JB/539/335/001

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The workmen are to be at liberty legally to ask any price for their work,
the proprietors will never be disposed to give them what they ask,
Injustices will be committed to induce the men to give their work cheaper
and swarms of judges must be kept in fee to suffer & support the
injustices. I thus found myself obliged to give up that which appeared
the most advantageous of my plans. About that same time, Prince Potemkin
who I suppose you know is the first man in power here, desired me to give
to the Empress my observations on the improvements which might be made
in the part of the Country in which I had been. This circumstance seemed likely to
favour any future project which I might form, free from the objections
which had deterred me from the former ones, and I therefore set about
drawing the first of the papers of which I have sent you a copy. When
I had done it I gave it to the Prince that he might give it to
the Empress. He promised to present it immediately and gave me an account
of it the next day: but his dilatory and negligent disposition is such,
that I had no expectations that I should hear any thing further about
it for a month to come: however the next day I went to him; and
he told me her Majesty was exceedingly pleased with it, and wished
much to have my observations more in detail. This then meant
much employment: and the task was not so easy, when I had
to consider with what view I was to do it, and by that determine
how far I should make it ample & what I should keep back.
at length by the advice of some friends I finished it in the state in
which you have seen it: and I believe you will perceive that in general
I have rather chosen to show what might be done and what I
could do, than what they may do without me. In some cases
however I have been explicit enough for them to reap much
benefit thereby. With respect to this second paper Potemkin treated me
as I expected he would have done with the first, 3 or 4 days together seldom

Identifier: | JB/539/335/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
Date_1	1783-04-23	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	539	Main Headings
Folio number	335	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles
Category	Correspondence	Number of Pages
Recto/Verso		Page Numbering
Penner	Samuel Bentham	Watermarks
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number
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