The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-28 00:00:00

i not fairly questioned in the House of Commons, but that
I the Crown, having to grant a certain amount of pensions
on the Cvil List, the Minister is the proper perm te
recommend to whom these pensions should be granted,
and notwithstanding Mr. Burke has said those pensions
are subject to the control of the House of Commons, I
do not think it advantageous to bring forward a discus-
sion on each particular pension, and to decide each as
party opinion would wide because those very services
might Ire, in the eyes of sonic, no services at all—they
might even, by some, be considered as injurious. Thus the
eff,rta of Sir John Newport, with regard to education
in ',land might be con i.clered by some as a great injury
to Ireland, and, therefore, it would be very inexpedient to
make this particular question a subject of debate. The
Right Hen. Gentleman has said he was forced into this
discussion. Who has forced Um into this discussion?
For myself may say that I hate been forced into it by
the persevering ettacks of the party of the Right Hon.
Gentlemen upon the late Chancellor of the Exchequer.
What is the way in which the question, whether Sir John
Newport is entitled to his pension, has been met—( Cheers)
—which, had it not been fur the Hon. Member for North
Durham, would probably have passed as others which
have been placed on the Pension List by the Right
Gentleman opposite ? Then the Right Hon. Gentleman says
there is something suspicious in Sir J. Newport's having
expressed his wish to retire in April, and the arrangement
not having been carried into effect for some time alter. I
believe I was in error in the statement I made to the House
on a former occasion respecting the letter I, hich had been
written by Sir J. Newport, in the month of April, to Lord
Melbourne, expressing his wish to call upon him with re
gar! to his resienation, when he stated he was about to go
to Ireland, and placed his resignation in the hands of Lord
Melbourne whenever he might think fit to claim it. The
Right Hon. Gentleman supposes that at that time Sir J,
Newport was useless as Comptroller of the Exchequ,r, but
let it he remembered that Sir J. Newport, in spite of his
age and infirmities, performed his duty efficiently ; but
there sees a certain period of the year when he, with other
official personages, thought himself entitled to leave of
ale,ence ; the Right Hon. Gentleman seemed to think lie
should ;lever have been appointed because of his
ereat age, but I have always been informed
that he attended most assiduously to the duties
of his office, the duties of which were at that time more
teen originally belonged to it The Right Hon. Gentle.
man, and also the Hon. Member
lierfoonr. G
ffi NVeosnttinieematelne stated
would
i
that the eee ought to have been given to Mr. Ellis. I
should have thought the Right
have remembered what occurred in the House when the
original ,appointment was made. I remember Lord Al-
thorp stating to me that if any questions were put to him
on the subject it would be must painful to him to answer
it, because Mr. Ellis was known to be a near relation of
one of his colleagues; and it would be most painful to him
to say that he could not recommend Mr. Ellis to fill that
office ; and in this Lord Althorp merely fulfilled his duty
as a Minister of the Crown, because whatever might be
the saving of expense I think a Minister ought not
to recommend a person to an office for which he
did not think him fully qualified—(Cheers)—and, Sir, in
choosing a Speaker, we did not think that we could make
some saving by appointing a person who might have a pen-
sion, but we chose that person for the office whom we
thought most fit for it; and such being the case with our-
selves, perhaps we should permit to the Crown the same
discretion. But with respect to the Coasptrolieethip of
the Exchequer, the affair was originally intended for
Lord Auckland, who then held an appointment at
Greenwich Hospital, and that he might be able to
occupy it, a clause was introduced into the Act,
empowering the Comptroller to hold two offices, but
having been objected to, it was withrawn agreeably to the
sense of the House. This was the arrangement originally
made, and it has been said that no man was fit for this
appointment. I entirely agree with that, but Lord Auck-
land was called to another destiny. He had since been
appointed Governor-General of India, and however the
office of Comptroller of Excheqner may have been filled,
I do not regret that he has been called to office in that
country over which he so worthily and successfully
rules.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) The office upon this
was offered and accepted by Sir J. Newport, and it does
seem to me that he was as fit a person as could be found
to fill it, and it is not an easy office to fill; however, that
forms no part of the present question. Having gone,
therefore, into the question respecting the grant to Sir J.
Newport, there is nothing, I think, in the charge of the
Right lion. Gentleman. Ido not think it desirab;e, as
a general principle, that the Comptroller of the Exche-
quer should look forward to a pension ; but I think the
ease of Sir John Newport, his various and long
services—his life prolonged to so great an age,
and the stale of his circumstances, do form
sufficient grounds for granting him one. The Right Hoe.
Gentleman alluded to another subject—indeed to any ra-
ther than the resolutions, in answer to what my Noble
Friend, with regard to the Government "showing fight"
noon the subject, and alluding to two questions on which
the Government were in a minority. But there was an
other question which the Right Hon. Gentleman entirely
omitted.—(Cheers.) The Right Her. Baronet who
brought forward early in the Session a regular onset, in
which the Government did not refuse to "show fight," on
which Right Hon. Gentlemen opposite produced every
thing that could be ransacked during the last five yeers
against the Government, and which amounted to the ap-
pointment of two or three Magistrates, and one or two
promotions which he did not approve of; bat I must say,
that his dish was as meagre as that of a French cook,
who was not allowed to use meat, but obliged to form his
cooking of very slender materials.—( Laughter.) Cer-
tainly, with little to say he made an admirable speech, and
produced a great effect upon his own side of the House,
out the result was, that after four nights debate he was
completely defeated in every point.--( Loud cheers.)
That was not a question of returns, not of meagre and ge-
neral resolutions, but whether or not tire present Govern•
.rent possessed the confidence of this House. That was
the plain and irteiligible proposition brought forward. 1
thought lion. Gentlemen opposite were so far improved
that they meant to say they did not mean to harass us on
little points—they did not mean to take advantage, but
:)lainly to put the qucvtion, whether the Government had
the confidence of this House, or the Tory party ? That was
the question plainly put, and to that question the answer
was unfavourable; and, therefore, the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman, or those who were now acting with him, after all
other attempts, now made that which could contribute to

hurt the feelings of an old man, who had performed emi-
nent services to his country._( Cheers.) All matters of
this kind were broughtiv
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spiritless, or however
ble
Lord might deem the resolutions moved by his Hon.
Friend, it was perfectly evident that he did not consider
the speech of his Right Hon. Friend who had preceded
him as eitln,r pointless, or spiritless, or gingerly.—
(Cheers.) It scented to have had the effect of c..orupletek
obliterating from the memory of the Noble Lord not only
All recollection of the services rendered by his Right Hon.
Friend, but of the many occasions on which the Noble
Lord himself had borne testimony to the value of those ser-
vices. He recollected having hoard the Noble Lord de-
clare that the day of his separation from his Right Hon.
Friend was the mcst painful day of his life, on account of
.he value of those services which the Noble Lord now
bought it decent to depreciate.—( Loud cheers.) The
Noble Lord had said to-right that his Right lion. Friend,
.then one of his own colleagues, had shrunk from the
excution of his public duty. Now, he would ask, was
there the slightest foundation for that assertion ?
Cheers.) Who was selected as the ass'stant of the Noble
Lord in the preparation of the Reform Act ?—( Loud
cheers from the Ministerial benches.) Was it not his
Right Hon. Friend ?—( Continued cheering.) Did the
Noble Lord now deny the services that had been rendered
Right lion. Friend ? Did he deny the merits of
ieiz Right lion. Friend as fiist Lord of the Admiralty ?
Lord JOHN RU SSE L L—Oh, no.
Sir IL PEEL—Oh, no? What did the Noble Lord
mean then, by saying that he had shrunk from his duty as
a member of the Got ernc.:ent ?—( Cheers.) Who re-
formed the civil department of the Navy ? Who v. ol
credit for the great swing which had been made in the
Navy Estimates ? The whole Government. Did the)
mean to deny the mrrit that was due to his IliAht Hon.
Friend, for having eff2eted those savings and reforms ?
( Cheers.) Oh, he was retiring the recollection of the
Noble Lord as to some of aose services. To whom war.
(lite the merit of haring relOrrinal the very department
now under consideration ? These were some of the ser-
vccs cf his Right Hon. Friend. Who was it that, beitp
burdened with 0:c labcurs of a most important office, hat',

yet found time to reform the Exchequer ? He who hit.
b,en accused of having shrunk from the execution of his
official duty had fund time to reform the whole depart.
ment which he had the control over, the issue of the
public money.—( Cheers.) Who had reformed the regu.
lations regarding the granting of all pensions for civil ser-
vicch? Why, his Right Pon. Friend.—(Cheers.) Anti
yet the Noble Lord, forgettinff all his past acknowledg-
ments of his Right Hon. Friend's public services, bar'
stated that his R'ght hon. Friend had shrunk from the
execution of his public duty. He would tell the Noble
Lord what his Right Hon. Friend had shrunkhad shrunk from noffiee—(Loud cheerirg)—he had shrunt-.
from office in vindication of his principles.—( Continued
checiing.) Rather than consent to base his
ztiples involved by cons nting t the Appropria-
tion Clause ( Lnud ehrering)— that clause by
which he (Sir Robert Peel) had been driven
from the (Ake he held at a subsequent period—
'is Right Hon. Fri, rd had shrunk from office—
( L,:ud cheering)_and perhaps it was that seeing the
place which in vindication of those prineples his Right
lion. Friend now occupied, might account, in sonic degree,
for the irritation which the Noble Lord had on this occa-
sion exhibited.—( Loud, and long continued cheering.)
The Noble Lord in the course of his speech had referred
to the pensions which ha, been granted to other individual-,
had read a list of thew ; the Noble Lord must surel
know the complete distinction between
pensions granted to
the holders of offices under an Act of Parliament autho-
rising the granting of pensions fur distinct pub is service,-,
and pensions granted (ruin the Civil List. The Noble
Lord had complained of his Right Hon. Friend for refer-
Mg to Lord Monteagle in his absence; but notwithstand-
ing this complaint, the occasion was too tempting to t!;,..
Noble Lord, and hecouH not avoid referring to Mr. Croker
in his
absence. —(Cheers. ) Although he admitted
that Gentleman had twenty veers of official service,
(Sir EL Peel) to Rey
the Noble Lord said he could not for his life
see what Mr. Croker had done to entitle him to a pension.
The Noble Lord must allow him
that if, during teat long period of twenty years, he had
.
made that remark in eMr. Croker's presence, he would
have received such en ;'.nswer as would have made him ur
willing to repeat his attack.—( Loud cheers.) But ail
these pensions stood on perfectly distinct and separate
grounds. The
power to the Crown to grant these per-
aions for length of services had been conferred on the abo-
lition of certain sinecure offices, the appointment to which
was in the Croll and in consideration of this abolitinn,
power had been conferred on the Crown of granting cer-
'7,
min pensions after a certain length of service. This Cull.
duct was rather ungrateful in the Noble Lord, who mtPt