Star.
London, England, 1815-04-11 00:00:00

against
eaihnatetiehet the son against the father, and the
ff:cthllle; If we had taken 4pOn our-
selves to depose Monarchs, the House ought to have
the necessary information for forming their minds
upon the subject. In the last.year Lord-Cathcart
had received for his extraordinary set-vial;
and by looking into the Civil List Accounts, it would
oe seen that he had received, altogether, in that year,
or to the sth January, 1815, no less than 830,''93.
But in the preceding year it appeared he had served
his country cheaper, as he then received only £12,401
for the last three quarters. Lord Stewart had re-
ceived £15,317 for a year and three quarters Alter
adverting to a number of other items, the Honouta-
ble Gentleman alluded to a sum claimed by the Elec-
tor of Hesse, of £7550 Mr the loss of his baggage
and camp equipage in the years 1793 and 1791 e and
expressed his astonishment that such a demand was
not made during the year of. peace from 180'2 to
1803. It put him in mind of the story about a will
made by George I. and said to be destroyed by
George 11. but was afterwards found to be deposited
in the hands of the Elector, who offered trtgive it op,
provided we would pay him a subsidy : he hoped
there was no such und-rstanding between nur Minis-
ters and the Elector of Hesse, as that related by Sir
Robert Walpole. He trusted, jn conclusion, that
not any projects fora new war would be indulged in.
Lord CAS fLEREAGH said, that as mmy of
the Honourable Member's observations related to his
department, he could not sit silent. It was right, as
the expences of the Ambassadors were very large,
that the House should know what were the grainds
that rendered them necessary ; and thus would be
done away the charge of extravagance against those
Noblemen who had-received the money. They were
under very heavy expences. With respect to the issue
of money to Lurd Aberdeen, it was paid to him as
Ambassador to the Court of Austria, with a view to
take advantage of the temper of that Potentate, at
the time when Holland was about to be delivered.
Three or four thousand pounds had been paid for the
purposes required, and the remainder of the sum had
been paid fur the Army Extraordinaries of our I Tees
in the Low Countries. As to the sum received by
Lord William Bentinck, a portion of it bad been ap-
plied to the raising of what • was called the Italian
levy. Respecting the Elector of Hesie,the Honour.
able Member appeared to have raised a ghost, which
had very much disconcerted him. The old story he
had quoted bore no relation to the transaction iu ques.
tion ; for the sum demanded had been esteblished be-
fore the Auditor of the Army Accounts, and it was
a mere transaction of office to pay it. Respecting
the payment to the Duke of Wellington, the reason
why the Honourable Member did not find it in the
accounts before him was, that it had nothing to do
with them. Hereafter it would be found in the Civil
List Accounts. The essential part of the accounts
to which be should. allude, was that which related to
'he expenditures of Military Officers who were En-
voys abroad. The Honourable Member should take
into his consideration that Ow Officers had a double
sum in their civil and military capacities. Out of the
.sums which these public Oilkers do receive, they are
taxed to the amount of one fourth, by the difference
in the course ot exchange, being from '25 to pet
cent. and when the armies were at a great distaiece
from large towns, they were obliged to submit to a
loss of 40 per cent. and therefore to represent thest!
Gentlemen as receiving the full value or amount or
their salaries was wrong. It would be more fair to
say that they hid not one half of the amount against
their respective names. Tile sums standing against
them not only covered their own expences, bat the
whole expences ot the missions. In L ird ekewart.'s
account of £12,635, only 4'289 ought to be v.aist-
dered as his personal expences. He must d ciare, in
justice to the Nobleman in question, that the mu )si
painful part of his duty WAS to see toe servants of the
country abrcad exposed -to the utmost difficulties to
keep within their incomes. In tact, it was absolutel:
ruinous to a man's private fortune, to be employed
in a diplomatic capacity. The military 011ieers who
formed the subject of the Hort:ell-Ale Gentleman's
remarks, were in situations pectiii rrly expensive. They
had to keep a table at heed quarters ot tire most ex
pensive description. As far as he had been able to
look into the accounts of Lord Stewart, he had no
occasion to complain of the result of tail accounts, for
he had reason to know the great expense he was put
to for horses and other incidents. As to Lord Cade-
cart's accounts, he had nut been in possession of them
long enough to investigate them ; but they had not
the same causes to regal to them, as operated upon
the others. On the whole, he must declare, that it
this country had not instiuments enough abroad to
understand what was going on, her interests must
vitebly suffer. He could speak a little to the ex-
pences necessarily incurred by the Ambassadors Iron,
his riven experience at Vienna. In that capital,
from so many Soveteig :5 and their Courts ming
assenteled, a complete revolution had taken place
in the prices of things, and the expense of living
was in consequence inconceivably great. He
mntioned this net from a wish to prevent the
items in question from being enquired into, but to
prove that it was a delusion to suppose the sums
which appeared in the estimates against the names of
the persons so emiloyed in the set vice of the country,
were really received by them for their own emolu-
ment. A Plenipotentiary or Ambassador at a loreign
Court, nominally receiving a salary of 45200 per an-
num, reduced by taxation ss. in the pound, and
further diminished by the loss on the exchange, fre-
quently found his income brought down to a sum on
which (where they were) a Gentleman could hardly
live in the most complete obscurity.
Lord PROBY complained of the abuses in the
Commissariat department. During the late war in
the Peninsula, the country had regularly paid one
dollar per mule for a day. The current price in the
country had been half a dollar per day, and the tra-
veller did not maintain the muleteer or the mule,
while Government, payiog double the ordinary price,
had both to provide tor in the Commissariat. The
whole system of the Commissariat was most abomi-
nable. No man could have an idea et the profusion
with which the public money was lavished in that
department, who had not served in the armies to
witness it; yet he had heard it publicly asserted by
.one person connected with it, that economy was the
ruin of the public service in the Cointnissariat.
• Mr. GORDON criticised various items in the
estimates r he noticed the sem of 82000 paid to
Rear-Admiral Freemantle, for conveying and enter.