| Title | John Forbes to same: his delay in writing has been occasioned by ill health; thanks FitzHerbert for his representations to the duke of Portland in securing for Forbes the position of solicitor general. "I thought it my duty not to indulge my passion for keeping in the background of the political scene as far as relates to responsible offices; I thought myself bound to stake any little publick character and credit I might have obtained in support of an administration in England founded on real constitutional and Whigg principles against peevish opposition in this country, and against a corrupt and desperate faction in England ... a just and equitable distribution of liberty to every part of the British empire is the only solid basis on which a Whig administration can establish itself securely ...". From Dublin, 19 June |