rected accounts to be made up and laid before the House of Commons; and accordingly (out of these savings in Lord Holland's hands) parliament from time to time availed itself of the following sums, viz.

Voted in aid of extraordinaries, to De

cember 24, 1763,

£.

De-} 239,966

S. d.

1 1 4

170,906 2 8

ditto?

} 251,740 2 7

27

}

60,638 2 10

171,571 13 8

Voted in the year 1767, in aid of extra

ordinaries and other services, Voted in the year 1768, in aid of the supply,.

he} 15,719 15 7

£910,541 18 3

His Lordship could by no other means ascertain and give into parliament the savings on the votes for the army, but by the final adjustment of army accounts; what further savings may be, is very uncertain, as they cannot be known before the services are absolutely determined and closed.

His Lordship is very sorry to say it, that in the years 1759, 1760, 1761, 1762, 1763, and 1764, there are not less than fifty-six regiments and companies now standing open and unadjusted, for want of authorities; and in his ledgers there are accounts to a much greater extent, as the pay of staff officers, &c. &c.

It may be seen here that though Mr. Winnington died in April, 1746, and his executor, Mr. Ingram, used all possible industry to close his accounts, they could not be closed till 1760; fourteen years. The Earl of Chatham went out in December, 1755, yet are not his accounts closed till 1768; thir

teen

teen years. The Earl of Kinnoul's are not closed yet, though he has been out of the office eleven years. Lord Holland has been out three years and a half. Where is the wonder his are not closed?

If those who complain will shew Lord Holland how he can proceed faster than he does, he will be very much obliged to them. Let it be observed, that he has before the auditors al ready, accounts for more years than Mr. Winnington or Lord Kinnoul had to account for.

MEMORIAL FOR LORD HOLLAND TO HAVE LONGER TIME TO MAKE UP HIS ACCOUNTS AS PAY-MASTER GENERAL

May it please your Lordships,

I beg to inform your Lordships that a process is in the hands of the sheriffs of Middlesex against me to account to his Majesty for the monies imprested to me, as pay-master general of his Majesty's forces."

I most humbly apprehend that the regular ordinary course of accounting in the Exchequer was calculated (when established) for transactions at home, which are easily and readily to be collected and made up at short periods of time.

The accounts of the army when employed abroad, particularly, must unavoidably be much in arrear from the nature of the service.

The army payments are necessarily in arrear; and articles from accidents inevitable are obliged to remain often open a long time before they can finally be closed.

The accounts of the last war are voluminous and difficult beyond example. The great variety of operations, and the very great distance of the troops, made, and must make, the correspondence, and adjusting those accounts with the paymasters and accountants attending them, very slow and tedious. These therefore will require longer time to make up, both from their bulk and difficulty.

During the course of a war, the troops constantly changing

and

and moving, and the service in the utmost hurry, it cannot then be done with the order and regularity absolutely neces sary. Since the war the utmost diligence has been used in them. The great intricate article of Foreign expense, (viz. the German) has been got together for the whole time (which, after the former war, was several years about ;) and one year and an half's general account is now made out, and ready to be laid before the auditors; the rest will regularly be laid be fore them as fast as it is possible to make them up. Though I have been two years out of employment, the payments for my time are not yet completed.

I therefore pray your Lordships will be pleased to obtain his Majesty's warrant, granting me longer time for making up my accounts as pay-master general of his Majesty's forces. Pay Office, Horse Guards, Which is, &c. &c.

25th June, 1767.

HOLLAND.

KING'S WARRANT, STAY OF PROCESS AGAINST LORD HOLLAND

George R.

FOR SIX MONTHS.

Copy.

Whereas our right, trusty, and well-beloved Henry Lord Holland hath, by the annexed memorial, represented, that from several unavoidable causes and difficulties he hath been prevented making up his accompts as late pay-master ge neral of our forces; and we having taken the said matter into our royal consideration, are graciously pleased to grant unto him a farther time for making up his said accompts. Our will and pleasure therefore is, and we do hereby direct, authorize, and require you to cause all process against the said Henry Lord Holland for his accompts, as late pay-master general of our forces, to be stayed for and during the term of six months, computed from the day of the date hereof. And for so doing this shall be your warrant. Given at our Court at

Saint James's, the eighth day of July, 1767, in the seventh

year of our reign.

By his Majesty's command,

GRAFTON.

C. TOWNSHEND.

T. TOWNSHEND.

To our right, trusty, and well-beloved Samuel Lord Mar sham, our Remembrancer in our Court of Exchequer.

B.

The history of this dispute is as follows. In the Public Advertiser of July 14,

1769, the following letter made its ap

pearance, addressed

SIR,

TO THE RIGHT HON. GEORGE ONSLOW, ESQ.

for

I have heard from very good authority that one of the Lords of the Treasury has lately gained a thousand pounds in a very common and usual manner, which is yet likely to be attended with a very uncommon and unusual consequence. Mr. applied to the Right Honourable Mr. his interest for a certain lucrative post in America. The gentleman was informed that a thousand pounds placed in the hands of Mrs. would insure him the place. Mr. -to join not having the money, prevailed on Colonel with him in a bond for that sum to the lady to whom he was directed. So far, Sir, all is in the common track: What follows is the wonderful part of the transaction. This Lord of the Treasury kept his word, and the gentleman was appointed to the office he had paid for! And stranger still, Lord who discovered this bargain and sale, is offended at it, and insists on the dismission of this Lord of the Treasury. Now, of Sir, I must intreat you to favour one constituents with your the

the name of this Lord of the Treasury, for you, no doubt, who sit at that Board yourself, must be acquainted with him. Ash-Court, July 11.

ANOTHER FREEHOLDER OF SURREY.

To this letter Mr. Onslow made the following reply, which was published in the same newspaper, July 18, ensuing.

TO THE PRINTER OF THE PUBLIC ADVERTISER.

SIR,

July 16.

Having just now read a letter containing, by evident insinuation, a most audacious attack upon my character, printed by you, in your paper of Friday last, asserting a gross and infamous lie from beginning to end; I do hereby publicly call upon you to name the person from whom you received the account you have presumed to publish. If you are either unable or unwilling to do this, I shall most certainly treat you as the author, and in justice both to myself and others who are every day thus malignantly and wickedly vilified, shall take the best advice in the law if an action will not lie for such atrocious defamation, and if I may not hope to make an example of the author of it.

The scurrility in general which has been of late so heaped upon me in the public papers, I have hitherto treated with the contempt my friends and myself thought it deserved, and suffered it to pass with impunity; but this last is so outrageous, and tends so much to wound my character and honour in the tenderest part, that I am determined, if practicable, to see if a jury will not do me and the public justice against such a libeller, and whether they will not think the robbing an innocent man of his character is a robbery of the most dangerous kind, and that the perpetrators of it will stick at nothing.

For the present I must content myself with only laying before the public the two following letters, which will explain to them all the knowledge I had of the detestable fraud, which has been taken advantage of to charge me with corruption; a crime, which of all others, I hold the most in abhorrence. I

defy