To fees are often added the corruptive agency of gratuities, so that when an income arises from the former it is hardly possible to fix the amount; depending, too, a good deal on the cupidity or liberality of the fee-gatherer. We wonder who this Mr. Waters can be, and what can be the nature of his duties to entitle him to tax the king's lieges, suing for justice in the highest court, to the tune of £2169 per annum. Watlington, G. prothonotary of court common pleas Late clerk in tax-office Watts, E. consul at Carthagena•• ... Webb, W. deputy commissary-general, half-pay, 1822 commissioner for valuation of houses, Dublin Wellesley, marquis, pension from the East-India company .... Late joint chief remembrancer of court of exchequer, The Wellesleys derive a greater revenue from the taxes than any other family, and since Mr. Pitt first introduced into official employment lord Mornington, they cannot have received, in grants, salaries, pensions, and sinecures, less than two millions of the public money. But how can we complain of the income of the duke, or of his brother, both eminent for their exploits; while there are bishops with £20,000 or £30,000 a year, and legal sinecurists with £10,000 or £12,000 per annum? The following piece of information appeared in the Limerick Chronicle:-The marquis W. late viceroy of Ireland, has seventy-two sons, all provided for by the public." The "Hero of the East," as the conquerer of Tippoo Saib used to be styled, has certainly been viceroy of Ireland, but the intelligence cannot refer to him; for, though his lordship has been twice married, he has no issue by either union. It is, we know, a very general complaint that scarcely any person without family influence and born in lawful wedlock, can obtain a situation in the public offices, owing to the numerous illegitimate progeny of the "order" claiming to be provided for. Wellington, Charlotte, pension on civil list, 1800 ... Wellington, duke of, pensions out of consolidated fund Colonel of rifle brigade... Colonel of 1st regiment of foot guards Lord-warden of Cinque ports ••• Interest on grants by parliament.. Some oversight, some providential mischance, generally brings the guilty to judgment. The oversight of the Wellington ministry was the King's speech, and the comments thereupon by his highness of Waterloo. The Duke bas since attempted to qualify the fatal declaration against parliamentary reform, by dividing himself into two parts--one ministerial, the other individual, and holding out a hope of something better for the future, in case of a second trial of his civic talents. But it is of no use: the objection is to the entire £2600 3114 1331 400 2100 267 560 800 560 5000 2436 5387 115 8926 950 238 2695 295 35000 mass the history of the Duke-his connexions-the past deeds and capabilities—the foreign and domestic proceedings of the confederacy to which he belongs. In his foreign policy the Duke is the steadfast partizan of the Turk, Don Miguel, Ferdinand, and the Holy Alliance; in his domestic policy he belongs to the Tory faction; that besotted crew of plunderers, possessed of neither common sense nor common honesty, and whose demon ascendancy of forty years has entailed on the empire all its calamities. Agreeably with the views of this party the Premier had prepared to open the Parliamentary campaign. Retrenchment was to proceed no further; the principle of free-trade was not to be persisted in; judicial, ecclesiastical, and above all, parliamentary reform, and every thing new or novel was to be repudiated and discountenanced. Abroad the continental system was to be upheld-the vile treaties of 1815 maintained inviolate-and after a million of bayonets had been silently assembled on the Rhine, the Moselle, and the Adige, the kingdom of the Netherlands forcibly re-established, and the liberties of Frenchmen subverted by another victory of Waterloo. Such was the train of mischief laid by the Field Marshal! one hundred millions more were to be added to the Debt-the dead weight doubled-and Europe deluged with blood, that half-a-dozen crowned conspirators might be guaranteed in their usurpations over the liberties of the human race. And what averted these calamities? It was the spirit of the People acting on the fears of parliament. Such was the deep and universal feeling of indignation excited by the royal speech and the declarations of the Duke, that we are not sure both monarchy and aristocracy would have been laid in the dust, had not the premier made a timely retreat. Perhaps his abdication was not the most favourable issue: had the Captain been allowed to follow up his mad resolves, it is probable, from the pervading spirit of the continent, Germany, Italy, and Prussia, would have been free by the discomfiture of their tyrants in open battle; but the day is not far distant, when that emancipation will be effected by reason and example, which the insane arrogance of despotism failed to accomplish. The Duke being naturally shrewd and selfish, and mostly judicious in his conduct, it is surprising how he could adopt such a mistaken course of proceeding. Would none of the parasites, pensioned dowagers, and demireps, who haunt his steps, open his eyes? Even sir R. Peel might have told him England is not in the state it was in 1793 -that there has been a complete revolution in public sentiment— that an individual is hardly to be found who is not convinced of the blunders, profligacy, and mis-government of the last half centuryand that all classes-rich and poor-are either dismayed by the overwhelming embarrassments of the system and quiescent in its defence, or the open and determined partizans of its thorough reform. Under such altered circumstances what a brainless project to think of reviving the Pitt system-resorting to Algerine acts-appealing to persons of property-and coercing the entire population, the most favourably disposed portion of which is resolved to be neutral, and all the rest in tierce and determined opposition! It is hardly worth while inquiring now how far lord Wellington participated in the plans of the miserable Polignac. The wretched outcasts would not have sought refuge here had they not been previously apprised of the spirit of those who presided over the public councils. Subsequently the ex-Premier was pleased to designate the glorious three days a "bad example," -an opinion, no doubt, he shares in common with prince Metternich, and the autocrat of Russia. France had not much to gain by her immortal triumph; she had only to defend, not to conquer free institutions. Her first revolution had swept away an oppressive tithe system, a privileged noblesse, a feudal game-code, and a plundering and barbarous judicial administration. Would to God our revolution of 1688 had done as much for us, and then we should not have had still to struggle through the Augean stable of aristocratical, legal, and ecclesiastical abuse ! We shall leave the Duke with a fervent prayer that he will never again be premier of England. His ideas and sentiments are wholly alien to the happiness and liberties of Englishmen, and we verily believe his return to power would be the signal for a general rising throughout the United Kingdom. West, Robert B. clerk dead letter office, Ireland, 1800 ... West, F. N. escrivans to the court, Trinidad .... £184 184 1821 West, G. clerk in treasury, and for making special payments 1100 800 1868 .... 923 105 386 Westmeath, countess of, by act of parliament (Irish) ....... The Westmeath (Nugent) family have been singularly unfortunate in matrimonial engagements. The late earl of Westmeath, married for a first wife Marianne, niece of the first earl of Clare, by whom he left the present marquis of Westmeath. This marriage being dissolved by act of parliament in 1796, the earl married in the following year Elizabeth Emily, daughter of the second marquis of Drogheda. Both wives we believe survived the earl, who died in 1814, and we are uncertain whether the countess in our List, whose pension is charged on the consolidated fund, is the lady Marianne of the first or the lady Elizabeth Emily of the second nuptials. We are also ignorant of the public services performed by which the countess of Westmeath became entitled to her pension. Nor are we less in the dark in respect of the services of the marchioness of Westmeath. This lady, it is well-known, obtained her pension through one of these brilliant coup de mains of the Duke, for which he is as famous about court as in the field. All however the public knows of her ladyship is that she is sister to the marquis of Salisbury, who has large estates; that she has for many years been on bad terms with her husband; that they have parted several times and again lived together, and not long since the marquis instituted a suit in Doctors' Commons for the restitution of conjugal rights! The marchioness, it appears, has obtained an appointment near the person of the queen, which we take to be a way-lay of the field marshal, that concerns the Whigs more than any body else: we verily believe no man knows better than the Duke how to post his troops-take up a position-throw up entrenchments-and prepare for defensive or offensive warfare; and we never knew the Captain to be out-generalled in these matters, except on one occasion, when opposed to the chivalry of viscount Combermere. Weir, Dr. John, late commissioner, victualling-office.. Is this the widow of the former chairman of the house of commons? or of the member for Beverley? A job in either case. Whitelow, Elinor, pension on Irish civil list, 1813................ 1000 501 177 White, W. D. clerk in the office of woods and forests, 1810.. £450 500 Whitmore, col. G. royal engineers, Malta 1195 Whitmore, T. secretary to the board of customs. 1700 Whittingham, Maria, pension on civil list, 1822 400 Is this the wife of general Whittingham, who is on the staff in India? If so, too bad. Whishaw, J. commissioner of audit 1200 Wilmot, Sarah Ann Eardly, widow, pension on civil list, 1797 311 1200 526 Wilson, sir George, master in chancery for year 1830 Wilson, major.-gen. W. col. commandant 14th royal artillery Wilkie, David, limner to the king of Scotland, 1823 Wilcox, Elizabeth, pension on civil list, 1821 ...... Williamson, D. lord of sessions, Scotland Williamson, John S. col. royal artillery, 1825 2199 509 115 300 100 2000 474 Superintendent of royal military repository, 1828 Williams, C. northern clerk in the secretary's office, customs Comptroller of the housekeeper's accounts 200 27 800 50 Williams, John, M. P. for Winchilsea; queen's attorney-gen. no return. Williams, C. F. commissioner bankrupt-court .... 1500 Williams, R. J. clerk to receiver of custom duties, outwards.. 1182 Williams, rev. J. P. rector of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica 1157 Willimott, R. distributor of stamps, excise 1000 Receiver-general post-office.. 800 Willimot, W. receiver of wine and plantation duties, customs 1436 Willimott, T. S. vice-consul and pro-consul at Lima Willoughby, T. E. registrar-general of shipping... 500 Wilde, sir J. chief justice, Cape of Good Hope The masterships are ten in number, and in the gift of the lord Wittwer, T. N. allowance as late accountant to India Board.. Wiseman, Harriet, pension on civil list, 1825 Here is another of those courtly offices, which ought to be abolished, augmenting unnecessarily the expenditure of the civil list. It is not sufficient to say these costly appendages are essential to support the royal dignity. The dignity of the crown is a senseless sound, unless tending to increase the respect and veneration of the people; impoverished by aristocratic wars and misgovernment, we are disabled, if otherwise inclined, from supporting the gewgaws of royalty and the less we have of them, the more estimable the kingly office will appear in popular estimation. Milton says, "the very trappings of monarchy cost more than the whole establishment of the most costly republics." The nearer we approximate regality to the simplicity of republican institutions, the more permanent and commanding will be its influence. We would neither deprive royalty, nor any public office, of due respect and support, but we would abridge every useless expenditure, which only promotes the corruption of politicians and courtiers. To what public purport, or private gratification of the king, are the offices of groom of the stole, master of the hawks, master of the buck-hounds, master of the 2500 4161 1150 300 100 233 2130 |