The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-09 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

RICHARD OASTLER AND HIS ENEMIES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SlR,—The only point of view in which the liberty of
the press can be condemned, I consider to be those dirty.
sneaking, and dark insinuations, where th writer has not
the moral courage to speak out. I allude to such a para-
graph as the following in the Mercury;—" If you apply to
Messrs. Rawson, Cousins, and Clayton, you may gain
su"h and such information," never surmising that any one
will take such trouble, and knowing also that a large por •
tion of all readers of newspapers are more inclined to be-
lieve scandal than truth. Again, in the letter of a corres-
pondent, who winds up a sentence thus—" not forgetting
the charcoal burner, near Dewsbury." Why not speak
plain, and then have plain answers? Does Mr. Oastler
ever deal in these dark insinuations? Does Mr. Ferrand ?
How did this gentleman deal with the league assassina-
tion plot? Why, he placed himself so fully in the hands of
the parties, that if he has libelled them, they have their
remedy. I detest sneaking insinuations, which will stab a
man in the dark ; but I admire plain speaking, however
strong, because the truth then comes out.
Yours, &c.,
A PLAIN SPEAKER.

MR. OASTLER AND THE MERCURY.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

SIR,—In compliance with your request, after thanking
you for inserting my last, I will, in as few words as pos-
sible, give you the details alluded to in my last letter.
As 1 have no books or memoranda to which I can refer,
I will omit dates, lest I might err.
There was a colliery on Mr. Thornhill's estate, at Cal-
verley, that had been taken by Mn flinchliffe, some years
before I was appointed to the stewardship.
I was informed that he had laid out a large sum of
money in 'endeavouring to work it; but, in consequence
of being unable to clear off tine water, the works were
unprothictive. There bring no " loose" for the water in
Mr.Thornhill's property, the speculation was abandoned,
and tie coal-pit was left unoccupied.
In this state the works remained some years before and
after I became steward.

At length, Mr. Edward Hinchliffe (whose brother, the
tenant of that pit, had died) called upon me at Fixby
Hall, to ask if I would permit his brother's widow to try,
if it were possible, to work that coal-pit to advantage,
representing to me the great loss she had suffered by the
money laid out by her husband on those coakworks?

He produced a letter from my father to his brother, in
which the terms eiNhe agreement for the coal were stated
—viz., a lease of -21 years—to pay for one acre a year,
and more, if more were gotten, after the rate of X7O per
acre.

Mr. Ed. Hinchliffe proposed that the term of 21 years
should commence from the period when he called upon
me, and not from the time originally agreed upon, since
which many 'years were expired, but 'no coal had been
gotten. I communicated with Mr. Thornhill, and the
terms proposed were agreed to.
I ought 'to mention, that the original agreement had
produced no rent, and had consequently been unproduc-
tive to Mr. Thornhill.

The widow now proceeded with the works, established
her son ,on the spot, and laid out-an additional large sum,
in the -hope of regaining what 'her husband had lost.
During'this period, if I mistake not, the son died. Her
hopes were blasted. The water could not be cleared
without a steam-engine, and the expense of the engine
would' have consumed the profit on the coal.
After Mrs. Hinchliffe had been some time unsuccess-
fully •attempting to retrieve her husband's bad fortune,
she found herself still more involved.

At this period Mr. Jeremiah Rawson of Halifax, and
several other gentlemen, taped upon me at Fixby Hall,
to -ask if I would let them.have the colliery. 1 referred
them to Mrs. Hinchliffe, to •escertain if she were.willing
to give it up.
After several interviewstt Fixby Hall, Halifax, Brad-
ford, and Calverley, and after communicating with Mr.
Thornhill' it was agreed that the lease should be trans-
ferred to Messrs. Rawson and Co. for 21 years from that
period, making the payment for two acres annually, in-
-stead of one.

Then came the -questien of remuneration to Mrs.
Hinchliffe. Her wholeforiune was sunk in the pit—the
pit was useless to her,'anl consequently profitless to Mr.
Thornhill.

I believe the strict letter of the law would have de-
prived Mrs. H. of every, penny. by compelling her to hold
the lease. She would, thus have been ruined, without
any profit to Mr. Thornhill. But justice of course
awarded, if the lease were transferred, that the amount
of the valuation •of 'the works in the pit should be paid to
the widow.

Acting upon the :first orders ever given to me by 'Mr.
Thornhill, " neser to pat a shilling into -his pocket that
fairly belonged to his tenants "—" having-regar•d," as -I
was instructed to have, " to his name as-well as his•es-
tate," I proposed that the works, as they stood, should
be valued, and that the amount of the valuation, whatever
it might he, should be -.paid by Messrs. Rawson and Co.
to M rs. Hincfbliffe.

Mr. Thornhill willingly
owwi.Ll.i.rigisyaveadgrfereodin to the e =arrangement;
and thus t
• What the amount of the valuation was, 31 never beard.
The widow told me that she was satisfied-and thankful.
Afterwards I was informed, that Messrs. Rawson and
Co. had boulzht up a large field of coal in that neighbour-
hood, thror:2ll which they were enabled to " loose." the
Calverley coal without the expense of a steam-engine. I
believe they laid out a very large sum in that speculation -
whether they have gained or lost thereby; =I have no means
of knowing. One thing is, I believe, certain : the Cal-
verley coal.couldnever have been profitably worked,- had
not a " loose" for the water been purchased through the
neighbouring property.
I was at some expense in the negociation. Gentlemen,
or their servants, never called upon me =at Fixby cull
without having suitable refreshments given to them and
to their horses. Many such calls were made during that
negociation. My payment was, the pleasure of releasing
a widow from difficulty., obtaining for'Mr. Thornhill a
rich tenant instead of a poor one, and increasing Mr.
Thornhill's income.

I little thought that that negociation-would ever be
charged as a crime against me. I have often alluded to
it, as one of the most. pleasing circumstances of my life,
and as being most honourable to the name of Thorn' ill.
That name was always honoured in Yorkshire during my
residence at Fixby Hall, though during the whole period
Mr. Thornhill bad not once visited his Yorkshire estate.

I hope I have not wearied yon : I have been as brief as
I could. Once more thanking you for your great kind-
ness to me,
remain,-sir, yours most truly,
RICHARD OASTLER.
The Queen's Prison,jan. 5, 1844.