The National Register. — London, England, 1811-01-06 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. duty, I were to take upon myself to decide, for them, in what manner the defect .in the personal exercise of the King's Au thority shall be supplied, in so, important a branch as that of the issue of his Royal Treasure ; much more, if I were to arrogate to myself the power cf dispen s ing, for t hat purpose, with the express provisions of the laws by which my official duties are re gulated. But if your Lordships shall think it proper to submit this difficulty to the co:lsideration of tile two Houses of Parliament they have declared, that with them rests the right and duty to provide the means of removing it. With them, resides under the present exige:lcy, the power to command those official seals, the use of which would constitute an imperative. and unques tionable authority to the Officers of the Exchequer ; with them rests the discretion of judging in what other manner they may think it more fit to provide a sufficient warrant or sanction for any issue which they may detcrinin , l to be requisite for the pub lic interest?. ; and I certainly should not fail to defer to their pleasure with entire submission, and to execute with the most implicit obedience, any orders Which I shall receive from your LOrdships, under the sanction of their authority. I have the honour to be, With the highest respect, my Lords, Your Lordships most obedient and most humble Servant, GRENVILLE, Auditor. bly apPriiing your Lordships, of the final judgment which I have formed as to the hoe of my official duty on this occ,a- shin. It is matter of the deepest cOheern to me, to be made the in voluntary cause of any, even the shortc3t delay, in an issue of his Majesty's treasure, statedto me, from such high authority as that of your Lordships, to be important to the public service. If I could be satisfied of the propriety of my doing, what is i-e -quired from me by the ‘Varrauts which I have had the honour to receive from your Lordships, there is no personal responsibi lity which I would not readily incur for the public interests ; but I cannot persuade myself, that I could, obey those Warrants, without a breach of my official . duty in that point, which is above all others peculiarly ohlfratory on the person placed in the situation of Auditor of the Exchequer; nor without a high and criminal violation both of a positive statute, and also of the essential principles of our Monarchical nd Parliamentry Constitution. _ The Act passed in the Bth and 9th of King 'William the Third, cap. :!8. intituled, " An Act for the better observation of the course anciently used in the" Receipt of Exchequer," prohibits the issue of the King's treasure, except in pursuance of the spe cial provisions of an Act of Parliament, or under the authority of Warrants under his Majesty's Great Seal, or Privy Seal, duly enterer in the Office (...f the Auditor, who is thereupon to draw the necessary orders. In the present insta. ce all these autho rities are wan :mg ; and it is proposed, that 1,000,0001. sterling of his Majesty's Treasure shall be issued on the sole ground of a Warrant signed by your Lordships. Every step taken towards .such an issue by any officer of the Exchequer, but more espe cially by the Auditor, would be in open violation, both of that Statute, and of the accwtomed course of Exchequer; for such an act your Lordship' Warrants cannot, as I now learn from the highest authority, afford me any legal sanction. I must, lam told act on my own discretion, for the exercise of which I must alone be responsible. This responsi bility-, if it legally attaches upon me, I certainly cannot trans fer to any other persons,_ and least of all to your Lordships, whatever willingness you have expressed to take it on yourselves. My attempting to do se, would itself be criminal; tending to confound the official relations in which I have the honour to stand towards your Lordships, and to annul those checks which the law has established to ensure the faithful discharge of our respective duties, and thereby the security of the public 'trea sure. _ _ But I beg leave humbly to submit to your Lordships, that the law has in truth invested me with no discretion on this question. The exigencies of the public service, which your Lordships have condescended to detail to me in these your Warrants , are natters of State, of which, as Auditor of the Exchequer, I have no knowledge, and can take no cognizance ; my official duty is strictly limited to an observance of the accustomed forms of the Exchequer, and of the laws which have from time to time, been pasted for its regulation. to;these I am - bound to adhere ; and it is on the fullest con sideration which this pressure of time has permitted me to give to thetn, that lam compelled to decline, but with all due re spect to your Lordships, a compliance with the requisition con tained in those Warrants to which,this letter refers. Perhaps, however, on in occasion of such high and urgent public interest, it may hot be improper for we before 1 cicoe this Letter, further co su bmit to your Lordships, my view of the mode in which all di the on this subject may be re moved, in so far at least as any 'agency of mint may be required for the purpose of those issues; a mode which I am happy to think may, still be resorted to, even within the_period which the R,isht. ifon. the Lhanceelor of the Ext•he'quer did me the honour to. point out to me, as that within which no serious in convehience' is to be apprehended to the ktaxlic service.. • Your Lordships have recited id your Wirrants, the Resolu tion by which the two Houses ref Parliament have declared the Melancholy tact of the temporafy Incapacity of hiii'Majesty for the dtscharge of his high functions. If it be proper for me, iu my Official character, in any Manner whatever to act on, this dke.leatidn,. 1 cannot separate My knowledge of it from that of the accompanying Resole ion, by which the. Lords and Com mons did at the same time declare, that it was their tight and duty ii . to .provide. - the means of supplying the defect of the pettottal eitercise Of ihe•Royai Authority atiiing from his Ma jesty's said indisposition, in such manner as the 'exigency of the . .. case ' till appelyto them to require." lit ...TR - Wititilo4 l all tlic aubjects of this realm, owe submit'. 'FA Ig *#or i e,,,, . ! tO 4 l - While . it presents on . the.ocie . hand,. in 9Ty ji - ri ?i!k 7 ntp t 4 . 40 . 4 v anc . l .. ll . lsUpqable ohs_tacle_ to my_ _o bey la quk t .rigr i l l op thlit a . requiption, ,if .does I trust afford . , on the ,cotlwa - Ancl e ,Ineans of obvilltuig any inconvenience that . could arise int tny adherence ko.this my public. duty, I should think'inyielf doubly criminal, if, while the two Houses ale utually procee4in4 in ta4 ex.4c,:t.iuu cif iu,:ll, their right and TUESDAY'S LONDON GAZETTE. DOWNING-STREET, DEC. 31, 1810. A dispatch, of which the following is an extract, was yesterday received at Lord Liverpool's office, addressed to his Lordship by Lieutenant-General Viscount Wellington, dated Cartaxo, 15th Decem ber 1810. No alteration has been made in the enemy's posi tion in front of this army since I had the honour of addressing you on the Bth instant, and all the de serters and prisoners continue to report the distress which the troops The enemy detached a body of cavalry, consist. ing of four regiments, towards Coimbra ; but, finding that town occupied by General Bacellar, they have returned again to their station in the rear of the right of their army. I am concerned to forward the enclosed report from Marshal Sir William Beresford, of the death of Captain Fenwick, the late Commandant of Obi. dos. During the last two months he had been en gaged more than twenty times with the enemy's foraging parties, and I have had several opportu nities of reporting his success. Upon this last occasion he made an . attack upon, and driven in, a party, consisting of eighty grena diers in the neighbourhood of Evora, near Alco baca, which had come there in search of provisions, having under his command a detachment of the same number of the Militia of the garrison of Obi dos, and was pursuing them when he was mortally wounded, and he died on the 10th ; we have thus sustained a great, loss, and he is lamented by all who had auy knowledge of his gallantry and exertions.. It is- generally' reported that the battalions com posing the Bth corps have.marched towards Mad rid where preparations . Were making for the , as sembly, K3f„k large bod:y of troops. It is certain that all these troops, as well as Gardanne's de tachMent; hale retireA'ftorn the frontiers of • POr t-144 4ta vrti.: • • ri,• • ~; voielpt— • i f ; BANKRUPTS. William Wigtaker, of .Lath, victualler. William Keeling, of Congleton, Chester, baker. William Stackhouse, of Blackburn, Lancaster, linen and wool. i. kii-draper. . • ~~ r