, and all petitions from
sufferers; but, in reality, he sees and hears read very few, and
passes orders upon still less. Any head of a department, deputy,
secretary, or favourite, may receive petitions, to be submitted to
the minister for orders; but it is the special duty of no one to
receive them, nor is any one held responsible for submitting them for
orders. Those only who are in the special confidence of the minister,
or of those about Court, from whom he has something to hope or
something to fear, venture to receive and submit petitions; and they
drive a profitable trade in doing so. A large portion of those
submitted are thrown aside, without any orders at all; a portion have
orders so written as to show that they are never intended to be
carried into effect; a third portion receive orders that are really
intended to be acted upon. But they are taken to one of the
minister's deputies, with whose views or interests some of them may
not square well; and he may detain them for weeks, months, or years,
till the petitioners are worn out with "hope deferred," or utterly
ruined, in vain efforts to purchase the attention they require.
Nothing is more common than for a peremptory order to be passed for
the immediate payment of the arrears of pension due to a stipendiary
member of the royal family, and for the payment to be deferred for
eight, ten, and twelve months, till he or she consents to give from
ten to twenty per cent.
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