GENERAL HISTORY. 



[59 



litj', others persistintr to consider 

 it as merely a pretext for obtain- 

 ing an additional salary for a fa- 

 vourite servant. The house at 

 length divided, for the motion, 

 100 ; against it, 176. 



Although the ministry were thus 

 victorious in the house, they were 

 doubtless sensible that the idea of 

 a new burden imposed upon the 

 countrvs under circumstances of 

 such dubious propriety, excited 

 much public discontent. They 

 therefore took the liiiit of one of 

 their friends (Mr. Wilbeiforce), 

 who, in defending the appoint- 

 ment, had expressed a wi^h that 

 tlie salary of the new secretary 

 should have been paid out of the 

 Regent's privy purse; and this al- 

 teration was afterwards announced 

 by the Chancellor of the Exche- 

 quer. 



One of the debates in which the 

 influence of the crown in imped- 

 ing the due limitation of the pub- 

 lic expenditure appeared to give 

 the most general offence, was that 

 on the barrack estimates. On 

 April 13, Mr. Wharton moved, in 

 the committee of supply, " that a 

 sum not exceeding 554,441/. be 

 granted for the expence of the 

 barrack department for the current 

 year." 



Mr. Freemantle said, he saw 

 many things in those estimates 

 which required a great deal of ex- 

 planation ; and he particularly in- 

 stanced a Vjarrack for the second 

 regiment of life guards to be built 

 in what wys called the Regent's 

 Park, at the expense of 1.38,600Z, ; 

 barracks at Liverpool, estimated at 

 82,000/. ; at Bristol, at G0,000/. ; 

 and a new stable at Brighton, at 

 20,000/. 



Mr. Wharton, in explanation. 



stated, that the term of the rented 

 barracks of the life guards being 

 expired, if they were to be kept in 

 barracks at all, it was necessary 

 that they should be built ; and he 

 gave reasons for the construction of 

 the others, 



Mr. Huskisson could not be sa- 

 tisfied with this explanation. The 

 expense of the barracks for the 

 life guards, he said, wouldbefound, 

 on calculation, to amount to nearly 

 450/. for each horse, an enormous 

 sum, amounting, according to the 

 interest usually allowed for money 

 laidout in building, to 40/, ayearfor 

 the lodging of each trooper and his 

 horse. He was afraid that in this 

 new building there would be some 

 attempt at splendor and aukward 

 magnificence, and that it would be 

 something between a palace and a 

 stable. At Liverpool he thought 

 such expense was unnecessary, 

 as many warehouses might now 

 be got which would make good 

 temporary barracks. This was a 

 time in which every expense that 

 conld be spared, ought to be so ; 

 and he thought the reasons for 

 postponing those buildings were 

 fully as strong now as when he was 

 in the treasury, 



Ihe Chancellor of the Exche- 

 quer endeavoured to shew the ne- 

 cessity of these expenditures; and 

 the debate then took a personal 

 turn \\ith considerable acrimony, 

 till it was closed by a division on 

 an amendment proposed by Mr. 

 Huskisson, that the grant should 

 be reduced to 400,000/. The 

 numbers were, for the amendment, 

 40 ; against it, 88. 



The report of the committee of 

 supply being brought up and read 

 on the 14th, Mr, Freemantle again 

 objected to the extravagance of the 



barrack 



