(seq. 113)

107

Per Capt. Cray

Boston July 3rd, 1765

Sir

I rec’d yours dated at Wilmington the 27th of last May & was not a little
surpriz’d to find Mr. Hanson & your brother had neglected to give you
instruction for the management of brigg Samuel & her cargo previous to her
arrival. I understand Mr. Hanson’s intentions of sending her to you was in
expectation of making the dutys on her cargo lighter at your port then.
He cou’d expect at this, & that you should draw on your brothers at Philadelphia
for the amount of those dutys. This appeard to me to be the purport of Mr. Hanson’s letter, which I forwarded by Capt. Welch, & if for want of further
orders, or any other reasons, the directions contain’d in that letter cou’d not
be complyd with by you. The Capt. might then have reported his cargo, laken
in any necessarys he wanted & proceeded on his voyage to Boston. Any other
conduct I think exposes you & the Capt. to be answerable to Mr. Hanson
for the consequences, which I hope are not so bad as are reported. Accounts
having reach’d us here of the vessell & cargo being seiz’d by an officer of
your custom house. These accounts are at present imperfect & the reasons
for seizure we are left to guess at. God grant this may not be true, as I am
hereby left to pay a considerable sum of the hire of the vessell &
expos’d to a law suit for the value of her, & as Mr. Hanson is gone to the
West Indies I may be a longer time in advance for this sum than I can
at present afford. I intreat of you, if the vessell & cargo shou’d be under
those unfortunate circumstances, which I think must be tirminated before
this letter can reach you, that you will forthwith remit me any savings
you may have mad for Mr. Hanson, or any part of the cargo you may
have screend from forfeiture, or any effects you may have of Mr. Hanson
that you can put into this channell. This I think I may in justice expect
from you. As the whole cargo was intended to be deliverd me intire, even
free from the incumbrance of paying the dutys to answer the aforementioned
& other purposes of Mr. Hanson. I am

Your most hum’l servant

Mr. William Purvaine