GENERAL HISTORY. 



V 



llcy pursued by ministers in their 

 connection with the Kegent, oc- 

 curred on the motion for a supply 

 to his majesty, made in the House 

 of Commons on January 9. Mr. 

 Creevey rose, and after observing 

 that it was the duty of that House 

 to examine several subjects con- 

 nected with the revenue before 

 they entered into the consideration 

 of the supply, adverted to an otfice 

 lately bestowed on the regent's con- 

 fidential servant, colonel M'Ma- 

 hon. Twenty-nine years ago it 

 had been stated, in the 10th report 

 of the commissioners for public 

 accounts that the office of pay- 

 master of widows' pensions was a 

 perfect sinecure, and ought to be 

 abolished, and in one of the reports 

 of the commissioners of military 

 inquiry presented to the House, 

 four years ago, the same opinion 

 had been confirmed, and it was 

 added, that on the decease of the 

 present patentee, general Fox, 

 they presumed that the office 

 would be suppressed; yet in the 

 face of these two reports, the mini- 

 sters of the crown had advised his 

 royal highness the Regent to con- 

 fer the office on colonel M'Ma- 

 hon. He concluded with moving 

 an amendment, that the House 

 would to-morrow se'nnight resolve 

 itself into a committee of supply, 

 ■in order to give an opportunity in 

 the interim for the consideration 

 he had suggested. 



The Chancellor of the Exche- 

 quer began a reply with some ob- 

 Bervations on the prefatory matter 

 in Mr. Creevey 's speech, in which 

 he had alluded to the conferring 

 of some other places on members 

 of parliament on account of their 

 political conduct; and after de- 

 fending the ministers in that re« 



spect, he came to the case of co- 

 lonel M'Mahon. He corrected 

 the honourable gentleman's suppo- 

 sition, that the place in question 

 was held by patent for life; and 

 asserted, that it had been distinctly 

 communicated to the colonel, by 

 his Royal Highness's command, 

 that considering the circumstances 

 under which the office stood, he 

 was to hold it as subject to any 

 view that the parliament might 

 take of it. 



Mr. Brougham considered the 

 appointment as an insult to par- 

 liament, and said, that the com- 

 munication to the colonel, men- 

 tioned by the chancellor of the 

 exchequer, only proved that the 

 ministers were conscious that they 

 were flying in the teeth of those 

 principles which had been recog- 

 nized by the House and its com-- 

 missioners. This observation was 

 argued against by Mr. Croker, 

 who defended ministers in respect 

 of that and other appointments 

 which had been objected to. 



Mr. Whitbread thought that the 

 last honourable gentleman had 

 failed to remove the objectionable 

 qualities of the case in question. 

 The principle feature of blame in 

 the transaction was, in his opinion, 

 that of appointing the colonel dur- 

 ing the recess of parliament, to a 

 situation which every one must 

 know to be a sinecure, and there- 

 fore an incumbrance on the public 

 purse, and fit only to be abolished. 

 After some other speakers had 

 given their remarks on the subject, 

 the House divided, for Mr. Cree- 

 vey's amendment 11 ; against it 

 54'. It should be observed, that 

 the honourable character and me- 

 rits of colonel M'Mahon were al- 

 lowed on both sides. It may also 



be 



