| Description | Glasgow July 3d 1776
Dear Sir
I have hoped to have heard from you how matters move but have hoped in vain-I should nevertheless have wrote to you oftner If I had had any thing material to communicate. I expected when I left you to have some bussiness to do here sufficiently disagreable to counter ballance any pleasure I had reason to expect I have not found matters much more agreable than my fears & I have still some to go through of the same nature-I have however the pleasure amidst all this to have obtained both the Young lady & old Gentlemans consent to take her along with me, but shall be obliged to wait a little untill she can be ready This gives me pain as I am sensible I must be wanted with you; but I hope you will excuse it when you consider my situation & that it will save another Journey which must otherwise have taken place soon-The only disagreable part of the business that remains to be done is the settlement, & I find that the old Gentleman wishes to see the Contract of Partnership between you & I, and as that has never been formally executed, I must beg the favour of you, to get a legal contract writen, & signed by yourself-sent to me by return of post or as soon as may be-Lest he should have called my prudence in Question I have been obliged to allow him to suppose that such a deed did exist, but was single, so what you send must pass for a duplicate and another may be actualy written which I hope you will not doubt of my readiness to execute so soon as I return. and in fact this deed should have been executed long ago, in common prudence upon both sides, particularly upon yours who have no legal Assignation to the Act of Parliament-I therefore hope that you will excuse the old Gentlemans caution-If you do not chuse to send the deed itself you may have a Scroll of it made out without date which you may send as the Copy the deed was drawn from
But what I would wish most is your own presence here and the deeds along with you, if your business would permit I am sensible of the Inconvenience such a Journey must be to you, but is is a good Office I hope I shall never need again and may be of service to me & perhaps to yourself
If you should decline this proposal & wish to meet me at Carlisle or Kendal fix your day allowing reasonable time for me to receive your letter & make the Journey & I will meet you there-from hence to Carlisle is two days Journey & to Kendal 2½ days-Now you will do all this as you Judge most proper but I beg you will at least write by first post & when you send me the paper send along with it an Ostensible letter which lett be the Cover-Whether a man of the world such as you looks upon my present love as the folly of youth at the dotage of age-I find myself in no humour to lay it aside or to look upon it in either of these lights but to consider it as one of the wisest of my actions & should look upon a disapointment in it as one of the greatest of my missfortunes-but let that pass, you are a very bad confident in love affairs you look upon them as too good things to be kept to yourself If you should chuse to come by the stage your way is to sheffield then by chaise to doncaster where you will find the newcastle fly by 12 oClock carries to Bouroughbridge that night & newcastle the next the Edinbourough Coaches leave N.Castle upon tuesdays & thursdays reach Edinr that night-there are stages every day from Edinr to Glasgow-Or you may come in the Kendall stage & take Chaise to Carlisle from whence twice a week Diligence to Glasgow & 3 times to Edinr:-I will not urge any further what I have said you see the necessity of it to my happiness and I am very sensible of your goodwill towards me
Now for something comfortable, I have had better health since I left you than has been my lot for years and my spirits have borne me through my vexations most wonderfully-I have lost all dread of any future connections with Monsr: la Verole, and if I carry my point in this matter I hope to be very much more usefull to you than has hitherto been in my power, The spur will be greater. I have undertaken an Engine for my friend Mr Colevile at Torryburn Fife of which particulars follow
Pump 12 inch bore to 92 yds Cyr 44 inches, load 10lbs to the inch-
7 inch to 40 yds
Load in lbs-15533. Coals 2/6d pr ton at the Engine, time of going 12 to 16 Hours in the day-Present Engine same big pumps & Cylrs: Depth 52 yds burns 27 tons pr week & works 20 hours pr day-terms proposed 1/3 savings & such further sum as I shall Judge fair, for our trouble-A person is to be dispatched immediately at his Charge to study under Monr: Perrins or Harrison The art of Construction & using & to stay with us 3 months he is bred a Carpenter & Cabinet maker & has wrought in the latter branch at London He is to sett out next week pr fly & if you go from home please leave orders what College he is to study at. Sir A: Hope also wants an engine I am to meet him upon Monday to talk with him and shall also cause him send his man to study if we agree upon terms-I have heard of a young lad. of genius wants to come apprentice to an Engine Carpenter I shall learn what I can about him and bring account to you-I have wrote to Bersham for Mr Coleviles Cylinder, as he can admit of no delay on account of the winter & I shall give directions about his Engine house before I come away
As you may have possibly misslaid my missive to you concerning our Contract I beg just to mention what I remember of the terms-
1. I to Assign to you 2/3 of the property of the Invention on follg: Conditions
2. You to pay all Expences of Act or Others incurred before June 1775 and also the expences of future expts. which money to be sunk without Intrest to you being the consideration you pay for your part but the experimental machines to be your property
3. You to advance Stock in trade bearing intrest but having no claim upon me for any part of that further than my Intromissions but the Stock itself to be your security & property.
4. I to draw one third of the profits so soon as any arise from the business, after paying the workmens wages and good furnished, but abstract from the stock in trade , excepting the intrest thereof which is to be deducted before a ballance is struck-
5. I to make drawings, give directions & make surveys, the company paying travelling expences to either of us when upon Engine business
6. You to keep the books & ballance them once a year-
7. A book to be kept wherein to be marked such transactions as are worthy of record which when signed by both to have the force of the contract
8. Neither of us to alienate our share without consent of the other & if either of us by death or otherwise shall be incapacitated from acting for ourselves, the other of us to be sole manager without contradiction or interferenence of Heirs executors Assignees or others but the Books to be subject to their inspection & the acting partner of us to be allowed a reasonable commissin for extra trouble
9. The Contract to continue in force for 25 years from the first of June 1775 when the partnership commenced notwithstanding the Contract being of later date
10. Our Heirs Exrs, & Assignees bound to Observance
11. In case of demise of both parties our Heirs &c to succeed in same manner, & if they all please may burn the Contract
If any thing be very disagreable in these terms you will find me disposed to do every thing reasonable for your satisfaction but wish the deed sent to as conformable to this or my former missive as is agreable and drawn up by an able Lawyer with expedition
The buttons ordered by Mr Hamilton much wanted also a tea kitchen & some other things which were ready when I came away-
I believe I shall have no occasion to draw for any money haveing got in some of my old Scraps which will serve or nearly serve my occasions here
With Compts to friends I ever am
Your's most sincerly
James Watt
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