The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-18 00:00:00

Letter to communicate the number of the coach, and the case
generally, to any Member of his Majesty's Government.
Lord ALTHORP coincided with the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet, and state 1 that if any such case were communicated
to Government, an investigation would immediately follow.
Mr. HUNT said the man had been extremely ill, for at
half-past three this afternoon he was not expected to sur-
vive, so that the Hon. Alderman's logic was not very well
founded.

Mr. HUME said, the statement made by the Hon.
Member for Preston, implied a direct charge that
the public Board of Health had failed to supply
the requisite receptacles throughout the metropolis that
he understood it was their duty to have provided. Some
weeks since he was informed by the Chairman of the
Board of Health that in every district proper necessaries
had been furnished. From the statement of to-night it
would appear there must be some mistake with respect to
Hoxton, which had no receptacle for cholera patients.
Be this as it might, the circumstance of an unfortunate
individual in a state of severe illness, having been hawked
about the streets in a hackney coach, as this person
had been, was of itself bad enough, and he (Mr. Hume)
sincerely hoped it was sufficient to induce the Noble
Lord opposite and Government to institute enquiries on
the subject.
Mr. Alderman 'ENABLES put a question to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, supposed to relate to the fees of
medical gentlemen called upon to attend cholera patients,
but which was not intelligibly heard in the gallery.
Lord ALTHORP said he was nut prepared to give an
answer to the question.
Mr. G. DAWSON entered his protest against a vote of
5001. to Mr. Marshall for making certain statistical tables;
and also against a vote of about 9001. to Dr. Bowring
for his system of keeping public accounts. These votes
had been passed at two o'clock in the morning, when he
had not an opportunity of objecting to them. He was sur-
prised that the Hon. Member for Middl« sex at the time
had not opposed them. Had such votes been proposed two
or three years ago, he would have resisted them to the utmost.
Instead of resisting them now, he said he was willing to con-
sent to any vote for the sake of Reform. Mr. Marshall must
undoubtedly be exceedingly rejoiced at the principle diffused
by the question of Reform, as well as Dr. Bowring, for
he never saw a system of accounts more boring. The
value of Dr. Bowring's claims might be estimated from a
single fact, which was indeed a striking testimony to his
unerring sagacity and that of his patrons. That gentle-
man had recommended the French system of public accounts
to be adopted in this country, instead of our own bungling
and operose method ; for, said he, " the French method
of public accounts alone furnishes a check and controul
over the managers of the public purse which they cannot
possibly break through." Anil yet what was the result of
ihat beautiful system of checks and controuls? Simply,
that some three or four weeks after Dr. Bowring had
bestowed his eulogy upon it, the chief cashier in the
French treasury became a defaulter for between 300,0001.
and 400,0001.—(Hear, and a laugh.) For 20 years
there has been hardly an instance of a defaulter under our
own so defective system, and then only for 1,0001. or so.
As to a secretary of the treasury's becoming a defaulter
for a large sum, it was wholly out of the question.
Mr. HUME stated, that with a view of setting the House
right,he would move for copies of documents to which those
grants referred. The Right Hon. Gentleman out of four
estimates had chosen to select only two items, to which he
could objec', those of 5001. and 9001., and he (Mr. Hunt)
felt exceedingly surprised that the Right Hon. Gentleman
should have objected to such small items, who with his
colleagues had sanctioned the most extravagant votes while
in office. The fact was, the Right Hon. Gentleman only
wished to stop the report, in order that the Reform Bill
!night be delayed, and he (Mr. Hume) conceived
that he was not acting inconsistently in agreeing to those
votes, in order that they might get into the Reform
Bill on the following day. It was strange that the
Right Hon. Gentleman, who had sanctioned an expendi-
ture of 40,0001. for a noble arch, and had expended
200,0001. without the sanction of Parliament, should now
come forward to oppose such small grants as those of
NO/. and 500/.—(Hear. )
Lord ALTHORP was ready to admit, with respect to
the vote to Mr. Marshall, th ,t the principle of appropri-
ating any portion of the public money as a reward for in-
dividual industry, which in itself was productive of emo-
lument, was bad ; but maintained that the peculiar nature
of Mr. Marshall's labours, and their being especially useful
to the public in their aggregate capacity, entitled him to
some specific remuneration. With respect to the other
item, he must say that he did not think Dr. Bowring was
overpaid for the services he had performed. The Right
Hon. Gentleman had no cause for triumph in the escape
of the cashier with a large sum of money, for that was
entirely to be attributed to the non-application of cheques,
according to the French system, i❑ that individual in-
stance.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir H. PARNELL bore testimony to the merits of Dr.
Bowring, whom he considered eminently successful in
drawing up accurate reports on a very difficult and com-
plicated subject. In the two reports on the French mili-
tary and colonial expenditure he had proved himself parti-
cularly
efficient, and had laboured most zealously in pre-
pal ing them. His financial system, it should be observed,
by no means professed to prevent fraud and defalcation,—
it only exposed them to detection whenever they occurred.
The plan, such as it was, had occupied the attention of the
ablest men in France for thirty or forty years, and he had
no doubt that it would be found satisfactory in its applica-
tion to this country. He had only to add, that he thought
the attack of the Right Hon. Gentleman most unjustifi-
able and uncalled for.

Mr. DAWSON adverted to the observations of the Hon.
Member for Middlesex, in which be asserted that his (Mr.
Dawson's) conduct in the debate on Wednesday was en-
tirely to be ascribed to his desire to retard the progress of
the Reform Bill. This animadversion of that Hon. Gentle-
man either showed that he had been asleep during the dis-
cussion to which he alluded (which he believed was not the
case), or it furnished another proof of that " obtusity of
understanding" which he bad unhappily so often exhibited
in that House upon other occasions within the remembrance
of all who heard him.

Mr. BARING had long been of opinion that the ac-
counts of all our public departments were in a most
wretched condition, and this had been felt not only by the
Finance Committee, but by every Committee that had in-
quired into the subject.—(Hear, hear.) He conceived,
therefore, that the public money was well laid out in thus
ascertaining the practicability of introducing an improve-
ment where improvement w so desirable.