Thursday 16 August 1660

Annotations

• N Todd Bernhardt on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 01:04am

  Looks like the work at the Privy Seal is already tapering off …

  Sandwich’s advice is obviously sound.

• N Paul Brewster on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 04:05am

• N Paul Brewster on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 04:28am

  Lady Jem/Lady Jemimah
  L&M have it as Lady Jem. I presume that Wheatley spelled out what was probably written as ‘Jem’ in longhand. I think we’re pretty safe with the URL pointing to the daughter as it does.

  L&M also have “above Charing-cross” instead of “about Charing-cross”.

• N Barbara on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 11:24am

  I believe until at least the 1950s the doormen at the biggest London hotels (Grosvenor House, Dorchester etc) used to “buy” their position, relying on tips and, no doubt, some valuable inside information to give them an income.

• N David A.Smith on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 03:10pm

  “getting money while he is in the place”
  Following up on Paul’s note above: Sam has found his opportunity to ask Montagu about Mr. Man’s offer, and Montagu has advised him to decline … on purely economic grounds. I predict we will hear no more of such offer.

• N JWBlackburn on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 04:39pm

  L&M footnote:”Nor did it necessarily lead to corruptiuon”. To me, this is disingenuous. Of course it did. One of the grevances directed at Geo.III in the Declaration of Independence was: “He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and to eat out their substance.”

• N Todd Bernhardt on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 05:24pm

  re: “Nor did it necessarily lead to corruption”

  JW, see the language they used — they’re not saying that corruption didn’t happen; they’re saying that it was not the simple cause-and-effect relationship that we think of today when we think of bribes and corruption. Keep in mind that there was Parlimentary oversight and investigations (some fair, some not, but with such “gifts” or bribes often looked upon as crimes), as Sam will find out several times after the diary ends.

• N vincent on Sun 17 Aug 2003, 07:30pm

  “…(in the way talking how good he did hope my place would be to me, and in general speaking that it was not the salary of any place that did make a man rich, but the opportunity of getting money while he is in the place …”
  Good practical advice one and all and a warning for the rest. Nuthink has changed? or has it? Oh! of course pure Altruism, naturally to run for publick Hoffice( ‘ouse of privy? ) and spend so much of one’s own money for a mere pittance. (new meaning for noble)

• N David A. Smith on Mon 18 Aug 2003, 02:38am

  “Nor did it necessarily lead …”
  Following up on JW Blackburn’s post, I think L&M are ingenuous, not dis-. Temptation doesn’t NECESSARILY lead to sin, but it creates the possibility, and the heady secondary market in such offices indicates that not only is it a possibility, it’s a *feature* of the office. The uncorrupted (by our standards) will be rare.
  But, in citing evidence by tagging poor old George III from the Declaration, that’s a low blow — he came more than 115 years later than Our Sam, and much had changed, including the newfound taxability of colonies (and I say this as a Bostonian!).
  

• N Esme on Mon 18 Aug 2003, 01:23pm

  Bribery is an unfortunate reality in many countries.”Free” health care is not really free if you have to give a gift to the gateman to get in, one to the clerk who manages the appointments and one to the pharmacist for dispensing the drugs.

  Bribery always transfers money to those with power, much of it from those without power or anything much else.

  Of course, many places eveolve a pretty standard scale for the “gifts” (or two scales — another one for Westerners). This may help to disguise the damage — you can view it as a tax paying for the functionary, as maybe L&M are. But real tax levels are set by other mechanisms than what the victims are willing to pay (hmm, maybe not).

• N vincent on Mon 18 Aug 2003, 07:35pm

  “Bribary” versus “incentives” Money is the honey(stickey stuff) of politics and big business; always follow the money trail. It is not wot yer earn it’s wot yer keep.(loop ‘oles)