Indian Antiquary Vol 62

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 405

July, 1933)
THE SCATTERGOODS AND THE EAST INDIA COMPANY
[124]
London February 6th 1720/1. To Mr. John Scattergood, Dear Sir,
We hereby take this first opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of your severall lettere from Canton by the Brussells &c., with the inclosed Letter of Attorney to us(l) and other papers relateing to your affairs, and according to your desire, we have accepted and taken upon us the care of your affairs, in negotiateing which we shall use our best endeavours to give you satisfaction, and accordingly have received all papers, accounts and effects from good Mr. Lewis, so that to give you the best notice we can of the severall transactions, with what money has bin received and paid upon your account since you left England, we think we can't doe it better than by sending you the inclosed accounts. One is Mr. Lewis's account of all matters that passed his hands,(2) and the other is of what affairs have bin transacted by us.(3)
You'l see by Mr. Lewis's account that he paid us in cash £342.58. 2jd., also two East India Bonds, vallue with intrest £202. 198. 5d., and there was besides £502. 108. in Lottery Annuitys subscribed into the South Sea Stock, and which Annuity still remain under Mr. Lewis's name in those books, so that what account that summe will turn to, we are not at present able to judge.
In your joint letter to us you send us a list of all effects you and Mr. Maubert remitted for your own account since you left England (4) As for the produce of all diamonds, you'l find you have creditt in Mr. Lewis's account for them. The oyl of cinnamon is not yet sold, but remains in the hands of Messrs. Hambly and Barnes, who will account with us for the amount when sold. The 110 tale for which you drew a bill on Sir Robert Child is not yet paid, but the money will be good, for by some mistake or other, you have put a wrong coat of arms on the china ware, so that it was no use to Sir Robert Child, and for which reason he refus'd accepting your bill ; but he gave orders for the publick sale of those goods, and your debt is to be paid out of the produce.
As for what relates to the effoote you sent home on ships Brussells and Wirtemberg (5) we can give you no satisfactory account, and indeed doubt whether there wont be a loss to you by the mismanagement or ignorance in business (not to give it a worse name) of those you consign'd those goods to. In short, none of 'em will send us any manner of accounts what they have sold and what remains. And as for Jackson,(®) he has indeed disputed our powers to give him orders and refus'd obeying any but what he had from yourself, till such time as we sent him an authentick coppy of your Letter of Attornye to us, and since that time he seems more complying, yet wont send us any account in form. The last letter we had from him was to inclose bills of ladeing for six baggs of silver he shipd on board the ship House of Austria(7) consign'd to yourself at Canton, which by much adoe we prevaild with him to doe, vallue f. 15000 gilders bank money, but we don't know the weight, nor is there any such thing mentioned in the bills ladeing, by which your self may be a judge of his expertness and experience in business. One of the bills of ladeing we also send here inclosed, but your effects with Cooke and Pennicott we have some reason to fear are in worse hands and more danger, for Cocke lately had a brother broke(8) in London, and we fear there was drawing and redrawing between the two brothers before he went off, which has prov'd prejudiciall to your friend Leonard Cocke; and as for Pennicott, you know what a poor wretch it is. Wherefore we much wonder you'l trust such people, and had not better make your remittances in England directly in gold by the Company's ships, for depend upon it piece goods, your roundabout way, will never answer your expectation; so we desiro you'l concern us no more to have to doe with Ostenders.