Letter dated 14 December 1880 from David Annand to John Esplin

Letter dated 14 December 1880 from David Annand of Lochee, Scotland, to John Esplin. David was the husband of John's sister, Isabella

Church Street Dec 14th 1880 Timaru New Zealand Dear Brother We have just received your welcome letter. I am sorrow that you should trusted me so little - that you should be jealous of us appropriating that estate of your father's to ourselves. The property could not be sould without a propar deed and a propar deed could not be got without your brother William's signature. He has never been found. It is very doubtful if he is alive now. We have done all that we could to find him without effect. We wrout several letters to you of late and some of them returned, explaining to you about that property. We at least had not a shilling of benefit of that said property, rather the reverse. We left it for good to David Esplin, your brother George's son, to look after it and for any heirs that is or any that may turn up. The property is worth very little. All the rents that is drawn barely pay the dues and other expenses. But for other information of the whole matter write to your brother's son, David Esplin, Saddler, Lochee. You might believe him regarding this matter. It is now 2 years since we landed in this country. Our family is all hear now. They are all an easy distance from us. It was a longue weary journey we took in our old age. We stood out the voyage very well. We like the country very well. It is a fine general climate and I believe will be a good country if there were plenty of industries started in it.