About a year after their return, a vacancy happening in the representation for the city of York, the citizens sent for Mr. Thornton, and unanimously elected him, free of all expence. A short time after this, the militia was raised, and he was, as his merit well entitled him to be, appointed Colonel of the West-York battalion; which situation he held, with advantage to the service, and honour to himself, for the remainder of his life. Blind Jack being now at liberty to choose his occupation, attended Harrogate as usual; but having, in the course of his Scotch expedition, become acquainted with the various articles manufactured in that country, and judging that some of those might answer for him to traffic with in England, he repaired, in the spring, to Scotland, and supplied himself with various articles in the cotton and worsted way, particularly Aberdeen stockings. For all those articles he found a ready sale at the houses of gentlemen in the extensive County of York; and being personally known to most of the families, was ever very kindly received. He never was at a loss to know, amongst a thousand articles, what each had cost him, from a particular mode of marking. It was also customary with him to buy horses, for sale in Scotland, bringing back galloways in return; and in this traffic he depended on feeling the animals, to direct his choice. He also engaged pretty deeply in the contraband trade, the profits of which were at that time much more considerable than the risk. One time in particular, having received a pressing letter from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, requiring his speedy attendance, he set out on horseback from Knaresborough at three in the morning, and got into Newcastle in the evening about six o’clock, the distance nearly seventy-four miles, and did not feel the least fatigued. Having received some packages, he employed a few soldiers to convey them to a carrier, judging that men of their description were least liable to suspicion. After sending off his goods, he stayed two nights with some relations he had there, and then set off for home. He had with him about an hundred weight of tea, cased over with tow, and tightly corded up; this he put into a wallet, which he laid across his saddle. Coming to Chester-le-Street, (about half-way between Newcastle and Durham) he met at the inn an exciseman, who knew him as soon as he had dismounted, and asked him what he had got there. Metcalf answered, “It is some tow and line for my aunt, who lives a few miles distant;—I wish she was far enough for giving me the trouble to fetch it.” The officer asking him to bring it in, he replied, “For the time I shall stay it may as well remain on the horsing-stone.” By this seeming indifference about his package, he removed suspicion from the mind of the exciseman, who assisted in re-placing it across the saddle; when he pursued his journey, and got home in safety.