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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Letter from Richard Everard to the Board of Trade of Great Britain
Everard, Richard, Sir, 1683-1733
May 02, 1728
Volume 02, Pages 761-763

[B. P. R. O. B. T. Proprieties. Vol. 12. No. 91. R.]
SIR RICHARD EVERARD TO THE LORDS OF TRADE &
PLANTAns

Edenton May 3rd 1728.

Right Honble

Twas hond with Your Ldsps and in obedience to your Comands I Proclaimed his Majtys and the utmost demonstrations of Joy was shewn by all people in generall and the night concluded wth a Compleat illumination and Boon Fires and drinking his Majtys health and all the Royall Familys long life &c

I humbly beg leave to lay before your Honorable Board some Few things that to me seems to be detrimentall and destructive to the trade of this Province it being my Duty as Governr to lay the Greviances before Your Honrs: I'm confident I err not in so doing The Complts my Lords is these. The bounty on Pitch and Tarr being off we have no Trade to depend on but our Beef and Pork wch is bought up by our Neighbours the Virginians here and drove alive in Virginia so that our Navigation is entirely lost, the Virginians bring in neither Mollasses sugar nor Rum wch are the Chief Support of this Province wch is a very great prejudice to our Planters the Droovers Stealing the flocks of Hoggs and

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Cattle in their Driving I may safely say thirty thousand Hoggs were drove out last year.

Another thing Your Lordships will permitt me to represent to Your Honble Board concerning our Judge of the Admiralty whose proceedings are so violent and arbitary as to occasion many Complts against him one of wch From a Master of a Vessell is so extraordinary that I ordered the Chief Justice to Issue an Habeas Corpus if the matter appeared proper to discharge him from the Commitment of that Judge his proceedings being so irregular and carried on wth so high a hand that I thought proper to interfere in it The Prisoner being a Master of a Vessell loaded and bound out and by his wrong deteiner his Vessell and Cargoe left to Suffer and Trade thereby manifestly obstructed and All for a Tavern Score of 15s 6d Bill mony viz 3s 1d ¼ Ster: the Cost amounts to £12 notwithstanding a prohibition to the Contrary the man was hurried violently to Goal in Execution I should not have troubled your Lordsps with this affair but not knowing what representation that Judge may make to the Lords of the Admiralty of the matter having taken severall depositions to that purpose and some not very true, but since their Lordshps I'm confident will have a tender regard for the preservation of the Com: Laws and the rights and libertys of the Subject and the Englishmans Privileges of Juries to Countenance that Judges extravagant proceedings I have ordered our Chief Justice to cause a true State of the Case to be layed before the Lords of the Admiralty I thought it proper to lay this much of it to your Lordshps before whom all matters of trade and Plantation properly come who are allways carefull to correct all matters whatsoever I shall only on this head beg leave to inclose a coppy of the complaint that was made to me about it I shall only add that on the Strictest enquiry I found the matter to be very true in it and therefore some Remedy necessary and do not doubt but that my conduct will be approved in it.

Now my Lords I'm obligded to become Your Lordships Petitioner for your Advice and Assistance in the Affaire of Virginia whose Assembly has made a Law with severe penalties and Fines For every Hoghead of Tobacco that's carried into Virginia out of this Country and severall Hoggsheads have been seized by the Sherriff of Nansemond wch is as I conceived very prejudiciall to his Majtys Revenues and an Insufferable Damage to the Poor No Carolinians and at the same time our Tobacco exceeds the Virginia I offer this to your Lordshps in hopes Your Honours will use your Interest to gett the Act repealed and to have Your Assistance in Getting one of the Landings in Nansemond River to be

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Free for the Carolinians to ship their Tobacco as these my Lords are the Greviances I thought my Duty to lay before you I hope I have comitted no Fault if I have I must ask pardon and reley on Your Lordshps goodness for my zeal for the advance of Trade and the Prosperity of my Governmt I'm My Lords wth Sincere Respects

Your Lordships
Most obedient
Humble Servant
RICHARD EVERARD
To the Right honble
The Lds of Trade & Plantans