ns did not reach me till the last month It brought to my remembrance an acquaintance of many years Standing which without a complement I shall be very desirous of renewing. I had heard indeed that you was settled at New York, I hope you have met with success in your undertakings, which I shall be glad to hear of, if I can be able to do you any service you may very heartily command me; I am obliged to you for your offers to let me into the knowledge of y' affairs of your province. I wish you had done it already, for I doubt before I can receive your answer The mischief will be done, last year when the Sugar Islands presented their petition it was a good deal of surprize to me to find no advocate in The House of Commons for the Continent but my self, & I very unequal to such a task, however I ventured to deliver my sentiments as well as I was able, & had the good fortune to bring over to me one M Barnard a Colleague of mine & one whose name I am perswaded has reached you, with that Gent assistance I made as good a stand as I was able I will not Entertain you with the History of our proceedings, as They are in print so I make no doubt but that you have already seen them, many & Various were the argumts that were used, but amongst others it was laid down as a fundamentall that the Islands were the only usefull Colonies we had & that the Continent was rather a nusance it happned a little unluckily that I had at that time in my hands an account from the Custom house of the amount of the duty on Sugars imported from all the Islands & I made it appear that I paid more duty on Tobacco singly, than they all did upon their importation, I had also an accot of their Exports & it appeared that my family have Exported more of the Manufactures of this Country to the Continent than the Island of Barbados Ever took off in one year, when I examined their number of shipping There was no proportion, no more than there was in The Ballance which the Severall commodities brought from the Continent & sent into severall parts of Europe produced that the french have greatly increased their sugar plantations is too evident & it even to be wished that some method could be found out to prevent it, but whether the way they now are in, will not be productive of more evill than good consequences is a doubt with me there is a good deal to be said about the molasses as they have no plantations or very few of their own, it must in probabillity be thrown away, if your people did not take it but then if you are prohibited, it seems very naturall to me that they will fall to distilling it themselves & supply the whole fishery at Newfoundland with it, then I am in doubt whether if the french Molasses be forbid whether the Islands can supply you with a quantity equall to your wants, & if they do it will be at a very high rate in that case Knowing your Country very well, its plain to me that you will grow Barley & provide yourselves with spirits within your selves which I should think would be attended with worse consequences to the Sugar Islands than the present, as to the other part the prohibiting of Lumber, I own it appears to me in a ridiculous light it will only put them upon being supplyed from Quebeck, Cape Briton & the Mississipi which however difficult it may appear necessity will make Easy, these were the two principall points aimed at last year & I have good reason to apprehend will be attempted & Carried in this ensueing Session there was nobody appeared of any Consequence for any part of the Continent but New England Except my self for Virginia, who you employ I do not know, but if you will supply me with any materialls if they come in time I will make the best use of them I am able I shall allways think my self obliged to support the intrest of the Continent of America from whose favour & good will I very gratefully own, I owe the little fortune I am Master of; there is a Gent lately settled in your place an old friend & acquaintance of mine one Mr Daniel Horsmanden he practices the law, if you can be able to give him any assistance in his profession I shall be obliged, I think if you are not already known to him you will be pleased with his acquaintance there is another Gent" Mr Arbuthnot who I fear is hardly living, if he is you will do me the favour to present him my service as also to Mr Horsmanden I have I doubt tired you with my long Epistle, if there are any of our old Philadelphia acquaintance Liveing you will present them my Compliments to accept of my Sincerest wishes for your Health & prosperity very truly Your most humble Servant Sr I have not heard any thing of our affairs at Rochester for several months & must therefore beg the favour of your informing me what you know of it My business last fall would not suffer me to wait on you & since that I have heard that the small pox was in every house at Kingstone which made me apprehend my Visit might be troublesome & incovenient & my going there would have made my own family uneasy. I must desire you to direct to Mr Bruyns care because otherwise I know not how it may come safely to my hands. Please to offer my humble service to our Partners I am I Received this post a Letter from Van Schelluyne at Albany wherein he Offers for our Land in the Mohawks Country five hundred pounds and Says if we will Ac cept of it he will Come by the first sloop in the Spring and bring the money I have wrote to him to this purpose that we intend to Sell the Low Land which is 93 Acres or there abouts, and also the piece of Swamp which is joining upon it & reckoned almost as good as the Low Land, and is esteemed to contain near 30 Acres, And also as much of the upland that adjoins to it as we sold Vanalste and Scrimley & if he inclines for 100 or 200 Acres more of upland, we should not stand out upon it: But the mines that may be discovered in it with Necessarys for digging & working them must be Reserved as in the Deed to Scrimley and Vanalste But another person made offers for it Last fall, and I promised not to Sell it till the first Sloops in the Spring, when that person promised to Come down and Resolve, So all that I can promise is that if that person comes not by the first or Second Sloop in the Spring, or when come if he gives not more than you'll do then you shall have my Consent to have it for a Little more than You offer, and I now write to Doctor Colden for his consent to the same and whichsoever of you will give most ready money shall have it. The above I say is the Substance of what I now write to Schelluyne & I hope for your approbation of it by the first opportunity and should I conclude a Bargain I shall send them to you to Sign the Deed as they return to Albany and with half the Consideration money sold for To this business I suppose it will not be unacceptable to add a little News, and all the foreign worth mentioning that I know of is, that one Capt Lawrence Arrived here on Saturday last from Barbadoos, who says he Sailed from thence the 12th of January, and that Ships from London of the beginning of December were then Arrived there who give a Certain Account that Coll Cosby is appointed Governour for this place, he is a Gentleman of a good Character, is married to the Earl of Hallifaxe's Sister & has Children, he was before appointed Governour for the Leeward Islands, & was fallen down the River to go to his Government, but on the News of Mr Montgomeries death, he returned to London and Chose this Govern ment, its said Captain Pearce is appointed for the Virginia Station and to Come in the Spring and if so very probably he may Come with him As to Domestick news I send you below a Coppy of Some Objections made by James Delancey to drawing for the Sole Salary to the president, which delayed the Signing of the presidents warrant, of December 1st till the 7th Instant dureing which time the president got Coll Morris's opinion & he clearly answered in my opinion to it without Answering particularly the 5th 6th & 7th Reasons, but tho' his reasons were Convinceing to me, yet that no part might remain without a particular Answer, I drew an Answer to these three, which answers being read in Council, Clarke being present it was voted by all except Delancey that the president should have the whole Salary Kennedy was not present he being of Opinion with Delancey. The Substance of the answers was this that the Commission gave the President Like powers with the Governour, and therefore were there no Instruction, no reason could be shown why for Like Services the Like reward should not be, but the Instruction directs only the Halfe in Case of Absence and not in Case of Death therefore the Case of Death remains as if no such instruction were: And with this, that the whole was formerly agreed to by the Fullest Council that could be got, Summoned on purpose, and without any Objection from the then Sitting Assembly whose opinion by their Speaker was askt in the matter and had they any objection, it was their duty to have said so; and being once so settled it ought not without Clear reason to be Altered especially by a Lesser Number As to the matter of the Equivalent, our printed advertisment with other Steps taken by us has not only revived our Country partners who had Desponded but also has Encouraged a Company of New England people to go in the Spring and take a view of the Lands at Newfairfield which James Brown is to show to them, & to endeavour to purchase for them from the Several persons to whom they belong, the buyers will not insist upon a |