Winnington says my Lord Chesterfield and Pitt will have places before old Marlborough’s legacy to them for being patriots is paid.  My compliments to the family of Suares on the Vittorina’s marriage.  Adieu!

(986) By the death of his mother, Lord Carteret had become Earl Granville.-E.

(987) George, Earl Cholmondeley.

(988) Bishop of Lincoln [successively translated to Salisbury and Winchester.  He died in 1781.]

(989) Brother of Lord Tweedale.

(990) Arthur Onslow.

397 Letter 153
To sir Horace Mann. 
Arlington Street, Dec. ’24, 1744.

You will wonder what has become of me:  nothing has.  I know it is above three weeks since I wrote to you; but I will tell you the reason.  I have kept a parliamentary silence, which I must ’explain to you.  Ever since Lord Granville went out, all has been in suspense.  The leaders of the Opposition immediately imposed silence upon their party; every thing passed without the least debate—­in short, all were making their bargains.  One has heard of the corruption of courtiers; but believe me, the impudent prostitution of patriots, going to market with their honesty, beats it to nothing.  Do but think of two hundred men of the most consummate virtue, setting themselves to sale for three weeks!  I have been reprimanded by the wise for saying that they all stood like servants at a country statute fair to be hired.  All this while nothing was certain:  one day the coalition was settled; the next, the treaty broke off-I hated to write to you what I might contradict next post.  Besides, in my last letter I remember telling you that the Archduchess was dead; she did not die till a fortnight afterwards.

The result of the whole is this:  the King, instigated by Lord Granville, has used all his ministry as ill as possible, and has with the greatest difficulty been brought to consent to the necessary changes.  Mr. Pelham has had as much difficulty to regulate the disposition of places.  Numbers of lists of the hungry have been given in by their centurions of those, several Tories have refused to accept the proffered posts some, from an impossibility of being rechosen for their Jacobite counties.  But upon the whole, it appears that their leaders have had very little influence with them; for not above four or five are come into place.  The rest will stick to Opposition.  Here is a list of the changes, as made last Saturday: 

Duke of Devonshire, Lord Steward, in the room of the Duke of
Dorset. 
Duke of Dorset, Lord President, in Lord Harrington’s room. 
Lord Chesterfield,+ Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the Duke of
Devonshire’s. 
Duke of Bedford,+ Lord Sandwich,+ George Grenville,+ Lord Vere
Beauclerc,(991) and Admiral Anson, Lords of the Admiralty, in
the room of Lord Winchilsea,* Dr. Lee,* Cockburn,* Sir Charles
Hardy,* and Philipson.*
Mr. Arundel and George Lyttelton,f Lords of the Treasury,