to act the part of a Reformer, and he brought up the Bath petition,
containing upwards of 20,000 signatures. The Reformers of Bath and
Bristol gave positive instructions to their delegates that they should
support Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, and Vote by Ballot. Mr.
Allen brought up the written instructions from Bath which he delivered
to me, and he accepted the delegation upon the express condition that he
would support and vote for Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, and
Vote by Ballot. I met Mr. Hulme from Bolton, Mr. E. Taylor from Norwich,
Mr. Warburton from Leicester, and several other delegates from England
and Scotland, at Mr. Cobbett's house in Catherine street, in the Strand,
which was the general rendezvous; and there I first saw Mr. Fitton and
Mr. Kaye of Royton, Mr. Bamford from Middleton, Mr. Benbow and Mr.
Mitchell from Manchester, and many others. Major Cartwright had, in the
meantime, been down to Brighton, personally to ascertain Sir Francis
Burdett's opinion upon the subject; and from him the Major learned that
he would not support any petitions that prayed for _Universal Suffrage_;
that he would support Householder Suffrage and the payers of direct
taxes, but nothing farther. When the Major returned he communicated this
to Mr. Cobbett, who was requested to use all his influence to prevail
upon me to give up Universal Suffrage, and to adopt the plan of Sir
Francis Burdett. I had consulted with Mr. Hulme, whom I found an honest
and staunch friend of Liberty, and he had agreed to support me in
the motion which I had resolved to make at the delegate meeting, for
Universal Suffrage, and Vote by Ballot. The Major, as well as Mr.
Cobbett, had already done every thing to prevail upon us to give it
up for the householder plan, but we were inflexible. This being the
situation of affairs, on the day before the meeting was to take place,
the Major was very anxious for Mr. Cobbett to attend as a delegate; but
to accomplish this was not quite an easy matter, as Mr. Cobbett had not
been elected a delegate by either of the petitioning bodies. The Major,