Sa iA Tih 'P ARE RS? 
of late date, and the accountants, 
having hadwa reafonable time for » 
preparation, have taken no fteps for 
the profecution, againft thefe the 
diffringas iffues. 
All accountants, unlefs the place 
of their abode is {pecified, are fup- 
pofed to refide, and moft of the 
great accountants do in fact re- 
fide, within the jurifdiction of the 
fheriffs of London and Middle- 
fex: to them, therefore, the dif- 
tringas againit thefe accountants if- 
fues. We required from the king’s 
remembrancer the writ of difringas 
that iffued to thofe fheriffs after the 
lat Hilary term, with the return 
and fchedules annexed, for our in- 
{pection; a copy of the writ and 
return is inferted in the appendix. 
The fchedules annexed to this 
writ are very numerous; many of 
them contain large fums. They 
are of various dates; and fome very 
ancient, as far back as the year 
1698. Each contains the name of 
the accountant, and, frequently, the 
fum for which he is to account, and 
the fervice for which it was iffued. 
The return of the fheriffs to the 
writ before us is, as to all the ac- 
countants in the feveral {chedules 
thereto annexed, indifcriminately, 
that none of them had any lands or 
chattels in his bailiwick by which 
he could diftrain them; nor were 
they found in the fame; that is, in 
the language of office, a wichil re- 
turn, or zulla bona and non off in- 
ventus. 
From the information of Mr. 
John Benfon, the principal clerk in 
the office of the fheriff of Middle- 
fex, we learn the prattice of the 
office relative to this writ. It is 
ufual not to execute it; it is a pro- 
cefs of courfe; and the return in- 
.dorfed upon the writ before us; is 
\ 
f33% 
the conftant regular return upon 
every one of thefe periodical writs 
of diftringas ad computandum. 
The king’s- remembrancer, after 
it is returned to his office, takes off 
from the bundle of fchedules the 
returned writ, together with thofe 
f{chedules in which the purpofe of 
the diftringas has been fatisfied, and 
files them with the writ: the re- 
mainder of the fchedulés, with the 
addition of the names and fchedules 
taken from the laft impreft certifi- 
cate, are annexed to the renewed 
writ, and are iffued again to the 
fheriff. Upon his appofal in the 
court of exchequer, the new fche- 
dules are read to him, and he is 
queftioned upon his oath relative to 
the execution of this writ: his an-~ 
{wer is ufually agreeable to his re- 
turn, Sometimes the baron of the 
exchequer before whom he is ap- 
pofed, where the particular cafe 
ftrikes him, direéts the fheriff to 
return iflues to a certain amount: 
in that cafe, the fheriff alters his 
return, and indorfes upon the writ 
the iffues direéted, which are tranf 
mitted to the pipe office, to be le- 
vied by proceis from thence; but 
of this proceeding the inftances are 
rare, and the officer of the fheriff of 
Middlefex recolleéts but one in- 
ftance in thirty-three. years, where 
iffues are drawn ‘down to the pipe, 
and levied. 
Having thus examined into the 
means of compelling public ac- 
countants to come to an account, 
we proceeded, in the next place, to 
the office where thefe accounts are 
audited ; that is, to the office of the 
auditors of the imprett. Of the 
conftitution, authority, and execu- 
tion of this office, we received in- 
formation from John Bray, efq. late 
deputy auditor, and from Charles 
Harris, 
