" verdict-for they were locked up three "hours before they agreed upon it. They gave a verdict of 13001. for thirty acres "one rood, &c. on which the military "works stood. But he would ask, if "there was a single word in the verdict "that prevented him from living in the "house or pulling it down, if he thought "proper and a surveyor had valued "the house at 10,000 pounds, which would "produce 4001. a-year. Was there any "thing that prevented him from letting "the house to the Speaker of the House of "Commons, to Government, or to any one "else? The thirty acres for the military works, had nothing whatever to do with "the Barrack Office agreement as to the "house and twenty acres. The furniture "for such a house was worth a good round Le sum. This estate was worth above pensation from Government that Lord "Essex received from private individuals. "The noble lord over the way (Howick) " ́had said, that he was unfit to sit on the "Committee of Finance, on account of "the facts that were stated in the Report. "This was certainly premature decision. "The Military Committee themselves had "said that no imputation rested on him. They only said that the Barrack Board had made a negligent bargain for the "public; at all events he would not be a "moment longer in possession of this lease, "and he intreated of his Majesty's Minis"ters to have a fresh Jury intpannelled. "He wished to justify himself, and would "answer any questions that should be put "to him, either at the Bar of the House, in his place, or in a Court of Justice. "As he had spoken from memory, some "subordinate points might not be accurately "stated, but the substance was correct. ' "He concluded by moving for the produc tion of a Memorial which he had given "in, to the Commissioners of Military Inquiry."It is very easy to cry calumny, when a man is accused; but, amongst the anonymous assailants Sir Henry Mildmay cannot, at any rate, include me, who have never in my whole life written and published any thing, except my first pamphlets in America, to which I have not put my name. I should have been glad to find (and I say this with perfect sincerity) in the speech of Sir Henry Mildmay a complete justification; because Lis conduct in Hampshire at the first election, and particularly his bringing forward the petition against the interference of the late ministry, was such as to merit great praise. There is also one circumstance brought out in his speech, which weighs in his favour, namely, that the bill, freeing him from the obligation of residence, did not, in its effect, extend further than the term for which the lands were let to the public. But, I must confess, that this is the only favourable new circumstance that I can perceive.As to the report of the Commissioners of Military inquiry, from what I have seen of other reports, I am disposed always to form my judgement upon the documents on which they are founded; and, that Sir Henry Mildmay may be convinced, that I wish the public to receive, or, at least, to retain, no unjust impression against him, I shall insert the documents here, relative to the Moulsham contract.-The first document has no date. It is a something of Sir J. Craig, calling upon two Justices of the peace to apply to the Sheriff to impannel a jury to decide on the compensation which Sir Henry Mildmay was to receive. Now we come to dates. Several months before this jury was called, namely on the 15th of May, 1804, (having, without waiting for the steps required by the law voluntarily given up the land to the commarding officer), Sir H. Mildmay writes to the Quarter Master General, Brownrigg, offering him to let his house, his place of residence, which stood near the ground, occupied by the works, for £400 a year, an act of parliament having previously passed to free him from the obligation of residence. Upon this, Mr. Brownrigg writes to the Secretary at War, by order (no; by command; that is the word) of the Duke of York, to take the House upon lease. On the 24th of May a surveyor reports, that £400 a year is a fair price for the House, but that it will require £250 to put it in repair, though in the evidence of Sir Henry Mildmay, he states that he looked upon it as being in perfect repair. On the 11th of June the Secretary at war writes to the then Barrack-Master, General Delancy, stating that Sir Henry Mildmay agrees to give up £200 towards repairs. Thus, then, the bargain was concluded in the month of June, 1804, aud then Sir Henry knew, that he was to receive £400 a year for the rent of his house and pleasure grounds surrounding it. It was after this, on the 6th of August, 1804, that the Jury met, with two canasel on the part of Sir Henry Mildmay and no counsel or advocate on the part of the public; and they awarded him 1,300 a year for the first year and £600 for each succeeding year, for the use of 31 acres of ground, occupied by the military works, taking into consideration that the works had destroyed his place of residence, This award seems enormous ; for the land must be very good indeed if it was annually worth 2 an acre, that is to say £62 a year. Sir Henry Mildmay says, upon his oath, that the Jury allowed £200 a year for the use of the land, and £400 a year to provide him with another place of residence, which was, I think, a pretty hard bargain for the public, and a pretty good one for Sir Henry Mildmay, especially when he had obtained an act of parliament, at the public expence, to release him from the obligation of residence in a house standing in : need of £250 laid out in repairs; but, what will be said, then, what can be said, for Sir Henry Mildmay, who received this award, who accepted of the £400 a year from the public, as a compensation for the loss of his place of residence, after he had, unknown to the jury, already bargained with the government to receive £400 for that same place of residence from that same pubdie? Nothing but proof that the documents are. forgeries can possibly alter the state of this case, though there is a further document which adds strength to it. General Hewett, after he became Barrack Master General, made, as the reader will see, an objection to concluding the lease for the house, stating that it was incurring a "heavy expence to the public without any apparent benefit," But, Mr. Brownrigg, by command of the Duke of York, tells him, that "it was thought necessary " the to hire the house to REMUNERATË "Sir Henry Mildmay whose place of residence had been destroyed by the field works." Here, then, we have trouble compensation in express terms. Mr. Brownrigg says the House is taken at £400 year to remunerate Sir Henry Mildmay for the loss of his place of residence; and Sir Henry Mildmay, upon his oath before the Commissioners, states that the jury awarded him, and that he has received £400 to provide him with another place of residence.Sir Henry Mildmay may complain of calumnies as long as he pleases; but, until he can prove these documents to be forgeries, every man, who reads this Register must be convinced, that Sir Henry Mildmay, a member of parliament, a guardian of the public money, has, out of that money, received, knowingly and willingly, payment twice for the same thing.- -There was one circumstance, stated in Sir Henry Mildmay's speech, which, at the first glance, I thought, somewhat favourable; but, up on looking at the dates this impression was at once removed. He says the transaction took place under the administration of Mr. Addington, to whom he never gave a vote in his life; so that if it was a job, it was singular that the ministry should have jobbed against themselves. Now, if this statement had been correct, it would have had great weight with me, as far as related to the motives of the ministers, though no weight at all as far as relat ed to Sir Henry Mildmay's conduct towards the public. But, this statement is not correct; it is not true; but the reverse of truth; for, though land was occupied, and the bill to excuse residence was passed, under the administration of Mr. Addington, the bargain for the House was not made, no, nor did Sir Henry Mildmay make any offer to let the House to the public, nor was he summoned, until that Pitt, for whom he always voted, came into power, and then, in just one week after that, he made the offer. These dates are pestering things. If all the documents had been like that of Sir James Craig, a tolerably plausible story might have been made out, as far as related to the conduct of the ministers.- Now for Mr. Sturges (he has another name, but one is quite enough for me).-This Gentleman was a Secretary of the Treasury, under the second golden reign of Pitt;, and, it will be seen by the documents, inserted below, that General Hewett called for £250 to put Sir Henry Mildmay's House in repair, in answer to which call Mr. Sturges signs an order for issuing, from the public money, 643 pounds. In his defence he said, that he was an"swerable for any mistake in the letter, "but when he had to sign so many it was "not surprising that a mistake should have "occurred in one, which it was not thought "required any very minute attention. The "letter ought not to have alluded to repairs "at all, and the gentlemen must have "known that the letter admitted of a dif"ferent construction from what they had "put upon it. Having stated this, he left "it to the house to judge of the fairness of "their proceedings. He would ask the no"ble lord (H. Petty), whether he had found "that he had ever been apt to make use of “his official situation to serve his friends "6" particularly? The charge against him was false, foul, and scandalous, and he had on"ly to say that he had much rather be the "object of it than the author."—-But, how does this prove the charge to be false, foul, and scandalous? It might be a mistake; but it might not. People will have their different opinions upon that point. All that we can know, upon this subject, is, that, when £250 at most, ought to have been issued for the repairs of Sir Henry Mildmay's house, £643 were ordered to be issued, and 'we have nothing to make us believe, that that sum was not issued, a point upon which no member of parliament recollected to touch, but one which is well worth inquiring into. So," it is not surprising,"that mistakes of this sort are made! Then we are in á comfortable way indeed! When we complain, that such enormous sums of the public money are expended upon salaries with scarcely any duty attached to them, "oh," say our enemies," but the respon"sibility Would you allow nothing for that? And when we discover that the money is wasted in the way now exposed, we are answered by merely saying it was a mistake, and that we ought not to be at all surprized at it. Surprized at it I am not; but, to be told, that I ought not to be surprized at it, is being a little too bold with my endurance.Mr. Sturges has complained of the Morning Chronicle for not inserting the speech of Lord Henry Petty, who acquitted "him of any blame; but, of what consequence is this sort of acquittal? At most it amounts merely to evidence to character; and, of that evidence every man will, of course, form his own opinion.I do not wish to labour this point against Mr. Here are the documents, and I Sturges. wish to leave the reader to form his own opinion.-N. opinion. N. B. Sir James Craig's paper to the two Justices and the award of Jury are omitted, because the former is of no consequence at all in the consideration, and because the substance of the latter consists wholly in the date of it, and in the sum awarded, the rest being a mere mass of verbosity and tautology. Extract of a Letter from Sir Henry Mildmay, Baronet, to the Quarter Master General; dated Somerset-street, May 15, 1804. The substance of my proposition is, that the house and stables should be appropriated to the residence of the staff which may reside in that district, and the rent which I annex to the occupation is four hundred pounds a year. I propose to leave in the house the whole of the furniture (with the exception perhaps of a few trifling articles) which I found there, which was always considered as fully sufficient for the use of the family who previously resided there. The term which I mean to let it is four years, or five, at the option of either party. I expect to be exempted from all taxes; and as the house is now in perfect repair, I think it reasonable, that, in case any dilapidations should arise, that government should undertake to replace them, Letter from Major General Brownrigg to Francis Moore, Esq. Dated Horse Guards, 10th May, 1804. SIR,I have it in command from his Royal Highness the Commander in tion of the Secretary at War to the followChief, to request that you will call the attening circumstances: A considerable extent of the entrenched camp at Chelmsford passes through Moulsham Park, a residence of Sir Henry Mildmay. This gentleman, by the will of a relation, was bound to residence; but being willing to accommodate the public, he admitted of the works being constructed, and a general authority was given to the Commander in Chief by my Lord Hobart, to hire the house for the ac commodation of the general in command, and his staff. It was found this transaction could not be completed without an act of parliament, to exonerate Sir Henry Mildmay from the penalties attaching to nonresidence, according to the will of his relation. A bill has in consequence been carried through both houses, and I am commanded by his Royal Highness the Compmander in Chief to request the authority of the secretary at War to conclude this transaction, by hiring the house and furniture for a period of four years, at the annual rent of specified in the inclosed extract of a letter four hundred a year, the terms which are from Sir Henry Mildmay. I have it further in command to observe, that, should the neutenant general commanding in the dis trict judge it expedient to fix his head quarters at Chelmsford, the amount of his lodg ing-money, and that of his staff (which will be saved by his occupying this residence) will be equivalent to the rent paid to Sir Henry Mildmay. But, should it be occupied by a major general, some unavoidable expence must annually accrue to the public. -I have, &c.-(Signed) RÓB. BROWNRIGG, Q. M. GI. Letter from James Johnson, Esq. to Lient General De Lancey. Dated Barrack Office, 24th May, 1804. SIR,In obedience to your orders I proceeded to Moulsham, near Chelmsford, in Essex, the seat of Sir Henry Saint John Mildmay, Baronet; inclosed I transmit you the plans and particulars of the said premises. -The mansion is strong and well built; the roof is covered principally with patent slates, that continually let in the wet, of course it is a business that should be kept in repair by Sir Henry, as it is owing to the construction, and cannot be remedied; great part of the wood-work inside and out the house require painting; paving in the arca center of the house requires re-laying, and making good; stone steps should be re-set, and made good with new; great part of the wood-work in basement story, such as floors, joists, skirting, &c. require immediate repairs, being rotted by damps; brick-work outside of house, garden walls, doors, doorcases, require repairs.Stable building: roof very bad, brick-work to external walls require making good, and settlements secured; floors in hay loft, and servants sleeping rooms very bad; it rains in in several places.The mansion is in general furnished, which may be more fully explained by inventory from Sir Henry Mildmay. To put the house and offices into tenantable repair will cost the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds; the annual amount after will not exceed fifty pounds to keep them in repair. The taxes are supposed to amount to one hundred and forty-three pounds. If the said premises are put in proper repair, and to include the twenty acres of pleasure ground, &c. round the house, as described on the general plan, 'I am of opinion, four hundred pounds per annum is a fair rent to give for the same, after Sir Henry has put the premises in repair. I have, &c.JAS. JOHNSON, Archt. Letter from the Right Hon. Wm. Dundas to Lieut. General De Lancey. Dated War Office, 11th June, 1804. SIR, Having communicated to Sir Henry Mildmay the report of Mr. Johnston, transmitted in Lieutenant Colonel Gordon's letter of the 29th ultimo, and Sir Henry Mildmay having offered to relinquish half a year's rent (£200) on condition that the repairs pointed out by Mr. Johnson should be executed at the expence of the public, I have thought it right to accede to this proposal, and am to desire that you will accordingly enter into an agreement with Sir Henry Mildmay, for the hire of the premises of Moulsham Hall for four years, charging the rent, taxes, and repairs thereof, in your accompts, and availing yourself, for the use of the public, of the advantage (if any) that may arise from the possession of the land attached to the said premises.- -I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, W. DUNDAS.. the situation and extensive scale on which it Estimate of Sir H. Mildmay's House. Rent Taxes Officer of the Barrack Immediate repairs required to make the Premises habitable, and to be executed by the Barrack Department 50 0 0 50 0 0 £643 0 0 250 0.0 Letter from Major General Brownrigg to the Barrack Master General. Dated, Horse Guards, 23d Jan. 1805. SIR,I have it in command from his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief, to desire that the premises hired from Sir Henry Mildmay, near Chelmsford, may be put in a state of repair, to be occupied by the general and staff officers attached to the troops at that station. These repairs, as stated in your communication on this sub Letter from Lieut. General Hewett to Majorject, will amount to two hundred and fifty General Brownrigg. Dated Barrack Of fice, 27th Nov. 1804. SIR, The expences which will at tend the taking of Sir H. Mildmay's house amounting to a sum beyond the latitude given by the Treasury to the present Barrack Master General, I am induced, previous to my transinitting it for approval, to observe, for his Royal Highness's consideration, that pounds.-I am further commanded to observe, as you remark upon the expence of these premises being disproportioned to the public utility which may be derived from them; that the agreement entered into by the late Barrack Master General was sanctioned on account of its being necessary to hire these premises, and in doing so, to remunerate Sir Henry Mildmay, whose resi dence had been destroyed by the field works which had been constructed in the immediate vicinity of the house.You will be pleased to direct a report to be made to Lieut. General Sir James Craig, when the building is in readiness to receive the officers he may direct to inhabit it.I have the honour to be, &c. &c.ROBERT BROWNRIGG, Qr. Master Gen. Letter from the Barrack Master General to William Huskisson, Esq. Dated, Barrack Office, 13th Feb. 1805. SIR, -Inclosed is the copy of a letter from the Quarter Master General, notifying to me the commands of his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief, to put in a state of repair the premises hired from Sir Henry Mildmay near Chelmsford, to be occupied by the general and staff officers attached to the troops at that station; but as the lease of the said premises was not signed by the late Barrack Master General, although possession was taken by placing a person in charge thereof, and the repairs, mentioned in Major Gea. Brownrigg's letter, executed, amounting to two hundred and fifty pounds, I have the honour, in conformity to the Treasury minute of the 6th Nov. (which precludes me from incurring any expence exceeding five hundred pounds, without the previous sanction of the lords commissioners) to request their lordships approval to complete the lease in question.For their lordships further information, an estimate of the expence is herewith transmitted. Letter from William Sturges Bourne, Esq. to the Barrack Master General. Dated, Treasury Chambers, Feb. 26, 1805. SIR,--Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury your letter, transmitting a copy of one from the Quarter Master General, notifying to him the commands of his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief, to put in a state of repair the premises hired from Sir Henry Mildmay, near Chelmsford, to be occupied by the general and staff officers attached to the troops at that station, and inclosing an estimate of the expences thereof, amounting to six hundred and forty-three pounds, and also requesting the approval of this board to complete the lease in question; I have received their lordships commands to authorise you to pay the said sum, and to complete the lease accordingly.-Iam, &c.-W. STURGES BOURNE. Examination of Sir Henry Paulet St. John Mildmay, Bart.; taken upon Oath, the 28th April, 1506. We have learned that a military work has been carried through your park at Moulsham, near Chelmsford; state under what authority was this done, what quantity of land the work occupies, and when it be gan A. The land was taken under the authority of the Defence Act; the quantity now occupied is, I think, about thirty-two acres; it was originally only twenty-nine; the work began about the year 1803.Q. 2. What compensation have you received, or are you to receive, on account of this work being carried through your park?-A. A jury was impannelled, who made an award to me of one thousand three hundred pounds for the first year, and six hundred a year so long as the land should continue in the occupation of government; and that government, when they ceased to occupy the land, should restore it to its original state. I have understood, that the jury gave two hundred pounds per annum for the occupation of the land, and four hundred pounds per annum to provide me with another place of residence. The two hundred pounds a year is actually paid by me to my tenants.Q. 3. Have you still the right to the feed of the land so occupied-A: It is a complete occupation on the part of government- -Q. 4. Was the offer originally made by you to any pub lic authority, to take your house at Moulsham, or was an application made to you for it?-A. I made the offer, I think, to the then Deputy Barrack Master General. Q. 5. What was the reason of your making the offer? A. From my having resided a good deal in Essex, I had seen the difficulty the different generals on the staff had of procuring residences, and, in consequence of repeated applications to me for the house from different general officers quartered at Chelmsford, I made the offer of it. Upon my making the offer to the then Deputy Barrack Master General, I was informed, that nothing could be done without a survey and report to him: some time afterwards I heard that a report had been made to him, and, in consequence of it, I was referred to General Brownrigg, and the Secretary at War, who treated with me for the house and premises.- Q. 6. Was this your usual residence whilst in the country?-A. I was bound to reside there, by will, three months in the year, till relieved by an act of parlia ment, procured at the expence of govern ment, in consequence of the works erected near it, as already stated.Q. 7. Is the land let with the house, stated to amount to near twenty acres, mere pleasure ground, or can it be applied to any useful purpose, consistent with the terms of the lease granted by you?-A. It is partly pleasure ground; but there is a large garden, partly inclosed, of about two acres, which I have no doubt would let for about eighteen pounds a year, |