Now they tend but to the alteration of a dozen places, perhaps, more or less-but come, I’ll tell you, and you shall judge for yourself.  The morning the Houses met, there was universally dispersed, by the penny post, and by being dropped into the areas of houses, a paper called Constitutional Queries, a little equivocal, for it is not clear whether they were levelled at the Family, or by Part of the Family at the Duke.(216) The Address was warmly opposed, and occasioned a remarkable speech of Pitt, in recantation of his former orations on the Spanish, war, and in panegyric on the Duke of Newcastle, wit whom e is pushing himself, and by whom he is pushed at all rates, in opposition to Lord Sandwich and the Bedfords.  Two or three days afterwards there were motions in both Houses to have the Queries publicly burnt.  That too occasioned a debate with us, and a fine speech of Lord Egmont, artfully condemning the paper, though a little suspected of it, and yet supporting some of the reasonings in it.  There was no division on the resolution; but two days afterwards we had a very extraordinary and unforeseen one.  Mr. Pelham had determined to have ’but 8,000 seamen this year, instead of 10,000.  Pitt and his cousins, without any notice given, declared with the Opposition for the greater number.  The key to this you will find in Pit’S whole behaviour; whenever he wanted new advancement, he used to go off He has openly met with great discouragement now; though he and we know Mr. Pelham so -well, that it Will not be surprising if, though baffled, he still carries his point of secretary of state.  However, the old corps resented this violently, and rushed up their old anger:  Mr. Pelham was inclined to give way, but Lord Hartington, at the head of the young Whigs, divided the House, and Pitt had the mortification of being followed into the minority by only fifteen persons.  The King has been highly pleased with this event; and has never named the Pitts and Grenvilles to the Duke of Newcastle, but to abuse them, and to commend the spirit of the young people.  It has not weakened the Bedford faction, who have got more strength by the clumsy politics of another set of their enemies.  There has all the summer been a Westminster petition in agitation, driven on by the independent electors, headed by Lord Elibank, Murray his brother, and one or two gentlemen.  Sir John Cotton, and Cooke the member for Middlesex, discouraged it all they could, and even stifled the first drawn, which was absolutely treason.  However, Cooke at last presented one from the inhabitants, and Lord Egmont another from Sir George Vandeput; and Cooke even made a strong invective against the High-bailiff; on which Lord Trentham produced and read a letter written by Cooke to the High-bailiff, when he was in their interest, and stuffed with flattery to him.  Lord Trentham’s friends then called in the High-bailiff, who accused some persons of hindering and threatening him on the scrutiny, and, after some contention, named Crowle,