at the General Election of 1734, when his kinsman, Thomas Pelham, was returned, and it appears from the following extract from a letter from Henry Pelham to the Duke, written in view of the election, that Mr. Collier was even then considered all-powerful at Hastings: "As to Mr. Collyer, you can't do too much, for if I can judge, that Town (Hastings) absolutely depends upon him, and perhaps if he were cool, would leave you. I desire, therefore, vou will from me tell Sir Robert Walpole if he has a mind. to have two Whigs chosen at Hastings, he must provide handsomely for Collyer." It may very
reasonably be supposed, however, that Mr. Collier's position as the Duke's Agent, though originally due to his ascending in the Town, tended to confirm that ascendency. At the time of his death the borough had been represented for twenty years past by two undoubted nominees of the Duke his cousin (Colonel Pelham) and his secretary (Andrew Stone). Certainly their letters show the confidence they both felt in Mr. Collier.
