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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Memorial from the Lords Proprietors of Carolina concerning the King's purchase of their shares in Carolina, including accounts of quit rent arrears and payments due to officials
Carolina. Lords Proprietors.
1728
Volume 02, Pages 721-723

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[B. P. R. O. Board of Trade North Carolina. Vol. 5. P. 267.]

To the Right Honoble the Lords of the Committee of his Majesties most Honble Privey Council

The Memorial of the Proprietors of Carolina whose Names are hereunto Subscribed

Humbly Sheweth

That your Memorialists lately presented a petition to his Majestie humbly proposing to Surrender their respective intire Propertys in the province of Carolina upon the Condition therein mentioned and considering that there are great arrears of Quit Rents &c due from the Inhabitants of that province the Collecting of which in case his Majestie should be pleased to accept of the proposal might not only be difficult for your Memorialists but also occasion great uneasines to the people.

Your Memorialists have hereunto annexed an Estimate of the said Arrears together with an Account of the Claims of their Officers and others which regularly ought to be answered out of the sd Arrears.

In laying this Estimate and account before Your Lordships Your Memorialists humbly beg leave to observe that for want of a proper Register they cannot offer it as an exact account of their arrears judging upon a strict enquiry Much more will be found due to them, yet it is drawn according to the best calculation they have been able to make under the long destracted state of affairs in Carolina whereby it appears there is upon a modest computation £9500 due as arrears of quit rents &c and only £7827. 7. 1 claimed by their Officers and others

Therefore in order to Render everything as easy as possible Your Memorialists humbly propose that in case your Lordships shall think proper to advise his Majestie to accept the Surrender of their respective propertys in the province of Carolina, your Lordships will also recommend it to his Majestie that he will be graciously pleased to cause the additional sum of £500 to be paid to your Memorialists in consideration of which sum they are willing to Surrender and make over to his Majestie the right and title to all arrears and demands whatsoever which they ever had or can have upon the Inhabitants of South and North Carolina and to discharge all their debts

And your Memorialists do further most Humbly beg leave to represent to your Lordship that they humbly hope your Lordship will recommend

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it to his Majestie that he will be graciously pleased to fix such a time as in his great wisdom and Goodnes he shall think most proper for the Execution of the Surrender and payment of the money in order to prevent the great damage which a long suspence in this affair may occasion to the Inhabitants and the Province of Carolina in General as well as to your Memorialists in particular who would be ready and willing to close with some of the proposals which have been made to them for the better setling the province, which they would not presume to engage in till his Majesties Royal pleasure is known

All which is humbly submitted

BEAUFORT
CRAVEN
JA: BERTIE
HEN: BERTIE
J COLLETON
ARCH: HUTCHESON

AN ESTIMATE OF ARREARS DUE TO THE PROPRIETORS OF SOUTH AND NORTH CAROLINA.
The Insurrection in South Carolina which began about the year 1718 hath not only interrupted all manner of Correspondence between the Proptrs and that province ever since, but also had a considerable influence upon North Carolina and the Surveyors General having neglected their duty & made no returns as they ought to have done the Proptrs have no Rent roll & consequently are not able to give a full account of their arrears due to them for which reason they begin their demands only from the year 1719 inclusive being nine years arrears which may be computed for both provinces at £800 per annum free of all charges in the whole amounting to
7200.0.0
Fines Set and collected in Governor Nicholsons time which belong of right to the Proptrs and they are informed now are or lately were in the hands of Messrs Goden and Consiliere of South Carolina
500.—.—
The tenths upon Mines proposed to be wrought of which a Sample of the oare was sent over, they value at
1000.—.—
The tenths reserved upon the whale fishery in North Carolina granted four years ago which according to the Account received must have been considerable valued for the four years at
800.—.—
£9500.—.—

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AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL CLAIMS UPON THE PROPRIETORS NOT YET ADJUSTED
To the Crown for the quit rent reserved by the Charter of Carolina about
300.—.—
To the Secretary for his Arrears & disbursemts
1039.7.1
To the Clerks
165.—.—
To several Sollicitors Attorneys & Agents Council fees, fees in the several offices and other disbursements and for their trouble and pains for more than nine years
620.—.—
To Judge Trot his Salary for two years
200.—.—
To Mr Craven mony advanced for the public Service
200.—.—
To ditto a present ordered by the proptrs upon his not returning to the Government in consideration of his good services during the time he served as Governor of South Carolina in defending the province and Repulsing the Indians
1000.—.—
To Mr Johnson for arrears of Salary after the people refused to pay their quit rents
400.—.—
To house rent where an Office was kept
400.—.—
To Extraordinary Charges and Gratifications
500.—.—
4827.7.1
Signed
BEAUFORT
CRAVEN
JA BERTIE
HEN BERTIE
J COLLETON
ARCH HUTCHESON

N. B.

There have been no account setled between the Proptrs and their Receivers for above ten years before the year 1719 from whence they now date the Estimate of their Arrears and it is adjudged if those those Accounts were regularly adjusted, there would be at least £6000 more due to the Proptrs

It will also be necessary to observe that about the sum of £10000 sterling per ann is raised in South Carolina by dutys upon land Negroes and other Commoditys appropriated for defraying the Expence of the Goverment which does not regularly amount to half that sum so that if it were duly collected and applyd it would not only supply what is necessary for the support of the Goverment but also afford an overplus for the general Improvement of the province