| Description | (2 pcs.)
Recounts in detail the history of the business dealings between them, and his dissatisfaction that Boulton did not reply to his proposals. Suggests a scheme to compensate him for his time and trouble while working at Soho. Discusses their respective rights with regard to the invention of the bolt-metal, and the business of reprocessing waste-metal from refiners.
Dear Sir,
I received your letter on Friday evening, and was prevented by an engagement yesterday from home from answering it before. I am glad to find that I was mistaken in supposing the possibility of your not having an intention of forming a connection with me. I never imagined that you had not the intention at first, perhaps the inclination at all times while it was in contemplation, but your intention might have been altered by some unsurmountable difficulty that occurred to you. I never conceived that I had any right to be offended with you for not having that intention, nor for your not executing it, as you certainly were at liberty to judge for yourself, and unless you had found your own interest had coincided with mine, I neither expected nor would have accepted of any conditions. I will freely own to you that I was offended at not being able to obtain either any explicit proposal from you, or any answer to mine. I was sensible that there might be great, perhaps, unsurmountable difficulties. But still I thought it was decent and proper for us to treat upon the subject, to determine whether it was expedient, (without entering more into our reasons than was proper to be communicated), and to find whether our opinions of the interest being mutual so far coincided that the same terms would be suitable for both; for each had a right to form his opinion for himself but not for the other. This I thought ought to have been done with as little loss of my time as possible, and if we had parted, we should have left each other with our friendship entire, and with the regret that unforeseen difficulties had prevented the execution of our original intention. But at length, I could not help forming the following reasoning with myself.
"I have now been two years settled near Soho in expectation of forming a connection, without having been able to know Mr. Boulton's intentions. These intentions may be such as in his mind appear very just and honourable, but may not be satisfactory to me. I do not know the cause of his silence and of his delaying to explain, but to put the best construction, I must suppose that he sees some unsurmountable difficulties; for as he seemed to acquiesce in the mode proposed six months ago, and as nothing remained but for him to consider and propose the proportion of profits to be allowed, if he had already considered and determined this point, and no other impediment had occurred, he could have mentioned it to me in two minutes. No books of accounts appear necessary for this purpose, and if they were, I have told him that the books at Soho are made up, for the last year. It appears then very doubtful whether any connection would take place, if I were to wait longer, but as I have lost two years of my lifetime in expectation of it, I should be imprudent to lose more. I find that the usual expences of my family during these two years, together with the purchase of the lease and repairs of my house (which I consider as so much money sunk for the convenience of being near Soho) have amounted to near £800, for which I have no other compensation than £200 in promissory notes which Mr B. left with me on his going into Cornwall, saying that if any accident should befall him, that sum would be better than nothing. If therefore now any accident should befall him, I shall lose nearly £600 by coming into this neighbourhood, and if I continue longer in expectation, I shall run the risk of making the loss so much greater, as either to injure my fortune considerably, or render myself dependant on the justice and generosity of another, both which situations ought to be avoided. Mr. B.'s affairs are now in so prosperous a state that it cannot be said that I have abandoned a friend in his difficulties. My own circumstances require that I should search for the means of serving myself and family."
Such were my reasonings when you went to London about this time twelvemonth, nor do I now see that from any circumstances which I had an opportunity of knowing, I could have formed a different judgement or resolution.
You desire me to name a sum suitable to the importance of my time and services. We now feel the inconvenience of no agreement having been made. We have no rule by which we can estimate that sum. I have never been in a condition, thank God, in which it was necessary to sell my services by the day or by the year. When one partner solely manages the business, he is exposed to numberless incidental expences for which he ought to be indemnified by some stipulated allowance, besides the share of the profits which is to repay him for his trouble. But this was not our case. These expences lye chiefly upon yourself. You may remember that I gave you my sentiments on the ground I chose to go upon, in your garden in the summer of the year 1779, that as to the past time, the accounts of the last year having been mixed with those of the preceding year, I should be satisfied with such moderate sum as you thought fit to make me a present of, but that in future I did not chuse to be employed in any branch, excepting where I was to be entitled to some share of the profits. Soon afterwards I delivered to you my written proposal of a plan, which was founded upon the same idea. And it was in confidence that I was upon that ground, that I undertook the management of the silk-machines. Besides it is impossible to estimate that species of service that I did. It was certainly not of that kind, which you can buy at market. Very probably you do not know it all, having been much absent, and not having leisure to enter into the detail of your business, and it is no less probable that I may over-rate it. My opinion however is that it was important, and it was not my fault that more was not done. Your manufactory was full of abuses, and to correct these required the authority of a partner, and the firmness of a man who despised the malice of those whose selfishness had introduced or was gratified by those abuses. I say also that if I was prevented from doing more effectual service by not being firmly established, my time was equally lost to myself, as if it had been employed to the utmost of my power. For I was neither destitute of some profitable means of employing my time, nor of friends to assist me in the execution of these means. I had declined engaging in a partnership every way respectable, much in my own line of knowledge, and with a person whom I well knew. These losses I will freely say are not to be estimated nor compensated by any sum fit for you to give or me to receive.-It is probably equally disagreeable to you and to me to name any sum. However since you have requested it, I will give the following plan; but you must follow your own judgement in adopting it. Let the £200 already received in promissory notes pass for all the occasional services done, excepting for the two sets of silk machines, which I superintended the management of, and for that let me have some portion of the profits upon them, suppose 1/8th. I do not wish to see any books or accounts upon the occasion, although I believe there is no secret in that business to me.
As to what you say concerning the bolt-metal, I always understood that it was first discovered in our joint experiments upon chinese copper. I never knew that you had made it before, nor ever heard of any goods having been made of it. Nevertheless I am perfectly convinced that it is so since you say it. I admitted that you had an equal right but I did not know that you had a better. I wish I had known it sooner. When I told you my intention of carrying on this business on my own account, I at the same time offered to relinquish it to you if you did not consent, and it was only intended to continue in that state till the other point in contemplation should be decided, in order to avoid beginning a connection which it was possible might not continue. It did not seem to me that you had leisure to carry it on. I therefore proposed to do it. It was but still upon trial, and it would be in our power to re-settle it, when other matters were determined, upon which its determination depended. I have had it in my power to from connections to carry it on, but I have declined coming to any determination with the view of restoring to you your equal right, whenever you should talk to me on business, which I was in expectation you would have done sooner. But this seems to be the proper time for determining the business of the bolts, as their fate will be soon decided. I therefore entreat you again, if you like to be concerned in the bolt-business, that you will take your chance of it by lot, or if there is any practicability of dividing it, that you will mention your plan and receive your part.
If in writing to you upon these subjects, I express my thoughts with more plainness than is agreeable, I do assure you that it is done for this reason only that I think it necessary for the explanation of my own conduct, and that the idea of giving you offence is painful to me. I know that if I were to dissemble more, I should please others better, and would better promote my own interest. But it is not in my character, and I do not wish it. I beg you will believe me when I assure you that I think it very probable that I have put too unfavourable constructions on your conduct to me, but that altho' I have thought myself not well treated, no degree of resentment ever entered my breast, and that I have always heard with great pleasure of the prosperity of your affairs. I return you thanks for your offer of such friendly service as may be in your power and I beg leave, with perfect sincerity to assure you of my having the same disposition to you.
I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant,
James Keir
I thank you for offering to rectify any thing that is amiss in the Soho account, but I believe it is not worth troubling you. I can rectify it myself, by not making so great a deduction as I meant to have done from the price charged upon the bolt-metal.
I can easily find employment for Harry Edwards. Mr. Fothergill was desirous of continuing the business, but I think you judge better to give it up, although I doubt whether you have been able to form a true judgement of that business from Mr. Pearson's books. I apprehend a great deal of valuable work has been done for which that business has not been credited. Several months were employed in getting metal from the rubbish of the former refiner. A good deal of silver was produced from it, and about a ton of metal was sold to a Sheffield refiner. Besides I presume that the business is credited only for the copper-scraps, in the same manner as I was. I know from experience that this allowance is not sufficient, having lost about £100 by the business while I had it, but I imputed much of the loss to the first trials, the expence of carriage to and from Stourbridge, and the expence of removing it to Soho. But I presume you know that other refiners keep back such a proportion of the silver as they think fit, when they purchase the scraps not melted down, as used to be the custom, or they purchase them melted down and give a price for the silver contained, as appears by essay, which price is about ten per cent less than the value of the silver, besides the copper which they reckon nothing. This is the fairest way and is now generally practised. Mr. Bingley, I believe, knows the terms more exactly. In order therefore to judge of the profit or loss of that business, it ought to be credited with such a proportion of the value of the silver as the refiners do actually take to themselves.
[Edited transcript.] |