rative produce of different duties, is not alone a criterion by which we may judge with precifion and certainty, of the time, trouble, expence, and number of officers neceffary to be employed in the management of them: to have formed an accurate and decifive opinion upon this point, it would have been neceffary to have entered into an examination, which would have carried us too far from the object of our prefent enquiry; but we are of opinion, that the fmall produce of fome of these duties, and the short time in which each of thefe five boards are able to tranfact their bufinefs, are circumftances which induce a ftrong prefumption, that fo many establishments are not neceffary for the management of thefe branches of the revenue; and which lay a reasonable foundation for an enquiry, whether there may not be formed a confolidation of offices, beneficial to the public. This fuggeftion we fubmit to the wisdom of the legislature. Office of Accounts, Bell-Yard, knowledge in the firft clafs, as far as relates to the balances of pubfic money in their hands, we, in the next place, directed our at tention to thofe accountants who receive public money out of the exchequer, by way of impreft, and upon account. The certificate of the accounts depending in the office of the auditors of the impreft, tranfmitted to us purfuant to our precept, furnifhed us with a lift of thefe accountants; we took them into our confideration in the order in which they stand upon that certificate; a rule we purfue in regard to all lifts of accountants, unless there are fome fpecial reafons for departing from it. The fet of accountants therein firft mentioned, are the treasurers of the navy; and of these, the names that ftand firft are the executors of Anthony Viscount Falkland, whofe final account is dated the 4th of April, 1689, and from whom a balance of twentyfeven thousand fix hundred and eleven pounds, fix fhillings and five pence farthing, is declared to be then due, We did not mif. pend our time in a purfuit where there was fo little probability of benefit to the public: a debt that R. NEAVE, (L. S.) has fubfifted for nearly a century, SAM. BEACHCROFT, GEO, DRUMMOND. (L. S.) (L. S.) may be prefumed defperate. Paf fing over therefore this article, we iffued our precepts to Earl Temple, as reprefentative of the late George Grenville, Efq; to Lord Viscount Barrington, Lord Vifcount Howe, and to Sir Gilbert Elliot, Baronet, as reprefentative of the late Sir Gilbert Elliot, for an account of the public money in their hands, cuftody, or power, as late treafurers of the navy. The returns returns made to our precepts are fet forth in the Appendix; from which it appears, that the balances of public money remaining in their respective hands, upon the days therein mentioned, amounted together to the fum of feventy-fix thousand feven hundred and ninety-three pounds, eighteen fhillings, and one penny farthing. That we might learn for what reason, services, or purposes, thefe fums are permitted to remain in the hands of the treasurers of the navy, fo long after they are out of office, we examined feveral of the officers in this department, namely, George Swaffield, Efq; cafhier of the victualling; Andrew Douglas, Efq; paymafter; Mr. Adam Jellicoe, chief clerk to the pay-mafter, and Mr. Francis Cook, ledger-writer. By them we are fupplied with the following information: The office of the treasurer of the navy is divided into three branches, the paymafter's, the cafhier's, and the victualling branch. All the money he receives is for the navy fervices, and placed under, or carried over, to one of thefe branches; the money in each branch is fubdivided, arranged, and kept under various different heads of fervices; the whole balance, at the time he leaves the office, continues to be liable, whether it be in his hands, or in the hands of his reprefentatives, in cafe of his death, to the fame fervices for which its feveral parts were originally deftined; and the commiffioners of the navy, victualling, and fick and hurt offices, each in their feveral departments, continue to affign bills upon him for payment, until they have reduced his balance to fuch a fum as, in their opinions, will not be more than fufficient to answer the purposes for which it has been ufual to leave money with him, until his final account is paffed. Thefe purpofes are, firft, to carry on the recalls upon thofe fhips books which were open in his treafurerfhip, and the payment of the half-pay lifts, and bounties to chaplains. The fhips books are ufually kept open for recalls, for feven or eight years after the expiration of the treasurerfhip, in order to give thofe feamen who, by being either turned over to other fhips, or employed in other places, could not attend at the time their fhip was paid, an opportunity of receiving their wages when it is in their power to apply for them. The only fund applicable to this fervice is, the money in the pay branch, placed under the head of "To pay fhips, and carry on recalls." This fervice is at an end when the ships books are made up. They are made up as they come in courfe, in order of time; and after the laft is clofed, the halfpay lifts are alfo clofed, and the payment of the bounty to chap lains ceafes. The other purpofe is to pay the fees and expences of carrying on, making up, and paffing his accounts. Upon paffing every annual account, fees are paid to the auditors of the impreft, out of the money in his hands, under the head of " To pay exchequer fees, and other contingent expences of the pay-office:" but upon paffing his final account, there is a gratuity alfo paid in the following manner:-The officers and clerks who tranfact the bufinefs of the treasurer in office, carry on alfo at 1 at the fame time, and finally make up, the accounts of the treasurers out of office; for which extra work they have no falary or recompence whatever, until the final account is ready to be paffed, at which time it has been ufual for them, by petition to the lords of the treafury, to obtain a reafonable allowance for their trouble, which has been paid them, by virtue of a treafury warrant, out of any money remaining in the hands of that treasurer, under whatever heads of fervice it may be placed. This gratuity, together with the fees of paffing the annual accounts, and for the quietus, it is imagined will exhauft the whole balance now remaining in the hands of Lord Temple. All the fhips books which were paid by Mr. Grenville, Lord Barrington, and Lord Howe, are made up, and confequently the balances which the three boards have left in the hands of these treasurers must be for the purpose of paying the fees and expences of carrying on, making up, and paffing their accounts. Of Sir Gilbert Elliot's fhips books, five hundred and fix are ftill open for recalls; and payments, if applied for, are made upon them once á week; and therefore, whatever fums ftand upon his account, in his paymaster's branch, under the heads of wages, half-pay, and bounties to chaplains, are still applicable to thofe fervices; and the refidue of the money permitted to remain with him is for the purpofe of paying the fees and expences of carrying on, making up, and paffing his accounts. How foon then will thefe feveral fums be wanted for this pur pofe? The accounts of the treafurers of the navy are made up, and paffed as they come in courfe, in order of time; the officers must finish one year before they begin upon another; and a fubfequent treasurer's account is never finished till his predeceffor's is finally clofed. The ftate in which their accounts are, in the office of the auditors of the impreft is this: The last which is declared is Mr. Grenville's account for the year 1758 of all the fubfequent accounts, only fome sections of their respective navy and victualling ledgers are delivered into this office; which parts of a treasurer's accounts are usually fent thither as fpeedily as they can be made up after the year expires. -- From an account of the ba lances remaining in the hands of these treasurers, at the times they respectively ceased to be treasurers; and an account of the times when their laft fhips books were made up; and a state of Mr. Grenville's balances, and of the balances of Lord Barrington, Lord Howe, and Sir Gilbert Elliot, every year fince they feverally went out of office, all tranfmitted to us from the pay office of the navy, pursuant to our requifitions, we find that Mr. Grenville refigned this office in 1762, and his last ship's book was made up in 1771; that Lord Barrington refigned this office in 1765, and his last ship's book was made up in 1775; that Lord Howe refigned this office in 1770, and his laft fhip's book was made up in 1778; and that Sir Gilbert Elliot died in 1777: hence it appears, that for nineteen years there have been in the hands of Mr. Gren ville, or of his representatives, and and for fifteen years in the hands of Lord Barrington, and for ten years in the hands of Lord Howe, and for three years in the hands of the reprefentatives of Sir Gilbert Elliot, confiderable fums of public money (exclufive of the fums on the heads of wages, half-pay, and bounties to chaplains) destined to purposes which (except the paffing three years of Mr. Grenville's accounts) have not yet exifted, and which, if we may judge from the progrefs hitherto made in paffing thefe accounts, are not likely foon to exist. Where public money is appointed for a fervice or purpofe to arife at a future time, we are of opinion, the public alone ought to have the cuftody and ufe of that money, in the mean time, and until the fervice or purpose calls for its application. When the fees and the gratuity become payable, we fee no reafon why the treasurer in office should not pay them, in like manner as the treasurers out of office pay them now. We did not form our opinion upon thofe balances without first hearing the late treasurers themfelves, or the reprefentatives of those who are dead; and therefore we examined Earl Temple, Lord Viscount Barrington, Lord Vifcount Howe, and Sir Gilbert Elliot, Baronet; not one of whom made any objection to paying their balances into the exchequer, upon condition, fome of receiving their quietus, others of being made fecure in fuch payments. We do therefore conceive, that the balances of public money now remaining in the hands of Earl Temple, as reprefentative of the late George Grenville, Efq; and in the hands of Lord Viscount Barrington, and of Lord Viscount Howe, and of Sir Gilbert Elliott, Bart. as reprefentative of Sir Gilbert Elliot, late treasurers of the navy, ought to be paid into the exchequer, for the public fervice, leaving in the hands of Sir Gilbert Elliot the fums in his account placed under the heads of wages, half-pay, and bounties to chaplains, to carry on the services to which the fame are applicable: that fuch payments fhould be without prejudice, and a proper fecurity and indemnification be given to each of them, against any lofs or detriment that may accrue to them, in confequence of fuch payments. The Right Hon. Welbore Ellis, the prefent treasurer of the navy, returned to our requifition, a balance in his hands upon the 31st of Auguft laft, of three hundred forty-eight thoufand, nine hundred forty-one pounds, eleven fhillings and nine-pence. The act directs us to examine into all balances in the hands of public accountants, for the purpofe of confidering what fum may be taken out of their hands, to be applied to the public fervice. It is obvious, we could not examine the balance in the hands of the treasurer in office with this view: it could not be in our power to fay, that any part of it ought to be paid back into the exchequer, because, in an office of fo constant and large an expenditure, this fum mult probably be exhausted, even while it was under our confideration: but it was competent. to us, and we thought it our duty, to examine whether this was a larger fum than the current bufinefs of the office required fhould at at that time be entrusted to the treasurer of the navy. A comparifon between the quantum of the fum, and the demands upon it, would enable us to form fome judgment upon this point: with this view we examined the present treasurer himself, Timothy Brett, Efquire, commiffioner of the navy, and comptroller of the treafurer's accounts, John Slade, Efquire, commiffioner of the victualling, and John Bell, Efquire, commiffioner of the fick and hurt; from whom we collect the following information: 1 All the money received by the treasurer, for the fervices of the navy, is either iffued to him out of the exchequer, or paid to him by fundry perfons, in pursuance of the directions of the navy, victualling or fick and hurt boards. The money from the exchequer is iffued to him, and arranged in his accounts under various heads of fervices. These heads are kept diftinct, and he cannot place or transfer a fum iffued to him under one head, to any other head of fervice. All bills affigned upon him for payment by thefe boards, fpecify the correfpondent head of fervice out of which that bill is to be paid, and he must not pay it out of money placed under any other head of fervice, than that fo fpecified on the bill. When money is wanted, the application for it never originally moves from the treasurer, except in the fingle inftance of money to pay fees, and other contingent expences this he craves of himself, when that fund is nearly exhaufted: in all other cafes, the board, in whofe department it is, by letler, defire him to prefent a me morial to the lords of the treasury, fpecifying the fum wanted, and for what particular fervice; the memorial purfues the letter, and the iffue is directed from the exchequer in the terms of the memorial. The treasurer immediately certifies to the navy board the whole fum he receives, and to the other boards fo much of that fum as concerns them: he alfo tranfmits to the navy-board an account of all his receipts and payments in the cashier's and victualling branch every fortnight, and in the pay branch every month: by thefe means they have an exact knowledge of the state of his balance under each head of service. Each of thefe boards enter in their books all the affignments they make upon him for payment; of which they tranfmit to him a lift: hence they know what the actual demands upon him amount to; and, from their experience in the course of the navy bufinefs, they can form fome conjecture relative to the prebable approaching demands that may be made upon him in the various branches of the fervice. By fuch knowledge and conjecture these boards are guided in their directions to the treasurer, as to the time when, the quantum of the fum, and the fervice for which every application for a fupply is to be made to the treasury. At the end of every month the navy-board tranfmit to the treafury a certificate, containing an exact ftate of all the receipts and payments made by the treasurer during that month, as they appear from their books; hence the lords of the treasury have full knowledge of the state of his balance every month. This certificate for the month of August last we |