The Sun.
London, England, 1822-09-10 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

MR. EDlTOR—Observing an article in your
excellent Paper upon the additional reductions
in the public Departments, I have taken the
liberty of addressing you upon the subject, thank-
ing you at the same time for the kind and con-
siderate notice which you have taken of the pe-
culiar hardness of the case.

When economy is practised, it requires a strict
and impartial eye to discover upon whom the
necessary retrenchment should fall. To strike at
these measures blindly and without consideration
is only extending the evil, without affording an
adequate relief to any part of the community.
I shall, therefore, touch upon a case that is
a glaring instance of what I have said. Besides
the stoppage of all future gratuity, and a partial
reduction in their present salaries, the gentlemen
of the various offices have another serious cause
of complaint, which is that of the " superannua-
tion fund." it appears from incontestible proofs,
that a certain per centage is deducted from their
salaries to establish this fund. Therefore, if a
clerk, incapable of fullfilling the active duties of
his station—is allowed a retirement for the re-
mainder of his days,—it is not by the public,
whose faithful servant he has been, but from the
fund to which he has subscribed perhaps for a
period of fifty years !—Upon the same rule, a
club of Carpenters, Shoemakers, or any other
mechanics (artists, I beg their pardon) might
equally style the produce of their own savings
an annuity from Government.---The superannua-
tion fund is in fact no better than a " savings bank"
of the Government Clerks. How, therefore, can
the public be said to have justly rewarded their
own servants ? A clerk seeks his retired allow-
ance from a fund to which he has subscribed !
A clerk with 2001. per annum as a salary pays 5
per cent. towards this banking establishment ;
and should a war break out another 10 per cent.
will be levyed in addition! Thus, by one method
and another, 15 per cent. may be deducted from
the helpless servant ! We may therefore have
reason to suppose, should warfare take place,
that roguery and bribery will flourish amain ;
and indeed, from my own personal knowledge,
there are several gentlemen whose interest will
bring them in again to office, and who have ex-
plicitly declared " that as no faith can be attached
to promises of reward, they are resolved to repay
themselves."—And this I know can be done,
and 'has been done ; nor can it be remedied, as
confidence must be placed somewhere—and
which, no doubt, will be abused.
It was, therefore, impolitic and wrongly judged
to adopt the system of retrenchment upon so
narrow a scale, for the whole annual amount of
what has been thus saved cannot be more than
50,0001. This is no relief to the country, though
it pinches tightly the individuals upon whom it
has fallen. Let us hope that the harshness of
this decree may be re-considered, and the usual
indulgencies once more be awarded to those de-
serving and meritorious gentlemen, the greater
part of whom have seen out their best days in the
public service, and who would be incapable of
following any profession if discharged from office.
AN OLD CLERK.

GITMALTAR7 AUG. 17.—1 t was officially known I
at Cadiz on the 14th inst.. that the largest body of
rebels remai►►ing in the Ronda mountains at the
date of the latest despatch frem Commandant lir-
reiztieta (the 9th,) did not exceed 20 men, and that
they were flying towards Jubrique and Genaguacil.
Those in Benajoan had likewise fled at the ap-
proach of some of the Government troops; but the
parson and the alcalde of the town had been ar-
rested by the officer commanding, for attempting
to deceive him respecting the place where the
factious were to be found. Zaldivar entered
Paterna with about 25 men, on the night of the
13th, and carried off the alcalde and the Secre-
tary of the Town Council: he was to march out
on the 14th, with a design to prevent the flames
of insurrection spreading from the mountains to
their province.