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{May it Please your Lordships} { Barbados: 19th October: 1687/}
I Doe not presume to trouble you with Letters soe Often as my duety
would Oblige mee. If I had any thing to Acquaint your Lordship with, worthy your Reading,
but least my too long Sylence Should represent meeas remiss in the performance of that duty,
I take this opportunity of Laying my selfe at your Lordships Feet, and humbly acquaint you, that
God be thanked wee are here in great Peace & quiett, with Loyall & faithfull hearts to
his Majesties Person & Government, Praying for his long life and happy Reigne over us,
as our dutifull affections obliges us ; - But we are most Certainely become very Poore
our Goods not Yeilding anything in Europe, though wee made but little this yeare, and
no prospect of makeing any Considerable quantities the two Succeeding yeares, for what
the Long drouth did not destroy, but came forward with the Raines wee have had, of which
wee Yett stand much in Need, the Catterpillar, Locust & other vermine have in misserable
manner destroyed far beyond all Examples of any former tyme Since the Island was Settled,
Soe that wee are in Misserable Condition, not haveing money in the Island in any reasonable
proportion to Supply the Wants of it, now any meanes to bring money to us, haveing soe Little
produce from the Land, and the People Exceedingly in debt & their Creditt so Lost that many Want
and are not Supplyed, nor Can the Creditors gett any Pay, but in land, which is now of Little Value. Soe
that both Debtor & Crediter are at great loss what to doe, the One to be paid, and the other to be farther
Creditted, but that which Discourages the People most of all, even to distraction, is an Imperfect
Relation our two last Advises from Lordships have brought us, of a Project Sett on foot by some
Indigent & other persons, to Obtaine some Grant, Order , Warrant or Authority for to Enable them
to be the onely vendors of the Sugars, and other the produce of this & other his Majesties American
Collonies, and that to them and their Substitutes, Onely all the produce of them is to be Consigned,
and by them Onely are wee to be supplyed with money & Creditt & all necessaryes, which thing
as it is taken and understood by the People here, gives them such disquiett, that did they not
soe wholly lay themselves at his Majesties Feet as they doe, and Rest assured of their Safety
from such a Yoake, under his Majesties future goodness, favour & protection, I should not
prevaile with many of them to stay to see the Event, or be Rightly Informed of the project,
soe much are they Terrifyed with the bare Relation of it, that they would Immediately Sell
Wonderfull penny worths of what they have here, and seeke their Fortune Else where, ut
I hope they will rest Content in the assureance they have his Majesty will not permitt any
thing of that or any other kinde to be done, by these or any other projectors, that shall be
hurtfull & destructive to his Majesty's Interest in his Collonies, and the good of his Subjects
there abideing or thither tradeing.

My Lord, I Account it my duty farther to Acquaint you that about Fourteen dayes since
arrived at Tobagoe a great Shipp from his Highness the Duke of Courland, bringing a
Governor for that Island by Name Alten Bockum, great Marshall and Councillor
to that Duke, and with him a Second One Mr. Marren Sometime Resident for that
Duke at the Court of England, to be Second or Deputy Governor, who foure dayes
since Came from Tobagoe to this Island in a Small Sloop, he tells mee they have not
above Eighty People toward Settling that Island, All they formerly Sent thither