the letter of the law. The goods exported from England by the Company were, as soon as they reached the Colony, to be stored in a magazine, from which they could be drawn for distribution only upon the warrant of the President and Council, or the Cape Merchant and two clerks who were in immediate charge of the goods. Of the latter trio of officers, the Cape Merchant, as his name discloses, was the chief. He was also the Treasurer of the Colony.[1] In the beginning, it was his duty merely to preserve and guard the contents of the magazine, whether imported from England or produced by the labors of the inhabitants. It was not until a modified right of holding private property was granted that he became an agent in exchanging the goods of the Company or of private adventurers, for the commodities owned by the settlers. Previous to this, he was virtually a mere supercargo. The Cape Merchant was elected to fill the position which he occupied only for twelve months, but he was permitted to be a candidate for reëlection, his reëlection resting with the President and Council. At the time he was chosen, two clerks were also selected, and they remained, like the Cape Merchant, in office for a period of one year, their position being attended by less responsibility. They also could be reëlected. It was the duty of one of the clerks to keep a book in which all the supplies distributed were to be entered, and he as well as his associate could be suspended or removed by the President and Council, or by a majority of the body which they formed.
In the orders in Council drawn up for the guidance of the persons in charge of the expedition of 1607, the preservation and the supervision of the different articles to be conveyed to Virginia was imposed upon Captain
- ↑ Instructions for the Government of the Colonies, Brown’s Genesis of the United States, p. 72.
