Letter – Henry Richmond to Walter Blackett – 7 Jan 1770

To Sir Walter Blackett Bart. MP in   Half Moon Street                        Newcas. 7th Janry 1770

      Piccadilly     London 



Honrd. Sir      I am glad Mr  <Simond’s> £2000 is paid off as your Estate is thereby better than the Computation.  I hope to be able with the £1200 to go on till money can be got for Lead to be sold in the Spring - there will be 7 or £8000 worth to sell which Sum when received will probably make the Lead Mill pays  - Subsist your Miners and make the other ordinary payments till some of the new Stock can be got down and Converted into money.  So I may not want any of the Woodcroft money and yet it may be well to postpone giving notice to any of your Board Creditors till we see further into the year.   When the £1200 is ready I can draw upon Mr Darwin for it or otherwise as you direct me.  The minds of people seem calmer here than lately - possibly from their Expectation of fresh Matter on the opening of The Parliament.  A paper was delivered last Friday to the fitters from the Keelmen containing the resolutions of their meeting on Thursday.  Mr Blackett says he is to have a copy of it and will send it you.  It is quite in the spirit of the times - rejecting the fitters bill & their offer of being Trustees and  charging them with a series of oppression & Imprisonment and Employments of Military Force against them - but most of their Charge is false and therefore the Co may thank Mr Harvey for showing them in time what his Allegations are to be.   I cannot meet with any Numeration of the Keelmen that can be depended on but it is believed they cannot exceed 2000 in this River and 1000 in the Wear.  The weather here is very stormy and a great quantity of snow fell last Night & this morning which, as the air is frosty is likely to lie.  Either yr Whitehall Evening Post or the Saint James’s  Chronicle will do very well, the other papers I see at the Coffee House when I get down.   I am etc        HR