Journal, May 1780: Volume 87

Journal, May 1780

fo. 71.

Monday, May 1st. Present:—The Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Jenyns, Lord Robert Spencer, Mr. Greville, Mr. Eden, Mr. de Grey, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Gibbon.

Trade.

Mr. Fordyce attending with several chymists, manufacturers and others in support of his petitions, pursuant to their lordships' order of the 27th of April, was called in, and laid before them, samples of the acid, and the different species of alkali, together with some soap made with the said alkali; whereupon their lordships proceeded to examine the said petitioner, and the several persons as to the facts in question; and they being severally heard, their lordships postponed the further consideration until the next Board.

fo. 72.

West Florida, Senegambia, Leeward Islands.

Mr. Elliott acquainted the Board, that he had wrote to Mr. Nesham and Mr. Knox, as directed by the minute of the 27th of April, and that he had also wrote to Sir Grey Cooper, in pursuance of their lordships' order of the 20th of April.

West Florida.

The draught of a letter to Governor Chester, having been transcribed pursuant to order of the last Board, was signed.

Nova Scotia.

Read a letter from Sir Richard Hughes, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, to their lordships, dated Halifax, November 19th, 1779, thereby acknowledging the receipt of the letter from the Board of the 1st of July, 1779, and informing their lordships, he should pay the utmost attention to the same.

fo. 73.

Thursday, May 4th. Present:—The Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Jenyns, Lord Robert Spencer, Mr. Greville, Mr. Eden, Mr. de Grey, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Gibbon.

Trade.

fo. 74.

Their lordships, having resumed the consideration of the petitions of Mr. Fordyce, mentioned in the minutes of the 1st instant, ordered that the Secretary do write a letter to Mr. Robinson, for the information of the Lords of the Treasury, acquainting him that the Board, having examined into the proofs adduced in support of the allegations of the petitioner, are of opinion, that the utility and advantages that will arise from the undertaking of Mr. Fordyce are obvious, and that every advisable encouragement should be given to him; referring, however, to the wisdom of Parliament, the extent and mode of that encouragement, and how far the revenue should be indemnified for the duties that may be lost to that branch, in case the alkali prepared by him should become of general use.

Read an Order of the Lords of the Privy Council, dated April 28th, 1780, referring to this Board, the petition of John Shoolbred, for leave to export to Georgia, on board the ship Pilgrim, sundry military stores, for deer hunting.

Their lordships, being of opinion, that the exportation prayed for should be allowed; and the draught of a report to the Lords. of the Privy Council having been prepared thereupon, was approved, transcribed and signed.

Jamaica.

Read a report from Richard Jackson, esquire, upon an Act passed in the Island of Jamaica, on the 26th of November, 1779, intituled, An Act to limit the duration of Assemblies, and their lordships determined to take the same into consideration at the next Board.

fo. 75.

Thursday, May 11th. Present:—The Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Jenyns, Mr. Greville, Mr. Eden, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Gibbon.

Trade.

Read the two following Orders of the Lords of the Privy Council, vizt.,
Order, dated May 3rd, 1780, referring to this Board, the petition of John Hardy, for leave to export to Bombay, on board the ship Godfrey, three thousand sword blades, for the private trade of the officers of the said ship.
Order, dated April 28th, 1780, referring to this Board, the petition of the Carron Company, for leave to export to Amsterdam and Harlingen sundry military stores, for the use of ships fitting out there.

fo. 76.

Their lordships, upon the consideration of the aforementioned petitions, being of opinion, that the exportation prayed for should be allowed; and the draughts of two reports to the Lords of the Privy Council thereupon, having been prepared, were approved, transcribed and signed.

Jamaica.

The Board again took into consideration the representation upon the Act, to limit the duration of Assemblies, mentioned in the minutes of the 4th of May, and ordered, that Mr. Jackson be desired to attend their lordships thereupon tomorrow sennight.

Their lordships read, and considered a report from Richard Jackson, esquire, upon an Act passed in the Island of Jamaica, intituled, An Act to enable Thomas Cussans, esquire, to charge and incumber his moiety of a certain plantation called Amity Hall, situate in the parish of Saint Thomas in the East in this island, with a certain sum of money therein mentioned, on the 23rd of December, 1779.

fo. 77.

Ordered, that a representation to his Majesty, proposing the confirmation of the said Act, be prepared, which being done, and approved of, was transcribed and signed.

Leeward Islands.

Read a duplicate of a letter from Governor Burt to the Board, dated March 14th, 1780, acquainting their lordships with the death of Mr. Greathead, late Chief Justice, and one of the Council for the Island of St. Christopher's; and that he had appointed John Fahie, esquire, to succeed him as Chief Justice; at the same time recommending John Smith Thomas, esquire, as a fit person to supply the vacancy in Council; and the draught of a representation to his Majesty, recommending the said John Smith Thomas as a proper person to fill up the vacancy, being prepared, was approved, transcribed and signed.

fo. 78.

Miscellanies.

The Board in confirmation of their order, mentioned in the minutes of the 13th of April, directed that the clerks in this office do attend punctually at the hours directed by former orders.

Plantations General.

The circular letters directed to be wrote to the Governors and Lieutenant Governors of the Colonies, by the minute of the 20th of April, having been prepared, were approved, transcribed and signed.

fo. 79.

Mr. Elliott laid before the Board, a letter to their lordships from Mr. Robert White, agent for the inhabitants of the Musquito Shore, enclosing "A supplement to the reply of the inhabitants of the Musquito Shore to the defence of Robert Hodgson, esquire," and praying their lordships' immediate attention thereunto, and that they will please to examine Mr. Christopherz without loss of time, as to the facts contained in the said supplement, he being upon his departure for Jamaica. Whereupon the Board ordered, that the Secretary do write to Mr. White, and inform him, that their lordships had yielded to the importunities of Mr. Hodgson to be heard in justification of his character, upon the ground only of his alledging that he had been unavoidably absent, at the time his conduct was under the consideration of the Board, and upon which they submitted their opinion to his Majesty in June, 1776; and their lordships, having received what is termed "the defence of Mr. Hodgson" and "the reply of the inhabitants of the Musquito Shore" together with "the supplement to that reply" laid before them by Mr. White in his above letter, and Mr. Hodgson having left England during these proceedings, they do not think it expedient at present to examine any evidence or admit any further documents on either side.

fo. 80.

Saturday, May 13th. Present:—Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Jenyns, Mr. Greville, Mr. Eden, Mr. de Grey, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Gibbon.

Newfoundland.

fo. 81.

Read a letter from Lord George Germain to the Board, dated Whitehall, 12th May, 1780, enclosing a copy of a letter wrote by his Lordship on the 12th of May, 1779, to Richard Edwards, esquire, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Island of Newfoundland, together with the answers of the said Governor Edwards to the several articles of his instructions, and copy of a proclamation issued by him on the 2nd of October, 1779. Ordered, that a letter be prepared from the Board to Lord George Germain, acquainting his Lordship that the Board will, with all convenient dispatch, prepare such additional instructions as may be necessary for the future guidance of Governor Edwards, in the several matters mentioned in his Lordship's letter, and in the meantime, they apprehend his Lordship's letter of the 12th of May, 1779, to Governor Edwards, will be sufficient to answer every purpose of instruction, with respect to the Acts mentioned in his Lordship's letter to the Board.

Trade.

Newfoundland.

Mr. Elliott informed the Board, that agreable to their lordships' order of the 4th instant, he had wrote to Mr. Robinson upon the matter of Mr. Fordyce's petitions.

fo. 82.

Friday, May 19th. Present:—The Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Jenyns, Lord Robert Spencer, Mr. Greville, Mr. Eden, Mr. de Grey, Mr. Stuart.

Trade.

Read an Order of the Lords of the Privy Council, dated May 17th, 1780, referring to this Board, the petition of John Bundock, for leave to export sundry military stores to Leghorn, on board the ship St. John Baptist, for the use of the said ship.

Their lordships, being of opinion, that the exportation prayed for should be allowed; and the draught of a report to the Lords of the Privy Council, having been prepared thereupon, was approved, transcribed and signed.

fo. 83.

Newfoundland.

The letter to Lord George Germain, having been prepared pursuant to order of the 13th instant, was approved, transcribed and signed.

Barbados.

Read a report of Mr. Jackson's, upon an Act passed in the Island of Barbados on the 2nd of November, 1779, intituled, An Act to provide for the expences of his Honor the President's table, and his accommodations at Pilgrim House, during his residing there for the benefit and advantage of the publick.

Jamaica.

fo. 84.

Mr. Jackson having attended the Board as directed on the 11th instant, the Board resumed the consideration of the Act passed in the Island of Jamaica, intituled, An Act to limit the duration of Assemblies; and their lordships ordered, that a letter be wrote to Lord George Germain, acquainting his Lordship, that the said Act being in its nature of great importance, they cannot proceed in the usual course of immediate representation; but that as the said Act will operate on the 1st of February next, it should seem necessary, that an early attention should be paid to it, and therefore requesting his Lordship to submit the same to his Majesty's pleasure; and also in case any step should be taken therein previous to their laying the said Act officially before his Majesty, whether it may not be proper, that Governor Dalling should be directed to dissolve the present Assembly about, but before, the time of its proposed expiration under the said Act, by which measure, their lordships apprehend, the wishes of his Majesty's subjects in that island, with respect to the duration of the Assembly now existing will be gratified, without establishing and admitting the Act in question, and which they conceive, may at any time hereafter be dissolved.

fo. 85.

Thursday, May 25th. Present:—The Earl of Carlisle, Mr. Eden, Mr. de Grey, Mr. Stuart, Mr. Gibbon.

The minutes of the five preceding Boards were read, approved and signed.

Trade.

Read an Order of the Lords of the Privy Council, dated May 20th, 1780, referring to this Board, the petition of William Richards, for leave to export to Belfast, on board the Belfast Packet, or any other vessel that may offer, three hundred and seventy five musquets, for the use of John Staples, esquire, at Lisson near Dungannon.

Their lordships, being of opinion, that the exportation prayed for in the above petition should be allowed; and the draft of a report to the Lords of the Privy Council, having been prepared thereupon, was approved, transcribed and signed.

fo. 86.

Jamaica.

The letter to Lord George Germain, having been prepared pursuant to the order of the last Board, was approved, transcribed and signed.

Leeward Islands.

Read a letter from Mr. Robinson to Mr. Elliott, dated May 22nd, 1780, acquainting him, for the information of the Board, that the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury had paid the bills drawn by virtue of an Act passed in the Island of Antigua, upon which the Board had desired the opinion of Treasury in a letter from Mr. Cumberland to Sir Grey Cooper of the 30th of November last; and also in a letter from Mr. Elliott of the 22nd of April; and enclosing copy of the minutes of Treasury of the 14th of December last.

fo. 87.

Read and considered a report of Mr. Jackson's upon the Act abovementioned, intituled, An Act for enabling persons therein named to borrow a sum not exceeding twenty thousand pounds, etc., and ordered, that a representation be prepared to his Majesty, recommending the confirmation of the said Act.

Senegambia.

Read a letter from Mr. Robinson to Mr. Elliott, dated May 24th, 1780, enclosing a memorial of Charles O'Hara, esquire, late Governor of Senegambia, praying payment of a balance of £3,222 10s. 0d. due to him on account of money expended for the contingencies of that province while under his command; and desiring their lordships' opinion what may be fit to be done therein. Whereupon their lordships agreed to take the same into consideration at the next Board.

Plantations General.

fo. 88.

Mr. Elliott informed the Board, that he had wrote to Mr. White, agreeable to their lordships' order, mentioned in the minutes of the 11th instant, and laid before the Board a letter from the said Mr. White addressed to their lordships, and pressing for a final decision upon the matters in dispute between the inhabitants of the Musquito Shore and Mr. Hodgson, the consideration of which letter was, for the present, postponed.