JB/538/384/001

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There are 7 L is a Board which consists of 7 members
here called the Admiralty. They do the business of Lords
of the Admiralty, Commissioners of the Customs, Commissions
of the Navy & of the Victualling. Their Salary is 310£
yes three hundred pounds a year and about 50 Pounds
perquisites: besides they have a house firing & I believe
candles. Yet they are rich because not from their places
for they consider these as posts of honour only. The Burgomaster
of Amsterdam clears about 60 pounds a year
by his place. But at the same time he has the disposal of
all places under of the TCity one or two worth perhaps two
thousand a year. They are never known to have offered an
account of this power to go snacks with the nominee.
Every department is carried on with the greatest Oeconomy
conceivable. By observations which a 3d Mr May has
made who is a Captain in the dutch service and has seen every
thing at Toulon in France it appears [he reckons] that there
in the dock yard there about the same quantity of work done
here at Amsterdam an equal number of Ships fitted
and built in a given time. There are employed there
near 4,000 men who work with their tools and upwards
of 200 who keep accounts or direct the works. Here
there are about 1,200 men who work with their tools
and about 20 who keep accounts and direct the works.
A dutch workman is very slow in his motions but he
never stops. He drinks only the small beer which is
allowed him and of which he may drink as much as he
pleases. I met with a clever fellow to day who would have
no objections to go to England or any where else to get a
little more money. He talks speaks english very well.
neither would he have any objections to go to any other part
of the world where he could either get more money or where
money went further. I set him down.

Silver and Pinchbeck tarnish here amazingly. Buckles
want cleaning 2 or 3 times a day.

Does Mr Touch continue to write for you? if so have
you already or can you spare him to write me out in
a very pretty manner some Metaphysical exhaustions
I believe you know what I mean. I believe I have not
a copy of the Expounding Table. I shall in a little time perhaps have
an exhaustive set of Queries, as soon as I think I have
I will send them you.

I have seen to here a very extraodinary shaped &
constructed Vessel which is building after a plan of
the Mr Seyer's you may remember a letter in the
paper about a Vessel building at Copenhagen after
his plan this is I believe of the same kind.

I have just bought Chambands french dictionary
I wanted one very much and I thought it cheap. it is printed
here. Quart. New. unbound. price 12 gelders.

I have pretty well filled 30 pages of Inferenda

Send me by the first opportunity some more of this paper.

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Identifier: | JB/538/384/001"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538.
Date_1	1779-10-06	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	538	Main Headings
Folio number	384	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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