and counsel all their friends-and particularly their proud and hateful aristocratical families-to treat us on the footing of powerful and well-meaning allies, and that they should neither insult us with any symptoms of their usual haughtiness, nor disgust us by any exhibitions of their fear.

You might think these terms would be galling. But I baited the hook well, and they swallowed it, barb and all- and now I have them at play.

Begin, then, at once, to prepare our friends for this active co-operation with the whigs. Do not even pretend to identify us with them. Keep our friends quite distinct, that they may all see that in fact the shew of strength is by them and not by the whigs. Call upon all parties to lay aside all differences of opinion, and to unite with the whigs in the great object of turning out the present ministers, as being the common enemies alike of radicals and whigs. This language will be perfectly understood. It does not compromise us, and it does not even in appearance strengthen the whigs. You know the trim sufficiently, and can easily dupe those with whom you have to deal.

There are some things, however, that I must explain.

The intended meetings, as will be explained to you by the bearer of this letter, are to be on our plan the array of physical strength and the shew of numbers. To have the whigs appearing as the encouragers and promoters of such is to us a most

incalculable point gained. These cd bills meet us at every step, and this will pledge the whigs to repeat them. Besides, it is absolutely necessary, that if the whigs do get in, they should be brought in avowedly and clearly upon the shoulders of the radicals, and by the engines by which we work. In, by any other means, and we could not depend on them for a moment. They are arbitrary as the grand viziers of Turkey, and are to boot at present most horribly alarmed at our strength. If their fear did not prevent them, the first step they would take when in, if not brought in by those means by which we flourish, would be to try to chain us neck and heel-the Star Chamber would be nothing to their vindictive prosecutions. And you will observe that some of their party have been put forward on several occasions to abuse ministers for not restraining the licence which we learnt from them-just in order to save the consistency of some of the party if they do get in.

Now one thing they must be enticed into, by hook or by crook.

We must meet on terms of perfect equality. We cannot allow them to call the intended meetings, as if their influence could do it without us, or as if the respectability (as the phrase is) of the upper classes and of the whigs is necessary to countenance and give authority to such meetings. The meetings must be called by requisitions drawn up without the least respect of persons or regard for ranks. They must be brought to lower themselves to our

level. It must be A. B. and C. D.-not, for instance, in your Scotch custom of making land support names. It must be (if he is among you), J. P. G. simply and absolutely not R-m-s, or M. P. If we do unite with them to bring them into place, they must be content to take us upon our own terms, and I took care to make the treaty on our side so general, that we shall be able to work them well in the service.

If we can accomplish this-if we can wheedle them into any plan by which they shall publicly and deliberately, in the eyes of the world, acknowledge that the meetings (in which our strength lies), of inhabitants generally, without the least attention to property, character; situation, and what is termed consideration, give the fair, proper, and deliberate expression of public opinion, and constitute the influence which is to dispose of the fate and destiny of nations, then the power is in our hands, and even the whigs never can dare to dispute our ascendancy and OUR RIGHT TO RULE, when we shake off their small and miserable faction. But if we can get them to go still further: once get their leaders and men of note-whigs of consideration-above all, learned whigs and constitutional lawyers, to join indiscriminately with us in calling such meetings of the people, thereby acknowledging the title of every one, of whatever situation, to put the mighty power of Democracy at work, and to set the passions of the lower orders on fire,-once get this done, and our triumph is complete.

My spirit swells within me, with stern joy at the thought of such decisive strides to power, and of the mighty effects of the game we are now making these place-hunters play.

1

That some may be shy of some of these plans, I make no doubt. But in the usual keenness and headlong imprudence of their party, I put my trust. They will run into the gin and the toils of the hunter, with the blindness of moles,

"And come on purpose to be taken,

"Without the expense of cheese and bacon."

But I look with peculiar confidence to what we shall gain by YOUR means, and to the measures of the whigs of your town. They have never once suspected you, though you have gone sometimes, I think, too openly to work, and almost hazarded discovery. This proves at least that your whigs can swallow, without scruple, pretty strong dozes, and I believe that there are no whigs in any part of the country who will be so fairly bitten, and run so blindfold into the snare. You have to deal with lawyers, and cannot fail to overreach and humbug them. There is no admixture of the prudence and knowledge of men of the world among them; they have been so long lauding each other that they are totally blind to the universal ridicule which their pretensions as statesmen have excited; and they have taught each other to believe that all Scotland thinks, moves, and breathes, according to the fancies which buoy up their hopes and plans. Fortunately they imagine you to be their organ and their instrument; and though I think you

rather needlessly gave them some hard rubs once or twice (e. g. about Fox's dinner, for which you know we care nothing), yet, upon the whole, you have laid the flattering unction to their souls so thick that they will be easily led, by a little management, into any thing you propose, if done cautiously and with good management.

But much must be left to your own skill and local knowledge; and I feel sure that the result will be most beneficial to the cause of radicalism. Meantime, I may tell you what has been done here.

6

We had a Middlesex meeting the other day, to petition the King to turn out the ministers-very ill got up by the whigs, and at which I sweated them without mercy. They chose to send none of their men of rank and consideration but Byng: nobody of note to acknowledge the inhabitants,' as representing freely, fairly, and fully, the opinion of the county, and nobody of rank to insult. This was breaking faith completely with us, and spoiling our game. So I penned for Bristol Mills a long address as an amendment to the whig one (which was indeed absurd, for while they pretended to do more than petition for a change of men, they made every thing else perfectly vague and unintelligible), and I stirred up poor Sir G. N. to second it. This put them all into most laughable confusion, and created a great splutter. Byng shewed at first some spunk, but soon failed, as whigs have ever done. He declared that my address was treasonable, and contained direct insults to the King-which indeed it required