Reprefentation and Petitioil 
 
 OF THE 
 
 COVNCIL-GENER.AL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 3nstan»dSlfritan 
 
 COMPANY 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 PARLIAMENT 
 
 Edinburgh, Printed in the Year ijqoI 
 
TTT 
 
 To His Grace His Majefty's 
 HighCommiffioner, and the 
 Right Honourable the Eftatcs 
 of Parliament. 
 
 The humble Reprefentation 
 and ^Petition of the Council- 
 General of the Company of 
 Scotland, Trading to A- 
 frica and the Indies. 
 
 May it plcafe your Grace, 
 
 and Right Honourable E/latet , 
 
 T is evident by the whole Strain of Three fe- 
 R veral Ads of Parliament, together with His 
 g Majeftv £ s Letters Patent under the Great 
 JL Seal of this Kngdom, in favours of the Laid 
 Company, That the Wifdom of the King and 
 Right Honourable Eftates did intend .that all fuch 
 Advantages as might arife by the eftablilhing of 
 fuch a Company, Ihould be of as univerfallv a 
 National Concern as poffible ; And in order there¬ 
 unto,were pleafed to endow it with large Privi- 
 ledges aud Immunities, futeable to the Circum¬ 
 stances of an Jnfant-Company, and the Great- 
 nefs of its Defigns : And left that it Ihould fail 
 A 2 in 
 
in the Execution, For want of a fufficient Stock tq 
 carry on fuch an Undertaking, all imaginable 
 Parliamentary Encouragement was given to Per- 
 fons of all Ranks, Ages and Sexes, both within 
 and without the Kingdom, whether Natives or 
 Foreigners, to become Partners and Adventurers 
 in the Joint-Stock of the faid Company, as is fin- 
 gularly manifeft by the 43d. Aft of the jth Seffion 
 pf this current Parliament, Ipecially calculated 
 for that end only. 
 
 Upon the publick Faith of having due Prote¬ 
 ction in the enjoyment of thefe unqueftionabie 
 Priviledges and Immunities, as having received 
 their Sanction from His Majeftv, and the unani¬ 
 mous Suffrage of the Great Council of the N ation 
 as afarefaid, many Perfons of all Ranks and De¬ 
 grees were thereby induced to become Adventu¬ 
 rers in the Joint-Stock of our faid Company, in 
 fo much that- in a very fhort time, a much more 
 confiderab.le Stock was fubfctib’d for within this 
 Kingdom, than was ever before fo much as pro¬ 
 pos'd here upon any Projeft whatfoever, lince 
 we were a Nation. 
 
 Being thus entred into a Society, We and our 
 Conftituents have purfuant to the intentions of 
 the Afts of Parliament and Letters Patent above- 
 niention'd, with much care and trouble,and a 
 great Expenfe of Treafure, after having ftiuggled 
 with many unexpected Obftruftions and Diihcul- 
 ties/etlqd a Plantation, by the Name of Caledonia, 
 in one of the rooft Healthful, Fruitful, natural¬ 
 ly impregnable, and every way valuable Places 
 in all America,^ is univerfslly acknowledged by 
 all Perfons pf Experience in fuch Matters, as well 
 by tbs General Confent of fuch as have been 
 .. there; 
 
there:And as a manifeftproof thereof tho f ourfaid 
 Plantation be fetled moft ftriCflv in the terms of 
 the Adis of Parliament and Letters patent above¬ 
 men tioned^ vet it has raifed the Jealoufy ofiome, 
 and Envy of others., of the moft knowing and 
 confiderable Trading Nations in Europe. 
 
 But,to our and the Nations great S'urprife, and 
 ineftimable Lofs, while we were ufing all ordina¬ 
 ry means, and big with the hopes of riveting that 
 Settlement upon a lafting Foundation, fiich was 
 the further continued Chain of unexpected Ob- 
 ftruCtions and moll unaccountable Mai- treatments 
 that we met with, by Proclamations of a very 
 ftrange Nature, and otherwife, that the repeated 
 Misfortunes following thereupon, put us under 
 an indifpenfible Necefitty of humbly petitioning 
 His Majeftv for allowing the Parliament to meet 
 at the day appointed in November laftj in full 
 confidence and Expectation of having the moft 
 natural and cordial Alliftance from thofe who 
 firft eftablilhed our Company and promifed it 
 Protection ,• efpecially lince all our other Appli¬ 
 cations have hitherto proved ineffectual: But a 
 meeting of the Eftates in Parliament at that time 
 not quadrating ( it wouldfeem ) with His Ma- 
 jeftv's other Affairs, a very considerable Body of 
 the Nobiiitv, Gentry, and BurgelTes of this King¬ 
 dom, thought fit, in a molt dutiful and humble 
 manner, by their late Addrels, to reprefent to 
 His Majefty, how deeply they were afieCted with 
 the Nations concern in our Company's repeated 
 Misfortunes, and therefoie hurnbiv Petitioned 
 for the fitting of this Parliament as foon as conve¬ 
 niently might be. And the King having beep 
 moft gracioufly pleufed to order the Meeting of 
 tlye 
 
( b) 
 
 the Right Honourable Effaces now in Parliament, 
 We think our Pelves in all duty bound to give 
 His Grace His Ma jelly’s High Commiffioner 
 and the Right Honourable the Eftates, a Ihort 
 and naked Narrative of the feveral Obfrrufiions, 
 and Misfortunes that vve have been all along 
 forc’d to grapple with in the profecution of our 
 Company’s Defigns, to the end that the g cat 
 Council of the Nation, having a perfect \ sew 
 and full Knowledge of thefe Difticulties which 
 we now Labour under, may be the better able to 
 to judge how to app'.v a Remedy. 
 
 The firft attempt for llrcngthning our Com¬ 
 pany's Ir.tereft and Stock was at London, where a 
 Subfcription of gcocoo tterl. was procured in 
 Nine days time, without fo much as a pubiick 
 Advertisement, and many knowing Merchants 
 were fo far convinc’d of the many Advantages 
 that might probably arife from fuch a Confiituti- 
 on, that they lignified their willingnds to be 
 concerned for Triple the Sum, if allowed : But 
 not only did the Parliament of England by their 
 Addrefs to His Majefty of the 13th of December 
 1697. and otherways, renderrhat Subfcription 
 ineffectual, but the Houfe of Commons did alia 
 appoint a Committee, to examine what Methods 
 lucre taken for obtaining the Ail of Parliament, by 
 which »ur jafd Company is tfablijlied, mho mere ike 
 Promoters atidAdvifers thereof j and did afterwards 
 impeach the Nominees in die faid Aft of Parlia¬ 
 ment,- porwithftanding the abfolute Indepen* 
 deucy of this Kingdom: 
 
 . Yet after ail this Dilcouragement, we went on 
 with our Spbfciiptipns at home, and made our 
 next Effort for flrengthning thereof beyond Sea, 
 both 
 
both in Holland and Hamburgh : In the firft of 
 which peaces many eminent Merchants declared 
 their poficive inclinations to be very confiderablv 
 interefted with us, and gave fome fignal Proofs 
 thereof, till they were made to underftand by 
 Threatnings andother Infinuations, that a Higher 
 Power would make them atleaft very uneafy, if 
 they perfifted any further in their Refolutions of 
 being concerned with our Company. . 
 
 And at Hamburgh, where we had the mod pro- 
 mifing Hopes of foreign Aflidance, the Commtrcti 
 or Merchant-Company, entred into Contract 
 with our Company c s Deputees, to joyn at lead 
 200000 l. Sterl: toour Company's Stock,- but to 
 our great Aftonifhment. His Majefty of Great Brit¬ 
 tains Minifters there, did, under pretence of fpe- 
 cial Warrant from »heKing,put afull flop there¬ 
 to, by giving in A Memorial to the Burgo~Ma/lers& 
 Gentlemen-Councellours ofthatCity wholly dif-owning the 
 Authority of the Acts of Parliament, and Letters Patent 
 above-mention'd,and intimatingthat HisMajefty would 
 regard their entring into Treaties with our Company as 
 an Affront to His Royal Authority, and that he would 
 not fail to refent it, as having neither Credential Let¬ 
 ters,nor being any otherways Authorized by HisMajeJly. 
 
 Upon notice whereof, we did in all humble 
 Ducv Addrefs His Majefty in June 1697, for Re¬ 
 el refs of that open and bold Encroachment, upon 
 not only out, but alfo the Nations Rights, in its 
 mod fundamental Conditution, by endeavouring 
 to fubveit the Independency of its Parliamentary 
 Laws, exprefly contrary to the Law of Nations: 
 AH which His Majefty by His Royal Letter from 
 Flanders in July 1697, Promijed to take into Con fede¬ 
 ration,as fosn as it would return into England,^ that in 
 the 
 
——■—~ 
 the mean time,His Majefly would giveQrders in HtsMU 
 nijlers at Hamburgh,»<>; to cbftuSour Lot- p. vyin the 
 prosecution ofitsTrade with the Inhabitants of that City, 
 In thefull Confidence of His Majefiy : s Royal 
 Promife, we thought our feives fecure, and cook 
 our Meafures accordingly, till to our further fur- 
 prize, we found byfeveral Inftances, that HisMa- 
 Jefty's faidMinifters were as wickedly bent againft 
 us as ever, and ftill'denying that they had got any 
 fuchOrders from His Majeftv: whereupon iheDi- 
 re&ors of our Company, did, by their Letter of 
 the 28 of September 1697, expoftulate in the firft 
 place,with both thethenSecrecaries ofState.about 
 that further Dif-appointment, but having ftill no 
 Redrefs therein,we did in moft humbieand dutiful 
 Manner,by ourfecond Addrefs-of the izd. day of 
 December 1697. lay the whole Matter again before 
 His Majeftv, And did likewife,at the fame time, 
 not only humbly Reprefent the Premiftes to His 
 Majefty c s'mofthonourablePrivy-Council,together 
 with the train ofill Conferences that muft necef- 
 farly attend fuch Treatment, if not prevented by 
 an early Redrefs ,• but wrote aifo feparatly to 
 both the Secretaries of State, and fuch other 
 Noble Perfonsotthe Government, as happen'd 
 to be then at London , To ufetheir Joint-Intereft, 
 for procuring Juftice* in a Matter of fuch Univer- 
 fal Concern to theHonour, Intereft, and Indepen¬ 
 dency of the whole Kingdom. 
 
 All the Anfwer we obtain'd, was by a Letter 
 of the 17 th. of January 1698, from both the Secre¬ 
 taries of State; That the King [aid, He had already 
 given Orders to His Rejident at Hamburgh in that 
 Matter , conform to His Royal Letter from Flanders, in 
 July 1697, which Wat then communicated to the Com- 
 
 ‘PW ... BX 
 
“ „ v y > 
 
 By which Anfwer, together with what repeat¬ 
 ed Advices we had at the fame time from Ham¬ 
 burgh > that the Englifli Miniffers there, had ftili 
 pofitively difowned their havinggotany fuch Or- 
 ders, we were put outofal] Hopes of having any, 
 Redrefs, until we /hould have anOppertunitv of 
 laving the whole Matter before a Meeting of the 
 Eftates of Parliament. 
 
 But in the mean time we proceeded, with all 
 the Strength we had (tho’ extreme^ weakned by 
 theTreatment above-narrated ) to make the belt 
 Preparations we could ( confidering the Scarcity 
 of thefe Years jf for fitting out an Equipage of 
 Ships, Men, Provifions, and other Neceliaries, 
 for fettling a Plantation in America, in the Terms 
 of the Ads of Parliament, and Letters Patent a- 
 bove-mention’d : And its evident by the very 
 Conftitutions of the Colony, that they were cah 
 Culated more for the general Advantage of the 
 Nation and Pofterity, than for the paiticularand 
 immediat Benefit of the Adventurers. 
 
 And the Parliament happening to meet the ve¬ 
 ry next Day after our Ships had fail’d, we did, 
 by our Humble Petition of the zid. of July 1698, 
 Reprefent to liis Grace, His Majefties then High 
 Commiffioner, and the Right Honourable Ellates 
 then affembled in Parliament, the Treatment 
 Which our Company met with at London and Ham¬ 
 burgh as aforefaid, the great Prejudices which we 
 had fuftain’d thereby, and the many further In- 
 conveniencies and evil Confequences that muft 
 hecelfarly have followed thereupon, if, upon a- 
 hy Account whacfoever, the Parliament /hould 
 happen to negied the taking immediat Cogni¬ 
 zance of fuch Ufage. 
 
 B A ni 
 
And the Parliament having thereupon, by their 
 Unanimous Add refs of the <jtb. of Hugufl 1698, 
 to His Majeftv, thought fit to manifeft their own, 
 ■and the whole Nations Concern in that Matter, earncfi- 
 ly entreating, and modi cjjurcdly expending, That His 
 Majefly would, in His Royal WifdeM, take fuch Mea¬ 
 sures, as might effe&ually vindicat the Undoubted Rights 
 and Pfiviled'ges of the [aid Company, and fuppert the 
 Credit and Interejl thereof ; And tbeParliamentlike- 
 wife, by the fame Add refs, recommending the Con¬ 
 cerns of the faid Company to feme [fecial Marks of His 
 Majefiits Royal Favour, as that Branch of theTrade of 
 ibis Kingdom, in which they, and the Nation they re- 
 frefented, had a more peculiar Interefi; The Court of 
 Directors of our Company were thereby encou¬ 
 rag'd to renew their Application to His Majefty, 
 with relation to the Memorial given in by His 
 Minifters to the Senate of Hamburgh , (the fame 
 being fpecially mention’d in the Parliaments Ad- 
 drefs: ) And in Confideration of the Damnages 
 fuftain'd by the Company, through Means of 
 that Memorial, the Directors humbly Petition'd, 
 That His Majefty would be pleafed, for their 
 Encouragement at that time, as i Gracious Mark 
 of His Royal Favour, to bellow upon them the 
 two fmalleft of the Frigots, then (and to this 
 Hour ) lying ufelefs in Bruniifland Harbour. 
 
 But our Company having no manner of An¬ 
 swer to either of thefe, and being affined by feve- 
 ral Letters from Hamburgh, That both the Er.glijh 
 Minifters there, had politively denyed their ha¬ 
 ving received any fuch Orders, as were long be¬ 
 fore promifed, and declared to have been given, 
 with relation to that Memorial, the Court ofDi- 
 re&OFs of ear Company did, by their Letter of 
 the 
 
the zojth. of November 1698, tranfinit Copies pf 
 the Hid Letters to the Vil'count of Seafeld, then 
 foie Secretary of Stare, and entreated his Lord- 
 fhip, to procure fome t’peedy and effectual Anfwer 
 from His Majefly to the Contents of both that 
 Letter, and their former Petition. 
 
 TheSecretary, by his Letter of the xyh. of Df- 
 ember 1698, returned for Anfwer, That hewculd 
 take thefirfi convenient Opportunity he could have, to 
 reprefent that Matter to the King, but that he could not 
 expect to have it for fame time , becaufe His Majtfy 
 was then very much imployed in the affairs of His 
 Engliih Parliament. 
 
 4 We thereupon waited a full Month, in expedi¬ 
 tion of fome further Anfwer, but getting none, 
 our Court of DireSFors did, by aLetcerofthei;n&. 
 of January 1699, put the Secretary again in mind 
 of our laid Petition of the preceeding Augufi-, and 
 Letter of the 29^. of November. 
 
 TheSecretary, by his Letter of the rth. of Fe- 
 hruary 1699, fignified, That he hadprejentedour Com¬ 
 pany's Petition to His Majefly, and was commanded to 
 let us know, that there being Accounts, that the Ship 
 belonging to the Company were arriv'd upon the Ccafi of 
 America, and the particular Dejign not being commu¬ 
 nicated to His Majefly, Hi therefore delayed to give any 
 Anfwer, until he fhould receive certain Information pf 
 their Settlement. 
 
 Tho c we could not but be furpiiz'd, to find all 
 our former Addreffes and Petitions, about Mat- 
 tersof fuch weighty Concern, as are above-nar¬ 
 rated, Anfwered, after fo long Delay, only with 
 a feeming Charge, for not having communicated 
 to His Majefly a thing that was never ip the leaft 
 demanded of us, by either the King, Parliament, 
 B 2 Privp 
 
Privy Council, or Mmifters of State, we being 
 limited to fettle in the Terms of the A6ls of Par¬ 
 liament, as we fhould be Anfwerable: Yet upon 
 the very firft Advice we had of our Colony c s 
 Settlement in Caledonia, we, by our Letters of the 
 31 ft. of March , and i/?.of Apil 1699, gave a ve¬ 
 ry full and dutiful Account thereof to His Maje- 
 fty, and to both the Secretaries of State, together 
 with an Account of the French Deiigns thereabouts, 
 and of what Import our fuid Settlement (if duly 
 protected ) might prove to the Intereft and Se¬ 
 curity of all His Majefties Dominions, and refer¬ 
 red the fame, together with the Contents of our 
 former Petitions, to His Majefties Royal Conli- 
 deration. 
 
 About this time it was, That His Majefty was 
 pleafed to call the Prefident of the Seffion, and 
 the Advocat to Court, to the end ( as we under- 
 itood ) that they, jointly with both the Secreta¬ 
 ries of State, might, in a Conference with feve- 
 ral of the Englijh Minifters, fatisfy His Majefty, 
 as to the Legality cf our Company's Settlement: 
 Which ( by all thap ever we’could learn ) was 
 then ( and otlierways fince that time ) made clear 
 beyond all manner of Difpute. 
 
 But while, in the mean time, we were pawn¬ 
 ing even our own particular Credits, for fending 
 the needful Supplies of Ships, Men, Provilions, 
 Arms, Ammunition, and other Neceflaries, for 
 fecuring fo valuable a Settlement to this Nation,! 
 we were aftonilhed to have Advice, That, by Or-j 
 ders from England, in January 1699, Proclama-i 
 tions had been emitted, in the Months of A-\ 
 fril and May, over all His Majefties Plantations! 
 and Territories in America, flriclly Intercommu- 
 
ning our Colonv, under very fevere Penalties to 
 be inflicted on tbeContraveenersof thefe Procla¬ 
 mations, in regard that His Maj<fty (as thefe Pro¬ 
 clamations narrate ) was unacquainted with the In¬ 
 tentions and Defigns of the. .Scots fettling at Darien. 
 
 As we humbly confidered thefe Proclamations 
 to be fuch, as were never before publilhed in 
 thofe parts, againft any other People upon Earth, 
 and of fo barbarous a Nature, as we thought, no 
 Good Chriftians would put in Execution, even 
 againft Infidels ; So finding our felves unqueftio- 
 nably warranted by allLawsHumane and Divine, 
 we perfilted .in our Endeavours for maintaining 
 that Settlement, as hoping, that, through means 
 thereof, this Nation might, in time, have an 
 Opportunity of railing it felf above the open 
 Contempt, Reproach and Infults of its unkind 
 Neighbours, and of propagating the Gofpel a- 
 mongft the Ignorant good Natur'd Indians of 
 thofe parts. 
 
 Eut before our Recruits could poffibly arrive 
 at Caledonia, our Colony got certain Accounts of 
 thefe Proclamations ,• and finding at the fame 
 time, the fad Effects thereof, by being denied any 
 the leaft Help, either for Goods or Money, ac 
 Jamaica , from whence they had former.y Sup¬ 
 plies ,• And that in the Proclamation iflued by 
 Sir William Beflon , Governour of that lfiand, he 
 had politivelv declared, That by their Settlement in 
 Darien, they had a&ually broken the Peace entred into 
 ivithHis Majesties ssllyes (which they believed he 
 durft not venture to have done wichoutafufficient 
 Warrant) And finding themfelves thereby to be 
 of confequencc declared Pirates, without any 
 previous Summons or blearing, contrary to-the 
 , . . . Cuitynjs',. 
 
Cuftoms and common Ufage of allNations, even 
 in the cafe of teal Piracy, and founding a Belief, 
 at the fame time, on the Trearment which t wy 
 knew our Company had formerly met with in 
 Europe , without being Redrefs'd therein, that we 
 were notin a Condition either tofupply or pro¬ 
 tect them, they unhappily took the Alarm, un¬ 
 der fuch a General Confternation, as deveited 
 them not only of all manner of patience to ftrug- 
 gle with any Inconveniences they lay under at 
 the time, butalfoofall manner of prudence, in 
 taking any reasonable Meafur.es either for their 
 own Security, or for our Company’s interelt. 
 In themidft- of which Confufion thcfe of them 
 who had any bad Defigns ("as we could not well 
 fuppofefuch aNumber to be free of fome) made 
 ufeofthefe Proclamations as handles, by which 
 to perpetrate their own feveral ends, and eaftly 
 perfwaded all the reft to leave the Settlement: 
 Which they unadvifedlv did the 2cth of JutsehW; 
 And by that means not only have the Ships, Men 
 & Goods,which were there at that time,been cx r 
 pofed to the Arbitrary will of thofe to whom the 
 Execution of thofe Proclamations was given in 
 Charge, but even all our fubfequent Meafures 
 brougnt into inevitable diforder. 
 
 Upon Information of all which, we did, by our 
 humble Petition to His Majefty of the 19th of 
 OBober 1699, in all humility and earneftnefs, 
 beg, Thai His Mayfly would in His Fatherly care for 
 the good of our Company in particular , and of the Na¬ 
 tion in General, be gracuufly pltafed to give Jpecial 
 Teflmonjies ofhisMajeBys Royal ProtcBicn to our Com¬ 
 pany at that JunBure, and particularly to take ojf' the 
 Force and efftB of thofe Proclamations which have been 
 fo prejudicial to us, ffld to ftgnify hit Royal phajure to 
 .be 
 
the Govemours of hit "Plantations in America, that otir 
 Colony might bofiipplied in the common and ordinary way 
 of Commerce as thole of other Nations are • Arid that in 
 the mean time His Majefty would be gracioujly pleajed 
 to allow the E(bates of Parliament to meet at the day dp* 
 pointed in November la(l, or as foon as conveniently 
 could be , to the end that their Advice and, Ajf[lance 
 might be had in (neb a weighty and General Concern. 
 
 We like wife,by our humble Addrefs to His Ma- 
 jefty's mofr Honourable Privy Council of th§ 
 2cth of OBober i699,Reprefented what We thought 
 in duty and prudence necelfary, with relation to 
 the Contents of our faid Petition to his MajeftV, 
 Humbly ref erring the whole to their Lordfhips nto(l Jeri - 
 ous confideration, and praying that they Would be plea - 
 fed to do us all the good Offices with His Mayefly that 
 they : d think mvfl expedient for fupp»rtivg our Company 
 andC.olonys Interest' and to give him an account of oiit 
 Company s hard Circumfiances, arid how much the Ho* 
 hour and Interefl of the Nation ffiod concerts dtherein. 
 
 Hi« Mdjefty was gracioufly pleafed, by Ht$ 
 Ro\a! Letter to us of the id, of November 1699, 
 to declare that, He did very much regret the Left 
 which theKingdom & theCompany bad lately fu(lain‘a, 
 That he would upon all ectajons proteSt and encourage 
 the Ttade of the Nation , That he would take care ' that 
 . His Subjeffs of this Kingdom fmldhave the Janie free¬ 
 dom of Trade and Commerce with his Englifh Plants- 
 tivnsthat everthey had formerly, and that he would order 
 the Parliament to meet t when he'd judge that the Good 
 of the Nation Would require it. 
 
 But, in lomelhort time thereafter,while we wer* 
 folacingourfelveswithcheHopes ofhaving HisMa- 
 jefty’sprote&ionjnot oniv as aCompany eftablilh- 
 ed,by His Royal Authority, with,the Advice and 
 Content of Parliament, but, aifo as Snbje<as,tnak- 
 
■ V t V. ra J - 
 
 ing allthePreparations we could,to fend the need” 
 ful Supplies and Advices to thole who were laft 
 fent for Repofte fling the fame Settlement: We 
 were further aftonilhed to have Advices that, by 
 fecond Orders from England, another Fleece of 
 Proclamations had been emitted over all the En- 
 glijh Plantations in America, particularly on the 
 5th. of September laft in 'Barbados, &c. And that in 
 complyance with the intent ofthefe Proclamati¬ 
 ons, Our People that went along with the Rifmg- 
 Sun, were in November laft, pofitivelv denyed 
 Wood and Water at Monferat, a Priviledge never 
 before denyed to any other Nation : And by a 
 Letter of the 29th. of January laft from the Com¬ 
 mander of another of ourCompany f s Ships,we are 
 affured that they were pofitivelv denyed Ancho¬ 
 ring at St. Cbriftophers by the Governour Colonel 
 Norm,who out of his ownMouth declared to the 
 Commander of our faid Ship, That he did it by 
 new Orders which he had received about a Month 
 before > altho at the fame time two Dutch Ships 
 were then Watering there j which we have lince 
 confirmed to us by Letters from Mr. Daniel 
 Mackay, one of the Councellours of our Colony, 
 dated at Port-Royal in Jamaica the 13 th. February 
 laft *- By which Letters, he info; ms us likewise, 
 That whenhe waited upon the Governour of that 
 Ifland, concerning our Company c s Ship che St. 
 Andrew lying in that Harbour, The Governour 
 declared to him, That tho £ the faid Ship were 
 fitted for going to Sea, he would not futfer her to 
 go,without a lpecial Order from England for that 
 Effedfc. 
 
 We likewife humbly beg leave to inform Your 
 Grace, and Right Honourable .Eftates, That a- 
 
mongfi: our Company’s many other Lojics and 
 Mif fortunes, a Ship called the Dolphin, ladned 
 with a valuableC:rgo,belonging to ourCompany, 
 ftruck Unfortunatly on a Rock, by which fhe 
 fprung a Lake, and being forc’d to run afhokr 
 under the Walls of Carthagena , to efcape Ship- 
 wrack, the faid Ship and Goods were bv the' 
 Spaniards ( His Majefty f s Allies ) violently feized 
 and difpofed of as Prize, and the Men alfo to the 
 Number of 50 and a Boy, detainfo,and madeclofe 
 Prifoners, not only contrary to the Law of Na¬ 
 tions, ( we being then in profound Peace with, 
 them ) but alfo contrary to the exprefs Terms of 
 the 10. and ir. Articles of the Treaty concluded 
 at Madrid the ~ Day of July 1670, between the 
 Crowns of Great Brittain and Spain. 
 
 By our dutiful Add refs of the 4th. of December 
 1699, we humbly Petition'd His Majefty, Thai 
 He would be gracioufly pleajed to take thefe Proceedings^ 
 of the Spaniards into His Royal Confederation fo as that 
 fpeedy and effectual Meafures might be taken for the Re¬ 
 dr efi of thefe Damages , and the freedom of thefe difereffed 
 Vrifoners. 
 
 In Anfwerto which,His Majefty was gradoufly 
 pleafed, by His Royal Letter of the loth, of Janu¬ 
 ary laft, to hgnify, That He was refolved in the 
 Terms of the Treaties to demand from the King of Spain, 
 that thefe Prifoners fiiould-be fet at Liberty. 
 
 Yet fome of the moft confidcrable of thefe 
 Prifoners being tranfported above half a Year 
 ago to Old Spain; We have freqiient Advices 
 from them by Letters, datedin CWit^Prifon, That 
 they and all the Crew have been moftBarbarouffo 
 iufed, and that they tlvemfelves are ltiil kept clofe 
 prifoners, under very fevere. Treatment, Copies 
 1 . G of 
 
pf which Letters we have fomeMomhs ago tranf- 
 tnitted to the Secretaries of State. 
 
 By all which, it cannot but evidently appear 
 to Your Grace and Right Honourable ..Eftaces, 
 that tho c we have all along us f d our beif Endea¬ 
 vours to wreftle through thefe almoft unfurmount- 
 able Difficulties, and exerted even our utftroft ef¬ 
 forts for retrieving ourLofles,as much as poffible, 
 by endeavouring to repoflefsand mantain fo valu¬ 
 able a Settlement • And tho* we have certain 
 Advice of its being Repoflefs’d by our People, 
 and that we have taken all imaginable Meafures 
 for their prefent Supply : Yet we have too juft 
 ground to be fully perfwaded. That unlefs the 
 King and HighCourt of Parliament, do fpeedily 
 Support, Protect, and Aftiftus, in the Profecution 
 of pur Company^ lawful Defigns, that all our 
 Pali, Prefent, and Future Endeavours muft, to 
 the Nations indelible Reproach andDiflionour; as 
 yvell as to its and the Company‘s unfpeakable and 
 irreparable JLofs, prove unavoidably abortive. 
 
 May it therefore pleafe Tour Grace and 
 Right Honourable Efates, to take the 
 feveral Matters of f 'aft above-mentioned, 
 into your mof ferious Consideration ; To 
 Vindicate Support , and Protett us in the 
 Enjoyment of our lawful Priviledges , 
 loth as a Company, and as Subjects of 
 this free and independent Kingdom, to. 
 take fuch Meafures, asTou (in Tour pro¬ 
 found Wifdom ) may judge mofi Effectual, 
 for repairing the many Damages we have 
 
already fuflai/d, and for djjifting us in^ 
 the further Profecutioa of our Company's 
 lawful Deftgns; but more efpecially , for 
 the mantainance of our juft Right and' 
 Title to the Settlement of CALEDONIA, 
 and the Enjoyment offuch Advantages as 
 (if My Protetted ) may probably arife 
 thereby. 
 
 Sign’d at Edinburgh the i^.Day 
 of May , x 700. In Name, Pre¬ 
 fence, and by Warrant of the 
 faid Council-General by. 
 
 MARISCHALL l.f.Q.G ,