Bowden Park 30th May 33
Dear Sir
I only returned here on Tuesday eve'g and on Wednesday attended the General vestry when I communicated to them the result of my enquiries having seen a friend of Lord Althorps who confirmed my impressions that Government were not either able or inclined to lend any aid to Parishes and that his Lord's intended motion on the subject of the Poor Laws would rather be to recommend some mode of regulating the labours leaving them to be guided chiefly by local circumstances. this of course rendered all further dialog not only useless but imprudent and we therefore came to the resolution of commencing operations but as some little arrangements were necessary as to the plans Estimates given in which were not upon equal footing [illegible deletion] I suggested some little alterations that together will delay the formal ajustment till Monday soon after which I hope the work will commence and be completed as soon as possible
Mr Spencer having got into little trouble has left Lacock and it fell to the vestry to elect another Doctor there being these candidates Messrs. Spencer of Chippenham and Plimmer of Melksham and Newman of Corsham the choice of all ours Mr Plimmer was duly appointed- <1>
I am glad to find the opinion of the neighborhood are ever quite with ours as to the expediency of the measure and I look with considerable [damaged text, illegible] the advantage resulting from it
I am Dr Sir yours very truly
Ez Harman
[Address panel:]
Hr H. Talbot Esqur
M.P.
Sackville Street
London
Notes:
1. The offending Dr Spencer has yet to be identified - he was probably not Dr Henry Spencer (1805-1842), a surgeon in Chippenham. According to the 1830 Pigot's for Wiltshire the candidates were the surgeons Henry Spencer, George Plimmer and William Beard Newman.