Research

Series:

Scanned Document:

Whereas the director general and council of New Netherland are reliably informed, and told of general complaints about certain fees, which have been exacted up to now without their knowledge, concerning various official documents and salaries relating to commerce, which they intend to rectify, according to the orders and instructions of the honorable lords directors; therefore, the aforesaid director general and council do hereby order that henceforth there shall be paid for a bill of lading:

Of one to six hogsheads of tobacco	12 stivers
Of 7 to 12 hogsheads	18 ditto
Of 13 to 24 hogsheads	24 ditto
Of 25 to as many as shall be shipped	50 ditto
Of one hundred beavers	12 ditto
Of 100 to 200 beavers	18 ditto
Of 200 to as many as shall be packed in one chest	30 ditto
Of one or more chests shipped by the same merchant	50 ditto
For a passport fee to the fatherland, whether for a household or an individual	20 stivers
And for the church	40 stivers

Concerning the laborers’ wages for bringing the goods and merchandise from the ship to the Company’s warehouse, the aforesaid director general and council order that the skippers shall henceforth be obliged to deliver the goods and merchandise at the headland or at the main bank at high tide, in front of or near the Company’s warehouse, from where the sworn laborers shall bring them into the Company’s warehouse, and receive as pay:

For one container or pipe of wine	6 stivers
For one hogshead	5 stivers
For one aem of wine or tun of beer	4 stivers
For one half aem	3 stivers
For one ancker	2 stivers
For one chest of duffel or another of the same size	8 stivers
For one eastern chest[1] or large trunk	8 stivers
For a case of axes, nails or kettle ware	5 stivers

Other and smaller containers in proportion at the discretion of the fiscal or whoever, in his place, is in charge of the warehouse.

After the goods and merchandise have been delivered at the above rates to the warehouse, the merchants may negotiate with the laborers for the best rate possible, according to the remoteness and distance of the places to which they must be brought; and in the event of unreasonableness, then the fiscal shall decide the matter, or whosoever, in his place, shall have charge of the warehouse as commissary. However, no one is to be hindered from having his own goods transported from the warehouse by his own workers or servants, with the consent and order as previously stated.

Thus done at the session of the honorable director general and council held at Fort Amsterdam in New Netherland, the 6th of September 1656.^[2]

Notes

References

Translation: Gehring, C., trans./ed., New Netherland Documents Series: Vol. 16, part 1, Laws and Writs of Appeal, 1647-1663 (Syracuse: 1991).A complete copy of this publication is available on the New Netherland Institute website.