The National Intelligencer And Washington Advertiser

From the London Morning Chronicle.

TENTH REPORT

ON THE

COMMISSIONERS OF NAVAL INQUIRY

(Continued.)

The Second Part of the Treasurership of the Rt. Hon. Lord Viscount Melville, officially entitled "His Act of Parliament New Account."

The act of the 29th of his present majesty, cap. 31, for better regulating the office of treasurer of his majesty's navy, directed, that the several provisions therein contained should take place on the 1st of July, 1785, but they were not carried into effect till the 1st of January, 1786, we understand the delay was occasioned by the necessity of making some previous official arrangements.

In that month, Alexander Trotter, esq. who had lately been a clerk in the navy pay office, was appointed paymaster by Lord Melville, and he states that he acted as deputy to the treasurer in all the duties attached to the situation, except the appointment of officers and clerks.

As the directions of the act are positive, that the issues of money for navy services shall be made to the bank, and that the money shall not be drawn from thence but for navy services, it appeared to us, that if the directions of the act had been observed, the circumstance which we have before noticed, that the sums standing in the name of the treasurer at the bank were less than his unappropriated balances, could not have existed.

We therefore deemed it our duty to enquire minutely into the cause of deficiencies, and with this view we first examined Mr. Trotter, and afterwards Lord Melville.

Mr. Trotter when first called upon to account for these deficiencies, said he could not precisely explain the cause of them; but afterwards acknowledged that he had been in the practice of drawing money from the bank in large sums, and lodging it in the hands of private bankers, previously to its being issued to the sub-accountant for the public service.

This practice he states, was introduced about the year 1785, with the knowledge and approbation of the treasurer. Lord Melville admits that he did permit Mr. Trotter to lodge the public money in his private banker's hands, but not as it would seem to the extent understood by Mr. Trotter.

Mr. Trotter on being questioned whether he had derived any profit or advantage from the money withdrawn by him from the bank, refused to answer under the provisions of the fifth clause of the act by which we are constituted; and he availed himself of this clause in every question which bore any relation to the use or employment of the public money either by himself or Lord Melville; urging in the latter case, that as he had drawn all money from the bank in the first instance, he conceived himself implicated in its subsequent appropriation.

Mr. Trotter gave us to understand, that money applicable to navy services, which had been advanced by him to Lord Melville, was employed by his lordship in the public service of the state, and that he was led to this conclusion in consequence of a considerable sum advanced, having been returned to him by Mr. Long, one of the secretaries of the treasury.

Upon this statement we issued our precept to Lord Melville, for an account of monies received by him, or any person on his account, or by his order, from the paymaster of the navy, between the 1st of July, 1785, and the 31st of December, 1805. Stating when such monies were received, and also the times when, and the persons by whom, and the sums were returned to the bank or the paymaster.

In answer to that precept, we received from his Lordship the following letter:

Wimbledon, 30th June, 1805.

GENTLEMEN,

I have received your requisition, of date the 26th inst. It is impossible for me to furnish you with the account you ask. It is more than four years since I left the office of treasurer of the navy, and at the period of doing so. having accounted for every sum imprest into my hands. I transferred the whole existing balance to the account of my successor. From that time I never considered any one paper or voucher that remained in my hands as of the smallest use to myself or any other person, and consequently being often in the practice since I retired to Scotland, of employing occasionally some time in assorting my papers, and destroying those that were useless. I am satisfied there does not exist any one material by which I could make up such an account as you specify.

But independently of that circumstance, I think it right to remind you, that during a great part of the time I was treasurer of the navy, I held other very confidential situations in government, and was intimately connected with others. So situated, I did not decline giving occasional accommodation from the funds in the treasurer's hands to other services not connected with my official situation as treasurer of the navy. If I had materials to make up such account as you require, I could not do it without disclosing delicate and confidential transactions of government, which my duty to the public must have restrained me from revealing.

(Signed) MELVILLE.

Desirous of being furnished with an account of the sums issued to the bank for the service of the navy. which had been drawn from thence and appropriated to any public service, and judging that some note or record of such transactions ought to have been preserved in the navy pay office, we issued our precept to the present treasurer, for an account of the sums of money which had been advanced or lent by the treasurers of the navy, or by their directions, to any public department, or applied by them to services not connected with their official situation as treasurers of the navy, between the 1st of Jan. 1786, and the 31st of Dec. 1805. In answer to which he informed us. that there were no documents in the office which enabled him to return any such account.

We did not apply to the navy board for information respecting the funds which had been so appropriated, as those transactions are stated to have taken place without the knowledge of that board.

Lord Melville, in his examination, objected to answering any question on this subject relying on the fifth clause of the act by which we are constituted. and also upon the circumstances alluded to in his letter before recited.

He also declined, and upon the same grounds, to inform us whether he had derived any profit or advantage from the use or employment of money issued for carrying on the current service of the navy, between the 1st of Jan. 1786 and the 31st of May 1800 ; that is, from the time of the operation of the act for lodging the money in the bank to the time of his quitting office.

However the apprehension of disclosing delicate and confidential transactions of government might operate with lord Melville in withholding information respecting advances to other departments, we do not perceive how that apprehension can at all account for his refusing to state, whether he derived any profit or advantage from the use or employment of money issued for the services of the navy. If his lordship had received into his hands such monies only as were advances by him to other departments, and had replaced them. as soon as they were repaid, he could not have derived any profit or advantage from such transactions, however repugnant they might be to the provisions of the legislature for the safe custody of the public money.

Although we were not able to ascertain what monies were paid over or, advanced to lord Melville, yet, independent of such advances, Mr. Trotter admits in the latter part of his examination, that, in following his lordship's instructions, or in acting in his affairs as his private agent, he had occasionally laid out for his use or benefit from ten to twenty thousand pounds, without considering whether he was previously in advance to his lordship, or whether such advances were made from his public or private balances.

Mr. Trotter not only drew money from the bank in large sums, which he deposited with his private bankers, Messrs. Thomas Coutts and Co. but he also prevailed with the sub-accountants
to concern the greater part of their balances with that house. One of them indeed the cashier of the Victualling, acquainted with resistance, having it. ways before that time kept his balance at the Bank, and wishing still to keep it there: he first wrote to us, that it was by direction of Mr. Trotter he opened an account with Messrs. Thomas Coutts & Co. where he took credit for the sum advanced to him by Mr. Trotter's drafts on that House; but that he drew out those sums as the public service required, and sent the greater part of his balance to the Bank, where he deposited such sums as were advanced to him by drafts of the Bank.

Mr. Trotter says, that between the years 1791 and 1799, the greater part of the monies drawn by him from the Bank, passed through the hands of Messrs. Thomas Coutts & Co. that the monies to drawn were frequently through his credit in his account with them and as checks were carried immediately rather the credit: and he therefore five accounts; and if the treasureraths nd ue ga g

Idied ue hn in a conversation, in which I learned the family at wild

be : oedac tn -he peblie bo ue, aud

the additional term y to the treasurer,

by the drafts t-ug left wih theba. ke9,

i.lyed :heir beang seot to the bank,

asd the moncy b g t rom th rce, at

lns vk, hy the h ergeis c theoice.

Lord Melville denies, that he certainly did not permit Mr. Trotter to lodge any money drawn on the bank for

pu. e purpole in lis private bz ker's

hande, cuivg tle porvd thit i: was not

dinanced for the porpoes for which it

wasdrawn ! but it s do be inesr-d from

hit evideace, that he intended Mr. Trot-

ter to dr:w upon the bank tor the a-

mount oniy of the aLgoments made on

I m ty tLe diserelt boards (an account

of - hirh is furnih.d to bim daiy,) and

Thar the balance oif och um, til de-

than ed, lould alse be lodged by Trot.

ter in th: ha ds of his priva'e bat kers.

The rer'ous given by his lordhip for

this cermiiton t, the os nion that i

vculc and mose lac hty to the condua

of te lunr cf the chice in the ul-

nitu.e di iu all paym: ints to be nada,

t an il tte dicpr y were to be depelited,

2cc.ordine io the contr ution cf the

fhice, in an lion ciell ; and that the

vazu u ysiti s receiving mall payments

woye be leis liabie to be impc led upas

thal. if thiy were each to receive draits

for uch fn..ll fnas upco the bank, at

fu h s diltarce ir. m the cfice aher its

ivicv l to Sonet place.

Althcugh the larger drmands uvon the

tearer are pad by craft, a neceicy

f r makig the all pay ments in mo.

ney ay adwaya x ed, and the monry

.ce ry fur thin jurpoe is of ccusle

dawt from the bnnk. The uns o

drarr, if ccrvenieney only had been

f udied, heuld nave heen placed in the

tha ze ct the ciierent ub eccouotants,

by wnom ch den aiis are paid, and

not kept in t bands of the peymater,

who te not a c buer of public money,

eocept that ifued for tle payment of

the exchequer fees.

W th rerca to he rik ct bringing

the m'ney troin ie bank, and of the

lis or embezzler cht of the drats by

the teengers ot the p yhice, we do

no: find that the a preicuion.s entertain-

ed ey th s ulj a aroe hom the expe-

vicice ot l.nner I - ; for none are

Ibewoto haveha pn d.

The cnijon wlilih ne had formed of

he in.hi r sency cl the me tives : igne?

f. r the c:parwe sroin the ze of Parhi-

ne. t, is corS med by the h quiries in-

fined, ard the meaures taken in con-

ieqoer ce thereuby the ucceeding trea-

jv--..

Lord H'rrewby the immediate uc.

c-i vi-uid Ielv lle, d.pproved of

the jiedier, as being incor itant v ith

thepirit of he-et ; and as he bad

jull quitied the ohca of the pa-rafter

of the arny wheze imilar regulations

hnd reen rftablihed aod carried into

ee without ary compiaint of incon

venicnc, be a as deirous o putting the

circe of trealurer of the navy upon the

ame .otins ; but previcul, to his di-

reCi. g an alteracicr, he decmed it ne-

celary to ircuire minutely into the

v.ludity of the realons urged agains the

chane. Hs lordhip had uca.ly com-

pleted the nece ry er guiri:s, to ati

fy his mird that the dincolties aid in.

conven.ecles wh,ch m ght ariic in the

cotu o th fufiots irotn this change,

wese wt uicidnt tu aler the opiniun

he i d foned, wien ke was plevert-d

by a eveie Mei: wom .Ltenisg fur-

ther to tle buhnct. of the cice.

The right nom Chas. Bathurt, who

fuccrecied lord Ferrowby, put a nal

op to the praclice of drawing the

moncy out of the bank, and lodging it

into the tranos of a private banker, in

the ummer of l802, rom a convialion

thet fuch pr: clice was inconitent with

the spirit of the act for the regulacion

of the oice of the treaurer of the navy,

and that the coovenicnces which were

uggeted to reult from it in fac lizating

the wraulaclion of buines, were not ot

weig he uicient to uiy the continu-

aucc of in.h an irzgularity. 'The iub-

teonntants rere Ik wie dircCed to

lodge ti.eir b. lances in the bark.

Mr. B. hor Sates. that no repreen-

tations vere made to him of inconreni-

entes reultirg trom this change of

yftem ; and Mr. T'rotter hinieit :llows,

th-t ne materit.l ir convenier ce did ariie.

Mr. Trotter, a few days beore he quiz-

ted cice, propofed to the ric ht bon.

G·o. Tierney, the then treaure, that

inflead of drafts being given to the ub-

acceuntants on the bark, payable to

them or bearer, the paymafer thould,

frcm time to time, diieé t uch ums as

might be nece ry to be transferred

rom the tre aurer's accounts at the bank

to tle acc unts of the ub-accourtants.

This prepota', whirh, if adheied to,

would vt an edectval bar to bis ucce-

ors receiving money into their own

hards, by thcir drafts on th- bank, was

adopted bv Mr. Tierney: and we learn

from Mr. Latharn, who aced as his pay-

malter, that no inconivanience was ex-

perienced from this mode of transier,

nor was he awale of sny facility or ad.

rantege fren the interveidion of a pii-

vaehai.ker.

A ic is tie tronge re utation of he

realunine urged for a departore from the

regulaticns eflablilhed by the eat of

parliament, that thee reautations have

been ince carried into execution with-

qut ircnverience, we hali not dw.ll

lorger on tkis ubjeCt; but we feel it

incun.bent un vs io declaie our opition,

that the circumftante uhich adualiy led

to the withdrawing of the money in

large sumns from the bank, previot ly to

its bcing iffued to tbe iub accountants

for the publ:c ervice, was the cpportu-

nity thereby aff rdu or the applieation

of it to purpoes of private ule and ad.

vantage.

As an additiopal ecuriry againt the

public money being draun frow the back

for ary bnt puolic purpofes. it is direCl.

ed bythe aat of purliament, thxt in.

each draft hall be specisied the bead

of ervice for which it is drawn, ard

that without this pec feation the drast

shall not be deemed a voucher to the

bank for the payment; and it has been

stated to us, tl at this form has been

tricaly adhered to, aod that no myney

has been crawn from the bank without

icecifying a particnlar head of crvice.

Such draits micht be in all caes Suf.

fcieot authority to tha bank; but, when

ued by the paym-ter to draw money

into his gwn poeion, ar.d for other

purpoes than the ervices ipecif-d, it

has been a palpable evaion of the act.

As we could not cbtcin information

from M-. T. as to tbe manner in which

the public money had been dilpoed of

between the timeuf its being drawn

from the bank and the time o its being

applied to the publie errice, we called

uon Mr. Thomas Willon, the chief

cicrk in the bill and remittance depart-

ment of the navy pay oice, a brarch

iatrly eablilhed, bu: who ha: been ge

nerally ewployed as an aistant to the

paymater, aid by whom onoof the ac-

counts rendered to us of the dispoition

of the treaure.'s balance w as i ned.

Theevidencegiven of Mr. Wilon is of

extraordinasy nature; he avowed baving

derived an advantage rom the ue or

employment of mnty iued for the

payrent of exchequer fees, the charge

of whch was transterr:d to him by Mr.

T. in the year 18oo ; but he objeded to

anweringeveiy qu tiov put to him as

to the dipoition of the public balances,

or the advantag s d:rived by the pay-

mater thereirom, or even to giving any

ezplanation of the cficial account of

the treaurer's bal nces, although igned

by himfel; and pleaded Lis bring pro-

tedted ly the fiith claue of the aat by

which this commiion is coultituted.

al hough he declared that be had n t

cevived any prosit, advantege, or b-n-fit

w he tever srom or in conequcnce f th-

public money having been applied to

private ufe by any peron or perons.

, Such conduct in a peron in oice ap.

peared to us by no means cr-dible ; and

if it were generally adopted, it might

oe the meaus of rendering ineeaual all

uch commiions of enquiry at that un.

der which we act.

Having no other meens of cbtaining

inormation as to the manner in which

the oubiic money lad been applied to

private ue, ard the extent to which it

bad been carried, but by reorting to

Meis. Tho mas Coutts and Co. we ex.

amined Eln und Antrobus, efq. the prin

cipal aCting partner in that houle. From

him we ltarred that Mr. T. during the

time he was paymafter, bad five accounts

with this houle, et the following de.

criptiont; viz.

An accourt in his name, as payma

ter, which commeoced the lOth of Jan.

1786, and was ci.ied on the 4th of

March 1801.

This account was principally confined

to the money received from the ex.

chequer for the payment of exche-

quer fees, and ome other contin-

gencies.

An account in his own name, vhich

commenced the 1t of April 1786, and

is now open-
To this acceunt the grreater cut of

the mouies drawn from the bank

, wos carried. and blended with his

private monies.

A eparate account, which commenced

the 5:h of Aoril 1788. and was clofed

the 231 of Sept. 1791.

In this account the money drawn

frcm the bank has alfo been blend.

ed with lis private money.

A private account, which commenced

the 9th of Oetober 1789, and was cloled

the 8 h of February 1793.

This acccunt was it decribed by

Mr. Antrobus as containing public

meney ; bat, upon a urther inveti.

gation, be deined to alter that

ftitement.

An account in tru for the etate of

Adam Iellicoe, eq. deceaed, which

commeyced the 19.h. fS:ptemb-r 1789,

and wa. cloed the 17th of May 1800.

To thisacc unt was carried the me-

ney recovered from tne itaie of

M. Adam Iellicos. late aepury

paynalter of the navy, which will

be hzreafter explained.

Mr. Antrobos fhewed great difinclina-

tign to g vivg us aoy information with

rep-Et to Mr. Troiter's pccrunts with.

out his conent; alledging, that the

maney Iectived by Meis. Thomas

Coutts, and co. at the bank, on M.

Trotte's drats, had been carried to ac-

counts in his name as an individual, and

not in hin pullic crpacity of paymaler

of the navv; but af er Mr. Antrohus

h-d taken the opinion of couniei as to

the authority velted in this board, to

require lim to difcloe the trapuctions

of Mr. Trotter with his houle, as lar as

the public money was concerned, he ub-

mitted to anwer the quetions that were

put to him on thoe p ints.

By the evidence of Mr. Antrobus, it

appears, that public money receiv d by

Mr. Thomas Coutts and co. from the

bauk, on Mr. Trotter's drafts, h:d been

inveted in exchequer and navy bills,

lent upon the ecu.ity of slock, aud em-

ployed by Mr. Tratter in dicounting

private bills ; and that coniderable pur-

chaes of bark and Eafl India flock were

made by Mcrs. Thonas Coutts & co.

on account of Mr. Trotter. We there-

upon iued our precept to M rs. T.

Coutts & cb. for the accounts of Mr.

A'exander Trotter, containing any en-

tries cf fums received by his drafts on

the bauk, giving them an option either

to produce their books. or to furnifh us

with eopies of the accounts. They pre-

terred the former mode, and accordingly

laid bef re us the books containing,

Mr. Trotter's account, as paymafter

of the navy, from its commence-

ment to the time of its being

cloed ;

The account in his own name, rom

the 24th of June 1791 to the 17th

of July 1802; and,

His eparate account, from the 27th

of February 1789 to tbe 27th of

May 1790 ;

of which accounts we caued copies to

be t k-n. They withheld the parts of

the two la accounts pripr and ube.

qutnt to the periods mentioned, and his

private account as not containing any

entries of ums received by Mr. Trot.

ter's drasts on the bark. This reaon

for keeping back thus much of the ac.

count was verified by Mr. Chapman,

their clerk, who examined their accounts

for that rurpoe, and produced to us a

lift of the drats given by Mr. Trotter

on the bank, which had been carried to

his credit in the accounts, diflinguihed

as his owh account, and his eparate ac.

count.

The money received by M rs. Thos.

Cutts and c,. by the drafts of Mr.

Trotter on the bank, appears to have

been money iu d for navy ervices, be-

caue Mr. Trotter had no private acc ut

there, and drew upon the bank olely as

the agent or attorney of the treau.er of

the navy.

If oficial convenience only had been

the obje in opening acce unts with

Mers. Thomas Cbu:tsand co. it migat

have been expecled that the public mo-

ney placed there would have been epa-

raied from all private concerns, and kept

under clear and diftinct heads. Intead

of this obvious caution, we do no: find

that even ary open declacation was

made to the houe of the natnre of the

property eotrusted to them; and the

whole of the puolic money received on

account o Mr. Trotier by his duts on

the bank, was placed to his private ac

counts, and o mixed with other monies,

that the one could not be diflingu.ied

from the other; nor could it be dico-

vered, upon the face of the accquats,

from whom veral of the u ns were re-

ceived, or to whor paid; znd Mr.

Trottar him If could not aicer ain whs-

ther certain advances of money made by

him to lord M lville, were from the

public or private balances. The mauner

of keeping Mr. Trottei's accounts is

alo aigned by lord M lvilla as a rea-

on for his not being able to anwer ome

quetions which were put to him, rela-

tive to the employment of the public

money.
It wae net in (ur power. without the!

aMiftance of Mr. Trotter. to ditinguish

whether many of the items in the ac-

counts related to rublic or private mo-

ney ; and Mr. Trotter, when called upon

refued to give us that : istance. We

have therefore entered in the appendix

copies of the accounts, entitled, his own

account, and his eparate account; and

an abtract of his acccunt, entitled, his

paymafter's account. We have oblite-

rated the names to all entries in the two

former accoun's uider one hundred

pounds, to prev nt the unneceary ex-

poure of private concerns. If this has

not been done to the foll extent we could

have wihed, it mult be coridered, that

blendirg in one acce unt oflicial and pri-

vate money tranaClions in the manier

before defcribed. hrs tendered the bring-

ing of th:m together jnto public view

unavoidable. Ihe inpection of thee

accounts wili aord much fuller informa-

tion of the manner in wbich the public

money has been applied tlinn any deorip.

tion which it is in cu' cower to give.

We have diftinguihed in the ace ru7ts

the ums that were received by Mers.

Thomas Cutts aod cp. by Mr. Trot-

ter's dr fes en, the bank.

The part cf tha accouat rendered to

ua, entitled Mr. Trctte.'s eparate ac-

count, Contairs only a ew entries of

money received by his drafts on the

bank; but the money lo received ap-

pears ciftinctly on the face of the ac-

count to have been applied to privace

pu poes.

Although the only dire proof wbich

we have been able to obtain of public

money having been carried to the credit

of Mr. Troiter's accounts with M.s.

Thomas Coutts and co. is, by their

having received money upen his drafts

on the bank; yet on an inpeCtion of

the accounts it will be eeo, that ums

of fuch magnitude not received Mr.

Trotter's drafts on the bank, have bcen

brought to his credit, as to aft rd trong

presumption that they were part of the

public money-depoits of monry, not

received by drafts on the bark, to the

amount of one hundred thouand pounds

aud upwards on the ame day, and io

the coure of a few days, will be met

with frequently. In one intance, nane-

ly on the I Ith of April, 1795, the um

of one million, not received by draits on

the bauk, is placed to his credic.

As a urther proof o cther public

money, beides that rec. ived direAly

rom the bank, being included in the

account called his own account, we

fobj in a comparative tatement of the

ums received direatly from the bank,

and the ums paud from that account to

the Li rent fub-accountants of-the navy

pay cfice, and for ervices which we

conclude to be of a public nature.
Amount offums

Amount of ums

receivad by Meffrt.

paid from the ac.

Thos. Coutts and

count of 'Trotter

C. by the drafts

with Mers. Thos.

of Ms Trotter on

Coutts and e. en-

the bank, and car-

titled bis own ac-

ried to the credit of

count, to the differ.

his

own

acc uot

ent fub-accounts of

8,295,4201. 10. 5.

the navy pay office.

11,756,8041. 6, 6.

Amount of the

ums paid from the

arre account, for

iervices funpofed to

be of a public na-

ture, viz. " to at

of parl:ament ac-

cunt," (bywhich

is meant ths fiit

part of oflord Mel-

ville's fecond crea-

urerhip)aod"10

a cf parliament

new account" be-

ing the second part

of thst treafurer

fhip 3,321,933l 6.

10.

15,078,737 13.4.
We conclude that the difference, ix

million feven hundred and eighty-three

thouand three hundred and event-en

pounds tao hillings and clevenpence,

was money iued for savy ervices,

drawn from the bank, by Mr. Trotter,

and depoited with M- rs. Thomas

C utts & Go. after having ae : thr ugh

hiz own bands, or the har ds of ome

agent employ.d by him to receive it by

his drafts on the bank.

[The remainder of the report contains

detailed matter which it is unneceary

to give.]