It Was Certainly One Of Their "More Weighty Affairs," And
It May Well Be Doubted, Also, If The Owner Of The Vessel (Even Though One
Of Their Number) Would Accept Less Than The Signatures Of All, When There
Was No Legal Status By Incorporation Or Co-Partnership To Hold Them
Collectively.
If the facts were indeed as stated by Smith, - whose knowledge of what he
affirmed there is no reason to doubt, - there can be little question that
the contract for the service of the MAY-FLOWER was signed by the entire
number of the Adventurers on the one part.
If so, its covenants would be
equally binding upon each of them except as otherwise therein stipulated,
or provided by the law of the realm. In such case, the charter-party of
the MAY-FLOWER, with the autograph of each Merchant Adventurer appended,
would constitute, if it could be found, one of the most interesting and
valuable of historical documents. That it was not signed by any of the
Leyden congregation - in any representative capacity - is well-nigh
certain. Their contracts were with the Adventurers alone, and hence they
were not directly concerned in the contracts of the latter, their
"agents" being but co-workers with the Adventurers (under their
partnership agreements), in finding shipping, collecting moneys,
purchasing supplies, and in generally promoting the enterprise. That
they were not signing-parties to this contract, in particular, is made
very certain by the suggestion of Cushman's letter of Sunday, June 11,
to the effect that he hoped that "our friends there [at Leyden] if they
be quitted of the ship-hire [as then seemed certain, as the Adventurers
would hire on general account] will be induced to venture [invest] the
more." There had evidently been a grave fear on the part of the Leyden
people that if they were ever to get away, they would have to hire the
necessary ship themselves.
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