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sonnements de six mois dans une place, de douze mois dans une autre, de deux ans même dans quelques endroits, avant la procédure. Ajoutez que dans l'intervalle les preuves s'affaiblissent; on gagne les témoins, ou on les élude; s'il y a quelque rétard involontaire dans une cause, la justice part, et voilà un delai de six mois; plusieurs procès sont comme étranglés, et l'erreur peut se cacher facilement par la rapidité des plaidoyers et des décisions. Enfin, il s'écoule rélativement au criminel un temps si long entre le crime et la peine que l'effet de l'exemple est extrêmement diminué, et la pitié pour le coupable est le sentiment qui domine tous les cœurs au détriment de la justice.

Au moyen des Circuits douze Juges suffisent en Angloterre.

Mais on ne dit pas que les frais de procédure sont si énormes qu'en général le peuple n'ose point demander le redressement d'une foule de griefs. On ne dit pas que pour regagner un schelling il faut être en état de dépenser plusieurs guinées. On ne dit pas que la rareté des causes ne vient point de la rareté des besoins mais de l'impuissance de les satisfaire.

Voilà, My Lord, quelques objections qui peuvent n'être pas invincibles, mais qui me semblent du moins justifier les Français s'ils n'ont point adopté aveuglement les Juges circulaires.

J'ai l'honneur d'être, avec un entier dévouement, etc.

DUMONT.

MR. PITT AND MR. CANNING-THEIR
FIRST INTERVIEW.

1792.

[From the papers of the Right Hon. W. Sturges Bourne, as communicated to me in 1871 by his daughter, Miss A. Sturges Bourne.-S.]

MY DEAR STURGES,

Geo. Canning, Esq., to W. Sturges (Bourne), Esq. Yarmouth, Sept. 3, 1792. Now for what I promised to tell you so long ago, and what you are, I flatter myself, solicitous to hear. I was, when you left town, on the point of writing that letter' which I thought it so necessary, and found it so difficult, to write, that I hesitated a long time between my conviction of the one and my experience of the other. I accomplished it, however, at length, and on July 26 put it into the post-office with my own hands. I have kept a copy of it, as was prudent, and when we meet I will show it to you. Meantime it was in substance as follows:-"That though after what I had had the satisfaction to hear through Mr. O2,

1 To Mr. Pitt.

2 No doubt Mr. Thomas Orde, formerly Secretary of the Treasury,

-2,

appointed in 1791 Governor of the Isle of Wight, and created Lord Bolton in 1797.

it was not perhaps necessary or proper to trouble him much at length, yet I could not help feeling the necessity of explaining one or two points before I had the honour of seeing him, because it might afterwards be too late. That I owed it to my own honour to assure him, what without such assurance I flattered myself he would have believed, that however I was in habits of friendship and familiarity with some of the most eminent men in Opposition, yet I was in no way bound to them by any personal or political obligation, but felt myself perfectly at liberty to choose my own party, &c. That it was fair that he should understand explicitly from myself what he no doubt was already apprised of by Mr. O, that I was not in such a situation or circumstances as to be able to do anything towards bringing myself into Parliament, nor should I like to be brought in by an individual. That before I called on him, as he appeared to wish that I should do when he returned to town, I desired for obvious reasons to know from himself at what time he would be at leisure to see me. That, finally, as it was with himself personally that I was ambitious of being connected, and consequently with himself alone that I was desirous of communicating on the subject, I trusted that this letter would be sacred from every eye but his own, and that whatever might be the event, &c., I should never have reason to repent of having relied confidently on his honour. This was the substance of my letter; and a few days afterwards I received from him an answer, which was nearly this: That he lost no time in acknowledging, &c., and in expressing the satisfaction which

he should feel in forming a personal acquaintance and connection with one whom he had long known by reputation, and whose talents he sincerely wished to see exerted for the benefit of the public. That it was impossible to say at present when an opening might arise in Parliament such as it would be convenient for me to accept, but that he should be happy if he could in any way find the means to facilitate it. That as I was so good as to give him leave to request to see me on his return to town, he would trouble me no farther at present. That he should be in town on Wednesday, the 15th August, and if I could conveniently call in Downing Street between eleven and twelve that day, I should find him perfectly disengaged, &c.

On Wednesday, between eleven and twelve, I did call in Downing Street, and after waiting about five minutes in a room below (during which five minutes, by the by, Rose thrust... into the room, as if to say, Ha! ha! are you there?), I was ushered into that study in which so many great statesmen and great scoundrels have at different times planned their country's ruin and the advancement of their own fortunes. You were right in one guess which you made about the interview. We shook hands. For some time the conversation was on general topics-France and Jenkinson, and other equally important concerns. It was not my business to begin the subject, and he was at least as awkward as I. At length, 'It is your wish, I believe, Mr. Canning (and I am sure it is mine), to come in,' &c. &c. I bowed assent. Nothing could make me more happy, &c. &c. It was not easy at present to foresee precisely at what

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time a vacancy might arise, such as, &c.—that is to say, clogged with no expense, &c., but it should be his endeavour to procure it as soon as possible, and he was sure it would be his interest,' &c. &c. There was one expression in my letter about which he was anxious that we should understand each other, because he believed he could set me right with regard to some circumstances which it was very possible I might have misapprehended. When I said I should feel a repugnance to any individual, &c., did I mean 'I meant,' said I, that I should not like to come in on such grounds as that I might be supposed to be attached, not to you personally, or to administration generally, but personally to the owner of a borough, such a man, for instance, as my Lord Lonsdale.' (This was a lucky illustration, was it not? considering that he himself was originally brought in by Lord Lonsdale.) 'He understood me, he said, but I did not seem to be aware of what was nevertheless strictly true, that his patronage as a Minister was in itself—in that part of it which was strictly Ministerial-very small indeed; so inconsiderable, that perhaps not six seats, not one vacancy in a Parliament, occurred in that department, and even then seldom, if ever, without expense. The means by which he and every Minister was enabled to serve those whom their interest or inclination prompted them to serve, as in the present instance, &c., and the means which he had been turning in his mind with regard to me, was his influence with the proprietors of burgagetenures, &c., with some of whom his recommendation solely would operate. 'But in such a case,' said I, 'could

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