Letter – Edward Blackett to James Mewburn – 19 May 1709

James                                                					May 19 1709

      I perceive by yours of the 14th that you have been up the West Water but to very little purpose. I ordered you to stay there till you had left all things Streight, both with Barrow and Dodd & the rest of them, I wonder to what purpose you Employed an Attourney, I expected you would have gott the Debt or their Goods long before this, I writ you plainly to order an attourney to go to him that bought Reay’s Land and Acqt. him that he had orders to Enter upon the Ground in case he did not give a note under his hand to pay my Debt, and upon Rect. of this Write to an Attourny in Hexham to go to him and Acqt. him with it, as also to give Mr Barrow & Dodd Notice they must Either pay their Moneys or go to gaol .  I hope you took Security from them both and had them arrested upon their Security, So the Bailiff is <lyable> to make both these Debts good  You write me that none of the Arrears can be gott till the tenants gett their Corn off the Ground and that it is a better way to Seize & Sell their Goods than to mark them, So upon Rect. thereof go to <Burne>, Shotton, Allen, Moor and Smith and if they do not give you Good Security to pay immediately their Rents & Arrears, distrain all their goods & Sell them, for I had rather have no Tenants than Such as they are.  the May day Rents are likewise due, I wonder you would suffer them to Run one Rent into another, I have oftentimes Charged you to the contrary and unless they pay you all but the May day Rents be Sure you observe my Directions, I doubt it is your fault  in not Receiving of Them, To my knowledge Mr Slater is able to pay you his Rent tho it were fore times as much so by his Arrears I must Judge that you must be very careless in not demanding the Rents, You must make Example of Some of them, otherwise you will never have the Rents better paid, I wish you could give me a bill for fifty pounds of Mr Featherstone & Reay at 15 or 30 days & inclose one of Saturday night post, you know I <let> Several <hundred pounds> lye in their hands a long time So you may pay <them> as soon as you Receive it of the Tenants, wch I am Sure they will not refuse you, you may dispose of the Oates as soon as conveniently you can but be Sure you keep <the> Wheat, and not thrash any of it till the middle of July, it goes here last Markett day <8s.6d> per bush. new Wheat and tis thought will be much Dearer before Harvest, for we shall have a backwardly one, lett me know per next what Quantity of Oates you may have to dispose of, they give here two & twenty shillings per Quart but tis thought they will be cheaper, be Sure you always remember never let one halfe Years Rent run into another hereafter come what will of the Tenants,     

                                                                                   I am your Assured friend

Mr James Mewburne