File:(Association meeting at York) (BM 1868,0808.4671).jpg

English: A representation, partly allegorical,of the meeting of the Association at York on 30 Dec. 1779 when the petition of the county was agreed to and a committee of sixty-one appointed. Men sit and stand in ranks on each side of a large table strewn with documents; though on a small scale, many appear to be portraits. On a raised dais at the back of the room three women sit behind a smaller table, each with a document, one holds an olive branch. They are identified by Mr. Hawkins, evidently from a contemporary key to the print, as Civil Union, Moderation, and Harmony influencing the conduct of the meeting. Athene, with her spear, an owl on her helmet, holds out to them a scroll inscribed "Constitution Liberty Peace Œconomy", the primary objects of the meeting. The chairman [Christopher Wyvill] holds in his hand a paper inscribed "York Decr 30th 1779". On the table are books: "Ct Kal 1779, Ct Kal 1780", i.e. the Court or 'Royal Kalendar' giving lists of office-holders and place-holders; "Hist. of England, [Probably that of Mrs Macaulay] Bacon, Lydney [sic. i.e. Sydney], Newton, Lock". Documents are inscribed "Partiat Cont [presumably 'partial contracts'] M.S. &A".; "Unmeri[ted] Pentio[ns], Sinecures"; "Magna Charter"; "Bill of Rights"; "Navy Extra[ordinaries]"; "Army Extr."; "Board of Trade"; "Board of Works"; "Customs Qys N.B. x"; "Ordnance Qys NB. xx".

Four female figures approach the table on the left: Hope, with rope and anchor, points to 'Magna Charter'. Election holds out a paper inscribed "Short Par[liaments], Equal Rep[resentation] Ballot"; Public Virtue, with a spear, holds a paper "Chat[ham] Cam[den]"; Liberty, with the cap of liberty on a staff, holds out "Hab. Cor. Attachm. Inform, ex officio", i.e. Habeas Corpus, Attachment, Information ex Officio (criminal proceedings by Information without the intervention of a grand jury being regarded as infringements of liberty). At their feet is a satyr chained to the ground, representing Corruption vainly struggling to regain his ascendancy. A man holds a large book and a paper inscribed "£10,000,000"; at his feet is a pelican. Behind, on the extreme left., is a female figure in a dress patterned with fleur-de-lys; she is the demon of discord and is fleeing away. On the right other allegorical figures approach the table: Commerce, a man with a stork standing on his arm, holds out a paper, "Exports Protection Dispatch". Manufacture, a woman holding out an implement for carding wool; the Landed Interest, a woman with a sheaf of corn, holding out a paper inscribed "Taxes". Public Credit is an old woman crowned with a wreath holding a paper inscribed "Nekar". (The reforms of Necker in France had been extravagantly extolled by the Opposition in Parliament.) In front of these figures are a stag lying down, a cock running to the right signifying "the just disappointment of french perfidy", and the tail feathers of a peacock, expressing the humiliated condition of Spain. In the foreground is the British Lion, he is being unchained by a sailor and a soldier.
The design is surrounded by a garland, the lower part of oak leaves, the upper part of olive. In the centre below the design is a trophy of the royal arms, flags, drums, cannon, an anchor and other munitions of war. In the centre above the design are the arms of the city of York supported by two cornucopias. Below this is a picture of Britannia and America embracing. On the left are the arms of Edwin Lascelles, [Lascelles was a supporter of the Court, and through the efforts of Wyvill and Mason, the chief organizers of the Yorkshire Association, a large sum was raised in Sept. 1780 to oppose his re-election. Walpole, 'Letters', xi. 280.] on the right those of Sir George Savile, the two members for Yorkshire, the latter having presented the Yorkshire petition to the House of Commons, see BMSat 5638. 6 April 1780

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