GENERAL HISTORY 



[35 



friend, the first secretary of tlie 

 Admiralty (Mi-. Croker) to state, 

 l^iat he had used no influence, 

 nor made a s-uggestion of a wish, 

 to obtain an increase of salary, 

 and that the subject had been 

 brought before go\ernment, by 

 circumstances over which he ex- 

 ercised no control. The fact was, 

 that the regulation which fixed 

 the reduction of the salaries of 

 the secretaries in time of peace 

 at one-fourth, struck off from 

 tiiat of the clerks one-fifth. When 

 the peace with .-\meiica was con- 

 cluded, the period of reduction 

 was supposed to have arrived ; 

 but the re-appcarance of Buona- 

 parte almost immediately fol- 

 lowed, on which, without de- 

 clai'cd war, tliere were vigorous 

 preparations for hostilities. Were 

 then the Admiralty clerks to have 

 a deduction from tlieir renmnera- 

 tion, when there was no dimirm- 

 tion of their labour ? Govern- 

 ment taking the case into consi- 

 deration, thought it would be 

 better to continue the war salary 

 in time of peace, than to increase 

 the peace salary to the necessary 

 extent, and to adhere to the prin- 

 ciple of the two rates. The only 

 thing next to be considered was, 

 whether the hon. secretary should 

 participate in the rise, or remain 

 the only exception ; and of this, 

 for reasons stated by the noble 

 lord, theje could, he said, be 

 scarcely any differx-ncc of opinion. 

 The whole (juestion would be 

 open for discussion, when the 

 estimates came before the House. 

 Convinced that this was not the 

 proper time, he siiould move, 

 that the House proceed to the 

 other orders of the day. 



It could not bo expected, that 



this explanatiow of the noble lord 

 would prove generally satisfac- 

 tory ; and the speeches of several 

 members expressed a conviction, 

 that tlie resolution first moved for 

 was V.ell founded. Mr. Brougham 

 distinguished himself by the se- 

 verity of his censures upon the 

 noble lord and his coadjutors. 

 In adverting- to the statement of 

 great reductions which had been 

 made by the ministers, he said, 

 that above 4f)0,000l. of the sum 

 saved, arose merely from the di.s- 

 cliarge of workmen for whom 

 there was now no employment ; 

 and that many ofRces abolished, 

 those particularly of the commis- 

 sariat, were such as there was 

 no pretext for retaining. On the 

 whole, he did not scruple to de- 

 nominate the affair in qiiestion a 

 scandalous job, of which the ob- 

 ject was to put money in the 

 pocket of the secretary of the 

 Admiralty. Mr. Tierney, in an 

 entertaining speech, compounded 

 of irony and sarcasm, represented 

 the matter as part of a deliberate 

 system in the administration, of 

 resisting every thing that looked 

 like economy, or the diminution 

 of the salaries of persons who 

 had now few or no duties to per- 

 form . 



Much of the debate tinned upon 

 personal attacks and recrimina- 

 tions which may be passed over. 

 The principal argument against 

 the original motion was, that the 

 proper time for discussing the 

 subject would be subsequent to 

 laying the estimates before the 

 House ; and this was concuned 

 in by Mr. Bankes, though he de- 

 dared it to he his decided opi- 

 nion, that the increase of these 

 salaries in time of peace was an 

 [D ^2] improper 



