The Sun.
London, England, 1849-01-02 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1849,

Many a more brilliant orator and more distin-
guished statesman than the E2rl of AUCKLAND could
have been better spared by the country; for the
First Lord of the Admiralty, just deceased, was in a
particular manner eminent for his useful services.
'Without being gifted with eloquence of tongue, or
capacity of genius, he had, nevertheless, risen, before
his demise, to an elevation in public opinion not fre-
quently granted to one devoid of those noblest gifts of
the intellect. The secret of this was unquestionably
the probity of the departed nobleman—his profound
reverence for the principles of justice; his political
consistency, a consistency as much removed from
frivolity as from partizanship ; his sound and un-
ostentatious patriotism; his scrupulous and even
conscientious regularity in the performance of the
different duties devolving upon him in his mini.
sterial capacity. It was from the combination of
these admirable qualities that Lord AUCKLAND was
enabled to secure the respectful good-will of his
countrymen during his lifetime, and to cause his
name to be remembered honourably and regretfully
after bis departure. Like his friend and fellow-
labourer in liberality, Viscount MELBOURNE, the Earl
of AucKLAND bas breathed hii laqt without leaving
behind him one solitary enemy. For this alone, if
for nothing else, he would be deserving of our re-
membrance.

The second son of WILLIAM EDEN, who was in
1789 created baron AUCKLAND in the Irish peerage,
GEORGE, VfterWardS EA of AUCKLAND, W 99 born on
the 20th of August 1784, in Kent, at a farm-house,
near Beckenham. On the 7th of May, 1806, he en-
tered Lincoln's Jan as a student of law, and after the
lapse of the prescribed interval, namely, on the 13th
of May, 1809, was celled to the bar. 'Within twelve
months after that occurrence, h°wever,his professional
career was abruptly closed by a cat,strophe which
rendered him the heir to a baronial coronet. WiLL/A34,
his elder brother, having in 1810 been accidentally
drowned in the Thames, GEORGE EDEN abandoned
his position as a barrister, and was almost imme-
diately afterwards elected to succeed his unfortunate
relative in the representation :of the borough of
Woodstock. On the general election of 1812, Mr.
EDEN was the unsuccessful candidate for the suffrages
of that constituency, but upon the resignation of
General THORNTON, in the November of 1813, he
wes at once elected to his former seat in Parliament
—a seat which he continued to occupy until the
28th of May, 1814, when the death of his father
elevated him to the Upper Chamber of the Legisla-
ture. To enumerate briefly the subsequent epochs
in the life of the thceased nobleman will not be in
any respect difficult, seeing that they were neither
very numerous nor very extraordinary. In the
November of 1830, Lord AUCKLAND was appointed
President of the Board of Trade, and admitted to a
place in the Cabinet under Earl GREY'S adminis-
tration. On the resignation of Sir JAMES GRAHAM,
in the July of 1834, the Noble Lord was raised
from his previous post to the distinguished office of
First Lord of the Admiralty, which office, never-
theless, he was compelled to vacate on the expiration
of four months, Sir ROBERT PEEL having by that
time ret irned to England from the Italian peninsula.

On the restoration of the Whigs to the powers of
Government, Lord AUCKLAND was, to the astonish-
ment of almost every man in the United Kingdom,
removed from the comparatively subordinate offices of
administration in this country, and installed, in the
winter of 1835, in the vice-regal palace at Cal-
cutta, as Governor-General of British India. After
presiding over the destinies of that vast empire
throughout the perils of the insurrection at Caubul
and the vicissitudes of the Affghan war, the Earl of
AUCKLAND was at the commencement of 1842 suc-
ceeded by Lord ELLENBOROUGB. After his return
homewards the former nobleman discharged with the
most punctilious exactitude the responsibilities devolv-
ing upon him as a Member of the Upper House of
Parliament ; and ultimately on the accession of Lord
J. RUSSELL and his colleagues to power, in 1846 Lord
AUCKLAND, with a discriminating judgment creditable
to the Prime Minister, was again placed
at the head of the Board of Admiralty. The
duties of this elevated and most important
office, have ever since that time been fulfilled by the
Noble Earl, with a tact, and an assiduity, and a self-
devotion, which have elicited the eulogiums of the
most competent members of the naval profession. A
sudden attack of paralysis, occurring on Saturday,
the 30th day of December, 1848 (at a moment when
Lord AUCKLAND was out shooting on Lord ASH..
BURTON'S estate, the Grange), and terminating fatally
at seven o'clock on the morning of Monday, the Ist
of January, 1849, has brought to an abrupt close this
useful, if not illustrious, career. Among his im
mediate circle of friends the amenity of the
Earl of AUCKLAND'S disposition will be borne
in affectionate recollection ; at the Board of Admi-
ralty, where his intelligence has been now so long
and so admirably manifested, his equitable and con-
ciliatory conduct will not very speedily be forgotten ;
and in the New Palace at Westminster, among the
ranks of the Lords temporal of the realm, we shall
long miss the majestic deportment and lugubrious
countenance which formed the distinguishing traits
in the appearance of th islaborious and conscientious
Englishman.

Some of our correspondents have expressed
surprise and incredulity at a statement which we put
forward on Saturday last, to the effect "that the
maintenance of the Grafton Peerage had alone cost
the country more than twelve hundred and sixty
millions of pounds sterling, or about one-half more
than the entire national debt." Their astonishment
will, however, speedily cease if they enter upon the
calculation. They will then find that in place of
exaggerating we have underrated the amount
by no less than 30,683,955/. It is well
known that a single pound per annum
accumulating at compound interest, after the rate of
five per cent. per annum, will amount in fourteen
years to 201. sterling, and that the same will double
plus 10/. in every successive term of fourteen years.
If then we make our calculation on this basis we
shall find that 1/. per annum so accumulated will
amount in—

14 years to ... ... ... 201.
28 years ... ... • .• 601.
42 years ... ... ... 1401.
56 years ... ... ... 300/.
70 years ... ... ... 6201.
$4 years .. ... ... 1,2601.
98 years ... ... ... 2,5401.
112 years ... ... ... 5,100/.
126 years ... ... ... 10,220/.
140 years ... ... ... 20,460/.
154 years ... ... ... 40,9401.
and at 168 years ... ... ... 81,900/.
After which period the annual increase wi

amount to more than 4,0001., thus at 169 years it
will amount to 81,900+4,095+1=85,9961.; at 170
years to 85,9961.+4,2991. 65.+1=90,2961. 6s. at 171
years to the last-mentioned sum + 4,514/. 165.+11.
=94,8121. 25.; at IY2 years there will be a further
addition of 4,7411. 125.:---99,563/. 145.; at 171 years,
an addition of 4,9781. 135.=104,5321. is. ; at 174 years,
an addition of 5,2271. 125.=109,7591. 195.; and at
175 years a further addition of 5,4881. 19s.=
115,2481. 18s.; but as the pensions amount to
7,1911. 12s. from the Excise, and 5,407/. 10s. from
the Post-office, equal to 11,1991. 2s. per annum,
the total amount will be found by multiplying these
sums together, which will amount to no less than
1,290,683,9551.99 decimals. From the above calcula-
tion it will appear how very dear the family of the
FITZROYS have been to their countrymen.
If similar accounts were taken of the sums paid to

the heirs of the Dukes of SCROMBERO and MARL.I3O.•
ROUGH, the Earls COWPER, AMHERST, and ATHLONE,
and the fortunate assignees of the late CHARLES
BooNE, it would doubtless afford mueh gratification
to the oppressed and impoverished tax-payers, who

are humbly imploring a remission of some of the
many imposts under which they suffer ; it would
indeed be a satisfaction to know how very
comfortable these gentlemen have been made
at the expense of our countrymen. Exempli
gratia :—The pension to the heirs of the Duke of
Scaosonao has been paid out of the Post-office
for no less than 160 years. 2,9001. per annum would
now amount to nearly one hundred and sixty millions
sterling. The Dukes of MARLBOROUGH have also
received from the Post-office 4,0001. per annum for
140 years, or in other words, 81,840,000/. The Earl
COWPER has received 1,595/. 16s. for an equal time,
or in other words 32,736,0001. This annuity was
originally granted to one Smarm. OTERKERKER, a
Dutch General, and was made payable to his heirs,
for ever out of the Excise revenue ; his granddaughter
married the ancestor of the present Earl COWPER—
hence the claims of that Noble Lord. The Earl of
ATHLONE is the descendant of DE GINKELL, another
Dutchman, who received, besides large grants of land
and an earldom, a pension of 2,000/. per annum, that
has been paid fur 160 years, and would now (if ac-
cumulated) amount to 109,702,0001. sterling.
It is at least satisfactory to know that some
of these amounts have been expended in Eng-
land. The Dukes of GRAFTON and MARLBO-
ROUGH have always resided in the country ; the
pension to the heirs of SAMUEL OTERILERKER has
also remained in England since the marriage of the
granddaughter of the original grantee. But the heirs
of SCISOMBERG have continued to reside in Holland,
and drawn, as we hare shown, from English tax-
payers what would now amount to 210,000,000/.
sterling.
We might increase the list if we desired. We
might allude to the Dukes of ST. ALBANS,
who for more than 170 years have held
the sinecure office of hereditary Grand Fulconer,
and during that period have drawn (nominally for
salary, but for which no services were rendered,)
sums that would now amount to more than

150,000,0001. sterling. Sufficient, however, has
been stated for our purpose. It will appear that the
sums paid to the Dukes of GRAFTON would now
be sufficient to pay off the national debt, and to pro-
vide for the entire support of our naval, military, and
ordnance establishments, at even the present rate of
expenditure ; or, that it would purchase the
fee simple of England, at twenty-five years'
purchase. The heirs of the Dukes of ScHoss-
BERG might have provided for the entire of
the railway expenditure that has already taken place ;
while the payments to the Dukes of ST. ALBANS
would suffice to complete all the undertakings, ac-
according to the original estimates. The Earls of
ATHLONE have received sufficient to purchase the fee
simple of, and to reclaim 4,600,000 acres of waste
lands in Ireland—to have comfortably located 150,000
families on farms of thirty acres each, with dwelling
houses and out offices erected thereon ; and also to give
to each head of a family 3001., in order to enable.
him to stock and cultivate his farm in the most ap-
proved manner. The Dukes of MARLBOROUGH
could pay off the whole of the incumbrances affect-
ing Irish estates, and afford the country the bless.
ings of a solvent and unembarrassed proprietary, able
to afford employment to the labouring population and
to develope the natural capabilities of the natiun to
the fullest extent ; while the descendants of
SAMUEL OVERILERKER, now represented by Earl
COWPER, might construct a net-work ofl
railways throughout the island, opening the line
to Valentia harbour, and thus bringing New
York within eight days journey of London, and
making Ireland the high road for all passengers to the
western hemisphere.
The above calculations may appear puerile, but in
these days, when the entire nation is calling for
financial reform, and a reduction of the enormous

burdens that oppress and weigh down thn peopk.
they will afford fitting of the
system that has prevailed for so long a period.
None of the grants to which we have alluded
have been subjected to the control of Parliament.
They have been deducted from the gross receipts be-
fore their payment into the national Exchequer, and
their legality is, to say the least of it, more than
doubtful. What right, what scintilla jaris, had
CHARLES the Second to tax the correspondence of
Englishmen of the nineteenth century, or the beer
they drink, for the support of his illegitimate off-
spring ? It is the proud boast of Britons that they
can only be taxed by their own consent, or the
consent of their chosen representatives, and yet
they patiently submit to a charge placed upon
their industry 175 years since, by a worthless
sensualist, to remain for ever a monument of kingly
debauchery. Why should WILLIAM 111. enrich his
Dutch subjects with the spoils of generations yet
unborn ? It cannot, and it must not be. We may be
unable to obtain restitution of the sums that have
been so absurdly lavished, but we may at least forbid
a continuance of the system and remove the disgrace
and ignominy that must attach to the name of
Englishmen so long as they continue to yield the
servile tribute.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
They contain scarcely any news. The Parisians
were engaged the whole day in paying the customary
New Year's-day visits, and the PRESIDENT of the
Republic had been receiving deputations at the
Palace of the Elysee National, from eight o'clock in
the morning, and would continue to receive them
until eight at night, which hour had been fixed for
the congratulatory visits of the members of the corps
diplomatipte. The most remarkable of these deputa-
tions was one consisting of the soldiers of the Old
Guard, who, dressed in the uniform of the empire,
presented a bouquet monstre to the nephew of the
EMPEROR.

The Prince D Mcsx.owa, 'the son of Marshal
NET, has been appointed Ambassador to Berlin, and
Count WALiewsin (a natural son of the EMPEROR)
has been appointed Ambassador to the Court of
Turin.

The Count D'AREZE, the newly-appointed Sardi-
nian Minister, was received on Sunday by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs. M. D'URIVE and Da-
rEn, who are to represent the Court of Turin at
the Brussels Congress, are shortly expected in Paris.
M. JEROME BONAPARTE was installed as Governor
of the Invalides yesterday.
The National says that the steamers which hereto-
fore carried the mails between Dover and Boulogne
have been withdrawn, not by the French Govern-
ment, but by that of England.
The situation of the Ministry is regarded as very
precarious. The Siecle, which was formerly the
organ of M. ODILON BARROT, has the following
very remarkable paragraph on the prospects of the
Ministry
" We repeat with a profound conviction that in the
midst of the difficulties and snares of every kind
which menace the new Government, the only means
of safety for it is an honourable fusion with the last
Ministry. We entertain a hope that this fusion will
soon be accomplished, with the assent or rather under
the inspiration of the generous man who so nobly
delivered to his successor the Government, after hav-
ing honoured it at home and abroad by his wisdom
and his courage."
The prisoners of Vincennes are to be brought to
trial in about a fortnight.
The Presse says that the Porz will visit Toulon
but will not remain in France. His Holiness, ac-
cording to the Presse, is about to take up his resi-
dence at Majorca.

M. THIROUTOT has been appointed by the PaEst
DENT Governor of his Palace.

Count MOLE has written to the public journal, to
say that indisposition prevented his being present at
the National Assembly when the division on the salt
duty took place; but that, had he been there, he
should certainly have voted in the minority.
Yesterday being the Jour de l'An (New Year's
Day),:the Bourse and public offices were closed. At
the Passage de l'Opera some speculators assembled,
but only one transaction took place (i❑ Five per
Cents.), at 75f. 20c.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE

LONDON STOCK-EXCHANGE, J. I.
Boulogne and Amiens, VA—Luxembourg (100, VA—
Northern of France, B—Orleans and Bordeaux, 25A—Paris
and Rouen, IVA—Paris and Strasbourg, 3—Rouen and
Havre, 10.

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