Alexander Spotswood knew that he was in trouble in 1724, with respect to his land holdings, and deemed it prudent to return to England to plead his case there. He arrived in December of 1724, and made his presence known at the Board of Trade and Plantations. Apparently, he was not winning his case, and made an appeal direct to His Majesty George I. His petition has been preserved, and is filed in the Public Record Office in C.O. 5/1344, ff 1-2. If anyone wishes to read it, a microfilm of it is available at the Virginia State Library in Richmond. The petition is undated, but is filed next to a document dated 5 May 1726:
To The King's most excellent majesty in Council
The Case & Petition of Col. Alexander Spotswood
Late Lt. Governor of Virginia
fd Humbly Sheweth,That your petitioner, during his Administration of the said Government, being led by publick Spirit & a dutiful Regard to your Maty's Pleasure, did upon receiving Directions, from ye Lord Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, for making Hemp & Tar; & also upon seeing your Maty's Speech to ye Parliament, for raising Naval Stores in the Plantations, judge it incumbent on him to promote the same within his Province.
That design He incouraged the forming of Companies and Partnerships, for carrying on such undertakings, & deeply embarked himself with some Adventurers, who entered so far into the Project as to be at several Thousand pounds Charge in the Clearing & Seating large tracts of ye Crown's Desarts-Lands, & in importing materials and proper Workmen, for raising all manner of Naval Stores.
That this grand undertaking proving to be attended with greater Difficulties, than his partners had Courage or Ability longer to struggle with, your Petitioner, while he was Governor ventured to take ye whole concern upon himself rather than such a laudable attempt should be given over, to ye certain discouragement of other Adventurers, & so having reimbursed his Partners the utmost penny of their Expenses, & after an excessive deal of Pains, Risque, & Charge, brought ye Undertaking such a length, as to ship home the first Pig-Iron, & ye first Hemp of Virginia growth, that were ever known to be imported into Great Britain: Beside proving by Experience that in these american Parts, neither ye Tar can be made according to the directions of ye act of Parliament, without ye peculiar Skill of Finland Tar-Burners, nor the Hemp ever be raised to any perfection from the English, or the East Country Seed.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.