142 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



necessary lo proceed any farther 

 in the consideration of the evi- 

 dence before the committee ap- 

 pointed to inquire into the con- 

 duct of his royal highness, as far 

 as relates to his royal highness." 

 The insertion of the word now was 

 intended to express the opinion 

 of the house that the Duke of 

 York should not, at any time here- 

 after, be restored to his late situ- 

 ation, as commander-in-chief; 

 and consequently that if he should, 

 the house would resume their pro- 

 ceedings on the charges against 

 him. After a long debate, Mr. 

 Bathurst's resolution was nega- 

 tived without a division. On a 

 motion by the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer, that the word " now" 

 should be left out of lord Al- 

 thorpe's amendment, the house 

 divided :— Ayes, 235; Noes, 112. 

 Though the inquiry into the 

 conduct of the Duke of York was 

 confined to his official acts, re- 

 specting commissions, exchanges, 

 and promotions in the army, and 

 did not extend to mere recom- 

 mendations to offices or emolu- 

 ments not in the army, otherwibe 

 than as they might throw light 

 on the question before the 

 house; it may be proper to take 

 notice of a few of those curious 

 facts, which were disclosed in the 

 course of the examination, and 

 which, though not of a nature to 

 fix any imputation of any cor- 

 rupt practices on the Duke of 

 York, serve to show the extent to 

 which corrupt practices did pre- 

 vail, and the still wider extent of 

 the opinion that there was nothing 

 so important in the state, or sa- 

 cred in the church, that was not 

 to be procured by bribery. The 



whole of the inquiry exhibits a 

 thousand circumstances tending to j 

 illustrate, in an accurate and im- I 

 pressive manner, a view of the 

 ways of the world in London, 

 and of the state of public morals 

 and religion in England, at the 

 commencement of the nineteenth 

 century. It will be recollected 

 that Mr. Wardle had stated, that 

 the two members of the present 

 cabinet to whom he alluded, as 

 concerned in a corrupt traffic in 

 patronage, were the Lord Chan- 

 cellor and the Duke of Portland. 

 Some of our readers, no doubt, 

 may have entertained a greater 

 curiosity to know on what this 

 charge could be founded, and 

 how il would terminate, than any 

 of the other allegations in the 

 whole course of the examination. 

 Mrs. Clarke, on her examination 

 February 10, being asked through 

 what person she held herself out 

 as having influence enough to 

 procure a certain situation, said, 

 " I do not think any one was held 

 out. I fancy they guessed the 

 Duke of York, but no one was 

 held out ; and I think it is very 

 likely that Mr. Donovan supposed 

 the Duke of Portland. But I 

 mean here to say that the duke 

 is not at all connected with the 

 office for disposing of government 

 patronage. Of the office that 

 Mr. Wardle mentioned in the 

 city I know nothing. I was very 

 sorry that Mr. Wardle had men- 

 tioned such a thing, because 

 every one who knows the Lord 

 Chancellor, must know that, be- 

 sides being one of the highest, he 

 is one of the most honourable, 

 men in England : and, if there 

 are any insinuations about the 



Duke 



