The Press. — London, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

1202 these suspicions, which a public examination might ripen into convictions. In entertaining these suspicions, it is impossible to believe that gentlemen of high honour, and trust worthy officials, could )4e actuated by senti ments of or prdudice against *Jae iW vidual in question. Aetiitd or hulaillind, e suspicions are honestly entertaisied. Well, then, it is opt most imrstirtant step in this case that die Gtomustient 4 barbcwor suspicion of one person in particular, and thit person is connected with the railway. But it is said by the authorities " that it would be " a dreadful thing to blast a man's character " upon a criminal charge which cannot at " present be brought home against him, and " of which he may be possibly innocent." The plea sounds plausibly, and, as far as the more sentiment is concerned, we echo it heartily. But justice is to be administered by rule, not by sentiment ; specious words are not to be substituted for principles of common sense; and in the case of so foul a murder, committed in such a daring manner, Govern ment should recollect that, while acting to wards one suspected person with fastidious delicacy, they are hardening the hearts and strengthening the arms of scoundrels by the score. Still, we repeat, that we honour the principle that a man' s character should not be blasted on light or superficial grounds. But a truism will not advance the argument. It is just as -plausible and pertinent to affirm, on the other h Ind, that the self preservation of society should not be trifled with, out of sentimental con siderations for the comfort of one person who might clear himself at once. Let us look closer into the case, and see if we cannot grapple with the difficulty. Since one person is suspected (a fact which cannot be denied) we put it calmly to the Go vernment how long do they suppose it possible that his name should be kept concealed? Is it not certain to be disclosed before many weeks or days? How is it possible that the name of one person suspected by the authori ties could be kept out of the private conversa tions of the city of Dublin ? Suspicions are aroused and are active, and to suppose that they could be smothered is absurd. So that, in point of fact, let the Government act as senti mentally as it pleases—let it conduct itself towards the supposed murderer with the most perfect delicacy and good-breeding—it is mere matter of time (as far as he is concerned) when the fact of his being suspected will be gene rally known. That inference seems so plain as to need no further elucidation. Let us now look at the interests of other parties in this business. We put it to the Government,—whether no sentimental consideration is to be shown, ou the other hand, for the characters of all the various officials and honest working men on the railway? It is evident that at present a taint, more or less, affects them all. When fifty men in a place arc open to sus picion, the shadow of the one real culprit darkens the whole company. Ought that to e so? Ought several against whom nothing can be said be compelled to endure a suspicion of so much guilt? And, not to enforce that consideration further, let us add that if the suspected party " has the rights of persons " to shield him from accusation, on the other hand, society at large has a pressing claim to protection, and to every possible exertion be ing used to seize and convict the real criminal. What, then, should be done? Public investigation, aided by one or more experienced criminal lawyers of high repute, can alone be efficacious in this remarkable ease. Let the facts now in possession of the Government be ventilated through the lips of ••. 7 • 4rultworthy • witnesses, and let the facts do • their own work. The investigation may be either semi-official, or at the instance of the directors of the railway. All we suggest is, that it should be an open one, and that the :" special aid of the most skilled criminal barris Sere in Ireland should be employed. It is a 441.80 in which skilful and vie/Orono cross axaminer alight achieve wonders. Prevarica • tioil by a witness, along with other cir aunastances, might place the guilt beyond reasonable doubt. THE PRESS. Hitherto, we fear the Crown lawyers (though gentlemen of great talent) have scarcely risen to a level with the difftmilty before them. The Attorney-General 411fr.4.. D. FITZGERALD) is a most eminent 'nisilieius' lawyer. In cow mercial eases, tad in' ,/ tisignin points of law, pas 'is seen fob greA Oityatto tge. r 'But he never ?lid serious terimiaol cattail tb conduct ; and his colLea i Mr. COIRIaI* (the Solicitor-General), '4 a ound liaptiftir b4.rister, an adept Na spinning the finest 14b of casuistry that ever could be woven out ofo!stonting,ent remainders." It is only barristers, Whom long practice in criminal eases has armed with habitne.l firm ness in dealing with nice questions of life and character (which may depend on single ques tions in a cross-examination), who are equal to the responsibility of denouncing the party on whom suspicion gloomily converges. Bar risters unused to such arduous cases, like surgeons not conversant with amputations, become nervous when the sword of State is handed to them. They dread the conse quences of wielding the deadly implement; and while they squeamishly falter, villains get ready their weapons in every alley, and the garotting association thrives apace in in creased security. SATURDAY, accounts—they feed the two latter, which are the working accounts. it account, is As given by the lr under the ilte to time to prepares an he is likely to ter the various uthorises the te Exchequer a transfer is [erect from the Exchequer account in the Bank of England to the Exchequer credit account, which stands in the name of the Paymaster-General in the books of the Bank of England. Here, as we remarked when we last noticed the subject, the control of the Exchequer ceases. The Comptroller of the Exchequer will not issue a credit to the Paymaster-Gene ral, even under the authority of the Treasury, unless he is himself satisfied that a vote of the House of Commons has been come to, and also ways and means passed for the sum re quired; but the credit having been granted to Uri Paymaster-General, and the amount en tered to his account in the Exchequer credit account, he acquires all power over its subject appropriation—subject only to the rules laid down by the Treasury for his guidance. The 2nd, or cash account—lt is necessary to remark that the Paymaster-General has not only in his department the paying out of money, but he has also the receiving of money. One of the witnesses describes him as the banker for almost all the public departments. It is this cash account which constitutes his bank. The confusion of functions which thus appertain to the office of Paymaster-General is one of the matters requiring mature considera tion. It is a sore subject with the Comp troller of the Exchequer. He complains of it frequently in his evidence ; he complained of it in an elaborate letter which he addressed to the Treasury on the 16th of January, 1849, in which he objects to the Paymaster thus having at his disposal sums not issued by the Exchequer, and not limited by the same specific Parliamentary appropriation which applies to Exchequer credits. This cash account is of' great magnitude (nearly six millions passed into it last year), arid is very heterogenous in its character. Sums of money from all sources are paid in there. The Turkish Loan is amalgamated with the Mercantile Marine Fund, the produce of old stores, with the Patriotic Fund and re mittances from soldiers in India, with the fees from the county courts. The 3rd, or drawing account, is the first of the working accounts, or accounts which are actually operated upon by cheques ; and the Treasury minute of 22nd of December, ISIS. as amended by another minute made in conse quence of an Exchequer remonstrance, defines with great exactness the modus operandi. It ordains that public money shall not be drawn from the Exchequer either before it is wanted, or in larger sums than the services require—iu other words, that the balances shall be kept as low rQ. possible. It provides that no funds shall be placed either to the drawing or the bill account, except by writes-off or transfers from the Exchequer credit account and the cash account ; that the person who is intrusted with the duty of supplying those accounts from the Exchequer credit and cash accounts shall have no power to draw cheques; and that the person who is intrusted with the power of drawing cheques shall have no knowledge of the state of the accounts on which he draws, and no power to place funds to those accounts to meet the cheques. There arc also various other checks—by countersigning. and daily examination of pass-books--calculated to pre vent the possibility of collusion or fraud. The 4th, or bill account, requires no parti cular notice. It is obvious that a considerable part of the payments, in respect of the public service, must be by bills, and the acceptance and payment of these bills are regulated with precision in the Treasury minute. In a few cases, apparently of urgent neces sity, the Paymaster-General makes payment in cash. They are confined for the most part to poor claimants, such as the wives or chil dren of seamen, widows of officers of the The Lst; or 4,o,lmofrihr credit simply doe p.ccomittlf 111-ib cfedits CompAroller of 11611 hequei authotti Of the Trigiury m tit the P,lLynester; thi. Pa ster estiSte ch /lay Alf the h refit** of ithe A* uncle hem* sbf *vice ; X'Obury ai issue,d the Comptroller of thi thereupo'n grants the credit, and then made of the amount so orde PUBLIC MONIES (PAYMENTS). MR. ANDERSON states that in 1831, when the Exchequer Commissioners sat, the public payments were conducted in a number of offices. He enumerates no fewer than ten; and he observes, truly, that the amount of the balances or unemployed monies, where the Paymasters were so numerous, was necessarily very largo, and the risk consequently greater, and the control less. One of the consequences of the Exchequer Report of 1831, though not one of the recom mendations, was tho consolidation of the offices of these Paymasters. This consolida. tion began in 1835. The credit of it belongs principally to the late Sir HENRY PARNELL. It required the interposition of Parliament, and the first measure was the Act 5 and 6 Wm. IV. ch. 35, for consolidating the offices of Paymaster-General of the Forces, Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, and Treasurer of the Ord nance. By this net the office of Paymaster- General was created and the Treasury given power to prescribe rules and regulations for its conduct. The reform then commenced was carried on, and in 184 k it may be said to have been com pleted, so far (as consolidation goes, when, by the Act 11 and 12 Vic., eh. 55, the offices of Paymaster of Exchequer Bills and Paymaster of Civil Services were united with that of Pay master-General. Mr. ANDERSON estimates the saving to the public since 1836 to have been half a million in salaries alone. There is also, he says, great additional security to the public money, great additional facilities are afforded to the public for conducting their business, and improved modes of transacting it have been established. It ought to be understood that under the present system all public monies are lodged in the Bank of England. Lord NIONTEAGLE states : am very happy to say that neither money goes into the Exchequer as money, nor is money paid out as money. The whole is done by account, by orders upon the Bank for credits in England and transfers in Ireland, made to department of payment. There is no such thing as the payment, or receipt, or the issue of a single farthing, in money, from the Exchequer. Those, therefore, who receive the revenue lodge the money they receive to the credit of the Exchequer or other department in the Bank of England. Subsequently, until paid out in cash to the proper parties, the Bank of England has the safe keeping of all public monies; and the shiftings and changes which we are about to describe are only in account. There are four accounts in the Bank of England belonging to the Pay-office-1. The Exchequer credit account; 2. The cash ac count ; 3. The drawing account ; 4. The bill account. The two former of these are supply II I I i M i • 1 i =MIMI • I I 0 I I • 1 M