wagging his tail in London to Chevalier Pinto; who, he hopes soon to be able to tell us will allow his lady to entertain him as a lap-dogand when she does, no doubt the British factory will furnish some of their softest woollens to make a cushion for him to lie upon. But though the gentle beast has continued so long fawning and couching, I believe his vengeance will be great as it is slow, and that that posterity, whose ancestors are yet unborn, will be surprised at the vengeance he will take.

"This polyglot of wealth, this museum of curiosities, the Pension List, embraces every link in the human chain, every description of men, women, and children, from the exalted excellence of a Hawke or a Rodney, to the debased situation of the lady who humbleth herself that she may be exalted. But the lessons it inculcates form its greatest perfection;-it teacheth, that sloth and vice may eat that bread which virtue and honesty may starve for after they had earned it. It teaches the idle and dissolute to look up for that support which they are too proud to stoop and earn. It directs the minds of men to an entire reliance on the ruling power of the State, who feeds the ravens of the Royal aviary, that cry continually for food. It teaches them to imitate those Saints on the Pension List, that are like the lilies of the

.

field-they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet are arrayed like Solomon in his glory. In fine, it teaches a lesson, which indeed they might have learned from Epictetus-that it is sometimes good not to be over virtuous: it shews, that in pro portion as our distresses increase, the munificence of the Crown increases also-in proportion as our cloaths are rent, the royal mantle is extended

over us.

"But notwithstanding the Pension List, like charity, covers a multitude of sins, give me leave to consider it as coming home to the members of this House-give me leave to say, that the Crown, in extending its charity, its liberality, its profusion, is laying a foundation for the indepen dence of Parliament; for, hereafter, instead of orators or patriots accounting for their conduct to such mean and unworthy persons as free. holders, they will learn to despise them, and look to the first man in the State; and they will by so doing have this security for their independence, that while any man in the kingdom has a shilling they will not want one.

"Suppose at any future period of time the boroughs of Ireland should decline from their present flourishing and prosperous state-suppose they should fall into the hands of men who would wish to drive a profitable commerce, by having

Members of Parliament to hire or let; in such a case a Secretary would find great difficulty, if the proprietors of members should enter into a combination to form a monopoly; to prevent which in time, the wisest way is to purchase up the raw material, young members of Parliament, just rough from the grass, and when they are a little bitted, and he has got a pretty stud, perhaps of seventy, he may laugh at the slave-merchant; some of them he may teach to sound through the nose, like a barrel organ; some, in the course of a few months, might be taught to cry hear! hear! some, chair! chair! chair! upon occasion; though those latter might create a little confu. sion, if they were to forget whether they were calling inside or outside of those doors. Again, he might have some so trained that he need only pull a string, and up gets a repeating member; and if they were so dull that they could neither speak nor make orations, (for they are different things) he might have them taught to dance pedibus ire in sententia.-This improvement might be extended; he might have them dressed in coats and shirts all of one colour, and of a Sunday he might march them to church two and two, to the great edification of the people and the honour of the Christian religion; afterwards, like the ancient Spartaus, or the fraternity at

Kilmainham, they might dine all together in a large hall. Good heaven! what a sight to see them feeding in public upon public viands, and talking of public subjects for the benefit of the pubJic! It is a pity they are not immortal; but I hope they will flourish as a corporation, and that pensioners will beget pensioners to the end of the chapter."

Mr. GRATTAN now rose, and spoke as follows:

"Sir, the gentlemen who have urged the most plausible argument against the Bill, have not taken the trouble to read it. They say that it gives up the control of Parliament over such pensions as shall not exceed the limits of the Bill. No such thing-your control cannot be given up without express words; but here there are express words to save it here, aware of such a pretence, and that no colour should be given for such an objection, the preamble states the nature of the pensions which are to have any existence at all, such as are allowed by Parliament." This objection being answered by the Bill, I must advert to another, which has nothing to say to the Bill.

has declared

"A right honorable member the Bill to be the most exceptionable that ever came into Parliament; and his reason for this most extraordinary declaration is most singular indeed, "because it restrains the Ministers of the Crown, and leaves the Pension List open to both Houses of Parliament."-From thence he infers that a practice of profusion will ensue, and from hence you would infer that the Pension List was not now open to the addresses of both or either of the Houses of Parliament; but the fact is, that the evil he deprecates, now exists; that the Bill does not give, but finds and leaves a power to both Houses of Parliament to address on such subjects. As the matter now stands, both or either of the Houses of Parliament may address for such charges, and the Minister may also impose such charges with such addresses. You are thus exposed to the two causes of expense, the power of address in us, and the unlimited power. of pensioning without address in the Minister; and the right honorable gentleman thinks you will increase profusion by removing one of its causes the principle cause-the notorious cause -the unlimited power of the Minister, the most constant, operative and plentiful source of prodigality. In the same argument he adds, that the power of Parliament, in disposing of the public.