never did say so; trusting to one's recollection at a length of time is a very arduous task.

Do you admit, that you might have said to some person or other that you owed your appointment to Sir Brook Watson, and have forgotten that you said so? I do not think that I ever said so, but I do not pledge myself to say that I never did say so; but I do not believe it.

Do you admit, that you might have said to some person or other that you owed your appointment to Sir Brook Watson, and have forgotten that you said so? "I have answered that question to the best of my knowledge.

WILLIAM HUSKISSON, Esq. a Member of the House, attending in his place, was examined, as follows:

I believe you were Secretary of the Treasury in the months of May, June, and July, in the year 1805? I was.

Will you acquaint the Committee what is the course of application for appointments of this kind to the Treasury; and whether you recollect any application either of Mr. Richard Manby, or of the gentleman who has just been examined? The course of application for appointments of this nature, and all other appointments in the gift of the Treasury, as far as I know, is this: that an application is either made directly to the First Lord of the Treasury, or the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or more indirectly to those persons through the channel of one of the secretaries of the Treasury, or the private secretaries of those persons: sometimes, nay frequently, applications are made verbally either to the First Lord of the Treasury, or the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who makes a memorandum of the application, and it is then noted in the memorandum book kept by his private Secretary, or communicated to the Secretary of the Treasury, to be noted in a memorandum book kept there: If any application is made for an appointment on official grounds, that is made certainly in a different shape; it would then be presented to the Board of Treasury in the shape of a memorial, or some official document, which would go through the regular course of official business; of that nature are recommendations for promotions for commissaries, or any any other servants of the public, who having distinguished themselves, receive recommendations from the superior under whom they have served: any document of the latter description, I believe would be forthcoming in the Treasury; but as to any application for an appointment, I know no instance of such a paper being considered an official application, or register, or any public note made of it: in consequence of that, I do not believe that the most diligent search into the records of the Treasury will afford any trace of the quarter or of the manner in which this person was recommended to his appointment, whether the application was made to myself to be communicated to the then First Lord of the Treasury, or made to my then colleague in office, or to any other person who had access to the First Lord of the Treasury, or whether it was made to the First Lord of the Treasury himself, I am altogether ignorant. I cer tainly have not the least recollection of this person being recommended; and until he stated to the Committee this evening that he was an Assistant Commissary, I did not know that there was such a person upon

the staff; upon his stating that circumstance, and that he purchased the commission from Mrs. Clarke, my attention was of course called to his evidence; I then took the name of the Witness, and I have recalled to my recollection, that a person of that name had been directed to proceed to Portugal, to serve in the Commissariat there; and that he was directed for this reason, that when a very large force was proceeding to Portugal and to Spain, it of course became necessary, on the communication of that circumstance from the Secretary of State, to provide a Commissariat Staff adequate to the amount of the army going to serve in those countries: I communicated this to the Com missary General and the Comptrollers of Army Accounts, and desired they would furnish me with a complete list of all the Commissaries who were either not absolutely wanted in the service in England, or being on half-pay might be sent: in the list so sent, I must have found the name of this gentleman, and I can state that with the more confidence, because extensive as that army was, and numerous as the Commissariat, there was not any one fresh officer appointed, the whole were taken either from the half-pay of the Commissariat as I have stated, or from persons, who, in consequence of the reduction of the force in this country, it was conceived might be spared for foreign service. I am confident I never saw Mr. Dowler till I saw him at the bar; I certainly do not recollect any one circumstance connected with his appointment: I do not know when it took place, nor can I give any other account, than that which I have now given. I know that Mr. Manby holds an appointment in the Commissariat, because finding him upon half-pay he was directed to take charge of a district in England from which another Commissary was sent to foreign service; but I cannot recollect whether Mr. Manby was appointed during the time I held the situation of secretary to the Treasury, or at any other period. I am equally ignorant as to the circumstances which led to his appointment, and of the quarter from which he was recommended, as of the person who has been examined.

Do you recollect Mr. Adams being appointed a Commissioner of the Lottery? I do recollect his being appointed a Commissioner of the Lottery, when he was private secretary to Mr. Pitt, at the time he was First Lord of the Treasury.

WILLIAM STURGES BOURNE, Esq. a Member of the House, attending in his place, was examined, as follows:

You were Secretary of the Treasury in the months of May, June, and July, in the year 1805? I was.

Will you acquaint the Committee whether you recollect any application, either of Mr. Richard Manby or of the gentleman who has just been examined? After the statement which has just been made, it will be only necessary for me to state, that I never saw Mr. Dowler, till I saw him at the bar to night. I do not recollect any application being made to me on the subject of this appointment, and am totally unacquainted with the circumstances respecting it.

Mr. JOHN GRANT was called in and examined by the Committee, as follows:

Were you agent for Colonel French's levy? I was.

Do you know what agreement existed between Colonel French

and Captain Sandon, with regard to the levy? That it was to be a joint concern.

Do you mean by a joint concern, that they were to stand in equal proportion of gain or loss? I do.

Do you of your own knowledge know through whose influence it was that Colonel French first obtained his letter of service? I have no further knowledge as to that fact, than what was told me by Colonel French and Captain Sandon.

Will you relate what Colonel French and Captain Sandon told you? They told me that they were to have a levy, and were to get it through a friend, which friend, at that time I did not know, but before the letter of service came out, I was acquainted that it was through a Mrs. Clarke.

Did you know from them that they gained that letter of service through the medium of that friend then unknown to you? They told

me so.

Do you recollect that during the progress of the levy, any alteration was applied for in the original terms of the levy through the same medium, Mrs. Clarke ? I do know that an alteration was applied for: they applied, but I cannot say that that was through the same medium.

State what that alteration was. I cannot immediately state it from recollection, but it will appear upon the letter which was issued from the War-office in consequence.

A letter sanctioning the alteration was issued from the War-office in consequence of an application, but through what medium you do not know? No.

Did you ever hear Colonel French or Captain Huxley Sandon say by what means they had obtained that alteration? I in fact knew the means, because it was a letter written applying for such an alteration.

To whom was that letter addressed? I understood to the Commander in Chief.

From Colonel French and Captain Sandon? Yes.

Can you recollect that any other alteration in the levy was made? I cannot charge my memory with any more than one.

Was there any alteration with repect to boys? I think that was in the original letter of service; I cannot be certain as to that; but it was either in the original letter of service, or in the amendment.

Were you acquainted with the terms on which Mrs. Clarke's influence was obtained by Colonel French and Captain Huxley Sandon I did understand at first that she was to have 500 pounds or guineas; but afterwards I understood there was some other alteration, which was to allow a guinea for every man raised.

Do you know that any sum or sums of money were paid in consequence of that last agreement to Mrs. Clarke? I have been told so, but know nothing of it myself.

Were you told so by Colonel French, or Captain Huxley Sandon? By both.

You were told both by Colonel French, and Captain Huxley Sandon, that Mrs. Clarke received payments according to the last agreement of a guinea a man in addition to the 500 guineas originally contracted for? I cannot say whether it was upon the first or the last agreement, but that she received several sunis.

Do you know that she received several sums subsequent to the agreement you speak of, of a guinea a man? I do not know at what period she received any sum; nor do I speak from my knowledge of her recelving any, but only from what I was informed by Colonel French and Captain Huxley Sandon.

Did you, as agent to the levy, pay any sum of money to her or to any other person? To her none; but to several others very large sums.

Do you recollect paying a draft of 2001. drawn in favour of Mr. Corri, by Captain Huxley Sandon? I accepted such a draft, and it was paid by my banker.

The amount of that was placed to the levy account? To the levy

account.

Have you ever understood or been told by Colonel French or Captain Sandon, that Mrs. Clarke has received very considerable sumns for her influence on the levy account? I have.

Did they ever either one or the other of them tell you, or have you reason to know, the amount of the different sums paid to her on that account? I know nothing of my own self; but they have mentioned to me the sum, I think of 17001.

Did you ever hear Colonel French or Captain Sandon complain of Mrs. Clarke having disappointed them in any of their applications on that subject? I do not know that they ever made any others

to her.

Did you ever hear Colonel French or Captain Sandon complain of Mrs. Clarke having disappointed them in any of their applications on that subject? I cannot call any such thing to my memory; it does not occur to me at present.

Do you recollect Colonel French and Captain Sandon to have expressed themselves satisfied with the exertions Mrs. Clarke had made in their favour? No.

Do you recollect that Colonel French ever applied to you, respecting the loan of 5000/. that was to be raised for the Commander in Chief? He did mention to me that he wished to afford to the Duke such an accommodation.

Did Colonel French desire you to take any steps towards procuring that money? No.

Did he state to you his reason for wishing to accommodate the Commander in Chief with that sum? No.

But you recollect that Colonel French spoke to you respecting the raising of such sums of money for the Commander in Chief? I do; that he asked him to lend it to him for the purpose.

Will you, as nearly as you can recollect, state what passed upon that subject? I do not recollect any particulars that passed, further than his asking me to lend him such a sum of money for that purpose; as to the particular words I cannot possibly recollect.

You took no steps whatever for raising the money? None.

Did you state to Colonel French that it could not be done? I told Colonel French that under the heavy advance I already was for the levy, I certainly could not do it with convenience.

Do you recollect that Colonel French suggested, that this loan of 50001. was to be advanced, provided the arrears due from Government on the levy account were paid up? No such condition or pro

vision was stated; but it was observed, that if that should be recovered it might form a part of it.

Was it Colonel French who made that observation? I really cannot recollect whether it was from Colonel French or from myself.

Then the mode of accommodating the Duke of York was agitated between you? If that may be called a mode, it certainly was.

Do you mean to say, that if the sum due from government to Colonel French on account of the levy was paid up, the Duke of York might on that event have been accommodated? No, certainly not.

Was any application made to your knowledge by the Duke of York, for the paying up of the sums due on the levy? Not that I know of.

Did Colonel French ever tell you such application was to be made, or had been made? Colonel French did promise that he would memorial the Duke upon it.

Did you say that if the money was paid up, the 5,000l. was to be lent to him? No.

Then you mean merely to state, that if the money due on account of the levy was paid, that on that event you would have been able to have met Colonel French's wishes, and to have made the advances to the Duke of York? No; I never mentioned any such idea, nor took it into consideration.

I thought you said that there being so much due from Colonel French on the account of the levy, you could not meet his wishes upon that subject? That did not relate to what was due from the War Office, but to a large sum still due from Colonel French and Captain Sandon; which they had expended perhaps in other ways, and which sum they are still indebted to me, to a very large amount. [The Witness was directed to withdraw.]

[The Witness was again called in.]

Do you recollect Colonel French complaining of other parties hav ing larger bounties than were allowed to his levy, and that that hurt his recruiting very much? He did mention, that he met recruiting parties wherever he went; but as to the bounty being larger or not, I cannot undertake to say that he did.

It is understood that Colonel French and Captain Sandon had at one time thirteen guineas, and at another time nineteen; at what period was the sum advanced from the thirteen to the nineteen? I cannot speak particularly as to the period, but I think it was in May, 1804; if the letter of service is referred to, that will shew it distinctly.

Did Colonel French tell you whether that advance was procured through the medium of Mrs. Člarke? No.

Do you recollect that Colonel French ever told you that through the influence of Mrs. Clarke, he had obtained permission to have his recruits passed nearer the places where they were recruited than before? No.

[The Witness was directed to withdraw.