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
&c &c &c _ _ _
The Memorial
of William Reed;
Humbly Sheweth,
That your Memorialist
having seen a Copy of a Letter under
date the 27th Nor. last, from the Colonial
Office : wherein Henry Reed is censured
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 & most industrious young
Man _ begs most humbly to State
to your Excellency, That your Memorialist,
after many Trials & Experiments,
with much Labor & heavy expence;
produced a Sample of Superior Brick
& Tile, which were forwarded to the

Colonial office as a Specimen, for
approbation _ they were approved of, &
Your Memorialist agreed with Captn Evans
to furnish 60th at 15 RDs per thousand
Your Memorialist in consequence made
every Preparation & had began to work
when it pleased the Divine Being
to afflict Your Memorialist, with a
severe & long Ilness, from which he
has not yet recoverd, nor does he expect,
so as to be able to attend to any
Sort of active Business _ From this
Cause, added to untoward Circumstances
during the Ilness of your Memorialist
is to be attributed the failure of the
agreement; as the Bricks could not be
made without the assistance of your
Memorialist there being Something more
than Cley & Water in their Composition
Your Memorialist therefore most humbly
solicits that Your Excellency will take
the above distressing Circumstances in
consideration, & restore your Memorialist
& large Family, to the Same good Opinion
& 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 &c &c &c _
Wm Reed
Port Elizth
14th Janry 1823