458 
United Kingdom; a ftrength of argument, 
and a power of eloquence, which threw the 
light of day upon dark, fecret, and criminal 
tranfaGtions. The final iffue of this trial 
now remains for another body. it is before 
one of the higheft of human tribunals; it is 
the Houfe of Lords which is to determins 
ultimately for the condemnation or acquittal’ 
of the perfon accufed. Be the final iffue 
what it may, you have done your duty. You 
have fatisfied the expeétations that the Houfe 
had formed of you, and you have deferved 
their approbation and their thanks. I am or- 
dered by the Houfe te communicate to you 
the approbation and thanks of the Houfe for 
! the faithful management of the truft repofed 
in you.” 
The public attention has beéa much 
excited by the following ftatement of Lord 
Henry Petty, on the 21f inftant, in the 
Houle of Commons. He rofe, he faid, 
in purfuance of a former notice, the 1m- 
mediate object of which was to remove 
the prefent commiffioders appointed for 
the examination of the public accounts, 
and to appoint new ones, with proper 
powers, for the better preventing frauds 
and abufes in the public expenditure in 
that quarter. ‘Tbe important duty of au- 
diting the public accounts was entrufted 
to two antient officers till the year 1785. 
Thele, like others of the fame deferip- 
tion, eftablifhed without any check, be- 
came of lefs ufe the more their duties 
‘were accumulating ; and thoie noble of- 
ficers, while they recolleéted they hada 
falary to receive, frequently forgot they 
had any duties to perform, or diicharged 
thofe duties only by deputies, without be- 
ing very fcrupulous in their choice, or . 
very attentive in exacting the difcharge of 
the duty. Inthis fate, things were grow- 
ing worfe and worte, till the vaft expen- 
diture during the American war painted 
- out the abfolute necefiity of examination, 
and led to that wholefome fpirit of eco- 
nomy which diftinguifhed the three fhort 
admiuiftrations that followed that war, as 
wel] as that alfo of the Right Hon. Gen- 
tleman who isnow no more. Though au- 
ditors, however, of the public accounts 
were appointed, it was left to each perfon 
to cheofe what auditor he thought proper 
for the examination of his account. ‘This 
was a fource pregnant with evil to the 
public, as the auditor who was leaft dif- 
pofed to du his duty was fere tobe mot 
employed, as giving leaft trouble to the 
perfons whofe accounts were to be au- 
dited. As an inftance of neglect in the 
army comptrollers, the noble Lord men- 
tioned the cafe of Mr. Trotter, the army 
elothier, through whole hands not lels 
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State of Public Afairs in May, 1806, 
[June 1, 
than 700,o00l. of the public money had 
paffed, without any check or controul, 
‘This Gentleman had engroffed to himtelf 
almoft every department; and, for audit- 
ing his accounts, made.a charge of iol, 
er cent. in addition to all his other pro- 
fits. The noble Lord then adverted to 
the commiffioners of accounts, who had 
alfo failed in that duty which the public 
had a right to expeét from them. There 
are at prefent 167 millions under exami- 
nation, 58 millions that no proceedings 
had been taken in for thefe 21 years, and 
120 millions of later accounts, befides 8o 
millions of navy'accounts, that no fteps 
had yet been taken to inveftigate ; mak-~ 
ing, in all, a fum of 455 millions of the 
public money yet unaccounted for, a great- 
er fum than the prefent amount of the 
national debt. He concluded by moving 
for leave to bring in a bill for previding 
for the more effetual examination of the 
public accounts, and the better preventing 
of frauds in the Welt Indies, 
In confequence of the ftrong oppofition 
of the iron mafters, the Government have 
abandoned the propofed duty on pig iron, 
and have fubftituted in its place,another 
on private brewing, which is not well re. 
ceived by the public, being confidered as 
an extenfien of the excife fyitem. In pro- 
pofing this new tax, Lord Henry Petty, 
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ftated 
that; from the quantity of malt made and 
the quantity confumed by public brewers, 
700,000 quarters muft be confumed yearly 
in private brewing, and this he thoughe 
might be taken, at the very leaft, at 
500,0001. a fum equal to the deficit made 
by throwing out the iron duty. It might 
be unpleafant for many families to have 
the excife officer to vifit their houfes, and 
take an account of the ales they brew. 
They fhould therefore have it in their op. 
tion to pay fo much a year, with their 
affefled taxes, on a fcale which he would 
fubmit to the Houfe. What the number 
of fuch families brewing their own beer 
might be, it would be impoffible accu- 
rately to ftate, but, on a rough caleula- 
tion, the number of the firft clafs, he 
thought, might amount to 120,000; of 
the fecond 50,000; of the third 136,000; 
and of the fourth 320,006. He therefore 
propofed as a duty on the confumption of 
theie who preferred having the quantity 
excifed, that sos. fhould be Jaid on every 
barrel of beer worth 15s. and on others 
of a different value in the fame propor- 
tion. 
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 
On the 18th of March, accounts wre 
TG. , ey | 
” 
