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To William Corbett Esqr Ravensworth Castle Apr.13. 1742
Sir
We rece.d the Agreeable favour of yours of the 8 Inst acquainting us that you will soon have a new Treasurer of the Navy, & that you & our friend Mr Horne will be Continued in Statu quo. You are very very Obliging Sir in accquaintingus with a piece of news which give us so much pleasure & we beg leave to Congratulate you both upon it. We never Expected Sir Henry Liddell woud be in the Admiralty, as he has not only in the House of C---ns declared he woud not accept of anything but has done the same in all places publickley. We wish however he had been one as no Gentleman is of Stricter Hon[our] & Integrity – It is generally believed here that the Enquiry into the earl of O---ds [ie. Oxford] Conduct will be attended with no ill Consequences, & we all hope matters which have been carried high will soon Subside & that we shall again enjoy peace & Tranquility & we are Sir Yours &c
Walton & Boag
PS We are Glad to find Mr Cluterbuck the Treasurer a Relation of our family.
The Earl of Oxford was the title taken by Robert Walpole after his resignation as First Lord of the Treasury (effectively Prime Minister) in 1742. Sir Henry Liddell MP, of Ravensworth Castle, was one of the committee set up to investgate Walpole’s conduct in 1742. William Corbett’s position as Secretary to the Greenwich Hospital seems to have been secure, owing partly, no doubt, to the fact that his older brother Thomas Corbett, who preceded William as the Greenwich Secretary, became Secretary to the Admiralty in 1741. William was appointed as Comptroller of the Treasurers Accounts, one of the Commissioners for the Navy, in December 1743.
