Journal entry – John Grey – 21 Nov 1834

Friday 21st. November



The unfortunate Tenant of Eads Bush who has been crewelly defrauded, & obliged to make an Assignment, waited upon me this morning, to gave me an undertaking from the Assignees for the rent due & to say, that he hoped in the settlement of his affairs, to be able to carry on the small Farm.   I told him that I felt convinced the Commissioners would wish to regard his unfortunate circumstances with due consideration, but that they must at the same time keep an eye to the interest of the Hospital, & that I could not, in such a case recommend his being allowed the Farm without giving security beyond his own, for the payment of the rents, which I advised him to endeavour to provide. 



I am obliged  to report that Mr Fenwick could only realize £20 from the effects of Common & Atkinson, late Tenants of a Public House & Ground at Meldon, in payment of an Arrear of £52.3.11 1/2.   The balance must therefore I conceive be discharged by Journal entry, if approved & ordered by the Board.  [marginal pencil note: ‘I do not like this summary abandonment of our Claims lest it become too easy a practice of’]



Was much occupied in examining Mr Parkin’s valuation of the Lots of Wood in Newlands & other places, in correspondence & office business.   But rode at noon to see the repair done Tyne banks & to direct the cutting & improving some old Woodland hedges on the Dilston Estate, that have been spoilt by mismanagement. In letting the Dilston Estate I propose that the Hospital should not as heretofore be bound to make compensation for damage by Floods, but that it should take upon itself the Expence of maintaining the embankments in a full & complete state of repair, & also the charge of the young Hedges upon the Embankment, & by the sides of the Turnpike Roads, as it is in vain to expect the Tenants to bestow any particular pains upon them. 



I received today  Mr Le Geyts remarks upon my Cash account and in explanation state, that I did not send a receipt on Stamp for my own & Mr Dickinson’s Salary, from the conviction that it would not afford any additional security to the Hospital, & therefore appeared to be unnecessary.  The items, forming a part of an account written out by Mr Dickinson & signed by myself, & for which I am in every way responsible & which is sent to be retained by the Board.  [The first of several marginal pencil notes occurs here, signed PCL, ie Philip Carteret Le Geyt ’Clerk of the Cheque’ for the Hospital, ie an auditor, renowned for being meticulous. This first marginal note is truncated into the fold and thereore not possible to transcribe and make sense.]  



In the same way it seemed to me an unnecessary expense to the Hospital that the Moor Master should send back a receipt on Stamp for Cash advanced to him as Imprest, at the same time that the account for which he is responsible, arrived, giving Credit for the amount, & signed with his name.  I therefore told him that I conceived an acknowledgment by Letter of the money which would appear in his Account, might suffice.   If I am wrong & if this trifling economy can possibly lead to inconvenience or insecurity, it may be easily rectified.  [marginal pencil note by PCL: ‘This is the first time it has occurred. The moor Master had always given stamped receipt for the money advanced to him on Imprest hitherto’ But possibly the Commissioners might be inclined to view the advances made to him in the same light as those made by them to the Cashier here, for which the Audit Board do not require a Stamped receipt’] 



Then as to Stamps, when a number are got at once, for the rent days etc, a voucher & bill of Particulars can & ought to be given, but when, as often happens a payment is offered at a Market or fair, which of course one is not inclined to lose sight of, it becomes necessary to buy a Stamp at the moment.  In such cases to produce vouchers is impossible, & it as frequently happens that it is forgotten to be charged at all, as otherwise a Box is kept in the Office, into which all money received for Stamps from persons coming to obtain payments, is put.  When more Stamps are wanted, this money goes in payment of them as far as it will, & the remainder only is charged to the Hospital.  If all the business were done in one Office or House, a more regular account of Stamps might be kept, & vouchers rendered for the purchase of them, but when it is extended over a wide district of country I despair of being able to render a very detailed account of receipts & disbursements. [marginal pencil note by PCL: ‘I see no reason why a Bill of Parcels would not be made out for any large number of Stamps purchased and the Vendors receipt be attached to it. And it would <…> better perhaps to <.. imitate> the Usage in this Case to what observed by the Cashiers <…> which is every month <he> debit himself with <the> amount of money received from Tradesmen & others for Stamps. However it may become necessary to buy a single stamp or a few for incidental purposes as stated <…> outlay would be the proper subject to introduce to the Contingent Account’]



Then as to Postage, since an Office has been established at Corbridge, an account is kept by Mr Blandford, the Postmaster & paid every quarter, the Letters being forwarded to Dilston Toll in a Bag, for which we have not an opportunity of making the daily payments.   Mr Blandfords account & receipt, then will be a voucher so far, but we have almost daily communications besides those by Post.  The interchange of Papers - Draft Leases etc with the Solicitors - All the applications for Mineral Trials from Alston & corresponding Grants & all other communications with the Moor Master, are necessarily made by Coach Parcels, there being no Post that way.  Such parcels are left at Dilston Toll & paid for by the Gatekeeper, who receives it again on delivery.   One thing I know, that many such parcels delivered to myself when passing the Toll Bar, or on meeting the Coaches by the way & many gifts to the Tollman & other messengers for bringing Letters & Parcels are paid out of my own pocket, & never charged to the Hospital at all.  But on this head I shall do my best to give Mr Le Geyt satisfaction.  [marginal pencil note by PCL: ‘Mr Dickinson would of course keep an account of all such payments <…> of others made <out> of Office last <…> the same service <…> and any similar casual disbursements of Mr Greys would be equally made from that source. At the end of a quarter (or monthly as considered best) the payments would be converted into the form of the Voucher which I sent – and which is the same exactly as required by the Audit Board for similar disbursements in each Department here.’]



Upon the head of Checks - I shall request the bankers to mark those paid in by the Receiver, in lieu of Cash payments which he has made, which I take to be Mr Le Geyts meaning contained in his request on that head.  With regard to the Cheque for £191.10 complained of as causing so much trouble, & comprizing eleven different items, it consisted of all the allowances made to Tenants at the Belford Rent receipt  & the corresponding sum would appear in the column of allowances in that Rental Sheet.  I have on former occasions included all such allowances in one Check, instead of incurring the fruitless labor, to myself & the Bankers, of drawing (it might be 50 Checks at the Haydon Bridge receipt) for small sums which appear separately & collectively in the Rental Sheet.   Mr Dickinson shall be desired in future to arrange the items in the Cash Account, so as to make it appear which & how many are included in one Check, without trouble to anyone inspecting it.  [marginal pencil note by PCL: ‘This arrangement will obviate the difficulty complained of, and save a vast deal of time in the comparison of the Receiver’s with the Banker’s account and is what I should have proposed had I been sure the disagreement arose from the cause stated.’]



[Further marginal pencil note by EHL: ‘I approve all Mr Le Geyts very proper remarks, which Mr Grey must adopt as necessary’]