16 Mar 1817

                Barbuda March 16^th 1817

Sir

   Inclosed you have two Bills drawn by Will^m Gunthorpe, one as attorney to Alice Eliot on Mess^rs Plummer Barham  & Co London for £284: 9:3. The other on Mess^rs S & C Turner for £100 for the Bills I have given at the rate of £218 per cent an enormous rate of Exchange, the greatest part of these Bills is for Oxen sold Mr Gunthorpe. I trust by the next Packet to be able to send you more Bills as by that time if I can get one of the vessels I shall have completed my engagement of Cattle with Sir Henry Martin for which he is to give me Bills immediately.

  I have now sent to Mr Ick sixty thousand pounds of yams which @ 30 (shillings) per cwt will amount to two thousand Dollars, I shall also be able to send them four or five hundred Bushels of Corn. We are now getting very dry, but have still a good deal of grass on this Island, & therefore hope we shall not fail of fodder this year.

  On the night of Wednesday last a large ship from Demera bound to Liverpool called the Braganza laden with sugar & Coffee got on shore on the Island, but fortunately for her not on the Rocks, she therefore got off the next morning, before our Boats could get to her; & having received no damage she has proceeded for England.  The Bills I now forward you were brought to me by the Boats which came from Antigua to enquire about the Braganza & returns immediately, and as the Packet has already left Antigua our vessels which are carrying sugar will not be here before the Boat follows, I have therefore written this in haste that you may get the Bills by this Packet.   I am

Sir

your most Obe^dt Humble

Servant

(signed) John James

 Reference: Gloucestershire Records Office, Microfilm no.351, Section no.6, D1610 C24

Accessed through Simon Fraser University library