31 Mar 1792. LETTER ABOUT BIRKETT MINE & HARTLEY SMELT MILL. Bundle 60, Doc 12. 31.5 cm x 19.5 cm, folded in half to make four pages. Third page is blank. Remains of a red seal and corresponding hole (no loss of writing) where seal was broken. John DAWSON 31st. March 1792 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mr. OLDMAN Edenhall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hartley 31th March 1792 Dr. Sir I recd. Yours by Miles MASON Jos: WATSON may send his Ashes aney time in Month time pray let him dress ye dirt out of them that he have not carrage to pay for that ––– HUTCHINSONs have been smelting up all ye Haggs &c belonging Birkit it will be weighed of next week I is dressing up at Rigg but ye wether is verey bad we get badly forward & is sadly watered all this spring we have had ye Hush on in Birkit above week I expected to given you a favourable acct. before now but we do not find it yet we are hushing Cross ye North end of ye Hill to make discoverey if posable if aney veins go from ye old works but ye limestone rock is so verey hard we do but get badly forward as soon as we dicover aney thing I will let you know we have verey wet wether for doing aney thing out of Doors ye wallers cannot stand out. & we cannot get forward with plowing ye land is so wet I spoke to Mr. FAWCETT & offered him your rect. for MIDFORD he said Mr. GRAVES had wrote to him & he had seen MIDFORD who told him he would settle with Mr. GRAVES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ last Tuesday his self at Penrith Mr. FAWCETT thought he would take to ye term was out before he would pay it ––––––– The smelt Mill wheell is in verey bad condition it must be done a new ye whole rim ye Axeltree & arms will do it is above Thirty years since it was done & so often standing Idle in ye open air hurts it more than working as it is when one half is repaired another is going wrong & is so verey uneven in going about that it is forced to be loadit with stones to help it & it makes ye loss in ye Mettall running verey great ye wheell should go verey true then it keeps ye blast even ye pipes is verey good ––––––– my kind Compliments to Mrs. OLDMAN I am Sir Your’s &c I hope ye Millage will clear all we will not desire you [signed] Ino. DAWSON to advance aney Cash ––––