of their Agents here, Notwithstanding that I know the law of Nations would beare mee out, but my Master would doubtlesse blame mee for being Rigourous or Scrutinous in small Trifles to the discouragement & detriment of the future hopes of Trade or of Strangers to continue or come to liue amongst us, which hopes haue hitherto kept up the hearts of many, and yet they are no better then Ayery fancies, Vnlesse his Royall Highnesse can obtaine either a Generall Liberty for some Terme of yeares to the better Encouragement of this Place, that shipps of any Nation may Import or Export into or from hence all sorts of Merchandize whither they please, onely paying to his Royall Highnesse his vse such Customes & Dutyes as his Royall Highnesse shall Establish; which point would more readily passe the House of Lords & Comons then the Comissions of the Customes; But Tangier is one Example & all New Colonyes haue very great Priviledges graunted them; Otherwise my Lord in regard this whole Colony is peopled with three parts Dutch, why may not (the warrs ended) a permission bee given onely to foure or six Holland Shipps to trade yearely hither with Comodityes of their owne Growth & Manifacture, & from hence to returne directly home, payinge onely dutyes to his Royall Highnesse.

My Lord some such like Overture for Trade must bee accepted or this Colony is ruin'd, Surely his Royall Highnesse will concerne himselfe for them, & the rather because the Strength & flourishing Condition of this place will bridle the ambitious Saints of Boston, & is at present a key to the whole Countrey, Wee want onely materialls to make a Locke to the Doore. My Lord at this present during the Warres with Holland wee cannot expect the good affections of the Dutch here to the English, but this I presume to affirme, that in all other occasions they would manifest their good Obedience to his Matie in better Termes than some of the Vnited Colonyes.

My Lord I haue remitted for confirmation to his

Royall Highnesse the present Lawes of this Colony collected out of the Lawes of the other Colonyes, onely with such Alterations as may reviue the Memory of old England amongst us, ffor Democracy hath taken so deepe a Roote in these parts, that ye very name of a Justice of the Peace is an Abomination, wherefore I haue upon due Consideration of his Maties Interest layd the foundations of Kingly Government in these parts so farre as is possible, which truely is grievous to some Republicans, but they cannot say that I haue made any alteration amongst the English for they had no setled Lawes, or Government before.

Tis not easily to be imagin'd what paines I haue taken how much patience I haue exercised towards a sort of People of such refractory & peevish dispositions as are not knowne in old England, yet for my Masters service I can suffer much more, and to shew the Planters that his Royall Highnesse intended rather the settlement of his Maties Authority in true English words & formes, then his proffitt, I thought it a part of sound discretion to lay little or no burden upon their meane Estates;

These Lawes haue beene put in practise the space of one yeare with some Amendments upon Reviewe, & such is the unfortunate Condition of these parts, that some Points of the Lawes must of Necessity admitt of Alterations or Abolitions yearely, & yet by the Dukes Instructions I am narrowly bound up to the space of a yeare for his Highnesse Confirmation, otherwise the Law is voyd, By which Instruction fully executed, wee should at this present haue no Law in force; I hope his Royall Highnesse will giue a larger Latitude to the next Governor in that point, & dispatch this New body of Lawes in print without Alterations.

Possibly yo Lords? hath mett with some bold vndertakers & vaunters of themselues for Trade into this Place, especially one M: Winder, yet I doubt not yo! Lord will sooner giue Creditt to these Motions & Informations, then to any Man besides, all which I

haue fully comunicated to Mr Coventry. I haue presumed to giue yo! Lords! this tedious Account wherein I haue at once discharg'd my duty & manifested my owne weaknesse, out of both which (in your great wisedome) I shall hope some good Resolutions may bee drawne, & possibly where my Expressions are not full enough, or that good forme or Method is wanting, I beseech yo! Lords?? to excuse my Incapacity, & yet to take a further view of my letters to his Royall Highnesse, to M: Secretary Bennet & M: Coventry.

Lastly I beseech yo! Lords?? to take my owne hard Condition into yo kind thoughts, that I may not see my owne Ruine both at home & abroad, So long as I demeane my selfe a Loyall Subject, a dutifull Servant, & in all things an honest Man, vnder which three Characters I may confidently assume the honor of being

My Lord yo! Lords most humble and most obliged Servant

April the 7th [1666]

ffort James in N: Yorke

RICHARD NICOLLS

XXXVIII.

THOS. LUDWELL TO THE EARL OF CLARENDON.

RIGHT HONORABL

Virginia July 18th 1666

Did not ye performance of my duty to your Lordship far out waigh all other Considerations with mee, I should not now haue bin soe impertinently presumptious (as to trouble your Honor with any of the Concernes of this Country well Knowing how greate a parte your Lordship must necessarily beare in y° Conduct & p'servacōn of three Kingdomes at once threatned with ye Combined force of almost all their neighbours, the Success of which greate action I hartely pray may bee

for ye Glory, and Safty of y° King & his Kingdomes, & ye honor, reputacōn, and prosperity of your Lordship, but my Lord that I may avoid that tediousness I my Selfe condemne, I shall humbly take leaue to informe your hono' that vpon the arrivall of his Maties Genn" Commands for ye building one, or more forts for ye securitie of y ships trading hither the Assembly after a serious Consultacon had vpon ye most effectuall Way of obeying y said Commands, concluded, that since some Riu were to wide to bee secured, and that many forts would bee a Charge insupportable to the Country, it would bee best to build one at James Citty, and mount all the ordinance Wee had upon it which are foureteen, a place in ye hart and Strength of ye Country and sufficiently capeable of all the ships that trade hither besides it being y° place where ye Assembly and all y greate Courts are held, It would bee an Ornament, Security, and advantage to it to haue ye forte there where ye Inhabitants of the place would bee a strength sufficient (but in y° times of Danger) to keep it without Charge to ye Country in order where vnto ye Assembly voted Eighty Thousand Pounds of Tobacco to bee leavied vpon the Country for y° building y° same, and at one hundred pounds Charge weighed and brought ye Guns in place, but after all this Trouble and expence y Bristoll men (whose trade lyes aboute ye mouth of yo Riu') brought in a particular Command from his Ma" to build it at poynt Comfort on y° Mouth of yo Riuer, a place where Ships cannot securely hall on shore, and consequently any man of Warr who hath but ye boldness to run by a ffort (a matter of noe greate danger) may be master of y° whole Riu', and all ye Ships in it, besides it is a place soe nere yo Sea that wee can haue no Intelligence of y arrivall of ye enimy till hee is vpon vs, whereas at James Towne being fifty miles within the Riuer they must haue severall winds and tides to come to it, and consequently wee should haue notice time enough by Land to provide against them furthermore wee must bee necessitated to keep a Continuall force in

pay att Poynt Comfort which would amount to much more then y p'sent revenue of ye fort would discharge wch as I have already said would bee avoided at James Towne yett ye Gou and Councell fearing that their deviations from his Maties Commands (though more for his service) might bee adjudged contumacy haue ordered yo fort to bee built at y Riuers mouth and doe Carry on ye Worke with all possible expedicōn. But the reversing our first Councells & rendering our preparations & first Charges for a ffort at James Towne vselesse by his Maties second Commands doth very much trouble ye mides of y people because they find their hopes of a ffort at James Towne frustrated and much of their money paid in vaine a thing they seldom parte with willingly how just or necessary soever y occasion bee, or in what parte of ye world soe euer it bee demanded Besides my Lord it gaue vs all most insuperable feares by casting vs soe far back in our fortifications, that vpon y arrivall of a dutch Caper who aboute yo 7th Instant tooke a ship of ffoy within our Capes Wee knew not what Course to take for ye securitie of those Ships then in harbour haueing noe fort ready to protect them, But it pleased God that all ye men escaped in their Boates to the Shore who forthwith gaue notice to ye Gouerno and hee in his owne person with infinite Labour and trouble to y° ships who rode soe securely careless haueing most of their Men aboard fetching in Tobacco that had y° Enimy pursued his advantage hee might haue made himselfe Master of most parte of the Ships in the Country which makes vs sadly reflect vpon our Condition here who haue noe Latitude Left vs of putting our owne Councells in Execution for owr better protection, and yett must justly feare a severe censure vpon euery Misfortune, for prevention of which, I shall humbly offer this expedient that since wee are here vpon ye place, and thought fitt by his May to bee entrusted with ye Governm' of it, & consequently must bee better informed of ye Dangers to bee avoided, and y° meanes of avoiding them that his May and the Lords of his