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whom I considered as the first Whigs of the country; buttheir arguments appeared to me to bear a temporising cast, andas I had no sinister end in view, I could not bring myself to giveup my own opinion to theirs. Mr. Burke had much influencewith them; I ad mired, as every body did, the talents, but I did notadmire the principles, of that gentleman. His opposition to theclerical petition first excited my suspicion of his being an highchurchman in religion, and his virulent abuse of Doctor Pricepersuaded me tbiat he was a Tory, perhaps, indeed, an aristocraticTory, in the state. Our petition had been signed by near a thou-sand freeholders in less than a week; there was a great dislike inthe county to arn association, and thinking that no good could bederived from an association, that was not generally approved of, Idrew up the following paper, as a more conciliatory measure to thecounty, and a more respectful one to the House of Commons .The Duke of Rutland, as Chairman of the Committee, read boththe plan of association, and the following paper, to the Committeebefore we went to the County Hall, on the day appointed for themeeting ; and a majority of the Committee being of opinion, thatan association should not then take place, the following paper wasdelivered to Lord Duncannon, Chairman of the meeting, and readby him to the freeholders assembled in the County Hall on the16th of April, T780:—

“ Whereas the Committee, appointed at the last county meeting,for effectually promoting the object of the petition to Parliament then agreed to; and for preparing a plan of association on legaland constitutional grounds, to support the laudable reform thereinrecommended; and for adopting such other measures as may

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