MEMOIR OF DANIEL TKEADWELL. 397 



Boston, February 20, 1837. 

 Dear Sir, — I have given to the proposal made to me by Mr. Lowell and yourself, that I 

 should talie the charge of the business of the Amoslvcag Company, all the attention which its 

 importance demanded for it, aud I am unable to avoid the conclusion that I ought not to accede to 

 it. Suffer me to state to you some of the reasons which have brought me to this conclusion. It 

 seems to me of the utmost importance that the agent of tlie company should be made answerable 

 in his interests and his reputation for the success of the company ; — not merely for discreet man- 

 agement without obvious mistakes, but for success. To encounter this responsibility he should 

 give his whole time and strength to its concerns, without distracting his attention from this to 

 any other object. Now I cannot devote myself in this way. I have several other objects to 

 ■which I am bound in honor, inclination, and profit (my place at Cambridge is not connected 

 with the last of these) to give my attention. You suggest, liowever, in your letter, that the 

 business of management may for the present, at least, be divided, — that a portion may be assigned 

 to a superintendent residing at Amoskeag, and another portion to a treasurer residing here. 

 This would undoubtedly free the manager, or by whatever name he were called, from much 

 labor ; still, it would be that part only which would weigh least heavily upon him, and if his 

 heart were in the service which would remain to him, he would find his whole attention drawn 

 to it, even against the efforts of his will. I know my own disposition, and I am certain that, with 

 the pressure of my other avocations I should either neglect your affairs, so as to be constantly 

 dissatisfied with myself, or I should sacrifice other pursuits, to which I am attached by their 

 merits and by long acquaintance, and to which, moreover, I am bound by actual engagement. 

 Under the first of these conditions the company cannot desire my services, and I ought not, for 

 my own sake, to risk encountering the second. In conclusion, permit me to remai-k that the 

 salary understood to have been proposed is in my opinion all that any one could ask, and, 

 were I to engage in a service of this kind, there are no men in the community that I should 

 prefer to you and your associates as those to whom I should be accountable. 



Daniel Treadwell. 



Mr. Treadwell likewise received the following communication this year, asking 

 his aid in the construction of the Water- Works : — 



To Daniel Treadwell, Esq. 



Boston, January 31, 1837. 

 Dear Sir, — It is with great pleasure I announce to you your appointment as one of the 

 commissioners for the introduction of a supply of pure water into the city. Your associates, 

 should you and they accept the appointment, will be P. T. Jackson, Esq. (the first named) and 

 J. R. Adan, Esq. Allow me to express the hope that you will not refuse to perform this great 

 service for the community, and that you, together with the other distinguished gentlemen 

 named, enjoying, as you do, the public confidence, will be instrumental in procuring for the 

 citv the inestimable blessing of an abundance of pure water. If you will call at the Mayor and 

 Aldermen's room, I will show you the rules adopted by the committee for tlie guidance of the 

 commissioners, which are merely such as would at once occur to you. The compensation is 

 eight dollars a day for each commissioner. 



With much respect, I am yours, etc., 



Samuel A. Eliot. 



