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25th Geo. III. cap. 31, according to which he was in future to regulate his conduct, and which we now find he began instantly to violate, continuing in that violation during the whole of the long series of years that he afterwards remained in the office of Treasurer of the Navy, The act has frequently been quoted from, and the substance of its provisions have been stated; but, I think it best here to insert it entire ; or all that part of it at least which relates to the custody of the public money.

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treasury shall be drawn, shall be issued to the governor and company of the bank of England, in like manner as they have been heretofore issued to the treasurer of his Majesty's navy; and all such monies to be is sued to the governor and company of the bank of England, shall be placed on an account or accounts to be raised in the books of the governor and company of the said bank of England, and to be intituled, The Account of the Treasurer of his Majesty's Navy, inserting the name of such treasurer for the time being, for the pay branch, cashier's branch, and the victualling branch; and on receipt of all such monies at the exchequer, the treasurer of the navy shall immediately certify to the commissioners of the navy an account of the whole receipt, under the respective heads of service, and shall also certify to the commissioners of the victualling, and sick and hurt boards, the particular sums received, and applicable to those services respectively.

Il. And be it further enacted and declared, That no fees whatsoever shall be

reason of the transactions aforesaid, beyond the amount of what hath been usually paid upon imprests and accounts hitherto made, according to the former custom of transacting business between the exchequer, navy pay office, and bank, severally,

III. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nve, no money for the service of the navy shall be issued from his Majesty's exchequer to the treasurer of the navy, or shall be placed, or directed to be placed in his hands or pos session, but the same shall be issued and directed to be paid to the governor and company of the bank of England, and to be placed to the accounts above-mentioned, according to the services for which it is craved and issued.

poral, and commons, in this present parlia-paid at the exchequer or treasury for or by ment assembled, and by the authority of the same, That, from and after the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, the treasurer of his Majesty's navy for the time being, in all memorials to be by him presented to the treasury for money for navy services, shall pray that such sum as he requires may be issued to the governor and company of the bank of England on his account; and shall transmit with each memorial a copy of the letter or letters from the commissioners of the navy, victualling, and sick and hurt boards, directing him to apply for such sum or sums; in which letter or letters the said commissioners shall, and they are hereby required and directed to specify for what particular service or services the said money is wanted; and shall also state the balances then in the hands of the treasurer of the navy, under each head of service respectively; and the commissioners of his Majesty's treasury for the time being, by their letter from time to time, shall direct the auditor of the exchequer to issue, to the governor and company of the bank of England, on account of the treasurer of his Majesty's navy, naming such, treasurer for the time being, the sum for which such letter shall be drawn, upon the unsatisfied order at the exchequer in favour of the said treasurer, for which the receipt of the cashier or cashiers of the said governor and company shall be a sufficient discharge; and all sums for which letters of the commissioners of his Majesty's

IV. And be it enacted, That the treasurer of his Majesty's navy for the time being, by himself, or the person or persons in his office duly authorised by the said trea surer, from and after the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eightyfive, shall draw upon the governor and company of the bank of England for all na vy services whatever, and shall specify, in each and every draft, the head of service for which the same is drawn; and no draft of the said treasurer, or the person or persons authorised as aforesaid, 'shall be deemed a sufficient voucher to the said governor and company of the bank of England, unless the same specifies the head of service for

which it is drawn, and has been actually paid by the said governor and company of the bank of England.

V. Provided always, That the monies to be issued unto the governor and company of the bank of England, on account of the treasurer of his Majesty's navy, shall not be paid out of the bank, unless for navy setvices, and in pursuance of drafts to be drawn on the governor and company of the bank of England, and signed by the treasurer of his Majesty's havy for the time being, or the person or persons authorised as aforesaid; in which drafts shall be specified the heads of service to which the sums therein mentioned are to be applied; and which Grafts, so drawn, shall be sufficient authority to the bank to pay such money to the persons mentioned in such drafts, or to the bearer of them."

When the reader has perused this act with attention, which I beseech him to do, will he believe it possible, that its intention could have been misunderstand by Mr. Dundas? Mr. Dundas, the person who framed it; the person who was to execute it; the person, who side by side with Mr. Pitt, was pushing on to power, by the means of professions of an earnest desire to promote economy in the expenditure of the public money The Treasurer's act, observe by the preamble, was founded upon the report of the Commissioners of Accounts; that report recommended regulations in the Navy Treasurer's Office similar to those adopted in the Army Paymaster's office; and, by comparing the two acts it will be found, that, with the exception of names and of circumstances as to which the two offices totally differed, the words are exactly the same. One act was, in truth, copied from the other; and, therefore, the conduct of the Army Paymasters, invariably pursued since the pay-office bill was passed, is the strongest possible proof, that Mr. Dundas could not have misunderstood the intention of the act for the regulation of his office of Treasurer of the Navy. Lord Harrowby went from the PayOffice to that of Treasurer of the Navy; and, upon his oath, he tells the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry, that, finding a practice prevailing in his new office, which did not prevail in his old office, and knowing the legal regulations to be the same, he was led to institute an inquiry into the cause of this difference in the practice of the two offices. He says that sickness prevented him from completing his inquiry; but, that he had heard nothing that convinced him, that the practice of Mr. Trotter was at all necessary or useful. Some people think, that his lord

ship should have been more prompt in putting a stop to such a daring violation of the law; and there are those who wonder why Mr. Bragge did not sooner profit from Lord Harrowby's inquiry, especially as his lordship had had from June, 1800, to November, 1801, to complete that inquiry; after such a space of time taken up in inquiry, one might' have expected his lordship to inform his suecessor, Mr. Bragge, of the result; and, though he might forget so to do, one might have expected Mr. Bragge (a lawyer, be it remembered) to find out the true intent and meaning of the law, under which he was acting upon his responsibility; one might, surely have expected Mr. Bragge to find out the meaning of this law in a shorter space of time than from November, 1801 to the Simmer of 1802! That neither Lord Harowby nor Mr. Bragge shared, either directly or indirectly, in Trotter's profits, is evident; but, one cannot help lamenting, that they should, from any considerations whatever, have, for so long a time, permitted the law to be grossly violated by their Deputy; and, still more is one constrained to lament, that Mr. Bragge, even after he put a stop to the violation of the law, did not dismiss the person, by whom that violation had been committed. In short (and it is a fact to be kept constantly in mind), though we see two Treasurers succeed Mr. Dundas; though we hear that one of them instituted an inquiry, and that both of them disapproved of Mr. Trotter's practices, we find. that his practices were never really put a stop to 'till the Summer of 1802; that is to say, 'till Lord Sr. VINCENT resolved upon instituting that Commission of Inquiry which has brought all these matters to light.

-But, to return to Lord Melville: after what has been said, will any one believe it possible that that person could misunderstand the intention of the act of the 25th of the King Will any one believe that Mr. Pitt, Mr. Canning and the Master of the Rolls could think that he had misunderstood its intention? The censured lord has been represented as a person so deeply engaged in matters of higher moment, that he might probably have forgotten all about the Treasurership of the Navy; and, it has been endeavoured to hold up Trotter as an artful knave, who had taken advantage of his patron's misplaced confidence. It is certain, that to be at once President of the Board of Control, that is to say, very nearly the sovereign of India; War Secretary of State; and Treasurer of the Navy: it is very certain, that, to fill all these offices at one and the same time is what never would have been attempted by any man but a Dundas or a

Pitt. It was impossible that the duties of them all could be, in a proper manner, discharged by any man upon earth; or, if they could, the offices themselves were of too little importance to have such salaries attached to them. But, what did Mr. Dundas himself say upon this subject, when, in 1797, Mr. Tierney bought forward a set of reso u tions describing the several offices and sources of emolument enjoyed by this Briarean statesma: Upoa that occasion Mr. Dundas said, that with regard to the office of Trea

honour. Mr, Pitt, in the debate just quoted from, was followed by Mr. Wilberforce, who strongly censured the conduct of Mr. Tierney, and who insisted, that, as to Mr. Dundas, "there never was more attentión,

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surer of the Navy, it had been considered by some as a sinecure; but, it had not « been so to him. He had attended a great

deal to the interest of those whom it was "his business to pay-the sailors and those "relatives who were to receive their wages; "and that, although the bill he brought

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into parliament was a short one, yet the "attention he gave to the subject was very "laborious. He spoke handsomely of all "the gentlemen in the offices under his di"rection', not a word about Jellicoe, or Mr. -- who defrauded the Treasurer's office] for their talents and diligence. "He confessed, however, that he could give the House no encouragement to expect any reduction of the public expendi"ture of his offices: for, he knew not of one single point, in which, consistently "with the due discharge of official duty, "there could be any retrenchment. He 66 must decline saying any thing of his own "talents; but, he could safely lay bis hand << upon his heart, and declare, that, in no one "instance was he conscious of having ne"glected his public duty." This laying the hand upon the heart is now worn out. Pitt followed, of course; and he said, that the "labours of his right honourable friend, "in the public service, would be adequately "estimated only by posterity, after the peru. "slot the documents which would be left be"hind him! Gracious Heaven! how careful a man ought to be of what he says! "What documents trow?" Ab! cruel, cruel Lord Melville! to burn all those precious documents for mere pastime at " Mel"ville Castie," and to leave posterity nothing but the few scraps that are to be traced in the Tenth Report! Posterity may, indeed, find the noble name of Dondas inscribed in Mr. Trotter's accounts; and, it has been suggested, that certain select passages from the Tenth Report should be engraven on that statue, which the people of Edinburgh have voted, and have, probably, begun to erect, to the memory of this bosom friend and inseparable associate of him, to whom the wiseacres of London did intend to do a similar

diligence, and assiduity in any office, than "in that over which that right hon. gem. "presided. Indeed, he thought him a 63 mo lel for imitation. It was, there"fore, not without indignation that he "listened to the insinuations thrown out "against ministers on this occasion." Scrop? Bernard and some others, of that stamp, spoke in the same strain; and, Mr. Tierney, after a reply, in which he did not spare them, saw his motion rejected without a division. Thus it was, that, for twenty years, they proceeded. They rose by professions of reform and economy; and after they hid obtained safe possession of power, they, in the manuck above de cribed, stifled every inquity into their conduct; till, furtonately for the country, Lord St. Vincent resolved to institute the Board of Commissiores. Wilberforce and Scrope Bernard knew, as well as Mr. Tierney, that Mr. · Dundas held three great offices; and, they ought to have known, that he could not discharge the du ties of them. Mr. Wilberforce mou, per haps, begins to think that his • indignation” at an attempt to institute an inquiry into the matter was not altogether proper. He must begin to find that he was deceived; that he was misled; that he was matie en instrument to shelter abuses and corruption; his conduct on Monday night evinces pretty clearly that he has now discovered his error.

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--What I have had in view, in this reference to the debate of 15th December, 1797, is. to show the fallacy of that notion, which the endless tribe of the Dundasses and their followers are now endeavouring to propagate; to wit; that all the fault was Trotter's; that bonest Harry Dundus "knew nothing of the matter;" and, in fact, that bonest Harry hardly knew that he was treasurer of the navy. We find that it was quite the contrary. That he was all vigilance and activity: all life and soul: “ all 66 eye, all ear."--But, we are not yet come to the close of the history of the act of parliament, which has been so gros-ly vro lated. That act was not a mere official arrangement, introduced by Mr. Dundas, and left to his interpretation, as it has been endeavoured, to be represented. The general topic, in which that of this act was included, was thought to be of importance enough to make a prominent feature in the speech from the throne. The King told the parliament, that he "trusted they would take

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geted in the reports of the Commissioners of Pabic decounts, and such further regu"lations as might appear to be necessary in the different offices of the kingdom." To which the Commons made the following answer : "That we are deeply sensible of your Majesty's pate.nal goodness and cate of your people, in recommending to us, at the same time, a just rega d to the economy requisite in every department; a doty which your Majesty's faithful Commons feel always incumbent upon

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them, and, at this time, peculiarly indispensa "ble That we shall also proceed, with as much expedition as possible, to the "consideration of the reports of the Commissioners of Accounts, as well as of "such further regulations in the different "offices of the kingdom, as may appear likely to conduce to the public advan"tage." It was not, then, a trifling matter.. On the contrary, it was brought forward abus prominently as a powerful means of gaining popularity and insuring the possession of place and emolument. When the billwas introduced there was no debate; nor was there any debate in any of the stages of the bill; but, in a committee of the whole House on that part of His Ma.. jesty's speech relating to the reports of the >>Commissioners of Accounts, Mr. Pit described the intention of the ministry, and of Mr. Dundas in particular, as to the new regulations about to be introduced into the Office of the Treasurer of the Navy. He began by a high commendation of the Commissioners of Accounts, and besought the legislature to make haste to profit from the valuable lights derived from their reports. Proceeding then to the point in question he said: "I have the happiness to say, that "my right honourable friend, the present "Treasurer of the Navy, has, in conse

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quence of the report of the Commissioners on "bis particular office, taken the whole of "the practice and of their suggestions into "his most able consideration; and, he has, "after much inquiry and deliberate con“sultation, formed a plan which promises "to be, effectual. It seems, in his eyes, "to have all the ends in view which the "Commissioners recommend, and which this "House must be eager to pass. It tends to * keep dogun balances in the hands of the "Treasurer of the Navy for the time being.....The plan is framed upon the "suggestion of the Commissioners." [I beseech the reader to look back at these suggestions. "We shall have to simplify the manner of keeping the accounts, and

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shill draw. by imprest, and shall have "personally to account to the Exchequer. "In addition to these means and to reduce "the balances in the hands of the Treasurer of the Navy for the time being, the mo

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ney is, in future, to be placed in the "custody of the Bank of England as is now "the custom with the army expenditure."

Now let any one look at the Pay Office Actinserted above; let him recollect. not only what has been since, but what was at the time, the invariable practice of the Pay Office, with regard to the custody of the public money; let him recollect what were the objects that the Commissioners of Accounts bad in view, and what were their suggestions as to the accomplishing of those objects; and then let him believe, if he can, for oe single moment, that Mr. Dundas could misunderstand, or that Mr. Pitt thinks he could have misunderstood, the intention of the act, which the Commons have now declared him to have grossly violated. What, then, are we to think of the attempt to soften down, to frister away, to destroy, in fact, the censure finally passed by that assembly, by substituting the words

contrary to the intention of the law," in lieu of a grass violation of the law?"Thus have we before us all the links of this chain of facts and circumstances. First the people, groaning under the accumulated burdens heaped on them by a lavish expenditure, petition the parliament to retrench that expenditure; secondly, we find the House of Commons appointing commissioners to inquire into the means of effecting such retrenchment; thirdly, we see the House of Commons passing a resolution that the treasurer of the navy and the paymaster of the forces should be suffered to derive no profit from the use or interest of the public money; next, the salaries of those officers are greatly augmented by a warrant of His Majesty, in order to compensate them for the loss of what they formerly made by such use or interest; then comes the act regulating the office of the Paymaster of the forces, which act has been duly executed from the moment it was in force to the present time; after this we find a recommendation of the Commissioners of Accounts recommending a similar act for

the regulation of the Office of Treasurer of the Navy; to give this recommendation the greater weight, and to satisfy the people, that his majesty and his ministers were sincerely solicitous to guard the public treasure from being misapplied, the King, in his speech from the throne, calls the attention of the Commons to the subject; the Commons, in a committee of the whole House, take the matter into their serious consideration, the minister clearly describes the intention of the bill about to be submitted, the bill is submitted by the person who is immediately to put it into execution, and, after all this, that very person begins to act, and for sixteen years continues to act, exactly contrary to the intention thus solemnly promulgated. And, when the daring violator of the law is at last detected; when a motion of censure on him is proposed in that same assembly, where, with professions of superior purity and of disinterested zeal for the public service, he first stood forward with the draft of that law, then is an attempt made to give to the sense of the House such an expression as to induce the world to believe, that he has disobeyed the law merely because he did not understand its intentian! To this dilemma, however, are those who take this ground reduced, and this is the point to which I wish to rivet the attention of the reader: either the intention of the law and of its framer was such as it was described by Mr. Pitt in the speech above quoted, or it was not. If the former, then has the law been wilfully as well as grossly violated: if the latter, then was the law intended to deceive the people, the parliament, and the king, and, under the garb of reform, to carry on the work of corruption. Which of these Lord Melville and his friend may choose, is, to me, and, I believe, to the public in general, a matter of perfect indifference; but, one of the two it is impossible for them to avoid. I cannot dismiss this part of the subject without an endeavour to direct the attention of the reader, for one moment, towards the general conduct of Messrs. Pitt and Dundas, at the time when this law was passed. We all recollect, that reform, the name of the reform, was the ladder by means of which they attained the summit of -political rank and power. Yet, observe, how different was their conduct from that of their opponents! It was during the short administration of Lord Rockingham, and while Mr. Fox was Secretary of State, that the resolution of the 18th of June, 1782, was passed. It was during the short administration of the Duke of Portland, Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, &c. that the Pay Office

Act was passed; that act from which Mr. Dundas copied the Navy Treasurership Act. Mr. Burke, immediately began to put the former act in execution, and thereby effected a real reform, and set an example of integrity and obedience to the law, which example has, in the Paymaster's office, been variably followed to the present day. Mr. Dundas copied the act, but he took good care not to copy the conduct of the celebrated framer. He took good care never to put the act in execution. That was not wanted. The act had answered its purpose when it bad furnished the occasion for making professions, and had thereby gained an addition of popularity. The violation of this law has been gross, it has been daring, shameful, scandalous; but, insulting and injurious as it has been to the people of this country, and deadly as is the wound which it is cal culated to give to the government itself, still it is not a thousandth part so hateful as the hypocricy with which it has all along been accompanied. It not only came forth in the guise of reform; but the day, on which its approach was first announced, was chosen for the making of a solemn profession of political purity; principles of more than Spartan severity were proclaimed; a general denunciation against defaulters and peculators of every description, and down to a size the most minute, was made; places granted even by patent from the Crown were declared not to be sheltered from the curtailing and suppressive power of parliament. And here I cannot refrain from quoting the remark, made at the time by Mr. Fox, upon this last mentioned effusion of remorseless virtue. "I know perfectly "well," said he, "that it always has been, "and always will be unpopular for any man "to hold an opinion such as Ihold, and as "I ever will avow upon this subject; but, "in spite of the unpopularity that will at "tend such a declaration, I scruple not to 66 say, that I will never on any account give 66 my consent to touch any part of the "emoluments deriveable under a grant from "the Crown." Here we have the characters of the two men in epitome. Mr. Fox has been thought indiscreet for pursuing a line of public conduct so widely different from that of his antagonist; but, in contests for political fame it is the same as in contests in areas: those who are victors at the end of the war justly claim the superiority. Mr. Pitt chose popularity for the pe destal of his ambition; it is always" a "weak foundation, slippery and unsure but he chose the very worst sort of it; he

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