| Description | ‘Birmingham
No 41 Dean Street
November 15th 1838
Sir
I duly received yours of the 15th Septr relative to the Manuscripts &c of Warwickshire. I was much surprized to learn that you had desided on not makeing use of them at the period you state and that you should allow so long time to elapse without any communication respecting them.
I have applied to Mr Bedford and have been waiting some time for his reference to communications between himself and you upon the subject; the result of which is, that his correspondence with you respecting them was in July 1834 & was either Personal or in some private Letters (of which he has no copy) and that he can not charge his memory at this period, wether your decission was possitive or not, but whatever it was he states that he communicated the same to me, & I beg to inform you that my understanding from him was, that you where at that period so fully engaged in Parliamentry persuits, that you could not deside wether you should proceede with your intended Publication or not, & that you would continue the possession of the Manuscripts for further consideration, & it as always been considered by me that Interest was accruving to the present time, otherwise they would have been disposed of some time back.
Should the delay have taken place either from the neglect of Mr Bedford or my misunderstanding, at all events Interest will be due from the time they where put into your possession (which was the 31st Jany 1832) to July 1834, & I shall feel obliged by your returning them to me as early as convenient, with such remuneration that you consider Just & Equitable—
Yrs Respfy
S Yates
PS. Should you be inclined to purchase the Manuscripts &c I beg to offer them to you at the Original Cost of £70-0-0 & Interest.’
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