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archive access 1.04.02, inventory number 1225, page 1120

Reniersz's account books showed a difference of 7816 guilders and 4 stuivers, which equals 15,632 guilders and 10 stuivers, compared to what was actually found. This was clearly stated in the daily register dated last day of October. The writer could not understand how such a large difference could have occurred. The writer promised to continue investigating everything carefully, including collecting outstanding debts which were already slowly coming in, and asked to be trusted with this task.

Regarding trade, nothing had been accomplished up to that point, mainly because foreign ships had not arrived and because of constant business matters at the headquarters. The writer hoped that the Company's goods would fetch their proper prices and produce good profits. All efforts would be made so that larger and more important capital could be entrusted to them for the benefit of the honorable Company in the future.

The small cargo that had been sent on the yacht Zoutelande and the fluyt ship d'Postilioen had arrived well in quantity but not in quality. In the yacht there were 2 damaged packages and in the fluyt ship there were 4. They would try with all possible effort to repair these and sell them to various buyers for the greatest profit of their employers. They would inform their superiors about the results soon.

Regarding their efforts in carefully investigating the dealings of the Macassarese and Portuguese, as well as other rumors, and pressing for payment of the unusable 1776¾ maesen (a type of currency) as reported by assistant Krul, their superiors could read about this in their daily register and in the copy of the letter written to the Moluccan governor Sijmon Cos. The writer also referred to the resolution about stopping the construction of ships under number 14.

The writer sadly had to report that due to the unruly behavior of their sailors, their desertion and other problems, and especially due to the incitement by several treacherous Dutch deserters (7 in total, who constantly tried to corrupt others), they faced daily complaints. One of their subordinate boatswains on the sloop de Kreest, a modest man named Pieter Iansz van de Doel, had been led so far astray from the path of virtue that he had first committed theft, then abandoned the Company's service and deserted to their known enemies, the Portuguese.