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any act, which can otherwife, if he does not interpofe, be done by the board: he can order the iffue of money; but that order must be executed in the established mode, that is, by debenture figned by three board officers.

The board are subordinate to the master-general they act under him, purfuant to his fignifications or directions: if he does not interpose, they are competent of themfelves to carry on all the official bufinefs: they make contracts and agreements for the purchase of ftores and performance of fervices, and direct the iffue of money and ftores; but if the mafter-general chufes to exert the power intrufted to him, he can control all their actions.

During the abfence of the maftergeneral, or the vacancy of the office, the whole executive power devolves upon the board: all war rants, letters, and orders, are directed to the lieutenant-general and principal officers: they can order, fign, execute, tranfact, and perform every fervice or matter incident to the office of the ord

nance.

The lieutenant-general, in his civil capacity, is the first in rank among the members that compofe the board: his fignature is effential to a debenture, to warrant the pay ment of it by the treasurer; unlefs he is abfent abroad, in which cafe, any other of the principal officers is empowered by the king's inftrue tions to fign it in his ftead; or unlefs, as has been ufual, his majefty appoints an affistant and deputy to the lieutenant-general, to act for him in his abfence. The prefent lieutenant-general has no deputy, the lait appointment of this kind was that of the furveyor-general, by warrant dated the 11th of April 5

1750. It is the duty, likewife, of this officer to fuperintend all the officers and minifiers in the various departments of the ordnance, and to fee that they perform the duties of their feveral employments.

The other four principal officers have each of them, independent of his being a member of the board, a feparate and diftinct branch of business committed to his management.

The furveyor-general, or mafterfurveyor, as he is ttyled in his patent, is the fecond board officer: his peculiar duty is, as his title imports, to furvey all stores received or returned into the store-houses of the ordnance: he is interpofed as a check upon the quality and quantity of the ftores received into the magazines: at the Tower he executes this duty by his clerks; at the out-ports, and foreign garrifons, officers called clerks of the furvey are appointed to this fervice, who regularly make their returns into his office. It is his province to examine the account of every expenditure; and therefore the price book, which contains the price allowed by the board for every fpecies of fores and fervice, is lodged with him; and all bills for pay for ftores delivered, and fervices performed, with their proper vouchers, are tranfinitted to him for his examination and allowance: he compares the prices charged, and fees that they agree with the terms of the contract, agreement, warrant, or order, on which they are grounded: he examines and passes the accounts of thofe officers, or others to whom money has been iffued on account; and after he has finished his examination of any demand or expenditure, he forms a bill, figes it, and tranfmits it to the clerk of the ordnance, as the

ground

ground for a debenture for payment. The repairs of the build ings belonging to the ordnance at the Tower, and the direction of the artificers, workmen, and labourers there employed, are intruíted to his care.

The clerk of the ordnance prefides in that office, in which are recorded and preferved all the origi. nal authorities, inftruments, and vouchers, that warrant, defcribe, and authenticate the proceedings of the ordnance: he is the accountant of the ordnance; and as fuch, keeps the accounts of all the cafh and ftores belonging to the whole department: he draws up the annual estimate for parliament, and the monthly eftimate for the treafury. The treasurer fends him an account of the imprefts from the exchequer, as foon as he receives them: the articles that compofe the voluntary charge, and the imprefts vacated, originate from accounts examined and fettled in his office; and the inftruments by which money is paid, or iffued, are formed by him. He makes out the quarter books for the payment of the officers, from the appointments, whether they are by commiffion, patent, warrant, fignification, or order; all of which, with the falaries annexed to them, are entered in his office. All debentures for the payment of money, either for flores delivered, or fervices performed, are made out by him, from the bills tranfmitted to him from the furveyor-general: he vacates the imprets iffued to, or the debts due from, the perfons named in the debentures or quarter books, by entering fuch fums in the mar gin: he draws all imprett bills or dered by the board: he keeps the impreft account; and is the proper offices to call upon the fub-ace

countants to clear their accounts: he prepares the official letters to the treasurer, directing the payment of ready money debentures: he draws up, figns, and tranfmits to him, the lifts of the debentures in courfe ordered for payment. Having by these means full knowledge, and keeping an account of the receipts and payments, he beIt is part of his duty to attend at comes a check upon the treasurer. the receipt and return of all stores at the Tower: he keeps a journal into the magazine of the ordnance of thefe receipts and returns; and has access to the journal kept by iffues: from hence he forms a ledthe cletk of the deliveries, for the ger, and becomes a check ftore-keeper. He takes his account upon the of the receipts and iffues by the ftore-keepers of the out-ports and garrifons, from their accounts tranfmitted to the board, and referred to his examination.

ftore-keeper, as he is called, to difThe ftore-keeper (or principal tinguish him from other ftore-keepers) has the custody, and keeps the account of the ordnance and stores received into, and iffued out of, the Tower. The ftore-keepers at the out-ports and garrifons keep the their charge; but their accounts accounts of the like articles under are fubject to the examination both of the principal ttore-keeper and of the clerk of the ordnance; and for that purpofe each ftore-keeper, and every other perfon who becomes gunners of fhips) tranfmits an ac accountable for flores (except the with the vouchers and orders, to count of his receipts and iffues, the board, who refer them to these ation, two officers for their joint examin

The clerk of the deliveries is the officer who fuperintends and keep.

the

the account of the iffues of the ftores and ordnance: he prepares, pursuant to the direction of the board, an inftrument, called "a proportion," directed to a storekeeper, authorifing him to iffue certain ftores, particularly fpecified to a place therein named: this inftrument, being figned by any three board officers, he delivers to the ftore-keeper as his warrant for the iffue: he receives from him the articles fpecified, and delivers them to the perfon who is to receive or convey them; if the articles be arms or ammunition, he takes an indent, by which the perfon receiving engages to render an account of them.

Such being the duty of thefe officers, both collectively as a board, and in their feparate capacities, we proceeded to inquire by what general rules the bufinefs of the ordnance is conducted in the feveral departments.

The bufinefs of the ordnance may be confidered as comprehend. ed under what relates to the receipt, and what relates to the expenditure, of the money applicable to that fervice.

The money provided for the ordnance fervice is received by the treasurer from the exchequer it is diftinguished under two heads- for the land-and, for the fea fervice. The money for the land fervice is contained in two accounts- the eftimate for the current year-and the account of fervices performed, and not provided for. The money for the fea fervice is 51. per cent. of the fum granted by parliament for the feamen.

Every year the clerk of the ordnance draws up, and prefents to the Houfe of Commons, three accounts-firft, an estimate for the current year-fecondly, an account of the expence of fervices perform

ed, and not provided for-and, thirdly, a state of the debt of the ordnance.-The eximate is an ar rangement of the ordnance fervices under general heads, and states the fum that will probably be wanted for each head of fervice during the year: it is divided into the ordinary, and, the extraordinaries. The ordinary comprehends the permanent establishments, and certain ufual fervices; the fums estimated as neceffary to answer these establifhments and fervices are taken or computed from what has been the ufual expence of them in the preceding years. The extraordinaries confift of fums that will probably be wanted in certain garrifons, either in Great Britain or ellewhere, or for cafual fervices; thefe expences are calculated either upon the eitimates of engineers, relative to the conftruction of new or the repairs of old works, in those garrisons or divifions; or from the ufual annual expences of such casual services.

The account of the expence of fervices performed, and not provided for, includes fervices that were unforeseen, and the exceffes of expences beyond the proviñons made for them: it has been the ufage of office to infert likewife, in this account, fome fervices, which, though foreseen, were yet omitted in the eflimate; but the two lait eftimates have been formed with a view of avoiding as much as poffible, the neceffity of coming to parliament with an account of inprovided fervices.

The ftate of the debt of the ordnance, contains fuch of the debts incurred in all the preceding years as can be afcertained, and remain unpaid; either no provifion having been made for them by parliament, or the provifion made for them having been otherwife applied. After the fums in the estimate, and in

the

the account of services performed, and not provided for, are voted, the clerk of the ordnance, at the requifition of the lords commiffioners of the treafury, draws up a monthly estimate, that is, a late of the fums that will probably be wanted in every month during the year, both for the land and fea fervice, diftinguishing the current fervices from the payments in courfe: the fum, thus divided into twelve parts, is compounded of the fum in the estimate, the fum granted for the unprovided fervices, and the fum arifing from the five pounds per cent. of the vote for the feamen. This estimate is tranfmitted to the treasury, and the board apply to them by memorial every month for the portion stated for that month in the eflimate; it is iffued to the treafurer of the ordnance at fuch time as is convenient to the trea fury.

The ordnance money is employed, in general, either in the purchafe of ftores and materials, or in payments for fervices performed. To come at a knowledge of the general rules by which these purchases are made, and fervices conducted, it was neceffary to direct our inquiry to particular articles of business in the ordnance department, and to mark their progress through the feveral offices. The fubjects we selected were-the hire of fhips-the hire of horses, conductors, and drivers for the artillery-contracts for bricks and timber-fortifications--gunpowder and ordnance. Upon thefe fubjects we collected information from the officers of the ordnance above mentioned, and likewife from the following perfons, converfant in those particular branches; viz. John Julius Angerstein and John Thompfon, efquires, contractors with the board of ordnance for fhipping; 1786.

Thomas Dickenfon, efquire, fuperintendant of shipping; William Adam, efq. a contractor for bricks and timber; colonel Mathew Dixon, commanding engineer at Plymouth; major William Congreve, deputy controller of the king's laboratory at Woolwich; and major Thomas Blomefield, the inspector of artillery.

In most of the tranfactions of this office, the diftinguishing circumstan. ces to which we particularly directed our attention, are the contract, the execution-and the payment.

Every contract or agreement is made by the board. The terms have ufually been fettled, either in confequence of proposals delivered in, fometimes purfuant to adver tifements, and fometimes upon the tender of the contractor without advertisements; or, in confequence of appointments, by the matter general, of particular perfons to fupply certain fpecies of ftores or materials, or to perform certain branches of fervice; but by a late refolution, the board have deter mined for the future to advertise for every kind of stores or fervices they fhall fland in need of. The prices agreed to by the board are entered in the price book, by which the furveyor-general checks the prices charged in the bills des livered to him for his examination and allowance, and regulates fu ture contracts for the fame or fimi lar fervices.-The execution is guarded by the fuperintendance of officers employed in the fervice: it is the duty of fome of them to take an account of, and examine the quantity and quality of all ftores received into, or delivered out of, the magazines and of all materials fupplied and used for the works: it is the duty of others to fee that the fervices under their infpection are faithfully performed in (L)

every

every article, according to the terms of the agreement. Upon the certificates of thefe officers the board rely for the due execution of every undertaking, and for the truth of every circumftance contained or implied in the inftruments to which thofe certificates are annexed; and upon the credit of them they direct, the feveral payments.

That these are the rules by which the board of ordnance conduct themselves in the execution of the bufinefs intrufted to their manage ment, we collect from the examination of the fubjects above mentioned.

Before the year 1777, fhips for freight were procured by the ordpance, either in confequence of advertisements, or by the interven tion of brokers: but in that year an officer was appointed, called the fuperintendant of fhipping, whofe bufinefs it is, either to look out for fuch fhips as the fervice may ftand in need of, or, where fhips are tendered in pursuance of advertifements, to examine the condition of them, and the proposals delivered in by the contractors, and report his opinion thereupon to the board: it is his duty likewise to affift at the valuation of the ship, rigging and ftores. Government is bound by the charter-party, where a fhip is taken or destroyed by the enemy, to pay to the owner the value of the thip, rigging, and ftores; this makes it neceffary to fet a value upon them previous to her failing. Certain officers, of whom the fuperintendant is one, are appointed by the board to take an inventory of all her rigging and ftores, and to make a valuation of them, and of the fhip: this valuation is figned by all the officers, and lodged with the clerk of the ordnance. It is

not cuftomary to give notice to the owner of the time when this valuation is to be made; he may have recourfe to it in the office where it is kept: if he figns it, he confiders himself as bound by it, otherwise not. If the flip be taken or deftroyed by the enemy, the fum inferted in the valua ion is paid to the owner, deducting 8s. per ton, per annum, for the wear and tear.

The number of fhips employed in the fervice of the ordnance, from the 1ft of January 1776 to the end of the year 1783, has been 110; and the number of tons, 39.934; of which the annual expence, at 138. per ton per month, the price fettled by the board, has been, upon an average, 311,4851. 4s. a year; that is, for feven years, exclusive of loffes and wages of extra feamen, 2,180,3961. 8s.

The hire of horfes, conductors, and drivers, for the fervice of the ordnance, during the late war, has been by contract. The obligation upon the contractor is, to provide and fupply, from time to time, as many of each as fhall be required by the board. The commander in chief regulates the number and the time when they will be wanted. From the account of the number of horfes, conductors, and drivers, employed in the fervice of the artillery in England, from January 1778 to December 1783, returned to our requifition by the clerk of the ordnance, it appears that the eftablishment for the train in England, from its commencement in May 1778 to the end of October 1782, confifted of 1637 horfes, 32 conductors, and 581 drivers. By a

contract with Mr. Fitzherbert, of the year 1775, the full pay of the horfes was is. 9d. and of the conductors, 35. a day; and of the drivers, 8s. a week each. They

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