Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/319

 special statute was passed in the session of 1642-43 having this object directly in view. The shipowners from Holland had complained, in a paper presented by them to the Assembly, that the requirement that they should always give bond, before their vessels departed from the Colony, to pay the duty on their cargoes of tobacco, had had the effect of seriously restricting the introduction of supplies from the Low Countries because it was difficult for Dutch traders to obtain the necessary security in Virginia. To remove this obstruction, the Assembly provided that no obligation should be demanded of the master or owner of any Dutch vessel who had procured letters of credit from an English merchant of high standing, guaranteeing the payment of the customs by the holder. This amount was to be settled in the form of a bill of exchange drawn on the person who had come forward as his surety. The passage of this Act had a marked tendency to increase commercial intercourse with Holland. In the year in which it became a law, Devries observed four vessels from that country in the waters of Virginia, and there were doubtless others escaping his notice because lying in other parts of the Colony during his stay.

An incident, occurring in 1643, reveals the little importance attached by many of the Dutch traders to the requirements as to letters of credit. During the visit of Devries to New Amsterdam in the autumn of this year, a vessel from Rotterdam arrived, having been driven far out of her intended course. This vessel, after leaving Holland, had proceeded to Madeira, and there taking on board a cargo of wine, had afterwards sailed to the West Indies. From thence, she had turned towards Virginia, where it was