 2 four pounders, 18 three pounders [as entered], 2 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 81 lb powder [as entered] 22 March, an alarm and the Grantham arrived, Captain Hale, 21 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 2 six pounders [as entered], 2 four pounders, 13 three pounders [as entered], 2 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 20 lb powder [as entered] 31 March, an alarm for a ship that went past, 6 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 2 four pounders, 2 three pounders, 2 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 13 lb powder Powder to the east flying party and out posts, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 28 lb powder Powder to the guard and priming the saluting guns, 0 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 thirty-two pounders, 0 six pounders, 0 four pounders, 0 three pounders, 0 two pounders, 0 half pounders, 80 lb powder [as entered] Total, 233 guns fired, 1 shot fired, 1 thirty-two pounder, 9 six pounders, 16 four pounders, 22 three pounders [as entered], 16 two pounders [as entered], 16 half pounders [as entered], 347 lb powder [as entered] Match, 30 lb Paper, 1 quire [as entered] Handspikes, 4 Sponge staves, 4 lb [as entered] Lead shot, 15 lb Torchs, 4 Bills, 2 Priming wires, 6 Axletrees, 4 Powder harness, 1 The table account for March 1740: 13.5 gallons of port, £6 0s 1.5d [as entered] 3 [...] dozen of mountain wine, £2 4s 6d [as entered] 80.5 gallons of arrack, £16 2s 6d [as entered] 0 [...] lb of sugar, £2 3s 6d [as entered] 1 [...] quarters of flour, £2 3s 3d [as entered] 6 bottles of oil, £1 7s 6d [as entered] 1 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d [as entered] 177 lb of beef, £5 14s 3d [as entered] 71 lb of pork, £0 0s 0d [as entered] 40 lb of butter, £1 16s 0d [as entered] 3 turkeys, £2 0s 0d [as entered] 2 geese, £0 15s 0d [as entered] Total, £40 9s 2.5d [as entered] Interpretations March 1740 produced the busiest gunner's return since May 1739, with 233 guns fired across thirteen separate occasions. The salute to the Dutch fleet at 85 guns is the largest single firing in this record by a considerable margin, exceeding even the 402 guns of May 1739. The Dutch fleet passing in two separate parts on 12 and 14 March drew alarm guns each time before the council established their identity, and the full salute followed once they were recognised. A 32-pounder fired on 8 March marks the first appearance of the island's heaviest ordnance in the monthly firing record, its use against the alarm for the French ship reflecting the heightened posture under apprehension of war. Captain Cason's funeral salute of 20 guns on 15 March matches the compliment paid to Governor Pyke on 29 July 1738 and to Samuel Fazakerley on 9 June 1739, placing him among the most senior figures the island had known. The half-pounder column appears in the heading for the first time, adding a seventh weight class to the ordnance return and reflecting the arming of new positions with the lightest pieces in the island's inventory, perhaps at the out posts and flying party positions established since January. |
461 | 453 | Account of the Honble Companys Stock of Neat Cattle &ca for the Month of March 1740 Vizt Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goates, Hogs, Poultry, Horses Bullocks, Cows, Hiefers, Steers, Yearlings, Calves, Bulls, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Totall, Ewes, Weathers, Kids, Rams, Totall, Sows, Shoates, Pigs, Boares, Totall, Turkeys, Fowles, Ducks, Geese, Horses, Maires, Totall Remaining the 1st March 1740: Bullocks: 21, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 67, Bulls: 4, Totall: 251, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 18, Rams: 4, Totall: 87, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 20, Rams: 1, Totall: 48, Sows: 9, Shoates: 4, Pigs: 28, Boares: 2, Totall: 48, Turkeys: 55, Fowles: 101, Ducks: 18, Geese: 21, Horses: 8, Maires: 16, Totall: 24 Encreased in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 15, Bulls: 0, Totall: 15, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 2, Rams: 0, Totall: 2, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 3, Rams: 0, Totall: 3, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 0, Boares: 0, Totall: 1, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 17, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 2, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 21, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 26, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 82, Bulls: 4, Totall: 266, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 20, Rams: 4, Totall: 89, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 23, Rams: 1, Totall: 51, Sows: 9, Shoates: 4, Pigs: 28, Boares: 2, Totall: 48, Turkeys: 55, Fowles: 118, Ducks: 18, Geese: 21, Horses: 8, Maires: 18, Totall: 24 Killed in Ditto: Bullocks: 4, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 1, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 0, Bulls: 0, Totall: 8, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 1, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 1, Boares: 0, Totall: 1, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 0, Ducks: 2, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Bullocks: 17, Cows: 93, Hiefers: 22, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 82, Bulls: 4, Totall: 258, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 20, Rams: 4, Totall: 89, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 23, Rams: 1, Totall: 51, Sows: 9, Shoates: 8, Pigs: 28, Boares: 2, Totall: 47, Turkeys: 52, Fowles: 118, Ducks: 18, Geese: 19, Horses: 8, Maires: 16, Totall: 24 Died in Ditto: Bullocks: 0, Cows: 0, Hiefers: 0, Steers: 0, Yearlings: 0, Calves: 1, Bulls: 0, Totall: 1, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Lambs: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Ewes: 0, Weathers: 0, Kids: 0, Rams: 0, Totall: 0, Sows: 0, Shoates: 0, Pigs: 1, Boares: 0, Totall: 0, Turkeys: 0, Fowles: 2, Ducks: 0, Geese: 0, Horses: 0, Maires: 0, Totall: 0 Remaining 31 March: Bullocks: 17, Cows: 92, Hiefers: 22, Steers: 16, Yearlings: 24, Calves: 82, Bulls: 4, Totall: 257, Ewes: 52, Weathers: 13, Lambs: 20, Rams: 4, Totall: 89, Ewes: 22, Weathers: 5, Kids: 23, Rams: 1, Totall: 51, Sows: 8, Shoates: 8, Pigs: 28, Boares: 2, Totall: 46, Turkeys: 51, Fowles: 116, Ducks: 18, Geese: 19, Horses: 8, Maires: 16, Totall: 24 Yams Expended at the Several Plantations tt 22000 | The Company's stock account for March 1740 was entered as follows. Remaining 1 March 1740: 21 bullocks, 93 cows, 26 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 67 calves, 4 bulls, 251 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 13 wethers, 18 lambs, 4 rams, 87 sheep total; 22 ewes, 5 wethers, 20 kids, 1 ram, 48 goats total; 9 sows, 9 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 48 hogs total; 55 turkeys, 101 fowls, 18 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 8 horses, 16 mares, 24 horses and mares total Increased in March: 0 bullocks, 0 cows, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 15 calves, 0 bulls, 15 neat cattle; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 2 lambs, 0 rams, 2 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 3 kids, 0 rams, 3 goats; 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 hogs; 0 turkeys, 17 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Total after increase: 21 bullocks, 93 cows, 26 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 82 calves, 4 bulls, 266 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 13 wethers, 20 lambs, 4 rams, 89 sheep total; 22 ewes, 5 wethers, 23 kids, 1 ram, 51 goats total; 9 sows, 9 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 48 hogs total; 55 turkeys, 118 fowls, 18 ducks, 21 geese poultry; 8 horses, 16 mares, 24 horses and mares total Killed in March: 4 bullocks, 0 cows, 1 heifer, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 0 calves, 0 bulls, 8 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 0 sows, 1 shoat, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 1 hog; 3 turkeys, 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 2 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Died in March: 0 bullocks, 1 cow, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 yearlings, 1 calf, 0 bulls, 1 neat cattle [as entered]; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 0 sheep; 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 0 goats; 1 sow, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 1 hog [as entered]; 1 turkey, 2 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 geese; 0 horses, 0 mares Remaining 31 March 1740: 17 bullocks, 92 cows, 22 heifers, 16 steers, 24 yearlings, 82 calves, 4 bulls, 257 neat cattle total [as entered]; 52 ewes, 13 wethers, 20 lambs, 4 rams, 89 sheep total [as entered]; 22 ewes, 5 wethers, 23 kids, 1 ram, 51 goats total; 8 sows, 8 shoats, 28 pigs, 2 boars, 46 hogs total; 51 turkeys, 116 fowls, 18 ducks, 19 geese poultry; 8 horses, 16 mares, 24 horses and mares total Yams expended at the several plantations, 22,000 lb Interpretations Four bullocks killed in March against the 17 remaining confirms the draw on the rebuilt bullock class to supply the shipping now in the road, the Britannia, the Lynn and the Grantham all having arrived in March. The class stood at 21 at the opening and closes at 17, still well above the zero of May 1739. Fifteen calves born in a single month is the strongest calving return in this series, vindicating the council's decision ten months earlier to spare the breeding cows through the crisis. Yams at 22,000 lb represent the sharpest single-month drop in this record, falling from 37,000 lb in February. March is the turning point of the southern-hemisphere year, when the summer crop is fully consumed and the autumn planting has not yet returned a harvest, so this seasonal trough is expected and does not indicate any failure of the plantations. |
462 | 454 | At a Consultation held on Friday the 4th of April 1740 at the Castle Present John Goodwin Esq Governour Captain Charles Gilbert of Ship Lynn Captain Roger Hale of Ship Grantham Captain Thomas Coates of Ship Defence Captain Augustus Townshend of Ship Augustus Captain John Sumner of Ship Britannia Duke Crispe 2d of Council John Bazett 3d of Council Geo Gab Powell 4th of Council John Goodwin Junt 5th of Council The last Consultation was read & Approved The Governour Reports that in the Charterparty of Britannia tis Stipulated as follows Vizt And it is hereby further Covenanted as aforesaid that he the said Master & Master for the time being together with the Ships Officers & Ships Company Shall in & during the said intended Voyage with the said Ship at Sea & with the said Ship & her Shift & Bristol in Port together with such part of the Ships Company as shall be Necessary not exceeding at one time Thirty Men So to from Defend the said in a Defensive & Offensive manner in Trade & also in Reprise if so Required, as aforesaid. & otherwise at all times as Weapon Shall Require, be Ready to Serve & shall accordingly honestly faithfully & Manfully Serve the said Company their Factors & Assigns. And the Said Part Owners & Masters do as aforesaid Jointly & Severally covenant & agree to & with the the said United Company that the Said Master & Master of the said Ships for the time being during this Whole intended Voyage Shall observe such Commands Orders Directions & Instructions as shall from time to time be given by the Said United Company or their Court of Directors for the time being or by any Committee Appointed by them or by their Governours Presidants Agents Chief Factors or Assigns.- The | A consultation was held on Friday the 4th of April 1739 at the castle. Present: Governor Goodwin; Captain Charles Gilbert of the ship Lynn; Captain Roger Hale of the ship Grantham; Captain Thomas Coates of the ship Defence; Captain Augustus Townshend of the ship Augustus; Captain John Somner of the ship Britannia; Duke Crisp, second of council; John Bazett, third of council; George Gabriel Powell, fourth of council; John Goodwin junior, fifth of council. The previous consultation was read and approved. Governor Goodwin reported that the charter party of the Britannia was stipulated as follows. And it is hereby further covenanted as aforesaid that the master and master for the time being together with the ship's officers and ship's company shall on and during the intended voyage with the ship at sea and with the ship and her chief and trusted officers together with such part of the ship's company as shall be necessary, not exceeding at one time thirty men, endeavour to defend the said ship in a defensive and offensive manner in trade and also in distress if so required as aforesaid, and otherwise at all times as occasion shall require be ready to serve and shall accordingly honestly faithfully and manfully serve the Company their factors and assigns. And the part owners and masters do as aforesaid jointly and severally covenant and agree to and with the United Company that the master and masters of the ship for the time being during this whole intended voyage shall observe such commands, orders, directions and instructions as shall from time to time be given by the United Company or their Court of Directors for the time being or by any committee appointed by them or by their Governors, Presidents, Agents, Chief Factors or assigns. Interpretations The presence of five ship captains at the board alongside the five councillors makes this one of the largest consultations in this record. The charter party clause copied out here is the standard defensive covenant that the Company inserted into every voyage agreement, binding the master and his officers to defend the ship in both offensive and defensive action, to serve the Company at all times and to follow any orders issued through the Company's chain of command from the Court of Directors down to their local agents and factors. Its formal entry into the consultation book at this moment, with the island on a war footing and multiple ships in the road awaiting convoy, signals that the council was placing the defensive obligations of each captain formally on the record before any of them sailed. The instruction to defend the ship with up to thirty men at one time reflects the reality that a homeward Indiaman carried a large crew but could not put every man under arms at once while still managing the sails and the cargo. Thirty was the standard fighting party for a vessel of this size, sufficient to man the guns on one side and maintain minimal sailing crew on the other. Entering the clause in the consultation at the moment the captains were assembled gave the council documentary proof that each commander present had been formally reminded of his obligations under the charter party before departure. |
463 | 455 | He hath therefore this day called together the Commanders of the Several Ships now in the Road to acquaint them therewith And to know how many Men they can send to Reinforce Us on Shore without too much Weakning their Ships upon any Signals of Immergency made from the Fort. So which after Consideration they agreed each Ship to send 20 Men to be disposed off in such sort as the Governour & Council shall think most Conducive to the Safety of the Island. And The following Letter was accordingly addressed to each of them Signing only in the Names of their Ships Commanders as well as in the Several Forts & Officers thereof Vizt Sir Agreeable to the Charterparty with Our Honble Masters the United East India Company and the Owners of the Ship Lynn and likewise agreeable to the Resolution taken in Consultation of the 4th of April 1740 between the Worshipfull the Governour & Council & the Commanders of the Several Ships then in the Road for the greater Security of Our Honble Masters Estate both upon their Island & Shiping You are immediately upon the following Signals made from the United Castle Vizt By Day One Gun fired from the West Curtain and Full Colours hoisted upon the Line. By Night One Gun fired from the West Curtain & one false fire made upon the Said Curtain. to send Nineteen Men from on board Yours Ship with one of your Officers all well accoutred with Musquets Bayonets & Loaded Cartouch Boxes unto the United Castle where they are Immediately to be under the Direction of the Worshipfull John Goodwin Esq Governour and to follow Such Orders as he may from time to time give them, as they shall answer the Contrary at their Peril. Whereas there has been Several Irregularities committed lately by the Seamen being Suffered to come on Shore when & in what Number they | The Governor had therefore that day called together the commanders of the several ships now in the road to acquaint them with this and to know how many men they could send to reinforce the garrison on shore without too much weakening their ships on any signal of emergency made from the fort. After due consideration they agreed each ship to send 20 men to be deployed in such manner as the Governor and council should think most conducive to the safety of the island. The following letter was accordingly addressed to each of them, carrying only the names of their ships, their commanders and the several forts and officers thereof. Sir, Agreeable to the charter party with the Company's masters the United East India Company and the owners of the ship Lynn, and likewise agreeable to the resolution taken in consultation of the 4th of April 1739 between the Governor and council and the commanders of the several ships then in the road for the greater security of the Company's masters' estate both upon the island and in the shipping, upon the following signals made from the United Castle: By day: one gun fired from the west curtain and full colours hoisted upon the line. By night: one gun fired from the west curtain and one false fire made upon the said curtain. Send 20 certain men from on board the ship with one of the officers, all well accoutred with muskets, bayonets and loaded cartouche boxes, unto the United Castle, where they are immediately to be under the direction of Governor John Goodwin and to follow such orders as he may from time to time give them, as they shall answer the contrary at their peril. Whereas there have been several irregularities committed lately by the seamen being suffered to come on shore when and in what number they Interpretations The agreement of each ship's commander to supply 20 men on the alarm signal creates a formal mutual defence arrangement that supplements the island's own garrison with up to 100 men from the five ships in the road, a considerable reinforcement. The signal chosen, one gun from the west curtain with colours by day and a false fire by night, is simple enough to be unmistakable in any conditions and specific enough not to be confused with the saluting guns or the alarm for a strange sail. The false fire was a pyrotechnic device producing a bright flash visible at sea after dark, already in the stores as the priming material for the gunner's returns. The resolution of 4 April 1739 to which the letter refers as its authority was taken at the same consultation recorded in the previous image, where the charter party clause was entered and the five captains were formally assembled with the council. That consultation had itself been called specifically to establish these arrangements before the ships sailed, so the letter is the operational instrument implementing what the formal meeting had agreed. Directing the men to the United Castle under the Governor's personal command rather than to any battery position kept the reinforcement concentrated at the strongest point of the island's defences while leaving the batteries to their own crews. |
464 | 456 | Please & remain, those Nights he took this Opportunity to acquaint the Captains thereof & Consult with them how to Remedy it, Who on their Parts Promised to agree & Continue among themselves that not more than - nor 30 Men should be on Shore at a time & Care should be taken that they Return on board their Ships by 7 a Clock in the Evening. And it was thought Proper that the following Advertizement Should be Published for the Notice of the Inhabitants Vizt This is therefore to give Notice to all the Inhabitants of this Island who are Retailers of Strong Liquors that they are not to sell any Punch &ca or Suffer any Mariner to be in their House after 7 a Clock in the Evening on Penalty not only of Forfeiting the Said Licence but to be further dealt with as to Justice. On the 2d Instant arrived the Ship Augusta, Capt Augustus Townshend from China to whome We immediately Communicated the Honble Companys Letter & Delivered him the Usual Instructions for heaving in &ca upon Allarms.- | The letter continued, asking the captains to take the opportunity to acquaint the council with how to remedy the situation on their posts. They promised to agree and contrive among themselves that not more than 20 or 30 men should be on shore at a time, and care should be taken that they returned on board their ships by seven o'clock in the evening. It was thought proper that the following advertisement should be published for the notice of the inhabitants. Notice was given to all the inhabitants of the island who held a licence to sell strong liquors that they were not to sell any punch or suffer any mariner to be in their house after seven o'clock in the evening, on penalty not only of forfeiting their licence but of being further dealt with as to justice. On the 2nd of that month the ship Augustus, Captain Augustus Townshend, arrived from China, to whom the council immediately communicated the Company's letter and delivered him the usual instructions for heaving in and so on upon alarms. Interpretations The curfew of seven o'clock for mariners ashore and the direction to licence holders not to serve them after that hour reflects the same pattern of disorder that had run through the island's record whenever a large number of ships lay in the road. The assault on Susanna and Mary Pledger in February had involved men from the Defence who had been drinking at Mary Walls's house before following the women into the country, and Nathan Sample's deposition had placed them drinking punch in another house that same evening. The advertisement linked the licence to the enforcement mechanism directly, making the threat of losing the right to trade the deterrent rather than a fine, which had repeatedly proved ineffective against men with no permanent stake on the island. The agreement of the captains to limit shore parties to 20 or 30 men at a time and to recall them by seven o'clock was a practical compromise between the council's desire for control and the captains' need to allow their men some relief after long voyages. The council could not prevent men coming ashore entirely without provoking the same kind of resistance it had faced from Captain Studholme in 1735 over desertion and enticement, and a numerical limit with a curfew gave it something enforceable without requiring a direct confrontation with any commander over his authority to grant leave. |
465 | 457 | According to the Honble Comps Instructions to Us you were Ordered you, upon all Allarms which may happen during your Stay here to Send out your Stream Cable, or a good Hawser with a Small Anchor to the West Rocks. I mean only to be as near the Shore as will be safe for your Riding which you best know by your Soundings, the Intent is that no Broadsides may come ahead of you. And you cut of the Road, then for go the Honble Comps Instructions to Us for you. But because we know every Ship cannot Conveniently upon an Occasion to reply this & that some have not Hawsers for such We have given Orders for the Extra Ordinary Delivery of as many Ships that would be pulled Large Anchors on the Long Back to the Windward of the Road & divers other Measures for this time, to the Windward of that to obstruct any Ships may Send Sea, Hawser, and make shift with very little Trouble. I have now to it with the greatest Security, but as some Ships have Arrived now that have Anchored or graded this Road of the Hon Company, above pointed but have Disposed of the Position of the Fort that the beyond the Short Stanchion of Our Guns and our great depth of water where many Ships Comeing out may go ahead of them & wait them away, which others have best first found in respect of the Fort. I desire to offer out the first way that it has been a great Hindrance to those Ships that came in offer them & prevent them from Anchoring or Mooring as the Honble Company have Appointed. We therefore acquaint you that all for Out Mode Ships not to Ever within a Hawsers Length of some of the West Rocks on the West Rocks shore Ships within half a Hawsers Length of the Fort & the same Distance is to be Observed by every Ship that came in afore towards, or otherwise we are Obliged to in the Estate as against your Interest of Serving the Honble Comps Masters by the more Appointed for you. These Directions we trust are rather more Satisfactory by necessary because there are great Apprehensions of a Speedy Work & we think the utmost care ought to be taken for the Safety of our Honble Masters Estate on board of you, & if you need any further Assistance we shall be willing to lend it when we are. Sr Ernest James & Commands | According to the Company's instructions to the governor, upon all alarms which might happen during the stay there, to send out a stream cable or a good hawser with a small anchor to the ring bolts and heave in by it as near the shore as was safe for the ship during which the governor would let him know by the sounding. The intent was that no single vessel or ship might come ahead of him, and to cut off the road from there and go to the Company's instructions as to whether it became necessary upon an occasion to carry out what they had not hitherto been able to do, but now having obtained a victory for the conveying and delivery of those cargoes, that upon the first opportunity and other measures taken to the westward of that, to withstand any emergency and otherwise, to make fast with every little trouble. Now several ships had arrived with the greatest security, but as some ships had arrived that had shown no regard to the orders of the Company, even required but had been deprived of the protection of the fleet, their best standing cards, their guns and our great depths of water, where many ships coming out may go ahead of them and draw them away, which otherwise could not find them in sight of the land. This had been a great hindrance to those ships that came in after them, having received them from anchoring or mooring in the Company's road as ordered. The council acquainted him that all single ships were not to come within a hawser's length of one of the ring bolts on the west rocks and no ships within half a hawser's length of hill rock, and the same declaration to be observed by every ship, that coming inadvertently did, otherwise they were obliged to answer the same as against the forest offering of the Company's orders by its name and promised to them. These directions were therefore needful from representations by necessary reasons, there being great representations in a speedy work, seeing there the aforesaid cases might be taken for the reply of the Company's masters, directed on board him, and if any further assistance and what is wanting to clarify those were. Sir, Your most humble servant. Interpretations This page carries a letter from the council to an arriving commander, combining the standard heaving-in instructions with a more extended set of directions about road discipline that reflects the heightened wartime posture. The text is unusually difficult to read in places, the hand being hasty and the ink faded, and several passages have been rendered as best readings with some uncertainty. The core instructions, to heave in on the ring bolts, to maintain proper station in the road and not to allow ships to come ahead of one another, are consistent with the standing orders that had been issued to every arriving commander since at least May 1727. The reference to ships that had arrived without observing the orders and had thereby lost the protection of the fleet reflects the council's persistent anxiety about individual commanders breaking formation, the same problem that had driven the convoy disputes of 1727 to 1729 and the protest against Captain Peacham in December 1729. Under wartime conditions the consequence of breaking formation was no longer merely a dispute about demurrage but a genuine risk of capture by an enemy privateer, making the road discipline instructions a matter of survival rather than procedure. |
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468 | 460 | Book cover | |
469 | 461 | EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date: St. Helena Records 1735-1740 Dimensions (height x width x depth) (cm): 47cm x 32cm x 6cm No. written pages: 462 No. blank pages: 3 Spine and cover: Good Condition Inside pages: Some Foxing Additional comments: Time taken to photograph (hours): 4 hours | |