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auditors, Mr. Thomas Gibbes, one of the clerks in the office of Lord Sondes, and Mr. John Colborne, an affiftant in the pay-office, who has been the principal perfon employed in making up the accounts of Lord Holland.

This account has been ready for declaration, as far as the auditor has been enabled to proceed with it, ever fince the year 1778; the two parts have been engroffed for above two years, and it has waited only for the acting executor of Lord Holland to ftrike the balance, and atteft the account. Since it has been ingroffed, feveral additions have from time to time been made to the book of account in the pay office fuch as were made before Christmas last have been entered in the ingroffments. Some time about Christmas, the book of account was taken from the office of the auditor to the pay-office, for the purpose of adding two articles to the charge, amounting to 13681. 9s. 3d. ariting from errors in the account pointed out by the auditor. At this time the balance (including thefe two articles) agreed by the pay-office, and by them pencilled into the book of account, was 68,0081. 6s. 6d. Soon after Christmas the book was returned to the auditor, with several other articles, amounting together to 48,7991. Ics. 11d. added to the end of the charge, and inferted next before the two pointed out by the auditor; and upon the 12th of February, in confequence of a let ter from Lord Sondes to Mr. Powell, an addition was made of three more articles; amounting to 7741. 78. 3d. which are the laft additions to the charge. An allowance was also claimed of 28451. 175. 10d. in addition to the discharge. Suppofing this claim to be well founded, the balance due on the 12th of Fe.

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bruary laft from the reprefentatives of Lord Holland, as paymafter general of the forces, to the public, was 14,73 1. 6s. 10d.

The balance of public money in the hands, cuftody, or power of the reprefentatives of Lord Holland, as paymailer-general of the forces, upon the 27th of September 1780, returned to our precept by John Powell, efq. his only acting executor, and attefted by him on oath before us upon the 28th of March 1781, as being, to the best of his knowledge, the whole balance then remaining upon the account of the faid Lord Holland, was 256,4561. 2s. 4d.; of this balance he paid into the exchequer in November 1781, purfuant to the act of the 21ft of his prefent majefty, 232,5151. 4s. 8d. which reduced the balance in his hands to 23,940l. 17s. 8d.; this being deducted from 114,7361. 6s. 10d. his balance upon the 12th of February, leaves 90,7951. 98. 2d.; of which 39,8531. 15. 9d. was included in the charge before Christmas laft, and 50,9421. 78. 5d. was added to it between Christmas and the 12th of February. Such ap peared the increase of the debt due to the public from the reprefentatives of Lord Holland, fince the 27th of September 780. By what means this balance could accumu late to fuch a degree fince Mr. Powell's examination before us, and and fifteen years after Lord Holland had rengued the office of paymastergeneral, was a difficulty that wanted explanation.

We required from the auditor of the impreft a copy of the additions made to the charge and difcharge of the final account of Henry Lord Holland, as paymaster-general of the forces, between the 27th of September 1780, and the 5th of October last, and alfo a copy of the

like additions fince the 5th of Oc

tober last.

It was not in the power of the auditor to comply with our first requifition, nor were we able by any means, to discover either what the particular additions were, or at what times any of them were entered upon the account prior to the 5th of October last; for the entries upon the account are without date, and no memorandum or minute of the time, or fubject matter of the entry is kept in the offices either of the auditor or of the paymaster-general. It has been ufual for the pay-office to leave, in different parts of the body of the account blanks for fums not afcertained when the account is first drawn out, and to fill them up afterwards at fuch times when they take the book back to the office.

It was in the power of the auditor to anfwer our other requifition; for all the additions fince the 5th of October, were entered together at the end of the charge in the account. He returned to us a ftate of them; but the entries of thefe articles being alfo without the material circumftance of dates and authorities, we annexed a copy of this return to a precept to the pay office, requiring an account of the times when, and the warrants and authorities by which, the fums contained in that return were refpectively paid into the hands, or placed to the account of the paymaftergeneral of the forces, with the dates of fuch warrants, and by whom granted. They returned to us this ftate completed as we defired; it confifts of a variety of articles which may be claffed under five heads: fums paid to deputies of Lord Holland, amounting to 19,2551. 6s. 11d-two articles of profit on remittances, 9,5181. 45.

7d-Stoppages made by deputies, 20,0251. 195. 5d.-the two articles pointed out by the auditor, 13681. 9s. 3d.-and the three articles added the 12th of February, 7741. 75. 3d. the total of thefe additions is 50,9421. 75. 5d. The dates of all of them, except the two difcovered by the auditor, are comprehended between the year 1758 and 1765 inclufive; feveral of the fums are directed to be paid to, and most of the ftoppages to be made by the deputies, purfuant to warrants of commanders in chief; for the payment of others of them no authority appears.

All the articles that were charges upon Lord Holland, have been feveral years ago felected from his ledger accounts, and at different times all inferted in his book of account: the additions which were entered about Chriftmas laft, and the three entered the 12th of February, complete the charge againft him. It refted now with Mr. Powell alone to explain to us the reafon why near 90,000l. the difference between his balance in September 1780, and the present balance of the account in the office of the auditor, was not included in his return to our precept upon the 27th of September 1780; and for this purpofe we required his attendance.

Upon our informing him, at his defire, of the fubject we intended to examine him upon, he begged the indulgence of a few days for confideration. Upon his next attendance he delivered to us, in writing, a request, that his examination might be deferred; alledging, that he was informed it was under confideration, whether a criminal profecution fhould not be commenced against him, on account of his examination upon

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oath, taken by us in February and the date of their accounts, with March 1781, left questions fhould the vouchers. The accounts are be put, the answers to which might immediately examined in the office, tend to accufe himself. Upon pro- and entered in the books of each ducing to us, at his next attend- refpective deputy; and when the ance, a copy of an extract of a account of the year to which these minute of the lords commiffioners receipts and payments belong, is of the treasury, dated the 27th of made up for the auditor, thefe arFebruary, and being informed by ticles are pofted to their feparate William Chamberlayne, efq. the accounts in the ledger. The two folicitor to the treafury, that a articles ftated in the return as profit criminal profecution was in their on remittances, were made up, one contemplation, we postponed the of them about the year 1764, unexamination of Mr. Powell. der the direction of Mr. Nicholls, the then accountant of the payoffice; the other, about four or five years ago, under the direction of Mr. Powell. The ftoppages are taken from the accounts of the deputies, and entered in their refpective books. All the articles compoling the fum of 20,0251. 195. d. the amount of the ftoppages, were pofted into the ledger, to the accounts of the proper deputies, previous to the year 1772, when the final account was fent to the auditor,-and one of thefe articles in this litt is 68541. 7s. 6d. confitting of ftoppages by Mr. Powell," as deputy-paymafter at Quebec. All the deputies mentioned in thie return are dead; and all their accounts have been long fince made up, except that of Mr. Barrow, and that appears now to be finished.

But we did not defift from pur. fuing fuch other means of information upon this fubject as were within our reach. We had recourfe to the official books of the paymastergeneral of the forces (now declared by the legislature to be the property of the public) in the payoffice of the army. We directed the attendance of Mr. Powell, Mr. Bembridge, and Mr. Colborne, at the pay-office, that they might not be ignorant of our proceedings, and might be ready to give us fuch in formation relative to the accounts, as we might think proper to require in their prefence we infpected those books of Lord Holland's accounts, from whence the articles added to the charge in his final account, and included in the return made to us from the pay. office, had been extracted.

From this infpection, and from the examination of Mr. John Colborne, we find, that fuch of thofe articles as contist of payments made to deputy-paymafters, had long ago been entered in the proper books belonging to each refpective deputy, as charges against him. It is ufual for the deputies abroad to return to the pay-office in London, as often as they have opportunity, accounts of their receipts and payments, down as low as to.

We required a ftate of the balances of the deputies to Lord Holland, as they now ftand between fuch deputies and the acting execu tor of Lord Holland. By this return, the fum now due from them amounts to 41,6261. 195. 4d. but for which the acting executor is anfwerable to the public.

The circumflance in this inquiry that materially concerns the intereft of the public, is their claim upon the eftate of the late Lord Holland; this claim is much great

er

ter than it was conceived to be: according to Mr. Powell's account (whofe duty it was, and who, as accountant in the pay-office from June 1765 to March 1776, and cafhier ever fince, and as the only acting executor of Lord Holland, must be prefumed to know with precition) the total debt to the public upon the 27th of September 1780, was 256,4561. 2s. 4d. What the balance of the account in the office of the auditor might be at that time, was totally immaterial; the debt to the public was the fame, however incomplete that account was, or whatever entries might be wanting to the charge or the difcharge. After the payments into the exchequer in the year 1781, this debt wa- reduced to 23,940l. 178. 8d. In February last the account in the auditor's office states an increafe, in confequence of an agreed and pencilled balance, and of additions (except in two fmall articles) voluntarily made to the charge in the pay office, to 14,7361. 6s. 1od. In March lat Mr. Powell paid into the exchequer in part of his balance 20,000l. which reduced it to 94,7361 s. 10d. a fum to which the public has at this time confeffedly an undoubted right: but this fum too may be varied by two articles not yet decided, the one in the charge, the other in the difcharge.

In the charge upon the final account of Lord Holland, there is an article of 29,6561. 11s. 6d. profit on exchange made by Peter Taylor, efq. his deputy in Germany. In order to check this article, the auditor has frequently required from the pay-office the materials from whence this fum was computed and made out. He was furni ed about Christmas laft with a book dated the 12th of May

1764, under the fignature of Peter Taylor, intituled, "Account of profit and lofs to the public on all payments made by Peter Taylor, deputy-paymaster in Germany.' The auditor has examined this book, and discovered in it variety of errors to the amount of ,5771. 135. od. in favour of the public: he fent his obfervations upon thefe errors to Mr. Powell the 23d of February; in confequence of which, fome of the articles objected to, have been examined on the part of Lord Holland, and found to agree with the computations of the audiditor: the reft are as yet un-examined. In the discharge, the article of 28451. 1 s. red. is under the confideration of the lords of the treasury: they have not decided, whether they fhall admit or reject the claim of Mr. Powell to be a lowed this fum among his payments. Should this article be difallowed, and the errors in the profit and lofs account be found to be real, the fum due to the public will be 106,1591. 18s. 6d.

Hence appears the prefent ftate of the debt due to the public from the reprefentatives of Henry Lord Holland as paymafter-general of the forces. The public have, at all events, an undoubted right to the fum of 94,7361. 6s. od. and, therefore, in obedience to the act that regulates our conduct, we report it as our opinion, that the reprefentatives of Lord Holland ought, without delay, to pay into the receipt of his majesty's exchequer, upon the terms mentioned in the act of the 21ft of his prefent majefty, chapter 48th, the fum of 94,7361. 6s. 1od. to be applied to the fervice of the public; and, as it is highly expedient, as well for the quiet of the perfons interested as for the fatisfaction of the public,

that

that an account fo long depending, and of fo remote a period, fhould be brought to a conclufion, we are of opinion the doubtful articles fhould forthwith be examined and decided upon, and the balance struck between the public and the accountant, and this account be prefented for declaration.

In the states of the accounts of the paymasters-general of the forces, in the office of the auditors of the impreft, the accounts standing next after the final account of Lord Holland, are those of the right honourable Richard Rigby. It appears from thefe ftates, that two of his accounts, the one for half a year ending the 24th of December 1768, the other for the next year ending the 24th of December 1769, are balanced and attefted. An objection made by the auditors, relative to omiffions in the civil lift deduction, retards their declaration, Since the 16th of November 1780, four more accounts of the four fucceeding years have been delivered into the auditors office: they are under examination, and in different ftages towards their completion. The auditor does not appear to have received any account from the pay-office of a year fubfequent to that of 1773. He proceeds upon the pay-office accounts as foon as they are fent to him. When objections arife from mistakes, omiffions, articles that require explanation, or want of vouchers, thofe objections are tranfinitted to the pay-office to be corrected, explained, or fupplied. Anfwers are returned, fometimes fhortly after the obfervations are fent, fometimes not until long after; and the auditor is retarded in completing the accounts for want of a regular attention to his applications. The first step must certainly be taken by the

pay-office, that is, the delivery of the account to the auditor, with the vouchers. By the dates of the delivery, as they are ftated by him, they have not been fent to him until long after the year of the account has been elapfed. The accounts of the years 1768 and 1769 were not delivered until ten years after. We do not, therefore, find that the imputation of delay lies in the office of the auditor. The pay-office feems lately to have been more attentive to this duty: we fee by their lift of accounts delivered into the office of the auditor, that five accounts, down to the year 1769, were delivered in the year 1779; two, for the years 1770 and 1771, in the year 1780; and two, for the years 1772 and 1773, in the year 1782.

Confidering the account, as drawn up in the pay-office for the purpose of being examined and checked in another office, there feem to be, in the flate in which it is tranfmitted to the auditor, fome defects that require correction. The entries of many of the articles are without dates and authorities: these are the diftinguishing marks of fimilar articles, and the omiffion of them tends to confound the auditor, and may be the means of fraud or concealment. Every article both of receipt and payment, fhould be entered, with its date and the authority which directs it, in the account of the year in which the fum is actually received and paid. It is not the account of the year it purports to be, unless it comprehends all the known receipts and payments of that year. Can any good reafon be aligned, why fums, received by the deputies and entered in the books of thofe deputies in the pay-office, in the year 1758, should be left out of their proper

place,

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