and acted upon by the DUKE of YORK, with respect to Unattached Officers, since the Army has been placed under His Royal Highness's Command.

We must state, in the first place, that, before any of the new Levies were drafted, a strict inquiry was made into the terms on which they had been raised; by which it was found that Government had taken, with Two Regiments only (the 78th and 79th), the engagement of not drafting them into other Corps. This engagement interfered materially with the general measures of Government: but it is scarcely necessary to observe, it was held sacred.

With respect to the Officers that, by the drafting and reduction of the other Levies, became unattached, if the practice of former Wars had been followed in this, they would have been placed upon half-pay for the remainder of their lives - Instead of which, His Royal Highness determined to bring them into active Service, by appointing them to Vacancies as they occurred in the Army: thereby foregoing in favour of the Public, his undoubted right to recommend to these Vacancies (according to the practice of all former times) such persons, and in such a manner, as might have best suited his own views and inclinations. His object is to render as light as possible the burden of the half-pay list. To give an accurate idea at once of the saving already made, and likely to accrue to the Public, by this generous sacrifice of Patronage, we think it right to state, that up to the first of December last, no less than 1,337 Unattached Officers have been called into active Service by His Royal HighHad they been left on half-pay, the annual amount of it would have been 84,8621. 10s. sterling, which, calculated as an Annuity, at ten years purchase, amounts

ness.

to

to 848,6251. sterling already saved to the Nation by this arrangement.

We can confidently assure those who affect to represent the Government as actuated by views of corrupt patronage, that on this and the many other excellent arrangements made by His Royal Highness on the one hand, with a view to public economy, and on the other to the improvement of our Military System, and to the ease and comfort of the Army, he has met with the hearty concurrence and co-operation of Ministers; and that the utmost harmony and good understanding have uniformly prevailed, and still continue to exist between them.

With respect to the particular measure of placing Unattached Officers not yet provided for, upon half-pay, we have authority to state, that it ORIGINATED with His ROYAL HIGHNESS, and that his orders for carrying it into effect, were notified to the parties concerned so long ago as the 15th of November last; with the assurance, that the circumstance of their being so placed upon Halfpay, would in no degree injure their prospect of being called again into active Service whenever an opportunity of placing them occurred. We are now at issue with this Jacobin Scribbler upon the pretended violation of Public Faith, and his real violatiou of all Truth.

His Grace the Duke of Bedford's Surcharge.

We had prepared an Answer to a "JUSTIFICATION" of the Duke of BEDFORD's evasion of the Assessed Taxes, published in the Morning Post of Tuesday last; but we have been anticipated by the Writer of a Letter in the True Briton of Saturday, who signs himself an Anti-Jacobin."

That

That Letter is so completely to the point, that in leaves us nothing to add with respect to His Grace, who must stand convicted in every unprejudiced eye; but we have a few remarks to make on the conduct of his pretended Justifier.

This Gentleman, who seems well qualified for a Solicitor at the Old Bailey, quotes that part of our Statement, where the Duke is represented saying that, as "he could "not be supposed to have wilfully evaded the Tax, he "conceived the Commissioners had the power to relieve "him," &c." Here," cries our Advocate, triumphantly," it appears he had no intention of evading the Act." - But how does it appear? O! very clearly, because, "if he had been conscious of such an intention, he would "not have appealed against the Surcharge."

This is admirably put, and shews a deep knowledge of Human Nature. We hope henceforward to see all Trials much abridged, and the accused believed on his bare word — because, if he is conscious of what is laid to his charge, he will not attempt to extenuate or deny it!!!

Again -"The very account which the Treasury cir"culates, shews that the Servants for whom His Grace "was surcharged," (not a word of the SEVENTEEN HORSES)" were of the supernumerary and incidental "kind." Among whom, however, were the Gardener, Porter, Postillion, and Gamekeeper, who are not usually reckoned so and if, as the Gentleman says, they were "here to-day, and gone to-morrow," we might conclude (unjustly perhaps) that the Duke is a bad Master, or that he has worse luck than usual in his Servants; but not that they should not have been entered.

Having thus completely "justified" his Grace, his Solicitor turns his attention to some "Ministerial Lords"

(whom

(whom he tenderly forbears to name) who, "to conceal "their own scandalous conduct, raise a clamour against "the Duke of BEDFORD, who, they well know, cannot "be BLAMED." Where those Ministerial Lords got this knowledge, we cannot pretend to say perhaps from his Grace's friends; but, be it from whom it may, we can assure them that they have been scandalously imposed on ; since the Duke is very highly BLAMED in every company to which we have access.

After tacitly allowing (what indeed no powers of face could contradict) that his Grace had SEVENTEEN HORSES more in his stables than he thought proper to enter, the Morning Post thus concludes its admirable. apology "The whole transaction redounds to the honour of the Duke of BEDFORD, and to the shame and disgrace of his Majesty's Ministers."!!!

Our Readers will scarcely believe their own eyes; indeed, we looked at the passage more than once ourselves, before we could be convinced that it was really as we have stated it. But on reflecting a little, our astonishment wore off. Those who, as we have already seen, can term robbing on the highway honesty, may very properly think it" redounds to a man's honour" to defraud the Revenue.

His Grace has happily found a most admirable Advocate, and if he and his friends are satisfied with the defence set up for him, we can have nothing more to say.

But we will not do the Duke of BEDFORD any injustice. We conscientiously believe he is ashamed of the Evasion, and the Justification; for except in this degraded Paper, and a thing called the Courier, composed by Madmen for the use of Fools, no other has been permitted

7

mitted to speak of them. Even "the leading Paper of the Party," the Journal of the Pere du Chene, has been taught to preserve a cautious silence on the subject; and verily on this, as well as on many other occasions, as a wise Ancient well observed, η σιγη κοσμον φέρει, which being translated in the words of DoN WHISKERANDOS, is,

" in such cases,

"The less is said the better."

MISTAKES.

"DURING the Administration of the Minister's Father, he rendered "the Board of Admiralty so very insignificant, as to force them "all to sign his Naval Dispatches, without ever being permitted "to peruse any other part of the Papers they were ordered to sign, * than the blank part where they were to place their Signatures." Morning Post, December 30.

We really must request of the Jacobins to give us their definition of the word Blank. When the Papers relative to the Negotiation were published, and they had perused our Projet, they still persisted to assert that it was a Projet in Blanks, in which, we believe, they met with little credit. If some Metaphysician of the Jacobin Fraternity would favour the Public with their definition of the word Blank, and an explanation of the manner of perusing a Blank, it might possibly throw some new lights upon the subject.

"A constant Reader wishes to be informed, whether a person who "keeps a Saddle-borse or a Footman, is liable to be assessed in the "same triple proportion with such as keep Carriages?" — Morning Herald, December 30.

This Reader seems to read so constantly to very little purpose but we presume his constancy confines his

VOL. I.

reading