ther of those districts by which he can be diftrained. So far as the prefent fyftem of paffing the public accounts fhall be retained, this procefs ought to be made effectual: it cannot be fo in its prefent state. The writ must be difincumbered of that load of old and useless schedules, at prefent always annexed to it. Authority fhould be given to infpect and fcrutinize the lifts of perfons who ftand at this time accountable to the crown for money imprefted or iffued to them on account, and to distinguish those who are of ability and amenable, from the infolvent and thofe whofe accounts are remote and defperate, and who can neither themselves nor their reprefentatives ever be profecuted with any hopes of fuccefs. The names and schedules of the latter fhould all be taken from the writ; the former only fhould be annexed; and upon all named in the schedules annexed, the writ fhould be executed, and they fhould be compelled to appear upon the return, and give the reafons for the delay before the proper judges, the barons of the Exchequer. The certificates of the accounts depending in the office of the auditors of the impreft require the like correction. Public inftruments fhould not be incumbered with useless matter: nothing fhould be inferted in them but what tends to answer the purpose defigned by them; but thefe certificates are filled with stale accounts that have been depending, many of them, for a century, the accountants forgotten, the line of their representation not to be traced, no vouchers to be found, no veftiges of them whatever remaining, fave what are preferved to no purpofe in these inftruments; they puzzle and confound the officers they are intended to inform; they engage the time of clerks that might be usefully employed, and for which the public pay. The power of difcharging accounts of long standing has been exercifed by the legiilature for the quiet of the fubject. In the landtax act of the year 1759, all infupers fet in the accounts of the receivers-general of the land-tax before the year 1746 are abfolutely difcharged. Other delays arife in the office of the treasurer of the navy, and flow in a great meafure from the prefent conftitution of that office. As the auditor of the impreft cannot pafs the account until he has received all the materials of which it is compofed, we required from him a state' of the order of time in which the feveral parts of Mr. Grenville's account for the year 1759 were delivered into his office. By this ftate it appears, that the first fections of this year came to the auditor in May 1763; that the voluntary charge, and fome other papers, which were the parts of the account that came the laft, were not received until December 1781; that is, eighteen years after the fections, and near twenty-two years after the expira tion of the year to which the account belongs. We required likewife from the auditors a state of the accounts of the treasurers of the navy, now depending in each of their offices; with the times when the feveral parts of the accounts were delivered in to each. Thefe ftates fhew, that the accounts for the two next fucceeding years, 1760 and 1761, are ready for declaration; that the accounts of none of the fubfequent years are complete in the office, little more than the navy and victualling fections of thefe years having been as yet received from the treasurer's office. (N 4) One One of the principal caufes affigned for this delay, and the only one that feems to have a foundation, is ftated in our third report: it is the neceffity of keeping open the fhips' books for many years, even after the treasurer, in whole time they were first opened, is out of office, for the purpofe of compleating the payments upon each book, that fuch treasurer may have his proper voucher for the payment of each fhip, and to prevent the difficulty that would arife in diftinguifhing the payments by each, if the fanie book was paid upon by more treafurers than one. Keeping open the fhips' books fo long, befides the delay it occafions in the accounts, is pregnant with fo many inconveniencies both to the of ficer and the office, that the correction of this defect is an object worth attempting. The difficulty lies in the payment upon recalls; that is, of thofe perfons who remain upon a book unpaid after the day of payment. A hip is faid emphatically to be paid, upon that day in which that ship's book is first opened for payment, except where one perfon only upon a flip's bock is paid upon a certain day, in order to put that flip out of commiffion; and, in that cafe, payments within the month after, are not confidered as recalls, but as payments on the pay day. All pay ments made fubfequent to that day, and before the book is made up, are payments upon recalls, and are now made by or upon the book itself, and by the treafter in whofe treafurerfhip the book was first opened for payment, whether he is in or out of office. If a method can be devifed of paying thofe after-claimants by the treafurer in office, and otherwife than by the flip's book, without delaying or difturbing the pay of the feamen, or confounding the accounts of the treasurers, the fhip's books may then be closed at any time, and this difficulty will be removed. In order to discover fuch a me thod, it was abfolutely neceffary to examine minutely into the manner in which this branch of the bufiness is now conducted in the pay office of the navy; and with this knowledge we are furnished by Ir. Adam Jellicoe, chief clerk in the paybranch in the office of the treasurer of the navy; Mr. John Hunter, who has long been employed in the office of the controller of the trea furer's accounts at Portsmouth, where by far the greatest number of the fhips and recalls are paid; Mr. Edward Falkingham, a clerk in that branch of the office of the controller of the navy that relates to the payment of feamens' wages; and by Mr. William Paynter, the chief clerk in the ticket-office. A fip's book, with its four copies, is made out in the fhip; it con tains the names, and certain neceffary circumstances of all the perfons entitled to wages in that ship: the two oppofite pages are divided into a variety of columns, with a title at the top of each column; eighteen of thefe columns are for defalcations, that is, deductions or abatements that are to be made out of their wages at the time of payment; four of thefe are conftant, certain deductions; they are intituled, the cheft, the hofpital, the three-pence in the pound, and the marine ftoppages. The other fourteen are cafual. The wages of an able feaman are twenty-four fhillings a month: this is part of the four pounds per man per month, voted annually by parliament for the maintenance of the feamen: from this fum of twenty-four fhil lings, and from the monthly wages of every warrant and petty officer, there are two conftant deductions; one fhilling for the cheft, and fix pence for the hofpital. The one hilling is divided into three parts, for three different purpofes; fix pence of it is paid to the cheft at Chatham, for the fupport of hurt and difabled feamen; four pence is paid to the chaplain; and two pence to the furgeon. The fix pence is applied to the fupport of Greenwich hofpital; and the monthly pay of the commiffioned officers is alfo fubject to the fame deduction. The three-pence in the pound is a deduction from the pay of all commiffioned and warrant officers, for the purpose of paying the widows' pentions. The marine ftoppages are, one penny a week from the wages of the private men, three halfpence of the corporal and drummer, and two-pence of the ferjeant, applicable to the fame bounty. The cafual deductions are either for ar icles fupplied to them, which they are to pay for out of their wages; or for wages that have been advinced to them, or remitted by their order; or certain mulets incurred by them. The fhip's book, being formed wth thefe divifions, is fent, with the four copies, from the fhip to the pay office of the navy at that port where the fhip is to be paid, with all the columns filled up, except the eigit following; the cheft, the hofpita, the three-pence in the pound, the marine ftoppages, the full and nettwages, the fums remitted at the payof the hip, and neglect. The firit fix, depending upon the time of the fervice of each perfon, cannot be illed up until that time is fully atcertained by examination, on the day of payment; neither can the text, as being a tranfaction up on that day. The column of neg lect which contains the mulets and fines, is filled up fome time before the payment. The officers and feamen, entitled to wages upon any flip's book, may be paid, either before the pay-day of that fhip, or upon that day, or between the pay-day and the making up of the book, or after the book is made up each of thefe times of payment is attended with fome difference in the mode. The pay ments on the pay-day are made, and payments upon recalls, that is, be tween the pay-day and the making up of the books, are either made or fet off upon the fhip's book itself; all the circumstances of each payment being there entered, that book becomes the evidence of fuch payments: but payments made, either previous to the pay-day, or fubfequent to the making up of the books, are not made upon the books, but upon lifts, or by tickets, which lifts or tickets contain all the circumstances, and are the evidence of fuch payments. A payment upon the pay-day, which is generally the principal payment, is in this manner:-the full wages of each perfon applying are calculated, and entered in the full column; the open columns of de falcations are filled up: the total of his defalcations, both certain and cafual, being caft up, and deducted from his full wages, leaves the nett wages; which are paid to him, and entered in the proper column. No date is fet in the book against the names of the perfons who are paid upon this day; but the indorsement of the day upon the book, ferves for the date of all thofe payments: after that day, the book, at whatever port it may be, remains in the pay-office there, until it is finally clofed, for the purpose of paying upon recalls; which is done in the following manner : A lift of the claimants entitled to wages from hips that have been paid, is fent from the fhip where they are on board, to the pay-office at the port; this lift is examined with the fhip's books that are in the office; and the perfons upon the lift who can be paid, are diftin guished from thofe who cannot. The current number in the fhip's book is entered upon the lift, oppofite the name of the perfon, that he may be the more eafily found upon the book when he comes to be paid. The lift thus corrected, is returned to the captain; who fends on fhore, under the care of a commiffioned officer, thofe men who appear upon the lift entitled to receive their wages: they are paid each upon the book of that fhip to which he belonged, and the date of the day he is paid upon is fet oppofite to his name. : Where the lift contains the names of men belonging to fhips whofe books are not at that port, the pay clerks apply to the pay officers of thofe ports where the books are, for extracts; that is, for copies of the entries relative to thofe men, in the books from which they feverally claim their wages upon the receipt of thefe extracts, the lift is corrected by them, in fuch a manner as to inform the captain which of those men he may fend to be paid; and, that these payments may be fet off upon the proper fhip's books, the account of the extracts, that is, of the men thus paid, is fent every quarter to the feveral ports. In payments by lifts, either previous to the pay-day of the fhip, or after the fhip's book is made up, or by tickets, the name, time of fervice, defalcations, and other circum. ftances of each perfon, are transcribed from the book of that fhip from which he claims his wages, into the lift or ticket. Each entry is an exact copy of the entry relative to the fame perfon in the fhip's book; and it muít be fo; for otherwife the remaining defalcations, and the full and net wages, could not be cal culated. After this is done, where the payment is by lift, previous to the payment of the thip, or by tic Ket, the wages are calculated; the open columns are all filled up; and if by lift, the net wages are paid; or if by ticket, that ticket is affigned upon the treasurer for payment of the net fum therein mentioned; and in both thefe modes, to prevent double payments, the fhip's book is marked, oppofite the name of each perfon, in what manner paid, and by what treasurer. A payment, fubfequent to the making up of the fhip's book, is made upon a lift of arrears, that is, a book that contains the name of each fhip, and the names and cir cumftances, extracted from the fe veral fhips' books, of all perfons paid after the books on which they claim wages have been made up and fi nally clofed. All fhips' books are at prefent made up and remain afterwards at the Navy office in London. A claimant upon fuch books must first apply for his wages to the nivy. board: they refer to the fhip's book lodged in the ticket-office; and if he appears to be entitled, they or der him to be entered and paid upon the list of arrears, and his name is marked upon the fhip's book as paid in that manner, and by what treasurer. Thefe different modes of payment vary the vouchers of the trea furer. The previous lift or ticket is a voucher for the total of the net fums contained in the lift, or or the 1 fingle net fum in the ticket, for that treaturer who pays it, whether he continues in office long enough, or not, to pay the book from whence the lift or ticket is extracted. When a book is finally made up, the defalcations, oppofite the names of those perfons, who have been paid, either by previous lifts or tickets, and of those who remain unpaid, are entered in the proper columns. The defalcations of each are caft up, and the total entered in the column of full wages. Every column is caft up to a total, and the treasurer, whofe book it is, is allowed, and that book fo filled up in his voucher, for the total fum in the column of full wages; but as he has paid the feamen, not their full but their net wages only, he difcharges himfelf of the difference, that is, of the defalcations, by the receipts of the purfer, or other perfons entitled, to whom he has paid them; and if he has not paid all the defalcations, he charges himself with what remains unpaid in his voluntary charge of the year, in which he has credit for that flip's book, and this remainder is afterwards paid by the treasurer in office by a defalcation list. The keeping open the fhips' books fo long as they are at prefent, prevents the after-claimants from being very numerous, and confequently the lift of arrears from being very long; infomuch that it ferves as a fingle voucher only, for the amount of the net fum of the payments made upon this lift by a treasurer during his whole treasurerfhip, and that net total fum is entered as one payment in his final account. From this defcription of the modes of paying fhips now in ufe in the Navy-office, it appears, that there does at this time exift a method, by which a fubfequent treasurer pays claimants upon fhips' books paid by and belonging to his predecellor, after they are finally clofed and made up; and this method is by a lift of arrears. Suppofe, then, all the fhips' books paid upon by a treafurer were, upon his refignation or death, to be immediately laid by, and all payments upon them to ceafe: could the fucceeding treafurer, by the fame means, pay all the remaining claimants upon those books, without any material inconvenience, either to the feamen or to the pay-office? This depends upon the difference which the fubftitution of the list of arrears in the place of the fhips' books will occafion in the payments. The previous application by the claimant to the navy-board must be difpenfed with. The fhips' books, inftead of being fent to the navyoffice after they are clofed, must remain at the out-ports as they do now. Lifts of arrears, diftinguifh ed from thofe ufed after the fhips' books are made up, muft be kept there as well as in London. Thus far there feems to be no difficulty. At prefent, if a fingie claimant appears upon a recall, his fhip's book is examined, his name found, his wages are calculated, the open columns of defalcations and the columns of wages filled up, upon the fhip's book. If he is paid upon the lift of arrears, his hip's book is equally examined, the fame calculations and the fame entries are made; but in the one cafe the entries are made in the fhip's book, and in the other, upon the lift of arrears; and befides this, the original entries appearing upon the hip's book, are copied from thence into the list of arrears and this is the only difference between the two methods of payment. As this copying takes up time, the payment upon |