acclamation. I was the only person present who was known to the
multitude as a public man. I had often appeared before the people at
Palace-yard, and at the Guildhall of the city of London, and I was
instantly recognized by them. In fact, I believe that it had been
publicly placarded and advertised that I had accepted the invitation
to attend, which had been sent to me by the Committee, and I was,
therefore, expected. The Chairman having, in an appropriate speech,
briefly opened the meeting, I stood forward to move the resolutions,
which I prefaced by a speech of about an hour in length. I pointed out
the enormous sums paid by the public for what is called the Civil List,
amounting in the last year to 1,038,000L; and in the same year, on
account of deficiencies of the said Civil List, 584,713L more; and for
the Civil List for Scotland, 126,613L additional, making in the
whole, for the Civil List of that year, ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND
FORTY-NINE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX POUNDS. I showed
that the expense of keeping up the army, including the ordnance, was
26,736,017L; that the additional allowance to the Royal Family that year
was 366,660L; that the secret service money was 153,443L; and that the
sum voted for the poor clergy of the Church of England was 100,000L.
I also read a list of some of the most profligate sinecurists and
pensioners, male and female, in which I included a sufficient sprinkling
of ladies and gentlemen belonging to both the great factions of Whigs
and Tories, taking as nearly as I could an equal number from each of
them. Among those whom I specified were the Marquis of Buckingham and
Lord Camden, the two Tellers of the Exchequer, whose sinecures at that
time were about thirty-five thousand a-year each; Lord Arden, the elder
brother of Perceval, thirty-eight thousand a-year; Lords Grenville and
Erskine, &c. &c. &c. Amongst the number of lady pensioners I noticed
Lady Auckland, Lady Louisa Paget, Mrs. Hunn, the mother of Mr. Canning,
&c. &c. I represented these persons as contributing to the distresses of