i 
354] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1790. 
not be caft up. Mof of the ac- 
counts in the exchequer are made 
up twice; firft in common: figures, 
that they may be added together; 
and then turned into Latin, and 
the fums entered in the exchequer 
figures: and, that the high numbers 
in a declared account may be un- 
derftood, they are written in com- 
mon figures under the charatters. 
They are defettive, having no cha- 
racters to exprefs high numbers, as 
millions; they are unintelligible to 
_ the perfons either receiving, or hav- 
ing other money tranfaCtions at the 
exchequer. 
The act of the ath of his late ma- 
jefly, chapter 26th, « to remedy 
“the mifchiefs arifing from pro- 
* ceedings in courts of juftice being 
“in an unknown language, and in 
**a character not legible to any 
«but perfons practifing the law,” 
dire&s that all fuch proccedings 
fhall be in the Englifh language, 
to remain involved in myftery and 
obfcurity. : 
Simplicity, uniformity, and per- 
{picuity, are qualities of excellence 
in every account, both public and 
private; and accounts of public | 
money, as they concern all, fhould 
Le intelligible to all: nor is this 
learning in danger of being lof; 
the bent of the antiquarian, and the 
intereft of the keeper of records 
will preferve it. 
The ufe of the Englifh langnage, 
and of the common figures only, 
will fave the time and trouble of 
the officers; a confideration of 
weight, in an office where, at this 
time, the receipt and iflue is of 
above thirty millions each in the 
rear. 
As fuggefting means for con- 
tracting the public expences is one 
great end of our inflitution, to which 
every act exprefsly points our at- 
tention, we enquired what faving 
and written in. a common leaiiapy ou accrue to the public ‘from 
thi 
hand and character, and in word 
at length, and not abbreviated. This 
act is declared, by the fixth of the 
fame king, chapter 6th, not to ex- 
tend to the court of the receipt of 
his majefty’s exchequer; but that 
their officers fhall carry on the bu- 
finefs according to the ufual forms 
and practice. No reafon is fated 
in the act, or appears to us, for this 
exemption; and therefore we are 
at liberty, without the imputation 
of impeaching the wifdom of thofe 
times, to fay, that the many incon- 
veniences attending this practice, 
call for the extenfion of the aé& of 
the fourth of George the fecond, to 
the court of the receipt of his ma- 
jefly’s exchequer. li does not feem 
reaionable, that this fhould be the 
only court whofe. proceedings are 
s exemption of the accounts of 
the treafurer of the navy from the 
jurifdiction of the auditors of the 
impreft: to this end, we required 
from that office a lift of the expences 
attending the paffing the account of 
the year 1759, which had been un- 
der our confideration. ; 
The lift tranfmitted to us, con- 
tains fees to the amount of 1,278 /. 
4s.\2d.3 of which the fum paid in 
the office of the auditor is 1,091/. 
gs. 6d. he auditor himfelf has ~ 
a fee of one hundred pounds a year; | 
and at the rate of twenty pounds | 
for every hundred thoufand pounds 
contained in the charge, deducting ~ 
the balance in the preceding ac- _ 
count. . Hence, if thele accounts | 
are immediately withdrawn from 7 
the auditor, the faving. will be, in | 
his 
