Mr. Oates in London to Sir G.S. Praises Savile's stand on Aire and Calder bill...

Mr. Oates in London to Sir G.S.

Praises Savile's stand on Aire and Calder bill "... where you pledged yourself to the House for bringing forward the bill for the improvement of the Old River; and at the same time pledged yourself to the contending party on the other side of the question that you would be a faithful advocate for the public, for a proper reduction of tolls and for the general interest of the Commercial Concerns of the Countries connected with the Rivers Aire and Calder. The House gave you credit that the Public could and would be as well served by your plan of improving and praseing the old River as by a new Canal.

In this view and on this solemn public declaration I rest in perfect confidence that you must and that you will be the arbiter between the Proprietors and the Public ..."; with copy of Savile's answer re above, hedged with some qualifications - "At the same time, having already met with misrepresentations of what I said which require some charity not to believe wilfull ones, I am obliged to declare that I shall think my self bound by what I really said, and by the plain and direct meaning thereof, and not by what may be wrongly attributed to me, I must beg likewise to add that I did not pledge my self to any contending Party (for I was not treating with any Party, nor was there any accomodation in hand) but to the House of Commons to which I generally submitted the outline of what I thought most desirable to be done and reasonable to be expected ..."