09 June 1823

Clare Hall June 9^th 1823

Sir.

  By the Packet I received your two letters, one respecting Mr Blackburns claim, inclosing a letter to you from Mr Carr on the subject; it gave me great pleasure the(?) receiving it, as I feared the claim might have been brought on the last Court day, which was Tuesday last, & the last day for recovery this year. There letters I have given to the lawyer employed, & have requested him to write Mr Carr fully on the subject, which I purpose sending to him through you. Your other letter of the 20 April was also a great relief to me, as it enabled me to satisfy the clamorous of the creditors of Clare Hall, & last week I was beset on all quarters, many of there debts have been long standing, two actions were brought against the Estate, one for £12 .2 this I was not aware was owing, the amount never having been rendered to me; this I immediately paid. The other from Carlisle the Sadler for £152:9, who attempted to turn a produce account into cash; making at least 100 per cent difference; I have tended him rum which he has refused to take; I have therefore employed Mr Musgrave the Attorney General to make him the tender according to law & defend the action if not accepted. Some other cash transactions of Mr Icks I have been obliged to pay & have drawn on Mr Trattle for them as well as the taxes & Overseers salaries which I trust will be accepted, Mr Trattle shall have the accounts sent him by the George Hibbert, the greater part of Mr Eldridges account has been bearing in trust since April 1822. Inclosed you have a Bill of lading for fifteen Hds of sugar by(?) the Geo: Hibbert she will sail tomorrow or next day by her I also send you four Turtle, besides the 30 Hd^ds sugar shipped, I have paid away & sold 10 Hd^ds which has enabled me to pay a number of the small balances due, also one Hd^d paid the Customs House. The liberal authority you given me in your last letter will I trust enable me to get rid of the greater part of the debts, but I will withhold as many as I can & send you the sugars, was the whole of the crop appropriated to do this I think it would pay everything due in this Island. I shall if I can avoid it, pay the Debtors only in part, the debt due Doing & Aird of £234:1.9³/₄ & which was included in the first sent you, does not belong to you, as it was priv(?) to your taking full possession of the Estate they have therefore consented to give it up.

                The weather for the last three weeks has been very much against sugar making not having sufficient wind to move the mill, at the same time we have had an immense quantity of rain which tho it will do the present canes no good, will I trust be of much benefit to the next crop; as well as to the provision; of which I shall plant as much as possible in fact the quantity I mentioned to you would all have been planted had I been able to get of the rotten canes; I am happy to find that there is a good wind this morning & hope it will continue as the rain(?) changed last evening, Mr Osborn has furnished me with yams to plant. My next letter will be most probably from Barbuda.

                I remain

Sir

Your Most Obedient Humble

   Servant

(signed) John James

Reference: JJ276 Robson Lowe collection on microfilm 24995, University of Texas at Austin, Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.

05 May 1823

Clare Hall May 5^th 1823

Sir.

                In my last letter of 11^th April I informed you that in consequence of your mentioning that the first sugars would probably bring a good price, I would ship by the two first vessels what I might have ready; I have therefore sent by the Glaphyra for London which will sail in a few days fifteen Hd^ds for when I enclose you are Bill of lading; I shall write Mr Trattle & send him by the Glaphyra a duplicate of the Bill of lading; also the list of the debt due. I had fifteen other Hd^ds ready for the Geo Hibbert as soon as she comes to St Johns, which will be in about ten days; but on their sugars I shall be under the absolute necessity of drawings some Bills; I have been very much pressed for the last two or three days for payments of some cash accounts some due last month, & some due three or four years back; but have refused until the sugars had sailed. Mr Eldridge has been very pressing, the amount of whose account you will see in the list I sent, it bears interest; I have therefore promised that he shall have a Bill by the next Packet, the Overseers must also be paid in Cash, Sugars for Cash will sell him for next to nothing, I have only been offered four Dollars equal to about 18 shillings Sterling per hundred weight, which price I have refused to part with any; Rum, & Molasses are equally low, but I trust by & by in payment of the debts they shall bring something higher, in fact I will do the best I can. I have had two or three small accounts sent to me since I sent you the list of debts, together not amounting to one hundred pounds Currency, I shall purchase as little as possible this year. A few Boards & shingles we must have, what I may be obliged to purchase I will pay for immediately in produce.  I am happy to say the weather since my last has been pretty favorable for the next Crop, I hope it will continue.  All the Canes are planted except the pieces which have Provisions, these can only be planted as the Eddoes & Potatoes are taken out, and they will keep but a short time out of the Ground, but I trust we shall complete all by the end of this month.  I still think we shall fall very little if any thing short of the quantity of Sugar I mentioned in former letters.  And we shall fully complete the quantity of land for Canes & Provisions for next Crop.

  Mr. Osborn I am happy to say is much better but still unwell, I find he means to try the Benefit of a trip to Barbuda the next time I go there, which will be as soon as the Glaphyra sails; I left it on Wednesday last, we had had fine rains on Monday I had planted Corn & Potatoes & left them planting more.

  The Articles for the smiths shop are arrived & the House nearly finished, it will save much expence.  Mule Harness which amounted to a pretty large sum will be done in future at Barbuda, as well as many other Items which you will observe by a reference to the list of debts due.

                I remain

Sir

Your Most Obed^t

   Servant

(signed) John James

Reference: JJ275 Robson Lowe collection on microfilm 24995, University of Texas at Austin, Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection.