LABRADOR JOURNAL 293 



honest and just, I hesitated not to comply with 

 their demands: but I have since found, that I 

 should have acted more prudently if I had taken 

 good advice first, and had the accompts strictly 

 examined, bv which, mv debts would have been 

 greatly reduced. I now contiimed to carry on my 

 business as usual, and every year after met with 

 more misfortunes: in particular, my ship, the 

 Countess of Effingham was dashed to pieces in 

 Trinity Bay, in the spring of 178L A new 

 schooner, which had been that year built by my 

 orders at Paradise, arrived at Dartmouth, about 

 Christmas, a mere wreck; with great part of her 

 cargo thrown over board, and only a single hun- 

 dred pounds insured on her, and that was done, 

 at thirty-three guineas per cent. The next year, 

 she was taken bv the enemv. These misfortunes 

 caused great hindrance to my business in Labra- 

 dor, and prevented the fish, and other things which 

 were procured there, from being sent off the coast 

 to their respective markets. On the eighth of 

 Decenibei- 1781 my father died; and towards the 

 end of the following year, I discovered, that he 

 had, a little before his death, settled upon my next 

 bi'otln'i', John, landed estates to the amount of 

 nine Inindi'cd and fifty jxiunds live shillings a 

 \'ear; and lliat the demands which were upon the 

 residue of bis estates and effects, foi* de])ts and 

 legacies, would nf>t only swallow u]^ the whole, 

 hnl weie nioi-c hy a few hundi'eds than they would 

 satisfy; conse(|uently, tlial no1 one sliilling would 

 come to me from that quarter; and that, what with 



