Letter – Charles Staples to John Erasmus Blackett – 21 Oct 1783

Sir,

      Not having had the pleasure of receiving an ans[wer] to mine of the 9th Instant wherein I made you an offer to dispose of your Lead on comm[ission]; shou'd you be inclined to send it to this Market on Sir Tho[mas] Blackett's acc[ount]s, I can now only reiterate my former offer w[hi]ch I flatter myself will not be unworthy your notice, & shou'd you wish to make any enquiry respecting me I can refer you to most of the first Merchants and Bankers here to whom I am well known. I doubt not but in a little time you wou'd be sensible of the Advantage that wou'd accrue to Sir Thomas by this mode of doing business. There wou'd at first be some opposition made to it by the Lead Merch[an]ts that have got the lead into their own hands but that difficulty wou'd soon Overcome, Your great advantage to you wou'd be that by sending the Lead here as it is made it wou'd always be going off and you wou'd have no occasion to keep 10 or 20 Thousand Pigs on your Wharf (which I know is sometimes the case) waiting till the Agents with you have orders to buy. Keeping a large quantity by you on a falling Market is certainly a great Detriment and you must be very certain that had your Lead come to Market this Summer as it was made, and sold at a low Market Price it wou'd have saved Sir Thomas a considerable sum of money.

	I had an offer made me from the West many Months since, but the Quantity of Lead they Proposed sending wou'd not make it an object worth my attention

      I am Sir your most Humble Servant

      Chas Staples

      I shou'd wish if it is agreable to you that this Business be kept from the Agents to the Lead Merch[an]ts as much as possible.

      I'm inclined to think I shall be connected at Xmas with the Head of a very Considerable House, who has Great intrest in this way besides the Gents mention'd in my Former Letter.



[annotated in JEB’s hand:] ans[wered] 19th Nov