They may be said to have no salary at all, for what remains of the miserable pittance, after deducting the expense of paper, pens and ink, is swallowed up by the premium paid to cover the risk of their surety, and this is the obligation of the furnished security, which is intended to form an addtional safeguard against malaversion, only imposes upon them a stronger necessity to have recourse to corrupt practices for their sustenance.
- Comment by an English observer on the state of the British government in India during the early 1800s

I’m reading “The Great Hedge of India ” by Roy Moxham. The book talks of a British customs barrier 2300 miles long that was edged by a hedge (I rhyme, I rhyme!) and contains excerpts from the diaries and manuals of many British officers as well as scripts from the local rulers. The sentence above is one of those excerpts.

At least the words in it are different, unlike this sentence.