Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/349

 Byrd in his correspondence, the explanation being the same in both instances. The margin of gain was very high in some years, but on the average perhaps was moderate only. Colonel Fitzhugh, who was unusually familiar with all the conditions affecting it, declared that unless the tobacco obtained in exchange for goods had been purchased at a very low figure, the chief means by which the fortunes in that age were accumulated, the profit even in favorable years would be quite meagre. A variety of points had to be weighed in considering the prospect of securing even this degree of profit. These points included the length of the stay which the ship containing the cargo of merchandise would be compelled to make in Virginia before the goods could be sold, this being necessarily a source of great expense; the outlay required to cover the charges for storage and dunnage; the commission fees to be paid to the factors; the losses frequently incurred by their dishonesty, or, if they were conscientious in their dealings, by their negligence and carelessness, whether they were natives of Virginia or England; the uncertainty in relying upon an agent if he was expected to perform the duties of a shipmaster, since if he gave the greater part of his attention to the sale of his cargo, and in pursuit of that purpose absented himself from his ship, his crew would be slow in moving the vessel from place to place where tobacco was to be secured; and if, on the other hand, he showed indifference in looking for purchasers, a still greater amount of time would be lost to the merchant in whose employment he was engaged.

None of these considerations had application in the cases in which the planter shipped his annual crop directly to the merchant in England, with instructions to exchange it for certain commodities to be returned to Virginia. There