tory act he did not blame the Judge of the Admiralty Court for condemning the fhip; the cafe was within the law, and he could not give any other judgment: but the equity of the queftion was fo ftrongly on the fide of Mr. M'Knight, that he had an indifputable claim to the generofity and humanity of Parliament. Sir Adam faid, he was apprehenfive that it might perhaps be imagined, that thofe only who had fuffered by land, were entitled to fuch relief as the generofity and juftice of this country fhould think proper to hold out to the Loyalifts; but a moment's reflection would convince any man, that all fuch as had suffered by their attachment to Great Britain, whether by fea or by land, came within the defcription of thofe perfons, into whofe claims the Commiffioners were to enquire.

Mr. Wilmot faid, the cafe of Mr. M'Knight fhould cer- Mr. Wiltainly be taken into confideration as foon as poffible.

On account of the alterations made in the Lambeth poor

bill in the House of Lords, it was rejected.

July 10.

>mot.

Sir Adam Fergufon faid, that as the Chairman of the Com- Sir Adam mittee of Secrecy was not in town, he felt it his duty to Ferguson. make a motion in favor of Mr. White, who had very carefully attended that Committee as Clerk, during a confiderable part of two feffions of Parliament. He had been a witness to the affiduity and fatigue of that gentleman during that period; and as a reward for his labour, he moved an addrefs to his Majefty, that he would be pleased to order the fum of 2000l. to E. White, Efq. for his trouble in attending as Clerk to the Committee of Secrecy in 1781, and 1782, and to affure his Majefty that the Houfe would make good the fame.

General Smith oppofed the motion; he faid, that if fo General large a fum fhould be granted to Mr. White, he himself Smith, fhould be under the neceffity of moving for double that fum, for the Clerk, who had attended the Select Committee for 126 days, a much longer and more laborious attendance than had been given by Mr. White on the Committee of Secrecy.

Sir Philip Jennings Clerke thought that it would be best to Sir P. J. vote a certain fum, 500l. for example on account, and ap- Cherke. point a committee to enquire the next feffion into the quantum meruit of Mr. White, whofe very great affiduity, diligence and ability, he was very ready to acknowledge.

This

Sir Adam

This idea was adopted by the Houfe, and the fum of 500l. on account, was voted inftead of 2000l.

Sir Adam Ferguson then moved another addrefs, that a fum' Ferguson. of 400l. be granted to the Chairman of the Committee of Secrecy, to be by him divided in equal fhares between two Clerks of the India Company, who had attended also in the Committee of Secrecy. This motion paffed without a divifion.

General
Smith.

General Smith moved an addrefs for 5ool. to be paid on account to the Clerk who attended the Select Committee, and fome fmaller fums to inferior Clerks. The fums were voted without oppofition,

Lord John Lord John Cavendish then laid before the House a book, Cavendish, containing a lift of the persons to whom sums of public money had been iffued, for public fervices, for which no account had as yet been paffed by the Auditors of the Impreft. The moment the book was laid upon the table, and before any one had time to look into it,

Mr.W.Pitt.

Mr. W. Pitt rose to make a motion upon it. He faid, that from the book that had been juft laid upon the table, it appeared that forty-four millions of the public money had been iffued to public accountants, who had not paffed any account whatever for these fums before the Auditors of the Impreft: he did not wish to be understood to mean that fuch a fum was due to the public, and might be recovered; he did not believe there was even an hundredth part of it that was due or recoverable; nay, he knew that many of the perfons who stood as debtors to the public, in the book then on the table, had actually paffed their accounts before the Treasurer; nay, that in the cafe of contracts the money had actually been due, before it had been iffued from the Exchequer, because the fervice to which the contractors were bound by their contracts, had been performed before the iffuing of the money: but ftill though the money had been accounted for in substance, it had not been accounted for in form, because the accounts had not paffed before the Auditors of the Impreft: this, he faid, might be an argument against the prefent forms of paffing accounts in the Exchequer, as fuch a length of time muft neceffarily elapfe before ́ they were likely to be called for, that in the mean time the money might be diffipated. He faid, that it might be, proper to pass an act of Parliament to operate as a quietus to the reprefentatives of accountants, to whom money had been iffued fifty years ago, and where the vouchers for the expenditure

2

expenditure might, through fapfe of time, have been loft; but on the other hand, it would be as proper to compel accountants of a later date to pafs their accounts, and pay fuch balances as fhould be due to the public. He concluded, by moving, "That an humble addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, reprefenting to his Majefty, that it appears that large fums of money, which have at different times, and many of them very long fince, been paid for public fervices to fub-accountants, amounting in the whole to above forty-four millions, have not yet been accounted for before the Auditors of the Impreft; and that though many of them may have been otherwife accounted for in the course of office, yet others, to a very large amount, have not been accounted for at all.

"That it appears to this Houfe to be of the utmoft importance, that all public accounts should be brought forward with as little delay as poffible, and that therefore they do humbly befeech his Majefty to be graciously pleased to give directions, that the moft effectual measures fhould be taken to enquire concerning the perfons to whom the faid fums have been iffued, or their legal reprefentatives, and particularly those to whom money has been iffued in the courfe of the late expenfive war, and to take meafures in all cafes where there fhall appear to be fufficient ground to compel them in due courfe of law to account for the fame; and that this House will in due time co-operate in fuch measures as may, on full deliberation, appear to be proper, in order to prevent the like delays for the future."

Mr. Grenville feconded the motion.

Sir Grey Cooper remarked, that he believed the whole of Sir Grey the money was accounted for in fome form, although not Cooper. in a ftri&t regular manner, as it undoubtedly ought to have been; he ftated alfo, that the Barons of the Exchequer, with great care and fidelity, examined every year into the public accounts, and never paffed them without the" fullest enquiry. Without the notice and commentary which the right honourable gentleman had made, and even with it, the book, Sir Grey faid, might tend to prejudice the credit of men concerned in trade and mercantile tranfactions. It was no indifferent matter to have it published to the world, that they food upon record, debtors to the public for large unaccounted fums, and liable to the process of the Crown. There were fome inftances where perfons who had received public money food, upon the face of that book, account

able

LoidNorth.

The

able for upwards of 500,000l. and who, upon the Auditors'
ftate of their accounts, claim a balance due to them from
the public; and because these cravings were not fettled, they
ftill ftood upon the roll as debtors for the whole fum.
right honourable gentleman knew that the fub-accountants
could not be fet infuper upon the roll until the final account of
the principal was declared: Upwards of thirty-three millions
of the fums fet against the names of the fub-accountants,
arofe out of the accounts of the Paymafters General, fome
of which had been paffed very lately, and fome not yet
paffed, and he was perfuaded, Sir Grey faid, that no atten-
tion or activity were wanting on the part of the Barons of
the Exchequer, (who fuperintend the Auditors of the Im-
preft, and force the procefs,) to compel accountants to ren⚫
der their accounts. The whole Court had for fome years
paft fat upon the appofal, as it was called, of the Sheriff of
Middlefex, in which are comprehended the accounts of all
the great officers of the Crown. The Deputy Auditors at-
tend, and upon the half-yearly certificates being read, they
afk the Sheriff what he has done in this or that writ against
fuch or fuch a perfon? Whether he has returned iffues
against them, and to what amount? They examine the
Deputy Auditors concerning the circumftances of each case,
and particularly whether the accountant, who appears to
have been ferved with procefs by the Sheriff, has come in
and delivered his vouchers and accounts, or any or what part
of them, or has proceeded on thofe already delivered in.
If the iffues returned by the Sheriff are fmall, the Court
often takes the matter up, and orders the Sheriff inftanter
to return larger iffues, fuch as they think more adequate to
the default, and the fums unaccounted for. It must how-
ever be admitted, that the process of the Court, and the
power of compelling defaulters to come in, were not cal-
culated for the auditing and paffing the accounts of the ex-
penditure of the public money in the two laft wars, and
that the process against fub-accountants and Infupers wants
amendment, and therefore, Sir Grey faid, he did not upon
the whole object to the addrefs.

Lord North had his doubts as to the authenticity of the book on the table; it was not the production of office, but of a private individual; and what demonftrated that it was not correct, was, that the right honourable member himself had ftated, fome months ago, on the authority of the book, which he had then feen, before it was laid before the House,

that

that near 50,000,000l. of the public money had never been
accounted for; whereas the book had fince undergone a revi
fion, and now the fum was reduced to 44,000,000l. If the
honourable member meant to condemn the mode of paffing
the public accounts, he would readily join with him; the
mode was certainly calculated only for domeftic expences,
not for the expences attending a great army and navy.
navy. But
the public muft not be misled by the motion; of the
44,000,000l. mentioned in the motion, 30,000,000l. were
to be accounted for by the last three paymafters, Mr. Rig-
by, Mr. Burke, and Colonel Barré, who, had they been
ever fo willing, and ever fo ready, could not have paffed
their accounts yet; there were 12,000,000l. more, which
were to be, and in fubftance, though not in form, had been
accounted for by the executors of Lord Holland, fo that the
fum that remained in reality unaccounted for, would be
found to be very trifling indeed.

Mr. Sheridan moved two amendments to the motion. Mr. Sheri The one was to leave out the words "it appears to this dan. House," and infert in their ftead the following, "this House having reason to believe," the other to leave out the specific fum of forty-four millions, fo that the phrafe would run generally that great fums, &c. had been iffued, and had not been accounted for. He faid thefe amendments appeared to him the more neceffary, as the book on which the motion was founded, could not be called a parliamentary voucher, fuch as would support the affertion" it appears to this House;" for in fact it was merely a compilation, made up indeed by a refpectable individual, but at the fame time unauthorised by either Parliament or the Treafury; and if the noble Lord produced fuch a book at all, it was only in deference to the right honourable mover of the present address, who having feen the book, wifhed it to be produced to the Houfe; but though it might serve to fatisfy the curiofity of the House, it was not fo authentic a document, as that a grave proceeding fhould be grounded upon it. The fame reafoning would fupport the amendment for leaving out the specific fum; for if the House, and not on the authority of the book, fpeak with certainty on one point, they could not of course speak with certainty on the other. He had not the least objection to the inotion, if it should be thus amended; and he was fatisfied that the amendments would not, in the fmallest degree, tread upon the fpirit of the address.

VOL. X.

Mr.