There was another disaster far more doleful than this. I shall state it,
as the cause of that misfortune lies at the bottom of almost all our
prodigality. Lord Talbot attempted to reform the kitchen; but such, as
he well observed, is the consequence of having duty done by one person
whilst another enjoys the emoluments, that he found himself frustrated
in all his designs. On that rock his whole adventure split, his whole
scheme of economy was dashed to pieces. His department became more
expensive than ever; the civil list debt accumulated. Why? It was truly
from a cause which, though perfectly adequate to the effect, one would
not have instantly guessed. It was because _the turnspit in the king's
kitchen was a member of Parliament_![36] The king's domestic servants
were all undone, his tradesmen remained unpaid and became
bankrupt,--_because the turnspit of the king's kitchen was a member of
Parliament_. His Majesty's slumbers were interrupted, his pillow was
stuffed with thorns, and his peace of mind entirely broken,--_because
the king's turnspit was a member of Parliament_. The judges were unpaid,
the justice of the kingdom bent and gave way, the foreign ministers
remained inactive and unprovided, the system of Europe was dissolved,
the chain of our alliances was broken, all the wheels of government at
home and abroad were stopped,--_because the king's turnspit was a member
of Parliament_.

Such, Sir, was the situation of affairs, and such the cause of that
situation, when his Majesty came a second time to Parliament to desire
the payment of those debts which the employment of its members in
various offices, visible and invisible, had occasioned. I believe that a
like fate will attend every attempt at economy by detail, under similar,
circumstances, and in every department. A complex, operose office of
account and control is, in itself, and even if members of Parliament had
nothing to do with it, the most prodigal of all things. The most
audacious robberies or the most subtle frauds would never venture upon
such a waste as an over-careful detailed guard against them will
infallibly produce. In our establishments, we frequently see an office
of account of an hundred pounds a year expense, and another office of an
equal expense to control that office, and the whole upon a matter that
is not worth twenty shillings.

To avoid, therefore, this minute care, which produces the consequences
of the most extensive neglect,