104 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



which would disgrace any other 

 prosecution. 



Rlr. Wiiitbread made a very able 

 and elaborate reply, after which 

 the house divided, at 6 p'clock the 

 following morning — for the impeach, 

 ment 195 — against it 111 — majo- 

 rity 77. — After which another divi- 

 sion took place, on the amendment 

 of Mr. Bond. For it 238 — against 

 it 229 — majority for the criminal 

 prosecution 9. 



On the 11th of June, Mr. Whit- 

 bread, after adverting to the com- 

 munication made by Mr. Raikes of 

 the bank, to Mr. Pitt, of large sums 

 of money being drawn from the 

 bank of England, and lodged at a 

 private banker's, observed, that 

 though he considered it as gross 

 negligence in that right lionourable 

 gentleman to have made no other 

 enquiry into it than from lord Mel- 

 ville, yet, as tlic evidence he gave, 

 before the committee, was hi a 

 great measure satisfactory, he should 

 not move any resolution on that 

 subject. lie then adverted to the 

 warrant of the treasurer, exonc- 

 rating lord Melville from all respon- 

 sibility respecting the deficiency of 

 Mr. Jellico, which he said at least 

 required explanation, as he knew of 

 no precedent for it, except in 

 the exoneration of lord Grenvilie 

 for some secret service money en- 

 trusted to a person w^ho had run 

 away. It was a further neglect of 

 duty in him, to have taken no steps 

 to recover the remainder of that 

 debt to the crown. Wore the house 

 to sanction such a waste of the pub- 

 lic money, it might lead to very se- 

 rious consequences. lie then came 

 to the most material part of the 

 subject, the advance of ^10,000/. to 

 the house of Boyd and Ben field. It 

 ■was true, that, in cases of emer- 



gency, forms may easily be violated, 

 but some record should be made of 

 it, to prevent its being drawn into a 

 precedent. It appeared,' that, in 

 1796, ]Mr. Boyd contracted for a 

 loan of 18,000,000/. : for a time, 

 this loan was at a premium of 7 per 

 cent, on the average, b»it afterwards 

 fell to an average discount of 6 per 

 cent. Under these circumstances, 

 and there being a great want of 

 money, he applied to the minister 

 for a loan of 40,000/. instead of 

 bringing his scrip to market, like 

 other mercantile houses. Mr. Boyd 

 was in the habit of contracting for 

 loans, and entering into immense 

 speculations. Had his house been 

 solvent, the sum of 40,000/. would 

 have been of little consequence to 

 it; but if the minister had made 

 due enquiry, he would have found 

 that it was in a state of great em- 

 barrassment. The money, however, 

 was advanced by lord iNIelville out 

 of the naval fund, and though he 

 admitted that no demands on the 

 office of a paymaster went unpaid 

 at the time, yet it could not be 

 said that no inconvenience was felt 

 from this transaction : — the navy 

 bills were not punctually paid, and 

 every^ one ^observed, with concern, 

 the shameful delay in the payments 

 of the half-pay of the navy, which 

 was generally six, and constantly 

 three months in arrcar. He tlieii 

 moved some resolutions, founded on 

 these statements, and declared that 

 no entry had been made of the 

 transaction, nor any act of indem- 

 nity procured for the persons con- 

 ccrned in them. 



The Chancellor of the Exche- 

 quer said, that, as the evidence he 

 gave respecting the communication 

 of Mr. Raikes was already before 

 the housc^ he thought it unneces- 

 sary 



