cent. duty, by the husband, amounting, in the year 1807, to 20,8967. besides which it is charged with two contingent pensions of 6151. each, not now in a course of payment. In the 59th vol. of Journals, p. 766, 767, are accounts of the produce, for three years, of this duty, to 1st Jan. 1804, and the charges thereon, together with the sums paid into the Exchequer. No. 5, shows the pensions granted in the war-office, chiefly by his majesty's authority, through the secretary at war; the whole amount of which is 5,6401., and they are all granted to those who have been formerly employed in the business of that office. This sum is now covered in the annual vote of the establishment of the war-office; but it deserves consideration, whether, in future, the salaries and pensions paid in this department ought not to be distinguished in the annual estimates from the current expences. The Compassionate-list, and other allowances paid at the war-office, are contained in No.6; the annual amount is.. ---£.5,163. No. 7. Pensions to officers' widows, including paymaster's poun. dage.... ....36,672. No. 8. Pensions paid out of the revenues of the Isle of Man, amounting to...... £.560. No. 9, out of the revenues of Gibraltar.... .£.692. Out of the revenues of Ceylon, 480/. paid to the widow of an officer, and to a retired civil officer of the Dutch East-India Company. Out of the revenues of Lower Canada (according to the journals of the house of assembly of that province, printed at Quebec 1807) pensions for services performed, or to widows, &c. pursuant to or ders from the secretary of state, or lords of the treasury.....2,537. No. 10, contains a list of allowances granted by treasury mi nutes, and payable out of the civil list and other funds, but not inclu ded in either of the former returns: The amount is.... ...£.3,150. It appears by Journal, vol. 59, p. 677, that allowances to retired officers of the treasury, which are now charged on the Fee fund, were formerly made in the shape of pensions out of the civil list. No. 11 & 12, exhibit allowances paid out of the Fee fund of the secretary of state, foreign department; the subsisting charge upon which, in case no parts of the payments were suspended, is £.2,515. No. 13, belongs to the same department, containing the minute of council, granting a pension of 1,000l. charged upon the establishment, and included in No. 11. No. 14, gives the same account for the colonial department, amount. ing to 1,625.; including one floating pension, not now in a course of payment, of 6001. One pension of 550. included also in the above sum, is granted out of a fund, styled extra-contingent, which is annually voted, to prevent overburthening the civil list; for which service, in the last year (1807) 15,000l. was allotted, besides 12,000l. for extra messchgers. No. 15, exhibits the same for the home department.-It is to be observed, that more of these pen. sions appear to have the direct sanction of the board of treasury No. 16, contains an account of pensions payable on the ordinary estimate of the navy, or granted by his majesty's sign manual out of the sale of old naval stores. A considerable proportion of these, being fixed allowances to sea officers, or persons connected with the naval service, according to a regular order of superannuation, your committee wish to distinguish from others which appear in the same list; noting only, for the sake of the general view of the whole subject, their total amount, which is.... ...£.62,884; viz. To 25 rear-admirals, superannuated, &c. according to a fixed rule. ..£.10,265 27 Captains.....do..... 5,913 50 Eldest lieutenants do. 5,475 2 Physicians and one prin cipal surgeon.. 89 Masters, 68 surgeons, 26 pursers, 90 boatswains, 100 gmners, 105 carpenters, 32 cooks ----- To officers who have received wounds in the service; viz. 798 21,405 2 Admirals, 17 captains, 38 lieutenants, 2 masters, 3 surgeons, 2 pilots, 22 offi cers of royal marines ... 10,696 Mothers, widows, and children---- Do. determinable on some contingency 1,465 500 4,515 Widows of lieutenants. Do. of officers of ma. .62,884 annuations, to persons employed in the civil line of this department, such as clerks to secretaries of the admiralty, clerks of the nary, victualling and sick and hurt offices, and clerks in the several yards--...... ...5,906 The same to master attendants, master shipwrights, sail-makers, mastmakers, caulkers, boatbuild. ers, and a variety of artificers, storekeepers, and messengers em. ployed in the yards......£.6,306 Pensions to persons retiring from office, on the ordinary estimate, £.4,130 Contingent pensions on do.1,000 Pensions to some of the same persons on the produce of old stores, 1,817.-Total of pensions on old stores, including the above 1,817...... ...£.5,456 Contingent pensions on do.3,851 £.9,307 Your committee conceive that it may tend to encourage abuse, if such allowances as some of these should continue to be covered un. der the ordinary estimate of the navy; and that the mode of giving allowances out of the fund produced by the sale of old stores, in some cases to the very same persons who receive pensions on the ordi. nary estimate, requires, if not cor. rection, at least constant attention and superintendence. No. 17, shows the application of 85,115%. received in the year ending December 1806, from the sale of old stores and ships in his majesty's several dock-yards. List of bills assigned on the treasury of the navy..£.43,432 18 4 Payments by sign manual, in aid of the Pensions in the nature of super- salaries of the offices of Miscellaneous allowances to officers on whom honours have been conferred, to pay the fees thereon, to others to defray the table or other charges of military or diplomatic persons whom they have conveyed to or from the several stations of their public service. 13,802 16 0 Balance in hand, 31 Dec. 1806..... 12,599 13 4 2.85,115 17 2 Your committee cannot view without jealousy the fund arising from the sale of old stores, which, in the year ending 31 Dec. 1806, amounted to 85,115.; and they suggest, that it would be more advantageous to the public, if those pensions, which have been usually granted out of this fund, should be assigned only on the ordinary of the navy, and that the treasurer of the navy should be made debtor for the produce of old stores, under the head of voluntary account; by which means he would become accountable for the arrears to the exchequer, according to the prac tice which prevails with regard to old stores in the ordnance. No. 18. Tax-office: To superannuated officers.... £.1,900 No. 19. Office of master of the 3 others on ditto; toge ther 428 - 1,019 L.1,595 The pensions granted out of the hereditary revenues of excise, by Charles 2, and William 3, are omitted. No. 23 & 24. Muster-master-general's office.-Pensions granted, by virtue of letters from the secretary at war, to commissaries, &c. suppressed, in the nature of com. pensations ...£.1,966 No. 25. A pension of 1001. in lieu of a place in the salt-office; which does not appear in the excise list, nor in that of the stamp. office, returned to the committee, No. 26. Pay-office: -Four pensions to widows of accountants, &c. granted by treasury letters; together.... £.1,100 No. 27. Post-office :-Pension to a late surveyor of the customs, abolished........... .£.511 Another pension, on relinquishing the office of postmaster of Portsmouth... 90 £.590 No. 1 £.3,130 The amount of pensions payable sions," is contained in the 12th re- The salary of 4007. payable an- ORDNANCE ESTABLISHMENT. Gratuities for length of service to sundry officers on the above es. tablishment, estimated and voted this year, 8,5651.: the particulars of which are placed opposite to the names in the return of the estab lishment, endorsed No. 751, among the papers of your committee. ated and disabled men, half-pay of No. 30. The pay of superannua reduced officers for good services, according to the estimate of this pursuant to his majesty's warrants, year (1808), voted by the house, £60.805 amounts to - In 1797 £.23,862 And in 1761 5,940, The revenues out of which these payments are made, and the autho rity as well as the general circum. stances under which they are granted, require some observation. The Civil List acts passed at the commencement of the last and present reign 1 Geo. 2. c. 1, 1 Geo. 3. c. 1, by which the hereditary reve. nues were surrendered in consider. ation of a fixed annuity, expressly reserved to his majesty the several duties and revenues which had been antecedently payable to the crown in Scotland, in the same manner only and subject to the like charges as the same were subject to" in the immediately preceding reigns.These revenues constituted, ante cedently to the Union, a fund ap. plicable to the payment of the general charges of the civil establishment of Scotland; but laws were passed immediately after (7 Anne, c. 11. s. 10. and 10 Anne, c. 26. s. 108.) providing that the revenues of customs and excise should be specially charged with the support of the courts of session, justiciary, and exchequer; on the professed ground, that, since the Union, the expense of keeping up the said courts could be no otherwise provided for." The customs and excise are also charged with the expences of the privy seal, and of the great seal, although they are not mentioned in the acts referred to. The 20th Geo. 2, c. 43. s. 29. which abolished beretable jurisdictions, gave authority to grant competent salaries to the sheriffs, but without specifying the fund out of which they should be defrayed.-(No. 38.) These salaries have also been charged upon the customs and excise, though they seem more properly to belong to the reserved revenues, since the offices to which they are annexed make a part of the general civil establishment. By 26 Geo. 3, c. 47. the salaries of the chief officers of the court of admi. ralty, and of the commissary court, whose emoluments before the passing of that act depended on fees of office, then abolished, were directed to be paid out of the same fund; 30th Report Finance Committee, Appendix (A. 5.) No. 34. These reserved revenues consist of new subsidy of customs, which of course increases with the progress of commerce; of the hereditary and temporary revenues of exeise, which depend on the quantity of beer and ale brewed in Scotland; of the seizures of customs; the fines and forfeitures of excise; and of the crown rents and casualties, all of which are subject to fluctuation. Their total net amount in three years, ending 10 Oct. 1807, was 209,371;-being on an average yearly £.69,790. Nos. 35 & 36. Their total gross amount in the same three years was £.259,319. No. 37. The difference between the gross and net amount of these revenues arose from bounties, drawbacks, and other legal manage. ments, as well as charges of re-payment. No. 38. Their total gross alhount for the three years 1761, 1762, and 1763, was 119,5047. Average .39,834. No. 39. The charges to which they were liable in the year ending 10 Oct. 1807, were-1st. That of the pension list, being then £.36,506. |