Hen. Chas, Englefield. Wm. Jerningham. George Jerningham. John Charlton. James Langdale. Wm. Throckmorton. Thomas Lloyd. J. Bew, D.D. John Webbe Weston, jum. Ralph Riddell. George Cary. John Cary. Edward Blount. - John Greenham. M. Constable Maxwell.. Robert Rookwood Gage.. Anthony Wright. John Wright. Thomas Wright, jun. Thomas Thorpe John Gabb; James Yorke Branstop... Edward Wright.. Edward Walsh. Finance Report¿ 1 The finance report, which Mr. Giles was ready to present to the house of commons on the last day of the last session of parliament, when the usher of the black rod unexpectedly presented himself, and the session was closed by a prorogation, has been printed and laid before the house of commons. The principal point and feature of it is as follows: "The evidence received during the last session, contains an account of two transactions in the payoffice, of a most irregular and im. proper kind, which were disclosed on the examination of Mr. Thomas, accountant in that office: by whom it it was stated, that a draft for 7000l. payable to the right hon. Thomas Steele (at that time one of the joint paymasters), or bearer, had been drawn by the cashier on the 11th of May, 1799, under the head of extraordinaries of the army, and entered in the cash account of the office, with Mr. Steele's receipt as a voucher; and that another sum of 12,000l. was drawn for, precisely in the same manner, and a receipt given in the same terms, on the 3d of July, 1800. Of these two sums, the first was not repaid until the 3d of February, 1807; nor the latter until the 8th of April; with inte. rest upon both sums, from the date of their issue to that of their repayment, amounting to 7390l. 13s. "The correspondence between Mr. Steele and Mr. Thomas'; let. ters of earl Temple (one of the joint paymasters in 1807), addres. sed to lord Grenville, Mr. Steele, Mr. Rose, and lord Harowby; three minutes of the lords of the treasury, directing what steps should be taken for securing the sum remaining due (for the first sum had been repaid previously to any proceedings of the board of treasury): minutes of the paymaster-general entered in the book of the office; and several other papers, are inserted at length in the appendix, though not perhaps absolutely necessary for understanding the subject, that no circumstance which has reference to this business, may be withheld from observation. But the part to which the committee think it most material to direct the attention of the house, is the account given by Mr. Steele himself, when he desired to attend the former committee on the twen. ty-sixth of March, 1807, and made his own statement of the circum stances relating to these transac tions. He said, "the two sum mentioned by Mr. Thomas were is sued by my direction, and I have n hesitation in stating that they wer not issued for the public service. thought, as others did at the time that I had full authority to direc those issues.-I was urged to d so by private considerations of very peculiar nature, which opera ted at that time upon my mind; an I thought that, by directing the to be issued to myself, and making myself responsible for them, I could not by possibility incur the suspi cion of concealment or fraud. I was my intention that they shoul have been replaced in a very shor time, but it was not in my power to accomplish it; they remained charged against me in the pay office book till the beginning of the present year, when the former o the two sums was repaid; and the whole subject having been brought lately under the consideration of the board of treasury, they have directed me to repay the remaining sum with the interest due upon both sums, by instalments, at stated periods, which I have engaged to do. I cannot take upon myself to defend my conduct in this instance, which I must admit to have been incorrect, but I console mysel with thinking that the public wil have suffered no loss." And, be ing asked, whether he knew of any other transaction of the same kind, during the time he was in the payoffice? he said, "I do not." And being asked, whether he knew of any arrear of the like nature ari sing from the transaction of any former paymaster? he said, "I certainly do not." And being ask ed, whether any notice was taken of this transaction by the treasury previous to the beginning of this year? he said, " I apprehend it was not even known to the trea sary, previous to this year." And being asked, whether any notice was taken by any other public office? he said, "Not to my know. ledge." The report then proceeds to state, that Mr. Rose, being examined, said, that the facts respecting Mr. Steele were not communicated to him unfil the 10th of February, 1806, at which time he considered himself completely out of office, and could not interfere officially, but he desi. red Mr. Thomas to write to Mr. Steele; he also had a conversation with that gentleman, and wrote a letter to him upon the subject, the answer to which led him to rest satisfied, that the whole matter would be communicated without delay to ord Grenville, or the paymastergeneral. The report then notices wo sums of 110,000l. paid to Boyd and co. for services, which failed; he former of which was repaid, and he second was not, but is still in a Course of legal proceeding, in conequence of the bankruptcy of that The report coucludes with uggesting regulations to prevent imilar abuses. louse. "Upon the important subject of recommending measures which Day prevent similar abuses in fuure, your committee observe great concern, that the most obvious, and erhaps the only effectual remedy, as been found by experience hi herto unattainable; but they think t necessary to represent as their leliberate opinion, that without an arlier examination, and auditing of accounts, irregularities can hardly be prevented; and that temptation will never be wanting to make use of public money, while there exists a great probability of its being for a long time uncalled for. After the accounts come before the commissioners for auditing, no attention is wanting in requiring proper warrants in discharge for every payment, and no sum is allowed without a voucher of that kind; but so slow has been the progress hitherto, that notwithstanding the observations made on the subject by the committee of finance in 1797 and 1798, not one account of any paymaster-general has been finally settled and decared, nor made ready for declaration, in the nine or ten years which have since elapsed.” Mr. Paull and Sir Francis Burdett's recent Duel.-Mr. Cooper's state ment. A publication which appeared in the morning papers of Saturday last, signed "John Bellenden Ker,"* renders it impossible for me to remain any longer silent under representations and aspersions the most artful and unfounded that ever made their way to the public. If I have remained hitherto silent under such aspersions and misre. presentations from the pen of John Horne Tooke, and others, it has really been from contempt for the calumniators, and not for any apprehensions of the result of a full developement of the circumstances of the recent duel, either as affecting Mr. Paull, or myself. I shall be brief as possible in stating the See p. 426-428. facts facts themselves; but I cannot help observing that many of these facts will appear in a very different point of view to that, in which they are given to the public by Mr. John Bellenden Gawler: he will excuse me for using the name by which he is best known to the pub. lic. have escaped the recollection of Mr. Gawler on the recent duel. The public has been already in. formed of the meeting at the Crown and Anchor on the 1st of May, and the letters that were then read by Mr. Jones Burdett at that din ner. I attended as a friend of Mr. Paull, to whom I had been intro. duced by a near relation in the lo dia service.-Alter quitting the Crown and Anchor, he requested me to attend him as his second upon a most unforeseen, unexpect ed, and unfortunate affair, in which he found himself engaged with his friend sir Francis Burdett. Mr. Paul said he was loth to im pose this duty on me on account of my family circumstances; but that the hour was late; and from what I had seen, not a moment was to be lost, if he (Mr. Paul) meant to stand well with his friends or the public. He immediately wrote two addresses to the electors of Westminster, which having dis patched, he then wrote a letter to sir Francis Burdett, and gave me instructions, from which I was upon no account to depart. These in structions were, " to explain coolly and deliberately to sir Francis Burdett the injury he (Mr. Paull) had sustained, both in a public and pr vate point of view; that after the éxplanations that had passed be tween him and sir Francis in the early part of the week, and espe cially on Thursday, sir Francis was left without an excuse for his conduct; and that, at all events, the manner, the time, and terms made use of to strike the blow, without any previous hint having been given of the mode of attack, was so unfeeling and unkind, that My object was not concealment, but I understood distinctly from Mr. Paull, that both he and sir Francis Burdett had decided against the utility of any statement beyond a mere mention of the meeting; and even that, if judged necessary, to be without the names of the seconds. To this moment I cannot imagine one substantial reason for any other line of conduct; and I leave it to the public to judge, if there is one new fact brought to light, (though a most reprehensible attempt has been made on the part of Mr. Gawler, to turn my conduct and character into ridicule, on a most serious occasion,) except, indeed, that he has proved, what I never denied, my ignorance" in the loading of a pistol, the measuring of a distance, and the dropping of a signal." He, on the contrary, is an adept in the science of duelling; that he has long traded in af. fairs of this kind, that he seems equally indifferent to his appearing in the field, or in the forum, where he certainly has been no inconsiderable actor in his day. Unfortunately for Mr. Paull and my self, Mr. Gawler was the second to sir Francis Burdett, on the intended affair with Mr. Whitbread. For the sins of my principal, and myself, an opinion was given by Mr. Paull to Mr. Gawler on, that occasion, which did not seem to pology he had a right to insist , and that, if refused, one alternative only remained. we proceeded to Wimbledon, Paull represented to me the ful necessity of this measure; he had no alternative, as the It was gross, wanton, and unoked: He stated to me it was the wish of his heart to see Francis Burdett in parliament, that unhappily his wishes were bteracted by an influence supeto his own. That on Sunday he (Mr. Paull) repaired to bledon on hearing that a dis. tion was intended; that he had ng conversation with sir Franthe result of which was, that agh sir Fraucis would not puboffer himself as a candidate for tminster, and though (contrary Mr. Cobbett's opinion) he deired of the country, he should be Il pleased to find that so much blic spirit existed in the city of estminster, as to return both Mr. all and him to parliament. Mr. ull said, he concluded the con. sation by requesting sir Francis nominate him, as he had done it October, (which was at a dinner the Crown and Anchor,) to which › Francis most readily consented; Ir. Paul stayed dinner, and was try to perceive that Mr. Tooke's pinion was decidedly against sir rancis Burdett going into parliaant; to which opinion he (Mr. aull) attributed the conduct of ir F. Burdett, as exhibited by the etters from him, which were read by his brother at the Crown and Anchor meeting. Connected as Ir. Paull had been for a long pe riod with sir Francis Burdett, and the assent given by sir Francis Burdett on the Sunday, to nomicato Mr. Paull as he had done last answer October, (which was at a dinner at the Crown and Anchor,) a dinner was fixed on, and sir F. named as the chairman in a public advertisemeut, and of which sir F. was advised on the same evening by Mr. Paull, who received in that extraordinary private letter, which was read by Mr. Jones Burdett, at the Crown and Anchor; upon the receipt of which Mr. Paull dispatched, by express, an answer to sir F. at Wimbledon, in which he expressed his sincere concern that any mistake or misconception should have taken place, and the grounds upon which he (Mr. Paull) was induced to conclude sir F. would have taken the chair. He apologized, he said, in a manner rather humiliating, for the liberty he had taken under the influence of misconception, and offered to do away the effect of the advertisement in any manner that sir F. would prefer; that in another letter on the following day, sent by express, Mr. Paull reiterated these expressions of regret, and offered the same means of remedying the advertisement; but no farther objection was stated, no de sire expressed for withdrawing the advertisement, no remedy pointed out; all which he attributed to the subsequent consent given by sir Francis to serve if he was elected to represent the city. That on Thurs. day, Mr. Paul, on entering the drawing-room of col. Bosville, was accosted by sir Francis in the most cordial and friendly manner; that Mr. Paull took sir F. into an adjoining room, when he shewed him an advertisement in a newspaper called the Pilot, in which Mr. Pauil was announced as the chairman to put certain resolutions, which personally regarded sir F. Burdett, |