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pension. The English name would, too, have sounded badly in debate. Pitt, even Pitt, would not have talked so glibly of suspending the act for preventing unjust imprisonment. Men out of doors would have been startled at such a proposition; upon inquiry they would have found, that, from the moment this act was suspended, any man in the kingdom was liable to be seized by a messenger from the offices of government and to be imprisoned as long as the council thought proper, without any trial, and without any mode of obtaining redress, or even a hearing in his defence; and, finding this, it is not to be believed, that they would have acted as they did.

From this digression, in which I have anticipated myself as to one objection to the teaching of what modern imposture and impudence term "the Learned Languages," I return to sine-cure places, the nature of which I have endeavoured to explain to you. But, Gentlemen, persons to fill, if it may be so called, places where there is nothing to do but to receive the salaries or fees, are found in such abundance and they meet with ministers so ready to reward their public services, that these places, alas! numerous as they are, fall far short of the number required. They are all filled, at all times. This being the case, all that a poor minister can do for his friends, or relations, is to promise them the first vacancy. But, here arises a difficulty: two difficulties indeed; for the minister may not keep his promise; and, if, by any chance, he should be disposed to do that, he may not keep his place; besides which he may die, or the asker of the place may cease to support him. Therefore, in order to make things as sure as this sublunary state of things will admit of, the place-hunter says, if you cannot give me the place, give me the reversion of it: that is to say, obtain me a grant from the king, making me the heir of the man who now holds the place. Nay, sometimes these reversions are granted to two or three persons at once; first to one, and, if he or.she should die, to another, and, if he or she should die to another, in which way, the late ministers have asserted in open parliament, that most of the places upon the Irish establishment are now granted, many of the grantees being young children; so that the places are granted away for sixty or eighty years to come.

This, Gentlemen, is what is meant by granting places in reversion, pensions, observe, being frequently granted in the same manner, and also some offices which are not perfect sinecures.- -The late ministry, composed of our friends, the Whigs,

brought in a bill, a day or two before their being ousted, to prevent, for the future, the granting of places in reversion. Their successors, though they have, as you have seen, obtained a decided majority in both Houses of Parliament, did net oppose the passing of this bill. But, when it came to the noble Lords, the noble Lords quickly dispatched it. On the 4th instant they did this, after a debate, which I shall here insert exactly as I find it reported in the Morning Chronicle newspaper; and I beseech you to read every word of it with attention.

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away themselves, and sending their "friends and connections to oppose the "bill? [None, of the ministers were pre

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"ministers.. He wished they had been "there to declare their sentiments in oppo"sition to the bill, if such were the senti"ments which they entertained upon the "subject. But when the absence of ministers f. wasspoken of, he would ask, where were the "illustrious members of the late administra

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"assertion, that it was agreeable to the

tion. Why did not they attend to support their own bill, and display their pasent, except the lord chancellor,]." He rental fondness, for their own offspring? "did not mean by this to impute to the no- "He denied that this measure had been ap"ble lord that he was sent there for that" proved of or alluded to in his majesty's purpose; but that construction would be "speech, The speech applauded the geput upon such conduct by the public. He "neral object of the Committee of Finance, was convinced that the public feeling, was "namely, to inquire into the means of re"strongly-in favour of the bill; and that "forming and economising the public exought to be, at the present moment, a' "penditure; but could not be made to apstrong argument in its favour. The ply to the present measure: No argugranting of offices in reversion he consiment had, he contended, been adduced in "dered to be highly prejudicial to the pub-favour of the present measure, except an "lic service, and highly impropers such "grants being frequently made to children, "at a very early age, and such offices, although requiring regulation, from: a change of circumstances, could not, during such grant, be regulated for the be"netit of the public. He would instance "one case, that of the large office held by "the noble lord (Arden), and the reversion "of which had been granted to him after "the death of his father, whose public ser"vices were undoubtedly great, at a time "when the income arising from it was comparatively trifling. The profits of it had " since increased to an amount which could not possibly have been in the contempla

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public feeling. He did not believe that "there was any such feeling in the public "mind, nor was there any thing in the bill "by which the public could be benefited. "If the bill were to pass, not a sixpence "would be saved by it the offices would

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remain the same; and, the only object' "of it would be to encroach upon the king's "just and lawful prerogative. "The noble lord had spoken of reversions being granted to children, but was it not the practice, when great services had been performed by an Admiral or Général, 10 "confer hereditary honours, and to grant "also an annual sum, which was not con"fined to the person to whom grønted, but was extended to his descendants? It "had been the constant practice of our ancestors to act upon this principle. He "would put a case also to shew the expedi ency of acting upon it in other instances : suppose a person was rendered incapable by age or infirmity from executing the "duties of an office which he had held for "20 or 30 years; such a person was not to "be turned out without some provision. "There were in this case only two modes "of acting; the one by a pension, and the "other by granting the reversion of the "office to his son or other relation, who

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might ASSIST him in the office. By "the former mode, a charge was made upon the public during the life of that person, and in the latter there was no additional expense. He could discover nothing in support of this bill, but an asser"tion that it was expedient; whilst, on the other hand, there was the uniform practice of our ancestors. He could not, therefore, consent to such a bill as the

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"LORD HOLLAND said, as the noble vis"count had began his speech by stating that there was only one point in the speech of his noble friend (the earl of Lauderdale), in which he agreed, so he << would observe, that there was only one "point in the speech of the noble viscount " in which he had the good fortune to agree, "and that was, that his majesty's minis"ters ought to have been present to have "declared their sentiments in a manly manner upon this bill. As to the charge "made by the noble viscount, of the ab66 sence of the members of the late admi"nistration, he could assure their lordships, that, had there been the least ex pectation that this bill would be opposed, there would have been a full attend"ance of those noble lords, with whom he had the honour to act. But when it was recol"lected that only four-and-twenty hours no"tice had been given of any intention to oppose this bill (he did not mean to throw any imputation upon the noble lord who had commenced this debate), there was not "much ground for surprise at the thin attendance. He thought it, however, of so much importance that this bill should be debated in a full house, that he intended to move to adjourn the debate till to morrow, in order to give an opporta"nity for that full attendance, which the importance of the subject demanded. "After the bill had been nearly a month "before the house, without appearing to "meet with any objection, he was astonish

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ed that it should now be attempted to be "debated in a thin house, and at so late a period of the session. His noble friends had not attended, because they thought "there was no intention of opposing the bill; he was convinced they would attend "if the consideration of the bill was postponed till to morrow. He entirely agreed, "with his noble friend (earl Grosvenor), "that this bill was only to be considered as "the forerunner of important measures of reform and economy in the public expendi "ture of the country. When it was in contemplation to abolish or to regulate offices, it was natural as the first step to be "taken, to prevent those offices being granted in reversion, because if they were "it was obvious that for a considerable time no regulation could be applied to them. "It was cou o public feeling

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bill was an encroachment upon the just "prerogative of the crown, on the contrary, "the granting in reversion was an encroach"ment upon that prerogative, and upon this. subject he would put the case, which though an extreme one, would shew the "tendency of the argument, namely, that of all the offices being granted in rever"sion, it would necessarily follow, that the

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successor to the crown would find himself "deprived of all influence. Reversions, "besides, had a tendency to render the offices themselves sinecures, and sinecures "were again granted in seversion: then re" versions begat sinecures, and sinecures "begat reversions. It might be true that,. "by the operation of this bill in itself, nothing would be saved; but when it was "considered as the first step to other mea

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sures, it must be viewed in a very differ"ent light; and although there might be "considerable exaggeration as to the saving "which it was possible to effect, yet, at the

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present moment, every sixpence and every halfpenny ought to be saved, in or"der to lighten, as much as possible, the burdens of the people. There might, perhaps, be a popular delusion upon this "subject; but even that was an argument, at a crisis like the present, for agreeing to "this bill. He did not conceive, however, "that a bill of so much importance should "be decided upon in so thin a house, and "he should therefore move, that the debate "be adjourned till to-morrow.

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"The EARL OF LAUDERDALE again re "ferred to his majesty's speech at the close "of the last session, his majesty's speech at "the opening of the present session, and to "the votes of the house of commons, con"taining the Resolution on which the pre-.

sent bill was founded; and contended "that his majesty's speeches contained a "full approval of this measure.

"LORD VISCOUNT MELVILLE again con"tended that his majesty's speeches only "contained an approval of the general object of the Committee of Finance.

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"LORD BORINGDON expressed his regret "at differing from many noble lords with "whom he usually acted; but when he "considered that this bill had been supported by ministers, had passed the other house, and had been received with nearly an unanimous consent, added to the circumstances of the present moment, he "felt it his duty to vote for it."—After this, the noble Lords divided, as it is called, nine noble Lords voting for Lord Holland's motion, and sixteen noble Lords against it.; so that the bill, by a subsequent division, was thrown out.

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It will not be necessary, Gentlemen, to say much to you upon this subject. You will have perceived, that, out of about three hundred noble Lords, there were only 25 noble Lords present upon this occasion. The Morning Chronicle has given a list of the places, which are held by the noble Lords, who voted against this bill; but I shall give no such list, nor any list at all of the majority, or the minority; for, as to motives, I believe every noble Lord of them is animated by such as are equally pure and upright, however the said noble Lords may, "under existing circumstances," entertain, or act upon, sentiments widely different. It is, however, worthy of notice, that the fear of depriving the successor of the king of all influence from the granting of places, was openly avowed; and, I have heard, that this was the principal, if not the only motive, from which the late ministers introduced the bil; though, it must be observed, that this does not very well agree with the idea of economy, as connected with the bill for venting grants in reversion. The truth is, that, if economy had been the object, the bill would have been of a different description. It would have enacted, that such and such places, when the present holders died, should be abolished, and the expences of them put an end to. This would have been doing something; but, if we are still to be taxed to pay the holders of these places, what is it to you or me, whether the holders of them are appointed by the present king, or by his successor? Lord Holland, after Lord Grosvenor, regarded the bill as the forerunner of a series of reforms. Such reforms would have been, I imagine, of but very little service to us. They would, in fact, have been injurious; for, while they would have afforded us no real relief, they would have served to amuse ignorant people, and would have afforded the sycophants of office grounds whereon to defend their patrons. Here," would they have said, don't you see, that they have begun to re

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"form?" And with this they would have deceived thousands upon thousands of wellmeaning men.

Lord Melville compared the place-holders to Admirals and Generals, who have merited great rewards from their country, and whose descendants are generally provided for. The provision, in such cases is just, because, what gratification could it be to a man to be made, great and rich himself, if his sons were, upon his death, to be, at once hurled down from the rank, in which their father had lived. And, the same reasoning will apply to men who have rendered great services to the country in any other way. But, how stands the fact, with respect to the holders of the places in question? Have they rendered great services to their country? I will give you a list of a few of them and their holders, and, then, leave you to answer me: Earl of Liverpool, Colector of Cus

toms inwards.... Lord Hawkesbury, Warden of the Cinque Ports..

Earl of Chichester, Surveyor Gen. of

Customs.

Earl of Guildford, Comptroller of cus

toms

Lord Stawell, Surveyor of Petty cus

toms...

£1,800 a year.

4,100

1,400

1,300

1,200

1,900

Duke of Manchester, Collector of
customs outwards..
Thomas Taylor, Comptroller General 1,000
Granted in reversion to Lord

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I take these from an account laid before the Honourable House, in 1802. I have not the Scotch list immediately at hand, or I would give you some account of the places and reversions of the Dundases and Melvilles. This little specimen will, however, afford you the means of judging as to how far the holders of the places, which we have been talking of, ought to be compared with Admirals and Generals, who have rendered important services to their country.

Since the bill was thrown out by the noble Lords, the Hon. House of Commons have come to a resolution to address the king not to grant any places in reversion, until six weeks after the commencement of the next session of parliament. It is pity

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called omnipotent;" that the parliament which has been described as having a right to do every thing, which it is able to do, every thing which is not naturally impossible; that this parliament has no right to take from any man the present or reversionary enjoyment of one of these places! This was the doctrine of the man, whom, for so many years, you elected as one of your representatives! And, what is still more provoking, for the loss of whom you are called upon to weep! Nay, upon the ground of having been a friend and supporter of whom, Mr. Sheridan had the conscience to claim your votes; and, what is worse, some of you had the patience to hear him, and even the foily to applaud him.

In my next letter, which will probably
be inserted in the same sheet with this, I
propose to address you upon a subject of a
very different nature. In the mean while, I
remain,
Gentlemen,

Your faithful friend,
and obedient servant,
WM. COBBETT.

the two houses should have any disagree. Botley, Aug. 12,}

ment; it would be quite it would answer no purpose; but, I am satisfied, that whatever seeming disagreement there might be between them, we, the people, should remain dǝnvinced, that they were both animated by motives equally pure and upright."

I have observed, that cases may arise, when it is just and proper to entail rewards upon the families of others than soldiers or seamen; but these cases must be rare; for, let it be remembered, that, in the civil offices, the salaries are very great compared to the pay of the officers in the army and the navy. In these latter services, too, a whole life is devoted, besides the first purchase of the commission. In fact, the cases are altogether different, and will bear no comparison.

Having thus endeavoured clearly to lay before you the nature of the offices in question and the tendency of the bill which has been thrown out by the noble Lords, I shall leave you to ruminate upon the matter, and to come to such a conclusion as your good sense shall dictate. I cannot help, however, requesting you to bear in mind, that I have now proved to you, that Mr. Fox was a sine-cure placeman all his life long; and that he asserted, in parliament, that the property, or ownership, of such places was as sacred, as untouchable by act of parliament, as any man's property in house or land! In short, that the parliament, which, as respecting all other earthly purposes, has been

J

1807.

་་་་་

TO THE

INDEPENDENT ELECTORS

OF THE

CITY AND LIBERties of westmINSTER.
LETTER XXI.

Gentlemen,

The subject, upon which I have now to address you, is, the dispute between England and the American States, of which, doubtless, all of you have heard much; but, as it is probable, that many of you have not the leisure to examine very minutely into the origin and grounds of the dispute, or to reflect maturely upon the consequences, to which it may lead, I trust you will not think it impertinent in me to offer you such ob servations as occur to me, relating to a matter with respect to which the people ought to be well-informed.

It has long been a complaint, on the part of England, that the American, ships, in all parts of the world, serve as a place of refuge for deserters from the British navy. We claim a right to take our deserters whereever we find them, upon the seas; and this right, though not, in 'my opinion, rigorously enough, we have exercised. We claim also a right to take our seamen, whether deserters or not, from on board the ships of any other nation, when we find such ships at sea, having, as, I hope, we shall maintain, a right of

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