MEMOIR OF DANIEL TREADWELL. 



19 



I 



Boston, F< bman eo, i- :; 



Dear Sir, — I have given to the proposal made tonic by Mr. Lowell and yourself, that 1 

 should take the charge of the business of the Amoskeag Company, all the attention which its 

 importance demanded for it, and I am unable to avoid the conclusion that I ought not to so • t 



it. Suffer me to state to you some of the reasons which have brougld me to tin inclusion. It 



seems to me of the utmost importance that the agent of the company should be mad snswei ble 

 in his interests and his reputation for the success of the company :— not merely for disci -t man- 

 agement without obvious mistakes, but for success. To encounter tins r usibility he should 



give his whole time and strength to its concerns, without distracting his alt. mien from tin to 

 any other object. Now I cannot devote myself in this way, 1 have several other objects to 

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

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



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

 to a superintendeut residing at Amoskeag, and another portion to a treasurer residing lure. 

 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 wei h 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 1 am certain that, with 

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

 dissatisfied with myself, or I should sacrifice other pursuits, t<. 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 remark thai the 

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

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



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



Daniel Trea dwell. 



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, 1P37. 



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. 



associates 



(the first named) 



to perform this <_ 



tinornished arentle 



J. R. Adan, Esq. Allow me to express tlie hope that you will i 



service for the community, and that you, together with the 



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



city 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 the 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 



Samuel A. Eliot. 



