Manchester Mcnioij's, Vol. xliv. (1900), No. 14. 19 



& will not be back this fortiiij^lit. Let her know likewise that the work- 

 people are goiiii; on as fast as possil)!e with the house, the rooms above 

 stairs are paper'd and painted, and the Ceiling of the back parlour is done in 

 a proper manner, and looks as well as possible, the front Parlour is not 

 finish'd, r(>r Matthew (iregson was disap'l of the paper but he expects it 

 from London to-morrow. 



I shall be much obliged to you to inform me what steps have been taken 

 in >Lanchester in consequence of Lord Shelburn's plan of Association, at 

 the first meeting held about the business here the measure was universally 

 approved of, and {erasure) chose to forward the putting of it in execution, 

 whose first step was to appoint themselves Officers which gave great disgust 

 and no person would enter into the Ranks tho' proposals were offered for 

 that purpose two days, at the end of this time a few young men call'd a 

 meeting of their acquaintances at the Hotel, where near 100 attended their 

 first step was to make Mr. Gill Slater Chairman, and afterward nominated 

 him Captain of a Company which they agreed to form agreeable to a plan 

 which I had the honour to lay before them which differed very much from 

 Lord Shelburn's as it reserved to ourselves the right of electing our own 

 officers, keeping the arms in our own custody and of offering our services to 

 march from the town if we saw the necessity for it, and then only, to be under 

 military discipline, we engaged also to fintl ourselves. Arms, Cloaths & 

 Accoutrements and at no time to receive any pay from Government — 

 but our Mayor was highly displeas'd at our proceedings and he said that our 

 scheme would entirely spoil that which he wished to take place, the 

 Secretary's — and as we did not wish to make a division in the town it was 

 agreed by all Mr. Slater's Company to learn the exercise in private partys, 

 and not interrupt the Mayor, but after he should have raised as many as he 

 wished on Lord Shelburn's plan, then to offer ours to Government, the 

 Mayor tlien offer'd proposals again, but cou'd prevail on nobody to sign, 

 and in a day or two he gave it entirely up till he shou'd hear again 

 irom his Lordship ; we have been learning the exercises ever since, in partys 

 of about 20, and have learn'd everything that so small a number can, and 

 this evening Mr. Slater has called the whole Company to meet him to fix 

 on a proper place to meet all together, and in a little time, if the Mayor 

 hears nothing from Government, we mean to offer our proposals — this affair 

 has been carried on in a very spirited manner tho' not at all to the satisfac- 

 tion of the Corporation, who are vex'd at being thwart'd by the young men 

 and at their choosing for their leader Mr. Slater, who has always been a 

 very obnoxious man to them, tho' without exception the most popular 

 character in Liverpool — . 



I shoud imagine the Gentlemen in Manchester would be of the same 

 opinion with us, and prefer the inconvenience of forming themselves 

 to the use of Arms, than to put them in the hands of the Lower Class of people, 

 and especially as you would be enabled effectively to keep under that 

 propensity to rioting which your weavers &c seem so much adicted to — I 

 shall be glad to hear from you in answer to this as soon as you conveniently 

 can spare time. 



