tween individuals, a court of equity would have decreed the perform ance of it, and that a lease should be executed. It was, however, now settled, that other surveyors and other physicians should be called apon to give their report; and if their report should be, that those grounds were necessary for the infirmary, government would cer tainly endeavour to prevail on colonel Gordon to give them up.

General Tarleton spoke at some length on the propriety of granting every comfort and indulgence to old worn-out soldiers, who only got admittance into Chelsea Hospital from their long services, their wounds, and their constitutions being worn out in the service of their country. If the nation chose to build palaces for these discharge ed veterans, ornamented gardens should go along with the palaces; and the old soldier should not be prevented from walking in him. It would be a pleasing sight to the young as well as to the old, to sce the worn-out soldier enjoying all the comforts which the liberality of this country designed for him. He thought the honourable baronet (sir F. Burdett) had therefore great merit in bringing this subject before the consideration of the house.

Colonel Wood said, he did not rise to prolong the debate. (A Laugh.) It was not intention to have said a word on the subject, but for some insinuations used by the honourable baronet who made the motion against colonel Gerdon. That gallant officer had been many years in the most active service in every quarter of the globe -de ervedly had obtained a place of great trust, but, in executing the arduous duties of it, he had in a Banner secluded himself from sockt; and whatever some gentle

men might think, he was sure colonel Gordon would be one of the last men in England who would desire to have any advantage at the expense of the pensioners of Chelsea Hospital.

Sir Francis Burdett said, that with respect to the bargain, so far as it affected the public, it was an absolute job. The pensioners were to be immured, to give advantage to colonel Gordon's pleasuregrounds; and though, according to the speech of the honourable gentleman who had just sat down, that officer would not take advan tage of the soldier, he seemed to have no objection to take advantage of the ground. This was, in his opinion, the only spot in England fit for the purpose of an infirmary for the hospital, and he would be happy to give double the sum colonel Gordon was to pay for it, and secure it on any of his estates, for the sole purpose of giving it up to the hospital, rather than this monument of national munificence should be disfigured. He thought this the greatest job he had ever heard of; it was a job of all jobs, and ought to be distinguished by the name of the job. We heard every day of barometers, thermometers, and chronometers, and this should be called the jobometer. As to the papers, he would not go into them. Dr. Moseley desired the. whole of the premises. Mr. Aust, in his letter, says, part may be granted; and in that division, coIonel Gordon got about sixteen parts out of nineteen. Some gen. tlemen had talked of the expense of a wall; but they did not men. tion, that if it was not for colonel Gordon, that wall would not be wanting. He thought the pensioners were very ill used in many respects. There was a very fine

large

large public terrace, but the old

soldiers were never suffered to set

a foot on it; they were totally excluded from it; and as to the garden, not a single leck were the poor pensioners permitted to take to make their porridge with. He could not see such transactions go ing forward without taking notice of them. He felt it to be an imperious duty which compelled him to aim at their correction. He had no doubt but, in these demure times, the cry would be raised against him. He did not know by what name he should be assailed; jacobin, he supposed, was grown too stale and worn out, and gentlemen began to be ashamed of it; but it signified not to him what it was; he would wear any name that went along with the reformation of abuses. With respect to the motion, he had no doubt but his honourable friend who brought it forward, would agree to take a select committee, instead of an open committee of the whole house; and as there were further papers to be produced, they might be referred to the said committee.

Mr. Yorke spoke with consider able warmth against the motion.

Mr. W. Smith said, that in looking over the papers, he thought government must have been imposed on. The house of Mrs. Aufrere, which was to be converted

into an infirmary, was valued, with the small piece of land adjoining it, at 6,3801; and the remaining land, which was four acres, was let for 551, a year. It was with considerable astonishment he had read the report, and he never could have supposed it to be one drawn up on the part of the public, but on the part of a lessee, who was stating every thing he could for his own interest. Respecting what fell from the chancellor of the exchequer, as to prevailing with colenel Gordon to give up the grant,' if any fraud or delusion had been practised on on the treasury, he thought it would be like the case of a minor's estate, in which, where fraud or delusion was used, a court of equity would set aside the agreement made by trustees: so, in this instance, if fraud or delusion by any one appeared, the house might interfere, and prevent the completion of the grant.

Sir O. Mosely replied shortly to the many observations made against his motion. It had been said the case had not been made out. He owned it; but he pledged himself, if a select committee were granted, to prove the case fully to the satisfaction of the house.

A division then took place :

Ayes Noes Adjourned.

lieved it was also the belief of the public. He thought the house should correct abuses of this magnitude, at the same time that they were passing a bill with respect to minor offences.

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Mr. Bankes observed, that as to the abuses in the East India Company, he, as chairman of the committee appointed for the consideration of that subject, had brought down a recommendation to the house, that it was not necessary to pass any specific legislative meaon the subject. Although the system of the government of this country changed with the hands to whom it was confided, it was not so with the East India Company. One of their regulations was, that at any distance of time, an appointment obtained corruptly would be set aside. He conceived that the present bill must be useful, as rendering this sort of corruption more, difficult than it was before.

Mr. Creevey said, that the noble lord was perfectly correct in stating that seats in parliament had been notoriously bought and sold by the treasury. He would say, that this was not only his belief, but that it was within his knowledge. The treasury not only openly bought and sold those seats, but they kept in a great degree the monopoly of that market. If this was attempted to be denied by ministers, he should be glad to have the opportunity of proving it, and he could easily prove it from the lips of any one who had ever been secretary of the treasury. It was absolute nonsense and delusion on the public, for the house to spend their time in considering abuses in the commissioners of the lottery, and every other minor de

partment, when they knew, and when the public knew, that the greatest of all abuses was constantly practised by every secretary of the treasury, in buying and selling seats in parliament. To talk of a dissolution of parliament, as an appeal to the people, was mere mockery and imposition. It was perfectly well known that a dissolution of parliament was not an appeal to the people, but to the treasury. (Hear, hear!) Although he had great respect for the last government, and owed some personal favours to them, yet he must say that their dissolu tion of parliament, at the end of four years, like the dissolution by the present ministers, at the end of about four months, was not an appeal to the people, but to the treasury. (Loud cries of Hear, kear!) Until the house was disposed to suppress this odious and unconstitutional traffic, the le gislating on these minor abuses was mere mockery and delusion.

The chancellor of the exchequer said, he was happy to find that the noble lord (lord Folkestone) had attributed whatever there was of obscurity in this bill to the desire of making it as comprehensive as possible. He was also glad that the noble lord had admitted that the bill would render the commission of these offences more dif ficult in future. As to the purchase and sale of places connected with the courts of justice, that had prevailed from very remote times; but he believed that it would not be said that the practice at all interfered with the purity of the administration of justice. As to what had been suggested with respect to the prevention of the traffic for seats in parliament,

this would be a matter which might fairly be stated when the bill should come into a committee. If the noble lord or honourable gentleman would then bring forward any proposition of that sort, the house would be very ready to take it into their consideration. The noble lord had stated his firm belief of the existence of such transactions, and the honourable gentleman had gone further, and stated, that it was within his absolute knowledge. The honourable gentleman, to be sure, might have some knowledge from the confidence which was reposed in him by the late adminis. tration, with whom he was connected.-(Loud cries of Hear, hear !) He could not recollect, however, that that honourable gentleman (Mr. Creevey) had, at the time when a specific charge was brought against a secretary of the treasury for such interference, given the house the benefit of his knowledge. When he had that knowledge, how did it happen that his patriotism was asleep on that remarkable occasion?—(Hear, bear!) If he would, however, then bring for ward impartially those specific cases that were within his own knowledge, he would probably find the house very ready to attend to them.

Mr. Whitbread said, that he was happy that the suggestions of his noble and honourable friends appeared to be received with so much cordiality by the right honourable gentleman (the chancellor of the exchequer), and that it seemed to be admitted that the practice of trafficking for seats in parliament was a thing which ought not to be tolerated. He supposed that when the right honourable gentleman (the chancellor of the exchequer) called upon an honour 1809.

able friend of his (Mr. Creevey) to bring one set of cases before the house, he was also ready to practise that impartiality which he recommended, and bring forward those cases which were within his knowledge. (Hear, hear!) It was nonsense to pretend to be ignorant of those abuses. What member of parliament was there that did not know that such things were done? Did not he know, did not the right honourable gentleman know; did not every body in the house know, that there were many members who sat there, that were representatives of nothing but their own money? (Loud cries of Hear, hear! from the opposition benches.) And it was also known that many who had paid their money for their seats still felt themselves dependent on other men; and, if they differed from them, felt those qualms of conscience or of honour which made them vacate both the seat and the money they had paid for it. It was not certainly any charge against the present administration to state those things, for the charge applied as well to him and to every other member of the house, who had long known that those things were done, and yet never brought it forward to parliament in a proper shape.

The bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed.

April 21. House of Lords.-The order of the day for summoning their lordships having been read,

Earl Grey rose, for the purpose, he said, of submitting to their lordships the motion of which he had given notice. In bringing this important subject under consideration, he should be under the necessity of going into many details with which they were previously

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