Mr. Rofs upon all occafions, and that it is already fixed that the year Mr. Rofs is out of the committee, his place is to be filled up by his partner Mr. Mill.

The above report calls to my mind a piece of advice which was given me in July 1769, by the late Captain John Stephens, of the Africa, (a great friend and confident of the aforementioned gentlemen) which was immediately to declare myself a bankrupt, and deliver up our fettlement here, and the effects to Mr. Smith; that he was authorized by a con-fiderable house in London, to affure me if I did fo, I should be backed with 40,000 fterling; that they would purchase the fettlement here, and fix me in it upon my own terms.

When this advice was given me, I treated it (as every honest man fhould) with contempt, at the fame time thought it proceeded from his friendship for me, imagining from his ignorance of our affairs he thought them defperate; but it is now very clear that his and their fole view was to poffefs themselves of this houfe, where with their great interest in the committee, and connections with the gentlemen in the fervice, they would, in a very little time, engross the whole of the Gold Coast trade, and if a monopoly of this trade was not intended, what could induce Mr. Petrie to come out a fecond time, when he carried off about eighteen months ago, a fortune of 14 or 15,000l. how it was acquired I have. before informed you.

It may perhaps be a matter of surprise to the merchants at home, that I fhould be the only perfon fuch a number of complaints come from; you will please therefore to observe that I am the only private fettler on this Coast, except Mr. Johnston at Winnebah, and he has as great a variety of complaints to prefer against Meffrs. Bell and Drew, the late chiefs of that fort, upon the arrival of the first man of war; and if there were ever so many private traders (though they might experience every kinď of oppreffion from the committee and their fervants) yet it would be impoffible for them to point out a remedy, on account of their distance from the principal government, and their want of proper information and experience; captains of ships might certainly inform you of many abufes, did not their fear of making enemies of thefe gentlemen prevent

them;

them; if they difoblige one, they disoblige all; therefore in order to make a quick purchase, every thing the merchants can do in England, or the captains on the Coaft, to ingratiate themselves into their favour is done; besides it is impoffible for mafters of ships to come to a knowledge of many abuses, committed by the committee's fervants; these are secrets to all but those who have ferved the committee, and as I am the only man in Africa out of the service, that can poffibly have any knowledge of these affairs, I am also the only man can give you information.

I am this moment informed by Captain Ritchie of the Dispatch of Liverpool, that fometime after his arrival in Annamaboe Road this voyage, he fent his mate in his long boat to trade at Appolonia for gold; that as foon as the mate went on fhore, Mr. Miles, the prefent chief, fent his fervant into town with his fcales and weights, and to tell the inhabitants that he would fell all his goods as low as the mate, and give them besides a gallon of rum in a prefent upon every ounce of gold they brought him; that the next day the mate faw him take forty ounces of gold, and that all the time he continued at Appolonia, he did not take five ounces of gold.

Captain Ritchie tells me, he propofes to get his mate to take his affidavit to the above circumftance, when he arrives in the West Indies. Before this reaches you, a brother of Mr. Mill's will be failed from England for this Coaft; whether he brings out the Ruby of four or five hundred tons, in which he failed from here last March full of flaves, or another ship I cannot tell, but he is certainly to be out here shortly with a large quantity of goods, and to carry off a cargoe of flaves. I cannot pofitively fay, if his brother here is concerned with him, but it is more than probable he is; at any rate he can fhip as many flaves as he pleases on freight without fear of discovery.

I am amazed that the African merchants fhould entertain the smallest doubt of these gentlemen's fhipping off conftantly great numbers of flaves; if they did not, how is their credit to be fupported in England? and the great cargoes of goods which are frequently fent them to be paid for? as it is notorious ivory fufficient is not to be procured on this part of the Coast, and gold is the worst remittance they can poffibly make.

This moment poor Mr. Johnston, who is now here, has had an exprefs from Winnebah, giving him the melancholy account of his house being destroyed by fire; what his lofs is, cannot be afcertained till he gets down, but apprehend it must be very confiderable, notwithstanding his houfe was within forty yards of the caftle; this proves what I have all along been informing you of, viz. the inattention of the committee to the welfare of private traders, in not allowing them libertyto lodge their effects in the forts in common with their fervants; their diabolical partiality in this refpect deferves the fevereft cenfure, and cannot fail to rouse the indignation of every good and honest man; but what can be expected from a set of blunderers, who can have never had any other views in getting into the committee, but to advance their own private intereft, either by supplying the Coast with the manufactures they deal in, or by diftreffing the private traders to ingratiate themselves into the favour of their fervants on the Coaft, in order to procure their confignments; figure to yourselves, gentlemen, the deplorable fituation of a poor man, who has used this Coast between fifteen and twenty years, and just as he had acquired fufficient to carry on an extenfive trade, is in a few hours reduced perhaps to a ftate of beggary, whilft the fervants of the committee are rioting in every indulgence the forts can afford, and whose very flaves are accommodated with conveniences which are denied to the private traders.

Give me leave to ask you once more, gentlemen, for what purposes are these forts fupported? they furely are not kept up barely as marks of poffeffion, or for the emolument of the committee and their fervants? F have read all the acts of parliament relating to this Coaft, and must confefs that they have amply provided for the fecurity of the private trader, and all his effects whatsoever, but forry I am to fay, and to have experienced, that acts of the British legiflature are no more regarded in this country, than they are in Japan. You may poffibly imagine, gentlemen, that in cafes of fire, or any other accidents happening to private traders, they will be the only fufferers; but in this you are certainly mistaken; there is fcarce a captain arrives here, but from the dullness of trade, or an ill afforted cargoe, he is under the neceffity of trufting these gentlemen

a

a very confiderable part of your property; therefore you undoubtedly run as great rifques as the private trader in the cafes aforementioned, as they have frequently more of your property in their hands, than their own capitals amount to..

The goods left by Mr. Mill at Acera, and which Mr. Drew is to pay him flaves for, amount to three thousand ounces, equal to three hundred men flaves.

I am just informed of a Rhode and veffel getting under fail for Barbadoes, which obliges me to break off fo abruptly, have therefore only to affure you, that I am with the greatest esteem,

GENTLEMEN,

Your most obedient humble fervant,

RICHARD BREW.

When any alterations happen in the trade here, you may depend upon the earliest intelligence. Capt. Marshall and all on board the Marlborough are well, and make no doubt will do well.

I

GENTLEMEN,.

Caftle Brew, April 10th, 1771

Had the pleasure to receive a letter from Mr. Barber by the Corfican Hero, with a copy of your letter to the African committee at London, dated January the 25th, inclofed, by which I find you are refolutely bent on procuring redrefs of the many grievances fet forth in the different letters I wrote Mr.. Barber on African affairs, which will be a great inducement to me to continue to advife you regularly of all occurrences on the Coaft, which may tend in any fhape to the advantage of trade and free traders, and expofe the mal-practices of the committee's fervants whenever they come under my obfervation; at the fame time, I cannot help obferving to you, gentlemen, that from my knowledge of the people in power here, the method they have all along and fill continue to purfue, their great connections with several of the committee, contrary to the act of parliament, the length of time requifite to prefer complaints, and give them an opportunity to defend themselves, with the uncertain iffue of thefe complaints, together with the prodigious way they are in of speedily making their fortunes: from thefe circumstances, I fay, I am thoroughly

convinced,..

[ H.A] convinced, the defired end will never be obtained till the committee's fervants are totally prohibited from all manner of trade whatsoever : what further fecurity have you now more than formerly that these gentlemen will conform to any new laws or regulations which the committee may fend out? none; and it is as true as the gofpel they will pay no more regard to them than they ever did, if they tend to lay the least restraint whatfoever on their trade. If you difcourfe with any of the committee's fervants about thefe affairs on the Coaft, they have the impudence to tell you, that before complaints can be exhibited, their story heard, and the affair brought to an iffue, two or three years will elapfe, befides being allowed fix months time to realize their effects, in cafe the affair fhould be given against them; in all which time they will have done their bufinefs, or in other words will have made their fortunes, and the committee may difmifs them their fervice afterwards as foon as they pleafe; therefore, to root out the evil effectually, you have no remedy left, but to alter the establishment or prohibit the committee's fervants from all trade whatfoever, and oblige them to give ample fecurity in England for a punctual performance of all orders and regulations, which fhall from time to time be fent out by the committee.

Some time in December last, the fishermen of this town committed a moft horrid murder under the walls of Annamaboe fort, by cutting to pieces a man belonging to the Fantee town in cold blood; the custom of the country in fuch cafes is, that the chief of the fort immediately demands the murderers, and either delivers them up to be dealt with according to the laws of the country, or hangs them over one of the guns of his fort. By defire of the natives, the chief of our fort here, Mr. Bell, (when this affair happened) was several times preffed by the Fantee people to demand these murderers, but they never could prevail upon him to do it; by which conduct, he has not only given up one of his moft valuable privileges, that of acting as principal mediator in all difputes with the natives, but it has occafioned the Fantees to make war on the fishermen, by which upwards of twenty men have lost their lives on both fides, befides putting a stop to all manner of trade, except what goes from Cormantyne and Agah. Vegetables and provifions of all kinds are stopped

from