Letter – Jonathan Hilton to Germaine Lavie – 5 Feb 1775

A Copy of a Letter sent Mr. Lavie 				Alston 5th Feby 75



Sir,

I wrote you Sundry Times since I had the Pleasure of seeing you hear but have never had an Answer to any of my Letters indeed had ima[g]ined they had miscarried till I wrote you the 8th of Last Month inclosed to Mr Yeats which Letter as I told you in my last was delivered at your own House on the 14th & after receiving as Letter from Mr Yeats of his Delivering my Letter as above I wrote you of mine & my Sons Intention of being at NewCastle on Monday the 30th & stay there till the 7th Instant & to settle with Mr Atkinson & receive Cash for all the Lead sold that was got to Markit & make Stanhope Lead Mine & Mill Pays on the 2d & 3d of our return Home which was done & there is yet £700 wanted to complete the Alstonmoor Pays I do assure you I am very much put on by the Workmen & People that give them Credit till the Pay & indeed not without Reason as its now 5 months since the Accounts was now taken in & all other Pays in this Mannor made before Christmas I now beg leave to mention to you that it is not Convenient for you to remit me the Money a Wanting I will endeavour Myself to get Money to compleate the Pays & support the Workmen till Money can be rais’d from the Lead which is now lying at the Mill provided my Lord Carlisle will send me a power to dispose of that Lead in order to reimburse this Money this will be of no sort of hurt or Loss to his Lordship excepting the Interest of this Money which must be had at 5 p cent p annum  till it be repaid as we shall dispose of the Lead equally as well as if this had not Happened the £700 that is now wanted to make the Pays is not all that will be wanted there is already lent to the Workmen at Stanhope & in Alstonmoor since Michas last £220 which cannot be taken till next Year Pays & there will be a Lending Day the Latter End of this Month which will be upwards of 60 more that will take all the Money that was in my Hand the last settling with Mr Ramshay therefore the Money which has been Received for the Lead & Silver sold together with the £700 will be applyed to compleat the Alstonmoor Pays and as the Season for Washing is now coming on the support Money will be £80 p Month & on account of the Badness of the Roads no Lead can be got to Markit before may & after Lead is sold there is generally 3 or 4 Months Credit given so that no Money can be expected for Lead Sonner than Septr otherwise than by Paying Interest as above which is very common with the most of the Lead owners. Mr Cleavers shair of the Ore that was raised at Greengill West End last year was Bought for my Lord so the whole Money wanted to make Pays & supporting the Workmen must come from my Lord as no Money has been paid to Mr Cleaver yet for his Ore & as my Lord will make 10 p Cent by lying Mr Cleavers Ore it can be no hardship to pay 5 or 6 Months Interest at the rate of 5 p cent for what Money may be wanted. As I make no sort of doubt of raising four times the quantity of Ore at Greengill West End this Year that we did last Year I am very well satisfied that we shall raise so much Money from the sale of the Lead & Silver as to carry on the Works in future with very Considerable Proffitt to his Lordship we have now at the Mill Smelted & in the Flaggs 120 Fodders of Lead & will have about 230 ounces of Silver that Lead & Silver will after paying every expence of Manufacturage & Carriage &ca raise at £13.10 p Fodder a sum of £1300 & as we are in so likely a way to do well I hope you’ll comply with my request as I do assure you the Uneasiness of the Workmen & the Countrys talk makes me very unhappy.

      I am &ca Jona Hilton