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London, England, 1805-04-09 00:00:00

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breach of duty. No less a sum than 216,0001. of the
public money had been paid at one time, and this, he
said,brought him to another performer in these trans-
Spreett the broker, who should have
been by the Cohunissioners compelled to answer.
He thought in th;i% instance particularly, the Com-
missioners ,o-tra wrong, and were very blameable.
Through Mr.liprott's hands it appeared there passed
310,0001. ; ailf# through Mr. Montagu Lynd's
65,0001. Lora. -Melville confesses, said he, that he
knew of these ileansAftions, and the less he knew
of theln in detail, the more he was to blame.—
Lord Melville sacs in excuse, and Mr. Trotter- sue-
gests the wire idea to the Commissioners, that Mr.
Trierre's salary was too small. 'Filet salary was
settled by-Lord Melville himself, at 50 A year,
the Commissioners had recommended it to he raised
to 8001. a year ; but that was never done till 1800,
jest as Lerd Melville was going out of office ; hut
it had, in co, been always more than 5001.
a year, on account of small balances which were
allowed to remain in the Paymaster's hands, and
which made it 8001. Lord Melville, on going
out of office, raised it to 8001. ; and then
Mr. Trotter voluntarily, and of his own accord,
gives up 3001. a year of it to Mr. Wilson. The ex-
cuse, therefore, of the salary being too small, is a
pretence and false statement by Mr. Trotter, and
Lord Melville should have come to the House of
Commons, and said,' You have received a false ac-
count from Mr. Trotter, and a false report from
the Cemmissemers :' but he does not ; on the
contrary, he stiffer% the account to stand, and
even verifies it. WAS all this risk which Lord
Melville ran for the sole benefit of Mr. Trotter?
He mold reercely suppose it possible ; and, in-
deed, when we recoiled and consider his own
defence, he thought there must have been a
participation. There are large sums of m 'trey
in the name of Mr. Dun,'" as Treasurer of the
Navy ; great speculations are made, and they are
,uniformly lucky. To have steered clear of sus-
picion of participation, a communication between
Lord- Melville and Mr. Trotter, tinder any circum-
stances, should not have existed. There were also
three account' in the !tame of Divides : one of the
Right Hon. H. Ihradas ; the second Henry Dun-
das ; and the third Mr. DllfliAS. Whether any of
these arc the Treasurer of the Navy, or, whether
the three be the same, he would not pretead to say.
Several sums had been paid for the salary of
Treasurer of the Navy, but all these would not
answer the Vim put by Mr. Trotter to Lord
!Melville's account, rip to the year 18(10, when
he last went out of the offiee ; and he must re-
peat it as a most singular circumstance, that
when all Mr. Trotter's speculations were so uni-
formly lucky, and Lord Melville knew it, he
should not have prevented his proceeding in them,
lest it might he supposed he had divulged official or
State secrets. Mr.Whithread insisted, that Mr. Trot-
ter was the most improper man in the kingdom to he
the agent of Lord Melville. What ! the Paymaster
to the Treasurer of the Navy his own agent ? a man
entrusted with such immense sums of the public
money, was a most extraordinary and astonishing
combination. From the time he became the pay-
master he should instantly have been discharged as
Agent. Besides all this, it remains to he accounted
for how he came eetpratnted with Mr. Trotter, and
whet very extraordinary circumstances concurred
in producing such ,unlimited and unheard of con-
fidence. From being a clerk in the Navy Pay Of.
lice. Lord Melville first makes him paymaster arid
then los agent. Before he was the Paymaster, he
had no money ; afterwards he has, and Lord Melville
borrows it of him. How could he have any then,
unless it was the public money ? Before he was the
PAvinaster, he never could have lent him 5001. in-
stead of which he soon Afterwards lends him
20,0001. at one their. When Mr. Trotter is asked
by the Commissioner., did you make any advantage
for yoursellof the public money ? His answer is, I
wo'n't tell.—Did you ever do it for Lord Mel-
ville? Wo'n't tell.—Did Mr. Tierney ever make
advantage of it ? Atter some hesitation, No.
—Did Lord Bay ling?—Nn.—Did Mr.
Bathurst? No.—Did Lord Melville, again?
—Wo'n't tell.—From such conduct And such
answers, what inference could be drawn but
that which he had before mentioned ? He next
adverted to the examination of Mr. Wilson,
who ought, he said, to be pursued by the Commis-
sioners. Did Lord Melville make advantage ?
Wo'n't tell. Such a connedion of circumstances was
never before heard of ; it skewed they were all in
the secret, and must protect each other ; and then
came Mr. Sprott, with the opinion of counsel on
every head of the examination, guarded at and de-
termined not to answer a single one of them. Ile
then took notice of I.ord Melville's letter. When
asked a plain question by the Commissioners, viz
to what cause are these deficiencies owing ? He
answered, "I desired Mr.'l'. as far as I am concerned,
to give you all the information in his power " Did
he so No. Mr. Trotter would answer notherg;
and it was only on the 2rah of dime 1804, that this
steward of the public money for 20 years khesv any
thing how that money had been used by his servant.
You lend me, said his Lordship, 20,0001. and I
shall make no inquiries. His letter was, in fad,
no answer, but to mislead—there was nn occasion
to disclose delicate oranealtions of Government ;
hut it was clear he wanted to shelter himself under
that pretence. 111,re was, he said, one part of the ac-
count to which there was no clue whatever. The Aft
olPerliament account refers to the I stTreasurership,
and amounts to 915,5101. and upwards. The Ad
of Parliament new account refers to 2d Treasurer-
shipond amounts to upwardsof 2,000,0001.; andthe
34 account, which refers to nothing at all, amounts to
upwards of 210,0001. The Ad of Parliament Ac-
count should have closed in 1785, and yet there are
many payments on account of it made its 17951
these two accounts were paid to Messrs. Coutts'e
House. Why the Treasurer or the Navy did so,
and yet there was no account how this money was
drawn oat of that house, when Lord Melville and
Mr. Trotter laid their heads together, and stated,
that Mr. Trotter kept his accounts in such a manner
that he could not tell which was his ; it was 4 false
account, for so exact was Mr. Trotter in his Ac-
counts, that he immediately paid over all his be
lances to the next Treasurer of the Davy. Lord
Melville says, From the manner in which Mr.
Trotter kept my accounts, it is impossible I can an-
swer that question.' The Commissioners then
ask him more particularly, Did you ever au-

is
thorise him to make advantage ?' His answer
was—, To the best of my recollraion I never
did.' Astonishing, said Mr. W. that a man of strong
memory, as his Lordship has often shewn himself
to be, should have any difficulty in even recoll-a-
ing so particular and remarkable a circumstance.
It was A very feeble way of defending this violation
of an eel of Parliament, to allege that allowances
and perquisites were permitted, on account of the
salary at the Paymaster being too small before—
bectuse it was in Lord Melville's own power to en-
crease it not only to 8001. but even to 10001. 15001.
or whatever sum he pleased. Bit the feet was, he
knees very well that the salary, be it what it may,
could be of very immaterial consequence to a man
who had so lucrative a business, and so much mo-
ney at his disposal, as Mr. Trotter had ; and the
Freasurer of the Navy, when he had the legitimate
power of remunerating the services of his inferior
as he thought proper, preferred the method of do-
ing so by breach of the A& of Parliament. The
effe& of this was evident, and, in a great degree,
inevitable, throughout the whole of the department,
for it always followed as a necessary consequence,
that where the superior himself was lax in the per-
formance of hit. duty, the example was imitated
by all his inferiors; defalcations then ensue
throaehout the whole system, and the public at
last must lie left to pay the penalty. As one in-
stance of this he would mention the melancholy
case of Mr. Jericho, which could not fail to affect
the lettings of every gentleman. That unfortunate
man was a clerk or sub-.accountant in the same of
tics', And, as usual, was allowed to retain for a time
cnnstderable balances in his own hands. At
the time he was speaking of, Mr. Jericho's ba-
lances amounted to the sum of 22,0001. the
accumulation of a considerable time, when Lord
Melville took it into his head to call for an
account of them. Mr. Jericho's answer was,
that lie was sorry to have them so long in his hand,
but if they were not wanted immediately for the ser-
vice of tee Navy, he Was willing to give the Trea-
surer securities to a greater amount titan any balan-
ces he should ever be likely Ed receive. This answer
ap'seared to have perfectly satisfied the Treasurer.
He had some conversation with Jericho upon it, not-
withstanding which, he suffered him to continue in
his office, knowing that he was speculating all the
time with this money in the fundfunds,and wellknowine
also, that in so doing,' he was ailing in diteet dis-
obedience to the Al of Parliament. Mr. Jericho.
had, indeed, good reason to be sorry that
the balances had ben suffered to remain so bug ie
his hands, the temptation of which led 11;:n hurl spe-
culations, not so lucky indeed as those of Mr. Trot-
ter, but, of so unfortunate a nature, as brought on
the ruin both of himself and his family. Had Lord
Melville performed the duty enjoined him by law,
and suspended him immediately on discover mg his
proceedings, as he was empowered and enjoined to
do, the lots to the public wind.] have been no
more than the original deficit of 22,0001; but,
by continuing him in office, he suffered 11,0001.
more to be added to the original balances, and
then issued an extent of the crown agaitist his
effete, soon after which, poor Jericho died, and
the money was lest to the public. This was (lid e
one, but a melancholy one indeed, of the et-
lets produced by a system so hog and fatally pur-
sued, and it also afforded a strong instance of the
falsehood of the statement given in to the Privy
Council. Jericho's balances were never investi-
gated from the year 1782 to the year 1769, when
Lord Melville called him to an account, ner
were they even investigated then, and the extent
issued, but the balances suffered to accumulate
in the manner already described till the ye.ir
1787. There WAS. therefore, a general know-
ledge and understandiag from one to another
throughout the whole office, and, of course.
not one of them would dare to accuse another ; nor,
indeed, was there any OCCAS4I for them sa to do, :at
it was plain that they were connived at by Lord
Melville, and, as he in his conscience WAS p,r-
, seAded, for his own personal emolument. The
document moved for by the Rt. I lop. Gent. opposite
to him (Mr. Pitt) of Lora Melville's letter to the
Commissioners, instead of explaining this transac-
tion sAtisfaelorily. served, in his mind. to confirm
every former inference against him, notwithstand-
ing his offer to verify it by his oath. It was little
more than a repetition of his former Answers. If
the Noble Lord WAS ready to justify himself by a
trial, why did he not come fairly forward to that
trial, and procure the witnesses and vouchers to
prove his innocence? The Report, containing the
charges against him. allowed him full time to
prepare himself in every way he could think ne-
cessary ; and yet, though it was on the Table of
that House, and before the public, ever since the 13th
of February, Lord Melville, tip to the present day,
had brought forward no other justification 61411 that
tinsatisfaaory letter he sent to the Commi.sioners
upon the subjen. That letter was no more than a
repetition that he had no recollection of having
given Mr. Trotter permission to employ the public
money for his own emolument; that a delicacy to
1 some affairs of Government prevented
him from being more explicit in his answers.
and that the subject was involved by the con-
fusion in which Trotter kept his Accounts. Ti'
give implicit credit to these statements, would
require, indeed, an uncommon portion of credulity.
Would any man in the least conversant with busi-
ness believe that when I.ord Melville borrowed
20,0001. of Mr. Trotter, the latter did not tell hint
whether it was his own or the public maoey he was
lending hi It I Would any one credit that Trotter
kept his ac mints so loosely, that he could not, by a
'very dune : Cference, find out whether or not he had
on much amiable money of his own? That he was
not so extremely loose in his accounts, was proved
sufficiently, Isy the little difficulty he found in turning
over to his successor, the balances in his bands.—
When Lord Melville declared that he did not know-
ingly receive any emolument from the manner in
which the money was employed—but, that whatever
emolument was made by Mr. Trotter in thee way,
was exclusively his own—was not even that to be
deemed an admission, that he was not ignoiaet of
those emoluments having been derived from the
illegal application of the public money ? In loves-
tigattug this subject, it would be proper to enquire
whim than Mr. rustier was ?In considering this, :ill lie
could find was, that Mr.'Prntter was simply a Clerk
in the Navy-ffice. He would not say that he was
fiat worth a shillmg, but, it wits clear, that, from his