Sir,

EDWARD FORBES TO CHRISTOPHER CHAMPLIN

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Dublin, 29th August, 1788.

I REFER you to my letter of the 12th instant via New York. Since received your always esteem'd of the 16th ulto. via Cork handing Sales of the Spermaceti Candles in which account you debit me £4.7.81 ballance of Candles returned per Captain Sheffield out of my part of the Candles received for the of the Ship. in your and Messrs. Fowlers letter of 12 September (last,) you desire me for to charge Captain Sheffield with that Sum which I did with other Items and sent the account to his wife and if I recollect under cover and open to you fully persuaded the Amount or Ballance you would of course have received for me so that if you have repaid this Sum to her its against me having no property of his in my hands to have stopt that Sum and wrote her to pay the whole Amount as furnished into your and Mr. Fowlers hands so that I think you should at least receive the same back. I made a mistake in debiting Mr. Ward Arnold and Vernon for the of the Copenhagen freight as Currency in place of British Money tho indeed your Letter was very explicit on this point. you have my thanks for settling my account so properly with Mr. Ward and have charged the other Gentlemen with the difference, and you have both my best thanks for your good Sales of the Candles as well as for the Settlement of that unfortunate Vessels accounts. In my letter of the 12th instant to you and Messrs. Fowlers I sent Sales of your Flaxseed per the Hope and tho there are some of the debts yet due shall take them all on myself to ease your minds and this post remitted Messrs. Lane Son and Frazer £110 Brit: which will nearly ballance your accounts, and by a ship to sail for New York in a few days your Account Current will be furnished. with respect to the unfortunate bad debt made on Sales of youre Neighbours, Mr. Handys Flaxseed, it was not my fault, for I did enquire the Mans Character before I delivered him the same and was inform'd he was safe and if your Seed has been

as clean and as well looking as youre Neighbours probably he would have had more of yours. My making this and another bad debt made me use every precaution possible this Spring and it gives me inexpressible pleasure on your and other friends Accounts that I am not likely to make any this year at least tho all is not received yet as I before wrote you I take them on myself and flatter myself upon a review of the whole of the Sales and bad debts they will appear as good and the bad ones as few as my Neighbours. If they do not turn out so I can only assure you its not my fault convinced no man endeavours to do more in every sense of the word to serve his friends than I do. were the property my own I could not do more. I am told that in consequence of a bad debt made for Mr. Gibbs that he has got Mr. Norris to guarantee the Sales of his goods. if you desire it I shall do yours on the like terms. I know two Years ago a Gentlemen who had Flaxseed consigned him from New York was so unlucky as to have made two or three heavy ones and his friends afterwards agreed to allow him 4 per cent. Commission and for insuring debts this Commission he tells me he has charged ever since and I can have no objection to act by you and other friends as my Neighbours do; and then you'll be on a certainty that the produce of your goods will be secured.

The bad debt made on your Sales by Thomas Dungan who was robb'd I expect a dividend next November it will be about 15d per pound. I cannot help it as you mentioned Mr. Handys name to say that he has treated me very ungenerously after the promise [his] Son made me of punctual Remittance. I sent his account to Messrs. Russells of Providence as I knew one [of] their Daughters married his Son, so I thought they would have been more likely to influence him to remit me. its such behaviour sours Men from assisting their friends and tends to destroy confidence between Man and Man. I am, Sir, Your most humble Servant

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EDWARD FORBES

EDWARD JAMES SMITH AND CO. TO CHRISTOPHER AND GEORGE CHAMPLIN

Gentlemen:

St. Petersburg, the 5th September, 1788.

It was the 21st July we had the pleasure to write you last, when we chiefly advised that your Brig the Elizabeth, Captain Benjamin Peirce was sailed from hence for Copenhagen. We have got now lately the News from our mutual Friend Nicholas Ryberg Esqr. of Copenhagen, that said your Brigg is not only dispatched there, but sailed also from thence, of which doubt not our mutual Friend has advised you. We have likewise very gladly observed in the Sound Lists he is safely passed Elsineur and we hope will be safe arrived with you before receipt of this, which we heartily wish, and then we flatter ourselves the Hemp we shipt for your account will give satisfaction, also as Capt. Peirce was satisfied with our Management, that we shall have the honour of executing all your Commands at this place in the next year, for which purpose we recommend ourselves in your favours and Friendship, requesting to be assured of our utmost Endeavours for your Interest and to merit the Continuance of your Commands. The inclosed for Captain Benja Peirce beg to deliver. By his Recommandation we dispatched from hence a Brig the Hope, commanded by Captain Benjamin Page belonging to Messrs. Brown and Francis of Providence, and upon a Letter of Credit supplied this Captain with what Goods he wanted from hence for account said Gentlemen; But as this Captain did not take his full Cargo here and wanted yet Goods from Copenhagen, for which he had no Credit with him, we furnished him with a Letter of Credit for that purpose on our Friend N. Ryberg Esqr. and recommended said Gentleman to provide Captain Page with the Goods he might want, which has been done to the Amount of £1050. Sterling, for which said Captain passed his Drafts upon his Owners Messrs. Brown and Francis at Providence Rhode Island, at 6 Months date in favour of our Friends Messrs. John

William Anderson and Co. payable in London. Mr. Ryberg acquaints us of having sent you said Draft to procure the acceptance and domiciliation and afterwards to forward it Messrs Anderson and Co. of London; also that he forwarded through your hands the Bills of Loading and Invoices for which this Draft is passed and desired you in case the Draft should not be properly accepted to take in your possession the Goods and to dispose of them for our account remitting afterwards the Net proceeds to said our London Friends. We hope all these precautions will have proved unnecessary, as we gott the best intelligence about the Solidity and Character of Messrs. Brown and Francis, and as no doubt these Gentlemen will be well known to you, we beg you will kindly interfere with them in our favour for their further Business at this Place, in which you will greatly oblige us, also our mutual Friend N. Ryberg Esqr. of Copenhagen, whom we recommend them for their Business at that place.

Clean Hemp is now already as high as Ro. 29 per Berkowitz, Outshott or 2d Sort Ro. 25, and half clean or 3rd Sort Ro. 24, 12 heads white Flax Ro. 39 and 40, - all monstrous high prices, and whether they will be as high next year or how they are likely to be, is not possible to judge as yet, but we shall not fail to advise you in its time how the first Contracts will open, also to provide you at the close of shipping with a List of the Goods exported from hence to America. Sail Cloth from Ro. 7 to Ro. 11 Ravenducks Ro. 8 to Flems Ro. 12 to 12 per piece, Drillings 20 to 21 Co. per arsheen, Candle Tallow from Ro. 33 to Ro. 35, and Soap Tallow from Ro. 26 to 30 per Berkowitz, but no good Tallow more at Market. The prices of Iron stand, old Sable from 123 to 125 Co., new Sable from 115 to 120 Co. per pd, the assorted sorts in proportion to their demensions dearer. We are in all your Commands most respectfully, Gentlemen: Your most obedient humble Servants,

EDWARD JAMES SMITH AND Co.

Amsterdam 33 to 32s. London 34 to 33 d.

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