450 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



sight. It was suggested by one of 

 the late marine clerks, that such 

 parts of the imprests as were not 

 received withinthe current month, 

 were never subsequently brought 

 to account ; but witli the ex- 

 ception of 1,000/. (drawn out 

 on 10th of July, 1799) there is 

 certainly no foundation for this 

 suspicion ; and it seems probable, 

 that the generality of the state- 

 ments of expenditure in the 

 monthly accounts, unaccompanied 

 as they necessarily were by any 

 vouchers, may have served as a 

 cover for large sums of money, 

 which in fact never may have 

 been applied to the public service. 

 Not deeming it essential to 

 pursue this part of the subject 

 further, your committee applied 

 themselves to ascertain what 

 steps had been taken on the dis- 

 covery of these deficiencies to 

 secure the public from loss ; and 

 they find that extents were issued 

 to the whole amount of the ac- 

 countant's property ; which how- 

 ever falls far short of the amount 

 for which Mr. G. Villiers appears 

 to be responsible to the public, 

 unless there should be articles 

 of discharge unknown to your 

 committee or to the Navy Office, 

 in the present unsettled state of 

 his accounts. 



The debt for which the extent 

 was issued is 2fi4-,507/. Hi- 6r/. 

 the value of the landed property 

 is estimated at 93,507/. 2s. 8d.— 

 There is also 21,619/. 10s. lOrf. 

 three per cent, consols, and the 

 security given on his first taking of 

 the office, which was for 10,000/. 

 The bond executed in 1792 is, 

 however, not foithcoming ; and 

 there is reason to think that no 

 bond was executed on his subse- 

 quent re-appoiatment in 1803 ; 



although it was made a condition 

 of his holding the office, that he 

 should give security in the sum of 

 10,000/., without reference to the 

 security taken in 1792. 



Your committee cannot avoid 

 observing upon it as an omission 

 of duty in the Board of Ad- 

 miralty, by whom he was re-ap- 

 pointed, not to have taken a 

 second bond ; and the loss of 

 the first, which remained in the 

 Admiralty, about the year 1806, 

 shows a culpable carelessness as 

 to the custody of such important 

 instruments. Securities ought to 

 be taken more frequently than 

 has hitherto been the usage, from 

 all officers in every department 

 who hold situations connected 

 with the recei[)t or expenditure 

 of public money ; and your com- 

 mittee recommend that regula- 

 tions should be established to that 

 efil'ct, under the directions of his 

 niajtsty in council or of the com- 

 missioners of the treasury. 



Large issues continued neces- 

 sarily to be made between the 

 end of 1804, and the time when' 

 the late pa3masler quitted his 

 office, amounting to 2,085,892/.; 

 but though this sum swells most; 

 considerably the biilance of money 

 to be accounted for, calculations 

 which have been formed in the 

 Navy office lead thnt board to 

 conjecture that the whole of it 

 has been applied to the service 

 for which it was impressed. 



Mofifi!/ paid on the Ro_i/al Marine 

 Service, between thejlrst iif Jan- 

 uary, 1 805, to the latest period 

 to iv.hich the same is made up. 



From Jan. the 1st 



to Dec. 31st £. s. d. 

 1805 .339,001 2 1| 



