Greta Bank
Augst 23rd 1860
My dear sir,
I am very sorry you have had so much inconvenience and trouble about the Kitchen arrangements, and there is something very mysterious and inexplicable in the case.
Smith feels that his reputation as a workman is at stake, and believing that the accidents, which have occurred, have been occasioned by the hands of some one else and not by any fault of his, and he now wishes for and challenges an investigation.
We think that the best course to pursue is to send a competent and impartial person to examine the work and report whether it is satisfactorily done and to say whether the stoppages which have recently occurred could possibly have happened without some one having tampered with the machinery: the best person to do this, I think, would be Mr Edwards the "Clerk of the Works" at Mr Oxley’s house, and he, I believe, is quite willing to do it, and if you have no objection or no one else to suggest we will send him to examine.
If the work is found bad, we will of course have it put right by a proper person, but if, as we expect, it is found to have been done well and efficiently, you will, I feel sure, agree with us in thinking that an inquiry should be made to discover who is responsible for the damage, and that Smith should be released from further responsibility and loss of time, and due credit allowed for the performance of his work. Regretting that I am obliged to give you this trouble,
I remain, My dear Sir, Yrs very truly
J. J Spedding