Letter – Diana Beaumont to John Erasmus Blackett – 26 Aug 1803

									Worthing Augt 26th 1803

Dear Sir

      I was yesterday favor’d with your Letter of the 21st & by this Post have rec’d yours of the 22nd w[hic]h with this I forward to Col. Beaumont, & he will enclose this to you, in consequence of your think[in]g a Letter to Mr Burdon might be a Spur, I wrote him my Sentiments Yesterday very fully, w[hic]h I think may be of use, & neither Col. Beaumont or you can be implicated as I am alone here, I have this Day sent Col. B- a Copy of the Letter I wrote to Mr Burdon, we must feel his Conduct to us disrespectful, not to give it a harsher term, he has rely’d on our easy good humour & thinks we are ignorant of Business & shall agree to anything,  I cannot bear to be imposed upon, & Mr Burdon has done it to us most completely, surely a Friend of ours should have been Named on the Committee, if the Colonel was not himself, but from the names of the Gentlemen it appears to me a Nominal Committee who will agree to what they themselves propose to them, Mr Burdon & the Surtees’s might as well have formed the Committee alone; Mr Brandling a Gentleman of honour & one I highly respect, but is Brother in Law to Mr Burdon, & no Man of Business, Mr Ord, the same, & Nephew, Mr <E--> Clarke, the same to the Surtees’s, & Mr Russell I believe connected with Burdon, Mr Trevelyan certainly only Nominal, the others I am not I believe acquainted with, Mr Burdon’s Letter to Col. B. is as extraordinary as his others, & I consider it an insulting one to impose on our Understand[in]g to say he is glad to inform us the report of the Arkendale Mines is favorable & in my answer I have given him my opinion on that Subject as well as others, & now hope they will not venture to ask us to accept Security for as he says “at least a Considerable part of our demand” his next will be to ask us to advance more I suppose; - 

      I am obliged to you for desiring Mr Thomas to order our Keeper to send Game to Matfen, I wrote to him to the same purpose a few Days since - - Mr Bell wrote to me respect[in]g the Black Book of Hexham being shewn by him to Mr Walton, & I said in this instance it could be no injury to us, but he said he never Acknowledged hav[in]g it in his Possession, & should never shew it to anyone but by an express order from us, w[hic]h I wrote him, & requested he would shew the part to Mr Walton w[hic]h he desired to see, but nor to part with it out of his own possession, - You make your Sales of Lead so judiciously that we are perfectly satisfied that the best that is possible will be done for our Interest –

I write in haste & am Dear Sir

      very sincerely Yours

      D Beaumont