years, the cashier tranfmits to the auditor his account current, con. taining a complete state of the three years receipts and payments. To verify the charge, which confifts of iffues from the exchequer, he produces the impreft certificates. In the discharge the first article is, the charges of management paid to the South Sea company: the auditor allows it, upon the authority of a dormant warrant from the treafury, dated the 29th of November 1752; which directs the cafhier to retain, from time to time, out of the money to be imprefted to him, a fum therein mentioned, for the ufe of the South Sea company, and authorifes the auditor to allow it. The treasury direct this allowance purfuant to the powers vested in them by the act of the 24th of George II. chap. 2. which created thefe annuities, to difcharge the incident expences attending the execution of this act; and to appoint fuch allowance as they fhall think just and reasonable, for receiving, paying, and accounting for the annuities. This allowance to the South Sea company is 1891. 15s. 6d. a year; which, upon 1,919,60cl. the fum now remaining of the 2,100,000l. the original capital of the annuities of the year 1751, is at the rate allowed to the bank, of 5621. 10s. per million. The total fum allowed for management of this account is 32391. 6s. 6d.: the total fum paid for dividends, is the amount of the paid lifts, which have been examined with the war rants by the auditor. This total is the fame both in the official and account current; but the articles of which it is made up, are differently compounded; the auditor's articles are the total fums paid, during the period of the account, upon each feparate dividend; the cashier's, are the fums paid by him

during each half year, and therefore include the arrears of former

dividends, as well as the payments on the dividends of each half year. The total fum in this account, paid for dividends is 171,7861. 9s. 11d. The remaining article in the dif charge is the fum paid for fees and charges at the feveral offices: to obtain this allowance, the cashier prefents a memorial to the treasury, with a fchedule of thefe fees and charges annexed, praying a warrant to the auditors of the impreft, authorifing them to allow him fuch payments: this memorial is referred to the auditors, for their confideration and report. The auditors in their report, range the articles under two claffes; the one confisting of articles that relate to the latt declared account, the other articles that relate to the account depending; which, they fay, are in proportion to what have been ufually allowed in preceding accounts of this fervice. Upon this report, the treafury direct the auditors to give allowance to them; and the fum thus allowed him in the account depending is iffued afterwards to the cafhier, from the exchequer, upon account, and therefore inferted as an article in the charge in his next fucceeding account. The total fum under this head, in the account before us, is 9841. s. 4d.; and the balance remaining in the hands of the South Sea company is 11,6181. 15s. 7d. The account current is figned by the cafhier, and fworn to by him before a baron of the exchequer. Thefe of the year 1751 are the only annuities transferable at the South Sea houfe, of which an account is rendered at the exchequer. The other ftocks, namely, the South Sea ftock, and the old and new annuities, are attended with annuities not fubject to account.

The act that granted these of the year 1751, exprefly directs the monies for the payment of them to be iffued by way of impreft, and upon account: the acts that created the others do not give the like direction; but for the charges of their management the public pay an an nual fum to the company.

Thefe, now three distinct funds, originally constituted one capital only, under the appellation of the South Sea ftock. The company was erected by the act of the 9th of queen Anne, chap. 21. in the year 1710 it confifted of the proprietors of public debts, to the amount of 9,177,9671. 158. 4d. which fum formed the firft capital ftock of the South Sea company. This act directs, that the fum thereby appropriated to answer the anquity to the South Sea company, fhould be iffued and paid out of the receipt of the exchequer, without fee or charge; and for the charges of management of that capital it directs 8000l. a year to be paid to the cafhier, for the ufe of the company, out of the funds therein mentioned: additions were made from time to time to this capital by various acts of parliament, and fome of then gave an increafe to the allow ance for the charges of manage

ment.

In the year 1720 the bank, purfuant to the powers given in the act of the 7th of George I. chap. 5. purchased of the South Sea company 4,000,000 of their capital, which was ingrafted into the bank ftock; and with it they took, for their own benefit 18981. 35. d. a year (the fum before mentioned) as part of, and being the proportionable fhare of, the fum then allowed by the legislature to the South Sea company, for the charges of management of their whole ca

pital; and this fum has been fince iffued every year to the bank, as a compenfation for that service.

In the year 1722, by the act of the 9th of George I. chap. 6. the whole capital flock of the South Sea company was divided into two equal parts; and one moiety, amounting to 16,901,2411. 175. old. was feparated from the capital, and converted into one joint stock, and named the joint flock of South Sea annuities, with an annuity attending it of 51. per cent. payable out of the funds of the company, in lieu of all other profits and advantages accruing from or belonging to the capital stock. This annuity was continued to be iffued from the exchequer to the company, but in truft for the proprietors of the new created stock.

In the year 1732, by the act of the 6th of George II. chap. 28. three fourth parts of the remaining capital of this company, amounting to 10,988,3271. 11s. old. was in like manner, feparated from it, and converted into a new stock, ca led the new joint stock of South Sea annuities, with an annuity of 41. per cent. attending it, payable out of the fame funds, and to be iffued from the exchequer to the company, in truft for the proprie. tors of this new stock; but thefe fcparations from the capital stock occafioned no alteration in the charges of management; the payment of the fame fum was continued to the company, and remains at this day, except as far as it has been dimi nithed, in proportion to the dimi nution of the feveral capitals by redemption. The prefent allowance is 14,0221. 39. zd. a year upon the old aggregate capital of 24,065,0841. 138. 11d. compre hending the total of the three ca pitals above mentioned: this al

łowance

trufted by the legislature to fettle the quantum of the compenfation best know how clofely the intereft and credit of the nation are connected with thofe of the companies, how frequently they ftand in need of each other's affiftance, and what intercourfe is neceffary between them, and, confequently, in making their bargains with the companies, can take into their confideration every circumftance, and preferve an even balance between them and the flate.

The other branch of annual expence, incidental to the public debt, is the fees and other charges paid at the public offices upon the iffue, and for auditing and paffing the accounts of thefe annuities : the total of them for the two years, ending the 5th of July 1779, as stated in the bank memorials above alluded to, and confirmed by the report of the auditors of the impret, is 22,8131. 16s. 6d. of which 21,6931. was paid to the auditors of the impreft; the remainder, being 11201. 16s. 6d. to the other offices. Should the fubftitution of falaries in the place of fees and perquifites, in thefe offices, become the fubject of confideration, the reasonablenefs and propriety of the fees enumerated in thefe accounts will come under the difcution of thofe perfons to whom the power fhall be intrufted of fettling the quantum of the equivalent; but the fun paid to the auditors of the impreft fo far exceeds the reft, as to require our immediate attention. This payment is grounded upon a warrant of the lord high treafurer Godolphin, dated the 4th of July 1704, a copy of which was tranf. mitted to us by the auditors of the impreft. This warrant confirms the report of Henry Boyle, efq. chancellor and under-treafurer of the

exchequer, and William Lowndes, efq. fecretary to the treasury, concerning allowances to be made to the auditors of the impreft on patling accounts; in which report there is this article" Lottery penfions. For every year's account of the payment of the lottery penfions, commonly called the Million Lottery, hereafter to be declared, the fum of 100l. and in that proportion as aforefaid, during the continuance of the faid penfions.' These lottery penfions were annuities granted in the year 1694, by the act of the 5th of William and Mary, chapter the 7th, for raising 1,000,000: they were for fixteen years, at the rate of 141. per cent. An officer was appointed for the payment of them at the exchequer, who was to pafs his accounts before the auditors of the impreft. 100l. being thus allowed for auditing the annual account of these annuities, amounting to 140,000l. a year, purchased with 1,000,000, the annual allowance to the auditors has ever fince been calculated at the rate of 100l. per million on the capital. Hence this payment has kept an even pace with the public debt: it amounted, upon the bank accounts for the year 1781, as appears by an account of them procured from the bank, to 14,8331. 75. 4d. and will amount this year, and continue for every fucceeding year, if no alteration is made in the annuities, to 19,6821. 35. 8d.

The bufinefs for which this fum is intended to be the compenfation, is the examination of the dividend and other warrants; comparing them with their correfpondent entries in the lifts; cafting up the items; reducing the account into the official form; and ingroffing it.

It is true, in general, that where money is iffued from the exchequer,

to

to be applied to certain public purposes, an account fhould be paffed of that money, that the public may know and be fatisfied as to the application; but circumftances may create exceptions to this, as well as to every other general rule: the truft may be fo well guarded by the mode of execution, as to render a mifapplication or abufe hardly practicable; or the expence of taking the account may be to heavy, as to outweigh every pollible advantage to be derived from it.

A fum equal to a half year's annuity is iffued from the exche quer to the bank, to be divided among the proprietors of that an. nuity, in proportion to the intereft of each in the capital, the making this divifion is the truft which the

bank engage to execute: the manner in which they execute it, we learn from the information of Mr. William Edwards, deputy accountant of the bank.

When the transfer books of any annuity are fhut, for the payment of the dividend, the fhare of every proprietor in the capital ftock is extracted from his account in the ledger, and fet oppofite to his name; a dividend warrant is filled up for each proprietor, with his fhare in the capital, and annuity attending it a dividend book is formed, comprehending the name of every proprietor, the folio of his account in the ledger, his fhare in the capital and annuity, and the number of his warrant: a duplicate is made of this dividend book: the original, duplicate, and warrants are all compared together: that the warrants may be correct, and correfpond with the dividend books, they undergo various formalities and examinations by different clerks; and, after being figned by the proper officer, they are de1786.

pofited in the office where the annuity is tranfacted, until the proprietors apply for payment. The perfon receiving it figns the dividend book, oppofite the name of the proprietor, and the receipt at the bottom of the warrant, which is witnefied by the clerk who delivers it. The teller pays it, enters it in his book, and cancels it; after which it is entered in a cash book in the dividend warrant office, and in the check ledger in the check office; where all the paid warrants are ranged in numerical order, and the total of them compared with the total of the unpaid lift made out at the annuity office: from thence they are tranfmitted to the auditor of the impreft.

This tranfaction is fimple;-the divifion of a certain fum among a number of perfons, in proportion to their interefts. Many perfons are employed in this divifion; and it feems well fenced against fraud or error. The company can mifapply no part of this money, for the whole annuity is diftributed in the dividend warrants; and the entries of the fhares in the dividend books, which are tranfcribed into the warrants, are caft up to fee that they comprehend the whole. Whatever abufe or error may be committed, muft immediately affect the proprietor; as by forging a receipt, or obtaining it from him by fraud, or refuting him payment, or by au erroneous calculation of his fhare; but against these the auditor's examination is no fecurity: the injured proprietor must apply to the company for relief; and, if refufed, he has his legal remedy. These circumstances cannot come before the auditor: all he requires is a formal receipt for every payment; and he allows it to the company without further enquiry: bis bufi(K)

nefs