Benjamin Disraeli ALS After Duke of Wellington's Death: "The death of the Duke ought to be the removal of an obstacle to military economy - keep yr eye awake to all this"

Outstanding Black-bordered Autograph Letter Signed "D" as Chancellor of the Exchequer, 4 pages, 4.5" x 7", front and verso on two conjoined sheets. Hughenden Manor, [High Wycombe, England], September 26, 1852. To George A. Hamilton, Parliamentary Secretary of the Treasury. With black-bordered envelope, 4.75" x 3", signed "B. Disraeli" in the lower left, marked "Private" in the upper right and addressed by him to: "G.A. Hamilton Esq / Treasury." Slightly soiled, opened at back flap. Fine condition.

Marked "Private" by Disraeli.

In full, "D. J. Manners writes, that the Brompton Cemetery Compy are pressing anxiously for the purchase money, & that Messrs. Barnes & Ellis advise him, that the Company's demand for interest will be resisted, to a disadvantage, by the Govt, if any further delay occur in completing the purchase. Will you therefore, see to this?

The death of the Duke ought to be the removal of an obstacle to military economy - keep yr eye awake to all this = Ld Hardinge, I fear, is very prone to expenditure - He must be met sternly. Look to the evidence given before the Comm[itt]ee on Army estimates on the junction of the H[orse] Guards & Ordnance departments. We shall be pressed on this head. And keep yr eye increasingly on the expenditure for public works so that the reductions, we talked of this year, may be achieved. Yrs sincerely D.

Background:

The Duke of Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, had died on September 14, 1852. He was succeeded by Lord Hardinge on September 28, 1852, two days after Disraeli wrote this letter.

Lord J. Manners was John Thomas Manners-Sutton, 2nd Baron Manners. From Benjamin Disraeli Letters, Volume Six, 1852-1856: "The purchase of the Brompton Cemetery had been agreed upon in March 1851 by the previous government as a board of health provision for burying paupers. On 13 February 1852, the treasury agreed to advance £74,921, secured by mortgaging the property to the government. On 10 September Manners wrote for a quick approval of the amount "now that the Cholera is threatening us."

On 15 September,  [Hamilton] told Disraeli that such advances need not be covered in the budget, being added (if not repaid) to the national debt.

On 24 September Manners wrote that the cemetery company were pressing for their money and that Barnes & Ellis advised "a disadvantage" to the government if further delay resulted and a demand for interest was not met. Keith Barnes and George Henry Ellis were solicitors, of the firm of Lyon, Barnes and Ellis, parliamentary agents.

On 27 September, Hamilton would report: "The Brompton affair will be settled in a few days."

In his letter [to Disraeli] of 17 September, [MP from Scotland, Joseph] Hume had referred generally to a number of committees on which he had served to effect economies in various military departments, but whose efforts had been blocked by the Duke of Wellington.

Deaccessioned from Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, The Disraeli Project at Queen's University (1975-2014)

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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