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Saturday 27th December
Examined the piece of Road which was made by direction of the Board, to admit of the future working of the Quarry, without breaking into a field. It is not quite finished but is a good job, my Son having let it to a man who has been much employed on the lines of turnpike in that part, who was well known to me. His estimate was the lowest, but he complains that it will not pay him, the old road was so bad to take up. Went with Mr Hogarth to see a Wall of considerable length which divided the tillage fields from the Sea Links where Sheep are pastured at some seasons & where fences indispensable. This is a grievous concern. It had been built at considerable expense, but with such a perishable Stone, got from the top of the Limestone Rock, that there is not a heard of it standing, nor scarcely a Stone in it, that can be used again. Mr Hogarth found it in that state on entering the Farm expected to have it rebuilt, according to a promise made to him, which has not been done, & in the meantime has been obliged to patch it up with Thorns & Rails, & frequently to keep a person watching his Sheep on the Links to prevent them trespassing among the Corn. There seems no alternatives but to make a new Fence at the beginning of a new Lease, by which the Tenant is bound to maintain the fence in repair, and even then it will fall heavily upon him, as all the stones must be led from the high part of the Farm where the new road is now being made, by himself. A Hedge would not grow in that situation, both from the standings of the Soil & the exposure to the East Winds from the Sea. It will be necessary I imagine to take in Estimates for Quarrying & building it according to dimensions which I left with Hogarth, & to do so much in a season as he can conveniently lead the Horses for. Some of the Cottages occupied by the Labourers upon that Farm are very damp & uncomfortable, the floors never having been regularly flagged, but laid with course flat Stones, & the roofs are not waterproof, though Hogarth laid £10 in the Autumn for the repair of the tiling upon his Farm. Better floors can be made by a composition of Lime & Ashes from the Colliery Engine, than by those bad flags, & at much less expense, & I shall send a Man against Spring to do them, who laid floors for me 30 years ago in that way, that are as good as ever now & remarkably dry. There are two very old Cottages which it is scarcely safe to inhabit, & which yet cannot be dispensed with any degree of convenience, which I think it will be necessary to rebuild in the Spring.
I then went to Pringle, who was most outrageous at not having been placed, as he said, on the same footing with his neighbours, by having his Rent reduced. I told him that when he applied for an abatement of Rent, he had been informed like others that it would not be granted, but he might by giving timely notice, get quit of his farm, that as he had not done so, he must abide by it for the present. He said that if he continued he would be ruined, and if he quitted it he would be ruined, that it was my business to have let him know that the other farms were to be offered to the tenants privately, & to advise him to follow the same course. I told him that I did not understand that it formed a part of my duty to inform the Tenantry of the Hospital of any negotiation that might be going on with other individual, but that he had had an equal chance with them to get quit of his Farm had he chosen. But said he, how did I know that I would have an offer of it again? I told him that the Conditions on which old Tenants were to be treated with, were there former adherence to their covenants & having managed their Farms creditably. This seemed to touch him on a sore point, & he became more furious, insisting that he should at once be put upon the same terms as the others. I told him it was not for me to do so but he might make any application to the Commissioners that he choose, tho’ I believed that he would only receive the same answer that he had previously done. No, he would apply to no Commissrs any more. He was determined to go to the Duke of Wellington at once, & he would see him righted for he was a friend of the Duke & had correspondence with him. I assured him that I could offer no objection to his making such an application to his Grace, if he thought proper, & made my retreat from the Storm, without having heard a word of some matters which he wished to speak about, but which after a few days cooling, he may have recollected.
I then went to the Colliery Office. Johnson is not there, but the Clerks showed me the Books. I much fear that the expensive Rail way has been an ill advised measure. It is evidently of no use to the Landsale & I see that there is not a Port to which the Coal is Shipped that affords them a remunerating price. It looks well & is of large size which is a desideratum, but it is too course in quality to compete with the Coal from the Tyne or Wear, and from what I saw of their payments & receipts, I should fear that it has been a very bad concern. Having heard that the Bank at Berwick has obtained some sort of Security over the Colliery to cover Johnsons Account, I went there and had an interview with two of the Patrons to ascertain the fact, as well as to inform them of the claims of the Hospital which could not be invalidated by any security given to them. This they were aware of, & promised that no hostile proceedings should be taken, until I should be acquainted with it & satisfied. They said moreover, that if Johnson could get rid of the fraudulent paper put in circulation by his Partner Brown he might get through, but otherwise, he had not the slightest chance. However necessary it is to secure the rights of the Hospital, it would be more impolitic to make a seizure at present, which if. It relieved, must in a few days proceed to Sale. By this means the Works would be laid off, & the Engines etc sold for almost nothing, whereas were I to decide into whose hands the Colliery must fall, the full value of them would be got by valuation. At Berwick I reced from Mr Thompson £350 & from Mr Hogarth £100 which they had left unpaid at the Rent day, & transmitted it to the Bank.
In the evening, had an interview with Nairn according to appointment & got from him the following Statement:
Rent of Waren & Spindleston Mill £396
Machinery in Spindleston Mill (All
Mr Nairns) value £1000 at 8 Per cent. 80
Do. Proposed to be erected at Waren by
Mr Nairn estimated at £1100 at 8 percent. 88
Supposed outlay for the building for
Machinery and Granaries at Waren £1060
and at 6 Per Cent 60
£624 0 0
Besides this outlay, Nairn proposes to erect a Bone Mill. I would not however advise the Board to engage to repay that, at the end of the Lease, because the supply of Bones may fail, or the use of them for Manure be less in repute, than at present, & it might become dead stock on their hands. Nairn therefore understands that he must do that solely on his own footing, only he requests that he may have the Materials for a Water Wheel that belong to the Hospital and are not likely to be sold at Newcastle, which he would take round & put up at his own expense, leaving the Wheel in repair, as the property of the Hospital. Perhaps he might be induced to give a moderate price for those Materials too, & then it would be entirely his own. By this Statement Nairn would be saddled with a Rent of £624, & says that he cannot give more. Of this I cannot form an opinion, but think he might be asked to advance £30 or £40 a year in the first place, although I think it would be impolitic to lose so good a tenant. Those Mills are well situated for trade, and having obtained a Lease from Lord Grey of the small Harbour and buildings adjoining Nairn has the full command of it & could make it very inconvenient for any other occupier of the Mills. Situation however will not do all, a Man must have capital, connexion & capacity for business to make it a good one & though Nairn has all those requisites & has done well in it, it was quite otherwise with his predecessors. It is certain too that contemplating such an addition to the Mills he would wish to take the earliest advantage of it by commencing his operations immediately. I shall therefore hope to be favored with the instructions of the Board on the subject. Returned to Milfield Hill at Midnight.
