reasonable Desires. And you need not doubt but the rest of the Lords Proprietors will not be sparing of an Incouragement to a man that shall be carefull of and contribute to the Publique welfare of our People there. Wee have according to your request granted you Freight free for what things or Persons your friends. shall now send you out of England and have signified soe much to them. I am Your very affecte friend, Exeter House Aprill 10, 71. [S. P., Bdle. 48, No. 55, p. 37.] ASHLEY. Sir, TO SIR JNO: YEOMANS. I thanke you for the favour of your letter and Present and am very pleased to receive the first fruits of our Plantation at Ashley River from your hands who have been soe forward to promote our settlement there and doe still oblige us by the continuance of your kindnesse to it Wee have expressed the sense wee have of your Assistance to that Designe in a Patent for Landgrave, which wee herewith send you. And have soe far considered your Exceptions to the descent and devolution thereof as to establish that part of our Constitutions' according to your desire soe that it shall not be in any danger of goeing out of the Family, as long as any one of it remaynes Wee haveing noe other Aime in the frameing of our Laws but to make every one as safe and as happy as the state of Humane Affairs is capable of, and soe to order every ones condition as that altogether may make us a quiet equall and lasting Government wherein every mans Right Property and Welfare may be soe fenc'd in and secured that the preservation of the Government may be every ones Interest And in order to the general good of the Plantation I must recommend to you as very necessary to our Government 1Cedar planks, page 220. April 5, 1671, Draft of a patent for Landgrave of Carolina to Sir John Yeamans. In John Locke's handwriting with corrections and additions. Latin 2 pp. Endorsed. (S. P., 48, No. 78.) A. & W. I., 484. Like patents to John Locke and Jas. Carteret. 2 Sec. 11, Yeaman's letters, pages 164, 219. the Planting of People in Townes The Cheife thing that hath given New England soe much the advantage over Virginia and advanced that Plantation in so short a time to the height it is now at I desire therefore that when you goe to Carolina this summer that you give your direction and Assistance in it and put them in such a way of settling in Towns as may be most equall and convenient for the Planters and soe order the home Lots in every Colony (Wee requiring that all the Inhabitants of every Colony should set there houses togeather in one Place which Place wee leave to the choice of the Inhabitants themselves) that those who are to come after may share in the conveniency of the Townes and have an equall Proportion of home Lots left them. I have moved the rest of the Lords Proprietors in the behalfe of M' Woodward who have sent him 100 besides which I have sent him £20 of my owne, which is not all wee intend to doe for him; onely wee desire that whilst his stay there is necessary to maintaine the Correspondence betweene our People and the Indians he would be perswaded to stay there where wee shall be sure to be minedfull of him. Of these and the other concerns of our Plantation wee know you will take care when From whence I hope to hear from you, who by the continuance of your Correspondence with me will obleige, Sir Your affecate friend and servant you goe thither. Exeter House 10. Aprill 1671. [S. P., Bdle. 48, No. 55, p. 73.] ASHLEY. LORD ASHLEY TO HENRY WOODWARD. M' Woodward, I thinke myselfe obliged to take care of you and your concernments and whilst I may doe you any kindnesse you shall have noe reason to repent the paynes you have taken, and the ventures you have run in Carolina in order to our settlement there. To make you some present acknowledgement for what you have done for us, I have recommended your services to the rest of the Lords Proprietors, and wee have out of our Publick stock ordered you a hundred pounds which you may take up either part or the whole in servants or goods out of our stores at Charles Towne such as you like best or else may have any part of it sent from England, Barbadoes, Virginia or any other place with which you have Commerce in such commodityes as you desire In any of which Ports wee will give you creditt accordingly, Besides my share in the 100 sent you out of the common stock of the Lords Proprietors I send you 20. as a particular gratuity from my selfe which you shall have returned to you from any Port where wee have Trade in such things as you shall make choice of. Besides the Correspondence you manage for us with the Neighbour Indians I heare you have been 14 days journey up in the Country with a great Emperor there with whom you have made a League and where you have discovered things which you thinke not fit to reveale to any but us ourselves. You have done very discreetly in that silence, And I wish that the condition of our People there did not yet a while need your stay amonge them. For the keeping up the Friendship and commerce (among) with our Neighbours with whose language and Customes you are soe well (accustomed) acquainted. That noe body cane be soe helpful to our settlement in that part as you And our Planters till they have learnt the Natives language and get into a better knowledge of them cannot I feare well spare you Wee must therefore for sometime yet deny ourselves the satisfaction of those discoveries you reserve for us till you come to England and doe desire you would not leave our Plantation till the Indians and our People are growne into soe good an Acquaintance one with another as not to need an Interpreter between them. If those Inland Countrys have given you any knowledge or conjecture of Mines there I earnestly desire you not to give the least hint of it to anybody whatsoever For feare our People being tempted by the hopes of present gaine should forsake their Plantation and soe run themselves into certaine Ruine which has followed all those who formerly though in greater Numbers then wee have there now marched into this Country in Search of Gold and Silver. Pray therefore if there be any such thing keep it secreet to yourselfe alone but if it should be convenient, as perhaps it may to give me some hint of it in Letters to me Pray call gold always Antimony and Silver Iron by which I shall be able to understand you without any danger if your Letters should fall into other hands. I am to informe you that the plantation you manage is noe more upon the private account of Sir G. Carteret, Sir P. Colleton and myself but upon the account of all the Lords Proprietors soe that the cattle that you have taken for that plantation or anything else out of the Stores for that use is not to be satisfied for to the publique stock. This we have donne to avoid confusion amongst our selves. I am somewhat unsatisfied that the Carolina when she went to Barbadoes had noe timber at all loaden in her upon our account and yet a great deale upon private mens of which at least we should have had our share for frait. But I am not satisfied with Brain in any one of the voyages he hath made' and I thinke it necessary to tell you that both myself and the rest of the Lords Proprietors are apprehensive that Sir P. Coll: may have advantage of us by his interest and mingleing of trade with the Barbados. I expect you make noe words of this but that you keepe yourselfe steddy to the interest of the Lds and suffer not Sir P. Colleton to make either in your affair or any other of the affairs upon the publique stock in that place an advantage beyond the rest of the Lds to their prejudice. I did expect from you and doe still an account to be kept (and a copy thereof sent us from time to tyme) of our Stores to whome delivered and at what rates, that soe we may be repaid in worke timber or goods, as may best consist with the ease of the planters. I must confess freely to you I have not been a little unsatisfied about it for a discouragement of that nature strikes at the very being of the plantation. For if we be not satisfied that we have faire dealeing we shall stop our supplying. Therefore pray let us have an His ship went to London Aug., 1671? and returned no more. exact and satisfactory account by every ship. I did not think the Governor would have disputed any instructions he had seen signed with Sir P. Colleton's hand and mine I doe not understand upon what measures he did it and cannot imagine he should deviate from those rules we had set unless it were to order the disposeing of our Stores more to the Lds P's advantage, in some things which possibly at this distance we could not foresee. approve well of your takeing Capt. Baylys 4 servants into our imploym'. But if Capt: Bayly or any one authorized by him require it we would have them restored we enterteining them only in our service till they can returne to his I am Your very affecate friend Exeter House 27° Apr: 71. ASHLEY. [In Locke's hand. S. P., Bdle. 48, No. 55, page 88.] CAPTAIN HALSTEDS' INSTRUCTIONS. I May 1671. 1. Cap' Halsted, God sending you safe to River Ashley, You are to deliver ye eight lesser Guns' with theire Carriages to ye Governor & Councel there, & you are with all convenient speed to procure a loading of timber, pipe staves & other Commoditys to ye Ship Blessing, fit for ye Market of Barbados, of wch you are to get ye best information you can of persons upon ye place, and if need be to make use of ye Lords Proprietors Servants under ye care of M' West to helpe to fell and load ye same. 2. Dureing ye loading of ye Ship you are to take an acc' of Mr Joseph West, concerning those following particulars. What they were. How they have been disposed of. How those y' have been disposed of are to be payd for, & what remaines. 1. The 'Mathias Halsted, of the Blessing,' reached Carolina Aug. 14, 1671, sailed to New York, returning Dec. 13 to Ashly river, there quarreled with the Council and was imprisoned, then sailed to Barbadoes, was there March, 1672, and in Carolina again, whence, June, 1673, he took the Blessing to England. He was there discharged, and Nov., 1674, the L'ds Propr's are very much importuned by that idle fellow Halsted, who used us so ill.' 2 Minions and drakes, see page 310, the sakers at the Bahamas. |