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sd T. C. . . binds . . to loadin the sd boat at the sd. lyes dayes. pay to A. L. . . sex shilling eight pennies Scots for fraught of ilk boll compting fyve score to the hundreth and that wtin 24 hours of livering yrof at Invernes . . with towage, rowadge, anchoradge, pilotadge and oyr dues. also. . ane half boll. . meall and three gallons of ale to the seamen ffourtie shillings ilk day boat. . detained after both parties. . for performance under failzie of

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fourty punds. [No. 470, 1747.-Letter, addressee wanting.] Dear Sir . . . thank you for . . puting in my way a beter bargain. . and for acquainting me that you have given up the management with Assint, and consequently I give up that fishing unless I get it at 30 sh. p. barl. . . if I were not in the Salmon Trade at present I woud not medle with it scarce at any price. I will write to my friend the Baron about it. I have had my thoughts longe agoe concerning a Virginia Trade in our parts, and I am sure ane anual ship from thence and keeping store in that countrey.. woud turn to accts to the undertakers and woud be a general benefit . . as wee have several sorts of manufactor that coud be exported. . I found that my Townsmen () no genius to be adventurers ( ) such a trade . . . I woud be verie glade of having you as a partner. . . . Had Mackay & Co. steer'd steadie they were once in the true chanel of making money. The news at present is that the Dutch are verie backward, and it is the general opinion that Frasers and S-cry Muray will make an end of unfortunat L. Lovat. I am Andrew Monro. [He was third son of Hector Munro, IV. of Novar, went into business in Inverness, where he became a Bailie, and, as his letters to be quoted will show, a veritable captain of industry. His daughter married Provost Mackintosh.

No. 471, 1748.-Letter to W. Baillie, dated] Fortrose 24th June, 6 o'clock in the morning. Dear Sir.. Your express came to me to Ardnasire, but like a wise goose left your letter at Inverness . . . meal I bought from Inverchasley was at 10d per stone. . . Mr Brebner in Portsoy shipt 1000 bolls oatmeal. . which was sent for the new roads that are a-making in Argylshire, and he bought every peck of it at 5 and 5 merks per boll of 8 stones. As I have no harn . . to make bags of, and the Norwegian harvest woud be nigh at hand before I coud have any oatmeal at mercat I do not intend to export any. . I have no use for John Baillie's ship, he is too small for the timber trade as are all the ships in this firth. . . . . Capt. Urquhart sent me a sample of his bear at £5 Candlemas payment. . take pairt of the timber in payt. . . . If I can prevail with John Reid to laye the ship on the sands of Nigg. . You now have a chance to get a peny by the.. trade I sent Cadbolls bear to Hamburg. The ship I freighted was bound to be in

Cromartie road in March but . . he was lockt up in Fraserburgh wt Easterly winds. . did not get up till the end of Aprile.. I lose £20 on that cargoe, had he arrived 20 days earlier I should have gained £20. If I can get the retour of a ship to carie your bark I shall engadge her

Andrew Munro. [In an undated paper, Geo. Fraser, Invergordon, writes to Baillie to send annually butter to Fraserburgh for Lord Strichen.

No. 472, 1748.-Letter to same.] Inverness, 14th Jary. Dear Sir, Wee.. believe that Donald Edies Ship and Cargoe will be condemned and made prize of, on account of the late Placarts published in Holland against the French. . a declaration of Warr. . . Cargoe is verie valuable circa £6000 Stg. . . will be sold in Noroway verie cheap. Therfor wee have resolved that Gilbert Barkly shall step over to Noroway to buy. . such part. . as will suit this mercat, and .. wee invite you to be one-third concerned, and to execute this project it's proper to freight John Baillie's brigg and to load her with bear.. wee will allow £55 freight and port charges. We understand Mr Gorrie has some twoyear-old bear that looks weel to the eye which may come cheap As the Norwegians are not the nicest people with respect to the quality of grain if we cannot hitt it with Mr Gorrie wee can load the ship with our own; to which you may add of yours. If this project should misgive, the vesel can goe to Bergen and load salt. . which may sell well here as there is a scarcity of . . things here which cannot be supplyd from Holland as commerce twixt Holland and France is now shutt up. . . It will be necessary to have a credit lodg'd in Amsterdam for Barkly which Andrew Monro undertakes to do . . . Wee recommend to you to let non know of what wee have now mentioned . . . Wee are . . your obd. hum. servts. Andrew Monro. [So Andrew traded as a company. On the same subject:

No. 473, 1748.-Letter to Baillie, dated] Inverness 14th Jany. Dear Sir.. I delivered Baillie Fraser your £120 . . The enclosed is from. . Mr Andrew Monro . . If the ship and cargoe be not condemned till such time as I Reatch that place there most be extrodinary grate Bargans had . . particularly Rum of which there is a large quantity aboard that ship and sundry other goods much in demmand at this place. Notes to insist for £60 freight and port charges for the ship, it will be proper you pitch on a place where wee three should meet in order to concert maters befor the ship saills, as also that the intended expedition should be keep'd a dead secret in case others should step in and raise the Prices. . . . Gilbt Barkly.

[No. 474, 1751.-Same to same.] Cromarty 16th May 1751. Dr Sir... I hade in Vew to weat of you [wait or call on]. but have been keepd Busey. . . I loock for a ship every

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moment wt 600 bolls of salt. If you'l incline to have any . . cann have it Varie Resonablie. There is no Lemmons in Toune [i.e. Inverness] but the ship I expect hase some chists. Findrasie's Brother Leslie of Findrassie, in Morayshire] was yeisterday at Eathie and protested against ffindrasy and my brother for not giving posesion of that Tack. My Brother gave for answer he was not legualy warned out Your obligd servt Gilbert Barkly.

[No. 475, 1748.-Letter from same; address wanting.] Cromarty 21st May. Dear Sir, I have a letter just now from Lieut. Sutherland. . that they will have above 80 Recrouts and about Tenn officers which I'm affrayed is a grater number then the ship can carry ... I have Laid in plenty of Provisions &c. for them; the ship most goe to Inverness to take them aboard. . noe recrouts dar be shiped at any port in Scotland Except three, Leith, Aberdeen and Inverness it is the diferent officers that recrouts there

men that pays for there pasage. I therefor wish we was shoure of pointed payment of there pasage or they leve this Cuntry, will you advise me to goe to Inverness and get there Bills on the paymaster. Fealling of this . we may be long enough out of our money .. Gilbert Barkly. [In this case fortunately the sequel occurs in

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No. 476, N.D., but must be as above, 1748.-] A genuin acet of what pass'd twixt ye Earl of Drumlanrig's officers and the owners and master of the John and David of Cromarty. Captain Barbour contracted with thm to carry over to any convenient port of Holland a certan number of Recruits. not under 70 . . to pay 17s 6d each man for 11 days, and 5d per day while they continued on board thereafter. Capn B. embarked on 26th May O.S., 66 Recruits who received none of the Ship's provisions till the 27th, and on . . the 28th 17 with 11 officers and 6 cadets, and . . set sail. But before leaving Inverness. . assured the officers . . full 20 days provisions for the whole passengers. . . advised. . to purchase from Mrs Grant, Inverness, 13 barrells English biskett. . agreed to but afterwards declined tho' he re mained in Toune full two days . . . On the 30th. . gale . . contrary wind. ... returned to Cromarty, and the wind seeming to come fair, the master . . . . set sail. . without least mention of the want of provisions nor had they [officers] the least intimation of scarcity till the 5th of June.. told by the master. . necessity of . . short allowance, which .. continued till their landing at Schevelin () 15th of June, and had it not been ( ) that an English vessell came who sold the master ( ) of bread. consequences might have proven fatal. . . This brought the officers under necessity of hiring a fish boat. . a league off the shoar, at . . 30 guilders .. for carrieing them all

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ashore. The Allowance till 5th June was to each a biskett and dram in the morning, at noon a biskett with

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some cheese or butter, and the same at night. When on short allowance the biskett and dram were discontinued and first meal was a half mutchkin pottage with 2 lb. of butter among 8 men supper a biskett with butter, cheese or small beer . . . . officers provisions came equally short . . . As to the master's allegiance [allegation] of not having command of his own ship, it's manifestly false. [Signed] Capt. Daniel Barbour, Capt. John MacLeod, Capt. Donald Macdonald, Lieut. Dan. MacLeod, Lieut. James Baillie, Lieut. James Sutherland, Lieut. Willm Baillie, Lieut. Ranald McDonald, Lieut. Hugh Mackay, Ens. Daniel Gilchrist, Ens. Ja. Duff.

so low as 7 sh. except I cannot think either of we lose 3 months. . . The

[No. 477, 1749.-Letter, extremely well written and expressed, to Baillie.] Dear Sir. . your favours of the 17th . . offer for the Bear and . . no other Bargain . . send you this express . . . about our victuall, and I hope you will be able to finish with Mr Berkley. I am loath to sell, as it is extreemly good, under £4 10s as severalls in this country have got that price, and none ffreswick 3-year-old bear. Candlemess as a term of payt.. quantity is 440 bolls. If Mr Berkley would send any of the large Cromerty boats for it I could deliver 300 bolls in 2 or 3 days, and the boat coud lye off Forse and Clyness . . and we coud load from both places very well; if he sends a ship to Staxigoe we must get 8 or 10 weather work lay days. I must be acquainted. . . that I may prepare and have it dressed. As to.. Commissions which Mr Berkley wants. . . as I provide my Mother in Liquers. . if he has any good sherry . . send half a hogshead by the ship that come let me know the price of his dealls and trees. . . I hope on tryall Mr Berkley will like our bear. . may come to be fond to take of it again. If he does we certainly will think ourselves bound to take. . for our ffamily . . . and we lye here very near Cromerty and could get . . from thence . . . cause the ship lye of Clyness I believe some

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time hence we could get a ship to go to the Highds wt meal . . advise what . . for the carriage of each boll for I am an outer stranger to fraughts or shipmasters dues. Forse is to be at Brodie . I in my last gave you.. political news. I am reckoned by one side to be very much inter (ested) that I'll make fforse agst his () . . as you'll probably be on these subjects. . tell him freely what you think of his situation wt respect to politicks as I know he has a great defference for your judgement. . If the Lyon [Brodie of Brodie] gets his Touns fforse may chance to get his interest for this County . . . if Freswick gets the seat it might be throw the interest of my uncle and brothers and other ffriends... the country says he'll be neutral, but you know that wont probably please my friends if they promise to be for him. . he should be for them for they'll say gife

gafe makes good friends. . I beg you mayn't let anybody know that ever I wrote on the subject, and if you join in opinion wt me pray talk the matter over wt forse.. that probably some good advantage to his family may be the consequence of his . . taking a right side. . . . Kind coms. to your Lady and family, I am . . . Em. Sutherland. [The paper is gilt-edged, and to many of the words there still adhere glittering particles of fine sand, sprinkled to dry the ink according to the then fashion. Baillie has docketed "Augt. 1749, Ladie Forse." She was Emilia, daughter of John Sinclair, VI. of Ulbster, in Caithness, and wife of Captain John Sutherland of Forse. Three letters of his are found, two referring to the above business. As they are long, and illustrate several subjects, they are divided: No. 478, 1748.-Letter to Baillie, dated] March 16th Can you do me a service in finding me a merchant. . . . for getting off my bear at least.. it's not a bit inferior to any in Sutherland. I try'd the weight. . . 17 stone to the boll. I have 300 B. bear and 400 B. meal and have powers from my mother-in-law to sell 100 B. bear and a like quantity of meal. . . . [For remainder, see after 631. No. 479, 1749.-Letter to Baillie, docketed] Octr. 1749, Capn Sutherland of Forse . . . . Mr Barclay at last sent one of his ships. . at Staxigoe on Thursday late . . . but . . . he has already 500 bolls and it is all weighed and . . on board the boats that carry it to Staxigoe. I never had so much trouble.. his baggs were execrably bad, so much was carried to Staxigoe in boats, and I was obliged to cause my people carry it from the boats to the girnell and turn it out of sacks

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and pack it in casks as he had not baggs sufficient . . . I had so extraordinary trouble that I think myself well entitled to 40 pennies more on the boll . . . a vast quantity of meal has gone this season from Caithness to Norway, none have yielded less than 9s per boll . . . I . . shall stand by your award. . . . [For rest see after No. 819. In a letter of 1751 he says:-] Meal is actually selling in Thurso for £5 ready money, and £6 is offered for Morayshire bear [i.e. Scots money, the 9s and 7s above being sterling]. the ship came for the 1000 Bs. sold to Maclean & Finlay. I ordered Jo. Sutherland to put his meal aboard . . . 300 bolls for your friend ly in my girnel . . .

[No. 480, 1749.-Letter to Baillie from Bailie Somerville of Renfrew.] .. have bought 1700 bolls victual from Lord Rosse am sending two vessels wt 40,000 sclates which please bespeak merchants for, or will not the new garison opposite to Chanonrie want them... North country meal is sold now at Ayrth [near South Alloa] for 8s 6d . . . [No. 481, 1750.-Letter to Baillie, docketed] Decr. 1750, Lord Duffus. Sir, I mett your servant and cart. . in my way to the ferry.. he had got no fruitt . . . a letter from Gilbert

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