56] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



improper act. In tlie division on 

 Lord Castlereiigh's amendment 

 for proceeding to the orders of 

 the day, it was ciirried by a ma- 

 jority of 29, the numbers being 

 For the amendment, 159, Against 

 it, 130. 



The. effect of this discussion 

 was made apparent shortly after, 

 v.hen Sir G. H'anender informed 

 the House tliat he did not intend 

 to move, that tlie salaries of tlie 

 two secretaries of the Admiralty 

 should be voted ujion the war 

 establislmient. 



An attemj)t for the reduction 

 of the public expenses, by abo- 

 lishing a considerable state oilicc, 

 was made on April 3(1, in a mo- 

 tion by Mr, Ticrncij, relative to 

 tlie departments of the sccrelaries 

 of state. The hisloiy of this 

 matter was llius stated by the 

 right hon. member. Up to the 

 year 17(J^>, tlierc were only two 

 secretaries of state ; but on ac- 

 count of the situation of the 

 country, dui'ing the wai' with 

 America, a third was afto'wards 

 ndded. This appointment con- 

 tinued till 17F)C, when tjy Mr. 

 Burke's Ijiil the olfice of third se- 

 cretary was abolished ; and from 

 that time to 1/91, t!ic business 

 was ctinductcd by two secretaries 

 of state, under the name of se- 

 cretary for the foreign, and for the 

 home department. In 1791, Mr. 

 Dundas, then home secretary, 

 also canicd on the bnisiness of 

 what was then for the first time 

 Cfilled the war department ; but 

 this business so much accumu- 

 lated, that it was thought neces- 

 .sary to separate the two, and on 

 that occasion, the office of secre- 

 tary of state for the war dep'irt- 

 nicut was created. For about 



seven years longer, all business 

 connected with the colonies was 

 transacted by the secretary for 

 the home department, but in 

 l.SOl, it was transferred to the 

 office of the secretary of war. It 

 appeared, however, from one of 

 the pajiers on the table, that Mr. 

 King, one of ilie home secreta- 

 ries, had stated the business of 

 his oflice to be the carrying on of 

 all correspondence relative to 

 every part of the British empire, 

 with the excejjtion of the East 

 ladies, and also every domestic 

 matter, with the exception of the 

 revenue, and those afiairs which 

 were under the management of 

 liie Lord Chancellor. It thus 

 apjicaring (said Mr. T.) that tiic 

 third secrctarysiiip was created 

 in 1791, solely to transact the 

 business of the war, his conclu- 

 sion was, that as the war was at 

 an end, that (;ffice ought to be 

 abolished. He then proceeded to 

 the particulars of the charge at- 

 tending it, and calculated, that 

 the plan he proposed as a sidj- 

 ■slitute, would make a saving of 

 \'l or 11,0001. After recapitu- 

 lating ajid onhuging upon his 

 ^tatemcnt'^, he con<lut!e{l with 

 moving, " thai an address be jn'e- 

 .sentcd to the Prince Regent, 

 humbly piaying, that lie would 

 be jdeased to give directions, 

 that the division of the state 

 offices in 1791, by which, in ad- 

 dition to the secretaries of state 

 for the home and foreign depart- 

 ments, a secretary of state was 

 constituted for the war depart- 

 nicpit, be relived, and that the 

 departments cf the secretaries of 

 state be, now that peace is hap- 

 pily restoied, again placed, with 

 all ccnvenieiit disjjatchj upon the 



fuoting 



