payments terminate, the one clafs at Michaelmas, the other at Christmas! Though thefe accounts are delivered annually to the auditor, yet it is ufual for the chief cashier to pafs an account only once in two years; at which time he paffes the accounts of two years together. It is, and has long been, the I cuftom in the auditor's office, to make up the accounts of the bank and of the South Sea annoities, in both offices jointly. They divide the account as equally as they can : each office takes a part, examines the articles in that part, reduces it into the official form, and ingroffes it the two parts are then joined together, and form one account; that on paper is ingroffed in one office, and that one parchment in the other. The auditor proceeds upon the materials he receives from the bank, in the following manner : The dividend lift of every fpecies of annuites, contains an entry of every warrant for the payment of a fhare in that annuity, and confequently includes the entries of the warrants unpaid, as well as of thofe that are paid; and the amount of the fhares of the annuity in the lift is the amount of the half year's payment upon the total of the ca-: pital ftock in that dividend. The auditor examines every warrant; fees that it is correct; compares it with the correfpondent en try in the dividend lift; and marks that entry he then comparcs the entries in the unpaid lift, with the entries not marked in the dividend lift; cafts up both lifts; and, deducting from the amount of the dividend lift the amount of the unpaid lift, and the amount of the fractions, which, from their minuteness, the bank have not paid, the refidue is the fum allowed the chief cashier, as the amount of his payments upon that dividend list. The entries of the warrants, in the lift of arrears, are compared with the warrants themfelves; and the fum appearing to be paid for. arrears, in each fpecies of annuities. is added to the fum paid in the dividend list of that annuity, and forms the total fum allowed the chief cafhier for dividends paid by him in that fpecies of annuities, during the period of the account. The entries in the list of payments of principal and interest of annuities paid off, are examined by the warrants for thofe payments; and the entries of the payments in the litt of prizes in the lotteries, are compared with the certificates, and the totals of all thefe lifts are compared with the entries in the abstracts. The charge is feldom drawn up, until the account is near a completion. All the fums received by the chief cafhier are illues from the exchequer; and therefore to be verified by impreft certificates only: for this purpose he procures, from the receipt of the exchequer, an impreft certificate for every iffue in the time of the account. Fach impreft (except the laft) is, in general, compounded of a complete half year's annuity upon one fpecies of capital stock, and the charges of management allowed the bank upon that capital; the laft article is a fum to reimburse the bank the fees and charges advanced by them, and allowed in the preceding account. From thefe impreft rolls the auditor draws up the charge. The lifts and entries having been thus examined, and found to be correct, and the auditor having fo far formed his account, the chief (I 3) cafhier cafhier, foon after he has paid all the fees for this account to the treafury, the exchequer, and auditor's offices, tranfmits to the auditor an account current, containing the totals of all the articles of the charge and difcharge in the two year's account. If both accounts are right, the fums in the account current will agree with thofe in the official account, except in the payments on the dividends, in which, there is this difference :-the auditor, in his account adds to the total fum paid for the dividends in each fpecies of annuities, his own fee for auditing the account of that annuity; but, in the account current, the total fum paid for the dividend is ftated fimply by itself, and all the auditors fees for the whole account, including his fees for examining the contribution accounts of the fame years, are collected together, and the amount of them forms one article in the difcharge: all the fees paid by the chief cafhier, at the other offices, form another article in both accounts. The auditors are paid their fees, and allow fuch payments to the chief cashier in the following man ner: Soon after they have finished their examination of each year's account, it has been customary for them to apply to the bank for the fees that become due to them in confequence of that examination.. The chief cashier calculates the fees according to the ufual rate, and advances them to the auditors in equal fhares he then prefents a memorial to the treafury, fating that he has paid feveral fums, to a certain amount, for fees of various kinds, at the treasury and exchequer, and to the auditors of the impreft, in relation to his accounts: he annexes a list of the particular fums, and prays to be reimbursed. The lords of the treafury refer this memorial to the auditors of the impreft, to examine, and report upon it. The auditor examines the receipts neceffary to be produced to him, as vouchers for the payments : he reports that the fees paid at the treafury and exchequer are the ufual payments; and that the fees paid to the auditors of the impreft are computed at the fame rate as have from time to time been allowed by treasury warrants. Upon this report, the lords of the treasury direct the fum prayed to be iffued to the chief cafhier, by way of impreft, and upon account to reimburfe the fees thus paid by him. As the cashier paffes his account only once in two years, but every year pays fees, and applies to the treafury for a reimbursement, it follows that the two articles in the account current, the one comprehending the total of the fees paid to the auditor, the other the total of the fees and charges paid at the treafury, and other offices, are compounded of the fums flated under each of these heads in the two memorials: and, as thefe fums are iffued to the chief cashier upon account, they together form one article in the charge upon him in his next fucceeding account, as a fum to be accounted for by him. The only remaining article in the difcharge is the allowance, either detained by the bank out of the contributions, or claimed by them for the charges of management. This article, being grounded upon the feveral acts of parliament that create the annuities, will come more properly after we have examined the other account tranfmitted to us from the auditor of the impreft; that is, the account of the contributions to the annuities and lot tery. tery. The articles in the account drawn up by the auditors being found to agree with thofe in the account current, the balance remaining in the custody of the bank must be likewife the fame in both this balance confifts of dividends, capital stock paid off, and fums received to pay prizes in lotteries, remaining in the bank unclaimed by the proprietors. The chief cashier figns the account current, and fwears to it before a baron of the exchequer: the account is then prefented for declaration, and paffed through the feveral offices of the exchequer. : The account of the two years before us confifts of the following fms in the charge, the balance on the former account is 284,7191. 17s. 6d. received to pay the annuities 7,039,3751. 18.: to pay prizes in two lotteries, 980,00 1: to reimburse the bank the fees and charges paid by them in the laft account, 19,3671. 178. 10d.; for charges of management 114,4271. 1s. 6d. :-total charge 8,43,8891. 175. 10d. In the difcharge, dividends paid, 7,012,9571. 45. principal and interest of annuities paid off, 29621. 78. 7d.: certificates for prizes, 969,8441.: allowances for management, 114,4271. 1s. 6d. : fees to the auditors, 21,6931.; and at the treasury and other offices, 1120l. 16s. 6d.-Total difcharge, 8,123,0041. 98. 7d.-Balance remaining in the custody of the bank, 314,8851. 8s. 31d. : The other account, that of the contributions to annuities and a lot tery, comes to the office of the auditor of the impreft in a fhape different from the former: the first official notice he has of it is from a memorial referred to him by the lords of the treasury. When an act of parliament has paffed for raifing the fupplies by annuities and a lottery, about the end of the year, foon after the payments of the contributions are com pleted, the court of directors of the governor and company of the bank of England prefent a memorial to the lords commiffioners of the trea fury, with an account annexed, containing a charge and discharge: the charge confifts of two articles; the amount of the contributions to the annuities, and the amount of the contributions to the lottery-the difcharge has three articles; the fum paid into the receipt of the exchequer, the fum paid for interest to thofe contributors who advanced their money before the times appointed for making the feveral payments, and, the fum retained by the bank for the fervice, pains, and labour of their officers employed in receiving, paying, and accounting for this money, and the charges at tending it: the memorial prays they may be allowed to retain the fum therein mentioned, for the charges; and that they may be allowed a certain annual fum for the fervices refpecting the annuities, as being agreeable to former allowan ces for the like fervices; and that it may be paid to the chief cashier for their ufe. This memorial is re ferred by the treasury to the auditors of the impreft for their examina. tion and report. The auditor upon the receipt of this memorial, proceeds to examine the account annexed to it, The charge requires no proof or verifi cation; for the chief cafhier admits the receipt of the whole fum directed by the act to be raised. In the discharge, the fum ftated to be paid into the receipt of the exchequer is verified by the exchequer tallies, which the chief cashier fends to the auditor, with a list of the fums fo paid in; he fends likewife a book, figned by himself (I 4) contain containing a particular account of the fums paid for intereft on the money advanced. The auditor computes each fum, and cafts up the articles, to fee that the total agrees with the fum ftated in the account the remaining article is the allowance the bank pray to retain, for the charges of receiving, paying, and accounting for the contributions this the auditor examines, and reports that it is in proportion to former allowances for the like fervices he reports alfo, that the annual fum prayed by them for the charges of management is according to the rate formerly allowed in accounts for the like fervices. : In confequence of this report, the lords of the treafury authorise and direct the auditors to allow in the account the fum paid to the contributors for intereft, and the fum craved by the bank for their charges in receiving, paying, and accounting for the contributions. As to the allowance of the annual fum for the charges of management, they are filent. pounded of the annuity, and the allowance to the bank. It remains to inquire upon what authority the lords of the treasury ground themfelves, in authorifing the payment of thefe feveral fees and charges, and at what rate they are calculated. But though the lords of the treafury do not, in their directions to the auditors on this memorial, impower them to allow the charges of management to the bank in their cafhier's fubfequent accounts of thefe annuities, yet the treafury warrants to the exchequer, for the if fues of the fums to pay the half yearly dividends on them, feem fufficiently to authorife the auditor to make fuch allowances. The various fees paid at the treafury, and the offices of the exchequer, are flated particularly in the two bank memorials. The auditors, as to one of them, report, that the fees are vouched by lifts of the particulars, and receipts; and, as to the other, that they are the ufual payments: and upon thefe reports is founded the treafury warrant, that directs the auditor of the receipt of the exchequer to iffue to the chief cashier a fum to reimburse the fees thus paid by him. Thefe warrants include not only the half year's annuity, but likewife a feparate and distinct fum expreffed to be for the charges of management, after the ufual rate, upon that annuity; and the impreft certificate produced to the auditor, to verify the impreft article in the charge, contains a fum com The authority exercifed by the treafury in granting the allowances to the bank, is grounded upon the act that creates the annuities. The act of the year 1781 (the year of the contribution account before us) for railing money by way of annuities, and establishing a lottery, purfuing the like forms with the acts of the fame kind in preceding years, appoints the cashiers of the bank of England receivers of the contributions, and empowers the commiffioners of the treasury, in fuch manner as to them shall feem reasonable, to discharge the incidental charges attending the execution of this act, and to fettle the allowances for the fervice, pains, and labour of the cashiers, for receiving, paying, and accounting for the contributions, and for the annuities, and for the service of the accountant-general of the bank; which allowances are for the ufe and benefit of the governor and company of the bank of England, and at their difpofal. The lords of the treafury, being thus empower ed ed by the legislature, to fettle the quantum of the recompence to the bank, are governed in the exercife of this power, by fuch rules as appear to have been adopted by their predeceffors. The fervices for which the bank crave an allowance are of three kinds the receipt of the contributions to the annuities, the receipt of the contributions to the lottery, and the annual management of the annuities. The estimated rate of these allowances are stated in their memorial to the treafury. As to the contributions, they pray to be allowed to retain at the rate of So5l. 158. 1od. per million, as being in proportion to former allowances for the like fervices; and the auditors report that it is in that proportion. As to the lottery, they crave 1000l. upon the fame ground; the auditors report, that it is the fame as has been allowed in former accounts of the like fervices. As to the charge of management, they pray to be allowed a certain fpecified annual fum, agreeable to former allowances for the like fervices; the auditors report, that the allowance prayed for at the rate of 5621. 10s. a year for every million; which they reprefent to be the fame in proportion as has been allowed for tranfacting annuities granted in former years. Hence from the memorial, and the auditors report, taken together, it appears, that the bank crave for receiving the contributions to the annuities, at the rate of 8051. 155. 1cd. per million on the money received; for receiving the contributions to the lottery, a fum off 100cl.; and for managing the annuities, at the rate of 5621. 1cs. a year per million, upon the capital tock created: but, the annuities being of two kinds, perpetual, and for years, they are different as to the fubject of the transfer; in the one, the capital is transferable, in the other the annuity. As the rate of allowance for management is taken upon the capital, and not upon the annuity, it becomes neceflary to eftimate the value of the annuity for years, so as to bring the rate of management upon them to an equality with the like rate upon the perpetual annuities. The value of both the long and fhort annuities; (for the different duration makes no difference in the annual trouble to the bank) is computed at twenty five years purchale; and this produces a fum, upon which the faine rate per million being calculated, gives the like allowance for the management of these as of the four per cent. annuities. As the first creation of annuities is within time of memory, we endeavoured to trace thefe allowances up to their origin. The oldest an uities at prefent in being, tranfterable at the bank, are thofe of the year 1726; but they are not the firit that were committed to their management. During the reigns of king William and queen Anne, we do not find any contributions or annuities received at the bank; they were all paid into the exchequer': the first that appear to have been paid into the bank, are contributions to annuities granted in the first year of king George I. at the rate of 51. per cent. for raifing two fums of 910,000l. by the firit of George 1. chap. 19. and of 169,000l. by chap. 21. The first of these acts empowers the commiffioners of the treasury to allow the cafhier, out of the contribution money, for his pains and charges in receiving and accounting for the fame, a fum not exceeding 500l.; and the fecond act empowers them to allow him a fum not exceeding 100l.; and in |