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Title: Cunningham, Waddell to Greg, Thomas, 1756
ID5400
CollectionLetterbook of Greg & Cunningham, 1756-1757 [T. Truxes]
Filegc/157
Year1756
SenderCunningham, Waddell
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationmerchant
Sender Religionunknown
OriginNYC, USA
DestinationBelfast, Northern Ireland
RecipientGreg, Thomas
Recipient Gendermale
Relationshipbusiness partners
Source
Archive
Doc. No.
Date
Partial Date
Doc. Type
Logunknown
Word Count1709
Genrebusiness
Note
TranscriptTo Thomas Greg, Belfast 11 October 1756

Dear Sir:
My last was of the 12th & 19th past Via London & by the Packet to
which Please be refered.
I am now favoured with yours of the 21st & 25 June, lst & 9th August
from London. To them you shall have A particular reply.
We must drop thoughts of the Dutch trade for A little. It would be
imprudent at present to touch it.
You are already advised how I bring the the Johnson & Prince of Wales
& their Cargoes to our company accounts. If you should not approve thereof,
let me know, & I shall make it to your satisfaction.
You may depend upon it, I shall always remit you as fast as in my power,
& nothing could give me greater pleasure then if I am able to come up to
your expectations in that way. I have bought about £700 Sterling value in
Cotton for Hyde & Hamilton, about £700 value in Logwood, & about £400
value in Sugar & Coffee for our own account which has reduced my Cash
low bul shall in a short lime remit you as much as I can.
I shiped by Captain Gregory Twelve Tons of Pig Iron freight free, & by
it I lost £17 & payd no Insurance. Mr. Edward Constable has all he can
shiped from Philadelphia of the same sort of Iron (as mine was bought then)
at the same price. [He] pays 10s to 15s per ton freight, Insureance, &
commission, & yet he continues the trade. I think he ought to allow me the
first cost for mine. I beg you'l write him on this subject. Let him know
John McMichael shiped my Iron & that he ships his.
I shall this fall send you account of all our Correspondents, & as we get
new ones, advise you & give you the needfull advice about all bills we draw.
We underwrote but little since the 1st of May, & tho two thirds of our
risks are off. I dont yet know of a Loss & but a small avenge on one
Vessel. We are now on goods by the Four Cantons to Dublin £80 at 10
per Cent; on the Schooner Betsey to St. Kills at 12 per Cent, £100; on the
Brigg Jenny from Jamaica to London at 20 per Cent, £100; on the sloop
Friendship7 from Carolina at 6 per Cent, £50; on the sloop Charming
Nancy to Amsterdam £16 per £100; on the Brig Betsey to Rotterdam at
the London Premium, £100; on the Ship Philadelphia from the Bay of
Hondoras to London £100 at 20 per Cent.
I have setled with Captain Nealson, as is Customary with other Masters,
5 per Cent on freight, but I find Mr. Yzendoorn & he could not agree.
I assure you If what Nealson says is true, which I believe, that we have
been used badly in particular in weighing the Logwood.
I shall as soon as possible recover the Bills returned protested with
the damages of 20 per Cent & remit you.
Pray advise exactly what William McMaster is due you. I shall make
him pay some part when he comes to Town.
Bring the balance of my Irish account in to Brinish at the Current
Exchange & then bring it into Currancy at 827; per Cent, which I think is a
medium. I have not yet had sales of Ihe Mahogany & Rum, I don't doubt your
doing what you can, so shall write you no more on the subject, to recover
my balance from Captain Allen & get Mr. William Greg senior to pay me
something towards his son, & also you'l oblige me to apply again to my
Brother to pay me the balance of his account & let me know his answer.
I assure you the Prince of Wales is under the care of such a prudent
man that there is few like him to be found, & you may depend the
complaints you heard of her is false, or they would have been attended. I
could have sold her at £1,600 when she was here fora Privateer, so great
is her Character.
You may be assured I have been carefull about the Bills remitted you.
I think you got Insureance made on the Johnson very cheap. I ordered
Insureance on our Interest by the Sea Flower, but I find you had not received
that Letter.
I assure you I never shall neglect writing to our Friends, but I cant account for my Letters going to hand. Messrs. Hopes had a full answer to their order for 300 Tons of Logwood which I could not execute.
I have finished the Sales of all the goods of yours came under my
particular care, except the Universal History, which I am affraid wont sell.
The sales are such a Bundle that they would cost too much Postage to send
by this opportunity, but they produce as follows, & the Sales Shall be sent
by first good conveyance, Viz
The goods that remained Of Captain Lyell Cargoe
ditto of Captain Thompsons Cargoe
Proceeds of goods by Captain Onslow
Proceeds of goods by Captain Nealson
Proceeds of goods by Captain Gardner
Proceeds of part of the goods by Captain Martin
Three fourths proceeds of goods by Captain Wilkenson
Proceeds of goods by Captain Stewart
Proceeds of Butter by the Antrim
Half proceeds of Claret by the Lord Russel
brought to your credit 20th September
It will appear to you there is a very large sum due you, which is the case.
But I am now £4.000 in advance for the Partnership, As our outlaying has
been great & what goods we sold, tho it amounts to a very large sum, is
mostly on credit. But I am in hopes in a few Months to make you very satisfactory remittances.
I now mention the sundry goods that I think we shall want next Spring
that you may have proper time to order them from the best parts, viz:
to be shiped at Liverpool
100 Dozens of Mens yarn Stockings from 10s to 14s per
100 Dozens of Mens Worsted Stockings from 14 to 36
10 Dozens of Womens Stockings from 14 to 16 per Dozen
20 Dozens of Mens Brown thread Stockings from 14s to 24
20 ditto of Mens White ditto from 14 to 24
100 Dozens of Mens Shoes at 30 to 36
The Manchester goods I shall order from this as soon as I know how this
fall Sales is like to turn out.
lo be shiped from Bristol
100 Casks of Nails, sorted from 4d to 2s. These must be imported from
the makers or they wont do. One Turston that lives nigh Wolverhampton
is a good Man. There are some Womans shoes we import from Bristol, but
shall order them from this.
from London
200 Peices of lowest Priced Bandannoes
10 ditto of Black China Taffaties
10 ditto of Black English ditto
10 ditto of Coloured ditto
20 ditto of Black Persians
20 ditto of Coloured ditto
30 ditto of Cam brick from 16s to 30s per Peice
200 Peices of Irish Linens from lOd to 20d per yard
20 ditto from 20d to 2/9 per yard
200 Peices of India Nankeen
from Glasgow
about £100 value of Scoth30 Handkerchiefs sorted as what was shiped
this Spring, £40 Value in Scotch Threads, & 50 Dozen of Leather Britches.
Now I request these goods may be sent by the first Vessels from the
different Ports. The reason I orderd the Linnens from London is that it
would Pinch you too much to pay Cash for them.
There is One thing I beg you to endeavor for. The Dutch trade is
stoped here which will make the price of Tea & Pepper brisk here in the
Spring, so would request you would if possible fix with a House in London
to be half concerned with us in these articles & in the Spring to ship out
about £600 Sterling in Bohea Tea, £100 Sterling in common Green Tea,
& £200 Sterling in Pepper. The reason I would choose we should have some Person in London
concerned is that it woud be too much to advance such a sum in Cash as
we may be obliged to put in that trade.
I beg you may look to what I wrote you the 11th of August relating to
fixing A sure Friend in London.
The Prizes that has been brought in here are mostly from Martinico
bound to France. Their Cargoes consists of Sugar which sells at 2d to 7d
per pound, Coffee from 7d to 7/3 per pound, & Cotton 16d per pound. But
as we have now Twenty Privateers of which the Last will be to Sea the 1st
November, we may expect all sorts of Prize goods to be sold here reasonably.
We shall have Ten Privateers more out if War continues to Spring. Our
Harlequin, Captain Peter Heley, is sailed on a Cruze.
I expect to buy a large Prize Ship which If I succeed in shall sel her up
for Newry & send from that to Lisbon to be sold, if you dont see proper to
sell a part of her in Newry & fix her on this trade. The Ship I intend to buy
will cary 1,300 Hogsheads of Flaxseed [and] is A fine Ship indeed. If my
Brother behaves well, I intend to put him in Master of her if I succeed.
We have received orders from Messrs. Corrys of Newry for 200
Hogsheads of Flaxseed & from Mr. Theophilus Thompson of Dublin for 150
Hogsheads, beside many orders from Belfast. I write them Gentlemen by
this opportunity.
The Crop of Flaxseed is large, but what the price will be is uncertain.
I dont mention any goods in Our Order that will touch with the joint
Cargoe of the Johnson.
John Nealson proposes, if he returns in time, to go to Bristol where he
thinks he has Interest to procure a freight for our snow which I believe is
the case. WC
per the Packet, Capt. Rattford
& the General Wall Packet, Capt. Lutwich