 Early in the parliament, he applied for the office of clerk of the Parliaments, but Sir Robert Walpole kept upping the price to him until he angrily refused.He was appointed Keeper, bailiwick of Frisham, New Forest by 1717 and was appointed Joint [[Clerk of the Green Cloth|Clerk Comptroller of the Board of Green Cloth]] in 1717.His only known speech was in December 1717, when he supported a motion to maintain.