22d. Ditto, by

Ditto

Ditto

November 3. Ditto, by

6,000
8,000
8,000

ессо

10,000

23d. Ditto, by

29th. Ditto, by

Ditto

Ditto

APPENDIX,

No. XIV.

Th

APPENDIX. No. XV.

The EXAMINATION of Robert Mackenzie, Efq. Secretary to Sir William Howe, late Commander in Chief in North America; taken upon Oath, the 12th, 13th, and 17th of December 1781.

THIS examinant faith that he was Secretary to Sir William Howe, as commander in chief in North America, from October 1775 to May 1778. As fecretary, he paid during that time the incidental expences of the fecretary's office, and thofe of the Adjutant General, Judge Advocate, and fome other leffer offices, and small incidental expences, to the amount together of about 3700l.; which fum he received from the deputy Paymafter General, by war rants granted by the commander in chief, with the accounts annexed; which accounts he has paffed before the auditors of the Imprcft. He was alfo, during the fame period, paymafter to the commander in chief; and as fuch, it was his bufinefs to pay the bills drawn upon the commander in chief by the fuperintendants of Indian affairs, by the officers of the frontier pofts, and certain incidental services which did not fall within the provinces of the commiffariate, quarter-mafter general, barrack-mafter general, and commanding engineer. Thefe bills were generally first prefented to the commander in chief, and by him referred to his paymafter for examination; after which, if there was no objection, he paid them. Generally every quarter he made up an account of thefe bills, and applied to the commander in chief for a warrant for payment of them this warrant was drawn upon the deputy paymafter General, carried to him for payment, with the account annexed to it, and left with him as his voucher. Of all thefe payments, to the amount of about 49000l. including the fum of 3700l. above mentioned, he has paffed an account in the office of the late Mr. Aiflabie, one of the auditors of the Impreft, and has his quietus. During the fame period, by order of the commander in chief, he paid the Provincial troops. When the first corps were formed, a general account was made up of the expences of each corps, comprehending the levy money, the fubfiftence, and the contingencies: this account was laid before the commander in chief, who gave a warrant upon the deputy paymafter-general, for the payment of the fum therein mentioned to him, as agent. This fum he paid to the commanding officer or paymasters of the corps, and took their receipts as his vouchers. In Auguft 1776 he received a commiflion from Sir William Howe, as commander in chief, with the approbation of the Lords o the Treafury, appointing him paymafter-general of the Provincial troops: after this appointment he continued to pay the provincial troops in the fame manner until April 1777, when the army was expected thortly to move from New York. As he was to attend the commander in chief, it became neceflary for him to appoint agents to pay the Provincial troops; which they continued to do as long as he continued paymafter. All the warrants, granted by the commander in chief for the payment of the Provincial forces, were upon the deputy paymafter-general, and payable to him as paymatter, before he ap

pointed

pointed agents, and afterwards to the agents themselves, out of money remitted to pay the extraordinaries of the army.

Where bills for materials were paid by him as paymaster, he kept the bills themselves, with the receipts, as his vouchers, and delivered them into the office of the auditor of the impreft when he passed his accounts. A general account of thefe bills, with the total amount, is annexed to the warrant granted by the commander in chief for the payment of that amount.

The accounts of the charges of the Provincial corps and regiments were made up by the proper officers of each corps or regiment, and checked by the infpector of thofe forces as often as he had an opportunity of doing it, and by the mufter mafter. This account was fent from the regiment to the paymaster-general. An abftract of one or more accounts is annexed to the warrant granted for the payment of them; the accounts themselves are kept by the paymafter-general, as his vouchers before the auditor. After the agents were appointed, and demands upon them became due, they applied to him to obtain either a temporary or a final warrant for the payment of thofe demands; in confequence of which application fuch warrant was granted; if a temporary one, on account; if a final one, with an account annexed.

The principal perfons who receive money upon account, by warrants from the commander in chief, are, the quarter-mafter general, barrack-mafter general, chief engineer, commiffary general, the fuperintendant of Indian affairs, and fome others of lefs confideration. When these officers apply to the commander in chief for final warrants, they, produce to him an abstract of the payments made by them in their feveral departments, diftinguished under heads, with the fum total: they do not, that he knows of, produce the vouchers, but they remain in the poffeffion of the accountant, as is expreffed in the warrant granted to them for the payment of the fum inferted in the abstract; but in cafes either new, or where it was practicable, the commander in chief generally did not grant the warrant until he had procured fuch information as he wanted relative to that account. Various regulations and checks were made by the commander in chief, from time to time, to guard against the mifapplication of public money, in all the departments employed in the expenditure.

The EXAMINATION of Major General Sir William Erskine, late Quarter Mafter-general to his Majesty's Forces in North America; taken upon Oath, the 1st, 3d, 7th, 15th, and 17th May 1782.

THIS examinant faith, that he was appointed quarter mafter-general to his Majefty's forces in North America in October 1776; he continued in that department until the end of June 1779. His accounts, as quarter-mafter general commenced on the 25th of December 1776, and ended the 30th June

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