Minutes – Thomas Matthew – 3 May 1725

At a Committee met at Batsons Coffee House on Cornhill Monday the 3rd of May 1725 for inspecting the State of the Agreement depending between Thomas Guy Esquire at the time of his disease [sic] and Sir William Blackett Bart. according to an order of the Court of Committees held at Mr Guy’s Hospital the 28th of April last



Present   Mr Treasurer   Mr Osborn   Mr Lade   Mr Lesingham   Mr Kenrick   Mr Hollis



The Minute of the Court of Committees for appointing this Committee were read.



The Articles between Thos. Guy Esqr. deceased and for Sir William Blacket[t] Bart. dated the 13th July 1723 An assignment of some securities from Thomas Cremer Esqr. for in trust for Mr Guy and Mortgage Deeds of Lease and Release from the said Sir William Blacket[t] to the said Mr Guy dated 6th and seventh of March 1723 were read.



Mr Osborn and the Clerk of this Corporation gave the Committee a Relation of the Transaccons and dealings between Mr Guy and Sir William Blacket[t]; and laid before the Committee an account drawne up touching all the Receipts & payments that had happen’d between them and the same was read



The Clerk laid before the Committee a Rental of [of] Sir William Blacke[t]s Estate comprised in the said Mortgages and the same was read.



Ordered That the Clerk do state the several matters Transactions and Proceedings which were between Sir William Blacket[t] and Mr Guy as they appear to this Committee by way of report



Resolved

That it is the Opinion of this Committee that direccons be given on behalf of this Corporacon for proceeding to the Discharge of the Incumbrances on Sir William Blacket[t]s mortgaged Estate as are yet remaining unsatisfied and were agreed or are necessary to be discharged and also for proceeding on the further Loan of Twelve Thousand Pounds when the agreements relating to the Sixty Five thousand pounds shall be completed and the Acco[ou]nts relating to the said Transactions shall be fully Stated explained and settled by and with the advice of Mr Horseman as Counsel on behalf of this Corporation



The Clerk having presented a Draught of a Report the same was read and approved and is as follows



To the Court of Committees of the Corporation of the President and Governours of the Hospital founded at the sole costs and charges of Thomas Guy Esq.



In Pursuance of an order of a full Court or Court of Committees held at Mr Guy’s Hospital on Wednesday the 28th day of April last That Mr Treas[ure]r Mr Lade Mr Kenrick Mr Osborn Doctor Fauquier Mr Lessingham Mr Raper and Mr Hollis or any three of them with such other of the members of the said Court of Committees as should be present at the times of their meeting be a Committee to inspect the state of the Agreements depending between Thomas Guy Esqr. at the time of his decease and Sir William Blackett Baronet and to report the same with their opinion thereon to a future full Court or Court of Committees The above named Mr Treasurer Mr Lade Mr Kenrick Mr Osborn Mr Lessingham Mr Raper and Mr Hollis being met at Batson’s Coffee House in Cornhill on Monday the third day of this instant May and having inspected the Several Writings and Papers relating to the said Agreements herein after mentioned Do make this their following report in regard to the said order



The Committee are informed that when the Proposals for this Mortgage were first made to Mr Guy a particular was delivered to him a Copy whereof is annexed to this their Report representing that the yearly Rents of Sir William Blacket’s Estate in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham were upwards of Six Thousand Eight hundred Pounds Exclusive of his Lead Mines That the Proposals first made to Mr Guy were that such of his Estates described in that particular as Mr Guy should make his Election of not exceeding in the whole Five Thousand Pounds p[er] Annum should be cleared of all Incumbrances and made a Security to Mr Guy for the Payment of Sixty Five thousand pounds and Interest at Four pounds Ten Shillings p[er] cent p[er] annum That the said Sum of Sixty five Thousand pounds should be first applyed to the Discharge of such of the Incumbrances as could not be then discharged (amounting in the whole to Seven hundred pounds p[er] Annum should be removed from that part of the Estate which should be made Mr Guy’s Security and charged on that part of the Estate which Mr Guy should leave out in his Election.



The Committee find the greatest part of the Incumbrances on the Estate of Sir William Blacket to have arisen from the will of his late Father who dyed on or about the year 1705 By which will the Bulk of his Estate was devised to Trustees for the Term of Ninety Nine years and charged with the Payment herein after menconed Vizt.of several of his debts amounting to Thirteen thousand six hundred pounds Principal Money of One Thousand pounds to the poor of Newcastle with the Payment of Two thousand pounds a Legacy to his widow the Lady Blacket Eight hundred pounds p[er] annum to Lady Blacket for her Life then purchased by Sir William Blackett and converted into a Mortgage of Eight thousand Eight hundred pounds principal money and for which Legacy Annuity and Mortgage and other demands there appeared afterwards to be an Account of long standing open and unsettled between Sir William Thomson with whom the Lady Blackett intermarried and  the present Sir William Blackett with the Payment of Six thousand Pounds a piece to Six of his Daughters on their Marriage and in the mean time with Two hundred Pounds p[er] Annum to each of them of whom four of them being married had become Entitled to receive Twenty four thousand pounds and had received of that sum only Four Thousand Pounds the whole of the said Incumbrances which were then payable amounting to Fourty five Thousand four hundred pounds principal Money were proposed to be paid out of the said sum of Sixty five thousand pounds as also the following Incumbrances contracted by the present Sir William Blackett Vizt. The Principal sum of Thirteen Thousand pounds due to one Featherstone, in Trust for three several Persons at Newcastle a Mortgage to one Thomas Cremer on the Discharge of which Four thousand pounds was advanced on the Acco[un]ts of Sir William Blackett and a Judgement to one Musgrave for the Principal sum of Six hundred pounds which last menconed Incumbrances amount together to seventeen thousand six hundred pounds and being added to the amount of the Incumbrances first mentioned make the whole of the Incumbrances proposed to be paid off out of the said sixty five Thousand pounds to be advanced by Mr Guy sixty three Thousand pounds Principal money after the payment of which it was proposed that the Remainder of the said sixty five thousand pounds should be paid to Sir William Blackett



Though the Committee represent this to have been the state of the Incumbrances on the said Estate at the time of Commencing this Treaty they are however informed that Sir William Blackett or his Agent were not then prepared with or did not then at least produce a Distinct State of the said Incumbrances That they seemed to presume that sixty five thousand pounds would much more than pay off the whole of the said Incumbrances and that the Remainder payable to Sir William Blackett would be considerably larger.



The earliest Evidence in this affair between the aforesaid parties in Writing the Committee find in Articles of Agreement Indented bearing date thirteenth of July 1723 By these Articles it is agreed on behalf of Sir William Blackett that he should make a good Mortgage to Mr Guy of suche part of his Estate in the Counties of Northumberland and Durham or one of them as Mr Guy should make choice of clear of all Incumbrances not exceeding in the yearly Rents of such Estate Five thousand pounds p[er] Annum for securing the payments of sixty five thousand pounds with the Interest after the Rate of Four pounds Ten Shillings p[er] Cent p[er] annum And it is further by these Articles agreed on behalfe of both the said Parties that such sum of sixty five thousand pounds when the same or any part thereof pursuant to the Agreement should come to be advanced by Mr Guy should be taken by Sir William Blackett in Mr Guy’s Four pounds p[er] Cent Annuities Transferrable at the Bank to be transferred to Sir William Blackett or his Order and accounted for by and to him at the Rate of Ninety six pounds ten shillings p[er] Cent being then near the Current price of the said Annuities or should be raised by sale of such annuities That if this Agreement took effect Mr Guy should have interest for the said sum of sixty five thousand pounds from the time of Executing the said Articles and that Sir William Blackett should have all the Dividends to be thereafter made on so much of the said Annuities remaining in the name of Mr Guy and untransferred pursuant to the above described Agreement to Sir William Blackett or his order as computed at the price of Ninety six pounds Ten shillings p[er] Cent would produce the sum of sixty five thousand pounds



The Committee understand this Agreement on behalf of Mr Guy to be on Condition only that the said Mortgage proceeded that Mr Guy had not then made his Election of what part of Sir William Blacketts Estate he would have for his Security nor was the Title as this Committee are informed laid before or approved by Counsel That therefore if Mr Guy had disliked the Title and for that or any other reason declined proceedings the Annuitys and Dividend aforesaid would have been to be given to Sir William Blackett that the said Annuities were to be Transferred on the Acco[un]t or to the Order of Sir William Blackett only to raise the said sum of sixty five thousand pounds or such parts of it as should come to be advanced upon his Estate in Case the said Mortgage should go forwards



The Committee find the first Sum of Four thousand pounds advanced to Sir William Blackett on the 7th of August 1723 on the Assignment of particular Securities from Thomas Cremer Esq. and not in strict pursuance of the aforesaid Articles Mr Guy not having then made his Elec[t]ion of any particular parts of the Estate for his Security This Sum your Committee are informed was advanced with regard to Sir William Blacketts pressing Occasions for it and before the General intended Mortgage could be proceeded on But it being agreed that in Case that General Mortgage went foreward that sum should be reckoned and made part of the Sum of Sixty five thousand pounds It was raised by the sale of Four thousand one hundred and fifty pounds of the said Annuities which at Ninety Six pounds ten shillings producing Four thousand and four pounds fifteen shillings the Sum of Four pounds fifteen shillings was paid to Mr Guy as the price of so much more stock transferr’d by him than was then transferrable on account of Sir William Blackett and therefore transferred by him on his own Account ?



The Committee find no further Evidence of any proceedings upon the abovementioned proposals or Agreement till the 7th of March 1723 which they are informed besides the delay arising from the necessity of Engineering into the particulars of Sir William Blacketts Estate  and the Evidences of his Title was owing to some difficulties started in the Execution of them



One of which the Committee are informed was that it was found impracticable to remove the abovementioned Incumberances amounting to Seven hundred pounds p[er] annum from the Bulk of Sir William Blacketts Estate to any particular part of it or to pay off the aforesaid Sum of One thousand pounds payable to the use of the Poor of Newcastle and that therefore the Estates to be mortgaged to Mr Guy must continue subject to these Incumbrances.



Another Occasion of the delay the Comm[it]ee are informed was that Sir William Blackett had discovered that the Incumbrances to be paid off amounted to more and would take up a greater part of the Sixty five thousand pounds than he had expected and that for that and other Reasons he should want a much Larger Sum than the Remainder of Sixty five thousand pounds after the Discharge of the said Incumbrances that Sir William thereon applyed for the further Sum of Twelve thousand pounds proposing for this and the last mentioned Reasons to enlarge the Security beyond Five thousand pounds p[er] annum and desired that upon these Proposals the Original Agreement for Sixty five thousand pounds might be altered and enlarged to the Sum of Seventy Seven thousand pounds.



Mr Guy, The Committee are informed agreed to the Loan of the further Sum of Twelve thousand pounds but was advised not to recede from the former Agreement for the Loan of Sixty five thousand pounds and the Discharges of such of the said Incumbrances as could then be removed and paid off out of that Sum nor to advance any further Sum of Money till that Agreement on such of the aforesaid Conditions as yet remained practicable was fully executed whereupon it was at last agreed as the Committee are informed.



That a Mortgage should be made to Mr Guy of the whole of Sir William Blacketts Estate menconed   in the annexed particular (Except the House in Newcastle and some other Articles amounting as they are described in the particular to the yearly value of Five hundred and nineteen pounds) and also of all Sir William Blacketts Lead Mines of Inheritance Subject to such of the aforesaid Incumbrances as could not be then removed or paid off foresecuring the payment of Four thousand pounds already advanced and of the further Sum of of Sixty one thousand pounds to be advanced in Annuities as aforesaid and to be applied first to the Discharge of such of the Incumbrances aforesaid as could be paid off and the Remainder to be paid to Sir William Blackett



And that when the above Agreement for the Loan of Sixty five thousand pounds was completed the further Sum of Twelve thousand pounds should be advanced upon the Equity of Redemption of the said Sixty five thousand Mortgage and on the further Security of Several Leasehold and Copyhold Estates part of or Necessary to the Working of his said Lead Mines. 



And such General Mortgage for Sixty five thousand pounds the Committee find have been made and executed to Mr Guy by Lease and Release bearing date the 6th and 7th day of March 1723



After the advancing the sum of Four thousand pounds on the Discharge of Cremer’s Mortgage and Executing the said General Mortgage as aforesaid Sir William Blackett as the Committee apprehend became entitled to have the further Sum of Sixty one thousand pounds advanced in Annuities after the Rate of Ninety Six pounds Ten Shillings p[er] Cent in discharge of the Incumbrances on the Estate agreed to be paid off and the Remainder to himself or in other Words to have so many of the said Annuities as computed at the price of Ninety Six pounds Ten shillings would amount to or produce the sum of Sixty one thousand pounds transferred or sold on his Account and to have all the Moneys received on the Sale of or by Dividends made on that Quantity of Annuities applied in the first place to the discharge of Incumbrances on his Estate and to receive the Remainder to himself.



The quantity of Annuities producing at the Rate afore[sai]d the sum of sixty one thousand pounds The committee compute to be Sixty three thousand two hundred and twelve pounds or thereabouts and are informed that it had been so computed and agreed about the time of Executing the said Gener[a]l Mortgage since which the Committee find an Account has been kept Separately by Mr Osborn and the Clerk of this Corporation of what Sums have been raised by the Sale of any part of the Sixty three thousand two hundred and Twelve pounds Annuities what parts thereof have been sold and at what prises and what part of the said Sixty three thousand two hundred and Twelve pounds Annuities have remained unsold at the time of making any Dividend on the said Annuity’s and for the Several Sums arising by the sale of any part of the said Sixty three thousand two hundred and Twelve pounds Annuities and Such Dividends as have been made from time to time on such part thereof as has remained unsold Sir William Blackett has been by them entered Creditor (the s[ai]d several sums having been received by Mr Guy and remaining with him till the Application thereof to the discharge of the Several Incumrances as they were from time to time  to time assigned to him or otherwise on Account of Sir William Blacket[t]).



And on the otherside of the same Acco[un]t has been ent[e]red the particular Sums advanced on the assignment of Several Incumbrances to Mr Guy or otherwise on Acc[oun]t of Sir William Blackett and likewise the Interest of the said Sum of Sixty five thousand pounds as it became due half yearly before the decease of Mr Guy and for those Sums Sir William Blackett has been entered debtor



The Committee have caused a Copy of the s[ai]d Acco[un]t Examined and agreed to by Mr Osborn and the Clerk of this Corporation to be annexed to this Report and to that refer themselves for the particulars of the above Transactions as also for the particular Incumbrances that have been from time to time paid off and assigned to Mr Guy or others in Trust for him in Pursuance of the said General Mortgage and Agreements. 



The Committee collect from the said annexed acco[unt]s That there have been at different times transferred and sold on acco[un]t of Sir William Blackett in the whole before the decease of Mr Guy out of the said Sixty three thousand two hundred and Twelve pounds Annuities Fifty one thousand Seven hundred and fifty pounds That the Monies arising by sale thereof and for Dividends received on that part of the Sixty three thousand two hundred and Twelve pounds which remained unsold amount in the whole to Fifty three thousand Seven hundred and thirty eight pounds Six shillings and nine pence That there has been paid since the said Seventh of March in discharge of Several Incumbrances or otherwise on Account of Sir William Blackett in the whole Fifty one thousand and twenty four pounds six shillings and Seven pence which with one years Interest placed to the Credit of Mr Guy in the said Account due the 13th July last before his decease makes Fifty three thousand nine hundred and forty nine pounds six shillings and seven pence That the Balance due to Mr Guy on the said Account at the time of his decease was Two hundred and Ten pounds nineteen Shillings and Ten pence That there remains to be further Transferred on Acco[un]t of Sir William Blackett Eleven thousand four hundred and sixty two pounds of the said Annuities and a Dividend of Credit and together with the produce of the said £11462 when sold after the above Sum of £210.19.4 shall be deducted to be applyed to the discharge of several matters yet remaining unsatisfied vizt. of about £9000 due on a Mortgage and upon Account to Sir William Thomson £1750 or thereabouts payable for the Arrears of a Rent charge into Chancery for the use of Mrs Ord an Infant and £600 due on a judgement to Mr Musgrave which are Incumbrances on the Estate and must be paid off as your Committees are informed.



The Committee are further informed that the Treaty and Transactions above mentioned were carried on by the advice of Gilbert Horseman Esquire Councellour at Law and agree to report it their Opinion.



That Directions be given on behalf of this Corporation for proceeding to the discharge of the Incumbrances above mentioned to be agreed to be paid off and yet are remaining unsatisfied.



And to the further Loan of £12000 where the Agreement relating to the said £65000 shall be completed and the Accounts relating to the said Annuities shall be fully stated Explained and settled by and with the advice of the said Mr Horseman as Councel on behalf of this Corporation