My charity is such as rather to believe the Negative But they seemed to be pretty strongly allyed to our Adversaries if not by consanguinity or affinity in affection That whatsoever they moved for was granted though ever so equitably rationally and forcibly impugned by our Advocate Take one Example among others long before they gave sentence By vertue of a Joynt Procuration I I proceeded joyntly 2. or 3. Moneths in one claime Then the Capers and other our Adversaries move for a separation of causes or claimes for each man to claim a part which was a meer dilatory design to increase and multiply Expenses thereby to deterre those whose interest was small from looking after it because the remedy might prove worse then the disease the charge for following the claime of one Chest being as great as for one hundred Our Advocate pleaded the Motion was unreasonable urging there was in the claimes no difference of case That the persons claiming were all English men all residing in one place the Goods they claimed only such as appeared to be consigned to them for their own account that they were laden in one Port in one ship and consigned to one Place And added that 't was the part of Judges to abbreviate and contract not multiply suits withall remembred to them that the States in their resolution had promised Expedition And therefore prayed the Lords of the Admiralty not to grant the Motion But notwithstanding they did not declaring in this as in no other point the ground for their Decree which they say is their custome reserving that to themselves stat pro ratione voluntas I put it to my Advocate and others residing in Midleburg to deal plainly with me in telling me in their Opinions what ground or cause our Adversaries could have for making or the Judges for granting the Motion who ingeniously confessed they knew none but what I have already set down a design to deterre those whose interest was small from making their claim fearing the remedy to be worse then the disease And indeed that design was gratifyed with success for the expensive and dilatory process consumed more then the value of some mens sugars claimed though sentence had been pronounced in their favour yet could I not avoid proceeding in such a claime for I let it lye and went on with the most considerable but our Adversaries brought it on and moved that I should proceed therein or they be dismissed therefrom I then moved the Court for Order for one cause to be proceeded with which they should appoint offering that according to the successe of it all the rest should be concluded and to this the Fiscal confented The Fiscal is a person concerned in all claimes of this nature he proceedes Ex Officio Appears in right of the Province and his office is somewhat like to that of his Majesties Atturney General in England But the Capers refused to joyn with him Neither would the Lords of the Admiralty enjoyn them to comply so that of One Cause they begat Six And before I could proceed further I was forced for every cause to give security for the costs which must be done by a sufficient Inhabitant of the Place The 12. October 1660. st n. was appointed for a publick sale of the whole Cargo of the Ship Golden-Sun at Flushing the French Commanders 23. Chests excepted where I was present and addressed my self to the Lords of the Admiralty desiring the Goods I claimed might be likewise exempted from the sale till the causes were determined But they answered me they should be sold with the rest in Usum jus habentium Then I moved that the Contents and Quality might be noted and set down a part which I confess they granted and to that purpose sent a Messenger with me to the Officers of the West India Company who had the management of the sale But they answer'd 't was not to be done the Goods being mingled in Lots with others so they made sale of them before my face a comfortable spectacle and promiscuously set down the Contents with other goods as not doubting of a sentence in their favour or dreading ever to be called to accompt for them By some little discourse I had with our Adversaries and others of that Country I found there seemed to be put by them some difference between English men living in England and those residing beyond Sea especially in Portugal though they have liberty to make such residence only by vertue of Articles of peace made between the Crownes of England and Portugal To remove any such obstacle should it be offered and appear to be valid I procured a second Letter from his Majesty wherein being informed by some persons of Honour who in the time of their Exile came to have knowledge of the persons interessed That they were not only loyal subjects but to have sincere affections to his Majesties service He was graciously pleased to declare that Edward Adams Abraham Jacob Robert Carre Christopher Trenchard William Peachey Thomas Bostock and Will. Trussel were not only his subjects but that he also lookt upon them meriting his protection as well as any others soever of like quality inhabiting any part of his Dominions This Letter was not presently delivered but was thought fit to be reserved for some more opportune time which was judged to be when the causes were ready for sentence and then it was presented but to small effect for they slighted it And the Capers stuck not publickly to say That the Secretaries framed Letters and his Majesty signed them without ever reading or knowing what they contained The French Commander at the same time went on with his claim demanding his ship the Fraight 23. Chests of Sugars in particular the whole Cargo in general according to the Articles of Peace The Cargo according to the Commanders book was 1100. Chests and Fecho's of Sugar 1000. Hides 4000 l. of Vigonia Wool some Boxes of Balsome a parcel of Jacaranda Wood Whale fins and some Tobacco Upon his pressing whereof the Lords of the Admiraltie-asked him one day in Court what he would do with the Cargo should it be restored him To which he made answer That he would carry and deliver it at the proper Port of his Discharge according as he stood obliged by Charter party and Bills of lading at which the Lords smiled As if it were a ridiculous thing for them to be thought obliged by any tie whatsoever to give sentence for the Capers to part with a good Booty once got into their possession During the transaction of these affaires the States of the United Provinces sent their Ambassadors to the Court of France to renew their Alliance with the French King who being informed from his Ambassador at the Hague of their non-complyance with the former Articles refused to treat with them till there were justice done his subjects according to the Articles of Marine which was concluded at the desire of the States
A Brief RELATION OF THE Surprizing several ENGLISH Merchants Goods by DVTCH Men of Warre their carrying them into Zealand and there condemning them for Prize upon no other score or account but that they were English Mens By Edward Adams of London Merchant Hor. Ep. lib. 1. Per mare pauperiem fugiens per saxa per ignes Impiger extremos currit Mercator ad Indos LONDON Printed in the year 1664. To the Courteous English Reader Kind Country Man IN the late scribling age having cast my eye upon several Books Pamphlets or what else they might be called things in Print and considering the Contents I have often thought the Authors could have no other ground or design for exposing them to publick view but a strong desire to be seen in Print Believe me I am not troubled with any such ambitious Itch No 't is ill luck presses me to the Print to make relation of my friends and own mishap which may be esteemed the greater in that it fell in a time when I and all our English World were joval and pleasant in that merry moneth of May wherein his sacred Majesty returned to his Kingdoms and great part of it on the day when my self and many thousands more were attending on his Princely train before his return to his Royal Palace of White-Hall viz. 28. Maii 1660. Expect not from me any neat polite discourse for I am as bad a Polisher as a Polititian I shall only present thee with a bare relation of matter of fact and my design of making it publick is two fold respecting thee that by what thou seest to have hapned to my friends and me thou mayst be admonished to be very cautious and wary how thou hast to doe in any design of Trade and Commerce where the Dutch have any pretence of Concern or Interest and bonum est fugienda aspicere alieno in malo And my self to beg the benefit and help of thy good Counsel for my future demeanor whether I shall be farther active and if so how to proceed or meerly passive sitting quietly still and bewailing the latter loss with the former for I have been at a very great it may seem incredible expence in Zealand Holland and some here in seeking restitution of or satisfaction for our unjustly surprized and detained Goods I said I would present thee with a relation of matter of fact Know therefore That having done some service to the King of Portugal my Partner Abraham Jacob an English Merchant resident in Lisboa in the latter end of the year 1658. procured a licence for sending a Ship to the Brazil in the Interval of fleets for by our Articles with that Crown English ships or ships fraighted by English men may go in company of their Portuguez fleet to Brazil and freely trade there and by reason of the warre with Spain no English Ship of considerable burthen arriving in the Harbour of Lisboa that would embrace a fraight for Brazil he was forced to make use of a French ship not out of choice or kindness to that Nation to give French men imployment but meerly in absence of English men that accidently put in there and wanted a fraight One of thirty four Guns this Ship was hired by the said Abraham Jacob and in the beginning of the year 1659 dispatched away for the Rio de Janeiro in Brazil with a very considerable Cargazon of Goods from himself besides what was laden by several other English Merchants and some by Portuguesses residing in Lisboa This Ship belonged to St. Mallo was called the Golden Sun commanded by one Nicholas le Bretoa du Pre returning for the Port of Lisboa the place of her discharge laden with Sugars Hides Brazil wood c. on the two twenty day of May 1660. near the Rock of Lisboa was met by four Flushing men of warre commanded by Tousain le Sage Philip Ros Albert Janson and Mattyas Qâ—arts who haled her were informed she was a French Ship belonging to St. Malo neverthelesse they commanded the Captain out of her who knowing them to be Dutch men of warre and though he could have made considerable resistance yet yielded without making any the least opposition not doubting but that they would have soon cleared and released him because that by the Treaty of Marine concluded but a few years before between the French King and the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands it was provided for and agreed on that a free Ship made free Goods and that any French Ship might freely Trade and carry into any Port or Country in amity with the Crown of France though the inhabitants thereof should be in open Hostility and Warre with the States of the Netherlands any and all manner of Goods and Merchandizes not onely such as belonged to Nations and Persons in amity and confederation with the said States but also the proper Goods and Merchandizes of those people that were in Hostility and Warre with them as aforesaid But the Commanders of the Men of Warre or Capers for so are they called in Zealand thought not themselves obliged to the observance of any Treaty of Peace or Law or Justice and therefore instead of permitting as they ought to have done the Ship to follow and proceed in her Voyage they set on shore many of the Ships Company in Portugal and took possession of the Ship and sent Her and her Commander accompanyed by one of the Men of Warre for Flushing where arriving the French Commander addresses himself to the States General and demanded to be restored to the possession of the Ship and Goods according to the Articles of Marine aforementioned and reparation for the damage sustained by being seized on and brought in thither and was assisted therein by Mounsieur de Thou then at the Hague Ambassador from the French King who was the same Person that concluded the said Treaty of Marine and a short time after I received advice and information from my Partner Abraham Jacob and from Robert Carre Christopher Trenchard William Peachey Thomas Bostocke and William Trussel English Merchants resident in Lisboa of their several interests aboard the said Ship and their Procurations or Letters of Atturney for looking after them and procuring satisfaction on their behalf whereupon I humbly represented their case to his most Sacred Majesty our Soveraign who was graciously pleased immediately to send his Letters to the States of Zealand requiring and pressing them to cause a restitution to be made of such part of the Ships lading as belonged to his Subjects aforenamed and his Majesty used an expression enough not only to have won upon but to have commanded any ingenuous natures For he said he would look upon such a restitution as an Action demonstrating their willingnesse of holding amity and confederacy with him This Letter was dated 5th of July 1660. and a few dayes after I delivered it to the States of Zealand who were at that time assembled at Midleburg
themselves Whereupon the Ambassadors writ to the States desiring the cause of Le Breton may be judged who thereupon Order the Lords of the Admiralty of Zealand so to do But they notwithstanding for a while deferred it till new complaints were made then they give sentence viz. on the 24. September 1661. stilo novo Decreeing to the French Commander his Ship Aparrel Furniture c. Fraight and 23. Chests of Sugars which belonged to him and Company with 2000. Gilders Damages And the same day condemned the English mens some whereof were Fraighters of the ship goods for prize The French man not contented with his sentence finding the sum ordered for damages to be too little demands further reparation in matter of damage which by means of the French Ambassador at the Hague is made known to the French King who commanded Monsieur de Lionn a Minister of State in France to signifie to the Dutch Ambassadors that in case of non satisfaction for Le Bretons ship he would grant Letters of Reprisal Whereupon they again writ to the States General touching that particular Who order the cause to be brought before the Judges apointed in case of appeal at the Hague and a review thereof without charge to him and to that end dispatch their Messengers into Zealand where the States had a meeting extraordinary about it who give for answer that they cannot consent to a review because the Fatalia were past which are 4. Months after the sentence pronounced within which time the review ought to be desired But this being upon a Point extraordinary to prevent Letters of reprisal a second Messenger was dispatcht who return'd with a Better answer And upon the review is decreed to the French Commander 12000. Gilders more for damage over and above the former 2000. The French Commander recovered his Fraight according to Bills of lading which belonged to us the Fraighters which was more then was due to them by Charter party by 910 l. Flemish so that with what he had formerly received from us and was disbursed for his account He was indebted to us 1440 l. Flemish for which he refusing to accompt with us we desired we might make an Embargo or Arrest in the hands of those who were appoynted to pay him money and in this request we hoped to succeed because it might be a mean for them to keep something in their hand which was a thing they love to do as being in that kind naturally tenacious But in this neither were we prevailing for they were resolved not to gratifie the English in any motion or at least durst do nothing against the French they telling us they could not permit one stranger to sue another so the French man marched off with flying colours carrying all away with him as well some of our as his own money And the English remain'd forlorn And by what hath been here related which is nothing but undeniable truth it plainly appears we are truly unfortunate English Merchants Our Goods were condemned as Prize but as I have already said they tell us not wherefore they never declaring the cause or ground of their sentence reserving that in their own breast so that we are ignorant where the Gulf lay that devoured or the Rock that split us But by what we gathered by common discourse with persons in Zealand and some Occurrences we may guess it to be because the persons claiming were for the most part resident in Portugal for an English man that was passenger upon an English ship which they had taken comming from Brazil had Goods being of no great value restored him And this is founded upon an Order or Edict made for their own people that none of them living in Portugal shall trade to Brazil without their licence or if they do their goods being taken in company of Portuguesses shall run the like fate with them and this was made for prevention of their Subjects colouring Portuguez Goods t is evident we colour'd no Portuguez Goods claiming only what was consigned for our own account and this by evidence of their own producing and all was under 300. of 1100. Chests and Fecho's which the ship brought And say they persons living in any part ought not to enjoy two Capacities or Priviledges To that we gave satisfactory answer Besides what his sacred Majesty hath been pleased to write on our behalf That we enjoyed no Priviledge the Portuguesses did but resided in Portugal by vertue of the Articles of peace concluded between the Crowns of England and Portugal and for such were own'd and certitifyed by his Majesties Consull If they will have pass for Curant that what Sanctions and Edicts are made by them for regulating their own people must be obliging to the Subjects of other Princes 't is right Hogan Mogan But the plain English of it is That the King of Great Britaine France and Ireland must not treat of or conclude peace with a Forraign Prince or provide for the increase of Trade and priviledges of his own subjects without asking the States of Holland leave I humbly represented our case to his sacred Majesty and his most Honourable Privie Council makeing a Summarie relation of what had passed which his Majesty their Lordships taking into their consideration did Order that the Commissioners who are to treat with the Dutch Ambassadors do insist upon our satisfaction in like manner as is done in claims of any other of his Majesties Subjects I also represented our aggrievance to the Honourable Committee of Parliament appointed to consider of the Trade of the Nation where I made out our losses sustained by the surprizall of the Shipps Golden Sun Experience aforemention'd and two English Shipps more taken by the Dutch a little after called the Falcon and St. John Baptist to amount unto 8000l ster But like a bad accomptant I omitted to set down the interest which for 4. years at 6. per Cent. comes to 1920l Besides which I have in the tedious vexatious suits expended 780 l. 12 s 3 d. Flemish besides what is to be set down for my friends paines who assisted in the solicitation and I have endeavoured all good husbandry having been sometime thought to be too penurious And now may be seen the effect of the full assurance of expedition promised us viz. a Suit of 14. moneths which if I had pleased might have been 14. years I could have procured consent of parties and for the just judgment we should receive our Goods condemned for Prize but upon what score subintelligitur The French mans Ship which by the Universal custome consent if not Law of Nations to say nothing of their particular Obligation ought to have made free Goods with 23. Chests of Sugar granted free with 14000. Gilders for Dammages Thus Courteous Reader I have done with my sad tedious story and crave thy pardon for exercising thy Patience so long therewith begging as formerly the benefit of thy Counsel But before I take my leave I must speak one word in vindication of my profession at least of my own particular from an aspertion which seems to be cast upon it There is a rumor flies up and down the world that in this present conjuncture of affairs the Merchants are great incendiaries to a Warre with the Dutch and if there happen one 't will be called the Merchants Warre which I suppose is a great mistake for to me it seems not rational for any intelligent Merchants to be forward to that War the maine dispute and decision whereof must be argued at Sea the place where he is most concerned and to the inconveniences and hazards attending such a War the Merchant of all other persons is most obnoxious If any such Merchants there be that are so Warlike and promise to themselves great gain by Trading in troubled waters I do declare my self to be none of them I do confesse I am for satisfaction for the unreasonable usage and injuries done my friends and me nay I have been and am very earnest and zealous for it I say I am for the Rem but modum acquirendi I wholly submit to his Sacred Majesty whom God many years preserve in peace and his Great Council Farewell Edward Adams FINIS