second reading, which was to-morrow, would be dropped, to be revi. ved as the house should think fit. He was aware that, his intimation must attract much observation, and that the house and the public would naturally expect some information with respect to the motives of it. But he was not at present authorised, to enter into any explanation on the subject. He therefore confined him. self to giving notice, that he should not move to-morrow for the second reading of the "Roman Catholics Army and Navy Service bill."--The mystery to which lord Howick aliuded, will by-and-by be unfolded. It will be recollected that on the motion of Mr. Biddulph, a commit. tee had been appointed" to examine and consider what regulations and checks had been established in order to control the several branches of the public expenditure in GreatBritain and Ireland; and to enquire whether any, and what, further saving might be made by the abolition of useless and sinecure offices, by the reduction of exorbitant fees, and by other modes of retrenchment in the expenditure of the public money." Mr. Bankes, the chairman, being directed by the committee, moved, February 19th, the following resolution: "That no office, place, employment, or salary, in any part of his majesty's dominions, ought hereafter to be granted in reversion." Mr. Yorke said, it was a favourite maxim with him, not to change established usa. ges, without some strong reason for it. This granting of offices in reversion, had been a power in the hands of the crown, for the purpose of rewarding services; and hitherto it had in fact been a saving to the public: for unless these offices could be given in this manner, services, if they were rewarded at all, must be rewarded by a grant, and a double burthen would thus be laid on the public. Lord Howick gave his most cordial support to the motion.-Grants of reversion had been made, not to meritorious servants, but to persons who, from their tender age, could not have rendered any services whatever. The grant of reversions was, in fact, an abridgment of the means of rewarding public services: for, if the holder of the office dropped, the reversioner stepped in. He not only gave his cordial support to the motion, but wish. ed the house to go still farther, and to come to a resolution against the granting any office, not usually so granted. If any thing of that kind had been done, or was in contemplation, he thought it highly proper for the house to interfere, and to prevent it by its decided approbation. On which, Mr. Plumer rose to give the motion his most hearty assent. He wished that this measure had been brought forward forty years ago. "I cannot (he conti. nued) help embracing this opportu nity of paying a tribute of applause to the present administration, (I say present upon the supposition that they are still in office,) as I really think they have shewn every dispo sition to benefit the country by their judicious measures, and avoiding the practice of former administrations, of granting reversions. On this oc. casion too, I have another observation to make. In coming down to the house this day, I have heard a report, which I am very sorry to hear. I have heard, sir, that the new government, which is now forming, or to be formed, have agreed to give, to an honourable and learn ed ed member of this house, (alluding to Mr. Perceval who was not then present) the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster for life, in order to tempt that gentleman to take a place in the new government. Upon this I may observe, that if men of great talents are not satisfied with the rewards attached to the situations to which his majesty chooses to appoint them, they ought not to ac cept of office at all. I do how ever, at all events, enter my protest most solemnly against the measure of giving a man a situation for life, in order to entice him to occupy another which may be more fleeting and temporary. Sir John Newport wished that the resolution had been adopted forty years sooner. Some Irish offices might then have either been reformed or abolished.-Mr. Johnstone approved of the motion: he wished with the honourable gentleman on the floor, that the resolution now be fore the house, had been adopted forty years ago; in which case, a family, the members of which had been most clamorous in cheering the reflections cast on Mr. Perceval, would not be so loaded with wealth derived from sinecures, as now to be in the actual receipt of £.60,000 a year, drawn from the labour of the public. But, however eager they had been for places and pensions, he was glad that they had at last changed their tone. Mr. H. Martin thought it so neeessary to counteract a system so mischievous as that which had been just alluded to, that he would tomorrow move an humble “address to his majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased not to grant any place, in the duchy of Lancaster, or elsewhere, for life, which had hitherto been held during his majesty's pleasure."---Mr. Bankes's motion, after some farther conversation, was carried. Next day, March 9, Mr. Martin rose, pursuant to notice, to make his motion. In the course of a speech with which he prefaced it, he observed that from the year 1660, to the present time, there appeared but two instances in which the office of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, to which his motion particularly pointed, had been granted for life. To address his majesty, therefore, that he would be gra ciously pleased to grant this place according to the usual practice, would not interfere with his royal prerogative.—Mr. Martin's motion, the substance of which has been above stated, was seconded by the honourable J. W. Ward, who ob served that grants of this descrip tion appeared to him to be uncon. stitutional. They had the effect of raising up a race of men to live on the wealth of the public, and to make themselves alike independeut of the sovereign who might promote them, and, of the people by whom the means were supplied for support; to deprive the crown of the power of punishing weak or wick. ed, and of rewarding its meritorious servants. Mr. Perceval now rose and said, that if the house should think fit to address his majesty, it should be on accurate statements.-He was not in the house the preceding even. ing: but understanding that notice had been given of the present motion; instead of approaching his sovereign for the purpose of receiving his appointment to the chancellor. ship of the exchequer, and that of the duchy of Lancaster for life, he bad had approached him with a request that the appointment might not take place that day, that he might have an opportunity of addressing the house on the subject, and that his majesty might not be fettered in consequence. This request was accompanied with an assurance, that whatever might be the pleasure of his majesty in consequence of an ad. dress from that house, though it should deprive him of the duchy of Lancaster for life, formerly offer. ed, it would not in the slightest de gree alter his disposition to serve his majesty. It would therefore be a subject of most serious consideration for the house, whether, in the present state and crisis of the country, it would be proper to throw any difficulties in the way of his majesty, in forming a new administration, when he conceived, that in so doing, he was only labouring to preserve the constitution and the religion of the country.-Mr. Perceval having repeated the assurance of his readiness to serve his majesty, even with oat the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster for life, made his bow and left the house. Mr. Martin's motion, which had been very ably seconded by Mr. Ward, before Mr. Perceval's leaving the house, was farther supported by lord II. Petty, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Thornton, Mr. Sheridan, and other speakers; and opposed by Mr. Montague, Mr. Sturges Bourne, Mr. Johnstone, &c. &c. Lord H. Petty said, that the very place in question, had been offered some years ago to lord Sidmouth, who had rendered very considerable service during his long and meritorious dis charge of his duties as a speaker, but who declined it because he would not be the instrument of alienating from the crown the means of rewarding greater public services than any he had as yet been able to perform. The principle on which lord Sidmouth had refused the offer, was much more applicable to the pre sent case. Besides, the chancellor. ship of the duchy might be among the number of sinecure and useless offices, that in the judgment of the committee of inquiry into such matters, ought to be abolished. On this last point his lordship was corrected by Mr. Sturges Bourne, who observed that the office alluded to, belonged to his majesty's privy purse, and therefore could not possibly come under the cognizance of that committee. Mr. Bourne spoke of the talents, integrity, and disinter estedness, of Mr. Perceval, and asked if the chancellorship of the duchy of Lancaster, which did not much exceed £.2,000 per annum, was too large an equivalent for his right honourable friend's profes sional exertions? Mr. Johnstone did not fail to embrace the opportunity of making some observations on the conduct of the late administration themselves, and particularly the Grenvilles, when they were taking credit for so much purity and disinterestedness. How, he asked, could they reconcile with those pretensions, the indecency of pressing upon that house, on their first acces sion to office, and at nine o'clock at night, two successive stages of a bill for enabling lord Grenville* to hold the oflice of auditor of the exchequer, with such large emoluments Mr. Johnstone's words were: "The noble lord at the head of the late administratio{}," Though the usage, a kind of lay of parlament, require this and other descriptions of Right honourable faenas," as circumlocutory designation of person, the writer of parliamentary proceedings, may be allowed to avoid. annexed, annexed, while the duties of it were to be done by another; and this too, at the same time that another noble lord, at the head of the Grenville fa. mily, enjoyed the tellership of the exchequer, with emoluments almost incalculable? How could they re. concile with this boasted purity, the extraordinary increase made in the salary of first lord of the admiralty, lately enjoyed by another branch of the family, and that not avowed to parliament in an open way, but effected by a secret fund! How could that right honourable gentle. man reconcile to his purity, the demand of £.3,000 for the expences of further continuing the commission of naval inquiry, and not say a word about the great and needless increase of his own salary? The honourable gentlemen boasted much of their œconomical arrangements, but what had they done for the country in effect? They had indeed appointed commissioners of accounts without number, but what had these done? Nothing appeared to have been effected in the army accounts. The West-India commissioners, who had been so long appointed at large salaries, had not yet even sailed on their mission. Mr. Sheridan, as instances of the œconomy of the late administration, mentioned the reduction of the staff; of the barrack department, and of the commissariat department. Did not lord H. Petty pledge him self, at the outset of his administration, to the adoption of every particular plan of reform, and retrenchment,in the public expenditure; and did he not follow up that pledge to the last moment of his political authority?Mr. Sheridan said, it was extremely painful to him to make any observations that might be thought to wear an invidious aspect; but he recol. lected that ever since Mr. P. had been a member of that house, he had been mostly in office. During the short period of the learned gentle. man's opposition, the air of that side the house did not secin to agree with him, and he had now got back to the balm and blissful air of the treasury bench. It had been asked, would you deprive his majesty of the learn ed gentleman's services in that office for which he had been quali. fied? Now really he was of opi nion, that if gentlemen on the opposite side of the house possessed any thing at all, they were swarming with chancellors of the exchequer. Even a noble lord, and a gallant general, had lately proposed their plans of finance to the house. Why not make either of them chancellor of the exchequer? Why not make the gallant general, attorney-gene. ral? Among all their financiers, not one could be found to fill the office, but a gentleman, who, though a very frequent speaker in the house, had never, as far as he knew, uttered one word on the subject of finance in his life.-On a division of the house, the address was carried by 218, against 115. Lord Grenville, March 26, in the house of lords, and on the same day lord Howick in the house of commons, detailed the circumstan ces that occasioned the late changes in his majesty's councils, and stated at great length the principles on which they were friends to the bill for granting relief to the catholics, and other dissenters. In the year 1778, a law passed in Ireland, to enable the protestant dissenters of that country, to hold employments of any kind, civil as well as military, without any restriction. Here the law was quite different. No dissen- majesty, who returned it without any objection or comment; it was therefore immediately forwarded to Ireland. Doubts however as to the extent of the measure, had been entertained by some members of the cabinet, who, being at last fully aware of this, objected to it in the strongest terms: and his majesty, being apprised that the measure was of far greater extent, than he had conceived it to be, expressed to lord Grenville his decided objection to it. The ministers then endeavour. ed to modify the bill, so as to reconcile it to his majesty's wishes, with out destroying the vital essence of the measure. Failing in this attempt, they determined to drop the bill altogether; but, at the same time, in vindication of their own character, to insert in the proceed. ings of the cabinet, a minute, reserving to lord Grenville and lord Howick, 1st, The liberty of delivering their opinions in favour of the catholic question ;-2d, that of submitting this question, or any subject connected with it, from time to time according to circumstances, to his majesty's decision. But the ministers were called upon, not only to withdraw the latter reservation, but to substitute in its place, a writ ten obligation, pledging themselves never again to bring forward the measure they had abandoned, nor ever more to propose any thing connected with the catholic question. To this they found it impossible to assent. They could not fetter them. selves by a written engagement, inconsistent with what they might conceive to be their duty, which, even by their oaths, they were bound to perform. The two leading ministers having respectfully com. municated to the king their senti. |