560 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



bruary 17B7, ibe day it became due, 

 the holder of it was fold at the vic- 

 tualling-office, there was no eflects, 

 or something to that purpose ; that 

 there were many other bills in the 

 same situation, and he must call 

 again ; and that the bill Avas not 

 paid till the first of March, though 

 he had sent it two or three times for 

 payment in that interval. Upon 

 further enquiry at the victualling-ot- 

 fice, it appears, that on the 9th of 

 February 1797, the victualling-of- 

 fice applied for a sum of 70,0001. at 

 Ihe exchequer, for the payment of 

 several bills, in which the bill in 

 question was included ; that on the 

 25th of the same month, 47,0001. 

 was received in part of the 70,0001. 

 for that purpose ; and that on the 

 same day the said bill, with many 

 others, was assigned for payment, 

 and would have been discharged on 

 that day, or as soon after as pay- 

 ment had been called for. In this 

 instance, the delay of the assign- 

 ment, and consequently of payment, 

 appears to have arisen from a delay 

 in the issues from the exchequer, 

 and not from a refusal of payment 

 on the part of the treasurer of the 

 navy ; nor has it appeared in evi- 

 dence, that any delay of payment 

 has been actually occasioned in 

 other branch ;'s of the naval service 

 by the advance in question, how- 

 ever such a practice might in possi- 

 ble cases have been productive of a 

 difterent result. No interest was 

 demanded from Messrs. Boyd and 

 CO. for the money so advanced, and 

 so repaid ; but it is to be observed, 

 that no interest would have accrued 

 to the public had the above sum re- 

 mained in the bank, in conformity 

 to the provision of the act. As to 

 the sum of 10,0001. it appears in 

 evidence, that upon Mr. Trot- 



ter's appointment to the office of 

 paymaster in the year 1786, he was 

 informed by lord Melville, that he, 

 lord Melville, was ir.dcbted to the 

 office in the sum of 10.0001. At 

 what time, under what circum- 

 stances, and for what purpose, this 

 sum of 10,0001. originally came 

 into the possession of lord Melville, 

 the death of the preceding paymas- 

 ter, the absence of ail public docu- 

 ments relating to it, and the want 

 of any other evidence, prevents us 

 from ascertaining ; and we can 

 therefore only state, that this sum 

 was replaced, but without interest, 

 some time subsequent to the year 

 1786 ; but the particular time and 

 manner of the re-payment we have 

 not been able to discover. It ap- 

 pears also in <ividence, that upon 

 Mr. Trotter succeeding to the of- 

 fice of paymaster, he was appointed 

 private agent to lord Melville ; and 

 was, during his continuance in that 

 office, in the habit of receiving his 

 salary as treasurer, and other 

 branches of his income arising in 

 England, as well as frequent remit- 

 tances from Scotland ; and that the 

 sums received by him on lord Mel- 

 ville's account were paid into the 

 mixed fund at Messrs. Coutts : that 

 during the fourteen or fifteen y^ears 

 of his being paymaster, he at various 

 times advanced various sums of 

 money on account of lord Melville 

 to Mr. Tweedy , and to other per- 

 sons, amounting to another sum of 

 about 22 or 23^0001- being the said 

 aggregate sum before-mentioned ; 

 that the sums paid to Mr. Tweedy 

 amounted once or twice to 3 or 

 40001. that of the said aggregate sum 

 of 22 or 23,0001. about one half 

 was advanced exclusively from the 

 public money ; the rest from the 

 mixed fund at Messrs. Coutts, where 



all 



