Star.
London, England, 1805-06-12 00:00:00

'

I. PitTCE SIX-PENCE.

I legality of the drafts daunt poi4llY be difputed.
I
I will rumple, Sir, that there is an affignment tor the
payment of the claims of-ten different individuals, it
will not furely be pretended that a draft for the pur-
pole of obtaining mono Y to pay them altoge her
would be at all illegal. This I know, that it has,
always been praftifed, and I defy any man to fhew
me a Ingle iota in the Aft to prove that the framers
of the Adt had the fmalleft idea of preventing a prac-
tice fo obvioufly fuggeftesd by convenience and expe-
diency. In this cafe the alignments were made, and
the money was drawn from the Bank. After it was
fo drawn, I really cannot fee that there can be any
material difference whether the money is kept in the
iron chef at Sotnerfet Houle, or at the Houle of a
private banker poffeffed of a chandler which raper-
feded all danger of the public property being endan-
gered. The AEI has not been prohibitory on this
point ; and let it be recollated that when the affign-
ments are made over by different Boards, the money
is no longer the property of the public, but of the in-
dividual to whom it is atligned, and who from that
moment becomes refponlible for its application. It
is clear, indeed, from the circilmftances under which
the Aft was framed, that loch a prohibition of the
application of alignments was not in the contempla-
tion of the Legillature. The.Adl was grounded on
the Refolutions of the Committee in 1782, and thefe
Refolutions do not contain any thing fpecifically pro-
hibiting the iffuing of drafts on affignments properly
arranged by the refpative Boards. The Report
Rated the exigence of the pratice I but, when the
Aft pared, .no clank was introduced to prevent its
continuance. The Treafurer of the Navy was, as I
hive already remarked, left to his dircretion, whether
each affignment fhould be partially paid by a particu-
lar draft, or whether one draft was to be applied to
a variety of alignments, to be afterwards individual.
ly difcharged. On thefe grounds, then, I cannot al-
low, Sir, that I am at all joftly chargeable with a vio-
lation of an AR of Parliament, in fuffering money to
be drawn from the Bank, on affignments, and to be
lodged in a refpalable banket's near the office, when
it was known that no poffible danger was 'incurred.
—But, Sir, even were she view of the AR which
I have taken, incorredt, in the opinion of a majority
of the Houle, fill I cannot help thiliking that my
condo& by no means deferves thorn hatili and oppro-
bions epithets which have been applied to it. I have
a thatf hA ewaw: al
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have been vary of a violation, but
finely not of a grofs violation of the law. I may have
been guilty of a breach, but not, finely, of a high
breach of duty. Ilitherto I have been anxious to
Rate my views on this part of the fubjed, in an ab-
(bat point of view. 1 that' now fay a few words as
to any emolument which Mr. Trotter might have
derived from the life of the money in the hands of
the private Banker. I confers, Sir, the impreffion
nn my mind was, that in confequence of his connec-
tion with this Banking-houre tome emolument was in
all probability derived. I was indeed the more in-
clined to this opinion from what I have known to be
the pratice in that part of the kingdom with which I
am naturally bell acquainted. I fay this idea chiefly
arofe from an impreffion arifing from the knowledge
of this pratice, becaufe, certainly, I did not derive
any certain information on the fubje&. It is true,
that the pratice of lodging any fum of money in --
the hands of the private Banker was dirconti-
nued, for three mouths at one time, and for three
months at another. Mr. Baum& was not quite fa-
tisfled of the expediency of the pradlice, and Lord
Harrowby had his fufpicion that an improper IA
might be made of the pubic money fo vetted. Nei-
ther of thefe intelligent men however bad gene be-
yond a fufpicion. None of them had openly and
diftinftly declared their belief, that it was really ap-
plied to fpeculations in the money market. They
conceived, perhaps, that the only motive for fo de-
pofiting the money was private emolument, but they
had no official opinion that loch emolument was de-
rived to any confiderable extent. For my own part
I do not fee that the praCtice is liable to very knout
oblations. On the contrary, I can fee eafily, that
wider proper regulations, a plan might be formed
of lodging the money in a private banker's,that would -
give many facilities which can never be obtained from
the circuitous mode of bringing it, even on the flight-
eft occafions, from the Bank of England. In a courfe
of fourteen years, no inconvenience has been fuf-
tained from the prallice. No improper balances had
been colleCied, and no part of the public fervice had
been in the flighteft degree retarded. I know, in-
deed, Sir, my letter in anfwer to the precept of
the Commiffioners, calling on me to account for
the mode in which the money of the Navy had
been drawn from the Bank, has been urged as a
matter of criminality. I think I have already
Rated, that at the time the Commiffioners called
on me for fuch an account it was altogether impoffi-
ble for me to produce ir, becaufe the means of pro.
ducing it were not then in my porfeffion. The Com-
miffioners had feen Mr. Trotter and Mr. Coutts' psi-
vate accounts, but I had not obtained any accers to
there documents. I knew tint befides, except gene-
' rally, what the Commiflioners really wanted to al-cer-
tain by my examination. To their requifition my
anfwer was of courfe general, finee Trotter had de-
clared the accounts to be to blended that he could
give me no fatisfadlory information.—Under fuch
circumflances my fit nation was peculiarly entfiarraf-
fing ; and to a quetlion. whether I had ever partici-.
paled in any profits aiding from the ale of the pub-
lic money ? my anfwer was, that I had never know-
ingly enjoyed any fuch participation. As to other
fums of the public money not applied to Naval pur-
ports, my reply was fimple. that confidential connec-
tion prevented me from giving the Comasitlioners all
the informati-n they detirect. The only reafoa which
could have induced me to anfwer to the belt of my
recollation to the fun queftion of the Commiffioners
was the blended nature of the accounts. I confers this
anfwer is at fiat fight, in point of form, fubjeU to I
cettaia degree of objtpion. This I mult fay, however,