Introduction: This is the 45th volume in the series of St Helena Records, which summarises the proceedings of official meetings held by the island’s Governor and Council, during which matters of government, defence, supplies, justice and discipline were discussed and recorded.
Source: Images of the original records can be viewed on the British Library’s website: https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1364-1-1-45.
Referencing Text Locations: A dual numbering system has been adopted, combining the British Library film number with the manuscript’s original page number. These are presented in the format: British Library Film No. / Document Page No.
Text Inaccuracy: This transcription was produced by AI from handwritten document images held on the British Library's website, at about thirty pages per hour. Given the limitations described below, the text should be regarded as unreliable and used only as a search-and-find shortcut: once a relevant section has been located, it must always be checked against the source image via the hyperlinked Film Numbers listed in the main transcription table below.
Three specific problems affected the work. First, AI tends to prioritise meaning and readability at the expense of fidelity to the original, with a strong disposition to normalise spellings, expand abbreviations, and adjust grammar. It is particularly weak with unfamiliar surnames, and scrawled signatures often resist accurate transcription entirely. Transcriptions by eye of documents spanning four centuries have also shown that a single surname could be written in a wide variety of ways: the Crowie family name appears under six different spellings, and the Isaacs family name under sixteen. Searches for surnames are therefore hindered both by genuine variations in the originals and by mistranscriptions introduced by AI, and for this reason are best run phonetically. Second, the AI struggled with the late secretary hand, the script commonly used from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, in which the letter S appears in a form closely resembling a trailing L. Third, occasional passages in these volumes are written in a hand so obscure or poorly formed as to be difficult to read even by eye, sometimes compounded by heavy ink bleed-through from the reverse side or by the loss of sections of pages.
To mitigate these difficulties, a strict protocol was applied to each image, requiring the AI to rely solely on clearly visible ink strokes and to flag any uncertain reading, thereby reducing the risk of inferred or invented text. Two conventions are used. [...] marks text that could not be read with confidence; this may represent a single unreadable word, a full sentence, or occasionally an entire paragraph. Square brackets around letters or words indicate a conjectural reading supplied by the transcriber: brackets around a whole word, for example [Bazett], mean the entire word was unclear and a probable reading has been supplied, while brackets around individual letters within an otherwise readable word, for example B[a]z[e]tt, mean only those specific letters were unclear in the source and the unbracketed letters were legibly present.
Pagination: The pages are unnumbered. Therefore, for reference purposes, the first page of the records on Film No. 10 is designated as page 1 (location 10/1), with numbering continuing sequentially through the end of the volume.
Dates: The Council's first meeting took place on 28 April 1766, with the final meeting occurring on 4 May 1767. All the sessions were convened during the administration of John Skottowe (1764-1782).
AI Generated Summary
Introduction
The Governor and Council met at the Castle 14 times from 28 April 1766 to 30 June 1766, weekly on Mondays from 7 July 1766 to 19 January 1767 with no meeting entered for 29 December 1766, five times from 26 January 1767 to 23 February 1767, 10 times from 2 March 1766/7 to 18 April 1767 and on 20 April 1767, 22 April 1767, 27 April 1767 and 4 May 1767. The minutes were copied for the Court of Directors in London. Quarterly accounts were entered under 21 July 1766, 20 October 1766, 19 January 1767 and 20 April 1767; the year of the October heading and the January date, written with December as its month, are supplied by the sequence. Many names and figures in the accounts rest on doubtful readings and several carried totals disagree from leaf to leaf. [Film No. 10-473]
Governance and administration
Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended every meeting and signed each day's proceedings. A reading of Matthew Bazett as fourth member from 13 April 1767 to 20 April 1767 is contradicted by the pay list and signatures of 20 April 1767 and 22 April 1767, which name Purling. Bazett was secretary and wrote the Council's letters, though William Bazett signed one notice as secretary on 29 October 1766. Each meeting opened with the previous minutes read, approved and signed, followed by a log of arrivals, departures and deaths and then the accounts. [Film No. 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 59, 60-109, 134, 135, 137, 138, 143, 147, 149, 151, 152, 157, 159, 162, 164, 165, 169, 172, 178, 191, 192, 263, 264, 267, 272, 275, 277, 278, 280, 284, 289, 290, 293, 296, 339, 340, 343, 351, 353, 357, 361, 398, 400, 409, 410, 413, 430, 458, 459, 461-463, 466, 468-473]
Samuel Alexander was sworn sheriff and Henry Harper constable on 28 April 1766. Thomas Yates, a gunner, became clerk on 5 May 1766 at the customary salary after William Smith left the service. [Film No. 10, 12, 13, 17, 18]
Purling boarded each Company ship before she sailed, mustered the crew against the commander's signed roll and searched for deserters. He reported none in 10 ships from 28 April 1766 to 23 June 1766, the True Briton on 7 July 1766, the Grosvenor on 14 July 1766, the Tilbury before 26 July 1766, the three ships of 5 August 1766, the Harcourt and Admiral Watson by 22 September 1766, the Ponsborne on 3 November 1766, every Company ship from 2 March 1767 to 13 April 1767, the Deptford before 18 April 1767 and the Fox, Lord Camden, Duke of Kingston, Glatton and Lioness by 4 May 1767. A John Terry stood on the roll of the Thames entered under 23 May 1766, the day a John Terry enlisted in the garrison. [Film No. 10-12, 29-33, 40, 43-45, 50, 51, 56, 57, 61, 62, 70-72, 132, 133, 139-142, 159, 267, 272, 361, 375, 395, 401, 408, 410, 411, 461-463, 466, 468-473]
The pay list for 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766, entered under 21 July 1766, gave Skottowe £156 14s 9d a quarter, being £125 0s 0d salary and £31 4s 9d for servants. Corneille had £87 10s 0d, the chaplain John Thackeray £40 0s 0d, the storekeeper James Powell £35 0s 0d and Matthew Bazett £35 0s 0d. Purling's £62 10s 0d comprised £15 0s 0d as councillor, £17 10s 0d as accountant, diet money and a gratuity of £15 0s 0d. Kirkpatrick had £10 0s 0d as councillor and £45 12s 6d as captain of the First Company, and was also paymaster. Captain Archibald Mitchell drew £77 10s 0d as engineer and £45 12s 6d as captain of artillery, and signed the gunner's accounts. Captain Richard Beale drew £12 10s 0d as judge advocate, £7 10s 0d as schoolmaster and his captain's pay, £65 12s 6d in all. These rates were unchanged to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 107-109, 111, 114, 119, 123, 125, 191-193, 199, 318-320, 322, 323, 325, 331, 333, 430, 431, 434, 437, 442, 446]
The writers Britannicus Wright and John Goodwin drew £5 0s 0d in salary and £10 0s 0d in diet money. The factors William Wrangham and Jonathan Doveton had £7 10s 0d in salary with extra pay as assistant to the Governor and assistant storekeeper, and servants not lodged by the Company had £2 10s 0d house rent. The master mason William Holbrooke (also Hallbrook, Holbrook) received £30 0s 0d, the carpenter John Robinson £25 0s 0d and the surgeon Robert Barclay £22 5s 0d. John Bazett, a sergeant and superintendent of the Company's slaves, the gardener James Black and the armourer John Gibson each had about £10 0s 0d. The longboat coxswains John Caswell and William French had £7 10s 0d and £5 0s 0d. Solomon St Maurice was master at arms and a lieutenant, George Bazett was steward and John Bridgewater's £13 13s 9d carried no post. The sergeants Phillip Mahoney (also Mabony) and Thomas Payne shared names with the clerk of the peace and the overseer of the Company's workmen. William Bearcroft was paid a chaplain's salary for nine days between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. [Film No. 107-109, 111, 146, 192, 193, 318-320, 430-432, 445]
Miss Temperance Swaits had a legal document of unstated content registered on 30 June 1766, and James Greentree a bill of lading on 3 November 1766. Purling reported the general books balanced to 30 September 1766 on 3 November 1766 and copies were ordered. [Film No. 60, 271]
Bazett signed public notices on 11 August 1766 and 25 August 1766. The second required every inhabitant to deliver a signed account of household, land and cattle by 20 September 1766 and to pay rents and dues at the Castle on 29 September 1766. It closed the stores from 6 September 1766 to 6 October 1766. Purling and Kirkpatrick were appointed on 8 September 1766 to take the customary yearly count of the stock. [Film No. 146, 150, 156]
The minutes of 6 October 1766 record only that Mitchell's letter and plan for Sandy Bay were deferred for a week. Corneille wrote to the board and to the Court of Directors on 13 October 1766 that, when he began to question the engineer, the Governor told him abruptly that he had no right to offer an opinion unless asked, nor to dictate to the board. He held that such words destroyed the freedom of opinion owed to every member under the Court's appointment, named one witness, asked that the complaint go to London in the minutes and offered his own conduct for inquiry. Skottowe entered no reply. Corneille tabled two written questions that day, Mitchell answered in writing and each member gave a signed opinion. Kirkpatrick, Purling and Corneille approved the plan, and Skottowe, writing last, unsigned and in the third person, praised its skill. The Council ordered the old battery demolished, a mortar added and the works pressed on, although the design differed from the drawing sent home in 1765. [Film No. 171, 182-190]
Petitions seeking a change were sent for inspection before decision from 10 November 1766, while plain renewals were granted at once. Corneille's report that the roof of his house in the valley leaked to the second floor was referred to Holbrooke and Robinson, who reported on 2 March 1767 on the roof of the great house. They found the frame sound, the gutters poor and the thatch behind the chimney torn by vermin, and advised tiles as the cheapest lasting remedy. The Council ordered only the useless upper part of the chimney taken down and the bad section repaired. [Film No. 274, 342, 350, 351, 353, 358, 359, 364]
The Northumberland arrived from England on the night of 23 March 1767 and her packet from the Court of Directors was read in full Council on Tuesday 24 March 1767. The Earl of Middlesex brought a second, read on Thursday 9 April 1767. The contents of neither were minuted. [Film No. 380, 398]
The Council wrote its yearly letters on 6 April 1767 to Fort William, Fort St George, Bombay and the supercargoes at Canton, its previous letters all being dated 14 March 1766. Bengal, in a letter addressed to Lord Clive, was asked for 8 maunds of wax candles, the usual arrack and paddy by each ship and twice the rice the Company had ordered. Bombay was asked for the same doubling and for 200 pieces of Surat chelloes. Madras was asked for 138 pieces of long cloth in five grades from 12 pagodas to 2½ pagodas a piece. No reason was given for overriding the directors' figure for rice. All four letters left for Canton in the Northumberland, the supercargoes being asked to forward those for India, with her charter party, victualling bill, manifest and a list of ships calling since March 1766. Her 10 working days for unloading had run out and her captain, entered as John S[...] and elsewhere as John Mitford, received written orders to sail. The Prince of Wales had carried the letter of 14 March 1766 to Canton and returned on 21 March 1767. [Film No. 388-391, 456]
A notice of 13 April 1767 signed by Bazett required all inhabitants to meet in vestry at the chapel in the valley on 20 April 1767 to choose parish officers and a constable and to name three men for sheriff. They nominated Bazett, Wrangham and Doveton and the Council appointed Bazett. From four churchwardens proposed it chose Richard Bagley and James Greentree over Lieutenant St Maurice and John Alexander. It took one overseer from each pair offered for the East, West and South Divisions, and George Bird was returned as constable. [Film No. 408, 456, 457]
The 10 working days allowed the Earl of Middlesex had expired by 22 April 1767. The Council gave Captain John Hasell written orders, placing further delay at his own risk, to proceed to Fort Marlborough on the west coast of Sumatra as the Court had directed. She carried a letter to President Roger Carter, her charter party, victualling bill and manifest, duplicates of the letters sent by the Northumberland and the cadet John Stewart, appointed by the Court to the Fort St George establishment. [Film No. 460, 461, 465]
Captain Augustus Savage of the Duke of Cumberland had lain four weeks at the island on 4 May 1767 and was in very poor health. The Council wrote that day that the stay far exceeded the Company's allowance for refreshment and urged him to sail as soon as possible. He replied that many China ships had already gone ahead, asked a few days to restore his own health and that of his officers and undertook to sail within the week. [Film No. 467, 468]
Military affairs and defence
The clothing issue for the quarter to 30 June 1766 went to 20 sergeants, 16 corporals, 15 drummers and 361 privates, with an artillery company of four sergeants, four corporals, four bombardiers, eight gunners and 42 matrosses, about 470 men. Hats and shirts reached all the privates but coats and breeches only 274. Clothing cost £722 13s 0d within a garrison account of £1,077 6s 9d that also covered 12 watch coats, 350 hair stocks, tea for the guard posts, 8 gallons of arrack for drams at muster and 5 lb of whipcord with six lines for making whips. A sergeant's coat and breeches cost about £5 4s 6d and a private's about £1 9s 0d. [Film No. 95-97]
The four infantry companies were commanded by Kirkpatrick, Henry Bazett, Beale and John Howard, and the artillery by Mitchell with two lieutenants. Each infantry company had a captain, two lieutenants at £27 11s 10½d including diet money and house rent, four sergeants, four corporals and two drummers; the Fourth Company carried three drummers and the Third had a single lieutenant in early 1767. Privates, called sentinels, earned £0 0s 10d a day or £3 16s 0½d a quarter, corporals and drummers £0 1s 2d a day or £5 6s 5½d and sergeants £0 1s 8d a day or £7 12s 1d. In the artillery a matross had £0 1s 0d a day or £4 11s 3d, a gunner £0 1s 4d or £6 1s 8d and a sergeant £0 2s 0d or £9 2s 6d. The adjutant Solomon Jacob had £22 16s 3d, Lieutenant Samuel Desfountain £18 5s 0d and the cadet John Stewart a private's pay. Broken service was paid by the day: John Allis, discharged on 23 June 1766, received £3 10s 0d and Moses Osbourn £3 15s 10d for 91 days. The First and Fourth Companies had 64 sentinels each and the Third 63 in the quarter to 31 December 1766, with about 40 matrosses, and each company had about 70 privates in the quarter to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 109-122, 194-207, 320-333, 431-445]
Six privates were discharged on 4 April 1766, at least seven on 7 April 1766 and three on 19 May 1766, each paid to the day. Seven more left at the end of their terms from 3 May 1766 to 23 June 1766. James [...] died on 23 April 1766, or 22 April 1766 by the pay list, and John Hawkswood on 29 June 1766. Six recruits were entered singly from 8 May 1766 to 30 June 1766, among them John Terry on 23 May 1766 and John Arns Mayer on 26 May 1766, each for five years with £5 0s 0d for clothing and necessaries. No matross was discharged, died or enlisted that quarter. The paymaster's account signed on 30 June 1766 gave nine soldiers £10 0s 0d each for re-enlisting for five years and new recruits £5 0s 0d, £2 10s 0d or £2 0s 0d for the same term. [Film No. 10, 14, 27, 29, 36, 41, 53, 58, 59, 110, 112, 113, 115-119, 128, 130]
Corporals Hopkinson and Goulding of the Second Company were reduced on 29 April 1766 and replaced the next day by privates Leech and Prior. The fourth corporal's place in the Fourth Company passed through three men from 7 April 1766 to 27 May 1766, and gunner Yates exchanged ranks with matross Fox on 9 June 1766. No cause was entered for these or any later reductions. [Film No. 112, 113, 117, 118, 120, 121]
James Proctor and John Wiburd were discharged on 30 June 1766 and William Bell on 14 July 1766. Joseph Martin enlisted for five years on 30 June 1766 for £5 0s 0d. The minutes name Reives Orlman, Mannard Hayes and John Hinds on 1 July 1766 and the pay list John Hards, Maynard Hayes and Moses Osbourn on 1 and 2 July 1766 and John Hines in the artillery on 22 July 1766; Hayes and Osbourn had £2 10s 0d each. A man entered as Benjamin Barclay, enlisted, and as Benjamin Bartley, re-enlisted, had £3 0s 0d on 28 August 1766, and John McAlister £10 0s 0d for re-enlisting. Henry Standford, with 3 years 9 months to serve, paid Thomas Killock £4 0s 0d to take his place; the Council accepted the substitute on 30 June 1766 and Standford took his discharge on 21 July 1766, the eleventh since 3 May 1766. [Film No. 60, 63, 72, 73, 194-204, 207-210]
John Landgren (also Landgridge) died on 16 July 1766, Richard Knight and Simon Mason on 18 July 1766, Samuel Eccles (also Eales) on 20 July 1766, John Chapman on 22 July 1766, Thomas Tuffnell on 12 August 1766, David Belford on 26 or 27 August 1766 and William Lambon on 3 or 4 October 1766. Four further entries were read as discharges, though the abbreviation in the Fourth Company could mean died. The store issued 28 deals for coffins in the quarter to 30 June 1766 and 54 deals with 60 lb of nails for coffins and cots in the next. The sexton was paid £2 12s 6d for burying 21 soldiers from 11 February 1763 to 30 September 1766 at £0 2s 6d each, a difficult reading. [Film No. 72, 73, 96, 135, 138, 147, 151, 152, 169, 194-204, 210, 212, 232, 233]
Sergeant Thomas James of the Second Company was reduced to private on 12 July 1766, and George Freeman and William Fulwood each rose a rank the next day. Corporal Thomas Matthews of the Third Company was replaced by Samuel Johnson on 5 August 1766. Gunner Adam Crichton was reduced on 21 July 1766 and reappointed on 25 August 1766, and gunner John Fox was reduced on 24 August 1766. Lieutenant John Bridgewater, overseer at Sandy Bay at £0 3s 0d a day, was dismissed the service without stated cause in the proceedings of 21 July 1766 and paid to 12 July 1766; Lieutenant Thomas Bazett drew the overseer's allowance for the remaining 84 days. George Nelson moved from the artillery to the Third Company on 11 August 1766 by one roll and 25 August 1766 by the other. [Film No. 124, 126, 128, 134, 192, 196, 197, 199, 201, 206]
Garrison stores for the quarter to 30 September 1766 cost £45 16s 6d. They included six outfits of coat, waistcoat and breeches at about £1 9s 4½d a set, 2 lb of whipcord, 34 lb of Bohea and 44¼ gallons of train oil for the guards and 103 yards of canvas for cot bottoms, on which carpenters spent 118½ days. The armourer drew 41 files, a vice at £1 13s 1d, a cast back for a forge and a till lock. [Film No. 210, 212, 232, 233, 236, 237]
Kirkpatrick paid £10 0s 0d each to John Forbes, John Dove, John Davis and William Robinson for re-enlisting for five years from 21 October 1766 to 13 December 1766, £5 0s 0d to David Scott and £1 0s 0d to John Harper, enlisted as a fifer on 13 December 1766. Robert Allum and William Stapleford changed places between the artillery and the Second Company on 13 and 14 October 1766. In the Second Company Corporal Gregory Southerwood was reduced on 10 November 1766 and Sergeants William Greenough and Samuel Lord on 1 December 1766; Edmond Leech, Stephen Prior, William Hunt, John Fish and John Seaborn rose. In the Fourth Company Corporal Thomas Haylock was reduced on 13 October 1766, and William Mitchell and John Moore were promoted. Corporal Jonathan Lake of that company deserted on 5 November 1766 in the Ponsborne, which Purling had mustered, and the Council recorded that Captain John Payne took every precaution in his power. Garrison stores that quarter cost £74 5s 6d, including 74 blankets, canvas for cots and 16 gallons of arrack for muster days. [Film No. 267, 272, 310-313, 323-325, 328-334]
Sergeant John Vaughan of the Third Company was reduced on 1 January 1767, and Corporal James York and Private Thomas Pearce each moved up. Isaac Day died on 2 February 1767; Powell, as coroner, held an inquest on the soldier Edward Law on 11 February 1767 and was paid on 26 February 1767. Joseph Uffin and James Cartwright were discharged on 16 February 1767 and Samuel Alston on 23 February 1767. Gunner William Phillips changed places with matross William Hodges on 16 February 1767. Thomas McDearmond enlisted on 28 February 1767 and Thomas Darnell had £3 0s 0d for enlisting that day. Fifteen serving soldiers took £10 0s 0d each from 6 January 1767 to 6 March 1767 to re-enlist for five years. [Film No. 343, 354, 358, 433-444, 446, 448, 450]
The Northumberland brought 24 recruits, enlisted on 23 March 1767 and divided six to each infantry company. Her surgeon Andrew Cranston received £6 0s 0d for their care on the passage, and the store issued 29 blankets for recruits and a suit, hat, shirt, stockings and roller for one. Free issues to the garrison from 1 January 1767 to 31 March 1767 cost £32 17s 8d, including 44 lb of Bohea for the guards and 4 lb of whipcord. Nine men shared £0 15s 0d on 14 March 1767 for swimming after a Company boat adrift. [Film No. 424, 425, 433-442, 446, 448, 450, 452]
John Scotcher, a soldier, died on 4 April 1767; a man of that name had been discharged from the Fourth Company on 19 May 1766 while a matross of the name drew full pay. Richard Jones and James Henry were discharged at the end of their terms on 6 April 1767 and 13 April 1767. Edmond Conner, a matross paid in full to 31 March 1767, was missing by 13 April 1767 and suspected of deserting in the Danish ship or the Speke, which Captain Robert Brooke searched twice without finding him. John May, a soldier, died on 4 May 1767. [Film No. 110, 115, 119, 121, 122, 387, 397, 407, 408, 413, 425, 435, 444, 469]
The gunner's account for April 1766 recorded 179 guns fired and 352 lb of powder, 133 lb of it for priming and blasting. Salutes came from 2-pounders, and alarms at the sight of a sail from pieces of 4, 3 and 1 lb and two heavier guns at Banks's. Banks's and Prosperous Bay fired first and the main fort repeated the signal. May 1766 took 236 guns and 685 lb 12 oz, of which 300 lb went to Sandy Bay on 1 May 1766 for breaking stone. Double alarms were fired on four days for passing groups of ships, Turks Cap served as a third lookout and received a 4 lb rammer head, salutes to single ships ran from eight to 12 guns and a gun carriage and lantern were used up at Sandy Bay. June 1766 took 134 guns and 499 lb 12 oz: nine ship movements were saluted, a Swedish ship's departure on 12 June 1766 with 16 guns, the King's birthday had 21 guns, four alarms had six guns each and blasting at Sandy Bay took 300 lb. [Film No. 21, 47, 48, 67]
July 1766 took 191 guns and 233 lb. A sighting was relayed by two guns under each of three column headings at a cost of 12 lb of powder. A double alarm on 7 July 1766 preceded two ships, and alarms on 24, 27 and 31 July 1766 each preceded a Company ship. Company ships received nine guns, the Dutch ship 13, Major Firth 11 and General Lawrence 17 on 28 July 1766 and again on 5 August 1766. The month's only shotted round was fired on 9 July 1766, when the Dutch ship arrived. The Pacifick was saluted on 28 July 1766, a day after the diary records her arrival. Blasting took 200 lb in August 1766 against 52 lb 8 oz for salutes. September 1766 took 38 guns and 70 lb 8 oz with none for blasting; alarms on 5 September 1766, one repeated from Turk's Cap, announced the Admiral Watson and Harcourt, each saluted with nine guns, and only the Harcourt was saluted on sailing. Eight iron-shod trucks were used, four for 32-pounders and four for 9-pounders. [Film No. 135, 138, 144, 155, 180]
Powder charged to the fortifications was 144 lb 14 oz in October 1766, nil in November 1766 and 103 lb 14 oz in December 1766 for blasting. Handspikes went to the works in November and December 1766, with 12 iron-shod trucks in November 1766. The King's accession was saluted with 21 guns on 25 October 1766. Two 9-pounders at Banks's raised the alarm for the Ponsborne on 26 October 1766, and one shotted round made her bring to before the fort answered her salute with nine guns. Six alarm guns at Prosperous Bay in November 1766 concerned the Company's longboat, for a reason not given, and no gun was fired in December 1766. [Film No. 263, 273, 282, 295]
January 1767 took 16 guns and 47 lb 13 oz. Banks's fired an alarm for a Portuguese ship on 15 January 1767, Prosperous Bay and Turk's Cap fired on 21 January 1767 for the Company's own longboat and an alarm on 22 January 1767 marked a ship passing at a great distance. Ten howitzer fuses split in driving and the works used up 64 handspikes. February 1767 took 57 guns and 103 lb 4 oz: His Majesty's ship Argo had 15 guns on arrival, Captain Affleck 15 on landing and the Asia nine. March 1767 took 223 guns, with seven alarms of six guns and a double alarm of 13 guns for four ships passing on 17 March 1767. A French ship received 11 guns and a Mr Summers, probably W. B. Sumner, 13 on landing and embarking. Powder for unspecified other services was 303 lb 8 oz, more than half the month's total. Lead balls or shot for shooting goats were issued in August 1766 and in January, February and March 1767. [Film No. 155, 340, 352, 366, 406]
Soldiers bringing urgent reports of sails to windward shared £6 5s 0d in the quarter to 30 June 1766, £2 5s 0d in the next, £0 10s 0d in the next and £3 10s 0d in the quarter to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 130, 214, 338, 448]
Mitchell reported on 5 May 1766 that building materials for Sandy Bay stood ready and that his first task was a culvert and channel to carry flood water beneath the defensive line planned across the bay. On 26 May 1766 he submitted the yearly lists of guns and stores and asked for 10 brass guns for the new works, because surf on that windward coast threw up spray that ruined iron guns within a few years. For 1767 he asked for an assistant to the master mason skilled in walling, a stonelayer to replace Ryley, who went home sick in 1765, a master smith, a brickmaker able to make tiles, a plasterer and a house painter. The second mason was only a stone cutter. He urged that tradesmen be sent as enlisted recruits, since wages would cost far less and the works move faster. [Film No. 17, 21, 36, 37]
Soldiers working for the Company earned £0 1s 0d a day as labourers and £0 1s 6d at a trade above their pay. Masons received £0 3s 6d and the hired carpenter Julio Fabiano £0 5s 0d. Bread was baked at Sandy Bay for the men lodged there. Labour and stores charged to Sandy Bay each quarter were as follows. [Film No. 124, 126, 128, 210, 212, 334, 336, 427, 429, 450]
Quarter to | Soldiers: labouring | Blasting | Masons | Smiths | Carpenters | Planters' slaves: labourers | Stone layers | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 June 1766 | 3,862 | 393½ | - | - | - | - | - | £84 12s 4d |
30 September 1766 | 5,380½ | - | 81 | 73 | 12½ | 682 | 128¾ | £39 17s 3d |
31 December 1766 | 5,261½ | 258 | 140 | 73½ | 12 | 1,427 | 108 | £41 17s 3d |
31 March 1767 | 5,869 | 427½ | 186¼ | 74¾ | - | 1,448 | 121¼ | £97 12s 2d |
All figures are days and a hyphen marks a figure not stated. Planters were paid £0 1s 0d a day for labourers and £0 2s 6d for stonelayers. A further line for the quarter to 30 September 1766 was read as 1,337½ days at £0 0s 4d for £34 8s 7½d, probably a misreading. Holbrooke was paid £3 3s 0d for 63 days by his apprentice at £0 1s 0d a day in that quarter and for 150 days by his apprentices in the next, when cash outlay on the site came to about £397. [Film No. 210, 212, 334, 336, 450]
Sandy Bay stores to 30 June 1766, signed by Powell, comprised 255 deals and 99 yards of canvas for a camp, 437 lb of iron and 33 lb of steel for a forge and 10 pickaxes with 30 spare helves. The next quarter's comprised 12 wheelbarrows at £9 6s 0d, 24 labourers' baskets, two iron crows, 32 blankets, candles for the officer, 70 lb of iron, 22 lb of steel, smiths' rubbers and files and 25 panes of glass; Robinson was paid £10 2s 4d for 100 cabbage tree sticks and 32 rafters. Arrack took £24 10s 2d for 133⅛ gallons in the quarter to 31 December 1766. The stores to 31 March 1767 included 141½ gallons of arrack, 30 blankets and 446 pieces of salt meat for the slaves there. [Film No. 100-106, 210, 242, 243, 317, 427, 429]
The old works took £40 13s 7d of stores to 30 June 1766, chiefly for a new flagstaff at the main fort cased with 653 lb of lead, bunting for flags there and at Rupert's, paint for gun carriages and paste for rockets. Soldiers also worked on the Mount at the Castle, the glacis at the main fort, the portcullis at Banks's, brickmaking, the longboats and Plantation House, whose gutter cement took 64 gallons of beer. In the next quarter a ship's bowsprit 16 inches in diameter and 36 feet long served as the flagstaff mast at £7 0s 0d, with two lighter spars, oak plank and ¾ ton of timber at £13 2s 0d for the ladders to raise it. Painters, plasterers and carpenters worked 30¾, 2¾ and 55¾ days in the Castle, carrying limestone and burning lime took 237 days and Plantation House took 65 days of masons on its gutters and 257½ of labourers. Eleven wheelbarrows at £8 10s 6d went to works in the valley, and the established fortifications cost £2 12s 3d for cordage at the alarm house and paint for gun carriages, which soldiers painted for 19¾ days. Rupert's received £8 12s 3d to 31 March 1767 for relaying gun platforms. [Film No. 100-106, 124, 126, 128, 212, 214, 233, 235, 240, 241, 427, 429]
Mitchell wrote on 14 July 1766 that the Sandy Bay fortification, ordered by the Court and built to a plan approved in England, had been the workmen's main task for three months. Time had gone on building quarters and bringing materials from the town, gathering stone was slowest and the masons were building the culvert. Of 44 Company slaves assigned, 11 lay in hospital and nearly all the rest, except the island-born, suffered from the cold and storms of that coast. He judged 10 soldiers hired at £0 1s 0d a day worth more than the whole gang and asked the Council to tell the Court so. The Governor's alterations to the Castle and the Mount were finished, he added, and nothing could now properly hinder the fortifications. The Council accepted his case for another longboat, one being always with the shipping and another generally under repair. [Film No. 68-70]
The Council found guard duty too heavy by 18 August 1766 because so many soldiers were on the works. It ordered the surgeon or his mate on 8 September 1766 to visit Sandy Bay weekly and bought a horse from Richard Bagley for £9 0s 0d, the two Company horses being reserved for the Governor. On 27 October 1766 it sent Richard Vincent, a sentinel and hospital assistant with some knowledge of medicine and surgery, to follow the surgeons' directions and attend accidents among the soldiers and Company slaves there, at £1 0s 0d a month while building lasted. [Film No. 149, 156, 208, 266, 267, 336]
Mitchell reported on 6 October 1766 that the culvert and channel were complete and that the wall ran from Bland's battery to the left side of the bay. Digging had exposed a shallow foundation and weak facing at that battery and a new facing was almost finished. The ditch needed about three more weeks, stone for nearly the whole work was gathered and building would begin in five or six weeks. He had retiled part of the leaking roof of Plantation House and sealed its second valley with waterproof mortar. He now advised demolishing the old battery on the left of the bay, which he had earlier judged worth repairing: so small a garrison could not man it and in enemy hands it would help an attack on the new wall. [Film No. 169-171]
Corneille's questions asked whether a ditch and glacis would better protect the smaller wall of three guns against a sudden landing and whether a mortar could harm ships off a windward bay. Mitchell replied that the wall was hidden from ships and swept by the flanking gun left of Bland's battery and by musketry from the main line, so that a ditch, which he called absurd, would only shelter attackers. He had left out a feasible wet ditch because an engineer's skill lay in choosing the works that served with least labour and expense. The mortar would keep ships at a distance and fire grapeshot at boats. He likened a landing under undamaged guns to a burglar climbing to an attic window while the householder waited with pistols. Corneille, shown the flanking gun on the ground on 7 October 1766, conceded the ditch and supported the mortar against boats, but held that a desperate attack was not an impossible one and cited Louisbourg and other actions of the last war. [Film No. 185-190]
Mitchell's letter of 5 January 1767 reported a revetment joining Bland's Battery to the rock on the right, built before 1 October 1766, and a new revetment given to the battery on his own judgement. In the quarter to 31 December 1766 the merlons were rebuilt, the gun platforms begun and the counterscarp faced to 14 feet along most of the main line; ditch and glacis could advance no further until that facing stood. The works had consumed nearly all the lime burnt with coal from that year's storeships, so workmen were felling and hauling wood for the kilns, from which he expected close to 3,000 bushels, enough until the next storeships. He planned by 31 March 1767 to finish the ditch and glacis, dig the foundation left of Bland's Battery and begin the main revetment, and commended Lieutenant Bazett for diligence and discipline. [Film No. 290-292]
Mitchell wrote on 26 January 1767 that the storeships were expected to bring the four 13-inch mortars requested in 1766 and that the artillery company had no knowledge of such weapons. He asked leave to begin practice with guns and mortars after the ships arrived. The old practice ground in Rupert's Valley was too short for the mortars or the 8-inch howitzers and so rocky that firing would endanger the men and waste stores, and Longwood was the only suitable ground. The Council agreed that day. [Film No. 340, 341]
His letter of 6 April 1767 reported the ditch and glacis finished except for a passage to the limekilns, stone and mortar for the whole main line on site, its revetment within a week of completion apart from the parapet and the battery's gun platforms finished and lacking only guns. He meant to delay the rampart until the masonry could bear the earth. For the next three months he planned a wall parallel to the revetment to hold the rampart, a bombproof magazine beneath it, the flanking line on the left with a bank in front to supply scarce earth and one work that could not be read. He stressed the labour of quarrying, breaking and burning limestone, loading longboats and cutting fuel. He asked for more men, arguing that speed lowered cost and that recruits were arriving in the store ships, and for one or two more longboats, the Company's three being in constant use. His highest ambition, he wrote, was to convince the directors of his diligence and keep the good opinion expressed in a former general letter, and he wanted Sandy Bay reported home in time for an answer by the next year's store ships. [Film No. 392-394]
The Council praised his diligence and refused the men. The garrison had no more than three reliefs once the sick, discharged and absent were allowed for, and every slave who could be spared had long been on the works. It expected the defences to take five years in place of four at no added cost beyond the engineer's salary. It agreed to buy one more longboat and deferred a second. The Company's yawl, which served the longboats, had been stove in by heavy surf and the Council had agreed by 30 March 1767 to buy another. [Film No. 386, 394, 395]
Settlement, land and agriculture
Corneille warned on 30 April 1766 that 11 ships, counting two storeships from England, had taken 30 head of the Company's cattle under their charter parties and that only 15 remained for the 18 ships still expected. Five milk cows and four young cattle reserved for 1767 could raise the number to 24, beyond which the herd would need several years to recover. He blamed the extra cattle given to the last ships of 1765 and argued that there was no time to wait for orders from London. Purling's written opinion of 3 May 1766, drawn from the plantation and ships' accounts, was that ships in 1765 received more than a third of their charter party beef, against a quarter in 1761, 1762 and 1763, and that the Edgecote and Duke of Dorset received none in 1760. The Council resolved that day to cut the allowance from a third to a quarter until the herd recovered. [Film No. 14-16]
Thomas Greentree had two leases covering 7 acres in the East Division merged on 12 May 1766, sealed on 18 August 1766 at £0 2s 0d an acre. John Worrall renewed 16¾ and 14¼ acres in Sharks Valley on 12 May 1766, and Guilio Fabiano was allowed that day to pass his plot in the valley by the Castle to Lieutenant St Maurice. Captain Henry Bazett renewed 6 acres at Sandy Bay on 19 May 1766 at £0 5s 0d an acre and Robert Ballard a plot of 38 feet by 17 feet in James's Valley at £0 5s 0d a year. William Seale senior renewed 21½ acres in the East Division on 26 May 1766. John Desfountain's lease of 14 July 1766 in the East Division was entered as 23 acres but comprised 16 acres at £0 5s 0d an acre and 7¾ at £0 2s 6d. Thomas Townsend was allowed on 1 September 1766 to pass a plot in James Valley, beside Joseph Chamberlain's house, to Jeremiah Smith. Purling renewed two leases in the East Division that day, sealed on 22 September 1766 as 7½ acres at £0 2s 0d an acre and 3 acres at £0 1s 0d. [Film No. 19, 20, 27, 35, 70, 147, 151, 152, 163]
Corneille's plantation accounts gave the Company's stock as follows; two hogs, nine horses and two asses were unchanged throughout. [Film No. 66, 179, 294, 405]
Quarter to | Cattle | Sheep | Goats | Movements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
30 June 1766 | 238 to 232 | 481 to 598 | 128 to 150 | 19 calves; 25 cattle killed, 16 of them from 19 steers; 163 lambs |
30 September 1766 | 232 to 234 | 598 to 539 | 150 to 177 | 19 calves; 12 cattle killed, 5 dead; 12 sheep given to General Lawrence |
31 December 1766 | 234 to 241 | 539 to 496 | 177 to 197 | 5 cattle killed; 31 sheep killed, 16 dead, 15 of them lambs |
31 March 1767 | 241 to 296 | 496 to 617 | 197 to 238 | 49 cattle and 40 sheep received; 18 calves; 9 cattle killed, 3 dead; 35 sheep killed; 120 lambs |
Yams in the quarter to 30 June 1766 totalled 22,950 lb: 2,700 lb fed to livestock and 20,250 lb bought from Benjamin Seal and the overseer Samuel Alexander at £0 3s 0d a hundred. Doveton sold 28 bushels of potatoes. In the next quarter 16,355 lb were bought, 13,555 lb for the slaves and 2,800 lb for livestock; Mary Seale supplied 13,560 lb for £20 6s 8d, Simon Whaley 12 cwt for £1 10s 0d and Jonathan Dovelon, probably Doveton, 16 cwt for the Lieutenant Governor's stock at £2 0s 0d. In the quarter to 31 December 1766 the slaves consumed 37,660 lb and the stock 5,760 lb, only 300 lb being bought, and Whaley sold 8 cwt at £0 2s 6d a cwt. Issues to 31 March 1767 were 109,190 for the slaves and 12,200 for the stock, in an unstated unit. [Film No. 66, 124, 128, 179, 210, 294, 338, 405]
Plantation stores cost £12 14s 11d to 30 June 1766: garden tools in sixes for Plantation House, wheels and an axle for the wood carts at £4 9s 9d, scythe stones for the Long Wood and 656 lb of paddy for poultry and horses. They cost £32 4s 5d to 30 September 1766: 3,302 lb of paddy and 268 lb of rice for poultry, horses and overseers, 24 milk pans and a yard of white bunting for strainers, 4½ tons of timber at £11 3s 1d for Plantation House and gates, oak plank for stone and wood carts and nails for the gates of Long Wood and the pastures. They cost £14 4s 10d to 31 December 1766, with nearly 40 cwt of paddy, and £15 7s 2d to 31 March 1767, with 4,632 lb of paddy, 503 lb of rice, four scythes, 12 scythe stones and arrack and pork for mowers. Purling sold the Company 140 cabbage tree poles and Matthew Bazett 110 at £0 0s 6d each, and Bagley 13 fowls to improve the breed, in the quarter to 31 December 1766. [Film No. 99, 100, 240, 314, 315, 336, 415, 426, 427]
The Council allowed Captain William Money of the Admiral Watson five head from the Company's herd on 22 September 1766, with two from the planters at the ship's charge and six sheep. [Film No. 163]
The planters paid their yearly rents at the Castle on 29 September 1766, entered by the treasury under 24 September 1766. The roll recorded 2,205¼ acres of free land and 1,980¾ of lease land yielding £591 1s 0d, one carried total being brought forward 100 acres low. Simple entries imply £0 1s 0d an acre on free land and £0 5s 0d on lease land; noted parcels paid £0 1s 0d to £0 3s 0d an acre and most house plots £0 15s 0d a year or less. Bagley paid most, £49 12s 11d for 126½ acres free and 123½ on lease. Purling held 205 and 103½ acres, Wrangham 144 and 86 and Matthew Bazett 142 and 68. Fourteen holdings stood in the names of orphans and several in those of women, and 6 acres remained under the late Francis Wrangham at a peppercorn. Officers and tradesmen, Powell among them, paid ground rent only. [Film No. 166-168, 262]
Ruth Colgrave and George Alexander, executors of Thomas Colgrave, renewed 15 acres in the East Division on 29 September 1766. James Greentree on 13 October 1766 renewed an expired lease of 37 acres in the South Division at Sandy Bay and substituted his sons James and Walter for two dead lives in a lease of 18 acres in the West Division, at £4 10s 0d, half a year's rent for each. Both renewals were at £0 5s 0d an acre and were completed, with the payment, in February 1767. [Film No. 165, 181, 182, 351, 354, 358, 359, 371]
John Price, George Bird and James Goudy petitioned for house plots in James's Valley from 10 November 1766. Town plots paid £0 0s 3d a foot of frontage whatever their depth: Price £1 0s 0d for 80 feet, Goudy £0 10s 0d for 40 and Bird £0 15s 0d for 60, the last two executed on 12 January 1767. Benjamin Mason asked for a small piece of waste in Swans Valley at a low rate, solely for convenience in fencing; Corneille reported on 8 December 1766 that it was good pasture apart from 1½ acres and advised requiring a fence along the high road. John Alexander made the same plea for waste in the West Division, which Corneille reported on 15 December 1766 to be a common of 30 to 40 acres almost enclosed by Alexander's land, a quarter good pasture, the rest expected to improve under furze and the springs outside the proposed fence. The Council let it for 14 years at £0 2s 6d an acre and a further seven at £0 5s 0d. Isaac Knipe sought part-barren land in Lemon Valley below £0 5s 0d an acre and withdrew on 22 December 1766 without stated reason. [Film No. 274, 278, 280, 281, 284, 286, 287, 289, 293]
John Worrall renewed 16¼ acres in the East Division on 24 November 1766 and William Seale senior 8 and 13½ acres in Sane Valley on 15 December 1766, at £0 5s 0d an acre. Wrangham took 3 acres in Sarah's Valley on 22 December 1766 at £0 1s 6d an acre. Benjamin Mason and Doveton, executors of Thomas Harper, transferred 8 acres in the South Division belonging to his orphans on 17 November 1766 to a tenant whose surname is illegible. Thomas Greentree's executors passed 12 acres called Taylors in the East Division to Captain Henry Bazett on 1 December 1766. James Greentree renewed two expired leases of 17½ acres in Sandy Bay Valley for the orphans of John Twaits on 15 December 1766. William Worrall renewed 16¾ acres that day with leave to assign to his brother John, the petition placing the land in Sharks Valley and the lease of 22 December 1766 in the East Division. [Film No. 275, 277, 279, 285-287, 289]
A notice of 15 December 1766 signed by Bazett required each planter to send by 29 December 1766 a signed account of his cattle for slaughter in 1767 and returns of horses by kind and of sheep and goats, naming the sheep for sale. An accident to a declared beast had to be reported in writing within three days, failing which the owner supplied another. [Film No. 287]
Mary Twaits petitioned on 26 January 1767 for her expired lease of 4 rocky and barren acres in the South Division to be renewed below £0 5s 0d an acre. Corneille reported on 16 February 1767 that it was the most barren leased land he had seen on the island, with grass on only four or five square rods kept damp by a small natural source of water, and the rent was set at £0 1s 0d an acre. Matthew Bazett renewed a plot in James's Valley at £0 10s 0d a year and Gabriel Isacke 8 acres in Lemon Valley in February 1767. Isaac Doveton's 7½ acres in the East Division were renewed at £0 5s 0d an acre, sealed on 2 March 1767. Robinson petitioned on 2 February 1767 for a plot below the burial ground in the valley, where he proposed a wall to protect the neighbouring houses from a heavy flood; after inspection he took a strip of 64 feet by 15 feet on 2 March 1767 at £0 3s 0d a year. Goudy was allowed that day to sell a parcel in the fort valley beside a building that Bird was putting up. Mary Doveton, administratrix of John Doveton, renewed 1 acre in the East Division on 9 March 1767 on a petition signed for her by Jonathan Doveton. [Film No. 341, 342, 349-351, 354, 356, 358, 359, 363, 365, 367, 368]
Captain Cornelius Inglis of the Asia bought 37 bullocks, 11 cows, four of them with calves, and 40 sheep at the Cape on the Company's account, 53 head of black cattle by the bill. The bill of £211 1s 0d, signed by the chief mate John Moffat on 2 March 1767, entered under 23 February 1767 and paid to Inglis's estate, charged bullocks at 12 rix dollars each, the rix dollar at £0 5s 0d, with 50 muids of barley, straw, chaff, boat hire, coolies and £5 0s 0d of garden seeds. Four cattle died at sea, and the plantation took in 35 steers, 10 cows, four calves and the sheep on 23 February 1767. [Film No. 360, 448]
Supply and provisioning
The steward's monthly bills for the Company's table were as follows. [Film No. 20, 22, 46, 48, 68, 145, 155, 156, 179-181, 273, 282, 283, 295, 352, 353, 366, 367, 406, 407]
Month | Bill | Contents stated |
|---|---|---|
April 1766 | £25 15s 4d | 340 lb mutton, 93 lb beef, 60 bottles arrack |
May 1766 | £26 15s 0d | 321 lb mutton, 131 lb beef, 6¾ lb veal, 62 bottles arrack |
June 1766 | £34 5s 4d | 300 lb mutton, 106 lb beef; bottles: 54 port, 59 Lisbon, 27 Mountain, 54 beer, 70 arrack |
July 1766 | £23 3s 8d | about 60 bottles arrack |
August 1766 | £24 17s 11d | about 60 bottles arrack; wine and beer roughly half June's |
September 1766 | £26 16s 9d | 263 lb mutton, 145 lb beef, 62 bottles arrack |
October 1766 | £24 1s 8d | 67 bottles wine, 62 arrack |
November 1766 | £18 11s 6½d | 60 bottles arrack |
December 1766 | £18 11s 0d | 37 bottles wine, 80 arrack |
January 1767 | £22 19s 11½d | 200 lb mutton, 127 lb beef, 11 lb veal; 95 bottles arrack, 62 wine |
February 1767 | £21 3s 2¼d | - |
March 1767 | £25 6s 5d | 300 lb mutton, 206 lb beef, 2 kids, 93 bottles arrack |
All the meat from October to December 1766 was fresh beef, mutton, kid, lamb and fowl. The storekeeper's table account for the quarter to 30 June 1766, £29 2s 6d at cost, issued 987 lb of flour, exactly the steward's three monthly figures. Later quarterly issues to the table were £23 2s 8d, chiefly flour and 36 gallons of arrack, to 30 September 1766 and £21 0s 5d to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 94, 241, 273, 282, 283, 295, 421-424]
Six China ships landed sugar and tea from 14 May 1766 to 6 June 1766. Canton invoices of 27 January 1766, signed by nine Company merchants, gave the Thames, York, Essex and Ankerwyke seven chests of sugar each; those of 31 January 1766, signed by seven without John Walton and Thomas Thomas, gave the Horsenden and Royal Captain eight each. Every ship also carried single chests of Bohea, Congo or Singlo tea at 19 to 28 taels a pecul. The Tilbury's invoice, entered under 14 July 1766 and signed by seven supercargoes headed by Thomas Fitzhugh, listed nine chests of sugar numbered 75 to 83, net 2,542 lb at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, with single chests of the three teas, in all 135 taels 3 mace 4 candareens. Chests 1 to 9, 17 to 30 and 52 to 58 appear in no invoice. [Film No. 23-26, 31, 33, 34, 39, 41, 42, 65]
The Grenville and Kent brought identical Bengal consignments, signed for by the sub accountant R. Witts at 1,166 current rupees 9 annas 6 pies before packing charges: 30 bags of fine rice, 10 of sugar, 15 of paddy, four chests of wax candles and two leaguers of Batavia arrack. The True Briton brought 22 bags of rice and 32 of batty from Bombay, invoiced by the accountant William Hornby at 366 rupees 1 quarter 22 reas. [Film No. 38, 39, 50, 52, 55]
Powell checked each consignment against its invoice. He reported 6 lb of sugar short and some china broken from the Talbot on 28 April 1766 and 24 lb of sugar short from the Horsenden on 7 June 1766. The Grenville was short 1 cwt 2 qr of rice and 2 cwt 11 lb of sugar on 9 June 1766 and her leaguers held 311 gallons; the Kent lost less dry weight on 23 June 1766 but her leaguers held 280 gallons. The True Briton's rice was 3 cwt 1 qr 11 lb under weight on 7 July 1766, and 41 cwt 2 qr 13 lb of her paddy was received with no shortage stated. [Film No. 14, 45, 46, 57, 62, 63]
The Company's stores held no provisions for part of the quarter to 30 June 1766, and the Council bought from commanders. Captain Charles Haggis of the Thames sold 393 pieces of salt beef at £0 2s 0d a piece on 23 May 1766 for £39 6s 0d, replacing beef issued to Captain Thomas Dethick of the Talbot and, as minuted, undercutting the English invoice. Captain Andrew Ross of the Ankerwyke sold 861 pieces for £86 2s 0d on 2 June 1766. Captain Parson Fenner of the Grenville sold 1,454 pieces, 69 bags of rice, read elsewhere as 74, and 124 bags of paddy for £216 15s 6d on 9 June 1766. Captain John Mills of the Kent sold 160 cwt 2 qr 6 lb of rice at £0 9s 0d a cwt for £72 5s 0d on 23 June 1766. Captain Thomas Crichton of the True Briton sold 780 pieces for £78 0s 0d on 7 July 1766, making 3,488 pieces. Six commanders in all sold salt meat, rice, paddy and peas for about £500 in the quarter. [Film No. 29, 30, 41, 49, 58, 62, 63, 124]
The Clive and Hardwicke each carried a Bombay consignment invoiced on 9 April 1766 at 712 rupees: 20 bags of rice, 32 of batty and a bale of blue chelloes, described differently in the two invoices. The Pacifick brought Madras long cloth worth about 1,200 pagodas, two leaguers of Batavia arrack with tin plates nailed over the bungs and a little grain. The Admiral Watson brought Bengal rice, sugar, paddy, wax candles and arrack invoiced at 1,195 current rupees, and the Harcourt Bombay rice and batty. Powell reported on 4 August 1766 that the Clive was 5 cwt 1 qr 20 lb short of paddy and the Pacifick 2 cwt 1 qr 4 lb short of rice, 5 cwt 1 qr 5 lb of paddy and 33 of 314 gallons of arrack, attributed to wastage. He entered 44 cwt 2 qr 11 lb of rice and 43 cwt 2 qr 23 lb of paddy from the Hardwicke on 11 August 1766. The Harcourt was short 4 cwt 2 qr 9 lb of paddy and 2 qr 18 lb of rice on 22 September 1766. [Film No. 135-138, 143, 146, 153, 154, 161]
The paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766 speaks of a time of scarcity of rice, during which stored paddy was beaten into rice and 2,000 lb were bought on 20 July 1766 at £0 8s 0d a hundred from a Captain Van Wrattam, a doubtful reading. [Film No. 208, 212, 238]
Money stated in a letter received on 20 September 1766 that one of two leaguers of arrack on his bill of lading had been sent back ashore at Calcutta as unsound, and asked for it to be struck out. The Council refused: he had signed for two, the storekeeper would note the shortage and the Court would decide. Powell entered one leaguer and 2 cwt 1 qr 2 lb of sugar short on 22 September 1766. Money asked that day for a chaldron of coal or some wood because his lascars needed a separate fire. The Council gave two cartloads of wood, reasoning that a Company ship would otherwise burn serviceable timber, and recorded for the Court that the island's order for coal must be met in full. [Film No. 161-164]
The inventory of 30 September 1766, signed by Kirkpatrick and an officer read as Purling, valued the warehouse at £8,749 15s 7d: £6,771 3s 4d of European goods and £1,978 12s 3d of India goods. Salt meat stood at 92 casks 29 pieces of beef and 116 casks 41 pieces of pork worth £2,933 11s 3d, flour at 681 cwt worth £591 5s 8d, rice at 313 cwt 1 qr 7 lb and paddy at 271 cwt 0 qr 22 lb. Tea was 631 lb of Bohea and 219 lb of Congo with no Singlo, and there were 833 gallons of arrack with sugar, candy and long cloth. Steel was down to 1 qr 16 lb, twentypenny nails to 10 lb, indigo to 9 lb, oak to little more than two planks, pickaxes to seven, sole leather to 87 lb, women's calf shoes to one pair and train oil to 100 gallons. The store also held 439 buckling combs, 976 pairs of shoe buckles worth £25 8s 4d, six roasting jacks worth £22 5s 0d, seamen's slop clothing worth £122 11s 9d, more than 25,000 fish hooks, an unsold worm tub and still at £10 12s 4d, 53,960 Irish halfpence at their face value of £112 8s 4d, six ox yokes, 27 ox bows, 10 lb of whipcord, coppersmith's stakes, sheets of tin and two three-quart tea kettles at £1 13s 6d. Uniform stock comprised 20 sentinels' coats and breeches, 82¾ gross of narrow worsted lace, 102 cockades and scarlet, buff and crimson breeches. Books were 14 bibles, 14 prayer books, eight testaments and three primers. [Film No. 245-251, 253-255, 257-261]
Ship's gear in that inventory comprised anchors and stocks worth £289 16s 11d, one lying on the West Rocks, 293 cwt 2 qr 21 lb of cordage worth £547 14s 4d including a cable of 92 cwt 1 qr 8 lb, masts worth £69 17s 6d including a fore topmast 49 feet long, blocks, dead eyes, sand glasses and a pump at £12 13s 5d. Its running balance stood unchanged at £5,552 5s 1d across three leaves of ironware and another carry was read as both £5,828 14s 5d and £5,824 16s 5d. Twelve garrison men were paid £2 11s 0d for 4½ days taking it. [Film No. 210, 244-246, 248, 251-256]
The Ponsborne arrived from Bengal with no stores for the island. A letter from Page Keble, Master Attendant, dated at Ingelee on 10 April 1766, explained that heavy seas kept the sloops from her side and that delay risked her failing to clear the river, and enclosed the duplicate bill of lading for stores shipped on the Admiral Watson. [Film No. 263, 264]
Powell presented his waste account for the year to 30 September 1766 on 27 October 1766 and declared the losses real and unavoidable, and the Council charged them to profit and loss. Rats had eaten 27 cwt 2 qr 6 lb of paddy, 83¼ gallons of arrack were lost and cordage was short by 6 cwt 1 qr 15½ lb; the heading gives £50 11s 4d and the foot £56 11s 4d. Damaged goods were auctioned for ready money at the Market House on 29 October 1766 for £20 0s 3d, of which 141 gallons of port made £15 17s 3d; scarlet broadcloth fetched £0 11s 0d a yard against more than £1 0s 0d for sound cloth. [Film No. 264-266, 302, 306]
The hospital drew sugar, flour and rice in equal weights each quarter: 262 lb within £18 15s 11d to 30 June 1766, 218 lb within £10 3s 8d to 30 September 1766 and 324 lb within £14 2s 2d to 31 December 1766, with £9 14s 7d to 31 March 1767. The first quarter included 10 bowls, 10 platters and 13½ gallons of train oil costing twice as much as the flour. Barclay ran it on £0 0s 7d a day and was repaid £17 14s 4d for extras over the year and £8 0s 0d for necessaries. William Jenkins, a matross, baked for the garrison 120 batches of bread in the quarter to 30 June 1766, 117 at £0 1s 8d a batch in each of the next two and 96 for £8 0s 0d in the quarter to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 102, 103, 126, 210, 236, 241, 312, 338, 421-424, 446]
The Asia brought a Bombay consignment signed for by Hornby at 365 rupees 3 quarters 23 reas with packing: 150 Surat maunds of fine rice in 22 bags and a quantity of paddy. Powell found the rice 7 cwt 0 qr 12 lb under weight on 2 March 1767. The Cruttenden's Bengal invoice, entered under 23 March 1767, totalled 1,251 rupees 1 anna 3 pies for 120 maunds of rice, sugar, paddy, 8 maunds of wax candles at 576 rupees and two leaguers of Batavia arrack, which Powell found 9 gallons short at 284 gallons. The stores held no coffee, and on 23 March 1767 the Council gave Captain John Clements of the Royal Charlotte a written order to land one bale of the Company's coffee from his homeward cargo. [Film No. 313, 357, 362, 374, 375, 380]
Sugar from Canton in 1767 cost 4 taels 5 mace a picul, reckoned at 133⅓ lb, and came in one numbered series of chests from which 19 to 27 and 46 to 54 were missing. The Prince of Wales, Speke and Duke of Cumberland each brought nine chests of sugar and two chests each of Bohea, Congou and Singlo at 17, 22 and 25 taels a pecul, on invoices of about 214, 227 and 177 taels. The Havannah brought sugar only, and the five lots landed to 13 April 1767 weighed 13,372 lb net. The Hampshire, Deptford, Fox and Glatton, invoiced under 13, 18, 20 and 22 April 1767, brought nine chests each, 10,414 lb net. The Deptford also brought 300 lb of Bohea, 151 lb of Congou and chinaware including 20 octagonal table sets at 5 taels a set, on an invoice of 259 taels 7 mace 1 candareen 5 cash whose listed lines do not add up to the total. Up to 12 supercargoes signed each invoice. They allowed 2% off chinaware, linked in the clearest reading to their supplying the chests. [Film No. 372, 373, 382, 383, 387, 388, 399, 400, 409, 410, 414, 415, 419, 459]
Powell reported the Prince of Wales 3 qr short in sugar with 30 of 256 pieces of chinaware broken on 24 March 1767, the Speke 2 lb short with seven pieces broken on 6 April 1767 and 54 pieces broken from the Deptford on 18 April 1767. On 20 April 1767 he listed from the Northumberland short salt, soap and cordage, missing pots, scythe stones and timber, 106 broken panes of glass and six hogsheads of Lisbon, Mountain and port gauged at 354¼ gallons, between 1½ and 2¾ gallons short a cask. On 27 April 1767 he listed from the Earl of Middlesex six iron pots broken, sole leather, iron, cordage and salt short, 14 single deals, a ufer, 18 ash staves and five pieces of church timber not delivered, a hair sieve for the engineer damaged and worthless and a surplus of six boys' checked shirts. Her six hogsheads held 13 gallons less than their capacity of 364: 175 of Lisbon, 118 of red and 58 of Mountain. [Film No. 380, 382, 397, 409, 412, 454, 455, 463-465]
The Lord Camden's Madras invoice, entered on 22 April 1767 and signed by the accountant John Call, listed 24 bags of rice, 27 of paddy and three leaguers of Batavia arrack holding 450 gallons at 120 pagodas, in all 177 pagodas 19 fanams 75 cash, with grain measured by the marcal and the garce. Powell reported on 4 May 1767 that the paddy was 14 cwt 1 qr 2 lb short of an invoiced 30 cwt 1 qr 14 lb, the rice 3 cwt 1 qr 14 lb short and the arrack 430 gallons. [Film No. 460, 461, 472]
Captain Nathaniel Smith of the Lord Camden asked on 29 April 1767 for more cattle than the Council's limit, which he understood gave a crew only 12 or 14 days of fresh provisions. His men had lived on salt provisions for most of the voyage and scurvy threatened to spread. He had been sent from the Coromandel coast to Bengal and back within a month and ordered eastward after eight days, and storms in the Bay of Bengal then kept him 10 weeks from the coast with only eight days in port, at the Nicobar Islands, where he obtained almost no fresh supplies. The Council granted on 4 May 1767 two additional cattle, making 10 with the allowance given to early ships and apart from those due under the charter party, and 12 Cape sheep. It stated that it could go no further, given the ships still expected. [Film No. 465, 466, 469]
Economy and the Company's warehouse
Powell's return for 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766 priced goods by the buyer's standing. Company servants paid 10% above cost and bought £1,338 18s 3d. Planters paid 25% and bought £38 15s 6d, nearly all cloth and shoes. An unnamed third class paid 40% and a fourth 50%, and all sales outside the servants came to £181 0s 0d. Seventy-five hooks of size 6 cost a servant £0 5s 11¼d and a third-class buyer £0 7s 7½d. [Film No. 74, 82, 83, 87]
The servants bought flour worth £334 8s 2d and salt meat worth £437 14s 4d, being 1,767 pieces of beef, 2,457 of pork and 919 lb of Dutch pork. They also took 6,421 lb of sugar, 461 lb of tea, 613 lb of candles, more than 2,500 fish hooks, 30½ pieces of Indian long cloth, 133 pairs of men's shoes, 74 pairs of women's and children's shoes, hinges, locks, about 290 lb of nails, 195 panes of glass, two Books of Common Prayer and one Testament. A 10-inch rim lock with brass knobs cost £3 5s 3d, Bohea about £0 1s 0½d a lb and tallow candles about £0 0s 7d a lb. [Film No. 74-81, 85]
The third class bought about 2,800 hooks, 246 fishing lines, 473 lb of cordage, rosin, tar, scupper nails, silver buttons, ivory combs, window glass, 174 lb of Congo and Singlo and 51 lb of Bohea, but only 372 lb of flour and no salt meat. The 50% rate covered scupper nails, six tumblers, two barrels of pitch and 40 lb of candles at £6 0s 0d. [Film No. 83-87]
Stores used by the Company itself that quarter were charged to general expenses at £139 9s 8d. The Castle took 27 plasterers' brushes, 73 paint brushes and 60 panes of glass. Carpenters drew saws, planes, 72 plane irons, 72 gimlets and 92 files, and masons pickaxes, crowbars and shovels. The Council had 130 lb of wax candles at £0 2s 0d a lb and 2 yards of green broadcloth for its table, and the Governor a saddle at £5 19s 8d. Locks went to the bakehouse, the church and Company houses, deals and nails to the brickmakers and 28 lb of sugar into a cement. Arrack for the men in the stores cost £12 15s 7d. Corneille's fishermen had hooks, lines and rope and his house paint, a lock and shalloon. [Film No. 89-94]
Sales at 10% from 1 July 1766 to 30 September 1766 reached £1,663 14s 10d under a heading read as the planters. A second planters' heading at 25% covered a little cloth, thread and buttons, and an unnamed class bought £86 16s 3d at 40%, paying about £0 0s 4½d a lb for sugar against £0 0s 3½d. Salt meat came to £383 1s 7d for 2,116 pieces of pork and 1,708 of beef, flour and bread to £312 15s 10d, sugar and candy to £130 13s 10d, wine to £112 8s 8d for some 331 gallons and tea to £69 18s 2d for 1,079 lb. [Film No. 215, 216, 225-229]
Indian long cloth sold that quarter to the value of £125 7s 7d in six grades, English broadcloth £39 18s 7d and 179½ yards of osnaburgs and ticklenburgs £9 8s 0d. Buyers took 139 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, 34 pairs of women's, 42 china meat plates for £1 1s 0d, 176 window panes, 386 lb of nails, 431 lb of white lead and whiting, trowels, hinges, locks, deals, nearly 4,000 fish hooks in 12 sizes and about 70 lines. Farm goods sold were six pairs of sheep shears, a case of fleams, two ox bows, a pair of cart wheels with an axletree, 10 milk pans and budding and pruning knives. Books sold were four testaments, a bible, a common prayer book and a primer, with one testament at 40%. One three-quart tea kettle was read at £5 4s 2½d, a wrong reading. [Film No. 217-225, 229, 245]
General expenses to 30 September 1766 came to £141 10s 6d, and Powell signed the accounts that day, errors excepted, with issues tagged by destination. Men in the stores received 70½ gallons of arrack at £11 1s 4d. Paint and oil went to the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, soap, starch, indigo and smalts to laundering and 60 lb of iron and 33 lb of steel to making shovels and masons' tools. The Governor's fishermen drew 325 hooks, 36 lines and knives. Candles weighing 247½ lb cost £35 19s 8d: 40 lb for the Council, 121 lb for the Castle, 82½ lb for the officers on duty and 4 lb for the doctor's shop. John Whitchurch supplied 2 lb of sealing wax for the Secretary's office at £1 0s 0d. Flour of 11 cwt 3 qr omitted from the previous quarter was brought in under the slaves' account at £11 6s 0d. [Film No. 210, 231-235, 238, 243]
Sales at 10% from 1 October 1766 to 31 December 1766, under a heading read as the Company's servants, totalled £1,310 0s 8d. They included 5,321 pieces of salt beef and pork at £0 2s 0d, 427 cwt 1 qr 3 lb of baked flour for £398 15s 10d, 47½ lb of Bohea, 96 lb of Congo and 185 pairs of men's ordinary shoes. Planters bought £81 13s 4d at 25% and 40%, with sugar, candy and flour at the higher rate; an entry of £7 4s 8d for 4 lb of shallots is probably misread. Free issues to general expenses included 98 gallons of arrack for men in the stores and the doctor's shop and candles at £29 10s 7d, being 135 lb for the Council, 110 lb for the Castle and 2 lb for the secretary's office. The fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor drew lines and hooks, timber, sheet lead and a crane rope went to a bridge and shears on the west rocks and a padlock to the prison. The Castle household was furnished with glass, china, blankets and soap. That account breaks off with £61 10s 2d carried over. [Film No. 296-308, 310-313]
Powell's general return for 1 January 1767 to 31 March 1767 came to £842 13s 0d, of which salt beef and pork at £0 2s 0d a piece made £406 18s 0d and baked flour £231 18s 8d. The planters' account at advances of 35% and 40% was £73 4s 2d, mostly cloth, sugar, canvas and fishing gear. Sugar was charged at £0 0s 3d a lb to the Company's own account, a little over £0 0s 4d in the general return and about £0 0s 5d to planters. Arrack went to the Company's table at £0 3s 0d a gallon and to ordinary buyers at about £0 12s 0d. The store sold 2,748 lb of sugar, one Book of Common Prayer and one primer. General charges took £62 5s 11d, including £25 3s 7d of candles and tackle for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and the groom, gardener and steward received tea, sugar candy or long cloth. [Film No. 415-424, 427, 428]
Company ships bought stores worth £702 13s 4d from 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766: one anchor cable of 72 cwt 3 qr at £175 7s 0d, nine puncheons of beef and 10 hogsheads of pork at £333 13s 1d, canvas, 13 barrels of pitch, 12 of tar, paint and deals. A deal cost them £0 3s 2½d, the 50% rate, against about £0 2s 4d for a servant. They bought £332 5s 2d in the next quarter: 10 puncheons of beef and four hogsheads of pork at £254 12s 2d, 10 pieces of English canvas at £32 10s 0d, 553 lb of cordage, linseed oil, paint and 22 log lines, a pane of 10 by 16 inches costing them £0 1s 7d, the 40% price. They bought £12 16s 7d of canvas, paint and sandglasses from 7 October 1766 to 31 December 1766 and £11 13s 5d of repair stores to 31 March 1767. [Film No. 88, 89, 229, 230, 303-306, 421]
The Company kept three longboats, a yawl, a fishing yawl and an engineer's boat. Boat stores cost £29 7s 4d to 30 June 1766: 7 cwt 3 qr 18 lb of cordage at £15 13s 9d, 22 deals, six elm boards, 117 lb of nails and spikes and arrack, candles and horn lanterns for the crews. They cost £35 5s 11d to 30 September 1766, when the longboat was overhauled with Riga timber, oak plank, elm boards, a spar 31 feet long, a barrel of pitch and three pieces of canvas at £10 17s 1d for sails. Benjamin Scott was paid £0 15s 0d for sailmaking and garrison men £47 4s 6d for 944½ days in a boat. A boat was bought from James Greentree for £5 10s 0d and a yawl with its furniture from Captain Collingwood Roddam for £8 0s 0d. Boat stores cost £40 14s 4d to 31 December 1766, cordage taking £22 13s 0d, and £14 13s 1d to 31 March 1767, the longboat again being overhauled. [Film No. 103, 104, 210, 212, 241, 242, 310-313, 315-317, 394, 427, 428]
Trade and shipping
Each arriving Company ship sent a boat ahead to Banks's, timed to the quarter hour. The clerk logged the tonnage, guns, crew, cargo and destination of each foreign ship. [Film No. 13, 17, 23, 33, 366, 372, 382, 398, 400, 409, 413]
Two Danish ships left for Copenhagen on 24 April 1766 and a Portuguese vessel for Angola on 25 April 1766. Three Swedish ships from China bound for Gothenburg with tea, chinaware and silk followed: the Finland, Captain Ruuth, on 1 May 1766 and the Rickenstander, Captain Seeman, on 18 May 1766, each of 1,300 tons and 32 guns, and the Prince Charles, Captain Habicht, of 1,000 tons and 26 guns, on 5 June 1766. The French L'Adour, Captain Geslin, of 600 tons, 20 guns and 130 men, arrived from Bengal on 27 May 1766, was saluted with 11 guns and left on 4 June 1766. Groups of two to four ships passed far out on 8, 18 and 23 May 1766. [Film No. 10, 13, 19, 23, 29, 38, 42, 47, 50, 67]
The log names 11 Company ships from 29 April 1766 to 21 June 1766, six from China, two from Bengal and one from Bombay. The Thames, York and Essex arrived on 14 and 15 May 1766 and sailed for England on 25 May 1766. The Grenville arrived on 30 May 1766, the Kent on 11 June 1766 and the True Briton on 21 June 1766. Peter McQuect, a passenger in the Duke of Gloucester, was entered under 28 April 1766 as a lunatic, and Mr Dubasoff, a Russian passenger in the Talbot, was lodged for 15 days at £4 10s 0d. [Film No. 11, 13, 17, 23, 33, 38, 42, 46, 50, 52, 55, 124, 130]
The Grenville's roll, entered in June 1766, carried about two dozen lascars under a serang, Indea, and a tindal, Goshea, a fifth mate John Lud Fenner, 10 named European passengers, two white servants, five black girls and an uncounted number of black boys. The Kent listed nine lascars, two entered as John and Tom, and four army captains as passengers. A servant called Ankerwyke, a seaman John Horsendon and a seaman Thomas Grenville each bore his ship's name. [Film No. 40, 43-45, 56, 57]
The Kent sailed for England on 1 July 1766 and the True Briton, with seven landsmen, on 8 July 1766. The Grosvenor, Captain David Saunders, lay from 7 July 1766, when her boat reached Banks's at 10.30 in the morning, to 17 July 1766; her 10 passengers from Bencoolen included Major Edward Frith, Lieutenants Loftus Cook and John Clithero and Sudjee, a slave girl. The Tilbury came in from China on 9 July 1766 and sailed on 26 July 1766. The Danish Countess Moltke, Captain Jansen, of 400 tons, 18 guns and 75 men, lay from 7 July 1766 to 15 July 1766 on her way from Bengal to Copenhagen. A Dutch ship of 700 tons, 28 guns and 100 men, her name first left incomplete and then written Nighingburgh, arrived from Batavia under Captain Tunes Van Brattam with sugar and pepper on 9 July 1766 and left for Amsterdam on 21 July 1766. [Film No. 61-64, 70-73, 135]
The Clive from Bombay, the Pacifick from Madras and the Hardwicke from Bombay arrived on 24, 27 and 31 July 1766 and sailed together on 5 August 1766. Six invalids sailed in the Clive and three discharged soldiers in the Hardwicke; the Pacifick carried General Lawrence, Colonel Charles Campbell and four others with six unnamed servants. The Admiral Watson from Bengal and the Harcourt from Bombay arrived on 5 September 1766 and sailed for England on 26 September 1766. The Admiral Watson carried 20 lascars, most entered by a single name, and 10 passengers including two invalids. [Film No. 132, 133, 135, 138-144, 152, 160, 161, 165, 180]
The Ponsborne reached Banks's by boat at 5.30 in the morning of 26 October 1766, more than six months after leaving Bengal, and sailed for England on 5 November 1766. Her roll listed about 98 men, some 30 of them lascars under a serang and a tindal, with no surgeon or purser. Her passengers were William Fullerton, Captains Abercromby and Maclean, Lieutenant Benjamin Wroe and Miss Ruse, with four black servants, and seven servants on the roll bore single names such as Chatham, Essex and Ponsborne. No other ship anchored before 11 February 1767; a Portuguese vessel passed on 15 or 16 January 1767 and distant ships on 22 January 1767 and 21 February 1767. [Film No. 263, 268, 269, 272, 295, 296, 340, 352, 353]
His Majesty's ship Argo, Captain Affleck, arrived on 11 February 1767. The Asia, last from the Cape, arrived on 22 February 1767, her boat reaching Banks's at 8.30 in the morning, and 11 soldiers were paid on 26 February 1767 for landing her rice and paddy. Both sailed for England on 5 March 1767. [Film No. 353, 357, 366, 446]
The Royal Charlotte arrived from Bombay on 18 March 1767, the Prince of Wales from China on 21 March 1767 and the Cruttenden from Bengal on 22 March 1767, and all three sailed on 27 March 1767. The Speke lay from 30 March 1767 to 12 April 1767. The Duke of Cumberland arrived from China on 6 April 1767, the Havannah on 8 April 1767, leaving on 14 April 1767, the Hampshire on 11 April 1767 and the Deptford on 13 April 1767. The Fox came in from China on 18 April 1767, and the Deptford and Hampshire sailed on 20 April 1767. The Glatton arrived from China on 21 April 1767, the day the Northumberland left for China, and the Lord Camden from Madras on 22 April 1767. The Fox, under Alexander Hume, sailed for England on 27 April 1767 and the Earl of Middlesex for Bencoolen on 30 April 1767. The boats of the Lioness and Duke of Kingston reached Banks's at six in the morning and two in the afternoon of 3 May 1767, and both ships arrived from China that day. [Film No. 366, 372, 382, 398, 400, 409, 413, 433, 453, 459, 462, 463, 465, 469-473]
The French Comte d'Argenson, Captain De La Croix, of 1,000 tons, 18 guns and 120 men, arrived from Mauritius with tea and chinaware on 23 March 1767 and left on 25 March 1767. The Dutch Young Thomas, of 700 tons, 28 guns and 110 men, came from China on 26 March 1767 and left the next day; the gunner dated her arrival and the French departure a day apart from the minutes. The Danish Fredensborg Palace, Captain Swane, of 800 tons and 26 guns, lay from 4 April 1767 to 10 April 1767. A Dutch ship read as the General Governor, Captain Anderson, of about 700 tons, 24 guns and 100 men, arrived from Ceylon with spice on 20 April 1767 and sailed for Middelburg on 26 April 1767. Two distant sail passed on 18 April 1767. [Film No. 372, 382, 387, 400, 406, 409, 413, 462]
The Asia's roll had 90 men, with the seaman John Pinchback under a name read as Hunchback, and the Royal Charlotte, Prince of Wales and Cruttenden 95 each. The Speke had 104, about 22 of them lascars under a serang named Cassem. One seaman of the Royal Charlotte was entered as Hearts of Oak. The Cruttenden listed no boatswain and the Hampshire and Deptford no carpenter; the Deptford's roll, signed by William Tryon, had six mates and eight officers' servants. William Larkins commanded the Lioness, Richard Morrison the Duke of Kingston and Richard Doveton the Glatton, whose fourth mate was Samuel Doveton. The rolls of the China ships included seamen with Portuguese, French and Scandinavian names. [Film No. 361, 362, 376-378, 396, 401-404, 410, 411, 469-473]
The Cruttenden carried 12 passengers from Bengal with 16 servants, among them W. B. Sumner, Mrs Sumner, Captain George Hepburne and Sir Robert Fletcher. The supercargoes Thomas Mathewson, Henry Hillary Torriano, Francis Wood and William Mackenzie travelled in the Royal Charlotte, Havannah and Hampshire; the last three had signed the island's Canton invoices, as had Nathaniel Garland, the only passenger in the Glatton. The Lord Camden's roll, entered under 4 May 1767, named Governor Palk with his wife and two children, their nurses Diana and Maria, General Caillaud, a household of stewards, a cook, a baker and an attendant, and eight invalids. The Duke of Kingston carried Mr Hatfield, Miss Elgee and one unnamed black girl belonging to Mr Hatfield. [Film No. 376, 379, 402, 404, 463, 469-471]
Finance, currencies and accounting
Bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, payable 90 days after sight, were the treasury's main source of coin. Seven sets were sold in April 1766 for £2,277 5s 0d, including £827 0s 0d in favour of Captain David Rice, £400 0s 0d in favour of Mrs Mary Hall and two granted on 28 April 1766: £85 5s 0d to Captain Henry Barrett, payable to Captain John Wyche, and £150 0s 0d to Captain Robert Burdett. The chest held £5,699 1s 2d on 1 April 1766 and £8,066 5s 10d on 28 April 1766. Throughout the period it included £539 15s 0d in cash notes described as of no use. May 1766 brought no bill money and £174 9s 0d from four ships, the Talbot paying £113 12s 7d on 2 May 1766, and closed at £8,240 14s 10d. The paymaster was charged once a quarter and no other payment left the treasury. [Film No. 13, 28, 29, 54, 148, 158]
Bills worth £1,079 2s 0d were drawn in June 1766: Fenner took £800 0s 0d payable to James Waugh and Doveton £179 2s 0d payable to Captain William Marter of the Horsenden on 9 June 1766, and John Chambers, supercargo of the Swedish ship in the road, paid in £100 0s 0d on 12 June 1766. Other receipts that month were £1,519 18s 8d from Powell for the quarter's store sales, £17 10s 0d for public house licences and sums from five ships. The debit side totals £11,485 14s 11d and the credit side £11,389 14s 11d, an unexplained difference of £96, and the closing balance was £7,220 9s 10½d. [Film No. 43, 49, 51, 131, 132]
Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster to 30 June 1766 balanced at £4,169 5s 0½d, the pay list taking £3,001 5s 7d and contingent payments £1,167 19s 5½d. The drum major's £1 0s 0d for teaching young drummers appears in both parts. The Council approved the plantation, gunner's and steward's accounts on 14 July 1766 and the storekeeper's collections and paymaster's accounts on 21 July 1766. [Film No. 73, 106, 122, 123, 125, 127, 129, 130]
Bills of £2,858 16s 0d were drawn in July 1766. Captain Howard paid £240 0s 0d on 7 July 1766 in favour of Captain Nathaniel Tanner, Thomas Greentree £1,578 16s 0d on 14 July 1766 payable to Mrs Helena Harriott (also Harrold) and Van Brattam £1,040 0s 0d on 21 July 1766. None was drawn in August 1766. Coin stood at £9,668 6s 4½d on 31 July 1766 and £9,900 2s 9½d on 31 August 1766. Receipts from ships ranged from £2 17s 5d to £308 13s 2d. [Film No. 63, 64, 72, 131, 134, 144, 148, 158]
Doveton took a bill for £58 6s 0d payable to George Ritherdon on 22 September 1766 and John Stephens one for £50 0s 0d payable to himself; the treasury entered the two sets at £103 6s 0d. September's other receipts were the rents, £1,755 11s 7d from Powell on 30 September 1766, £17 10s 0d for licences, £4 3s 9d for lime and £4 11s 10d for plantation provisions. The paymaster was advanced £3,524 13s 3½d and the month closed with £8,851 19s 0d in specie; the debit entries as read fall £5 9s 8d short of the stated total of £12,930 9s 4½d. Kirkpatrick's account to 30 September 1766 set contingent payments of £586 13s 10½d and a pay list of £2,937 19s 5d against that advance, with two carried totals differing, £156 16s 0d against £156 16s 6d and £534 8s 10½d against £584 8s 10½d. The pay list, entered elsewhere at £2,937 19s 5½d, was approved on 20 October 1766. [Film No. 164, 191-214, 262]
Nothing was received or paid in October 1766, though the four officers counted the chest and signed. Skottowe paid in £205 4s 0d on 3 November 1766 for bills payable to Robert Wood. Mitchell repaid £150 0s 0d borrowed from the Company in England on 10 November 1766 and received his bond back, the sum being credited to the account current with London. Closing specie of £9,225 9s 7d on 30 November 1766 implies £18 6s 7d from the Ponsborne. Receipts in December 1766 were £1,391 14s 0d for store sales, £19 10s 0d for licences, the auction proceeds, £11 16s 0d for plantation provisions and £2 11s 3d for lime. The advance to the paymaster was £3,494 17s 7d, covering a pay list of £2,916 16s 9d, of which the civil list took £853 6s 9½d and the garrison about £2,063, and cash payments of £578 0s 10d. One carried total in that account reads £522 18s 6d at the foot of a leaf and £532 13s 6d at the head of the next. It paid Joseph Chamberlain £5 0s 0d on 9 November 1766 for 20 Windsor chairs for the Castle hall and soldiers for repairing the main guard, the longboat, the Castle and Plantation House. The balance on 31 December 1766 was £7,715 18s 6d. [Film No. 271-273, 276, 288, 292, 318-339, 355]
Nothing entered or left the chest in January 1767. Three sets of bills were issued on 23 February 1767: £100 0s 0d each to Henry Chads and Matthew Horne and £450 0s 0d to George Strode. The chest held £7,830 13s 6d in coin on 28 February 1767. Four sets on 24 March 1767 raised £2,698 0s 0d: £1,500 0s 0d from Clements, £663 0s 0d from his surgeon John Patterson, £500 0s 0d from Robert Oxlade and £35 0s 0d from Thackeray, payable to Reynold Thomas. Powell paid in £915 17s 2d on 31 March 1767, licences brought £13 10s 0d, plantation provisions £7 11s 0½d and four ships small sums; the receipts as read are £5 less than the stated total of £12,044 0s 1½d. The paymaster's account to 31 March 1767 balanced at £3,784 0s 3d, the pay list taking £2,900 1s 6d, a little over £900 of it civil, and other payments £883 18s 9d, almost half for Sandy Bay labour; the treasury entered the advance a halfpenny less. March 1767 closed with £7,720 4s 11d in coin. [Film No. 355, 359, 371, 381, 430, 431, 445-454]
Corneille bought a bill for £100 0s 0d payable to Christopher Baron on 6 April 1767 and Barclay one for £128 12s 6d payable to John Manley. The gunner's, steward's and plantation accounts were approved on 13 April 1767. The Secretary paid in £190 12s 0d on 18 April 1767 for bills to Captain Brooke. Mitford paid £1,650 0s 0d for certificates on 20 April 1767 after swearing under the 75th paragraph of his instructions that it came from his outward trade. Skottowe paid in £400 0s 0d on 22 April 1767 for bills payable to Robert Wood. One chest of treasure was consigned that day to Fort Marlborough in the Earl of Middlesex with invoice and bill of lading. Corneille took a bill for £22 8s 0d on 4 May 1767 payable to Lawrence Dewire, steward to General Caillaud, and Richard Goodwin one for £39 10s 0d payable to Captain Tryon. [Film No. 398, 404, 413, 456, 461, 463, 469, 472]
Canton priced by the pecul or picul and catty in taels, mace, candareens and cash, showed no packing charges and implied a tael booked at £0 6s 8d. Bengal used the current rupee of 16 annas, a unit of account in which two leaguers of arrack bought for 260 Arcot rupees were entered at 280 current rupees 12 annas 9 pies, and added every packing charge down to twine and boat hire. Bombay used rupees of four quarters and 400 reas with the Surat maund, Madras pagodas of 36 fanams and the Cape rix dollars and schellings. Packing and handling added about 7% at Bombay and Bengal and 0.3% at Madras, where packing was priced within each bale. The island's own accounts were in sterling. [Film No. 24-26, 28, 34, 38, 39, 42, 52, 54, 55, 65, 76, 135-138, 153, 154, 360, 373, 374, 390]
Slavery and coerced labour
The Company owned only three stonelayers when Mitchell asked on 5 May 1766 to hire the six slaves recommended as the island's most skilled: George, Tom, Harry, Dick, Billy and Eneas, owned by Mr Mason, Captain Bazett, Mr Goodwin, Mr Purling, Mr Alexander and Mr Wrangham. The owners refused less than the customary £0 2s 6d a day with food, and the Council agreed and added the Company's ration. The paymaster paid Goodwin, Wrangham and a third owner at that rate on 6 August 1766 for 13, 17 and 14 days by their stonecutters at Sandy Bay, an abbreviated entry. [Film No. 17, 18, 208]
The store account for the Company's slaves from 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766 totalled £653 15s 1d. It issued 164 men's suits of jacket and breeches at about £0 10s 4d a suit, 67 boys' jackets, 238 men's and 69 boys' shirts, 199 Dutch caps, 72 yards of kersey for the women and 52 pairs of shoes for house servants and slaves at the Castle. Food was 1,090 pieces of beef, 511 of pork, 1,295 lb of Dutch pork, 26½ bushels of pease and flour worth £103 9s 2d, and Jenkins baked 66 batches of bread. Slave fishermen drew 1,450 hooks and 450 lines, cooking vessels went to the slaves' quarter, the Black Square, and 4 lb of candles were charged for inspecting the slaves' houses. Arrack was issued as a daily dram and for women in childbed, the sick and the slaves at Sandy Bay, and cheap long cloth for childbed and the hospital. The surgeon was by custom given a horse to attend them in the country. [Film No. 95-98, 111, 126, 146, 156]
Births and deaths of Company slaves were entered on the plantation return below the livestock. Mercuse, Abigal, Quick, Dutton and Nicklo, four of them men, died from 27 April 1766 to 2 June 1766, and the boys Harry and Robert were born on 10 May 1766 and 13 May 1766. Roger, Chesterfield and Ranger died in the quarter to 30 September 1766 and a woman, Moll Frank, in the next. The men Hamblett, Spring and Belford died, a girl named Hannah was born and one child was stillborn in the quarter to 31 March 1767. Powell was paid on 7 March 1767 for four inquests held from 27 December 1764 to 5 January 1766, at £1 5s 0d each, on the slave woman Pat, the slave boy York and the soldiers Evan Knowles and Thomas Jones. [Film No. 66, 179, 294, 405, 446, 448]
Corneille reported on 11 August 1766 that the overseer Daniel Tongue drank heavily and had cheated the slaves of rice and arrack. The Council examined him that day, found him guilty and returned him to the garrison as a private of the Third Company, counting his time as overseer towards his five-year enlistment; he was a matross by 26 August 1766. John Shirrate replaced him at the usual salary. [Film No. 146, 192, 193, 201, 202, 207]
The planters, summoned by the notice of 11 August 1766, agreed on 18 August 1766 to hire out slaves for the fortifications at £0 1s 0d a day with the drams given to Company slaves and food at the owners' cost, a rate the minute admits was below what they charged one another. They offered 30 slaves on 25 August 1766. Mitchell enclosed the return for the quarter to 31 December 1766 with his letter of 5 January 1767, wrote that it showed how far the expected help fell short and declined further comment. The return, entered on 20 April 1767, listed 23 owners with 11 slaves at work on 29 December 1766 and 15 on a second date given as 5 January 1767 on one leaf and 10 January 1767 on the next. Thirteen owners sent none on either date, among them the storekeeper, a factor and Captain Henry Bazett; Purling sent four and Kirkpatrick one and then two. The Council accepted that highway work fell due then and imposed no penalty. [Film No. 146, 149, 150, 292, 457, 458]
The Governor's fishing boat capsized off Barn Point on 1 September 1766 with the Company slaves Aron, Chesterfield and Jerry and a slave of the cooper James Torbett. Chesterfield drowned. Jerry was taken off a rock two days afterwards by the four-man crew of Purling's boat, who shared eight dollars, entered by the paymaster as £0 10s 0d each. The Council bought a new boat for £4 10s 0d and the minute is silent on the other two men. [Film No. 154, 179, 210]
Slaves' stores from 1 July 1766 to 30 September 1766 cost £456 6s 11d. Salt meat, 1,069 pieces of beef and 604 of pork, made £263 5s 0d and 197 cwt 1 qr 12 lb of rice £99 2s 6d, with 129 gallons of arrack at £17 8s 0d, 274 lb of sugar and 107 lb of Bohea. Shoes went to 46 handicraftsmen and seven women. Women's clothing was issued as materials: 30 pieces of chelloes at £20 12s 6d, 10½ pieces of long cloth, 60 yards of ticklenburgs, 32 yards of kersey, tape and thread. Men's clothing was two sailors' outfits with Dutch caps, and English canvas made aprons for black workers of unread description. Sandy Bay received 45 cwt 2 qr 4 lb of the rice with a six-gallon iron pot, a frying pan, a padlock for a house and bowls and platters. Train oil went to sick slaves, and slave fishermen and a butcher drew lines, hooks and a knife. [Film No. 233, 237, 238]
Slaves' stores cost £423 11s 1d to 31 December 1766: 1,201 pieces of salt beef and 946 of pork at £335 13s 3d, over 123 cwt of rice, 106 lb of Bohea, 50 pairs of shoes for the craftsmen, a padlock for the slaves' house, 3 lb of candles for inspecting it, pepper and butcher's knives for the gang at the fortifications and fish hooks. They cost £253 12s 9d to 31 March 1767: salt meat at £210 19s 4d, 4,547 lb of rice at £20 6s 0d, shoes for craftsmen, stockings for slaves in the Castle, a piece of long cloth for women in childbirth and a candle for inspecting the houses. [Film No. 313, 322, 425, 426, 434]
A black man belonging to the Castle carried the Governor's meat on 13 December 1766. Captain Brooke found a male slave of the Company named Rowland hidden in the Speke shortly before she sailed and sent him ashore; no punishment or inquiry was recorded. [Film No. 344, 345, 348, 408, 413]
Judiciary, crime and punishment
The Council sat as court of probate. On 26 May 1766 it admitted the will of John Simmons, a seaman put ashore from the Lord Holland, on the oaths of the witnesses Thomas Yates and Thomas Pearce; he had made it on 23 October 1765, weak in body, leaving everything to his friend and sole executor William Parker. Lieutenant Thomas Leech was granted administration of the goods of his mother Eleanor Leech, intestate, on 16 June 1766 with Lieutenant Michael Frost as surety. The death log names a widow Eleanor Luck who died on 10 June 1766. Leech produced an inventory on 14 July 1766, valued by Nathan Sample and George Bird, to which all three swore and which was registered. No criminal or civil case was entered from April 1766 to June 1766. [Film No. 34, 35, 50, 53, 68]
The Council's notice of 11 August 1766 offered £0 5s 0d, with a pardon for an informing accomplice, for information on a coil of light rope stolen the previous Friday from the wooden house on the Line. No outcome was recorded by 22 September 1766. The clerk of the arraigns and apparitor, or crier, was paid £0 12s 6d a quarter, the clerk of the peace £10 0s 0d and the marshal and gaoler £7 10s 0d; John Bruce held the last post, clothed with the garrison, to 30 September 1766 and John Price afterwards. [Film No. 95, 108, 130, 145, 192, 193, 212, 319, 338, 431, 432]
Thomas Greentree, planter, died on 5 October 1766 and his will was proved on 13 October 1766 on the oaths of Samuel Desfountain, George Bazett and Phillip Mabony. He had signed its seven sides on 16 September 1766, describing himself as in good health. The executors were his wife Elizabeth, Purling, Bagley, Wrangham, Goodwin, Henry Bazett and his brother James Greentree, each given £10 0s 0d. Elizabeth received a third of the movables with named furniture and silver and a life interest in 115 acres of freehold and leasehold, the house in James Valley and a goat range in Lemon Valley. Remarriage would cut her to half the town house, while dying his widow let her bequeath £400 0s 0d to her own heirs. No child was named. The home farm of Oddifies was to pass after her death to James Greentree and the residue to James's children at 21 or on marriage. [Film No. 169, 172-174, 177, 178]
Cash legacies exceeded £1,300 0s 0d, most of them £100 0s 0d apiece to nieces and a nephew. Mary and Elizabeth Swailes also received goat ranges bought at auction, one sold by a former Governor and Council. Sarah Desfountain's £50 0s 0d and Margaret Mowett's £150 0s 0d were placed beyond their husbands' control. Three friends had £2 0s 0d each for rings and the deserving poor £25 0s 0d at the executors' discretion. The slaves Lucy, her son James and her daughter Margaret went to Elizabeth beyond her third. She could buy Richard, Jack or any other slave at a valuation and the rest were to be sold with the livestock. Connor was to serve her for life and, if faithful, to be freed at her death with £10 0s 0d to leave the island. Sukey, a free black woman, received £5 0s 0d. [Film No. 172-177]
The minutes of 27 October 1766 enter the death on 22 October 1766 of a cooper read as James Lovell, almost certainly Torbett. His widow and executrix Margaret proved his will of 29 May 1765 on 3 November 1766 on the witnesses' oaths. She took a third of the estate and the house for life without waste. The eldest son William received £0 1s 0d, the daughter Mary a slave girl, Kitty, outside the general division and Joshua, John, Richard, Mary and any child then expected equal shares of the remainder. John Seale declined to act as overseer, leaving John Worrall alone. The widow swore on 8 December 1766 to an inventory appraised by Merchant, Robinson and Bird, which was registered. [Film No. 263, 269-271, 283]
Beale complained on 2 February 1767 against John Irwin, the Governor's steward. He alleged that Irwin took more meat than the Governor's table needed on 13 December 1766, passed the surplus to the adjutant Jacob and mocked the officers, and that at the market house on 28 January 1767 Irwin offered to bet a guinea that the charge was false and scoffed at his oath. John Pritchard, surgeon's mate and Beale's witness, confirmed only that Irwin had not addressed the officers as gentlemen. Henry Howell, clerk of the market and a sergeant, swore that he set aside the Governor's portion himself and that Irwin sent the excess back. Jacob swore that he bought the 6 lb from the stall for cash and had no other meat from the steward. Howell, St Maurice and Frost all heard Beale begin by calling Irwin Mr Chap, a liar and a rascal who deserved a broken head, and Irwin threaten to report him to the Governor. Frost added that Beale had first rebuked Howell for cutting up veal at home, against the standing order to bring meat to the market. Beale offered his oath as judge advocate on points no witness supported and had not consulted the market book. [Film No. 343-348]
Skottowe asked Beale why he had not complained to the steward's master, and Beale pleaded that the Governor was out of town. The Council found the complaint trivial and groundless. It ordered Beale to ask the Governor's pardon before the board for rebuking his servant unreported and to be severely reprimanded for his abuse of the steward. Fresh meat was shared by weight and precedence and booked to each person's account. [Film No. 345, 346, 349]
Inglis went down to the crane on 24 February 1767 to hurry his ship's business and exchanged words with Pinchback. He raised his stick, Pinchback twisted it from him and gave him a shove and the captain fell among the rocks in the sea and fractured his skull. He died on 1 March 1767, and the Council committed Pinchback on 2 March 1767 for trial at the next quarterly court. Captains Bazett and Howard proved that day that another seaman, Malcolm Laureston, had behaved very offensively to Inglis just before the fall; the Council ordered 100 lashes as an example and Affleck agreed to take him into the Argo. Moffat was sworn to command the Asia until the Company's pleasure was known and Kirkpatrick went aboard to announce it. The coroner's fee for the inquest on Inglis is dated 7 March 1767 and the inquest itself 11 March 1767, so one date is misread. [Film No. 362, 364, 365, 448]
The Council proved the will of the widow Sarah Tunge, called Mary in the minute, on 16 March 1767. Made in June 1766 and witnessed by John Scott and T. Colgrave, it opened piously and left her daughter Elizabeth a woman slave named Hannah. It gave her daughter Sarah first option on the house and land on paying her sister Mary half their value and divided the residue between those two as executrixes. An inventory valued on oath by Richard Bagley and Orlando Bagley senior was registered on 23 March 1767. [Film No. 369, 370, 379]
A general court martial of seven officers tried Beale for disobeying Corneille and for disrespect while captain of the day, and its result was published in orders on 24 March 1767. It acquitted him on both charges but found his reluctance to obey a lawful order unworthy of a good officer and sentenced him to three months' suspension from duty and pay, which the Council halved on the court's recommendation. Corneille wrote that day that the court had cited no article of war, that the Council had been hasty, that mercy would have come more properly from him and that severity was never his choice, and asked for the whole suspension to be lifted. Skottowe and Purling replied that the sentence rested on the second article of the fifteenth section of the articles of war and that they had remitted only half to discourage hesitation over orders. They lifted the rest at his request and told Beale that he owed it wholly to the Lieutenant Governor. Kirkpatrick did not sign, and Corneille had the letters entered in the minutes. [Film No. 384-386]
The minors John and Elizabeth Twaits petitioned on 18 April 1767, John signing for both, to appoint Wrangham and Captain Henry Bazett guardians of their property, and the Council agreed. A John Twaites drew pay as drummer of the Third Company. [Film No. 412, 434, 438]
Social order, religion and education
Joseph Chamberlain, carpenter's mate for 10 years, petitioned on 30 June 1766 to leave the service because constant attendance on working days and some Sundays left him unable to support a growing family. He offered to wait for a replacement and to remain at the Council's orders afterwards, and the Council agreed. [Film No. 59]
James Goudy petitioned on 7 July 1766 for a licence to run a house of entertainment with a billiard table, already fitted out for the gentlemen of the island and the ships, and offered to accept any rules. The Council licensed the billiard table alone on 14 July 1766 at £4 0s 0d a year, forbidding liquor and a house of entertainment as a probable cause of disorder. [Film No. 62, 63, 72]
The planter John Hayes died on 12 July 1766, Margaret, daughter of Doveton, on 10 July 1766 and Elizabeth Clough on 30 July 1766. Martha Bazett, the secretary's daughter, died on 15 August 1766 and her brothers Matthew and Charles on 3 and 5 September 1766. Elizabeth, daughter of Mrs Mary Beale, died on 12 September 1766, Mary, daughter of the widow Martha Hayes, on 2 January 1767 and the widow Sarah Yonge on 12 January 1767. No cause of death was stated for any inhabitant, soldier or slave. [Film No. 64, 135, 138, 147, 151, 152, 157, 289, 290, 293]
Names on the garrison rolls match the groom Zedekiah Sanderson, the carpenter's mate Chamberlain and the flag-maker John Hewiston in the quarter to 30 June 1766, and the groom Robert Allum, the clock and arms cleaner Samuel Perry and the clerk Yates in the quarter to 31 March 1767. In the latter William French made and fitted cots and the armourer John Dobson was paid £1 0s 0d as farrier. [Film No. 110, 115, 119, 121, 122, 124, 126, 417, 431, 435, 437, 445, 446, 448]
Six yards of kersey were issued for church cushions in the quarter to 31 December 1766. Nothing else was recorded of worship or schooling beyond the posts, books and chapel already named. [Film No. 310, 318, 319]
Personalities
A man read variously as Nocquedah Pochollum, Pochuttum, Bockollum and Roquebdah Pockullem drew an allowance of £1 12s 6d and house rent of £1 0s 0d each quarter, with no reason given for his residence. He was paid £1 2s 0d for four weeks' short allowance in the quarter to 30 June 1766 and £1 10s 0d in the next for directing the beating of paddy into rice. He received £4 13s 0d for 49 weeks of salt meat left undrawn in the quarter to 31 December 1766 and £1 6s 0d in place of 13 pieces in the next, the money being wanted for fresh provisions. [Film No. 124, 130, 212, 239, 338, 426, 450]
A separate account headed the Malay or the Malays, an uncertain reading, cost £2 7s 3d to 30 June 1766 for 156 lb of rice, sugar, arrack, soap, pepper, tea, lamp oil and chinaware including a teapot, with shoes and salt from general expenses. It cost £10 6s 1d to 30 September 1766 for 120 lb of rice, tea, arrack, Florence oil, 4¼ yards of blue broadcloth at £4 1s 0d, scarlet shalloon, silk, buttons, cotton stockings and a pair of fine pumps. It cost £3 19s 10d to 31 December 1766, including 6 gallons of arrack, sugar candy and fine shoes, and £2 5s 6d to 31 March 1767 for rice, sugar, arrack and pepper. No entry states the man's status or links the two accounts. [Film No. 93, 99, 239, 314, 426]
Conclusion
The record closes with the Council of 4 May 1767. No departure was entered by that date for the Duke of Cumberland, Lord Camden, Glatton, Lioness or Duke of Kingston. No enemy was named in the period, and no slave's testimony, planter's objection or trial verdict was entered. [Film No. 460-473]
Film No | Page No. | OCR Transcription | Modern Interpretation and analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date St. HELENA RECORDS 1766-1767 Photographer PETER Date photographed 14 JAN 2022 Additional comments | ||
| Book cover | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
| Blank page | ||
1 | Island St. Helena At a Consultation held on Monday the 28th Day of April 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 21st. April 1766. Wednesday the 23d. Died James [...] Soldier. Thursday the 24th. Sailed the two Dane Ships for Copenhagen. Friday the 25th. Do. the Portoguese Vessel for Angola. Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships Duke of Glocester and Talbot to Muster their Company's and enquire for deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Duke of Glocester Robert Wardell Commandr. John Amyos Knight 1st. Mate George Pearson. 2d. Do. John Stevens. 3d. Do. Wm. Gowland. 4th. Do. Thomas Tayler. 5th. Do. Robert Dunnam Surgeon John [Sheb] Purser. Edward Couch Midshipmn. Henry Handyside Do. George Purser. Do. Robert Ross Midshipman Alexr. Reid Do. John Hill Surgeons Mate John Gasgoine Gunner John Smith Boatswain Robert Wise Carpenter Thomas Randall Quartermr. Mich Corree Do. Robert Thompson Do. Robert Main Do. Archd. Malcomb Surgeons Mte. Hance Whitfield Boatsn. Mte. John Rowland Do. Do. James Nickelson Sailmak Geo. Williams Caulker Thos. Williams Do. Mate Andrew Knight Joiner John McGie Cooper Wm. Lister Do. Mate James Mercer Armorer Wm. Green Ships Cook Edward Carver Butcher Margin Notes: [...] 1766 | The Council of the island of St Helena met at the Castle on Monday 28 April 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of the meeting of 21 April 1766 were read, approved and signed. James [...], a soldier, died on Wednesday 23 April 1766. The two Danish ships left for Copenhagen on Thursday 24 April 1766. The Portuguese vessel left for Angola on Friday 25 April 1766. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the Duke of Gloucester and the Talbot to muster their crews and look for deserters. He found none. The crew list of the Duke of Gloucester follows. Robert Winsdell, commander John Amyas Knight, chief mate George Pearson, second mate John Stevens, third mate William Garland, fourth mate Thomas Taylor, fifth mate Robert Dunnam, surgeon John [...], purser Edward Couch, midshipman Henry Woodford, midshipman George Tusser, midshipman Robert Ross, midshipman Alexander Reid, midshipman John Hill, surgeon's mate John Gasgoine, gunner John Smith, boatswain Robert Wise, carpenter Thomas Randall, quartermaster Richard Corner, quartermaster Robert Thompson, quartermaster Robert Main, quartermaster Archibald Malcomb, [...] mate Hance Whitfield, boatswain's mate John Randall, boatswain's mate James Nickelson, sailmaker Samuel Williams, caulker Thomas Williams, caulker's mate Andrew Knight, joiner John McSpie, cooper William Lister, cooper's mate James Morison, armourer William Green, ship's cook Edward Converse, butcher Interpretations The muster was a control on movement off the island. A member of the Council went aboard each ship in person, called the crew over against the ship's own roll and searched for deserters before she left. Any man aboard who was not on the roll would have stood out at once, so the roll copied into the minutes served as the standard against which the count was made. | |
2 | 28th. April Tho Clark Caulkers Alexr. Drake Seaman Alexr. Mc.Donald Ambrose Cooly John Willson Peter Colian Walter Hilliard Barthw. Bateman James Morris John Brinkle James Henderson Alexr. Hastings Wm. Chester James Grimes James Grey John Welch William Wowens James [Kier] George Reed Michl. Tadlock Seaman Chas. Tayler John Tayler Francis Little Charles Gastell Joseph Solon Thomas Watson Phillip Hart John Smith Jacob Cowan Anthoy. De Silvia John Brown John Baptiste Richard Matthews Jacob Henning William Hetherald John Ramsam David Jones John Collins James Hipp Seama John Broomley Robt. Pollard Andrew Berry Willm. Walters Francis Dane John Barrett John Matthewson William Turner John Derris Adam Wright Captstew Petro Glacester Do. Do. Thomas Le Tong John Brewster Thoms. Mann John Cobley Michl. Dancer Saml. Leghorn Edward Richardson Passengers John Nelson Richd. Garwood Peter Mc. Queet A Lunatice (Signed) Robt Wardell Muster Roll of Ship Talbot Thoms. Dethick Commr. Sir Chas. Hudson 1 Mate Wm. Bassett 2d. Do. John May 3d. Do. Wm. Waks 4th. Do. Alexr. Tolmore 5th. Do. Saml. Statham Purser Andw. White Surgeon Wm. McDowal Surg: Mte Phillp. Howell Gunnr. Thoms. Cock Carpenter Richard Haley Boatswn. John Baynes Ships Stewd. Patrick Willson Wm. Greenwood Chas. Holly Midshipmen Geo: Tomlin Richd. Siddole John Johnson John Buxton Midshipm. Henry Law Wm. Southworth Joseph Eyton Fras. Miller | The remaining crew of the Duke of Gloucester were entered under 28 April 1766 as follows. Thomas Clark, poulterer Alexander Drake, seaman Alexander McDonald, seaman Ambrose Cooley, seaman John Willson, seaman Peter Colian, seaman Walter Hilliard, seaman Bartholomew Bateman, seaman James Morris, seaman John Brinkle, seaman James Henderson, seaman Alexander Hastings, seaman William Chester, seaman James Grimes, seaman James Grey, seaman John Welch, seaman William Wo[...], seaman James Kerr, seaman George Reed, seaman Michael Tadlock, seaman Charles Taylor, seaman John Taylor, seaman Francis Little, seaman Charles Gaskell, seaman Joseph Solon, seaman Thomas Watson, seaman Phillip Hart, seaman John Smith, seaman Jacob Cowan, seaman Anthony De Silvia, seaman John Brown, seaman John Baptiste, seaman Richard Matthews, seaman Jacob Henning, seaman William Hetherald, seaman John Ramsam, seaman David Jones, seaman John Collins, seaman James Hipp, seaman John Broomley, seaman Robert Bollard, seaman Andrew Berry, seaman William Walters, seaman Francis Dane, seaman John Barrett, seaman John Matthewson, seaman William Ferrier, seaman John Derris, seaman Adam Wright, captain's servant Petro Glacesser, captain's servant Thomas Le Tong John Brewster Thomas Mann John Cobley Michael Dancer Samuel Leghorn Edward Richardson Three passengers were listed. John Nelson Richard Garwood Peter McQuect, a lunatic Robert Winsdell signed the roll. The crew list of the Talbot then began. Thomas Dethick, commander Sir Charles Hudson, chief mate William Bassett, second mate John May, third mate William Wake, fourth mate Abraham Filmore, fifth mate Samuel Statham, purser Andrew White, surgeon William McDowal, surgeon's mate Phillip Howell, gunner Thomas Cock, carpenter Richard Haley, boatswain John Baynes, ship's steward Patrick Wilson, midshipman William Greenwood, midshipman Charles Holly, midshipman George Tomlin, midshipman Richard Siddale, midshipman John Johnson, midshipman John Buxton, midshipman Henry Law[...] William Southworth Joseph Eyton Francis Miller | |
3 | 1766 Thoms. Godfrey Capt Stewd. Wm. Stephens Capt Cook Saml. Malcolm Tayler Wm. Tong Capt Servant Geo: Hagger Do. Do. Lochlan Henry Robt. Cook Andw. Dunn Andw. Fox Quarter masters John Ball Boatswn. Mate Joseph Bothwick Cooper Edwd. Creasey Caulkr. Richd. Briges Carpr. Mate Willm. Atkins Sailmakr. James Barker Caulk Mte Richd. Turner Armourer John Wegman Caulker Robt. Walker Butcher David Grey Barker Wm. Cross Ships Cook Phillp. Nicholson Seamn. Geo: Bell John Watkins John Williams Wm. Pleasant Seaman John Lang John Bradford Alexr. Pattertree Wm. Wooler Michl. Pieling Roger Jones Thos. Langford Andw. Mackey Geo: Sinclair Wm. Sparks Gabl. Francis Wm. Mc. All Wm. Jones James Thomson James Griffith Jno. Kemp Thos. White John Trent Isaac Oakley Thoms. Barlet Thomas Nichens John Dalley [...] Wm. Lion Seaman John Johnson Geo. Gardner Joseph Marline Joseph Davris Saml. Drew John Fisher [...] John Dufficomb Thomas Clack Joseph Pibbs James Harling John North James Rogers Patrick Cannon Patrick Ferrel Arthur Mc. Allister James Odway James Harris Thomas Delbridge Jarv Pelton John Spearpoint Joseph Buckley John Hally (Signed) Thos. Dethick Mr. Samuel Alexander was this day Sworn into the Office of Sheriff and Henry Hooper in that of Constable. | The crew list of the Talbot continued in 1766 with the following men. Thomas Godfrey, captain's steward William Stephens, captain's cook Samuel Malcolm, tailor William Long, captain's servant George Slagger, captain's servant Lochlan Henry, quartermaster Robert Cook, quartermaster Andrew Dunn, quartermaster Andrew Fox, quartermaster John Ball, boatswain's mate Joseph Bothwick, cooper Edward Cursey, caulker Richard Briggs, carpenter's mate William Atkins, sailmaker James Barker, caulker's mate Richard Jones, armourer John Wegman, poulterer Robert Walker, butcher David Grey, baker William Spence, ship's cook Phillip Nicholson, seaman George Bell, seaman John Mathews, seaman John Williams, seaman William Pleasant, seaman John Long, seaman John Bradford, seaman Alexander Pattertree, seaman William Fowler, seaman Michael Pauling, seaman Roger Jones, seaman Thomas Langford, seaman Andrew Mackey, seaman George Sinclair, seaman William Sparks, seaman Robert Francis, seaman William McAll, seaman William Jones, seaman James Thomson, seaman James Griffith, seaman James Kemp, seaman Thomas White, seaman John Trent, seaman Isaac Oakley, seaman Thomas Barlet, seaman Thomas Nichols, seaman John Dalley, seaman William Lion, seaman John Johnson, seaman George Gardner, seaman Joseph Martin, seaman Joseph Davis, seaman Samuel Drew, seaman John Fisher, seaman Benjamin [...], seaman John Dunscomb, seaman Thomas Clack, seaman Joseph Pibbs, seaman James Harling, seaman John North, seaman James Rogers, seaman Patrick Cannon, seaman Patrick Terrel, seaman Arthur McAllister, seaman James Odway, seaman James Harris, seaman Thomas Delbridge, seaman Lave Pelton, seaman John Pearpoint, seaman Joseph Buckley, seaman John Hally, seaman Thomas Dethick signed the roll. Samuel Alexander took the oath as sheriff the same day. Henry Harper took the oath as constable. | |
4 | 28th. April We this day granted the following Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors vizt. One Set to Captain Henry Barett for eighty five pounds five Shillings payable to Captain John Wyche or Order And one set to Captain Robert Wardell for one hundred and fifty pounds payable to himself or Order, both sets drawn at ninety days sight. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Saturday the 3d. day of May 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 28th. of April 1766 Tuesday the 29th. Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ship Duke of Glocester for England. Thursday the 1st. Arrd. a Swede Ship from China Called the Finland Capt. [Ruuth] burthen one thousand three hundred Tons carrys one hundred and thirty Men and thirty two Guns. Loaden with Tea China Ware and Silk bound to Gottenburg | The Council granted two sets of bills of exchange on 28 April 1766, both drawn on the Court of Directors. One set went to Captain Henry Barrett for £85 5s 0d and was payable to Captain John Wyche or whoever he named. The other went to Captain Robert Burdett for £150 0s 0d, payable to himself or whoever he named. Both sets fell due 90 days after being presented. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. The Council met again at the Castle on Saturday 3 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 28 April 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Duke of Gloucester left for England on Tuesday 29 April 1766. A Swedish ship from China, the Finland under Captain Ruuth, arrived on Thursday 1 May 1766. She was a vessel of 1,300 tons with 130 men and 32 guns. Her cargo was tea, chinaware and silk, and she was bound for Gothenburg. Interpretations A bill of exchange drawn on the Court of Directors was a written order for the Company in London to pay a stated sum. It let a captain move money home without carrying coin, and the island government probably took his cash into its own treasury in return. Each bill was issued as a set of identical copies sent by different routes, so that the loss of one ship did not destroy the claim. Payment on any one copy cancelled the rest. The wording "or whoever he named" made the bills transferable. Barrett's bill was payable to a different man, Captain John Wyche, which suggests it settled a debt between the two. The 90 days after presentation gave the Court time to receive the island's own advice of the bills before the money fell due. | |
5 | 1766 The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores short received from the Ship Talbot vizt. Account of Stores Short received from Ship Talbot vizt. 6 lb. Sugar short weight 5 China Bowls 4 Do. Sneakers 2 Do. Wash Basons found broken upon opening the Packages (Signed) St. Helena 28th. April 1766 James Powell Storekeepr. John Robinson Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted time. Granted. The Lieutenant Governor on the 30th. of last Month presented the following Letter vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, and Council of St. Helena. Gentlemen As I mentioned some time ago the Shortness of the Honble. Compys. Stock, Arrising as you must well know from the Incroachment that last years necessity obliged Us to, in supplying the latter Ships of the Year with five Head of Cattle exclusive of Charter party which of course has lessened the Number destined for the use of this Seasons Shipping as well as reduced the weight, in Consequence of our being obliged to kill the Younger Cattle before they could have the run of the Year as was Usually practiced. To verify which I must here mention that the eleven | The storekeeper handed the Council a list of goods missing or damaged in the consignment landed from the Talbot. 6 pounds of sugar, under weight 5 china bowls 4 china sneakers, discovered in pieces when the cases were unpacked 2 china wash basins, discovered in pieces when the cases were unpacked James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the list at St Helena on 28 April 1766. John Robinson, a private soldier, asked the same day to be released from the garrison because his agreed term of service with the Company was complete. The Council agreed. Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille had submitted a letter on 30 April 1766, addressed to Governor John Skottowe and the Council. He reminded them of an earlier warning that the Company's herd was running low. The cause was well known to the Council. Need had forced the island in the previous year to give the last ships of the season [...] head of cattle beyond what their charter parties required. Fewer animals were therefore left for the ships of the current season. The beef also weighed less, because younger cattle were slaughtered before they had a full year at pasture as was the usual practice. Interpretations A sneaker was a small china punch bowl, larger than a cup and smaller than a full serving bowl. It came from China with the tea and porcelain cargoes and was used for drinking punch at table. The charter party was the contract under which the Company hired each ship from her owners. It fixed, among much else, what fresh provisions the island owed a ship when she called. Corneille's complaint turned on that limit. Cattle given beyond it were a drain on the Company's own herd that no contract obliged the island to bear, and the cost fell on the next season's shipping in both numbers and weight. The storekeeper's list served as the basis of a claim. Goods were counted and weighed against the invoice when unpacked, and a signed statement of the shortfall, entered in the minutes, gave the Company grounds to charge the loss to the ship. | |
6 | 3d. May Ships that have already passed, including the two Storeships from England have taken thirty Head to supply their Charter party and for the eighteen Ships we expect there are only fifteen Head remaining. Very inadequate to what our demands must be. Under such circumstances I have examined all the Company's Stock, and find that from the Milch-Cows, I can make an addition of five Head more, together with four from the young Cattle alloted for next year, which in all amounts to twenty four, and cannot possibly go any further without doing such a prejudice to the Stock as will require some years to recover. Therefore must offer you my opinion that under such circumstances I think we ought to lessen the Charterparty allowance for the remainder of this year, as I have given you Gentlemen an Exact Account how far in my opinion We can go, which if exceeded must be very prejudicial to the Honorable Company's Stock, which I am sure will be a sufficient Reason to justify our Conduct in Reducing the allowance as the Circumstances of the thing cannot admit our waiting for Instructions from our Honorable Masters I have the Honor to be Gentlemen. Your most Obedt. & most humble Servant (Signed) St. Helena 30th. April 1766. Dan Corneille The Governor then asked the Gentlemen of the Council their opinions, relative to the foregoing Letter, Upon which Mr. Purling delivered his in writing which is as follows vizt. On looking over the Plantation Account for three years preceding this, I find the Honble. Company's Stock of Black Cattle greatly exceeded, in number the Stock they had the beginning of this Year, owing I imagine to many Cattle being killed last Year for the Ships more than the third part of their Charterparty It appears also by the Ships Acct. for the Years 1761. 62. & 63 that they were in general in those Years only supply'd with 420. each Ship, which is the fourth part of | Corneille's letter went on to set out the numbers behind his warning. Eleven ships called earlier in the season, counting the two storeships from England, and took 30 head of cattle under their charter parties. Only 15 head remained for the 18 ships still expected, which fell far short of what they would ask for. He therefore inspected the whole of the Company's herd. Five more animals could come from the milk cows and four from the young cattle set aside for the following year. That brought the total to 24 head. Taking any more would damage the herd so badly that it would need several years to recover. Corneille advised cutting the charter party allowance for the rest of the year. His figures showed exactly how far the island could go, and going further would do the Company's herd serious harm. He was sure this would justify the reduction to the Company, since the situation left no time to wait for orders from London. He signed the letter at St Helena on 30 April 1766. Governor Skottowe asked the members of the Council for their views on the letter. Matthew Purling gave his in writing. He looked through the plantation accounts for the three years before 1766. The Company's herd of black cattle in those years was far larger than at the start of 1766. He put the fall down to the many cattle killed for the ships in 1765, when they received more than a third of their charter party entitlement. The ships' accounts for 1761, 1762 and 1763 showed that each ship in those years generally received only 420 [...]. Interpretations The obvious course was to keep supplying each ship at the customary rate and write to the Court of Directors for orders. Corneille argued against it on the ground of time. A reply from London could not arrive before the remaining 18 ships did, and by then the herd would be gone. His letter was built to protect the Council as much as the cattle. It put an exact count on record, 24 head against 18 ships, so that the reduction could later be defended as forced by arithmetic and not chosen. His remedy drew on two reserves that were not meant for slaughter. Milk cows were breeding stock, and the young cattle were the following year's supply. Using nine of them borrowed against the future of the herd, which is why he fixed that number as the limit. Purling's reference to a third of the entitlement shows that the island did not normally deliver the full charter party allowance. The contract set a ceiling, and the Council decided each year what fraction the herd could bear. The dispute was therefore over which fraction to apply, a matter within the island's own discretion. Black cattle was the ordinary term for cattle of the ox kind, whatever their colour. It distinguished them from sheep, goats and other livestock in the Company's accounts. | |
7 | 1766 of the Charter party, and two Ships in 1760 the Edgecote and Duke of Dorset had no Charter party Beef at all As the Supply of the Charter party Beef more or less depends intirely on the Condition of the Company's Stock which the Lieutenant Governor has represented will by no means admit of continuing the third of the Charter party to the remainder of the Ships of this Year without distressing the Company's Stock; which should certainly be avoided It is therefore my opinion that the Charter party Beef should be lessened from one third to one fourth part to the Ships expected this Year, and to continue on that reduced footing untill the Stock will afford a more ample supply (Signed) MPurling 3. May 1766. Which being considered it is therefore the opinion of the Governor and Council, that the Charter party Beef should be reduced from one third to one four part untill the Honble. Company's Stock will again admit of being Augmented John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Purling's written opinion noted that the 420 [...] issued to each ship in 1761, 1762 and 1763 came to a quarter of the charter party entitlement. Two ships in 1760, the Edgecote and the Duke of Dorset, received no charter party beef at all. He reasoned that the amount of beef supplied under the charter parties depended wholly on the state of the Company's herd. The Lieutenant Governor had shown that the herd could not go on providing a third of the entitlement to the remaining ships of the year without being run down, and Purling held that such damage ought to be avoided. He therefore recommended cutting the beef for the ships still expected in 1766 from a third to a quarter of the entitlement. The lower rate would stay in force until the herd could bear a more generous supply. He signed his opinion on 3 May 1766. Governor Skottowe and the Council considered the opinion and adopted it. They resolved to reduce the charter party beef from a third to a quarter until the Company's herd recovered enough to allow an increase. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Corneille's letter of 30 April 1766 asked only that the allowance be lessened and named no figure. Purling supplied one, and he took it from the island's own records instead of working it out from the 24 head available. The quarter share was the rate actually issued in 1761, 1762 and 1763, so the cut could be presented to the Court of Directors as a return to recent practice and not as a new departure taken without orders. The two ships of 1760 that received nothing served the same purpose, showing that the island had gone lower still within recent memory. The resolution carried no end date. It tied the lower rate to the condition of the herd, which left the Council free to restore the third whenever it judged the cattle sufficient, again without reference to London. | |
8 | 5th. May At a Consultation held on Monday the 5th. day of May 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and signed, dated 3 May 1766 Yesterday Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Talbot for England Captain Mitchell this day presented the following Letter vizt. To the Worshipful the Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena. Gentlemen As a very considerable Quantity of materials for the Works at Sandy Bay is now collected and prepared I therefore propose soon to set about building a Cullvered Canal for the conveyance of the Floods under the Line intended to be carried across the Bay, and find it necessary to represent to you that the present Number of Stone-layers belonging to the Honorable Company which can only be said to Consist of three, is much too small for carrying on so considerable a Work. It will therefore I imagine be thought necessary to take some of the Black Stonelayers belonging to the Gentlemen of the Island, into Pay, during the time they may be wanted for this purpose; and to settle with their Masters the Terms on which they are to Work for the Honble. Compy. I have taken the Liberty to annex the Names of Six Slaves who have been recommended to me as the ablest Stonelayers now on the Island I have the Honor to be Gentlemen St. Helena 5th May 1766. Your most obedt. hum: Servt. (Signed) E Mitchell | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 5 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 3 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Talbot left for England on 4 May 1766. Captain Mitchell submitted a letter the same day, addressed to the Governor and Council and dated at St Helena on 5 May 1766. He reported that a large stock of building materials for the works at Sandy Bay stood gathered and ready. His next step was to build a culvert and channel to carry flood water beneath the defensive line planned across the bay. Mitchell warned that the Company had too few stonelayers of its own for a job of that size, since they amounted to no more than three. He expected the Council to see the need to hire some of the black stonelayers owned by the island's gentlemen for as long as the work required them. The terms of their work for the Company would have to be agreed with their masters. He attached the names of six slaves recommended to him as the most skilled stonelayers then on the island. Interpretations The line was a defensive wall intended to close off the landing place at Sandy Bay. A valley stream ran down to the shore there, and after heavy rain it would have piled water against a solid wall and undermined it. The culvert and channel were therefore the first masonry needed, since the wall could only stand once the flood water had a path beneath it. Mitchell's proposal shows how skilled labour was obtained on the island. The slaves themselves were not parties to the arrangement. The Company would put them on its pay list, but the bargain was struck with their owners and the hire went to those owners. Mitchell chose the men by name on the strength of their reputation as craftsmen, so the skill belonged to the slave while the income from it belonged to the master. | |
9 | 1766 Mr. Mason's George Capt. Bazett's Tom Mr. Goodwin's Harry Mrs. Purlings Dick Mr. Alexander's Billey Mr. Wrangham's Eneas. Upon which we sent for the Masters of the Stonelayers Captain Mitchell mentions in his Letter, who acquainted Us that they were people of so great use to them, that they could not spare them under the usual price of 2/6 p day and their Victuals, what is always paid for these Artificers We agreed to give that price, and allow them the Honble. Company's Allowance of Provision William Smith late Clerk having quitted the Honble. Company's Service, We have appointed Thomas Yates Gunner Clerk in his Stead, at the usual Salary. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Mitchell's list named the six slave stonelayers and their owners. George, owned by Mr Mason Tom, owned by Captain Bazett Harry, owned by Mr Goodwin Dick, owned by Mr Purling Billy, owned by Mr Alexander Eneas, owned by Mr Wrangham The Council called in the owners of the six men. They answered that the stonelayers were too valuable to them to be released for less than the customary rate. That rate was £0 2s 6d a day with food, the amount always paid for craftsmen of this kind. The Council accepted the price and granted the men the Company's standard ration of provisions. William Smith, the former clerk, had left the Company's service. The Council appointed Thomas Yates, a gunner, as clerk in his place at the customary salary. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations One of the six owners sat on the Council that fixed the hire. Dick belonged to Matthew Purling, who signed the minutes approving the rate paid to himself. Mr Alexander was perhaps the Samuel Alexander sworn in as sheriff on 28 April 1766. The men who governed the island were also the men who owned its skilled labour, so the Company bought that labour from its own officers. The Council did not bargain. The owners named £0 2s 6d a day and the Council agreed at once, with the record resting on the claim that this was the established price for such craftsmen. A fixed customary rate spared the Council the appearance of favouring a colleague, since nothing was conceded that custom did not already allow. The daily money went to the owners, while the slaves themselves received only their food from the Company's stores. | |
10 | 12th. May At a Consultation held on Monday the 12th. day of May 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Captain Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 5th. May 1766. Wednesday the 7th. Sailed the Swede Ship Finland for Gottenburg Thursday the 8th. passed by three Ships. Friday the 9th. Died Susannah daughter of Capt. Henry Bazett We this day received the following Petitions vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of the Island St. Helena The humble Petition of Thomas Greentree Sheweth That your Petitioner hath two Leases for seven Acres of Land lying in the East Division of this Island expired your Petitioner therefore humble prays that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same, and that both parcels of Land may be inserted in one Lease. And your Petitioner will ever pray 12th. May 1766 (Signed) Thos. Greentree Granted. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 12 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 5 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Swedish ship Finland left for Gothenburg on Wednesday 7 May 1766. Three ships sailed past the island on Thursday 8 May 1766. Susannah, daughter of Captain Henry Bazett, died on Friday 9 May 1766. Several petitions reached the Council that day. Thomas Greentree's, dated 12 May 1766, explained that he held two leases covering seven acres in the East Division of the island and that both had run out. He asked the Council to renew them and to combine the two plots in a single lease. The Council agreed. Interpretations Greentree's request shows how land was held on the island. The Company kept ownership and let plots out for fixed terms, so a planter's hold on his ground lapsed with the lease and survived only if the Council chose to renew it. Every renewal therefore brought the tenant back before the Governor and Council as a petitioner, which gave the government a recurring check on who occupied the land. The merger of the two plots into one lease was a practical gain for both sides. Greentree would hold his seven acres under a single document with a single expiry date, and the Company's register would carry one entry where it had carried two. | |
11 | 1766 To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca Council. The humble Petition of John Worrall Sheweth That your Petitioner hath two Leases expired, one containing sixteen Acres and three Quarters, and the other fourteen and a Quarter lying in Sharks Valley, requests your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same And your Petitioner will ever pray St. Helena 12th. May 1766. (Signed) John Worrall Granted. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governr. &ca. Council. The humble Petition of Guilio Fabiano Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of disposing of his right to a piece of ground lying in this Valley, humbly requests your Worship & Council will be pleased to give him leave so to do. and to Accept of Lieut. Solomon St. Maurice Tenant for the same And your Petitioner will ever pray St. Helena 12th. May 1766 (Signed) Guilio Fabiano Granted The Gunners and Stewards Account for the Month of April last were this day brought in, which were examined and approved and are as follows vizt. | John Worrall petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council from St Helena on 12 May 1766. He held two leases of land in Sharks Valley, and both had run out. One covered sixteen and three quarter acres and the other fourteen and a quarter acres. He asked for them to be renewed, and the Council agreed. Guilio Fabiano submitted a petition of the same date. He wanted to part with his rights in a plot of ground in the valley where the Council sat. His request was for permission to do so and for Lieutenant Solomon St Maurice to be accepted as tenant in his place. The Council agreed. The gunner and the steward handed in their accounts for April 1766 that day. The Council examined and approved them, and the artillery account came first. Interpretations Fabiano's petition shows the limit on what a leaseholder could sell. He described his interest as a right to the ground, not as the ground itself, and he could not pass it on by private bargain alone. The Council had to release him and take the buyer as its tenant. That consent gave the Company a veto over every change of occupier, which mattered most in the valley beside the Castle, where the fort, the stores and the landing place stood. The incoming tenant was a garrison officer, a man already under the Governor's command. | |
12 | 12th. May Artillery Stores expend in April 1766 Guns Fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended 2d. Departed the Pocock: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 4 Do. the Ships Plassey and Prince of Wales: Guns Fired 18, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 18, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18 Do. the Ships Duke of Richmond & Earl of Elgin: Guns Fired 18, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 18, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18 5th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 6 The Alarm Doubled: Guns Fired 3, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 1, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 1, Powder Expended 6 6 Arrived the Ships Salisbury & Dutton: Guns Fired 18, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 18, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18 13th. Departed the Ships Salisbury & Dutton: Guns Fired 18, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18 13th. An Alarm at Banks's: Guns Fired 2, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 15. Do. At prosperous Bay for the same Ships: Guns Fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Do. Arrived the Duke of Glocester: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 16th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 17th. Arrived a Dane Ship: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 18. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 19th. Arrived the Talbot: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Arrived a Dane Ship: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 24th. Departed the two dane Ships: Guns Fired 18, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 18, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18 29th. Departed the Duke of Glocester: Guns Fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 Powder for priming Scencl Proving &ca this Month: Guns Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 133 1/2 Total: Guns Fired 179, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 11, 3 lb 11, 2 lb 144, 1 lb 11, Powder Expended 352 1/2 Spunge Staves for Sundry Uses 8 Wire Sieve for the Bakers 1 Tallow Expended this Month 33 lb Nails for Coating Spunges 60 Sheep Skins for Do. 1 Rammer Heads 3 lb. broke 1 Cartridge Paper to make Cartridges 2 Quires Handspikes for Sundrys 3 (Signed) E Mitchell | The artillery account for April 1766 recorded the guns fired, the charges used in each of five weight classes and the powder spent. Departure of the Pocock on 2 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of the Plassey and the Prince of Wales on 4 April 1766, 13 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 13 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 13 pounds of powder Departure of the Duke of Richmond and the Earl of Elgin on 4 April 1766, 13 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 13 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 13 pounds of powder Alarm on 5 April 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 2 charges of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Alarm repeated on 6 April 1766, 3 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 1 charge of 4 pounds, 1 charge of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 1 charge of 1 pound, 6 pounds of powder Arrival of the Salisbury and the Dutton on 6 April 1766, 13 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 13 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 13 pounds of powder Departure of the Salisbury and the Dutton on 13 April 1766, 13 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 13 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 13 pounds of powder Alarm at Banks's on 13 April 1766, 2 guns fired, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm at Prosperous Bay for the same ships on 13 April 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 2 charges of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Duke of Gloucester on 13 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 16 April 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 2 charges of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of a Danish ship on 17 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 18 April 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 2 charges of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Talbot on 19 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 19 April 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 2 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 2 charges of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of a Danish ship on 19 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of the two Danish ships on 24 April 1766, 13 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 13 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 13 pounds of powder Departure of the Duke of Gloucester on 29 April 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 9 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Powder for priming, blasting stone and other uses during the month, 0 guns fired, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 4 pounds, 0 charges of 3 pounds, 0 charges of 2 pounds, 0 charges of 1 pound, 133 pounds of powder Total, 179 guns fired, 2 charges of 4 pounds, 11 charges of 4 pounds, 11 charges of 3 pounds, 144 charges of 2 pounds, 11 charges of 1 pound, 352 pounds of powder Other artillery stores were used up in the month. Sponge staves for various purposes, 8 staves Wire sieve for the bakers, 1 sieve Tallow used during the month, 33 pounds Nails for covering sponges, 60 nails Sheepskin for covering sponges, 1 skin Rammer head [...] broken, 1 head Cartridge paper for making cartridges, 2 quires Handspikes for various purposes, 3 handspikes Mitchell signed the account. The account of sundries followed. Interpretations The five columns between the guns fired and the powder spent were headed in pounds, as 4, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with the pound marks over them partly struck through. The headings name a weight but not the thing weighed, and they are taken here as the powder charge for each class of gun. The pattern across the month is plain. Every salute to a ship fell in the column of 2 pounds. Every alarm drew a pair of rounds from each of three other columns. The two rounds fired at Banks's stood alone in the first column and belonged to the heaviest class on the list. An alarm was the signal fired when an unidentified sail came in sight. It called the garrison and the planters' militia to their posts until the ship proved friendly. The account shows the system working in sequence. An outpost such as Banks's or Prosperous Bay fired first, and the main battery repeated the signal. Each alarm in April 1766 was followed within a day or so by the arrival of a ship, which shows that all of them were answers to ordinary traffic. The salutes ran to a fixed scale of 9 guns for a single ship and 13 for a pair. Foreign vessels received the same count as the Company's own, as the Danish entries show. Blasting and priming took 133 pounds of powder, more than a third of the month's total. Stone was split by packing powder into drilled holes. Captain Mitchell's letter of 5 May 1766 reported a large stock of materials gathered for the works at Sandy Bay, and quarrying for that project perhaps accounts for much of the figure. A sponge was a wooden staff with a fleece head, pushed down the barrel after each shot to put out any smouldering remains before the next charge went in. The sheepskin and nails were for re-covering the heads. A rammer was the staff used to push the charge home, and a handspike was a lever for shifting a gun on its carriage. | |
13 | Sundrys Expended at the Honorable Company's Table in the Month of April 1766 vizt. 22 Bottles Port Wine £ 1. 13 26 Do. Lisbon 1. 19 16 Do. Mountain 1. 4 26 Do. Beer 5 60 Do. Arrack 3. 5 93 lb. Beef 1. 15. 10 340 lb. Mutton 7 6 Fowls 9 6 Ducks 9 1 Turkey 5 1 Kid 5 30 lb. Butter 1. 10 90 lb. Candy 2. 13 330 Flour 3. 2. 6 £ 25. 15. 4 John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | The steward's account listed the provisions used at the Company's table in April 1766. 22 bottles of port wine, £1 13s 0d 26 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 19s 0d 16 bottles of Mountain wine, £1 4s 0d 26 bottles of beer, £0 5s 0d 60 bottles of arrack, £3 5s 0d 93 pounds of beef, £1 15s 10d 340 pounds of mutton, £7 0s 0d 6 fowls, £0 9s 0d 6 ducks, £0 9s 0d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 1 kid, £0 5s 0d 30 pounds of butter, £1 10s 0d 90 pounds of sugar candy, £2 13s 0d 330 pounds of flour, £3 2s 6d Total, £25 15s 4d John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Arrack was a strong spirit distilled in Asia from fermented palm sap, rice or sugar cane, and the Company's ships brought it from Batavia and the Indian ports. It was the cheap everyday liquor of the Company's settlements and the usual base for punch, which explains why it outnumbered every wine on the list. Lisbon was a Portuguese white wine shipped from that port. Mountain was a sweet wine from the hills behind Málaga in Spain. Sugar candy was sugar in large hard crystals, an Asian product carried on the homeward ships and used at table in place of loaf sugar. The Company's table was the public table kept at the Castle at the Company's cost, where the Governor entertained the Council, the officers and the commanders of visiting ships. Its monthly bill came before the Council for approval like any other charge on the Company. The meat figures bear out the shortage described in Lieutenant Governor Corneille's letter of 30 April 1766. The table used 340 pounds of mutton against only 93 pounds of beef. With the Company's cattle held back for the ships, the island's own senior officers ate mostly sheep. | |
14 | 19th. May At a Consultation held on Monday the 19th. Day of May 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 12th. May 1766 Wednesday the 14th. Arrived the Thames's Boat at Banks's half an hour past three o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship Thames from China Do. Do. Arrived the Yorks Boat at Banks's, half an hour past Seven o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honorable Companys Ship York from China Thursday the 15th. Arrived the Essex Boat at Banks's half an hour past five o'Clock in the morning. Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship Essex from China Yesterday Arrived a Swede Ship from China called the Rickenstander Captain Seeman burthen one thousand three hundred Tons, carry thirty two Guns and one hundred and forty Men loaden with Tea, China Ware, and Silk bound to Gottenbourg Do. Passed by four Ships at a great distance The Ships Thames, York, and Essex brought Us the following Supply vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 19 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 12 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. A boat from the Thames reached Banks's at 3.30 in the morning on Wednesday 14 May 1766. The Company's ship Thames herself came in from China later that day. A boat from the York reached Banks's at 7.30 the same morning, and the Company's ship York followed from China. A boat from the Essex reached Banks's at 5.30 in the morning on Thursday 15 May 1766. The Company's ship Essex arrived from China the same day. A Swedish ship from China, the Rickenstander under Captain Seeman, arrived on 18 May 1766. She was a vessel of 1,300 tons with 32 guns and 140 men. Her cargo was tea, chinaware and silk, and she was bound for Gothenburg. Four ships sailed past far out to sea that day. The Thames, the York and the Essex delivered a consignment of supplies to the island. Interpretations Each Company ship sent a boat ahead to Banks's before she came in herself, and the clerk logged the boat's arrival to the half hour. Banks's was the battery an approaching ship reached first on her way to the anchorage. The boat let the ship declare who she was while still under its guns, so the fort could pass her as friendly before she came within reach of the main defences. The artillery account for April 1766 shows the other half of the system, with an alarm fired from Banks's on 13 April 1766 when sails first appeared. The hours recorded here, all before dawn or shortly after, show ships standing off through the night and sending in their boats at first opportunity. The Rickenstander was the second Swedish ship from China within three weeks, after the Finland on 1 May 1766. Both carried the same cargo of tea, chinaware and silk and the same destination, which marks them as ships of the Swedish company trading to Canton in direct competition with the English one. The island received them as it did the Danish ships in April 1766. | |
15 | Invoice of Ship Thames Sugar No. 45 @ 51 No., Tare, Gross 45: Tare 26, Gross 314 46: Tare 26, Gross 320 47: Tare 27, Gross 311 48: Tare 27, Gross 313 49: Tare 27, Gross 310 50: Tare 27, Gross 306 51: Tare 28, Gross 302 7 Chests: Tare 188, Gross 2176 188 1988 Nett is Pecl. 14. 91 Catty @ Ta. m. 4. 5 p Pecl. Ta. Ma. 67.095 Two Chests Bohea No. 91. 40 180 92. 43 180 83 360 83 277 Nett is Pecl. 2. 07 Catty @ Tas. 19 p Pecl. 39.330 One Chest Single 83 Gross 19 Tare 64 Nett is 48 Catty @ 26 p Do. 12.480 Tales 118.905 Canton 27th. January 1766 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Thos. Thomas Willm. Rous John Walton Thos. Bevan | The invoice for the goods carried by the Thames was drawn up at Canton on 27 January 1766. It covered seven chests of sugar, numbered 45 to 51. Sugar chest 45, tare 26 pounds, gross 314 pounds Sugar chest 46, tare 26 pounds, gross 320 pounds Sugar chest 47, tare 27 pounds, gross 311 pounds Sugar chest 48, tare 27 pounds, gross 313 pounds Sugar chest 49, tare 27 pounds, gross 310 pounds Sugar chest 50, tare 27 pounds, gross 306 pounds Sugar chest 51, tare 28 pounds, gross 302 pounds Sugar, 7 chests, tare 188 pounds, gross 2,176 pounds Sugar, net 1,988 pounds or 14 peculs 91 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 67 taels, 0 mace, 9 candareens, 5 cash Two chests of Bohea tea came next. Bohea chest 91, tare 40 pounds, gross 180 pounds Bohea chest 92, tare 43 pounds, gross 180 pounds Bohea, 2 chests, tare 83 pounds, gross 360 pounds Bohea, net 277 pounds or 2 peculs 7 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 39 taels, 3 mace, 3 candareens, 0 cash One chest of Singlo tea completed the consignment. Singlo, 1 chest, gross 83 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 64 pounds or 48 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 12 taels, 4 mace, 8 candareens, 0 cash Total, 118 taels, 9 mace, 0 candareens, 5 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. Nine men signed it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith Thomas Thomas William Rous John Walton Thomas Bevan Interpretations Bohea was the common black tea of the Canton trade, named after the Wuyi hills of Fujian where it was grown. It was the cheapest grade and the everyday tea of ordinary households. Singlo was a green tea from the hills of Anhui, a finer leaf, and the invoice priced it at 26 taels a pecul against 19 for Bohea. The sugar was Chinese cane sugar, bought at Canton far more cheaply than sugar sent out from England. The invoice worked in two systems of weight. Each chest was weighed in English pounds, and the tare, the weight of the empty chest, was taken off to leave the net weight of the goods. The net figure was then turned into Chinese weight for pricing, because the Canton merchants sold by the pecul. A pecul was a hundred catties and came to about 133 English pounds. The money was Chinese as well. The tael was a weight of silver, not a coin, and it divided into ten mace, a hundred candareens and a thousand cash. The nine signatories were the Company's resident merchants at Canton, who bought its cargoes there and answered for them as a body. Their joint signature made the invoice the Council's authority for what should arrive. It was the standard against which the storekeeper checked the landed goods, as he did with the shortages from the Talbot reported on 3 May 1766. The phrase reserving errors left the Canton merchants free to correct a slip in the figures later without being held to the mistake. | |
16 | 19th. May Invoice of the Ship York Sugar No., Tare, Gross 10: Tare 28, Gross 314 11: Tare 29, Gross 302 12: Tare 28, Gross 308 13: Tare 28, Gross 306 14: Tare 27, Gross 303 15: Tare 28, Gross 319 16: Tare 26, Gross 308 7 Chests: Tare 194, Gross 2160 Gross 194 1966 Nett is Pecl. 14. 74 Catty @ T. m. 4. 5 66.330 1 Chest Bohea No. 36. 169 lb Gross 42 127 Nett is 95 Catty @ 19 p Pecl. 18.050 1 Chest Congo No. 98. 101 Gross 21 Tare 80 Nett is 60 Catty @ 28 p Do. 16.800 1 Chest Singlo No. 106. 80 Gross 19 Tare 61 Nett is 45 Catty @ 26 p Do. 11.700 Tales 112.880 Canton 27th. Jany. 1766 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Thos. Thomas Wm. Rous John Walton Thoms. Bevan | The invoice for the goods carried by the York was also drawn up at Canton on 27 January 1766. It opened with seven chests of sugar, numbered 10 to 16. Sugar chest 10, tare 28 pounds, gross 314 pounds Sugar chest 11, tare 29 pounds, gross 302 pounds Sugar chest 12, tare 28 pounds, gross 308 pounds Sugar chest 13, tare 28 pounds, gross 306 pounds Sugar chest 14, tare 27 pounds, gross 303 pounds Sugar chest 15, tare 28 pounds, gross 319 pounds Sugar chest 16, tare 26 pounds, gross 308 pounds Sugar, 7 chests, tare 194 pounds, gross 2,160 pounds Sugar, net 1,966 pounds or 14 peculs 74 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 66 taels, 3 mace, 3 candareens, 0 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Bohea chest 86, gross 169 pounds, tare 42 pounds Bohea, net 127 pounds or 95 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 18 taels, 0 mace, 5 candareens, 0 cash Congo chest 98, gross 101 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 80 pounds or 60 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 8 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 106, gross 80 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 61 pounds or 45 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 11 taels, 7 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Total, 112 taels, 8 mace, 8 candareens, 0 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. The same nine men signed it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith Thomas Thomas William Rous John Walton Thomas Bevan Interpretations Congo was a black tea of better quality than Bohea, made from more carefully worked leaf. The prices show the ranking. Congo cost 28 taels a pecul, Singlo 26 and Bohea 19, so the island's supply included the dearest tea on either invoice as well as the cheapest. The two invoices bore the same date and the same signatures, and the sugar on each came to seven chests at an identical price. The Canton merchants split one order for the island between ships. A loss at sea would then have cost St Helena only part of its year's sugar and tea. | |
17 | 1766 Invoice of Ship Essex. Sugar No., Tare, Gross 31: Tare 26, Gross 319 32: Tare 27, Gross 316 33: Tare 26, Gross 321 34: Tare 26, Gross 322 35: Tare 27, Gross 311 36: Tare 26, Gross 313 37: Tare 26, Gross 308 7 Chests: Tare 184, Gross 2210. Gross 184 Tare 2027 Nett is Pecl. 15. 20 Catty @ Ta. m. 4. 5 p Pecl. Tas. Mas. 68.400 No. 39. One Chest Bohea 174 lb. Gross 41 Tare 133 Nett is 99 Catty @ 19 p Do. 18.810 No. 101 One Chest Congo 100 Gross 21 Tare 79 Nett is 59 Catty @ 28 p Do. 16.520 No. 109 One Chest Singlo 80 Gross 19 Tare 61 Nett is 45 Catty @ 26 p Do. 11.700 Tales 115.430 Canton 27th. Janry 1766 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Thos. Thomas Wm. Rous John Walton Thos. Bevan | The invoice for the goods carried by the Essex was drawn up at Canton on 27 January 1766. It opened with seven chests of sugar, numbered 31 to 37. Sugar chest 31, tare 26 pounds, gross 319 pounds Sugar chest 32, tare 27 pounds, gross 316 pounds Sugar chest 33, tare 26 pounds, gross 321 pounds Sugar chest 34, tare 26 pounds, gross 322 pounds Sugar chest 35, tare 27 pounds, gross 311 pounds Sugar chest 36, tare 26 pounds, gross 313 pounds Sugar chest 37, tare 26 pounds, gross 308 pounds Sugar, 7 chests, tare 184 pounds, gross 2,210 pounds Sugar, net 2,027 pounds or 15 peculs 20 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 68 taels, 4 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Bohea chest 89, gross 174 pounds, tare 41 pounds Bohea, net 133 pounds or 99 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 18 taels, 8 mace, 1 candareen, 0 cash Congo chest 101, gross 100 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 79 pounds or 59 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 5 mace, 2 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 109, gross 80 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 61 pounds or 45 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 11 taels, 7 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Total, 115 taels, 4 mace, 3 candareens, 0 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. The same nine men signed it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith Thomas Thomas William Rous John Walton Thomas Bevan | |
18 | We this day Executed the renewal of the following Leases vizt. One to Captain Henry Bazett for six Acres of Land lying in Sandy Bay at five Shillings p Acre. And one to Robert Ballard for a piece of ground lying in James's Valley containing thirty eigth feet in length or depth and seventeen feet in breadth or weadth, at five Shillings p Annum John Scotcher, John Blackwell, and Henry Dudley Centinels, this day petitioned for their discharges from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company their contracted Times. Granted. Counted and examined the Honble. Compys. Cash for the Month of April last, which is as follows vizt. | The Council completed the renewal of two leases on 19 May 1766. Captain Henry Bazett renewed his lease of six acres in Sandy Bay at a rent of £0 5s 0d an acre. Robert Ballard renewed his lease of a plot in James's Valley at £0 5s 0d a year. The plot measured 38 feet from front to back and 17 feet across. Three private soldiers, John Scotcher, John Blackwell and Henry Dudley, asked that day to be released from the garrison. Each had completed the term of service agreed with the Company. The Council agreed. The Council counted and checked the Company's cash for April 1766. Interpretations The two rents show how differently the Company valued ground in the country and in the town. Bazett paid £0 5s 0d for each acre of farmland at Sandy Bay. Ballard paid the same sum for a strip of 38 feet by 17 feet in James's Valley, a tiny fraction of an acre. The valley held the Castle, the stores and the only anchorage where ships traded, so a house plot there earned its tenant far more than open pasture could. Town plots were measured in feet for the same reason, with every foot of frontage counted. Three discharges came on one day, after John Robinson's on 3 May 1766. Soldiers enlisted for a fixed number of years, and men recruited together reached the end of their term together. The release was not automatic. Each man had to apply to the Council, which kept the decision in its own hands even where the contract had run its course. The monthly cash check was a physical count of the coin in the treasury, set against the written account. It gave the whole Council joint knowledge of the balance, so that no single officer held the Company's money unobserved. | |
19 | Cash Dr. 1766 April. 1st. To Balance remaining £ 5699. 1. 2 To Ship Admiral Pocock 16. 10. 5 4th. To Ship Earl of Elgin 8. 5 To Ship Duke of Richmond 12. 15. 10 7th. To Exchange for a Set of Bills drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Dirrs. payable to Mrs. Mary Hall. 400 9th. To 4 Sets do. drawn as above payable as follows vizt. One Set to Robert Wood Esqr. £ 300 One do. to Capt. David Price 827 One do. to Capt. John Wyche 450 One do. to Giles Menefie 65 1642 11th. To Ship Salisbury 16. 4. 1 To Ship Dutton 9. 4. 8 26th. To Ship Duke of Gloucester. 27. 3. 10 28th. To Exchange for two Sets of Bills drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors payable as follow vizt. One Set to Capt. John Wyche £ 85. 5 One do. to Capt. Robert Burdett 150 235. 5 £ 8066. 5. 10 Per Contra Cr. 1766 April 28th. By Balance remaining vizt. In Specie 7526. 10. 10 In Cash notes of no use. 539. 15 £ 8066. 5. 10 John Skottowe Dan Corneille Tho Kirkpatrick MPurling Margin Notes: 1766 | The cash account for April 1766 set out the money received on the debit side. Balance in hand on 1 April 1766, £5,699 1s 2d Received from the Admiral Pocock on 1 April 1766, £16 10s 5d Received from the Earl of Elgin on 4 April 1766, £8 0s 5d Received from the Duke of Richmond on 4 April 1766, £12 15s 10d Received on 7 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Mrs Mary Hall, £400 0s 0d Received on 9 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Robert Wood, £300 0s 0d Received on 9 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Captain David Rice, £827 0s 0d Received on 9 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Captain John Wyche, £450 0s 0d Received on 9 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Giles Menefie, £65 0s 0d Four sets of bills issued on 9 April 1766, £1,642 0s 0d Received from the Salisbury on 11 April 1766, £16 4s 1d Received from the Dutton on 11 April 1766, £9 4s 8d Received from the Duke of Gloucester on 26 April 1766, £27 3s 10d Received on 28 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Captain John Wyche, £85 5s 0d Received on 28 April 1766 for a set of bills on the Court of Directors in favour of Captain Robert Burdett, £150 0s 0d Two sets of bills issued on 28 April 1766, £235 5s 0d Total, £8,066 5s 10d The credit side showed the balance left on 28 April 1766. Balance held in coin, £7,526 10s 10d Balance held in cash notes that could not be used, £539 15s 0d Total, £8,066 5s 10d John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Thomas Kirkpatrick and Matthew Purling signed the account. Interpretations The account confirms how the bills of exchange worked. Each set appears as money received, so the person named, or someone on his behalf, paid coin into the island treasury and took away an order on London for the same amount. The two sets granted on 28 April 1766 appear here at the same sums, £85 5s 0d and £150 0s 0d. Seven sets were sold in the month, and they brought in far more than the ships paid for supplies. The bills were the treasury's main source of coin. They saved the Company from shipping silver out to pay the garrison, because the homeward captains and passengers supplied it on the spot. No payments were entered on the credit side. The whole of it was the closing balance, so the month's outgoings were either settled through other accounts or not yet brought to book. The balance included £539 15s 0d in cash notes described as of no use. These were paper promises to pay that could no longer be turned into coin or passed on. The Council kept them in the count because the account had to agree with what lay in the chest, but it listed them apart from the coin. The true spendable balance was therefore the £7,526 10s 10d in coin alone. The sums received from the ships were small, between £8 0s 5d and £27 3s 10d. They were perhaps payments for stores and provisions taken beyond what the charter parties allowed free of charge. | |
20 | 23d. May At a Consultation held on Friday the 23d. Day of May 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 19th. May 1766. This day Sailed the Swede Ship Rickenstander for Gottenbourg Do. Passed by two Ships at a great distance We have bought of Captain Haggis five Casks of Salt Beef containing 393 Pieces for which we paid him 2/ p Piece amounting to £39. 6. our reasons for purchasing this Provision are on Account of supplying Captain Dethick with the like quantity out of the Honble. Company's Stores, it being Cheaper than the price it is Invoiced from England We this day enlisted John Terry to serve the Honble. Company as a Soldier for five Years and gave him five pounds Bounty Money to buy him Cloaths &ca. Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships York Thames, & Essex to Muster their Company's and Enquire for deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship York Peter Lascelles Commander George Hayter Chief Mte. James Allary 2d. Do. Michl. Lascelles 3d. Do. Samuel Williamson 4th. Mate Marmk. Sedgwicke 5th. Do. Geo: Hopper Surgeon Geo: Bell Do. Mate Arthurn Clark Purser Stepn. Crosby Carpenter James Robertson Gunr. Richd. Saradine Boatsn. | The Council met at the Castle on Friday 23 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 19 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Swedish ship Rickenstander left for Gothenburg that day. Two ships sailed past far out to sea. The Council bought five casks of salt beef from Captain Haggis. The casks held 393 pieces at £0 2s 0d a piece, which came to £39 6s 0d. The purchase replaced an equal quantity issued to Captain Dethick from the Company's stores. Haggis's price was lower than the invoiced cost of salt beef sent out from England. John Terry enlisted that day as a soldier in the Company's service for five years. The Council paid him a bounty of £5 0s 0d to buy clothing and other necessaries. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the York, the Thames and the Essex to muster their crews and look for deserters. He found none. The crew list of the York began as follows. Peter Lascelles, commander George Hayter, chief mate James Allan, second mate Michael Lascelles, third mate Samuel Williamson, fourth mate Marmaduke Sedgewicke, fifth mate George Hopper, surgeon George Bell, surgeon's mate Arthur Clark, purser Stephen Crosbly, carpenter James Robertson, gunner Richard Saradine, boatswain Interpretations The salt beef purchase passed over the usual course. The stores issued to Captain Dethick of the Talbot would ordinarily have been made good by the next consignment from England, charged at the invoiced price. The Council bought instead from a ship's captain in the road, and it recorded its reason in a single clause: his beef was cheaper. The note was written for the Court of Directors. A local purchase outside the Company's own supply needed a defence, and the price comparison provided one. The issue to Dethick perhaps followed from the cattle shortage. The Council resolved on 3 May 1766 to cut the fresh beef given to ships, and the Talbot sailed the next day. Salt meat from the stores was the obvious substitute for a ship the herd could not fully supply. Salt beef was packed in casks as cut joints and counted by the piece, each piece being a standard ration cut. Pricing by the piece let the buyer check a delivery by counting, without opening and weighing the brine-soaked meat. Terry's enlistment came four days after three soldiers left the garrison on 19 May 1766. The bounty was a cash payment on joining, here tied to the cost of fitting himself out. A recruit found on the island spared the Company the expense and delay of sending a replacement from England, which made £5 0s 0d a modest price. | |
21 | 1766 Geo: Gibson Ships Steward Thos. Audley Midshipman Geo Bub Do. Gabon Kerr Do. Robt. Swinburn Do. John Collard Do. Alexander Maclacharty Do. Isaac Hobroyd Do. Christopher Horn Cooper Edward Gilbert Caulker Michael Fitz Gerald Boats Mte. John Brown Do. Benj Pate Carpenters Mate Robert Ward Do. Peter Holt Caulkers Do. Michael Lacey Sailmaker John Holding Armourer Thomas Burton Capt. Cook Thos. Anderson Ships Do. George Barnas Butcher Henry Dakes Quartermast. Wyn Wadelle Do. Robt. Squire Do. Robt. Smith Do. John Thompson Seaman Andrew Dickson Richard Bal Joseph Collins Joseph Blackburn Benj: Johnson Seaman William Sturgate Robert Wright Henry Wilkinson William Melacan Evan Davis David Johnson Andrew Skene Robert Cooper John Ramsey Will Hebman Mattw. Curtis Henry W. Davis Robert Harton John Dilly John Wilkinson John Ross John Seaby George Smith Hugh Stewart Henry Dean Willm. Wakelin Willm. Goff Thoms. Willson John Scott Willm. Campell John Hunter John Clayson John Sloan John Waylie Seamn. Nathl. Jones Edward Brown John Smith Joseph Jones Samuel Hassell Geo: Godden [...] Mason Edward Cook John Faulkener Edward Kirk Robert Turnbull Samuel Gale Robert Gladhill Geo: Johnson John Kirkstone Thoms. Gunnell John Martin Berger Chans Berkenbine William Willax Richard Shuttler Thoms. Kurstains Thomas Fisher John Armond Robt. Mason Robt. Shell Thoms. Carr John Brumage James Robertson (Signed) Peter Lascelles Muster Roll of Ship Thames Charles Haggis Commandr. George Bird Chief Mate Daniel Clark 2d. Do. John Todd 3d. Do. Charles Cretchton 4th. Mate Thomas Cairns Surgeon John Morgan Purser Thomas Wollastone Gunnr. Robt. Wollaston Carpenter Charles Ramsey Boatswn. Alexr. Grair Ships Steward John Smith Capt. Do. | The crew list of the York continued in 1766 with the following men. George Gibson, ship's steward Thomas Audley, midshipman George Beck, midshipman Gabon Kerr, midshipman Robert Swinburn, midshipman John Collard, midshipman Alexander Maclacharty, midshipman Isaac Hebrey, midshipman Christopher Horn, cooper Edward Gilbert, caulker Michael Fitzgerald, boatswain's mate John Brown, boatswain's mate Benjamin Pate, carpenter's mate Robert Ward, carpenter's mate Peter Holt, caulker's mate Michael Lacey, sailmaker John Holding, armourer Thomas Barlow, captain's cook Thomas Anderson, ship's cook George Barnes, butcher Henry Dukes, quartermaster Wyn Wadelle, quartermaster Robert Squire, quartermaster Robert Smith, quartermaster John Thompson, seaman Andrew Betton, seaman Richard Ball, seaman Joseph Collins, seaman Joseph Blackburn, seaman Benjamin Johnson, seaman William Sturgate, seaman Robert Wright, seaman Henry Wilkinson, seaman William Melacan, seaman Evan Davis, seaman David Johnson, seaman Andrew Skene, seaman Robert Cooper, seaman John Ramsey, seaman William Hebman, seaman Matthew Curtis, seaman Henry W. Davis, seaman Robert Harton, seaman John Dilly, seaman John Wilkinson, seaman John Ross, seaman John Sealy, seaman George Smith, seaman Hugh Stewart, seaman Henry Dean, seaman William Wakelin, seaman William Goff, seaman Thomas Wilson, seaman John Scott, seaman William Campbell, seaman John Hunter, seaman John Clayson, seaman John Sloan, seaman John Waylie, seaman Nathaniel Jones, seaman Edward Brown, seaman John Smith, seaman Joseph Jones, seaman Samuel Hassell, seaman George Godden, seaman Bartholomew Mason, seaman Edward Cook, seaman John Faulkener, seaman Edward Kirk, seaman Robert Turnbull, seaman Samuel Gale, seaman Robert Gladhill, seaman George Johnson, seaman John Kirkstone, seaman Thomas Gunnell, seaman John Machin [...], seaman Clans Brokenburn, seaman William Willcox, seaman Richard Shuttler, seaman Thomas [...], seaman Thomas Fisher, seaman John Arnord, seaman Robert Mason, seaman Robert Shelly, seaman Thomas Carr, seaman John Brumage, seaman James Robertson, seaman Peter Lascelles signed the roll. The crew list of the Thames then began. Charles Haggis, commander George Bird, chief mate Daniel Clark, second mate John Todd, third mate Charles Crutchton, fourth mate Thomas Cairns, surgeon John Morgan, purser Thomas Wollastone, gunner Robert Wollaston, carpenter Charles Ramsey, boatswain Alexander Grair, ship's steward John Smith, captain's steward Interpretations The roll identifies the seller of the salt beef bought on 23 May 1766. Captain Haggis commanded the Thames, which arrived from China on 14 May 1766. The five casks therefore came out of a homeward ship's own provisions, surplus to what she needed for the last leg to England, and the commander sold them on his own account. | |
22 | 23d. May Peter Churchill 5th. Mate James Turner Capt. Cook William Francis Ships Do. Thomas Loky Cooper John Curtis Butcher Alley Simonson Sailmakr. Evan Thomas Armourer William Gamage Midshp. Roger Adams Do. Henry Ayres Do. Noah Sampson Do. Roger Smiles Do. [...] William Walker Gunn Mte. James Ewart Surg: Do. Richard Jenkins Carp Do. Benj. Hill Carpters 2d. Do. Willm. Workman Coop Do. Isaac Blackburn Caul Do. Claas Johnson Caulker John Eddington Quarterm. George Watson Do. Henry Moore Do. Martin Bellew Do. Willm. Glynne Seaman Joseph Killock William Minshaw Coloute Moore Miles Robin Henry Scott Daniel Babick Seaman George Rudd Thomas Moore James Bousey Henry Foster James Willson William Willson Richard Jackson Robert Wood Andrew Toddy James Sparks John Reynolds Samuel Hart Robert Robinson Joseph Monk William Kelly William Brown John Killpatrick Robert Baxter Alexr. Ramsey Alexander Brodie Thomas Chester Christr. Stapleford Thos. Tate John Mc. Donald Robt. Wood Nicholas Newsham Thomas Folks [...] Arshn Tallow Seamn. Peter Douglas William Emery George Augustine Thomas Holland John Morrie William Parkinson Richard Lilly John Hill Horatio Hammond Thos. Child Thomas Harross Saml. Rowell John Terry Robert Bowatt Thos. Pearson John Sakins Christopher Cock Frederick Everburg Erick Back Andrew Cordelious William Smlebeck Thore King Thiss Donslar Peter Johnson Michael Kersdt Danl. Soderstrom Johan Brack Chs. Mort. Lefort Passengers Mr. Thomas Supracargoe John Giles Do. Servant (Signed) Chas. Haggis | The crew list of the Thames, entered under 23 May 1766, continued with the following men. Peter Churchill, fifth mate James Turner, captain's cook William Francis, ship's cook Thomas Seby, cooper John Curtis, butcher Ally Simonson, sailmaker Evan Thomas, armourer William Gamage, midshipman Roger Adams, midshipman Henry Ayres, midshipman Noah Sampson, midshipman Roger Smiles, midshipman William Walker, gunner's mate James Ewart, surgeon's mate Richard Jenkins, captain's servant Benjamin Hill, carpenter's second mate William Whitburn, cooper's mate Isaac Blackburn, caulker's mate Claas Johnson, poulterer John Eddington, quartermaster George Watson, quartermaster Henry Moore, quartermaster Martin Bellew, quartermaster William Glynne, seaman Joseph Killock, seaman William Minshaw, seaman Colville Moore, seaman Miles Robin, seaman Henry Scott, seaman Daniel Babick, seaman George Budd, seaman Thomas Moore, seaman James Bousey, seaman Henry Foster, seaman James Willson, seaman William Willson, seaman Richard Jackson, seaman Robert Wood, seaman Andrew Soddy, seaman James Sparks, seaman John Reynolds, seaman Samuel Hart, seaman Robert Robinson, seaman Joseph Monk, seaman William Kelly, seaman William Brown, seaman John Fitzpatrick, seaman Robert Baxter, seaman Alexander Ramsey, seaman Alexander Brodie, seaman Thomas Chester, seaman Christopher Stapleford, seaman Thomas Tate, seaman John McDonald, seaman Robert Wood, seaman Nicholas Newsham, seaman Thomas Folks, seaman [...], seaman Cushin Fellow, seaman Peter Douglas, seaman William Emery, seaman George Augustine, seaman Thomas Holland, seaman John Morris, seaman William Parkinson, seaman Richard Lilly, seaman John Hill, seaman Horatio Hammond, seaman Thomas Child, seaman Thomas Harris, seaman Samuel Rowell, seaman John Terry, seaman Robert Barratt, seaman Thomas Pearson, seaman John Sakins, seaman Christopher Cook, seaman Frederick Everburg, seaman Erick Back, seaman Andrew Cordelias, seaman William Smolebeck, seaman Shon King, seaman Thiss Donslar, seaman Peter Johnson, seaman Michael Kiersdt, seaman Daniel Soderstrom, seaman Johan Brack, seaman Charles Mont. Lefort, seaman Two passengers were listed. Mr Thomas, supercargo John Giles, servant to Mr Thomas Charles Haggis signed the roll. A further muster roll followed. Interpretations A seaman named John Terry stood on the roll of the Thames. A John Terry enlisted as a soldier for five years on 23 May 1766, the day the roll was copied into the minutes, and received a bounty of £5 0s 0d. The two were perhaps the same man. A sailor could not simply walk off his ship into the garrison, since that was desertion, the very thing the muster was held to detect. An enlistment made before the Council, with the commander's roll in front of it, turned the move into a transfer the ship's captain could not later dispute. A supercargo was a merchant who travelled with a ship to manage the buying and selling of her cargo. The passenger Mr Thomas was perhaps the Thomas Thomas who signed the three Canton invoices of 27 January 1766 as one of the Company's merchants there. If so, he was going home with the season's ships after the trading was done. The last names in the third column were Scandinavian, among them Everburg, Back, Soderstrom and Brack. Ships lost men to disease on the outward voyage and at Canton, and commanders filled the gaps with whatever sailors were to be had there. Swedish and Danish ships traded at Canton alongside the English, as the arrivals of the Finland on 1 May 1766 and the Rickenstander on 18 May 1766 show. | |
23 | 1766 Muster Roll of Ship Essex Francis Reed Captain David Gravier Chief Mate James Mitchell 2d. Do. Wm. Graham Dickenson 3d. Do. James Brayne 4th. Do. Willm. Cummings 5th. Do. John Beddow 6th. Do. James Moffatt Surgeon Marcus Clark Purser Edward Cock Boatswain Wm. Baldwin Gunner Wm. Painter Carpenter Henry Cooper Ships Stewd. Peter Hornsby Capt. Do. George Gospart Midshipman Peter Cleugh Do. Stanly Wilsher Do. Alexr. Hewson Do. Robert West Cooper John Living Coopr. Mate James Ashman Sailmakr. John West Armourer Joseph Pollendon Caulker John Saunders Do. Mte Anthony Ayres Butcher Thoms. Hazley Poulterer Christr. Mc. Inally Cap Cook Willm. Rose Ships Do. John Redding Bs. Mate Thoms. Cannon Do. Do. Willm. Benny Gunners Do. John Casey Do. John Cooper Carpentr. Mte. John Griffith Do. Do. Wm. Loftus Quarter Master John Boulton Do. John Peters Do. Alexandr. Willson Do. John Campell Seaman James Murray Sampson Pellet Thos. King Jos. Wren John Robinson Andrew Baxter Jothan Bateman Wm. Robinson Jeremiah Westerway Wm. Pearson John Howard Andrew Bremer Robert Blackburn John Mason George Straughan James Dawson Peter Hall John Wells John Godow John Armstrong James Jameson James Lampier Richd. Bell John Ogilvie David Morley Thos. Milburn Seaman Emanuel Castle John Binder Robert Willson Andrew Stewart Thoms. Beamish John Brown Robt. Gordon John Mc. Call Thos. Sally Wm. Dougharty Andw. Hinkston William Cunningham Willm. Lawson Godfry Blacknell Andrew Johnson Thomas Harrison Thoms. Jenkinson John Sippett George Cocks John Moyer Christr. Costa Peter Paul Willm. Tennant John De Malt John Lewe Bouse Peter Masburgh Lawrence Winbeck Wm. Hornsby Capt. Stewd. Willm. Tippwell Do. Hugh Mc. Credie 1st. Mte. Do. Rowle Mitchell 2d. Do. Do. | The crew list of the Essex was entered in 1766 as follows. Francis Reed, captain David Gravier, chief mate James Mitchell, second mate William Graham Dickenson, third mate James Brayne, fourth mate William Cummings, fifth mate John Beddow, sixth mate James Moffatt, surgeon Marcus Clark, purser Edward Cock, boatswain William Rathorn, gunner William Painter, carpenter Henry Cooper, ship's steward Peter Hornsby, captain's steward George Gossart, midshipman Peter Clugh, midshipman Stanly Wilsher, midshipman Alexander Hewson, midshipman Robert West, cooper John Living, cooper's mate James Ackman, sailmaker John West, armourer Joseph Pollendon, caulker John Saunders, caulker's mate Anthony Ayres, butcher Thomas Harley, poulterer Christopher McInally, captain's cook William Rose, ship's cook John Redding, boatswain's mate Thomas Cannon, boatswain's mate William Benny, gunner's mate John Casey, gunner's mate John Cooper, carpenter's mate John Griffith, carpenter's mate William Loftus, quartermaster John Boulton, quartermaster John Peters, quartermaster Alexander Willson, quartermaster John Campbell, seaman James Murray, seaman Sampson Pollet, seaman Thomas King, seaman Joseph Wood, seaman John Robinson, seaman Andrew Baxter, seaman Lothan Bateman, seaman William Robinson, seaman Jeremiah Westaway, seaman William Pearson, seaman John Howard, seaman Andrew Bremer, seaman Robert Blackburn, seaman John Mason, seaman George Straughan, seaman James Dawson, seaman Peter Hall, seaman John Wells, seaman John Godon, seaman John Armstrong, seaman James Jameson, seaman James Lampier, seaman Richard Bell, seaman John Ogilvie, seaman David Morley, seaman Thomas Milburn, seaman Emanuel Castle, seaman John Binder, seaman Robert Willson, seaman Andrew Stewart, seaman Thomas Beamick, seaman John Brown, seaman Robert Gordon, seaman John McCall, seaman Thomas Sully, seaman William Dougharty, seaman Andrew Hinkston, seaman William Cunningham, seaman William Lawson, seaman Godfrey Blacknell, seaman Andrew Johnson, seaman Thomas Harrison, seaman Thomas Jenkinson, seaman John Sippett, seaman George Cooks, seaman John Moyer, seaman Christopher Costa, seaman Peter Paul, seaman William Connant, seaman John De Malt, seaman John Lowe Bouse, seaman Peter Masburgh, seaman Lawrence Winbeck, seaman William Hornsby, captain's servant William Tippwell, captain's servant Hugh McCredie, chief mate's servant Rowle Mitchell, second mate's servant | |
24 | 23d. May John Beales Surg: Servt. Luke Couch Boatswn. Do. Anthony Mears Gunners Servant Chas. Wainwright Capts. Thomas Sturley (Signed) Frans. Reed John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 26th. Day of May 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was, read, approved, and signed, dated the 23d. May 1766 Yesterday Sailed the Honorable Company's Ships Thames York and Essex for England This day Arrived the Ankerwyke's Boat at Banks's three Quarters of an Hour past eight o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship Ankerwyke from China and brought Us the following Supplys vizt. | The crew list of the Essex ended with five further names under 23 May 1766. John Beales, surgeon's servant Luke Couch, boatswain's servant Anthony Mears, gunner's servant Charles Wainwright, carpenter's servant Thomas Sturley Francis Reed signed the roll. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. The Council met at the Castle on Monday 26 May 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 23 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ships Thames, York and Essex left for England on 25 May 1766. A boat from the Ankerwyke reached Banks's at 8.45 on the morning of 26 May 1766. The Company's ship Ankerwyke herself arrived from China later that day and delivered a consignment of supplies. | |
25 | 26th. May Invoice of Ship Ankerwyke No., Tare, Gross 38: Tare 25, Gross 318 39: Tare 24, Gross 317 40: Tare 26, Gross 316 41: Tare 26, Gross 312 42: Tare 28, Gross 307 43: Tare 27, Gross 316 44: Tare 27, Gross 312 7 Chests: Tare 183, Gross 2198 Gross 183 Tare 2015 Nett is Pecl. 15. 11 Catty @ Ta. Ma. 4. 5 p Pecul. Tas. Mas. 67.995 No. 90 One Chest Bohea 175 lb Gross 42 Tare 133 Nett is 99 Catty @ Tas. 19 p Do. 18.810 102 One Chest Congo 101 lb Gross 21 Tare 80 Nett is 60 Catty @ Tas. 28 p Do. 16.800 110 One Chest Singlo 81 Gross 19 Tare 62 Nett is 46 Catty @ 26 p Do. 11.960 Tales 115.565 Canton 27th. Janry 1766 (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Thos. Thomas William Rous John Walton Thos. Bevan The Executor to the Last Will and Testament of John Simmons Seaman left here out of the Ship Lord Holland, this day presented the said Will desiring the same might be proved which was accordingly done upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto, the Will is as follows vizt. | The invoice for the goods carried by the Ankerwyke was drawn up at Canton on 27 January 1766. It opened with seven chests numbered 38 to 44. The page did not name their contents, which are taken as sugar from the price and from the matching entries on the invoices of the Thames, the York and the Essex. Sugar chest 38, tare 25 pounds, gross 318 pounds Sugar chest 39, tare 24 pounds, gross 317 pounds Sugar chest 40, tare 26 pounds, gross 316 pounds Sugar chest 41, tare 26 pounds, gross 312 pounds Sugar chest 42, tare 28 pounds, gross 307 pounds Sugar chest 43, tare 27 pounds, gross 316 pounds Sugar chest 44, tare 27 pounds, gross 312 pounds Sugar, 7 chests, tare 183 pounds, gross 2,198 pounds Sugar, net 2,015 pounds or 15 peculs 11 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 67 taels, 9 mace, 9 candareens, 5 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Bohea chest 90, gross 175 pounds, tare 42 pounds Bohea, net 133 pounds or 99 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 18 taels, 8 mace, 1 candareen, 0 cash Congo chest 102, gross 101 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 80 pounds or 60 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 8 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 110, gross 81 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 62 pounds or 46 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 11 taels, 9 mace, 6 candareens, 0 cash Total, 115 taels, 5 mace, 6 candareens, 5 cash The same nine men signed the invoice. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith Thomas Thomas William Rous John Walton Thomas Bevan John Simmons was a seaman put ashore on the island from the Lord Holland. His executor brought the will before the Council on 26 May 1766 and asked for it to be proved. The witnesses to the will confirmed it on oath, and the Council admitted it. Interpretations The Council acted here as a court of probate. In England a will was proved before a church court, but St Helena had none, so the Governor and Council took the witnesses' oaths themselves and entered the will in their own minutes. That entry was the executor's legal authority to collect and distribute the dead man's property. It mattered particularly for a seaman, whose main asset was the wages owed to him by a ship that had already sailed. A copy of the proved will gave the executor a claim that the ship's owners in London could be made to honour. Simmons did not belong to the island. He was landed from his ship, probably too ill to continue the voyage, and died among strangers. The island routinely received such men from passing ships, and the Council's record was the only place where their affairs could be settled. This was the fourth matching invoice of 27 January 1766. Each ship carried seven chests of sugar and three or four single chests of tea at the same prices, so the Canton merchants divided the island's order evenly across the fleet. | |
26 | 26th. May In the name of God Amen I John Simmons being of sound Mind and Memory blessed be God tho' Weak of Body do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following vizt. At the first I recommend my Soul unto Almighty God who gave it hoping for Mercy through the Merits of Jesus Christ his only Son my Redeemer and my body to the Earth to be Buried at the discretion of those appointed for that Purpose As touching my Worldly Effects I will and bequeath them unto my trusty and Well beloved Friend Willm. Barker whom I appoint my sole Executor hereby revoking all former Wills and Legacys made by or for me. Signed Sealed and delivered in the presence of us who have hereunto Subscribed our Names as Witnesses this twenty third day of October in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and Sixty Five & in the Fifth Year of the Reign of his Majesty King George the Third. (Signed) John Simmons Witness (Signed) Thos. Yates Thos. Pearce Mr. William Seale this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipl. John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council. The humble Petition of Willm. Seale Senr. Sheweth That your Petitioner hath two Leases containing twenty one Acres and an half lying in the East Division of this Island expired Your petitioner therefore humbly prays that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same St. Helena 26th. May 1766 And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) Wm. Seale Granted | John Simmons made his will on 23 October 1765, in the fifth year of the reign of George III. He declared himself sound in mind and memory though weak in body. His soul he entrusted to God in the hope of mercy through Christ. His body was to be buried as those responsible for the burial saw fit. Everything he owned went to his trusted friend William Parker, whom he named as sole executor. All earlier wills and bequests were cancelled. Simmons signed and sealed the document before two witnesses, Thomas Yates and Thomas Pearce, who signed their names to it. William Seale senior presented a petition to Governor Skottowe and the Council, dated at St Helena on 26 May 1766. He held two leases covering twenty one and a half acres in the East Division of the island, and both had run out. He asked for them to be renewed, and the Council agreed. Interpretations The will left everything to a friend and named no wife, child or other relative. A sick seaman put ashore far from home had little choice. Any family was thousands of miles away and could neither receive his goods nor act for him. A man on the spot could collect what he owned, pay for his burial and pursue the wages due from his ship. The single bequest and the appointment as executor went to the same person for that reason. Seven months separated the making of the will from its proof on 26 May 1766. Simmons was already weak in October 1765, so he lingered on the island for some time after his ship left him. One of the witnesses, Thomas Yates, was perhaps the gunner appointed clerk to the Council on 5 May 1766. Men of the garrison were the natural witnesses for a stranger with no acquaintance among the planters, and their presence on the island made it easy to bring them before the Council to swear to their signatures. Seale's petition followed the pattern of those granted on 12 May 1766 to Thomas Greentree and John Worrall. Several leases in the East Division and Sharks Valley ran out within the same few weeks, which suggests they were first granted together for a common term. | |
27 | 1766 We this day Enlisted John Aams Mayor to serve the Honorable Company as a Soldier for five Years, and gave him five pounds Bounty Money, to Buy him Cloaths &c. Captn. Mitchell this day presented the following Letter vizt. To the Worshipful the Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena. Gentlemen In obedience to your Orders I do myself the honor to inclose Lists of Ordnance and Stores wanting for the Service of the Artillery, and for Carrying on the Fortifications of this Island during the insuing Year, upon which I beg leave to make some explanatory Remarks. In the Artillery Indent I have mentioned Ten Brass Guns wanting, which are intended to be mounted on the new defences to be constructed at Sandy Bay. My Motive for Indenting for Brass Ordnance for this Purpose is, that as this Bay is Situated on the Windward Coast of the Island it is thereby exposed to a very violent Surf, which Beats in there during great Part of the Year and by the spray arising from it, renders the Irons Guns unserviceable in a very few Years I mention at the Bottom of this Letter a List of such Artificers as are most wanted for this Island and among the Rest have mentioned a Plaisterer and House painter, whom it is not expected to be sent out merely as such, but (if possible) to be inlisted as Recruits. And here I would take the Liberty to recommend it as an Object worthy of the Honble. Company's Attention, that as great a Number of Artificers as possible, particular in the Building Branch, be included amongst the Recruits to be sent here next Year; as by this Means a considerable Saving will be made in their Wages, and as the carrying on the Works will be thereby greatly accelerated. With regard to the Materials I have indented for no more | John Arns Mayer enlisted on 26 May 1766 as a soldier in the Company's service for five years. The Council paid him a bounty of £5 0s 0d to buy clothing and other necessaries. Captain Mitchell submitted a letter to the Governor and Council that day. The Council had ordered him to draw up lists of the guns and stores needed over the coming year for the artillery and the island's fortifications. He enclosed them and added some remarks by way of explanation. The artillery list asked for ten brass guns, meant for the new defences planned at Sandy Bay. Mitchell explained why he wanted brass. Sandy Bay lay on the windward coast, where a very heavy surf broke for much of the year. The spray it threw up ruined iron guns within a few years. A list of the craftsmen the island most needed stood at the foot of his letter. It included a plasterer and a house painter. Mitchell did not expect such men to be sent out simply as tradesmen. He hoped they could be enlisted as recruits if possible. The Company would do well, he urged, to include as many craftsmen as it could among the recruits sent the following year, above all men in the building trades. Their wages would cost far less on that footing, and the works would move much faster. Interpretations Iron was the ordinary material for fortress guns because it cost a fraction of the price of brass. Mitchell passed it over and gave his reason on the page. Salt spray on a windward shore rusted iron barrels until they were unsafe to fire, so cheap guns at Sandy Bay would have to be replaced every few years. Brass, the gunfounder's name for bronze, did not rust. He set the argument out in advance because a request for ten of the dearer guns was certain to be questioned in London. His proposal on craftsmen answered a cost recorded three weeks earlier. The Council agreed on 5 May 1766 to pay £0 2s 6d a day with food for each of six slave stonelayers hired from their owners, since the Company had only three of its own. A tradesman enlisted as a soldier drew a soldier's pay and worked at his craft under military orders for the whole of his term. The Company then owned his skill outright for five years, where a hired man cost a daily rate and could be withdrawn by his master. An indent was a formal requisition sent to the Court of Directors, listing what the island needed from England in the coming year. Stores came out only against such a list, so anything left off it could not arrive for at least another season. | |
28 | 26th. May more than what will be absolutely necessary, and have added a List of some Tools wanted for the Works in general, leaving those wanted by the different Artificers and for the use of the Long Boats to be included in the Storekeeper's Indent, as usual. I have the honour to be Gentlemen St. Helena 26th. May 1766. Your most Obedient and most humble Servant (Signed) E Mitchell List of Artificers wanted for carrying on the Fortifications and other public Works of this Island for the Year 1767 An Assistant to the Master Mason, one conversant in building Walls &ca. The present second Mason being nothing more than a Stone Cutter. A Mason or Stonelayer in the Room of Ryley, sent home Sick last Year. A Master Smith capable of making and repairing all Sorts of Tools made use of in Building &ca. If formerly employed in the Military Way the Better, A Brickmaker practiced in making Tiles. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Mitchell's letter closed with the materials. He had asked for nothing beyond what was strictly needed. A list of tools for the works in general accompanied it. Tools for the individual craftsmen and for the longboats were left to the storekeeper's own requisition, as was customary. He signed the letter at St Helena on 26 May 1766. His list set out the craftsmen needed in 1767 for the fortifications and other public works of the island. An assistant to the master mason, experienced in building walls, because the existing second mason was only a stone cutter A mason or stonelayer to replace Ryley, who went home sick in 1765 A master smith able to make and repair every kind of building tool, preferably one with earlier military experience A brickmaker skilled in making tiles John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Mitchell's complaint about the second mason turned on a real division of the trade. A stone cutter shaped blocks at the quarry or the bench. Setting them into a wall that would stand against sea and flood was a different skill, and the works at Sandy Bay, with a culvert and a defensive line to build, needed the second kind. The Company's three stonelayers noted on 5 May 1766 were therefore weaker than their number suggested, and the loss of Ryley left the gap unfilled for a year. The preference for a smith with military experience fitted the plan in his letter to have craftsmen sent out as enlisted recruits. A man used to army service could be taken into the garrison without difficulty. He could also turn his hand to the ironwork of gun carriages as well as building tools. The request for a brickmaker who could make tiles pointed to local manufacture. Bricks and roof tiles were heavy, cheap and easily broken, which made them poor freight from England. One skilled man working the island's own clay could supply what many shiploads would otherwise have carried. | |
29 | 2d. June At a Consultation held on Monday the 2d. day of June 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 26th. May 1766 Tuesday the 27th. May Arrived a French Ship from Bengal called the L'Adour Captain Geslin, burthen six hundred Tons, carry twenty Guns and one hundred and thirty Men, loaden with Bengal Goods. bound to France Friday the 30th. May Arrived the Grenvilles Boat at Banks's three Quarters of an Hour past nine o'Clock in the morning. Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship Grenville from Bengal Saturday the 31st. Arrived the Horsendons Boat at Banks's, Quarter of an Hour past Eleven o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honble. Compys. Ship Horsendon from China The Grenville and Horsendon brought Us the following Supply's vizt. Invoice of Ship Grenville Rice Fine No. 1 to 30. 30. Bags qt. 60. Bazar Mds. @ 18 Sr. p ARs. is CRs. 133. 5. 9 Sugar 1 to 10 10 Bags qt. 20. F. Mds. @ 7. 10 p Md. 152. 8 Paddy 1 to 15 15 Bags qt. 22. 20 Do. @ 33. 4 p Cr. 27. 1 Wax Candles 1 to 4 4 Chests qt. 8. Mds. @ 71. p Maund. 568 Batavia Arrack 1 to 2 2 Leagrs. @ 130. p Lr. is CRs. 280. 12. 9 1166. 9. 6 Carried over. Currt. Rups. 1166. 9. 6 | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 2 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 26 May 1766 were read, approved and signed. A French ship from Bengal, L'Adour under Captain Geslin, arrived on Tuesday 27 May 1766. She was a vessel of 600 tons with 20 guns and 130 men. Her cargo was Bengal goods, and she was bound for France. A boat from the Grenville reached Banks's at 9.45 on the morning of Friday 30 May 1766. The Company's ship Grenville herself arrived from Bengal later that day. A boat from the Horsenden reached Banks's at 11.15 on the morning of Saturday 31 May 1766, and the Company's ship Horsenden followed from China. Both ships delivered supplies to the island. The invoice of the Grenville came first. Fine rice, bags 1 to 30, 30 bags holding 60 bazaar maunds at [...] Arcot rupees, 138 current rupees, 3 annas, 9 pies Sugar, bags 1 to 10, 10 bags holding 20 factory maunds at 7 rupees 10 annas a maund, 152 current rupees, 8 annas, 0 pies Paddy, bags 1 to 15, 15 bags holding 22 maunds 20 seers at [...], 27 current rupees, 1 anna, 0 pies Wax candles, chests 1 to 4, 4 chests holding 8 maunds at 71 current rupees a maund, 568 current rupees, 0 annas, 0 pies Batavia arrack, casks 1 to 2, 2 leaguers at 130 Arcot rupees a leaguer, 280 current rupees, 12 annas, 9 pies Carried over, 1,166 current rupees, 9 annas, 6 pies Interpretations Paddy was rice still in its husk. It kept far longer than cleaned rice and could be sown, so it served as seed or as feed for poultry and stock. The fine rice was husked and ready for the table. Batavia arrack was the spirit distilled at the Dutch settlement in Java from molasses and rice, the most esteemed arrack in the East, and it reached St Helena here by way of Bengal. A leaguer was the large Dutch cask in which it was shipped, holding well over a hundred gallons. Wax candles were made of beeswax and burned cleaner and brighter than tallow. At 71 current rupees a maund they were by far the dearest item, close to half the value on the page. The invoice used two weights and two moneys. The maund was the standard Bengal weight and divided into forty seers, but its size depended on who was weighing. The bazaar maund of the open market was heavier than the factory maund used inside the Company's own warehouses, and the invoice stated which applied to each item. The current rupee was a unit of account in which the Company kept its Bengal books, and no such coin existed. Prices struck in actual coin, here the Arcot rupee of southern India, were converted into current rupees at a fixed premium before entry. The arrack shows the working. Two leaguers at 130 Arcot rupees made 260, which the invoice entered as 280 current rupees, 12 annas and 9 pies. The Bengal supply differed in kind from the China one. The four Canton invoices of 27 January 1766 carried sugar and tea. Bengal sent grain, candles and spirits, and its sugar came in bags by the maund where the Chinese sugar came in chests by the pecul. The island drew its staples from whichever Asian port produced them most cheaply. A French ship from Bengal lay in the road for several days and was logged with her tonnage, guns and crew exactly as the Swedish ships were. The Council recorded the armament and manning of every foreign visitor, a standing measure of what force lay off the island at any time. | |
30 | 2d. June Brought over Current Rups. 1166. 9. 6 Charges Merchandize 95 Gunney Bags 9. 15. 6 Twine, Packers, & Weighmen 15. 9 4 Chests 17. 9 Matts 1. 10. is 18. 10. 9 Peons Diet 2. 10. 3. Mooteas 6. 11. 3 is 9. 5. 6 Boathire 32. 6. 6 71. 6 Current Rupees 1237. 15. 6 Errors Excepted (Signed) Rt. Witts Sub Accompt Invoice of Ship Horsendon Sugar No., Tare, Gross 59: Tare 26, Gross 313 60: Tare 28, Gross 301 61: Tare 27, Gross 313 62: Tare 26, Gross 320 63: Tare 25, Gross 322 64: Tare 25, Gross 318 65: Tare 25, Gross 319 66: Tare 25, Gross 308 8 Chests: Tare 207, Gross 2519 Gross 207 Tare 2312 Nett is Pecl. 17. 34 Catty @ Ta. Ma. 4. 5 p Pecl. Tas. Mas. 78.030 No. 103. One Chest Congo 100 Gross 21 Tare 79 Nett is 59 Catty @ Tas. 28. p Do. 16.520 93 One Chest Bohea 184 lb Gross 41 Tare 141 Nett is Pecl. 1. 5 Catty @ Tas. 19 p Do. 19.950 112 One Chest Singlo 81 Gross 19 Tare 62 Nett is 46 Catty @ 26 p Do. 11.960 Tales 126.460 Canton 31st. Janry 1766 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Wm. Rous Thos. Bevan | The invoice of the Grenville brought forward 1,166 current rupees, 9 annas and 6 pies for the goods. The costs of packing and shipping them were then added. 95 gunny bags, 9 current rupees, 15 annas, 6 pies Twine, packers and weighmen, 0 current rupees, 15 annas, 9 pies 4 chests at 17 rupees 0 annas 9 pies and mats at 1 rupee 10 annas, 18 current rupees, 10 annas, 9 pies Food for the peons at 2 rupees 10 annas 3 pies and [...] at 6 rupees 11 annas 3 pies, 9 current rupees, 5 annas, 6 pies Boat hire, 32 current rupees, 6 annas, 6 pies Packing and shipping costs, 71 current rupees, 6 annas, 0 pies Total, 1,237 current rupees, 15 annas, 6 pies The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. R. Witts, the sub accountant, signed it. The invoice for the goods carried by the Horsenden was drawn up at Canton on 31 January 1766. It opened with eight chests of sugar, numbered 59 to 66. Sugar chest 59, tare 26 pounds, gross 313 pounds Sugar chest 60, tare 28 pounds, gross 301 pounds Sugar chest 61, tare 27 pounds, gross 313 pounds Sugar chest 62, tare 26 pounds, gross 320 pounds Sugar chest 63, tare 25 pounds, gross 322 pounds Sugar chest 64, tare 25 pounds, gross 318 pounds Sugar chest 65, tare 25 pounds, gross 319 pounds Sugar chest 66, tare 25 pounds, gross 308 pounds Sugar, 8 chests, tare 207 pounds, gross 2,519 pounds Sugar, net 2,312 pounds or 17 peculs 34 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 78 taels, 0 mace, 3 candareens, 0 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Congo chest 103, gross 100 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 79 pounds or 59 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 5 mace, 2 candareens, 0 cash Bohea chest 93, gross 182 pounds, tare 41 pounds Bohea, net 141 pounds or 1 pecul 5 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 19 taels, 9 mace, 5 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 112, gross 81 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 62 pounds or 46 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 11 taels, 9 mace, 6 candareens, 0 cash Total, 126 taels, 4 mace, 6 candareens, 0 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. Seven signatures appeared on it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith William Rous Thomas Bevan Interpretations Gunny bags were coarse sacks woven from jute, the standard Bengal packing for grain and sugar. The 95 bags charged here exceeded the 55 bags of rice, sugar and paddy on the invoice, so some goods were perhaps double bagged against damp at sea. Peons were the Indian foot messengers and guards employed about the Company's warehouses, and the charge covered their food while they watched the goods to the waterside. The packing and shipping section shows how the Bengal office priced a consignment. The first part of the invoice gave the bare purchase cost. Every expense of getting the goods from warehouse to ship was then listed and added, down to the twine. St Helena was charged the full landed cost and the Bengal books bore none of it. The Canton invoices followed a different practice. They priced the sugar and tea alone and showed no separate handling costs. The Horsenden carried eight chests of sugar where the Thames, the York, the Essex and the Ankerwyke each carried seven. Her invoice was dated 31 January 1766, four days after theirs. She loaded last, and the Canton merchants perhaps used her to round off the island's order. | |
31 | 1766 Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Ankerwyke to Muster her Compy. and enquire for deserters But found none, her Muster Roll is as follows vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Ankerwyke Andw. Ross Commandr. Benj: Jones 1 Mate James Elkington 2d. Do. Umpy. Francis 3d. Do. Robt. Craig 4th. Do. John Mc. Queen Surg Francis Sandry Gunnr. Wm. Saunders Boatsn. James Line Carpentr. Wm. Salter Cooper Robt. Pearce Midshipn. Jacob Nickleson Do. Nathl. Bliss Do. Jno. Rennie Do. Wm. Boyd Do. Saml. Woodward G. Mte Robt. Hunt Boats. Mte. John Roebin Carp. Do. John Moncrieff Coop Do. Robt. Gladstones Surg Do. Lord North Quarterm. John Askew Quarterm. Michl. Lapley Do. Jos. Clark Do. Friend Morris Do. James Mc.kay Do. Thos. Denton Caulker Wm. Fowler [...] Mate Thos. Hancock Sailmr. Wm. Hayward Armr. John Scott Ships Cook John Thomet Capts. Do. Wm. Brampton Baker Wm. Allsop Butcher Thos. Bones Capts. Stewd. Thomas Black Captn. Ankerwyke Servants Thos. Liptrap Ch. Mtes Do. Robt. Fowlkes 2d. Do. Do. Thoms. Watts Surgeons Do. Wm. Scott Joiner Edwd. Line Carpenters Serv Josh. Davis Boatswains Do. Jno. Doe Gunners Do. John Salter Seaman Mattw. Browning Mattw. Wilson Andw. Richell Jas. Hawes Jno. Bodenham Wm. Clogston Wm. Phillpot Andw. Canelling Hans Petterson Benj. Patterson Luke Coleby John Peace James Cleveland Andw. Henderson Hans Berry Wm. Brown Seaman. Jno. Brown Alexr. Magnus Jno. Stephenson Casor Carel James Goodall Danl. Maloney Willm. Winser Richd. Phillips Thos. Taylor Andw. Matthison Jno. De Vall Davd. Anderson Collin Steward Jeffy. Richardson Jasper Ford James Galligan Lawrence Dowie Stepn. Chandler Willm. Robinson Robt. Crawford Michl. Brown George Prince Charles Wood Robt. Johns Christopr. Breamer John Greaves Thos. Cowing Chas. Wainwright | Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the Ankerwyke to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Her crew list was entered in 1766 as follows. Andrew Ross, commander Benjamin Jones, chief mate James Elkington, second mate Humphrey Francis, third mate Robert Craig, fourth mate John McQueen, surgeon Francis Lindsay, gunner William Saunders, boatswain James Line, carpenter William Salter, cooper Robert Pearce, midshipman Jacob Mickelson, midshipman Nathaniel Bliss, midshipman James Rennie, midshipman William Boyd, midshipman Samuel Woodward, gunner's mate Robert Hunt, boatswain's mate John Robinson, boatswain's mate John Moncrieff, carpenter's mate Robert Gladstone, surgeon's mate [...] North, quartermaster John Askew, quartermaster Michael Lapley, quartermaster Joseph Clark, quartermaster Friend Morris, quartermaster James McKay, quartermaster Thomas Benton, caulker William Fowler, caulker's mate Thomas Hancock, sailmaker William Hayward, armourer John Scott, ship's cook John Thomet, captain's cook William Brampton, baker William Allsop, butcher Thomas Bones, captain's steward Thomas Black, captain's servant Ankerwyke, captain's servant Robert Liptrap, chief mate's servant Robert Fowlkes, second mate's servant Thomas Watts, surgeon's servant William Scott, joiner Edward Line, carpenter's servant Joseph Davis, boatswain's servant John Doe, gunner's servant John Salter, seaman Matthew Browning, seaman Matthew Wilson, seaman Andrew Richell, seaman James Hawes, seaman John Bodenham, seaman William Clogston, seaman William Phillpot, seaman Andrew Canelling, seaman Hans Peterson, seaman Benjamin Patterson, seaman Luke Coleby, seaman John Peace, seaman James Cleveland, seaman Andrew Henderson, seaman Hans Berry, seaman William Brown, seaman John Brown, seaman Alexander Magnus, seaman James Stephenson, seaman Caser Card, seaman James Goodall, seaman Daniel Maloney, seaman William Winser, seaman Richard Phillips, seaman Thomas Taylor, seaman Andrew Matthison, seaman John Duvall, seaman David Anderson, seaman Collin Steward, seaman Jeffery Richardson, seaman Jasper Ford, seaman James Galligan, seaman Lawrence Dowie, seaman Stephen Chandler, seaman William Robinson, seaman Robert Crawford, seaman Michael Brown, seaman George Prince, seaman Charles Wood, seaman Robert Johns, seaman Christopher Bramer, seaman John Greaves, seaman Thomas Cowing, seaman Charles Wainwright, seaman A list of passengers followed. Interpretations One of the captain's two servants was entered under the single name Ankerwyke, the name of the ship herself. Every other man on the roll had a forename and a surname. A servant known only by his ship's name was perhaps a slave or a boy of unknown parentage attached to the commander's household, named for the vessel he served in. The roll listed servants for the chief mate, second mate, surgeon, carpenter, boatswain and gunner as well as the captain. These were mostly boys learning a trade under the officer they attended. Edward Line, the carpenter's servant, shared a surname with James Line the carpenter and was probably his son or a young relative taken to sea as an apprentice. | |
32 | 2nd. June Passengers John Walton Esqr. Supra Cargoe John Archer His Servant (Signed) Andw. Ross John Passwater Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted time. Granted Bought on Account of the Honble. Compy. of Captain Ross eight Casks of Salt provision containing eight hundred and sixty one Pieces for which we paid him two Shillings p Piece amounting to £86. 2. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Two passengers travelled in the Ankerwyke, entered under 2 June 1766. John Walton, supercargo John Archer, servant to John Walton Andrew Ross signed the roll. John Passwater, a private soldier, asked that day to be released from the garrison because his agreed term of service with the Company was complete. The Council agreed. The Council bought eight casks of salt provisions from Captain Ross on the Company's behalf. The casks held 861 pieces at £0 2s 0d a piece, which came to £86 2s 0d. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The passenger list explains a gap in the Canton invoices. John Walton signed the four invoices of 27 January 1766 as one of the Company's merchants there, and so did Thomas Thomas. Neither name appeared on the invoice of the Horsenden dated 31 January 1766. Walton came home in the Ankerwyke, and a Mr Thomas travelled as supercargo in the Thames. Both men had perhaps gone aboard their ships in the four days between the two dates, leaving seven colleagues to sign the last invoice. This was the second purchase of salt meat from a homeward commander within ten days. The Council bought 393 pieces from Captain Haggis on 23 May 1766 and justified it at length as a replacement for stores issued to Captain Dethick. The purchase from Ross was more than twice as large, at the same £0 2s 0d a piece, and carried no explanation at all. Once the first purchase established that ships' surplus beef undercut the English invoice price, buying it became routine. The Council was building a reserve of salt meat while its cattle were too few to supply the ships, as resolved on 3 May 1766. Passwater was the fifth soldier discharged since 3 May 1766, against two recruits enlisted. The garrison was losing time-expired men faster than it could replace them locally. | |
33 | 7th. June At a Consultation held on Saturday the 7th. day of June 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Captn. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 2d. June 1766 Thursday the 5th. Arrived a Swede Ship from China called the Prince Charles Capt. Habicht burthen one thousand Tons carrys twenty six Guns and one hundred and twenty Men, loaden with Tea, China Ware and Silk bound to Gottenbourg. Do. Do. Sailed the Honorable Compys. Ship Ankerwyke for England. Friday the 6th. Arrived the Royal Captains Boat at Banks's at two o'Clock in the afternoon Do. Do. the Honble. Company's Ship Royal Captain from China and brought Us the following Supplies vizt. Invoice of Ship Royal Captain Sugar No., Tare, Gross 67: Tare 25, Gross 305 68: Tare 26, Gross 312 69: Tare 25, Gross 315 70: Tare 25, Gross 317 71: Tare 27, Gross 306 72: Tare 26, Gross 314 73: Tare 25, Gross 309 74: Tare 25, Gross 310 8 Chests: Tare 206, Gross 2488 Gross 206 Tare 2282 Nett is Pecl. 17. 11 Catty @ Ta. m. 4. 5 p Pecl. Tas. Mas. 76.995 No. 94 One Chest Bohea 191 lb Gross 40 Tare 151 Nett is Pecl. 1. 13 Catty @ Tas. 19 p Pecl. 21.470 104 One Chest Congo 102 Gross 21 Tare 81 Nett is 60 Catty 28 p Do. 16.800 113 One Chest Singlo 82 Gross 19 Tare 63 Nett is 47 Catty @ 26 p Do. 12.220 Tales 127.485 Canton 31st. Janry 1766 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Stepn. De Visme Thos. Smith Willm. Rous Thos. Bevan | The Council met at the Castle on Saturday 7 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 2 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. A Swedish ship from China, the Prince Charles under Captain Habicht, arrived on Thursday 5 June 1766. She was a vessel of 1,000 tons with 26 guns and 120 men. Her cargo was tea, chinaware and silk, and she was bound for Gothenburg. The Company's ship Ankerwyke left for England the same day. A boat from the Royal Captain reached Banks's at two in the afternoon on Friday 6 June 1766. The Company's ship Royal Captain herself arrived from China later that day and delivered supplies. Her invoice was drawn up at Canton on 31 January 1766. It opened with eight chests of sugar, numbered 67 to 74. Sugar chest 67, tare 25 pounds, gross 305 pounds Sugar chest 68, tare 26 pounds, gross 312 pounds Sugar chest 69, tare 25 pounds, gross 315 pounds Sugar chest 70, tare 25 pounds, gross 317 pounds Sugar chest 71, tare 28 pounds, gross 306 pounds Sugar chest 72, tare 26 pounds, gross 314 pounds Sugar chest 73, tare 25 pounds, gross 309 pounds Sugar chest 74, tare 26 pounds, gross 310 pounds Sugar, 8 chests, tare 206 pounds, gross 2,488 pounds Sugar, net 2,282 pounds or 17 peculs 11 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 76 taels, 9 mace, 9 candareens, 5 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Bohea chest 94, gross 191 pounds, tare 40 pounds Bohea, net 151 pounds or 1 pecul 13 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 21 taels, 4 mace, 7 candareens, 0 cash Congo chest 104, gross 102 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 81 pounds or 60 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 8 mace, 0 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 113, gross 82 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 63 pounds or 47 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 12 taels, 2 mace, 2 candareens, 0 cash Total, 127 taels, 4 mace, 8 candareens, 5 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. Seven signatures appeared on it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William [...] Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith William Rous Thomas Bevan | |
34 | 7th. June Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships Horsendon and Grenville to Muster their Company's and enquire for deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Horsendon Wm. Marter Commr. Alexr. Jameson 1st. Mate Wm. Brown 2d. Do. Wm. Roberts 3d. Do. Davd. James 4th. Do. Thos. Johnson Surgeon John Brown Purser Joseph Brown Carpentr. James Vianne Gunr. Robt. Blackwell Midsn. Jas. Ferrand Midshipm. Chas. Chambers Do. Richd. Wooley Do. Allen Chatfield Do. John Hopes Do. John Mordaunt Do. John Martin Ships Stewd. John Daven Do. Cook James Mills Capt Stewd. Wm. Smith Do. Cook David Ireland Baker John Reed Gunrs. Mate Wm. Jameson Boats Do. Wm. Knight Carptr. 1 Do. James Hammond Do. 2d. Do. Robert Barker Caulk Do. Ingre Brad Anderson QMr. John Linegar Quarterm. Richd. King Quartermast John Wiltshire Do. James Galloway Poulter Jos. Weens Caulker Thos. Minning Armour Chas. Crane Sailmakr. James Norris Butcher Christ Herring Seaman Neal Mc. Cloud Robt. Wickstead Thos. Cowell Thoms. Hopkins Wm. Ross John Mc. Cloughton James Reig Wm. Crighton John Hopkins Patrick Kaliwall Robert Goodman George Salter Robert Willson Robert Willson John Anderson John Anderson Richard Nixon Alexr. Simms Wm. Greaves Wm. Greenly Geo: Dent Seaman Thos. Warm Fras. Colley Peter Golley David Patrie John Mallafax Wm. Cambridge Wm. Montgomery Wm. Loude John Bolton Wm. Rann Isaac [...] Alexr. Foster Richd. Wallson Hught German Luke Allison Godfrey Whenkey David Naving Lewis Fortdigue John Castica Alexr. Bobes John Horsendon Geo. Ballerie Wm. Knox John Welton Benj: Leonard Willm. Dixon Alexr. Rann | Matthew Purling reported on 7 June 1766 that he went aboard the Horsenden and the Grenville to muster their crews and look for deserters. He found none. The crew list of the Horsenden began as follows. William Marter, commander Alexander Jameson, chief mate William Brown, second mate William Roberts, third mate David James, fourth mate Thomas Johnson, surgeon John Brown, purser Joseph Brown, carpenter James Chawne, gunner Robert Blackwell, midshipman James Ferrand, midshipman Charles Chambers, midshipman Richard Wooley, midshipman Allen Chatfield, midshipman John Hopes, midshipman John Mordaunt, midshipman John Martin, ship's steward John Daven, ship's cook James Mills, captain's steward William Smith, captain's cook David Ireland, baker John Reed, gunner's mate William Jameson, boatswain's mate William Knight, carpenter's first mate James Hammond, carpenter's second mate Robert Baker, caulker's mate Inger Brad Anderson, quartermaster John Linegar, quartermaster Richard King, quartermaster John Wipshire, quartermaster James Galloway, poulterer Joseph Weems, caulker Thomas Manning, armourer Charles Crane, sailmaker James Norris, butcher Christopher Herring, seaman Neal McCloud, seaman Robert [...], seaman Thomas Cowell, seaman Thomas Hopkins, seaman William Ross, seaman John McCloughton, seaman James [...], seaman William Crighton, seaman John Hopkins, seaman Patrick Halliwall, seaman Robert Goodman, seaman George Salter, seaman Robert Willson, seaman Robert Willson, seaman John Anderson, seaman John Anderson, seaman Richard Nixon, seaman Alexander Simms, seaman William Greaves, seaman William Greenly, seaman George Dent, seaman Thomas Warm, seaman James Colley, seaman Peter Golley, seaman David Patrie, seaman John Mallafax, seaman William Cambridge, seaman William Montgomery, seaman William Lowe, seaman John Bolton, seaman William Rann, seaman Isaac Penny, seaman Alexander Foster, seaman Richard Wallson, seaman Hugh Gorman, seaman Luke Allison, seaman Godfrey Whenkey, seaman David Naving, seaman Lewis Fortéigue, seaman John Costica, seaman Alexander Roben, seaman John Horsendon, seaman George Rallerie, seaman William Knox, seaman John Walton, seaman Benjamin Leonard, seaman William Dixon, seaman Interpretations A seaman on the roll bore the ship's own name as his surname, John Horsendon. The Ankerwyke likewise carried a captain's servant called simply Ankerwyke, entered on 2 June 1766. Two ships of the same fleet each had a man named after the vessel, which points to a habit and not a coincidence. Men taken on abroad without a usable English name, whether foundlings, slaves or foreign sailors, were perhaps entered under the ship's name so that the purser had something to write against their wages. | |
35 | 1766 Richd. Wooley Seaman Thomas Irono Jonas Wooles Saml. Willson Seaman Fredk. Dekecke John Defrees Cornl. Williamson Jonas Shiers Cornl. Casperson Passengers Mr. Nichl. John Rufrain Mr. Biddlecome late 2d. Mte. Fort William (Signed) Wm. Marter Muster Roll of Ship Grenville Parson Fenner Commandr. John Sampson 1st. Mate Regd. Hicks 2d. Do. John Fast 3d. Do. Thos. Brittle 4th. Do. John Lud Fenners 5th. Do. Thos. Cock Boatswain John Crawford Gunr. Stanly Holmes Carpr. Jas. Loe Surgeon Rd. Annem Midshipman Michl. Lianey Do. Peter De Rupert Do. Alexr. Bellencain Cooper John Lewis Sailmaker James Annan Armorer Geo: De Verty Ships Cook John Guness Gunrs. Mate John Smiley Boats Do. Thoms. Fisher Coopers Do. Danl. Turner Butcher George Welsh Baker Wm. Delmonte Capts. Cook Andw. Thompson Quarterm Alexr. Hackney Quartermastr. Willm. Dickinson Do. John Pope Seaman Abrahm. Farewell John Ralph John Arnet John Miller Ridley [...] Christopr. Garrald John Hall Evan Wallan Geo. Mitchell Francis Allen Elisa Lewis Rd. Hilton John Clark Ralph Goldsmith James Thopson Francis Brady John Davis Robt. Bland Richd. Parfitt Barnaby Mc.Louchland Joshua Archer. Geo: Moffam Seaman Jos. Fox Saml. Lee Richd. Clarke. Ebenezar Reed Saml: Still Thos. Williams John Shipman Thos. Harris Geo: Smith Geo Mc. Pherson Jasper Harrison James Dalzell James Mc. Corrish Robt. [...] Thos. Bratton James Thomas Robt. Man Jasper Persons Michl. Luckit Andw. Brunks Andrew Rothsmith Peter Deselva Thos. James. | The crew list of the Horsenden closed in 1766 with nine more seamen. Richard Wooley, seaman Thomas Irons, seaman Jonas Weeks, seaman Samuel Willson, seaman Frederick Debecke, seaman John Defries, seaman Cornelius Williamson, seaman Jonas Shurs, seaman Cornelius Caperson, seaman Two passengers were listed. The second was Mr Biddlecome, formerly second mate of the Fort William. Mr Nicholas John [...] William Marter signed the roll. The crew list of the Grenville then began. Parson Fenner, commander John Sampson, chief mate Benjamin Hicks, second mate John Fast, third mate Thomas Brittle, fourth mate John Lud Fenner, fifth mate Thomas Cobb, boatswain John Crawford, gunner Stanly Holmes, carpenter James Lee, surgeon Robert Annesin, midshipman Michael Lianey, midshipman Peter De Ropert, midshipman Alexander Rollinson, cooper John Lewis, sailmaker James Annan, armourer George De Vorty, ship's cook John Guines, gunner's mate John Smiley, boatswain's mate Thomas Fisher, cooper's mate Daniel Turner, butcher George Welsh, baker William Delmonte, captain's cook Andrew Thompson, quartermaster Alexander Hackney, quartermaster William Dickinson, quartermaster John Pope, seaman Abraham Farewell, seaman John Ralph, seaman John Arnet, seaman John Miller, seaman Ridley Johnston, seaman Christopher Garrald, seaman John Hall, seaman Evan Dillan, seaman George Mitchell, seaman Francis Allen, seaman Eliza Lewis, seaman Robert Hilton, seaman John Clark, seaman Ralph Goldsmith, seaman James Shepson, seaman Francis Brady, seaman John Davis, seaman Robert Bland, seaman Richard Puffett, seaman Barnaby McLouchland, seaman Joshua Archer, seaman George Moffam, seaman Joseph Fox, seaman Samuel Lee, seaman Richard Clarke, seaman Ebenezer Steed, seaman Samuel Still, seaman Thomas Williams, seaman John Shipman, seaman Thomas Harris, seaman George Smith, seaman George McPherson, seaman Jasper Harrison, seaman James Dalzell, seaman James McCorris, seaman Robert [...], seaman Thomas Bratton, seaman James Thomas, seaman Robert Man, seaman Jasper Parsons, seaman Michael Luckit, seaman Andrew Brunks, seaman Andrew Rothsmith, seaman Peter Deselva, seaman Thomas James, seaman | |
36 | 7th. June Thos. Grenville Seaman John Thomas India Sarang Goshia Tindall Sabana Sakou Kadle Namigh Sarabda Ruffick Romout Laskera Maneak Suttamummett Haddae Denauk Sall [...] Rhumjanny Buttom Saudock Bara Sabana Abzel Augustine Sabde Bawdee Syes Passengers Wm. Sincer Esqr. Geo: Grey Do. Ralp Leycester Barker Hattley Captn. J Staples Walter Brown Wm. Hay Mrs. Leycester Mrs. Middleton Miss Hebbourn Two White Servants 5 Black Girls Several Black Boys (Signed) P. Fenner The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from Ship Horsendon vizt. Acct. of Stores Short received from Ship Horsendon vizt. 24 lb. Sugar, Short Weight St. Helena 7th. June 1766 (Signed) Js. Powell Storekeepr. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | The crew list of the Grenville ended under 7 June 1766 with these names. Thomas Grenville, seaman John Thomas, seaman Indea, serang Goshea, tindal Sabana Sakaie Hadle Namigh Sarabda Ruffick Romout Laskera Maneak Suttamurmitt Haddae Denauk Lall [...] Rumjanny Ruttom Saudock Bara Subana Abzel Augustine Sabde Bawdee Syes The passengers followed. William Senior George Grey Ralph Leycester Barker Hattley Captain J. Naples Walter Brown William Hay Mrs Leycester Mrs Middleton Miss Hebbourn 2 white servants 5 black girls Several black boys P. Fenner signed the roll. The storekeeper reported to the Council that day on goods missing from the consignment landed by the Horsenden. 24 pounds of sugar, under weight J. Powell, the storekeeper, signed the report at St Helena on 7 June 1766. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The single names at the end of the roll belonged to lascars, Indian seamen engaged in Bengal. Ships lost many European sailors to disease in India, and commanders made up their numbers for the voyage home with local crews. Lascars were hired as a gang under their own leaders, and the roll recorded two of them by rank. The serang was the head man who recruited the gang and commanded it on board. The tindal was his deputy. The clerk wrote each man down by one name as he heard it and gave none a rating. The Company dealt with the gang through its serang and did not treat its members as individual hands. The passenger list divided people into those worth naming and those merely counted. Ten Europeans appeared by name and title. The two white servants, five black girls and an unstated number of black boys were entered as quantities. The children were household servants or slaves travelling to England with returning Company families from Bengal. For the boys the clerk did not record even a number. The muster was meant to account for every person aboard, and it failed for them. A seaman named Thomas Grenville headed the page. He was the third man in this fleet to carry his ship's name, after the servant Ankerwyke entered on 2 June 1766 and the seaman John Horsendon entered on 7 June 1766. The shortage on the Horsenden was four times that reported from the Talbot on 3 May 1766, where 6 pounds of sugar were missing. Her invoice of 31 January 1766 gave a net weight of 2,312 pounds, so the loss was about one pound in a hundred. Sugar in chests lost weight on a long voyage through drying and leakage. The storekeeper's report put the deficiency on record without accusing anyone. | |
37 | 9th. June At a Consultation held on Monday the 9th. Day of June 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Captn. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and signed, dated the 7th. June 1766 This day Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Horsendon for England The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from Ship Grenville vizt. Acct. of Stores Short received from Ship Grenville vizt. C, qrs., lb Rice: C 1, qrs. 2, lb 0 Paddy: C 0, qrs. 2, lb 0 Sugar: C 2, qrs. 0, lb 11 Candles: C 0, qrs. 0, lb 2 Short Weight No. 1. 1 Leagr. Arr. Gages 160 Galls. wants to fill 6 Galls. 2. 1 Leagr. Do. Do. 163 Do. Do. 6 Do. 323 12 12 Gallons 311 Received St. Helena 9th. June 1766. (Signed) James Powell Storekeeper The Gunners, and Stewards Accounts for the Month of May last, were this day brought in, which were examined & and approved, and are as follow vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 9 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 7 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Horsenden left for England that day. The storekeeper reported on goods missing from the consignment landed by the Grenville. Rice under weight, 1 hundredweight, 2 quarters, 0 pounds Paddy under weight, 0 hundredweight, 2 quarters, 0 pounds Sugar under weight, 2 hundredweight, 0 quarters, 11 pounds Candles under weight, 0 hundredweight, 0 quarters, 2 pounds Arrack leaguer 1, capacity by gauge 160 gallons, 6 gallons short of full Arrack leaguer 2, capacity by gauge 163 gallons, 6 gallons short of full Arrack, capacity of both leaguers 323 gallons, 12 gallons short of full Arrack received, 311 gallons James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the report at St Helena on 9 June 1766. The gunner and the steward handed in their accounts for May 1766 that day. The Council examined and approved them. Interpretations The Bengal goods arrived far shorter than the Chinese ones. The sugar from the Grenville was 235 pounds light on a consignment of ten bags. The shortages on Canton sugar were 6 pounds from the Talbot, reported on 3 May 1766, and 24 pounds from the Horsenden, reported on 7 June 1766. The packing explains much of the difference. Chinese sugar travelled in sealed wooden chests. Bengal sugar, rice and paddy came in gunny bags, as the invoice entered on 2 June 1766 shows. Bags let their contents sift out, soaked up damp and could be opened and closed again without trace. The invoice was also made out in maunds and the storekeeper weighed in English hundredweights, so some of the gap perhaps arose in converting one measure to the other. The arrack was checked by gauging. A gauger measured each cask with a calibrated rod to find what it could hold, then measured the empty space at the top. The storekeeper took credit only for the liquid present, 311 gallons out of a capacity of 323. Spirits always lost some volume at sea through seepage and evaporation, and six gallons from each cask was a modest loss. The equal figure for both leaguers suggests an even, natural wastage and not tampering with one cask. The gauge also fixes the size of the leaguer, which the invoice left unstated. Each cask held a little over 160 gallons. | |
38 | 9th. June Artillery Stores Expended in May 1766 Guns fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended lb 1st. An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived a Swedish Ship: Guns fired 8, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 8, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 8 Do. Powder sent to Sandy Bay for Blowg. Stones: Guns fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 300 4th. Departed the Talbot: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 7th. Departed a Swedish Ship: Guns fired 8, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 8, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 8 8 A Double Alarm for three Ships that went by: Guns fired 11, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 4, 3 lb 4, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 3, Powder Expended lb 23 14th. An Alarm at Banks's, for the Thames.: Guns fired 2, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Arrived the said Ship: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the York: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 15th. An Alarm at Banks's: Guns fired 2, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Do. at Prosperous Bay for the same Ship: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the Essex: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 16th. A double Alarm for three Ships that passed by: Guns fired 11, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 4, 3 lb 4, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 3, Powder Expended lb 23 18th. An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Do. at Turks Cap for the same Ship: Guns fired 2, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 4 Arrived a Swedish Ship: Guns fired 12, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 12, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 12 A double Alarm for four Ships that passed by: Guns fired 8, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 15. 8 23d. Departed a Swedish Ship: Guns fired 12, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 12, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 12 A double Alarm for two Ships that passed by: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 3, Powder Expended lb 18 25th. Departed the Ships, Yorks. Thames, & Essex: Guns fired 27, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 27, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 27 26th. An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the Ankerwyke: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 27th. An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived a French Ship: Guns fired 11, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 10, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 11. 8 30 An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 30th. Arrived the Grenville: Guns fired 9, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 31st. An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the Horsendon: Guns fired 11, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 11, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 11 Powder for priming this Month: Guns fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 29. 2 Do. for Signals and Sundry uses.: Guns fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 15. 10 Total: Guns fired 236, 9 lb 4, 4 lb 32, 3 lb 31, 2 lb 142, 1 lb 27, Powder Expended lb 685. 12 | The artillery account for May 1766 was entered under 9 June 1766. It recorded the guns fired, their division among five classes headed 9, 4, 3, 2 and 1 pounds and the powder spent. Alarm on 1 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of a Swedish ship on 1 May 1766, 8 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 8 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 8 pounds of powder Powder sent to Sandy Bay on 1 May 1766 for blasting stone, 0 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 300 pounds of powder Departure of the Talbot on 4 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of a Swedish ship on 7 May 1766, 8 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 8 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 8 pounds of powder Double alarm on 8 May 1766 for three ships sailing past, 11 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 4 guns of 4 pounds, 4 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 3 guns of 1 pound, 22 pounds of powder Alarm at Banks's for the Thames on 14 May 1766, 2 guns fired, 2 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Arrival of the Thames on 14 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 14 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the York on 14 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm at Banks's on 15 May 1766, 2 guns fired, 2 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm at Prosperous Bay for the same ship on 15 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Essex on 15 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Double alarm on 16 May 1766 for three ships sailing past, 11 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 4 guns of 4 pounds, 4 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 3 guns of 1 pound, 22 pounds of powder Alarm on 18 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Alarm at Turks Cap for the same ship on 18 May 1766, 2 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 4 pounds of powder Arrival of a Swedish ship on 18 May 1766, 12 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 12 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Double alarm on 18 May 1766 for four ships sailing past, 8 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 3 guns of 4 pounds, 3 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, [...] pounds of powder Departure of a Swedish ship on 23 May 1766, 12 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 12 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Double alarm on 23 May 1766 for two ships sailing past, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 3 guns of 4 pounds, 3 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 3 guns of 1 pound, 18 pounds of powder Departure of the York, the Thames and the Essex on 25 May 1766, 27 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 27 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 27 pounds of powder Alarm on 26 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Ankerwyke on 26 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 27 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of a French ship on 27 May 1766, 11 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 1 gun of 3 pounds, 10 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 11 pounds 8 ounces of powder Alarm on 30 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Grenville on 30 May 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Alarm on 31 May 1766, 6 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Horsenden on 31 May 1766, 11 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 11 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 11 pounds of powder Powder for priming during the month, 0 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 29 pounds 2 ounces of powder Powder for signals and other uses, 0 guns fired, 0 guns of 9 pounds, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 15 pounds 10 ounces of powder Total, 236 guns fired, 4 guns of 9 pounds, 32 guns of 4 pounds, 31 guns of 3 pounds, 142 guns of 2 pounds, 27 guns of 1 pound, 685 pounds 12 ounces of powder A list of sponges and other stores followed. Interpretations Powder use almost doubled against April 1766, from 352 pounds to about 685. Blasting accounts for the whole rise. A single issue of 300 pounds went to Sandy Bay on 1 May 1766 for breaking stone, where the April account allowed 133 pounds for blasting and priming together. Captain Mitchell wrote on 5 May 1766 that materials for the Sandy Bay works were gathered and that the culvert was about to begin. The issue shows the Company's magazine supplying the quarrying for that project directly, with close to half the month's powder spent on construction and not on guns. The headings were clear on this page. The five classes ran 9, 4, 3, 2 and 1 pounds, and the first was 9 pounds. The pattern of April 1766 held. Salutes came from the guns of 2 pounds at a pound of powder a round. Ordinary alarms took a pair each from the classes of 4, 3 and 1 pounds. The two guns at Banks's were of 9 pounds and burned four and a half pounds a round, which suits heavy pieces placed to be heard across the island. May brought a new kind of entry, the double alarm for ships that sailed past without calling. It was fired four times, for groups of two, three and four vessels. A single sail approaching was routine. Several ships together that kept their distance and declared nothing were a different matter, and the garrison was called out in greater strength. The minutes logged the same ships on 8 May 1766 and 18 May 1766 as passing far out to sea. The entry for 18 May 1766 also named a third lookout, Turks Cap, beside Banks's and Prosperous Bay. The salutes no longer kept to the scale of April 1766, when a single ship received 9 guns and a pair 13. The first Swedish ship received 8 guns on 1 May 1766 and the second 12 on 18 May 1766. The French ship and the Horsenden had 11 each. The fort was probably returning each ship's own salute, so the count followed what the visitor fired. The three Company ships leaving together on 25 May 1766 received 27 guns, 9 for each. | |
39 | 1766 Spunge Staves to make Grummets for the Flag 8 Gun Carriages expended at Sandy Bay 1 Tallow expended for the Compys. Boats 26 lb Priming Horn expended at the Alarm House 1 Mucery light at Sandy Bay 1 Match expended at the Main Fort 6 lb Handspikes Do. 9 Tompeons (2 lb.) expended on the [...] 2 Trunk Nails for Sundrys 175 Cartridge Paper to make Cartridges 8 Qrs. Needles Broke in making them 4 Rammer head (4 lb.) for Turks Cap 1 (Signed) E. Mitchell Sundry's Expended at the Honble. Company's Table in May 1766 vizt. 24 Bottles Port Wine £ 1. 16 43 Do. Lisbon 3. 4. 6 18 Do. Mountain 1. 7 36 Do. Beer 7. 6 62 [...] Arrack 3. 7. 4 131 Beef 2. 11. 11 321 Mutton 6. 13. 7 1 Lamb 10 1 Kid 5 12 Fowles 12 2 Geese 10 25 lb. Butter 1. 5 93 lb Candy 1. 4 317 lb Flour 3. 17. 10 6 3/4 Veal 3. 4 1/2 £ 26. 15. [...] 1/2 | The remaining artillery stores used in May 1766 were listed in the gunner's account. Sponge staves used to make grommets for the flag, 8 staves Gun carriage used up at Sandy Bay, 1 carriage Tallow used for the Company's boats, 26 pounds Priming horn used up at the Alarm House, 1 horn Muscovy lantern at Sandy Bay, 1 lantern Slow match used at the main fort, 6 pounds Handspikes used at the main fort, 9 handspikes Tompions for guns of 2 pounds, used on the [...], 2 tompions Trunk nails for various purposes, 175 nails Cartridge paper for making cartridges, 8 quires Needles broken in making cartridges, 4 needles Rammer head for a gun of 4 pounds at Turks Cap, 1 head Mitchell signed the account. The steward's account listed the provisions used at the Company's table in May 1766. 24 bottles of port wine, £1 16s 0d 43 bottles of Lisbon wine, £3 4s 6d 18 bottles of Mountain wine, £1 7s 0d 36 bottles of beer, £0 7s 6d 62 bottles of arrack, £3 7s 4d 131 pounds of beef, £2 11s 11d 321 pounds of mutton, £6 13s 7d 1 lamb, £0 10s 0d 1 kid, £0 5s 0d 12 fowls, £0 12s 0d 2 geese, £0 10s 0d 25 pounds of butter, £1 5s 0d 93 pounds of sugar candy, £1 4s 0d 317 pounds of flour, £3 17s 10d 6¾ pounds of veal, £0 3s 4½d Total, £26 15s [...]d Interpretations The rammer head settles what the five classes in the artillery tables measured. It was entered as a head of 4 pounds for Turks Cap, and the tompions as fitting guns of 2 pounds. A rammer head and a tompion were each made to the bore of a particular gun, so the figure was the weight of shot the gun fired. The table for May 1766 showed two guns of 4 pounds fired at Turks Cap on 18 May 1766, which matches. The classes of 9, 4, 3, 2 and 1 pounds were therefore sizes of gun, and the island's signal and saluting pieces were all small. A tompion was a wooden plug set in the muzzle to keep rain and salt out of the barrel. Slow match was cord soaked in saltpetre that smouldered steadily and was used to fire the guns. A priming horn held the fine powder poured into the vent. A Muscovy lantern had panes of mica, known as Muscovy glass, which did not crack in heat or shatter like glass. It was the safe light for use near powder. Grommets were rings of rope, here made for hoisting the flag. Sandy Bay drew on the gunner's stores as well as the magazine. A gun carriage was written off there and a lantern issued, beside the 300 pounds of blasting powder sent on 1 May 1766. The site was being worked hard enough to wear out equipment. The table's meat moved slightly towards beef against April 1766. Beef rose from 93 pounds to 131 and mutton fell from 340 pounds to 321. Mutton still made up more than two thirds of the meat. Veal appeared for the first time, in a quantity under seven pounds, which shows that a calf was killed. The Council resolved on 3 May 1766 to spare the herd, so the calf was perhaps one that could not be reared. Wine consumption rose most in Lisbon, from 26 bottles to 43. May 1766 brought eight Company ships and three foreign ones to the island. Their commanders and passengers dined at the Company's table, and the bill reflects the busiest month of the shipping season. | |
40 | 9th. June We this day Granted the following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors vizt. One Set to Captain Parson Fenner for £300. payable to Mr. James Waugh, (Or Order) And one Set to Mr. Jonathan Doveton for £179. 2. payable to Captain William Marter (Or Order) both drawn at ninety days Sight. Bought on Account of the Honble. Compy. of Captain P. Fenner one thousand four hundred and fifty four Pieces of Salt Meat at two Shillings p Piece, Sixty nine Bags of Rice containing eighty three hundred, at thirteen Shillings and sixpence p Bag. and one hundred and twenty four Bags of Paddy containing ninety eight hundred, and three Quarters at four Shillings p Bag amounting to £216. 15. 6. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | The Council granted two sets of bills of exchange on 9 June 1766, both drawn on the Court of Directors. One set went to Captain Parson Fenner for £800 0s 0d and was payable to James Waugh or whoever he named. The other went to Jonathan Doveton for £179 2s 0d, payable to Captain William Marter or whoever he named. Both fell due 90 days after being presented. The Council also bought provisions from Captain Fenner on the Company's behalf. The whole purchase came to £216 15s 6d. 1,454 pieces of salt meat at £0 2s 0d a piece 69 bags of rice holding 83 hundredweight at £0 13s 6d a bag 124 bags of paddy holding 98 hundredweight 3 quarters at £0 4s 0d a bag Total, £216 15s 6d John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Fenner commanded the Grenville, which arrived from Bengal on 30 May 1766. The goods he sold were his own and not the Company's. Commanders were allowed space in their ships for private trade, and Fenner used his for the bulk foodstuffs of Bengal. His sale dwarfed the official consignment. The Company's invoice entered on 2 June 1766 sent the island 30 bags of rice and 15 of paddy. Fenner supplied 69 and 124. The island's grain that season came chiefly from a captain's private speculation, bought on the spot at whatever price the Council could agree. This was the third purchase of salt meat from a homeward commander in under three weeks, each at £0 2s 0d a piece. The Council bought 393 pieces from Captain Haggis on 23 May 1766 and 861 from Captain Ross on 2 June 1766. Fenner's 1,454 pieces were the largest lot. The quantities grew with each purchase and the justification offered on the first occasion was never repeated. The Council was laying in a substantial reserve against the cattle shortage reported on 30 April 1766. The two bills show money moving in opposite directions between island and ship. Fenner received £216 15s 6d from the treasury for his goods and bought a bill for £800 0s 0d the same day, so he paid in far more coin than he drew out. The proceeds of his private trade along the voyage went home as paper. Doveton's bill ran the other way. He was a resident who paid coin into the treasury so that Captain Marter of the Horsenden could collect in London. Marter sailed that day, and the bill perhaps settled what Doveton owed him for goods bought from the ship. The treasury gained coin from both men. Rice cost more than three times as much as paddy by the bag, at £0 13s 6d against £0 4s 0d. The husk accounts for the difference. A bag of paddy was lighter and yielded much less grain for eating once it was milled. | |
41 | 12th. June At a Consultation held on Thursday the 12th. Day of June 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 9th. June 1766 Tuesday the 10th. Died Eleanor Luck Widow Do. Arrived the Kents Boat at Banks's 1/2 an Hour past 8 o'Clock at night Yesterday Do. the Honble. Company's Ship Kent from Bengal Do. Sailed the Honble. Company's Ship Grenville for England This day Sailed the Swede Prince Charles for Gottenbourg Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Royal Captain to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as following Muster Roll of Ship Royal Captain Nathl. Tanner Commander Edward Barrow 1st. Mte Fryer Todd 2d. Do. Jno. Morpeth 3d. Do. John Birch 4th. Do. Nathl. [...] 5th. Do. Jas. Owens Robt. Ridley Purser Anthy. Geary Surgeon Jno. Wilby Gunner Jno. Angar Carpenter Saml. Tucker Boatswain Fras. Stevens Midship [...] Danl. Stevenson Midshipman Geo: Cook Do. Jos. Adcomb Do. Saml. Seymour Cooper John Falvere Caulker Benj: Bredenhurst Armourer Mattw. Taylor Gunners Mte Thos. Hicks Carpenters Do. Thoms. Harley Caulkers Do. Jonas Rosandale Jno. Stevens Ships Stewd. Jno. De Seville Capt. Cook Azel Gyllingham Ships Do. Andw. Lawens Sailmaker Anthy. Nicholson Taylor George Cook Butcher Thos. Collins Poulterer Andw. Shagmass Q. Mr. Robt. Blyth Do. James Lambert Do. Wm. Grafton Do. Jno. Alexr. Blanchard Ch. Serv Jacob Wilson Do. Henry Dixon 1st. Mtes Do. Jno. Christie 2d. Do. Do. Jo. Gibson Gunrs. Servt. Barny. Murphy Boats Do. Ridley Young Carps. Do. Saml. Hawes Ships [...] Richd. Willson Seamn. Robt. Brown Do. Thos. Barrow Do. Saml. Johnson Do. Geo. Gillson Do. Robt. Brice Do. Jno. Iseland Do. Jno. Foreside Do. John Wadlow Do. Wm. Wadle Do. Geo: Clavison Do. Thos. Freeman Do. Stephn. Smith Do. John Todd Do. Robt. Platt, Do. | The Council met at the Castle on Thursday 12 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 9 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. Eleanor Luck, a widow, died on Tuesday 10 June 1766. A boat from the Kent reached Banks's at 8.30 that night. The Company's ship Kent herself arrived from Bengal on 11 June 1766, and the Company's ship Grenville left for England the same day. The Swedish ship Prince Charles left for Gothenburg on 12 June 1766. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the Royal Captain to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Her crew list began as follows. Nathaniel Tanner, commander Edward Barrow, chief mate Fryer Todd, second mate John Morpeth, third mate John Birch, fourth mate Nathaniel Stevens, fifth mate Joseph Owens Robert Ridley, purser Arthur Geary, surgeon John Wilby, gunner John Angar, carpenter Samuel Tucker, boatswain Francis Stevens, midshipman and coxswain Daniel Stevenson, midshipman George Cook, midshipman James Adams, midshipman Samuel Seymour, cooper John Falvew, caulker Benjamin Bedenhurst, armourer Matthew Taylor, gunner's mate Thomas Hicks, carpenter's mate Thomas Harley, caulker's mate Jonas Rosandale John Stevens, ship's steward John De Seville, captain's cook Azel Gyllingham, ship's cook Andrew Lawens, sailmaker Anthony Nicholson, tailor George Cook, butcher Thomas Collins, poulterer Andrew Shagmass, quartermaster Robert Blyth, quartermaster James Lambert, quartermaster William Grafton, quartermaster John Arthur Blanchard, captain's servant Sotoch Wilson, captain's servant Henry Dawson, chief mate's servant John Christie, second mate's servant J. Gibson, gunner's servant Barnaby Murphy, boatswain's servant Ridley Young, carpenter's servant Samuel Hanson, [...] Richard Willard, seaman Robert Brown, seaman Thomas Barrow, seaman Samuel Johnson, seaman George Gillson, seaman Robert Brice, seaman John Iceland, seaman James Ironside, seaman John Wadlow, seaman William Wadle, seaman George Clavison, seaman Thomas Freeman, seaman Stephen Smith, seaman John Todd, seaman Robert Platt, seaman | |
42 | 12th. June Wm. Dixon Seaman Jas. Vincent Abr Slade Jas. Rountree David Lynn John Hilbourne Wm. Hook Robt. Madden George Laws Rich Hinsliff Thos. Purvis Seaman Alexr Smith James Bromey Jno. Bayley David Baxter James Snowdon Thos. Marshall David Taylerson Jno. Tilley [...] Chs. Sutherman Sea Jas. Merritt Robt. Mc. Lintock Chs. Jobin Richd. Jump Tobias Oakerman Erick Beork Mattw. Walsh Jno. Dane Wm. Sedbrick (Signed) Nathl. Tanner Mr. John Chambers Supra Cargoe of the Swede Ship, this day applied to Us to pay one hundred pounds into the Honorable Company's Cash which Sum we have received and given him Bills of exchange drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors, payable to himself (or Order) at ninety day after sight John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | The crew list of the Royal Captain closed under 12 June 1766 with these seamen. William Dixon, seaman James Vincent, seaman Abraham Slade, seaman James Rountree, seaman David Lynn, seaman John Kilbourne, seaman William Hook, seaman Robert Madden, seaman George Laws, seaman Richard Hinsliff, seaman Thomas Purvis, seaman Alexander Smith, seaman James Bromey, seaman John Bigley, seaman David Baxter, seaman James Snowdon, seaman Thomas Marshall, seaman David Taylerson, seaman John Tilley, seaman [...], seaman Charles Southerman, seaman James Merritt, seaman Robert McLintock, seaman Charles Jobin, seaman Richard Jump, seaman Tobias Oakerman, seaman Erick Berk, seaman Matthew Walsh, seaman John Dane, seaman William Swabrick, seaman Nathaniel Tanner signed the roll. John Chambers, supercargo of the Swedish ship, asked the Council that day to accept £100 0s 0d into the Company's cash. The Council took the money and gave him bills of exchange on the Court of Directors. They were payable to Chambers or whoever he named, 90 days after being presented. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Chambers served a rival. The Swedish ship was the Prince Charles, which arrived from China on 5 June 1766 and sailed for Gothenburg on 12 June 1766. Her cargo of tea, chinaware and silk competed directly with the Company's own. The Council could have turned away the business of a foreign company's merchant. It accepted, and the minute shows why in its wording. Chambers applied to pay money in, and the transaction was recorded as a receipt into the Company's cash. The treasury wanted coin, and the cash account for April 1766 shows that bills were its chief source. A hundred pounds from a Swedish ship spent as well as any other. The arrangement suited Chambers equally. His name was English, and many British merchants served the Swedish company because the English one held a monopoly that shut them out of the China trade at home. Such a man had private earnings to send to London, and his own ship was bound for Sweden. A bill on the Court of Directors gave him a claim payable in London by the most reliable debtor in the trade. He therefore used the Company's own remittance system to carry home profits made in competing with it. | |
43 | 16th. June At a Consultation held on Monday the 16th. Day of June 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 12th. June 1766 Thursday the 12th. Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Royal Captain for England. The Ship Kent brought Us the following Supplys vizt. Invoice of Ship Kent. Rice fine No. 1 to 30. 30 Bags qt. B Mds. 60. @ 18. 12 Seer p ARs. 133. 5. 9 Sugar 1 to 10 10 Bags qt. 20. @ Rs. As. 7. 10 p Md. 152. 8 Paddy 1 to 15 15 Bags qt. 22. 20 @ 33. 4 Seer Ch. p CRs. 27. 1 Wax Candles 1 to 4 4 Chests qt. 8. @ CRs. 71. p Md. 568 Batavia Arrack 1 to 2 2 Leagers ARs. @ 130. @ 280. 12. 9 1166. 9. 6 Charges Merchandize 95 Gunney Bags 9. 15. 6 Twine 2 Ans. 9 Pice Packers 5 Ans. 6 pice is 8. 3 4 Chests 16 Rs. 7 Ans. Matts 1 Rs. 10 Ans. peon 2 Rs. 10 Ans. 3 pice 20. 6. 3 Diet 7 Ans. Weighman 6 Ans. Mootias Rs. 6. 11. 3 pice 7. 8. 3 Boat hire. 27 65. 6. 3 Current Rupees 1231. 15. 9 Errors Excepted (Signed) Rt. Witts Sub Accompt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 16 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 12 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Royal Captain left for England on Thursday 12 June 1766. The Kent delivered supplies to the island, and her invoice set out the goods. Fine rice, bags 1 to 30, 30 bags holding 60 bazaar maunds at 18 seers 12 chittacks to the Arcot rupee, 138 current rupees, 3 annas, 9 pies Sugar, bags 1 to 10, 10 bags holding 20 maunds at 7 rupees 10 annas a maund, 152 current rupees, 8 annas, 0 pies Paddy, bags 1 to 15, 15 bags holding 22 maunds 20 seers at 33 seers 4 chittacks to the rupee, 27 current rupees, 1 anna, 0 pies Wax candles, chests 1 to 4, 4 chests holding 8 maunds at 71 current rupees a maund, 568 current rupees, 0 annas, 0 pies Batavia arrack, casks 1 to 2, 2 leaguers at 130 Arcot rupees a leaguer, 280 current rupees, 12 annas, 9 pies Cost of goods, 1,166 current rupees, 9 annas, 6 pies The costs of packing and shipping were added. 95 gunny bags, 9 current rupees, 15 annas, 6 pies Twine at 2 annas 9 pies and rice packers at 5 annas 6 pies, 0 current rupees, 8 annas, 3 pies 4 chests at 16 rupees 7 annas, mats at 1 rupee 10 annas and peons at [...], 26 current rupees, 6 annas, 3 pies Food at 7 annas, weighmen at 6 annas and mootias at 6 rupees 11 annas 3 pies, 7 current rupees, 8 annas, 3 pies Boat hire, 21 current rupees, 0 annas, 0 pies Packing and shipping costs, 65 current rupees, 6 annas, 3 pies Total, 1,231 current rupees, 15 annas, 9 pies The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. R. Witts, the sub accountant, signed it. Interpretations Mootias were the porters of Bengal who carried loads on their heads between warehouse, weighing scale and boat. Their charge was the largest labour cost on the invoice after boat hire. A chittack was a sixteenth of a seer, and the seer a fortieth of a maund. The grain rates were legible here, and they show how rice was priced in the Bengal market. The other goods had a price in rupees for each maund. Rice and paddy ran the opposite way, as a quantity of grain for one rupee. Fine rice sold at 18 seers 12 chittacks to the rupee and paddy at 33 seers 4 chittacks. This was the custom of the bazaar, where the coin stayed fixed and the heap of grain grew or shrank with the harvest. The Company's clerk copied the market quotation as it stood and worked the total from it. The rice was quoted in Arcot rupees and converted to current rupees, as the arrack was. The goods matched the Grenville's invoice of 2 June 1766 line for line, with the same quantities, rates and cost of 1,166 current rupees, 9 annas and 6 pies. Bengal divided the island's order equally between two ships, as Canton did among six. Only the handling costs differed, at 65 rupees against 71, chiefly because boat hire was lower. | |
44 | Lieutenant Thomas Leach this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipl. John Skottowe Esqr. Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena. The petition of Lieut. Thoms. Leech Humbly Sheweth That your Petitioners Mother being lately deceased and dying Intestate, left some few Effects. Your Petitioner therefore humbly Craves leave to Administer; and your Petitioner as in duty Bound shall for Your Worships ever pray Granted upon his given a Bond with Lieut. Frost for a just disposal of the Effects of Mrs. Eleanor Leach deceased William Huckley Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted Time Granted. Counted and examined the Honorable Company's Cash, for the Month of May last, which is as follows vizt. | Lieutenant Thomas Leech presented a petition to Governor Skottowe and the Council on 16 June 1766. His mother had recently died without making a will and left a few belongings. He asked for authority to administer her estate. The Council agreed on condition that he gave a bond, with Lieutenant Frost as his surety, for the fair distribution of the belongings of Mrs Eleanor Leech. William Huckley, a private soldier, asked that day to be released from the garrison because his agreed term of service with the Company was complete. The Council agreed. The Council counted and checked the Company's cash for May 1766. Interpretations The Council again acted as the island's probate court, this time for a death without a will. John Simmons named his own executor, and the Council needed only to prove his will on 26 May 1766. Mrs Leech named no one, so the Council had to appoint someone and then guard against his misusing the office. The bond was that safeguard. Leech pledged a sum of money that he would forfeit if he failed to pay his mother's debts and share out what remained among those entitled to it. A second officer, Lieutenant Frost, stood surety and became liable if Leech defaulted. The Council required this even of a son and a commissioned officer handling a small estate. The security attached to the office of administrator and did not depend on the character of the man. The widow was the woman whose death on 10 June 1766 opened the minutes of 12 June 1766. Her son applied within six days. An administrator could not lawfully collect or dispose of anything until the grant was made, so promptness mattered where creditors or other relatives might come forward. Huckley was the sixth soldier discharged at the end of his term since 3 May 1766. Only two recruits enlisted over the same weeks, John Terry on 23 May 1766 and John Arns Mayer on 26 May 1766. | |
45 | Cash Dr. 1766 May. 1 To Balance remaing £ 8066. 5. 10 2d. To Ship Talbot 113. 12. 7 24th. To Ship York 35. 10. 6 To Ship Thames 10. 6. 5 To Ship Essex 14. 19. 6 £ 8240. 14. 10 Per Contra Cr. 1766 May 31st. By Balance remaing vizt. In Specie 7700. 19. 10 In Cash Notes of no Use 539. 15 £ 8240. 14. 10 John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick Margin Notes: 1766 | The cash account for May 1766 set out the money received on the debit side. Balance in hand on 1 May 1766, £8,066 5s 10d Received from the Talbot on 2 May 1766, £113 12s 7d Received from the York on 24 May 1766, £35 10s 6d Received from the Thames on 24 May 1766, £10 6s 5d Received from the Essex on 24 May 1766, £14 19s 6d Total, £8,240 14s 10d The credit side showed the balance left on 31 May 1766. Balance held in coin, £7,700 19s 10d Balance held in cash notes that could not be used, £539 15s 0d Total, £8,240 14s 10d John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations Receipts fell sharply against April 1766. That month brought in £2,277 5s 0d from seven sets of bills of exchange, beside small sums from ships. May 1766 brought no bill money at all, and the coin in the chest rose only from £7,526 10s 10d to £7,700 19s 10d. The pattern follows the calendar of the bills. None was granted between 28 April 1766 and 9 June 1766, so the two sets issued on the second date, and the Swedish supercargo's £100 0s 0d of 12 June 1766, belong to the next account. The Talbot paid £113 12s 7d, several times what any other ship paid in either month. The Council stated on 23 May 1766 that it issued Captain Dethick five casks' worth of salt beef from the Company's stores and bought an equal quantity from Captain Haggis to replace it. The payment of 2 May 1766, two days before the Talbot sailed, perhaps covered that beef and other stores sold to her. If so, the Company charged the ship for the salt meat. The Council resolved on 3 May 1766 to reduce the free allowance of fresh beef, and what ships took beyond the reduced allowance became a sale. The credit side again showed no payments. The Council paid Captain Haggis £39 6s 0d on 23 May 1766 and gave John Terry a bounty of £5 0s 0d the same day, yet neither sum reduced the balance. The account was therefore a record of coin received and held. Disbursements were either netted against what the ships owed or carried in a separate book, and the monthly count checked only that the chest matched the receipts. The £539 15s 0d in unusable cash notes stood unchanged from April 1766. The Council carried the dead paper forward month after month. Writing it off needed authority from London, and until that came the account had to keep showing it. | |
46 | 23d. June At a Consultation held on Monday the 23d. day of June 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and signed dated the 16th. June 1766 Saturday the 21st. Arrived the True Britons Boat at Banks's at two o'Clock in the afternoon. Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship True Briton from Bombay, and brought Us the following supplies vizt. Invoice of Ship True Briton Rice 22 Bags contg. 150 S. Mds. Vizt. 20 Bags ea 6 3/4 S. Mds. is 135 2 Do. ea 7 1/2 Do. 15 22 Bags 150 S. Mds. a 1. 2. 66 p S. Md. 249. 3 Batty 32 Bags contg. ea 3 Pas. a 3. 21 p Pa. 73. 3. 68 Charges on Merchandize Gunny Bags for the Rice 25. 1 Gunny Bags and dutty Pieces for the Batty 8 Lascars Sewing the Bags 4. 3 Hamallage on the Rice and Batty 4. 2. 60 42. 2. 60 Rupees 366. 1. 28 Errors Excepted (Signed) Wm. Hornby Acct. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 23 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 16 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. A boat from the True Briton reached Banks's at two in the afternoon on Saturday 21 June 1766. The Company's ship True Briton herself arrived from Bombay later that day and delivered supplies. Her invoice set out the goods. Rice, 20 bags at 6¾ Surat maunds a bag, 135 Surat maunds Rice, 2 bags at 7½ Surat maunds a bag, 15 Surat maunds Rice, 22 bags holding 150 Surat maunds at 1 rupee 2 quarters 66 reas a Surat maund, 249 rupees, 3 quarters, 0 reas Batty, 32 bags holding [...] at [...], 73 rupees, 3 quarters, 62 reas The costs of packing and shipping were added. Gunny bags for the rice, 25 rupees, 1 quarter, 0 reas Gunny bags and pieces of dutty for the batty, 8 rupees, 0 quarters, 0 reas Lascars sewing the bags, 4 rupees, 3 quarters, 0 reas Hamallage on the rice and batty, 4 rupees, 2 quarters, 60 reas Packing and shipping costs, 42 rupees, 2 quarters, 60 reas Total, 366 rupees, 1 quarter, 22 reas The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. William Hornby, the accountant, signed it. Interpretations Batty was the western Indian name for rice in the husk, the same commodity the Bengal invoices called paddy. Dutty was a coarse cotton cloth, used here in pieces to line or patch the sacks. Hamallage was the charge for porters. A hamal was the Bombay word for a man who carried loads, the counterpart of the mootias on the Bengal invoice entered on 16 June 1766. The lascars on this invoice were labourers on shore who stitched the bags shut. The word covered Indian workmen generally as well as the seamen mustered in the Grenville on 7 June 1766. Bombay kept its accounts on a different footing from Bengal. Its rupee divided into four quarters and each quarter into a hundred reas, a small unit inherited from the Portuguese who held Bombay before the English. The invoice needed no conversion into a notional current rupee and gave a plain total. The weight was the Surat maund, named after the great trading port north of Bombay. It was much lighter than the Bengal maund, about a third of a hundredweight. The invoice completed the pattern of the island's supply. Canton sent sugar and tea, Bengal sent rice, paddy, sugar, candles and arrack, and Bombay sent rice and batty alone. Each of the Company's three eastern stations shipped what it had cheapest, on whatever homeward ship was leaving. The Bombay consignment was the smallest of the three and consisted wholly of grain. The clerk in each place used the local trade words without translation. The Council at St Helena therefore read three vocabularies for the same goods and services in one season. | |
47 | 1766 Mr. Matthew Purling Reports that he has been on board the Ship Kent to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as follows vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Kent John Mills Commander, Willm. Thompson 1st. Mate Christ Lawton 2d. Do. Edward Jones 3d. Do. John Diggle 4th. Do. John Gordon Purser John Yarmouth Surgeon Willm. Brown Gunner James Ralp Boatswain Robt. Bowyer Capts. Stewd. Edward Frith Capts. Cook Thos. Jones Ships Do. John Murphy Cooper, Lewis Baxter Caulker Nicholas Harding Sailmr. John Dennison Armourer Joseph Sevill Boats. 1 Mte Andw. Stanson Do. 2d. Do. Hugh Foxcraft Carpent 1 Mte James Hart Do. 2d. Do. Willm. Hilbenne Gunners Do. Willm. Lavender Coopers Do. Hubert G. Mercer Capts. Servt. Samuel King Do. Do. Will Hill 1 Mates Do. John Wright 2d. Do. Do. John Stone Boats Servt. John Brown Carpr. Do. Joseph Jozela Gunr. Do. James Moffat Midshipn. & Coxn. Thoms. Temple Midshipm Wm. Stains Do. Thoms. Austen Do. Danl. Ireland Quarterm Thos. Bussell Do. George Simpson Do. Saml. Watts Do. Willm. Wood Butcher Joseph Whittle Seaman Richd. Sheridan Willm. Codrington Paul Frost Casen Feaser Anthony Cook John Anderson Thoms. Malcolm Oliver Martin John Harrow David Murry Thoms. Munford John Blanks John Harbuth John Low Thos. Cooper John Bowers John Mears John Miller Robt. Young Thomas Carkney Christr. May Robt. Cramer Senr. Seam Benj. Meads Willm. Sinclair Thos. Lewis Joseph Quiny Thos. Emerson Thoms. Hannell Jas. Ewans Domingo Renain John Baptiste Christ Boniface John Jewis James Spires Chas. Gray Thos. Hutchins Jeremh. Primmr John Crow Hans Halverson Edward Brewen Rees Duncason John Light Joseph Des Camp Stanyard Hayes Benj Johnson Robt. Connar Junr. Willm. Stainer Robert Baker Jaffier Lascar Gihamally Carmally | Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the Kent to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Her crew list was entered in 1766 as follows. John Mills, commander William Thompson, chief mate Christopher Lawton, second mate Edward Jones, third mate John Diggle, fourth mate John Gordon, purser John Yarmouth, surgeon William Brown, gunner James Ralph, boatswain Robert Bowyer, captain's steward Edward Frith, captain's cook Thomas Jones, ship's cook John Murphy, cooper Simon Baxter, caulker Nicholas Harding, sailmaker John Dennison, armourer Joseph Sevill, boatswain's first mate Andrew Stanson, boatswain's second mate Hugh Seacraft, carpenter's first mate James Hart, carpenter's second mate William Kilbirnie, gunner's mate William Lavender, cooper's mate Hubert G. Mercer, captain's servant Samuel King, captain's servant William Hill, chief mate's servant John Wright, second mate's servant John Stone, boatswain's servant John Brown, carpenter's servant Joseph Jozeta, gunner's servant James Moffat, midshipman and coxswain Thomas Semple, midshipman William Stains, midshipman Thomas Austen, midshipman Daniel Ireland, quartermaster Thomas Russell, quartermaster George Simpson, quartermaster Samuel Watts, quartermaster William Wood, butcher Joseph Whittle, seaman Richard Sheverden, seaman William Codrington, seaman Paul Frost, seaman Casten Teaser, seaman Anthony Cook, seaman John Anderson, seaman Thomas Malcolm, seaman Oliver Martin, seaman John Harrow, seaman David Murry, seaman Thomas Mumford, seaman John Blanks, seaman John Harburth, seaman John Low, seaman Thomas Cooper, seaman John Bowers, seaman John Mears, seaman John Miller, seaman Robert Young, seaman Thomas Cartney, seaman Christopher May, seaman Robert Cremer senior, seaman Benjamin Meads, seaman William Sinclair, seaman Thomas Lewis, seaman Joseph Quiny, seaman Thomas Emerson, seaman Francis Hannell, seaman James Ewans, seaman Domingo Zenain, seaman John Baptista, seaman Christopher Boniface, seaman John Jewis, seaman James Spires, seaman Charles Gray, seaman Thomas Hutchins, seaman Jeremiah Primme, seaman John Crow, seaman Hank Halverson, seaman Edward Bureen, seaman Rains Duncason, seaman John Light, seaman Joseph Des Camp, seaman Stangard Hayes, seaman Benjamin Johnson, seaman Robert Conner junior, seaman William Stainer, seaman Robert Baker, seaman Jaffier, lascar Gokamally, lascar Carmally, lascar | |
48 | 23d. June Bucar Lascar [...] John Lascar Tom Do. Antony Lascar. [...] Passengers John Burdett Esqr. James Amyatt Esqr. Mrs. Amyatt Robt. Gregory Esqr. Richard Gregory (a Child) Ann Hall Do. Edward Hardwick Esqr. Capt. Wedderburn Capt. Gould Capt. Southerland Capt. Macmath Alexr. Douglass John Neal White Servts. Fitzgerald Sergeant Adam Oreans. Private (Signed) J Mills The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from the Ship Kent vizt. Account of Stores Short received from Ship Kent vizt. C, qrs., lb Rice: C 0, qrs. 2, lb 0 Paddy: C 0, qrs. 3, lb 0 Sugar: C 0, qrs. 3, lb 3 Candles: C 0, qrs. 0, lb 3 Short Weight 1 Leagr. Arr. Gages 150 Galls. wants to fill Galls. 6 1 Do. Do. Do. 145 Do. Do. 9 295 15 15 Galls. 280 Received St. Helena 23d. June 1766 (Signed) Js. Powell Storekr. | The crew list of the Kent ended under 23 June 1766 with six more lascars. Bacar, lascar [...] John, lascar Tom, lascar Antony, lascar [...] The passengers followed. John Burdett James Amyatt Mrs Amyatt Robert Gregory Richard Gregory, a child Ann Hall, a child Edward Hardwick Captain Wedderburn Captain Gould Captain Sutherland Captain Macmath Alexander Douglas, white servant John Neal, white servant Fitzgerald, serjeant Adam Oreans, private J. Mills signed the roll. The storekeeper reported to the Council that day on goods missing from the consignment landed by the Kent. Rice under weight, 0 hundredweight, 2 quarters, 0 pounds Paddy under weight, 0 hundredweight, 3 quarters, 0 pounds Sugar under weight, 0 hundredweight, 3 quarters, 3 pounds Candles under weight, 0 hundredweight, 0 quarters, 3 pounds Arrack leaguer 1, capacity by gauge 150 gallons, 6 gallons short of full Arrack leaguer 2, capacity by gauge 145 gallons, 9 gallons short of full Arrack, capacity of both leaguers 295 gallons, 15 gallons short of full Arrack received, 280 gallons J. Powell, the storekeeper, signed the report at St Helena on 23 June 1766. Interpretations The two Bengal ships carried identical invoices, entered on 2 June 1766 and 16 June 1766, and each charged two leaguers of arrack at 130 Arcot rupees a leaguer. The storekeeper's gauge shows the island did not receive equal value. The Grenville's casks held 160 and 163 gallons and delivered 311 gallons, as reported on 9 June 1766. The Kent's held 150 and 145 and delivered 280. A leaguer was a cask and not a fixed measure, so a price by the cask left the buyer to bear the difference. St Helena paid the same sum for 31 fewer gallons. Only the gauging on arrival revealed it, which was the purpose of recording capacity as well as contents. The dry goods ran the other way. The Kent's sugar was 87 pounds light against 235 pounds from the Grenville, and her rice 56 pounds against 168. Both consignments were packed in the same gunny bags at the same warehouse. The difference therefore lay in the voyage or the stowage, and the Kent kept her cargo drier or better guarded. The passengers were a party returning from Bengal. Four army captains travelled with a serjeant and a private, beside three gentlemen, a wife and two children. The roll named the two white servants and gave them that description. The Grenville's list of 7 June 1766 counted white servants without names and left the black children wholly unnamed. The Kent carried no black servants among her passengers, and her clerk had no such group to pass over. Lascars on this ship numbered about nine against some two dozen in the Grenville, and two were entered as John and Tom. English names given to Indian seamen suggest men long in the service of European ships. | |
49 | 1766 John Allis Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison having served the Honble. Company his Contracted Time. Granted. Bought on Account of the Honorable Company of Captain John Mills 160 C. 56 lb of Rice, for which we paid him nine Shillings p hundred, amounting to £72. 5. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | John Allis, a private soldier, asked on 23 June 1766 to be released from the garrison because his agreed term of service with the Company was complete. The Council agreed. The Council bought 160 hundredweight, 2 quarters and 6 pounds of rice from Captain John Mills on the Company's behalf. The price was £0 9s 0d a hundredweight, and the purchase came to £72 5s 0d. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Council changed the basis of the bargain between one rice purchase and the next. It bought 69 bags from Captain Fenner on 9 June 1766 at £0 13s 6d a bag, with the weight given only as a round 83 hundredweight. The rice from Captain Mills was bought by weight to the pound, at a rate for each hundredweight. The storekeeper's reports explain the shift. Bagged goods from Bengal came up short on the scale on 9 June 1766 and again on 23 June 1766. A price by the bag made the buyer carry any shortfall. A price by weight meant the Company paid only for what the storekeeper actually weighed in. The rate also fell. Fenner's price worked out at a little over £0 11s 0d a hundredweight on his stated weight. Mills took £0 9s 0d. He commanded the Kent, the last of the two Bengal ships to arrive, and he sold into a store that Fenner's rice and the Company's own consignments had already filled. He had to take the lower price or carry the rice on to England. The purchase was nearly twice the size of Fenner's and brought the island's rice from private sellers that month to well over 240 hundredweight. The official invoices from Bengal and Bombay supplied far less. The Council drew most of its grain from commanders' private trade and used the Company's consignments as a supplement. Allis was the seventh soldier discharged at the end of his term since 3 May 1766. | |
50 | 30th. June At a Consultation held on Monday the 30th. day of June 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 23d. June 1766. Yesterday died John Hawkswood Soldier Joseph Chamberlain Carpenters Mate this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governr. of the Island St. Helena &ca. in Council The humble Petition of Jo: Chamberlain Carpenters Mate Sheweth That your Petitioner has served the Honble. Company for the space of Ten years, and from Hardships he now finds in the Execution of his employment, being obliged to give continual attendance, not only working days, but even on the Sabbath some times, he is obliged to apply to your Worships for leave to quit the Service, as it deprives him of effectual Means sufficiently to provide for a growing family Your Petitioner takes the Liberty of acquainting your Worships with his Intentions that another may be provided to fill his place, when it will be thought proper to allow him his discharge; and even then your Petitioner will be always ready to Act in perfect Obedience to your Worships and Councils Commands May it therefore please your Worship and Council to take his case into Consideration, and he will, as in duty bound ever pray &ca. Granted | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 30 June 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 23 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. John Hawkswood, a soldier, died on 29 June 1766. Joseph Chamberlain, the carpenter's mate, presented a petition to the Governor in Council that day. He had worked for the Company for ten years. His post now demanded constant attendance on every working day and sometimes on Sundays as well. That burden left him unable to earn enough to support a growing family, and it forced him to ask for permission to leave the service. Chamberlain explained that he gave notice of his intention so that a replacement could be found. He would take his discharge whenever the Council judged the moment right. He promised to remain ready to obey the Council's orders even after he left. The Council agreed to his request. Interpretations Chamberlain's complaint was about lost earnings and not about the work itself. A Company craftsman drew a fixed wage and owed the whole of his time in return. The petition says that constant attendance deprived him of the means to provide for his family, which only makes sense if his income depended on something besides the wage. A carpenter on the island could take private jobs from planters and ships in his free hours. The Council itself agreed on 5 May 1766 to pay £0 2s 0d and sixpence a day with food for skilled stonelayers hired from outside. Ten years of service had taught Chamberlain that his skill was worth more on his own account than the Company paid him for it. He could not simply resign. The soldiers discharged since 3 May 1766 each claimed release as of right at the end of a fixed term. Chamberlain had no such term to plead and framed his request as a favour, timed to suit the Company. His offer to wait for a replacement and to stay at the Council's command afterwards was the price of consent. It let the Council grant the petition without losing his services at once. The Council's agreement ran against its own needs. Captain Mitchell reported on 26 May 1766 that the island was short of building craftsmen and asked London to send more among the next recruits. Refusing Chamberlain would have kept a trained man at Company rates. The Council let him go on his own terms. Holding an unwilling craftsman with a family on the island gained little, and a free carpenter who remained there could still be hired when the works required him. | |
51 | 1766 Miss. Temperance Swaits this day applied to Us to have an Instrument in writing Registered. Granted. Henry Standford Soldier applied to Us to desire we would accept of Thomas Killock to serve the remainder of his contracted time, being three Years and nine Months, in consideration of his having paid him four pounds, and that he Standford might have his Discharge whenever he required it Granted. James Proctor and John Wibord Centinels, this day applied to Us for their discharges from the Garrison, having served the Honorable Company their Contracted times, Granted. We this day Inlisted Joseph Martin to serve the Honble. Company as a Soldier for five Years, and gave him two pounds Bounty Money to buy him Cloaths &ca. John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Miss Temperance Swaits asked the Council on 30 June 1766 to register a written legal document. The Council agreed. Henry Standford, a soldier, asked the Council to accept Thomas Killock in his place. Standford had three years and nine months of his agreed term still to serve, and he paid Killock £4 0s 0d to serve them for him. He also asked to be free to take his discharge whenever he wanted it. The Council agreed. James Proctor and John Wiburd, private soldiers, asked that day to be released from the garrison. Each had completed the term of service agreed with the Company. The Council agreed. Joseph Martin enlisted that day as a soldier in the Company's service for five years. The Council paid him a bounty of £5 0s 0d to buy clothing and other necessaries. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Standford bought his way out of the garrison by private bargain. A soldier's contract bound him for a fixed term, and the nine men discharged since 3 May 1766 all waited until theirs ran out. Standford found a substitute and paid him directly. The Council's part was only to accept the new man, and it had every reason to do so. It gained a soldier for three years and nine months without paying the £5 0s 0d bounty it gave Joseph Martin the same day. Standford's £4 0s 0d shows what a place in the ranks was worth between the men themselves, a little under the Company's own price for a full five years. The arrangement required the Council's consent because the contract was with the Company and not transferable at will. The Council judged whether Killock was fit to serve. The freedom Standford asked for, to leave whenever he chose, suggests he had no ship or employment yet arranged and wanted his release held ready. Registration gave a private document public standing. The island had no notaries or separate land registry, so a deed, bond or settlement was secured by having the Council enter it in the Company's books. An entry there fixed the date and terms beyond later dispute and could be produced in evidence. The minute did not say what Miss Swaits's document contained. An unmarried woman acting in her own name could hold and convey property, and registration protected her title. Proctor and Wiburd brought the discharges since 3 May 1766 to nine. Martin was the third recruit enlisted in that time, and Killock a fourth man gained by substitution. The death of John Hawkswood on 29 June 1766 added a further loss. | |
52 | 7th. July At a Consultation held on Monday the 7th. Day of July 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 30th. June 1766 Tuesday the 1st. Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ship Kent for England Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship True Briton to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship True Briton Thos. Crichton Commandr. Willm. Richard 1st. Mate Geo Paul 2d. Do. John Johnson 3d. Do. Hirlt. Mills 4th. Do. Geo: Allen 5th. Do. Thos. Carrick Surgeon Owen Tod Do. Mate Thos. Stone Purser Saml. Crocker Gunnr. John Davis Do. Mate James Wakefield Carpr. Richd. Lowe Do. Mte James Brown Boats Edward Cunningham Stewd. Hugh Mc. Phelson Capts Do. Wm. Masenbela Midshp. Archibald Turnbull Do. John Everhard Do. Thoms. Strong Do. Gavin Whit Do. Davd. Tod Quartermast. David Organe Do. John Thompson Do. John Bridges Quarterms. Thos. Ranson Do. Dunc. Mc. Alphin Cooper Robert Scott Do. Mte. Joseph Grimes Ships Cook Wm. Uantridge Capts. Do. Rich Green Do. Do. John Joyce Caulker Abrah Martin Do. Mte Wm. Martin Butcher Joseph Dawson Poultr. Edwd. Potter Sailmakr. Wm. Smith Seaman Wm. Pitman Alexr. Battery John Hillhouse Wm. Chamers John Strickland Edwd. Coulthurst Alexr. Robinson Wm. Elliot Andw. Seal John Linbury Simpson Greaves Thos. Brown Seaman Geo Crawford Saml. Bean Wm. Dean James Donaldson Andw. Scott John Brown Henry Corrander Andw. Mallen John Robinson Daniel Robinson Charles Watson Walter Brown John Cleghorn James Henderson Wm. Hem John Young John Cummings John Miller Patrick Conhorn John Dewer Ebenr. Carshore Fredk. Marshall Thos. Hadman | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 7 July 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 30 June 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Kent left for England on Tuesday 1 July 1766. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the True Briton to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Her crew list began as follows. Thomas Crichton, commander William Richard, chief mate George Paul, second mate John Johnson, third mate [...] Mills, fourth mate George Allen, fifth mate Thomas Carrick, surgeon Gavin Tod, surgeon's mate Thomas Stone, purser Samuel Crosden, gunner John Davis, gunner's mate James Wakefield, carpenter Richard Lyons, carpenter's mate James Brown, boatswain Edward Cunningham, ship's steward Hugh McPhelon, captain's steward William Masenbila, midshipman Archibald Turnbull, midshipman John Everhart, midshipman Thomas Strong, midshipman Gavin West, midshipman David Tod, quartermaster David Orjane, quartermaster John Thompson, quartermaster John Bridges, quartermaster Thomas Ranson, quartermaster Duncan McAlpin, cooper Robert Scott, cooper's mate Joseph Grimes, ship's cook William Uptridge, captain's cook Richard Green, captain's cook John Joyce, caulker Abraham Martin, caulker's mate William Martin, butcher Joseph Dawson, poulterer Edward Potter, sailmaker William Smith, seaman William Gibman, seaman Alexander Battery, seaman John Hillhouse, seaman William Chamers, seaman John Strickland, seaman Edward Coulthurst, seaman Alexander Robinson, seaman William Elliot, seaman Andrew Seal, seaman John Linbury, seaman Simpson Greaves, seaman Thomas Brown, seaman George Crawford, seaman Samuel Bean, seaman William Dean, seaman James Donaldson, seaman Andrew Scott, seaman John Brown, seaman Henry Coryander, seaman Andrew Mallen, seaman John Robinson, seaman Daniel Robinson, seaman Charles Watson, seaman Walter Brown, seaman John Cleghorn, seaman James Henderson, seaman William Horn, seaman John Young, seaman John Cummings, seaman John Miller, seaman Patrick Conhorn, seaman John Dower, seaman Ebenezer Erskine, seaman Frederick Marshall, seaman Thomas Hadman, seaman | |
53 | 1766 James Henderson Seaman Chas. Forsythe Jacob Lilliquest Geo. Brown Danl. Smith Wm. Suit Joseph Coleman James Gordon Alexr. Moor John Fisher Thos. Downey James Christie Seaman Edward Mitchel Andw. Ames Humpy. Davis Danl. Daily John Peterson Francis Wright Geo: Flow Landsman James Cunningham Do. Geo. Hale Do. Thos. Bolway Do. Lewis Constable Landsm John Lloyd Do. Thos. Hunt Do. John Gay Carp Servt. Rich Sullivan Do. John Haders Chief Mte Do. John Gordon 2d. Do. Do. Wm. Weston Gunnr. Do. Jas. Collins Carpenters Do. Antonio Surgeons Do. Robt. Smith Boats. Do. (Signed) Thoms. Critchton The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from the Ship True Briton vizt. Account of Stores Short received from Ship True Briton vizt. C, qrs., lb Rice Short Weight: C 3, qrs. 1, lb 11 Paddy received: C 41, qrs. 2, lb 13 St. Helena 7th. July 1766 (Signed) Jas. Powell Storekeeper James Goudy this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipl. John Skottowe Esqr. Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena The humble Petition of James Goudy Sheweth That a House of Entertainment with a Billiard Table has been fitted up for the reception and Amusement of the Gentlemen of the Island, and for those in the Honble. Company's Ships upon which your Petitioner is now ready to Enter. | The crew list of the True Briton closed in 1766 with these names. James Henderson, seaman Charles Thorpe, seaman Jacob Lilliquest, seaman George Brown, seaman Daniel Smith, seaman William Suit, seaman Joseph Coleman, seaman James Gordon, seaman Alexander Moor, seaman John Fisher, seaman Thomas Downey, seaman James Christie, seaman Edward Mitchell, seaman Andrew Ames, seaman Humphrey Davis, seaman Daniel Daily, seaman John Peterson, seaman Francis Wright, seaman George Stow, landsman James Cunningham, landsman George Hale, landsman Thomas Bolway, landsman Lewis Constable, landsman John Lloyd, landsman Thomas Hunt, landsman John Gay, captain's servant Richard Sullivan, captain's servant John Hadere, chief mate's servant John Gordon, second mate's servant William Weston, gunner's servant James Collins, carpenter's servant Antonio, surgeon's servant Robert Smith, boatswain's servant Thomas Crichton signed the roll. The storekeeper reported to the Council that day on the grain landed by the True Briton. Rice under weight, 3 hundredweight, 1 quarter, 11 pounds Paddy received, 41 hundredweight, 2 quarters, 13 pounds J. Powell, the storekeeper, signed the report at St Helena on 7 July 1766. James Goudy presented a petition to Governor Skottowe and the Council the same day. A house of entertainment with a billiard table stood fitted out for the reception and amusement of the island's gentlemen and those of the Company's ships. Goudy was ready to take it over. Interpretations A landsman was a hand with no sea experience, rated and paid below a seaman and put to hauling and other unskilled work on deck. The True Briton carried seven, the only ship of the season to list any. She came from Bombay, and a commander short of sailors there filled his numbers with whatever men he could engage on shore. The Bengal ships solved the same problem with lascars, as the rolls of 7 June 1766 and 23 June 1766 show. The storekeeper treated the two Bombay grains differently. The rice was invoiced on 23 June 1766 at 150 Surat maunds, a weight he could convert, so he reported how far it fell short. The batty was invoiced in a local measure of volume. He therefore stated only what arrived, 41 hundredweight, 2 quarters and 13 pounds, and offered no shortage. A cargo sold by measure and received by weight could not be checked against its invoice, and the Company had to take the Bombay quantity on trust. The rice shortage was the heaviest of the season, well over three hundredweight on a consignment of 22 bags. The Bengal ships lost 168 pounds and 56 pounds on 30 bags each. Bombay rice travelled in gunny bags sewn up by hired labourers, as its invoice records, and it fared worst of all. Goudy's house served a particular clientele. The petition named the gentlemen of the island and of the ships, meaning officers, supercargoes and passengers with money to spend during a call. Fourteen ships anchored between April 1766 and June 1766, each for a week or two. A billiard room near the landing place had a steady trade from men ashore with nothing to do. | |
54 | 7th. July He therefore prays that the Worshipful the Governr. and Council will grant him a Licence for the opening and keeping the same under such regulations and restrictions as they shall Judge Proper. And your Petitioner shall ever pray &ca 7th. July 1766 Refered the above Petition to a further Conside ration. On the 1st. Instant We Inlisted Reives Orborn, Mannard Hayes and John Hinds, to serve the Honble. Company as Soldiers for five Years, and gave the two former two pounds ten Shillings each and Hinds five pounds to buy them Cloaths &ca. Bought on Account of the Honorable Company of Captain Critchton seven hundred and eighty Pieces of Salt Meat for which we paid him two Shillings p Piece, amounting to seventy eight pounds. Captain John Howard this day applied to Us to pay two hundred and forty pounds into the Honble. Compys. Cash which Sum we have received and given him Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors payable to Capt. Nathaniel Tanner (or Order) ninety days after sight John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | Goudy's petition, dated 7 July 1766, asked the Governor and Council for a licence to open and run the house. He offered to accept whatever rules and limits they thought fit to impose. The Council put the petition aside for further consideration. Three men enlisted on 1 July 1766 as soldiers in the Company's service for five years. They were Reives Orlman, Mannard Hayes and John Hinds. Orlman and Hayes each received £2 10s 0d to buy clothing and other necessaries, and Hinds received £5 0s 0d. The Council bought 780 pieces of salt meat from Captain Crichton on the Company's behalf. The price was £0 2s 0d a piece, and the purchase came to £78 0s 0d. Captain John Howard asked the Council that day to accept £240 0s 0d into the Company's cash. The Council took the money and gave him bills of exchange on the Court of Directors. They were payable to Captain Nathaniel Tanner or whoever he named, 90 days after being presented. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Council neither granted nor refused the licence. Goudy had made consent easy. The house was already fitted out, and he invited regulation in advance. The Council still held back. A billiard room that sold drink to ships' officers and island gentlemen was a place for gaming and debt in a garrison town, and its hours and customers touched public order. Deferral let the members settle the conditions among themselves before committing the government's authority to it. The petition also shows that no such house could open without leave. Trade in entertainment, like the occupation of land, existed on the island only by licence of the Governor and Council. Two of the three recruits received half the usual bounty. Every man enlisted since 23 May 1766 had £5 0s 0d, and Hinds had it here. Orlman and Hayes took £2 10s 0d each. They enlisted on 1 July 1766, the day the Kent sailed, and were perhaps the two seamen entered next to one another near the end of her roll on 23 June 1766. A sailor leaving his ship brought his sea clothing with him and had wages to draw, so the Council perhaps judged that he needed less to fit himself out. The lower sum may also reflect a weaker bargaining position. A man who wanted to stay ashore when his ship left had to take what was offered. This was the fourth purchase of salt meat from a homeward commander, again at £0 2s 0d a piece. Crichton commanded the True Briton from Bombay. The Council had now bought from ships of all three eastern stations: 393 pieces on 23 May 1766, 861 on 2 June 1766, 1,454 on 9 June 1766 and 780 here. Howard's bill was payable to Captain Tanner of the Royal Captain, who left for England on 12 June 1766. Tanner was nearly a month gone when the money was paid in. Howard was therefore settling a debt to a man he could no longer reach in person. The bill would follow Tanner home on a later ship and be paid to him in London. | |
55 | 14th. July At a Consultation held on Monday the 14th. Day of July 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 7th. July 1766 Monday the 7th. Arrived the Grosveners Boat at Banks's at half an Hour past ten o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honble. Compys. Ship Grosvener from Bencoolen Do. Do. A Dane Ship from Bengall called the Countess, Moltke Capt. Samson, burthen four hundred Tons carrys eighteen Guns & seventy five Men loaden with Bengall Goods, bound Copenhagen Tuesday the 8 Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ship True Briton for England Wednesday the 9th. Arrived the Tilburys Boat at Banks's at ten o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honble. Compys. Ship Tilbury from China Do. Do. A Dutch Ship from Batavia called the [Nighinghuys] Capt. Van Brattam burthen seven hundred Tons, carrys twenty eight Guns, and one hundred Men, loaden with Sugar, and Pepper, bound to Amsterdam Thursday the 10th. Died Margaret Daughter of Mr. Jonathan Doveton Factor Saturday the 12th. Do. John Hayes Planter The Ship Tilbury brought Us the following Supplys vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 14 July 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 7 July 1766 were read, approved and signed. A boat from the Grosvenor reached Banks's at 10.30 on the morning of Monday 7 July 1766. The Company's ship Grosvenor herself arrived from Bencoolen later that day. A Danish ship from Bengal, the Countess Moltke under Captain Jansen, came in the same day. She was a vessel of 400 tons with 18 guns and 75 men. Her cargo was Bengal goods, and she was bound for Copenhagen. The Company's ship True Briton left for England on Tuesday 8 July 1766. A boat from the Tilbury reached Banks's at ten in the morning on Wednesday 9 July 1766, and the Company's ship Tilbury followed from China. A Dutch ship from Batavia, the Nigh[...] under Captain Van Brattam, arrived the same day. She was a vessel of 700 tons with 28 guns and 100 men. Her cargo was sugar and pepper, and she was bound for Amsterdam. Margaret, daughter of the factor Jonathan Doveton, died on Thursday 10 July 1766. John Hayes, a planter, died on Saturday 12 July 1766. The Tilbury delivered supplies to the island. Interpretations The entry identifies Jonathan Doveton, who bought a bill of exchange for £179 2s 0d on 9 June 1766. He was a factor, one of the Company's own salaried merchants on the island, ranking below the members of the Council. His bill was payable to Captain Marter of the Horsenden. A Company servant was thus buying privately from a commander's trade goods and settling through the Company's treasury, the same channel the captains used. Bencoolen was the Company's settlement on the west coast of Sumatra, kept for the pepper trade. The Grosvenor was the first ship of the season from there. With her arrival the island had received Company ships from China, Bengal, Bombay and Sumatra within three months. The Dutch ship was the first of her nation recorded that season, and her cargo marked the difference between the two companies. English and Swedish ships from China carried tea, chinaware and silk. The Dutch ship carried sugar and pepper from Java, the produce of territory the Dutch company ruled and did not merely trade with. The Council logged her guns and crew as it did for the Swedish, Danish and French visitors. Ships of four foreign nations had now anchored under the island's batteries since April 1766. | |
56 | 14th. July Invoice of Ship Tilbury Sugar 75 @ 83 No., Tare, Gross 75: Tare 28, Gross 294 76: Tare 27, Gross 316 77: Tare 27, Gross 303 78: Tare 24, Gross 312 79: Tare 27, Gross 301 80: Tare 27, Gross 311 81: Tare 25, Gross 300 82: Tare 26, Gross 326 83: Tare 26, Gross 311 9 Chests: Tare 237, Gross 2779 Gross 237 Tare 2542 Nett is Pecl. 19. 6 Catty at T. m. 4. 5 p Pecl. 85.770 No. 95. Bohea One Chest 189 Gross 41 Tare 148 Nett is Pecl. 1. 11 Catty @ Tas. 19. p Do. 21.090 105 One Chest Congo 100 Gross 21 Tare 79 Nett is 59 Catty @ T 28 p Do. 16.520 114 One Chest Singlo 81 Gross 19 Tare 62 Nett is 46 Catty @ T 26. p Do. 11.960 Tales 135.340 Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Fitzhugh Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Thomas Smith Wm. Rous Thos. Bevan The Plantation Account for the Quarter, and the Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of June last were this day brought in, which were examined and approved, and are as follow vizt. | The invoice for the goods carried by the Tilbury was entered under 14 July 1766. It opened with nine chests of sugar, numbered 75 to 83. Sugar chest 75, tare 28 pounds, gross 294 pounds Sugar chest 76, tare 27 pounds, gross 316 pounds Sugar chest 77, tare 27 pounds, gross 303 pounds Sugar chest 78, tare 24 pounds, gross 312 pounds Sugar chest 79, tare 27 pounds, gross 301 pounds Sugar chest 80, tare 27 pounds, gross 311 pounds Sugar chest 81, tare 25 pounds, gross 300 pounds Sugar chest 82, tare 26 pounds, gross 326 pounds Sugar chest 83, tare 26 pounds, gross 311 pounds Sugar, 9 chests, tare 237 pounds, gross 2,779 pounds Sugar, net 2,542 pounds or 19 peculs 6 catties at 4 taels 5 mace a pecul, 85 taels, 7 mace, 7 candareens, 0 cash Three single chests of tea followed. Bohea chest 95, gross 189 pounds, tare 41 pounds Bohea, net 148 pounds or 1 pecul 11 catties at 19 taels a pecul, 21 taels, 0 mace, 9 candareens, 0 cash Congo chest 105, gross 100 pounds, tare 21 pounds Congo, net 79 pounds or 59 catties at 28 taels a pecul, 16 taels, 5 mace, 2 candareens, 0 cash Singlo chest 114, gross 81 pounds, tare 19 pounds Singlo, net 62 pounds or 46 catties at 26 taels a pecul, 11 taels, 9 mace, 6 candareens, 0 cash Total, 135 taels, 3 mace, 4 candareens, 0 cash The invoice was issued subject to correction of errors. Seven signatures appeared on it. Thomas Fitzhugh Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Thomas Smith William Rous Thomas Bevan The plantation account for the quarter came before the Council that day, together with the gunner's and steward's accounts for June 1766. The Council examined and approved them. Interpretations The chest numbers show that the Canton merchants packed the island's whole order as one numbered run and then shared it out among the ships. The sugar ran from chest 10 upward. The York took 10 to 16, the Essex 31 to 37, the Ankerwyke 38 to 44, the Thames 45 to 51, the Horsenden 59 to 66, the Royal Captain 67 to 74 and the Tilbury 75 to 83. The tea followed the same plan, with the Bohea numbered in the nineties, the Congo just over a hundred and the Singlo above that. Each ship drew the next block as she loaded. The run had gaps. No invoice in these minutes covered sugar chests 1 to 9, 17 to 30 or 52 to 58. Those 30 chests were perhaps loaded on ships that had not yet reached the island, or on ships that sailed home without calling. The numbering gave the Council a means of knowing that part of its order was still at sea, and of claiming it when the later ships came in. The allotment grew as the season went on. The four invoices of 27 January 1766 carried seven chests of sugar each and the two of 31 January 1766 carried eight. The Tilbury, the last to arrive, carried nine. The Canton merchants loaded more of the island's goods on each later ship, perhaps because the ships that sailed last had more room left once their tea was stowed. | |
57 | Account of the Honble. Compys. Stock of Neat Cattle &ca from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Neat Cattle Bulls, Neat Cattle Cows, Neat Cattle Calves, Neat Cattle Yearlings, Neat Cattle Heifers, Neat Cattle Steers, Neat Cattle Oxen, Neat Cattle Total, Sheep Ewes, Sheep Weathers, Sheep Lambs, Sheep Rams, Sheep Total, Goats Ewes, Goats Weathers, Goats Kids, Goats Rams, Goats Total, Hogs Sows, Hogs Shoats, Hogs Pigs, Hogs Boars, Hogs Total, Horses Horses, Horses Mares, Horses Total, Asses He Asses, Asses She Asses, Asses Total, Poultry Fowls, Poultry Ducks, Poultry Turkeys, Poultry Geese Remaing. 1st.: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 82, Neat Cattle Calves 26, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 18, Neat Cattle Steers 19, Neat Cattle Oxen 20, Neat Cattle Total 238, Sheep Ewes 335, Sheep Weathers 105, Sheep Lambs 31, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 481, Goats Ewes 81, Goats Weathers 21, Goats Kids 22, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 128, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 4, Horses Mares 5, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 30, Poultry Ducks 16, Poultry Turkeys 17, Poultry Geese 7 Encreased: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 0, Neat Cattle Calves 19, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 19, Sheep Ewes 0, Sheep Weathers 0, Sheep Lambs 163, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 163, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 0, Goats Kids 35, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 35, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 12, Poultry Ducks 2, Poultry Turkeys 0, Poultry Geese 0 Total: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 82, Neat Cattle Calves 45, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 18, Neat Cattle Steers 19, Neat Cattle Oxen 20, Neat Cattle Total 257, Sheep Ewes 335, Sheep Weathers 105, Sheep Lambs 194, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 644, Goats Ewes 81, Goats Weathers 21, Goats Kids 57, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 163, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 4, Horses Mares 5, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 42, Poultry Ducks 18, Poultry Turkeys 17, Poultry Geese 7 Killed: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 5, Neat Cattle Calves 1, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 3, Neat Cattle Steers 16, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 25, Sheep Ewes 3, Sheep Weathers 35, Sheep Lambs 5, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 43, Goats Ewes 2, Goats Weathers 3, Goats Kids 6, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 11, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 18, Poultry Ducks 10, Poultry Turkeys 1, Poultry Geese 3 Dead: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 0, Neat Cattle Calves 0, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 0, Sheep Ewes 2, Sheep Weathers 1, Sheep Lambs 0, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 3, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 2, Goats Kids 0, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 2, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 0, Poultry Ducks 4, Poultry Turkeys 4, Poultry Geese 0 Remaing. 30: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 77, Neat Cattle Calves 44, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 15, Neat Cattle Steers 3, Neat Cattle Oxen 20, Neat Cattle Total 232, Sheep Ewes 330, Sheep Weathers 69, Sheep Lambs 189, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 598, Goats Ewes 79, Goats Weathers 16, Goats Kids 51, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 150, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 4, Horses Mares 5, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 24, Poultry Ducks 4, Poultry Turkeys 12, Poultry Geese 4 Deceased Slaves 27th. April 1 Man Named Mercuse 7th. May 1 Woman Do. Abigal 17th. Do. 1 Man Do. Quick 28 Do. 1 Do. Do. Dutton 2 June 1 Do. Do. Nicklo Slaves Born 10 May 1 Boy named Harry 13 Do. 1 Do. Do. Robert Yam Expended for the Stock 2700 lb Bought from Mr. Alexander 9550 Do. from Mr. Seal 10.700 Total 22.950 Errors Excepted (Signed) Dan Corneille Margin Notes: 1766 | Lieutenant Governor Corneille's plantation account covered the Company's livestock from 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766. The neat cattle were counted first. Neat cattle on 1 April 1766: 3 bulls, 82 cows, 26 calves, 70 yearlings, 18 heifers, 19 steers, 20 oxen, 238 in total Neat cattle born: 0 bulls, 0 cows, 19 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, 19 in total Neat cattle with births added: 3 bulls, 82 cows, 45 calves, 70 yearlings, 18 heifers, 19 steers, 20 oxen, 257 in total Neat cattle slaughtered: 0 bulls, 5 cows, 1 calf, 0 yearlings, 3 heifers, 16 steers, 0 oxen, 25 in total Neat cattle died: 0 bulls, 0 cows, 0 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, 0 in total Neat cattle on 30 June 1766: 3 bulls, 77 cows, 44 calves, 70 yearlings, 15 heifers, 3 steers, 20 oxen, 232 in total The sheep followed. Sheep on 1 April 1766: 335 ewes, 105 wethers, 31 lambs, 10 rams, 481 in total Sheep born: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 163 lambs, 0 rams, 163 in total Sheep with births added: 335 ewes, 105 wethers, 194 lambs, 10 rams, 644 in total Sheep slaughtered: 3 ewes, 35 wethers, 5 lambs, 0 rams, 43 in total Sheep died: 2 ewes, 1 wether, 0 lambs, 0 rams, 3 in total Sheep on 30 June 1766: 330 ewes, 69 wethers, 189 lambs, 10 rams, 598 in total The goats came next. Goats on 1 April 1766: 81 ewes, 21 wethers, 22 kids, 4 rams, 128 in total Goats born: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 35 kids, 0 rams, 35 in total Goats with births added: 81 ewes, 21 wethers, 57 kids, 4 rams, 163 in total Goats slaughtered: 2 ewes, 3 wethers, 6 kids, 0 rams, 11 in total Goats died: 2 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, 2 in total Goats on 30 June 1766: 79 ewes, 16 wethers, 51 kids, 4 rams, 150 in total The hogs, horses and asses did not change during the quarter. Hogs on 1 April 1766: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 2 in total Hogs born, slaughtered or died: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 0 in total Hogs on 30 June 1766: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, 2 in total Horses on 1 April 1766: 4 horses, 5 mares, 9 in total Horses born, slaughtered or died: 0 horses, 0 mares, 0 in total Horses on 30 June 1766: 4 horses, 5 mares, 9 in total Asses on 1 April 1766: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 in total Asses born, slaughtered or died: 0 male asses, 0 female asses, 0 in total Asses on 30 June 1766: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 in total The poultry closed the table. Poultry on 1 April 1766: 30 fowls, 16 ducks, 17 turkeys, 7 geese Poultry hatched: 12 fowls, 2 ducks, 0 turkeys, 0 geese Poultry with hatchings added: 42 fowls, 18 ducks, 17 turkeys, 7 geese Poultry slaughtered: 18 fowls, 10 ducks, 1 turkey, 3 geese Poultry died: 0 fowls, 4 ducks, 4 turkeys, 0 geese Poultry on 30 June 1766: 24 fowls, 4 ducks, 12 turkeys, 4 geese Five of the Company's slaves died during the quarter. Mercuse, a man, died 27 April 1766 Abigal, a woman, died 7 May 1766 Quick, a man, died 17 May 1766 Dutton, a man, died 28 May 1766 Nicklo, a man, died 2 June 1766 Two slaves were born. Harry, a boy, born 10 May 1766 Robert, a boy, born 13 May 1766 The account ended with the yams. Yams fed to the livestock, 2,700 pounds Yams bought from Mr Alexander, 9,550 pounds Yams bought from Mr Seal, 10,700 pounds Total, 22,950 pounds The account was issued subject to correction of errors. Daniel Corneille signed it. Interpretations The slaughter figures show that Corneille kept almost exactly to the limit he set in his letter of 30 April 1766. He then counted 15 head left for the ships and offered five milk cows and four young animals more, 24 in all. The quarter's kill was 25. It took 16 of the 19 steers, five cows, three heifers and a calf. The five cows match his offer precisely, and the three heifers and one calf are the four young cattle. The steers were the animals raised for beef, and only three remained on 30 June 1766. The herd had no more slaughter stock until the 70 yearlings grew, which is why the Council cut the ships' allowance on 3 May 1766 and bought salt meat from four commanders. The herd as a whole barely shrank, from 238 to 232. Nineteen calves were born, and the breeding stock of 77 cows was left nearly intact. Corneille protected the herd's capacity to recover at the cost of that season's beef. The sheep did better. A lambing of 163 raised the flock from 481 to 598 even after 43 were killed, and those wethers supplied the mutton that dominated the Company's table in April 1766 and May 1766. Neat cattle meant cattle of the ox kind. A steer was a castrated male raised for meat, an ox a grown one kept for draught, and a heifer a young cow that had not calved. A wether was a castrated ram or goat, and a shoat a young pig just weaned. The slaves were entered on the livestock account. Their deaths and births followed the poultry and came before the yams, set out in the same form of loss and increase as the animals. The Company's plantation slaves were stock belonging to the plantation in its books, and Corneille answered for them in the same return. The quarter's record was severe. Five adults died in five weeks, four of them men of working age, and two infants were born. Yams were the staple food of the plantation. The Company bought 20,250 pounds from two planters, of whom Mr Alexander was also the owner of a slave stonelayer hired on 5 May 1766. Only 2,700 pounds went to the animals. The rest was perhaps the ration of the Company's slaves, who were fed chiefly on yams grown by the island's planters and bought in bulk. | |
58 | 14th. July Artillery Stores Expended in June 1766 Guns Fired, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended lb 4th. Departed a French Ship: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Fired in Honor of his Majestys Birth-day: Guns Fired 21, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 17, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 24. 8 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 5th. Arrived a Swedish Ship: Guns Fired 8, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 8, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 8 6 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the Royal Captain: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 9th. Departed the Horsendon: Guns Fired 11, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 11, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 11 10th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 11th. Arrived the Kent: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Departed the Grenville: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 12th. Departed the Royal Captain: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Departed a Swedish Ship: Guns Fired 16, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 12, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 19. 8 21st. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12 Arrived the True Britton: Guns Fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9 Powder Issued for Blowing Stones at S. Bay: Guns Fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 300 Do. for Priming and other Services: Guns Fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 34. 12 Total: Guns Fired 134, 4 lb 14, 3 lb 10, 2 lb 102, 1 lb 8, Powder Expended lb 499. 12 Paper for making Cartridges for the Compys. Work &ca. 9 Qrs. Tallow Expended this Month 17 lb Beds for 9 lb. broke on the Line 1 Able Fuses for the Compys. Works 4 Match Expended 6 lb. Spunge Staves Do. 5 Handspikes Do. 2 Trunk Nails for Coatg. Spunges 250 Signed E Mitchell | The artillery account for June 1766 was entered under 14 July 1766. It recorded the guns fired, their division among four classes headed 4, 3, 2 and 1 pounds and the powder spent. Departure of a French ship on 4 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Salute for the King's birthday on 4 June 1766, 21 guns fired, 3 guns of 4 pounds, 1 gun of 3 pounds, 17 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 24 pounds 8 ounces of powder Alarm on 4 June 1766, 6 guns fired, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of a Swedish ship on 5 June 1766, 8 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 8 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 8 pounds of powder Alarm on 6 June 1766, 6 guns fired, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Royal Captain on 6 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of the Horsenden on 9 June 1766, 11 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 11 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 11 pounds of powder Alarm on 10 June 1766, 6 guns fired, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Kent on 11 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of the Grenville on 11 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of the Royal Captain on 12 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Departure of a Swedish ship on 12 June 1766, 16 guns fired, 3 guns of 4 pounds, 1 gun of 3 pounds, 12 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 19 pounds 8 ounces of powder Alarm on 21 June 1766, 6 guns fired, 2 guns of 4 pounds, 2 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 2 guns of 1 pound, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the True Briton on 21 June 1766, 9 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 9 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 9 pounds of powder Powder issued for blasting stone at Sandy Bay, 0 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 300 pounds of powder Powder for priming and other uses, 0 guns fired, 0 guns of 4 pounds, 0 guns of 3 pounds, 0 guns of 2 pounds, 0 guns of 1 pound, 34 pounds 12 ounces of powder Total, 134 guns fired, 14 guns of 4 pounds, 10 guns of 3 pounds, 103 guns of 2 pounds, 8 guns of 1 pound, 499 pounds 12 ounces of powder Other artillery stores were used up in the month. Paper for making cartridges for the Company's works and other purposes, 8 quires Tallow used during the month, 17 pounds Bed for a gun of 9 pounds, broken on the Line, 1 bed Axle trees for the Company's works, 4 axle trees Slow match used, 6 pounds Sponge staves used, 5 staves Handspikes used, 2 handspikes Trunk nails for covering sponges, 250 nails Mitchell signed the account. The account of sundries followed. Interpretations Gunfire fell by nearly half against May 1766, from 236 rounds to 134, as the shipping season thinned. Seven ships arrived or left under salute where May 1766 had more than a dozen movements, and there were four alarms against eleven. The column for guns of 9 pounds disappeared from the table altogether. Those guns stood at Banks's and fired only when that battery raised the first alarm, which did not happen in June 1766. Powder use did not fall in step. A second issue of 300 pounds went to Sandy Bay for blasting, the same quantity as on 1 May 1766. The works there had now taken 600 pounds in two months. In June 1766 that one issue was three fifths of all the powder spent, and the guns themselves used well under 200 pounds. Construction had become the magazine's largest consumer by a wide margin. The four axle trees for the Company's works point the same way, since carts hauling stone wore them out. The King's birthday on 4 June 1766 brought the only ceremonial firing not tied to a ship. It was a royal salute of 21 guns, and the gunner drew it from three classes of gun, with three of 4 pounds and one of 3 pounds among seventeen of 2 pounds. The departing Swedish ship on 12 June 1766 received 16 guns with the same four heavier pieces included. Ordinary salutes to Company ships used the guns of 2 pounds alone. The heavier guns were therefore added as a mark of distinction, for the sovereign and for a foreign ship of force. A bed was the wooden block on a gun carriage that supported the breech of the barrel. The Line was the main battery along the sea front below the Castle. The broken bed belonged to a gun of 9 pounds, which shows that the Line mounted guns of that size as well as the small saluting pieces. | |
59 | 1766 Sundry's Expended in June 1766 at the Honble. Compys. Table 54 Bottles Port Wine £ 4. 1 59 Do. Lisbon 4. 8. 6 27 Do. Mountain 2. 6 54 Do. Beer 10. 3 70 Do. Arrack 5. 5 106 lb. Beef 2. 4. 2 300 Mutton 6. 5 2 Lambs 1 2 Kids 10 22 Fowles 1. 13 2 Turkeys 10 36 lb. Butter 1. 16 93 Candy 11 340 Flour 3. 10. 11 £ 34. 5. 4 The Administrator this day produced an Inventory of the Effects of Mrs. Eleanor Leach deceased, appraised by Messrs. Nathan Sample, and George Bird, who being duly sworn that they valued the same to the Best of their Judgement, and the Administrator that he produced every Article, it was Order to be registered. We this day received the following Letter from Captain Mitchell vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca Council of the Island St. Helena Gentlemen In the Letter I did myself the honor to write to you at the Expiration of last Quarter I informed you that in Consequence of the Instructions from the Court of Directors, which you were pleased to communicate to me, and your Orders for their being immediately carried into Execution, I had set about preparing the necessary Materials for Fortifying Sandy Bay, according to | The steward's account listed the provisions used at the Company's table in June 1766. 54 bottles of port wine, £4 1s 0d 59 bottles of Lisbon wine, £4 8s 6d 27 bottles of Mountain wine, £2 0s 6d 54 bottles of beer, £0 10s 3d 70 bottles of arrack, £5 5s 0d 106 pounds of beef, £2 4s 2d 300 pounds of mutton, £6 5s 0d 2 lambs, £1 0s 0d 2 kids, £0 10s 0d 22 fowls, £1 13s 0d 2 turkeys, £0 10s 0d 36 pounds of butter, £1 16s 0d 93 pounds of sugar candy, £0 11s 0d 340 pounds of flour, £3 10s 11d Total, £34 5s 4d The administrator of Mrs Eleanor Leech's estate brought an inventory of her belongings before the Council on 14 July 1766. Nathan Sample and George Bird had valued the items. Both swore that they priced everything to the best of their judgement, and the administrator swore that he showed them every article. The Council ordered the inventory to be registered. Captain Mitchell sent a letter to Governor Skottowe and the Council that day. He referred to his report at the end of the previous quarter. The Court of Directors had issued instructions for fortifying Sandy Bay, and the Council passed them to him with orders to act at once. He then began preparing the materials the work required. Interpretations The table's bill rose by more than a quarter, from £26 15s in May 1766 to £34 5s 4d, and drink accounted for nearly all of it. Port more than doubled from 24 bottles to 54, Mountain rose from 18 to 27 and Lisbon from 43 to 59. The meat barely moved. Mutton stood at 300 pounds and beef at 106, close to the figures of the two earlier months. June 1766 brought fewer ships than May 1766, as the artillery account shows, so the number of guests does not explain the increase. The King's birthday on 4 June 1766 was marked with a salute of 21 guns, and the Governor's table perhaps kept the day with a public dinner and toasts. The supplies landed from Bengal also restocked the cellar. The arrack was charged at a higher rate than before, 70 bottles costing £5 5s 0d where 62 cost £3 7s 4d in May 1766. The steward was probably now drawing on the Batavia arrack received from the Grenville and the Kent, a better spirit than the earlier stock. The inventory completed the safeguards on the Leech estate. The Council granted administration on 16 June 1766 against a bond with a surety. The bond was worthless without a record of what the estate contained, and the inventory supplied that. Three oaths secured it. Two independent valuers swore to their prices, so the son could not undervalue goods he meant to keep. The administrator swore to completeness, so nothing could be held back from the list. Registration then fixed the document in the Company's books, where any creditor or relative could later hold him to it. Mitchell's opening sentence shows where the Sandy Bay project came from. The decision was made in London by the Court of Directors and sent out as an instruction. The Council's part was to order immediate execution, and Mitchell's to carry it out. The powder, labour and stores recorded over the previous three months were therefore spent on a work the island government was told to build. | |
60 | 14th. July to the Plan transmitted to England and approved of there This has therefore been the principal employment of the Honble. Company's Workmen, during the last three Months, and has been forwarded with all the Expedition that circumstances would admit Some time was necessarily taken up in preparing Accommodations for so great a Number of People. The conveying those Materials which were wanting from hence has been attended with difficulty and some loss of time. A Large Quantity of Stones (in procuring a Sufficiency of which the most Laborious as well as tedious part of this Work will consist) has been collected and the Masons are now employed in constructing a Cullis and Canal, in Order to convey the large Torrents of Water which descend with great Rapidity at this Place) under the Line, and thereby prevent any future Interruptions from this cause, in carrying on the remaining part of the Work And here I cannot help mentioning to you, the great disappointment I have met with in Regard to the Quantity of labour I had estimated would be effected by the very considerable Number of the Company's Slaves which you were pleased to appropriate for carrying on the Fortifications at Sandy Bay. Those (I mean the Labouring Slaves) consisted originally of Forty four, of which Eleven are now sick in the Hospital, and the Rest, almost to a Man, with Exception of the Few Island Slaves, so much pinched by the cold, blustering weather which prevails in that part of the Island at this season of Year, and are upon the whole, such poor spiritless wretches, that I may venture to Affirm the Compy. reaps more Benefit from Ten only of the Soldiers who are hired at the Rate of one Shillg. p day, than from their whole Number. I could wish, and you will no doubt think it highly expedient, that this should be properly represented, to the Court of Directors, who might otherwise, from a consideration of their numbers only, be apt to expect a much greater progress to be made towards Compleating the Fortifications, than can possibly be effected. In my last Quarterly Letter I took Notice that some farther alterations, towards compleating what was wanting to be done to the Castle and Mount, were to take place, by Order of | Mitchell's letter continued with the progress at Sandy Bay. The fortification followed the plan sent to England and approved there. It had been the main task of the Company's workmen for the previous three months and went forward as fast as conditions allowed. Some time was lost at the start in building quarters for so large a workforce. Bringing over the materials that had to come from the town proved difficult and caused further delay. A large stock of stone stood gathered, and collecting enough of it was the hardest and slowest part of the whole job. The masons were now building a culvert and channel to carry the floods beneath the line. Water came down at that spot in heavy torrents and at great speed. Once it had a passage, it could not interrupt the rest of the work again. Mitchell then reported a serious disappointment over the labour. The Council had assigned a large body of the Company's slaves to the fortifications at Sandy Bay, and he expected much from their numbers. The labouring slaves originally numbered 44. Eleven lay sick in the hospital. Nearly all the others suffered badly from the cold and stormy weather common in that part of the island at that season, and only the few island-born slaves were spared. Mitchell judged the gang so weak and dejected that ten soldiers, hired at £0 1s 0d a day, did the Company more good than all of them together. He wanted this explained properly to the Court of Directors and expected the Council to agree. The Court might otherwise look only at the number of slaves and count on far faster progress than was possible. His previous quarterly letter had mentioned further alterations ordered for the Castle and the Mount to finish what remained to be done there. Interpretations Mitchell's account of the slaves matches the plantation return for the same quarter. Five of the Company's slaves died between 27 April 1766 and 2 June 1766, four of them men, and the Sandy Bay works began in those weeks. A quarter of the gang was in hospital by July 1766. The season explains the timing. June and July are the island's winter, and Sandy Bay faces the prevailing wind on the exposed southern coast. Mitchell himself described the surf and spray there on 26 May 1766. Men were quartered in newly built huts on that shore and set to carrying stone through the coldest months. His exception for the island slaves shows the cause was exposure and not unwillingness. Slaves born on St Helena were used to its climate. The rest were brought from warmer countries, and the cold wind and wet broke their health. Mitchell read their condition as a failing of character and wrote of them with contempt. His own figures describe men who were ill. The comparison with the soldiers was a calculation of cost. Soldiers received their ordinary pay from the garrison, and the shilling a day was an extra for labouring on the works. Ten such men cost ten shillings daily. The Council agreed on 5 May 1766 to pay £0 2s 6d a day for each slave stonelayer hired from a private owner. Mitchell was showing that the cheapest effective labour on the island was the garrison, and that the Company's own slaves, who appeared to cost nothing, produced almost nothing at Sandy Bay. The request to inform London was meant to protect him. The Court knew from the island's returns how many slaves the Company owned and would measure the fortification's progress against that number. Mitchell wanted the true state of the workforce on record before the delay was noticed, so that slow progress would be attributed to sickness and weather and not to his management. He asked the Council to make the report in its own name, which would bind it to his explanation. | |
61 | 1766 of the Governor. These are now Finally compleated, which I mention with the greater pleasure, as nothing seems now to remain that can, with any Degree of Propriety, interfere with the Execution of the Compys. Orders, relative to the Fortifications. The present Number of Long Boats, belonging to the Company being found insufficient to carry on the Service required from them, the Governor and Council will therefore, I apprehend, find it necessary to purchase another, as soon as an opportunity Offers. I have the honour to be, with the greatest Respect Gentlemen St. Helena 14th. July 1766 Your most Obedt. and most humble Servant (Signed) E Mitchell As the Engineer in the above Letter represents that another Long Boat is absolutely necessary to carry on the Honble. Compys. Works We agreed to purchase one the first opportunity, as one of those we now have, is constantly made use of for the Shipping, and another Generally on shore to be repaired, and Capt. Mitchell informing Us that he cannot do without two being always employed, We this day Executed a Lease to Mr. John Desfountain for twenty three Acres of Land lying in the East Division of this Island. Sixteen Acres of which at five Shillings p Acre, and seven and three Quarters Acres at 2/6 p Acre. Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Grosvenor to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none, her Muster Roll is as follows vizt. | Mitchell's letter reported that the alterations to the Castle and the Mount, ordered by Governor Skottowe, were finished at last. He was glad to say so. Nothing now remained that could reasonably stand in the way of carrying out the Company's orders on the fortifications. The Company owned too few longboats for the work demanded of them. Mitchell expected the Governor and Council to find it necessary to buy another at the first chance. He signed the letter at St Helena on 14 July 1766. The Council accepted the engineer's case that another longboat was essential to the Company's works. It agreed to buy one at the first opportunity. One of the existing boats was in constant use for the shipping, and another was generally ashore under repair. Mitchell stated that he could not manage without two boats always at work. The Council completed a lease to John Desfountain that day for 23 acres in the East Division of the island. Sixteen acres were let at £0 5s 0d an acre and seven and three quarter acres at £0 2s 6d an acre. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the Grosvenor to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Interpretations The longboats explain a difficulty Mitchell raised earlier in the same letter. He wrote that moving materials from the town to Sandy Bay was troublesome and slow. The bay lay on the far side of the island from the Castle, across steep ridges, so heavy stores such as timber, lime, powder and gun carriages went round by sea. The boats that did this were the same ones that served the ships at anchor, landing supplies and carrying water and provisions out. The shipping season and the building season fell together. With one boat tied to the ships and another under repair, the works had none it could count on. Mitchell's demand for two boats always employed was a demand that the fortification no longer take second place to the anchorage. The Council recorded its reasons at some length for a small purchase. A longboat was capital expenditure that the Court of Directors would see in the accounts. The minute set down that the engineer asked for it, why the existing boats did not suffice and that the need arose from the Court's own order to fortify Sandy Bay. Mitchell's remark that nothing could now properly interfere with the fortifications carried a point. The Governor had ordered work on the Castle and the Mount, which drew workmen away from Sandy Bay. Mitchell noted that this competing demand was at an end. He was putting on record that earlier delay arose partly from the Governor's own orders, and that he expected no further diversions. Desfountain's lease priced land within one holding at two rates. Most of it paid £0 5s 0d an acre, the rent charged to Captain Bazett at Sandy Bay on 19 May 1766. The rest paid half that. The Company graded its rents by the quality of the ground, and the cheaper acres were probably steep or rocky pasture attached to the better land. | |
62 | 14th. July Muster Roll of Ship Grosvenor David Saunders Commr. Jno. Mitchell 1st. Mte Joseph Elliot 2d. Do. George Bow 3d. Do. Henry Leeke 4th. Do. Alexr. Thorcade Surgeon John Adams Gunner Wm. Grimmett Carpent. Alexr. Russell Ships Stewd. Joseph Freeman Sailmr. John Boston Cooper William Morgan Armr. Wm. Gauler Capts. Cook Anthony Hulback Smith John Unwin Gunrs. Mte John Moore Boats Do. George Tolfect Carp Do. Joseph Binders Caulk Do. John Underwood Butch. Thos. Dax Poulterer Simon Smith Q Mastr. Paul Carrott Do. James Betty Do. David Lewis Midshipm John Johnson Do. Thoms. Davis Do. John Wells Do. John Matthias Cap Servt. James Crawford Purser [...] John King Capts. Servt. John Tippett Chief Mtes Do. James Lee Surg Do. James Kennington Gunrs. Do. Isaac Evans Boats Do. William Grimmett Car Do. Richd. Gray Seaman James Harrison Thoms. Bayne Alexr. Leith Albert Barents Richd. Myler James Beckbigg Thoms. [...] John Maudy Alexr. Clauston Henry Russell James Whitefield Jacob Showell John Adamson James Rowell Geo: Gunn John Hammilton Thoms. Bishop Thoms. Roberts Thomas Robertson William Webster Peter Ringstrom James Mills Willm. Fennick John Morris Seamn. James Herron Hugh Hunter Willm. Wherson Willm. Mc. Kellie William Mann James Harries William Taylor John Cave John Shine Geo: Hoffinate Thoms. Boulney William Giles John Wood Wyly Morgan John Beachan William Cuthbertson John Walker Cornelius Gibrands Frederick Wick Thoms. Johnson Olef Johnson Thoms. Demery Willm. Lade Anthony Grimaldi Mattw. Currie Willm. Gardner Richd. Hines John Crosley [...] | The crew list of the Grosvenor was entered under 14 July 1766 as follows. David Saunders, commander Thomas Mitchell, chief mate Joseph Elliot, second mate George Bone, third mate Henry Leche, fourth mate Alexander Thorcade, surgeon John Adams, gunner William Grimmett, carpenter Alexander Russell, ship's steward Joseph Freeman, sailmaker John Boiton, cooper William Morgan, armourer William Gauler, captain's cook Anthony Halbach, [...] John Unwin, gunner's mate John Moore, boatswain's mate George Talbot, carpenter's mate Joseph Binders, caulker's mate John Underwood, butcher Thomas Dax, poulterer Simon Smith, quartermaster Paul Carrett, quartermaster James Betty, quartermaster David Lewis, midshipman John Johnson, midshipman Thomas Davis, midshipman John Weller, midshipman John Matthias, captain's steward James Crawford, purser [...] John King, captain's servant John Tippett, chief mate's servant James Lee, surgeon's servant James Kennington, gunner's servant Isaac Evans, boatswain's servant William Grimmett, carpenter's servant Richard Grey, seaman James Harrison, seaman Thomas Bayne, seaman Alexander Leith, seaman Albert Brunks, seaman Richard Myler, seaman James Beckbigg, seaman Thomas [...], seaman John Mandy, seaman Alexander Clauston, seaman Henry Russell, seaman James Whitefield, seaman Jacob Shovell, seaman John Adamson, seaman James Boswell, seaman George Gunn, seaman John Hammilton, seaman Thomas Whiley, seaman Thomas Roberts, seaman Thomas Robertson, seaman William Webster, seaman Peter Ringstrom, seaman James Mills, seaman William Fennick, seaman John Morris, seaman James Herron, seaman Hugh Hunter, seaman William Anderson, seaman William McKellie, seaman William Mann, seaman James Harries, seaman William Taylor, seaman John Cave, seaman John Shine, seaman George Hoffmate, seaman Thomas Boulney, seaman William Giles, seaman John Wood, seaman Wigly Morgan, seaman John Bechan, seaman William Cuthbertson, seaman John Walker, seaman Cornelius Gibralds, seaman Frederick Wick, seaman Thomas Johnson, seaman Olof Johnson, seaman Thomas Demery, seaman William Slade, seaman Anthony Grimaldi, seaman Matthew Currie, seaman William Gardner, seaman Richard Shines, seaman John Crosley, seaman [...] | |
63 | 1766 Passengers Edward Frith Major James Cook Lieut. John Elithorn Do. Robert Innis John Crisp Ludovick Grant Richd. Eules Tyrrell James Beckett Penelope Watson Judy a Slave Girl (Signed) Davd. Saunders William Bell Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison, having served the Honorable Compy. his Contracted time. Granted. Mr. Thomas Greentree this day applied to Us to pay one thousand five hundred, and seventy eight pounds & Sixteen Shillings into the Honble. Company's Cash, which Sum we have received and given him Bills of exchange drawn upon the Honble. the Court of Directors, payable to Mrs. Helena Harriott, (Or Order) ninety days after sight James Goudy Petitioning last Monday to keep a Billiard Table and House of Entertainment, We this day took it into consideration, And Ordered a Licence to be made out for his keeping a Billiard Table, for which he is to pay the Honble. Compy. four pounds p Annm. but forbid him to sell Liquors of any sort, or keep a House of Entertainment as we think it may be productive of many irregularitys John Skottowe Dan Corneille MPurling Tho Kirkpatrick | The passengers of the Grosvenor were entered in 1766 as follows. Edward Frith, major Loftus Cook, lieutenant John Clithero, lieutenant Robert Innis John Crisp Ludovick Grant Richard Eutis Tyrrell James Beckett Penelope Watson Sudjee, a slave girl David Saunders signed the roll. William Bell, a private soldier, asked on 14 July 1766 to be released from the garrison because his agreed term of service with the Company was complete. The Council agreed. Thomas Greentree asked the Council that day to accept £1,578 16s 0d into the Company's cash. The Council took the money and gave him bills of exchange on the Court of Directors. They were payable to Mrs Helena Harriott or whoever she named, 90 days after being presented. The Council then took up James Goudy's petition of 7 July 1766 for a billiard table and house of entertainment. It ordered a licence to be drawn up allowing him to keep a billiard table, for which he was to pay the Company £4 0s 0d a year. It forbade him to sell liquor of any kind or to keep a house of entertainment. The Council believed such a house might lead to a good deal of disorder. John Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Council split Goudy's petition in two and granted the lesser half. He asked for one licence covering a house of entertainment with a billiard table, and he had already fitted the house out. The simple courses were to grant it under conditions, as he invited, or to refuse it. The Council allowed the game and prohibited the business that would have made it pay. A house of entertainment meant food, drink and company at all hours, and the minute gives the objection plainly: disorder. In a garrison town full of soldiers, sailors on shore leave and slaves, a new drinking house was a matter of public order before it was a matter of trade. The week's delay after 7 July 1766 produced a decision that kept the amusement for the gentlemen while denying the house its liquor. The licence was also a source of income. Goudy was to pay £4 0s 0d a year for the bare right to keep a table, a rent on an activity where the island's leases were rents on land. Whether he could earn that sum from billiards alone, without selling drink to the players, was left to him. Greentree's payment was the largest single remittance of the season. It exceeded every bill in the cash account for April 1766 and was nearly twice Captain Fenner's £800 0s 0d of 9 June 1766. He appeared in these minutes on 12 May 1766 as the holder of seven acres in the East Division. A sum of that size could not come from seven acres. He was perhaps a trader as well as a planter, or acted for others in sending money home. The bill was payable to a woman in England, which suggests a family settlement, a legacy or the proceeds of property. The island treasury gained more coin from this one resident than from all the ships' payments of April 1766 and May 1766 together. The passenger list gave the slave girl a name, Sudjee, and stated what she was. The Grenville's list of 7 June 1766 counted five black girls and an unknown number of boys without naming any. The clerk of the Grosvenor treated one slave among ten passengers as an individual to be accounted for. Bell was the tenth soldier discharged at the end of his term since 3 May 1766. | |
64 | 21st. July At a Consultation held on Monday the 21st. Day of July 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 14th. July 1766 Tuesday the 15th. Sailed the Dane Ship Countess Moltke for Copenhagen Wednesday the 16th. Died John Lindgreen Soldier Thursday the 17th. Sailed the Honorable Compys. Ship Grosvenor for England Friday the 18th. Died Richard Knight, and Simon Mason Soldiers Yesterday Do. Samuel Eales Soldier, This day Sailed the Dutch Ship Nighingburgh for Amsterdam Henry Standford Soldier this day Petitioned for His Discharge from the Garrison, having got another Man to serve the remainder of his Contracted Time agreeable to the Entry in Consultation of the 30th. of last Month Granted The Storekeeper this day Delivered his Collections, and the Paymaster his Accounts for the Quarter commencing the 1st. April, and ending the 30th. June 1766 which were examined, and approved, and are as follow vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 21 July 1766. Governor John Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick attended. The minutes of 14 July 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Danish ship Countess Moltke left for Copenhagen on Tuesday 15 July 1766. John Landgren, a soldier, died on Wednesday 16 July 1766. The Company's ship Grosvenor left for England on Thursday 17 July 1766. Two soldiers, Richard Knight and Simon Mason, died on Friday 18 July 1766. Samuel Eccles, a soldier, died on 20 July 1766. The Dutch ship Nighingburgh left for Amsterdam on 21 July 1766. Henry Standford, a soldier, asked that day for his discharge from the garrison. He had found another man to serve the rest of his agreed term, as recorded in the minutes of 30 June 1766. The Council agreed. The storekeeper handed in his collections that day, and the paymaster his accounts, for the quarter from 1 April 1766 to 30 June 1766. The Council examined and approved them. Interpretations Four soldiers died within five days, between 16 July 1766 and 20 July 1766. John Hawkswood died on 29 June 1766, so the garrison lost five men in three weeks. Only one soldier's death was recorded in the three months before that, on 23 April 1766. The cluster fell in the island's midwinter. Captain Mitchell reported on 14 July 1766 that the cold and stormy weather at Sandy Bay put eleven of the Company's 44 slaves in hospital, and that soldiers were hired to labour on the same works at £0 1s 0d a day. The minutes did not say where the four men served or what they died of. The timing leaves it open that the soldiers working on the exposed southern shore suffered as the slaves did, or that a sickness was passing through the garrison. The losses bore on a garrison already shrinking. Ten soldiers took their discharge between 3 May 1766 and 14 July 1766, and Standford made eleven. Six recruits enlisted in the same period and a substitute replaced Standford. With five deaths added, the garrison was some ten men weaker than at the start of May 1766, at the moment the Court of Directors' fortification demanded extra labour from it. Standford used the permission granted three weeks earlier. The Council agreed on 30 June 1766 to accept Thomas Killock in his place and to release him whenever he asked. He waited until several ships had gone and then claimed his discharge. The second petition was needed because the first only reserved the right. The Council's cross-reference to its earlier minute shows the register serving as the record of a standing promise. | |
65 | 1766 Collection of Goods Sold and delivered out of the Honble. Company's Ware houses, from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Sold to the Compys. Servants at 10 p Cent vizt. Haberdashery vizt. 70 Sks. Silk 2. 10 45 Sks. Mohair 1. 2. 6 34 Whale Bone 1. 2. 4 1 1/2 Gro: Shirt Buttons 3. 7 1/2 3 1/2 Gro. Wt. Breast Do. 9. 2 1/4 14 1/2 Doz. Mohair Coat Do. 10. 10 6 1/2 Doz: Do. Bt. Do. 2. 5 1/4 3 1/2 Doz. Gilt Coat. Do. 11. 9 5 Gro. Horn Moulds [...] 3 1/2 14 lb. Tabby [...] 1 Ps. White Buckram 17. 4 2 1/2 Doz Silver Wire Coat Buttons 12. 7 1/4 13 Ps. Hollands Tape 8. 1 1/2 2 Cockades 3 1/2 9. 5. 5 Hooks and Lines vizt. 450 No. 1 1. 3. 7 1/2 75 6 5. 11 1/4 75 7 4. 6 1/2 75 9 2. 3 1/2 125 10 2. 6 300 11 5. 3 175 12 2. 4 650 13 5. 8 1/4 325 14 2. 10 275 16 1. 7 Hooks 10 Large Hooks 2. 6 129 No. 2 2. 1. 2 1/2 168 3 1. 18. 9 3/4 Lines 3 Bonetta Do. 5. 3 7 Log Do. 7. 3 1/2 7. 11. 8 Carried Over £ 16. 17. 1 | The storekeeper's return listed the goods sold and issued from the Company's warehouses between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. The first group was sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent above cost and began with haberdashery. 70 skeins of silk, £2 0s 10d 45 skeins of mohair, £1 2s 6d 34 [...] of whalebone, £1 2s [...]d 1½ gross of shirt buttons, £0 3s 7½d 3½ gross of white waistcoat buttons, £0 9s 2¼d 14½ dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 10s 10d 6½ dozen mohair waistcoat buttons, £0 2s 5¼d 3½ dozen gilt coat buttons, £0 11s 9d 5 gross of horn button moulds, £0 2s 3½d [...] of tabby, £0 14s 7d 1 piece of white buckram, £0 17s 4d 2½ dozen silver wire coat buttons, £0 12s 7¼d 13 pieces of Holland tape, £0 8s 1½d 2 cockades, £0 0s 3½d Haberdashery, £9 5s 5d Fish hooks and lines followed. 450 hooks of size 1, £0 1s 3¾d 75 hooks of size 6, £0 5s 11¼d 75 hooks of size 7, £0 4s 6¾d 75 hooks of size 9, £0 2s 3¾d 125 hooks of size 10, £0 2s 6d 300 hooks of size 11, £0 5s 3d 175 hooks of size 12, £0 2s 4d 650 hooks of size 13, £0 5s 8¼d 325 hooks of size 14, £0 2s 10d 275 hooks of size 16, £0 1s 7d 10 large hooks, £0 2s 6d 129 lines of size 2, £2 1s 2¾d 108 lines of size 3, £1 13s 9¾d 3 [...] lines, £0 5s 3d 7 log lines, £0 7s 3¾d Hooks and lines, £7 11s 8d Carried over, £16 17s 1d Interpretations The haberdashery was the material of a tailor's trade. Mohair was yarn spun from the hair of the Angora goat, used for covering buttons and for braid. Horn moulds were plain discs that formed the core of a button, over which thread or cloth was worked. Buckram was coarse linen stiffened with paste and set inside coat fronts and collars to hold their shape. Whalebone, the flexible plates from a whale's mouth, stiffened stays and bodices. Tabby was a plain silk with a watered finish. Holland tape was a strong linen tape for binding and ties. A cockade was a ribbon rosette worn on the hat, part of an officer's or soldier's dress. Gilt and silver wire buttons belonged to officers' coats. The list shows clothing made up on the island from materials sent out, not shipped ready made. The heading states the terms of sale. The Company's own servants bought from its warehouse at 10 per cent above the invoiced cost. This was a privilege of employment. It fixed a modest advance to cover the Company's charges, where a private trader on a remote island could have asked far more. Other classes of buyer paid different rates, so the return opened with the most favoured group. The fishing gear outweighed any single item of dress. More than 2,500 hooks and some 240 lines were sold in one quarter. Fish was the cheapest fresh food on the island, and the cattle shortage reported on 30 April 1766 and the reliance on salt meat made it more important still. Hooks came in graded sizes for different fish, sold by the hundred at a few pence. The Company imported them because the island could not make them, and its servants bought them to feed their own households and slaves. A log line was not fishing gear. It was the knotted line paid out behind a ship to measure her speed. Its place under this heading shows the clerk grouping goods by kind of article, cordage with cordage, and not by use. | |
66 | 21st. July Brought Over £ 16. 17. 1 Deals vizt. 30 double Deals 5. 12. 6 10 Single Do. 1. 3. 6 1/4 1 1/2 Ps. of 6 Inch Plank 3. 14. 2 1/4 3/4 Ps. Riga Timber 2. 11 1/4 12. 11. 2 Sugar and Candy vizt. 6421 lb Sugar 49. 7. 9 1520 Candy 34. 16. 8 84. 4. 5 Flour vizt. 26 1/2 C Flour 24. 8. 2 332 lb. 16 Do. Packet 310 334. 8. 2 Rice and Paddy vizt. 3 qrs. Rice 8. 9 1. 11 Paddy 1. 8 10. 5 Salt 24 5/8 Bushels 5. 16. 11 Starch 49 lb 1. 4. 6 Beef and Pork vizt. 1767 Ps. Beef 176. 14 919 lb Dutch Pork 15. 6. 4 2457 Ps. Pork 245. 14 437. 14. 4 Thread vizt. 15 lb. Whited Brown 5. 9. 4 1/2 7 Colour 1. 6. 3 11 oz. Prince No. 26 13. 6 1/4 16 oz Do. 30 18. 4 11 oz Do. 38 1. 6. 9 1/4 9. 14. 3 Hats vizt. 5 Mens 4. 16. 10 8 Boys 2. 13 7. 9. 10 Flannel 35 Yds. 2. 6. 8 Carried over £ 913. 7. 9 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £16 17s 1d and continued with timber. 30 double deals, £5 12s 6d 10 single deals, £1 3s 6¼d 14½ feet of 6 inch plank, £3 14s 2¼d ¾ of a piece of Riga timber, £2 0s 11¼d Timber, £12 11s 2d Sugar followed. 6,421 pounds of sugar, £49 7s 9d 1,320 pounds of sugar candy, £34 16s 8d Sugar and sugar candy, £84 4s 5d The flour was entered in two lots. 26 hundredweight [...] of flour, £24 8s 2d 332 hundredweight 1 quarter 16 pounds of flour [...], £310 0s 0d Flour, £334 8s 2d Smaller provisions came next. Rice, 0 hundredweight 3 quarters 0 pounds, £0 8s 9d Paddy, 0 hundredweight 1 quarter 11 pounds, £0 1s 8d Rice and paddy, £0 10s 5d Salt, 24⅞ bushels, £5 16s 11d Starch, 49 pounds, £1 4s 6d Salt meat was the largest item. 1,767 pieces of beef, £176 14s 0d 919 pounds of Dutch pork, £15 6s 4d 2,457 pieces of pork, £245 14s 0d Beef and pork, £437 14s 4d Thread, hats and flannel closed the page. 15 pounds of whited brown thread, £5 9s 4½d 7 pounds of coloured thread, £1 6s 3d 11 ounces of nun's thread of size 26, £0 13s 6¼d 16 ounces of nun's thread of size 30, £0 18s 4d 11 ounces of nun's thread of size 38, £1 6s 9¼d Thread, £9 14s 3d 5 men's hats, £4 16s 10d 8 boys' hats, £2 13s 0d Hats, £7 9s 10d Flannel, 35 yards, £2 6s 8d Carried over, £913 7s 9d Interpretations The return shows what the Company's warehouse was for. Food made up almost the whole of the sales. Flour came to £334 8s 2d and salt meat to £437 14s 4d, against a few pounds each for cloth, thread and timber. The Company's servants bought their bread and meat from their employer's store, at its price, out of the wages it paid them. Much of what the Company laid out in salaries on the island returned to it across the warehouse counter. The salt meat was sold at £0 2s 0d a piece, the price the Council paid the homeward commanders. It bought 393 pieces on 23 May 1766, 861 on 2 June 1766 and 1,454 on 9 June 1766 at that rate. The quarter's sales of 1,767 pieces of beef and 2,457 of pork exceeded those purchases, so older stock from England went out as well. The Council noted on 23 May 1766 that the captains' beef was cheaper than the English invoice price. The servants paid a flat £0 2s 0d whatever the meat's origin. Meat bought from the ships was therefore passed on at cost, and the dearer English meat was sold below its invoice price. More than 6,400 pounds of sugar left the warehouse in three months. Each China ship of the season landed about 2,000 pounds net, so one quarter's sales consumed the consignments of three ships. The island used sugar on a scale that explains why Canton, Bengal and the storekeeper's weighing all received close attention. Deals were sawn boards of fir or pine from the Baltic, sold in standard lengths. A double deal was twice the thickness of a single. Riga timber was squared fir shipped from that Baltic port, the best building timber of the trade. The island had little usable timber of its own, and every plank came by way of England. Whited brown thread was strong linen thread only partly bleached, for coarse sewing. Nun's thread was a fine white linen thread for needlework, sold by the ounce and graded by number, with the finest the dearest. Dutch pork was pork cured in the Dutch manner and sold by weight, where the ordinary salt pork went by the piece. | |
67 | 1766 Brought over £ 913. 7. 9 Pease 1/2 Bushl. 2. 5 Arrack 10 1/2 Galls. 2. 12. 6 Buckram 3 Yards 3. 4 Long Ells 32 Yds. Blue 2. 14. 8 Coals 38 Bushels 2. 4. 4 Books 1 Common prayer Book 3. 1 Oil vizt. 14 1/4 Galls. Train 2. 14. 8 18 1/8 Do. Linseed 4. 8 18 Bottles Florence 2. 12. 6 9. 7. 10 Tea vizt. 212 lb Bohea 11. 10 106 Congo 8. 7. 10 143 Singlo 11. 6. 5 30. 15. 1 Sope 414 lb 15. 1. 10 Pepper 23 lb. 15. 9 Candles 163 lb 17. 19. 11 Twine vizt. 48 Sks. Twine 1. 10 3 lb. Cotton Wick 3. 8 1. 13. 8 Shalloon vizt. 93 3/4 Yds. Colour 9. 7. 6 29 1/2 Do. Scarlet 3. 15 13. 2. 6 Lead vizt. 13 lb. Sheet Lead 2. 8 1/2 41 lb. Shott 8. 6 1/2 11. 3 Leather vizt. 6 Calf Skins 2. 9. 6 112 3/4 Sole 5. 12. 9 8. 2. 3 Canvas vizt. 32 Yds. Eng. Canvas 2 72 1/2 Yds. Ozenbrigs [...] 3. 5 46 1/2 Yds. Ticklingburgs 2. 13 7. 16. 5 Carried over £ 1027. 4. 7 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £913 7s 9d and continued with a run of single items. Pease, ¼ bushel, £0 2s 5d Arrack, 10½ gallons, £2 12s 6d Buckram, 3 yards, £0 3s 4d Long ells, 32 yards of blue, £2 14s 2d Coals, 30 bushels, £2 4s 4d Books, 1 Book of Common Prayer, £0 3s 1d Oil was sold in three kinds. Train oil, 14¼ gallons, £2 14s 8d Linseed oil, 12⅞ gallons, £4 0s 8d Florence oil, 13 bottles, £2 12s 6d Oil, £9 7s 10d Tea followed. Bohea tea, 212 pounds, £11 0s 10d Congo tea, 106 pounds, £8 7s 10d Singlo tea, 143 pounds, £11 6s 5d Tea, £30 15s 1d Household stores came next. Soap, 411 pounds, £15 1s 10d Pepper, 23 pounds, £0 15s 9d Candles, 613 pounds, £17 19s 11d Twine, 48 skeins, £1 10s 0d Cotton wick, ¾ pound, £0 3s 8d Twine and wick, £1 13s 8d Cloth, lead and leather closed the page. Coloured shalloon, 93¾ yards, £9 7s 6d Scarlet shalloon, 29½ yards, £3 15s 0d Shalloon, £13 2s 6d Sheet lead, 13 pounds, £0 2s 8½d Lead shot, 41 pounds, £0 8s 6½d Lead, £0 11s 3d Calf skins, 6 skins, £2 9s 6d Sole leather, 112½ pounds, £5 12s 9d Leather, £8 2s 3d English canvas, 32 yards, £2 0s 0d Osnaburgs, 72½ yards, £3 3s 5d Ticklenburgs, 46½ yards, £2 13s 0d Canvas, £7 16s 5d Carried over, £1,027 4s 7d Interpretations The tea prices show the 10 per cent rule at work and reveal the rate at which the Company valued Chinese money. The Canton invoices of 27 January 1766 charged Bohea at 19 taels a pecul. The warehouse sold 212 pounds for £11 0s 10d, about twelve and a half pence a pound. That figure is the Canton cost plus a tenth if the tael is taken at £0 6s 8d, the Company's standard book value of three taels to the pound sterling. Congo, invoiced at 28 taels, sold at about nineteen pence a pound on the same footing. The servants paid the Chinese purchase price and a tenth, with nothing added for freight. Tea on the island therefore cost a fraction of its price in England, where heavy duty was charged. Singlo sold in larger quantity than Congo although each ship brought only one small chest of either. The island's tea drinkers, with all three kinds on offer at near cost, bought freely of the green. The quarter's 461 pounds roughly equalled the tea landed by three of the season's ships. Long ells were a coarse English woollen cloth woven in long pieces, a staple of the Company's exports. Shalloon was a light twilled worsted used to line coats. The scarlet shalloon was lining for the red coats of the garrison. Osnaburgs and Ticklenburgs were coarse unbleached linens named after the German towns that made them. They were the common cloth for working clothes, sacking and slaves' clothing. Train oil was rendered from whale or seal blubber and burned in lamps. Florence oil was fine olive oil from Tuscany, shipped in wicker-covered flasks for the table, and it cost about four shillings a bottle. Coals came from England as ballast in the outward ships. An island short of wood needed them for the smith's forge, where charcoal or brushwood gave too little heat. The lead shot was for fowling pieces, and the sole leather and calf skins supplied the island's shoemakers. Almost nothing on the list was made locally. The warehouse was the channel through which the materials of ordinary life reached the Company's people. | |
68 | 21st. July Brought over £ 1027. 4. 7 Corks 5 Gro: 13. 1 Blankets 10 2. 16. 3 Oars 2 3. 7 Coffea 21 lb 19. 3 Cordage 6 C 0 1/4 12. 13. 7 Pewter vizt. 4 Chamber pots 13. 3 3 Basons 7. 7 1 Close Stool pan 4. 11 1/2 1 Crane 13. 7 1/2 2. 4. 10 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Blank Key 9 3/4 1 Scuffle [...] 5. 10 4 Do. Stones 10 5 Single Mouse Traps 3. 4 1 double Do. 1. 3 1/2 2 Small Fryg. Pans 4. 1 1/2 30 Pr. H. Hinges 1. 2 5 Spanker Locks 2. 9 3/4 1 Hand Hatchet 1. 10 1 Coffea Mill 8. 5 1/2 1 Spring Rat Trap 1. 11 1 Chaffing Dish 7. 4 1 File 6 3/4 6 Pr. Brass Hinges 11 1 Doz. Rimd. Lock No. 4 19. 5 1/4 1 Do. Do. 10 Ih. Br. Knobs 3. 5. 3 2 Brass Cupboard Locks 3. [...] 1 doz: Wood Screws 4 1/2 1 S. Bitt Locks 8. 1 4 Stock Do. 13 1 Large Fryg. Pan 4. 1 9. 5. 5 Carried over £ 1056. 6. [...] | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £1,027 4s 7d and continued with a run of single items. Corks, 5 gross, £0 13s 1d Blankets, 10 blankets, £2 16s 3d Oars, 2 oars, £0 3s 7d Coffee, 21 pounds, £0 19s 3d Cordage, 6 hundredweight 0 quarters [...] pounds, £12 13s 7d Pewter followed. 4 chamber pots, £0 13s 3d 3 basins, £0 7s 7d 1 close stool pan, £0 4s 11½d 1 crane, £0 13s 7½d Pewter, £2 4s 10d Ironware closed the page. 1 blank key, £0 0s 9½d 1 scythe, £0 5s 10d 4 scythe stones, £0 0s 10d 5 single mouse traps, £0 3s 4d 1 double mouse trap, £0 1s 3½d 2 small frying pans, £0 4s 1½d 30 pairs of H hinges, £1 2s 0d 5 [...] locks, £0 2s 9¾d 1 hand hatchet, £0 1s 10d 1 coffee mill, £0 8s 5½d 1 spring rat trap, £0 1s 11d 1 chafing dish, £0 7s 4d 1 file, £0 0s 6¾d 6 pairs of dovetail hinges, £0 11s 0d 1 iron rim lock of size 4, £0 19s 5¼d 1 iron rim lock of 10 inches with brass knobs, £3 5s 3d 2 brass cupboard locks, £0 3s 0½d 1 dozen wood screws, £0 0s 4½d 1 [...] lock, £0 8s 1d 4 stock locks, £0 13s 0d 1 large frying pan, £0 4s 1d Ironware, £9 5s 5d Carried over, £1,056 6s [...]d Interpretations The ironware was the fittings of house building. Thirty pairs of H hinges, six of dovetail hinges and ten locks of several kinds sold in one quarter, with screws and a blank key to be cut. An H hinge was a flat hinge shaped like that letter, screwed to the face of a door or shutter. A dovetail hinge had flared leaves and suited cupboards and chests. A rim lock was fixed to the inner face of a door in an iron case. A stock lock was the older and cheaper kind, with its works set in a block of wood. The Council renewed several leases of house plots and farmland between 12 May 1766 and 14 July 1766, and the warehouse was supplying the hardware for the houses on them. One lock stood far above the rest. The rim lock of ten inches with brass knobs cost £3 5s 3d, more than three times the next dearest and a third of the whole ironware total. A lock of that size and finish belonged on the main door of a substantial house or a public building. Someone among the Company's servants was fitting out a residence of some standing. A close stool was a boxed seat enclosing a removable pan, the indoor convenience of a household of means, and the pewter pan was its replaceable part. A crane was a bent pewter tube for drawing liquor from a cask by siphon. A chafing dish held burning charcoal to keep food warm at table. Mouse traps and a spring rat trap appear among the sales, six of the first kind and one of the second. Rats came ashore from every ship, and the warehouses of grain, sugar and candles fed them. The scythe and its whetstones were for cutting hay or grain on the leased farmland. The coffee and the coffee mill show that drink in use beside the tea, in a much smaller quantity of 21 pounds against 461. | |
69 | 1766 Brot. Over £ 1056. 6. 6 Cutlery Ware vizt. 1 Prung. Knife 1. 1/4 14 Fine Ivory Combs 2. 2. 7 13 Ordiny. Do. Do. 13. 3 1/4 9 Buckg. Do. 2. 7 1/2 20 fine Tooth Horn Do. 3. 8 1/2 8 Shoe Knives 3 1 doz: Stag Horn Knives & Forks 10. 11 2 Pr. Shoe Buckles 1. 2 1 Case Fleams 3 1 doz: Ivo. Handle Knives and Forks 1. 14. 1 5. 15. 5 Paint vizt. 49 lb Indico 4. 9. 10 36 Blue Smalts 2. 16. 3 1 Ven Red mixed 6 1/4 18 Ven Do. dry 4. 1 1/2 1 Yell Oaker mixed 2 3/4 4 Barls. Blackg. 2. 4 80 lb Whiting 3. 4 4 lb Red Lead 1. 2 10 White Lead mixed 4. 2 40 White Lead dry 14. 2 1 1/2 Verdigrease 6. 5 1/2 1/2 Copperas 6 9. 9. 1 Shirts vizt. 105 Contt. Shirts 23. 14 2 Rolers 1. 6 14 Yds. Brown Holland 1. 8. 7 1 Ps. Irish Linen 1. 15. 7 28. 19. 8 Shoes vizt. 72 Pr. Mens Ordiny. Shoes 15. 18 31 Pr. Mens Fine Do. 9. 8. 7 30 Pr. Do. Do. Pumps 8. 2. 6 Shoes Carried Over £ 33. 9. 1 Carried Over £ 1100. 4. 2 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £1,056 6s 6d and continued in 1766 with cutlery. 1 pruning knife, £0 1s 0¼d 14 fine ivory combs, £2 2s 7d 13 ordinary ivory combs, £0 13s 3¼d 9 [...] combs, £0 2s 7½d 20 fine-tooth horn combs, £0 3s 8½d 8 shoe knives, £0 3s 0d 1 dozen knives and forks with stag horn handles, £0 10s 11d 2 pairs of shoe buckles, £0 1s 2d 1 case of fleams, £0 3s 0d 1 dozen knives and forks with ivory handles, £1 14s 1d Cutlery, £5 15s 5d Paint followed. Indigo, 49 pounds, £4 9s 10d Blue smalt, 36 pounds, £2 16s 3d Venetian red, mixed, 1 pound, £0 0s 6¼d Venetian red, dry, 18 pounds, £0 4s 1½d Yellow ochre, mixed, 1 pound, £0 0s 2¾d Black, 4 barrels, £0 2s 4d Whiting, 80 pounds, £0 3s 4d Red lead, 4 pounds, £0 1s 2d White lead, mixed, 10 pounds, £0 4s 2d White lead, dry, 40 pounds, £0 14s 2d Verdigris, 1½ pounds, £0 6s 5½d Copperas, ½ pound, £0 0s 6d Paint, £9 3s 1d Shirts and linen came next. 105 [...] shirts, £25 19s 0d 2 [...], £0 1s 6d Brown holland, 14 yards, £1 3s 7d Irish linen, 1 piece, £1 15s 7d Shirts and linen, £28 19s 8d Shoes closed the page. 72 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £15 18s 0d 31 pairs of men's fine shoes, £9 8s 7d 30 pairs of men's fine pumps, £8 2s 6d Shoes, £33 9s 1d Carried over before the shoes, £1,100 4s 2d Interpretations The paints were sold as raw colours for mixing on the spot. White lead was the base of all oil paint, ground into linseed oil, which the warehouse sold in the same quarter. Red lead was the priming coat for wood and iron. Venetian red and yellow ochre were cheap earth colours for outside work. Verdigris gave a green and cost over four shillings a pound, the dearest pigment on the list. Whiting was powdered chalk for whitewash and putty. Smalt was glass coloured deep blue with cobalt and ground to powder. It served as a paint and, with starch, as the blue that whitened washed linen. Copperas was an iron salt used with other ingredients to make black dye and ink. Indigo was the largest item at 49 pounds. That weight of so strong a dye was far more than house painting could use. It was the standard blue for cloth, and the same return sold 32 yards of blue woollen and quantities of coarse linen. Cloth was probably being dyed on the island, perhaps for the clothing of soldiers and slaves. Fleams were small blades for opening a vein. A case held several sizes, and it served a farrier bleeding horses and cattle as well as a surgeon. The combs sold in number, 56 in all, and most were fine-toothed. Such combs were the ordinary means of clearing lice from the hair, a constant need in barracks and crowded households. The fourteen fine ivory combs cost three shillings each, an article for the better-off. The footwear divided by rank. Ordinary shoes sold at about four shillings and fivepence a pair and fine shoes at six shillings. Pumps were light shoes with thin soles for indoor and dress wear, at five shillings and fivepence. The Company's servants bought 133 pairs in a quarter. The island's rough tracks wore shoes out quickly, and the supply of leather sold to local shoemakers was evidently not enough to meet demand without imported pairs. | |
70 | 21st. July Brot. Over £ 1100. 4. 2 Shoes bro. over £ 33. 9. 1 4 Pr. Chanl. Pumps 1. 6. 6 28 Pr. Womens Calimanco 5. 19 7 Pr. Do. Spanish Leather Shoes 1. 9. 9 5 Pr. Do. Calf Do. Do. 19. 4 1/2 19 Pr. Boys Do. 3. 4. 11 8 Pr. Girls Calimanco Do. 1. 6. 8 7 Pr. Do. Calf Leather Do. 15. 5 1/2 48. 10. 7 Hosiers Ware vizt. 41 Pr. Mens Ordiny. Thread Stockgs. 6. 8. 4 1/2 11 Pr. Mens Wove 2. 5. 4 1/2 3 Pr. Do. Eng. Cotton 1. 2. 3 2 Pr. Boys 4. 5 8 Scarlet Breeches Ps. 6 7 Black Do. Do. 4. 17. 11 1 Buff Do. Do. 13. 10 21. 12. 3 Broad Cloth vizt. 13 3/4 Yds. Blue 13. 12. 8 8 1/2 Yds. Brown 8. 8. 6 4 1/2 Yds. Scarlet 5. 10 13 3/4 Yds. Green 12. 10 2 1/4 Yds. French Grey 2. 3. 4 3 1/2 Yds. Black 2. 8. 11 44. 4. 3 Serge vizt. 5 Yds. Scarlet Serge 1. 12. 1 16 Yds. Blue Do. 4. 2 3 1/2 Yds. Fustian 6. 17. 6 1 Ps. 16 1/4 Yds. Sagathy 5. 14. 5 16 1/2 Yds. Blue Duffle 5. 9. 3 1/2 7 Yds. Brown Holland 2. 6. 4 1/2 3 1/4 Yds. French Grey Serge 1. 8. 2 27. 9. 10 Carrd. Over £ 1242. 1. 3 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £1,100 4s 2d and resumed the shoes. Shoes brought forward, £33 9s 1d 4 pairs of channel pumps, £1 6s 6d 28 pairs of women's calimanco shoes, £5 19s 0d 7 pairs of women's Spanish leather shoes, £1 9s 9d 5 pairs of women's calf shoes, £0 19s 4½d 19 pairs of boys' shoes, £3 4s 11d 8 pairs of girls' calimanco shoes, £1 6s 3d 7 pairs of girls' calf leather shoes, £0 15s 5½d Shoes, £48 10s 7d Hosiery followed. 41 pairs of men's ordinary thread stockings, £6 8s 4½d 11 pairs of men's woven stockings, £2 5s 4½d 3 pairs of men's English cotton stockings, £1 2s 3d 2 pairs of boys' stockings, £0 4s 5d 8 scarlet breeches pieces, £6 0s 0d 7 black breeches pieces, £4 17s 11½d 1 buff breeches piece, £0 13s 10d Hosiery, £21 12s 3d Broadcloth came next. Blue broadcloth, 13¾ yards, £13 12s 8d Brown broadcloth, 8¾ yards, £8 8s 6d Scarlet broadcloth, 4¾ yards, £5 0s 10d Green broadcloth, 13¾ yards, £12 10s 0d French grey broadcloth, 2¼ yards, £2 3s 4d Black broadcloth, 3½ yards, £2 8s 11d Broadcloth, £44 4s 3d Serge and other cloths closed the page. Scarlet serge, 5 yards, £1 12s 1d Blue serge, 16 yards, £4 2s 0d Fustian, [...] yards, £6 17s 6d Sagathy, 1 piece of 16¼ yards, £5 14s 5d Blue duffel, 16¾ yards, £5 9s 3½d Brown holland, [...] yards, £2 6s 4½d French grey serge, 5¼ yards, £1 8s 2d Serge and other cloths, £27 9s 10d Carried over, £1,242 1s 3d Interpretations Broadcloth was the finest English woollen, woven wide, heavily fulled and shorn to a smooth face. It cost about a pound a yard here, and scarlet slightly more. A coat took some two yards, so the cloth alone for a gentleman's coat cost what a private soldier received as half his enlistment bounty. The quarter's sales came to under 47 yards in six colours, enough for perhaps two dozen coats. This was the dress of the Council, the officers and the senior servants. The scarlet was for officers' uniforms, and the 29½ yards of scarlet shalloon sold in the same quarter lined them. Serge was a cheaper twilled woollen for everyday coats and breeches. Duffel was a thick coarse woollen with a heavy nap, used for cloaks and winter coats. Sagathy was a light twilled stuff of worsted, sometimes mixed with silk, for summer suits. Fustian was a stout cloth of cotton and linen for working breeches and jackets. The breeches pieces were lengths of knitted fabric, made on the stocking frame and sold by the piece under hosiery, each enough for one pair. They fitted closely and stretched, and scarlet was the dearest at fifteen shillings. Calimanco was a glossy worsted with a satin finish, used for the uppers of women's shoes. Spanish leather was fine soft goatskin. Channel pumps were light shoes whose sole stitching lay hidden in a groove cut in the leather. Women's and children's shoes made up 74 pairs of the quarter's sales. The Company's servants lived on the island with wives and families, and the warehouse clothed whole households from stock chosen in London. The woollens deserve notice in a place with a mild climate. Blue duffel and heavy serge sold beside the linens. July is the island's coldest month, and Captain Mitchell wrote on 14 July 1766 of the cold stormy weather on the southern coast. The quarter from April 1766 to June 1766 ran into winter, and the servants were buying for it. | |
71 | 1766 Brot. Over £ 1242. 1. 3 Turners Ware vizt. 4 Shoe Brushes 2. 6 7 Labr. Baskets 7. 7 1 Paint Brush 6 1/2 1 Plaistr. Do. 1. 3 1/2 1 Flasket 3. 4 1/2 3 Hair Sieves 3. 1/2 1 Cloth Brush 1. 2 1/2 5 Scrubg. Do. 12. 2 1 Birch Broom 5 1. 12. 2 China Ware vizt. 44 Sneakers 11 7 Tea pots 6. 5 10 Guglets and Basons 1. 5 1 Sallad Dish 10 1 Set Dishes and Plates 1 6 Bowls 8. 6 4 Chamber Pots 6. 8 1 Doz: Soup Plates 6. 2 4. 4. 7 Long Cloth vizt. 11 3/4 Ps. A 27. 1. 4 9 Ps. B 22. 10 2 Ps. C 7. 4. 3 2 Ps. D 8. 17. 4 65. 12. 11 Pitch and Tar vizt. 5 lb. Pitch 8 6 Galls. Tar 5 93 Rozin 15. 6 1. 1. 2 Nails vizt. 17 lb. 2 7. 8 1/4 6 3 4. 10 1/2 Nails Carried Over £ 12. 7 Carrd. Over £ 1314. 12. 1 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £1,242 1s 3d and continued in 1766 with turnery. 4 shoe brushes, £0 2s 6d 7 labourers' baskets, £0 7s 7d 1 paint brush, £0 0s 6½d 1 plasterer's brush, £0 1s 3½d 1 flasket, £0 3s 4½d 3 hair sieves, £0 3s 0½d 1 clothes brush, £0 1s 2½d 5 scrubbing brushes, £0 12s 2d 1 birch broom, £0 0s 5d Turnery, £1 12s 2d Chinaware followed. 44 sneakers, £0 11s 0d 7 teapots, £0 6s 5d 10 guglets and basins, £1 5s 0d 1 salad dish, £0 0s 10d 1 set of dishes and plates, £1 0s 0d 6 bowls, £0 8s 6d 4 chamber pots, £0 6s 8d 1 dozen soup plates, £0 6s 2d Chinaware, £4 4s 7d Long cloth was sold in four grades. Long cloth of grade A, 17½ pieces, £27 1s 4d Long cloth of grade B, 9 pieces, £22 10s 0d Long cloth of grade C, 2 pieces, £7 4s 3d Long cloth of grade D, 2 pieces, £8 17s 4d Long cloth, £65 12s 11d Pitch, tar and nails closed the page. Pitch, 5 pounds, £0 0s 8d Tar, 6 gallons, £0 5s 0d Rosin, 93 pounds, £0 15s 6d Pitch and tar, £1 1s 2d Twopenny nails, 1 [...], £0 7s 8¼d Threepenny nails, 6 [...], £0 4s 10½d Nails so far, £0 12s 7d Carried over, £1,314 12s 1d Interpretations Long cloth was plain white cotton woven on the Coromandel coast of southern India and exported in pieces of some 37 yards. It was the Company's staple Indian textile, and the letters A to D were its own quality marks, with A the coarsest and D the finest. The prices follow that order. Grade A sold at about £1 11s a piece and grade D at about £4 8s. The 30½ pieces sold in the quarter amounted to more than 1,100 yards of cotton, far more by length than all the English woollens and linens in the return together. It served for shirts, shifts, sheets and linings, and the cheap grade A, which made up over half the pieces, clothed servants and slaves. The island wore Indian cotton next to the skin and English wool over it. The chinaware came from Canton with the tea and was sold at prices that show how cheaply it was bought. A sneaker, the small punch bowl described in the storekeeper's report of 3 May 1766, cost threepence. A teapot cost elevenpence and a soup plate about sixpence. A whole set of dishes and plates cost a pound, the price of one yard of broadcloth. Porcelain was a luxury in England once freight, duty and dealers' profits were added. On the island, at Canton cost plus a tenth, it was ordinary household ware. The 44 sneakers also suggest how much punch was drunk, since the Company's table alone used 70 bottles of arrack in June 1766. A guglet was a long-necked jar that kept water cool by evaporation and gurgled as it poured, sold with a basin as a washstand set. A flasket was a long shallow basket for carrying linen. Turnery covered the brush and basket maker's goods as well as wares turned on a lathe. Rosin was the hard residue left when turpentine was distilled from pine resin. It was melted with tallow and pitch to coat the seams and bottoms of boats, and 93 pounds of it sold in the quarter that Captain Mitchell reported the Company's longboats overworked and under repair. Nails were named by the old price of a hundred, so a twopenny nail was a small one and larger sizes carried higher numbers. | |
72 | 21st. July Brot. Over £ 1314. 12. 1 Nails bro. Over£ 12. 7 20 lb 4 12. 11 63 6 1. 16. 9 74 10 1. 17 4 20 1. 8 52 40 1. 7 2 1/2 Glaz. Brads 4. 9 1/2 61 Flooring Do. 1. 2. 10 1/2 12 Spikes 4. 3 7. 13. 5 Glass Ware vizt. 30 Wine Glasses 14. 3 17 Tumblers 12. 1/2 8 Beer Glass 8 7 Sqr. Glass 8 by 10 4. 4 1/2 4 Sqr. 10 by 15 4. 10 35 Sqr. 10 by 14 1. 15. 9 149 Sqr. 6 by 8 2. 15. 10 6. 15. 1 Tin Ware vizt. 2 Waterg. Pots 8. 6 3 Glass Lanthorns 17 1 Tin Lamp 10 2 Gallon Funnels 4. 10 4 Quart Do. 1. 9 9 Quart Sauce Pans 5. 7 1/2 1 Large Sheet Tin 7 1 Dripg. Pan 3. 4 1/2 1 Horn Lanthorn 2. 4 2. 5 Irons Pots 1 of 14 Gallons 12. 8 Braziers Ware vizt. 3 Tea Kettle of 1 1/4 Galls. 18. 5 4 Do. of 3/4 Do. 13. 5 1/2 Braz. Ware Carrd. Over £ 1. 11. 10 1/2 Carrd. Over £ 1331. 18. 3 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £1,314 12s 1d and resumed the nails. Nails brought forward, £0 12s 7d Fourpenny nails, 20 pounds, £0 12s 11d Sixpenny nails, 63 pounds, £1 16s 9d Tenpenny nails, 74 pounds, £1 17s 0d Twentypenny nails, 4 pounds, £0 1s 8d Fortypenny nails, 52 pounds, £1 0s 7d Glazing brads, 2½ pounds, £0 4s 9½d Flooring brads, 61 pounds, £1 2s 10½d Spikes, 12 pounds, £0 4s 3d Nails, £7 13s 5d Glassware followed. 30 wine glasses, £0 14s 3d 17 tumblers, £0 12s 0½d 8 beer glasses, £0 8s 0d 7 panes of glass 8 inches by 10 inches, £0 4s 4½d 4 panes of glass 10 inches by 15 inches, £0 4s 10d 35 panes of glass 10 inches by 14 inches, £1 15s 9d 149 panes of glass 6 inches by 8 inches, £2 15s 10d Glassware, £6 15s 1d Tinware and metal vessels closed the page. 2 watering pots, £0 8s 6d 3 glass lanterns, £0 17s 0d 1 tin lamp, £0 0s 10d 2 gallon funnels, £0 4s 10d 4 quart funnels, £0 1s 9d 9 quart saucepans, £0 5s 7½d 1 large sheet of tin, £0 0s 7d 1 dripping pan, £0 3s 4½d 1 horn lantern, £0 2s 4d Tinware, £2 5s 0d 1 iron pot of 14 gallons, £0 12s 8d 3 tea kettles of 1¼ gallons, £0 18s 5d 4 tea kettles of ¾ gallon, £0 13s 5½d Brassware so far, £1 11s 10½d Carried over, £1,331 18s 3d Interpretations The nails and glass confirm the building activity that the hinges and locks suggested. Nearly 290 pounds of nails sold in the quarter, most of them in the sizes used for framing and boarding. Sixty-one pounds of flooring brads, the headless nails that hold floorboards, would lay the floors of several rooms. The glass came to 195 panes with glazing brads to fix them. Three quarters of the panes were the smallest size, six inches by eight. Small panes travelled best and cost least to replace, and a sash window was built up from many of them. Each one arrived by sea from England packed in crates, so glazed windows on the island represented a real outlay, and the quantity shows the Company's servants were willing to make it. The nails were priced by weight, and the cost of a pound fell as the nail grew. Fourpenny nails cost nearly eightpence a pound and fortypenny nails under fivepence. Small nails took more labour to make for the same weight of iron, since each was forged by hand. A horn lantern had panes of thin scraped horn in place of glass. It gave a dimmer light but did not break, and it cost two shillings and fourpence against nearly six shillings for a glass one. The iron pot of 14 gallons was a cauldron far too large for a family kitchen. A vessel of that size boiled food in bulk, and it was perhaps bought for cooking yams or rice for a household's slaves. The tea kettles were listed under brassware because the brazier's trade worked in copper and brass sheet. Seven sold in a quarter, alongside 461 pounds of tea. The watering pots are a small sign of gardening. The Company's servants grew vegetables on their plots, and the dry season on the leeward side of the island made watering by hand necessary. | |
73 | 1766 Brot. Over £ 1331. 18. 3 Braziers Ware brought Over £ 1. 11. 10 1/2 2 Pr. Snuffers 6. 4 1620 Bra Nails 16. 3 3 Bottle Cocks 11. 1 1/2 1 Copper Sauce pan of 1 1/4 Galls. 15. 1 4. 0. 8 Camblet vizt. 2 Yds. Blue 6. 9 6 1/2 Yds. Scarlet 1. 1. 11 8 Yds. Brown 17 2. 5. 8 Bunting 7 Yds. Blue 4. 1 £ 1338. 8. 8 Sold to the Planters at 25 p Ct. vizt. Shalloon vizt. 21 1/2 Yds. Coloured 2. 8. 4 3 Yds. Scarlet 8. 6 2. 16. 10 Buckram 2 1/4 Yds. 2. 7 Long Ells 28 Yds. Blue 2. 14. 10 Kersey 3 Yds. 5. 3 Flannel 8 Yds. 12. 4 Camblet 1 1/2 Yds. Blue 5. 8 Hats vizt. 1 Mens 1. 2 2 Boys 7. 6 1. 9. 6 Shoes vizt. 1 Pr. Mens Ordiny. 5 1 Pr. Mens fine Shoes 6. 11 2 Pr. Do. Pumps 12. 4 8 Pr. Womens Calimanco Shoes 1. 18. 4 Shoes Carried Over £ 3. 2. 7 Carrd. Over £ 8. 7 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £1,331 18s 3d and finished the sales to the Company's servants in 1766, beginning with the rest of the brassware. Brassware brought forward, £1 11s 10½d 2 pairs of snuffers, £0 6s 4d 1,620 brass nails, £0 16s 3d 3 bottle cocks, £0 11s 1½d 1 copper saucepan of 1¼ gallons, £0 15s 1d Brassware, £4 0s 3d Blue camlet, 2 yards, £0 6s 9d Scarlet camlet, 6½ yards, £1 1s 11d Brown camlet, 8 yards, £1 7s 0d Camlet, £2 15s 8d Blue bunting, 7 yards, £0 4s 1d Total sold to the Company's servants, £1,338 18s 3d A second group of goods was sold to the planters at 25 per cent above cost. Coloured shalloon, 21½ yards, £2 8s 4d Scarlet shalloon, 3 yards, £0 8s 6d Shalloon, £2 16s 10d Buckram, 2¼ yards, £0 2s 7d Long ells, 28 yards of blue, £2 14s 10d Kersey, 3 yards, £0 5s 3d Flannel, 8 yards, £0 12s 4d Blue camlet, 1½ yards, £0 5s 8d 1 man's hat, £1 2s 0d 2 boys' hats, £0 7s 6d Hats, £1 9s 6d 1 pair of men's ordinary shoes, £0 5s 0d 1 pair of men's fine shoes, £0 6s 11d 2 pairs of men's pumps, £0 12s 4d 8 pairs of women's calimanco shoes, £1 18s 4d Shoes so far, £3 2s 7d Carried over before the shoes, £8 7s 0d Interpretations The warehouse charged two prices for the same goods, set by the buyer's standing. The Company's servants paid cost and a tenth. The planters paid cost and a quarter. The shoes show the difference exactly. A pair of men's ordinary shoes cost a servant about four shillings and fivepence and a planter five shillings. Fine shoes cost six shillings and a penny against six shillings and elevenpence. Women's calimanco shoes cost four shillings and threepence against four shillings and ninepence halfpenny. In each case the planter's price is the servant's raised by the gap between the two advances. The distinction was a policy. Cheap goods were part of a servant's reward for employment, and the Company gave up profit on them. The planters were free inhabitants who held land by lease and sold produce to the ships and the Company. They had no claim to the same favour, and the Company took a trading profit from them. Even the planters' rate was moderate. A private importer on an island months from any other market could have asked a good deal more than a quarter above London cost. The two groups bought on wholly different scales. The servants' purchases reached £1,338 18s 3d in the quarter. The planters' list opened with a few yards of cloth, three hats and a dozen pairs of shoes. The planters bought no flour or salt meat. They fed themselves from their own land and came to the warehouse only for manufactured goods they could not make. Camlet was a light plain-woven cloth of worsted, sometimes mixed with goat hair or silk, for cloaks and summer wear. Kersey was a coarse narrow woollen for working clothes. Bunting was the thin open wool cloth of which flags were made, and seven yards of blue went for signals or repairs to colours. Bottle cocks were small brass taps driven into a cask to draw off liquor. The 1,620 brass nails were the round-headed tacks used to fix leather or cloth to chairs and trunks, which points to furniture being covered on the island. | |
74 | 21st. July Brought over £ 8. 7 Shoes bro. Over£ 3. 2. 7 2 Womens Span. Leathr. Shoes 9. 7 6 Pr. Womens Calf Do. Do. 19. 6 5 Pr. Girls Calimanco Do. 18. 9 6 Pr. Do. Calf Do. 15 5 Pr. Boys Shoes 19. 4 7. 4. 9 Broad Cloth vizt. 3 1/4 Yds. Brown 3. 11. 2 1/2 2 1/2 Yds. French Grey 2. 14. 9 1/2 6. 6 Long Cloth vizt. 1 Ps. C 4. 1. 11 Shirts 1 Yd. Bro: Holland 2. 3 Serge vizt. 6 1/2 Yds. Blue Serge 1. 17. 8 4 3/4 Yds. French Grey 1. 7. 6 9 1/4 Yds. Blue Duffle 3. 12. 5 3 1/4 Yds. Brown Do. 1. 5. 6 2/3 Ps. Fustain 1. 13. 9 9. 16. 10 Hosiers Ware vizt. 11 Pr. Mens Wove Stockgs. 2. 11. 9 2 Pr. Boys Do. 5 2. 16. 9 Sold at 40 p Ct. vizt. Hooks and Lines vizt. 650 No. 1 2. 3. 10 1/2 75 6 7. 7 1/2 150 7 11. 9 125 9 4. 10 1/2 50 10 1. 3 1/4 600 11 13. 6 225 12 3. 10 275 13 2. 6 1/2 250 14 2. 9 1/2 350 16 3. [...] Hooks Hooks & Lines Carrd. Over £ 4. 5. 2 Carrd. Over £ 38. 15. 6 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £8 7s 0d for the planters and resumed their shoes. Shoes brought forward, £3 2s 7d 2 pairs of women's Spanish leather shoes, £0 9s 7d 6 pairs of women's calf shoes, £0 19s 6d 5 pairs of girls' calimanco shoes, £0 18s 9d 6 pairs of girls' calf shoes, £0 15s 0d 5 pairs of boys' shoes, £0 19s 4d Shoes, £7 4s 9d Cloth and hosiery followed. Brown broadcloth, 3¼ yards, £3 11s 2½d French grey broadcloth, 2¼ yards, £2 14s 9½d Broadcloth, £6 6s 0d Long cloth of grade C, 1 piece, £4 1s 11d Brown holland, 1 yard, £0 2s 3d Blue serge, 6½ yards, £1 17s 8d French grey serge, 4¾ yards, £1 7s 6d Blue duffel, 9¾ yards, £3 12s 5d Brown duffel, 3¼ yards, £1 5s 6d Fustian, ⅓ of a piece, £1 13s 9d Serge and other cloths, £9 16s 10d 11 pairs of men's woven stockings, £2 11s 9d 2 pairs of boys' stockings, £0 5s 0d Hosiery, £2 16s 9d A third group of goods was sold at 40 per cent above cost and began with fish hooks. 650 hooks of size 1, £0 2s [...]d 75 hooks of size 6, £0 7s 7½d 150 hooks of size 7, £0 11s 9d 125 hooks of size 9, £0 4s 10½d 50 hooks of size 10, £0 1s 3¾d 600 hooks of size 11, £0 13s 6d 225 hooks of size 12, £0 3s 10d 275 hooks of size 13, £0 2s 6½d 250 hooks of size 14, £0 2s 9¾d 350 hooks of size 16, £0 3s 0¾d Hooks and lines so far, £[...] Carried over, £38 15s 6d Interpretations The return reveals a third price. The Company's servants paid cost and a tenth and the planters cost and a quarter. A further class of buyer paid cost and two fifths. The heading did not name them. The hooks prove the rate was applied as stated. Seventy-five hooks of size 6 cost the servants five shillings and elevenpence farthing and cost these buyers seven shillings and sevenpence halfpenny. The difference is exactly the gap between an advance of 10 per cent and one of 40. The goods were the same and came from the same cask, and only the customer changed. The buyers at the top rate were perhaps those with no standing claim on the Company: free inhabitants who were neither servants nor leaseholding planters, soldiers buying on their own account or the crews of ships in the road. They bought what a poor man needed to feed himself, since the list opened with fish hooks and nothing else. Nearly 2,800 hooks were sold at this rate in the quarter, more than the servants bought at theirs. The people who depended most on fishing paid the most for the means of doing it. The planters' purchases closed at £38 15s 6d, against £1,338 18s 3d for the servants. Almost all of it was clothing for families: 32 pairs of shoes, most of them for women and children, with stockings and cloth. They chose warm cloth. Thirteen yards of duffel, the thick napped woollen for cloaks and winter coats, was the largest purchase by value after the shoes. The planters lived on the high ground in the interior, which was colder and wetter than the valley around the Castle, and the quarter ran into the island's winter. The single piece of long cloth they bought was grade C at £4 1s 11d. The servants paid £7 4s 3d for two pieces of the same grade, about £3 12s a piece. The planter's price is that figure raised by the difference between the two advances, which confirms the rule on a second kind of goods. | |
75 | 1766 Brought over £ 38. 15. 6 Hooks & Lines brought over £ 4. 5. 2 138 No. 2 2. 16. 6 1/2 84 3 1. 18. 6 24 4 12. 10 10 Log 13. 9 4 Hambro 2. 3 2 Deep Sea 13. 2 1 Knot Jack 1. 7 1/2 Lines 11. 3. 10 Pewter 1 Chamber Pot 4. 4 Cutlery Ware vizt. 3 fine Ivory Combs 11. 9 2 fine Tooth Horn 6 5 Buckg. Do. 2. 1 2 Shoe Knives 1 15. 4 Haberdashery vizt. 3 1/2 Doz: Mohair Coat Buttons 3. 6 1 1/2 Doz: Do. Breast Do. 9 2 doz: Silver Coat Do. 5 1 1/2 doz: Do. Breast Do. 2 9 Skains Mohair 5. 3 9 Do. Silk 6. 9 1. 3. 3 Braziers Ware vizt. 1 Pr. Candle Sticks 10. 3 4 Tea Kettles of 3/4 Gall 3. 3. 6 1 Do. of 1 1/4 Do. 1. 3. 6 2 Pr. Snuffers 8 1 Flat Candle Stick 4. 4 5. 15. 7 Glass Ware vizt. 4 Beer Glasses 5. 2 6 Tumblers 5. 3 1 Pr. Glass Salts 11. 7 10 Sqr. Glass 8 by 10 8. 1 4 Sqr. 10 by 12 4. 8 1. 14. 9 Carried over £ 60. 2. 7 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £38 15s 6d and continued in 1766 with the fishing lines sold at 40 per cent above cost. Hooks and lines brought forward, £4 5s 2d 138 lines of size 2, £2 16s 6½d 84 lines of size 3, £1 18s 6d 24 lines of size 4, £0 12s 10d 10 log lines, £0 13s 9d 4 hambro lines, £0 2s 3d 2 deep sea lines, £0 13s 2d 1 [...], £0 1s 7½d Hooks and lines, £11 3s 10d Pewter, cutlery and haberdashery followed. 1 pewter chamber pot, £0 4s 4d 3 fine ivory combs, £0 11s 9d 2 fine-tooth horn combs, £0 0s 6d 5 [...] combs, £0 2s 1d 2 shoe knives, £0 1s 0d Cutlery, £0 15s 4d 3½ dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 3s 6d 1½ dozen mohair waistcoat buttons, £0 0s 9d 2 dozen silver coat buttons, £0 5s 0d 1½ dozen silver waistcoat buttons, £0 2s 0d 9 skeins of mohair, £0 5s 3d 9 skeins of silk, £0 6s 9d Haberdashery, £1 3s 3d Brassware and glassware closed the page. 1 pair of candlesticks, £0 10s 3d 4 tea kettles of ¾ gallon, £3 3s 6d 1 tea kettle of 1¼ gallons, £1 8s 6d 2 pairs of snuffers, £0 8s 0d 1 flat candlestick, £0 4s 11d Brassware, £5 15s 7d 4 beer glasses, £0 5s 2d 6 tumblers, £0 5s 3d 1 pair of glass salts, £0 1s 7d 10 panes of glass 8 inches by 10 inches, £0 8s 1d 4 panes of glass 10 inches by 12 inches, £0 4s 6d Glassware, £1 4s 9d Carried over, £60 2s 7d Interpretations The goods sold at the highest rate went well beyond fishing gear. The buyers took ivory combs, silver buttons, silk, candlesticks, tea kettles, tumblers and window glass. These were the furnishings of a settled household of some comfort. People who bought silver coat buttons and a pair of glass salt cellars were not poor. They paid 40 per cent above cost because of who they were and not because of what they could afford. The class perhaps took in everyone outside the Company's service and the body of planters, such as tradesmen, tavern keepers, discharged soldiers who stayed on and free people of colour. Ten soldiers took their discharge between 3 May 1766 and 14 July 1766, and those who remained on the island joined this group. Lines were where the rate bore hardest. These buyers took 246 fishing lines against 237 bought by the far more numerous servants, and paid more than a quarter extra for each. The same dependence on fishing shows in the hooks on the previous page. A hambro line was a small three-stranded cord used for lashings and light fishing. A deep sea line was a long heavy line for fishing or sounding in deep water, and at six shillings and sevenpence each it was the costliest line sold. The waters off the island fall away steeply close to the shore, and the better fishing grounds lay over deep water reached by boat. Ten log lines were sold at this rate and seven to the servants. No ship's officer needed to buy a speed line on shore in such numbers. Log line was strong, evenly laid cord, and the islanders were putting it to their own uses. A flat candlestick had a broad dish base and a handle for carrying a light from room to room. Snuffers were scissors with a small box on the blade for trimming a candle's burnt wick. | |
76 | 21st. July Brot. Over £ 60. 2. 7 Books vizt. 1 Common Prayr. Book 3. 11 1/2 1 Testament 1. 8 1/2 5. 8 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Large Fryg. Pan 5. 2 1/2 1 Brass Closet Lock 6 2 Splinter Locks 1. 6 2 Large Mouse Traps 3. 4 3 Small Fryg. Pans 5. 3 1 Scythe 7. 5 1/2 1 Hd. Hatchet 2. 4 1. 11. 1 Deals 1 Baulk 12. 6 China Ware vizt. 1 Tea pot 1. 2 2 Sallad Dishes 2. 2 2 Guglets & Basons 6. 6 9. 10 Sugar & Candy vizt. 623 Sugar 14. 4. 7 158 Candy 4. 12. 2 18. 16. 9 Flour 372 lb 4. 14. 6 Candles 77 lb 10. 4 Tea vizt. 51 lb Bohea 3. 10. 1 81 Congo 8. 8. 9 93 Singlo 9. 13. 6 21. 12. 4 Sope 204 lb 9. 19. 9 Salt 6 Bushels 1. 11. 6 Oil vizt. 3 Galls. Train 14. 4 1/4 14 1/4 Do. Linseed 3. 17. 7 1 Bottle Florence 3. 8 1/4 4. 15. 8 Carrd. Over £ 134. 16. 2 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £60 2s 7d and continued the sales at 40 per cent above cost. 1 Book of Common Prayer, £0 3s 11½d 1 Testament, £0 1s 8½d Books, £0 5s 8d 1 large frying pan, £0 5s 2½d 1 brass closet lock, £0 6s 0d 2 splinter locks, £0 1s 6d 2 large mouse traps, £0 3s 4d 3 small frying pans, £0 5s 3d 1 scythe, £0 7s 5½d 1 hand hatchet, £0 2s 4d Ironware, £1 11s 1d 1 baulk of timber, £0 12s 6d 1 teapot, £0 1s 2d 2 salad dishes, £0 2s 2d 2 guglets and basins, £0 6s 6d Chinaware, £0 9s 10d Provisions and household stores followed. Sugar, 623 pounds, £14 4s 7d Sugar candy, 158 pounds, £4 12s 2d Sugar and sugar candy, £18 16s 9d Flour, 372 pounds, £4 14s 6d Candles, [...] pounds, £10 4s 0d Bohea tea, 51 pounds, £3 10s 1d Congo tea, 81 pounds, £8 8s 9d Singlo tea, 93 pounds, £9 13s 6d Tea, £21 12s 4d Soap, 204 pounds, £9 19s 9d Salt, 6 bushels, £1 11s 6d Train oil, 3 gallons, £0 14s 4¼d Linseed oil, 14¼ gallons, £3 17s 7d Florence oil, 1 bottle, £0 3s 8¾d Oil, £4 15s 8d Carried over, £134 16s 2d Interpretations The third class of buyer preferred the dearer teas. The servants took 212 pounds of Bohea, the cheapest kind, against 106 of Congo and 143 of Singlo. These buyers took only 51 pounds of Bohea and 174 of the two better teas. They paid about two shillings and a penny a pound for Congo where a servant paid one shilling and sevenpence. People who bought the best tea at the highest mark-up had money to spare, which supports the reading that this class was defined by status and included prosperous households. Their provisions point the same way. They bought 623 pounds of sugar, 204 of soap and a quantity of candles costing over ten pounds, but only 372 pounds of flour and no salt meat at all. The servants bought flour by the hundredweight and salt meat by the thousand pieces. A household that took sugar, tea, soap and candles from the warehouse and almost no bread or meat was feeding itself from its own ground and stock. These were people with land or livestock who came to the Company only for imported comforts. The Company earned most from this class in proportion to what it sold. Goods worth about £96 at cost brought in £134 16s 2d so far on the page. The same goods sold to servants would have brought about £106. The three rates let the Company subsidise its own employees while taking a trader's margin from the rest of the island, all out of one stock and one set of invoices. A baulk was a squared beam of timber, sold whole for a lintel or a roof member. The Testament and the prayer book were the only books sold in the quarter besides one prayer book to a servant. The warehouse stocked reading matter for church and nothing else. | |
77 | 1766 Brought Over £ 134. 16. 2 Cordage 473 lb. 12. 6. 2 Lead 13 3/4 4 Blankets 6 2. 3. 3 Pepper 19 lb 14. 3 Starch 5 lb 4. 3 Thread vizt. 7 lb. Whited Brown 3. 5. [...] 4 lb. Coloured 17. 6 4. 2. 7 Twine vizt. 17 Sks. Twine 14. 2 1 lb Cotton Wick 3. 2 17. 10 Canvas vizt. 1 Yd. Ozenbrigs 11 1/2 25 Yds. Ticklingburgs 1. 16. 5 1. 17. 7 Paint vizt. 6 lb. Red lead mixed 2. 4 1/2 26 1/2 Ven: Red dry 7. 9 8 1/2 Indico 1. 2. 3 1/2 6 Blue Smalts 12 6 White Lead dry 2. 10 1/2 1 White Lead mixed 6 1/2 1 Yell Oaker dry 3 1/2 2 Barrls. Blacking 1. 7 1/2 2. 9. 9 Turners Ware vizt. 12 Labr. Baskets 16. 9 2 Scrubg. Brushes 6. 3 2 Hair Sieves 2. 6 1. 5. 6 Tin Ware vizt. 2 Small Sheets Tin 11 1/2 2 Horn Lanthorns 6. [...] Tin Ware Carrd. Over £ 7. [...] Carrd. Over £ 161. 1. 4 | The storekeeper's return brought forward £134 16s 2d and continued in 1766 with further sales at 40 per cent above cost. Cordage, 473 pounds, £12 6s 2d Lead, 15¾ pounds, £0 4s 0d Blankets, 6 blankets, £2 3s 3d Pepper, 19½ pounds, £0 14s 3d Starch, 5 pounds, £0 4s 3d Whited brown thread, 7 pounds, £3 5s 1d Coloured thread, 4 pounds, £0 17s 6d Thread, £4 2s 7d Twine, 17 skeins, £0 14s 2d Cotton wick, 1 pound, £0 3s 8d Twine and wick, £0 17s 10d Osnaburgs, 1 yard, £0 1s 1½d Ticklenburgs, 25 yards, £1 16s 5d Canvas, £1 17s 7d Paint, turnery and tinware followed. Red lead, mixed, 6 pounds, £0 2s 4½d Venetian red, dry, 26½ pounds, £0 7s 9d Indigo, 8½ pounds, £1 2s 3¾d Blue smalt, 6 pounds, £0 12s 0d White lead, dry, 6 pounds, £0 2s 8¼d White lead, mixed, 1 pound, £0 0s 6½d Yellow ochre, dry, 1 pound, £0 0s 3¼d Blacking, 2 barrels, £0 1s 7½d Paint, £2 9s 9d 12 labourers' baskets, £0 16s 9d 2 scrubbing brushes, £0 6s 3d 2 hair sieves, £0 2s 6d Turnery, £1 5s 6d 2 small sheets of tin, £0 0s 11½d 2 horn lanterns, £0 6s 2½d Tinware so far, £0 7s 2d Carried over, £161 1s 4d Interpretations Cordage was the largest purchase on the page. These buyers took 473 pounds of rope, well over four hundredweight, where the whole body of the Company's servants took about six. Rope in that quantity, bought beside nearly 250 fishing lines and some 2,800 hooks, was the rigging and mooring gear of boats. The buyers at the top rate evidently included the island's boat owners and fishermen, who worked the deep water off the coast and supplied fish to the town and the ships. Their trade depended wholly on imported hemp, hooks and line, and the Company sold these to them at its highest margin. The twelve labourers' baskets and the 25 yards of Ticklenburgs belong to working households. Baskets of that kind carried earth, stone and produce on the head or back, and coarse German linen clothed the people who carried them. Buyers in this class owned slaves or employed labourers, and they equipped them from the warehouse. Venetian red was bought in greater quantity here than by the servants, 26½ pounds against 19. It was the cheapest durable colour, an iron earth that cost about threepence halfpenny a pound even at this rate. Mixed with oil, it protected exposed woodwork such as doors, shutters and boats against sun and salt air. White lead, the dearer base for fine painting, was bought in small amounts. These households painted to preserve and not for show. | |
78 | 21st. July Brought £ 161. 1. 4 Tin Ware brought over £ 7 3 Large Sauce pans 2. 5 1/4 1 Driping Pan 4. 3 3/4 1 Glass Lanthorn 7. 2 1. 0. 11 Nails vizt. 9 lb 4 7. 6 19 6 14. 7 1/4 10 10 6. 10 1/2 6 20 3. 3 1 2 1. [...] 5 Scupper 3. 5 1/2 1. 16. 9 Pitch and Tar vizt. 5 Galls. Tar 5 74 lb. Rozin 18. 6 1. 3. 6 Shalloon 4 Yds. Coloured 10. 2 Broad Cloth vizt. 2 Yds. Green 2. 0. 8 2 1/2 Yds. Blue 3. 3. 4 5. 4 Sold at 50 p Cent vizt. Nails 3 Scupper 2 Glass Ware 6 Tumblers 5. 7 Candles 40 6 Pitch 2 Barrels 3. 15. 9 £ 181 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £161 1s 4d and finished the sales at 40 per cent above cost. Tinware brought forward, £0 7s 2d 3 large saucepans, £0 2s 5¼d 1 dripping pan, £0 4s 3¾d 1 glass lantern, £0 7s 2d Tinware, £1 0s 11d Fourpenny nails, 9 pounds, £0 7s 6d Sixpenny nails, 19 pounds, £0 14s 7¼d Tenpenny nails, 10 pounds, £0 6s 10½d Twentypenny nails, 6 pounds, £0 3s 3d Twopenny nails, 1 pound, £0 1s 4d Scupper nails, 5 pounds, £0 3s 5½d Nails, £1 16s 9d Tar, 5 gallons, £0 5s 0d Rosin, 74 pounds, £0 18s 6d Pitch and tar, £1 3s 6d Coloured shalloon, 4 yards, £0 10s 2d Green broadcloth, 2 yards, £2 0s 8d Blue broadcloth, 2½ yards, £3 3s 4d Broadcloth, £5 4s 0d A fourth group of goods was sold at 50 per cent above cost. Scupper nails, 3 pounds, £0 2s 0d 6 tumblers, £0 5s 7d Candles, 40 pounds, £6 0s 0d Pitch, 2 barrels, £3 15s 9d Total of sales to the planters and at the two higher rates, £181 0s 0d Interpretations The return ended with a fourth and highest rate, cost and a half. Only four items sold at it: scupper nails, pitch by the barrel, candles and half a dozen tumblers. Three of the four were ship's stores. Scupper nails were short nails with broad flat heads, used to fix leather and lead around the drain holes in a ship's side. Pitch in barrels was for paying the seams of a hull. A ship at sea burned candles steadily and could not make them. The buyers at this rate were therefore probably the vessels in the road, most likely the foreign ones. A Swedish, Danish, French or Dutch captain who ran short at St Helena had nowhere else to buy, and the Company charged its trading rivals the most it charged anyone. The scale of prices was now complete. The Company's servants paid cost and a tenth, the planters a quarter, other inhabitants two fifths and outsiders a half. Each step took the buyer further from the Company's own establishment. The warehouse priced by relationship, and the same pound of nails cost four different sums on the same day. The candles were wax and not tallow. Forty pounds cost £6 0s 0d, three shillings a pound, where tallow candles sold to the servants at about sevenpence. The Bengal invoices of 2 June 1766 and 16 June 1766 each brought four chests of wax candles at 71 current rupees a maund, the costliest goods in those consignments. Wax burned clean, held its shape in heat and did not go rancid at sea, which made it worth the price to a ship's cabin. All sales outside the Company's own servants came to £181 0s 0d for the quarter, against £1,338 18s 3d sold to the servants. Seven eighths of the warehouse's trade was with the Company's own people at the lowest margin. The higher rates applied to so small a share of the turnover that they yielded little. The warehouse existed to provision the establishment, and its trade with the rest of the island and with shipping was incidental. The rosin, tar and scupper nails bought at the 40 per cent rate confirm that buyers in that class kept boats. Seventy-four pounds of rosin and five gallons of tar would coat several hulls. | |
79 | 1766 Sold to the Compys. Ships from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 Canvas vizt. 9 Ps. English Canvas 29. 0. 10 135 Yds. Ozenbrigs 8. 3. 1 96 1/2 Yds. Ticklingburgs 7. 0. 4 1/2 44. 4. 3 1/2 Oil vizt. 60 Galls. Linseed 16. 5. 6 1 1/2 Gs. Oil of Turpentine 19. 9 1/2 17. 4. 3 1/2 Twine 120 Skains 7. 12. 6 Paint vizt. 73 lb. Red Lead 1. 10. 5 1/2 35 Ven Red dry 10. 2 1/2 65 Barrls. Blacking 2. 9. 3 11 Verdigrease 3. 2 1/2 30 lb Yellw. Oaker dry 8. 1 1/2 64 lb White Lead mixed 1. 10. 8 1/2 20 lb Stone Colour 5. 10 10 White Lead mixed 5. 5 10. 2 1/2 Lines vizt. 21 Log Lines 1. 8. 9 1/2 6 No. 4 Do. 3. 4 1. 12. 1 1/2 Pitch and Tar vizt. 12 Barrls. Tar 16. 11. 4 13 Do. Pitch 23. 2. 7 61 lb. Turpentine 1. 3. 6 1/2 40. 17. 5 1/2 Deals 20 Single 3. 4. 2 Turners Ware vizt. 9 Paint Brushes 6. 1 1/2 2 Pump Boxes 9. 9 1 Hair Broom 3 18. 10 1/2 Carrd. Over £ 125. 13. 11 | The storekeeper's return listed the goods sold to the Company's ships between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. English canvas, 9 pieces, £29 0s 10d Osnaburgs, 135 yards, £8 3s 1d Ticklenburgs, 96½ yards, £7 0s 4½d Canvas, £44 4s 3½d Linseed oil, 60 gallons, £16 4s 6d Oil of turpentine, 1½ gallons, £0 19s 9½d Oil, £17 4s 3½d Twine, 120 skeins, £7 12s 6d Paint followed. Red lead, 73 pounds, £1 10s 5½d Venetian red, dry, 35 pounds, £0 10s 2½d Blacking, 65 barrels, £2 9s 3d Verdigris, 11 pounds, £3 0s 2¼d Yellow ochre, dry, 30 pounds, £0 8s 1½d White lead, mixed, 64½ pounds, £1 10s 8¼d Stone colour, 20 pounds, £0 5s 10d White lead, mixed, 10 pounds, £0 5s 5d Paint, £10 0s 2½d Lines, pitch, timber and turnery closed the page. 21 log lines, £1 8s 9½d 6 lines of size 4, £0 3s 4d Lines, £1 12s 1½d Tar, 12 barrels, £16 11s 4d Pitch, 13 barrels, £23 2s 7d Turpentine, 61½ pounds, £1 3s 6½d Pitch and tar, £40 17s 5½d 20 single deals, £3 4s 2d 9 paint brushes, £0 6s 1½d 2 pump boxes, £0 4s 9d 1 hair broom, £0 3s 0d Turnery, £0 13s 10½d Carried over, £125 13s 11d Interpretations The Company's ships bought the materials of a refit. Sailcloth, twine for sewing it, pitch and tar by the barrel, linseed oil and white lead for paint, and deals for carpentry made up the whole list. A ship reached St Helena after months at sea from China, Bengal or Bombay with worn sails, opened seams and bare timber. The fortnight at anchor was her chance to repair before the final passage to England. Thirteen barrels of pitch and twelve of tar went to recaulk and coat hulls. The paint included 73 pounds of red lead for priming and eleven pounds of costly verdigris. Commanders liked to bring their ships into the Thames looking well kept, and the last coat went on here. The ships paid the highest rate. A single deal cost a servant about two shillings and fourpence. The ships paid three shillings and twopenpence halfpenny for the same board, which is the servant's price raised from an advance of 10 per cent to one of 50. The four items sold at 50 per cent on the previous page, scupper nails, pitch, candles and tumblers, belonged to this same class of customer. The Company's ships were not the Company's property. It hired them from private owners under charter party, and stores for the ship's upkeep were the owners' expense. The Company therefore sold to its own fleet as to an outside buyer and took its fullest margin. These sales explain the sums the ships paid into the treasury. The cash accounts for April 1766 and May 1766 recorded payments from ten ships, most between £8 and £35. Those were the commanders settling their warehouse bills before sailing. The Talbot paid £113 12s 7d on 2 May 1766, far more than the rest, which fits a ship that drew salt beef from the stores as well as refitting gear. Pump boxes were the wooden pistons of a ship's pumps, fitted with leather valves that wore out with use. Blacking was a mixture of lampblack and tar or oil for coating the hull above water and the yards. Stone colour was a ready-mixed pale buff paint. Log lines sold in number here, 21 in the quarter, since each ship ran one out at every change of watch and wore them through. | |
80 | 21st. July Brot. Over £ 125. 13. 11 Nails 186 lb 5. 7. 6 1/2 Cordage vizt. 1864 lb Cordage 48. 10. 8 1/2 72 C. 3 qrs. 6 lb. a Cable 175. 7 223. 17. 8 1/2 Iron Ware vizt. 2 Files 1. 6 1 Pr. Sheep Sheers 2 3. 6 Beef and Pork vizt. 9 Punchs. Beef 170. 7. 3 10 Hhds Pork 163. 5. 10 333. 13. 1 Corks 4 lb. Sheet 3. 6 Grindstones 1 12. 5 Glass Ware 2 half Hour Glasses 2. 11 Coals 3 Chaldrons 27 Bushs. 12. 18. 9 £ 702. 13. 4 Charges General Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 66 lb. Canday for the Groom Gardener and Doctrs. Shop 1. 7. 6 28 Sugar for a Serjeant 7 1. 14. 6 Tea 6 lb. Bohea for the Groom & Gardener 5. 6 Oil vizt. 13 1/4 Galls. Train 2. 11. 1 3/4 14 1/4 Do. Linseed 2. 16. 1 3/4 2 Bottle Florence 5. 3 1/4 2 1/2 Galls. Oil of Turp 10. 11 for the Castle Doctors Shop Armr. Bench Mate & Armr. 6. 3. 6 Canvas vizt. 17 Yds. Ozenbrigs 13. 5 1/2 82 Yds. Eng. Canvas 4. 12. 3 1/2 for Jackets Caulk Armr. & Granadrs. 5. 5. 9 Carried Over £ 13. 9. 3 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £125 13s 11d and finished the sales to the Company's ships. Nails, 160 pounds, £5 7s 6½d Cordage, [...], £48 10s 8½d A cable of 72 hundredweight 3 quarters 0 pounds, £175 7s 0d Cordage, £223 17s 8½d 2 files, £0 1s 6d 1 pair of sheep shears, £0 2s 0d Ironware, £0 3s 6d Beef, 9 puncheons, £170 7s 3d Pork, 10 hogsheads, £163 5s 10d Beef and pork, £333 13s 1d Corks, [...], £0 3s 6d 1 grindstone, £0 12s 5d 2 half-hour glasses, £0 2s 11d Coals, 3 chaldrons 27 bushels, £12 18s 9d Total sold to the Company's ships, £702 13s 4d A further account covered stores issued for the Company's own use between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766, charged to general expenses. Sugar candy for the groom, the gardener and the doctor's shop, 66 pounds, £1 7s 6d Sugar for making a cement, 28 pounds, £0 7s 0d Sugar and sugar candy, £1 14s 6d Bohea tea for the groom and the gardener, 6 pounds, £0 5s 6d Train oil, 15¾ gallons, £2 11s 1¾d Linseed oil, 15¼ gallons, £2 16s 1¾d Florence oil, 2 bottles, £0 5s 3¾d Oil of turpentine, 2¾ gallons, £0 10s 11d Oil for the Castle, the doctor's shop, the armourer and other workmen, £6 3s 6d Osnaburgs, 17 yards, £0 13s 5¼d English canvas, 82 yards, £4 12s 3¾d Canvas for the caulkers, the armourer, the gardener and other workmen, £5 5s 9d Carried over, £13 9s 3d Interpretations Two purchases made up most of what the ships bought. One was a single anchor cable weighing nearly 73 hundredweight, sold for £175 7s 0d. A ship that lost or wore out a cable could not safely anchor again, and the roadstead at St Helena was open water with a strong swell. The Company kept spare cables on the island for exactly this, and one ship needed one that quarter. The other was salt meat in bulk, nine puncheons of beef and ten hogsheads of pork for £333 13s 1d. The Council stated on 23 May 1766 that it supplied Captain Dethick of the Talbot from the Company's stores, and these casks were issues of that kind. Ships that could not be given their full allowance of fresh beef after the resolution of 3 May 1766 were sold salt meat for the voyage home. The Company's ships spent £702 13s 4d at the warehouse in the quarter, all at cost and a half. That was four times the combined purchases of the planters and other inhabitants. After the Company's own servants, the fleet was the warehouse's chief customer, and the only one from which it took a substantial profit. A half-hour glass was the sandglass by which a ship kept her watches, turned at each bell. A puncheon and a hogshead were large casks, the puncheon the bigger. A chaldron was the measure by which coal was sold, equal to 36 bushels. The second account recorded what the Company used itself. Stores drawn for its own establishment were not sold, so they were entered as a charge against general expenses and valued at cost. The entries show small allowances in kind. The groom and the gardener received Bohea tea and sugar candy from the stores as part of their keep. The doctor's shop, the island's dispensary, drew sugar candy and Florence oil, both ordinary ingredients of medicines. Twenty-eight pounds of sugar went into a cement. Builders added sugar or coarse molasses to lime mortar to make it set harder and resist water. The practice was common in India, where the Company's engineers learned it. Captain Mitchell's masons were building a culvert at Sandy Bay that had to withstand floods, and a water-resistant mortar suited that work or the lining of a cistern. | |
81 | 1766 Brought over £ 13. 9. 3 Turners Ware vizt. 27 Plaistr. Brushes 1. 11. 6 73 Paint Do. 1. 13. 5 1/2 7 Hair Brooms 14. 9 12 Mops 15 4 Scrubg. Brushes 8. 10 24 Punch Ladles 14 1 Labr. Basket 11 1/2 1 Hair Sieve 11 Use of the Castle 21 Birch Brooms. Castle & Cleang. the Parade. 8. 4 2 Wood Bowls 1. 6 1/2 2 Platters 2 for the Workmen at Plan House 2 Shoe Brushes for the Armory 1. 1 1/2 1 Butchers Tray Castle 7. 4 6 Skimming Dishes Do. 1. 6 1 Labrs. Baskt. for the Use of the Bakers 1. 6 7. 3. 7 Glass Ware vizt. 3 Quart decanters 10. 6 2 Pint Do. 5. 8 4 Bell Glass Lanths. 4 Candle Shades 1. 11. 4 1 Glass Lanthorn 3 Sqr. Glass 8 by 10 2. 8 52 Sqr. 10 by 12 3. 11. 6 1 Sqr. 11 by 19 1. 4 4 Sqr. 11 by 17 5. 2 for the Castle 6. 7. 9 Paint vizt. 37 lb. Whiting 9 1/2 8 lb. Verdegrease 1. 11. [...] 20 lb. White Lead mixed 7. 6 6 Do. Do. dry 1. 10 1/2 57 Ven: Red dry 12. 3 1/2 4 Do. Do. mixed 1. 10 1 1/2 Yell. Oaker mixed 2. 1 for the Castle & Lieut. Governor House Paint Carrd. Over £ 2. 17. 6 1/2 Carrd. Over £ 27. [...] 7 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use brought forward £13 9s 3d and continued in 1766 with turnery, most of it for the Castle. 27 plasterers' brushes for the Castle, £1 11s 6d 73 paint brushes for the Castle, £1 13s 5½d 7 hair brooms for the Castle, £0 14s 9d 12 mops for the Castle, £0 15s 0d 4 scrubbing brushes for the Castle, £0 8s 10d 24 [...] ladles for the Castle, £0 14s 0d 1 labourer's basket for the Castle, £0 0s 11½d 1 hair sieve for the Castle, £0 0s 11d 21 birch brooms for the Castle and for sweeping the Parade, £0 8s 4d 2 wooden bowls for the workmen at Plantation House, £0 1s 6½d 2 platters for the workmen at Plantation House, £0 2s 0d 2 shoe brushes for the armoury, £0 1s 1½d 1 butcher's tray for the Castle, £0 7s 4d 6 skimming dishes for the Castle, £0 1s 6d 1 labourer's yoke for the bakers, £0 1s 6d Turnery, £7 3s 7d Glassware for the Castle followed. 3 quart decanters, £0 10s 6d 2 pint decanters, £0 5s 8d 4 bell glass lanterns, 4 candle shades and 1 glass lantern, £1 11s 4d 3 panes of glass 8 inches by 10 inches, £0 2s 8d 52 panes of glass 10 inches by 12 inches, £3 11s 6d 1 pane of glass 11 inches by 19 inches, £0 1s 4d 4 panes of glass 11 inches by 17 inches, £0 5s 2d Glassware, £6 7s 9d Paint for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house closed the page. Whiting, 37 pounds, £0 0s 9¼d Verdigris, 3 pounds, £1 11s 0½d White lead, mixed, 20 pounds, £0 7s 6d White lead, dry, 6 pounds, £0 1s 10½d Venetian red, dry, 54 pounds, £0 12s 3½d Venetian red, mixed, 4 pounds, £0 1s 10d Yellow ochre, mixed, 1½ pounds, £0 0s 2½d Paint so far, £2 17s 6¼d Carried over, £27 0s 7d Interpretations The issues document the work Captain Mitchell reported finished on 14 July 1766. He wrote that the alterations to the Castle, ordered by the Governor, were complete at last. The stores show what the final stage consisted of. Twenty-seven plasterers' brushes and 73 paint brushes went to the Castle in the quarter, with 60 panes of glass, whiting for whitewash and white lead and verdigris for the woodwork. The building was being plastered, limewashed, glazed and painted throughout. The 52 panes of ten inches by twelve were larger than the small squares the servants bought for their own houses. The Company glazed its seat of government with a better window than its employees could afford. The paint was shared with the Lieutenant Governor's house. Daniel Corneille's residence was Company property, maintained from Company stores as an official dwelling. The same held for Plantation House, the Governor's country residence, where workmen were issued bowls and platters to eat from while employed there. The Company housed its senior officers and bore the upkeep, and the charge to general expenses was the means of accounting for it. The Castle's domestic issues show a large household. Decanters, a butcher's tray, skimming dishes and a dozen mops served the kitchen and table whose monthly bills came before the Council. A skimming dish was a shallow perforated pan for taking cream off milk, which shows that the Castle ran a dairy from the Company's cows. A bell glass lantern was a hanging lamp with a glass bowl shaped like a bell, for passages and stairs. Candle shades were tall open glass cylinders set over a candle on the table to keep the flame steady in a draught, a necessity in rooms with windows open to the trade wind. The Parade was the open ground before the Castle where the garrison mustered. Birch brooms to sweep it were charged to the Company like any other store, a small sign that the appearance of the place where soldiers drilled and ships' officers landed was treated as a public expense. | |
82 | 21st. July Brought over £ 27. [...] 7 Paint brought over £ 2. 17. 6 1/2 4 lb. Sacharum Saturn 13. 11 1/2 1 lb. Red Lead 2 3/4 1 1/4 Umber 3 1/4 3 lb. Brimstone 8 Castle & Lieut. Governors House 3. 12. 8 Iron Ware vizt. 2 Stock locks for the Bake Ho. & Peak 5. 10 1/2 4 Steel Hand Saws 14. 6 3 Tenor Do. 1. 3. 1 1/2 2 Compass Do. 5 1 Joiners Plain 4. 11 1/2 6 Jack Do. 11 13 Two Ft. Rules 11. 11 12 Steel Compas. 5 12 Black Lead Pencils 4. 5 2 Carpenters Adzes 7. 1/2 92 Files 2. 6 72 Plain Irons Sorted 1. 7 12 Former Chizels 4 12 Socket Scribg. Do. 7. 8 6 Whalers Pickg. Gouges 4 3 Taper Augors 11. 10 1/2 72 Gimblets 13. 6 Carpenters Use 6 Pick Axes 19 6 Helves 3. 4 1/2 5 Iron Crows 2. 0. 6 6 Shod Shovels 11. 1 1/2 Mason Use 1 Ragstone Coopers Use 2 3/4 2 Iron rimd. Locks wth. Br: Knobs for two of the Compys. Houses 13. 2 1 Long Handle Fryg. Pan Castle 3. 8 1/2 7 Small Rasps Do. 1. 3 3/4 2 Pr. H. Hinges Bake H Do. 3. 4 2 S Bitt Locks. Ft. Church & one of the Compys. Houses 14. 8 Iron Ware Carrd. Over £ 15. 17. 3 1/2 Carried over £ 30. 13. 3 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £27 0s 7d and finished the paint for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house. Paint brought forward, £2 17s 6¼d Sugar of lead, ½ pound, £0 13s 11½d Red lead, 1 pound, £0 0s 2¼d Umber, 1¼ pounds, £0 0s 3¼d Brimstone, 3 pounds, £0 0s 8d Paint, £3 12s 8d Ironware followed, most of it tools for the Company's workmen. 2 stock locks for the bakehouse and the [...], £0 5s 10½d 4 steel hand saws for the carpenters, £0 14s 6d 3 tenon saws for the carpenters, £1 3s 1½d 2 compass saws for the carpenters, £0 5s 0d 1 joiner's plane for the carpenters, £0 4s 11½d 6 jack planes for the carpenters, £0 11s 0d 12 two-foot rules for the carpenters, £0 11s 11d 12 steel compasses for the carpenters, £0 5s 0d 12 black lead pencils for the carpenters, £0 4s 5d 2 carpenters' adzes, £0 7s 0½d 92 files for the carpenters, £2 6s 0d 72 plane irons of assorted sizes for the carpenters, £1 7s 0d 12 firmer chisels for the carpenters, £0 4s 0d 12 socket chisels for the carpenters, £0 7s 8d 6 wheelwrights' gouges for the carpenters, £0 4s 0d 3 taper augers for the carpenters, £0 11s 10½d 72 gimlets for the carpenters, £0 13s 6d 6 pickaxes for the masons, £0 19s 0d 6 helves for the masons, £0 3s 4½d 5 iron crowbars for the masons, £2 0s 6d 6 shod shovels for the masons, £0 11s 7½d 1 ragstone for the coopers, £0 0s 2¾d 2 iron rim locks with brass knobs for two of the Company's houses, £0 13s 2d 1 long-handled frying pan for the Castle, £0 3s 8½d 7 small rasps, £0 1s 3¼d 2 pairs of H hinges for the bakehouse, £0 3s 4d 2 [...] locks for the church and one of the Company's houses, £0 14s 8d Ironware so far, £15 17s 3½d Carried over before the ironware, £30 13s 3d Interpretations The Company owned its workmen's tools. Captain Mitchell wrote on 26 May 1766 that tools for the individual craftsmen were left to the storekeeper's requisition as usual. This list is that arrangement in practice. The carpenters drew saws, planes, chisels, augers, rules and compasses from the warehouse, charged to general expenses. A craftsman in England ordinarily owned his own kit. On the island a man could not buy tools except from the Company, so the Company issued them and kept them on its books. Joseph Chamberlain, the carpenter's mate who asked on 30 June 1766 to leave the service, would have handed his back. The quantities show hard use. Seventy-two plane irons, 72 gimlets and 92 files went out in one quarter to a carpenters' shop of a few men. The blades were consumables, worn down or broken on the island's dense native woods and replaced from stock. The files kept the saws sharp. The masons' issue was the equipment of quarrying: six pickaxes with spare handles, five iron crowbars and six shovels. Crowbars at eight shillings each were the costliest tools on the page, heavy bars for levering blocks from the rock face. Mitchell reported on 14 July 1766 that collecting stone was the hardest part of the Sandy Bay works, and the magazine sent 300 pounds of blasting powder there in each of May 1766 and June 1766. These were the hand tools that followed the powder. A shod shovel was a wooden blade edged with iron, cheaper than a steel one and adequate for loose rubble. Sugar of lead was a white salt made by dissolving lead in vinegar. Painters stirred a little into oil paint to make it dry quickly, useful in the damp sea air. It was poisonous and costly, about twenty-eight shillings a pound. Umber was a brown earth pigment. A ragstone was a coarse whetstone, here for the coopers' drawknives and adzes. The locks went to the bakehouse, the church and the Company's houses. The Company maintained the island's public buildings, its place of worship included, from the same store and the same account as its workshops. | |
83 | 1766 Brought over £ 30. 13. 3 Iron Ware brought Over £ 15. 17. 3 1/2 1 Hand Hatchet Castle 1. 8 5 Blank Keys Smiths Sop and Lieut. Governrs. House 3. 7 1/4 2 Hand Vices 6 1/4 lb. Flour Emery 2 3/4 for the use of the Smiths Shop 2 Large Box Irons & Heaters Castle 12. 8 1 Upright drill and Bitt 13. 7 2 Smiths Slitting Saws 3. 10 1 Bastard Rubber File 3. 4 Smiths Shop 1 Back Door Lock Lt. Govrs. House 5 1 Gun Smiths saw Use of the Smiths Shop 1. 10 1 Cupboard Lock Castle 2. 10 12 Cat Gun Drill Strings Carpenters Use 4 1 Doz: Wood Screws for the Castle 4 19. 2. 3 Deals vizt. 78 Single Deals 8. 5. 9 24 Double Do. 4. 2 1 Elm Plank 17. 6 Castle, Compys. Houses Brickmrs. and Armory 13. 5. 3 Nails vizt. 72 lb. 2 2. 9. 6 4 3 2. 11 16 4 9. 4 10 6 5. 2 3/4 17 10 7. 5 1/4 39 20 14. 7 1/2 12 Copper Rivets 5. 6 6 Spikes 1. 10 1/4 Castle Compys. Houses Brickmakers & Armry 12 Flooring Brads 4. 9 9 Bra: Nails 3 2 1/4 Glazing Brads 3. 11 for Do. 5. 8. 1 Arrack 21 1/2 Galls. Sundrys, & Men Empd. in the Stores 12. 15. 7 Carried Over £ 81. 4. 5 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use brought forward £30 13s 3d and continued the ironware in 1766. Ironware brought forward, £15 17s 3½d 1 hand hatchet for the Castle, £0 1s 8d 5 blank keys for the smith's shop and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 3s 7¼d 2 hand vices for the smith's shop, £0 6s 0d ¼ pound of flour emery for the smith's shop, £0 0s 2¾d 2 large box irons and heaters for the Castle, £0 12s 8d 1 upright drill and bit for the smith's shop, £0 13s 7d 2 smith's slitting saws for the smith's shop, £0 3s 10d 1 bastard rubber file for the smith's shop, £0 3s 4d 1 back door lock for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 5s 0d 1 gunsmith's saw for the smith's shop, £0 1s 10d 1 cupboard lock for the Castle, £0 2s 10d 12 catgut drill strings for the carpenters, £0 4s 0d 1 dozen wood screws for the Castle, £0 0s 4d Ironware, £19 2s 3d Timber and nails went to the Castle, the Company's houses, the brickmakers and the armoury. 73 single deals, £8 5s 9d 24 double deals, £4 2s 0d 1 elm plank, £0 17s 6d Timber, £13 5s 3d Twopenny nails, 72 pounds, £2 9s 6d Threepenny nails, 4 pounds, £0 2s 11d Fourpenny nails, 16 pounds, £0 9s 4d Sixpenny nails, 10 pounds, £0 5s 2¼d Tenpenny nails, 17 pounds, £0 7s 5¼d Twentypenny nails, 39 pounds, £0 14s 7½d Coopers' rivets, 12 pounds, £0 5s 6d Spikes, 6 pounds, £0 1s 10¼d Flooring brads, 12 pounds, £0 4s 9d Brass nails, 9 pounds, £0 3s 0d Glazing brads, 2¼ pounds, £0 3s 11d Nails, £5 8s 1d Arrack for various uses and for the men employed in the stores, [...] gallons, £12 15s 7d Carried over, £81 4s 5d Interpretations Arrack appears among the building materials as a cost of labour. The men who worked in the stores, shifting casks, bags and chests as each ship's consignment came ashore, received spirits from the Company's stock. Eleven Company ships landed goods between April 1766 and June 1766, and unloading was heavy work done in bursts. A dram was the customary reward for it, issued in kind and written off against general expenses. The sum was not small. At £12 15s 7d the arrack cost nearly as much as all the timber on the page. The brickmakers drew deals and nails alongside the Castle and the armoury. Captain Mitchell asked on 26 May 1766 for a brickmaker skilled in tiles to be sent out in 1767. The entry shows that brickmaking was already carried on, with men described by that trade. They needed boards for moulds, drying racks and shelter for the unfired bricks. His request was therefore for a better craftsman and not for the start of a new industry. The smith's shop received the equipment of a working forge and fitting bench. Hand vices held small work for filing. An upright drill was a frame that pressed a bit down into iron while it was turned. Slitting saws cut slots in metal, and flour emery was the finest grade of abrasive powder for polishing. A gunsmith's saw among them shows the smith repairing the garrison's muskets as well as making tools. The catgut strings drove the carpenters' bow drills, in which a cord wrapped round the bit spun it back and forth. A box iron was a hollow smoothing iron heated by a slug of hot metal placed inside it, which kept soot off the linen. Two large ones for the Castle belong with the mops, decanters and skimming dishes issued earlier in the same account. The Governor's household kept a laundry as well as a kitchen and dairy at the Company's cost. | |
84 | 21st. July Brought over £ 81. 4. 5 Candles vizt. 59 lb. Officers on duty 2. 19 4 lb Doctors Shop 3 130 lb. Council 13 70 lb. Castle 7 23. 7 Chalk 36 lb. Castle and Smiths Shop 9 Sope 58 3/4 for Linen 1. 17. 11 Broad Cloth 2 Yds. Green to cover the Council Table 1. 8. 10 Cordage 105 lb. for a Well rope. Lt. Govr. Fisherm. & Brickmakr. 1. 17. 2 Iron 223 lb. Castle Armorer and Smiths Shop 2. 6. 6 Hooks and Lines vizt. 6 No. 3 1. 11 3/4 12 2 3. 5 3/4 Lines Carpentr. Use and Lt. Governor Fishermen 25 11 Hooks Lieut. Govr. Fisherm. [...] 5. 10 Cutlery Ware vizt. 2 Pallate Knives, Castle 1. 8 1 Shoe Do. Do. 4 1 Horn Goblet for the Lt. Govr. 3 4 Butchers Knives for the Butchers 1. 4 3. 7 Twine 4 Sks. Castle and Armorer 2. 1 Corks 10 Gross Do. 1. 3. 9 Shoes 1 Pr. Mens Ordiny. given to the Mallay 5. 6 Iron Pots 2 of 3 Galls. Workmen at Plant. House 16 Salt 1/4 Bushel given to the Mallay 11 Pitch & Tar vizt. 16 lb. Rozin 2. 4 10 lb. Pitch 1. 3 Castle and Lt. Govr. House 3. 7 Long Cloth 2 1/4 Ps. A for Sheets for ye. Govr. & Kitchn. Castle 3. 2. 3 Shalloon 5 1/2 Yds. Coloured Lt. Govrs. House 9. 10 Tin Ware vizt. 2 doub. Tin plates Castle 1. 4 10 lb. Solder 8. 11 1/2 1 lb. Salamoniac 5. 7 1/2 for Tinning the Castle Kitchen Furniture 15. 11 Carried Over £ 124. 11. 10 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £81 4s 5d and continued with candles. Candles for the officers on duty, 29½ pounds, £2 19s 0d Candles for the doctor's shop, 4 pounds, £0 8s 0d Candles for the Council, 130 pounds, £13 0s 0d Candles for the Castle, 70 pounds, £7 0s 0d Candles, £23 7s 0d A run of single items followed. Chalk for the Castle and the smith's shop, 36 pounds, £0 0s 9d Soap for washing linen, 53¾ pounds, £1 17s 11d Green broadcloth to cover the Council table, 2 yards, £1 8s 10d Cordage for a well rope, the Lieutenant Governor's fishermen and the brickmakers, 105 pounds, £1 17s 2d Iron for the Castle, the armourer and the smith's shop, 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 3 pounds, £2 6s 6d 6 lines of size 3 for the carpenters and the Lieutenant Governor's fishermen, £0 1s 11¾d 12 lines of size 2 for the Lieutenant Governor's fishermen, £0 3s 5¼d 25 hooks of size 11 for the Lieutenant Governor's fishermen, £0 0s 4½d Hooks and lines, £0 5s 10d 2 palette knives for the Castle, £0 1s 8d 1 shoe knife for the Castle, £0 0s 4d 1 [...] for the Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 3d 4 butcher's knives for the butchers, £0 1s 4d Cutlery, £0 3s 7d Twine for the Castle and the armourer, 4 skeins, £0 2s 1d Corks for the Castle, 10 gross, £1 3s 9d 1 pair of men's ordinary shoes given to the Malay, £0 5s 6d 2 iron pots of 3 gallons for the workmen at Plantation House, £0 16s 0d Salt given to the Malay, ¼ bushel, £0 0s 11d Further stores closed the page. Rosin for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, 16 pounds, £0 2s 4d Pitch for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, 10 pounds, £0 1s 3d Pitch and tar, £0 3s 7d Long cloth of grade A for sheets at the Castle, 2¼ pieces, £3 2s 3d Coloured shalloon for the Lieutenant Governor's house, 5½ yards, £0 9s 10d 2 double tin plates for the Castle, £0 1s 4d Solder for tinning the Castle's kitchen vessels, 10 pounds, £0 8s 11½d Sal ammoniac for tinning the Castle's kitchen vessels, 1 pound, £0 5s 7½d Tinware, £0 15s 11d Carried over, £124 11s 10d Interpretations The candles were wax, charged at two shillings a pound. The Council took 130 pounds in the quarter and the Castle 70. Tallow candles sold from the same warehouse at about sevenpence a pound, and the servants bought 613 pounds of those. The Company lit its council chamber and the Governor's rooms with the costly wax sent from Bengal and left tallow to its employees. The Council's own allowance cost £13 0s 0d, more than the quarter's rent of many leaseholds. The green cloth for the Council table was the finest woollen in the store, at over fourteen shillings a yard at cost. A table covered in green broadcloth was the mark of a board that sat in judgement and kept accounts. Every petition and account in these minutes was laid on it. The Lieutenant Governor had fishermen maintained for him. Lines, hooks and rope for their use were issued from the Company's stores and charged to general expenses. Fish for his table was thus a perquisite of office, like his house, whose back door lock, paint and curtain lining appear in the same account. Daniel Corneille managed the Company's plantation and livestock, and these allowances in kind formed part of his reward beside his salary. Two entries recorded gifts to a man called only the Malay. He received a pair of shoes and a quarter bushel of salt. He was perhaps a slave or servant of the Company from the East Indies, known by his origin and not by a name. Shoes were not ordinarily issued to slaves, and the grant suggests a man in some position of trust or special employment. Sal ammoniac was the flux used in tinning. Copper cooking vessels were lined with a thin coat of tin, since bare copper tainted food and could poison it. The lining wore through with use and had to be renewed, and ten pounds of solder with a pound of flux recoated the Castle's whole kitchen. Ten gross of corks, 1,440 in all, went to the Castle in the quarter. Wine and arrack arrived in casks and were bottled there, and the Company's table used over 260 bottles in June 1766 alone. | |
85 | 1766 Brought over £ 124. 11. 10 Starch 4 1/2 for Linen 2. 8 Bunting 2 Yds. Blue. Castle 1. 1 Thread 1/2 lb. Coloured Secrety. Office 3. 5 China Ware vizt. 6 Sallad Dishes 5. 6 2 Setts Dishes & Plates. 1. 16. 6 2 Half Pt. Cups & Saucers 11 6 China Bowls nice 2. 7 Castle 2. 4. 6 Spice vizt. 2 lb. Allspice 3 1 Cinnamon 17. 10 1 NutMegs 11 Use of the Castle 1. 13. 10 Sailors Cloaths 2 Waistcoats given to the Groom 8. 10 Saddles 1 with a Set of Double Furniture for the Govr. 5. 19. 8 Braziers Ware vizt. 2 Hash pans with Covers 2. 14. 2 2 Do. without Do. 1. 9. 8 Castle 4. 3. 10 £ 139. 9. 8 Diet Expences Dr. for the following Stores Issued from 1st. April to 30th. June 1766 vizt. Candy 270 lb 5. 12. 6 Arrack 60 1/2 Galls. 9. 10. 4 Beef and Pork vizt. 22 Ps. Pork 3. 2. 9 1/2 1 Ps. Beef 3. 3 1/2 3. 6. 1 Flour 987 lb 8. 4. 6 Salt 1 1/2 Bushels 5. 6 Rice 100 lb. 10 Coffea 20 lb 16. 3 Pease 1/8 Bushel Split 1. 1 Oil 6 Bottles Florence 15. 10 £ 29. 2. 6 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use brought forward £124 11s 10d and closed in 1766 with these items. Starch for linen, 4½ pounds, £0 2s 3d Blue bunting for the Castle, 2 yards, £0 1s 1d Coloured thread for the Secretary's office, 1 pound, £0 3s 5d 6 salad dishes for the Castle, £0 4s 6d 2 sets of dishes and plates for the Castle, £1 16s 6d 2 half-pint cups and saucers for the Castle, £0 0s 11d 6 fine china bowls for the Castle, £0 2s 7d Chinaware, £2 4s 6d Allspice for the Castle, 2 pounds, £0 3s 0d Cinnamon for the Castle, 1 pound, £0 17s 10d Nutmegs for the Castle, 1 pound, £0 11s 0d Spice, £1 13s 10d 2 sailors' waistcoats given to the groom, £0 8s 10d 1 saddle with a set of double furniture for the Governor, £5 19s 8d 2 hash pans with covers for the Castle, £2 14s 2d 2 hash pans without covers for the Castle, £1 9s 8d Brassware, £4 3s 10d Total charged to general expenses, £139 9s 8d A separate account covered the stores issued for the Company's table between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. Sugar candy, 270 pounds, £5 12s 6d Arrack, 60½ gallons, £9 10s 4d 22 pieces of pork, £3 2s 9½d 1 piece of beef, £0 3s 3½d Beef and pork, £3 6s 1d Flour, 987 pounds, £8 4s 6d Salt, 1½ bushels, £0 5s 6d Rice, 100 pounds, £0 10s 0d Coffee, 20 pounds, £0 16s 3d Split pease, ½ bushel, £0 1s 7d Florence oil, 6 bottles, £0 15s 10d Total charged to the table, £29 2s 6d Interpretations The table account can be checked against the steward's monthly bills, and the two agree. The steward recorded 330 pounds of flour in April 1766, 317 in May 1766 and 340 in June 1766. Those figures make 987 pounds, exactly what the storekeeper issued. The steward's sugar candy ran to 90, 93 and 93 pounds, close to the 270 issued. His arrack came to 60, 62 and 70 bottles, and the storekeeper's 60½ gallons works out at rather more than three bottles to the gallon. Two officers kept independent records of the same goods, one as they left the warehouse and one as they reached the table. The Council examined both on oath of neither and could set one against the other. A steward who overstated his consumption, or a storekeeper who issued more than was used, would have been exposed by the comparison. The storekeeper valued these issues at cost, and the steward's bills priced the same goods higher. Flour stood at about twopence a pound in the store account, and the steward charged it at rather more. The table's bill therefore included an advance on the warehouse price, in the same way as a sale to a servant. The Governor's saddle cost £5 19s 8d, the most expensive single article issued for the Company's use apart from the wax candles. Double furniture meant a complete set of bridle, girths, stirrups and trappings in duplicate. The island had no wheeled roads to speak of, and the Governor travelled between the Castle, Plantation House and the outposts on horseback. The Company owned four horses and five mares on 30 June 1766, and the groom who kept them received two waistcoats from the slop clothing stocked for sailors, with tea and sugar candy issued earlier in the same account. A hash pan was a shallow copper pan for stewing cut meat, sold with or without a lid. Four of them, with two dinner services, six fine china bowls and three kinds of spice, fitted out the Castle's kitchen and table in the quarter that the alterations to the building were finished. Cinnamon at nearly eighteen shillings a pound was a Dutch monopoly product from Ceylon and cost more than any other foodstuff in the store. The whole cost of running the establishment for three months, from paint and tools to candles and crockery, came to £139 9s 8d. The warehouse sold nearly ten times that amount to the Company's servants in the same period. | |
86 | 21st. July Garrison Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Soldiers Cloaths vizt. 16 Sergeants Coats & Breeches 83. 12 16 Corpls. Coats & Do. 24. 16 274 Centinls. Do. & Do. 402. 6. 6 4 Artilly. Do. & Do. 20. 4 4 Artilly Corpls. Do. & Do. 8. 16 4 Bombadrs. Do. & Do. 11. 16 8 Gunners Do. & Do. 18. 8 42 Matrosss. Do. & Do. 89. 5 1 Marshls. Do. & Do. 2. 11. 6 15 Drumrs. Do. & Do. 51 12 Watch Do. & Do. 9. 12 722. 13 Hats vizt. 20 Sergeants 11. 14 1 Marshals 11. 6 361 Centinels 50. 13. 3 62. 18. 9 Shirts 20 Sergts. 6. 13. 3 361 Centinels 80. 1. 11 33 Rolers 1. 2 87. 17. 2 Hosiers Ware vizt. 332 Pr. Ordiny. Thread Stockgs. 54. 9 Thread vizt. 16 lb. Coloured 2. 14. 8 2 Whited Brown 13. 3 for Altering the Soldiers Cloths 3. 7. 11 Shoes 331 Pr. Ordinary 76. 4 Blankets 67 17. 3. 4 Oil vizt. 53 1/8 Galls. Train 8. 18. 10 1/4 G. Linseed 1 for the several Guards 8. 19. 10 Carried Over £ 1033. 13 | The storekeeper's return, entered under 21 July 1766, listed the stores issued to the garrison between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. Soldiers' clothing came first. 16 serjeants' coats and breeches, £83 12s 0d 16 corporals' coats and breeches, £24 16s 0d 274 privates' coats and breeches, £402 6s 6d 4 artillery serjeants' coats and breeches, £20 4s 0d 4 artillery corporals' coats and breeches, £8 16s 0d 4 bombardiers' coats and breeches, £11 16s 0d 8 gunners' coats and breeches, £12 8s 0d 42 matrosses' coats and breeches, £89 5s 0d 1 marshal's coat and breeches, £2 11s 6d 15 drummers' coats and breeches, £51 0s 0d 12 watch coats, £9 12s 0d Soldiers' clothing, £722 13s 0d Hats, shirts and stockings followed. 20 serjeants' hats, £11 14s 0d 1 marshal's hat, £0 11s 6d 361 privates' hats, £50 13s 3d Hats, £62 18s 9d 20 serjeants' shirts, £6 13s 3d 361 privates' shirts, £80 1s 11d 33 neck rollers, £1 2s 0d Shirts, £87 17s 2d 382 pairs of ordinary thread stockings, £54 9s 0d Thread, shoes, blankets and oil closed the page. Coloured thread for altering the soldiers' clothing, 16 pounds, £2 14s 8d Whited brown thread for altering the soldiers' clothing, 2 pounds, £0 13s 3d Thread, £3 7s 11d 381 pairs of ordinary shoes, £76 4s 0d 67 blankets, £17 3s 4d Train oil for the guard posts, 53⅜ gallons, £8 18s 10d Linseed oil for the guard posts, ¼ gallon, £0 1s 0d Oil, £8 19s 10d Carried over, £1,033 13s 0d Interpretations The clothing issue gives the size and shape of the garrison. The infantry had 20 serjeants, 16 corporals, 15 drummers and 361 private soldiers by the count of hats and shirts. The artillery had four serjeants, four corporals, four bombardiers, eight gunners and 42 matrosses. A matross was the lowest rank of artilleryman, who helped load, fire and move the guns. The whole force stood at about 470 men. The eleven discharges and five deaths recorded between May 1766 and July 1766 were set against that number, and the handful of recruits enlisted at £5 0s 0d each barely replaced them. This was the annual clothing. Each man received a hat, a shirt, stockings and shoes, issued in almost equal numbers of 361, 361, 382 and 381. Coats and breeches went to 274 of the privates, which suggests that a coat was expected to last longer than a year and that about a quarter of the men were not yet due one. The 18 pounds of thread were for fitting. Coats arrived from England made up in stock sizes and were altered on the island to the men who wore them. Rank was visible in the price. A private's coat and breeches cost about £1 9s. A corporal's cost £1 11s, and a serjeant's £5 4s 6d, more than three times as much, for finer cloth and lace. The drummers' suits cost £3 8s each. Drummers wore heavily laced coats, often in reversed colours, since they carried the signals of command and had to be seen. The artillery serjeants' coats cost almost the same as the infantry serjeants'. The marshal was the provost marshal, the officer who kept the prison and carried out the Council's sentences. He was clothed with the garrison as a single uniformed official. Watch coats were heavy overcoats kept at the guard posts and worn in turn by whoever stood sentry at night. Twelve served the whole garrison, since the coat belonged to the post and not to a soldier. The 53 gallons of train oil lit the guard rooms and sentry lamps through the winter nights. The charge to the garrison's account was £1,033 13s 0d so far, the largest single use of the warehouse after the sales to the Company's servants. A soldier's clothing was ordinarily paid for by stoppages from his wages, so much of this sum was recovered from the men themselves over the year. | |
87 | 1766 Brought over £ 1033. 13 Tea 59 lb Bohea for the several Guards 2. 14. 1 Cutlery 350 Stock Buckles 3. 8. 6 Lines vizt. 5 lb Whip Cord for Whips 8. 9 6 No. 2 Lines for Do. 1. 9 10. 8 Turners Ware vizt. 12 Birch Brooms for the Artilly. 4. 9 42 Wood Bowls 2. 1. 1 45 Platters 2. 5 for the sevl. Guards 4. 10. 10 Paint vizt. 2 lb. Ven Red dry 5 33 yell Oaker 6. 2 14 Whiting 4 for Cleaning Accoutrements 6. 11 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Stock Lock Artillery 2. 11 1/4 16 Hd. Hatchets 1. 6. 8 17 Small Fryg. Pans 1. 11. 10 1/2 2 Long Handle Do. 7. 5 for the several Barrks. and Guards 3 lb. Binding Wire to make Hook & Eyes for Sold Cloaths 3 24 Cat gut drill Strings Artilly. 8 4 Rasps Do. 9 4. 0. 8 Deals 38 Single for Coffins 2. 19. 6 Nails 10 lb. 6 for Do. 5. 3 Arrack 2 Galls. for Muster Drams 1. 5. 2 Iron Pots vizt. 2 of 1 Gallon 4 5 of 3 Do. 1 1 of 2 Do. 3 6 of 4 Do. 1. 10 1 of 8 Do. 8 3 of 14 Do. 1. 14. 8 2 of 6 Do. 12 5. 11. 8 Carried Over £ 1059. 6. 3 | The garrison's account brought forward £1,033 13s 0d and continued in 1766 with smaller stores. Bohea tea for the guard posts, 59 pounds, £2 14s 1d 350 stock buckles, £3 8s 6d Whipcord for making whips, 5 pounds, £0 8s 9d 6 lines of size 2 for making whips, £0 1s 11d Lines, £0 10s 8d 12 birch brooms for the artillery, £0 4s 9d 42 wooden bowls for the guard posts, £2 1s 1d 45 platters for the guard posts, £2 5s 0d Turnery, £4 10s 10d Venetian red, dry, for cleaning accoutrements, 2 pounds, £0 0s 5d Yellow ochre for cleaning accoutrements, 33 pounds, £0 6s 2d Whiting for cleaning accoutrements, 14 pounds, £0 0s 4d Paint, £0 6s 11d Ironware followed. 1 stock lock for the artillery, £0 2s 11½d 16 hand hatchets for the barracks and guard posts, £1 6s 8d 17 small frying pans for the barracks and guard posts, £1 11s 10½d 2 long-handled frying pans for the barracks and guard posts, £0 7s 5d Binding wire to make hooks and eyes for the soldiers' clothing, 3 pounds, £0 3s 0d 24 catgut drill strings for the artillery, £0 8s 0d 4 rasps for the artillery, £0 0s 9d Ironware, £4 0s 8d Coffin materials, arrack and cooking pots closed the page. 28 single deals for coffins, £2 19s 6d Sixpenny nails for coffins, 10 pounds, £0 5s 3d Arrack for drams at muster, 8 gallons, £1 5s 2d 2 iron pots of 1 gallon, £0 4s 0d 5 iron pots of 3 gallons, £1 0s 0d 1 iron pot of 2 gallons, £0 3s 0d 6 iron pots of 4 gallons, £1 10s 0d 1 iron pot of 8 gallons, £0 8s 0d 3 iron pots of 14 gallons, £1 14s 8d 2 iron pots of 6 gallons, £0 12s 0d Iron pots, £5 11s 8d Carried over, £1,059 6s 3d Interpretations The garrison buried its dead at the Company's cost, and the account entered the materials as a routine store. Twenty-eight deals and ten pounds of nails were set aside for coffins in a single quarter. A plain coffin took three or four boards, so the issue provided for seven or eight burials. The minutes recorded two soldiers' deaths in the quarter itself, on 23 April 1766 and 29 June 1766, and four more between 16 July 1766 and 20 July 1766. The storekeeper was laying in boards ahead of need, or the garrison lost more men than the minutes troubled to note. The Company's slaves also died in numbers that quarter, five between 27 April 1766 and 2 June 1766, though their burials would not fall on the garrison's account. Whips were made up on the island from five pounds of whipcord and six fishing lines. The cord formed the knotted lashes and the line the handle binding. Flogging was the standard military punishment, carried out by the drummers before the assembled garrison. The entry sits between the tea for the guards and the bowls they ate from. Corporal punishment was an ordinary expense of keeping soldiers, provided from the same warehouse as their food and clothing. The ochre, red and whiting were not for painting. Soldiers coloured their leather belts and pouches with a paste of pigment and water, yellow ochre giving the buff shade, and whitened other straps with whiting. Thirty-three pounds of ochre kept some 470 sets of equipment presentable for a quarter. The 350 stock buckles fastened the stiff neckcloth, or stock, that every soldier wore, and the 33 neck rollers on the previous page were its softer alternative. Arrack was issued as a dram at muster. Eight gallons gave each man a small measure when the garrison was paraded and counted. The muster was the occasion on which the paymaster verified who was present to be paid, and the dram ensured attendance. The guards messed together from shared vessels. The wooden bowls and platters and the frying pans went to the barracks and outposts, and the iron pots ranged from one gallon for a small post to fourteen for a barrack room cooking for dozens. Detachments stood at Banks's, Prosperous Bay, Turks Cap and now Sandy Bay, each needing its own pot, hatchet for firewood and supply of tea. | |
88 | 21st. July Brought over £ 1059. 6. 3 Glass Ware vizt. 1 Half Hour Glass for Banks's 1 13 Sqr. 6 by 8 & Mundens point 4. 4 5. 4 Tin Ware 1 Horn Lanth. Offrs. Guard 2. 1 Haberdashery vizt. 9 1/4 Worsted Lace to Lace the Sold Hats 5. 7. 6 350 Hair Stocks for the Garrison 12. 5. 7 17. 13. 1 £ 1077. 6. 9 Blacks Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Rice 1374 lb 8. 7. 6 Sugar 117 lb 1. 9. 3 Pepper 15 lb. 7. 6 Oil 1 1/2 Galls. Train 5 Lead 6 Sheet for Fishermen 1. 1 Arrack 35 1/2 Gs. for lying in Women Armr. Black and Blacks at Sandy Bay 5. 7. 8 Candles 4 lb. to examine the Blacks House 8 Cordage 82 lb. for the Fishermen 1. 9 Beef & Pork vizt. 1090 Ps. Beef 120. 10. 7 511 Ps. Pork 77. 18. 5 1295 lb Dutch Do. 37. 7. 6 235. 16. 6 Salt 1/4 Bushel 11 Twine 3 Sks. for the Fishermen 1. 6 Shoes vizt. 7 Pr. Calf Womens 18. 1 8 Pr. Boys 1. 4. 8 37 Pr. Mens Ordinary 7. 8 for Bk. Women [...] & Bks. in the Castle 9. 10. 9 Pease 26 1/2 Bushels 6. 12. 6 Carried Over £ 319. 17. [...] | The garrison's account, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £1,059 6s 3d and closed with these items. 1 half-hour glass for Banks's, £0 1s 0d 13 panes of glass 6 inches by 8 inches for [...], £0 4s 4d Glassware, £0 5s 4d 1 horn lantern for the officers' guard, £0 2s 1d Worsted lace for trimming hats, 9¼ [...], £5 7s 6d 350 hair stocks for the garrison, £12 5s 7d Haberdashery, £17 13s 1d Total charged to the garrison, £1,077 6s 9d A separate account covered the stores issued for the Company's slaves between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. Rice, [...], £3 7s 6d Sugar, 117 pounds, £1 9s 3d Pepper, 15 pounds, £0 7s 6d Train oil, 1½ gallons, £0 5s 0d Sheet lead for the fishermen, 6 pounds, £0 1s 1d Arrack for women in childbed, sick slaves and the slaves at Sandy Bay, 35½ gallons, £5 7s 8d Candles for inspecting the slaves' houses, 4 pounds, £0 8s 0d Cordage for the fishermen, 82 pounds, £1 9s 0d 1,090 pieces of beef, £180 10s 7d 511 pieces of pork, £77 18s 5d Dutch pork, 1,295 pounds, £37 7s 6d Beef and pork, £[...] 16s 6d Salt, ¼ bushel, £0 0s 11d Twine for the fishermen, 3 skeins, £0 1s 6d 7 pairs of women's calf shoes, £0 18s 1d 8 pairs of boys' shoes, £1 4s 8d 37 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £7 8s 0d Shoes for slave women, house servants and slaves at the Castle, £9 10s 9d Pease, 26½ bushels, £6 12s 6d Carried over, £319 17s 2d Interpretations The Company's slaves had an account of their own, headed by their colour, beside those for general expenses, the table and the garrison. The storekeeper treated them as a department of the establishment with its own running cost. Salt meat made up most of that cost. More than 1,600 pieces of beef and pork and nearly 1,300 pounds of Dutch pork were issued in three months, with 26½ bushels of dried pease and a quantity of rice. The plantation return for the same quarter showed about 20,000 pounds of yams bought from two planters. The slaves' diet was therefore yams and pease as the bulk, with a ration of salt meat. This explains the Council's repeated purchases from homeward commanders between 23 May 1766 and 7 July 1766. It bought some 3,500 pieces of salt meat in six weeks, and feeding the Company's slaves used that much every half year. One entry bears directly on Captain Mitchell's report of 14 July 1766. Arrack was issued for women in childbed, for the sick and for the slaves at Sandy Bay. Mitchell wrote that the cold and stormy weather on that coast put eleven of his 44 labourers in hospital and weakened the rest. Spirits were the period's remedy for cold and exposure, and the Company gave them to the gang working there. Illness, childbirth and Sandy Bay were grouped in one line as the three conditions that warranted the allowance. Four pounds of candles were charged for inspecting the slaves' houses. The inspections were made after dark, when people were in their quarters, to see who was present and what was kept there. Night searches were a standard means of control, used to detect absence, stolen goods and gatherings. The Company paid for the light as a routine store. The slave fishermen drew rope, twine and lead for sinkers. Fish caught by the Company's own slaves supplemented their rations at almost no cost. Shoes went only to a minority: 52 pairs for the house servants and those employed at the Castle. Field slaves and the labourers at Sandy Bay worked barefoot. The garrison's account closed at £1,077 6s 9d. Its last items completed the uniform. Hair stocks were stiff neckbands woven of horsehair, one for nearly every private, fastened by the 350 buckles issued earlier. Worsted lace was the woollen braid sewn round the brim of a soldier's hat. The half-hour glass for Banks's timed the sentries' watches at the battery that first sighted approaching ships. | |
89 | 1766 Brought over £ 319. 17. 2 Hooks & Lines vizt. 275 No. 1 13 25 9 8. 1 50 15 4 225 11 3. 6 1/2 575 13 4. 6 1/2 100 16 6 1/2 200 14 1. 7 1/4 Hooks for the Fishermen 225 2 3. 11. 2 225 3 3. 13. 5 4 Log 3. 9 Line for Do. 9. 3. 8 Hosiers Ware 2 Pr. Wom: Wors: Stockg. for Bk. Women in the Castle 6. 2 Blankets 67 17. 3. 4 Iron Pots 1 of 1 Gall. for the Black Squares 2 Long 2 1/2 Ps. A for lyg. in Women & to Cloath Blacks in the Castle 3 Iron Ware 2 Small Fryg. Pans for the Black Squares 3. 9 Turners Ware vizt. 3 Wood Bowls 2. 11 3 Platters 3 5. 11 Sailors Cloaths vizt. 164 Mens Jackets & Breeches 85. 1. 6 67 Boys Do. 68 Do. Breeches 26. 10. 9 238 Mens Shirts 55. 7 69 Boys Do. 9. 9. 9 199 Dutch Caps 14. 18. 6 191. 6. 6 Thread vizt. 1 lb. Wd. Brown 6. 7 5 Coloured 17. 1 for Altering Cloathing 1. 3. 8 Kersey 72 Yds. to Cloath Black Women 5. 0. 6 Canvas vizt. 6 Yds. Eng. Canvas 6. 9 2 Yds. Ozenbrigs 1. 7 8. 4 Tea 49 lb Bohea 2. 4. 11 Flour 12415 103. 9. 2 £ 653. 15. 1 | The account of stores issued for the Company's slaves brought forward £319 17s 2d and continued in 1766 with fishing gear. 275 hooks of size 1 for the fishermen, £0 13s 0d 25 hooks of size 9 for the fishermen, £0 8s 1d 50 hooks of size 15 for the fishermen, £0 4s 0d 225 hooks of size 11 for the fishermen, £0 3s 6½d 575 hooks of size 13 for the fishermen, £0 4s 6½d 100 hooks of size 16 for the fishermen, £0 0s 6½d 200 hooks of size 14 for the fishermen, £0 1s 7½d 225 lines of size 2 for the fishermen, £3 11s 2d 225 lines of size 3 for the fishermen, £3 13s 5d 4 log lines for the fishermen, £0 3s 9d Hooks and lines, £9 3s 8d Household stores followed. 2 pairs of women's worsted stockings for slave women at the Castle, £0 6s 2d 67 blankets, £17 3s 4d 1 iron pot of 1 gallon for the Black Square, £0 2s 0d Long cloth of grade A for women in childbed and for clothing slaves in the hospital, 2¼ pieces, £3 0s 0d 2 small frying pans for the Black Square, £0 3s 9d 3 wooden bowls, £0 2s 11d 3 platters, £0 3s 0d Turnery, £0 5s 11d Clothing, tea and flour closed the account. 164 men's jackets and breeches, £85 1s 6d 67 boys' jackets and 68 boys' breeches, £26 10s 9d 238 men's shirts, £55 7s 0d 69 boys' shirts, £9 9s 9d 199 Dutch caps, £14 18s 6d Sailors' clothing, £191 6s 6d Whited brown thread for altering clothing, 1 pound, £0 6s 7d Coloured thread for altering clothing, 5 pounds, £0 17s 1d Thread, £1 3s 8d Kersey for clothing slave women, 72 yards, £5 0s 6d English canvas, 6 yards, £0 6s 9d Osnaburgs, 2 yards, £0 1s 7d Canvas, £0 8s 4d Bohea tea, 49 pounds, £2 4s 11d Flour, 112 hundredweight 3 quarters 15 pounds, £103 9s 2d Total charged for the Company's slaves, £653 15s 1d Interpretations The clothing gives the scale of the Company's slave holding. The storekeeper issued 164 suits of jacket and breeches for men and 67 for boys, with 238 men's shirts and 69 boys'. Women were clothed from 72 yards of coarse kersey made up on the island. The Company therefore owned well over 200 male slaves and a body of women besides. Captain Mitchell had 44 of the men at Sandy Bay. The others worked the plantation, the stores, the boats and the Castle. The slaves wore sailors' clothing. The jackets, breeches, shirts and caps came from the ready-made stock that outfitters supplied to ships' crews, the cheapest hard-wearing garments to be had in bulk. A man's suit cost about ten shillings and fourpence and a shirt four shillings and eightpence. A private soldier's coat and breeches cost nearly three times as much. The Dutch cap was a knitted woollen cap of the kind seamen wore. One suit and a shirt or two were the year's allowance. They were all the protection the men had against the cold that Mitchell described on 14 July 1766. Flour was the largest item after salt meat, nearly 113 hundredweight for £103 9s 2d. Added to the meat, pease and rice on the previous page and the yams in the plantation return, it shows the Company's slaves fed chiefly on imported and purchased provisions. The Company's own land did not grow their food. The whole account came to £653 15s 1d for one quarter, some £2,600 a year. The labour that appeared to cost the Company nothing carried a heavy charge for subsistence, which gives point to Mitchell's remark that ten hired soldiers were worth more than his entire gang. The fishermen's issue was large: 1,450 hooks and 450 lines. Slaves set to fishing offset part of the cost of feeding the rest, and the gear was written off as fast as the sea and the rocks consumed it. The Black Square was the slaves' quarter, a yard of lodgings near the Castle where the Company housed them together and where the candlelit inspections were made. The long cloth issued for childbed and for the hospital was the cheapest Indian cotton, used as sheeting and wrapping. Two slaves were born in the quarter, on 10 May 1766 and 13 May 1766, and eleven men from Sandy Bay lay in the hospital by July 1766. | |
90 | 21st. July Mallay Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 Rice 156 lb 15 Sugar 26 lb 6. 6 Arrack 3 1/4 Galls. 10. 2 Sope 6 lb. 3. 10 Pepper 2 lb 1 Tea 3 lb. Bohea 2. 9 Oil 3/4 Train 2. 6 China Ware vizt. 6 China Plates 3 1 Do. Bowl 1. 3 1 Teapot 10 3 Sneakers 5 5. 6 £ 2. 7. 3 Plantation Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Iron Ware vizt. 1 Pr. H. Hinges wth. risg. Joints P. Ho. 3. 2 6 Pr. Garden Shears 1. 3. 8 6 Shod Shovels 11. 1 1/2 6 Pickaxes & Helves 1. 2. 4 1/2 3 Mouse Traps wth. 2 holes 1. 9 3/4 3 Do. wth. 4 Do. 3. 6 6 Spring Do. 10. 6 1 Bill Hook 2. 5 1/2 for Plantation House Garden 3 Scythe Stone for the Long Wood 7 1 Hand Saw 7. 3 2 Do. Hatchets 3. 4 for the use of the Pastures 1 Plaistrs. Trowel 1. 9 1 Blank Key 8 3/4 Long Wood 4. 12. 5 Cart Wheels vizt. 1 Pr. Cart Wheels 4. 0. 11 1 Axletree 8. 10 for a Wood Cart 4. 9. 9 Carried over £ 9. 2 | A separate account, entered under 21 July 1766, covered the stores issued for the Malay between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. Rice, 156 pounds, £0 15s 0d Sugar, 26 pounds, £0 6s 6d Arrack, 3¼ gallons, £0 10s 2d Soap, 6 pounds, £0 3s 10d Pepper, 2 pounds, £0 1s 0d Bohea tea, 3 pounds, £0 2s 9d Train oil, ¾ gallon, £0 2s 6d 6 china plates, £0 3s 0d 1 china bowl, £0 1s 3d 1 teapot, £0 0s 10d 2 sneakers, £0 0s 5d Chinaware, £0 5s 6d Total charged for the Malay, £2 7s 3d The account of stores issued for the plantation over the same quarter began with ironware. 1 pair of H hinges of 10 inches with rising joints, £0 3s 2d 6 pairs of garden shears for the garden at Plantation House, £1 3s 8d 6 shod shovels for the garden at Plantation House, £0 11s 1½d 6 pickaxes and helves for the garden at Plantation House, £1 2s 4½d 3 mouse traps with 2 holes for the garden at Plantation House, £0 1s 9¼d 3 mouse traps with 4 holes for the garden at Plantation House, £0 3s 6d 6 spring traps for the garden at Plantation House, £0 10s 6d 1 billhook for the garden at Plantation House, £0 2s 5½d 3 scythe stones for the Long Wood, £0 0s 7d 1 hand saw for the pastures, £0 7s 3d 2 hand hatchets for the pastures, £0 3s 4d 1 plasterer's trowel for the Long Wood, £0 1s 9d 1 blank key for the Long Wood, £0 0s 8¾d Ironware, £4 12s 3d 1 pair of cart wheels for the wood carts, £4 0s 11d 1 axle tree for the wood carts, £0 8s 10d Cart wheels, £4 9s 9d Carried over, £9 2s 0d Interpretations The Malay had an account to himself. The Company's slaves were provided for under one collective heading at £653 15s 1d. This one man was entered separately, by his origin and without a name, and what he received sets him apart. His staple was rice, 156 pounds in the quarter, the food of his own country, where the slaves had flour, pease and yams. He was given tea, sugar, pepper, soap and lamp oil, and a ration of arrack of about a pint a week. He was furnished with china plates, a bowl, a teapot and two punch bowls. The general account also gave him a pair of shoes and salt. These are the provisions of a household kept in modest comfort and not of a labourer. He was perhaps a prisoner or exile of some standing. The Company held territory in the Malay world at Bencoolen in Sumatra, and the Grosvenor arrived from there on 7 July 1766. European companies in the East removed troublesome local rulers and their kin to distant settlements, where they were maintained at the Company's expense under watch. St Helena, far from any shore he could reach, suited the purpose. The modest sum of £2 7s 3d a quarter kept him, and the separate heading let the cost be reported to London as its own charge. The plantation account covered the Company's farming establishment under Lieutenant Governor Corneille. The Long Wood was the Company's large tract of woodland and pasture in the east of the island, where its cattle and sheep ran. Scythe stones went there for haymaking, and saws and hatchets to the pastures for fencing. A new pair of wheels and an axle for the wood carts cost £4 9s 9d, half the page's total. Firewood was hauled from the Long Wood to the town across the island's ridges, and the carts took heavy punishment on the tracks. The garden at Plantation House received six pairs of shears, six shovels, six pickaxes and a dozen traps. Six of each tool implies a gang of six gardeners, slaves of the Company. The traps came in three patterns. Mouse traps with two and four holes caught several animals at a setting, and spring traps took rats. A dozen for one garden shows how severely vermin attacked the vegetables grown for the Governor's table. | |
91 | 1766 Brought over £ 9. 2 Nails vizt. 2 lb. 20 9 5 10 2. 2 12 Spikes 3. 9 to repair the Wood Carts 6. 8 Oil vizt. 2 Galls. Train 6. 8 1/2 1/2 Do. Linseed 1. 11 1/2 for the Pasture Gates and Overseers 8. 8 Tar 4 Galls. for Wood Carts 3 Rice and Paddy vizt. 52 lb. Rice 5 636 Paddy 1. 2. 6 for Poultry and Horses 1. 7. 6 Pease 2 Bushels for Do. 10 Deals vizt. 1/2 Cuffer 3. 1 4 Single Deals 8. 6 for repairg. Wood Carts 11. 7 Twine 2 Sks. for Plantation House 1 Turners Ware 4 Labourers Baskets for Plant. House 2. 11 Paint vizt. 4 White Lead mixed 1. 6 1/2 2 Whiting [...] 1/2 to Paint the Pasture Gates 1. 7 £ 12. 14. 11 Fortification Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. April and ending the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Pitch and Tar vizt. 40 lb. Pitch 4. 6 2 Galls. Tar 1. 6 for the Flag Staff at the Main Fort 6 Lead 653 lb for Do. at Do. 6. 1. 11 Bunting vizt. 2 Ps. 6 Yds. Red 3. 8 4 Ps. Blue 5. 1. 3 4 Ps. White 4. 3. 9 to make Flags for Ruperts and the Main Fort 12. 13 Carried Over£ 19. 0. 11 | The plantation's account brought forward £9 2s 0d and closed in 1766 with these stores. Twentypenny nails for repairing the wood carts, 2 pounds, £0 0s 9d Tenpenny nails for repairing the wood carts, 5 pounds, £0 2s 2d Spikes for repairing the wood carts, 12 pounds, £0 3s 9d Nails, £0 6s 8d Train oil for the pasture gates and the overseers, 2 gallons, £0 6s 8½d Linseed oil for the pasture gates and the overseers, ½ gallon, £0 1s 11½d Oil, £0 8s 8d Tar for the wood carts, 4 gallons, £0 3s 0d Rice for the poultry and horses, 52 pounds, £0 5s 0d Paddy for the poultry and horses, 656 pounds, £1 2s 6d Rice and paddy, £1 7s 6d Pease for the poultry and horses, 2 bushels, £0 10s 0d ½ of an ufer for repairing the wood carts, £0 3s 1d 4 single deals for repairing the wood carts, £0 8s 6d Timber, £0 11s 7d Twine for Plantation House, 2 skeins, £0 1s 0d 3 labourers' baskets for Plantation House, £0 2s 11d White lead, mixed, for painting the pasture gates, 4 pounds, £0 1s 6½d Whiting for painting the pasture gates, 2 pounds, £0 0s 0½d Paint, £0 1s 7d Total charged to the plantation, £12 14s 11d The account of stores issued for the fortifications between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766 opened with the flagstaff and flags. Pitch for the flagstaff at the main fort, 40¼ pounds, £0 4s 6d Tar for the flagstaff at the main fort, 2 gallons, £0 1s 6d Pitch and tar, £0 6s 0d Lead for the flagstaff at the main fort, 653 pounds, £6 1s 11d Red bunting for flags, 2 pieces, £3 8s 0d Blue bunting for flags, 4 pieces, £5 1s 3d White bunting for flags, 4 pieces, £4 3s 9d Bunting to make flags for Rupert's and the main fort, £12 13s 0d Carried over, £19 0s 11d Interpretations The entry for paddy shows what the grain from Bengal was for. The invoices of 2 June 1766 and 16 June 1766 each brought fifteen bags, and the Council bought 124 more from Captain Fenner on 9 June 1766. The plantation issued 656 pounds in the quarter to the poultry and horses. Rice in the husk was animal feed. The Company kept nine horses and a flock of fowls, ducks, turkeys and geese, and the island grew no grain to feed them. They ate imported Indian paddy, with a little rice and two bushels of pease. The horses that carried the Governor about the island and the birds that supplied his table depended on cargoes from Calcutta. Most of the plantation's small spending went on the wood carts and the pasture gates. The carts took a new pair of wheels on the previous page and here needed spikes, boards, a spar and four gallons of tar. The gates were painted with white lead to keep the weather out. Fences and gates held the Company's cattle and sheep on its own ground and off the planters' leased land, and the overseers who watched the pastures drew lamp oil. An ufer was a slender fir spar from the Baltic, here sawn in half for a cart shaft or rail. The plantation cost the warehouse only £12 14s 11d in the quarter. It supplied the Company's table, fed its ships and carried a herd of 232 cattle and nearly 600 sheep. Its expense lay almost wholly in the slaves who worked it, charged at £653 15s 1d in their own account. The fortification account began with display. Ten pieces of bunting in red, blue and white were issued to make flags for the main fort and for Rupert's, the battery in the next valley. Those are the three colours of the British flag, and the flags were sewn on the island from cloth by the piece. Colours flown daily in the trade wind frayed quickly and were renewed every year. The cost was £12 13s 0d, a real charge for cloth that existed to be seen from the sea by every approaching ship. The flagstaff at the main fort took 653 pounds of lead. So much metal on a wooden mast served to sheathe its foot where it stood in the ground and to cap its joints against rot, with pitch and tar to coat the timber. The staff carried the signals that answered the alarm guns, so it was maintained as part of the defences. | |
92 | 21st. July Brought over £ 19. 0. 11 Lines vizt. 3 Hambro 4. 9 1 Deep Sea 4. 8 for the Flags Ruperts and the Main Fort 9. 5 Cordage 309 lb 5. 9. 5 Paint vizt. 3 lb Verdigrease 11. 8 72 lb White Lead mixed 1. 7 3 Yell: Oaker Do. 6 3/4 4 lb. Red Lead 11 8 lb Blue Black 4. 8 24 Black Lead 4. 6 25 Barrls. Blackg. 13. 1/2 2 1/2 Copperas 2. 4 1/2 1 lb Umber 3 12 lb Whiting 3 10 Ven: Red dry 2. 1 1 Yellow Oaker Do. 2 1/4 to paint Gun Carrs. & Flag Staff 2. 17. 6 Nails vizt. 31 lb 2 1. 1. 3 3/4 2 3 1. 5 1/2 8 10 3. 6 3/4 for new Flag Staff 1. 6. 4 Oil vizt. 24 1/8 Galls. Linseed 4. 15 1/4 Gn. Oil of Turpentine 1. 3 4. 16. 3 Deals 8 Single to a Chest for the Flag 17 Grindstones 1 8. 10 Canvas vizt. 12 Yds. Eng. Canvas 13. 6 6 Yds. Ozenbrigs 4. 9 for the Main Fort & Ruperts 18. 3 Iron 234 lb Do. 2. 18. 6 Arrack 3 Galls. for Chill: Collsworr and Men Employd. at the Flag Staff 9. 5 Carried Over £ 39. 11. 10 | The fortifications account, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £19 0s 11d and continued with lines and cordage. 3 hambro lines for the flags at Rupert's and the main fort, £0 4s 9d 1 deep sea line for the flags at Rupert's and the main fort, £0 4s 8d Lines, £0 9s 5d Cordage, 309 pounds, £5 9s 5d Paint for the gun carriages and the flagstaff followed. Verdigris, 3 pounds, £0 11s 8d White lead, mixed, 72 pounds, £0 17s 0d Yellow ochre, mixed, 3 pounds, £0 0s 6¾d Red lead, 4 pounds, £0 0s 11d Blue black, 3 pounds, £0 4s 8d Black lead, 24 pounds, £0 4s 6d Blacking, 25 barrels, £0 13s 0¼d Copperas, 2½ pounds, £0 2s 4¾d Umber, 1 pound, £0 0s 3d Whiting, 12 pounds, £0 0s 3d Venetian red, dry, 10 pounds, £0 2s 1d Yellow ochre, dry, 1 pound, £0 0s 2¼d Paint, £2 17s 6d Nails, oil and other stores closed the page. Twopenny nails for the new flagstaff, 31 pounds, £1 1s 3¾d Threepenny nails for the new flagstaff, 2 pounds, £0 1s 5½d Tenpenny nails for the new flagstaff, 8 pounds, £0 3s 6¾d Nails, £1 6s 4d Linseed oil, 24⅞ gallons, £4 15s 0d Oil of turpentine, ¼ gallon, £0 1s 3d Oil, £4 16s 3d 8 single deals for a chest to hold the flags, £0 17s 0d 1 grindstone, £0 8s 10d English canvas for the main fort and Rupert's, 12 yards, £0 13s 6d Osnaburgs for the main fort and Rupert's, 6 yards, £0 4s 9d Canvas, £0 18s 3d Iron for the main fort and Rupert's, 2 hundredweight 3 quarters 4 pounds, £2 18s 6d Arrack for [...] and the men employed at the flagstaff, 3 gallons, £0 9s 5d Carried over, £39 11s 10d Interpretations The main fort received a new flagstaff in the quarter, and the account follows the whole job. The storekeeper issued 653 pounds of lead, pitch and tar on the previous page. This page added 41 pounds of nails, 309 pounds of cordage for stays and halyards, lines for hoisting, paint and three gallons of arrack for the men who raised it. Thirty-one pounds of the nails were the smallest size, which points to sheet lead being tacked round the timber along much of its length. A mast that had to stand for years in salt wind was cased in metal, painted and stayed like a ship's. Raising a tall spar was heavy and dangerous work for a gang hauling together on tackles, and the arrack was their allowance for it. Drams were issued for unloading in the stores and for mustering the garrison. Spirits were the customary payment for any exceptional exertion on the Company's behalf. The flags had their own chest, built of eight deals. With ten pieces of bunting made up into colours for two forts, the Company had a set of flags worth some twelve pounds. A locked chest kept them dry and out of the reach of rats between hoists. The paint was for the gun carriages. White lead ground in nearly 25 gallons of linseed oil formed the body, tinted with the cheap earths and blacks on the list. Black lead and blacking coated the ironwork of the carriages, and the barrels were blacked to keep rust off. Captain Mitchell wrote on 26 May 1766 that sea spray ruined iron guns within a few years on the windward coast. Paint and oil were the defence against the same decay on the leeward side, and the quantity issued shows the batteries below the Castle being recoated throughout. The account so far concerned the old defences in and near the town. It had not yet reached Sandy Bay, where the new work was consuming powder by the hundredweight. | |
93 | 1766 Brought over £ 39. 11. 10 Cutlery Ware 2 Stone Knives for mixg. Colours 2. 11 Tin Ware 1 Watering Pot for the Mount 5. 10 Iron Ware vizt. 1 S Bitt Lock 7. 4 1 Stock Lock 2. 11 for Ruperts and the Line Gate 10. 3 Thread 1 lb Coloured to make a Flag for Ruperts 3. 5 Candles 8 lb. Use of the Magazines 16 Blocks 2 Iron bound Cat 12. 10 Flour 6 lb. to make Paste for Rockets 1 Twine 3 Sks. to make Flags for the Main Fort & Ruperts 1. 6 £ 40. 13. 7 Hospital Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Sugar 262 lb 3. 5. 6 Flour 262 lb 2. 3. 8 Rice 262 lb. 1. 3. 7 Tea 6 lb Bohea 5. 6 Salt 1 3/4 Bushels 6. 5 Oil vizt. 13 1/2 Galls. Train 5. 2. 3 1/2 1 Bottle Florence 2. 7 1/2 5. 5. 11 Blankets 6 1. 10. 9 Turners Ware vizt. 10 Wood Bowls 9. 9 10 Platters 10 1 Scrubing Brush 2. 2 1/2 2 Birch Brooms 9 1. 2. 9 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Long Handle Fryg. Pan 3. 8 1 Pr. H. Hinges 1. 8 1 Brass Door Lock 5 10. 4 Carried Over £ 15. 14. 7 | The fortifications account brought forward £39 11s 10d and closed in 1766 with these stores. 2 stone knives for mixing colours, £0 2s 11d 1 watering pot for the Mount, £0 3s 10d 1 [...] lock for Rupert's and the Line gate, £0 7s 4d 1 stock lock for Rupert's and the Line gate, £0 2s 11d Ironware, £0 10s 3d Coloured thread to make a flag for Rupert's, 1 pound, £0 3s 5d Candles for the magazines, 8 pounds, £0 16s 0d 2 iron-bound cat blocks, £0 12s 10d Flour to make paste for rockets, 6 pounds, £0 1s 0d Twine to make flags for the main fort and Rupert's, 3 skeins, £0 1s 6d Total charged to the fortifications, £40 13s 7d The account of stores issued for the hospital between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766 followed. Sugar, 262 pounds, £3 5s 6d Flour, 262 pounds, £2 3s 8d Rice, 262 pounds, £1 3s 7d Bohea tea, 6 pounds, £0 5s 6d Salt, 1¼ bushels, £0 6s 5d Train oil, 13½ gallons, £5 3s 3½d Florence oil, 1 bottle, £0 2s 7½d Oil, £5 5s 11d 6 blankets, £1 10s 9d 10 wooden bowls, £0 9s 9d 10 platters, £0 10s 0d 1 scrubbing brush, £0 2s 2½d 2 birch brooms, £0 0s 9d Turnery, £1 2s 9d 1 long-handled frying pan, £0 3s 3d 1 pair of H hinges, £0 1s 8d 1 door lock, £0 5s 0d Ironware so far, £0 10s 4d Carried over, £15 14s 7d Interpretations The fortifications account closed at about forty pounds for the quarter, and none of it was for Sandy Bay. Every item went to the main fort, Rupert's, the Mount or the Line. Yet Captain Mitchell reported on 14 July 1766 that Sandy Bay was the chief employment of the Company's workmen for three months. The explanation lies in how the cost was spread. The powder for blasting came from the gunner's account, 600 pounds in May 1766 and June 1766. The masons' tools were charged to general expenses. The labourers' food and clothing fell on the slaves' account and the soldiers' on the garrison's. The stone was quarried on the spot and cost nothing in stores. A reader in London looking at the heading for fortifications would see a trifling sum and no sign of the largest work on the island. Mitchell's letters were the only place where the project appeared whole. The hospital's diet was issued on a fixed scale. Sugar, flour and rice were each drawn in exactly the same quantity, 262 pounds. Identical weights of three foods cannot be coincidence. The surgeon was allowed a set ration of each for every patient for every day, and the storekeeper issued the total due. The sick were fed on rice, bread and sweetened drinks, a light diet thought suitable for fever, with no salt meat at all. Ten bowls and ten platters were issued, which suggests a ward of about that size. Captain Mitchell counted eleven of his slave labourers in the hospital by 14 July 1766. The hospital burned more lamp oil than anything else it used. Thirteen and a half gallons of train oil cost over five pounds, twice the value of its flour. Lamps were kept alight through the night for those attending the sick, and the quarter ran into the longest nights of the year. Rockets were made on the island. Six pounds of flour went to make paste for them, used to roll and seal the paper cases that held the composition. Signal rockets supplemented the alarm guns at night, when a flag could not be seen. A cat block was a large pulley block bound with iron, of the kind used on shipboard to hoist an anchor. Two were issued, probably for the tackle that raised the new flagstaff. Stone knives were flat blades for working pigment into oil on a slab. The magazine candles were wax, at two shillings a pound. They were burned only inside closed lanterns, since no cheaper light was trusted near powder. | |
94 | 21st. July Brought over £ 15. 14. 7 Irons Pots 2 of 3 Galls. 8 Deals vizt. 17 Single 1. 16. 1 1 Double 3. 5 1. 19. 6 Nails vizt. 3 lb 6 1. 6 3/4 7 10 3. 1 3 20 1. 1 1/4 5. 9 China Ware 12 Sneakers 2. 6 Kersey 4 Yards 5. 7 £ 18. 15. 11 Boats Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Iron Ware 1 Small Fryg. Pan Long Boat 1. 10 Cordage 7 C. 3 qrs. 18 lb for the Long Boat & Yawl 15. 13. 9 Arrack 5 3/8 Galls. for Men Employd. in the Boats 16. 11 Candles 5 lb. for Do. 10 Tin Ware 3 Horn Lanths. Long Boat 6. 4 Deals vizt. 22 Single 2. 6. 9 6 Elm Boards 1. 2. 6 1 Wainsct. Do. 4. 8 Boats in General 3. 13. 11 Nails vizt. 5 lb 2 3. 5 1/4 2 3 1. 5 1/2 1 4 7 28 6 14. 7 1/4 40 10 17. 6 21 20 7. 6 8 40 2. 10 12 Spikes 2. 6 for Do. 2. 10. 5 Carried Over £ 23. 13. 2 | The hospital's account, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward £15 14s 7d and closed with these stores. 2 iron pots of 3 gallons, £0 8s 0d 17 single deals, £1 16s 1d 1 double deal, £0 3s 5d Timber, £1 19s 6d Sixpenny nails, 5 pounds, £0 1s 6¼d Tenpenny nails, 7 pounds, £0 3s 1d Twentypenny nails, 3 pounds, £0 1s 1¼d Nails, £0 5s 9d 12 sneakers, £0 2s 6d Kersey, 4 yards, £0 5s 7d Total charged to the hospital, £18 15s 11d The account of stores issued for the boats between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766 followed. 1 small frying pan for the longboat, £0 1s 10d Cordage for the longboat and the yawl, 7 hundredweight 3 quarters 18 pounds, £15 13s 9d Arrack for the men employed in the boats, 5⅜ gallons, £0 16s 11d Candles for the men employed in the boats, 5 pounds, £0 10s 0d 3 horn lanterns for the longboat, £0 6s 4d 22 single deals for the boats in general, £2 6s 9d 6 elm boards for the boats in general, £1 2s 6d 1 wainscot board for the boats in general, £0 4s 8d Timber, £3 13s 11d Twopenny nails for the boats, 5 pounds, £0 3s 5¼d Threepenny nails for the boats, 2 pounds, £0 1s 5½d Fourpenny nails for the boats, 1 pound, £0 0s 7d Sixpenny nails for the boats, 28 pounds, £0 14s 7¼d Tenpenny nails for the boats, 40 pounds, £0 17s 6d Twentypenny nails for the boats, 21 pounds, £0 7s 6d Fortypenny nails for the boats, 8 pounds, £0 2s 10d Spikes for the boats, 12 pounds, £0 2s 6d Nails, £2 10s 5d Carried over, £23 13s 2d Interpretations The boats' account bears out Captain Mitchell's letter of 14 July 1766. He wrote that one of the Company's longboats was in constant use for the shipping and another generally ashore under repair, and the Council agreed that day to buy a third. The stores show how much repair the existing boats absorbed. They took 22 deals, six elm boards, a board of wainscot oak and 117 pounds of nails and spikes in a single quarter. Elm was the boatbuilder's timber for planking below the waterline, since it lasts when kept wet. The quantity was enough to replank a large part of a hull. Boats that landed cargo through surf on an open shore, and were hauled up a stony beach between trips, were being rebuilt piece by piece as they worked. Cordage was the heaviest charge at £15 13s 9d, nearly eight hundredweight of rope. A longboat lying off the landing place rode to a cable, loaded cargo with tackles and was hauled out with warps. All of it chafed on rock. The yawl, a smaller ship's boat used for passengers and messages, shared the issue. The boatmen received arrack, candles and horn lanterns. The lanterns and five pounds of candles show the boats working after dark. Three ships' boats reached Banks's before dawn on 14 May 1766 and 15 May 1766, and the Kent's boat came in at half past eight at night on 10 June 1766. The Company's own boats met them whatever the hour. The frying pan belonged to a crew that stayed out long enough to cook aboard. The hospital closed at £18 15s 11d for the quarter. Its last items included a dozen sneakers, the cheap china punch bowls that cost twopence halfpenny each. They made serviceable drinking bowls for patients, easier to clean than wood. Seventeen deals went to the hospital as well. Boards in that number served for bedsteads or partitions. | |
95 | 1766 Brought over £ 23. 13. 2 Pitch and Tar vizt. 1 Bl. 6 1/2 Galls. Tar 1. 4. 1 12 lb. 1/2 Brimstone 2. 7 24 lb. Turpentine 5. 6 34 lb. Rozin 4. 11 1. 17. 1 Lead 28 1/4 Sheet Lead Fishg. Yawl 8. 8 Oil vizt. 8 Gs. Train 1. 6. 10 2 1/2 Gs. Linseed 9. 10 Boats in General 1. 16. 8 Leather 5 1/4 Sole 4. 11 Paint vizt. 5 Barrls. Blackg. 2. 7 28 Ven Red dry 5. 10 4 lb. Yellw. Oak. mixed 10 2 Verdigrease 7. 9 1/2 3 lb. White Lead mixed 1. 1 1/2 1/4 Copperas 3 Boats in General 18. 5 Twine 1 Skains Long Boat 6 Turners Ware 1 Pt. Brush Do. 5 Oars 1 for the Engr. Boat 3. 11 Braziers Ware 1 Large Brass Cock 4. 5 £ 29. 7. 4 Sandy Bay Fortification Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. April to the 30th. June 1766 vizt. Iron Ware vizt. 10 Pick Axes 1. 11. 8 8 Iron Shovels 1. 16. 2 5 Do. Crows 2. 0. 6 30 Helves 16. 10 1/2 1 Smiths Slitting Saw 1. 11 1 Farriers Rasp 11 Iron Ware Carried over £ 6. 8. [...] 1/2 [...] | The boats' account brought forward £23 13s 2d and closed in 1766 with these stores. Tar, 1 barrel 6½ gallons, £1 4s 1d Brimstone, 12½ pounds, £0 2s 7d Turpentine, 24 pounds, £0 5s 6d Rosin, 34 pounds, £0 4s 11d Pitch and tar, £1 17s 1d Sheet lead for the fishing yawl, 23¼ pounds, £0 8s 8d Train oil for the boats in general, 8 gallons, £1 6s 10d Linseed oil for the boats in general, 2½ gallons, £0 9s 10d Oil, £1 16s 8d Sole leather, 5½ pounds, £0 4s 11d Blacking for the boats in general, 5 barrels, £0 2s 7d Venetian red, dry, for the boats in general, 28 pounds, £0 5s 10d Yellow ochre, mixed, for the boats in general, 4 pounds, £0 0s 10d Verdigris for the boats in general, 2 pounds, £0 7s 9¼d White lead, mixed, for the boats in general, 3 pounds, £0 1s 1½d Copperas for the boats in general, ¼ pound, £0 0s 3d Paint, £0 18s 5d Twine for the longboat, 1 skein, £0 0s 6d 1 paint brush for the longboat, £0 0s 5d 1 oar for the engineer's boat, £0 3s 11d 1 large brass cock, £0 4s 5d Total charged to the boats, £29 7s 4d A separate account covered the stores issued for the Sandy Bay fortification between 1 April 1766 and 30 June 1766. It opened with ironware. 10 pickaxes, £1 11s 8d 8 iron shovels, £1 16s 2d 5 iron crowbars, £2 0s 6d 30 helves, £0 16s 10½d 1 smith's slitting saw, £0 1s 11d 1 farrier's rasp, £0 0s 11d Ironware so far, £6 8s 0½d Interpretations Sandy Bay had an account of its own. The general fortifications account, which closed at about forty pounds, covered only the old works near the town, and the earlier reading that the new project appeared under no heading of its own does not hold. The storekeeper opened a separate head for it, distinct from the main fort and Rupert's. The Court of Directors ordered the work, as Captain Mitchell stated on 14 July 1766, and a dedicated account let its cost be reported to London by name. The point that survives is narrower. The powder, the labourers' food and the soldiers' extra pay still fell under other heads, so even this account understated the true expense. The tools were those of quarrying and digging. Ten pickaxes, eight iron shovels and five crowbars went to the site, beside those issued to the masons under general expenses. Thirty helves accompanied ten pickaxes. A helve was the wooden handle, and three spares for every head shows how fast they broke. Men swinging picks into volcanic rock snapped the shafts long before the iron wore out. Mitchell described the labourers on 14 July 1766 as weak and of little use. The broken handles record the work they did all the same. The farrier's rasp and the smith's saw point to a forge at the site for sharpening picks and to animals that needed their hooves trimmed. Stone and stores were moved at Sandy Bay by pack animal or cart as well as on men's backs. The boats closed at £29 7s 4d. Brimstone appears among the pitch and rosin. Melted together with tar, sulphur made a hard coating for a boat's bottom that resisted the boring shipworm of warm seas. The Company kept a fishing yawl, which took 23 pounds of sheet lead for sinkers and patches, and the engineer had a boat of his own for inspecting the coastal batteries and reaching Sandy Bay by water. The Venetian red, the cheap durable colour bought by the island's private boat owners, coated the Company's hulls as well. | |
96 | 21st. July Iron Ware Brought over£ 6. 8. [...] 1/2 1 Long Handle Fryg. Pan 3. 8 1/2 1 Small Do. 1. 10 1/2 1 Sail Needle 1 2 Hand Hatchets 3. 4 1 Stock Lock 2. 11 1 Bench Vice 12 1 Hd. Hammer 1. 11 1/2 1 Plaisterers Sieve 10 1/4 1 Pr. Steel Yards 10. 3 37 lb. Plate Iron 13. 10 1 Splinter Lock. 6 9. 19. 11 Cordage 550 lb. 9. 14. 9 Twine 25 Skains 12. 6 Iron and Steel vizt. 437 lb. Iron 5. 9. 3 33 Steel 13. 1 6. 2. 4 Nails vizt. 12 lb. 3 8. 9 3 4 1. 9 12 6 6. 3 35 10 15. 3 3/4 52 20 19. 6 27 40 9. 6 3/4 3. 1. 1 Canvas vizt. 4 Ps. 99 Yds. Eng: Canvas 9. 1. 11 4 Yds. Ozenbrigs 3. 2 9. 5. 1 Oil vizt. 4 Galls. Train 13. 5 1 Do. Linseed 3. 11 1/4 1 Bottle Florence 2. 7 3/4 1 Deals vizt. 178 Single Deals 18. 18. 3 77 Double Do. 13. 3. 1 8 Baulks 3. 10. 8 12 Cuffers 1. 17. 6 37. 9. 6 Carried over £ 77. 5. 2 | The Sandy Bay fortification account, entered under 21 July 1766, brought forward the ironware at £6 8s 0½d and continued it. 1 long-handled frying pan, £0 3s 8½d 1 small frying pan, £0 1s 10½d 1 sail needle, £0 0s 1d 2 hand hatchets, £0 3s 4d 1 stock lock, £0 2s 11d 1 bench vice, £0 12s 0d 1 hand hammer, £0 1s 11½d 1 plasterer's sieve, £0 10s 4d 1 pair of steelyards, £0 10s 3d Plate iron, 37 pounds, £1 3s 10d 1 splinter lock, £0 0s 6d Ironware, £9 19s 11d Cordage, iron and nails followed. Cordage, 550 pounds, £9 14s 9d Twine, 25 skeins, £0 12s 6d Iron, 437 pounds, £5 9s 3d Steel, 33 pounds, £0 13s 1d Iron and steel, £6 2s 4d Threepenny nails, 12 pounds, £0 8s 9d Fourpenny nails, 3 pounds, £0 1s 9d Sixpenny nails, 12 pounds, £0 6s 3d Tenpenny nails, 35 pounds, £0 15s 3¾d Twentypenny nails, 52 pounds, £0 19s 6d Fortypenny nails, 27 pounds, £0 9s 6¼d Nails, £3 1s 1d Canvas, oil and timber closed the page. English canvas, 4 pieces of 99 yards, £9 1s 11d Osnaburgs, 4 yards, £0 3s 2d Canvas, £9 5s 1d Train oil, 4 gallons, £0 13s 5d Linseed oil, 1 gallon, £0 3s 11½d Florence oil, 1 bottle, £0 2s 7½d Oil, £1 0s 0d 178 single deals, £18 18s 3d 77 double deals, £13 3s 1d 8 baulks, £3 10s 8d 12 ufers, £1 17s 6d Timber, £37 9s 6d Carried over, £77 5s 2d Interpretations Half the account went on timber, and the timber was for housing. Captain Mitchell wrote on 14 July 1766 that some time was lost at the start in building quarters for so large a workforce. The stores show what that meant: 255 deals, eight squared beams, twelve fir spars and 141 pounds of nails, mostly in the large sizes used for framing. A camp of wooden huts was put up on the shore for the 44 slaves, the hired soldiers, the masons and the overseers. Ninety-nine yards of sailcloth, sewn with the sail needle and 25 skeins of twine, made tents and coverings. Before a single stone of the defensive line was laid, the Company built a small settlement where none had stood. The frying pans, hatchets and steelyards belonged to that camp. Steelyards were a portable balance with a sliding weight, used to weigh out rations. Provisions were sent round to the bay and issued there by weight to men who could not return to the town to eat. The stock lock secured the store hut. Sandy Bay had its own forge. The site drew 437 pounds of bar iron and 33 pounds of steel, with a bench vice, a hammer and the slitting saw listed on the previous page. Picks and crowbars blunted quickly on the rock. A smith on the spot drew out the points and welded a new steel tip onto the iron when the old one wore away. Steel cost nearly fivepence a pound against threepence for iron and was used only at the cutting edge. Without the forge every blunted tool would have crossed the island to be dressed. The 550 pounds of rope served for hauling. Blocks of stone were dragged and lifted with tackles, and loads were lowered down the steep ground to the shore. The plasterer's sieve was for sifting lime and sand for mortar, the first sign in the account of masonry and not merely quarrying. Mitchell reported on 14 July 1766 that the masons were building the culvert. The account stood at £77 5s 2d and was not yet closed. It already exceeded the whole quarter's charge for the island's established fortifications nearly twice over. | |
97 | 1766 Brought over L 77. 5. 2 Paint vizt 6 Whiting 1 2 lb Lead mixed 9 6 [...] Red dry 1. 3 2. 1 Grindstones 1 3. 10 Candles 17 lb 1. 14 Iron Pots 1 of 6 Gallo 6 Turners Ware vizt 12 Wood Bowls 11. 9 12 Platters 12 9 Labr Baskets 8. 10 1 Hair Broom 2. 1 1. 14. 8 Glass Ware vizt 17 Sqr 6 by 8 5. 8 9 Sqr 8 by 10 5. 1 10. 9 Oars 4 15. 7 Leather 12 lb sole 11 Pitch and Tar vizt 1 Bl 1 Gall. Tar 1 10 lb Turpentine 2. 3 1/2 15 lb Rozin 1. 5 1/2 1. 3. 9 Chalk 25 lb 6 L 84. 12. 4 St Helena 30th June 1766. Errors Excepted (Signed) James Powell Storekeeper | The storekeeper's account for 1766 continued with a balance carried over from the previous page and ran on through the remaining stores. Balance brought over, £77 5s 2d Paint: 6 lb of whiting, £0 0s 1d Paint: 2 lb of ready-mixed lead paint, £0 0s 9d Paint: 6 lb of dry red lead, £0 1s 3d Paint, total, £0 2s 1d Grindstones, 1, £0 3s 10d Candles, 17 lb, £0 14s 0d Iron pots, 1 of 6 gallons, £0 6s 0d Turned woodware: 12 wooden bowls, £0 11s 9d Turned woodware: 12 platters, £0 12s 0d Turned woodware: 9 labourers' baskets, £0 8s 10d Turned woodware: 1 hair broom, £0 2s 1d Turned woodware, total, £1 14s 8d Glassware: 17 panes of 6 by 8 inches, £0 5s 8d Glassware: 9 panes of 8 by 10 inches, £0 5s 1d Glassware, total, £0 10s 9d Oars, 4, £0 15s 7d Leather, 12 lb of sole leather, £0 11s 0d Pitch and tar: 1 barrel and 1 gallon of tar, £1 0s 0d Pitch and tar: 10 lb of turpentine, £0 2s 3½d Pitch and tar: 15 lb of rosin, £0 1s 5½d Pitch and tar, total, £1 3s 9d Chalk, 25 lb, £0 0s 6d Grand total, £84 12s 4d James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the account at St Helena on 30 June 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. A list followed. Interpretations Whiting was finely ground and washed chalk, used as the base of whitewash and putty and as a cheap extender in paint. Red lead was an orange-red oxide of lead, supplied dry as a powder to be ground into linseed oil on the spot. It served chiefly as a priming coat on timber and ironwork, where it resisted damp and rust. The ready-mixed lead paint was probably white lead already ground in oil, the standard finishing paint of the period. Rosin was the hard resin left after turpentine was distilled from pine sap. Tar, turpentine and rosin together made up the naval stores on which boats, cordage and roofing depended. Rosin was melted with tar to stiffen it for caulking seams, while turpentine thinned paint and tar alike. Turned woodware covered goods shaped on a lathe, such as bowls and platters, though the storekeeper also grouped baskets and a broom under the same head. A hair broom was a soft sweeping brush with a bristle or horsehair head. Window glass was issued in small cut panes sized in inches, since large sheets could not be made cheaply or shipped safely. The closing reservation about errors was a standard accounting safeguard. It allowed the storekeeper to correct a slip found later without being held to the signed figures, which mattered where he was personally answerable for the stores in his charge. | |
98 | 21. July List of the Honble Company's Officers and Servants on the Island St. Helena with their Several Salarys diet Money &c for the Quarter commencing the 1st April and ending 30th. June 1766 vizt John Skottowe Esqr Govr 125 Do Allowance for servants as Usual 31. 4. 9 156. 4. 9 Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr 62. 10 Do Diet Money 25 87. 10 Mr. Matthew Purling of Council Saly. 15 Do Accomptant 17. 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do Gratuity 15 62. 10 Capt Thomas Kirkpatrick of Coun: Saly. 7. 10 Do House Rent 2. 10 10 Archibald Mitchell Engineers Salary 50 Do Diet Money 25 Do House Rent 2. 10 77. 10 John Thackeray Chaplain Saly 25 Do Diet Money 15 40 Matthew Bazett Secy Saly 17. 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do House Rent 2. 10 35 James Powell Storekeeper Saly. 17. 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do House Rent 2. 10 35 Wm Wrangham Factor Saly 7. 10 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2. 10 Do Assistant to the Governor 10 30 Jonathan Doveton Factor Saly 7. 10 Do Diet Money 10 Do Assistant Storekeeper 5 22. 10 Britannicus Wright Writer Saly 5 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2. 10 17. 10 John Goodwin Writer Salary 5 Do Diet Money 2. 10 15 Carried Over L 589. 4. 9 | A list entered under 21 July set out the Company's officers and servants on St Helena, with their salaries, diet money and other allowances for the quarter running from 1 April to 30 June 1766. John Skottowe, Governor, salary, £125 0s 0d John Skottowe, Governor, customary allowance for servants, £31 4s 9d John Skottowe, Governor, total, £156 4s 9d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, salary, £62 10s 0d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, diet money, £25 0s 0d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, total, £87 10s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, salary, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, accountant, £17 10s 0d Matthew Purling, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, gratuity, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, total, £62 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, member of Council, salary, £7 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, house rent, £2 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, total, £10 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, salary, £50 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, diet money, £25 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, total, £77 10s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, salary, £25 0s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, diet money, £15 0s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, total, £40 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, [...], salary, £17 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, house rent, £2 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, total, £35 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, salary, £17 10s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, diet money, £15 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, house rent, £2 10s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, total, £35 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d William Wrangham, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, house rent, £2 10s 0d William Wrangham, assistant to the Governor, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, total, £30 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, assistant storekeeper, £5 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, total, £22 10s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, total, £17 10s 0d John Goodwin, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d John Goodwin, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Goodwin, writer, total, £15 0s 0d Carried over, £589 4s 9d Interpretations Diet money was a cash allowance paid in place of meals at the Company's common table. For the junior ranks it outweighed the salary itself: a writer drew £5 0s 0d in pay for the quarter but £10 0s 0d for his food. The Company kept nominal salaries low and made up a living wage through allowances, which could be adjusted or withdrawn without touching the establishment's fixed pay scale. Factor and writer were grades in the Company's civil service, not descriptions of the work done. A writer was the entry rank, a clerk copying letters and accounts, and a factor stood one step above him. Actual duties were attached separately, which is why Wrangham and Doveton each drew an extra sum as assistant to the Governor and assistant storekeeper on top of their pay as factors. Purling's income shows the same stacking of posts. His seat on the Council carried only £15 0s 0d, less than his pay as accountant, and a gratuity of the same amount was added. A gratuity was a discretionary reward and not an entitlement, so a quarter of his income rested on continued favour. House rent of £2 10s 0d went to those for whom the Company provided no quarters. Its absence against the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the chaplain, Doveton and Goodwin suggests that they were housed at the Company's expense or lodged in another household. James Powell, who signed the storekeeper's account on 30 June 1766, appears here with the pay of his office, £35 0s 0d for the quarter in all. The description of Bazett's post could not be read, as the abbreviation after his name was too compressed to recover. | |
99 | 1766 Brought over L 589. 4. 9 Robert Brouley Surgeon Saly 9. 15 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2. 10 22. 5 John Pritchard Surgeon Mate Saly 6. 5 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2. 10 18. 15 Richard Beale Judge Advocate Saly. 12. 10 Do School Master 7. 10 20 John Bridgewater Saly 13. 13. 9 Samuel Alexander Overseers 7. 10 Daniel Tong 15 22. 10 William Holbrook Master Masons Saly 30 Thomas Townsend Stone Masons Saly 19. 10 49. 10 Joseph Chamberlain Carpenters Mate Saly. 8. 15 John Robinson Carpenter Saly 25 33. 15 Phillip Mabony Clerk of the Peace 10 John Bazett Super Intend over the Compys. Blacks 10 James Black Gardener 10 James Torbett Cooper 8. 15 George Bazett Steward 7. 10 Samuel Perry Clerk and Underwood [...] 1. 5 Thoms. Payne Overseer of the Honbl Compys. Workmen 6. 16. 10 1/2 Zedekiah Sanderson Groom 2 John Gibson Armourer 10. 10 Solomon St. Maurice Master at Arms 6. 5 John Caswell Patron of the Long Boat 7. 10 Willm. French 2d. Do. of Do 5 John Bruce Marshall and Goaler 7. 10 Thomas Yates Clerk 5 To the Drum Major for Instructg the young Drumrs 1 99. 1. 10 1/2 First Company Thomas Kirkpatrick Captain Salary 45. 12. 6 Solomon St. Maurice Lieut. Salary 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Carried over L 941. 19. 9 Margin Notes: [...] | The quarterly pay list for 1766 resumed with the balance from the previous page and moved through the surgeons, tradesmen and minor officers before reaching the garrison's first company. Balance brought over, £589 4s 9d Robert Barclay, surgeon, salary, £9 15s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, diet money, £10 0s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, house rent, £2 10s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, total, £22 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, salary, £[...] 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, house rent, £2 10s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, total, £12 15s 0d Richard Beale, judge advocate, salary, £12 10s 0d Richard Beale, schoolmaster, £7 10s 0d Richard Beale, total, £20 0s 0d John Bridgewater, salary, £13 13s 9d Samuel Alexander, overseer, £7 10s 0d Daniel Tong, overseer, £15 0s 0d Overseers, total, £22 10s 0d William Hallbrook, master mason, salary, £30 0s 0d Thomas Townsend, stonemason, salary, £19 10s 0d Masons, total, £49 10s 0d Joseph Chamberlain, carpenter's mate, salary, £8 15s 0d John Robinson, carpenter, salary, £25 0s 0d Carpenters, total, £33 15s 0d Phillip Mabony, clerk of the peace, £10 0s 0d John Bazett, superintendent of the Company's slaves, £10 0s 0d James Black, gardener, £10 0s 0d James Forbett, cooper, £8 15s 0d George Bazett, steward, £7 10s 0d Samuel Perry, clock and instrument cleaner, £1 5s 0d Thomas Payne, overseer of the Company's workmen, £6 16s 10½d Zedekiah Sanderson, groom, £2 0s 0d John Gibson, armourer, £10 10s 0d Solomon St Maurice, master at arms, £6 5s 0d John Caswell, coxswain of the longboat, £7 10s 0d William French, second coxswain of the longboat, £5 0s 0d John Bruce, marshal and gaoler, £7 10s 0d Thomas Yates, clerk, £5 0s 0d Drum major, for teaching the young drummers, £1 0s 0d Minor officers, total, £99 1s 10½d First Company: Thomas Kirkpatrick, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, salary, £13 5s 0d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Carried over, £941 19s 9d Interpretations The judge advocate was the officer who conducted prosecutions and advised on law at courts martial and in the island's courts. Beale combined that post with teaching the island's school, and the pairing shows how thin the pool of literate men was. A legal office and a classroom were filled by one person for £20 0s 0d a quarter in all. The clerk of the peace kept the records of the justices' sittings, while the marshal and gaoler served the court's orders and held its prisoners. Together with the judge advocate they formed the whole paid machinery of justice on the island, at a combined cost below that of the two masons. John Bazett's post as superintendent placed a salaried officer over the slaves the Company itself owned, distinct from those held by planters. Payne's separate charge over the Company's workmen suggests that free or soldier labour and slave labour were managed as two gangs under different men. Skilled building trades were paid far above the clerical ranks. The master mason drew £30 0s 0d and the carpenter £25 0s 0d for the quarter, against £5 0s 0d in salary for a writer on the list entered under 21 July. The fortifications and landing works depended on men who could not be replaced locally, and the pay reflected that scarcity. Several men held civil and military posts at once. Kirkpatrick, shown earlier with £10 0s 0d as a member of Council, drew a further £45 12s 6d as captain of the first company. St Maurice appeared twice on this page, as master at arms and as the company's lieutenant. A coxswain steered and commanded a boat's crew. The longboat was the island's working link with ships anchored in the road, carrying water, stores and passengers through the surf, so its two coxswains were permanent salaried posts. The pounds figure in Pritchard's salary could not be read with confidence. No post was written against Bridgewater's name. | |
100 | 21 July Brought over L 941. 19. 9 Samuel Deffountain Lieut Saly. 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Solomon Jacob Adjutant Saly. 22. 16. 3 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 [...] 29. 11. 1 1/2 Serjeants Phillip Mahoney 7. 12. 1 Thomas Payne 7. 12. 1 William Bannister 7. 12. 1 Henry Howell 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Corporals Joseph Stacey 5. 6. 5 1/2 William Brown 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Dewick 5. 6. 5 1/2 William Rowlands 5. 6. 5 1/2 21. 5. 10 Drummers Richard Flatfoot 5. 6. 5 1/2 Joseph Beacham 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Centinels John Steward Cadet 3. 16. 1/2 John Allis Dischd. 23 June 3. 10 John Alman 3. 16. 1/2 James Avery 3. 16. 1/2 James Armstrong 3. 16. 1/2 John Brown 3. 16. 1/2 John Beachams 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Blake 3. 16. 1/2 Moses Biffin 3. 16. 1/2 John Buile 3. 16. 1/2 John Barnes 3. 16. 1/2 Timothy Bryon 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried over L 41. 16. 5 1/2 Carrd. Over L 1061. 11. 10 | The pay list entered under 21 July continued through the remaining officers of the first company and then named its sergeants, corporals, drummers and the first of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £941 19s 9d Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Solomon Jacob, adjutant, salary, £22 16s 3d Solomon Jacob, adjutant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Solomon Jacob, adjutant, total, £29 13s 1½d Sergeant: Phillip Mahoney, £7 12s 1d Sergeant: Thomas Payne, £7 12s 1d Sergeant: William Bannister, £7 12s 1d Sergeant: Henry Howell, £7 12s 1d Sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Corporal: Joseph Stacey, £5 6s 5½d Corporal: William Brown, £5 6s 5½d Corporal: Thomas Barwick, £5 6s 5½d Corporal: William Rowlands, £5 6s 5½d Corporals, total, £21 5s 10d Drummer: Richard Flatfoot, £5 6s 5½d Drummer: Joseph Beacham, £5 6s 5½d Drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Sentinel: John Steward, cadet, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Allis, discharged 23 June, £3 10s 0d Sentinel: John Alman, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: James Avery, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: James Armstrong, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Brown, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Bachams, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Blake, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Moses Biffin, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Beale, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Barnes, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Timothy Bryon, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels, carried over, £41 16s 5½d Carried over, £1,061 11s 10d A third line was begun beneath Jacob's diet money, but its wording and any figure against it could not be read. Interpretations Sentinel was the Company's term for a private soldier, the lowest rank of the garrison. His quarter's pay of £3 16s 0½d came to about ten pence a day, half of what a sergeant received. Corporals and drummers were paid alike at £5 6s 5½d, which placed the drummer, who beat the signals regulating the garrison's day, well above the ordinary ranks. Allis left the garrison on 23 June, a week before the quarter closed, and his pay was cut to £3 10s 0d to match. Pay was therefore reckoned by the day and stopped at discharge, so the list served as a record of actual service and not simply of names on the establishment. Steward was entered as a cadet among the sentinels and drew a private's pay. A cadet was a young man serving in the ranks while waiting for an officer's commission, which cost the Company nothing beyond a common soldier's wage until a vacancy arose. The adjutant handled the garrison's drill, rosters and daily orders. Jacob's salary of £22 16s 3d exceeded that of either lieutenant, although he drew the same diet money of £6 16s 10½d as they did. Two of the sergeants appeared earlier in the same pay list with civil posts. A Phillip Mabony was clerk of the peace at £10 0s 0d and a Thomas Payne was overseer of the Company's workmen at £6 16s 10½d. If these were the same men, as the names suggest, the civil offices were filled from the garrison's non-commissioned officers and paid as additions to their military wage. | |
101 | 1766 Brought over L 1061. 11. 10 Centinels brought over L 41. 16. 5 1/2 David Belford 3. 16. 1/2 Emanuel Busner 3. 16. 1/2 William Benson 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Cocker 3. 16. 1/2 William Clifold 3. 16. 1/2 Patrick Conner 3. 16. 1/2 Isaac Day 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Dudley Discharged 19th. May 2. 10 John Davis 3. 16. 1/2 John Dove 3. 16. 1/2 David Davis 3. 16. 1/2 James Drake 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Durham 3. 16. 1/2 James Dunn 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Eales 3. 16. 1/2 Adam Evans 3. 16. 1/2 Cornelius Fish 3. 16. 1/2 William French 3. 16. 1/2 William Greenwood 3. 16. 1/2 John Grainger 3. 16. 1/2 William Hawkes Dischd. the 7th. April 5. 10 William Henderson 3. 16. 1/2 James Hodge 3. 16. 1/2 John Howeston 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Haddock 3. 16. 1/2 William Holmes 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Knight 3. 16. 1/2 William Luke 3. 16. 1/2 Duncan Mc. Claren 3. 16. 1/2 William Mumford 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Mead 3. 16. 1/2 John May 3. 16. 1/2 John Macallister 3. 16. 1/2 John Pickering 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Price 3. 16. 1/2 Michael Read Discharged 4th. April 3. 4 Centinels Carried Over L 173. 5. 10 Carried Over L 1061. 11. 10 | The pay list for 1766 went on with the private soldiers of the first company, opening with the two balances carried from the previous page. Balance brought over, £1,061 11s 10d Sentinels, brought over, £41 16s 5½d Sentinel: David Belford, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Emanuel Busner, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Benson, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Edward Cocker, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Clifford, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Patrick Conner, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Isaac Day, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Henry Dudley, discharged 19 May, £2 0s 10d Sentinel: John Davis, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Dove, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: David Davis, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: James Drake, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Durham, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: James Dunn, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Samuel Eales, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Adam Evans, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Cornelius Fish, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William French, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Greenwood, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Grainger, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Hawkes, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Sentinel: William Henderson, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: James Hodge, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Hewiston, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Edward Haddock, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Holmes, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Richard Knight, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Luke, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Duncan McClaren, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Mumford, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Mears, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John May, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Macallister, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Pickering, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Price, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Michael Read, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Sentinels, carried over, £173 5s 10d Carried over, £1,061 11s 10d Interpretations The three discharges confirm that a private's pay was reckoned at ten pence a day and stopped on the day he left. Hawkes served seven days of the quarter and received £0 5s 10d, Read served four and received £0 3s 4d, and Dudley's 49 days to 19 May brought him £2 0s 10d. The same daily reckoning lay behind the £3 10s 0d paid to Allis, discharged on 23 June. The general balance stood unchanged at £1,061 11s 10d from the head of the page to its foot. The clerk kept the sentinels' pay as a separate running total in an inner column and held it back from the main account until the company's roll was complete. A William French appeared earlier in the same list as second coxswain of the longboat at £5 0s 0d. If he was the same man, the boat's crew was drawn from the garrison's ranks and the coxswain's pay came on top of a soldier's wage. | |
102 | 21st. July Brought Over L 1061. 11. 10 Centinels brought over L 173. 5. 10 Thomas Roberts 3. 16. 1/2 William Robinson 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Ranson 3. 16. 1/2 Anthony Reynolds 3. 16. 1/2 George Rowe 3. 16. 1/2 Silvanus Wolf 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Segors 3. 16. 1/2 William Swaby 3. 16. 1/2 John Springthorp 3. 16. 1/2 John S[...] 3. 16. 1/2 John Stewart 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Terry 3. 16. 1/2 John Taylor 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Tottington 3. 16. 1/2 William Tipper 3. 16. 1/2 Luke Vernon 3. 16. 1/2 John Whittingdale 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Wise 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Wendall 3. 16. 1/2 John Weston 3. 16. 1/2 George Wall 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Youcas 3. 16. 1/2 256. 13. 9 Second Company Henry Bazett Captain Saly 45. 12. 6 Michael Frost Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 John Van Wilch Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants John Bazett 7. 12. 1 William Greenough 7. 12. 1 Thomas James 7. 12. 1 Samuel Curd 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Carried Over L 1449. 15. 2 | The pay list entered under 21 July completed the roll of the first company's private soldiers and then opened the second company with its officers and sergeants. Balance brought over, £1,061 11s 10d Sentinels, brought over, £173 5s 10d Sentinel: Thomas Roberts, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Robinson, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Ranson, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Anthony Reynolds, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: George Rowe, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Silvanus Rolf, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Rogers, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Swaby, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Springthorp, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John [...], £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Stewart, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Edward Terry, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Taylor, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Richard Tollington, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: William Tipper, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Luke Vernon, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Whittingdale, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Benjamin Wise, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Thomas Weirdale, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: John Weston, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: George Wall, £3 16s 0½d Sentinel: Richard Youcas, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels, total, £256 18s 9d Second Company: Henry Bazett, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Second Company, sergeant: John Bazett, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: William Greenough, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: Thomas James, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: Samuel Curd, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Carried over, £1,449 15s 2d Interpretations The first company's sentinels were entered in alphabetical order of surname across three pages, from Allis to Youcas. Their pay was only now released into the main account as a single sum of £256 18s 9d, after standing apart in an inner column while the general balance remained at £1,061 11s 10d. The second company mirrored the first in structure and cost. Its captain drew the same £45 12s 6d as Kirkpatrick, its two lieutenants the same £27 11s 10½d as Desfountain, and its four sergeants the same £30 8s 4d. The garrison was therefore organised on a fixed establishment, with identical pay for each rank whichever company a man served in. The Bazett family held posts across the whole list. Matthew Bazett drew £35 0s 0d among the senior civil servants, George Bazett was steward at £7 10s 0d, and John Bazett was superintendent of the Company's slaves at £10 0s 0d. Henry Bazett now appeared as captain of the second company and a John Bazett as one of its sergeants. If the sergeant and the superintendent were one man, as the name suggests, the charge over the Company's slaves was another civil duty given to a non-commissioned officer on top of his military wage. The surname of one sentinel, entered between Springthorp and Stewart, could not be read. | |
103 | 1766 Brought over L 1449. 15. 2 Corporals George Freeman 5. 6. 5 1/2 Robert Hopkinson April 29th. Reduced 1. 13. 10 Do Centinel from 30th April 2. 11. 10 1/2 Gregory Southwood 5. 6. 5 1/2 Charles Goulding April 29th Reduced 1. 13. 10 Do Centinel from 30th April 2. 11. 10 1/2 19. 4. 4 Drummers Robert Davis 5. 6. 5 1/2 Francis Soane 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Centinels Samuel Alston 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Adams 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Banks 3. 16. 1/2 William Birch 3. 16. 1/2 William Brooks 3. 16. 1/2 Jacob Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Bett 3. 16. 1/2 Nicholas Birchall 3. 16. 1/2 Daniel Bye 3. 16. 1/2 James Byrne 3. 16. 1/2 William Bell 3. 16. 1/2 John Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Couzens Discharged 4th. April 3. 4 Thomas Cheverly 3. 16. 1/2 William Conquest 3. 16. 1/2 William Clay discharged 7th. April 5. 10 John Crawley 3. 16. 1/2 William Carfax 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Dickens 3. 16. 1/2 William Dinnan 3. 16. 1/2 William Finch 3. 16. 1/2 William Fullwood 3. 16. 1/2 William Fry 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried Over L 84. 2. 1 Card. Over L 1479. 12. 5 Margin Notes: [...] | The pay list for 1766 moved on to the second company's corporals and drummers and then began the roll of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £1,449 15s 2d Second Company, corporal: George Freeman, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, corporal: Robert Hopkinson, reduced on 29 April, £1 13s 10d Second Company, corporal: Robert Hopkinson, as sentinel from 30 April, £2 11s 10½d Second Company, corporal: Gregory Southwood, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, corporal: Charles Goulding, reduced on 29 April, £1 13s 10d Second Company, corporal: Charles Goulding, as sentinel from 30 April, £2 11s 10½d Second Company, corporals, total, £19 4s 4d Second Company, drummer: Robert Davis, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, drummer: Francis Sloane, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Alston, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Adams, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Joseph Banks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Birch, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Brooks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Jacob Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Bell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Nicholas Burbell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Daniel Bye, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Byrne, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Bell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Edward Couzens, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Cheverly, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Conquest, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Clay, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Second Company, sentinel: John Crawley, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Carfax, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Dickens, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Dennan, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Finch, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Fulwood, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Fry, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, carried over, £84 2s 1d Carried over, £1,479 12s 5d A short mark stood in the margin beside Robert Brown's name, but it could not be read. Interpretations Hopkinson and Goulding lost their corporal's rank on the same day, 29 April, and served out the quarter as private soldiers. Each was paid in two parts: £1 13s 10d for 29 days at a corporal's rate of fourteen pence a day, then £2 11s 10½d for the remaining 62 days at a private's ten pence. Reduction to the ranks was the usual punishment for a non-commissioned officer, short of flogging or discharge. The shared date points to a single offence or a single sentence, though the list gave no cause. The demotion cost each man about £1 0s 9d over the quarter. Both men stayed under the corporals' heading and no replacements were named, so the company finished the quarter with two corporals where the first company had four. The corporals' total fell accordingly to £19 4s 4d, against £21 5s 10d for the first company. Couzens was discharged on 4 April and Clay on 7 April, the same two dates on which Read and Hawkes left the first company. Each pair received the identical sums of £0 3s 4d and £0 5s 10d. Discharges on matching days in both companies suggest that men were released together, probably to take passage on a ship then in the road. As with the first company, the sentinels' pay ran as a separate total in the inner column and stood at £84 2s 1d, while only the corporals and drummers were added to the general balance. | |
104 | 21st. July Brought over L 1479. 12. 5 Centinels brought over L 84. 2. 1 John Forbes 3. 16. 1/2 John Fish 3. 16. 1/2 John Goodall 3. 16. 1/2 John Gray 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Green 3. 16. 1/2 James Gates 3. 16. 1/2 William Harris 3. 16. 1/2 William Harris 3. 16. 1/2 Abraham Harding 3. 16. 1/2 John Hawksworth Deceas'd 29th. June 3. 15 Samuel Hiller 3. 16. 1/2 William Hockley Discharged 16th. June 3. 4. 2 John Holebrooke 3. 16. 1/2 James Hudson 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Hayles 3. 16. 1/2 William Hayes 3. 16. 1/2 William Hunt 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Instone 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Jones 3. 16. 1/2 William Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Jeremiah Jordon 3. 16. 1/2 John Jacks 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Corkham 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Kelkson 3. 16. 1/2 Edmond Leech April the 29 made Corpl. 1. 4. 2 Do Corporal from 30th. April 3. 12. 7 1/2 Henry Miller 3. 16. 1/2 James Mannington 3. 16. 1/2 John Morris 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Newton 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Alpherison 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Perry 3. 16. 1/2 William Pinckson Dischd. the 7th. April 5. 10 Stephen Prior to 29th. April 1. 4. 2 Do Corporal from 30th. Do 3. 12. 7 1/2 Abraham Rimne 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried over L 211. 5. 10 1/2 Carried Over L 1479. 12. 5 | The pay list entered under 21 July carried on with the private soldiers of the second company, opening with the two balances from the previous page. Balance brought over, £1,479 12s 5d Second Company, sentinels, brought over, £84 2s 1d Second Company, sentinel: John Forbes, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Fish, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Gornole, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Gray, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Green, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Gates, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Harris, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Harris, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Abraham Harding, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Hawksworth, died 29 June, £3 15s 0d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Hiller, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Hockley, discharged 16 June, £3 4s 2d Second Company, sentinel: John Holebrooke, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Hudson, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Hayles, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Hayes, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Hunt, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Instone, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Richard Jones, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Jeremiah Jordon, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Jacks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Corkham, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Kelloon, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Edmond Leech, to 29 April, £1 4s 2d Second Company, sentinel: Edmond Leech, as corporal from 30 April, £3 12s 7½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Miller, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Mannington, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Morris, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Newton, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Alpherious, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Perry, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Pinchson, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Second Company, sentinel: Stephen Prior, to 29 April, £1 4s 2d Second Company, sentinel: Stephen Prior, as corporal from 30 April, £3 12s 7½d Second Company, sentinel: Abraham Rennie, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, carried over, £214 5s 10½d Carried over, £1,479 12s 5d Interpretations Leech and Prior were the replacements for the two corporals broken on 29 April. Hopkinson and Goulding went down to the ranks on that day, and these two privates took up a corporal's pay from 30 April. Each drew £1 4s 2d for 29 days at ten pence a day and then £3 12s 7½d for the remaining 62 days at a corporal's rate. The clerk left all four men under their old headings, so the second company in fact kept its four corporals throughout the quarter, and the lower corporals' total of £19 4s 4d reflected only where the money was entered. Hawksworth died on 29 June, one day before the quarter closed, and his pay stopped at £3 15s 0d for 90 days. Wages were therefore reckoned to the day of death exactly as to the day of discharge, with the sum presumably owed to his estate. Hockley's discharge on 16 June left him £3 4s 2d for 77 days. Pinchson left on 7 April with £0 5s 10d, the same date and sum as Hawkes in the first company and Clay in the second, which strengthens the impression of a group release on that day. A Samuel Perry appeared earlier in the list as clock and instrument cleaner at £1 5s 0d. If the sentinel was the same man, that small civil duty was another task given to a soldier on top of his wage. | |
105 | 1766 Brought over L 1479. 12. 5 Centinels brought over L 211. 5. 10 1/2 Thomas Richards 3. 16. 1/2 John Christian Strife 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Stowers 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Stringer 3. 16. 1/2 William Stone 3. 16. 1/2 John Sabrain 3. 16. 1/2 William Stapleford 3. 16. 1/2 Avery Trueman 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Wansell 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Waffington 3. 16. 1/2 John Tucker 3. 16. 1/2 253. 2. 4 Third Company Richard Beale Captain Salary 45. 12. 6 Thomas Bazett Lieut. Salary 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 John Bridgwater Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants Roger Welman 7. 12. 1 Barnard Millerd 7. 12. 1 William Roberts 7. 12. 1 John Vaughan 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Corporals James York 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Matthews 5. 6. 5 1/2 William Clifton 5. 6. 5 1/2 Fisher Gamble 5. 6. 5 1/2 21. 5. 10 Drummers John Francks 5. 6. 5 1/2 George Sorrey 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Carried Over L 1895. 13. 1 | The pay list for 1766 finished the second company's private soldiers and then set out the third company's officers, sergeants, corporals and drummers. Balance brought over, £1,479 12s 5d Second Company, sentinels, brought over, £211 5s 10½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Richards, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Christian Strife, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Stowers, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Benjamin Stringer, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Stone, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Sabrain, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Stapleford, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Avery Trueman, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Wansell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Waffington, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Tucker, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, total, £253 2s 4d Third Company: Richard Beale, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Third Company, sergeant: Roger Wetman, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: Barnard Millerd, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: William Roberts, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: John Vaughan, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Third Company, corporal: James York, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporal: Thomas Matthews, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporal: William Clifton, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporal: Fisher Gamble, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporals, total, £21 5s 10d Third Company, drummer: John Francis, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, drummer: George Varney, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Carried over, £1,895 18s 1d Interpretations The third company's captain bore the same name as the judge advocate and schoolmaster, who drew £20 0s 0d for those two posts earlier in the list. If Richard Beale was one man, he prosecuted in the island's courts, taught its school and commanded a third of its garrison. His combined income of £65 12s 6d for the quarter then exceeded that of every civil servant below the Lieutenant Governor except the engineer. John Bridgewater was entered earlier with £13 13s 9d and no post against his name. His appearance here as a lieutenant suggests that the earlier sum was a supplement for some unnamed duty, paid on top of his £27 11s 10½d as an officer. Thomas Bazett was the sixth bearer of that surname on the list, after Matthew, George, the two entries for John and Captain Henry Bazett of the second company. One family therefore held commissions in two of the three companies, a senior civil post, the stewardship and the charge of the Company's slaves. The third company repeated the fixed establishment of the other two: a captain at £45 12s 6d, two lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals and two drummers, each paid exactly as his counterparts were. The second company's privates cost £253 2s 4d for the quarter, slightly below the £256 18s 9d of the first, the difference arising from the men who died or were discharged before 30 June. | |
106 | 21 July Brought over L 1895. 13. 1 Centinels Richard Ashford 3. 16. 1/2 James Anderson 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Abraham 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Jacob Bull 3. 16. 1/2 Mark Bull 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Bennett 3. 16. 1/2 John Blinkorn 3. 16. 1/2 Frederick William Beard 3. 16. 1/2 William Caleb Baldwin 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Broome 3. 16. 1/2 John Cork 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Chamberlain dischd. 3. 16. 1/2 William C[...] 3. 16. 1/2 John Chapman 3. 16. 1/2 Michael Downey 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Davis 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Dudley 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Edgels Dischd. the 4th Apl. 3. 4 William Frasier 3. 16. 1/2 John Foxon 3. 16. 1/2 Alexander Gray dischd. April 7th 5. 10 Archibald Grayham 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Gregory 3. 16. 1/2 William Gordon 3. 16. 1/2 Felix Hyder 3. 16. 1/2 John Hilliard 3. 16. 1/2 William Hill 3. 16. 1/2 William Hopkins 3. 16. 1/2 John Killock Enterd. the 24 June 5. 10 Josiah Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 James Kempf 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Linney 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried over L 123. 7 1/2 Carrd. Over L 1895. 13. 1 Margin Notes: [...] | The pay list entered under 21 July turned to the private soldiers of the third company, whose pay again ran as a separate total beside the general balance. Balance brought over, £1,895 13s 1d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Ashford, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Anderson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Charles Abraham, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Henry Brown, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Jacob Bull, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Mark Bull, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Benjamin Bennett, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Blinkorn, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Frederick William Beard, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Caleb Baldwin, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Broome, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Cork, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Joseph Chamberlain, discharged, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Cox, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Chapman, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Michael Downey, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Davis, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Dudley, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Charles Edgels, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Third Company, sentinel: William Frasier, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Foxon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Alexander Gray, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Third Company, sentinel: Archibald Grayham, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Gregory, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Gordon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Felix Hyder, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Hilliard, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Hill, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Hopkins, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Hillock, enlisted 24 June, £0 5s 10d Third Company, sentinel: Josiah Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Samuel Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Kempf, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Linney, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinels, carried over, £123 [...]s 7½d Carried over, £1,895 13s 1d Interpretations Hillock joined on 24 June and drew £0 5s 10d for the last seven days of the quarter. Pay therefore began on the day a man entered the ranks, just as it stopped on the day he left, and a recruit taken on in the final week still earned his own line in the roll. Edgels and Gray left on 4 April and 7 April with £0 3s 4d and £0 5s 10d. Those were the dates and sums recorded for Read and Hawkes in the first company and for Couzens, Clay and Pinchson in the second. All three companies thus gave up men on the same two days at the start of the quarter, which points to an organised release, probably of soldiers whose time had expired and who took passage home on a ship then in the road. Chamberlain was marked as discharged with no date, yet he received a full quarter's £3 16s 0½d. His service perhaps ended on 30 June itself. A Joseph Chamberlain also appeared earlier in the list as carpenter's mate at £8 15s 0d. If he was the same man, the workshop post was held by a serving soldier, in line with the other trades and minor offices filled from the ranks. | |
107 | 1766 Brought over L 1895. 13. 1 Centinels brought over L 123. 7 1/2 James Lee Died April the 22d. 12. 4 John Long 3. 16. 1/2 John Landgridge 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Laraburn 3. 16. 1/2 Bryon Lynch 3. 16. 1/2 John Lemmon 3. 16. 1/2 James Long 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Montague 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Moyce 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Morris 3. 16. 1/2 James Moyce 3. 16. 1/2 Abraham Major 3. 16. 1/2 John Miller 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Martin Entertaind 30th. June 10 Thomas Pearce 3. 16. 1/2 John Passwater Discharged the 2d June 2. 12. 6 Thomas Perry 3. 16. 1/2 James Procter Discharged the 30th. 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Pincheon 3. 16. 1/2 William Perkas 3. 16. 1/2 David Patton 3. 16. 1/2 John Robinson Dischd. 1st. May 1. 5. 10 William Robinson 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Stack 3. 16. 1/2 Adam Scott 3. 16. 1/2 David Scott 3. 16. 1/2 John Shoeland 3. 16. 1/2 John Smith dischd. the 7th. April 5. 10 John Thomson 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Tayler 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Uffin 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Vincent 3. 16. 1/2 John Wyburd Discharged 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Ward 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Welch 3. 16. 1/2 John Waters 3. 16. 1/2 249. 5 Carried over L 2145. 3. 1 | The pay list for 1766 completed the third company's private soldiers and brought their pay into the general balance. Balance brought over, £1,895 18s 1d Third Company, sentinels, brought over, £123 0s 7½d Third Company, sentinel: James Lee, died 22 April, £0 18s 4d Third Company, sentinel: John Long, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Landgridge, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Laraburn, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Bryon Lynch, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Lemmon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Long, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Charles Montague, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Moyce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Morris, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Moyce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Abraham Major, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Miller, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Joseph Martin, enlisted 30 June, £0 0s 10d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Pearce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Passwater, discharged 2 June, £2 12s 6d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Perry, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Procter, discharged on the 30th, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Henry Pincheon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Perkes, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: David Patton, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Robinson, discharged 1 May, £1 5s 10d Third Company, sentinel: William Robinson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Stack, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Adam Scott, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: David Scott, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Shoeland, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Smith, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Third Company, sentinel: John Thomson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Taylor, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Joseph Uffin, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Vincent, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Wyburd, discharged, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Ward, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Welch, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Waters, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinels, total, £249 5s 0d Carried over, £2,145 3s 1d Interpretations Martin joined on 30 June, the last day of the quarter, and was credited with a single day's pay of ten pence. The clerk still gave him a full line in the roll. The list therefore worked as a muster as well as an account, fixing the exact day on which each man's claim on the Company began. Procter was discharged on the 30th and Wyburd was marked as discharged with no date, yet both drew the full £3 16s 0½d. This supports the reading of Chamberlain's undated discharge on the previous page: all three probably left at the close of the quarter, having served every day of it. Lee's death on 22 April left £0 18s 4d for 22 days. Passwater's 63 days to 2 June brought £2 12s 6d and John Robinson's 31 days to 1 May brought £1 5s 10d, each at the same ten pence a day. Smith was a further man released on 7 April, the date shared by Hawkes, Clay, Pinchson and Gray across the three companies. The third company's privates cost £249 5s 0d, the lowest of the three, against £256 18s 9d for the first and £253 2s 4d for the second. The company lost five men by death or discharge during the quarter and gained only two recruits in its final week, so its lower cost reflected ranks that stood thinner for most of the period. | |
108 | 21 July Brought over L 2145. 3. 1 Fourth Company John Howard Captain Salary 45. 12. 6 Henry De Lonne Lieut Saly. 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Thomas Lambert Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants John Flemming 7. 12. 1 Thomas Bailey 7. 12. 1 John Simcox 7. 12. 1 Daniel Armain 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Corporals Jonathan Lake 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Ferris 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Kilbeck 5. 6. 5 1/2 William [...] to 7th. April 8. 2 Do Centinel from 8. Do 3. 10. 2 1/2 19. 17. 9 Drummers John Markin 5. 6. 5 1/2 George Wills 5. 6. 5 1/2 John Kempen 5. 6. 5 1/2 15. 19. 4 1/2 Centinels John Allen 3. 16. 1/2 William Allen 3. 16. 1/2 George Bennett 3. 16. 1/2 John Blackwell dischd. the 19th. May 2. 10 Joseph Blackwell 3. 16. 1/2 John Brooks 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Bickerstaff 3. 16. 1/2 William Blackman 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried Over L 28. 13. 1 1/2 Carried Over L 2312. 4. 9 1/2 | The pay list entered under 21 July opened the fourth company with its officers, sergeants, corporals and drummers and began the roll of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £2,145 3s 1d Fourth Company: John Howard, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Fourth Company, sergeant: John Flemming, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: Thomas Bailey, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: John Simcox, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: Daniel Armain, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Fourth Company, corporal: Jonathan Lake, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: Thomas Ferris, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: Thomas Shilock, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: William [...], to 7 April, £0 8s 2d Fourth Company, corporal: William [...], as sentinel from 8 April, £3 10s 2½d Fourth Company, corporals, total, £19 17s 9d Fourth Company, drummer: John Martin, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummer: George Wills, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummer: John Kempen, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummers, total, £15 19s 4½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Allen, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Allen, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Bennett, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Blackwell, discharged 19 May, £2 0s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: Joseph Blackwell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Brooks, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Bickerstaff, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Blackman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinels, carried over, £28 13s 1½d Carried over, £2,312 4s 9½d Interpretations The fourth corporal held his rank only until 7 April and served the rest of the quarter as a private. He drew £0 8s 2d for seven days at a corporal's fourteen pence a day and £3 10s 2½d for the 84 days that followed. This was a third reduction to the ranks in the quarter, after Hopkinson and Goulding of the second company on 29 April. Unlike theirs, it fell on 7 April, the day on which men were discharged from all three of the other companies, so the change perhaps belonged to a general reordering of the garrison on that date and not to a punishment. The fourth company carried three drummers where each of the others had two, at a cost of £15 19s 4½d against £10 12s 11d. The earlier payment of £1 0s 0d to the drum major for teaching the young drummers suggests that boys were being trained up, and the extra place perhaps held one of them. John Blackwell left on 19 May with £2 0s 10d for 49 days. Dudley of the first company was discharged on the same day with the same sum, so that date marked another joint release of men from different companies. Captain Howard and his two lieutenants were paid exactly as their counterparts in the other three companies, completing a garrison of four companies built on one fixed scale. | |
109 | 1766 Brought over L 2312. 4. 9 1/2 Centinels brought over L 28. 13. 1 1/2 John Bulliat 3. 16. 1/2 John Beacham 3. 16. 1/2 Andrew Barton 3. 16. 1/2 John Bowler April 7th made Corporal 5. 10 Do Corporal from 8th. Apl. to May 26 Reduced 2. 17. 2 Do Centinel from 27 May 1. 9. 4 1/2 James Cartwright 3. 16. 1/2 George Copeling 3. 16. 1/2 William Cocksey 3. 16. 1/2 Duncan Cameron 3. 16. 1/2 James Culsher 3. 16. 1/2 John Cunningham 3. 16. 1/2 [...] Close 3. 16. 1/2 Josiah Cummings 3. 16. 1/2 John Carey discharged 4th. April 3. 4 John Deal 3. 16. 1/2 John Eastone 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Davis Dischd. 4th. April 3. 4 George Green 3. 16. 1/2 John Gilmore 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Germain 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Good Dischd. the 4 April 3. 4 Henry Harenburg 3. 16. 1/2 James Hendey 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Hilliard 3. 16. 1/2 Roger Haylon Enterd. the 8th. May 2. 5 Stephen John 3. 16. 1/2 Christian Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Kempton 3. 16. 1/2 William Lambon 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Lee 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Lyne 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Moreton May the 26th. made Corporal 2. 6. 8 Do Corporal from the 27th. May 2. 1. 1 1/2 Simon Mason 3. 16. 1/2 Murdock Mc. Cloud 3. 16. 1/2 Centinels Carried Over L 143. 1. 5 Carried over L 2312. 4. 9 1/2 | The pay list for 1766 went on with the private soldiers of the fourth company, opening with the two balances carried from the previous page. Balance brought over, £2,312 4s 9½d Fourth Company, sentinels, brought over, £28 13s 1½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bulliat, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Beacham, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Andrew Barton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bowler, to 7 April, when made corporal, £0 5s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bowler, as corporal from 8 April to 26 May, when reduced, £2 17s 2d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bowler, as sentinel from 27 May, £1 9s 4½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Cartwright, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Capeling, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Cocksey, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Duncan Cameron, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Culcher, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Cunningham, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Close, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Josiah Cummings, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Carey, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Deal, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Eastone, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Edward Davis, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Green, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Gilmore, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Edward Germain, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Joseph Good, discharged 4 April, £0 3s 4d Fourth Company, sentinel: Henry Harenberg, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Hendry, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Hilliard, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Roger Hayton, enlisted 8 May, £2 5s 0d Fourth Company, sentinel: Stephen John, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Christian Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Kempton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Lambon, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Lee, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Lyne, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Moreton, to 26 May, when made corporal, £2 6s 8d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Moreton, as corporal from 27 May, £2 1s 1½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Simon Mason, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Murdock McCloud, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinels, carried over, £143 1s 5d Carried over, £2,312 4s 9½d Interpretations The fourth corporal's place in this company changed hands three times in the quarter. The corporal named on the previous page gave it up on 7 April and Bowler took it the next day. Bowler held it for 49 days and was himself reduced on 26 May, when Moreton succeeded him from 27 May. Bowler's pay was split into three lines to match: £0 5s 10d as a private, £2 17s 2d as a corporal and £1 9s 4½d as a private again. The word used of his loss of rank was the same as for Hopkinson and Goulding on 29 April, so his demotion was probably a punishment, whatever the cause of the first change. Each vacancy was filled from within the company on the following day. Promotion to corporal therefore lay with the company's own officers and went to a serving private, with no gap left in the establishment. Carey, Davis and Good were discharged on 4 April with £0 3s 4d each. With Read, Couzens and Edgels of the other companies, six men left the garrison on that one day, and the fourth company alone supplied half of them. Hayton enlisted on 8 May and was paid £2 5s 0d for the 54 days to 30 June. Recruits were thus taken on singly in mid-quarter as well as in its final week, perhaps from ships calling at the island. | |
110 | 21 July Brought over L 2312. 4. 9 1/2 Centinels brought over L 143. 1. 5 William Mitchell 3. 16. 1/2 John Moore 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Marshall 3. 16. 1/2 John Major Enterd. 27th. May 1. 9. 2 John Newton 3. 16. 1/2 Martin Newman 3. 16. 1/2 James Newport Enterd. 8th May 2. 5 John Oswald 3. 16. 1/2 John Pluck 3. 16. 1/2 Daniel Patrick 3. 16. 1/2 Stephen Papps 3. 16. 1/2 William Parker 3. 16. 1/2 Frances Powell Disd. 7th April 5. 10 James Richardson 3. 16. 1/2 Patrick Riley 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Rutherford 3. 16. 1/2 John Scotcher Dischd. 19th. May 2. 10 John Shaw 3. 16. 1/2 William Scotmans 3. 16. 1/2 Zedekiah Saunderson 3. 16. 1/2 Roderick Staffer 3. 16. 1/2 John Slade 3. 16. 1/2 John Swindall Dischd. 7th. April 5. 10 Thomas Tuffnell 3. 16. 1/2 John Thompson 3. 16. 1/2 John Terry Enterd. the 24th May 1. 11. 8 Jeremiah Worrill 3. 16. 1/2 William Waite 3. 16. 1/2 John Woods 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Williams 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Watts 3. 16. 1/2 246. 9 1/2 Artillery Company Archibald Mitchel Capt. Saly 45. 12. 6 Nathan Sample Lieut Saly 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Carried over L 2631. 9. 11 1/2 Margin Notes: [...] | The pay list entered under 21 July closed the fourth company's roll of private soldiers and then opened the artillery company. Balance brought over, £2,312 4s 9½d Fourth Company, sentinels, brought over, £143 1s 5d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Mitchell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Moore, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Marshall, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Major, enlisted 27 May, £1 9s 2d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Newton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Martin Newman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Newport, enlisted 8 May, £2 5s 0d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Oswald, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Pluck, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Daniel Patrick, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Stephen Papps, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Parker, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Francis Powell, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Richardson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Patrick Riley, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Rutherford, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Scotcher, discharged 19 May, £2 0s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Shaw, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Scotmans, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Zedekiah Sanderson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Roderick Staffer, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Slade, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Swindall, discharged 7 April, £0 5s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Tuffnell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Thompson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Terry, enlisted 24 May, £1 11s 8d Fourth Company, sentinel: Jeremiah Worrill, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Waite, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Woods, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Williams, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Watts, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinels, total, £246 0s 9½d Artillery Company: Archibald Mitchell, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Artillery Company: Nathan Sample, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Artillery Company: Nathan Sample, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company: Nathan Sample, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Artillery Company: Nathan Sample, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Carried over, £2,631 9s 11½d Interpretations Archibald Mitchell, the engineer, also commanded the artillery. He drew £77 10s 0d as engineer earlier in the list and a further £45 12s 6d here as captain, £123 2s 6d for the quarter in all. Only Governor Skottowe was paid more. The man who designed and maintained the batteries therefore also directed the guns mounted on them, and the island's defence rested on his technical skill to a degree the pay made plain. The fourth company took in three recruits in May: Newport on 8 May, Terry on 24 May and Major on 27 May. Newport joined on the same day as Hayton of the same company, which suggests that the two men came ashore together from a ship. The company's losses fell earlier, with five discharges on 4 and 7 April, so its ranks stood short for a month or more before replacements arrived. Scotcher was discharged on 19 May with £2 0s 10d, the date and sum already recorded for Dudley of the first company and John Blackwell of the fourth. Powell and Swindall brought the number of men released across the garrison on 7 April to eight. A Zedekiah Sanderson was entered earlier as groom at £2 0s 0d. A name so uncommon makes it almost certain that the private and the groom were one man, and that the care of the Company's horses was another paid duty given to a soldier. At £246 0s 9½d the fourth company's privates cost the least of the four, below the £249 5s 0d of the third. The turnover of the quarter, with seven departures and four late arrivals, accounted for the difference. | |
111 | 1766 Brought over L 2631. 9. 11 1/2 Thomas Leech Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants John Whitchurch 9. 2. 6 Adam Watson 9. 2. 6 John Shirtley 9. 2. 6 John Cox 9. 2. 6 36. 10 Corporals Thomas Collier 6. 16. 10 1/2 Nicholas Houghton 6. 16. 10 1/2 Robert Gibson 6. 16. 10 1/2 John Jack 6. 16. 10 1/2 27. 7. 6 Bombardiers John Turner 6. 16. 10 1/2 James Barfett 6. 16. 10 1/2 John Martin 6. 16. 10 1/2 E[...] Rowland 6. 16. 10 1/2 27. 7. 6 Gunners Eustace White 6. 1. 8 David Dennis 6. 1. 8 John Smith 6. 1. 8 Thomas Yates June the 9th. reduced 4. 13. 4 Do Matross from do. 10 1. 1. 3 Thomas Tyler 6. 1. 8 William Phillips 6. 1. 8 Adam Crighton 6. 1. 8 Samuel Smith 6. 1. 8 48. 6. 3 Drummers George Goodall 5. 6. 5 1/2 Robert Saunders 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Carried Over L 2809. 6 | The pay list for 1766 continued through the artillery company, naming its second lieutenant, sergeants, corporals, bombardiers, gunners and drummers. Balance brought over, £2,631 9s 11½d Artillery Company: Thomas Leech, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Artillery Company: Thomas Leech, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company: Thomas Leech, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Artillery Company: Thomas Leech, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Whitchurch, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: Adam Watson, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Shortley, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Cox, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeants, total, £36 10s 0d Artillery Company, corporal: Thomas Collier, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: Nicholas Houghton, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: Robert Gibson, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: John Tuck, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporals, total, £27 7s 6d Artillery Company, bombardier: John Turner, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: James Barfett, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: John Martin, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: Evan Rowland, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardiers, total, £27 7s 6d Artillery Company, gunner: Eustace White, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: David Dennis, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: John Smith, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: Thomas Yates, reduced on 9 June, £4 13s 4d Artillery Company, gunner: Thomas Yates, as matross from 10 June, £1 1s 3d Artillery Company, gunner: Thomas Tyler, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: William Phillips, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: Adam Crighton, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: Samuel Smith, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunners, total, £48 6s 3d Artillery Company, drummer: George Goodall, £5 6s 5½d Artillery Company, drummer: Robert Saunders, £5 6s 5½d Artillery Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Carried over, £2,809 6s 0d Interpretations A bombardier was a junior non-commissioned officer of artillery who prepared shells and fuses and tended the mortars. A gunner laid and fired the cannon. A matross was the lowest artillery rank, an assistant who helped to load, sponge and haul the guns. The artillery was paid on a higher scale than the infantry at every rank below the officers. Its sergeants drew £9 2s 6d against £7 12s 1d in the four companies, about two shillings a day. Its corporals and bombardiers drew £6 16s 10½d against an infantry corporal's £5 6s 5½d. A gunner's £6 1s 8d, sixteen pence a day, exceeded even an infantry corporal's wage and stood well above the private's ten pence. Men who could serve the guns were harder to find and to train, and on an island defended chiefly by its shore batteries the premium bought the garrison's most valuable skill. Only the drummers were paid alike in both arms, and the lieutenants and captain took the standard officers' rates. Yates was reduced from gunner to matross on 9 June. He received £4 13s 4d for 70 days at a gunner's rate and £1 1s 3d for the last three weeks of the quarter, at about a shilling a day. His was the fourth demotion recorded in the list, after Hopkinson and Goulding on 29 April and Bowler on 26 May. A Thomas Yates also appeared earlier as clerk at £5 0s 0d. If he was the same man, the reduction cost him rank among the guns while leaving his clerical pay untouched. | |
112 | 21 July Brought over L 2809. 6 Matrosses Robert Allum 4. 11. 3 Benjamin Burton 4. 11. 3 Isaac Buck 4. 11. 3 John Bower 4. 11. 3 James Bottomly 4. 11. 3 William Brown 4. 11. 3 John Cope 4. 11. 3 Thomas Clarke 4. 11. 3 John Cuswell 4. 11. 3 Edmund Connor 4. 11. 3 Robert Cunningham 4. 11. 3 John Corfett 4. 11. 3 John Davde 4. 11. 3 Daniel Finn 4. 11. 3 Thomas Mc. Farling 4. 11. 3 Joseph Fellows 4. 11. 3 Robert Frankish 4. 11. 3 John Fox June the 9th. made Gunner 3. 10 Do Gunner from 10 June 1. 8. 4 Christian Gruenwald 4. 11. 3 Thomas Garrol 4. 11. 3 Thomas Green 4. 11. 3 Lawrence Hall 4. 11. 3 William Hodges 4. 11. 3 William Jenkins 4. 11. 3 Thomas Jones 4. 11. 3 John Lewis 4. 11. 3 Daniel Maloney 4. 11. 3 George Marshall 4. 11. 3 Jonathan Mallet 4. 11. 3 Thomas Nimble 4. 11. 3 George Nelson 4. 11. 3 John Osbourn 4. 11. 3 William Poulton 4. 11. 3 Matrosses Carried Over L 150. 18. 4 Carried over L 2809. 6 | The pay list entered under 21 July reached the matrosses of the artillery company, whose pay was kept as a separate total beside the general balance. Balance brought over, £2,809 6s 0d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Allum, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Benjamin Burton, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Isaac Buck, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Bewer, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: James Bottomley, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Brown, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Cope, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Clarke, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Cusswell, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Edmund Conner, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Cunningham, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Carfett, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Davie, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Daniel Finn, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas McFarling, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Joseph Fellows, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Frankish, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Fox, to 9 June, when made gunner, £3 10s 0d Artillery Company, matross: John Fox, as gunner from 10 June, £1 8s 4d Artillery Company, matross: Christian Grunewald, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Garrol, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Green, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Lawrence Hall, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Hodges, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Jenkins, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Jones, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Lewis, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Daniel Maloney, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: George Marshall, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Jonathan Mallet, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Nimble, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: George Nelson, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Osborn, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Poulton, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matrosses, carried over, £150 18s 4d Carried over, £2,809 6s 0d Interpretations Fox took the gunner's place that Yates lost. Yates was reduced on 9 June and served as a matross from 10 June, and Fox was raised from matross to gunner on exactly those dates. His pay was split to match, with £3 10s 0d for 70 days at a shilling a day and £1 8s 4d for the remaining three weeks at a gunner's sixteen pence. The two men simply exchanged ranks, so the number of gunners stayed at eight. As in the infantry, each was left under the heading he held when the quarter began. A matross earned £4 11s 3d for the quarter, a shilling a day, against the £3 16s 0½d of an infantry private at ten pence. Even the lowest rank of the artillery was therefore paid a fifth more than a foot soldier, which carried the premium for service at the guns down to the men who only hauled and loaded them. No matross on this page was discharged, died or enlisted during the quarter. The infantry companies, by contrast, lost men on 4 April, 7 April and 19 May. The artillery's ranks were evidently more settled, perhaps because trained men were kept on where ordinary soldiers were allowed to go. | |
113 | 1766 Brought over L 2809. 6 Centinels brought over L 150. 18. 4 Godfrey Smith 4. 11. 3 Samuel Spencer 4. 11. 3 John Scotcher 4. 11. 3 Henry Sandford 4. 11. 3 Thomas Watts 4. 11. 3 John Webley 4. 11. 3 Richard Wellman 4. 11. 3 Thomas Wyatt 4. 11. 3 Richard Waterhouse 4. 11. 3 191. 19. 7 L 3001. 5. 7 Margin Notes: [...] | The pay list for 1766 ended its artillery roll with nine more matrosses and then struck the total for the whole establishment. Balance brought over, £2,809 6s 0d Artillery Company, matrosses, brought over, £150 18s 4d Artillery Company, matross: Godfrey Smith, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Samuel Spencer, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Scotcher, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Henry Sandford, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Watts, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Webley, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Richard Wellman, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Wyatt, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Richard Waterhouse, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matrosses, total, £191 19s 7d Grand total, £3,001 5s 7d Interpretations The Company's whole establishment on the island cost £3,001 5s 7d for the quarter from 1 April to 30 June 1766. The civil servants, tradesmen and minor officers accounted for £941 19s 9d less the two first-company officers entered on the same page, so more than two thirds of the total went on the garrison. St Helena was run as a fortress first and a settlement second, and the pay list showed it. The clerk labelled the figure of £150 18s 4d as belonging to the sentinels, the term used for privates in the four infantry companies. The men were in fact the matrosses carried from the previous page, each paid £4 11s 3d, and the slip came from repeating the wording used at the head of every earlier page of the roll. The artillery's 42 matrosses cost £191 19s 7d, well below the £246 0s 9½d to £256 18s 9d paid to the privates of each infantry company. Although each matross earned more than a foot soldier, the artillery was a smaller body, and its total cost in the lower ranks was correspondingly less. A John Scotcher and a Thomas Watts both appeared among the fourth company's privates, Scotcher being discharged on 19 May. The matrosses of those names drew full pay for the quarter and so served throughout it. They were perhaps different men, or relatives, since a soldier moved from the infantry to the guns in mid-quarter would have been paid in two parts as Fox and Yates were. | |
114 | 21st. July Thomas Kirkpatrick Dr. To Cash received L 469. 5. 1/2 Carried over L 469. 5. 1/2 | An account opened under 21 July in the name of Thomas Kirkpatrick recorded a single charge against him on its debit side. Thomas Kirkpatrick, debtor: cash received, £4,169 5s 0½d Carried over, £4,169 5s 0½d Interpretations The entry made Kirkpatrick answerable for £4,169 5s 0½d in cash that passed into his hands. A debit of this kind did not mean that he owed a private debt. It charged him with public money, and he would clear the charge only by showing on the opposite side how the cash was paid out. Kirkpatrick sat on the Council and commanded the first company, and the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766 gave him £10 0s 0d and £45 12s 6d for those posts. The account therefore shows him also acting as a holder of the Company's cash, probably as its paymaster or cashier. The sum exceeded the whole quarter's pay list, which came to £3,001 5s 7d. The cash placed with him accordingly covered more than salaries and wages, though the page itself named no other purpose. The rest of the page below the one entry was ruled through with a diagonal stroke down to the carried figure. Clerks closed unused space in this way so that nothing could be written in afterwards, which protected both the Company and the man charged against a later false entry. | |
115 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. 1766. L S D By Cash paid Nocquedah Pochollum for 4 Weeks short allow: when there was no provision in the Honble Compys. Stores 1. 2 By Cash paid 6 days Labourers Work omitted last Quarter 6 By Cash paid Captain John Wyche for a Long Boat for the use of the Honble Company 30 By Cash paid Capt. B[...] for 49 Bushels split Pease at 5s. P Bushel 12. 5 By Cash paid for 15 days Lodging of Mr. Dubasoff a Russian Passenger on board the Talbot 4. 10 By Cash paid Mr. Jonathan Doveton upon 28 Bushels of Potatoes for the use of the Garrison 1. 8 By Cash paid Mr. Samuel Alexander for 179 Rafters a 6d. each 4. 9. 6 By Cash paid Rodrick Merchant for 64 Gallo. of Beer at 2s. P Gallon for the use of the Honorable Compy. for a Cement for the Gutters of the Plantation House 6. 8 By Cash paid Thos. Watts for altering a Flag for the alarm House 5 By Cash paid Joseph Chamberlain for turning 6 1/2 doz of Bannisters for the Top of the new Flag Staff at the Castle 1. 19 By Cash paid Julio Fabiano 44 days Carpr. Work at 5s. P d in making a Flag staff for main Fort 11 By Cash paid John Howeston for makg. a Flag for the Main Fort and repairing two old ones 1. 18 By Cash paid Do. for making Flag for report 1. 5 By Cash paid Capt. Hagges for 393 lb. of Salt Meat at 2s. P lb. 39. 6 By Cash paid Capt. Ross for 861. lb. Do. @ 2s. P lb. 86. 2 By Cash paid Capt; Tenner for 1454 lb. Do. 2s. P lb. 145. 8 By Cash paid Do. for 74 Bags of Rice @ 13/6 P B. 49. 19 By Cash paid Do. for 124 Do. of Paddy 4/ P Do. 24. 16 By Cash paid Capt. Mills for 143. 1. 12 Rice at 9 P Hund. 64. 10. 2 1/2 By Cash paid Capt. Crichton for 780 [...] lb. of Salt Meat 2 P lb. 78 By Cash paid Mr. Benj: Seal for 10,700 Yam at 3s. P Hd. 16. 1 Carried Over L 580. 17. 2 1/2 | The credit side of Kirkpatrick's account for 1766 listed the payments he made in cash, which stood against the sum charged to him on the facing page. Nocquedah Pochollum, 4 weeks' short allowance when the Company's stores held no provisions, £1 2s 0d Labourers, 6 days' work left out of the previous quarter, £0 6s 0d Captain John Wyche, a longboat for the Company's use, £30 0s 0d Captain Burdett, 49 bushels of split peas at 5s 0d a bushel, £12 5s 0d Lodging for 15 days for Mr Dubasoff, a Russian passenger on the Talbot, £4 10s 0d Jonathan Doveton, 28 bushels of potatoes for the garrison, £1 8s 0d Samuel Alexander, 179 rafters at 6d each, £4 9s 6d Roderick Merchant, 64 gallons of beer at 2s 0d a gallon, used in a cement for the gutters of the Plantation House, £6 8s 0d Thomas Watts, altering a flag for the alarm house, £0 5s 0d Joseph Chamberlain, turning 6½ dozen balusters for the top of the new flagstaff at the Castle, £1 19s 0d Julio Fabiano, 44 days of carpenter's work at 5s 0d a day making a flagstaff for the main fort, £11 0s 0d John Hewiston, making a flag for the main fort and repairing 2 old flags, £1 18s 0d John Hewiston, making a flag for reports, £1 5s 0d Captain Haggis, 393 pieces of salt meat at 2s 0d a piece, £39 6s 0d Captain Rous, 861 pieces of salt meat at 2s 0d a piece, £86 2s 0d Captain Fenner, 1,454 pieces of salt meat at 2s 0d a piece, £145 8s 0d Captain Fenner, 74 bags of rice at 13s 6d a bag, £49 19s 0d Captain Fenner, 124 bags of paddy at 4s 0d a bag, £24 16s 0d Captain Mills, 143 hundredweight 2 quarters 12 lb of rice at 9s 0d a hundredweight, £64 10s 2½d Captain Crichton, 780 pieces of salt meat at 2s 0d a piece, £78 0s 0d Benjamin Seal, 10,700 lb of yams at 3s 0d a hundred, £16 1s 0d Carried over, £580 17s 2½d Interpretations Paddy was rice still in its husk, bought cheaply at 4s 0d a bag against 13s 6d for cleaned rice. It kept better in store and was commonly issued to slaves and livestock or husked on the spot. Salt meat was beef or pork packed in brine in casks and counted out by the piece, each piece being a cut of fixed weight for issue as a ration. Yams were the island's own staple root, grown by the planters and sold to the Company by the hundredweight. Nocquedah was a title, from the Persian for the master of a vessel, used on Company ships for the headman of a party of Indian seamen. Pochollum and his men were evidently on the island at the Company's charge and entitled to rations. When the stores ran empty, they were put on short allowance and the shortfall was made good in money. That payment, together with the scale of the purchases below it, shows how low the island's provisions stood. Five ships' commanders sold salt meat, rice and peas out of their own vessels, to a value of about £500, so the garrison was being fed from passing shipping. The beer bought from Merchant went into a cement for the gutters of Plantation House, the Governor's country residence. Builders of the period mixed beer or other sugary liquids into lime mortar, since it slowed the set and made the finished work harder and more resistant to water. The flagstaffs and flags belonged to the island's alarm system. Lookout posts signalled the approach of ships to the forts, and a new staff at the main fort with a railed platform at its head cost over £16 in timber work and flags. Fabiano's 5s 0d a day was six times a private's wage, the rate of a specialist craftsman hired for the job. Several of those paid appeared in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Doveton was a factor, Alexander an overseer and Chamberlain the carpenter's mate, while a John Hewiston and a Thomas Watts served as private soldiers. Company servants and soldiers therefore sold produce, timber and piecework to their own employer on top of their wages. | |
116 | 21 July Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1766 To Cash brought over L 469. 5. 1/2 Carried over L 469. 5. 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account continued under 21 July 1766, with the heading now naming him as paymaster. Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, debtor: cash brought over, £4,169 5s 0½d Carried over, £4,169 5s 0½d Interpretations The heading settled the capacity in which Kirkpatrick held the Company's cash. He was charged with £4,169 5s 0½d as paymaster, the officer who received money from the treasury and paid out wages, purchases and contingent bills. The opening page of the account gave only his name, and the payments on its credit side, from soldiers' provisions to flagstaffs, matched that office. No new money was charged to him here. The same sum was simply carried down the page so that the debit side kept pace with the credit side opposite, where his payments ran on over several leaves. The two sides of an account had to face each other throughout, which obliged the clerk to repeat a single figure on an otherwise empty page. | |
117 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over L 580. 17. 2 1/2 By Cash paid William Jenkins for Baking 120 Batches of bread for the use of the Garrison this Quarter @ 1/8 P Batch 10 By Cash paid Do. for baking 66 Batches of Bread for the use of the Slaves this Quarter 5. 10 By Cash paid Julio Fabiano for 12 days Carpenters Work repairg the Long Boats at 5/ P day 3 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men for 18 days Do. repairg the Long Boats at 1/6 P day 1. 7 By Cash paid Do. for 6 days Paintg. the Long Boats a 1/6 P day 9 By Cash paid Do. for 852 Labourers Work in Do. at 1/ P day 42. 12 By Cash paid Do. for 59 1/2 Masons do in repairing the Mount at the Castle at 3/6 P Day 10. 7. 4 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. for 100 1/2 Plaisterers Work at 1/6 P day at do. 7. 11. 1 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. for 58 days Carpenters Do. @ 1/6 P day at the Castle 4. 7 By Cash paid Do. for 95 Stone Sawyers do @ 1/6 P d @ Do. 7. 2. 6 By Cash paid Do. for 56 1/2 Smiths Do. at the Castle @ 1/6 P d 4. 4. 9 By Cash pd. Do. for 620 1/2 Labourers do at Do. @ 1/ P d 31. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 208 Do. Do. at Do. @ 1/ P d 10. 8 By Cash pd. Do. for 33 1/2 Painters Do. at Do. @ 1/6 P d 2. 10. 3 By Cash pd. Do. for 54 Carpenters Do. at Do. @ 1/6 P d 4. 1 By Cash pd. Do. for 32 Carpenters Do. at Do. @ 1/6 P d 2. 8 By Cash pd. Do. for 24 Paintg. the Guns & Gun Carriages at 1/6 P d 1. 16 By Cash pd. Do. for 191 Labourers Do. in repairg. the Glass[...] at the Main Fort at 1/ P day 9. 11 By Cash pd. Do. for 63 days Carpenters Do. making Utensils for the Brickmakers at 1/6 P Day 4. 14. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 282 Labourers Do. makg. Bricks 14. 2 By Cash pd. Do. for 18 Carpenters Do. repairg. Gates in the Long Wood at 1/6 P Day 1. 7 Carried over L 758. 14. 8 1/2 | The credit side of the paymaster's account for 1766 went on with the quarter's bread, boat repairs and building work, most of it done by men of the garrison at daily rates. Balance brought over, £580 17s 2½d William Jenkins, baking 120 batches of bread for the garrison in the quarter at 1s 8d a batch, £10 0s 0d William Jenkins, baking 66 batches of bread for the slaves in the quarter, £5 10s 0d Julio Fabiano, 12 days of carpenter's work repairing the longboats at 5s 0d a day, £3 0s 0d Garrison men, 18 days of carpenter's work repairing the longboats at 1s 6d a day, £1 7s 0d Garrison men, 6 days painting the longboats at 1s 6d a day, £0 9s 0d Garrison men, 852 days of labourers' work on the longboats at 1s 0d a day, £42 12s 0d Garrison men, 59¼ days of masons' work repairing the Mount at the Castle at 3s 6d a day, £10 7s 4½d Garrison men, 100¾ days of plasterers' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £7 11s 1½d Garrison men, 50 days of carpenters' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £3 15s 0d Garrison men, 95 days of stone sawyers' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £7 2s 6d Garrison men, 56½ days of smiths' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £4 4s 9d Garrison men, 620½ days of labourers' work at the Castle at 1s 0d a day, £31 0s 6d Garrison men, 208 days of labourers' work at the Castle at 1s 0d a day, £10 8s 0d Garrison men, 33½ days of painters' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £2 10s 3d Garrison men, 54 days of carpenters' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £4 1s 0d Garrison men, 32 days of carpenters' work at the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £2 8s 0d Garrison men, 24 days painting the guns and gun carriages at 1s 6d a day, £1 16s 0d Garrison men, 191 days of labourers' work repairing the glacis at the main fort at 1s 0d a day, £9 11s 0d Garrison men, 63 days of carpenters' work making tools for the brickmakers at 1s 6d a day, £4 14s 6d Garrison men, 282 days of labourers' work making bricks at 1s 0d a day, £14 2s 0d Garrison men, 18 days of carpenters' work repairing gates in the Long Wood at 1s 6d a day, £1 7s 0d Carried over, £758 14s 3½d Interpretations The garrison was the island's main labour force as well as its defence. Soldiers who worked on the Company's buildings and boats were paid a second wage for each day's labour, 1s 0d as a labourer or 1s 6d at a trade, on top of their military pay. A private earned ten pence a day as a soldier, so a day's labouring more than doubled his income. The Company in turn obtained carpenters, smiths, painters and plasterers at 1s 6d a day, where the hired craftsman Fabiano cost 5s 0d for the same kind of work on the same boats. Masons were the exception. Their work on the Mount at the Castle was paid at 3s 6d a day, more than twice the rate of the other trades. Men able to cut and lay stone were scarce, as the high salaries of the master mason and stonemason in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766 already indicated. A glacis was the long bank of earth sloping away from the outer edge of a fortification. It left attackers exposed to fire from the walls and shielded the base of the walls from cannon shot. Its repair at the main fort, the painting of the guns and their carriages and the work on the Mount were all upkeep of the defences. Jenkins baked 120 batches of bread for the garrison and 66 for the Company's slaves at 1s 8d a batch, a fee for his labour alone since the flour came from the stores. A William Jenkins served as a matross in the artillery company, so the baker was probably another soldier with a paid sideline. The Long Wood was the Company's enclosed woodland and pasture on the eastern plateau, and its gates kept stock in and trespassers out. Bricks were being made on the island with tools built for the purpose, which spared the cost and breakage of shipping them from England. | |
118 | 21 July Thomas Kirkpatrick Dr. 1766 To Cash brought over L 4169. 5. 1/2 Carried over L 4169. 5. 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account ran on under 21 July 1766 with the same single charge and no fresh entry. Thomas Kirkpatrick, debtor: cash brought over, £4,169 5s 0½d Carried over, £4,169 5s 0½d | |
119 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over L 758. 14. 8 1/2 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men for 42 days making & repairg &c for the Hospital @ 1/6 P day 3. 3 By Cash paid Do. for 36 days Labourers Work at Banks Port Cullis @ 1/ P day 1. 16 By Cash pd. Do. for 3 days Masons Do. at Sandy Bay Fortification at 3/6 P day 10. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 3 days Stone Sawyers Do. at Do. @ 1/6 P d 4. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 393 1/2 days Stone Blowers Do. at do. @ 1/6 P d 29. 10. 3 By Cash pd. Do. for 30 Carpenters do at do @ 1/6 P d 2. 5 By Cash pd. Do. for 76 Smiths Do. at do @ 1/6 P d 5. 14 By Cash pd. Do. for 5 Lime Burning at do. @ 1/6 P d 7. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 3362 Labourers Work at Do. @ 1/ P d 173. 2 By Cash pd. Do. for 39 Baking bread at Do. @ 1/6 P d 2. 18. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 5 Plaisterers Work repairg. the bake House at 1/6 P day 7. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 64 days Labourers Do. repg. Do. at 1/ 3. 4 By Cash pd. Do. for 12 days Work burng. Lime at 1/6 18 By Cash pd. do. for 140 days Labourers Work 1/ 7 By Cash pd. Do. for 49 days Plaisterers Work for repairs to the Plantation House at 1/6 P day 3. 13. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 354 days Labourers Do. at Do. at 1/ P Day 17. 14 By Cash paid Mr. Saml. Alexander for 9550 Yam at 3s. P Hd. 14. 6. 6 By Cash pd. Henry Harrenburg, Richard Knight. Edward Terry, George Green, William Luke, James Hudson, William Fullwood, Richard Johnson and James Richardson for relistg. to serve the Honble Compy. 5 Years longer as Soldiers at 10 [...] @ 90 By Cash pay Roger Heyton, James Newport, for Inlistg. to serve the Honble Company five Years as Soldiers @ 2/10 each 5 Carried Over L 1140. 9. 5 1/2 | The credit side of the paymaster's account for 1766 continued with further garrison labour, chiefly on the defences at Sandy Bay, and closed with bounties paid to soldiers. Balance brought over, £758 14s 3½d Garrison men, 42 days making and repairing tools for the stone pickers at 1s 6d a day, £3 3s 0d Garrison men, 36 days of labourers' work at the portcullis at Banks's at 1s 0d a day, £1 16s 0d Garrison men, 3 days of masons' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 3s 6d a day, £0 10s 6d Garrison men, 3 days of stone sawyers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £0 4s 6d Garrison men, 393½ days of rock blasting at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £29 10s 3d Garrison men, 30 days of carpenters' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £2 5s 0d Garrison men, 76 days of smiths' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £5 14s 0d Garrison men, 5 days of lime burning at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £0 7s 6d Garrison men, 3,862 days of labourers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 0d a day, £193 2s 0d Garrison men, 39 days baking bread at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £2 18s 6d Garrison men, 5 days of plasterers' work repairing the bakehouse at 1s 6d a day, £0 7s 6d Garrison men, 64 days of labourers' work repairing the bakehouse at 1s 0d a day, £3 4s 0d Garrison men, 12 days of lime burning at 1s 6d a day, £0 18s 0d Garrison men, 140 days of labourers' work at 1s 0d a day, £7 0s 0d Garrison men, 49 days of plasterers' work on repairs to the Plantation House at 1s 6d a day, £3 13s 6d Garrison men, 354 days of labourers' work at the Plantation House at 1s 0d a day, £17 14s 0d Samuel Alexander, 9,550 lb of yams at 3s 0d a hundred, £14 6s 6d Henry Harrenburg, Richard Knight, Edward Terry, George Green, William Luke, James Hudson, William Fulwood, Richard Johnson and James Richardson, for re-enlisting as soldiers for a further 5 years at £10 0s 0d each, £90 0s 0d Roger Hayton and James Newport, for enlisting as soldiers for 5 years at £2 10s 0d each, £5 0s 0d Carried over, £1,140 9s 5½d Interpretations A serving soldier who signed on again received £10 0s 0d, while a new recruit received £2 10s 0d for the same five years. The Company could have paid one flat bounty for a term of service. It chose to pay four times as much to keep a man it already had, since he was trained, seasoned to the island and already there, whereas a replacement had to be found among passing ships or sent out from England at the Company's cost. The £10 0s 0d equalled more than two and a half quarters of a private's pay. The nine men were spread across all four infantry companies in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766, so the offer was general and not confined to one captain's men. Hayton and Newport were the two recruits entered in the fourth company on 8 May, each paid £2 5s 0d for the 54 days to the quarter's close. The bounty here confirms that they joined together and fixes their term at five years. Major, Terry, Hillock and Martin also enlisted in the quarter but drew no bounty in this account. The Sandy Bay fortification was the quarter's largest work. It absorbed 3,862 days of labouring and nearly 400 days of rock blasting, in which gunpowder charges were set in drilled holes to break stone from the cliff. Sandy Bay lay on the southern coast, far from the town, and was one of the few places where an enemy could land. The 39 days of bread baking charged to the same work show that the men were lodged and fed on the site and did not march out daily. Lime was burnt on the island from local stone or shell to make mortar and plaster. The portcullis at Banks's was a gate in the battery guarding the northern approach to the anchorage. Alexander, an overseer on the pay list, sold the Company 9,550 lb of yams at the same 3s 0d a hundred paid to Seal earlier in the account. Together the two purchases came to over 20,000 lb, a measure of how far the garrison and slaves depended on the planters' root crop when the stores stood empty. | |
120 | 21 July Thomas Kirkpatrick Dr. To Cash brought over L 4169. 5. 1/2 L 4169. 5. 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account under 21 July carried its single charge forward once more and was then totalled. Thomas Kirkpatrick, debtor: cash brought over, £4,169 5s 0½d Total, £4,169 5s 0½d | |
121 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over L 1140. 9. 5 1/2 By Cash pd. John Terry, John Harnot Mair, and John Hinds, for Inlistg. to serve Honble Compy. five Years as Soldiers at L 5 @ 15 By Cash paid Joseph Martin to serve as above 2 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men for comg express with Account of Ships to windward this Quarter 6. 5 By Cash paid Nocquedah Pochullom this Allowance from the Honorable Company this Quarter 1. 12. 6 By Cash pd. House Rent for Do. 1 By Cash pd. the Drummajor for Instructg. the Young Drummers this Quarter 1 By Cash pd. the Clerk of the Assizes and Parator of the Court 12. 6 L 1167. 19. 5 1/2 By the Amount of the pay List 3001. 5. 7 L 4169. 5. 1/2 St. Helena 30th. June 1766 Errors Excepted. (signed) Thos. Kirkpatrick, Paymr. Counted and examined the Honble Companys Cash for the Month of June last, which is as follows vizt. | The credit side of the paymaster's account for 1766 ended with further bounties and small allowances, after which the pay list was added and the account balanced. Balance brought over, £1,140 9s 5½d John Terry, John Harnot Mair and John Hinds, for enlisting as soldiers for 5 years at £5 0s 0d each, £15 0s 0d Joseph Martin, for enlisting on the same terms, £2 0s 0d Garrison men, for bringing urgent reports of ships sighted to windward in the quarter, £6 5s 0d Nocquedah Pochollum, allowance from the Company for the quarter, £1 12s 6d Nocquedah Pochollum, house rent, £1 0s 0d Drum major, for teaching the young drummers in the quarter, £1 0s 0d Clerk of the arraigns and apparitor of the court, £0 12s 6d Total of contingent payments, £1,167 19s 5½d Amount of the pay list, £3,001 5s 7d Total, £4,169 5s 0½d Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account as paymaster at St Helena on 30 June 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. The Company's cash for June was then counted and examined, and a statement of it followed. Interpretations The account balanced to the halfpenny. Kirkpatrick was charged with £4,169 5s 0½d, and his payments came to exactly that sum: £3,001 5s 7d for the quarter's pay list and £1,167 19s 5½d for everything else. The cash debited to him was therefore not an advance from which a balance remained. It was the total of what he spent, drawn from the treasury as needed and entered against him in one figure when the quarter closed. Wages took nearly three quarters of the whole, and works, provisions and bounties the rest. Bounties for new recruits were not uniform. Terry and two others received £5 0s 0d each, Hayton and Newport £2 10s 0d and Martin £2 0s 0d, all for five years' service, against £10 0s 0d for each of the nine men who re-enlisted. Terry joined the fourth company on 24 May and Martin the third on 30 June. The differing sums suggest that each man's bounty was bargained singly, perhaps according to his age, his trade or what he could have earned by staying with his ship. The payment for urgent reports rewarded soldiers who ran from the outlying lookouts to the Castle with news of sails approaching from the windward side. Ships came up to the island from the south-east on the trade wind, so the first sighting was made far from the town. A cash reward for speed gave the Governor hours of warning before a vessel could round the island to the anchorage. Pochollum drew a regular allowance of £1 12s 6d and house rent of £1 0s 0d for the quarter, in addition to the £1 2s 0d paid earlier for his four weeks on short rations. He was thus a standing pensioner of the Company on the island and not a passing seaman, although the account gave no reason for his presence. The clerk of the arraigns read the charges to prisoners and recorded their pleas, and the apparitor summoned parties and witnesses to court. Both duties fell to one man for 12s 6d a quarter, a fee too small for a livelihood and so held alongside another post. The drum major's £1 0s 0d for teaching the young drummers also stood in the pay list itself. Its appearance again among the contingent payments meant either that the fee was paid twice in the quarter or that a second instructor's fee was charged under the same description. | |
122 | 21st July Cash Dr. 1766 June 30 To Ballance remaining L 8240. 14. 10 4th To Ship Ankerwyke 17. 9. 3 7th To Ship Horsenden 8. 17. 5 9th To Ship Grenville 126. 4. 7 To Exchange for two Sets of Bills drawn upon the Honorable the Court of Directors payable as follows vizt. One Set to Mr. James Waugh L 800 One Do. to Capt. Wm. Marter 172. 2 972. 2 11th. To Ship Royal Captain 11. 5 12. To Exchange for a Set of Bills drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors payable to John Chambers Esqr. or Order 100 27th. To Ship Kent 308. 13. 2 30 To James Powell, received of him for Stores Sold in the Quarter ending this day 1519. 18. 8 To Licences for Public Houses 17. 10 L 11389. 14. 11 Margin Notes: [...] | The Company's cash account, entered under 21 July, set out on its debit side the money held and received during June 1766. Balance remaining, £8,240 14s 10d 4 June: received on account of the ship Ankerwyke, £179 9s 3d 7 June: received on account of the ship Horsenden, £2 17s 5d 9 June: received on account of the ship Grenville, £126 4s 7d 9 June: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to James Waugh, £800 0s 0d 9 June: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Captain William Marter, £179 2s 0d 9 June: bills of exchange, total for the two sets, £979 2s 0d 11 June: received on account of the ship Royal Captain, £11 5s 0d 12 June: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to John Chambers or his order, £100 0s 0d 27 June: received on account of the ship Kent, £308 13s 2d 30 June: James Powell, proceeds of stores sold in the quarter ending that day, £1,519 18s 8d 30 June: licences for public houses, £17 10s 0d Total, £11,485 14s 11d Interpretations A bill of exchange on the Court of Directors was a written order for the Company in London to pay a stated sum to the person named. Anyone on the island with spare coin could pay it into the treasury and receive such a bill, drawn in several identical copies, or a set, so that the loss of one ship did not destroy the claim. The arrangement suited both sides. Waugh, Marter and Chambers moved £1,079 2s 0d home without carrying money across the sea, and the island gained cash for wages and purchases without waiting for specie from England. Bills made out to a person "or his order" could be signed over to someone else, so they also passed from hand to hand as a means of payment. The sums entered against five ships were money received from their commanders or pursers while each lay in the road. The page did not state the reason, but the island sold water, fresh provisions and stores to calling vessels, and the widely differing amounts fit charges that varied with what each ship took. All five receipts fell in June, when the homeward fleet from the east usually reached the island. The storekeeper's sales were the largest single receipt. Powell paid in £1,519 18s 8d for stores sold in the quarter to 30 June, which shows the store working as the island's shop, supplying planters and soldiers with imported goods for cash. That income covered roughly half of the quarter's pay list of £3,001 5s 7d, so a good part of what the Company paid its people in wages came back to it across the store counter. Licences for public houses brought in £17 10s 0d. Selling drink was allowed only under the Company's licence, which gave the Governor and Council both a small revenue and a means of limiting who kept a tavern in a garrison town. The opening balance of £8,240 14s 10d was about twice the £4,169 5s 0½d that the paymaster spent in the whole quarter. The treasury therefore held a reserve large enough to meet several months of the establishment's costs without any fresh receipt. | |
123 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. 1766 June 30th. By Sundry Accounts advanced the paymaster to pay Salarys &c. in the Quarter ending this day 4169. 5. 1/2 By Ballance remaining vizt. In Specie 6680. 14. 10 1/2 In Cash Notes 539. 15 7220. 9. 10 1/2 L 11389. 14. 11 Mr. Mattw. Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Tilbury to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none, her Muster Roll is as follows vizt. | The credit side of the Company's cash account for 1766 showed how the money held in June was used and what remained. 30 June: advanced to the paymaster for salaries and other payments in the quarter ending that day, £4,169 5s 0½d Balance remaining, in coin, £6,680 14s 10½d Balance remaining, in cash notes, £539 15s 0d Balance remaining, total, £7,220 9s 10½d Total, £11,389 14s 11d Interpretations The single payment out of the treasury was the £4,169 5s 0½d advanced to Kirkpatrick as paymaster, the exact sum with which his own account was charged and which he signed for on 30 June 1766. The two accounts therefore locked together. Every pound that left the treasury in the quarter passed through one officer, who then answered for it item by item. The closing balance was held in two forms. Coin made up £6,680 14s 10½d and cash notes £539 15s 0d. The notes were paper issued by the island's government and accepted at the treasury as money. They eased the shortage of small coin in local dealings, and counting them as part of the balance shows that the treasury treated its own paper as equal to specie. The treasury ended June with £7,220 9s 10½d, about a thousand pounds less than the balance of £8,240 14s 10d with which the debit side opened. A quarter's wages and works thus cost more than the receipts from ships, bills of exchange, the store and licences brought in during the month. Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the ship Tilbury to muster her crew and to ask after deserters. He found none, and the ship's muster roll followed his report. Interpretations Purling sat on the Council and served as accountant, drawing £62 10s 0d in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Sending a councillor aboard in person made the muster an act of government and not a courtesy to the captain. He called over the crew against the ship's own roll, so that any man missing from it, or any man present who was not on it, came to light. The search for deserters ran in both directions. A soldier of the garrison might hide aboard to escape the island, and a seaman might slip ashore to escape his ship. The Company bore the loss either way, since it paid bounties of up to £10 0s 0d to hold its soldiers and its ships could not safely sail short-handed. Checking each vessel before she left was the only practical control on a small island where the anchorage offered the sole way out. | |
124 | 21st July Muster Roll of Ship Tilbury Roger Manwaring Commr John Hitchins 1st Mte Wm. Hunt 2d. Do. Chas. Purvis 3d. Do. Richd. Powis 4th Do. Fran: Coggan 5th Do. Alexr. Beard Surgeon George Silsby Purser John Freeman Boatsn. David Meadows Carpenter John Mining Gunner John Water Sail Caulker Wm. Peace Midshipmn. Robt. Dennis Do. John Cooper Do. Thos. Loyd Do. Thos. Waters Quartermasr. John Atkin Do. Isaac Cranfield Do. Andrew Read Do. Thomas Blyth Cooper James Allen Ships Stewd. John Strudd Surg. Mte Thoms. Collonny Armorer John Steefer Carp. 1st Mte. Chas. Sugar Do. 2d. Do. John Davidson Gunr. do. Wm. Travis Caulkers Do. Edmd. Taylor Coopers do. John Confine Shipd. Benj: Scott Sailmr. James Gilchrist Boats 2d. Mte Cuthbt. Bortock Boats 1st. Mte Jonn. Peebles Capt. Servt. Wm. Page 1 Mates Do. James Voice Capt. Cook George Jacks 2 Mates Servt John James Gunners Do. Francis Briggs Carps. Do. Edward Fisher Surs. Do. John Mudford Boatsn. do. John Storer Seaman George Knight Duncan Cameron Wm. Smith James Merry lees John Naughton John Belldish Duncan Grainger Alexr. Torritt Chas. Brand Benj: Wiles Richd. Ginn Saml. Stewart Alexr. Wood Luke day John Jones William Coffled John Watson John Bassell Thomas Thompson George Ramsey David Arthur Wm. Hudson Isaac Robinson John Mull Seaman John Smith John Garland Wm. [...] John Patrick Murphy George Mitchell John Gulliver Gordon Watt Robert Anderson John Brown Peter Barrett Mattw. Hewitt Richd. Thompson James Inglis Richd. James Jas. Stephenson Wm. Colly Alexr. Balentine Jas. Thomason Thomas Doge Thos. Kuts James Brechnan Robt. Laptain Andrew James Bill Joseph Ranson John Bates Isaac Callow Chas. Neal Thoms. Carver Robt. Andrews Thomas Bruce (Signed) Roger Manwaring | The muster roll of the ship Tilbury, entered under 21 July, named her officers, tradesmen, servants and seamen and was signed by her commander, Roger Mainwaring. Roger Mainwaring, commander John Hitchins, first mate William Hunt, second mate Charles Purvis, third mate Richard Lewis, fourth mate Francis Coggan, fifth mate Alexander Beard, surgeon George Silsby, purser John Freeman, boatswain David Meadows, carpenter John Mining, gunner John Wise, caulker William Pearce, midshipman Robert Dennis, midshipman John Cooper, midshipman Thomas Lloyd, midshipman Thomas Waters, quartermaster John Atkin, quartermaster Isaac Cranfield, quartermaster Andrew Read, quartermaster Thomas Blyth, cooper James Allen, ship's steward John Strudd, surgeon's mate Thomas Collonny, armourer John Stripes, carpenter's first mate Charles Snape, carpenter's second mate John Davidson, gunner's mate William Jarvis, caulker's mate Samuel Taylor, cooper's mate John Confine, ship's cook Benjamin Scott, sailmaker James Gilchrist, boatswain's second mate Bartholomew Sherlock, boatswain's first mate Jonathan Peebles, captain's servant William Page, first mate's servant James Voss, captain's cook George Jacks, second mate's servant John James, gunner's servant Francis Briggs, carpenter's servant Edward Fisher, surgeon's servant John Mitford, boatswain's servant John Storrer, seaman George Knight, seaman Duncan Cameron, seaman William Smith, seaman James Merrylees, seaman John Naughton, seaman John Bellash, seaman Duncan Grainger, seaman Alexander Terrill, seaman Charles Brand, seaman Benjamin Wiles, seaman Richard Ginn, seaman Samuel Stewart, seaman Alexander Wood, seaman Luke Day, seaman John Jones, seaman William Coffield, seaman John Watson, seaman John Russell, seaman Thomas Thompson, seaman George Ramsey, seaman David Arthur, seaman William Hudson, seaman Isaac Robinson, seaman John Mull, seaman John Smith, seaman John Garland, seaman William [...], seaman John Patrick Murphy, seaman George Mitchell, seaman John Gulliver, seaman Gordon Watt, seaman Robert Anderson, seaman John Brown, seaman Peter Barrett, seaman Matthew Hewitt, seaman Richard Thompson, seaman James Inglis, seaman Richard James, seaman John Stephenson, seaman William Colly, seaman Alexander Balentine, seaman John Thomason, seaman Thomas Doge, seaman Thomas Hude, seaman James Brechnan, seaman Robert Laplain, seaman Andrew, seaman James Bill, seaman Joseph Ranson, seaman John Bates, seaman Isaac Callow, seaman Charles Neal, seaman Thomas Carver, seaman Robert Andrews, seaman Thomas Brook, seaman Interpretations The roll was the document against which Matthew Purling called over the crew when he went aboard to look for deserters. Mainwaring's signature made the commander personally answerable for its accuracy. Once the list was copied into the island's records, any soldier later found missing from the garrison could be checked against it, and any name added to the ship's company after her departure would show that a man was taken on at St Helena. The servants were a recognised grade of the crew and not domestic staff in the ordinary sense. Each senior officer and warrant officer of an East Indiaman was allowed one or more, usually boys or young men learning the trade under him. The allowance was a perquisite of rank, since the officer often took a premium from the boy's family or a share of his wages. Eight such places appeared here, from the captain's servant down to the boatswain's. The ship carried a full set of tradesmen with mates under them: carpenter, caulker, cooper, sailmaker, armourer and gunner. A voyage to the east and back lasted well over a year, far from any dockyard, so the vessel had to repair her own hull, casks, sails and weapons. The caulker kept the seams of the planking watertight by driving in tarred fibre and sealing it with pitch, work that depended on the naval stores listed in the storekeeper's account signed on 30 June 1766. Five mates and four midshipmen stood between the commander and the crew. The midshipmen were young gentlemen training for an officer's berth in the Company's shipping, much as the cadet Steward served in the garrison's ranks while waiting for a commission. One seaman was entered by the single name Andrew, with no surname written beside it. | |
125 | Captain James Van Brattam this day applied to Us to pay one thousand and forty Pounds, into ye. Honble Companys Cash, which Sum we have received, and given him Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors, payable to himself (or Order) ninety days after sight We have appointed Lieutenant Thomas Bazett Overseer at Sandy Bay, in the Room of Lieut. John Bridgewaters dismissed the Honorable Company's Service, at the same Allowance of 3/ P day John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | Captain Tunes Van Brattam asked the Council to accept £1,040 0s 0d into the Company's cash. The Council took the money and gave him bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, payable to him or to anyone he named 90 days after sight. Interpretations Payment at 90 days after sight meant that the Company in London owed the money three months from the day the bill was first presented to it, not from the day it was drawn. The Court thus had time to check the bill against the advice sent from the island and to find the funds. For Van Brattam the delay was the price of moving a large sum home without risk, and since the bill was payable to his order he could sell it to a London merchant at a small discount if he wanted his money sooner. The sum was about a third of a whole quarter's pay list of £3,001 5s 7d. One captain's deposit therefore supplied the treasury with a month's wages in coin, which helps explain why the Council took such money readily. The treasury's balance fell by about £1,000 during June 1766, and deposits of this kind were the quickest way to restore it. The Council appointed Lieutenant Thomas Bazett as overseer at Sandy Bay at 3s 0d a day. He replaced Lieutenant John Bridgewater, who was dismissed from the Company's service and drew the same allowance before him. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The entry explains the unlabelled payment in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Bridgewater appeared there with £13 13s 9d and no post against his name, which was 3s 0d a day for the 91 days of the quarter. That sum was his allowance as overseer at Sandy Bay, paid on top of his £27 11s 10½d as a lieutenant of the third company. Sandy Bay was the site of the quarter's heaviest work. The paymaster's account charged 3,862 days of labouring and nearly 400 days of rock blasting to the fortification there, besides smiths, carpenters and bakers. The overseer directed that labour and certified the days worked, so he controlled the largest flow of extra wages on the island. The post was plainly one of trust, and the Council filled it at once on Bridgewater's removal. Bridgewater was dismissed outright and not merely relieved of the overseer's duty, yet the record gave no cause. The Council chose his fellow lieutenant in the same company to succeed him. Bazett already knew the men employed on the work, and his family held posts across the civil and military lists, including a captaincy, the stewardship and the charge of the Company's slaves. | |
126 | 28th. July At a Consultation held on Monday the 28th day of July 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor, Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed. dated the 21 July 1766 Tuesday the 22d. Died John Chapman Soldier Thursday the 24th. Arrived the Clive's Boat at Banks's at nine o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honorable Company's Ship Clive from Bombay Saturday the 26th. Sailed the Honble Compys. Ship Tilbury for England Do. Do. Arrived the Pacifick's Boat at Banks's at ten o'Clock at night. Yesterday Do. the Honble Company's Pacifick from Madrass The Clive and Pacifick brought us the following Supplys vizt. Invoice of Ship Clive Rice 20 Bags contg. 135 Sr. Mds. @ 4. 2. 66 P Sr. Md. 224. 3. 10 Batty 32 do. Cy 3 Cas. is Mds. 3. 21 @ 19. 1 P Md. 73. 3. 62 Chelloves blue 1 Bale contg. 5 Corge. 13. 1. 9 is 73 1/4 P Co. 365 Charges Merchandize Gunny Recd. &c. for the Rice 22. 2 Gunnys for the Batty 16 Lascars Sewing the Bags 6. 10 Hamallage on the Rice and Batty 2. 40 Do. on the Chelloes 20 Boathire on the Whole 2. 2 49. 70 Rupees 712. 3. 48 Bombay 9th. April 1766 E. Excepted (signed) Wm. Hornby Acct. Margin Notes: [...] | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 28 July 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 21 July 1766 were read, approved and signed. John Chapman, a soldier, died on Tuesday 22 July. On Thursday 24 July the boat of the Clive reached Banks's at nine in the morning, and the Company's ship Clive herself arrived from Bombay later that day. The Company's ship Tilbury sailed for England on Saturday 26 July. The boat of the Pacifick came in to Banks's at ten that night, and the Company's ship Pacifick arrived from Madras on 27 July. Both vessels brought supplies for the island, and the invoice of the Clive was entered first. Rice, 20 bags holding 135 Surat maunds at 1 rupee 2 quarters 66 reas a maund, 224 rupees 3 quarters 10 reas Batty, 32 bags holding 3 morahs 21 parahs at 19 rupees 1 quarter 0 reas a morah, 73 rupees 3 quarters 62 reas Blue chelloes, 1 bale holding 3 corge 13 pieces, or 73 pieces, at 5 rupees a piece, 365 rupees 0 quarters 0 reas Charges: gunny cloth and other packing for the rice, 22 rupees 2 quarters 0 reas Charges: gunny bags for the batty, 16 rupees 0 quarters 0 reas Charges: lascars sewing the bags, 6 rupees 0 quarters 10 reas Charges: porterage of the rice and batty, 2 rupees 0 quarters 40 reas Charges: porterage of the chelloes, 0 rupees 0 quarters 20 reas Charges: boat hire for the whole consignment, 2 rupees 2 quarters 0 reas Charges, total, 49 rupees 0 quarters 70 reas Total, 712 rupees 3 quarters 48 reas William Hornby signed the invoice as accountant at Bombay on 9 April 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations Batty was the western Indian word for rice in the husk, the same commodity that Captain Fenner sold to the island as paddy earlier in the quarter. Chelloes were coarse cotton cloths woven in western India, here dyed blue, and were a standard cheap fabric for clothing slaves and labourers. A corge was a trading score of 20 pieces, so 3 corge and 13 pieces made the 73 pieces charged. Gunny was a rough sacking woven from jute or similar fibre, used for bags and wrappers. The invoice was reckoned in Bombay money, in which the rupee was divided into four quarters and each quarter into 100 reas. The Surat maund was a weight of a little under 40 lb used along that coast. The morah and parah were Bombay grain measures, with 25 parahs to the morah. Lascars were Indian seamen and dock labourers, here paid for stitching up the filled bags. Packing and handling added 49 rupees to goods worth about 664, roughly seven per cent. The sacks themselves were the largest item, costing far more than the labour of sewing, carrying and boating them to the ship. Bombay charged the island for every such expense, since each of the Company's settlements kept its own books and billed the others at cost. The consignment answered the shortage recorded in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 June 1766, when the stores held no provisions and rice, paddy and salt meat were bought from ships' captains. A cargo sent on the Company's own account from Bombay was the regular channel of supply, although 20 bags of rice and 32 of batty were small beside the 74 bags and 124 bags that Fenner alone supplied. Each ship's boat reached Banks's battery hours ahead of the ship herself. An arriving vessel sent her boat in to identify herself at the outermost battery, and only then was she allowed to pass along the coast to the anchorage. The diary noted the hour of each boat's arrival because that report was the garrison's proof that the sail approaching was a friend. Chapman was probably the John Chapman who served as a private in the third company. The Tilbury sailed five days after Purling mustered her crew and found no deserters aboard. | |
127 | 1766 Invoice of Ship Pacific LCF N. 1 @ 3 3 Long Cloth Fine 3 Bales contg. 5 Cor @ 66 P Corge 330 Washing @ 1. 31 P Do. 9. 11 Packing @ 2 P ba 6 15. 11 345. 11 LCSF N. 4 1 Long Cloth Superfine One bale vizt. O 9 Pieces @ 6. 11 P Piece 56. 33. 24 M 11 Do. @ 5. 18 P Do. 60. 18 Washing 2. 27 120. 6. 24 N 2 20 Pieces @ 5. 22. 40 P Piece 112. 18 40 Pieces 232. 24. 24 Packing 2 234. 24. 24 LCSF No. 5 1 Long Cloth Superfine One Bale vizt. No. 1 20 Pieces @ 12 P Piece 240 2 25 Do. @ 10 do. 250 3 10 do. @ 9 do. 90 4 5 do. @ 8 do. 40 60 Pieces 620 Packing 2 622 Batavia Arrack 2 Leaguers contg. 314 Galls. @ 40 Pags. P Leagr. 20 Rice 18 Bags Weighing G. Wt. 21. 1. 13 Tare 1. 13 Nt. 21 is 101 1/4 Meas. @ 99. 4. 40 P Gar. 25. 6. 50 Paddy 30 Bags Weighing G. Wt. 31. 2. 20 Tare 2. 4 Nt. 31 16 is 204 Meas. @ 9 P [...] 22. 8 Carried over L 1329. 13. 74 | The invoice of the Pacifick, entered in 1766, listed the cloth, spirits and grain shipped to the island from Madras, with each bale identified by its mark and number. Fine long cloth, bales marked LCF numbers 1 to 3: 3 bales holding 5 corge at 66 pagodas a corge, 330 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Fine long cloth: washing at 1 pagoda 31 fanams a corge, 9 pagodas 11 fanams 0 cash Fine long cloth: packing at 2 pagodas a bale, 6 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Fine long cloth: washing and packing together, 15 pagodas 11 fanams 0 cash Fine long cloth, total, 345 pagodas 11 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale marked LCSF number 4: grade O, 9 pieces at 6 pagodas 11 fanams a piece, 56 pagodas 33 fanams 24 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: grade M, 11 pieces at 5 pagodas 18 fanams a piece, 60 pagodas 18 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: washing, 2 pagodas 27 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: grades O and M with washing, 120 pagodas 6 fanams 24 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: sort number 2, 20 pieces at 5 pagodas 22 fanams 40 cash a piece, 112 pagodas 18 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: 40 pieces in all, 232 pagodas 24 fanams 24 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4: packing, 2 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 4, total, 234 pagodas 24 fanams 24 cash Superfine long cloth, bale marked LCSF number 5: sort number 1, 20 pieces at 12 pagodas a piece, 240 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5: sort number 2, 25 pieces at 10 pagodas a piece, 250 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5: sort number 3, 10 pieces at 9 pagodas a piece, 90 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5: sort number 4, 5 pieces at 8 pagodas a piece, 40 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5: 60 pieces in all, 620 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5: packing, 2 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Superfine long cloth, bale number 5, total, 622 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Batavia arrack, 2 leaguers holding 314 gallons at 40 pagodas a leaguer, 80 pagodas 0 fanams 0 cash Rice, 18 bags: gross weight, 21 hundredweight 1 quarter 13 lb Rice, 18 bags: allowance for the bags, 0 hundredweight 1 quarter 13 lb Rice, 18 bags: net 21 hundredweight, or 191½ measures, at 99 pagodas 4 fanams 40 cash a garce, 25 pagodas 6 fanams 50 cash Paddy, 30 bags: gross weight, 31 hundredweight 2 quarters 20 lb Paddy, 30 bags: allowance for the bags, 0 hundredweight 2 quarters 4 lb Paddy, 30 bags: net 31 hundredweight, or [...] measures, at 9 pagodas a garce, 22 pagodas 3 fanams 0 cash Carried over, 1,329 pagodas 13 fanams 74 cash Interpretations Long cloth was the plain white cotton of the Coromandel coast, woven in pieces of some 37 yards and sold by the piece or by the corge of 20. It was the staple export of Madras and the ordinary material for shirts, sheets and linings. The fine and superfine grades differed in the closeness of the weave, and within each bale the pieces were sorted again by quality, here by letter or number, with prices in bale number 5 falling from 12 pagodas to 8. Washing meant bleaching the cloth white after it left the loom, a separate trade paid for at so much a corge. Batavia arrack was a spirit distilled at the Dutch settlement on Java from fermented rice, molasses and palm sap. It was the common strong drink of the eastern trade and the base of the punch served to garrisons. A leaguer was a large Dutch cask of roughly 150 gallons, the unit in which arrack was shipped. The invoice was reckoned in Madras money. The pagoda was a small gold coin worth about eight shillings, divided in the Company's books into 36 fanams, with 80 cash to the fanam. The garce was the great grain measure of that coast, equal to several tons, so prices for rice and paddy were quoted by the garce and then worked down to the measures actually shipped. The weight deducted from each gross figure was the tare, the weight of the sacks, which left the net grain on which the charge fell. Cloth made up nearly the whole value. The five bales came to about 1,200 pagodas, against some 47 for the rice and paddy together. This was stock for James Powell's store, whose sales in the quarter to 30 June 1766 brought in £1,519 18s 8d. The island's inhabitants bought their clothing from the Company, and fine Indian cotton sold at a mark-up was a more profitable cargo than grain. The Pacifick brought only 18 bags of rice and 30 of paddy, as the Clive brought 20 and 32 from Bombay. Each presidency therefore sent a token quantity of food, and neither shipment came near the amounts bought from ships' captains during the shortage of the previous quarter. | |
128 | 28th. July Brought over 1329. 13. 74 Charges Merchandize Gunny Bags 53 @ 3 1/2 P % 1. 26 Twine 3 Cooley hire on the Paddy 15 Weighing Cooley on Do. 1. 60 Boat and Cooley hire 1. 5. 60 Tin Plates and Nails for the Arrack 6 Tarpaulin hire 12 3. 33. 40 Pagodas 1,333. 11. 34 E. Excepted John Call Accompt. John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The invoice of the Pacifick closed under 28 July with the packing and handling charges added at Madras. Balance brought over, 1,329 pagodas 13 fanams 74 cash Charges: 53 gunny bags at 3½ pagodas a hundred, 1 pagoda 26 fanams 0 cash Charges: twine, 0 pagodas 3 fanams 0 cash Charges: porters' hire for the paddy, 0 pagodas 15 fanams 0 cash Charges: porter for weighing the paddy, 0 pagodas 1 fanam 60 cash Charges: boat and porters' hire, 1 pagoda 5 fanams 60 cash Charges: tin plates and nails for the arrack, 0 pagodas 6 fanams 0 cash Charges: tarpaulin hire, 0 pagodas 12 fanams 0 cash Charges, total, 3 pagodas 33 fanams 40 cash Total, 1,333 pagodas 11 fanams 34 cash John Call signed the invoice as accountant, subject to the correction of any errors. Governor Skottowe then signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The tin plates and nails were for sealing the arrack. A small sheet of tinned iron was nailed over the bung of each leaguer so that the cask could not be tapped on the voyage without leaving a mark. Spirits were the cargo most often pilfered by a ship's crew, and the plate served as a cheap seal that the storekeeper could inspect when the casks were landed. Madras had no harbour, and every bale and cask went out to the ship through the surf in open boats. The charges for boat hire and for the loan of a tarpaulin reflect that passage. The tarpaulin was rented for the trip to keep spray off the cloth and grain and then went back ashore, so only its hire was charged. The Madras charges came to under four pagodas on goods worth 1,329, about a third of one per cent. On the invoice of the Clive, dated at Bombay on 9 April 1766, charges added roughly seven per cent. The difference lay in the cargo. Bombay sent bulky grain of low value, where the sacks alone cost a tenth of the contents, while the Madras consignment was mostly fine cloth whose packing was already priced bale by bale in the body of the invoice. The signatures of the Governor and Council beneath the accountant's name marked the invoice as received and entered. From that point the island's books owed Madras the sum stated, and James Powell as storekeeper became answerable for the goods. | |
129 | 4th. August At a Consultation held on Monday the 4th Day of August 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed. dated the 28th July 1766. Wednesday the 30th. Died Elizabeth Clough. Thursday the 31st. Arrived the Hardwickes Boat at Banks's at two o'Clock in the Afternoon Do. Do. the Honble Compys. Ship Hardwicke from Bombay and brought Us the following Supplys vizt. Invoice of Ship Hardwicke Rice 20 Bags containing 135. Sr. Mds. at 12. 66. P Sr. Md. 224. 3. 10 Batty 32 Bags containg. 3 Cs. is Mds. 3. 21 @ 19. 1 P Md. 73. 3. 68 Chelloes blue 1 Bale contg. 5 Corge is 13. 1. 9 @ 73 Rs. P Co. 365 Charges on Merchandize Gunny Recd. &c. for the Rice 22. 2 Gunnies for the Batty 16 Lascars Sewing the Bags 6. 10 Hamallage on the Rice & Batty 2. 40 Do. on the Chelloes 20 Boathire on the whole 2. 2 49. 70 Rupees 712. 3. 48 Bombay 9th April 1766 Errors Excepted Signed Wm. Hornby Acct. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 4 August 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 28 July 1766 were read, approved and signed. Elizabeth Clough died on Wednesday 30 July. On Thursday 31 July the boat of the Hardwicke reached Banks's at two in the afternoon. The Company's ship Hardwicke herself arrived from Bombay the same day with supplies for the island, and her invoice was entered. Rice, 20 bags holding 135 Surat maunds at 1 rupee 2 quarters 66 reas a maund, 224 rupees 3 quarters 10 reas Batty, 32 bags holding 3 morahs 21 parahs at 19 rupees 1 quarter 0 reas a morah, 73 rupees 3 quarters 62 reas Blue chelloes, 1 bale holding 5 corge at 73 rupees a corge, 365 rupees 0 quarters 0 reas Charges: gunny cloth and other packing for the rice, 22 rupees 2 quarters 0 reas Charges: gunny bags for the batty, 16 rupees 0 quarters 0 reas Charges: lascars sewing the bags, 6 rupees 0 quarters 10 reas Charges: porterage of the rice and batty, 2 rupees 0 quarters 40 reas Charges: porterage of the chelloes, 0 rupees 0 quarters 20 reas Charges: boat hire for the whole consignment, 2 rupees 2 quarters 0 reas Charges, total, 49 rupees 0 quarters 70 reas Total, 712 rupees 3 quarters 48 reas William Hornby signed the invoice as accountant at Bombay on 9 April 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations The invoice matched that of the Clive in every line. Both were signed by Hornby at Bombay on 9 April 1766, both listed 20 bags of rice, 32 of batty and one bale of blue chelloes, and both came to 712 rupees 3 quarters 48 reas. Bombay could have loaded the whole consignment on one vessel. It divided the goods into two equal lots and sent one by each ship, so that the loss or capture of either would cost the island only half its supply. The same reasoning lay behind drawing bills of exchange in sets. The Clive arrived on 24 July and the Hardwicke a week later, and the island received the full shipment. The division also explains why each cargo looked so small beside the purchases of the previous quarter. Taken together the two ships delivered 40 bags of rice, 64 of batty and two bales of cloth from Bombay, still a modest quantity, but twice what either invoice suggested alone. | |
130 | Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships Hardwicke, Clive, and Pacifick to Muster their Companys and enquire for deserters but found none. their Muster Rolls are as follows vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Hardwicke Brooke Samson Comanr. Edwd. Lowndes 1st. Mte Clement Fall 2d. Do. Thos. Larkin 3d. Do. Patrick Lawson 4th. Do. John Geddes 5th. Do. David Dunn Purser John Oliphant Surgeon Willm. Nellson Gunner Alexr. Baxter Boatswn. James Reeves Carpenter Francis Bradly Midsp. John Moulton Do. Hugh Kerr Quarterm. Albn. Murry Do. Lawrence Skidman do. George Crudge Caulker Gowin Patterson Cooper Peter Johns Sailmaker Willm. Tough Capt. Stewd. Richd. Chamberlin Ships Std. John Charles Capt. Do. Daniel Cooper Gunr. Mate John Gillings Carpr. 1 Mte John Smith do. 2 d. Edward Cobham Caulkers Mte William Batchelor Coopr. do. Henry Dean Butler Robt. Barclay Butchr. Mattw. Williamson Seamn. James Horkon Edmund Cleeve Jeremiah Reed Holem Bryan James Fraser James Andrews Robert Massie William Harries Michael Collins Saml. Finch William Martin Robert Whitelaw James Baxter Edward Case Amos Rogers Peter Donnelly Franklin Matthews John Adams Andrew Young William Holmes Hugh Waterson Thomas Chase Thomas Roberts Thomas Smith David Scott John Ollson Henry Ross James Smart John Andrews Seamn. James Hagerty Francis Moss Daniel Stanley Oliver [...] Robert Fenton John Davey James Sullivan Jos. Mincher John Hapner Frederick Hapner Robert Bedson Thomas Morris John Stewart Robert Boid John Owen Gabriel Powell Richard Burn James Fall Peter Waters Robert Buchanan James Powell Samuel Smith Thos. Brewer Willm. Norton James Stephenson Oliver Gollop John Moore Peter Pink | Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the ships Hardwicke, Clive and Pacifick to muster their crews and ask after deserters, and that he found none. Their muster rolls followed, beginning with that of the Hardwicke. Brooke Samson, commander Edward Lowndes, first mate Clement Fall, second mate Thomas Larkin, third mate Patrick Lawson, fourth mate John Geddes, fifth mate David Dunn, purser John Oliphant, surgeon William Neilson, gunner Alexander Baxter, boatswain James Reeves, carpenter Francis Dawly, midshipman John Moulton, midshipman Hugh Acre, quartermaster Albert Harvey, quartermaster Lawrence Stedman, quartermaster George Crudge, caulker Gowin Patterson, cooper Peter Johns, sailmaker William Tough, captain's steward Richard Chamberlin, ship's steward John Charles, captain's [...] Daniel Cooper, gunner's mate John Gillings, carpenter's first mate John Smith, carpenter's second mate Edward Cobham, caulker's mate William Batchelor, cooper's mate Henry Dean, butler Robert Barclay, butcher Matthew Williamson, seaman James Horton, seaman Edmund Cleave, seaman Jeremiah Reed, seaman Hislom Bryan, seaman James Fraser, seaman James Andrews, seaman Robert Massie, seaman William Harris, seaman Michael Collins, seaman Samuel Finch, seaman William Martin, seaman Robert Whitelaw, seaman James Baxter, seaman Edward Cave, seaman Amos Rogers, seaman Peter Donnelly, seaman Franklin Matthews, seaman John Adams, seaman Andrew Young, seaman William Holmes, seaman Hugh Waterson, seaman Thomas Chase, seaman Thomas Roberts, seaman Thomas Smith, seaman David Scott, seaman John Ellison, seaman Henry Ross, seaman James Smart, seaman John Andrews, seaman James Hagerty, seaman Francis Moss, seaman Daniel Stanley, seaman Oliver Gordon, seaman Robert Fenton, seaman John Devoy, seaman James Sullivan, seaman John Mincher, seaman John Hapner, seaman Frederick Hapner, seaman Robert Dodson, seaman Thomas Morris, seaman John Stewart, seaman Robert Bond, seaman John Owen, seaman Gabriel Powell, seaman Richard Burn, seaman James Fall, seaman Peter Waters, seaman Robert Buchanan, seaman James Powell, seaman Samuel Smith, seaman Thomas Brewer, seaman William Norton, seaman James Stephenson, seaman Oliver Gallop, seaman John Moore, seaman Peter Pink, seaman Interpretations Purling mustered all three ships in one round, where the Tilbury was checked alone before she sailed on 26 July. The Clive reached the island on 24 July, the Pacifick on 27 July and the Hardwicke on 31 July, so three homeward ships lay in the road together with several hundred seamen between them. That was the moment of greatest risk for the garrison, since a soldier wishing to leave had three vessels in which to hide. A single councillor going from ship to ship with each roll in hand gave the Council one consistent check on all of them. The Hardwicke carried a butcher and a butler among her crew, posts absent from the roll of the Tilbury. An East Indiaman took live cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry to sea for the officers' and passengers' table, and the butcher slaughtered and dressed them on board. The butler had charge of the wines and spirits. Both were servants of the commander's own table, which he kept at his private expense as one of the profits and dignities of his post. | |
131 | 1766 John Burgue Seaman James Bigs Florence Roxburgh John Walsby Thomas Donnovan William Robertson Edward Baird Seamn. Joseph Hardwicke Roe Fuller Britt William Smith John Collins Thos. Massie Seaman Nicholas Belsey Barney Clear William Cassells Rice Jones Stepn. Joyce Passengers Captain Morrane George Clark John Gordon Robt. Weir Discharged Soldiers (Signed) B: Samson Muster Roll of Ship Clive John Allen Commandr. Pitt Collet Chief Mate Robert Preston 2d. Do. John White 3d. Do. John Way 4th. Do. Richard Edwards 5th. Do. Pat: Saunders 6th. Do. Geo. Cooper Surgeon John Arundell Purser David Spencer Gunner William Witlington Carpr. Henry Mc.Donald Ships Stewd. John Miller Capts. Do. Phill: Bartharm Caulker Thoms. Belfour Cooper John Price Sailmaker Robert Patterson Armourer Thos. Hayden Surg. Mate Robert Strong Gunr. do. Anty. King Carpenr. Do. John Hulbert Do. 2d. Do. Geo. Cushens Boatswain Geo: Council 2d. Mate Josiah Lewis Coopers Do. Willm. Fleet Caulkers do. Thos. Buckannan Ships Cook Pocock Capts. Do. Will Penn Butcher Allen Cooper Midshp. & Coxn. Saml. Pitman Midshipman Lawrence Purchase Do. Wm. Bruce Do. Thos Peck Monro Quartermasr. Thom: Morison Do. James Harrold Do. Charles Connosseur Chief Mte Servt Phill: Oberts 2d. Do. Do. John Bridgman Surg do James Henderwood Boats do Dennis Carrick Carpenters do Geo: Spencer Gunners Do. John Hurst Seaman Charles Clark Do. Robt. Thurgasson Seaman Christopr. Downing George Williams Robt. Waters Benj. Weir George Ashley David Farmer Alexr. Scott Edward Fabion John Billington Andw. Hebburn David Williams Willm. Triplin Wm. Simmons Robt. Hitch John Putrain Wm. Farwalk John Spence Phillip Waterson Thos. Bessers Robt. Jackson | The muster roll of the Hardwicke ended with her remaining seamen and her passengers, and the roll of the Clive followed. John Burque, seaman James Biggs, seaman Florence Roxburgh, seaman John Walsby, seaman Thomas Donnovan, seaman William Robertson, seaman Edward Baird, seaman Joseph Hardwicke, seaman Ross Fuller Britt, seaman William Smith, seaman John Collins, seaman Thomas Massie, seaman Nicholas Belsey, seaman Barney Clear, seaman William Cassells, seaman Rice Jones, seaman Stephen Joyce, seaman Captain Morrane, passenger George Clark, passenger, discharged soldier John Gordon, passenger, discharged soldier Robert Wood, passenger, discharged soldier Brooke Samson signed the roll as commander. The muster roll of the Clive named her officers, tradesmen, servants and seamen. John Allen, commander Pitt Collet, chief mate Robert Preston, second mate John White, third mate John Way, fourth mate Richard Edwards, fifth mate Patrick Saunders, sixth mate George Cooper, surgeon John Arundell, purser David Spencer, gunner William Wilkington, carpenter Henry McDonald, ship's steward John Miller, captain's steward Phillip Bartharm, caulker Thomas Belfour, cooper John Price, sailmaker Robert Patterson, armourer Thomas Hayden, surgeon's mate Robert Strong, gunner's mate Anthony King, carpenter's first mate John Hulbert, carpenter's second mate George Cushens, boatswain George Council, boatswain's second mate Josiah Lewis, cooper's mate William Fleet, caulker's mate Thomas Buchannan, ship's cook [...] Pocock, captain's cook William Penn, butcher Allen Cooper, midshipman and coxswain Samuel Pitman, midshipman Lawrence Purchase, midshipman William Bruce, midshipman Thomas Beck Moore, quartermaster Thomas Morrison, quartermaster James Harrold, quartermaster Charles Cannaseur, [...] first mate Phillip [...], [...] second mate John Bridgman, surgeon's servant James Henderson, boatswain's servant James Cassick, carpenter's servant George Spencer, gunner's servant John Hurst, seaman Charles Clark, seaman Robert Fergusson, seaman Christopher Downing, seaman George Williams, seaman Robert Waters, seaman Benjamin West, seaman George Ashley, seaman David Farmer, seaman Alexander Scott, seaman Edward Fabion, seaman John Billington, seaman Andrew Hebburn, seaman David Williams, seaman William Triplin, seaman William Simmons, seaman Robert Hitch, seaman John Estcourt, seaman William Fairwalk, seaman John Spence, seaman Phillip Waterson, seaman Thomas Despere, seaman Robert Jackson, seaman Interpretations The roll of the Hardwicke listed her passengers as well as her crew, and marked three of them as discharged soldiers. That label mattered for the purpose of the muster. Purling was looking for men who had left the garrison without leave, and a former soldier travelling home openly had to be distinguished from one hiding aboard. Entering Clark, Gordon and Wood by name and status, over the commander's signature, showed that their passage was authorised. It also fits the pattern of the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766, in which soldiers were discharged in groups on particular days, probably to take ship. The Clive carried six mates where the Tilbury and the Hardwicke each carried five. A sixth mate was the most junior sworn officer, and his presence suggests a larger ship or a commander with an extra berth to give. One of her midshipmen also served as coxswain, in charge of the ship's boat. It was that boat which reached Banks's at nine in the morning on 24 July to report the ship before she came in. | |
132 | 4th. August John Hales Boatswain John Millen Seaman Thos. Hutchins Wm. Monroe Casper Jacobson John Cunningham John Hedgings John Wilson John Peat Wm. Jones James Hemday John Bruce Alexr. Nicholson Seaman Thos. Badcock John Grayham Robt. Roberts James Henderson Joseph Paterkin James Clark George Ross Alexr. Mc. Donald George Ridley Thos. Crighton John Appleby Seamn. Thos. Cunningham Robert Horne John Clifford Jonas Carr Arthur Maxwell Chas. Laws Elias Isbell Thos. Stevens Ross Boult Wm. Miles Edwd. Hawkly Passengers Capt: Colin Cambell Thoms. Holgate William Matthews Wm. Morrice Henry Moore Gasper Young John Smith Invalids (signed) John Allen Muster Roll of Ship Pacifick Charles Barkley Commr. Cousin Peters 1st Mate Richd. Pierce 2d. Do. Chas. Richards 3d. Do. Edmund Fryer 4th. do. John Coxon Purser Griffith Thomas Surgeon James Scott Ships Stewd. Thos. Bruch Carpenter Jos. Markin Boatswn. Robert Ballard Gunner Wm. Colly Caulker John Cleghorn Sailmr. John Fox Cooper Archer Caveger Ships Cook William Callaynore Carp. Mte George Davidson Surg Do. Wm. Cornish Caulkers Do. Phil: Burrell Boats do. James Bell do. Do. Wm. Wigmore Quarterm. Wm. Robinson Do. Geo: Johnson Quarterm. John Walther Armorer James Singleton Midshp. Thos. Warrington Do. John Shackleton do. John Barkly Do. John Leadbetter Do. Peter Runnalson Poultr Jos: Nettleship Butcher Edwd. Richardson Cap. Ser Henry Ripp Do. | The muster roll of the Clive, continued under 4 August, ended with her remaining seamen and her passengers, and the roll of the Pacifick began. John Hales, boatswain John Miller, seaman Thomas Hutchins, seaman William Monroe, seaman Casper Jacobson, seaman John Cunningham, seaman John Hedgings, seaman John Wilson, seaman John Coat, seaman William Jones, seaman James Hinday, seaman John Bruce, seaman Alexander Nicholson, seaman Thomas Badcock, seaman John Grayham, seaman Robert Roberts, seaman James Henderson, seaman Joseph Paterkin, seaman James Clark, seaman George Ross, seaman Alexander McDonald, seaman George Ridley, seaman Thomas Crighton, seaman John Appleby, seaman Thomas Cunningham, seaman Robert Horne, seaman John Clifford, seaman Jonas Carr, seaman Arthur Maxwell, seaman Charles Saws, seaman Elias Isbell, seaman Thomas Stevens, seaman Charles Boult, seaman William Miles, seaman Edward Hartley, seaman Captain Colin Campbell, passenger Thomas Holgate, passenger, invalid William Matthews, passenger, invalid William Morrice, passenger, invalid Henry Moore, passenger, invalid Gaspar Young, passenger, invalid John Smith, passenger, invalid John Allen signed the roll as commander. The muster roll of the Pacifick opened with her officers and tradesmen. Charles Barkley, commander Emerson [...], first mate Richard Pierce, second mate Charles Richards, third mate Emanuel Fryer, fourth mate John Coxon, purser Griffith Thomas, surgeon James Scott, ship's steward Thomas Brack, carpenter Joseph Martin, boatswain Robert Ballard, gunner William Colly, caulker John Cleghorn, sailmaker John Fox, cooper Archer [...], ship's cook William Callagmore, captain's steward George Davidson, surgeon's mate William Cornish, caulker's mate Phillip Burrell, boatswain's mate James Bell, boatswain's mate William Wigmore, quartermaster William Robinson, quartermaster George Johnson, quartermaster John Walker, armourer James Singleton, midshipman Thomas Warrington, midshipman John Shackleton, midshipman John Berkly, midshipman John Leadbetter, midshipman Peter Runnalson, butler Joseph Nettleship, butcher Edward Richardson, captain's servant Henry Ripp, captain's servant Interpretations Invalids were soldiers or seamen judged unfit for further service through wounds, illness or age and sent home at the Company's expense. The six on the Clive came from Bombay, where the climate and disease wore out European troops quickly. Like the discharged soldiers on the Hardwicke, they were entered by name so that each man aboard who was neither crew nor paying passenger could be accounted for. A sick soldier from India was also the kind of passenger behind whom a deserter from the island's own garrison might try to pass unnoticed. Both ships carried an army captain among their passengers, Morrane on the Hardwicke and Campbell on the Clive. Officers going home on leave or at the end of their service often had charge of the invalids and discharged men travelling in the same vessel. | |
133 | 1766 Lewis Hargrave 1st Mates Servt. Thoms. Clarkson 2d. do. Do. William Colley Carpenters do. Joseph Darf Surg: Do. Thoms. Card Gunners Do. John Ballard Boats do. John Dempster Seaman George Robinson Thomas Wills John Starr William Supple Geo: Brown John Dorras Jas. Cahoune David Bay William Moody John Smith Hectr. Mc. Caine James Reed John Thomas John Saunders John Connell Benj: Bartley Seaman Jos: Vincey Jordon Nunns Chas. Miller James Phillips Robt. Dalrimple John Langley John Simson Joseph Dorrington Joseph Ralph William Herbert John Covagnon Thoms. Cordice John Freeman [...] Paine Wm. Barker Willm. Sinkler Arthr. Conolly Edmond Day Saml. Shepperd John Robinson David Atkins Thos. Giles William Johnson Jos: Bartlett William Jones William Godfrey Thomas Watson Isaac Mitchell John Haywood William Thomas John Weston Henry Walker John Thompson George Minto John Castar John Bellefore Simon Peter Paul Corai Bernardo [...] James Taylor Henry Johnson John Newton Passengers General Lawrence Col. Charles Campble Richd. Fairfield Esqr. John Turner Esqr. Mr. John Short Mr. Bishop 6 Servants (Signed) Charles Barkley The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores short received from the Ships Clive and Pacifick vizt | The muster roll of the Pacifick for 1766 ended with her officers' servants, seamen and passengers. Lewis Hargrave, first mate's servant Thomas Clarkson, second mate's servant William Colley, carpenter's servant Joseph Durf, surgeon's servant Thomas Card, gunner's servant John Ballard, boatswain's servant John Dempster, seaman George Robinson, seaman Thomas Wills, seaman John Kerr, seaman William Supple, seaman George Brown, seaman John Dorras, seaman James Cahoun, seaman David Bay, seaman William Moody, seaman John Smith, seaman Hector McLaine, seaman James Reed, seaman John Thomas, seaman John Saunders, seaman John Connell, seaman Benjamin Bartley, seaman Joseph Vercy, seaman Jordan Nunus, seaman Charles Miller, seaman James Phillips, seaman Robert Dalrymple, seaman John Langley, seaman John Simson, seaman Joseph Dorrington, seaman Joseph Ralph, seaman William Herbert, seaman John Covagnon, seaman Thomas Cordier, seaman John Freeman, seaman [...] Lane, seaman William Barker, seaman William Sinkler, seaman Richard Conolly, seaman Edmond Day, seaman Samuel Sheppard, seaman John Robinson, seaman David Atkins, seaman Thomas Coles, seaman William Johnson, seaman Joseph Bartlett, seaman William Jones, seaman William Godfrey, seaman Thomas Watson, seaman Isaac Mitchell, seaman John Haywood, seaman William Thomas, seaman John Weston, seaman Henry Walker, seaman John Thompson, seaman George Minto, seaman John Castor, seaman John Bellefore, seaman Simon Peter, seaman Paul Corai, seaman Bernardo, seaman Augustine, seaman James Taylor, seaman Henry Johnson, seaman John Newton, seaman General Lawrence, passenger Colonel Charles Campbell, passenger Richard Fairfield, passenger John Turner, passenger John Short, passenger Mr Bishop, passenger 6 servants of the passengers Charles Barkley signed the roll as commander. The storekeeper then handed in an account of the stores found short in the consignments landed from the Clive and the Pacifick. Interpretations Several seamen near the foot of the roll bore names that were not English, among them Nunus, Covagnon, Cordier, Corai, Bernardo and Augustine, the last two entered without surnames. Ships lost men to death and desertion on the outward voyage and in Indian ports, and commanders made up their numbers there with Portuguese, French and other sailors of the eastern trade. A man known by one name only was probably such a recruit, taken on at Madras for the run home. The passengers of the Pacifick were of a different rank from those of the two Bombay ships. She carried a general, a colonel and two gentlemen styled esquire, with six servants between them, where the Hardwicke and the Clive brought discharged soldiers and invalids. The servants were counted but not named. The muster concerned itself with men who might be deserters, and personal attendants of senior officers fell outside that suspicion. The storekeeper's account of shortages followed directly from the invoices entered on 28 July. James Powell became answerable for the goods as invoiced once the Council signed them in, so he checked what was landed against each invoice and reported any difference at once. A shortage declared on arrival was charged back to the ship or to the presidency that sent the goods. One discovered later would have fallen on the storekeeper himself. | |
134 | 4th. August Account of Stores short received from the following Ships vizt. Ship Clive vizt. 51. 1. 20. Paddy Ship Pacifick vizt. 201. 4 Rice 5. 1. 5 Paddy Shortweight 33 Galls. Arrack Waste 4th. August 1766. (signed) James Powell Storekeeper John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 11th. Day of August 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govern. Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 4th. August 1766. Tuesday the 5th. Sailed the Honble Compys. Ships, Hardwicke Clive, and Pacifick for England | The storekeeper's account, entered under 4 August, set out the stores found short on landing the consignments from two ships. The Clive delivered 5 hundredweight 1 quarter 20 lb less paddy than her invoice stated. The shortages on the Pacifick followed. Rice, short in weight, 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 4 lb Paddy, short in weight, 5 hundredweight 1 quarter 5 lb Arrack, lost by wastage, 33 gallons James Powell signed the account as storekeeper on 4 August 1766. Governor Skottowe then signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The losses were heavy against what was shipped. The Pacifick was invoiced for 21 hundredweight of rice and 31 of paddy, so about a tenth of the rice and a sixth of the paddy failed to arrive. Her two leaguers of arrack held 314 gallons, and 33 were gone, again about a tenth. Grain lost weight at sea through drying, vermin and torn sacks, and spirits through leaking casks and evaporation in the heat. The word used for the arrack covered all such causes without fixing blame, though the tin plates nailed over the bungs at Madras show that pilfering by the crew was expected. Powell's report was dated the day before all three ships sailed. Declaring the shortage while the vessels still lay in the road put it on record against them, with the Council's signatures beneath his own. The loss could then be written off the store's books or claimed from the ships' owners in London, and it could not later be laid at the storekeeper's door. The Council met at the Castle on Monday 11 August 1766. The Governor attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 4 August 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ships Hardwicke, Clive and Pacifick sailed for England on Tuesday 5 August. Interpretations The three ships left together although they arrived on 24, 27 and 31 July. The Clive therefore waited twelve days and the Hardwicke only five. Homeward ships commonly gathered at the island and sailed in company for mutual protection and help on the long passage north, and the departure on one day followed Purling's muster of all three crews. | |
135 | 11th. August The Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of July last, were this day brought in, which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. Artillery Stores Expended in July 1766 Guns Fired, Ball Fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended 1st. Departed the Kent: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 7th. A Double Alarm: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 3, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 3, Powder Expended 18 Arrived the Grosvenor &a Danish Ship: Guns Fired 18, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18. 8 8th. Departed the True Briton: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 Do. Alarm: Guns Fired 6, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 9th. The Alarm Doubled: Guns Fired 3, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 1, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 1, Powder Expended 6 Arrived the Tilbury: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 Arrived a Dutch Ship: Guns Fired 13, Ball Fired 1, 9 lb 1, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 11, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 18. 8 16th. Departed a Danish Ship: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 17th. Saluted Major Firth going on board: Guns Fired 11, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 11, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 11 Departed the Grosvenor: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 20th. An Alarm at Banks supposed for the long Boat: Guns Fired 2, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 21st. Departed the Dutch Ship: Guns Fired 13, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 13, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 13 24th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Arrived the Clive: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 26th. Departed the Tilbury: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 27th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 28th. Arrived the Pacifick: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 Saluted General Lawrence coming on Shore: Guns Fired 17, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 17, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 17 31st. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Arrived the Hardwicke: Guns Fired 9, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 Powder Expended for Priming, Funerals. &ca: Guns Fired 0, Ball Fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 43 Total: Guns Fired 191, Ball Fired 1, 9 lb 3, 4 lb 12, 3 lb 14, 2 lb 150, 1 lb 12, Powder Expended 283 Match Expended this Month 6 lb Do. Cartridge Paper 6 Qr. Do. Trunk Nails 20 Do. Tallow 13 lb Do. Musquet Balls 12 Oz: (Signed) A Mitchell | The gunner's and steward's accounts for July were brought in on 11 August, examined and approved. The first recorded the artillery stores used in July 1766, with the guns fired on each occasion sorted under columns headed only by the figures 9, 4, 3, 2 and 1. 1 July: departure of the Kent, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 7 July: a double alarm, 9 guns fired, 3 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 18 lb of powder used 7 July: arrival of the Grosvenor and a Danish ship, 18 guns fired, 1 under the column headed 3 and 17 under the column headed 2, 18 lb of powder used 8 July: departure of the True Briton, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 8 July: an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 12 lb of powder used 9 July: the alarm doubled, 3 guns fired, 1 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 6 lb of powder used 9 July: arrival of the Tilbury, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 9 July: arrival of a Dutch ship, 13 guns fired, 1 under the column headed 9, 1 under the column headed 3 and 11 under the column headed 2, with 1 shot fired, 13 lb of powder used 16 July: departure of a Danish ship, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 17 July: salute to Major Firth on going aboard, 11 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 11 lb of powder used 17 July: departure of the Grosvenor, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 20 July: an alarm at Banks's, thought to be for the longboat, 2 guns fired, both under the column headed 9, 9 lb of powder used 21 July: departure of the Dutch ship, 13 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 13 lb of powder used 24 July: an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 12 lb of powder used 24 July: arrival of the Clive, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 26 July: departure of the Tilbury, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 27 July: an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 12 lb of powder used 28 July: arrival of the Pacifick, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used 28 July: salute to General Lawrence on coming ashore, 17 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 17 lb of powder used 31 July: an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 each under the columns headed 4, 3 and 1, 12 lb of powder used 31 July: arrival of the Hardwicke, 9 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 9 lb of powder used Powder used for priming, funerals and similar purposes, 13 lb Total: 191 guns fired Total: 1 shot fired Total: 3 guns under the column headed 9 Total: 12 guns under the column headed 4 Total: 14 guns under the column headed 3 Total: 150 guns under the column headed 2 Total: 12 guns under the column headed 1 Total: 233 lb of powder used Match used in the month, 6 lb Cartridge paper used in the month, 6 quires Trunk nails used in the month, 20 Tallow used in the month, 13 lb Musket balls used in the month, 12 oz A. Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations The account shows the island's alarm system at work. A lookout sighting a sail set off a relay of guns from post to post, two from each of three stations, at a cost of 12 lb of powder. A double alarm, with three guns from each, announced two sails at once. The alarms of 24, 27 and 31 July were each followed by the arrival of a Company ship, the Clive, the Pacifick and the Hardwicke, and the double alarm of 7 July by the Grosvenor and a Danish vessel together. The alarm at Banks's on 20 July proved to be for nothing more than the longboat, and it was written down as such so that the powder could be justified. Salutes followed a fixed scale of honour. A Company ship arriving or leaving received nine guns. The Dutch ship was given 13 on both occasions, a courtesy to a foreign flag. Major Firth had 11 on embarking and General Lawrence 17 on landing, the largest salute of the month and a measure of his rank among the passengers of the Pacifick. Each salute gun burned a pound of powder, so ceremony and signalling together consumed most of the 233 lb used. A single shot was fired during the month, on the day the Dutch ship arrived. All other firing was with blank charges. A shotted gun was the garrison's means of ordering an approaching stranger to stop and identify herself, and its use against a foreign vessel fits the caution shown in requiring each ship's boat to report at Banks's first. Match was the slow-burning cord used to fire the guns. Cartridge paper was made up into bags holding a measured charge of powder, and tallow greased the gun carriages and the tools used for loading. Trunk nails were small tacks, probably used here in making up or repairing cartridge boxes. The account was signed by Mitchell, who commanded the artillery company and served as engineer. The gunner's stores were thus certified by the officer answerable for the guns before the Council passed them. | |
136 | 11th. August Sundry's Expended at the Honble Company's Table in the Month of July 1766. 31 Bottles Port Wine L 2. 6. 6 33 Do. Lisbon 2. 9 12 Do. Mountain 18 36 Do. Beer 7. 6 60 Do. Arrack 3. 7. 6 117 lb Beef 2. 3. 9 126 lb. Mutton 2. 12. 6 2 Lambs 1 2 Kids 10 9 Fowles 13. 6 1 Turkey 5 93 Candy 1. 7. 3 40 Butter 2 274 Flower 2. 17. 9 L 23. 3. 8 Ordered the following Advertizement to be Published vizt. Island St. Helena 11 August 1766 Whereas a Coil of small Cordage belonging to the Honorable Company was stolen out of the Wooden House upon the Line on Friday last. This is therefore to give Notice to all Persons upon the said Island that if they will discover the Person or Persons who committed the said Theft they shall receive a reward of five Shillings, and if an Accomplice will discover so as to bring any others concerned to Justice shall be equally entitled to the reward and forgiven. Margin Notes: [...] | The steward's account, entered under 11 August, listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table during July 1766. 31 bottles of port wine, £2 6s 6d 33 bottles of Lisbon wine, £2 9s 0d 12 bottles of Mountain wine, £0 18s 0d 36 bottles of beer, £0 7s 6d 60 bottles of arrack, £3 7s 6d 117 lb of beef, £2 3s 9d 126 lb of mutton, £2 12s 6d 2 lambs, £1 0s 0d 2 kids, £0 10s 0d 9 fowls, £0 13s 6d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 93 lb of sugar candy, £1 7s 3d 40 lb of butter, £2 0s 0d 274 lb of flour, £2 17s 9d Total, £23 3s 8d Interpretations Lisbon was a white wine shipped from Portugal, and Mountain a sweet wine from the hills behind Malaga in Spain. Both were cheap, sturdy wines that survived long voyages, and they stood beside port as the ordinary drink of an English table abroad. Arrack was the eastern spirit that came to the island by the leaguer from Batavia, bottled for the table and drunk mostly as punch. Sugar candy was sugar crystallised in large lumps, the usual form in which it travelled from the east, and it sweetened both the punch and the tea. The Company's table was the common dining table kept at the Castle at public expense, at which the Governor entertained and at which visiting commanders and passengers were received. July brought the Grosvenor, the Tilbury, the Clive, the Pacifick and the Hardwicke to the road, together with Danish and Dutch ships and passengers of the rank of General Lawrence. The 60 bottles of arrack and 76 of wine reflect that hospitality. Drink came to more than £9 of the £23 3s 8d spent, well over a third of the whole. The officers who drew diet money in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766 were paid cash in place of meals at this table. The steward's account therefore covered only those who still dined there and their guests, which explains how one month's fare for the island's government cost less than a single quarter's diet money for the Lieutenant Governor. The Council ordered a notice to be published, dated at St Helena on 11 August 1766. A coil of light rope belonging to the Company was stolen on the previous Friday from the wooden house on the Line. The notice offered a reward of £0 5s 0d to anyone on the island who identified the thief or thieves. An accomplice who informed, so that the others involved were brought to justice, would receive the same reward and a pardon. Interpretations The Line was the fortified wall and battery drawn across the mouth of the valley at the landing place, behind which the town lay. The wooden house on it served as a store for boat gear and tackle close to the water. Rope was among the naval stores that the island could obtain only from England, and a coil of it could be sold quietly to any ship in the road, so even a small theft from that store touched the Company's ability to keep its boats working. The offer to accomplices was the working part of the notice. A theft from a guarded store beside the landing place was probably the act of more than one person, and probably of men with reason to be there, such as soldiers, boatmen or slaves. No witness outside the group was to be expected. By promising pardon as well as money to whichever of them spoke first, the Council gave each thief a reason to distrust the others, which was the only means of detection open to a government with no police. Publishing the notice also told any buyer that the rope was known to be stolen. | |
137 | 1766 Notice is hereby likewise given to all the Planters upon the said Island, that they are hereby Ordered to attend the Govr. and Council on Monday next by ten o'Clock in the morning Per order of Council (signed) M Bazett Secy The Lieut. Governor representing to Us that Daniel Tongue the Honble Compys. Overseer, was a very improper Person for that employ, being greatly addicted to Liquor, and having detected him in defrauding the Slaves of part of their allowance of Rice, and Arrack given them for drams; and having examined the said Tongue, this day before Us relative to the above said Charge, found him guilty thereof. We therefore dismissed him from that employ, and Ordered him to return again to the Garrison to serve the remainder of his Contracted time, allowing the time he served as Overseer in the five Years, and have appointed John Shirrate Overseer in his stead, at the Usual Salary. The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores, received from Ship Hardwicke vizt. Account of Stores, received from Ship Hardwicke vizt. 44. 2. 11. Rice 43. 2. 23 Paddy St. Helena 11th. August 1766 (signed) James Powell John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The notice also ordered every planter on the island to appear before Governor Skottowe and the Council at ten in the morning on the following Monday. Matthew Bazett signed it as secretary, by order of the Council. Interpretations The signature supplied the post left unidentified against Matthew Bazett in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766, where he drew £35 0s 0d. He was the Council's secretary, the officer who kept its minutes and issued its orders in his own name. A general summons of the planters was an act of command and not an invitation. The landholders held their ground from the Company and owed it obedience as well as rent, so the Council could call them all in on a fixed day without stating a reason. The notice gave none. It was published together with the offer of a reward for the stolen rope, though nothing on the page tied the two together. The Lieutenant Governor reported to the Council that Daniel Tongue, the Company's overseer, was unfit for his post. Tongue drank heavily, and the Lieutenant Governor caught him cheating the slaves of part of their rice and of the arrack issued to them as a daily dram. The Council questioned Tongue on the charge the same day and found him guilty. He lost the post and was sent back to the garrison to serve out the term for which he enlisted. His time as overseer was allowed to count towards those five years. John Shirrate was appointed overseer in his place at the usual salary. Interpretations Tongue was a soldier on a five-year engagement who held the overseer's post as an addition, for which the pay list gave him £15 0s 0d a quarter. The Council could have treated the fraud as a crime, or struck the overseer years from his service so that he began his term again. It did neither. Return to the ranks cost him the salary and the standing, while the clause counting his time as overseer kept the Company to its side of his contract. The offence was against the slaves' rations and not directly against the Company's cash, and a trained soldier was worth more in the garrison than in gaol. The bounties of up to £10 0s 0d paid for re-enlistment in the previous quarter show how much such a man was valued. The charge shows what the Company's slaves were entitled to receive. They drew a ration of rice and a measure of arrack as a dram, issued through the overseer. He handled both and kept the tally, so a dishonest overseer could skim a little from each issue with no one but the slaves to notice. Their complaint carried no weight alone, and the fraud came to light only because the Lieutenant Governor detected it himself. The hearing was brief. The accusation, the examination and the sentence all took place before the Council in one sitting, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as both accuser and judge. An overseer held his post at the Council's pleasure, and its removal needed no formal trial. The storekeeper handed in an account of the stores landed from the Hardwicke. Rice, 44 hundredweight 2 quarters 11 lb Paddy, 43 hundredweight 2 quarters 23 lb James Powell signed the account at St Helena on 11 August 1766. The Governor then signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations Powell weighed the grain in English hundredweights, although the Bombay invoice of 9 April 1766 stated it in Surat maunds for the rice and in morahs and parahs for the batty. Converting each cargo to the island's own weights on landing gave the store a figure it could issue against, and gave the Council a means of testing the invoice. The 135 maunds of rice invoiced came to roughly 45 hundredweight, so the 44 hundredweight 2 quarters 11 lb received fell only a little short. For the Clive, carrying an identical consignment, Powell reported a deficiency of over 5 hundredweight of paddy on 4 August. | |
138 | 18th. August At a Consultation held on Monday the 18th. Day of August 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Govr. Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling Captain Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read approved, and signed dated the 11 August 1766. Tuesday the 12th. Died Thomas Tuffnell Soldier Friday the 15th. Do. Martha Daughter of Matthew and Eleanor Bazett We this day Executed the renewal of a Lease to Mr. [...] Thomas Greentree a piece of Land containing seven Acres lying in the East Division of this Island, at Two Shillings P Acre. Counted and examined the Honble Companys Cash for the Month of July last, which is as follows vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 18 August 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 11 August 1766 were read, approved and signed. Thomas Tuffnell, a soldier, died on Tuesday 12 August. Martha, the daughter of Matthew and Eleanor Bazett, died on Friday 15 August. The Council sealed the renewal of a lease to Thomas Greentree. It covered seven acres of land in the East Division of the island at a rent of £0 2s 0d an acre. The Company's cash for July was then counted and examined, and a statement of it followed. Interpretations Land on the island belonged to the Company, and planters held it by lease for a term of years. A lease that ran out had to be renewed by a fresh deed under the Council's hand, which gave the government a regular occasion to confirm who held each plot and on what conditions. Greentree's rent of £0 2s 0d an acre brought in only £0 14s 0d a year for the seven acres. The sum was a token of the Company's ownership more than a source of income. The real return from the planters lay in the yams, potatoes and livestock they sold to the stores and to shipping. This was the Monday on which the notice of 11 August ordered all planters to appear before the Council at ten in the morning. The only business with a planter entered here was Greentree's renewal. The summons was perhaps connected with the leases, with each holder required to attend so that expired terms could be renewed and rents settled. Tuffnell was probably the Thomas Tuffnell who served as a private in the fourth company in the quarter to 30 June 1766. His death was the second among the soldiers recorded since that list closed, after John Chapman on 22 July. The child who died was the daughter of the Council's secretary, who signed the notice of 11 August in that capacity. | |
139 | Cash Dr. 1766 July 1st. To Balance remaining L 7220. 9. 10 1/2 4th. To Ship True Briton 7. 16. 11 7th. To Exchange for a Set of Bills drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors payable to Capt. Nathan. Tanner (or Order) 240 14th. To do. for 1 do. drawn as above & payable to Mrs. Helena Harrold 1578. 16 15th. To Ship Grosvenor 18. 13. 5 21st. To Exchange for a Set of Bills drawn upon the Honorable the Court of Directors, payable to to Captain James Van Brattam 1040 24th. To Ship Tilbury 102. 5. 2 L 10208. 1. 4 1/2 Per Contra Cr. 1766 July 31st. By Balance remaining In Specie 9668. 6. 4 1/2 In Cash notes of no use 539. 15 L 10208. 1. 4 1/2 | The Company's cash account for July 1766 set out the month's receipts on its debit side and the closing balance on its credit side. 1 July: balance remaining, £7,220 9s 10½d 4 July: received on account of the ship True Briton, £7 16s 11d 7 July: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Captain Nathaniel Tanner or his order, £240 0s 0d 14 July: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Mrs Helena Harrold, £1,578 16s 0d 15 July: received on account of the ship Grosvenor, £18 13s 5d 21 July: bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Captain Tunes Van Brattam, £1,040 0s 0d 24 July: received on account of the ship Tilbury, £102 5s 2d Total, £10,208 1s 4½d 31 July: balance remaining, in coin, £9,668 6s 4½d 31 July: balance remaining, in cash notes of no use, £539 15s 0d Total, £10,208 1s 4½d Interpretations Nothing was paid out of the treasury in July. The credit side held only the closing balance, because the paymaster was charged with his spending in a single entry when each quarter closed, as on 30 June 1766. The cash in hand therefore rose by almost £3,000 in the month, from £7,220 9s 10½d to £10,208 1s 4½d, and would fall again when the September quarter's wages and works were entered. Bills of exchange supplied nearly all of the increase. Three sets brought in £2,858 16s 0d, against £128 15s 6d received from ships. The deposit of £1,040 0s 0d by Van Brattam matched the Council's minute of his application, entered with the proceedings of 21 July. The largest sum came from Helena Harrold, who paid in £1,578 16s 0d. A woman remitting so much was probably a widow or heir sending an estate home, and the bill allowed her to move a fortune to London without trusting coin to the sea. The cash notes were now described as of no use. Their amount stood at £539 15s 0d, exactly as on 30 June. They were evidently paper that the treasury had taken in and no longer put back into circulation, so they sat in the chest as a dead item, counted to make the books balance but unavailable for any payment. The working reserve was the £9,668 6s 4½d in coin. The sums received from ships were small beside those of June, when the Ankerwyke, the Grenville and the Kent paid between £126 and £308 each. The Tilbury arrived on 9 July and settled £102 5s 2d two days before she sailed. The True Briton and the Grosvenor paid under £20 each, which suggests short stays and little taken from the stores. | |
140 | 18th. August As we find the duty of the Garrison rather hard upon the Soldiers, as many of them are employed at the Fortification, we this day assembled the Planters agreeable to the advertisement, published on Monday last; to know of them what number of Blacks they can spare, to expedite the Fortifications in lieu of a few Soldiers we are obliged to take from them for the duty of the Guards; and at the same time acquainted them that we should allow a shilling P Day for their Labour what the Soldiers are paid, with an indulgence of Drams the same as the Honble Company's Blacks, but their Feeding to be at their Masters expence; Upon which terms as it is for the General Benefit of the Island, they Agreed to altho it is Cheaper than what the Labour is when hired from each other, and promised to give in a return of the number of slaves they can possibly spare on Monday next. John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 25th. day of August 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was, read approved, and signed dated the 18th of August 1766. | The Council found on 18 August that garrison duty bore heavily on the soldiers, since so many of them were working on the fortifications. It therefore met the planters that day, as arranged by the notice published on 11 August. The planters were asked how many slaves they could spare to push the works forward, in place of a number of soldiers whom the Council needed to take back for guard duty. The Council offered £0 1s 0d a day for each slave's labour, the rate paid to soldiers, together with the same ration of drams given to the Company's own slaves. Feeding the slaves was to remain the owners' expense. The planters accepted these terms for the general good of the island, although the rate was lower than they charged when hiring labour to each other. They promised to report on the following Monday how many slaves they could release. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The entry explains the unexplained summons of 11 August. The planters were called in to supply labour, and the meeting was a negotiation in which the Council held most of the advantages. The garrison was doing two jobs at once. The paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 June 1766 charged 3,862 days of soldiers' labouring at Sandy Bay alone, besides hundreds more at the Castle and the main fort. Every man with a pick was a man absent from his post, and the remaining soldiers stood guard more often to cover the gap. The Council could have slowed the works or accepted thinner guards. It chose to keep both by drawing on the one other body of labour on the island, the slaves owned by the planters, and sending some soldiers back to their duty. The terms favoured the Company. It paid the owner £0 1s 0d a day, exactly what a soldier cost as a labourer, so the works became no dearer. The planter still fed his slave, and the Company added only the dram of arrack that its own slaves received. The planters themselves said that the rate was below what they charged one another. They agreed all the same, and the reason given was the public benefit. Their position left little room to refuse. They held their land by leases that the Council renewed, sold their yams and stock to its stores and relied on its garrison for protection, and the fortifications in question defended their own property. The money went to the master and not to the slave. The dram was the only part of the arrangement that reached the labourer himself. It was the same allowance of which Daniel Tongue was found on 11 August to have cheated the Company's slaves. The planters were given a week to state numbers. A written return from each owner let the Council see who offered how many, and held every planter to a figure he had named himself. The Council met at the Castle on Monday 25 August 1766. The Governor attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 18 August 1766 were read, approved and signed. | |
141 | 25th. August Ordered the following Advertizement to be Published vizt. Island St. Helena 25th. August 1766 This is to give Notice to all the Inhabitants upon the said Island, that they are hereby required to send into the Secretarys Office on or before the 28th. September next ensuing an exact signed Account of their Familys, Lands, and Cattle, and to attend at the Castle on Monday the 29th of the said Month to pay their Rents and Revenues due to the Honorable Company for the Year past. Notice is hereby further given that the Honorable Companys Stores will be shut from the 6th. of September to the 6th. of October next Per Order of Council (signed) Mw. Bazett, Secretary. The Inhabitants this day made a return of thirty slaves which they readily consented to spare, altho attended with inconveniency at this time. John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council ordered a notice to be published, dated at St Helena on 25 August 1766. Every inhabitant was required to send to the secretary's office, by 20 September, an exact signed account of the household, land and cattle. All were then to come to the Castle on Monday 29 September to pay the rents and other dues owed to the Company for the past year. The notice added that the Company's stores would be closed from 6 September to 6 October. Matthew Bazett signed it as secretary, by order of the Council. Interpretations The signed account was the island's yearly census and tax return in one document. Each householder declared the people under his roof, the acres he held and the stock he kept, and put his name to it. The Company's dues were reckoned on land and cattle, so the return fixed what each planter owed nine days before he came to pay. A signature made a false declaration the planter's own act, for which he could be held to answer. The secretary's office thus gathered, at no cost, a full record of the island's population, slaves included, and of its productive resources. Rent day fell on 29 September, Michaelmas, one of the four quarter days on which rents and accounts were settled in England. The island kept the English calendar of obligations although its seasons ran the other way, with late September falling in spring. The Company's own financial year closed at the same point, so the planters' payments came in as the books were made up. The closure of the stores for a month served the same annual reckoning. With nothing issued or sold between 6 September and 6 October, James Powell could count and weigh every article in his charge and strike a balance against his books. The store was the island's only shop for imported goods, taking £1,519 18s 8d in the quarter to 30 June 1766, so the inhabitants needed warning to buy what they required beforehand. The inhabitants reported that day that they could spare 30 slaves. They agreed readily, although giving up the labour was inconvenient to them at that time. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The return answered the Council's request of 18 August, when the planters undertook to state within a week how many slaves they could release for the fortifications at £0 1s 0d a day. Thirty labourers working six days a week would supply over 2,000 days in a quarter. That was more than half the 3,862 days of soldiers' labouring charged to the Sandy Bay works in the quarter to 30 June 1766. A similar number of soldiers could therefore go back to guard duty, which was the relief the Council wanted. The minute recorded both the planters' willingness and its cost to them. Late August was the close of the island's winter, when ground was being prepared and planted, and a planter who sent slaves to the works had fewer hands on his own land at a busy season. Noting the inconvenience acknowledged that the planters were doing the government a service and not merely selling labour. It also placed their compliance on record a month before they were due at the Castle to pay their rents. | |
142 | 1st. September At a Consultation held on Monday the 1st. day of Septembr. 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 25th. August 1766. Tuesday the 26 August. Died David Belford Soldier Thomas Townsend this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governr. &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of Thos. Townsend Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of disposing of his property in a Lease for a piece of ground lying in James's Valley, adjoining to the House of Joseph Chamberlain, and to accept of Jeremiah Smith as Tenant for the same. And your Petitioner will ever pray. &ca. Granted Mr. Matthew Purling this day applied | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 1 September 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 25 August 1766 were read, approved and signed. David Belford, a soldier, died on Tuesday 26 August. Thomas Townsend petitioned the Governor and Council that day. He held a lease of a plot of ground in James Valley, next to the house of Joseph Chamberlain, and wished to part with his interest in it. He asked the Council to accept Jeremiah Smith as tenant in his place. The Council granted the request. Interpretations Townsend could not simply sell his lease to Smith. The ground belonged to the Company, and a leaseholder who wished to pass his term to someone else needed the Council's leave to substitute the new tenant. The petition therefore asked for two things, permission to dispose of the lease and approval of the named successor. The rule kept the choice of tenants in the government's hands. In the town valley, close under the Castle and the Line, it also let the Council decide who lived beside the garrison's stores and works. Approval was given at once and without conditions, which suggests that such transfers were routine where the incoming tenant was known. Both the petitioner and his neighbour appeared in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. A Thomas Townsend was the stonemason at £19 10s 0d and a Joseph Chamberlain the carpenter's mate at £8 15s 0d. If these were the same men, the Company's skilled tradesmen held house plots side by side in the valley on lease, and their homes formed part of the working town around the Castle. Belford was probably the David Belford entered among the privates of the first company. His was the third soldier's death recorded since that list closed, after John Chapman on 22 July and Thomas Tuffnell on 12 August. | |
143 | 1766 to renew two Leases containing 10 1/2 Acres of Land lying in the East Division of this Island Granted John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 8th. Day of September 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council. The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 1 Septemr. 1766. Wednesday the 3d. Died Matthew Son of Mr. Matthew Bazett Secretary Friday the 5th. Do. Charles Son of Do. Do. Do. Arrived the Honble Company's Ship Adml. Watson from Bengall Do. Do. the Harcourts Boat at Banks's at nine o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honble Company's Ship Harcourt from Bombay. The Ships Admiral Watson and Harcourt brought Us the following Supplys vizt. | Matthew Purling applied on 1 September to renew two leases covering 10½ acres of land in the East Division of the island, and the Council granted the request. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Purling himself and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations Purling was one of the four men who made up the Council, and he signed the minutes that recorded the grant to himself. Nothing in the entry shows that he stood aside while his colleagues decided. Councillors were also landholders on the island, and the body that leased the Company's ground was made up of men who rented it. The same East Division held the seven acres renewed to Thomas Greentree on 18 August at £0 2s 0d an acre. If Purling paid the same rate, his 10½ acres cost him about a guinea a year, against the £62 10s 0d he drew each quarter in salary and allowances. The Council met at the Castle on Monday 8 September 1766. The Governor attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 1 September 1766 were read, approved and signed. Matthew, a son of the secretary Matthew Bazett, died on Wednesday 3 September. Charles, another of his sons, died on Friday 5 September. The Company's ship Admiral Watson arrived from Bengal that Friday. The boat of the Harcourt reached Banks's at nine the same morning, and the Company's ship Harcourt herself came in from Bombay later in the day. Both ships brought supplies for the island, and their invoices followed. Interpretations The secretary lost three children within three weeks. His daughter Martha died on 15 August, and his sons Matthew and Charles followed on 3 and 5 September. Deaths so close together in one household point to an infectious illness passing among the children. The diary recorded them in the same plain form as the deaths of soldiers, naming the father's office each time, and Bazett continued to sign the Council's public notices through the same weeks. Two more homeward ships arrived on one day, from Bengal and from Bombay. With the Clive and the Hardwicke from Bombay and the Pacifick from Madras in late July, all three of the Company's Indian presidencies now had sent provisions to the island within six weeks. The stores were due to close for the annual stocktaking from 6 September, so these cargoes reached the island just as the storekeeper began his count. | |
144 | 8th. September Invoice of Ship Admn. Watson Rice Fine 1 to 30 30 Bags qt. 60 Fy. Mds. @ 22 P P Md. 117. 12. 9 Sugar Fine 1 to 10 10 bags qt. 10 Fy. Mds. @ 7. 13 ARs. P Md. 156. 4 Paddy 1 to 15 75 bags qt. 22. 20 Fy. Mds. @ 1. 5 P Ct. 20 Wax Candles 1 to 4 4 Chests qt. 3 Fy. Mds. @ 62 ARs. P [...] 584 Batavia Arrack 1 to 2 2 Leaguers @ 130 ARs. P 230. 12. 9 1118. 13. 6 Charges Merchandize 35 Gunny bags 9. 9 2 1/2 Twine and packing 8. 6 4 Chests 14. 6. 9 10 Matts Weighing 3. 2. 6 Mootias 5. 15. 9 Peon and Dust 3. 10. 3 Boat hire 4. 5. 3 Sloop hire 34. 10. 6 76. 4. 6 Current Rupees 1195. 2 Errors Excepted (Signed) Richd. Wilks [...] Accomptt. Margin Notes: [...] | The invoice of the Admiral Watson, entered under 8 September, listed the provisions and stores shipped to the island from Bengal, with each lot identified by the numbers marked on its packages. Fine rice, bags numbered 1 to 30: 30 bags holding 60 maunds at [...] a maund, 117 rupees 12 annas 9 pies Fine sugar, bags numbered 1 to 10: 10 bags holding 20 maunds at 7 rupees 13 annas 0 pies a maund, 156 rupees 4 annas 0 pies Paddy, bags numbered 1 to 15: 15 bags holding 22 maunds 20 seers at [...] a maund, 20 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Wax candles, chests numbered 1 to 4: 4 chests holding 3 maunds at [...] a maund, 554 rupees 0 annas 0 pies Batavia arrack, casks numbered 1 and 2: 2 leaguers at 130 Arcot rupees a leaguer, 280 rupees 12 annas 9 pies Goods, total, 1,118 rupees 13 annas 6 pies Charges: 55 gunny bags, 9 rupees 9 annas 0 pies Charges: 2½ seers of twine and packing, 0 rupees 8 annas 6 pies Charges: 4 chests, 14 rupees 6 annas 9 pies Charges: 10 mats and weighing, 3 rupees 2 annas 6 pies Charges: mootsas, 5 rupees 15 annas 9 pies Charges: [...] and duty, 3 rupees 10 annas 3 pies Charges: boat hire, 4 rupees 5 annas 3 pies Charges: sloop hire, 34 rupees 10 annas 6 pies Charges, total, 76 rupees 4 annas 6 pies Total in current rupees, 1,195 rupees 2 annas 0 pies Richard Wilks signed the invoice as accountant, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations Wax candles were made from beeswax and burned cleaner and brighter than the tallow candles of ordinary use, without smoke or smell. They were a luxury, kept for the Governor's table, the church and the houses of senior officers. The four chests cost about half the value of the whole consignment, far more than the rice, sugar and paddy combined. Bengal sugar was a soft pale sugar made from cane in the lower Ganges country and was cheaper than any that reached the island by way of England. The Bengal maund was a weight of about 80 lb, divided into 40 seers, and so roughly twice the Surat maund used on the Bombay invoices of 9 April 1766. Bengal accounts were kept in current rupees, a unit of reckoning to which the various coined rupees were converted at fixed rates. The arrack was priced in Arcot rupees, the coin of the Madras coast through which the Batavia spirit was bought, and then turned into the current rupees of the total. Each rupee was divided into 16 annas and each anna into 12 pies. Sloop hire was the largest charge, at over 34 rupees. The Company's large ships could not come up the river to Calcutta and lay at an anchorage far downstream. Cargo went down to them in sloops, and the cost of that river passage fell on the goods. Boats, bags, chests and mats made up most of the rest. The mats were laid between the cargo and the ship's timbers to keep it dry. The entry for mootsas named a packing or handling expense whose nature the invoice did not explain. Each presidency sent what its region produced cheaply. Bombay supplied rice, batty and coarse blue cloth, Madras sent fine long cloth, and Bengal added sugar and wax candles. All three shipped rice or paddy, though only in parcels of 15 to 30 bags, and Madras and Bengal each forwarded two leaguers of arrack bought from the Dutch at Batavia. | |
145 | 1766 Invoice of Ship Harcourt Rice beaten for 22 Bags contg. 150 Sr. Maunds [...] 20 Bags each contg. 6 3/4 Surat Mds. 135 2 Do. 7 1/2 15 150 Sr. Maunds at 2. 66 Rs. P Md. 249. 3 Batty 32 Bags each 3 P [...] is 3. 2. 1 @ 19. 1 P Do. 73. 3. 63 Charges on Merchandize Gunny Recd. &ca for the Rice 25. 1 Do. for the Batty 8 Lascars Sewing the bags 4. 3 Hamal. of carrying the Rice and Batty 2. 60 Boat hire 2. 2 42. 2. 60 Rupees 366. 1. 28 Errors Excepted (signed) Thoms. Stedman 1 Asst. to the Accomt. On Monday the 1st. Instant the Governors Fishing Boat was Overset off Barn point with three of the Company's Slaves, Avon, Chesterfield, and Jerry, and a Slave belonging to James Torbett Cooper by which Accident Chesterfield was drowned and the Boat Staved to pieces, Jerry was washed on shore and found two days afterwards by the people belonging to Mr. Purling's Boat who at the Hazard of their Lives took him off the Rock and brought him home for which we have given them a reward of eight Dollars to be divided among them, And have purchased another Boat, for which we paid five pounds ten Shillings. | The invoice of the Harcourt for 1766 listed the grain shipped to the island from Bombay. Husked rice, 20 bags each holding 6¾ Surat maunds, 135 Surat maunds Husked rice, 2 bags each holding 7½ Surat maunds, 15 Surat maunds Husked rice, 22 bags holding 150 Surat maunds at 1 rupee 2 quarters 66 reas a maund, 249 rupees 3 quarters 0 reas Batty, 32 bags holding 3 morahs 21 parahs at 19 rupees 1 quarter 0 reas a morah, 73 rupees 3 quarters 62 reas Charges: gunny cloth and other packing for the rice, 25 rupees 1 quarter 0 reas Charges: gunny cloth and other packing for the batty, 8 rupees 0 quarters 0 reas Charges: lascars sewing the bags, 4 rupees 3 quarters 0 reas Charges: porterage of the rice and batty, 2 rupees 0 quarters 60 reas Charges: boat hire, 2 rupees 2 quarters 0 reas Charges, total, 42 rupees 2 quarters 60 reas Total, 366 rupees 1 quarter 22 reas Samuel Stedman signed the invoice as first assistant to the accountant, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations The rice was described as beaten, meaning that the husk was pounded off before shipment and the grain arrived ready to cook. Batty in the same invoice was the unhusked form. The price and quantities repeated those sent by the Clive and the Hardwicke under the invoices of 9 April 1766: rice at 1 rupee 2 quarters 66 reas a maund and 32 bags of batty at 73 rupees 3 quarters 62 reas. Bombay was evidently sending the island a standing allotment by each homeward ship, raised here from 135 to 150 maunds of rice, and without the bale of blue cloth that the two earlier ships carried. Governor Skottowe's fishing boat capsized off Barn Point on Monday 1 September. It carried three of the Company's slaves, Aron, Chesterfield and Jerry, and a slave belonging to the cooper James Forbett. Chesterfield drowned and the boat was smashed to pieces. Jerry was washed ashore on a rock, where the crew of Matthew Purling's boat found him two days later. They risked their lives to take him off and brought him home. The Council rewarded them with eight dollars to share among themselves, and bought a replacement boat for £4 10s 0d. Interpretations The Governor kept a fishing boat manned by the Company's slaves, and its loss was made good from public money. Fresh fish for his household and table was thus a recognised perquisite of the office, supplied by labour and equipment that the Company owned. A fourth hand came from the household of the cooper, who drew £8 15s 0d a quarter in the pay list to 30 June 1766. The crew was evidently made up as men could be found, with a private owner lending or hiring his slave to the boat. Barn Point lay on the exposed north-eastern coast below the great cliff called the Barn, where the swell broke on rocks with no landing place. Jerry survived two days there before another fishing boat saw him. Taking a man off such a rock in the surf endangered the rescuers' own boat and lives, and the Council acknowledged that in the wording of its minute. The reward was paid in dollars, the Spanish silver coin that circulated across the eastern trade and on the island beside English money, each worth about five shillings. Eight dollars came to roughly £2 0s 0d, close to half the cost of the new boat. The rescuers were described only as the people of Purling's boat and were probably slaves themselves. A cash reward to such men, to be divided among them, was unusual, since money for a slave's work ordinarily went to the owner, as with the £0 1s 0d a day agreed with the planters on 18 August. The minute accounted for two of the four men. It recorded Chesterfield's death and Jerry's rescue but did not state what became of Aron or of Forbett's slave. | |
146 | 8th. September The Gunners, and Stewards Accounts for the Month of August last, were this day brought in, which were examined and approved, and are as follow vizt. Artillery Stores expended in August 1766 Guns Fired, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, Powder Expended 5th. Saluted Genl. Lawrence going on board with: Guns Fired 17, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 17, Powder Expended 17 Sailed the Clive, Hardwick, and Pacific: Guns Fired 27, 4 lb 9, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 15, Powder Expended 35. 8 Powder for blowing for the Fortifications: Guns Fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 200 Do. for Sundry Uses: Guns Fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expended 15. 9 Total: Guns Fired 44, 4 lb 9, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 32, Powder Expended 268. 1 Handspikes as per dee at the Fortifications &c. 56 Spunge Staves for Governors use &ca. 7 Rammer Heads for a 9 lb. 1 Match Expended 6 lb Kitt Do. 1 1/2 lb Lead Balls to Shoot Goats 3 Oz Cartridge Paper 3 Quires Tallow for the Cart Long Boat &ca. 9 lb (signed) A. Mitchel Sundrys Expended at the Honble Companys Table in August 1766 14 Bottles Port Wine L 1. 1 21 Lisbon 1. 11 10 Mountain 15 20 Beer 4. 2 Carried over L 3. 11. 2 Margin Notes: [...] | The gunner's and steward's accounts for August were brought in on 8 September, examined and approved. The first recorded the artillery stores used in August 1766, with the guns fired sorted under columns headed only by the figures 4, 3 and 2. 5 August: salute to General Lawrence on going aboard, 17 guns fired, all under the column headed 2, 17 lb of powder used 5 August: departure of the Clive, the Hardwicke and the Pacifick, 27 guns fired, 9 under the column headed 4, 3 under the column headed 3 and 15 under the column headed 2, 35 lb 8 oz of powder used Powder for blasting at the fortifications, 200 lb Powder for various uses, 15 lb 9 oz Total: 44 guns fired Total: 9 guns under the column headed 4 Total: 3 guns under the column headed 3 Total: 32 guns under the column headed 2 Total: 268 lb 1 oz of powder used Handspikes used at the fortifications and elsewhere, 56 Sponge staves for the Governor's use and other purposes, 7 Rammer heads for a 9-pounder gun, 1 Match used, 6 lb Kit used, 1½ lb Lead balls for shooting goats, 3 oz Cartridge paper, 3 quires Tallow for the cart, the longboat and other uses, 9 lb A. Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations Powder for the fortifications dwarfed everything fired from the guns. Blasting took 200 lb in the month, against 52 lb 8 oz for salutes. In July the artillery burned 233 lb, almost all of it in alarms and salutes for the eleven arrivals and departures of that month. August saw only the three ships leave together on 5 August, so ceremonial firing fell to a quarter of its July level while the total rose. The rock blasting at Sandy Bay, charged at nearly 400 days' work in the quarter to 30 June 1766, was now the main consumer of the island's powder. A handspike was a stout wooden lever used to shift and train a gun on its carriage. On the works it served equally for prising and moving blocks of stone, and 56 were used up there, which shows the gunner's store supplying the building gangs with tools. A sponge staff carried the wet sponge that cleaned a gun's bore between rounds, and a rammer head was the wooden block that drove the charge home. Kit was a gunner's compound of pitch, resin and tallow, used to coat match and to waterproof stores. The lead balls issued for shooting goats point to a small routine of the garrison. Goats ran wild on the island's cliffs and commons and destroyed young trees and pasture, and they were shot both as a nuisance and for meat. The entry was tiny, yet the gunner still accounted for it by weight. General Lawrence received 17 guns on embarking, the same number given on 28 July when he landed. The three ships together were sent off with 27 guns, nine for each, the standard salute for a Company ship. The steward's account listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table in August 1766. 14 bottles of port wine, £1 1s 0d 21 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 11s 0d 10 bottles of Mountain wine, £0 15s 0d 20 bottles of beer, £0 4s 2d Carried over, £3 11s 2d Interpretations Consumption fell sharply once the ships were gone. July's table used 31 bottles of port, 33 of Lisbon, 12 of Mountain and 36 of beer. In August the port and beer were roughly halved, and the Lisbon was cut by a third. The fleet and its passengers left on 5 August and no further ship arrived until 5 September. The Company's table existed largely to entertain visitors, and its costs moved with the shipping in the road. | |
147 | 1766 Brought over L 3. 11. 2 62 Bottles Arrack 3. 17. 6 93 lb Candy 1. 11 62 Butter 3. 2 12 Fowles 18 138 lb Beef 2. 17. 6 269 Mutton 5. 12 280 Flower 3. 2. 6 L 24. 17. 11 Appointed Mr. Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick to inspect and take the Remains of the Honorable Company's Stores for the present Year as usual It appearing to Us to be very necessary for to Order the Surgeon, or his Mate, for to go once a Week, to Visit the People employed at the Fortification at Sandy Bay, and as it has been always customary for the Surgeon to have a Horse belonging to the Honorable Company, whenever he went to see any of their Slaves in the Country, and the Governor having but two of their Horses for his own Use, We for these reasons agreed to purchase one, and paid Nine Pounds for it John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The steward's account of the Company's table for August 1766 continued with the spirits and provisions and was then totalled. Balance brought over, £3 11s 2d 62 bottles of arrack, £3 17s 6d 93 lb of sugar candy, £1 11s 0d 62 lb of butter, £3 2s 0d 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 138 lb of beef, £2 17s 6d 269 lb of mutton, £5 12s 0d 280 lb of flour, £3 2s 6d Total, £24 17s 11d Interpretations The table cost slightly more in August than the £23 3s 8d of July, although the wine and beer fell by about half once the ships sailed on 5 August. Arrack held steady at 62 bottles against 60, and mutton more than doubled from 126 lb to 269 lb. Wine was evidently brought out for visiting commanders and passengers, while arrack punch and plain meat were the daily fare of the island's own officers who dined there. The lambs, kids and turkey served in July did not appear, and their place was taken by ordinary mutton and beef at about five pence a pound. The Council appointed Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick to inspect the Company's stores and take the yearly count of what remained in them, as was customary. Interpretations The count was the purpose for which the stores were closed from 6 September to 6 October by the notice of 25 August. James Powell did not check his own stock. Two councillors, one of them the accountant, went through the warehouses and recorded what they found, and that figure was set against the balance his books said should be there. Any difference fell on the storekeeper. The procedure was the Company's standing safeguard over the officer who handled the most goods and took the most money on the island. The Council judged it necessary for the surgeon or his mate to visit the men working on the fortification at Sandy Bay once a week. The surgeon was by long custom provided with one of the Company's horses whenever he went to attend its slaves in the country. Governor Skottowe had only two of the Company's horses for his own use. The Council therefore agreed to buy a horse for the purpose and paid £9 0s 0d for it. The Governor signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The obvious course was to lend the surgeon a horse already in the Company's stable, as custom allowed for his visits to the slaves. The minute explained why that was not done. Only two such horses were available and both were kept for the Governor, so a weekly journey to the far side of the island would have taken one of them from him for a day in every seven. The Council chose to spend £9 0s 0d, close to the surgeon's whole quarterly salary of £9 15s 0d, to avoid that. The Governor's convenience was thus protected at public cost, and the reasoning was written down to justify the purchase to the Court of Directors. The order shows the scale and distance of the Sandy Bay works. Men were lodged there for weeks, with their own bread baked on the site, and the 30 slaves offered by the planters on 25 August were about to join them. Blasting and quarrying produced injuries, and a labour force camped on an exposed southern shore in early spring was open to sickness. A regular visit kept men at work who would otherwise be carried back to the town, or left untreated. The surgeon's customary horse was provided for attending the Company's slaves, not its soldiers or servants. The Company treated the health of its slaves in the country as a charge on itself, since they were its property and their labour was lost when they fell ill. | |
148 | 15th. September At a Consultation held on Monday the 15th Day of September, 1766 at the Castle, Present John Skottowe Esqr. Govr. Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Counl. The last Consultation was read, approved and signed dated the 8 Sept. 1766 Friday the 12th Died Elizabeth Daughter of Mrs. Mary Beale Counted and Examined the Honble Company's Cash for the Month of August last, which is as follows vizt. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 15 September 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 8 September 1766 were read, approved and signed. Elizabeth, the daughter of Mrs Mary Beale, died on Friday 12 September. The Company's cash for August was then counted and examined, and a statement of it followed. Interpretations Elizabeth Beale was the fourth child whose death the diary recorded within a month. Martha Bazett died on 15 August, and her brothers Matthew and Charles on 3 and 5 September. Losses in two households over so short a span suggest a sickness spreading among the children of the town in the early spring, though the minutes named no cause. The child was described through her mother alone, where the Bazett children were entered under their father's name and office. Mary Beale was therefore probably a widow or a woman heading her own household. She shared a surname with Richard Beale, the judge advocate, schoolmaster and captain of the third company, but the entry stated no connection. | |
149 | Cash Dr. 1766 Augt. 1 To Balance remaining L 10208. 1. 4 1/2 3 To Ship Clive 10. 9. 8 To Ship Pacifick 34. 9. 3 4th To Ship Hardwicke 186. 17. 6 L 10439. 17. 9 1/2 Per Contra Cr. 1766 Aug 31st. By Balance remaing. vizt. In Specie 9900. 2. 9 1/2 In Cash notes of no Use 539. 15 L 10439. 17. 9 1/2 John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Company's cash account for August 1766 set out the month's receipts on its debit side and the closing balance on its credit side. 1 August: balance remaining, £10,208 1s 4½d 3 August: received on account of the ship Clive, £10 9s 8d 3 August: received on account of the ship Pacifick, £34 9s 3d 4 August: received on account of the ship Hardwicke, £186 17s 6d Total, £10,439 17s 9½d 31 August: balance remaining, in coin, £9,900 2s 9½d 31 August: balance remaining, in cash notes of no use, £539 15s 0d Total, £10,439 17s 9½d Governor Skottowe signed the account with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The three ships settled their accounts on the last two days before they sailed together on 5 August. The Hardwicke paid £186 17s 6d after only five days in the road, far more than the Clive at £10 9s 8d after twelve days or the Pacifick at £34 9s 3d after nine. The sums therefore did not follow the length of a ship's stay. They reflected what each commander took from the Company's stores, and the Hardwicke evidently drew heavily on them for the voyage home. No bill of exchange was drawn in August. In June and July bills brought in £1,079 2s 0d and £2,858 16s 0d, paid by ships' captains and private persons wishing to send money to London. With the fleet gone and no vessel arriving until 5 September, there was no one on the island with coin to remit. The treasury's income for the month was only the £231 16s 5d received from the three ships. The coin in hand reached £9,900 2s 9½d, with the unusable cash notes unchanged at £539 15s 0d. Nothing was paid out during the month, as in July, because the quarter's wages and works were charged in one sum when the paymaster's account closed on 30 September. | |
150 | 22d September At a Consultation held on Monday the 22d. Day of September 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Dan Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Counl. The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed Dated the 15th Septr. 1766. Mr. Matthew Purling Reports that he has been on board the Ships Harcourt and Admiral Watson to Muster their Companys and enquire for deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follows vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Harcourt Collo. Wood Roddam Comr. John Stephens 1 mate Chas. Polley 2 Do. Edwd. Rodropp 3 Geo. Owen 4. John Halsell 5 John Stwt. Hay Surgn. Saml. Browne Purser Thos. Rankin Boatn. John Bampton Carpenr. John White Gunnr. Fran: Goudy Midshn. Chas. Stewart Do. Edmd. Finch Surg. mate Abrm. Abut Quar. master John Driskal Do. John Lowe Do. Chas. Usher Midshipn. Lawr. Tapsily Boat. mte Martin Sudhope Do. Jos. Anderson Carpr. 1 mate John Saunders Do. 2 Do. Geo. Nicholson Caulker Robt. Devant Do. mate Jas. Wilson Ships Stewd. Thos. Miller Cooper. Saml. Savy Butchr. Robt. Gibson Sail makr. Thos. Hutchinson Armour. Wm. Sutton Capts. Stewd. Richd. Cassell Cook Fras. Billingsley Capts Servt Richd. Goodall Do. Jas. Woolcot 1 mates Do. Thos. Partridge Surg. Sert. Robt. Rankin Boat Do. Thos. Bampton Carp do. John Garen Seamn. Mark Fenze Thos. Lees Andw. Douglas Saml. Lessley Willm. Gray Thos. Coggan Geo. Hall Gilbert Man John Cross Jas. Bran, Jas. Campsie Edwd. Perry Benj. Mc. Donald | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 22 September 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 15 September 1766 were read, approved and signed. Purling reported that he went on board the ships Harcourt and Admiral Watson to muster their crews and ask after deserters, and that he found none. Their muster rolls followed, beginning with that of the Harcourt. Collingwood Roddam, commander John Stephens, first mate Charles Halley, second mate Edward Wedroffe, third mate George Owen, fourth mate John Russell, fifth mate John Alexander Hay, surgeon Samuel Browne, purser Thomas Rankin, boatswain John Bampton, carpenter John White, gunner Francis Goudy, midshipman Charles Stewart, midshipman Edward Finch, surgeon's mate Abraham Abert, quartermaster John Driskat, quartermaster John Love, quartermaster Charles Usher, midshipman Samuel Tapsily, boatswain's mate Austin Sudthorpe, boatswain's mate Joseph Anderson, carpenter's first mate John Saunders, carpenter's second mate George Nicholson, caulker Robert Devant, caulker's mate Joseph Hodson, ship's steward Thomas Miller, cooper Samuel Navy, butcher Robert Gibson, sailmaker Thomas Hutchinson, armourer William Tritton, captain's steward Richard Cassell, cook Francis Billingsley, captain's servant Richard Goodall, captain's servant James Woolcot, first mate's servant Thomas Partridge, surgeon's servant Egbert Rankin, boatswain's servant Thomas Bampton, carpenter's servant John Farren, seaman Mark Fonze, seaman Thomas Lees, seaman Andrew Douglas, seaman Samuel Lessley, seaman William Gray, seaman Thomas Coggan, seaman George Hall, seaman Gilbert Man, seaman John Crop, seaman James Bran, seaman James Campsie, seaman Edward Perry, seaman Benjamin McDonald, seaman Interpretations Two of the servants shared a surname with the officer they served. Egbert Rankin was servant to the boatswain Thomas Rankin, and Thomas Bampton to the carpenter John Bampton. A warrant officer's allowance of a servant was commonly filled by his own son or young relative. The boy learned his father's trade at sea, and his wages stayed in the family. The roll thus shows the servant's berth working as an apprenticeship and as a perquisite at once, as on the Tilbury, the Clive and the Pacifick. The Harcourt and the Admiral Watson arrived on 5 September, and Purling's muster was reported 17 days later. For the three ships of late July the check came within days of arrival and just before they sailed. The longer interval here suggests that these two vessels were making a longer stay, and that the muster was again timed to fall close to their departure, when a deserter from the garrison would try to get aboard. | |
151 | 1766 Willm. Kinghorn Seamn. Willm. Trathnet Do. John Christy Jos. Grayham John Wharrie Richd. White Henry Patrick John Walden Willm. Mackrell Willm. Christy Peter Angus Jams. Stickleberry John Dacker John Barnen Jams. Weir Seamn. Edwd. Rogers Heny. Butcher Isaac Storn David Jenkins Martin Wyatt Chrisr. Kitchen, Willm. Gibson Robt. Atchinson John Booth Jas. Barrett Richd. Rustall Jas. Menss Willm. Stilton Seam. Willm. Jobson Thos. Tilball Jno. Harrison John Collingwood Willm. Tomkins Jas. Teal Willm. Collier Willm. Peterson John Coggan Chas. Coggan Thos. Scott Jas. Thompson (signed) Collo. Wood Roddam Muster Roll of Ship Admiral Watson Willm. Money Commr. Jno. Robinson 1st. Mate Robt. Watson 2 Richd. Parks 3 Douglas M. Murdo 4 Robt. Wigram Surgn. Edwd. Macpherson Pursr. Rowley Theed Surg. mte Heny. Saunders Boatn. Andw. Christie Gunnr. Jno. Jeffreys Carpenter Jos. Thornton S. Stewd. Fran. Grimontier Midsn. John Zealand Midn. Thos. Geo. Fra. Do. Pet. Likey Jos. Dodge Stewd. John Simson Armr. Jno. Hill Cooper Geo. Green Sail maker Alexr. Pence Ships Cook Jos. Warren Butchr. James Rawlins Bo. mate Jno. Johnson Carp. Do. Will Corbett Gunn. Do. Will Crawford Capt. Stewd. Peter Chapman Do. Do. Domc. DeCruz Do. Barn. Cantoffle 1 mte Serv. John Neal Quar. mastr. Andw. Knowles Do. Eng. Allison Do. Thos. Williams Quartr. mastr. Saml. Haley Seamen James Morrison Fran. Joyce Jno. Saunderson Willm. Martin Joseph Hitch Willm. Frazer Benjn. Faughton Francs. Black Fran. Benj. Hengez Andw. Horne Saml. Eccleston John Edmunds Will Bannister Anth Clake | The muster roll of the Harcourt for 1766 ended with her remaining seamen. William Kinghorn, seaman William Trathent, seaman John Christy, seaman Joseph Grayham, seaman John Wharrie, seaman Richard White, seaman Henry Patrick, seaman John Walden, seaman William Mackrell, seaman William Christy, seaman Peter Angus, seaman James Mickleburg, seaman John Barker, seaman John Barren, seaman James Wier, seaman Edward Rogers, seaman Henry Butcher, seaman Isaac Horn, seaman David Jenkins, seaman Martin Wyatt, seaman Christopher Kitchen, seaman William Gibson, seaman Robert Atchinson, seaman John Booth, seaman James Barrett, seaman Richard Pustall, seaman James Mency, seaman William Shelton, seaman William Jobson, seaman Thomas Tibbalt, seaman John Harrison, seaman John Collingwood, seaman William Tomkins, seaman James Teal, seaman William Collier, seaman William Peterson, seaman John Coggan, seaman Charles Coggan, seaman Thomas Scott, seaman James Thompson, seaman Collingwood Roddam signed the roll as commander. The muster roll of the Admiral Watson named her officers, tradesmen, servants and the first of her seamen. William Money, commander John Robinson, first mate Robert Watson, second mate Richard Parks, third mate Douglas A. Monro, fourth mate Robert Wigram, surgeon Edward Macpherson, purser Rowley Kent, surgeon's mate Henry Saunders, boatswain Andrew Christie, gunner John Jeffreys, carpenter Joseph Thornton, ship's steward Francis Trimmer, midshipman and coxswain John Jeeland, midshipman Thomas George Fox, midshipman Peter Lekey, midshipman Joseph Dodge, steward John Simson, armourer John Hill, cooper George Green, sailmaker Alexander Pence, ship's cook Joseph Warren, butcher James Rawlins, boatswain's mate John Johnson, carpenter's mate William Corbett, gunner's mate William Crawford, captain's steward Peter Chapman, captain's servant Dominic Delgrey, captain's servant Barnaby Cantaffle, first mate's servant John Neal, quartermaster Andrew Knowles, quartermaster George Ellison, quartermaster Thomas Williams, quartermaster Samuel Haley, seaman James Morrison, seaman Francis Joyce, seaman John Saunderson, seaman William Martin, seaman Joseph Hitch, seaman William Frazer, seaman Benjamin Troughton, seaman Francis Black, seaman Francis Benjamin Herzog, seaman Andrew Horne, seaman Samuel Eccleston, seaman John Edmunds, seaman William Bannister, seaman Arthur Fluke, seaman | |
152 | 22d September Peter Constantia Seamen Thos. Hughes Jas. Smetham Chas. Furguson Willm. Davidson Herman Smith Willm. Block John Oversholom John Easterwickes Benjn. Wilkins Will Little John Barber Jos. Hickman Sean. Richd. Harris Hossein Lascars Ingeley Ally Cogeroy Sebr. Cogeroy Buddoo Sekh Fatamaganed Tuck. Mahomed Cossob Mo. Mudwalter Mongal Francis Domingo Anthony Cossin Pullowaw Meran Samoud Sekh. Mahmoud Tuckahola Passengers Mr. Masendies Mr. Hudson Mr. Lander Capt. Willson Mr. Hearn Mr. Bird Invalids John Blunt Willm. Ford Miss Gardner Miss Holdcraft (Signed) Wm. Money The Storekeeper this Day delivered the following Account of Stores short received from the Ships Harcourt and Admiral Watson vizt. Account of Stores short recd. from the following Ships vizt. Ship Harcourt 2. 18 Rice Sht. weigt. 4. 2. 9 Paddy do. Ship Admiral Watson 2. 1. 2 Sugar 2. 25 Paddy 4 Candy 1 Leagr. Arrack Short Do. (Signed) James Powell Storek. | The muster roll of the Admiral Watson, continued under 22 September, ended with her remaining seamen, her lascars and her passengers. Peter Constantia, seaman Thomas Hughes, seaman James Smetham, seaman Charles Furguson, seaman William Davidson, seaman Herman Smith, seaman William Black, seaman John Oversholm, seaman John Easterwicke, seaman Benjamin Wilkins, seaman William Little, seaman John Barber, seaman Joseph Hickman, seaman Richard Harris, seaman Hossen, lascar Ingeley, lascar Ally, lascar Cogeroy, lascar Peter Cogeroy, lascar Buddoo, lascar Sekh Fakamuhamed, lascar Tuck Mahomed, lascar Cossob, lascar Mo. Mudwalter, lascar Mongal, lascar Francis, lascar Domingo, lascar Anthony, lascar Cossim, lascar Pullowan, lascar Meeran, lascar Samoud, lascar Dulh Samoud, lascar Fackahola, lascar Mr Majendie, passenger Mr Hudson, passenger Mr Lawder, passenger Captain Willson, passenger Mr Hearn, passenger Mr Bird, passenger John Blunt, passenger, invalid William Ford, passenger, invalid Miss Gardner, passenger Miss Holdcraft, passenger William Money signed the roll as commander. Interpretations Twenty of the crew were lascars, Indian seamen engaged in Bengal. They made up well over a quarter of the men before the mast. A ship that spent months in the Ganges lost many of her European sailors to fever, and the commander filled the gaps with local hands for the voyage home. The roll set them apart under their own heading and gave most of them a single name. Several bore Muslim names such as Hossen, Ally, Cossim and Mahomed, while Francis, Domingo and Anthony were probably Christians of Portuguese descent from the same ports. The Pacifick from Madras carried only a handful of such men and the Bombay ships none that their rolls identified. The proportion on this vessel reflects how hard Bengal was on European crews. The lascars mattered for the purpose of the muster. They were hired for the run to England and were owed a passage back to India at the Company's expense. A lascar left behind at the island became a charge on its stores, as Nocquedah Pochollum was in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 June 1766, when he drew an allowance, house rent and money in place of rations. Listing each man by name before the ship sailed fixed who was aboard and answerable to her commander. The storekeeper handed in that day an account of the stores found short in the consignments landed from the Harcourt and the Admiral Watson. The shortages on the Harcourt were entered first. Rice, short in weight, 0 hundredweight 2 quarters 18 lb Paddy, short in weight, 4 hundredweight 2 quarters 9 lb The shortages on the Admiral Watson followed. Sugar, short, 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 2 lb Paddy, short, 0 hundredweight 2 quarters 25 lb Candles, short, [...] Arrack, short, 1 leaguer James Powell signed the account as storekeeper. Interpretations The Bengal invoice entered on 8 September charged the island for two leaguers of Batavia arrack at 280 rupees. Powell reported one of the two missing altogether. That was a loss of a different order from the 33 gallons of wastage on the Pacifick on 4 August. A whole cask of some 150 gallons could not leak away unnoticed, so it was either never loaded, landed elsewhere or consumed on the voyage. The sugar was also well short, by over 2 hundredweight out of 20 maunds invoiced, about a seventh of the consignment. Paddy again suffered more than rice. The Harcourt delivered her rice almost complete but lost over 4 hundredweight of paddy, much as the Clive and the Pacifick each lost more than 5 hundredweight in July. Grain in the husk was loosely packed and of low value, and it was the cargo least carefully stowed and most exposed to damp, vermin and spillage. Powell made the report in the middle of the annual stocktaking, with the stores closed since 6 September and two councillors appointed to count what remained. A shortage declared and signed for at that moment was kept out of the balance for which he was personally answerable. | |
153 | 1766 On Saturday the 20th instant, We received the following Letter from Captain Money vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena Worshipful Sir and Sirs Having signed a Bill of Lading for two Leaguers of Arrack to be delivered here, one of which was returnd at Calcutta the Cask being bad, request you'll please to allow it to be erased I am with respect, Worshipl. Sir & Sirs Your most Obedt. Servt. (signed) Wm. Money To which we Ordered the Secretary to return the following Answer vizt. To Captain William Money Commander of Ship Admiral Watson Sir I am Ordered by the Governor and Council in Answer to your Letter to acquaint you that as you have signed a Bill of Lading for two Leaguers Arrack to be delivered for the Use of this Settlement, what quantity is received short here must be wrote off the Bill of Lading by the Storekeeper in the usual way, and referr'd to the Court of Directors I am Sir, Your most humble Servant (Signed) Mattw. Bazett Secy | Captain Money wrote to Governor Skottowe and the Council, and his letter was received on Saturday 20 September 1766. He explained that he signed a bill of lading for two leaguers of arrack to be delivered at the island. One of the two was sent back ashore at Calcutta because the cask was unsound. He asked the Council to let that leaguer be struck out of the bill. The Council ordered the secretary to reply to Captain William Money as commander of the Admiral Watson. The answer stated that Money signed for two leaguers of arrack to be delivered for the settlement's use. Whatever fell short of that quantity would therefore be noted on the bill of lading by the storekeeper in the usual way, and the matter would be referred to the Court of Directors. Matthew Bazett signed the reply as secretary. Interpretations A bill of lading was the receipt a ship's commander signed for cargo taken aboard. It bound him to deliver the goods described, and it was the document on which freight was paid and losses were claimed. Money's signature for two leaguers made him answerable for two, whatever happened at the quayside afterwards. Money asked for the simplest remedy, that the Council delete one cask from the bill as though it were never shipped. The Council refused and gave its reason in the reply. He signed for two, so the bill stood as written. The storekeeper would endorse on it what actually arrived, and the difference would go to London for decision. The Council had no means of testing his account. The invoice from Bengal, entered on 8 September, charged the island for both leaguers at 280 rupees, and no word from Calcutta confirmed that one was returned. Altering the bill on the captain's statement alone would have left the island's books owing Bengal for a cask it never received, with nothing on paper to show why. Recording the shortage kept the evidence intact and passed the question to the one body able to compare the Calcutta accounts with the ship's. The exchange explains the entry in James Powell's account of 22 September, which reported one leaguer of arrack short on the Admiral Watson. The letter arrived two days before that account was handed in. Powell's wording followed the Council's ruling: the cask appeared as a shortage against the ship, not as a correction to the invoice. The refusal also protected the storekeeper and the Council. Arrack was the cargo most open to theft on a voyage, as the tin plates nailed over the bungs at Madras showed. A commander who could have a missing cask erased at his own request would face no check at all. By holding him to his signature and leaving the Court to release him, the Council treated an honest explanation and a dishonest one alike, which was the only safe rule where it could not tell them apart. | |
154 | 22d September We this day Executed the renewal of five Leases to Mr. Matthew Purling, one for seven Acres and a half of Land at Two Shillings P Acre, and the other for three Acres at One Shilling P Acre, both lying in the East Division of this Island As the Honble Company's Stock of Cattle at present is very short we have allowed Captain Money but five head, and as that number is not sufficient for the refreshment of his Ships Company allotted him two from the Planters which we Ordered to be paid for and charged to the Ship Admil. Watson's Account. We have likewise supplied him with Six Sheep out of the Company's Stock We this day received the following Letter from Captain Money vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Goverr. &ca. Council of St. Helena Worshipful Sir and Sirs. The Ship Admirl. Watson being really necessitated for fewel request you will grant an additional supply of Coals or some Wood, one Chaldron being sufficient could we be certain of a favorable passage, as on Account of our Lascars are Obliged to have a fire extraordinary I am with respect Worshipful Sir and Sirs Your most obt. Servant (signed) Willm. Money | The Council sealed the renewal of two leases to Matthew Purling on 22 September. One covered 7½ acres at a rent of £0 2s 0d an acre and the other three acres at £0 1s 0d an acre, both in the East Division of the island. Interpretations These were the two leases for 10½ acres that Purling applied to renew on 1 September. The rents came to £0 15s 0d and £0 3s 0d a year, £0 18s 0d in all. The larger plot paid the same £0 2s 0d an acre as Thomas Greentree's seven acres in the same division, renewed on 18 August, so the councillor received no better terms than an ordinary planter. The lower rate on the three acres suggests poorer ground, and shows that rent was set plot by plot according to quality. The Company's own herd of cattle was very low at that time, and the Council allowed Captain Money only five head from it. That number was too few to provide fresh meat for his crew. The Council therefore assigned him two more from the planters' stock, to be paid for and charged to the account of the Admiral Watson. It also supplied him with six sheep from the Company's flock. Interpretations Fresh beef was the chief thing a homeward ship wanted from the island after water. Crews arrived after months on salt provisions, often with scurvy among them, and a few weeks of fresh meat restored the men for the passage north. The ordinary course was to sell the commander what he asked for from the Company's herd. The Council instead held him to five head and stated the reason, that the herd could not bear more. A second ship, the Harcourt, lay in the road at the same time, the garrison's own table needed beef, and animals sold that month could not be replaced until calves grew. The shortfall was met from the planters, and the Council did the allotting. A commander did not bargain freely with landholders for cattle. The government decided how many beasts each ship received and from whom, and the price passed through the ship's account at the treasury. That control stopped planters from stripping the island of stock whenever a fleet offered high prices, and it kept the Company as the channel for every sale to shipping. The sums received from ships in the monthly cash accounts were made up of charges such as these. The Council received a letter from Captain Money that day. He wrote that the Admiral Watson was badly in need of fuel and asked for an additional supply of coal or some wood. One chaldron would be enough if he could count on a quick passage. The need arose from the lascars aboard, for whom an extra fire had to be kept. Interpretations A chaldron was the standard measure for coal, 36 heaped bushels and something over a ton in weight. Coal reached the island only as cargo from England and was held in the Company's stores, while firewood was scarce on an island whose woods were long since cut over. Fuel was therefore a favour to ask of the Council and not a routine purchase. Money's reason points to the 20 lascars on his muster roll. Indian seamen, many of them Muslims, did not eat from the ship's common galley. They cooked their own rice and food separately, which meant a second fire burning through the voyage and roughly doubled the ship's consumption of fuel. The request came from the same commander whose plea over the missing leaguer of arrack was refused two days earlier, and it was framed with care, naming the smallest quantity that would serve. | |
155 | 1766 In consequence of the above Letter and that the Admiral Watson being the Honble Company's Ship think's that obliging her to Cut up any useful Timber may be of greater prejudice to our Masters, we have on that Consideration agreed to give Captain Money two Cart Loads of Wood, and further beg leave to represent the necessity of complying fully with our Indent of Coals We this day Granted the following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors vizt. One Set to Mr. Jonathan Doveton for fifty eight Pounds six shillings payable to Mr. George Ritherdon (or Order) And one Set to Mr. John Stephens for fifty Pounds payable to himself (or Order) both drawn at ninety Days sight John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council considered Captain Money's letter and the fact that the Admiral Watson was the Company's own ship. It judged that forcing her crew to cut up serviceable timber for fuel would do the Company greater harm than supplying her. On that ground it agreed to give Money two cartloads of wood. The Council also recorded, for the Court of Directors, how necessary it was that the island's order for coal be met in full. Interpretations Money asked for coal or wood and named a chaldron of coal as his need. The Council gave him wood and no coal, and it spelled out why it gave anything. A ship short of fuel at sea burned what she carried: spare spars, planking, casks and fittings. On a chartered or foreign vessel that loss fell on her owners. On one of the Company's own ships it fell on the Company, and the Council reckoned two cartloads of the island's scarce wood the cheaper sacrifice. The reasoning was set down because wood was not freely given away. The island's trees were few and protected, and the gates of the Long Wood were kept in repair to guard what remained. The refusal of coal was explained by the sentence that followed. An indent was the yearly list of stores that the island asked London to send. The Council's remark that it must be complied with fully meant that the coal ordered was not arriving in the quantity requested, and the store held none to spare. The minute turned Money's request into evidence for the Court: a Company ship went without coal because the Court's own supply to the island fell short. Lascars lay behind the whole exchange. Their separate cooking fire created the need, and the decision shows that the Council accepted that practice as a fixed cost of manning a ship from Bengal. The Council issued two sets of bills of exchange on the Court of Directors that day. One set went to Jonathan Doveton for £58 6s 0d, payable to George Ritherdon or his order. The other went to John Stephens for £50 0s 0d, payable to himself or his order. Both were drawn at 90 days after sight. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The two bills show the different uses of the same instrument. Doveton, a factor and assistant storekeeper who drew £22 10s 0d a quarter, paid £58 6s 0d into the treasury and had the bill made out to another man. He was settling a debt or making a purchase in England, and Ritherdon would collect the money in London. Stephens took a bill payable to himself. He was probably the John Stephens entered as first mate of the Harcourt, carrying home his own earnings from the voyage in a form that could not be lost or stolen at sea. These were small sums beside the £1,040 0s 0d and £1,578 16s 0d remitted in July. The treasury accepted them all the same, since every deposit brought in coin that the island could spend on wages and works. August passed without a single bill, and the arrival of two ships on 5 September reopened that source. | |
156 | 29th September At a Consultation held on Monday the 29th Day of September, 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 22 September 1766 Friday the 26 Sailed the Honorable Company's Ships Harcourt and Admiral Watson for England Mrs. Ruth Colgrave Executrix, and Mr. George Alexander Executor to the last Will and Testament of Thomas Colgrave deceased, this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of Ruth Colgrave Executrix and George Alexander Executor; to the last Will and Testament of Thomas Colgrave deceased Sheweth That your Petitioners hath a Lease containing fifteen Acres of Land lying in the East Division of the said Island expired, Your Petitioners therefore request that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant them a renewal of the same And your Petitioners will ever pray (signed) 29th Sept. 1766 Ruth Colgrave Geo: Alexander Granted | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 29 September 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 22 September 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ships Harcourt and Admiral Watson sailed for England on Friday 26 September. Ruth Colgrave and George Alexander petitioned the Governor and Council that day as executors of the will of Thomas Colgrave, who was dead. Their petition, signed by both and dated 29 September 1766, stated that a lease of 15 acres in the East Division of the island, held by them under the will, was out of date. They asked for it to be renewed, and the Council granted the request. Interpretations A lease did not lapse with the tenant's death. It formed part of his estate and passed to his executors, who held it until the will was carried out. The Colgrave lease ran out while still in their hands, and they applied in their capacity as executors, not as owners. Renewal to them kept the land within the estate, so that it could go to whoever the will named or be sold for the benefit of the heirs. Refusal would have returned 15 acres to the Company and stripped the family of its holding. The Council's readiness to renew shows that it treated a planter's lease as heritable property in practice, although in law every plot remained the Company's. Ruth Colgrave, probably the widow, acted jointly with a male executor. A woman could hold and manage land on the island in that role, appear before the Council and sign a petition in her own name. The petition was presented on the day fixed by the notice of 25 August for all inhabitants to attend at the Castle and pay the year's rents. Lease business came naturally to that occasion, when each holder's tenure and arrears were before the Council together. The 15 acres lay in the same East Division as the plots renewed to Thomas Greentree on 18 August and to Purling on 22 September. The two ships sailed four days after Purling reported his muster of their crews, and three weeks after they arrived on 5 September. As with the fleet of 5 August, the check for deserters fell close to departure and the vessels left in company. | |
157 | 1766 Pursuant to an Order in Consultation of the 25th August last the Planters this day attended to pay their Rents and Revenues, due to the Honorable Company for the Year past, which amounts to L 591. 1 the Rent Roll is as follows vizt. Ground Rent, Free Land, Lease Land, L S D Samuel Alexander: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 34, Lease Land 37 1/2, L S D 11. 1. 6 John Alexander 13 1/2 Acres at 1/ P Acr.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 7 1/4, Lease Land 13 1/2, L S D 13. 3. 6 George Alexander: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 28, Lease Land 58, L S D 13. 18 Margaret Alcock 11 Acrs at 20/ P Ann 3 1/2 at 4/ P Acr.: Ground Rent 34/6, Free Land 30, Lease Land 33 1/2, L S D 11. 8. 9 Josephs Beales Orphs.: Ground Rent 11/6, Free Land 10, Lease Land 13 1/2, L S D 4. 8 Richard Beale Sen. 3 Acrs. at 4/ P Acr.: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 44 1/4, Lease Land 28 1/2, L S D 11. 13. 8 1/2 John Bagley: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 36, L S D 9 Richard Bagley 1 Acr. at 4/ P Acre 5 Acr at 1/6 P Acr 4 1/2 Acr at 2/ P Acr. 1 1/2 Acr at 3/ P Acre.: Ground Rent 10/2, Free Land 126 1/2, Lease Land 122 1/2, L S D 49. 12. 11 Orlando Bagley Sen 4 Acr at 1/6 P Acre 2 1/2 Acr at 2/6 P Acr 10 3/4 Acr at 4/ P Acr.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 51 1/2, Lease Land 112, L S D 26. 8. 3 Matthew Bazett 13 1/4 Acr at 1/ P Acre.: Ground Rent 10/, Free Land 142, Lease Land 68, L S D 21. 12 Henry Bazett 3 Acr. 4/ P Acr 4 1/2 Acr at 2/6 P Acr Ground Rent for 10. Months at 15/ P Ann.: Ground Rent 32/6, Free Land 112 1/2, Lease Land 63 1/2, L S D 22. 10. 3 Orlando Bagley Junr. 19 Acr. 4/6 P Acr: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 63, L S D 12. 8. 6 Williams Burnhams Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 14 1/2, Lease Land 7 1/2, L S D 2. 12 Thomas Burnham: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 14 1/2, Lease Land 7 1/2, L S D 2. 12 William Beale: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 38 1/4, Lease Land 17 1/2, L S D 6. 5 Robert Ballard: Ground Rent 13/, Free Land 13 1/2, Lease Land 0, L S D 1. 8. 6 Thomas Colgraves Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 136 1/2, Lease Land 91 1/2, L S D 33. 9. 6 Joseph Chamberlain: Ground Rent 15/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 15 John Dovetons Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 56 1/2, Lease Land 8, L S D 6. 6. 6 Jonathan Doveton: Ground Rent 18/8, Free Land 128 1/2, Lease Land 4, L S D 8. 7. 5 Isaac Doveton: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 17 1/4, Lease Land 9 1/2, L S D 6. 5. 3 Joseph Desfountains Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 20, Lease Land 71, L S D 18. 15 John Desfountain 6 Acr at 4/ P Acre. 7 3/4 Acres at 2/6 P Acr. for 2 1/2 Months.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 9 3/4, Lease Land 51 3/4, L S D 17. 17 Henry Easthope: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 14, Lease Land 36, L S D 9. 14 Carried over: Free Land 1169 1/2, Lease Land 1039, L S D 318. 10. 6 1/2 | The planters came to the Castle on 29 September 1766, as ordered in the Council's meeting of 25 August, to pay the rents and dues owed to the Company for the past year. The total came to £591 [...]. The rent roll set out each holder's ground rent, the acres held as free land and as lease land, and the sum paid. Samuel Alexander: ground rent 0, free land 34 acres, lease land 37½ acres, paid £11 1s 6d John Alexander, with 15½ acres at 1s 0d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 76½ acres, lease land 15½ acres, paid £13 3s 6d George Alexander: ground rent 0, free land 28 acres, lease land 58 acres, paid £13 18s 0d Margaret Alcock, with 11½ acres at 2s 0d an acre and 3 acres at 1s 0d an acre: ground rent 34s 6d, free land 80 acres, lease land 37½ acres, paid £11 3s 9d Orphans of Joseph Beale: ground rent 10s 6d, free land 10 acres, lease land 13½ acres, paid £4 8s 0d Richard Beale, with 3 acres at 2s 0d an acre: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 44½ acres, lease land 28½ acres, paid £11 13s 8½d John Bagley: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 36 acres, paid £9 0s 0d Richard Bagley, with 12 acres at 1s 0d, 5 acres at 1s 6d, 42 acres at 2s 0d and 12 acres at 3s 0d an acre: ground rent 19s 2d, free land 126½ acres, lease land 123½ acres, paid £49 12s 11d Orlando Bagley senior, with 4 acres at 1s 6d, 1 acre at 2s 6d and 10¾ acres at 2s 0d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 51½ acres, lease land 112 acres, paid £26 8s 3d Matthew Bazett, with 13½ acres at 1s 0d an acre: ground rent 10s 0d, free land 142 acres, lease land 68 acres, paid £21 12s 0d Henry Bazett, with 5 acres at 2s 0d and 7 acres at 2s 6d an acre, and ground rent for 10 months at 15s 0d a year: ground rent 12s 6d, free land 112½ acres, lease land 63½ acres, paid £22 10s 3d Orlando Bagley junior, with 19 acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 63 acres, paid £12 3s 6d Orphans of William Burnham: ground rent 0, free land 14½ acres, lease land 7½ acres, paid £2 12s 0d Thomas Burnham: ground rent 0, free land 14½ acres, lease land 7½ acres, paid £2 12s 0d William Beale: ground rent 0, free land 32½ acres, lease land 17¾ acres, paid £6 5s 0d Robert Ballard: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 13½ acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £1 8s 6d Orphans of Thomas Colgrave: ground rent 0, free land 132½ acres, lease land 92½ acres, paid £23 9s 6d Joseph Chamberlain: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 15s 0d Orphans of John Doveton: ground rent 0, free land 56½ acres, lease land 8 acres, paid £6 6s 6d Jonathan Doveton: ground rent 15s 8d, free land [...] acres, lease land 4 acres, paid £8 7s 5d Isaac Doveton: ground rent 0, free land 77½ acres, lease land 9¾ acres, paid £6 5s 3d Orphans of Joseph Desfountain: ground rent 0, free land 20 acres, lease land 77 acres, paid £13 15s 0d John Desfountain, with 3 acres at 2s 0d an acre and 7¾ acres at 2s 6d an acre for 2½ months: ground rent 0, free land 9¾ acres, lease land 54½ acres, paid £17 17s 0d Henry Easthope: ground rent 0, free land 14 acres, lease land 36 acres, paid £9 14s 0d Carried over: free land 1,269½ acres, lease land 1,039 acres, paid £318 10s 6½d Interpretations The roll distinguished three kinds of holding. Free land was ground granted to the early settlers and their heirs to hold permanently, subject to a small yearly due. Lease land was the Company's own ground let for a term of years at a rent per acre, which was the tenure renewed to Thomas Greentree, Matthew Purling and the Colgrave executors in the preceding weeks. Ground rent was the charge on a house plot in the town valley, usually between 10s 0d and 15s 0d a year. Notes against some names recorded particular parcels and their rates, from 1s 0d to 3s 0d an acre, where a holder's plots were let on differing terms. The whole year's rents and dues came to about £591. One quarter's pay list cost the Company £3,001 5s 7d, so the land of the island returned in a year less than a fifth of what the establishment cost in three months. The Company did not hold St Helena for its rents. The roll's value lay in the record it gave of who held what, with the acreages totalled column by column. The landholders and the Company's servants were largely the same families. Matthew Bazett, the secretary, held 142 acres of free land and 68 on lease, and Henry Bazett, captain of the second company, held 112½ and 63½. Richard Beale, the judge advocate and captain of the third company, appeared with over 70 acres, and Jonathan Doveton, the factor, with a house plot and land. The Alexanders, the Dovetons and the Desfountains each supplied both planters on this roll and officers on the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Officials who leased land from the Council, sat on it or served under it, and sold produce to its stores formed a single small propertied class. Chamberlain paid only 15s 0d in ground rent and held no farmland. That fits the carpenter's mate whose house in James Valley adjoined the plot that Thomas Townsend transferred on 1 September. Tradesmen held house plots in the town, while the planters' acreage lay in the country. Five holdings stood in the names of orphans, those of Joseph Beale, William Burnham, Thomas Colgrave, John Doveton and Joseph Desfountain. Land was kept together for a dead planter's children and the rent paid on their behalf until they came of age. The Colgrave orphans' 92½ acres of lease land included the 15 acres that Ruth Colgrave and George Alexander applied that same day to renew. Richard Bagley was the largest holder on this part of the roll, with 126½ acres of free land and 123½ on lease, paying £49 12s 11d. With John and the two Orlando Bagleys, his family accounted for nearly a third of the sum carried over. | |
158 | 29th September Ground Rent, Free Land, Lease Land, L S D Brought over: Free Land 1169 1/2, Lease Land 1039, L S D 318. 10. 6 1/2 James Easthope: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 11, Lease Land 8, L S D 2. 11 Sarah George: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 4, L S D 1 Michl. Frost: Ground Rent 15/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 15 Margaret Gurling 6 1/4 Acr at 1/6 P Acr.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 16, Lease Land 30, L S D 8. 7. 10 1/2 Richard Goodwin: Ground Rent 10/6, Free Land 49, Lease Land 27, L S D 9. 14. 6 Thomas Greentree 33 Acr. at 3/ P Acr. 3 at 1/6 P Acr: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 90 1/2, Lease Land 72, L S D 20. 10. 6 James Greentree: Ground Rent 20/3, Free Land 48, Lease Land 55, L S D 17. 8. 3 Joseph Gurlings Orphs. 9 Acr at 1/6 P Acr: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 23, Lease Land 9 3/4, L S D 1. 16. 6 Thomas Harpers Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 19 3/4, Lease Land 46 1/4, L S D 12. 13. 6 Thomas Hayes Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 30, Lease Land 4, L S D 2. 10 Mary Harper: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 10, Lease Land 26, L S D 7 Thomas Harper: Ground Rent 10/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 10 William Hayes: Ground Rent 10/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 10 Henry Harper: Ground Rent 12/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 12 John Jacks: Ground Rent 16/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 16 Elisha Isaacke: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 25, Lease Land 5, L S D 2. 10 Gabriel Isaacke: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 8, L S D 2 Thomas Kirkpatrick: Ground Rent 39/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 14, L S D 5. 9 Isaac Knipe: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 30, Lease Land 23 1/2, L S D 7. 7. 6 William Kennedys Orphs.: Ground Rent 7/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 7 Thomas Leech: Ground Rent 12/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 12 Elizabeth Lamb: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 10, L S D 2. 10 Benjamin Mason 31 Acr at 1/6 P Acr.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 42, Lease Land 73 1/2, L S D 15. 1 Rodk. Merchant: Ground Rent 2/6, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 2. 6 Elizabeth Moore: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 5 Solomon St. Maurice Ground Rent for 10 Mo. at 15/ P Ann.: Ground Rent 42/6, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 2. 2. 6 Matthew Purling 9 Acre at 1/ P Acr. 3 Acr at 1/4 P Acr.: Ground Rent 28/2, Free Land 205, Lease Land 108 1/2, L S D 30. 4. 8 James Powell: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 5 John Price: Ground Rent 15/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 15 John Pritchard: Ground Rent 10/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 10 Carrd. over: Free Land 1774 1/4, Lease Land 1619 1/4, L S D 481. 9. 10 | The rent roll of 29 September continued with further holders, giving each one's ground rent, acres of free land and lease land, and the sum paid. Brought over: free land 1,169½ acres, lease land 1,039 acres, paid £318 10s 6½d James Easthope: ground rent 0, free land 11 acres, lease land 8 acres, paid £2 11s 0d Sarah George: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 4 acres, paid £1 0s 0d Michael Frost: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 15s 0d Margaret Gurling, with 6¼ acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 16 acres, lease land 39 acres, paid £8 7s 10d Richard Goodwin: ground rent 10s 6d, free land 49 acres, lease land 27 acres, paid £9 14s 6d Thomas Greentree, with 33 acres at 3s 0d an acre and 3 acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 96½ acres, lease land 72 acres, paid £20 10s 6d James Greentree: ground rent 20s 3d, free land 48 acres, lease land 55 acres, paid £17 8s 3d Orphans of Joseph Gurling, with 9 acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 23 acres, lease land 9 acres, paid £1 16s 6d Orphans of Thomas Harper: ground rent 0, free land 19½ acres, lease land 16¼ acres, paid £12 13s 6d Orphans of Thomas Hayes: ground rent 0, free land 30 acres, lease land 4 acres, paid £2 10s 0d Mary Harper: ground rent 0, free land 10 acres, lease land 26 acres, paid £7 0s 0d Thomas Harper: ground rent 10s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 10s 0d William Hayes: ground rent 10s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 10s 0d Henry Harper: ground rent 12s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 12s 0d John Jacks: ground rent 16s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 16s 0d Elisha Isaacke: ground rent 0, free land 25 acres, lease land 5 acres, paid £2 10s 0d Gabriel Isaacke: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 8 acres, paid £2 0s 0d Thomas Kirkpatrick: ground rent 39s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 14 acres, paid £5 9s 0d Isaac Knipe: ground rent 0, free land 30 acres, lease land 22½ acres, paid £7 7s 6d Orphans of William Kennedy: ground rent 7s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 7s 0d Thomas Leech: ground rent 12s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 12s 0d Elizabeth Lamb: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 10 acres, paid £2 10s 0d Benjamin Mason, with 31 acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 42 acres, lease land 73½ acres, paid £15 1s 0d Roderick Merchant: ground rent 2s 6d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 2s 6d Elizabeth Moore: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 5s 0d Solomon St Maurice, with ground rent for 10 months at 15s 0d a year: ground rent 42s 6d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £2 2s 6d Matthew Purling, with 9 acres at 1s 0d an acre and 3 acres at 1s 4d an acre: ground rent 28s 2d, free land 205 acres, lease land 103½ acres, paid £30 4s 8d James Powell: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 5s 0d John Price: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 15s 0d John Pritchard: ground rent 10s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 10s 0d Carried over: free land 1,774¼ acres, lease land 1,619¼ acres, paid £481 9s 10d Interpretations The simpler entries reveal the standing rates. Sarah George paid £1 0s 0d for four acres of lease land, Gabriel Isaacke £2 0s 0d for eight and Elizabeth Lamb £2 10s 0d for ten. Lease land therefore carried a standard rent of 5s 0d an acre. James Easthope's £2 11s 0d for eight leased acres and 11 of free land shows that free land paid 1s 0d an acre. The notes written against particular names recorded exceptions, parcels let at 1s 0d to 3s 0d an acre. The leases renewed to Thomas Greentree on 18 August and to Purling on 22 September, at £0 2s 0d and £0 1s 0d an acre, were concessions of that kind and stood well below the ordinary rent. Free land, though held permanently, still owed the Company a yearly shilling an acre as acknowledgement of its title. Purling held 205 acres of free land and 103½ on lease, the largest free holding so far on the roll, and paid £30 4s 8d. The councillor who sat in judgement on leases was one of the island's principal landowners. Kirkpatrick, his colleague and the paymaster, held 14 acres on lease and paid 39s 0d in ground rent, the highest such charge on the page, which suggests several house plots in the town. Many of those paying only ground rent were Company servants and soldiers named in the pay list for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Frost and Leech were lieutenants, Pritchard the surgeon's mate, Powell the storekeeper, St Maurice a lieutenant and master at arms, and John Jacks perhaps the private of that name. Officers drew £2 10s 0d a quarter from the Company as house rent and paid back between 5s 0d and 15s 0d a year for the ground on which their houses stood. Merchant, who sold the beer for the gutters of Plantation House, paid 2s 6d for a small plot. Women held land in their own names. Sarah George, Margaret Gurling, Mary Harper, Elizabeth Lamb and Elizabeth Moore all appeared as holders, as Margaret Alcock did earlier in the roll. They were probably widows continuing a husband's tenure, and the Company took their rents on the same terms as any planter's. | |
159 | 1766 Ground Rent, Free Land, Lease Land, L S D Brought over: Free Land 1774 1/4, Lease Land 1619 1/4, L S D 481. 9. 10 James Pritchard: Ground Rent 7/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 7 John Robinson 28 1/2 at 1/6 P Acr.: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 41 1/4, Lease Land 41 1/2, L S D 7. 14 William Seale 51 1/2 Acr at 1/6 P Acr.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 7, Lease Land 66, L S D 8. 7. 9 Benjamin Seale: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 10 1/4, L S D 2. 11. 3 John Seales Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 10, Lease Land 7 1/2, L S D 2. 7. 6 Martha Scott: Ground Rent 12/5, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 12. 5 Nathan Sample: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 25, Lease Land 8 1/2, L S D 3. 7. 6 John Shirtley: Ground Rent 15/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 15 Jeremh. Smith: Ground Rent 15/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 15 James Torbett: Ground Rent 12/, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 12 John Swaits Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 9, Lease Land 38 1/2, L S D 10. 1. 6 John Worralls Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 0, Lease Land 42 1/2, L S D 10. 12. 6 Joshua Worralls Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 31, Lease Land 33, L S D 9. 16 Franl. Wrangham decd. 6 Acr. at a Pepper Corn P Ann.: Ground Rent 1/4, Free Land 62, Lease Land 6, L S D 3. 16. 4 William Wrangham 3 Acr at 1/6 P Acr.: Ground Rent 36/6, Free Land 144, Lease Land 86, L S D 29. 10 Jane Willson: Ground Rent 2/6, Free Land 0, Lease Land 0, L S D 2. 6 Joseph Whaleys Orphs.: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 16 1/4, Lease Land 18 1/2, L S D 4. 12. 11 William Young: Ground Rent 5/, Free Land 79 1/2, Lease Land 25, L S D 10. 9. 6 Stephen Young: Ground Rent 0, Free Land 20, Lease Land 8 1/2, L S D 3. 2. 6 Total: Free Land 2205 1/4, Lease Land 1980 1/4, L S D 591. 1 John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The rent roll for 1766 ended with the remaining holders and the totals for the whole island. Brought over: free land 1,774¼ acres, lease land 1,619¼ acres, paid £481 9s 10d James Pritchard: ground rent 7s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 7s 0d John Robinson, with 28½ acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 41½ acres, lease land 41½ acres, paid £7 14s 0d William Seale, with 5½ acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 0, free land 7 acres, lease land 36 acres, paid £8 7s 9d Benjamin Seale: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 10¼ acres, paid £2 11s 3d Orphans of John Seale: ground rent 0, free land 10 acres, lease land 7½ acres, paid £2 7s 6d Martha Scott: ground rent 12s 5d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 12s 5d Nathan Sample: ground rent 0, free land 25 acres, lease land 8½ acres, paid £3 7s 6d John Shortley: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 15s 0d Jeremiah Smith: ground rent 15s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 15s 0d James Forbett: ground rent 12s 0d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 12s 0d Orphans of John Swait: ground rent 0, free land 9 acres, lease land 38½ acres, paid £10 1s 6d Orphans of John Worrall: ground rent 0, free land 0 acres, lease land 42½ acres, paid £10 12s 6d Orphans of Joshua Worrall: ground rent 0, free land 31 acres, lease land 33 acres, paid £9 16s 0d Francis Wrangham, deceased, with 6 acres at a peppercorn a year: ground rent 1s 4d, free land 62 acres, lease land 6 acres, paid £3 16s 4d William Wrangham, with 3 acres at 1s 6d an acre: ground rent 26s 6d, free land 144 acres, lease land 86 acres, paid £29 10s 0d Jane Willson: ground rent 2s 6d, free land 0 acres, lease land 0 acres, paid £0 2s 6d Orphans of Joseph Whaley: ground rent 0, free land 16¼ acres, lease land 18¼ acres, paid £4 12s 11d William Young: ground rent 5s 0d, free land 79½ acres, lease land 25 acres, paid £10 9s 6d Stephen Young: ground rent 0, free land 20 acres, lease land 8½ acres, paid £3 2s 6d Total: free land 2,205¼ acres, lease land 1,980¾ acres, paid £591 1s 0d Governor Skottowe signed the roll with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations A peppercorn rent was a nominal payment, a single peppercorn a year, reserved so that land given away free still acknowledged a landlord. Six acres stood in the name of the late Francis Wrangham on those terms. The Company evidently granted the ground as a reward or favour and kept only the formal mark of its ownership. The entry remained on the roll under the dead man's name because the estate still held the land. The totals give the measure of the settled island. Just over 2,205 acres were held as free land and nearly 1,981 on lease, about 4,186 acres in the planters' hands. At a shilling an acre for free land and five shillings for most lease land, with ground rents added, the whole produced £591 1s 0d. The acreage was less than a seventh of the island's surface. The rest was cliff, barren ridge, common pasture and the Company's own ground, such as the Long Wood. Jeremiah Smith paid 15s 0d in ground rent. On 1 September the Council accepted him as tenant of Thomas Townsend's plot in James Valley, next to Joseph Chamberlain's house, and Chamberlain paid the same 15s 0d earlier in the roll. Within four weeks of the transfer the new tenant stood on the rent roll in his own name, and Townsend did not appear. The secretary's office evidently brought the roll up to date as each change was approved. William Wrangham held 144 acres of free land and 86 on lease and paid £29 10s 0d, close to Purling's £30 4s 8d. He was the factor and assistant to the Governor who drew £30 0s 0d a quarter in the pay list to 30 June 1766. Nathan Sample, lieutenant of the artillery, held 33½ acres. John Shortley, a sergeant of the same company, and James Forbett, the cooper whose slave was in the Governor's fishing boat on 1 September, paid ground rent for house plots. Orphans' estates were again prominent, with six more on this page. Across the whole roll about a dozen holdings were kept in the names of dead planters' children. Mortality among adults was evidently high enough that a sizeable share of the island's farmland was managed by guardians and executors at any one time. | |
160 | 6th October At a Consultation held on Monday the 6th Day of October 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling, Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 29 Sept. 1766. Saturday the 4. died William Lambon Soldier Yesterday Do. Mr. Thomas Greentree Planter Captain Mitchell this day presented the following Letter vizt. To the Worshipful the Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena Gentlemen In the Detail I had the Honour of delivering into you at the End of last Quarter of the Progress made during the three foregoing Months towards constructing the intended defences of Sandy Bay, I acquainted you that after having prepared Accommodations for the Workmen, I had proceeded to lay in the necessary Materials of which I had collected a considerable Quantity, and was then employed in constructing a Cullis and Canal, in Order to convey the Torrents of Water under the Line This which on Account of the great Quantity of digging and Levelling as well as masonry necessary to compleat it, was a Work of considerable Labour, is now entirely finished, and the Line has been extended from the Battery hitherto called Blands to the left of the Bay, by which means this side is entirely inclosed As I found, upon digging and excavating the Canal, | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 6 October 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 29 September 1766 were read, approved and signed. William Lambon, a soldier, died on Saturday 4 October. Thomas Greentree, a planter, died on 5 October. Captain Mitchell presented a letter to the Governor and Council that day. He recalled the report he submitted when the previous quarter closed, covering three months' progress on the planned defences at Sandy Bay. That report explained that quarters for the workmen were built first and a large stock of materials was then gathered. Work followed on a culvert and channel to carry the stream's floodwater beneath the defensive wall. Mitchell now reported this part complete. It demanded heavy labour, with a great deal of digging and levelling as well as masonry. The wall itself was carried on from the battery previously known as Bland's to the left side of the bay, so that this side was fully closed off. Interpretations The letter came from the engineer and commander of the artillery, who drew £123 2s 6d a quarter for the two posts. He reported to the Council in writing at each quarter's end, which gave the Governor a record to send to the Court of Directors and tied the money spent to work done. The paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 June 1766 charged 3,862 days of labouring and nearly 400 of rock blasting to Sandy Bay, and the gunner issued 200 lb of powder for blasting in August alone. This letter showed what that outlay produced. The order of the work reveals the nature of the site. Sandy Bay was a valley mouth on the southern coast, one of the few places where an enemy could land, and the defence was a wall drawn across it from cliff to cliff. A stream ran down the valley to the sea, dry for much of the year and violent after rain. A wall built straight across its bed would be undermined or swept away by the first flood. Mitchell therefore built the water's passage first, a masonry channel leading to an opening under the wall, and only then extended the wall. The culvert was the costly, invisible part on which the rest depended. The camp for the workmen came before any building. The site lay hours from the town over steep ground, so the labour force lived there. That explains the bread baked on the spot in the earlier account and the Council's order of 8 September for the surgeon to visit weekly. Lambon was probably the William Lambon who served as a private in the fourth company. His death was the fourth among the soldiers recorded since the pay list closed on 30 June, after John Chapman, Thomas Tuffnell and David Belford. Greentree died seven weeks after the Council renewed his lease of seven acres on 18 August. The rent roll of 29 September showed him holding 96½ acres of free land and 72 on lease and paying £20 10s 6d. His holding would now pass to executors, as Thomas Colgrave's did. | |
161 | 1766 that the Foundation of this Battery had not been properly sunk and was consequently very precarious, and as the whole Revetment was very Weak and poorly constructed, I have therefore strengthen'd the whole by the Addition of a new Revetment, which is also nearly compleated The Ditch which was the next Work to begin upon, is considerably advanced, and will be entirely dug out in about three Weeks more, A very large Quantity of Stone (nearly sufficient I flatter myself to compleat the whole) has been amassed, and the other Materials are now in such forwardness, that I hope to be able to begin Building about five or Six Weeks hence, This with the conveying the necessary Materials from the Fort, has been almost the sole Employment of the Honorable Company's Workmen during the last Quarter As that Part of the Roof of the Plantation House which had not been repaired, leaked so much during the last Rains as to endanger the principal Timbers and as the Tiling of that part where the Terras had been laid was considerably damaged, I found it necessary (in Order to prevent the entire Ruin of the whole) to strip some part of it and to new-Tile it, as well as to Terras the other Interval between the Ditches, in the same manner as I did the first, which I hope will have the desired Effect In my Remarks upon Sandy Bay which were transmitted to England, I mentioned, that as the Old Battery upon the left of that Bay stood commodiously as a Flanking Battery and was capable of repair, it might be rendered useful to the defence of this Place. At present however upon more mature Consideration, I am of opinion, that the defences now constructing will sufficiently secure this Part of the Island without the Addition of this Old Work, which, with the new defences, would, in Case of an Attack, require more Men to defend, than can well be spared from so small a Garrison and might, if possessed by Enemy, greatly assist them in getting Possession of the Line now constructing I therefore give it as my opinion that it ought to be razed | Mitchell's letter went on to describe what the digging of the channel exposed. The foundation of the battery was never sunk deep enough and stood insecurely, and its whole facing wall was weak and badly built. He therefore strengthened the entire structure with a new facing, which was almost finished. The ditch was the next task and was well advanced. Mitchell expected it to be fully dug within about three more weeks. A very large stock of stone was gathered, nearly enough in his view to finish the whole work, and the other materials were so far forward that he hoped to start building in five or six weeks. These tasks, with the carriage of materials from the fort, occupied the Company's workmen almost exclusively during the previous quarter. Mitchell then reported on Plantation House. The unrepaired part of its roof leaked so badly in the recent rains that the main timbers were at risk. The tiles were also badly damaged in the section where waterproof mortar was laid earlier. To save the whole roof from ruin he stripped part of it and tiled it afresh. He also sealed the other valley between the roof slopes with the same mortar used on the first, and he hoped this would cure the fault. Mitchell closed with a change of advice on Sandy Bay. His remarks sent to England stated that the old battery on the left of the bay was well placed to give flanking fire and could be repaired and made useful. After fuller thought he now judged that the defences under construction would secure that part of the island without it. The old work, added to the new, would need more men to hold in an attack than so small a garrison could spare. In enemy hands it would greatly help an attacker to take the new wall. He therefore gave his opinion that it should be demolished. Interpretations A revetment was the retaining wall of masonry that faced an earthen rampart and held it upright. Terras was a hard waterproof mortar made with lime and a volcanic or brick-dust additive, used to seal gutters, cisterns and flat joints against rain. The paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 June 1766 charged 64 gallons of beer bought for a cement for the gutters of Plantation House. That was the first application of the treatment, and Mitchell now extended it to the second valley of the roof. The proposal to demolish the old battery reversed Mitchell's own earlier advice, and he said so openly. The expected course was to repair it. It stood in a good position, it already existed and he told the Court of Directors that it could be made serviceable. He rejected that course on two grounds, both arising from the size of the garrison. Every additional work needed gunners and infantry to man it, and the island's four companies and one of artillery were already stretched between guard duty and labour, as the Council recorded on 18 August. A battery too thinly held was worse than none. If an enemy seized it, its guns and its position on the flank would be turned on the new wall. Mitchell therefore preferred one line that could be fully defended to two that could not. His reasoning treated manpower, not stone or guns, as the island's limiting resource. The admission also protected him. The Court held his earlier remarks in writing. By stating the change himself and giving reasons, he put the correction on record before any work was done on the old battery and before London could act on advice he no longer held. The battery's hidden faults showed the risk of building on older work. Its shallow foundation came to light only because the new channel was cut beside it. The discovery obliged Mitchell to reface the whole structure before the wall could be joined to it, an expense that no estimate foresaw. Stone for the works was gathered on site in large quantity before any wall was raised. That accords with the months of rock blasting and the 56 handspikes worn out at the fortifications in August. The men had so far spent their labour on quarrying, digging and hauling, and the actual building lay five or six weeks ahead. | |
162 | 6th October As there are some alterations (tho of no Material Consequence) in the Line preparing to be Constructed, from the Plan transmitted last Year to England, I have therefore brought with me a Plan of the Intended Work, which I beg leave to lay before the Governor and Council, for their Inspection and approbation I have the Honour to be with great Respect Gentlemen Your most Obedient humble Servant (signed) Ad. Mitchell St. Helena 6 October 1766 Referred the Consideration of the above Letter with the Plan the Engineer laid before Us, until Monday next John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | Mitchell ended his letter by noting that the wall about to be built differed in some respects from the plan sent to England the year before, though not in any way that mattered greatly. He therefore brought a drawing of the intended work and laid it before the Governor and Council for their inspection and approval. The letter was signed and dated at St Helena on 6 October 1766. The Council put off its consideration of the letter, and of the plan the engineer submitted with it, until the following Monday. Governor Skottowe signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The Court of Directors held a plan of the Sandy Bay defences, sent home in 1765, and the work was authorised on that footing. Mitchell was now building something different. He called the changes minor, yet he took care to have them drawn and formally approved on the island. If the finished wall did not match the drawing in London, the question of who sanctioned the departure would fall on him alone unless the Council's approval stood in the minutes. Laying the new plan on the table shifted that responsibility to the Governor and Council, who could then report the alteration to the Court as their own decision. The Council did not approve the plan at once. The letter asked for two things of very different weight. One was assent to changes the engineer described as slight. The other was the demolition of the old battery on the left of the bay, which reversed advice already sent to England. Agreeing on the spot would have meant deciding both on the engineer's word in a single sitting. A week's delay gave the four members time to study the drawing, and perhaps to see the ground, before committing themselves to destroy an existing work that London believed was to be repaired. None of them was an engineer, and their caution over a military question outside their own competence stands in contrast to the speed with which they dismissed Daniel Tongue on 11 August within one meeting. The work on the site did not wait on the decision. Mitchell's own timetable allowed three more weeks for the ditch and five or six before building began, so a week's deferral cost nothing. | |
163 | 13th October At a Consultation held on Monday the 13th Day of October 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and signed Dated the 6th October 1766 The Executrix and Executors, to the last Will and Testament of Mr. Thomas Greentree deceased this day presented the said Will desiring the same might be proved, which was accordingly done upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto, the Will is as follows vizt. In the Name of God Amen I Thomas Greentree of the Island of St. Helena Gentleman, being in a good state of health, and of sound Mind, Memory and Understanding blessed be God, do hereby make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say) I will and desire that my body may be decently buried at the discretion of my Executrix and Executors herein after named, And as for and concerning my Estate and Effects both real and personal, which I shall be seized possessed of Interested in, or intitled to at the time of my death, I give devise and dispose of the same as follows Imprimis I hereby Will, Order and Direct that all my Just Debts and funeral Expences be paid and discharged by my Executrix and Executors herein after named out of my personal Estate as soon as conveniently can be after my decease Item I give unto my Well beloved Wife Elizabeth Greentree one third part of all my moveables, such as Houshold Goods, Plate, Money, Slaves Yams, Cattle, Horses Sheep Goats Hogs, Poultry &ca for ever Item I give unto my Wife the said Elizabeth, over and above her said thirds, of all my Moveables, one Woman slave, called Lucy, also James and Margaret, Son and Daughter of the said Lucy; Also one | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 13 October 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 6 October 1766 were read, approved and signed. The executors of Thomas Greentree's will, a woman and at least two men, brought it before the Council that day and asked for it to be proved. The witnesses to the will swore to it, and the Council admitted it to probate and entered its text. Greentree described himself as a gentleman of St Helena, in good health and of sound mind when he made the will. He asked for a decent burial, arranged as his executors thought fit. He then disposed of all the property, in land and in goods, that he might own or be entitled to at his death. The will first directed the executors to pay his lawful debts and funeral costs out of his personal estate as soon as they conveniently could. He next left his wife, Elizabeth Greentree, one third of all his movable property outright. That property was listed as household goods, silver plate, money, slaves, yams, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. He also left her, in addition to that third, a woman slave named Lucy together with Lucy's son James and daughter Margaret. Interpretations The Governor and Council sat as the island's court of probate. In England a will was proved before a church court, but St Helena had none, and the Company's government took over that function with every other. Proof consisted of the witnesses swearing that they saw the dead man sign. Entering the whole text in the minutes made the Council's book the official register of the will, to which heirs and creditors could later appeal. Greentree died on 5 October, and the will was proved eight days afterwards. The widow's third was the customary English share of a husband's movable goods, and Greentree followed it exactly before adding gifts beyond it. The list of what counted as movables shows how the island's wealth was held. Slaves stood in the same sentence as plate and money and ahead of yams and cattle. They were personal property in law, divisible by thirds like the livestock, and the widow's share of them was a fraction to be worked out when the estate was valued. Yams appeared in the list as stored or growing stock with a market value, which fits the Company's purchases of over 20,000 lb of them in the quarter to 30 June 1766. The separate gift of Lucy and her two children departed from that arithmetic. A division by thirds could have sent a mother and her children to different heirs. Greentree named the three individually and gave them together to his wife, outside the general share. The bequest kept one slave family in a single household. It also shows that Lucy was probably a domestic servant close to the family, whose services the widow would want whatever became of the field hands. Greentree was a substantial planter. The rent roll of 29 September showed him with 96½ acres of free land and 72 on lease, and the Council renewed a seven-acre lease to him on 18 August. He called himself a gentleman, the style of a landholder living on his estate, and the will treated his land and his goods as two distinct classes of property to be dealt with in turn. | |
164 | 13th October Mahogany Chest with drawers, one Rose wood hand Teretoir, one Silver Stand with Cruets, one Milk Pot twelve silver tea spoons, Tongs and Strainer, and one feather Bed with such furniture thereto as she shall chuse, as also one Mahogany Bureau, her own Property, the sd. Bureau being purchased by her of Mr. Geo. Gabriel Powell, and which is, in no Manner, to interfere with, or be included in my Estate, My will and mind is, and I hereby further direct in case my Men Slaves, namely, Richard, and Jack shall not fall into the sd. Thirds of my Wife the sd. Elizabeth that then she may have and be intitled to them or to any other of my Slaves either, Male or Female of what Age soever at Valuation, and that she shall have twelve Silver handled knives and Forks, twelve Silver Spoons and a marrow Spoon in a Shagreen case by paying for the same, at a just Valuation, My Will and Mind is, and I hereby will and direct that my Wife the said Elizabeth shall have and enjoy during the Term of her natural Life, fifteen Acres of Freehold Land known by the name of Oddisses together with the Houses standing thereon; Also three Acres of Land lying and situate behind the sd. House, being part of twelve Acres which my late Father hired of the Honble. Company on Lives, one Acre of Land lying in a Hollow adjoining to my brother Saml. Greentree's Land known by the name of the Wood or bean ground which said one Acre was demised to me in a Lease of thirty three Acres and a half of Land on Lives, Also Nine Acres and a half of Freehold Land purchased of Joseph Powell, Also ten Acres and a half of Freehold Land which belonged to my Brother, the late Richard Greentree, who died Intestate, the same devolved to me by right of Inheritance also two Acres of Freehold Land which I purchased of William Coles, Also, thirty two Acres and a half of Leashold Land adjoining to the sd. two Acres last mentioned, under Lemon Valley head Also eight Acres of Leashold Land known by the name of dry gutt, which said Acres were by me purchased of my said Brother the late Richard Greentree, and the purchase Money paid by me to the late Frances Wrangham to be applyed in discharge of a Bond transferr'd to Capt. Gabriel Stewart Also twelve Acres and a half of Leashold Land which I purchased of Joseph Bates known by the name of seven Acres Steephill under Cole's Rock, Also three Acres of Leashold Land situated in Sandy Bay Valley, | Greentree's will went on with further gifts to his wife. She was to have a mahogany chest of drawers, a small rosewood writing desk, a silver stand with cruets, a milk pot, 12 silver teaspoons with tongs and strainer, and a feather bed with whatever bedding and hangings she chose. A mahogany bureau was declared to be her own property, bought by her from George Gabriel Powell, and was to form no part of his estate. The will gave Elizabeth an option over the slaves. If the two men Richard and Jack did not fall within her third share, she might take them, or any other of his slaves of either sex and any age, at a valuation. On the same terms, by paying a fair valuation, she might have 12 silver-handled knives and forks, 12 silver spoons and a marrow spoon in a shagreen case. Elizabeth was to hold a list of lands for the rest of her life. Freehold land called Oddifies, with the houses standing on it, 15 acres Land behind the house, part of 12 acres that his late father rented from the Company on lives, 3 acres Land in a hollow next to his brother Samuel Greentree's ground, called the Wood or bean ground, part of a lease of 33½ acres held on lives, 1 acre Freehold land bought from Joseph Powell, 9½ acres Freehold land of his late brother Richard Greentree, who died without a will, inherited from him, 10½ acres Freehold land bought from William Coles, 2 acres Leasehold land adjoining those 2 acres, under Lemon Valley Head, 32½ acres Leasehold land called Dry Gut, bought from his late brother Richard Greentree, 8 acres Leasehold land bought from Joseph Bates, called Seven Acres Steephill, under Coles Rock, 12½ acres Leasehold land in Sandy Bay valley, 3 acres The will noted that the price of Dry Gut was paid to the late Francis Wrangham, to clear a bond that was later made over to Captain Gabriel Stewart. Interpretations Elizabeth received the land for her lifetime only. She could live on it and take its produce, but she could not sell it or leave it by will, and on her death it would pass to whoever the will named next. A life interest of this kind was the usual provision for a widow. It secured her a home and an income while keeping the estate intact for the children. Her movable goods, by contrast, were given outright. The option over the slaves was framed with care. A division of movables by thirds was made by value, and the particular people who fell to the widow's share depended on how the lots were drawn. Greentree wanted his wife to be able to keep Richard and Jack, and any others she chose, whichever lot she received. He did not give them to her, which would have reduced the shares of his other heirs. She was to buy them from the estate at an appraised price. The clause shows a household in which the widow expected to go on farming, since she needed men to work the land she held for life. It also shows slaves valued and traded within a family like plate. The silver cutlery was offered to her on the same terms in the next breath. A lease on lives ran for as long as certain named persons remained alive, commonly three, and not for a fixed number of years. It was a normal English tenure of the period, and the Company used it on the island beside leases for terms of years. The 12 acres rented by Greentree's father on those terms were still in the family a generation later. The list of lands traces how a planter's estate was built up. Greentree held ground from his father's lease, land inherited from a brother who died without a will, and plots bought from Joseph Powell, William Coles, Joseph Bates and his own brother. Free land and leasehold were bought and sold among the planters, subject to the Council's consent for each transfer, as with Thomas Townsend's plot on 1 September. The parcels lay scattered across the island, from Lemon Valley on the north-west coast to Sandy Bay in the south, and each was known by a field name. A bond was a sealed written promise to pay a sum of money. Richard Greentree owed such a debt to Francis Wrangham, and when Thomas bought Dry Gut from his brother the price went straight to the creditor. Wrangham in turn passed the bond to Captain Stewart. Debts were thus assigned from hand to hand, and a sale of land could be used to settle them without money reaching the seller. Thomas recorded the transaction in his will so that no one could later claim the eight acres were still charged with his brother's debt. The statement about the bureau guarded his wife's separate property. A married woman's goods ordinarily counted as her husband's, and without the declaration the bureau would have been valued with the estate and divided. An escritoire was a small portable writing desk. Shagreen was a rough, grained leather, often dyed green, used to cover cases for cutlery and instruments. A marrow spoon was a long narrow scoop for taking marrow from cooked bones. | |
165 | 1766 with the House standing thereon, Also eighteen Acres of Freehold Land lying under the high Peak, and purchased by me of Joseph Powell, As also my dwelling House situate in James's Valley, all and singular the sd. Lands and Houses to hold to her during her natural Life, as aforesd. without Incumbrance or becoming any Way Subject to the payment of any part of the Legacies herein aftermentioned, she making no spoil, Waste or destruction in thereon But in Case she the said Elizabeth my Wife shall marry again, then and in such Case my Will and Mind is that she shall only enjoy and possess the one half or a Moiety of my said Dwelling House in the sd. Valley during the term of her natural Life as aforesaid, I further give unto my said Wife my Goat Range in Lemon Valley, and my Will is that she shall have her third part in full of the Goats on the sd. Range, My Will and Mind is that from and after the decease of my Wife the sd. Elizabeth, and singular the aforesaid freehold and Leashold Lands and the Houses thereon standing, together with the Goat Range so bequeath'd to her during her life, shall revert and remain to my Heirs herein after mentioned in manner as shall be herein after directed, And My Will and Mind is if she my sd. Wife shall continue and die my Widow, that then she shall be at full Liberty, and have absolute Power, before her decease, by her last Will and Testament made in writing, and by her duly Executed in presence of three or more Witnesses, to devise and dispose of the sum of four hundred pounds to be paid by my Executors to the Heirs of her my said Wife, as she shall direct out of the Reversion of the Lands, Houses and Goat Range to her bequeathed for and during the term of her Life as aforesd. Item from and after the decease of the sd. Elizabeth my Wife I hereby give, devise and bequeath all the fifteen Acres of Land known by the name of Addisses aforesaid with the Houses standing thereon, also the four Acres of Leashold Land behind the said Houses and in the Hollow aforesaid to the Use and behoof of my Brother James Greentree, his, Heirs, or Assigns for ever: I also Give unto my Brother the said James Greentree my Seal set in Gold Item I give unto my Niece Mary Griffith the Sum of one hundred pounds, to be paid and remain to her, her Heirs or Assigns for ever, by my Executrix and Executors herein after mentioned in a convenient time after my decease Item I give unto my Niece Helena Smith Wife of Moses | The will completed the list of property that Elizabeth Greentree was to hold for life. The three acres in Sandy Bay valley came with the house standing on them. She was also to have 18 acres of freehold land under High Peak, bought from Joseph Powell, and Greentree's dwelling house in James Valley. All of it was to be hers for life, free of any charge and not liable for the legacies given later in the will, provided she did no damage to the land or buildings. If she married again, however, she was to keep only a half share of the house in the valley for the rest of her life. Greentree also left his wife his goat range in Lemon Valley, and confirmed that her third of the goats running on it was hers in full. On her death, all the freehold and leasehold land, the houses and the goat range were to pass to the heirs named afterwards in the will. The will gave Elizabeth a further power if she remained his widow until she died. She might then, by a will of her own signed before three or more witnesses, direct the payment of £400 0s 0d to whichever of her own heirs she chose. Greentree's executors were to pay that sum out of the value of the land, houses and goat range that came back to his estate at her death. After Elizabeth's death, the 15 acres called Oddifies with the houses on it, and the four acres of leasehold behind the houses and in the hollow, were to go to Greentree's brother James Greentree and his heirs permanently. James was also to have his gold-mounted seal. Greentree left £100 0s 0d to his niece Mary Griffith, to be paid by the executors at a convenient time after his death. Interpretations The will named no child. The home farm went to a brother after the widow's death, and the money legacies began with a niece. Greentree evidently died without surviving children, and the will's main task was to balance a childless widow's needs against the claims of his own blood relations. Two clauses tied Elizabeth's benefits to her remaining unmarried. On remarriage she lost half of the town house. Only by dying as his widow did she gain the right to bequeath £400 0s 0d. The reasoning behind both was the same. A second husband would by law take control of whatever his wife held, and Greentree did not intend his property to support another man or pass to another man's family. The town house was the asset a new husband could most readily use, so that was the one cut down. The reward for widowhood ran the other way. Everything else she had from the land ended with her life, which left nothing for her own relations. The power to dispose of £400 0s 0d gave her something to leave them, on condition that she stayed single. The sum was to be raised from the reversion, the value of the land once it returned to Greentree's heirs. His brothers and nieces would therefore receive the estate burdened with a debt of £400 0s 0d to Elizabeth's kin, if she met the condition. The requirement of three witnesses to her will guarded those heirs against a doubtful or forged claim. The clause forbidding damage was a standard protection for those who would inherit after a life tenant. Elizabeth could farm the land and take its income. She could not fell its timber, pull down its buildings or strip it of value, since it was only hers to use. A goat range was a tract of rough hillside over which a planter held the right to run goats, the animals being left to graze half wild and rounded up as needed. Greentree treated the range as property distinct from the flock on it. The right to the ground was given to Elizabeth for life, while the goats themselves were movables, of which she took her third outright. The land was freed from the legacies. Money gifts such as the £100 0s 0d to Mary Griffith were to come from other parts of the estate, so that no legatee could force a sale of the widow's home or farm to obtain payment. James Greentree appeared on the rent roll of 29 September with 48 acres of free land and 55 on lease. The reversion of Oddifies would add the family's home farm to his holding. The gift of the seal, the personal emblem with which Thomas signed his deeds, marked James as the brother who would carry on the family's standing. | |
166 | 13th October Smith the Sum of one hundred Pounds, and in Case of her the sd. Helena's Death before she receives the sd. Legacy, then I will and Order that the same do remain and Revert to my Heir herein after named Item I give unto my Nieces, Mary, Jane and Elizabeth Swailes, the Sum of one hundred pounds each as also the sum of one hundred pounds to my Nephew John Swailes, making in all the Sum of four hundred pounds, each and every of the above Legacys to remain to them, respectively, their Heirs or Assigns for ever, and to be paid by my Executrix or Executors herein after named at a convenient time after my decease, And as I purchased two Goat Ranges at Public Auction, one whereof belonged to Mr. Lacy, and was sold to me by the Worshipful Governor & Council then being, and the other to Mr. Henry Francis, and sold me by his Executors the two sd. Ranges lying and situate from Lot to Sandy Bay Water Red Hill and Gabriels gut, I hereby give one of the sd. Ranges to my sd. Niece Mary Swailes, and the other Goat Range I give unto My Niece the sd. Elizabeth Swailes, Item I give unto My Nieces Ann Burdett, the Wife of John Burdett and Temperance Swailes the Sum of thirty Pounds each to buy them Linnen Item I give unto my Niece Elizabeth Worrall daughter of the late John Worrall, the Sum of one hundred Pounds to be paid and remain to her, her Heirs or Assigns for ever, at a convenient Time after my decease Item I give unto my Niece Sarah Desfountain the Sum of Fifty Pounds to be paid to her at a convenient Time after my decease, at the Discretion of my Executrix, and Executors herein after-mentioned, And that the sd. Legacy of fifty Pounds do remain entirely to her the sd. Sarahs Use and Behoof, and at her own disposal, without the Controul or intermedling of her Husband Item I do hereby give unto my Niece Elizabeth Powell, the Sum of one hundred pounds to remain to her, her Heirs or Assigns for ever and to be paid at a convenient time after my Decease, Item I do hereby give unto my Niece Margarett Mowett the Sum of one hundred and Fifty pounds to be and remain entirely at her | Greentree's will continued with a series of legacies to his nieces and a nephew. Helena Smith, the wife of Moses Smith, was left £100 0s 0d. If she died before receiving it, the money was to return to the heirs named later in the will. His nieces Mary, Jane and Elizabeth Swailes were each left £100 0s 0d, and his nephew John Swailes the same, making £400 0s 0d in all. Each legacy was given outright and was to be paid by the executors at a convenient time after his death. Greentree owned two goat ranges that he bought at public auction. One formerly belonged to a Mr Lacy and was sold to him by the Governor and Council of the day. The other belonged to Henry Francis and was sold by Francis's executors. The two ranges lay between Lot and Sandy Bay, at [...] Hill and Gabriel's Gut. He left one to his niece Mary Swailes and the other to his niece Elizabeth Swailes. Two more nieces, Ann Burdett, the wife of John Burdett, and Temperance Swailes, were left £30 0s 0d each to buy linen. Elizabeth Worrall, the daughter of the late John Worrall, was left £100 0s 0d outright. His niece Sarah Desfountain was left £50 0s 0d, to be paid when the executors judged fit. The will directed that this money was to be wholly hers, for her own use and at her own disposal, with no control or interference from her husband. His niece Elizabeth Powell was left £100 0s 0d outright, and his niece Margaret Mowett £150 0s 0d. Interpretations Sarah Desfountain's legacy was hedged in a way that none of the others was. A married woman's money ordinarily became her husband's the moment she received it. Helena Smith and Ann Burdett were also married, and their legacies carried no such restriction. For Sarah alone, Greentree declared the money to be for her separate use and beyond her husband's reach, and he left the timing of payment to the executors' discretion. Both provisions point to distrust of the husband. A gift for a wife's separate use was the device English law offered to keep a legacy from a spendthrift or indebted spouse, and it kept the money from his creditors as well. The executors' control over the date allowed them to hold the money back until it could safely be put into her hands. The goat ranges show how such rights came on the market. Greentree bought both at public auction. One was sold by the executors of a dead owner to turn his estate into money. The other was sold by the Governor and Council themselves, which suggests that Lacy's property came into the government's hands, perhaps through debt or because he died without heirs on the island. The Council thus acted as auctioneer of forfeited or unclaimed estates as well as court of probate. Lot was the tall pillar of rock standing above Sandy Bay, and the ranges lay on the steep, broken ground of that southern district, fit only for goats. The Swailes family received the largest share. Four of them had £100 0s 0d each, two of those also took a goat range, and a fifth had £30 0s 0d. They were evidently the children of a sister of Greentree or of his wife, and the gifts of land to Mary and Elizabeth gave two unmarried nieces a small property of their own. The money left for linen was a customary token legacy. It marked a relative out for remembrance with a modest sum, named for a household purchase, and stood apart from a share in the estate. The legacies recorded so far came to £1,060 0s 0d, beyond the £400 0s 0d over which the widow held a power. That was more than a third of the Company's whole pay list for a quarter. A planter with some 170 acres could leave such sums in cash, which shows the wealth that farming, stock and slaves produced for the leading families. The names of the legatees, Worrall, Desfountain, Powell and Burdett, belonged to planters, officers and ships' captains who appeared elsewhere in these records, and the will mapped a network of marriages binding those families together. | |
167 | 1766 own disposal, without the Controul, or being any way Subject to the Intermedling, Debts or Engagements of her Husband; But in case of the death of the said Margaret before she receives the above Legacy, then I will and Order the same to be paid unto, and equally divided between, all the Children of the said Margaret Mowatt Item I give unto my Niece Helena Harrold the sum of Fifty pounds, and in Case of her death before she receives the sd. Legacy, then I will and Order the same to be paid to, and remain amongst the Children of my Niece, the sd. Margaret Mowatt, to be divided among them in equal shares, Item I give unto my Niece Margaret Gurling, daughter of Richd. Gurling deceased the Sum of Forty Pounds, Item I hereby give unto John Goodwin the Son of Richard Goodwin deceased the Sum of fifty Pounds to be paid and remain to him, his Heirs or Assigns for ever Item I give unto John Charles and Elizabeth Goodwin the Children of Mr. Richard Goodwin, the Sum of one hundred pounds to be equally divided among them, or the Survivors of them share and share alike Item I give unto Mr. Jonathan Doveton the Sum of ten Pounds, or a piece of plate of equal Value, Item I give unto Messieurs Orlando Bagley Senr. James Powell and Matthew Bazett forty shillings each to buy them Rings, Item I give unto each and every of my Executors herein after named, the Sum of ten pounds, Item I give unto Suckey a free Black Woman, the Sum of five pounds, Item I hereby give unto the honest and Industrious poor of this Island, or to such of them as shall be deemed and judged to be the worthiest of and best intitled to Charity, the Sum of twenty five Pounds to be divided amongst them as my sd. Executrix and Executors shall think fit Item I hereby Order, Will and direct that my Executrix and Executors herein after named, or the Survivor or Survivors of them shall and do at my decease, receive and take into their Hands all the rest and residue of my Estate both real and personal whatsoever and wheresoever not yet disposed of, My Man slave Conner excepted (that is to say, twenty Acres of Free hold Land purchased of Saml. Doveton, together with twelve Acres of Leashold Land adjoining to the said Freehold, purchased of Jonathan Doveton and Jos Bro. the sd. Samuel, Also twenty one Acres and a half of freehold Land situate and lying about the high peak, a freehold Land I purchased of Jno. Goodwin deceased, together with my Goat Range in Sandy Valley and that Laying about Castle rock and Lot, | The will set conditions on Margaret Mowett's legacy of £150 0s 0d. The money was to be hers alone to dispose of. Her husband was to have no control over it, and it was not to be liable for his debts or commitments. If Margaret died before receiving it, the sum was to be shared equally among all her children. Greentree left £50 0s 0d to his niece Helena Harrold. If she died before it was paid, that money too was to be divided equally among Margaret Mowett's children. His niece Margaret Gurling, daughter of the late Richard Gurling, was left £40 0s 0d. John Goodwin, son of the late Richard Goodwin, was left £50 0s 0d outright. John, Charles and Elizabeth Goodwin, the children of Mr Richard Goodwin, were left £100 0s 0d to be split equally among them or among those still living. Smaller gifts followed. Jonathan Doveton was to have £10 0s 0d or a piece of silver of that value. Orlando Bagley senior, James Powell and Matthew Bazett were each left £2 0s 0d to buy rings. Each executor was to receive £10 0s 0d. Sukey, a free black woman, was left £5 0s 0d. The honest and hard-working poor of the island, or those judged most deserving of charity, were left £25 0s 0d, to be shared out as the executors saw fit. The will then directed the executors, or whichever of them survived, to take possession at his death of everything not yet given away, in land and in goods, with one exception. His slave Connor was kept out of this residue. The will began to list what it contained. Freehold land bought from Samuel Doveton, 20 acres Leasehold land adjoining it, bought from Jonathan Doveton and his brother Samuel, 12 acres Freehold land near High Peak, bought from the late John Goodwin, 21½ acres Goat range in Sandy Bay, 1 Goat range around Castle Rock and Lot, 1 Interpretations Margaret Mowett was the second niece whose legacy was shielded from her husband, and the wording went further than for Sarah Desfountain. It named his debts and commitments outright. A husband's creditors could seize money that became his through his wife, and Greentree closed that route. The fallback to her children showed where his concern lay. He wanted the £150 0s 0d to benefit Margaret and her family and treated her husband as a risk to it. Helena Harrold's legacy was also to pass to the Mowett children if she died first, which marks them as the relatives he most wished to provide for. A Mrs Helena Harrold paid £1,578 16s 0d into the treasury on 14 July for a bill of exchange on the Court of Directors. If she was the niece named here, she was a woman of means sending a fortune to England, and her modest legacy of £50 0s 0d reflected that she had less need than her cousins. Money left to buy a ring was a mark of friendship. The recipient had a mourning ring made, often engraved with the dead man's name and date of death, and wore it in his memory. Greentree chose three of the island's leading men: Orlando Bagley, a planter with over 160 acres, James Powell, the storekeeper, and Matthew Bazett, the Council's secretary. Jonathan Doveton, the factor from whom he bought land, was offered silver in the same spirit. Sukey was described as a free black woman. The phrase shows that not every person of African or Asian descent on the island was a slave. Some were freed, by an owner's will or by purchase, and lived as free inhabitants. The gift of £5 0s 0d to her by name suggests a former servant of the household or a nurse, remembered alongside his own relations. The bequest to the poor placed relief in the hands of the executors. In England each parish raised a compulsory rate for its poor. The will's wording, which left the choice of recipients to private judgement and limited it to the honest and industrious, suggests that the island's needy depended on charity of this kind and on the Company's discretion. The condition also carried the usual distinction of the period between the deserving poor and the idle. Connor was singled out from the general estate. Every other slave not already given to the widow fell into the residue to be valued and dealt with by the executors. By excepting him, Greentree reserved him for some separate provision. The residue itself was considerable. It included more than 40 acres of freehold, 12 of leasehold and two further goat ranges, all acquired by purchase from the Doveton and Goodwin families. Greentree therefore owned four goat ranges in all, with the two left to the Swailes nieces, and the lands given to his widow for life were only part of what he held. | |
168 | 13th October Also, the two thirds of my moveables, such as houshold Goods, Plate, Money, Slaves, Cattle, Horses, Sheep Goats, Hogs Poultry &ca and sell the same to the best advantage, excepting out of the sd. two thirds, the Legacies Left by me to My Wife the sd. Elizabeth, over and above her said Thirds, as also all my Wearing Apparel, the disposal whereof I reserve for other purposes; As also, from and after the decease of my sd. Wife the reversion of such freehold and Leashold Lands, as are by me to her bequeathed for and during the Term of her natural Life and no longer, with my sd. dwelling House in James Valley aforesaid, and the Money Arising from the Sale thereof, to apply and dispose of, as follows, That is to say, I hereby Will, Order and direct that after my Just Debts funeral Expences and Legacies are fully paid, the remaining part of my Estate of what kind soever not by me herein disposed of shall be equally divided amongst my Nephews and Nieces the Children of my Brother the sd. James Greentree, who shall be then living, share and share alike to be paid to them by my Executrix or Executors, herein after named, as he she or they shall attain to the Age of twenty one Years, or at the time of his, her, or their Marriage, or sooner, if my Executrix or Executors shall judge it necessary for the Good and Welfare of my sd. Nephews, and Nieces the Children of my Brother the sd. James Greentree; And I also hereby give unto my Executrix and other Executors, herein after named full power to pay into the Hands of my Bro. the sd. James Greentree and the sd. Richard Goodwin or their respective Executors, the parts, shares or Legacies of their Children respectively, they giving sufficient Security for the same, Item I hereby Will Order and direct that from and after my decease, My Black servant, the sd. Conner, shall serve my sd. Wife, as a Servant during her Life, and if he the sd. Conner do faithfully serve her during the sd. Term then and after her decease, I give unto the sd. Conner his freedom and the Sum of ten pounds to go off the sd. Island, if he chuses Lastly, I do hereby Nominate, Constitute and Appoint my well beloved Wife the sd. Elizabeth Greentree Executrix: and my friends and acquaintance Matthew Purling | The residue of Greentree's estate also took in the remaining two thirds of his movable property, described as household goods, silver plate, money, slaves, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. The executors were to sell these for the best price obtainable. Two things were kept out of the sale: the items given to his wife Elizabeth beyond her own third, and all his clothing, which he reserved for another purpose. The residue further included, once Elizabeth was dead, the land and houses she held for life, the dwelling house in James Valley and whatever money their sale produced. The will then directed how the residue was to be used. After his lawful debts, funeral costs and legacies were paid in full, everything left was to be divided equally among the children of his brother James Greentree who were then alive. Each child's share was to be paid at the age of 21 or on marriage, or earlier if the executors judged it necessary for the child's welfare. The executors were also given full power to hand the shares and legacies of James Greentree's children and of Richard Goodwin's children to their fathers, or to the fathers' executors, provided adequate security was given for the money. Greentree made a separate provision for his black servant Connor. After Greentree's death Connor was to serve Elizabeth for the rest of her life. If he served her faithfully throughout, he was to receive his freedom at her death, together with £10 0s 0d to leave the island if he wished. Finally the will named Elizabeth Greentree as executor, with Matthew Purling among the friends appointed to act beside her. Interpretations Connor was the slave excepted from the residue on the previous leaf, and the reason now appeared. Greentree could have freed him outright by the will, or left him to be sold with the rest. He did neither. Freedom was promised, but only after the widow's death and only if Connor served her faithfully until then. The arrangement secured Elizabeth a trusted servant for life at no cost to the estate, and it bound Connor to good conduct by making his liberty depend on it. Who would judge his faithfulness was left unstated, which placed him at the mercy of the widow and the executors. His freedom also waited on the length of another person's life and might not come for decades. The £10 0s 0d was given so that Connor could leave the island. A freed slave on St Helena had little land or work open to him and no family of standing, and the sum equalled the bounty paid to a soldier for re-enlisting for five years. It would buy a passage on a homeward ship. The choice was left to him, and Sukey, the free black woman left £5 0s 0d earlier in the will, shows that some freed people stayed. Connor's treatment stood against the fate of the other slaves. Lucy and her two children went to the widow by name, and Elizabeth could buy Richard, Jack and any others at a valuation. Every slave beyond those and her third share was to be sold by the executors for the best price, in the same clause as the cattle and poultry. The will thus sorted the people Greentree owned into three groups: a few kept in the household, one promised eventual freedom and the remainder turned into money for his nephews and nieces. The children of James Greentree were the final heirs. They took the remainder of the estate after the legacies, and in time the widow's lands as well, apart from the home farm left to James himself. Payment at 21 or on marriage was the usual rule for a legacy to a minor. The power to pay the money to the fathers instead, on security, dealt with a practical difficulty. Executors holding children's money for years bore the risk and the trouble of it. A father who took the money was required to pledge property or find sureties, so that the child could recover the sum from him on coming of age. Purling was named as an executor of the will. He was also one of the four members of the Council before whom it was proved that day. The same small group of men made up the island's government, its court of probate, its principal landholders and the friends on whom its planters relied to carry out their wills. | |
169 | 1766 Esqr. Messieurs Richard Bagley, Will. Wrangham, Richard Goodwin, Henry Bazett, and my Brother the sd. James Greentree Executors jointly with my Wife of this my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making, Void all former Wills by me heretofore made and Executed; And do declare this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof, I the sd. Thomas Greentree have to this my last Will and Testament containing seven sides of Paper, put my hand to six thereof, and my hand and Seal to the seventh, this sixteenth day of September, in the sixth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord the King and in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty six Signed, sealed, published and declared by the sd. Testator Thoms. Greentree, as his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us who at his Request and in his presence have subscribed our Names as Witnesses. (Signed) Thos. Greentree (signed) Saml. Desfountain Geo. Bazett Phill Mahony The Words (in Sandy Valley and that) were interlined in the sixth page and between the eighteen and Nineteenth Line, of the sd. page, before the Execution of this my last Will as can be attested by the Witnesses thereto The Plantation Account for the last Quarter, and the Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of September last, were this day brought in, which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. | Greentree named six men to act as executors jointly with his wife: Matthew Purling, Richard Bagley, William Wrangham, Richard Goodwin, Henry Bazett and his brother James Greentree. He cancelled every earlier will and declared this one alone to be his last. The will ran to seven sides of paper. Greentree signed the first six and put both his signature and his seal to the seventh, on 16 September 1766, in the sixth year of the King's reign. Samuel Desfountain, George Bazett and Phillip Mabony signed as witnesses. They attested that Greentree signed, sealed and declared the document as his will in their presence, and that they added their names at his request and in his sight. A note recorded an insertion. A few words placing the goat range in Sandy Bay were written in between the eighteenth and nineteenth lines of the sixth page before the will was signed, as the witnesses could confirm. Interpretations Greentree described himself in the will as in good health, and he signed it on 16 September. He died on 5 October, 19 days later. The Council renewed his lease of seven acres on 18 August, so he was putting his affairs in order across those weeks. Whatever his own account of his health, a man who settled his lease and then drew up a will of seven pages in the space of a month, and was dead before the next month was a week old, probably knew that his time was short. The form of the signing guarded against tampering. A signature on every sheet prevented anyone from removing a page or slipping in a new one. The note about the inserted words served the same end. Writing squeezed between the lines of a will raised the suspicion that it was added after the testator signed, perhaps after his death. By recording the exact page and lines and calling on the witnesses to vouch that the words were there at the signing, the will made a later challenge to that clause very hard to sustain. The clause concerned a goat range passing into the residue, and so affected what James Greentree's children would receive. The executors were drawn from the island's leading men. Purling sat on the Council, Wrangham was a factor and assistant to the Governor, Henry Bazett commanded the second company, and Bagley and Goodwin were substantial planters on the rent roll of 29 September. A team of seven suited an estate that would take years to wind up, with a widow's life interest to outlast, minors' shares to hold until they came of age and Connor's conditional freedom to honour. Two of the executors had a direct stake in what they were to administer. James Greentree's children took the residue and Richard Goodwin's children £150 0s 0d, and the will allowed the executors to pay those sums to the fathers on security. James and Richard would therefore sit among the men deciding whether their own security was adequate. The presence of five other executors was the only check on that. The witnesses were men of the garrison and the Company's service. Desfountain was a lieutenant of the first company, George Bazett the steward and Mabony the clerk of the peace. None of the three took anything under the will, as the law required of those who attested it. The plantation account for the previous quarter and the gunner's and steward's accounts for September were brought in that day, examined and approved, and their details followed. | |
170 | 13 October Account of the Honorable Company's Stock of Neat Cattle &ca. from the 1st July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Neat Cattle Bulls, Neat Cattle Cows, Neat Cattle Calves, Neat Cattle Yearlings, Neat Cattle Heifers, Neat Cattle Steers, Neat Cattle Oxen, Neat Cattle Total, Sheep Ewes, Sheep Wethers, Sheep Lambs, Sheep Rams, Sheep Total, Goats Ewes, Goats Weathers, Goats Kids, Goats Rams, Goats Total, Hogs Shoats, Hogs Total, Horses Horses, Horses Mares, Horses Total, Asses He Ass, Asses She Ass, Asses Total, Poultry Fowls, Poultry Ducks, Poultry Turkeys, Poultry Geese Remaining 1st July: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 77, Neat Cattle Calves 44, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 15, Neat Cattle Steers 3, Neat Cattle Oxen 20, Neat Cattle Total 232, Sheep Ewes 330, Sheep Wethers 69, Sheep Lambs 189, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 598, Goats Ewes 79, Goats Weathers 16, Goats Kids 51, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 150, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Ass 1, Asses She Ass 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 24, Poultry Ducks 4, Poultry Turkeys 12, Poultry Geese 4 Encreased: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 0, Neat Cattle Calves 19, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 19, Sheep Ewes 0, Sheep Wethers 0, Sheep Lambs 31, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 31, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 0, Goats Kids 40, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 40, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Ass 0, Asses She Ass 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 75, Poultry Ducks 3, Poultry Turkeys 19, Poultry Geese 0 Total: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 77, Neat Cattle Calves 63, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 15, Neat Cattle Steers 3, Neat Cattle Oxen 20, Neat Cattle Total 251, Sheep Ewes 330, Sheep Wethers 69, Sheep Lambs 220, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 629, Goats Ewes 79, Goats Weathers 16, Goats Kids 91, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 190, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Ass 1, Asses She Ass 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 99, Poultry Ducks 7, Poultry Turkeys 31, Poultry Geese 4 Killed: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 2, Neat Cattle Calves 0, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 5, Neat Cattle Steers 3, Neat Cattle Oxen 2, Neat Cattle Total 12, Sheep Ewes 33, Sheep Wethers 22, Sheep Lambs 4, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 59, Goats Ewes 2, Goats Weathers 8, Goats Kids 3, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 13, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Ass 0, Asses She Ass 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 21, Poultry Ducks 0, Poultry Turkeys 1, Poultry Geese 0 Dead: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 2, Neat Cattle Calves 1, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 2, Neat Cattle Total 5, Sheep Ewes 3, Sheep Wethers 7, Sheep Lambs 21, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 31, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 0, Goats Kids 0, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Ass 0, Asses She Ass 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 1, Poultry Ducks 1, Poultry Turkeys 1, Poultry Geese 1 Remg. 30th. Sept.: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 73, Neat Cattle Calves 62, Neat Cattle Yearlings 70, Neat Cattle Heifers 10, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 16, Neat Cattle Total 234, Sheep Ewes 294, Sheep Wethers 40, Sheep Lambs 195, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 539, Goats Ewes 77, Goats Weathers 8, Goats Kids 88, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 177, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Ass 1, Asses She Ass 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 77, Poultry Ducks 6, Poultry Turkeys 29, Poultry Geese 3 Chargd. in Specie: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 73, Neat Cattle Calves 50, Neat Cattle Yearlings 24, Neat Cattle Heifers 24, Neat Cattle Steers 44, Neat Cattle Oxen 16, Neat Cattle Total 234, Sheep Ewes 334, Sheep Wethers 100, Sheep Lambs 95, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 539, Goats Ewes 80, Goats Weathers 41, Goats Kids 52, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 177, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Ass 1, Asses She Ass 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 77, Poultry Ducks 6, Poultry Turkeys 29, Poultry Geese 3 12 Sheep given to General Laurence 6 Do. sent on Bd. the Ad. Watson Deceased Slaves Roger Chesterfield Ranger Yams bought for the Stock 2. 800 Do. Do. for the Slaves 13. 555 Total 16. 355 (Signed) Danl. Corneille | The Company's plantation account, signed by Daniel Corneille, recorded its livestock from 1 July to 30 September 1766. Remaining on 1 July, cattle: 3 bulls, 77 cows, 44 calves, 70 yearlings, 15 heifers, 3 steers, 20 oxen, 232 cattle in all Remaining on 1 July, sheep: 330 ewes, 69 wethers, 189 lambs, 10 rams, 598 sheep in all Remaining on 1 July, goats: 79 she-goats, 16 wethers, 51 kids, 4 he-goats, 150 goats in all Remaining on 1 July, pigs: 2 young pigs, 2 pigs in all Remaining on 1 July, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, 9 horses in all Remaining on 1 July, asses: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 asses in all Remaining on 1 July, poultry: 24 fowls, 4 ducks, 12 turkeys, 4 geese Increase, cattle: 0 bulls, 0 cows, 19 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, 19 cattle in all Increase, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 31 lambs, 0 rams, 31 sheep in all Increase, goats: 0 she-goats, 0 wethers, 40 kids, 0 he-goats, 40 goats in all Increase, pigs, horses and asses: 0 pigs, 0 horses, 0 asses Increase, poultry: 75 fowls, 3 ducks, 19 turkeys, 0 geese Total, cattle: 3 bulls, 77 cows, 63 calves, 70 yearlings, 15 heifers, 3 steers, 20 oxen, 251 cattle in all Total, sheep: 330 ewes, 69 wethers, 220 lambs, 10 rams, 629 sheep in all Total, goats: 79 she-goats, 16 wethers, 91 kids, 4 he-goats, 190 goats in all Total, pigs: 2 young pigs, 2 pigs in all Total, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, 9 horses in all Total, asses: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 asses in all Total, poultry: 99 fowls, 7 ducks, 31 turkeys, 4 geese Killed, cattle: 0 bulls, 2 cows, 0 calves, 0 yearlings, 5 heifers, 3 steers, 2 oxen, 12 cattle in all Killed, sheep: 33 ewes, 22 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, 59 sheep in all Killed, goats: 2 she-goats, 8 wethers, 3 kids, 0 he-goats, 13 goats in all Killed, pigs, horses and asses: 0 pigs, 0 horses, 0 asses Killed, poultry: 21 fowls, 0 ducks, 1 turkey, 0 geese Died, cattle: 0 bulls, 2 cows, 1 calf, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 2 oxen, 5 cattle in all Died, sheep: 3 ewes, 7 wethers, 21 lambs, 0 rams, 31 sheep in all Died, goats: 0 she-goats, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 he-goats, 0 goats in all Died, pigs, horses and asses: 0 pigs, 0 horses, 0 asses Died, poultry: 1 fowl, 1 duck, 1 turkey, 1 goose Remaining on 30 September, cattle: 3 bulls, 73 cows, 62 calves, 70 yearlings, 10 heifers, 0 steers, 16 oxen, 234 cattle in all Remaining on 30 September, sheep: 294 ewes, 40 wethers, 195 lambs, 10 rams, 539 sheep in all Remaining on 30 September, goats: 77 she-goats, 8 wethers, 88 kids, 4 he-goats, 177 goats in all Remaining on 30 September, pigs: 2 young pigs, 2 pigs in all Remaining on 30 September, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, 9 horses in all Remaining on 30 September, asses: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 asses in all Remaining on 30 September, poultry: 77 fowls, 6 ducks, 29 turkeys, 3 geese Reclassified by kind, cattle: 3 bulls, 73 cows, 50 calves, 24 yearlings, 24 heifers, 44 steers, 16 oxen, 234 cattle in all Reclassified by kind, sheep: 334 ewes, 100 wethers, 95 lambs, 10 rams, 539 sheep in all Reclassified by kind, goats: 80 she-goats, 41 wethers, 52 kids, 4 he-goats, 177 goats in all Reclassified by kind, pigs: 2 young pigs, 2 pigs in all Reclassified by kind, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, 9 horses in all Reclassified by kind, asses: 1 male ass, 1 female ass, 2 asses in all Reclassified by kind, poultry: 77 fowls, 6 ducks, 29 turkeys, 3 geese Sheep given to General Lawrence, 12 Sheep sent on board the Admiral Watson, 6 Slaves who died in the quarter: Roger, Chesterfield, Ranger Yams bought for the livestock, 2,800 lb Yams bought for the slaves, 13,555 lb Yams bought, total, 16,355 lb Interpretations Neat cattle was the old term for the ox kind, as distinct from sheep and goats. A wether was a castrated male sheep or goat raised for meat, and a steer a young castrated bull. The last line of the table sorted the same animals afresh by age and sex as the farming year turned. Calves old enough were moved up to yearlings, and yearlings were divided into heifers and steers, so that 70 yearlings became 24 with 44 steers and more heifers beside them. The totals stayed the same, and only the labels changed. The herd barely held its ground. It opened at 232 head and closed at 234. Nineteen calves were born, 12 beasts were slaughtered and five died. That bears out the Council's statement on 22 September that the Company's cattle were very short, when Captain Money was limited to five head and two more were taken from the planters. With only 77 cows and 20 working oxen, a few ships' demands in a quarter consumed the whole natural increase. Not one steer remained on 30 September before the reclassification, since all three were killed. Sheep fell from 598 to 539. Fifty-nine were killed and 31 died, 21 of them lambs, against only 31 born. July to September was the island's winter and early spring, when lambs dropped in cold, wet weather on exposed pasture were most at risk. The note beneath the table accounted for 18 of those killed. Six went to the Admiral Watson, as the Council ordered on 22 September. Twelve were presented to General Lawrence, who received a salute of 17 guns on landing from the Pacifick on 28 July. A gift of a dozen sheep to a passenger was a mark of honour charged to the plantation. The plantation was run by the Lieutenant Governor, who signed its account. He was also the officer who detected the overseer Daniel Tongue cheating the slaves of their rations in August, and the two facts fit together. The Company's farm, its livestock and its slaves formed one charge under his direct eye. Three of the Company's slaves died in the quarter. Chesterfield drowned on 1 September when the Governor's fishing boat capsized off Barn Point. The account listed the dead men by name beneath the tallies of animals killed and died, in a return whose subject was the Company's stock. The yams show what the slaves lived on. The plantation bought 13,555 lb for them in three months, besides 2,800 lb for the animals. Rice and paddy from India were issued too, but the bulk of the slaves' food was the island's own root, bought from the planters at about 3s 0d a hundred. The Company's farm did not feed its own labour force and depended on the planters' crop to do so. | |
171 | 1766 Artillery Stores Expended in Sept. 1766 vizt. Guns fired, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powr. Expend. 5th An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powr. Expend. 12 Do. At Turks Cap for the same Ship: Guns fired 2, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 4 The Alarm Doubled: Guns fired 3, 4 lb 1, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 1, Powr. Expend. 6 Arrived the Adml. Watson: Guns fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 9 Do. the Harcourt: Guns fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 9 26th Sailed the Admirl. Watson: Guns fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 0 Do. the Harcourt: Guns fired 9, 4 lb 4, 3 lb 1, 2 lb 4, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 13. 8 Powder Expend. in primg. Signs. &c.: Guns fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powr. Expend. 17 Total: Guns fired 38, 4 lb 9, 3 lb 4, 2 lb 22, 1 lb 3, Powr. Expend. 70. 8 Cartridge Paper Expend. this Month 6 Spunge Staves Do. 6 Tallow 14 Handspikes 9 Iron Shod Trucks vizt. 4, 32 lb and 4, 9 lb. 8 (Signed) Ad. Mitchell Sundrys Expended at the Honble Company's Table in Sept. 1766 vizt. 18 Bottles Port Wine L 1. 7 20 Do. Lisbon 1. 10 12 Do. Mountain 18 24 Do. Beer 5 62 Do. Arrack 3. 7. 6 145 lb Beef 3. 1. 5 203 Mutton 5. 9. 7 1 Lamb 10 4 Kids 1 24 Fowles 1. 18 49 lb Butter 2. 9 Carr. over L 21. 10. 6 | The gunner's account recorded the artillery stores used in September 1766, with the guns fired sorted under columns headed 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb and 1 lb. 5 September: an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 under the 4 lb column, 2 under the 3 lb column, 0 under the 2 lb column and 2 under the 1 lb column, 12 lb of powder used 5 September: a further alarm at Turk's Cap for the same ship, 2 guns fired, both under the 4 lb column, 4 lb of powder used 5 September: the alarm doubled, 3 guns fired, 1 under the 4 lb column, 1 under the 3 lb column, 0 under the 2 lb column and 1 under the 1 lb column, 6 lb of powder used 5 September: arrival of the Admiral Watson, 9 guns fired, all under the 2 lb column, 9 lb of powder used 5 September: arrival of the Harcourt, 9 guns fired, all under the 2 lb column, 9 lb of powder used 26 September: departure of the Admiral Watson, 0 guns fired, 0 lb of powder used 26 September: departure of the Harcourt, 9 guns fired, 4 under the 4 lb column, 1 under the 3 lb column, 4 under the 2 lb column and 0 under the 1 lb column, 13 lb 8 oz of powder used Powder used in priming, signals and similar purposes, 17 lb Total: 38 guns fired Total: 9 guns under the 4 lb column Total: 4 guns under the 3 lb column Total: 22 guns under the 2 lb column Total: 3 guns under the 1 lb column Total: 70 lb 8 oz of powder used Cartridge paper used in the month, 6 quires Sponge staves used, 6 Tallow used, 14 lb Handspikes used, 9 Iron-shod trucks, 4 for 32-pounders and 4 for 9-pounders, 8 A. Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations The alarms of 5 September traced one morning's events. A first alarm of six guns reported a sail. Two more guns followed from Turk's Cap, the height at the island's eastern end, for the same ship as she came nearer. The alarm was then doubled when a second sail appeared, and the Admiral Watson and the Harcourt both anchored that day. The gunner noted that the Turk's Cap guns concerned the vessel already signalled, so that the powder was not mistaken for a separate alarm. No salute was entered for the departure of the Admiral Watson, while the Harcourt received nine guns. The two ships sailed together on 26 September, and a single salute evidently served for both. In August the three ships leaving together were given nine guns each, 27 in all. Either the practice varied or the garrison was sparing its powder. Powder consumption fell to 70 lb 8 oz, from 268 lb 1 oz in August. No powder was drawn for blasting at the fortifications, which took 200 lb the month before. Mitchell's letter of 6 October explains the change: the men at Sandy Bay spent the quarter's later weeks digging the ditch and hauling stone already quarried. A truck was the small solid wheel of a garrison gun carriage. Eight were shod with iron bands, four for 32-pounder guns and four for 9-pounders, so that the wheels did not split or wear on stone platforms. The 32-pounders were the heaviest guns on the island, mounted in the sea batteries to reach ships in the road. The steward's account listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table in September 1766. 18 bottles of port wine, £1 7s 0d 20 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 10s 0d 12 bottles of Mountain wine, £0 18s 0d 24 bottles of beer, £0 5s 0d 62 bottles of arrack, £3 7s 6d 145 lb of beef, £3 1s 5d 263 lb of mutton, £5 9s 7d 1 lamb, £0 10s 0d 4 kids, £1 0s 0d 24 fowls, £1 13s 0d 49 lb of butter, £2 9s 0d Carried over, £21 10s 6d Interpretations The table reflected a month with two ships in the road for three weeks. Wine stood at 50 bottles, a little above August's 45 but well below the 76 of July, when five Company ships and two foreign vessels called. Lamb, kid and twice as many fowls returned to the bill of fare, as in July, which marks the entertaining of commanders and passengers. Arrack held at 62 bottles for the third month running and mutton at over 260 lb, the steady consumption of the residents who dined there whatever the shipping. The meat and poultry came from the Company's own plantation. Its account for the quarter showed 59 sheep, 13 goats and 21 fowls killed, and the steward's three monthly accounts charged the table with roughly 650 lb of mutton, six kids and 45 fowls. The plantation was thus debited with the animals and the table with their value, the same stock appearing in both sets of books. | |
172 | 13th October Brought over L 21. 10. 6 99 Candy 1. 13 1 [...] 5 298 lb Flour 1. 8. 3 L 24. 16. 9 Mr. James Greentree this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of James Greentree Sheweth That two of the Nominees in a Lease for eighteen Acres of Land lying in the West Division of the said Island are dead, humbly requests your Worship and Council will be pleased to give him leave to insert in their steads the Names of two of his Sons, James Greentree and Walter Greentree Your Petitioner likewise sets forth that he hath a Lease for thirty seven Acres of Land lying in the South Division of the aforesaid Island expired, begs that you'll be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same And Your Petitioner will ever pray (signed) 13th. October 1767 James Greentree Granted | The steward's account of the Company's table for September 1766 closed with three further items and its total. Balance brought over, £21 10s 6d 99 lb of sugar candy, £1 13s 0d 1 pig, £0 5s 0d 298 lb of flour, £3 8s 3d Total, £26 16s 9d James Greentree petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on 13 October 1766. He held a lease of 18 acres in the West Division of the island that ran for the length of certain named lives, and two of the persons named were dead. He asked leave to put the names of two of his sons, James Greentree and Walter Greentree, in their place. He also held a lease of 37 acres in the South Division that was out of date, and he asked for it to be renewed. The Council granted both requests. Interpretations A lease on lives lasted until the last of the persons named in it died. Each death brought the end nearer, and when two of the usual three were gone the tenancy hung on a single life. Greentree asked to replace the dead with two of his own sons. Young lives could be expected to run for decades, so the substitution turned a lease close to expiry into one likely to outlast him. The Council could have let the lease run its natural course and then relet the land on fresh terms. It allowed the change at once, and the minute recorded no payment for the favour. In England a landlord normally charged a substantial fine for adding a life. The Company's readiness to extend tenures in this way, at rents of a few shillings an acre, shows that it wished to keep established families on the land more than to raise money from it. The choice of sons as the new lives also settled the succession. A lease held on the lives of James and Walter would in practice descend to them, since the land remained in the family for as long as they lived. The petition came on the day the Council proved the will of Thomas Greentree, James's brother. That will left James the reversion of the home farm and made his children heirs to the residue of the estate. A man who was about to see his family's holdings grow chose that moment to secure his own leases, and he named in them the sons who stood to inherit from their uncle. The rent roll of 29 September showed him with 48 acres of free land and 55 on lease. The table cost £26 16s 9d in September, against £24 17s 11d in August and £23 3s 8d in July. Flour and sugar candy rose a little each month while the wine fell and recovered with the shipping. The steady upward drift lay in the plain provisions, mutton, flour and butter, that fed the regular diners. | |
173 | 1766 Granted the Renewal of two Nominees, upon the usual Terms of paying half a Years Rent for each nominee amounting to four pounds ten Shillings, Also Granted the Renewal of the other Lease. The Lieut. Governor this day Addressed the following Letter to the board, covering a Letter to the Honble the Court of Directors which are as follows vizt. To John Skottowe Esqr. Governor and Council &ca. Gentlemen As you were present at the undeserved treatment I received from the Governor at last Mondays Consultation, And as the principals he promulged to me as a member of the Board does not alone Affect me, but likewise the Priviledge and Freedom of every Gentleman belonging to it, I apprehend I am bound in honor to myself, As well as duty I owe my Honourable Masters, To transmit my Complaint to them: And request that this Letter, as well as the inclosed to the Honble the Court of Directors may go thro', the Channel of the Consultations: and am Gentlemen Your most obedient humble Servant (signed) Dan Corneille St. Helena 13th October 1766 | The Council allowed James Greentree to replace the two dead nominees in his lease on the usual terms, a payment of half a year's rent for each new name, which came to £4 10s 0d. It also renewed his other lease. The Lieutenant Governor addressed a letter to the board that day, enclosing another for the Court of Directors. His letter was directed to Governor Skottowe and the Council and dated at St Helena on 13 October 1766. Corneille reminded the members that they were present at the previous Monday's meeting and saw how the Governor treated him, which he held to be undeserved. He stated that the principles the Governor laid down to him as a member of the board touched more than himself, since they bore on the rights and freedom of every member. Corneille therefore felt bound, in honour and in duty to the Company, to send his complaint to the Court. He asked that both this letter and the enclosed one be forwarded to London through the Council's minutes. Interpretations The Lieutenant Governor accused the Governor, in writing and before the whole board, of mistreating him in Council. The minutes of 6 October gave no hint of it. They recorded two deaths, Captain Mitchell's letter on Sandy Bay and a decision to defer it for a week, all signed by the four members as usual. Whatever passed between the two men was left out of the official record. Corneille's letter was written to repair that omission. His request that the complaint go through the minutes was the point of the whole letter. A copy of the Council's proceedings went to London by every ship, and the Court read it as the authoritative account of the island's government. A private letter of complaint could be delayed, answered behind his back or dismissed as a personal grievance. A letter entered in the minutes became part of the public record, which the Governor could not withhold without falsifying the book that all four members signed. Corneille thus used the Company's own system of record against his superior. He also chose his ground carefully. He did not describe the insult or name the subject of the dispute. He framed the matter as one of principle, the freedom of each member of the board to speak and vote, and so invited Purling and Kirkpatrick to see their own position at stake. The Company governed its settlements through a council and not through a governor alone, with decisions taken by the members together. A governor who claimed the right to overrule or silence his second in command was altering that arrangement, and the Court would treat such a claim seriously. The quarrel had practical weight. Corneille ran the Company's plantation and its slaves and signed the plantation account approved that same day. He was also the officer who brought the charge against the overseer Daniel Tongue on 11 August. The two senior men of a four-man government now stood openly opposed, with the engineer's plan for Sandy Bay and the fate of the old battery still awaiting the board's decision. The charge for the new lives was half a year's rent each. The £4 10s 0d for two nominees gives a yearly rent of £4 10s 0d for the 18 acres, the standard 5s 0d an acre for lease land shown on the rent roll of 29 September. An English landlord commonly demanded a year or more of the land's full value to add a single life. The Company asked six months of a low rent, and described that as its customary rate. The fine was a formal fee for altering the lease, set at a level any tenant could meet. | |
174 | 13th October To the Honorable the Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies Honorable Sirs As it has been my Constant endeavour ever since I have had the Honour of being in your service as Lieutenant Governor of the Island St. Helena, To preserve Harmony and a Good understanding with the Governor yet at same time considered myself as bound in duty to you my Masters to deliver my opinion freely in all debates Relative to your Interest, and the Trust reposed in me, And which I shall ever continue unless Ordered by you to the Contrary; As apprehending it one of the Fundamental parts of this Constitution, And in so doing have at several times had very disagreeable things said to me by the Governor which I have hitherto past over for the sake of preserving that harmony as an Object I have always had in view, Yet am now tho' unwillingly obliged in Duty to you, and myself, To inform your Honors that at a Consultation held on Monday the 6th. of October 1766 at which time the Engineer laid before Us his Plan for the Construction of the Works to be carry'd into Execution at Sandy Bay, In which I apply'd to him to Clear up some doubts that occured to me as appears in Consultation, but before I could give my reasons or receive Captain Mitchells Answer, was told by the Governor in the most abrupt manner that I had no right to give my opinion but when ask'd nor dictate to the board, And this in publick Council and in presence of the Engineer who was present to resolve any Questions that might occur to any member thereon As I conceive such Expressions highly Contrary to your Honors appointment of Governor and Council, as tending to destroy that Priviledge and Freedom of opinion which every member of the Board are intitled to enjoy; as well as the Personal breach of Good-Manners to me as next in Council and at a time that I was only executing my Duty, therefore am resolved to submit the thing to your Honors Consideration, And tho' I am happy | Corneille's enclosed letter was addressed to the Court of Directors of the East India Company. He began by stating that throughout his service as Lieutenant Governor of St Helena he tried constantly to keep on good terms with Governor Skottowe. He nonetheless held himself bound, by his duty to the Court and the trust placed in him, to give his opinion freely in every debate touching the Company's interest. He meant to go on doing so unless the Court ordered otherwise, since he regarded that freedom as a basic part of the island's form of government. Speaking in that way brought very unpleasant remarks from the Governor on several occasions. Corneille let those pass for the sake of harmony. He now felt obliged, though unwillingly, to report what took place at the Council's meeting on Monday 6 October 1766. The engineer laid before the board his plan for the works to be built at Sandy Bay. Corneille put questions to him to clear up some doubts of his own. Before he could give his reasons or hear Captain Mitchell's reply, the Governor told him in the most abrupt manner that he had no right to offer an opinion unless asked for it, nor to dictate to the board. This was said in open Council and in front of the engineer, who attended expressly to answer any question a member might raise. Corneille considered such words wholly at odds with the Court's appointment of a Governor and Council. In his view they tended to destroy the right of free opinion that every member of the board was entitled to enjoy. He also took them as a personal discourtesy to himself as second in the Council, delivered at a moment when he was only doing his duty. He therefore resolved to put the matter before the Court. Interpretations The letter explains the silence of the minutes for 6 October. They recorded Mitchell's letter and plan and then a bare decision to defer both until the following Monday. Corneille stated that his doubts about the plan were visible in that record, but the entry showed no question, no objection and no exchange. The postponement was evidently the result of the quarrel. The board broke off its discussion of the Sandy Bay works because the Governor and his deputy clashed over whether the deputy might question the engineer at all. The dispute turned on what kind of body the Council was. The Governor's reported words treated it as his own advisory board, whose members spoke when he asked them. Corneille's answer rested on the terms of the Court's commission, which appointed a Governor and Council together and vested the government in them jointly. On that reading each member had a duty to examine any proposal placed before the board, and a plan to spend the Company's money and demolish an existing battery was exactly such a proposal. Corneille called this freedom a fundamental part of the constitution, a word that claimed for the island's Council the standing of a settled form of government and not a governor's convenience. He presented himself throughout as the reluctant party. He stressed years of forbearance, earlier slights passed over and his unwillingness to write. That was prudent as well as polite. The Court disliked quarrels among its servants and was apt to blame whoever seemed to have started one. By limiting his complaint to a single, dated incident with a named witness, he gave London something it could check against the engineer's own account. The presence of Mitchell sharpened the offence. The engineer was a subordinate officer, called in to explain his plan. To be told before such a man that the Lieutenant Governor had no right to speak diminished Corneille's authority over the garrison and the works, which he would command if the Governor died or left. The subject of the doubts was not stated. Mitchell's letter proposed to depart from the plan sent to England in 1765 and to demolish the old battery that he earlier advised repairing. Either point gave a careful member reason to ask questions before the board committed itself. | |
175 | 1766 hitherto not to have been warm either on the above or like occations; Yet cannot answer how far an Unguarded Moment may get the better of me and loose that Temper which ought ever to be preserved in all Councils and Debates: For which reasons I have taken this Method of transmitting to your honors my complaint, thro' the Channel of the Consultations; That Mr. Skottowe may have an opportunity of given you His reasons why he takes such Exceptions to my Conduct, which I am at all times ready to submit to a full Inquiry of my Masters, To whom I subscribe myself with respect Honorable Sirs. Your most Obedient and most humble servant (signed) Dan Corneille St. Helena 13th October 1766 The Lieutenant Governor likewise Laid before the board the following Query's to be put to the Engineer (vizt.) Minutes of the Lieutenant Governor As at last Mondays Consultation I was so astonished at the manner I was attack'd by the Governor, whilst I was applying to the Engineer to satisfy some doubts that occured to me in laying his Plan of Sandy Bay Works before Us; and altho' my opinion may be erronious, Yet surely am intitled to have it pointed out to me; why I am wrong, as I hope I shall always be open to Conviction; and as I have the highest opinion of Captain Mitchells Abilitys in his Profession, apply to him as the properest Person to answer the two following Questions, which I desire may be proposed to him as they are objections that may occur to any one that has a Knowledge of Fortification, and can only serve (even if wrong) to give our Honorable | Corneille added that he was glad to have kept his temper so far on this and similar occasions. He could not promise, however, that an unguarded moment would never get the better of him and cost him the calm that ought to govern every council and debate. For that reason he chose to send his complaint to the Court through the Council's minutes. Governor Skottowe would then have the chance to give his reasons for objecting to Corneille's conduct, which Corneille was ready at any time to submit to a full inquiry by the Court. The letter was signed and dated at St Helena on 13 October 1766. The Lieutenant Governor also laid before the board a paper of questions to be put to the engineer. He wrote that the Governor's attack at the previous Monday's meeting astonished him, coming as it did while he was asking the engineer to settle some doubts about the plan of the Sandy Bay works. His opinion might be mistaken, but he held that he was surely entitled to be shown where and why, and he hoped always to be open to correction. He had the highest regard for Captain Mitchell's professional ability and turned to him as the person best fitted to answer two questions. He asked that these be put to Mitchell, since they were objections that might occur to anyone with some knowledge of fortification. Even if they proved unfounded, he argued, raising them could only serve the Company. Interpretations Corneille's reason for writing through the minutes was framed as fairness to his opponent. A complaint sent privately would reach the Court without the Governor's knowledge or reply. One entered in the proceedings was read out at the board, and the Governor could answer it in the same book before the ship sailed. The courtesy was also a challenge. Having invited an inquiry into his own conduct, Corneille obliged the Governor either to justify the rebuke in writing or to let the accusation stand unanswered before London. The remark about losing his temper was a warning as much as a confession. He told the Court that he had borne repeated provocation and might not always do so. If a later meeting ended in an open breach, the record would already show who was provoked and how often. The paper of questions changed the nature of the dispute. On 6 October he was stopped from questioning the engineer by word of mouth. He now put his doubts in writing and tabled them as a formal minute, a right that any member of the board held and that the Governor could not refuse without confirming the very complaint just sent to London. The questions would be entered, Mitchell would have to reply, and both would go home with the proceedings. Corneille thus obtained by procedure what he was denied in debate. He took care to separate the engineer from the quarrel. He praised Mitchell's skill and presented his queries as ones any informed person might raise. Mitchell was the Governor's witness to the incident as well as the author of the plan. By treating him as an expert to be consulted and not an opponent to be overruled, Corneille avoided driving the engineer to the Governor's side. His claim to some knowledge of fortification was the basis of his standing to ask. The Lieutenant Governor was a military officer and the garrison's second in command, who would have to defend whatever was built at Sandy Bay. His argument that questions could do no harm even if wrong rested on the scale of the decision. The works were consuming thousands of days of labour, and the plan now departed from the drawing the Court approved in 1765. | |
176 | 13 October Masters a Clearer insight of the strength, and Situation of that part of the Island now making defencible Ques 1 Whether the smaller Line on which you propose to Mount three Guns, would not be more defencible with a Ditch and Glacis to cover the Revetment, than according to the present Plan, notwithstanding I am sensible that, that Line, by its Situation is covered from the fire of Shipping, But apprehend that the most likely method of Success for an Enemy's Attacking that work, must be by an immediate Landing of a Body of Men, Whether in that case the above addition will not make it much stronger, and secure It from any such attempt Do. 2. Whether the Addition of a Mortar which you propose having on that Line to the left of Blands Battery, can anoy an Enemy's Shipping: As I apprehend, they cannot approach near enough to Sandy Bay, with any safety to themselves (as laying to windward) to make that Artillery useful; unless it is intended against Boats and if so beg to know in that case how far you think it necessary Upon which the Engineer returned the following Answer vizt. To the first Query proposed by the Lieut. Governor relative to the intended defences of Sandy Bay vizt. Whether the addition of a Ditch and Glacis to cover the Revetment of the Flanking Line on the Left of Sandy Bay would not render that part more defencible, than to be constructed without either as was proposed in the Plan I had the Honour of presenting to the Governor and Council last Monday I answer | Corneille's paper ended by saying that the questions would give the Court a clearer understanding of the strength and position of that part of the island now being fortified. The two questions followed. 1: Corneille asked whether the smaller wall, on which Mitchell proposed to mount three guns, would be easier to defend with a ditch and a glacis protecting its facing than as the plan then stood. He accepted that its position sheltered it from the fire of ships. He judged, however, that an enemy's best chance against that work lay in landing a body of men at once. He therefore asked whether the ditch and glacis would make it much stronger and secure it against such an assault. 2: Corneille asked whether the mortar that Mitchell proposed to place on that wall, to the left of Bland's battery, could do any harm to enemy ships. He believed that ships could not safely come close enough to Sandy Bay for it to be of use, since the bay lay to windward. If the mortar was meant for use against boats, he asked how far Mitchell thought it necessary. The engineer then gave his written answers. He began by restating the first question as put by the Lieutenant Governor: whether a ditch and glacis covering the facing of the flanking wall on the left of Sandy Bay would make that part more defensible than building it without either, as proposed in the plan he presented to the Governor and Council on the previous Monday. Interpretations The two questions were those Corneille tried to ask on 6 October before Governor Skottowe cut him short. Both were sound points of fortification, and neither was hostile to the engineer. The first went to the purpose of the whole work. Sandy Bay was being fortified against a landing. Mitchell's flanking wall was safe from ships' guns by its position, and Corneille granted that. His concern was infantry. A wall with a bare masonry face could be rushed and climbed by men who got ashore in boats. A ditch in front forced attackers down into a trap under fire, and a glacis, the bank sloping away from the ditch's outer edge, hid the base of the wall and exposed anyone crossing it. Mitchell's plan left both out on this section. Corneille asked, in effect, whether a work built to stop a landing was protected against the one form of attack most likely to be made on it. The second question challenged an expense. A mortar threw explosive shells in a high arc and was the weapon for use against ships at anchor. Corneille pointed out that Sandy Bay faced the south-east trade wind. A ship standing in there had the wind and swell driving her towards the rocks with no room to work off, so no commander would bring one within range. If no ship could come, a mortar had no target except open boats, and he asked whether that justified it. The observation drew on local knowledge of the coast that the Lieutenant Governor possessed after years on the island. Together the questions bore on Mitchell's other proposal, to demolish the old battery because the garrison was too small to man every work. Corneille was testing whether the new defences were strong where it mattered and free of items that did not earn their cost. That was the scrutiny a board member owed a plan that departed from the drawing approved by the Court in 1765. Mitchell answered in writing and on the same day. He copied each question out in his own words before replying, so that the question and its answer stood together in the record. The care suggests that he recognised the paper would be read in London alongside the Lieutenant Governor's complaint. | |
177 | 1766 1st. That I am clearly of opinion that such an Addition is by no means necessary, nor would at all strengthen that part of the Line 2d. That even supposing it had that Tendency, I should still continue to give my opinion against the Necessity or even Propriety of making such an Addition To prove my first Assertion, I need only refer to the Plan itself, by which It will evidently appear that the sole Intention of the Ditch and Glacis to that Part of the Work were it was proposed, was merely to secure the Revetment from the Effects of a Cannonade from Shipping to which it was otherwise exposed and that the Flanking Line of which the Lieut. Governor speaks being effectually secured from any Cannonade by its Situation, as it cannot even be seen by Shipping, stands therefore in no need of any such Cover, which instead of giving it an additional degree of strength, would only serve to deprive it of its principal defence which consists in having the Front of its Revetment intirely commanded by the Flanking Gun on the left of Blands Battery as well as by the whole of the Musquetry of the principal Line, from both which an Enemy by a Desent into the Ditch (which supposing them landed, they could easily accomplish) would be effectually secured It therefore appears evident to me that this part of the intended Work for the Defence of Sandy Bay secured as it is from receiving the smallest Injury from an Enemy, and protected so effectually by the Fire of the whole of the Line, is at least as strong as any other part of the Work whatever; For which reason any addition to it, even supposing it to have a Tendency to strengthen this part of the Line, would be superfluous, unnecessary & therefore absurd, which, was what I advanced in my Second Proposition; And here I beg leave to repeat an Observation I made to the Governor and Council last Monday, which was, that I apprehend the principal Judgement of an Engineer in the Construction of Defences consisted, not in rendering the Places he was employed to fortify as strong as possible, but in making Choice of such | Mitchell answered the first question with two propositions and then argued each. 1: Mitchell stated plainly that a ditch and glacis were in no way needed there and would add nothing to the strength of that part of the wall. 2: Mitchell added that even if they did tend to strengthen it, he would still advise against them as neither necessary nor appropriate. On the first point he referred the board to the plan itself. Where a ditch and glacis were shown elsewhere in the work, their sole purpose was to shield the facing wall from bombardment by ships, to which it would otherwise lie open. The flanking wall of which the Lieutenant Governor spoke was protected from any such fire by its position, since ships could not even see it. That section therefore needed no cover of the kind. A ditch would in fact take away its main defence. The whole front of its facing was swept by the flanking gun to the left of Bland's battery and by all the musket fire of the principal wall. An enemy who landed could easily get down into a ditch, and once in it would be completely sheltered from both. Mitchell concluded that this part of the planned defences was safe from any damage an enemy could do and was covered by the fire of the entire line. In his judgement it stood at least as strong as any other part of the work. Any addition, even one that might strengthen it, would therefore be superfluous and unnecessary and so absurd, which was his second proposition. He repeated a remark he made to Governor Skottowe and the Council on the previous Monday. An engineer's chief skill, as he understood it, lay not in making a place as strong as possible but in the choice of works. Interpretations Mitchell's reply turned the Lieutenant Governor's suggestion against itself. Corneille proposed a ditch to stop infantry rushing the wall. Mitchell answered that on this ground a ditch would help the attacker. The bare face of the flanking wall lay under the fire of a gun and of every musket on the main line, so men approaching it stood in the open. A ditch dug before it would give them a trench to drop into, below the line of that fire, where they could gather in safety at the foot of the wall. The argument rested on a standard principle of fortification, that an obstacle not covered by the defenders' fire becomes shelter for the enemy. On a longer or more elaborate work, a ditch would be swept by guns placed to fire along it. Here there were none to spare. He also met Corneille's assumption about the purpose of a glacis. Corneille treated the ditch and glacis as a defence against assault. Mitchell stated that in his design they served only to protect masonry from ships' guns, and were drawn only where ships could bring guns to bear. A wall hidden from the sea needed no such protection. The two men were thus reasoning from different ideas of what the feature was for, which explains how the question arose and why Mitchell thought it mistaken. The closing remark was the heart of his position and the link to his proposal about the old battery. He held that an engineer's task was to select, and that more works did not mean more strength. Every ditch, battery and gun had to be manned and maintained by a garrison that was already too small, as the Council recorded on 18 August. He advised demolishing the old battery on that ground on 6 October, and he refused the extra ditch on the same ground now. His repetition of the remark shows that he made the same case in the meeting that ended in the quarrel. The tone was firm to the point of sharpness. Mitchell called the proposed addition absurd, in a written answer to the second officer of the island that he knew would be read in London. He evidently felt sure of his ground, and perhaps of the Governor's backing. Yet he answered fully and on the merits, which was what Corneille asked for and was denied a week earlier. | |
178 | 13th October Works as, with the least Labour and Expence possible, would best answer the end proposed That it was possible to make Works too strong as well as too Weak, and that an Engineer who should Construct Works more than what were really necessary however much they might add to the strength of such defences would be almost as deficient in the knowledge and discernment necessary to his Profession, as if he was to omitt Defences of real Consequence and necessity Had the Circumstance of strength been my only Consideration in designing the Defences of Sandy Bay, it would not have been a matter of such difficulty to have contrived additional Works to strengthen the whole, such for Example as a Wet Ditch, which by the Assistance of the Run of Water on the left of the Bay, could have been easily accomplish'd, But as this would have occasioned an Addition of Labour and Expence, and as the Line appeared to be sufficiently defensible without, I never once proposed carrying this into Execution With regard to the Utility of the Mortar I proposed placing in the Center of the Line, it would certainly be of great service in keeping the Ships of an Enemy at a distance and preventing their coming near enough to dismount the Guns in the Front of Blands, which, tho' it would be attended with some danger, I do not (with the Lieut. Governor) look upon As impracticable, And in Case of an attempt to land in Boats, a few Rounds of Grape Shott fired from it would undoubtedly do very great Execution; These Motives induced me to give it the Place it has in the Plan With regard to an Enemy's attempting to Land before any of the Guns of this Line were dismounted (which the Lieutenant Governor thinks would most probably be attempted by an Enemy) I must repeat my opinion of its being a desperate and impracticable Measure, and that I should regard the Person who made the attempt in the same light as I would that of a Robber, who should deliberately place his Ladder and attempt to enter the Window of an Attic Story tho' he knew that the owner of the | Mitchell completed his remark on the engineer's craft. The works to choose were those that met the purpose with the least labour and expense. A defence could be made too strong as well as too weak. An engineer who built more than was really needed, however much it added to the strength of the place, showed almost as great a want of professional knowledge and judgement as one who left out defences of real importance. He then applied the point to Sandy Bay. Had strength been his only concern in designing its defences, extra works to reinforce the whole would have been easy to devise. A wet ditch was one example, readily made with the stream that ran down the left of the bay. That would have meant more labour and more cost, and the wall appeared defensible enough without it, so he never proposed it. Mitchell turned to the mortar, which he intended to place at the centre of the wall. It would be of great use in holding enemy ships at a distance and stopping them from coming close enough to knock out the guns in front of Bland's battery. He granted that such an approach carried some danger for a ship, but he did not share the Lieutenant Governor's view that it was impossible. If an enemy tried to land in boats, a few rounds of grapeshot fired from a mortar would certainly do great slaughter. Those reasons led him to give it the place it held in the plan. He next addressed the idea of an enemy landing before any guns of the wall were put out of action, which the Lieutenant Governor thought the most probable form of attack. Mitchell repeated his opinion that such an attempt was desperate and could not succeed. He compared anyone who tried it to a burglar who deliberately set his ladder against a house to climb in at an attic window. Interpretations Mitchell set out a doctrine of sufficiency. He treated over-building as a professional fault equal to under-building, and he measured a design by its cost in labour and money as well as by its strength. The principle suited the island's circumstances. Every wall had to be raised by soldiers taken from guard duty or by slaves hired from the planters at a shilling a day, and every completed work had to be manned afterwards by the same small garrison. The wet ditch showed his method. It was feasible, it would have added strength, and he left it out because the wall could be held without it. His proposal of 6 October to demolish the old battery followed from the same reasoning. On the mortar the two officers differed about a fact of seamanship. Corneille held that no ship could safely stand in to Sandy Bay, with the trade wind blowing onto the shore. Mitchell allowed the danger but would not call the approach impossible. For an engineer the distinction mattered. A defence planned on the assumption that ships could never come, and proved wrong by one bold commander, would lose its guns to bombardment with no means of reply. A single mortar was cheap insurance against that case. He also answered the alternative Corneille raised. Grapeshot, a charge of small iron balls that spread like shot from a fowling piece, made the mortar a weapon against crowded boats at short range. Mitchell thus kept the mortar, which cost little, and refused the ditch, which would have cost much. Both answers were consistent with his stated rule, and neither conceded anything to the Lieutenant Governor. The comparison with a burglar at an attic window carried his view of the landing. The attacker would be choosing the hardest way in, in full view, while the defenders were ready for him. Men rowing ashore under the undamaged guns of the whole wall would be destroyed before they reached it. Corneille thought an immediate landing the enemy's best chance. Mitchell thought it the one course no sensible enemy would take, which was why he saw no need to guard the flanking wall against it with a ditch. The image was also a pointed one to use in a reply to a senior officer. It implied that the danger Corneille feared was fanciful. Mitchell's confidence in writing so to the second man on the island, in a paper bound for London, matched the firmness of his earlier word for the proposed ditch. | |
179 | 1766 House stood ready at the Entrance, with a Brace of Pistols, to blow his Brains out, In consequence of the Lieutenant Governors Questions and the Engineers Answers, the opinion of the members of the Board were taken severally and are as follows vizt. 13th October 1766 Having revived the matter in Consideration last Consultation day, I remain of opinion that, the reasons given by the Engineer for erasing the Old Battery at Sandy Bay and adding a Mortar to the new Work, are very sufficient, therefore deem it expedient, that, the Plan, presented by Captain Mitchell, on the 6 instant, be (with all possible expedition) carried into Execution (signed) Thomas Kirkpatrick It appears to me, that when the Works intended to be constructed at Sandy Bay are compleated, that part of the Island will be so very secure and defensible, there will be no Occasion, for the Old Battery, which lies detatched from the new Works, and more especially from Its Situation an Enemy may possibly get possession thereof, and take the Advantage of returning the Guns mounted there against ourselves, which induces me to approve of the demolition of that Battery agreeable to the proposals now made by Capt. Mitchell And having Considered the Questions proposed by the Lieut. Governor to the Engineer with his Answers relative to the Utility of a Ditch to the Battery intended to the Eastward of the Bay, I must thereupon observe, that as the Works there will be so situated as to render it impracticable for Ships to Batter or bring their Artillery against it, a Ditch will not only be an additional Expence, but attended with the inconvenience of covering the Enemy (should they make a Lodgement therein) | Mitchell finished his comparison by describing the burglar as climbing although he knew that the householder stood waiting at the entrance with a pair of pistols, ready to shoot him dead. The Council then took the opinion of each member separately on the Lieutenant Governor's questions and the engineer's answers, and each gave his view in writing. Thomas Kirkpatrick dated his opinion 13 October 1766. He stated that he went over the matter again after its discussion at the previous meeting and still held the same view. The engineer's reasons for demolishing the old battery at Sandy Bay and for adding a mortar to the new work were, he thought, fully adequate. He therefore judged that the plan Captain Mitchell presented on 6 October should be carried out as quickly as possible, and he signed to that effect. A second member gave his opinion next. He considered that once the works planned for Sandy Bay were finished, that part of the island would be so secure that the old battery would serve no purpose. It stood apart from the new works, and its position meant that an enemy might seize it and turn its guns on the defenders. He therefore approved its demolition as Mitchell now proposed. He also weighed the Lieutenant Governor's questions and the engineer's answers on the value of a ditch for the battery planned on the eastern side of the bay. The works there would be so placed that ships could neither batter them nor bring guns to bear. A ditch would accordingly be an added expense, and it would carry the further drawback of sheltering an enemy who managed to get into it. Interpretations The Council settled the matter by written opinions taken one member at a time. Its ordinary business was decided by discussion and recorded as a single resolution of the board. Here each man put his own view on paper over his own name. The quarrel made that necessary. The Lieutenant Governor had just complained to the Court that he was denied the right to speak, and the plan itself departed from the drawing London approved in 1765. A set of signed opinions showed the Court exactly who supported what and on which grounds, and it protected each member if the works later failed or were criticised. It also answered Corneille's complaint in the most practical way, since his objections were heard, examined and voted on. Kirkpatrick's opinion was brief and decided. He noted that he was already of this mind at the previous meeting, which shows that the board began to form its view on 6 October before the dispute broke off the discussion. He addressed the two points on which the plan was open to challenge, the demolition and the mortar, and found for the engineer on both. He was the garrison's senior captain and the paymaster through whose hands the cost of the works passed. His call for all possible speed reflected both concerns, since every week of delay kept soldiers at labour and away from their posts. The second opinion followed Mitchell's reasoning closely on each head. The old battery was detached, could not be supported from the new line and might be turned against it. The ditch would cost money and give cover to an attacker who reached it. The member added nothing of his own to the engineer's case, which suggests that Mitchell's written answers persuaded the civilian members who were not competent to judge fortification for themselves. Two of the four members thus endorsed the plan in full. The Lieutenant Governor's doubts, set out with care and backed by an appeal to London, did not carry a single colleague on the technical question. His complaint about the manner in which he was silenced was a separate matter, and the opinions recorded here did not touch it. | |
180 | 13 October from the Flanking Gun placed on Blands Battery, and under such a Circumstance render ineffectual, that Fire which the Enemy would be otherwise exposed to; And as Capt. Mitchell hath declared that the Ditch in Question will in no wise contribute to strengthen the defences of Sandy Bay, it influences me with the above reasons to give my opinion, That the Works there should be Executed according to the Plan now laid down by the Engineer, submitting to his better judgement and abilities the Utility of a Mortar proposed by him to be placed on the Line now Constructing (signed) 13th October 1766 M. Purling In Consequence of the Engineers Answers to my two Questions, I acknowledge that he has fully convinced me that the smaller Line as intended to be constructed is fully sufficient, for the defence of that part of the Work, as the Protection of the Flanking Gun of Blands Battery escaped my notice untill pointed out to me by Capt. Mitchell on the spot the Day after the Consultation of the 6 of October, That the Utility of the Mortar against Boats with grape Shott I conceive to be highly necessary, and as such give my opinion for it, But must observe that the Engineer has mistaken my second Question, as I do not say that I look upon it as impracticable for shipping to come near enough to Blands Battery to dismount the Guns, but only mention it as with safety to themselves, as it has always been my opinion that if ever an Enemy Attacks that place it must be a desperate one, tho' not an impracticable measure, as Capt. Mitchell seems to infer as incompatible, and must remind him of the affair at Louisbourgh and some that I could point out that happen'd last War of same nature were it necessary to prove my Assertion of desperate Actions being often attended with success. That the rasement of the detatched Battery (at first intended to be repaired by the Engineer) I also apprehend to be a necessary measure for the reasons already mentioned in Capt. Mitchells Quarterly Letter to the Governor and Council, and give my approbation to the | The second opinion went on to explain the drawback of a ditch. An enemy who got into it would be shielded from the flanking gun on Bland's battery, and the fire that would otherwise fall on him would be wasted. Captain Mitchell also declared that the ditch would add nothing to the strength of the Sandy Bay defences. For those reasons the member held that the works should be built according to the engineer's plan. He left the value of the mortar proposed for the new wall to Mitchell's better judgement and ability. Matthew Purling signed this opinion on 13 October 1766. The Lieutenant Governor gave his opinion next. He acknowledged that the engineer's answers to his two questions fully convinced him that the smaller wall, as designed, was strong enough to defend that part of the work. The protection given by the flanking gun of Bland's battery escaped his notice until Mitchell pointed it out to him on the ground, the day after the meeting of 6 October. He considered the mortar highly necessary for use against boats with grapeshot and supported it on that footing. Corneille added that the engineer misread his second question. He never claimed that ships were unable to come close enough to Bland's battery to knock out its guns. He said only that they could not do so with safety to themselves. His view was always that an attack on that place, if one ever came, would be a desperate undertaking, but not an impossible one, although Mitchell seemed to treat the two as the same. He reminded the engineer of the affair at Louisbourg, and of other actions of the same kind in the last war that he could name, as proof that desperate attempts often succeeded. Corneille also judged the demolition of the detached battery to be necessary, for the reasons set out in Mitchell's quarterly letter to Governor Skottowe and the Council, though the engineer at first meant to repair it. He gave his approval to the plan. Interpretations The Lieutenant Governor withdrew his objection, and he said exactly why. He went to Sandy Bay with Mitchell on 7 October, the day after the quarrel, and saw the ground for himself. There the engineer showed him the gun on Bland's battery that swept the face of the flanking wall, a feature he overlooked when reading the plan. His question about a ditch rested on the belief that the wall had no such cover. Once that was corrected, the question fell away. The admission was frank and cost him nothing in standing, since it showed that he raised his doubt in good faith and gave it up on evidence. The visit also bears on his complaint against the Governor. He was stopped in the meeting of 6 October from putting to Mitchell a question that Mitchell answered to his satisfaction the next day. Had the exchange been allowed, the matter would have been settled at the table in a few minutes. The interruption, not the disagreement, produced a week's delay, a letter to London and a paper of formal questions. He conceded the engineering and held his ground on the point of war. Mitchell's comparison of an attacker to a burglar at an attic window treated a landing under the guns as something no sensible enemy would try. Corneille drew a distinction between what was desperate and what was impossible, and cited Louisbourg. In 1758 British troops landed through heavy surf on a defended shore near that French fortress in North America, under fire from entrenched positions, and carried it. The example was recent and well known to every officer. His argument was that defences should not be planned on the assumption that an enemy would decline a risk, since commanders had taken such risks and won. That was a soldier's caution set against an engineer's economy, and it stood unanswered in the record. Purling's opinion showed the limits of a civilian councillor. He followed Mitchell's reasoning on the ditch and the old battery, which he could understand. On the mortar he offered no view of his own and deferred to the engineer's professional skill. The board was now unanimous on the plan. Kirkpatrick, Purling and Corneille each approved it in writing, including the demolition of the old battery and the mortar. The technical dispute was thus closed on the day the complaint about it was sent to the Court. The complaint itself concerned the right to speak, and the agreement of the members on the works left that question where it stood. | |
181 | 1766 Plan to be carryed into Execution as delivered into Us (signed) Dan Corneille 13th October 1766 It is the Governors opinion, that the Plan of Sandy Bay Fortifications, which the Engineer laid before the Governor and Council on Monday the 6th of this Month is calculated with great, skill and judgement for the defence of Sandy Bay, and likewise, thinks the Engineer assigns a very good Reason, for the erasement of the Old Battery Agreeable to the above opinions and the reasons Assigned by the Engineer, We came to a resolution to have the Old Battery Erased, and agreed to the addition of the Mortar, upon the Line, And have given the Engineer Orders to carry the Works into Execution with all possible dispatch according to the Plan he laid before Us on the 6 instant John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | Corneille closed his opinion by agreeing that the plan should be carried out as it was delivered to the board, and he signed it on 13 October 1766. Governor Skottowe gave his opinion last. He considered that the plan of the Sandy Bay fortifications, laid before the Governor and Council by the engineer on Monday 6 October, was designed with great skill and judgement for the defence of the bay. He also thought the engineer's reason for demolishing the old battery a very good one. The Council then resolved the matter in line with these opinions and the engineer's reasons. The old battery was to be demolished and the mortar added to the wall. The engineer received orders to carry out the works as fast as possible according to the plan he submitted on 6 October. The Governor signed the day's proceedings with Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick. Interpretations The Governor's opinion was the shortest of the four and the only one written in the third person and left without a personal signature. He spoke last, after the three other members committed themselves, as the president of a board customarily did. He praised the plan and the engineer and said nothing else. The Lieutenant Governor's letter, tabled that same day, invited him to give the Court his reasons for the rebuke of 6 October. He offered none in these minutes. The complaint therefore went into the record unanswered, at least on that day, beside a set of opinions that showed the board united on the works. His silence had a tactical sense. The technical question was the ground on which he could be shown to have judged rightly, since every member, Corneille included, ended by approving the plan he favoured. An argument about what was said in the heat of the meeting offered him no such advantage. By confining himself to the merits, he let the unanimous vote stand as his reply. The four signatures at the foot included Corneille's. He signed the minutes containing his own complaint against the Governor, the Governor's opinion and the resolution he supported. The form of the Council's record required every member to sign the whole day's proceedings, whatever divisions they contained. The board ordered the works to proceed at once. The new plan differed from the drawing sent to England in 1765, and the demolition reversed advice already given to the Court. Referring the changes home for approval would have meant a wait of a year or more for an answer, with the labour force standing at Sandy Bay and the stone already quarried. The Council chose to act on its own authority and report afterwards. The written opinions served that purpose. They gave the Court a full statement of who agreed, and why, to a departure it had no opportunity to sanction beforehand. The decision released Mitchell from the uncertainty of the previous week. His timetable of 6 October allowed about three weeks to finish the ditch and five or six before building began. The delay cost him none of that, and he now held a clear order to build as he designed. | |
182 | 20th October At a Consultation held on Monday the 20th Day of October 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Dan Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Mattw. Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Counl. The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 13 October 1766 The Paymaster brought in his Accounts and the Storekeeper his Collections for the Quarter ending the 30 September last, which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. List of the Honorable Company's Officers and Servants upon the Island St. Helena with their several Salaries Diet Money &c. for the Quarter commencing the 1st Day of July and ending the 30 day of Sept. 1766. John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Saly. 125 Do. Allowance for Servs. as Usual 31. 14. 9 156. 14. 9 Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Saly. 62. 10 Do. Diet Money 25 87. 10 Mr. Matthew Purling of Counl. Saly. 15 Do. Accomptant 17. 10 Do. Diet Money 15 Do. Gratuity 15 62. 10 Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Counl. Saly. 7. 10 Do. House Rent 2. 10 10 Archibald Mitchell Engineer Saly. 50 Do. Diet Money 25 Do. House Rent 2. 10 77. 10 Carrd. over L 394. 4. 9 | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 20 October 1766. Governor John Skottowe attended with the Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Corneille, and the councillors Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 13 October 1766 were read, approved and signed. The paymaster brought in his accounts, and the storekeeper his receipts, for the quarter ending 30 September. Both were examined and approved. The first was the list of the Company's officers and servants on St Helena, with their salaries, diet money and other allowances for the quarter from 1 July to 30 September 1766. John Skottowe, Governor, salary, £125 0s 0d John Skottowe, Governor, customary allowance for servants, £31 14s 9d John Skottowe, Governor, total, £156 14s 9d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, salary, £62 10s 0d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, diet money, £25 0s 0d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, total, £87 10s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, salary, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, accountant, £17 10s 0d Matthew Purling, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, gratuity, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, total, £62 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, member of Council, salary, £7 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, house rent, £2 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, total, £10 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, salary, £50 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, diet money, £25 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, total, £77 10s 0d Carried over, £394 4s 9d | |
183 | 1766 Brought over L 394. 4. 9 John Thackeray Chapn. Saly. 25 Do. Diet Money 15 40 Matthew Bazett Secretary Saly. 17. 10 Do. Diet Money 15 Do. House Rent 2. 10 35 James Powell Storekr. Saly. 17. 10 Do. Diet Money 15 Do. House Rent 2. 10 35 William Wrangham Factor Saly. 7. 10 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2. 10 Do. Assistant to the Governor 10 30 Jonathan Doveton Factr. Saly. 7. 10 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. Assistant Storekeeper 5 22. 10 Britans. Wright Writer Saly. 5 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2. 10 17. 10 John Goodwin Writer Saly. 5 Do. Diet Money 10 15 Robert Barclay Surgn. Saly. 9. 15 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2. 10 22. 5 John Pritchard Surgn. Mate Saly. 6. 5 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2. 10 18. 15 Richard Beale Judge Advocate Saly. 12. 10 Do. School Master 7. 10 20 John Bridgwater Saly. 7 Days at 3/ P d 1. 1 Thomas Bazett Saly. 84 Days at 3/ P d 12. 12 13. 13 Samuel Alexander 7. 10 Daniel Tongue to Augt. 11 7. 10 John Marsett from 12 Augt. Overseers 7. 10 22. 10 William Holbrook Master Mason Saly. 30 Thomas Townsend Stone Mason Saly. 19. 10 49. 10 Carrd. over L 735. 17. 9 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 continued with the chaplain, the civil servants, the surgeons, the overseers and the masons. Balance brought over, £394 4s 9d John Thackeray, chaplain, salary, £25 0s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, diet money, £15 0s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, total, £40 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, salary, £17 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, house rent, £2 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, total, £35 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, salary, £17 10s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, diet money, £15 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, house rent, £2 10s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, total, £35 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d William Wrangham, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, house rent, £2 10s 0d William Wrangham, assistant to the Governor, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, total, £30 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, assistant storekeeper, £5 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, total, £22 10s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, total, £17 10s 0d John Goodwin, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d John Goodwin, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Goodwin, writer, total, £15 0s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, salary, £9 15s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, diet money, £10 0s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, house rent, £2 10s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, total, £22 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, salary, £6 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, house rent, £2 10s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, total, £18 15s 0d Richard Beale, judge advocate, salary, £12 10s 0d Richard Beale, schoolmaster, £7 10s 0d Richard Beale, total, £20 0s 0d John Bridgewater, salary for 7 days at 3s 0d a day, £1 1s 0d Thomas Bazett, salary for 84 days at 3s 0d a day, £12 12s 0d John Bridgewater and Thomas Bazett, total, £13 13s 0d Samuel Alexander, overseer, £7 10s 0d Daniel Tongue, overseer, to 11 August, £7 10s 0d John Shirrate, overseer, from 12 August, £7 10s 0d Overseers, total, £22 10s 0d William Hallbrook, master mason, salary, £30 0s 0d Thomas Townsend, stonemason, salary, £19 10s 0d Masons, total, £49 10s 0d Carried over, £735 17s 9d Interpretations The entry for the Sandy Bay overseer dated John Bridgewater's dismissal. He was paid 3s 0d a day for seven days only, which carried him to 7 July, and Thomas Bazett drew the same allowance for the 84 days that followed. The Council's minute appointing Bazett in place of the dismissed lieutenant was entered with the proceedings of 21 July, so the removal took effect a fortnight before it reached the record. The post was the one that controlled the largest flow of extra wages on the island, and it was left vacant for no more than a day. Daniel Tongue's place was divided at the date of his disgrace. The Council found him guilty on 11 August of cheating the slaves of their rice and arrack and returned him to the ranks. He was paid as overseer to that day, and John Shirrate from the next. The post's £15 0s 0d for the quarter was split evenly between them, £7 10s 0d each, although Shirrate served the longer part. Tongue therefore lost nothing of what he earned before his dismissal. The penalty lay in the loss of the post, as the Council's order stated. Matthew Bazett was now entered as secretary. His office matched the capacity in which he signed the public notices of 11 and 25 August. He drew his £35 0s 0d for a quarter in which three of his children died, Martha on 15 August and Matthew and Charles on 3 and 5 September. The civil establishment was otherwise unchanged from the quarter to 30 June 1766. The same men held the same posts at the same pay, from the chaplain's £40 0s 0d down to the writers' £15 0s 0d and £17 10s 0d. The Company's scale was fixed, and only changes of person or broken periods of service altered the figures. | |
184 | 20th October Brought over L 735. 17. 9 John Robinson Carpenter Saly. 25 Philip Mahony Clerk of the Peace Saly 10 John Bazett Supr. over the Compys. Blacks 10 James Black Gardr. 10 James Torbett Cooper 8. 15 George Bazett Steward 7. 10 Saml. Perry Clerk and Instrumt. Cleanr. 1. 5 Thomas Payne Overseer of ye Compys. Work 6. 16. 10 1/2 Zedekiah Saunderson Groom 2 John Gibson Armr. 10. 10 Solomon St. Maurice Master at Arms 6. 5 John Casswell 1 Patron of the L. Bo. 7. 10 Nicholas Houghton 2d. of Do. 5 John Bruce Marshall & Goaler 7. 10 Thomas Yates Clerk 5 To the Drum Majr. for instg young Drumrs. 1 124. 1. 10 1/2 First Company Thomas Kirkpatrick Capt. Saly. 45. 12. 6 Solomon St. Maurice Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Samuel Desfountain Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Solomon Jacob Adjut. Saly. 22. 16. 3 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 29. 13. 1 1/2 Serjeants Philip Mahony 7. 12. 1 Thomas Payne 7. 12. 1 William Bannister 7. 12. 1 Henry Howell 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Carrd. over L 1020. 17. 4 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the tradesmen and minor officers and then opened the first company. Balance brought over, £735 17s 9d John Robinson, carpenter, salary, £25 0s 0d Phillip Mabony, clerk of the peace, £10 0s 0d John Bazett, superintendent of the Company's slaves, £10 0s 0d James Black, gardener, £10 0s 0d James Forbett, cooper, £8 15s 0d George Bazett, steward, £7 10s 0d Samuel Perry, clock and instrument cleaner, £1 5s 0d Thomas Payne, overseer of the Company's workmen, £6 16s 10½d Zedekiah Sanderson, groom, £2 0s 0d John Gibson, armourer, £10 10s 0d Solomon St Maurice, master at arms, £6 5s 0d John Caswell, first coxswain of the longboat, £7 10s 0d Nicholas Houghton, second coxswain of the longboat, £5 0s 0d John Bruce, marshal and gaoler, £7 10s 0d Thomas Yates, clerk, £5 0s 0d Drum major, for teaching the young drummers, £1 0s 0d Tradesmen and minor officers, total, £124 1s 10½d First Company: Thomas Kirkpatrick, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d First Company: Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d First Company: Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d First Company: Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d First Company: Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d First Company: Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d First Company: Solomon Jacob, adjutant, salary, £22 16s 3d First Company: Solomon Jacob, adjutant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d First Company: Solomon Jacob, adjutant, total, £29 13s 1½d First Company, sergeant: Phillip Mabony, £7 12s 1d First Company, sergeant: Thomas Payne, £7 12s 1d First Company, sergeant: William Bannister, £7 12s 1d First Company, sergeant: Henry Howell, £7 12s 1d First Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Carried over, £1,020 17s 4d Interpretations Two changes marked the list of tradesmen and minor officers against that for the quarter to 30 June 1766. Joseph Chamberlain, the carpenter's mate at £8 15s 0d, no longer appeared. He was marked as discharged among the third company's privates on the earlier list, with a full quarter's pay, and his workshop post lapsed with his soldier's service. No successor was entered, and the saving reduced this group's cost by that amount. The second coxswain of the longboat changed. William French held the post in the June quarter, and Nicholas Houghton held it now. A Nicholas Houghton served as a corporal of the artillery company. If he was the same man, the place passed from an infantry private to a non-commissioned officer of the guns, and the boat's command remained a paid addition to a soldier's wage. The pattern of doubled posts held steady. Mabony and Payne drew pay as sergeants of the first company and again as clerk of the peace and overseer of the Company's workmen. St Maurice was both master at arms and a lieutenant, and Kirkpatrick captain of the company as well as councillor and paymaster. Mabony also witnessed Thomas Greentree's will on 16 September with George Bazett, the steward. Every rate was the same as three months earlier. The fixed scale meant that the cost of this part of the establishment could differ from quarter to quarter only through vacancies and changes of person. | |
185 | 1766 Brought over L 1020. 17. 4 Corporals Joseph Stacey 5. 6. 5 1/2 William Brown 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Derwick 5. 6. 5 1/2 William Rowlands 5. 6. 5 1/2 21. 5. 10 Drummers Richard Flatfoot 5. 6. 5 1/2 Joseph Beecham 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Centinels John Stewart Cadet 3. 16. 1/2 John Alleran 3. 16. 1/2 James Avery 3. 16. 1/2 James Armstrong 3. 16. 1/2 John Brown 3. 16. 1/2 John Beachman 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Blake 3. 16. 1/2 Moses Biffin 3. 16. 1/2 John Bull 3. 16. 1/2 John Barnes 3. 16. 1/2 Timothy Bryan 3. 16. 1/2 Emanuel Bonner 3. 16. 1/2 William Benson 3. 16. 1/2 David Belford Died 27 Aug 58 Days 2. 8. 4 Benjamin Barclay ent. 28 do. 34 do. 1. 8. 4 Edward Cocker 3. 16. 1/2 William Clifsold 3. 16. 1/2 Patrick Conner 3. 16. 1/2 Isaac Day 3. 16. 1/2 John Davis 3. 16. 1/2 John Dove 3. 16. 1/2 David Davis 3. 16. 1/2 James Drake 3. 16. 1/2 Cent. Carr. over L 83. 13. 6 1/2 Carrd. over L 1052. 16. 1 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 went on with the first company's corporals and drummers and the first of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £1,020 17s 4d First Company, corporal: Joseph Stacey, £5 6s 5½d First Company, corporal: William Brown, £5 6s 5½d First Company, corporal: Thomas Barwick, £5 6s 5½d First Company, corporal: William Rowlands, £5 6s 5½d First Company, corporals, total, £21 5s 10d First Company, drummer: Richard Flatfoot, £5 6s 5½d First Company, drummer: Joseph Beacham, £5 6s 5½d First Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d First Company, sentinel: John Steward, cadet, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Alman, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: James Avery, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: James Armstrong, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Brown, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Bachams, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Blake, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Moses Biffin, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Beale, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Barnes, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Timothy Bryon, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Emanuel Busner, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Benson, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: David Belford, died 27 August, 58 days, £2 8s 4d First Company, sentinel: Benjamin Barclay, enlisted 28 August, 34 days, £1 8s 4d First Company, sentinel: Edward Cocker, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Clifford, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Patrick Conner, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Isaac Day, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Davis, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Dove, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: David Davis, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: James Drake, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinels, carried over, £83 13s 6½d Carried over, £1,052 16s 1d Interpretations Barclay was entered on the roll the day after Belford's pay stopped. Belford drew £2 8s 4d for 58 days and Barclay £1 8s 4d for the remaining 34, so the two men between them filled one place for the whole quarter with no day unpaid. The company evidently worked to a fixed strength, and a death opened a vacancy that could be filled at once. The recruit was found on the island. No ship lay in the road between the departure of the fleet on 5 August and the arrival of the Admiral Watson and the Harcourt on 5 September. A man taken on in the last days of August was therefore a local, probably a planter's son or a youth born on the island, and not a seaman from a passing vessel as the May recruits of the previous quarter may have been. The clerk now wrote the number of days served beside each broken entry. The June list gave only the date of discharge or enlistment and left the reckoning to be worked out. Stating the days showed at a glance how the sum was reached, at ten pence for each, and made the paymaster's arithmetic easier to check. The first company's corporals and drummers were the same eight men as in the previous quarter, at the same pay. | |
186 | 20th October Brought over L 1052. 16. 1 Centinels brought over L 83. 13. 6 1/2 Thomas Durham 3. 16. 1/2 James Dunn 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Eales Died 19th July 19 Days 15. 10 Adam Evans 3. 16. 1/2 Cornelius Fish 3. 16. 1/2 William French 3. 16. 1/2 William Greenwood 3. 16. 1/2 John Grainger 3. 16. 1/2 William Henderson 3. 16. 1/2 James Hodge 3. 16. 1/2 John Houston 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Haddock 3. 16. 1/2 William Holmes 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Knight Died 18th July 18 Days 15 William Luke 3. 16. 1/2 Duncan Mc. Laren 3. 16. 1/2 William Mumford 3. 16. 1/2 John May 3. 16. 1/2 John Mc. Allister 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Mears 3. 16. 1/2 John Pickering 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Price 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Roberts 3. 16. 1/2 William Robinson 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Ranson 3. 16. 1/2 Anthony Reynolds 3. 16. 1/2 George Roe 3. 16. 1/2 Silvanus Rolph 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Rogers 3. 16. 1/2 William Swaby 3. 16. 1/2 John Springthorp 3. 16. 1/2 John Steers 3. 16. 1/2 Centl. Carr. over L 199. 5. 7 1/2 Carrd. over L 1052. 16. 1 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the private soldiers of the first company. ``` Balance brought over, £1,052 16s 1d First Company, sentinels, brought over, £83 13s 6½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Durham, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: James Dunn, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Samuel Eales, died 19 July, 19 days, £0 15s 10d First Company, sentinel: Adam Evans, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Cornelius Fish, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William French, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Greenwood, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Grainger, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Henderson, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: James Hodge, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Hewiston, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Edward Haddock, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Holmes, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Richard Knight, died 18 July, 18 days, £0 15s 0d First Company, sentinel: William Luke, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Duncan McClaren, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Mumford, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John May, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Macallister, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Mears, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Pickering, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Price, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Roberts, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Robinson, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Ranson, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Anthony Reynolds, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: George Rowe, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Silvanus Rolf, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Rogers, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Swaby, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Springthorp, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Stevens, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinels, carried over, £199 5s 7½d Carried over, £1,052 16s 1d ``` **Interpretations** Knight was one of the nine soldiers who took a bounty of £10 0s 0d in the quarter to 30 June 1766 for agreeing to serve five more years. He was dead by 18 July, within weeks of signing. The Company paid a sum equal to more than two and a half quarters of his wages to secure a seasoned man, and received 18 days of the new term. The bounty was paid in advance and could not be recovered. The case shows the risk in the policy of paying four times as much to keep an old soldier as to enlist a new one, since the men worth keeping were also the older men. Eales and Knight died on successive days in the middle of July, and Belford followed in the same company on 27 August. With John Chapman of the third company on 22 July and Thomas Tuffnell of the fourth on 12 August, five soldiers died in under six weeks of the island's winter. The first company alone lost three men in the quarter and gained one recruit, Benjamin Barclay. Each man's pay was reckoned to the day of his death, 19 days for Eales and 18 for Knight at ten pence a day. The balance due was presumably owed to whoever had a claim on the dead man's effects. William French remained on the roll as a private. He held the post of second coxswain of the longboat in the June quarter, and Nicholas Houghton held it in this one. French therefore lost or gave up the additional £5 0s 0d and kept only his soldier's wage. | |
187 | 1766 Brought over L 1052. 16. 1 Centins. brought over L 199. 5. 7 1/2 John Stewart 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Terry 3. 16. 1/2 John Taylor 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Tottington 3. 16. 1/2 William Tipper 3. 16. 1/2 Luke Vernon 3. 16. 1/2 John Whittingdale 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Wise 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Windall 3. 16. 1/2 John Weston 3. 16. 1/2 George Wall 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Youcas 3. 16. 1/2 244. 18. 1 1/2 Second Company Henry Bazett Capt. Saly. 45. 12. 6 Michael Frost Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 John Van Welch Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants John Bazett 7. 12. 1 William Greenough 7. 12. 1 Samuel Curd 7. 12. 1 Thomas James Redd. 12th July 1 Do. Centl. from 13th Do. 3. 6. 1/2 27. 2. 3 1/2 Corporals George Freeman to July 12th 14 Do. made Serjt. from 13 July 6. 12. 1 George Southerwood 5. 6. 5 1/2 Corporals Carr. over L 12. 12. 6 1/2 Carrd. over L 1425. 12. 9 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 completed the first company's private soldiers and opened the second company. Balance brought over, £1,052 16s 1d First Company, sentinels, brought over, £199 5s 7½d First Company, sentinel: John Stewart, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Edward Terry, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Taylor, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Richard Tollington, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: William Tipper, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Luke Vernon, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Whittingdale, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Benjamin Wise, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Thomas Weirdale, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: John Weston, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: George Wall, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinel: Richard Youcas, £3 16s 0½d First Company, sentinels, total, £244 18s 1½d Second Company: Henry Bazett, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Second Company: Michael Frost, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Second Company: John Blair Welch, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Second Company, sergeant: John Bazett, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: William Greenough, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: Samuel Curd, £7 12s 1d Second Company, sergeant: Thomas James, reduced on 12 July, £1 0s 0d Second Company, sergeant: Thomas James, as sentinel from 13 July, £3 6s 0½d Second Company, sergeants, total, £27 2s 3½d Second Company, corporal: George Freeman, to 12 July, £0 14s 0d Second Company, corporal: George Freeman, as sergeant from 13 July, £6 12s 1d Second Company, corporal: Gregory Southwood, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, corporals, carried over, £12 12s 6½d Carried over, £1,425 12s 9d Interpretations Thomas James fell from sergeant to private in a single step on 12 July. He was paid £1 0s 0d for 12 days at a sergeant's twenty pence a day and then served the rest of the quarter at a private's rate. The corporals reduced on 29 April dropped one rank. James dropped two, past the grade of corporal altogether, which marks a graver offence or a heavier sentence. The loss was severe, since his daily pay was halved. George Freeman, the senior corporal, took the vacant place the next day. His pay was divided to match, £0 14s 0d for 12 days as corporal and £6 12s 1d as sergeant from 13 July. As in the earlier cases, the vacancy was filled from within the company on the following day, and each man was left under the heading he held when the quarter began. The second company's sergeants thus cost £27 2s 3½d on paper against the standard £30 8s 4d, with the difference appearing under the corporals. The first company's privates cost £244 18s 1½d, against £256 18s 9d in the quarter to 30 June 1766. The fall of £12 0s 0d reflected thinner ranks. The discharges of April and May were not all made good, and three men died in July and August with only one recruit to replace them. The second company's officers were unchanged, with Henry Bazett as captain and Frost and Welch as lieutenants at the standard rates. John Bazett remained a sergeant of the company while drawing £10 0s 0d as superintendent of the Company's slaves. | |
188 | 20th October Brought over L 1425. 12. 9 Corporals brought over L 12. 12. 6 1/2 Edmund Leech 5. 6. 5 1/2 Stephen Prior 5. 6. 5 1/2 23. 5. 5 1/2 Drummers Robert Davis 5. 6. 5 1/2 Francis Soane 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Centinels Samuel Alstone 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Adams 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Banks 3. 16. 1/2 William Birch 3. 16. 1/2 William Brooks 3. 16. 1/2 Jacob Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Bott 3. 16. 1/2 Nicholas Bushell 3. 16. 1/2 Daniel Bye 3. 16. 1/2 James Byrne 3. 16. 1/2 William Bell Dischd. 14th July 14 Days 11. 8 John Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Cheverley 3. 16. 1/2 William Conquest 3. 16. 1/2 John Crawley 3. 16. 1/2 William Carfax 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Dickens 3. 16. 1/2 William Dinnan 3. 16. 1/2 William Finch 3. 16. 1/2 William Fry 3. 16. 1/2 William Fullwood to 12th July 10 Do. made Corpl. 13 Do. 4. 12. 8 1/2 John Forbes 3. 16. 1/2 Centls. Carr. over L 85. 11 Carrd. over L 1459. 11. 1 1/2 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the second company's remaining corporals, its drummers and the first of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £1,425 12s 9d Second Company, corporals, brought over, £12 12s 6½d Second Company, corporal: Edmond Leech, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, corporal: Stephen Prior, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, corporals, total, £23 5s 5½d Second Company, drummer: Robert Davis, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, drummer: Francis Sloane, £5 6s 5½d Second Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Alston, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Adams, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Joseph Banks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Birch, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Brooks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Jacob Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Bell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Nicholas Burbell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Daniel Bye, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Byrne, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Bell, discharged 14 July, 14 days, £0 11s 8d Second Company, sentinel: John Brown, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Cheverly, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Conquest, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Crawley, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Carfax, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Dickens, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Dennan, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Finch, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Fry, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Fulwood, to 12 July, £0 10s 0d Second Company, sentinel: William Fulwood, as corporal from 13 July, £4 12s 8½d Second Company, sentinel: John Forbes, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, carried over, £85 11s 0d Carried over, £1,459 11s 1½d Interpretations Fulwood's promotion completed a chain of three moves on one day. Sergeant Thomas James was reduced to the ranks on 12 July. Corporal George Freeman became sergeant on 13 July, and Fulwood rose from private to corporal on the same date to fill Freeman's place. He drew £0 10s 0d for 12 days as a private and £4 12s 8½d as corporal for the remainder. One man's fall therefore moved two others up, each by a single step, and the company's establishment of four sergeants and four corporals stayed complete. Fulwood was among the nine soldiers paid £10 0s 0d in the quarter to 30 June 1766 for re-enlisting for five years. Within weeks of signing he held a corporal's rank and pay of fourteen pence a day. The men who agreed to stay were evidently those the officers thought worth advancing, and promotion followed the bounty as a second reward for remaining. Leech and Prior now stood under the corporals' heading at the full quarterly rate. Both were promoted on 30 April, when Hopkinson and Goulding were broken, and the June list still carried them among the privates with their pay split. The clerk moved each man to his new heading once a fresh quarter began, which confirms that the earlier arrangement recorded where a soldier started the quarter and not where he ended it. William Bell was discharged on 14 July with £0 11s 8d for 14 days. No ship is recorded leaving at that date, since the Grosvenor sailed on 17 July and the Danish vessel on 16 July, but either could have carried him a few days later. | |
189 | 1766 Brought over L 1459. 11. 1 1/2 Centins. brought over L 85. 11 John Fish 3. 16. 1/2 John Goodall 3. 16. 1/2 John Gray 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Green 3. 16. 1/2 James Gates 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Goulding 3. 16. 1/2 William Harris Senr. 3. 16. 1/2 William Harris Junr. 3. 16. 1/2 Abraham Harding 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Hiles 3. 16. 1/2 John Holbrook 3. 16. 1/2 James Hudson 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Hayles 3. 16. 1/2 William Hayes 3. 16. 1/2 William Hunt 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Hopkinson 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Instone 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Jones 3. 16. 1/2 William Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Jeremiah Jordan 3. 16. 1/2 John Jacks 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Kelkson 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Kirkham 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Miller 3. 16. 1/2 James Mannington 3. 16. 1/2 John Morrice 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Newton 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Alphasious 3. 16. 1/2 Reves Osbourn ent. 2 July 3. 15. 10 Samuel Perry 3. 16. 1/2 Abraham Rimne 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Richards 3. 16. 1/2 Centins. Carr. over L 207. 4. 1 1/2 Carrd. over L 1459. 11. 1 1/2 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 went on with the private soldiers of the second company. Balance brought over, £1,459 11s 1½d Second Company, sentinels, brought over, £85 11s 0d Second Company, sentinel: John Fish, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Gornole, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Gray, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Green, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Gates, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Charles Goulding, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Harris senior, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Harris junior, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Abraham Harding, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Hiller, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Holebrooke, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Hudson, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Hayles, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Hayes, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Hunt, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Robert Hopkinson, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Instone, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Richard Jones, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Jeremiah Jordon, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Jacks, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Kelloon, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Corkham, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Miller, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: James Mannington, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Morris, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Newton, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Henry Alpherious, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Moses Osbourn, enlisted 2 July, £3 15s 10d Second Company, sentinel: Samuel Perry, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Abraham Rennie, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Richards, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, carried over, £207 4s 1½d Carried over, £1,459 11s 1½d Interpretations Osbourn's entry shows how the quarterly wage was reckoned. He enlisted on 2 July and served 91 of the quarter's 92 days, for which he drew £3 15s 10d at ten pence a day. A man present for the whole quarter received £3 16s 0½d, only twopence halfpenny more, and less than 92 days at ten pence would have come to. The full quarter's pay was therefore not a count of days. It was a quarter of a fixed yearly wage of £15 4s 2d, the same in every quarter whatever its length. Only a broken period was worked out by the day. A soldier who served all of a long quarter was paid slightly under the daily rate, and the difference was the Company's. Goulding and Hopkinson now appeared among the privates in their alphabetical places at a private's full pay. Both were corporals until 29 April, when they were reduced on the same day. The June list kept them under the corporals' heading with their pay divided. Their move into the body of the roll completed the record of the demotion, as the move of Leech and Prior to the corporals' heading completed that of the promotions. The two men named William Harris were distinguished as senior and junior. The June list entered them on consecutive lines without any mark to tell them apart. They were perhaps father and son serving in one company, and the clerk now separated them so that each man's pay and service could be traced. John Hawksworth, who died on 29 June, and William Hockley, discharged on 16 June, were gone from the roll. Osbourn was the only recruit on this page to set against those losses and the discharge of William Bell on 14 July. | |
190 | 20th October Brought over L 1459. 11. 1 1/2 Centinels brought over L 207. 4. 1 1/2 John Christian Strife 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Stowers 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Stringer 3. 16. 1/2 William Stone 3. 16. 1/2 John Sabourin 3. 16. 1/2 William Stapleford 3. 16. 1/2 Avery Truman 3. 16. 1/2 John Tucker 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Wansall 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Waffington 3. 16. 1/2 245. 4. 6 1/2 Third Company Richard Beale Capt. Saly. 45. 12. 6 Thomas Bazett Lieut. Saly. 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 John Bridgwater Lt. Saly. 12 Days 2. 8 Do. Diet Money 12 Do. 18 Do. House Rent 12 Do. 6. 6 3. 12. 6 Serjeants Roger Welman 7. 12. 1 Bernard Millard 7. 12. 1 William Roberts 7. 12. 1 John Vaughan 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Corporals James York 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Matthews to 5th Augt. 2. 2 Do. from 7 to Do. 2. 6. 1/2 William Clifton 5. 6. 5 1/2 Fisher Gamble 5. 6. 5 1/2 20. 7. 5 Carrd. over L 1832. 8. 3 1/2 | The pay list entered under 20 October completed the second company's private soldiers and set out the third company's officers, sergeants and corporals. Balance brought over, £1,459 11s 1½d Second Company, sentinels, brought over, £207 4s 1½d Second Company, sentinel: John Christian Strife, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Stowers, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Benjamin Stringer, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Stone, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Sabrain, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: William Stapleford, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Avery Trueman, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: John Tucker, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Wansell, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinel: Thomas Waffington, £3 16s 0½d Second Company, sentinels, total, £245 4s 6½d Third Company: Richard Beale, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Third Company: Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, salary for 12 days, £2 8s 0d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, diet money for 12 days, £0 18s 0d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, house rent for 12 days, £0 6s 6d Third Company: John Bridgewater, lieutenant, total, £3 12s 6d Third Company, sergeant: Roger Wetman, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: Barnard Millerd, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: William Roberts, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeant: John Vaughan, £7 12s 1d Third Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Third Company, corporal: James York, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporal: Thomas Matthews, to 5 August, £2 2s 0d Third Company, corporal: Thomas Matthews, from 6 August, £2 6s 0½d Third Company, corporal: William Clifton, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporal: Fisher Gamble, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, corporals, total, £20 7s 5d Carried over, £1,832 8s 3½d Interpretations Bridgewater's dismissal took place in two stages, and the pay list dated both. His allowance as overseer at Sandy Bay stopped after seven days, on 7 July. His pay as a lieutenant ran for 12 days, to 12 July. He was therefore removed first from the post that handled the labourers' wages and then, five days later, from his commission. The order suggests that the fault lay in his conduct of the works. The Council's minute, entered with the proceedings of 21 July, recorded only that he was dismissed from the Company's service and gave no cause. His entry reveals the daily rates behind an officer's quarterly pay. Twelve days brought £2 8s 0d in salary, £0 18s 0d in diet money and £0 6s 6d in house rent. A lieutenant thus earned four shillings a day in pay and eighteen pence for his table, against a private's ten pence. Even the allowance for his lodging was stopped on the day he left. No second lieutenant was entered in his place. The third company finished the quarter with one subaltern where each of the others had two, and Thomas Bazett, who took over the Sandy Bay works, was also the only lieutenant left to do the company's duty. An officer's commission could not be filled from the ranks on the following day, as a corporal's place was. Matthews was paid as a corporal for 36 days to 5 August and at a lower rate afterwards. His second sum of £2 6s 0½d fell well short of a corporal's pay for the remaining weeks and matched a private's. He was evidently reduced to the ranks on that date, the sixth non-commissioned officer broken since April. The clerk left the new rank unstated, though the figures showed it. The second company's privates cost £245 4s 6½d, against £253 2s 4d in the quarter to 30 June 1766. As in the first company, the ranks stood thinner than three months before. | |
191 | 1766 Brought over L 1832. 8. 3 1/2 Drummers John Swailes 5. 6. 5 1/2 George Varney 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Centinels Richard Ashford 3. 16. 1/2 James Anderson 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Abraham 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Brown 3. 16. 1/2 Jacob Bull 3. 16. 1/2 Mark Bulls 3. 16. 1/2 Benjamin Bennett 3. 16. 1/2 John Blinkorn 3. 16. 1/2 Fredk. Willm. Beard 3. 16. 1/2 Willm. Caleb Baldwin 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Broome 3. 16. 1/2 John Cork 3. 16. 1/2 William Carr 3. 16. 1/2 John Chapman Died 22 July 18. 4 Michael Downey 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Davis 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Dudley 3. 16. 1/2 William Fasker 3. 16. 1/2 John Foxon 3. 16. 1/2 Archibald Grayham 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Gregory 3. 16. 1/2 William Gordon 3. 16. 1/2 Felix Hyder 3. 16. 1/2 John Hilliard 3. 16. 1/2 William Hill 3. 16. 1/2 William Hopkins 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Killock 3. 16. 1/2 John Hinds entd. 1 July transf. to ye Artilly. Compy. 23 19. 2 Centl. Carr. over L 100. 14. 7 Carrd. over L 1843. 1. 2 1/2 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 continued with the third company's drummers and the first of its private soldiers. Balance brought over, £1,832 8s 3½d Third Company, drummer: John Francis, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, drummer: George Varney, £5 6s 5½d Third Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Ashford, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Anderson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Charles Abraham, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Henry Brown, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Jacob Bull, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Mark Bull, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Benjamin Bennett, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Blinkorn, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Frederick William Beard, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Caleb Baldwin, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Broome, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Cork, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Cox, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Chapman, died 22 July, £0 18s 4d Third Company, sentinel: Michael Downey, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Davis, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Dudley, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Frasier, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Foxon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Archibald Grayham, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Gregory, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Gordon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Felix Hyder, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Hilliard, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Hill, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Hopkins, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Hillock, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Hards, enlisted 1 July, transferred to the fourth company on 23 July, £0 19s 2d Third Company, sentinels, carried over, £100 14s 7d Carried over, £1,843 1s 2½d Interpretations Hards joined the third company on 1 July and was moved to the fourth on 23 July. The third company paid him £0 19s 2d for his 23 days, and the rest of his quarter would be charged to the fourth. A transfer between companies was a new kind of entry in these lists. The fourth company had the heaviest losses in the quarter to 30 June 1766, with seven men gone and four late recruits, so a fresh soldier was probably shifted to even out the strength of the companies. Each captain's roll was kept separately, and a man who changed company in mid-quarter appeared in both, with his days divided between them. The entry for Chapman confirmed that the soldier whose death the diary recorded on 22 July belonged to this company. His 22 days brought £0 18s 4d, the same sum paid to James Lee of the same company, who died on 22 April in the previous quarter. The roll opened shorter than three months earlier. Joseph Chamberlain, Charles Edgels and Alexander Gray, all discharged in the June quarter, were gone. John Hillock, who enlisted on 24 June and drew seven days' pay on that list, now received a full quarter's wage as an established member of the company. The company's two drummers were the same men at the same pay as before. | |
192 | 20th October Brought over L 1843. 1. 2 1/2 Centins. brought over L 100. 14. 7 Maynard Hayes ent. 2 July 3. 15. 10 Josiah Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Johnston 3. 16. 1/2 Samuel Johnson to 5 Augt. 1. 10 Do. made Corpl. 6 Do. 3. 4. 5 1/2 Richard Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 James Kemp 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Linney 3. 16. 1/2 John Long 3. 16. 1/2 John Langridge Died 16th July 13. 4 Edward Larabourn 3. 16. 1/2 Bryan Lynch 3. 16. 1/2 John Lemmon 3. 16. 1/2 James Long 3. 16. 1/2 Charles Mountague 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Moyce 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Morriss 3. 16. 1/2 John Miller 3. 16. 1/2 James Moyce 3. 16. 1/2 Abraham Major 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Martin 3. 16. 1/2 George Nelson entert. from ye Art. Compy. 11 Augt. 1. 10. 10 Thomas Perry 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Pinchin 3. 16. 1/2 William Perkis 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Pearce 3. 16. 1/2 David Patton 3. 16. 1/2 William Robinson 3. 16. 1/2 Robert Stack 3. 16. 1/2 Adam Scott 3. 16. 1/2 David Scott 3. 16. 1/2 John Shirland 3. 16. 1/2 John Thompson 3. 16. 1/2 Cent. Carr. over L 217. 18. 2 1/2 Carrd. over L 1843. 1. 2 1/2 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the private soldiers of the third company. Balance brought over, £1,843 1s 2½d Third Company, sentinels, brought over, £100 14s 7d Third Company, sentinel: Maynard Hayes, enlisted 2 July, £3 15s 10d Third Company, sentinel: Josiah Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Samuel Johnson, to 5 August, £1 10s 0d Third Company, sentinel: Samuel Johnson, as corporal from 6 August, £3 4s 5½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Kempf, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Linney, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Long, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Landgridge, died 16 July, £0 13s 4d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Laraburn, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Bryon Lynch, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Lemmon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Long, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Charles Montague, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Moyce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Morris, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Miller, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: James Moyce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Abraham Major, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Joseph Martin, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: George Nelson, entered from the artillery company on 11 August, £1 18s 10d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Perry, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Henry Pincheon, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Perkes, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Pearce, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: David Patton, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: William Robinson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Robert Stack, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Adam Scott, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: David Scott, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Shoeland, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Thomson, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinels, carried over, £217 18s 2½d Carried over, £1,843 1s 2½d Interpretations Samuel Johnson's promotion confirmed what the figures on the previous page implied. Corporal Thomas Matthews was paid at his rank to 5 August and at a private's rate afterwards. Johnson was a private to 5 August and a corporal from 6 August. He drew £1 10s 0d for 36 days at ten pence and £3 4s 5½d for the rest of the quarter. Matthews was therefore broken on 5 August and Johnson raised in his place the next morning, the same pattern of a vacancy filled within a day that marked every earlier case. Nelson came to the company from the artillery on 11 August. A George Nelson served as a matross in the quarter to 30 June 1766 at a shilling a day. His move to the infantry cut his wage to ten pence. A transfer that cost a man a sixth of his pay was not one he would seek, and it was probably a punishment or a judgement that he was unfit for the guns. The artillery kept its higher rates for men who could do its work, and the infantry received those who could not. Landgridge died on 16 July with £0 13s 4d for 16 days. Richard Knight and Samuel Eales of the first company died on 18 and 19 July, and John Chapman of this company on 22 July. Four soldiers were thus lost within a single week of the island's midwinter. The Council's diary noted Chapman's death, and the earlier three fell in the days covered by the meeting of 21 July. Hayes enlisted on 2 July, the same day as Moses Osbourn of the second company, and John Hards joined the third on 1 July. Three recruits in two days at the very start of the quarter point to men taken from a ship. The Kent sailed on 1 July and the True Briton lay in the road until 8 July, and seamen or passengers from such vessels sometimes chose to stay. Joseph Martin, who enlisted on 30 June and drew a single day's pay on the previous list, now received a full quarter's wage. | |
193 | 1766 Brought over L 1843. 1. 2 1/2 Cents. brought over L 217. 18. 2 1/2 Thomas Taylor 3. 16. 1/2 Daniel Tonge ent. 11 Aug. trs. to Art. Compy. 24 11. 8 Joseph Uffin 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Vincent 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Ward 3. 16. 1/2 Edward Welch 3. 16. 1/2 John Walters 3. 16. 1/2 241. 6. 1 1/2 Fourth Company John Howard Capt. Saly. 45. 12. 6 Henry De Lonne Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Thomas Lambert Lieut. Saly 18. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Serjeants John Fleming 7. 12. 1 Thomas Bailey 7. 12. 1 John Simcox 7. 12. 1 Daniel Armin 7. 12. 1 30. 8. 4 Corporals Jonathan Lake 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Ferris 5. 6. 5 1/2 Thomas Kilbeck 5. 6. 5 1/2 Richard Moreton 5. 6. 5 1/2 21. 5. 10 Drummers John Martin Major 5. 6. 5 1/2 George Wills 5. 6. 5 1/2 John Kempen 5. 6. 5 1/2 15. 19. 4 1/2 Carrd. over L 2252. 17. 1 1/2 | The pay list for the quarter to 30 September 1766 completed the third company's private soldiers and set out the fourth company's officers, sergeants, corporals and drummers. Balance brought over, £1,843 1s 2½d Third Company, sentinels, brought over, £217 18s 2½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Taylor, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Daniel Tongue, entered 11 August, transferred to the artillery company on 24 August, £0 11s 8d Third Company, sentinel: Joseph Uffin, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Richard Vincent, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Thomas Ward, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: Edward Welch, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinel: John Waters, £3 16s 0½d Third Company, sentinels, total, £241 6s 1½d Fourth Company: John Howard, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Fourth Company: Henry De Fonne, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Fourth Company: Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, total, £27 11s 10½d Fourth Company, sergeant: John Flemming, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: Thomas Bailey, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: John Simcox, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeant: Daniel Armain, £7 12s 1d Fourth Company, sergeants, total, £30 8s 4d Fourth Company, corporal: Jonathan Lake, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: Thomas Ferris, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: Thomas Shilock, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporal: Richard Moreton, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, corporals, total, £21 5s 10d Fourth Company, drummer: John Martin, drum major, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummer: George Wills, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummer: John Kempen, £5 6s 5½d Fourth Company, drummers, total, £15 19s 4½d Carried over, £2,252 17s 1½d Interpretations Daniel Tongue's entry traced what became of the dismissed overseer. The Council removed him on 11 August for drunkenness and for cheating the Company's slaves of their rice and arrack, and ordered him back to the garrison to serve out his five years. He was entered in the third company as a private on that very day. Thirteen days later he was moved to the artillery. An artilleryman earned at least a shilling a day against a private's ten pence, so the man disgraced in August was in the better-paid arm before the month ended. His skills evidently outweighed his record. An overseer of works could handle men, tools and powder, and the artillery was the branch that needed such soldiers. The date of his arrival matched another move. George Nelson came into the third company from the artillery on 11 August, the day Tongue was entered in it. One man passed down from the guns to the infantry and another passed up within a fortnight. The companies were evidently treated as a single pool, with soldiers shifted between them as officers judged their usefulness. The fourth company's roll explains its third drummer. Martin was now marked as drum major, the senior drummer of the whole garrison, who drew £1 0s 0d a quarter in the list of minor officers for teaching the boys. He was carried on the fourth company's strength with two ordinary drummers beside him, which is why that company showed three where the others had two. Moreton now stood among the corporals at full pay. He succeeded John Bowler on 27 May, after Bowler held the place for 49 days and was reduced, and the June list still showed him among the privates. The third company's privates cost £241 6s 1½d, against £249 5s 0d in the quarter to 30 June 1766. Two deaths, the transfers out of Hards and Tongue and the absence of men discharged in June accounted for the fall. | |
194 | 20th October Brought over L 2252. 17. 1 1/2 Centinels John Allen 3. 16. 1/2 William Allen 3. 16. 1/2 George Bennett 3. 16. 1/2 Joseph Blackwell 3. 16. 1/2 John Brooks 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Bickerstaff 3. 16. 1/2 William Blackman 3. 16. 1/2 John Bulliott 3. 16. 1/2 John Beauchum 3. 16. 1/2 Andrew Barton 3. 16. 1/2 John Bowler 3. 16. 1/2 James Cartwright 3. 16. 1/2 George Copeling 3. 16. 1/2 William Cooksey 3. 16. 1/2 Duncan Cameron 3. 16. 1/2 James Culsher 3. 16. 1/2 John Cunningham 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Close 3. 16. 1/2 Josiah Cummings 3. 16. 1/2 John Deal 3. 16. 1/2 John Eastone 3. 16. 1/2 George Green 3. 16. 1/2 John Gilmoure 3. 16. 1/2 Edward German 3. 16. 1/2 Henry Harenburg 3. 16. 1/2 James Hendry 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Hilliard 3. 16. 1/2 Roger Haydon 3. 16. 1/2 Stephen John 3. 16. 1/2 Christian Johnson 3. 16. 1/2 Richard Kempton 3. 16. 1/2 William Lambon 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Lee 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Lyne 3. 16. 1/2 Cent. Carrd. over L 129. 5. 5 Carrd. over L 2252. 17. 1 1/2 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the private soldiers of the fourth company. Balance brought over, £2,252 17s 1½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Allen, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Allen, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Bennett, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Joseph Blackwell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Brooks, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Bickerstaff, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Blackman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bulliat, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Beacham, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Andrew Barton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Bowler, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Cartwright, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Capeling, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Cocksey, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Duncan Cameron, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Culcher, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Cunningham, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Close, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Josiah Cummings, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Deal, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Eastone, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: George Green, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Gilmore, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Edward Germain, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Henry Harenberg, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Hendry, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Hilliard, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Roger Hayton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Stephen John, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Christian Johnson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Richard Kempton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Lambon, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Lee, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Lyne, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinels, carried over, £129 5s 5d Carried over, £2,252 17s 1½d | |
195 | 1766 Brought over £ 2252. 17. 11 1/2 Cent. brought over £ 129. 5. 5 Simon Maser Died 19th July 13. 10 Murdoch McCloud 3. 16. 1/2 William Mitchell 3. 16. 1/2 John Moore 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Marshall 3. 16. 1/2 John Mayor 3. 16. 1/2 John Newton 3. 16. 1/2 Mathew Newman 3. 16. 1/2 James Newport 3. 16. 1/2 John Osmide 3. 16. 1/2 John Pluck 3. 16. 1/2 Daniel Patrick 3. 16. 1/2 Stephen Phipps 3. 16. 1/2 William Parker 3. 16. 1/2 James Richardson 3. 16. 1/2 Patrick Riley 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Rutherford 3. 16. 1/2 John Shaw 3. 16. 1/2 William Spilman 3. 16. 1/2 Zedekiah [Saunderson] 3. 16. 1/2 Roderick Shaffer 3. 16. 1/2 John Stake 3. 16. 1/2 William Stedman 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Suffett Died 12th Augt. 1. 13. 10 John Thompson 3. 16. 1/2 John Terry 3. 16. 1/2 Jeremiah Whorrell 3. 16. 1/2 William Waite 3. 16. 1/2 John Woods 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Williams 3. 16. 1/2 Thomas Wake 3. 16. 1/2 242. 2. 3 1/2 Carrd. over £ 2494. 19. 5 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the remaining private soldiers of the fourth company. Balance brought over, £2,252 17s 1½d Fourth Company, sentinels, brought over, £129 5s 5d Fourth Company, sentinel: Simon Mason, discharged 19 July, £0 15s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: Murdoch McCloud, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Mitchell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Moore, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Marshall, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Mayer, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Newton, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Mathew Newman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Newport, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Oswald, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Peck, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Daniel Patrick, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Stephen Phipps, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Parker, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: James Richardson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Patrick Riley, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Rutherford, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Shaw, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Spilman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Zedekiah [...], £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Roderick Shaffer, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Slake, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Stedman, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Suffield, discharged 12 August, £1 15s 10d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Thompson, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Terry, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Jeremiah Worrell, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: William Waite, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: John Woods, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Williams, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinel: Thomas Watts, £3 16s 0½d Fourth Company, sentinels, total, £242 2s 3½d Carried over, £2,494 19s 5d Interpretations Two sentinels drew less than the standard £3 16s 0½d because their service ended partway through the pay period. Simon Mason, whose entry was dated 19 July, received only £0 15s 10d, and Thomas Suffield, dated 12 August, received £1 15s 10d. Pay was therefore reckoned by the day up to the date a man left the roll, not forfeited or rounded to the full period. The abbreviation against both names was read as discharged, though it could equally stand for died, which would change the reason for the short payment but not the method of reckoning. The surname of the sentinel entered as Zedekiah could not be read with confidence and was left marked. A small marginal mark stood beside his name, but its meaning was not recoverable from the page. | |
196 | 20th October Brought over £ 2494. 19. 5 Artillery Company Archibald Mitchell Captn. Salary 45. 12. 6 Nathan Sample Lieut. Salary 13. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Thomas Leech Lieut. Saly. 13. 5 Do. Diet Money 6. 16. 10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2. 10 27. 11. 10 1/2 Sergeants John Whitchurch 9. 2. 6 Adam Nelson 9. 2. 6 John Shirley 9. 2. 6 John Cox 9. 2. 6 36. 10 Corporals Thomas [Cellies] 6. 16. 10 1/2 Nicholas Houghton 6. 16. 10 1/2 Robert Gillson 6. 16. 10 1/2 John Jocks 6. 16. 10 1/2 27. 7. 6 Bombardiers John Tanner 6. 16. 10 1/2 James Pursell 6. 16. 10 1/2 John Martin 6. 16. 10 1/2 Evan Newland 6. 16. 10 1/2 27. 7. 6 Gunners Eustace White 6. 1. 8 David Dennis 6. 1. 8 John Smith 6. 1. 8 Thomas Tyler 6. 1. 8 William Phillips 6. 1. 8 Gunrs. Carrd. over £ 30. 8. 4 Carrd. over £ 2687. 8 | The pay list entered under 20 October moved on to the Artillery Company, beginning with its officers and continuing through the sergeants, corporals, bombardiers and the first of the gunners. Balance brought over, £2,494 19s 5d Artillery Company, captain: Archibald Mitchell, salary, £45 12s 6d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Nathan Sample, salary, £18 5s 0d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Nathan Sample, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Nathan Sample, house rent, £2 10s 0d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Nathan Sample, total, £27 11s 10½d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Thomas Leech, salary, £18 5s 0d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Thomas Leech, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Thomas Leech, house rent, £2 10s 0d Artillery Company, lieutenant: Thomas Leech, total, £27 11s 10½d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Whitchurch, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: Adam Nelson, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Shirley, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeant: John Cox, £9 2s 6d Artillery Company, sergeants, total, £36 10s 0d Artillery Company, corporal: Thomas Collier, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: Nicholas Houghton, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: Robert Gillson, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporal: John Jacks, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, corporals, total, £27 7s 6d Artillery Company, bombardier: John Turner, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: James Purcell, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: John Martin, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardier: Evan Newland, £6 16s 10½d Artillery Company, bombardiers, total, £27 7s 6d Artillery Company, gunner: Eustace White, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: David Dennis, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: John Smith, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: Thomas Tyler, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: William Phillips, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunners, carried over, £30 8s 4d Carried over, £2,687 0s 3d Interpretations The artillery was paid on a markedly better scale than the infantry. A gunner, the lowest rank in the company, drew £6 1s 8d against the £3 16s 0½d paid to each sentinel of the fourth company on the preceding leaves. Corporals and bombardiers each drew £6 16s 10½d, the same sum allowed to a lieutenant for his diet. The premium reflected the value placed on men trained to serve the island's guns, whose skill was harder to replace than that of a foot soldier. A bombardier was a junior non-commissioned artilleryman ranking with or just below a corporal, originally charged with preparing and firing mortars and shells. Diet money was a cash allowance paid to an officer in place of meals at the Company's table. House rent was a similar allowance in place of quarters. Both lieutenants received these on top of salary, which brought each to £27 11s 10½d, while the captain's entry showed a single salary figure with no separate allowances. Several surnames rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably Leech, Collier, Jacks, Purcell and Tyler, and the final carried-over total was read as £2,687 0s 3d with the shillings entered as nil. | |
197 | 1766 Brought over £ 2687. 8 Gunners brought over £ 30. 8. 4 Adam Crichton Reduc. 21st July 1. 8 Do. Matross from 24th Augt. 1. 14 Do. Appoint. Gunner 25 Augt. 2. 8. 4 Samuel Smith 6. 1. 8 John Fox Red. 24th Augt. 3. 13. 4 Do. Matross from 25th 1. 16. 3 47. 9. 11 Drummers George Garnott 5. 6. 5 1/2 Robert Saunders 5. 6. 5 1/2 10. 12. 11 Matrosses Robert Allum 4. 11. 3 Benjamin Burton 4. 11. 3 Isaac Buck 4. 11. 3 John Bowers 4. 11. 3 James Battersby 4. 11. 3 William Brown 4. 11. 3 John Cope 4. 11. 3 John Creswell 4. 11. 3 Thomas Clark 4. 11. 3 Edmund Corner 4. 11. 3 Robert Cunningham 4. 11. 3 John Carfoot 4. 11. 3 John Double 4. 11. 3 Daniel Flynn 4. 11. 3 Joseph Fellows 4. 11. 3 Robert Frankish 4. 11. 3 Christian Greenawald 4. 11. 3 Thomas Garett 4. 11. 3 Thomas Green 4. 11. 3 William Hodges 4. 11. 3 Laurence Hall 4. 11. 3 Matrosses Carrd. over £ 95. 16. 3 Carrd. over £ 2745. 3. 6 | The pay list for 1766 continued with the remaining gunners of the Artillery Company, followed by its drummers and the first of its matrosses. Balance brought over, £2,687 0s 3d Artillery Company, gunners, brought over, £30 8s 4d Artillery Company, gunner: Adam Crichton, reduced 21 July, £1 8s 0d Artillery Company, gunner: Adam Crichton, as matross from 24 August, £1 14s 0d Artillery Company, gunner: Adam Crichton, appointed gunner 25 August, £2 8s 4d Artillery Company, gunner: Samuel Smith, £6 1s 8d Artillery Company, gunner: John Fox, reduced 24 August, £3 13s 4d Artillery Company, gunner: John Fox, as matross from 25 August, £1 16s 3d Artillery Company, gunners, total, £47 9s 11d Artillery Company, drummer: George Barnott, £5 6s 5½d Artillery Company, drummer: Robert Saunders, £5 6s 5½d Artillery Company, drummers, total, £10 12s 11d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Allum, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Benjamin Burton, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Isaac Buck, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Bowers, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: James Bottomley, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Brown, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Cope, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Creswell, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Clark, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Edmund Corner, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Cunningham, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Catford, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Dankie, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Daniel Flynn, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Joseph Fellows, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Robert Frankish, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Christian Grunawald, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Garrett, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Green, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Hodges, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Laurence Hall, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matrosses, carried over, £95 16s 3d Carried over, £2,745 3s 6d Interpretations A matross was the lowest rank of artilleryman, a gunner's assistant who helped load, sponge and traverse the guns and guarded the stores, without being trusted to lay or fire a piece himself. His pay of £4 11s 3d sat between the £3 16s 0½d of an infantry sentinel on the earlier leaves and the £6 1s 8d of a full gunner on the preceding one. The drummers, at £5 6s 5½d, were paid above the matrosses and below the gunners. Two gunners lost their rank during the period, and the roll split each man's pay at the date of the change instead of paying one rate throughout. John Fox was broken to matross on 24 August and drew £3 13s 4d as a gunner and £1 16s 3d at the lower rate afterwards. Adam Crichton's entry ran to three lines: gunner's pay to 21 July, a spell as matross and a reappointment as gunner on 25 August. Reduction in rank therefore worked as a direct financial penalty, reckoned to the day, and in Crichton's case it was reversible within weeks. The same daily reckoning appeared on the fourth company's roll, where Simon Mason and Thomas Suffield were paid only to 19 July and 12 August. The abbreviation against Crichton and Fox was read as reduced. The date from which Crichton served as matross was read as 24 August, which sat awkwardly beside his reduction on 21 July and his reappointment on 25 August, so one of those dates was perhaps misread. Several surnames rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably Barnott, Bottomley, Creswell, Corner, Catford, Dankie and Grunawald. | |
198 | 20th October Brought over £ 2745. 3. 6 Matrosses brought over £ 95. 16. 3 John Hines entd. 22d July 3. 10. 3 William Jenkins 4. 11. 3 Thomas Jones 4. 11. 3 John Lewis 4. 11. 3 Daniel Maloney 4. 11. 3 George Marshall 4. 11. 3 Jonathan Mallett 4. 11. 3 Thomas Mc. Darling to 21st July 1. 1 Do. Appointed Gunner 22d Do. 4. 13. 8 Thomas Nimble 4. 11. 3 Geo. Nelson transf. to ye 3d Compy. 25th Augt. 2. 16 John Osbourn 4. 11. 3 William Button 4. 11. 3 Godfrey Smith 4. 11. 3 Samuel Spinar 4. 11. 3 John Scotcher 4. 11. 3 Henry Sandford Disch. 21st July 1. 1 Daniel Tongue enter. 26th Augt. 1. 15. 3 Thomas Watts 4. 11. 3 John Webley 4. 11. 3 Richard Wellman 4. 11. 3 Thomas Wyatt 4. 11. 3 Richard Waterhouse 4. 11. 3 Thomas Yates 4. 11. 3 192. 15. 11 £ 2937. 19. 5 1/2 | The pay list entered under 20 October continued with the remaining matrosses of the Artillery Company and closed the account with a final total. Balance brought over, £2,745 3s 6d Artillery Company, matrosses, brought over, £95 16s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Hines, entertained 22 July, £3 10s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Jenkins, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Jones, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Lewis, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Daniel Maloney, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: George Marshall, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Jonathan Mallett, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas McFarling, to 21 July, £1 1s 0d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas McFarling, appointed gunner 22 July, £4 13s 8d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Nimble, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: George Nelson, transferred to the 3rd Company 25 August, £2 16s 0d Artillery Company, matross: John Osbourn, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: William Button, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Godfrey Smith, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Samuel Spinar, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Scotcher, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Henry Sandford, discharged 21 July, £1 1s 0d Artillery Company, matross: Daniel Tongue, entertained 26 August, £1 15s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Watts, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: John Webley, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Richard Wellman, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Wyatt, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Richard Waterhouse, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matross: Thomas Yates, £4 11s 3d Artillery Company, matrosses, total, £192 15s 11d Total, £2,937 19s 5½d Interpretations The entries dated 21 and 22 July showed the company's ranks being reshuffled in a single movement. Thomas McFarling was paid as a matross to 21 July and as a gunner from the next day, on the same date that the preceding leaf recorded Adam Crichton losing his gunner's rank. McFarling therefore probably filled the vacancy Crichton left. Henry Sandford's discharge on 21 July was matched by John Hines joining on 22 July, so the matrosses' strength was made good at once. Daniel Tongue's enlistment on 26 August similarly followed George Nelson's move to the infantry on 25 August and John Fox's reduction to matross on 24 August. The word against Hines and Tongue, read as entertained, meant taken into the Company's service and pay. Each drew matross's pay only from his date of entry, £3 10s 3d and £1 15s 3d against the full £4 11s 3d, by the same daily reckoning applied to the men who left the roll. Nelson's transfer to the 3rd Company moved him from the artillery to the foot, where a sentinel's pay of £3 16s 0½d was lower than a matross's. The roll gave no reason for the move. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the surnames Hines, McFarling, Button, Spinar, Scotcher and Tongue, the company number in Nelson's entry and the halfpenny in the final total. A mark resembling the number 19 stood in the margin beside the last name, but its meaning was not recoverable from the page. | |
199 | Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. Per Contra Cr. 1766 Septr. 30th To Cash Received £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 Carried over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 £ s d 1766. July 2d By Cash paid Maynard Hayes and Reeves Osbourn for entertg. to serve the HCompany for five Years as Soldiers at £2. 10. each 5 20th By Cash pd. Capt. Van Wrattam for 2000 lb Rice for the Use of the Hon Compy. at 8/ P Hund. 8 Augt. 6 By Cash pd. Mr. Richd. Goodwin for 13 Days Work of a Stonectr. at the Fortificn. at Sandy Bay @ 2/6 P Day 1. 12. 6 By Cash pd. Mr. Purling for 14 Days Work of his Stonectr. at the Do. @ Do. 2/6 Do. 1. 15 By Cash pd. Mr. Wrangham for 17 days Wk. of his Stonectr. at the Do. Do. at 2/6 P D 2. 2. 6 28th By Cash pd. Benj. Bartley for reinlistg. to Serve the HCompa. as a Soldier for five Years 3 Septr. 6th By Cash pd. Mr. Richd. Bagley for a Horse bought for the use of the HCompy. 9 Carrd. over £ 30. 10 Margin Notes: 1766 | The account of Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, set the cash he received against the payments he made on the Company's behalf during 1766. Debit, 30 September 1766: cash received, £3,524 13s 3½d Debit, carried over, £3,524 13s 3½d Credit, 2 July 1766: cash paid to Maynard Hayes and [...] Osbourn for enlisting to serve the Company for five years as soldiers at £2 10s 0d each, £5 0s 0d Credit, 20 July 1766: cash paid to Captain Van Wrattam for 2,000 pounds of rice for the Company's use at 8s per hundred, £8 0s 0d Credit, 6 August 1766: cash paid to Mr Richard Goodwin for 13 days' work of a stonecutter at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 2s 6d a day, £1 12s 6d Credit, 6 August 1766: cash paid to Mr [...] for 14 days' work of his stonecutter at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 2s 6d a day, £1 15s 0d Credit, 6 August 1766: cash paid to Mr Wrangham for 17 days' work of his stonecutter at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 2s 6d a day, £2 2s 6d Credit, 28 August 1766: cash paid to Benjamin Bartley for re-enlisting to serve the Company as a soldier for five years, £3 0s 0d Credit, 6 September 1766: cash paid to Mr Richard Bagley for a horse bought for the Company's use, £9 0s 0d Credit, carried over, £30 10s 0d Interpretations The stonecutters working on the Sandy Bay fortifications were not the Company's own men. Three private individuals, Goodwin, Wrangham and a third whose name could not be read, each supplied a workman and collected 2s 6d for every day he worked. The possessive wording of the second and third entries, which spoke of each man's own stonecutter, pointed to slaves or servants hired out by their masters, with the wage going to the owner. The Company therefore met a shortage of skilled labour for its defences by renting it from the planters instead of drawing on the garrison. A bounty was paid for signing a five-year engagement, and the roll priced a new recruit and a serving soldier differently. Hayes and Osbourn each received £2 10s 0d on first enlisting, while Bartley received £3 0s 0d for signing on again. The higher sum for the man already on the island reflected his worth as a trained and acclimatised soldier, and the cost of shipping a replacement from England that his renewal saved. The rice was bought from a ship's captain at 8s per hundred pounds, which showed the Company topping up its provision store from passing shipping. The captain's surname, read as Van Wrattam, was uncertain. The debit side carried a single entry, the cash received to 30 September, with the rest of the column ruled through as blank. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the surnames Hayes, Wrangham, Bartley and Bagley, the unit in the rice entry and the trade of the hired workmen, read as stonecutter from an abbreviated form. | |
200 | 20th October Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1766 Septr. 30th To Cash brought over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 Carrd. over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster, entered under 20 October, carried forward the single sum of cash he received. Debit, 30 September 1766: cash brought over, £3,524 13s 3½d Debit, carried over, £3,524 13s 3½d | |
201 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over £ 30. 10 By Cash pd. four Men for saving a Slave of the Honb. Compa. who was cast away in a Boat to Windward 10/ ea 2 By Cash pd. John Mc. Alister for relisting to serve the HCompy. five Years longer as a Soldier 10 By Cash pd. 12 Garrison Men 4 1/2 Days Work in the Stores taking the Inventory 2/6 ea 2. 11 By Cash pd. Mr. Jonathn. Doveton for 16 [...] of Yams supplyed by him for the Use of the Lieut. Governors Stock 2 By Cash pd. John Whitchurch for 2 lb of Sealg. Wax at 10/ P lb for the use of the Secrets. Office &c. 1 By Cash pd. Mr. James Greentree for a Boat bought of him for the Use of the HCompany 5. 10 By Cash pd. Capt. Roddam for a Yawl wth. Furnite. bought for the use of the HCompy. 8 By Cash pd. Mary Seale for 13. 560 of Yams at 3/ P [...] 20. 6. 8 By Cash pd. the Sexton for burying 21 Sold. from the 11 Feby. 1763 to the 30 Sept 1766 @ 2/6 ea 2. 12. 6 By Cash pd. Willm. Jenkins for Baking 117 Batches of Bread at 1/8 P Batch. for the use of the Garr. this Quartr. 9. 15 By Cash pd. Wm. Holbrook for 63 Days Work of his Apprentice at the HCompa. Works this Quarter at 1/ P Day 3. 3 By Cash pd. Benj. Scott for makg. Sails for the [Lg.] Boat 15 By Cash pd. John Robinson for 100 Cabbagetree Sticks at [...] at /6 ea and 32 Rafters at 1/ P Rafter for the Build. at S. Bay 10. 2. 4 By Cash pd. Simon Whaley for 12 [...] of Yams at 2/6 P [...] bought of him for the use of the HCompy. 1. 10 By Cash pd. Sundy. Garrison Men 81 Days Masons Work at the Fortifs. at Sandy Bay 6. 1. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 73 days Work Smiths at Do. 1/6 P day 5. 9. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for 12 1/2 Do. Carpent. Work at Do. 1/6 P Do. 18. 4 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. for 433 1/2 Do. Stonelayers Do. at Do. 1/6 P Do. 34. 8. 7 1/2 Carrd. over £ 156. 16. 0 | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account for 1766 continued with further payments made on the Company's behalf. Credit, brought over, £30 10s 0d Credit: cash paid to four men for saving a slave of the Company who was wrecked in a boat to windward, at 10s 0d each, £2 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to John McAlister for re-enlisting to serve the Company five years longer as a soldier, £10 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to 12 garrison men for 4½ days' work in the stores taking the inventory, at 1s 6d each, £2 11s 0d Credit: cash paid to Mr Jonathan Dovelon for 16 hundredweight of yams supplied for the Lieutenant Governor's stock, £2 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to John Whitchurch for 2 pounds of sealing wax at 10s 0d per pound for the Secretary's office, £1 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to Mr James Greentree for a boat bought from him for the Company's use, £5 10s 0d Credit: cash paid to Captain Roddam for a yawl with its furniture bought for the Company's use, £8 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to Mary Seale for 13,560 pounds of yams at 3s 0d per hundred, £20 6s 8d Credit: cash paid to the sexton for burying 21 soldiers from 11 February 1763 to 30 September 1766 at 2s 6d each, £2 12s 6d Credit: cash paid to William Jenkins for baking 117 batches of bread at 1s 8d per batch for the garrison this quarter, £9 15s 0d Credit: cash paid to William Holbrook for 63 days' work of his apprentice at the Company's works this quarter at 1s 0d a day, £3 3s 0d Credit: cash paid to Benjamin Scott for making sails for the [...] boat, £0 15s 0d Credit: cash paid to John Robinson for 100 cabbage tree sticks at [...] and 32 rafters at 1s 0d per rafter for the buildings at Sandy Bay, £10 2s 4d Credit: cash paid to Simon Whaley for 12 hundredweight of yams at 2s 6d per hundredweight bought for the Company's use, £1 10s 0d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 81 days' masons' work at the fortifications at Sandy Bay, £6 1s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 73 days' smiths' work at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 1s 6d a day, £5 9s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 12½ days' carpenters' work at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 1s 6d a day, £0 18s 4½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 1,337½ days' labourers' work at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 4d a day, £34 8s 7½d Credit, carried over, £156 16s 0d Interpretations Garrison labour on the Sandy Bay works was far cheaper than the hired stonecutters entered earlier in the same account. Soldiers working as masons, smiths and carpenters drew 1s 6d a day, against the 2s 6d a day paid on 6 August 1766 to Goodwin, Wrangham and a third owner for each of their workmen. Soldiers serving as labourers received what was read as 4d a day for some 1,337½ days. These sums were extra-duty pay on top of a man's ordinary wage, which made the garrison the Company's cheapest source of building labour and explained why outside hire was confined to a specialist trade. Re-enlistment bounties were not fixed. John McAlister received £10 0s 0d for a further five years, while Benjamin Bartley received £3 0s 0d on 28 August 1766 for the same term. The account gave no reason for the difference, which perhaps reflected rank, skill or the bargaining of an individual soldier. The sexton's fee recorded 21 soldiers buried between 11 February 1763 and 30 September 1766, a little over three and a half years, with the fee of 2s 6d a burial settled in a single arrear. Cabbage tree sticks were poles cut from the island's native cabbage trees, used with the rafters for roofing the buildings at Sandy Bay. A yawl was a small ship's boat, and its furniture meant its oars, mast, sails and fittings. Yams were the island's staple provision for slaves and stock, bought here from planters by weight. The reward of 10s 0d each to four men for rescuing a Company slave from a wrecked boat treated the rescue as the recovery of valuable property, paid for from the cash account alongside stores and boats. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the surnames McAlister, Dovelon, Greentree, Roddam, Seale, Holbrook and Whaley, the unit of the smaller yam purchases, the count of 21 burials and the labourers' days and rate. The rate for the cabbage tree sticks and the description of the boat fitted with sails could not be read. | |
202 | 20th October Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1766 Septr. 30th To Cash brought over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 Carrd. over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster, entered under 20 October, again carried forward the single sum of cash he received. Debit, 30 September 1766: cash brought over, £3,524 13s 3½d Debit, carried over, £3,524 13s 3½d | |
203 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over £ 156. 16. 6 By Cash paid Sundy. Garrison Men for 5389 1/2 days Labour Work at the Fortifs. at Sandy Bay at 1/ P day 269. 6. 6 By Cash pd. Do. 944 1/2 days Work in the [Lg.] Boat at 1/ P day 47. 4. 6 By Cash pd. Do. 15 1/2 days Work in making a [...] at 1/6 P Do. 1. 3. 3 By Cash pd. Do. 61 3/4 Do. Smiths Work at 1/6 P Do. 4. 12. 7 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 30 3/4 Do. Paintg. in the Castle at 1/6 P Do. 2. 6. 1 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 2 3/4 Do. Plaistr. Work in Do. at 1/6 P Do. 4. 1 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 55 3/4 Do. Carpentr. Do. in Do. at 1/6 P Do. 4. 3. 7 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 237 Do. Labourers Do. carrying Lime Stone and burning Lime at 1/ P Day 11. 17 By Cash pd. Do. 19 3/4 Do. Painting Gun Carriages at 1/6 P Day 1. 9. 7 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 118 1/2 Do. Carpent. Work making and repairg. Cots for the Garr. at 1/6 P day 8. 17. 9 By Cash pd. Do. 12 1/4 Do. Carpent. Work making a Guard Bed for the Main Guard at 1/6 P day 18. 4 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 65 days Masons Work repairing the Gutters at Plantation House @ 1/6 P day 4. 17. 6 By Cash pd. Do. 257 1/2 days Labourers Work for Do. at 1/ P Day 12. 17. 6 By Cash pd. Do. 8 Do. paintg. at the Plant. House at 1/6 P Do. 12 By Cash pd. Do. 43 Do. Labour Work in ye Stores @ 1/ P Do. 2. 3 By Cash pd. Sundry Planters for 128 3/4 days Stonelayers Work at Sandy Bay Fortification at 2/6 P Do. 16. 1. 10 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. 682 days Labourers Work at Sandy Bay Fortifs. at 1/ P day 34. 2 By Cash paid Nocquedah [Pochutturn] for directing the beatg. of Paddy into Rice the time of scarcity in the HCompys. Stores 1. 10 By Cash pd. Do. his Allowance this Quarter 1. 12. 6 By Cash pd. Do. for House Rent 1 By Cash pd. the Clerk of the Arraigns and the [Barcaler] of the Court 12. 6 Carrd. over £ 534. 8. 10 1/2 | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account for 1766 continued with payments for garrison labour, planters' labour and several small allowances. Credit, brought over, £156 16s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 5,380½ days' labourers' work at the fortifications at Sandy Bay at 1s 0d a day, £269 6s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 944½ days' work in the [...] boat at 1s 0d a day, £47 4s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 15½ days' work making [...] at 1s 6d a day, £1 3s 3d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 61¾ days' smiths' work at 1s 6d a day, £4 12s 7½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 30¾ days' painters' work in the castle at 1s 6d a day, £2 6s 1½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 2¾ days' plasterers' work in the castle at 1s 6d a day, £0 4s 1½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 55¾ days' carpenters' work in the castle at 1s 6d a day, £4 3s 7½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 237 days' labourers' work carrying limestone and burning lime at 1s 0d a day, £11 17s 0d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 19¾ days' painting gun carriages at 1s 6d a day, £1 9s 7½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 118½ days' carpenters' work making and repairing cots for the garrison at 1s 6d a day, £8 17s 9d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 12¼ days' carpenters' work making a guard bed for the main guard at 1s 6d a day, £0 18s 4½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 65 days' masons' work repairing the gutters at Plantation House at 1s 6d a day, £4 17s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 257½ days' labourers' work at Plantation House at 1s 0d a day, £12 17s 6d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 8 days' painters' work at the Plantation House at 1s 6d a day, £0 12s 0d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for 43 days' labourers' work in the stores at 1s 0d a day, £2 3s 0d Credit: cash paid to sundry planters for 128¾ days' stonelayers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 2s 6d a day, £16 1s 10½d Credit: cash paid to sundry planters for 682 days' labourers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 0d a day, £34 2s 0d Credit: cash paid to Nocquedah Pochuttum for directing the beating of paddy into rice during the time of scarcity in the Company's stores, £1 10s 0d Credit: cash paid to Nocquedah Pochuttum for his allowance this quarter, £1 12s 6d Credit: cash paid to Nocquedah Pochuttum for house rent, £1 0s 0d Credit: cash paid to the Clerk of the Arraigns and the [...] of the Court, £0 12s 6d Credit, carried over, £534 8s 10½d Interpretations Paddy was rice still in its husk, the form in which it kept and travelled best. Beating it, by pounding in a mortar, stripped the husk to give edible rice. The Company evidently held paddy in store and, when its provisions ran short, had it husked on the island under a man who understood the work. His title, read as Nocquedah, was the term used in the Indian Ocean trade for the master of a native vessel, which pointed to an Asian seafarer settled on the island. He drew a quarterly allowance of £1 12s 6d and £1 0s 0d for house rent, so he was a standing dependant of the Company and the £1 10s 0d was a special payment for this one service. The rice bought from a ship's captain on 20 July 1766 belonged to the same shortage. The labourers' rate on this leaf was 1s 0d a day, charged on 5,380½ days at Sandy Bay for £269 6s 6d. The preceding leaf's entry for labourers there, read as 1,337½ days at 4d, sat badly beside this, and its rate or day count was perhaps misread. Sandy Bay labour was by far the heaviest charge in the account, which marked the fortification there as the Company's main work of the year. Planters' labour was priced by skill in the same way as the hire recorded on 6 August 1766. Their stonelayers earned 2s 6d a day, matching the stonecutters hired from Goodwin and Wrangham, while garrison masons earned 1s 6d. For plain labouring the planters' men and the soldiers were paid alike at 1s 0d. The premium therefore attached to skilled stonework from outside the garrison and not to outside labour as such. A guard bed was the raised wooden platform in a guardroom on which the men of the guard rested between turns of duty. The cots were the soldiers' own bedsteads. Lime burnt from island limestone supplied the mortar for the building works. The sum brought over stood here as £156 16s 6d, against £156 16s 0d as read at the foot of the preceding leaf. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the name Pochuttum, the day counts with their fractions and the place of the painters', plasterers' and carpenters' work, read as the castle. The description of the boat, the article made in the third entry and the second court officer's title could not be read. | |
204 | 20th October Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1766 Septr. 30 To Cash brought over £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster, entered under 20 October, closed with the single sum of cash he received. Debit, 30 September 1766: cash brought over, £3,524 13s 3½d Debit, total, £3,524 13s 3½d | |
205 | 1766 Per Contra Cr. Brought over £ 584. 8. 10 1/2 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men Coming express with Account of Ships seen to Windward this Quarter 2. 5 586. 13. 10 1/2 By the Amount of the Pay List 2937. 19. 5 £ 3524. 13. 3 1/2 St. Helena 30th September 1766. Errors Excepted (Signed) Thos. Kirkpatrick Paymr. | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account for 1766 closed with one further payment and the amount of the pay list, which brought it level with the cash he received. Credit, brought over, £584 8s 10½d Credit: cash paid to sundry garrison men for coming express with reports of ships seen to windward this quarter, £2 5s 0d Credit, subtotal, £586 13s 10½d Credit: amount of the pay list, £2,937 19s 5d Credit, total, £3,524 13s 3½d Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, signed the account at St Helena on 30 September 1766, with errors excepted. Interpretations The payment for coming express showed how the island's early warning worked. Soldiers posted at lookouts on the windward side carried word of approaching ships to the authorities on foot or horseback, and each run earned a fee from the cash account. A sail sighted to windward gave hours of notice before a vessel could reach the anchorage, time in which the garrison could be alerted and the ship's identity judged. The account balanced exactly. The paymaster's contingent payments of £586 13s 10½d and the pay list of £2,937 19s 5d together equalled the £3,524 13s 3½d entered on the debit side as cash received to 30 September 1766. Kirkpatrick therefore held no balance in hand: he drew from the treasury precisely what he paid out, so the debit figure was in effect a reimbursement of his outlay and not an advance against which he later accounted. Errors excepted was the standard reservation under which an accountant signed. It left him free to correct any mistake found afterwards without the signed account binding him to it. The sum brought over stood here as £584 8s 10½d, against £534 8s 10½d as read at the foot of the preceding credit leaf. The pay list was entered at £2,937 19s 5d, without the halfpenny read in the final total of the roll itself. | |
206 | 20th October Collection of Goods Sold and delivered out of the Honourable Company's Ware Houses from the 1st July to the 30th Septr. 1766 vizt. Sold to the Planters at 10 P Cent vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 4636 lb Sugar 68. 6. 9 2721 Candy 62. 7. 1 130. 13. 10 Flour vizt. 6535 lb Flour 54. 8. 10 276. 3. 6 Baked 258. 7 312. 15. 10 Tea vizt. 437 lb Bohea 22. 15. 2 322 Congo 24. 3 320 Singlo 23 69. 18. 2 Sope 576 lb 21. 4 Salt 21 7/8 Bushells 4. 8. 5 Candles 398 lb 66. 7. 6 Shalloon vizt. 61 1/4 Yards Coloured 6. 2. 6 50 3/4 Do. Scarlet 5. 3. 7 11. 6. 1 Rice and Paddy vizt. 313 lb Rice 1. 13. 1 27. 1. 7 Paddy 6. 7. 3 8. 4 Pepper 73 lb 2. 2. 2 Pease and Beans vizt. 1 7/8 Bushl. split Pease 15. 8 1/8 Do. Beans 8 16. 4 Coffee 31 lb 14. 10 Starch 52 lb 1. 14. 8 Buckram 18 1/4 Yards 19 Carried over £ 630. 17. 6 | The entry under 20 October opened a summary of the goods sold and delivered from the Company's warehouses between 1 July and 30 September 1766, beginning with sales to the planters at an advance of 10 per cent. Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, sugar and candy: 4,686 pounds of sugar, £68 6s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, sugar and candy: 2,721 pounds of candy, £62 7s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, sugar and candy, total, £130 13s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, flour: 6,533 pounds of flour, £54 8s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, flour: 276 hundredweight 3 quarters 6 pounds of baked flour, £258 7s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, flour, total, £312 15s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tea: 437 pounds of Bohea, £22 15s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tea: 322 pounds of Congo, £24 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tea: 320 pounds of Singlo, £23 0s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tea, total, £69 18s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 576 pounds of soap, £21 0s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 21⅛ bushels of salt, £4 8s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 1,593 pounds of candles, £66 7s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shalloon: 61¼ yards of coloured shalloon, £6 2s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shalloon: 50½ yards of scarlet shalloon, £5 3s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shalloon, total, £11 6s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, rice and paddy: 313 pounds of rice, £1 13s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, rice and paddy: 27 hundredweight 1 quarter 7 pounds of paddy, £6 7s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, rice and paddy, total, £8 0s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 73 pounds of pepper, £2 2s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pease and beans: 1⅞ bushels of split pease, £0 15s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pease and beans: ⅛ bushel of beans, £0 0s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pease and beans, total, £0 16s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 8 pounds of coffee, £0 14s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 52 pounds of starch, £1 14s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 18¼ yards of buckram, £0 19s 0d Carried over, £630 17s 6d Interpretations Several of the goods needed explanation. Candy was sugar candy, sugar refined into large hard crystals and shipped from China or India, sold beside ordinary soft sugar. Bohea, Congo and Singlo were grades of China tea: Bohea was the common black tea, Congo a better black tea and Singlo a green tea, all landed from the Company's homeward China ships. Shalloon was a light twilled English woollen cloth used mainly for lining coats. Buckram was a coarse linen or cotton stiffened with size, used to give shape to collars, cuffs and coat fronts. Paddy was rice in the husk, the same article that Nocquedah Pochuttum was paid to have beaten into rice in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. The second flour line was read as baked flour, sold by the hundredweight, which probably meant bread or biscuit from the Company's bakehouse. The heading showed how the Company priced its stores to the islanders. Planters bought at 10 per cent, a fixed advance on the cost at which the goods stood in the Company's books. The warehouse was therefore run as a controlled supply at a set margin and not as a market, and the phrasing implied that other classes of buyer were charged on other terms. Flour and bread made up almost half the £630 17s 6d carried over, at £312 15s 10d, with sugar, tea and candles the next largest heads. The planters thus depended on the Company's imports for their bread and lighting as well as for luxuries, despite farming the island themselves. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the quantities of candles, pepper, coffee and starch, the weights of baked flour and paddy, the fractions of bushels and the sums against coffee and buckram. | |
207 | 1766 Brought over £ 630. 17. 6 Beef and Pork vizt. 2116 Ps. Pork 211. 12 1708 Ps. Beef 170. 16 40 1/4 lb Dutch Pork 13. 7 383. 1. 7 Long Ells vizt. 43 1/4 Yds. Blue 3. 14. 6 7 3/4 Do. Scarlet 1. 10 4. 15. 4 Blankets 43 12. 15 Flannel 15 3/4 Yds. 1. 1 Hats vizt. 16 Mens Hats 15. 10 4 Boys Do. 1. 6. 6 16. 16. 6 Cordage 1393 lb 25. 14. 10 Arrack 1 1/2 Gall. 6. 3 Lead vizt. 57 1/2 lb Sheet Lead 12 10 lb Small Shott 2. 1 14. 1 Twine vizt. 26 Skains Twine 16. 3 4 1/2 lb Cottn. Wick 13 1. 9. 3 Kersey 4 1/2 Yards 1. 1. 7 Sailors Cloaths 3 Grooms Waistcoats 9. 9 Bunting vizt. 16 Yds. Red 12. 4 3 Do. Blue 1. 10 3 Do. White 1. 9 15. 11 Leather vizt. 112 lb Sole Leathr. 5. 12 6 Calf Skins 2. 9. 6 8. 1. 6 Carrd. over £ 1088. 1 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent during 1766 continued with salt provisions, cloth, clothing and naval stores. Balance brought over, £630 17s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, beef and pork: 2,116 pounds of pork, £211 12s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, beef and pork: 1,708 pounds of beef, £170 16s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, beef and pork: 43¼ pounds of Dutch pork, £0 13s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, beef and pork, total, £383 1s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long ells: 43¼ yards of blue long ells, £3 14s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long ells: 7¾ yards of scarlet long ells, £1 0s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long ells, total, £4 15s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 43 blankets, £12 15s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 15¾ yards of flannel, £1 1s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hats: 16 men's hats, £15 10s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hats: 4 boys' hats, £1 6s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hats, total, £16 16s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 1,393 pounds of cordage, £23 14s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 1½ gallons of arrack, £0 6s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, lead: 57½ pounds of sheet lead, £0 12s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, lead: 10 pounds of small shot, £0 2s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, lead, total, £0 14s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, twine: 26 skeins of twine, £0 16s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, twine: 4½ pounds of cotton wick, £0 13s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, twine, total, £1 9s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: [...] yards of kersey, £1 1s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: sailors' clothes, 3 grooms' waistcoats, £0 9s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, bunting: 16 yards of red bunting, £0 12s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, bunting: 3 yards of blue bunting, £0 1s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, bunting: 3 yards of white bunting, £0 1s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, bunting, total, £0 15s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, leather: 112 pounds of sole leather, £5 12s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, leather: 6 calf skins, £2 9s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, leather, total, £8 1s 6d Carried over, £1,083 0s 1d Interpretations Long ells were a coarse English woollen serge woven in long pieces, a staple of the Company's export trade and sold here by the yard in blue and scarlet. Kersey was a stout, ribbed woollen cloth used for working clothes. Bunting was the thin open-woven worsted from which flags and signal colours were made, which explained its sale in red, blue and white. Arrack was a spirit distilled in the East from palm sap or rice and brought to the island by the Company's ships. Cotton wick was the twisted cotton thread used in making candles and lamps, and cordage was rope of all sizes. Dutch pork was probably salt pork of Dutch curing, perhaps taken in from the Cape, and it was sold in a far smaller quantity than the ordinary barrelled pork. Salt meat was the largest single head on the leaf at £383 1s 7d, above even the £312 15s 10d of flour and bread on the preceding one. The pork and beef were read as sold by the pound, though the round sums against them worked out at a rate of 2s 0d a unit, far too dear for a pound of salt meat. The unit was therefore perhaps a piece, the standard cut in which barrelled meat was counted, and not a pound. Either way, planters who raised their own cattle and hogs still bought preserved meat from the store in quantity, probably because fresh stock was reserved for supplying the ships. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the quantities of cordage, sheet lead, cotton wick and the long ells, the count of grooms' waistcoats and the sums against the hats. The yardage of kersey could not be read. | |
208 | 20th October Brought over £ 1088. 1 Iron Ware vizt. 4 Files 2. 3 2 Pr. Bellows 8. 8 1/2 2 Small fryg. Pans 4. 1 1/2 1 Pr. Steel Yards 11. 3 1/2 2 Plaister. Trowels 3. 8 2 Brick Layers Do. 3 5 Pr. HL Hinges 9. 2 1 Cupboard Lock 3. 1 1/2 3 Iron Rim'd Do. wth. Brass Knobs 1. 1. 9 3 Stock Do. 9. 5 1/4 1 Chest Do. 3. 8 1/4 3 Small Box Irons 1. 3. 8 1/4 1 Large Do. 10. 3 2 [Doz.] Wood Screws 11 1/4 3 Gimblets 1. 4 1/4 1 Garden Rake 2. 8 6 Pr. Sheep Sheers 9 1 Broad Hoe 2. 7 1/2 3 Scythe Stones 1. 8 1 Rag Stone 3 1/2 2 Doub. Mouse traps 2. 7 2 Single Do. 1. 4 6 Spring Rat Do. 11. 7 1/2 1 [...] 9. 1/2 4 Hand Hatchets 7. 4 1 Claw Hammer 1. 3 2 Sail Needs. 2 1/4 1 Coffee Mill 8. 5 1/2 1 Chafing Dish 1. 4 1 Black Key 10 3 Helves 1. 11 9. 4. 8 Carried over £ 1097. 4. 9 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent, entered under 20 October, continued with a long run of small ironware. Balance brought over, £1,083 0s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 4 files, £0 2s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 pairs of bellows, £0 8s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 small frying pans, £0 4s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 pair of steelyards, £0 11s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 plasterers' trowels, £0 3s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 bricklayers' trowels, £0 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 5 pairs of HL hinges, £0 9s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 cupboard lock, £0 3s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 iron-rimmed locks with brass knobs, £1 1s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 stock locks, £0 9s 5½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 chest lock, £0 3s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 small box irons, £1 3s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 large box iron, £0 10s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 dozen wood screws, £0 0s 11½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 gimlets, £0 1s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 garden rake, £0 2s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 6 pairs of sheep shears, £0 9s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 broad hoe, £0 2s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 scythe stones, £0 1s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 rag stone, £0 0s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 double mouse traps, £0 2s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 single mouse traps, £0 1s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 6 spring rat traps, £0 11s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 [...], £0 9s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 4 hand hatchets, £0 7s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 claw hammer, £0 1s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 2 sail needles, £0 0s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 coffee mill, £0 8s 5½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 chafing dish, £0 1s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 1 black [...], £0 0s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware: 3 helves, £0 1s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, ironware, total, £9 4s 8d Carried over, £1,092 4s 9d Interpretations Several of the articles were everyday hardware now unfamiliar. Steelyards were a portable weighing balance with a sliding counterweight on a graduated arm, the planter's means of weighing produce such as the yams the Company bought by weight in the paymaster's account. HL hinges were door hinges whose two leaves formed the letters H and L when fixed. A stock lock was a plain lock cased in a wooden block and fastened to the face of a door, and the iron-rimmed locks with brass knobs were the better sort for house doors. A box iron was a hollow smoothing iron heated by a hot slug of metal placed inside it. Scythe stones and the rag stone were whetstones, the latter of coarse hard stone. A chafing dish held burning charcoal to keep food warm, and helves were the wooden handles for axes and hatchets. The whole run of ironware came to only £9 4s 8d, against £383 1s 7d for salt meat and £312 15s 10d for flour and bread on the preceding leaves. Its mix of builders' trowels, locks, sheep shears, a hoe, a rake and vermin traps nonetheless showed that the planters relied on the Company's store for every manufactured tool of house and farm, since the island made none of its own. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the pence and fractions against many items, the descriptions of the locks and traps and the final carried-over total. The article priced at £0 9s 7½d and the black item priced at £0 0s 10d could not be read. | |
209 | 1766 Brought over £ 1097. 4. 9 Pitch and Tar vizt. 80 lb Rozin 13. 4 13 lb Pitch 2. 7 5 3/4 Gall. Tar 4. 9 1. 8 Glass Ware vizt. 15 Beer Glasses 15 44 Wine Do. 1. 10 6 Pint Decanters 13. 9 10 Tumblers 7. 1 5 Quart Decanters 19. 3 1 Pr. Glass Salts 6. 7 1/2 5 Cand. Shades 1. 13. 3 1/2 50 Sqrs. Glass 10 by 16 3. 5 52 Sqrs. Do. 8 by 10 1. 12. 6 23 Sqrs. Do. 10 by 12 1. 2. 11 9 Sqrs. Do. 6 by 8 2. 9 1/2 1 Sqr. Do. 11 by 19 1. 6 1 Sqr. Do. 11 1/2 by 13 1/2 1. 6 1/2 44 Sqrs. Do. 10 by 15 2. 8. 4 14. 4. 7 Tin Ware vizt. 6 Hand Glass Lanths. 1. 14 1 Bell Glass Do. 1. 1. 6 1/2 15 Sauce Pans 9. 4 1/2 3 Qt. Funnels 1. 3 1/4 2 Gall. Do. 4. 10 2 Dripping Pans 6. 9 1/2 1 Globe Lamp 10. 7 1/2 1 Watering Pot 4. 3 1/4 4. 12. 9 Braziers Ware vizt. 1 Small Brass Skimmr. 2. 9 1 Flat Cand. Stick 3. 9 1/2 Braziers Ware Carrd. over £ 6. 6 1/2 Carrd. over £ 1117. 7. 9 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent during 1766 continued with pitch and tar, glassware, tinware and the first of the brassware. Balance brought over, £1,097 4s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pitch and tar: 80 pounds of rosin, £0 13s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pitch and tar: 13 pounds of pitch, £0 2s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pitch and tar: 5¾ gallons of tar, £0 4s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pitch and tar, total, £1 0s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 13 beer glasses, £0 13s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 44 wine glasses, £1 0s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 6 pint decanters, £0 13s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 10 tumblers, £0 7s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 5 quart decanters, £0 19s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 1 pair of glass salts, £0 0s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 5 candle shades, £1 13s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 50 squares of glass 10 by 16, £3 0s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 52 squares of glass 8 by 10, £1 13s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 25 squares of glass 10 by 12, £1 2s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 7 squares of glass 6 by 8, £0 2s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 1 square of glass 11 by 17, £0 1s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 1 square of glass 11½ by 13½, £0 1s 6½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware: 40 squares of glass 10 by 15, £2 8s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, glassware, total, £14 4s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 6 hand glass lanterns, £1 14s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 1 bell glass lantern, £1 1s 6½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 15 saucepans, £0 9s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 3 quart funnels, £0 1s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 2 gallon funnels, £0 4s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 2 dripping pans, £0 6s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 1 globe lamp, £0 10s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware: 1 watering pot, £0 4s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, tinware, total, £4 12s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 1 small brass skimmer, £0 2s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 1 flat candlestick, £0 3s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware, carried over, £0 6s 6½d Carried over, £1,117 7s 9d Interpretations Rosin was the hard resin left after distilling turpentine from pine sap, sold with pitch and tar for caulking and coating boats, roofs and timber. The squares of glass were window panes, listed by their dimensions in inches. Glass salts were small open dishes for table salt. The candle shades were tall glass cylinders set over a candle to shield the flame from draughts, and at about 6s 8d each they were the dearest glass articles on the leaf. A hand glass lantern was a tin-framed lantern with glass sides for carrying, and the bell glass lantern and globe lamp were hanging lights with a blown glass body. A skimmer was a shallow perforated ladle for lifting scum or fat from a pot, and a flat candlestick was the low, saucer-based kind carried about the house. Window glass made up most of the glassware, with 176 panes in seven sizes accounting for roughly £8 11s 0d of the £14 4s 7d. Sales on that scale, alongside the builders' trowels, hinges and locks on the preceding leaf, pointed to planters building or glazing houses during the quarter. The balance brought over stood here as £1,097 4s 9d, against £1,092 4s 9d as read at the foot of the preceding leaf. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the units for rosin and pitch, the beer and wine glasses, the quart decanters, the candle shades, the description of the two lanterns and the pence and fractions against many items. The glassware total was read as £14 4s 7d. | |
210 | 20th October Brought over £ 1117. 7. 9 Braziers Ware brougt. over £ 6. 6 1/2 1 five Qt. Copper Sauce Pan 15. 1 1/2 1 Bottling Cock 3. 8 1 Three Quart Tea Kettle 5. 4. 2 1/2 100 Brass Nails 1. 1/2 6. 10. 7 Camblet vizt. 3 1/2 Yds. Blue 11. 9 1/2 3 1/2 Do. Brown 11. 9 1/2 1 3/4 Do. Scarlet 5. 1 1. 8. 8 Chilloes 11 Ps. 4. 19. 11 Hooks and Lines vizt. 24 Large Hooks 6 337 No. 1 Do. 17. 8 1/2 175 . 6 Do. 13. 10 550 . 7 Do. 1. 13. 5 1/2 475 . 9 Do. 14. 5 125 . 10 Do. 3. 6 175 . 11 Do. 3. 3/4 325 . 12 Do. 4. 4 375 . 13 Do. 3. 3 1/4 650 . 14 Do. 5. 3 1/4 400 . 15 Do. 3. 2 575 . 16 Do. 3. 7 214 No. 2 Lines 3. 6. 6 203 . 3 Do. 3. 13. 8 25 . 4 Do. 10. 6 8 Hambro Do. 14 9 Log Do. 9. 4 1/2 1 Deep Sea Do. 5. 6 1 Knot sash Do. 1. 3 3/4 14. 12. 10 Carried over £ 1144. 19. 9 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the brassware, two kinds of cloth and a long run of fishing hooks and lines. Balance brought over, £1,117 7s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware, brought over, £0 6s 6½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 1 five-quart copper saucepan, £0 15s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 1 bottling cock, £0 3s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 1 three-quart tea kettle, £5 4s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware: 100 brass nails, £0 1s 0½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, brassware, total, £6 10s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, camlet: 3½ yards of blue camlet, £0 11s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, camlet: 3½ yards of brown camlet, £0 11s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, camlet: 1¾ yards of scarlet camlet, £0 5s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, camlet, total, £1 8s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 11 pieces of chelloes, £4 19s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 24 large hooks, £0 6s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 337 hooks of number 1, £0 17s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 175 hooks of number 6, £0 13s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 550 hooks of number 7, £1 13s 5½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 475 hooks of number 9, £0 14s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 125 hooks of number 10, £0 3s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 175 hooks of number 11, £0 3s 0¾d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 325 hooks of number 12, £0 4s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 375 hooks of number 13, £0 3s 3¼d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 650 hooks of number 14, £0 5s 8¼d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 400 hooks of number 15, £0 3s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 375 hooks of number 16, £0 3s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 24 lines of number 2, £3 6s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 20 lines of number 3, £3 13s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 lines of number 4, £0 10s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 8 hambro lines, £0 14s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 9 log lines, £0 9s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 1 deep sea line, £0 5s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 1 knot of sash line, £0 1s 3¼d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hooks and lines, total, £14 12s 10d Carried over, £1,144 19s 9d Interpretations Camlet was a light, closely woven cloth of wool or wool mixed with goat hair or silk, used for coats, cloaks and gowns. Chelloes were a cheap Indian cotton cloth, usually striped or checked in blue or red, woven on the Coromandel coast and Gujarat and shipped by the piece. A bottling cock was a brass tap fitted to a cask for drawing off liquor into bottles. Hambro line was a small, tightly laid three-strand cord used for lashings and for fishing. A log line was the long cord run out behind a vessel to measure her speed, and a deep sea line was the heavy sounding line. Sash line was the cord on which a sliding window hung, sold by the knot or hank. The planters bought close to 4,000 fish hooks in a single quarter, in 12 sizes from large hooks down to number 16, together with some 70 fishing lines. Buying on that scale, far beyond anything a household might use for sport, showed that fishing was a regular part of the island's food supply. The spread of sizes, weighted towards the smaller numbers, pointed to inshore fishing from the rocks and from boats for small fish as much as for the larger kinds taken offshore. Fish probably fed the planters' slaves in particular, alongside the yams the Company bought in the paymaster's account. The tea kettle stood at £5 4s 2½d, a sum out of all proportion to the 15s 1½d charged for a larger copper saucepan. The pounds figure was therefore perhaps misread, or the entry covered more than the one kettle. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the hook counts and their size numbers, the counts and sums of the numbered lines, the fractions of pence and the unit of the chelloes. The item bought by the knot was read as sash line. | |
211 | 1766 Brought over £ 1144. 19. 9 Oil vizt. 13 1/2 Gall. Train 2. 10 27 7/8 Do. Linseed 5. 18. 4 41 Bs. Florence 5. 19. 7 1/8 Oil of Turpentine 8 14. 8. 7 Nails vizt. 15 3/4 lb . 2d 12. 1 1/2 11 1/2 . 3 9. 6 1/2 68 . 4 2. 5. 11 78 . 6 2. 5. 6 128 1/2 . 10 3. 4. 3 40 . 20 16. 8 16 3/4 . 40 6. 6 2 1/2 Glazs. Brads 4. 4 3 1/2 Flooring Do. 12. 9 10. 15. 7 Earthen Ware. 10. Milk Pans 8. 9 Thread vizt. 9 1/4 lb Whited Brown 3. 7. 5 5 1/4 Coloured 19. 8 2 1/4 Ozd. Nuns No. 26 1. 9. 6 13 Ozd. Do. 30 1. 7. 6 21 Ozd. Do. 38 3. 11 10. 5 Long Cloth vizt. 21 1/2 Ps. A 52. 13. 9 6 Ps. B 15 5 1/2 Ps. C 12. 12. 5 5 Ps. D 13. 6 12 1/2 Ps. K 19. 5. 5 6 Ps. L 32. 8 125. 7. 7 Carried over £ 1306. 5. 3 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent during 1766 continued with oil, nails, earthenware, thread and long cloth. Balance brought over, £1,144 19s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, oil: 13½ gallons of train oil, £2 10s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, oil: 27⅞ gallons of linseed oil, £5 18s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, oil: 41 bottles of Florence oil, £5 19s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, oil: ⅛ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 0s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, oil, total, £14 8s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 15¼ pounds of twopenny nails, £0 12s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 11¼ pounds of threepenny nails, £0 9s 6½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 63 pounds of fourpenny nails, £2 3s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 78 pounds of sixpenny nails, £2 5s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 128½ pounds of tenpenny nails, £3 4s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 40 pounds of twentypenny nails, £0 16s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 16¾ pounds of fortypenny nails, £0 6s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 2½ pounds of glaziers' brads, £0 4s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails: 31 pounds of flooring brads, £0 12s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, nails, total, £10 15s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, earthenware: 10 milk pans, £0 8s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread: 9¼ pounds of whited brown thread, £3 7s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread: 5¼ pounds of coloured thread, £0 19s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread: 2¼ pounds of fine thread number 26, £1 9s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread: 13 ounces of fine thread number 30, £1 7s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread: 21 ounces of fine thread number 38, £3 0s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, thread, total, £10 5s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 21½ pieces of long cloth marked A, £32 13s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 6 pieces of long cloth marked B, £15 0s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 5½ pieces of long cloth marked C, £12 12s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 5 pieces of long cloth marked D, £13 6s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 12½ pieces of long cloth marked [...], £19 5s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth: 6 pieces of long cloth marked L, £32 8s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, long cloth, total, £125 7s 7d Carried over, £1,306 5s 3d Interpretations Long cloth was a plain white cotton cloth woven on the Coromandel coast of India in pieces of some 37 yards, the staple of the Company's Madras trade and the ordinary material for shirts, shifts and sheets. The letters against each parcel were the Company's grade marks, and the prices followed them: the parcel marked A cost roughly £1 10s 0d a piece, while the six pieces marked L cost £5 8s 0d each. At £125 7s 7d, long cloth was the third largest head in the planters' purchases so far, after the £383 1s 7d of salt meat and the £312 15s 10d of flour and bread. The island therefore clothed itself largely in Indian cotton landed from homeward ships, with English woollens such as the long ells and shalloon on the earlier leaves taking a much smaller share. Train oil was oil boiled from whale or seal blubber and burnt in lamps. Linseed oil and oil of turpentine were the medium and thinner for house paint, and Florence oil was Italian olive oil for the table, shipped in wicker-covered flasks. Whited brown thread was linen thread only partly bleached, a strong general sewing thread, and the numbered threads were finer grades whose price rose with the number. Milk pans were wide shallow earthenware bowls in which milk was left for the cream to rise. The nails were sold by weight under their penny sizes, a scale running from the small twopenny nail to the heavy fortypenny spike. Glaziers' brads were the small headless sprigs that held a pane in its frame, and flooring brads were the flat nails for fixing boards. Tenpenny, sixpenny and fourpenny nails, the carpenter's framing and boarding sizes, made up most of the 386 pounds sold. With the 176 window panes, the trowels and the hinges on the preceding leaves, they pointed again to house building among the planters during the quarter. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the unit of the nails, read as pounds, the weights and sums of the thread, the unit of the Florence oil and the quantities and grade letters of the long cloth. The mark on the fifth parcel of long cloth could not be read. | |
212 | 20th October Brought over £ 1306. 5. 3 Paint vizt. 36 1/2 Blue Smalts 2. 17 33 1/2 Indico 3. 13. 11 7 lb Blacking 4. 1 8 Ven. Red dry 1. 10 3 Yell. Oaker mixd 3 1/2 1 Do. Do. dry 2 1/2 127 White Lead Do. 2. 2. 10 43 1/4 Do. Mixd 13. 10 261 Whiting 10. 10 2 lb Copperas 2. 5 22 1/2 Ven. Red. Mixd 11. 3 25 Stone Colour 12. 5 6 Pearl Do. 2. 9 3 Verdegrease 12. 10 1/2 1/4 Umber 1 10 Olive Colour 19. 7 5 Red Lead 10 1/2 12. 14. 3 Haberdashery vizt. 8 1/2 Gro. Horn Moulds 1. 8 1/2 12 Ps. Tapes 7. 6 44 S. Silk 1. 5. 8 21 S. Mohair 10. 6 1 Gro Wt. Waistt. Buttons 2. 7 1/2 1 Gro Shirt Do. 2. 5 1 Doz. Silver Bt. Do. 1. 1/2 7 Doz. Mohair Ct. Do. 5. 3 14 1/2 Doz. Do. Bt. Do. 5. 5 4 Cockades 1. 5 12 Doz. Livy. Coat Buttons 17 8 Doz Do. Bt. Do. 5. 10 1 Doz Yell. Metl. Bt. Do. 1. 4 1/2 5. 6. 9 Carried over £ 1324. 6. 3 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent, entered under 20 October, continued with paint and haberdashery. Balance brought over, £1,306 5s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 36½ pounds of blue smalts, £2 17s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 33½ pounds of indigo, £2 13s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 7 pounds of blacking, £0 4s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 8 pounds of dry Venetian red, £0 1s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 2 pounds of mixed yellow ochre, £0 0s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 1 pound of dry yellow ochre, £0 0s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 127 pounds of dry white lead, £2 2s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 43¼ pounds of mixed white lead, £0 13s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 261 pounds of whiting, £0 10s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 2 pounds of copperas, £0 2s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 22½ pounds of mixed Venetian red, £0 11s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 25 pounds of stone colour, £0 12s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 6 pounds of pearl colour, £0 2s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 3 pounds of verdigris, £0 12s 10½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: ¼ pound of umber, £0 0s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 16 pounds of olive colour, £0 19s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint: 3 pounds of red lead, £0 0s 10½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, paint, total, £12 14s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 8½ gross of horn moulds, £1 0s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 12 pieces of tape, £0 7s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 44 [...] of silk, £1 5s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 21 [...] of mohair, £0 10s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 gross of white waistcoat buttons, £0 2s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 gross of shirt buttons, £0 2s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 dozen silver breast buttons, £0 1s 0½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 7 dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 5s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 14½ dozen mohair breast buttons, £0 5s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 4 cockades, £0 1s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 12 dozen silvered coat buttons, £0 17s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 8 dozen silvered breast buttons, £0 5s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 dozen yellow metal breast buttons, £0 1s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, haberdashery, total, £5 6s 9d Carried over, £1,324 6s 3d Interpretations Smalts were a blue pigment of ground cobalt glass, used in paint and also as a laundry blue. Indigo was the deep blue vegetable dye of India, entered here among the paints. Venetian red and yellow ochre were cheap earth pigments, and umber was a brown one. White lead was the standard white base of all oil paint, and red lead served as a priming coat on wood and iron. Whiting was ground chalk for whitewash and putty. Copperas was green iron sulphate, used for blackening and dyeing. Verdigris was the green rust of copper, a costly green pigment at more than 4s 0d a pound. Stone colour, pearl colour and olive colour were ready-prepared house paints named by their shade. Dry pigments were sold as powder for the buyer to grind in linseed oil, while those entered as mixed were already ground in oil. Horn moulds were small discs of horn that formed the core of a cloth-covered button. Mohair buttons were worked over in twisted goat-hair thread, and the silk and mohair sold beside them were the twists for covering buttons and working buttonholes. Coat buttons were the larger size and breast buttons the smaller. A cockade was the ribbon rosette worn on a hat. White lead and whiting together came to 431 pounds, by far the largest quantities among the paints. With the linseed oil and turpentine, the window glass and the carpenters' nails on the preceding leaves, they showed planters finishing and painting houses during the quarter. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably indigo, blacking, verdigris and umber, the weights of the pigments, the descriptions of the buttons and the pence against many items. The unit in which the silk and mohair were sold could not be read. | |
213 | 1766 Brought over £ 1324. 6. 3 Cutlery Ware vizt. 3 Fine Ivory Combs 9. 1 1/2 10 Ivory Do. 10. 2 1/2 37 Horn Do. 6. 11 18 Buckling Do. 3. 3 2 Pr. Shoe Buckles 1. 2 1 Pr. Knee Do. 4 6 Stag Horn Knives & Forks 5. 5 30 Ivory Hand. Do. & Do. 4. 1. 8 24 Desert Knives & Forks 2. 8. 5 1 Budding Knife 1. 3/4 1 Pruning Do. 1. 3/4 6 Shoe Do. 2. 3 1 Pr. Leat. Garters 4 1/2 1 Case Fleams 3 8. 16. 3 China Ware vizt. 9 Sets Dishes and Plates 9 8 Meat Do. 16 42 Do. Plates 1. 1 1 Soop Dish 6. 6 36 Blue & Wt. Soop Plates 13. 7 10 Sallad Dishes 8. 4 57 Bowls 1. 13. 11 66 Snackers 16. 6 7 Guglets & Basons 17. 6 12 Tea Pots 11 17 Chamber Pots 1. 17. 6 1 Deep Sallad Dish 5. 9 1/2 6 Half Pt. Cups & Saucers 2. 11 1/2 11 [...] Do. & Do. 3. 6 3 Saucers 9. 11 1/2 3 B & Wt. [Brekt.] Dishes 7. 2 1 Cream Do. Do. 2. 11 1 Sauce Boat 2 1/2 19. 19. 4 Carrd. over £ 1353. 1. 10 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent during 1766 continued with cutlery and chinaware. Balance brought over, £1,324 6s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 3 fine ivory combs, £0 9s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 10 ivory combs, £0 10s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 37 horn combs, £0 6s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 18 buckling combs, £0 3s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 2 pairs of shoe buckles, £0 1s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 1 pair of knee buckles, £0 0s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 6 stag horn knives and forks, £0 5s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 30 ivory-handled knives and forks, £4 1s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 24 dessert knives and forks, £2 8s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 1 budding knife, £0 1s 0¾d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 1 pruning knife, £0 1s 0¾d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 6 shoe knives, £0 2s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 1 pair of leather garters, £0 0s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery: 1 case of fleams, £0 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cutlery, total, £8 16s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 9 sets of dishes and plates, £9 0s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 8 meat dishes, £0 16s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 42 meat plates, £1 1s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 1 soup dish, £0 6s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 56 blue and white soup plates, £0 13s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 10 salad dishes, £0 8s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 57 bowls, £1 13s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 66 [...], £0 16s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 7 guglets and basins, £0 17s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 12 tea pots, £0 11s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 17 chamber pots, £1 17s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 16 deep salad dishes, £0 5s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 6 half-pint cups and saucers, £0 2s 11½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 11 [...] cups and saucers, £0 3s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 3 saucers, £0 9s 11½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 3 blue and white pickle dishes, £0 7s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 1 cream pickle dish, £0 2s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware: 1 sauce boat, £0 0s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, chinaware, total, £19 19s 4d Carried over, £1,353 1s 10d Interpretations Fleams were small sharp blades, usually folding in sets within a case, used for bleeding horses and cattle by opening a vein. Their sale showed planters treating their own livestock. A budding knife was a gardener's knife for grafting buds onto fruit trees, and the shoe knives were the short blades with which a shoemaker cut leather, bought perhaps to work the sole leather and calf skins sold earlier in the same summary. A buckling comb was a small comb for setting the side curls, or buckles, of a dressed head of hair. A guglet was a long-necked water bottle of porous or glazed ware, sold with its basin as a washing set. The chinaware was Chinese export porcelain landed from the Company's homeward China ships, the same source as the Bohea, Congo and Singlo teas at the head of the summary. Its prices were low: 42 plates cost £1 1s 0d, or 6d each, and 56 blue and white soup plates under 3d each. Porcelain was therefore everyday tableware on the island and not a luxury, since St Helena stood on the direct route by which it reached Europe and had no cheap earthenware of its own beyond the milk pans entered earlier. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the buckling combs, the fleams, the guglets, the meat dishes and plates, the pence against many items, the chinaware total and the final carried-over sum. The article sold in a quantity of 66 and the size of the 11 cups and saucers could not be read. | |
214 | 20th October Brought over £ 1353. 1. 10 Corks vizt. 5 Gro. Corks 13. 1 1/2 1/4 Short Do. 6 1/2 13. 8 Broad Cloth vizt. 8 Yds. Scarlet 6. 16 19 Do. Blue 18. 16. 10 3 1/4 Do. Black 2. 14. 8 1/2 4 1/4 Do. Green 3. 7. 5 1/2 8 1/2 Do. Brown 8. 3. 7 39. 18. 7 Canvas vizt. 79 1/4 Yds. Eng. 4. 19. 8 65 Do. Ozenbrigs 2. 16. 10 114 1/2 Do. Ticklenb. 6. 11. 2 14. 7. 8 Serge vizt. 9 1/4 Scarl. Serge 2. 19. 4 16 Yds. Blue Do. 4. 2 15 Do. F. Grey Do. 1. 15. 10 8 Do. Scarl. Duffle 4. 4. 4 1 Do. Brown Do. 6. 7 13 Do. Sagathy 2. 10. 3 3 Ps. 14 Yds. Fustian 7. 19. 9 23. 18. 1 Shirts vizt. 59 [Ferl.] Shirts 14. 8. 10 38 3/4 Yds. B. Holland 3. 13. 1 2 Ps. Fr. Linen 3. 11. 2 21. 13. 1 Hosiers Ware vizt. 7 Pr. Black Breeches 4. 11. 10 1 Pr. Scarlet Do. 15 34 Pr. Ordy. Thd. Stockings 5. 6. 11 Hosiers Ware Carrd. over £ 10. 13. 9 Carr. over £ 1453. 17. 11 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent, entered under 20 October, continued with corks, woollen and linen cloth, shirts and the first of the hosiery. Balance brought over, £1,353 1s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, corks: 5 gross of corks, £0 13s 1½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, corks: ¼ gross of short corks, £0 0s 6½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, corks, total, £0 13s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth: 8 yards of scarlet broadcloth, £6 16s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth: 19 yards of blue broadcloth, £18 16s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth: 3 yards of black broadcloth, £2 14s 8½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth: 4½ yards of green broadcloth, £3 7s 5½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth: 8½ yards of brown broadcloth, £8 3s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, broadcloth, total, £39 18s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, canvas: 79¼ yards of English canvas, £4 19s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, canvas: 65 yards of osnaburgs, £2 16s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, canvas: 114½ yards of ticklenburgs, £6 11s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, canvas, total, £14 7s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 9¼ yards of scarlet serge, £2 19s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 16 yards of blue serge, £4 2s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 15 yards of fine grey serge, £1 15s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 8 yards of scarlet duffel, £4 4s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 1 yard of brown duffel, £0 6s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 13 yards of sagathy, £2 10s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge: 3 pieces 14 yards of fustian, £7 19s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, serge, total, £23 18s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shirts: 59 [...] shirts, £14 8s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shirts: 38¾ yards of brown holland, £3 13s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shirts: 2 pieces of [...] linen, £3 11s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shirts, total, £21 13s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 7 pairs of black breeches, £4 11s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 1 pair of scarlet breeches, £0 15s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 34 pairs of ordinary thread stockings, £5 6s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery, carried over, £10 13s 9d Carried over, £1,453 17s 11d Interpretations Broadcloth was the finest English woollen, woven wide, heavily fulled and shorn to a smooth face, and used for coats and suits. It cost close to £1 0s 0d a yard here, many times the price of any other cloth in the summary. Osnaburgs and ticklenburgs were coarse unbleached German linens named after Osnabrück and Tecklenburg, the usual material for sacks, working clothes and slaves' clothing. Duffel was a thick woollen with a heavy nap. Sagathy was a light twilled cloth of wool, sometimes mixed with silk, and fustian a stout cloth of cotton and linen. Brown holland was unbleached linen. The breeches entered under hosiery were probably knitted on the stocking frame, which explained their place beside the thread stockings. The 179½ yards of osnaburgs and ticklenburgs outweighed every other cloth on the leaf in length while costing only £9 8s 0d. The 39 yards of broadcloth cost £39 18s 7d. The planters therefore bought small amounts of costly cloth for their own backs and far larger amounts of the cheapest linen, probably for clothing their slaves and for sacking. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the canvas names, the duffel, sagathy and fustian, the yardages and their fractions and the quantity of fustian. The description of the 59 shirts and of the two pieces of linen could not be read. | |
215 | 1766 Brought over £ 1453. 17. 11 Hosiers Ware brought over £ 10. 13. 9 8 Pr. Mens Knit Stockings 18. 7 3 Pr. Do. Wove Do. 12. 4 7 Pr. Do. fine thread Do. 2. 6. 3 5 Pr. Do. Engh. Cott. Do. 1. 17. 7 3 Pr. Boys Do. 6. 7 6 Pr. Girls Do. 14. 8 17. 7. 9 Deals vizt. 6 Baulks 2. 18. 6 19 Single Deals 2. 4. 9 17 Doub. Do. 3. 3. 9 3 Elm Boards 12. 5 8. 19. 5 Turners Ware vizt. 4 Hair Sives 4. 1 7 Pr. Brushes 3. 8 7 Shoe Do. 4. 4 1/2 6 Scrubg. Do. 14. 7 1/2 6 Hair Brooms 11 1 Tray 4. 1/2 9 Labour. Baskets 9. 9 1 Cloth Brush 1. 2 1/2 2 Wood Bowls 2. 2 3 Platters 3. 4 2 Ox Bows 3 3 Flaskets 10. 2 3. 14. 5 Shoes vizt. 139 Pr. Mens Ordiny. 30. 13. 11 11 Pr. Do. fine Shoes 3. 6. 11 13 Pr. Do. Pumps 4. 1. 3 3 Pr. Do. Channl. Do. 19. 10 Shoes Carrd. over £ 39. 1. 11 Carrd. over £ 1483. 19. 6 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent during 1766 continued with the rest of the hosiery, timber, turned woodware and the first of the shoes. Balance brought over, £1,453 17s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery, brought over, £10 13s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 5 pairs of men's knit stockings, £0 18s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 3 pairs of men's wove stockings, £0 12s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 7 pairs of men's fine thread stockings, £2 6s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 5 pairs of men's English cotton stockings, £1 17s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 3 pairs of boys' stockings, £0 6s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery: 6 pairs of girls' stockings, £0 14s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, hosiery, total, £17 7s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, deals: 6 baulks, £2 18s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, deals: 19 single deals, £2 4s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, deals: 17 double deals, £3 3s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, deals: 3 elm boards, £0 12s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, deals, total, £8 19s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 4 hair sieves, £0 4s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 7 pairs of brushes, £0 3s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 7 shoe brushes, £0 4s 4½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 6 scrubbing brushes, £0 14s 7½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 6 hair brooms, £0 11s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 1 tray, £0 4s 0½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 9 labourers' baskets, £0 9s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 1 cloth brush, £0 1s 2½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 2 wooden bowls, £0 2s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 3 platters, £0 3s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 2 ox bows, £0 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery: 3 flaskets, £0 10s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, turnery, total, £3 14s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 139 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £30 13s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 11 pairs of men's fine shoes, £3 6s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 13 pairs of men's pumps, £4 1s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 3 pairs of men's channel pumps, £0 19s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes, carried over, £39 1s 11d Carried over, £1,483 19s 6d Interpretations Deals were sawn planks of fir or pine shipped from the Baltic, the standard building timber of the period. A single deal was the thinner plank and a double deal roughly twice its thickness, while baulks were heavy squared beams for framing. Their sale belonged with the nails, window glass, hinges and paint on the earlier leaves of the summary, all materials for house building on an island with little usable timber of its own. Turnery covered the wooden and bristle goods a turner supplied. A hair sieve had a mesh of woven horsehair for sifting flour or straining liquids. An ox bow was the U-shaped wooden collar that passed under a draught ox's neck and fixed it to the yoke, which showed planters working oxen. A flasket was a long shallow basket, often used for carrying laundry. Wove stockings were made on the stocking frame, as distinct from those knitted by hand. Pumps were light, thin-soled shoes, and channel pumps were those whose stitching lay hidden in a groove cut in the sole. The 139 pairs of ordinary men's shoes cost about 4s 5d a pair and far outnumbered every other kind of footwear. Imported ready-made shoes were therefore the usual wear, although the store also sold sole leather, calf skins and shoe knives for making or mending them on the island. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the baulks, the elm boards, the ox bows, the flaskets, the channel pumps, the first pair of brushes and the pence against many items. | |
216 | 20th October Brought over £ 1483. 19. 6 Shoes brought over £ 39. 1. 11 17 Pr. Womens Calimo. 3. 12. 3 11 Pr. Do. Spanish 2. 6. 9 6 Pr. Do. Calf 1. 3. 3 5 Pr. Boys 17. 1 47. 1. 3 Oars 8 1. 14. 4 Sago 16 lb 2. 8 Ticking 14 Yds. 2. 6. 8 Pewter vizt. 2 Chamber Pots 6. 10 1 Crane 18. 7 1. 5. 5 Saddles 2 13. 3. 3 Books vizt. 4 Testaments 5 1 Bible 3. 9 1/2 1 Commn. Prayer Book 3. 1 1 Primmer 3 1/2 12. 2 Cart Wheels vizt. 1 Pr. Cart Wheels 4. 9. 2 1 Axletree 9. 9 4. 18. 11 Wine vizt. 131 1/4 Gall. Port 49. 4. 9 107 Gall. Mountain 33. 8. 9 93 3/4 Gall. Lisbon 29. 15. 2 112. 8. 8 £ 1668. 14. 10 Sold to the Planters at 25 P Cent vizt. Shalloon vizt. 21 Yards Coloured 2. 7. 3 6 1/4 Do. Scarlet 17. 8 3. 4. 11 Carrd. over £ 3. 4. 11 | The summary of goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent, entered under 20 October, closed with the remaining shoes and a run of smaller heads, and a second class of sales at 25 per cent then opened. Balance brought over, £1,483 19s 6d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes, brought over, £39 1s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 17 pairs of women's calimanco shoes, £3 12s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 11 pairs of women's Spanish leather shoes, £2 6s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 6 pairs of women's calf shoes, £1 3s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes: 5 pairs of boys' shoes, £0 17s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, shoes, total, £47 1s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 8 oars, £1 14s 4d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 16 pounds of sago, £0 2s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 14 yards of ticking, £2 6s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pewter: 2 chamber pots, £0 6s 10d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pewter: 1 crane, £0 18s 7d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, pewter, total, £1 5s 5d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent: 2 saddles, £13 3s 3d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, books: 4 testaments, £0 5s 0d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, books: 1 bible, £0 3s 9½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, books: 1 common prayer book, £0 3s 1d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, books: 1 primer, £0 0s 3½d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, books, total, £0 12s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cart wheels: 1 pair of cart wheels, £4 9s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cart wheels: 1 axletree, £0 9s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, cart wheels, total, £4 18s 11d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, wine: 131¼ gallons of port, £49 4s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, wine: 107 gallons of mountain, £33 8s 9d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, wine: 92¾ gallons of Lisbon, £29 15s 2d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, wine, total, £112 8s 8d Sold to the planters at 10 per cent, total, £1,663 14s 10d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, shalloon: 21 yards of coloured shalloon, £2 7s 3d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, shalloon: 6¼ yards of scarlet shalloon, £0 11s 8d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, shalloon, total, £3 4s 11d Carried over, £3 4s 11d Interpretations Calimanco was a glossy worsted cloth, often striped or patterned, used for the uppers of women's shoes. Spanish leather was a fine soft goatskin of the kind first made at Cordoba. Sago was a starch from the pith of an East Indian palm, landed from the Company's ships and used in puddings and food for the sick. Ticking was the strong, closely woven striped linen for covering mattresses and pillows. The pewter crane was probably a siphon for drawing liquor from a cask, which fitted with the corks and the bottling cock sold on earlier leaves. Mountain was a sweet wine from the hills around Malaga and Lisbon a Portuguese white wine. A primer was a child's first reading book. The opening of a second heading at 25 per cent showed that the advance charged depended on something other than the buyer, since the same planters paid both rates. Shalloon appeared under each, with 111¾ yards sold at 10 per cent at the start of the summary and 27¼ yards here at 25 per cent. The record gave no reason for the two rates on one kind of cloth. They perhaps marked separate consignments priced under different orders. Sales at 10 per cent came to £1,663 14s 10d for the quarter. Wine was the fourth largest head at £112 8s 8d, after salt meat at £383 1s 7d, flour and bread at £312 15s 10d and sugar and candy at £130 13s 10d, and a little ahead of long cloth at £125 7s 7d. The pair of cart wheels with an axletree, like the ox bows on the preceding leaf, showed planters moving goods by ox cart. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably calimanco, the crane, the primer, the count of oars, the quantity and unit of sago and ticking, the gallons of wine and the sum against port. | |
217 | 1766 Brought over £ 3. 4. 11 Hats vizt. 1 Mans Hat 1. 2 2 Boys Do. 15 1. 17 Long Ells 7 1/2 Yards Blue 14. 8 Broad Cloth 4 3/4 Yards Blue 5. 6. 10 Haberdashery vizt. 10 S. Silk 7. 6 9 Do. Mohair 5. 3 2 1/2 Doz. Do. Ct. Buttons 2. 6 9 1/2 Doz Do. Bt. Do. 4. 9 4 Ps. Tape 3 3/4 Gro. Wt. Waistt. Buttons 2. 3 1. 5. 3 Shirts 5 1/2 Yards Brown Holland 11. 5 Serge vizt. 4 Yds. Blue Serge 1. 3. 2 7 3/4 Do. Brown Duffle 3. 13. 10 2 Do. Scarlet Do. 1. 4 6. [3] Shoes 2 Pr. Mens Ordy. 10 Thread vizt. 2 lb Whited Brown 9. 3 1/2 4 Coloured 19. 4 4 [Ozs.] Nuns thd. No. 26 6. 5 3 Do. 30 7 1 Do. 38 2. 9 1/2 2. 4. 10 Sold at 40 P Cent Vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 680 lb Sugar 12. 3. 4 157 Candy 4. 5. 9 16. 9. 1 Flour 486 lb 5. 9 Carried over £ 45. 16 | The summary of goods sold during 1766 continued with the remaining sales to the planters at 25 per cent, and a further class of sales at 40 per cent then opened. Balance brought over, £3 4s 11d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, hats: 1 man's hat, £1 2s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, hats: 2 boys' hats, £0 15s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, hats, total, £1 17s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent: 7½ yards of blue long ells, £0 14s 8d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent: 4¾ yards of blue broadcloth, £5 6s 10d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: 10 [...] of silk, £0 7s 6d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: 9 [...] of mohair, £0 5s 3d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: 2½ dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 2s 6d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: 9½ dozen mohair breast buttons, £0 4s 9d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: 4 pieces of tape, £0 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery: ¾ gross of white waistcoat buttons, £0 2s 3d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, haberdashery, total, £1 5s 3d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, shirts: 5½ yards of brown holland, £0 11s 5d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, serge: 4 yards of blue serge, £1 3s 2d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, serge: 9¾ yards of brown duffel, £3 13s 10d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, serge: 2 yards of scarlet duffel, £1 4s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, serge, total, £6 3s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, shoes: 2 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £0 10s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread: 7 pounds of whited brown thread, £0 9s 3½d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread: 4 pounds of coloured thread, £0 19s 4d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread: 4 ounces of fine thread number 26, £0 6s 5d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread: 3 ounces of fine thread number 30, £0 7s 0d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread: 1 ounce of fine thread number 38, £0 2s 9½d Sold to the planters at 25 per cent, thread, total, £2 4s 10d Sold at 40 per cent, sugar and candy: 630 pounds of sugar, £12 3s 4d Sold at 40 per cent, sugar and candy: 137 pounds of candy, £4 5s 9d Sold at 40 per cent, sugar and candy, total, £16 9s 1d Sold at 40 per cent: 436 pounds of flour, £5 9s 0d Carried over, £45 16s 0d Interpretations The third heading set a rate of 40 per cent without naming the planters, and the prices confirmed a real difference in charge. Sugar at this rate cost about 4½d a pound, against roughly 3½d a pound for the 4,686 pounds sold to the planters at 10 per cent at the head of the summary. Flour cost 3d a pound here against 2d there. The Company therefore sold the same staple at stepped advances on its cost, and the dearest step perhaps applied to buyers outside the planter class, though the page did not say who they were. The goods sold at 25 per cent were almost all cloth and its trimmings: shalloon, long ells, broadcloth, serge, duffel, holland, thread and buttons, with a few hats and shoes. No provisions appeared under that rate. The quantities were also small beside the same articles at 10 per cent, with 4¾ yards of blue broadcloth here against 19 yards there. The record gave no reason for the two rates, which perhaps marked a separate consignment or a different class of entitlement. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the quantities and sums of the haberdashery and thread, the weights of thread, the yardages of duffel, the sums against sugar and candy and the weight of flour. The unit in which the silk and mohair were sold could not be read, as on the earlier leaf. | |
218 | 20th October Brought over £ 45. 16 Tea vizt. 64 lb Bohea 4. 6. 8 76 Congo 7. 8. 10 66 Singlo 6. 6. 6 18. 2 Soap. 24 lb 1. 3. 6 Candles 9 lb 1. 6. 3 Blankets 5 1. 18. 5 Twine 3 Sk. 2. 6 Canvas vizt. 8 Yards Eng. 9 27 Do. Ticklenb. 1. 19. 4 3 1/4 Do. Ozbrigs 3. 8 2. 12 Pease 1/4 Bushel 3. 1 Flannel 9 3/4 Yds. 14. 3 Pepper 3 lb 2. 3 Salt 3/4 Bushel 11. 8 Starch 8 lb 6. 10 Coals 9 [Do.] 17. 3 Cordage 59 1/4 1. 9. 7 Buckram 1 Yd. 1. 2 Lead 12 lb Sheet Ld. 2. 6 Nails vizt. 2 1/2 lb . 3 4 4 . 4 4. 2 4 . 6 3. 1 4 . 10 2. 9 4 Coopers Rivets 2. 10 1. 1. 10 Pitch and Tar vizt. 1/2 Gallon Tar 9 8 lb Rozin 1. 6 2. 3 Carrd. over £ 96. 11. 4 | The summary of goods sold at 40 per cent, entered under 20 October, continued with tea, household stores, cloth, nails and pitch and tar. Balance brought over, £45 16s 0d Sold at 40 per cent, tea: 64 pounds of Bohea, £4 6s 8d Sold at 40 per cent, tea: 76 pounds of Congo, £7 8s 10d Sold at 40 per cent, tea: 66 pounds of Singlo, £6 6s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, tea, total, £18 2s 0d Sold at 40 per cent: 24 pounds of soap, £1 3s 6d Sold at 40 per cent: 9 pounds of candles, £1 6s 3d Sold at 40 per cent: 5 blankets, £1 18s 5d Sold at 40 per cent: 3 skeins of twine, £0 2s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, canvas: 8 yards of English canvas, £0 9s 0d Sold at 40 per cent, canvas: 27 yards of ticklenburgs, £1 19s 4d Sold at 40 per cent, canvas: 5¼ yards of osnaburgs, £0 3s 8d Sold at 40 per cent, canvas, total, £2 12s 0d Sold at 40 per cent: ¼ bushel of pease, £0 3s 1d Sold at 40 per cent: 9¾ yards of flannel, £0 14s 3d Sold at 40 per cent: 3 pounds of pepper, £0 2s 3d Sold at 40 per cent: 2¼ bushels of salt, £0 11s 8d Sold at 40 per cent: 8 pounds of starch, £0 6s 10d Sold at 40 per cent: 9 bushels of coals, £0 17s 3d Sold at 40 per cent: 59¼ pounds of cordage, £1 7s 7d Sold at 40 per cent: 1 yard of buckram, £0 1s 2d Sold at 40 per cent: 2 pounds of lead and shot, £0 2s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, nails: 2¼ pounds of threepenny nails, £0 4s 0d Sold at 40 per cent, nails: 3 pounds of fourpenny nails, £0 4s 2d Sold at 40 per cent, nails: 4 pounds of sixpenny nails, £0 3s 1d Sold at 40 per cent, nails: 4 pounds of tenpenny nails, £0 2s 9d Sold at 40 per cent, nails: 4 coopers' rivets, £0 2s 10d Sold at 40 per cent, nails, total, £1 1s 10d Sold at 40 per cent, pitch and tar: ⅛ gallon of tar, £0 0s 9d Sold at 40 per cent, pitch and tar: 3 pounds of rosin, £0 1s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, pitch and tar, total, £0 2s 3d Carried over, £76 11s 4d Interpretations The goods sold at 40 per cent repeated the heads of the planters' list at 10 per cent in far smaller quantities. Tea came to 206 pounds against 1,079 pounds, soap to 24 pounds against 576 and cordage to 59¼ pounds against 1,393. The buyers at the dearest rate were therefore few, or bought only for a single household, and the bulk of the warehouse trade passed at the planters' lower advance. Tea was the largest head at this rate, at £18 2s 0d. Bohea cost about 1s 4d a pound here against roughly 1s 0½d a pound in the planters' list, a gap that matched the difference between the two advances on a common cost. Coals appeared here for the first time in the summary. They were sea coal shipped from England, used chiefly in a smith's forge, since the island had no coal of its own. Coopers' rivets were the small iron fastenings that joined the ends of a cask hoop. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of tea, the quantities of twine, coals, cordage and nails, the unit of the coals, the coopers' rivets, the sums against soap, candles and blankets and the final carried-over total. | |
219 | 1766 Brought over £ 76. 11. 4 Paint vizt. 3 lb Indico 7 3 lb B. Smalts 6 33 lb W. Lead dry 13. 2 1/2 6 lb Do. Mixd 3. 3 5 Olive Colour 12. 7 3 lb Ven. Red. dry 7 6 lb Stone Colour 4. 4 1/2 20 Whiting 1. 3 2. 13. 3 China Ware vizt. 1 Guget and Bason 3. 3 7 Bowls 8. 2 7 Snackers 2. 7 3 fine Chamber Pots 8. 6 1. 2. 6 Hooks and Lines vizt. 9 No. 2 Lines 3. 8 13 . 3 Do. 8. 3 13 . 4 Do. 5. 3 1/2 25 . 1 Hooks 1. 8 1/4 25 . 7 Do. 1. 11 1/2 50 . 13 Do. 6 3/4 4 . 1 Do. New 1. 7 25 . 14 Do. 2. 3 1/4 25 . 6 Do. 1. 11 3/4 1. 5. 5 Tin Ware 3 Sauce Pans 2. 3 Glass Ware vizt. 1 Urinal 1. 5 4 Sqrs. Glass 10 by 12 4. 8 2 Sqrs. Do. 10 by 16 3. 2 12 Wine Glasses 7. 3 1/2 1 Beer Glass 1. 3 1/2 17. 10 Carrd. over £ 82. 12. 7 | The summary of goods sold at 40 per cent during 1766 continued with paint, chinaware, hooks and lines, tinware and glassware. Balance brought over, £76 11s 4d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 3 pounds of indigo, £0 7s 0d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 3 pounds of blue smalts, £0 6s 0d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 33 pounds of dry white lead, £0 18s 2½d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 6 pounds of mixed white lead, £0 3s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 5 pounds of olive colour, £0 12s 7d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 2 pounds of dry Venetian red, £0 0s 7d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 6 pounds of stone colour, £0 4s 4½d Sold at 40 per cent, paint: 20 pounds of whiting, £0 1s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, paint, total, £2 13s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, chinaware: 1 guglet and basin, £0 3s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, chinaware: 7 bowls, £0 8s 2d Sold at 40 per cent, chinaware: 7 [...], £0 2s 7d Sold at 40 per cent, chinaware: 3 fine chamber pots, £0 8s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, chinaware, total, £1 2s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 9 lines of number 2, £0 3s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 13 lines of number 3, £0 8s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 13 lines of number 4, £0 5s 3½d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 1, £0 1s 8¼d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 7, £0 1s 11½d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 50 hooks of number 13, £0 0s 6¾d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 4 new hooks of number 1, £0 1s 7d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 11, £0 0s 3¼d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 6, £0 1s 11¼d Sold at 40 per cent, hooks and lines, total, £1 5s 5d Sold at 40 per cent, tinware: 3 saucepans, £0 2s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware: 1 urinal, £0 1s 5d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware: 4 squares of glass 10 by 12, £0 4s 8d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware: 2 squares of glass 10 by 16, £0 3s 2d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware: 12 wine glasses, £0 7s 3½d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware: 1 beer glass, £0 1s 3½d Sold at 40 per cent, glassware, total, £0 17s 10d Carried over, £82 12s 7d Interpretations The same articles cost visibly more at this rate than in the planters' list. A window pane of 10 by 16 inches stood at about 1s 7d here against roughly 1s 2½d there, and a pane of 10 by 12 at 1s 2d against 11d. Whiting, saucepans and wine glasses showed a similar step. The gap was close to what the difference between a 10 per cent and a 40 per cent advance on one cost price would produce, which confirmed that the three headings applied different mark-ups to a common stock and not different goods. The glass urinal was a chamber vessel for the sick, of the kind also used by a surgeon to inspect a patient's water. It was the only article on the leaf not already met in the planters' list. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of the pigments, the counts and size numbers of the hooks and lines, the entry read as new hooks, the fractions of pence and the sums against the indigo, smalts and lines. The chinaware article sold in a quantity of seven could not be read, as with the similar entry in the planters' list. | |
220 | 20th October Brought over £ 82. 12. 7 Deals 1 Baulk 12. 6 Cutlery Ware, 1 Shoe Knife 6 Braziers Ware 1 . 5 Quart Tea Kettle 1. 3. 6 Oil vizt. 1/4 Gall. Train 1. 2 1/4 6 1/8 Do. Linseed 1. 14. 7 3/4 1/8 Oil of Turpentine 11 1. 16. 9 Books, 1 Testament 1. 8 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Doz. Wood Screws 6 1 Iron Rimd Lock wth. B. Kns. 9. 3 9. 9 £ 86. 16. 9 Sold to the Honourable Company's Slaves from the 1st of July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Oil vizt. 1/2 Gall. Oil of Turpentine 3. 7 1/2 30 1/4 Do. Lins. 9. 8. 11 9. 12. 6 1/2 Twine, 82 Skains 3. 18. 9 Tin Ware, 4 Sail Needs. 6 Paint vizt. 12 1/2 Verdegrease 3. 14. 1/2 42 lb Y. Oaker mixd 12. 6 20 lb Ven. Red dry 5. 10 17 lb Bar. Blackg. 14. 10 20 lb W. Ld. mixd 10. 10 71 lb Do. Dry 1. 14 28 Y. Oaker Do. 7. 7 7. 19. 7 1/2 Pitch and Tar 1/2 B. Pitch 17. 10 Cordage 553 lb 14. 10. 8 Carrd. over £ [36]. 19. 11 | The summary of goods sold at 40 per cent, entered under 20 October, closed with a few remaining heads, and a new account then opened for stores sold to the Company's ships between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £82 12s 7d Sold at 40 per cent, deals: 1 baulk, £0 12s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, cutlery: 1 shoe knife, £0 0s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, brassware: 1 five-quart tea kettle, £1 3s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, oil: ¼ gallon of train oil, £0 1s 2¼d Sold at 40 per cent, oil: 6½ gallons of linseed oil, £1 14s 7¾d Sold at 40 per cent, oil: ⅛ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 0s 11d Sold at 40 per cent, oil, total, £1 16s 9d Sold at 40 per cent, books: 1 testament, £0 1s 8d Sold at 40 per cent, ironware: 1 dozen wood screws, £0 0s 6d Sold at 40 per cent, ironware: 1 iron-rimmed lock with brass knobs, £0 9s 3d Sold at 40 per cent, ironware, total, £0 9s 9d Sold at 40 per cent, total, £86 16s 3d Sold to the Company's ships, oil: ½ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 3s 7½d Sold to the Company's ships, oil: 36¼ gallons of linseed oil, £9 8s 11d Sold to the Company's ships, oil, total, £9 12s 6½d Sold to the Company's ships: 82 skeins of twine, £3 18s 9d Sold to the Company's ships, ironware: 4 sail needles, £0 0s 6d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 12½ pounds of verdigris, £3 14s 0½d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 42 pounds of mixed yellow ochre, £0 12s 6d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 20 pounds of dry red, £0 3s 10d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 17 pounds of [...] blacking, £0 14s 10d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 20 pounds of mixed white lead, £0 10s 10d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 71 pounds of dry white lead, £1 14s 0d Sold to the Company's ships, paint: 28 pounds of dry yellow ochre, £0 7s 7d Sold to the Company's ships, paint, total, £7 17s 7½d Sold to the Company's ships, pitch and tar: ½ barrel of pitch, £0 17s 10d Sold to the Company's ships: 553 pounds of cordage, £14 10s 8d Carried over, £36 19s 11d Interpretations Sales at 40 per cent came to £86 16s 3d for the quarter, against £1,663 14s 10d sold to the planters at 10 per cent. The dearest rate therefore accounted for about a twentieth of the warehouse trade, which fitted the small household quantities entered under it. The five-quart tea kettle cost £1 3s 6d at the 40 per cent advance. The three-quart kettle in the planters' list was read at £5 4s 2½d, and this entry strengthened the suspicion recorded there that the pounds figure had been misread. The ships bought only what a vessel needed for refitting in the road: linseed oil and pigments for painting, twine and sail needles for sailmaking, pitch for caulking and 553 pounds of rope. No provisions, cloth or household goods appeared. The heading named no rate of advance, unlike the three classes of sale before it, so the page did not show on what terms the Company charged its own shipping. The linseed oil stood at about 5s 2½d a gallon, close to the 5s 4d a gallon paid at 40 per cent and well above the planters' 4s 3d, which suggested the ships were charged near the dearest rate. Verdigris was the costliest paint on the leaf at close to 6s 0d a pound. Ships bought 12½ pounds against the planters' three, probably for the green paintwork of their upper works. The entry for sail needles stood under a heading read as tinware in the manuscript, though the planters' list placed the same article among the ironware. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the fractions of pence in the oil entries, the weights of the pigments, the measure of pitch, the weight of cordage and the final carried-over total. The word describing the blacking could not be read. | |
221 | 1766 Brought over £ 36. 19. 11 Hooks and Lines vizt. 24 No. 4 Lines 12. 10 22 Log Do. 1. 10. 3 100 No. 13 Hooks 1. 1 1/2 2. 4. 2 1/2 Nails vizt. 3 lb Coopers Rivets 16 . 6 Nails 16 . 20 Do. 9 . 10 Do. 3 . 4 Do. 3 Scuppers 1. 14. 9 Canvas vizt. 10 Ps. English 32. 10 25 Yds. Ticklenb. 1. 16. 6 34. 6. 6 Beef and Pork vizt. 10 Punchs. Beef 189. 5. 10 4 Hhds. Pork 65. 6. 4 254. 12. 2 Glass Ware vizt. 1 Sqr. Glass 11 1/2 by 13 1/2 3 Sqrs. Do. 11 1/2 by 19 6 12 Sqrs. Do. 10 by 12 14 2 Sqrs. Do. 10 by 16 3. 2 1 Half Hour Glass 1. 5 1. 6. 7 1/2 Salt 3 Bushels 1. 1 £ 332. 5. 2 | The account of stores sold to the Company's ships during 1766 continued with lines, nails, canvas, salt meat, glass and salt, and closed with its total. Balance brought over, £36 19s 11d Sold to the Company's ships, hooks and lines: 24 lines of number 4, £0 12s 10d Sold to the Company's ships, hooks and lines: 22 log lines, £1 10s 3d Sold to the Company's ships, hooks and lines: 100 hooks of number 13, £0 1s 1½d Sold to the Company's ships, hooks and lines, total, £2 4s 2½d Sold to the Company's ships, nails: 3 pounds of coopers' rivets, 16 pounds of sixpenny nails, 16 pounds of twentypenny nails, 9 pounds of tenpenny nails, 3 pounds of fourpenny nails and 3 scuppers, together £1 14s 9d Sold to the Company's ships, canvas: 10 pieces of English canvas, £32 10s 0d Sold to the Company's ships, canvas: 25 yards of ticklenburgs, £1 16s 6d Sold to the Company's ships, canvas, total, £34 6s 6d Sold to the Company's ships, beef and pork: 10 puncheons of beef, £189 5s 10d Sold to the Company's ships, beef and pork: 4 hogsheads of pork, £65 6s 4d Sold to the Company's ships, beef and pork, total, £254 12s 2d Sold to the Company's ships, glassware: 1 square of glass 11½ by 13½ and 3 squares of glass 11½ by 17, together £0 6s 0d Sold to the Company's ships, glassware: 12 squares of glass 10 by 12, £0 14s 0d Sold to the Company's ships, glassware: 2 squares of glass 10 by 16, £0 3s 2d Sold to the Company's ships, glassware: 1 half-hour glass, £0 1s 5d Sold to the Company's ships, glassware, total, £1 6s 7½d Sold to the Company's ships: 3 bushels of salt, £1 1s 0d Sold to the Company's ships, total, £332 5s 2d Interpretations Salt meat made up £254 12s 2d of the £332 5s 2d sold to the ships, so the preceding leaf's impression of a purely refitting trade did not hold. The ships drew beef and pork in whole casks, ten puncheons and four hogsheads, where the planters bought theirs in small units. The island's store therefore served as a victualling reserve for homeward vessels short of sea provisions, as well as a chandlery. A puncheon was a large cask of roughly 80 gallons and a hogshead one of about 50 to 60. A half-hour glass was the sand glass by which a ship's watch was timed and the bell struck. Scuppers here were probably the scupper nails, short broad-headed nails for fixing leather or lead around a ship's deck drains, since they stood among the nails. The ten pieces of English canvas at £3 5s 0d each were sailcloth in whole bolts. The pane of 10 by 16 inches cost the ships 1s 7d, exactly the price charged under the 40 per cent heading and above the planters' 1s 2½d. That supported the inference from the linseed oil on the preceding leaf that the Company's ships paid at or near the dearest advance. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the units of the nails, read as pounds, the scuppers, the casks of beef and pork and their sums, the dimensions of the first two glass entries and the final total. | |
222 | 20th October Charges General Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Arrack 70 3/8 Gall. for Sundy. Men Emp. in ye Stores &ca. 11. 1. 4 Soap. 54 lb for Linen 1. 14. 10 Paint vizt. 12 lb Indico for Do. 1. 2. 6 46 lb White Ld. mixd 17. 3 1/2 3 lb Ven. Red dry 7 1/2 2 Copperas 1. 11 1 Umber, for ye Castle 3 1 Y. Oaker mixd & L. G. H 2 1/2 40 lb Whiting 1. 3 16 lb W. Ld. dry 5 2 1/2 Verd. 9. 9 1/2 3 Bar. Blacking 1. 8 2 lb Blue Smalts for Linen 2. 10 3. 3. 4 Oil vizt. 11 1/4 G Linseed for the Castle 2. 4. 4 11 1/2 G Train Lt. Governrs. House 1. 17. 4 8 Bottl. Flor. Sm. Shop & Arm. 7. 11 4. 9. 7 Tin Ware vizt. 6 Lanth. Leaves for the 1. 10 1/2 1/4 lb Salamonc. Castle 2. 10 1 Waterg. Pot Store use 4. 1/2 8. 9 Sugar and Candy vizt. 28 lb Sugar for a Servant 7 64 lb Candy. for ye Governr. & Gard. 1. 6. 8 1. 13. 8 Tea 6 lb Bohea for Do. & Do. 5. 8 Starch 4 lb for Linen 2. 5 Carried over £ 22. 19. 7 | The entry under 20 October opened an account charging to general expenses the stores issued for the Company's own use between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Charged to general expenses: 70½ gallons of arrack for sundry men employed in the stores, £11 1s 4d Charged to general expenses: 54 pounds of soap for linen, £1 14s 10d Charged to general expenses, paint: 12 pounds of indigo for linen, £1 2s 6d Charged to general expenses, paint: 46 pounds of mixed white lead for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 17s 3½d Charged to general expenses, paint: 3 pounds of dry Venetian red for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 7½d Charged to general expenses, paint: 2 pounds of copperas for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 1s 11d Charged to general expenses, paint: 1 pound of umber for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 3d Charged to general expenses, paint: 1 pound of mixed yellow ochre for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 2½d Charged to general expenses, paint: 36 pounds of whiting for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 1s 3d Charged to general expenses, paint: 16 pounds of dry white lead for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 5s 0d Charged to general expenses, paint: 2½ pounds of verdigris for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 9s 9½d Charged to general expenses, paint: 3 pounds of [...] blacking for the castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 1s 8d Charged to general expenses, paint: 2 pounds of blue smalts for linen, £0 2s 10d Charged to general expenses, paint, total, £3 3s 4d Charged to general expenses, oil: 11¼ gallons of linseed oil for the castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the ship of arms, £2 4s 4d Charged to general expenses, oil: 11⅛ gallons of train oil for the castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the ship of arms, £1 17s 4d Charged to general expenses, oil: 3 bottles of Florence oil for the castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the ship of arms, £0 7s 11d Charged to general expenses, oil, total, £4 9s 7d Charged to general expenses, tinware: 6 [...] for the castle, £0 1s 10½d Charged to general expenses, tinware: 14 [...] for the castle, £0 2s 10d Charged to general expenses, tinware: 1 watering pot for store use, £0 4s 0½d Charged to general expenses, tinware, total, £0 8s 9d Charged to general expenses, sugar and candy: 28 pounds of sugar for a servant, £0 7s 0d Charged to general expenses, sugar and candy: 64 pounds of candy for the groom of the garden, £1 6s 8d Charged to general expenses, sugar and candy, total, £1 13s 8d Charged to general expenses: 6 pounds of Bohea tea for the groom of the garden, £0 5s 8d Charged to general expenses: 4 pounds of starch for linen, £0 2s 5d Carried over, £22 19s 7d Interpretations Stores taken for the Company's own purposes were not sold but charged to a general expenses account, here at prices close to the planters' rate. Sugar stood at 3d a pound and Bohea at about 11d a pound, slightly under the roughly 3½d and 1s 0½d charged to the planters at 10 per cent. The Company therefore appeared to book its own consumption at or near cost, without the advance laid on buyers. The largest charge was 70½ gallons of arrack, at £11 1s 4d, for men working in the stores. Spirits were thus issued as part of the reward for labour, alongside the 1s 0d a day paid to garrison men for store work in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. That account also recorded painters', plasterers' and carpenters' work in the castle, and the white lead, linseed oil and pigments issued here were the materials for it. Indigo, blue smalts, soap and starch were all entered as for linen. Blue was added to the rinse to whiten washed linen and starch to stiffen it, so these were laundry supplies for the Company's household linen. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the bracketed purposes against the paint and oil, the phrase read as ship of arms, the recipients of the sugar, candy and tea, the quantity of arrack and the pence against many items. The two tinware articles issued for the castle and the word describing the blacking could not be read. | |
223 | 1766 Brought over £ 22. 19. 7 Pewter vizt. 1 Gall. Pot 9. 4 1/2 1 Pt. Do. Store use 2. 1 1/2 1 Crane 16. 11 1. 8. 5 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Three ft. folding Rule 2. 4 41 Files 1. 6 3 Rasps for the 9 1 Farriers Do. Armour. use 11 2 Blank Keys & Armr. 1. 3 1/2 2 Smiths Rubbs. 10. 2 1/2 6 Spring Rat Traps Castle 10. 6 1 Pr. Steelyards 10. 3 1 Pruning Saw for the [Fort.] 1. 6 1 Hand Hatchet Garden 1. 9 1/2 8 Pr. HL hinges Castle & Lt. G. House 13. 4 1 S. Bitt Lock. Arm. Shop 7. 4 1 Buckling Round Compa. Works 1. 7 2 Iron Rimd Locks wth. B. Knobs for the Plant. House 13. 2 2 Cupboard Locks for Do. 3. 8 17 Plate Iron for ye Bake Ho. 6. 4 1/2 1/4 lb Flour Emery for the Arms. 2 2 Garden Hoes for the 2. 4 1 Edging Iron Gardener 3. 4 8 Pickaxes 1. 5. 4 16 Helves 9 8 Packing Needles 1. 2 2 Gun Smith Saws 1. 7. 6 1 Joyn. Oil Stone 3. 5 5 1/2 [Stilts] Armourer 4. 9 1/2 Iron Ware Carrd. over £ 9. 4. 3 1/2 Carrd. over £ 24. 8 | The account of stores charged to general expenses during 1766 continued with pewter and a long run of ironware issued for the Company's own use. Balance brought over, £22 19s 7d Charged to general expenses, pewter: 1 gallon pot for store use, £0 9s 4½d Charged to general expenses, pewter: 1 pint pot for store use, £0 2s 1½d Charged to general expenses, pewter: 1 crane for store use, £0 16s 11d Charged to general expenses, pewter, total, £1 8s 5d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 three-foot folding rule, £0 2s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 41 files for the armourer's use, £1 0s 6d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 3 rasps for the armourer's use, £0 0s 9d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 farrier's rasp for the armourer's use, £0 0s 11d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 blank keys for the armourer's use, £0 1s 3½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 smiths' rubbers for the armourer's use, £0 10s 2½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 6 spring rat traps for the castle, £0 10s 6d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 pair of steelyards, £0 10s 3d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 pruning saw for the garden, £0 1s 6d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 hand hatchet for the garden, £0 1s 9½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 8 pairs of HL hinges for the castle and the Governor's house, £0 13s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 till lock for the armourer's shop, £0 7s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 bricklayer's trowel for the Company's works, £0 1s 7d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 iron-rimmed locks with brass knobs for the Plantation House, £0 13s 2d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 cupboard locks for the Plantation House, £0 5s 8d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 17 pounds of plate iron for the bakehouse, £0 6s 4½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: ¼ pound of flour emery for the armourer, £0 0s 2d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 garden hoes for the gardener, £0 2s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 edging iron for the gardener, £0 3s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 8 pickaxes, £1 5s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 16 helves, £0 9s 0d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 8 packing needles, £0 1s 2d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 gunsmiths' saws, £1 7s 6d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 joiner's oil stone, £0 3s 5d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 3 [...] for the armourer, £0 4s 9½d Charged to general expenses, ironware, carried over, £9 4s 3½d Carried over, £24 8s 0d Interpretations The armourer was the main recipient of the ironware. He drew 41 files, rasps, blank keys, smiths' rubbers, emery, a till lock for his shop and probably the two gunsmiths' saws. An armourer kept the garrison's muskets and locks in repair, and filing was the core of that work, which explained the quantity of files against the four sold to all the planters in the same quarter. A smith's rubber was a very coarse heavy file for rough work on hot or cold iron. Flour emery was the finest grade of the abrasive powder, used for polishing steel. Blank keys were uncut key forgings to be filed to fit a lock. Each issue was tagged with the place or officer it served: the castle, the Governor's house, the Plantation House, the garden, the bakehouse and the Company's works. The store therefore kept its own consumption accountable by destination, where sales to planters were entered only by article. The pickaxes and helves carried no destination, though they fitted the heavy labouring at the Sandy Bay fortification paid for in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. The pewter crane, issued here for store use beside a gallon and a pint pot, confirmed the earlier reading of that article as a siphon for drawing liquor from casks. The pots were measures, perhaps for serving out the arrack charged on the preceding leaf. Plate iron was sheet iron, probably for lining or repairing the oven. An edging iron was the gardener's half-moon blade for trimming the borders of turf. Packing needles were large curved needles for sewing up bales. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the folding rule, the farrier's rasp, the smiths' rubbers, the till lock, the plate iron, the edging iron, the bracketed destinations and the pence against many items. The last article issued to the armourer could not be read. | |
224 | 20th October Brought over £ 24. 8 Iron Ware brought over £ 9. 4. 3 1/2 1 Wire Rat trap Store use 5. 11 1 Plaist. Sieve 10. 4 1 Joyn. Sqr. 1. 3 9 1/4 Rod Iron 2. 2 8 File Hafts Arm. 4 1/2 1 Vice 1. 13. 1 1 Cast Back for a forge 13. 8 2 Carpent. broad Axes Carpentr. 12. 1 12 Carving Chizels Use 5. 6 13. 14. 1 Canvas vizt. 6 Yds. Ozenb. for the Packets 3. 3 4 1/2 Yds. Eng. Canvas for Aprs. for Black Armour. [3]. 1 10. 4 Cordage 76 lb for a Scale Rope and tying ye Sd. [...] 1. 5. 4 Grindstone 1 Carpent. use 8. 10 Chalk 6 lb for the Castle 2 Lead 60 lb Sheet for the Bake House & Fisherm. 11. 3 Corks. 1/4 lb Short Castle 4 Cart Wheels, 11 Wheel Barr. for ye Wks. in the Country 8. 10. 6 Nails vizt. 3 lb . 2d 3. 5 1/4 5 . 3 3. 7 3/4 12 . 4 7 22 . 6 for ye Cas. Lt. G. Ho 11. 3 1/2 24 . 10 Secs. Office 10. 6 4 . 20 & mend. W. Barr. 1. 6 1/2 2 French Nails 1. 10 Nails Carrd. over £ 1. 19. 5 Carr. over £ 49. 8. 10 | The account of stores charged to general expenses, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the ironware, canvas, cordage, several small heads and the first of the nails. Balance brought over, £24 8s 0d Charged to general expenses, ironware, brought over, £9 4s 3½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 wire rat trap for store use, £0 5s 11d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 plasterer's sieve, £0 10s 4d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 [...] for the armourer, £0 1s 3d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 9½ pounds of rod iron for the armourer, £0 2s 2d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 3 file hafts for the armourer, £0 0s 4½d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 vice for the armourer, £1 13s 1d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 1 cast back for a forge for the armourer, £0 13s 8d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 2 carpenters' broad axes for the carpenters' use, £0 12s 1d Charged to general expenses, ironware: 12 carving chisels for the carpenters' use, £0 5s 6d Charged to general expenses, ironware, total, £13 14s 1d Charged to general expenses, canvas: 6 yards of osnaburgs for the pockets, £0 5s 3d Charged to general expenses, canvas: 4½ yards of English canvas for aprons for the black [...], £0 5s 1d Charged to general expenses, canvas, total, £0 10s 4d Charged to general expenses: 76 pounds of cordage for a scale rope and for [...], £1 5s 4d Charged to general expenses: 1 grindstone for the carpenters' use, £0 8s 10d Charged to general expenses: 6 pounds of chalk for the castle, £0 0s 2d Charged to general expenses: 68 pounds of sheet lead for the bakehouse and the fishermen, £0 11s 3d Charged to general expenses: ¼ gross of short corks for the castle, £0 0s 4d Charged to general expenses, cart wheels: 11 wheelbarrows for the works in the valley, £8 10s 6d Charged to general expenses, nails: 5 pounds of twopenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 3s 5¼d Charged to general expenses, nails: 5 pounds of threepenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 3s 7¾d Charged to general expenses, nails: 12 pounds of fourpenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 7s 0d Charged to general expenses, nails: 22 pounds of sixpenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 11s 3½d Charged to general expenses, nails: 24 pounds of tenpenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 10s 6d Charged to general expenses, nails: 4 pounds of twentypenny nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 1s 6½d Charged to general expenses, nails: 2 pounds of trunk nails for the castle, the Governor's house, the Secretary's office and mending wheelbarrows, £0 1s 10d Charged to general expenses, nails, carried over, £1 19s 5d Carried over, £49 8s 10d Interpretations The armourer's issues continued from the preceding leaf and now amounted to the fitting out of a workshop. He drew a vice at £1 13s 1d, a cast iron back for a forge, rod iron and hafts for the files already issued to him. The cast back was the heavy plate set behind a smith's hearth to take the heat of the fire and carry the bellows pipe. Rod iron was bar iron slit into thin rods, the stock from which small parts, pins and nails were forged. With the till lock for his shop on the preceding leaf, these pointed to the armourer's shop being newly set up or re-equipped during the quarter. The 11 wheelbarrows, at about 15s 6d each, were the largest single charge on the leaf at £8 10s 6d. They were entered for works in the valley, and nails were issued for mending barrows in the same quarter. The Company's building labour therefore moved its earth and stone by hand barrow, which fitted the thousands of labourers' days paid for in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. A scale rope was the rope by which the beam of the large warehouse scales was slung. Sheet lead for the fishermen was probably cut up for line and net weights, and that for the bakehouse perhaps for lining a trough or cistern. Trunk nails were short nails with large rounded heads, used for fixing leather to chests. The aprons of English canvas were issued for black workers, perhaps the Company's slaves in the stores or at the forge, though the word naming them could not be read. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the plasterer's sieve, the cast back, the carving chisels, the pockets served by the osnaburgs, the wheelbarrows and their destination, the bracketed purposes of the nails, the weights of the nails and the fractions of pence. The first article issued to the armourer and the second purpose of the cordage could not be read. | |
225 | 1766 Brought over £ 49. 8. 10 Nails brought over £ 1. 19. 5 6 Coopers Rivets Coops. use 2. 10 1/2 6 Flooring Brads Castle 2. 4 1/2 2. 4. 8 Hooks and Lines vizt. 125 Hooks No. 1 5. 11 1/2 25 Do. 7 1. 4 1/2 25 Do. 9 8 1/2 25 Do. 13 4 1/4 50 Do. 14 for the Governors 4 3/4 75 Do. 16 fisherm. 5 1/2 36 Lines . 3 11. 10 1/2 4 Log Do. 3. 9 1. 4. 11 Turners Ware vizt. 2 Plaist. Brushes for Plantat. 2. 4 2 Mops Ho. & Gs. House 2. 6 4. 10 Haberdashery. 1 Doz. Metl. Ct. Buttons for the Lt. Gov. Servants 8 Iron and Steel vizt. 60 lb Iron for makg. Shovels 15 35 lb Steel & Masons Tools 13. 10 1. 8. 10 Glass Ware vizt. 3 Sqrs. Glass 6 by 8 for Plantat. 1. 1/2 3 Sqrs. Do. 8 by 10 House 2. 3 1/2 3. 5 Cutlery Ware vizt. 3 Butchers Knives Govern. Kitchn. 1 2 Chopping Do. and Castle 2. 5 3. 5 Carrd. over £ 54. 19. 7 | The account of stores charged to general expenses during 1766 continued with the rest of the nails, fishing gear, brushes, buttons, iron and steel, window glass and knives. Balance brought over, £49 8s 10d Charged to general expenses, nails, brought over, £1 19s 5d Charged to general expenses, nails: 6 pounds of coopers' rivets for the cooper's use, £0 2s 10½d Charged to general expenses, nails: 6 pounds of flooring brads for the castle, £0 2s 4½d Charged to general expenses, nails, total, £2 4s 8d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 125 hooks of number 1 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 5s 11½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 7 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 1s 4½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 9 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 0s 8½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 13 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 0s 4½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 50 hooks of number 14 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 0s 4¾d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 75 hooks of number 16 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 0s 5½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 36 lines of number 3 for the Governor's fishermen, £0 11s 10½d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines: 4 log lines for the Governor's fishermen, £0 3s 9d Charged to general expenses, hooks and lines, total, £1 4s 11d Charged to general expenses, turnery: 2 plasterers' brushes for the Plantation House and the Governor's house, £0 2s 4d Charged to general expenses, turnery: 2 mops for the Plantation House and the Governor's house, £0 2s 6d Charged to general expenses, turnery, total, £0 4s 10d Charged to general expenses, haberdashery: 1 dozen mohair coat buttons for the Lieutenant Governor's servants, £0 0s 8d Charged to general expenses, iron and steel: 60 pounds of iron for making shovels and masons' tools, £0 15s 0d Charged to general expenses, iron and steel: 33 pounds of steel for making shovels and masons' tools, £0 13s 10d Charged to general expenses, iron and steel, total, £1 8s 10d Charged to general expenses, glassware: 3 squares of glass 6 by 8 for the Plantation House, £0 1s 1½d Charged to general expenses, glassware: 3 squares of glass 8 by 10 for the Plantation House, £0 2s 3½d Charged to general expenses, glassware, total, £0 3s 5d Charged to general expenses, cutlery: 3 butchers' knives for the Governor's fishermen and the castle, £0 1s 0d Charged to general expenses, cutlery: 2 chopping knives for the Governor's fishermen and the castle, £0 2s 5d Charged to general expenses, cutlery, total, £0 3s 5d Carried over, £54 19s 7d Interpretations The Governor kept fishermen at the Company's expense. They drew 325 hooks in six sizes, 36 lines, four log lines and butchers' knives from the store, all charged to general expenses, and the sheet lead issued on the preceding leaf for the fishermen belonged to the same outfit. Fish for the Governor's table, and probably for the Company's household and slaves, was therefore supplied by a standing crew and not bought from the planters, who in the same quarter purchased close to 4,000 hooks for their own fishing. Iron and steel were issued raw for making shovels and masons' tools on the island. The Company's smiths thus forged the working tools for the fortification labour themselves, with steel at about 5d a pound for the cutting edges and iron at 3d a pound for the bodies, instead of drawing finished tools from the store. That fitted the smiths' work paid for in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766 and the forge equipment issued to the armourer on the preceding leaves. The window panes cost the Company 4½d for the size of 6 by 8 inches and about 9d for the size of 8 by 10, the same as the planters paid at 10 per cent. The Company's own consumption was therefore booked at the planters' rate, as the sugar and tea on the first leaf of this account suggested. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the units of the rivets and brads, the hook counts and their size numbers, the bracketed destinations, the plasterers' brushes, the buttons and their recipients, the two kinds of knife and the fractions of pence. | |
226 | 20th October Brought over £ 54. 19. 7 Candles vizt. 4 lb Doctors Shop 82 1/2 Officers on Duty 10 lb Council 121 Castle 35. 19. 8 Deals vizt. 3/4 Riga Timber, for the Cast. makg. Tables & a new Flag Staff for ye Main Fort 13. 2 1/2 P. 3 In. Oak Plank for the 19 1/2 P. 3 In. Ash Do. Flag Staff 1. 4 14 7/8 Baulks for making Stands for 5. 11. 10 4 1/2 Ufers [...] 13. 4 3 P. 4 In Ash Plank for makg. & 7. 3. 6 1 P. 3 Do. Do. repairg. Wheel 1. 15 1 1/4 P. 2 1/2 Do. Ash Do. [...] 2. 11. 3 3 3/8 Doub. Deals for ye Cast. makg. 5. 12. 9 24 Single Do. New Dressr. [...] Lt. G. Ho 2. 13 41. 10. 8 Masts vizt. 1 Bowsprit 16 In Diam. 36 Feet long for 7 1 Spar for 2 Feet & 28 long [...] 15. 7 1 Spar 1 Feet & 1/2 In Diam. 32 [...] 1. 5 9. 1 £ 141. 10. 6 Diet Expences, Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st July to the 30th of September 1766 vizt. Beef and Pork vizt. 16 Ps. Beef 1. 13. 1 16 Ps. Pork 2. 5. 8 3. 18. 9 Carrd. over £ 3. 18. 9 | The account of stores charged to general expenses, entered under 20 October, closed with candles, timber and spars, and a new account then opened for stores charged to diet expenses between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £54 19s 7d Charged to general expenses, candles: 4 pounds of candles for the doctor's shop, 82½ pounds for the officers on duty, 40 pounds for the Council and 121 pounds for the castle, together £35 19s 8d Charged to general expenses, deals: ¾ ton of [...] timber for the castle, for making ladders to raise the flagstaff for the main fort, £13 2s 0d Charged to general expenses, deals: ½ of a 2½ inch oak plank for the flagstaff, £0 19s 0d Charged to general expenses, deals: ½ of a 3 inch oak plank for the flagstaff, £1 4s 0d Charged to general expenses, deals: 14 baulks for making stands for [...] and for scaffolding, £5 11s 10d Charged to general expenses, deals: 4 [...] for making stands for [...] and for scaffolding, £0 13s 4d Charged to general expenses, deals: 3½ 4 inch oak planks for making and repairing wheelbarrows, £7 3s 6d Charged to general expenses, deals: 1 3 inch oak plank for making and repairing wheelbarrows, £1 15s 0d Charged to general expenses, deals: 11 [...] oak planks for the castle and the works, £2 11s 3d Charged to general expenses, deals: 33 double deals for the castle, £5 12s 9d Charged to general expenses, deals: 24 single deals for the [...] and the Governor's house, £2 13s 0d Charged to general expenses, deals, total, £41 10s 8d Charged to general expenses, masts: 1 bowsprit 16 inches in diameter and 36 feet long for the flagstaff, £7 0s 0d Charged to general expenses, masts: 1 spar for 2 [...] 28 feet long for the flagstaff, £0 15s 7d Charged to general expenses, masts: 1 spar [...] 32 feet long for the flagstaff, £1 5s 0d Charged to general expenses, masts, total, £9 0s 1d Charged to general expenses, total, £141 10s 6d Charged to diet expenses, beef and pork: 16 pounds of beef, £1 13s 1d Charged to diet expenses, beef and pork: 16 pounds of pork, £2 5s 8d Charged to diet expenses, beef and pork, total, £3 18s 9d Carried over, £3 18s 9d Interpretations The timber and spars recorded the raising of a new flagstaff at the main fort. A ship's bowsprit 36 feet long was bought as the mast itself at £7 0s 0d, with two lighter spars, oak plank and close to a ton of timber for the ladders needed to step it. The Company therefore built its signal mast from ship's spars held in the store, the only long straight timber on an island that grew none. The flagstaff mattered because the fort's colours and signals were how the island spoke to ships in the road and answered the lookouts whose express runs were paid for in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. Oak plank was also issued for making and repairing wheelbarrows, alongside the 11 barrows and the nails for mending them charged earlier in this account. The barrows were therefore partly built on the island from imported oak, and were being worn out fast by the works. Candles were the second largest charge at £35 19s 8d for 247½ pounds, or about 2s 11d a pound. That was far above the roughly 10d a pound paid by the planters for 1,593 pounds at the head of the sales summary, so the weights or the sum here were perhaps misread, or the candles issued were of wax and not tallow. The doctor's shop was the surgeon's dispensary. Diet expenses was the account for the table kept at the Company's cost. The beef and pork charged to it stood at about 2s 1d and 2s 10d a unit, which again pointed to a piece of barrelled meat and not a pound, as suspected in the planters' list. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the candle weights and their recipients, the thicknesses and counts of the oak planks, the bracketed purposes of the timber, the dimensions of the bowsprit and spars and the general expenses total. The kind of timber in the first entry, the object the stands were made for, the article entered in a quantity of four, the thickness of the 11 oak planks, one destination of the single deals and the descriptions of the two smaller spars could not be read. | |
227 | 1766 Brought over £ 3. 18. 9 Rice 150 lb 15 Flour 8. 3. 20 8. 6. 8 Arrack 36 Gall. 5. 13. 3 Pepper 6 lb 3 Salt 1/2 Bushel 1. 10 Tea 1/2 lb Congo [3]. 5 Candy. 1. 2. 27 3. 18. 9 £ 23. 2. 8 Garrison Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of July to the 30th of September 1766 vizt. Soldiers Cloaths 6 Pr. Lg. Breeches 8. 16. 3 Hats 6 16. 11 Shoes 6 Pr. Mens Ordy. 1. 4. 6 Hosiers Ware, 6 Pr. Ord. thd. Stockings 17. 2 Shirts vizt. 6 [Ferl.] Shirts 1. 6. 8 6 Rollers 4 1. 10. 8 Blankets 19 4. 17. 5 Tea, 54 lb Bohea for the sevl. Guards 2. 10. 8 Oil 44 1/2 Gall. Train for the Do. 7. 9. 3 Deals vizt. 24 Sing. Deals 2. 11 30 Double Do. 5. 15 8. 6 Nails vizt. 38 lb . 3 for making Coffins 1. 1. 10 1/2 18 . 6 and repairg. Cotts 9. 4 1/2 4 . 10 1. 9 1. 13 Lines, 2 lb Whip Cord for Whips 6 Twine 4 Skains for the Artilly. Company 2. 2 Carrd. over £ 38. 10 | The account of stores charged to diet expenses during 1766 closed with its remaining provisions, and a new account then opened for stores issued to the garrison between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £3 18s 9d Charged to diet expenses: 130 pounds of rice, £0 13s 0d Charged to diet expenses: 8 hundredweight 3 quarters 20 pounds of flour, £8 6s 8d Charged to diet expenses: 36 gallons of arrack, £5 13s 3d Charged to diet expenses: 6 pounds of pepper, £0 3s 0d Charged to diet expenses: ½ bushel of salt, £0 1s 10d Charged to diet expenses: 4 pounds of Congo tea, £0 5s 5d Charged to diet expenses: 1 hundredweight 2 quarters 21 pounds of candy, £3 18s 9d Charged to diet expenses, total, £23 2s 8d Charged to the garrison, soldiers' clothes: 6 coats, waistcoats and breeches, £8 16s 3d Charged to the garrison: 6 hats, £0 16s 11d Charged to the garrison, shoes: 6 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £1 4s 6d Charged to the garrison, hosiery: 6 pairs of ordinary thread stockings, £0 17s 2d Charged to the garrison, shirts: 6 [...] shirts, £1 6s 8d Charged to the garrison, shirts: 6 rollers, £0 4s 0d Charged to the garrison, shirts, total, £1 10s 8d Charged to the garrison: 19 blankets, £4 17s 5d Charged to the garrison, tea: 34 pounds of Bohea for the several guards, £2 10s 8d Charged to the garrison, oil: 44¼ gallons of train oil for the several guards, £7 9s 3d Charged to the garrison, deals: 24 single deals for making coffins and repairing cots, £2 11s 0d Charged to the garrison, deals: 30 double deals for making coffins and repairing cots, £5 15s 0d Charged to the garrison, deals, total, £8 6s 0d Charged to the garrison, nails: 38 pounds of threepenny nails for making coffins and repairing cots, £1 1s 10½d Charged to the garrison, nails: 18 pounds of sixpenny nails for making coffins and repairing cots, £0 9s 4½d Charged to the garrison, nails: 4 pounds of tenpenny nails for making coffins and repairing cots, £0 1s 9d Charged to the garrison, nails, total, £1 13s 0d Charged to the garrison, lines: 2 pounds of whipcord for whips, £0 6s 0d Charged to the garrison: 4 skeins of twine for the Artillery Company, £0 2s 2d Carried over, £38 10s 0d Interpretations Six complete outfits were issued to the garrison in the quarter: coat, waistcoat and breeches, hat, shoes, stockings, shirt and roller. A roller was the soldier's neckcloth, a strip of cloth wound round the neck in place of a stiff stock. The six sets probably clothed new recruits, and the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766 recorded Maynard Hayes, Osbourn, John Hines and Daniel Tongue joining during the same months. Each suit of clothes cost about £1 9s 4½d and the whole outfit close to £2 5s 0d, more than half a sentinel's pay of £3 16s 0½d for the period. Deals and nails were issued together for making coffins and repairing cots. The garrison's dead were therefore buried in coffins made by the Company's carpenters from store timber, at the Company's cost, in addition to the sexton's fee of 2s 6d a burial settled in the paymaster's account. That account also paid for 118½ days of carpenters' work on the soldiers' cots, for which this timber was the material. The whipcord issued for whips was the hard twisted cord from which the lashes of a cat were made. Its charge to the garrison account placed flogging among the ordinary running costs of military discipline. Train oil and Bohea for the several guards lit and supplied the guardrooms through the night. The 44¼ gallons of lamp oil was four times the quantity issued for the castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and other uses under general expenses. The diet account came to £23 2s 8d, with flour and arrack its largest heads. The candy charged to it stood at about 5d a pound, close to the planters' price, which again suggested that the Company booked its own consumption at the lowest advance. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of flour and candy, the quantity of rice, the rollers, the whipcord, the purposes bracketed against the deals and nails, the weights of the nails and the sums against the tea and oil. The description of the six shirts could not be read, as with the similar entry in the planters' list. | |
228 | 20th October Brought over £ 38. 10 Canvas, 105 Yds. Eng. for Cotts 5. 18. 8 Paint vizt. 1 1/4 Yell. Oak. dry to Clean 2. 7 1/2 9 lb Whiting. Accoutrs. 4 1/2 3 Iron Ware 3 Small Fryg. Pans 7. 5 Thread 2 lb Coloured Artilly. Compy. 6. 10 Candles 5 lb Do. 6. 1 Glass, 6 Sqrs. 8 by 10 for the Officers Gd. Room 4. 6 £ 45. 16. 6 Blacks Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Sugar 214 lb 2. 13. 6 Tea 107 Bohea 4. 14. 8 Shoes vizt. 46 Pr. Ordy. for the Hand. Craftsm. [9]. 5 7 Pr. Womens Calf for ye Bk. Women 18. 1 13. 3. 1 Arrack 129 1/2 Gall. for ye Slaves in Genl. 17. 8 Leather 3 lb Sole for Soalg. the Bk. Shoes 2. 9 Oil. 1 1/8 Gall. train for Sick Blacks 4. 3 Beef and Pork vizt. 1069 Ps. Beef 177. 1. 1 604 Ps. Pork 86. 3. 11 263. 5 Iron Ware 1 Pad Lock for a Ho. at Sandy Bay 1. 7 Turners Ware vizt. 5 Wood Bowls Slaves at the 4. 11 6 Platters Fortifs. & Sick 6 10. 11 Deals. 1 Sing. for ye Bk. Square 2. 1 Carrd. over £ 299. 5. 10 | The account of stores issued to the garrison, entered under 20 October, closed with its remaining heads, and a new account then opened for stores issued to the Company's slaves between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £38 10s 0d Charged to the garrison: 103 yards of English canvas for cots, £5 13s 8d Charged to the garrison, paint: 14 pounds of dry yellow ochre for cleaning accoutrements, £0 2s 7½d Charged to the garrison, paint: 9 pounds of whiting for cleaning accoutrements, £0 0s 4½d Charged to the garrison, paint, total, £0 3s 0d Charged to the garrison, ironware: 3 small frying pans, £0 7s 5d Charged to the garrison: 2 pounds of coloured thread for the Artillery Company, £0 6s 10d Charged to the garrison: 3 pounds of candles for the Artillery Company, £0 6s 1d Charged to the garrison, glass: 6 squares of glass 8 by 10 for the officers' guard room, £0 4s 6d Charged to the garrison, total, £45 16s 6d Charged to the slaves: 274 pounds of sugar, £2 13s 6d Charged to the slaves: 107 pounds of Bohea tea, £4 14s 8d Charged to the slaves, shoes: 46 pairs of ordinary shoes for the handicraftsmen, £9 5s 0d Charged to the slaves, shoes: 7 pairs of women's shoes for the black women, £0 18s 1d Charged to the slaves, shoes, total, £10 3s 1d Charged to the slaves: 129 gallons of arrack for the slaves in general, £17 8s 0d Charged to the slaves, leather: 3 pounds of sole leather for soling the black [...] shoes, £0 2s 9d Charged to the slaves, oil: 1½ gallons of train oil for sick slaves, £0 4s 3d Charged to the slaves, beef and pork: 1,069 pounds of beef, £177 1s 1d Charged to the slaves, beef and pork: 604 pounds of pork, £86 3s 11d Charged to the slaves, beef and pork, total, £263 5s 0d Charged to the slaves, ironware: 1 padlock for a house at Sandy Bay, £0 1s 7d Charged to the slaves, turnery: 5 wooden bowls for slaves at the fortification and the sick, £0 4s 11d Charged to the slaves, turnery: 6 platters for slaves at the fortification and the sick, £0 6s 0d Charged to the slaves, turnery, total, £0 10s 11d Charged to the slaves, deals: 1 single deal for the black [...], £0 2s 1d Carried over, £299 5s 10d Interpretations Salt meat dominated the cost of keeping the Company's slaves, at £263 5s 0d of the £299 5s 10d carried over. The 1,673 units of beef and pork cost about 3s 4d and 2s 10d each, which could not have been a price per pound and confirmed the suspicion raised in the planters' list and the diet account that the store counted barrelled meat by the piece. The Company therefore fed its slaves largely on imported salt provisions, not only on the yams bought from planters in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766. Arrack was the second largest charge, 129 gallons at £17 8s 0d for the slaves in general. A regular spirit ration was thus part of their maintenance, as it was part of the reward of the men working in the stores, who drew 70½ gallons under general expenses. The 46 pairs of shoes went to the handicraftsmen alone, the slaves trained as masons, smiths, carpenters and the like, with seven pairs for women. Field and labouring slaves received none, so footwear marked the skilled hands whose work the Company valued most. Bowls and platters were issued for slaves at the fortification, which showed the Company's slaves working at Sandy Bay beside the garrison and the planters' hired men. Yellow ochre and whiting were issued to the garrison for cleaning accoutrements. Soldiers rubbed ochre into buff leather belts and pouches to colour them and used whiting to whiten straps and polish metal. The 103 yards of canvas for cots formed the sacking bottoms of the bedsteads the carpenters repaired. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the purpose of the ochre and whiting, the handicraftsmen, the weights of sugar and tea, the sums against the shoes, the meat quantities and the padlock's destination. The words following black in the leather and deal entries could not be read. | |
229 | 1766 Brought over £ 299. 5. 10 Long Cloth, 10 1/2 Ps. K to Cloath Black Women 14. 14 Kersey 32 Yds. Do. 2. 4. 8 Chilloes 50 Ps. Do. 20. 12. 6 Haberdashery, 11 Ps. Tape Do. 6. 2 Canvas, 80 Yards Ticklen. Do. 4. 8. 4 Thread vizt. 4 lb Whitd. Brown for making 1. 8 1/2 lb Coloured Womens Cloaths 13. 8 2. 1. 8 Pepper 6 3 Iron Pots, 1 of 6 Gall. Slaves at Sandy Bay 6 Iron Ware 1 Small Fryg. Pan Do. 1. 11 Hooks and Lines vizt. 12 Lines No. 2 for the 3. 6 12 Do. 3 Fisherm. 3. 11 25 Hooks 9 8 1/2 25 Do. 13 for Do. 2 1/2 25 Do. 16 2 8. 6 Cutlery Ware 1 Butchs. Knife for the Butcher 4 Sailors Cloaths vizt. 2 Mens Jackts. & Breeches 1. 9 2 Dutch Caps 3 2 Mens Shirts 6. 9 1. 10. 6 Rice vizt. 151. 3. 8 45. 2. 4 Issued at Sandy Bay 197. 1. 12 99. 2. 6 Flour 11. 3. 7 omittd. last Quartr. Issud. at Sandy Bay 11. 6 £ 456. 6. 11 | The account of stores issued to the Company's slaves during 1766 continued with cloth for the women, small stores, fishing gear, sailors' clothes, rice and flour, and closed with its total. Balance brought over, £299 5s 10d Charged to the slaves: 10½ pieces of long cloth marked [...] to clothe the black women, £14 14s 0d Charged to the slaves: 32 yards of kersey to clothe the black women, £2 4s 8d Charged to the slaves: 30 pieces of chelloes to clothe the black women, £20 12s 6d Charged to the slaves, haberdashery: 11 pieces of tape to clothe the black women, £0 6s 2d Charged to the slaves, canvas: 60 yards of ticklenburgs to clothe the black women, £4 3s 4d Charged to the slaves, thread: 4 pounds of whited brown thread for making women's clothes, £1 8s 0d Charged to the slaves, thread: 4 pounds of coloured thread for making women's clothes, £0 13s 8d Charged to the slaves, thread, total, £2 1s 8d Charged to the slaves: 6 pounds of pepper, £0 3s 0d Charged to the slaves, iron pots: 1 six-gallon iron pot for the slaves at Sandy Bay, £0 6s 0d Charged to the slaves, ironware: 1 small frying pan for the slaves at Sandy Bay, £0 1s 11d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines: 12 lines of number 2 for the fishermen, £0 3s 6d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines: 12 lines of number 3 for the fishermen, £0 3s 11d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 9 for the fishermen, £0 0s 8½d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 13 for the fishermen, £0 0s 2½d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 16 for the fishermen, £0 0s 2d Charged to the slaves, hooks and lines, total, £0 8s 6d Charged to the slaves, cutlery: 1 butcher's knife for the butcher, £0 0s 4d Charged to the slaves, sailors' clothes: 2 men's jackets and breeches, £1 0s 9d Charged to the slaves, sailors' clothes: 2 Dutch caps, £0 3s 0d Charged to the slaves, sailors' clothes: 2 men's shirts, £0 6s 9d Charged to the slaves, sailors' clothes, total, £1 10s 6d Charged to the slaves, rice: 151 hundredweight 3 quarters 8 pounds of rice, with 45 hundredweight 2 quarters 4 pounds of rice issued at Sandy Bay, together 197 hundredweight 1 quarter 12 pounds, £99 2s 6d Charged to the slaves: 11 hundredweight 3 quarters [...] pounds of flour omitted last quarter and issued at Sandy Bay, £11 6s 0d Charged to the slaves, total, £456 6s 11d Interpretations Rice was the slaves' staple grain. Close to 200 hundredweight was issued in the quarter at £99 2s 6d, about 10s 0d a hundredweight, and nearly a quarter of it went to Sandy Bay. That share measured how much of the Company's slave labour was stationed at the fortification, where a six-gallon cooking pot, a frying pan, bowls and platters were also sent. The scale of the issue explained the paymaster's purchase of 2,000 pounds of rice from a ship's captain on 20 July 1766 and the beating of stored paddy into rice during the scarcity. The women's clothing was issued as cloth, tape and thread and not as garments, with the thread entered as for making women's clothes. The slave women were therefore expected to sew their own clothing from 30 pieces of chelloes, 10½ pieces of long cloth, 60 yards of ticklenburgs and 32 yards of kersey. Cheap Indian cottons made up most of the cost, at £35 6s 6d of roughly £44 0s 0d. The men's clothing appeared only as two ready-made sailors' outfits with Dutch caps, probably for slaves serving in the Company's boats. The slaves' account came to £456 6s 11d, more than three times the £141 10s 6d charged to general expenses and ten times the £45 16s 6d issued to the garrison. Salt meat at £263 5s 0d and rice at £99 2s 6d made up four fifths of it. Maintaining the Company's slaves was thus the heaviest draw on the warehouse after sales to the planters. The flour entry was noted as left out of the preceding quarter's account and brought in here, a correction made openly in the books instead of by altering the closed account. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of rice and flour, the quantity of long cloth, the Dutch caps, the size of the iron pot, the fishing lines and hooks and the final total. The grade mark on the long cloth and the odd pounds of flour could not be read. | |
230 | 20th October Mallay Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Rice 120 lb 12. 6 Sugar 20 lb 5 Arrack 2 1/2 Gall. 6. 9 Tea 1/2 lb Bohea 3. 9 Soap 6 lb 3. 11 Oil vizt. 3/4 Train 2. 7 1 B. Florence 2. 8 5. 3 Salt 1/4 Bushl. 11 Broad Cloth, 4 1/2 Yds. Blue 4. 1 Shalloon 5 Yds. Scarlet 11. 6 Long Cloth 1/2 Ps. C 1. 18. 1 Haberdashery vizt. 4 S. Silk 2. 1 4 S. Moh. 1. 9 2 1/2 Doz. Moh. Ct. Buttons 1. 8 3 Doz. Do. Bt. Do. 1 6. 6 Hosiers Ware, 2 Pr. Eng. Cott. Stocks. 13. 8 Thread vizt. 1/2 lb Whitd. Brown 3. 6 1 lb Colourd 3. 5 6. 11 Blankets 1 5. 2 Shoes 1 Pr. Mens fine Pumps 4. 11 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Hand Hatchet 1 Helve 2. 3 £ 10. 6. 1 | The entry under 20 October opened and closed a short account of stores charged to the Malays between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Charged to the Malays: 120 pounds of rice, £0 12s 6d Charged to the Malays: 20 pounds of sugar, £0 5s 0d Charged to the Malays: 2½ gallons of arrack, £0 6s 9d Charged to the Malays: 4 pounds of Bohea tea, £0 3s 9d Charged to the Malays: 6 pounds of soap, £0 3s 11d Charged to the Malays, oil: ¾ gallon of train oil, £0 2s 7d Charged to the Malays, oil: 1 bottle of Florence oil, £0 2s 8d Charged to the Malays, oil, total, £0 5s 3d Charged to the Malays: ¼ bushel of salt, £0 0s 11d Charged to the Malays: 4¼ yards of blue broadcloth, £4 1s 0d Charged to the Malays: 5 yards of scarlet shalloon, £0 11s 6d Charged to the Malays: ½ piece of long cloth marked C, £1 18s 1d Charged to the Malays, haberdashery: 4 [...] of silk, £0 2s 1d Charged to the Malays, haberdashery: 4 [...] of mohair, £0 1s 9d Charged to the Malays, haberdashery: 2½ dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 1s 8d Charged to the Malays, haberdashery: 3 dozen mohair breast buttons, £0 1s 0d Charged to the Malays, haberdashery, total, £0 6s 6d Charged to the Malays, hosiery: 2 pairs of English cotton stockings, £0 13s 8d Charged to the Malays, thread: ½ pound of whited brown thread, £0 3s 6d Charged to the Malays, thread: ¼ pound of coloured thread, £0 3s 5d Charged to the Malays, thread, total, £0 6s 11d Charged to the Malays: 1 blanket, £0 5s 2d Charged to the Malays, shoes: 1 pair of men's fine pumps, £0 4s 11d Charged to the Malays, ironware: 1 hand hatchet and 1 helve, together £0 2s 3d Charged to the Malays, total, £10 6s 1d Interpretations The Malays had an account of their own, separate from the slaves' account of £456 6s 11d closed on the preceding leaf, and the goods charged to it were of a different order. Blue broadcloth at close to £1 0s 0d a yard, scarlet shalloon for lining, silk and mohair twist, coat and breast buttons, cotton stockings and a pair of fine pumps made up a gentleman's suit of clothes. The slaves received chelloes, ticklenburgs and ordinary shoes. The quantities, with one blanket, one pair of pumps and two pairs of stockings, pointed to a single man or a very small household of some standing, maintained by the Company and not owned by it. That description fitted Nocquedah Pochuttum, who drew a quarterly allowance and house rent in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766 and directed the beating of paddy into rice. The page did not name him, so the identification remained a probability. The 120 pounds of rice, the Florence oil and the tea were the provisions of such a household. The half piece of long cloth marked C cost £1 18s 1d, a rate of about £3 16s 0d a piece. The planters' list was read as charging £12 12s 5d for 5½ pieces of that grade, or roughly £2 6s 0d a piece, so one of the two readings was perhaps wrong. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the account's title, the quantities of rice, arrack and oil, the yardage of broadcloth, the grade mark of the long cloth, the weights of thread and the pence against many items. The unit in which the silk and mohair were sold could not be read, as on the earlier leaves. | |
231 | 1766 Plantation Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st July to the 30th September 1766 vizt. Nails vizt. 16 lb . 6d for Long Wood 8. 4 4 . 10 And Pasture Gates 1. 9 10. 1 Rice and Paddy vizt. 268 lb Rice for Poultry Horses 14 3302 Paddy & Overseers 6. 5. 4 6. 19. 4 Iron Ware vizt. 6 Scythe Stones for Plant. 1. 4 1/2 1 Large Pad Lock House Garden 1. 7 6 Helves & Long Wood 3. 4 1/2 6. 4 Cordage, 22 lb for Long Wood and for Thatchg. Bk. Square 7. 4 Pitch and Tar 3 Gall. Tar wood Cart 2. 3 Earthen Ware 24 Milk Pans for the Dairy 1. [6]. 6 Bunting, 1 Yard White for Strainr. 6 Deals vizt. 4 1/2 P. Riga Timr. for repg. Plant. Ho. & makg. [Gates] 11. 3. 1 1/2 Do. of 3 In. Oak Plank for makg. and 19 2 Do. of 4 Do. Do. repg. Carts for 2. 14 1 1/2 P. of 3 Do. Ash Do. Carryg. Stone 3. 15 1 1/4 P. of 4 Do. Do. Wood &ca. 2. 11. 3 21. 2. 4 Masts, 1 Oak Cheek for Do. 1. 10. 3 £ 32. 4. 5 Fortifications Dr. for the following Stores Issued from 1st of July to the 30th of September 1766 vizt. Cordage. 5 3/4 lb for the Alarm House 1. 11 Carrd. over £ 1. 11 | The stores charged to the Company's plantation between 1 July and 30 September 1766 filled a short account, and a new account then opened for stores issued to the fortifications over the same months. Charged to the plantation, nails: 16 pounds of sixpenny nails for Long Wood and pasture gates, £0 8s 4d Charged to the plantation, nails: 4 pounds of tenpenny nails for Long Wood and pasture gates, £0 1s 9d Charged to the plantation, nails, total, £0 10s 1d Charged to the plantation, rice and paddy: 268 pounds of rice for poultry, horses and overseers, £0 14s 0d Charged to the plantation, rice and paddy: 3,302 pounds of paddy for poultry, horses and overseers, £6 5s 4d Charged to the plantation, rice and paddy, total, £6 19s 4d Charged to the plantation, ironware: 6 scythe stones for the Plantation House garden and Long Wood, £0 1s 4½d Charged to the plantation, ironware: 1 large padlock for the Plantation House garden and Long Wood, £0 1s 7d Charged to the plantation, ironware: 6 helves for the Plantation House garden and Long Wood, £0 3s 4½d Charged to the plantation, ironware, total, £0 6s 4d Charged to the plantation: 22 pounds of cordage for Long Wood and for thatching the black [...], £0 7s 4d Charged to the plantation, pitch and tar: 3 gallons of tar for the wood cart, £0 2s 3d Charged to the plantation, earthenware: 24 milk pans for the dairy, £1 [...]s 6d Charged to the plantation, bunting: 1 yard of white bunting for strainers, £0 0s 6d Charged to the plantation, deals: 4½ tons of [...] timber for repairing the Plantation House and making gates, £11 3s 1d Charged to the plantation, deals: ½ of a 3 inch oak plank for making and repairing carts for carrying stone and wood, £0 19s 0d Charged to the plantation, deals: 2 4 inch oak planks for making and repairing carts for carrying stone and wood, £2 14s 0d Charged to the plantation, deals: 1½ 3 inch oak planks for making and repairing carts for carrying stone and wood, £3 15s 0d Charged to the plantation, deals: 1¼ 4 inch oak planks for making and repairing carts for carrying stone and wood, £2 11s 3d Charged to the plantation, deals, total, £21 2s 4d Charged to the plantation, masts: 1 oak cheek for making and repairing carts for carrying stone and wood, £1 10s 3d Charged to the plantation, total, £32 4s 5d Charged to the fortifications: 5¾ pounds of cordage for the alarm house, £0 1s 11d Carried over, £0 1s 11d Interpretations Paddy served on the Company's own farms as animal feed. The plantation drew 3,302 pounds of it, with 268 pounds of rice, for poultry, horses and the overseers. Rice in the husk cost about ½d a pound, so it was the cheapest grain in the store, and the Company fed it to stock where an English farm used oats or barley. The overseers presumably took the husked rice as part of their keep. The same store issued close to 200 hundredweight of rice to the slaves in the quarter, so the island's livestock and its labour both depended on grain shipped from the East. Timber was the heaviest charge at £21 2s 4d of the £32 4s 5d. Oak plank went into carts for hauling stone and wood, which matched the oak issued under general expenses for wheelbarrows. Long Wood was the Company's wooded upland estate in the east of the island, the source of the wood those carts carried, and the nails for its pasture gates showed it fenced for grazing as well. An oak cheek, entered under masts, was a shaped side timber normally bolted to a ship's mast, here cut up for cart building. The 24 milk pans for the dairy and the white bunting for strainers showed the Company running a dairy at the plantation. Bunting, a thin open-woven worsted sold for flags, served there as a straining cloth for milk. The planters bought only 10 such pans between them in the same quarter. The alarm house was the signal post from which guns were fired to warn the island of an approaching ship, and the cordage issued for it opened the fortifications account. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of nails, rice and paddy, the poultry, horses and overseers, the bracketed purposes of the ironware, timber and oak plank, the fractions and thicknesses of the planks and the oak cheek. The word following black in the cordage entry, the kind of timber in the first deals entry and the shillings against the milk pans could not be read. | |
232 | 20th October Brought over £ 1. 11 Paint vizt. 32 lb W. Ld. mixd for Paintg. 12 7 Barr. Blackg. Gun 3. 11 2 lb Ven. Red dry Carriages 5 16. 4 Oil 3 7/8 G Linseed for Do. 1. 2. 7 Arrack 1/8 Gall for Kettl. Cols. 5 Deals. 1/4 P. of 6. In Oak Plank for repairg. Banketts 11 £ 2. 12. 3 Hospital Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of July to 30th September 1766 vizt. Sugar. 218 2. 14. 6 Flour. 218 1. 16. 4 Rice 218 19. 9 Oil 10 Gall. Train 1. 16. 11 Salt 2 1/4 Bush. 8. 3 Tea 12 lb Bohea 11. 3 Canvas 2 Yds. Eng. for a Cot 2. 3 Turners Ware 1 Birch Broom 5 Iron Ware. 20 lb Plate Iron 12. 8 Nails vizt. 25 lb . 3 to make & 16. 2 3/4 6 . 6 repr. Cotts 3. 1 1/4 1. 1. 4 £ 10. 3. 8 Boats Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of July to the 30th Sept. 1766 vizt. Braziers Ware 1 2 In. brass Lock for the Lg. Boat 4. 5 Canvas. 3 Ps. for Sails for the Do. 10. 17. 1 Carrd. over £ 11. 1. 6 | The account of stores issued to the fortifications, entered under 20 October, closed with its few remaining heads, and two further accounts then opened for the hospital and the boats between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £0 1s 11d Charged to the fortifications, paint: 32 pounds of mixed white lead for painting gun carriages, £0 12s 0d Charged to the fortifications, paint: 7 pounds of [...] blacking for painting gun carriages, £0 3s 11d Charged to the fortifications, paint: 2 pounds of dry red for painting gun carriages, £0 0s 5d Charged to the fortifications, paint, total, £0 16s 4d Charged to the fortifications, oil: 5¼ gallons of linseed oil for painting gun carriages, £1 2s 7d Charged to the fortifications: ⅛ gallon of arrack for [...], £0 0s 5d Charged to the fortifications, deals: ¼ of a 6 inch oak plank for repairing gun carriages, £0 11s 0d Charged to the fortifications, total, £2 12s 3d Charged to the hospital: 218 pounds of sugar, £2 14s 6d Charged to the hospital: 218 pounds of flour, £1 16s 4d Charged to the hospital: 218 pounds of rice, £0 19s 9d Charged to the hospital, oil: 10 gallons of train oil, £1 16s 11d Charged to the hospital: 2¼ bushels of salt, £0 8s 3d Charged to the hospital: 12 pounds of Bohea tea, £0 11s 3d Charged to the hospital, canvas: 2 yards of English canvas for a cot, £0 2s 3d Charged to the hospital, turnery: 1 birch broom, £0 0s 5d Charged to the hospital, ironware: 20 pounds of plate iron for [...], £0 12s 8d Charged to the hospital, nails: 25 pounds of threepenny nails to make and repair cots, £0 18s 2¾d Charged to the hospital, nails: 6 pounds of sixpenny nails to make and repair cots, £0 3s 1¼d Charged to the hospital, nails, total, £1 1s 4d Charged to the hospital, total, £10 3s 8d Charged to the boats, brassware: 1 brass padlock for the [...] boat, £0 4s 5d Charged to the boats, canvas: 3 pieces of canvas for sails for the [...] boat, £10 17s 1d Carried over, £11 1s 6d Interpretations The hospital drew sugar, flour and rice in the identical quantity of 218 pounds each. Equal weights of three different foods pointed to a fixed ration issued by the day to each patient and not to purchases made as need arose. The Company therefore fed its sick on a set scale of soft provisions, with tea and sugar in place of the salt meat that dominated the slaves' account of £456 6s 11d. The stores charged to the fortifications came to only £2 12s 3d, almost all of it paint and oil for gun carriages. The paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766 paid for 19¾ days of painting gun carriages, for which these were the materials. The great cost of the Sandy Bay works lay in labour, which that account carried, and the warehouse supplied little beyond what the island could not make. The boats account opened with three pieces of canvas at about £3 12s 4d a piece. The ships paid £3 5s 0d a piece for English canvas in the same quarter. The paymaster's account recorded Benjamin Scott being paid for making sails for a boat, and this canvas was probably the cloth he worked. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the purposes bracketed against the paint and nails, the quantity of arrack, the fraction and thickness of the oak plank, the birch broom, the padlock, the quantity of canvas for sails and the pence against several items. The word describing the blacking, the purpose of the arrack, the use of the plate iron and the description of the boat could not be read. | |
233 | 1766 Brought over £ 11. 1. 6 Twine 22 Skains 11. 11 Cordage. 763 lb. for ye Boats in Genl. 19. 15 Pitch and Tar 7 lb Rozin Do. 1 1 Barrl. Pitch 1. 5. 3 1. 6. 3 Oil 4 G. Train Lg. Bt. 13. 5 Oars 2 Do. 7. 10 Leather 6 lb Sole Do. 5. 6 Iron Ware. 1 Scraper 1. 8 Turners Ware 2 B. Brooms Do. 10 Nails vizt. 6 lb . 6 3. 1 1/2 8 . 10 for ye Lg. Bt. 3. 6 11 Spikes 3. 5 1/2 10. 1 Arrack 2 Gall. for men Empd. Caulkg. [...] & Scrapg. the Long Boat 5. 5 Deals vizt. 3/4 P. Riga Timber for repairg. 1. 17. 2 3 P. of 4 In Ash plank the Long 4. 1 4 Elm Boards Boat &ca. 11 8 Double Deals 1. 7. 4 7. 16. 6 Masts. 1 Sp. Mt. 10 In diam. 31 Feet long for ye Lg. Bt. 2. 10 £ 55. 5. 11 Sandy Bay Fortifications Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of July to 30th Sept. 1766 Tin Ware 1 Lamp 4. 9 Glass 25 Sqrs. 8 by 10 18. 9 Lines. 12 No. 3 3. 11 Twine 5 Skains 2. 8 Pitch and Tar 12 lb Rozin 1. 9 Carrd. over £ 1. 7. 6 | The account of stores issued to the boats during 1766 continued with rope, caulking materials, timber and a spar, and a new account then opened for stores issued to the Sandy Bay fortifications between 1 July and 30 September 1766. Balance brought over, £11 1s 6d Charged to the boats: 22 skeins of twine, £0 11s 11d Charged to the boats: 176 pounds of cordage for the boats in general, £9 15s 0d Charged to the boats, pitch and tar: 7 pounds of rosin for the boats in general, £0 1s 0d Charged to the boats, pitch and tar: 1 barrel of pitch for the boats in general, £1 5s 3d Charged to the boats, pitch and tar, total, £1 6s 3d Charged to the boats, oil: 4 gallons of train oil for the long boat, £0 13s 5d Charged to the boats: 2 oars for the long boat, £0 7s 10d Charged to the boats, leather: 6 pounds of sole leather for the long boat, £0 5s 6d Charged to the boats, ironware: 1 scraper, £0 1s 8d Charged to the boats, turnery: 2 birch brooms for the long boat, £0 0s 10d Charged to the boats, nails: 6 pounds of sixpenny nails for the long boat, £0 3s 1½d Charged to the boats, nails: 8 pounds of tenpenny nails for the long boat, £0 3s 6d Charged to the boats, nails: 11 spikes for the long boat, £0 3s 5½d Charged to the boats, nails, total, £0 10s 1d Charged to the boats: 2 gallons of arrack for men employed caulking and cleaning the long boat, £0 5s 5d Charged to the boats, deals: ¾ ton of Riga timber for repairing the long boat, £1 17s 2d Charged to the boats, deals: 3 feet of 4 inch oak plank for repairing the long boat, £4 1s 0d Charged to the boats, deals: 4 elm boards for repairing the long boat, £0 11s 0d Charged to the boats, deals: 8 double deals for repairing the long boat, £1 7s 4d Charged to the boats, deals, total, £7 16s 6d Charged to the boats, masts: 1 spar 18 inches in diameter and 31 feet long for the long boat, £2 10s 0d Charged to the boats, total, £35 5s 11d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, tinware: 1 lamp, £0 7s 9d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, glass: 25 squares of glass 8 by 10, £0 18s 9d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, lines: 12 lines of number 3, £0 3s 11d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 5 skeins of twine, £0 2s 8d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, pitch and tar: 12 pounds of rosin, £0 1s 9d Carried over, £1 7s 6d Interpretations The long boat was overhauled during the quarter. It took new timber, oak plank, elm boards, a spar 31 feet long for a mast, nails and spikes, a barrel of pitch and rosin for the seams, and new sails from the three pieces of canvas entered at the head of the account. The work matched the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766, which paid garrison men for 944½ days in a boat whose description could not be read there and paid Benjamin Scott for making a boat's sails. That boat was therefore probably the long boat, the Company's main working craft for landing stores and reaching the windward coast. Arrack was issued to the men caulking and cleaning the boat, as it was to the men working in the stores and to the slaves in general. A measure of spirits was thus the customary addition to pay for dirty or heavy work. Riga timber was Baltic fir shipped from the port of Riga, the best grade of imported softwood for masts and planking. The word stood clearly here, and the unread kind of timber issued by the ton for the flagstaff ladders and the Plantation House was probably the same. Elm boards were favoured in boat building for planking below the waterline, since elm lasted well when kept wet. The sole leather was probably for lining the oar ports or the mast step against chafing. The Sandy Bay account opened with 25 window panes and a lamp. The glass belonged to the buildings going up beside the fortification, for which the paymaster bought rafters and cabbage tree sticks from John Robinson. The cordage was read as 176 pounds at £9 15s 0d, a rate of about 1s 1d a pound against the 4d a pound charged elsewhere in these accounts, so the weight was perhaps misread. The sum against the lamp sat badly beside the amount carried over and was also doubtful. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the scraper, the spikes, the measure of oak plank, the diameter of the spar and the pence against the rosin. | |
234 | 20th October Brought over £ 1. 7. 6 Nails vizt. 6 lb . 2d 4. 1 1/2 2 . 3 1. 5 1/2 48 . 6 1. 5 36 . 10 13. 9 12 . 20 4. 6 12 . 40 4. 3 2. 13. 1 Deals vizt. 2 Baulks 17. 8 12 Doub. Deals 2. 1 10 Single Do. 1. 1. 3 1 Elm Plank 17. 6 1 1/4 P. Riga Timber 3. 2 7. 19. 5 Iron and Steel vizt. 78 lb Iron 16. 3 22 Steel 8. 8 1. 4. 11 Turners Ware vizt. 2 Smiths Rubbers 10. 2 1/2 1 [Stock] Lock [...] 1 Farriers Rasp 11 5 Files 2. 8 1 S. Bitt Lock 7. 4 2 Iron Crows 16. 2 1/2 1. 17. 8 Oil vizt. 5 1/4 G. Train 19. 3 1/2 2 B. Florence 5. 3 1/2 1. 4. 7 Canvas 6 Yds. Engh. 6. 9 Cordage 203 lb 3. 7. 8 Cart Wheels 12 Wheel Barrows 9. 6 Lead 17 lb Sheet 3. 6 Turners Ware. 24 Labour. Baskts. 1. 3. 6 Candles 8 lb for the Officer 10. 4 Blankets 32 8. 4 39. 17. 3 Errors Excepted Signed James Powell Storekr. St. Helena 30th September 1766 | The account of stores issued to the Sandy Bay fortifications, entered under 20 October, continued with nails, timber, iron, tools and bedding, and closed with its total. Balance brought over, £1 7s 6d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 6 pounds of twopenny nails, £0 4s 1½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 2 pounds of threepenny nails, £0 1s 5½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 48 pounds of sixpenny nails, £1 5s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 36 pounds of tenpenny nails, £0 13s 9d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 12 pounds of twentypenny nails, £0 4s 6d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails: 12 pounds of fortypenny nails, £0 4s 3d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, nails, total, £2 13s 1d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals: 2 baulks, £0 17s 8d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals: 12 double deals, £2 1s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals: 10 single deals, £1 1s 3d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals: 1 elm plank, £0 17s 6d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals: 1¼ tons of Riga timber, £3 2s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, deals, total, £7 19s 5d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, iron and steel: 70 pounds of iron, £0 16s 3d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, iron and steel: 22 pounds of steel, £0 8s 8d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, iron and steel, total, £1 4s 11d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 2 smiths' rubbers, £0 10s 2½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 1 plate lock, [...] Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 1 farrier's rasp, £0 0s 11d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 3 files, £0 2s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 1 till lock, £0 1s 4d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware: 2 iron crows, £0 16s 2½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, ironware, total, £1 17s 8d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, oil: 5¼ gallons of train oil, £0 19s 3½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, oil: 2 bottles of Florence oil, £0 5s 3½d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, oil, total, £1 4s 7d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 6 yards of English canvas, £0 6s 9d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 203 pounds of cordage, £3 7s 8d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, cart wheels: 12 wheelbarrows, £9 6s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 17 pounds of sheet lead, £0 3s 6d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, turnery: 24 labourers' baskets, £1 3s 6d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 8 pounds of candles for the officer, £0 10s 4d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications: 32 blankets, £8 4s 0d Charged to the Sandy Bay fortifications, total, £39 17s 3d James Powell, storekeeper, signed the account at St Helena on 30 September 1766, with errors excepted. Interpretations The stores sent to Sandy Bay were those of a labouring camp. Twelve wheelbarrows, 24 labourers' baskets and two iron crows equipped men moving earth and stone by hand, and the 32 blankets showed a working party lodged on the site instead of marching out daily from the town. An officer was stationed with them and drew his own candles. An iron crow was a crowbar, the lever with which quarried stone was prised loose and shifted into place. The whole issue came to £39 17s 3d. The paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766 charged £269 6s 6d for garrison labourers alone at the same works, with further sums for masons, smiths and the planters' hired men. The fortification was therefore built almost entirely out of labour and island stone, and the warehouse supplied only tools, fastenings, timber and bedding. Iron and steel went out raw, with smiths' rubbers, files and a farrier's rasp, so a forge worked at the site to make and sharpen tools. That matched the 60 pounds of iron and 33 pounds of steel issued under general expenses for shovels and masons' tools, and the smiths' days paid for at Sandy Bay. Cordage stood here at 4d a pound, the rate found throughout these accounts. The boats' cordage on the preceding leaf, read as 176 pounds for £9 15s 0d, was thus almost certainly a larger weight than that reading gave. The storekeeper's signature closed the run of warehouse accounts opened under the heading of goods sold and delivered between 1 July and 30 September 1766. It carried the same reservation for errors as the paymaster's. The smiths' tools and locks stood under a heading read as turnery, though the same articles appeared as ironware elsewhere. The sum against the plate lock could not be read, since the figure appeared altered. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the storekeeper's surname, the weights of the nails, the till lock and its price, the iron crows, the count of blankets, the candles and the final total. | |
235 | 1766 Inventory of Stores remaining in the Honourable Company's Ware Houses September 30th. 1766 vizt. Anchors vizt. 2 Anchors Wt. 34. 2. 10 118. 14. 6 8 Iron Hoops 2. 3. 5 3 Anchor Stocks 16 Feet long 18. 18. 7 5 Anchrs. 2 Do. Stocks 1 Anr. on the West Rocks 2 Iron Hoops 93. 10. 10 1 Anch. Wt. 33. .. 6 56. 6. 7 289. 16. 11 Bunting 7 Ps. 33 Yds. Red 12. 10 4 . 11 1/2 Do. White 4. 19. 9 5 . 33 1/2 Do. Blue 7. 8. 2 24. 17. 11 Broad Cloth vizt. 93 3/4 Scarlet 1 1/2 Do. damaged 99. 16. 4 62 1/4 Blue 57. 6 35 1/2 French Grey 1 1/4 Do. Damaged 32. 18. 1 10 Dark Brown 8. 15 56 3/4 Light Do. 49. 13. 2 11 1/4 Green 8. 2. 2 3 1/4 Black 6. 5. 10 262. 11. 1 Blankets 163 16 Damaged 43. 15 Buckram 176 1/4 Yards 8. 16. 9 Braziers Ware vizt. 8 Skimg. Dishes @ 2/5 3/4 19. 10 1/4 1 Do. @ 2/8 2. 8 2 Do. @ 14/4 1. 8. 8 Braziers Ware Carrd. over £ 2. 11. 2 1/4 Carrd. over £ 629. 17. 8 | An inventory of the stores remaining in the Company's warehouses on 30 September 1766 opened with anchors, bunting, broadcloth, blankets, buckram and the first of the brassware. Remaining in store, anchors: 2 anchors weighing 34 hundredweight 2 quarters 10 pounds, £118 14s 6d Remaining in store, anchors: 3 iron hoops, £2 3s 5d Remaining in store, anchors: 3 anchor stocks 16 feet long, £18 18s 7d Remaining in store, anchors: 5 anchors, £0 3s 0d Remaining in store, anchors: 2 anchor stocks, 1 anchor on the West Rocks and 2 iron hoops, together £93 10s 10d Remaining in store, anchors: 1 anchor weighing 33 hundredweight 0 quarters 6 pounds, £56 6s 7d Remaining in store, anchors, total, £289 16s 11d Remaining in store, bunting: 7 pieces 33 yards of red bunting, £12 10s 0d Remaining in store, bunting: 4 pieces 11½ yards of white bunting, £4 19s 9d Remaining in store, bunting: 5 pieces 38½ yards of blue bunting, £7 8s 2d Remaining in store, bunting, total, £24 17s 11d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 93¾ yards of scarlet broadcloth with 1½ yards damaged, £99 16s 4d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 62¼ yards of blue broadcloth, £57 0s 6d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 35½ yards of French grey broadcloth with 1¼ yards damaged, £32 13s 1d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 10 yards of dark brown broadcloth, £8 15s 0d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 56¾ yards of light brown broadcloth, £49 13s 2d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 11¼ yards of green broadcloth, £8 2s 2d Remaining in store, broadcloth: 3¼ yards of black broadcloth, £6 5s 10d Remaining in store, broadcloth, total, £262 11s 1d Remaining in store: 163 blankets, 14 of them damaged, £43 15s 0d Remaining in store: 176¼ yards of buckram, £8 16s 9d Remaining in store, brassware: 8 chafing dishes at 2s 5¾d each, £0 19s 10½d Remaining in store, brassware: 1 chafing dish at 2s 8d, £0 2s 8d Remaining in store, brassware: 2 chafing dishes at 14s 4d each, £1 8s 8d Remaining in store, brassware, carried over, £2 11s 2½d Carried over, £629 17s 8d Interpretations Anchors were the most valuable head on the leaf at £289 16s 11d, though none appeared in the quarter's sales. The Company kept them as a reserve for ships that parted their cables or lost an anchor in the road, where the holding ground was deep and a replacement could be had nowhere nearer than the Cape. An anchor stock was the heavy wooden crossbeam fixed at the head of the shank to turn the anchor so that a fluke bit the bottom, and the iron hoops bound its two halves together. One anchor was entered as lying on the West Rocks, the shore to the west of the landing place, so the inventory counted property in the open as well as goods under cover. The store held about 274 yards of broadcloth worth £262 11s 1d. Sales of that cloth in the quarter came to roughly 48 yards across all classes of buyer, so the stock in hand covered well over a year's demand. Scarlet was the largest parcel at 93¾ yards, though the planters bought only eight yards of it in the quarter against 19 of blue. Damaged lengths stayed on the books beside the sound cloth and were not written off. French grey was a pale grey with a bluish cast, a shade not met in the sales lists. The 63 yards of red bunting, with white and blue, was flag cloth for the fort's colours and signals, held in far greater quantity than the 22 yards sold to planters. The entry for five anchors carried only £0 3s 0d, a sum impossible for anchors of any size, so the article or the figure was perhaps misread, and the grouping of the bracketed entries beside it was uncertain. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of the anchors, the pieces and yardages of bunting, the yardages of broadcloth, the count of blankets and the rates against the chafing dishes. | |
236 | 20th October Brought over £ 629. 17. 8 Braziers Ware brought over £ 2. 11. 2 1/4 1 Warming Pan 11. 3 10 Hash Pans wth. Covers 13. 10. 10 1 Do. without Do. 14. 10 9 Large Cocks 2. 1/2 19 Small Bottlg. Do. 3. 4. 11 1 Boiling Pot of 8 Gall. 2. 2. 5 1 Copper Kettle of 6 Do. 1. 13. 3 4 Pr. Brass Cand. Sticks 1. 8. 4 10 Flat Do. 1. 14. 2 16 Pr. Steel Snuffers 2. 8 2 Large Copper Sauce Pans 2. 4 3 Small Do. Do. 2. 1. 3 2 1/2 lb Brass Wire 7. 6 4 Rollers for the Crane 4. 10. 7 3 1/4 lb Brass Wire for Soldering 11. 9 1/2 2 Tea Kettles of 3 Quarts 1. 13. 6 13 1/2 lb Copper Plate 1. 6. 2 44. 16. 3 Books vizt. 14 Bibles 2. 8. 10 14 Comn. Prayer 2. 2 8 Testaments 9. 8 3 Primmers 9 4. 19. 5 Copper Money 53. 900 Irish Halfpence 112. 8. 4 Coals 1 1/2 Chaldron 3. 12 Beef and Pork vizt. 92 Punchs. 29 Ps. Beef 1224. 19. 9 116 Hhds. 41 Pork 1708. 11. 6 2933. 11. 3 Blocks vizt. 2 Iron bound Cat Blocks 12. 10 2 Do. Snatch Do. 1. 7. 6 40 Dead Eyes 2. 13. 1 1 Doub. Long Tackle 4. 9 4. 18. 2 Carrd. over £ 3734. 3. 1 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the brassware, books, copper coin, coals, salt meat and ships' blocks. Balance brought over, £629 17s 8d Remaining in store, brassware, brought over, £2 11s 2½d Remaining in store, brassware: 1 warming pan, £0 11s 3d Remaining in store, brassware: 10 stew pans with covers, £13 10s 10d Remaining in store, brassware: 1 stew pan without a cover, £0 14s 10d Remaining in store, brassware: 9 large cocks, £2 0s 1½d Remaining in store, brassware: 19 small bottling cocks, £3 4s 11d Remaining in store, brassware: 1 boiling pot of 8 gallons, £2 2s 5d Remaining in store, brassware: 1 copper kettle of 6 gallons, £1 13s 3d Remaining in store, brassware: 4 pairs of brass candlesticks, £1 8s 4d Remaining in store, brassware: 10 flat candlesticks, £1 14s 2d Remaining in store, brassware: 16 pairs of steel snuffers, £2 8s 0d Remaining in store, brassware: 2 large copper saucepans, £2 4s 0d Remaining in store, brassware: 3 small copper saucepans, £2 1s 3d Remaining in store, brassware: 2½ pounds of brass wire, £0 7s 6d Remaining in store, brassware: 4 rollers for the crane, £4 10s 7d Remaining in store, brassware: 3¼ pounds of brass wire for soldering, £0 11s 9¼d Remaining in store, brassware: 2 tea kettles of 3 quarts, £1 13s 6d Remaining in store, brassware: 18½ pounds of copper plate, £1 6s 2d Remaining in store, brassware, total, £44 16s 3d Remaining in store, books: 14 bibles, £2 8s 10d Remaining in store, books: 14 common prayer books, £2 0s 2d Remaining in store, books: 8 testaments, £0 9s 8d Remaining in store, books: 3 primers, £0 0s 9d Remaining in store, books, total, £4 19s 5d Remaining in store, copper money: 53,960 Irish halfpence, £112 8s 4d Remaining in store: 1½ chaldrons of coals, £3 12s 0d Remaining in store, beef and pork: 92 casks 29 pieces of beef, £1,224 19s 9d Remaining in store, beef and pork: 116 casks 41 pieces of pork, £1,708 11s 6d Remaining in store, beef and pork, total, £2,933 11s 3d Remaining in store, blocks: 2 iron-bound cat blocks, £0 12s 10d Remaining in store, blocks: 2 iron-bound snatch blocks, £1 7s 6d Remaining in store, blocks: 46 dead eyes, £2 13s 1d Remaining in store, blocks: 1 double long tackle, £0 4s 9d Remaining in store, blocks, total, £4 18s 2d Carried over, £3,734 3s 1d Interpretations The warehouse held 53,960 Irish halfpence as an article of stock, valued at exactly their face amount of £112 8s 4d. Irish halfpence were copper coins struck for Ireland, lighter than the English issue and exported in bulk to places short of small change. The Company therefore shipped copper coin to the island as it shipped cloth or nails, and kept it in the store to be paid out, since St Helena had no mint and silver alone could not serve for daily wages of 1s 0d or a rate of 4d. Salt meat was by far the greatest item so far, at £2,933 11s 3d of the £3,734 3s 1d carried over. In the quarter the planters bought £383 1s 7d of it, the ships £254 12s 2d and the slaves consumed £263 5s 0d. The reserve was thus enough for roughly three more quarters at that pace. The island could not feed its garrison, slaves and passing ships from its own stock, and the Company guarded against a missed storeship by holding most of a year's meat in cask. The two tea kettles of three quarts stood at £1 13s 6d, or 16s 9d each. A single kettle of that size in the planters' list was read at £5 4s 2½d, and this entry showed that reading to be wrong in its pounds figure. A chaldron was the old measure for coal, about 36 heaped bushels. Snuffers were scissor-like tools for trimming a burnt candle wick. The rollers for the crane were bearings for the landing crane that hoisted goods ashore, and copper plate was sheet copper for repairs. A cat block was the heavy pulley used to haul a ship's anchor up to the bow, a snatch block one with an opening side to take a rope without threading it, and dead eyes the round wooden blocks that tensioned a mast's shrouds. With the anchors on the preceding leaf, they formed a reserve of ship's gear for vessels damaged on passage. The measures of beef and pork were read as casks with odd pieces over, though the abbreviations above the figures were not certain. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the stew pans, the cocks, the sizes of the boiling pot and kettle, the count of halfpence, the long tackle and the brassware total. | |
237 | 1766 Brought over £ 3734. 3. 1 Canvas vizt. 40 Ps. 32 1/2 Yds. Engh. Canvas 88. 13 30 Ozenbrigs 1. 6. 3 114 1/2 Ticklenburgs 5. 19. 3 95. 18. 6 Cordage vizt. 1 Cable Wt. 92. 1. 8 5 Inch. 38. 1. 24 4 Do. 76. .. 6 3 3/4 Do. 39. .. 17 3 1/2 Do. 31. .. 10 3 Do. 12. .. 23 2 1/2 Do. 6. .. 4 2 Do. 2. .. 17 Ratling 2. 1. 7 White Rope 4. .. 11 293. 2. 21 547. 14. 4 Cart Wheels vizt. 8 Pr. Cart Wheels 33. 16. 4 2 Axletrees 17. 8 9 Spare 15 35. 9 Cutlery Ware vizt. 1 Horse Comb 2. 9 439 Buck. Do. 6. 8. 7 392 Horn Do. 2. 8. 8 17 Ivory Do. 15. 7 7 Do. Do. fine 19. 3 34 Shoe Knives 11. 4 41 Butchers Do. 13. 8 5 1/2 Doz. Ivory Hand. Knives & Forks 8. 14. 8 4 Doz. Do. Do. des. Do. 4. 16. 10 4 Doz Stag Hornd. 2. 4. 7 Cutlery Ware Carrd. over £ 27. 10. 11 Carried over £ 4413. 4. 11 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with canvas, cordage, cart wheels and the first of the cutlery. Balance brought over, £3,734 3s 1d Remaining in store, canvas: 40 pieces 82½ yards of English canvas, £88 13s 0d Remaining in store, canvas: 30 yards of osnaburgs, £1 6s 3d Remaining in store, canvas: 114½ yards of ticklenburgs, £5 19s 3d Remaining in store, canvas, total, £95 18s 6d Remaining in store, cordage: 1 cable weighing 92 hundredweight 1 quarter 8 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 5 inch rope weighing 38 hundredweight 1 quarter 24 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 4 inch rope weighing 46 hundredweight 0 quarters 6 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 3¾ inch rope weighing 39 hundredweight 0 quarters 17 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 3½ inch rope weighing 31 hundredweight 0 quarters 10 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 3 inch rope weighing 12 hundredweight 0 quarters 25 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 2½ inch rope weighing 6 hundredweight 0 quarters 4 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: 2 inch rope weighing 2 hundredweight 0 quarters 17 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: ratline weighing 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 7 pounds Remaining in store, cordage: white rope weighing 4 hundredweight 0 quarters 11 pounds Remaining in store, cordage, total, 293 hundredweight 2 quarters 21 pounds, £547 14s 4d Remaining in store, cart wheels: 8 pairs of cart wheels, £33 16s 4d Remaining in store, cart wheels: 2 axletrees, £0 17s 8d Remaining in store, cart wheels: 9 spokes, £0 15s 0d Remaining in store, cart wheels, total, £35 9s 0d Remaining in store, cutlery: 1 horse comb, £0 2s 9d Remaining in store, cutlery: 439 buckling combs, £6 3s 7d Remaining in store, cutlery: 392 horn combs, £2 8s 8d Remaining in store, cutlery: 17 ivory combs, £0 15s 7d Remaining in store, cutlery: 7 fine ivory combs, £0 19s 3d Remaining in store, cutlery: 34 shoe knives, £0 11s 4d Remaining in store, cutlery: 41 butchers' knives, £0 13s 8d Remaining in store, cutlery: 5½ dozen ivory-handled knives and forks, £8 14s 8d Remaining in store, cutlery: 4 dozen ivory-handled dessert knives and forks, £4 16s 10d Remaining in store, cutlery: 4 dozen stag horn knives and forks, £2 4s 7d Remaining in store, cutlery, carried over, £27 10s 11d Carried over, £4,413 4s 11d Interpretations Cordage was the second most valuable head in the inventory after salt meat, at £547 14s 4d for close to 15 tons of rope. The total worked out at the 4d a pound charged throughout the quarter's accounts. Rope was listed by its circumference in inches, from heavy 5 inch hawser down to 2 inch line, and a single cable of more than 92 hundredweight was the anchor cable of a large ship. Issues and sales of cordage in the quarter came to a little over 2,500 pounds, so the store held many years' ordinary supply. The surplus was a reserve for Indiamen arriving with worn rigging or lost ground tackle, in keeping with the anchors and blocks on the preceding leaves. Ratline was the thin tarred line that formed the rungs across a ship's shrouds. White rope was rope left untarred, which was more supple and suited to tackles and work kept under cover. The 40 pieces of English canvas stood at about £2 4s 0d a piece. The ships were charged £3 5s 0d a piece for ten in the same quarter, a difference close to the 40 per cent advance and further evidence that the Company's shipping paid the dearest rate. The 439 buckling combs and 392 horn combs dwarfed the 18 and 37 sold to the planters in the quarter. At that pace the buckling combs alone would last some six years, which marked them as an overstocked consignment sent out in excess of what the island could absorb. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of the several sizes of rope, the ratline, the pieces and yards of English canvas, the spokes, the horse comb and the counts of combs and knives. | |
238 | 20th October Brought over £ 4413. 4. 11 Cutlery Ware brought over £ 27. 10. 11 9 Cases of Fleams 1. 4. 9 13 Chopping Knives 19. 1 1/2 10 Pallet Do. 8. 4 10 Stone Do. 14. 7 21 Budding Do. 1. 1 1/2 10 Pruning Do. 9. 7 81 Doz. 4 Shoe Buckles 25. 8. 4 6 . 4 Knee Do. 1. 2. 2 58. 16. 11 Camblet vizt. 33 Yards Green 4. 10. 10 27 Do. Scarlet 5. 1 24 Do. Blue 3. 13 18 1/2 Do. Brown 2. 16. 3 16. 2 Corks vizt. 23 Gross 2. 19. 4 1/2 7 1/4 Short Cork 4. 6 1/2 3. 3. 11 Deals vizt. 230 Doub. Deals 39. 5. 10 248 Sing. Do. 27. 7. 8 18 Wains. Boards 5. 8 2 3/4 P. Riga Timber 6. 16. 3 1 Oak Plank of 6 Inches 2. 4 1 1/4 Do. of 3 Do. 2. 7. 6 11 Baulks 4. 17. 2 25 Ufers 3. 16 4 Elm Boards 1. 2. 4 92. 17. 5 Earthen Ware vizt. 48 Milk Pans 2. 5 6 Close Stool Do. 2 Do. Broke 1. 6. 8 3. 11. 8 Carried over £ 4587. 15 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the cutlery, camlet, corks, timber and earthenware. Balance brought over, £4,413 4s 11d Remaining in store, cutlery, brought over, £27 10s 11d Remaining in store, cutlery: 9 cases of fleams, £1 4s 9d Remaining in store, cutlery: 13 chopping knives, £0 19s 1½d Remaining in store, cutlery: 10 pallet knives, £0 8s 4d Remaining in store, cutlery: 10 stone knives, £0 14s 7d Remaining in store, cutlery: 21 budding knives, £1 0s 1½d Remaining in store, cutlery: 10 pruning knives, £0 9s 7d Remaining in store, cutlery: 81 dozen 4 pairs of shoe buckles, £25 8s 4d Remaining in store, cutlery: 6 dozen 4 pairs of knee buckles, £1 2s 2d Remaining in store, cutlery, total, £58 16s 11d Remaining in store, camlet: 33 yards of green camlet, £4 10s 10d Remaining in store, camlet: 27 yards of scarlet camlet, £5 0s 1d Remaining in store, camlet: 24 yards of blue camlet, £3 13s 0d Remaining in store, camlet: 18½ yards of brown camlet, £2 16s 3d Remaining in store, camlet, total, £16 0s 2d Remaining in store, corks: 25 gross of corks, £2 19s 4½d Remaining in store, corks: 7¼ gross of short corks, £0 4s 6½d Remaining in store, corks, total, £3 3s 11d Remaining in store, deals: 280 double deals, £39 5s 10d Remaining in store, deals: 248 single deals, £27 7s 8d Remaining in store, deals: 18 wainscot boards, £5 0s 8d Remaining in store, deals: 2¾ tons of Riga timber, £6 16s 3d Remaining in store, deals: 1 oak plank of 6 inches, £2 4s 0d Remaining in store, deals: 1¼ oak planks of 3 inches, £2 7s 6d Remaining in store, deals: 11 baulks, £4 17s 2d Remaining in store, deals: 25 ufers, £3 16s 0d Remaining in store, deals: 4 elm boards, £1 2s 4d Remaining in store, deals, total, £92 17s 5d Remaining in store, earthenware: 48 milk pans, £2 5s 0d Remaining in store, earthenware: 6 close stool pans and 2 [...], together £1 6s 8d Remaining in store, earthenware, total, £3 11s 8d Carried over, £4,587 15s 0d Interpretations Oak was nearly exhausted. The store held one plank of 6 inches and 1¼ of 3 inches, after a quarter in which general expenses, the plantation, the boats and the fortifications together drew some ten planks for wheelbarrows, carts, gun carriages and the long boat. Riga timber stood at 2¾ tons against roughly 6¾ tons issued in the same months. Deals were plentiful by comparison, with 528 in hand. The works at Sandy Bay and the repair of carts and barrows were therefore consuming the heavy timber faster than the store could sustain, and further work of that kind depended on the next storeship. Ufers were long slender fir poles from the Baltic, used for scaffolding and light spars. The word stood clearly here at about 3s 0d each, and the unread article issued in a quantity of four for scaffolding under general expenses, at 3s 4d each, was probably the same. Wainscot boards were fine-grained oak boards imported from the Baltic for panelling and joinery. Shoe buckles were another overstocked line. The 976 pairs in store were valued at about 6¼d a pair, and the planters bought two pairs in the quarter. The buckles alone made up £25 8s 4d of the £58 16s 11d of cutlery, capital tied up in goods that the island could not use. A pallet knife was the thin flexible blade with which a painter mixed colours or an apothecary spread ointments. Fleams and budding knives were explained under the planters' purchases. A close stool pan was the removable earthenware vessel of a commode chair. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the stone knives, the budding knives, the dozens of buckles, the wainscot boards, the ufers, the fractions of timber and plank and the cutlery total. The second earthenware article bracketed with the close stool pans could not be read. | |
239 | 1766 Brought over £ 4587. 15 Flannel 45 Yards 2. 14. 4 Flour 631. 1. 6 591. 5. 8 Grindstones 1 8. 10 Glass Ware vizt. 48 Wine Glasses 1. 9 40 Beer Do. 1. 15 30 Tumblers 18. 9 4 Urinals 4 3 Four Hour Glasses 10 1 Three Hour Do. 3. 4 3 Half Hour Do. 3. 3/4 9 Qr. Minute Do. 4. 8 1/4 2 Pr. Salts @ 8/3 16. 6 1 Pr. Do. @ 6/- 1/4 6. 1/4 6 Cand. Shades 2. 7 1 Sqr. Glass 6 by 8 4 1/2 140 Sqrs. 8 by 10 4. 1. 8 121 Sqrs. 10 by 12 6. 11. 7 6 Sqrs. 11 1/2 by 13 8. 4 1/2 1 Sqr. 11 by 17 1/2 2 Sqrs. 11 by 16 4. 1/4 2 Sqrs. 11 by 17 1/4 2. 8 4 Sqrs. 10 1/2 by 18 1/4 4. 4 1 Sqr. 11 1/2 by 18 1/2 1. 5 2 Sqrs. 11 by 17 2. 7 2 Sqrs. 11 by 19 2. 8 1/4 20. 8. 10 Hats vizt. 3 Mens fine Hats 2. 12. 9 22 Centinl. Do. 3. 1. 10 5. 14. 7 Haberdashery vizt. 13. 10 Silk 19. 8 12. 12 Mohair 19. 17 Haberdy. Carried over £ 38. 17. 8 Carr. over £ 5218. 7. 3 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with flannel, flour, glassware, hats and the first of the haberdashery. Balance brought over, £4,587 15s 0d Remaining in store: 45 yards of flannel, £2 14s 4d Remaining in store: 681 hundredweight of flour, £591 5s 8d Remaining in store: 1 grindstone, £0 8s 10d Remaining in store, glassware: 48 wine glasses, £1 0s 9d Remaining in store, glassware: 40 beer glasses, £1 15s 0d Remaining in store, glassware: 30 tumblers, £0 18s 9d Remaining in store, glassware: 4 urinals, £0 4s 0d Remaining in store, glassware: 3 four-hour glasses, £0 10s 0d Remaining in store, glassware: 1 three-hour glass, £0 3s 4d Remaining in store, glassware: 3 half-hour glasses, £0 3s 0¼d Remaining in store, glassware: 9 half-minute glasses, £0 4s 8¼d Remaining in store, glassware: 2 pairs of glass salts at 8s 3d a pair, £0 16s 6d Remaining in store, glassware: 1 pair of glass salts at 6s 0½d, £0 6s 0½d Remaining in store, glassware: 6 candle shades, £2 7s 0d Remaining in store, glassware: 1 square of glass 6 by 8, £0 0s 4½d Remaining in store, glassware: 140 squares of glass 8 by 10, £4 1s 8d Remaining in store, glassware: 121 squares of glass 10 by 12, £6 11s 7d Remaining in store, glassware: 6 squares of glass 11½ by 13, £0 8s 4½d Remaining in store, glassware: 1 square of glass 11 by 17½ and 2 squares of glass 11 by 16, together £0 4s 0¼d Remaining in store, glassware: 2 squares of glass 11 by 17¼, £0 2s 8d Remaining in store, glassware: 4 squares of glass 10½ by 18¼, £0 4s 4d Remaining in store, glassware: 1 square of glass 11½ by 18½, £0 1s 5d Remaining in store, glassware: 2 squares of glass 11 by 17, £0 2s 7d Remaining in store, glassware: 2 squares of glass 11 by 19, £0 2s 8¼d Remaining in store, glassware, total, £20 8s 10d Remaining in store, hats: 3 men's fine hats, £2 12s 9d Remaining in store, hats: 22 [...] hats, £3 1s 10d Remaining in store, hats, total, £5 14s 7d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 13 pounds 13 ounces of silk, £19 0s 8d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 12 pounds 12 ounces of mohair, £19 17s 0d Remaining in store, haberdashery, carried over, £38 17s 8d Carried over, £5,208 7s 3d Interpretations Flour was the third great reserve of the warehouse, at £591 5s 8d for 681 hundredweight, after salt meat at £2,933 11s 3d and close behind cordage at £547 14s 4d. The planters alone took about 58 hundredweight of flour and 276 hundredweight baked in the quarter, with smaller amounts going to the diet account, the hospital and the dearer class of buyer. The stock in hand therefore covered roughly two quarters, a much thinner margin than the meat. Flour spoiled faster than barrelled meat in store, which limited how much the Company could prudently hold, and left the island's bread dependent on regular arrivals. The sand glasses were ship's instruments. A four-hour glass measured a full watch and the half-hour glass the interval between bells. The half-minute glass timed the log line, the knotted cord run out astern to reckon a ship's speed, of which the store sold 22 to the ships in the quarter. Their presence beside wine glasses and window panes showed the warehouse serving the road and the island from one stock. The store held 280 window panes, almost all in the two common sizes of 8 by 10 and 10 by 12 inches. The pane of 10 by 16, of which the planters bought 50 and the ships two, did not appear at all, and the sizes above 11 inches survived only in ones and twos. The building of the quarter had thus run several sizes out. The flour's weight was read as a round 681 hundredweight, though smaller figures for quarters and pounds perhaps stood beside it. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the several sand glasses, the rates against the salts, the dimensions and fractions of the larger panes and the weights of silk and mohair. The description of the 22 cheaper hats could not be read. | |
240 | 20th October Brought over £ 5208. 7. 3 Haberdashery brought over £ 38. 17. 8 3 Ps. Cam. Tape 1. 8 1/4 9 Ps. Holl. Do. 4. 9 3/4 19 Gro. 6 Moh. Ct. Buttons 7. 16 7 Gro 6 Do. Bt. Do. 1. 10 89 1/2 Doz Silvr. Wire Ct. Do. 19. 16. 7 61 1/2 Doz Do. Do. Bt. Do. 7. 5. 10 9 1/2 Doz Do. Do. Ct. Do. 16. 7 1/2 5 1/2 Doz Do. Do. Bt. Do. 5. 1/2 3 1/2 Doz Do. Plate Ct. Do. 4. 10 2 3/4 Doz Do. Do. Bt. Do. 1. 9 1/2 4 Doz Yellow Metl. Ct. Do. 2 3 Doz Gilt Ct. Do. 9. 1 1/2 2 Doz Do. Bt. Do. 3. 1/2 71 3/4 Gro Horn Moulds 7. 17. 4 1 Gro White Waist. Buttons 3. 4 1/2 2 1/2 Do. Shirt Do. 5. 5 102 Cockades 1. 11. 4 1/2 7 Ps. Union Cord 15. 9 3 Ps. Galloon 15. 6 6 Ps. Braid 13. 9 23 3/4 Yds. Tabby 9. 19. 11 82 3/4 Gross Worst. Lace Narrow 48. 1. 11 1/2 9 Do. Do. Broad 7 154. 18. 11 Hosiers Ware vizt. 130 Pr. Mens Ordy. thread Stock. 27. 11. 3 1 Pr. Mens Wove Do. 3. 9 4 Pr. Do. Knit Do. 12 14 Pr. Girls Do. 1. 10. 11 3 Pr. Mens fine Cotton Do. 1. 6 14 Pr. Thread Do. 4. 4 21 Pr. Scarlt. Breech. wth. Trimgs. 14. 6. 1 1/2 11 Pr. Buff Do. Do. 6. 18. 5 7 Pr. Crimson Do. Do. 4. 15. 4 1/2 Hosiers Ware Carrd. over £ 61. 2. 4 Carrd. over £ 5363. 6. 2 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the haberdashery and the first of the hosiery. Balance brought over, £5,208 7s 3d Remaining in store, haberdashery, brought over, £38 17s 8d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 3 pieces of common tape, £0 1s 3¼d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 9 pieces of holland tape, £0 4s 9¾d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 19 gross 6 dozen mohair coat buttons, £7 16s 0d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 7 gross 6 dozen mohair breast buttons, £1 10s 0d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 89½ dozen silver wire coat buttons, £19 16s 7d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 61½ dozen silver wire breast buttons, £7 5s 10d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 9½ dozen silver wire coat buttons, £0 16s 7½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 5½ dozen silver wire breast buttons, £0 5s 0½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 3½ dozen plated coat buttons, £0 4s 10d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 2¾ dozen plated breast buttons, £0 1s 9¼d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 4 dozen yellow metal coat buttons, £0 2s 0d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 3 dozen gilt coat buttons, £0 9s 1½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 2 dozen gilt breast buttons, £0 3s 0½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 71¾ gross of horn moulds, £7 17s 4d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 1 gross of white waistcoat buttons, £0 2s 4½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 2½ gross of shirt buttons, £0 5s 5d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 102 cockades, £1 11s 10½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 7 pieces of union cord, £0 15s 9d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 3 pieces of galloon, £0 15s 6d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 6 pieces of braid, £0 13s 9d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 23¾ yards of tabby, £9 19s 11d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 82¾ gross of narrow worsted lace, £48 1s 11½d Remaining in store, haberdashery: 9 gross of broad worsted lace, £7 0s 0d Remaining in store, haberdashery, total, £154 18s 11d Remaining in store, hosiery: 180 pairs of men's ordinary thread stockings, £27 11s 3d Remaining in store, hosiery: 1 pair of men's wove stockings, £0 3s 9d Remaining in store, hosiery: 4 pairs of men's knit stockings, £0 12s 0d Remaining in store, hosiery: 14 pairs of girls' stockings, £1 10s 11d Remaining in store, hosiery: 3 pairs of men's fine cotton stockings, £1 0s 6d Remaining in store, hosiery: 14 pairs of fine thread stockings, £4 4s 0d Remaining in store, hosiery: 21 pairs of scarlet breeches with trimmings, £14 6s 1½d Remaining in store, hosiery: 11 pairs of buff breeches with trimmings, £6 13s 5d Remaining in store, hosiery: 7 pairs of crimson breeches with trimmings, £4 15s 4½d Remaining in store, hosiery, carried over, £61 2s 4d Carried over, £5,363 6s 2d Interpretations Worsted lace made up £55 1s 11½d of the £154 18s 11d of haberdashery, with close to 92 gross of yards in two widths. This was the woven woollen braid stitched round the buttonholes, cuffs and seams of a soldier's coat. None of it was sold to planters in the quarter. With 102 cockades, more than 1,800 silver wire buttons and the scarlet, buff and crimson breeches, it formed a stock of regimental trimmings. The Company therefore held the materials to make up and repair the garrison's uniforms on the island, as well as the six ready-made suits issued in the quarter. Silver wire buttons were worked over a mould in fine silvered thread, a dressier article than the mohair kind. Plated and gilt buttons were of metal washed with silver or gold. Galloon was a narrow, close-woven ribbon or braid for binding the edges of hats and garments. Tabby was a plain-woven silk, often watered to give a wavy sheen, and at about 8s 5d a yard it was the dearest cloth by length in the store after broadcloth. Union cord was a round cord of mixed linen and cotton used for laces and stays. Stockings were unevenly stocked. The store held 180 pairs of ordinary thread stockings against 34 sold to the planters and six issued to the garrison, more than a year's supply. Only one pair of wove stockings and four of knit remained, and no boys' stockings or English cotton stockings appeared at all. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the two kinds of tape, the several descriptions of buttons, the union cord, the tabby, the worsted lace and its quantities, the colours of the breeches and the hosiery sum carried over. Two pairs of entries for silver wire buttons stood on the page at different prices, and the word distinguishing the second pair was not made out. | |
241 | 1766 Brought over £ 5363. 6. 2 Hosiers Ware brought over £ 61. 2. 4 10 Pr. Black Breech. wth. trimmings 5. 19. 2 2 Pr. India Cott. Stockings 10. 6 67. 12 Hooks and Lines vizt. 10.000 Hooks No. 1 25. 5 1000 . 5 damaged 18. 7 1800 . 6 6. 9 975 . 7 2. 13. 8 1175 . 9 1. 12. 4 1800 . 10 1. 12. 3 1825 . 11 1. 8. 11 4300 . 12 2. 16. 8 350 . 13 2. 9 800 . 14 6. 4 925 . 15 large 10. 3. 6 675 . 16 3. 8 51 Doz 8 Lines 2 9. 4. 3 9 Do. 7 . 3 2. 3. 11 32 Do. 6 . 4 11. 17. 4 33 Hambro 4. 7. 1 48 Deep Sea 11. 4 2 1/2 lb Knot Sash Line 2. 9 14 Log 13. 2 10 lb Whip Cord 1. 13. 9 94. 18. 11 Iron and Steel vizt. 21. 3. 15 Iron 25. 10. 7 .. 1. 16 Steel 17. 5 26. 8 Iron Ware vizt. 2 Iron Rimd Locks A 2. 5 1 Do. B 1. 1. 1 2 Do. D 2. 4. 2 Iron Ware Carried over £ 5. 5. 8 Carrd. over £ 5552. 5. 1 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with the rest of the hosiery, fishing gear, iron and steel and the first of the ironware. Balance brought over, £5,363 6s 2d Remaining in store, hosiery, brought over, £61 2s 4d Remaining in store, hosiery: 10 pairs of black breeches with trimmings, £5 19s 2d Remaining in store, hosiery: 2 pairs of India cotton stockings, £0 10s 6d Remaining in store, hosiery, total, £67 12s 0d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 10,000 hooks of number 1, £25 5s 0d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 1,000 damaged hooks of number 5, £0 18s 7d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 1,800 hooks of number 6, £6 9s 0d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 975 hooks of number 7, £2 13s 8d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 1,175 hooks of number 9, £1 12s 4d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 1,800 hooks of number 10, £1 12s 3d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 1,825 hooks of number 11, £1 8s 11d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 4,300 hooks of number 12, £2 16s 8d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 350 hooks of number 13, £0 2s 9d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 800 hooks of number 14, £0 6s 4d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 925 large hooks of number 15, £10 3s 6d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 675 hooks of number 16, £0 3s 3d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 31 dozen 8 lines of number 2, £9 4s 3d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 9 dozen 7 lines of number 3, £2 3s 11d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 32 dozen 6 lines of number 4, £11 17s 4d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 33 hambro lines, £4 7s 1d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 48 deep sea lines, £11 4s 0d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 2½ knots of sash line, £0 2s 9d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 14 log lines, £0 13s 2d Remaining in store, hooks and lines: 10 pounds of whipcord, £1 13s 9d Remaining in store, hooks and lines, total, £94 18s 11d Remaining in store, iron and steel: 21 hundredweight 3 quarters 15 pounds of iron, £25 10s 7d Remaining in store, iron and steel: 1 quarter 16 pounds of steel, £0 17s 5d Remaining in store, iron and steel, total, £26 8s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 iron-rimmed locks marked A, £2 0s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 iron-rimmed lock marked B, £1 1s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 iron-rimmed locks marked D, £2 4s 2d Remaining in store, ironware, carried over, £5 5s 8d Carried over, £5,552 5s 1d Interpretations The store held more than 25,000 fish hooks. The planters bought close to 4,000 in the quarter, the Governor's fishermen drew 325 and smaller lots went to the slaves' fishermen, the ships and the dearer class of buyer. The stock therefore covered about a year and a half of the island's fishing, and the 10,000 hooks of number 1 alone were worth £25 5s 0d. A reserve on that scale confirmed how far the island's food supply rested on fish. Fishing lines were less well provided: 115 lines of number 3 remained after 81 went out in the quarter across all accounts. Steel was almost gone. Only 44 pounds remained, after 33 pounds was issued under general expenses and 22 pounds to Sandy Bay in the same months for making and edging tools. Iron was ample at more than a ton. The smiths' output of shovels and masons' tools for the fortification was thus about to be limited by the want of steel for cutting edges, however much iron lay in store. The four black breeches and the India cotton stockings completed the hosiery at £67 12s 0d. India cotton stockings were knitted in Bengal or on the Coromandel coast and stood at 5s 3d a pair, cheaper than the English cotton pairs sold to the planters at about 7s 6d. The 925 hooks of number 15 were entered as large and valued at £10 3s 6d, while the smaller numbers beside them cost a few shillings a thousand. The description or the sum was perhaps misread. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the counts of hooks and their size numbers, the dozens of lines, the count of deep sea lines, the whipcord, the weights of iron and steel and the letters marking the locks. | |
242 | 20th October Brought over £ 5552. 5. 1 Iron Ware brought over £ 5. 5. 8 10 Iron Rimd Locks wth. brass Knobs 3. 5. 10 7 S. Bitt Do. 2. 11. 4 14 Cupboard Do. 1. 19. 8 5 Spinster Do. 2. 6 9 Pad Do. 13. 3 1/4 8 Brass Closet Do. 1. 14. 4 3 Barrd. Door Do. 15 11 Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. 4. 2. 6 46 Brass Rings 8. 6 46 Pr. Shutt. Hinges 4. 16. 9 64 Pr. Barrd. Do. 5. 6. 8 15 Broad Hoes 1. 15. 11 3 Grubing Do. 8. 9 24 Pr. Sheep Sheers 1. 12 4 Adzes 14. 1 9 Gouges 3. 1 1 Edging Iron 3. 4 7 Pickaxes 1. 2. 1 1 Auger 5 1/2 3 Taper Augers 11. 10 1/2 24 Do. Bitts 7. 6 11 Ash Helves 6. 5 20 Small frying Pans 1. 17. 6 1 Large Do. 3. 3 1/2 2 Stands 18. 6 1/2 6 Pr. Hand Bellows 1. 3. 9 1 Pr. Smiths Do. 5. 5. 3 1/2 22 lb Flour Emery 9. 3 1/2 3/4 lb Corn Do. 1. 6 3/4 12 lb Spelter 1. 3 4 3/4 Borax 3. 9. 3 1/2 6 1/4 Case Hardening 12 2 Spring Rat traps 3. 6 Iron Ware Carrd. over £ 55. 15. 6 1/2 Carrd. over £ 5552. 5. 1 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with a long run of ironware. Balance brought over, £5,552 5s 1d Remaining in store, ironware, brought over, £5 5s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 10 iron-rimmed locks with brass knobs, £3 5s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 7 till locks, £2 11s 4d Remaining in store, ironware: 14 cupboard locks, £1 19s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 5 splinter locks, £0 2s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 9 padlocks, £0 13s 3¼d Remaining in store, ironware: 8 brass closet locks, £1 14s 4d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 [...] door locks, £0 13s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 11 [...] door locks, £4 2s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 46 brass rings, £0 8s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 46 pairs of shutter hinges, £4 16s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 64 pairs of [...] hinges, £5 6s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 15 broad hoes, £1 15s 11d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 grubbing hoes, £0 8s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 24 pairs of sheep shears, £1 12s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 adzes, £0 14s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 9 gouges, £0 3s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 edging iron, £0 3s 4d Remaining in store, ironware: 7 pickaxes, £1 2s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 auger, £0 0s 5½d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 taper augers, £0 11s 10½d Remaining in store, ironware: 24 taper bits, £0 7s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 11 ash helves, £0 6s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 20 small frying pans, £1 17s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 large frying pan, £0 3s 3½d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 [...], £0 18s 6½d Remaining in store, ironware: 6 pairs of hand bellows, £1 3s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 pair of smith's bellows, £5 5s 3½d Remaining in store, ironware: 22 pounds of flour emery, £0 9s 3½d Remaining in store, ironware: 3¼ pounds of corn emery, £0 1s 2¾d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 pounds of spelter, £1 3s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 4¾ pounds of borax, £3 9s 5½d Remaining in store, ironware: 6¼ pounds of case hardening, £0 12s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 spring rat traps, £0 3s 6d Remaining in store, ironware, carried over, £55 15s 6½d Carried over, £5,552 5s 1d Interpretations Several entries were a metalworker's consumables and not finished goods. Spelter was zinc, melted with copper to make the hard solder used in brazing. Borax was the flux that let such solder run and bond, and at about 14s 7d a pound it was the costliest substance by weight on the leaf. Case hardening was a compound, usually of charred bone or leather, packed round soft iron and heated to give it a hard steel skin, as on the working parts of a musket lock. Corn emery was the coarse grade of the abrasive and flour emery the fine. With the pair of smith's bellows at £5 5s 3½d, these were the supplies behind the armourer's shop fitted out in the quarter under general expenses. Pickaxes were running low. Seven remained after eight were issued in the quarter, and 11 helves after 22 went out to general expenses and the plantation. The digging tools for Sandy Bay were thus being consumed about as fast as the store could supply them, in the same way as the oak plank and the steel. A grubbing hoe was a heavy narrow-bladed hoe for breaking ground and rooting out stumps. An adze was the carpenter's tool with a blade set crosswise for shaping timber, a gouge a chisel with a curved edge, and taper augers and bits were conical boring tools for enlarging holes, as a cooper used for bung holes. Shutter hinges hung the wooden window shutters of a house. The till locks stood at 7s 4d each, the price charged for the one issued to the armourer's shop, which cast doubt on the 1s 4d read against a till lock at Sandy Bay. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the splinter locks, the brass closet locks, the brass rings, the shutter hinges, the taper augers and bits, the spelter, the borax, the case hardening and the fractions of pence. The word describing two lots of door locks and the 64 pairs of hinges, and the article entered in a quantity of two before the bellows, could not be read. | |
243 | 1766 Brought over £ 5552. 5. 1 Iron Ware brought over £ 55. 15. 6 1/2 2 Coffee Mills 15. 4 1/2 3 Chafing Dishes 1 7 Plain Irons 2. 10 13 Sets Jack Wheels 3. 7. 3 11 Jack Chains 19 4 Do. Weights and Shifters 1. 16 25 Figured Squares 1. 11. 3 26 Blank Keys 18. 11 1/2 178 lb Plate Iron 3. 16. 9 4 Hash Pans Hammd. Iron 3. 10. 2 1 Sauce Pan 11. 2 1/2 10 Scrapers 16. 10 1/2 8 File Hafts 6 1 Pr. Screw Stocks 11. 7 16 Sickles 15. 3 2 Garden Rakes 4. 10 6 Oz. Iron Binding Wire 4 1/2 5 Rag Stones 1. 1 3/4 9 Drill Bows 1. 1 1/2 3 Joiners Hatchets 6 60 Scythe Stones 13. 9 3 Hand Hatchets 5. 3 3 Plaist. Trowels 5. 3 14 Bricklayers Do. 19. 8 151 Packing Needles 1. 2. 1/4 10 Pr. HL Hinges with rising Joints 1. 11. 8 11 Pr. Shutter Do. 1. 4. 9 1 Pr. Side Do. 1 12 Pr. HL Do. 1 51 Pr. Dovt. Do. 8. 13. 10 7 Scythes 1. 17. 1/2 2 Pr. Stone Saw Heads 16. 4 1/2 1 Whip Do. 2. 9. 6 Iron Ware Carrd. over £ Carrd. over £ 5552. 5. 1 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with a further run of ironware. Balance brought over, £5,552 5s 1d Remaining in store, ironware, brought over, £55 15s 6½d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 coffee mills, £0 15s 4½d Remaining in store, ironware: 5 chafing dishes, £1 0s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 7 plane irons, £0 2s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 13 sets of jack wheels, £3 7s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 11 jack chains, £0 19s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 jack weights and shifters, £1 16s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 25 figured squares, £1 11s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 26 blank keys, £0 18s 11½d Remaining in store, ironware: 178 pounds of plate iron, £3 16s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 stew pans of hammered iron, £3 10s 2d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 saucepan of hammered iron, £0 11s 2½d Remaining in store, ironware: 10 scrapers, £0 16s 10½d Remaining in store, ironware: 8 file hafts, £0 0s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 pair of screw stocks, £0 11s 7d Remaining in store, ironware: 16 sickles, £0 15s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 garden rakes, £0 4s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 6 ounces of iron binding wire, £0 0s 4½d Remaining in store, ironware: 5 rag stones, £0 1s 1¾d Remaining in store, ironware: 9 [...] hones, £0 1s 1½d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 joiners' hatchets, £0 6s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 60 scythe stones, £0 13s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 hand hatchets, £0 5s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 plasterers' trowels, £0 5s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 14 bricklayers' trowels, £0 19s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 131 packing needles, £1 2s 0¼d Remaining in store, ironware: 10 pairs of H hinges with rising joints, £1 11s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 11 pairs of shutter hinges, £1 4s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 pair of side hinges, £0 1s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 pairs of HL hinges, £1 0s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 51 pairs of dovetail hinges, £8 13s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 7 scythes, £1 17s 0½d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 pairs of stone saw heads, £0 16s 4½d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 whip saw, £2 9s 6d Carried over, £5,552 5s 1d The line for the ironware sum carried over stood without a figure, and the general balance went forward unchanged. Interpretations The jack wheels, chains, weights and shifters were the parts of a roasting jack. This was the geared machine fixed beside a kitchen hearth that turned a spit before the fire, driven by a slowly falling weight in the manner of a clock. Thirteen sets of wheels lay in store with only four weights, and no jack or part of one was sold in the quarter. They were another line sent out beyond the island's needs, like the buckles and combs. HL hinges were down to 12 pairs. Five pairs went to the planters in the quarter and eight to the castle and the Governor's house, so the remaining stock matched a single quarter's use. Bricklayers' trowels, at 14, and the 60 scythe stones were better supplied. A whip saw was the long two-handled saw worked by one man above a log and another below, the means of ripping baulks into plank on an island without a sawmill. Screw stocks were the handled frame holding dies for cutting a thread on an iron rod. A figured square was a carpenter's square marked with a scale of inches. Plane irons were the cutting blades of joiners' planes. H hinges with rising joints lifted a door slightly as it opened, so that it cleared a floor covering and swung shut by its own weight. Dovetail hinges had leaves that widened outwards from the pin and served for cupboards and shutters. Iron binding wire was soft wire for tying work together during brazing, a companion to the spelter and borax on the preceding leaf. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the sum against the chafing dishes, the plane irons, the parts of the jack, the figured squares, the hammered iron pans, the screw stocks, the several hinges, the stone saw heads and the whip saw. The word describing the nine hones could not be read. | |
244 | 20th October Brought over £ 5552. 5. 1 Iron Ware brought over £ 2 Cross Cutt Saws 2. 11. 6 8 Gun Smiths Do. 2. 1. 3 1 Slitting Do. 6. 11 4 Joiners Rub Stone 3. 5 4 Pruning Saws 6 3 Hand Do. 1. 4. 2 1 Tenon Do. 7. 8 1/2 1 Pannel Do. 9. 4 76 Gimblets 17. 5 4 Stone Wedges 2. 8 9 Jack Spits 2. 11. 7 72 Files 1. 19 31 Farriers Rasps 1. 8. 5 10 Hand Do. 2. 8 1/2 17 Settg. Hammers 5. 14. 10 26 Masons Tools 1. 15. 9 72 Doz 10 Wood Screws 1. 4. 8 1 Large Jack 7. 10. 2 1 Middling Do. 4. 13 4 Small Do. 10. 1. 10 1 Quire Sand Paper 1. 3 1 Quire Emery Paper 2. 8 2 Screw Plates 8 2 Plow Planes 17. 8 2 Joint. Do. 14. 11 12 Black Lead Pencils 4. 5 1 Spring Pad Lock 1. 8. 1 3 Axletrees & Winches for Grindstones 14. 10 3 Iron Crows 2. 6 1 Hand or Bench Hammer 1. 11 1/2 2 Sadd. Do. Stakes 13. 7 1 Stake for makg. Stew pans 8. [5]. 3 4 Heads for Do. 1. 6. 10 Iron Ware Carrd. over £ Carrd. over £ 5552. 5. 1 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with saws, tools, roasting jacks and smiths' equipment among the ironware. Balance brought over, £5,552 5s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 cross cut saws, £2 11s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 gunsmiths' saws, £2 1s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 slitting saw, £0 6s 11d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 joiner's rub stone, £0 3s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 pruning saws, £0 6s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 hand saws, £1 4s 2d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 tenon saw, £0 7s 3½d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 panel saw, £0 9s 4d Remaining in store, ironware: 76 gimlets, £0 17s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 stone wedges, £0 2s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 9 jack spits, £2 11s 7d Remaining in store, ironware: 78 files, £1 19s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 31 farriers' rasps, £1 8s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 10 hand rasps, £0 2s 3¾d Remaining in store, ironware: 17 set hammers, £5 14s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 26 masons' tools, £1 15s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 78 dozen 10 wood screws, £1 4s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 large jack, £7 10s 2d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 middling jack, £4 13s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 small jacks, £10 1s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 quire of sand paper, £0 1s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 quire of emery paper, £0 2s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 screw plates, £0 5s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 plough planes, £0 17s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 joiners' planes, £0 14s 11d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 black lead pencils, £0 4s 5d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 spring padlock, £0 3s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 axletrees and winches for grindstones, £0 14s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 iron crows, £2 0s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 hand or bench hammer, £0 1s 11½d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 [...] stakes, £0 13s 7d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 stake for making stew pans, £3 5s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 4 heads for making stew pans, £1 6s 10d Carried over, £5,552 5s 1d The lines for the ironware sum brought over and carried over both stood without a figure, and the general balance again went forward unchanged. Interpretations Six complete roasting jacks lay in store, valued together at £22 5s 0d, with nine spits and the spare wheels, chains and weights entered on the preceding leaf. The large jack at £7 10s 2d cost almost twice a sentinel's pay for the period. None was sold or issued in the quarter, so this was a costly consignment with no market on the island beyond a handful of substantial kitchens. The stake and heads for making stew pans were a coppersmith's forming tools. A stake was a small polished anvil set upright in a bench, and the interchangeable heads gave the curves over which sheet metal was hammered into a vessel. The inventory entered stew pans and a saucepan of hammered iron on the preceding leaf and held 178 pounds of plate iron. The Company therefore had the means to make cooking vessels on the island from sheet metal, and was not wholly dependent on finished pans from England. Files stood at 78 after the armourer drew 41 in the quarter, under two quarters' supply at that rate. Farriers' rasps, at 31, were ample. A set hammer was a square-faced smith's hammer held on the work and struck with a sledge to form a sharp shoulder. A slitting saw was a narrow saw for ripping along the grain, a tenon saw a stiff-backed saw for fine joints and a panel saw a light hand saw for thin boards. A plough plane cut the grooves into which panels fitted. Screw plates were steel plates pierced with threaded holes for cutting screws on small rods. A rub stone was a coarse flat stone on which a joiner ground his plane irons. Stone wedges were driven into a line of drilled holes to split rock, a quarryman's tool in keeping with the masons' tools beside them. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the several saws, the hand rasps, the set hammers, the count of wood screws, the three sizes of jack, the screw plates, the plough planes, the sums against the spring padlock and the iron crows, and the coppersmith's stake and heads. The word describing the pair of stakes could not be read. | |
245 | 1766 Brought over £ 5552. 5. 1 Iron Ware brought over £ 2 Bottom Stakes 1. 15. 8 1 Do. Hammer 3. 3 2 Square Sadd. Do. 3. 10 12 Firmer Chizels 4 12 Carving Gouges 5 6 Boring Do. 10. 6 12 Screwing Do. 1. 13. 6 3 Pr. Steel Yards 1. 10. 9 9 Drill Bows 1. 3 2 Barrd. Cupboard Locks 2. 9 161. 5. 1 Iron Pots 2 Iron Kettles 3. 12. 1 Kersey 9 Ps. 16 Yds. 20. 4 2 . 8 1/4 Baize 1. 2. 6 27. 6. 6 Leather .. 3. 3 Sole 4. 6. 11 1 Calf Skin 9. 11 4. 16. 10 Long Ells vizt. 1. 13 1/4 Scarlet 4. 11 2 . 1 1/2 Blue 3. 17. 4 8. 8. 4 Lead vizt. 10. .. .. Sheet Pipes 4. 15. 6 2. 1. 10 Small Shot 2. 9. 6 7. 5 Masts vizt. 1 Fork Mast [7] 1 Bow Spreet 3. 10. 6 1/2 Boom 2. 15 1 Fore top Mast 13 In. Diam. 49 feet long 7. 10 3 Sp. Do. 15 Do. 56 Do. 28. 1 2 Do. Do. 11 Do. 38 Do. 6. 1 59. 17. 6 Carrd. over £ 5824. 16. 5 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 closed its ironware and continued with iron pots, woollen cloth, leather, lead and spars. Balance brought over, £5,552 5s 1d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 bottom stakes, £1 15s 8d Remaining in store, ironware: 1 bottom hammer, £0 3s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 square-faced hammers, £0 3s 10d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 firmer chisels, £0 4s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 carving gouges, £0 5s 0d Remaining in store, ironware: 6 boring gouges, £0 10s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 12 scribing gouges, £1 13s 6d Remaining in store, ironware: 3 pairs of steelyards, £1 10s 9d Remaining in store, ironware: 9 drill bows, £1 0s 3d Remaining in store, ironware: 2 [...] cupboard locks, £0 2s 9d Remaining in store, ironware, total, £161 5s 1d Remaining in store, iron pots: 2 iron kettles, £3 12s 1d Remaining in store, kersey: 9 pieces 16 yards of kersey, £20 4s 0d Remaining in store, kersey: 2 pieces 8¾ yards of baize, £1 2s 6d Remaining in store, kersey, total, £21 6s 6d Remaining in store, leather: 3 quarters 3 pounds of sole leather, £4 6s 11d Remaining in store, leather: 1 calf skin, £0 9s 11d Remaining in store, leather, total, £4 16s 10d Remaining in store, long ells: 1 piece 13¼ yards of scarlet long ells, £1 11s 0d Remaining in store, long ells: 2 pieces 1½ yards of blue long ells, £6 17s 4d Remaining in store, long ells, total, £8 8s 4d Remaining in store, lead: sheet lead weighing [...], £4 13s 6d Remaining in store, lead: 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 10 pounds of small shot, £2 9s 6d Remaining in store, lead, total, £7 3s 0d Remaining in store, masts: 1 jack staff, [...] Remaining in store, masts: 1 bowsprit, £3 10s 6d Remaining in store, masts: ½ boom, £2 13s 0d Remaining in store, masts: 1 fore topmast 13½ inches in diameter and 49 feet long, £7 10s 0d Remaining in store, masts: 3 topmasts 13 inches in diameter and 36 feet long, £28 1s 0d Remaining in store, masts: 2 topmasts 11 inches in diameter and 32 feet long, £6 1s 0d Remaining in store, masts, total, £69 17s 6d Carried over, £5,828 14s 5d Interpretations Ironware closed at £161 5s 1d across four leaves, the fourth largest head in the inventory after salt meat, flour and cordage. The planters bought only £9 4s 8d of it in the quarter. Much of that value lay in slow goods such as the six roasting jacks, the locks and the hinges, so the total overstated what was of use to the works. Leather was nearly spent. The store held 87 pounds of sole leather and one calf skin, after the planters took 112 pounds and six skins in the quarter and further sole leather went to the long boat and the slaves' shoes. Shoes on the island were mended and partly made from this stock, so a shortage would soon show in the footwear of soldiers and handicraft slaves alike. The spars were ship's topmasts, held with the anchors, cables and blocks as a reserve for vessels dismasted on passage. One bowsprit remained after another served as the flagstaff of the main fort in the quarter. The fore topmast of 49 feet stood at £7 10s 0d, much the same as the £7 0s 0d charged for that bowsprit. Bottom stakes and the bottom hammer were further coppersmith's tools, used for shaping and closing the base of a vessel, and belonged with the stake and heads for stew pans on the preceding leaf. A firmer chisel was the joiner's ordinary stout chisel. A scribing gouge had its bevel ground on the inside for cutting a curve to fit against a moulding. A drill bow was the springy bow whose cord spun a drill back and forth, the armourer's means of boring metal. Baize was a coarse woollen with a long nap, used for linings and coverings. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the bottom stakes, the kinds of gouge, the drill bows, the pieces and yards of kersey, baize and long ells, the weight of sole leather and shot, the dimensions of the topmasts, the kersey total and the final carried-over sum. The word describing the two cupboard locks, the weight of the sheet lead and the sum against the jack staff could not be read. | |
246 | 20th October Brought over £ 5824. 16. 5 Nails vizt. .. 2. 1 . 2d 2. 2 1/4 10. 3. 12 . 3 44. 8. 10 1/4 7. .. 17 . 4 22. 13. 11 11. 2. 17 . 6 31. 1. 9 1/2 13. 3. 4 . 10 33. 13. 4 3/4 .. .. 10 . 20 3. 9 4. .. 7 . 40 8. 1. 1 3/4 1. 1. 21 Scupper 4. 4. 10 3/4 2. 1. 13 Coop. Rivets 6. 2. 1 .. 2. 17 Glaz. Brads 5. 17. 7 1/2 .. 2. 3 Barrl. Nails 1. 4 1. 2. 11 Floorg. Brads 3. 10. 10 3/4 5. .. 21 Spike Do. 9. 1. 6 3/4 .. 3. 24 Clinch Do. 2. 7. 6 177. 10 Oars 13 3. 10. 1 Oil vizt. 100 Gall. Train 16. 13. 5 194 Do. Linseed 38. 3. 11 27 Bottl. Florence 3. 11. 5 30 Gall Oil of Turpentine 12. 16. 3 71. 7 Paint vizt. 13. 2. 24 Whiting 3. 18. 4 1. .. 24 Umber 1. 14 .. .. 30 Stone Oaker 3. 10 .. .. 9 Indico 16. 10 1/2 22. 3. .. White Lead dry 40. 16. 3 1/2 2. 3. 7 Do. Mixd 6. 3. 1 1/2 1. 2. 19 Stone Colour 3. 10. 10 1. 3. 7 Olive Do. 17. 19. 5 1/4 .. 2. .. Verdegrease 10. 13. 11 1. 1. 16 Pearl Colour 3. 5 Paint Carrd. over £ 89. 11. 8 1/4 Carrd. over £ 6077. 3. 6 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with nails, oars, oil and the first of the paint. Balance brought over, £5,824 16s 5d Remaining in store, nails: 3 quarters 1 pound of twopenny nails, £2 0s 2¼d Remaining in store, nails: 10 hundredweight 3 quarters 12 pounds of threepenny nails, £44 8s 10¼d Remaining in store, nails: 7 hundredweight 0 quarters 17 pounds of fourpenny nails, £22 13s 11d Remaining in store, nails: 11 hundredweight 2 quarters 17 pounds of sixpenny nails, £37 1s 9½d Remaining in store, nails: 13 hundredweight 3 quarters 4 pounds of tenpenny nails, £33 13s 4¾d Remaining in store, nails: 10 pounds of twentypenny nails, £0 3s 9d Remaining in store, nails: 4 hundredweight 0 quarters 7 pounds of fortypenny nails, £8 1s 1¼d Remaining in store, nails: 1 hundredweight 1 quarter 21 pounds of scupper nails, £4 4s 11¼d Remaining in store, nails: 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 13 pounds of coopers' rivets, £6 2s 1d Remaining in store, nails: 2 quarters 17 pounds of glaziers' brads, £5 17s 7½d Remaining in store, nails: 2 quarters 3 pounds of [...] nails, £1 0s 4d Remaining in store, nails: 1 hundredweight 2 quarters 11 pounds of flooring brads, £3 10s 10¼d Remaining in store, nails: 5 hundredweight 0 quarters 21 pounds of spike nails, £9 1s 6¾d Remaining in store, nails: 3 quarters 24 pounds of clinch nails, £2 7s 6d Remaining in store, nails, total, £177 10s 0d Remaining in store: 13 oars, £3 10s 1d Remaining in store, oil: 100 gallons of train oil, £16 13s 3d Remaining in store, oil: 194 gallons of linseed oil, £38 3s 11d Remaining in store, oil: 27 bottles of Florence oil, £3 11s 3d Remaining in store, oil: 30 gallons of oil of turpentine, £12 16s 3d Remaining in store, oil, total, £71 7s 0d Remaining in store, paint: 13 hundredweight 2 quarters 24 pounds of whiting, £3 13s 4d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 24 pounds of umber, £1 14s 0d Remaining in store, paint: 20 pounds of stone ochre, £0 3s 10d Remaining in store, paint: 9 pounds of indigo, £0 16s 10½d Remaining in store, paint: 22 hundredweight 3 quarters 0 pounds of dry white lead, £40 16s 3½d Remaining in store, paint: 2 hundredweight 3 quarters 7 pounds of mixed white lead, £6 3s 1½d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 2 quarters 19 pounds of stone colour, £3 10s 10d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 3 quarters 7 pounds of olive colour, £17 19s 5¾d Remaining in store, paint: 2 quarters 0 pounds of verdigris, £10 13s 11d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 1 quarter 16 pounds of pearl colour, £3 5s 0d Remaining in store, paint, carried over, £89 11s 8¼d Carried over, £6,077 3s 6d Interpretations The nail stock was large but uneven. Close to three tons lay in store at £177 10s 0d, most of it in the threepenny, fourpenny, sixpenny and tenpenny sizes. Only 10 pounds of twentypenny nails remained, after 40 pounds went to the planters, 16 to the ships, 12 to Sandy Bay and four to general expenses in the quarter. That size, the heavy nail for framing, was therefore all but exhausted by the season's building, and the carpenters would have had to make do with tenpenny nails or fortypenny spikes. Indigo and train oil stood in the same position. Nine pounds of indigo were left after the planters bought 33½ pounds and 12 went to the laundry of the Company's linen. The 100 gallons of train oil compared with roughly 90 gallons issued and sold across the quarter's accounts, the garrison's guard lamps alone taking 44¼. Lamp oil for the guards was thus down to about one quarter's supply. White lead and linseed oil were plentiful, at more than 25 hundredweight and 194 gallons. Clinch nails were soft nails whose points were hammered over on the inside of a plank, the fastening of boat planking. Spike nails were the largest size, for heavy timber. Stone ochre was a hard, pale yellow ochre used for stone-coloured paint. The balance brought over stood here as £5,824 16s 5d, against £5,828 14s 5d as read at the foot of the preceding leaf, and this figure agreed with the heads entered below it. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of the several nails and pigments, the scupper and clinch nails, the gallons of oil, the sum against the olive colour and the totals for nails, oil and paint. The word describing one small parcel of nails could not be read. | |
247 | 1766 Brought over £ 6077. 3. 6 Paint brought over £ 89. 11. 8 1/4 .. 1. 26 Choc. Colour 1. 11. 6 1. .. 18 Ven. Red mixd 2. 19. 1 3/4 1. .. 2 Yell Oaker Do. 1. 8. 4 .. 3. 9 Ven Red dry 19. 4 1/2 .. 2. 11 White Copperas 3. 4. 2 1/2 .. .. 2 dry Colour 5 1. 1. 21 Blue Smalts 11. 8. 1 1. .. 18 Yell. Oaker dry 1. 8 6. 2. 11 Brimstone 7. 14. 2 .. 2. .. Log Wood 11. 7 3. .. .. Chalk 11. 8 .. 3. 4 Black Lead 4. 19 .. 1. 25 Blue Black 1. 10. 11 29 Barr. Blacking 13. 5 3 Ozd. Pruss. Blue 5. 6 129. 1. 11 Pumps 1 12. 13. 5 Pease and Beans vizt. 10 3/4 Bushels Split Pease 4. 14. 1 20 1/4 Do. Do. Bought 5. 3. 9 11 Do. Beans 2. 10. 5 12. 8. 3 Pitch and Tar vizt. 2 3/4 Barr. Pitch 3. 7. 5 4 1/2 Do. Tar 4. 8. 8 1/2 Do. Turpent. 1. 18. 3 2. 2. 24 Rozin 2. 2. 10 11. 17. 2 Pewter vizt. 3 Quart Funnels 6. 9 8 Do. Pots 1. 4 5 Half Gall Do. 1. 8. 5 2 Pt. Do. 4. 3 Pewter Carrd. over £ 3. 3. 5 Carrd. over £ 6243. 4. 3 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with the rest of the paint, a pump, pease and beans, pitch and tar and the first of the pewter. Balance brought over, £6,077 3s 6d Remaining in store, paint, brought over, £89 11s 8¼d Remaining in store, paint: 1 quarter 26 pounds of chocolate colour, £1 11s 6d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 18 pounds of mixed Venetian red, £2 19s 1¾d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 2 pounds of mixed yellow ochre, £1 8s 4d Remaining in store, paint: 3 quarters 9 pounds of dry Venetian red, £0 19s 4½d Remaining in store, paint: 2 quarters 11 pounds of white copperas, £3 4s 2¾d Remaining in store, paint: 2 pounds of dry colour, £0 5s 0d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 1 quarter 21 pounds of blue smalts, £11 8s 1d Remaining in store, paint: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 18 pounds of dry yellow ochre, £1 8s 0d Remaining in store, paint: 3 hundredweight 2 quarters 11 pounds of brimstone, £7 14s 2d Remaining in store, paint: 2 quarters 0 pounds of logwood, £0 11s 7d Remaining in store, paint: 3 hundredweight of chalk, £0 11s 6d Remaining in store, paint: 3 quarters 4 pounds of black lead, £4 19s 0d Remaining in store, paint: 1 quarter 25 pounds of blue black, £1 10s 11d Remaining in store, paint: 29 pounds of [...] blacking, £0 13s 5d Remaining in store, paint: 3 pounds of Prussian blue, £0 5s 6d Remaining in store, paint, total, £129 1s 11d Remaining in store: 1 pump, £12 13s 5d Remaining in store, pease and beans: 10¾ bushels of split pease, £4 14s 1d Remaining in store, pease and beans: 20¼ bushels of [...] pease, £5 3s 9d Remaining in store, pease and beans: 11 bushels of beans, £2 10s 5d Remaining in store, pease and beans, total, £12 8s 3d Remaining in store, pitch and tar: 2¾ barrels of pitch, £3 9s 5d Remaining in store, pitch and tar: 4½ barrels of tar, £4 6s 8d Remaining in store, pitch and tar: ½ barrel of turpentine, £1 13s 3d Remaining in store, pitch and tar: 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 24 pounds of rosin, £2 2s 10d Remaining in store, pitch and tar, total, £11 17s 2d Remaining in store, pewter: 3 quart funnels, £0 6s 9d Remaining in store, pewter: 3 quart pots, £1 4s 0d Remaining in store, pewter: 3 half-gallon pots, £1 8s 5d Remaining in store, pewter: 2 pint pots, £0 4s 3d Remaining in store, pewter, carried over, £3 3s 5d Carried over, £6,243 4s 3d Interpretations Several substances entered under paint were not pigments. Brimstone was sulphur in stick or roll form, burnt to fumigate casks, store rooms and sick quarters and used in ointments for mange in livestock. The store held more than 400 pounds of it. Logwood was the heartwood of a Central American tree, chipped and boiled to give a black or purple dye. Black lead was graphite, rubbed on iron grates and gun carriages to keep them from rust and used to coat moulds in casting. White copperas was zinc sulphate, added to oil paint to make it dry faster. Blue black was a soft black made from charred vine twigs or ivory, and Prussian blue the intense manufactured blue that had largely replaced smalts in fine work. Chocolate colour was a ready-mixed dark brown house paint. Pitch stood at 2¾ barrels after the boats took a full barrel and the ships half a barrel in the quarter. The store therefore held under two quarters' supply of the main caulking material, although tar and rosin were less heavily drawn on. Pease and beans moved slowly. The planters bought two bushels in the quarter and the dearer class of buyer a quarter of a bushel, against 42 bushels in store. Dried pulses were a sea provision with little appeal on an island that grew its own vegetables, and they lay in the warehouse chiefly for the ships. The single pump at £12 13s 5d was probably a ship's pump held with the other naval spares, since nothing on the island's works called for one of that value. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the chocolate colour, the white copperas, the brimstone, the logwood, the black lead, the blue black, the Prussian blue, the weights of the pigments, the barrels of pitch and tar and the pitch and tar total. The word describing the blacking and the kind of the second parcel of pease could not be read. | |
248 | 20th October Brought over £ 6243. 4. 3 Pewter brought over £ 3. 3. 5 2 Cranes 1. 13. 10 1 Worm Tub and Still 10. 12. 4 4 Cullenders 1. 12. 9 6 Basons 13. 9 6 Close Stool Pans 1. 7 2 Gall. Pots 18. 8 20. 1. 9 Starch 2. 1. 13 5. 10. 6 Sope 9. .. 22 33. 5. 2 Salt 52 3/4 Bushels 9. 16. 1 Shalloon vizt. 129 Yds. Scarlet 14. 16. 4 94 Do. Blue 8. 9. 4 23. 5. 8 Serge vizt. 21 3/4 Yds. Scart. Serge 7. 19. 4 5 Do. Brown duffle 1. 11. 3 21 1/2 Do. Scart. Do. 10. 8. 5 1 Ps. Sagathy 5 1/2 Yds. Damaged 4. 10 24. 9 Shirts vizt. 62 [Ferl.] Shirts 16. 5. 6 218 Rollers 7 18 1/2 Ps. Irish Linnen 30. 9. 5 39 Yds. Brown Holland 2. 13. 2 56. 8. 1 Sailors Cloaths vizt. 231 Mens Shirts 29. 12. 5 115 Boys Do. 1 Do. Do. damaged 15. 19 81 Mens Jackets 3 Do. Do. Damaged 25. 11. 6 Sailors Cloaths Carrd. over £ 71. 2. 11 Carrd. over £ 6416. 6 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with the rest of the pewter, starch, soap, salt, woollen cloth, shirts and the first of the sailors' clothes. Balance brought over, £6,243 4s 3d Remaining in store, pewter, brought over, £3 3s 5d Remaining in store, pewter: 2 cranes, £1 13s 10d Remaining in store, pewter: 1 worm tub and still, £10 12s 4d Remaining in store, pewter: 4 colanders, £1 12s 9d Remaining in store, pewter: 6 basins, £0 13s 9d Remaining in store, pewter: 6 close stool pans, £1 7s 0d Remaining in store, pewter: 2 gallon pots, £0 18s 8d Remaining in store, pewter, total, £20 1s 9d Remaining in store: 2 hundredweight 1 quarter 13 pounds of starch, £5 10s 6d Remaining in store: 9 hundredweight 0 quarters 22 pounds of soap, £33 5s 2d Remaining in store: 52¼ bushels of salt, £9 16s 1d Remaining in store, shalloon: 129 yards of scarlet shalloon, £14 16s 4d Remaining in store, shalloon: 94 yards of blue shalloon, £8 9s 4d Remaining in store, shalloon, total, £23 5s 8d Remaining in store, serge: 21¼ yards of scarlet serge, £7 19s 4d Remaining in store, serge: 5 yards of brown duffel, £1 11s 3d Remaining in store, serge: 21½ yards of scarlet duffel, £10 8s 5d Remaining in store, serge: 1 piece of sagathy with 5½ yards damaged, £4 10s 0d Remaining in store, serge, total, £24 9s 0d Remaining in store, shirts: 62 [...] shirts, £16 5s 6d Remaining in store, shirts: 218 rollers, £7 0s 0d Remaining in store, shirts: 18½ pieces of Irish linen, £30 9s 5d Remaining in store, shirts: 39 yards of brown holland, £2 13s 2d Remaining in store, shirts, total, £56 8s 1d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 231 men's shirts, £29 12s 5d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 115 boys' shirts and 1 damaged, £15 19s 0d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 81 men's jackets and 3 damaged, £25 11s 6d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes, carried over, £71 2s 11d Carried over, £6,416 0s 6d Interpretations The worm tub and still, at £10 12s 4d, was a complete distilling apparatus. The still was the closed boiler and the worm a coiled pipe set in a tub of cold water, in which the vapour condensed. It lay in the store unsold, and the page did not say for whom it was intended. A still of that size served either for making spirits from the island's produce or for the surgeon's distilled waters. The sailors' clothes were slop clothing, ready-made garments kept to sell to seamen from passing ships who had worn out their own on the voyage. The stock ran to 347 shirts and 84 jackets, far beyond anything the island's own boatmen needed. Only two outfits were issued in the quarter, to slaves, and three grooms' waistcoats were sold under the same head to planters. The Company's ships had evidently taken little of it. The linen sold to the planters beside shirts and brown holland, whose description could not be read on the earlier leaf, appeared here plainly as Irish linen at about £1 13s 0d a piece. The 62 shirts in store matched the 59 sold to the planters and six issued to the garrison, so one more quarter at that rate would have emptied the shelf. Rollers, at 218, were held in far greater number than the six issued. Soap stood at 1,030 pounds after about 660 pounds was sold and issued in the quarter, under two quarters' supply. No coloured shalloon remained, though the planters bought 82 yards of it in the quarter, and only scarlet and blue were left. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the worm tub and still, the colanders, the weights of starch and soap, the yardages of shalloon and serge, the count of rollers, the pieces of Irish linen and the counts of sailors' shirts and jackets. The description of the 62 shirts could not be read, as on the earlier leaves. | |
249 | 1766 Brought over £ 6416. 6 Sailors Cloaths brought over £ 71. 2. 11 81 Pr. Mens Breeches 5 Pr. Do. Do. Damaged 18. 4. 7 76 Boys Jackets & Breeches 20. 18. 3 164 Dutch Caps 12. 6 122. 11. 9 Saddles 1 wth. Furnite. 5. 19. 8 Scales and Weights vizt. 2 Beams 14. 6 1 Pr. Scale Boards 3. 19. 8 18. 5. 8 Shoes vizt. 333 Pr. Mens Ordiny. Shoes 70. 13 2 Pr. Do. fine Pumps 9. 10 3 Pr. Do. Channl. Do. 18 3 Pr. Do. fine Shoes 16. 6 3 Pr. Boys Do. 9. 3 2 Pr. Girls Calf Leather 4 4 Pr. Do. Calimanco 12 1 Womens Calf 2. 7 2 Pr. Buckles 3. 2 74. 12. 4 Soldiers Cloaths vizt. 20 Centinels Coats 20 Pr. Breeches 29. 7. 3 Twine vizt. .. 1. 24 Twine 2. 7. 5 22 Skains Marline 4. 6 .. 3. 13 Cotton Wick 13. 14. 5 16. 16. 4 Ticking 3 Ps. 47 1/2 Yds. 31. 8. 5 Carrd. over £ 6715. 1. 11 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 continued with the rest of the sailors' clothes, a saddle, scales, shoes, soldiers' clothes, twine and ticking. Balance brought over, £6,416 0s 6d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes, brought over, £71 2s 11d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 81 pairs of men's breeches and 5 pairs damaged, £18 4s 7d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 76 boys' jackets and breeches, £20 18s 3d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes: 164 Dutch caps, £12 6s 0d Remaining in store, sailors' clothes, total, £122 11s 9d Remaining in store: 1 saddle with furniture, £5 19s 8d Remaining in store, scales and weights: 2 beams, £14 6s 0d Remaining in store, scales and weights: 1 pair of scale boards, £3 19s 8d Remaining in store, scales and weights, total, £18 5s 8d Remaining in store, shoes: 333 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £70 15s 0d Remaining in store, shoes: 2 pairs of men's fine pumps, £0 9s 10d Remaining in store, shoes: 3 pairs of men's channel pumps, £0 18s 0d Remaining in store, shoes: 3 pairs of men's fine shoes, £0 16s 6d Remaining in store, shoes: 3 pairs of boys' shoes, £0 9s 3d Remaining in store, shoes: 2 pairs of girls' calf leather shoes, £0 4s 0d Remaining in store, shoes: 4 pairs of girls' calimanco shoes, £0 12s 0d Remaining in store, shoes: 1 pair of women's calf shoes, £0 2s 1d Remaining in store, shoes: 2 pairs of [...], £0 5s 2d Remaining in store, shoes, total, £74 12s 4d Remaining in store, soldiers' clothes: 20 sentinels' coats and 20 pairs of breeches, together £29 7s 3d Remaining in store, twine: 1 quarter 24 pounds of twine, £2 17s 5d Remaining in store, twine: 22 skeins of marline, £0 4s 6d Remaining in store, twine: 3 quarters 13 pounds of cotton wick, £13 14s 5d Remaining in store, twine, total, £16 16s 4d Remaining in store: 3 pieces 47½ yards of ticking, £31 8s 5d Carried over, £6,715 1s 11d Interpretations Women's shoes had almost run out. One pair of women's calf shoes remained, with six pairs for girls, after the planters bought 34 pairs of women's shoes in the quarter and seven more went to the slave women. Fine shoes and pumps for men were down to eight pairs against 27 sold. Only the men's ordinary shoes were well stocked, at 333 pairs, and even that covered under two quarters, since the planters took 139 pairs, the handicraft slaves 46 and the garrison six. The island's better footwear thus depended on the next storeship. The store held 20 sentinels' coats and pairs of breeches at about £1 9s 4d a set, the same rate as the six suits issued to the garrison in the quarter. The reserve was enough to clothe 20 recruits, a little over three quarters at the pace of enlistment the paymaster's account recorded. The 164 Dutch caps, with 76 suits of boys' jackets and breeches, completed a stock of seamen's slop clothing worth £122 11s 9d that barely moved in the quarter. A Dutch cap was the close woollen cap worn by sailors. The scale beams were the iron balance arms of the large warehouse scales, and the scale boards the flat wooden platforms slung beneath them to carry the goods. Their value of £18 5s 8d reflected how much of the store's trade passed by weight. Marline was a light two-stranded tarred line for binding the ends of ropes. The cotton wick, at 97 pounds, supplied the planters' candle making, and the saddle's furniture meant its girths, stirrups and bridle. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the sentinels' coats, the counts of sailors' breeches and caps, the weights of twine and cotton wick, the marline, the pieces and yards of ticking and the sum against the men's ordinary shoes. The last kind of shoe could not be read. | |
250 | 20th October Brought over £ 6715. 1. 11 Thread vizt. 11 1/2 Whited Brown 4. 2. 3 63 1/2 Coloured 11. 18. 3 1 lb 13 Ozd. Nuns No. 26 1. 12 2 . 8 Do. 30 3. 6 20. 18. 6 Tin Ware vizt. 1. 1. 21 Solder 7. 7. 1 14 Cantoons 19. 3 6 Gall. Funnels 12 4 Qt. Do. 1. 7 12 Pudding Pans 14. 7 1 Watering Pot 4 8 Lanth. Leaves 2. 6 2 Globe Lamps 19. 3 8 Glass Lanths. 1. 19. 8 2 Wood Do. 10. 3 12 Sauce Pans 6. 9 15 Doub. Sheets Tin 10 22 Single Do. 6. 10 14. 14. 9 Turners Ware vizt. 10 Scrubg. Brushes 1. 3. 8 1/2 2 Hair Brooms 4. 3 1/2 6 Fishmans Yokes 7 6 Do. for Oxen 3. 3. 6 27 Ox Bows 1. 19. 3 5 Skimming Dishes 1. 7 52 Shoe Brushes 1. 9. 3 1 Butchers tray 3. 8 10 Pump Boxes 1. 14. 7 16 Platters 18 27 Bowls 1. 4. 5 87 Labour. Baskets 4. 13. 2 10 Cloth Brushes 10. 10 20. 16. 2 Europeans Goods amounting to £ 6771. 5. 4 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, continued with thread, tinware and turnery, and closed its European goods with a total. Balance brought over, £6,715 1s 11d Remaining in store, thread: 11½ pounds of whited brown thread, £4 2s 3d Remaining in store, thread: 63¾ pounds of coloured thread, £11 10s 3d Remaining in store, thread: 1 pound 13 ounces of nuns thread number 26, £1 12s 0d Remaining in store, thread: 3 pounds 8 ounces of nuns thread number 30, £3 6s 0d Remaining in store, thread, total, £20 10s 6d Remaining in store, tinware: 1 hundredweight 1 quarter 21 pounds of solder, £7 7s 1d Remaining in store, tinware: 14 graters, £0 19s 3d Remaining in store, tinware: 6 gallon funnels, £0 12s 0d Remaining in store, tinware: 4 quart funnels, £0 1s 7d Remaining in store, tinware: 12 pudding pans, £0 14s 7d Remaining in store, tinware: 1 watering pot, £0 4s 0d Remaining in store, tinware: 8 lantern leaves, £0 2s 6d Remaining in store, tinware: 2 globe lamps, £0 19s 3d Remaining in store, tinware: 8 glass lanterns, £1 19s 8d Remaining in store, tinware: 2 [...] lanterns, £0 10s 3d Remaining in store, tinware: 12 saucepans, £0 6s 9d Remaining in store, tinware: 15 double sheets of tin, £0 10s 0d Remaining in store, tinware: 22 single sheets of tin, £0 6s 10d Remaining in store, tinware, total, £14 14s 9d Remaining in store, turnery: 18 scrubbing brushes, £1 8s 8½d Remaining in store, turnery: 2 hair brooms, £0 4s 3½d Remaining in store, turnery: 6 milkmen's yokes, £0 7s 0d Remaining in store, turnery: 6 yokes for oxen, £3 3s 6d Remaining in store, turnery: 27 ox bows, £1 19s 3d Remaining in store, turnery: 3 skimming dishes, £0 1s 7d Remaining in store, turnery: 52 shoe brushes, £1 9s 3d Remaining in store, turnery: 1 butcher's tray, £0 3s 8d Remaining in store, turnery: 10 pump boxes, £1 14s 7d Remaining in store, turnery: 16 platters, £0 18s 0d Remaining in store, turnery: 37 bowls, £1 10s 5d Remaining in store, turnery: 87 labourers' baskets, £4 13s 2d Remaining in store, turnery: 10 cloth brushes, £0 10s 10d Remaining in store, turnery, total, £20 16s 2d European goods, total, £6,771 3s 4d Interpretations The closing line classed everything listed so far as European goods and valued it at £6,771 3s 4d. Salt meat at £2,933 11s 3d, flour at £591 5s 8d and cordage at £547 14s 4d made up three fifths of that sum. The stock sent from England was thus chiefly a reserve of food and ship's gear, with cloth, tools and household wares forming the smaller part. No tea, sugar, rice, arrack, long cloth or chelloes appeared under this head, although all were sold and issued in the quarter. Lantern leaves were the thin plates of horn or glass that formed the windows of a lantern. They stood here at 3¾d each, the rate of the six unread tinware articles issued to the castle under general expenses for £0 1s 10½d, which were therefore probably the same. The fine thread sold by number on the earlier leaves appeared here as nuns thread, a fine white linen thread used for lace and delicate sewing. Sheets of tin and 161 pounds of solder were a tinsmith's raw materials. With the coppersmith's stakes among the ironware, they showed that lanterns, funnels and pans were made up and mended on the island as well as imported finished. Six ox yokes and 27 ox bows lay in store, and the planters bought two bows in the quarter. Draught oxen were therefore the island's ordinary means of haulage, in keeping with the cart wheels and axletrees held beside them. A pump box was the leather-valved wooden piston of a ship's pump, a wearing part carried as a spare. The 87 labourers' baskets compared with 24 sent to Sandy Bay and nine sold to planters, close to three quarters' supply for the earth-moving there. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of thread and solder, the graters, the lantern leaves, the milkmen's yokes, the skimming dishes, the pump boxes, the count of labourers' baskets and the turnery total. The word describing two of the lanterns could not be read. | |
251 | 1766 Brought over £ 6771. 3. 4 India Goods vizt. Chilloes 140 1/4 Ps. 58. 3. 3 Arrack 838 Gall. 112. 12. 1 Coffee .. 2 . 4 2. 6. 8 Pepper 1. .. 19 3. 5. 6 Tea vizt. 631 lb Bohea 31. 13. 5 219 lb Congo 14. 16. 7 46. 15 China Ware vizt. 134 Meat Dishes 340 Do. Plates 24. 12. 9 35 Sallad Dishes 1. 6. 3 4 Enamd. Bakg. Do. 10. 8 81 Soop Do. 9. 3. 5 36 Enam. Soop Plates 1. 15 316 B & White Do. 7. 5. 9 28 Guglets and 31 Basons 3. 7. 7 4 Mugs 6 199 Snackers 2. 1. 5 70 Bowls 4. 19. 2 44 Tea Pots 1. 16. 8 13 Sauce Boats 5. 2 8 Chamb. Pots 16 6 Salts 3. 9 58. 12 Candles 14. 1. 7 163. 7. 7 Long Cloth vizt. 37 Ps. L 187. 6 35 Ps. D 143. 10 10 Ps. O 38. 8. 4 Long Cloth Carried over £ 368. 19. 4 Carrd. over £ 7216. 2. 5 | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses during 1766 moved on to India goods, with chelloes, arrack, coffee, pepper, tea, chinaware, candles and the first of the long cloth. Balance brought over, £6,771 3s 4d Remaining in store, India goods: 140¼ pieces of chelloes, £58 3s 3d Remaining in store, India goods: 833 gallons of arrack, £112 12s 1d Remaining in store, India goods: 1 quarter 4 pounds of coffee, £2 6s 8d Remaining in store, India goods: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 19 pounds of pepper, £3 5s 6d Remaining in store, India goods, tea: 631 pounds of Bohea, £31 13s 5d Remaining in store, India goods, tea: 219 pounds of Congo, £14 19s 7d Remaining in store, India goods, tea, total, £46 13s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 134 meat dishes and 340 meat plates, together £24 12s 9d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 33 salad dishes, £1 6s 3d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 4 enamelled baking dishes, £0 10s 8d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 81 soup dishes, £9 3s 5d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 56 enamelled soup plates, £1 15s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 316 blue and white soup plates, £7 3s 3d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 28 guglets and 31 basins, £3 7s 7d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 4 mugs, £0 6s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 199 sneakers, £2 1s 3d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 70 bowls, £4 19s 2d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 44 tea pots, £1 16s 8d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 13 sauce boats, £0 3s 2d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 8 chamber pots, £0 16s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware: 6 salts, £0 3s 9d Remaining in store, India goods, chinaware, total, £58 12s 0d Remaining in store, India goods: 14 hundredweight 1 quarter of candles, £163 6s 7d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 37 pieces of long cloth marked L, £181 6s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 55 pieces of long cloth marked D, £143 10s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 10 pieces of long cloth marked C, £35 18s 4d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth, carried over, £360 14s 4d Carried over, £7,216 2s 5d Interpretations Tea was the thinnest stock in the warehouse. No Singlo remained at all, though the planters bought 320 pounds of it in the quarter and the dearer class of buyer 66. The 631 pounds of Bohea compared with about 660 pounds sold and issued across the quarter's accounts, the slaves alone drawing 107, so under one quarter's supply was left. Congo stood at 219 pounds against roughly 400. Tea reached the island only from homeward China ships, and the store had evidently sold down to the last of the preceding season's landing. The candles were entered among the India goods at about 2s 0d a pound, more than twice the roughly 10d a pound the planters paid. They were therefore wax candles shipped from Bengal and not English tallow. That explained the high charge of £35 19s 8d for 247½ pounds issued to the castle, the Council and the officers on duty under general expenses, which was queried when that account was read. A sneaker was a small bowl, of the size for a single serving of punch. The chinaware article sold to the planters in a quantity of 66 and at the dearer rate in a quantity of seven, which could not be read on those leaves, was priced at the same 2½d to 3d each and was probably this. Arrack stood at 833 gallons, against about 240 gallons issued in the quarter to the slaves, the diet account and the men working in the stores. The spirit ration was thus secure for most of a year. Long cloth marked C was valued at about £3 11s 10d a piece, close to the rate charged to the Malays, which confirmed the doubt raised there about the planters' price for that grade. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of coffee, pepper and candles, the gallons of arrack, the sum against the Congo, the enamelled dishes, the counts of plates and sneakers, the grade letters of the long cloth and the sum against the candles. | |
252 | 20th October Brought over £ 7216. 2. 5 Long Cloth brought over £ 368. 19. 4 61 Ps. C 113. 1. 2 9 Ps. O 23. 5. 9 32 Ps. N 72. 12 1 1/2 Ps. K 3. 1. 10 1/2 No. 5 1. 7 87 1/4 Ps. HC 124. 15 699. 16. 5 Sugar and Candy vizt. 127. 1. 18 Candy 297. 5. 10 229. .. 26 Sugar 320. 18. 6 618. 4. 4 Rice and Paddy vizt. 312. 1. 7 Rice 156. 14. 4 271. .. 22 Paddy 58. 18. 1 215. 12. 5 European and India Goods Amounth. to £ 8749. 15. 7 Errors Excepted (Signed) [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick St. Helena 30 Septr. 1766 Counted and Examined the Honble. Companys Cash for the Month of Sept. last which is as follows vizt. | The inventory of stores remaining in the Company's warehouses, entered under 20 October, closed with the rest of the long cloth, sugar and candy and rice and paddy, and gave a total for all goods in store. Balance brought over, £7,216 2s 5d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth, brought over, £360 14s 4d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 31½ pieces of long cloth marked E, £112 1s 2d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 9 pieces of long cloth marked O, £23 5s 9d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 32 pieces of long cloth marked N, £72 12s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 1½ pieces of long cloth number 96, £3 1s 10d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: ½ piece of long cloth number 3, £1 0s 7d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth: 87¼ pieces of long cloth marked [...], £124 15s 0d Remaining in store, India goods, long cloth, total, £699 16s 5d Remaining in store, India goods, sugar and candy: 127 hundredweight 1 quarter 18 pounds of candy, £297 5s 10d Remaining in store, India goods, sugar and candy: 329 hundredweight 0 quarters 26 pounds of sugar, £320 18s 6d Remaining in store, India goods, sugar and candy, total, £618 4s 4d Remaining in store, India goods, rice and paddy: 313 hundredweight 1 quarter 7 pounds of rice, £156 14s 4d Remaining in store, India goods, rice and paddy: 271 hundredweight 0 quarters 22 pounds of paddy, £58 18s 1d Remaining in store, India goods, rice and paddy, total, £215 12s 5d European and India goods, total, £8,749 15s 7d Two officers signed the inventory at St Helena on 30 September 1766, with errors excepted. The second was Thomas Kirkpatrick and the first bore a surname read as Purling. A new entry then opened, recording that the Company's cash for September was counted and examined. Interpretations Rice was the staple closest to running short. The store held 313 hundredweight, and the slaves alone drew close to 200 hundredweight in the quarter, with more going to the hospital, the plantation, the diet account, the Malays and the planters. The stock therefore covered about a quarter and a half. A further 271 hundredweight lay in the husk as paddy, which could be beaten into rice at need, as Nocquedah Pochuttum directed during the scarcity paid for in the paymaster's account. The margin showed how the scarcity arose: one late rice ship was enough to exhaust the slaves' grain. Sugar and candy were held far more deeply, at 329 and 127 hundredweight against some 53 and 27 hundredweight sold and issued in the quarter. Long cloth, at £699 16s 5d, was the largest single India head, with more than 260 pieces in nine grades against about 67 pieces used. The Eastern goods that kept well were thus stocked for a year or more, while rice and tea, the two that the island consumed fastest, were the two in shortest supply. The whole stock came to £8,749 15s 7d, of which £1,978 12s 3d was India goods. Sales and issues in the quarter amounted to roughly £2,900 across all the accounts, so the warehouse turned over about a third of its value every three months. Kirkpatrick, the paymaster, signed the inventory beside another officer. The count of the store was thus certified by two men, one of whom had no charge of the goods, where the account of sales and issues carried the storekeeper's name alone. The storekeeper's surname was read there as Powell, and the first signature here was perhaps the same man's. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the grade marks and pieces of long cloth, the weights of candy, sugar, rice and paddy and the long cloth total. The mark on the largest parcel of long cloth and the first signatory's forename could not be read. | |
253 | Cash Dr. Per Contra Cr. 1766 Sept. 1st To Balance remaining £ 10439. 13. 5 1/2 To Exchange for two Sets of Bills drawn upon the Honoble. the Court of Directors payable as follows vizt. One Set to Mr. George [Rutherson] £ 58. 6 One Do. to Mr. John Stephens 50 108. 6 4th To Ship Harcourt 9. 2. 3 24th To Rents 591. 1 30th To James Powell recd. of him for Stores Sold in the Quarter ending this Day 1755. 11. 1 To Licences for Publ. Houses 17. 10 To Fortifics. for Lime Sold 4. 8. 9 To Plann. recd. for provision Sold 4. 11. 10 £ 12930. 9. 4 1/2 1766 Sept. 5th To Ship Admiral Watson £ 14. 2. 1 30th By Sundry Accounts Advanced the Paymr. to pay Salarys &ca. in the Quarter ending this day 3524. 13. 3 1/2 By Balance remaining vizt. In Specie 8851. 19 In Cash Notes 539. 15 9391. 14 £ 12930. 9. 4 1/2 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick Margin Notes: 1766 | The count of the Company's cash for September 1766 set the money received during the month against the money paid out and the balance left in the treasury. Debit, 1 September 1766: balance remaining, £10,439 13s 3½d Debit: bills of exchange drawn on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Mr George [...], £53 6s 0d Debit: bills of exchange drawn on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Mr John Stephens, £50 0s 0d Debit: bills of exchange, total, £103 6s 0d Debit: received from the ship Harcourt, £9 2s 3d Debit, 24 September 1766: rents, £591 1s 0d Debit, 30 September 1766: received from James Powell for stores sold in the quarter ending that day, £1,755 11s 7d Debit, 30 September 1766: licences for public houses, £17 10s 0d Debit, 30 September 1766: received from the fortifications for lime sold, £4 3s 9d Debit, 30 September 1766: received from the plantation for provisions sold, £4 11s 10d Debit, total, £12,930 9s 4½d Credit, 5 September 1766: paid to the ship Admiral Watson, £14 2s 1d Credit, 30 September 1766: advanced to the paymaster on sundry accounts to pay salaries and other charges in the quarter ending that day, £3,524 13s 3½d Credit, balance remaining in specie, £8,851 19s 0d Credit, balance remaining in cash notes, £539 15s 0d Credit, balance remaining, total, £9,391 14s 0d Credit, total, £12,930 9s 4½d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations The bills of exchange showed how money left the island without coin being shipped. George and John Stephens each paid cash into the treasury at St Helena and received a set of bills on the Court of Directors, which the Company honoured in London. The payer thus sent his savings home safely, and the island kept the silver. The £103 6s 0d entered as a receipt was in effect a loan to the local treasury, repaid in England. The advance to the paymaster, £3,524 13s 3½d, matched to the halfpenny the cash he acknowledged in his account closed on 30 September 1766. That account covered the pay list and all the labour at Sandy Bay, so the garrison and works cost the treasury more than a third of the balance it held on 1 September. Rents of £591 1s 0d and the storekeeper's £1,755 11s 7d were the island's two real sources of income. Rents were the yearly sums planters owed for Company land. The storekeeper's payment fell short of the quarter's sales, since goods sold to the planters at 10 per cent alone came to £1,663 14s 10d and those to the ships to £332 5s 2d. Part of the trade was therefore on credit or settled through ships' accounts, as the small entries for the Harcourt and the Admiral Watson suggested. Even with both, the treasury ended the month about £1,048 lower than it began. Cash notes were paper money issued by the island's government and accepted in place of coin. They made up £539 15s 0d of the £9,391 14s 0d in hand, so the treasury was still overwhelmingly a chest of silver. The licence money showed that public houses traded only under an annual permit from the Governor and Council. The storekeeper appeared here plainly as James Powell. Purling, who signed the inventory beside Kirkpatrick, was a separate member of the board that counted the cash, so the suggestion that the two names belonged to one man was mistaken. The Governor, Corneille, Purling and Kirkpatrick together verified the chest, a count by four officers of whom only one handled payments. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the opening balance, the sums against the bills, the lime and the provisions, the date of the Harcourt entry and the division of the closing balance. The surname of the first payee of the bills could not be read. | |
254 | 27th October At a Consultation held on Monday the 27th Day of October 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Captn. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, And Signed, Dated the 20th October 1766 Wednesday the 22d died James [Powell] Cooper Yesterday Arrived the Ponsborne's Boat at Banks's at half an Hour past five o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. the Honoble. Companys Ship Ponsborne from Bengal, this Ship brought Us no Stores for the Island for the reasons mentioned in the following Letter, We received from the Master attendant vizt. To the Honorable John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena Honorable Sir and Sirs A Large Sea, and great appearances of hard blowing Weather has prevented the Sloop, getting a long side with the Stores, to be laden on board the Ship Ponsborne Intended for. your Settlement, Agreeable to the Enclosed Letter, and as detaining the Ship at this late Season, Might Risque her getting out the River, I have therefore this day given her Commander his dispatches | The Council met at the castle on Monday 27 October 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 20 October 1766 were read, approved and signed. James Lovell, a cooper, died on Wednesday 22 October 1766. The boat of the Ponsborne reached Banks's at half past five on the morning of 26 October 1766. The Ponsborne herself, a Company ship from Bengal, came in later the same day. She carried no stores for the island, and the Council entered in the record a letter from the Master Attendant that explained why. The Master Attendant addressed his letter to the Governor and Council of St Helena. Heavy seas and every sign of a coming gale stopped the sloops from getting alongside the Ponsborne with the stores meant for the island, which an enclosed letter described. Holding the ship back so late in the season risked her failing to get out of the river. He therefore handed her commander his dispatches that day and let her sail. Interpretations The Master Attendant chose to send the Ponsborne away empty instead of waiting for calmer water to load her. The ordinary course was to hold a ship until her cargo was aboard, and the stores were ready in sloops beside her. He passed over that course because the season was late, and a ship caught in the river by the change of weather might not clear it at all. The safety of the ship and her homeward cargo was thus put ahead of the island's supply, and the letter was copied into the record so that the Council could show the shortfall was no fault of its own. The cost of that choice fell on the stock counted on 30 September 1766. Bengal was the island's source of rice, and the inventory showed 313 hundredweight in store against close to 200 hundredweight drawn by the slaves alone in a quarter. With no rice landed from the Ponsborne, that margin of about a quarter and a half had to last until another ship from India called. The paymaster's account for the same quarter already recorded a time of scarcity in which stored paddy was beaten into rice and 2,000 pounds were bought from a passing captain. The Master Attendant was the Company's port officer in Bengal, in charge of pilots, moorings and the sloops that carried cargo down the river to ships lying in deep water. Banks's was the battery and landing place on the coast to windward of the town, the first point a ship's boat reached when sent ahead to report her arrival. The cooper's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Lovell. | |
255 | 1766 Enclosed is the Duplicate Bill of Laden of the Stores Shipt on board the Admiral Watson, I am with the Utmost Respect, Honoble. Sir & Sirs Your most obedient humble Servant (Signed) Page Keble Mr. Attd. Ship Ponsborne Ingels the 10th April 1766 Ordered the following Advertizement to be published vizt. Island St. Helena. This is to give Notice to all the Inhabitants upon the said Island, that on Wednesday next, in the forenoon will be sold at Publick Auction at the Market House, Sundry Damaged Goods belonging to the Honoble. Company for ready Money Per Order of Council (Signed) Wm. Bazett Secy. | The Master Attendant closed his letter by enclosing the duplicate bill of lading for the stores shipped on the Admiral Watson. Page Keble signed it as Master Attendant on board the Ponsborne at Ingelee on 10 April 1766. The Council ordered a notice to be published to all the island's inhabitants. Sundry damaged goods belonging to the Company were to be sold by public auction at the Market House on the morning of Wednesday 29 October 1766, for ready money. William Bazett, the Secretary, signed the notice by order of the Council. Interpretations The Council sold its damaged goods by auction for cash, and passed over the fixed-price sale through which the warehouse normally disposed of its stock. Sound goods went to planters at a set advance of 10 per cent on cost, often on credit, as the gap between the quarter's sales and the storekeeper's cash payment on 30 September 1766 showed. Spoiled goods had no cost price worth defending, so the Council let the bidders set their value and insisted on immediate payment. The inventory of the same date carried such stock at full book value: damaged lengths of scarlet and French grey broadcloth, 14 damaged blankets, 5½ yards of damaged sagathy and damaged sailors' shirts, jackets and breeches. The auction was the means of clearing them from the books. A duplicate bill of lading was a second signed copy of a cargo list, sent by a different ship from the one that carried the goods. It let the receiving settlement check what was landed, and claim for anything short, even if the first copy was lost. Keble sent it by the Ponsborne for stores already shipped on the Admiral Watson. The cash account recorded a payment of £14 2s 1d to that ship on 5 September 1766, so she had reached the island and delivered her cargo before the Ponsborne came in empty. Ingelee lay at the mouth of the river below Calcutta, where outward ships took in the last of their lading from sloops before putting to sea. The letter's date of 10 April 1766 showed that the Ponsborne took more than six months to reach St Helena on 26 October 1766. April marked the turn of the monsoon in the Bay of Bengal, which was the late season Keble feared would trap her in the river. | |
256 | 27th October The Storekeeper brought in his Account of Waste upon Store Goods for the Year ending the 30th September last, He declaring the same to be real and unavoidable, We ordered it to be entered, which is as follows (vizt.) Profit and Loss Dr. £ 50. 11. 4 for Wastage Short Measures and Weights by Drawing by the Gallon &ca. and Weighing by the Pound &ca. in the Year ending the 30th September 1766 vizt. Earthen Ware vizt. 1 Milk Pan 9 1 Cullering Do. 4. 8 5. 5 Glass Ware vizt. 7 Wine Glasses 3. 1 1 Beer Glass 10 11 Sqrs. Glass 8 by 10 6. 8 2 Sqrs. 10 by 12 1. 8 5 Sqrs. 10 1/2 by 17 3/4 5. 5 1 Pint Decanter 2. 10 1. 6 China Ware 1 Tea Pot 10 12 Meat Plates 3. 5 3 Snackers 1. 8 1 Qr. Pint Cup and Saucer 3 1 Bason 1. 2 3 Bowls 3. 10 13. 2 Tin Ware 4 Lant. Leaves 1. 3 Leather 3 1/4 Sole 4. 5 Carried over £ 3. 1 | The storekeeper laid before the Council his account of waste on the goods in store for the year ending 30 September 1766. He declared the losses real and unavoidable, and the Council ordered the account to be entered. It charged £50 11s 4d to profit and loss for wastage and for short measure and weight arising from drawing liquids by the gallon and weighing goods by the pound during that year. Written off, earthenware: 1 milk pan, £0 0s 9d Written off, earthenware: 1 [...] pan, £0 4s 8d Written off, earthenware, total, £0 5s 5d Written off, glassware: 7 wine glasses, £0 3s 1d Written off, glassware: 1 beer glass, £0 0s 10d Written off, glassware: 14 squares of glass 8 by 10, £0 6s 8d Written off, glassware: 2 squares of glass 10 by 12, £0 1s 8d Written off, glassware: 3 squares of glass 10¼ by 17¼, £0 3s 3d Written off, glassware: 1 pint decanter, £0 2s 10d Written off, glassware, total, £1 0s 6d Written off, chinaware: 1 tea pot, £0 0s 10d Written off, chinaware: 12 meat plates, £0 3s 3d Written off, chinaware: 3 sneakers, £0 1s 8d Written off, chinaware: 1 half-pint cup and saucer, £0 0s 3d Written off, chinaware: 1 basin, £0 1s 2d Written off, chinaware: 3 bowls, £0 3s 10d Written off, chinaware, total, £0 13s 2d Written off, tinware: 4 lantern leaves, £0 1s 3d Written off, leather: 3¼ pounds of sole leather, £0 4s 8d Carried over, £3 1s 0d Interpretations The Council wrote the year's losses off against the Company and did not charge them to the storekeeper. A storekeeper answered personally for the goods in his charge, and any shortfall between his books and his shelves was in the ordinary way his debt. The Council passed over that course on his bare declaration that the waste was genuine and could not be helped, and it had the full list copied into the consultation so that the Court of Directors could judge the claim item by item. The entry therefore worked as both an indemnity for the storekeeper and a disclosure to London. The heading named the cause of most of the loss. Liquids reached the store in casks and were drawn off by the gallon, and dry goods arrived by the hundredweight and were weighed out by the pound. Each small sale gave the buyer a trifle over, and spillage, leakage and evaporation took more, so a cask or bale never yielded in retail the full quantity entered at receipt. Breakage accounted for the rest, as the glass, china and earthenware on this leaf showed. The total of £50 11s 4d was small beside the trade it arose from. Goods in store stood at £8,749 15s 7d on 30 September 1766, and one quarter's sales and issues came to roughly £2,900. The loss claimed for the whole year was thus well under one per cent of the goods handled. The sum carried over sat a little above the heads entered on the leaf, and the figure against the sole leather was doubtful. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the pence against the window glass and the chinaware and the dimensions of the largest panes. The word describing the second earthenware pan could not be read. | |
257 | 1766 Brought over £ 3. 1 Starch 7 lb 4. 3 Sope 1. .. 9 1/2 4. 5. 1 Cordage 6. 1. 15 1/2 11. 13. 6 Sago 8 1/2 1. 5 Candles 38 lb 3. 17. 7 Sugar and Candy vizt. 5. 1. 23 Sugar 7. 5. 3 2. 2. 6 Candy 5. 17. 11 13. 3. 2 Rice and Paddy vizt. 4. 2. 22 Rice 2. 7 27. 2. 6 Paddy Eaten by Rats 5. 17. 1 8. 4. 1 Paint vizt. 26 lb Stone Colour 16. 7 1/2 5 Pearl Do. 1. 3 1 Chocolate Do. 7 4 Ven. Red mixd 1. 10 3 Blue Smalts 4. 3 7 Barrl. Blacking 3. 11 1/2 1. 8. 6 Arrack 83 1/2 Gall. 11. 3. 9 £ 56. 11. 4 As a great Number of Soldiers and the Honoble. Company's Blacks are employed at the Fortification at Sandy Bay, and the Surgeons not being able to Attend above once a Week agreeable to the Orders they have received, We have taken Vincent a Soldier, who was an Assistant to the Hospital and knows something of Physick and Surgery and sent him | The storekeeper's account of waste for the year ending 30 September 1766 continued through provisions, cordage, paint and arrack to its total. Balance brought over, £3 1s 0d Written off: 7 pounds of starch, £0 4s 3d Written off: 1 hundredweight 0 quarters 9 pounds of soap, £4 5s 1d Written off: 6 hundredweight 1 quarter 15½ pounds of cordage, £11 13s 6d Written off: 3½ pounds of sago, £0 1s 5d Written off: 38 pounds of candles, £3 17s 7d Written off, sugar and candy: 5 hundredweight 1 quarter 23 pounds of sugar, £7 5s 3d Written off, sugar and candy: 2 hundredweight 2 quarters 6 pounds of candy, £5 17s 11d Written off, sugar and candy, total, £13 3s 2d Written off, rice and paddy: 4 hundredweight 2 quarters 22 pounds of rice, £2 7s 0d Written off, rice and paddy: 27 hundredweight 2 quarters 6 pounds of paddy eaten by rats, £5 17s 1d Written off, rice and paddy, total, £8 4s 1d Written off, paint: 26 pounds of stone colour, £0 16s 7½d Written off, paint: 3 pounds of pearl colour, £0 1s 3d Written off, paint: 1 pound of chocolate colour, £0 0s 7d Written off, paint: 4 pounds of mixed Venetian red, £0 1s 10d Written off, paint: 3 pounds of blue smalts, £0 4s 3d Written off, paint: 7 pounds of [...] blacking, £0 3s 11½d Written off, paint, total, £1 8s 6d Written off: 83¼ gallons of arrack, £11 3s 9d Written off, total, £56 11s 4d A large number of soldiers and Company slaves were at work on the fortification at Sandy Bay. The surgeons' orders allowed them to attend there no more than once a week. The Council therefore chose Vincent, a soldier who served as an assistant at the hospital and knew something of medicine and surgery, and sent him out. Interpretations The Council met the want of medical care at Sandy Bay by posting a soldier with hospital experience, and did not require the surgeons to attend more often. The obvious remedy lay with the surgeons themselves, who were the Company's qualified men. The record showed why that course was closed: their weekly attendance followed standing orders, which the Council treated as fixed. A half-trained assistant on the spot was thus preferred to a qualified man at a distance. The need was real, since the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766 charged more than 5,000 days of garrison labour at the works, and 32 blankets and cooking pots were sent out for men and slaves lodged there. Rats were named as the cause of the largest loss by weight. They ate more than 27 hundredweight of paddy in the year, about a tenth of the 271 hundredweight left in store on 30 September 1766. Grain in the husk was the reserve from which rice was beaten in time of scarcity, so the vermin were consuming the island's fallback food. The spring and wire rat traps issued to the castle and the stores in the same quarter belonged to that problem. Arrack and cordage accounted for £22 17s 3d of the total between them. The 83¼ gallons of arrack lost was leakage and evaporation from casks drawn off by the gallon, close to a tenth of the 833 gallons in store. The cordage lost weight in cutting and in drying out, since tarred rope was received by the hundredweight and issued by the pound. The total stood here as £56 11s 4d, against £50 11s 4d as read in the heading on the preceding leaf, and the heads entered fitted the larger figure. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of soap, cordage, sugar, candy, rice and paddy, the sago and the soldier's name. The word describing the blacking could not be read, as on the earlier leaves. | |
258 | 27th October him to Sandy Bay, it being absolutely necessary to have a Person there who can follow such directions as the Surgeons may give him and to be ready in case of Accidents, We have agreed to allow him twenty Shillings P Month for his trouble during the time that Fortification is building John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 3d Day of November 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and Signed, Dated the 27 October 1766. Mr. Matthew Purling. Reports that he has been on board the Ship Ponsborne to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as follows vizt. | The Council sent Vincent to Sandy Bay because it judged a man essential there who could carry out whatever directions the surgeons gave him and be on hand when accidents happened. He was granted 20 shillings a month for his trouble for as long as the fortification was under construction. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations Vincent's allowance of £1 0s 0d a month was large for a private soldier. A sentinel drew £3 16s 0½d on the pay list entered on 20 October 1766, so the extra duty came close to doubling his income. The Council limited the grant to the period of building, which tied the cost to the works and created no permanent post. His duties were framed as following the surgeons' directions and answering accidents, so he acted as their deputy between weekly visits and not as a practitioner in his own right. The mention of accidents reflected the nature of the labour, with men quarrying, splitting and shifting stone by crowbar and barrow. The Council met again at the castle on Monday 3 November 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 27 October 1766 were read, approved and signed. Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the Ponsborne to muster her company and to search for deserters. He found none, and the ship's muster roll was entered in the record. Interpretations A member of Council mustered the crew of each departing ship in person. Every man aboard was called over against the ship's roll, so that a soldier or slave hidden among the crew stood out as a name unaccounted for. A homeward Indiaman was the only way off the island, and a commander short of hands after a long voyage had reason to take a willing stowaway. The Council therefore kept the check in its own hands and did not rely on the ship's officers. Copying the roll into the consultation fixed the crew's number and names at the moment of inspection, as proof for the Court of Directors that the Ponsborne carried away nobody from the garrison. | |
259 | 3d November Muster Roll of Ship Ponsborne John Payne Commr. Jas. Richardson [1st] Mate Thos. Eden 2. Do. James Farrall 3 Do. William Jackson 4 Do. Phil. [Easthorpe] 5 Do. [...] Simpson Gunner Jerml. Birmingham Boats. Rich. Brush Carpentr. Jn. Welch Gunrs. Mate Alex Dowdle Boats. Do. Jas. Gundy Carps. Mate Mich. Garwin Qr. Mastr. Thos. Swaits Do. Geo. Wilson Do. Thos. Macnamara Do. Willm. Morgan Capts. Stewd. Jn. Johnson Sail maker Thos. Lash Ships Cook Benj. Goodwin Midshn. Saml. [Okman] Capts. Taylor Phil. Bostock Do. Servt. Jn. Stacey Seamn. Edwd. Johnson Chars. Turner John Dunn Zach. Benson Thomas Hopkinson Clement Lidsey William Turner Sever Simpson Joseph Willis Edward Littlewood John Dick Thos. Crook Seamen Anthy. Brun Peter Turner Joseph Powlson Thos. Patrick John [Knocks] Foster Gold Thos. Barnes Fran. Anthony Willm. Curry John Jones John Peacock John Smith John Oldborough James Buffield Marcus Cooks Servant Barney Do. Do. Chatham Capts. Do. Edom Boats. Do. Nippon Gunrs. Do. Ponsborne Capts. Do. Cowper Surgeons Do. Edw. Mew Seamen Jam. Tracy Do. Jams. Clarke Poulterer Edw. Gowen Painter David Gowen Butcher Sandy Serang Suddy Tindall Hammud Blandy Abaham Tho. de Rosario Lascar Anthy. Cruiz Do. Joseph Laoux Lascars Anthy. de Rosario Do. Alberto de Rosario Lewis De Costa [Soneguee] Darjeet [Nahemammoud] John Mahommet Side Aent Racatulla Budoo Semby Araar Russal Jilloa Chaund Scerob Baddoa Coremutta Mahomet Softey Gower [Dummokenny] John Williams Seam. John Williams John Gillingham John Penever Joseph [Vinricee] John Simmonds Jas. Todd Simon Wimple | Matthew Purling's muster roll of the Ponsborne, entered under 3 November 1766, named every officer, seaman, servant and lascar in the ship's company. John Payne, commander James Richardson, chief mate Thomas Eden, second mate James Ferrall, third mate William Jackson, fourth mate [...] Easthorpe, fifth mate William Simpson, gunner Josiah Birmingham, boatswain Richard Brush, carpenter John Welch, gunner's mate Alexander Dowdle, boatswain's mate Isaac Grindy, carpenter's mate Michael Gowan, quartermaster Thomas Swaite, quartermaster George Wilson, quartermaster Thomas Macnamara, quartermaster William Morgan, captain's steward John Johnson, sailmaker Thomas Lash, ship's cook Benjamin Goddard, midshipman Samuel Oliver, captain's tailor Philip Bostock, captain's servant John Harvey, seaman Edward Johnson, seaman Charles Turner, seaman John Dunn, seaman Zachariah Benson, seaman Thomas Hopkinson, seaman Clement Ledsey, seaman William Turner, seaman Peter Simpson, seaman Joseph Willis, seaman Edward Littlewood, seaman John Dick, seaman Thomas Crook, seaman Anthony Bryan, seaman Peter Turner, seaman Joseph Powlson, seaman Thomas Patrick, seaman John Couch, seaman Foster Gold, seaman Thomas Barnes, seaman Francis Anthony, seaman William Curry, seaman John Jones, seaman John Peacock, seaman John Smith, seaman John Oldborough, seaman James Duffield, seaman Marcus, cook's servant Barney, cook's servant Chatham, captain's servant Essex, boatswain's servant Nippon, gunner's servant Ponsborne, captain's servant Cowper, surgeon's servant Edward Allen, seaman James Avery, seaman Samuel Clarke, poulterer Edward Gowen, painter David Gowen, butcher Sandy, serang Subdy, tindal Hammud, lascar Khandy, lascar Abakam, lascar Thomas de Rosario, lascar Anthony Cruz, lascar Joseph Lanox, lascar Anthony de Rosario, lascar Alberto de Rosario, lascar Lewis de Costa, lascar Songuee, lascar Danput, lascar Nabimamoud, lascar John Mahomet, lascar Side Aut, lascar Bucatalla, lascar Buden, lascar Tomby, lascar Ansar, lascar Tufsal, lascar Tilloa, lascar Chaund, lascar Jeenb, lascar Buddra, lascar Coromutta, lascar Mahomet Softy, lascar Gower, lascar Punjohnny, lascar John Williams, seaman John Williams, seaman John Gillingham, seaman John Penover, seaman Joseph Vinnicoe, seaman John Simmonds, seaman James Todd, seaman Simon Wimple, seaman Interpretations About 30 of the 98 men were lascars, Indian seamen engaged in Bengal for the passage home. They sailed under their own petty officers: a serang, who was their boatswain and the man through whom they were hired and paid, and a tindal, his mate. Indiamen lost European hands in India to sickness, death and desertion, and commanders made up their numbers with lascars before sailing. The Ponsborne thus came in with barely 40 European seamen before the mast. A ship so placed had every reason to welcome a soldier willing to work his passage, which was why Purling's search for deserters mattered. Several lascars bore Portuguese names such as de Rosario, de Costa and Cruz. These were Indian Christians from the old Portuguese settlements, long established as a seafaring community around Bengal, and they stood on the roll beside men with Muslim and Hindu names. Seven servants were entered by a single name, among them Chatham, Essex and Ponsborne, the last taken from the ship herself. Names of that kind marked them as slaves or bound boys belonging to the officers they served, brought from India and not signed on as crew. The poulterer and butcher looked after the live fowls and stock carried for the officers' and passengers' table. The roll made no mention of a surgeon or purser, though a surgeon's servant appeared, so the list was perhaps not complete for the ship's senior officers. Many readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably most of the lascars' names, the surnames of the mates and petty officers, the rank of each man where a repeat mark carried it down the column, and the point at which seamen gave way to lascars. The forename of the fifth mate could not be read. | |
260 | 3d November Passengers Mr. Willm. Fullerton Capt. R. Abercromby Captn. Maclean Lieut. Ben. Wroe Miss [Pean] Black Servants Pedro Do. Pablo Johneco John (Signed) John Payne The Executrix to the last Will and Testament of James Torbett deceased this day presented the said Will desiring the same might be proved which was accordingly done upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto the Will is as follows vizt. Island St. Helena In the Name of God. Amen I James Torbett of the said Island Cooper, being Weak in Body, but of Sound Mind and Memory (blessed be God) do this twenty Ninth Day of May in the fifth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third, and in the Year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred and sixty five, make and publish this my last Will and Testament, in Manner following (that is to say) Imprimis, I commend my Soul into the Hands of Almighty God, who gave it me, and my Body to the Earth from whence it came, in hopes of a Joyful Resurrection, through the Merits of my Saviour Jesus Christ, and as for that worldly Estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me, I dispose thereof as follows, First, I will and desire that all my Just Debts and funeral Expences be fully paid and satisfied immediately, or as soon after my Decease as conveniently may be Item, I give to my Loving Wife Margaret Torbett her Right and | The muster of the Ponsborne, entered under 3 November 1766, closed with a list of her passengers, which John Payne signed. Mr William Fullerton, passenger Captain R. Abercromby, passenger Captain Maclean, passenger Lieutenant Benjamin Wroe, passenger Miss Ruse, passenger Pedro, black servant Paulo, black servant Johneco, black servant John, black servant Interpretations Payne signed the roll as the ship's commander, so the list Purling checked was the captain's own declaration of everyone aboard. A deserter found later would thus have stood against Payne's signature as well as against the Council's search. Three of the five passengers were army officers going home from Bengal, and four black servants travelled with the party. The servants were entered by a single name each and after their masters, in the same manner as the officers' servants on the crew roll. The executrix of James Torbett's will presented it to the Council on the same day and asked for it to be proved. The Council granted probate on the sworn evidence of the witnesses to the will, and the text was entered in the record. Torbett, a cooper of St Helena, made the will on 29 May 1765, in the fifth year of the reign of George III. He was sick in body but declared himself of sound mind and memory. He committed his soul to God and his body to the earth in the hope of a joyful resurrection through Christ. His first direction was that all his just debts and his funeral expenses were to be paid in full at once, or as soon after his death as was convenient. The next clause made a gift to his wife, Margaret Torbett. Interpretations The Governor and Council sat as the island's court of probate. An executrix brought the will before them, the witnesses swore to its signing, and the consultation itself became the register in which the proved text was kept. St Helena had no separate church court for the purpose, as England did, so the same body that ran the garrison and the warehouse also settled the estates of the dead. Torbett died on 22 October 1766, as the consultation of 27 October 1766 recorded, and the will reached the Council 12 days later. He made it some 17 months before his death while ill, and evidently recovered for a time. The order of the clauses put creditors ahead of family, which was the standard form and also the law: nothing passed to his widow until debts and burial costs were met. The passengers' names rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably Fullerton, Abercromby, Wroe, Ruse and the four servants. | |
261 | 1766 and Property as to a Dower, which is a third Part of the Estate both real and personal which I shall die possessed of, together with the free Use of my Dwelling house, and the appurtenances thereunto belonging, to hold to her during her Natural Life, she making no spoil, Waste or Destruction thereupon, and from and after her decease, then the same to revert and remain to My Children hereafter Mentioned, to be equally divided amongst them, Item, I give and bequeath unto my Eldest Son William the Sum of one shilling and no more, to be paid unto him after my Decease when called for, Item, All the Rest, Residue and Remainder of my Estate both real and personal whatsoever and wheresoever I give, devise and bequeath unto my three other Sons, Namely, Joshua, John and Richard, and unto my Daughter Mary, to them, their Heirs and Assigns for ever equally to be divided amongst them, Share and share alike; And as my Loving Wife, the said Margaret is now, to Appearance, in a Pregnant State, My Will and Mind is. that such Issue, whether Male or Female, as shall in reasonable Time come from her Body, so as to be reputed Mine, shall be intitled to a Divident of my said Estate, And have and enjoy an equal Share thereof with my other Children above Mentioned, Lastly, I bequeath unto my Daughter Mary, a Girl slave Named Kitty; And I make and ordain My Loving Wife the said Margaret Sole Executrix of this my Will, and my Loving and Trusty Friends, John Seale and John Worrall Overseers thereof, to take Care and see the same performed according to my true Intent and Meaning, And I do hereby revoke, annul and make Void all former Wills and Testaments by me heretofore made, Declaring this to be my last Will and Testament, In Witness whereof I the said James Torbett to this my last Will and Testament have set my Hand and Seal, the Day and Year above Mentioned . . Signed, Sealed, Published and declared by the Testator, as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of Us whose Names are hereunder Written, who did each of us Subscribe our Names as Witnesses at his Request, and in his presence (Signed) Phillip Mahony George Bird (Signed) James Torbett | Torbett left his wife Margaret her widow's share of a third of everything he owned at his death, in land and in goods. She also received the free use of his dwelling house and its outbuildings for the rest of her life, provided she did not damage or run down the property. On her death the third and the house were to pass to his children named later in the will, divided equally. His eldest son William received one shilling and nothing more, payable after Torbett's death whenever William asked for it. The whole remainder of the estate went to his three other sons, Joshua, John and Richard, and to his daughter Mary, in equal shares outright. Margaret appeared to be pregnant when the will was made. Torbett directed that a child of either sex, born within a time that allowed it to be accepted as his, was to take an equal share with the other children. His last gift was a slave girl named Kitty, left to his daughter Mary. He named Margaret as sole executrix. Two trusted friends, John Seale and John Worrall, were appointed overseers to see the will carried out as he intended. He cancelled every earlier will and signed and sealed this one on the day it was drawn up. The witnesses signed in his presence and at his request, and the first two were Philip Mahony and George Bird. Interpretations The shilling left to William was a deliberate disinheritance. As eldest son he stood to inherit his father's land under the ordinary rule if no will said otherwise, and a will that simply omitted him invited the claim that he was forgotten. Naming him and giving him a token sum closed that argument, since it proved the father had him in mind and chose to leave him nothing of substance. The will gave no reason. The estate was instead split equally among the younger sons and the daughter, with no preference for sons over Mary. Margaret's third was her dower, the share of a husband's estate that the law secured to a widow. Torbett gave it for her life only, with the house, and barred her from waste, so she held the property as a tenant and could not sell it or strip it. On her death it fell back to the four younger children, which kept the whole estate in their line. The clause for the unborn child was framed with care. The child inherited only if born within a time that allowed it to be reputed his, a condition aimed at any later child of the widow. Margaret was thought to be pregnant on 29 May 1765, so that child was more than a year old when the will was proved on 3 November 1766. Kitty was bequeathed by name as a single item of property and went to the daughter alone, outside the equal division. A slave girl passed in this way was a personal attendant and a marriage portion in one, and the gift gave Mary an asset of her own that her brothers did not share. The overseers had no power over the estate but stood as guardians of the will's intent, a useful check where the executrix was also a beneficiary. A Mary Seale sold yams to the Company in the paymaster's account closed on 30 September 1766, so the Seales were among the planter families. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the slave girl's name, the overseers' surnames and the names of the two witnesses. | |
262 | 3d November John Seale one of the Overseers to the above Will declining acting as such Mr. Purling Reports that the Honorable Company's General Books of Accounts are Balanced to the 30th September last, We Ordered them to be Copied as fast as possible Mr. James Greentree this Day applied to Us to have a Bill of Lading Registered. Granted The Governor this day paid into your Honors Cash the sum of £205. 4 which we have received and given him Bills of Exchange drawn on the Honoble. the Court of Directors payable to Robert Wood Esqr. at 90 Days after sight John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | John Seale, one of the two overseers named in James Torbett's will, declined to act in that role. Matthew Purling reported that the Company's general account books were balanced to 30 September 1766. The Council ordered copies to be made as quickly as possible. James Greentree applied to the Council that day to have a bill of lading registered, and the Council agreed. Governor Skottowe paid £205 4s 0d into the Company's treasury on the same day. The Council took the money in and gave him bills of exchange drawn on the Court of Directors, payable to Robert Wood 90 days after sight. The Governor, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations The Governor used the treasury to send his own money to England. He handed over coin on the island and received bills that the Court of Directors paid to his nominee in London, the same service given to George and John Stephens in the cash account for September 1766. His remittance of £205 4s 0d was twice their two sets combined. Bills at 90 days after sight gave the Company three months' use of the money in London after the paper was presented, on top of the months it took to arrive, while the island kept the silver at once. The Governor sat on the board that approved the transaction and signed the minute recording it, so the entry in the consultation was the only outside check: the Court saw the sum, the payee and the terms set out in the record sent home. Seale's refusal was entered because an overseer could not be compelled to serve. With him gone, John Worrall alone remained to watch over the will, and Margaret Torbett's conduct as executrix and life tenant of a third of the estate had one guardian instead of two. Recording the refusal protected Seale from any later claim that he had neglected a duty he never accepted. Registering a bill of lading placed a private shipper's cargo receipt on the Council's books. Greentree, who sold a boat to the Company in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766, thereby secured an official copy on the island of what he had put aboard a ship. That copy was proof of the shipment if the original was lost at sea or disputed at the other end. The order to copy the general books followed from their closing. The balanced ledgers stayed on the island and a fair copy went to the Court of Directors, which was why speed mattered while a homeward ship lay in the road. The payee's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Wood. | |
263 | 10th November At a Consultation held on Monday the 10th Day of November 1766 at the Castle, Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 3d November 1766. Wednesday the 5th Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Ponsborne for England, Jonathan Lake Corporal Deserted in the Ship Ponsborne that sailed from hence on Wednesday last, notwithstanding Captain Payne's taking all the necessary precautions in his power for discovering him, he could not be found, We this Day received of Captain Archibald Mitchell the Sum of one hundred and fifty Pounds borrowed of the Honoble. Company and delivered him up his Bond for the same The Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of October last were this Day brought in which were examined and approved and are as follows vizt. | The Council met at the castle on Monday 10 November 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 3 November 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Ponsborne sailed for England on Wednesday 5 November 1766. Jonathan Lake, a corporal, deserted in the Ponsborne when she left. Captain Payne took every precaution within his power to find him before sailing, but the search failed. Captain Archibald Mitchell repaid £150 0s 0d that he borrowed from the Company. The Council took the money in that day and handed his bond back to him. The gunner's and steward's accounts for October 1766 were brought in, examined and approved, and were entered in the record. Interpretations The desertion showed the limits of the check made two days before the ship left. Purling mustered the Ponsborne and searched her, and reported on 3 November 1766 that he found no deserters. Lake got aboard after that inspection or stayed hidden through it. The ship arrived with only some 40 European seamen and about 30 lascars, so a trained soldier willing to work was a welcome hand to the crew, whatever the commander ordered. Lake was a corporal, a man trusted with posting sentries and so well placed to know when a boat could be reached unobserved. The Council recorded that Payne did all he could, and laid no blame on him. A commander who carried off a soldier was normally answerable to the Company for the loss. By entering Payne's precautions in the consultation, the Council cleared him in advance with the Court of Directors and treated the escape as the crew's concealment and not the captain's connivance. The treasury lent money to the Company's own officers against a bond, a signed and sealed promise to repay. Mitchell commanded the Artillery Company at a salary of £45 12s 6d on the pay list entered on 20 October 1766, so the loan equalled most of a year's pay. Returning the bond was the discharge: once the paper was back in his hands, no claim against him survived. The corporal's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Lake. | |
264 | 10th November Artillery Stores expended in October 1766 vizt. Guns fired, Shott fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, Powder Expend. lb, Oz Octob. 25th Guns fired to celebrate his Majesty's Accession: Guns fired 21, Shott fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 4, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 14, Powder Expend. lb 25, Oz 8 26 An Alarm at Banks's for the Ponsborne: Guns fired 2, Shott fired 0, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expend. lb 9, Oz 0 Do. Fired at Do. to bring the said Ship too: Guns fired 1, Shott fired 1, 9 lb 1, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expend. lb 4, Oz 8 Do. Answd. the said Ship: Guns fired 9, Shott fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, Powder Expend. lb 9, Oz 0 Powder expended at the Fortifications &ca. &ca.: Guns fired 0, Shott fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, Powder Expend. lb 144, Oz 14 Total: Guns fired 33, Shott fired 1, 9 lb 3, 4 lb 4, 3 lb 3, 2 lb 23, Powder Expend. lb 192, Oz 14 Tallow expend. for the Carts Boats &c. this Month 26 lb Handspikes Do. 8 Spunge Staves Do. 5 Cartridge Paper Do. 3 Qrs. Sheep Skin tannd Do. 1 Iron Shod truck Do. 1 (Signed) A. Mitchell Sundrys Expended at the Honob. Company's Table in Octr. 1766 vizt. 19 Bottles Port Wine £ 1. 8. 6 34 Do. Lisbon 2. 11 14 Do. Mountain 1. 1 46 Do. Beer 11. 6 62 Do. Arrack 3. 9. 9 118 lb Beef 2. 7. 1 272 lb Mutton 5. 13. 4 6 Kids 15 1 Lamb 10 12 Fowles 18 28 lb Butter 1. 8 9 lb [Lard] [...] 10 338 lb Flour 1. 18. 6 £ 24. 1. 8 | The gunner's account of artillery stores used in October 1766, entered under 10 November, recorded each occasion on which guns were fired and the powder spent. 25 October 1766, guns fired to celebrate the King's accession: 21 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 nine-pounders, 4 four-pounders, 3 three-pounders, 14 two-pounders, powder 25 pounds 8 ounces 26 October 1766, an alarm at Banks's for the Ponsborne: 2 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 2 nine-pounders, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, powder 9 pounds 0 ounces. 26 October 1766, fired at Banks's to bring the Ponsborne to: 1 gun fired, 1 shot fired, 1 nine-pounder, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, powder 4 pounds 8 ounces. 26 October 1766, answered the salute of the Ponsborne: 9 guns fired, 0 shot fired, 0 nine-pounders, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 9 two-pounders, powder 9 pounds 0 ounces. Powder expended at the fortifications and elsewhere: 144 pounds 14 ounces Total: 33 guns fired, 1 shot fired, 3 nine-pounders, 4 four-pounders, 3 three-pounders, 23 two-pounders, powder 192 pounds 14 ounces Tallow expended for the castle, boats and other uses: 26 pounds Handspikes expended: 8 Sponge staves expended: 5 Cartridge paper expended: 3 quires Tanned sheepskin expended: 1 Iron-shod truck expended: 1 Archibald Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations The entries for 26 October 1766 set out the island's procedure for an approaching ship. Two guns at Banks's raised the alarm when the Ponsborne was sighted. A third gun was then fired with shot to make her bring to, which meant heaving to under the battery until she was identified. Only this gun in the whole month carried a ball. Every vessel was thus treated as a possible enemy until she had stopped and declared herself, however plainly she looked like a Company ship. Once satisfied, the fort answered her salute with nine guns from its smallest pieces. Three quarters of the month's powder, 144 pounds 14 ounces, went to the fortifications and not to the guns. That quantity fitted blasting rock at the Sandy Bay works, where the stone wedges, crowbars and masons' tools issued in the quarter to 30 September 1766 were used on the same task. The accession salute of 21 guns was fired mostly from two-pounders, 14 of the 21. Ceremony was therefore carried by the lightest guns, at little over a pound of powder a round, and the nine-pounders were kept for warning and enforcement. A handspike was the wooden lever used to shift a gun carriage and raise the breech. A sponge stave was the shaft of the wet sponge that cleaned the bore between rounds. Cartridge paper made the charges, the tanned sheepskin covered sponge heads and a truck was a carriage wheel. Tallow greased the axles. The steward's account listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table during October 1766. 19 bottles of port wine, £1 8s 6d 34 bottles of Lisbon wine, £2 11s 0d 14 bottles of mountain wine, £1 1s 0d 46 bottles of beer, £0 11s 6d 62 bottles of arrack, £3 9s 9d 113 pounds of beef, £2 7s 1d 272 pounds of mutton, £5 13s 4d 6 kids, £0 15s 0d 1 lamb, £0 10s 0d 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 28 pounds of butter, £1 8s 0d 9 pounds of lard, £1 10s 0d Flour weighing [...], £1 13s 6d Total, £24 1s 8d Interpretations The table ate fresh meat throughout. Beef and mutton both stood at 5d a pound, with kids at 2s 6d each and fowls at 1s 6d, all bought from the island's own stock. None of the salt beef and pork that made up a third of the warehouse inventory on 30 September 1766 appeared. Barrelled meat was thus the food of slaves, soldiers and ships, while the Governor's table took the fresh produce of the planters. Drink came to £9 1s 9d of the £24 1s 8d, with 175 bottles in the month. Arrack was the largest item at 62 bottles, more than all three wines together. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the beer, the count of bottles, the weights of beef and mutton, the lard and its sum and the total. The weight of flour could not be read. | |
265 | 1766 John Price this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena. The humble Petition of John Price Sheweth. That your Petitioner is desirous of hiring a piece of the Honorable Company's Waste Ground, lying in [Sarahs] Valley, adjoining to the House of Jeremiah Smith, humbly requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a Lease for the Same And your Petitioner will ever pray. (Signed) John Price 10th November 1766 Ordered the said Ground to be Viewed John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | John Price petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on 10 November 1766. He wished to rent a piece of the Company's waste ground in James's Valley, next to the house of Jeremiah Smith, and asked for a lease of it. The Council ordered the ground to be inspected. The Governor, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations The Council neither granted the lease nor refused it, and sent men to look at the plot first. A request for unused land beside an existing house might have been approved on the spot, since idle ground earned the Company nothing. The order to view it showed that a grant depended on what the ground actually was: its extent, its boundary with Smith's property and whether it touched a road, a watercourse or anything the garrison needed. Price's petition described the plot only by its neighbour, so an inspection was the means of fixing what a lease would cover before any rent was set. Waste ground was land the Company owned outright and had not yet let or enclosed. A lease turned it into a source of rent, and rents were one of the treasury's two real sources of income, bringing in £591 1s 0d in the cash account for September 1766. Leasing kept the freehold with the Company, so the tenant held for a term at a yearly payment and the land returned to it afterwards. The valley's name rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as James's Valley, the valley of the island's town. | |
266 | 17th November At a Consultation held on Monday the 17th Day of Novemr. 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Matthew Purling. Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read approved and signed. dated the 10th November 1766. The Executors to the last Will and Testament of Thomas Harper Decd. this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of The Executors to the last Will and Testament of Thos. Harper deceased Sheweth That your Petitioners are desirous to dispose of their right to eight Acres of Leasehold Land lying in the South division of this Island belonging to the Orphs. of Thomas Harper Decd. & that your Worship & Council will be pleased to accept of John [Sedadon] Tennant for the same And your Petitioners will ever pray (Signed) Benj. Mason Jont. Doveton 17th Novemr. 1766 Granted Counted and Examined the Honob. Company's Cash for the Month of October last, which is as follows vizt. | The Council met at the castle on Monday 17 November 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 10 November 1766 were read, approved and signed. The executors of the will of Thomas Harper, deceased, presented a petition addressed to the Governor and Council and dated the same day. They wished to dispose of their right to eight acres of leasehold land in the south division of the island, which belonged to Harper's orphans. They asked the Council to accept John [...] as tenant of it. Benjamin Mason and Jonathan Doveton signed the petition, and the Council granted it. The Company's cash for October 1766 was then counted and examined. Interpretations The executors could not pass the land to a buyer on their own authority. The eight acres were leasehold, held from the Company, so a sale transferred only the remaining right under the lease, and the new holder became the Company's tenant. The petition therefore asked the Council to accept the incoming man by name. The landlord's consent was the step that completed the transfer, and it let the Council keep out a tenant it judged unable to pay the rent or unfit to hold land. The Council granted this request at once, where a week earlier it ordered John Price's waste ground to be inspected before deciding. The difference lay in the land. Price asked for a new lease of ground never let before, whose bounds were unsettled. Harper's acres were already measured, rented and on the books, so only the name of the tenant changed and nothing needed viewing. The land belonged to Harper's orphans, and the executors were selling it on their behalf. Turning a child's leasehold into money made the inheritance easier to divide and hold until the children came of age, since land needed working and rent fell due each year whether or not anyone farmed it. The Council's approval, entered in the record, also covered the executors against a later complaint from the orphans that their property was parted with improperly. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the testator's surname, the acreage, the division of the island and the first executor's name. The incoming tenant's surname could not be read. | |
267 | Cash Dr. Per Contra Cr. 1766 October 1st To Balance remaining £ 9391. 14 £ 9391. 14 Octob. 31 By Balance remaining vizt. In Specie 8851. 19 In Cash Notes 539. 15 £ 9391. 14 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick Margin Notes: 1766 | The count of the Company's cash for October 1766 showed the same balance at the end of the month as at its start, with nothing received and nothing paid. Debit, 1 October 1766: balance remaining, £9,391 14s 0d Debit, total, £9,391 14s 0d Credit, 31 October 1766: balance remaining in specie, £8,851 19s 0d Credit, 31 October 1766: balance remaining in cash notes, £539 15s 0d Credit, total, £9,391 14s 0d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations The treasury did no business at all in October. The cash account for September 1766 showed why: the paymaster drew his whole quarter's money in one advance on 30 September, the storekeeper paid in his sales on the same day and the rents came in on 24 September. Receipts and payments were thus bunched at the quarter's end, and the chest lay untouched in the weeks between. The division between silver and cash notes was also unchanged to the shilling. The Council counted the chest and signed for it all the same. A monthly count by four officers, made whether or not money moved, meant that any shortfall was traced to a single month and to the men who signed the count before it. The first movements after this balance fell in November, when the Governor paid in £205 4s 0d for bills of exchange on 3 November 1766 and Captain Mitchell repaid his loan of £150 0s 0d on 10 November 1766. | |
268 | 24th November At a Consultation held on Monday the 24th Day of November 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governr. Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Mr. Matt. Purling. Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was Read, approved, and Signed Dated the 17 Novemr. 1766. We this day Executed the Renewal of a Lease to Mr. John Worrall for a piece of Land containing 16 1/4 Acres lying in the East Division of this Island, at five Shillings P Acre. John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council met at the castle on Monday 24 November 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 17 November 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Council executed the renewal of a lease to John Worrall that day. It covered 16¼ acres in the east division of the island at a rent of five shillings an acre. The Governor, Corneille, Purling and Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations The entry gave the Company's rate for leased land, which the earlier petitions of John Price and Thomas Harper's executors left unstated. At five shillings an acre, Worrall's holding owed £4 1s 3d a year. The cash account for September 1766 recorded £591 1s 0d received in rents on 24 September. If the same rate applied across the island, that sum answered to something over 2,300 acres under lease. A lease on the island ran for a fixed term and then lapsed, so a planter's hold on his land depended on the Council agreeing to renew. Each renewal was a fresh deed executed by the Governor and Council, which gave the Company a recurring occasion to confirm the acreage, restate the rent and decide whether the tenant kept the ground. Worrall was one of the two overseers named in James Torbett's will, and the only one left after John Seale declined on 3 November 1766. His standing as a renewed leaseholder of 16¼ acres marked him as an established planter. | |
269 | 1st December At a Consultation held on Monday the 1st Day of December 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling. Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and Signed dated the 24th Novemr. 1766. Mr. Benjamin Mason this Day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of Benj. Mason Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of hiring a small piece of the Honorable Companys Waste Land lying in Swans Valley adjoining to your Petitioners own Land, and as it is only for the Conveniency of fencing humbly begs that you'll be pleased to grant him a Lease for it at a low rate And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) Benj. Mason 1st Decemr. 1766 Ordered the said Land to be Viewed The Executors to the Last Will and Testament of Thomas Greentree deceased this day presented the following Petition vizt. | The Council met at the castle on Monday 1 December 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 24 November 1766 were read, approved and signed. Benjamin Mason presented a petition addressed to the Governor and Council and dated the same day. He wished to rent a small piece of the Company's waste land in Swans Valley, next to land of his own. The plot was wanted only to make his fencing more convenient, and he asked for a lease of it at a low rate. The Council ordered the land to be inspected. The executors of the will of Thomas Greentree, deceased, also presented a petition that day. Interpretations Mason asked for two things, a lease and a reduced rent, and the Council answered neither. It ordered the ground viewed, as it did for John Price's request on 10 November 1766. The standing rate was five shillings an acre, the figure in John Worrall's renewal of 24 November 1766. Mason argued for less on the ground that the plot had no value to him except as a line for a fence. A strip that let a planter run his boundary along easier ground saved him labour and timber without adding to what he could grow or graze. The Council declined to take that claim on trust. An inspection showed whether the plot was really a sliver useful only for fencing or a piece of workable land that ought to pay the full rate. The petition also showed how planters' holdings grew. Mason already held land beside the waste and sought to take in the adjoining ground piece by piece under lease. Viewing each request let the Council see that such additions did not close off a path, a spring or common grazing that neighbours relied on. Mason signed the petition of Thomas Harper's executors on 17 November 1766, so he was a man of some standing among the planters. The valley's name rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Swans Valley. | |
270 | 1st December To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Counl. of St. Helena The humble Petition of the Executrs. to the last Will and Testament of Thomas Greentree decd. Sheweth That your Petitioners are desirous of disposing of their right to twelve Acres of Leasehold Land lying in the East Division of this Island called Taylors, and to Accept of Captain Henry Bazett Tenant of the same And your Petitioners will ever pray (Signed) James Greentree Willm. Wrangham 1st Decemr. 1766 Granted John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The executors of Thomas Greentree's will petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on 1 December 1766. They wished to dispose of their right to 12 acres of leasehold land in the east division of the island, known as Taylors. They asked the Council to accept Captain Henry Bazett as tenant of it. James Greentree and William Wrangham signed the petition, and the Council granted it. The Governor, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations The request followed the same form as that of Thomas Harper's executors on 17 November 1766, and the Council dealt with it in the same way. The land was leasehold, so the executors sold only their right under the lease and the buyer became the Company's tenant. The Council's acceptance of the incoming man by name completed the transfer. No inspection was ordered, unlike Benjamin Mason's request for waste ground on the same day, because the holding was already measured and rented and only the tenant changed. The incoming tenant was an officer and not a planter. Captain Henry Bazett shared a surname with William Bazett, the Secretary who signed the auction notice of 27 October 1766. Land in the east division was thus passing from a planter's estate into the hands of a family in the Company's service. At the rate of five shillings an acre in John Worrall's renewal of 24 November 1766, the 12 acres owed £3 0s 0d a year. The holding carried a name of its own, Taylors, which was neither the dead man's nor the buyer's. Plots on the island kept the name of an earlier occupier through later changes of hand, and that name served to identify the ground in the Company's rent roll. Both executors appeared in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766. James Greentree sold a boat to the Company, and Wrangham was paid on 6 August 1766 for 17 days' work by his stonecutter at Sandy Bay. | |
271 | 1st December To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Counl. of St. Helena The humble Petition of the Executrs. to the last Will and Testament of Thomas Greentree decd. Sheweth That your Petitioners are desirous of disposing of their right to twelve Acres of Leasehold Land lying in the East Division of this Island called Taylors, and to Accept of Captain Henry Bazett Tenant of the same And your Petitioners will ever pray (Signed) James Greentree Willm. Wrangham 1st Decemr. 1766 Granted John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council met at the castle on Monday 8 December 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 1 December 1766 were read, approved and signed. Corneille reported that he inspected the waste ground Benjamin Mason asked for on 1 December 1766. In his opinion, letting it to Mason did no harm to the Company or the neighbours and was in fact a benefit, because it shielded the Peak fence from people straying off the common. He therefore thought that any grant ought to require a fence along the high road, from the [...] gate leading to Horse Pasture as far as Mason's own gate, which closed off that neck of land completely. The ground was good pasture, apart from an acre and a half that enclosure was expected to bring up to the same standard within a year or two. John Alexander and George Bird presented petitions that day. Alexander's, addressed to the Governor and Council, asked to rent a piece of land. Interpretations Corneille's inspection did not bear out the case Mason made for a cheap lease. Mason described the plot as useful only for the convenience of fencing and asked for a low rate on that ground. The Lieutenant Governor found good pasture, with a poor acre and a half that fencing was likely to improve. The land therefore had real grazing value, and the report gave the Council reason to charge the ordinary rent of five shillings an acre recorded in John Worrall's renewal of 24 November 1766. The report also turned the lease into a means of getting a fence built. Corneille recommended that the grant oblige Mason to fence along the high road between two gates, sealing a neck of land through which people and stock came off the common. The Company gained a barrier protecting an existing fence line at the tenant's expense, and Mason gained the enclosure he wanted. The inspection ordered on 1 December 1766 thus served to attach a condition to the lease as much as to check the facts. The Lieutenant Governor made the inspection himself. Viewing waste ground was treated as a matter for the second officer of the island and not left to a subordinate, which reflected how closely the Council held decisions over land. The common was the unenclosed ground on which planters had shared grazing. Horse Pasture was a named tract in the west of the island. The name of the fence was read as the Peak fence, after the high central ridge, though the word was uncertain. The name of the gate at the start of the proposed fence could not be read. | |
272 | 8th December of the Honorable Company's Waste Land lying in the West division of the said Island adjoining to your Petitioners own Land and as it is for the convenience of Fencing, humbly requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a Lease for the same And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) John Alexander 8th December 1766 To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governr. &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of George Bird Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of hiring a small piece of the Honl. Company's Waste Ground, lying in James's Valley, to erect a House upon, humbly begs that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a Lease for the same And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) Geo. Bird 8th December Ordered the said Lands to be Viewed The Gunner's and Stewards Accounts for the Month of November last were this Day brought in which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. | John Alexander's petition, dated 8 December 1766, asked to rent a piece of the Company's waste land in the west division of the island, next to his own land. He wanted it for convenience in fencing and requested a lease. George Bird petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on the same day. He wished to rent a small piece of the Company's waste ground in James's Valley on which to build a house, and asked for a lease of it. The Council ordered both pieces of land to be inspected. The gunner's and steward's accounts for November 1766 were brought in, examined and approved, and were entered in the record. Interpretations Alexander gave the same reason as Benjamin Mason on 1 December 1766, that the ground was wanted to make fencing easier. The Council heard that argument tested earlier in the same meeting. Corneille's inspection of Mason's plot found good pasture where the petition spoke only of a fence line. Alexander's request was sent for the same check, so the Council did not accept the fencing plea on its face a second time. These were the third and fourth applications for waste ground in a month, after John Price's on 10 November 1766 and Mason's. Planters and townsmen were pressing outwards onto the Company's unlet land, some to round off farms and others to build. Each request went to inspection before any grant, which kept the pace and shape of that expansion in the Council's hands. Bird's request differed in kind, since he wanted a house plot in the valley of the town and not farmland. Price also sought ground in James's Valley, beside Jeremiah Smith's house. Two applications there in four weeks pointed to building in the town, in keeping with the window glass, nails, hinges and paint the planters bought from the store in the quarter to 30 September 1766. A George Bird witnessed James Torbett's will, proved on 3 November 1766. | |
273 | 1766 Artillery Stores expended in Novemr. 1766 Guns fired, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, [9] lb, Powder Expend. lb, Oz Departed the Ponsborne: Guns fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, [9] lb 0, Powder Expend. lb 9, Oz 0 An Alarm at Prosperous Bay for the Lg. Bt.: Guns fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, [9] lb 2, Powder Expend. lb 12, Oz 0 Powder expended in Priming &ca.: Guns fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, [9] lb 0, Powder Expend. lb 12, Oz 14 Total: Guns fired 15, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 9, [9] lb 2, Powder Expend. lb 33, Oz 14 Handspikes expend. at the Fortificat. &ca. 14 Cartridge paper for Sundries 3 Qrs. Nine Pound. Axle Trees for Truck Carriages 2 Tallow for the Lg. Boat 14 lb Iron Shod Trucks [16 Pr.] for the Works 12 (Signed) A. Mitchell Sundries Expended at the Honoble. Company's Table in November 1766 11 Bottles Port Wine £ 16. 6 18 Do. Lisbon 1. 7 8 Do. Mountain 12 26 Do. Beer 6. 6 166 lb Beef 3. 7. 2 1/2 200 lb Mutton 4. 3. 4 60 Bottles Arrack 3 6 Fowls 9 Carried Over £ 14. 1. 6 1/2 | The gunner's account of artillery stores used in November 1766 recorded the guns fired during the month and the powder spent. Departure of the Ponsborne: 9 guns fired, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 9 two-pounders, 0 nine-pounders, powder 9 pounds 0 ounces. An alarm at Prosperous Bay for the long boat: 6 guns fired, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, 2 nine-pounders, powder 12 pounds 0 ounces Powder expended in priming and other uses: 12 pounds 14 ounces Total: 15 guns fired, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 9 two-pounders, 2 nine-pounders, powder 33 pounds 14 ounces Handspikes expended at the fortifications and elsewhere: 14 Cartridge paper expended for sundries: 3 quires Nine-pounder axletrees for truck carriages expended: 2 Tallow expended for the long boat: 14 pounds Iron-shod trucks expended for the works: 12 Archibald Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations Powder use fell from 192 pounds 14 ounces in October 1766 to 33 pounds 14 ounces. The October account charged 144 pounds 14 ounces to the fortifications, and no such entry appeared in November. If that powder went on blasting rock at Sandy Bay, the quarrying stage of the work was over or suspended by November. The fortifications still drew 14 handspikes and 12 iron-shod trucks, so the labour there turned to moving and mounting guns. A truck carriage was the low four-wheeled garrison carriage on which a fortress gun stood, and its trucks were the small solid wheels. An alarm was fired at Prosperous Bay for the long boat, six guns from three different sizes of piece. Prosperous Bay lay on the windward coast in the east of the island, the side from which approaching ships were first seen. The alarm concerned the Company's own boat and not a strange sail. The long boat was overhauled in the quarter to 30 September 1766 and worked that coast, where the paymaster's account recorded a Company slave wrecked in a boat to windward and saved by four men. The guns perhaps summoned help to her or warned the island that she was in difficulty, though the account gave no detail. The Ponsborne sailed on 5 November 1766 and was sent off with nine guns from the two-pounders, the same number and size as answered her on arrival. The steward's account listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table during November 1766. 11 bottles of port wine, £0 16s 6d 18 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 7s 0d 8 bottles of mountain wine, £0 12s 0d 26 bottles of beer, £0 6s 6d 160 pounds of beef, £3 7s 2½d 200 pounds of mutton, £4 3s 4d 60 bottles of arrack, £3 0s 0d 6 fowls, £0 9s 0d Carried over, £14 1s 6½d Interpretations Wine at the table roughly halved against October 1766, from 67 bottles to 37, and beer fell from 46 bottles to 26. Arrack held steady at 60 bottles against 62. October included the days when the Ponsborne lay in the road with her commander, three army officers and other passengers ashore, and the larger consumption of wine that month fitted the entertainment of guests. Arrack was evidently the household's own daily drink and did not vary with company. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the purpose of the alarm, the axletrees, the count of trucks, the sums against the Lisbon wine and the arrack and the weights of beef and mutton. | |
274 | 8th December Brought over £ 14. 1. 6 1/2 30 lb Butter 1. 10 90 lb Candy 1. 10 262 lb Flour 1. 10 18. 11. 6 1/2 The Widow and Executrix this day produced an Inventory of the Effects of James Torbett deceased appraised by Messrs. Merchant, Robinson, and Bird who being duly Sworn that they Valued the same to the best of their Judgement, and the Widow that she produced every Article, it was Ordered to be registered. John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The steward's account of the Company's table for November 1766, entered under 8 December, closed with three further items and its total. Balance brought over, £14 1s 6½d 30 pounds of butter, £1 10s 0d 90 pounds of candy, £1 10s 0d 262 pounds of flour, £1 10s 0d Total, £18 11s 6½d James Torbett's widow, who was also his executrix, produced an inventory of his effects that day. Merchant, Robinson and Bird appraised the goods and swore that they valued them to the best of their judgement. The widow swore that she produced every article. The Council ordered the inventory to be registered. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations The inventory was the second stage of settling Torbett's estate, five weeks after the will was proved on 3 November 1766. Two separate oaths secured it. Three appraisers swore to the honesty of their valuation, and the widow swore that nothing was held back. The second oath mattered because of her position under the will. Margaret Torbett was sole executrix and took a third of the estate for life, while the remainder was divided among four younger children and a child born after the will was made. She therefore controlled property in which others had the larger interest, and one of the two overseers appointed to watch her, John Seale, declined to act. A sworn and registered list fixed what the estate contained at the outset, so the children could later hold her to account for every item when they came of age. Registration placed the inventory in the Company's books beside the will. The Council thus kept the full record of an estate, as the island's court of probate, and a dispute over what Torbett left could be settled from its own register. Bird, one of the appraisers, bore the surname of the George Bird who witnessed the will and who petitioned on the same day for a house plot in James's Valley. Neighbours and associates of the dead man thus valued his goods, which was the usual practice where no professional valuers existed. The table's total for November came to £18 11s 6½d against £24 1s 8d for October 1766. Candy, entered at 4d a pound, was the sweetening for the household. The weight of flour rested on fine judgement of the hand, as did the appraisers' surnames. | |
275 | 15th December At a Consultation held on Monday the 15th day of Decemr. 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read approved, and Signed dated the 8th december 1766 The Lieut. Governor Reports to the Governor and Council that he has Viewed the Ground Petitioned for by Mr. John Alexander at last Monday's Consultation. That it is a small Common consisting of between thirty and Forty Acres, almost Circumscribed by the Petitioners Lands, excepting about one hundred Yards Consequently very Commodious to said Petitioner, as well for Fencing, as Uniting his Lands, That one Quarter of the Common is at present Good pasture Land, and the rest in a few Years by Planting Furze will become the same, that his having it will be no prejudice to the Honble. Compy. nor Detriment to the Neighbourhood, as the Springs does not come within the Fence proposed to be made to enclose said Ground. Upon which we agreed to Rent him the said Land for fourteen Years at two Shillings and six pence P Acre, and the other remaining Seven Years at five Shillings P Acre. Messrs. Greentree, Worrall, Knipe, and Goudy this day presented the following Petitions vizt. | The Council met at the castle on Monday 15 December 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 8 December 1766 were read, approved and signed. Corneille reported on his inspection of the ground John Alexander asked for on 8 December 1766. The plot was a small common of between 30 and 40 acres. Alexander's own land surrounded it almost completely, leaving a gap of only about 100 yards, so the common joined his holdings together and suited him very well. A quarter of it was good pasture already, and planting furze was expected to bring the rest to the same condition within a few years. Corneille judged that letting it to Alexander harmed neither the Company nor the neighbours, since the springs lay outside the fence proposed to enclose it. The Council agreed to let the land to Alexander for 14 years at two shillings and sixpence an acre, and for a further seven years at five shillings an acre. Greentree, Worrall, Knipe and Goudy presented petitions that day. Interpretations The Council set the rent at half the ordinary rate for the first 14 years and at the full five shillings only for the last seven. The standard course was five shillings an acre from the start, as in John Worrall's renewal of 24 November 1766. The inspection showed why that was passed over. Three quarters of the ground was not yet pasture, and making it so required Alexander to plant and wait. A reduced rent during those years paid him for the improvement, and the step up at the end returned the full value to the Company once the land was productive. The lease thus ran 21 years in all, long enough for a tenant to recover what he spent. Alexander's petition spoke only of a piece of waste wanted for convenience in fencing. The inspection found a common of 30 to 40 acres. Enclosing it removed shared grazing from the neighbourhood and gave one planter a consolidated estate. The single test Corneille applied on the neighbours' behalf was water: the springs stayed outside the fence, so others kept their access. On an island where every holding depended on a few running sources, a spring counted for more than the grass around it, and the loss of the grazing itself drew no objection in the report. Furze was gorse, a dense thorny shrub. Planted on poor ground it gave shelter from the wind, browse for cattle and goats and a supply of fuel, and it was the settled means of reclaiming bare hillside on the island. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the lower rate of rent, the length of the gap in Alexander's boundary and the surnames of the last two petitioners. | |
276 | 15th December To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of James Greentree Executor to the last Will and Testament of John Swaits deceased Sheweth That two of the Leases containing Seventeen and a half Acres of Land belonging to the said Orps. lying in Sandy Bay Valley being expired humbly requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) James Greentree 15th Decemb. 1766 To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of William Worrall Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease expired containing Sixteen and three Quarters Acres of Land lying in Sharks Valley, humbly requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same Your Petitioner likewise desires that you'll be pleased to give him leave to Assign his Right to the said Land to his Brother John Worrall And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) Wm. Worrall 15th december 1766 | James Greentree petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on 15 December 1766 as executor of the will of John Twaits, deceased. Two leases covering 17½ acres in Sandy Bay Valley, which belonged to Twaits's orphans, had run out. Greentree asked for them to be renewed. William Worrall petitioned on the same day. His lease of 16¾ acres in Sharks Valley had expired, and he asked for a renewal. He also asked for leave to assign his right in that land to his brother, John Worrall. Interpretations Both petitions concerned leases that had already lapsed while the tenants remained on the ground. Expiry did not turn a planter off his land. He stayed in possession and applied afterwards, and the Council's renewal put his holding back on a legal footing. The Company's power lay in the fact that until it acted the occupier had no title to sell, bequeath or borrow against. Worrall joined two requests that the Council might have expected separately. He could not assign an expired lease, since he had nothing left to pass on. He therefore asked first for a renewal in his own name and then for permission to hand the renewed right to his brother. The landlord's consent was needed for the second step as for the first, as with the transfers approved for the executors of Thomas Harper on 17 November 1766 and of Thomas Greentree on 1 December 1766. John Worrall received a renewal of 16¼ acres in the east division on 24 November 1766. Taking over his brother's 16¾ acres doubled his leased land, so holdings were being gathered into fewer hands within a family as well as by enclosure of waste. Greentree acted for orphans, as Harper's executors did. Renewing in their interest kept the 17½ acres in the children's estate until they were of age, where Harper's executors chose instead to sell. James Greentree was also an executor of Thomas Greentree's will, so he served in that office for two estates at once. The dead man's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Twaits. | |
277 | 1766 To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of Isaac Knipe Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of hiring a piece of the Honble. Compys. Waste Land adjoining to your Petitioners own Land lying in Lemon Valley and as part of the said Land is Barren humbly Requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a Lease for it at a Lower Rent than five Shillings P Acre And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) Isaac Knipe 15th December 1766 To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &ca. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of James Goudy Sheweth That your Petitioner is desirous of hiring a small piece of the Honorable Compys. Waste Ground lying in James's Valley to Erect a House upon, humbly requests that your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a Lease for the same And your Petitioner will ever pray (Signed) James Goudy 15th december 1766 Messrs. Greentree and Worrall's Petitions Granted | Isaac Knipe petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on 15 December 1766. He wished to rent a piece of the Company's waste land in Lemon Valley, next to his own land. Part of it was barren, and he asked for a lease at less than five shillings an acre. James Goudy petitioned on the same day. He wished to rent a small piece of the Company's waste ground in James's Valley on which to build a house, and asked for a lease of it. The Council granted the petitions of Greentree and Worrall. Interpretations Knipe named five shillings an acre as the rent he expected to be charged and asked to pay less. His petition thus confirmed that figure as the island's settled rate for leased land, known to every planter, and treated any lower sum as a favour needing a reason. The reason he gave was that part of the ground was barren. Earlier in the same meeting the Council let John Alexander's common at two shillings and sixpence for 14 years because three quarters of it was not yet pasture. Poor ground was therefore an accepted case for a reduced rent, provided an inspection bore the claim out. The renewals sought by James Greentree for the Twaits orphans and by William Worrall were granted at once, the latter with leave to assign to his brother John. Both concerned land already measured and let, so the Council had nothing to examine. That was the same distinction it drew on 17 November 1766 and 1 December 1766 between changes to existing leases and new grants of waste. Goudy's was the third request in five weeks for a house plot in James's Valley, after John Price's on 10 November 1766 and George Bird's on 8 December 1766. The town was filling the unlet ground of its valley plot by plot, each under a lease that kept the freehold with the Company. The second petitioner's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Goudy. | |
278 | 15th December Ordered the said Knipes and Goudys Lands to be Viewed. We this day Executed the renewal of two Leases to Mr. William Seale Senr. one for eight Acres of Land, and the other for thirteen and an half Acres, both lying in Sap Valley, at five Shillings P Acre. Ordered the following Advertisement to be published vizt. Island St. Helena 15th Decemb. 1766 This is to give Notice to all the Planters upon the said Island, that they are hereby required to send into the Secretary's Office, on or before the 29th Instant an exact signed Account of their Number of Cattle each of them have for Slaughter for the Year 1767 which they will be expected punctually to supply, unless an Accident should happen to any of them, in that Case they are to send a return in writing within three days after such Accident to the Secretary's Office aforesaid in neglect of which no excuse will be admitted, but on failure thereof the owner obliged to furnish another Beast Notice is hereby farther given, that they are likewise to transmit an Account, on, or before, the time abovementioned, of their Number of Horses, and to distinguish them by their several Denominations also of their respective Stocks of Sheep and Goats, and what Sheep they intend for sale. Per order of Council (Signed) Mattw. Bazett Secy. | The Council ordered the land requested by Knipe and Goudy to be inspected. The Council executed the renewal of two leases to William Seale senior that day. One covered eight acres and the other 13½ acres, both in Sane Valley, at five shillings an acre. The Council ordered a notice to be published, dated 15 December 1766 and addressed to all the planters of the island. Each planter was required to send to the Secretary's office, by 29 December 1766, an exact signed account of the cattle he had for slaughter in 1767. He was expected to supply those cattle punctually. If an accident befell any of them, he was to report it in writing to the same office within three days. No excuse was accepted for failing to report, and an owner who did not was obliged to provide another beast. The notice also required each planter to send in, by the same date, an account of his horses, set out by their several kinds, and of his stocks of sheep and goats, stating which sheep he intended to sell. Bazett, the Secretary, signed it by order of the Council. Interpretations The Council bound the planters to their cattle a year ahead and did not leave the supply of fresh beef to purchases made as need arose. A planter's signed return became a commitment: the animals he declared for slaughter in 1767 were expected at the time required. The rule on accidents closed the obvious escape. A man who wished to keep a beast back, or sell it privately to a ship at a better price, might claim it had died. He now had three days to report any loss in writing, and silence cost him a replacement animal. The Company thus turned a private herd into a scheduled public supply, with the planter's own signature as the evidence against him. The timing fitted the state of the island's provisions. The Ponsborne brought no stores from Bengal on 26 October 1766, and the inventory of 30 September 1766 showed the warehouse's salt meat being drawn on by planters, slaves and ships alike. The Company's table ate fresh beef and mutton at 5d a pound in October and November 1766. A firm count of the cattle available for the coming year let the Council plan what it could give to the garrison and to homeward ships without touching the cask reserve. The second part of the notice was a census of stock. Horses were to be listed by kind, which separated riding and draught animals and told the Council what was available for haulage and for carrying alarms. Sheep were to be divided into breeding stock and those for sale, the same distinction between supply and reserve that the cattle return enforced. William Seale's two renewals, 21½ acres in all, were charged at the full five shillings, with no concession of the kind given to John Alexander earlier in the meeting. Established land paid the standard rate, and only ground needing improvement earned a reduction. The valley's name rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Sane Valley. | |
279 | 1766 Counted and Examined the Honorable Company's Cash for the Month of November last which is as follows vizt. Cash Dr. Per Contra Cr. Novr. 1 To Balance remaining £ 9391. 14 3 To Exchange for a Sett of Bills drawn upon the Honoble. the Court of Directors payable to Robert Wood Esqr. 205. 4 To Ship Ponsborne To Account Current London recd. of Capt. Mitchell the Amount of his Bond borrowed of the Honble. Compy. in England 150 £ 9765. 4. 7 1766 Novr. 30 By Balance remaining vizt. In Specie 9225. 9. 7 In Cash Notes 539. 15 £ 9765. 4. 7 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The count of the Company's cash for November 1766 showed three receipts during the month and no payments. Debit, 1 November 1766: balance remaining, £9,391 14s 0d Debit, 3 November 1766: bills of exchange drawn on the Court of Directors, one set payable to Robert Wood, £205 4s 0d Debit: received from the ship Ponsborne, with no sum visible against the entry. Debit: account current London, received from Captain Mitchell the amount of his bond for money borrowed from the Company in England, £150 0s 0d Debit, total, £9,765 4s 7d Credit, 30 November 1766: balance remaining in specie, £9,225 9s 7d Credit, 30 November 1766: balance remaining in cash notes, £539 15s 0d Credit, total, £9,765 4s 7d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations The entry for Captain Mitchell showed where his loan arose. He borrowed the £150 0s 0d from the Company in England, before coming out, and repaid it on the island on 10 November 1766. The treasury at St Helena therefore collected a debt owed to London. It booked the money to the account current with London, the running account through which the island and the Court of Directors settled what each held on the other's behalf. The coin stayed in the island's chest, and London's books were credited with the same sum against what it sent out in stores and bills. The Governor's remittance moved the other way through the same mechanism. His £205 4s 0d came into the chest on 3 November 1766, and the Court of Directors paid Robert Wood in London. Both transactions added silver to the island without any shipment of coin, and specie rose from £8,851 19s 0d to £9,225 9s 7d over the month. The three receipts needed to total £373 10s 7d to reach the closing balance. The two sums entered came to £355 4s 0d, which left £18 6s 7d for the Ponsborne. That was probably her payment for provisions and stores taken while she lay in the road from 26 October to 5 November 1766, of the same order as the £9 2s 3d received from the Harcourt in September 1766. Cash notes stood unchanged at £539 15s 0d for the third month running. The paper in the treasury was thus a fixed holding and not a float that rose and fell with business. | |
280 | 22nd December At a Consultation held on Monday the 22d day of Decem. 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Danl. Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govern. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 15th December 1766. We this day Executed the two following Leases vizt. One to Mr. William Wrangham for three Acres of Land lying in Sarahs Valley, at one Shilling and Six pence P Acre. And one to John Price, for a piece of Ground lying in James's Valley, containing eighty feet in Front and fifty two feet in Depth, at twenty Shillings P Ann. We this day Executed the renewal of a Lease to Willm. Worrall, for Sixteen and three Quarters Acres, of Land lying in the East Division of the said Island, at five Shillings P Acre Mr. Isaac Knipe this day requested to withdraw the Petition he offered on Monday last. Granted. John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council met at the castle on Monday 22 December 1766. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 15 December 1766 were read, approved and signed. The Council executed two new leases that day. William Wrangham took three acres in Sarah's Valley at one shilling and sixpence an acre. John Price took a piece of ground in James's Valley, 80 feet wide at the front and 52 feet deep, at 20 shillings a year. The Council also executed the renewal of William Worrall's lease of 16¾ acres in the east division of the island, at five shillings an acre. Isaac Knipe asked to withdraw the petition he presented on 15 December 1766, and the Council agreed. The Governor, Corneille, Purling and Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations Price's lease showed that town ground was priced on a different footing from farmland. His plot measured 4,160 square feet, less than a tenth of an acre, and paid £1 0s 0d a year. Worrall's 16¾ acres at five shillings an acre paid £4 3s 9d. Measured by area, the house plot in James's Valley cost some 40 times the rate for land in the country. It was described by its frontage and depth and charged as a single yearly sum, the terms of a building site and not of pasture. Price petitioned for it on 10 November 1766, and the lease followed the inspection ordered that day. Knipe withdrew his request a week after making it. He asked on 15 December 1766 for waste land in Lemon Valley at less than five shillings an acre because part was barren, and the Council ordered it viewed. The record gave no reason for the withdrawal. He perhaps learned that the inspection did not support a reduced rent, or judged the land not worth the standard rate. Wrangham's three acres at one shilling and sixpence were the cheapest land in these consultations, below even the two shillings and sixpence allowed to John Alexander on 15 December 1766 for unimproved common. The entry did not explain the rate, which pointed to poor or steep ground. Three levels of rent thus stood side by side on one page, and each followed the quality and use of the ground. Worrall's renewal was executed in his own name. The Council granted on 15 December 1766 both the renewal and his request to assign the land to his brother John, and the renewed lease was the title he needed before he could pass it on. The name of the valley in Wrangham's lease rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Sarah's Valley. | |
281 | 5th January At a Consultation held on Monday the 5th day of January 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor, Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor, Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 22d December 1766 Friday the 2d Died Mary Daughter of Martha Hayes Widow We this day received the following Letter from the Engineer vizt. To the Worshipful the Governor and Council of the Island St. Helena Gentlemen In my Quarterly Letter of the 1st of October last relative to the Works carrying on at Sandy-Bay I had the Honour to acquaint you, that having compleated the Canal, necessary to Convey the Torrents of Water, under the intended Line; - Having finished that part of the revetment of the Line itself, which serves to join Blands Battery to the Rock on the Right; And having likewise strengthened this Battery, by the Addition of a new Revetment, which I found absolutely necessary) I was then employed in constructing the Merlons of this last; - In preparing Materials, towards the further Execution of the Plan you did me the Honour to approve of; and in excavating the Ditch, in both which last, a considerable Progress had then been made. I am now Gentlemen to acquaint you, with regard to the first of these, namely the Merlons of Blands Battery, that | The Council met at the castle on Monday 5 January 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 22 December 1766 were read, approved and signed. Mary, the daughter of the widow Martha Hayes, died on Friday 2 January 1767. The Council received a letter that day from the engineer, addressed to the Governor and Council. The engineer recalled his quarterly letter of 1 October 1766 on the works at Sandy Bay. By that date he had completed the canal needed to carry the torrents of water beneath the intended line. He had also finished the part of the line's revetment that joined Bland's Battery to the rock on the right, and had strengthened the battery itself with a new revetment that he found essential. He was then engaged on three tasks: building the merlons of that battery, preparing materials for the rest of the plan the Council approved, and digging the ditch. Considerable progress had been made on the last two. He turned next to report on the first of them, the merlons of Bland's Battery. Interpretations The letter described what the labour and stores charged in the quarter to 30 September 1766 were building. The work was a defensive line drawn across the mouth of the valley at Sandy Bay, joining an existing battery to the cliff so that the landing beach was closed by a continuous wall. The paymaster's account for that quarter charged more than 5,000 days of garrison labour to it, with planters' stonelayers and the Company's slaves besides, and the gunner's account for October 1766 recorded 144 pounds 14 ounces of powder spent at the fortifications. The canal came first because of the ground. A line across a valley floor stood in the path of the stream that drained it, and on St Helena such streams turned to violent floods after rain. The engineer built a covered channel to pass the water under the wall before raising the wall itself. Without it the first torrent would have ponded behind the masonry and broken through. A revetment was the facing of stone laid against an earth bank to hold it upright and resist shot. Merlons were the solid blocks of parapet between the openings through which guns fired, which sheltered the gunners. The ditch was dug in front of the line to stop an enemy reaching the wall, and its spoil supplied earth for the rampart. The engineer added a second revetment to the old battery on his own judgement and justified it as necessary, so the plan the Council approved was being enlarged as weaknesses came to light. He reported to the Council by letter each quarter, on the same cycle as the paymaster's and storekeeper's accounts. The Council thus received the cost of the works and an account of their progress together, and both went into the record sent to the Court of Directors. The battery's name rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Bland's. | |
282 | 5th January that they are now entirely rebuilt, of a proper Thickness and Solidity, and the Platforms are at present laying, and will be Compleated, during the Course of the ensuing Quarter With Regard to the Digging of the Ditch, and the consequent Formation of the Glacis, by the excavated Earth, I am also to inform you, that both are so far compleated as they could be previous to the Construction of the Revetment of the Counterscarp; It being necessary that as much Earth should be left undug, as would serve to fill up the Interval, formed by the Natural Slope of the Earth behind the abovementioned Revetment. The next Work that naturally followed, was the Construction of this same Revetment; which (with Exception to the small Interval between the Canal and Rock on the Right) has been carried to its intended Height of fourteen feet, throughout the whole Extent of the principal Line, where only a Ditch is intended to be made; In the Execution of Which the Masons, as well as a very considerable Number of the Labourers have been employed, during the greatest part of the last Quarter. As a very great Part of the Materials before Collected were made Use of in the Construction of this Work, this deficiency has been more than supplied by the Quantity since collected, which, it is necessary to observe to the Governor and Council, has been a Work of very Great Labour and will still require a considerable time before it is compleated, and those Materials brought to the Ground where they are to be employed I am likewise to mention, that the Works already compleated, having consumed almost all the Lime burnt by the Coals brought out in Last Years Storeships, I found myself under the Necessity of employg. the Honble. Company's Workmen, in cutting down, and fetching Wood, in Order to burn a Quantity of Lime sufficient for present Consumption, by which means I shall have an Addition, to this essential Article, of near three | The engineer reported that the merlons of Bland's Battery were completely rebuilt to a proper thickness and strength. The gun platforms were being laid and were due to be finished in the coming quarter. The ditch and the glacis formed from its spoil were both as far advanced as they could be before the counterscarp was faced with stone. Enough earth had to be left undug to fill the gap that the natural slope of the ground left behind that facing. The facing of the counterscarp was therefore the next task. It was carried to its intended height of 14 feet along the whole of the main line where only a ditch was planned, apart from a short stretch between the canal and the rock on the right. The masons and a very large number of the labourers worked on it for most of the quarter. Much of the material gathered earlier went into this work. The engineer more than made up the shortfall by collecting fresh material, but he pointed out to Governor Skottowe and the Council that this cost very great labour. A good deal of time was still needed to finish the collecting and to carry the material to the ground where it was wanted. The completed works used nearly all the lime burnt with the coals sent out in the storeships of 1766. The engineer was therefore forced to set the Company's workmen to felling and hauling wood, so as to burn enough lime for immediate needs and add to the supply. Interpretations The engineer burnt lime with wood cut on the island and did not wait for coal. Coal from England was the intended fuel, shipped out for the purpose, and it gave a hotter and steadier kiln. He passed over waiting for the next storeship because the works already built had consumed almost all the lime that coal produced, and masonry without mortar could not go on. The inventory of 30 September 1766 showed only 1½ chaldrons of coal left in the warehouse. The cost of his choice was twofold. Workmen were taken off the line to fell and carry timber, and the fuel came from an island with little wood to spare, where the Company's own estate at Long Wood supplied it by cart. He presented the step as a necessity, which put the shortage of coal on record as the cause of both the delay and the felling. The sequence of work was governed by the earth. The counterscarp was the outer wall of the ditch, on the enemy's side, and the glacis was the long bare slope beyond it, raised from the ditch's spoil so that attackers approached under fire with no cover. The ground behind a newly built facing wall sloped away and left a void. The engineer therefore stopped digging short and kept a reserve of earth to pack behind the stonework once it stood, instead of excavating the full ditch and carting fill back. The platforms were the level floors of stone or timber on which the guns stood and recoiled. Their laying fitted the gunner's account for November 1766, which issued 12 iron-shod trucks and 14 handspikes to the works after the powder used there in October fell away. The engineer's stress on the labour of gathering material prepared the Council for a slower pace. Stone had to be quarried, split and barrowed to the line, and the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766 showed that this carrying, not the building, took most of the 5,380½ labourers' days charged. | |
283 | 1767 three Thousand Bushels, sufficient I hope to enable me to carry on the Works untill the Arrival of the next Store Ships. From what I have said it will appear that the Employment of the Company's Workmen, during the ensuing Quarter, will consist chiefly in compleating the final Excavation of the Ditch and perfecting the Glacis; - In digging the Foundation for that part of the Revetment lying between the left Flank of Blands Battery and the Ridge which terminates the principal Line, on the Left; and in amassing what Materials are still wanting to compleat this part of the Work, As soon as these necessary Preparations are in proper forwardness, I shall proceed to construct the principal Revetment, in which I hope, some Progress will be made, before the End of the Quarter. I have the Honour to inclose, for your Inspection, a Return of the Quantity of Labour performed by the Slaves furnished by the Planters of the Island, [...] for the Honble. Compys. Works, during the foregoing Quarter, With Regard to which (as it will evidently appear from the Return itself, how much I have been disappointed, in the assistance I expected from this Quarter) I shall not therefore take the Liberty to make any Remarks. I ought not to conclude this Letter, without doing Justice to the Assiduity and Diligence of Lieut. Bazett the Overseer in the Discharge of that duty, as well as to his Care in preserving that Regularity and proper Subordination, so essential, towards the Speedy Execution of the Honble. Compys. Works I have the Honour to be, with the utmost Deference Gentlemen Your most Obedt. humble Servant (Signed) A. Mitchell St. Helena 5 Jany. 1767 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The engineer expected the wood-burnt kilns to yield close to 3,000 bushels of lime. He hoped that was enough to carry the works on until the next storeships arrived. He set out the Company's workmen's tasks for the coming quarter. They were to finish excavating the ditch and to perfect the glacis. They were to dig the foundation for the stretch of revetment between the left flank of Bland's Battery and the ridge that closed the main line on the left. They were also to gather the materials still lacking for that part of the work. Once those preparations were well advanced, he intended to begin building the main revetment, and he hoped to make some progress on it before the quarter ended. He enclosed for the Council's inspection a return of the labour done on the Company's works during the quarter by the slaves the planters supplied. The return itself showed plainly how far the help he expected from that source fell short, and he therefore declined to comment on it. He closed by commending Lieutenant Bazett, the overseer, for his steady and diligent conduct in that duty. He also praised the lieutenant's care in keeping the order and discipline on which rapid progress depended. Archibald Mitchell signed the letter at St Helena on 5 January 1767. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations Mitchell chose to say nothing about the planters' failure and let the enclosed figures speak. An engineer short of hands might have named the defaulters or asked the Council to compel them. He passed over that course in a single sentence, stating that the shortfall was evident from the return and that he would make no remarks. The restraint was pointed. It laid the proof before the Council, placed the duty of acting on it there, and kept an officer out of a quarrel with the planters among whom he lived. Those planters were the Council's tenants, creditors of the Company's store and suppliers of its cattle, and their slaves were hired at 1s 0d a day for labourers and 2s 6d for stonelayers in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 30 September 1766. That account charged 682 labourers' days and 128¾ stonelayers' days to them. The return for the following quarter evidently showed far less. The engineer was Captain Archibald Mitchell, who commanded the Artillery Company and signed the gunner's accounts for October and November 1766. One officer thus directed the guns, the powder and the building of the works that were to mount them. Lieutenant Bazett was the officer stationed at the site, the man for whom eight pounds of candles were issued among the Sandy Bay stores. Mitchell credited him with keeping regularity and subordination among a mixed force of soldiers, Company slaves and planters' hired slaves. The posting of the soldier Vincent to the works on 27 October 1766, to attend to the sick and injured, belonged to the same effort to keep that force at work. The 3,000 bushels of lime measured the scale of the masonry still to come. Mitchell tied the supply to the arrival of the next storeships, so the wood-burning was a stopgap and coal from England remained the fuel he counted on. | |
284 | 12th January At a Consultation held on Monday the 12th day of Janry. 1767 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govern. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 5th January 1767 This day Died Sarah Sunge Widow. We this day Executed the two following Leases vizt. One to James Goudy for a piece of ground lying in James's Valley, containing forty feet in front and forty feet in Depth, at ten Shillings P Annum And one to George Bird for a piece of Ground lying in James's Valley, containing sixty feet in Front and fifty five feet in Depth, at fifteen Shillings P Ann. The Plantation Account for the Quarter, and the Gunners, and Stewards Accounts for the Month of December last, were this day brought in which were examined, and approved and are as follow vizt. | The Council met at the castle on Monday 12 January 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 5 January 1767 were read, approved and signed. Sarah Yonge, a widow, died that day. The Council executed two leases. James Goudy took a piece of ground in James's Valley, 40 feet wide at the front and 40 feet deep, at ten shillings a year. George Bird took a piece of ground in the same valley, 60 feet wide at the front and 55 feet deep, at 15 shillings a year. The plantation account for the quarter and the gunner's and steward's accounts for December 1766 were brought in, examined and approved, and were entered in the record. Interpretations The two leases, set beside John Price's of 22 December 1766, showed the rule by which the Company charged for building ground in the town. Goudy's plot had 40 feet of frontage and paid ten shillings. Bird's had 60 feet and paid 15 shillings. Price's had 80 feet and paid 20 shillings. Each therefore paid threepence a year for every foot of frontage, and depth made no difference: the three plots ran back 40, 55 and 52 feet. In a narrow valley with one street, the length of street a house occupied was the scarce thing, and the rent was laid on that. Both grants followed inspections ordered when the petitions were heard, Bird's on 8 December 1766 and Goudy's on 15 December 1766. The Council thus took about a month from request to executed lease for a house plot, the same interval as for Price. Three new building sites were let in James's Valley within three weeks. The widow's surname rested on fine judgement of the hand and was read as Yonge. | |
285 | Account of the Honoble. Company's Stock of Neat Cattle &ca. from the 1st of October to the 31st december 1766 Neat Cattle Bulls, Neat Cattle Cows, Neat Cattle Calves, Neat Cattle Yearlings, Neat Cattle Heifers, Neat Cattle Steers, Neat Cattle Oxen, Neat Cattle Total, Sheep Ewes, Sheep Weathers, Sheep Lambs, Sheep Rams, Sheep Total, Goats Ewes, Goats Weathers, Goats Kids, Goats Rams, Goats Total, Hogs Sows, Hogs Shoats, Hogs Pigs, Hogs Boars, Hogs Total, Horses Horses, Horses Mares, Horses Total, Asses He Asses, Asses She Asses, Asses Total, Poultry Fowls, Poultry Ducks, Poultry Turkeys, Poultry Geese Remaing. 1st: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 73, Neat Cattle Calves 50, Neat Cattle Yearlings 24, Neat Cattle Heifers 24, Neat Cattle Steers 44, Neat Cattle Oxen 16, Neat Cattle Total 234, Sheep Ewes 334, Sheep Weathers 100, Sheep Lambs 95, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 539, Goats Ewes 80, Goats Weathers 41, Goats Kids 52, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 177, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 77, Poultry Ducks 6, Poultry Turkeys 29, Poultry Geese 3 Encreased: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 0, Neat Cattle Calves 14, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 14, Sheep Ewes 0, Sheep Weathers 0, Sheep Lambs 4, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 4, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 0, Goats Kids 33, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 33, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 85, Poultry Ducks 7, Poultry Turkeys 26, Poultry Geese 3 Total: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 73, Neat Cattle Calves 64, Neat Cattle Yearlings 24, Neat Cattle Heifers 24, Neat Cattle Steers 44, Neat Cattle Oxen 16, Neat Cattle Total 248, Sheep Ewes 334, Sheep Weathers 100, Sheep Lambs 99, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 543, Goats Ewes 80, Goats Weathers 41, Goats Kids 85, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 210, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 162, Poultry Ducks 13, Poultry Turkeys 55, Poultry Geese 6 Killed: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 1, Neat Cattle Calves 0, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 2, Neat Cattle Steers 2, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 5, Sheep Ewes 16, Sheep Weathers 12, Sheep Lambs 3, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 31, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 6, Goats Kids 7, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 13, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 35, Poultry Ducks 0, Poultry Turkeys 4, Poultry Geese 0 Dead: Neat Cattle Bulls 0, Neat Cattle Cows 1, Neat Cattle Calves 1, Neat Cattle Yearlings 0, Neat Cattle Heifers 0, Neat Cattle Steers 0, Neat Cattle Oxen 0, Neat Cattle Total 2, Sheep Ewes 0, Sheep Weathers 1, Sheep Lambs 15, Sheep Rams 0, Sheep Total 16, Goats Ewes 0, Goats Weathers 0, Goats Kids 0, Goats Rams 0, Goats Total 0, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 0, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 0, Horses Horses 0, Horses Mares 0, Horses Total 0, Asses He Asses 0, Asses She Asses 0, Asses Total 0, Poultry Fowls 20, Poultry Ducks 0, Poultry Turkeys 8, Poultry Geese 0 Remaing. 31st: Neat Cattle Bulls 3, Neat Cattle Cows 71, Neat Cattle Calves 63, Neat Cattle Yearlings 24, Neat Cattle Heifers 22, Neat Cattle Steers 42, Neat Cattle Oxen 16, Neat Cattle Total 241, Sheep Ewes 318, Sheep Weathers 87, Sheep Lambs 81, Sheep Rams 10, Sheep Total 496, Goats Ewes 80, Goats Weathers 35, Goats Kids 78, Goats Rams 4, Goats Total 197, Hogs Sows 0, Hogs Shoats 2, Hogs Pigs 0, Hogs Boars 0, Hogs Total 2, Horses Horses 3, Horses Mares 6, Horses Total 9, Asses He Asses 1, Asses She Asses 1, Asses Total 2, Poultry Fowls 107, Poultry Ducks 13, Poultry Turkeys 43, Poultry Geese 6 1 Woman Slave Deceased named Moll Frank Yams Expended for the Slaves 87. 660 Yams Expended for the Stock 5. 760 Yams bought for the Stock 300 (Signed) Dan Corneille Margin Notes: 1767 | The account of the Company's livestock from 1 October to 31 December 1766 set out the animals on hand at the start, the increase, the numbers killed and dead and the stock remaining. Remaining 1 October 1766, cattle: 3 bulls, 73 cows, 50 calves, 24 yearlings, 24 heifers, 44 steers, 16 oxen, total 234 cattle Remaining 1 October 1766, sheep: 334 ewes, 100 wethers, 95 lambs, 10 rams, total 539 sheep Remaining 1 October 1766, goats: 80 ewes, 41 wethers, 52 kids, 4 rams, total 177 goats Remaining 1 October 1766, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Remaining 1 October 1766, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Remaining 1 October 1766, asses: 1 he ass, 1 she ass, total 2 asses Remaining 1 October 1766, poultry: 77 fowls, 6 ducks, 29 turkeys, 3 geese Increased, cattle: 0 bulls, 0 cows, 14 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, total 14 cattle Increased, sheep: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 4 lambs, 0 rams, total 4 sheep Increased, goats: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 33 kids, 0 rams, total 33 goats Increased, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Increased, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Increased, asses: 0 he asses, 0 she asses, total 0 asses Increased, poultry: 85 fowls, 7 ducks, 26 turkeys, 3 geese Total, cattle: 3 bulls, 73 cows, 64 calves, 24 yearlings, 24 heifers, 44 steers, 16 oxen, total 248 cattle Total, sheep: 334 ewes, 100 wethers, 99 lambs, 10 rams, total 543 sheep Total, goats: 80 ewes, 41 wethers, 85 kids, 4 rams, total 210 goats Total, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Total, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Total, asses: 1 he ass, 1 she ass, total 2 asses Total, poultry: 162 fowls, 13 ducks, 55 turkeys, 6 geese Killed, cattle: 0 bulls, 1 cow, 0 calves, 0 yearlings, 2 heifers, 2 steers, 0 oxen, total 5 cattle Killed, sheep: 16 ewes, 12 wethers, 3 lambs, 0 rams, total 31 sheep Killed, goats: 0 ewes, 6 wethers, 7 kids, 0 rams, total 13 goats Killed, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Killed, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Killed, asses: 0 he asses, 0 she asses, total 0 asses Killed, poultry: 35 fowls, 0 ducks, 4 turkeys, 0 geese Dead, cattle: 0 bulls, 1 cow, 1 calf, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, total 2 cattle Dead, sheep: 0 ewes, 1 wether, 15 lambs, 0 rams, total 16 sheep Dead, goats: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 kids, 0 rams, total 0 goats Dead, hogs: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Dead, horses: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Dead, asses: 0 he asses, 0 she asses, total 0 asses Dead, poultry: 20 fowls, 0 ducks, 8 turkeys, 0 geese Remaining 31 December 1766, cattle: 3 bulls, 71 cows, 63 calves, 24 yearlings, 22 heifers, 42 steers, 16 oxen, total 241 cattle Remaining 31 December 1766, sheep: 318 ewes, 87 wethers, 81 lambs, 10 rams, total 496 sheep Remaining 31 December 1766, goats: 80 ewes, 35 wethers, 78 kids, 4 rams, total 197 goats Remaining 31 December 1766, hogs: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Remaining 31 December 1766, horses: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Remaining 31 December 1766, asses: 1 he ass, 1 she ass, total 2 asses Remaining 31 December 1766, poultry: 107 fowls, 13 ducks, 43 turkeys, 6 geese 1 woman slave deceased, named Moll Frank Yams expended for the slaves: 37,660 pounds Yams expended for the stock: 5,760 pounds Yams bought for the stock: 300 pounds Daniel Corneille signed the account. Interpretations The Company killed only five of its 248 cattle in the quarter, and none of the 16 oxen or the calves. Its herd was therefore kept as breeding and working stock and not as the island's beef supply. That explained the notice of 15 December 1766, which bound the planters to declare and deliver their own cattle for slaughter in 1767. The Company's table alone ate 113 pounds of beef in October and 160 in November, and ships needed far more than five beasts could give. Sheep supplied the table instead. The 31 killed, mostly ewes and wethers, matched the 272 and 200 pounds of mutton charged in the steward's accounts for October and November 1766, and the six kids eaten in October came from the seven killed. Lambs fared badly: 15 of 99 died, against only four born. Goats did better, with 33 kids added and none lost. The death of a slave woman, Moll Frank, was entered at the foot of the livestock return, beneath the columns of animals killed and dead. The plantation's slaves were thus accounted for in the same document as its cattle, as part of the working stock under the Lieutenant Governor's charge. Yams were the plantation slaves' staple, 37,660 pounds in the quarter, against 5,760 pounds fed to the animals. Almost all of it was grown on the Company's own ground, since only 300 pounds were bought. The slaves were fed on yams from the plantation as well as the rice and salt meat drawn from the warehouse in the quarter to 30 September 1766. Corneille signed as the officer responsible for the plantation, the same man who inspected waste ground for the Council. The Company's farming and its dealings in land thus lay with the Lieutenant Governor. A shoat was a young hog past weaning, and a wether a castrated male sheep or goat kept for meat. | |
286 | 12th January Artillery Stores Expended in December 1766 Powder Expended in blowing for the fortifications &ca. 103 lb 14 Oz Handspikes for Do. 12 Tallow for Sundries 17 lb Spunge Staves for the Batteries 3 Copper Bolts for a Truck Carriage 8 Powder Horn for the Long Boat 1 Howitzer Fuzes split in driving 6 Cartridge Paper for making Port fires 2 Quires (Signed) Archd. Mitchell Sundries Expended at the Honble. Company's Table in December 1766 vizt. 12 Bottles Port Wine £ 18 18 Do. Lisbon 1. 7 10 Do. Mountain 12. 6 25 Do. Beer 5. 2 1/2 80 Do. Arrack 4 115 lb Beef 2. 11. 11 176 Mutton 3. 13. 4 1 Kid 5 18 Fowles 1. 7 26 lb Butter 1. 6 93 lb Candy 1. 9 262 Flour 16. 1/2 £ 18. 11 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The gunner's account of artillery stores used in December 1766, entered under 12 January, listed powder and equipment only, with no guns fired. Powder expended in blasting for the fortifications and other uses: 103 pounds 14 ounces Handspikes expended for the fortifications: 12 Tallow expended for sundries: 17 pounds Sponge staves expended for the bakers: 3 Copper bolts expended for a truck carriage: 8 Powder horn expended for the long boat: 1 Howitzer fuzes split in driving: 6 Cartridge paper expended for making portfires: 2 quires Archibald Mitchell signed the account. Interpretations The first entry stated outright that the powder went on blasting for the fortifications. That settled the purpose of the 144 pounds 14 ounces charged to the works in October 1766, which was inferred then from the quantity alone. November's account carried no such charge, and the suggestion made there that quarrying was over proved wrong: 103 pounds 14 ounces were blown in December. The pattern fitted the engineer's letter of 5 January 1767, in which Mitchell described gathering stone as a work of very great labour that still needed considerable time. Blasting stopped and started as the quarry was worked and cleared. No salute or alarm was fired in the month, so no ship arrived or left and no public day was marked with guns. The road was empty through December after the Ponsborne sailed on 5 November 1766. A howitzer fired hollow shells, each lit by a wooden fuze hammered into the shell before loading. Six fuzes split under the mallet and were written off. Portfires were paper tubes packed with a slow-burning composition, held in a stick to fire a gun's priming. The powder horn for the long boat held priming powder for a small gun or signal carried in her. The sponge staves issued to the bakers were artillery stores put to a domestic use, as handles for the mops that swabbed out the ovens. The steward's account listed the food and drink consumed at the Company's table during December 1766. 12 bottles of port wine, £0 18s 0d 18 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 7s 0d 10 bottles of mountain wine, £0 12s 6d 25 bottles of beer, £0 5s 2½d 80 bottles of arrack, £4 0s 0d 115 pounds of beef, £2 11s 11d 176 pounds of mutton, £3 13s 4d 1 kid, £0 5s 0d 18 fowls, £1 7s 0d 26 pounds of butter, £1 6s 0d 93 pounds of candy, £1 9s 0d 262 pounds of flour, £0 16s 1½d Total, £18 11s 0d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the consultation. Interpretations Arrack rose to 80 bottles from 60 in November and 62 in October 1766, while wine stayed at the lower level of a month without visitors. The increase fell in the Christmas season and was taken in the cheap spirit of the household and not in imported wine. The total of £18 11s 0d was almost the same as November's £18 11s 6½d. The meat again came from the Company's own stock. The plantation return for the quarter recorded five cattle, 31 sheep and 13 goats killed, and the table's beef, mutton and kid for the three months answered to those animals. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the powder weight, the bakers, the copper bolts, the sums against the mountain wine, arrack, beef and flour and the total. | |
287 | 19th January At a Consultation held on Monday the 19th day of January 1766 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 12th January 1767. Friday the 16th Passed by a Portuguese Vessel The Storekeeper this day brought in his Collections and the Paymaster his Accounts for the Quarter commencing the 1st of October and ending the 31st December 1766, which were examined and approved, and are as follow vizt. Collection of Goods sold and delivered out of the Honble. Compys. Ware Houses from the 1st of October to the 31st December 1766 vizt. Sold to the Company's Servants at 10 P Cent vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 3536 lb Sugar 51. 16. 3 1/2 1747 Candy 40. 8 1/2 91. 17 Flour vizt. 3176 lb Flour 26. 9. 4 427. 1. 3 Do. Baked 398. 15. 10 425. 5. 2 Tea vizt. 47 1/2 Bohea 2. 9. 6 96 lb Congo 7. 4 9. 13. 6 Oil vizt. 1 1/2 Gall. Train 5. 7 16 1/8 Do. Linseed 3. 12. 11 Oil Carried over £ 3. 18. 6 Carried over £ 526. 15. 8 | The Council met at the castle on Monday 19 January 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Daniel Corneille, the Lieutenant Governor, and two members of Council, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the consultation of 12 January 1767 were read, approved and signed. A Portuguese vessel passed the island on Friday 16 January 1767. The storekeeper brought in his summary of sales and the paymaster his accounts for the quarter from 1 October to 31 December 1766. Both were examined and approved and were entered in the record. The storekeeper's summary of goods sold and delivered from the Company's warehouses opened with sales to the Company's servants at 10 per cent. Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, sugar and candy: 3,550 pounds of sugar, £51 16s 3½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, sugar and candy: 1,747 pounds of candy, £40 0s 8½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, sugar and candy, total, £91 17s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, flour: 3,176 pounds of flour, £26 9s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, flour: 427 hundredweight 1 quarter 3 pounds of baked flour, £398 15s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, flour, total, £425 5s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, tea: 47½ pounds of Bohea, £2 9s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, tea: 96 pounds of Congo, £7 4s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, tea, total, £9 13s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil: 1½ gallons of train oil, £0 5s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil: 16⅛ gallons of linseed oil, £3 10s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil, carried over, £3 16s 6d Carried over, £526 15s 8d Interpretations Tea sales collapsed against the preceding quarter. Buyers at 10 per cent took 437 pounds of Bohea, 322 of Congo and 320 of Singlo between 1 July and 30 September 1766, worth £69 18s 2d. In this quarter they took 47½ pounds of Bohea and 96 of Congo, worth £9 13s 6d, and no Singlo at all. The inventory of 30 September 1766 showed why: no Singlo remained, and Bohea and Congo stood at 631 and 219 pounds. The Ponsborne landed no stores on 26 October 1766, and no China ship called in the quarter. The Bohea sold was far less than the store held, so the storekeeper was evidently holding tea back for the Company's own issues to the guards, the hospital and the slaves and letting little go to buyers. Bread moved the other way. Baked flour rose from 276 hundredweight to 427 hundredweight, and from £258 7s 0d to £398 15s 10d, while loose flour halved from 6,533 pounds to 3,176. Buyers were taking their flour ready baked from the Company's bakehouse in much greater quantity. The stock of 681 hundredweight on 30 September 1766 could not bear that rate for long: this one head consumed more than three fifths of it in three months. Sugar and candy both fell by about a quarter to a third. The first heading named the buyers at 10 per cent as the Company's servants. The corresponding heading for the preceding quarter was read as the planters. If both readings held, the lowest advance was shared by two classes entered in turn, and the planters' purchases followed further on. A foreign vessel passing without calling was noted because every sail seen from the island was reported and logged. The consultation recorded her nationality and no more, which showed she kept her distance and exchanged nothing with the shore. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of sugar, candy and flour, the pence against the oil and the description of the buyers in the heading. | |
288 | 19th January Brought over £ 526. 15. 8 Oil Brought over £ 3. 18. 6 3 Bottle Florence 8. 9 1/8 Gall. Oil of Turpentine 8 4. 6. 11 Salt 9 3/4 Bushels 2. 7 Pepper 33 lb 1. 1. 4 Starch 31 3/4 1. 2. 9 Rice and Paddy vizt. 2197 Rice 11. 8. 10 160 Paddy 7 11. 15. 10 Candles 198 12. 9. 9 Sope 71 1/4 2. 12. 4 Shalloon vizt. 16 1/2 Yds. Coloured 1. 13 15 Do. Scarlet 1. 18. 9 3. 11. 9 Canvas vizt. 17 3/4 Yds. English Canvas 1. 2. 11 1/2 Do. Ozenbrigs 6 10 3/4 Do. Ticklingburgs 12. 8 1. 16. 1 Beef and Pork vizt. 2679 Ps. Beef 267. 18 2642 Ps. Pork 264. 4 532. 2 Flannel 16 Yards 1. 1. 4 Chilloes 25 Ps. 11. 7. 1 Coffee 7 lb 6. 5 Lead vizt. 7 1/4 Sheet Lead 1. 6 54 Shott 12. 4 13. 10 Twine vizt. 5 Sks. Twine 3. 1 3 1/2 Cotton wick 10. 10 13. 11 Carried Over £ 1113. 16. 7 | The storekeeper's summary of goods sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, entered under 19 January, continued with oil, provisions, cloth and salt meat. Balance brought over, £526 15s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil, brought over, £3 16s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil: 3 bottles of Florence oil, £0 8s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil: ⅛ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 0s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, oil, total, £4 5s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 9¾ bushels of salt, £2 0s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 33 pounds of pepper, £1 1s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 51¾ pounds of starch, £1 2s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, rice and paddy: 2,197 pounds of rice, £11 8s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, rice and paddy: 160 pounds of paddy, £0 7s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, rice and paddy, total, £11 15s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 198 pounds of candles, £12 9s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 71¾ pounds of soap, £2 12s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shalloon: 16¼ yards of coloured shalloon, £1 13s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shalloon: 15 yards of scarlet shalloon, £1 18s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shalloon, total, £3 11s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, canvas: 17¼ yards of English canvas, £1 2s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, canvas: ½ yard of osnaburgs, £0 0s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, canvas: 10¼ yards of ticklenburgs, £0 12s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, canvas, total, £1 16s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, beef and pork: 2,679 pieces of beef, £267 18s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, beef and pork: 2,642 pieces of pork, £264 4s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, beef and pork, total, £532 2s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 16 yards of flannel, £1 1s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 25 pieces of chelloes, £11 7s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 7 pounds of coffee, £0 6s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, lead: 7¼ pounds of sheet lead, £0 1s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, lead: 54 pounds of shot, £0 12s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, lead, total, £0 13s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, twine: 5 skeins of twine, £0 3s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, twine: 3½ pounds of cotton wick, £0 10s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, twine, total, £0 13s 11d Carried over, £1,113 16s 7d Interpretations The unit of the salt meat stood clearly here as the piece, priced at exactly 2s 0d each for beef and pork alike. That settled the doubt raised in the quarter to 30 September 1766, when the same entries were read as pounds at an impossible rate. A piece was the standard cut into which barrelled meat was divided, the measure by which rations were served out. Salt meat sales rose by close to two fifths, from 3,824 pieces and £383 1s 7d in the preceding quarter to 5,321 pieces and £532 2s 0d. Rice rose sevenfold, from 313 pounds to 2,197. Buyers were leaning much harder on the Company's preserved provisions than three months before, in the same quarter that baked flour climbed by more than half. Demand on that scale pointed to a poor season for the island's own produce, and it followed the notice of 15 December 1766 that bound planters to declare their slaughter cattle for the coming year. Candles and soap fell steeply, from 1,593 pounds to 198 and from 576 pounds to 71¾. The inventory of 30 September 1766 held no tallow candles under European goods and only 1,030 pounds of soap, with wax candles from India valued at about 2s 0d a pound. The candles here cost roughly 1s 3d a pound against 10d in the preceding quarter, so the cheap kind was perhaps exhausted and a dearer one sold in its place. The Ponsborne landed nothing on 26 October 1766, and these were among the first household goods to run short. Meat alone made up almost half of the £1,113 16s 7d carried over, and with bread it reached £930 17s 10d. The warehouse trade at the lowest advance was thus overwhelmingly a trade in food. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of starch, candles, soap and rice, the count of chelloes and the sum against the coffee. | |
289 | 1767 Brought over £ 1113. 16. 7 Cordage 112 1/2 2. 2. 1 Leather 3 1/4 Sole 3. 4 Kersey 9 Yards 13. 4 Buckram 6 1/2 Do. 7. 3 Long Ells vizt. 25 3/4 Yds. Blue 2. 5 3 1/2 Do. Scarlet 9. 4 2. 14. 4 Arrack 5 Gall. 1. 5 Blankets 7 1. 19. 8 Saddles 1 6. 11. 2 Ticking 14 Yards 2. 8. 5 Pease and Beans vizt. 3/4 B. Pease 7. 2 1/2 Do. Beans 1. 3 8. 5 Oars 1 4. 3 Corks 2 1/4 [Short] 2 Deals vizt. 1 Double Deal 3. 9 4 Single Do. 9. 9 13. 6 Shoes vizt. 185 Pr. Mens Ordinary 40. 17. 1 1 Pr. Do. fine Shoes 6. 1 1 Pr. Do. Do. Pumps 5. 5 3 Pr. Girl Calamanco 9. 11 1 Pr. Mens Channell Pumps 6. 7 42. 5. 1 Long Cloth 4 1/2 Ps. K 13. 3. 3 4 Ps. N 10. 2. 8 6 1/2 Ps. O 18. 10. 6 2 Ps. C 7. 4. 4 1 Ps. D 4. 10. 3 53. 11 Carried Over £ 1234. 5. 11 | The storekeeper's summary of goods sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent continued with cordage, cloth, small provisions, timber, shoes and long cloth. Balance brought over, £1,113 16s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 112½ pounds of cordage, £2 2s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, leather: 3¼ pounds of sole leather, £0 3s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 9 yards of kersey, £0 13s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 6½ yards of buckram, £0 7s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long ells: 25¾ yards of blue long ells, £2 5s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long ells: 3½ yards of scarlet long ells, £0 9s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long ells, total, £2 14s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 5 gallons of arrack, £1 5s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 7 blankets, £1 19s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 1 saddle, £6 11s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 14 yards of ticking, £2 8s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, pease and beans: ¾ bushel of pease, £0 7s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, pease and beans: ½ bushel of beans, £0 1s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, pease and beans, total, £0 8s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 1 oar, £0 4s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent: 2¼ gross of short corks, £0 2s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, deals: 1 double deal, £0 3s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, deals: 4 single deals, £0 9s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, deals, total, £0 13s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes: 185 pairs of men's ordinary shoes, £40 17s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes: 1 pair of men's fine shoes, £0 6s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes: 1 pair of men's pumps, £0 5s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes: 3 pairs of girls' calimanco shoes, £0 9s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes: 1 pair of men's channel pumps, £0 6s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, shoes, total, £42 5s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth: 4½ pieces of long cloth marked K, £13 3s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth: 4 pieces of long cloth marked N, £10 2s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth: 6½ pieces of long cloth marked O, £18 10s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth: 2 pieces of long cloth marked C, £7 4s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth: 1 piece of long cloth marked D, £4 10s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, long cloth, total, £53 11s 0d Carried over, £1,234 5s 11d Interpretations The shoe sales bore out what the inventory of 30 September 1766 foretold. Men's ordinary shoes rose from 139 pairs to 185, which took more than half of the 333 pairs then in store. The better kinds almost vanished from the list: one pair of fine shoes against 11 in the preceding quarter, two pairs of pumps against 16 and no women's shoes at all against 34. The store held only eight pairs of fine shoes and pumps and a single pair of women's shoes at the count, so buyers took what was left and then went without. Three pairs of girls' calimanco shoes were sold from the four that remained. Long cloth fell from 56½ pieces and £125 7s 7d to 18 pieces and £53 11s 0d. The store was not short of it, with more than 260 pieces in hand, so the drop reflected demand. Buyers who were spending far more on meat, bread and rice this quarter had less to lay out on cloth. Broadcloth, hats, haberdashery and hosiery did not appear on this leaf at all. Timber told the same story. One double deal and four single deals were sold, against 36 deals in the preceding quarter, and no nails, glass or paint had yet been entered. The house building that marked the winter months had evidently slackened by the last quarter of the year, although three building plots in James's Valley were let between 22 December 1766 and 12 January 1767. The saddle cost £6 11s 2d, the store's last, since the inventory listed one with its furniture at £5 19s 8d before the advance. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weight of cordage, the grade marks and pieces of long cloth, the sum against the piece marked D and the total carried over. | |
290 | 19th January Brought over £ 1234. 5. 11 Turners Ware vizt. 4 Scrubg. Brushes 9. 8 3 Cloth Do. 3. 7 13. 3 Earthen Ware 6 Milk Pans 6. 3 Pewter 1 Bason 2. 6 Bunting 4 Yds. White 2. 3 Camblet vizt. 1 1/2 Yds. Brown 5. 1 4 Do. Scarlet 16. 4 5 Do. Blue 16. 10 1. 18. 3 Paint vizt. 43 1/2 Blue Smalts 3. 8. 9 4 Barrels Blacking 2. 3 139 Whiting 11. 7 127 White Lead mixed 2. 15. 7 22 Ven Red Do. 11. 5 1 Verdigrease 4. 4 11 Stone Colour 4. 9 2 Copperas 6 7. 19. 2 Hosiers Ware vizt. 28 Pr. Ordinary Thread Stockgs. 4. 8. 8 5 Pr. Mens fine Do. Do. 1. 13 3 Pr. Do. English Cotton Do. 1. 2. 6 1 Pr. Scarlet Breeches 15 4 Pr. Black 2. 15. 6 10. 14. 8 Haberdashery vizt. 42 Sks. Silk 1. 4. 6 40 Do. Mohair 1 1 Gross Horn Moulds 7. 10 8 Ps. Tape 4. 10 Haberdashery Carrd. Over £ 2. 13. 2 Carried over £ 1256. 2. 3 | The storekeeper's summary of goods sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, entered under 19 January, continued with brushes, small wares, camlet, paint, hosiery and the first of the haberdashery. Balance brought over, £1,234 5s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, turnery: 4 scrubbing brushes, £0 9s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, turnery: 3 cloth brushes, £0 3s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, turnery, total, £0 13s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, earthenware: 6 milk pans, £0 6s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, pewter: 1 basin, £0 2s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, bunting: 4 yards of white bunting, £0 2s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, camlet: 1½ yards of brown camlet, £0 5s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, camlet: 4 yards of scarlet camlet, £0 16s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, camlet: 5 yards of blue camlet, £0 16s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, camlet, total, £1 18s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 43½ pounds of blue smalts, £3 8s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 4 barrels of blacking, £0 2s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 169 pounds of whiting, £0 11s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 127 pounds of mixed white lead, £2 15s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 22 pounds of mixed Venetian red, £0 11s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 1 pound of verdigris, £0 4s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: 11 pounds of stone colour, £0 4s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint: ½ pound of copperas, £0 0s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, paint, total, £7 19s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery: 28 pairs of ordinary thread stockings, £4 8s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery: 5 pairs of men's fine thread stockings, £1 13s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery: 3 pairs of English cotton stockings, £1 2s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery: 1 pair of scarlet breeches, £0 15s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery: 4 pairs of black breeches, £2 15s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hosiery, total, £10 14s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 42 skeins of silk, £1 4s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 40 skeins of mohair, £1 0s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 gross of horn moulds, £0 2s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 8 pieces of tape, £0 4s 10d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery, carried over, £2 12s 2d Carried over, £1,256 2s 3d Interpretations Two units left unread in the accounts for the quarter to 30 September 1766 stood plainly here. Silk and mohair twist were sold by the skein, at 7d and 6d each, the prices found on the earlier leaves. The blacking was sold by the barrel, a small keg of ready-made black, at about 6¾d each, and the unread word beside it in the earlier paint entries was the same measure. No indigo was sold in the quarter, against 33½ pounds in the one before. The inventory of 30 September 1766 held only nine pounds, and the Company's own laundry took 12 pounds a quarter. Blue smalts rose from 36½ pounds to 43½. Smalts served equally as a washing blue, so buyers turned to it when the indigo was kept back or gone. Paint as a whole fell from £12 14s 3d to £7 19s 2d, and the mix changed. Mixed white lead rose from 43¼ pounds to 127, while dry white lead, of which 127 pounds were sold before, did not appear. Linseed oil for grinding dry pigment fell from 27⅞ gallons to 16⅛. Buyers were taking paint ready ground in oil and doing less of the mixing themselves, which fitted touching up finished houses more than painting new ones. Hosiery and haberdashery shrank in line with the long cloth and shoes on the preceding leaf. Ordinary thread stockings fell only from 34 pairs to 28, but the haberdashery so far came to £2 12s 2d against £5 6s 9d, with no buttons yet entered. Several readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the weights of the pigments, the count of barrels of blacking, the skeins of silk and mohair and the sum against the black breeches. | |
291 | 1767 Brought over £ 1256. 2. 3 Haberdashery brought over £ 2. 13. 2 1/2 Gross White Waistcoat Buttons 1. 4 2 doz. Silver Bt. Do. 2. 1/2 4 1/2 doz. Mohair Ct. Do. 3. 4 1/2 1 doz. Mohair Bt. Do. 4 1/2 1 Gross Shirt 2. 4 1 Cockade 4 1/2 3. 3. 9 Thread vizt. 3 1/2 Whited Brown 1. 6. 11 4 1/2 Coloured 16. 11 5 oz. Nuns No. 26 6. 3 4 oz. Do. Do. 30 7. 4 2. 17. 5 China Ware vizt. 7 Sets Dishes and Plates 7 61 Snackers 14 17 Bowls 1. 6. 7 12 Teapots 11 2 Guglets and Basons 5 12 Soup Plates 6. 2 10. 2. 9 Hooks and Lines vizt. 66 No. 2 1. 1. 9 6 . 3 Lines 2. 4 1/2 30 . 4 12. 11 2 Hambro Do. 3. 6 1 Deep Sea 5. 1 25 No. 6 1. 11 1/2 50 . 7 3. 1/2 125 . 9 3. 9 1/2 100 . 12 Hooks 1. 8 200 . 14 1. 9 175 . 16 1 2 Large 2 3. 0. 10 Carried Over £ 1275. 12. 8 | The storekeeper's summary of goods sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent continued with the rest of the haberdashery, thread, chinaware and fishing gear. Balance brought over, £1,256 2s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery, brought over, £2 12s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: ½ gross of white waistcoat buttons, £0 1s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 2 dozen silver breast buttons, £0 2s 0½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 4½ dozen mohair coat buttons, £0 3s 4½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 dozen mohair breast buttons, £0 0s 4½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 gross of shirt buttons, £0 2s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery: 1 cockade, £0 0s 4½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, haberdashery, total, £3 2s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, thread: 3½ pounds of whited brown thread, £1 6s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, thread: 4½ pounds of coloured thread, £0 16s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, thread: 5 ounces of nuns thread number 26, £0 6s 3d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, thread: 4 ounces of nuns thread number 30, £0 7s 4d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, thread, total, £2 17s 5d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 7 sets of dishes and plates, £7 0s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 61 sneakers, £0 14s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 17 bowls, £1 6s 7d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 12 tea pots, £0 11s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 2 guglets and basins, £0 5s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware: 12 soup plates, £0 6s 2d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, chinaware, total, £10 2s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 66 lines of number 2, £1 1s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 6 lines of number 3, £0 2s 4½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 30 lines of number 4, £0 12s 11d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 2 hambro lines, £0 3s 6d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 1 deep sea line, £0 5s 1d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 25 hooks of number 6, £0 1s 11½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 50 hooks of number 7, £0 3s 0½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 125 hooks of number 9, £0 3s 9½d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 100 hooks of number 12, £0 1s 8d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 200 hooks of number 14, £0 1s 9d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 175 hooks of number 16, £0 1s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines: 8 large hooks, £0 2s 0d Sold to the Company's servants at 10 per cent, hooks and lines, total, £3 0s 10d Carried over, £1,275 12s 8d Interpretations Fishing gear fell from £14 12s 10d to £3 0s 10d, and the fall lay in the hooks. Buyers at 10 per cent took close to 4,000 hooks in the quarter to 30 September 1766 and 683 in this one. No hooks of number 1 were sold, though that size alone accounted for 337 before and 10,000 lay in store. Lines moved the other way, 105 against about 70. A buyer replaced lines as they wore and hooks as they were lost, so the pattern suggested men still fishing with gear already bought and not laying in fresh stocks. It sat oddly beside the much heavier buying of salt meat and rice in the same quarter. The heading named these buyers as the Company's servants, however, and if the planters' purchases were entered separately the comparison with the earlier list was not like for like. The chinaware held up better than cloth or hardware, at £10 2s 9d against £19 19s 4d. Seven sets of dishes and plates were sold at £1 0s 0d each, the same price as the nine sold before. The 61 sneakers stood at about 2¾d each, which confirmed the reading of that article as the small bowl listed 199 strong in the inventory of 30 September 1766. Buttons came to under ten shillings across six kinds, and the haberdashery closed at £3 2s 0d against £5 6s 9d. Silvered and yellow metal buttons, sold by the dozen before, did not appear. The sum carried over stood a little above the heads entered on the leaf and was doubtful. Several other readings rested on fine judgement of the hand, notably the counts of buttons, the weights of thread, the counts and size numbers of hooks and lines and the fractions of pence. | |
292 | 19th January Brought over £ 1275 12 3 Shirts viz. 10 Soldiers Shirts 2 3 9 9 1/2 yds Brown Holland 19 2 1/2 Ps Rush Linen 17 9 4 5 8 Cutlery Ware viz. 7 Ivory Combs 7 3 1/2 36 Stag Horn Handle Knives & Forks 1 12 9 6 Shoe Knives 2 3 7 Buckling Combs 2 2 9 Horn Do 1 8 1/2 2 6 2 Nails viz. 6. 2 4 9 13. 3 10 7 22 1/2 4 14 6 80 1/2 6 2 8 7 73 10 1 16 6 24. 40 7 11 15 Sloop Brads 6 6 6 9 4 Tin Ware viz. 2 Pudg Pans 2 9 3 Tin Quart Sauce Do 1 10 4 7 Iron Ware viz. 1 Pad Lock 1 8 3 Cupboards Do 9 4 1/2 3 Pr Sheep Sheers 4 6 3 Small Fryg Pans 6 2 2 Hand Saws 17 10 1 Pr Hand Bellows 4 4 2 Gimbless 6 1/2 2 4 5 Pitch & Tar viz. 1/2 Tar 1 3 9 lb Rozin 1 6 2 9 Carried over £ 1291 5 7 | The account dated 19 January continued with a balance carried in from the previous leaf and listed further goods by category. Balance brought over, £1,275 12s 3d Shirts and linen 10 soldiers' shirts, £2 8s 9d 9½ yards of brown holland, £0 19s 2d ½ piece of dusk linen, £0 17s 9d Total for shirts and linen, £4 5s 8d Knives and combs 7 ivory combs, £0 7s 3½d 36 stag-horn handled knives and forks, £1 12s 9d 6 shoe knives, £0 2s 3d 7 buckling combs, £0 2s 2d 9 horn combs, £0 1s 8½d Total for knives and combs, £2 6s 2d Nails 6 [...] of 2 penny nails, £0 4s 9d 13 [...] of 3 penny nails, £0 10s 7d 22½ [...] of 4 penny nails, £0 14s 6d 80½ [...] of 6 penny nails, £2 8s 7d 73 [...] of 10 penny nails, £1 16s 6d 24 [...] of 40 penny nails, £0 7s 11d 15 [...] of flooring brads, £0 6s 6d Total for nails, £6 9s 4d Tin goods 2 pudding pans, £0 2s 9d 3 tin quart saucepans, £0 1s 10d Total for tin goods, £0 4s 7d Iron goods 1 padlock, £0 1s 8d 3 cupboard locks, £0 9s 4½d 3 pairs of sheep shears, £0 4s 6d 3 small frying pans, £0 6s 2d 2 hand saws, £0 17s 10d 1 pair of hand bellows, £0 4s 4d 2 gimlets, £0 0s 6½d Total for iron goods, £2 4s 5d Pitch and tar 1½ [...] of tar, £0 1s 3d 9 [...] of rosin, £0 1s 6d Total for pitch and tar, £0 2s 9d Balance carried over, £1,291 5s 7d Interpretations Brown holland was a plain, unbleached linen cloth, originally associated with the Low Countries, used for hard-wearing shirts, linings, aprons and furniture covers. The half piece entered beside it was read as dusk linen, a name that could not be confirmed from the page, and the reading of that one word should be treated with caution. Nails were sold by a penny size, and the second figure on each line of the nail section gave that size: 2, 3, 4, 6, 10 and 40 penny. The numbers originally reflected the price of a hundred nails and by this period served simply as a scale of length, running from small tacks to heavy spikes for framing timber. The first figure on each line was the quantity, but the clerk wrote no legible unit beside it, so the measure is marked as unreadable; the sums suggest nails sold by weight. Flooring brads were thin nails with a slight lip instead of a full head, driven flush into floorboards. Buckling combs were small combs used to hold curls or rolls of hair in place, on a wig or on natural hair. Shoe knives were the short blades used by shoemakers for cutting and paring leather. Stag horn, taken from deer antler, served as a cheap and durable handle material for table knives and forks, while ivory and horn combs marked the dearer and cheaper ends of the same trade. Rosin was the hard resin left after distilling turpentine from pine sap. Together with tar it was used for sealing seams, coating rope and timber against damp and making up pitch, which explains its place under that heading. The units for both the tar and the rosin could not be read. Several readings of individual words rested on fine judgement, notably the pudding pans, the tin quart saucepans and the cupboard locks, the last resolved from a repeat mark carrying the word lock down from the padlock above. | |
293 | 1767 Brought over £ 1291 5 7 Braziers Ware viz. 1 Flat Candle Stick 3 9 1 Bottling Cock 3 9 1 Pr Candle Sticks 7 9 1/2 2 Pr Snuffers 6 7 1/2 1 1 11 Serge viz. 6 yds Scarlet Serge 2 8 6 3 Do Do Duffle 1 11 7 4 1 Broad Cloth viz 7 yards Blue 7 1 2 3 1/4 Do Scarlet 3 13 2 2 1/4 Do French Grey 2 4 4 12 19 2 Glass Ware viz 12 Wine Glasses 5 8 1/2 7 Beer Do 6 10 1/4 1 Tumbler 8 1/4 1 Sqr Glass 8 by 10 8 13 11 £ 1310 8 | The account for 1767 resumed with the balance from the previous leaf and closed with a final total. Balance brought over, £1,291 5s 7d Brass and copper goods 1 flat candlestick, £0 3s 9d 1 bottling cock, £0 3s 9d 1 pair of candlesticks, £0 7s 9½d 2 pairs of snuffers, £0 6s 7½d Total for brass and copper goods, £1 1s 11d Serge 6 yards of scarlet serge, £2 8s 6d 3 yards of scarlet duffel, £1 11s 7d Total for serge, £4 0s 1d Broadcloth 7 yards of blue broadcloth, £7 1s 2d 3¼ yards of scarlet broadcloth, £3 13s 2d 2¼ yards of French grey broadcloth, £2 4s 4d Total for broadcloth, £12 19s 2d Glassware 12 wine glasses, £0 5s 8½d 7 beer glasses, £0 6s 10¼d 1 tumbler, £0 0s 8¼d 1 square of glass measuring 8 by 10, £0 0s 8d Total for glassware, £0 13s 11d Final total, £1,310 0s 8d Interpretations Serge was a hard-wearing twilled woollen cloth used for coats, linings and uniforms. Duffel was a much coarser, heavier woollen with a thick raised nap, named after a town near Antwerp and favoured for cloaks, blankets and rough outer clothing. Broadcloth stood at the top of the same range: a dense, fine woollen woven on a wide loom, then heavily shrunk and sheared to a smooth surface. Its price here, about £1 a yard against roughly 8s for serge, reflected that finish. French grey was a pale grey shade with a faint warm tint. Scarlet across all three cloths probably served the garrison, since it was the colour of military coats. A brazier worked in brass, and the heading covered small household brass goods. A bottling cock was a brass tap driven into a cask so that wine or beer could be drawn off into bottles. Snuffers were scissor-like tools with a small box on the blade, used to trim and catch the burnt wick of a candle. A flat candlestick was the low, broad-based kind with a dish and handle, carried about the house. The last glass entry was a single window pane, eight by ten inches, a standard size sold loose for glazing repairs. The year 1767 written at the head of this leaf dated the account of 19 January shown on the preceding leaf, whose carried balance of £1,291 5s 7d reappeared here as the opening figure. | |
294 | 19th January Sold to the Planters at 25 p Cent viz. Flannel 4 yards 7 6 Long Ells 5 1/4 yds Blue 11 4 Shalloon viz. 16 1/4 yds Coloured 1 16 6 1 Do Scarlet 2 10 1 19 4 Haberdashery viz. 1 Gross Horn Moulds 3 1 2 1/2 doz Mohair Bt Buttons 1 3 15 Skns Silk 11 3 3 Do Mohair 1 9 1 Ps Tape 10 18 2 Thread 2 lb Coloured 9 10 Broad Cloth viz. 2 3/8 yds French Grey 2 16 2 1/2 Do Scarlet 3 4 4 1 3/8 Do Brown 1 7 4 1 1/8 Do Black 1 1 5 3/4 Do Green 13 6 9 2 7 Long Cloth viz. 1 Ps [...] 4 10 5 1 Ps [...] 1 15 10 6 6 3 Shirts 3 Ps Irish Linnen 13 5 Shoes 1 Pr Mens Ordinary 5 Shalloes 4 Ps 7 4 8 Sold at 40 p Cent viz. Sugar and Candy viz. 5 1/2 lb Sugar 10 13 4 131 lb Candy 5 5 7 15 18 11 Flour 479 lb 5 19 3 Carried Over £ 49 16 3 | The account dated 19 January recorded goods sold to the planters at an advance of 25 per cent, followed by goods sold at 40 per cent. Sold to the planters at 25 per cent Flannel, 4 yards, £0 7s 6d Long ells, 5¼ yards of blue, £0 11s 4d Shalloon 16½ yards of coloured shalloon, £1 16s 6d 1 yard of scarlet shalloon, £0 2s 10d Total for shalloon, £1 19s 4d Sewing goods 1 gross of horn button moulds, £0 3s 1d 2½ dozen mohair breast buttons, £0 1s 3d 15 skeins of silk, £0 11s 3d 3 skeins of mohair, £0 1s 9d 1 piece of tape, £0 0s 10d Total for sewing goods, £0 18s 2d Thread, 2 pounds of coloured thread, £0 9s 10d Broadcloth 2⅝ yards of French grey broadcloth, £2 16s 0d 2½ yards of scarlet broadcloth, £3 4s 4d 1¼ yards of brown broadcloth, £1 7s 4d 1⅛ yards of black broadcloth, £1 1s 5d ¾ yard of green broadcloth, £0 13s 6d Total for broadcloth, £9 2s 7d Long cloth 1 piece of long cloth, £4 10s 5d 1 piece of long cloth of [...], £1 15s 10d Total for long cloth, £6 6s 3d Shirts, 3 pieces of Irish linen, £0 13s 5d Shoes, 1 pair of men's ordinary shoes, £0 5s 0d Shallots, 4 pounds, £7 4s 8d Sold at 40 per cent Sugar and candy 5[...] pounds of sugar, £10 13s 4d 131 pounds of candy, £5 5s 7d Total for sugar and candy, £15 18s 11d Flour, 479 pounds, £5 19s 3d Balance carried over, £49 16s 3d Interpretations The two headings recorded the mark-up at which the Company's store sold to the island's planters: 25 per cent above cost on cloth, clothing and sewing goods, and 40 per cent on sugar, candy and flour. The store was the planters' only regular source of imported goods, so the advance worked as a fixed, published margin on a captive market. Provisions carried the higher rate, perhaps because they spoiled and wasted in store in a way that cloth did not. Shalloon was a light twilled woollen used mainly to line coats, and its appearance beside broadcloth reflected that pairing. Long ells were a cheap, coarse woollen made in the west of England in long pieces, much of it exported through the Company. Long cloth, by contrast, was a plain cotton from the Coromandel coast of India, sold by the piece. Button moulds were small discs of horn over which thread or cloth was worked to make a covered button, and the mohair and silk skeins listed with them supplied that covering. Candy was sugar candy, sugar crystallised in large lumps and shipped from India and China. Several readings rested on fine judgement. The quantity of flannel, the weight unit against the thread and the second long cloth entry, where the clerk's description of the piece could not be made out, were all uncertain. The sum against the shallots was read as £7 4s 8d, which is far out of proportion to four pounds of that commodity; either the word or the placing of the figure may be other than it appears, and the entry should be treated with caution. The first digits of the sugar weight could be read only in part. | |
295 | 1767 Brought over £ 49 16 3 Tea viz. 3 lb Congo 15 4 3 lb Bohea 4 1 19 5 Salt 2 1/4 Bushels 11 9 Leather 3 1/4 Sole 5 Starch 3 lb 1 9 Coffee 2 2 4 Oil 2 1/4 Galls Linseed 13 1 Candles 7 lb 1 5 Lead 37 lb Shott 10 9 Cordage 53 1/4 1 6 10 Grindstone 1 12 5 Blankets 4 1 2 2 Canvas 4 yds Osenbrigs 1 3 Pepper 6 lb 4 6 Rope 7 lb 6 10 Hooks and Lines viz. 24 No 2 10 2 12 . 3 Lines 6 36 . 4 Lines 19 6 3 Hambro Lines 6 9 1 Deep Sea Lines 6 4 25 No 1 Hooks 1 9 1/2 200 . 6 Hooks 1 1 1/2 75 . 9 Hooks 2 10 1/2 25 . 13 Hooks 3 1/2 125 . 14 Hooks 1 5 1/2 25 . 16 Hooks 2 1/2 3 15 6 Paint viz. 7 1/2 Blue Smalts 15 7 2 Barrels Blacking 1 6 26 Whiting 3 3 3 Ven Red mixed 2 1/2 12 White Lead dry 8 11 1/2 1 11 5 Carried Over £ 63 2 2 | The account for 1767 continued with the balance from the previous leaf and listed provisions, stores, fishing tackle and paint. Balance brought over, £49 16s 3d Tea 3 pounds of congou tea, £0 15s 4d 3 pounds of bohea tea, £0 4s 1d Total for tea, £0 19s 5d Salt, 2¼ bushels, £0 11s 9d Leather, 3¼ pounds of sole leather, £0 5s 0d Starch, 3 pounds, £0 1s 9d Coffee, 2 pounds, £0 2s 4d Oil, 2¼ gallons of linseed oil, £0 13s 1d Candles, 7 pounds, £1 0s 5d Lead, 37 pounds of shot, £0 10s 9d Cordage, 53¾ pounds, £1 6s 10d Grindstone, 1 grindstone, £0 12s 5d Blankets, 4 blankets, £1 2s 2d Canvas, 4 yards of osnaburg, £0 1s 3d Pepper, 6 pounds, £0 4s 6d Rope, 7 pounds, £0 6s 10d Hooks and lines 24 fishing lines of number 2, £0 10s 2d 12 fishing lines of number 3, £0 6s 0d 36 fishing lines of number 4, £0 19s 6d 3 hambro lines, £0 6s 9d 1 deep sea line, £0 6s 4d 25 fish hooks of number 1, £0 1s 9½d 200 fish hooks of number 6, £1 0s 1½d 75 fish hooks of number 9, £0 2s 10½d 25 fish hooks of number 13, £0 0s 3½d 125 fish hooks of number 14, £0 1s 5¼d 25 fish hooks of number 16, £0 0s 2½d Total for hooks and lines, £3 15s 6d Paint 7½ pounds of blue smalt, £0 15s 7d 2 barrels of blacking, £0 1s 6d 26 pounds of whiting, £0 3s 3d 3 pounds of mixed Venetian red, £0 2s 1½d 12 pounds of dry white lead, £0 8s 11½d Total for paint, £1 11s 5d Balance carried over, £63 2s 2d Interpretations Congou and bohea were both black teas from China. Bohea was the cheapest grade in common use, a coarse leaf from the later pickings, while congou was a better, more carefully worked leaf. The gap in price here, roughly 5s a pound against 1s 4d, reflected that difference in quality. Osnaburg was a coarse, unbleached linen named after Osnabrück in Germany, used for sacking, rough clothing and wrapping. Fishing tackle formed the largest group on the leaf, and its range of numbered sizes showed how much the island's diet depended on line fishing from boats and rocks. Lines were graded by thickness and hooks by a size number, the higher numbers being the smaller hooks, which is why 125 of number 14 cost under 2d. A hambro line was a small, tightly laid cord named after Hamburg, used at sea for lashings and as a stout fishing line. A deep sea line was the long, heavy line used with a sounding lead, and also served for fishing in deep water. The paint heading covered dry pigments and fillers to be mixed with the linseed oil sold higher up the leaf. Smalt was a blue pigment made by grinding glass coloured with cobalt. Whiting was finely ground chalk, used for whitewash and putty. Venetian red was a red-brown earth pigment coloured by iron oxide. White lead, a lead carbonate, was the standard base for white oil paint. Blacking here was probably a black pigment such as lampblack, sold in small casks. The clerk wrote weights against most items as a small raised mark, taken throughout as pounds, and the cordage and candle entries carried no unit at all, so pounds was supplied there from the pattern of the leaf. The descriptions of the red pigment and of the blacking rested on fine judgement, as did several of the hook sizes and farthing fractions. | |
296 | 19th January Brought over £ 63 3 2 Cutlery Ware viz. 4 Shoe Knives 2 1 Fine Ivory Comb 3 11 2 Horn Do 6 6 Stag Horn Handl Knvs & Forks 6 11 13 4 Iron Ware viz. 1 Pr Sheep Sheers 2 1 Small Fryg Pan 2 7 4 7 Earthen Ware 1 Milk Pan 1 4 Nails viz. 2 . 2 2 1 8 . 4 6 8 24 . 6 19 10 . 10 6 10 1/2 2 . 40 1 [...] 1 15 8 Turners Ware viz. 1 Tabl Basket 1 6 1/2 1 Shoe Brush 9 1/2 2 4 Shirts 2 yds Brown Holland 5 2 Broad Cloth 6 yards Blue 7 14 China Ware viz. 2 Sets Dishes and Plates 2 11 2 1 Soup Dish 3 3 24 Saucers 7 1 Guglet and Bason 3 2 3 9 7 Glass ware 8 Tumblers 7 Tin Ware 2 Hand Glass Lanthorns 14 5 Pitch and Tar 19 lb Rozin 4 4 Hosiers Ware 2 Pr Black Breeches 1 13 4 Serge 1 1/2 yds Scarlet Duffle 1 1 £ 81 13 4 | The account dated 19 January continued with the balance from the previous leaf and closed with a total. Balance brought over, £63 3s 2d Knives and combs 4 shoe knives, £0 2s 0d 1 fine ivory comb, £0 3s 11d 2 horn combs, £0 0s 6d 6 stag-horn handled knives and forks, £0 6s 11d Total for knives and combs, £0 13s 4d Iron goods 1 pair of sheep shears, £0 2s 0d 1 small frying pan, £0 2s 7d Total for iron goods, £0 4s 7d Earthenware, 1 milk pan, £0 1s 4d Nails 2 [...] of 2 penny nails, £0 2s 1d 8 [...] of 4 penny nails, £0 6s 8d 24 [...] of 6 penny nails, £0 19s 0d 10 [...] of 10 penny nails, £0 6s 10½d 2 [...] of 40 penny nails, £0 1s 0½d Total for nails, £1 15s 8d Turned wooden goods 1 table basket, £0 1s 6½d 1 shoe brush, £0 0s 9½d Total for turned wooden goods, £0 2s 4d Shirts, 2 yards of brown holland, £0 5s 2d Broadcloth, 6 yards of blue broadcloth, £7 14s 0d Chinaware 2 sets of dishes and plates, £2 11s 2d 1 soup dish, £0 3s 3d 24 saucers, £0 7s 0d 1 guglet and basin, £0 3s 2d Total for chinaware, £3 9s 7d Glassware, 8 tumblers, £0 7s 0d Tin goods, 2 hand glass lanterns, £0 14s 5d Pitch and tar, 19 pounds of rosin, £0 4s 4d Hosiery, 2 pairs of black breeches, £1 13s 4d Serge, 1½ yards of scarlet duffel, £1 0s 1d Total, £81 13s 4d Interpretations A guglet was a long-necked water jug, of a kind made in China and India for the export trade, whose narrow neck made the water gurgle as it poured. Sold with its basin, it formed a washstand set. The dishes, plates and saucers under the same heading were Chinese porcelain, which reached the island directly on the Company's homeward ships from Canton and so stood in the store as an everyday commodity. Turner's ware covered goods made or finished on a lathe, and by extension the small wooden and brush goods a turner sold. A milk pan was a wide, shallow earthenware dish in which milk was left to stand so that the cream could rise and be skimmed. A hand lantern with glass sides, in a tin frame, was carried about at night and was classed by its frame, not its panes. The balance carried from the preceding leaf stood there as £63 2s 2d, while the opening figure here was read as £63 3s 2d. The shilling figure on one of the two leaves was perhaps misread, and the two cannot be settled from the page alone. As on the leaf listing nails earlier in this account, the clerk gave no legible unit against the nail quantities, and the measure is marked as unreadable. Several readings rested on fine judgement, notably the table basket, the soup dish and the heading over the black breeches, taken as hosiery. | |
297 | 1767 Damaged Goods Sold at Auction viz. Broad Cloth viz. 1 1/2 Yards Scarlet 16 6 1 1/2 Do French Grey 11 6 1 8 Blankets 7 1 4 6 Hooks 100 No 5 4 Serge 5 yards Sagathy 9 6 Sailors Cloths viz. 1 Boys Shirt 1 6 3 Mens Jackets 7 6 3 Pr Mens Breeches 8 17 Wine 141 Galls Port 15 17 3 £ 20 3 Sold to the Honorable Companys Ships from the 1st Octr to 31st Decr 1766 Canvas viz. 1 Ps Eng Canvas 3 5 104 yds Tecklenbourgs 7 11 3 10 16 3 Paint viz. 30 lb White Lead dry 14 5 15 lb Ven Red Do 4 5 15 lb Yellow Oaker Do 4 5 1/2 lb Copperas 9 8 Barrls Black 6 8 1 10 8 Oil viz. 1/2 Gall of Turpentine 3 8 Glass Ware viz. 2 Half Hour Glasses 2 11 2 Do Minute Do 1 6 4 5 Hooks 50 No 11 1 2 £ 12 16 7 | The account for 1767 recorded damaged goods sold at auction and then goods sold to the Company's ships between 7 October and 31 December 1766. Damaged goods sold at auction Broadcloth 1½ yards of scarlet broadcloth, £0 16s 6d 1½ yards of French grey broadcloth, £0 11s 6d Total for broadcloth, £1 8s 0d Blankets, 7 blankets, £1 4s 6d Hooks, 100 fish hooks of number 5, £0 4s 0d Serge, 5 yards of sagathy, £0 9s 6d Sailors' clothes 1 boy's shirt, £0 1s 6d 3 men's jackets, £0 7s 6d 3 pairs of men's breeches, £0 8s 0d Total for sailors' clothes, £0 17s 0d Wine, 141 gallons of port, £15 17s 3d Total for damaged goods sold at auction, £20 0s 3d Sold to the Company's ships from 7 October to 31 December 1766 Canvas 1 piece of English canvas, £3 5s 0d 104 yards of sacking canvas, £7 11s 3d Total for canvas, £10 16s 3d Paint 30 pounds of dry white lead, £0 14s 5d 15 pounds of dry Venetian red, £0 4s 5d 15 pounds of dry yellow ochre, £0 4s 5d ½ pound of copperas, £0 0s 9d 8 barrels of black, £0 6s 8d Total for paint, £1 10s 8d Oil, ½ gallon of turpentine, £0 3s 2d Glassware 2 half-hour glasses, £0 2s 11d 2 half-minute glasses, £0 1s 6d Total for glassware, £0 4s 5d Hooks, 50 fish hooks of number 11, £0 1s 2d Total for goods sold to the Company's ships, £12 16s 7d Interpretations Spoiled stock went to public auction instead of being sold over the counter at the fixed advance of 25 or 40 per cent recorded on the leaf dated 19 January. The storekeeper could not charge the published margin on goods that were stained, moth-eaten or soured, and a sale by bidding gave him a price he could defend to the Company as the best obtainable. The effect showed in the broadcloth: scarlet fetched 11s a yard here, against well over £1 a yard for sound cloth on the earlier leaves. The port, at a little over 2s a gallon, was perhaps wine that had turned in the cask. Sagathy was a light twilled cloth of wool, sometimes mixed with silk, used for summer coats and linings, and the clerk classed it under serge as a related weave. Copperas was iron sulphate, a green crystalline salt used to make black dyes and inks and to darken paint. Yellow ochre was a natural earth pigment coloured by iron. The glasses sold to the ships were sandglasses used in navigation, not drinking vessels. The half-hour glass timed the watches, the bell being struck each time it was turned. The half-minute glass timed the log line run out over the stern, from which a ship's speed was reckoned. Canvas, paint, turpentine and these glasses together made up the ordinary refit of a vessel after a long passage, which the island's store supplied to ships calling on their way home. The description of the 104 yards of canvas rested on fine judgement and was taken as a sacking grade. The second pair of sandglasses carried a prefix read as half, and the weights against the pigments were taken as pounds from the pattern of the earlier paint entries. | |
298 | 19th January Charges General Dr for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of Octobr to the 31st december 1766 Arrack 98 Galls for Sundry Men employed in the Stores, and Doctors Shop &ca 13 3 5 Nails viz. 2 . 2 1 5 12 . 3 8 9 4 . 4 7 16 . 6 8 8 8 . 10 3 6 12 . 40 4 3 12 Coppers Rivets 5 6 6 Spike Nails 1 11 for mendg Boxes in the Stores makg a Bridge on the West Rocks makg box for the Castle and repairing the draw Bridge 2 1 Hooks and Lines viz. 12 No 2 Lines 3 7 24 . 3 Do 3 8 18 . 4 Do 7 for the Govr and Lieut Govr Fishermen, and Castle 25 . 1 Hooks 1 3 1/4 25 . 11 Do 5 23 . 13 Do 2 1/2 25 . 16 Do 1 3/4 25 . 6 Do 1 9 1/2 25 . 12 Do 4 1/2 25 . 14 Do 2 1/2 15 . Large Do 3 5 1/2 for the Governor & Lieut Governors Fishermen 5 Log Lines for the Castle 4 9 1/2 1 4 11 Twine 6 Skns for mendg Bags in the Stores Use of the Castle & Fishermen 3 5 Iron 197 Armorers Use 2 5 2 Iron Ware viz. 2 Pick Axes, Fort Garden 6 4 1 Maul, Companys Works 9 3 1/4 2 Splinter Locks, Castle 1 2 Farriers Rasps Armorer 1 10 Iron Ware Carried over £ 18 5 1/4 Carried Over £ 19 4 11 | The account dated 19 January charged the general expenses account with stores issued between 1 October and 31 December 1766. General charges, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Arrack, 98 gallons for various men employed in the stores, the doctor's shop and elsewhere, £13 3s 5d Nails, for mending boxes in the stores, making a bridge on the west rocks, making boxes for the Castle and repairing the drawbridge 2 [...] of 2 penny nails, £0 1s 5d 12 [...] of 3 penny nails, £0 8s 9d 4 [...] of 4 penny nails, £0 7s 0d 16 [...] of 6 penny nails, £0 8s 8d 8 [...] of 10 penny nails, £0 3s 6d 12 [...] of 40 penny nails, £0 4s 3d 12 copper rivets, £0 5s 6d 6 spike nails, £0 1s 11d Total for nails, £2 1s 0d Hooks and lines 12 fishing lines of number 2, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and for the Castle, £0 3s 7d 24 fishing lines of number 3, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and for the Castle, £0 3s 8d 18 fishing lines of number 4, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and for the Castle, £0 7s 0d 25 fish hooks of number 1, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 1s 3¼d 25 fish hooks of number 11, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 5d 25 fish hooks of number 13, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 2½d 25 fish hooks of number 16, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 1¼d 25 fish hooks of number 6, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 1s 9½d 25 fish hooks of number 12, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 4½d 25 fish hooks of number 14, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 0s 2½d 15 large fish hooks, for the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, £0 3s 5½d 5 log lines for the Castle, £0 4s 9½d Total for hooks and lines, £1 7s 11d Twine, 6 skeins for mending bags in the stores and for the use of the Castle and the fishermen, £0 3s 5d Iron, 197 pounds for the armourer's use, £2 5s 2d Iron goods 2 pickaxes for the fort garden, £0 6s 4d 1 maul for the Company's works, £0 9s 3¼d 2 splinter locks for the Castle, £0 1s 0d 2 farrier's rasps for the armourer, £0 1s 10d Iron goods carried over, £0 18s 5¼d Balance carried over, £19 4s 11d Interpretations Charges general was the heading in the Company's books for the island's running costs. Debiting it for these stores moved their value out of the storekeeper's stock and onto the establishment's expenses, so that he was no longer answerable for them. Each entry therefore named the person, place or job that consumed the goods, which gave the auditors in London a reason for every issue. The same goods appeared on the earlier leaves as sales at a 25 or 40 per cent advance; here they left the store with no buyer and no money received. Arrack was a spirit distilled in the East Indies from palm sap, rice or sugar, shipped to the island in bulk from Batavia and India. The 98 gallons, by far the largest charge on the leaf, were a customary allowance of drink to men working in the stores and the doctor's shop, in effect part of their pay. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor each kept fishermen at the Company's cost, with lines and hooks drawn free from the store. Fresh fish for the two senior tables was thus treated as a public expense, while the planters bought identical tackle at the advance recorded on the earlier leaf for 1767. A maul was a heavy long-handled hammer for driving wedges and stakes. A log line was the knotted cord run out astern to measure speed, timed by the half-minute glass sold to the ships on the preceding leaf. Splinter locks were read with some doubt and were perhaps small bolt-type locks. Spike nails were large nails for heavy timber, such as the bridge on the west rocks and the drawbridge named in the note. As on the earlier nail entries in this account, the clerk gave no legible unit against the nail quantities. The weight of iron was taken as pounds, and several farthing fractions against the hooks rested on fine judgement. | |
299 | 1767 Brought over £ 19 4 11 Iron Ware brought over £ 18 5 1/4 2 Scythe Stones, Fort Garden 5 1/2 1 Pad Lock for the Prison 1 6 1/4 1 Chaffing Dish, Castle 6 8 1 Screw Plate Armorers Shop 4 1 11 1 Oil viz. 2 Galls Linseed 7 10 1/2 17 1/4 Do Train 2 12 2 1/2 Use of the Castle Lieut Govr House and Armourer 1 Bottle Florence Doctor Shop 2 8 3 2 9 Lead viz. 30 Sheet to fasten Bolts on the West Rock and Use of the Fishermen 6 3 16 Shot Castle 3 4 9 7 Cordage 149 1/4 for a Crane Rope, Halters for Horses and Scale Ropes 2 7 11 Candy 70 lb for the Groom and Gardener & Doctors Shop 1 9 2 Candles viz. 135 Council 14 1 3 32 1/2 Officers on Duty 3 7 8 4 Doctors Shop 8 4 2 Secretarys Office 4 2 110 Castle 11 9 2 29 10 7 Canvas viz. 3 yds Osnbrigs, for Packets 2 7 10 yds English for Cotts 11 8 14 3 Deals viz. 2 1/2 Baulks 1 2 1 2 Cuffins 6 1 7 Single 15 6 2 Double 10 3 for Raisg a Sheerson the West Rocks reppg a Bridge and Cotts for the Castle 2 13 11 Carried Over £ 61 10 2 | The account for 1767 carried on the charge against general expenses for stores issued in the last quarter of 1766. Balance brought over, £19 4s 11d Iron goods Iron goods brought over, £0 18s 5¼d 2 scythe stones for the fort garden, £0 0s 5½d 1 padlock for the prison, £0 1s 6¼d 1 chafing dish for the Castle, £0 6s 8d 1 screw plate for the armourer's shop, £0 4s 0d Total for iron goods, £1 11s 1d Oil 2 gallons of linseed oil, for the Castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the armourer, £0 7s 10½d 17¼ gallons of train oil, for the Castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the armourer, £2 18s 2½d 1 bottle of Florence oil for the doctor's shop, £0 2s 8d Total for oil, £3 8s 9d Lead 30 pounds of sheet lead, for fixing bolts on the west rock and for the fishermen, £0 6s 3d 16 pounds of shot for the Castle, £0 3s 4d Total for lead, £0 9s 7d Cordage, 149¾ pounds for a crane rope, halters for horses and axle ropes, £2 7s 11d Candy, 70 pounds for the groom, the gardener and the doctor's shop, £1 9s 2d Candles 135 pounds for the Council, £14 1s 3d 32½ pounds for officers on duty, £3 7s 8d 4 pounds for the doctor's shop, £0 8s 4d 2 pounds for the secretary's office, £0 4s 2d 110 pounds for the Castle, £11 9s 2d Total for candles, £29 10s 7d Canvas 3 yards of osnaburg for pockets, £0 2s 7d 10 yards of English canvas for cots, £0 11s 8d Total for canvas, £0 14s 3d Deals, for raising a shears on the west rocks, repairing a bridge and making cots for the Castle 2½ baulks, £1 2s 1d 2 rafters, £0 6s 1d 7 single deals, £0 15s 6d 3 double deals, £0 10s 3d Total for deals, £2 13s 11d Balance carried over, £61 10s 2d Interpretations Candles were the heaviest charge on the leaf, at £29 10s 7d out of some £42 of new issues. The Council's 135 pounds and the Castle's 110 pounds dwarfed the two pounds allowed to the secretary's office, so the entry recorded lighting as a perquisite of rank as much as a working need. At roughly 2s 1d a pound these were dear candles, perhaps wax or spermaceti and not tallow, and the planters paid a higher rate still for the seven pounds sold to them on the earlier leaf for 1767. Train oil was oil boiled out of whale or seal blubber, burned in lamps and used to dress leather and grease ironwork. Florence oil was fine olive oil shipped from Tuscany in wicker-covered flasks, issued here to the doctor's shop as a base for ointments and medicines. Linseed oil was the drying oil mixed with the pigments listed on the earlier paint entries. Deals were sawn softwood planks imported from the Baltic, graded as single or double by thickness, and baulks were heavy squared timbers. Their use for a shears, a two-legged lifting frame, together with the sheet lead for setting bolts and the crane rope, pointed to work on a landing or hoisting place on the west rocks. The nails for a bridge on those rocks, charged on the leaf dated 19 January, belonged to the same job. Lead was run molten around an iron bolt set in a drilled hole to fix it in the rock. A screw plate was a hardened steel plate pierced with threaded holes, through which the armourer forced iron rod to cut screws for gun locks. A chafing dish was a small pan holding hot coals, used to keep food warm at table. Scythe stones were whetstones for sharpening blades. Sugar candy went to the groom, the gardener and the doctor's shop, perhaps for dosing horses as well as for medicines. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the pockets made from the osnaburg, the rafters among the deals, the shears, and the weights against the lead, cordage, candy and candles, which were taken as pounds from the pattern of the earlier leaves. | |
300 | 1767 Brought over £ 19 4 11 Iron Ware brought over £ 18 5 1/4 2 Scythe Stones, Fort Garden 5 1/2 1 Pad Lock for the Prison 1 6 1/4 1 Chaffing Dish, Castle 6 8 1 Screw Plate Armorers Shop 4 1 11 1 Oil viz. 2 Galls Linseed 7 10 1/2 17 1/4 Do Train 2 12 2 1/2 Use of the Castle Lieut Govr House and Armourer 1 Bottle Florence Doctor Shop 2 8 3 2 9 Lead viz. 30 Sheet to fasten Bolts on the West Rock and Use of the Fishermen 6 3 16 Shot Castle 3 4 9 7 Cordage 149 1/4 for a Crane Rope, Halters for Horses and Scale Ropes 2 7 11 Candy 70 lb for the Groom and Gardener & Doctors Shop 1 9 2 Candles viz. 135 Council 14 1 3 32 1/2 Officers on Duty 3 7 8 4 Doctors Shop 8 4 2 Secretarys Office 4 2 110 Castle 11 9 2 29 10 7 Canvas viz. 3 yds Osnbrigs, for Packets 2 7 10 yds English for Cotts 11 8 14 3 Deals viz. 2 1/2 Baulks 1 2 1 2 Cuffins 6 1 7 Single 15 6 2 Double 10 3 for Raisg a Sheerson the West Rocks reppg a Bridge and Cotts for the Castle 2 13 11 Carried Over £ 61 10 2 | ||
301 | 1767 Brought over £ 19 4 11 Iron Ware brought over £ 18 5 1/4 2 Scythe Stones, Fort Garden 5 1/2 1 Pad Lock for the Prison 1 6 1/4 1 Chaffing Dish, Castle 6 8 1 Screw Plate Armorers Shop 4 1 11 1 Oil viz. 2 Galls Linseed 7 10 1/2 17 1/4 Do Train 2 12 2 1/2 Use of the Castle Lieut Govr House and Armourer 1 Bottle Florence Doctor Shop 2 8 3 2 9 Lead viz. 30 Sheet to fasten Bolts on the West Rock and Use of the Fishermen 6 3 16 Shot Castle 3 4 9 7 Cordage 149 1/4 for a Crane Rope, Halters for Horses and Scale Ropes 2 7 11 Candy 70 lb for the Groom and Gardener & Doctors Shop 1 9 2 Candles viz. 135 Council 14 1 3 32 1/2 Officers on Duty 3 7 8 4 Doctors Shop 8 4 2 Secretarys Office 4 2 110 Castle 11 9 2 29 10 7 Canvas viz. 3 yds Osnbrigs, for Packets 2 7 10 yds English for Cotts 11 8 14 3 Deals viz. 2 1/2 Baulks 1 2 1 2 Cuffins 6 1 7 Single 15 6 2 Double 10 3 for Raisg a Sheerson the West Rocks reppg a Bridge and Cotts for the Castle 2 13 11 Carried Over £ 61 10 2 | The account dated 19 January continued the charge against general expenses for stores issued in the last quarter of 1766. Balance brought over, £61 10s 2d Paint 7 pounds of mixed white lead for the Castle, £0 2s 9¼d 63 pounds of whiting for the Castle, £0 4s 3d ½ pound of umber for the Castle, £0 0s 1½d 1 pound of blue smalt for the Castle, £0 1s 5d 4 pounds of Venetian red for the Castle, £0 1s 10¼d Total for paint, £0 10s 5d Tea, 2 pounds of bohea for the groom and the gardener, £0 1s 11d Soap, 50 pounds for washing linen, £1 12s 4d Tin goods 2 pudding pans for the Castle, £0 2s 6d 5 tin quart saucepans for the Castle, £0 2s 9¾d 6 pounds of solder for the Castle, £0 5s 6¼d Total for tin goods, £0 10s 10d Chinaware 4 chamber pots for the Castle, £0 8s 0d 12 saucers for the Castle, £0 2s 6d 6 salad dishes for the Castle, £0 4s 6d Total for chinaware, £0 15s 0d Glassware 36 wine glasses for the Castle, £0 15s 6¾d 12 tumblers for the Castle, £0 7s 6d 1 square of glass measuring 11 by 10 for the Castle, £0 1s 4¼d Total for glassware, £1 4s 5d Earthenware, 1 milk pan for the Castle, £0 0s 11d Kersey, 6 yards to make cushions for the church, £0 8s 0d Starch, 8¾ pounds for linen, £0 3s 8d Blankets, 2 blankets for the Castle, £0 10s 3d Corks, 3 gross for the Castle, £0 7s 2d Pitch and tar 12 pounds of rosin for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 1s 9d 1 [...] of turpentine for the Castle and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 3d Total for pitch and tar, £0 2s 0d Coals, 64 bushels for the armourer's shop, £4 5s 4d Thread, ½ pound of whited brown thread for the Castle, £0 3s 6d Shalloon, 1 piece for rubbers for the Castle, £0 3s 3d Balance carried over, £72 14s 2d Interpretations Almost every line on the leaf was charged to the Castle, and the goods were domestic: table glass, china, saucepans, blankets, corks, soap and starch for the linen. The Governor's household was thus furnished and kept from the store as a public expense, on the same footing as the fishermen and candles charged on the two preceding leaves. Wine glasses that the planters bought at an advance of 25 per cent left the store here with no payment at all. Kersey was a coarse, thick woollen cloth, woven narrow and heavily fulled, used for working clothes and hard-wearing covers, which suited it to church cushions. Whited brown thread was linen thread only half bleached, stronger than white thread and used for coarse sewing. Shalloon, the light woollen sold to the planters on the earlier leaf as coat lining, was issued here for rubbers, that is, polishing cloths. Umber was a brown earth pigment, darker than ochre. Solder, an alloy of tin and lead, was kept for mending the tin and copper vessels listed beside it. The 64 bushels of coal for the armourer's shop formed the largest single charge on the leaf. The island had no coal of its own, so forge fuel came out from England by ship, and it was reserved here for smith's work. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the salad dishes, the dimensions of the glass pane, the quantity of whiting, the weight of starch, the heading read as shalloon and the unit against the turpentine, which could not be made out. Weights shown by a small raised mark were taken as pounds, as on the earlier leaves. | |
302 | 19th January Brought over £ 9 5 1 Nails viz. 62 . 3 2 5 2 1/2 23 . 6 12 5 1/2 12 . 10 5 3 10 . 40 3 6 1/2 10 Spikes 3 1 1/2 to make a Guard Bed for the Main Guard for Cotts and reppg [...] 3 9 7 Canvas 10 Ps 11 yds English to make Cotts 23 7 10 Twine 10 Skns for Do 5 6 Oil viz. 1 Gall Linseed 3 11 45 1/8 Do Train 7 14 10 for the Sevl Guards Markg Blankets &ca 7 18 9 Tea 38 lb Bohea for the Several Guards 2 14 4 Blankets 114 for the Several Companys 18 19 3 Iron Ware viz. 3 Pr HL Hinges 5 1 Batn Door Lock 5 1 Do With Brass Knobs 7 6 1 Hand Hammer 2 1 Hand Hatchett 1 9 1 Pad Lock 1 6 1/2 1 Small Fryg Pan 1 10 1/2 for the Sevl Compys 1 4 8 Glass Ware viz. 2 Sqrs 6 by 8 9 2 Sqrs 8 by 10 1 2 for the Barracks 1 11 Arrack 16 Galls on Muster days 2 3 Lines 2 lb Whip Cord for Whips 6 9 Paint viz. 12 lb Yell Oaker dry 2 9 8 lb Whiting 6 3 lb Ven: Red dry 7 to Clean Accoutts & Mark Blankts 3 10 Candles 3 lb Artilly Company 6 3 Carried over £ 70 6 9 | The account dated 19 January charged the garrison's companies and guards with stores issued to them, opening with a balance from the previous leaf. Balance brought over, £9 5s 1d Nails, to make a guard bed for the main guard, for cots and for repairing rooms 62 [...] of 3 penny nails, £2 5s 2½d 23 [...] of 6 penny nails, £0 12s 5½d 12 [...] of 10 penny nails, £0 5s 3d 10 [...] of 40 penny nails, £0 3s 6½d 10 spikes, £0 3s 1½d Total for nails, £3 9s 7d Canvas, 10 pieces and 11 yards of English canvas to make cots, £23 7s 10d Twine, 10 skeins for making cots, £0 5s 6d Oil 1 gallon of linseed oil, for the several guards and for marking blankets, £0 3s 11d 45⅛ gallons of train oil, for the several guards and for marking blankets, £7 14s 10d Total for oil, £7 18s 9d Tea, 33 pounds of bohea for the several guards, £2 14s 4d Blankets, 74 blankets for the several companies, £18 19s 3d Iron goods 3 pairs of H hinges for the several companies, £0 5s 0d 1 [...] door lock for the several companies, £0 5s 0d 1 door lock with brass knobs for the several companies, £0 7s 6d 1 hand hammer for the several companies, £0 2s 0d 1 hand hatchet for the several companies, £0 1s 9d 1 padlock for the several companies, £0 1s 6½d 1 small frying pan for the several companies, £0 1s 10½d Total for iron goods, £1 4s 8d Glassware 2 squares of glass measuring 6 by 8 for the barracks, £0 0s 9d 2 squares of glass measuring 8 by 10 for the barracks, £0 1s 2d Total for glassware, £0 1s 11d Arrack, 16 gallons on muster days, £2 3s 0d Lines, 2 pounds of whipcord for whips, £0 6s 9d Paint 12 pounds of dry yellow ochre, to clean accoutrements and mark blankets, £0 2s 9d 8 pounds of whiting, to clean accoutrements and mark blankets, £0 0s 6d 3 pounds of dry Venetian red, to clean accoutrements and mark blankets, £0 0s 7d Total for paint, £0 3s 10d Candles, 3 pounds for the artillery company, £0 6s 3d Balance carried over, £70 6s 9d Interpretations The opening balance of £9 5s 1d did not follow from the £72 14s 2d carried over on the preceding leaf, so a new charge began on a leaf not seen, and its heading was not available. The entries themselves showed its subject: every issue went to the guards, the barracks, the several companies or the artillery company, so the garrison was debited separately from the Castle household and the Company's works charged on the earlier leaves. Blankets and bedding dominated the charge. The 74 blankets and the canvas for cots together came to more than £42, and the pigments and oil were issued partly to mark those blankets. Marking each one with a painted company sign made it identifiable as Company property, a check against soldiers selling or exchanging their bedding. The same pigments served to clean accoutrements: whiting and ochre were rubbed into leather belts and straps to colour and brighten them for parade. A guard bed was the long sloping wooden platform in a guardroom on which the men off sentry lay down in their clothes. H hinges were plain iron hinges shaped like that letter when opened, used on doors and shutters. Whipcord was a thin, hard-twisted cord used for the lashes of whips. Arrack, the East Indian spirit charged on the earlier leaf for the men in the stores, was issued here on muster days as a customary drink when the companies paraded to be counted. The 33 pounds of bohea showed tea, in its cheapest grade, supplied to the men on guard as a regular allowance, at a time when tea in England was still taxed heavily enough to keep it a considered purchase for labouring households. The train oil, over 45 gallons, lit the guardroom lamps through the night. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the quantity of 3 penny nails, the quantity of canvas, the weight of tea, the number of blankets and the purposes written against the nails. The word describing the first door lock could not be read, and the nail quantities again carried no legible unit. | |
303 | 1767 Brought over £ 70 6 9 Thread 2 lb Coloured, for the Artillery Compy 6 9 Tin Ware 3 Lanthn Leaves to repair Lanthorns 3 4 Flour 6 lb Artillery Company 1 Soldiers Cloaths 1 Centl Shirt for a Recruit 1 9 4 Hatts 1 for Do 2 10 Shirts 1 Centinels Shirts 4 6 1 Roller 8 for Do 5 2 Hosiers Ware 1 Pr Ordinary thread Stockgs for Do 3 1 Haberdashery viz. 1 Gross Broad Worsted Lace 15 7 1 Gross Narrow Do 11 8 1 7 3 £ 74 5 6 Hospital Dr for the following Stores Issued from the 1st October to the 31st December 1766 viz. Sugar 324 5 1 Flour 324 2 14 Rice 324 1 11 3 Salt 2 Bushels 7 6 Tea 13 Bohea 12 3 Cotton Wick 1/2 lb 1 5 Candy 6 lb 2 6 Arrack 2 Galls 5 7 Deals 2 Double 6 10 Nails 6 lb 6 3 2 China Ware 12 Saucers 2 6 Oil viz. 15 1/4 Galls Train 2 11 6 1 Bottle Florence 2 8 3 14 2 £ 14 [...] 2 | The account for 1767 closed the charge against the garrison and then opened a new charge against the hospital for stores issued between 1 October and 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £70 6s 9d Thread, 2 pounds of coloured thread for the artillery company, £0 6s 9d Tin goods, 3 lantern leaves to repair lanterns, £0 3s 4d Flour, 6 pounds for the artillery company, £0 1s 0d Soldiers' clothes, 1 sergeant's suit for a recruit, £1 9s 4d Hats, 1 hat for a recruit, £0 2s 10d Shirts 1 sentinel's shirt for a recruit, £0 4s 6d 1 roller for a recruit, £0 0s 8d Total for shirts, £0 5s 2d Hosiery, 1 pair of ordinary thread stockings for a recruit, £0 3s 1d Sewing goods 1 gross of broad worsted lace, £0 15s 7d 1 gross of narrow worsted lace, £0 11s 8d Total for sewing goods, £1 7s 3d Total charged to the garrison, £74 5s 6d Hospital, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Sugar, 324 pounds, £5 1s 0d Flour, 324 pounds, £2 14s 0d Rice, 324 pounds, £1 11s 3d Salt, 2 bushels, £0 7s 6d Tea, 13 pounds of bohea, £0 12s 3d Cotton wick, ½ pound, £0 1s 5d Candy, 6 pounds, £0 2s 6d Arrack, 2 gallons, £0 5s 7d Deals, 2 double deals, £0 6s 10d Nails, 6 [...] of 6 penny nails, £0 3s 2d Chinaware, 12 saucers, £0 2s 6d Oil 15¼ gallons of train oil, £2 11s 6d 1 bottle of Florence oil, £0 2s 8d Total for oil, £2 14s 2d Total charged to the hospital, £14 2s 2d Interpretations The hospital drew sugar, flour and rice in the identical quantity of 324 pounds each. Equal weights of three different foods pointed to a fixed ration scale multiplied by a number of patients and days, not to purchases made as need arose. The diet they implied was a soft one of rice, bread and sweetened drinks, with tea added, and the two gallons of arrack were small beside the 98 gallons allowed to the working men on the leaf dated 19 January. A hospital charged as a separate debtor in the store's books let the Company see the cost of its sick apart from the Castle household and the garrison. The train oil and cotton wick kept the ward lamps burning through the night, and the Florence oil served, as at the doctor's shop on the earlier leaf, for making up medicines. A recruit was fitted out from the store with a suit, hat, shirt, stockings and a roller, the last being a long strip of cloth wound round the neck as a stock. The cost was probably recovered from his pay, the usual practice with soldiers' clothing. Worsted lace was a flat woven braid of wool sewn on uniform coats and hats to mark rank and company, and the lantern leaves were thin plates of translucent horn that served as lantern panes. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the suit described as a sergeant's, the roller, the lantern leaves, the weight of tea and several of the sums against the hospital stores, including the pence against the cotton wick and the shillings in the hospital total. The nail quantity again carried no legible unit. | |
304 | 19th January Blacks Dr for the following Stores Issued from the 1st October to the 31st December 1766 viz. Beef and Pork viz. 1201 Ps Beef 198 13 3 946 Ps Pork 137 335 13 3 Rice 123 Ps qrs lb 21 61 10 Tea 106 lb Bohea 4 19 4 Sugar 265 lb 3 3 3 Pepper 12 lb for the Slaves at the Fortifications 6 Salt 1/4 Bushel 11 Arrack 39 1/4 Galls Black at the Mess & Sevl Bls 5 5 6 Oil 1 3/8 Galls Train for the Sick 5 6 Candles 3 lb to Examine the Blacks House 6 3 Shoes viz. 50 Pr Mens Ordiny for the Handy Crafts Men 10 2 1 Pr Girls Calf Leathr Lt Govr Servt 2 10 4 Rope 6 lb for Do 3 11 Cutlery ware 12 Butchers Knives for the Slaves at the Fortifications 4 Iron Ware 1 Pad Lock for the Bl House 1 6 Thread viz. 1 lb Whited Brown 7 2 lb Coloured 6 9 13 9 Hooks viz. 50 No 6 3 7 100 . 9 2 9 100 . 12 1 6 100 . 14 10 50 . 16 3 for the Fisherman 8 11 £ 423 11 1 | The account dated 19 January charged the Company's slaves with stores issued to them between 1 October and 31 December 1766. Blacks, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Beef and pork 1,201 pieces of beef, £198 13s 3d 946 pieces of pork, £137 0s 0d Total for beef and pork, £335 13s 3d Rice, 123 hundredweight, [...] quarters and 21 pounds, £61 10s 0d Tea, 106 pounds of bohea, £4 19s 4d Sugar, 265 pounds, £3 3s 3d Pepper, 12 pounds for the slaves at the fortifications, £0 6s 0d Salt, ¼ bushel, £0 0s 11d Arrack, 39¼ gallons for the slaves at [...], £5 5s 6d Oil, 1⅜ gallons of train oil for the sick, £0 5s 6d Candles, 3 pounds for inspecting the slaves' house, £0 6s 3d Shoes 50 pairs of men's ordinary shoes for the skilled craftsmen, £10 2s 0d 1 pair of girl's calf leather shoes for the Lieutenant Governor's servant, £0 2s 0d Total for shoes, £10 4s 0d Soap, 6 pounds for the Lieutenant Governor's servant, £0 3s 11d Knives, 12 butcher's knives for the slaves at the fortifications, £0 4s 0d Iron goods, 1 padlock for the slaves' house, £0 1s 6d Thread 1 pound of whited brown thread, £0 7s 0d 2 pounds of coloured thread, £0 6s 9d Total for thread, £0 13s 9d Hooks, for the fishermen 50 fish hooks of number 6, £0 3s 7d 100 fish hooks of number 9, £0 2s 9d 100 fish hooks of number 12, £0 1s 6d 100 fish hooks of number 14, £0 0s 10d 50 fish hooks of number 16, £0 0s 3d Total for hooks, £0 8s 11d Total charged to the slaves, £423 11s 1d Interpretations At £423 11s 1d for a single quarter, the slaves were by far the heaviest charge on the store, against £74 5s 6d for the garrison's stores and £14 2s 2d for the hospital on the leaf for 1767. Almost four fifths of it was salt beef and pork, issued by the piece from casks shipped out from England. The Company therefore fed its labour force largely on imported provisions, with rice from India as the staple beside the meat, and not from the island's own produce. The Company's slaves stood in the books as a debtor in their own right, like the hospital and the garrison. Nothing was recovered from them: the heading simply gathered the cost of keeping them into one figure that could be set against the work they did on the fortifications and elsewhere. Two small entries showed how they were controlled. A padlock was bought for the house in which they were lodged, and three pounds of candles were issued for inspecting that house, so they were locked in at night and checked by candlelight. Fifty pairs of shoes went only to the craftsmen among them, which marked skilled men off from the field and fortification gangs, who perhaps went barefoot. The butcher's knives and pepper for the gang at the fortifications suggest that those slaves cut up and cooked their own meat at the works. Hooks issued for the fishermen show that some slaves were kept fishing, so that fresh fish supplemented the salt ration. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the units of the beef and pork, taken as pieces, the weight of rice, where the quarters figure could not be read, and the note against the arrack, of which only the word for the slaves was clear. The recipient of the girl's shoes and the soap was read as the Lieutenant Governor's servant. | |
305 | 1767 Mallay Dr for the following Stores Issued from the 1st October to the 31st december 1766 viz. Rice 192 19 6 Sugar 32 9 6 Arrack 6 Galls 16 2 Tea 4 lb Bohea 3 9 Oil 1 Gall Train 3 5 Rope 8 lb 5 2 Flour 12 2 Candy 6 lb 2 6 Beef 1 Piece 3 4 Canvas 3 Yards Eng 3 6 Deals 1 Double 3 5 Nails 1 lb 6 7 Salt 1/4 Bushel 1 Pepper 1 lb 6 Shoes 1 Pr Mens fine 5 6 £ 3 19 10 Plantation Dr, for the following Stores Issued from the 1st of October to the 31st december 1766 viz. Paint viz. 12 Ven Red dry 2 6 1 lb Copperas 1 4 lb Whiting 3 for Plantation House 6 lb Brimstone for Plantation House 1 3 5 Oil 1/2 Gall Linseed for Do 3 11 Deals viz. 1/2 Cuffins for a Cart 1 7 2 Single Deals for Plantn House 4 5 6 Rice and Paddy viz. 5 . 3 . 20 Rice 2 19 39 . 3 . 23 Paddy 8 10 Poultry Horses and Overseers 11 9 Carried over £ 12 5 11 | The account for 1767 charged a Malay with stores issued between 1 October and 31 December 1766 and then opened a charge against the plantation for the same quarter. Malay, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Rice, 192 pounds, £0 19s 6d Sugar, 32 pounds, £0 9s 6d Arrack, 6 gallons, £0 16s 2d Tea, 4 pounds of bohea, £0 3s 9d Oil, 1 gallon of train oil, £0 3s 5d Soap, 8 pounds, £0 5s 2d Flour, 12 pounds, £0 2s 0d Candy, 6 pounds, £0 2s 6d Beef, 1 piece, £0 3s 4d Canvas, 3 yards of English canvas, £0 3s 6d Deals, 1 double deal, £0 3s 5d Nails, 1 [...] of 8 penny nails, £0 0s 7d Salt, ¼ bushel, £0 1s 0d Pepper, 1 pound, £0 0s 6d Shoes, 1 pair of men's fine shoes, £0 5s 6d Total charged to the Malay, £3 19s 10d Plantation, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Paint 12 pounds of dry Venetian red for Plantation House, £0 2s 6d 1 pound of copperas for Plantation House, £0 1s 0d 4 pounds of whiting for Plantation House, £0 0s 3d 6 pounds of brimstone for Plantation House, £0 1s 3d Total for paint, £0 5s 0d Oil, ½ gallon of linseed oil for Plantation House, £0 3s 11d Deals ½ rafter for a cart, £0 1s 7d 2 single deals for Plantation House, £0 4s 5d Total for deals, £0 6s 0d Rice and paddy, for poultry, horses and overseers 3 hundredweight, 3 quarters and 20 pounds of rice, £2 19s 0d 39 hundredweight, 3 quarters and 23 pounds of paddy, £8 10s 0d Total for rice and paddy, £11 9s 0d Balance carried over, £12 3s 11d Interpretations The Malay stood in the books as a debtor apart from the Company's slaves charged on the leaf dated 19 January. His allowance differed from theirs in kind as well as scale: one man drew six gallons of arrack, soap, sugar candy, fine shoes and timber, canvas and nails, perhaps for a bed or lodging. The slaves' ration was salt meat and rice issued in bulk, whereas this was the upkeep of an individual held on a distinct footing, perhaps a prisoner or exile sent from the Company's eastern settlements and maintained at its cost. The page gave no name or reason for his presence. Paddy was rice still in its husk, cheaper than cleaned rice and suited to feeding animals. Nearly 40 hundredweight went to the poultry and horses at the plantation, against under four hundredweight of cleaned rice, which was probably the overseers' share. The Company's own farm thus fed its stock on grain shipped from India, as the slaves were fed on imported meat, and did not rely on island fodder. Brimstone was sulphur in sticks or lumps, burned to fumigate rooms, casks and poultry houses and used in treating animals for mange. Copperas, the iron salt sold to the ships on the earlier leaf for 1767, darkened paint and served as a wood preservative. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the heading read as Malay, the weights against his stores, taken as pounds, the size of the nails, the half rafter for a cart and the first figures of the rice weight. The nail quantity again carried no legible unit. | |
306 | 19th January Brought over £ 12 5 11 Candles 1/2 for Plantation House 1 1 Lines 18 No 2 for Do 5 5 Twine 2 Skns for Do 1 1 Pitch & Tar viz. 2 Galls Tar for the Wood Cart 1 6 12 lb Rozin for Plantation House 1 9 3 3 Iron Ware viz. 1 Pruning Saw 1 6 3 Scythe Stones 7 1/2 for Plantion House Garden 1 Pad Lock for Plantation H. 1 6 1/4 3 8 Cordage 3 lb for the Cart 2 8 Glass 2 Sqrs 8 by 10 Plantn House 1 2 Nails viz. 2 . 6 1 7 2 . 10 10 1/2 30 . 40 10 7 1/2 for Do 12 7 Cutlery ware 24 Butchers Knives for Plantation House 8 £ 14 4 10 Boats Dr for the following Stores Issued from the 1st October to the 31st December 1766 viz. Deals viz. 13 Single 1 8 8 1/2 2 Elm Boards 11 2 3 Wainscott Do 16 10 1/2 2 Baulks 17 8 for repairg the Long Boat 3 14 5 Paint viz. 5 Whiting 2 1/4 1 lb White Ld dry 4 Boats in General Paint Carried Over £ 6 1/4 Carried Over £ 3 14 5 | The account dated 19 January completed the charge against the plantation and then opened a charge against the boats for stores issued between 1 October and 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £12 5s 11d Candles, ½ pound for Plantation House, £0 1s 1d Lines, 13 fishing lines of number 2 for Plantation House, £0 5s 5d Twine, 2 skeins for Plantation House, £0 1s 1d Pitch and tar 2 gallons of tar for the wood cart, £0 1s 6d 12 pounds of rosin for Plantation House, £0 1s 9d Total for pitch and tar, £0 3s 3d Iron goods 1 pruning saw for the Plantation House garden, £0 1s 6d 3 scythe stones for the Plantation House garden, £0 0s 7½d 1 padlock for Plantation House, £0 1s 6½d Total for iron goods, £0 3s 8d Cordage, 3 pounds for the cart, £0 2s 8d Glass, 2 squares measuring 8 by 10 for Plantation House, £0 1s 2d Nails 2 [...] of 6 penny nails for Plantation House, £0 1s 1d 2 [...] of 10 penny nails for Plantation House, £0 0s 10½d 30 [...] of 40 penny nails for Plantation House, £0 10s 7½d Total for nails, £0 12s 7d Knives, 24 butcher's knives for Plantation House, £0 8s 0d Total charged to the plantation, £14 4s 10d Boats, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Deals, for repairing the longboat 13 single deals, £1 8s 3½d 2 elm boards, £0 11s 2d 3 wainscot boards, £0 16s 10½d 2 baulks, £0 17s 8d Total for deals, £3 14s 5d Paint, for the boats in general 5 pounds of whiting, £0 0s 2¼d 1 pound of dry white lead, £0 0s 4d Paint carried over, £0 0s 6¼d Balance carried over, £3 14s 5d Interpretations Plantation House was the Governor's country residence, with the Company's farm and garden around it, and the charge treated house and farm as one debtor. The plantation's whole cost for the quarter, £14 4s 10d, was small beside the £423 11s 1d charged to the slaves on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, because the labour that worked it was costed under that separate heading. The 24 butcher's knives, twice the number issued to the gang at the fortifications, perhaps served the slaves working there as general cutting tools. Wainscot boards were fine, straight-grained oak planks imported from the Baltic, normally used for panelling and joinery. Elm, which resists rot when kept wet, was the usual timber for the lower planking of boats. The longboat was the heavy boat that carried water casks and stores between the shore and ships in the road, so its repair bore directly on the island's ability to supply shipping. The boats stood in the books as their own debtor, which let the Company see what its landing craft cost apart from the works on shore. The tar for the wood cart was used to grease its axles and preserve its timbers. That cart hauled firewood, and the cordage issued for it served as lashings for the loads. The balance brought over was read as £12 5s 11d, while the preceding leaf appeared to carry £12 3s 11d; one of the two shilling figures was perhaps misread. Several other readings rested on fine judgement: the quantity of candles, the number of lines, the weight of cordage, the elm boards and the farthing fractions. The nail quantities again carried no legible unit. | |
307 | 1767 Brought over £ 3 14 5 Paint brought over £ 6 1/4 15 lb Ven Red dry 3 1 1/2 13 Do Do mixed 5 11 1/2 1 Yell Oakr Do 3 2 Verdigrease 7 10 3 White Lead mixed 1 2 1/4 2 Barrls Black 1 10 Brimstone 2 1 1/2 Boats in General 1 2 Nails viz. 1 . 2 8 1/2 2 . 3 1 5 1/2 48 . 6 1 6 56 . 10 1 4 6 2 . 20 9 36 . 40 12 9 16 Spikes 5 for Do 3 11 2 Oil viz. 10 1/4 Galls Train 2 3 9 3 1/2 Do Linseed 13 [...] 1/8 Do Oil of Turpentine 7 1/2 for Do 2 17 5 Pitch & Tar viz. 12 lb Turpentine 2 9 22 lb Rozin 3 2 1/2 2 . 4 Tar 2 1 6 1 1/2 Barrl Pitch 1 17 10 1/2 4 5 4 Oars 4 for the Fishg Yaul 15 7 Cordage 1375 for the Boats in General 22 13 Arrack 6 1/8 Galls for Men Empld Caulkg & Launchg the Long Boat 18 6 Leather 8 1/4 for the Fishg Yaul 7 7 Twine 8 Skns for the Long Boat 4 4 £ 40 14 4 | The account for 1767 completed the charge against the boats for stores issued in the last quarter of 1766. Balance brought over, £3 14s 5d Paint, for the boats in general Paint brought over, £0 0s 6¼d 15 pounds of dry Venetian red, £0 3s 1½d 13 pounds of mixed Venetian red, £0 5s 11½d 1 pound of mixed yellow ochre, £0 0s 3d 2 pounds of verdigris, £0 7s 10d 3 pounds of mixed white lead, £0 1s 2¼d 2 barrels of black, £0 1s 0d 10 pounds of brimstone, £0 2s 1½d Total for paint, £1 2s 0d Nails, for the boats in general 1 [...] of 2 penny nails, £0 0s 8½d 2 [...] of 3 penny nails, £0 1s 5½d 48 [...] of 6 penny nails, £1 6s 0d 56 [...] of 10 penny nails, £1 4s 6d 2 [...] of 20 penny nails, £0 0s 9d 36 [...] of 40 penny nails, £0 12s 9d 16 spikes, £0 5s 0d Total for nails, £3 11s 2d Oil, for the boats in general 10¼ gallons of train oil, £2 3s 9d 3½ gallons of linseed oil, £0 13s 0½d ⅛ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 0s 7½d Total for oil, £2 17s 5d Pitch and tar 12 pounds of turpentine, £0 2s 9d 22 pounds of rosin, £0 3s 2½d 2 barrels and 4 gallons of tar, £2 1s 6d 1½ barrels of pitch, £1 17s 10½d Total for pitch and tar, £4 5s 4d Oars, 4 oars for the fishing yawl, £0 15s 7d Cordage, 1,375 pounds for the boats in general, £22 13s 0d Arrack, 6⅛ gallons for the men employed caulking and launching the longboat, £0 13s 6d Leather, 8¼ pounds for the fishing yawl, £0 7s 7d Twine, 8 skeins for the longboat, £0 4s 4d Total charged to the boats, £40 14s 4d Interpretations Cordage made up more than half of the charge, at £22 13s 0d. Rope wore out quickly in boats that worked through surf to an open anchorage, and none was made on the island, so every mooring line, painter and hoisting fall had to come out from England. The planters paid about 6d a pound for the 53¾ pounds sold to them on the earlier leaf for 1767, while the boats were charged roughly 4d, which was consistent with stores issued at cost and without the advance of 25 per cent. Pitch, tar, rosin and turpentine were the materials of caulking. Oakum was driven into the seams between the planks and sealed with hot pitch, and the hull was then coated with tar or with a mixture of rosin, brimstone and oil that discouraged weed and shipworm. The brimstone listed under paint belonged to that coating. The men who caulked and launched the longboat received arrack for the job, the same customary allowance of drink recorded for the men in the stores on the leaf dated 19 January. The deals, elm boards and baulks charged on the preceding leaf were the timber for the same repair. Verdigris was a green pigment made by corroding copper with vinegar. It was the dearest paint on the leaf, at nearly 4s a pound, and was valued on boats because copper salts resisted rot and marine growth. The turpentine sold by weight under pitch and tar was the raw, sticky resin of the pine, distinct from the distilled oil of turpentine measured by the gallon and used to thin paint. A yawl was a small, light rowing boat. The fishing yawl was kept at the Company's cost, which fitted the fishermen maintained for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor on the earlier leaf. The leather issued for it was perhaps for wrapping the oars where they bore on the gunwale. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the weight of cordage, the measures of tar and pitch, the fraction of oil of turpentine, the words read as caulking and launching and a number of the farthing fractions. The nail quantities again carried no legible unit. | |
308 | 19th January Sandy Bay Fortification Dr for the follow Stores Issued from the 1st October to the 31st Decemr 1766 viz. Candles 16 lb for the Officer 1 13 4 Nails viz. 9 . 3 24 . 6 36 . 10 12 . 40 6 Coppers Rivets 2 2 4 Iron Ware viz. 12 Gimbless 2 9 1 Spring Rat Trap 1 9 1 Cross Cut Saw 1 5 9 4 Files 2 6 Bricklayers Trowels 8 6 2 Pad Locks 3 2 3 9 Iron 320 3 13 4 Braziers Ware 1 Large Brass Cock 4 5 Deals viz. 10 double 1 14 2 4 Baulks 1 15 4 10 Cuffins 1 10 5 9 Single Deals 19 10 5 19 9 Lead 31 lb Shot 6 5 Oil 3 Galls Train 10 1 Lines viz. 12 No 3 4 4 12 . 4 4 8 1 Deep Sea 4 8 13 8 Arrack 133 1/8 Galls 24 10 2 £ 41 17 3 St Helena 31st Decembr 1766 Errors Excepted Signed James Powell Storekeepr | The account dated 19 January charged the Sandy Bay fortification with stores issued between 1 October and 31 December 1766 and closed with the storekeeper's signature. Sandy Bay fortification, for stores issued from 1 October to 31 December 1766 Candles, 16 pounds for the officer, £1 13s 4d Nails 9 [...] of 3 penny nails 24 [...] of 6 penny nails 36 [...] of 10 penny nails 12 [...] of 40 penny nails 6 copper rivets Total for nails, £2 2s 4d Iron goods 12 gimlets, £0 2s 9d 1 spring rat trap, £0 1s 9d 1 cross-cut saw, £1 5s 9d 4 files, £0 2s 0d 6 bricklayer's trowels, £0 8s 6d 2 padlocks, £0 3s 0d Total for iron goods, £2 3s 9d Iron, 320 pounds, £3 13s 4d Brass goods, 1 large brass cock, £0 4s 5d Deals 10 double deals, £1 14s 2d 4 baulks, £1 15s 4d 10 rafters, £1 10s 5d 9 single deals, £0 19s 10d Total for deals, £5 19s 9d Lead, 31 pounds of shot, £0 6s 5d Oil, 3 gallons of train oil, £0 10s 1d Lines 12 fishing lines of number 3, £0 4s 4d 12 fishing lines of number 4, £0 4s 8d 1 deep sea line, £0 4s 8d Total for lines, £0 13s 8d Arrack, 133⅛ gallons, £24 10s 2d Total charged to the Sandy Bay fortification, £41 17s 3d James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the account at St Helena on 31 December 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations Arrack was the largest charge against the fortification, at £24 10s 2d out of £41 17s 3d, and exceeded the timber, iron and tools combined. Sandy Bay lay on the far side of the island from the Castle, and the 133⅛ gallons were the drink allowance of the working party stationed there. The allowance ran on the same custom as the 98 gallons given to the men in the stores on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, so spirits formed a regular part of the cost of the Company's building work. The bricklayer's trowels, baulks, rafters and deals showed masonry and carpentry in progress at the site, and the 320 pounds of bar iron supplied a smith working there. The shot and fishing lines suggest the party also hunted and fished for part of its food. An officer was posted with the men and drew 16 pounds of candles, at the same rate of roughly 2s 1d a pound charged for the Council's candles on the leaf for 1767. The closing phrase was the standard bookkeeper's reservation, by which the storekeeper vouched for the account while keeping the right to correct mistakes found later. The date of 31 December 1766 was the end of the quarter the account covered, while the heading of 19 January 1767 on each leaf was the day it was entered in the register. The word signed beside his name marked this as a copy of the original. The clerk bracketed the nails and rivets against a single sum, so no separate price stood against each size. The nail quantities again carried no legible unit. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the storekeeper's surname, the rafters, the fraction of arrack and the pence in several sums. | |
309 | 1767 List of the Honble Compys Officers, and Servts upon the Island St Helena w their Several Salys Diet Money &ca for the Quarter [...] the 1st October and ending the 31st December 1766 viz. John Skottowe Esqr Governor Salry 125 Do Allowance for Servants as Usual 31 14 9 156 14 9 Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Saly 62 10 Do Diet Money 25 87 10 Mr Matthew Purling of Council Saly 15 Do Accomptant 17 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do Gratuity 15 62 10 Capt Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council Saly 7 10 Do House Rent 2 10 10 Archibald Mitchell Engineer Saly 50 Do Diet Money 25 Do House Rent 2 10 77 10 John Tackeray Chaplain Saly 25 Do Diet Money 15 40 Matthew Bazett Secretary Saly 17 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do House Rent 2 10 35 James Powell Storekeeper Saly 17 10 Do Diet Money 15 Do House Rent 2 10 35 William Wrangham Factor Saly 7 10 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2 10 Do Assistant to the Governor 10 30 Jonathan Doveton Factor Saly 7 10 Do Diet Money 10 Do Assistant Storekeeper 5 22 10 Britannicus Wright Writer Saly 5 Do Diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2 10 17 10 John Goodwin Writers Salary 5 Do Diet Money 10 15 Carried Over £ 589 4 9 | The register for 1767 set out the pay of the Company's officers and servants on St Helena for the quarter from 1 October to 31 December 1766, covering salaries, diet money and other allowances. John Skottowe, Governor, salary, £125 0s 0d John Skottowe, Governor, customary allowance for servants, £31 14s 9d Total for John Skottowe, £156 14s 9d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, salary, £62 10s 0d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, diet money, £25 0s 0d Total for Daniel Corneille, £87 10s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, salary, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, pay as accountant, £17 10s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, gratuity, £15 0s 0d Total for Matthew Purling, £62 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, member of Council, salary, £7 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, member of Council, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, £10 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, salary, £50 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, diet money, £25 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Archibald Mitchell, £77 10s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, salary, £25 0s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, diet money, £15 0s 0d Total for John Thackeray, £40 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, salary, £17 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, secretary, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Matthew Bazett, £35 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, salary, £17 10s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, diet money, £15 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for James Powell, £35 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d William Wrangham, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, house rent, £2 10s 0d William Wrangham, factor, pay as assistant to the Governor, £10 0s 0d Total for William Wrangham, £30 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, diet money, £10 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, pay as assistant storekeeper, £5 0s 0d Total for Jonathan Doveton, £22 10s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d Britannicus Wright, writer, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Britannicus Wright, £17 10s 0d John Goodwin, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d John Goodwin, writer, diet money, £10 0s 0d Total for John Goodwin, £15 0s 0d Balance carried over, £589 4s 9d Interpretations Salary was the smaller part of most men's pay. A writer's salary was £5 a quarter, yet his diet money was £10, and a factor drew £10 in diet money against £7 10s 0d in salary. The Company kept its nominal salaries low across its settlements and made up a living wage through allowances, which it could vary or withdraw without altering a man's rank. Diet money replaced a seat at a common table kept at the Company's cost, and house rent was paid to those not lodged in Company quarters. Offices were stacked on one man to build an income. Matthew Purling drew four separate payments as councillor and accountant, and his gratuity equalled his salary. William Wrangham and Jonathan Doveton, both factors on the same salary, each added a second post, as assistant to the Governor and assistant storekeeper. Writer and factor were the two lowest grades of the Company's civil service: a writer was a junior clerk, and a factor was the rank he reached after some years, originally that of a trading agent. Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick received only £7 10s 0d as a councillor, with house rent. His pay as a military officer was perhaps carried on the garrison's roll, so that this list recorded only his civil seat. Governor Skottowe had no diet money, since the Castle table and household were kept from the store, as the charges for candles, glass and china on the leaves dated 19 January showed. His servants' allowance was described as customary, a standing perquisite. The Lieutenant Governor's salary was exactly half of the Governor's. James Powell, who signed the store account on 31 December 1766, appeared here in his office of storekeeper. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Skottowe, Corneille, Purling, Thackeray, Bazett, Wrangham and Goodwin, the description of Purling's second payment as an accountant's, and the Governor's servants' allowance. | |
310 | 19th January Brought over £ 589 4 9 Robert Barclay Surgeon Saly 9 15 Do diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2 10 22 5 John Pritchard Surg Mte Saly 6 5 Do diet Money 10 Do House Rent 2 10 18 15 Richard Beale Judge Advocate 12 10 Do Schoolmaster 7 10 20 Thomas Bazett Saly 13 13 Samuel Alexander, Overseers 7 10 John Worrall Overseers 15 36 3 William Holbrooke Mastr Masn 30 Thos Townsend Stone Mason 19 10 49 10 John Robinson Carpenter Saly 25 Phillip Mahoney Clerk of the Peace 10 John Bazett Superintd over the Compys Blacks 10 James Black Gardener 10 James Torbett Cooper 2 2 2 George Bazett Steward 7 10 Samuel [...] [...] Cleaner 1 5 Thos Bayne Overseer of the Companys Workmen 6 16 10 1/2 Zedekiah Saunderson Groom 5 8 Robert Allum Groom 1 14 4 John Jobson Armourer 40 10 Solm St Maurice Master at Arms 6 5 John Cupwell 1st Patron of the L. Boat 7 10 John Hines 2d Do of Do 5 John Price Marshall & Jailer 7 10 Thomas Yates Clerk 5 To the Drum major for instructg the Young Drummers 1 117 9 [...] 1/2 Carried Over £ 853 6 9 1/2 | The pay list entered on 19 January continued with the surgeons, the judge advocate, the overseers and the Company's tradesmen and minor officers for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £589 4s 9d Robert Barclay, surgeon, salary, £9 15s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, diet money, £10 0s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Robert Barclay, £22 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, salary, £6 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for John Pritchard, £18 15s 0d Richard Beale, judge advocate, salary, £12 10s 0d Richard Beale, schoolmaster, salary, £7 10s 0d Total for Richard Beale, £20 0s 0d Thomas Bazett, overseer, salary, £13 13s 0d Samuel Alexander, overseer, salary, £7 10s 0d John Worrall, overseer, salary, £15 0s 0d Total for the overseers, £36 3s 0d William Holbrooke, master mason, salary, £30 0s 0d Thomas Townsend, stonemason, salary, £19 10s 0d Total for the masons, £49 10s 0d John Robinson, carpenter, salary, £25 0s 0d Philip Mahoney, clerk of the peace, salary, £10 0s 0d John Bazett, superintendent of the Company's slaves, salary, £10 0s 0d James Black, gardener, salary, £10 0s 0d James Corbett, cooper, salary, £2 2s 2d George Bazett, steward, salary, £7 10s 0d Samuel [...], [...] cleaner, salary, £1 5s 0d Thomas Bayne, overseer of the Company's workmen, salary, £6 16s 10½d Zedekiah Saunderson, groom, salary, £0 5s 8d Robert Allum, groom, salary, £1 14s 4d John Dobson, armourer, salary, £10 10s 0d Solomon St Maurice, master at arms, salary, £6 5s 0d John Capwell, first patron of the longboat, salary, £7 10s 0d John Hines, second patron of the longboat, salary, £5 0s 0d John Price, marshal and gaoler, salary, £7 10s 0d Thomas Yates, clerk, salary, £5 0s 0d Drum major, for teaching the young drummers, £1 0s 0d Total for the carpenter, minor officers and tradesmen, £117 9s 0½d Balance carried over, £853 6s 9½d Interpretations The Company's slaves had their own salaried superintendent, John Bazett, whose title carried the word for them written in above the line. His £10 a quarter was the administrative cost of the labour force whose provisions came to £423 11s 1d on the earlier leaf dated 19 January. Thomas Bayne held a separate post over the Company's workmen, so free and slave labour were supervised by different men. Skilled building trades were paid above the professions. The master mason drew £30 a quarter and the carpenter £25, against £22 5s 0d for the surgeon with all his allowances and £20 for the judge advocate. Masons and carpenters had to be drawn out from England to a remote island with fortifications in progress, such as the works at Sandy Bay charged on the earlier leaf, and their wages reflected that scarcity. They received a single sum with no diet money or house rent, which marked them as hired tradesmen outside the graded civil service of writers and factors. Richard Beale combined the posts of judge advocate and schoolmaster. The judge advocate was the officer who prepared and conducted cases before the island's court, and the pairing showed how few educated men were available: legal business alone did not fill or pay a post. The marshal and gaoler, John Price, kept the prison and carried out the court's orders, and the clerk of the peace kept the records of the magistrates' sittings. A patron was the man in charge of a boat and its crew, a term taken from Mediterranean usage. The longboat, repaired at the cost recorded on the earlier leaves, had a first and second patron on standing pay. The master at arms drilled the garrison in the use of weapons. The drum major's £1 for teaching boys to drum showed the garrison training its own drummers, probably soldiers' sons born on the island. The family name Bazett appeared three times on this leaf and once on the preceding one, where Matthew Bazett was secretary. Four salaried posts thus sat with one island family. Several odd sums, such as the cooper's £2 2s 2d and the groom's £0 5s 8d, were perhaps pay for part of the quarter only. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Pritchard, Beale, Worrall, Holbrooke, Corbett, Saunderson, Allum, Dobson, St Maurice, Capwell and Hines, the bracketing of Thomas Bazett with the two overseers, and the pounds figure of the balance carried over. The surname and occupation of the man entered after the steward could be read only in part. | |
311 | 1767 Brought over £ 853 6 9 1/2 First Company Thomas Kirkpatrick Captain Saly 45 12 6 Solomon St Maurice Lieut Saly 18 5 Do diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Samuel Deffountain Lieut Saly 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Solomon St Jacob Adjutant Saly 22 16 3 Do diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 29 13 1 1/2 Sergeants Phillip Mahoney 7 12 1 Thomas Bayne 7 12 1 William Bannister 7 12 1 Henry Howell 7 12 1 30 8 4 Corporals Joseph Stacey 5 6 5 1/2 William Bunn 5 6 5 1/2 Thomas Berwick 5 6 5 1/2 William Rowlands 5 6 5 1/2 21 5 10 Drummers John Martin 5 6 5 1/2 Richard Platfoot 5 6 5 1/2 Joseph Beaucham 5 6 5 1/2 15 19 4 1/2 Centinels John Stewart Cadet 3 16 1/2 John Allman 3 16 1/2 James Avery 3 16 1/2 James Armstrong 3 16 1/2 John Brown 3 16 1/2 Centinels Carried over £ 19 2 1/2 Carried Over £ 1051 9 8 1/2 | The pay list for 1767 moved on to the garrison and set out the first company's officers, sergeants, corporals, drummers and the first of its sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £853 6s 9½d First company Thomas Kirkpatrick, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Solomon St Maurice, £27 11s 10½d Samuel Defountain, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Samuel Defountain, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Samuel Defountain, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Samuel Defountain, £27 11s 10½d Solomon St Jacob, adjutant, salary, £22 16s 3d Solomon St Jacob, adjutant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Total for Solomon St Jacob, £29 13s 1½d Sergeants Philip Mahoney, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Thomas Bayne, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d William Bannister, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Henry Howell, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d Corporals Joseph Stacey, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d William Bunn, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Thomas Berwick, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d William Rowlands, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 5s 10d Drummers John Martin, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Richard Platfoot, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Joseph Beauchamp, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £15 19s 4½d Sentinels John Stewart, cadet, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Allman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Avery, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Armstrong, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £19 0s 2½d Balance carried over, £1,051 9s 7½d Interpretations The garrison's pay was reckoned by the day, which explains the odd sums. A sergeant's £7 12s 1d over the quarter came to about 1s 8d a day, a corporal's or drummer's £5 6s 5½d to about 1s 2d, and a sentinel's £3 16s 0½d to 10d. Sentinel was the Company's word for a private soldier. His 10d a day stood a little above the 8d of a private in the King's infantry at the same date, perhaps a premium needed to recruit men for a remote island posting, though the cost of goods at the store's advance of 25 or 40 per cent took much of it back. Thomas Kirkpatrick's military pay appeared here, which accounted for the small civil sum against his name on the earlier leaf for 1767, where he drew only £7 10s 0d and house rent as a councillor. The two entries together gave him over £55 for the quarter. Several men held a military rank and a civil post at once. Solomon St Maurice was lieutenant here and master at arms on the leaf dated 19 January. Philip Mahoney was a sergeant and clerk of the peace, and Thomas Bayne a sergeant and overseer of the Company's workmen. The civil list was thus staffed in part from the garrison, and a soldier's route to a better income lay through such extra employments. John Stewart was entered as a cadet among the sentinels and drew a private's pay. A cadet was a young man of some standing serving in the ranks while he waited for an officer's commission, so the roll marked his status without paying him for it. The adjutant, the officer who handled the company's drill, rolls and daily orders, drew a higher salary than the lieutenants but no house rent. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Defountain, St Jacob, Bannister, Howell, Stacey, Bunn, Berwick, Rowlands, Platfoot, Beauchamp, Allman and Avery, the farthing fractions in the sentinels' pay and the pence of the final balance. | |
312 | 19th January Brought over £ 1051 9 8 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 19 2 1/2 John Buckams 3 16 1/2 Thomas Blake 3 16 1/2 Moses Biffin 3 16 1/2 John Bull 3 16 1/2 John Barnes 3 16 1/2 Timothy Brien 3 16 1/2 Emanuel Bonner 3 16 1/2 William Benson 3 16 1/2 Benjamin Bartley 3 16 1/2 Edward Corker 3 16 1/2 William Clissold 3 16 1/2 Patrick Conner 3 16 1/2 Isaac Day 3 16 1/2 John Davis 3 16 1/2 John Dowe 3 16 1/2 David Davis 3 16 1/2 James Drake 3 16 1/2 Thomas Durham 3 16 1/2 James Dunn 3 16 1/2 Adam Evans 3 16 1/2 Cornelious Fish 3 16 1/2 William French 3 16 1/2 William Greenwood 3 16 1/2 John Grainger 3 16 1/2 William Henderson 3 16 1/2 James Hodge 3 16 1/2 John Hewiston 3 16 1/2 Edward Haddock 3 16 1/2 William Holmes 3 16 1/2 William Luke 3 16 1/2 Duncan Mc Claron 3 16 1/2 William Mumford 3 16 1/2 John May 3 16 1/2 John Mc Alister 3 16 1/2 Centinels Carrd Over £ 148 5 7 1/2 Carrd Over £ 1051 9 8 1/2 | The pay list entered on 19 January continued the roll of the first company's sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,051 9s 8½d Sentinels brought over, £19 0s 2½d John Buckhams, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Blake, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Moses Biffin, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Bull, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Barnes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Timothy Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Emanuel Bonner, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Benson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Bartley, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Corker, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Clissold, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Patrick Conner, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Isaac Day, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Davis, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Dowe, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d David Davis, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Drake, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Durham, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Dunn, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Adam Evans, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Cornelius Fish, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William French, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Greenwood, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Grainger, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Henderson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Hodge, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Hewston, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Haddock, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Holmes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Luke, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Duncan McClaren, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Mumford, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John May, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John McAlister, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £148 5s 7½d Balance carried over, £1,051 9s 8½d Interpretations The clerk kept two running figures side by side. The sentinels' pay accumulated in an inner column as a sub-total, while the main balance stood unchanged from the top of the leaf to the bottom, because the sentinels' sum would join it only once the whole roll was complete. The roll ran in rough alphabetical order by surname, from B to M on this leaf, following the five names entered on the preceding leaf for 1767. Every man drew the same £3 16s 0½d, so no sentinel was absent, newly enlisted or discharged during the quarter among those listed here. The balance at the head of the leaf was read as £1,051 9s 8½d, while the preceding leaf appeared to carry £1,051 9s 7½d; the pence on one of the two was perhaps misread. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Buckhams, Biffin, Bull, Bonner, Bartley, Corker, Clissold, Dowe, Hewston, Luke, McClaren and McAlister, the farthing fractions throughout and the pounds and shillings of the sentinels' sub-total. | |
313 | 1767 Brought over £ 1051 9 8 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 148 5 7 1/2 Thomas Mears 3 16 1/2 John Pickering 3 16 1/2 Thomas Price 3 16 1/2 Thomas Roberts 3 16 1/2 William Robinson 3 16 1/2 Thomas Ransom 3 16 1/2 Anthony Reynolds 3 16 1/2 George Roe 3 16 1/2 Silvanus Rolf 3 16 1/2 Thomas Rogers 3 16 1/2 William Swaby 3 16 1/2 John Springthorpe 3 16 1/2 John Skirrs 3 16 1/2 John Stewart 3 16 1/2 Edward Terry 3 16 1/2 John Taylor 3 16 1/2 Richard Tollington 3 16 1/2 William Tepper 3 16 1/2 Luke Vernon 3 16 1/2 John Whittingdale 3 16 1/2 Benjamin Wise 3 16 1/2 Thomas Windall 3 16 1/2 John Weston 3 16 1/2 George Wall 3 16 1/2 Richard Youcas 3 16 1/2 243 6 8 Second Company Henry Bazett Captain Saly 45 12 6 Michael Frost Lieut Salary 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 John Ward Welsh Lieut Salary 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Carried Over £ 1395 12 7 1/2 | The pay list for 1767 completed the roll of the first company's sentinels and opened the second company with its captain and two lieutenants for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,051 9s 8½d Sentinels brought over, £148 5s 7½d Thomas Mears, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Pickering, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Price, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Roberts, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Robinson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Ransom, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Anthony Reynolds, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Roe, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Silvanus Rolf, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Rogers, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Swaby, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Springthorpe, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Shans, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Stewart, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Terry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Taylor, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Tollington, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Tipper, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Luke Vernon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Whittingdale, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Wise, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Windall, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Weston, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Wall, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Youcas, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Total for the sentinels of the first company, £243 6s 8d Second company Henry Bazett, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Michael Frost, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Michael Frost, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Michael Frost, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Michael Frost, £27 11s 10½d John Ward Welsh, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d John Ward Welsh, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d John Ward Welsh, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for John Ward Welsh, £27 11s 10½d Balance carried over, £1,395 12s 7½d Interpretations The completed roll put the first company's rank and file at 64 sentinels: five on the leaf for 1767 that opened the company, 34 on the leaf dated 19 January and 25 here. With four sergeants, four corporals and three drummers, the company stood at 75 men below its officers. At £243 6s 8d, the private soldiers of a whole company cost the Company little more than half of what it spent in the same quarter on provisions for its slaves, charged at £423 11s 1d on the earlier leaf dated 19 January. A John Stewart appeared here among the sentinels, and a John Stewart was entered as a cadet at the head of the roll on the preceding leaf for 1767. The alphabetical order placed this one correctly under S, so the two were probably different men, the cadet being listed first by reason of his standing. Henry Bazett commanded the second company on the same salary as Captain Kirkpatrick of the first. He was the fifth of his surname on the pay list, after the secretary, an overseer, the superintendent of the Company's slaves and the steward on the earlier leaves, so the family held posts across the civil, military and household establishments at once. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Mears, Swaby, Shans, Tollington, Tipper, Whittingdale, Windall, Youcas, Frost and Welsh, the farthing fractions throughout, the pence of the sentinels' total and the pounds figure of the balance carried over. | |
314 | 19th January Brought over £ 1395 12 7 1/2 Sergeants John Bazett 7 12 1 William Greenough Redd 1 decr 5 3 4 Do Centinel from the 2d decem 1 4 4 1/2 Samuel Ward Reducd the 1st decem 5 3 4 Do Centinel from the 2 decem. 1 4 4 1/2 George Freeman 7 12 1 27 19 7 Corporals Gregory Southerwood Reducd 10th Novr 2 7 10 Do Centinel from the 11th November 2 1 10 1/2 Edmond Leech to the 1st december 3 12 4 Do Sergeant from 2d Do 2 8 9 Stephen Prior to the 1st Do 3 12 4 Do Sergeant from the 2 Do 2 8 9 William Fullwood 5 6 5 1/2 21 18 4 Drummers Robert Davis 5 6 5 1/2 Francis Soane 5 6 5 1/2 10 12 11 Centinels Samuel Alstone 3 16 1/2 Thomas Adams 3 16 1/2 Robert Allum Enterd 14th Octobr 3 5 2 1/2 Joseph Banks 3 16 1/2 William Brook 3 16 1/2 William Brooks 3 16 1/2 Jacob Brown 3 16 1/2 Thomas Bott 3 16 1/2 Robert Brown 3 16 1/2 Nicholas Basket 3 16 1/2 Daniel Bye 3 16 1/2 James Byrn 3 16 1/2 John Brown 3 16 1/2 Centinels Carried over £ 48 17 8 Carried over £ 1456 3 5 1/2 | The pay list entered on 19 January continued with the second company's sergeants, corporals, drummers and the first of its sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,395 12s 7½d Sergeants John Bazett, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d William Greenough, sergeant until reduced on 1 December, pay, £5 3s 4d William Greenough, sentinel from 2 December, pay, £1 4s 4½d Samuel Lord, sergeant until reduced on 1 December, pay, £5 3s 4d Samuel Lord, sentinel from 2 December, pay, £1 4s 4½d George Freeman, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £27 19s 7d Corporals Gregory Southerwood, corporal until reduced on 10 November, pay, £2 7s 10d Gregory Southerwood, sentinel from 11 November, pay, £2 1s 10½d Edmond Leech, corporal to 1 December, pay, £3 12s 4d Edmond Leech, sergeant from 2 December, pay, £2 8s 9d Stephen Prior, corporal to 1 December, pay, £3 12s 4d Stephen Prior, sergeant from 2 December, pay, £2 8s 9d William Fullwood, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 18s 4d Drummers Robert Davis, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Francis Soane, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Sentinels Samuel Alstone, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Adams, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Allum, sentinel, entered on 14 October, pay, £3 5s 2½d Joseph Banks, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Brock, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Brooks, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Jacob Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Bott, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Nicholas Basket, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Daniel Bye, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Byrne, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £48 17s 8d Balance carried over, £1,456 3s 5½d Interpretations Two sergeants of the second company, William Greenough and Samuel Lord, lost their rank on the same day, 1 December, and served from 2 December as sentinels. Two corporals, Edmond Leech and Stephen Prior, were made sergeants from that same date and filled the vacancies. A double demotion on one day pointed to a shared offence, though the roll gave no reason. Gregory Southerwood, a corporal, was reduced separately three weeks earlier, on 10 November. Reduction to the ranks was the standard punishment for a non-commissioned officer, and the pay list recorded it only through its effect on his wages, split to the day between the two rates. The split entries confirmed that pay was reckoned daily. Each demoted sergeant drew £5 3s 4d for the 62 days to 1 December, at the sergeant's rate of 1s 8d a day, and then a sentinel's 10d a day for the rest of the month. The loss was therefore half his income from one day to the next. Robert Allum joined the company as a sentinel on 14 October and was paid from that day, which accounted for his shorter sum. A Robert Allum also appeared as a groom on the earlier leaf dated 19 January with £1 14s 4d, perhaps the same man, enlisted while keeping or leaving that employment. John Bazett, sergeant here, shared his name with the superintendent of the Company's slaves on that earlier leaf. As with Philip Mahoney and Thomas Bayne in the first company, he was probably one man holding a military rank and a civil post together. A small figure stood in the margin beside Thomas Bott, perhaps a running count of men, and was not carried into the list. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Greenough, Lord, Southerwood, Leech, Fullwood, Soane, Alstone, Brock, Bott, Basket, Bye and Byrne, the sums against the reduced and promoted men, the farthing fractions and the shillings and pence of the two closing figures. | |
315 | 1767 Brought over £ 1456 3 5 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 48 17 8 1/2 Thomas Chaderly 3 16 1/2 William Conquest 3 16 1/2 John Crawley 3 16 1/2 William Corfee 3 16 1/2 Robert Dickens 3 16 1/2 William Dunnan 3 16 1/2 William Frich 3 16 1/2 William Fry 3 16 1/2 John Forbes 3 16 1/2 John Fish to the 1st december£ 2 11 8 Do Corporal 1 14 11 1/2 John Goodsele 3 16 1/2 John Gray 3 16 1/2 Robert Green 3 16 1/2 James Gates 3 16 1/2 Charles Goulden 3 16 1/2 William Harris 3 16 1/2 William Harris 3 16 1/2 Abraham Harding 3 16 1/2 Samuel Hyles 3 16 1/2 John Holbroke 3 16 1/2 James Hudson 3 16 1/2 Thomas Hayles 3 16 1/2 William Hayes 3 16 1/2 William Hunt to the 10th Novr 1 14 2 Do Corporal from 11 Do 2 18 7 1/2 Robert Hopkinson 3 16 1/2 Samuel Instone 3 16 1/2 Richard Jones 3 16 1/2 William Johnson 3 16 1/2 Jeremiah Jordon 3 16 1/2 John Jacks 3 16 1/2 Thomas James 3 16 1/2 Samuel Lipson 3 16 1/2 Centinels Carried over £ 171 17 6 Carried Over £ 1456 3 5 1/2 | The pay list for 1767 continued the roll of the second company's sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,456 3s 5½d Sentinels brought over, £48 17s 8½d Thomas Chaderly, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Conquest, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Crawley, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Corfee, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Dickens, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Dunnan, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Firth, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Fry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Forbes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Fish, sentinel to 1 December, pay, £2 11s 8d John Fish, corporal from 2 December, pay, £1 14s 11½d John Goodsell, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Gray, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Green, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Gates, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Charles Goulden, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Harris, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Harris, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Harding, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Hyles, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Holbroke, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Hudson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hayles, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Hayes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Hunt, sentinel to 10 November, pay, £1 14s 2d William Hunt, corporal from 11 November, pay, £2 19s 7½d Robert Hopkinson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Instone, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Jones, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Johnson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Jeremiah Jordon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Jacks, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas James, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Kitson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £171 17s 6d Balance carried over, £1,456 3s 5½d Interpretations Two promotions from the ranks matched the demotions recorded on the preceding leaf dated 19 January. William Hunt became a corporal on 11 November, the day after Gregory Southerwood lost that rank on 10 November, so he took Southerwood's place directly. John Fish was made corporal from 2 December, when Edmond Leech and Stephen Prior moved up to sergeant in place of William Greenough and Samuel Lord. The whole chain of changes was thus filled from inside the company, and one of the two corporals' places vacated on 2 December was filled here. Each promoted man's pay was split to the day, as with the demoted sergeants. Hunt drew a sentinel's 10d a day for the 41 days to 10 November, which came to the £1 14s 2d entered, and a corporal's rate for the remainder. Two sentinels named William Harris stood on consecutive lines, each with a full quarter's pay. A mark beside the second entry perhaps served to distinguish them or to flag the line for checking. As on the first company's roll, the main balance stood unchanged from the head of the leaf to its foot, while the sentinels' pay accumulated separately in the inner column. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Chaderly, Corfee, Dunnan, Firth, Goodsell, Goulden, Hyles, Holbroke, Hayles, Hopkinson, Instone, Jordon, Jacks and Kitson, the sums against the two promoted men, the farthing fractions and the pence of the sentinels' sub-total. | |
316 | 19th January Brought over £ 1456 3 5 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 171 17 6 1/2 Henry Kirkham 3 16 1/2 Henry Miller 3 16 1/2 James Mannington 3 16 1/2 John Morrice 3 16 1/2 Thomas Newton 3 16 1/2 Henry Oliphamus 3 16 1/2 Lewis Osborne 3 16 1/2 Samuel Perry 3 16 1/2 Abraham Quinn 3 16 1/2 Thomas Richards 3 16 1/2 John Christian Strife 3 16 1/2 Benjamin Stringer 3 16 1/2 Thomas Stewart 3 16 1/2 William Stone 3 16 1/2 John Seaborn to the 1st decr 2 11 8 Do Corporal from the 2d Do 1 14 [...] William Stapleford hangd 13 Octobr 10 10 Avery Trueman 3 16 1/2 John Tucker 3 16 1/2 Thomas Wandell 3 16 1/2 Thomas Woffington 3 16 1/2 245 2 [...] Third Company Richard Beal Captain Saly 45 12 6 Thomas Bazett Lieut Saly 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Sergeants Roger Kirwan 7 12 1 Bernard Millard 7 12 1 William Roberts 7 12 1 John Vaughan 7 12 1 30 8 4 Carried Over £ 1804 19 1 | The pay list entered on 19 January completed the roll of the second company's sentinels and opened the third company with its captain, lieutenant and sergeants for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,456 3s 5½d Sentinels brought over, £171 17s 6½d Henry Kirkham, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Henry Miller, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Mannington, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Morrice, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Newton, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Henry Oliphanus, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Lewis Osborne, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Perry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Quinn, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Richards, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Christian Strife, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Stringer, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Snow, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Stone, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Seaborn, sentinel to 1 December, pay, £2 11s 8d John Seaborn, corporal from 2 December, pay, £1 14s 11½d William Stapleford, sentinel, transferred on 13 October, pay, £0 10s 10d Avery Trueman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Tucker, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Wardell, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Woffington, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Total for the sentinels of the second company, £245 2s 11d Third company Richard Beale, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Bazett, £27 11s 10½d Sergeants Roger Kirwan, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Bernard Milliard, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d William Roberts, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d John Vaughan, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d Balance carried over, £1,804 19s 1d Interpretations John Seaborn's promotion to corporal from 2 December closed the chain of changes recorded on the two preceding leaves. Edmond Leech and Stephen Prior left two corporals' places empty when they became sergeants on that date. John Fish filled one, on the leaf for 1767, and Seaborn filled the other. Both men drew identical split sums, £2 11s 8d for 62 days at a sentinel's 10d and £1 14s 11½d for the rest of the month at a corporal's rate. William Stapleford drew only £0 10s 10d, which was 13 days at 10d and so matched the date of 13 October written beside his name. The word describing what happened to him on that day was read as a transfer, perhaps to another company or employment, but it was abbreviated and could equally record a discharge. Either way he left the second company's pay after less than a fortnight of the quarter. Richard Beale commanded the third company, and the name also stood on the earlier leaf dated 19 January as judge advocate and schoolmaster. If one man held all three, he drew over £65 for the quarter and combined military command with the conduct of cases before the island's court. Thomas Bazett, his lieutenant, was probably the Thomas Bazett bracketed with the overseers on that same leaf at £13 13s 0d. The third company had one lieutenant where the first and second each had two. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Kirkham, Mannington, Morrice, Oliphanus, Strife, Snow, Seaborn, Stapleford, Trueman, Wardell, Woffington, Kirwan and Milliard, the farthing fractions, the pence of the sentinels' total and the shillings and pence of the balance carried over. | |
317 | 1767 Brought over £ 1804 19 1 Corporals James York 5 6 5 1/2 William Cliffton 5 6 5 1/2 Fisher Gamble 5 6 5 1/2 Samuel Johnson 5 6 5 1/2 21 5 10 Drummers John Tunicks 5 6 5 1/2 George Varney 5 6 5 1/2 10 12 11 Centinels Richard Ashfird 3 16 1/2 James Anderson 3 16 1/2 Charles Abraham 3 16 1/2 Henry Brown 3 16 1/2 Jacob Bull 3 16 1/2 Mark Balls 3 16 1/2 Benjamin Bennett 3 16 1/2 John Blinkhorn 3 16 1/2 Frederick William Beard 3 16 1/2 William Caleb Baldwin 3 16 1/2 Richard Brown 3 16 1/2 John Cook 3 16 1/2 William Car 3 16 1/2 Michael Downey 3 16 1/2 Robert Davis 3 16 1/2 Edward Dudley 3 16 1/2 William Fisher 3 16 1/2 John Foxon 3 16 1/2 Archibald Grayham 3 16 1/2 Richard Gregory 3 16 1/2 William Gordon 3 16 1/2 Felix Hyer 3 16 1/2 John Hilliard 3 16 1/2 William Hill 3 16 1/2 Centinel Carried Over £ 91 5 Carried Over £ 1836 17 10 | The pay list for 1767 continued with the third company's corporals, drummers and the first of its sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,804 19s 1d Corporals James York, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d William Clifton, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Fisher Gamble, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Samuel Johnson, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 5s 10d Drummers John Sunister, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d George Varney, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Sentinels Richard Ashfire, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Anderson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Charles Abraham, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Henry Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Jacob Bull, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Mark Balls, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Bennett, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Blinkhorn, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Frederick William Beard, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Caleb Baldwin, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Brown, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Cork, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Carr, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Michael Downey, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Davis, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Dudley, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Fisher, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Foxon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Archibald Grayham, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Gregory, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Gordon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Felix Hyer, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Hilliard, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Hill, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £91 5s 0d Balance carried over, £1,836 17s 10d Interpretations The third company's non-commissioned ranks passed the quarter without change. All four corporals and both drummers drew full pay, and none of the 24 sentinels listed here carried a note of entry, promotion or reduction. The reshuffle of 10 November and 1 December recorded on the two preceding leaves was therefore confined to the second company. The third company had two drummers, as the second did, against three in the first. Two soldiers carried a pair of forenames, Frederick William Beard and William Caleb Baldwin, perhaps to tell them apart from namesakes elsewhere in the garrison. The first of those names, like John Christian Strife in the second company, suggests German recruits among the Company's soldiers. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Clifton, Gamble, Sunister, Varney, Ashfire, Balls, Blinkhorn, Beard, Baldwin, Cork, Carr, Downey, Foxon, Grayham, Hyer and Hilliard, the farthing fractions, the sentinels' sub-total and the pounds and pence of the balance carried over. | |
318 | 19th January Brought over £ 1836 17 10 Centinels brought over £ 91 5 William Hopkins 3 16 1/2 Thomas Hillock 3 16 1/2 Barnard Hayes 3 16 1/2 Josiah Johnson 3 16 1/2 Robert Johnson 3 16 1/2 Richard Johnson 3 16 1/2 James Kemp 3 16 1/2 Richard Lenney 3 16 1/2 John Lang 3 16 1/2 Edward Lambon 3 16 1/2 Bryen Lynch 3 16 1/2 John Lemmon 3 16 1/2 James Long 3 16 1/2 Charles Mountague 3 16 1/2 Richard Moyce 3 16 1/2 Thomas Morris 3 16 1/2 John Millar 3 16 1/2 Abraham Major 3 16 1/2 James Moyce 3 16 1/2 Joseph Martin 3 16 1/2 Thomas Matthews 3 16 1/2 George Nelson 3 16 1/2 Thomas Perry 3 16 1/2 Henry Pincken 3 16 1/2 William Parkes 3 16 1/2 Thomas Pearce 3 16 1/2 David Patton 3 16 1/2 William Robinson 3 16 1/2 Robert Stack 3 16 1/2 Adam Scott 3 16 1/2 David Scott 3 16 1/2 John Shirland 3 16 1/2 John Thomas 3 16 1/2 Thomas Taylor 3 16 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 220 10 5 Carried Over £ 1836 17 10 | The pay list entered on 19 January continued the roll of the third company's sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,836 17s 10d Sentinels brought over, £91 5s 0d William Hopkins, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hillock, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Barnard Hayes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Josiah Johnson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Johnson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Johnson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Kemp, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Lonney, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Lang, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Lambon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Bryan Lynch, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Lemmon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Long, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Charles Mountague, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Moyce, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Morris, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Millar, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Major, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Moyce, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Martin, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Matthews, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Nelson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Perry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Henry Pinchen, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Parkes, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Pearce, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d David Patton, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Robinson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Robert Stack, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Adam Scott, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d David Scott, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Shurland, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Thomas, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Taylor, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Sentinels carried over, £220 10s 5d Balance carried over, £1,836 17s 10d Interpretations A small figure stood in the margin beside Richard Johnson, as one did beside Thomas Bott on the earlier leaf dated 19 January that opened the second company's sentinels. Both were perhaps the clerk's running count of the garrison's men, set down at each hundred, and neither was carried into the list. All 34 sentinels on the leaf drew the full £3 16s 0½d, so the third company's ranks passed the quarter without an enlistment, discharge or change of rank among the men listed. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Hillock, Lonney, Lambon, Lynch, Lemmon, Mountague, Moyce, Pinchen, Parkes, Patton, Stack and Shurland, the farthing fractions and the sentinels' sub-total. | |
319 | 1767 Brought over £ 1836 17 10 Centinels Carried Over £ 220 10 5 Joseph Uffin 3 16 1/2 Richard Vincent 3 16 1/2 Thomas Ward 3 16 1/2 Edward Welch 3 16 1/2 John Waters 3 16 1/2 239 10 7 1/2 Fourth Company John Howard Captain Salary 45 12 6 Henry De Laune Lieut Saly 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Thomas Lambert Lieut Salary 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Sergeants John Flemming 7 12 1 Thomas Bailey 7 12 1 John Stinrox 7 12 1 Daniel Armin 7 12 1 30 8 4 Corporals Jonathan Lake Deserted 5th November 2 2 Thomas Ferris 5 6 5 1/2 Thomas Skylock Reduced the 13th October 15 2 Do Centinel from the 14th October 3 5 2 1/2 Richard Mooreton 5 6 5 1/2 16 15 3 1/2 Drummers George Wills 5 6 5 1/2 John Campen 5 6 5 1/2 10 12 11 Carried Over £ 2235 1 3 | The pay list for 1767 completed the roll of the third company's sentinels and opened the fourth company with its officers, sergeants, corporals and drummers for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £1,836 17s 10d Sentinels brought over, £220 10s 5d Joseph Uffin, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Vincent, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Ward, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Welch, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Waters, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Total for the sentinels of the third company, £239 10s 7½d Fourth company John Howard, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Henry De Laune, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Henry De Laune, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Henry De Laune, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Henry De Laune, £27 11s 10½d Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Lambert, £27 11s 10½d Sergeants John Flemming, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Thomas Bailey, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d John Stinroy, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Daniel Armin, sergeant, pay, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d Corporals Jonathan Lake, corporal, deserted on 5 November, pay, £2 2s 0d Thomas Ferris, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Thomas Haylock, corporal until reduced on 13 October, pay, £0 15s 2d Thomas Haylock, sentinel from 14 October, pay, £3 5s 2½d Richard Mooreton, corporal, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £16 15s 3½d Drummers George Wills, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d John Campen, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Balance carried over, £2,235 1s 3d Interpretations Jonathan Lake, a corporal of the fourth company, deserted on 5 November. On an island with no way off except by ship, desertion meant either hiding in the interior or stowing away on a vessel in the road, and the roll did not say which. His pay stopped on that day: £2 2s 0d was 36 days at a corporal's 1s 2d, the span from 1 October to 5 November. The entry recorded no forfeiture of what he had earned up to then, only the end of the charge. Thomas Haylock lost his corporal's rank on 13 October and served from the next day as a sentinel. His 13 days as corporal came to the £0 15s 2d entered, and his sentinel's pay from 14 October, £3 5s 2½d, was the same sum drawn by Robert Allum, who joined the second company on that date. No sentinel was shown here as promoted to fill either Haylock's or Lake's place, so the company ended the quarter with two corporals where it began with four, unless the replacements stood among the sentinels on a following leaf. The third company's completed roll came to 63 sentinels: 24 on the leaf for 1767 that opened it, 34 on the leaf dated 19 January and five here. That was close to the 64 of the first company, so the companies were kept at an even strength. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Uffin, Howard, De Laune, Flemming, Stinroy, Armin, Haylock, Mooreton and Campen, the sum against the deserter, the farthing fractions, the corporals' total and the figures of the balance carried over. | |
320 | 19th January Brought over £ 2235 1 3 Centinels John Allen 3 16 1/2 William Allen 3 16 1/2 George Bennett 3 16 1/2 Joseph Blackwell 3 16 1/2 John Brooks 3 16 1/2 Richard Bickerstaff 3 16 1/2 William Black Man 3 16 1/2 John Brilliott 3 16 1/2 John Beaucham 3 16 1/2 Andrew Buclen 3 16 1/2 John Bowler 3 16 1/2 James Cartwright 3 16 1/2 George Capeling 3 16 1/2 William Cooksey 3 16 1/2 James Cutsher 3 16 1/2 Richard Close 3 16 1/2 Josiah Cummings 3 16 1/2 John Deal 3 16 1/2 John Eastone 3 16 1/2 George Green 3 16 1/2 John Gilmoore 3 16 1/2 Edward Germain 3 16 1/2 Henry Horningbury 3 16 1/2 James Hendry 3 16 1/2 Thomas Hilliard 3 16 1/2 Roger Haydon 3 16 1/2 John Harper Enterd 3d October 14 2 Thomas Lee 3 16 1/2 Thomas Lyne 3 16 1/2 Murdock Mc Cloud 3 16 1/2 Stephen John 3 16 1/2 Christian Johnson 3 16 1/2 Richd Kempton 3 16 1/2 William Lambon deceased 3d Octr 2 6 Centinels Carried Over £ 122 10 Carried Over £ 2235 1 3 | The pay list entered on 19 January opened the roll of the fourth company's sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £2,235 1s 3d Sentinels John Allen, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Allen, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Bennett, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Blackwell, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Brooks, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Bickerstaff, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Blackman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Brilliott, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Beauchamp, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Andrew Barton, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Bowler, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Cartwright, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Capeling, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Cooksey, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Cutshur, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Close, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Josiah Cummings, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Deal, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Eastone, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d George Green, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Gilmore, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Edward Germain, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Henry Horningbury, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Hendry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hilliard, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Roger Haydon, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Harper, sentinel, entered on 3 October, pay, £0 14s 2d Thomas Lee, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Lyne, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Murdoch McCloud, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Stephen John, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Christian Johnson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Richard Hampton, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Lambon, sentinel, died on 3 October, pay, £0 2s 6d Sentinels carried over, £122 10s 0d Balance carried over, £2,235 1s 3d Interpretations William Lambon died on 3 October, and the roll paid him £0 2s 6d, which was exactly three days at a sentinel's 10d. The Company's charge for a soldier therefore ended on the day of his death, and the sum due was left standing in his name, to be settled with his estate or creditors. An Edward Lambon served in the third company on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, perhaps a relative. The note against John Harper was read as an entry into the company on 3 October, but his £0 14s 2d amounted to only 17 days at 10d. A man who joined on that date and served out the quarter would have drawn nearly the full sum, as Robert Allum did in the second company from 14 October. Either the date was a later one, in mid-December, or the abbreviated word recorded something other than his enlistment, and the entry should be treated with caution. The main balance at the foot of the leaf was taken as unchanged from its head, following the clerk's practice on the earlier sentinel rolls, although its second digit was not clearly formed. Several other readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Bickerstaff, Brilliott, Capeling, Cooksey, Cutshur, Eastone, Horningbury, Hendry, Lyne and McCloud, the farthing fractions and the sentinels' sub-total, whose pence column appeared blank. | |
321 | 1767 Brought over £ 2435 1 3 Centinels brought over £ 122 10 William Mitchell 10 10 Do Corporal from the 11th October 4 11 8 1/2 John Moore 1 10 Do Corporal from the 6th November 3 4 5 1/2 Thomas Marshall 3 16 1/2 John Major 3 16 1/2 John Newton 3 16 1/2 Martin Newman 3 16 1/2 James Newport 3 16 1/2 John Oswald 3 16 1/2 John Pluck 3 16 1/2 Daniel Patrick 3 16 1/2 Stephen Pass 3 16 1/2 William Parker 3 16 1/2 James Richardson 3 16 1/2 Patrick Riley 3 16 1/2 Thomas Rutherford 3 16 1/2 John Cunningham 3 16 1/2 John Shaw 3 16 1/2 William Scottman 3 16 1/2 Zedekiah Saunderson 3 16 1/2 Frederick Shaffer 3 16 1/2 John Slade 3 16 1/2 William Stedman 3 16 1/2 John Thompson 3 16 1/2 John Terry 3 16 1/2 Samuel Worrall 3 16 1/2 William Waite 3 16 1/2 John Wells 3 16 1/2 Thomas Williams 3 16 1/2 Thomas Watts 3 16 1/2 Duncan Cameron 3 16 1/2 238 15 9 Carried Over £ 2473 17 | The pay list for 1767 completed the roll of the fourth company's sentinels for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £2,235 1s 3d Sentinels brought over, £122 10s 0d William Mitchell, sentinel to 13 October, pay, £0 10s 10d William Mitchell, corporal from 14 October, pay, £4 11s 8½d John Moore, sentinel to 5 November, pay, £1 10s 0d John Moore, corporal from 6 November, pay, £3 4s 5½d Thomas Marshall, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Major, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Newton, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Martin Newman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Newport, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Oswald, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Pluck, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Daniel Patrick, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Stephen Pass, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Parker, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d James Richardson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Patrick Riley, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Rutherford, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Cunningham, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Shaw, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Scottman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Zedekiah Saunderson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Frederick Shaffer, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Slade, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Stedman, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Thompson, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Terry, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Worrall, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d William Waite, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d John Wells, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Williams, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Watts, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Duncan Cameron, sentinel, pay, £3 16s 0½d Total for the sentinels of the fourth company, £238 15s 9d Balance carried over, £2,473 17s 0d Interpretations The two corporals' places left empty on the leaf for 1767 that opened the fourth company were filled here from its own ranks. William Mitchell became corporal on 14 October, the day after Thomas Haylock was reduced on 13 October. John Moore followed on 6 November, the day after Jonathan Lake deserted on 5 November. Each man's sentinel pay matched the dates exactly: 13 days at 10d gave Mitchell's £0 10s 10d, and 36 days gave Moore's £1 10s 0d. No vacancy was left open for even a day, so the company kept its four corporals throughout the quarter. The completed roll gave the fourth company 64 names among its sentinels: 34 on the preceding leaf dated 19 January and 30 here, counting the two men promoted. That matched the 64 of the first company and stood one above the 63 of the third. Zedekiah Saunderson drew a full sentinel's pay here, and the same uncommon name appeared as a groom on the earlier leaf dated 19 January at £0 5s 8d. He was probably one soldier earning a small extra sum for work in the stables, in the way sergeants of the first company held civil posts. A small figure stood in the margin beside Frederick Shaffer, as beside Thomas Bott and Richard Johnson on earlier leaves, perhaps the clerk's running count of men. It was not carried into the list. The closing balance confirmed the reading of the figure at the head of this leaf and the foot of the preceding one as £2,235 1s 3d, where the second digit was poorly formed. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Pluck, Pass, Scottman, Shaffer, Stedman, Waite and Worrall, with the last man's forename, the corporal's pay of the two promoted men and the farthing fractions. | |
322 | 19th January Brought over £ 2473 17 Artillery Company Archibald Mitchell Captain Saly 45 12 6 Nathan Sample Lieut Saly 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Thomas Leech Lieut Salary 18 5 Do Diet Money 6 16 10 1/2 Do House Rent 2 10 27 11 10 1/2 Sergeants John Whitchurch 9 2 6 Adam Watson 9 2 6 John Bartley 9 2 6 John Cox 9 2 6 36 10 Corporals Thomas Collier 6 16 10 1/2 Nicholas Houghton 6 16 10 1/2 Robert Gilson 6 16 10 1/2 John Jack 6 16 10 1/2 27 7 6 Bombardiers John Turner 6 16 10 1/2 James Purfett 6 16 10 1/2 John Martin 6 16 10 1/2 Esau Nowland 6 16 10 1/2 27 7 6 Gunners Eustace White 6 1 8 David Davis 6 1 8 John Smith 6 1 8 Thomas Tyler 6 1 8 William Phillips 6 1 8 Gunners Carrd Over £ 30 8 4 Carried Over £ 2665 13 3 | The pay list entered on 19 January opened the artillery company with its officers, sergeants, corporals, bombardiers and the first of its gunners for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £2,473 17s 0d Artillery company Archibald Mitchell, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Nathan Sample, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Nathan Sample, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Nathan Sample, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Nathan Sample, £27 11s 10½d Thomas Leech, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Leech, lieutenant, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Leech, lieutenant, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Leech, £27 11s 10½d Sergeants John Whitchurch, sergeant, pay, £9 2s 6d Adam Watson, sergeant, pay, £9 2s 6d John Bentley, sergeant, pay, £9 2s 6d John Cox, sergeant, pay, £9 2s 6d Total for the sergeants, £36 10s 0d Corporals Thomas Collier, corporal, pay, £6 16s 10½d Nicholas Houghton, corporal, pay, £6 16s 10½d Robert Gilson, corporal, pay, £6 16s 10½d John Jack, corporal, pay, £6 16s 10½d Total for the corporals, £27 7s 6d Bombardiers John Turner, bombardier, pay, £6 16s 10½d James Purfett, bombardier, pay, £6 16s 10½d John Martin, bombardier, pay, £6 16s 10½d Esau Nowland, bombardier, pay, £6 16s 10½d Total for the bombardiers, £27 7s 6d Gunners Eustace White, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d David Davis, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d John Smith, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d Thomas Tyler, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d William Phillips, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d Gunners carried over, £30 8s 4d Balance carried over, £2,665 18s 3d Interpretations The artillery was paid well above the infantry at every rank below the officers. A sergeant's £9 2s 6d was a quarter of a year at 2s a day, against 1s 8d in the four infantry companies. Corporals and bombardiers drew 1s 6d a day against the infantry corporal's 1s 2d, and a gunner had 1s 4d, more than half as much again as a sentinel's 10d. The island's defence rested on its shore batteries, and men who could lay and serve heavy guns were scarcer and harder to replace than musketeers, so the Company paid for the skill. The officers gained nothing by it: the captain and lieutenants drew exactly the sums of their infantry counterparts. A bombardier was a junior non-commissioned officer of artillery, originally the man trusted with mortars, shells and fuses. He ranked with a corporal and was paid the same here. Archibald Mitchell commanded the company as captain, and the same name stood as engineer on the earlier leaf for 1767 with £77 10s 0d. The two posts together gave him over £123 for the quarter, more than the Lieutenant Governor's £87 10s 0d, and put the guns and the fortifications they stood on under one man. The 3 pounds of candles, coloured thread and flour charged to the artillery company on the earlier store account went to his command. These sums showed that the quarter's pay was a quarter of a yearly figure built on a daily rate, not a count of the 92 days from 1 October to 31 December. A gunner's £6 1s 8d was a quarter of £24 6s 8d, which was 365 days at 1s 4d. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Sample, Leech, Whitchurch, Bentley, Houghton, Gilson, Purfett and Nowland, and the shillings of the balance carried over. | |
323 | 1767 Brought over £ 2665 13 3 Gunners brought over £ 30 8 4 Samuel Smith 6 1 8 Thomas Mc Farling 6 1 8 Adam Creighton 6 1 8 48 13 4 Drummers George Garrard 5 6 5 1/2 Robert Saunders 5 6 5 1/2 10 12 11 Matrosses Robert Allum Transfd 13 Octr 13 Benjamin Burton 4 11 3 Isaac Buck 4 11 3 John Bower 4 11 3 James Bellemly 4 11 3 William Brown 4 11 3 John Cope 4 11 3 John Cupwell 4 11 3 Thomas Clerk 4 11 3 Edmund Connor 4 11 3 Robert Cunningham 4 11 3 John Carfoot 4 11 3 John Doude 4 11 3 Daniel Finn 4 11 3 Joseph Fellows 4 11 3 Robert Frankith 4 11 3 John Fox 4 11 3 Christian Greenawald 4 11 3 Thomas Gorrall 4 11 3 Thomas Green 4 11 3 William Hodges 4 11 3 Lawrence Hall 4 11 3 John Hindes 4 11 3 William Jenkins 4 11 3 Matrosses Carried Over £ 105 11 9 Carried Over £ 2725 4 6 | The pay list for 1767 completed the artillery company's gunners, entered its drummers and opened the roll of its matrosses for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £2,665 18s 3d Gunners brought over, £30 8s 4d Samuel Smith, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d Thomas McFarling, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d Adam Creighton, gunner, pay, £6 1s 8d Total for the gunners, £48 13s 4d Drummers George Garrard, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Robert Saunders, drummer, pay, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Matrosses Robert Allum, matross, transferred on 13 October, pay, £0 13s 0d Benjamin Burton, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Isaac Buck, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Bower, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d James Bellemby, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d William Brown, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Cope, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Capswell, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Clark, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Edmund Connor, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Robert Cunningham, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Carfoot, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Dowde, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Daniel Finn, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Joseph Fellows, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Robert Frankish, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Fox, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Christian Grunawald, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Gorrall, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Green, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d William Hodges, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Lawrence Hall, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Hindes, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d William Jenkins, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Matrosses carried over, £105 11s 9d Balance carried over, £2,725 4s 6d Interpretations A matross was the lowest rank of the artillery, a gunner's assistant who helped to load, sponge and haul the guns and carried a musket to guard them. His £4 11s 3d was a quarter of a year at 1s a day, which placed him above an infantry sentinel's 10d and below a gunner's 1s 4d. The artillery company had only eight gunners, so the matrosses made up the bulk of its strength. Robert Allum's entry settled the meaning of the abbreviated word that stood against William Stapleford on the earlier leaf dated 19 January. Allum left the artillery on 13 October with 13 days' pay at 1s, and the second company's roll showed him entering as a sentinel on 14 October. The word therefore recorded a transfer between companies, not a discharge. Stapleford left the second company on that same 13 October, so the two men were perhaps exchanged, with Stapleford to be found among the matrosses on a following leaf. For Allum the move meant a cut from 1s to 10d a day, which suggests it was not of his choosing. John Capswell, matross here, bore almost the same name as John Capwell, first patron of the longboat on the earlier leaf dated 19 January. He was perhaps one man drawing both a soldier's pay and £7 10s 0d for running the boat, in the way sergeants of the infantry held civil posts. Christian Grunawald's name pointed, like those of Strife, Beard and Shaffer in the infantry, to German recruits in the garrison. The closing balance confirmed the reading of 18s in the figure brought over. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames McFarling, Creighton, Garrard, Bellemby, Carfoot, Dowde, Frankish, Grunawald, Gorrall and Hindes, and the pounds figure of the gunners' total. | |
324 | 19th January Brought over £ 2725 4 6 Matrosses brought over £ 105 11 9 Thomas Jones 4 11 3 John Lewis 4 11 3 Daniel Maloney 4 11 3 George Marshall 4 11 3 Jonathan Mallet 4 11 3 Thomas Nimble 4 11 3 John Osborne 4 11 3 William Poulton 4 11 3 Godfrey Smith 4 11 3 Samuel Spencer 4 11 3 John Scotcher 4 11 3 William Stapleford Enterd 14th Octr 3 18 Daniel Tong 4 11 3 Thomas Watts 4 11 3 John Webbly 4 11 3 Richard Willman 4 11 3 Thomas Wyatt 4 11 3 Richard Waterhouse 4 11 3 Thomas Yates 4 11 3 191 12 3 £ 2916 16 9 | The pay list entered on 19 January completed the roll of the artillery company's matrosses and closed with the total for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Balance brought over, £2,725 4s 6d Matrosses brought over, £105 11s 9d Thomas Jones, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Lewis, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Daniel Maloney, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d George Marshall, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Jonathan Mallet, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Nimble, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Osborne, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d William Poulton, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Godfrey Smith, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Samuel Spencer, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Scotcher, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d William Stapleford, matross, entered on 14 October, pay, £3 18s 0d Daniel Tong, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Watts, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d John Webley, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Richard Willman, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Wyatt, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Richard Waterhouse, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Thomas Yates, matross, pay, £4 11s 3d Total for the matrosses, £191 12s 3d Total of the pay list, £2,916 16s 9d Interpretations William Stapleford entered the artillery as a matross on 14 October, which confirmed the exchange suggested by the preceding leaf for 1767. He left the second company as a sentinel on 13 October, and Robert Allum went the other way on the same day. Stapleford gained by it, rising from 10d to 1s a day, while Allum lost the same 2d. A straight swap of two named men pointed to a deliberate decision by their officers, with one man rewarded or wanted for the guns and the other moved out, though the roll gave no reason. The quarter's pay for the whole establishment came to £2,916 16s 9d. The civil officers, tradesmen and minor posts accounted for £853 6s 9½d of it, the figure reached on the earlier leaf dated 19 January before the first company began. The four infantry companies and the artillery therefore cost a little over £2,063, more than two thirds of the total. St Helena was run as a garrison with a small civil government attached, and the pay list made that proportion plain. Thomas Yates, the last matross, shared his name with the clerk paid £5 on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, and was probably one soldier doing writing work for extra pay. A small figure in the margin beside his name was perhaps another of the clerk's running counts of men, like those noted on earlier leaves. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Maloney, Mallet, Nimble, Poulton, Scotcher, Tong, Webley, Willman and Waterhouse, and the date against William Stapleford. | |
325 | Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr Dr Per Contra Cr 1766 Decemr 31st To Cash received £ 3494 17 7 Carrd Over £ 3494 17 7 1766 £ s d Octob 21st By Cash paid John Forbes for relisting to serve the Honble Compy five Years longer as a Soldier commencing this day 10 Novr 9th By Cash paid Joseph Chamberlain for makg 20 Winser Chairs for the Hall in the Castle 5 19th By Cash pd John Dove for relistg to serve the Honble Company five Years longer as a Soldr 10 23d By Cash paid David Scott for Do 5 By Cash pd John Davis for Do 10 By Cash pd Thos Nimble for 7 days Stonecuttg at the Maldavia Garden at 1/6 p day 10 6 Decr 13th By Cash pd John Harper for Enlistg to serve the Honble Compy five Years as a piper 1 By Cash paid William Robinson for relistg to serve the Honble Compy five Years longer as a Soldier 10 By Cash pd Sundry Garrison Men for 140 days Masons Work at the Fortification at Sandy Bay at 1/6 p d 10 10 By Cash pd Do for 73 1/2 days Smiths Work at Do at 1/6 p day 5 10 3 Carried Over £ 67 10 9 Margin Notes: 1767 | The paymaster's account for 1767 set Thomas Kirkpatrick's cash received against his payments in the last quarter of 1766. Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, debit side 31 December 1766, cash received, £3,494 17s 7d Debit carried over, £3,494 17s 7d Credit side 21 October 1766, cash paid to John Forbes for re-enlisting as a soldier for a further five years from that day, £10 0s 0d 9 November 1766, cash paid to Joseph Chamberlain for making 20 Windsor chairs for the hall in the Castle, £5 0s 0d 19 November 1766, cash paid to John Dove for re-enlisting as a soldier for a further five years, £10 0s 0d 23 November 1766, cash paid to David Scott for re-enlisting as a soldier for a further five years, £5 0s 0d 23 November 1766, cash paid to John Davis for re-enlisting as a soldier for a further five years, £10 0s 0d 23 November 1766, cash paid to Thomas Nimble for 7 days of stone blasting at the Maldivia garden at 1s 6d a day, £0 10s 6d 13 December 1766, cash paid to John Harper for enlisting for five years as a fifer, £1 0s 0d 13 December 1766, cash paid to William Robinson for re-enlisting as a soldier for a further five years, £10 0s 0d 13 December 1766, cash paid to various men of the garrison for 140 days of mason's work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £10 10s 0d 13 December 1766, cash paid to various men of the garrison for 73½ days of smith's work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £5 10s 3d Credit carried over, £67 10s 9d Interpretations Soldiers served the Company on fixed terms of five years, and a man whose term ran out was paid a bounty of £10 to sign on again. That sum equalled about eight months of a sentinel's pay at 10d a day. The Company chose to buy the further service of seasoned men already on the island instead of relying wholly on recruits shipped from England, who cost a passage and often arrived unfit. A new enlistment on the spot earned far less: John Harper received only £1. David Scott's bounty was £5 where the others had £10, and the page gave no reason for the difference. John Harper's enlistment as a fifer resolved the doubt raised on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, where his 17 days' pay in the fourth company did not fit an entry in early October. He joined in mid-December, and his £0 14s 2d ran from then to the end of the quarter. The payments for work showed how the garrison doubled as the island's labour force. Soldiers with a trade earned 1s 6d for each day of mason's or smith's work at Sandy Bay, on top of their ordinary pay, which for a sentinel nearly trebled his day's income. The 320 pounds of iron and the bricklayer's trowels charged to that fortification in the store account were the materials for these same 213½ days of work. Thomas Nimble, a matross on the artillery roll, earned the same rate for breaking rock with gunpowder at the Maldivia garden, a Company property in the valley above the town. Captain Kirkpatrick, councillor and commander of the first company, also acted as paymaster. The account made him personally answerable: every sum he received stood against him as a debt until he showed a payment to discharge it. The £3,494 17s 7d received exceeded the quarter's pay list of £2,916 16s 9d, the balance covering bounties, wages for work and other cash payments such as these. A Windsor chair was a wooden chair with a solid shaped seat into which turned legs and a spindle back were socketed. At 5s each, the 20 made by Joseph Chamberlain were plain locally built seating for the Castle's hall. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surname Dove, the word read as stone blasting, the name of the garden and the description of John Harper as a fifer. | |
326 | 19th January Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr Dr 1766 December 31st To Cash brought over £ 3494 17 7 Carried Over £ 3494 17 7 | The paymaster's account entered on 19 January carried forward the debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's cash for the last quarter of 1766. Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, debit side 31 December 1766, cash brought over, £3,494 17s 7d Debit carried over, £3,494 17s 7d Interpretations The debit side held a single entry, the £3,494 17s 7d of cash received that stood at the head of the account on the preceding leaf for 1767. The clerk ruled a diagonal line down the empty space beneath it, the ordinary bookkeeper's device for closing a blank part of a column so that nothing could be written in afterwards. The sum was carried down unchanged so that it would stand opposite the continuing list of payments on the facing credit side. | |
327 | 1767 Per Contra Cr 1767 Brought over £ 67 10 9 Decembr 31 By Cash pd Sundry Garrison Men for 253 days Stone Blowg at Sandy Bay Fortification at 1/6 p day 19 7 By Cash pd Do for 12 days Carpenters Work at Do at 1/6 p d 18 By Cash pd Do for 5361 1/2 Do Labourers Do at Do at 1/ p d 268 1 6 By Cash paid Do for 375 1/4 Do repairg the Main guard Room, Stores Cleang the Line, Ladder Hill, and Mundn Paths at 1/ p day 18 15 9 By Cash pd Do 8 days paintg and repairg the Long Boat at 1/6 p d 12 By Cash pd Do 653 days Labourers Work in Do at 1/ p day 32 13 By Cash pd Do for 71 1/2 days Smiths Work in the Armourer Shop at 1/6 p day 5 7 3 By Cash pd Do for 5 days painters Work in the Castle at 1/6 p d 7 6 By Cash pd Do for 28 Do Carpenters Do in the Do at 1/6 p d 2 2 By Cash pd Do for 114 1/2 days Do makg and repairg Cotts for the Garrison 8 11 9 By Cash pd Do for 20 1/4 days Do repg Plantatn House 1/6 1 10 4 1/2 By Cash pd Do for 21 Do [...] Masons Work at Do at 1/6 1 12 7 1/2 By Cash pd Do for 12 days Carpenters Do at the Lt Govr House 18 By Cash pd Sundry Planters for 108 days Stone layers Work at Sandy Bay Fortification at 2/6 p d 13 10 By Cash pd William Holbrooke for 150 day Work of his apprentices at Do at 1/ p day 7 10 By Cash paid Mr Saml Alexander for 29 Rafters for for the Use of the Works at Sandy Bay @ /6 each 14 6 By Cash paid Mrs Mary Harper for 50 Rafters for Do at /6 ea 1 5 By Cash pd Sundry Inhabitants for 1427 days Labourers Work of their Slaves at Sandy Bay Fortifn in this Quartr at 1/ p d 71 7 By Cash pd Richd Vincent for his Attendance as Assistant Surgeon on the Soldiers and Slaves at Sandy Bay this Qr 3 By Cash pd Mr Purling for 140 Cabbage Tree Sticks for the Use of the Honble Compy at /6 ea 3 10 By Cash paid Mr Matthew Bazett for 110 Do for Do at /6 ea 2 15 By Cash paid Mr Richd Bagley for 13 Fowls to Improve the Compys Breed at 1/6 each 19 6 Carried Over £ 532 13 6 | The credit side of the paymaster's account for 1767 continued with Thomas Kirkpatrick's cash payments for labour and materials, all entered under 31 December 1766. Credit brought over, £67 10s 9d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 258 days of stone blasting at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £19 7s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 12 days of carpenter's work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £0 18s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 5,261½ days of labourer's work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s a day, £263 1s 6d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 275¾ days of repairing the main guard room and stores and clearing the lines, Ladder Hill and Munden's paths at 1s a day, £13 15s 9d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 8 days of painting and repairing the longboat at 1s 6d a day, £0 12s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 653 days of labourer's work on the same at 1s a day, £32 13s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 71½ days of smith's work in the armourer's shop at 1s 6d a day, £5 7s 3d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 5 days of painter's work in the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £0 7s 6d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 28 days of carpenter's work in the Castle at 1s 6d a day, £2 2s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 114½ days of carpenter's work making and repairing cots for the garrison, £8 11s 9d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 20¼ days of carpenter's work repairing Plantation House at 1s 6d a day, £1 10s 4½d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 21¾ days of mason's work at Plantation House at 1s 6d a day, £1 12s 7½d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for 12 days of carpenter's work at the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 18s 0d Cash paid to various planters for 108 days of stone laying at the Sandy Bay fortification at 2s 6d a day, £13 10s 0d Cash paid to William Holbrooke for 150 days of work by his apprentices at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s a day, £7 10s 0d Cash paid to Samuel Alexander for 29 rafters for the works at Sandy Bay at 6d each, £0 14s 6d Cash paid to Mary Harper for 50 rafters for the works at Sandy Bay at 6d each, £1 5s 0d Cash paid to various inhabitants for 1,427 days of labourer's work by their slaves at the Sandy Bay fortification during the quarter at 1s a day, £71 7s 0d Cash paid to Richard Vincent for attending the soldiers and slaves at Sandy Bay as assistant surgeon during the quarter, £3 0s 0d Cash paid to Matthew Purling for 140 cabbage tree poles for the Company's use at 6d each, £3 10s 0d Cash paid to Matthew Bazett for 110 cabbage tree poles for the Company's use at 6d each, £2 15s 0d Cash paid to Richard Bagley for 13 fowls to improve the Company's breed at 1s 6d each, £0 19s 6d Credit carried over, £522 18s 6d Interpretations Sandy Bay absorbed most of the money on the leaf. Soldiers gave 5,261½ days of labouring there in a single quarter, the equivalent of some 57 men working every day, and the inhabitants' slaves a further 1,427 days. Together with the blasting, stone laying, apprentices and rafters, the fortification cost about £378 in cash here, beside the £41 17s 3d of stores and the mason's and smith's days charged on the earlier leaves. The 133⅛ gallons of arrack issued to the site in the store account were the drink allowance of this workforce. The Company hired slaves from private owners at 1s a day, and the money went to the owners. That was the same rate a soldier earned for a day's labouring, so a planter with slaves to spare drew a soldier's extra wage for each of them without working himself. The Company's own slaves, whose provisions cost £423 11s 1d in the quarter, were evidently too few for the works, and the shortfall was made up from the garrison and from this hired labour. Three rates marked three kinds of worker. A labourer had 1s a day and a soldier with a trade 1s 6d. Planters who laid stone received 2s 6d, the highest rate on the leaf: free islanders had farms to attend to and no soldier's pay beneath the wage, so skilled masonry had to be bought from them at a premium. William Holbrooke, the master mason paid £30 a quarter on the earlier leaf dated 19 January, collected a further £7 10s 0d for the work of his apprentices. The custom of the trade gave a master his apprentices' earnings, so his salaried post also brought him a private income from the same building site. Two members of the establishment sold timber to the Company they served. Matthew Purling, councillor and accountant, and Matthew Bazett, the secretary, supplied 250 cabbage tree poles between them, and Samuel Alexander, an overseer, sold rafters. Officers held land on the island and dealt with the Company as private suppliers, with no sign in the account that this was thought irregular. Cabbage trees were native St Helena trees of the high central ridge, with straight slender stems that served as poles and light rafters in place of imported deals. Richard Vincent stood on the third company's roll as a sentinel. His £3 as assistant surgeon at Sandy Bay showed a soldier with some medical skill posted to tend the working party, soldiers and slaves alike, far from the hospital in the town. The 13 fowls bought to improve the Company's breed were for the poultry yard at the plantation, which the store account showed being fed on paddy. The marginal date appeared to carry the year 1767, but the entries belonged to the quarter's close on 31 December 1766 and were dated accordingly. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the number of days of stone blasting and of labouring at Sandy Bay, both taken from the sums entered, the word read as the same against the 653 days of labouring, which followed the longboat entry but perhaps referred to the works in general, Munden's paths, the surname Bagley and the figures of the closing balance. | |
328 | 19th January Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr Dr 1766 December 31st To Cash brought over £ 3494 17 7 £ 3494 17 7 | The paymaster's account entered on 19 January closed the debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's cash for the last quarter of 1766. Thomas Kirkpatrick, paymaster, debit side 31 December 1766, cash brought over, £3,494 17s 7d Total of the debit side, £3,494 17s 7d Interpretations The sum received was no longer carried forward here but ruled off as a final total, where the earlier leaf dated 19 January carried the same £3,494 17s 7d down to a further leaf. The debit side of the account therefore closed at this figure, and the payments listed on the credit side had to reach the same sum for the paymaster to be cleared of the cash he held. | |
329 | 1767 Per Contra Cr 1767 Brought over £ 532 13 6 Decemr 31st By Cash pd Simon Whaley for 360 lb of Yams at 2/6 p C 1 By Cash pd Doctor Barclay for Extraordinarys found the Hospital this Year above the amount of 7d p Day 17 14 4 By Cash pd Do for his yearly Allowance for providing Necessarys for the Hospital 8 By Cash paid William Jenkins for Baking 117 Batches of Bread for the Garrison this Quarter at 1/8 p Batch 9 15 By Cash pd Sundry Garrison Men for coming express with Account of Ships to windward 10 By Cash paid Nocquedah Pockollum for 49 Weeks Allowe of Salt Meat left in the Stores, he having requested the money to buy fresh Meat with 4 13 By Cash pd Do his Allowance this Quarter 1 12 6 By Cash pd Do for House Rent 1 By Cash pd the Clerk of the Assigns and Curator of the Court 12 6 £ 578 10 By the Amount of the Pay List 2916 16 9 £ 3494 17 7 St Helena 31st December 1766 Errors Excepted Signed Thoms Kirkpatrick Paymaster Counted and Examined the Honble Companys Cash for the Month of December last, which is as follows viz. | The credit side of the paymaster's account for 1767 closed with Thomas Kirkpatrick's remaining payments under 31 December 1766 and the quarter's pay list. Credit brought over, £532 13s 6d Cash paid to Simon Whaley for 8 hundredweight of yams at 2s 6d a hundredweight, £1 0s 0d Cash paid to Doctor Barclay for extra supplies provided to the hospital during the year beyond the allowance of 7d a day, £17 14s 4d Cash paid to Doctor Barclay for the yearly allowance for providing necessaries for the hospital, £8 0s 0d Cash paid to William Jenkins for baking 117 batches of bread for the garrison during the quarter at 1s 8d a batch, £9 15s 0d Cash paid to various men of the garrison for bringing urgent word of ships to windward, £0 10s 0d Cash paid to Nocquedah Bockollum for 49 weeks' allowance of salt meat left undrawn in the stores, the money being wanted to buy fresh meat, £4 13s 0d Cash paid to Nocquedah Bockollum for the quarter's allowance, £1 12s 6d Cash paid to Nocquedah Bockollum for house rent, £1 0s 0d Cash paid to the clerk of the arraigns and crier of the court, £0 12s 6d Total of cash payments, £578 0s 10d Amount of the pay list, £2,916 16s 9d Total of the credit side, £3,494 17s 7d Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account as paymaster at St Helena on 31 December 1766, subject to the correction of any errors. The Company's cash for December 1766 was then counted and examined. Interpretations The two sides of the account met at £3,494 17s 7d. Cash payments of £578 0s 10d and the pay list of £2,916 16s 9d together equalled the sum Captain Kirkpatrick received, so he held nothing over and owed nothing. The count of the Company's cash that followed was the physical check on that paper balance: the money left in the chest was counted against what the books said should be there. Nocquedah was the title of the master of an Indian or Arab trading vessel. Bockollum lived on the island at the Company's cost, with a quarterly allowance, house rent and a ration of salt meat. He was probably the man charged as the Malay in the store account for 1767, who drew rice, arrack, sugar candy and fine shoes on a footing quite unlike the slaves'. His ration was commuted at his own request: 49 weeks of salt meat stood undrawn in the store, and the Company paid him its value in cash so that he could buy fresh meat. The obvious course was to issue the ration as it fell due, as was done for the slaves and the garrison. The request was perhaps a matter of religion as much as taste, since salt pork and meat not killed by Muslim rites would have been unacceptable to a Muslim seafarer, and the Council's consent showed him treated as a person of some standing and not as a prisoner on fixed rations. The surgeon ran the hospital on a fixed allowance of 7d a day, perhaps for each patient, and carried the risk of ordinary costs himself. Anything beyond it he claimed back once a year as an extra, here £17 14s 4d, with a further £8 for necessaries. These payments came on top of the £14 2s 2d of stores issued to the hospital in the quarter and Robert Barclay's own £22 5s 0d on the pay list. William Jenkins, a matross on the artillery roll, baked the garrison's bread at 1s 8d a batch, the flour coming from the store. His 117 batches earned him £9 15s 0d, more than twice his soldier's pay of £4 11s 3d, another case of a soldier's trade bringing a second income. Ships approaching the island came up from the south-east on the trade wind, so the first sight of them was from the windward coast, far from the town. Soldiers on the lookout posts there carried the news across the island on foot, and the 10s rewarded those runs. Early warning let the Castle prepare for a friendly fleet or stand to arms against an enemy. The clerk of the arraigns read the charges to prisoners at the bar and recorded their pleas, and the crier called the court to order and summoned witnesses. One small fee covered both duties. The balance brought over was read here as £532 13s 6d, while the foot of the preceding leaf for 1767 was taken as £522 18s 6d; the figure here is probably the sounder. The marginal year again appeared as 1767 and was taken as 1766. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Whaley and Bockollum, the daily allowance of 7d, the sum for the undrawn salt meat and the title of the court officer. | |
330 | Cash Dr Per Contra Cr 1766 Decr 1st By Balance remaining £ 9765 4 7 31st To James Powell received of him for Stores Sold in the Quarter endg this day 1391 14 To Licences for Public Houses 19 10 To Fortification recd for Lime Sold 2 11 3 To Plantation recd for Provision Sold 11 16 To Sundry Accounts for damaged goods Sold at Public Auction 20 3 £ 11210 16 1 1766 £ s d Decemr 31st By Sundry Accounts Advanced the paymar to pay Salys &ca in the Quarter Ending this day 3494 17 7 By Balance remaining viz. In Specie 7176 3 6 Cash Notes of no Use 539 15 7715 18 6 £ 11210 16 1 John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick Margin Notes: 19th January | The Company's cash account for December 1766, entered on 19 January, set the money in hand and the quarter's receipts against the advance to the paymaster and the balance left in the chest. Cash, debit side 1 December 1766, balance remaining, £9,765 4s 7d 31 December 1766, received from James Powell for stores sold in the quarter ending that day, £1,391 14s 0d 31 December 1766, licences for public houses, £19 10s 0d 31 December 1766, received by the fortification for lime sold, £2 11s 3d 31 December 1766, received by the plantation for provisions sold, £11 16s 0d 31 December 1766, damaged goods sold at public auction, £20 0s 3d Total of the debit side, £11,210 16s 1d Cash, credit side 31 December 1766, advanced to the paymaster to pay salaries and other charges in the quarter ending that day, £3,494 17s 7d Balance remaining in coin, £7,176 3s 6d Balance remaining in cash notes of no use, £539 15s 0d Total balance remaining, £7,715 18s 6d Total of the credit side, £11,210 16s 1d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations The cash account tied the earlier accounts together. The £1,391 14s 0d received from the storekeeper was the sum of the two sales totals in the store account for 1767, £1,310 0s 8d and £81 13s 4d, and the £20 0s 3d for damaged goods matched the auction total recorded there. The £3,494 17s 7d advanced to the paymaster was the figure at which his own account balanced. Each subordinate account thus ended in a single line here, and the four signatures certified that the coin in the chest agreed with the result. The island's finances ran heavily one way. The quarter brought in about £1,446, almost all of it from the store, while pay and cash expenses took £3,494 17s 7d. The chest fell by over £2,000 in the month, from £9,765 4s 7d to £7,715 18s 6d. St Helena earned nothing like its cost, and the shortfall was met from money sent out by the Company, much of which returned to it through the store's advance of 25 and 40 per cent on goods sold to the soldiers and planters it had just paid. Part of the balance was held as cash notes described as of no use. These were probably paper notes issued on the island to stand in for scarce coin, since withdrawn from circulation and kept in the chest until cancelled. The Council counted them as part of the balance, since they stood in the books as cash, but listed them apart from the coin so that the usable money, £7,176 3s 6d, was not overstated. Public houses were licensed by the Council for a fee, which brought in £19 10s 0d. The licence gave the government a hold over who sold drink to the garrison and the crews of visiting ships. Lime burned for the fortification works and surplus produce from the Company's plantation were sold to islanders, and the small sums were credited back to those two accounts. Captain Kirkpatrick signed as a member of the Council, although the largest entry on the credit side was the advance to himself as paymaster. The count was therefore witnessed in part by the officer whose own account it verified, a consequence of a Council of four men holding most of the island's offices between them. | |
331 | 26th January At a Consultation held on Monday the 26th day of January 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved and signed, dated the 19th December 1767. Tuesday the 20th Died Mary daughter of John Price Jailer Thursday the 22d Passed by a Ship at a great distance We this day received the following Letter for Captain Mitchell viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of the Island St Helena Gentlemen As the Storeships will probably bring with them the Four Thirteen Inch Mortars indented for last Year, in the Use of which the Artillery Company are at present totally ignorant I therefore propose, with your Approbation to commence a Course of Practice, in the firing of Guns and Mortars, soon after their Arrival. For this Purpose I have Viewed the Ground formerly made Use of for Gun Practice in Ruperts Valley, and find it not only Extremely unfit for Firing at a Target, but likewise altogether improper for practicing either with the Thirteen Mortars or the Eight Inch Howitzes, as it does not admit of a Range sufficiently long for either of these Purposes, and is besides so extremely Rocky as would greatly endanger the Lives of the People, as well as Occasion a very considerable Expence of Stores | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 26 January 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 19 January 1767 were read, approved and signed. Mary, daughter of the gaoler John Price, died on Tuesday 20 January 1767. A ship passed the island at a great distance on Thursday 22 January 1767. A letter from Captain Mitchell, addressed to the Governor and Council, was received that day. Mitchell expected the storeships to bring the four 13 inch mortars requested from London the year before. The artillery company had no knowledge at all of how to handle such weapons. He therefore asked the Council's approval to begin a course of practice in firing guns and mortars soon after the storeships arrived. Mitchell reported that he inspected the ground in Rupert's Valley formerly used for gun practice and judged it very poorly suited to shooting at a target. He found it wholly unfit for practice with either the 13 inch mortars or the 8 inch howitzers, because it offered too short a range for both. The ground was also so rocky that firing there would put the men's lives in serious danger and waste a large quantity of stores. Interpretations Mitchell rejected the established practice ground instead of simply resuming drill there once the mortars arrived, and the letter gave his reasons. A mortar threw a heavy explosive shell in a high arc, and a howitzer fired shells on a flatter path, so both needed a long clear range for the gunners to learn how charge and elevation governed the fall of shot. Rock made matters worse in two ways. Shot and shell striking it shattered or flew off unpredictably, scattering splinters of iron and stone among the men, and nothing fired could be dug out and used again, which was the waste of stores he feared. On soft ground, solid shot was routinely recovered after practice. The admission that the artillery company was wholly ignorant of mortars was a striking one from its own captain. The pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed the company with eight gunners, four bombardiers and some 40 matrosses, all trained on the fixed cannon of the batteries. The Company was sending a new class of weapon to an island where no one could yet use it, and the training had to be devised on the spot. Archibald Mitchell wrote with double authority, since that same pay list showed him as both the island's engineer and captain of the artillery. The judgement of the ground was an engineer's, and the concern for drill a gunner's. The requisition for the mortars was an indent, the formal list of wants sent each year to the Company in London, which were then shipped out on the storeships. A year or more therefore separated a request from its delivery. John Price, whose daughter died, was the marshal and gaoler paid £7 10s 0d on the pay list. The note of a distant ship reflected the constant watch kept from the island's lookout posts, for which soldiers were paid for carrying word of ships to windward in the paymaster's account. The date of the earlier consultation appeared on the page with December as its month. That reading could not stand against the sequence of meetings, and it was taken as 19 January 1767. | |
332 | 26th January As the Long Wood is the only Part of the Island proper for this Exercise I therefore request to be informed whether you would Chuse that it should be made Use of for this Purpose I have the Honour to be with the greatest Respect Gentlemen Your most Obedient and most humb Servt St Helena signed 26th January 1767 A Mitchell Which We agreed to, as it is the properest Place for such practice. Miss Mary Twaits this day presented the following Petition viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of St Helena The humble Petition of Mary Twaits Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease containing four Acres of Land lying in the South Division of the said Island expired, and as the said Land is extreamly Rocky and Barren, requests your Worship and Council will be pleased to take it into your Consideration and grant | Captain Mitchell's letter of 26 January 1767 went on to name Longwood as the only part of the island suited to artillery practice. He asked Governor Skottowe and the Council to say whether they wished it to be used for that purpose, and signed the letter at St Helena on that date. The Council agreed to the proposal, judging Longwood the most suitable place for such practice. Miss Mary Twaits presented a petition to the Governor and Council on that day. She explained that her lease of four acres in the south division of the island had run out. The land was extremely rocky and barren, and she asked the Council to take her case into consideration. Interpretations The Council moved the artillery's practice ground from Rupert's Valley to Longwood on the strength of a single letter, without sending anyone else to view either site. Rupert's Valley lay next to the town and the batteries, so drill there cost the gunners little time, and it was the established ground. Mitchell's objection, set out in the earlier part of his letter, was that it was too short and too rocky for 13 inch mortars and 8 inch howitzers. Longwood was a broad upland plain in the east of the island, held by the Company, with the length of range and the softer ground that shells required. Its distance from the town meant hauling guns, powder and men several miles uphill for each practice, and the Council accepted that cost because Mitchell, as both engineer and captain of artillery, was the only officer competent to judge. Land on St Helena belonged to the Company and was held by the inhabitants on leases for fixed terms. When a term ran out the holder had no automatic right to continue and had to apply to the Governor and Council, who could renew, alter the rent or take the ground back. Mary Twaits petitioned in her own name, so she held the four acres as an unmarried woman in her own right. Her stress on the poverty of the soil bore on what the land could be expected to pay, since the Company's rents were set with some regard to the quality of the ground. | |
333 | 1767 her a renewal of the same upon easier terms than five Shillings p Acre the Rent she now pays And your Petitioner will ever pray 26th Janry 1767 Ordered the said Land to be Viewed John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | Mary Twaits's petition of 26 January 1767 asked for her expired lease of four acres in the south division to be renewed on easier terms than the £0 5s 0d an acre she was then paying. The Council ordered the land to be inspected. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Council neither granted the reduction nor refused it, and sent someone to look at the ground first. A renewal at the old rent was the default open to it, and a concession on her word alone was the other easy course. Her whole case rested on a claim about the soil, that it was extremely rocky and barren, and that claim could be tested by walking over four acres. The order cost the Council nothing and protected the Company's rent roll from a precedent: a reduction given without proof would have invited every leaseholder with poor ground to ask for one. The contrast with the other business of that meeting was plain. Captain Mitchell's judgement of Rupert's Valley as too rocky for mortar practice was accepted at once, on his standing as engineer and captain of artillery. A leaseholder's account of her own land, where she had money at stake, was checked before the Council acted on it. The sum in question was small. At £0 5s 0d an acre, her four acres owed £1 0s 0d a year, about what a sentinel of the garrison earned in 24 days at 10d a day on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Even so, the Council treated the rent per acre as a matter of principle and not of amount. | |
334 | 2d February At a Consultation held on Monday the 2d day of February 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governr Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thoms Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 26th January This day died Isaac Day Soldier. Captain Richard Beale making Complaint that John Irwin the Governors Steward had behaved very insolently to him on Wednesday last at the Market House; That on the 13th of December last he John Irwin took more meat from the Market than was probably wanted for the Governors Use, as he brought part of it back again to the Market, and with much freedom expressed himself, thus, does any of you want any more Meat of which freedom of Speech he Beale took Notice of to Mr Pritchard who was present, that Mr Jacob the Adjutant said he wanted the Meat and accordingly took it, that he Beale thought such proceedings were not fair and that the said Irwin had no right to dispose of it in that manner, that as this affair was taken Notice of by some of the Gentlemen, he the said Irwin on the Market day following came there when the Provision was selling and in a very insolent manner asked whether he could not get Mr Jacob another roasting piece which words from what had so lately happened he Beale thinks must have been spoke in Contempt of the Gentlemen who were intitled to have the Meat from the Market, and setting them at defiance, he Captain Beale has seen the said Irwin behave in a very assuming manner several times since, by setting almost on the Meat, the Gentlemen were to | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 2 February 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 26 January 1767 were read, approved and signed. Isaac Day, a soldier, died that day. Captain Richard Beale laid a complaint against John Irwin, the Governor's steward, for rudeness towards him at the market house on Wednesday 28 January 1767. Beale traced the trouble back to 13 December 1766. On that day Irwin took more meat from the market than the Governor's table probably needed, since he carried part of it back again. He then asked those standing by, in an offhand way, whether any of them wanted more meat. Beale remarked on this familiarity to Mr Pritchard, who was present. Mr Jacob, the adjutant, said he wanted the meat and took it. Beale considered the whole proceeding unfair and held that Irwin had no right to hand meat out in that fashion. Some of the officers took notice of the incident. Irwin came back on the next market day while the provisions were being sold and asked, in a mocking tone, whether he could find Mr Jacob another joint for roasting. Given what had just happened, Beale took the remark as a deliberate sneer at the officers entitled to meat from the market and a challenge to them. He added that he saw Irwin behave in an overbearing way several times afterwards, almost seating himself on the meat set out for the officers. Interpretations The quarrel turned on who controlled the supply of fresh meat. Fresh beef and mutton were scarce on the island, where the garrison and the Company's slaves lived largely on salt meat from the store, as the account of stores issued in the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed. What reached the market house was shared among those entitled to it, with the Governor's household served first. Irwin took more than that household needed and then gave the surplus to an officer of his own choosing. A servant thereby turned the Governor's precedence into a favour that he himself could bestow, and Beale's objection was that meat not wanted for the Castle belonged back in the common stock for all the officers, not in the steward's gift. Rank sharpened the offence. Beale was captain of the third company and, on the pay list for that quarter, also judge advocate and schoolmaster. Irwin was a domestic servant, yet his position in the Governor's house let him speak freely to officers and joke at their expense. The complaint was as much about a servant presuming on his master's standing as about the meat. Beale brought the matter before a Council chaired by the steward's own employer. He did not accuse the Governor, and framed the excess as something Irwin did on his own account, more than the Governor's use required. That wording let the Council judge the servant without the complaint touching the master. The other men named stood on the same pay list: Mr Pritchard was the surgeon's mate and Solomon St Jacob the adjutant of the garrison. Isaac Day, whose death opened the minutes, was a sentinel on the first company's roll, where he drew £3 16s 0½d for the quarter. The steward's surname was read as Irwin and rested on fine judgement. | |
335 | 1767 take, which Occasioned him Beale to speak to him and told him that he had taken more meat from the Market than he had a right to do, and disposed of it as he knew to Mr Jacob, upon which he denied it with some warmth and clapping his Hand upon his Pocket said by God he would Wager a Guinea with him, that what he Beale said was false, he Beale then told him he could make Oath to the truth of what he had asserted, Irwin replied your Oath what does your Oath signify, and he the said Beale asking the Clerk of the Market some questions concerning the affair, who was going to answer but was interrupted by Irwin, who said, come, come, do not mind what he says with a great many more Agravating expressions Captain Beale being asked if he had any Evidences to support the Charge, desired Mr Prichard might be be sent for, who being duly sworn deposeth, that he being at the Market one day, but does not recollect what time, he heard some body tell the Clerk of the Market that he must not over run the weight if he did some of them would run short upon which, John Irwin the Governors Steward, asked if any of them were likely to go without and afterwards asked if any of them wanted any Meat and immediately went down to the Castle and sent a piece up to the Market, which Mr Jacob had, Capt Beale then desired he might ask Mr Prichard whether he did not see the Steward come along with the Black Man and heard him say does any of you want any meat to which this Deponent replied no, he did not see him come up the Second time, but says he remembers Capt Beale took Notice to him of the Stewards saying does any of you want any Meat, and the abrupt manner he expressed himself, and that he Prichard replied to Capt Beale he might have put the Word Gentlemen to it Mr Prichard being asked whether he remembers who the Meat was delivered to, replied he saw the Meat [...] lay upon the Stall but does not know who put it there. | Captain Beale's complaint against John Irwin, the Governor's steward, went on to describe a confrontation between the two men at the market. Beale told Irwin that he took more meat than he had any right to and passed it on to Mr Jacob, as Irwin well knew. Irwin denied the charge heatedly. He slapped his pocket and swore that he would bet a guinea that Beale's statement was untrue. Beale answered that he could swear to it on oath, and Irwin retorted by asking what Beale's oath was worth. Beale then put some questions to the clerk of the market, who was about to reply when Irwin cut in and told him to pay no attention. Many more provoking remarks followed. The Council asked Beale whether he had witnesses to support the charge, and he requested that Mr Pritchard be called. Pritchard gave evidence on oath. He was at the market one day, though he could not remember when, and heard someone warn the clerk of the market against giving overweight, since some people would otherwise go short. Irwin then asked whether anyone was in danger of going without, and afterwards whether anyone wanted meat. He went straight down to the Castle and sent a piece back up to the market, which Mr Jacob received. Beale asked that Pritchard be questioned on whether he saw the steward arrive with the black man and heard him ask whether anyone wanted meat. Pritchard said he did not see Irwin come up a second time. He did recall Beale remarking to him on the steward's question and the curt way it was put. Pritchard told Beale at the time that the steward might have added the word gentlemen to it. Asked whether he remembered who received the meat, Pritchard replied that he saw it lying on the stall and did not know who placed it there. Interpretations Beale's own witness gave him little. Pritchard could not date the incident, did not see Irwin return and could not say who put the meat on the stall or handed it to Jacob. What he did describe told in the steward's favour: on hearing that some might go short, Irwin asked who was likely to be left without and sent a joint back from the Castle. On that account the steward returned surplus meat to relieve a shortage, which was the opposite of the grasping conduct alleged. The single point Pritchard confirmed was one of manners, that Irwin addressed a group of officers without calling them gentlemen. That detail showed what the quarrel was about. The injury Beale felt was to his standing: a servant spoke to officers as equals, offered to bet against a captain's word and scoffed at his oath. The last was the gravest, since Beale was the island's judge advocate on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, the officer who conducted cases in its court, and an oath was the foundation of every proceeding there. A guinea, worth £1 1s 0d, was also a bold stake for a domestic servant, more than a sentinel of the garrison earned in three weeks. The warning to the clerk of the market explained how the meat was shared. The clerk weighed out each person's portion from a fixed quantity, so any generosity on the scales early in the day left nothing for those served last. Fresh meat was thus rationed by weight and by order of precedence, and the Governor's household, served first, could take enough to leave others short. The clerk's silence when Irwin interrupted him suggests he was unwilling to cross the Governor's steward in public. The black man who came with Irwin was probably a slave of the Governor's household carrying the meat between the market house and the Castle. | |
336 | 2nd February John Irwin being told to make his defence says, that one Market day he coming down too late from the Country the Clerk of the Market had put by some Meat for the Governor he Irwin then asked him how much it weighd, and when the Clerk had told him the weight, he said it was too much, and told him if any Body wanted it, he would return it to the Market again and immediately went down to the Castle and sent the Meat up to the Market by a Black Man, and told him to deliver it to the Clerk of the Market, but did not return himself to the Market House, that on Wednesday last, being at the Market House to get some Veal for the Governor, Capt Beale having some words with the Clerk of the Market, turned about to him Irwin and said you Mr Chap, do you want any for your acquaintance he replied he did not, he Capt Beale said you lie you do want some, that he Irwin had made a common practice of it, for that he had let Mr Jacob have some Meat and said he would take his Oath of it which he continued to deny, but Capt Beale told him he was a lying Rascal and wanted to be taken down with some others he replied he was not a Lyar nor Rascal, but believed he was as much of a Man, as he was, he then told him he would have him to Council for what he had done he Irwin replied very well and said he would acquaint the Governor of his abusing him, which he continued to do, saying, deserved his Head broke and all such Saucy Rascals as he was; Irwin then desired Henry Howell Clerk of the Market might be called who being duly sworn deposeth that on Wednesday last some Veal being sent to Market that when Capt Beale came down he found fault with this deponent, and then turning to the Governors Steward said you Mr Chap, do not you want some Meat to Oblige your Acquaintance, upon which the Governors Steward replied he did not want any more than what was for the Governors use, Capt Beale then said you are a Lyar for | John Irwin, called on to answer the charge, gave his own account of both incidents. On the earlier market day he came down late from the country and found that the clerk of the market had already set meat aside for Governor Skottowe. Irwin asked its weight and, on hearing the figure, said it was too much. He told the clerk he would send it back if anyone wanted it. He went straight down to the Castle and sent the meat up again by a black man, with orders to hand it to the clerk. Irwin did not go back to the market house himself. Irwin then turned to Wednesday 28 January 1767, when he was at the market house to fetch veal for the Governor. Captain Beale, who was arguing with the clerk, rounded on him. Beale addressed him as Mr Chap and asked whether he wanted any for his friends. Irwin said he did not. Beale called this a lie and accused him of making a habit of it, since he let Mr Jacob have meat, and offered to swear to the fact. Irwin kept denying it. Beale called him a lying rascal who needed humbling along with some others. Irwin answered that he was neither liar nor rascal and thought himself as good a man as Beale. Beale threatened to bring him before the Council. Irwin said that suited him and that he would tell the Governor how Beale abused him. Beale carried on in that vein and declared that Irwin and every impudent rascal like him deserved a broken head. Irwin asked for Henry Howell, the clerk of the market, to be called. Howell gave evidence on oath. Some veal was sent to market on that Wednesday, and Beale came down and found fault with Howell. Beale then turned to the Governor's steward, called him Mr Chap and asked whether he did not want meat to oblige his friends. The steward replied that he wanted only what was meant for the Governor's table, and Beale called him a liar. Interpretations Irwin's defence reversed the complaint. In Beale's telling the steward was the aggressor at the market house; in Irwin's, the captain began it with a sneer, called a servant a liar and a rascal and talked of breaking his head. The clerk of the market, an independent witness, supported Irwin on the opening exchange word for word, including the mocking form of address. Beale's own witness on the preceding leaf could confirm nothing beyond a lack of courtesy, so the sworn evidence so far ran against the complainant. On the December incident Irwin's account answered the charge of greed directly. The clerk fixed the Governor's portion before the steward arrived, and Irwin judged it excessive and returned it. That agreed with Pritchard's evidence that he sent a piece back up from the Castle. If true, the over-large share was the clerk's doing, perhaps from eagerness to please the Castle, and the steward's part was to correct it. Henry Howell stood on the first company's roll as a sergeant in the quarter ending 31 December 1766, so the clerk of the market was a soldier holding a civil post, like other sergeants on that pay list. He gave evidence against a captain of the garrison, who had just rebuked him in public over his handling of the veal. His willingness to do so suggests he felt safer on the side of the Governor's household than on the captain's. Beale's remark that Irwin needed taking down along with some others pointed beyond the steward. It hinted at a wider resentment among the officers towards those around the Governor who enjoyed first call on scarce fresh meat. Irwin met the threat of the Council with one of his own, to report the abuse to his master, which showed a servant confident of the Governor's backing. | |
337 | 1767 that he had let Mr Jacob have a piece of Meat some time before but he Irwin denied that he had, Capt Beale called him a Saucy Rascall, and said he ought to be taken down with some others like him, and further said he deserved to have his Head broke, the Govrs Steward replied he was neither a Lyar nor Rascal, and that he believed he was as much of a Man as he was, and that he did not know any reason why he should be abused at the Publick Market House, and further said he would acquaint the Governor of it as soon as he returned to the Country upon which Capt Beale Replied he would have him to Council Howell then being asked what he knew of the Meat which Capt Beale said Irwin had let Mr Jacob have a former Market day saith, that the Governors Steward not being time enough down, he put by a quantity of Meat for the Governors use and sent it down to the Castle, when the Steward came to the Market, he told this deponent there was more meat than he wanted, and said if any of you want any more Meat I shall send some of it Back again, and immediately sent it by a Black Man and as soon as the Black Man came with the Meat Mr Jacob took it and sent it to his House, a little time after the Steward came to the Market, Mr Jacob, told him he had got the Meat the Steward Replied it was nothing to him who had it, and asked him Howell if he had taken it from the Governors Account, he replied he had Captain Beale then asked Howell whether on the followg Market day he did not hear the Steward say at the Market cannot I get another Roasting Piece for Mr Jacob, upon which Howell answered he did not hear him, being further asked whether he did not hear the Steward deny his giving a piece of Meat to Mr Jacob or any of his friends, and his putting his Hand to his Pocket saying I will lay you a Wager of a Guinea that it is not so, Answered that he saw the Steward put his Hand in his Pocket and said he would lay a Wager that he could not prove it, or words to that effect, being again asked whether he heard Irwin make use of any Oath at the same time, replied he did not. Captain | Henry Howell's evidence continued with the exchange at the market house on Wednesday 28 January 1767. Captain Beale called John Irwin a liar on the ground that he let Mr Jacob have a piece of meat some time earlier, and Irwin denied doing so. Beale called him an impudent rascal who ought to be humbled along with others of his kind and who deserved a broken head. The steward answered that he was neither liar nor rascal and thought himself as good a man as Beale. He saw no reason to be abused in the public market house and said he would tell Governor Skottowe as soon as he went back to the country. Beale replied that he would bring him before the Council. The Council asked Howell what he knew of the meat that Jacob was supposed to have received on the earlier market day. Howell explained that the steward did not come down in time, so he set aside a quantity of meat for the Governor's table himself and sent it down to the Castle. Irwin reached the market later and told Howell there was more than he needed. He said he would send some back if anyone wanted it and at once had it returned by a black man. Jacob took the meat as soon as the man arrived with it and sent it to his own house. The steward came to the market again a little later, and Jacob told him he had the meat. Irwin replied that it made no difference to him who had it. He then asked Howell whether the piece was taken off the Governor's account, and Howell confirmed that it was. Beale put further questions to Howell. He asked whether Howell heard the steward say at the next market that he wished to find another roasting joint for Jacob, and Howell said he did not. Beale asked whether he heard the steward deny giving meat to Jacob or any of his friends, with his hand on his pocket and a guinea offered as a bet. Howell replied that he saw the steward put his hand in his pocket and offer to bet that Beale could not prove it, or words to that effect. Asked whether Irwin swore any oath as he did so, Howell said he did not. Interpretations Howell's account removed the substance of the charge. The clerk himself chose and sent the Governor's portion, the steward returned the excess to the stall, and Jacob picked it up on his own initiative and carried it home. Irwin's only remark was that it did not matter to him who took it. No one was favoured by the steward, and the supposed gift to a chosen officer was an ordinary purchase of meat that had come back on sale. The question about the Governor's account showed how the market worked. Meat was not paid for over the stall but charged by the clerk to each person's account. Irwin's concern, on learning that Jacob had the joint, was to make sure the Governor was not billed for meat his household never ate. That was a steward's proper care for his master's money, and it also meant Jacob stood to pay for what he took. The clerk also weakened two details of Beale's complaint. Beale claimed that Irwin bet a guinea that the accusation was false and swore by God as he did so. Howell heard a bet that Beale could not prove it, which was a challenge to produce evidence and not a flat assertion against an officer's word, and he heard no oath. He did not hear the taunt about a second roasting joint at all. On each point where the two men's stories differed, the only witness present supported the servant. The steward's intention to tell the Governor on returning to the country showed that the Governor was then living out of town, probably at Plantation House, the country residence charged with stores in the account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Irwin travelled down to the market on his behalf, which explained his late arrival on the earlier market day. | |
338 | 2d February Beale then asked this Deponent whether he did not hear him Beale tell the Steward that he would make Oath if required of his coming to the Market, and asking whether he could not get another Roasting piece for Mr Jacob, & his replying your Oath what does your Oath signify Sir, to which Howell replied he did not hear him, being further asked by Capt Beale whether he did not hear him tell the said Irwin he did impose upon Gentlemen by such behaviour, and that he repeated the Word Gentlemn with a sneer, pretty Gentlemen; Howell replied he heard him say Gentleman I have not wronged any Gentleman Mr Solm St Maurice being duly Sworn saith that on Wednesday last he went to the Market and there heard Captain Beale say, to the Steward will you dispose of any of this Veale to your friends as you have done formerly, or Words to that purpose, the Steward made answer he never did, Capt Beale then said to the Steward you are a Story teller, Irwin replied he was no Story teller, upon which Capt Beale replied you are a lying Rascal, the Steward said I am no more a Rascal than he that tells me so. Irwin then asked Mr St Maurice whether he heard him behave amiss to any Gentlemen at the Market replied he never did, to his knowledge Mr Michael Frost being also sworn Deposeth that on last Wednesday Morning Capt Beale came down to the Market and called Howell to Account for not bringing the Meat down to Market according to Order, but was going to Cut it up at his own House and Supposed that, was going, to dispose of it to some of his friends over the other side of the Bridge, Howell replied he was going to cut it up at his own House, because he had not convenience to cut it at the Market neither could he cut it himself, but was going to get somebody to do it for him | Captain Beale's questioning of Henry Howell, the clerk of the market, continued before the Council on 2 February 1767. Beale asked whether Howell heard him offer to swear that John Irwin came to the market and asked for another roasting joint for Mr Jacob, and heard Irwin scoff at the value of that oath. Howell said he did not hear it. Beale then asked whether Howell heard him tell Irwin that such conduct was an affront to gentlemen, and heard Irwin repeat the word with a sneer. Howell replied that he heard Irwin use the word only to say that he wronged no gentlemen. Solomon St Maurice gave evidence on oath. He went to the market on Wednesday 28 January 1767 and heard Beale ask the steward whether he meant to pass any of the veal to his friends as he did before, or something to that effect. The steward answered that he never did so. Beale called him a teller of tales, and Irwin denied it. Beale then called him a lying rascal. The steward replied that he was no more a rascal than the man who called him one. Irwin asked St Maurice whether he ever heard him behave badly towards any gentleman at the market. St Maurice answered that he never did, as far as he knew. Michael Frost also gave evidence on oath. Beale came down to the market on that Wednesday morning and took Howell to task for failing to bring the meat there as the standing order required. Howell intended to cut it up at his own house, and Beale supposed he meant to let some of his friends on the far side of the bridge have it. Howell answered that he had nowhere suitable to cut it at the market. He could not cut it himself either and was going to find someone to do the work for him. Interpretations Frost's evidence showed where the quarrel really began. Beale arrived at the market already angry with the clerk, whom he suspected of butchering the veal at home so that friends could be served before it reached the public stall. The rule he invoked, that meat be brought down to the market, existed to make the sharing of a scarce supply visible to everyone entitled to it. Cutting it up in a private house defeated that purpose, whatever the clerk's reason. Beale then widened the same suspicion to the Governor's steward, who happened to be standing by to collect veal, and the old matter of Jacob's joint was brought up as proof of a pattern. Two officers of the garrison now supported the steward's version against a fellow officer. St Maurice was a lieutenant of the first company and master at arms on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, and Frost a lieutenant of the second company. Both placed the first insult with Beale, and St Maurice added that he never knew Irwin to misbehave towards a gentleman. With the clerk's testimony, that made three sworn witnesses who heard the captain open the exchange, against a single witness for the complaint who heard little. Irwin's reply, that he was no more a rascal than the man who said so, was the nearest thing to insolence that any witness reported. It returned the insult to a captain in front of other officers, yet it came only after he was twice called a liar. Howell's evidence also turned Beale's charge of sneering at gentlemen into its opposite, a protest by the steward that he did no gentleman any wrong. | |
339 | 1767 Capt Beale then said to the Governors Steward well Mr Chap are you going to get some of this Veale for some of your Friends the Steward replied what he took he would be answerable for, Capt Beale told him that he made a Common Practice he believed of it Irwin denied it, Capt Beale told him he was a Lyar and a lying Rascal for that he had let Mr Jacob have some some time before, and that he could make his Affidavit, that the Saturday following he came to get a Roasting piece for Mr Jacob. the Steward told Capt Beale that he was no Lyar nor no Rascal, that they were as much Lyars as them that called him so, and that he thought he was as good a Man as them that called him so John Irwin then asked Mr Frost whether he ever saw him behave indiscreetly at the Market Mr Frost replied he never did Mr Solm Jacob being likewise Sworn deposeth that on one Market day before Christmass the Governors Steward sent a piece of Meat to Market by a Black Man belonging to the Castle and the Market being almost over he this Deponent asked the Black how much it weighd he replied six pounds upon which he immediately gave him the Money for it, to give to the Steward, a little while after the Steward came up to the Market and went to Howell and asked him if he had scratched out the Meat he returned to Market Howell told him yes and returned Howell the Money Mr Jacob further declares that he never had any Meat from the Governors Steward before that time or since, that of the affair on Wednesday he only heard Captain Beale tell the Steward he was a Lyar and that Irwin made answer he was no more a Lyar than himself, Irwin then asked Mr Jacob whether he sent the piece of Meat to him or to the Market, replied that it was not sent to him but that the Black laid it down upon the Stall at the Market House, Irwin further asked Mr Jacob whether he ever heard him behave insolently at the Market to any Gentlemen or any where else the Deponent replied he never did. | Michael Frost's evidence went on to the exchange between Captain Beale and the Governor's steward at the market on Wednesday 28 January 1767. Beale addressed John Irwin as Mr Chap and asked whether he meant to get some of the veal for his friends. The steward answered that he would account for whatever he took. Beale said he believed Irwin made a habit of it, and Irwin denied that. Beale called him a liar and a lying rascal, because he let Mr Jacob have meat some time earlier. Beale added that he could swear Irwin came on the following Saturday to fetch a roasting joint for Jacob. The steward told Beale that he was neither liar nor rascal, that those who called him so were as much liars as he was and that he thought himself as good a man as they were. Irwin asked Frost whether he ever saw him behave improperly at the market. Frost replied that he never did. Solomon Jacob also gave evidence on oath. On a market day before Christmas the Governor's steward sent a piece of meat up to the market by a black man belonging to the Castle. The market was almost over, and Jacob asked the man what it weighed. On hearing that it was six pounds, he at once handed over the money for it, to be passed to the steward. Irwin came up to the market a little later and asked Henry Howell whether the returned meat was struck out of the book. Howell said that it was, and Irwin gave him the money. Jacob declared that he never had meat from the Governor's steward before that day or afterwards. Of the dispute on the Wednesday he heard only Beale calling the steward a liar and Irwin answering that he was no more a liar than Beale. Irwin asked Jacob whether the meat was sent to him or to the market. Jacob replied that it was not sent to him, and that the black man laid it down on the stall at the market house. Irwin then asked whether Jacob ever heard him behave rudely to any gentleman, at the market or elsewhere, and Jacob said he never did. Interpretations Jacob's evidence completed the answer to the charge of favouritism, and it came from the man supposed to have been favoured. He bought six pounds of meat that lay on the public stall near the close of the market, when anyone present could have taken it, and paid cash for it. The steward did not keep the money. He first made sure the clerk had struck the returned meat from the book, so that the Governor was not charged, and then handed Jacob's payment to the clerk. The Governor's account was thus cleared, the market was paid and the steward gained nothing. Jacob also denied any other dealing with Irwin, which disposed of the alleged habit. The reference to striking an entry out showed that the clerk of the market kept a written record of each person's meat by weight, the basis of the accounts mentioned in Howell's earlier evidence. That book would have settled the facts without a hearing, and Beale brought his complaint without, it seems, consulting it. Beale offered to swear that Irwin returned for another joint for Jacob on the following Saturday. The first incident fell on 13 December 1766, itself a Saturday, so markets were held on Saturdays as well as Wednesdays. No witness supported that second visit: the clerk did not hear the words, and Jacob swore he had nothing from the steward afterwards. Five men had now given evidence: the surgeon's mate, the clerk of the market, two lieutenants and the adjutant. Not one described the steward behaving rudely before Beale spoke to him, and three said in terms that they never knew him do so. Solomon Jacob was the adjutant entered as Solomon St Jacob on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. | |
340 | 2d February The Governor then asked Captain Beale if his Steward at any time misbehaved to him what reason he had for not acquainting him his Master with it. Capt Beale owned that it would have been the properest Method but as the Governor was out of Town, had not then an opportunity of acquainting him with it, or else should have done it. The Board havg Considered of Capt Beales Complaint are of opinion that it is frivolous and ill grounded, that he has behaved with great disrespect to the Governor in taking upon him to reprimand his Master without acquainting him of it even supposing his Complaint had been founded upon better Evidence than he has produced for which it is our opinion that Capt Beale asks the Governors Pardon before the Board for his disrespect to him, and be severely reprimanded by Us, for acting so unbecoming his Character from the Language and abuse he gave to the Steward John Robinson Carpenter this day presented the following Petition viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor of the Island St Helena &ca in Council The humble Petition of John Robinson Carpenter of the said Island. Sheweth That your Petitioner, Judging the Houses standing below the Burrying Ground in this Valley to be in Danger from a heavy flood, which to prevent, he has | Governor Skottowe then asked Captain Beale why, if the steward ever misbehaved towards him, he did not report it to the man's master. Beale admitted that this was the proper course. He explained that the Governor was out of town at the time, which left him no chance to do so, and said he would otherwise have done it. The Council considered Beale's complaint and judged it trivial and without foundation. The Council also held that he showed the Governor great disrespect by taking it on himself to rebuke the Governor's servant without telling him, and that this would have been so even on better evidence than he produced. The Council therefore resolved that Beale should ask the Governor's pardon in front of the Council for that disrespect. Beale was also to be severely reprimanded for the language and abuse he directed at the steward, which were unworthy of his position. John Robinson, the carpenter, presented a petition to the Governor and Council that day. He judged that the houses standing below the burial ground in the valley were in danger from a heavy flood. Interpretations The complainant left the hearing as the man punished. Beale came to have a servant disciplined, and the obvious outcome, had the evidence been merely thin, was a dismissal of the complaint. The Council went further and turned the case against him on two separate grounds. The second, his abuse of the steward, rested on the sworn evidence of the clerk of the market, two lieutenants and the adjutant, who all heard him begin the exchange with insults. The first did not depend on the evidence at all. A servant answered to his master, and anyone with a grievance against him was expected to take it to that master. By rebuking Irwin in the public market house, Beale treated the Governor's household as open to his own correction, and the Council stated that this would have been an offence even if every word of his complaint were proved. Governor Skottowe sat as head of the Council that judged a dispute involving his own servant and an affront to himself, and he put the decisive question in person. Nothing in the minutes suggests anyone thought he should stand aside. On an island where a Council of four held the offices of government, justice and the garrison between them, the Governor's personal authority and his public one were not separated, and the apology was ordered to be made to him before the Council as a public act. The penalty was one of honour, not of money or rank. Beale kept his company and his posts, but a captain who was also the island's judge advocate, on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, was made to beg pardon over a quarrel with a domestic servant about six pounds of meat. For the officer who conducted cases in the island's court, a finding that his own complaint was trivial and unfounded carried a particular sting. The ruling also gave notice to the other officers, some of whom Beale said shared his resentment, that the Governor's household was not to be challenged at the market. John Robinson was the Company's carpenter, paid £25 a quarter on that same pay list. | |
341 | 1767 thought of building a Wall on a small spot of Ground in Order to oppose the Current. But as your Petitioner cant undertake any thing of that kind without your Worships and Councils Consent, he hopes you'll please to Indulge him with a Lease of the sd small spot of Ground, And he will as in duty bound ever pray &c. Ordered the said Ground to be Viewed John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | John Robinson's petition of 2 February 1767 proposed building a wall on a small plot of ground to hold back the floodwater that threatened the houses below the burial ground. He could not start such work without the consent of the Governor and Council, and he asked to be granted a lease of that plot. The Council ordered the ground to be inspected. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Robinson asked for a lease, where permission to build a flood wall was all that the stated purpose needed. Every piece of ground on the island belonged to the Company, so a man could not put up so much as a wall without a grant. A lease, though, gave him the plot itself for a term of years, with whatever use he could make of the ground behind the wall once it was protected. The petition presented a private acquisition of land in the valley as a public service to the neighbouring houses, and the two aims were not incompatible: a wall he paid for would protect the houses and make a marginal plot worth holding. The Council's answer was the same one given to Mary Twaits on 26 January 1767, an inspection before any decision. It had reason to look. A wall set across the path of a flood did not remove the water but turned it elsewhere, and the Council needed to know which properties would then receive it. The site also lay beside the burial ground, which the Company had an interest in keeping clear of private building. As the Company's carpenter, on £25 a quarter in the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, Robinson had the skill and the standing to be believed about the danger, yet his claim was checked on the ground like any other leaseholder's. The valley was the narrow, steep-sided one in which the town and the Castle stood. Heavy rain on the high ground inland drained down it to the sea in sudden torrents, so houses on the valley floor lay directly in the path of any flood. | |
342 | 9th February At a Consultation held on Monday the 9th Day of Febry 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Govr Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thoms Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 2d February 1767 Mr Matthew Bazett this day presented the following Petition viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council The humble Petition of Matthew Bazett Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease expired for a small piece of Ground lying in James's Valley request your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same And Your Petitioner will ever pray 9th February 1767 signed Mattw Bazett Granted. The Gunners, and Stewards Accounts for the Month of January last, were this day brought in which were Examined and approved and are as follow viz. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 9 February 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 2 February 1767 were read, approved and signed. Matthew Bazett presented a petition to the Governor and Council, dated and signed on that day. His lease of a small piece of ground in James's Valley had run out, and he asked for it to be renewed. The Council granted the request. The gunner's and the steward's accounts for January 1767 were brought in that day, examined and approved. Interpretations Bazett's renewal was granted on the spot, where the two land petitions before it were each sent for inspection: Mary Twaits's on 26 January 1767 and John Robinson's on 2 February 1767. The difference lay partly in what was asked. Twaits wanted her rent lowered on the ground that her land was barren, and Robinson wanted a new plot on which to build a flood wall, so each put forward a claim about the ground that needed checking. Bazett asked only to continue an existing holding, with no change of rent or use proposed, and there was nothing to verify. His position perhaps smoothed the way as well. Matthew Bazett was the Council's own secretary on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, the officer who drew up its minutes and attended its meetings. His petition gave no acreage, no rent and no description beyond a small piece of ground, where Twaits stated four acres and £0 5s 0d an acre. The Council knew the man and probably the plot, and the brevity of both request and answer reflected that familiarity. Ground in James's Valley, the valley of the town and the Castle, was the most convenient on the island, so a lease there was worth keeping. The gunner and the steward each kept a monthly account of the stores in their charge, powder and shot in the one case and provisions in the other. The Council examined these every month, which kept a regular check on the two stocks most open to waste or theft. | |
343 | 1767. Artillery Stores Expended in January 1767 Guns fired, 9 lb, 4 lb, 3 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended 15th An Alarm at Banks's for a Portguese: Guns fired 2, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 9 21st Do at Prosperous Bay (supposed) for the Long Boat: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Do at Turks Cap for Do: Guns fired 2, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 4 22d Do for a Ship that went by: Guns fired 6, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended 12 Powder Expended in Sundry Services: Guns fired 0, 9 lb 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended 1013 Total: Guns fired 16, 9 lb 2, 4 lb 6, 3 lb 4, 1 lb 4, Powder Expended 4713 Tallow for the Plantation House Long Boat &ca 47 lb Paper for Sandy Bay and to make Cartridges 4 2 qrs Howitzer Fuzes split in Driving 10 Lead Balls to Shoot Goats 3 lb 3 oz Handspikes Expended at Sandy Bay 64 Signed A Mitchell Sundrys Expended at the Honble Compys Table in Janry 1767 24 Bottles Port Wine £ 1 16 27 Do Lisbone 2 6 11 Do Mountain 16 6 39 Do Beer 8 2 1/2 95 Do Arrack 4 15 127 lb Beef 2 12 11 200 lb Mutton 4 3 4 18 Fowles 1 7 26 lb Butter 1 6 Carried Over £ 19 5 5 1/2 | The gunner's account for 1767 listed the artillery stores used in January 1767, and the steward's account began the list of provisions consumed at the Company's table in that month. Artillery stores expended in January 1767 15 January 1767, alarm at Banks's for a Portuguese ship, 2 guns fired, 2 nine-pounders, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 0 one-pounders, 9 pounds of powder 21 January 1767, alarm at Prosperous Bay, supposed to be for the longboat, 6 guns fired, 0 nine-pounders, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 2 one-pounders, 12 pounds of powder 21 January 1767, alarm at Turk's Cap for the longboat, 2 guns fired, 0 nine-pounders, 2 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 0 one-pounders, 4 pounds of powder 22 January 1767, alarm for a ship that went by, 6 guns fired, 0 nine-pounders, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 2 one-pounders, 12 pounds of powder Powder expended on various services, 10 pounds 13 ounces of powder Total, 16 guns fired, 2 nine-pounders, 6 four-pounders, 4 three-pounders, 4 one-pounders, 47 pounds 13 ounces of powder Tallow for Plantation House, the longboat and other uses, 47 pounds Paper for Sandy Bay and for making cartridges, 42 quires Howitzer fuses split in driving, 10 fuses Lead balls for shooting goats, 3 pounds 3 ounces Handspikes used up at Sandy Bay, 64 handspikes Captain Mitchell signed the gunner's account. Provisions consumed at the Company's table in January 1767 24 bottles of port wine, £1 16s 0d 27 bottles of Lisbon wine, £2 0s 6d 11 bottles of mountain wine, £0 16s 6d 39 bottles of beer, £0 8s 2½d 95 bottles of arrack, £4 15s 0d 127 pounds of beef, £2 12s 11d 200 pounds of mutton, £4 3s 4d 18 fowls, £1 7s 0d 26 pounds of butter, £1 6s 0d Balance carried over, £19 5s 5½d Interpretations The alarm guns were the island's signalling system. A lookout post that sighted a sail fired its guns, and the report carried across the ridges to the Castle faster than a runner could. Three of the four alarms in January came from posts on the eastern, windward side, at Prosperous Bay and Turk's Cap, where approaching ships first appeared. The alarm of 22 January 1767 matched the ship noted in the minutes as passing at a great distance on that day. Two alarms on 21 January 1767 were false: the posts took the Company's own longboat for a strange vessel, and 16 pounds of powder went on reporting it. The gunner recorded the mistake openly, since every pound of powder had to be accounted for and shipped out from England. Howitzer fuses were tapered wooden plugs filled with a slow-burning composition, hammered into the neck of a shell before firing. Ten split under the mallet, a sign of inexpert handling or of wood dried out in store. The loss bore out Captain Mitchell's letter of 26 January 1767, which admitted that the artillery company knew nothing of mortars and needed a course of practice. Handspikes were stout wooden levers used to shift gun carriages and heavy loads. The 64 used up at Sandy Bay were worn out prising and moving stone at the fortification, where the paymaster's account showed thousands of days of labour in the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Tallow greased the longboat's slipway and tackle, and paper wrapped measured charges of powder into cartridges. Goats ran wild on the island's hills and were shot with the Company's lead for meat. The Company's table was the common table kept at the Castle at public expense. Lisbon was a white wine shipped from Portugal, and mountain a sweet wine from the hills behind Malaga. All three wines were charged at 1s 6d a bottle. Arrack, at 1s a bottle, was drunk in far greater quantity than any wine: 95 bottles in the month, more than three a day. The beef and mutton were fresh meat at 5d a pound, the scarce commodity over which Captain Beale and the Governor's steward quarrelled at the market, and the table took 327 pounds of it in a month. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the calibres heading the gun columns, the measure of paper, the pence against the beer and the weight of butter. | |
344 | 9th February Brought over £ 19 5 5 1/2 90 lb Candy 1 10 272 lb Flour 1 19 11 Veal 5 6 £ 22 19 11 1/2 John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 16th Day of February 1767 at at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governr Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 9th February 1767 Wednesday the 11th Arrived His Majesty's Ship Argos The Lieut Governor reports that the Roof of his House in the Valley is very much out of repair and so leaky that the Rain descends as low as the Second Floor Ordered a Survey to be made on the said House by the Master Mason & Carpenter. | The steward's account entered under 9 February completed the list of provisions consumed at the Company's table in January 1767. Balance brought over, £19 5s 5½d 90 pounds of candy, £1 10s 0d 272 pounds of flour, £1 19s 0d 11 pounds of veal, £0 5s 6d Total, £22 19s 11½d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. The Council met at the Castle on Monday 16 February 1767, with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 9 February 1767 were read, approved and signed. His Majesty's ship Argo arrived on Wednesday 11 February 1767. The Lieutenant Governor reported that the roof of his house in the valley was in very poor repair. It leaked so badly that rain came down as far as the second floor. The Council ordered the master mason and the carpenter to survey the house. Interpretations The Council ordered a survey before any repair, although the Lieutenant Governor sat at the table and described the damage himself. His house belonged to the Company and was kept up at its cost: the paymaster's account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 recorded 12 days of carpenter's work there. A councillor asking for money to be spent on his own residence had an interest in the answer, so the Council took the estimate from its two senior tradesmen. On the pay list for that quarter these were William Holbrooke, the master mason, and John Robinson, the carpenter. The same habit of inspecting before deciding governed the petitions of Mary Twaits on 26 January 1767 and of Robinson himself on 2 February 1767. The Argo was a King's ship, a vessel of the Royal Navy and not one of the Company's own. The minutes recorded her arrival without comment, as the diary entries at the head of each meeting noted every ship that anchored or passed. The month's bill for the Company's table came to £22 19s 11½d. Veal was charged at 6d a pound, a penny above the beef and mutton on the preceding leaf for 1767, and it was the meat at issue on 28 January 1767 when Captain Beale quarrelled with the Governor's steward at the market. The 90 pounds of sugar candy and 272 pounds of flour showed a table supplied with sweet dishes and fresh bread, well above the salt meat and rice issued to the garrison and the Company's slaves. | |
345 | 16th February We this day received of Mr James Greentree the Sum of £ 4. 10. for the renewal of two Nominees in a Lease for eighteen Acres Joseph Uffin and James Cartwright Centinels this day Petitioned for their discharges from the Garrison, having served the Honble Company their Contracted Times Granted We this day Executed the renewal of the three following Leases viz. One to Mrs Ruth Cotgrave Executrix, and Mr George Alexander Executor to the last Will and Testament of Thoms Cotgrave deceased, for two pieces of Land containing in both fifteen Acres lying in the East Division of this Island at five Shillings p Acre One to Mr James Greentree for a piece of Land containing thirty seven Acres lying in Sandy Bay, at five Shillings p Acre And one to Mr Matthew Bazett for a piece of Ground lying in James's Valley, at ten Shillings p Annum Counted and examined the Honble Companys Cash for the month of January last, which is as follow viz. | The Council received £4 10s 0d from James Greentree on 16 February 1767 for renewing two nominees in a lease of 18 acres. Joseph Uffin and James Cartwright, sentinels, petitioned that day for their discharge from the garrison, since each had served the term for which he contracted with the Company. The Council granted both requests. The Council also completed the renewal of three leases that day. Ruth Colgrave, executrix, and George Alexander, executor, of the will of the late Thomas Colgrave, two pieces of land of 15 acres together in the east division, rent of £0 5s 0d an acre James Greentree, a piece of land of 37 acres at Sandy Bay, rent of £0 5s 0d an acre Matthew Bazett, a piece of ground in James's Valley, rent of £0 10s 0d a year The Company's cash for January 1767 was then counted and examined. Interpretations Greentree's payment showed that the Company's leases ran on lives. A lease named certain persons, the nominees, and lasted for as long as any of them remained alive. When a nominee died, or the holder wished to substitute a younger life, a new name was added on payment of a lump sum called a fine. The £4 10s 0d for two nominees on 18 acres worked out at exactly £0 2s 6d an acre for each life, or half a year's rent at the standard rate. The system gave the Company a second income on top of the annual rent, falling due at unpredictable intervals as nominees died, and gave the tenant a hold on the land that could outlast him. Leases for lives were an old form of tenure in the west of England, already giving way there to leases for fixed terms of years, and the Company kept the older form in use on the island. The rent of £0 5s 0d an acre applied alike to 15 acres in the east division and 37 acres at Sandy Bay. That was the same rate Mary Twaits asked the Council to reduce for her four barren acres on 26 January 1767, so the Company charged a flat price by area and took no account of the quality of the soil unless a tenant petitioned. Matthew Bazett's plot in James's Valley, renewed at his request on 9 February 1767, was charged differently, at a fixed £0 10s 0d a year with no acreage stated. Ground in the town's valley was let as a building or garden plot and not as farmland. Thomas Colgrave's land passed on his death to his executors, his widow among them, who took the renewal in that capacity. The lease was thus treated as property of his estate, to be held for whoever his will named. Joseph Uffin stood on the third company's roll and James Cartwright on the fourth company's in the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Both chose to leave at the end of their terms, although the paymaster's account for that quarter showed a bounty of £10 paid to soldiers who signed on for a further five years. The Council had no power to hold a man whose contract was complete and granted the discharges without comment. | |
346 | Cash Dr Per Contra Cr 1767 January 1st To Balance remaining £ 7715 18 6 £ 7715 18 6 1767 January 31st By Balance remaining (viz.) In Specie 7176 3 6 In Cash Notes 539 15 £ 7715 18 6 Margin Notes: 16th Febr[...] | The Company's cash account for January 1767, entered on 16 February, showed the balance in the chest unchanged over the month. Cash, debit side 1 January 1767, balance remaining, £7,715 18s 6d Total of the debit side, £7,715 18s 6d Cash, credit side 31 January 1767, balance remaining in coin, £7,176 3s 6d 31 January 1767, balance remaining in cash notes, £539 15s 0d Total of the credit side, £7,715 18s 6d Interpretations Not a penny entered or left the chest in January. The opening figure was the balance struck on 31 December 1766, and the coin and notes at the month's end matched it exactly. The Company's money on the island moved at the quarter days, when the storekeeper paid in his sales and the paymaster drew his advance for salaries and wages, as the account for December 1766 showed. Between those dates soldiers and planters dealt on credit in the store's and paymaster's books, and the monthly count served only to confirm that the chest had not been touched. The paper in the chest stood at the same £539 15s 0d but was entered here simply as cash notes, without the remark that they were of no use which accompanied them in the December account. | |
347 | 1767 The Lieutenant Governor reports to the Council that he has Viewed the Ground, that Miss Twaites Petitioned the renewal of the Lease of at an easier Rent, That it is the most barren Spot he has seen upon the Island of any Lease Land, and incapable of being improved from the quantity of Rock and loose Stones that covers its whole Surface, yields no more grass than what the moisture of a small Spring occasions, which is not more [...] than four or five square Rods. Upon Which we agreed to Rent the said Land at 1/ p Acre. John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | Lieutenant Governor Corneille reported to the Council on 16 February 1767 that he inspected the ground for which Miss Twaits sought a renewed lease at a lower rent. He described it as the most barren piece of leased land he ever saw on the island. Rock and loose stones covered the whole surface and made improvement impossible. The only grass grew where a small spring kept the soil damp, over no more than four or five square rods. The Council agreed on that report to let the land at £0 1s 0d an acre. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Council cut the rent by four fifths, from the standard £0 5s 0d an acre to £0 1s 0d, so that Mary Twaits's four acres owed £0 4s 0d a year in place of £1 0s 0d. Renewal at the usual rate was the default, and it was the rate charged on every acre in the three leases renewed at that same meeting. The Council departed from it because its own second-ranking officer walked the ground and confirmed her account in stronger terms than she used herself. The inspection ordered on 26 January 1767 thus worked in the petitioner's favour, and the flat rate by area gave way once the poverty of a particular plot was proved. The Council did not waive the rent altogether, although land that grew grass on four or five square rods out of 640 was worth almost nothing. A rent of any amount kept the holding on the Company's rent roll and marked the ground as leased from it, so that long occupation could never ripen into a claim of ownership. The reduction also carried little risk of imitation, since it rested on a named officer's finding that no other leased land on the island was as poor. A square rod was a little over 30 square yards, so the whole productive part of the plot was smaller than a modest garden. The spring was probably what made the ground worth keeping at all, since a reliable source of water for a household or for stock had a value on the island's dry outer slopes that the soil around it did not. | |
348 | 23d February At a Consultation held on Monday the 23d day of February 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Govr Mr Mattw Purling Capt Thoms Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 16th February 1767 Saturday the 21st Passed a Ship at a great distance Yesterday Arrived the Asia's Boat at Banks's, half an Hour past eight o Clock in the Morning Do Arrived the Honble Company's Ship Asia last from the Cape and brought Us the following Supplies viz. Invoice of Ship Asia Rice beaten fine for 22 Bags contg 150 Sr Mds viz 20 Bags Contg 6 3/4 135 2 Do 7 1/2 15 150 Mds at 1 2 66 p Sr Md 249 3 Batty for 22 Bags ea contg 3 Parahs is 3. 21 Mds at 19 1/2 p Sr 73 3 63 Charges on Merchandize Gunny Pieces for Rice 24 1 Gunnys for the Batty & Twine 8 2 Lascars Sewing the Bags 4 1 Hamalls for carrying the Rice 2 60 Boat hire 2 2 42 60 Rupees 366 1 28 Errors Excepted Signed Wm Hornby | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 23 February 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 16 February 1767 were read, approved and signed. A ship passed the island at a great distance on Saturday 21 February 1767. The boat of the Asia reached Banks's at half past eight on the morning of Sunday 22 February 1767. The Company's ship Asia herself arrived later that day, last from the Cape, and brought supplies for the island. Her invoice listed them as follows. Fine beaten rice in 22 bags 20 bags of 6¾ Surat maunds each, 135 Surat maunds 2 bags of 7½ Surat maunds each, 15 Surat maunds 150 Surat maunds of rice at 1 rupee, 2 quarters and 66 reas a maund, 249 rupees, 3 quarters and 0 reas Paddy for the 22 bags at 3 parahs each, 3 moras and 21 parahs at 19½ rupees a mora, 73 rupees, 3 quarters and 63 reas Charges on the goods Gunny cloth for the rice, 24 rupees, 1 quarter and 0 reas Gunny bags for the paddy and twine, 8 rupees, 2 quarters and 0 reas Lascars sewing the bags, 4 rupees, 1 quarter and 0 reas Hamals carrying the rice, 2 rupees, 0 quarters and 60 reas Boat hire, 2 rupees, 2 quarters and 0 reas Total of charges, 42 rupees, 0 quarters and 60 reas Total of the invoice, 365 rupees, 3 quarters and 23 reas William Hornby signed the invoice, subject to the correction of any errors, and a second signature beginning with the name Samuel followed his. Interpretations The invoice was drawn up in the weights and money of the Company's settlement at Bombay. The rupee there was divided into four quarters and each quarter into 100 reas, a small coin name inherited from the Portuguese. A Surat maund was a weight of roughly 37 pounds, so the 150 maunds came to about 50 hundredweight of rice. A parah was a measure of capacity for grain and a mora a larger one made up of parahs. Gunny was coarse sacking woven from jute. Lascars were Indian seamen and dock labourers, and hamals were porters. The charges showed the rice being bagged, sewn up, carried to the waterside and boated out to the ship, each step paid for separately and added to the price. The shipment was small beside the island's need. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 charged the Company's slaves with over 123 hundredweight of rice in three months, so 50 hundredweight would feed them for five or six weeks. Rice was their staple beside salt meat, and none was grown on the island, so the supply depended on consignments such as this, sent on homeward-bound ships as space allowed. Paddy, rice still in the husk, came with it; that same store account showed nearly 40 hundredweight fed to the poultry and horses at the plantation. The ship's boat came in to Banks's some hours before the ship. Banks's was the battery on the coast north-east of the town, the first fortified point an arriving vessel reached. A ship approaching the island sent her boat ahead to identify herself there before she was allowed to pass the batteries and anchor, a precaution against an enemy entering the road under false colours. The alarm fired at Banks's for a Portuguese ship on 15 January 1767 belonged to the same watch. Several figures rested on fine judgement: the quantity of paddy and its relation to the 22 bags, the sum for gunny cloth and the invoice total, which was taken as the figure consistent with the items above it. | |
349 | 1767 Samuel Alston Centinel this day Petitioned for his discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted Time Granted Messrs Isaac Doveton, and Gabriel Tracke this day presented the following Petitions viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of St Helena The humble Petition of Isaac Doveton Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease containing Seven and a half Acres of Land lying in the East division of the said Island Expired, humbly requests your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant him a renewal of the same And your Petitioner will ever pray signed 23d Febry 1767 Isaac Doveton Granted | Samuel Alston, a sentinel, petitioned the Council on 23 February 1767 for his discharge from the garrison, since his contracted term of service with the Company was complete. The Council granted it. Isaac Doveton and Gabriel Isacke each presented a petition that day. Doveton's was addressed to Governor Skottowe and the Council and was signed and dated 23 February 1767. His lease of seven and a half acres in the east division of the island had run out, and he asked for it to be renewed. The Council granted the renewal. Interpretations Alston's was the third discharge granted in a week, after those of Joseph Uffin and James Cartwright on 16 February 1767. The timing followed the shipping. A soldier whose term ended could leave the island only by sea, and the homeward-bound season brought the Company's ships into the road, the Asia having anchored the day before this meeting. Men whose time was up therefore asked for their release as the ships arrived, so that they could take a passage or work their way home as part of a crew. Samuel Alston stood on the second company's roll in the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. None of the three took the £10 bounty for a further five years recorded in the paymaster's account for that quarter, and each discharge left a vacancy that only a recruit from England could fill. Doveton's renewal went through without inspection, as Matthew Bazett's did on 9 February 1767. He asked to keep an existing holding on its existing terms, which gave the Council nothing to verify. The Council sent a petition for viewing only where the applicant wanted something changed, as with Mary Twaits's request for a lower rent and John Robinson's for a new plot. Isaac Doveton shared his surname with Jonathan Doveton, the factor and assistant storekeeper on that pay list, and probably belonged to the same island family. The second petitioner's surname rested on fine judgement. | |
350 | 23d February To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of St Helena The humble Petition of Gabriel Tracke Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease containing eight Acres of Land expired lying in Lemon Valley, humbly Requests your Worship and Council will be pleased grant him a renewal of the same. 23d February 1767 And your Petitioner will ever pray &ca Granted We this day Granted the following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors viz. One Set to Mr Henry Chads for one hundred pounds payable to himself or Order One Set to Mr Matthew Horne for one hundred pounds payable to himself (Or Order) And one Set to Mr George Strode for four hundred and fifty pounds payable to himself, or Order) all drawn at ninety days sight. | Gabriel Isacke's petition, dated 23 February 1767 and addressed to Governor Skottowe and the Council, stated that his lease of eight acres in Lemon Valley had run out. He asked for it to be renewed, and the Council granted the request. The Council issued three sets of bills of exchange that day, drawn on the Court of Directors and all payable 90 days after sight. Henry Chads, one set payable to him or to his order, £100 0s 0d Matthew Horne, one set payable to him or to his order, £100 0s 0d George Strode, one set payable to him or to his order, £450 0s 0d Interpretations A bill of exchange was the means of moving money between the island and England without shipping coin. A man paid cash into the Company's chest at St Helena and received in return a written order on the Court of Directors in London to pay the same sum there. The bill fell due 90 days after it was presented at the Company's house, which gave the directors three months' notice of the demand. The words payable to him or to his order made it transferable: the holder could sign it over to a creditor, a merchant or a relative, who then collected in his place. Each bill was issued as a set of several identical copies, sent home by different ships, so that the loss of one vessel did not destroy the claim. Payment of any one copy cancelled the rest. The arrangement suited both sides. The three men could send £650 home safely, as savings, as remittances to family or as payment for goods ordered from England. The Company gained that much coin in its island chest without the cost and risk of sending it out, and the need was real: the cash account showed the balance falling by over £2,000 in December 1766, with nothing received in January 1767. Money paid in for bills went straight back out as soldiers' pay and wages for the works. The bills were granted the day after the Asia anchored, and the timing was no accident. A bill had no use until a ship could carry it, so applications came in as homeward-bound vessels arrived, in the same way as the soldiers' discharges recorded at this meeting and the one before. Isacke's renewal was granted without inspection, like Isaac Doveton's at the same meeting, since he asked only to keep an existing holding. Lemon Valley lay on the north-west coast, a short way from the town. The surname Chads and the petitioner's surname rested on fine judgement. | |
351 | 1767 Captain Inglis brought from the Cape on the Honble Company's Account 53 Black Cattle and 40 Sheep &ca as p his Bill viz. The Honble Company to the Estate of Capt Cornelious Inglis Dr £ s d To 37 Bullocks @ 12 Rxds [...] 111 8 Cows @ 11 2 Sks 22 8 6 4 Cows with Calves @ 13. 6 13 13 40 Sheep @ 1. 7 17 15 6 50 Muid Barley @ 1. 3 16 13 16 Large Waggons Straw & Chaff @ 1. 3 5 6 6 16 Empty Waggons for Do @ 1. 3 5 6 6 Hire of 7 Boats 14 Cousins & Waggon 8 Garden Seeds 3 A Servant that provided every thing 18 £ 217 1 St Helena 2 March 1767 Errors Excepted Signed John Moffat Four of the abovementioned Cattle died at Sea John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | Captain Inglis brought 53 head of black cattle, 40 sheep and other supplies from the Cape on the Company's account, and his bill was entered in the register for 1767 as follows. The Company, debtor to the estate of Captain Cornelius Inglis 37 bullocks at 12 rix dollars each, £111 0s 0d 8 cows at 11 rix dollars and 2 schellings each, £22 3s 6d 4 cows with calves at 13 rix dollars and 6 schellings each, £13 13s 0d 40 sheep at 1 rix dollar and 7 schellings each, £17 15s 6d 50 muids of barley at 1 rix dollar and 3 schellings a muid, £16 13s 0d 16 large wagon loads of straw and chaff at 1 rix dollar and 3 schellings a load, £5 6s 6d 16 [...] wagon loads of straw and chaff at 1 rix dollar and 3 schellings a load, £5 6s 6d Hire of 7 boats, £11 0s 0d Coolies and wagons, £3 0s 0d Garden seeds, £5 0s 0d A servant who procured everything, £0 18s 0d Total, £211 1s 0d John Moffat signed the bill at St Helena on 2 March 1767, subject to the correction of any errors. Four of the cattle died at sea. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Company bought breeding and draught stock at the Dutch settlement at the Cape and shipped it some 1,700 miles to the island. The 37 bullocks, eight cows and four cows with their calves made up the 53 head. The island could not raise enough cattle of its own to supply fresh meat to the garrison and to the ships that called, a scarcity already visible in the quarrel over veal at the market on 28 January 1767. The barley, straw and chaff were fodder for the passage, bought with the animals because a ship carried nothing to feed them. Even so, four died on the way, and the Council noted the loss beneath the bill so that the number landed could be set against the number paid for. The bill was priced in the money and measures of the Cape. The rix dollar was the Dutch unit of account there, divided into eight schellings, and the first line showed it converted at 5s, since 12 rix dollars a bullock came to exactly £3 each. A muid was the Dutch grain measure used at the Cape, of roughly three bushels. The boats and coolies were hired to carry the stock and fodder out to the ship in Table Bay, and a local man was paid a small fee for arranging the purchases, since a ship's captain in a foreign port depended on an agent who knew the farmers and the language. The Company's debt was entered to the estate of Captain Cornelius Inglis, and John Moffat signed the bill. A captain normally bought such supplies with his own money or credit and was repaid on delivery. The wording suggests that Inglis died after making the purchase, perhaps on the passage, and that Moffat presented the claim on behalf of his heirs. The sum would then have been settled in the way just recorded for other creditors, by cash or by a bill of exchange on London. Garden seeds, at £5, were a large item for their bulk. Seed saved on the island lost vigour over the generations, and fresh stock from the Cape's market gardens renewed the vegetables grown for the garrison and for visiting ships. The bill carried the date 2 March 1767, a week later than the meeting of 23 February 1767 under which it stood, so it was entered in the register after the event. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the surnames Inglis and Moffat, the rates in schellings, several of the sterling sums and the total. The word describing the second 16 wagon loads could not be read. | |
352 | 2d March At a Consultation held on Monday the 2d day of March 1766 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Danl Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 23d February 1767 Mr Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Asia to Muster Her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as follows viz. Muster Roll of Ship Asia Cornelious Inglis Commandr John Moffatt Ch Mte James Rees 2d Do Willm Palmer 3d Do James Tod 4th Do Robt Hall Surgeon John Forbes Purser Nichs Sommerwel Boats Wm Cook Gunner Willm Lane Carpentr John Brown Midshipn John Greenfield Do Wm Snowden Do John Swift Quartermr Davd Mitchell Do George Gale Do David Saunders Do Robt Mitchell Midshipn [...] Chas Chatham Capts Cook Phillip Hilentott Ships Do Robert Perch Caulkr Chrisr Hillary Cooper Samuel Lathburn Armr Robt Hudson Sailmaker Martin Corney Boats Mate Francis Fleming Gunrs Do Ellis Surgeon Carpentrs Do Robt Watson Carpentrs Do Thos Nimmo Coopers Do Thos Smith Seaman Wm Douglas Mattw Hay Thos Dreake George Bidgwell John Anderson Seamn Nelson Lauriston Michael Kelly Mark Murphy Mattw Yeoman Richd Liveridge Alexr Smith George Shepherd Willm Boyket Johns Underwood Henry Green Danl Stewart Willm Bryon William Davis John Organ Benjn Grover John Clark | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 2 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 23 February 1767 were read, approved and signed. Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the Asia to muster her company and to enquire for deserters, and found none. Her muster roll was entered as follows. Cornelius Inglis, commander John Moffat, chief mate James Rees, second mate William Palmer, third mate James Tod, fourth mate Robert Hall, surgeon John Forbes, purser Nicholas Sommerwel, boatswain William Cook, gunner William Lane, carpenter John Brown, midshipman John Greenfield, midshipman William Snowden, midshipman John Swift, quartermaster David Mitchell, quartermaster George Gale, quartermaster David Saunders, quartermaster Robert Mitchell, ship's steward Charles Chatham, captain's cook Philip Holentoll, ship's cook Robert Perch, caulker John Hillary, cooper Samuel Lathburn, armourer Robert Hudson, sailmaker Martin Corney, boatswain's mate Francis Fleming, gunner's mate [...] Ellis, surgeon's mate Robert Watson, carpenter's mate Thomas Nimmo, cooper's mate Thomas Smith, seaman William Douglas, seaman Matthew Hay, seaman Thomas Freake, seaman George Bidgwell, seaman John Anderson, seaman Wilson Sanderson, seaman Michael Kelly, seaman Mark Murphy, seaman Matthew Yewan, seaman Richard Liversige, seaman Alexander Smith, seaman George Shepherd, seaman William Boyket, seaman John Underwood, seaman Henry Green, seaman Daniel Stewart, seaman William Bryon, seaman William Davis, seaman John Organ, seaman Benjamin Grover, seaman John Clark, seaman Interpretations A member of the Council went aboard each Company ship in person, called over her crew against the roll and searched for deserters. The muster served the island's interest in two directions. Soldiers of the garrison who wanted to escape their five-year contracts had no way off except hidden in a ship, and Jonathan Lake, a corporal of the fourth company, deserted on 5 November 1766 according to the pay list for that quarter. Sailors, for their part, sometimes ran from hard ships and hid ashore. Calling every name established that the men on board were the ship's own and that none of the island's were among them. Purling held the rank of councillor and accountant, so the check was made by a senior officer and not left to the ship's own word. The roll answered a question left open by the bill for cattle entered under 23 February 1767. Cornelius Inglis commanded the Asia, and John Moffat, who signed that bill, was her chief mate. The roll still carried Inglis at its head as commander, which sat awkwardly with a bill made out to his estate. Either the roll kept the name of a captain who died on the voyage, with Moffat acting in his place, or the word estate in the bill meant no more than his private account. The page did not settle the point. The ship's company showed the structure of a Company vessel on a long voyage. She carried four mates, a surgeon with a mate, a purser who managed stores and accounts, and tradesmen with their assistants: carpenter, caulker, cooper, armourer and sailmaker. A ship away from any dockyard for a year or more had to repair her own hull, casks, weapons and canvas. The midshipmen were young men learning to be officers, and the four quartermasters steered and kept the watches at the helm. The heading of the meeting appeared to give the year as 1766, which could not stand after a consultation of 23 February 1767, and it was taken as 1767. Many of the surnames on the roll rested on fine judgement, among them Sommerwel, Holentoll, Lathburn, Corney, Nimmo, Freake, Bidgwell, Yewan, Liversige, Boyket and Bryon. The forename of the surgeon's mate could not be read. | |
353 | 1767 Hugh Lee Seaman Phillip Ogilvie Jerem Corney Peter Bryson Jeremh Clark Robert Andrews William Picket John Hazard Thos Hardey William Cline John Nelson Corns Williams Hendk Vandart Andw Alison Seaman Joseph Cox Robert Taylor John Bishop Thomas Duff William Lawless James Cook Thoms Maylon John Collier Alexr Lawrence John Hinchback Thoms Waring Samuel Davis Willm Russel Seaman John Mallow Willm Mortimer John Marshe Joseph Loveday Thos Arbuthnot Carprs Mte Willm Heide Carprs Mte Richd Rowe Chief Mts Do John Irons 2d Mts Do John Smith Surgs Do Mattw Godwell Boats Do Antoine London Gunrs Do Samuel Wallace Carprs Do Passengers Messrs William Roach Rindle Thomas Thoms Hammond Thos Horde and 3 Children For Capt Cornelious Inglis John Moffatt Chief Officer The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores, Short received from the Ship Asia viz. Account of Stores Short received from Ship Asia viz. 7 Cwt 0 qrs 12 lb Rice Short Weight 47. 3. 3 Paddy received signed 2d March 1767 James Powell Storekr | The muster roll of the Asia, entered in the register for 1767, continued with the rest of her seamen, the officers' servants and her passengers. Hugh Lee, seaman Philip Ogilvie, seaman Jerome Corney, seaman Peter Bryson, seaman Jeremiah Clark, seaman Robert Andrews, seaman William Picket, seaman John Hazard, seaman Thomas Hardey, seaman William Clyne, seaman John Nelson, seaman Cornelius Williams, seaman Hendrick Vandart, seaman Andrew Alison, seaman Joseph Cox, seaman Robert Taylor, seaman John Bishop, seaman Thomas Duff, seaman William Lawless, seaman James Cook, seaman Thomas Mayson, seaman John Collier, seaman Alexander Lawrence, seaman John Hunchback, seaman Thomas Waring, seaman Samuel Davis, seaman William Russel, seaman John Matlow, seaman William Mortimer, seaman John Mashe, seaman Joseph Loveday, seaman Thomas Arbuthnot, captain's servant William Hurde, captain's servant Richard Rowe, chief mate's servant John Irons, second mate's servant John Smith, surgeon's servant Matthew Godwille, boatswain's servant Antoine London, gunner's servant Samuel Wallace, carpenter's servant Passengers William Roach Rindle Thomas Thomas Hammond Thomas Horde 3 children John Moffat, the chief officer, signed the roll on behalf of Captain Cornelius Inglis. The storekeeper delivered an account that day of the stores received short from the Asia. Rice short in weight, 7 hundredweight, 0 quarters and 12 pounds Paddy received, 47 hundredweight, 3 quarters and 3 pounds James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the account on 2 March 1767. Interpretations The storekeeper weighed the rice as it came ashore and found it more than seven hundredweight light. The invoice entered under 23 February 1767 charged the Company for 150 Surat maunds, roughly 50 hundredweight, so about a seventh of the consignment was missing. Rice lost weight on a long passage through drying, leaking bags and rats, and some was pilfered at the loading port or on board. James Powell reported the deficiency to the Council on the day of landing because he was answerable for every pound entered in his books. A written account, accepted by the Council, fixed the loss on the shippers or the ship and cleared him of it. It also gave the Company grounds to dispute the invoice with its servants in India, who had billed and been credited for the full weight. The chief mate signed the roll for his captain, which revised the reading of the cattle bill entered under 23 February 1767. That bill named the estate of Captain Inglis, and it seemed then that he was perhaps dead. Moffat's signature on his behalf, with Inglis still entered as commander, suggests instead a captain who was alive but unable to act, perhaps ill or ashore, with his chief officer handling the ship's business. The word estate in the bill probably meant his private account. The whole roll came to 90 officers, tradesmen, seamen and servants. Eight of them were servants attached to individual officers, two to the captain and one each to the mates and warrant officers. These were usually boys, carried on the ship's books and learning the sea while waiting on their masters, and the allowance of a servant was one of the recognised privileges of an officer's rank. Names such as Hendrick Vandart and Antoine London pointed to foreign seamen, probably taken on in eastern ports to replace men who died or deserted on the outward voyage. Many of the surnames rested on fine judgement, among them Ogilvie, Bryson, Clyne, Vandart, Mayson, Hunchback, Matlow, Mashe, Hurde, Godwille and the passenger Rindle Thomas. The description of the two captain's servants and the word against the paddy, read as received, were also uncertain. | |
354 | 2d March James Goudy this day presented presented the following Petition viz. Island St Helena 2d March 1767 To the Worshipl John Skottowe Esqr Govr and Council The humble Petition of James Goudy Sheweth That your Petitioner being desirous of disposing of a parcel Land, situate lying and adjoining to a building erecting by Mr George Bird, in the Fort Valley, the property of your said Petitioner, as by grant from your worships most humbly begs leave for the same, and shall as in duty bound pray signd James Goudy Granted Agreable to the Order of the Consultation the 16th of last Month, The Mason and Carpenter this day delivered the following Report viz. | James Goudy presented a petition to Governor Skottowe and the Council, signed and dated at St Helena on 2 March 1767. He wished to sell a parcel of land in the fort valley that he held by a grant from the Council. The plot lay next to a building that Mr George Bird was putting up. Goudy asked for permission to make the sale, and the Council granted it. The mason and the carpenter delivered their report that day, as the consultation of 16 February 1767 required. Interpretations Goudy described the land as his own property, yet he could not sell it without the Council's leave. Land on the island was held from the Company by grant or lease, and the holder's right did not include a free power to pass it to someone else. The requirement let the Council know at all times who held each plot, kept its rent roll accurate and allowed it to refuse a buyer it did not want, such as a stranger or a man already holding too much. In this case it had no objection and consented at once, with no inspection, since a change of holder altered neither the rent nor the use of the ground. The plot stood beside a building under construction in the valley of the town and the Castle. A neighbour putting up a building had an obvious use for the adjoining ground, and Bird was perhaps the intended buyer, though the petition did not name one. Building plots in that valley were scarce and in demand: Matthew Bazett renewed his lease of one on 9 February 1767, and John Robinson sought a new one on 2 February 1767. The report that followed was the survey of the Lieutenant Governor's house, ordered on 16 February 1767 after he told the Council that its roof leaked down to the second floor. The surnames Goudy and Bird rested on fine judgement. | |
355 | 1767 Sirs According to your Orders we have inspected into the defects in the Roof of the great House and find them as follows viz. The Gutters are bad in general, tho the roof is good and fit to carry Tiles. The chief Fault is behind the Chimney which we Imagine may be amended by unlatching that part (which is very bad and greatly Torn by vermin) and putting a Wooden Gutter cased with Lead. As thatching is of short duration think Tiles will be the Cheapest and most effectual Method (signed) Wm Holebrook Master Mason 2d March 1767 John Robinson Master Carpenter Upon which we Ordered the upper part of the Chimney to be taken down (as it is useless) in Order to give the Roof a proper Current, and to repair that part which is defective. Captain Cornelius Inglis on Tuesday last being down at the Crane to forward the business of his Ship meeting with John Pinchback a Seaman belonging to his Ship and having some Words with him the said Pinchback being insolent to the Captain, Captain Inglis lifted up his stick, upon which the said Seaman immediately closed in upon him, and wrenched the stick out of his Hand, and at the same time gave him a push, which throwed him into the Sea, upon the Rocks, from which Accident his skull was fractured, and he died on Yesterday, Upon which the said Pinchback was Committed, to take his Tryall at the next Quarterly Sessions | William Holbrooke, the master mason, and John Robinson, the master carpenter, reported to the Council on 2 March 1767 on the roof of the great house. They found the gutters poor throughout, although the roof frame was sound and strong enough to bear tiles. The worst fault lay behind the chimney, where the thatch was in very bad condition and badly torn by vermin. They proposed stripping the thatch from that part and fitting a wooden gutter lined with lead. Thatch did not last long, and they considered tiles the cheapest and most effective remedy. The Council ordered the upper part of the chimney to be taken down, since it served no purpose, so that water could run off the roof properly. The defective part of the roof was to be repaired. Captain Cornelius Inglis went down to the crane on Tuesday 24 February 1767 to hurry on his ship's business. He met John Pinchback, a seaman of his ship, and the two exchanged words. Pinchback answered him rudely, and Inglis raised his stick. The seaman at once closed with him, twisted the stick out of his hand and gave him a shove. Inglis fell into the sea among the rocks and fractured his skull. He died on Sunday 1 March 1767. The Council committed Pinchback to stand trial at the next quarterly sessions. Interpretations The captain's death explained two details of the earlier entries. The bill for cattle from the Cape, dated 2 March 1767, was made out to his estate because he died the day before it was drawn up. John Moffat, the chief officer, signed that bill and the muster roll of the Asia in his place for the same reason, Inglis lying injured from 24 February 1767 and then dead. The seaman appeared on that roll under a surname read there as Hunchback, which this entry showed to be Pinchback. The minutes set down the sequence with some care and without calling the act murder. Inglis raised his stick first; Pinchback disarmed him and pushed him; the fall on the rocks did the injury, which the entry called an accident. A captain's right to strike a seaman was taken for granted at sea, and a seaman who laid hands on his commander committed a grave offence whatever the provocation. Yet the facts as recorded pointed to a man warding off a blow, with a death no one intended. The Council did not decide between those views. It sent Pinchback before the island's own court, the quarterly sessions, where a jury would hear the witnesses. The alternative was to leave him to his ship and to justice in England, but the death occurred on shore within the Company's jurisdiction, and the ship would sail with the witnesses who saw it. Captain Beale, the judge advocate reprimanded on 2 February 1767, was the officer who would have to conduct the case. On the roof, the Council took a cheaper course than its tradesmen advised. Holbrooke and Robinson, ordered to survey the house on 16 February 1767, recommended replacing thatch with tiles as the lasting cure. The Council chose instead to remove the useless chimney top that blocked the run of water and to patch the bad section. Tiles had to come out from England by ship, and the house remained usable with a local repair, so the larger outlay was put off. The report also revealed that the Lieutenant Governor's house, one of the principal buildings in the town, was still roofed with thatch, which rats and birds tore open. | |
356 | 2d March On Account of the death of Captain Inglis, we this day sent for Mr John Moffat Chief Mate of the Ship Asia, and Swore him to the Command of the said Ship, untill the Honorable Company's further pleasure, And appointed Captain Kirkpatrick of Council to go on board the Ship, to acquaint the Officers and Seamen that they are to Obey Mr Moffat as their Commander Complaint being made to Us that Malcom Lauriston a Seaman belonging to the Ship Asia behaved in a very insolent manner to the deceased Capt Inglis Just before the unhappy misfortune of his being thrown into the Sea, which was proved before Us by the Evidences of Captains Bazett and Howard in presence of the said Lauriston We thought it necessary to make an example of the said Seaman. therefore Ordered him to receive one hundred Lashes and requested Captain Affleck to take him on board his Majestys Ship Argo, which he agreed to. We this day Executed the Renewal of a Lease to Mr Isaac Doveton for seven and an half Acres of Land lying in the East Division of this Island at five Shillings p Acre. We likewise this day Executed a Lease to John Robinson Carpenter for a piece of ground containing Sixty five Feet in length, and Fifteen Feet in breadth lying in this Valley at three Shillings p Annum John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | The Council sent for John Moffat, chief mate of the Asia, on 2 March 1767 because of Captain Inglis's death. Moffat was sworn in to command the ship until the Company made its wishes known. Captain Kirkpatrick, as a member of the Council, was appointed to go on board and tell the officers and seamen that they were to obey Moffat as their commander. A complaint reached the Council that Malcolm Laureston, a seaman of the Asia, behaved very offensively towards Captain Inglis just before the captain was thrown into the sea. Captains Bazett and Howard gave evidence that proved the charge, with Laureston present to hear it. The Council judged that an example had to be made of him and ordered him to receive 100 lashes. Captain Affleck was asked to take him on board His Majesty's ship Argo and agreed to do so. The Council completed the renewal of Isaac Doveton's lease of seven and a half acres in the east division that day, at £0 5s 0d an acre. A lease was also completed to John Robinson, the carpenter, for a piece of ground in the valley 64 feet long and 15 feet wide, at £0 3s 0d a year. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Two seamen were involved in the captain's last quarrel, and the Council dealt with them in opposite ways. John Pinchback, whose push caused the death, was committed for trial by jury at the quarterly sessions. Laureston, guilty only of abusive words, was punished on the spot by the Council's own order, with no trial beyond the hearing of two witnesses. A capital matter required the forms of law, while disorderly conduct fell within the summary power the Council exercised over anyone on the island. The severity of 100 lashes for words reflected the moment. A captain lay dead at the hands of his own crew, the ship had a new and untested commander, and the Council stated openly that the purpose was to make an example. The contrast with 2 February 1767 was sharp: the Governor's steward, accused of insolence to an officer, was cleared and his accuser reprimanded, whereas a common seaman accused of the same fault was flogged. The Council then removed Laureston from the Asia altogether by handing him to the Argo, the King's ship that arrived on 11 February 1767. Returning him to his own ship was the ordinary course, since he belonged to her crew and she was short of no one else. The Council chose otherwise, perhaps because a man flogged for defying the dead captain would be a centre of resentment under the new one. A naval captain was always glad of a trained seaman, and service in a King's ship meant harder discipline and no release at the voyage's end, so the transfer was itself a further punishment. The swearing in of Moffat showed the Council's authority over the Company's ships while they lay at the island. Command passed to the chief mate by custom, but the Council made it formal with an oath and limited it until the directors decided. Sending a councillor who was also a captain of the garrison to announce the appointment put the island's government visibly behind the new commander. The two witnesses were Henry Bazett and John Howard, captains of the second and fourth companies on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. They were evidently at the crane, the landing place where goods were hoisted ashore, when the quarrel broke out. Robinson's lease ended the business begun by his petition of 2 February 1767, when the ground was ordered to be viewed. He received a strip of 64 feet by 15 feet, the footprint of the flood wall he proposed, at a nominal rent. The Council thus gave him the site for the wall and no wider holding. Doveton's renewal, granted on 23 February 1767, was charged at the standard rate by the acre. The seaman's surname rested on fine judgement, as did Captain Affleck's. Laureston stood on the muster roll of the Asia under a name read there with a different forename and spelling. | |
357 | 9th March At a Consultation held on Monday the 9th Day of March 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 2d March 1767. Thursday the 5th Sailed His Majestys Ship Argo and the Honble Companys Ship Asia for England The Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of February last, were this day brought in, which were examined and approved and are as follow viz. Artillery Stores Expended in February 1767 Guns fired, 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb, 1 lb, Powder Expended lb, Powder Expended oz 11th An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12, Powder Expended oz 0 Arrived his Majestys Ship Argo: Guns fired 15, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 15, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 15, Powder Expended oz 0 Saluted Capt Affleck on coming a shore with: Guns fired 15, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 15, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 15, Powder Expended oz 0 21st An Alarm for a Ship that went by: Guns fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12, Powder Expended oz 0 22d An Alarm: Guns fired 6, 4 lb 2, 3 lb 2, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 2, Powder Expended lb 12, Powder Expended oz 0 Arrived the Asia: Guns fired 9, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 9, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 9, Powder Expended oz 0 Powder expended in priming Signals &ca: Guns fired 0, 4 lb 0, 3 lb 0, 2 lb 0, 1 lb 0, Powder Expended lb 28, Powder Expended oz 4 Total: Guns fired 57, 4 lb 6, 3 lb 6, 2 lb 39, 1 lb 6, Powder Expended lb 103, Powder Expended oz 4 Tallow expended at the Compys Works, Boats &ca 35 lb Slow way Light Do 1 Handspikes Do 5 Spunge Staves for the Bakers 4 Nails for cooling Spunges 150 Sheep Skins for Do 1 Hammer Head for a three Pounder 1 Powder Horn for the Governors use 1 Cartridge Paper for the Storekeeper 1 2 qrs Lead Shot for shooting Goats 6 lb (signed) A Mitchell | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 9 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 2 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. His Majesty's ship Argo and the Company's ship Asia sailed for England on Thursday 5 March 1767. The gunner's and the steward's accounts for February 1767 were brought in that day, examined and approved. The gunner's account of artillery stores used in February 1767 ran as follows. 11 February 1767, an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, 2 one-pounders, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of His Majesty's ship Argo, 15 guns fired, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 15 two-pounders, 0 one-pounders, 15 pounds of powder. Salute to Captain Affleck on coming ashore, 15 guns fired, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 15 two-pounders, 0 one-pounders, 15 pounds of powder 21 February 1767, an alarm for a ship that went by, 6 guns fired, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, 2 one-pounders, 12 pounds of powder 22 February 1767, an alarm, 6 guns fired, 2 four-pounders, 2 three-pounders, 0 two-pounders, 2 one-pounders, 12 pounds of powder Arrival of the Asia, 9 guns fired, 0 four-pounders, 0 three-pounders, 9 two-pounders, 0 one-pounders, 9 pounds of powder. Powder used in priming, signals and other services, 0 guns fired, 28 pounds 4 ounces of powder Total, 57 guns fired, 6 four-pounders, 6 three-pounders, 39 two-pounders, 6 one-pounders, 103 pounds 4 ounces of powder Tallow used at the Company's works, boats and elsewhere, 35 pounds [...] light for the Company's works, 1 Handspikes for the Company's works, 5 handspikes Sponge staves for the bakers, 4 staves Nails for covering sponges, 150 nails Sheepskins for covering sponges, 1 sheepskin Rammer head for a three-pounder, 1 rammer head Powder horn for the Governor's use, 1 powder horn Cartridge paper for the storekeeper, 12 quires Lead shot for shooting goats, 6 pounds Captain Mitchell signed the gunner's account. Interpretations Powder consumption more than doubled, from 47 pounds 13 ounces in January 1767 to 103 pounds 4 ounces. The alarms cost the same as before, 12 pounds each. The increase came from ceremony: 39 guns were fired in salutes, against none in the previous month, because two ships anchored. The alarm of 11 February 1767 announced the Argo on the day the minutes recorded her arrival, and that of 22 February 1767 announced the Asia. The salutes followed a strict scale of rank. A King's ship received 15 guns on anchoring, and her captain a further 15 when he stepped ashore, so the Royal Navy was honoured twice. The Company's own ship received nine. The island's government thus rated a naval captain well above the commander of one of its employer's vessels, a deference to the Crown that cost 30 pounds of powder in a single visit. Economy governed the manner of it: every saluting shot came from the smallest practical guns, the two-pounders, at one pound of powder a round, while the alarms used heavier pieces whose report carried further. A gun sponge was a wooden staff with a cylindrical head covered in sheepskin, pushed down the barrel wet after each shot to put out any smouldering remains before the next charge went in. The 150 nails and the sheepskin went on re-covering worn heads. The four staves issued to the bakers were put to a different use, perhaps as handles for the mops and peels that served the garrison's bread ovens. The rammer head was the block that drove the charge and shot home. The enlarged heading supplied with this account showed the gun columns as four, three, two and one-pounders. The January account was laid out on the same ruling, so its first gun column, read there as nine-pounders, was properly the four-pounders, with the others following in order. One item issued for the Company's works could not be identified beyond the word light. The quantity of cartridge paper and the description of the sponge nails rested on fine judgement. | |
358 | 9th March Sundries Expended at the Honorable Company's Table in February 1767 £ s d 9 Bottles Port Wine 13 6 17 Do Lisbon 1 5 6 12 Do Mountain 18 26 Do Beer 5 3 196 lb Beef 4 1 8 224 lb Mutton 4 13 2 Kids 10 12 Fowles 18 26 lb Butter 1 6 34 lb Candy 13 4 278 lb Flour 1 2 11 1/4 48 Bottles Arrack 4 8 £ 21 3 2 1/4 Mrs Mary Doveton this day presented the following Petition viz. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of St Helena The humble Petition of Mary Doveton Administratrix to the Estate of John Doveton decd Sheweth | The steward's account entered under 9 March listed the provisions consumed at the Company's table in February 1767. 9 bottles of port wine, £0 13s 6d 17 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 5s 6d 12 bottles of mountain wine, £0 18s 0d 26 bottles of beer, £0 5s 3d 196 pounds of beef, £4 1s 8d 224 pounds of mutton, £4 13s 4d 2 kids, £0 10s 0d 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 26 pounds of butter, £1 6s 0d 34 pounds of candy, £0 13s 4d 273 pounds of flour, £1 2s 11¼d 88 bottles of arrack, £4 8s 0d Total, £21 3s 2¼d Mrs Mary Doveton presented a petition that day to Governor Skottowe and the Council. She petitioned as administratrix of the estate of the late John Doveton. Interpretations An administratrix was the woman appointed to wind up the estate of someone who died without a valid will. An executor drew authority from the will itself, as Ruth Colgrave and George Alexander did for Thomas Colgrave's lease on 16 February 1767. An administratrix drew hers from the court that appointed her, which on the island meant the Governor and Council. Mary Doveton therefore came before the same body that gave her the office, and her title showed that John Doveton left no will. She was probably his widow, the usual choice. The surname linked her to Isaac Doveton, whose lease in the east division was renewed on 2 March 1767, and to Jonathan Doveton, the factor on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. The table's cost held steady, at £21 3s 2¼d against £22 19s 11½d in January 1767. Fresh meat remained the main expense, with 420 pounds of beef and mutton, and two kids appeared for the first time. Goat was the island's most plentiful fresh meat, running half wild on the hills, where the gunner's lead shot was issued for shooting it. Several figures rested on fine judgement: the pence against the beer and the mutton, the weight of candy, the sum against the flour and the number of bottles of arrack, which was taken from the sum entered at the January rate of 1s a bottle. | |
359 | 1767 Sheweth That your Petitioner hath a Lease expired for one Acre of Land lying in the East Division of this Island humbly request your Worship and Council will be pleased to grant her a renewal of the same. And your Petitioner will ever pray (signed) St Helena Jonathan Doveton for 9th March 1767 Mary Doveton. Granted John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | Mary Doveton's petition, dated at St Helena on 9 March 1767, stated that her lease of one acre in the east division of the island had run out, and she asked for it to be renewed. Jonathan Doveton signed the petition on her behalf. The Council granted the request. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Mary Doveton petitioned as administratrix of the late John Doveton's estate, so the acre was his and passed into her hands to manage until the estate was settled. A lease that expired while an estate was being wound up was at risk, since the land returned to the Company unless someone with authority applied in time. Her renewal kept the holding within the estate for whoever was entitled to inherit it. The Council granted it at once and without inspection, in line with its practice at the meetings of 9 and 23 February 1767: a request to continue an existing holding on unchanged terms gave it nothing to check. Jonathan Doveton signed in her place. He stood on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 as a factor and assistant storekeeper, a Company servant who knew the forms and worked close to the Council. A relative in office thus handled the paperwork for a woman of the family, who perhaps could not write or lived at a distance from the town. Three Dovetons now appeared in the land business of a single month, with Isaac Doveton's seven and a half acres in that same east division renewed on 2 March 1767, which suggests a family settled together in that part of the island. | |
360 | 16th March At a Consultation held on Monday the 16th Day of March 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 9th March 1767 The Executrixes to the last Will and Testament of Mary Tuinge deceased this day presented the said Will desiring the same might be proved, which was accordingly done upon the Oaths of the Witnesses thereto the Will is as follows, viz.) In the Name of God Amen this 2d day of June 1766 I Sarah Tuinge of the Island St Helena Widow being of perfect mind & memory Do make this my last Will and Testament, First I recommend my Soul to my maker, my body I commit to the Earth to be buried in a Decent Christian Manner. My Worldly Effects I give bequeath and dispose in the manner and form following Imprimis I Give to my daughter Elizabeth as a Legacy a Woman Slave named Hannah Item I give to my daughter Sarah the refusal of my Dwelling House and Land paying her Sister Mary half the Valuation thereof. the rest and residue of my Effects be it of what kind soever I give to be equally divided between my two daughters namely Sarah and Mary Share and Share alike. | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 16 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 9 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. The executrixes of the late Mary Tunge's will presented it that day and asked for it to be proved. The Council proved it on the oaths of its witnesses. Sarah Tunge, a widow of St Helena, made the will in June 1766, on a day in the twenties of that month, declaring herself of sound mind and memory. She commended her soul to her maker and asked for a decent Christian burial. Her daughter Elizabeth received a woman slave named Hannah as a legacy. Her daughter Sarah received the first option on the dwelling house and land, on condition of paying her sister Mary half of their assessed value. Everything else she owned, of whatever kind, was to be divided equally between Sarah and Mary. Interpretations The house and land could not be split without ruining both halves, and the will solved the problem by a right of first refusal. Sarah could take the whole property if she paid Mary half its valuation, so one daughter kept a working home and holding while the other received her share in money. If Sarah declined or could not pay, the property presumably fell into the residue to be sold and divided. The device gave the two daughters equal value without forcing a sale, a careful arrangement for a small island estate where land was held from the Company and buyers were few. Hannah passed to Elizabeth by the same form of words as any other legacy. A slave was movable property in law, bequeathed by name like a piece of furniture, and the will recorded nothing of her beyond that name. Elizabeth received Hannah alone and took no part of the house, the land or the residue. She was perhaps already provided for, for instance on marriage, and a slave was a legacy of real value: the paymaster's account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed owners earning 1s a day by hiring their slaves to the fortification at Sandy Bay. The Council acted here as the island's probate court. A will had no force until it was proved, and proof consisted of the witnesses swearing that they saw the testatrix sign. Only then could the executrixes, probably the daughters themselves, lawfully take possession and distribute the estate. The same Council that renewed leases and issued bills of exchange thus also controlled the passing of property at death, as it did when Mary Doveton petitioned as administratrix on 9 March 1767. The minute named the dead woman Mary Tunge, while the will itself opened in the name of Sarah Tunge. The will's own wording is the better authority, and the clerk perhaps wrote the name of one of the daughters by mistake. The surname rested on fine judgement, and the exact day in June 1766 could not be read with confidence. | |
361 | 1767 Lastly I nominate Constitute and appoint my Daughters Sarah Tuinge and Mary Tuinge Executrixes to this my last Will and Testament utterly revoking and disannulling all former Will or Wills by me heretofore made declaring this to be my last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal. Signed Sealed published & declared in the presence of (signed) Sarah Tuinge (signed) John Scott T. Cotgrave Counted and Examined the Honorable Companys Cash for the Month of February last, which is as follows viz. | Sarah Tunge's will closed by naming her daughters Sarah Tunge and Mary Tunge as its executrixes and cancelling every earlier will. She signed and sealed it, and John Scott and T. Colgrave signed as witnesses to her doing so. The Company's cash for February 1767 was then counted and examined. Interpretations The executrixes were the two daughters who shared the house, the land and the residue. Elizabeth, who received only the slave Hannah, was given no part in carrying out the will. The two heirs with most at stake thus controlled the estate, including the valuation of the house on which Sarah's payment to Mary depended. Since each stood on the opposite side of that valuation, one wanting it low and the other high, appointing both gave each a check on the other. The clause cancelling earlier wills was a standard safeguard. A later will did not automatically displace an older one on every point, so the words removed any doubt about which document governed. The second witness signed as T. Colgrave. A Thomas Colgrave was dead by 16 February 1767, when his widow and executor renewed his lease in the east division. If he was the witness, he could not have sworn to the will on 16 March 1767, and the proof rested on John Scott and on whatever evidence the Council accepted of the dead man's signature. The minute spoke of the oaths of the witnesses in the plural, so the signature was perhaps that of another member of the Colgrave family. | |
362 | Cash Dr Per Contra Cr 1767 Febry 1st To Balance remaining £ 7715 18 6 16th To Rents received of James Greentree for renewing two nominees in a Lease for eighteen Acres of Land at 5/ p Acre as p Consultation of this day 4 10 23d To Exchange for three Sets of Bills drawn upon the Honble the Court of Directors payable as follows viz. One Set to Mr Henry Chads for£ 100 One Do to Mr Matthew Horne 100 One Do to Mr George Strode 450 650 £ 8370 8 6 1767 Febry 28th By Balance remaining viz. In Specie 7830 13 6 In Cash Notes of no use 539 15 £ 8370 8 6 John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick Margin Notes: 16th March | The Company's cash account for February 1767, entered on 16 March, recorded the month's receipts and the balance left in the chest. Cash, debit side 1 February 1767, balance remaining, £7,715 18s 6d 16 February 1767, received from James Greentree for renewing two nominees in a lease of 18 acres at 5s an acre, £4 10s 0d 23 February 1767, received for a set of bills on the Court of Directors payable to Henry Chads, £100 0s 0d 23 February 1767, received for a set of bills on the Court of Directors payable to Matthew Horne, £100 0s 0d 23 February 1767, received for a set of bills on the Court of Directors payable to George Strode, £450 0s 0d Total received for the three sets of bills, £650 0s 0d Total of the debit side, £8,370 8s 6d Cash, credit side 28 February 1767, balance remaining in coin, £7,830 13s 6d 28 February 1767, balance remaining in cash notes of no use, £539 15s 0d Total of the credit side, £8,370 8s 6d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the account. Interpretations The account confirmed how the bills of exchange granted on 23 February 1767 worked. Henry Chads, Matthew Horne and George Strode paid £650 in coin into the chest on the day their bills were issued, and the coin balance rose from £7,176 3s 6d at the end of January 1767 to £7,830 13s 6d. The Company thus gained hard money on the island at once, against a debt payable in London three months after the bills were presented there. With nothing paid out in the month, the chest recovered about a third of the sum it lost in the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Greentree's payment was described here as a charge of 5s an acre on his 18 acres. The fine for renewing two nominees therefore equalled one full year's rent at the standard rate, or half a year's rent for each life added. The Company entered it under rents, treating the fine as part of the income from its land. The paper in the chest was again entered as cash notes of no use and stood unchanged at £539 15s 0d. No outgoings appeared, which fitted the pattern noted in the January account: salaries and wages left the chest only at the quarter's end, through the advance to the paymaster. | |
363 | 23d March At a Consultation held on Monday the 23d day of March 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling of Council Capt Thos Kirkpatrick Absent being on duty The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 16th March 1767 Tuesday the 17th passed by four Dutch Ships Wednesday the 18th Arrived the Royall Charlottes Boat at Banks's at eight o Clock in the morning. Do Do the Honorable Compys Ship Royal Charlotte from Bombay last from the Cape Saturday the 21 Arrived the Prince of Wales's Boat at Banks's at nine o Clock in the morning Do Do the Honorable Compys Ship Prince of Wales from China Yesterday Arrived the Cruttendens Boat at Banks's at one o Clock in the afternoon Do Do the Honorable Company's Ship Cruttenden from Bengall last from the Cape This day Arrived a French Ship from Mauritius called the Count D'argenson Capt De La Croix burthen one thousand Tons carrys eighteen Guns and one hundred and twenty Men, loaden with Tea and China Ware bound to France The Ships Prince of Wales and Cruttenden brought Us the following supplys viz. Invoice of Ship Prince of Wales No 1 One whole Chest China Ware viz. 40 Sets Bowles 5 in a Sett 540 p 21. 600 190 Pint Smokers Stone 50 9. 500 6 Milk Ewers 150 900 20 half Pint Smokers to fill up 15 300 32. 300 P. 256 Chest found by the Merchants, deduct 2 p Ct [...] 31. 654 Carried Over | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 23 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille and Matthew Purling present. Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick was absent on duty. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 16 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. Four Dutch ships passed the island on Tuesday 17 March 1767. The boat of the Royal Charlotte reached Banks's at eight on the morning of Wednesday 18 March 1767, and the Company's ship Royal Charlotte arrived later that day from Bombay, last from the Cape. The boat of the Prince of Wales came in to Banks's at nine on the morning of Saturday 21 March 1767, followed that day by the Company's ship Prince of Wales from China. The boat of the Cruttenden arrived at Banks's at one in the afternoon of Sunday 22 March 1767, and the Company's ship Cruttenden followed from Bengal, last from the Cape. A French ship from Mauritius, the Comte d'Argenson, arrived on the day of the meeting under Captain De La Croix. She was of 1,000 tons, carried 18 guns and 120 men, and was bound for France with a cargo of tea and chinaware. The Prince of Wales and the Cruttenden brought supplies for the island. The invoice of the Prince of Wales began as follows. Chest number 1, one whole chest of chinaware holding 256 pieces 40 sets of bowls, 5 to a set, at 5 mace and 4 candareens a set, 21 taels, 6 mace and 0 candareens 190 pint sneakers of stone china at 5 candareens each, 9 taels, 5 mace and 0 candareens 6 milk ewers, to fill up the chest, at 1 mace and 5 candareens each, 0 taels, 9 mace and 0 candareens 20 half pint sneakers, to fill up the chest, at 1½ candareens each, 0 taels, 3 mace and 0 candareens Total for the chest, 32 taels, 3 mace and 0 candareens Deduction of 2 per cent, the blue being supplied by the merchants, 0 taels, 6 mace and 4.6 candareens Balance carried over, 31 taels, 6 mace and 5.4 candareens Interpretations A sneaker was a small bowl for punch, of the size one person drank from, and the pint and half pint named its capacity. Stone china meant the heavier, coarser grade of Chinese porcelain, cheap and hard-wearing, suited to everyday use. The invoice was priced in the money of account used at Canton, where the tael was divided into 10 mace and the mace into 10 candareens; the Company reckoned the tael at 6s 8d. A pint sneaker at 5 candareens therefore cost about 4d at Canton. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed chinaware sold to the planters at an advance of 25 per cent, and issued free to the Castle, so a chest like this restocked the storekeeper's shelves. The milk ewers and small sneakers were put in to fill the spaces left in the chest, since freight was charged by the chest and empty room was wasted money. Five ships and a passing fleet in seven days marked the height of the homeward season. Ships from Bombay, China and Bengal all converged on the island at the same time of year, having left Asia on the same monsoon. Each sent her boat ahead to Banks's to identify herself before she came in, as the Asia did on 22 February 1767. Captain Kirkpatrick's absence on duty probably reflected the same pressure, with three Company ships and an armed foreigner in the road and the garrison's first company under his command. The Council recorded the French ship's tonnage, guns, crew, cargo, last port and destination, where its own ships received a bare note of arrival. The detail was intelligence. The Comte d'Argenson belonged to the rival French trade with China and sailed from Mauritius, the French base in the Indian Ocean. Britain and France were at peace in 1767, and a foreign ship in need of water could not decently be turned away, but an armed vessel of 1,000 tons lying under the batteries was a fact the directors in London would wish to know. The four Dutch ships kept their distance and did not call, as was usual for the homeward fleet of the Dutch company. The deduction of 2 per cent was read with some doubt, and the phrase about the blue perhaps referred to the colouring supplied by the Canton merchants. The reading of sneakers and of the prices in candareens rested on fine judgement. | |
364 | 23d March Brought over 31. 654 No 10 a 18. No 10 23 326 11 26 323 12 21 334 13 25 326 14 27 335 15 28 334 16 24 354 17 24 333 18 24 335 Tare 222 Gs 3000 Nt 2778 or Pecul 20. 83 @ 4. 5 93. 735 5 & 6. Two Chests Bohea Tea viz. 5 Tare 36 186 6 41 192 Tare 77 Gs 378 Nt 301 or Pecul 2. 25 @ 17 38. 250 3 & 4. Two Chests Congo Tea No 3 22 99 4 22 100 Tare 44 Gs 199 Nt 155 or Pecul 1. 16 @ 22 25. 520 3 & 4 Two Chests Single Tea 3 19 86 4 19 86 Tare 38 Gs 172 Nt 134 or Pecul 1 @ 25 25 Tales 214. 159 Errors Excepted (signed) Francis Wood Benj: Torrin Thos Smith Robt John Harrison Wm Rous Thos Bevan Thos Fitzhugh Henry Revel Hillary Torriano Nathl Garland Wm McKenzie Stephn De Visme | The invoice of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, continued with goods packed by weight and closed with its total and signatures. Balance brought over, 31 taels, 6 mace and 5.4 candareens Chests numbered 10 to 18, contents not named on the page Chest number 10, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 326 pounds Chest number 11, tare of 26 pounds, gross weight of 323 pounds Chest number 12, tare of 21 pounds, gross weight of 334 pounds Chest number 13, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 326 pounds Chest number 14, tare of 27 pounds, gross weight of 335 pounds Chest number 15, tare of 28 pounds, gross weight of 334 pounds Chest number 16, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 354 pounds Chest number 17, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 333 pounds Chest number 18, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 335 pounds Total tare of 222 pounds, gross weight of 3,000 pounds, net weight of 2,778 pounds or 20.83 peculs at 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, 93 taels, 7 mace and 3.5 candareens Two chests of bohea tea, numbered 5 and 6 Chest number 5, tare of 36 pounds, gross weight of 186 pounds Chest number 6, tare of 41 pounds, gross weight of 192 pounds Total tare of 77 pounds, gross weight of 378 pounds, net weight of 301 pounds or 2.25 peculs at 17 taels a pecul, 38 taels, 2 mace and 5 candareens Two chests of congou tea, numbered 3 and 4 Chest number 3, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 99 pounds Chest number 4, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 100 pounds Total tare of 44 pounds, gross weight of 199 pounds, net weight of 155 pounds or 1.16 peculs at 22 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 5 mace and 2 candareens Two chests of singlo tea, numbered 3 and 4 Chest number 3, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 86 pounds Chest number 4, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 86 pounds Total tare of 38 pounds, gross weight of 172 pounds, net weight of 134 pounds or 1 pecul at 25 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 0 mace and 0 candareens Total of the invoice, 214 taels, 1 mace and 5.9 candareens The invoice was signed, subject to the correction of any errors, by the following. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William McKenzie Stephen Devisme Interpretations The pecul was the standard weight of the China trade, equal to 133⅓ pounds, and goods at Canton were priced by it. Each chest was weighed full, and the tare, the weight of the empty chest, was taken off to leave the net weight on which the price was charged. Singlo was a green tea from the hills of central China, the ordinary green grade in the Company's trade, set beside the two black teas, bohea and congou, already sold from the island's store. The invoice gave the cost of tea at its source, which could be set against the store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Bohea at 17 taels a pecul, with the tael reckoned at 6s 8d, cost about 10d a pound at Canton. The store charged the Company's slaves roughly 11d a pound for the 106 pounds issued to them, close to cost, and sold three pounds to the planters for £0 4s 1d, about 1s 4d a pound. The advance on tea sold to private buyers was therefore well above the 40 per cent stated for provisions once freight was left out of account. The island paid no English duty, so tea was far cheaper there than in England, which helps to explain the 33 pounds issued to the garrison's guards in that quarter. The nine chests numbered 10 to 18 carried no description on this leaf. At 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, a quarter of the price of the cheapest tea, and at over 300 pounds a chest, they were perhaps sugar, which the store sold beside sugar candy at the higher advance. Twelve men signed. These were the Company's supercargoes at Canton, the merchants who managed its trade there as a council and vouched jointly for every invoice. The whole consignment came to a little over 214 taels, about £71, a small private order for the island's store carried on a ship whose main cargo was bound for London. Many of the signatories' surnames rested on fine judgement, among them Torin, Rous, Revell, Torriano, McKenzie and Devisme, as did the gross weight of chest number 16. | |
365 | 1767 Invoice of Ship Cruttenden Rice Fine No 1 @ 60 60 Bags Contg 2 Mds 120 @ 23 Ans p Md 225 1 3 Sugar Fine 1 @ 10 Bags Contg 2 Maunds 20 @ 8. 4 p Md 165 Paddy 1 @ 15 15 Bags Contg 1 1/2 Md 22. 20 @ 1. 15 p Cr 16 6 Wax Candles 1 @ 4 4 Chests Contg 1/2 Md 2 @ 72 p Md 576 Batavia Arrack 1 @ 2 2 Leaguers @ 93. 7. 3 Each 186 14 6 1169 10 9 Charges Merchandize 150 Gunny bags @ 10. 8 p % 7 9 3 6 Twine 9 6 Packers 7 9 4 Chests & Package 15 60 Reeds Matts @ 7. 8 p % 4 13 9 12 Bamboos 23 p % 3 8 Oyl 1 3 Weighmen 9 3 Strikers 10 3 3 Boathire 28 8 1 Bion 2 5 3 Dust 13 3 81 6 Rupees 1251 11 3 Errors Excepted signed Richd Witts Accompt | The invoice of the Cruttenden, entered in the register for 1767, listed the supplies she brought from Bengal for the island. Fine rice, bags numbered 1 to 60, 60 bags of 2 maunds each, 120 maunds at 1 rupee and 14 annas a maund, 225 rupees, 6 annas and 3 pies Fine sugar, bags numbered 1 to 10, 10 bags of 2 maunds each, 20 maunds at 8 rupees and 4 annas a maund, 165 rupees, 0 annas and 0 pies Paddy, bags numbered 1 to 15, 15 bags of 1½ maunds each, 22 maunds and 20 seers, 16 rupees, 6 annas and 0 pies Wax candles, chests numbered 1 to 4, 4 chests of 2 maunds each, 8 maunds at 72 rupees a maund, 576 rupees, 0 annas and 0 pies Batavia arrack, casks numbered 1 and 2, 2 leaguers at 93 rupees, 7 annas and 3 pies each, 186 rupees, 14 annas and 6 pies Total for the goods, 1,169 rupees, 10 annas and 9 pies Charges on the goods 150 gunny bags, 7 rupees, 9 annas and 3 pies 6 skeins of twine, 0 rupees, 9 annas and 6 pies Packers, 0 rupees, 7 annas and 9 pies 4 chests and packing, 15 rupees, 0 annas and 0 pies 60 reed mats, 4 rupees, 13 annas and 9 pies 12 bamboos, 3 rupees, 0 annas and 0 pies 8 [...], 0 rupees, 1 anna and 3 pies Weighmen, 0 rupees, 9 annas and 3 pies Sircars, 10 rupees, 3 annas and 3 pies Boat hire, 23 rupees, 8 annas and 0 pies 1 [...], 2 rupees, 5 annas and 3 pies Chit, 0 rupees, 13 annas and 3 pies Total of charges, 81 rupees, 6 annas and 6 pies Total of the invoice, 1,251 rupees, 1 anna and 3 pies Richard Witts, the accountant, signed the invoice, subject to the correction of any errors. Interpretations Wax candles made up nearly half of the invoice, at 576 rupees. The price confirmed what the store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 suggested, that the candles burned by the Council, the Castle and the officers were wax and not tallow. A Bengal maund of the Company's factories weighed about 75 pounds. At 72 rupees a maund, with the rupee worth a little over 2s, the candles cost roughly 2s a pound in Bengal. The store charged the Council's and the Castle's candles at about 2s 1d a pound, so those issues went out at close to cost price. The eight maunds, some 600 pounds, covered about two quarters of the consumption recorded in that account. Arrack came in leaguers, the large Dutch cask of about 150 gallons in which the spirit was shipped from Batavia in Java, the chief source of the best arrack. It reached Bengal through the country trade and was bought there for the island. Two leaguers held roughly 300 gallons. The store account showed about that quantity issued in a single quarter, to the men in the stores, the working party at Sandy Bay, the Company's slaves, the garrison on muster days and the boat crews. The consignment was therefore one quarter's ration, and the island depended on each season's ships to renew it. The 120 maunds of rice came to about 80 hundredweight, a larger shipment than the 150 Surat maunds, some 50 hundredweight, landed short from the Asia on 2 March 1767. Together they covered about one quarter's issue to the Company's slaves, which stood at over 123 hundredweight in the store account. The charges recorded the handling of the goods at the Bengal waterside. Sircars were the Indian agents and accountants who managed purchases for European merchants, weighmen checked each bag at the scales, and a chit was the written pass or permit needed to move goods, for which a small fee was paid. Reed mats and bamboos lined and braced the cargo in the hold to keep it dry. Seers were the fortieth parts of a maund. Several readings rested on fine judgement: the sum against the rice, the rate for the paddy, which could not be recovered, the contents of each chest of candles, the word read as sircars, the boat hire and the total of charges. Two small items among the charges could not be identified, and the surname of the accountant was uncertain. | |
366 | 23d March There being no Coffee in the Honble Companys Stores we sent Capt Clements the following Order, viz. To Captain John Clements Commandr of Ship Royal Charlotte Sir You are hereby Ordered to Send on shore one Bale of the Honorable Company's Coffee for the use of this Island We are Sir Your humble Servants signed St Helena John Skottowe 23d March 1767 Danl Corneille Mattw Purling Thos Kirkpatrick Mr Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships Royal Charlotte Prince of Wales and Cruttenden to Muster their Company's and enquire for deserters but found none, their Muster Rolls is as follow viz. | The Company's stores held no coffee, and the Council sent a written order on 23 March 1767 to Captain John Clements, commander of the Royal Charlotte. The order required him to send ashore one bale of the Company's coffee for the island's use. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed it at St Helena on that date. Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the Royal Charlotte, the Prince of Wales and the Cruttenden to muster their companies and to enquire for deserters, and found none. Interpretations The Council took the coffee out of a cargo bound for London. The Royal Charlotte came from Bombay, the port through which the Company shipped coffee from Mocha in Arabia, and every bale in her hold was consigned to the Company's sales in England. The ordinary way to stock the island's store was by invoice from an Indian settlement, as with the rice of the Asia and the goods of the Prince of Wales and the Cruttenden. No coffee had been sent that way, and the Council chose to draw on the homeward cargo instead of leaving the store empty until another season. It had the authority to do so, since the coffee was the Company's own property and the Council was the Company's government on the island. The order was put in writing and signed by the whole Council because the captain needed it. A commander answered in London for every package on his bill of lading, and a bale missing on arrival was charged to him unless he could show where it went. The signed order was his receipt, proving that the bale was landed at the Council's command and not lost or sold. The quantity was kept to a single bale, enough for the island without making a noticeable hole in the cargo. Coffee was a minor article on the island beside tea. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed only two pounds sold to the planters, against hundreds of pounds of bohea issued and sold, so one bale would last a long time. Captain Kirkpatrick's name stood among the signatures, although the minutes of this meeting recorded him as absent on duty. The order was probably signed by him afterwards, or the copy in the register simply carried the names of the full Council. The muster of three ships in one visit followed the practice recorded for the Asia on 2 March 1767, when Purling went aboard to check her crew against the roll. | |
367 | 1767 Muster Roll of Ship Royal Charlotte John Clements Commander Robt Oxlade Chief Mate Richd Lull 2d Do Thoms Cusp 3d Do Willm Wemsley 4th Do John Layley 5th Do John Patterson Surgeon James Bradshaw Pursr Henry Biggs Midshipman Robert Bryant Coxn & Do William Mansell Do Montrose Patterson Do Robt Stone Do William Story Do Isaac Smith Boatsn John Whiley Gunner Edward Cudlipp Carpentr John [...] Steward Alexr Forbes Quartermastr John Tucker Do Thos Lorrette Do Joseph Gravebrooke Do Willm Maggee Gunners Mte Phillip Aldrige Caulkers Do Richd Parsons Armourer Richard Hall Cooper John Ogee Do Mate Abel Bonge Boats Do John Mc Hollough Do Do Wm Beard Ships Cook James Loden Butcher Saml Clough Sailmaker John Frazier Capts Cook Willm Jones Capt Steward Silvester Congrove Taylor Thos Chapman Capts Servt John Carfille Do Servt Thos Joyner Caulker Anthony Cooke Carpenters Mte John Ferguson Seaman Robt Bowhead William Armstrong John Roberts Alexr Cammeron Hearts of Oak Emanuel Hayton Andrew Manase William Frank Jos Royal Friend Tomlin Aron Simons Stephn Lowe Adam Smith Henry Colles Danl Bone William Beadle James White James Rooney Capt Anderson John Robinson William Troope William Robinson John Gooding Henry Ballentine Benj. Revell Cornwall Ashpoole Saml Sears Thos Hard Castle John Spencer Seamn Charles White Nicholas Gonsales John Nipper Richd Ducket James Burke James Cawers John Alley John Tedford Thos Hartly John Campbell John Hillings Patt Conway Patt Mungavon Willm Nicolls Robert Shanks William Simple Robt Mattle Evan Lidle George Rhodes Thos Stephenson Anthy Tholer Henry Cohe John Pratt Clements Higentotham James Burrows James Allen Passengers Thos Matthewson Esqr Supra Cargoe Wm Boyer (signd) John Clements | The muster roll of the Royal Charlotte, entered in the register for 1767, listed her company and passengers as follows. John Clements, commander Robert Glade, chief mate Richard Lell, second mate Thomas Cu[...], third mate William Womesley, fourth mate John Lay[...], fifth mate John Patterson, surgeon James Bradshaw, purser Henry Biggs, midshipman Robert Bryant, midshipman William Mansell, midshipman Montrose Patterson, midshipman Robert Stone, midshipman William Story, midshipman Isaac Smith, boatswain John Whiley, gunner Edward Cutliffe, carpenter John [...], steward Alexander Forbes, quartermaster John Tucker, quartermaster Thomas Lorrette, quartermaster Joseph Gr[...], quartermaster William Maggee, gunner's mate Philip Eldrige, caulker's mate Richard Parsons, armourer Richard Hall, cooper John Oge, cooper's mate Abel Bonge, boatswain's mate John McCollough, boatswain's mate William Beard, ship's cook James Loden, butcher Samuel Clough, sailmaker John Frazier, captain's cook William Jones, captain's steward Silvester Congrove, tailor Thomas Chapman, captain's servant John Caufield, captain's servant Thomas Joyner, caulker Anthony Cock, carpenter's mate John Ferguson, seaman Robert Bowhead, seaman William Armstrong, seaman John Roberts, seaman Alexander Cameron, seaman Hearts of Oak, seaman Emanuel Hayton, seaman Andrew Manase, seaman William Frank, seaman Josiah Royal, seaman Friend Tomlin, seaman Aaron Simons, seaman Stephen Lowe, seaman Adam Smith, seaman Henry Coller, seaman Daniel Bone, seaman William Beadle, seaman James White, seaman James Rooney, seaman Casper Anderson, seaman John Robinson, seaman William Troope, seaman William Robinson, seaman John Gooding, seaman Henry Ballentine, seaman Benjamin Revell, seaman Cornwall Ashpoole, seaman Samuel Sears, seaman Thomas Hardcastle, seaman John Spencer, seaman Charles White, seaman Nicholas Gonsales, seaman John Nipper, seaman Richard Ducket, seaman James Burke, seaman James Ewers, seaman John Alley, seaman John Tolford, seaman Thomas Hartly, seaman John Campbell, seaman John Hillings, seaman Charles Conway, seaman Bat Mungavon, seaman William Nicolls, seaman Robert Shanks, seaman William Simple, seaman Robert Mattle, seaman Evan Liddle, seaman George Rhodes, seaman Thomas Stephenson, seaman Arthur Thorler, seaman Henry Cothe, seaman John Pratt, seaman Clements Higginbotham, seaman James Burrows, seaman James Allen, seaman Passengers Thomas Mathewson, supercargo William Boyer John Clements signed the roll. Interpretations One seaman stood on the roll as Hearts of Oak, a patriotic phrase and not a family name. Ships in eastern waters made up their numbers with men recruited locally, among them Indian, African and Portuguese-descended sailors whose own names the purser could not or did not record. Such men were entered under nicknames given on board, and this was probably one of them. Nicholas Gonsales and Emanuel Hayton pointed to the same kind of recruitment, replacing Europeans lost to death and desertion on the outward voyage. The roll came to 95 officers, tradesmen, seamen and servants, a few more than the 90 of the Asia mustered on 2 March 1767. The Royal Charlotte carried five mates and six midshipmen, against four and three in the Asia, and two trades that ship lacked, a butcher and a tailor. The butcher dealt with the live cattle, sheep and poultry carried for the officers' table on a long passage. Thomas Mathewson travelled as a passenger with the title of supercargo. A supercargo was the merchant who managed the buying and selling of a cargo abroad, like the twelve who signed the Canton invoice of the Prince of Wales. He was returning to England after service in the East and took no part in working the ship. Captain Clements signed his own roll, where the chief mate signed for the injured Captain Inglis on that of the Asia. Many of the surnames rested on fine judgement, among them Glade, Lell, Womesley, Cutliffe, Lorrette, Eldrige, Bonge, Loden, Congrove, Bowhead, Manase, Coller, Troope, Ashpoole, Mungavon, Mattle, Thorler and Cothe, as did the trades entered against Philip Eldrige and Anthony Cock. The surnames of the third and fifth mates and of one quartermaster could be read only in part, and the steward's surname could not be read. | |
368 | 23d March Muster Roll of Ship Prince of Wales Jos Court Commandr Mr Cotton Chief Mate Mr Uppalgath 2d Do Mr Ukham 3d Do Mr Palmer 4th Do Mr Frost 5th Do Mr Gurney Doctor Mr Hutchins Purser Robt Wilson Gunner Jos Manlcover Boatsn Francis Horney Indtd Do Michl Brennan Capts Do John Woodcock Boats Mte Thos Barnes Midshipmn Thos Davis Do Saml Morson Do Jos Uppalgaff Do George Thomas Quartermr John Cambridge Do John White Do Willm Guyther Do Wm Salway Do Chas Jarvis Do Thos Shepherd Cooper Jos Haynes Caulker Nichs Hook Ships Cook Cyrl Pantony Capts Do John Robinson Armr Thoms Pitman Sailmr Benj Reade Butcher Dunham Jay Carprs 1st Mte Caleb Sherrett Carprs 2d Do James Hutchen Gunrs Mte Jno Hooris Boats Do Griffith Bone Caulkrs Do Michl Archdeacon James Magee Baker Thoms Collins Seamn John Willden William Crawford James Pringle Henry Allen Jos Parkin Willm Laird Simon Roderson John Jacobs John Moyse William Strong Walter Bomray Willm Butler Danl Hobbs Hugh Richmond George Drew James Holmes John Hixon Wm Hutchinson Thos Haswell Willm Lockart John Cricky Thomas Fletcher John Farrier John Fisher Hans Johnson Robert Kirk John Lugg Seamn Jos Willes John Horney Willm Watson John Baxter John Woosley William Darling Wm Harrow Willm Musgrove Benj. Harris George Watson Jos Franks John Dove John More Wm Smith Saml Stairs Henry Andrews John Tuesh Chas Bullbarr Mark Daniel [...] Allay Loclap George Clapham Francis Troy William King Willy Scally George Goody Wm Millson Francis Duff Thomas Terry Francis Winner Boats Yoman signed Jos Court | The muster roll of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, listed her company as follows. Jonathan Court, commander Mr Cotton, chief mate Mr Appelgath, second mate Mr Upham, third mate Mr Palmer, fourth mate Mr Frost, fifth mate Mr Garvey, doctor Mr Hutchins, purser Robert Wilson, gunner Joseph Man[...], boatswain Francis Horney, steward Michael Brennan, captain's steward John Woodcock, boatswain's mate Thomas Barnes, midshipman Thomas Davis, midshipman Samuel Morson, midshipman Joseph Appelgath, midshipman George Thomas, quartermaster John Cambridge, quartermaster John White, quartermaster William Guyther, quartermaster William Salway, quartermaster Charles Jarvis, quartermaster Thomas Shepherd, cooper Joseph Haynes, caulker Nicholas Hook, ship's cook Cyril Pantony, captain's cook John Robinson, armourer Thomas Pitman, sailmaker Benjamin Reade, butcher Abraham Jay, carpenter's first mate Caleb Morrell, carpenter's second mate James Hutchen, gunner's mate John Hooris, boatswain's mate Griffith Bone, caulker's mate Michael Archdeacon, no rank entered James Magee, baker Thomas Collins, seaman John Willden, seaman William Crawford, seaman James Bringe, seaman Henry Allen, seaman Joseph Parkin, seaman William Laird, seaman Simon Roderson, seaman John Jacobs, seaman John Moyse, seaman William Strong, seaman Walter Bonnay, seaman William Butler, seaman Daniel Hobbs, seaman Hugh Richmond, seaman George Drew, seaman James Holmes, seaman John Hixon, seaman William Hutchinson, seaman Thomas Haswell, seaman William Lockart, seaman John Cricky, seaman Thomas Fletcher, seaman John Farrier, seaman John Fisher, seaman Hans Johnson, seaman Robert Kirk, seaman John Lugg, seaman Joseph Willes, seaman John Horney, seaman William Watson, seaman John Baxter, seaman John Woosley, seaman William Darling, seaman William Harrow, seaman William Musgrove, seaman Benjamin Harris, seaman George Watson, seaman Joseph Franks, seaman John Dove, seaman John More, seaman William Smith, seaman Samuel Mears, seaman Henry Andrews, seaman John Tuesh, seaman Charles Bullbarr, seaman Mark Daniel, seaman [...], seaman [...], seaman George Clapham, seaman Francis Troy, seaman William King, seaman Willy Scally, seaman George Goody, seaman William Millson, seaman Francis Duff, seaman Thomas Tovey, seaman Francis Winner, boatswain's yeoman Jonathan Court signed the roll. Interpretations The senior officers were entered by title and surname only, as Mr Cotton or Mr Frost, while every man below them had his forename written out. The form of the roll thus marked the line between the gentlemen of the quarterdeck and the rest of the ship's company. A Joseph Appelgath served as midshipman under a second mate of the same surname, probably a younger relative taken to sea under his protection, the usual way a boy entered the Company's shipping. Two seamen bore names that the clerk wrote out at length in an unfamiliar form and that could not be read with any confidence. They were perhaps Asian sailors taken on in the East, their names set down by ear, like the men entered under nicknames on the roll of the Royal Charlotte. The ship carried 95 men and no passengers. Six quartermasters, against four in each of the other two ships mustered this season, reflected the long passage from China, on which experienced helmsmen were needed in every watch. The boatswain's yeoman kept the store of rope, blocks and tackle under the boatswain's charge. Many of the surnames rested on fine judgement, among them Appelgath, Upham, Garvey, Guyther, Salway, Pantony, Hooris, Bringe, Roderson, Bonnay, Cricky, Tuesh and Bullbarr, as did the trades of the carpenter's two mates. The boatswain's surname could be read only in part, and no rank could be made out against Michael Archdeacon. | |
369 | 1767 Muster Roll of Ship Cruttenden John Bowland Commr Ebr Wolstonecraft 1st Mte Mr Walker 2d Mate Mr Moffatt 3d Do Mr Robt Haines 4th Do Mr James Kin Surg: Mr Edwd Wicker Purser John Hawkins Gunner Jos Howe Carpenter Wm Matfield Midshipmn George Athire Do Edward Hicks Do John Murray Quartermr John Wallback Do Heny Ruthere Do Richd Tibbett Ships Stewd John Yates Captains Do Corns Goher Ships Cook Evan Evans Caulker John Jones Cooper Robt Browne Sail Makr Robt Alsop Armourer Wm Cunningham Surgs Mte Jos Eades Carprs 1st Do John Perry Carprs 2d Do Richd Weaver Boats 1st Do Corns Brinkley Boats 2d Do John Conner Gunners Mte Samuel Hanks Butcher Baldwin Wake Seaman Richd Bulkey Richd Eldridge John Beckett Seaman James Culver Samuel Ridley Alexr Ridley John Langford John Cooper Morgan Price Jasper Boret Joseph Wood Willm Best Saml Thornton John Dutchfield James Watts David Lawrence Willm Turner William Hardick Peter Nelson Wilson Bride John Thomson Thos Cookshanks James Love James Spence Peter Rendall William Mill George Phillips Abraham Jones Mattw Sulivan Thomas Trimbeth James Murphy David Norriss John Fredrick James Cox. Aaron Aronson Seaman Benj: Hunter Michl Rositer James Carter John Bradley Isaac Stammers Richd Simmons John Newman Thomas Newton Joseph Garnauld Wm Ringer John Guthrie Willm Redman James Hoare Andw Millum James Powell Francis Bromage Adam Robinson James Wood Thomas Willoughby Thomas Rosher James Thedd John Nicolas Thoms James Francis Burlong Francis Blanchitt Chas Belbott Nello Barber Chrisr Johnstone Chrisr Johnstone John Mingell James Clyde | The muster roll of the Cruttenden, entered in the register for 1767, listed her company as follows. John Bowland, commander Ebenezer Woolstonecraft, chief mate Mr W. Baker, second mate Mr Moffat, third mate Mr Robert Haines, fourth mate Mr James Kerr, surgeon Mr Edward Wicker, purser John Hawkins, gunner Joseph Horne, carpenter William Matfield, midshipman George Atkins, midshipman Edward Hicks, midshipman John Murray, quartermaster John Wallbach, quartermaster Henry Struthers, quartermaster Richard Tibbett, ship's steward John Yates, captain's steward Cornelius Goher, ship's cook Evan Evans, caulker John Jones, cooper Robert Browne, sailmaker Robert Alsop, armourer William Cunningham, surgeon's mate Joseph Eades, carpenter's first mate John Perry, carpenter's second mate Richard Weaver, boatswain's first mate Cornelius Brinkley, boatswain's second mate John Conner, gunner's mate Samuel Hanks, butcher Baldwin Wake, seaman Richard Bulkey, seaman Richard Elridge, seaman John Beckett, seaman James Calver, seaman Samuel Ridley, seaman Alexander Ridley, seaman John Langford, seaman John Cooper, seaman Morgan Price, seaman Jasper Borst, seaman Joseph Wood, seaman William Best, seaman Samuel Thornton, seaman John Dutchfield, seaman James Watts, seaman Swind Laurence, seaman William Turner, seaman William Handick, seaman Peter Nelson, seaman Wilson Bride, seaman John Thomson, seaman Thomas Cruikshanks, seaman James Lowe, seaman James Spone, seaman Peter Rendall, seaman William Mill, seaman George Phillips, seaman Abraham Jones, seaman Matthew Sulivan, seaman Thomas Trimbith, seaman James Murphy, seaman David Norris, seaman John Fredrick, seaman James Cox, seaman Aaron Aronson, seaman Benjamin Hunter, seaman Michael Rositer, seaman James Carter, seaman John Bradley, seaman Isaac Stammers, seaman Richard Simmons, seaman John Newman, seaman Thomas Newton, seaman Joseph Garnauld, seaman William Ringer, seaman John Guthrie, seaman William Redman, seaman James Hoare, seaman Andrew Millum, seaman James Powell, seaman Francis Bromage, seaman Adam Robinson, seaman James Wood, seaman Thomas Willoughby, seaman Thomas Rosser, seaman James Shedd, seaman John Nicolas, seaman Thomas James, seaman Francis Burtong, seaman Francis Blanchitt, seaman Charles Bellott, seaman Nelle Barber, seaman Christian Schnobine, seaman Christian Johnstone, seaman John Mingell, seaman James Hyde, seaman Interpretations No boatswain stood on the roll, although the ship carried a boatswain's first and second mate. The boatswain was the warrant officer in charge of the rigging, anchors and deck work, and every ship of this size had one. His absence suggests that the man died or was left behind during the voyage and that his two mates were doing his duty between them, without either being raised to the post. The crew numbered 95, in line with the 95 of the Royal Charlotte and of the Prince of Wales and the 90 of the Asia mustered on 2 March 1767. The Company's ships of this class thus sailed with a standard complement, and the island could reckon on some 370 seamen in the road when four lay there together, more than the whole garrison on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Several seamen bore names from northern Europe, such as Aaron Aronson, Jasper Borst, Swind Laurence, Christian Schnobine and John Fredrick. Scandinavians, Germans and Dutchmen served in large numbers in English merchant ships, and more so on eastern voyages where crews were hard to keep up. Many of the surnames rested on fine judgement, among them Woolstonecraft, Wicker, Wallbach, Tibbett, Goher, Brinkley, Dutchfield, Handick, Trimbith, Garnauld, Millum, Burtong, Blanchitt, Schnobine and Mingell. | |
370 | 23d March Passengers W B. Sumner Esqr Randolph Marriott Mrs Sumner Sr Robt Fletcher Knt Mr John Yates Mr John Marriott Mr Thos Price Capt Geo: Hepburne Mr Willm Virtue Mr Wm Gregory Miss Mary Grayham Miss Rebca Shewin & 16 Servts (signed) John Bowland The Executrix this day presented an Inventory of the Effects of Sarah Tuinge deceased appraised by Messrs Richard, Bagley and Orlando Bagley Senr who being duly Sworne that they Valued the same to the best of their Judgement, and the Executrix that she produced every Article, it was Ordered to be registered John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling [...] | The muster roll of the Cruttenden, entered under 23 March 1767, closed with her passengers. W. B. Sumner Randolph Marriott Mrs Sumner Sir Robert Fletcher, knight John Yates John Marriott Thomas Price Captain George Hepburne William Virtue William Gregory Miss Mary Grayham Miss Rebecca Sherwin 16 servants John Bowland signed the roll. The executrix presented an inventory that day of the belongings of the late Sarah Tunge, valued by Richard Bagley and Orlando Bagley senior. Both appraisers swore that they valued the goods to the best of their judgement, and the executrix swore that she produced every article. The Council ordered the inventory to be registered. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille and Matthew Purling signed the minutes. Interpretations The inventory was the step that made Sarah Tunge's will workable. Her will, proved on 16 March 1767, gave her daughter Sarah the first option on the house and land on paying her sister Mary half of their valuation, and divided the residue equally between the two. Every one of those shares depended on a figure, and the daughters stood on opposite sides of it. The Council therefore required two outside appraisers, sworn to value honestly, and a separate oath from the executrix that nothing was held back. Registration then fixed the list and its values in the public record, where either sister, or Elizabeth with her legacy of the slave Hannah, could appeal to it later. The oaths guarded against the two obvious frauds in a family estate, a favourable valuation and a concealed article. The will named both Sarah and Mary as executrixes, yet a single executrix appeared with the inventory. One sister evidently took on the work, perhaps the one living in the house, while the sworn valuation protected the other. The Cruttenden came from Bengal with 12 passengers and 16 servants, far more than the four passengers of the Asia or the two of the Royal Charlotte. A knight, a captain and several gentlemen travelling with their households pointed to Company servants and officers going home from Bengal with the fortunes made there. Servants outnumbered their masters, and many were probably Indian attendants brought on the voyage. For the island, such a ship meant a week of well-paying visitors needing lodging, fresh food and bills of exchange. Three members signed the minutes, which agreed with the note at the head of this meeting that Captain Kirkpatrick was absent on duty. Several of the passengers' names rested on fine judgement, among them Sumner, Hepburne, Virtue and Sherwin. | |
371 | 24th March At a Consultation held on Tuesday the 24th March 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor, Danl Corneille Esqr Lieut Govr, Mr Mattw Purling Capt Thoms Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 23d March 1767 Last Night Arrived the Honorable Company's Ship Northumberland from England by which opportunity we received a packet from the Honorable the Court of Directors which we opened this morning and read their Honors Orders to Us The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores, short received from Ships, Prince of Wales, and Cruttenden viz. Ship Prince of Wales viz. 3 lb Sugar short weight 17 Pint Smokers 2 Half pt Do 11 Bowles found broke upon opening the Packages Ship Cruttenden viz. 1 . 1 . 21 Paddy 1 . 18 Sugar 2 Candles short weight No 1 One Leager Arrk Gages 148 Galls Wants to fill 4 Galls 2 One Do Do 145 Do Do 5 Do 293 9 Galls 284 received signed St Helena James Powell Storekeepr 25th March 1767 | The Council met at the Castle on Tuesday 24 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 23 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Northumberland arrived from England on the night of 23 March 1767. She brought a packet from the Court of Directors, which the Council opened on the morning of the meeting, and the directors' orders were read. The storekeeper delivered an account that day of stores received short from two ships. Those short from the Prince of Wales were as follows. Sugar short in weight, 0 hundredweight, 3 quarters and 0 pounds Pint sneakers found broken when the packages were opened, 17 sneakers Half pint sneakers found broken when the packages were opened, 2 sneakers Bowls found broken when the packages were opened, 11 bowls Those short from the Cruttenden were as follows. Paddy short in weight, 1 hundredweight, 0 quarters and 21 pounds Sugar short in weight, 0 hundredweight, 1 quarter and 18 pounds Candles short in weight, 2 pounds Leaguer of arrack number 1, gauged at 148 gallons, 4 gallons short of full Leaguer of arrack number 2, gauged at 145 gallons, 5 gallons short of full Total gauged content of the two leaguers, 293 gallons Total short of full, 9 gallons Arrack received, 284 gallons James Powell, the storekeeper, signed the account at St Helena on 25 March 1767. Interpretations The account settled what the nine unnamed chests on the Canton invoice held. The invoice of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, listed chests numbered 10 to 18 by weight alone, at a price that suggested sugar. The storekeeper now reported sugar short from that ship, so those chests were sugar, and three quarters of a hundredweight, 84 pounds, was missing from a net weight of 2,778 pounds. The arrack showed how a cask was checked. Each leaguer was gauged, its capacity measured with a rod, and the depth of spirit was then taken to find how much was wanting to fill it. The two casks could hold 293 gallons and were nine gallons down, from leakage through the staves, evaporation in a hot hold and the crew's tapping on the passage. The Bengal invoice charged a flat price for each leaguer as if full, so the storekeeper's figure of 284 gallons was what he would answer for in his own books. A loss of about 3 per cent was modest, and far below the seventh part of the rice that went missing from the Asia, reported on 2 March 1767. Breakage took a heavier toll of the chinaware. Thirty pieces out of the 256 in the chest arrived broken, nearly one in eight, although the chest was packed tight with small pieces to stop movement. Porcelain travelled low in the hold as ballast under the tea, where it bore the weight of the cargo and the working of the ship. Powell listed the broken pieces by kind so that their cost could be written off and not charged against his stock. The Northumberland was outward bound, and her packet carried the directors' annual instructions to the island. The Council opened it in formal session and had the orders read aloud, so that all four members heard them together and none could later claim ignorance. The meeting was held on a Tuesday, a day after the regular Monday consultation, for that purpose. The account bore the date 25 March 1767, a day later than the meeting at which it was entered as delivered. The weight of paddy short rested on fine judgement. | |
372 | 24th March We this day Granted the following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honorable the Court of Directors viz One Set to Captain John Clements for £ 1500 payable to himself or Order. One Set to the Reverend Mr John Thackeray for £ 35 payable to Mr Reynold Thomas or Order One Set to Mr John Patterson for £ 663 payable to himself or Order. And one Set to Mr Robert Oxlade for £ 500 payable to himself or Order, all drawn at ninety days after sight John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | The Council issued four sets of bills of exchange on 24 March 1767, drawn on the Court of Directors and all payable 90 days after sight. Captain John Clements, one set payable to him or to his order, £1,500 0s 0d The Reverend John Thackeray, one set payable to Reynold Thomas or to his order, £35 0s 0d John Patterson, one set payable to him or to his order, £663 0s 0d Robert Oxlade, one set payable to him or to his order, £500 0s 0d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Three of the four buyers were officers of the Royal Charlotte. Her muster roll, entered under 23 March 1767, showed John Clements as commander, Robert Oxlade as chief mate and John Patterson as surgeon. Between them they paid £2,663 in coin into the island's chest. The sums were far beyond any salary: they were the proceeds of private trade, the cargo space that the Company allowed its ships' officers to fill on their own account, sold in the East for silver. A captain's privilege was the largest, and Clements's £1,500 reflected that, with the surgeon and chief mate following in proportion. The officers chose to turn their coin into paper on the island and not carry it home. Silver in a sea chest could be lost with the ship, stolen or seized, and declaring it on arrival in England invited questions. A bill on the directors was safe, was sent in several copies by different ships and was as good as cash in London 90 days after presentation. The island was the last place on the homeward route where the Company would take their money and give such a bill. For the Council the transaction was equally welcome. The four bills brought in £2,698, nearly as much as the whole pay list of £2,916 16s 9d for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, and more than four times the £650 raised by the three bills of 23 February 1767. The coin needed to pay the garrison at the end of March thus arrived a week beforehand, supplied by passing ships' officers and not shipped out from England at the Company's risk. The chaplain's bill worked differently. John Thackeray, on the pay list as chaplain at £40 a quarter, bought a bill for £35 made payable to another man, Reynold Thomas. He was settling a debt or sending money to someone in England, with the bill serving as the means of payment. A Rindle Thomas sailed as a passenger in the Asia on 5 March 1767, and the two names perhaps belonged to one person, though the page gave no means of confirming it. | |
373 | 30th March At a Consultation held on Monday the 30th Day of March 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Captain Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 24th March 1767 Wednesday the 25th Sailed the French Ship Count D'Argenson for France Thursday the 26th Arrived a Dutch Ship from China, called the Young Thomas Captain Nappe [...] burthen seven hundred Tons, carrys twenty eight Guns, and one hundred ten Men, loaden with China Ware bound to Amsterdam. Friday the 27th Sailed the Honble Company's Ships Royal Charlotte Prince of Wales, and Cruttenden for England Do Do Sailed the Dutch Ship Young Thomas for Amsterdam This day Arrived the Spekes Boat at Banks's at half an Hour past nine o'Clock in the morning Do Do the Honorable Company's Ship Speke from China, and brought Us the following Supplies viz Invoice of Ship Speke No 87 One Whole Chest and one box China Ware viz. 30 Large Chamber pots Blue & White @ 300 p 9 90 Pint Smokers (Stone) Do 50 4. 500 38 half pint Smokers to fill up Do 15 570 25 2/5 26 pr Guglets & Basons (Stone) Do 1000 26 2 Tea Sets (Stone) Do 3000 6 46. 070 Chests found by the Merchants 2 p Cent deduction 921 Tales 45. 149 Carried Over Tales 45. 149 | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 30 March 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 24 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. The French ship Comte d'Argenson sailed for France on Wednesday 25 March 1767. A Dutch ship from China, the Young Thomas, arrived on Thursday 26 March 1767 under Captain [...]. She was of 700 tons, carried 28 guns and 110 men, and was bound for Amsterdam with a cargo of chinaware. The Company's ships Royal Charlotte, Prince of Wales and Cruttenden sailed for England on Friday 27 March 1767, and the Young Thomas left for Amsterdam on that day too. The boat of the Speke reached Banks's at half past nine on the morning of the meeting. The Company's ship Speke followed from China and brought supplies for the island. Her invoice began as follows. One whole chest and one box of chinaware, marked numbers 2 and 87 30 large blue and white chamber pots at 3 mace each, 9 taels, 0 mace and 0 candareens 90 blue and white pint sneakers of stone china at 5 candareens each, 4 taels, 5 mace and 0 candareens 38 blue and white half pint sneakers, to fill up, at 1½ candareens each, 0 taels, 5 mace and 7 candareens 26 pairs of blue and white guglets and basins of stone china at 1 tael a pair, 26 taels, 0 mace and 0 candareens 2 blue and white tea sets of stone china at 3 taels a set, 6 taels, 0 mace and 0 candareens Total for the chinaware, 46 taels, 0 mace and 7 candareens Deduction of 2 per cent, the chests being supplied by the merchants, 0 taels, 9 mace and 2.1 candareens Balance carried over, 45 taels, 1 mace and 4.9 candareens Interpretations The deduction of 2 per cent was explained more clearly here than on the invoice of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, where the wording was doubtful. The Chinese merchants at Canton supplied the packing chests and allowed the buyer a fixed 2 per cent off the price of the porcelain in consideration of it. The phrase on the earlier invoice, read there as referring to blue colouring, was the same clause. A large chamber pot cost 3 mace at Canton, which was 2s with the tael at 6s 8d. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 charged the Castle exactly £0 8s 0d for four chamber pots. Goods issued to the Governor's household were therefore booked at their bare price in China, with nothing added for freight, breakage or the store's advance, while the planters paid 25 per cent on top. Blue and white was the standard export decoration, painted in cobalt under the glaze. Guglets and basins, the long-necked water jugs with their bowls, appeared in that store account as washstand sets. Two armed foreign ships lay in the road within a week, and the Council recorded each in the same terms: tonnage, guns, men, cargo, last port and destination. The Dutch Young Thomas, with 28 guns to the 18 of the French Comte d'Argenson, stayed a single day. Four Dutch ships passed without calling on 17 March 1767, so this one probably put in for water or because of sickness. Her departure on the same day as three Company ships was perhaps no accident, since the Council had reason to see a heavily armed stranger out of the road before, or along with, its own vessels. Six Company ships called between 22 February 1767 and this meeting, from Bombay, China and Bengal, with the outward-bound Northumberland from England. Each China ship brought a small consignment of porcelain and tea for the store, ordered ship by ship so that the loss of one vessel did not leave the island without. The Dutch captain's name could not be read. The chest marks and the reading of the stone china grade rested on fine judgement. | |
374 | 30th March Brought over Tas 45. 149 No 28 to 36 Nine Chests Sugar No 28 Tare 25 Gross 334 29 23 343 30 24 334 31 26 325 32 27 347 33 26 339 34 25 303 35 26 327 36 25 322 227 Tare 2974 Gross 2754 Nt or Pecl 20. 65 @ 4. 5 92. 925 9 & 10 Two Chests Bohea Tea viz. No 9 Tare 40 186 10 38 192 78 Tare 378 Gross 300 Nt or Peculs 2. 25 @ 17 38. 250 7 & 8 Two Chests Congo Tea viz. No 7 Tare 22 Gross 98 8 22 98 44 Tare 196 Gross 152 lb Nt or Pecl 1. 14 @ 22 25. 080 5 & 6 Two Chests Singlo Tea viz. No 5 19 Gross 88 6 19 88 38 Tare 176 Gross 138 lb Nt 1. 03 @ 25 25. 750 Tales 227. 154 E. Excepted (signed) Benj: Torrin Thos Smith Robt John Harrison William Rous Thos Bevan Thoms Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl Garland Wm McKenzie Stepn De Visme Francis Wood | The invoice of the Speke, entered under 30 March 1767, continued with sugar and tea and closed with its total and signatures. Balance brought over, 45 taels, 1 mace and 4.9 candareens Nine chests of sugar, numbered 28 to 36 Chest number 28, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 334 pounds Chest number 29, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 343 pounds Chest number 30, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 334 pounds Chest number 31, tare of 26 pounds, gross weight of 325 pounds Chest number 32, tare of 27 pounds, gross weight of 347 pounds Chest number 33, tare of 26 pounds, gross weight of 339 pounds Chest number 34, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 303 pounds Chest number 35, tare of 26 pounds, gross weight of 327 pounds Chest number 36, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 322 pounds Total tare of 227 pounds, gross weight of 2,979 pounds, net weight of 2,754 pounds or 20.65 peculs at 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, 92 taels, 9 mace and 2.5 candareens Two chests of bohea tea, numbered 9 and 10 Chest number 9, tare of 40 pounds, gross weight of 186 pounds Chest number 10, tare of 38 pounds, gross weight of 192 pounds Total tare of 78 pounds, gross weight of 378 pounds, net weight of 300 pounds or 2.25 peculs at 17 taels a pecul, 38 taels, 2 mace and 5 candareens Two chests of congou tea, numbered 7 and 8 Chest number 7, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 98 pounds Chest number 8, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 98 pounds Total tare of 44 pounds, gross weight of 196 pounds, net weight of 152 pounds or 1.14 peculs at 22 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 0 mace and 8 candareens Two chests of singlo tea, numbered 5 and 6 Chest number 5, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 88 pounds Chest number 6, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 88 pounds Total tare of 38 pounds, gross weight of 176 pounds, net weight of 138 pounds or 1.03 peculs at 25 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 7 mace and 5 candareens Total of the invoice, 227 taels, 1 mace and 5.4 candareens The invoice was signed, subject to the correction of any errors, by the following. Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William McKenzie Stephen Devisme Francis Wood Interpretations The consignment matched that of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, almost item for item. Each ship carried nine chests of sugar, two of bohea, two of congou and two of singlo, at identical prices of 4 taels and 5 mace, 17, 22 and 25 taels a pecul, with a chest of chinaware on top. The weights differed by only a few pounds. The supercargoes at Canton evidently received one order for the island and divided it equally between two ships of the season. If either vessel was lost or failed to call, the island still received half its year's sugar and tea, and the Company risked only half the value in any one hull. The sugar was named outright here, which confirmed the identification of the nine unnamed chests in the earlier invoice, already borne out by the storekeeper's report of sugar short on 24 March 1767. The two shipments together came to about 5,500 pounds. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed sugar sold to the planters at the advance of 40 per cent and issued to the hospital, the Company's slaves and others, so this was roughly a year's stock. The same twelve supercargoes signed both invoices, with the order of the names changed. The whole of the Speke's consignment came to a little over 227 taels, about £76 at 6s 8d to the tael. The gross and net weights of the sugar and several of the signatories' surnames rested on fine judgement. | |
375 | 1767 The Lieutenant Governor on the 24th Instant presented the following Letter viz. To the Worshipl John Skottowe Esqr Governor &ca Council of St Helena Gentlemen As I am informed by the Publick Orders of the 24th Instant. That the General Court Martial held in order to try Captain Richard Beale for Disobedience of my Orders and behaving in a disrespectfull and Unofficer like manner to me when Capt of the Day And as the said Court Martial have acquitted him of the two former charges But for his hesitating to obey a Lawful Order, Are of opinion he did act in a manner unbecoming a good Officer, and Subversive of good Order and Military Discipline. For which they have Sentenced him to be Suspended in Duty and pay for the space of three Months, Without Specifying under what Article of War they have grounded their Sentence upon, According to the custom of War on such like Occasions. And as I find by said Publick Orders that that Sentence is Mitigated by You Gentlemen to half the limited time. I suppose occasioned by that Letter which you communicated to from the President and Members of said Court Martial. Recommending Capt Beale to your Mercy. In which I could have wished they had not being so precipitate, as such a measure would have been more regular as coming from me, and more particular so as I am sure they had no Reason to Doubt of my being not open to so Benevolent a principle, having I think clearly made it appear that I had no other view in the disagreeable extreme I have been forced to by that Gentlemans unhappy Obstinacy but the Necessity of the Service and duty I owe my Honble Employers in the Station They have placed me here. and as I flatter myself this Publick Declaration of the Sentiments of seven of his Brother officers will convince him entirely of his Error I beg leave on that Supposition to be an Advocate in his Favour And request of you Gentlemen that the Suspension be entirely taken off and that Capt Beale be permitted to | Lieutenant Governor Corneille presented a letter on 24 March 1767, addressed to Governor Skottowe and the Council. Corneille wrote that he learned from the public orders of that day the outcome of the general court martial of Captain Richard Beale. Beale was tried for disobeying Corneille's orders and for disrespectful and unofficerlike conduct towards him while serving as captain of the day. The court acquitted him on those two charges. It found, however, that his reluctance to carry out a lawful order was unworthy of a good officer and damaging to order and military discipline. It sentenced him to three months' suspension from duty and pay. Corneille observed that the court did not state which article of war supported the sentence and relied instead on military custom in such cases. The same public orders showed that the Council halved the sentence. Corneille supposed that this followed a letter from the president and members of the court martial recommending Beale to mercy. He wished the Council had been less hasty, since such a step would have come more properly from him. He was sure the Council had no cause to doubt his readiness to show kindness. He believed he had shown plainly that only the needs of the service and his duty to the Company drove him to so unpleasant an extreme, forced on him by Beale's stubbornness. Corneille trusted that the public verdict of seven brother officers would convince Beale of his mistake. On that footing he offered to plead for him and asked the Council to lift the suspension altogether. Interpretations Corneille complained about the mercy shown to Beale and then asked for more of it. The two positions were consistent once the point of grievance was seen. He was the officer Beale defied and the commander of the garrison, and the Council reduced the sentence on the court's recommendation without waiting for him. By custom, clemency towards an offender was most gracefully asked by the injured superior, whose authority it then confirmed. The Council's quick action took that gesture from him and made the reduction look like a correction of his severity. His reply reclaimed the ground: he asked for the whole suspension to be removed, so that Beale would owe his full pardon to the man he offended and not half of it to the Council. He also took care to record that the prosecution arose from duty and not from personal resentment. The verdict itself was a mixed one. The court cleared Beale of disobedience and disrespect, the charges actually laid, and convicted him only of hesitating before he obeyed. Corneille's remark that no article of war was cited touched a real weakness, since a sentence resting on general custom was easier to challenge than one tied to a specific rule. Seven officers sat, which on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 meant most of the garrison's captains and lieutenants, men who served beside Beale and who at once recommended him to mercy. This was Beale's second clash with authority in two months. On 2 February 1767 the Council reprimanded him and ordered him to beg the Governor's pardon over his quarrel with the Governor's steward. He was captain of the third company and the island's judge advocate, the officer who normally conducted prosecutions, and here stood as the accused. Three months without pay would have cost him his captain's salary of £45 12s 6d a quarter. The captain of the day was the officer in charge of the guards and the garrison's routine for 24 hours, answering directly to the Lieutenant Governor. | |
376 | 30th March His Military Vocation, which request I flatter myself you will not deny me, as on my part it is not Severity unless forced to it, But with Gentleness Good Nature, and Readiness that I wish to carry on the Service both Civil and Military I have the Honor to be. Gentlemen St Helena Your most Obedient humble Servant 24th March 1767 signed Danl Corneille P.S. I request this Letter may be entered in Consultation To which the Governor and Mr Purling returned the following Answer viz. To Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieutenant Governor Sir We have received your letter of this days date and beg leave to observe to you, that the Sentence of the suspension passed upon Capt Richard Beale by the General Court Martial is founded Agreeable to the 2d Article of the 15th Section of the Articles of War. And although the Members of the said General Court Martial did recommend Capt Beale to favour We in Order to discourage the dangerous tendency of an Officers hesitating to Obey a lawful Order of his Superior did judge proper to remit only half of his said suspension. But as you have become an Advocate in his favour. We in compliance with your request | Lieutenant Governor Corneille's letter of 24 March 1767 closed with the request that Captain Beale be allowed to return to his military duties. Corneille hoped the Council would not refuse him. He declared that severity was never his choice unless forced on him, and that he wished to conduct both civil and military business with gentleness, good nature and willingness. He signed the letter at St Helena on that date and asked in a postscript for it to be entered in the Council's minutes. Governor Skottowe and Matthew Purling replied to Corneille in writing on that day. They pointed out that the court martial's sentence of suspension rested on the second article of the fifteenth section of the articles of war. The members of the court did recommend Beale to favour. The Governor and Purling nonetheless chose to remit only half of the suspension, in order to discourage the dangerous habit of an officer hesitating over a lawful order from his superior. Since Corneille now pleaded on Beale's behalf, they acted on his request. Interpretations The reply answered both of Corneille's complaints and conceded neither. He objected that the court named no article of war, and the Governor and Purling supplied one, citing section and article. He called the Council's reduction hasty, and they explained it as a deliberate middle course. The court asked for mercy, full remission was open to them and they stopped at half because an example was needed. That reasoning came close to a rebuke, since it presented the two councillors as firmer on discipline than the officer who brought the prosecution and now wanted the penalty removed. They then granted what he asked, on the stated ground that the injured party himself interceded. Corneille thus obtained the gesture he wanted, the pardon flowing from his own plea, while the record showed that the Council had its own reasons throughout. Only two members answered. Corneille could not reply to his own letter, and Captain Kirkpatrick did not sign. As a captain of the garrison Kirkpatrick probably sat on the court martial of seven officers, which would have barred him from reviewing its sentence. The Council of four was thereby reduced to the Governor and one colleague when it came to deciding a fellow officer's punishment, a sign of how few hands held the island's civil, military and judicial powers. Corneille asked for his letter to be entered in the minutes. Copies of the consultations went home to the Court of Directors, so the request placed his version before his employers: that he acted from duty, bore no grudge and was the one who asked for mercy. The Governor and Purling ensured that their answer stood beside it. Both sides were writing as much for London as for each other. The section of the articles of war cited in the reply was the general one covering conduct harmful to good order and military discipline, the wording the court itself used in its finding. | |
377 | 1767 have taken off the remaining part of his Suspension, and accordingly have sent for Capt Beale and acquainted him that it has been entirely owing to your intercession that we have done so, Your address with this Answer thereto We shall enter in Consultation We are Sir Your most Obedient humble servants St Helena 24th March 1767. signed John Skottowe Mattw Purling The Honorable Company's Yawl that attended the Long Boats being Staved by the large Surf, and Capt Mitchell acquainting Us he cannot do without another We agreed to purchase one the First opportunity. John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick. | The reply of Governor Skottowe and Matthew Purling to the Lieutenant Governor, dated at St Helena on 24 March 1767, confirmed that they lifted the remaining part of Captain Beale's suspension. They sent for Beale and told him that he owed this wholly to Corneille's plea on his behalf. They undertook to enter Corneille's letter and their answer in the Council's minutes. The Company's yawl, which served the longboats, was stove in by heavy surf. Captain Mitchell told the Council that he could not manage without another, and the Council agreed to buy one at the first opportunity. The Governor, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations Beale's punishment was cancelled on the day it was announced. The court martial's sentence, the Council's halving of it, Corneille's letter and the full remission were all dated 24 March 1767, so the captain lost neither pay nor a single day's duty. What remained was the finding itself and the manner of his release. The Governor and Purling did not simply inform him that the suspension was lifted. They called him in and stated that the pardon was due entirely to the officer he defied. That was the outcome Corneille's letter sought: Beale returned to duty under an obligation to his commander, and the commander's authority was upheld by an act of grace instead of by punishment. A garrison of five companies with a handful of officers could not easily spare a captain for three months, or afford a lasting feud between him and the Lieutenant Governor. The episode showed how discipline among the officers was managed on the island. A formal trial established the fault, the officers of the court at once asked for mercy, and the senior men then arranged matters so that the offender was corrected without being broken. Beale received the same treatment on 2 February 1767, when he was reprimanded and made to beg the Governor's pardon but kept his company and his posts. The Council chose to buy a yawl and not to build one. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 showed the longboat repaired with imported deals, elm boards and baulks, since the island grew no boatbuilding timber, and a new hull built locally would have consumed scarce stock and taken months. A ready-made boat could be bought from one of the ships in the road, which carried several. The homeward season made this the moment to look for one, and the Speke arrived on the day of the meeting. The surf that wrecked the yawl was the heavy swell that breaks on the island's landing place without warning, even in calm weather. Boats were the only link between the shore and the ships at anchor, and the yawl was the light craft that tended the longboats as they loaded water casks and stores. Captain Mitchell, already the island's engineer and captain of artillery on the pay list, evidently had charge of the boats as well. | |
378 | 6th April At a Consultation held on Monday the 6th Day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and Signed dated the 30th March 1767. Saturday the 4th Died John Scotcher Soldier Do Do Arrived a Dane Ship from China, called the Fredensborg Palace, Captain Swane, burthen eight hundred Tons, carrys twenty six Guns, and one hundred and sixty Men loaden with Tea and China Ware, bound to Copenhagen This Day Arrived the Duke of Cumberlands Boat at Banks's at half an Hour past Eleven o'Clock in the morng Do Do the Honorable Companys Ship Ship Duke of Cumberland from China and brought Us the following Supplys viz. Invoice of Ship Duke of Cumberland No 37 @ 45. Nine Chests Sugar viz. No 37 Tare 25 Gross 336 38 25 323 39 25 315 40 27 336 41 24 314 42 23 318 43 25 318 44 23 319 45 25 325 222 Tare 2902 Gross 2680 lb Nt or Pecl 20. 10 @ 4. 5 Tas 90. 450 Carried Over Ts 90. 450 | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 6 April 1767, with Governor Skottowe, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 30 March 1767 were read, approved and signed. John Scotcher, a soldier, died on Saturday 4 April 1767. A Danish ship from China, the Fredensborg Palace, arrived that day under Captain Swane. She was of 800 tons, carried 26 guns and a crew of [...] men, and was bound for Copenhagen with a cargo of tea and chinaware. The boat of the Duke of Cumberland reached Banks's at half past eleven on the morning of the meeting. The Company's ship Duke of Cumberland followed from China and brought supplies for the island. Her invoice began as follows. Nine chests of sugar, numbered 37 to 45 Chest number 37, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 336 pounds Chest number 38, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 323 pounds Chest number 39, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 318 pounds Chest number 40, tare of 27 pounds, gross weight of 336 pounds Chest number 41, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 314 pounds Chest number 42, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 318 pounds Chest number 43, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 318 pounds Chest number 44, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 319 pounds Chest number 45, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 325 pounds Total tare of 222 pounds, gross weight of 2,902 pounds, net weight of 2,680 pounds or 20.10 peculs at 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, 90 taels, 4 mace and 5 candareens Balance carried over, 90 taels, 4 mace and 5 candareens Interpretations A third China ship now landed nine chests of sugar at 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, after the nine of the Prince of Wales, entered under 23 March 1767, and the nine of the Speke, entered under 30 March 1767. The chest numbers ran on from one ship to the next, 10 to 18, 28 to 36 and 37 to 45, so the supercargoes at Canton packed the island's order as a single numbered series and then shared it out among the season's ships. The order was therefore divided at least three ways, and the island's year of sugar stood at some 8,200 pounds once this ship unloaded. Spreading it so widely meant that no single wreck or missed call could leave the store bare. A Danish ship followed the French Comte d'Argenson and the Dutch Young Thomas into the road, the third foreign nation in a fortnight. All three were large armed vessels carrying tea or porcelain home from China, and the Council recorded each with tonnage, guns, crew and destination. The entries showed how many rivals shared the Canton trade with the English Company, and how the island, lying on the common route home from the East, served them all as a watering place in peacetime. The Danish ship, with 26 guns, was more heavily armed than the French one, and such visitors lay under the batteries that the gunner's monthly accounts kept supplied. John Scotcher stood on the artillery company's roll as a matross in the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. He was the second soldier whose death was noted in the minutes that year, after Isaac Day of the first company on 2 February 1767. The size of the Danish crew could not be read with confidence, and the name of the ship and several of the chest weights rested on fine judgement. | |
379 | 1767 Brought over Tas 90. 450 No 11 & 12 Two Chests Bohea Tea viz. No 11 Tare 40 Gross 184 12 39 184 79 Tare 368 Gross 289 lb Nt or Pecl 2. 16 @ 17 36. 720 No 9 & 10 Two Chests Congo Tea viz. No 9 Tare 22 96 10 22 100 44 Tare 196 Gross 152 lb Nt or Pecl 1. 14 @ 22 25. 080 7 & 8 Two Chests Singlo viz. No 7 Tare 19 Gross 86 8 19 86 38 Tare 172 Gross 134 lb Nt or Pecl 1 @ 25 25 Tales 177 250 E. Excepted signed Fras Wood Benj: Torin Thos Smith Robt Jno Harrison Willm Rous Thos Bevan Thos Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl Garland Wm Mackenzie Stephn De Visme The ten Working days allowed by Charter Party for unloading the Ship Northumberland being expired We gave Captain John Sheffield Sailing Orders in writing to make the best of his way to Canton, according to the Directions he has received from the Honble the Court of Directors, We likewise gave him the following Letters to the Several Presidencys in India viz. | The invoice of the Duke of Cumberland, entered in the register for 1767, continued with tea and closed with its total and signatures. Balance brought over, 90 taels, 4 mace and 5 candareens Two chests of bohea tea, numbered 11 and 12 Chest number 11, tare of 40 pounds, gross weight of 184 pounds Chest number 12, tare of 39 pounds, gross weight of 184 pounds Total tare of 79 pounds, gross weight of 368 pounds, net weight of 289 pounds or 2.16 peculs at 17 taels a pecul, 36 taels, 7 mace and 2 candareens Two chests of congou tea, numbered 9 and 10 Chest number 9, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 96 pounds Chest number 10, tare of 22 pounds, gross weight of 100 pounds Total tare of 44 pounds, gross weight of 196 pounds, net weight of 152 pounds or 1.14 peculs at 22 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 0 mace and 8 candareens Two chests of singlo tea, numbered 7 and 8 Chest number 7, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 86 pounds Chest number 8, tare of 19 pounds, gross weight of 86 pounds Total tare of 38 pounds, gross weight of 172 pounds, net weight of 134 pounds or 1 pecul at 25 taels a pecul, 25 taels, 0 mace and 0 candareens Total of the invoice, 177 taels, 2 mace and 5 candareens The invoice was signed, subject to the correction of any errors, by the following. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen Devisme The ten working days allowed by the charter party for unloading the Northumberland ran out. The Council therefore gave Captain John S[...] written sailing orders to make his way to Canton as fast as he could, in line with the instructions he held from the Court of Directors. The Council also handed him letters for the several presidencies in India. Interpretations The Company did not own its ships. Each was hired from private owners under a charter party, the contract that fixed the freight, the route and the time allowed at every port. This one gave the island ten working days to take out its cargo. The Northumberland anchored on the night of 23 March 1767, and ten working days, leaving out Sundays, brought the count to 4 April 1767, the Saturday before this meeting. Every further day in the road would have exposed the Company to a claim for demurrage, the daily charge owed to owners for a ship held beyond her time. The Council's written orders, issued at the first meeting after the limit, were its proof that the delay ended there and that any later loitering was the captain's affair. The Northumberland was the season's store ship from England, and her cargo was probably the year's supply of European goods for the island. Captain Mitchell's letter of 26 January 1767 expected the store ships to bring four 13 inch mortars for the artillery. She went on to China, so the island was a port of call on her outward passage and not her destination. The letters she carried made the island a link in the Company's correspondence. A ship outward bound to Canton would meet other Company vessels or touch at ports from which packets could be sent on to Bombay, Madras and Bengal. The Council used every departing ship to report to the other settlements, and such letters were the means by which it ordered its rice, arrack and candles. The third China consignment matched the other two in its tea, with two chests each of bohea, congou and singlo at the same prices, and the chests again numbered in one series running on from the Prince of Wales and the Speke. It differed in carrying no chinaware, so its total of 177 taels fell short of their 214 and 227. The island's order for porcelain was evidently met by two chests, while its tea and sugar were shared among three ships. The surname of the captain of the Northumberland could be read only in part, and several of the signatories' surnames rested on fine judgement. | |
380 | 6th April To the Right Honble Lord Clive Presidt and Governor &ca Council of Fort William My Lord & Sirs Our last Letter to you went under date of the 14th March 1766. since that time your several favours of the 24th January 24th March and 28 November 1766 came safe to hand We request you will be pleased to send for the use of this Place eight Maunds of good Wax Candles, with the usual quantity of Arrack and Paddy by each Ship; also double the quantity of Rice ordered by our Honorable Masters for the supply of this Island. This Letter goes by way of China on the Northumberland. Enclosed, we have sent you a List of Ships Arrival and departure to and from St Helena since the 14th March 1766 We are My Lord and Sirs Your most Obedient humble Servants (signed) St Helena John Skottowe 6th April 1767. Danl Corneille Mattw Purling Thos Kirkpatrick To the Honoble Robert Palk Esqr President and Governor &ca Council of Fort St George Honble Sir & Sirs We addressed you last under date of the 14th March 1766 since which we have received your Letter by the Ship Pacifick. We desire you will (send for the use of this | The Council wrote on 6 April 1767 to Lord Clive, President and Governor, and the Council of Fort William. The letter noted that the Council's previous one was dated 14 March 1766, and that Fort William's letters of 24 January, 24 March and 28 November 1766 arrived safely since then. The Council asked Fort William to send eight maunds of good wax candles for the island, with the usual quantity of arrack and paddy by each ship. Fort William was also asked to send twice the quantity of rice that the Company ordered for the island's supply. The letter travelled by way of China in the Northumberland and enclosed a list of the ships arriving at and leaving St Helena since 14 March 1766. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed it at St Helena on that date. A second letter went to Robert Palk, President and Governor, and the Council of Fort St George. The Council's last letter to Fort St George was dated 14 March 1766, and a reply came since then by the ship Pacific. Interpretations The Council asked Bengal for double the rice that the directors in London had ordered for the island. The straightforward course was to accept the Company's own figure, since the directors fixed each settlement's supplies and the island had no authority to alter their orders. The Council went over that figure in a direct request to another settlement, and the earlier entries showed why. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 charged over 123 hundredweight of rice to the Company's slaves in three months. The season's ships brought about 50 hundredweight in the Asia, of which a seventh was missing on landing, and about 80 in the Cruttenden. Deliveries on the directors' scale thus covered roughly one quarter's consumption in a year's shipping. The Council did not explain itself to Fort William, and simply stated the quantity wanted, leaving its own minutes to justify the request to London. The order for candles matched what had just arrived. The Cruttenden's invoice, entered under 23 March 1767, listed eight maunds of wax candles, so the request renewed a standing annual order. Arrack and paddy were asked for in the usual quantity by each ship, the same practice of spreading supplies across several vessels that the Canton supercargoes followed with the island's sugar and tea. The dates showed the pace of the Company's correspondence. The Council wrote to each Indian presidency once a year, on 14 March 1766 and again on 6 April 1767, when a ship was at hand to carry the letters. This one went by way of China, because the Northumberland was bound for Canton and no vessel was sailing from the island straight to Bengal. It would be forwarded from there and could hardly reach Calcutta in less than several months, so the supplies it ordered would arrive with the homeward ships of the following season. The Council had to plan its provisions a full year ahead. Fort William was the Company's seat at Calcutta and governed its Bengal settlements, and Fort St George was its counterpart at Madras. The enclosed list of shipping gave each presidency news of which vessels had passed the island safely, intelligence that every settlement wanted about ships it had dispatched. | |
381 | 1767 Island eight pieces Long Cloth at twelve pagodas p Piece, eight Pieces at ten pagodas p Piece, twelve pieces at eight Pagodas p Piece, eighty pieces at three and an half Pagodas p Piece Thirty Pieces at two and an half Pagodas p Piece and the usual quantity of Arrack Rice, and Paddy This Letter goes by the way of China, as we have sent you Enclosed a List of Ships that have touched here since March 1766 We are Honble Sir & Sirs Your most Obedient, humble Servants signed St Helena John Skottowe 6th April 1767 Danl Corneille Mattw Purling Thoms Kirkpatrick To the Honorable Charles Crommelin Esqr President and Governor & Council of Bombay Honble Sir & Sirs We did ourselves the pleasure of writing last to you the 14th March 1766 and have since received your Several Letters under date of the 19th February 8 & 29th April and the 2d June 1766 We request you will send Us two hundred pieces of Surat Chelloes with the Usual quantity of Paddy by each Ship, also Double the quantity of Rice Ordered by our Honorable Masters for the supply of this Island. This Letter will be forwarded to your Presidency by way of China. We have Enclosed for your Perusal a List of Ships that have been here since our Last. We are Honorable Sir & Sirs Your most Obedient, humble Servants signd St Helena John Skottowe 6th April 1767 Daniel Corneille Mattw Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | The Council's letter of 6 April 1767 to Fort St George asked for long cloth in five grades for the island's use. 8 pieces of long cloth at 12 pagodas a piece 8 pieces of long cloth at 10 pagodas a piece 12 pieces of long cloth at 8 pagodas a piece 80 pieces of long cloth at 3½ pagodas a piece 30 pieces of long cloth at 2½ pagodas a piece The Council also asked for the usual quantity of arrack, rice and paddy. The letter went by way of China and enclosed a list of the ships calling at the island since March 1766. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed it at St Helena on that date. A third letter of that date went to Charles Crommelin, President and Governor, and the Council of Bombay. The Council's last letter to Bombay was dated 14 March 1766, and Bombay's letters of 19 February, 8 April, 29 April and 2 June 1766 arrived since then. The Council asked for 200 pieces of Surat chelloes, with the usual quantity of paddy by each ship, and for double the quantity of rice that the Company ordered for the island's supply. The letter was to be forwarded to Bombay by way of China and enclosed a list of the ships calling since the last one. The same four members signed it at St Helena on that date. Interpretations Each presidency was asked for the goods of its own region. Madras supplied long cloth, the plain cotton of the Coromandel coast sold by the piece of some 37 yards. Bombay supplied chelloes, a coarse cotton cloth woven around Surat, usually striped or checked in blue or red and among the cheapest textiles in the Company's trade. Bengal, in the letter on the preceding leaf, supplied wax candles and arrack. The island's store thus drew on the whole of the Company's Indian commerce, and the Council knew which settlement produced what. The long cloth was ordered by price, and the grades showed who it was for. The pagoda was the gold coin of Madras, worth about 8s. The 28 dearest pieces, at 8 to 12 pagodas, cost from £3 4s 0d to £4 16s 0d each and were fine cloth for the officers' and planters' households. The store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 recorded one piece sold to the planters at £4 10s 5d and another at £1 15s 10d. The 110 cheaper pieces, at 2½ and 3½ pagodas, formed the bulk of the order and were everyday shirting. The 200 pieces of chelloes were cheaper still and were probably meant for clothing the Company's slaves and for sale to the poorest buyers. The request for double the rice was repeated to Bombay in the same words used to Bengal, but Madras was asked only for the usual quantity. Bombay and Bengal were the two settlements whose rice reached the island that season, in the Asia and the Cruttenden, and both shipments fell far short of the 123 hundredweight a quarter issued to the Company's slaves. The Council directed its larger demand to the ports that actually loaded rice for it. All three letters to India left together in a ship bound for China, so each would travel halfway round Asia before reaching its address. The Council accepted the delay because the season's homeward ships sailed past the island towards England, and only an outward-bound vessel like the Northumberland went east. The reading of chelloes and of the date 8 April 1766 rested on fine judgement. | |
382 | 6th April To the President and other Supra Cargoes of Council at Canton Gentlemen Our last Advices to you went by our Honble Masters Ships Prince of Wales and Plassey under date of the 14th March 1766 your favours of the 5th December 1765 and 18 Decemr 1766 have been duly received We have transmitted you by this Conveyance the Ship Northumberlands Charter party Victualling Bill Manifest of Goods, and a Packet directed to you from the Honorable the Court of Directors, likewise a List of Ships Arrival and Departure, to and from St Helena since our Last. We desire you will be pleased to forward by the first opportunity the Letters directed to the several Presidencys in India We are Gentlemen Your most Obedient humble Servants signed St Helena John Skottowe 6th April 1767 Danl Corneille Mattw Purling Thos Kirkpatrick We this day received the following Letter from Captain Mitchell viz. | The Council wrote on 6 April 1767 to the president and supercargoes of the council at Canton. The letter noted that the Council's last news went by the Company's ships Prince of Wales and Plassey under the date 14 March 1766, and that Canton's letters of 5 December 1765 and 18 December 1766 duly arrived. The Council sent by the Northumberland that ship's charter party, her victualling bill and the manifest of her goods. A packet addressed to the supercargoes by the Court of Directors went with them, along with a list of the ships arriving at and leaving St Helena since the last letter. The Council asked the supercargoes to forward, at the first opportunity, the letters addressed to the several presidencies in India. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the letter at St Helena on that date. A letter from Captain Mitchell reached the Council that day. Interpretations The letter showed the paperwork that travelled with a hired ship. The charter party was her contract with the Company, the victualling bill recorded the provisions put aboard for her crew and the manifest listed her cargo. The supercargoes at Canton needed all three to deal with her on arrival: to know how long they could keep her, what she was owed and what she should be carrying. The Council passed them on under its own cover, with the directors' packet, so that the documents reached Canton certified by a Company government and not merely in the captain's keeping. The ten working days allowed at the island under that charter party had just run out. Canton was made the forwarding point for the three letters to Bengal, Madras and Bombay. The supercargoes had ships and country vessels leaving for India through the season, which the island did not, and the Council relied on them to send the packets on. The request confirmed how roundabout the route was: an order for rice and candles written on 6 April 1767 went first to China and only then to the settlements that would fill it. The dates traced a ship's working year. The Prince of Wales carried the Council's letter of 14 March 1766 outward to Canton and came back to the island from China on 21 March 1767, almost exactly 12 months later, bringing the supercargoes' reply of 18 December 1766 and the island's sugar and tea. One exchange of letters with Canton therefore took a full year, the same rhythm as the correspondence with India. The supercargoes addressed here were the 12 men who signed the invoices of the Prince of Wales, the Speke and the Duke of Cumberland. They formed a council under a president for the trading season, the Company's only establishment in China. | |
383 | 1767 To the Worshipful the Governor and Council of the Island St Helena Gentlemen In my last Quarterly Letter after having enumerated the Progress made towards the Construction of the Intended Defences of Sandy Bay during the three Months preceding the Date of that Letter, I acquainted you that the Employment of the Honorable Company's Workmen during the ensuing Quarter would Chiefly consist in compleating the final Excavation of the Ditch and perfecting the Glacis. In digging the Foundation for that part of the Revetment lying between the left Flank of the Battery, and the Ridge which terminates the principal Line on the left and in amassing what Materials were still wanting to compleat that part of the Work. When these necessary preparations were in proper forwardness I acquainted you that I should then proceed to construct the principal revetment in which I hope some progress would be made, before the end of the Quarter. I shall now proceed to give you a Detail of what has been done towards the Completion of each of these Works during the last three Months. The first of them namely the final Excavation of the Ditch and Formation of the Glacis, is now Entirely Compleated with Exception to a passage, which it was necessary to leave in Order to communicate with the Lime kilns, and to transport the Materials that will be wanting for the Flanking Line on the left A sufficient Quantity of Stone and Mortar to compleat the whole of the principal Line has with great Labour, been collected and transported to the Ground. The Foundation for the Revetment of this Line has been dug out, and a much greater Progress has been made in the Construction of the Revetment itself than I apprehended could have been made, at the time of writing my last Quarterly Letter. In Fact a Week more will entirely Compleat it, all but the Parapet with which I do not intend to proceed, till after the Formation of the Rampart, which I shall also choose to delay as long as possible, in Order to | Captain Mitchell's quarterly letter to the Governor and Council, received on 6 April 1767, reported on the defences under construction at Sandy Bay. Mitchell recalled the plan set out in his previous quarterly letter. The Company's workmen were to spend the following three months on four tasks. They were to finish excavating the ditch and to perfect the glacis. They were to dig the foundation for the stretch of revetment between the left flank of the battery and the ridge that closed the main line on the left. They were also to gather the materials still needed for that stretch. Once those preparations were well advanced, he meant to start building the main revetment and hoped for some progress on it before the quarter ended. He then gave the results. The ditch and the glacis were finished, apart from a passage left open to reach the limekilns and to bring in materials for the flanking line on the left. Enough stone and mortar to complete the whole main line was collected and carried to the site, with great labour. The foundation for that line's revetment was dug. Work on the revetment itself went much further than he expected when he last wrote, and one more week would finish it entirely, except for the parapet. Mitchell did not intend to begin the parapet until the rampart was formed, and he meant to put off the rampart as long as possible. Interpretations The letter gave the engineering behind the costs recorded in the accounts for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. The paymaster's account showed soldiers giving 5,261½ days of labouring at Sandy Bay, hired slaves a further 1,427 days, and smaller numbers of days for blasting, stone laying and smith's work. Mitchell's report explained what that labour produced: a ditch cut through rock, a shaped glacis and the stone and mortar for a masonry wall, all moved by hand to a remote bay on the far side of the island. The limekilns he mentioned burned the lime for that mortar on the spot, and the cash account for December 1766 recorded a small sum received by the fortification for lime sold to islanders. The works followed the standard form of a coastal defence line of the period. The ditch was the trench dug in front of the position. The glacis was the long, gentle slope of earth beyond it, shaped so that attackers crossing it were fully exposed to fire and found no cover. The revetment was the masonry wall facing the inner side of the ditch, which held up the earth behind it. That earth bank was the rampart, on which the guns stood, and the parapet was the breastwork along its top that sheltered the defenders. A flanking line was a short work set at an angle so that its guns could fire along the face of the main line. Sandy Bay was one of the few places on the island's southern coast where an enemy could put men ashore, which made it worth this outlay. Mitchell reported every quarter and measured his results against what he had promised three months before. The form of the letter made him answerable for progress, and it let the Council show the directors what the heavy expense on labour, arrack and stores at the site had bought. | |
384 | 6th April to give time to the Masonry of the Revetment to dry and acquire a proper Degree of Firmness and Solidity to resist the Pressure of the Earth behind it. The Platforms of the Battery for the defence of this Line have also been Compleated during the Course of this Quarter, and it now wants nothing but having the Guns mounted on it. These are the principal works, which have been carried on during the last three Months and I flatter myself that the progress made in them will appear Satisfactory to you Gentlemen, as well as my Honorable Employers, whose Conviction of my Assiduity and attention to discharge the Trust with which they have honoured me, and to merit the Continuance of that favourable Opinion which they were pleased to express of me, in a former General Letter is the utmost of my Ambition With regard to the Employment of the Workmen during the ensuing three Months it will principally consist in running a Wall along from the Battery to the Left of the principal Line; parallel to the revetment, in Order to support the Rampart behind agreably to the Plan. In constructing a Bomb Proof Magazine which is to be situated under this Rampart. In transporting the Materials wanting for the Cullis and flanking Line on the Left. In clearing away a Bank in Front of this Flanking Line the Earth of which will also serve to form the Rampart which otherwise it would be difficult to procure. In preparing the Foundation for this Cullis and Line, and in making all the progress in towards constructing them, which the time and Number of Hands will admit of. These are the principal, but I must add not the only Employments for the Honorable Company's Workmen, during the present Quarter. A Number of lesser Works, too tedious to particularise in a Letter require a very Considerable Share of Labour. The transporting the Limestone from the Quarry to the Kilns. the breaking and burning it. The loading and unloading the Long Boats. The Cutting and fetching of Wood for Fuel, and many other lesser Works, consume a great | Captain Mitchell's quarterly letter went on to explain why he meant to delay forming the rampart at Sandy Bay. The masonry of the revetment needed time to dry and harden before it could withstand the pressure of the earth to be piled behind it. The gun platforms of the battery defending the main line were also finished during the quarter, and the battery lacked only its guns. Mitchell described these as the chief works of the previous three months. He hoped the progress would satisfy the Council and the Company. His highest ambition was to convince the directors of his diligence in the trust they gave him and to keep the good opinion they expressed of him in an earlier general letter. He then set out the work for the coming three months. A wall was to be run from the battery to the left end of the main line, parallel to the revetment, to hold up the rampart behind it as the plan required. A bombproof magazine was to be built beneath that rampart. Materials were to be carried to the site for the [...] and the flanking line on the left. A bank in front of that flanking line was to be cleared away, and its earth would serve to form the rampart, for which soil was otherwise hard to find. The foundations for the [...] and the flanking line were to be prepared, and their construction pushed on as far as time and the number of hands allowed. Mitchell added that these were the main tasks for the Company's workmen and not the only ones. Many smaller jobs, too tedious to list in a letter, took a large share of the labour. Limestone had to be carried from the quarry to the kilns, broken and burned. The longboats had to be loaded and unloaded, and wood for fuel had to be cut and fetched. Interpretations Mitchell chose to hold back the rampart although the revetment was within a week of completion and his workforce was on site. Pressing straight on was the natural course for an engineer judged each quarter on visible progress. He set it aside for a technical reason stated in the letter. Lime mortar hardens slowly, over weeks and months, as it dries and takes up air. A newly built wall loaded at once with a mass of earth would bulge or overturn before the mortar gained its strength. He therefore filled the interval with other tasks: the inner retaining wall, the magazine and the flanking line. The order of work was planned so that no time was lost while the masonry cured. The same economy governed the earth. Sandy Bay was rock and thin soil, and a rampart needed a great volume of fill. A bank that obstructed the fire of the flanking line had to be removed in any case, and Mitchell used its spoil to build the rampart, solving two problems with one piece of digging. A bombproof magazine was a powder store roofed with a thick masonry vault and buried under earth, proof against the plunging shells of a mortar. Placing it under the rampart gave it that cover without a separate structure. The battery itself was ready for guns, so the position could already be armed while the rest of the line was finished. The list of lesser works accounted for labour that produced nothing to show. Every bushel of lime began as stone quarried, carried, broken and burned, and the kilns consumed wood on an island where timber was scarce. Heavy materials came round the coast by longboat, which explained the wear on the boats and the cordage, pitch and timber charged for their repair in the store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Mitchell took care to put this hidden effort on record, since the paymaster's account for that quarter showed more than 5,000 days of labouring at the site. His reference to the directors' praise in an earlier general letter showed that his reports were read in London. The general letter was the Court of Directors' annual dispatch to the island, the latest of which arrived in the Northumberland and was opened on 24 March 1767. One term in the plan, naming a work to be built with the flanking line on the left, could not be read with confidence and is marked accordingly. | |
385 | 1767 Deal of Labour, and Occasion the Progress of the whole to be less apparent and Striking And here I beg leave humbly to propose to the Governor and Council, that (as all possible Expedition used in accelerating the Repairs of the Defences of this Island, will occasion a great Diminution of Expence to the Honorable Company, and as the Garrison will now receive a considerable Reinforcement by the Arrival of the Recruits sent out in the Store Ships) an Additional Number of Hands be appropriated for the Fortifications, so as to enable me if possible to finish this principal Work (the Defences of Sandy Bay) and to transmitt an Account of it so early as to receive their Answer by next Years Store Ships, of which I am extreemely Ambitious Before I conclude, I take the Liberty to remind you of the Necessity of purchasing One or two more Long Boats for the Service of the present Year. The three now belonging to the Company are in constant use, and should any Accident happen to any of them which is by no means improbable it would greatly obstruct the Progress of the Works to which they are so essentially necessary I have the Honor to be Gentlemen 6th April 1767 Your most Obedient humble Servant (signed) A Mitchell We have to observe Relative to the Engineers Quarterly Letter. That it is with pleasure we find he has been able to make a greater progress in the Construction of the Revetment, together with Compleating the other necessary Labour prior to that building than what he gave Us reason to hope for in his Quarterly Letter of January last which Convinces Us of his Attention Diligence and Judgement in the Discharge of his Duty. And Considering the Extent of that Work as well as the Prodigious quantity | Captain Mitchell's quarterly letter of 6 April 1767 observed that the many smaller tasks at Sandy Bay absorbed a great deal of labour and made the progress of the whole look less striking than it was. Mitchell then put a proposal to Governor Skottowe and the Council. He argued that the faster the island's defences were repaired, the less they would cost the Company. The garrison was about to be strengthened considerably by the recruits sent out in the store ships. He therefore asked for more men to be assigned to the fortifications. With them he hoped to finish the main work, the defences of Sandy Bay, and to send home an account of it early enough for the directors' answer to come back by the following year's store ships. He described himself as very eager to achieve this. He also reminded the Council of the need to buy one or two more longboats for that year's service. The Company's three were in constant use. An accident to any of them was far from unlikely and would seriously hold up the works, which could not go on without them. Mitchell signed the letter on 6 April 1767. The Council recorded its view of the engineer's letter. It noted with pleasure that he advanced the revetment, and finished the preparatory labour for it, further than his quarterly letter of January 1767 gave reason to expect. The Council took this as proof of his attention, diligence and judgement in his duty. Interpretations Mitchell's case for more labour rested on a point of cost that the accounts bore out. A building site carried charges that ran by the month whatever was achieved: the overseers' and tradesmen's pay, the boats and their repair, the arrack allowance and the officer and assistant surgeon posted there, all visible in the accounts for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. Doubling the hands would roughly double the day wages but shorten the period over which those standing charges were paid. The labour he had in mind was cheap, since a soldier earned 1s for a day's labouring on top of his pay. The newly landed recruits offered a supply of such men without stripping the guards, and his request was timed to the arrival of the Northumberland from England on 23 March 1767. His other motive was the calendar of correspondence. A report sent home by the last ships of the season reached London in time for the directors to reply by the next year's store ships. One that missed them waited a further twelve months for an answer. Mitchell wanted the completed work described in the earlier packet, which would bring him the directors' verdict, and perhaps their reward, a year sooner. He said openly that this was his ambition, having already cited their praise in a former general letter. The warning about boats had fresh support. The Company's yawl was wrecked by surf shortly before 30 March 1767, when the Council agreed to replace it. Stone, lime and timber reached Sandy Bay by sea, so the works depended on three longboats with no reserve. Mitchell asked for the margin before an accident, not after one. The Council's response began with praise, measured against his own forecast of January 1767. Its minute served the same audience as his letter. Entered in the consultations sent to London, it placed the island's government on record as satisfied with its engineer and with the money spent under his direction. | |
386 | 6th April quantity of materials necessary to be collected in Order to Compleat His plan, as approved of by the Honorable Company together with the Scarcity of Labouring Hands and Artificers, (many of whom he had to teach) we cannot but think every thing has been done on his part, as well as all assistance from Us having spared all the Soldiers that the Nature of the Service would admit of: and altho we have received a Supply of Recruits this Year cannot comply with the Engineers further Demand from the Garrison, as we have no more than three Reliefs for Duty, allowing for Sick, Discharged &ca therefore cannot in prudence lessen that Number, as it might be attended with bad Consequence. We have likewise long since appropriated all the Slaves that possibly could be spared to that Work, excepting such as we are obliged to keep for the other necessary Labour of the Honble Compys Estate. And apprehend that with the Number of Hands he already has He will be able to compleat the Defences of this Island, tho perhaps the want of a greater Number may retard him a twelvemonth longer from first to last, And as to the Expence will make no material Difference to the Honble Company whether the whole Sum that those works will Cost, be laid out in four Years or five, excepting the Engineers Salary for the Additional time and we flatter ourselves that the above reasons may prove Satisfactory to the Honble Company And convince them that every measure is pursued by Us to expedite that great Object Considering the Difficulty We struggle with in point of Numbers, Artificers &ca of every Denomination so essentially necessary in carrying on so Capital Works. We have likewise agreed to purchase another Long Boat, and before the Shipping Season is over, have time to Consider whether a Second may be necessary Mr Matthew Purling reports that he has be on board the Ship Speke to Muster her Company and enquire for deserters but found none her Muster Roll is as follows viz. | The Council's minute of 6 April 1767 on the engineer's letter went on to weigh the scale of the work at Sandy Bay. It noted the vast quantity of materials needed to complete the plan approved by the Company, and the shortage of labourers and craftsmen, many of whom Captain Mitchell had to train himself. The Council concluded that he did everything possible on his side. It considered that it gave him all the help it could, having released every soldier that the needs of the service allowed. The Council declined his request for more men from the garrison, although recruits arrived that year. The garrison had no more than three reliefs for duty once the sick, the discharged and other absentees were allowed for. The Council held that reducing that number would be imprudent and might have serious consequences. It added that every slave who could be spared was assigned to the work long before, leaving only those needed for the other essential labour of the Company's estate. The Council expected Mitchell to complete the island's defences with the hands he already had, though the lack of more might delay him by a further year in all. On cost, it judged that spreading the whole sum over five years in place of four made no real difference to the Company, apart from the engineer's salary for the extra time. The Council hoped these reasons would satisfy the Company. It trusted they would show that every step was being taken to hasten the work, given the shortage of men and of craftsmen of every kind. The Council agreed to buy one more longboat. It left open the question of a second, which could be considered before the shipping season ended. Matthew Purling reported that he went on board the Speke to muster her company and to enquire for deserters, and found none. Interpretations The Council refused its engineer on the main point, in the same minute that praised him. Mitchell argued that more hands would finish Sandy Bay sooner and more cheaply, and that the new recruits made the men available. The Council answered both halves. On numbers, the garrison stood at three reliefs, meaning that each soldier was on guard one day in three and off for two. That was the least a garrison could sustain without wearing its men out, and the roughly 250 sentinels on the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766 had to man the batteries, the guards and the lookout posts across the whole island. Soldiers sent to dig at a remote bay were not available to stand watch, and the recruits only made good the men lost to death, discharge and sickness. Three foreign armed ships lay in the road within the preceding fortnight, which gave the caution some point. On cost, the Council met Mitchell's argument with a simpler one. The stone, the mortar and the days of labour were the same whether spread over four years or five, so only the engineer's own salary grew with time. The remark carried an edge, since the man asking for haste was the one whose pay made delay expensive. It also passed over the standing charges of the site, the arrack, overseers and boats, on which his case rested. The minute was written for London. It set out the constraint of numbers, recorded that the soldiers and the Company's slaves were already committed to the limit and predicted a year's delay in advance. If the directors later complained of slow progress, the Council had its explanation on file, and it said plainly that it hoped the reasons would satisfy them. On the boats the Council gave half of what was asked. One longboat was to be bought at once, and the second deferred while ships that might sell one were still calling. The decision on 30 March 1767 to replace the wrecked yawl followed the same pattern of buying from the season's shipping. | |
387 | 1767 Muster Roll of Ship Speke Fredk Brooke Commandr Robt Maded 1st Mate Geo: Linsey 2d Do Peter Stoke 3d Do John Johnson 4th Do Thos Abson 5th Do James Lee 2d 5 Do Frans Macaulay Purser John Forbes Surgeon William Saunders Do Mte John Hicks Carpenter Thos Draper Carprs Mte Archibd Boyd Gunner Geo: Smith Gunrs 1st Mte John Willson Do 2d Do Adam Lothian Boatsn Phillip White Do Mate Mordecai Still Caulker William Dunn Do Mte Wm Thoms Cooper Wm Russell Armourer Henry Guy Coopers Mte Wm Coppock Sailmaker John Dickie Ship Stewd Willm Bailey Capts Do James Carney Ships Cook John Rialt Capts Servt John Swan Do Do James Bryant 1st Mts Do Jno Redwood 2d Do Do Geo: Chace Carpenters Do Jno Friday Gunners Do William Tisdell Boats Do Garratt Bryn Capts Cook Wm Haffey Midshipman Robt Mudge Do Samuel Willer Do Christr Jno Ranson Do Geo: Wright Coxswain Geo: Law Quartermaster James Arther Do Willm Stranger Do Marmaduke Brown Do Willm Fryer Seaman Thos Riley Do William Ford John Castalroche Willm Cambell Samuel Watson James Clark Thos Schaak Thos Manby Stalker Richd Trimble George Sheppard Joseph Young James Linsay Patrick Collins John Pane John Thompson John Mecat Tasker Rastin James Camble Peter Lyon Samuel Wood Peter Ramsay Lewis Martin William Stacey Cohroon John Baptister Seamn Arthur Kelley Michael Humphries John Gibson Edmund Newsked John Mills John Cunningham William Johnson Alexr Culshney Cronoleas Cumark John Sinidas Thos Ashton John Armourer Cussem Sarang Abdule Lascar Abdulah Mamela Padna Salamon Dowstick Mere Maude Soberah John berry Hatie Mahomet Hoson John Matthews Nebel Manede Bongue Goule Mahomet Anthonia Nagur Mahomet Mahomet Hossein Sauah Mahomet Nebel Bongue Mahomet Racer Mahomet Coob | The muster roll of the Speke, entered in the register for 1767, listed her company as follows. [...] Brooke, commander Robert Mad[...], first mate George Linsey, second mate Peter Shee, third mate John Johnson, fourth mate Thomas Abson, fifth mate James Lee, second fifth mate Francis Macaulay, purser John Forbes, surgeon William Saunders, surgeon's mate John Hicks, carpenter Thomas Draper, carpenter's mate Archibald Boyd, gunner George Smith, gunner's first mate John Willson, gunner's second mate Adam Lothian, boatswain Philip White, boatswain's mate Mordecai Ash, caulker William Dunn, caulker's mate William Short, cooper William Bissell, armourer Henry Guy, cooper's mate William Coppock, sailmaker John Dickie, ship's steward William Bailey, captain's steward James Carney, ship's cook John Riall, captain's servant John Swan, captain's servant James Bryant, first mate's servant John Redwood, second mate's servant George Chace, carpenter's servant John Friday, gunner's servant William Tisdell, boatswain's servant Garratt Bryn, captain's cook William Haffey, midshipman Robert Mudge, midshipman Samuel Willer, midshipman Charles John Ranson, midshipman George Wright, coxswain George Law, quartermaster James Archer, quartermaster William Granger, quartermaster Marmaduke Brown, quartermaster William Fryer, seaman Thomas Riley, seaman William Ford, seaman John Castaloche, seaman William Cambell, seaman Samuel Watson, seaman James Clark, seaman Thomas Schaak, seaman Thomas Manby Halke, seaman Richard Trimble, seaman George Sheppard, seaman Joseph Young, seaman James Linsay, seaman Patrick Collins, seaman John Pane, seaman John Thompson, seaman John Mecat, seaman Jasher Rastin, seaman James Camble, seaman Peter Lyon, seaman Samuel Wood, seaman Robert Ramsay, seaman Lewis Martin, seaman William Stacey, seaman Johnson, seaman John Baptista, seaman Arthur Miller, seaman Michael Humphries, seaman John Gibson, seaman Edmund Newsted, seaman John Mills, seaman John Cunningham, seaman William Johnson, seaman Alexander Culshrey, seaman [...], seaman John Simlea, seaman Thomas Ashton, seaman John Armour, seaman Cassem, serang Abdule, lascar Motulah, lascar Mamula, lascar Padrue, lascar Salamon, lascar Dorestick, lascar Mere Maude, lascar Joberah, lascar John Berry, lascar Hatie, lascar Mahomet Hoson, lascar John Matthews, lascar Nebel Mamede, lascar Bongue, lascar Goule Mahomet, lascar Anthonia, lascar Naqur Mahomet, lascar Mahomet Hossein, lascar Saiah Mahomet, lascar Nebe Bongue, lascar Mahomet Tasser, lascar Mahomet Ecob, lascar Interpretations The Speke came home with a gang of Indian seamen in her crew. Some 22 names at the end of the roll were lascars, sailors recruited in the ports of India, entered under a serang named Cassem. A serang was the headman of a lascar gang, who hired the men, gave them their orders in their own language and answered for them to the ship's officers. He stood to them as a boatswain stood to the European hands. The purser wrote their names by ear, and most were Muslim names such as Mahomet Hossein and Goule Mahomet, with one or two that suggested Portuguese-descended Christians of the Indian coast. Their presence measured the losses of the voyage. A ship left England with a full European crew, and disease, desertion and death in the East thinned it out. The captain then engaged lascars to work the ship home, since the Company's ships were forbidden to sail short-handed and no Europeans were to be had. About a fifth of this ship's company was made up in that way, a far larger share than in the Royal Charlotte or the Prince of Wales, where a handful of such men appeared under nicknames or half-recorded names. The roll came to 104 in all, more than the 90 to 95 of the other ships mustered that season, perhaps because lascars were counted as needing more hands for the same work. The roll also showed two distinct crews under one command. The Europeans were listed by rank and trade, from mates down to officers' servants. The lascars came last, in a block of their own, with no rank entered beyond that of their serang. Many of the names rested on fine judgement, among them Linsey, Shee, Abson, Lothian, Coppock, Tisdell, Haffey, Castaloche, Schaak, Mecat, Rastin and Culshrey, and nearly all of the lascars' names. The commander's forename, the first mate's surname and one seaman's name could not be read in full, and the rank of James Lee was uncertain. | |
388 | 6th April Passengers Mr Richard Dawson John Aspineer signed Fredk Brooke The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from Ship Speke viz. Account of Stores Short received from Ship Speke viz. 2 lb Sugar Short Weight 1 China Chamber Pott 2 pint Smokers 1 Half pint Do 3 Basons found broke upon opening the Packages St Helena (signed) 6th April 1767 James Powell Richard Jones Centinel this day petitioned for his Discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted time Granted We this day granted the following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honoble the Court of Directors viz. | The muster roll of the Speke, entered under 6 April 1767, closed with her passengers. Richard Dawson John Aspineer Robert Brooke signed the roll. The storekeeper delivered an account that day of the stores received short from the Speke. Sugar short in weight, 0 hundredweight, 0 quarters and 2 pounds China chamber pots found broken when the packages were opened, 1 chamber pot Pint sneakers found broken when the packages were opened, 2 sneakers Half pint sneakers found broken when the packages were opened, 1 sneaker Basins found broken when the packages were opened, 3 basins James Powell signed the account at St Helena on 6 April 1767. Richard Jones, a sentinel, petitioned that day for his discharge from the garrison, since his contracted term of service with the Company was complete. The Council granted it. The Council also issued sets of bills of exchange that day, drawn on the Court of Directors. Interpretations The Speke delivered her goods in far better order than the Prince of Wales, although the two carried matching consignments packed by the same supercargoes at Canton. The storekeeper's account of 24 March 1767 reported 84 pounds of sugar missing from the earlier ship and 30 pieces of chinaware broken out of 256. Here the sugar was two pounds light on a net weight of 2,754 pounds, and seven pieces of porcelain were broken out of a chest and a box. The difference lay in the ships and their handling, not in the packing: how the chests were stowed, how the vessel laboured on the passage and how honest her crew was with a cargo of sugar. The storekeeper's reports thus gave the Council a rough measure of each commander's care, and gave the directors grounds for a claim where the loss was large. Richard Jones stood on the second company's roll in the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766. He was the fourth soldier discharged at the end of his term since 16 February 1767, after Joseph Uffin, James Cartwright and Samuel Alston. Each petition came while homeward ships lay in the road. On the same day the Council told its engineer that the garrison could spare no more men for the works at Sandy Bay, citing the discharged among its reasons, and Jones's release showed the drain it had in mind. The surname of the second passenger and the weight of sugar short rested on fine judgement. | |
389 | 1767 One Set to Daniel Corneille Esqr for one hundred pounds payable to Christopher Baron or Order And One Sets to Mr Robert Barclay for one hundred and twenty eight pounds, twelve Shillings and Six pence payable to Mr John Manley or Order both drawn at ninety days sight John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Thursday the 9th Day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr Lieut Governor Mr Matthew Purling Capt Thos Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 6th April 1767 Yesterday Arrived the Havannah's Boat at Banks's at four o'Clock in the Afternoon Do Do The Honble Compys Ship Havannah from China This day Arrived the Honoble Compys Ship Earl of Middlesex from England, by which conveyance we received a Packet from the Honorable the Court of Directors which we opened & read The Ship Havannah brought Us the following Supplies viz. | The Council issued two sets of bills of exchange on 6 April 1767, drawn on the Court of Directors and both payable 90 days after sight. Daniel Corneille, one set payable to Christopher Baron or to his order, £100 0s 0d Robert Barclay, one set payable to John Manley or to his order, £128 12s 6d Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. The Council met at the Castle on Thursday 9 April 1767, with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick present. The minutes of the earlier consultation of 6 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The boat of the Havannah reached Banks's at four in the afternoon of Wednesday 8 April 1767, and the Company's ship Havannah arrived from China that day. The Company's ship Earl of Middlesex arrived from England on the day of the meeting. She brought a packet from the Court of Directors, which the Council opened and read. The Havannah brought supplies for the island. Interpretations Both bills were bought by residents of the island and made payable to someone else. The ships' officers who took bills on 24 March 1767 had them drawn in their own favour, since they were carrying their own money home. The Lieutenant Governor and the surgeon stayed on the island, and their bills named the persons in England who were to collect: an agent, a creditor or a relative. Robert Barclay's sum of £128 12s 6d, exact to the sixpence, had the look of an account being settled, perhaps for medicines or goods ordered from London. Corneille's round £100 was more probably savings sent to a man of business. A bill on the directors was the only practical way for a Company servant on the island to pay anyone at home. The sums were large beside the buyers' pay. On the pay list for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, Barclay drew £22 5s 0d a quarter as surgeon, so his bill exceeded a year's salary and allowances. The paymaster's account for that quarter showed him receiving further payments for the hospital, and the surgeon evidently had other income, from private practice or trade. Corneille sat on the Council that granted his bill and signed the minutes recording it. The members routinely transacted their own business with the body they belonged to, as when the Lieutenant Governor's roof was surveyed on 16 February 1767 and Matthew Bazett's lease was renewed on 9 February 1767. A second ship from England followed the Northumberland, which brought the directors' first packet on 23 March 1767. Captain Mitchell's letters of 26 January and 6 April 1767 spoke of the store ships in the plural, expecting them to bring recruits and four 13 inch mortars. The Council again met out of its weekly turn, on a Thursday, to open the packet together, as it did on Tuesday 24 March 1767. The Havannah was the fourth China ship of the season to bring supplies, after the Prince of Wales, the Speke and the Duke of Cumberland. | |
390 | 9th April Invoice of Ship Havannah No 55 @ 63 Nine Chests Sugar viz. No 55 Tare 23 Gross 327 56 27 326 57 28 316 58 25 311 103 1280 No 59 Tare 23 Gross 328 60 24 324 61 24 327 62 23 327 63 23 315 117 1621 Tare 220 2901 Gross 2681 Nt lb or Pecl 20. 10 @ 4. 5 Ts 90. 450 E. Excepted (signed) Frans Wood Benj: Torin Thos Smith Robt Jno Harrison Wm Rous Thos Bevan Thos Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl Garland Wm Mackenzie Stepn De Visme John Skottowe Danl Corneille M Purling Thos Kirkpatrick | The invoice of the Havannah, entered under 9 April 1767, listed the sugar she brought from China for the island. Nine chests of sugar, numbered 55 to 63 Chest number 55, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 327 pounds Chest number 56, tare of 27 pounds, gross weight of 326 pounds Chest number 57, tare of 28 pounds, gross weight of 316 pounds Chest number 58, tare of 25 pounds, gross weight of 311 pounds Sub-total for chests 55 to 58, tare of 103 pounds, gross weight of 1,280 pounds Chest number 59, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 328 pounds Chest number 60, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 324 pounds Chest number 61, tare of 24 pounds, gross weight of 327 pounds Chest number 62, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 327 pounds Chest number 63, tare of 23 pounds, gross weight of 315 pounds Sub-total for chests 59 to 63, tare of 117 pounds, gross weight of 1,621 pounds Total tare of 220 pounds, gross weight of 2,901 pounds, net weight of 2,681 pounds or 20.10 peculs at 4 taels and 5 mace a pecul, 90 taels, 4 mace and 5 candareens The invoice was signed, subject to the correction of any errors, by the following. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen Devisme Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The chest numbers revealed the full size of the island's sugar order. The supercargoes at Canton numbered the chests in a single series and gave each ship nine. The Prince of Wales carried numbers 10 to 18, the Speke 28 to 36, the Duke of Cumberland 37 to 45 and the Havannah 55 to 63. Two blocks of nine were missing from the sequence, numbers 19 to 27 and 46 to 54. The order was therefore divided among at least six ships, two of which either had yet to reach the island or sailed past without calling. Numbers 1 to 9 were perhaps taken up by the tea and chinaware, which were numbered in that range on the other invoices. Each block came to almost exactly 20 peculs, about 2,700 pounds, so the supercargoes sent six equal lots of some 54 hundredweight in all, of which four were now landed. The method cost the Company nothing extra in freight and guarded the island against the two risks the Council could not control from its side: a ship lost at sea and a ship that did not stop. The four lots received came to nearly 11,000 pounds of sugar, far more than a quarter's sales and issues in the store account for the quarter ending 31 December 1766, so the island was stocked well beyond a year even without the missing chests. The Havannah brought sugar only. The tea was shared among three ships and the chinaware between two, as their invoices showed, and the fourth ship's hold was used for the bulkiest and cheapest article alone. Several of the signatories' surnames rested on fine judgement. | |
391 | 13th. April At a Consultation held on Monday the 13th. day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Bazett Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 9th. April 1767. Friday the 10th. Sailed the Dane Ship Fredensborg Pallace for Copenhagen Saturday the 11th. Arrived the Hampshires Boat at Banks's at Eleven Clock in the Morning Do. Do. the Honble. Compys. Ship Hampshire from China Yesterday Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ship Speke for England The Hampshire brought Us the following Supplies vizt. Invoice of Ship Hampshire No. 64 a 72 Nine Chests Sugar vizt. No. 64 Tare 23 Grosse 305 65 24 316 66 25 306 67 23 270 95 1197 No. 68 Tare 26 Grosse 293 69 23 280 70 25 298 71 25 318 72 26 313 125 1502 Tare 220 2699 Grosse 2479 lb Nett or Pecl. 18.59 @ T 4.5 T [83].655 E. Excepted (signed) Francis Wood Benj: Torin Thoms. Smith Robt. Jno. Harrison Thos. Bevan Thos. Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Natl. Garland Willm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 13 April 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Bazett and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 9 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Danish ship Fredensborg Palace sailed for Copenhagen on Friday 10 April 1767. The Hampshire's boat reached Banks's at eleven o'clock on the morning of Saturday 11 April 1767. The Company's ship Hampshire herself arrived from China that same day. The Company's ship Speke left for England on Sunday 12 April 1767. The Hampshire delivered nine chests of sugar for the island, numbered 64 to 72, and her invoice listed them as follows. Chest 64, tare 23, gross 305 Chest 65, tare 24, gross 316 Chest 66, tare 25, gross 306 Chest 67, tare 23, gross 270 Subtotal of chests 64 to 67, tare 95, gross 1,197 Chest 68, tare 26, gross 293 Chest 69, tare 23, gross 280 Chest 70, tare 25, gross 298 Chest 71, tare 25, gross 318 Chest 72, tare 26, gross 313 Subtotal of chests 68 to 72, tare 125, gross 1,502 Total tare 220, total gross 2,699 Net weight 2,479 lb, or 18.59 piculs, at 4 taels 5 mace per picul, 83 taels 6 mace 5 candareens 5 cash The invoice closed with the usual reservation for errors. Eleven men signed it. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Interpretations The sugar was bought and priced in Chinese terms and not in sterling. The picul was the standard trading weight at Canton, reckoned at about 133⅓ lb, which is how 2,479 lb net became 18.59 piculs. The tael was the Chinese unit of silver account, divided into 10 mace, 100 candareens and 1,000 cash. The weights of the individual chests carry no unit on the page, but the net total shows that they were reckoned in pounds. Tare was the weight of the empty chest, deducted from the gross so that the island paid only for the sugar itself. Each chest was weighed and numbered separately, which allowed the storekeeper at St Helena to check every package against the invoice on landing. The eleven signatories were perhaps the Company's supercargoes in China, who bought the cargo and certified the invoice jointly. The reservation for errors that closed the document left them free to correct any slip in the reckoning afterwards. The surname of the third councillor is difficult to read and Bazett is the most probable form. The total of the tare column appears on the page as 220, and the net weight follows from that figure. | |
392 | 13th. April Mr. Matthew Bazett reports that he has been on board the Ships Havannah, Duke of Cumberland and Hampshire to Muster their Companys and enquire of deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Havannah Thos. Madge Commandr. Stepn. William 1st. Mate Geo: Forbes 2d. Do. William Fraser 3d Do. Andrew Wickison 4th Do. Jno. Stewart 5th Do. Alexr. Tullock Purser John Shaw Surgeon John Morrish Carpenter Jacob Burne Boatswn. John Bows Gunner Thos. [Fryer] Caulker Samuel Farmer Cooper Jno. Stephenson Ship Stewd. Willm. Usher Capts. Do. John Harper Sailmaker Alexr. Mullican Capts. Cook Donal. Mc.Donal Ships Do. John Cooper Carpentrs. 1st. Mate Jno. Bone Do. 2 Do. Robt. Parker Surgs. Mate Geo. Andrie Coopers Do. John Smith Boatsns. Do. Wm. Matthews Gunners Do. Robt. Jeffs Armourer Robt. Hair Quarter Master Alexr. Nicholson Do. Henry Hennet Do. Jno. Derick 2d. Quar. Mar. Robt. Gardner Do. Jno. Griffin Do. Geo: Miller Midshipn. Henry Simmons Do. John Jordon Do. Jno. Prust Do. Robt. Smith Do. Wm. Ayers Butcher Will: Wood Seaman Jno. Rainey Thos. Price Richd. Morgan John Chambers Jas. Lawson Nichs. Stickbro Matthw. Henderson Jno. Collinson Thos. Potts Alexr. Gier Richd. Madge Wm. Booth Willm. Reed Edwd. Reed Robt. Payn Hugh Simson Will Reece Michl. Turner Jno. Horn Castle, Seamn. Jno. Dickman Thos. Grayhan John Hill Geo. Sheffield Saml. Procter John Merret Archd. Mc.Collom Wm. Evans John Solloway Thos. Gibbins John Cole John Bennett John Richardson James Gardener Thos. Everett John Jos John Brown Thos. Moce Thos. Saunders Hugh Lyon Wm. Shaw Wm. Dawson Christr. Winn Thos. Smith Thos. Harvey Jno. Coatt Willm. Robinson | Matthew Bazett reported on 13 April 1767 that he went aboard the ships Havannah, Duke of Cumberland and Hampshire to muster their crews and look for deserters. He found none. The muster roll of the Havannah named the following men. Thomas Madge, commander Stephen Williams, first mate George Forbes, second mate William Fraser, third mate Andrew Dickson, fourth mate John Stewart, fifth mate Alexander Tulloch, purser John Shaw, surgeon John Morrish, carpenter Jacob Burne, boatswain John Bower, gunner Thomas [...], caulker Samuel Farmer, cooper John Stephenson, ship's steward William Usher, captain's steward John Harper, sailmaker Alexander Mullican, captain's cook Donald McDonald, ship's cook John Cooper, carpenter's first mate John Bone, carpenter's second mate Robert Parker, surgeon's mate George Andie, cooper's mate John Smith, boatswain's mate William Matthews, gunner's mate Robert Jeffs, armourer Robert Kain, quartermaster Alexander Nicholson, quartermaster Henry Hernet, quartermaster [...] Derick, second gunner's mate Robert Gardner, second gunner's mate John Griffin, second gunner's mate George Miller, midshipman Henry Simmons, midshipman John Jordon, midshipman John Prust, midshipman Robert Smith, midshipman William Ayers, butcher William Wood, seaman John Rainey, seaman Thomas Price, seaman Richard Morgan, seaman John Chambers, seaman James Lawson, seaman Nicholas Stickbro, seaman Matthew Henderson, seaman John Collinson, seaman Thomas Potts, seaman Alexander Gier, seaman Richard Madge, seaman William Beith, seaman William Reed, seaman Edward Reed, seaman Robert Payn, seaman Hugh Simson, seaman William Reece, seaman Michael Turner, seaman John Horncastle, seaman John Dickman, seaman Thomas Grayhan, seaman John Hill, seaman George Hartfield, seaman Samuel Proctor, seaman John Merret, seaman Archibald McCallom, seaman William Evans, seaman John Solloway, seaman Thomas Gibbins, seaman John Cole, seaman John Bennett, seaman John Richardson, seaman James Gardener, seaman Thomas Everett, seaman John Fox, seaman John Brown, seaman Thomas More, seaman Thomas Saunders, seaman Hugh Lyon, seaman William Shaw, seaman William Dawson, seaman Christopher Winn, seaman Thomas Smith, seaman Thomas Harvey, seaman John Coatt, seaman William Robinson, seaman Interpretations A councillor went aboard each ship in person and counted the crew against the commander's own list. The check served the island's security as much as the ships' discipline. A deserter hidden ashore became a charge on a small settlement with limited food, and a sailor who slipped aboard another vessel could carry off a soldier or slave with him. Mustering before departure let the Council hold each commander answerable for every man he brought into the road. The roll set out the working hierarchy of an East Indiaman. Five mates stood under the commander, followed by the purser, who kept the ship's accounts and stores, and the surgeon. The warrant tradesmen each had named assistants, and the armourer maintained the small arms. Separate stewards and cooks served the captain and the ship's company, which reflected the commander's private table and establishment on board. Several ratings in the roll were abbreviated heavily and three of the readings are open to doubt. The surname of the caulker could not be recovered. The rating shared by Derick, Gardner and Griffin was read as second gunner's mate, and the forename of the first of them is lost. The seamen from William Wood onward carried no rating beside their names after the first entry in each column, and the rating was carried down from those entries. | |
393 | 1767 Alexr. Griffith Seaman Wm. Vole John Dowland Thos. Goodwin Thos. Mates Peter Blair Jno. Chapman Thos. Nichols Seaman Jno. Cowlspearce Chas. Furguson Thos. Tullok John Johnson John Forbes [...] Patrick Forsyche Seamn. William Gibbs Benning Wickison Alexr. Cuspine John Williams Richd. Baldwing Jno. Bird Passengers Henry Hillary Torriano Esqr. Supra Cargo (signed) Thoms. Madge Muster Roll of Ship Duke of Cumberland August. Savage Commandr. Arch. Fraser Chief Mate Matthw. Rice 2d. Mate Peter Galliant 3. Mte Thomas Tomlins 4th. Do. Thos. Stroud Surgeon James Pritchard Purser Wm. U[...] Gunner Abraham Ezer Carpenter Fras. Goldsworth Boatswn. Geo Mc.Cullock Ships Steward Jno. [...] Cooper Timothy Carter Caulker Henry Harvey Sailmakr. Thomas Henderson Armr. Robt. Noland Midshipn. & Coxn. Thos. Connor Midshipman Robt. Legard Do. Geo Krum Do. Samuel Buck Do. Robt. Bodke Surgeons Mte James Martin Quartermr. Willm. Berry Do. John Harrison Do. John Forbes Do. John Wilson Gunrs. 1st. Mte John Adams Boats. Mate John Hadley Caulkers Do. Richd. Dowding Coopers Do. Christopher Mitchel Carptrs. Do. Chas. Robinson Capts. Stewd. William Mc. Do. Cook Lawrence Barton Ships Do. John Hays Butcher John Covell Poulterer James Mayo Baker Christr. Wm. Foster Taylor Thos. Lang Seaman David Murphy Wm. Hillyer Henry Thombs Alexr. Trattbuck James Welch Seaman Wm. Dawson Wm. Sinclair Robt. Burton Edward Atkins John Goodman Christr. Silverston Thos. Williams Wm. Sabin Isaac Hickman Wm. Nelson Wm. Brown Henry Frewen John Short Chas. Ross John Savory James Holmes Andrew Willer John Fuller Thos. White John Morris | The muster roll of the Havannah continued with a further 21 seamen. Alexander Ruppeth, seaman William Cole, seaman John Dowland, seaman Thomas Goodwin, seaman Thomas Mates, seaman Peter Blair, seaman John Chapman, seaman Thomas Nichols, seaman John Cowlspearce, seaman Charles Furguson, seaman Thomas Tulloh, seaman John Johnson, seaman John Forbes, seaman [...], seaman Patrick Froyche, seaman William Gibbs, seaman Baring Nedwitton, seaman Alexander Cushnie, seaman John Williams, seaman Richard Baldwing, seaman John Bird, seaman One passenger travelled in the ship. Henry Hillary Torriano, supercargo Thomas Madge signed the roll as commander. The muster roll of the Duke of Cumberland named the following men. August Savage, commander Archibald Fraser, chief mate Matthew Rice, second mate Peter Galliant, third mate Thomas Tomlins, fourth mate Thomas Stroud, surgeon James Pritchard, purser William Utrige, gunner Abraham Carr, carpenter Francis Goldsworth, boatswain George McCulloch, ship's steward John Groom, cooper Timothy Barton, caulker Henry Harvey, sailmaker Thomas Henderson, armourer Robert Noland, midshipman and coxswain Thomas Connors, midshipman Robert Legard, midshipman George Krum, midshipman Samuel Buck, midshipman Robert Bothe, surgeon's mate James Martin, quartermaster William Perry, quartermaster John Harrison, quartermaster John Forbes, quartermaster John Wilson, gunner's first mate John Adams, boatswain's mate John Hadley, caulker's mate Richard Dowding, cooper's mate Christopher Mitchel, carpenter's mate Charles Robinson, captain's steward William [...], captain's cook Lawrence Barton, ship's cook John Phips, butcher John Covell, poulterer James Mays, baker Christopher Foster, tailor Thomas Lang, seaman David Murphy, seaman William Hillyer, seaman Henry Thombs, seaman Alexander Tratbrook, seaman James Welsh, seaman William Dawson, seaman William Sinclair, seaman Robert Barton, seaman Edward Atkins, seaman John Goodman, seaman Christopher Silverston, seaman Thomas Williams, seaman William Sabin, seaman Isaac Hickman, seaman William Nelson, seaman William Bowen, seaman Henry Frewen, seaman John Short, seaman Charles Ross, seaman John Lowry, seaman James Holmes, seaman Andrew Willer, seaman John Fuller, seaman Thomas White, seaman John Morris, seaman Interpretations Torriano was listed apart from the crew because a supercargo was the Company's commercial agent and not a member of the ship's company. He was one of the eleven men who signed the Hampshire's sugar invoice recorded on 13 April 1767, so he was going home from the China trade in a different ship from the one that carried the island's supplies. Each commander signed his own roll, as Madge did here. The signature made him answerable for the count that Bazett took on board, and a man later found ashore could be traced to a named ship and officer. The Duke of Cumberland carried a butcher, a poulterer, a baker and a tailor among her rated men. Indiamen shipped live cattle, sheep and poultry for the passage and baked on board, so these trades fed the commander's table and the ship's company over a voyage of many months. Many surnames in both rolls were written small and hurriedly, and several readings are tentative, among them Ruppeth, Cowlspearce, Froyche, Nedwitton, Utrige and Tratbrook. One seaman's name in the Havannah's roll could not be recovered, nor could the surname of the captain's cook in the Duke of Cumberland. The ratings of the seamen were carried down from the first entry in each column. | |
394 | 13th. April Hans Sanstrum Seaman Lawrence Ellis William Britten Henry Mc.Donald James Evans John Eustace James Curtis John Conde Christn. Hanson John Bullen Nichs. Anderson Seamn. Wm. Yeldership Richd. Bridge Robt. Stallingham Richd. Bastable John Fruer Samuel Lamburn John Moore John Jennings Chas. Loyd Jno. Roberts Seamn. Robert Syley James Pointer Wm. Jefferies Herbert Loyd John Causten Thos. Wiltshire John Ward Gregy. Mc.Cormick Benj: Ogle Passengers Capt. Kendrick & Servant (signed) Jas. Pritchard Purser Muster Roll of Ship Hampshire John Smith Commander Matthew Hore 1st. Mate George Haswell 2d. Do. Robert Rous 3d. Do. William Allen 4th. Do. John Baird 5 Do. Wm. Stenson Purser James Lind Surgeon John Dronford Boatswain H. M. Voight Gunner Thos. Pitt Caulker John Dotherhow Cooper Donald Mc.Allister Capts. Stewd. Geo: Martin Sailmaker Thos. Cragghead Capts. Cook Wm. Nichols Ships Do. Alexr. Morris Carpentrs. 1st. Mte Wm. Proffitt Carpentrs. 2d. Mte Edwd. Hodges Caulkrs. Do. Thos. York Gunners Do. Richd. Randell Coopers Do. George Shad Boatsns. Do. Thos. Flynn Armourer Joseph Baily Butcher John Harry Quartermr. Wm. Bryan Do. Thos. Thompson Do. Robert Munroe Do. Wm. Lang Midshipman John Symes Midshipn. John Shaw Do. Hugh Thruston Do. John Buck Seaman Fras. Butley Robt. Brimmer Seamn. Jno. Lowe John Martin Benj: Haslop Geo: Norice Thos. Casey Geo: Frederick Alexandr. Bissett Peter Wasmaar Robt. Prout Luke Edington Alexr. Mc.Lane John Mc.Kenzie Jos: Cunningham Wm. Birch John Gaskin John Widdicomb | The muster roll of the Duke of Cumberland continued with a further 30 seamen. Hans Sanstrum, seaman Lawrence Ellis, seaman William Britten, seaman Henry McDonald, seaman James Evans, seaman John Eustace, seaman James Curtis, seaman John Conde, seaman Christian Hanson, seaman John Bullen, seaman Nicholas Anderson, seaman William Yeldership, seaman Richard Bridge, seaman Robert Stallingham, seaman Richard Bastable, seaman John Fryer, seaman Samuel Lamburn, seaman John Moore, seaman John Jennings, seaman Charles Lloyd, seaman John Roberts, seaman Robert Tyley, seaman James Bowter, seaman William Jefferies, seaman Herbert Lloyd, seaman John Causton, seaman Thomas Wiltshire, seaman John Ward, seaman Gregory McCormick, seaman Benjamin Ogle, seaman Two passengers travelled in the ship. Captain Kendrick 1 servant of Captain Kendrick James Pritchard signed the roll as purser. The muster roll of the Hampshire named the following men. John Smith, commander Matthew Hore, first mate George Haswell, second mate Robert Rous, third mate William Allen, fourth mate John Baird, fifth mate William Stenson, purser James Lind, surgeon John Dronford, boatswain H. M. Voight, gunner Thomas Pitt, caulker John Dotterthow, cooper Donald McAllister, captain's steward George Martin, sailmaker Thomas Cragghead, captain's cook William Nichols, ship's cook Alexander Morris, carpenter's first mate William Proffitt, carpenter's second mate Edward Hodges, caulker's mate Thomas Cook, gunner's mate Richard Randell, cooper's mate George Shad, boatswain's mate Thomas Flynn, armourer Joseph Baily, butcher John Harvey, quartermaster William Bryan, quartermaster Thomas Thompson, quartermaster Robert Munroe, quartermaster William Young, midshipman and coxswain John Symes, midshipman John Shea, midshipman Hugh Thruston, midshipman John Buck, seaman Francis Butley, seaman Robert Brimmer, seaman John Lowe, seaman John Martin, seaman Benjamin Haslop, seaman George Norsee, seaman Thomas Casey, seaman George Frederick, seaman Alexander Bissett, seaman Peter Wasmaar, seaman Robert Prout, seaman Luke Edington, seaman Alexander McLane, seaman John McKenzie, seaman John Cunningham, seaman William Beech, seaman John Gaskin, seaman John Widdecomb, seaman Interpretations The purser signed the Duke of Cumberland's roll, where Thomas Madge signed the Havannah's as commander in the roll recorded on 13 April 1767. The purser kept the ship's books and pay lists, so he was the officer best placed to certify the count when the commander did not sign in person. The page gives no reason for Savage's absence from the signature. Captain Kendrick's servant was counted but not named. A passenger's servant stood outside the ship's company and the Council needed only the number of people on board, not the identity of a dependant. Several names in both rolls point to seamen recruited outside Britain, among them Hans Sanstrum, Christian Hanson, H. M. Voight and Peter Wasmaar. Indiamen lost men to death and desertion in the East and made up their numbers with whatever sailors were to be had at the ports of call. Many surnames were written small and hurriedly and several readings are tentative, among them Sanstrum, Conde, Yeldership, Stallingham, Bowter, Dotterthow, Cragghead, Norsee and Wasmaar. The ratings of the seamen were carried down from the first entry in each column. No carpenter appears among the Hampshire's rated men on this page, although two carpenter's mates are listed. | |
395 | 1767 John Inskip Seaman Peter Willson John Norman Wm. Lithgo John Stewart Israel Nimbla James Macfait Geo: Frazier Josh. Hart John Goodfellow Chas. Laverick Walter Butler Robt. Mc.Allam Robt. Pethee Michael Fielding Paul Quirk Wm. Trimble Alexr. Dixon Seaman Patrick Cross John Hackney Herman Block Robert Moorhead James Willson Absalom Lundin Robert Dunn Arthur Marks Isaac Newton John King Charles Smith John Boydon William Bruce Thoms. Adams Evan Johnson [...] John Jones Seaman John Lance John Smith Boyd Dawson Jos. Rattray William Ross Thos. Davis James Nicholson Henry Hankey Thos. Cuzzey William Johnson John Pateman John Brown John Hoskins John Wynn Wm. Thomas John Baseman Passengers Francis Wood Wm. Mackinzie Supra Cargoes (signed) John Smith The Plantation Account for the Quarter and the Gunners and Stewards Accounts for the Month of March last were this day brought in which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. | The muster roll of the Hampshire continued with a further 51 seamen. John Inskep, seaman Peter Willson, seaman John Norman, seaman William Lithgo, seaman John Stewart, seaman Israel Nimbla, seaman James Macfait, seaman George Frazier, seaman Stephen Stears, seaman John Goodfellow, seaman Charles Laverick, seaman Walter Butler, seaman Robert McAllam, seaman Robert Pethee, seaman Michael Fielding, seaman Paul Quirk, seaman William Trimble, seaman Alexander Dixon, seaman Patrick Cross, seaman John Hackney, seaman Herman Block, seaman Robert Moorhead, seaman James Willson, seaman Absalom Lundin, seaman Robert Dunn, seaman Arthur Marks, seaman Isaac Newton, seaman John King, seaman Charles Smith, seaman John Boydon, seaman William Bruce, seaman Thomas Adam, seaman Evan Johnson, seaman [...], seaman John Jones, seaman John Lanes, seaman John Smith, seaman Boyd Dawson, seaman Joseph Rattray, seaman William Ross, seaman Thomas Parris, seaman James Nicholson, seaman Henry Hankey, seaman Thomas Gizzey, seaman William Johnson, seaman John Pateman, seaman John Brown, seaman John Hoskins, seaman John Mann, seaman William Thomas, seaman John Baseman, seaman Two passengers travelled in the ship. Francis Wood, supercargo William Mackenzie, supercargo John Smith signed the roll as commander. The Council received three sets of accounts for March 1767 on 13 April 1767. These were the plantation account for the quarter and the monthly accounts of the gunner and the steward. The Council examined and approved all three. Interpretations Wood and Mackenzie were two of the eleven men who signed the Hampshire's sugar invoice recorded on 13 April 1767. Torriano, a third signatory, was a passenger in the Havannah. The supercargoes who certified the island's supplies at Canton were therefore going home in the same fleet, spread between the ships and not gathered in one. The plantation account came in quarterly, while the gunner and the steward accounted every month. The gunner held the powder and ordnance stores and the steward the provisions, both of which were issued daily and were easy to embezzle. The Company's farm lands turned over more slowly, so a quarterly reckoning was enough for them. Many surnames in the roll were written small and hurriedly, and several readings are tentative, among them Inskep, Nimbla, Macfait, Stears, Pethee, Lundin, Lanes, Rattray, Gizzey and Baseman. One seaman's name at the foot of the middle column could not be recovered. The ratings of the seamen were carried down from the first entry in each column. | |
396 | Account of the Honorable Compys. Stock of Neat Cattle &ca from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Neat Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Hogs, Horses, Asses, Poultry Bulls, Cows, Calves, Yearlings, Heifers, Steers, Oxen, Total, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Total, Ewes, Weathers, Lambs, Rams, Total, Sows, Shoats, Pigs, Boars, Total, Horses, Mares, Total, He Asses, She Asses, Total, Fowls, Ducks, Turkeys, Geese Remaing. the 1st.: Bulls 3, Cows 71, Calves 63, Yearlings 24, Heifers 22, Steers 42, Oxen 16, Total 241, Ewes 313, Weathers 87, Lambs 81, Rams 10, Total 496, Ewes 80, Weathers 35, Lambs 78, Rams 4, Total 197, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 2, Horses 3, Mares 6, Total 9, He Asses 1, She Asses 1, Total 2, Fowls 107, Ducks 13, Turkeys 43, Geese 6 Encreased: Bulls 0, Cows 0, Calves 18, Yearlings 0, Heifers 0, Steers 0, Oxen 0, Total 18, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 120, Rams 0, Total 120, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 54, Rams 0, Total 54, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Total 0, He Asses 0, She Asses 0, Total 0, Fowls 53, Ducks 2, Turkeys 29, Geese 1 Received 23 Febry.: Bulls 0, Cows 10, Calves 4, Yearlings 0, Heifers 0, Steers 35, Oxen 0, Total 49, Ewes 10, Weathers 30, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Total 40, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Total 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Total 0, He Asses 0, She Asses 0, Total 0, Fowls 0, Ducks 0, Turkeys 0, Geese 0 Total: Bulls 3, Cows 81, Calves 85, Yearlings 24, Heifers 22, Steers 77, Oxen 16, Total 308, Ewes 323, Weathers 117, Lambs 201, Rams 10, Total 656, Ewes 80, Weathers 35, Lambs 132, Rams 4, Total 251, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 2, Horses 3, Mares 6, Total 9, He Asses 1, She Asses 1, Total 2, Fowls 160, Ducks 15, Turkeys 72, Geese 7 Killed: Bulls 0, Cows 1, Calves 0, Yearlings 0, Heifers 1, Steers 7, Oxen 0, Total 9, Ewes 14, Weathers 20, Lambs 1, Rams 0, Total 35, Ewes 1, Weathers 5, Lambs 7, Rams 0, Total 13, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Total 0, He Asses 0, She Asses 0, Total 0, Fowls 60, Ducks 0, Turkeys 6, Geese 0 Dead: Bulls 0, Cows 1, Calves 1, Yearlings 0, Heifers 0, Steers 1, Oxen 0, Total 3, Ewes 0, Weathers 1, Lambs 3, Rams 0, Total 4, Ewes 0, Weathers 0, Lambs 0, Rams 0, Total 0, Sows 0, Shoats 0, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 0, Horses 0, Mares 0, Total 0, He Asses 0, She Asses 0, Total 0, Fowls 21, Ducks 0, Turkeys 15, Geese 0 Remaing. 31st: Bulls 3, Cows 79, Calves 84, Yearlings 24, Heifers 21, Steers 69, Oxen 16, Total 296, Ewes 314, Weathers 96, Lambs 197, Rams 10, Total 617, Ewes 79, Weathers 30, Lambs 125, Rams 4, Total 238, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boars [2], Total 2, Horses 3, Mares 6, Total 9, He Asses 1, She Asses 1, Total 2, Fowls 79, Ducks 15, Turkeys 51, Geese 7 Changed the Species: Bulls 5, Cows [82], Calves 37, Yearlings 49, Heifers 22, Steers 79, Oxen 16, Total 296, Ewes 354, Weathers 146, Lambs 107, Rams 10, Total 617, Ewes 119, Weathers 75, Lambs 40, Rams 4, Total 238, Sows 0, Shoats 2, Pigs 0, Boars 0, Total 2, Horses 3, Mares 6, Total 9, He Asses 1, She Asses 1, Total 2, Fowls 79, Ducks 15, Turkeys 51, Geese 7 Deceased Slaves 1 Man Named Hamblett 1 Do. Do. Spring 1 Do. Do. Belford 1 Girl Born Named Hannah 1 Child Born Dead Yams Expended for the Slaves 109,190 Yams Do. for the Stock 12,200 Dan Corneille Margin Notes: 13th. April | The plantation account covered the Company's cattle and other livestock from 1 January 1767 to 31 March 1767. Cattle remaining on 1 January 1767: 3 bulls, 71 cows, 63 calves, 24 yearlings, 22 heifers, 42 steers, 16 oxen, total 241 cattle Cattle increased: 0 bulls, 0 cows, 18 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 0 steers, 0 oxen, total 18 cattle Cattle received on 23 February 1767: 0 bulls, 10 cows, 4 calves, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 35 steers, 0 oxen, total 49 cattle Cattle in all: 3 bulls, 81 cows, 85 calves, 24 yearlings, 22 heifers, 77 steers, 16 oxen, total 308 cattle Cattle killed: 0 bulls, 1 cow, 0 calves, 0 yearlings, 1 heifer, 7 steers, 0 oxen, total 9 cattle Cattle dead: 0 bulls, 1 cow, 1 calf, 0 yearlings, 0 heifers, 1 steer, 0 oxen, total 3 cattle Cattle remaining on 31 March 1767: 3 bulls, 79 cows, 84 calves, 24 yearlings, 21 heifers, 69 steers, 16 oxen, total 296 cattle Cattle after reclassification: 5 bulls, 83 cows, 37 calves, 49 yearlings, 22 heifers, 79 steers, 16 oxen, total 296 cattle Sheep remaining on 1 January 1767: 313 ewes, 87 wethers, 81 lambs, 10 rams, total 496 sheep Sheep increased: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 120 lambs, 0 rams, total 120 sheep Sheep received on 23 February 1767: 10 ewes, 30 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 40 sheep Sheep in all: 323 ewes, 117 wethers, 201 lambs, 10 rams, total 656 sheep Sheep killed: 14 ewes, 20 wethers, 1 lamb, 0 rams, total 35 sheep Sheep dead: 0 ewes, 1 wether, 3 lambs, 0 rams, total 4 sheep Sheep remaining on 31 March 1767: 314 ewes, 96 wethers, 197 lambs, 10 rams, total 617 sheep Sheep after reclassification: 354 ewes, 146 wethers, 107 lambs, 10 rams, total 617 sheep Goats remaining on 1 January 1767: 80 ewes, 35 wethers, 78 lambs, 4 rams, total 197 goats Goats increased: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 54 lambs, 0 rams, total 54 goats Goats received on 23 February 1767: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 goats Goats in all: 80 ewes, 35 wethers, 132 lambs, 4 rams, total 251 goats Goats killed: 1 ewe, 5 wethers, 7 lambs, 0 rams, total 13 goats Goats dead: 0 ewes, 0 wethers, 0 lambs, 0 rams, total 0 goats Goats remaining on 31 March 1767: 79 ewes, 30 wethers, 125 lambs, 4 rams, total 238 goats Goats after reclassification: 119 ewes, 75 wethers, 40 lambs, 4 rams, total 238 goats Hogs remaining on 1 January 1767: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Hogs increased: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Hogs received on 23 February 1767: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Hogs in all: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Hogs killed: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Hogs dead: 0 sows, 0 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 0 hogs Hogs remaining on 31 March 1767: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Hogs after reclassification: 0 sows, 2 shoats, 0 pigs, 0 boars, total 2 hogs Horses remaining on 1 January 1767: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Horses increased: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Horses received on 23 February 1767: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Horses in all: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Horses killed: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Horses dead: 0 horses, 0 mares, total 0 horses Horses remaining on 31 March 1767: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Horses after reclassification: 3 horses, 6 mares, total 9 horses Asses remaining on 1 January 1767: 1 jack ass, 1 jenny ass, total 2 asses Asses increased: 0 jack asses, 0 jenny asses, total 0 asses Asses received on 23 February 1767: 0 jack asses, 0 jenny asses, total 0 asses Asses in all: 1 jack ass, 1 jenny ass, total 2 asses Asses killed: 0 jack asses, 0 jenny asses, total 0 asses Asses dead: 0 jack asses, 0 jenny asses, total 0 asses Asses remaining on 31 March 1767: 1 jack ass, 1 jenny ass, total 2 asses Asses after reclassification: 1 jack ass, 1 jenny ass, total 2 asses Poultry remaining on 1 January 1767: 107 fowls, 13 ducks, 43 turkeys, 6 geese Poultry increased: 53 fowls, 2 ducks, 29 turkeys, 1 goose Poultry received on 23 February 1767: 0 fowls, 0 ducks, 0 turkeys, 0 geese Poultry in all: 160 fowls, 15 ducks, 72 turkeys, 7 geese Poultry killed: 60 fowls, 0 ducks, 6 turkeys, 0 geese Poultry dead: 21 fowls, 0 ducks, 15 turkeys, 0 geese Poultry remaining on 31 March 1767: 79 fowls, 15 ducks, 51 turkeys, 7 geese Poultry after reclassification: 79 fowls, 15 ducks, 51 turkeys, 7 geese The account also recorded deaths and births among the Company's slaves during the quarter. Slave died: 1 man named Hamblett Slave died: 1 man named Spring Slave died: 1 man named Belford Slave born: 1 girl named Hannah Slave stillborn: 1 child Yams were issued during the quarter as follows. Yams used for the slaves: 109,190 Yams used for the stock: 12,200 Daniel Corneille signed the account. Interpretations The last row of the table moved animals between classes without changing any total. Over the quarter calves grew into yearlings, lambs into ewes or wethers and kids into adult goats, so the clerk restated the closing herd under its new headings. This kept the next quarter's opening figures true to the age and sex of the animals actually on the ground. Slaves were entered at the foot of a livestock return, with their deaths and births set beside those of the cattle. The Company held both as plantation stock under one manager and reckoned them in one document. The naming of the newborn girl, Hannah, added her to the Company's property from birth. Yams were the staple ration of the Company's slaves, and nearly nine tenths of the quantity issued went to them. The remainder fed the animals. The page gives no unit for the two yam figures, which were perhaps reckoned in pounds. Neat cattle meant oxen and cows as distinct from other livestock. A wether was a castrated male sheep or goat kept for meat, and a shoat was a young weaned pig. The table used the sheep terms of ewe, wether, lamb and ram for the goats as well. The 49 cattle and 40 sheep received on 23 February 1767 were the only animals brought in from outside the herd during the quarter. The page does not say where they came from. Corneille signed as Lieutenant Governor, the rank given to him in the Council list of 13 April 1767. His signature shows that oversight of the plantations rested with the second man on the island and not with a subordinate overseer alone. The headings of the four hog columns were written small and their reading as sows, shoats, pigs and boars is tentative. The steers figure in the reclassified row could be read as 79 or 84. The poultry killed and dead were entered slightly below their rows, and they were assigned here as 60 fowls and 6 turkeys killed and 21 fowls and 15 turkeys dead. | |
397 | 1767 Artillery Stores Expended in March 1767 vizt. Guns Fired, lb 4, lb 3, lb 2, lb 1, Powder Expended lb, oz 5th. Fired for Captain Affleck's going on board: Guns Fired 15, lb 4 4, lb 3 1, lb 2 10, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 19, oz 8 Departed the Argo and Asia: Guns Fired 24, lb 4 4, lb 3 1, lb 2 19, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 28, oz 8 17th. A Double Alarm for four Ships that went by: Guns Fired 13, lb 4 5, lb 3 5, lb 2 0, lb 1 3, Powder Expended lb 28, oz 0 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 18. Arrived the Royal Charlotte: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 21. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 Arrived the Prince of Wales: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 22. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 Arrived the Cruttenden: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 Fired for Mr. Summers comming on Shore: Guns Fired 13, lb 4 2, lb 3 1, lb 2 10, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 15, oz 8 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 23d. Arrived a French Ship: Guns Fired 11, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 11, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 11, oz 0 An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 Arrived the Northumberland: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 25th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 Arrived A Dutch Ship: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 26th. Departed the French Ship: Guns Fired 11, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 11, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 11, oz 0 27th. Departed the Prince of Wales & Cruttenden: Guns Fired 27, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 27, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 27, oz 0 Fired for Mr. Summers Going on Board: Guns Fired 13, lb 4 1, lb 3 1, lb 2 11, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 14, oz 8 28th. An Alarm: Guns Fired 6, lb 4 2, lb 3 2, lb 2 0, lb 1 2, Powder Expended lb 12, oz 0 30th. Arrived the Speke: Guns Fired 9, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 9, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 9, oz 0 Powder Expended on Sundry Services: Guns Fired 0, lb 4 0, lb 3 0, lb 2 0, lb 1 0, Powder Expended lb 303, oz 8 Total: Guns Fired 223, lb 4 30, lb 3 23, lb 2 153, lb 1 17, Powder Expended lb 59[6], oz 8 lb oz Lead Shott for Shooting Goats 4.4 Match Expended 12 Tallow Do. 29.8 Paper for making Cartridges 102 [qrs.] Needles Expended 10 Handspikes Do. 7 Tompions Do. 2 lbrs. 4 Bills Do. 2 Sponge Staves Do. 6 Sheep Skins Do. 1 Trunk Nails Do. 50 (signed) J Mitchell [...] | The gunner's account listed the artillery stores used in March 1767. Each entry gave the guns fired, their division under four columns headed 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb and 1 lb, and the powder used. 5 March 1767, salute for Captain Affleck going on board: 15 guns fired, 4 guns at 4 lb, 1 gun at 3 lb, 10 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 19 lb 8 oz of powder On 5 March 1767 the Argo and Asia sailed: 24 guns fired, 4 guns at 4 lb, 1 gun at 3 lb, 19 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 23 lb 8 oz of powder. 17 March 1767, double alarm for four ships that passed by: 13 guns fired, 5 guns at 4 lb, 5 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 3 guns at 1 lb, 28 lb 0 oz of powder 17 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder On 18 March 1767 the Royal Charlotte arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder. 21 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder On 21 March 1767 the Prince of Wales arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder. 22 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder On 22 March 1767 the Cruttenden arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder. 22 March 1767, salute for Mr Summers coming ashore: 13 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 1 gun at 3 lb, 10 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 15 lb 8 oz of powder 22 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder 23 March 1767, arrival of a French ship: 11 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 11 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 11 lb 0 oz of powder 23 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder On 23 March 1767 the Northumberland arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder. 25 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder 25 March 1767, arrival of a Dutch ship: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder 26 March 1767, departure of the French ship: 11 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 11 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 11 lb 0 oz of powder On 27 March 1767 the Prince of Wales and Cruttenden sailed: 27 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 27 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 27 lb 0 oz of powder. 27 March 1767, salute for Mr Summers going on board: 13 guns fired, 1 gun at 4 lb, 1 gun at 3 lb, 11 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 14 lb 8 oz of powder 28 March 1767, alarm: 6 guns fired, 2 guns at 4 lb, 2 guns at 3 lb, 0 guns at 2 lb, 2 guns at 1 lb, 12 lb 0 oz of powder On 30 March 1767 the Speke arrived: 9 guns fired, 0 guns at 4 lb, 0 guns at 3 lb, 9 guns at 2 lb, 0 guns at 1 lb, 9 lb 0 oz of powder. Powder used on various other services: 0 guns fired, 303 lb 8 oz of powder Total: 223 guns fired, 30 guns at 4 lb, 23 guns at 3 lb, 153 guns at 2 lb, 17 guns at 1 lb, 59[...] lb of powder The gunner also listed the other stores used during the month. Lead shot for shooting goats, 4 lb 4 oz Slow match, 12 lb 0 oz Tallow, 29 lb 8 oz Paper for making cartridges, 102 quires Needles, 10 Handspikes, 7 Tompions for 24-pounders, 4 Bills, 2 Sponge staves, 6 Sheepskins, 1 Trunk nails, 50 Mitchell signed the account as gunner. Interpretations An alarm was the island's warning signal, fired when the lookouts sighted a sail. It called the garrison and militia to their posts until the stranger was identified. The fixed pattern of six guns appeared seven times in the month, and the four ships that passed on 17 March 1767 drew a double alarm of 13 guns. Every sighting therefore cost powder, whether or not the ship ever anchored. Salutes were graded by the standing of the ship or person. Company ships received nine guns on arrival, the French ship 11 and the Dutch ship nine. Captain Affleck was given 15 guns on embarking and Mr Summers 13 on landing and again on leaving, so both men ranked above an ordinary commander. The page does not state their offices. More than half the month's powder went on the single line for other services, which the gunner did not itemise. The saluting and alarm entries were tied to dated events that the Council could check against its own diary of shipping, but this larger sum rested on the gunner's word alone. The Speke arrived on 30 March 1767 and sailed for England on 12 April 1767, as the Council recorded on 13 April 1767. She therefore lay about a fortnight in the road. Slow match was cord treated to smoulder, used to fire the guns. Tompions were wooden plugs that kept damp out of the muzzles. Sponge staves carried the wet sponge that cleaned the bore between rounds, and the sheepskin perhaps covered the sponge heads. Tallow greased the gun carriages, and paper and needles went into making up cartridges. Bills were hooked cutting tools. The lead shot was issued for hunting goats and not for any military purpose. The four headed columns were read as 4 lb, 3 lb, 2 lb and 1 lb and taken as the powder charges of the guns fired, though the page does not explain them. The last figures of the powder total could not be read with confidence. The unit beside the cartridge paper was read as quires and the note beside the tompions as 24-pounders, and both readings are tentative. | |
398 | 13th. April Sundries Expended at the Honble. Company's Table in March 1767 vizt. To 9 Bottles Port Wine £ 13.6 24 Do. Lisbon 1.16 12 Do. Mountain 18 30 Do. Beer 6.3 93 Do. Arrack 3.13 206. Beef 4.6 300. Mutton 6.4.3 2 Kids 10 12 Fowles 12 1 Turkey 5 31 Butter 1.11 93 Candy 2.1 22. Pork 11 323 Flour 1.13 £ 25.6.5 James Henry Centinel this day petitioned for his Discharge from the Garrison having served the Honorable Company his Contracted time Granted. Ordered the following Advertizement to be published vizt. | The steward's account listed the provisions consumed at the Company's table in March 1767. 9 bottles of port wine, £0 13s 6d 24 bottles of Lisbon wine, £1 16s 0d 12 bottles of Mountain wine, £0 18s 0d 30 bottles of beer, £0 6s 3d 93 bottles of arrack, £3 13s 0d 206 lb of beef, £4 6s 0d 300 lb of mutton, £6 4s 3d 2 kids, £0 10s 0d 12 fowls, £0 18s 0d 1 turkey, £0 5s 0d 31 lb of butter, £1 11s 0d 93 lb of sugar candy, £2 1s 0d 22 lb of pork, £0 11s 0d 323 lb of flour, £1 13s 0d Total, £25 6s 5d James Henry, a centinel, petitioned the Council on 13 April 1767 for his discharge from the garrison. He had served out the term of his contract with the Company. The Council granted the request. The Council then ordered a public notice to be issued. Interpretations The Company's table was the common table kept at the Castle at the Company's expense, where the Governor and senior servants dined and visiting commanders and passengers were entertained. The steward accounted monthly for what it consumed, which let the Council see the cost of hospitality in a month when many ships called. The gunner's account for March 1767 recorded seven arrivals in the road. Arrack was by far the largest item among the drink. This spirit was distilled in the East from palm sap, rice or molasses and reached the island in the Company's ships from Batavia and India. It was the ordinary liquor of the settlement and the base of punch. Lisbon was a Portuguese white wine and Mountain a sweet wine from the hills behind Malaga. Sugar candy was sugar crystallised in large lumps, a Chinese export of the kind the Hampshire brought from Canton. A centinel was a private soldier of the garrison. Soldiers enlisted with the Company for a fixed term of years, and a man who completed it could not simply leave. He needed the Council's formal release, which ended his pay and his obligations and cleared him to take passage home or settle on the island. Henry's petition was granted without discussion because his term was complete. The quantities of meat, butter, sugar candy, pork and flour carry no unit on the page and were taken as pounds. The first item was read as port wine and the sugar candy from a heavily abbreviated word, and both readings are tentative. | |
399 | 1767 Island St. Helena 13th. April 1767 This is to give Notice to all the Inhabitants upon the said Island, that they are hereby required to Meet in Vestry at the Chappel in this Valley on Monday next, to chuse Parish Officers for the ensuing Year. They are likewise to return three of the principal Inhabitants, that one may be Elected to serve the Office of Sheriff & to chuse a proper person for a Constable Per Order of Council (signed) Mattw. Bazett Secrety. Edmund Conner Matross being missed, we apprehend he has deserted either on board the Dane Ship or the Ship Speke, but Captain Brooke having searched his Ship twice, could not find him, but just before he left the road, discovered a Man Slave of the Honorable Company's, Named Rowland, who he sent on shore John Skottowe Dan Corneille [...] Thos. Kirkpatrick | The Council issued a public notice from St Helena dated 13 April 1767. All inhabitants of the island were required to meet in vestry at the chapel in the valley on Monday 20 April 1767. The meeting was to choose the parish officers for the coming year. The inhabitants were also to put forward three of their leading men, from whom one would be appointed sheriff. A suitable person was to be chosen as constable at the same meeting. Matthew Bazett signed the notice as Secretary on the Council's instruction. Edmund Conner, a matross, was found to be missing. The Council suspected that he deserted in either the Danish ship or the Speke. Captain Brooke searched the Speke twice without finding him. Shortly before leaving the road, however, the captain discovered a male slave of the Company named Rowland on board and sent him ashore. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Bazett and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The notice shows how local office was filled on the island. The inhabitants met as a vestry, the assembly of a parish, and chose the parish officers and the constable themselves. The sheriff was handled differently. The inhabitants could only nominate three men and the choice among them was made above their heads. This kept the officer who executed court orders and held prisoners under the Council's control, while leaving the settlers a say in who was eligible. The meeting was compulsory, not an invitation. A matross was the lowest rank of artilleryman, a gunner's assistant who helped to load, sponge and move the guns. Conner therefore belonged to the establishment whose stores Mitchell accounted for in March 1767. The two ships under suspicion were the vessels that left most recently. The Fredensborg Palace sailed for Copenhagen on 10 April 1767 and the Speke for England on 12 April 1767, as the Council recorded on 13 April 1767. A foreign ship lay outside the Company's discipline and could not be searched or called to account in the same way, which made her the more probable refuge. The search for one fugitive turned up another. Rowland was Company property, and a slave who reached England or any foreign port was lost to the island for good. His discovery in a ship already searched twice shows how easily a man could be hidden in an Indiaman, and it explains why Bazett went aboard the Havannah, Duke of Cumberland and Hampshire to muster their crews before they sailed. The page records no punishment for Rowland and no inquiry into who concealed him. | |
400 | 18th. April At a Consultation held on Saturday the 18th. Day of April 1767 at the Castle. Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Bazett Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 13th. April 1767 Monday the 13th. Arrived the Deptfords Boat at Banks's at one Clock in the afternoon Do. Do. the Honble. Compys. Ship Deptford from China Tuesday the 14th. Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Havannah for England This day passed by two Ships at a great distance The Deptford brought Us the Following Supplies vizt. Invoice of Ship Deptford No. 3. 4 5 & 6 One Whole Chest Three Half Chests China Ware vizt. 20 Long Oct. Table Sets consistg. of 5 Dish 1 Tureen co[d]. Dish & Cover 20 plates & 12 Sop Plates [...] 5.000 T 100 36 [318] pr. Guglets & Basons (Stone) Do. [1000] 4 4 Milk Ewers Do. 150 .600 12 Half pint Snackers to fill up Do. 15 .180 20 Snackers (Stone) Do. 50 1 Chests found by the Merchants 105.780 2 pCt. Deduction 2,115 Carried Over T 103.665 | The Council met at the Castle on Saturday 18 April 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Bazett and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 13 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Deptford's boat reached Banks's at one o'clock on the afternoon of Monday 13 April 1767. The Company's ship Deptford herself arrived from China that same day. The Company's ship Havannah sailed for England on Tuesday 14 April 1767. Two ships passed the island at a great distance on 18 April 1767. The Deptford delivered chinaware for the island. Her invoice listed one whole chest and three half chests, numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6, with the following contents. 20 long octagonal table sets, each of 5 dishes, 1 tureen with cover and stand, 20 plates and 12 soup plates, at 5 taels a set, 100 taels 36 pairs of stoneware guglets and basins, at [...] a pair, 54 taels 4 milk ewers, at 1 mace 5 candareens each, 6 mace 12 half-pint sneakers to fill up the chests, at 1 candareen 5 cash each, 1 mace 5 candareens 20 stoneware sneakers, at 5 candareens each, 1 tael Chests, supplied by the merchants at no charge, 0 taels Total, 105 taels 7 mace 5 candareens Deduction of 2 per cent, 2 taels 1 mace 1 candareen 5 cash Carried over, 103 taels 6 mace 3 candareens 5 cash Interpretations The consignment was Chinese export porcelain and stoneware bought at Canton for use on the island. A table set was a matched dinner service, here in the elongated eight-sided shape fashionable in Europe at the time. A guglet was a long-necked water bottle, named from the gurgling sound it made in pouring, and it was paired with a basin for washing. A sneaker was a small punch bowl, and the half-pint size served one drinker. Punch made with arrack was the common drink of the settlement, and the steward's account for March 1767 showed 93 bottles of arrack used at the Company's table alone. The smallest pieces were bought to fill the empty space in the chests. Freight was reckoned by the chest, so loose room was wasted money, and cheap bowls packed into the gaps also steadied the larger pieces against breakage on the voyage. The Chinese merchants provided the packing chests free of charge and allowed 2 per cent off the total. The deduction was perhaps a customary allowance for breakage or for payment in ready silver, though the page does not say which. Twenty identical dinner services were far more than the Company's own table needed. The quantity suggests that the goods were meant for sale from the Company's store to the island's households, which had no other regular source of tableware. The rate for the guglets and basins could not be read with confidence, and the line total of 54 taels was taken as it stands. The word read as sneakers is tentative in both lines where it appears. | |
401 | 1767 Brought over T 103.6[6]5 No. 19 a 27 Nine Chests Sugar vizt. No. 19 Tare 26 Grosse 315 20 26 323 21 23 341 22 25 340 23 21 336 24 25 331 25 26 325 26 25 335 27 26 335 226 Tare 2981 Grosse 2755 lb Nett or Pecl. 20.66 @ T 4.5 Tas. 92.970 7 & 8 Two Chests Bohea Teas vizt. No. 7 Tare 39 Grosse 194 8 38 183 77 Tare 377 Grosse 300 lb Nett or Pecl. 2.25 @ 17 Tas. 38.250 5 & 6 Two Chests Congoe Teas vizt. No. 5 Tare 22 Grosse 98 6 22 97 44 Tare 195 Grosse 151 Nett or Pecul 1.13 @ 22 Tas. 24.860 Tales 259.715 E. Excepted (signed) Francis Wood Benj. Torin Thos. Smith Robt. Jno. Harrison William Rous Thos. Bevan Thos. Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme Mr. Matthew Bazett reports that he has been on board the Ship Deptford to Muster her Company and enquire for Deserters but found none, her Muster Role is as follow vizt. | The Deptford's invoice continued from the chinaware, with 103 taels 6 mace 3 candareens 5 cash brought forward. Nine chests of sugar followed, numbered 19 to 27. Chest 19, tare 23, gross 315 Chest 20, tare 26, gross 323 Chest 21, tare 23, gross 341 Chest 22, tare 25, gross 340 Chest 23, tare 27, gross 336 Chest 24, tare 25, gross 331 Chest 25, tare 26, gross 325 Chest 26, tare 25, gross 335 Chest 27, tare 26, gross 335 Total tare 226, total gross 2,981 Net weight 2,755 lb, or 20.66 piculs, at 4 taels 5 mace per picul, 92 taels 9 mace 7 candareens Two chests of Bohea tea came next, numbered 7 and 8. Chest 7, tare 39, gross 194 Chest 8, tare 38, gross 183 Total tare 77, total gross 377 Net weight 300 lb, or 2.25 piculs, at 17 taels per picul, 38 taels 2 mace 5 candareens Two chests of Congou tea completed the consignment, numbered 5 and 6. Chest 5, tare 22, gross 98 Chest 6, tare 22, gross 97 Total tare 44, total gross 195 Net weight 151 lb, or 1.13 piculs, at 22 taels per picul, 24 taels 8 mace 6 candareens Total of the invoice, 259 taels 7 mace 1 candareen 5 cash The invoice closed with the usual reservation for errors. Twelve men signed it. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Matthew Bazett reported that he went aboard the Deptford to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Interpretations Bohea and Congou were both black teas from Fujian, sold at Canton in different grades. Bohea was the cheapest and coarsest, made from the larger and later leaves, and it was the everyday tea of ordinary households. Congou was a more carefully worked leaf with a finer flavour, and the invoice priced it at 22 taels a picul against 17 for Bohea. The heavier tare of the Bohea chests reflects the large lead-lined cases in which the cheap grade was packed. The island's sugar came at a fixed price across the fleet. The Deptford's nine chests cost 4 taels 5 mace a picul, the same rate as the nine chests in the Hampshire's invoice recorded on 13 April 1767. Splitting an identical supply between two ships meant that the loss of one vessel would not leave the settlement without sugar for the year. The quantity of tea was small, about 450 lb in all, beside more than 2,700 lb of sugar. Tea was still a costly article for a garrison settlement, and this was perhaps a supply for the Company's store to sell on to those who could afford it. The signatories were the same men who signed the Hampshire's invoice, with William Rous added as a twelfth. Wood, Mackenzie and Torriano were later listed as passengers in the homeward ships on 13 April 1767. The invoices were therefore drawn up and certified at Canton before the fleet sailed. The chest numbers 5 and 6 appear both for the Congou tea here and among the chinaware in the earlier part of the invoice. Each commodity evidently carried its own series of marks. The tare of chest 23 could be read as 21 or 27, and 27 was adopted. The number of the second Bohea chest was read as 8 from the marginal note. | |
402 | 18th. April Muster Roll of Ship Deptford Wm. Tryon Commandr. Thos. Moore 1st. Mate James Buggin 2d. Do. Jno. Lewes 3d. Do. Henry Surly 4th. Do. Isaac Wood 5 Do. John Byam 6 Do. Robt. Crafts Gunner John Hall Boatswain James Richards Purser David Duncan Doctor Wm. Bell Do. Mate Geo. Patterson Midshipman Jas. Wood Do. John Porter Do. Richd. Ward Do. Daniel Auskin Do. Robt. Billington Quartermr. Andw. Atkinson Do. John Stephenson Do. Andrew Melloin Do. James Coney Do. Jas. Frazier Do. Geo: Harris Caulker John Whitticker Coopr. Wm. Ravenhill Sl. Maker Rupert Condon Sail. Mte Magn. [Rugerok] Ships Stewd. Jno. Brightmore Ships Cook Jno. White Capts. Steward Jno. Mc.Donald Capts. Cook Thos. Wall Armourer Jno. Thompson Boatsns. Mte Jas. Hill Carpentrs. 2d Mte Geo. Blackwell Caulkrs. Mte Jno. King Coopers Mate Wm. Lewis S Mrs. Mate Thos. Cogey Capts. Taylor Alexr. Ross Joyner John Mills Poulterer William Robinson Butcher Robt. Mattocks Gunners Mte Wm. Hammond Boatsn. Do. Timothy Offie Capts. Cooks Do. Saml. Simson Baker John Twaits Capts. Servant Chas. Westcott Do. Thos. Wm. Coggan 1st. Mtes Servt. Richd. Thomas 2d. Do. Do. James Reed Carpenters Do. Robt. Brightwait Boats. Do. Thos. Rogers Gunrs. Do. Saml. Bartlett Surg. Do. John Craig Seaman Robt. Moody Do. Wm. Heather Joseph Hay Patrick Stackpole John Arming Wm. Marshall Archd. Mc.Neal Frans. Templer Richd. Smedger Saml. Cornish Thos. Hill Wm. Harris Wm. Wiles Geo: Coley Seaman Henry Herrington James Clarke James Brown Alexr. Burnham James Henderson Jos: Hero Wm. Sandlens Nichs. Lawson Danl. Grant Jas. Haycroft John Kay John Moon John Wright Henry King John Whitefoot David Jeskras John Mc.Bath John Haley James Dunn Alexr. Martin Wm. Savage John Benjamin Arthur Okan Jeffery Duckwood Matthw. Griffin Jas. Tydall Wallker William Hamond Richd. Bastable John Jacobson Jas. Steward Barent Lawrence Edwd. Moore John Tendermada (signed) Wm. Tryon | The muster roll of the Deptford named the following men. William Tryon, commander Thomas Moore, first mate James Buggin, second mate John Lewes, third mate Henry Surly, fourth mate Isaac Wood, fifth mate John Byam, sixth mate Robert Crafts, gunner John Hall, boatswain James Richards, purser David Duncan, surgeon William Bell, surgeon's mate George Patterson, midshipman John Wood, midshipman John Porter, midshipman Richard Ward, midshipman Daniel Auskri, midshipman Robert Billingher, quartermaster Andrew Atkinson, quartermaster John Stephenson, quartermaster Andrew Melloin, quartermaster James Coney, quartermaster James Fargier, quartermaster George Harris, caulker John Whitticher, cooper William Ravenhill, sailmaker Rupert Condon, sailmaker's mate Magnus [...], ship's steward John Brightmore, ship's cook John White, captain's steward John McDonald, captain's cook Thomas Wall, armourer John Thompson, boatswain's mate James Hill, carpenter's second mate George Blackwell, caulker's mate John King, cooper's mate William Lewis, sailmaker's mate Thomas Vesey, captain's tailor Alexander Ross, joiner John Mills, poulterer William Robinson, butcher Robert Mallocks, gunner's mate William Hammond, boatswain's mate Timothy [...], captain's cook's mate Samuel Simson, baker John Swain, captain's servant Charles Westcott, captain's servant Thomas McCoggin, first mate's servant Richard Thornton, second mate's servant James Ford, carpenter's servant Robert Brightwait, boatswain's servant Thomas Rogers, gunner's servant Samuel Bartlett, surgeon's servant John Craig, seaman Robert Moody, seaman William Heather, seaman Joseph Hay, seaman Patrick Stackpole, seaman John Arming, seaman William Marshall, seaman Archibald McNeal, seaman Francis Dempster, seaman Richard Snodgar, seaman Samuel Cornish, seaman Thomas Hill, seaman William Harris, seaman William Wilps, seaman George Coley, seaman Henry Herrington, seaman James Clarke, seaman James Brown, seaman Abel Burnham, seaman James Henderson, seaman John Hero, seaman William Sandlins, seaman Nicholas Lawson, seaman Daniel Grant, seaman James Haycroft, seaman John Kay, seaman John Moon, seaman John Wright, seaman Henry King, seaman John Whitefoot, seaman David Jeskras, seaman John McBath, seaman John Haley, seaman James Dunn, seaman Alexander Martin, seaman William Savage, seaman John Benjamin, seaman Arthur Man, seaman Jeffery Duckwood, seaman Matthew Griffen, seaman James Tydall Walther, seaman William Hamond, seaman Richard Ostable, seaman John Jacobson, seaman James Steward, seaman Barent Lawrence, seaman Edward Moore, seaman John Tendermada, seaman William Tryon signed the roll as commander. Interpretations The Deptford's roll listed eight officers' servants by the rank of the man each attended, a class that the rolls of the Havannah, Duke of Cumberland and Hampshire recorded on 13 April 1767 did not show. A servant in an Indiaman was usually a boy or young man carried on the ship's books under an officer's name. The officer was entitled to a fixed number according to his rank, and the arrangement served as an informal apprenticeship to the sea. The commander had two, and the mates and warrant officers one each. She carried six mates, one more than the Havannah or the Hampshire, and a joiner and a captain's tailor among her tradesmen. These ratings point to a large ship with a well-appointed commander's establishment. Tryon signed in person, as Madge and Smith did for their ships. His signature bound him to the count that Bazett took on board before the ship was cleared to sail. Many surnames were written small and hurriedly, and several readings are tentative, among them Surly, Auskri, Billingher, Melloin, Fargier, Vesey, Snodgar, Wilps, Hero, Jeskras, Duckwood and Tendermada. The surnames of the ship's steward and of the captain's cook's mate could not be recovered. The ratings of the seamen were carried down from the first entry in each column. No carpenter appears on the page, although a second mate and a servant are listed for him. | |
403 | 1767 The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores, short received from Ship Deptford vizt. Acct. of Stores Short received from Ship Deptford vizt. 16 Meat Dishes 23 Do. Plates 11 Soop Do. 1 Pint Snacker 1 half Pt. Do. 1 Guglet 1 Bason found broke upon opening the Packages St. Helena 18th. Apl. 1767 (signed) James Powell Storekeeper John and Elizabeth Twaits Minors this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &c. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of John Twaits and Elizabh. Twaits Minors Sheweth That your Petitioners are desirous of chusing Guardians to take care of their Effects and having pitched upon Messrs. William Wrangham and Henry Bazett for that purpose, hope your Worship and Council will give them leave so to do And Your Petitioners will ever pray (signed) John Twaits John Twaits for Elizabeth Twaits Granted. 1767 The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores, short received from Ship Deptford vizt. Acct. of Stores Short received from Ship Deptford vizt. 16 Meat Dishes 23 Do. Plates 11 Soop Do. 1 Pint Snacker 1 half Pt. Do. 1 Guglet 1 Bason found broke upon opening the Packages St. Helena 18th. Apl. 1767 (signed) James Powell Storekeeper John and Elizabeth Twaits Minors this day presented the following Petition vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. Governor &c. Council of St. Helena The humble Petition of John Twaits and Elizabh. Twaits Minors Sheweth That your Petitioners are desirous of chusing Guardians to take care of their Effects and having pitched upon Messrs. William Wrangham and Henry Bazett for that purpose, hope your Worship and Council will give them leave so to do And Your Petitioners will ever pray (signed) John Twaits John Twaits for Elizabeth Twaits Granted. | The storekeeper reported to the Council on 18 April 1767 that some of the goods landed from the Deptford fell short of her invoice. His account listed the pieces found broken when the packages were opened. 16 meat dishes, broken 23 meat plates, broken 11 soup plates, broken 1 pint sneaker, broken 1 half-pint sneaker, broken 1 guglet, broken 1 basin, broken James Powell signed the account as storekeeper at St Helena on 18 April 1767. John and Elizabeth Twaits, both minors, petitioned Governor Skottowe and the Council on the same day. They wished to appoint guardians to look after their property. Their choice fell on William Wrangham and Henry Bazett, and they asked the Council's permission to appoint them. John Twaits signed the petition for himself and on behalf of Elizabeth. The Council granted the request. Interpretations The storekeeper's return protected him. He was personally answerable for everything entered in the invoice, so he reported the breakages at once and had them placed on the Council's record. The 54 broken pieces then stood as a loss to the Company and not as a deficiency in his own stock. The damage fell mainly on the dinner services listed in the Deptford's invoice recorded on 18 April 1767. The merchants at Canton allowed only 2 per cent off that invoice, which was far less than the loss on the dishes and plates actually suffered. The petition shows the Council acting as the island's court for orphans' estates. The two minors named their own guardians, which the law allowed to children old enough to make a choice, but the appointment had no force until the Council approved it. That approval gave Wrangham and Bazett authority to manage the property and made them accountable for it. The page does not record the children's ages, their parentage or what the property was. Elizabeth did not sign for herself. Her brother signed in her place, which suggests that she was the younger of the two or could not write. Henry Bazett shared a surname with Matthew Bazett, the councillor and Secretary who sat at the meeting that approved the appointment. The page does not state how the two men were related. | |
404 | 18th. April Mr. Matthew Bazett this day applied to Us to pay, one hundred and ninety pounds, twelve Shillings into the Honble. Company's Cash, which Sum We have received, and given him Bills of Exchange, drawn upon the Honorable the Court of Directors, payable to Captain Robert Brooke, or Order ninety days after sight John Skottowe Dan Corneille [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 20th. Day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and Signed dated the 18th. April 1767 Saturday the 18th. Arrived the Foxes Boat at Banks's at one o'Clock in the afternoon Do. Do. Arrived the Honble. Company's Ship Fox from China This day Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ships Deptford, & Hampshire for England Do. Arrived a Dutch Ship from Ceylon, called the General Governor, Capt. Anderson, burthen about seven hundred Tons, carrys twenty four Guns & one hundred Men loaden with Spice and bound to Middlebourg | Matthew Bazett applied to the Council on 18 April 1767 to pay £190 12s 0d into the Company's treasury. The Council accepted the money and issued him bills of exchange for the same sum. The bills were drawn on the Court of Directors and made payable to Captain Robert Brooke or his order, 90 days after sight. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Bazett and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. The Council met again at the Castle on Monday 20 April 1767. The Governor attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Bazett and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 18 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Fox's boat reached Banks's at one o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday 18 April 1767. The Company's ship Fox herself arrived from China that same day. The Company's ships Deptford and Hampshire sailed for England on 20 April 1767. A Dutch ship from Ceylon, the General Governor, arrived on the same day under Captain Anderson. She was of about 700 tons and carried 24 guns and 100 men. Her cargo was spice and she was bound for Middelburg. Interpretations The bills of exchange were the island's means of sending money to England without shipping coin. Bazett handed cash to the treasury at St Helena, and the directors in London paid out the same amount to whoever presented the bill. The 90 days after sight gave the Court time to verify the bill against the Council's own advice before the money fell due. The words "or his order" allowed Brooke to sign the bill over to a third party, so it could pass from hand to hand like money. The arrangement suited both sides. The island kept scarce coin in circulation to pay the garrison, and the remitter avoided the risk of carrying specie by sea. Brooke was the captain who searched the Speke for the missing matross, and he sailed for England on 12 April 1767. The bills were therefore made out to a man already at sea. Bazett perhaps owed Brooke for goods bought from the ship's private trade, with the paper to follow him home in a later vessel. The page does not state the reason for the payment. Bazett sat as a councillor at the meeting that accepted his own money and issued his bills, and he signed the minute recording it. The transaction was entered openly in the record, which was the Company's safeguard where its servants dealt with the treasury on their own account. The Council noted the Dutch ship's tonnage, guns, crew, cargo, origin and destination, far more than it recorded for the Company's own vessels. These particulars were intelligence. A foreign ship in the road was a possible threat to a lightly held island and a commercial rival to the Company, and the directors expected to be told what their competitors were carrying home. Middelburg was the seat of the Zeeland chamber of the Dutch East India Company, and Ceylon was the source of its cinnamon. The name of the Dutch ship was read as General Governor and is tentative. | |
405 | 20th. April Invoice of Ship Fox 46 @ 54 Nine Chests Sugar vizt. No. 46 Tare 26 Grosse 320 47 25 316 48 26 320 49 23 337 Tare 100 1293 No. 50 Tare 26 Grosse 344 51 26 318 52 25 336 53 25 336 54 25 330 127 1664 Tare 227 2957 Grosse 2730 lb Nett or Pecl. 20.47 @ 4.5 Tales 92.115 E. Excepted (signed) Francis Wood Benj. Torin Thos. Smith Robt. Jno. Harrison Wm. Rous Thos. Bevan Thos. Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl. Garland Wm. Mackenzie Stepn. De Visme The Storekeeper this day brought in his Collections and the Paymaster his Accounts for the Quarter commencg. the 1st. January, and ending the 31st. March 1767 which were examined and approved and are as follow vizt. | The Fox's invoice, entered on 20 April 1767, listed nine chests of sugar for the island, numbered 46 to 54. Chest 46, tare 26, gross 320 Chest 47, tare 25, gross 316 Chest 48, tare 26, gross 320 Chest 49, tare 23, gross 337 Subtotal of chests 46 to 49, tare 100, gross 1,293 Chest 50, tare 26, gross 344 Chest 51, tare 26, gross 318 Chest 52, tare 25, gross 336 Chest 53, tare 25, gross 336 Chest 54, tare 25, gross 330 Subtotal of chests 50 to 54, tare 127, gross 1,664 Total tare 227, total gross 2,957 Net weight 2,730 lb, or 20.47 piculs, at 4 taels 5 mace per picul, 92 taels 1 mace 1 candareen 5 cash The invoice closed with the usual reservation for errors. Twelve men signed it. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith Robert John Harrison William Rous Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme The storekeeper and the paymaster both submitted their returns to the Council on 20 April 1767. The storekeeper brought in his collections and the paymaster his accounts, each for the quarter from 1 January 1767 to 31 March 1767. The Council examined and approved them. Interpretations The Fox was the third China ship of the season to land exactly nine chests of sugar at 4 taels 5 mace a picul. The Hampshire's invoice was recorded on 13 April 1767 and the Deptford's on 18 April 1767. The three consignments together came to 27 chests and 7,964 lb net. The supercargoes at Canton evidently bought one annual order for the island at a single price and divided it equally among the homeward ships. The chest numbers ran in separate blocks for each vessel, 64 to 72, 19 to 27 and 46 to 54, which points to one large purchase marked in sequence and then parcelled out. The storekeeper's collections were the sums he took in from selling the Company's goods to the inhabitants and garrison. The store was the island's main source of imported articles, and its receipts returned to the treasury much of the money paid out in wages. The paymaster's accounts recorded those wages. Presenting the two together let the Council set what the Company paid its people against what it recovered from them across the same quarter. | |
406 | 20th. April Collection of Goods Sold and delivered out of the Honble. Company's Ware Houses from the 1st. Janry. to the 31 March 1767 Vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 2435 lb Sugar 42.16 1692 Candy 38.15.6 81.11.6 Salt 8 3/4 Bushels 1.16.6 Kersey 6 Yards 9 Starch 20 9.2 Teas vizt. 22 lb Bohea 1.2.11 22 Congo 1.13 2.15.11 Lead vizt. 64 lb Shott 14.8 5 1/4 Sheet Lead 1.2 15.10 Soap 64 lb 2.1[4] Rice and Paddy vizt. 1420 Paddy 2.19.7 84 Rice 7.6 3.7.1 Twine vizt. 7 1/4 Cotton wick 1.4.3 3 Skanes Twine 1.10 1.6.1 Challow 6 Pieces 2.14.6 Shalloon vizt. 9 1/2 Yards Coloured 17 1 1/2 Scarlet 3.10 1.-.10 Pepper 18 lb 10.1 Beef and Pork vizt. 2025 Ps. Pork 202.10 2044 Ps. Beef 204.8 406.18 Carried Over £ 506.9.6 | The storekeeper's return listed the goods sold and issued from the Company's warehouses between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 2,435 lb of sugar, £42 16s 0d 1,692 lb of sugar candy, £38 15s 6d Total for sugar and sugar candy, £81 11s 6d 3¾ bushels of salt, £1 16s 6d 6 yards of kersey, £0 9s 0d 20 lb of starch, £0 9s 2d 22 lb of Bohea tea, £1 2s 11d 22 lb of Congou tea, £1 13s 0d Total for tea, £2 15s 11d 64 lb of lead shot, £0 14s 8d 5¼ lb of sheet lead, £0 1s 2d Total for lead, £0 15s 10d 64 lb of soap, £2 [...]s 0d 1,420 lb of paddy, £2 19s 7d 84 lb of rice, £0 7s 6d Total for rice and paddy, £3 7s 1d 7¼ lb of cotton wick, £1 4s 3d 3 skeins of twine, £0 1s 10d Total for twine, £1 6s 1d 6 pieces of chelloes, £2 14s 6d 9½ yards of coloured shalloon, £0 17s 0d 1½ yards of scarlet shalloon, £0 3s 10d Total for shalloon, £1 0s 10d 13 lb of pepper, £0 10s 1d 2,025 pieces of pork, £202 10s 0d 2,044 pieces of beef, £204 8s 0d Total for beef and pork, £406 18s 0d Carried over, £506 9s 6d Interpretations Salt meat accounted for about four fifths of the value on the page. The beef and pork were issued by the piece, the standard cut in which salted provisions were packed in casks, and each piece was charged at 2s. An issue of roughly 2,000 pieces of each over three months points to the regular ration of the garrison, drawn from the store and charged against the men's pay. The island's own herds could not feed the soldiers. The plantation account for the same quarter showed only nine cattle and 35 sheep killed. Several of the goods would be unfamiliar now. Kersey was a coarse, hard-wearing woollen cloth used for working clothes. Shalloon was a light twilled worsted, mostly used to line coats, and the scarlet was perhaps for uniform. Chelloes were a cheap striped or checked Indian cotton, sold by the piece. Paddy was rice still in the husk, which cost far less by weight than cleaned rice and was fed to slaves and stock. Sugar candy was sugar crystallised in lumps, imported from China. The store sold 2,435 lb of sugar in the quarter. The three China ships landed 7,964 lb net in April 1767, as their invoices recorded on 13 April 1767, 18 April 1767 and 20 April 1767. At the quarter's rate of sale that supply would last about ten months, which fits a yearly order delivered by the homeward fleet. Tea sold slowly by comparison, at 22 lb of each kind. The Deptford brought 300 lb of Bohea and 151 lb of Congou, several years' supply of the dearer leaf at this pace. The equal weights sold suggest a fixed allowance issued to a small number of buyers. The shillings in the soap entry could not be read with confidence. The cloth read as chelloes and the unit read as pieces for the beef and pork are tentative readings of abbreviated words. The weights of sugar, starch, tea, lead, soap, paddy, rice, wick and pepper were taken as pounds from the marks above the figures. | |
407 | 1767 Brought over £ 506.9.6 Thread vizt. 2 lb Whited Brown 15.5 7 1/2 Coloured 1.8.1 1/2 5 oz No. 26 5.6 1/2 2.9.1 Canvas 24 Yards English 1.11.7 Flannel 7 Yards 9.4 Buckram 4 1/2 Yds. 5 Pease and Beans vizt. 1/2 B. Split Pease 3.7 1/8 B. Beans 8 4.3 Cordage 45 lb 16.10 Long Ells 2 Yards Scarlet 5.4 Oil 2 Galls. Linseed 8.8 Candles 10 lb 1.2.11 Ticking 19 Yards 3.2.9 Blankets 2 11.4 Leather 1/2 Sole 6 Arrack 1 3/4 Galls. 1.1.3 Hooks & Lines vizt. 25 No. 13 2 1/2 50 14 Hooks 5 1/2 7 Large 1.9 12 No. 2 3.11 8 4 Lines 3.5 1 Hambro 1.9 1 Deep Sea 5.2 16.3 Nails vizt. 5 2 3.11 1/2 2 3 1.7 1/2 24 4 16.6 46 6 1.7.9 30 10 15 9 40 3.6 1/2 16 Floor Brads 7 1/2 Glaz. Do. 11 3.15.4 Carried Over £ 5[23].16.4 | The storekeeper's return continued with £506 9s 6d brought forward from the earlier part of the account. 2 lb of whited-brown thread, £0 15s 5d 7½ lb of coloured thread, £1 8s 1½d Scotch thread number 26, £0 5s 6½d Total for thread, £2 9s 1d 24 yards of English canvas, £1 11s 7d 7 yards of flannel, £0 9s 4d 4½ yards of buckram, £0 5s 0d ½ bushel of split peas, £0 3s 7d ⅛ bushel of beans, £0 0s 8d Total for peas and beans, £0 4s 3d 45 lb of cordage, £0 16s 10d 2 yards of scarlet long ells, £0 5s 4d 2 gallons of linseed oil, £0 8s 8d 10 lb of candles, £1 2s 11d 19 yards of ticking, £3 2s 9d 2 blankets, £0 11s 4d ½ sole of leather, £0 0s 6d 1¾ gallons of arrack, £1 1s 3d 25 fish hooks of size 13, £0 0s 2½d 50 fish hooks of size 14, £0 0s 5½d 7 large fish hooks, £0 1s 9d 12 fishing lines of size 2, £0 3s 11d 8 fishing lines of size 4, £0 3s 5d 1 Hambro line, £0 1s 9d 1 deep-sea line, £0 5s 2d Total for hooks and lines, £0 16s 8d Twopenny nails, quantity 5, £0 3s 11½d Threepenny nails, quantity 2, £0 1s 7½d Fourpenny nails, quantity 24, £0 16s 6d Sixpenny nails, quantity 46, £1 19s 9d Tenpenny nails, quantity 32, £0 15s 0d Fortypenny nails, quantity 9, £0 3s 6½d Floor brads, quantity 16, £0 1s 0d Glazing brads, quantity ½, £0 0s 11d Total for nails, £3 15s 4d Carried over, £523 16s 4d Interpretations The goods on this page were the working materials of a household, a workshop and a fishing boat. Whited-brown thread was linen thread only partly bleached, strong and cheap, used for coarse sewing. Buckram was linen stiffened with size for lining and shaping garments. Long ells were a light woollen serge made in the west of England, and the scarlet was perhaps for trimming uniform. Ticking was the close-woven striped cloth used to cover mattresses and pillows. A Hambro line was a small tarred cord, named from Hamburg, used on board ship and for fishing. Brads were thin headless nails, the floor kind for boards and the glazing kind for fixing panes in a frame. Nails were sold by the old penny sizes, which graded them by length from the small twopenny to the heavy fortypenny spike. The sixpenny and fourpenny sizes sold most, the ordinary lengths for boarding and light carpentry. Every nail on the island came from England, so the store's sales give a fair measure of how much building and repair the inhabitants undertook in the quarter. The hooks and lines show the store supplying the island's fishery. Fish was a main part of the diet for poorer inhabitants and slaves, and the deep-sea line, the dearest single item in the group, was for the offshore grounds. Arrack appeared here in a quantity of under two gallons, against 93 bottles used at the Company's table in March 1767 alone. The store was plainly not the main channel through which the spirit reached the settlement. The quantities of nails and brads carry no unit on the page, and they were perhaps reckoned in hundreds or thousands. The unit beside the candles was taken as pounds. Several readings are tentative, among them the Scotch thread, the price of the coloured thread, the price of the ticking and the sum against the sixpenny nails. The total for hooks and lines was read as £0 16s 8d. | |
408 | 20th. April Brought over £ 523.16.4 Paint vizt. 23 1/2 lb Smalts 1.17.2 19 lb Red mixed 9.11 23 White Lead Do. 10 99 Whiting 8.3 1 lb Red dry 2 1/2 1 Copperas 1.- 1/2 1 Verdigrease 4.4 3.10.11 Cutlery Ware vizt. 1 Fine Ivory Comb 2.- 1/2 11 Horn Do. 2.- 1/4 10 Ivory Do. 1.- 1/4 6 Shoe Knives 2.3 8.5 Long Cloth vizt. 3 Ps. No. [...] 7.12 15 1/2 Ps. No. [...] 24.1.7 31.13.7 Hosiers Ware vizt. 1 Pr. Scarlet Breeches 15 50 Pr. Ordinary thread Stockgs. 7.18.4 8.13.4 Books vizt. 1 Common prayer Book 3.2 1 Primmer 3 3.5 Tin Ware 1 Sauce Pan 7 China Ware vizt. 5 Guglets and Basons 12.7 2 Sallad Dishes 1.8 2 Sets Dishes & Plates 2.-.2 4 Tea pots 3.8 6 Snackers 1.5 4 Bowls 6.3 3.5.9 Carried Over £ 571.6.4 | The storekeeper's return continued with £523 10s 4d brought forward. 23½ lb of smalt, £1 17s 2d 19 lb of mixed red paint, £0 9s 11d 23 lb of mixed white lead, £0 10s 0d 99 lb of whiting, £0 8s 3d 1¼ lb of dry red pigment, £0 0s 2½d 1 lb of copperas, £0 1s 0½d 1 lb of verdigris, £0 4s 4d Total for paint, £3 10s 11d 1 fine ivory comb, £0 2s 0½d 11 horn combs, £0 2s 0¼d 10 ivory combs, £0 [...] 6 shoe knives, £0 2s 3d Total for cutlery, £0 8s 5d 3 pieces of long cloth of number [...], £7 12s 0d 15¼ pieces of long cloth of number [...], £24 1s 7d Total for long cloth, £31 13s 7d 1 pair of scarlet breeches, £0 15s 0d 50 pairs of ordinary thread stockings, £7 18s 4d Total for hosiery, £8 13s 4d 1 Book of Common Prayer, £0 3s 2d 1 primer, £0 0s 3d Total for books, £0 3s 5d 1 tin saucepan, £0 0s 7d 5 guglets and basins, £0 12s 7d 2 salad dishes, £0 1s 8d 2 sets of dishes and plates, £2 0s 2d 4 teapots, £0 3s 8d 6 sneakers, £0 1s 5d 4 bowls, £0 6s 3d Total for chinaware, £3 5s 9d Carried over, £571 6s 4d Interpretations Long cloth was the largest sale on the page. It was a plain white cotton woven on the Coromandel coast of India and exported in long standard pieces, from which it took its name. The Company's ships brought it to the island, where it served for shirts, shifts, sheets and every other household use. Its two grades were sold under different numbers, and more than 18 pieces went in a single quarter. Indian cotton, and not English linen, therefore clothed most of the settlement. The paint materials were sold as raw ingredients and not ready-made. Smalt was a deep blue pigment made by grinding glass coloured with cobalt. White lead was the standard base for oil paint, and whiting was ground chalk used for whitewash and putty. Copperas was iron sulphate, used in dyeing and ink and for blackening leather. Verdigris was the green crust formed on copper, ground for green paint. The heavy sale of whiting reflects the limewashed buildings of the valley. The chinaware sold was of the same kinds as the goods in the Deptford's invoice recorded on 18 April 1767, including guglets with basins, table sets and sneakers. The store was thus already retailing Chinese porcelain to the inhabitants before that consignment arrived. This supports the reading that the 20 dinner services in the invoice were meant for sale and not for the Company's own table. The 50 pairs of thread stockings were knitted from linen or cotton yarn, the ordinary wear of soldiers and working men. A sale of that size in three months points to the garrison as the main customer. The primer, a child's first reading book, sold for 3d and shows the store supplying what schooling the island offered. The grade numbers of the two kinds of long cloth and the sum against the ten ivory combs could not be read with confidence. The weights of the paint materials were taken as pounds, though the mark is clear only on the first lines. | |
409 | 1767 Brought over £ 571.6.4 Haberdashery vizt. 27 Sks. Silk 15.9 32 Do. Mohair 16 1/2 Gross Shirt Buttons 1.2 1 Cockade 4 1/2 3 Gross Horn Moulds 7.4 1/2 2.-.8 Serge 2 1/4 Yds. Scarlet Duffle 1.2.2 Camblet 1 1/2 Yds. Scarlet 7.2 Broad Cloth vizt. 1 Yd. Green 15.10 2 1/8 Yds. Lt. Grey 2.16.8 11 1/2 Do. Blue 11.19.5 15.11.11 Iron Ware vizt. 2 Blank Keys 11 1/2 1 Small Fryg. Pan 2.1 1 Pr. Bellows 4.4 1/2 1 Broad Hoe 2.7 1 Iron rim'd Lock wth. Brass Knobs 8.3 18.11 Glass Ware vizt. 1 Tumbler 8 1/2 2 Beer Glasses 1.11 1/2 2.8 Braziers Ware 1 Flat Candlestick 3.9 Shirts 2 Contracts Shirts 9.8 Turners Ware 2 Shoe Brushes 1.[3] Cart Wheels 2 Spare Sides for Wheel Barrows 3.8 Pitch 2 lb Rozin 4 Flour vizt. 2195 Flour 18.5.10 [...] 243.2 Do. Baked 231.18.8 250.4.6 £ 842.13 | The storekeeper's return concluded with £571 6s 4d brought forward. 27 skeins of silk, £0 15s 9d 32 skeins of mohair, £0 16s 0d ½ gross of shirt buttons, £0 1s 2d 1 cockade, £0 0s 4½d 3 gross of horn button moulds, £0 7s 4½d Total for haberdashery, £2 0s 8d 2¾ yards of scarlet duffel serge, £1 2s 2d 1½ yards of scarlet camlet, £0 7s 2d 1 yard of green broadcloth, £0 15s 10d 2⅛ yards of grey broadcloth, £2 16s 8d 11½ yards of blue broadcloth, £11 19s 5d Total for broadcloth, £15 11s 11d 2 blank keys, £0 1s 7½d 1 small frying pan, £0 2s 1d 1 pair of bellows, £0 4s 4½d 1 broad hoe, £0 2s 7d 1 iron-rimmed lock with brass knobs, £0 8s 3d Total for ironware, £0 18s 11d 1 tumbler, £0 0s 8½d 2 beer glasses, £0 1s 11½d Total for glassware, £0 2s 8d 1 flat brass candlestick, £0 3s 9d 2 [...] shirts, £0 9s 8d 2 shoe brushes, £0 1s 3d 2 spare sides for wheelbarrows, £0 3s 8d 2 lb of rosin, £0 0s 4d 2,195 lb of flour, £18 5s 10d 243 cwt 2 qr of flour issued baked, £231 18s 8d Total for flour, £250 4s 6d Total of the account, £842 13s 0d Interpretations Baked flour was the second great item of the quarter after salt meat. The Company's bakehouse turned imported flour into bread and the store issued it by weight, more than 12 tons in three months. This was the garrison's bread ration, charged like the meat against the soldiers' pay. The salt beef and pork came to £406 18s 0d in the earlier part of the account, and the two rations together made up roughly three quarters of the whole £842 13s 0d. The store's business was therefore mainly feeding the Company's own men, with retail trade to the inhabitants a small addition. Only 2,195 lb of flour was sold unbaked, which suggests that few private households baked for themselves. The cloth and trimmings were the materials of tailoring. Broadcloth was the fine, dense woollen of English manufacture used for coats, and the blue sold here cost about £1 a yard, a price only officers and wealthier settlers could meet. Camlet was a lighter mixed fabric of wool with silk or goat hair. Duffel was a thick woollen with a raised nap. Mohair twist was used to work buttonholes and cover buttons, and the horn moulds were the plain discs over which cloth or thread buttons were made up. A cockade was the ribbon rosette worn on a military hat. The scarlet cloths and the cockade point to officers of the garrison fitting themselves out. The account grouped goods under the names of the trades that made them. The candlestick stood under the brazier, who worked in brass, and the shoe brushes under the turner, who shaped wood on a lathe. The store kept its stock and its books in the categories of an English wholesale warehouse. The word describing the two shirts could not be read. The last line was read as flour issued baked, with its weight in hundredweights and quarters, and the reading of that heavily abbreviated entry is tentative. | |
410 | 20th. April Sold to the Planters at 35 pCt. Vizt. Salloon 3 Yards Coloured £ 6.9 Buckram 1 Yd. 1.3 Long Cloth 1 Ps. [...] 1.15.10 Camblet 5 1/2 Yards Blue 1.5 Haberdashery vizt. 4 Skains Silk 3 5 Sks. Mohair 2.11 5.11 Broad Cloth 2 1/2 Yards Brown 2.8.1 Sold at 40 pCent vizt. Sugar and Candy vizt. 313 lb Sugar 6.12.6 260 Candy 5.16.8 12.9.2 Flour 90 lb 1.2.6 Lead vizt. 12 lb Shott 3.6 17 Sheet Lead 4.11 8.5 Pepper 3 lb 2.3 Cordage 40 1/4 1.-.4 Oil vizt. 3 Galls. Linseed 16.6 1/2 Oil of Turpentine 11 17.5 Salt 1 5/8 Bushell 4.7 Long Cloth 5 Ps. L[...] 34.6.8 Tea vizt. 3 lb Bohea 3.9 7 Congo 14 17.9 Starch 1 lb [7] Sope 6 lb 5.10 Candles 4 lb 11.8 Canvas 2 Ps. English 6.10 Deals 3 Double 14.3 Carried Over £ 65.14.3 | The storekeeper also returned the goods sold to the planters between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. The first group was sold at an advance of 35 per cent. 3 yards of coloured shalloon, £0 6s 9d 1 yard of buckram, £0 1s 3d 1 piece of long cloth, £1 15s 10d 5½ yards of blue camlet, £1 5s 0d 4 skeins of silk, £0 3s 0d 5 skeins of mohair, £0 2s 11d Total for haberdashery, £0 5s 11d 2½ yards of brown broadcloth, £2 8s 1d The remaining goods were sold to the planters at an advance of 40 per cent. 313 lb of sugar, £6 12s 6d 200 lb of sugar candy, £5 16s 8d Total for sugar and sugar candy, £12 9s 2d 90 lb of flour, £1 2s 6d 12 lb of lead shot, £0 3s 6d 17 lb of sheet lead, £0 4s 11d Total for lead, £0 8s 5d 3 lb of pepper, £0 2s 3d 40¾ lb of cordage, £1 0s 4d 3 gallons of linseed oil, £0 16s 6d ½ gallon of oil of turpentine, £0 0s 11d Total for oil, £0 17s 5d 1⅛ bushels of salt, £0 4s 7d 5 pieces of long cloth, £34 6s 8d 3 lb of Bohea tea, £0 3s 9d 7 lb of Congou tea, £0 14s 0d Total for tea, £0 17s 9d 1 lb of starch, £0 0s 7d 6 lb of soap, £0 5s 10d 4 lb of candles, £0 11s 8d 2 pieces of English canvas, £6 10s 0d 3 double deals, £0 14s 3d Carried over, £65 14s 3d Interpretations The Company sold from its store at a fixed percentage above the invoice cost of the goods, and the rate depended on who was buying. The planters, the free landholders of the island, paid 35 per cent on English cloth and trimmings and 40 per cent on groceries and stores. The prices show that they paid more than the customers in the main account. Sugar cost the planters about 5d a pound here, against a little over 4d in the general return for the same quarter. Bohea tea cost them 1s 3d a pound against about 1s 0½d. The cheaper rate was perhaps the one allowed to the garrison and the Company's servants. The store thus worked as a privilege of service as well as a shop, and the planters, who had no other supplier, bore the higher charge. The planters' purchases were small beside the garrison's rations. Their whole account to this point came to £65 14s 3d, against £842 13s 0d in the general return. They bought no salt meat or bread at all and only 90 lb of flour, since they lived off their own land. Their spending went on what the island could not produce, chiefly cotton cloth, sugar, canvas and timber. Deals were sawn planks of fir or pine from the Baltic, and a double deal was one of twice the usual thickness. The island had almost no building timber of its own, so every board came by sea. Oil of turpentine was the spirit distilled from pine resin, used to thin paint. The five pieces of long cloth cost far more for each piece than the single piece sold at 35 per cent. They were perhaps of a much finer grade or longer measure, and the mark beside the entry that might explain the difference could not be read. The unit beside the candles was taken as pounds and the measure of turpentine as a gallon, and both are tentative. | |
411 | 1767 Brought over £ 65.14.3 Hooks & Lines vizt. 50 No. 1 3.7 2 Large Hooks 7 3 Deep Sea 1.-.- 13 No. 4 Lines 7.2 1 Hambro 2.3 1.13.7 Nails vizt. 3 2 3.1 1/2 1 3 1.- 1/2 4 4 3.4 17 6 13.5 1/2 10 10 6.10 1/4 3 Coopers Rivets 2.1 1.9.11 Paint vizt. 5 Blue Smalts 10.5 16 Ven. Red mixed 11.4 2 1/4 Copperas 3.5 2 Olive Colour 5 26 White Lead dry 13 1 Do. Do. mixed 7 1/2 Verdigrease 4.2 2.7.11 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Gimblet 4 2 Scythe Stones 8 1.- Pitch & Tar vizt. 30 lb Turpentine 9.4 1/2 2 Galls. Tar 2 5 lb Pitch 1.- 1/2 12.5 Cuttlery 1 Shoe Knife 6 Glass Ware vizt. 2 Beer Glasses 2.7 1 Pr. Candle Shades 1.2 1.4.7 £ 73.4.2 | The planters' account continued with £65 14s 3d brought forward. 50 fish hooks of size 1, £0 3s 7d 2 large fish hooks, £0 0s 7d 3 deep-sea lines, £1 0s 0d 13 fishing lines of size 4, £0 7s 2d 1 Hambro line, £0 2s 3d Total for hooks and lines, £1 13s 7d Twopenny nails, quantity 3, £0 3s 1½d Threepenny nails, quantity 1, £0 1s 0¾d Fourpenny nails, quantity 4, £0 3s 4d Sixpenny nails, quantity 17, £0 13s 5½d Tenpenny nails, quantity 10, £0 6s 10¼d Copper rivets, quantity 3, £0 2s 1d Total for nails, £1 9s 11d 5 lb of blue smalt, £0 10s 5d 16 lb of mixed Venetian red, £0 11s 4d 2¼ lb of copperas, £0 3s 5d 2 lb of olive colour, £0 5s 0d 26 lb of dry white lead, £0 13s 0d 1 lb of mixed white lead, £0 0s 7d ½ lb of verdigris, £0 4s 2d Total for paint, £2 7s 11d 1 gimlet, £0 0s 4d 2 scythe stones, £0 0s 8d Total for ironware, £0 1s 0d 30 lb of turpentine, £0 9s 4½d 2 gallons of tar, £0 2s 0d 5 lb of pitch, £0 1s 0½d Total for pitch and tar, £0 12s 5d 1 shoe knife, £0 0s 6d 2 beer glasses, £0 2s 7d 1 pair of candle shades, £1 2s 0d Total for glassware, £1 4s 7d Total of the planters' account, £73 4s 2d Interpretations The planters' whole custom for the quarter came to £73 4s 2d, under a tenth of the £842 13s 0d in the general return. The Company's store existed mainly to supply its own establishment. The free inhabitants were a minor market, though one that paid the higher advance of 35 or 40 per cent. The higher prices show again on this page. Two beer glasses cost the planters £0 2s 7d, against £0 1s 11½d for the same pair in the general return. A Hambro line cost them £0 2s 3d against £0 1s 9d. The difference in each case was close to a third. The pair of candle shades was the dearest single article after cloth. These were tall open glass cylinders set over a candlestick to keep the flame steady in a draught, much used in houses in India and other warm stations where windows stood open. Their price reflects the cost and risk of carrying large blown glass by sea. Venetian red was a cheap earth pigment coloured by iron oxide, the usual paint for doors, shutters and outbuildings. Olive colour was a ready-ground green-brown pigment. Scythe stones were whetstones for sharpening blades in the field. Turpentine sold by the pound was the raw sticky resin of the pine, distinct from the distilled spirit sold by measure in the earlier part of the account. With tar and pitch it served to waterproof boats, roofs and timber. The three deep-sea lines and 13 smaller lines, with the tar and pitch, show planters fitting out boats for fishing offshore. A household with land still looked to the sea for part of its food. The quantities of nails and rivets carry no unit on the page. The weights of the paint materials were taken as pounds from the mark on the first line. | |
412 | 20th. April Sold to the Honble. Company's Ships from 1st. Janry. to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Canvas 40 Yards English 1.13.4 Twine 18 Sks. 15.9 Cordage 314 lb 7.17 Oil 1/2 Gall. Oil of Turpentine 7.3 Nails vizt. 5 4 4.2 3 6 2.5 8 Scupper 6.4 10 Coopers Rivets 7.2 1.-.1 £ 11.13.5 Charges General Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 Candles vizt. 100 Castle 10.16.8 135 Council 13.11.3 4 Doctors Shop 8.4 2 Secretarys Office 4.2 1 1/2 Lt. Govrs. House 3.2 25.3.7 Iron Ware vizt. 1 Barrack Door Lock Stores 5 6 Gimblets Carpentrs. Do. 1.4 1/2 1 Blank Key Castle 3 3/4 1 Pr. Butt Hinges Guns Stores 1.2 4 lb Flour Emery 6 12 Sheets Emery Paper 1.4 10.7 Arrack 115 1/2 Gs. for Sundrys Doctors Shop & Men Employed in the Stores 15.5 Carried Over £ 40.19.2 | The storekeeper returned the goods sold to the Company's ships between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 40 yards of English canvas, £1 13s 4d 18 skeins of twine, £0 15s 9d 3¼ cwt of cordage, £7 11s 0d [...] gallons of oil of turpentine, £0 [...]s 3d Fourpenny nails, quantity 5, £0 4s 2d Sixpenny nails, quantity 3, £0 2s 5d 3 lb of scupper nails, £0 6s 4d 10 lb of copper rivets, £0 7s 2d Total for nails, £1 0s 1d Total sold to the Company's ships, £11 13s 5d A further account charged the Company's general expenses with the stores issued for its own use over the same quarter. 100 lb of candles for the Castle, £10 16s 8d 135 lb of candles for the Council, £13 11s 3d 4 lb of candles for the doctor's shop, £0 8s 4d 2 lb of candles for the Secretary's office, £0 4s 2d 1½ lb of candles for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 3s 2d Total for candles, £25 3s 7d 1 stock lock for a barrack door, £0 5s 0d 6 gimlets for the carpenter's shop, £0 1s 4½d 1 blank key for the Castle, £0 0s 8¾d 1 pair of butt hinges for the guard house, £0 1s 2d 4 lb of flour emery, £0 0s 6d 12 sheets of emery paper, £0 1s 4d Total for ironware, £0 10s 7d 115½ gallons of arrack for various uses, the doctor's shop and the men working in the stores, £15 5s 0d Carried over, £40 19s 2d Interpretations Charges General was the heading in the Company's books for the running costs of the establishment that could not be billed to any person. The storekeeper could not simply hand out candles or tools to the Castle. Each issue was entered as a debt owed by this account to the store, at a price, so that the stock still balanced and the directors could see what the administration cost. The candles alone came to £25 3s 7d for the quarter, most of it for lighting the Castle and its offices. The Company's ships bought only small repair stores at the island, mainly rope, canvas and nails. Scupper nails were short broad-headed nails for fastening leather or canvas over the drain holes in a ship's side. The modest total suggests that commanders drew on the store only for what ran short on the passage, since the same articles cost more here than at home. Arrack was issued to the men who worked in the stores as part of their reward for heavy labour, and to the doctor's shop, where spirit served as a medicine and a solvent for drugs. A drink allowance in place of extra wages was a common way of paying for landing and shifting cargo. A stock lock was a plain lock cased in a wooden block and fixed to the face of a door. Flour emery was the finest grade of the powdered abrasive, used with the emery paper for cleaning and polishing arms and ironwork. Several readings on this page are tentative. The quantity and shillings of the turpentine sold to the ships could not be read. The unit of the candles was taken as pounds, and the second candle entry was read as the Council's. The quantity of arrack was read as 115½ gallons, though the sum against it is low for that amount beside the price charged in the general return. The cordage was taken as hundredweights and the scupper nails and rivets as pounds. | |
413 | 1767 Brought over £ 40.19.2 Sugar & Candy vizt. 70 Candy for the Groom Gardener & 1.12.6 6 Sugar Doctors Shop 1.6 1.14.- Tea 6 lb Bohea for the Groom and Gardener 5.[2] Starch 7 1/2 for Linnen 3.2 Iron 86 lb Armourers Use 19.8 Oil vizt. 3 1/2 Galls. Linseed 12.10 1/2 Do. Oil of Turpentine Armory 1.4 14.2 Hooks and Lines vizt. 50 Hooks No. 1 2.6 1/2 45 7 1.4 1/2 25 9 8 1/2 25 11 For the Governors and 5 25 12 Lieutenant Governors 4 1/2 25 14 Fishermen 2 1/2 12 Lines No. 2 3.7 12 3 4.4 1 Log Line 11 1/2 14.6 Lead vizt. 72 3/4 Sheet Lead for the Castle [...] 15.2 8 Shott 1.8 16.10 Deals 2 double Deals for the Castle, Lt. Govrs. House 6.10 35 Single Do. and Bake House 3.17.4 4.4.2 Paint vizt. 2 lb Blue Smalts for Linen 2.10 1 White Lead dry Castle 4 5 Whiting Lieut. Governors House 4 23 Brimstone Do. 4.10 5 1/2 Chalk for Coopers Use 2 8.6 Carried Over £ 50.19.10 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use continued with £40 19s 2d brought forward. 78 lb of sugar candy for the groom, the gardener and the doctor's shop, £1 12s 6d 6 lb of sugar for the groom, the gardener and the doctor's shop, £0 1s 6d Total for sugar and sugar candy, £1 14s 0d 6 lb of Bohea tea for the groom and the gardener, £0 5s 8d 7½ lb of starch for linen, £0 3s 2d 86 lb of iron for the armourer's use, £0 19s 8d 3¼ gallons of linseed oil for the armoury, £0 12s 10d ¼ gallon of oil of turpentine for the armoury, £0 1s 4d Total for oil, £0 14s 2d 50 fish hooks of size 1, £0 2s 6½d 45 fish hooks of size 7, £0 1s 4½d 25 fish hooks of size 9, £0 0s 8½d 25 fish hooks of size 11, £0 0s 5d 25 fish hooks of size 12, £0 0s 4½d 25 fish hooks of size 14, £0 0s 2½d 12 fishing lines of size 2, £0 3s 7d 12 fishing lines of size 3, £0 4s 4d 1 log line, £0 0s 11½d Total for hooks and lines, £0 14s 6d 72¾ lb of sheet lead for the Castle, £0 15s 2d 8 lb of lead shot for the Castle, £0 1s 8d Total for lead, £0 16s 10d 2 double deals for the Castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the bakehouse, £0 6s 10d 35 single deals for the Castle, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the bakehouse, £3 17s 4d Total for deals, £4 4s 2d 2 lb of blue smalt for linen, £0 2s 10d 1 lb of dry white lead for the Castle, £0 0s 4d 5 lb of whiting for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 4d 23 lb of brimstone for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 4s 10d 5½ lb of chalk for the cooper's use, £0 0s 2d Total for paint, £0 8s 6d Carried over, £50 19s 10d All the hooks and lines were issued for the fishermen who served Governor Skottowe and the Lieutenant Governor. Interpretations The store ran three price levels in one quarter. Sugar issued on the Company's own account was charged at 3d a pound here. The general return priced it at a little over 4d, and the planters paid about 5d. The internal issues evidently stood at or near invoice cost, since the Company gained nothing by charging itself a profit. The margin grew with the buyer's distance from the Company's service. Several of the entries were perquisites of office paid in kind. The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor each kept fishermen to supply their tables, and the Company provided the tackle. Their houses were repaired, painted and lit from the store. The groom and the gardener received tea, sugar and sugar candy as an allowance on top of their wages. None of this appeared in any salary list, so the issue account is the only place where the real value of these posts can be seen. Smalt and starch were issued together for linen. The blue pigment was used in the wash to counter the yellowing of white cloth, and starch stiffened it afterwards. The entries point to a laundry kept at the Company's expense for the Castle's table and bed linen. The armourer drew 86 lb of bar iron with linseed oil and turpentine. He forged and repaired the fittings of the garrison's muskets and used the oils to protect metal and stocks from the sea air. A log line was the knotted cord run out behind a vessel to measure her speed, here perhaps put to use in the fishing boats. Brimstone was sulphur, burned to fumigate rooms and casks. The sugar candy was read as 78 lb and the brimstone as 23 lb, and both figures are tentative. The weights of the paint materials were taken as pounds from the mark on the first line. | |
414 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 50.19.10 Twine 2 Sks. Stores Use and Groom 1.2 Haberdashery 3 Silk for the Govrs. Fishermen 1.7 Nails vizt. 1 2 8 1/2 1/2 Glazg. Brads for makg. Packet Boxes 10 1 3 Store Use 8 3/4 3 4 Lt. Governrs. House 1.9 26 6 for the Castle repairg. the Bake 14.1 15 10 House Lieut. Governors House 6.7 10 20 and Carpenters Shop 3.6 1/2 6 Coopers Rivets Coopers Use 2.9 1.11.- Challoes 1/2 Piece Rubbers in the Castle 4.2 Pitch and Tar vizt. 1 Turpentine for the Armourer 3 25 Rozin 3.8 3/8 Gall. Tar Lt. Governors House 6 4.5 Coals 25 Bushels for the Armourers Shop 1.13.4 Cordage 116 1/2 Store Use Crane Rope & Lieut. Govrs. House 1.18.10 Canvas 3 3/4 Yds. Ozenbrigs for Packets 3.1 Long Cloth 2 Ps. [...] for makg. Sheets for the Steward & Gardener 2.17.4 Thread 1/2 W Brown for the Castle 3.6 Cuttlery 12 Ivory Handles Knives & Forks Castle 2.7.8 £ 62.5.11 Diet Expences Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Salt 1 1/2 Bushel 5.8 Flour 440 3.13.4 Arrack 48 Galls. 6.9 Candy 294 6.2.6 Rice 100 10 Carried Over £ 17.-.6 | The account of stores issued for the Company's own use concluded with £50 19s 10d brought forward. 2 skeins of twine for the stores and the groom, £0 1s 2d 3 skeins of silk for the fishermen of the Governor, £0 1s 7d Twopenny nails for making packet boxes, quantity 1, £0 0s 8½d Glazing brads for making packet boxes, quantity ½, £0 0s 10d Threepenny nails for the stores, quantity 1, £0 0s 8¾d Fourpenny nails for the Lieutenant Governor's house, quantity 3, £0 1s 9d Sixpenny nails for the Castle, the bakehouse repairs, the Lieutenant Governor's house and the carpenter's shop, quantity 26, £0 14s 1d Tenpenny nails for the same works, quantity 15, £0 6s 7d Twentypenny nails for the same works, quantity 10, £0 3s 6½d Copper rivets for the cooper's use, quantity 6, £0 2s 9d Total for nails, £1 11s 0d ½ piece of chelloes for cleaning cloths in the Castle, £0 4s 2d 1 lb of turpentine for the armourer, £0 0s 3d 23 lb of rosin for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 3s 8d ⅜ gallon of tar for the Lieutenant Governor's house, £0 0s 6d Total for pitch and tar, £0 4s 5d 25 bushels of coal for the armourer's shop, £1 13s 4d 116½ lb of cordage for the stores, the crane rope and the Lieutenant Governor's house, £1 18s 10d 3¾ yards of osnaburg canvas for packets, £0 3s 1d 2 pieces of long cloth for sheets for the steward and the gardener, £2 17s 4d ½ lb of whited-brown thread for the Castle, £0 3s 6d 12 ivory-handled knives and forks for the Castle, £2 7s 3d Total charged to general expenses, £62 5s 11d A separate account charged the cost of the Company's table with the stores issued to it between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 1½ bushels of salt, £0 5s 8d 440 lb of flour, £3 13s 4d 43 gallons of arrack, £6 9s 0d 294 lb of sugar candy, £6 2s 6d 100 lb of rice, £0 10s 0d Carried over, £17 0s 6d Interpretations The table account can be set against the steward's return for March 1767. He recorded 323 lb of flour and 93 lb of sugar candy consumed in that month, out of 440 lb and 294 lb drawn from the store in the whole quarter. The candy ran at an even pace, but nearly three quarters of the flour went in March alone. That was the month when the gunner's account showed seven arrivals in the road, so the baking for the table rose with the number of commanders and passengers entertained. Arrack was charged to the table at 3s a gallon. The general return priced 1¾ gallons at £1 1s 3d, about 12s a gallon. The spirit therefore sold to ordinary buyers at four times its cost to the Company, a far steeper advance than the 35 or 40 per cent laid on other goods for the planters. A heavy charge on liquor both raised revenue and restrained drinking in the garrison. Packet boxes were the cases in which the Council's letters, accounts and copies of these consultations travelled to the directors in London. The store supplied the nails for making them and coarse canvas to wrap the packets. Osnaburg was a rough unbleached linen named from Osnabrück in Germany, much used for sacking and wrappers. The dispatches for the homeward ships of April 1767 were being made up as this account closed. The coal was sea coal shipped from England for the armourer's forge, since the island's scarce wood gave too little heat for working iron. The chelloes, an Indian cotton, were cut up for cleaning cloths, and Indian long cloth made the servants' sheets. The cheapest textiles on the island came from India and not from Europe. The total of the general expenses account was read as £62 5s 11d. The quantities of nails and rivets carry no unit on the page. The canvas was read as osnaburg and the measure of tar as ⅜ gallon, and both are tentative. | |
415 | 1767 Brought over £ 17.-.6 Beef & Pork vizt. 29 Ps. Pork 3.2.9 4 Ps. Beef 13.3 3.16.- Tea 1 lb Bohea 11 Pepper 6 lb 3.- £ 21.-.5 Garrison Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1 Janry. to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Teas 48 lb Bohea for the several Guards 2.-.4 Oil vizt. 12 1/8 Galls. Linseed for Do. 2.11.3 1/2 Gall. Train 1.8 2.12.10 Deals vizt. 12 Double Deals Do. for Cotts 2.1 3 Single 6.8 2.7.8 Lines 4 lb Whip Cord for Whips 13.6 Nails vizt. 10 3 7.5 1/2 14 6 for Cotts and repairg. the Barracks 7.7 1 10 3 1/2 15.4 Twine 2 Sks. for the Artillery Compy. 1.2 Paint vizt. 10 lb Whiting 7 14 Y. Oaker dry to Clean Accoutmts. and 3.3 2 Ven. Red mixed mark Blankets 11 4.9 Haberdashery vizt. 1/4 Gross Worsted Lace for Waistcoats 2.11 1/4 Do. Do. Do. for Hats 2.11 5.10 Carried Over £ 9.1.5 | The account of stores issued to the Company's table concluded with £17 0s 6d brought forward. 29 pieces of pork, £3 2s 9d 6 pieces of beef, £0 13s 3d Total for beef and pork, £3 16s 0d 1 lb of Bohea tea, £0 0s 11d 6 lb of pepper, £0 3s 0d Total charged to the Company's table, £21 0s 5d A further account charged the garrison with the stores issued to it between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 44 lb of Bohea tea for the various guards, £2 0s 4d 12½ gallons of linseed oil for the guards, £2 11s 2d ½ gallon of train oil for the guards, £0 1s 8d Total for oil, £2 12s 10d 12 double deals for cots, £2 1s 0d 3 single deals for cots, £0 6s 8d Total for deals, £2 7s 8d 4 lb of whipcord for whips, £0 13s 6d Threepenny nails for cots and barrack repairs, quantity 10, £0 7s 3½d Sixpenny nails for cots and barrack repairs, quantity 14, £0 7s 7d Tenpenny nails for cots and barrack repairs, quantity 1, £0 0s 5½d Total for nails, £0 15s 4d 2 skeins of twine for the artillery company, £0 1s 2d 10 lb of whiting for cleaning accoutrements and marking blankets, £0 0s 7d 14 lb of dry yellow ochre for cleaning accoutrements and marking blankets, £0 3s 3d 2 lb of mixed Venetian red for cleaning accoutrements and marking blankets, £0 0s 11d Total for paint, £0 4s 9d ¼ gross of worsted lace for waistcoats, £0 2s 11d ¼ gross of worsted lace for hats, £0 2s 11d Total for haberdashery, £0 5s 10d Carried over, £9 1s 5d Interpretations The garrison account covered what the Company supplied to the soldiers as a body, free of charge, as distinct from the rations and goods the men bought against their pay. The largest item was tea for the guards. Men on duty through the night at the island's posts received Bohea at the Company's cost, which kept them awake and gave them something other than spirits to drink. An issue of tea to common soldiers was unusual in England at this date, where it remained a costly article. At St Helena the China ships made the cheapest grade plentiful. Whipcord was hard, tightly twisted cord used to make the lashes of a whip. Four pounds of it issued to the garrison for that purpose shows that flogging was the regular punishment of the soldiery, and that the instruments were made up on the island from the Company's own store. The pigments were not for painting. Whiting whitened the soldiers' cross-belts and other leather, and yellow ochre gave a buff colour to accoutrements. Venetian red served for marking the blankets with a sign of ownership, which made a stolen or pawned blanket easy to identify. Worsted lace was the woven woollen braid that edged the men's hats and waistcoats, the trimming that turned plain clothing into uniform. Train oil was oil rendered from whale blubber and burned in lamps, here for the guardrooms. The deals and nails went into cots, the plank bed frames of the barracks. The Company's table drew £21 0s 5d of goods from the store over the whole quarter. The steward's account for March 1767 alone came to £25 6s 5d. Most of what the table consumed, the wines, fresh mutton, beef and poultry, therefore came from the plantations and other sources and not from the warehouse. The number of pieces of beef and the weight of tea for the guards are tentative readings, as is the sum against the linseed oil. The quantities of nails carry no unit on the page. | |
416 | 20th. April Brought over £ 9.1.5 Candles 32 1/2 for the Officers on Duty 3.7.9 Iron Ware 1 Small Fryg. Pan Ruperts Guard 1.11 Blankets 29 for the Recruits 7.8.8 Canvas 2 Ps. English for Cotts 4.11.- Soldiers Cloths 1 Contt. Coat & Breeches for a Recruit 1.9.5 Hats 1 Contracts for Do. 2.10 Hosiers Ware 1 Pr. Ordinary thread Stocks. for Do. 3.1 Beef 24 Ps. Given to the Recruits 3.19.6 Arrack 11 1/4 Galls. for Drams 1.10.3 Flour 80 lb Given to the Recruits 13.4 Shirts vizt. 1 Shirt 4.5 1 Roler for a Recruit 8 5.1 Thread 1 lb Coloured 3.5 £ 32.17.8 Blacks Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 Sugar 227 lb 2.16.9 Tea 7 lb Bohea 2.13.6 Rice 4547 20.6.- Oil 1 1/2 Galls. Linseed for the Sick 6.5 Beef & Pork vizt. 775 Ps. Pork 110.12 606 Ps. Beef 100.7.4 210.19.4 Arrack 11 1/2 Galls. 1.10.11 Flour 2 lb 4 Pepper 2 lb [...] Blacks 1.- Shoes 45 Prs. Mens Ordy. for the Stable, Carpenters 9.11.3 Candles 1 to Examine the Blacks House 2.1 Long Cloth vizt. [...] Ps. [...] for the Governors Sl[...] 9.7 1 Ps. No. [...] & Lying in Women 2.6 £ 2.15.7 Carried Over £ 251.3.2 | The garrison account concluded with £9 1s 5d brought forward. 32½ lb of candles for the officers on duty, £3 7s 9d 1 small frying pan for the guard, £0 1s 11d 29 blankets for the recruits, £7 3s 8d 2 pieces of English canvas for cots, £4 11s 0d 1 coat, waistcoat and breeches for a recruit, £1 9s 5d 1 hat for a recruit, £0 2s 10d 1 pair of ordinary thread stockings for a recruit, £0 3s 1d 24 pieces of beef given to the recruits, £3 19s 6d 11¾ gallons of arrack for drams, £1 15s 3d 80 lb of flour given to the recruits, £0 13s 4d 1 shirt for a recruit, £0 4s 5d 1 roller for a recruit, £0 0s 8d Total for shirts, £0 5s 1d 1 lb of coloured thread, £0 3s 5d Total charged to the garrison, £32 17s 8d Another account charged the Company's slaves with the stores issued for them between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 227 lb of sugar, £2 16s 9d 57 lb of Bohea tea, £2 13s 6d 4,547 lb of rice, £20 6s 0d 1½ gallons of linseed oil for the sick, £0 6s 5d 775 pieces of pork, £110 12s 0d 606 pieces of beef, £100 7s 4d Total for beef and pork, £210 19s 4d 11½ gallons of arrack, £1 10s 11d 2 lb of flour, £0 0s 4d 2 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 45 pairs of men's shoes for the slave craftsmen, £9 11s 3d 1 lb of candles for inspecting the slaves' houses, £0 2s 1d [...] of long cloth for the slaves of the Governor, £0 9s 7d 1 piece of long cloth for women in childbirth, £2 6s 0d Total for long cloth, £2 15s 7d Carried over, £251 3s 2d Interpretations The slaves' account was nearly eight times the size of the garrison's, because the Company fed its slaves entirely while the soldiers bought their rations from their pay. Salt meat made up £210 19s 4d of it, about 1,380 pieces in three months. Rice came to more than two tons. The plantation account for the same quarter recorded 109,190 yams used for the slaves, so their diet rested on yams grown on the island, with imported rice and salted beef and pork added from the store. The cost shows how far the Company's labour force depended on provisions brought by sea. A candle was issued for inspecting the slaves' houses. The quarters were searched after dark, when the occupants were all present, for stolen goods, runaways and anyone sheltered there without leave. The entry is small, but it records a routine of surveillance that otherwise left no trace in the accounts. The slave Rowland was found hidden in the Speke, as the Council recorded on 13 April 1767. Shoes went only to the craftsmen among the slaves. Masons, carpenters and smiths worked on rough ground and with heavy materials and were valuable enough to protect. Field hands evidently went barefoot. A whole piece of cotton was set aside for women in childbirth, for bedding and for wrapping the newborn. The plantation account for the quarter recorded one girl born and one child stillborn. A recruit received a full suit, hat, stockings, shirt and roller from the store on joining. A roller was a long strip of cloth wound round the neck as a soldier's neckcloth. The 29 blankets suggest a draft of about that number of new men landed during the quarter, who were also given beef and flour until they came onto the regular ration. Arrack for drams was the small measure of spirit served out to men on hard duty or in bad weather. Several readings are tentative. The number of pieces of beef given to the recruits sits oddly with its sum. The quantity of long cloth for the Governor's slaves could not be read, and the word for the slave craftsmen was heavily abbreviated. The weight of tea, the sum against the rice and the count of pieces of pork are also uncertain. | |
417 | 1767 Brot. Over £ 251.3.2 Thread 1/2 Whited Brown Governors Servants 3.6 Sope 5. for Do. 3.3 Blankets 1 5.2 Salt 1/4 Bushell [...] Blacks 11 Hosiers Ware 12 Pr. Ordy. Thread Stocks. for ye. Blacks in the Castle 1.16.9 £ 253.12.9 Mallay Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. Janry. to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Rice 156 lb 15 Sugar 26 6.6 Arrack 4 1/4 Galls. 11.5 Salt 1/4 Bushell 11 Sope 6 lb 3.11 Pepper 2 lb 1.- Tea 3 lb Bohea 2.10 Oil 1 Gall. Linseed 3.11 £ 2.5.6 Plantation Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1 January to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Rice 503 lb for the Poultry 2.10 Paddy 4632 for Do. and Horses 8.15.10 Iron Ware vizt. 4 Scythes 1.1.2 12 Scythe Stones Plantation House garden 2.9 1.3.11 Pitch and Tar vizt. 50 lb Rozin 7.4 6 G. Tar for the Plantation House 4.6 1 lb Pitch 2 12.- Candles vizt. 6 lb for Plant: House 12.6 Carried Over £ 13.14.[2] | The slaves' account concluded with £251 3s 2d brought forward. ½ lb of whited-brown thread for the servants of Governor Skottowe, £0 3s 6d 5 lb of soap for the servants of the Governor, £0 3s 3d 1 blanket, £0 5s 2d ¼ bushel of salt for the slaves, £0 0s 11d 12 pairs of ordinary thread stockings for the slaves in the Castle, £1 16s 9d Total charged to the slaves, £253 12s 9d A short account under the heading Malay was charged with the stores issued between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 150 lb of rice, £0 15s 0d 26 lb of sugar, £0 6s 6d 4¼ gallons of arrack, £0 11s 5d ¼ bushel of salt, £0 0s 11d 6 lb of soap, £0 3s 11d 2 lb of pepper, £0 1s 0d 3 lb of Bohea tea, £0 2s 10d 1 gallon of linseed oil, £0 3s 11d Total charged to the Malay account, £2 5s 6d The plantation was charged with the stores issued to it over the same quarter. 503 lb of rice for the poultry, £2 10s 0d 4,632 lb of paddy for the poultry and horses, £8 15s 10d 4 scythes for the garden of the plantation house, £1 1s 2d 12 scythe stones for the garden of the plantation house, £0 2s 9d Total for ironware, £1 3s 11d 50 lb of rosin for the plantation house, £0 7s 4d 6 gallons of tar for the plantation house, £0 4s 6d 1 lb of pitch for the plantation house, £0 0s 2d Total for pitch and tar, £0 12s 0d 6 lb of candles for the plantation house, £0 12s 6d Carried over, £13 14s 3d Interpretations The slaves who worked inside the Castle were given stockings, and the Governor's household servants received soap and thread. No other slaves in the account were issued either. Those who waited on the Governor and Council were dressed to be seen by visiting commanders and passengers, and their appearance was part of the establishment's dignity. The same account gave shoes only to the craftsmen, so clothing marked a hierarchy among the slaves according to the work each did. The Malay account stood apart from the slaves' and was charged separately, with its own ration of rice, sugar, arrack, tea, soap and pepper. The quantities would keep one person or a very small household for a quarter. The diet of rice with pepper and no salt meat differed from the slaves' issue. The page does not say who was meant. The entry perhaps supported a person from the East Indies kept on the island at the Company's cost and on a footing distinct from its slaves. The plantation drew more than two tons of paddy for the poultry and horses. The stock account for the quarter recorded 12,200 yams used for the animals as well. The Company's nine horses and its flocks of fowls and turkeys were therefore fed partly on grain shipped from India, since the island grew too little fodder of its own. The poultry supplied the Company's table and the ships, which explains why imported rice was spent on them. Plantation House was the Company's country residence in the interior, set among its farm lands. The scythes were for mowing its grounds, and the rosin, tar and pitch were for weatherproofing its roof and timbers against the damp of the uplands. The heading of the second account was read as Malay and is tentative, as are the quantity of arrack in it and the sum against the stockings. The weights of rice, sugar, soap, pepper, tea, paddy, rosin, pitch and candles were taken as pounds from the marks above the figures. | |
418 | 20th. April Brought over £ 13.14.3 Nails vizt. 2 3 1.5 1/2 11 6 for Plantation House 6.- 3 10 and Pasture Gates 1.3 1/2 1/2 Glaz. Brads 10 9.7 Deals 1/2 Cuffi for the Water Cart 1.7 Chalk 4 lb for Plant: House 1 Arrack 1 Galln. for the Mowers 2.8 Pork 3 Ps. Do. 8.7 Paint 50 lb Brimstone Do. 10.5 £ 15.7.2 Fortification Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 Iron 50 lb for Platforms at Ruperts 16 Deals 37 Double for Do. 6.6.5 Nails 40 lb 40d for Do. 14.2 Cordage 39 for Lashings for Do. 13.- Arrack 1 Gall. for Men Employ'd at Do. 2.8 £ 8.12.3 Hospital Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Sugar 240 lb 3.-.- Flour 240 2.-.- Rice 239 1.1.3 Oil 13 Galls. Linseed 2.[11].2 Salt 1 5/8 Bushels 6.1 Tea 13 lb Bohea 12.2 Twine 1/4 Cotton Wick 9 Turners Ware 1 Tub Mans Yoke 1.6 Carried Over £ 9.12.11 | The plantation account concluded with £13 14s 3d brought forward. Threepenny nails for Plantation House and the pasture gates, quantity 2, £0 1s 5½d Sixpenny nails for Plantation House and the pasture gates, quantity 11, £0 6s 0d Tenpenny nails for Plantation House and the pasture gates, quantity 3, £0 1s 3½d Glazing brads for Plantation House and the pasture gates, quantity ½, £0 0s 10d Total for nails, £0 9s 7d ½ deal for the water cart, £0 1s 7d 4 lb of chalk for Plantation House, £0 0s 1d ⅞ gallon of arrack for the mowers, £0 2s 8d 3 pieces of pork for the mowers, £0 8s 7d 50 lb of brimstone for the plantation, £0 10s 5d Total charged to the plantation, £15 7s 2d The fortifications were charged with the stores issued to them between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 50 lb of iron for the gun platforms at Rupert's, £0 16s 0d 37 double deals for the gun platforms at Rupert's, £6 6s 5d 40 lb of nails for the gun platforms at Rupert's, £0 14s 2d 39 lb of cordage for lashings at the gun platforms, £0 13s 0d ⅞ gallon of arrack for the men working at the gun platforms, £0 2s 8d Total charged to the fortifications, £8 12s 3d The hospital was charged with the stores issued to it over the same quarter. 240 lb of sugar, £3 0s 0d 240 lb of flour, £2 0s 0d 239 lb of rice, £1 1s 3d 13 gallons of linseed oil, £2 11s 2d 1½ bushels of salt, £0 6s 1d 13 lb of Bohea tea, £0 12s 2d ¼ lb of cotton wick, £0 0s 9d 1 tub man's yoke, £0 1s 6d Carried over, £9 12s 11d Interpretations The whole charge for fortifications in the quarter was £8 12s 3d, spent on a single job. Gun platforms were the timber floors on which cannon stood and recoiled, and those at the battery in Rupert's Valley were relaid with 37 thick planks. Wood exposed to sun and sea air rotted quickly, and a gun on a decayed platform could not be worked safely. The outlay was small beside the £253 12s 9d for feeding the slaves, which shows that the island's defences were being kept in repair and not extended. The mowers received arrack and pork over and above their ordinary allowance. The quarter from January to March was the island's late summer, when the grass on the Company's upland pastures was cut for hay. Extra spirit and meat were the customary reward for this heavy seasonal labour. The four scythes and 12 whetstones in the earlier part of the plantation account were issued for the same work. The hospital's stores show how the sick were fed. Flour, rice, sugar and tea made a soft diet of bread, gruel and sweetened drink, in place of the salt meat of the ordinary ration. Equal weights of sugar and flour reflect the reliance on sweetened slops for men too ill to eat solid food. The 13 gallons of linseed oil and the cotton wick were perhaps for lamps kept burning through the night in the wards, though linseed oil also had medicinal uses in poultices and dressings. A tub man's yoke was a shaped wooden bar carried across the shoulders, with a tub hung from each end. The hospital's tub man used it to carry water in and waste out. Brimstone was sulphur, and the 50 lb issued to the plantation was perhaps for treating scab in the sheep or for fumigating stores. The measure of arrack was read as ⅞ gallon in both entries, and the weight of iron as 50 lb, and these readings are tentative. The fitting made from the half deal was read as a water cart. The quantities of nails in the plantation account carry no unit on the page. | |
419 | 1767 Brought over £ 9.12.11 Cordage 2 lb 8 Glass Ware 1 Urinal 1.- £ 9.14.7 Boats Dr. for the following Stores Issued from the 1 Janry. to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Nails vizt. 1 2 8 1/2 10 6 Boats in General 5.5 22 10 9.7 1/2 15.9 Cordage 467 7.15.- Oil 5 3/8 Galls. Linseed Boats in Genl. 1.2.1 Arrack 9 3/4 Galls. Linseed for Men Employed about the Long Boat and Yawl 1.5.3 Pitch and Tar 1 Barrl. Pitch for the Long Boat 1.5.3 Twine vizt. 1 Skain Twine 6 1/2 1 Do. Marline for the Long Boat 2 1/2 9 Paint 10 lb Ven. Red dry [...] Boat 2.1 Deals vizt. 1 Single Deal 2.2 1/2 7 Double Do. [...] Boat 1.3.11 1 Wainscott Board 5.7 1/2 1.11.9 Oars 3 for the Fishing Boat 11.3 Leather 2 lb Sole Do. Do. 1.10 Iron Ware 1 Pr. H L Hinges Long Boat 1.3 £ 14.13.1 | The hospital account concluded with £9 12s 11d brought forward. 2 lb of cordage, £0 0s 8d 1 glass urinal, £0 1s 0d Total charged to the hospital, £9 14s 7d The boats were charged with the stores issued to them between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. Twopenny nails for the boats in general, quantity 1, £0 0s 8½d Sixpenny nails for the boats in general, quantity 10, £0 5s 5d Tenpenny nails for the boats in general, quantity 22, £0 9s 7½d Total for nails, £0 15s 9d 467 lb of cordage for the boats in general, £7 15s 0d 5⅝ gallons of linseed oil for the boats in general, £1 2s 1d 9¾ gallons of arrack for the men working on the longboat and yawl, £1 5s 3d 1 barrel of pitch for the longboat, £1 5s 3d 1 skein of twine for the longboat, £0 0s 6½d 1 skein of marline for the longboat, £0 0s 2½d Total for twine, £0 0s 9d 6 lb of dry Venetian red for the boat, £0 2s 1d 1 single deal for the boat, £0 2s 2½d 7 double deals for the boat, £1 3s 11d 1 wainscot board for the boat, £0 5s 7½d Total for deals, £1 11s 9d 3 oars for the fishing boat, £0 11s 3d 2 lb of sole leather for the fishing boat, £0 1s 10d 1 pair of HL hinges for the longboat, £0 1s 3d Total charged to the boats, £14 13s 1d Interpretations The island had no harbour, and everything that came or went passed through the surf in open boats. The Company's longboat and yawl landed the stores from the ships in the road and carried water, provisions and people out to them. Rope was the largest cost in the account at £7 15s 0d, more than half the total. Mooring lines, painters and the tackle for hoisting cargo at the landing place wore out fast against rock and salt water. The quarter covered the arrival of seven ships in March 1767 alone, as the gunner's account recorded, so the boats were in constant use. The longboat was overhauled during the quarter. A whole barrel of pitch, seven thick planks, a board of oak and red paint were issued for her, and the men who did the work received arrack as they did at the gun platforms and in the stores. Payment in spirit for heavy or dirty labour ran through every one of the Company's accounts for the quarter. A separate fishing boat was kept at the Company's expense. The sole leather was for wrapping the looms of the oars where they bore on the gunwale, which saved both oar and boat from chafing. This boat perhaps served the fishermen of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, who drew their hooks and lines from the general expenses account. Marline was a thin two-stranded tarred cord used for binding the ends of ropes and lashing small gear. A wainscot board was a plank of fine straight-grained oak, imported from the Baltic and used where strength and a clean finish were needed. HL hinges took their name from their shape, with one leaf upright and the other extended sideways, and were perhaps for a locker in the boat. The glass urinal was a vessel for bedridden patients in the hospital. The weight of cordage for the boats and the measure of arrack are tentative readings. The total of the boats' account was read as £14 13s 1d. The quantities of nails carry no unit on the page. | |
420 | 20th. April Sandy Bay Fortification Dr. for the followg. Stores Issued from the 1st. January to the 31st. March 1767 vizt. Iron 135 lb 2.2.5 Nails vizt. 1 2 8 1/2 6 3 4.4 1/2 24 6 13.- 2 10 10 18.11 Beef and Pork vizt. 243 Ps. Beef 40.4.11 203 Ps. Pork for the Slaves 28.19.5 69.4.4 Candles 13 lb for the Officer 1.7.1 Cordage 108 1.16.- Lines vizt. 12 No. 2 3.7 12 4 4.8 8.3 Deals 2 Wainscott Boards 11.3 3 Double Deals 10.3 1.1.6 Iron Ware 4 Bricklayers Trowels 5.8 Oil 2 Galls. Linseed 7.10 Pepper 3 lb for the Slaves 1.6 Turners Ware 12 Labourers Baskets 13.6 Leather 4 lb Soles 3.8 Pitch 20 lb 2.6 Coals 11 Bushel 14.8 Blankets 30 7.13.9 Arrack 141 1/4 Gs. 19.-.7 Rice 360 1.10.- £ 97.12.2 St. Helena 31st. March 1767 E. Excepted (signed) James Powell Storekeeper | A separate account charged the fortification at Sandy Bay with the stores issued to it between 1 January 1767 and 31 March 1767. 185 lb of iron, £2 2s 5d Twopenny nails, quantity 1, £0 0s 8½d Threepenny nails, quantity 6, £0 4s 4½d Sixpenny nails, quantity 24, £0 13s 0d Tenpenny nails, quantity 2, £0 0s 10d Total for nails, £0 18s 11d 243 pieces of beef for the slaves, £40 4s 11d 203 pieces of pork for the slaves, £28 19s 5d Total for beef and pork, £69 4s 4d 13 lb of candles for the officer, £1 7s 1d 108 lb of cordage, £1 16s 0d 12 lines of size 2, £0 3s 7d 12 lines of size 4, £0 4s 8d Total for lines, £0 8s 3d 2 wainscot boards, £0 11s 3d 3 double deals, £0 10s 3d Total for deals, £1 1s 6d 4 bricklayers' trowels, £0 5s 8d 2 gallons of linseed oil, £0 7s 10d 3 lb of pepper for the slaves, £0 1s 6d 12 labourers' baskets, £0 13s 6d 4 lb of sole leather, £0 3s 8d 20 lb of pitch, £0 2s 6d 11 bushels of coal, £0 14s 8d 30 blankets, £7 13s 9d 141½ gallons of arrack, £19 0s 7d 360 lb of rice, £1 10s 0d Total charged to the Sandy Bay fortification, £97 12s 2d The account closed with the usual reservation for errors. James Powell signed it as storekeeper at St Helena on 31 March 1767. Interpretations Sandy Bay lay on the far southern side of the island from the Castle, across the central ridge, and offered one of the few places where an enemy could land out of sight of the main defences. The Company was building there on a scale that dwarfed its other military spending. The works at Rupert's cost £8 12s 3d in the quarter, and Sandy Bay cost more than ten times as much. The trowels and baskets show that the work was masonry, with slaves carrying stone and earth by hand and bricklayers raising walls. The iron and coal supplied a forge on the spot for making and sharpening tools. Most of the money went on keeping a labour gang at a distant site. The slaves sent there were fed 446 pieces of salt meat with rice and pepper, and 30 blankets were issued for them. The uplands and the windward coast were cold and wet compared with the sheltered valley, and men camped at the works needed covering that was not given out in the general slaves' account. An officer lived on the site to supervise, and candles were charged for him. Arrack was the second largest item. More than 141 gallons went to the works in three months, far beyond any other issue of spirit in the quarter's accounts. A daily dram was the standing inducement for hard labour in an exposed place, for the soldiers and artificers and perhaps for the slaves as well. The quantity gives a rough measure of how many hands were employed there. The storekeeper dated and signed the whole return on the last day of the quarter and reserved the right to correct errors. He remained personally liable for the stock, so the reservation mattered. The Council examined and approved the return on 20 April 1767. The sum against the arrack is a tentative reading. The quantities of nails carry no unit on the page. The weights of iron, candles, cordage, pepper, leather, pitch and rice were taken as pounds from the marks above the figures. | |
421 | 1767 List of the Honorable Company's Officers and Servants upon the Island St. Helena with their Several Salarys, Diet Money &ca. for the Quarter commencing the 1st. Janry. and ending the 31st. March 1767 vizt. John Skottowe Governor Saly. 125.-.- Do. Allowance for Servants as Usual 31.14.9 156.14.9 Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Govr. Saly. 62.10 Do. Diet Money 25.- 87.10.- Mr. Matthew Purling of Council Salary 15 Do. Accomptant 17.10 Do. Diet Money 15.- Do. Gratuity 15.- 62.10.- Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick of Council Saly. 7.10 Do. House Rent 2.10 10.-.- Archd. Mitchell Engineer Saly. 50 Do. Diet Money 25 Do. House Rent 2.10 77.10 John Tackeray Chaplain Salary 25 Do. Diet Money 15 40.-.- William Bearcroft 9 Days Chaplain Salary 6.8.2 1/2 Mattw. Bazett Secretarys Salary 17.10 Do. Diet Money 15 Do. House Rent 2.10 35.-.- James Powell Storekeepers Salary 17.10 Do. Diet Money 15 Do. House Rent 2.10 35 William Wrangham Factors Salary 7.10 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2.10 Do. Assistant to the Governor 10 30 Jonathan Doveton Factors Saly. 7.10 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. Assistant Storekeeper 5 22.10 Richd. Wright Writer Salary 5 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2.10 17.10 Carried Over £ 580.12.11 1/2 | The paymaster's return listed the Company's officers and civil servants on St Helena with their salaries, diet money and other allowances for the quarter from 1 January 1767 to 31 March 1767. John Skottowe, Governor, salary, £125 0s 0d John Skottowe, allowance for servants as usual, £31 14s 9d Total for John Skottowe, £156 14s 9d Daniel Corneille, Lieutenant Governor, salary, £62 10s 0d Daniel Corneille, diet money, £25 0s 0d Total for Daniel Corneille, £87 10s 0d Matthew Purling, member of Council, salary, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, as accountant, £17 10s 0d Matthew Purling, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Purling, gratuity, £15 0s 0d Total for Matthew Purling, £62 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, member of Council, salary, £7 10s 0d Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, £10 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, engineer, salary, £50 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, diet money, £25 0s 0d Archibald Mitchell, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Archibald Mitchell, £77 10s 0d John Thackeray, chaplain, salary, £25 0s 0d John Thackeray, diet money, £15 0s 0d Total for John Thackeray, £40 0s 0d William Bearcroft, chaplain's salary for 9 days, £6 3s 2½d Matthew Bazett, Secretary, salary, £17 10s 0d Matthew Bazett, diet money, £15 0s 0d Matthew Bazett, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Matthew Bazett, £35 0s 0d James Powell, storekeeper, salary, £17 10s 0d James Powell, diet money, £15 0s 0d James Powell, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for James Powell, £35 0s 0d William Wrangham, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d William Wrangham, diet money, £10 0s 0d William Wrangham, house rent, £2 10s 0d William Wrangham, as assistant to the Governor, £10 0s 0d Total for William Wrangham, £30 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, factor, salary, £7 10s 0d Jonathan Doveton, diet money, £10 0s 0d Jonathan Doveton, as assistant storekeeper, £5 0s 0d Total for Jonathan Doveton, £22 10s 0d Richard Wright, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d Richard Wright, diet money, £10 0s 0d Richard Wright, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Richard Wright, £17 10s 0d Carried over, £580 12s 11½d Interpretations The list enters the third councillor and the Secretary as two separate men with separate pay. Matthew Purling sat on the Council and kept the accounts, and Matthew Bazett served as Secretary. The councillor named as Matthew Bazett in the earlier consultations of April 1767 was therefore Purling. He was the man who attended the meetings, signed the minutes and mustered the ships' crews. Bazett signed the public notice of 13 April 1767 as Secretary and paid in the £190 12s 0d for bills of exchange on 18 April 1767, and he did not sit among the councillors who approved that payment. Henry Bazett, chosen as guardian by the Twaits children on 18 April 1767, shared the Secretary's surname and not a councillor's. The Company paid its servants small nominal salaries and made up their income in allowances. Diet money was a cash payment in place of board at the Company's table, and it equalled or exceeded the salary of every man below the Lieutenant Governor. A writer, the most junior grade of covenanted servant, received £5 in salary for the quarter and £10 in diet money. House rent was a further fixed sum for those not lodged in the Castle. The grades of writer and factor were the same ranks used in the Company's Indian settlements, and a man rose through them by seniority. Extra duties were paid as separate items stacked on the basic salary. Purling drew four payments, Wrangham was rewarded as the Governor's assistant and Doveton as assistant storekeeper. Posts could be combined in one person on a small island with few qualified men, and the Company could withdraw a duty without touching a servant's rank. Kirkpatrick's pay as a councillor was only £7 10s 0d for the quarter. His main income was perhaps his pay as a captain in the garrison, which belonged to the military list and not to this one. The chaplaincy changed hands during the quarter. Bearcroft was paid for nine days only, while Thackeray drew the full quarter's salary and diet money. Wrangham was the other guardian chosen by the Twaits children on 18 April 1767. As a factor and the Governor's assistant he was a salaried servant under the Council's eye, and a suitable person to hold minors' property. The chaplain's surname was read as Thackeray and the factor's as Doveton, and both are tentative. The sum paid to Bearcroft is also an uncertain reading. | |
422 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 580.12.11 1/2 John Goodwin Writers Salary 5 Do. Diet Money 10 15.- Robert Barclay Surgeon Salary 9.15 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House 2.10 22.5.- John Pritchard Surgeon Mate 6.5 Do. Diet Money 10 Do. House Rent 2.10 18.15.- Richard Beale Judge Advocate 12.10 Do. School Master 7.10 Thomas Bazett Salary 13.13 Samuel Alexander Overseers 7.10 John Worrall 15 [5]6.3.- William Holbrooke Master Masn. Saly. 30 Thomas Townsend Stone Mason Saly. 19.10 49.10.- John Robinson Carpenters Salary 25 Phillip Mahoney Clerk of the Peace 10 John Bazett Superintendant over ye. [...] 10 James Black Gardener 10 George Bazett Steward 7.10 Saml. Perry Clerk & Instrumt. Cleaner 1.5 Thomas Yates Clerk 5 Thos. Cayne Overseer of the Compys. Workmn. 6.16.10 1/2 Robert Allum Groom 2 John Dobson Armourer 10.10 Solomon St. Maurice Mastr. at Arms 6.5 John Caswell Patron of the [...] Boat 7.10 John Price Marshall & Goaler 7.10 To the Drum Major Instructg. young Drumrs. 1 110.6.10 1/2 First Company Thos. Kirkpatrick Captain Saly. 45.12.6 Solomon St. Maurice Lt. Saly. 13.5 Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10 22.11.10 1/2 Carried Over £ 965.17.2 1/2 | The paymaster's return continued with £580 12s 11½d brought forward. John Goodwin, writer, salary, £5 0s 0d John Goodwin, diet money, £10 0s 0d Total for John Goodwin, £15 0s 0d Robert Barclay, surgeon, salary, £9 15s 0d Robert Barclay, diet money, £10 0s 0d Robert Barclay, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Robert Barclay, £22 5s 0d John Pritchard, surgeon's mate, salary, £6 5s 0d John Pritchard, diet money, £10 0s 0d John Pritchard, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for John Pritchard, £18 15s 0d Richard Beale, as judge advocate, £12 10s 0d Richard Beale, as schoolmaster, £7 10s 0d Thomas Bazett, salary, £13 13s 0d Samuel Alexander, farmer, £7 10s 0d John Worrall, farmer, £15 0s 0d Total for Beale, Bazett, Alexander and Worrall, £56 3s 0d William Holbrooke, master mason, salary, £30 0s 0d Thomas Townsend, stonemason, salary, £19 10s 0d Total for the masons, £49 10s 0d John Robinson, carpenter, salary, £25 0s 0d Philip Mahoney, clerk of the peace, £10 0s 0d John Bazett, superintendent, £10 0s 0d James Black, gardener, £10 0s 0d George Bazett, steward, £7 10s 0d Samuel Perry, clock and arms cleaner, £1 5s 0d Thomas Yates, clerk, £5 0s 0d Thomas Cayne, overseer of the Company's workmen, £6 16s 10½d Robert Allum, groom, £2 0s 0d John Dobson, armourer, £10 10s 0d Solomon St Maurice, master-at-arms, £6 5s 0d John Coxwell, coxswain of the longboat, £7 10s 0d John Price, marshal and gaoler, £7 10s 0d Drum major, for instructing the young drummers, £1 0s 0d Total for the tradesmen and minor officers, £130 6s 10½d The list then turned to the First Company of the garrison. Thomas Kirkpatrick, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Solomon St Maurice, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Solomon St Maurice, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Solomon St Maurice, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Solomon St Maurice, £27 11s 10½d Carried over, £945 17s 2½d Interpretations Kirkpatrick's captain's pay of £45 12s 6d appears here, six times his salary as a councillor in the earlier part of the list. His seat on the Council was a minor addition to a military income. The same arrangement placed the commander of the senior company among the four men who governed the island, which tied the garrison's leadership directly to the civil administration. Four men named Bazett drew pay in this quarter. Matthew was Secretary, Thomas held an unspecified salaried place, John was a superintendent and George was steward of the Company's table. Henry Bazett was chosen as a guardian by the Twaits children on 18 April 1767. A single family had spread through the middle ranks of the establishment. On an island where the Company was almost the only employer, such posts passed readily among relatives, and a family's standing rested on how many of its members were on the pay list. Offices were combined freely. Beale was both the judge advocate, the Company's legal officer who conducted prosecutions and advised the Council on law, and the schoolmaster. St Maurice was a lieutenant in the First Company and the master-at-arms, responsible for the garrison's weapons and drill. The marshal, who executed the court's orders and carried out arrests, was also the gaoler. Each pairing saved a salary where the business was too small to occupy a man fully. The steward, the gardener and the groom were the three servants who received tea, sugar and long cloth in the storekeeper's general expenses account for the same quarter. Their money wages were low, the groom's only £2 for three months, and the allowances in kind made up a good part of their living. The clerk of the peace kept the records of the island's sessions, the court that tried lesser offences. The master mason and stonemason were among the best paid men below the officers, a sign of how much building the Company had in hand, including the works at Sandy Bay. The drum major's fee for teaching boys shows the garrison training its own drummers from the island's youth. The description beside Alexander and Worrall was read as farmers and the duties of John Bazett and Samuel Perry from abbreviated notes, and these readings are tentative. The total for the tradesmen and minor officers and the sum carried over are also uncertain readings. | |
423 | 1767 Brought over £ 965.17.2 1/2 Samuel Deffountain Lieut. Salary 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 Solomon Jacob Adjutant Saly. 22.16.3 Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 29.13.1 1/2 Sergeants Phillip Mahoney 7.12.1 Thomas Bayne 7.12.1 William Bannister 7.12.1 Henry [Howell] 7.12.1 30.8.4 Corporals Joseph [Dacy] 5.6.5 1/2 William Bunn 5.6.5 1/2 Thomas Bowick 5.6.5 1/2 William Rowlands 5.6.5 1/2 21.5.10 Drummers John Martin 5.6.5 1/2 Richard Platfoot 5.6.5 1/2 Joseph Beecham 5.6.5 1/2 15.19.4 1/2 Centinels Mr. John Stewart Cadet 3.16.- 1/2 Jos. Allman 3.16.- 1/2 James Perry 3.16.- 1/2 James Armstrong 3.16.- 1/2 John Brown 3.16.- 1/2 John Beecham 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Blake 3.16.- 1/2 Moses Biffin 3.16.- 1/2 Jno. Bell 3.16.- 1/2 John Barnes 3.16.- 1/2 Timothy Bryan 3.16.- 1/2 Emanuel [Rimmer] 3.16.- 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 45.12.6 Carried Over £ 1030.15.9 | The paymaster's return continued through the First Company, with £905 17s 2½d brought forward. Samuel Desfountain, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Samuel Desfountain, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Samuel Desfountain, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Samuel Desfountain, £27 11s 10½d Solomon Jacob, adjutant, salary, £22 16s 3d Solomon Jacob, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Total for Solomon Jacob, £29 13s 1½d Philip Mahoney, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Thomas Payne, sergeant, £7 12s 1d William Bannister, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Henry Stewart, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d Joseph Stacy, corporal, £5 6s 5½d William Bunn, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Thomas Bowick, corporal, £5 6s 5½d William Rowlands, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 5s 10d John Martin, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Richard Platfoot, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Joseph Beckam, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £15 19s 4½d John Stewart, cadet, paid as a centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Allman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Perry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Armstrong, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Brown, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Beckams, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Blake, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Moses Biffin, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Bell, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Barnes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Timothy Bryan, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Emanuel Bennet, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £45 12s 6d Carried over, £1,030 15s 9d Interpretations The odd halfpennies in the soldiers' pay come from daily rates reckoned over a quarter of 91¼ days. A centinel earned 10d a day, a corporal or drummer 1s 2d and a sergeant 1s 8d. A private in the regular army in England received 8d a day at this date, most of it stopped for food and clothing. The Company paid a quarter more to draw men to a remote station for a fixed term. Even so, a single piece of salt beef or pork cost about 2s in the storekeeper's return, more than two days' pay for a private. Rations bought from the store took back a large share of what the paymaster gave out. Drummers were paid as corporals and not as private men. They beat the calls that regulated the garrison's day and carried signals in action, and by custom they also administered floggings. The storekeeper issued whipcord for whips to the garrison in the same quarter. Philip Mahoney was both a sergeant in the First Company and the clerk of the peace named in the earlier part of the list at £10 0s 0d. A literate non-commissioned officer kept the records of the island's lower court. The post gave him more than his military pay again and put a soldier at the centre of civil justice. John Stewart was styled a cadet and given the courtesy title of a gentleman, yet he was paid exactly as a private. A cadet served in the ranks while waiting for an officer's commission. The arrangement let the Company try a young man at no extra cost, and gave him a claim on the next vacancy. The adjutant handled the garrison's daily orders, rolls and drill. His salary was higher than a lieutenant's, which reflected the weight of that administrative work. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Desfountain, Jacob, Payne, Stacy, Bowick, Platfoot, Allman, Perry, Biffin and Bell. | |
424 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 1030.15.9 Centls. Brot. Over £ 45.12.6 William Benson 3.16.- 1/2 Benjamin Barcley 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Bengrave Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Edward Coker 3.16.- 1/2 Wm. Clifford 3.16.- 1/2 Patrick Conner 3.16.- 1/2 Andrew Conner Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Isaac Day Deceased 2d. February 1.7.6 John Davis 3.16.- 1/2 John Dove 3.16.- 1/2 David Davis 3.16.- 1/2 James Drake 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Durham 3.16.- 1/2 James Dunn 3.16.- 1/2 Adam Evans 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Enskear Entd. 23d. March 7.6 Cornelius Fish 3.16.- 1/2 William French 3.16.- 1/2 William Greenwood 3.16.- 1/2 John Granger 3.16.- 1/2 William Anderson 3.16.- 1/2 James Hodge 3.16.- 1/2 John How[ston] 3.16.- 1/2 Edward Haddock 3.16.- 1/2 William Luke 3.16.- 1/2 Duncan Mc.Claron 3.16.- 1/2 William Mumford 3.16.- 1/2 John May 3.16.- 1/2 John Mc.Allister 3.16.- 1/2 Thoms. Mears 3.16.- 1/2 John Moor Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 John Pickering 3.16.- 1/2 Thoms. Price 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Roberts 3.16.- 1/2 William Robinson 3.16.- 1/2 Centls. Carried Over £ 162.11.3 Carried Over £ 1030.15.9 | The roll of centinels in the First Company continued, with £45 12s 6d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,030 15s 9d standing as the running total of the return. William Benson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Barclay, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Bingrave, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Edward Coker, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Clifford, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Patrick Conner, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Andrew Conner, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Isaac Day, centinel, died 2 February 1767, £1 7s 6d John Davis, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Dove, centinel, £3 16s 0½d David Davis, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Drake, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Durham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Dunn, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Adam Evans, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Enslear, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Cornelius Fish, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William French, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Greenwood, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Granger, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Anderson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Hodge, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Hewston, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Haddock, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Luke, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Duncan McClaron, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Mumford, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John May, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John McAllister, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Mears, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Moor, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d John Pickering, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Price, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Roberts, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Robinson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £162 11s 3d Carried over, £1,030 15s 9d Interpretations Four men joined the company on 23 March 1767 and were paid £0 7s 6d each, which was nine days at the private's rate of 10d. Pay ran from the day of enlistment to the end of the quarter and no further. The gunner's account for March 1767 recorded the arrival of the Royal Charlotte, Prince of Wales, Cruttenden and Northumberland between 18 March 1767 and 23 March 1767. The recruits were perhaps a draft landed from those ships and sworn in together once all were ashore. The storekeeper issued 29 blankets and a recruit's suit of clothes to the garrison in the same quarter. Isaac Day died on 2 February 1767, and the paymaster entered £1 7s 6d against his name. That sum was 33 days at 10d, the pay earned from 1 January 1767 to the day of his death. Wages due to a dead soldier formed part of his estate. The Company settled them exactly so that his debts to the store and any claim by his heirs could be dealt with. The roll ran roughly in alphabetical order by surname, which was the paymaster's working order for calling men to receive their money. The method made it easy to compare one quarter's list with the next and to spot a name added, lost or paid short. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Bingrave, Clifford, Enslear, Hewston and McClaron. | |
425 | 1767 Brot. Over £ 1030.15.9 Centls. brought Over £ 162.11.3 Thomas Ransom 3.16.- 1/2 Anthony Reynolds 3.16.- 1/2 George Roe 3.16.- 1/2 Silvanus Ralph 3.16.- 1/2 Thos. Rogers 3.16.- 1/2 Wm. Swaley 3.16.- 1/2 John Springthorp 3.16.- 1/2 John S[keens] 3.16.- 1/2 John Stewart 3.16.- 1/2 Edward Steventon Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Edward Terry 3.16.- 1/2 John Taylor 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Tittington 3.16.- 1/2 William Tipper 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Townsend Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Luke Vernon 3.16.- 1/2 John Whitingdale 3.16.- 1/2 Benjamin Wise 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Windall 3.16.- 1/2 John Wiston 3.16.- 1/2 George Wall 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Youcas 3.16.- 1/2 William Holmes 3.16.- 1/2 243.3.1 1/2 Second Company Henry Bazett Captain Salary 45.12.6 Michael Frost Lieut. Salary 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 John Ware Welch Lieut. Saly. 13.5 Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 Sergeants John Bazett 7.12.1 George Truman 7.12.1 Sergeants Carrd. Over £ 15.4.2 Carried Over £ 1374.15.1 1/2 | The roll of centinels in the First Company concluded, with £162 11s 3d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,030 15s 9d standing as the running total of the return. Thomas Ransom, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Anthony Reynolds, centinel, £3 16s 0½d George Roe, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Silvanus Relph, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Rogers, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Swaley, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Springthorp, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Skeens, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Stewart, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Steventon, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Edward Terry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Taylor, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Tottington, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Tipper, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Townsend, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Luke Vernon, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Whitingdale, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Wise, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Windall, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Weston, centinel, £3 16s 0½d George Wall, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Youcas, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Holmes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Total for the centinels of the First Company, £243 3s 1½d The list then turned to the Second Company. Henry Bazett, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Michael Frost, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Michael Frost, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Michael Frost, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Michael Frost, £27 11s 10½d John Ware Welch, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d John Ware Welch, diet money, £6 16s 10½d John Ware Welch, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for John Ware Welch, £27 11s 10½d John Barett, sergeant, £7 12s 1d George Truman, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Sergeants carried over, £15 4s 2d Carried over, £1,374 15s 1½d Interpretations Henry Bazett commanded the Second Company. He was the man chosen with William Wrangham as guardian by the Twaits children on 18 April 1767. The minors therefore named one of the two senior military officers on the island and one of the Governor's own assistants. Both were salaried servants whose conduct the Council could oversee, which explains why the petition was granted without discussion. The family's reach now shows more fully. A Bazett held a captaincy in the garrison, and others served as Secretary, superintendent and steward in the civil list. The two companies were organised on an identical pattern. Each had a captain at £45 12s 6d for the quarter and two lieutenants paid the same salary, diet money and house rent to the halfpenny. Captains drew no diet money or house rent in this list, while their lieutenants did. The Company evidently treated a captain's pay as sufficient in itself, or met his housing and table in another way that the paymaster's return does not show. The First Company's private soldiers numbered 70 names across the roll. Six of them enlisted on 23 March 1767 and one died during the quarter. The cost of all the company's privates for three months was £243 3s 1½d, less than the £253 12s 9d that the storekeeper charged for feeding and supplying the Company's slaves over the same period. A Thomas Townsend enlisted as a centinel on 23 March 1767, and a man of the same name was paid as stonemason in the earlier part of the list. The page gives no means of telling whether they were one person or two. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Relph, Swaley, Skeens, Tottington, Tipper, Windall, Youcas, Barett, Truman and the second forename of Welch. | |
426 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 1374.15.1 1/2 Sergeants brought over £ 15.4.2 Edmond Leek 7.12.1 Stephen Prior 7.12.1 30.8.4 Corporals William Fullwood 5.6.5 1/2 William Hunt 5.6.5 1/2 John Fish 5.6.5 1/2 John Sabourin 5.6.5 1/2 21.5.10 Drummers Robert Davis 5.6.5 1/2 Francis Soane 5.6.5 1/2 10.12.11 Centinels Samuel Alstone Discharged 13 Febry. 2.5.- Thomas Adams 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Allum 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph Banks 3.16.- 1/2 William Brick 3.16.- 1/2 William Brookes 3.16.- 1/2 Jacob Brown 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Brown 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Bott 3.16.- 1/2 Nicholas Bushell 3.16.- 1/2 Daniel Bye 3.16.- 1/2 John Brown 3.16.- 1/2 Jonathan Burdon Enterd. the 23d. March 7.6 Thomas Cheverly 3.16.- 1/2 William Conquest 3.16.- 1/2 John Crawley 3.16.- 1/2 William Carfree 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Curd 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Dickens 3.16.- 1/2 Wm. Drennan 3.16.- 1/2 William Fish 3.16.- 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 74.17.3 1/2 Carried Over £ 1437.2.2 1/2 | The paymaster's return continued through the Second Company, with £15 4s 2d brought forward for the sergeants already listed and £1,374 15s 1½d standing as the running total. Edmond Leak, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Stephen Prior, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d William Fullwood, corporal, £5 6s 5½d William Hunt, corporal, £5 6s 5½d John Fish, corporal, £5 6s 5½d John Sabourin, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 5s 10d Robert Davis, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Francis Soane, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Samuel Alstone, centinel, discharged 23 February 1767, £2 5s 0d Thomas Adams, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Allum, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Banks, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Brick, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Brookes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Jacob Brown, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Brown, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Bott, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Nicholas Bushell, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Daniel Bye, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Brown, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Jonathan Burden, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Thomas Cheverly, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Conquest, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Crawley, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Carfree, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Curd, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Dickens, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Drinnan, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Fish, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £74 17s 3½d Carried over, £1,437 2s 2½d Interpretations Robert Allum was paid here as a private soldier, and the earlier part of the list paid a man of the same name £2 0s 0d as groom. A soldier who took on a servant's place for the Company kept his military pay and received the small wage on top. The storekeeper also issued the groom tea, sugar and sugar candy in the same quarter. Extra employment of this kind was one of the few ways a centinel could raise his income above 10d a day. Samuel Alstone left the garrison during the quarter and was paid £2 5s 0d, which was 54 days at the private's rate. His pay stopped on the day of his discharge. James Henry obtained the same release from the Council on 13 April 1767 after serving out his contracted term. Men were thus leaving at the end of their engagements as the recruits of 23 March 1767 came in, and the Company depended on each season's shipping to keep the companies up to strength. The Second Company had two drummers where the First had three. The other ranks matched, with four sergeants and four corporals in each. One drummer's place was perhaps vacant, a gap that the fee paid to the drum major for teaching boys was meant to fill. The date of Alstone's discharge was read as 23 February 1767. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Leak, Fullwood, Sabourin, Soane, Brick, Carfree, Curd and Drinnan. | |
427 | 1767 Brought over £ 1437.2.2 1/2 Centinels brought Over £ 74.17.3 1/2 William Fry 3.16.- 1/2 John Forbes 3.16.- 1/2 John Goodvoles 3.16.- 1/2 John Gray 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Green 3.16.- 1/2 James Gates 3.16.- 1/2 Charles Golding 3.16.- 1/2 William Greenough 3.16.- 1/2 William Harris 3.16.- 1/2 William Harris 3.16.- 1/2 Abraham Harding 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Hiles 3.16.- 1/2 John Holbrooke 3.16.- 1/2 James Hudson 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Hayles 3.16.- 1/2 William Hayes 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Hopkinson 3.16.- 1/2 James Hog Entertd. 23 March 7.6 John Ham Do. 7.6 William Harper Do. 7.6 Samuel Instone 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Jones 3.16.- 1/2 William Johnson 3.16.- 1/2 Jeremiah Jordon 3.16.- 1/2 John Jacks 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas James 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Jackson 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Kirkham 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Miller 3.16.- 1/2 James Mannington 3.16.- 1/2 John Maurice 3.16.- 1/2 John Mc.Cullen Entd. 23d. Mar. 7.6 William Minnick Do. 7.6 Thomas Newton 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Olphenious 3.16.- 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 190.16.- 1/2 Carried Over £ 1437.2.2 1/2 | The roll of centinels in the Second Company continued, with £74 17s 3½d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,437 2s 2½d standing as the running total of the return. William Fry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Forbes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Goodvoles, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Gray, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Green, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Gates, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Charles Golding, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Greenough, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Harris, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Harris, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Harding, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Hiles, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Holbrooke, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Hudson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hayles, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Hayes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Hopkinson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Hog, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d John Ham, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d William Harper, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Samuel Instone, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Jones, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Johnson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Jeremiah Jordon, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Jacks, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas James, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Jackson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Kirkham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Miller, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Mannington, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Maurice, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John McCullen, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d William Minnick, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Thomas Newton, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Olphenious, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £190 16s 0½d Carried over, £1,437 2s 2½d Interpretations Five more men on this page enlisted on 23 March 1767, which brings the recruits of that single day to 12 across the two companies so far. The First Company took six and the Second has six to this point. The draft was evidently shared evenly between the captains as it landed, so that neither company fell below strength while the other filled. The recruits' names were entered in their alphabetical places among the old soldiers and not grouped at the end, and each was absorbed at once into the paymaster's regular order. John Holbrooke served here as a private, and William Holbrooke was the master mason paid £30 0s 0d in the earlier part of the list. Shared surnames between the ranks and the skilled tradesmen recur through the return. They suggest that soldiers who stayed on the island founded families whose sons found places in the Company's works or in the garrison in their turn. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Goodvoles, Hiles, Instone, Jackson, Mannington, Minnick and Olphenious. | |
428 | 20th. April Brought over £ 1437.2.2 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 190.16.- 1/2 Reves Osborne 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Perry 3.16.- 1/2 Abraham Rennie 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Richards 3.16.- 1/2 John Christian S[trife] 3.16.- 1/2 Benj: Stringer 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Stowers 3.16.- 1/2 William Stone 3.16.- 1/2 Gregory Southerwood 3.16.- 1/2 Avery Trueman 3.16.- 1/2 John Tucker 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Wansell 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Wiffington 3.16.- 1/2 James Burn 3.16.- 1/2 244.-.7 1/2 Third Company Richard Beale Captain Salary 45.12.6 Thomas Bazett Lieut. Salary 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 Sergeants Roger Kirwan 7.12.1 Barnard Millard 7.12.1 William Roberts 7.12.1 John Vaughan Reduced 1st. Janry. 1.8 Do. Centinel from the 1st. Do. 3.14.2 26.12.1 Corporals James York to the 1st. January 1.2 Do. made Serjt. 2d. Do. 7.8.4 William Clifton 5.6.5 1/2 Fisher Gambel 5.6.5 1/2 Samuel Johnson 5.6.5 1/2 23.8.10 1/2 Carried Over £ 1804.8.2 | The roll of centinels in the Second Company concluded, with £190 16s 0½d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,437 2s 2½d standing as the running total of the return. Reves Osborne, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Perry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Renne, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Richards, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Christian Strife, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Stringer, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Stowers, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Stone, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Gregory Southerwood, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Avery Truman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Tucker, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Wancell, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Whiffington, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Burn, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Total for the centinels of the Second Company, £244 0s 7½d The list then turned to the Third Company. Richard Beale, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Thomas Bazett, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Bazett, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Bazett, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Bazett, £27 11s 10½d Roger Kirwan, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Barnard Millard, sergeant, £7 12s 1d William Roberts, sergeant, £7 12s 1d John Vaughan, sergeant, reduced on 1 January 1767, £0 1s 8d John Vaughan, as centinel from that date, £3 14s 2d Total for the sergeants, £26 12s 1d James York, corporal to 1 January 1767, £0 1s 2d James York, promoted sergeant on 2 January 1767, £7 8s 4d William Clifton, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Fisher Gambel, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Samuel Johnson, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £23 8s 10½d Carried over, £1,804 8s 2d Interpretations John Vaughan lost his sergeant's rank at the start of the quarter and served the rest of it as a private. The paymaster gave him one day at a sergeant's 1s 8d and 89 days at a private's 10d. James York, a corporal, was raised to sergeant in his place the next day and paid one day at the old rate and 89 at the new. Reduction to the ranks was the standard punishment for a non-commissioned officer who failed in his duty, and it halved Vaughan's income at a stroke. The page records the penalty and the promotion that followed, but not the offence. Richard Beale commanded the Third Company. The earlier part of the list paid him as judge advocate and as schoolmaster as well. One man therefore led a third of the garrison, advised the Council on law and prosecuted before its court, and taught the island's children. His three payments for the quarter came to £65 12s 6d, more than any civil servant below the Lieutenant Governor except the engineer. The concentration of military command and legal office in a single officer shows how thinly the island's government was staffed. Thomas Bazett was a lieutenant in Beale's company. The earlier part of the list also gave a Thomas Bazett a separate salary of £13 13s 0d with no office named, entered directly beneath Beale's two civil posts. He perhaps assisted his captain in one of them. The Bazett family now held a captaincy and a lieutenancy in the garrison beside its civil places. Samuel Perry appeared here as a private, and a man of that name was paid £1 5s 0d as cleaner of the clock and arms in the earlier part of the list. Like the groom Robert Allum, he perhaps earned a small wage for a task done alongside his soldiering. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Renne, Strife, Stowers, Southerwood, Truman, Wancell, Whiffington, Kirwan and Gambel. | |
429 | 1767 Brought over £ 1804.8.2 Drummers John Twaites 5.6.5 1/2 George Varney 5.6.5 1/2 10.12.11 Centinels Richard Ashford 3.16.- 1/2 James Anderson 3.16.- 1/2 Charles Abraham 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Brown 3.16.- 1/2 Jacob Brill 3.16.- 1/2 Mark Balls 3.16.- 1/2 Benjamin Bennett 3.16.- 1/2 John Blinkorn 3.16.- 1/2 Fredk. Wm. Budd 3.16.- 1/2 Wm. Caleb Baldwin 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Broom 3.16.- 1/2 John Cork 3.16.- 1/2 William Carr 3.16.- 1/2 Michael Downey 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Davis 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Donnavan Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Edward Dudley 3.16.- 1/2 William Foster 3.16.- 1/2 John Foxon 3.16.- 1/2 Archabald Grayham 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Gregory 3.16.- 1/2 William Gordon 3.16.- 1/2 William Greeness Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Felix Hyder 3.16.- 1/2 John Hilliard 3.16.- 1/2 William Hill 3.16.- 1/2 William Hopkins 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Hillock 3.16.- 1/2 Maynard Hayes 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph Holloway Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Isaiah Johnson 3.16.- 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 107.11.8 Carried Over £ 1815.1.1 | The paymaster's return continued through the Third Company, with £1,804 8s 2d brought forward. John Twaites, drummer, £5 6s 5½d George Varney, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Richard Ashford, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Anderson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Charles Abraham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Brown, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Jacob Brill, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Mark Balls, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Benjamin Bennett, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Blinkorn, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Frederick William Budd, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Caleb Baldwin, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Broom, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Cork, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Carr, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Michael Downey, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Davis, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Donnavan, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Edward Dudley, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Foster, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Foson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Archibald Grayham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Gregory, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Gordon, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Greenup, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Felix Hyder, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Hilliard, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Hill, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Hopkins, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hillock, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Maynard Hayes, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Holloway, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Isaiah Johnson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £107 11s 8d Carried over, £1,815 1s 1d Interpretations A John Twaites served as drummer in the Third Company. John Twaits, a minor, petitioned the Council with his sister Elizabeth on 18 April 1767 for leave to appoint guardians over their property. The two were perhaps the same person. Drummers were commonly boys or youths, often soldiers' sons raised on the island, and the drum major was paid in this quarter to instruct the young drummers. An orphaned son of a garrison family, old enough to sign a petition and to draw a drummer's pay, fits the case. His choice of guardians also fits. Henry Bazett was a captain in the same garrison, and a boy in the ranks would look to a senior officer to protect what his parents left. Three more men on this page enlisted on 23 March 1767. With the six in the First Company and six in the Second, the draft of that day stood at 15 at this point in the roll. Each company received its share, and none was passed over. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Varney, Brill, Blinkorn, Foson, Greenup, Hyder and Hillock. | |
430 | 20th. April Brought over £ 1815.1.1 Centinels Carried Over £ 107.11.8 Robert Johnson 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Johnson 3.16.- 1/2 James Kemp 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Linney 3.16.- 1/2 John Long 3.16.- 1/2 Edward Lamburn 3.16.- 1/2 Bryon Lynch 3.16.- 1/2 John Lemmon 3.16.- 1/2 James Long 3.16.- 1/2 Charles Mountague 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Moyse 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Morriss 3.16.- 1/2 James Moyce 3.16.- 1/2 Abraham Major 3.16.- 1/2 John Miller 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph Martin 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Matthews 3.16.- 1/2 Daniel Matterson Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 George Nelson 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Perry 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Pinchen 3.16.- 1/2 William Perkis 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Pearce to January 1st. 10 Do. Corporal from Do. 2d. 5.3.10 David Pa[tt]en 3.16.- 1/2 Samuel Packer Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 James Proctor Do. Do. 7.6 William Robinson 3.16.- 1/2 Robert Slack 3.16.- 1/2 Adam Scott 3.16.- 1/2 David Scott 3.16.- 1/2 John Shortland 3.16.- 1/2 John Thomson 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Taylor 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph Uffin Discharged 16th. Febry. 1.19.2 Centinels Carried Over £ 226.3.2 1/2 Carried Over £ 1815.1.1 | The roll of centinels in the Third Company continued, with £107 11s 8d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,815 1s 1d standing as the running total of the return. Robert Johnson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Johnson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Kemp, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Linney, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Long, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Lamburn, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Bryon Lynch, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Lemmon, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Long, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Charles Mountague, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Moyse, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Morrise, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Moyce, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Abraham Major, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Miller, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Martin, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Matthews, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Daniel Matterson, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d George Nelson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Perry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Pinchen, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Perkis, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Pearce, centinel to 1 January 1767, £0 0s 10d Thomas Pearce, as corporal from that date, £5 3s 10d David Patter, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Samuel Packer, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d James Proctor, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d William Robinson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Robert Slack, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Adam Scott, centinel, £3 16s 0½d David Scott, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Shortland, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Thomson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Taylor, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Uffin, centinel, discharged 16 February 1767, £1 19s 2d Centinels carried over, £226 3s 2½d Carried over, £1,815 1s 1d Interpretations Thomas Pearce completed a chain of three moves in the Third Company at the start of the quarter. Sergeant John Vaughan was reduced to the ranks on 1 January 1767, Corporal James York took his place the next day, and Pearce rose from private to fill York's corporalcy. The paymaster gave Pearce one day at 10d and 89 days at a corporal's 1s 2d. One demotion thus opened a step for two other men. Promotion in the garrison came only by vacancy, so a superior's disgrace was a private soldier's best chance of advancement. Joseph Uffin was discharged on 16 February 1767 and paid £1 19s 2d, which was 47 days at the private's rate. He was the second man in the return to leave during the quarter, after Samuel Alstone of the Second Company. Three more men enlisted on 23 March 1767, which brings the recruits of that day to 18 across the three companies at this point in the roll. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Linney, Moyse, Morrise, Pinchen, Perkis, Patter and Uffin. | |
431 | 1767 Brought over £ 1815.1.1 Centinels brought over £ 226.3.2 1/2 Richard V[inant] 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Ward 3.16.- 1/2 Edward Welsh 3.16.- 1/2 John Watson 3.16.- 1/2 241.7.4 1/2 Fourth Company John Howard Captain Salary 45.12.6 Henry De Laune Lieutenant Saly. 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 Thomas Lambert Lieut. Salary 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10 22.11.10 1/2 Sergeants John Flemming 7.12.1 Thomas Bailey 7.12.1 John Simcox 7.12.1 Daniel Armain 7.12.1 30.8.4 Corporals Thomas Ferris 5.6.5 1/2 Richard Moreton 5.6.5 1/2 William Mitchell 5.6.5 1/2 John Moore 5.6.5 1/2 21.5.10 Drummers George Wills 5.6.5 1/2 John Comp[son] 5.6.5 1/2 10.12.11 Centinels John Allen 3.16.- 1/2 William Allen 3.16.- 1/2 George Bennett 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph Blackwell 3.16.- 1/2 Centinels Carried Over £ 15.4.2 Carried Over £ 2219.11.9 1/2 | The roll of centinels in the Third Company concluded, with £226 3s 2½d brought forward for the men already listed and £1,815 1s 1d standing as the running total of the return. Richard Vincent, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Ward, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Welsh, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Waters, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Total for the centinels of the Third Company, £241 7s 4½d The list then turned to the Fourth Company. John Howard, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Henry De Laune, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Henry De Laune, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Henry De Laune, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Henry De Laune, £27 11s 10½d Thomas Lambert, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Lambert, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Lambert, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Lambert, £27 11s 10½d John Flemming, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Thomas Bailey, sergeant, £7 12s 1d John Simcox, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Daniel Armain, sergeant, £7 12s 1d Total for the sergeants, £30 8s 4d Thomas Ferris, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Richard Moreton, corporal, £5 6s 5½d William Mitchell, corporal, £5 6s 5½d John Moore, corporal, £5 6s 5½d Total for the corporals, £21 5s 10d George Wills, drummer, £5 6s 5½d John Coxson, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d John Allen, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Allen, centinel, £3 16s 0½d George Bennett, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph Blackwell, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Centinels carried over, £15 4s 2d Carried over, £2,219 11s 9½d Interpretations The garrison's infantry stood in four companies of equal pattern. Each had a captain, four sergeants, four corporals, two or three drummers and about 70 private men. The privates of the first three companies cost £243 3s 1½d, £244 0s 7½d and £241 7s 4½d for the quarter, figures so close that the companies were plainly kept level with one another. The uniform size made the paymaster's work a matter of checking exceptions, and it let the Council see at once where a company fell short. The Third Company was the exception among the officers. Thomas Bazett was its only lieutenant, while the First, Second and Fourth each had two. Its captain, Richard Beale, also served as judge advocate and schoolmaster. The company with the most heavily burdened captain therefore had the fewest subalterns, and the reduction of one of its sergeants on 1 January 1767 came in the company that was thinnest in supervision. The three captains named so far besides Kirkpatrick were Henry Bazett, Richard Beale and John Howard. Only Kirkpatrick, the captain of the First Company, sat on the Council. Seniority among the companies thus carried a seat in the government, and the other captains held command without a voice in it. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Vincent, De Laune, Simcox, Armain, Ferris and Coxson. | |
432 | 20th. April Brought over £ 2219.11.9 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 15.4.2 John Brooke 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Bickerstaff 3.16.- 1/2 William Blackman 3.16.- 1/2 James B[rill]iott 3.16.- 1/2 John Beaucham 3.16.- 1/2 Andrew Burton 3.16.- 1/2 John Bowler 3.16.- 1/2 James Cartwright Dischd. 16th. Febry. 1.19.2 George Capeling 3.16.- 1/2 William Cocksay 3.16.- 1/2 Duncan Cameron 3.16.- 1/2 James C[ulpeper] 3.16.- 1/2 John Cunningham 3.16.- 1/2 Richard Close 3.16.- 1/2 Josiah Cummings 3.16.- 1/2 John Dale 3.16.- 1/2 John Eustone 3.16.- 1/2 Charles Field Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 George Green 3.16.- 1/2 John Gilmore 3.16.- 1/2 Edward German 3.16.- 1/2 Henry Henningbury 3.16.- 1/2 James Hendry 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Hilliard 3.16.- 1/2 Roger Haydon 3.16.- 1/2 John Harper 3.16.- 1/2 Stephen John 3.16.- 1/2 Christian Johnson 3.16.- 1/2 John Joce Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 Richard Kempton 3.16.- 1/2 Thos. [K]ylock 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Lee 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Lyne 3.16.- 1/2 Charles Lewellin Entd. 23d. March 7.6 Thos. Mc.Dearmond Do. 28th. Febry. 1.6.8 Centinels Carried Over £ 133.13.9 Carried Over £ 2219.11.9 1/2 | The roll of centinels in the Fourth Company continued, with £15 4s 2d brought forward for the men already listed and £2,219 11s 9½d standing as the running total of the return. John Brooke, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Bickerstaff, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Blackman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Brilliott, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Beaucham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Andrew Burton, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Bowler, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Cartwright, centinel, discharged 16 February 1767, £1 19s 2d George Capeling, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Cooksay, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Duncan Cameron, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Culpeper, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Cunningham, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Richard Close, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Josiah Cummings, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Dale, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Eustone, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Charles Field, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d George Green, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Gilmore, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Gorman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Henry Henningbury, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Hendry, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Hilliard, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Roger Haydon, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Harper, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Stephen John, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Christian Johnson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Joce, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Richard Kempton, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Kylock, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Lee, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Lyne, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Charles Lewellin, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Thomas McDearmond, centinel, enlisted 28 February 1767, £1 6s 8d Centinels carried over, £133 13s 9d Carried over, £2,219 11s 9½d Interpretations James Cartwright of the Fourth Company and Joseph Uffin of the Third were both discharged on 16 February 1767 and paid the same £1 19s 2d. Two releases on one day from different companies suggest a common occasion. The men perhaps finished their terms together and were cleared to sail in a ship then in the road. A soldier's discharge was worth little until a vessel could carry him off the island, so the Council's releases tended to follow the shipping. Thomas McDearmond enlisted on 28 February 1767, more than three weeks before the draft of 23 March 1767. He was paid £1 6s 8d for 32 days. A man who joined alone and out of season was probably recruited on the spot. He was perhaps a seaman left behind by a ship or a discharged soldier signing on again, since the island offered a man without land or a trade few other ways to earn his keep. Three more men on this page enlisted on 23 March 1767, which brings the recruits of that day to 21 across the four companies at this point in the roll. The date of McDearmond's enlistment was read as 28 February 1767. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Brilliott, Capeling, Cooksay, Culpeper, Eustone, Henningbury, Joce and Kylock. | |
433 | 1767 Brought over £ 2219.11.9 1/2 Centinels brought over £ 133.13.9 Murdoc Mc.Cloed 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Marshall 3.16.- 1/2 John Major 3.16.- 1/2 John Newton 3.16.- 1/2 Martin Newman 3.16.- 1/2 James Newport 3.16.- 1/2 John Oswald 3.16.- 1/2 John Pluck 3.16.- 1/2 Daniel Patrick 3.16.- 1/2 Stephen Papps 3.16.- 1/2 William [Parker] 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Prichard Entertd. 23d. March 7.6 James Richardson 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Rutherford 3.16.- 1/2 Patrick Riley 3.16.- 1/2 John Shaw 3.16.- 1/2 William Solman 3.16.- 1/2 Zedekiah Saunderson 3.16.- 1/2 Frederick Shaffer 3.16.- 1/2 John Slade 3.16.- 1/2 William Stead Man 3.16.- 1/2 John Thompson 3.16.- 1/2 Edward Tovey 3.16.- 1/2 Jeremiah Worrell 3.16.- 1/2 William Waite 3.16.- 1/2 John Wood 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Williams 3.16.- 1/2 Thomas Watts 3.16.- 1/2 Joseph West Entertained 23d. March 7.6 James Willson Do. Do. 7.6 237.9.4 1/2 Artillery Company Archibald Mitchell Captain Salary 45.12.6 Nathan Sample Lieut. Salary 13.5.- Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10 22.11.10 1/2 Carried Over £ 2530.5.6 | The roll of centinels in the Fourth Company concluded, with £133 13s 9d brought forward for the men already listed and £2,219 11s 9½d standing as the running total of the return. Murdoc McCloud, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Marshall, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Major, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Newton, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Martin Newman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d James Newport, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Oswald, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Pluck, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Daniel Patrick, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Stephen Papps, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Parker, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Prichard, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d James Richardson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Rutherford, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Patrick Riley, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Shaw, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Sedman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Zedekiah Saunderson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Frederick Shaffer, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Slade, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Stedman, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Thompson, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Edward Tovey, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Jeremiah Worrall, centinel, £3 16s 0½d William Waite, centinel, £3 16s 0½d John Wood, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Williams, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Thomas Watts, centinel, £3 16s 0½d Joseph West, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d James Willson, centinel, enlisted 23 March 1767, £0 7s 6d Total for the centinels of the Fourth Company, £237 9s 4½d The list then turned to the Artillery Company. Archibald Mitchell, captain, salary, £45 12s 6d Nathan Sample, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Nathan Sample, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Nathan Sample, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Nathan Sample, £27 11s 10½d Carried over, £2,530 5s 6½d Interpretations The draft of 23 March 1767 was divided with exact equality. Six recruits went to each of the four infantry companies, 24 men in all. The Fourth Company's six were Field, Joce, Lewellin, Prichard, West and Willson. An even split kept the captains on level terms and prevented any one of them from picking the best men. The storekeeper issued 29 blankets for recruits in the same quarter, so a few more of the newcomers perhaps went to the artillery. Archibald Mitchell held two posts. He was captain of the Artillery Company here and the engineer in the civil part of the list, where he drew £77 10s 0d in salary, diet money and house rent. His combined pay for the quarter was £123 2s 6d, second only to the Governor's. A Mitchell also signed the account of artillery stores for March 1767 as gunner. The officer who designed and repaired the fortifications therefore commanded the guns mounted on them and answered for the powder they burned. The works at Sandy Bay and the platforms at Rupert's, charged in the storekeeper's return, fell under his direction as engineer. The artillery was officered on the same scale as the infantry, with a captain and a lieutenant at the identical rates. The Company made no distinction of pay between the two arms at this level, although the gunners' skill was the scarcer. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them McCloud, Papps, Parker, Sedman, Shaffer, Stedman, Tovey and Sample. | |
434 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 2530.5.6 1/2 Thomas Leech Lieut. Saly. 13.5 Do. Diet Money 6.16.10 1/2 Do. House Rent 2.10.- 22.11.10 1/2 Sergeants John Whitchurch 9.2.6 Adam Watson 9.2.6 John Shirtley 9.2.6 John Cox 9.2.6 36.10.- Corporals Thomas Collier 6.16.10 1/2 Nicholas Houghton 6.16.10 1/2 Robert Gillson 6.16.10 1/2 John Jack 6.16.10 1/2 27.7.6 Bombardiers John Turner 6.16.10 1/2 James [B]arfett 6.16.10 1/2 John Martin 6.16.10 1/2 Ezra Nowland 6.16.10 1/2 27.7.6 Gunners Eustace White 6.1.8 David Dennis 6.1.8 John Smith 6.1.8 Thomas Tyler 6.1.8 William Phillips Febry. 16th. reduced 3.2.8 Do. Matross from Do. 17 2.4.3 Samuel Smith 6.1.8 Thomas Mc.Farling 6.1.8 Adam Creighton 6.1.8 47.18.7 Drummers George Ganard 5.6.5 1/2 Robert Saunders 5.6.5 1/2 10.12.11 Carried Over £ 2707.13.11 | The paymaster's return continued through the Artillery Company, with £2,530 5s 6½d brought forward. Thomas Leech, lieutenant, salary, £18 5s 0d Thomas Leech, diet money, £6 16s 10½d Thomas Leech, house rent, £2 10s 0d Total for Thomas Leech, £27 11s 10½d John Whitchurch, sergeant, £9 2s 6d Adam Watson, sergeant, £9 2s 6d John Shirtley, sergeant, £9 2s 6d John Cox, sergeant, £9 2s 6d Total for the sergeants, £36 10s 0d Thomas Collier, corporal, £6 16s 10½d Nicholas Houghton, corporal, £6 16s 10½d Robert Gillson, corporal, £6 16s 10½d John Jack, corporal, £6 16s 10½d Total for the corporals, £27 7s 6d John Turner, bombardier, £6 16s 10½d James Garfett, bombardier, £6 16s 10½d John Martin, bombardier, £6 16s 10½d Ezra Nowland, bombardier, £6 16s 10½d Total for the bombardiers, £27 7s 6d Eustace White, gunner, £6 1s 8d David Dennis, gunner, £6 1s 8d John Smith, gunner, £6 1s 8d Thomas Tyler, gunner, £6 1s 8d William Phillips, gunner to 16 February 1767, then reduced, £3 2s 8d William Phillips, as matross from 17 February 1767, £2 4s 0d Samuel Smith, gunner, £6 1s 8d Thomas McFarling, gunner, £6 1s 8d Adam Creighton, gunner, £6 1s 8d Total for the gunners, £47 18s 7d George Garrard, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Robert Saunders, drummer, £5 6s 5½d Total for the drummers, £10 12s 11d Carried over, £2,707 13s 11d Interpretations The artillery was paid on a higher scale than the infantry at every rank below the officers. A sergeant of artillery earned 2s a day against 1s 8d in the infantry companies, and a corporal 1s 6d against 1s 2d. A gunner received 1s 4d a day, more than an infantry corporal. Working the guns demanded training in loading, laying and the handling of powder, and the island's defence rested on its batteries far more than on its muskets. The Company paid for that skill. Only the drummers drew the same in both arms. The company had two grades between corporal and private that the infantry lacked. A bombardier was a junior non-commissioned officer who prepared fuses and charges and tended the mortars, and he was paid as a corporal. A gunner was the trained man who aimed and fired a piece. Below him stood the matross at 1s a day, the assistant who sponged, loaded and hauled. Edmund Conner, reported missing on 13 April 1767, was a matross. William Phillips was reduced from gunner to matross on 16 February 1767. The paymaster gave him 47 days at the gunner's rate and 44 at the lower one, and the demotion cost him a quarter of his daily pay. He was the second man in the return to be reduced, after Sergeant Vaughan of the Third Company. Loss of grade and pay was a penalty that the artillery's finer ladder of ranks made easy to apply in measured steps. Leech was the company's second lieutenant, beside Nathan Sample named in the earlier part of the list. The artillery thus had the same complement of officers as the First, Second and Fourth companies. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Leech, Shirtley, Gillson, Garfett, Nowland, McFarling and Garrard. | |
435 | 1767 Brought over £ 2707.13.11 Matrosses Benj. Barton 4.11.3 Isaac Buck 4.11.3 James Bottomley 4.11.3 John Bower 4.11.3 William Brown 4.11.3 John Cope 4.11.3 John Cripwell 4.11.3 Thomas Clark 4.11.3 Edmond Conner 4.11.3 Robert Cunningham 4.11.3 John Cr[isp]et 4.11.3 John D[olede] 4.11.3 Daniel Finn 4.11.3 Joseph Fellows 4.11.3 Robert Frankish 4.11.3 John Fox 4.11.3 Christian Greenawald 4.11.3 Thomas Gorrall 4.11.3 Thomas Green 4.11.3 William Hodges February 16th. made Gunr. 2.7 Do. Gunner from the 17th. February 2.19.4 Lawrence Hall 4.11.3 John Haws 4.11.3 William Jenkins 4.11.3 Thomas Jones 4.11.3 John Lewis 4.11.3 Daniel Maloney 4.11.3 George Marshall 4.11.3 Jonathan Mallet 4.11.3 Thomas Nimble 4.11.3 John Osborne 4.11.3 William Poulton 4.11.3 Godfrey Sm[art] 4.11.3 Samuel Spencer 4.11.3 John Scotcher 4.11.3 Matrosses Carried Over £ Carried Over £ 2707.13.11 | The paymaster's return continued through the Artillery Company with its matrosses, and £2,707 13s 11d was brought forward. Benjamin Barton, matross, £4 11s 3d Isaac Buck, matross, £4 11s 3d James Bottomley, matross, £4 11s 3d John Bower, matross, £4 11s 3d William Brown, matross, £4 11s 3d John Cope, matross, £4 11s 3d John Cripwell, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Clark, matross, £4 11s 3d Edmond Conner, matross, £4 11s 3d Robert Cunningham, matross, £4 11s 3d John Crofoot, matross, £4 11s 3d John Dolede, matross, £4 11s 3d Daniel Finn, matross, £4 11s 3d Joseph Fellows, matross, £4 11s 3d Robert Frankish, matross, £4 11s 3d John Fox, matross, £4 11s 3d Christian Grunawald, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Gorrall, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Green, matross, £4 11s 3d William Hodges, matross to 16 February 1767, then promoted, £2 7s 0d William Hodges, as gunner from 17 February 1767, £2 19s 4d Lawrence Hall, matross, £4 11s 3d John Hews, matross, £4 11s 3d William Jenkins, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Jones, matross, £4 11s 3d John Lewis, matross, £4 11s 3d Daniel Maloney, matross, £4 11s 3d George Marshall, matross, £4 11s 3d Jonathan Mallet, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Nimble, matross, £4 11s 3d John Osborne, matross, £4 11s 3d William Poulton, matross, £4 11s 3d Godfrey Smart, matross, £4 11s 3d Samuel Spencer, matross, £4 11s 3d John Scotcher, matross, £4 11s 3d Carried over, £2,707 13s 11d Interpretations Edmond Conner drew his full £4 11s 3d for the quarter. He was the matross whom the Council reported missing on 13 April 1767, with the suspicion that he deserted in the Danish ship or the Speke. He was therefore still at his post on 31 March 1767 and disappeared in the first days of April, with a whole quarter's pay newly due to him. The timing suggests a planned departure. A man intending to slip aboard a homeward ship did well to wait until the paymaster's reckoning was complete. William Hodges rose from matross to gunner on 17 February 1767, the day after William Phillips was reduced from gunner to matross. The two men exchanged places. The company's establishment of gunners was fixed, so Phillips's demotion opened the vacancy that Hodges filled, in the same way that Sergeant Vaughan's fall in the Third Company advanced a corporal and a private. The paymaster gave Hodges 47 days at 1s and the rest of the quarter at the higher rate. A matross earned 1s a day, 2d more than a private of infantry. Even the lowest man in the artillery was paid above the ordinary soldier. One name among the matrosses, Christian Grunawald, points to a recruit from the German lands, like John Christian Strife and Frederick Shaffer in the infantry. The Company's recruiting drew in foreigners who reached London or were taken up from the ships, since Englishmen willing to serve for years on a distant island were hard to find. The sum paid to Hodges as gunner is a tentative reading. Several surnames are also uncertain, among them Cripwell, Crofoot, Dolede, Grunawald, Gorrall, Smart and Scotcher. | |
436 | 20th. April Brot. Over £ 2707.13.11 [1/2] Matrosses brought over £ William Stapleford 4.11.3 Daniel Tong 4.11.3 Thomas Watts 4.11.3 John Wibbley 4.11.3 Richard Willmans 4.11.3 Thomas Wyatt 4.11.3 Richard Watterhouse 4.11.3 Thomas Yates 4.11.3 192.7.7 £ 2900.1.6 1/2 Margin Notes: [...] | The paymaster's return concluded with the last of the matrosses in the Artillery Company, and £2,707 13s 11d was brought forward. William Stapleford, matross, £4 11s 3d Daniel Tong, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Watts, matross, £4 11s 3d John Webbley, matross, £4 11s 3d Richard Willmans, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Wyatt, matross, £4 11s 3d Richard Waterhouse, matross, £4 11s 3d Thomas Yates, matross, £4 11s 3d Total for the matrosses, £192 7s 7d Total of the list, £2,900 1s 6d Interpretations The Company's whole pay bill on the island for the quarter was £2,900 1s 6d, or about £11,600 a year. The Council examined and approved the return on 20 April 1767 together with the storekeeper's. The two documents can be set side by side. The storekeeper took in £842 13s 0d in his general return, £73 4s 2d from the planters and £11 13s 5d from the Company's ships, about £927 in all. Roughly a third of what the paymaster gave out therefore came straight back through the store within the same three months, most of it for the soldiers' salt meat and bread. The Company paid wages with one hand and recovered them with the other. This kept down the quantity of coin that had to be found on an island with no trade of its own. The civil establishment was cheap beside the military. The officers, servants, tradesmen and minor officials in the first part of the list cost a little over £900, the Governor's £156 14s 9d included. The four infantry companies and the artillery took the remaining two thirds. The island existed to be held, and its payroll shows it. The artillery mustered 42 matrosses and eight gunners under its non-commissioned officers, a company of about the same size as each of the four of infantry. Its wage bill was the highest of the five because of the better rates paid at every rank. A Thomas Yates closed the roll as a matross, and the earlier part of the list paid a man of that name £5 0s 0d as a clerk. Like the groom Robert Allum and the clock cleaner Samuel Perry, he perhaps added a small civil wage to his soldier's pay. A literate man in the ranks was worth employing at a desk, and such places gave the garrison's abler men a second income. Several surnames are tentative readings, among them Stapleford, Tong, Webbley and Willmans. | |
437 | Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1767 To Cash received £ 3724.-.3 Carried Over £ 3724.-.3 Per Contra Cr. £ S d 1767 Janry. 6th. By Cash paid William Brookes for relistg. to serve the Honble. Compy. as a Soldier five Years long 10.-.- 26th. By Cash paid Richard Platfoot for relisting to serve as above 10.-.- 31st. By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men for 13 3/4 days Work repairing the Maldavia Garden Wall @ 1/ p day 13.9 By Cash paid Do. for 4 days repg. Do. @ 1/ p d 4.- By Cash paid Stephen John Samuel Instone, John Cork. Jacob Brill, Henry Brown, James York Richd. Watterhouse Benj. Barton, Murdock Mc.Cloed & Willm. Benson, for relisting to serve the Honorable Company as Soldiers five Years longer at £10.-.- each 100.-.- By Cash paid Thoms. Stowers for relistg. to serve as above 10.-.- 26th. By Cash paid Wm. French for [T]eachg. 165 Cotts for the Garrn. @ 3 3/4d Each 2.11.6 1/2 By Cash paid 11 Garrison Men 2 days Work in ye. Stores unloading the Rice & Paddy from the Ship Asia @ 1/ p day 1.2.- By Cash paid Mr. James Powell Coroner (by Order of the Council) fees for an Inquest held on the Body of Edward Law a Soldier. The 11th. February 1764 1.5.- Carried Over £ 136.1.3 1/2 Margin Notes: 1767 | The paymaster's cash account for 1767 stood in the name of Thomas Kirkpatrick. Its debit side recorded the money he received. Cash received, £3,784 0s 3d Carried over, £3,784 0s 3d The credit side recorded his payments. 6 January 1767, William Brookes, for re-enlisting to serve the Company as a soldier for 5 more years, £10 0s 0d 26 January 1767, Richard Platfoot, for re-enlisting on the same terms, £10 0s 0d 31 January 1767, various men of the garrison, for 13¾ days of work repairing the Maldivia Garden wall at 1s a day, £0 13s 9d 31 January 1767, various men of the garrison, for 4 days of work on the same wall at 1s a day, £0 4s 0d 31 January 1767, Stephen John, Samuel Instone, John Cork, Jacob Brill, Henry Brown, James York, Richard Waterhouse, Benjamin Barton, Murdoc McCloud and William Benson, for re-enlisting as soldiers for 5 more years at £10 each, £100 0s 0d 31 January 1767, Thomas Stowers, for re-enlisting on the same terms, £10 0s 0d 26 February 1767, William French, for fitting sacking to 165 cots for the garrison, £2 16s 6½d 26 February 1767, 11 men of the garrison, for 2 days of work in the stores at 1s a day, £1 2s 0d 26 February 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 11 February 1767 on the body of Edward Law, a soldier, paid on the Council's order, £1 5s 0d Carried over, £136 1s 3½d The 11 men paid for work in the stores were employed unloading rice and paddy from the ship Asia. Interpretations The Company paid a bounty of £10 to any soldier who signed on for a further five years when his term ran out. A private earned about £15 4s 0d a year, so the bounty was worth some eight months' pay in a single sum. Thirteen men took it in January 1767. The alternative for the Company was to let trained and acclimatised soldiers go home and to ship out raw recruits in their place, at the cost of a passage and with the risk of sickness and desertion on the way. Buying a second term from a man already on the island was the cheaper course. The same quarter saw James Henry and three others take their discharge instead, so the choice was real and each soldier weighed the bounty against his freedom. Kirkpatrick was the paymaster. He was also a member of the Council and captain of the First Company, as the pay list recorded. The officer who commanded the senior company therefore held the garrison's cash and sat among the men who audited his accounts on 20 April 1767. Soldiers were hired for extra labour at 1s a day on top of their military pay of 10d. They repaired a garden wall and carried rice from the landing place to the stores. The Company had slaves for heavy work, but unloading a ship had to be done quickly while she lay in the road, and the garrison was the only reserve of free hands. The gunner's account recorded the Asia sailing on 5 March 1767. William French and William Benson were privates of the First Company, and several of the other men named served in the Second, Third and Fourth companies and the artillery. French earned a private fee for fitting the canvas bottoms to the barrack cots. The storekeeper issued English canvas, deals and nails to the garrison for those cots in the same quarter. James Powell, the storekeeper, also acted as coroner and was paid a fee for each inquest. An inquest was the formal inquiry by a jury into a sudden or unexplained death. One was held on the soldier Edward Law, which shows that English legal forms were kept up on the island even for a private man. The page does not record the jury's finding. Maldivia Garden was a cultivated property in the upper part of the valley above the town, kept at this date for the Company's use. The month of the three payments dated the 26th was taken as February from their place after 31 January 1767. The sum paid to French and the total carried over are tentative readings. | |
438 | 20th. April Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1767 March 31st. To Cash brought over £ 3724.-.3 Carried over £ 3724.-.3 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster continued on 31 March 1767. 31 March 1767, cash brought over, £3,784 0s 3d Carried over, £3,784 0s 3d | |
439 | 1767 Per Contra Cr. Brought over £ 136.1.3 1/2 March 1st. By Cash paid Mr. James Powell Coroner Fees for an Inquest held on the Body of Pat a Slave Woman the 27 December 1764 1.5.- By Cash paid Do. for Do. on the Body of York a Boy Slave the 27th. August 1765 1.5.- By Cash paid Do. for Do. on the Body of Evan Knowles a Soldier the 22nd. October 1765 1.5.- By Cash paid Do. for Do. on the Body of Thos. Jones a Soldier. The 5th. January 1766 1.5.- By Cash pd. Do. for Do. on the Body of the late Capt. Inglis the 11 of March 1767 1.5.- By Cash paid to the Estate of Captn. Cornelius Inglis decd. for Stock bought by him at the Cape on Account of the Honble. Compy. as p. Bill vizt. To 37 Bullocks @ 12 Rix Drs. £ 111.-.- 7 Cows @ 16. 2 Sks. 22.8.6 4 Do. wth. Calves @ 15.6 15.13.- 40 Sheep @ 7/ 17.15.6 50 Muid Barley @ 1.3 16.13.- 16 Large Bags wth. Straw & Chaff @ 1.3 5.6.6 16 Empty Bags Do. Do. 1.3 5.6.6 Hire of 7 Boats 14.-.- Cooley and Waggons 3.-.- Garden Seeds 5.-.- A Servant that procured every thing 13.- Feby. 28th. By Cash paid Thoms. Darnell for Inlistg. to Serve the H Compy. as a Soldier for five Years 3.-.- March 6 By Cash paid Willm. Hill and William Blackman for relisting to serve the Honble. Company as Soldiers 5 Years longer @ £10 20.-.- 14th. By Cash pd. 2 Men for Swimg. after and Saving a Boat of the Honble. Compys. which went a Drift 15.- By Cash pd. John Dobson Farrier p. Order of the Governor for the Cure of a Mare belongg. to the Company 1.-.- 31st. By Cash paid Willm. French for makg. 26 Cotts for the Garrison 8.1 1/2 By Cash pd. William Jenkins Baker for Baking 96 Batches Bread for the use of the Garrison at 20d p Batch 8.-.- Carried Over £ 392.10.5 | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster continued with £136 1s 3½d brought forward. 7 March 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 27 December 1764 on the body of Pat, a slave woman, £1 5s 0d 7 March 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 27 August 1765 on the body of York, a slave boy, £1 5s 0d 7 March 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 22 October 1765 on the body of Evan Knowles, a soldier, £1 5s 0d 7 March 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 5 January 1766 on the body of Thomas Jones, a soldier, £1 5s 0d 7 March 1767, James Powell, coroner, for his fees on an inquest held on 11 March 1767 on the body of the late Captain Inglis, £1 5s 0d The paymaster then reimbursed the estate of Captain Cornelius Inglis, who died after buying livestock and stores at the Cape on the Company's account. 37 bullocks at 12 rix-dollars each, £111 0s 0d 7 cows at 11 rix-dollars 2 schellings each, £22 13s 6d 4 cows with calves at 15 rix-dollars 6 schellings each, £15 15s 0d 40 sheep at 7 [...] each, £17 15s 6d 50 muids of barley at 1 rix-dollar 3 schellings each, £16 13s 0d 16 large bags of straw and chaff at 1 rix-dollar 3 schellings each, £5 6s 6d 16 empty bags at 1 rix-dollar 3 schellings each, £5 6s 6d Hire of 7 boats, £14 0s 0d Labourers and wagons, £3 0s 0d Garden seeds, £5 0s 0d A servant who procured everything, £0 15s 0d The remaining payments of the quarter followed. 28 February 1767, Thomas Darnell, for enlisting to serve the Company as a soldier for 5 years, £3 0s 0d 6 March 1767, William Hill and William Blackman, for re-enlisting as soldiers for 5 more years, £20 0s 0d 14 March 1767, 9 men, for swimming after and saving a Company boat that went adrift, £0 15s 0d 14 March 1767, John Dobson, farrier, for curing a mare belonging to the Company, paid on the order of Governor Skottowe, £1 0s 0d 31 March 1767, William French, for making 26 cots for the garrison, £0 8s 1½d 31 March 1767, William Jenkins, baker, for baking 96 batches of bread for the garrison at 1s 8d a batch, £8 0s 0d Carried over, £392 16s 5d Interpretations Captain Inglis's purchase explains the livestock that the plantation account recorded as received on 23 February 1767. That account showed 10 cows, four calves, 35 steers and 40 sheep taken into the Company's herds on that day. The Cape of Good Hope was the nearest source of cattle, and the island's herds could not be kept up by breeding alone. A ship's commander calling there on the homeward passage was commissioned to buy animals with his own money and was repaid at St Helena. Inglis also bought barley, straw and chaff to feed the animals at sea and hired boats and wagons to get them aboard. He died before the debt was settled, so the money went to his estate. The prices were stated in the Cape's own currency and converted to sterling. The rix-dollar was the Dutch money of account at the Cape, divided into eight schellings, and the paymaster reckoned it at 5s. A bullock at 12 rix-dollars therefore cost £3. A muid was the Dutch measure for grain at the Cape, a sack of roughly three bushels. An inquest was held on Inglis on 11 March 1767, as it was on any sudden death. The coroner was paid on the same day for four older inquests going back to December 1764, on two slaves and two soldiers. His fees lay unpaid for more than two years until a fifth case prompted him to present the whole bill. The entries show that the death of a slave woman or a slave boy was inquired into by the same procedure as that of a soldier or a ship's captain. A new recruit received £3 on enlisting for five years, while a serving soldier who signed on again received £10. The Company valued a trained man already on the island at more than three times a newcomer. Darnell enlisted on 28 February 1767, the same day as Thomas McDearmond of the Fourth Company in the pay list. John Dobson was the garrison's armourer in the pay list at £10 10s 0d, and here he was paid as a farrier for treating a horse. A smith who worked iron for the muskets also shod and doctored the Company's nine horses. William Jenkins, a matross of the Artillery Company, baked the garrison's bread at a fee for each batch. The storekeeper's return charged the bread itself against the soldiers' pay. | |
440 | 20th. April Thoms. Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1767 March 31st. To Cash brought over £ 3724.-.3 Carried Over £ 3724.-.3 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster was carried forward again on 31 March 1767. 31 March 1767, cash brought over, £3,784 0s 3d Carried over, £3,784 0s 3d | |
441 | 1767 Per Contra Cr. Brought over £ 392.10.5 By Cash paid Sundry Planters for 121 1/2 days Work of their Stone layers at Sandy Bay Fortification at 2/6 p day 15.3.1 1/2 By Cash pd. Do. for 1448 days Labourers Work at Do. at 1/ p day 72.8.- By Cash Mr. Andrew Cranston Surgeon of the Northumberland for the care of 24 Recruits on their Passage from England 6.-.- By Cash paid Nocquedah Pockullem for 13 Ps. Salt Meat his Allowance left in the Stores, he requesting the Money to buy fresh provision 1.6.- By Cash paid the Clerk of the Market for Beef bought this Quarter for the use of the Governors Table 11.1.10 By Cash pd. Thos. Payne for Sail Needles bought for the use of the Long Boats Sails 3.1 1/2 By Cash paid Do. for two Papers of Ink Powder bought for the use of Sandy Bay 1.6 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison for 186 1/2 days Masons Work at Sandy Bay Fortification @ 1/6 p day 13.19.4 1/2 By Cash paid Do. for 427 1/2 days Work Stone Blowg. at Do. at 1/6 p day 32.1.3 By Cash paid Do. for 74 1/2 days Smiths Work at Do. at 1/6 p day 5.12.1 1/2 By Cash paid Do. for 5969 days Labourers Work at Do. at 1/ p day 29[8].9.6 By Cash paid Do. for 417 3/4 days Work in the Long Boat at 1/ p day 20.17.9 By Cash paid Do. 49 1/2 days Carpenters Work makg. making Wooden Platforms for the Practice of the Artillery at 1/6 p day 3.14.3 By Cash paid Do. for 29 days Smiths Work at the Armourers Shop at 1/6 p day 2.3.6 By Cash paid Do. for 97 days Labourers Work repairg. the Bakers & Carpenters Shops The Barrack & Hospital at 1/ p day 4.17.- Carried Over £ [...] | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster continued with £392 16s 5d brought forward. Various planters, for 121¼ days of work by their stone layers at the Sandy Bay fortification at 2s 6d a day, £15 3s 1½d Various planters, for 1,448 days of labourers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s a day, £72 8s 0d Roquebdah Pockullem, for 13 pieces of salt meat from his allowance left in the stores, paid in money at his request so that he could buy fresh provisions, £1 6s 0d The clerk of the market, for beef bought during the quarter for the table of Governor Skottowe, £11 1s 10d Thomas Payne, for sail needles bought for the longboat's sails, £0 3s 1½d Thomas Payne, for 2 papers of ink powder bought for use at Sandy Bay, £0 1s 6d Various men of the garrison, for 186¼ days of masons' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £13 19s 4½d Various men of the garrison, for 427½ days of work blasting stone at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £32 1s 3d Various men of the garrison, for 74¾ days of smiths' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s 6d a day, £5 12s 1½d Various men of the garrison, for 5,869 days of labourers' work at the Sandy Bay fortification at 1s a day, £293 9s 0d Various men of the garrison, for 417¾ days of work in the longboat at 1s a day, £20 17s 9d Various men of the garrison, for 49½ days of carpenters' work making wooden platforms for artillery practice at 1s 6d a day, £3 14s 3d Various men of the garrison, for 29 days of smiths' work at the armourer's shop at 1s 6d a day, £2 3s 6d Various men of the garrison, for 97 days of labourers' work repairing the bakers' and carpenters' shops, the barrack and the hospital at 1s a day, £4 17s 0d Carried over, £8[...] One further payment named a ship. Andrew Cranston, surgeon of the Northumberland, received £6 0s 0d for the care of 24 recruits on their passage from England. Interpretations The Sandy Bay fortification was the largest undertaking on the island, and this page shows its true cost. The storekeeper's return charged £97 12s 2d of stores to the works for the quarter. The wages came to more than four times that sum. Soldiers of the garrison gave 5,869 days of labour there in three months, which means about 65 men were at work on the site every day, close to a whole company. They earned 1s a day on top of their military pay of 10d, so a private sent to Sandy Bay more than doubled his income. Skilled men received 1s 6d. The Company built its defences with its own garrison and paid for the labour as overtime. The planters supplied a second workforce. They hired out their slaves to the Company as labourers at 1s a day and as stone layers at 2s 6d, and the money went to the owners. The planters' slave masons were rated a full shilling above the garrison's own. The public works thus put cash into the hands of the free landholders, who bought from the store at the highest prices. Stone for the works was got by blasting with gunpowder. The gunner's account for March 1767 entered 303 lb 8 oz of powder against unspecified other services, more than half the month's total. The blasting at Sandy Bay accounts for a consumption that salutes and alarms could not explain. The 24 recruits came in the Northumberland, which arrived on 23 March 1767 according to the gunner's account. The pay list showed exactly 24 men enlisted on that day, six to each infantry company. The ship's surgeon was paid 5s a head for looking after them at sea. The fee gave him a reason to land the draft alive and fit, since recruits packed into an Indiaman for months were prone to fever and scurvy. Roquebdah Pockullem held an allowance of salt meat from the store and asked for its value in money to buy fresh food. He was perhaps the person behind the account headed Malay in the storekeeper's return, which carried rice, sugar, tea and pepper but no meat. The Company kept him on a ration and was willing to commute part of it to suit his diet. The clerk of the market supervised the sale of fresh provisions by the inhabitants and bought beef for the Governor's table from them. The table's salt meat came from the store, and its fresh meat came from the planters through this officer. | |
442 | 20th. April Thomas Kirkpatrick Paymr. Dr. 1767 March 31. To Cash brought over £ 37[24].-.3 £ 37[24].-.3 | The debit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster closed on 31 March 1767. 31 March 1767, cash brought over, £3,784 0s 3d Total received, £3,784 0s 3d | |
443 | 1767 Per Contra Cr. 1767 Brot. Over £ 880.8.9 March 31 By Cash paid Sundry Garrison Men for coming express with Account of Ships to windward this Quarter 3.10.- £ 883.18.9 By the Amount of the pay List 2900.1.6 1/2 £ 37[8]4.-.3 St. Helena, 31st. March 1767 Errors Excepted (signed) Thos. Kirkpatrick Paymastr. Counted and Examined the Honorable Company's Cash for the Month of March last, which is as follows vizt. | The credit side of Thomas Kirkpatrick's account as paymaster closed with £880 8s 9d brought forward. 31 March 1767, various men of the garrison, for coming express with reports of ships to windward during the quarter, £3 10s 0d Subtotal of payments, £883 18s 9d Amount of the pay list, £2,900 1s 6d Total paid, £3,784 0s 3d The account carried the usual reservation for errors. Thomas Kirkpatrick signed it as paymaster at St Helena on 31 March 1767. The Council then counted and examined the Company's cash for March 1767. Interpretations The two sides of the account matched to the penny at £3,784 0s 3d. The paymaster held no balance of his own. He drew from the Company's treasury exactly what the pay list and his other payments required, and the debit side recorded those drawings as cash received. A paymaster who kept a float could lend or trade with it, and the Company's method left him nothing in hand between quarters. The Council's separate count of the treasury, which followed at once in the record, checked the cash that remained after his drawings. The pay list made up £2,900 1s 6d of the total and the other payments £883 18s 9d. Almost half of that second sum went on labour at the Sandy Bay fortification, as the earlier part of the account showed. Wages for extra work were thus the paymaster's largest charge after regular pay. Soldiers posted at the lookouts on the windward side of the island ran to the Castle with news whenever a sail came in sight. The paymaster rewarded each such message, and the quarter's reports cost £3 10s 0d. Ships approached St Helena from the south-east with the trade wind, so the windward heights gave the earliest warning. These runners set off the alarm guns that the gunner's account for March 1767 recorded seven times in the month. The payment for speed gave the men a reason to keep watch and to carry the news without delay. | |
444 | 20th. April Cash Dr. 1767 March 1 To Balance remaining £ 8370.8.6 To Ship Asia 15.13.- 24th. To Exchange for 4 Sets of Bills drawn Upon the Honble. the Court of Directors payable as follw. vizt. One Set to Captain John Clements for £ 1500.-.- One Do. to Mr. Robert C[el]ade 500.-.- One Do. to Mr. John Pattison 663.-.- One Do. to Mr. Reynold Thomas 35.-.- 2698.-.- To Ship Royal Charlotte 6.1.7 To Ship Cruttenden 6.8.10 To Ship Prince of Wales 5.10.- 31st. To James Powell received of him for Stores Sold in the Quarter ending this day 915.17.2 To plantation for Provision Sold 7.11.- 1/2 To Licences for Publick Houses 13.10.- £ 12044.-.1 1/2 | The Council's count of the treasury set out the cash received in March 1767. The month opened on 1 March 1767 with a balance of £8,370 8s 6d in hand. The ship Asia then paid in £15 13s 0d. 24 March 1767, bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, 1 set payable to Captain John Clements, £1,500 0s 0d 24 March 1767, bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, 1 set payable to Robert Delade, £500 0s 0d 24 March 1767, bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, 1 set payable to John Pattison, £663 0s 0d 24 March 1767, bills of exchange on the Court of Directors, 1 set payable to Reynold Thomas, £35 0s 0d Total received for the 4 sets of bills, £2,698 0s 0d Three more ships paid money into the treasury. The Royal Charlotte paid £6 1s 7d, the Cruttenden £6 8s 10d and the Prince of Wales £5 10s 0d. 31 March 1767, James Powell, for stores sold in the quarter ending that day, £915 17s 2d 31 March 1767, the plantation, for provisions sold, £7 11s 0½d 31 March 1767, licences for public houses, £13 10s 0d Total of the receipts, £12,044 0s 1½d Interpretations Bills of exchange were the treasury's main source of fresh money. Four people paid £2,698 0s 0d in cash at the island on 24 March 1767 and received paper that the directors would honour in London. The settlement produced nothing for export and its store only recycled wages, so coin handed over by people who wanted money in England was what kept the treasury supplied. Captain Clements alone remitted £1,500 0s 0d. A commander of an Indiaman carried goods on his own account, and the proceeds of his sales at the island or elsewhere on the voyage could be turned into a safe claim on the Company in this way. The Royal Charlotte, Prince of Wales and Cruttenden arrived between 18 March 1767 and 22 March 1767, as the gunner's account recorded, and the bills were drawn two days later. The storekeeper paid in £915 17s 2d for the quarter. That sum equals his general return of £842 13s 0d and the planters' account of £73 4s 2d added together. The goods sold to the Company's ships, £11 13s 5d, were not part of it. The ships settled their own accounts directly with the treasury, which is why four of them appear on this page with small payments. The cash book thus confirms the store's figures from an independent side, and the agreement was the check that the Council's monthly count was meant to provide. The treasury held more than £8,000 at the start of the month. The paymaster's drawings for the whole quarter were £3,784 0s 3d, so the Company kept in hand over two quarters' expenditure. A reserve of that size guarded against a season when few ships called and no bills were bought. Public houses on the island sold drink under licence from the Council, and the fees went to the treasury. The licence let the government limit the number of houses and close any that harboured deserters or dealt with slaves. The plantation's small receipt was for surplus produce sold from the Company's farm lands. | |
445 | 1767 Per Contra Cr. 1767 March 31st. By Sundry Accounts Advanced the Paymaster to pay Salarys &ca. in the Quarter ending this day 37[8]4.-.2 1/2 By Balance remaining vizt. In Specie 7720.4.11 In Cash notes of no Use 539.15.- 8259.19.11 £ 12044.-.1 1/2 The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from the Ship Northumberland vizt. Acct. of Stores Short received from Ship Northumberland vizt. 3 Bushels Salt, Short Measure 5 lb Sope 31 Cordage Do. Weight 21 Scythe Stones 5 Iron Pots Wt. 2.-.25 1 Do. Do. of one Gallon 29 Sqrs. Glass 6 by 8 27 Sqrs. Do. 8 by 10 4 Sqrs. 10 by 12 found broke upon opening the Packages | The Council's count of the treasury then set out the payments made from the cash in March 1767 and the balance left. 31 March 1767, advanced to the paymaster on various accounts to pay salaries and other charges in the quarter ending that day, £3,784 0s 2½d Balance remaining in coin, £7,720 4s 11d Balance remaining in cash notes of no use, £539 15s 0d Total balance remaining, £8,259 19s 11d Total of the payments and balance, £12,044 0s 1½d The storekeeper reported to the Council on 20 April 1767 that some of the goods landed from the Northumberland fell short of her invoice. His account listed the deficiencies. 3 bushels of salt, short in measure 5 lb of soap, short in weight 81 lb of cordage, short in weight 21 scythe stones, missing 5 iron pots weighing 2 qr 25 lb, missing 1 iron pot of 1 gallon, missing 29 panes of glass measuring 6 by 8 inches, broken 27 panes of glass measuring 8 by 10 inches, broken 4 panes of glass measuring 10 by 12 inches, broken The panes were found broken when the packages were opened. Interpretations The treasury's balance included £539 15s 0d in cash notes described as useless. These were paper notes that the island's government issued in earlier years to make up for a shortage of coin, and they evidently no longer passed in payment. The Council still carried them in the count because they were once received as money and were never written off. The usable balance was therefore the £7,720 4s 11d in coin and not the full figure. Listing the dead paper separately each month kept the directors from mistaking it for silver. The treasury closed the month with slightly less than it opened, £8,259 19s 11d against £8,370 8s 6d on 1 March 1767. The quarter's whole pay bill and the wages at Sandy Bay went out, and the bills of exchange and the storekeeper's receipts almost exactly replaced them. The island's finances ran in a closed loop. Money came in from people who wanted funds in London and from soldiers buying their rations, and it left again as the next quarter's pay. The Northumberland was an outward ship from England. She arrived on 23 March 1767 with the 24 recruits and a cargo of English stores for the warehouse. The storekeeper checked every package against the invoice by weight, measure and count, as he did with the Deptford's chinaware on 18 April 1767. His report served two purposes. It cleared him of liability for goods he never received, and it gave the Company grounds to claim against the ship's owners or the suppliers at home. Short weight in rope and soap pointed to loss or pilfering between the London warehouse and the island, while the missing pots and whetstones were simply not delivered. Window glass travelled badly. Sixty panes arrived broken, and the storekeeper's return for the quarter showed glazing brads issued for Plantation House and for general use. Every pane on the island came from England in crates, and breakage at this rate helps to explain why glazed windows remained a mark of the better houses. | |
446 | 20th. April 3 Squares Glass 10 by 14 7 Sqrs. 10 by 15 6 Sqrs. 10 by 16 3 Sqrs. 10 1/2 by 17 1/2 3 Sqrs. 10 1/2 by 18 1/2 5 Sqrs. 11 by 19 2 Sqrs. 11 1/2 by 17 1/2 12 Sqrs. 11 by 18 2 Sqrs. 11 1/2 by 19 3 Sqrs. 11 by 18 1/2 found broke upon opening the Packages 5 Baulks 1 Oak plank 4 Wainscott Boards Short Delivered 3 large Flour Sieves for Engineers damaged & good for nothing Lisbon Wine vizt. No. 1 1 Hhd. Gages 61 Galls. Wants to fill 2 Galls. 2 1 Do. Do. 61 Do. 1 1/2 Do. 3 1 Do. Do. 61 Do. 1 1/2 183 5 5 Recd. 178 Galls. No. 4 1 Hhd. Mountain Wine Gages 60 1/2 Galls. wants to fill 1 1/2 Galls. 1 1/2 Galls. 59 Received No. 5 1 Do. Red Port Do. 61 gages Do. 2 Do. 6 1 Do. Do. Do. 61 Do. Do. 2 1/4 Do. 122 4 1/4 4 1/4 Galls. 117 3/4 Received St. Helena 20th. April 1767 (signed) James Powell Storekeeper We this day received the following Letter from Captain John Mitford vizt. | The storekeeper's account of goods short or damaged from the Northumberland continued with further panes of glass found broken when the packages were opened. 3 panes of glass measuring 10 by 14 inches, broken 7 panes of glass measuring 10 by 15 inches, broken 6 panes of glass measuring 10 by 16 inches, broken 3 panes of glass measuring 10½ by 17½ inches, broken 3 panes of glass measuring 10½ by 18½ inches, broken 5 panes of glass measuring 11 by 19 inches, broken 2 panes of glass measuring 11½ by 17½ inches, broken 12 panes of glass measuring 11 by 18 inches, broken 2 panes of glass measuring 11½ by 19 inches, broken 3 panes of glass measuring 11 by 18½ inches, broken 5 baulks of timber, not delivered 1 oak plank, not delivered 4 wainscot boards, not delivered 3 large flour sieves for the engineer's use, damaged and worthless The account then gauged the six hogsheads of wine landed from the ship. Cask 1, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 61 gallons, short by 2 gallons Cask 2, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 61 gallons, short by 1½ gallons Cask 3, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 61 gallons, short by 1½ gallons Lisbon wine, total capacity 183 gallons, total short 5 gallons, received 178 gallons Cask 4, 1 hogshead of Mountain wine, capacity 60½ gallons, short by 1½ gallons, received 59 gallons Cask 5, 1 hogshead of red port, capacity 61 gallons, short by 2 gallons Cask 6, 1 hogshead of red port, capacity 61 gallons, short by 2¾ gallons Red port, total capacity 122 gallons, total short 4¾ gallons, received 117¼ gallons James Powell signed the account as storekeeper at St Helena on 20 April 1767. The Council received a letter on the same day from Captain John Mitford. Interpretations Each cask of wine was gauged on landing. The storekeeper measured the capacity of the hogshead and then the depth of the empty space at the top, and he entered the difference as the quantity actually received. A cask lost wine on a long voyage by seepage through the staves and by evaporation in the heat of the hold. It could also lose wine to the crew, who were known to draw off liquor with a gimlet and a straw and plug the hole. The losses here ran between 1½ and 2¾ gallons a cask, about 3 or 4 per cent. The storekeeper charged himself only with what he measured, so that later issues to the Company's table could not show him short. The three wines were those of the steward's account for March 1767, which recorded bottles of port, Lisbon and Mountain consumed at the table. The six hogsheads came to about 354 gallons received. They were the table's supply for the coming year, sent out from England in the season's outward ship. The steward bottled the wine from the cask as it was needed. The broken glass on this page was of much larger sizes than the panes in the earlier part of the account, up to 11½ by 19 inches. Panes of that size were for the tall sash windows of the Castle or Plantation House and not for ordinary dwellings. Forty-six of them arrived in pieces. With the 60 smaller panes already listed, the ship delivered more than 100 broken panes in one consignment. Baulks were heavy squared timbers for beams and framing. Their failure to arrive, with the oak plank and wainscot boards, deprived the works of structural timber that the island could not supply. The engineer's sieves were perhaps for sifting lime and sand for mortar at the fortifications, where a fine and even mix mattered to the strength of the masonry. | |
447 | 1767 To the Worshipful the Governor & Council at St. Helena Gentlemen The Honorable Company's permitting the Commanders to pay Money in their Stock, as being part of the produce of their Outward bound Investment, I hereby beg leave to pay One Thousand Six hundred and fifty Pounds and that you will grant me Certificates in the Usual manner. I am Gentlemen Your Humble Servant (signed) J. Mitford St. Helena 20th. April 1767. Upon which we tendered him the Oath, Agreeable to the 75 Paragraph of his Instructions, and granted him Certificates for the above Sum of one thousand Six hundred and fifty pounds Pursuant to the Order in Consultation of the 13th. Instant, the Inhabitants this day assembled at the Chappel in this Valley to Chuse Parish Officers for the ensuing Year, and likewise to return three of the Principal Inhabitants, that one might be elected to serve the Office of Sheriff, and to Chuse a proper person to serve in that of Constable They accordingly returned the following Persons vizt. Messrs. Matthew Bazett William Wrangham Jonathan Doveton Sheriffs George Bird Constable Richard Bayley James Greentree Solomon St. Maurice John Alexander Church Wardens | Captain J. Mitford wrote to Governor Skottowe and the Council from St Helena on 20 April 1767. He explained that the Company allowed its commanders to pay money into its treasury where the sum formed part of the proceeds of their outward-bound trade goods. He asked leave to pay in £1,650 0s 0d on that footing and to receive certificates for it in the usual form. The Council put Mitford on oath, as the seventy-fifth paragraph of his instructions required. It then issued him certificates for the £1,650 0s 0d. The inhabitants met at the chapel in the valley on 20 April 1767, as the Council's order of 13 April 1767 required. They chose the parish officers for the coming year, put forward three leading men for the office of sheriff and chose a constable. Their return named the following people. Matthew Bazett, nominated for sheriff William Wrangham, nominated for sheriff Jonathan Doveton, nominated for sheriff George Bird, constable Richard Bayley, churchwarden James Greentree, churchwarden Solomon St Maurice, churchwarden John Alexander, churchwarden Interpretations A commander of an Indiaman was allowed to carry a fixed quantity of goods out from England on his own account and to sell them in the East. The Company let him pay the proceeds into one of its treasuries abroad and gave him certificates that the directors redeemed in London. The privilege was limited to money earned from that licensed outward trade. The oath was the safeguard. Mitford had to swear that the £1,650 0s 0d came from his own permitted goods, and not from smuggling, from dealings with foreigners or from other people's funds passed through his name. The Company wanted the coin, which its settlements always lacked, but it would not let its remittance system launder the profits of trade that broke its monopoly. The clause sat in each commander's standing instructions, and the Council applied it before it took the money. Mitford commanded the Northumberland, the outward ship that landed the recruits and stores. His payment followed the £2,698 0s 0d that four others paid in for bills on 24 March 1767. The treasury took in more than £4,300 from remitters within a month, well above a whole quarter's pay bill of £2,900 1s 6d. All three men put forward for sheriff were salaried servants of the Company. Bazett was the Secretary, and Wrangham and Doveton were factors in the pay list for the quarter. The inhabitants were free to name any of their leading men, yet the list they sent up left the Council to choose among its own officials. The office of sheriff carried the execution of the court's orders, and the settlers perhaps judged that no planter would be accepted for it. The nomination kept the form of a popular choice while the substance stayed with the government. The churchwardens were a more mixed body. St Maurice was a lieutenant in the First Company and master-at-arms, while Bayley, Greentree and Alexander do not appear among the Company's officers in the pay list. Churchwardens managed the parish's funds, the upkeep of the chapel and relief of the poor, and the planters had a real share in that work. The constable, who kept the peace in the town and carried out arrests, was likewise drawn from outside the salaried establishment. | |
448 | 20th. April Thomas Burnham George Hayes Overseers of the East Division William Young Isaac Knipe Do. of the West Do. John Bagley Benj. Seale Do. of the South Do. We appointed Mr. Matthew Bazett to serve the Office of Sheriff, and Ordered warrants to be drawn for Messrs. Richd. Bagley, and James Greentree Church Wardens, and Thomas Burnham William Young, and John Bagley Overseers The following is the Account of Work sent by the Planters to Sandy Bay Fortification which Capt. Mitchell referred to in his Quarterly Letter inserted in Consultation of the 5th. of January last, which was omitted to be then entered. the reason for the Deficiency which the Engineer has taken Notice of, was owning to the highways coming on that week Work furnished by the Planters for the Honble. Company at Sandy Bay Planters Names, No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 Mrs. Eliz. Greentree: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. Richard Bagley: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 1 Mr. Benj. [Mason]: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. Jonathan Doveton: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. James Powell: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. James Greentree: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. John Alexander: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Capt. Henry Bazett: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Mr. Richard Goodwin: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 1 Mr. Orlando Bagley: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Miss [Swain]: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 0 Carried Over: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29 1766 2, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10 1767 2 | The inhabitants' return of 20 April 1767 continued with the overseers they put forward for the three divisions of the island. Thomas Burnham, overseer of the East Division George Hayes, overseer of the East Division William Young, overseer of the West Division Isaac Knipe, overseer of the West Division John Bagley, overseer of the South Division Benjamin Seale, overseer of the South Division The Council appointed Matthew Bazett as sheriff. It ordered warrants to be drawn up for Richard Bagley and James Greentree as churchwardens. Warrants were also ordered for Thomas Burnham, William Young and John Bagley as overseers. The Council then entered an account of the labour that the planters sent to the Sandy Bay fortification. Captain Mitchell referred to this account in his quarterly letter, which was recorded at the meeting of 5 January 1767, but the account itself was left out at that time. The engineer drew attention to a shortfall in the labour supplied. The Council noted that the shortfall arose because work on the highways fell due at the same period. The account listed the slaves each planter supplied for the Company's works at Sandy Bay. Mrs Elizabeth Greentree, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Richard Bagley, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 5 January 1767 Benjamin Mason, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Jonathan Doveton, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 James Powell, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 James Greentree, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 John Alexander, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Captain Henry Bazett, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Richard Goodwin, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 5 January 1767 Orlando Bagley, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Miss Swain, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Carried over, 2 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 2 slaves at work on 5 January 1767 Interpretations The inhabitants nominated twice as many parish officers as there were places, and the Council picked half. It took two of the four churchwardens and one of the two overseers offered for each division. The method matched the choice of sheriff from three names. The settlers supplied the candidates and the government made every final selection, so no one held local office without the Council's approval. The warrants issued under its authority, and not the vote in the chapel, gave the officers their powers. Solomon St Maurice and John Alexander were passed over as churchwardens. The two men chosen were planters, which left the parish's funds in the hands of landholders and not of a garrison officer. Overseers answered for a division of the island each. Their duties were the upkeep of the roads and the care of the poor in their district, and they called out the inhabitants' labour for the highways. The East, West and South divisions were the island's rural districts beyond the valley and the town. The planters owed labour to the Company's works as well as to the roads. Each was expected to send slaves to Sandy Bay, and the engineer kept a tally by name and by week. The return was a register of compliance. Nine of the eleven owners on this page sent nobody on either date. The Council accepted the explanation that the same slaves were wanted for the highways, a competing public duty laid on the same people at the same season. The paymaster's account for the quarter that followed showed the planters paid for 1,448 days of labourers' work at Sandy Bay, so the supply recovered once the road work was done. Several of the defaulters were the Company's own servants. Doveton was a factor, Powell the storekeeper and Henry Bazett captain of the Second Company. They appear here as planters and slave owners in their private capacity, and they sent no more labour than their neighbours. The officials who governed the island were also landholders with the same interest in keeping their slaves on their own ground. Matthew Bazett became sheriff while serving as Secretary to the Council. The officer who wrote the court's orders was now the one who carried them out. | |
449 | 1767 Planters Names, No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 Brought Over: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 2, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 2 Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 2 Mr. Mattw. Purling: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 4, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 4 Mrs. Margt. Alcock: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 0 Mr. Richard Beale: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 1 Mr. John Deffountain: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 0 Mr. Matthew Bazett: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 2 Capt. John Howard: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 1 Mr. John Pritchard: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 0 Mr. Thos. Watts: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 1 Mr. Samuel Alexander: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 1 Mr. Isaac Doveton: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 0, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 0 Mr. Willm. Wrangham: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 1, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 1 Total: No. of Slaves at Work December the 29th. 1766 11, No. of Slaves at Work Janry. the 10th. 1767 15 John Skottowe Dan Corneille [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The account of slaves sent by the planters to the Company's works at Sandy Bay concluded, with two slaves brought forward for each of the two dates. The second date was given here as 10 January 1767. Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 2 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Matthew Purling, 4 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 4 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Mrs Margaret Alcock, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Richard Beale, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 10 January 1767 John Desfountain, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Matthew Bazett, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 2 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Captain John Howard, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 10 January 1767 John Pritchard, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Thomas Watts, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 10 January 1767 Samuel Alexander, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 10 January 1767 Isaac Doveton, 0 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 0 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 William Wrangham, 1 slave at work on 29 December 1766, 1 slave at work on 10 January 1767 Total, 11 slaves at work on 29 December 1766, 15 slaves at work on 10 January 1767 Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The whole body of planters had only 11 slaves at the Sandy Bay works on the first date and 15 on the second. Twenty-three owners were listed across the account, and 12 of them sent nobody on either day. The engineer's complaint of a shortfall was well founded. The Council accepted the pressure of highway work as the reason and imposed no penalty. Its own solution appears in the paymaster's account for the quarter to 31 March 1767, where soldiers of the garrison gave 5,869 days of labour at the same works for an extra 1s a day. The Company could not get enough hands from the landholders by obligation, so it bought the labour from its own troops. The members of the Council who judged the shortfall were among the suppliers. Purling sent four slaves on each date, the largest contingent of any owner, and Kirkpatrick sent one and then two. Their names stood in the account they were entering, and their compliance was on record beside the defaults of others. Matthew Bazett, the Secretary, sent none in December and two in January. Purling and Bazett were listed as separate owners, each with his own slaves. The roll doubles as a list of the island's slave-owning households. It included three garrison captains, the judge advocate, the surgeon's mate, a lieutenant, two factors, the storekeeper and the Secretary, alongside planters with no office. Two women, Mrs Greentree and Mrs Alcock, and a Miss Swain held slaves in their own names. Almost every senior servant of the Company was also a private landholder, which explains why the government was slow to press the planters hard for labour. | |
450 | 22d. April At a Consultation held on Wednesday the 22d. day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 20th. April 1767. Monday the 20th. Arrived the Glattons Boat at Banks's at six oClock at night Yesterday Arrived the Honble. Company's Ship Glatton from China Do. Sailed the Honble. Company's Ship Northumberland for China Do. Arrived the Lord Camdens Boat at Banks's at seven o'Clock at night This Day Arrived the Honorable Company's Ship Lord Camden from Madrass The Glatton and Lord Camden brought Us the following Supplies vizt. Invoice of Ship Glatton No. 73 a 81 Nine Chests Sugar vizt. No. 73 26 322 74 24 312 75 23 286 76 25 280 98 1200 No. 77 23 308 78 24 291 79 25 317 80 23 282 81 25 270 120 1468 Tare 218 2668 Grs. 2450 lb Nett or Pecl. 18.37 @ 4.5 Tas. 82.665 E. Excepted signed Fras. Wood Benj: Torin Thos. Smith Wm. Rous Robt. Jno. Harrison Thos. Bevan Thos. Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathl. Garland Wm. Mc.Kenzie Stepn. De Visme | The Council met at the Castle on Wednesday 22 April 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 20 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Glatton's boat reached Banks's at six o'clock on the evening of Monday 20 April 1767. The Company's ship Glatton herself arrived from China on 21 April 1767. The Company's ship Northumberland sailed for China on that same day. The Lord Camden's boat reached Banks's at seven o'clock that evening. The Company's ship Lord Camden herself arrived from Madras on 22 April 1767. Both newly arrived ships brought supplies for the island. The Glatton's invoice listed nine chests of sugar, numbered 73 to 81. Chest 73, tare 26, gross 322 Chest 74, tare 24, gross 312 Chest 75, tare 23, gross 286 Chest 76, tare 25, gross 280 Subtotal of chests 73 to 76, tare 98, gross 1,200 Chest 77, tare 23, gross 308 Chest 78, tare 24, gross 291 Chest 79, tare 25, gross 317 Chest 80, tare 23, gross 282 Chest 81, tare 25, gross 270 Subtotal of chests 77 to 81, tare 120, gross 1,468 Total tare 218, total gross 2,668 Net weight 2,450 lb, or 18.37 piculs, at 4 taels 5 mace per picul, 82 taels 6 mace 6 candareens 5 cash The invoice closed with the usual reservation for errors. Twelve men signed it. Francis Wood Benjamin Torin Thomas Smith William Rous Robert John Harrison Thomas Bevan Thomas Fitzhugh Henry Revell Hillary Torriano Nathaniel Garland William Mackenzie Stephen De Visme Interpretations The Glatton was the fourth China ship of the season to land nine chests of sugar at 4 taels 5 mace a picul. Her chests were numbered 73 to 81 and followed directly on the Hampshire's 64 to 72, recorded on 13 April 1767. The supercargoes at Canton therefore marked the island's whole order in one running series and loaded it in equal lots. The four consignments came to 36 chests and 10,414 lb net. The store sold 2,435 lb in its general return for the quarter to 31 March 1767 and 313 lb to the planters, so the season's supply covered about a year at that rate. The Northumberland sailed on to China after landing her recruits and stores. An outward ship bound for Canton did not usually call at St Helena, which lay on the homeward track. She was evidently routed by the island to deliver the draft of soldiers and the year's English goods. Captain Mitford paid £1,650 0s 0d into the treasury on 20 April 1767, the day before he left. The certificates he took in exchange spared him the risk of carrying that money to China and home again. The Lord Camden was the first ship from India to arrive in the period covered by these consultations. Madras supplied goods that Canton did not, among them the cotton long cloth and chelloes that the store sold, and the rice and paddy that fed the Company's slaves and stock. | |
451 | 1767 Invoice of Ship Lord Camden Bags 24. Rice 24 Bags gro. Wt. 33.-.14 Tare @ 4 lb 3.12 Nt. Wt. 32.1.2 is Mads. 156 @ 21.3.45 p Garce is 32.31.35 27 Paddy 27 Bags gro. Wt. 30.3.12 Tare 1.26 Nt. Wt. 30.1.14 is Mads. 200 @ 10 Mercl. p. Pagoda 20.-.- Legrs. 3 Batavia Arrack 3 Leaguers contg. 450 Galls. @ 40 Pags. p Leaguer 120.-.- Charges Merchandize Gunny Bags 75 @ 3 p Ct. 2.9.- Twine 2 lb 2.- Weighing Cooley on 14 Candy 20 Cash p Cy. 3.40 Boat hire on 4 Trips @ 9 fans. p Trip 1.-.- Tarpaulin Hired 4 8.- Tin Plates and Nails 10.40 Cooley Hire 27.40 4.24.40 Pagodas 177.19.75 Errors Excepted (signed) John Call Acct. The ten Working days allowed by Charter party for unloading the Earl of Middlesex being expired, We gave Capt. John Hasell sailing Orders in writing to make the best of His way to Fort Marlborough on the West Coast of the Island Sumatra according to the Directions he has received from the Honorable the Court of Directors. We likewise gave him the following Letter to the President and Council of Fort Marlborough together with the Duplicates of those we sent by the Ship Northumberland to the Several Presidencys in India vizt. | The Lord Camden's invoice, entered on 22 April 1767, listed the supplies she brought from Madras. 24 bags of rice, gross weight 33 cwt 0 qr 14 lb, tare at 4 lb a bag 0 cwt 3 qr 12 lb, net weight 32 cwt 1 qr 2 lb, measuring 156 marcals, at 84 pagodas 5 fanams 45 cash a garce, 32 pagodas 31 fanams 35 cash 27 bags of paddy, gross weight 30 cwt 3 qr 12 lb, tare 0 cwt 1 qr 26 lb, net weight 30 cwt 1 qr 14 lb, measuring 200 marcals, at 10 marcals a pagoda, 20 pagodas 3 leaguers of Batavia arrack holding 450 gallons, at 40 pagodas a leaguer, 120 pagodas 75 gunny bags, 2 pagodas 9 fanams 2 lb of twine, 2 fanams Porters for weighing 14 candies, at 20 cash a candy, 3 fanams 40 cash Boat hire for 4 trips, at 9 fanams a trip, 1 pagoda Hire of tarpaulins, 8 fanams Tin plates and nails, 10 fanams 40 cash Hire of porters, 27 fanams 40 cash Total of the shipping charges, 4 pagodas 24 fanams 40 cash Total of the invoice, 177 pagodas 19 fanams 75 cash The invoice carried the usual reservation for errors. John Call signed it as accountant. The ten working days allowed under the charter party for unloading the Earl of Middlesex ran out. The Council therefore gave Captain John Hasell written sailing orders. He was to proceed without delay to Fort Marlborough on the west coast of Sumatra, in line with the directions he held from the Court of Directors. The Council also handed him a letter for the President and Council of Fort Marlborough. With it went duplicates of the letters already sent to the Indian presidencies by the Northumberland. Interpretations The invoice shows where the island's arrack came from and what it cost. The spirit was distilled at Batavia, the Dutch capital in Java, and bought at Madras for shipment. A leaguer was the large Dutch cask in which it was traded, holding about 150 gallons. Three leaguers cost 120 pagodas. The pagoda was the gold coin of Madras, worth roughly 8s, so the 450 gallons came to about £48, or a little over 2s a gallon. The storekeeper charged the Company's own departments between 2s 8d and 3s a gallon in the quarter to 31 March 1767. He sold it to ordinary buyers at about 12s. The public price was therefore some five or six times the invoice cost, a margin far above the 35 or 40 per cent laid on other goods. The goods were priced in the money and measures of the Coromandel coast. A pagoda divided into 36 fanams and a fanam into 80 cash. The marcal was the local measure for grain, and 400 marcals made a garce, the unit in which rice was sold wholesale. A candy was a weight of about 500 lb used for bulk cargo. Gunny bags were coarse sacks woven from jute fibre. The charges at the foot were the costs of getting the cargo from the warehouse at Madras through the surf to the ship, where everything went out in open boats as it did at St Helena. The rice and paddy were a small parcel, about three tons together. The storekeeper issued more than two tons of rice to the Company's slaves and over two tons of paddy to the plantation in a single quarter, and his cash account showed soldiers paid for unloading a cargo of both from the Asia in February 1767. The island drew its grain from India by several ships each season and not from one bulk delivery. A charter party was the contract under which the Company hired a ship from her owners. It fixed the number of days she could be kept at each port to load or unload, and the Company paid a daily penalty for any detention beyond that. The Council counted the days and issued orders as soon as they expired. It put the orders in writing, so that any later delay stood at the captain's risk and not the Company's. Fort Marlborough was the Company's settlement at Bencoolen, a pepper station on the Sumatran coast. The Earl of Middlesex was an outward ship, like the Northumberland, and each carried copies of the same letters by a different route. Sending duplicates in separate vessels was the standard precaution against the loss of a ship or her mail. | |
452 | 22d. April To the Honorable Roger Carter Esqr. President and Governor &c. Council of Fort Marlborough Honorable Sir and Sirs By Our Honorable Masters Ship Earl of Middlesex we do ourselves the pleasure of writing to you We have consigned to you by this Ship one Chest of Treasure, as p. Invoice and Bill of Lading Enclosed You will likewise receive the Earl of Middlesex's Charter party. Victualling Bill, and Manifest of Goods We request you will forward the Enclosed Letters to the several Presidencys in India, by the first opportunity We are Honorable Sir & Sirs Your most Obedient, humble Servants (signed) John Skottowe Dan Corneille Mattw. Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick St. Helena 22d. April 1767 P.S. Mr. John Steward being appointed by the Honble. the Court of Directors a Cadet on the Fort St. George Establishment, he takes his passage on the Earl of Middlesex Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ship Fox to Muster her Company & enquire for deserters but found none, here Muster Roll is as follow vizt. | The Council wrote to President Roger Carter and the Council of Fort Marlborough on 22 April 1767, and the letter went by the Earl of Middlesex. It reported that one chest of treasure was consigned to Fort Marlborough in that ship, and it enclosed the invoice and bill of lading. The ship's charter party, victualling bill and cargo manifest went with it. The Council asked Fort Marlborough to send on the enclosed letters to the Indian presidencies at the first opportunity. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the letter at St Helena. A postscript added that John Stewart took his passage in the Earl of Middlesex. The Court of Directors appointed him a cadet on the Fort St George establishment. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the ship Fox to muster her crew and look for deserters. He found none. Interpretations St Helena shipped a chest of coin to Sumatra. The island's treasury held £7,720 4s 11d in specie at the end of March 1767, and commanders and others paid in more than £4,300 for bills and certificates within a month. That silver was of no further use at the island once the quarter's pay was covered, while the Company's pepper station at Bencoolen needed money to buy its crop. The Council therefore passed the surplus on in an outward ship. St Helena worked as a collecting point where private remittances were gathered as coin and then redirected to a settlement that was short of it. The directors in London met the bills at home, and the Company saved the cost and risk of sending the same silver out from England. The papers sent with the ship let Fort Marlborough settle with her. The charter party fixed what the owners were owed and how long she could be detained. The victualling bill recorded the provisions supplied to her on the Company's account. The manifest listed her cargo for checking on arrival. St Helena forwarded all three because the ship's contract ran on to her final port, and the last settlement to receive her made up the account. John Stewart was the cadet carried on the roll of the First Company in the pay list for the quarter to 31 March 1767, where he drew a private's pay. He served in the ranks at St Helena while waiting for a commission. The directors' appointment to the Madras army now gave him his opening, and the Council sent him east by the first ship, by way of Sumatra. The island's garrison thus served as a nursery for officers of the Company's Indian forces. The Fox arrived from China on 18 April 1767, as the Council recorded on 20 April 1767. Purling's muster of her crew followed the same routine he applied to the Havannah, Duke of Cumberland, Hampshire and Deptford before each was cleared to sail. | |
453 | 1767 Muster Roll of Ship Fox Alexander Hume Commandr. Peter Shakes Chief Mate John Blackburn 2d. Do. George Faswell 3d. Do. John Bevan 4th. Do. James Thurston 5 Do. Fredk. Thompson 6th. Do. Archd. Gardner Surgeon Frans. Steward Purser Geo: Haslip Boatswain George Simson Gunner Cuthbert [...] Carpentr. John Baker Midshipman Samuel Cornall Do. Wm. Croom Quarter Master John Dawson Do. George Brown Do. William Willis Do. Jos: Cross Carpts. 1st. Mate Hugh Surridge Do. 2d. Do. Robt. Brown Joiner Chas. Walker Gunrs. Mate John May Boatsn. 1 Do. Alexr. [Guerguer] Do. 2d. Do. Richd. Hardesty Caulker James Archell Do. Mate Robt. Summerton Cooper Stephn. Eastwick Do. Mate John Clarke Sailmaker Edward Wain Butcher John King Capts. Stewd. James Robinson Ships Steward John Dupre Capts. Cook Joseph Archer Capt. Servant Martin Stapleton Do. Do. Thoms. Smith Chief Mates Do. John Ireland 2d. Mates Do. William Pitt Surgeons Do. Daniel Dean Boatsns. Do. Wm. Lee Gunners Servant John Boyar Carptrs. Do. Phillip Burgoine Seaman James Ramsay William Curry John Moore William Harrald David Moody Thos. Willson Peter Watson Joseph Willis William Murray William Adams Geo: Wilkinson William Cochran Richard Ruthy Mattw. Lee David Frazier Alexr. Oliphant John Dixton Saml. Ross Benjamin Clarke Jos: Cornegy Seaman John Anderson Will. Thompson Willm. Phillips Thomas Bonnelly William Mc.Collum David Alexander Thoms. Thompson Thos. Lawrence John Bond David Asquith Fredk. Day John Collyer John Powers Willm. Brown Richard Sheridan Thos. Rice Robert Steward William Hutchins Andw. Mc.Call William Simple Christr. Johnson John Marrawell Willm. Higgins James Hymers John Francis David Marshall Robert Dodman William Fisher John Mc.Quin George Sharpe Seamn. (signed) Alexander Hume | The muster roll of the Fox named the following men. Alexander Hume, commander Peter Stokes, chief mate John Blackburn, second mate George Taswell, third mate John Bevan, fourth mate James Urmston, fifth mate Frederick Thompson, sixth mate Archibald Gardner, surgeon Francis Steward, purser George Haslip, boatswain George Simson, gunner Cuthbert Roger, carpenter John Exeter, midshipman Samuel Cornell, midshipman William Crow, quartermaster John Dawson, quartermaster George Brown, quartermaster William Willis, quartermaster George Cross, carpenter's first mate Hugh Surridge, carpenter's second mate Robert Brown, joiner Charles Walker, gunner's mate John May, boatswain's first mate Alexander Quinquer, boatswain's second mate Richard Hardesty, caulker James Bickell, caulker's mate Edward Summerton, cooper Stephen Eastwick, cooper's mate John Clarke, sailmaker Edward Winn, butcher John Young, captain's steward James Robinson, ship's steward John Dupee, captain's cook Joseph Archer, captain's servant Martin Stapleton, captain's servant Thomas Smith, chief mate's servant John Ireland, second mate's servant William Pitt, surgeon's servant Daniel Dean, boatswain's servant William Lee, gunner's servant John Boyar, carpenter's servant Phillip Burguire, seaman James Ramsay, seaman William Curry, seaman John Moore, seaman William Harvile, seaman David Moody, seaman Thomas Willson, seaman Peter Watson, seaman Joseph Wilkins, seaman William Murray, seaman William Adams, seaman George Wilkinson, seaman William Cochran, seaman Richard Authy, seaman Matthew Lee, seaman David Frazier, seaman Alexander Oliphant, seaman John Dexter, seaman Samuel Ross, seaman Benjamin Clarke, seaman George Cornegy, seaman John Anderson, seaman William Thompson, seaman William Phillips, seaman Thomas Bonnelly, seaman William McCollum, seaman David Alexander, seaman Thomas Thompson, seaman Thomas Lawrence, seaman John Bird, seaman David Asquith, seaman Mark Day, seaman John Collins, seaman John Powers, seaman William Brown, seaman Richard Sheridan, seaman Thomas Rice, seaman Robert Steward, seaman William Hutchins, seaman Andrew McCall, seaman William Simple, seaman Christian Johnson, seaman John Marracocke, seaman William Higgins, seaman James Hymers, seaman John Francis, seaman David Marshall, seaman Robert Dodman, seaman William Fisher, seaman John McQuin, seaman George Sharpe, seaman Alexander Hume signed the roll as commander. Interpretations The Fox mustered 92 men, and her roll followed the pattern of the Deptford's recorded on 18 April 1767. She carried six mates and eight officers' servants, each entered under the rank of the man he attended. Her crew was complete in every department on the homeward passage, with no rating left unfilled. A ship that reached the island at full strength after a voyage to China and back gave the Council little reason to fear that her commander would try to make up numbers from the garrison or the island's slaves. The muster nevertheless went ahead as it did for every vessel, since the search for deserters was the one check the Council could make before a ship passed out of its reach. | |
454 | 22d. April The Governor applied to pay four hundred pounds, into the Honorable Company's Cash, which Sum we have received, and given him Bills of Exchange drawn upon the Honorable the Court of Directors, payable to Robert Wood Esqr. (or Order) nine[ty] day's after sight dated this day. John Skottowe Dan Corneille [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick At a Consultation held on Monday the 27th. day of April 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governr. Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thos. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed, dated the 22d. April 1767 Yesterday Sailed the Dutch Ship General Governor, for Middleburg This day Sailed the Honorable Company's Ship Fox for England The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores short, received from Ship Earl of Middlesex vizt. Account of Stores Short, received from Ship Earl of Middlesex vizt. 6 Iron Pots Wt. 1.-.25 broke and good for nothing 1 large Flour Sieve [...] Damaged & good for nothing 33 lb Sole Leather 54 Iron 40 Cordage Short Weight | Governor Skottowe applied to the Council on 22 April 1767 to pay £400 0s 0d into the Company's treasury. The Council accepted the money and issued him bills of exchange for the same sum. The bills were drawn on the Court of Directors, dated that day and made payable to Robert Wood or his order, 90 days after sight. The Governor, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. The Council met again at the Castle on Monday 27 April 1767. The Governor attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 22 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Dutch ship General Governor sailed for Middelburg on 26 April 1767. The Company's ship Fox sailed for England on 27 April 1767. The storekeeper reported to the Council on the same day that some of the goods landed from the Earl of Middlesex fell short of her invoice. His account listed the deficiencies. 6 iron pots weighing 1 qr 25 lb, broken and worthless 1 large hair sieve for the engineer's use, damaged and worthless 33 lb of sole leather, short in weight 54 lb of iron, short in weight 40 lb of cordage, short in weight Interpretations The Governor remitted £400 0s 0d to England in a single payment. His salary and servants' allowance for the quarter to 31 March 1767 came to £156 14s 9d in the pay list, so the sum was more than two and a half times his quarterly income from the Company. A governor had other sources. He held land and slaves, traded on his own account in the goods that ships' officers brought to the island and received customary fees. The remittance shows the scale of those private earnings, which no salary list recorded. He presided at the meeting that accepted his own money and signed the minute, as Bazett's payment of £190 12s 0d was entered on 18 April 1767. The transaction was set down openly because the bill itself would reach the directors, who could see exactly what their governor was sending home. The Dutch ship lay six days in the road, from 20 April 1767 to 26 April 1767. A foreign vessel was allowed to water and refresh but was not encouraged to linger, since a long stay gave openings for private trade with the inhabitants in breach of the Company's monopoly and for desertion from the garrison. Edmund Conner, the missing matross, was suspected on 13 April 1767 of leaving in a Danish ship. The Earl of Middlesex was an outward ship from England, like the Northumberland, and brought part of the year's stores for the warehouse before going on to Sumatra. The storekeeper's check on her cargo followed the form of his report of 20 April 1767 on the Northumberland. Both ships delivered rope and other goods under weight and iron pots missing or broken, and both carried sieves for the engineer that arrived unusable. The repeated shortages across two vessels loaded in the same season point to careless packing or pilfering at the English end, before the goods ever went aboard. | |
455 | 1767 3 Bushels Salt Short Measure 14 Single Deals 1 Cuffi 5 Ps. Church Timber 18 Ashen Staves Short delivered No. 1 1 Hhd. Lisbon Wine Gages 61 1/2 Galls. want to fill 2 1/2 Gallons 2 1 Do. Do. Do. 60 1/2 Do. Do. 1 1/2 Do. 3 1 Do. Do. Do. 60 Do. Do. 3 Do. 182 7 7 Galls. 175 Received No. 4 1 Hhd. Red Wine Gages 61 Galls. want to fill 1 1/2 Gallons 5 1 Do. Do. Do. 60 Do. Do. 1 1/2 Do. 121 3 3 Galls. 118 Received No. 6 1 Hhd. Mountain Gages 61 Gallons wants to fill 3 Galls. 3 Galls. 58 Received Received Six Boys Checked Shirts more than was Invoiced St. Helena 27th. April 1767 (signed) James Powell Storekeeper John Skottowe Dan Corneille [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The storekeeper's account of goods short from the Earl of Middlesex continued. 3 bushels of salt, short in measure 14 single deals, not delivered 1 ufer, not delivered 5 pieces of church timber, not delivered 18 ash staves, not delivered The account then gauged the six hogsheads of wine landed from the ship. Cask 1, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 61½ gallons, short by 2½ gallons Cask 2, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 60½ gallons, short by 1½ gallons Cask 3, 1 hogshead of Lisbon wine, capacity 60 gallons, short by 3 gallons Lisbon wine, total capacity 182 gallons, total short 7 gallons, received 175 gallons Cask 4, 1 hogshead of red wine, capacity 61 gallons, short by 1½ gallons Cask 5, 1 hogshead of red wine, capacity 60 gallons, short by 1½ gallons Red wine, total capacity 121 gallons, total short 3 gallons, received 118 gallons Cask 6, 1 hogshead of Mountain wine, capacity 61 gallons, short by 3 gallons, received 58 gallons The storekeeper also reported one surplus. 6 boys' checked shirts, received over and above the invoice James Powell signed the account as storekeeper at St Helena on 27 April 1767. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. Interpretations The Earl of Middlesex carried the same six hogsheads of wine as the Northumberland, whose cargo was gauged on 20 April 1767. Each ship brought three of Lisbon, two of red port and one of Mountain. The directors divided the year's wine for the Company's table into two identical lots and sent them in separate vessels, as the supercargoes at Canton divided the sugar among four. The loss of either ship would have left the island with half its supply and not with none. The two lots together gave about 351 gallons received from this ship and 354 from the other. The storekeeper reported a surplus as carefully as a shortage. Six shirts arrived that no invoice mentioned, and he entered them on the Council's record. He was liable for everything in his charge, and goods held without a matching entry were as much an irregularity as goods missing. Declaring them brought the shirts into his stock at a value, where they could be sold and accounted for. Keeping silent would have left him with six shirts to dispose of privately. The report shows the invoice check working in the Company's favour as well as his own. Church timber was wood ordered for the chapel in the valley, where the inhabitants met in vestry on 20 April 1767. Five pieces failed to arrive, with 14 deals and a ufer, which was a long fir pole of the kind used for scaffolding and light spars. The Northumberland was likewise short of five baulks, an oak plank and four wainscot boards. Timber was bulky, stowed last and easily left on the quay, and its repeated failure to arrive held back building work on an island with almost no usable wood of its own. Ash staves were the shaped lengths from which a cooper made casks and tubs. The cooper drew chalk and copper rivets from the store in the quarter to 31 March 1767, and the Company depended on his work for the water casks supplied to every ship that called. | |
456 | 4th. May At a Consultation held on Monday the 4th. Day of May 1767 at the Castle Present John Skottowe Esqr. Governor Daniel Corneille Esqr. Lieut. Governor Mr. Matthew Purling Capt. Thoms. Kirkpatrick of Council The last Consultation was read, approved, and signed dated the 27th. April 1767 Thursday the 30th. April Sailed the Honble. Compys. Ship Earl of Middlesex for Bencoolen Yesterday Arrived the Lioness's Boat Banks's, at Six o'Clock in the morning Do. Do. The Duke of Kingston's Boat at Banks's at at two o'Clock in the afternoon Do. Do. The Honorable Company's Ships Lioness and Duke of Kingston from China This day Died John May Soldier On the 29th. of last Month We received the followg. Letter from Captn. Smith vizt. To the Worshipful John Skottowe Esqr. & the Gentlemen of the Council of the Island St. Helena Worshipful Sir & Sirs Having been informed from Authority that your Limitations of Cattle for each Ship, will not afford more than twelve or fourteen days Provisions for the Ships Company I hope, full appearance of the necessity I have been under to feed the [...] Crew with Salt Provisions for the greatest Part of the Voyage, and the great danger of the scurvy getting amongst them, will procure Us a larger indulgence I was ordered immediately on my Arrival on the Coast, to Bengal, & was returned within a Month again, to the Coast | The Council met at the Castle on Monday 4 May 1767. Governor Skottowe attended with Lieutenant Governor Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Captain Thomas Kirkpatrick. The minutes of the meeting of 27 April 1767 were read, approved and signed. The Company's ship Earl of Middlesex sailed for Bencoolen on Thursday 30 April 1767. The Lioness's boat reached Banks's at six o'clock on the morning of 3 May 1767, and the Duke of Kingston's boat followed at two o'clock that afternoon. The Company's ships Lioness and Duke of Kingston themselves arrived from China on the same day. John May, a soldier, died on 4 May 1767. The Council recorded a letter received from Captain Smith on 29 April 1767. He addressed it to the Governor and the members of the Council. Smith understood on good authority that the Council's limit on cattle for each ship allowed no more than 12 or 14 days of fresh provisions for a crew. He hoped that his circumstances would earn him a larger allowance. His men lived on salt provisions for most of the voyage, and scurvy threatened to spread among them. Smith explained that he was ordered to Bengal as soon as he reached the Coromandel coast. He was then sent back to that coast again within a month. Interpretations The Council rationed fresh beef to the ships. Each vessel was allowed a fixed number of cattle from the island's stock, enough by Smith's account to feed a crew for about a fortnight. The reason lay in the herds. The plantation account for the quarter to 31 March 1767 showed 296 cattle in the Company's hands and only nine killed in three months, and Captain Inglis was commissioned to buy 48 head at the Cape to keep the numbers up. Nine or ten Indiamen called in a single season, each with about 100 men, and unrestricted supply would have stripped the island of breeding stock within a year. The limit protected the herd at the cost of the crews' health. Smith's argument rested on scurvy. The disease came from months on salt meat and biscuit without fresh food, and it killed more seamen on the long eastern voyages than any other cause. St Helena was the one place on the homeward passage where a crew could be restored with fresh meat and greens before the last leg to England. A captain whose men were already weakened had a strong claim, and Smith set out his ship's movements to show that her time at sea was unusually long. A vessel shuttled between Madras and Bengal and back had little chance to refresh her people in port. The request was framed as a plea for indulgence and not as a demand. The cattle belonged to the Company, the limit was the Council's own rule and a commander had no right to more than his share. Smith therefore had to persuade, and he did so by putting the health of the Company's seamen against the preservation of the Company's stock. The Council was left to weigh one of its master's interests against another. Smith came from the Coromandel coast, and the Lord Camden arrived from Madras on 22 April 1767. He was probably her commander. He was not the John Smith who signed the Hampshire's muster roll, since that ship came from China and sailed for England on 20 April 1767. John May was a private of the First Company in the pay list for the quarter to 31 March 1767. He was the third soldier whose death the records of these weeks mention, after Isaac Day on 2 February 1767 and Edward Law, on whom an inquest was held on 11 February 1767. | |
457 | 1767 apprehensive of the bad weather expected on the Coast of Cormondel on my Arrival there, I was ordered after a stay of eight days, immediately to the East= ward, the bad weather I mett with in the Bay prevented me from Harbouring (during the ten Weeks that intervened from my departure from the Coast to my return) for more than eight days, which I passed at the Nichobars. were I got little or no refreshment at all. This has subjected the people to so Small a share of Fresh provisions that should I proceed for England with no more than the Stipulated allowance. I much fear the Bad health of the Ships Company may retard, the Ships Arrival in England. This Gentlemen is my Situation which I beg leave to offer for your Consideration I am Worshipful Sir & Sirs with much respect Your most Obedient and most humble Servt. (signed) Nathl. Smith St. Helena 29th. April 1767 To which we Ordered the Secretary to return the following Answer vizt. To Captn. Nathl. Smith Commander of Ship Lord Camden Sir I am directed by the Governor and Council to acquaint you, that in Consideration of what you set forth in your letter of the 29th. of last Month, they have agreed to supply you with five Additional Cattle which with the allowance to early Ships, will make in the whole thirteen exclusive of Charter Party. They have likewise agreed to let you have twelve Cape Sheep, which is as far as they can possibly go considering the Number of Ships that are expected to touch here this Season I am Sir Your most humble Servant signed Mw. Bazett Secy. St. Helena 4th. May 1767 | Captain Smith's letter went on to describe the rest of his voyage. Bad weather was expected on the Coromandel coast when he returned there, so he was ordered away to the eastward after a stay of only eight days. Storms in the Bay of Bengal then kept him from making any harbour. Ten weeks passed between his leaving the coast and his return to it, and he spent no more than eight days of that time in port. Those days were passed at the Nicobar Islands, where he obtained almost no fresh supplies. His men therefore received very little fresh food. Smith feared that the poor health of the crew would delay the ship's arrival in England if he sailed with only the standard allowance. He laid these circumstances before the Council for its consideration. Nathaniel Smith signed the letter at St Helena on 29 April 1767. The Council ordered the Secretary to send a reply. It was addressed to Captain Nathaniel Smith, commander of the ship Lord Camden, and dated at St Helena on 4 May 1767. Governor Skottowe and the Council agreed, in view of the facts set out in the letter, to supply two additional cattle. With the allowance made to early ships, this brought the total to ten, apart from those due under the charter party. The Council also agreed to let Smith have 12 Cape sheep. The reply stated that this was the furthest the Council could go, given the number of ships expected to call that season. Matthew Bazett signed it as Secretary. Interpretations The Council gave Smith part of what he asked and no more. Refusal was the course its own rule pointed to, and a full supply was what his letter sought. It chose neither. Two extra cattle and 12 sheep answered the case of a crew plainly at risk, while the reply named the reason for stopping there. More ships were still to come, and every animal given to the Lord Camden was one fewer for them. Three China ships arrived in the days around the decision, the Glatton on 21 April 1767 and the Lioness and Duke of Kingston on 3 May 1767. The Council measured a single captain's need against the whole season's demand and set the grant at the smallest figure that could be defended to both. The reply reveals how the limit worked. Ships arriving early in the season received eight cattle, and the wording implies that later arrivals received fewer as the stock ran down. A further number was owed to each ship under her charter party, the hiring contract with her owners, and stood outside the Council's discretion. The island thus supplied cattle on two footings. One was a contractual entitlement that the Company bound itself to in London, and the other was a local allowance that the Council adjusted to what the herds could bear. The 12 sheep were described as Cape sheep. Captain Inglis bought 40 sheep at the Cape of Good Hope for the Company, and the plantation account recorded them as received on 23 February 1767. The Council met Smith's request largely from that imported stock and so spared the island's breeding flock. Sheep bought for about 9s a head at the Cape were a cheaper concession than cattle that took years to raise. The Council took five days to answer. Smith wrote on 29 April 1767 and the reply was dated 4 May 1767, the first meeting after his letter arrived. A commander with a sickly crew gained nothing by waiting, and the delay itself gave his men more time ashore on fresh food before the ship sailed. The Nicobar Islands lie in the eastern Bay of Bengal. They offered shelter and water but little else to a ship, which explains why eight days there did nothing for the health of the crew. | |
458 | 4th. May Captain Savage having been here four Weeks this day and altho' in a very bad State of health, we nevertheless thought proper to remind him that the delay of the Ship Duke of Cumberland might be of prejudice to the Company, we therefore wrote him the following Letter vizt. To Captain Augustus Savage Commander of Ship Duke of Cumberland Sir You having been here four Weeks this day, which is a much longer time than the Honorable Company allow their Ships to stay for refreshment, and as a further Delay may be prejudicial to their Interest, we therefore recommend it to you to make all the dispatch to proceed on your Voyage, as soon as possible We are Sir Your humble Servants (signed) John Skottowe Danl. Corneille Mattw. Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick St. Helena 4th. May 1767 Upon which he returned the following Answer vizt. To John Skottowe Esqr. & Gentlemen of the Council at St. Helena As so many of the China Ships have already gone on, I hope a few Days detention for the Establishment of mine, and my Officers healths, will not meet with | The Council noted on 4 May 1767 that Captain Savage reached four weeks at the island that day. He was in very poor health. The Council nevertheless decided to remind him that the delay of the ship Duke of Cumberland could harm the Company, and it wrote to him. The letter was addressed to Captain Augustus Savage, commander of the Duke of Cumberland, and dated at St Helena on 4 May 1767. It pointed out that four weeks was far longer than the Company allowed its ships to stay for refreshment. Further delay could damage the Company's interests. The Council therefore urged Savage to make all speed and to resume his voyage as soon as possible. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed it. Savage replied to the Governor and the members of the Council. He observed that many of the China ships were already gone ahead. He hoped that a few days more, taken to restore his own health and that of his officers, would be allowed. Interpretations The Council had two plain courses and took neither. It could order the ship to sail, as it did with the Earl of Middlesex on 22 April 1767 once her allotted days ran out. It could also leave a sick commander alone until he recovered. It chose a written reminder that recommended departure without commanding it. The minute explains why. The Council acknowledged the captain's illness in its own record and wrote regardless, because the letter was meant for the directors as much as for Savage. A hired ship lying idle cost the Company money for every day beyond the time allowed, and her cargo of tea lost value the later it reached the London sales. If the directors later asked why the Duke of Cumberland lay a month in the road, the Council could show that it pressed the commander in writing on a stated date. The responsibility for any further delay then rested on him. Savage's illness accounts for a detail in the ship's muster roll. When Purling mustered her crew on 13 April 1767, the purser James Pritchard signed the roll and not the commander, unlike the rolls of the Havannah, Hampshire, Deptford and Fox. The captain was evidently too unwell a week after arriving to attend to the ship's business himself. Four weeks to 4 May 1767 places the ship's arrival on about 6 April 1767. Eight Company ships came in after her in the weeks that followed, and five of those sailed again while she remained. The Hampshire and Deptford left together on 20 April 1767 and the Fox on 27 April 1767. Savage turned this to his advantage in his answer. With the rest of the China fleet already on its way, a few days more for one ship could not hold back the season's sales as a whole. The Company set a limit on how long its ships could lie at the island. The stop was for water, fresh provisions and the recovery of the crew, and a fortnight or less was the usual stay. A commander had his own reasons to linger, since the island was a market for his private trade goods and a healthier place than the ship. The rule and the Council's reminder guarded against that temptation, though in this case the reason given was sickness. | |
459 | 1767 with the disapprobation of the Board. I am fixt on sailing sometime this Week I am Gentlemen Your most obedient humble Servant signed Augustus Savage 4th. May 1767 Mr. Matthew Purling reports that he has been on board the Ships Lord Camden, Duke of Kingston, Glatton, & Lioness to Muster their Company's and enquire for deserters but found none their Muster Rolls are as follow vizt. Muster Roll of Ship Lord Camden Nathl. Smith Commander John Riddall 1st. Mate Henry Pascall 2d. Do. John Thomson 3d. Do. Nathl. Dance 4th. Do. Mattw. Sutton 5th. Do. Chas. Inglis Surgeon Richd. Shaw Purser Thomas Teague Carpenter Jos: Knight Gunner William Cock Boatswain John Coggan Midshipn. & Coxn. Saml. Radford Midshipman Edward Martin Do. Willm. Inglis Surgeons Mate John Haddely Caulker John Davis Sailmaker James Ford Cooper Saml. Simpson Armourer Geo. Scott Captains Cook Edward Dover Do. & Stewd. Alexr. Ferguson Captains Do. James Perry Ships Cook Thos. Howard Quartermaster James Menzies Do. Jacob Morgan Do. Robert Whitefield Carptrs. 1st. Mate James Griffin Do. 2d. Do. William Hill Gunners Do. William Phillips Boatsns. Do. Nichs. Hug[erm] Caulkers Do. John Pearce Coopers Do. Anthy. Silvestras Capts. Cooks Do. Geo: Shaw Seaman Harry Thomson James Hill Wm. Blair Chas. Wrench Thos. Do[ar] Seaman William Gray John Indge Wm. Thompson Jos: Carey Bartho. Harwood Wm. Everist John Cromman Samson Johnson James Rash Fras. Whitehead William Ellis Ephraim Matthews Robt. [Feldtrum] James Smith Thomas Lasley John White Thos. Hues James Taylor | Captain Savage's reply closed with the hope that a short further stay would not meet with the Council's disapproval. He stated that he was determined to sail at some point during that week. Augustus Savage signed the letter on 4 May 1767. Matthew Purling reported that he went aboard the ships Lord Camden, Duke of Kingston, Glatton and Lioness to muster their crews and look for deserters. He found none. The muster roll of the Lord Camden named the following men. Nathaniel Smith, commander John Riddall, first mate Henry Pascall, second mate John Thomson, third mate Nathaniel Dance, fourth mate Matthew Sutton, fifth mate Charles Inglis, surgeon Richard Shaw, purser Thomas Teague, carpenter George Knight, gunner William Cook, boatswain John Coggan, midshipman and coxswain Samuel Radford, midshipman Edward Martin, midshipman William Inglis, surgeon's mate John Hadley, caulker John Davis, sailmaker James Ford, cooper Samuel Simpson, armourer George Scott, captain's cook Edward Dover, captain's steward Alexander Ferguson, ship's steward James Perry, ship's cook Thomas Howard, quartermaster James Menzies, quartermaster Jacob Morgan, quartermaster Robert Whitefield, carpenter's first mate James Griffin, carpenter's second mate William Hill, gunner's mate William Phillips, boatswain's mate Nicholas Hugerm, caulker's mate John Pearce, cooper's mate Anthony Silvestra, captain's cook's mate George Shaw, seaman Harry Thomson, seaman James Hill, seaman William Blaw, seaman Charles Wrench, seaman Thomas Doar, seaman William Gray, seaman John Indge, seaman William Thompson, seaman John Carey, seaman Bartholomew Harwood, seaman William Everist, seaman John Cromeen, seaman Samson Johnson, seaman James Kask, seaman Francis Whitehead, seaman William Ellis, seaman Ephraim Matthews, seaman Robert Feldram, seaman James Smith, seaman Thomas Lasley, seaman John White, seaman Thomas Flew, seaman James Taylor, seaman Interpretations The Council's reminder produced what it was written to obtain. Savage did not dispute the Company's rule or plead for an open-ended stay. He named a term, undertaking to leave within the week, and that undertaking now stood in the record beside the Council's letter. The exchange was complete in a single day. If the Duke of Cumberland remained in the road beyond that week, the directors would read the commander's own promise against him, and the Council was clear of blame. A recommendation, where an order might have been refused on medical grounds, drew out a voluntary commitment that bound Savage more tightly. Purling mustered four ships in one round. The Glatton arrived on 21 April 1767, the Lord Camden on 22 April 1767 and the Lioness and Duke of Kingston on 3 May 1767. The road was crowded, and the Council cleared the vessels in a batch so that none was held up for want of the inspection. The Lord Camden was more lightly manned than the China ships. Her roll opened with five mates and three midshipmen and carried no officers' servants, joiner, butcher or baker of the kind listed in the Deptford and the Fox. Captain Smith's letter of 29 April 1767 described a hard voyage in the Bay of Bengal with little time in port. A ship that spent her season moving between Madras and Bengal had fewer chances to replace men lost to sickness than one lying for months at Canton. | |
460 | 4th. May Nichs. Wollum Seaman Wm. Crookshanks Wm. Bowry David Mitchell James Miller George Carmady Robert Wood John Neal John Greensey William Lowe Alexr. Burt John Richardson Wm. Rogerson John Nass Peter Cook Jno. Morley John Lindon Richard Smith Henry Allum Seaman James Davis John Bone Henry St. George Christr. Dick[anson] Anthony Jesse Timothy Kennedy John Kite Mattw. Mc.Graw John White Willm. Catt Michael Goronan Joseph Green Mattw. Gil[born] William Godfrey John Pinchbeck Christr. [P]earthorpe Thos. Brown Seamn. Richd. Kirby Geo: Stephens Thos. Hurley Wm. Casselline Claud White Richd. Bracy George Waddle Invalids John Phillips Wm. Wither Wm. Rust John Townsend Thos. [Kithem] Thos. Smith Robert Wood Jos: Collins John Wood Seaman Passengers Governor Palk Mrs. Palk Master Palk Miss Palk General Calliaud Mrs. Truelove Parley Wm. Kent the Governors Stewd. Laurence Dewire Genl. Stewd. Mrs. Blake[...] of the Ladies [...] Dianna Maria 2 Nurses for ye. Govrs. Children Frans. Tomber Govrs. Cook Joseph Reno Do. Baker (signed) Nathl. Smith Muster Roll of Ship Duke of Kingston Richd. Morrison Commander John White Chief Mate Robert Morgan 2d. Do. William Proctor 3d. Do. David Paddock 4th. Do. Samuel Gandy 5th. Do. Caleb Patient Purser Jas. Steel Surgeon Saml. Hyde Carpenter John Barker Chas. Parsons John Hall Caulker James Malone S. Makr. Thos. Murray Coopr. Wm. Smith Ships Cook Thos. [...] Carpts. 1st. Mate Henry Pearson Do. 2 Do. Robt. Prowe Capts. Stewd. | The muster roll of the Lord Camden continued with her remaining seamen. Nicholas Welham, seaman William Crookshanks, seaman William Bowry, seaman David Mitchell, seaman James Miller, seaman George Carmady, seaman Robert Wood, seaman John Neal, seaman John Trounsey, seaman William Lowe, seaman Alexander Reed, seaman John Richardson, seaman William Rogerson, seaman John Nash, seaman Peter Cook, seaman John Morley, seaman John Lindon, seaman Richard Smith, seaman Henry Allum, seaman James Davis, seaman John Bone, seaman Henry St George, seaman Christopher Dickanson, seaman Anthony Ussee, seaman Timothy Kennedy, seaman John Hill, seaman Matthew McGraw, seaman John White, seaman William Catt, seaman Michael Gorman, seaman Joseph Green, seaman Matthew Gibbons, seaman William Godfrey, seaman John Pinchbeck, seaman Christopher Bearthorpe, seaman John Brown, seaman Richard Kirby, seaman George Stephens, seaman Thomas Huxley, seaman William Casselline, seaman Claud White, seaman Richard Bracy, seaman George Waddle, seaman John Phillips, invalid William Wither, invalid William Prust, invalid John Townsend, invalid Thomas Kitham, invalid Thomas Smith, invalid Robert Wood, invalid John Collins, invalid John Wood, seaman The roll then named the passengers in the ship. Governor Palk Mrs Palk Master Palk Miss Palk General Caillaud Mrs Truelove Parley William Kent, steward to Governor Palk Lawrence Dewire, steward to General Caillaud Mrs Blackett, attendant on the ladies Diana, nurse to the children of Governor Palk Maria, nurse to the children of Governor Palk Francis Tomba, cook to Governor Palk Joseph Reno, baker to Governor Palk Nathaniel Smith signed the roll as commander. The muster roll of the Duke of Kingston opened with her officers. Richard Morrison, commander John White, chief mate Robert Morgan, second mate William Proctor, third mate David Riddock, fourth mate Samuel Gandy, fifth mate Caleb Patient, purser James Steel, surgeon Samuel Hyde, carpenter John Parker, no rating entered Charles Parsons, no rating entered John Hall, caulker James Malone, surgeon's mate Thomas Murray, carpenter's mate William Smith, ship's cook Thomas Lavalle, captain's first steward Henry Crawford, captain's second steward Robert Brown, captain's cook Interpretations The Lord Camden carried a governor and a general home from Madras, with a family and a household of servants. Palk travelled with his wife and two children, his own steward, cook and baker and two nurses for the children. The party made the ship one of the most important of the season, and it puts Captain Smith's letter of 29 April 1767 in a fuller light. He asked for more cattle on behalf of a crew threatened by scurvy, but his cabin also held passengers of the highest rank who expected a fresh table for the rest of the voyage. The Council allowed him two additional cattle and 12 Cape sheep on 4 May 1767 and no more. It held to its limit even for a ship with a retiring governor on board. The two nurses were entered by a single name each, Diana and Maria, while every other servant in the party had a surname. Servants listed in that way were commonly Indian women or slaves brought from the East in a family's service. Their entry among the passengers kept them under the commander's count, so that neither could be left on the island or taken off without the Council's knowledge. Eight men were listed as invalids. These were soldiers of the Company's forces at Madras discharged as unfit through wounds, sickness or age and sent home at the Company's expense. They were carried as supernumeraries and not as crew. Their presence added to the mouths that Smith had to feed on salt provisions, and men already broken in health were the most exposed to scurvy. The Council mustered a governor's household exactly as it did a ship's company. No passenger, however eminent, was exempt from being named in the commander's signed return. The procedure treated rank as irrelevant to the one question the muster existed to answer, which was whether everyone who arrived in the ship left in her. | |
461 | 1767 Robt. Simson Surg: Mate John Drawater Coopers Do. Henry Ash Caulkers Do. Wm. Ware Boatsn. 1 Do. Willm. Lang Do. 2d. Do. James Sparks Gunrs. Do. James Burley Barnd. Sweedy Peter Jackson Willm. Snowdon Quartermasr. Chapn. Mountain Wm. Fenwicke Thos. Maule Willm. Thomas Midshipman John Standing Seaman James Bramwell John Cummings William Saunders Collin Duncan Wm. Pritchett Patrick King John Forbes John Manning Geo: Cooley Geo: Storey John Cushney John Hinde Thos. Dick John Fowler Seaman John Mc.Kenzie Benj: Comer James Hooper Saml. Smith James Moore Midshipm. & Coxn. Henry Yates Armourer John Hill Seaman Wm. Marshall John Anderson James Naughty Peter Carrey Benj. Cumming Richard Hilley Willm. Spicer Alexr. Finnie Quintin Mc.Call John Hill Alexr. Ireland Abraham Davison John Price Henry Brodgen James Budge William Henderson Mattw. Willson Willm. Colly Saml. Adamson [...] Wm. Prickle Seaman Thomas Gates John Ridley John Spleen Wm. Brown Edwd. Mitchele Thos. Colly[...] Robt. Deamond Samuel Smith John Wood Wm. Riley Willm. White John Strong Henry Parry Willm. North Danl. Dupaer James Small John Sharp Wm. Nichols Alexr. Henderson John Hills Wm. Furguson Edward Hurst Thos. Foster John Cutteridge Antho. Co[intree] Phillp. Villeneuve Andw. Johnston Passengers Mr. Hatfield Miss Figue & a Black Girl of Mr. Hatfields (signed) Richd. Morrison | The muster roll of the Duke of Kingston continued with the rest of her company. Robert Simson, surgeon's mate John Drawater, cooper's mate Henry Ash, caulker's mate William Ware, boatswain's first mate William Lang, boatswain's second mate James Sparks, gunner's mate James Burley, quartermaster Barnard Sweedy, quartermaster Peter Jackson, quartermaster William Snowdon, quartermaster Chapman Mountain, midshipman William Fenwicke, midshipman Thomas Maule, midshipman William Thomas, midshipman John Standing, seaman James Bramwell, seaman John Cummings, seaman William Saunders, seaman Collin Duncan, seaman William Pritchett, seaman Patrick King, seaman John Forbes, seaman John Manning, seaman George Cooley, seaman George Storey, seaman John Cushney, seaman John Hinde, seaman Thomas Dick, seaman John Fowler, seaman John McKenzie, seaman Benjamin Comer, seaman James Hooper, seaman Samuel Smith, seaman James Moore, midshipman and coxswain Henry Yates, armourer John Hill, seaman William Marshall, seaman John Anderson, seaman James Naughty, seaman Peter Carrey, seaman Benjamin Cumming, seaman Richard Killey, seaman William Spicer, seaman Alexander Finnie, seaman Quintin McCall, seaman John Hill, seaman Alexander Ireland, seaman Abraham Dawson, seaman John Price, seaman Henry Brodgen, seaman James Budge, seaman William Henderson, seaman Matthew Willson, seaman William Colley, seaman Samuel Adamson, seaman William Prickle, seaman Thomas Gates, seaman John Ridley, seaman John Spleen, seaman William Brown, seaman Edward Titchele, seaman Thomas Cotterall, seaman Robert Diamond, seaman Samuel Smith, seaman John Wood, seaman William Riley, seaman William White, seaman John Strong, seaman Henry Parry, seaman William North, seaman Daniel Dupaer, seaman James Small, seaman John Sharp, seaman William Nichols, seaman Alexander Henderson, seaman John Hills, seaman William Furguson, seaman Edward Hurst, seaman Thomas Foster, seaman John Cutteridge, seaman Antonio Cortee, seaman Phillip Villeneuve, seaman Andrew Johnston, seaman Three passengers travelled in the ship. Mr Hatfield Miss Elgee 1 black girl belonging to Mr Hatfield Richard Morrison signed the roll as commander. Interpretations The third passenger was entered without a name, as a black girl belonging to Hatfield. The wording treated her as his property. She was probably a slave or bound servant acquired in the East and taken home in his household. The roll counted her because the commander answered for every person on board, but it did not identify her as it did the free passengers. Captain Kendrick's servant in the Duke of Cumberland was recorded in the same way on 13 April 1767, by number and without a name, while the two nurses in the Lord Camden were given first names only. The musters thus graded the people in a ship by how fully they were named. The count mattered to the Council for a practical reason. The slave Rowland was found hidden in the Speke shortly before she left the road, as the Council recorded on 13 April 1767. A dependant listed by number alone could be exchanged for another person without the roll showing any change. The island's own slaves were the people most likely to be carried off in that way, which is why Purling went aboard and looked for himself instead of relying on the paper return. The crew included men from outside Britain, among them Antonio Cortee, Phillip Villeneuve and Daniel Dupaer. An Indiaman at Canton or on the passage made up her numbers with seamen of any nation she could find. | |
462 | 4th. May Muster Roll of Ship Glatton Richd. Doveton Commandr. James Cahane 1st. Mate William Ross 2d. Do. John Horsley 3 Do. Saml. Doveton 4th. Do. John Bell 5th. Do. Walr. Fenly Purser Archd. Gilchrist Surgeon Wm. George Do. Mate Henry Ridley Gunner Wm. Foxen Carpenter John Morton Boatswain James T[...] Henry Dennis Richd. Tripe Henry Pennell Willm. Ashley Midshipmn. John Beard Parry Hansell Griffis Roberts Andw. Mc.Lane Quarter Masters Geo: Fitzpatrick Caulker Richard Felton Cooper James Arnold Armorer John Duff as Gunrs. Mte John Townsend Carpts. 1st. Mte John Ashman Do. 2d. Do. Jos: Sealy Boatsws. Mate Thos. Fry Capts. Steward Barby Walker Ships Do. John Stewart Butcher Wm. Britton Capts. Cook Lawr. Fenwick Ships Do. John Abercromby Poulterer John Savage Coopers Mte Andw. Anderson Seaman Michl. Allen James Batty Samuel Brack David Creighton Christr. Brack Edwd. Crea[nny] Thomas Connoly Wm. Caseltine James Dowd Henry Dowdall Luke Davis John Evans John Gardiner James Grant Danl. Griffiths John Herman Richd. Hutchinson Patrick Halfpenny James Hurley John Anderson Wm. Lamly Wm. Lanham Jos: Lefever John Mc.Donald James Mc.Kaley Jacob Magny Wm. Mason Wm. Mc.Canley Jno. Martin Thos. Mc.Kay Ralph Maxwel Edward Murphy Christr. Anderson Oswell [...] Nathl. Garland Esqr. Thos. Pidgeon Seaman John Powell James Stoddard James Snow Wm. Slater Thos. Suckspeech Saml. Mc.Steven John Thorp Ralph Day Thos. Wozencraft Saml. Wozencraft Wm. Hughs Andw. Thompson Wm. [Fable] Henry Hayman Jno. Nelson James Walch John Wigger Edwd. Trow Henry Anson George Brown Jacob Ross Jno. Rich[...] John Fry Edwd. Seymour Peter Cole John Davis Thos. Harry Thos. Jones James Germond John Beard Henry Wheeler James Emas Robt. Walch John Spratt (signed) R Doveton | The muster roll of the Glatton named the following men. Richard Doveton, commander James Cahane, first mate William Ross, second mate John Horsley, third mate Samuel Doveton, fourth mate John Bille, fifth mate Walter Fraily, purser Archibald Gilchrist, surgeon William George, surgeon's mate Henry Ridley, gunner William Foxon, carpenter John Morton, boatswain James Preston, midshipman Henry Dennis, midshipman Richard Trope, midshipman Henry Pennell, midshipman William Ashley, quartermaster John Beard, quartermaster Parry Hansree, quartermaster Griffes Roberts, quartermaster Andrew McLaune, quartermaster George Fitzpatrick, caulker Richard Sutton, cooper James Arnold, armourer John Duff, gunner's mate John Townsend, carpenter's first mate John Ashman, carpenter's second mate John Sealy, boatswain's mate Thomas Fry, captain's steward Barty Walker, ship's steward John Stewart, butcher William Britten, captain's cook Lawrence Fenwick, ship's cook John Abercromby, poulterer John Savage, cooper's mate Andrew Anderson, seaman Michael Allen, seaman James Batty, seaman Samuel Brack, seaman David Creighton, seaman Christopher Brack, seaman Edward Crummy, seaman Thomas Connoly, seaman William Casseltine, seaman James Dowd, seaman Henry Dowdall, seaman Luke Davis, seaman John Evans, seaman John Gardiner, seaman James Grant, seaman Basil Griffiths, seaman John Herman, seaman Richard Hutchinson, seaman Patrick Halfpenny, seaman James Hurley, seaman John Anderson, seaman William Lamby, seaman William Lenham, seaman John Lefever, seaman John McDonald, seaman James McKinley, seaman Jacob Magny, seaman William Mason, seaman William McCanley, seaman John Martin, seaman Thomas McKay, seaman Ralph Maxwell, seaman Edward Murphy, seaman Christopher Anderson, seaman Oswell Ellis, seaman Thomas Pidgeon, seaman John Powell, seaman James Stoddard, seaman James Snow, seaman William Slater, seaman Thomas Suckspeach, seaman Samuel McSween, seaman John Thorp, seaman Ralph Day, seaman Thomas Wozencraft, seaman Samuel Wozencraft, seaman William Hughs, seaman Andrew Thompson, seaman William Table, seaman Henry Hageman, seaman Francis Nelson, seaman James Walch, seaman John Wigger, seaman Edward Trow, seaman Henry Anson, seaman George Brown, seaman Jacob Bliss, seaman Andrew Richtsone, seaman John Fry, seaman Edward Seymour, seaman Peter Cole, seaman John Davis, seaman Thomas Harry, seaman Thomas Jones, seaman James Germond, seaman John Beard, seaman Henry Wheeler, seaman James Emas, seaman Bartholomew Walch, seaman John Spratt, seaman One passenger travelled in the ship. Nathaniel Garland Richard Doveton signed the roll as commander. Interpretations Nathaniel Garland was one of the 12 men who signed the Glatton's own sugar invoice, recorded on 22 April 1767, and the invoices of the Hampshire, Deptford and Fox before it. He was the fourth of those signatories found going home as a passenger, after Torriano in the Havannah and Wood and Mackenzie in the Hampshire. The supercargoes who managed the Company's trade at Canton left with the fleet at the close of each season and scattered themselves among the ships. No single wreck or capture could then remove the whole body of men who knew the season's accounts. The commander and the fourth mate shared the surname Doveton, and two men of that name lived on the island. Jonathan Doveton was a factor and assistant storekeeper in the pay list for the quarter to 31 March 1767, and Isaac Doveton appeared among the planters who owed labour at Sandy Bay. Command of an Indiaman was a valuable place that commonly passed within a family, and a commander carried young relatives as junior officers to bring them forward. A family with one branch in the shipping and another settled at St Helena was well placed to profit from the private trade that ships' officers carried on with the inhabitants. | |
463 | 1767 The Storekeeper this day delivered the following Account of Stores Short received from the Ship Lord Camden vizt. Acct. of Stores short received from Ship Lord Camden vizt. 3.1.14 Rice 14.1.2 Paddy Short Weight No. 1 1 Legr. Arrack gages 150 Galls. wants to fill 8 Galls. 2 1 Do. Do. Do. 150 Do. Do. 6 3 1 Do. Do. Do. 150 Do. Do. 6 450 20 20 Gallons 430 Received St. Helena 4th. May 1767 (signed) James Powell Storekeeper We this day granted the two following Sets of Bills of Exchange drawn on the Honble. the Court of directors vizt. One Set to Daniel Corneille Esqr. for twenty two pounds, eight Shillings, payable to Mr. Lawrence [...] (or Order) And one Set to Mr. Richard Goodwin for thirty nine pounds ten Shillings, payable to Captain William Tryon (or Order) both drawn at ninety days after sight Muster Roll of Ship Lioness Wm. Larkin Commander David Sabbadie 1st. Mate David Arthur 2d. Do. Wm. Bodworth 3d. Do. John Barfott 4th. Do. Francis Scott 5th. Do. Wm. Marshall 6th. Do. Wm. Watkinson Surgeon Michl. Lione Boatswain Wm. Garratt Gunner John Wheatley Ships Stewd. Anthony James Midn. & Coxn. Thos. Prescott Do. David Widney Quartermasr. Robt. Phillips Do. John Lee Do. Wm. Lang Do. Jas. Dawson Capts. Stewd. Robt. Burly Capts. Cook Isaac Young Caulker Jas. Sedgrave Cooper James Quin Ships Cook David Thornton Gunrs. Mte Robt. Willson Carptrs. 2d. Mte David Becket Joyner Edwd. Holland Capts. Cook Wm. Beard Boats. 1st. Mte | The storekeeper reported to the Council on 4 May 1767 that some of the goods landed from the Lord Camden fell short of her invoice. His account listed the deficiencies. 3 cwt 1 qr 14 lb of rice, short in weight 14 cwt 1 qr 2 lb of paddy, short in weight Cask 1, 1 leaguer of arrack, capacity 150 gallons, short by 8 gallons Cask 2, 1 leaguer of arrack, capacity 150 gallons, short by 6 gallons Cask 3, 1 leaguer of arrack, capacity 150 gallons, short by 6 gallons Arrack, total capacity 450 gallons, total short 20 gallons, received 430 gallons James Powell signed the account as storekeeper at St Helena on 4 May 1767. The Council issued two sets of bills of exchange on the Court of Directors that day, both payable 90 days after sight. Daniel Corneille, 1 set payable to Lawrence Dewire or his order, £22 8s 0d Richard Goodwin, 1 set payable to Captain William Tryon or his order, £39 10s 0d The muster roll of the Lioness opened with the following men. William Larkins, commander David Gabbadie, first mate David Arthur, second mate William Bodsworth, third mate John Barfott, fourth mate Francis Scott, fifth mate William Markall, sixth mate William Watkinson, surgeon Michael Lions, boatswain William Garrett, gunner John Wheatley, ship's steward Anthony James, midshipman and coxswain Thomas Prescott, midshipman David Widney, quartermaster Robert Phillips, quartermaster John Fee, quartermaster William Lang, quartermaster James Hewson, captain's steward Robert Burly, captain's cook Isaac Young, caulker Edward Snelgrave, cooper James Quin, ship's cook David Harris, gunner's mate Robert Willson, carpenter's first mate David Becket, joiner Edward Holland, carpenter's second mate William Beard, boatswain's mate Interpretations Nearly half the paddy was missing. The Lord Camden's invoice, entered on 22 April 1767, gave its net weight as 30 cwt 1 qr 14 lb, and the storekeeper found it 14 cwt 1 qr 2 lb short. The rice was about a tenth under its invoiced 32 cwt 1 qr 2 lb. Captain Smith's letter of 29 April 1767 described ten weeks of storms in the Bay of Bengal with almost no fresh supplies and a crew living on salt provisions. Grain in the hold was the one store of food within reach on such a voyage. Paddy also fed the livestock that a ship carried for her cabin table, and the Lord Camden had a governor's household on board. The shortage on landing fits a cargo drawn upon at sea. The storekeeper recorded the loss without comment, which cleared his own account and left the directors to settle the matter with the ship's owners. The arrack lost 20 gallons in 450, a little over 4 per cent. That was the same order of loss as the wine from the Northumberland and the Earl of Middlesex, and it lay within what seepage and evaporation would explain. Both bills were small private remittances that arose from dealings with ships' people. Lawrence Dewire was the steward of General Caillaud, a passenger in the Lord Camden. The Lieutenant Governor paid £22 8s 0d into the treasury so that Dewire could collect the money in London. He was probably buying goods that the steward brought from India to sell on his own account. Captain William Tryon commanded the Deptford, which sailed for England on 20 April 1767. Richard Goodwin, a planter in the Sandy Bay labour return, evidently owed him for a purchase and paid by a bill sent after him. The same arrangement was used on 18 April 1767, when Matthew Bazett paid in £190 12s 0d for bills in favour of Captain Brooke of the Speke, who was already at sea. The bills show how the island's residents acquired their imported goods beyond what the Company's store sold. Officers, stewards and passengers in the ships carried private stock, and the inhabitants bought from them on credit. The treasury then turned the debt into a claim payable in England. The Company gained the cash, and the seller was spared the risk of carrying coin home. | |
464 | 4th. May Hugh Mc.Mullin Carps. 2d. Mte Parker Knight Armourer Mattw. Walker Butcher Thos. Eaton Caulkers Mate Francis Maurice Poulterer James Maslip Sailmaker John Reeve Baker Thomas Jones Taylor Wm. Newson Capts. Servt. Wm. Smith Do. Carlton Collingwood Do. James Dannel 1st. Mates Do. Henry Norris 2d. Do. Do. Thos. Homes Surgeon Do. Edwd. Price Gunners Do. John Scoles Boatsws. Servt. Wm. Madon Carpenters Do. John Hollingsworth Seaman James Bril Andrew Adamson John Crist Lawrence Thompson David Pou[sky] [...] John Brown Seaman Danl. Monks James Walker Saml. Purdon Thos. Henderson John Martin John Davis Wm. Gardner Robt. Wright Francis Willson Halwell Haggisson David Patrick James Bruce Mungo Cook Robt. Fraser James Johnson Geo: Adamson Henry Simon Thos. Lenard Robt. Richards Simon Collins Danl. Crouch Wm. Lewis Wm. Morgan Wm. Mason Seaman Jas. Cook Wm. Fraser Andw. Daverson Wm. Reed Wm. Debush Robt. Grovnor Dougl. Ferguson John Chambers Adam Sinclair James Sinclair Edwd. Harris John Willson John Weatherhead Wm. Andermarry Manuel R[ever] M[...] Dadell Manuel De Row Wm. Young Thos. Gilbert Nichs. Dell Christian Loffgran [...] (signed) William Larkins John Skottowe Dan Corneille [M] Purling Thos. Kirkpatrick | The muster roll of the Lioness continued with the rest of her company. Hugh McMullen, carpenter's second mate Parker Wright, armourer Matthew Walker, butcher Thomas Eaton, caulker's mate Francis Maurice, poulterer James Maslup, sailmaker John Reeve, baker Thomas Jones, tailor William Newson, captain's servant William Smith, captain's servant Carlton Collingwood, captain's servant James Dannel, first mate's servant Henry Norris, second mate's servant Thomas Homes, surgeon's servant Edward Brice, gunner's servant John Scoles, boatswain's servant William Madon, carpenter's servant John Hollingsworth, seaman James Brill, seaman Andrew Adamson, seaman John Crist, seaman Lawrence Thompson, seaman David Prusky, seaman John Brown, seaman Daniel Monks, seaman James Walker, seaman Samuel Purdon, seaman Thomas Henderson, seaman John Martin, seaman John Davis, seaman William Gardner, seaman Robert Wright, seaman Francis Willson, seaman Halsewell Haggisson, seaman David Patrick, seaman James Bruce, seaman Mungo Cook, seaman Robert Fraser, seaman James Johnson, seaman George Adamson, seaman Henry Simon, seaman Thomas Lenard, seaman Robert Richards, seaman Simon Cretine, seaman Daniel Crouch, seaman William Lewis, seaman William Morgan, seaman William Mason, seaman John Cook, seaman William Fraser, seaman Andrew Daverson, seaman William Reed, seaman William Debush, seaman Robert Grovner, seaman Dougal Furguson, seaman John Chambers, seaman Adam Sinclair, seaman James Sinclair, seaman Edward Harris, seaman John Willson, seaman John Weatherhead, seaman William Andermarry, seaman Manuel River, seaman Marcus de Sale, seaman Manuel De Ross, seaman William Young, seaman Thomas Gilbert, seaman Nicholas Dell, seaman Christian Loffgren, seaman William Larkins signed the roll as commander. Governor Skottowe, Daniel Corneille, Matthew Purling and Thomas Kirkpatrick signed the minutes. | |
465 | Blank page | ||
466 | Blank page | ||
467 | Blank page | ||
468 | Book cover | ||
469 | EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date St HELENA RECORDS 1766 - 1767 Dimensions (l x h x depth) (cm) 47.5cm X 33cm X 6cm No. written pages: 465 No. blank pages: 5 Spine and cover GOOD CONDITION MINOR BORING INSECT DAMAGE ON COVER Inside pages GOOD CONDITION FOXING PRESENT THROUGHOUT VOLUME PAGES NOT NUMBERED Additional comments Time taken to photograph (hours) 3 hours |