fues, and expenditures of the public monies are now accounted for; and to confider and report, by what means and methods the public accounts may in future be pafled, and the accountants compelled to pay the balances due from them, in a more expeditious, more effectual, and lefs expenfive manner."

In our examination into the payoffices of the navy and army, we found the accounts very far in arrear; feventy-five millions, the if fues of upwards of twenty-four years, to October 1780, for the navy fervices; forty-feven millions, the iffues of fixteen years, to the fame period (exclufive of the unfettled account of lord Holland) for the army fervices, were unaccounted for. So ftriking a circunftance would have led us, of courie, to that office where the public accounts of the kingdom are audited, that we might endeavour to difcover the caufes of this delay; whether it arifes from any want of power to, compel perfons to come to account, or from any neglect in the exercife of that power; whether from any defect in the conftitution, or in the execution of that office that audits the accounts; or whether it is occafioned by any obstructions thrown in the way by the accountable perfons themfeives.

We inquired, in the first place, whether there exifts any compulfive power to bring in public accountants, and what steps are taken previous to their accounting. Upon thefe points, Mr. John Hughton, clerk of the debentures, in the of fice of the auditor of the Exchequer; Adam Martin, efquire, first clerk in the office of the king's remembrancer in the Exchequer; and Mr. Alexander Bennet, one of the 1worn clerks in the fame office, gave us the following information.

The power of compelling public accountants to come to account, is lodged in the court of Exchequer : it is exercised by either an ordinary or an extraordinary process. The ordinary procefs, is a writ of dif tringas ad computandum, iffued by the king's remembrancer periodically, and of courfe, after every iffuable term. The extraordinary procefs is a writ of capias ad computandum, which iffues by fpecial order of the court of Exchequer, where the fum to be accounted for is in danger, and upon particular application made to them for that purpose.

The proceedings upon the ordinary procefs are in the following manner.

All money iffued from the Exchequer by the auditor of the receipt, is iffued either upon account, or without account: it does not depend upon his difcretion, which of thefe forms he fhall make use of; he is governed by the authority that directs the iffue; that is, either by an act of parliament, or by the king's warrant under the great or privy feal; and by no other authority than thefe can money be iffued out of the Exchequer.

Twice in every year, after each of the iffuable terms, the auditor of the receipt makes out a roll, called the general impreft-roll, which contains all the fums iffued from the Exchequer upon account, during the preceding half year, with the names of the perfons to whom, and for what fervices, iffued. This roll is recorded by the clerk of the pells, and trantinitted to the office of the king's remembrancer; a mode of proceeding directed by the act for the better obfervation of the courfe anciently ufed in the receipt of the Exchequer.

About the fame time that this imprett-roll comes to the king's remembrancer, the auditors of the impreft

make

make out and fend to him a certificate of accounts depending in their office by thefe means the king's remembrancer has every half year full information to regulate his proceedings; the general impreft roll tells him what perfons are become accountable, and for what fums; and the impreft certificates fhews him which of thofe perfons are proceeding to pass their accounts, and how far any of them have proceeded in paffing them. This officer exercifes a difcretionary power, both as to the perfons against whom, and the time when, he fall ilue the diftringas; he pays little attention to the general impreft-roll, for two reafons; first, becaufe many of the fums mentioned therein to have been iffued on account, are never thelefs in their nature not fubject, nor intended to be accounted for; as falaries, and payments for fmall fer vices performed. And, fecondly, because those fums which are intended to be accounted for, having been iffued fo recently as within the laft half year only, may not have been applied to the purpofes for which they were intended, or, if they have, the accountants can hard ly be fuppofed to be ready with, and to have prepared their accounts for examination fo foon after the application.

The impreft certificate is the inftrument by which the king's remembrancer, in confultation with the deputy-auditor of the impreft, is governed as to the perfons against whom he shall ilue this procefs. Where the accounts therein stated appear to be of very ancient date, or depending and in a train of profecution, fuch accountants are not put in procefs; if the accounts are of late date, and the accountants, having had a reasonable time for preparation, have taken no fteps for

the profecution, against these the diftringas iffuds.

All accountants, unless the placé of their abode is fpecified, are fuppofed to refide, and most of the great accountants do in fact relide, within the jurifdiction of the fheriffs of London and Middlefex: to them, therefore, the diringas against thefe accountants iflues.

We required from the king's res membrancer the writ of diftringas that led to those sheriffs after the laft Hilary term, with the return and fchedules annexed, for our infpection.

The fchedules annexed to this writ are very numerous; many of them contain large fums. They are of various dates; and fome very ancient, as far back as the year 1698. Each contains the name of the accountant, and, frequently, the fum for which he is to account, and the fervice for which it was iffued. The return of the fheriffs to the writ before us is, as to all the accountants in the feveral fche dules thereto annexed, indifcriminately, that none of them had any lands or chattels in his bailiwick by which he could distrain them; nor were they found in the fame; that is, in the language of office, a nichil return, or nulla bona and non eft incontus.

From the information of Mr. John Benfon, the principal clerk in the office of the theriff of Middlefex, we learn the practice of the office relative to this writ. It is ufual not to execute it; it is a procefs of courfe: and the return indorfed upon the writ before us, is the conftant regular return upon every one of theie periodical writs of diftringas ad computandum.

The king's remembrancer, after it is returned to his office, takes off

from

from the bundle of schedules the returned writ, together with thofe schedules in which the purpose of the diftringas has been fatisfiod, and files them with the writ: the remainder of the schedules, with the addition of the names and fchedules taken from the last imprest certificate, are annexed to the renewed writ, and are iffued again to the fheriff. Upon his appofal in the court of Exchequer, the new fchedules are read to him, and he is questioned upon his oath relative to the execution of this writ: his anfwer is ufually agreeable to his return. Sometimes the baron of the Exchequer before whom he is appofed, where the particular cafe trikes him, directs the fheriff to return iffues to a certain amount: in that cafe, the fheriff alters his return, and indorfes upon the writ the iffues directed, which are tranfinitted to the pipe office, to be levied by pro cefs from thence; but of this proceeding the inftances are rare, and the officer of the sheriff of Middlefex recollects but one inftance in thirty-three years, where iffues were drawn down to the pipe, and levied.

Having thus examined into the means of compelling public accountants to come to an account, we

proceeded, in the next place, to the office where thefe accounts are audited; that is, to the office of the auditors of the impreft. Of the conftitution, authority, and execution of this office, we received information from John Bray, efq. late deputy-auditor, and from Charles Harris, efq. one of the prefent deputy-auditors in the office of lord Mountstuart.

This office is inftituted for the fole purpose of auditing and examining the public accounts: it is executed by two auditors, indepen

dent of each other; each having a feparate and diftinct office, his own deputies, officers, and clerks. He is appointed by letters patent. Upon infpection of thofe by which lord Sondes and lord Mountstuart now enjoy this office it appears that he is appointed auditor of the preft or impreft, and foreign accounts, to execute the office by himfelf, or his deputy or deputies, dur ing his good behaviour. The power therein delegated to him is, to audit and determine, with the advice, authority, and confent of the commiffioners of the treafury and chancellor of the Exchequer, the accounts and views of accounts of feveral officers and duties therein particularly fpecified, and, in general, of all perfons being accountable for. any fums of money received by the name of impreft from the king, or any other perfon in his name, and to be applied about the affairs of the king: it is confined to the examination of the accounts; he has no power to bring the accountants before him; if not compelled by the Exchequer procefs, they come at their own pleafure only. By the general impreft-roll from the Exchequer every half year, he learns who are become accountable, and for what fums iffued from thence. The yearly accounts of fome, and the final accounts of others of the great accountants, inform him of the infupers or fubaccountants; but in the imprest certificate, which he tranfinits every half year to the king's remem brancer, he inferts thofe accountants only whofe accounts are then depending; and, when once inferted, he has no authority to leave. them out; their names must remain upon all fubfequent certificates until their accounts are paffed; and from thence it arifes that accounts

of

of a very ancient date, debts obfolete and defperate, conftantly appear upon thefe certificates.

The accounts audired in this office are of two kinds; ordinary and extraordinary. The ordinary accounts are prepared, made up, and preiented to the lords of the treafury for declaration, by virtue of the authority vetted in the auditor by the letters patent. The extraordinary accounts are prepared, made up, and prefented for declaration, in purfuance of a special warrant obtained for that purpofe, either from the king or from the treasury; previous to the application for this warrant, the auditor examines the account and vouchers, makes up a ftate of it, and prefents it to the treafury for their approbation and allowance. In confequence of Luch allowance, a warrant is procured; which directs the auditor to prepare, make up, and prefent for declaration, the account, conformably to the state of it fo approved of and allowed. Which of these extraordinary accounts require the king's, and which a treatary warrant, does not feem to be afcetained by any known distinction; the auditor is taught by the ufage of office only, which he is to apply for. The accounts of governor and quarter-matters-general are paffed by the king's warrant; the accounts of contractors by a treasury

warrant.

Some of the accounts are annual, and have a continuance; as thofe of the treasurer of the navy, and paymaster-general of the forces; fuch accounts are ufually paffed, a year's account alternately in each office; other accounts are carried, at the option of the accountant, to which of the two offices he chufes; but it is in the power of the lords

1

of the treasury to direct an account to be audited in either office; and there are fome accounts, fuch as thofe of the Bank and South Sea company, which are audited by both oflices jointly.

Having thus obtained a general knowledge of the mode of transacting the bufinefs of this office, we proceeded to inquire into the application of thefe general rules to the auditing and pating the particu lar accounts.

We began this inquiry in the fame order in which we had examined into the offices themfelves; that is, firit with the accounts of the treafurer of the navy. We required from the auditors of the impret the last declared account of a treasurer of the navy, with the ledgers, charge, discharge, and other materials from which that account was made out. The account tranfmit. ted to us purfuant to this requifition, was that of the late George Grenville, for one year, ending the 31st of December, 1759, with three folio ledgers, and other detached papers; comprehending the total charge upon him for that year, his ' total difcharge, and two abstracts.

The charge confifts of two parts; the impreft roll, and the voluntary charge. The impreft roll contains all the fums imprefted to him from the Exchequer during the period of his account; and is produced by the treasurer to the auditor as his proof for that charge. The voluntary charge contains all the fums received by him during the fame time upon other accounts, and deductions made by him in his payments; that is to fay, imprefts of former treasurer cleared by him, mony arifing from the fale of old navy and victuailing ftores and decayed provifions, abatements from

bills, and from ship, yard, and fick and hurt books, from half pay lifts, and Chatham cheft.

The difcharge confifts of entries' of the following articles: all the bills paid by him in the year 1759, for the ordinary and extraordinary navy fervices, for the fick and hurt, and for the victualling fervice: they are numbered, and entered as paid, either on the 14th or on the laft day of every month, thefe two being the periods on which the treafurer certifies his receipts and payments to the navy and victualling boards. The number of the navy bills in this year's account, is five thoufand and fifty-two; of the victualling, three thoufand three hundred forty-eight; and of the fick and hurt, one thoufand and forty; together, nine thousand four hundred and forty bills; entries of the extra payments, with the receipts for them annexed, being twelve in number; entries of the payment of two hundred and forty-four fhips' books made up as paid in that year; each entry is the fum total of the wages of the mafter, officers, and mariners, during their fervice on board that fhip, for a certain ftated period, referring to that ship's book remaining in the navy office; entries of the total fums paid to the clerk of the cheque, officers, and men, employed in each yard, for their wages during a certain ftated period; and of the total fums paid to the hofpital fhips, and for fick quarters, referring to books; and for the half pay, referring to lifts; all remaining in the navy office.

The two abftracts are, the navy, and the victualling. The navy ab. ftract is an index, in which all the bills are entered under general heads, ranged alphabetically, expreffing, for the most part, either the fervices, or the fpecies of ftores or

1783

materials, which is the fubje& matter of the payment. Each entry contains the fum; and the perfon to whom paid; and the payments under each head are caft up to a total. It contains alfo the fums paid for the fick and hurt, extra payments, and on the flip, yard, hofpital, and fick quarters' books, and on the half pay liit. To this is prefixed an alphabetical index of all the heads, with their feveral totais, caft up into one fum; this is called the abstract abstracted.

The other abstract contains the victualling payments, digested and ranged in a method fimilar to that of the navy abftract. These materials, collected together, form a complete ledger of a year's account of a treafurer of the navy: from them is compofed the formal account, which paffes through various offices, and to a state of which the treasurer fwears.

Sections of the ledgers, and the other papers, are fent, from time to time, from the pay office of the navy to the office of the auditor of the impreft; but none of the vouchers for the entries are fent with them (except the receipts for the extra payments which are very few); nor does the auditor infpect any of thefe vouchers: he allows the payments upon a different ground. The laft page of the voluntary charge, and every page of the ledgers, which contain the entries of the navy, victualling, and fick and hurt bills, or the laft page, where the entry of a bill takes up more pages than one; every page containing the payments on the fhip, yard, hofpital, and fick quarters' books, and on the half pay lift, is figned at the bottom by three commiffioners of the navy. Upon the authority of thefe fignatures, the auditor allows the voluntary

(N)

charge,