New-York tribune., 1878-07-06
GAIL HAMILTON---D. B. EATON.
PHI AND TIE PERorIsIrEs.

trust at least WhlCn l. hOlu DS apOStOlc succession
that which cOmeth upon me daily, the care of all
tbe churches-Civil Service Reform seems to have
sven me the slip and betakcn itself to the Louisiana
sane-brake TO die the death. But though a ieering
world NAV only fling stones at the spot-tho very
uClv spot-where it disappeared, Mr.. DOrman b,
Eaton will am sure have sufficient respect for
tbe deccncies of life to stand by until shall
have performed the rites of sepulture.
When | left profane for sacred history, Mr.. Eaton
was in the act Of claiming Mr.. Edmund Burke as
coaborer in the great of Civil Service Reform
He Joins Pitt also with Burke in the practice OF
"disinterestcd craftsmanship" against the par
tisans and spolsmeD." He speaks of Pitt as having
refused the rich perquisiteS which vicious Civil
Service system attached TO Office" and so become
the prey to the rdlcule of the detracors of dsin-
terested craftsmanship" The peTquistcs which
Pitt and Burke refused are worth looking at and a
slight glance at Mr.. Pitts life will show again how
utterly, though perhaps guoranty, Mr. Eaton ms
reads history in the attempt to buttress his own
reform.
Before Mr.. Pitt was twenty-three years DID, the
Wee Treasuryship of Ireland was pressed upon
him. 1t was an office of light work and
high pay the salary beng no less than
$4,000 a year; and it had been prcv-
ously held by his father. Mr.. Pitt refused 1t
for the sagacious and spirited, but hardly disinter
ested" reason publicly avOwed III the House of Com
mons Il feel myself bound TO declare that never
would accept subordinate situation" 1t not
good enough for the STRIPPING of twenty-five! He
would serve his Sovereign as Cabinet Minister or
not at all, and his splendid abilities and his subse
0uent career made II no booteSs boast.
1t was an edifying spectacle to the young man,
confident of his powers, declining an income of
$4,000 year and choosing to remain in Parlia-
ment on an income of $1,000. But it Is
pleasant to reflect that he had the 81, 800 in
come because when his father resigned the
seals the Crown bestowed on that father
apension-which he lived to enjoy nearly twenty
vears-of ST., 900 a year for three lives; and at
his death the House of Commons granted 100000
for the payment of his debts, and act of Parlia
ment passed aneXng annuity of $4,000 for
ever to his eardom. These little porquistes Of a
vicious civil service system there is record that
Mr. Pitt ever refused for his great father, for his
widowed mother, for his titled brother, or for him
self.
The great perquisitc which Mr.. Pitt had declined,
and which was doubtless drifting through Mr..
Eaton's mind. was the CloTkship of the Pells. BY
the death of SIT Edward Walpole, younger son of
tie great Sir Robert this clerkShip snecure place
for life worth $4,000 year, reverted to Mr. Pitt
for his disposal 1t involved seat in the House Of
Commons, and it expected and even desired
that he should take the Office for himself
Instead, he uScu II 10 eudCe NHdI LAS
been called a sCandalous pension of the pre-
ceding Administration, and bestowed it upon Col
Oncl Barre. This appointment made at once a
strong impression on the country says his .biogra
rher 1T fixed as on a rock for the
whole Of his life the character of Pitt for personal
disnterestedneSs' 1t fixed it, like his fathers pen
sion for three lives, apparently, reaching down to
Mr. Dorman B. Eaton But says Macaulay, "Never !
was there a happier stroke of policy. About urea
ties, wars, expeditions, tariffs, budgets, there will
always be room for dispute. But pecuniary
disnterestedness everybody COmprehends. 1t Is
great thing for man who has only three hundred |
pounds a year to be able to show that he con-
sideGs three thousand year as mere dirt beneath
his feet when compared with the public interest
and the public esteem
Colonel Barre also spoke Of it in a public view
with the greatest warmth, saws Bishop Iomlne'
Sr il is the act of man who feels that he stands
upon high emuence IN the eyes of that country
which he Is destined to govern" When Colonel
Barre died. Nh Addington Prime Minister and
he offered the place to Pitt, who again refused 1t,
because, according to Bishop TOmhne, he already
held one siuecuTe place of $4,000 per annum.
That he did not refuse it because he thought
it vicious perQuiste is proved by the
fact that he cordially approved its bestowal
by the Prime Minister upon his own
SON. a lad Of sixteen. have never that Pitts
refusal Of this clerkshlp was met with ndcule OF
that twas ever considered even By the "partiSans
and sposmen" as anything but fine stroke OF
policy. And | should be very glad to know Oh what
ground Mr. Eaton bases statement so entirely Op
posed to Macaulay to Bishop TOmline who was Pitts
carly tutor and most intimate friend, and to Earl
Stanhope his knSman and bographer ] should
Ike also to have Mr.. Eaton explain how Pitt was
IN any sense refoTmer by simply refusing
h,cb ln moi ODl e.
fusing, but did not III any degree disComtenancc.
What difference did il make TO the taxpayers of
England whether the $4,000 income of the PellS 1
went to one Prime Minister or anothcrf They had
the $15 900 to raise all the same The unhappy lad
upon whom it was bestowed, with Mr. Pitts concur
renee and conTatuatOn, passed twenty years OF his
sad life without word smile, sign Of pain or
pleasure-a hopeless imbece. There would surely
have been more apparent pToprety in paying the
money over 10 the haTd-wOrking Mr.. Pitt himself.
Tie simple fact Is that Mr. Pitt seems
never to have thought of such a thing as
that the perquiste was a vicious one He used the
place TO advance his own interests. 1t gave HIM
far stronger moral leverage TO bestOw the office on
others than to take il for himself But in so doing,
he threw all his official and personal influence
toward uphoding and perpetuatng the snecure, Just
as much as if he had accepted tmOre indeed, since
in divesting II Of pecunary emOlunent to himself
he digniied ii with such charm oi personal no
bity as must have tended to give It a fresh lease
Of life. But there wasnO more Civil Service Reform
in his act than there is Temperance Reform in Pres
ident Hayes's peculiar policy Of banishlng vine
with Spartan sternness from the table where he
presidcs as host, while drinking it with cosmopoll-
tan grace at any table where he sits as guest. Mr.
Pitt may Justly lay claim to the possession OF an en-
lghteued and far-seeing sef-interest and not even
his bttereSt enemies can deny that President Hayes