STATE PAPERS. 



359 



under sheriff of two guineas^ if 

 the reward is paid within a month. 

 Your committee ha^'e leason to 

 believe that even larger demands 

 tliun these aie made in the nature 

 of fees, and that for the prompt 

 payment t!ie under sheriflf charges 

 for the four weeks' advance of the 

 money above si\ty per cent. Your 

 committee have inquired as to the 

 practice which talves place in the 

 metropolis and the county of Mid- 

 dlesex upon this subject. The Re- 

 corder, Sir John Syh ester, distri- 

 butes the rewards, and appoitions 

 them according to the merits of 

 their respective claimants. They 

 examined Mr. 'I'homas Watson, 

 the clerk to the Recorder, who has 

 told them tli:\t prior to receiving 

 that situation, he had learnt from 

 the clerk to Mr. Sergeant Adair, 

 that in his time, as well as in that 

 of Sergeant Glynn's there was con- 

 siderable emolument arising from 

 the ])ayaieMt of the lewards ; that 

 he took that situation witlicut 

 having any thing mentioned by 

 the Recoi der t oiicerning these re- 

 wards ; but that making an a])pli- 

 cation to another person, he re- 

 ceived the inform. ation that there 

 was eig'nteen-pence in the pound 

 to be asked for, for the sheiiff, 

 and a compliment to hnnself for 

 his tiouble. In respect to that 

 compliment, it is sometimes moie 

 and sometimes less ; but the wit- 

 ness stated, he was |)erfectly sa- 

 tisfied with what wasgiven to him, 

 even under th.e supposition that he 

 was to pay one shilling and six- 

 pence in the poimd over to ttie 

 under slieriif; Ujjon taking the 

 money to the under sheriff, tliat 

 officer took six -pence in the 

 ))(iund, and returned tl)e witness 

 one sliillinu;. Vourconunittec un- 



derstand, the propriety of taking 

 this poundage money lests upon 

 custom, and that this witness re- 

 ceived no more than his prede- 

 cessor. The witness delivered in 

 a paper, which purports to be an 

 account of the rewards which have 

 been paid eyer\ sessions, from the 

 month of February, 1813, to Fe- 

 bruary, IS 17, and which amount 

 to 11,410/.; so [hat this witness 

 has received the sum of 550/ , out 

 of which he has paid the stamps, 

 which aie due upon the receipts 

 that are taken from the ditferent 

 persons who receive their sliaie of 

 the rewards. The commiitee fet-l 

 it but just to the Recoider to de- 

 clare, that the witness denies that 

 he is at all privy to this inegida- 

 rity, or that he ever had any con- 

 versation with him on the subject. 

 The Recoi der was shown the evi- 

 dence which was given by his 

 clerk, and denieil being acquaint<'(i 

 with any ])art of the transaction 

 which is there detailed ; he had 

 however heard, that the under 

 sherifl' claimed a fee as well as Lis 

 own clerk, yet he gives him a 

 larger salary than his predecessors 

 ever did, uitlunit having any con- 

 sideration whatever to his obtain- 

 ing gratuities or fees, or emolu- 

 ments of any sort. Your coin- 

 nnttee wish generally to observe, 

 that this practice of t iking pound- 

 age money on these rewards, or 

 deducting, imder any p;etL>nce, 

 any portion of them, in the nature 

 of fees and gratuities, is higMy 

 irregular. The acts of Parliament 

 are piisitive upon this subject ; 

 and though it is but fit that the 

 money for tiie stamps slunild be 

 deducted from t!ie portion of the 

 reward which is ]jaitl, and that if 

 [rronipt payment is deuiunded, the 



person 



