* Mr. GRATTAN spoke against the Address, to the following effect:

་

Mr. SPEAKER,

"I wish that the Lord Lieutenant had not been introduced into this Address. The expenses of the Marquis of Buckingham were accompanied with the most extraordinary professions of economy and censures on the conduct of the Administration that immediately preceded him ; he has exclaimed against the pensions of the Duke of Rutland, a man accessible undoubtedly to applications, but the most disinterested man on earth, and one whose noble nature demanded some, but received no indulgence from the rigid principles or professions of the Marquis of Buckingham. He exclaimed against his pensions, and he confirmed them! he resisted motions made to disallow some of them, and he finally agreed to a pension for Mr. Orde, the Secretary of the Duke of Rutland's administration, whose extravagance was at once the object of his invective, and of his bounty; he resisted this pension, if report says true, and having shewn that it was against his conscience, he submitted. Mr. Orde can never forgive the

4

Marquis the charges made against the man he thought proper to reward; the public will never forgive the pension given to a man the Marquis thought proper to condemn. "The pension list," said he, "whose increase the Marquis condemned, he had an opportunity to restrain. A Bill, limiting the amount of Pensions, was proposed by an honourable friend of mine, and was resisted by the Marquis of Buckingham ; his Secretary was the person to oppose that Bill, and to give a signal to the servants of the Crown to resist it. He assigned his reason, viż. because he thought his Excellency was entitled to the same confidence which had been reposed in other Viceroys, that is, the confidence which the Marquis of Buckingham pathetically declared had been grossly abused. The police was another theme of his Excellency's indignation; he exclaimed, or has been said to have exclaimed, against the expense of that establishment. A committee was appointed to examine into its utility, and after a long and minute investigation, discovered that the turbulence and corruption of the police-men, were at least equal to the extravagance of the establishment. With this two-fold knowledge of its prodigality and its licentiousness, he defended the police establishment, and resisted a measure to

repeal that bill; defending in Parliament every measuré against which he was supposed to have exhausted his time in invective and investigation.

The Park establishment was supposed also to have excited his indignation. A motion was made to disallow some of those charges, and resisted by all the strength of his government. He was on these subjects satisfied with a minute examination, a poor and passionate exclamation, and a miserable acquiescence. Some of these expenses must have stopped, because they were for furniture and improvement, and were not annual expense, but the principle remains; the country is open to the repetition of the charge, and the Marquis has only to take credit for the ceasing of charges, which must for a time have stopped of themselves, but which, by his influence and resistance in Parliament to motions, disallowing them, may be renewed; but he not only continued the evil he found, he introduced a number; on the expenses of his predecessor he introduced jobs of his own. He increased salaries in the departments, which he proposed, and was said to reform. He made, by that increase, certain places parliamentary objects, which before had not come into the sphere of what is called parliamentary corruption, and greatly increased the influence of the Crown at the time he affected

4

to reduce the expense of the nation. The dispo sition he made of some of those offices was in favour of very worthy men. I won't say, that one of them is not, yet underplaced, but I do say, that his office ought not to have been raised to his merits, for his merits are his own, and of course during life; but the increase is perpetual; and the increase of salary will never want a pretence if this argument is admitted. You will easily have that species of economy, which does at: least as much mischief as good, checks pecula tion, and promotes undue influence. He did not confine himself to the increase of salaries; he projected, if fame says true, a number of new offices to be created for the accommodation of friends, at the public expense, by dividing and splitting offices, or boards, under that worst species of profusion, the mask of economy; laying the foundation of new salaries hereafter,. and increasing undue influence for, the present But there is one of his projects he has actually, carried into execution-the revival of an absolete office, the second counsel to the commissioners;!! that office is the remnant of a wretched job, at.. tempted eighteen years ago, and put down, be cause impracticable and improper. The division of the boards of coustm and excise for extending. the undue influence of the Crown; that measure

1

was put down: but the second counsel, a wretched remnant, was suffered for a time; and when the then counsel, Mr. Maunsel, died, his place also was discontinued. It thus remained on the es tablishment an absolete unoccupied office, until it has now been revived by the Marquis of Buckingham; no doubt, it will be said, for the purpose of saving. The officer is to be a great saving to the public: he is to be fed like the first counsel in the revenue. You are to have two counsel, instead of one, to give opinions and to receive fees in all revenue proceedings; but this is to be a great saving. He is not at present to be consulted in the framing of the money bills: but this is a private transaction; and this is a saving on whose duration I fear you can but little depend.

"I have stated particular instances of the expensive genius of the Marquis of Buckingham in the management of the public money, and in the course of one year-the year in which even prodigal Lord Lieutenants impose on themselves a reserve. But these particular instances are principles, bad principles: the attempt to increase the number of offices, is an attempt to increase corruption the man guilty of that attempt is not pure. The revival of an absolete useless office for a friend, is a bad principle; and if accom