ABSTRACT
A recognizable opposition party of some strength had begun in parliament, and apart from the two periods when he held office it was led by Rockingham, who had attracted a hard core of followers in both Houses of parliament. Burke's Thoughts pulled together in a single volume the ideas of Rockingham and his friends and like other Rockinghamite pamphlets, it was circulated among the key members of the group for amendment and/or approval prior to publication. Rockingham used his extensive connections successfully to organize some twenty-six merchant petitions for repeal on the grounds of domestic hardship; privately he felt that the Act was both counter-productive and unenforceable. Rockingham, a landowner in County Wicklow, took a keen interest in the affairs of Ireland. Rockingham’s sudden and unexpected death threw his party into disarray and destroyed the cohesion which had existed between very different characters.
