ply
with your wishes. I can as plainly see that a greater and more
powerful minister sets himself against them.

Dec. 24th, 1782.

So far I had written yesterday, when I resolved to delay writing
further to you till to-day, on account of the promise which
Townshend gave me that he would see Lord Shelburne last night,
and press him upon the subject.

I have been with Townshend again this morning, and yet have
nothing like a decided answer to give you. He told me that
Thurlow made the most difficulty, but that Dunning seems to be
entirely with us. Yesterday he said that Shelburne talked much
of the advantages of holding high language. What the tenor of
Conway's language was, I have stated to you before. Of the rest
I know nothing. I own I am rather in doubt whether Lord
Shelburne acts upon a system of resuming, or only of gaining
time; neither of them is very pleasant or flattering to you.

Townshend appears to me to be most heartily and sincerely with
you; nothing can be more explicit than his language was to that
point. He complained of irresponsible Cabinet Ministers, and
seemed to throw it upon that. I then stated your impatience,
what you must feel, and asked how you could go on? I took out of
my pocket your three letters to me, of the 12th and 14th
instant, and read him such extracts as I thought would _express_
your opinion and your impatience, and would pretty strongly
_imply_ though not _express_ your determination upon the subject
of resigning. He took the hint, and said that he could not
wonder at any resolution you might take, and that he had told
the Cabinet so. To this I answered, that it was right for me not
to conceal from _him_ (though I did not mean it as a _formal_
declaration), that you certainly would not stay a moment there,
if you found the proposal of a Bill of recognition either
negatived or put off longer. He repeated that he could not
wonder at it. He then charged me with a commission to write to
you this evening, and to say that although nothing was yet done,
he would labour to the utmost of his power that your wishes
should be complied with, and that he hoped to bring the business
to a conclusion _in a very few days_; that in the meantime he
thought that his writing an official despatch, which should not
be explicit, would be by no me