HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



97 



contemplating his money in his 

 chest as a salve for the ridicule of 

 the populace* : for he was per- 

 suaded he would be made to re- 

 fund the uttermost farthing. A 

 discovery so rare, and in all its cir- 

 cumstances so amusing as the 

 frauds and hypocrisy of John 

 Bowles, had not been made since 

 the moment when the philosopher 

 Square was discovered in Miss 

 Seagrim's garret. Mr. Whitbread 

 concluded with reading several 

 passages from the voluminous writ- 

 ings of Mr. Bowles in recommen- 

 dation of morality and religion, in 

 the last quoted of which passages 

 Mr. Bowles says, " that these pri- 

 marj' causes of corruption (which 

 he had stated) operate in a most 

 alarming manner in this country. 

 At home, it is impossible to deny, 

 that an inordinate love of pleasure, 

 and an insatiable lust of gain, have 

 produced an alarming indifl'erence 

 to every relative duty, and to every 

 social feeling ; a sensible increase 

 of fraud, perfidy, knavery, and 

 peculation, and a rapid approach 

 to that state of selfishness, which 

 involves a total disregard for the 

 rights and advantages of others." 

 The following (said Mr. Whit- 

 bread), which are the last words 

 of the sentence, I cannot but sup- 

 pose he amply feels, and that " by 

 a just retribution," he has " com- 

 pletely sacrificed his own felici- 



Mr. Huslcisson said, that the 

 Dutch commissioners were parlia- 

 mentary commissioners. When the 

 immense increase of business in 

 the treasury, since 1793, was consi- 



dered, and the inadequacy of the 

 number of persons allotted to 

 transact that business, it would ap- 

 pear morally impossible that some 

 things should not escape attention. 

 Thus Mr. Huslcisson endeavoured 

 to defend the treasury. But nei- 

 ther Mr. Huskisson nor any one 

 else attempted to defend the con- 

 duct of the Dutch commissioners. 

 Mr. Ponsonby produced some pas- 

 sages from the writings of Mr. 

 Bowles, by which he was self-con- 

 demned, more forcibly and direct- 

 ly, if possible, than by those quot- 

 ed by Mr. Whitbread. Mr. John 

 Bowles, it was said, had published 

 thirty-two pamphlets. Mr. Pon- 

 sonby had seen one of them, and 

 as the title was tempting he had 

 looked into it. It was termed " A 

 Moral View of Society at the End 

 of the eighteenth Century." And 

 happy should he have been if at 

 any time he could have presumed 

 to possess that pure morality it 

 professed to inculcate. Among the 

 passages quoted by Mr. Ponsonby 

 is the following : " A more con- 

 vincing proof can hardly be con- 

 ceived of the disregard of our du- 

 ty than the growth of peculation ; 

 and that so far from rendering to 

 Caesar the things which are Cae- 

 sar's, every person must be shocked 

 at the gross defalcations which 

 every where come within their 

 view." Again, " Nothing can, 

 without a sense of religious duties, 

 get the better of temptation." It 

 was clear, Mr. Ponsonby ob- 

 served, that whatever might be 

 the case of the other commission- 

 ers, this gentleman, was, at least, 



not 



At mihi plaudo 



Vol. LI. 



Iiise domi simiil ac cerno Nummos in Area. 

 H 



