Reed, William

To His Excellency the Right /
Honorable General Lord /
Charles Henry Somerset /
Governor; and Commander /
in Chief of His Majestys /
Castle Town Settlement /
of the Cape of Good Hope /
7+c 7+c 7+c _ _ _ /
The Memorial /
of William Reed; /
Humbly Sheweth, /
That your Memorialist /
having seen a Copy of a Letter under /
date the 27\th/ No\r./ last, from the Colonial /
Office : wherein Henry Reed is cen=sured /
with the non performance of /
a Contract for a Certain Quantity of /
Bricks _ Your Memorialist, anxious /
to clear up Such imputation, or /
rather clerical Error, on the character /
of a Sober 7+ most industrious young /
Man _ begs most humbly to State /
to your Excellency, That your Memorial=ist, /
after many Trials 7+ Experiments, /
with much Labor 7+ heavy expence; /
produced a Sample of Superior Brick /
7+ Tile, which were forwarded to the /
>
Colonial office as a Specimen, for /
approbation _ they were approved of, 7+ /
Your Memorialist agreed with Capt\n/ Evans /
to furnish 60th at 15 RD\s/ per thousand /
Your Memorialist in consequence made /
every Preparation 7+ had began to work /
when it pleased the Divine Being /
to afflict Your Memorialist, with a /
severe 7+ long Ilnes+s, from which he /
has not yet recoverd, nor does he ex=pect, /
so as to be able to attend to any /
Sort of active Busines+s _ From this /
Cause, added to untoward Circumstances /
during the Ilnes+s of your Memorialist /
is to be attributed the failure of the /
agreement; as the Bricks could not be /
made without the as+sistance of your /
Memorialist there being [Something more] /
than [Cley 7+ Water] in their Composition /
Your Memorialist therefore most humbly /
solicits that Your Excellency will take /
the above distres+sing Circumstances in /
consideration, 7+ restore your Memorialist /
7+ /large\ Family, to the Same good Opinion /
7+ Protection, they enjoyed before this /
>
Engagement took Place; for without /
which every exertion of theirs must /
eventually Prove abortive _ and Your /
Memorialist, as in Duty bound will /
ever Pray 7+c 7+c 7+c _ /
W\m/ Reed /
Port Eliz\th/ /
14\th/ Janry 1823 /