About a week after we came to town, I called at Mr. Henry Thornton's, but not finding him at home, left my address with a message, that I wished to see him on business. Several days elapsed without a syllable from Mr. Thornton, and conjecturing the servant might have omitted delivering either my card or message, I called again, when his house-keeper assured me he had received both, but was then at his country seat at Clapham; I now left a note mentioning the circumstance of having waited on him twice, and beg[g]ing to be acquainted when I could have the pleasure of seeing him; four or five days more passed away without any answer, which puzzled me very much to account for. Unwilling, however, to nurse any suspicion that either insult or injury could possibly be intended me by a man who had spontaneously made such declarations of friendship as Mr. Thornton did to me before I went last to Africa, and whose character is currently reported to possess as little alloy as frail man can be charged with, I therefore determined to venture another letter before I formed any opinion. The consequence of this was an answer that staggered me a vast deal more than his silence; he informed me I would find him at his banking house in Bartholomew lane from ten to twelve the following day, if I chose to call there. I was vexed at receiving so affronting a note from Mr. Thornton because it gave me room to question his veracity and the Directors good intentions towards me; nevertheless, a consciousness of having done nothing to merit such rudeness, and my interest requiring me to see him, I curbed my nettled pride, collected as much composure as it was possible, and met the gentleman on his own ground. I believe he neither expected or wished for this meeting; when I entered his counting room, he blushed confusion and with some difficulty stammered out, "Pray, madam, what is your business with me?"

"I have been induced to take so much pains to see you, Sir, to request you will get the Directors to settle Mr. Falconbridge's accounts and pay what is owing me," answered I.

"Why," said he, "Mr. Falconbridge kept no books, and he appears to be considerably in debt to the Company."

"Kept no books, Sir, how can that be when I have a copy of them this moment in my hands, a duplicate of which I know your Accountant at Sierra Leone (in whose possession the original books are) has sent the Directors."

"I have never seen them; pray what is the amount of your demand?" replied Mr. Thornton. I then produced an abstract account stating the sum.

"Why," says he, "it’s a large amount; I did not know Mr. Falconbridge left any money in our hands. I thought he had received it; and his accounts for the Lapwing's first voyage were never settled."

This language startled me a good deal, but I refreshed his memory regarding the money left with the Directors and told him he also laboured under a mistake respecting the Lapwing's accounts, for he must recollect they were settled, and that he, fortunately, paid the balance of £74. 19s. 6d. to myself.

Naked truths thus staring him in the face, made him at a loss what to say; however, after a little reflection, he told me, "Whatever is due to you, madam, must be paid; if you will walk into another room and wait a few moments, I will send for Mr. Williams, the Secretary, who will see every thing set right."

I was then shewn into a large cold room covered with painted floor cloth, where, after waiting some time half frozed, Mr. Williams came. His behaviour was gentlemanlike. When I had recapitulated nearly what I said to Mr. Thornton, he enquired if Mr. Falconbridge left a will in my favour? which having answered in the affirmative, he wished me joy, as it would prevent others from sharing of the little property he left—desired me to get the will proved, and when that was done there would be no impediment whatever in my way, and I should be paid immediately.

In a few days after, Mr.----- [DuBois] saw Mr. Williams, who told him he had better omit proving the will till the Court exactly ascertained what amount I had to receive, as it would save expence. Perhaps Mr. Williams intended a kindness by this admonition, for he must have known then, what I am now sure of, that the Directors mean, if they possibly can, to withhold every sixpence from me. At least there is great reason to suppose so from their quibbling conduct.

What do you think of their charging me with the presents they particularly directed I should purchase for, and make, Queen Naimbana; with the stores granted by the Court for me to take to Sierra Leone, my journey to Bristol and Falmouth, and every little donation they made, either to Mr. Falconbridge, or myself?

But besides these paltry, pitiful charges, they bring forward three others of much greater consequence, though founded on equally shameful and frivolous grounds, viz. the Lapwing's cargo with all the expences of her first voyage and for eight months before she left the river Thames;—the goods sent in the Duke of Buccleugh, together with the freight and passage money paid Messrs. Anderson's, and the Amy's cargo when we last went to Africa.

They might with as much propriety have included the whole of the Company's funds that have been thrown away;—yes, shamefully so,—no set of raw boys just let loose from school could have disposed of them more injudiciously. What had Mr. Falconbridge to do with the disbursement of the Lapwing? Her master was the ostensible person. The trifling goods sent out in her and the Duke of Buccleugh were all appropriated conformable to the instructions Mr. Falconbridge received; they were not intended for trading with, but merely as gifts of charity and bribes to pacify the covetous natives. Therefore, if Mr. Falconbridge had not accounted for them, it would be very easy to find out whether they had been disposed of that way. But I know every thing was settled previous to our second voyage, and it is only a poor, mean finesse in the Directors to say otherwise.

"I hope I speak truth when I pronounce their late Commercial Agent an honest man, but a very unfortunate one, not in the least calculated for the station he filled, which men of discernment might have discovered at first view. I assure you, had I been on board the Lapwing on her first voyage by myself in Sierra Leone river without a person in the neighbourhood likely to befriend me (which was the case with Falconbridge), knowing the country as I do, I should have thought myself extremely happy to have returned safe to my native country, without any cargo at all."

I shall now leave you to make what comments you please on the vexatious treatment I have received from those Gentlemen, and to turn in your mind what my prospects would have been had I come home implicitly confiding in the profusion of friendly promises they bestowed on me (unsought for) when last in England.

I certainly had a right to build some expectations from them; but in place of any, you find those paragons of virtue and human excellence unwilling to do me common justice, refusing to pay me what is religiously my right—a little pittance, which God knows I gave the highest price for!

However, if there is any comfort in having company in one's misfortunes or ill usage, I have that satisfaction. Their treatment to Mr. Clarkson (the late Governor) and others has been highly discreditable, but their behaviour to the two Deputies from Sierra Leone and consequently to all their constituents is the most inconsistent part of their conduct because any injury done them must annoy and jar the Company's interest.

* * *

King's Arms Yard, Coleman-street, London.

BRISTOL, April 4, 1794.

SIR,

Being earnestly solicited by several friends to publish the History of my Two Voyages to Africa, and having with some reluctance consented, I feel it incumbent on me to address this letter to you (which is hereafter intended for publication) by way of acquiting a tribute truth and candor demands, in support of what I have, necessarily, mentioned regarding the Directors behaviour to me.

It is needless, Sir, to take a more distant retrospect of the subject matter than to the time of our arrival from Sierra Leone in 1791. If you will turn over to that period and search into your personal behaviour, as well as the Court of Directors, to Mr. Falconbridge, I am persuaded you will find it marked with repeated testimonies of approbation and applause for the services you were pleased to say he had rendered the common interest and original views of the Company.

For what purpose did the Directors vote us a compensation for our losses? Or for what purpose did they remove Mr. Falconbridge out of his particular province as a medical man and make him their Commercial Agent?

Were these not tokens of satisfaction and rewards for his extraordinary exertions to serve the Company; or were they mere tricks of chicane and deception to inveigle him to return to Africa and answer the desirable end of securing a footing for the Emigrants, then expected from America? Let your own heart, Sir, decide upon these questions.

I understand the Directors persist to say [that] Mr. Falconbridge had not settled the accounts of his first voyage before he left England the second time; and that they impeach his memory by saying he has not accounted for the cargo of the Amy, consigned to him as Commercial Agent. Is it so, Sir? Are these the paltry subterfuges made use of for withholding the poor pittance I am entitled to? If they are, I shall charitably suppose, for a moment, they proceed from error, and endeavour once more to set you right,—though, believe me, [with] not with the smallest expectation of profiting thereby.

To the first I shall observe: You must labor under the misfortune of a very careless memory if you cannot recollect that all Mr. Falconbridge's accounts, anteceding the 25th of December, 1791, were adjusted to that time, and that I received from yourself a balance of £74. 19s. 6d., which appeared on the face of the account in his favor.

Can you deny the truth of this assertion and say there was no such settlement? If you can, I will not attribute it to any harsher cause than bad memory, for I yet think it is impossible, Mr. Thornton would be so pitiful, willingly, to utter an untruth.

But if this pointed circumstance had not happened and I was wholly ignorant of the affair, I should suppose men of business (as some of the Directors must be) would never have suffered him, or any person else, to commence the transactions of a new concern 'till those of the old were clearly concluded, but more especially so in this instance, as the charities Mr. Falconbridge had the distribution of on his first voyage were the property of the St. George's Bay Company, whose original funds and effects were taken in account by the Sierra Leone Company upon their incorporation, and therefore it was certainly necessary that the Directors should be made acquainted with the true state of their affairs.

To the second, I have to remind you that Mr. Falconbridge never received the Cargo of the Amy and consequently cannot account for what he was not in possession of. Upon his arrival in Africa he got instructions from the Directors placing him entirely under the control of the Superintendant and Council, and the property of the Company solely under their direction. Consequently the first consignment and unlimited instructions given him became nugatory. Furthermore, the master of the Amy got a receipt for his whole Cargo from the Governor and Council previous to his leaving Sierra Leone, which is just now in possession of the Directors.

I am inclined to believe the Directors are already acquainted with these circumstances;. indeed it is almost impossible they can be ignorant of them. But admitting they are, what excuse can they have for swelling up an account against me with fictitious niggardly charges such as charging me with disbursements for the Lapwing's first voyage, not only during her voyage, but for six or seven months before she left the river Thames? The freight and passage money of the Duke of Buccleugh paid Messrs. Anderson? The presents I was desired to purchase and make Queen Naimbana, for which I have your letter as authority? The stores I was allowed to take with me for our use at Sierra Leone? Our journey to Bristol, Falmouth, &c. &c.?

That the Directors had cause to be displeased with Mr. Falconbridge for not extending their commercial views may be in some measure true; but tied up as he was to obey the dictates of the Superintendant and Council, who would not listen to any arrangements of the kind until comfort and regularity were established in the Colony—What was he to do? However if he was altogether in fault, was he not punished by annulling his appointment as Commercial Agent? Could the Directors do more? If they had blindly (as they certainly did in many instances) made improper appointments, what more could they do than annul them when they discovered their mistake?

But I should suppose it did not require any great discernment to know that a Surgeon, unacquainted with mercantile affairs, would make but as poor a figure in that line as a Merchant, who had not studied physic or anatomy, would make in the practice of surgery.

Mr. Falconbridge's dismission did not charge or accuse him with any crime but wanting knowledge of his business; and what information the Directors could get on that score must have been from a quarter as ignorant, if not more so than himself;—but surely it was their province to have convinced themselves, when they made the appointment, whether he was equal to it or not.

Did not Mr Falconbridge's dismission stipulate that his salary was to continue till the Governor and Council procured him a passage to England? Could there have been the smallest idea at that time of detaining either the money left in the hands of the Directors, or his wages? Surely not. Then why do the Directors now (he is no more) withhold payment from me?

For shame, Mr. THORNTON, for shame!!! How can you wink at my being so shabbily treated after the unexampled sufferings I have undergone, and after the prodigality of fair promises I had from you to induce me to return a second time to Africa. Did you not tell me [that] if any accident befell Falconbridge, I should be handsomely provided for by the Company? Surely you cannot forget making such a promise;—which you not only forego fulfilling, but shamefully keep back (all I require of you) the trifling sum so justly due to me.

If the Directors were not fearful of subjecting their conduct (towards me) to the investigation of impartial men, they never would have refused submitting the affair to arbitration, as was offered; nor would they have threatened or boasted that they would ruin me with an expensive law-suit in Chancery when I signified my intention of trying the cause at Common Law, if they meant to do the fair thing.

I cannot help forming those conjectures, for how are we to calculate the principles of men but by their actions? Though, believe me, Mr. Thornton, notwithstanding all I have said of the Court of Directors, I yet firmly believe [that] if the decision was left wholly to yourself, I should have ample justice, and I cannot avoid thinking, from the opinion I have heretofore formed of your benevolence of heart, that you are secretly ashamed of the Directors nefarious treatment to me.

I will not trespass on your time any longer, but shall quit the subject, with referring my cause to the loftiest of Tribunals, where reigns a judge of mercy, vengeance, and justice, who, I am persuaded, will not let such turpitude go unpunished, and who has probably already began to shew his displeasure.

Pray, Sir, receive this letter with temper and consider it comes from a Woman aggravated by insults and injury.

I am, &c. &c.

ANNA MARIA --------

FINIS.

In the Preface, the Public is referred to the Directors of the Sierra Leone Company for the authenticity of the Author's assertions, who now thinks proper as a further vindication to annex the following letter, which speaks for itself.

Moreover, she avails herself of this supplement to express her vexation at the number of typographical errors throughout the foregoing pages; besides those enumerated, she has discovered several others, such as, Preface, allmost for almost; page 35, spinnage, for spinage; page 80, maddern for madder; page 176, least for last—and one or two more which she hopes the reader has mercifully looked over and not charged to her pen.

* * *

To Henry Thornton, Esq., M.P. and Chairman of the Court of Directors of

the Sierra Leone Company.

Bristol, August 11, 1794.

SIR,

Your not answering my last letter, and the disdain you have shewn me on other occasions since I came last to England, has not deterred me from doing what I considered honorable and upright.

Conscience, never wandering Monitor, advised me I should fall short of that sincerity I boast to possess and proudly nourish if I omitted sending you a copy of my Voyages to Africa before they were presented to the World.

Would to God! you may read with calmness! but I fear a prepossession of the Author's obscurity and insignificance will betray you; nay, I already anticipate your reproachful smiles at my mean diction and trite remarks, but remember, Sir, Truth, though unadorned, never fails to attract notice—it carries its own value—always shelters the innocent,and brands conviction on the malefactor's threshold.

Search the secret recesses of your bosom and enquire if the Directors conduct to me has not been a violation of those fundamental principles which should govern the actions of every man or body of men? Yes, Sir, ask there if I am not an injured Woman?

Remember for a moment my little patrimony has been expended in your service. Remember my matchless sufferings;—and remember likewise your own honour and credit. I say, remember these things, and they may point out what you ought to do.

The second document of Christianity is to make contrition for our offences. All, from the Palace to the Cottage, are liable to err, and none of us should blush to confess our penitence; however, let the impulse of your own heart guide you. What I have done exonerates mine.

I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant,

ANNA MARIA -----------.