242 GRATTAN. of one year, the year in which even prodigal lord-lieute nants impose on themselves a reserve. But these parti cular instances were principles, bad principles: the attempt to increase the number of offices, was an attempt to in crease corruption, the man guilty of that attempt was not pure. The revival of an obsolete useless office for a friend, was a bad principle; and, if accompanied with extraordi nary professions of public parsimony, was a detestable principle: hypocrisy, added to extravagance! His great objection to the Marquis of Buckingham, was not merely that he had been a jobber, but a jobber in a mask: his objection was not merely, that his administration had been expensive, but that his expenses were accompanied with hypocrisy : it was the affectation of economy, at tended with a great deal of good, comfortable, substantial jobbing for himself and his friends. That led to another measure of the Marquis of Buckingham, which was the least ceremonious, and the sordid and scandalous act of self interest, attended with the sacrifice of a l l public decorum; h e meant the disposal o f the reversion o f the place o f the chief remembrancer, t o his brother; one o f the best, i f not the very best office i n the kingdom, given i n reversion t o a n absentee, with a great patronage and a compensation annexed. That most sordid and shameless act was com mitted exactly about the time, when that kingdom was charged with great pensions for the bringing home, a s i t was termed, absentee employments. That bringing home absentee employments was a monstrous job; the kingdom paid the value o f the employment, and perhaps more; she paid the value o f the tax also. The pensioner s o paid, was then suffered t o sell both t o a resident, who was free from the tax; h e was then permitted t o substi tute new and young lives i n the place o f his own; and then permitted t o make a new account against the coun try, and t o receive a further compensation, which h e was suffered i n the same manner t o dispose of. I n excuse for that sort o f traffic, they were told, that they were not buying places, but principles; the principle o f confining
