Star.
London, England, 1827-05-15 00:00:00

,

.

I%rni*,&

amounted to only 75,0001. a year; it bad been raised
by the new scale adopted le 015ato 133.0091 The
expense of Consuls had also biress raised at that time
from 0:0001:16-'60,000L a year, whilst that of the whole
Diplomatic Establishment,- which generally did not ex
teed 120,0001. had in one year reached 424,0001.—
Amongst the items at the time, he found that Lord
Stewart had exceeded'his yeerie elloWanee by 5,1001
that he had 8,.5581. alleseeteeriert besides fer.4lkbanges
and other lames, and 4791. fora inatney to Mantua...,
Lord Cathclit also had similar cite* alloWlieces, to the
amount of 4.000 L in one instance, and of 8',9701. in ano
ther. Then came a long list of presents to the Russian
Ministers and Diplomatists, which Came in the whole to
12 9144. He also conceived that the arrangement by
which the pay of Consuls was transferred out of the
Consolidated Fund to the general supplies of the year,
was an arrangement injurious to the public, s only
served qs a bounty to extravagance. When the pay of
Ambassadors was4/3301. instead of 12,0001. a year,the
situations were not worth the exercise of patronage ; but
now they all belonged to the connexions of Members of
Pat liatnent. And what was the result of this increased
expense to the country? Did her influence also increase ?
No; it was as great when the pay was small, as it is
now. Our influence in the former case had re-estab-
lished the Statholder in Holland ; it extended over Italy,
and Germany—but since that period we had delivered
up Genoa, the Notth of Italy, and Norway, to, three or
four great Powers. The consequences of this *waste of
the public money would be more deplorable than those
of any 'sum spent on any purpose whatever. He com-
plained that the motion did pot gcrfar enough. It only
'refit down to 1817. whilst it ought to go back to 1814
and 1816. The Noble Marquis had alluded to the dis-
gusting concubinage, from which he expected a monster,
horreedent, iftforote to be born. Nay that monster was
not yet formed, it was a kind of abortion. But the
Noble Marquis was too gedtle; be did not know how
to kill monsters.—Let hem take a lesson fiont a Rev.
Minister, who, last wen, at the Meeting of the Hiber-
nian School Society, like a modern Briarens, wished that
be had an hundred hands, and each had a sledge ham-
mer, to beat down that monster, the Catholic Religion.
That was the way of the Protestant Briareus, who had
more strength than sense. Let the Noble Marquis look
amongst the young men in the ranks of the Opposition,
and he would, perhaps, find some Briareus more capa-
ble of attacking and destroying the present monster of
art Administration than himself.
The Earl of MALMESBURY stated,rhat the sala-
ries of Ambassadors, before the rise, were wholly in-
adetteate to support the dignity of their situations, and
that it bad been a master to increase settle of them.. -
Earl DARNLEY defended the part which be had
taten in support of the present Administration. He had
had the pleasure of knowing the First Lord of the Trea-
sury some years, but be did not stand there to vindicate
every act of his life. It was enough for him, knowing
the position in which his Sovereign had been placed by
the desertion of a large portion of his Cabinet, to find
that he bad been called upon by his King to form an
Administration. Approving as he did, in common with
his Noble Friends on that side of the House, of his po-
. litical conduct, he had no hesitation whatever, under
the circumstances of the case, to give that Right Hon.
Gentleman his humble support. He admitted the ex-
istence of great difficulties in the state of public affairs ;
but on an important question, the good sense and mo-
deration of the Catholics, together with the violence of
the Opposition, had reconciled him to a temporary
postponement. lie was convinced that the. Noble
Marquis (Lansdown) whom all mankind acknowledged
fittest to lead the Councils of this country, would never
do anything tending in the least degree to diminish his
power of being useful to the country. He had been
reproached with vulgar love of office; but what motive
could influence him save the conviction of being able by
his conduct to serve his country? A Noble Earl op-
poaite had given notice of a factions motion. He calla
it factions, because be defied him to prove that it was
made with any other view than that of embarrassing
his Majesty's Government, and a motion for that pur-
pose could only appeaeto him in the light of a Factious
one. He hoped and believed that on reflection the
Noble Earl would abstain from bringing it forward
bet it only shewed how, in the irritation of the moment,
twee's minds might be warped by their feelings. The
Noble Earl then lamented the eagerness and haste with
which a Right Hon. Gentleman who lately filled the
situation of Secretary for the Home Department had
joined a factions Opposition, and expressed his own
intention to give his humble support to the Government.
The Earl of WINCHELSEA assured the Noble Earl
that he would take an early opportunity to shew that
hisrinciples remained the same, and that he was quite
as factious as when he last addressed their Lordships.
The Earl of LONGFORD contended, that the con-
duct of the Catholics in Ireland was not such as to de-
serve the character of good sense and moderation ap-
plied to it by the Noble Earl (Darnley). He repelled
the charge of belonging to a factious Opposition. If the
Noble Earl had never witnessed such an opposition as
the present, neither bad he ever witnessed such a Go-
vernment as the one before him; composed as it was of
men who had hitherto most directly opposed each
other. It was natural for those who were to be go-
verned to wish to know whose principles were to be
followed, or on which part concessions had been made?
A Noble Friend of his had applied the name of rubbish
to that Administration. It was indeed only held toge-
ther by the strong action of Roman cement—(laughter)
—which would prove as delusive as it was ',tactically
adhesive, and which did nothing more than please the
eye. For how could the fabric stand on a divided
foundation—one part on the shifting sand of political
instability—the other on the mountain destructive tor-
rent of revolutionary desolation? He was aware that
with respect to forcing the abominable measure of Po.
pish emancipation, several of the Noble Lords in office
would say that they had opposed it ad their lives, and
that they should not ci resent to its passing ; but as long
as they acted with those whose great object was the ad=
vanc,ment of that question, and claimed approbation
for the past, and confidence for the future ; that appro-
bation he could not concede, and that confidence he was
• loth to grant.
The Earl of DARNLEY explained. He did not
speak of the Roman Catholics generally, but of the
Idiom= Catholic Association, who had evinced their
ucquiescencein the present stave of things, and their
-confidence in their t I lends to take that course which was
best calculated to advance their cause; and would not
be goaded by their enemies to do that which would
render chat cause unpopular.
Lord MELVILLE would only trespass on the atter'-
, tionotthe House. for a very few minutes, while he re.
jetted to one point only in the speech of his Noble
friend who led. it Sat down. His Noble Friend bad