affectionately yours,
W. W. G.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.

Pall Mall, Feb. 8th, 1783, Nine, P.M.

My dear Brother,

I wrote to you this morning an account, which you will receive
at the same time with this letter, of a conversation with Lord
Bellamont. I little thought, at that time, that I should now
have one of so different a nature to detail to you, which I had,
just before dinner, with Percy. He said, that although he might
be thought officious in coming to speak to me upon a subject,
upon which it had not been thought proper to make him any
communication, yet he could not help saying that he thought it
inconsistent with his duty to you, &c., &c., not to state to me
that he had last night procured from the House of Commons a copy
of the Bill proposed; and that he was fully convinced that, so
far from answering the purpose intended by it, the country would
be thrown by it into a much greater flame than ever. I asked him
to state his objections; he said they would be best seen by the
form which he had drawn up, and would leave with me for my
consideration.

I did not detail to him the many objections which occur to me
upon his Bill, and particularly that most insuperable difficulty
of its asserting what the right now is, in contradiction to the
declared opinion of almost every lawyer in this country. But I
said, in general terms, that the Bill in question had been drawn
up with great consideration; and that it was a matter of
infinite delicacy, on account of the great variety of prejudices
to be encountered on both sides of the water. He asked if this
was the form which had been sent to you, and if you had
consulted people there upon it. To this I could not but answer
that I understood you had, though you do not say a word to me
upon that subject, and it is a question which will most
certainly be asked in the House of Commons.

This unexpected difficulty has made me determine to postpone the
second reading of the Bill till I have an answer to this letter,
unless I should in the meantime receive one from you perfectly
approving, and stating the opinions of people in Ireland as
agreeing with yours upon it.

It is certainly to be observed, that the whole of this
difficulty has arisen from want of communication from Ministry
to you. Beca