§ Mr. Fullerrose to bring forward his promised motion, for an instruction to the Finance Committee, to inquire and report respecting Sinecure Offices which they should think necessary to be abolished. He began by stating, that he found in the third report of the Committee on public expenditures two paragraphs, stating, that amongst other items which called loudly for economy and retrenchment, were a great number of nominal offices under the crown, to which a very large sum was annually paid in salaries, but which partook of the nature of pensions, because no duty was done in lieu of the pay annexed. Of such places it was stated, that there were no less in England than 196, for which an aggregate sum of 142,655l. was annually paid in salaries and 38 in Ireland. There was besides a large salary annexed to the office of chief collector of customs in the port of London, which was also a sinecure. The second of those paragraphs stated, that it was impossible for the Committee to ascertain minutely the whole particulars of such cases, with out going into the examination of a long and complicated series of evidence; but the Committee had thrown the whole together, recommending their abolition. Next followed a long list, covering several pages, containing the names of places which he supposed to be those at which the paragraphs hinted; but he could wish the Committee had spoken out plainly and directly, what the places were at which they meant to point. A new Committee was appointed by the House a few nights since; and the motion he intended now to propose was, that it be an instruction to them to inquire forthwith respecting all such sinecure places, and report candidly to the House those which they should 312 think ought to be abolished. He sincerely hoped they would do so, and thus lay the ground of some specific measure, for terminating such a misuse of the public money. He had no wish himself to be forward in introducing bills: he had no vain desire for seeking popularity in such cases. If the hon. gent. (Mr. Bankes), would undertake to bring forward a bill for that purpose, he would cheerfully resign to him all the credit of the measure, and wash his own hands from all concern in it. He concluded by moving his proposed instruction to the Committee.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerhoped the House would not adopt the motion. The House had heretofore appointed a Committee of inquiry, who had done their duty by proceeding on the investigation referred to them, and reporting the result to the House, leaving it for the House itself to adopt any measures thereon that might appear eligible to its wisdom; but without giving any opinion of their own, as to what places ought or ought not to be abolished. He trusted that the House would not now send back the subject to the present Committee, or delegate any power of giving any opinion on it; but that the House would act by its own discretion. The hon. member (Mr. Bankes) had signified his purpose of proposing some resolutions on the subject. He himself had others to propose; but he was decidedly against delegating any such duty to a Committee as that now proposed. The former Committee had done its duty. Its report was before the House, and it was for the House to adopt any procedure thereupon it should deem most filing.
§ Mr. Bankesexpressed his hope, that if the House had confidence in the Committee it would not fetter them by any such instruction as that proposed; because such an inquiry must occupy their whole time during the session, and postpone every other object of their pursuit. Each office would make of itself a separate case for inquiry, and the Committee could not be called on to recommend the abolition of any particular case, without accompanying such recommendation with the documents upon which it was founded. In fact, it was quite impossible for the committee to proceed with any effect in such a purpose, without coming, in the first instance, to some declaratory principle as a foundation for their subsequent proceedings such, for instance as 313 a resolution, that all sinecure places ought to be abolished. After this, all that would remain for the Committee would be, to ascertain what offices could be ranged under that class. Without this, discussions on the subject would be endless; for every member would be of a different opinion as to what places ought or ought not to be abolished. This was the principle laid down by Mr. Burke in his system of reform; and the want of such a principle gave rise to all the difference and delay in the proceedings of the Committee last session.
§ Mr. Leycestersaid, it was an opinion very generally maintained by the former Committee, that if sinecure places were to be abolished, some other means must be devised for remunerating public services; as in numerous cases which would occur, the mere salary annexed to a place would be inadequate, and therefore it was suggested, that although some might be abolished, others ought to be retained.
§ Mr. Fullerreplied, that since he could not carry this instruction to the Committee, who had an hundred times better means than he had to ascertain the truth, he should bring forward a bill, in which he would name all the sinecure places enumerated in the report to which he had alluded, leaving it for the House to retain or abolish those they thought fit. He would not allow so important an object to be defeated by a side wind; and, shame upon England, if the bill should be rejected.
§ The motion was then negatived without a division.