Here I am, and how much longer I may stay in this little island, Lord
knows. Jemmy Worsley is still at Guernsey upon Election business. I
have passed four or five days at Stenbury with only Sir Thomas, his
son, and Jemmy's sister, rather quietly indeed than agreably. Last
night we were summoned to Newport quite unexpectedly, & this morning
Sir Thomas is gone to Newtown with three Lawyers in order to fix
the boundaries of some borough lands; I expect him back to dinner,
as it is the monthly club of the island, & I fear will be a drunken
day. Upon the whole this is to me a very unpleasant scene, but I
am engaged in it & I can scarce tell how to get away from it. The
first step after the conveyances of my borough land are finished,
is to oblige the Mayor (Holmes himself) to swear me in a burgess of
Newtown; for the constitution of that borough is of a very mixed
nature. Mandamus's for this purpose are every day expected from the
King's bench; so that, should I leave the island _pendente lite_,
I might be recalled the next day. It is however some comfort that
my conscience will be less burthened than I expected. We were both
mistaken as to that terrible oath which regards only freeholds in
Counties.
As to our success or possibility of success you will excuse my
entering into particulars, especially upon paper & by the post.[106]
In general we are sanguine, especially at Newtown. Affairs are
incomparably well managed by the advantage of having a great lawyer
acting for himself. He hurries things thro' the courts with a
expedition that is rather uncommon in law proceedings. The ennemy
contrived however to insert into our friend's advertisement a most
curious _quaere_ which you have probably seen. The printer will ask
pardon or be prosecuted. Power as well as art is employed. Yesterday
we learnt that Captain Lee, who refused to promise his vote, was
turned out of the government of Carisbroke Castle, (ten shillings a
day) and the place given to Captain Holmet. It seems to occasion a
great outcry, and may perhaps do them more harm than good.
I am, Dear Sir,
Most truly your's and Mrs. Gibbon's,
E. G.
[106] Parliament was dissolved March 11, 1768, and the elections
took place in March. Gibbon seems to have assisted the Worsleys
in the Isle of Wight against the Castle interest and that of
the Holmes family. In 1586, when the Crown sought to create a
parliamentary party in the House of Commons, six members were
returned to Parliament by the three boroughs of Newport, Newtown,
and Yarmouth, because in the Isle of Wight, through its military
captain and governor, the influence of the Crown was paramount.
Gradually the leading families of the island acquired control
over the three boroughs, and at this period they were disputed
by the Worsley, Barrington, and Holmes families, the latter
being descended from Sir Robert Holmes, who took New York from
the Dutch, and "first bewitched our eyes with Guinea gold." At
the election of 1768 the following members were elected for the
respective boroughs:--Newport: Hans Sloane, Esq., and John Eames,
Esq., one of the Masters in Chancery. Newtown: Sir J. Barrington,
Bart., and Harcourt Powell, Esq. (re-elected). Yarmouth: Jervoise
Clarke, Esq., and William Strode, Esq.
52.
_To his Stepmother._
London, April the 18th, 1768.