398 
tice of, “ That a committee be appointed, 
is order to its taking mto consideration 
eertain abuses now “existing in the ex- 
penditure of the public money.”—The 
Noble Lord observed, that it had for. 
years been well known, that great abuses 
of that description prevailed in the ex- 
penditure of the revenue. He had httle 
doubt if such a cominittee should be ap- 
pointed, that it would soon bring to light 
various and grossabuses. He disclaimed 
any object of attack on ministers; stat- 
Ing, that he felt impelled to the motion 
by a sense of duty, and a knowledve 
that such abuses as he had alluded to, 
had too lone been endured. He did not 
expect any resistance from ministers, who 
were concerned, more than he was, in 
Tooting out these abuses. 
Mr. Percevat said, that it appeared 
te him that the Noble Lord’s motion was 
not only superfluous, but unnecessary. 
The Right Honourable Gentleman said, 
he had a few dayssiace introduced a bill 
for proventing the sale and brokerage of 
places, which would meet the Noble Lora’s 
object, and render his motion unnessary, 
Lord Fotxestone explained; reimark- 
ing, that tlie bill alluded to by the Right 
Honourable Gentleman had been one 
among other inducements he had, to sub- 
mit the present motion. Onthbe Right 
Honourable Gentleman’s bill, he conten- 
ded no proceeding could be adopted, at 
least none such ashis (Lord F.’s) motion 
went to Institute ; therefore he considered 
the Right Honourable Gentleman's argu- 
ment as of no avail;.as, unless such a 
committee was appointed, it was very 
unlikely that any of these abuses could 
be done away, or even corrected. 
Lord H. Perry opposed the motion, 
upon thesame grounds as Mr. Perceval. 
Mr. WutinuRreab supported the mo-, 
tion, on the ground that the Cliancellor 
of the Exchequer did vot deny the ex- 
istence of abuses in the expenditure of 
the public money. From information 
he Mr. W. had received, he knew that 
many and various abuses had existed 
for numbers of years, in the expenditure 
of the public money; but so far from 
these abuses having been finished aud 
swept away, he regretted to state, that 
they still existed in all their pristine vi- 
gour. This was a serious fact, which 
the Right Honourable Geatleman could 
not deny, nor could any steps he (Mr. 
Perceval) felt inclined to take, prove 
available; unless that Right Honourable 
Gentleman was really sincere. He hoped 
ord Folkstone’s Rotion on Public Abuses. 
[May 1, 
the gentleman was really sincere, and 
wished the motion success. 
Mr. Tierney opposed the motion. He 
said he hopedthe Noble Lord would with- 
draw it and bring it in some other shape, 
for otherwise he could not agree without 
some strong grounds to erimmate all de- 
partments of the state. He believed the 
majotity of the house had no disposition 
to shrink from enguiry, but still that in- 
quiry must be institated in @ manner the 
most proper and just to satisfy the public. 
His own character must speak for itself, 
but he must say that no ery whatever 
should induce hia to agree with such a 
motion. 
Messrs. BRanp, Ponwsonsy, WYNNE, 
and P. Moors, objected to the motion, 
as did 
Mr. Canwninc in a long speech. He 
concluded by saying, the Noble Lord, by 
pursuing the course which he now adopt- 
ed, might probably succeed in driving 
fran the career of public service, every 
honourable man, whose landable ambi- 
tion might lead him ‘to fill a publicsitua-~ 
tion. He might succeed in making the 
cast of public men so degraded, that no 
honest man would belong to it’ But 
should such a period ever arrive, he had 
no hesitation in saying that it would be a 
period of degradaticn and ruin to the 
country. He would not, then, let loose 
this wide-wasting power, that must spring 
out of the Noble Lord’s motion; a power 
that must be as disgraceful to Buhenie to, 
as it would be afterwards impossible to do 
away. 
Lord Forxesrone denied that he in- 
volved all public men in suspicion. He 
only referred to particular parts of evi- 
dence already before the house, which he 
wished to refer to a commitee; therefore, 
as it was not an criginal proceeding, he 
could not see how it could be objected to. 
The house then divided—for Lord 
Folkestone’s motion, 
FS [ap eearc aPA anai ly I 2 
Le) MESS Tei ae i Ne wigs a eee 
Majority s..\. 1) em — 145 
On the 7th instant, the Common Coun- 
cil of the city of London, passed the fol- 
lowing spirited resolutions :— 
That this Court has on frequent occasions 
evinced its detestation of the public abuses, 
which have been found to exist in various de- 
partments of the state, and it cannot but 
equally condemn the corrupt practices develo- 
ped by the late investigation before the house 
of parliament. 
That Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle. ess. having, 
unawed 
