Star.
London, England, 1822-04-19 00:00:00

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'present. Another obieelbsio=ileOfeoo4 I
the makinfhnep of actin Wiest possible
per. Right. Hossitable aiptitlaman con-
cluded by iv:Mag—
a That s thisa CwimilOse be aplabied.4ll Mbilder of the
best mode of gissfWoft do Accounts elmeallp ellotwore the
Houses of Lordsead Ceemacam randy* to the Public Income
and Expenditure, the Nadeleslyebt,' and the Trade and,Navi-
gadon of the United Ede'
Mr. MABERLY did not rise to oppose the t
motion. The errors which were manifest on tree ite
of the public ittentlntito rendered it necessary that a
thorough revision of the system
:should take place.
The Right Hon. Gentleman had, last year, objected
to the production of.a balance-sheet ; but, in the pre-
sent Session, a balance-sheet had been l.dd on the
table of the House ; and to that circumstance they
were indebted for the present motion—because the
balance-sheet which bad been submitted to them
clearly proved that all the other accounts laid befd're
the House were erroneous. He believed the balance-
sheet to be correct ; and, if it were, no doubt could
be cntertained but that the other accounts were inac-
curate. . Ry the adoption of a halance-sheet, Gentle-
men were at once enabled to detect any error which
might occur in the detailed accounts; and while such
-a check existed, it would compel those whose duty it
was to superintend the public accounts, to make those
accounts consistent with the balance-sheet. When this
system was fully carried into effect, the Public would
reap great benefit from it. Country Gendemen,who
did not at present pay moth attention to financial
subjects, on account of their complexity, would when
the accounts were simplified, very easily understand
them. They would at once see the increase or de-
crease of the ,public expenditure, or of the public
debt, since the whole would be placed before them in
an intelligible shape. He did not think there • was
anything connected with the inquiry that was calcu-
lated to extend the labours of this Committee to a
long period, or to render them very difficult. They.
were only called or. to simplify the mode of drawing
up the accounts,which would best be done by putting
them in a mercantile shape. •
The CHANCELLoR of the EXCHEQUER and Mr.
MatiERLY mutually explained.
Sir 11. PARNELL said, the necessity of having
the public accoonts laid before the House in a more
simple form, must be evident to every person. He
did not mean, therefore, to oppose the motion of the
Right Hen. Gentleman ; but he would suggest to
him, that his proposition did not go far enough. It
was not merely a simplification of the annual ac-
counts that was called for, but a simplification of the
whole system of keeping accounts in all the public
departments. He could refer to various reports which
had been presented to that House, complaining of the
misdrio-which the accounts were at present kept.
He begged leave toicall the attention of the House to,
an extract from the evidence of the Accountant-Ge-1
neral, Mr. Stedman, given before a Committee in
1810. That Gentleman admitted that the accounts'
were very much in arrear, the amount to be ba-
lanced in each year being about £144000,000. But he
added, " I have no hesitation in saying, that the ac-
counts in my office might be as speedily and cor-
rectly made up, as those of any mercantile house in
the kingdom, if a new system was introduced." !fere
was the evidence of the Accountant-General, spew-
ing that the existing system was an improper one.—
There was another point, connected with the motion.
now before the House, to which he would direct the
attention of the Right Hon. Gentleman. He alluded
to the Estimates, which were at present submitted to
the House in a manner which rendered it impossible
for any Honourable Member to understand them tho-
roughly. No account, at least no available account,
was given, as to what became of the Supply; whe-
ther there was a balance in hand, or a debt outstand-
ing. He knew there was a sort of Account laid be-
fore the House in April, but it was then of no use;
and even if it were submitted to the (louse in good
time, it would not give a full idea of the manner in
which the Supply wai disposed of. It would, there-
lope, make this measure more efficient—it would, in-
deed, make it extremely useful. if it were extended
to the whole system of keeping the public accounts.
Mr. P. MOORE was of opinion, that the present
system demanded a very extensive alteration. Until
the year 1797, the House had no account of the In-
come and Expenditure at all. The first account was
formed by the Speaker's predecessor, and was founded
on such documents as be could procure. The House
declared it to be imperfect. In the year following,
a more accurate account was produced, and it con-
tinued to improve from year to year for a consider-
able period. He hoped that the resources of the
country would in future be accurately examined, and
regularly stated in the accounts, as was the case in
1798 and 1799. Not only did he hope that this course
would be adopted, but he trusted also that the accounts
of our Income and Expenditure would be laid before
the House in time. At pre;ent, they were generally
produced about the end of March, and two months
more elapsed before they were in a proper shape to
be placed in the hands of Members.
Mr. LUSHINGTON said, if the Gentlemen op-
posite would look at the words of his Right Honour-
able Friend's motion, they would find that it precisely
embraced those objects which they appeared to hive
in view, viz. the simplification of the accounts, and
the getting ready a statement of the annual receipt
and expenditnre'of the country, at as eatly a period
as possible. The accounts would be laid on the table
by the 25th of March, and measures would be takeri
to have them printed much sooner than they were at
present. The labours of the Committee would not
be so light as the Honourable Baronet seemed to ima•
tgine. The range of their investigation would be so',
extensive, that it was doubtful whether they would
be able to make a Report this Session. Ile hoped,
however, that their labours would enable Govern-
ment to lay the annual accounts before the House
much earlier than heretofore, and in a different shape
from that in which they formerly appeared. If the
duties of the Committee were extended to the whole
system of keeping the public accounts, as the Hon.
Baronet wished, it would be impossible for them to
effect any useful purpose whatever in the present Ses-
sion. In his opinion, the motion was sufficiently ex-
tensive, as it embraced accounts relative to the Pub-
lic Income and Expenditure, the National Debt, and
the Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom."
Mr. ELLICE ditinot concur with his Honourable

Friends in their view of the advantages which the
country was likely to derive from this motion. He
had hoped, in consequence or what occutrcd in the

he
mittee
cular
ted
which aPpoin
was, to inquire into the mode of managing the Sink-
ing Fund. They' were at present keeping up two or
three useless establishments for the purpose ofpa paying'
with one hand what was received by the other. Thus
if /:18,000,000 or £19,000,000 was paid towards the
liquidation of the debt, it was received back again in
ire shape orloans. The Right Hon. Gentleman was
loft to do away with the great principle which for-
merly distinguished the Sinking Fund system, by re-
moving its power of multiplication. It this were so,
land if the Sinking Fund were increased to £5,000,000
without the power of accumulation, why should they
not strike off that amount of the National Debt at
ante? This would simplify the system, and would'
save a considerable expense; because there were a
great number of clerks emptived in the Bank and
elsewhere--very uselessly, he thought, for their busi-
ness merely was to multiply labour—whose services
might bedispensed with, if the Sinking Fund were
applied in the manner he recommended. Another
point to which he wished the attention of the Com-
mittee to be called, was the manner in which the
Nrklue of exports and imports was made out. It had
been stated that the exports of last year exceeded
very much those of any former year. Now before the
House and the country could be correctly informed
of the state of trade, the House ought to know dis-
tinctly on what principles those valuations were made.
They ought to know whether the principles applied
to those accounts during the war were erroneous;
and if so, on what principles the accounts were now
made up, before they could be aware of the real state
of the commerce of Great Britain. These appeared
to him to be the more immediate objects to which the
attention of a Committee should be directed; and he
was.extremely sorry that the labours-ot the Commit-
tee now about to be formed were to be limited to the
objects specified in the motion. One object was,
however, gained—that of the appointment of a Com-
mittee to inspect the public accounts; and he hoped
the Right Hon. Gentleman would give the House the
same sort of assurance which he had given in the last
Session, that, when the Committee had laid before
Parliament what they had, in the first instance, done,l
they might be revived in a future Session, if they
could not bring their labours to a satisfactory tenni- I
nation in the present.
Mr. J. MARTIN hoped, if it was too late in the
present Session for the Committee to execute their
duties fuly, that the Right Hon. Gentleman would
consent to their re-appointment at a future period.
Sir J. NEWPORT thought the most satisfactory
course would be for the Committee to take up patti-
cular branches of the subject, and report on them
from time to time. They could thus proceed seriatim
through the whole of the :Wilk accounts.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did
not think it would be proper to teport from time to
time, He could not consent to enlarge his motion
to the ,extent which Gentlemen opposite desired. If
it were so enlarged, it would bring subjects into dis-
cussion, the consideration of which properly belonged
to other bodies. ' Some of them were, indeed, under
the immediate cognizance of Government itself.
Mr. P. GRENFELL asked whether the Sinking
Fund would be so submitted to the Committee as
that they might reduce it to what it really amounted
to? The Right Honourable Gentleman had last
I Session spoken of the Sinking Fund as £17,000,000,
when, in fact, it was only £5,000,000. He (Mr.
Grenfell) had then proposed to get rid of this machi-
nery, and to reduce the Sinking Fund to what it
really was. The Right Hon. Gentliman had then
said that a Committee would be appointed to inquire
into the mode of keeping the public accounts, and that
he would have no objection to the Sinking Fund being
considered by them.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
he had certainly not meant to say that the Commit-
tee should be appointed for the new-modelling of the
Sinking Fund.
Mr. P. GRENFELL said that could not be consi-
dered new-modelling, which was only representing it
in name and in the public accounts what it really was.
The Committee were then named and agreed to.
Several extracts of public accounts were referred
to the said Committee.

'AR.

19. 1842.

TWELVII O'CLOOt.

Lade or us bothiess is delis olds isondsg in the Market.-....
emelt an, op to the boor, 7111 for the Acefoon, and for
Mosey Tei f.
Folmar Ssocss....The Motet Is very dot tide onandet, and
esereely kg doing in foreign securitles. Spooldt as; Pm.
dam 1111§ to 844 ; Danish $4 to 53; Nespolhosej teat New
Oslmblee tti# to Old lode (scarce).
• STC/CX EXCHANGE...Ott O'CLOCK.
There is nothing defog la the Money Market, sad enorithist
looks very Sat. Money is very phalli& Within the last Lott
amble& bas occurred deserving notice.
In the Foreign Market theta is a tend dent do!nt
in Spada Bonds and those of Columbia, at soadvance in pits
—Colombian Old Bonds, lase— New Bonds, buyers.
PRICES OF STOCKS AT ONE O'CLOCK.
S per Cent. Reduced 771/2 % 1/2
3 per Cent. Go& 781/2 3/6—S IA per Cts.lBl/4V
4 per Cents. 94341
5 per Cent. NaOy Anns. 1023/4 1,4
Bank Long Annuities 195% 11.16
India Bonds, 61s. 625.
Exchequer Bills of £l,OOO, 4s. ss. Ss.
Ditto Small, 4s. 7s. pre.
Consols for May, 781/2 sis-

This forenoon we received a Hambnrgh Mail,
bringing intelligence from Petersburgh to the 27th

of March, from Moscow to the 2Sd, and Hamburgh
Papers to the 12th inst. Their contents are wholly

of a warlike character: the Russian Army on the
Pruth, which is stated to consist of 280,000 wen, is
ready to take the field ; and the whole of the second
Russian Army is said to be immediately assembled in
Podolia. The Turks are also augmenting their
Armies in Bessarabia, and the artillery which had
been removed has been brought back by the Janis-
saries. The following are extrricts:

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present. Another ehjecosed=itZtehapossitl: "
seicsaviskse.lo etie thoweauvragaturtseessa4 Magablotobesii.voisisiii ia.. ... N--- - - -
R. 7
- . _ }THg EVENING STA
the making up of , 111. w
parksd. The Right Homerahle 10,0seeman coo- roireieseren. 7 into the pais& ecedists; and ereemem..-- ---------
eluded by snoving— • , atio**, as hid. heed emelt by the Becretaithss • - LONDON.
* a 011111111a0 be sppebiled 40 dailder lof the ale Treasury, would be thrown on such a Committee.
beet mode of ebe Mamas 1/1..a..,. ma before the he could not see why they should nut, like the Coop' ---....
....111M1C1R.,..i.141:,.111:12.116,,, am C4l.llll.2"Naggssal S'
tsisd" t° '-' mastic Incaiyi.. mittee on Trade, report from time to time on parts- FRIDAY, APRIL 19. 1119 R.
'' 'lcr.-* THX FUNDS.
...'''11d071....-e--tinitedlClelideem- " . aswi
ale
15.411._
' colas parts of the public accounts. 9ne object for
- -os_efutho nV.RLY did not rise to oppose the present which he wished that Comma td be appoloted ' MCI =CHANGE,TWELVII orcuk,
•• • lee • Mb a •