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diate application to your grace; in which, I am confirmed by Mr. Howel's applying again yesterday to purchase a refignation of the patentee, who is my friend.

The inclosed affidavit will fhew the propofal, which will be increafed, if neceffary; and would your grace indulge me by perufing the cafe, I truft it would appear, that I have a pretenfion in preference to any other.

I will take an opportunity of waiting upon your grace, hoping the honour of a conference, otherwife, to receive back the affidavit, in order to destroy the fame. I am,

Your grace's most obedient and most humble fervant, Mincing Lane, June 10, 1769.. SAMUEL VAUGHAN.'

Our appellant, after this, received a meffage, the latter end of July, from the duke of Grafton, by Mr. Sharp, to acquaint him that the affair had been taken up in a serious view; that he confidered it in a very odious criminal light, and intended to commence a profecution upon it. Mr. Vaughan defired to have a copy of what he had fent to the duke, and procured it. Soon after appeared in the public papers, two fpurious letters imputed to Mr. Vaughan, and accompanied with fevere reflections upon him, as if he had propofed to abandon his party. From that time for the space of two months, the matter was worked up with every poffible aggravation against him. A procefs was alfo inftituted against him in the court of king's bench, in confequence of which he was ferved with a copy of the rule of court the 20th of November; and the 27th of the fame month, the follicitor general moved the court to make the rule against him abfolute. Mr. Vaughan's counfel fhewed caufe for its being difmiffed, and the arguments on both sides are stated at length in the apology now before us. But as the pleadings of lawyers are generally very verbose, we shall not tire the reader with an exact repetition of them, but only lay before the public the fubftance of what has been advanced on both fides by the learned council.

The question is, "whether it be an offence to attempt to corrept a 'minifter, in the difpofition of places of truft in the colonies." Bribery is understood to be the buying and felling of places by people not able to execute them, but who are molt able to pay for them. Nothing can be a greater difcouragement to industry and virtue, than to fee placés conferred upon those who have no other qualification, than that of being the highest bidder; nor can any thing be a greater temptation to officers to abuse their power by bribery and extortion, in order to make their bargain answer their expecta

fions. Mr. Vaughan applies to the duke of Grafton, at the head of the treasury, and a privy counsellor, to difpofe of a public office in Jamaica, offering him at the fame time a bribe of 5000l. If his grace had accepted this money, with a view to ferve Mr. Vaughan in the manner propofed, it would have been a criminal act, and a subject-matter for impeachment. It is criminal in every man, accepting or holding any office of truft in the state, to exercife the power of that, office, under a fordid and corrupt motive. If it be an offence to accept a bribe, must it not be equal guilt to follicit another to take it? If it is a crime to take money, it must furely be a crime to give it, because that corruption is reciprocal. It is faid Mr. Vaughan did not give the money, for the duke refufed it. But in all cafes of corruption by bribery, the crime has its full completion, whether the other refufes to take the money or not. If you offer a bribe to a judge, though he refuses it, the bribe is complete with him that offers it. In case of an offer to bribe at election of members of parliament, or of a magiftrate at a borough, though the perfon does not vote, yet against the offerer the crime is complete. There can therefore be no doubt but to attempt to obtain an office by bribery is an offence, and efpecially an office of great truft and. profit.

Mr. Vaughan in his defence obferved, that this was not a judicial office, but merely an office of record, and to any man of common understanding should seem most likely to be a faleable employment. That it had been granted to people who never were to do the duty; had been fold by a decree of chancery, demifed for years, pafled by demife, and fuffered every change incident to alienable property. Mr. Vaughan thus looked upon the affair in no other light, than merely as the giving one confideration for another and deeming bribery and corruption to be the offering money for doing fomething immoral, he judged the prefent cafe clear of all fuch objections, and made his propofal with the lefs fcruple. He likewife knew that it was cuftomary to accept of a fine or perquifite for patents for lucrative places in the plantations, not judicial, of the fame nature as his own; and that in England, places fimilar to his were the conftant perquifite of the lord chief justice for the time being. Thefe reafons, with the perfuafion, that the public, as well as himself, would be benefited by his being continued in that office, influenced his conduct. He had given demonftrable proof of difcharging the duties of it with ability and fidelity; and yet he perceived an avowed design to invade his property, and give the place to, one Mr. Howell, who had by no means an equal, if the

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leaft pretenfion. As to the affidavit, it was in order to fet Mr. Vaughan merely in the light of an indifferent perfon; but had he been confcious that he was acting an unjustifiable part, is it likely that he would have attempted to engage a perfon of Mr. Newcome's character to lend him his affistance? And had he confidered the offer in the light of a corrupt bribe, is it probable he would have made it in a manner so unguarded? If he had thought the action to be criminal, he must have been fenfible, that he put himself, as a delinquent, into the power of a person, from whom he could expect no favour on account of his political connexions. In short, he looked upon the money offered as a fine or perquifite, to secure a preference to a lucrative office, and in the tender of which no injuftice was fufpected; but not at all as a bribe from an obnoxious man, who was defirous of gaining an office in an unwarrantable way.

But fuppofing through ignorance, or mistake, he had committed an action, for which the duke of Grafton thought proper to profecute him; it is to be confidered upon what ground in law this profecution can be fupported. The offence imputed to Mr. Vaughan, is an offer to the duke of Grafton to tempt his grace by money to procure an office in the colonies. Before we inquire whether this offer be a crime, we should first examine whether the action if done, would be the subject of a profecution. If it is an offence punishable in England, it muft either be by ftatute or common law; but there is no ftatute that has the leaft relation to this fubject, except the 5th and 6th of Edward VI. and that is only a local regulation of the police of this country with refpect to the offices enumerated in it, and not at all relative to other countries. Befides, it is exprefsly held that this act does not extend to the colonies, in the cafe of Blanchard and Goldy, 2 Salkeld And Jamaica particularly, being a conquered country, retains its own laws fo far as they are not altered by the conqueror. Is it then an offence at common law ?-There is nothing in common law, that is not established either by usage or pofitive authority; now there is no inftance, no authority to prove that the buying and felling of offices is unlawful. That it may be made fo by pofitive law, is undoubted; and ftatutes have been enacted with regard to particular offices. But in general it was never understood that the fale of offices was unlawful, even though they concerned the administration of juftice. Are not all the offices of the rolls faleable? The offices in the court of requefts, in the fix clerks office, though they concern the adminiftration, are all faleable, and fold every day.

Thus

Thus far Mr. Vaughan proceeds in his defence; and his arguments, together with thofe of his antagonists, are fubmitted to the impartial reader. But though perhaps he may acquit himself of the crime of intentional bribery, yet he cannot help acknowledging that he has been guilty of very great indifcretion. The error of his conduct, he says, was owing not to dishonesty, but to imprudence; because when he made the offer to the duke, it appeared to him justifiable, from an opinion that he was not deviating from the principles of integrity, when he submitted to a custom of the times, in offering money for a place not judicial. He admits that felf-intereft might be, and was a ftimulus to his purfuit; and though the evil of offering money to a minifter was apparent, yet being apprehenfive that Mr. Howel had offered money, he could not but think that his own offer of two evils would have been the least persons whofe views are truly patriotic, when they endeavour to obtain a feat in parliament, are obliged to fubmit to the evil cuftom of the times, by treating, &c. However, he is now fully fatisfied of the truth of that maxim,.. that evil is not to be done that good may come. Upon the whole, Mr. Vaughan having reconfidered the matter, is thoroughly convinced that it is highly criminal in a minister to fell to the highest bidder, that high truft which the conftitution vefts in the crown, the difpofal of public offices; and confequently that it is wrong to tempt a minifter to fell his intereft in the direction or difpofal of them. And as there is no statute law, by which the offering money for a place can be found penal,. nor yet a fingle inftance in common law, where it hath been judged a misdemeanor, he trufts that his indifcretion will produce a parliamentary inquiry into this fource of corruption; and that in confequence, a law may be paffed to make it penal, not only in the minifter who receives, but in the perfon who offers to purchase a place. If this should ever happen, Mr. Vaughan would confider his indifcretion and fufferings as the happiest incident of his life.

This apology of Mr. Vaughan concludes with vouchers to the ability of Mr. Vaughan's deputies in the office of clerk of the fupreme court in Jamaica, a state of the public offices in that island, and a correfpondence relative to the famous general Paoli. With regard to the latter it may be observed, that the Corfican chief, foon after his arrival in London, fent his compliments to Mr. Vaughan, expreffing his defire to testify in person his gratitude to that gentleman, for the generous pains he had taken to fupport the liberty of Corfica. Mr. Vaughan, apprehending that the general had been brought over by the miniftry, and deferted the cause of li

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berty, which he had fo long fupported against the French, de clined the interview. This is the fubftance of the correfpondence abovementioned, in which Mr. Vaughan expreffes him. felf in very lofty terms, and paffes too fevere a cenfure on the much admired Corfican hero.

MONTHLY CATALOGUE.

12. The Middlefex Elections confidered on the Principles of the Con-Aitution, by a Country Gentleman. 8.09. Pr. 6d. Bladon.

THIS writer talks of the principles of the conftitution in the Middlefex election, without understanding a fingle one of them. Witness the following paragraph:

On every fresh election, a judgment, in effect, is past on the former reprefentatives. From which it is plain, the people keep ftill in themselves their fhare of the legislative power, only entrusting the execution of it for limited times.'

As to the people having a share of the legislative power, if this writer means the people in their collective capacity, the sup pofition is rank nonfenfe. The people, without the theriff's writ to call them together, is a rope of fand; nor can the fheriff call them together for the purposes of an election, without leave from the commons of England, in whom all their legislative powers are centered. That inftant the member is returned, all legiflative power in the conftituents is at an end. They do not entrust the elected with their rights of election, but actually furrender them to him, together with all their public concerns as ele&tors, during that parliament.

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The not attending to this fundamental in the English conitution, has moft lamentably bewildered all the Wilkefian writers on this fubject.

13. A Letter to the Right Hon. Lord North, faft Lord of the Trea Jury; recommending a new Mode of Taxation. 8vo. Pr. 14. Dilly.

The project contained in this letter is, to remove the taxes from the neceffary articles of life, to thofe of fuperfluity and luxury; and the author recommends, as proper objects of taxation, all public diverfions,. as balls, plays, affemblies, together with livery-fervants, hair-dreffers, dogs, horfes, and fowling-pisces.

14. An Earnif Address to all the Great and Rich, within the British Dominions. Particularly to the Merchants and ProprieLots of Stocks of every Kind. 410. Pr. 6d. Noteman. Though this author may probably mean very well, in exhorting the people to lay afide their animofities, and to fup

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