Page:The Wentworth Papers 1715-1739.djvu/508

 490 THE WENTWORTH PAPERS.

Streets, and many of the principall Citizens ofifer'd their ser- vices to Sir J. Kaye and Mr. Duncomb, pressing them to offer themselves Candidates for the City at the next Election, which they were far from refusing though they did not positively Assure them they would accept of their offer. We are told that the Dutchess of Bucks has order'd all her Interest to be Single for Sir Miles, If the other great Interests would desert Turner in the same Manner I think he must desist, and if that should be the Case I know no person so proper to be joyned by them with Sir Miles, as the gentle- man your Lordship mention'd, whom I have desir'd to meet us at Leeds on Tuesday, that he may confer with other gentlemen besides my self, who would not undertake to give any Advice singly in an Affair of this Nature.

Your Lordship observes very rightly that a Meeting of Our friends at London is Necessary, for this whole affair will turn upon the Determination of Absentees, who must either sup- port us in another manner than they have hitherto done, or not expect that a handfull of us Countrey gentlemen can oppose our selves against the United Interest of the Court, whereby we can only render Ourselves Obnoxious without any possibility of success. Our Adversary's have Attorneys employ'd as their agents in all parts of the County. These fellows have money given them to treat the Meaner Free- holders with, and by this Means alone they will inevitably Baffle Us, if it is not in Our power to use the same. I do not hereby Mean that any gentleman should be Assisted by a Publick purse to gain and bring in any Interest that properly belongs to him, but there are vast Numbers of Independent Freeholders who have always expected the Civility of a pot of ale.

These are the Men that carry'd the Election for Turner against Sir J. Kaye and will Carry this against Us, if timely application be not made to them. There are great Numbers of these freeholders about Dent and Sedber beyond Lord Bruce's and the D. of Bolton's Estates, and in severall other distant parts of the County, and even about the City of York where we have scarce any gentlemen our friends to engage

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