036_061.xml

Title: [[xxxvi. 61] 1821 June 20 First]

Description: [xxxvi. 61]

1821 June 20

First Lines

Constitutional

Corruption Progress

1. As to the modes of nominating these Commissioners, there are two, by the Crown or by Parliament: by the Crown: is by the Ministry in his closet, or by the Parliament i.e. by the Ministry in the House of Commons, the result being equally at command in both instances, a question that naturally occurs is, wherein can consist the difference, what is it that should render it an object to either party, that either course should be chosen in preference to the other.

To give the answer, another distinction must be brought to view. In the number of these Commissioners it is thought or not thought advisable by Government to place a Member of Parliament: a Member of Parliament i.e. one who is already of the number of their own adherents, or one who by this means is to be made so. If there be no member of Parliament all they get by the business is the confirmation of the abuse the impunity of those concerned in it, the increase given to the quantity of the matter of corruption employed as such: if a Member of Parliament who was not before of the number of adherents is put into the Commission in that case they get the additional advantage of this addition to the list.

[sheet attached to xxxvi. 61]

18 June 1821

Instances

1. [...?] Church

2. Public Money[?]

3 Courts of Justice

4. Offices in general

Progress of corruption and Abuse

1 If no notice is taken and Abuse goes on perpetually encreasing

2. If notice is taken currency is given to it another way. After reluctance real or feigned a Commission is appointed to report. The Commers are appointed by those whose interest it is to keep up the abuse and who accordingly foster it. These Commissioners are paid: and thereby bribed: the addition thus added to the matter of corruption applied is certain: the lessening the abuse in any degree [...?]

JB_126_300.xml

Title: [20 Aug 1809 + Parl y Reform]

Description: 20 Aug 1809 +

Parl y Reform

Corruption

'.2. Members

3

1

Add. Sole mischief of corruption, dependence: and dependence is strengthened by notices of honour and gratitude.

'.2. Corruption passive on the part of the {Parliamentary} Representative

The parliamentary representative /A Member of Parliament/ has for his possible corruptor as well /either/ an individual or the Minister /principal /chief/ adviser of the Crown, in general the person distinguished by the name of the Minister/: but of the two by far the most natural corruptor in this case is the Minister. Of any single vote or even any such number of votes as any single member without the aid of party considerations can command, the effect is so compleatly inadequate to every parliamentary purpose, that the /a/ Member of Parliament howsoever well inclined thus to dispose of himself could scarce hope, in these times at least, /in times such as these, at any rate/ to find a customer.

(a) In the history of parliament here and there in a very few cases you may find an instance of a member of parliament bribed by a party or parties other than ministers. But in this case the corrupted Member has been a person of great influence and the corrupting party some opulent company.

Thus in the case of the South Sea Company's bubble we find Stanhope then secretary of state receiving from the South Sea Company /authors of that swindling scheme/ a bribe in the shape of South Sea Stock i.e. annuities payable by that Company.

 Look out for other instances. See[?], The Old East India Companies?

JB_070_077_001.xml

Title: [Enormous length of each Sentence from containing]

Description: Enormous length of each Sentence from containing the whole

Preamble as one member only occasioned by the introductory form of

— "Whereas" the Attention finding no pause is wearied out

before it gets to the end, & loses the beginning the Clause is

protracted to an immeasurable length breaks at last with

it's own weight. To remedy this if a Preamble is necessary

& is to be inserted (which should only be when the reason of

enactment is not obvious) It should precede in a separate Sentence in

the assertive not Parenthetical Style.

There are some conceptions so constituted, as not to have — wind

enough if one may so say, to go through many a Period that occurs in the

Statute Book — To change the Metaphor— Of such length

in many instances is the thread of the discourse as to break by

it's own with them weight before they can wind it off

— I speak feelingly on this Article: but I believe I am not

singular: use may have succeeded practice and the habit of in

making that only difficult, which only to some to others is

impossible — I do conceive, let others judge whether it is a

vain imagination, that there are periods which from this very circumstance,

many thousands of those whom they concern are under an utter incapacity of

apprehending: — periods of which, if resolved into others in

greater number but of a moderate length, they might be perfect masters.

We may have by a kind of stealth, (as every transaction of those

— who are in trust for us, transpires to us for whom they

are in trust by a kind of stealth), a composition which all men will

be ready to acknowledge for a model of Style, a few because they understand

it's, & the rest because they know the Author. I

mean the opinion of the Court of King's — Bench in the case of

the King against Woodfall, deliver'd by the L. d Ch: Justice at the Table of the House of

Lords. note London Chronicle Dec r 18-20.

1770 & to be met with in the Magazines of that —

month I should be glad to know whether that composition has

less of dignity, for being depurated from all Technical dross

& distributed into short and manageable sentences, nervous

collected, simple [elegant] & concise.

Yet this is even argumentative. Where the business is to command &

not to argue concision conciseness is still more requisite &

— still more easily easy to be obtained

COMPOSIT. Stat. as Discourse

There is nothing to hinderBut what ever modifications are thought

proper to be annexed to a proposition may be as well distributed into

several sentences where the number of them grows unw

ieldy as — piled up upon it in one. The Logical connection may subsist unimpaired,

tho' the Grammatical be dissolved.

A Statute 3.G.2.c.14 relative to the E. India Company has a Sentence

in it which fills

3 of Ruffhead's pages: all recital but 16 lines. This is but a

trifle in comparison of another 22.G.2.52 disposing of the

estates of certain rebels for the benefit — of Greenwich

Hospital: no fewer than 13 of the same — enormous pages are

occupied by a single sentence.

BR Length of Sentences.