Letter – John Erasmus Blackett to Thomas Blackett – 23 Oct 1789

To Sir Thomas Blackett Bart                                                        Newcastle  23th Octor 1789

            Bretton    Yorkshire



Dear Sir	I postponed writing to you until I could give you some Account of a Sale of Lead & I wish that I had it in my power to give you a more pleasing one.  I had made the London Buyers an offer of 36000 p[iece]s  at £18 per Fo[dde]r which they refused & offer’d me at £17 per Fo[dde]r  this Price I could not think of accepting & accordingly made application to the Lead Company, Messrs Wilkinson of Chesterfield & some persons at Stockton in hope of obtaining £18 per Fo[dde]r in w[hi]ch we should certainly have succeeded had the Lead Company been steady, but they sold 24000 p[iece]s of Ref[ine]d Lead to the London Buyers at £17 per Fo[dde]r to be paid for in Six Months by Bills at 2 Months date, this laid me under a necessity of accepting a fresh offer they made me for 24000 p[iece]s one half refined the other Common at £17 per Fo[dde]r to be paid for the 1st March & 1st April in Bills at 2 Months  they would not purchase a large Quantity apprehending that the price of Lead will be lower, which indeed I fear will be the case, this parcel they bought of the Lead Company with a large Quantity they had purchased at Chester & some at Stockton enabled them to fulfil the Contract that they had made with the East India Company & likewise supplied them for some time __ the demand for abroad at present is trifling, nor indeed is there at this time any prospect of it being much better in the Spring, the confusion in France & the appearance of things in Flanders afford us very little prospect of any considerable demand from those Quarters, the War which the Swedes & Danes are engaged in we are well assured will prevent them sending any Lead to China the next spring, these Considerations ( with the large Quantity which is at present at Market and the small demand that there has of late been for Lead, owing to the former very high price & the consequent use made of Copper) induced me to accept of the offers made me by the London Buyers who I have every reason to believe are now perfectly united __ Lancaster & Co is to have £8000 p[iece]s Walke> & Co 6000 p[iece]s Freeman 5000 p[iece]s & Preston 5000 p[iece]s                                                                                                      I am etc   J.E.B.