274 TlMEHRh 
bound to be shipped to Holland, and in Dutch bottoms. 
These Dutch ships were very awkward clumsy look- 
ing vessels, high at the bow and stern and low in the 
middle. They were not very fast sailors, but very 
safe. 
Although the merchants of Amsterdam had the en- 
tire charge of the Dutch coffee-estates in their hands, 
they were not really the owners ; for these were 
owned in shares, which were transferable and could 
be bought and sold on the exchange, like shares in 
any company. This practice is reviving in the colony, 
several large estates in Demerara being now owned 
in transferable shares on the old system. This has 
probably been adopted in consequence of the peculiar 
and inconvenient Dutch law of inheritance. 
These estates were conducted on a different system 
from the English estates. The managers received very 
small money salaries, but it was made up to them 
in other ways. For instance, their houses were fur- 
nished for them, and they were allowed a small share 
of the plantains, rice, salt-fish, tobacco &c. sent to 
the estates for the people ; then, they could help them- 
selves to the osnaburghs, salemporas, drill &c, 
shipped from Holland for the same purpose, and have them 
made up into clothing by the house servants ; so that 
they had very little to buy, and were very comfortably 
off ; besides which, the Dutch ships when they came 
in always brought the resident managers and attorneys 
supplies of schiedam, claret, liqueurs and other good 
things for the table. On all of these the merchants 
in Amsterdam had their commission, 
