countant, and is therefore paid out of a public fund. These allow ances have been made ever fince the Revolution, and, by the accounts of them from that period, tranfmitted to us from thefe offices, it appears, that in the payoffice of the navy, the inftances of thefe gratuities, from the year 1688 to the year 1772, when the laft accounts of Mr. Dodington, ending in the year 1756, were paffed, are feventeen, and amount to 54,1621. 17s. 94d. And in the pay-office of the army, the inftances from the fame year, to the year 1770, when the accounts of lord Darlington, and others, ending 24th June, 1757, were paffed, are nine, and amount to 45,1121. 185.; making together 100,2751.155.91d. paid by the public during that period, in thefe gratuities.

In the Exchequer, fix offices came under our examination ; namely, the auditor of the receipt, the clerk of the pells, the tellers, the chamberlains, the uth. er, and the paymafters of exchequer bills. There are fome circumstances common to them all; falaries or allowances, fees, and gratuities, are the heads under which may be ranged the profits of all the officers and clerks.

The gratuities are ufual voluntary donations, either from public offices or individuals: the yearly accounts are made up to Michaelmas eve; and therefore the accounts of the receipts and payments for the year 1780, which is the year we are enquiring into, are made up to the Michaelmas of that year.

In the firf five of thefe offices, the principal appoints the deputy and clerks. The first four of them have tables hung up in each of

fice, by which their fees are regulated; thefe fees confift either of a poundage, or of certain pay ments for particular articles of bufinefs tranfacted in each office, and are paid by the perfons either paying in, or receiving money out of the exchequer, or applying for their particular bufinefs.

The return made to our precept by the duke of Newcastle, auditor of the receipt of his majefty's exchequer, and the examinations of Edward Wilford, efq. his first clerk, and of Mr. William Jones, the tally-writer, fupplied us with a knowledge of the ftate of the emoluments received by the of ficers and clerks in this branch of the Exchequer, the bufinefs of which is tranfacted by the auditor and twenty-three fixed clerks, with other occafional affiftants when wanted.

The auditor is appointed for life, by a conftitution under the hands and feals of the commiffioners of the treasury. All the exchequer bills, orders, debentures, patents, and other inftruments which pafs this office, are figned by him; the of ficial profits are not received by himself, but by his firft clerk, who accounts with him for them every month he receives eleven annual allowances, enumerated in an account tranfmitted to us, and inferted in the appendix, amounting to 3,7661. 1s.: he has a fmall annual fee from the wardrobe, of 41. 175.; and is entitled to fees on the receipt of money into, and iffue of money out of the Exchequer; the first amounted 170l. 13s. gd. the latter, 12,5541. 2s. 6d. The fum he received by fees for entering patents, and upon impreft bills, was

to

to

391. 55.

391.5s. and in gratuities 3451. 75.; the grofs amount of all which was 16,880l. 6s. 3d. Out of which fum he made the following payments for taxes, 8721. 12s.; to clerks, 1,6621. 10s. ; for incidental expences of office, 3291. zd.; together, 2,8641. 25. 2d.; which reduced his clear receipt to 14,0161. 4s. id.

The firft clerk has an annual allowance of 100l. and the clerk's fees, amounting to 3,0011.16s. 8d.; his gratutities were, 1421. 17s.; making, together, 3,2441.13s.8d.; reduced, by payments for taxes, clerks, and incidental expences, to 2,7521. 3s. 6d.

The reft of the clerks have falaries, in proportion to their rank and employment, paid to them either by the auditor, or his first or other clerks they have fees like wife and gratuities of various kinds; and out of what they receive, make various payments. An account of all which, as tranf mitted to us from this office, is inferted in the appendix.

The foundation of thefe allowances and fees, and the authority under which they are claimed and 'paid, are as follows:

Upon the king's acceffion, a certificate is tranfmitted from the auditor's office to the treafury, pursuant to their requifition, con fifting of two lifts; one containing the feveral fees, falaries, and allowances, that have by ancient cuftom, letters patent, conftitutions, or other authorities, been paid to the officers and minifters of the Exchequer, either in right of their offices or employments, or in reward for their fervice; the other containing the fees, falaries, pr allowances, that have been fet

tled and allowed them for their labour and expence in managing and performing the bufinefs of the annuities payable at the Exchequer. This certificate is fent back to the Exchequer, annexed to a warrant directed to the auditor, authorifing him to draw orders or pass debentures for paying, from time to time, in the ufual man. ner, and at the accustomed times, to the officers, the fums in the certificate mentioned; the firft lift, amounting to 1,8011. gs. out of the money applicable to his ma jefty's civil government; the other, amounting to 5,900l. out of the respective funds applicable to the payment of the annuities.

This warrant ftates the authority, under which the treafury iffued it, to be, as to the first lift, either the letters patent, conftitutions, or authorities, whereby the officers hold their employments, or the general letters patent dormant (by which the king empowers them to make variety of payments, therein defcribed, out of the civil lift); and, as to the fecond lift, either the powers given to them by the refpective acts of parliament relative to annuities, or any other power in them being.

In this certificate are contained the eleven allowances made to the auditor: the two firft of them, amounting to 460l. 35. 4d. are in the first lift, and paid to him in right of his office: the other nine, making 3,3051. 175. 8d. are in the fecond lift, and paid to him as a recompence for his trouble in the bufinefs of the annuities, by virtue of the power vested in the treasury by the feveral acts, to provide for the charges of management.

The fees of the auditor, upon the N 4 receipt

receipt of money, are: ift, about one fourth part of the tally-court fees; of which fourth, his clerk attending in the tally-court has a fhare: zdly, part of a fum allowed by the treafury to fome of the exchequer officers for the tallies of loan which are exempt from fees.

The fees upon the iffue are, a poundage upon money iflued for certain fervices, not for all fervices. In the year 1780, the fum on which the poundage fees were paid was near eight millions: upwards of twenty-two millions more were iffued in that year, for which neither the auditor nor his clerks received any fees whatever. The other fees are, certain payments for tranfacting particular kinds of bufinefs. All these fees are regulated by a table, fpecifying, both for the auditor and his clerks, the rate, where it is a poundage, otherwife, the quantum, of each fee: this table is for the most part grounded upon ufage, recognifed as ancient by the barons of the Exchequer in the year 1692, as to thofe fees the fubject matter of which existed at that time; and acquiefced in, as to thofe fees the fubject matter of which is of a date fubfequent to that year.

By an act, paffed in the 3d year of William and Mary, the officers of the Exchequer were prohibited from taking any other fees, for the receiving or iffuing the fupplies granted by that or any other act of parliament, except fuch ancient and legal fees as should be allowed to be fo by the barons of the court of Exchequer; who were required to prefent to both houfes of parliament, at the next feffions, a table of fees, to be by them allowed as ancient and legal. The barons, in

purfuance of this power, made a report, containing the table required: this report is enrolled in the office of the king's remembrancer: a copy of it is inferted in the appendix; it comprehends the fees to be taken upon the receipt and iffue of money in the offices of the auditor, the clerk of the pells, the tellers, and the tally court; and is the rule, though the act is long fince expired, by which they are governed at this day, except in fome few inftances, where ufage, fince that report, has introduced variations; one of which is, by the barons report the whole of the fees paid to the officers of the Exchequer, upon the iffue of money for the army fervices in general, was three halfpence in the pound; but, ever fince the year 1744, a difference has been made between the iffue for the ordinary and extraordinary fervices; the fees for the first continue at three halfpence; thofe for the latter are reduced to one penny only in the pound.

Thefe payments come out of different funds. The two first allowances to the auditor, the treasury allowance for the tallies of loan, the wardrobe fee, and the allowance to the firft clerk, which is included in the first lift of the Exchequer certificate, are paid out of the civil lift; the other nine allowances are paid out of the funds created by the feveral acts, and therefore out of the public money. The fees of the tallycourt, and from iflues, and for other bufinefs, are paid immediately by individuals; but all the Exchequer fees paid on the iffues for the army fervices, amounting, in the year 1780, to 39,1981. 75. iod.

7s. 1od. are charged by the paymafter general of the forces upon the deductions of twelve-pence in the pound, and therefore paid by the public. Of the fum of 7,980,340l. on the iflue of which fees were paid, 7,311,732. part thereof, was money belonging to the public; 668,6c81, other part,

was out of the civil lit.

From the account in the appendix, it appears, that the total fum received in this office, was 21,2731. 16s.; the net fum was 19,880l. 16s. 4d.: the fum of 13,708!. 12s. 1d. was paid by the public; 1,1161. 7s. 5d. out of the civil lift; and 6,4481. 16s. 6d. by individuals.

From the return made to us by the right hon. Sir Edward Walpole, clerk of the pells, and the examinations of Edward Roberts, efq.his deputy and first clerk, and Mr. Henry Thomas, clerk of the introitus, we learned the fate of the profits received by the officers and clerks in this office; which office confifts of the clerk of the pells, his deputy and first clerk, and fourteen inferior clerks.

The clerk of the pells is appointed for life, by a conftitution under the hands and feals of the commiffioners of the treafury, to exercife his office either by himfelf or deputy. In confequence of this privilege, it has not been ufual, for many years, for the clerk of the pells to execute any part of the bufinefs himself; the deputy tranfacts the whole, and receives and accounts with his principal for all the profits that belong to him. The clerk of the pells receives thirteen diftin&t allowances, fet forth in the return, amounting to 1,6031. os. 11d. paid to him by order or debenture. One of them, 611. 135. 4d. is inferted in

his conftitution, and is, together with fix more, making 3061. Is. 8d. included in the first lift in the Exchequer certificate, and therefore payable out of the civil lift: the remaining fix, amounting to 1,2351. 5s. 11d. are in the fecond lift, and therefore payable out of the refpec tive annuity funds. His fees upon the receipt confift of about onefourth part both of the tally-court fees and of the treafury allowance for the tallies of loan; a certain part of both of which is appropriated to his clerk of the introitus. His share of thefe fees and allowances came to 1941. 58. 104. His fees on the iflue are, like thofe of the auditor, a poundage, at different rates for different fervices, paid by the perfons receiving, according to a table hung up in the office, taken, and varying but little from the barons report; and according to the fame table, fome ancient fees are taken for the entries, enrollments, and examinations of certain inftruments. All the above fees amounted to 7,700l. 2s. 8d. and his gratuities from the public offices, to 551. 1S.; which made his grofs receipt 9,4321. 1s. 61d.: out of which he paid 1,8341. 9s. 6d. The particulars of thefe payments are ftated in a return inferted in the appendix, and reduced his clear receipt to 7,5971. 125. old.

The deputy and firft clerk has a falary of 420l. a year paid to him by his principal: his fees are, a poundage upon one head of iffue only, that is, the iffue on annuities, penfions, &c. at the rate stated in the barons report; and alfo fome other fmall fees and gratuities enumerated in the account of the officers and clerks fees in the appendix, amounting to 2831. 6s. 1d." Thefe

two

two fums were reduced, by the payment of 221. for taxes, to the net fum of 6811. 6s. id.

The clerk of the introitus has a fhare of the tally-court fees, and of the treafury allowance, and fome other small fees, allowances, and gratuities; the whole producing 3481. gs. 9 d.; reduced, by 91. 75. for taxes, to 3391. 2s. 91d.

The rest of the clerks have fala. ries, from 50l. to 120l. paid them by the principal, and a few of them fome fmall fees and gratuities.

From a state of the total received and paid in this office, the fum received was 10,2691. 19s. 2d.; the net fum 9,5431. 135.91d.: the fum paid by the public, 5,9641. 4s. 9d.; out of the civil lift, 7521. 1s. 31d.; and from individuals, 3,5531. 13s. 2d,

From the return made to our precept, and the examinations of Daniel Wray, William Price, Richard Welles, and Charles Townfhend, efqrs. the deputies and first clerks of the right hon.earl of Hardwicke, the earl of Northington, earl Temple, and the hon. John Jeffreys Pratt, the four tellers of the Exchequer, we obtained an account of the emoluments received in this office.

The tellers is one office in four divifions; each confifting of a teller, a deputy and first clerk, two offices executed by the fame perfon, a fecond clerk, and three inferior clerks; in all twenty-four perfons. The teller is appointed for life, by letters patent, which empower him to execute the office by deputy; and therefore the whole bufinefs of thefe offices is now, and long has been, tranfacted entirely by deputies.

The teller himfelf executes no part of it; he does not collect

his own profits; they are received and accounted for to him by his deputy.

Each teller receives yearly an ancient falary or fee belonging to his office; the fenior 331. 6s. 8d. the three juniors 311. 13s. 4d. each. They have likewife fix annual allowances from the treafury for their trouble in paying the annuities, which are equally divided among the four: the fhare of each is 3391. 14s. 1. Thefe falaries and allowances are in the Exchequer certificate; the falaries in the first lift, the allowances in the fecond. The tellers are paid nothing upon the receipt of money; their fees arise from the iffue, and confift of a poundage on iffues, not for all, but for certain fervices, and different for different fervices, according to rates fpecified in the table of fees ftated in the return, and taken from the barons report, but varying from it in the rate on the iffues for the extraordinaries of the army, as before men. tioned, and on the iffues for penfions, and fome other fervices, which, though fubject to fees in that report, are fince exempted by acts of parliament. Thefe fees are divided equally amongst the four tellers; and the fhare of each was 7,038. 15s. old. The fum, on the iffue of which thefe fees were taken, was near 16,000,000l.: the fum, for which no fees were taken, was upwards of 14,000,000l. as be. ing exempt either by acts of parliament, courtefy, or ufage. The fum fubject to fees in the office of the tellers exceeds the sum subject to fees in the offices of the auditor, and clerk of the pells; for the barons report makes the fum iffued to the navy, (which in the year 1780,

exceedey