To Alexander Hamilton from Nicholas Low, 4 March 1793
From Nicholas Low1
New york 4 March 1793
Dr. Sir
The foregoing is extract of a Letter from Mr. Colt of 1 Instt.2 What can be the Cause of Maj. L Enfants extraordinary long Absence? Will you speak to him and advise him to come forward immediately. I suspect that strong Efforts will be made to take Pearse out of our Employ and at the same Time I do not beleive we can do well without him. His & Marshalls3 Salaries at £100: Stg are both too low and must at the next Meeting be raised. I wish you would find out pearse & converse with him.
I am Dr. sr. yours very sincerely
Nichs Low
ALS, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.
1. Low was a director of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.
2. The extract from Peter Colt’s letter to Low reads as follows: “The Absence of Maj. [Pierre Charles] L Enfant of whom I get no Intelligence becomes every Day more distressing not a day passes without Applications for Employmt. of Mechaniks & for House Lotts &ca. I do not feel myself at Liberty to take a single Step in this Business without consulting him as I am totally uninformed as to his Plans of the Town and the general Arrangements made for Building thereon.
“Yesterday Mr. [William] Hall and Mr. [William] Pearse both set out for Philada. Mr Halls Business I am not made acquainted with. I presume however on his own private Concerns. Mr. Pearse was sent for by the Secretary of State respecting his Patents and of Course is partly on his own Account and partly on that of the Society. Since he left Paterson I have been informed that Mr. [William] Bingham of Philada. has offerred him a Capital of £30,000 to be employ’d by Pearse in the Cotton Business. I am not without hope that this may not prove true as it must render him still more uneasy with his present Situation.” (Copy, Hamilton Papers, Library of Congress.)
3. Pearce and Thomas Marshall were artisans employed by the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.