The royal gazette — [Charleston] S.C., 1781-08-11 00:00:00, page 4

HAVING finished our examinations of all those public accountants
that came to our knowledge in the firfl class, as far as relates
to the balances of public money in their hands, we, in the next place,
lireded our attention to those 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 Audi
tors of the Impreft, transmitted to us pursuant to our precept, fur
jiifhed us with a lift of these accountants : as much of this certificate
as relates to the fubjedt matter of this prefect Report, is inferred in
the appendix. We took them into our consideration in the order in
which they hand upon that certificate; a rule we pursue in regard to
all lifts of accountants, unless there is some special reason for depart
ing from it.
The set of accountants therein firfl mentioned, are the Treasurers
of the Navy; and of these, the names that hand firft are the execu
tors of Anthony Viscount Falkland, whose final account is dated the
4th of April 1689, and from whom a balance of 27,611!. 6s. s^. is
declared to be then due. We did not mis-spend our time in a pursuit
where there was so little probability of benefit to the public. A debt
that has subsisted for near a century, may be presumed desperate.
Palling over, therefore, this article, we issued our precepts to Earl
Temple, as representative of the late George Grenville, Esq; to
Lord Viscount Barrington, Lord Viscount Howe, and to Sir Gilbert
Elliot, Bart, as representative of the late Sir Gilbert Elliot, for an
account of the public money in their hands, custody, or power,
as late Treasurers of the Navy. The returns made to our pre
cepts are set forth in the Appendix; from which it appears, that
the balances of public money remaining in their refpe&ive hands,
upon the days therein mentioned, amounted together to the sum of
76,7931. 18s. gd.
That we might learn for what reasons, services, or purposes, these
sums are permitted to remain in the hands of Treasurers of the Navy,
so long after they are out of office, we examined several of the officers
in this department, namely, George Swaffield, Esq; Cashier of the
Victualling; Andrew Douglas, Esq; Paymafler; Mr. Adam Jelli
coe, Chief Clerk to the Paymafler ; and Mr. Francis Cook, Ledger
Writer. By them we are supplied with tlie following information :
The office of the Treasurer of the Navy is divided into three
branches, the Paymaller's, the Cashier's, and the Victualling branch.
All the money be receives is for the navy services, and placed under,
or carried over, to one of these branches; the money in each branch
is subdivided, arranged, and kept under various different heads of
services; 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 represen
tatives in case of his death, to the fame services for which its several
parts were originally destined ; and the Commiflioners .of the Navy,
Victualling, and lick and hurt offices, each in their several departments,
continue to assign bills upon him for payment, until they have reduced
Iris balance to such a sum as, in their opinions, will not be more than
fufficient to anfiver purposes for which it hasbeen usual to leave money
with him, until his final account id passed. These purposes are, firft to
carry on the recalls upon those ships books which were open in his
Treafurerlhip, and the payment of the half-pay lifts and bounties to
Chaplains. Tlie ships books are usually kept open for recalls, for se
ven or eight years after the expiration of the Treasurership, in order
to give those seamen who, by being either turned over to other ships,
or employed in other places, could not attend at the time their ship
was paid, an opportunity of receiving their wages when it is in their
power to apply for them. The only fund applicable to this service
is, the money in the pay branch, placed under the head of “ To pay
" fliips, and carry on recalls :" This service is at an end when the
ships books are made up. They are made up as they come in course,
in order of time; and after the last is closed, the half-pay lifts are al
so closed, and the payment of the bounty to Chaplains ceafcs.
The other purpose is to pay the fees and expences of carrying on,
making up, and palling his accounts. Upon palling every annual ac
count, 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 palling his final
account, there is a gratuity also paid in the following manner:—Tlie
officers and clerics who tranfa& the business of the Treasurer in office,
carry on also at the fame time, and finally make up the accounts of
the Treasurers out of office; for which extra work they have no sala
ry or recompence whatever, until the final account is ready to be
palled, at which time it has been usual for them, by petition to the
Lords of the Treasury, to obtain a reasonable allowance for their
trouble, which has been paid them, by virtue of a Treasury warrant,
out of any money remaining in the hands of that Treasurer, under
whatever heads of service it may be placed. This gratuity, together
with the fees of palling the annual accounts, and for the quietus, it
is imagined, will exhaust the whole balance now remaining in the
hands of Lord Temple.
All the fliips books which were paid by Mr. Grenville, Lord Bar
rington, and Lord Howe, are made up, and consequently the ba
lances which the three boards have left in the hands of these Treafur
crs mull be for the purpose of paying the fees and expences of carry
ing on, making up, and passing their accounts. Of Sir Gilbert El
liot's flrips books, five hundred and fix are Bill open for recalls; and
payments, if applied for, are made upon them once a week ; and
therefore, whatever funis hand upon his account, in his paymaller's
branch, under the heads of wages, half pay, and bounties to Chap
lains, ar^ still applicable to those services; and the residue of the mo
ney permitted to remain with him is for the purpose of paying the
fees and expences of carrying on, making up, and passing his ac
counts.
How soon then will these several films be wanted for this purpose ?
The accounts of the Treasurers of the navy are made up and passed
as they come in course in order of time ; the officers niuft finish one
year before they begin upon another; and a subsequent Treasurer's
account is never finiflied till his predecessor's is finally closed. The
Rate 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 ac
count for the year 1758 : of all the subsequent accounts, only some
fusions of their lefpc&ive navy and victualling ledgers are delivered
into this office ; which parts of a Treasurer's accounts are usually sent
thither as speedily as they can be made up after the year expires.
From an account of the balances remaining in the hands of these
Treasurers, at the times they refpe&ively ceased to be Treasurers ;
and an account of the times when their lull fliips were made up; and
a state of Mr. Grenville's balances, and of the balances of I.ord Bar
rington, Lord Howe, and Sir Gilbert Elliot, every year since they
Severally went out of office, all transmitted to us from the Pay-Office
of the Navy, pursuant to our requisitions, we find that Mr. Grenville
resigned this office in 1762, and his last fllip's book was made up in
1771 ; that Lord Barrington resigned this office in 1765, and his last
Ship's book was made up in 1775 ; that Lord Howe resigned this of
fice in 1770, and his lull fhip's book was made up in 1778 ; and that
Sir Gilbert Elliot died in 1777 : hence it appears, that for near nine
teen years there has been in the hands of Mr. Grenville, or of his re
presentatives, 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 representatives of Sir Gilbert Elliot, considerable
funis of public money (exclusive of the sums on the heads of wages,
half pay, and bounty to chaplains) destined to purposes which (ex
cept the puffing three years of Mr. Grenville's accounts) have not
yet cxifted, and which, if we may judge from the progress hitherto
made in passing these accounts, are not likely soon to exiil.
Where public money is appointed for a service or purpose to arise
at a future time, we are of opinion, the public alone ought to have
the custody and life of that money in the mean time, and until the
service or purpose calls for its application.
When the fees and the gratuity become payable, we fee no reason
why the Treasurer in office should not pay them, in like manner as
the Treasurers out of office pay them now.
We di i not form our opinion upon these balances without firfl
hearing the late Treasurers themselves, or the representatives of those
who are dead ; and therefore we examined Earl Temple, Lord Vis
count Barrington, Lord Viscount Howe, and Sir Gilbert Elliot,
Baronet; not one of whom made any objection to paying their ba
lances into the Exchequer; upon condition, some of receiving their
quietus, others of being made feevre in such payments. We do
therefore conceive, that the balances of public money, now remain-
'J he Third REPORT of the Commissioners appointed to
examine, take and fate the Public Accounts of the Kingdom.
LONDO N.
We, in the next place, observed that several sums in each branch
were not actually in the hands of the Treasurer, but of his officers
and clerks, either carrying on services in London, or at the diflant
ports, whither these sums were directed to be sent by the Navy Board,
to carry on the services at those ports. It may reasonably be pre
sumed, that the Boards would not have directed into the hands of
the officers, nor the Treasurer have intrufted them with larger sums
than were wanted; and therefore these sums too, may be deducted
from the Treasurer's balance; which will reduce the public money
actually in his hands to the sum of 128,083!. i6s TO^d. as appears'by
by the state inserted in the Appendix. The conflituent parts of this
balance, under their several heads of service, consisting of a variety
of articles, are Rated in the Navy certificate; some of them carry
the appearance of having been applied for sooner than the services
seem to leave required; but, upon examination, we find that the
Boards do not direct an application for a supply to any fund, until
they know that fund is nearly, or likely soon to be exhausted. The
I reafury are sometimes prevented from granting the issue until many
days after it is craved; and therefore the Boards are careful to
apply early enough to guard against the hazard of a demand upon
an exhausted fund. To search into the actual and probable demands
at that time, upon each of these sums, was hardly practicable; one
circumstance alone might enable us to judge with fufficient accuracy,
whether the sum tptal was too large or not; that is, in what time
this balance was in fact paid away by the Treasurer. It appears from
his accounts for the month of August, that this whole balance, and
much more, was received by him during that month; and by bis
accounts for the month of September, transmitted to us pursuant to
our requisition, it appears, that not only the balance remaining on
the 31st of August, but a much larger sum, was in fad paid away
by him during the succeeding month. Considering, therefore, this
sum by itfelf, independent of, and unconnected with his other re
ceipts and payments, prior and subsequent to the date of this balance,
we have no grounds to fay, that this individual sum, received in one
month, and paid away in the next, was more than the service re
quired fliould be in the hands of the Treasurer of the Navy upon
the 31st of August last.
But it was necessary to extend our enquiry still farther. What is
the amount of the sum that has been continually in the hands of the
Treasurer of tlie Navy, and lias that sum been mere thin the current
services required? To come at this knowledge, we obtained from
the Navy Office an account of the total sums received and paid by
the Treasurer of the Navy for every month, from tlie Th of January
177% to the gift of August left, with the total of the balances re
maining in his hands at the eno of each month, as they appear in the
monthly certificates to the Treasury.
ing in the hands of Earl Temple, as representative of the late George
Grenville, Esq; and in the hands of Lord Viscount Barrington, and
of Lord Viscount Howe, and of Sir Gilbert Elliot, Bart, as reprefon
tative of Sir Gilbert Elliot, late Treasurer of the navy, ought to be
paid into the Exchequer, for the public service, leaving in the hands
of Sir Gilbert Elliot the sums in his account placed under the heads
of wages, half-pay, and bounties to Chaplains, to carry on the fer
viccs to which the lame are applicable ; that such payments fliould be
without prejudice, and a proper security and indemnification be gi
ven to each of them agfinft any loss or detriment that may accrue 10
them in consequence of Rich payments.
I he Right Honourable Welbbre Ellis, the present Treasurer of the
Navy, returned to our requisition, a balance in his hands upon the
31st of August lail, of 348,9411. its. pdr The ad dire&s us to ex
amine into all balances in tlie hands of public accountants, for the
purpose of confiderirg what sum may 1c taken cut of their hands,
tube applied to the public service. It is obvious, we could mtex
amine 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, inan Office of so con
flant and large an expenditure, this sum muff probably be exHaufted,
even while it was under our consideration; but it was- competent to
us, and we thought it our duty, to examine whether this.was a larger
sum than the current business of the office required should at that
tune be entrusted to the Treasurer of the Navy. A comparison be
tween the quantum of the sum, and the demands upon it, would
enable us to form some judgment upon this point ; with this view
we examined the present Treasurer himfelf, Timothy Brett, Esq;
Commissioner of the Navy, and Comptroller of the Treasurer's ac
counts, John Slade, Esq; Commiflioner of the Victualling, and
John Bell, Esq; Commiflioner of the Sick and Hurt;: from whom we
colled the following information.
All the money received by the Treasurer, for the services of
tlie Navy, is either issued to him out of the Exchequer, or paid to
him by lundry persons, in pursuance of the directions of the Navy,
Victualling, or Sick and Hurt Boards. The money from the Ex
chequer is issued to him, and arranged in his accounts under various
heads of services; these heads are kept diflind; and he cannot place
or transfer a sum issued to him under one head, to any other head
of service. All bills aligned upon him for payment by these boards,
fpecify the correspondent head of service, out of which that bill is to
be paid, and he must not pay it out of money placed under any other
head of service than that so fpecified on the bill.
" hen money is wanted, the application for it never originally
moves from the Treasurer, except in the single instance of money to
pay fees, and other contingent expences; this he craves of himfelf,
when that fund is.neatly exhausted; in all other cases the Board,
in whose department it is, by letter, desire him to present a memo
rial to the Lords of the Treasury, Specifying the sum wanted, and
for what particular service; the Memorial pursues the letter, and
''," '??' ' s directed from the Exchequer in the terms of the Memorial.
The T reafurer immediately certifies to the Navy Board the whole
sum he receives, and to the other boards, so much of that sum as
concerns them; he also transmits 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 these means
they have have an exaft knowledge of the state of his balance under
each head of service. Each of these boards enter in their books all
the alignments they make upon him for payment; of which they
transmit 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 business, they can form some conjeCture relative to the pro
bable approaching demands that may be made upon him in the va
rious branches of the service. By such knowledge and conjecture
these Boards are guided in their directions to the Treasurer, as to the
time when tlie quantity of tlie sum, and the service for which every
application for a supply is to be made to the Treasury.
At the end of every month the Navy Board transmit to the Trea
sury a certificate, containing an exaft state 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 know
ledge of the state of his balance every month. This certificate for
the month of August last we procured from the Navy Office, on
which the balance in the hands of the Treasurer appears to be
260,7161. Is. 8,1.
Being made acquainted thus far with the course of business in this
office, our next flep was to resolve this balance of 348,941!. 11s. qd.
into its conflituent parts, and compare the quantum of each part,
as far as we could, with the a&ual and probable demands of service
"P^" "° n th e 3^ °f August, the date of his return.
I he firft circumstance that engaged our attention, was a difference
between the 1 reafurer's balance and the Navy balance upon the fame
day, the 31st of August; the former exceeding the latter by the sum
0/ 88,225!. los. o^d : This difference lies in the Cashier's and Victu
alling branches, and arises from the following cause: When the three
boards aflign bills upon the Treasurer for payment, they immediately
give him credit for those bills, in his account kept at their offices; but
the 1 reafurer does not himfelf take credit for any bills in his own ac
count till he actually pays them. The persons who receive these bills
do not always immediately present them to the Treasurer for payment,
, ut frequently keep them in their possession for a considerable time.
Ihe I reafurer's balance must therefore exceed the Navy balance as
much as the sum of the bills afligned upon him for payment exceeds
the sum of the bills actually paid by him. We conceive this excess
is not money for which the Treasurer is accountable to the Public, but
belongs to the proprietor of those bills, and remains in his hands, at
their rifle, until they apply to him for payment. This sum, there
fore, we think, fliould be deducted from his balance.
As the public money fliould pass without delay fom the pocket
ofthe fubieCt into the Exchequer, so it ought nd to issue oat of the
Upon the examination of a fhip's book, there appears a foundation
for this objection, which opens a door for a poflible inifehief, worthy
consideration. It is in the power of a Treasurer of the Navy, retiring
in disgust, to refufe carrying on any more payments, and by that
means to put a flop, for eight months or more, to the payment of all
the seamen on the numerous volumes of fliips books open at the se
veral ports in his Irealurerfhip.. Mr. Grenville left open above thir
teen hundred. I his evil does not rest in {peculation : we have an
instance of it in evidence. Tire office that does not guard against the
poflibility df such an evil, is fundamentally defective.
I hele defers should be speedily corrected- To alter tlie conftitil
tion of the office; to abolish the iubordinate Treasury; to render a
I reafurer the mere Accountant; and to vary the mode of account
ing, carry with them a strong appearance of an effectual remedy; but
were we, in the present state of our inquiries, to come to decision,
of such moment, we should be premature, perhaps rash. It is easier
to fee the defects than to supply the regulation. The pay of the Na
vy is an important object: ; and any alteration in the mode fliould be
well weighed before it is adopted ; it should be traced through all its
effects, and perfectly afeertained to be as feafible in practice, as it is
specious in theory. To diflurb, to confound, or to delay (effects ret
unfrequent, when novelty of form is introduced, and new principle
applied to an old office) miglit be attended with very furious confo
quences.
We enquired why a Treasurer, under the present conftitntion cf
tlie office, might not, upon his resignation, immediately pay over his
balance to the successor, or into the Exchequer, and all the subsequent
tranfa&ions of office be carried 011 by the Treasurer for the time be
ij]g' —lwo reasons were afligned for the necessity of keeping open his
accounts, though out of office.
Ift. I hat fufficient time may be given to his fob-accountants, to
clear their imprefts.
J he Sub-accountants are certainly very numerous; and as, accord
ing to the present mode of pafling these accounts, they must all be set
i,faper upon the final account, was that account to be made up soon.
after the expiration of the Treasurership, it would be very volumi
nous and troublesome to the office.—But,fince the Treasurer in office
does now clear the imprefts of some of his predecessors, and can clear
the imprefts cf all, and the three Boards can, at their pleasure, call
upon the Sub-accountants to . clear their imprefts, we do not think this
reason conclusive.
The defects, to which we have alluded, presented themselves in
the course of an examination made, in obedience to the act, fora
more limited purpose. Coming, however, before us, they are, in
our opinion, too important to be passed over in f.lcnce : we thought
it our duty to point them out, that, fliould they be deemed 2 proper
subject for tlie exercise of the wisdom of the Legislature, the fold
advantages, which would result to the public froin their corr^ior,
might not be delayed.. Had we protruded this report until we were
polfefled of materials for a well grounded opinion unon these points,
we must have disobeyed the aft, that enjoins us to report, in thefrft
place, upon tlie balances in the hands of accountants in tliis leffion 61
Parliament, to the end that the public money, long ago issued, and
frill remaining in their hands, may, with all convenient fpced be re
feored to the pfieffiun of the Public.
GUY CARLETON, (L. S# )
, T. ANGUISH, ' (L. £)
A. PIGOTT, (H. S)
RICHARD NEAVE, (B. S.)
SA. BEACHCROfT, E)
GE.' HRUMMOND, (Lh)
°fo of ^°^fs, Bell rar^, (:tb March, 1781.
I here have been issued to three of these Treasurers, for the Navy
services upwards of thirty-three millions, the accounts of which are
not passed; exclusive of above 25,000,c001, to the late Mr. Grenville
wnole final account is not yet fettled ; and of i6,000,00c1. to the pre
'°T\ 'reafurer, none of whose accounts could as yet be fettled.
I he navy accounts in July lull, when the imprcll certificate was
transmitted to us, were in arrear in the office of the Auditor of the
Impreft twenty-two years. This delay is occasioned by the accounts
of the subsequent years not being made up at the Pay-Office of the
Navy, where there is a want of officers and clerks for this department.
A fufacient number of perlons,, intelligent in this branch, should.
forthwith be provided by the proper authority, with adequate sala
ries, for the sole purpose of proceeding upon, bringing forward, and
making up these accounts, with as much dispatch as' the nature of the
business will admit.
2 '. J hat the payment of Lis ships books may be completed.
A fhip's book is the voucher for the Treasurer who pays it: Two
cannot pay upon the fame book ; it would create confufion, as the
payments of the one could not, without great trouble and difficulty,
be diflinguifhed from those of the other; it could not therefore be
made a voucher for two Treasurers. To enable a Treasurer in office
to carry on the payment of a fhip's book open in the time of his pre
decessor, the names of all the seamen not paid, muff be abftradted,
and entered in a new book; a work of great labour and length of
time, where the books are so numerous; and during all that time,
no payment of wages could be made to the seamen unpaid upon those
books.
I he I reafurer finds his business does not end with his office; his ac
counts are still open : He goes on, receiving and paying, until he feels
liimfelf, his family, and his fortune, fubjed to all the evils of long pub
lie accounts far in arrear, and the difficulties of rendering an account
increasing daily: He continues refpcnfible for millions, without an
expectation of obtaining his final difeharge during hit life.
I he odice is perplexed with the multiplicity of these accounts
There arc four diftin& accounts, of four Treasurers of the Navy at
this time open at the Pay-Office, and business is carried on upon eve
ry one of them at the fame time, by the fame officers, when the cur
rent business of the present Treasurer alone would'find employment
enough for them all.
By this delay in making up the accounts, the public loses the use,
at least, of considerable funis of their owr money; not that the prin
cipal itfelf nas always been fafe. A defaulter cf above 27,000!. Hands
at the head of the lift of Treasurers of the navv upon the impreft cer
tificate. "
Exchequer, eitlier before it is wanted, or in larger sums than thef
vice for which it is iflued requires. By this last account, a very j -
sum has been conftautly in his hands, during tlie period therein m'°'
tinned, exclusive of the amount of bills afyned'upon him, but
p dented to him for payment. The prinrioat cause of the n'lapnin'i"
of this balance, is, the practice, in chhorhec, of not applyin^'n^,,
ihued under one head, towards farisfying a demand upon any ojg
head of service; tlie coufequeuce of which is, when the money "
the account of any head of service is nearly exhaufled, a fopply
he procured for that service, how abundant soever tlie sums ud
other heads of accounts, or the sum total of his cash, may be. tf^
all the sums he receives to constitute and be considered as one conn,
general cadi, and be applied mdifcriminutcl, to every service a
lek sum than the lowed of the balances in the account lift mention'
would, in our opinion, fuffice to carry on the current services of the na°
vy, even various and extensive as they now are. It would create
confuhon in the accounts; for tlie receipts and payments under each
head of service, might still be kept diftin&; and thougli the payments
might frequently exceed the receipts on some heads of accounts ve+
the 1 reafurer would not be without fuftcrent cash, and the next'iff^
the Exchequer would rcflore the balances, What the s um ne"
ceffary for carrying on the service fliould be, mull depend upon cir?
cumdances; it will be different from at different times, and mull
left principally to the discretion of those Commissioners, from whom
the direction for supplies move, who, being conversant in the bu
siness, can best determine. But, to enable "the Lord* of the Trea
sury likewise to judge of the propriety of, and be a check and controul
upon, the requisition, we are of opinion, that, besides the certificate
sent every month from the Navy Board, an account of the sum total
of the balance in the hands of the Treasurer of the Navy should be
inserted in every application for a supply to the Treasury.
We have not been inattentive to defers we have observed in this
office during the course of our inquiries; defe&& which concern the
officer, the office, and tlie Public.
A Few Calks of very fine Sugar—Jamaica Spirits —and 2
few Pipes cf Madeira Wine, to be fold bv
J ' GECRGI; MOWATT, & Co. No. 41, Bay.