26th January 1813: The Stockport solicitor, John Lloyd, tells the Home Office that his agents are greedy for a reward

Stockport 26 Jany 1813

Sir

I have the honor of your public and private Letters this morning, the first containing Instructions for the distribution of the Proclamation, many Copies of which accompanied the Letter—& in pursuance of it, I dispatched Taylor & Whitehead to the proper Counties to post this morning—

The latter relative to these two men surprized me, for they that knew that it was my intention to write about them to Mr. Hobhouse which I have done, and I consider their conduct as exceedingly impertinent in writing to the Secretary of State & taking the liberty of asserting that there was an agreement entered into—

I acknowledge that they have made themselves very useful and that in some cases they have risked their lives; but at the same time they have been very expensive, & I have to recommend that you first see the accounts, which I shall send up to Mr Hobhouse in the course of a day or two, before you fix upon any pecuniary remuneration — in the mean time I will give them something to keep them — I certainly do think their Services were of real importance but am not enabled to say what compensation will be sufficient to satisfy them.

I am very happy to be enabled to state that the proceedings at York have had the best possible effect all over the country — Before I left the West riding I took my Horse & rode through the different places where I was known to have been busy against the Luds — and since my return home I have visited many companies & been much about in my own neighbourhood and have derived the greatest gratification in witnessing the proper observations & feelings of the people—

I have [etc]
J Lloyd

P.S. I shall take no notice at present to Taylor & Whitehead of having had any Letter from you.

[To] J Beckett Esqr
&c &c

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This letter can be found at HO 42/132.