328] ANNUAL REGISTER; 
bruary.1777, but does not appear to 
have been ever executed. We find, 
by papers tranfmitted to us with this 
commiffion (fome of which we have 
inferted in the appendix) that in 
purfuance of that commiffion, and 
of directions and inftruétions relative 
thereto, tranfmitred from time to 
time from the lords commiflioners of 
the treafary to the commanders in 
chief and the commiflary of accounts, 
fome progrefs has been made in car- 
rying the powers of that commiffion 
“into execution; but how far it has 
een effectual to the prevention or 
diminution of the evil, it has not 
been in our power to difcover, 
Of the ten millions and upwards 
that have been iffued for thefe fer- 
vices to North America within the 
lait fix years, accounts of a few 
officers only, amounting to about 
1,100,000/.,, have been as yet ren- 
dered in the proper office. The ac- 
counts of about 140,000/. more are 
ready : fo that the expenditure of 
$,760,000/. ftill remain to be ac- 
counted for. 
By an account of the yearly ave- 
rape number of his majefty’s forces 
ferving at New York and its de- 
pendencies, from the ift of January 
776 tothe 31 of December 1780, 
extracted from returns of thofe forces 
made to us from the war office, pur- 
fuant to our requifition, it appears 
that the number of the forces de- 
creafed every year from 1778; but, 
from the account of the contractors 
for remitting, the iffue for the ex- 
traordinary fervices of that army 
greatly increafed during the fame 
period. 
In the account of the iffues to the 
officers in the four departments, we 
find that the warrants iflued to the 
quarter mafters general fince the 
s6th of July, 1780, and to the bar- ~ 
1790. 
rack mafters general fince the 2gth 
of June, 1780, and to the commif- 
faries general fince the 2 sthof May, 
1778, have been all temporary, for 
fums on account; that no final 
warrant has been granted fince thofe 
feveral periods: fo that thefe fums 
have been iffued, without even the 
ceremony of a quarterly abftradt, 
and the confidential reliance on the 
officer that his vouchers are forth- 
coming. 
Of thefe ten raillions there have 
een iffued to Canada, poral the 
ift of June, 1776, and the 23d of 
October lait, 2,236,0z9/. 115. 74.3 
a province, whofe military opera- 
tions, fince the year 1777, the public 
iare not made acquainted with. This 
iffue has been increafing every year, 
and no apparent reafon for it; and 
upon the expenditure in this pro- 
vince there exifts no check or con- 
trol, that we know of, whatever. 
‘Thefe are circumftances of fuf- 
picion and alarm. The ordinary 
forms of examination and account- 
ing are neither comprehenfive nor 
ftrong enough to embrace the va- 
rious circumftances of this expen- 
diture : they call for a minute, ac- 
curate, and rigid inveftigation ; but 
none fuch can, as we apprehend, be 
obtained in this kingdom; the evi- 
dence effentially neceffary for that 
purpofe cannot be procured here, 
Should it be thought proper to fub- 
je&t thefe accounts to fuch a fcru- 
tiny, we can devife or fuggeft no 
method of obtaining this end, un- 
lefs the legiflature fhould think pro- 
per to refer all of them to an exa- 
mination in North America, by 
perfons intelligent in the fubject 
matter, and unconneéted with the 
expenditure ; ; who may inquire into ~ 
_every circumftance of the tranfac- 
tion, and have recourfe to ‘every 
perio. 
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