Decr. 29 1811
Sir,
As nothing material has occurred relative to the disturbances in this County since I last had the honor of addressing you, I have not thought it necessary to trouble you on the subject.
It is very much hoped that the public tranquillity will now be very soon restored, every thing is certainly more quiet and but few frames have lately been broken altho’ I understood that on the Thursday in last week two or three frames were broken in Nottingham Appearances are undoubtedly in favor of the near conclusion of the very disgraceful proceedings which have for too long a period been carried on in this County.
Opinions differ from each other so widely in every thing which concerns these disturbances, that it is almost impossible to form a just idea of the real state of the case; that however which now appears to me to be the most rational and best founded on fact is that the original cause is the distress of the workmen who have unquestionably been most hardly treated by their employers; urged by absolute necessity to require a better treatment from their Masters they endeavoured to obtain better terms for themselves; on such occasion, as you too well know, there are always mischievous people who are ever ready to foment discord, the suggestions of such people were unfortunately too much attended to and thence the disorders which followed.
In the neighbourhood of Mansfield every thing has been arranged in the best manner between the masters and workmen and at Nottingham only and immediately around it do any appearances of discontent now prevail, it is said by some that in this quarter things remain in as bad a state as ever, from what I learn from others, and this I hope to be the real state of the case, an adjustment of the differences appears fast approaching and that already every thing is much quieter.
It will indeed be a cause of most sincere gratification to me to be able to inform you of the entire restoration of order in the County.
I have [etc.]
NEWCASTLE
The letter can be found at HO 42/118.
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