From the return of the pay-office of the navy, and from the examinations of the right hon. Welbore Ellis, treasurer of the navy; Andrew Douglas, efq. his paymatter; John Slade, efq. first clerk in the cashier's branch; Adam Jellicoe, efq. firft clerk in the pay branch; George Swaffield, efq. cafhier; Mr. John Fennell, chief clerk, and Mr. Robert Walker, fecond clerk in the victualling branch, we obtained the following information relative to the profits accruing to the officers and clerks in this office.

The business in the pay-office of the navy is tranfacted by thetr eafurer, the paymafter, and thirtyfive officers and clerks, nine of which are in the cashier's branch, twenty in the pay branch, and fix in the victualling branch.

The profits of thefe officers confift of fix heads-falaries; allowances for extra fervices, and for telling money at the Bank; perquifites of odd pence; for cafting defalcations; and for entering probates and other inftruments.

The treasurer and his paymafter are paid by falaries only, and have no other fee or gratuity whatever. The officers and clerks receive falaries, and alfo the allowances and perquifites above mentioned.

The treasurer is appointed by the crown, and holds his office during pleasure. He receives a falary of two thousand pounds a-year, reduced, by the payment of the one fhilling and fixpenny duties, to 1,850l. He appoints the paymaster, and all the other officers and clerks in the office.

The paymaster has a falary of 5ool. a-year, reduced by the fame duties to 4621. 10s. He executes alfo the offices of cashier and ac

countant, for which he receives no additional falary or emolument whatever.

The falaries of the other officers and clerks are from forty to eighty pounds a-year, according to their feveral employments. Befides which, they have the allowances and perquifites following.

An allowance for extra fervice, which is made to those clerks who attend the payment of wages and the yards, and who complete what are called the full books for payment of the hips and yards. This allowance is intended to defray their travelling expences, and as a recompence for their extra trouble. The rate at which it is paid is feven fhillings a day for the number of days in which each clerk is fo employed.

An allowance for telling money at the Bank is a poundage, at the rate of five fhillings for every thoufand pounds, allowed by the navy board to thofe clerks who receive money at the Bank for the payment of the fhips and yards; in confequence of which allowance, each clerk is accountable for any deficiency there may be either in the weight or tale of the money he receives.

The odd pence is a perquifite to thofe officers and clerks, who are employed in making payments. Those whose business it is to pay perfect bills, the navy courfe, and bills drawn by the navy and fick and hurt boards, pay the even money only upon these bills, and retain to themselves the odd pence under a fhilling. Those who are employed in the payment of the officers, feamen, and artificers in the dockyards, retain the odd pence under fix-pence; in confideration of which, they are all bound to make good any N

miftakes

mistakes they may make in their payments.

The perquifite for cafting defalcations, is a gratuity, ufually at the rate of one guinea by the hundred pounds, paid by the chaplains, furgeons, and purfers of the navy, to the officer who cafts and pays to them their feveral fhares of the deductions made from the feamen's wages,

The perquifite for entering probates of wills, letters of adminiftration, and warrants of attorney, is a fee of two fhillings and fix pence each entry, paid to the clerk in whofe department it lies to regifter thefe inftruments.

The falaries and allowances for extra-fervices, and for telling money at the Bank, are paid, for the most part, quarterly, by bills affigned by the navy or victualling boards upon the treasurer, out of money received by him, either to pay falaries, or from old flores, or under fome other head of fervice fpecified in the affignments; and confequently all these are paid by the pub

lic.

The perquifites are either de. tained out of fums due to particular perfons, or paid by thofe who apply to have their business tranfacted at the office; and therefore do not come out of the public purfe, but from the pockets of individuals.

The authority upon which the receipt of the feveral profits of this office is grounded, is either an order of the privy-council, or ufage.

By an order of the privy-council, dated the 25th of May, 1699, the falary of the treasurer of the navy is fettled at two thousand pounds a year; that of his paymafter, at five hundred pounds; that of his ac5.

countant, at four hundred pounds and the falaries of thirteen clerks, feven at eighty pounds each, and fix at forty pounds each; and in the ordinary eftimate of the navy, voted by parliament every year, are inferted allowances-to the treafurer of the navy, two thousand pounds; to his pay mafter and cashier, fivehundred pounds; to twenty-two clerks, fix of them eighty pounds, nine fifty pounds, and feven forty pounds each. But an increase of the bufinefs in this office for these late

years, has rendered it neceffary to increase the clerks to the present number, thirty-five; and to every increase the confent of the navyboard is neceffary.

The allowances, and perquifites are fuch as have been ufually paid and taken by the officers and clerks in their feveral departments, as far back as the memory of the oldest officers, now employed in this office, reaches.

From the account fet forth in the appendix, it appears, that the grofs amount of the emoluments received in the pay-office of the navy, was 8,150l. 10s. d.; of which the falaries, allowances for extra-fervice, and for telling money at the Bank, amounting to 6,5451. 4s. 8d. was paid by the public; and the refidue, being 1,6051. 5s. 41d. by individuals; the net receipt of this office was 7,9381. d.

By the return made to us from the pay-office of the army, and the examinations of the right hon. Richard Rigby, paymafter-general of the forces; Timothy Cafwall, efq. deputy paymafter; John Powell, efq. cafhier; Charles Bembridge, efq. accountant; John Adam Frederick Heffe, efq. ledger-keeper; Thomas Bangham,

efq.

efq. computer of off-reckonings; Robert Randoll, efq. cafhier of half-pay; and Richard Molef worth, efq. entering clerk; we received the following account of the falaries paid to, and the fees and gratuities taken by, the officers and clerks in the pay-office of the

army.

This office confifts of the paymafter-general, his deputy, a cafhier, an accountant, a ledgerkeeper, a computer of off-reckonings, a cashier of half- -pay, and an entering clerk, with eight inferior clerks, an office-keeper, a houfe-keeper, and two meffengers; and nine deputy paymafters abroad.

The paymaster-general appoints his deputies, and all the officers and clerks employed in his office: they are all paid by falaries or allowances, fees and gratuities.

The paymaster-general, his deputy, the inferior officers and clerks, and deputy paymafters abroad, have certain falaries or allowances only; the fix officers who are next to the deputy paymatter, receive falaries, fees, and gratuities.

The paymaster-general is appointed by letters patent under the great feal, during pleafure;

he receives four annual allowances as paymalter-general of the forces, and one as treasurer of Chelsea hofpital: the four are, 3,000l. as the particular falary belonging to his office, 1,760l. for the payment of clerks, 600l. for the contingent expences of his of fice, and twenty fhillings a day as one of the staff upon the establishment; the other allowance is twenty fhillings a day as treasurer of Chelsea hofpital. The amount

.

a

of thefe allowances is 6,0921.: out of which he paid for himself and officers, in taxes, 9621. 19s.gd. ; to clerks 17071.; and for the contingent difbursements of his office, 360l. 7s. 8d.; making together 3,030l. 75. 5d. which reduced his clear receipt to 3,061l. 12s. 7d.

The deputy paymafter has two falaries, of 500l. a year each; one reduced, by the one fhilling and fixpenny duties, to 4621. 10s, the other paid without deduction; together, clear, 9621. 10s.

The fix following officers are thofe who have fees and gratuities as well as falaries.

The cashier receives a falary of 200l. a year, reduced by the one fhilling duty to 190l.; and an additional annual allowance of 270l. paid to him without deduction. His fees and gratuities amounted to 6,7151. 19s. 6d. which, with his falaries, made his clear receipt 7,1751. 19s. 6d. But, as thefe fees are not always paid at the time the bufinefs is done, this fum, though received in the year 1780, may include fees that accrued in a preceding year; it certainly does not include the fees for all the bufinefs done by him in that year; the re mitters had not paid him their fees upon the warrants for the remittances iffued to them after the month of Febrary, 1780; and it appears from an account of thofe remittances, extracted from the account of the extraordinary fervices incurred by the paymaster-general of the forces for the year 1980, that the fum iffued to them between the ift of March, and the 31st of December, in that year, was 2,311,83ol.; the fees upon which being at the rate of one N 2

guinea

guinea by the thousand pounds, amount to 2,4271. 128. and being divided equally between the cafhier and accountant, would have added 1,2131. 16s. to the receipt of each, and would have increafed that of the cashier to 8,3891.155.6d. The falary of the accountant is 150l. a year, reduced by the one fhilling duty to 1421. 10s. He received in fees 1,2-81. 175. 9d.; which, added to his falary, makes his clear receipt to have been 1,5011. 7s.gd. Had the remitters paid all their fees, it had been increased by the addition of. 1,2131. 165. to the fum of 2,7151. 3s. 9d.

The ledger - keeper's falary is 100l. a year, befides which, he receives annually 8ol. from the computer of off-reckonings, and 100l. from the cafhier of half-pay: his fees amounted to 3941. 16s. making, all together, 6741. 16s. He paid out of this fum, for taxes, fifteen pounds; to his deputy eighty pounds; and to another affitant fifty pounds; together, 1451. which reduced his net receipt to 5291. 16s. The prefent ledger-keeper has, by reafon of his age and infirmities, executed his office by deputy, ever fince his appointment in 1765.

The computer of off-reckonings has no other falary but that of eighty pounds, which he pays to the ledger-keeper; his net profits arofe from his fees, which amounted to 1,0381. 5s. 6d.

The cashier of half-pay receives eighty pounds a year falary; the total of his fees was 6171. 5s.; together, 6971.5s.: out of which he paid, for taxes, fourteen pounds, and to the ledger-keeper one hundred pounds; this reduced his clear receipt to 5831. 55.

Sixty pounds is the falary of the entering-clerk, which, with 1,4481. 15s. 4d. received by fees, made his grofs receipt 1,5081. 15s. 4d.; reduced, by 10l. 1os. paid for taxes, to 1,4981. 5s. 4d.

The other clerks are paid from fifty to one hundred pounds a-year, according to their stations and employments in the office, and receive no fees or gratuities whatever.

The deputy paymasters abroad are paid an allowance, fix of them thirty fhillings a day, and three of them three pounds a day.

The fees received by thefe officers are as various as the business they execute; each has fees peculiar to his branch: they consist, fome of them, of a poundage upon the fums contained in warrants brought for payment, and in receipts; others, of certain fums per regiment, paid either annually or upon tranfacting particular branches of the regimental bufinefs; others of them are certain fums for reports, certificates, receipts, entries, or other articles of official bufinefs.

The gratuities are voluntary donations upon the payment of warrants, or for creating fome trouble to the office; and are given to officers of the department where the bufinefs is tranfacted.

It appears from the account of the payments made by the paymafter-general, out of the deductions of twelve-pence in the pound, and one day's pay, for the year 1780, that the falary and allowances to the paymaster-general (except the twenty fhillings a-day on the ftaff) and the two additional falaries to the deputy and cashier, and the allowances to the deputy-paymafters abroad, are paid out of the deduc

tions

tions of twelve-pence in the pound; the twenty fhillings a day on the ftaff, is paid to him, in like manner as the general and ftaff-officers in Great Britain are paid, out of the money granted for the ordinary fervices of the army: all thefe payments are therefore a charge upon the public. The paymatter-general himfelf pays the other falaries, out of the fum of 1,760l. allowed him for that purpose. The fees and gratuities are paid by the remitters, contractors, agents, and perfons whose business brings them to the office, and therefore come immediately out of their pockets, though much the greatest part of them ultimately fall upon the public.

Ufage of office is the general ground upon which thefe feveral payments reft, except in the two instances of the additional allowances to the deputy and the cashier, which are founded on fpecial circumstances. The five hundred pounds a year addition to the deputy, is paid to him by a warrant, dated 18th March, 1774; it commenced on the 10th October, 1771, and is to continue as long as he holds this office. The ground ftated in the warrant is, that the then emoluments of the office were not an adequate compenfation for his trouble, care, and fidelity: his predeceffors in this office had not this additional falary; for they enjoyed, at the fame time, what the prefent deputy had not, other appointments under the crown.

The warrant for the payment of the additional two hundred and feventy pounds a year to the cafhier, is dated the 10th of July, 1765, and ftates it to be made to him for his trouble, care, diligence, and fidelity, in the execution of the

bufinefs committed to his charge,

The allowance to the paymaftergeneral of twenty fhillings a day upon the ftaff, is voted annually upon the establishment, and, together with the twenty fhillings a day as treasurer of Chelfea hofpital, is inferted in his letters-patent: all the falaries and allowances paid to him are fuch as have been allowed to his predeceffors in this office; and all the falaries, fees, and gratuities, received by the officers and clerks, and deputy-paymafters, are the fame as have been paid to, and received by, those who have gone before them.

From the account in the appendix it appears, that the grofs amount of the emoluments received in this office, was 25,1081.198.id.; the net amount was 23,5611. 1s. 8d. The fum of 13,450l. received for falaries and allowances, was paid by the public: the fum of 11,573. 19s. id. for fees and gratuities, was paid by individuals.

There is moreover another gratuity given to the officers and clerks in each of thefe pay-offices, upon paffing the final accounts of a treafurer and paymafter-general in the office of the auditor of the imprest. This gratuity is craved of the commiffioners of the treasury, by a memorial from the refpective officers and clerks in each office, as a compenfation for their trouble in carrying on and making up the accounts of a treasurer and paymafter-general after his refignation, The quantum of it bears fome proportion to the total fum contained in the account to be paffed. It is allowed to them by a treafury-warrant, out of the balance remaining in the hands of the acN 3

countant,