James Timmins Chance to Faraday   15 August 1860

Hamstead Birmingham | 15 Agt. 1860

My dear Sir,

I have yr. two notes of Agt.13 &14th¹.

Tomorrow I will send you the plan of the 1st order Lights as at Whitby.

No change has been made in the lamps at Whitby: they are doubtless in the position which they had in 1858, and at the time of the Astronomer Royal seeing them².

I was not at Whitby with the Astronomer Royal.

I presume that he - or the Royal Commissioners - will have communicated to the Trinity Board the defects wh: he discovered in the two Whitby Lights respectively.

It was understood that I should write to the Trinity Board concerning the rectification of the Whitby Lights - beginning with the South one.

I should like very much to receive, before doing so, some statement of the degree of error in the lenses - and the lower prisms - especially, as also in the upper prisms.

My object is to show how much of the error in each portion is due to the dip (supposing the received calculations to have been accurately followed) - & how much to the fault of the manufacturer.

If, however, you think that I had better address the Board without having this information, I will do so with pleasure: for I shall be guided by yourself in the matter.

Most truly yours | J.T. Chance