The Sun.
London, England, 1809-03-28 00:00:00

SALE AND. BROKERAGE OF OFFICES.

THE CHANCELLOR of 1110 EXCHEQUER rose for
the purpose of moving for leave to bring in a bill to
prevent abuses in the Sale and Brokerage of Offices.
The only statutes which had hitherto existed on this
head, were, he said, the 12in of Edward IL and
the sth and Gth of Edward VI. Those statutes,
only applied to the sale of the offices of Lord Chan-
cellor, and Lord Keeper, with some others. His
intention was to extend the operation of the bill to
every other office. The'reischielS and abuses result-
ing Iron) pretended influence, in the disposal of 'of-
fices, rendered a system of prevention; unpericiusly
necessary. lite influence of his present bill he in-
tended to be particularly direaed agains.t offices esta-
blished for the above purposes, and the publication
of adveriisernents holding out promises of interfer-
ence for official situations. He was certain, that if
those proceedings were traced, to,their source, abuses
would not be found to exist in that dgree..Which
would-be imagined. He had the honour some time
since to speak of a- prosecution Winch had been com-
menced against certain persons for improper inter-
ference in this particular. Were it nit that combi-
nations existed, there could. have been no prosecu=
Lion and it was on the circumstance of combination
only. that a prosecution of conspiracy. was foUnde&
If the crime had been confined to an individu'il, no
law could be found to ripely agai:•ist him. Such then
being the situation. of the law, it was his design to,
make penal any solicitatiotion the part of individuals
of money, for appointment, with the setting up of
offices for the•purpose of carrying on such (raffle,
and the publication of any advertisements concerned
in its furtherance. • He would thus ge farther than
had hitherto been dune, to punish an offence which,
every one must See stood in need of curretton. upon
these grounds he founded the Bill which he had the
honour to propose.
Lord FOLKSTONE would not objet to the motion,
but be could not help observing, that the time chosen
by the Right fronourable Gentleman for proposing.
this law was very improper. That abuses existed to
a very great extent had been proved before the
House,,and he was astonished when the Right Hon.
Gentleman said* ,that, when the matter we me
mined, it would appear that abuses had not pre-
vailed to
.any great extent. If 'he imagined that
to be the case, why. did' he resort, to.a new legislative
measure ? He (Lord F.) thought- that abuses did
exist to a very great extent ; but be at the same tune'
thought that this was an itnproper time for intro-
ducing the' Bill; for of present the. House must be
legislating in the dark. It did not exaelly know how
far the evil had gone, nor by. what means it had at-
tained such a magnitude.. This could only be ascer-
tained by examination of fkts. It had been the fa-,
shion 031 late years to multiply I3WS beyond the
necessity of the case. This was a great evil, and
the Right Honourable Gentleman was falling into
it on the present occasion. Another reason Why
the Bill should not • hate been introduced at pre-
sent was, that. there was an order at present en
1110 list for en examination into these abuses, with
at-.visas to whiCh • he-hati moved, that the Report
-of the evidence lately taken at the Bar, should
be fartherconsidered.• The Right Honourable Gen-
tleman ought to have waited for theresult of this
examination, whet; his measure might be brought
forward in the mast efficient shape. Hi 3 Lord.i
ship then adverted to the prosecution of Kylock and
Coleman, and .expressed his disapprobation of the
means taken to entrap these persons:. It was an im-
proper mode of disposing of the public money, and
in a moral point of view it was extremely obje6.
tionable, as it was co-operating with theth in that
very crime for which they .were to be punished:—
The Right Honourable Gentleman. had said, that
this prosecution. had commenced before the late
inquiry. If that were' the case, he might have
waited a little, to see whether the law, as it at
present stood, might not' afford a sufficient check
upon these abuses. His Lordship al-o observed, dis-
claiming,hewever;- any thing of ensirewto the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer,' that there was something very
suspicious in this prosecutioo, and in the Manner, in
which it hadbeen announced. to the House, for if it
bed been found necessary to call thesepersons to the
Bar in the course of the late Inquiiry, they might
hate refueed to,answer,'on the grouou of not being
obliged to say any thing that might criminate them.
selves, Ilut his main objection was, that the House
was legislating itt . the 4.1m-Ic...that it •did not clearly
see its way...4A that an tneniry ought etrviousl

take plae.!. appeafed to him besides, that this
Bill would not go to the case of such a person as
Mrs. Clarke, who 'might receive a compliment for
ber influence, which would not amount to
.such a
sale as w.uld bring the matter within the a&. IJis
Lordship :hen thought it proper to state precisely
the objekkhe had in view, in moving for the further
consideration of the Minutes of Evidence, as several
Gentlemen bad erroneously conceived that he meant
to prefer some farther charges against the Duke of
York. lie had no such intention. 'His obje6.ltvas,
that as a vast ,cene of abuse bad been discloied, the
House ought not to shut its eyes, but that it ought
to go on to probe the matter to the bottom—to
search into the abuses of all departments—and then
apply a radical and etreaual remedy for the evil,
with respetit to which it was now legislating in the
dark,

Mr. PlincevAL stated, that he bad not said that
abuses did not exist to a grew. extent. He had only
said that they did not exist to so greatan extent as .
had been imagined; and this he believed to be the .
case. With respect to the time of batwing forward
the , the House would recoiled *that he had.
given notice of his intention long before the Noble
Lord had proposed the - further consideration of the
Report of the evidence. The House, he observed.
_Was already in possession of the mode in which
these abuses were carried on ; and the remedy would
apply Whether the extent Was Alban or great. With
regard to the prosecution to which the Noble Lori •
bad alluded, he said that these pesos would
'bad an equal right to hive refused t
answer questions
that Might criminate themselves before as after the
prosecution-;-aud besides, it was satisfactory to know,
„now that they,bad. not.hoets wanted on the late in-
quiry, and therefore no inconvenience had in t.,a
arisen. As to the co-operation in the offence of
these men, he agreed that it would have been most
improper to, have tempted them to commit a crime
which they would not have committed had it not
been for the temptation. But they bad been before
going on with these offences ; and as to the applies-
non of the public money in this way, he saw no'
thing improper in it. As to the remedy not applying
fe a case like that of Mrs. Clarke, it was exactly the
sort of case to which it would apply most particuktrly.
Mr. PARXELL said n few words iu general con'
currence with the Noble Lord whojkist sat down.
The ATIORNCY-GESLRAL was of opinion, that
the Bill was by no means retrospe&ive.
The question was put, and leave given to bring in
the Bill accordingly. ,
Upon the Motion of the Loan A/11'06.11 of
ScarLANo, the Scotch Records_Aill. was read * se-
cond time, and ordered to be committed for to
morrow.

The Scotch Officers' Compensation Bill went
through a Committee, and the report was urderedlo
be received to-morrow.
The Irish Flax Seed Bill was read a third time,
and passed.
IRISH SPIRITS RILL
The Order of the Day for tire House going iatOD
Committee on the Irish Spirits Bill, being read,
Mr. BARHAM wished to know of the i.ight Hun.
Gentleman (Mr. Foster), in what manner he pro-
posed to reduce the duty upon spiriti iu !salami
The operation of the Right Hon. Gentleman's ine4-
.sure had, lie said, gone so far already,, as toproduc°
a redu&ion in West-India income. 0150 per cent'
Mr. Fos-rea said, that it he apprehended rightly,
the Hon. Gentleman wished to know of him whe-
ther he proposed a Duty oti Spirits, differing as to
the different degrees of strength. ..Such he avowed
to be the intention. No regard had been paid t°,
this mode of taxation hitherto in Ireland; but it was
the obje& of the present Bill to attend to such a
mode. The charge made On him as lathe reduCtiott
in West India Income was highly unfounded.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHRQUHLI could not
but imagine that the last Gazette wholly disproved,
the assertion with respea to tho West-India income;
sagas were stated in it to brirg 495. per cut.
After souse observations from Mr. BARHAM, in.
explanation,
The House went into a Committee upon the
The Report was brought up, and ordered to be re-
ceived to-morrp NV .

.I\laita Sl.:p Register Bill went through
Committee, and the Report Was ordered to by re•
ceived to-morrow.

-Upon the motion of Lord CASTLEREAGH, did
Militia Completion Bill was potaponed till to-
morrow.

Mr. \VIM a roN brought up Reports of the,Peusian
Duty and Irish Expiring Law Bills. The Resolutions'
were severally read, and the Bills ordered tOr a third'
reading to-rriorrow.
The Irish Provisions and Widows' Pension Bills'
Were severally reported, and ordered to be rad.,
dthird time to-niori-ol.v

Mr. WitAaTorr brought up the Local lViditfa
Amendment Bdt.—Read a first time, and ordered
tor a secood,reading to-morrow.
The b Ner Lands Compensation Bill was read a
third time, HO passed.
The Imilteepars' Allowance Bill was read a se.
Sopci 4iingt, mut ar4cretd to 44„aupialiited for toci.""
row.
doit euthrneellt
0 f,T juidratthl iee rHOorudseer
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.Artitsvzo—: Lisbon, 2 Waterford. Duss Gottcn—r"Ot
-s Ma r Aubliri, t Waterford.

PRICIL STOCKS
THZS DAY AT TINIILVL p•CI.fCK•
COIISHis • . . ..67 I for Money•

T E SUN.

SOLIM QUIS UICSILI fAislll4 AUDIat ?

LONDO AV,
TUESDAY., NIARCII 1809.

ANOTHER FLAG 01? TRUCE.

Yesterday afternoon a Flag of Truce from Cahill
arrived it Dover, vt ith a Ittisiiim Messenger. irn•
mediately ttpon his landing he set out for London'
and arrived at -the- Foreign Office this morning.—"
Nothing has transpired . with respe& to the naturo
of the slispatches of which he is the bearer.

Capin MciatiQki, Qic the 'Success Frigate, whit

T~
•#j
P
S
s'
is

Arrived at Portsmouth, came .to the Admiralty this
morning with Disßatches from Lord CoLLTNG•
V7oob, but the contents have not transpired.
The Success left Malta on the ad. and catne direEt
to this Country. It is said that she brought two
Auitricin Messengers, which came from Vienna by
way of Trieste.

The foll Owing Ships sailed from Madras the 25th
OFtolier, 1808, under convoy of his Majesty's Ship
Albion, viz.
..Plusnix, Lord Nelson, Preston, Ceylon, Experiment,
Tigris, Glory, Ann, and Diana.
On the eed of November, in lat. 10. S. long. 89.
E. the Flet was separated in a violent gale of wind.
On the t 2th, of January the Phoenix, and on, the
19th, his Majesty's Ship AlbiOn, with the Ceylon,
Preston, Tigris, and Ann, arrived at the Cape of
Good Hope. -
• .His Majesty's Ship Albion had suffered severely,
having lost her miien mast, and thrown overboard
t 6 of her guns.
No apprehensions were entertained at the Cape
for the safety of toe other Ships.

The Surat Castle arrived at the Cape of Good
}lope the 2 vit January; tini:ect atom thenc tha 3d
September, and left there the Oartey, Royal George,
and Grenville.

The _Diana was spoken by his Majestril Ship
Leopard, at sea, the 27th December.
The Ihxford wasleft at the Cape.
The Perseverance Whaler sailed from St. Helena
for England the 12th December ; and the Eliza
al!toarrik ed at St. Helena the 30th December. •

SPani,sh Papers lo the 3d inst. and letters of a more
recent date arrived yesterday. The last intelligence
from Cadiz. was dated the loth, at which, time the
inhabitants,were in a state of tranquility, and several
'persons sitspetted of treachery were in prison, and
are to be brought to. trial. The Supieme Central
Junta had issued a Proclamation stating, that the
poles and Germans, who,: had been the cause
of so much jealousy', were men who hsd been
dragged by force into Spain by the French ar-
mies, and bad since abandoned the French
flag. The Proclamation asserts not `only the inno-

celled of the Marquis De VILLBL, but declares that

CI his Papers rAanifest nothing but his zeal and pa-
, trintisrn: stating, however, that he shall be brought
to trial, and punishment if he deserves it but, on

the other hand, exhorting the people, if the result is
favourable to the Marquii, to do justice to his in-
jured honour. The tribunal is not to be composed
of M.:tubers of the Supreme Junta, to avoid all sus-
picion of iiwour or partiality. The, Proclamation
Chilly exhort* the people to be tranquil, and to re-
pose coutidenLe in the Government. The 'MIA hl"
teresting.part, however, of tile news from Spain is'
that contained in the Extraordinary Gazette of the
Government, dated March 1, which states, that the
Duke do ALBUQUERQUa had driven the French from
Mora, 'in Castile, on the 18th, destroying many of
them,
and on the 22d had with great judgment re-
treated from adnsutgra':

WE have received some more French Papers of
the date of the 29th inst. They contain very little
intelligence 014ny importance. With respe& to the
operations in Spain, they are nearly silent, except
that they annoianCe the entrance of a part of the
French Army into Saragossa on the oth inst.

We have this day made some farther extraas from
the Portuguese Papers which arrived yesterday.—
They contain'a very' detailed account of the French
armies in Spain, which we are inclined to believe
rather.exaggerated. There is,also an estimate given
of the Spanish force, which must evidently be
founded, in a great degree, upon conjecture. The
population of almost every part of Spain is either ac.
tually to arms, or ready to visa againit the French;
but, with respett to regular troops, we do not think
tlyv exceed the numbers mentioned in these Papers..

'~

The Treaty of Peate betwe'en Great sritain and
Spain was last night laid before Parliament, and- our
Readers will find a copy of it in the last page.

Lord CASTLBREAGH last night moved for leave to
bring in a Bill for establishing a permanent Local
The speech with which his Lordship intro-
duced the Motion will, we are convinced, be pe-
Itised With the utmost satisfaaion. • He bald, there
Were Dow in Great Britain no less than 250 regi-
.ments of Local Militia, containing, upon an average,
about 800 men each, making altogether a force of
~Upwards of tgs,wo men.

The details of the attack upon Martinique will
appear in the Gazette of this evening. -
Yesterday Princess i.4.lzauent, accompanied by
the Countess of MACCELESPIELD, took an airing to
ht r Cottage at Oki Windsor.
Tile -(Avast; and paiNcEssas indisposition was
much the same yesterday; .Sir FRANZ'S MILLMAN
Was,
,bowever, enabled to leave them.
TIQ Duke of .York trausaaed business on.' Sun,
tily, with Sir DAVID DUWDAS, at hii otlice in the
llrae Cuards.