Private Papers of William Wilberforce. William Wilberforce

the possibility of its being brought on and finished this session, I can hardly yet judge. The inquiry has been constantly going on, and we have made a great progress. But it takes unavoidably more time than I expected. In one word, however, be assured that I will continue to give the business constant attention, and do everything to forward it. Whenever it is in such a state that you could yourself have brought it on with advantage to the cause, I will do it or undertake for its being done, in whatever way seems most proper. I mean, therefore, to accept it as a trust from you to the whole extent you can wish, and to make myself responsible for it, unless it is necessarily delayed till you are able to resume it yourself.

      "Any applications from your Society shall most certainly be attended to. Justice Addington's grievance in particular, which I was before acquainted with by a memorial, will be immediately removed. I do not like to write you a longer letter than is absolutely necessary. I trust I need not lengthen it to tell how impatiently I look to the satisfaction of seeing you again, as stout and strong as I hope you will return to us. Let me have from time to time a line from any hand you can most conveniently employ, to tell me how you go on, and what are your motions during the summer. I wish I may be able to arrange mine, when holidays come, so as to fall in with you somewhere or other. As soon as I can judge about Parliament meeting before Christmas or not, you shall hear. If it sits pretty late now, it probably will not meet till after. Adieu for the present. Every good wish attend you.

      "Ever affectionately yours,

       "W. Pitt."

      I have had very good accounts of you from two or three quarters.

      "Pembroke Hall,

       "Saturday, June 28, 1788.

      "My dear Wilberforce—I have no small pleasure in writing to you quietly from hence, after hearing the good account you sent me of yourself confirmed by those who saw you then, and especially by our friend Glynn. I am lucky enough to have a wet evening, which, besides the good I hope it will do to the country at large, has the peculiar advantage of preventing me from paying my personal respects to anyone of my constituents, and so gives me the leisure to answer seriatim the several sections of your letter. The business respecting the Slave Trade meets just now with some rub in the House of Lords, even in the temporary regulation respecting the conveyance, which I wonder how any human being can resist, and which I therefore believe we shall carry; tho' it creates some trouble, and will still protract the session a week or ten days. We hear very little yet from the West Indies, but a few weeks must bring more, and I have no doubt the summer may be employed in treating with foreign Powers to advantage. I shall set about it with the utmost activity and with good hopes of success, tho' founded as yet rather on general grounds than any positive information. There seems not a shadow of doubt as to the conduct of the House of Commons next year, and I think with good management the difficulties in the other House may be got over. Your plan of a mission to Bengal I mention only to show the punctuality of answering your letter, as you reserve the discussion till we meet. As for Dr. Glass, I was obliged to answer Thornton, who applied to me for some such person (I think for this same Dr. Glass), that the state of my engagements leaves me not at liberty at present, and if you have any occasion to say anything about it to them, be so good to speak of it in the same style. Of the Penitentiary Houses what can I say more? But in due time they shall not be forgotten.

      "My plan of visiting you and your lakes is, I assure you, not at all laid aside. I cannot speak quite certainly as to the time, but if there happens nothing which I do not now foresee, it will be either the beginning or middle of August; I rather think the former, but I shall be able to judge better in about a fortnight, and then you shall hear from me. Nothing is decided about the meeting of Parliament, but it is clear the trial will not go on till February. I rather believe, however, that we ought to meet and employ a month before Christmas; as what with Slave Trade, Quebec Petition, Poor Laws, Tobacco, &c., we shall have more on our hands than can be got through in any decent time while we are exposed to the interruption from Westminster Hall. I think I have now dispatched all the points to which I was called upon to reply, and come now to open my own budget; which must be done, however, in a whisper, and must not as yet be repeated even to the most solitary echoes of Windermere. You will wonder what mystery I have to impart. At the first part you will not be much surprised, which is that Lord Howe and his friend Brett are to quit the Admiralty as soon as the session closes. The cause (tho' its effects have slept so long) is what passed last summer respecting the promotion of Sir Charles Middleton. You will not come to the surprising part when I add that Lord Howe's successor must be a landman, as there is no seaman who is altogether fit for the first place at that board. But what will you say when I tell you that the landman in question is no other than my brother? He undertakes it very readily, and will I am sure set about the business in earnest, to which I believe you think him as equal as I do. Lord Hood is to be at the board; not without some risk of losing Westminster, but by keeping our secret till the moment, I hope even that may be saved; but it is comparatively of little consequence. I feel the arrangement is liable to some invidious objections, but I am satisfied they are more than counterbalanced by the solid advantage of establishing a complete concert with so essential a department, and removing all appearance of a separate interest. I shall be impatient, however, to hear what you think of my scheme. There is nothing else that occurs worth adding to this long scrawl, and I am obliged to seal it up, as in spite of the rain which keeps me at home, I am in expectation of an agreeable collection of dons whom Turner has convened to smoke and sleep round his table this evening. God bless you.

      "Believe me, ever affectionately yours,

       "W. Pitt."

      "Downing Street,

       "Monday, September 1, 1788.

      "My dear Wilberforce—I have certainly given a considerable latitude to my promise of writing in a fortnight, in defence of which I have nothing to say, but that in addition to the common causes of delaying a letter I could not easily resolve to tell you that my northern scheme has for some time grown desperate. Powers farther north and the unsettled state of all the Continent (tho' not at all likely to involve us in anything disagreeable) require in our present system too much watching to allow for a long absence. I have not yet got even to Burton, which you will allow must be my first object. But I assure you I am not the more in love with Continental politics for having interfered with a prospect I had set my heart so much upon, as spending some quiet days on the bank of your lake. Pray let me know in your turn what your motions are likely to be, and when you think of being in this part of the world. Parliament will not meet till after Christmas. As to the Slave Trade, we are digesting our Report as far as present materials go, and you shall then have it; but we are still in expectation of the answer from the Islands. I had a long conversation with the French Ambassador on the subject some time ago, just before his going to France. He promised to represent it properly, and seemed to think there would be a favourable disposition. Their confusion has been such since that scarce anything was likely to be attended to; but I am in hopes Necker's coming in will prove very favourable to this object. The moment I hear anything respecting it I will write again; and at all events in less than my last fortnight. I must end now in haste to save the post and my dinner.

      "Ever affectionately yours,

       "W. Pitt."

      "Downing Street,

       "Monday, April 20, 1789.

      "My dear Wilberforce—We have found it necessary to make some corrections on looking over the proof sheets of the Report, which will delay the presenting it till Wednesday. I shall have no difficulty in saying then that the business must of course be postponed on the grounds you mention, and I will move to fix it for this day fortnight if you see no objection. I imagine the House must meet on Friday on account of Hastings's business, but that will probably be a reason for their adjourning as soon as they come back from Westminster Hall, and your business may, I dare say, wait till Monday. In that case I would certainly meet you at Hollwood on Friday, as I wish extremely to talk over with you the whole business, and show you our project, with which, like most projectors, we are much delighted. From what you mention of the parts you have been studying, I do not imagine there is anything behind more material than what you have seen, but I see no part of our case that is not made out upon the strongest grounds. Steele