iscussion go off better in our eye
than that of last night: never was I more agreeably surprised than
by the result--having gained nine on our former majority. The House
was thinner by forty at twelve at night, than the debate before at
three in the morning. The shirkers I alluded to may now come in,
and we may augur our future divisions to be yet stronger and more
decisive: our rats having all shown their tails on last night's
motion to address the Prince.

Sir John Aubrey, rat-major, receiving his emoluments of the
Treasury for five years, and declaring himself unconnected with
any, afforded a subject of general laugh. Master Popham, Sir Samuel
Hurmery, James Macpherson, W.G. Hamilton, &c., &c., followed the
illustrious Aubrey. Fox, after Pitt's reply, and his own rejoinder,
paired off with Stevens of the Admiralty. The Marquis of
Lansdowne's friends, Barre, &c., were with us. Masham, voting for
the Address, declared himself not precluded thereby from voting for
limitations. Drake, on the same head, not to preclude himself, left
the House. We shall, therefore, have those _two_. Sir John Scott
spoke with such learning, truth, and uncommon energy of reasoning
and language, that he carried the House with him, and extorted from
Lord North, in particular, the highest compliments ever paid to a
lawyer in the House of Commons. I never heard Fox speak so
temperately, or better, in point of argument. Pitt, in reply, was
equally great. He stated, to conviction, "the fiction of the law,
which admitted the application of the royal political authority,
when the personal was disabled, as implicated in the very
principles of hereditary succession, which otherwise would suffer
interruption from nonage, infirmity, dotage, and every contingency
in the state of man." Sheridan spoke very ill: very hot,
injudicious, and _ill-heard_. Rolle, whilst adverting to Sheridan's
speech, made use of a remarkable expression, and which seems to
hint some future acting up to the rumours of his purpose. He said
that in proper time, "He should heartily vote for the Prince's
being Regent, _if_ the Prince had done no act by which he had
forfeited pretensions to executive government in this country."

Our resolutions being carried to the Lords, in conference this day,
on Friday