Document: Award to P. L. van der Grist and Thomas Willett, arbitrators on a claim of Richard Lord vs. director Stuyvesant, for £200 sterling

We the subscribed selected arbiters regarding the dispute in question between the lord director general of New Netherland, Petrus Stuyvesant, and Mr. Richert Lard, merchant at Herford in New England, concerning the ship Swoll. Mr. Lard claims and demands two hundred pounds sterling for damages which he has suffered (so he says) because the ship Swoll did not arrive during the year at the mouth of the Fresh River [Varse Revier], pursuant to an agreement between him and the lord general. Whereas he had made a part of the cargo ready for it, it caused him great damage when he had to let it sit there for about a year until other opportunities arose to ship the same.

The lord general responds that no charter party had been made between him and Mr. Lard, only an oral agreement; that it would have been up to Richard Lard, the ship having arrived, to load the same or to send it back empty, upon the pretense of unfitness or otherwise; the lord general further declares that he sent the ship there at the designated time, but that the same accidentally ran onto the rocks by which it became unfit to transport merchandise by sea; his honor further declares that he sent the ensign, George Baxter, solely for that purpose to Herford in order to warn Mr. Lard that the aforesaid ship had become unfit to transport merchandise by sea (which unfitness is evident by the foundering of the same ship, which never has appeared again); however, the aforesaid Baxter was unable to go any farther than Nieuhoven for want of a horse, which can be seen in the letter written by Baxter to Mr. Lard and shown to us.

Mr. Lard replies that the ship was fit to come to Herford as it was sent to Curaçao.

The lord general counters that it was unfit to ship merchandise until it had been keelhauled, which was impossible to do at this time of year because of drifting ice. Furthermore, as the skipper and his crew offered and requested to sail the ship to Curaçao with only ballast and without cargo at their own risk, which request was approved, as the salaries and expenses would have risen very high if the ship had remained here during the winter.

Therefore, we the selected arbiters having heard the claims and rebuttals of the parties, and having pondered and deliberated everything that might serve as material evidence, and having considered everything that this case warranted, we judge that the lord general is not obliged to pay or compensate for any damage or harm suffered by Mr. Lard regarding the aforesaid ship, but that each shall have to bear his own damages as such was caused by accident. Done at Amsterdam in New Netherland, the 25th of August anno 1656 (was signed:) J. L. vande Grist, Tho: Willet (lower stood:) Thus signed by the aforementioned persons as arbiters. Acknowledged by me (was signed) C.V. Ruyven, secretary.