28 JANUARY 1832, Page 18

THE MEMBER

Is a satire upon the corruption of Parliament: it is the history of a small trade in votes, and the profits arising from the adroit ma- nagement of a little capital when laid out on a close borough. The autobiographer is a Scotchman, returned from India, with a competent fortune; but who, on setting down on his purchased estate, finds himself' surrounded by so many cousins, first and se- cond, that he considers it necessary to get into Parliament to pro- vide for them. He is a hard and shrewd person; and his first bargain is for a seat. Here he has for opposite party another Scotch member, of pretty nearly equal keenness; and the treaty for two sessions of the borough of Frailtown is a scene of dia- mond cut diamond. Once in the House, a silent member, he de- termines to sell his vote dear : he shifts his seat, and shuffles in and out of the House at critical times, until he has attracted the Ministerial eye ; when he gives out, on a great Cabinet ques- tion, that he has not yet made up his mind, and is waiting for " a convincing reason." This convincing reason comes in the shape of a place, of Distributor of Stamps, for the son of a cousin. The income of the place is a thousand a year; out of which, by a secret agreement with the new incumbent, he contrives to pension a natural son, an old aunt, and to reserve for himself three hundred a year to pay for public subscriptions to charities. In this goodly path he proceeds, now higgling for a seat, doing a corporation, or jockeying a Boroughmonger Peer to get into Parliament, from time to time; and while he is in the House, selling his vote to the best ad- vantage, to whatever Ministry happens to be in place. The progress of a system of economy and retrenchment, however, dis- gusts him with the state of public affairs; and Lord JOHN Rus- SELL, in whose Bill he finds Frailtown placed in Schedule A, puts the finishing stroke to his Parliamentary speculations. Like a wise man, seeing that every thing is going wrong, and that, how- ever. he may lash himself, he is not likely to retard the march of error, Mr. Jobbry retreats to his snug little place in Scotland; whence he indites his volume, and, with great propriety, dedicates it to BILLY HOLMES.

The course of the narrative is thickly strewn with Mr. Jobbry's opinions on the nature of government and the art of legislation; and we perceive in them a very faithful and curious statement of the reasoning which satisfied such men as Mr. Jobbry, that while they were doing the best for themselves and connexions, they were contributing greatly to the enviable prosperity of the country. The style of Mr. Jobbry's history is of that shrewd and simple character in which Mr. GALT rejoices. Mr. Jobbry is one of the cunningest men in the world as regards his interests, and yet utterly incapable of appreciating the position in which he stands; while, however, his faithful narrative gives the reader an insight into that to which he is himself thoroughly blind. In this art Mr. GALT is without an equal.

This autobiography must not be considered one of the author's great efforts : it is a pleasant and useful satire, thrown off probably without much labour, and is to be ranked as a clever production to serve a temporary service. We wish it to be universally read. If ours was an Anatomy of the House of Commons, this is one of the diseased members extracted from the gangrened carcase, by an eminent operator, during the life of the subject. Now for a specimen. This is a description of Mr. Jobbry's first step as a legislator—

I took my seat in the middle of the session, which many of my Indian friends thought was a souple trick, because the event at the time made no noise ; where- as, if I had waited for the general election, that ill-tongued tiukler, the daily press, would have been pouking at my tail maybe, as I was going in, duly elected, among the rest of the clanjamfrey.

No sooner had I, as it was stated in the newspapers, taken the oaths and my seat, than I lifted my eyes and looked about me ; and the first and foremost reso- lution that I came to, was not to take a part at first in the debates. I was above the vain pretension of making speeches ; I knew that a wholesome member of

Parliament was not talkative, but attended to solid business; I was also con- vinced, that unless I put a good price on my commodity, there would be no disposition to deal fairly by me. Accordingly, I resolved for the first week not

to take my seat in any particular part of the House, but to shift from side to side with the speakers on the question, as if to hear them better ; and this I

managed in so discreet a manner, that I observed by the Friday night, when there was a great splore, that the Ministers, from the Treasury Bench, pursued roe with their eyes to fascinate me, wondering, no doubt, with what side I would vote,—but I voted with neither. That same evening, more than two of my friends inquired of me what I thought of the question. By this I could guess that my conduct was a matter of speculation ; so I said to them, that, "really, much was to be said on both sides ; but I had made up my mind not to vote the one way or the other until I got a convincing reason." This was thought a good joke, and so it was circulated through the House, in- asmuch as that, when we broke up at seven o'clock on the Saturday morning, one of the Ministers, a young soft-headed lad, took hold of me by the arm, in

the lobby, and inquired ina jocund manner, if I had got a convincing reason. I gave him thereupon a nod and a wink, and said, "Not yet; but I expected one soon, when I would do myself the honour of calling upon him ;" which he was very well pleased to hear, and shook me by the hand with a cordiality by common when he wished me good night,—" trusting," as he said, "that we should soon be better acquainted." " It will not be my fault," quo' I, "if we arc not."

With that we parted; and I could see by the eye in my neck that he thought, with the light head of youth, that he had made a capital conquest by his condescension.

Now, this small matter requires an explanation, for the benefit of other new .

members. If a man has all his eyes about him, lie will soon discern that a Ministry, if it has three or four decent, auld-farrent men, is for the most part

composed of juveniles—state 'prentices--the sprouts and offshoots of the power- ful funili;:s. With them lies the means of conciliating members ; for the weightier metal of the Ministers is employed in public affairs, and to the younkers is confided the distribution of the patronage,—for a good reason, it enables them to make friends and a partv by the time that they come, in the course of nature, to inherit the upper offices.

I had not been lung in the House till I noticed this ; and as my object in being at the expense of going thereinto was to make power for myself, I was

not displeased at the scion of nobility making up to me ; and I have uniformly since found, that the true way of hhving a becoming influence with Govern- ment, is slily to get the upper hand of the state fry. But, on this occasion, there was a personal reason for may so cleverly saying I would call on him for a convincing reason. My second conshi, James Gled, when he saw my election in the newspapers, wrote to me thr my interest, know-

ing- that I would naturally be on the side of Government, and stating that the office of Distributor of Stamps in our county- was soon to be vacant. So it just

came into my head in the nick of time to make a pleasant rejoinder to my Lord ; and accordingly I was as good as may word ; and to make the matter as easy as possible, I told him, in my jocular manner, when I called, that 1 was come for the convincing reason. I could see that he u-as a little more starched in his office than in the lobby ; but I was determined to be troubled with no diffidence, and said—" Mv Lord, you'll find me a man open to conviction—a very small reason will satisfy me at this time ; but, to be plain with your Lordship, I must have a reason—not that I say the Government is far wrong, but I have an inclination to think that the Opposi- tion is almost in the right." And then I stated to his Lordship, in a genteel manner, what James Gled had said to me; adding,—" It's but at small place, and maybe your Lordship would think me more discreet if I would lie by for some thing better ; but I wish to convince his Majesty's Government that I'm a mode- rate man, of a loyal inclination." His Lordship replied, " That he had every inclination to serve an independent Member, but the King's Government could not be carried on without patronage; he was, however, well -disposed to oblige me."

" My Lord," said I, " if I was seeking a favour for myself, I would not ask for such a paltry place as this ; but I'm a man that wants nothing : only it would be a sort of satisfaction to oblige this very meritorious man, Mr. Gled."

We had then some further talk ; and he gave me a promise, that if the place was not given away, my friend should have it.

" I'm very much obliged to von, my Lord, for this earnest of your good-will to me ; and really, my Lord, hail 1 thought you were so well inclined, I would have looked for a more convincing reason:" at which he laughed, and so we parted. But, two days sifter, when the vacancy was declared, he said to me, with a sly "That I was a man very hard to be convinced, and required a pow argument." " My Lord," quo' I, " I did not hope to be taunted in this manner for applying to your Lordship to serve an honest man with such a bit trifling post." " Trifling? ' he exclaimed ; " it is a thousand a year at least ! " Well, my Lord, if it be, Mr. Gled is as well worthy of it as another; I want nothing myself ; but if your Lordship thinks that the Government is to be served Dg oveoqialuing small foal:tars, my course in Parliament is very clear."

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His Lordship, upon this, was of a lowlier nature than I could have expected, and therefore Ironed myself in to moderation ; for I saw I had gotten an advant- age, and in more ways than one. This was the case ; for in my Indian ignorance I thought a distributor of stamps was some beggarly concern of a hundred a year, but a thousand was really past hope; it was, however, not judicious to think so be- fore my Lord. Let us not lose this opportunity of reminding our readers of a satire of a similar description, called Truckleborough Hall, in which the way of a Lord with his borough is more closely and ,cleverly delineated than even in the pages of the Member.