The National Register.
London, England, 1809-04-23 00:00:00

BILL TO PREVENT run SALE OF PLACES.

Lord Folkstone had a few words to say on the subject. He
observed that these sort-sof preventive bills very rarely did any
good. As long as temptations were sufThred to remain, offences
would be committed. Notwithstanding. the provisions of such
bills, the ingenuity a offenders would continue to. evade them,
at a little more ex pence or trouble. If the inquiry he had pro-
posed a few nights since had been gone into, there would have
been no occasion for the present measure. As to the othces con-
nected with the courts of law, he found they had been for a long
time regularly bought and sold, but he could no reason why
this pr:ctice should he suirored to continue. There was another
Omission, however, in the act, which appeared to him of more
material • moment. The attention of the House had been much
fixed to Last India w•riterships and cadetships, but there was
another thing of much more consequence which had not been
noticed. It was most notorious that there was a traffic for other
plAees., and also for seats in Parliament.—( Hear ! hear !)
This was a thing most contrary to every idea of the constitution,
and vet it was most notorious ; and as it was most notoriotv, -
be thought the Right [Linton:able Gentleman would do well to
introduce a clause in his bill to prevent trafficking for seats in
Parlia,aent. The Treasury was .the place where this traffic
went on• to the greatest and most corrupt extent. The Secre-
tary of tire Treasury was generally the agent in all those trans-
actions on the part of the Government, ( Ilear ! hear ! )
ciendetnen meant by this sneering to imply at doubt of hi- state-
tusat, he
,sktpuld be very happy to he allowed a committee to
exatuitie into the fact. At every dissolution of oarliament there
i%O.s an office open at the trensnry, where' the friends of adminis-
tration stated theft terms, and where persons made their bargains
on differeot terms, according to the abilities with which they
were supposed capable of stipporting the Government. This
svnQitis firm belief, anti he believed it was also the belief of the
pantie.. thought the House should correct abuses of this
tpagpitudes at. the same time that they were-passing a bill with
respect to minor offences.
Mr, Creevey said, that the Noble. Lord was perfectly correct
in stating, that-seats-in Parliatnent had been notoriously bought
and sold- by- the Treasury. Ile would say, that this-vas not
wily Ms belief, hut that it: was within his knowledge. The
Treasury not only openly bought and sold those seat, but the)
lievt in a great degree the monopoly of that
.market. If this Ao,
attempted to be denied by Ministers, he should he glad to have
the-opportunity of proving it, and he could easily prove it from
the lips of any one who had ever been Secretary of the Treasury.
It was absolute -nonsense and delusion On the public, for the
House to spend their time in considering abuses in the Commis-
sioners of the Lottery, and every oilier minor department,
when they knew, and when the public k'ww, that the greatest
of all atuscs was constantly practised b) every Secretary of the
Treasury. in buying and selling seats in Parliament. To talk
of a dissolution of Parliament as an appeal to the people was
mere mockery and imposition. It was perfectly well known
that a dissolution of Parliament was not tin appeal to the peo-
ple, but to the Treasury (Hear! Rear !) Although he had
great respect tar the last Goverment, and owed some personal
favours to them, Set he must say, that their dissolution of Par-
liament at the end of four years, like the dissolution by the
present Ministers, at the end of about four months, was not nn
appeal to the people but to the Treasury (loud cries of Hear !
Hear !) Until tie House was disposed to suppress this odious
and unconstitutional traffic, the legislating on those .miaow abuses
was mere mockery and delusion.