Mr. Humetook that opportunity of asking a question of the noble Lord opposite, on the subject of Military Sinecures. The governorship of Stirling, it was well known, was a sinecure; and as the individual who lately held the appointment was dead, he wished to know whether any one had been appointed in his place. Ministers did not need patronage to enable them to carry on the Government; and as he had always insisted on the abolition of sinecures, he wished that it should be abolished.
§ Lord Althorpwas quite aware that the hon. member for Middlesex had uniformly opposed sinecures of all sorts; and when he (Lord Althorp) sate on that side of the House, he had adopted the same line of conduct. Still he was of opinion, that the Crown should not be without the means of rewarding old and efficient servants. He did not see why the old officers of the army should not, in that manner, be properly remunerated.