| 89 | ||||
| Sir | ||||
| I take the Liberty to address this Letter to you as Chairman | ||||
| and entreat the favour of you to communicate the Contents of it to the | ||||
| Magistrates assembled at Quarter Sessions. It not being in my | ||||
| Power to wait upon them in Person I take this Method of saying a | ||||
| few words upon the Subject of my Undertaking and my agreement with | ||||
| the County. I meant to have begg'd the patience of the Gentlemen | ||||
| of the Grand Jury at the Adjournment of Sessions held in the Assize | ||||
| Week to have mention'd what had occurr'd to me on that Subject had | ||||
| the Circumstances of either of those meetings afforded me an opportunity | ||||
| but the one being discharged, and the other adjourn'd, without my receiving | ||||
| any Notice of either, those opportunities were lost, and the Meeting held | ||||
| the ensuing day upon other Business gave me indeed time to make | ||||
| known the nature of my Proposition but appear'd too much hurried | ||||
| to attend to any thing further on the Subject. Sir I can't help observing | ||||
| that the great unwillingness in many Gentlemen to enter upon the | ||||
| Business at all, surpris'd me a good deal. I came not to ask any | ||||
| Favours, & it was well known that I had undertaken the Journey on | ||||
| Purpose to meet the County, and take their Sense upon a Proposition I | ||||
| intended to make at the ensuing Sessions. I flatter myself I need | ||||
| not say, that no Disrespect was by this step meant to the Magistrates, | ||||
| many of whom I have the honour to be well known to, and entertain | ||||
| the highest Esteem for, my true Meaning Sir was to take the Sense of | ||||
| as many Gentlemen of the County as possible, which no other time | ||||
| afforded so good an opportunity to do as the Week of Assizes. | ||||
| One part of this Transaction between the County & [me?] I [??] | ||||
| to explain was my application to Parliament. I find [I am?] | ||||
| blam'd by many for the Manner of conducting that Business as | ||||
| well as the form in which the Bill was drawn; I need not here | ||||
| recapitulate all that pass'd at Midsummer Sessions 1782, I believe | ||||
| we are so far agreed, as that it was with the Consent of the Bench | ||||
| that application was to be made to Parliament for |
||||
| for the County & myself, but that I was to be the Sole Petitioner, being | ||||
| the aggriev'd party, & that certainly no opposition would be | ||||
Abbreviations are underlined like this Wm. and the expansion may be seen by moving the cursor over it.
| An entry outlined like this has a note which may be seen by hovering over it. |
Transcribed by CTW and KS