[James Smith, humorist, co-author with his brother Horace Smith of the celebrated ‘Rejected Addresses’ (1812).] Autograph Letter Signed to John Wilson Croker, regarding his post as Assistant Solicitor to the Board of Ordnance.

See his entry, and those of his brother and the recipient, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium. The letter had been torn in half, with loss of a strip of paper from the second leaf, resulting in damage to a couple of words from the valediction; it has been carefully repaired with archival tape, and is otherwise in fair condition, lightly aged, with slight fading of the ink on the first page. The large signature ‘James Smith’ is clear and undamaged. Addressed to ‘J. W. Croker Esq’. An interesting letter, casting light on the workings of the Georgian civil service. At the time of writing Croker was Secretary to the Admiralty. The first paragraph reads: ‘My dear Croker / The Appointment of Sir Giffin Wilson to a Mastership in Chancery has occasioned a Vacancy in the Office of Solicitor to the Board of Ordnance: so called although its duties are those of a Barrister. Sargeant Adair hed that office formerly and it was the custom of the Board, up to his period, to obtain the Reports of the Solicitor, as their Counsel, through the information of their Assistant Solicitor. My father was at this Time the Assistant Solicitor: and from the difficulty of obtaining the Sergeants Reports in Time, the Board adopted the Practice of being content with those of my father, as their Assistant Solicitor: afterwards of my father & self as joint Assistant Solicitors, and now of myself singly. This practice has prevailed for upwards of thirty years.’ In the second half of the letter he continues his explanation of the various situations of solicitor and assistant solicitor, before asking Croker if he could use his influence to push for a merger of the two posts: ‘I need not say that I should feel gratified and obliged.’ His father failed in a similar application twenty-five years before, as a member of parliament had to hold the office of solicitor. ‘Latterly, however, you are aware that Sir G. Wilson was not in Parliament.’ It is not clear whether Croker intervened, or whether Smith’s application was went any further.