The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-04-22 00:00:00

to be employed in s`eptembtr.llso4. and the balance I
is now in his favour ; yet (like others) he ha. re-
ceiv,d no credits in the eflim ledgers for articles
tur,ished, an 4 stands charged in them with neatly
a million, being the amount of the payments made
to him in the course of ten years.
There are no accounts in the Barrack Offi:e to
justify the payment' to the late Barrack Master
General, and his account in the odi.re 1.-d ters is
therefore an exception to a preceding rem irk, that
payments have nor, in general, been made, without
reference to services performed. There are, it is
true, certain entries made, to the credit of the late
Barrack Master General, under circa:us:an:es which
the Accountant has fully explained ; but as the do-
ciments delivered iu by the late Barrack Master
General, if sucn they could be called, have been
withdrawn by him, the entries must be considered
as of no ellen ; they afforded us, at least, no infor-
mation. But that we might ascertain the balance
of any which was due from the late Barrack Master
General to the public, we required from him an
account of the appropriation of the sum of 135,1241.
4.. 10d. which he admits to have drawn on his own
accou' t, fl Om the period of kis appointment in 1793,
to that of his resignation, M.November 1604.
In answer to the precept of the Board. Lieut -
General De Lancey furnished us with certain state-
ments and accounts, from which there results a ba-
latter doe to the public of six thousand eight bun-
died and sixty-five pounds four shilling.. being so
much which Lieutenant-General 1)e Lancey has
drawn from the treasurer beyond the amount which
he states to be due to him; but on reference to the
items at these accounts, it appears to us that a much
larger sum is due to the public.
Lieutenant. General De Lancey takes credit in
every year for allowances and emoluments under
three heads:

I. His pay as Barrack hinter General, and Ge-
neral Officet on the Staff.
t. His travelling expences.
3. His contingencies for additional charge and
responsibility npon unsettled accounts, and at one
per cent. on the expenditure of the Barrack Depart-
ment in each year

. .

The two first heads have been made snbjeCts of
inquiry, and the obtervations which may arise on
them will be hereafter noticed ; the third is the
transaction to which we have before alluded, and it
is of so important aid singular a nature, that we
have been greatly influenced by the considerations
which arise on it, to make this partial report.
"rhe Lieutenant-General informs us, that he takes
credit for this sum on account of contingent
charges, such as, 0 up^n the making up and settling
his accounts, he shall bung against the pubic ; '
and in an explanatcrry pape►, on this subject, he
adds, o that, teehing most acutely the critical kitua-
lion in which he has been placed, not only with re-
spell to the losses to which he must be subjeeed,
from the mode to be applied to the settlement of
his accounts, but likewise from the delay which has
taken place, and which has deprived him of the
means of recovering disallowances from the subor-
dinate accountants ; he, therefore, in order to in-
demnify himself teem losses which may arise upon
the settlement of his accounts, found himself under
the necessity of availing himself of the authority
granted to him of making contingent charges, and
stating a sum in his contingent account for addi-
tional charge and responsibility, to which, injus-
tice, he ought not to have been subjected."
Admitting that losses are likely to accrue, and
for the cause assigned, it yet does not occur to us,
Lieutenant-General De Laneey can indemnify him-
self against such► losses or disallowances, by appio-
pri sting to himself so considerable a sum of the
public money; since this appropriation must, in
passing his accounts, he disallowed equally with
any miler charges fur which no voucher nor autho-
rity is produced.
It is observable, that Lieutenant-General De
Laneey introduced a similar charge of 11. Is. per
cent. on barrack expenditure, into his early ac-
counts, submitted to examination at the War Of-
fice in 11”.5; which charge from the year 1791., he
justifies on the ground that the a War Office had
charged him with large sums which he had never
received ;" and for the period previous to 1794, on
the ground that he considered Isis increased respon-
sibility to take place from the commencement of his
account.

But the fad of the introduction of this charge,
it a time when no delay had occurred ; its being at-
terwards withdrawn from the account s which were
passed at the Wor Office (withdrawn, as he states,
by himself, that " no delay might take place in the
settlement of his accounts, by any clues:a.ms aris-
ing"), and his total silence on this subject, in any
communcations wade by him to the Select Com-
mittee of Finance, in 17P7, tend to invalidate the
reasons adduced in its justification ; and Lieutenant- ,
Genet I Ile Lancet, not shewing any autholity for
this charge, amounting to eighty-eight thousand
nine hundred and twenty-three pounds, we are
of opinion, that this soh should Ita added to
his acknowledges' balance of six thousand
eigLt hundred and sixty-five' pounds four shil-
lings before mentioned, and the total amount
repaid, without delay, to the account of the
pre.ent Barrack Master General, at tl e Bank of
England. It further appeals to us, that there is
an error in Lieutenant-General De Lancey's retsanal
account, the correition of which will aod to this ha-
lance. Lieutenant-General Lk Lancey takes credit
for one On usand five hundred and seventy ponds
one shilling, the amount of a warrant granted him
by the War-ofEce for his pay and allowances for
the year 1,793 : these charges are already included
in the two first items of his account, and amount
to one thousanl six hundred and twenty-six pounds
sixteen sEiliings ; which credit mu.t therefote be
cancelled and added to the balance, making the
total sum due by Lieutenant-General De Lancer to
the public ninety-scveu thousand four hundred and
fifteen pounds.
The apyrnpriatitm cf so large a sum to an nran-
therized ti•e, and especially of so ;Teat a proportion
of it in the la-t ten months of Lieutenant-Gentral
De Lancey's holding the offiee of Barrack Master
General, afforded strong grnonds to protons., that
the statements given in by the Barrack °Mee.
on which the Lords of the Treasury proceeded
in the issues of money for barrack services.
were not the eorrea duennbents ne should have
*epee.' them to be; and our ingnities have