From George Latimer   Monday Night

Monday Night.

My dear John,

Phill’s¹ may be a few yards before me, but I think I shall still overtake him, at least you will have this by the following post, and now, as all remains as when you left, only that a little more anxiety prevails, in consequence of our reprieve, which gives us another week to humbug. I am no good for Queen, Country, or myself. I presume Phill told you of the very kind manner indeed in which I have been treated by the Prestonians. I cannot tell why such should be, but such is the fact. In the first place, I spent Wednesday evening at Mr Lowe’s,² and after our usual Bible Meeting, it was agreed, though in direct opposition to my desire, that on the following Saturday there should be a tea meeting for the purpose of showing some mark of respect and esteem to your poor ‘Alfred’.³ Of course, I was at liberty to leave the room while these things were undergoing due consideration; however, they voted me out of the room, when it was finally agreed upon, after no doubt lavishing whole bushels of praise, etc. on their friend. The meeting dispersed, I was in the parlour downstairs, when Wm Lowe came up to me, saying, ‘Mr L, I have been commissioned by the ladies (!) to present you with this small token of their Christian esteem’. I received it, of course, with the necessary thanks, and why it should be so (?) from the shape I thought it was a penknife, and after leaving Mr Lowe’s, coming down by the theatre, I thought these are truly English, for surely an Irish lady would not present me with a knife – no, it would cut love!! I reached home, looked at my gift, which was enclosed in a letter and found within that ‘the Female Teachers of the Wednesday evening meeting prayed my acceptance of the enclosed Penknife, as a small token of their Christian esteem’. I looked at my knife – it is a first-rater, mother of pearl handle, a silver plate inlaid, and my name well engraved on it in old English – on the other side of the pearl is written Search the Scriptures, in running hand, but cut. This passed off. Same night (Wednesday) I was invited to spend the following Sunday in Mr Lowe’s – this was done by Miss Lowe,⁴ as a matter of course, being mother of the house on the present occasion, and mistress of the ceremonies. Saturday night arrived, I went, and found myself surrounded ‘by a galaxy of lips and eyes’,⁵ Tyndall! After taking three cups well got up and a whole lots of small chat, the signal was given ‘bright were the joys of the table, before the cloth was removed’.⁶ But, oh, John, who could stand it – joy and grief were now mingled – joy from hearing from one and another expressions of regret at my departure, which I believe to be sincere, and partial grief at being obliged to remove, though positively I cannot think that I am going. During this meeting I was presented with Mr Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament,⁷ a valuable work, and also an adieu written by our countryman Barnes,⁸ a brother poet. If ever you see it, you may pronounce it middling enough. Well, that night passed over, I was told by one lady, ‘Well, Mr L., I felt for you’! ‘Yes’, said I, ‘I was going to cry out: Spare my blushes’! Sunday arrived, I dined and spent the evening in Mr Lowe’s, and thus my time is consumed. You had better not be fighting me with my own weapons again for this, that would be savage.

But now to come to more sterling stuff. I had a long interview with Charley⁹ after office time this evening, and the following is the amount of our cogitations. That you should if possible have an interview with the M.G.,¹⁰ but how to accomplish this was the question. In the first place he would advise you to write, but if you put your name to it it might be productive of some bad fruits, as your name is already before him, and on this account you might be refused, as he would hear nothing from you or any other against the Superintendents of the Survey.¹¹ Then in that case, he would advise you to write anonymously stating that you had sufficient reasons for withholding your name. In case an interview is granted, to use some of the following implements as your weapons of attack, as being in themselves the most formidable and fatal to the ‘concentrated sagacity of the R. Engineers’. You are aware, I presume, that Captain T.¹² is getting specimens drawn by the Sappers¹³ in York – for what purpose? Remember there are only about 12 Sappers at work on the Survey, able to draw anything of a plan, and only 4 or 5 out of this number able to produce specimens equal to those of ours, in the M.G’s possession. It is presumed by some cool heads, these specimens are for the purpose of superseding ours, and shewing to the M.G. that the Sappers are by no means inferior in point of ability to the C.A’s¹⁴ and that the work could be carried on without them. Grant the former part of the argument for a moment, the question arises, how many such were on the Survey as drew these specimens? I answer from experience – produce more than 4 or 5. Now, except this mode of argument be adopted on these premises, the M.G. will be left under the impression that enough can be found to execute the work similar to those specimens. Again, take the character of the work into account. It is a fact notorious on the Survey, and especially on that part or division of it executed under Captain T’s superintendence, that the expenses for re-surveying amounts to as much as would pay good men who would be well adapted for the work; for the towns that have been surveyed in the County of Lancaster have mostly to be re-surveyed. Then take into account the length of time and money, spent by the most experienced hands, endeavouring to put this work to right, but after all their experience, finding it utterly impracticable, it has to be surveyed again, and even during its examination errors are still found to exist, and of such a character – for instance, 6 links in the width of this Street, and 10 in that, 15 links in that range of houses, and 7 in that – the error is thus equated, but the work on the whole is inaccurate, and such must be the case, no alternative, while things remain in their present condition – for how can a man be expected to do good work, who is bound to return so much per day, which is impossible while he is limited in the means – for instance, one chainman, this we have had proof of. Saw George Scott,¹⁵ and many others who in order to come up to the scale have surveyed their work in the houses, measured their lines from paper, etc., etc., which was afterwards found wrong after the labour of experienced hands been tried to correct it in the office. Thus these unfortunate men are checked for bad work, although they were compelled to do it, and under such circumstances it should be bad. It comes to this, if they do not return enough, they are checked; if they do bad work, they are checked. And in what does this check or stoppage consist? Why, in this, some men have perhaps from 2/- to 3/6 per day, and these may only be allowed 4 or 5 days in the week, but having the name of 2/- to 2/6 a day. How frequently does it occur that during the stoppage, those unfortunates are compelled to run in debt for the purpose of keeping themselves in existence, and are not able – it may be for 12 months or more – to pay the debt thus incurred, after having made good the sum levied on them by their hard task-masters. Again, some of those men who after being from 5 to 18 years employed on the Survey are discharged and owing to their miserable pittance they are unable to lay by anything for the evil day which often approaches them in a direful form, when they are obliged to solicit at the hands of the office men a few pence, to transport them to their native soil or support them on their way or buy a few little things to put in a basket that they might be by this means saved from starving altogether. And now is Col. C.¹⁶ acquainted with those particulars? Surely the M.G. is not. The fact is, Col. C. knows nothing about the expense of the re-surveying, for he is supplied with vouchers containing certain sums of money laid out for certain duties, but these are under the head of Surveying, no re-surveying. Again the drawing department of the Surveying is in the greatest arrear – when will this be brought forward, and by whom? Seeing the number of efficient hands among the Sappers are very few. Again, owing to the manner in which Capt. T. has treated the men all through, they can place no confidence in him, either Sapper or Civilian, not one in one hundred could do this conscientiously, and the men cannot feel an interest under such a government of things. And now these, with many others, have been suggested as data for you in your anticipated interview, by one with whom you have had frequent cogitations before. You are acquainted with all these before, but it is more for the purpose of reviving them in your mind, and some of them – in fact, all of them are choice, and I hope in case of an explosion will prove very unwelcome missiles. We had a letter from Mr Manaway,¹⁷ no possibility of getting there, as he lives nearly under the same roof with a Sapper, and they don’t run well in tandem, so this is ed.¹⁸ Phill had a letter from Cuddy who says that all the men in Manchester have procured situations, mostly connected with the Sheffield Railway. Digan¹⁹ and some others are only making 4 guineas a week, while O’Connell²⁰ and Conran²¹ are from 16 to 17 shillings a day. All very fine, this, bright hours will come. So Johnny you have heard from Nancy!²² I saw her brother²³ this evening, he was axing²⁴ after your welfare.

Remember me to McDermott,²⁵ and believe me your once sanguine friend but now cool, determined | George. (Latimer)

[To Mr. J. Tyndall | Post Office | High Holborn | Postmark – Preston. Nov 22/43]²⁶

RI MS JT/1/TYP/11/3739-3741

LT Transcript Only