118 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



which was an establishment under 

 the direction of the present com- 

 mander-in-ciiief. This fund arose 

 out of the sale of commissions va- 

 cant by death — by the promotion of 

 officers not allowed to sell — or by 

 dismissions from the service. The 

 power of the commander-in-chief 

 over this fund was constituted and 

 intended for the reward of merit, 

 either by the appointment of me- 

 ritorious officers to the commis- 

 sions which so became vacant, or 

 by selling them, and applying the 

 produce of such sales to the re- 

 demption of half-pay commissions, 

 or to the compassionate fund. 

 Here the power of the comman- 

 der-in-chief over such produce 

 ceased. If the commissions he 

 had described were otherwise dis- 

 posed of, the authority vested in 

 the commander-in-chief was abus- 

 ed, and the objects of the half-pay 

 fund abandoned. Now, if he 

 could show that those commissions 

 were appropriated to very different 

 purposes, it would, of course, ap- 

 pear, that such abuse and aban- 

 donment did take place — that me- 

 rit was not rewarded — that the half- 

 pay iist was not reduced — that the 

 compassionate fund was not assist- 

 ed. For the purpose of showing 

 this, it was necessary to call the 

 attention of the house to another 

 establishment of the commander- 

 in-chief's, which was quite of a 

 different complexion from that 

 which he had just mentioned. This 

 establishment, which consisted of 

 a splendid house in Gloucester- 

 place, a variety of carriages, and 

 a long retinue of servants, com- 

 menced in the year i803, and at 

 the head of it was placed a lady of 

 the name of Clarke. As this lady 

 formed a principal party in several 

 of the facts which he had to cite, 

 § 



he was under the necessity, how- 

 ever reluctantly, to mention her 

 name, as well as that of others, in 

 order to make out a fair parlia- 

 mentary basis for his motion, and 

 to satisfy the house, that he had 

 not brought it forward upon light 

 grounds. 



The first case to which Colonel 

 Wardle called the attention of the 

 house, was that of captain Tonyn, of 

 the 48th regiment of foot, who had 

 been promoted to a majority in the 

 31st regiment : to which promotion 

 he was indebted to the influence of 

 Mrs. Clarke. The terms of agree- 

 ment were, that Mrs. Clarke should 

 be paid 500/. upon captain To- 

 nyn's being gazetted. Major To- 

 nyn was gazetted on the 2nd of 

 August, IbO^, and the 500/. was 

 paid to Mrs. Clarke. Here it be- 

 came necessary for colonel War- 

 die to observe to the house, that 

 the regulated difference between a 

 company and a majority, was 

 1,100, which should have been 

 appropriated to the purposes above 

 mentioned. But how did the af- 

 fair stand ? Mrs. Clarke gained 

 500/., and the sum of 1,100/. 

 was lost to the half-pay fund. This 

 sum of 500/. was paid by Mrs. 

 Clarke to a Mr. Birkett, a silver- 

 smith in part payment for a ser- 

 vice of plate, for the establishment 

 in Gloucester-place : the balance 

 for which plate was afterwards 

 paid by his royal higimess the 

 commander-in-chief. The posi- 

 tions that colonel Wardle held to 

 be clearly deducible from this case 

 were, first, that Mrs. Clarke pos- 

 sessed the power of military pro- 

 motion. Secondly, that she re- 

 ceived pecuniary consideration. 

 And, thirdly, that the commander- 

 in-chief was a partaker in the bene- 

 fit arising from such pecuniary 



con- 



