Partly-printed DS, one page, 7 x 8.5, June 1, 1791. Document issued to Alexander Hodgdon. In full: “You are by and with the Advice and Consent of Council, ordered and directed to pay unto Daniel Smith the Sum of Fourteen Shillings & ten pence in full for the bounty on 1.0.27 of Hemp raised, manufactured & certified agreeable to Law—to be paid as directed by resolve of 11th March last for which this shall be your sufficient Warrant.” Signed at the conclusion by Hancock and countersigned by John Avery. Accompanied by a manuscript DS, signed “Daniel Smith,” one page, 7.5 x 3.25, authorizing the treasurer “to Pay Sam Jenison Jnr my Bounty…” Endorsement on the reverse reads, “Novr 30. 1791. Recd fourteen Shillings & ten pence—for the within order. 14/10” signed “Sam Jenison Jr.” A central vertical fold, moderate somewhat irregular uniform toning, thin area of paper to top left where seal has been removed, dampstaining over last name of Hancock’s signature not affecting legibility, and mild rippling, otherwise very good condition.
After resigning from the position in 1785 due to failing health, Hancock was reelected governor of Massachusetts in 1787, the position he would hold for the remainder of his life. In 1791, recently elected President George Washington was making a concerted effort to advance the new nation’s agricultural and industrial growth; realizing that not only was it a crop well-suited to the climate, but also that its use in industry could be vast, he encouraged the growth of hemp, imposing duties on its import to promote domestic production. In a letter to Alexander Hamilton four months later, Washington wrote, ‘would there be propriety…in suggesting the policy of encouraging the growth of Cotton, and Hemp in such parts of the United States as are adapted to the culture of these articles? The advantages which would result to this Country from the produce of articles, which ought to be manufactured at home is apparent.’ Here Hancock signs off on a warrant demanding pay for a hemp farmer that same year, a good sign that Washington’s plans for the crop were taking hold. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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