At Plymouth I laid the foundation of another committee.  The late William Cookworthy, the late John Prideaux, and James Fox, all of the society of the Quakers, and Mr. George Leach, Samuel Northcote and John Saunders, had a principal share in forming it.  Sir William Ellford was chosen chairman.

From Plymouth I journeyed on to Falmouth, and from thence to Exeter, where having meetings with the late Mr. Samuel Milford, the late Mr. George Manning, the Reverend James Manning, Thomas Sparkes, and others, a desire became manifest among them of establishing a committee there.  This was afterwards effected; and Mr. Milford, who at a general meeting of the inhabitants of Exeter, on the 10th of June, on this great subject, had been called by those present to the chair, was appointed the chairman of it.

With respect to evidence, which was the great object of this tour, I found myself often very unpleasantly situated in collecting it.  I heard of many persons capable of giving it to our advantage, to whom I could get no introduction.  I had to go after these many miles out of my established route.  Not knowing me, they received me coldly, and even suspiciously; while I fell in with others, who, considering themselves, on account of their concerns and connexions, as our opponents, treated me in an uncivil manner.

But the difficulties and disappointments in other respects which I experienced in this tour,—­even where I had an introduction, and where the parties were not interested in the continuance of the Slave Trade,—­were greater than people in general would have imagined.  One would have thought, considering the great enthusiasm of the nation on this important subject, that they who could have given satisfactory information upon it, would have rejoiced to do it.  But I found it otherwise; and this frequently to my sorrow.  There was an aversion in persons to appear before such a tribunal as they conceived the privy council to be.  With men of shy or timid character this operated as an insuperable barrier in their way.  But it operated more or less upon all.  It was surprising to see what little circumstances affected many.  When I took out my pen and ink to put down the information which a person was giving me, he became evidently embarrassed and frightened.  He began to excuse himself from staying, by alleging that he had nothing more to communicate, and he took himself away as quickly as he could with decency.  The sight of the pen and ink had lost me so many good evidences, that I was obliged wholly to abandon the use of them, and to betake myself to other means.  I was obliged for the future to commit my tables of questions to memory; and endeavour by practice to put down, after the examination of a person, such answers as he had given me to each of them.