SD89. Edward Moulton-Barrett (father) to Philip Scarlett
Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 1, 308 (in part).
Coxhoe
Novr 30. 1807–
My dear Sir
In case my letters to you by the last Packet should have been lost, I shall in this give you the purport of them. I requested, for the future, you would send me the whole list of Supplies, also duplicates of the Bills of Lading and to desire the Clerk of the Estates to make out a list of the Negroes and Stock upon the Estates, with their increase and decrease, and the causes of the latter, this I beg may be sent annually up to the 1st of January by Boddington’s Ships. I am anxious to have a considerable quantity of Cocoanut Trees planted upon the Estates[.] I wish you would give orders accordingly. I have sent by Mr Clarkes’s the John a pair of Colors one for Oxford the other for Cambridge. I could not get those for Cinnamon Hill and Cornwall done in time, but they shall soon follow. I am sorry to say I must beg you will send no more sugars to Mr. Clarke, he has not for the last two years settled his account with your Brother, and from the Estates having come now into my Land, I dont know, when I should receive the money arising from Sugars he may sell of mine, it is an unpleasant business and has given me great uneasiness but is a duty I owe to myself and particularly so in my present difficulties; I do not wish this to be known. I suppose that Worthy Uncle of mine has applied and pestered you often for the money he needs; I can almost imagine his astonishment and vexations when he hears of your appeal for the Master’s report to the Privy Council here. You say nothing of Plummer’s accounts. I therefore suppose they are not settled. Let me know your opinion of the Spring’s claim upon Oxford and what you think will be the result and when. A Man by the name of Robertson applied to me by letter last Summer to settle his account with the Oxford Properties, I was, on the receipt of it, in Town, and of course consulted your Brother about the justise [sic] of claim, he advised me to refer him to the Executors and to himself in particularly which I did, but I rather think he never did apply. I was at Newcastle lately, he[’]d heard of it and was anxious to see me, I must however out of the way he saw Mr C and stated to him that he considered Oxford indebted to him £40,000 for land sold to it, surveying &c and he expressed his astonishment at yr. having instituted an action against him for money owed to the Personal Property, he said he would willingly have it settled by arbitration if we would acquiese. Upon the whole it strikes me, this is a pretended claim on his part as a set off against ours upon him. From what I have heard of his character I should think it necessary to be upon our guard. I have no doubt.
I have had also a female claimant upon Oxford—by name Mary Harrison late Dale, she has applied to me to settle an account of her Brother’s Job Dale to whom she states herself to be heir. The most of her letter for instance she talks of a partnership between her Brother and my Uncle George and that the former advanced to them £5 or 6000 at least for the concern, that her family have received neither Principle nor interest. She says my Grandfather promised her every thing should be settled in the most honorable way, she even infers that a considerable share of Oxford belongs to her. I shall be obliged to you to give me if you can an account of these circumstances for altho I consider them both as idle claims being ignorant of what has formerly Past I am somewhat uneasy.
Publication: None traced.
Source: File copy at Eton College Library
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