Devonport Board of Commissioners: The Commissioners met on Friday at that Workhouse. Mr. R. M. Oliver, the chairman of the Board presiding. The usual routine business having bee disposed of, the minutes of the last meeting were read: Messrs. Pinsent’s Contact. The House Committee referred to the consideration of the Board a question which had arisen between themselves and Messrs. Pinsent and Co., with respect to the quality of certain “ticklenburgh” supplied by that firm to the workhouse, which the Committee had felt bound to reject, as not being equal to the sample: Mr. Rattenbury asked whether a contract had been signed by Mr. Pinsent: Mr. Bridgeland: No; and he says he will not sign it: Mr. Joseph Beer, junr., explained that the contract had been prepared in October, and sent to Mr. Pinsent for his signature. He was from home, and bis clerk requested that it might be left for his perusal. When the clerk called for it again, he found that Mr. Pinsent was in Manchester, in consequence of which the matter had stood over for the time, and, in some unaccountable manner, had been afterwards lost sight of. The result was that the contract had remained in Messrs. Pinsent’s office up to last week, without having ever been signed. Mr. Pinsent, he should state, did not object to sign the contract now, except in so far as it related to this single article of “ticklenburg,” and, with reference to that, he stated that, although the goods he had supplied might not be exactly like the sample, yet, in point of value, they were equal to it, and had cost him quite as much. Mr. Bridgeland: They may have cost him quite as much, for the price of the article has risen, but they are not equal in quality. Mr. Ryder said the statement made by Mr. Beer had altered the complexion of the matter; for the Committee, certainly, had understood, not only that no contract had been signed, but that none had ever been submitted to Mr. Pinsent for his signature. Mr. Beer said the contract was prepared and sent to Mr. Pinsent in October, and it was only last week that he became aware that it had not been signed. Mr. R. B. Oram — presuming that the contract which had been prepared had been based upon a tender put in by Mr. Pinsent — conceived that the Commissioners had only one duty to perform, and that they were bound to call on Mr. Pinsent to execute it forthwith. He would move that Mr. Pinsent be required to execute the contract at once. Mr. J. W. Ryder seconded the motion. Mr. Symons thought they should require Mr. Pinsent either to execute the contract at once, or else to give it up altogether (loud cries of “no, no.”). Mr. Bridegland was opposed to giving him the option of abandoning the contract, seeing that the price of the article had risen. Mr. Symons: But, if he refuses to sign it, we cannot compel him to do so; we must, in that case, give it up; we cannot have Mr. Cole’s business over again. Mr. Heard scarcely understood Mr. Symons. Mr. Pinsent had tendered to supply the Board with certain goods at certain prices, and he was bound, in honour, to fulfil his engagement, and to sign the contract, which was based upon that tender. There might have been an alteration in the value of the goods, which might make him very glad to give up the contract altogether — but thought they ought not to permit it. They were bound to hold him to the prices and the tender he had sent in. The Chairman — having ascertained that Messrs. Pinsent had adopted the contract, by supplying goods under it — was of opinion (and he believed they would themselves feel), that, as men of honour, they were as much bound by it, as though they had actually signed it. Mr. Jos. Beer repeated his statement, that Messrs. Pinsent were prepared to sign the contract, with reference to every other article, except the “ticklenburgh”; and that, they were prepared to submit to the opinion of any three respectable tradesmen. Mr. Laity said, it was due to Mr. Pinsent to state, that he maintained that all the articles sent in were quite equal to the patterns. Mr. J. W. Ryder said, five gentlemen, all connected with the trade, and not one of whom could have had any prejudice against Messrs. Pinsent, had examined the goods, and had come to the unanimous conclusion that they were not equal to the pattern. – After some further conversation, a resolution was unanimously passed to the effect that Messrs. Pinsent should be called upon to execute the contract at once. Mr. Joseph Beer was requested to make this resolution known to them immediately and left the Boardroom for the purpose; on his return, he stated that the contract had not been signed, but that Mr. Pinsent had come over to the Commissioners on the subject. Mr. Pinsent was accordingly called in, and, in answer to the Chairman’s questions, stated that it had tendered to supply the Board with certain goods, and his tender had been accepted; a contract had been afterwards submitted to him for his signature, but he could not tell how long ago; he had not yet perused it, and he could not, therefore, say whether it was in conformity with the tender or no; but he certainly was not prepared to sign it during the continuance of the dispute with reference to the quality of the goods he had sent in. The Chairman said: The Commissioners had desired him to say that that dispute had nothing whatsoever to do with the question which was now before them. They had determined that they would not, at that moment, go at all into any matter of detail; but would confine themselves to asking for a simple yes or no, to the question which he had already put, which was whether Messrs. Pinsent were prepared to sign the contract, which had been drawn up in conformity with their own tender. ~ Mr. Pinsent repeated the answer which he had given before. He had no wish whatever to get out of the contract, but he contended that the goods which he had sent in were the goods for which he had tendered; and he could not consent to be bound to send in goods of a better quality, and of a higher price, than those for which had agreed. The Chairman repeated that the question as to signing the contrast was very clearly distinguishable from that as to the quality of the goods; they were altogether separate from the one from the other, and they ought to be separately considered. Mr. Pinsent said if he had tendered to supply certain goods, he would supply them, though it was to his own loss. In answer to Mr. ORAM: Mr. Pinsent stated that he had been in the habit of supplying “ticklenburgb,” for the use of the Workhouse many years, and that the pattern, upon this occasion, was very much lower quality than the Board had ever before selected. Perhaps that was the cause of the dissatisfaction. After some further conversation, Mr. Pinsent agreed that he would take the tender and compare it with the contract and give a decided answer to the course which would take, within an hour. At the expiration of that time the contract was brought back signed, with a letter from Mr. Pinsent, to the effect that he was willing to adhere strictly to both the letter and the spirit of the tender he had sent in, and to have the question as to quality of the goods determined upon its own merits, without taking any, advantage of the position in which he had stood, in consequence of the contract not having been previously signed. He had, therefore, now signed it, and his signature had been witnessed. The Chairman expressed himself pleased at the turn which the matter had taken. It was precisely what he had expected. The Report of the House Committee was then unanimously confirmed.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.
Referenced
GRO0741 Devonport: Richard Steele Pinsent: 1820 – 1864