they were driven, of increasing the assessed taxes, after having failed in two different plans of taxation, left an unfavourable impression in the country, of their financial talents and resources. The increase of the assessed taxes led, however, to a measure, that met with general approbation. In consideration of the severe pressure of the taxes on persons who had large families, a bill was passed, granting to parents an allowance out of their assessed taxes for every child they had above two, provided the total amount of their assessment was under forty pounds a year.

was

The Irish budget was opened by Sir John Newport, the Irish chancellor of the exchequer, on the 7th of May. It appeared that the supply voted for Ireland 8,975,1941.; and the ways and means provided by the chancellor of the exchequer were estimated at 9,181,4551. The loan, which was for two millions, had been raised at seven shillings per cent less than the loan for England, and this was regarded as a favourable symptom of the growing prosperity of Ireland, and of the confidence reposed in its government. Several new taxes and regulations concerning the revenue, were proposed, which it was calculated would produce 307,6551. a year. The exports of Ireland, it was stated, had been greater in 1805, than in any year since 1792; and the course of exchange had been lower, and more fixed for the last four months, than it had been for several years.

In the course of the discussions that arose on this subject, it appear ed, that great mismanagement and abuse prevailed in the collection and administration of the Irish revenue.

Sir John Newport stated, that the balances of deceased and dismissed collectors amounted to 220,000; and Mr. Parnell shewed, that notwithstanding the undoubted encrease of opulence in Ireland, and though the taxes imposed since had been

1802 estimated to produce 1,800,000, the actual increase of revenue was only 70,000. It appeared, indeed, that the disparity between the revenue and expendi ture of that country, was truly alarming. The expenditure was at the rate of more than eight millions and a half a year, while the revenue was less than three millions and a half, and the whole of it, a few thousands only excepted, mort. gaged for the payment of the interest on the debt.

The late chancellor of the Irish exchequer, Mr. Foster, strongly recommended to Sir John Newport to raise a great part of the supplies within the year, by means of war taxes; a proposal which the right honourable baronet answered, by shewing how inefficacious the right honourable gentleman's own measures had proved, when directed to that object. His additional taxes on wine and tobacco, for example, instead of increasing, had actually diminished the existing revenue; and though he had imposed taxes, the produce of which he estimated at 1,200,0001. a year, the whole addition they had made to the revenue, did not exceed 70,000 a year. Sir John Newport was ready, however, to do Mr. Foster justice. That right honourable gentleman had projected regulations, which would very much have improved the reve nue. These regulations, it was his intention to adopt, and to superadd several measures of his own; and

he

he had no doubt that when the revenue of Ireland was collected in a fair and proper manner, it would be found infinitely more productive. But, till these exertions were made, he did not feel himself justified in calling for new taxes, when not above two thirds of those now imposed were collected.

We shall next proceed to the measures taken by parliament for the correction of abuses connected with the revenue department of the state.

The first of these was an act for regulating the office of treasurer of the ordnance, on the principle of Mr. Burke's bill for regulating the office of paymaster of the forces, and of the bill introduced (and af. terwards violated) by Mr. Dundas for regulating the office of treasurer of the navy. By this act the balances of the ordnance were ordered to be deposited at the bank of Eng land, and the payments to be made by drafts upon the bank, except the payments on the treasurer's petty account, for which small sums, on the requisition of the board of ordnance, were to be issued to him from the bank, and applied by him to no purposes whatever, but those authorized by law. In bringing forward this bill, lord Henry Petty announced his intention of extending the same principle to the postoffice, the excise office, customhouse, and other public offices, to which it was applicable, that an end might be put to the practice of public officers deriving profit from the public money in their hands.

And accordingly, before the session of parliament was closed, acts were passed to extend the principle to the excise and customs, to the stamp and post offices, and to the office of

surveyor general of woods and forests. An act was also passed for increasing the salaries, and abolishing the fees of the custom house officers of the port of London, and for diminishing the number of holidays at the custom house, and regulating the attendance of the off

cers.

The attention of parliament was next called to a reform in the mode of auditing the public accounts. It appeared that in consequence of the imperfection of the provisions established for that object, there had been a gradual accumulation of inaudited accounts, amounting, when the present ministers came into office, to the enormous sum of 534 millions. Not a single account in the army pay office had been audited since 1782. The store accounts had been suffered to lie over, without examination, during the same period. The navy accounts were greatly in arrear. None of the accounts of the late war were audited, and those relating to the expeditions to Holland and Egypt, and to the treaties of subsidy with foreign powers, had not even been touched upon by the auditors.

It is unnecessary to expatiate on the manifold risks to which the public is exposed by such delay in auditing and settling its accounts. Not to speak of the loss of money from the insolvency of those indebted to it, the chances of which must be multiplied by every year's delay; if its agents have been guilty of fraud or negligence, how must the lapse of so many years increase the dif .ficulty of sifting into, and probing to the bottom their delinquencies. And, on the contrary, how many suspicious circumstances may arise, when such accounts come at length to be examined, which at the time

when

when the events were recent, could have been casily and satisfactorily explained, but which the death of those concerned, renders it afterwards impossible to clear up. What a hardship on persons engaged in the service of the state, that having been once employed in the expenditare of public money, they should be unable, in the whole period of their subsequent lives, to obtain a settlement of their accounts, for the security of their families, and justification of their conduct.

The abuses to which the accumulation of inaudited accounts had given rise in the West Indies, wereso glaring, that, in 1800, commissioners had been sent thither to investigate them; in consequence of which malversations to an enormous extent were detected. New commissioners were then appointed by act of parliament, with authority to correct and remedy the evil. But, though much good was effected by the exertions of these commissioners, the system of fraud and profusion, which they were sent out to stop, continued to go on; and no crime was spared by the actors in this scene of delinquency, that could serve to screen them from detection, or secure them from punishment. Forgery, perjury, bribery, and every iniquitous stratagem, which fraud could devise, was resorted to; and not content with false charges, false returns, and flagitious embezzlements, they bribed the custom-house officers to sign false certificates, fraudulent invoices, and other such documents, in aid of their mal-practices; proofs of which were detected, in one instance, to the amount of 80,0001. and in another, to the amount of 30,000l. applied in bribery, to conceal frauds of an enormous extent.

Though it be impossible to acquit entirely of negligence and inatten tion, the administration, which suffered these abuses to accumulate so long, and arrive at such an extent, it must in fairness be admitted, that great reforms had been made in this, as in most other departments of the public revenue, under the auspices and direction of Mr. Pitt. When that celebrated minister began his long administration, he found a similar accumulation of inaudited accounts to that which existed, when the present ministers came into office. He found also the established system of auditing the public accounts, obsolete and inefficacious, ill-adapted for dispatch of business, and still worse calculated to procure a careful revision and examination of the accounts. He, therefore, established a new board of auditors, with more ample powers than their predeces sors, by whose exertions the great mass of inaudited accounts that had accrued during the American war, was at length audited and settled. A fresh accumulation had now taken place, and a similar remedy was cal led for, with such additional regulations, as would ensure in future, that no such accumulation should again be experienced. The neces sity of some more effectual provision for auditing and examining the public accounts, was acknowledged in the preamble to Mr. Pitt's bill, in 1805, for appointing an extraordi. nary board of auditors; but that bill, though it increased the number of auditors, contained no provisions for the better and more regular execution of their duty.

The plan proposed by the chan. cellor of the exchequer for the remedy of those abuses, was, in the

first place, to appoint five commissioners for enquiring into abuses, and examining the accounts of government agents in the West Indies, three of whom to remain at home, and two to go out to the West Indies. These two boards were to correspond together, and take measures in conjunction, for attaining the objects of their commission. Ample powers were to be given to the commissioners, of summoning persons before them, examining them upon oath, and calling for all papers and documents which they judged necessary to have produced. They were to investigate the accounts brought before them, and when satisfied of their fairness and accuracy, to grant certificates expressing their opinion; but the final settlement of the accounts was reserved to the general board of auditors. The plan of having two boards for the examination of these accounts, was suggested by the experience of the former commissioners, who had been compelled to send home one of their number, to carry on investigations in London, without which they were unable to make any progress in the West In

dies.

The general board of auditors was, in the next place, new modelled, and in many respects materially changed. The office of army comp troller, originating in the administration of lord Godolphin, was retained, but separated from the office of auditor of public accounts. The number of auditors was increased to ten, but in proportion as the present accumulation of accounts should be disposed of, the number was to be reduced to six, and the most effectual provisions were taken, to prevent this regulation from be

ing eluded. The commissioners were divided into three boards, one for the current accounts, one for the accounts under examination, and the third for accounts untouch. ed, and not even looked into by the present auditors. Most effectual regulations were added, for securing in future that the accounts of every year should be regularly audited in the course of the ensuing year, so that no fresh accumulation of inaudited accounts should ever happen again. The expence of the whole establishments was increased by these innovations from 28,0001. to 42,000l. a year, for the present, but the permanent expence was fixed at only 27,0001. a year.

The statement to the house of the enormous accumulation of inaudited accounts, and the new establishment for auditing accounts, to which it led, gave great offence to some members of the opposition, who considered the disclosures and remarks of the chancellor of the exchequer, as intended to cast a slur and affix a stigma on the character of his predecessor. Mr. Rose, who had been secretary of the treasury under Mr. Pitt, during his first administration, distinguished himself on this occasion, by the violence and acrimony, but also by the spirit and pertinacity, with which he vindicated his patron from the unjust imputations, which he alledged, it was now attempted to fix on his memory. Though he could not deny the fact, that so many millions of the public money were still unaccounted for before the proper auditors, he maintained that the greater part by far of these inaudited accounts, had long since been substantially and effectually examined, and that a greater delusion could not exist, than to