happy natural disposition. The Queen has the same interest as myself. I cannot, gentlemen, conclude, without recommending to you, in the most earnest manner, and in the name of the interests and of the existence of so many families whose lives and property would be infallibly compromised, to receive the French with attention, with kindness, and the cordiality which is due to the brave people of the first nation in the universe; to your friends, to your allies, who consider obedience as the first of duties, but which they cannot fail to esteem the more, in proportion as they become acquainted with a nation, brave, industrious, and worthy of esteem, under every consideration. In whatever place I may happen to terminate my days, the name of Holland, and the most lively prayers for its happiness, will be my last words-will be my last thoughts. LOUIS NAPOLEON. July 1, 1810. Proclamation, by order of the French Emperor, dated Amsterdam, July 13. "Dutchmen. Charged with the provisional government of the kingdom of Holland, we have this day received the order of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, and Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, to notify to you, that his Imperial Majesty, hav ing taken into consideration the state of affairs in Europe, the geographical position of Holland, and the pretensions of the common enemy, has, by a decree, issued from the palace of Rambouillet, July 9, 1810. resolved, that the kingdom of Holland should be united with the French empire: in communicating to you the decree, we are also charged by his Majesty the Emperor to inform you, that his Majesty finding himself compelled to put an end to the intermediate governments, which for sixteen years have harrassed this part of the empire, the inhabitants of Holland shall be the objects of his care, and his imperial Majesty will rejoice as much in their pros perity as in that of his good city of Paris; whilst the spacious field, from Rome to Amsterdam, which is laid open to the industry of the inhabitants, may encourage them to look to the period of the extension of their mutual commercial relations in those regions, which their ancestors rendered so renowned, and which have carried to so high a pitch the glory of the Batavian and Dutch name.--We finally notify to you, that the general government will continue on the present footing until the arrival of his illustrious highness the prince arch-treasurer of the empire, the Duke of Placentia." (Signed) VAN DER HEIM. A. J. J. H. VERHEVEN. MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. SINECURE OFFICES. The First Report of the Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to consider what offices came within the parview of the 2d, 3d, and 4th resolutions of the house (on the third Report on public expenditure) relative to the abolition, reduction, and regulation of offices, has recently been delivered.The committee class the offices, coming within the purview of the resolution, as follows: 1. Offices having revenue without employment. 2. Offices having revenue extremely disproportionate to employment; and 3. Offices of which the effective duties are entirely or principally discharged by deputy.-[Excepting always such offices as are connected with the personal service of his Majesty, or of his royal family.¡ 4. Offices, the appointments to which are allowed to be sold in any of the courts of law. Of the first description of offices, the following are noticed, as those to which the principle of abolition may be ap- Value per ann. Chief Justice in Eyre, North of Trent The office of lord chief justice in Scotland, is also stated to have become a perfect sinecure. With respect to the 2d and 3d classes of offices, the committee recommend that the offices of auditor of the exchequer, 4000l. per ann. and clerk of the Pells, 3000l. per ann. should be annexed to those of president of the council and privy seal, for the time being, or any other office of high responsibility, not connected with the treasury or exchequer, and that the performance of the duties of chief justice of Eyre, South of Trent, 19691. per ann. should be transferred to that of surveyor of woods and L.1,730 300 500 753 145 200 L 3,628 forests, leaving the sums now paid to the Of the offices noticed as being per- Annual amount received by Deputy. . Comptroller of the Pipe Exchequer Clerk of the Parliaments, on average 7 years L.160 Principal. pre Principal Clerk, Signet Office Do. Do. Do. The gross amount of the reduction proposed by the select committee, is only 81,5801. a year; but even this retrenchment is not to take effect till after the existing interests have expired; and "till after parliament shall have provided such other sufficient means for enabling his Majesty duly to recompence the faithful discharge of high and effective civil officers, as to the wisdom of parliament shall seem fit." It must therefore be evident to the meanest capacity, that nothing in the way of economy is to be expected from the labours of this committee. They may multiply their reports, and make good jobs for the printer; but the only service they will render the country will be that of exposing still more clearly the vile corruptions of the state. The committee, in fact, can do no good: a reform in the expenditure is not desired by parliament; ministers will exert themselves only to oppose it; and the source being corrupt, the stream must be foul. To make such idle propositions will serve to deceive no one: to root out corruption by such petty means, is like attempting to fell an oak with a bullrush. and referred the committee to his secretary Mr. HANSON, who detailed the duties in a long letier, from which it appears that they consist chiefly in issuing warrants to the keepers of the forests "to seize and destroy all dogs and engines, and also to seize all wood, peat, turf, gravel, stones, and minerals, which are attempted to be taken away by depredators." For these very important services, the chief justices are only paid 45661. a-year.-THOMAS DAVIS Lame, Esq. law clerk in the secretary of state's office, with 3001. a-year, had been told there were duties, but had never been able to ascertain what they were!-The Duke of MONTROSE, lord justice general in Scotland, apprehended that the duties of his office were to preside in the court of justiciary: he had sat once at Edinburgh, but he had never been called upon to attend. His grace had held the office for 15 years: his salary 20001. a-year!-The Duke of GORDON keeps the great seal of Scotland, by deputy, for which he is paid 3500l. a-year.-The Earl of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, clerk of the common pleas office in the court of exchequer in Ireland, performs his duties entirely by deputy, and is paid 11,0941. a-year.-Lord Viscount MAHON, veyor of green war, also performs his duties by deputy, and is paid 2601. per annum. Lord Viscount MELVILLE, keeper of the privy seal in Scotland, 31071. and also an annuity of 1500l. so long as he holds the office; his deputy, who performs all the duties, has never had occasion to refer to him since he held the office.-Lord ROBERT SEYMOUR, prothonotary in the Irish court of King's Bench, never executed any of the duties of his office in person, but presumed that he might execute them all his salary was 12,5111. a-year.The Hon. THOMAS KNOX, prothonotary of the Irish court of common pleas, with a salary of 10,023). had never been called upon to perform any duties in person.-The Earl of ROSLYN, director of the Scotch court of chancery, with 15281. a-year, performs none of the duties in person.-The Marquis WELLESLEY, chief remembrancer in the Irish court of exchequer, performs no duties personally; his salary is 42011. a-year. -The Hon. CHARLES WYNDHAM, clerk of the inrolments in Jamaica, executes his duty by deputy, and receives 25001. per annum.-THOMAS LOWTEN, Esq. deputy to the clerk of the pipe, the la But there are some things contained in this report which are both amusing and instructive. Many of the noble and gentle holders of sinecures were called before the committee to explain the nature of their offices, and some of them cut a most pitiable figure. The venerable GEORGE ROSE, who receives a clear 4,9461. a year as clerk of the parliaments, which office is performed entirely by deputy, being asked whether any inconvenience would arise from the abolition of his office? replied with much modesty, "I feel a difficulty in expressing an opinion upon that subject!" No doubt he did; and it was really a most ungenteel question.-The chief justices in Eyre, North and South of Trent, Right Hon. J. C. VILLIERS and Right Hon. T. GRENVILLE, did not seem to know even what the duties of their offices formerly were. Mr. VILLIERS apprehended that the office embraced the jurisdiction of the King's forests: he could not " undertake to say that no inconvenience would arise from the abolition of an office of great ancient dignity and legal jurisdiction: but, as I have before stated, it has not been exercised with any utility in my time."-This is at least candid.-Mr. THOMAS GRENVILLE was as much at a loss as his colleague, VOL. VIII. S sur bour of whose office, he says, is very great, receives only 1001. a-year; but this disinterested lawyer undertook it more out of regard to the late Duke of PORTLAND, than with a view to emolument.-Mr. WM. STUART Rose, clerk of the exchequer pleas, never performed his duties in person: his salary last year was 15401-The Right Hon. THOMAS STEELE, King's remembrancer in the court of exchequer, with a salary of 16331. per annum, performs his duties by deputy; he was not aware that any inconvenience would result to the public from the abolition of his office. The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM and Earl CAMDEN, as tellers of the exchequer (mere sinecures) have upwards of 23,000l. a-year each! The brother of the prime minister, Lord ARDEN, seems to have held the committee in tolerable contempt. His lordship, when called before them, refused to answer a single question respecting the office he holds of register of the admiralty court. His office, he said, was a freehold office, and he " ought not "to be called upon to furnish any infor"mation which may be made use of to "the prejudice of his freehold rights." They might, however, examine bis deputies ! - The committee appeared well satisfied with his lordship's condescension; they did as he advised, and found from his deputies that his lordship never performed any of the duties of his office in person,that the deputies had a good deal of work to do,-that his lordship generally has a balance of about 200,000l. in his hands,-that he gave no security, and that his salary amounted to 46,3741. a-year, during war, out of which he puts into his pocket the cleat sum of 20,3531.-No wonder his lordship does not like to answer any questions which may disturb his "freehold rights!" But the taking of this enormous sum is by no means the master evil. Lord ARDEN is Mr. SPENCER PERCEVAL's brother; Mr. PERCEVAL is his Majesty's prime minister and adviser; he is to succeed his brother in this office, which does not yield a sixpence during peace, yet produces, while the war lasts, the stupendous sun aborementioned. Is there a man breathing who does not see the pernicious consequences of such a system? Who can believe that the prime minister, or his brother, can ever sincerely desire a peace? Supposing that these gentlemen are as disinterested as most men, (and that is supposing a great deal), is it in human nature entirely to resist such a temptation? No; the whole system is radically vicious: while ministers have every thing to get by war, and every thing to lose by peace, it would be stupidity in the extreme to suppose that they will ever, in sincerity of heart, enter upon a pacification.-Such is the melancholy state of things; a radical REFORM can alone help us, and unless the people are unanimous in their call for it, that reform will never take place. The influence of the court increases with our taxes : in parliament, there are already too many place holders and placehunters, to give us any reasonable hope that it will ever aid the great work; and if the degrading and dirty traffic in boroughs is to be persisted in, the house of Commons must soon become a mere congregation of courtiers-a kind of Noah's ark, that delectable assemblage of unclean beasts. THE LATE MR. WINDHAM. [From the Examiner.] "De mortuis nil nisi bonum” was a maxim very well altered by Johnson into "De mortuis nil nisi verum."-To speak nothing but good of the dead would put an end to all reasoning from example, not to mention the strange predicament in which it would place us by making it a shame to abuse Henry the Eighth, Borgia, or even Nero and Domitian; for if death is in itself a merit, those who have been dead the longest must have the greatest claim upon our respect. On the other hand, to speak nothing but truth of the dead is an admirable rule, as just to the departed as it is useful and honourable to the living; it anticipates the reward of good ambition and the punishment of bad; it gives history its beauty, strength, and utility: and, indeed, were history and biography to cherish this maxim above all others, we should almost be enabled to do without experience. Such a liberty is of the more importance, inasmuch as it is very often the only satisfaction which a nation can obtain for the vices of its princes and politicians. A monarch shall rule his country as foolishly or as viciously as possible, and yet we shall have a thou |