The National Register.
London, England, 1809-03-12 00:00:00

TIM NATIONAL REGISTER-

criir oleo golog forward. Ile says, if the :yid kat ion was to
considered, he should say (that is, he should write on
"To be considered." Then if further curl:titles were to he
male upon it, he should probably " to he re-con-
s;:lorefl." And that in cases where the answer was, that
it .tot he ac:..('e,l to, it was very probably meant that
it 'alio ,t,t be complied with !—This may be understood at the

,IC,rse Gnarls, I a ill readily admit, but that any other person
can svaleriatial it, 1 must most decidedly deny !—Let the House
recollect that these services were the same at the time the
refusal wa,, given, as they were when they were favour-
alit" considered. It appears that Colonel Brooke has been
taalve )(Isla to the army, four months of which period he was
:s Carnet of I tat •oons, and seven year: on half-pay. Colonel
Cria eon, in t. first instance, gives it as a reason for the ex-
cal e being gawped, that Col. iirooke was so long on linlf pay;
and was request is complied with on the grounds of his ser-
' Is it nit an extraordinary circumstauce in an exchange of
a‘• :At tiati alone) • ;orlon could not recollect a word said in
Co••• iel Broake's favour! 1 would ask, what it was which
cer,:•..a - a good cavalry officer ? It is well known that a
cav . er inn-t serve some years before he can be a rood
officer; that according to the regulation of his Royal High7iess,
Torn cu does him the highest honour, an officer must serve
• years s..fore he call he a field officer; and the reason k, that no
• man slioultl I-ase that rank conferred upon him until he is per-
(-Isiah :led to fill it. But it is rather a peculiar cir-
cianstvice, that this officer, who, when you deduct She seven
years on half-pay, had only served five years, is con-
sidered a proper man to put at tta head of a cavalry
regiment, in which service he had la-yen but four months !
Tha., case certainly militates strongly against those very regu-
tat i ous made by his Royal Highness himself. The next case I come
to is that of Capt. Mating. It may be in the recollection of the
'louse the way thiscase was taken up, and that it was not ma-
na.asd at all in the way in which I wished. 'While this gentleman
had never been out of England; and I with to bring it to this point,
whether it Is not highly improper, not to say corrupt, in any
Commander in Chief, to put men who had never been out of
England, over the heads of officers who had served so many
years in foreign climates ? During the progress of this case, it
appeared that another Capt. Maling was employed in the Com-
ma!' ler in Chief's office, who Never rendered any service, nor
never llad joined his regiment; that Colonel Gordon had recom-
mended him to the Commander in Chief to he put upon half pay,
and to enjoy the rank of Captain. Now, if it Wag extraordi-
nary that Mr. Mating, who bad never been out of England,
should be put over those who had seen service; it was almost as
extraordinary to give this gentleman half-pay, who had never
joined his regiment; and if I am not very wrong; there is an
Act of Parliament, that an officer cannot be put on half-pay
sinl•-ss he has joined his regiment and served. I think, therefore,
that a necessary inference arises here, that there' has been very
great abuse of this power, which, in my mind, ong,ht not to be
entrusted without limit to any Commander in Chief whatever.
The next case I come to is that of Col. French's Levy. The
evidence of Captain Huxley Sandon, of Mr. Dowler, of Mr.
Grant, Mrs. Clarke, and Miss Taylor, fully corroborate each
• other upon that case. The terms of this levy was 500 guineas
to Mrs. Clarke; this money vs as paid when the letter of service
-was granted. Mr. Corgi acted as the agent, and received 2001.
for the introduction. Mr. Howler's evidence corroborates this,
and states, that he remonstrated with Mrs. Clarke upon the im-
propriety of the transaction. Mr. John Grant, agent to the
levy, stated, that the letter of service was obtained through the
influence of Mrs. ("Italie. Miss Taylor's evidence was corrobo-
rative t,f all these facts; and Birkett, the jeweller, from whom
the service of plate was purchased, further proved the purchase
of the plate, the bills drawn on His Royal Highness by Mrs.
Clarke, and these being paid afterwards by drafts of His Royal
flightless upon Coutts. Upon her evidence, Mrs. Clarke
says, that Captain Bandon applied to her fifty times about the
levy ; that she was teased to death by him, and that she gave
his letters to his Royal Highness ; that the communications
upon it continued Sy 17:01105 ; that the parties continued
from titne t. time to send her rn:mey ; she seems as much
aware of official reaularity as Col. Gordon himself, or any other
officer in the Ci•annander in Chief's oiiiee, and tells bins that
official rei.,ularic mita be attended to, that he should receive
certain papers tlarouali the Office in the usual way. In another
letter (No. 11), she tells C'tpta in Salaam that she itaa commu-
nicated his •praposal Ole Duke of lark ; dint she sec
him at V;sus and com,nunicate further. Now this surely
is a direct communication from the Duke of lurk to Captain

MA RCH 12.

Sandon, through Mrs. Clarke. There is no extension of ti.:e
letter of service to Germany, and yet Colonel French takes
upon himself to send parties to Germany. If there we.:e no offi-
cial documents to authorise Col. French to enlist Germans,
the inference is, that it was done upon 11Irs. Clarke's au-
thority alone. I shall have no difficulty in proving that
some of the'oflicers of Colonel French's did go to Germany,
and that some men were enlisted. The next letter I allude to
is from Mrs. Clarke to Capt. Sandon, telling him the Duke was
very angry about the levy, that the last time he saw him he
promised him SOO Germans, and he had not raised one, &c.
ithout further commentary, I OWE this is sufficient prOof
that in the German levy, Capt. Sandon had failed, and did not
get the numbers promised to Ills Royal llighness, which he
could not have known hut through Mrs. Clarke. In addition
to the evidence of Dowler, I think there can he no doubt On
the mind of any one that Mrs. Clarke did possess influence with
the Catninander in Chief, and that in this levy she used it.
The next question is, whether it was known to the Corn:.
mander in Chief that. she received pecuniary compensa-
tion ? Mrs, Clarke says she did communicate this circum-
stance to His Royal Highness. The differs:it sums of money she
received were not sent at any particulaY :ime, bat were sent at
any time and in any place. Noy t.::e expenditure of Glou-
cester-place and Weybridge cireied on w ithout
His Royal Highness's kno‘sie.d,-.;.5.—..:at = s%all now call the
attention at the House to ;he evitie...-,ee (pt. Miss Taylor. She
was present, and heard r. e:nversation hetween Ilia Royal
Highness and Mrs. Clar:tc, Lo jail Highness said he
had been constantly sritn Creach's levy. How does
h<: behave to you, doi-Pt,; not very well.'—Master
French hod better mind Ss br cut him up and
his trey too r Airs. (lac!: • qa:es t:iat sho received five hun-
dred pounds on this account, w:.:ch afterwards went in part
payment in a service plate : is corroborated by Dockw ray
anti others. It app,..ars Colonel French's letter of service
was on tne Sth A p,ll anal „hat the plate was purchased on the
Sth- Now no atftnipt h..d been mad" to prove that at that
time Mrs. Clarke did receive any sum of 500/. from the Duke of
York; and it is certainly clear that. His Royal Highness must
have heea aware of her having paid the 5001. to Ilirkett for
plate, from the circumstance of his giving his hills for thes
balance.—The next 'point arises out of Official ' Documents
relating to French's levy. By his letter of service in 1501, he
was expected to raise 5000 men; hut to discontinue the levy if
4000 Were not raised and passed in nine months. In seven months
they had not raised beyond two hundred men ; and contrary to
the usual practice, and in violation of the regulations, indulgence
is r,rauled, and the bounty incceased from fifteen to seventeen gui-
neas. A remonstrance *was sent to the War Office, by General
Taylor, Inspector of Recruits in Ireland ; and from Lieut-Col.Ro-
binson; of the London District, after making several direct
charges, stated, that Colonel reneh's levy was without a man.
This Report is sent to the Commander i 3 Chief's Otliee, but in-
stead of stopping the leVy, nothing but Mrs. Clarke's influence
could have induced his Royal Highness, having such a Report
laid before him, to continue the levy. But being coovineed of
the truth that the country was pay ing at the rate of 'JO/. per
man, how could hiS Royal Highness, with this long detail anti
positive assertions upon the suldect,. have let this system go on
in direct contradiction of the letter of Service, and against the
interests of the country ? The next letter upon this subject hi
front General Whitelocke to Colonel 'Taylor, submitting the
propriety of discontinuing the levy, and calling his Royal High-
ness's attention to it ; when it appeared, that out of 4000 men,
only 219 men had been raised in seven months; and It strikes
me, that unless General IS' hitelneke had interfered, 'the levy
would never have been stopped at all. 'Pants was a s. ry
mild proceeding of his Royal- 11 ighness to wards this man w ho
was protected. by his 'mistress! And is there a Gentleman who
hears me who will not be convinced, that if he had not this
extraordinary prot•mtion he would, not have so long dis-
graced tiw service, and he would have long since been dis-
missed with the dis4raee be merited ?. From the evidence en'
at the bar, and from the documents upon the table, it appears
e%ident, that for every guinea Mrs. Clarke received the people
paid eighty pounds! The best case is that of Major 'font u,
which is proved by Mr. Donavan, and corroborated by Captain
Stnalon and others, that 5001. was to he paid in the first
instiotee to IV.rs. Clarke, and that Mr. Donovan was to
receive twenty-five pounds for his agency.—Mr. Wardle.
Oen ::rt-;tietl, front the whole of the proceeding, in this case, it
tas evident that, notwithstanding he was powerfully recom-
mended by two mei itorious officers, (A orals Burrard and Clime