From William Ginty   Friday 13th Oct. 1843

Friday 13th Oct. 1843

Dear Romulus¹

Your attempt at an excuse for your want of punctuality adds another proof to what indeed was proved to my satisfaction long ago – id est,² your skull is a ‘crazy skull’. I am quite certain that my abbreviation for ‘morning’ and ‘evening’ could never be confounded by any but a being touched in the upper story. You admitted you were under the impression that Monday evening was the promised time. I believe you were! This however does not interfere with what I have asserted and you have proved. ‘But let that pass’. In faith I pity you. Love is a sorry customer to creep into a man’s cranium.³ Love thoughts and sensible thoughts should not be huddled together. They invariably confuse each other if not kept apart – That’s fact! The preface to your just remarks⁴ on my [b]ulls is another proof – there was not the slightest occasion for spouting about the spirit that actuated you. Yes! I know you well! Your studied apology was indeed unnecessary, but the proof of insanity herein lies; first you apologize to all intents and purposes and wind up by saying ‘I feel Bill⁵ that apology is unnecessary’ (we felt alike) if so – why use it? Or vice versa! This I call incontrovertible testimony against the sanity of your mental materials. Now for the remarks themselves. My answer to the first is that I plead habitual ignorance, if however any person had hinted at an error in the sentence I could and would have detected it. Your criticism is just, well-timed, and duly appreciated (if anything coming from such a chaotic mass of heterogeneous thoughts and actions could be valued). Second ‘I seen’⁶ – Just so. ‘I seen the man that saw the man’ &c. A most beautiful Irishism, and one that I fear I will never rid myself of, without being in perpetual remembrance of it, nor you either!!!

‘I – saw – seen (copy)

I see – I saw – I have seen’

Now this is a correct copy of your illustration, look close at it! At the time you wrote this you were for the instant off your guard and the Irishism slipped – You then thought of it and corrected it – this was no fault of the pen. Oh no! I have laughed heartily at this, all your powers of argument won’t do. Try sophism. I anticipate all you can say, perhaps wisdom would silence you! I quote ‘I shall expect a similar mode of treatment from you’ – Knowing that an opportunity for complying with your expectation will seldom if ever offer. I am most happy to return the compliment in the present case. But seriously, when ever you see an error tell me of it. With respect to the memorial⁷ you write; ‘my own opinion is &c’. In the name of common sense could your opinion be other than your own. It is only superfluous, perhaps justifiable for emphasis’s sake. You can now judge that I am looking for bulls. Enough!

I most heartily concur in your own opinion my sweet fellow! Acid⁸ has some regard for his own safety none but a madman would stop it. With regard to the ‘nominal’ capacity of the H.O.⁹ I have to tell you that the more you pitch into these [ruffians] in your last letter the better. By the Tithe Plans¹⁰ and the announcement from the M.G.¹¹ to the surveyors, the case stands thus – Some one of the three, the man that ordered that heading to be written – ‘The Master General¹² or Mr Patten¹³ is a liar’.¹⁴ Mark now that heading, when laid before such a numerous and respectable community as the Board of Guardians &c was calculated to deceive them, it is neither more nor less than the publication of a libel on the Master General. Yes you can prove, this is proof enough that they ‘exceed their orders’ and undertake matters ‘on their own authority’ and more, that they publish manuscript libels on the Master General amongst a respectable and numerous class of the gentry and professional men!

With respect to Downholland,¹⁵ I have learned since that the calculation was not made accurate enough. If it – the expense exceeds the estimate or contract price it does no more, that is beyond controversy, but to go to the exact letter, as if before a court of justice, expenses could be insisted upon which indeed would throw the balance in favour of - - your argument.

There was very little of the contract work done here. Downholland 3395 acres and Yealand Conyers¹⁶ – acres.¹⁷ This latter exceeds the estimate with a vengeance, I could swear the computation cost about 4d an acre. They were young in the trade at that time. And now you may refer to this with confidence. I believe it will be the best you can refer to on the survey. I will send you all about this in my next. There was only two done here and in each case the same as yours with respect to copies &c. A call to the lower House! The Captain¹⁸ is there, he wants those only who signed the memorial. Hurrah! Now Ginty – firm resolve! The answer! The answer! Just as I half expected another trial at the intimidation. No go! old boy. You often called me a Bladder but I bladdered today to the unutterable consternation of Tucker and Hamley. He said he addressed our ‘Brethern’ in Preston this morning. Just so, my dash ‘thank him for the term’ (as Dan¹⁹ says) – ‘our Brethern’ ought to be proud of us! We were all 25 of us assembled in our room – present Hamley, Tucker, and Scott.²⁰ He had our petition there in his fist! (Are they justified in delaying it so long?) He made a long speech and at last asked some questions which led to a long and even animated discussion, on my part and on his. It was animated enough he had previously picked out a half dozen or so and among those were the youngest and oldest hands and among the latter was your humble servant. He asked and I answered and I asked and he answered a nice little volume of questions. I will give you a few of them. ‘Do any of you wish to have a number of men discharged and the remainder increased’? Some few said ‘they did not wish it’. I said ‘It is hard Sir that the majority of the men should be kept in perpetual misery to support a number of inefficient men’. ‘Yes’ says he, ‘but are you to judge of efficiency or inefficiency’? ‘I don’t pretend to do it, it has nothing to do with our memorial; one thing is certain Sir – We are not all alike in qualification’. ‘No’ says he, ‘but we don’t bind ourselves to discharge the useless or useful, we can discharge which we like?’ I nodded + repeated ‘I had nothing to do with that, and that had nothing to do with the memorial’ – ‘Now’, says he making a sign of division of those present. ‘Suppose you were discharged and you kept, would that be just treatment’. Taylor replied ‘if there is no alternative, you may adopt it if you think proper’. Ginty – ‘we have nothing to do with that, it is not for us to decide’. ‘But you have tied Col. Colby’s hands behind his back, he can’t do anything’ Ginty ‘if his hands are tied, there is nothing in them. The Master General may loose them and get an extra grant put in them’. (a titter behind) – T.²¹ ‘You seem to think that an extra allowance can be got – it is impossible. See the difficulty last year in obtaining even a low grant’ – Ginty – ‘perfectly possible Sir – not without precedent, and the revenue is increased 1½ million this quarter’! (Hamley laughed) and I repeated it in most emphatic terms and said we might as well be in work houses &c &c &c. (I heard or rather I saw that announcement about the revenue in the Mercury²² this morning and it was fresh in my memory). He spoke in long terms about the evil results of anonymous epistles and alluded to Spec.²³ He spoke also of an article in the ‘Architects and Engineers Magazine’ saying the Board of Ordnance ought to be relieved of their office with respect to the survey, and said if we supplied or wrote such letters – I interrupted him – ‘Sir we will not allow ourselves to be identified with anonymous writers – we condemn it. And if for nothing else that memorial (pointing to it) is perfectly necessary and justifiable, as it records our censure and protest against conduct of which we have been accused’. – T.²⁴ ‘Oh! I don’t accuse you or any of you of that’ – ‘Yes Sir you suspect us’ – ‘No No!’ – ‘Yes, or why state it in and send round that district order’. Need I say this was a settler – Hamley stood up and walked about. Willy²⁵ and Taylor assailed Tucker again and I pitched in a few more clinchers, and in the middle I may say of the confusion, he said ‘Go to your works’ (X).²⁶ So we did, leaving him in a precious stew. By Jupiter they are quaking. Oh [how] we lacerated him! I am all anxiety to hear how ‘our Brethren’ got on. Now he thought to get us to withdraw it. He acted foolishly in taking me into the Deputation to answer for the rest. I spread a spirit among these men that their host of tyrannical petty foggers could never crush! Taylor and Willy spoke like men. Willy was raging and frightened me with the yells he gave at bothered Harry.²⁷ This I suppose was the grand and dernier²⁸ resort – He failed – We conquered. ‘Fraught with this fine intention and well-fenced’. ‘In mail of Proof, our purity of soul’ layed low the insidious attempt of the old pot-headed dog! Previous to the summons to the bar of the ‘Lower House’, an order came round saying 25 men were to be discharged from this division. I suppose the fool that issued this thought at least some of us would be afraid, we the 25 malcontents would be hopped off – a trick of intimidation worthy of an engineer ignoramus. He dwelt a long time on the evil results of anonymous writing. Oh! fire, Spec – They dread it – they tremble, they see, they know, what effect an exposure will have on the public. They will lose their lucrative situations and their credit. This news only adds a momentum extraordinary to the fall of humbug. A multiplied velocity to the descent of base trickery and long practised tyranny and injustice. Crush the wretch! War to the goose quill Ink! Ink! Ink! By God, I think they have no right to delay a letter – a public letter so long. They got our memorial on the 26th ultimo, and it is now the 13th proximo. This to me appears a piece of business they had no right to keep back so long. He says the writer or informer of Spec is in Preston. He speaks of some figures being in the letter which were known only to a few, and was only used in private correspondence. Just so, by dash, have they got a clue to Spec. What do you say? Can they trace the matter out? – I will search out that magazine if in Liverpool. I will refer 8²⁹ to it.

He repeated many times that we had a right to petition Colby and not the M.G. But I suppose all this was merely the re-echoing of his Preston Demonstration. He looked misery itself when he ordered us to our duty – no doubt swearing vengeance internally against poor

Omega³⁰

I would not wonder if Col. Tom³¹ would try us next – he will fail. He made no distinction between those that signed the form and us that signed the memorial alone. The fellows behind me kept pricking me most unmercifully, and so shoving me – Oh if I dare to let the stopper of vial of bitters I could have made him writhe fifty times worse than he did.

Hamley seemed to be on a broiling iron all the time.

Enough!

Tullus Hostillius³²

Excuse the grammar of this for pity’s sake, I am not Ginty just now. I’m a personification of smiles and contempt &c.

Capt. Tucker’s speech &c in Liverpool.³³

Will you answer me these simple questions?

How many men have been dismissed since we came to England – Some hundreds! How is it that we have not a superintendent less – A [word] from Spec on this will get an officer stripped and that officer Tucker. If we had only enough then, we have too much now – Handle this! What is Tucker’s capacity! Why he does the work of a silly doting and expensive old Col. His pay would take 20 or 30 men out of misery!

Dear John

Morning has beamed upon me. Now I tell you what I want you to do – You have a good many of my Rhymes or verses³⁴ – You have them all but I have not one, nor do I recollect one. Send me the best of them – there is a host of them not worth sending and would only make me curse the hand that wrote them were I to see them now I don’t mean to insinuate that I am improving in a poetical way, only I am less an ass than I have been. Nor do I intend to [twin] my own ‘Dear Murray’.³⁵ Only I would like to have them. A hoary head may doat upon them in after years! I want no fair copies only pencil out one of them roughly when you write. I want to copy them into a little book where a dozen or two of yours is already.

W.G.

RI MS JT/1/TYP/11/3616-3617

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