Chowan County, NC - Earl of Granville Instructions to Francis Corbin and Joshua Bodley, 1756 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Colonial Court Records Miscellaneous Papers 1677-1775 C.C.R. 192 Instructions for Francis Corbin and Joshua Bodley Esq'rs {SEAL} Agents of The Right Hon'ble Earl Granville &c Dated 1st September 1756 INSTRUCTIONS for Francis Corbin and Joshua Bodley Esquires, whom I have appointed my Agents and Commissioners for transacting the Business of my Office in North Carolina 1. Upon Your Mr. Bodley's Arrival at Edenton, You are to deliver to Mr. Corbin a Duplicate of these Instructions, and to require his punctual Compliance therewith, Which I do hereby Enjoin him, on Pain of my Displeasure, to render without delay or any Excuse. 2. As my Orders to Mr. Corbin for building an Office in Edenton, sent on November 1751, have not yet produced any Effect; which Omission has very much obstructed the Course of Business, & regular Advancment of my Interest; I would have You both forthwith to fix upon as convenient a House as may be found in that Place, & Hire the same for my Use, to serve as an Office, where All my Affairs may be commodiously transacted, until One shall be Erected for that perpetual Purpose Which Orders I again repeat for the setting about & finishing as soon as possible. 3. As soon as Such House shall be provided, I will have all my Records, Instructions, Letters & Papers of all kinds, together with my Seal & Cypher, immediately removed into it, & lodged in Two Cases with convenient Partitions for the Purpose, & accomodated to the district Branches of my business, into which it is divided by my Instructions of January 1752, Paticular Locks to which Cases, & also to the Doors of the House, together with Duplicate Keys thereto, I have herewith sent, and Order that Each of You my agents shall have one Sett thereof in constant keeping; in order that equal Recourse may be had by both to such Records, Books, Papers & as Occasions from time to time may render necessary. 4. Upon the Removal of such Records, Books, Papers & all I will have made an exact List on Schedule thereof, Specifying the respective Titles, Marks & Numbers of Pages and the Books; The general Purport of each Record, Instruction, Letter & other Paper; & distinctly naming every other Article & thing that belong to my Office: Free fair copies of which shall be forthwith made; One to be sent to me by the first opportunity and One for Each of my said Agents. And as all the abvoe Articles are at present in the possession of Mr. Corbin, I do hereby direct Him to subscribe, at the foot of such fair Copies of the said Schedule, his Declaration, "That the same contains a just List or Schedule of all the Records, Books, Instructions, Letters, Papers and other Articles & things belonging to me, that at the time of such Removal were, or ought to have been in his possession, without my reserve whatever." Which Declaration I will have signed, & sworn to before some Publick Magistrate of the Province. 5. As soon as my Papers & things Shall be placed & properly arranged in such House, I would have You Mr. Bodley, make out from the Records & Papers of my Office the Amount or Sum Total of the Quit Rents yearly due to me at the time of your arrival, specifying the respective Quotas of each County in my District, & cause a fair Copy therof to be transcribed & transmitted to me by the first opportunity. To which Copy I would have subjoined a compleat Account of the Quit Rents that have been received by Mess'rs Corbin, James & Wheathely, since the Return of Mr. Child to England to the day of your Mr. Bodley's arrival in North Carolina Which last Account I do hereby Direct & Order Mr. Corbin to prepare & furnish You for that Purpose. 6. Notwithstanding my constant Orders to Mr. Corbin forming and perfecting a good Rent Roll, as a thing that would be most acceptable to me, I have not yet received the least Information of any Progress made therein: I therefore shall depend on You Mr. Bodley, in particular for rendering me out of hand that acceptable Service, in the manner & form sketched out for your Direction by the 21st Article of my General Instructions, dated January 16th, 1752 (Unless Mr. Corbin shall have already done it in Compliance with my repeated Orders to him for that purpose). For which End I would have You Mr. Bodley take the first Clerk to yourself, & put him wholly upon that Business till the same shall be compleated: The particular Fees granted to Him having been intended by me as a special Gratuity for his constant Employment therein. And as soon as such Rent Roll shall be compleated, Let a Duplicate thereof be made and sent me by a safe Conveyance. 7. In my Letter of the 18th April last, a Duplicate of which is herewith sent, Some special Instances of my Agent's Neglect or Disregard, if not Disobedience of my Instructions are taken Notice of Altho' I have hitherto forborn to take the advantage which those Breaches of their Security Bonds from time to time gave me, Yet I must tell Mr. Corbin plainly, that I shall not in the same manner overlook such Transgressions for the future. And I trust that Mr. Bodley will not give me any Occasion for a Remonstrance of this nature to Him. 8. As I expect that, within a Month at least after Mr. Bodley's arrival at Edenton, a proper House will be Hired, and my Records, Papers & Things removed into it, & for the first time disposed in a way to do Business regularly; I would have my Agents cause their Clerks to give a dayly attendance, Employing them Both, in the Intervals of the Current Business, on the perfecting my Rent Rolls, which by that means I shall expect to be compleated and sent me within Six Monthas at least. 9. Mr. Corbin having sent me an Account of his having suspended Mr. Disbrone from the Place of first Clerk of my Office and Mr. Disbrone having transmitted to Mr. Child his particular Deposition in Vindication of Himself, It is impossible for one at this distance to determine upon such opposite Allegations: I would therefore have You, Mr. Bodley, inquire, upon your arrival, into the Merits thereof. And having fully examined, and thoroughly weighed the same, I do hereby empower You either to confirm or take off the said Suspension, as You shall judge best for my Interest transmitting however to me a full Account of the whole Procedure, together with your Reasons for the Decission which You shall make therein. 10. As soon as my Books, Papers & Things shall be removed to Edenton, And disposed in proper Order, And the Business already directed to be commenced in immediate consequence thereof shall be finished, I would have Mr. Corbin forthwith to make out an Alphabetical Index of the Persons to whom my Lands have been granted, from the time that He was appointed One of my Agents to the day of Mr. Bodley's Arrival in North Carolina, Specifying in opposite Columns The Person's Names, Dates of their Entries, & of the Returns thereof to my Agents, The Dates of their Respective Grants, The Number of Acres contained therein, And the Quit Rents reserved payable to me by the same in Proclamation or Sterling Money, as the Case is, and distinguished in the Margin which of the same were made or passed by Mess'rs Child & Corbin Jointly, By Mess'rs Corbin & James jointly, By Mr. Corbin singly, and By Mess'rs Corbin & Wheathely jointly: Which Index I will have Mr. Corbin subscribe & swear to before some Publick Magistrate of the Province, as containing a full and true Account of all the Entries, Returns & Grants, with their Several Dates, Number of Acres, and Quit Rents reserved, that have been made & passed from the Commencement of his Corbin's Commission, as Agent in 1749, to the day of Mr. Bodley's arrival in North Carolina. 11. You will both of You take Care, in Particular, to make up, on your Returns from Each Circuit, fair Accounts of the Business which You shall have done in that Progress, agreeable to the 6th and 14th Articles of my General Instructions of January 1752. And transmit the same to me by the first Conveyance, together with such Remittances as may be proved, in discharge thereof And, in General, You will punctually obey all my Instructions, without any Remonstrance, Delay or Excuse Whatever. Arlington Street Washn'n Granville 1st September 1756 ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ___________________________________________________________________