The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

262 WASHINGTON'S WRITINGS. [1765.
ticular article of clothing, or necessary for family use, and have
recourse to such a tedious and uncertain way of relief as this,
when possibly a tradesman would deny the goods and consequently
refuse them? It is not to be done. We are obliged to acquiesce
in the present loss, and hope for future redress.
These, Gentlemen, are my sentiments, fully and candidly expressed, without any design, believe me, of giving you offence; but,
as the selling of our tobaccos well, and the purchasing of our
goods upon the best terms, are matters of the utmost consequence
to our well-doing, it behoves me to be plain and sincere in my
declarations on these points, previous to any change of measures,
that I may stand acquitted of the imputation of fickleness, if I am
at last forced to a discontinuance of my correspondence with your
house.
Twenty hogsheads of my tobacco from this river make up fortyeight, which I have in Boyes; the remainder, which is trifling,
shall be sent by the first ship that gives liberty; and, as I have not
been able to discover any advantages we obtained by our tobaccos
lying so long upon hand unsold, I should be glad to have the
present crops (and so of others if more be sent) disposed of to the
first good chapmen, and the sales returned, unless there is a very
probable prospect of a rise of price to warrant the keeping of it.
By this conveyance you will receive invoices of goods wanted
for our plantations on York River; and those for this river will no
longer, I hope, be sent in by Boyes, for, when they come into that
river, we really suffer by the strange mistakes that continually
happen. Last year several parcels of goods designed for York
River were sent to this place, and others for' me left down there,
and in going backwards and forwards some were lost; (things, too,
of no inconsiderable value, for one of the parcels was a bale of
linen;) and this year all my plaid hose for this river came in a
package to Mr. Valentine, and I have to send for them one hundred and fifty miles. These mistakes and inconveniences would
necessarily be avoided, if the goods were to come by ships to the
respective rivers; and they would also escape those frequent damages, which are the consequence of shifting them from one vessel
to another, and transporting them from place to place. Opportunities of doing this cannot be wanting, as many vessels come to
this river annually from London, some of which lie at my door.
It appears pretty evident to me, from the prices I have generally
got for my tobacco in London, and from some other concomitant
circumstances, that it only suits the interest of a few particular