memory served him, endeavour to follow "the right hon. gent. through his state"ment. One of the charges made by the "right hon. gent. was, the appointment of a Collector for the Port of Buenos Ayres. "Would not every gentleman imagine, from "the manner in which this charge had "been urged, that a considerable expence 66 was incurred, a heavy burthen accrued in "consequence to the public? Was it not 66 common candour, or rather was it not a gross want of candour in the right hon. gent., not to have stated, that no expence was to be incurred on the part of the pub"lic, till the duties of the office were to be "performed on the re-capture of Buenos "Ayres? considerable inconvenience had "been felt from the want of an establishσε ment for the collection of the Duties in "the first instance, and the appointment "had been made to guard against a similar "inconvenience in the re-capture of the Set"tlement. He did not exactly remember "the precise time at which that appoint"ment took place. The right hon. gent. "had renewed his statement with respect "to the appointment of the Surveyors of "Taxes, a measure which had originated "with the Commissioners of Taxes. As to "the nomination of the officers, some might "have been so nominated, but since the "matter had been mentioned, several per"sons had stated to him, that they had re"commended individuals to these offices, "but it had been uniformly answered, that no appointment could take place without "the sanction of parliament. Another charge was the creation of an office, to "which some might object, but which had "been given to an individual, who had de"voted a long life of disinterested service to "the public, and who had in the University "but an income of £135 per annum. It "had been thought a better mode to pro"vide for this distinguished and meritorious "gentleman, Mr. Dugald Stuart, by giving "him that place, which had before been " enjoyed by three Newspaper Writers, "than by a pension. Were editors of Newspapers the only literary men the "gentlemen opposite would protect? Was "theirs the only science they encouraged? "As to the pension to a civil and criminal Judge, he had heard nothing of any such grant. He should not be bold enough to say, that any administration might not "fall into abuses, and he had always since "he had a seat in that house, supported "motions for inquiries, whether in the "shape of Naval or Military Commissions. "He was glad to see the right hon. gent. following the example which he had him"self, for the first time, given of excluding persons in office from such a Committee. "As to the gentlemen whom the right hon. gent. left out from the number of the for66 mer Committee, he should only say, that " he saw no good ground for such exclusion. "He thought the object of the right hon. "gent. would be gained by introducing eight new members in the place of those "who were not members of this parlia"ment, and of the hon. baronet and the "hon. gentleman opposite, now in office. "If the parliament was not dissolved to get "rid of the Committee, why not revive it as far as that could be done, as it existed be•fore the dissolution? The members who "had proceeded with the business in the "former committee, would more readily "take it up in this, and he should there"fore object to any individual who should "be proposed, to the exclusion of any of "the former members who were eligible." This last is all very reasonable; but, only think of granting places for life to a col. lector and surveyor of the customs at Buenos Ayres, ready against it should be re-captured! This was selling the lion's skin with a vengeance. What, to produce such an act, must have been the greediness and impatience of the Honourable Gentlemen, to whom such grants were made! What a life, too, must be that of a minister of state, plagued with the applications of such persons! The plagues of Egypt must have been a trifle to what a minister so situated has to endure. But, it is the natural consequence of the present state of the House of Commons, where, as a correspondent lately observed, the minister of the day must, some how or other, obtain a majority, or else the government cannot go on.--I am sorry for Mr. DUGALD STUART, whose great literary merits I am not unacquainted with. former income would have kept body and soul together; and, if not, would it not have been better to have let them separate a few years sooner, than become, at last, the subject of a wrangle in the Honourable House; than see his name in the Red Book; than be enrolled in the Regiment; than be placed upon a footing with state paupers of the day?When lord Henry Petty asserted, that he had " always supported motions for "inquiries," he forgot the opposition, which he gave to Mr. Robson's motion for an inquiry into the Barrack-Expenditure in the Isle of Wight; and, indeed, he must have forgotten the opposition which he gave to the motion, out of which this very Fi His "looked to the bench opposite (the Trea sury Bench), and saw on it men certainly "all remarkable for their talents, but of "whom not two were without pensions, "sinecures, and reversions, settled on them"selves, or on their families, inquiry was loudly called for, to shew how they and "their infants had become possessed of those "drains from the public purse. He was "shocked at the mode of meeting one ac"cusation by retorting another. When "those most remarkable for ability in inves 46 tigation were excluded, when the names "of the new Commissioners were more numerous than those of the old, when the present Ministers, not satisfied with introducing eight names instead of those of "the old members not returned, he was sure the country would not think the pre"sent Committee auspicious to the cause " of retrenchment and reform. To baffle a people loaded with burthens by holding "out a delusive investigation, could lead to "nothing but disappointment and discon"tent. He lamented the insinuation, that no set of men could be found in the house "free from party devotions, or from party "animosity, an insinuation that must sink "the character of the House in the opinion " of the country, and must diminish the "hopes entertained from the investigation." nance Committee grew. He opposed Mr. Biddulph's motion; and, though he himself moved for a committee, he took good care, that it should be so composed, and so pinned down as to its powers, that it should be little more than a thing of mere form; and, accordingly, nothing did it do, not a word did we hear of its discoveries, until lord Henry Petty and his colleagues were out of office, and had a deep interest in making exposures. For the very same reason, however, that the committee was not what I could have wished then, the same persons would have composed a committee that I should like now. 66 What I want is, not the smothering, but the exposing of peculation and jobs; and, I know no persons so likely to expose as those who wish to expose. The law invites people to inform against offenders. It does more, it commands them to do it. In some cases it offers rewards for such information, and in other cases it threatens with punishment for a neglect to give information. But, here, where the public is so deeply interested, much more than it is in the detection of smugglers or highwaymen, it seems that the quest is to be made by persons" impartially" chosen, just as if the offenders themselves were the choosers of their pursuers. There wants no impartiality. There wants, in such a committee, nothing but intelligence and activity; and of these the old committee had given good proofs. The committee are not to be judges. They are merely to examine and report. The House is to be the judge. What should any of us common mortals think of a man, who, if called upon to reader an account of his conduct were to insist upon having his friends to receive that account? And, if he has a majority of his friends, is not that the same thing? This Finance Committee is to act as detectors and accusers; and, what would be said of that man, who should insist that it was unfair for him to be detected and accused by any one who was not his avowed friend?--After lord Henry Petty followed a Scotch gentleman, who, word for word, repeated what Mr. Perceval had said. Next came Mr. Brand, who "wish“ed for a fair and honourable Inquiry, such as was due to the character of the House, "such as was expected by an anxious country and a suffering people. He was par"tial to the right hon. gentlemen on the "bench below him (the late ministers), "from a high opinion of their talents and "integrity. But if any charge should be "made on them, he would be the first to "call for inquiry and investigation into the grounds of that charge. But when he -In this conclusion I think Mr Brand was deceived; for, I see not the least reason to suppose, that any insinuation, however foul, can sink the character of the House in the opinion of the country. No; the House is not to be affected by insinuations of any sort; its character has long been such as to enable it to set all insinuations at defiance. Individual members, and even parties, may row and then suffer by comparison, in point of reputation; but, as to the Honourable House, taking it as a whole, I venture to as sert that its character is far beyond the reach of detraction. "Sink the character of the House, the Honourable House, in the "opinion of the country!" Oh, no! there is, thanks to its members, no fear of that. The country know that House too well; they feel too sensibly the effects of its wise and just and impartial decisions to suffer themselves to listen to any thing calculated to sink it in their opinion. No; the country enter. tain a very just opinion of the Honourable House; and, as Mr Brand seemed to be uneasy upon this score, it must afford him great satisfaction to hear me say, that, from ail parts of the country, my correspondents assure me, that apprehensions like his are perfectly groundless.-Mr. Canning came on after Mr. Brand, for, as the reader will was the fact, and as personal and party at"tachments were known to be almost universally prevalent in that house, he saw no danger in avowing to the public what was already well known, the prevalence of "those party attachments, and to guard against any unfair preponderance of those attachments, by balancing the number of "the parties. It was therefore desirable to "avoid appointing those whose party preju. "dices ran all in the same course. fle "would indeed be ready to allow, that if "there was one set of men free from all party prejudice and animosity, that if "those men had been for many years out of "office, and it on coming at length into of"fice, they exercised their power, neither to stigmatize their opponents, nor imme"diately to reward their adherents, he "would allow that it would be very fit to "encourage so brilliant an example of pu 66 rity, by appointing these men to be of the "committee. If not perfectly pare, they "would at least be perfectly unaccused, "while the conduct of the inquiry would be "in their own hands. If, however, he were "called upon to point out the de-cription of point out those who had abstained most "from the use of power for the advantage "of their dependents, he would look there as little for the reality of the fanciful per"fection which was so much to be wished "for. If, on the contrary, he were to look for those who made the best use of a very "short interval of power for the benefit of "themselves and their adherents, the hon. "gentlemen were those on whom he "should fix. He had heard of a certain "Roman moralist, who wished to live in a "house of glass, that every thing he did "might be seen (a laugh).—If that moral"ist bad lived in these times he would have "learned, that he who lived in a glass house, should not begin by throwing " stones fa loud laugh). Those by whom "this principle of parliamentary practice "had been not long since laid down, were "impossible to state grounds for inquiry, "otherwise than generally and in detail, "When his right hon. friend made general "charges, he was called as loudly to parti 66 cularise, and when he did particularise, "those who forced him to do so cried "shame. Well, indeed, might the specifi"cation be objected to by the noble lord opposite, and his colleagues. If the plan of "the late ministers had been pursued; if "collectors, comptrollers, surveyors, searchers, and waiters had been appointed not only to all the ports we should conquer, "but to all those that we should intend to conquer, what would have been the consequence? We should have had Collec"tors and Comptrollers of the Bosphorus, "and Searchers and Waiters of Rosetta 66 66 66 (loud peals of laughter)-There was here to be observed a great change in the tone "of the right hon. gentleman on the sub"ject of Buenos Ayres. When the conquest of that place was effected, the hon. gentleman thought it not worthy of being "mentioned in the King's Speech. Now it had acquired a vast importance in their eyes; and why? Not from its importance "to the commerce or navigation, or to the general resources of the country, but because it was a place that afforded room "for the appointment of Collectors, Comptrollers, Searchers, and Waiters. This was a complete key to the whole policy "of the late ministers-and a most happy "illustration it was of their large, liberal, "and enlightened views. However far the range might have extended in contemplation, the actual list ended here, and it be came necessary to return home to the "300 surveyors. The noble lord's defence "here, as in the former instance, was, that "the appointment was prospective. But was the influence prospective! Why did "the appointment take place on the eve of a General Election? If the coincidence was accidental, the hon. gentlemen were "the first favourites of fortune. He ac"knowledged the high literary merit of Mr. 66 Dugald Smart, who had besides the me"rit, and he thought it no light one, of having educated the noble lord (H. Petty). "He acknowledged and lamented the ge"neral insufficiency of the rewards bestow"ed on literary merit in this country; but "he highly condemned the mode of reward "here adopted, by constituting a new sine 66 "for one, felt no shame for the character or nothing, we dare do every thing." He "doubted whether this same science of me"dical jurisprudence could be found any "where mentioned even in the Scotch Encyclopædia. (A laugh.) In answer 66 66 This one. "the noble lord in the other House." This answer in plain language was: “ True, I "have a pension, and so have my two sis"ters; but, it was granted by Lord Gren"ville, who is one of your party, and by "Pitt, whom you are constantly praising; "therefore, talk to Lord Grenville, or shut your mouth."But, though this might be a very good answer to "the gentlemen opposite," was it an answer to the burdened and complaining people? Was it an answer to the widow, who out of a legacy of a hundred a year pays in direct taxes so much as to reduce the hundred to eighty one pounds a year? He takes half to himself and gives half to his sisters; that is to say, the Cannings get three pensions instead of And for what? Why, because he had been three or four years an under secre to what the noble lord had said about tary of state at a solid salary of two thouNewspapers, he would ask, was there no sand a year besides off-cuts and slabs. Out "instance here, of a newspaper conspi- of this salary he might have given his sisters 66 cuous for its attachment to the constitu- what he pleased; but, what reason was "tion, and in the fairness of its mode of there for fastening them for life upon the detailing all transactions in which its par- people of this country? They were dety interests had place, whose proprietor" pendant upon his labour for subsistence." "was appointed Secretary to the Barrack Very well; but, had the receiving of two "Board, at which a secretary was a new thousand a year, for some years, from the "and a sinecure institution?'public, disqualified him for labour? What last was a hit, a palpable hit, at Mr. Perry ; was he before? Had he earned more? and richly he deserves it. I told him he Had he lost any thing by being under-secrewould repent of becoming a placeman. I tary of state? Why, then, are we to work told him it was better to continue to walk on for the maintenance of his sisters, any more foot, than to be drawn about in a wooden than for the sisters of another man? Oh! case by two horses at the expense of his inde- it is very easy to be kind to one's relations pendence. He is done up for ever; because, in this way. "Two very near and very dear though out of place now, we know that he "relations!" Hi..... hi.... hickup! has been in; and we never shall again look Aye, one may force out a sort of a half upon him as being actuated by public spirited blubber at it; but, where is the reason and motives. He is in the regiment, and that is justice of the thing? Where, too, is the enough. I have inserted all the laughs in kindness? The public purse, at this rate; Mr. Canning's speech; and, it is truly cu- the labour of the people, becomes a source rious to observe, how witty a man becomes of paternal, fraternal, and filial affection, the moment he is in place. Mr. Canning of personal friendship, and of Christian made a great many long speeches while he charity!More of these pensions anowas out of place, and nobody laughed. The ther time. They are a very pretty instance laughing was, however, of short duration; of the application of the public money; for MR. CURWEN rose next after him, and and it will be very useful to keep them in put to him this simple question : "have view; because there will a time come to put all such matters right.Next after the Canning Pensions naturally comes the Mildmay Contract, upon which subject nothing more, for the present, at least, would have been said by me, had not Sir Henry, with what degree of discretion I shall not presume to say, again agitated the question, by moving, in the House of Commons, on the 8th of this month, for the production of certain letters from some of the Monlsham Hall Jurymen. But, let us hear Sir Henry's ac not you a pension?" Whereupon the right honcurable Secretary, "with great dignity "and feeling," said, that, "when he left "the foreign office, a noble lord in ano"ther House and a Right Honourable Gen"tleman, now, unhappily, no more, had pressed him to take a pension, one half of "which he had requested him to settle up on two very near and dear relations, who were dependant upon his labours for support; and, whether he merited this, or not, he must leave to be decided by count of these letters. There is nothing like hearing him out: "Sir H. Mildmay 66 rose pursuant to notice, to move that "there be laid before the house a supple-, ment to his memorial which was already upon the table. He took that occasion "to state that he owed considerable ac"knowleagments to lord Sidmo th's Go"vernment, for the fairness and liberality "which he had experienced from it. His "first offer had been made to the Barrack "Office during that administration, but "the whole of the business respecting "the letting of his ouse, had taken place "after that administration had gone out of office. His principal object in rising had "been to move that there be laid before "the house certain letters which he had "received from some individuals of the "Jury, that had awarded him the compen sation for the injury his property had sus"tained. Of the whole of those who com siding in or disposing of the house; that "of the 1300l. awarded by the Jury, 7001. "was for the injury done to the ground by the works, and to defray the expence of restoring it to the state in which it was "before the construction of the works; "house 86 and that the Jury were aware, at the "time of making their award, of his being in treaty with government for the Now, let us take the points in their due order.- -Sir Henry says, that "the whole of the business respecting the letting of the house took place after the Alaington administration were out of office." Aye, and so I told the public a fortnight ago, Sir Henry'; but, you, Sir, told the house on the 29th of June, that "the transaction took place under Mr. Addington's ministry, for whom you never gave a vote in your life; so that if it was a job, the ministry had jobbed against "themselves." This was an argument, Sir; this was said in your defence; this was urged as a strong proof in your favour; and this proof you have now been compelled to give up gree g that, though your land 66 ment in th offery was impannelled, until Pitt, for whom you had always voted, came into place, and you began your bargaining in less than a week after he and his associates were seated upon the Treasury Bench! It was about that time, too, that you acted a most conspicuous part in the House of Commons. You, Sir, produced the fact of the transaction having taken place under an administration, for whom you never gave a vote in your life; you produced this as a proof, that the thing was not a job; but, that fact being proved not to be true, and, it being also proved, that the transaction took place under an administration, with whom you had been always voting, for whom you were voting and most zealously speaking, at the very time that you were driving the bargain, is there not some danger that your argument may be turned against yourself?-As to the letters from some of the jurymen, to say nothing of the novelty of the thing, why not produce letters from them all? Besides, how came the jurymen to write letters upen the subject?" Volunteers." I suppose? Eh, Sir Henry?" Volunteers?" Well we shall see who and what these letter-writers are; and we shall then be at perfect liberty to canvass their conduct too. That is all that remains now to be done; for, as to the rest of the parties concerned, there needs, at present, not another word upon their conduct. Upon this occasion, "lord How"ick said he had no objection to the pro"duction of this Paper, and he hoped it "would prove as satisfactory as the state"ment ust made by the hon. baronet, though he lamented that it did not appear "to him yet as satisfactory as could be "desired. There seemed to be some strange "mistake in the case, because the hon. ba"ronet had stated in his examination before "the committee, that the 400 a year was "to procure him another residence; and "NÓW it was said to have been granted, 66 66 on the general ground of enabling him "to restore the land from the injury done by the works. If the sum had been "awarded for the rent, it would have been an exorbitant allowance to make an award at the rate of 201. per acre, and if for "the land, the whole of the compensation ought to go to the tenants. But the hon. "baronet in his examination badstated, that "the 4001. per annum was to provide ano"ther residence for him; in this view therefore, the statement did not appear to him to be satisfactory."Yes, this is the pinch. There is no getting out of it. A correspondent, 1803, no whose letter 1 insert in another part of this jury was sheet, and who labours hard to defend Sir |