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ſend ſundry waggon loads of Gruel[1] to the new farm, promiſing that the accuſtomed duty which they paid for their excluſive right ſhould be taken off from all the Gruel they ſhould ſend amongſt the new ſettlers: And that in caſe their cargoes ſhould come to any damage, he would take care that the loſs ſhould be repaired out of the old Gentleman’s coffers.
The Gruel merchants readily conſented to this propoſal, knowing that if their cargoes were ſold, they would reap conſiderable profits; and if they failed, the ſteward was to make good the damage. On the other hand the ſteward concluded that the new ſettlers could not reſiſt purchaſing the Gruel to which they had been ſo long accuſtomed; and if they did purchaſe it when ſubject to the tax aforeſaid, this would be an avowed acknowledgment on their parts that their father and his wife had a right to break through the tenor of the Great Paper, and to lay on them what impoſitions they pleaſed, without the conſent of their reſpective wives.
But the new ſettlers were well aware of this decoy. They ſaw clearly that the Gruel was not ſent to accommodate, but to enſlave them; and that if they ſuffered any
- ↑ Ships with Tea
