To His Excellency, Arthur Dobbs, Esq., Captain-General and Governor in Chief in and over His Majesty’s Province of North Carolina.
The memorial of John Rutherford, his Majesty’s Receiver-General for the said Province, humbly sheweth:
That the said Receiver-General and his deputies find themselves under great difficulties in the execution of their office in many cases, and particularly in these following, viz.:
1. Where the patentee or assignee resides in the Province and has lands in a different county on which no distress is to be found.
2. Where the tenant lives in Earl Granville’s district, having lands with no distress on them in the King’s part.
3. As to the lands of orphans, on which there is no distress.
4. In the case where the patentee or assignee does not reside in the Province and no distress to be found.
5. Where no distress is to be found and the tenant is willing to resign the land rather than pay the quit rents.
6. In the case of tenants by long possession having deeds but no patents nor records thereof.
On these cases your memorialist humbly prays your Excellency’s direction, as it is from the difficulties arising from them, as well as from the want of a proper rent roll, that the collection of his Majesties quit rents is so much obstructed and retarded in this Province.
Your memorialist further represents that he hath implored the several Registerers in the different counties in his Majesty’s district to make out an abstract or list of all conveyances by wills or deeds in their respective counties, which, as it will be attended with a considerable expense, and not to be avoided, and as there’s no other way
at present to come at a rent roll, he desires to know whether the expense of these may be charged in his accounts?