Haywood, John, 1755-1827
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Raleigh
25th April 1811
Sir,
Your several favours of the 26th January, 27th of February and 31st of March last, together with
yours covering a letter from Messrs.
Winslow and Huske and stating the offer made by Mr. Close for the Lime at the seat of the University
which belongs to the Trustees, were all duly received by Col. Polk and by him
made known to the Building Commissioners here, and would have been sooner
acknowledged but for the late absences of Col. Polk and Judge
Potter from this place.
I am now directed, by the Commissioners, to say to you, that all matter touching
the payments made through donation towards carrying on the principal
Building
of the
University, shall be brought into view
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and satisfactorily settled between you and them; when they shall have the
pleasure of seeing you here; which they are now led to hope may be the case in
course of the ensuing month.
In the mean while, I am instructed to mention to you, that the Commissioners, or
rather the Committee of the Trustees appointed for the purpose of soliciting
other and further subscriptions, in their endeavors and arrangements to that
end, have purposely omitted the Towns of
Newbern
and
Fayetteville
, in the hope they might be so fortunate as to prevail on you, once more to
embark in the irksome business of begging half: — and could you
reconcile the task to your feelings, they have hoped you might make it
convenient to visit those two places, on that occasion, in time of the ensuing
Vacation at the
University: —
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The Committee are aware that it is unreasonable, after all you have
done, to ask this further service at your hands; nor would they have asked it,
but from a full persuasion that no mode of application in their power promised
any thing like equal success: — they are bound in duty to use the best
possible means in their power:— this must be their apology to you, and
their excuse to themselves: — and as for the rest, you know enough of
the World long since to have learned, that as you have done and sacrificed more
to secure our
University than any other man has, its friends
will, on every interesting occasion, be unreasonable enough to go on to hope,
that you will still stretch forth your fortuning Hand in support of its
interests, and continue to bear the heat and burthen of the day, and that
without
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making any estimate of your former toils
and sacrifices: — this is human nature; and it is thus we mortals act
in most cases in which we have success particularly at heart;— always
looking forward to him who has done much, in the hope he will be prevailed on to
do yet more.
I am likewise instructed to ask of you to offer the Lime at the
University, mentioned in the letter of Mess
rs.
Winslow &
Huske to you, and in yours covering the same
when transmitted to
Col.
Polk,
at Cost and Charges, to
W.
Close: — if that Gentleman will take the Lime off our hands
on those terms, you will please authorize his taking possession of it
immediately: if he will not take it at Cost and Charges, the Commissioners wish
you to make the best bargain with him for it which may be
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in your power: — although highly valuable to
Mr. Close, the Lime is, in fact, worth little
or nothing to the
Trustees of the
University; if
therefore
Mr. Close will not give for
it its first Cost, together with the freight & waggonage &c.,
then and in such case, the Commissioners wish of you, that you will make sell of
it to him, or to some other person for the best price that may be had: they will
not, however, be satisfied to sell it for a less sum than will be equal to the
completely covering the freight, waggonage [sic] & housing of the Lime:
— should you sell to
Mr.
Close, we want to be informed before or at the meeting of the Circuit
Court here, which will happen on the 12
th of next month, in
order that the amt. of the sale may be deducted from the Balance still due
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him on his first Draft on Instalment, towards
finishing the
Main Building
;
which Balance is to be extinguished in time of Court, if the Commissioners can
raise the necessary sum.
With respect to the Window-Frames now in the
Building
and the unexpected size of them, as mentioned in
your favour of the 27
th February last, the Commissioners
here are in not a little difficulty; and being too few in number to form a
majority, they are unwilling to take on themselves to direct, positively, the
course which shall be pursued in regard to them: they therefore request you will
have the goodness to state the matter to Mess
rs.
Alves and
Cameron, our fellow Laborers, and
ask of those Gentlemen to view & measure the windows & the
frames, in order
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that the matter may be
definitively acted on in time of Court; when it is hoped a majority of the
Commissioners will be here: — should it be inconvenient to those
Gentlemen to examine & measure the frames &c., the Commissioners
here beg the favour of you again to do it:— not knowing now, how to
obviate the difficulty growing out of such an unforeseen illegible circumstances, they are willing to hope that possibly, at a readmeasurement,
the frames may be found not so entirely unfit for the purposes for what they
were intended, as they now appear to be.
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