The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-04-09 00:00:00

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:rem to mate or tech accounts as tney required.
e rid not do it without disclosing delicate ad
r iJential transAOions of Government which his
enlist have restrained him from. o True, in-
e -4." (said Mr. W.) Lord Melville did held other
5 iel situations, foe while lie was Messner of the
try, he conduled me of the War Departments,
arid was also at the head of the Board of Controul,
hut the knowledge of these delicate and confidential
transalions should not have restrained him horn re-
vealing, but they ought to have restrained him from
doing. There was a time when there was not
money enough to pay she navy. Why ?—because
trillions had been a orlied to private purposes to en-.
rich- private individuals. Mr. Dundes ailed in his
own person the part of three persons, in which case,
if three persons had lat;en employed, they would
have severally been a check on each other. Mr.
Dundas lent money to Mr. Dundas in his three.
several capacities and, having broken the Ai€.l of
Parliament, he had acted wrongly and ill, and is
amenable to the country for a great breach of duty.
The neat Article of charge was his having connived
at the public money being drawn out of the Bank
by the payma:zer, fur private purposes. When we
find that in such a trensalion a false account
has been given. weecennot help anpeeting the
motive to have been freudulent and sinister.
Mr. Whitbread then adverted to Mr. Trotter's exa•
minetion, in which it appears that, notwithstand-
ing all the eels of Parliament, and the Commissioners
sty--he confesses thee he did, and it was always in-
tended he should apply the public money to his own
pr'vate use, and f"r his own private benefit and ad-
vantage. From a ror.on of Mr. Trotter's descrip-
tion, he was not surprised to hear such a defence
for himself, but he could not he otherwie: than
astonished to find that Lord Melville also made the
very same defence for him; but he really did so. not-
withstanding he had, by the order of Council. con-
firmed the very Art that torbeel it. He ridicsded
the excise of drafts being math easier given en
private hank than on the Rank of England, and
"hew el that Mr. 'fritter himself had since advised
that the money should be at the Bank. Then conies,
said hr. :another fe mire if more ertranrdinert hue.
Mr. Toner would, by aeling as he had done, he
more secure. If any loss, of great magnitude, had
happened. what world have become of him ? Why,
then, did lie pot himself in a state of being insecure?
He was never, in any re'ren, so erdponsible while the
money was in the Bank, nor was Lord Melville' both,
howecer, became entirely so from the moment they
took it away from thence. Supposing, however,
it would have been more secure in the strong chest
ef 'qr. Courts's I tense than in that of the Bank of
Enel srsd ; the fact and truth is, it wee ,tot at Mr.
Coons's ; it was travelling about in various d
tines, ilificnunting private bills, purchasing stock of
veriitua birds, sp.culeting in nay; bills. and various
other metters,according to the fancy of Mr-Trotter;
and to talk of its being fur greater security, or for
greater convenience of giving drafts and making
payments, were vain and frivolous pretences. The
next point is, what has he done with the money ?-- •
He has, in the course of sixteen years, had. in his +
bauds no less than the enormous slim of one ban-
ked dad thirty:four m;lliNgs of the public money. Of
this aggregate sum he has frequently had no less
than Preen milliva in the hands of private bankers.
There is, said he, a most apparent negleet of duty
in Lord Melville to know of this and suffer it to be
done, without knowing who And what Mr.'frottee
was. He has permitted this man, who, under all
the circumstances of his conduit, should not have
been entrusted with so many farthings, to sport
s.v le. at his own will and pleasure, with so many
millions. Lord Melville was also highly blameable
in not knowing the state of the accounts of the Pay-
master, and it was peculiarly his duty to have,
from time to time, inspeCted them ; this, however,
he had never once done. In what he had been
saving, he assured the House that it was not
his intention even to insinuate the slightest de-
gree of blame on Mr. Colo s's House respelling these
sums of money having been lodged there ; their name
frequently OMITS, bit it is used by him merely from
the necessity of the case, and the nature of the trans.
anion, and not otherwise. in the least, Well, then,
said Mr. W. he carries his money to Mr. Coutts's
house : when arrived there, two accounts weiti!il
have been suifi.. lent, a public and a private account,
sinless, by blending them together, lie had a wish to
puzzle and confuse ; and yet he takes credit to
himself that the public have not suffered by
him. Instead of two, therefore, Mr. Trotter
opens five account,, his own account, his own
separate account, his private account, his Ail of
Parliament account, and his Paymaster's account,
to the amount of five hundred thousand pounds
year, and he may and does call them all his melt
private accounts ; and, if he drew for a million
a-day, as he Mad once done, and ran off with it,
Lord Melville must have been accountable for it.
But would he pay it !--No. What then is the
consequence ? It is very plain : the public must
have suffered, as they did in the case of Mr. Jel-
lico. Mr. •trot.er has dealt in every sort of stock,
said Mr. Whitbread; lie has discounted private
bills, and bought navy bills, but he never brings,
or attempts to bring, any account of the use
or interest made of the public money to the
Sce milt or credit of the public. What should
have been the conduct of Lord Melville under
such circumstances, standing in the various official
situations he did ? Situations which enabled
him to know the most secret teantAltions of Govern-
ment? Ought he not to have told Mr. Trotter. in
the most peremptory terms—' Sir, you should not
have thought of entering into such speculations as
Navy Bills, because it may be supposed you derive
information from mc, which ought not to be
divulged to any one. You must henceforth cease
to do so, or you must quit my service.' This
would have Leen no more than proper language ;
for Mr. Trotter was then aetually Lord Melville's
servant, and appointed to the place solely by him.
If Mr. 'trotter's speculatiens had failed, he must
have been crushed and gone. Lord Melville would
have been hi the same doleful predicament. Who
then must have paid tile money ? Why the public,
who Lace already paid it in the first instance. In-
stead of sit b conduit, Lord Melville had suffered
tots man to take advantage of and turn the public
main iy to his own private uses at a moment when
tile nation was in the greatest distress, and borrow-
joie motley on loans b.-wing an exorbitant interest.
Yfere was st•ther proof of his being guilty of a great