WISTORY OF EUROPE 
from the junior members of his 
poard;) to undertake this investiga- 
tion himself; and that the infirmities 
induced by great age, as well as the 
consequences of a most afflicting 
infirmity, to which this great officer 
avas subject, rendered him unequal 
to the task of going through more, 
than the ministerial and political 
functions of his high office. He there- 
fore most probably wished fer a 
commission of this sort, as much 
for the purpose of lightening 
the burthensome part of his duty ; 
as for that of his own future excul- 
pation,should any inquiry ever occur, 
respecting his administration of the 
naval affairs of Great Britain. Be 
the motives however what they 
might, the means were completely 
abortive i in themselves, and produ- 
ced no small share of odium to both 
Mr. Addington and the earl St. 
Vincent, as statesmen and as indi- 
viduals, in their consequences.— 
Such were the objections prima 
facie to the naval commission bill. 
And here before we dismiss the 
subject, probably for ever, 1t may 
be necessary to consider whether in 
the result, it appeared that they 
were well founded, or the contrary. 
For this purpose we shall anticipate 
a little in order of time, and from 
such of their proceedings as occur- 
red within the year, collect all that 
appears necessary to lay before our 
readers for that purpose 
In the reports of this new com- 
mission, generally speaking, there 
were not to be found any detail ot 
abuses, which had not previously 
been adverted to by the navy board ; 
and the defaulters or delinquents 
had either actually been punished, 
or were undergoing a judicial inves- 
_ figation of their conduct at that 
63 
moment, and sect on foot for that 
purpose. Some regulations indeed 
were recommended,which could and 
certainly ought to have originated 
with the admiralty board itself: 
but even in these, the leading fea- 
tures of their deliberative opera- 
tions, bore the marks of hurry and 
precipitation, and of anxious eager- 
ness to deteriorate, and affix blame 
on existing establishments. ‘This 
was more immediately apparent in 
their reporton thecharity, known by 
the name of the Chest of Chatham ; 
as in order to remove that fund to 
Greenwich, a great degree of unme- 
rited censure was thrown on the 
officers, in whose administration and 
custody it was placed: the more 
unmerited, because it was notorious, 
that in no one instance of a public 
institution, have the accounts and 
property of the nation been con- 
ducted and managed with such true 
economy, as well as such disin- 
terested honesty: and because, had 
the commissioners called for the 
necessary documents, and examined 
those officers themselves ; which in 
the ordinary course of conducting 
business of such a nature as they 
were employed upon, was indispen- 
sibly requisite, but which most un- 
accountably was neglected by them; 
they would have found, and they 
would have done but a common act 
of justice in stating it to the public, 
that the estates belonging to this 
fund had been augmented consider- 
ably in their value, instead of re- 
maining stationary; which is most 
erroneously atiirmed by themin their 
report on this subject to be the case! 
It would be wholly unnecessary to 
dwell longer on these reports: we 
have endeavoured toshewthespiritin 
which this commission set out, and 
the 
