21 Jan y 1817

Necessity Cat

{II Application} /I Theory/

Factitious dignity

12

Q. < > But supposing this source and trade of remuneration and encouragement taken away what is to /will/ become of meritorious service? will there be any probability of its being rendered in any shape?

A. In every shape the probability of it so far from being taken away will be encreased rather than diminished.

But here before I enter upon further particulars I must beg leave to make another distinction: and that is between ordinary and extraordinary meritorious service. Ordinary meritorious service is that which in the situation in question {whether} in respect of {appropriate probity} appropriate intellectual aptitude and appropriate active talent, men in general are competent to render, and without the expence or prospect of any such extraordinary remuneration may reasonably be expected to render. In general to service to meritorious service rendered to the public whether in /permanent in an official/ respect of office, or occasional as by occasional supply of human labour or goods, ordinary remuneration in the shape of pay is attached: in return for the official pay the official person engages to render all the service which he has it in his power /having it in his power/ to render he is required and expected and required to render accordingly: between the public and the individual as between individual and individual here we have a bargain made: why the individual should have any thing above his bargain /more than what he bargained for/ there is no more reason than why the public should have had any thing more than it bargained for: and there is this strong reason why he should not. When at his own expence for service rendered to himself an individual makes remuneration /retribution/ to another individual, for there is no danger of excess, no danger of waste and peculation: but when at the expence of the public and by this or that individual not at their own expense a set of individuals for service rendered or pretended to have been rendered to the public, there is great danger of excess, a real danger of waste and peculation.