Star. — London, England, 1807-01-19 00:00:00

~,'.,~ MIL I 7.4RT TO Ttit ianwOVIAELI THB CoMMONS OF THE UNITEDI ILINGD , iM OF GithAT * BRITAIN AND IRELAND IN PARLIAMENT ASSIMPLID. Irbe Tbird Reyort of the Committioners appointed by an Adt of the 45th year of the reign of his preterit Majelly, chap• 47 ;—• intituled- 0 An Alf to appoint CuatmilTioners to inquire and examine into the public eirr.diture, and the vandal of public band's in the Military Departments therein mentioned; and to report filch obtervatiorts as foall occur to them for correding or i reventing any abate and irrtgulariiiea, and for the better concluding and managing the bufinets of the raid departments." OFFICE OF THE BARRACK MASTER. GENERAL STOALS AND SUPPLMS. The next head of our enquiry into the conduit of the Barrack Department, relpeet; the Stores and Supplies provided for the life of Barracks in Great Britain, &c. under the direftions of the late and pre fent B:rrack Mailers General. We have divided this head of inquiry into, tlt, The mode in which the articles were precut - - et], their prices fixed and paid, and their quality and quantity afcertained and checked. idly, The mode of difiributing them to the dif ferent barracks, and of controuling and checking their ufe and confumptitm. The fribjeet, thus divided, has been feparately en*. fidered for the relpedive periods, under both Barrack Maters General ; and will, therefore, be feparately treated of in our prefent Report. The principal articles of gores and fupplies, ufed in barracks, confining of beds, bedding, flteets, blan kets, towels, ironmongery, houfe and liable utenfils, coals, candles, beer, and forage, were provided by the late Barrack Mailer General, under the authority of Iris letter of fervice, dated ill January, 1793, and his Majeny's Warrants of 3oth May, 1794, and 24th March, 1795 ; but thefe, containing only general in ftruelions for his condua, left it, of courfe, to him to decide on the means belt calculated to procure them on terms the molt advantageous to the publics Prior to the year :795, when the number of bar ricks was comparatively (mall, it appears that al though lane of the articles were furnillied in Lon don by Meffis. Trotter and Co. of Soho (quart, mon of thTm were purchafed in the neighbourhood of the different barracks, by the Barrack MJlers, who were allowed to charge in their accounts five pounds per cent, on the prime colt ; and they were itriftly ' prohibited from deriving any profit or emolument; on the articles purchafed, beyond this per centage.. It is evident that this mode of procuring the notes and fupplies, for the ufe of barracks, left a great opening for fraud. For although, as is flared in one of the examinations, there could be no deficiency in the quantity of the flores - returned by a Barrack Mailer to have been purchafed by him, becaufe his - account of them could be checked by his money ac count, yet in the quality of the articles, and price paid for them, there might be much Attie ; and at all events the intereft of the Barrack Mailer was at variance with that of the public. In fag, it is (bled in tne fame examination, that the condat of fume Barrack Mailers, in this refpeft, had been made the !Utak& of inquiry ; and one or two infiances are, mentioned, in which fraud having been cletefted, i; was followed by their fufpenfion, or difmilfat. The Barrack Matters ceafed, in December, 1794, to provide any articles of gores and fupplies, except in particular places; and they are am permitted to purchafe lonic articles of (mall value, if the Barrack Offices are fatisfied that they can be procured as cheap in the country as they could be fent to the Bat racks from London. In 18co, the iffue of beer to troops in barracks was difcontintied, and in lieu thereot one penny per diem was paid to each man ; and in November, rtlot, the care of fapplying forage to barracks was transferred from the Barrack Department to the Commiffary General ; both which chang es were direited by the Lords Commiffioners of his Majelty's Treafury. At the beginning of the year 1795, a very great alteration took place in the mode of fupplying the principal articles of barrack conlumption ; and this niode vas purfued with very little variation, during the remainder of the late Barrack Mailer General's adminittration, a period of nearly tett years. On the 28th December. 1794, General De Lancey addrelfed a latter to Alexander Davifon, Ltq. pro poling to him to undertake the fupply of the articles required for the ufe of the barracks, as an agent, on a moderate commillion. Mr. Davifon's aLfwer, wherein he accepts the offer, and fpeci:ies the terms, is dated toth January, 1795. Thcfe letters, which Mould, in our opinion, have been conlidered merely as the ground work rf an agreement, to he after. wards carefully fettled, and approved by the Trea fury, or Secretary at War, are the only evidence we have obtained of the undertaking, by virtue of which Mr. Davilon fupplied the great articles of Barrack tonfumption, with the exception c.f coals, dining-it period of between nine and ten years. As thele letters contain no irrelevant matter, they cannot, with propriety, be abltraded, and a full knowledge of their contents being effential to the right under flandieg of our further obfervations, we infer t them here at length. Sia, Barrack Office, Dec. aB, 1 794- Having confidered the very great extent of the fupplies, from the nature of the prefent star, :lc ceifary for the troops Ilationed in Barracks, and the manner in which the fame may be provided, confif telstly with the economy requilite in all expenditures of the public money, without Ir.fing fight of the ne cefrary attention to the comfot t and convenience of the troops ; and being fati,fied, that from the unex paled calls for large fupplies, as well as from the experience of the uncertainty arifing from visaing to Contraetots for the due and fitfficient furnithing of heti articles as are in ufe in Bars acks; I have thought it would tend to remove all doubts and difficulties, if a pet fun of eztepive knowledge and experience in li/Clcantile matters, and who had been in the habit of flonithing fimilar articles for Government, would undertake the fupply upon a inveterate corm:llion, i,,ojeet to loch inipctliun and controul as this office fhould think requilite ; I therefore requell to know, it you will take upon you to fupply Nett articles as thall be required to furnith, according to the following mode and terms. Whenever any articles (hall be wanted, an order, in wri:ing, to be fent to you from this office, fpecify. ing the nature and extent of the fupply ; to whit race to be font; and the name of the perfon to whom it is to be eonfigned. This order to be eanfi dered as the neceffary voucher to be produced by you, with your accotmts, if required. i bill of parcels to be fent to this office as Coon as the purchafe is made, and the receipt of the perfon from whom the articles are purchafed, to be produ ced by you, as the neceffary voucher on the fettle ment of your account with this office. Certificates are alto to be produced by you, if required, that the ' prices charged for the feveral articles do not exceed i the market price at the time the purchafe is made. That if any Caving can be made by the purchafer, or by the mode of Me or delivery of any article, that the amount thereof (ball be made a credit to the public in diminution of the colt of fuch article. That no money may be unneceffarily drawn from the Treafury, you will, whenever a payment is to be made, fpecify to me the amount thetcuf, and how to be applied; and you will not call upon this Office until the fame (hall be due, according to the cullo mary modes of paying for loch articles as are fup plied ; at which time cath or bills OIL be given to you, as the nature of the circumbanaes may require. That no lofs may arife to theltublic in any cafe where articles may be (tripped for any diltant place, you mull, in all cafes, infure the fame, taking care that the premiums can be proved to be as low as the general rate of infurance at the time, and by the molt refpatable underwriters. As the fupplie, for Barracks are called fur in the moll unexpetted man• nor, and the fervice sot admitting of delay, you mull, when any order may be given to cone& any articles, have the fame properly limed till difpofed of; and that no lofs may arife from any accident by file, the fame mull be infured by you to the amount of tire value, eating the terms to me for my conllderation. When any articles are to be fent from hence, you will employ fuck packer as than be approved by me, to whom you will give the moil liri& directions not to allow any article of a bad or infoffizient quality to be received ; and in cafe any fuel, article (hall be fent to any Barrack, the Barrack Mailer, or perfon appointed to receive and intpea the fame, will have infiralions to return them to you; and no charge will be a!lOv:ed for the original cult, or any expence that may attend the fame. In the courfe of conduiling the bufinefs, there will be many circurnitances which still require more par ticular explanation and arrangement, but which will of neceffir.y be made. the fulajed of further initiate- Lion. lam only to add, that the rate of Commiffion muff depend upon the nature of the bulinef , , the experce in conduaing the fame, and the extent of the fupplies, which, though I tray fettle according to my judgment of the circurnltances, as they appear in the fir.t instance to (hike me, yet mull eventually depend upon what, on a more full deliberation, I may think more adequate to the fervice. I ant to requelt you will inform me whether you are willing to Undertake the bufinefs on the terms above mentioned ; and, as one carticular realOn for my adopting thiN.mode is founded on the experience I have bad of the necellity of employing a pelf n _ . . .. . I who will give up his time and atterttion to the boll nefs, and not fubjed me to the Iniallell &I-appoint ment, I beg you will into, m vie whether y,,tl are affined I fhall not meet with dilappointsnent, which, in a cafe like the fupply of Barracks, are attended with the moll ferious cmfequenccs. I am, &c. (Signed; ot.. DF LANCET. A. %%iron. Efq. B M. Gen. Letter :tutu Au:at.% wpitit DAVISON, Frq to Major General Ds LAt‘CEr. Sri. 1 - lAllptir•Attet, Jae. 10, 1795. I have received your letter, dated December 28, relative to the (applies that may be required for the fervice of your dtpaitmenr, and dcfiting to know if I will take upon me the fur nilhing thereof. Being fenlible, that this communication is a mark of your confideoce; I Leg leave, in aufwer thereto, to inform you, that my bottle is difpnfed to under take the bulinefs on die footing which you liate, of ' an Agent upon Commitliou. Coufideting that the nectlftry fnpplies of the aid. titles for Barrack, will be erenfive, and that the calls for them will be very confides able and One x peaed, and that the nature of the fervice is loch as to render a difappointment of the moll ferions confequcnce, it will be DeCeirAfy for me, in order to furnith the fame with all requifite certainty and difpatch, at the lame time keeping in view the utmoll economy in the ex penditure, to adopt preparatory meafrit es that will attach great relponfibility to niyfelf: and it will be neceffary that I receive fufficient authority, in due time, to fecure fupplics for the probable exigencies of the Barrack 1).11).4Ln - rent, more eipecially with a efpea to filch articles as are liable to titian Atm in price, in order not to expofe the public to inconve. itiences and circurnflances.often aiding in a hate or fpeculative market—arid, as ILE/ft articles may be required to be fent to different barracks, it will be ai(n regoljr for me to have a written_order (as you mention) to fore as my voucher for fo difpoling of the articles provided, which I Iliall be ready to pro duce, if requited ; but I mull beg leave to obferve, that where any fupplics may be called for very in• flantaneoufly, and that 1 may have finnifhed the fame upon verbal Hiders (as I have often experienced in hulloes of magnitude at its outlet), in filch cases I (hall, if no written order is given, confider myfelf jutlified by the liaternents or teturns that I m ry fob. iequently make thereof to.your office, and by the re ceipts of the perfons to whom the articles are con• ligned, fuch documents being proofs of the ofti:ial authority for the meafure. I !hall always produce ' to you bills of parcels—and, with my accounts, fur. milli you with receipts from the perfons of whom put-- chafes may have been made, as alfo certificates that the prices charged for the articles do not exceed the rates of the market at the time of purchafe. It will I I be right, however, that the latter be called far within a moderate time from the date thereof ; for you mull be aware, that to obtain fetch proofs at a vet y future period, would be attended with the greatelt difficulty, if not an utter impollibility. The demands therefore, for fuel' certificates as may be requifite, fhould be made to me in due time, though they do not appear to be very neceffary, except it may be for the information of others, as you will always, pre vious to any purchafe, be made acquainted with the /mice", and all other circumfiances, to detet mine you with refpe&to the extent and true value thereof I mull alto remark, that 'raviolis inconficierahle articles tiled in barracks, are not ruled by milrket prices, buj may vary amonglt the few holders, in proportion as they may be fcaree wheu fuddenly de manded, and particulaily with regard to utenCd3 Or 'furniture, to be made of any gives Piften• flrength or quality, in sty limited time ; under fuch csrcum flances, it would be in vain to etlablilh the current price of fuch articles ; but any proof that can bs ob tained in this inflance, I Ball be ready to bring forward. In 'regard to drawing funds, I (hall have it in view only to apply for filch amount as I can flare to be •required, lo as to anfwer the payments Mall have to make, and to cover me, in due time, againfl any en gagements I may be under in that relpea. I (ball duly obferve your infiruaions as to infuring the amount of articles in all cafes where they may be fent by lea, which I (hell take care to effect as low as the current rates of infurance doing at the time by reputed good Underwriters, of whom I [hall always endeavour to make a proper choice, and due intimation thereof (hall be given to yon, if required. As the fervice of your department will nut admit of any delay in furnilhing the fupplies as wanted, when l in order to guard againfl any impediment or difappointment, many of the articles in general ufe, which would require confiderable time to have made of the proper patterns and fixer, thould be ordered to be limed in readinefs, until the fame can be delivered over to the perfons of the Barrack Department, At the places whey! they may be required, I (ball infure then'', as you direct, front lire, in the mod moderate way, at a value that I may find the flock on hand generally average, obferving, that it may be at times more and at times leis than the fum infirred, flaring, however, to you what ileps I take therein, in order that no eipence may be incurred without your know. ledge and approbation. I (hall adhere to your diteetions in employing a proper packer, and will in a few days name one to you, who, I trull, will meet your approbation, and in giving him pofitive orders not to receive any articles that he may find of bad or infufficient quality ; and l in cafe any loch fhall be fent to any Barracks, and 1 that after doe and impartial infpeetion held thereon, they Hull be fo deemed, I (hall be willing to receive the fame back, and fubmit to the lofs that may arife therefrom ; provided always, that loch articles be found unfound or of igufficient quality when deli- vered into the Barracks, and that the damage or un ferviceablenefs thereof may not have arifen through any ca rualt its not depending on the perfons employed by me. Alter frilly deliberating upon every circumflance that may attend futrtilhing the fupplies in quellion ; that the extent and punauality to be obferved therein will require my bottle to be devoted to the bufinefs, ahich, from its mintnenefs, in every meafure, will Irender a continued application abfolutely necetfary— that a refponlibility will be attached to it in proportion to the magnitock of the concern, and confidering how far I :ran looked upon accountable in various points of view ; I confi , ier a commitliun of two and .1 lit per c:.n:. up , n the whole amount (inelnding all rer centages on making infuranceg, recovering lotfr.s. averages, &c. and replacing all damaged nr nnterviceahle articles delivered to Barracks within Great Britain) to he compenfation for executing the bulirefs, which I mean and intend (hall he Zorzafik the tole emolument that I (hall derive therefrom, and whereof proper teltimony than be always forth . corning, when required. In fine, allow toe further to add, that confidering the very great :run to be repofed in me, as ariling from your favourable opinion and confi&ncc, I . (hall confider mylell bound to 3a as much with a view to your perfonal hunoto and credit, as to any p, flible advantages that I might peifonally deferve, and th a n therefine in all matters oioer ve the ltrieted punttua• lily, eccnomy, and intevity. I have, &c. (Signed) Atte. Davtson. Major-Gentral de Lancey, Bar:aek-Maltcr General. _ From a mural of thefe letters it will appear that the mausgement of this trudt important c ncern was left very much to Mr. Davif •n'• clifcre , ion ; and we cannot five' that the Barrack Office made ufe of any check is afcertain the reafonablenef , of the pikes of the articles provided by him. Mr . Davifod however, informs us, that he had alm .ft 'daily communications with tie barrack Office relpating the proceedings ; that no purchafe was made by him without fume in. ti tnation from the Office of the articles being wanted, although he did not always wait for a Ipecial order for the put pole ; that he had patterns with which to compare -‘fhe articles, and he kept as near to them as poffible. He did not procure the articles, he fit's, by open contra& but he got them where they could be had, in the cheapelt a.,cl ma expeditious manner. He did riot annex to the Bills of Parcels Certificates of the reafonablenef. and tairnefs of the prices, be• cable he lays, they were not required of him, and if they had, it would, from the magnitude of the con cern, have been alma impoffible to have obtained them; but that lie tried every means of afcertaining that the prices charged by the tradefmen were the lowell at which articles of the required quality could be had, by fending into the markets for information on the fubjth. The articles have, on tome occartons, been infpeEt• ed previous to their being fent off, by a perfon on the part of the Barrack Office ; but it teems that the Barrack Office trufted, in general, (Old), to the fubfequent infpeflion of the articles, and report which was made concerning them by the different Barrack Mailers on their taking them into their times. By Lieutenant General De Lancey's letter to Mr. Davifon, it appears, that the fufficiency of the quality of the articles of bedding at lealt, was intended to rest on the judgment of the Packer, who, although employed by Mr. Davifon, was to be approved of by Lieutenant General De Lancey. Mr. Lodge, who was the Packer employed, (peaks of fame inftances of bedding fent to him, on which an abatement in price was made by the tradeimen, in confequence of his reprefentation of the inferiority of their quality and Mr. Davifon acknowledges that the preffure of the butinefs made it fometimes neceffary to accept fupplies of a quality rather inferior to thole generally in ufe, but lays,• that he gave credit in his accounts with the Barrack Office for all abatements made on the tradefrnen's bills. The evidence before us does nut, however, jaify an inference that fuch an infe riority was common, or that in thisrefpea the - public has any caufe for complaint. Whether the manner in which the money con. cerns were tranfatied between the late Barrack Mat ter General and Mr. Davifon is to be viewed in the fame light, is now to be confidered. la Lieutenant General De Lancey's letter it appears to have been exprefily Rated, " that Mr. Davifon OtOuld not call fo. money until the fame amid be due acectding is t x the culikomary modes of paying for loch articles a, were fupplied, at xhich time calk or bill s would given him as the nature of citcumfiances might r e , quire." Mr. Davifon was therefore to be fur/lift e d with cafh or bills in time to make his payments, but not until they were wanted for that purport. And ie this way it Items that Mr. Davifon moll have under. flood the Barrack Meter General's letter. ' F or I, e Ways, that he obtained money by drawing bills or. the Barrack Killer General, n from one to four months date, and that the dates of the acceptances were in. tended generally to meet hia payments. The times of making his payments to the trader. men were not to be afeertained by us, without re. Terence to the books of More with whom he dealt, which would have occupied more time than we cou l d devote to the examination. We learn, however, front Mr. Davifun, that although at firfl his mode of par. ing his trade - men was very irregular, yet, for ti t lilt five years of his being employed under the B A T rack Office, their accounts were fettled every fi r months, which he confiders as equivalent to thro months credit. This applies to the articles provided on commiGs for coals, as will be frets hereafter, were fold by him. fell to the Barrack Office. The ufual credit, there. fore, on this article, viz. a wholefale credit, if hefold them on the terms o 4 a wholefale dealer, according te his undertaking (to be noticed bye and bye), or I retail credit, if he fold them at the price the inhabi• tants were paying at the time, fhuuld have beengivea by him to the Barrack Office, io Ins requifitions fat money. We do not, however, find that at any time Mr. Davifon gave tbs Barrack Office a ftatement cf the particular engagements he was under, from which the late Barrack Matter General might have judged of the propriety of advancing him caffi or bills at. cording to the limitations prescribed in the letter al. laded to. But it appears that he made his requifi. lions for money on the foundation of eftimates prt. pared by himfelf- • Thefe eftimates were generally given in halt yearly. They begin, for the molt part, with eating a fum fnppofed to be due on the account ending the half year preceding. But on reference to fome of thefe accoun% (which, from the circumnance about to be Dated, could not have been delivered, we prefume, till after the eflimates had been given in), we find thefe fup. pofed balances greatly to exceed thefe Dated in the accounts to be due. Thus, in an eitimate delivered Both December, 1798, the balance due to Mr. Davi. vifon on the a4th of June preceding is Dated to be about thirty-eight thoufand pounds ; on reference, however, to the account, this balance appears to be only (even thoufand three hundred and Werra pounds (even (billings, and, in the eftimate delivered 27th April, 1799, the balance due to him on the 24th of December preceding, is Rated to be about twenty eight thoufand ponds. The half year's ac• counts, however, (late this fum to be thirteen thou. land fix hundred and ter:nty-nine pounds. The IL timates then Hate the colt of the articles provided and providing, and of thole which it is calculated may be wanted for the periods for which the ens- mates are made. He debits himfelf its there e artnates with the cath and acceptances received on account fence the preceding eairna , e ; but he does not Rate how the earls account hands between the Barrack M.dter Genes al and himielf, or what monies have been actually paid by him at the time for the articles provided, and therefore the balance of call), on either tide, does not appear ; a circumftance for which Mr. Davifon accounts by laying, that filch Itatement was tronecelrary, as the Barrack Office had at all times the means of afcertainhlg thele balances as well as he ilad bimfelf. Mr. Stanbank, however, fags, that the Office had not the means of knowing what thefe balances were, till Mr. Davifon's half yearly accounts were fent in, which was not in general the cafe until nearly is months after the dates to which they were made up; but the precife periods of their being received at the Office he cannot now' afcertain. It is obvious that this mode of advancing money to Mr. Davifoo, on eltimates fo incoitaily and loofely made, and which did not includes tiatemr of the balances in Mr. Davifon's hands, might give him a command of money, contrary to the hmitati contained in Lieutenant General De Lancey'b letter, and in fad, on an examination of thole half yearly accounts, we find that at many periods, very large turns have been prematurely advanced to him. Thi,, we think, will be evident from the paper given in the Appendix, the matter of which bas been extraaecl from Mr. Davifutes bail' yearly accounts. This paper contains fix colnmns :—The fecond thews the colt of the ftores provided at the dates of the half yearlyaccounts, to be feen in the firft column. The balances due to Mr. Davifon on the face of thefe accounts, at the end of each half year, are given is the third ; but it mutt be remembered, that thefe in clude the colt of many articles nut actually paid for at the date of the account. The balance, when any is due by Mr. Davifon to the Barrack Mailer Gene ral, is Rated in column four. The dates at which apparent balances due to Mr. Davifim were lignidal ed, appear in column five. And the excels of a:cepiances in his hands at the date of the half yearly account, beyond the amount of thole balances, in column fix. An examination of the paper, with there explanations,' will Ihew, that in Mr. Davifim's half yearly account, ending 24th December, 1795, the balance in his favyur was forty-eight thnnfand (even hundred pounds, which was nearly paid in Januar, following, and that he had acceptances in hand, oa the Paid a4th December, exceeding, by twenty one thoufand three hundred p‘unds, the balance before ,gated ; that in the next half year, ending the - of June, 1796, he had in hand twenty:two pounds acceptances due in July andAuguli following, beyond the balance then dated to be due to him; the, in the year 1797, Mr. Davilon had in hand, on tht 24th of June, acceptances exceeding, by eight thou• land four hundred pounds, all the services perfoi. in the fucceeding half year ; and that, at the end 4 , that half year, he was aftually indebted to the Barrack Matter General ten thoufand four hundred pounds, and had moreover thirty-eight thoufand pounds atr ceptances in hand. That in June ant, the ' was againft him thirteen thoufand four pounds; that th e co lt o f B ores , f or t h e next btu ycar t mooted to forty-eight thoolastd two buncired t money ply aad tatement ght give Imitation P's letters If yearly ry Large n. to paper sich bas E yearly e fecond dates of column, r of thefe given is thefe in. paid for when any er Gene• which the liquidate fs of the alf yearly antes, is with thefe Im's half 795, the d levee January hand, oe renty one ce before the 24th thoufand 011 owing, an; that, I, on the \ to e l B ar r ack tfo caemri r t i r h t n oda : k d e n i d * olinds as e balance hundred nest half hundred ll.'