Memorandum by Matthew Boulton.

(Docketed "J. Scale / Sepr 1778." At the head of the letter is the beginning of a letter dated at Soho, 18 Sep. 1778, struck through.)

his 1st propol. was steel Chains & Buttns.
2 proposes the Buttn. Business & S: to take ½ the profits.
3 proposal for S to allow 16 per Ct. for Losses G Expences our Proft. &c &c.
4 Do-20 per Cent & he to pay 150£ per Annum for Shops Mill &c.
*I think it reasonable to estimate all the Shops commonly used in ye Buttn. Business at their Cost & to allow 5 per Ct. as rent & to estimt. the Mill & Water either at its cost with ye rent paid to ye Lord or to pay for ye 2 Mills 100£ per Annum.
*You see by his various proposals that nothing was concluded upon & the reason was because I did not think any of them equitable.
If I had concluded an agreemt. with S: I certainly should have either attended the takeing of the inventory my self or have intrusted some person on our part to have just weight, measure, & price, for after the proofs that S: hath given of his regard to himself & his own interest only I should be an Idiot to put such implicit faith as to aquiess in his accts. only without some check Mr S: says our Credt is bad in ye North I can suppose it but I know of no other communication we have in the N than through his family nor do we owe 6d in the North or ask Credt. of any one there. The various unfortunate circumstances of ye Yr. 1778 & the inconveniences We have falln into by a bad conducted Trade under ye administration of J: S: have distressd my mind all this year almost to distraction whilest Mr S: hath enjoyd his peace without contributing in any degree to obviate our Misfortunes which if I had Combated wth. great exertion We must have fallen into ruin & S: also as he was our partner yet so far from mitigating my distress he refuses his hand at ye request of M: B: to make them easy although the Load they complaind of was in in part actualy S: to say nothing how it was brought on.
He increases my distress by pushing the Conclusing of the proposals he offers to take our Trade so long as its profitable & when not so to give it us back again with a load of unprofitable remnants.
He wants to take our Manufy out of hands & our Connections also as he will order all the Materials where he pleases & not where we may find it convt. He refuses being equal wth us as he refuses being a partner & nothing less than reaping all the Fruits of the seed we have sown.
He writes like a Man of Sentmt. & says he will freely give up a Year or two although in ye prime of his life to our Service it is a language that he ought to speak but if I am to judge by his anxity for himself only I doubt his sincerity & consequently I have great reason to complain of. He seems not to recollect that Soho is yet ours & its Manufacty & that he is paid Wages by us for his Services. But instead of forwdg our Business he hath passed them backwd. I have made attempts to manufr. Japand Buttns. & after seting peopl. to work he hath stoped them & thereby put them upon serving others & exposing what we might have made proft. of.
If I had made my Cornish journey I could better judge how far it may be prudent in me to stick to Engines or Buttons for I can consider Buttns. as a Sheet Anchor.
If S: had conducted ye purl Buttns. with spirit judgmt & care we might have avoided great Losses & have worked up all the purl but now we have paid for 300£ worth wch. lyes dead but according to Mr S: plan he is to reap the proft. of all that was workd up & not we although I could at one time have sold it to a proft. of 400£ without Mr S: haveing anything to do with it. He wishes to take ye Cream & leave us to enjoy ye Skim Milk.
He may & doth reason thus why should I give the greatest part of the proft. to B & F who do not conduct it but I do.
In answer it may be sd. why should B & F: give the greatest part of the proft. to S when they can get a Manager for less than 100£ per Ann who will do as well.
I am now no longer Master of my business but I must have Women & Familys give their opineons & Voices in it.

1st. to pay us 20 per Ct. upon all ye returns & also rent for Shops Mill &c If we give notice to quit we take ye dead stock but if he gives notice he takes it.
2 to continue a general partnership & one comn Int.
3 to continue Manufacture of Buttns. only & profts divided into Shares & his Mo imployd in it.
4 or to seperate at Xmass & he to take his share of Comn. General Profits & to take out his share of Money as it comes in.
He will push ye Buttn. Business it being his intert. but it may be our Int. to let the Business Sleep as much as possable for a Yr or two.