The Sun.
London, England, 1805-04-09 00:00:00

large surds froM the Bank of „
were anually wanted, and to keep them at his
Private Banker's; One part of the ground for pro-
posing' a' Seit'a Committee was, that part of the,
teoiney, voted for Navy Serricia hail been applied to
other Public. Services, and the other: ground was
the existence of complicated details of figtireso---
Was this direet'violation of the law included in
either of these deSeriptioas? He had no olikeliOn
to a Se:lea Committee in the prooer time. On 'the
contrary he. should be disposed to support the ap.
pnintment of such a ComMittee, when the Motion of
his Hon. FriendOshould be agreed to, and the House
should have come to a determination on the plain and
obvions faA. Then a Cormnittee would be proper to
consider of the expediency, anti the uwaos at pushing
the Inquiry further fend he should be happy to con-
tribute his small share to the institution of a Coto.
mittee for sr; laudable an objet. But first let the
House consider what was before it, and let it con.
sides that what Lord Melville admitted in otte
place he could not deny in another ; that he could
not deny before a Cotnrnittee of the, House what he
had avowed before .the Commissioners of 'equity ;
and let Gentlemen then ask themselves what ne.
eessity there was for delay. The House could
at once pronounce on the breach of the Aft of Par..
'lament, and then it may examine more minutely in
a Committee' the circumstances of the tranSanien,
and the precise amount of the criminality. The
Right Hon. Gentleman argued that the Public sti.
tallied no loss by these transafliens, at the same time
that he allowed this did not'excuse the delinquency
though it extenuated the Offence: He did northink
it was any extenuatton. He thought there was not
only risk to the Public, but positive loss. He 41s.
anguished between positive loss and precise loss, for
though the precise emounteould not ,he ascertained,
the fact that there was j loss was beyond all question.
The Right Hon. Gentleman had gone into great de.
• tail to ghee,' that the Paymaster did nut draw the
money from the Exchequer before it was wanted.---
: But in this statetnot the Right lion." Gentleman
reduced himself to the following dilemma t--He
stated that the; money was not renotved from the
Exchequer bc.hre it was wanted. fir Navy Services,
at the same time he allowed large sums were given
in accommodation freM the Navy to other branches
of the Public Seivice, How was it possible, this,
accomModationetiuld he unless, larger sums
. were kept in the Paftuaster's than Were,
wanted in Navy Services, exoept indeed the Navy
Service was distressed and defrauded to allow the
adirance; If the money were once ailewed to be
drawn, is, may be allowed to priv,,te AS well as to
public purpo,es, and it the dour were orca,o,,cned,
4 was imrssible to set limits 'to the abuse. it may
let in. The speculations of Mr. Trotter had not
failed; but that was no excuse for putting the Ptib.
lic Money to so unfavourable a risk. The success
may besides be accAmted ftir in another manner,
by means of the connexion ors combination ohat
existed between the three individuals concerned.
. Mr. Mark Sprott toucoed the Funds, and Lord
Melville 'the Secrets of State, and Mr. Trotter
touched both these persons. Miilioes were thou
managed in that nice and delicate machine, the
Public Funds, and, though, at that time, combinations
of another nature were Much talked of, no Jacobin
conspiracy that
dire exist, or r wild have existed, was
calculated to do more than this conspiracy between
'these three persons. The Noble Lerd had represent.
ed, that when the Ciimenittee of toB, in prosecuting
its inquiries, as to ths'Astroitlietration of the Public
Offices, came to that of the Treasurer of the Navy,
L. Nilelville being called upon by the Com.
mittee, represented the regulations for bringing up
tire Arrear in, that Office, and preventing arty future
arteer, as in full efi`ca. This 'statemtnt ,was op.
posite to the i;,i,
.for at this very time the Ac.
eountant's branch,' which had been Instituted with a
view-to this objett, having come up to that period
when it was to take cognizance of toid Mel.
vale's qwn Administration, stopped suddenly short,
And its tabours were no more heard of. The ac..
count of 'Lord Melville's first Treasurership was
not made out till last year, and the remaining part
of the Account at the time the Noble Lord was in
Office was still. unprepared. The' reason given fir
this was, that the Clerks employed. in this duty,
being bl,rrowed &UM another Department, and.
being withdrawn, the business could not proceed.
—lt was evident frum what Lard Melville had
Stated to the Committee, that the benefits of the
Ads then lately Made,were carrying into full 'feel.
This was, however, very remote from the fall. The
Aa of Parliament went•to provide, thet the .Public
Monty was to be kept in the Bank, and that no Pub.
lic Office was to be mallet; a Public Treasury ; anti
yet Lord Melville, had, to all intents and put..
poses, made his Office a Public Treasury. He dwelt
on the syitematic deviation from the law that had
so many yeats prevailed in that Office, and asked,
whether this was a case from which the House
would turn away, referring the ,matter to a Stied
Committee, without coming to a vote. As to, whe.
ther the 'proMinent AI. was right or erotig, or
whether the Noble L ru was lit still to hold a high
and confideittial situation in. the Government, there
was no difference between the situation in which tlie
Noble Lord stood with. res Pea to the House and
the. Country, and ilia which any man may with
his private Agent. For instaocte, if Mr., Mark
Sprott kept his Accounts in su4t a connoted way as
Mr. Trotter tool Lord Melville did, neither
Mr. Trotter nor Lord, Melville would. employ
. him as titeir Broker. The Treililltet of the Navy
was the Broker of the -Petiole of Eagland anti if be
kept his Accounts so ill, was the People still to cm.
1,1;,y him? ID, alicr all the investigation that had.
been bestowed on this. m titer, and all the time
for further. explaoation ; after deli., and all that
had been: said oh L'ntl Meivilla's contlua by
friendsnnd enquks, irtl:ose could be called enemies
to Lord 2tlelvikle w 1.,) only sought to 'wish the
rllr .t 1 tranisaiont piftVilieh been gusty; if
after all this, there Wits ahr dillizulry of distinguish.
► in 'whether or not he had violated the AitofPer.
liament, 1;e would however h;:i,tclined to five ere.
die to. the etarges voted in a Selett Committee, in.
the possibi.lity of the rtabikhotrot of
.the,Noble
Lmtl's innocirttie.- .Pat how w,is it roisihle to be-
. Itive tits Lovi itotocent;witeta e n hI9 grea"'
est fri.-_:;ti Oot oot ve:,tore to say lie was iilet.Welrt ;
1,91,1 did gig OrCr 4"7

t
tl);ri'g, to thit cfr ct, fie tecollpassageed a passage in os
ne,
of the greatest Orators of aoilquity, which opl,
plied here : —Cicero aglinit MO asked, who
%vcis wore guilty than he who offered no defence Yor
to elamssattent Pisa ird "'vie J.
sells scriber," auss,r is rempsiblicam a to isme geitam,
neque present dicere. If the Noble Lord ou the

passing Of his A fur restraining this very eviff,
had been 1(,1,i, that not a year would pass when
it Mould be violated by a Treasurer of the Navy;
and that that Treasurer of the. Navy would be

himself, what Would be have said.?:—But if tit*
prophecy had been carried further, and it had been

said, thar not why would the vi.lation be made by
Treasurer of thi Navy, but that after the vio.
lation had been for 1¢ years, unnoticed till disco.
veml by a Commission of Inquiry, and when at
length the detediOn of it lay recorded on the
Table of the House, the House would be so cults*.

ble that it would be glad of getting rid of it by any
means tatlier than pronounce upon it as it ongbr.--,
hatl- toJ gond an opinion of hose of whom the

Clothe- .was COmimseil, -to think this business woUlti

be su passed over. Ir would indeed be fortunar,
if abuses were never &tenet!, rather than that it

should appear that when Ministers violated the most

express and immediAte laws for preventing abuses in
their Depart.Ments; that when the diligence of
'the Commissioners had brought forward this de..

linquency,' Parliament hhQulcrcome in betwei% the.
law and its violater, and screen the delinquent from
jtistice. This„Was the worst precedent that could
be established in any Country, when the guilt wni.
dear, anayetescaped punishment. He trusted the

event would' be different. It was for the safety,
honour, and dignity of Coe.e...4.lfHtt,ry„ that a prompt

declaration be made on this subject. He, there..
fore, voted, in the first insrlince, i ,r the Alt)tion of
his Finn.. Trend, with the insew ion 'that aster the
primary lesolution should be agreed to, inquiry
should be itystitweci, and vigor .ugly' pursues!.
[The. tloble • i.nrd's Speecti excited a buz of admiration
throughout the House, wllich continued tor some
Me AT RAs EY GENERAL *A id ,it it
a necessary alternative that the supposed delntr.,ncy
should be punished now, or that 'it should escape
altogether, the propriety of coming to some tesolu.
lion, at the present moment, tnAy he mare reason..

ably insiqed upon. He doubted whether the Ntit,le
Lord wr,ulduon'reflit(tion, think it tight to proceed
to judgment, it built the fullest investigation of the
He asked, whether it was not esientikin a

m 3 rerfAVeStit:ll like this, th,tt the iiarticulari

be stated7tlistiOtly ? whether this was a sase.upon
which the H•wse 'could be called upon to pronounce,
in the state of perfai ignorance in which it ktoodj'and
whether any man would not feel 'More
,sasitfi;•d.in
doing justice to great Public Officer in a fair and
deliberate ,way. The N.,ble Lord had argued it
was enough that one of the atti was corm-0y tv
the ACt of Parliament, to decide upon that al;' fiat
which was the most convenient and dignified cour,e,
to take the opinion of the House on the separate
point upon iov-stigation, or upon the whole after
due inquiry. This was particularly neeess4ry, as
the Hon. Gentlemen not confine their obserea.
.tioos to any otie.pOinti but wished that ail they said ,
should have a general circa. What inconvenience
could result frum an Inquiry which would embrace
the.,4ubje4t, and what mischie(would arise 110111 the
propriety .tif a Censure being considered this day
rather than this day sennight. If there were any
who thought this promptitude requisite, they. would
vote accordingly ; but the Hou,e at large would
consider whether there would nut be more weight
and charatter in the more deliberate course. It
was agreed ,on all bands that inquiry shOuld take
plate. The Noble Lord wished a separate decision
on one point. Was any point so insulated is not
,to be,still connected with the whole ? While there
were such important grounds of inquiry the House
should not be called upon to pronounce judgment
when cooviflion was so remote, at the same time
that further inquiry could have no ill effe&

Mr. 771E1i f EY complimented his Noble Friend.
It was a MAI tets Of 'pride to any man to be allowed
to call himself tke friend of such rising talents and
eloquence. He agreed with him that nothing was
mote it than to appoint a Committee after the first
point should he agreed upon, a COlllitlitlCC in which
all that related to accounts and ,calculations may
he sifted and made cle,,f, The transfer of mo.
ney from one service to another was also matter' for
a Committee, but what was to be cline with the re,.
minder of the Tenth Report ? Did Lord Melville
vik for-further tlel4, saying he had evidence suf.'
ficient for •.his acquittal ? id Mr. Trotter :ay
any thing to that elfed ? But the 'People of Eng.
land looked to this night for the opinion of their
Representatives on this important case. He would
ask the Right lion. Gentleman how long-it was
since the expedient of a reference to a Committee
occutred to him. The Right Honourable Gen.
detests was anxious .for the produdion of Lord
Melville's. Letter, and still morp, that die public
mind should be- set at rest un this point before the

liater recess.. Ile asked now, what necessity thete
was for a Glinnslure, when the Right lion.G.:ntle.
man said, that Committee multi not 'thrill.," ,ant‘y fur_
Cher light on the .Ifrair ? WAS it contradicted; that
the conveyance of the 'public money from the Bank
oCE,ngland 'to a private Batik was contrary to law,
and still mare, the application of it to private intr.
lenses ? This- establacd at once a right to
inquire, .Did' anr.one say that Mr. StsFott was
in very honourable rtredicamcnt, when he was
s ) loud when not .on- oath, and so - silent when
he. was.-1-le compared'the present case to that of
the late Shetiffi of London, who were not allowed

to justify themselves on - oath at the Bar. He
doubted much whether a Committee of Inquiry
would have come to any decision it) a week or a
month ,; tot when the House would have to go over
what had occupied the C'ornmiisioners above six
months, 'the tisk could. not he very easily perfortn.
ekt. The condat of Llrd was tow
canvassed over the whole Country,' and, the joitg.
Mel-It formed on it Insy he conceived from this;
his LOrdship's hest friends. would not say tor tklifJr
N6t riporrny .1142no?Tir." Parliato, Iv
pointed Cummirsioners for the C.lrrecti,,n yl Abuses
in -the Navy, The. Commissioners ha;l reported
Lord Melville had been guilty of kbi-raOt of the I,lw.

Neither Lord Melville nor RIIY the off'rretl
Any thing in of the f4t. Zit chit 11,1,k
Committee Ispf loquiry prJper, twt fut