The Thirteenth Report of the Commiffioners appointed to examine, take, and ftate, the Public Accounts of the Kingdom.

"In our inquiries into the manner in which the public accounts are audited in the office of the auditors of his majesty's impreft, thofe which have as yet come under our confideration, are accounts of the expenditure of money iffued, the greatest part of it, from the exche quer; but there are likewife, upon the certificate of accounts depending in the auditor's office, accounts of receipts of money levied upon the fubject and paid into the exche quer, which are equally objects of his jurifdictions

"Of these receipts, the customs being the moft-confiderable, we directed our attention to that branch of the public revenue.

"We required from the auditors of the impreft the laft declared accounts of the customs, with the books of accounts, and other materials from whence they were formed. Two accounts were tranfmitted to

us purfuant to this requifition; the one the account of William Mellich, efq. receiver general and cashier of his majesty's customs, new and additional impofitions, for one year, ending the 5th of January 1782; the other the account of Hugh Valence Jones, efq. comptroller general of his majefty's customs for the fame year; and both declared upon the 18th of December 1783. Thefe accounts were made up from various books and other materials; as many of which as were neceffary for our information, were fent to us from the auditor's office: and from the inspection of them, and the exami nations of Charles Harris, efq. one of the deputy auditors of the im preft, Mr. John Mills affiftant to the receiver general of the customs, Mr. Joshua Powell, first clerk to the comptroller general, and Mr. John Dalley, deputy fupervifor of the receiver general's receipts and payments, we have been made acquainted with the manner in which thefe accounts are prepared by the officers of the customs, and examined by the auditors of the impreft.

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"The customs are those duties which are payable to the king, either upon the exportation or importation, or carriage coaftwife, of certain articles of commerce. They are collected by 103 officers, 5 of them refident in London, 72 at the out ports, and 26 in the plantations. All these collectors either pay or remit the whole or part of the duties they collect to the receiver general of the customs. From the collectors in the port of London he receives either money or bonds; thofe at the out ports and in the plantations, remit to him their collections in bills, notes, or bullion. The receiver general, and almost every collector, make certain payments out of thefe duties; and thus all of them become accountable to the public.

"The receiver general paffes his own accounts himself before the auditors of the impreft; but the collectors being fo many in number and exercising their offices in different parts of the kingdom, it would be highly inconvenient were they obliged to pass their accounts themselves in that office; and therefore the controller general of the customs is fubuliruted in their flead. He examines and keeps the accounts of all the collectors, and paffes them as his own, every year, in the of fice of the auditors of the impreft: hence it arises, that every year two accounts are paffed of the customs; the one the cash account paffed by the receiver general, of his own receipts and payments; the other the general account paffed by the controller general, of the receipts and payments of all the collectors in England.

The account of the receiver general is examined by the auditor of the impreft, and paffed in the following manner: The receiver 1987

general tranfmits to the auditor his book of account, which contains entries of all his receipts and payments during the year, ranged under their refpective heads of duties. The charge upon him is formed by the controller general: this officer, feeing in the accounts of the collectors what fums they have paid or remitted to the receiver general, extracts thofe fums from the feveral accounts of the collectors and of them forms his charge upon the receiver general, which confifts of all the fums received by him, in the various branches of the customs, during the period of the account. This charge the controller general figns, and attefts on oath before a baron of the exche quer, and tranfmits it to the auditor of the impreft. The fum thus charged upon the receiver general, includes money, unfatisfied bonds, and impreft orders. Bonds are securities given for the payment of certain duties, principally duties on tobacco, India goods, and coals. Many of the acts of parliament that impofe duties upon importation, do not require from the merchant the payment of all the duties immediately upon the entry; they allow him to give a bond for the payment of either all, or certain portions of them, at a future limited time: the bond is given to the king, payable to the receiver general of the cuftoms. The tobacco bond is taken from the merchant, at the port of London, by the collector inwards; he delivers it over as cash to the receiver general, in whofe hands it remains until discharged.

"Where a fum is to be advanced to any perfon on account, the re ceiver general iffues it pursuant to the order of the commiffioners of the customs; this order with the receipt for the fum fubfcribed to it, (H)

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retained in his cuftody until it is uncharged; hence it follows, that the bonds being charged upon himn as cafh received, and the impreft orders not being produced by him to the auditors of the impreft as vouchers, in his difcharge, he ftands charged in his account not only with the cafli he has received, but alfo with the fums due on thefe bonds, and with the fums he has iffued pursuant to fuch imprest orders:

"The difcharge contains payments of falaries; of fums purfuant to treafury warrants and orders of the commiffioners of the customs; of fums upon debentures, certifi cates, and portage bills; and pay ments into the exchequer.

"The books and vouchers for these payments, produced by the receiver general to the auditor, are -The quarterly establishmentsLifts of the falaries, allowances and tallies-Books containing entries of the debentures, certificates, and portage bills together with the tallies, treasury warrants, orders of the commiffioners, debentures, certificates, and portage bills, them felves all difcharged by receipts.

"To verify the charge, the auditor compares the total of each head of duty, stated in the account of the receiver general as received by him, with the entry of the same total in the charge made by the controller general; and finding them to agree, he grounds upon the authority of that officer his charge upon the receiver general.

"In proceeding upon the dif charge, the auditor requires an authority and receipt for every pay. ment. The authority for the payment of the falaries, is the warrant of the treafury annexed to the eftablishment, or the parents entered in the auditor's office, where the

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payments are made purfuant either to a warrant of the treasury not en tered in the office, or an order of the commiffioners of the customs, the warrant or order must be produced to the auditor; where the payment is for an incidental charge or allowance, it must be certified by the controller general, and allowed by the commiffioners of the cuf toms.

"The authority for the payment of a debenture, certificate, or port age bill is the fignature of four of the commiffioners upon those instruments.

"The tallies are the vouchers for the payments into the exchequer.

"The auditor compares the entries of the payments, in the feveral lifts and books, with their refpective vonchers; he compares the totals of the payments, under the various branches of duties, in those lifts and books, with the entries of the fame totals in the receiver general's book of account, and if they agree, he reduces the account into the form that usage has established in the office: this official form_varies from that in which the receiver general draws up his book of account; he ranges his payments under thofe heads of duties out of which they are paid; but the auditor diftinguishes them either by the fervice on which they are grounded, or the authority that warrants the payment, or the inftrument by which the payment is

made.

“The balance being agreed, the receiver general figns his account, and fwears to the truth of it before a baron of the exchequer; after which it is paffed, with the ufual forms, through the offices of the treafury and exchequer.

"From a ftate of the account be

fore

fore us, it appears, that the total charge upon the receiver general of the customs, for the year ending the 5th of January 1782, was 3,811,242/. 65. 3d. of which, the fum received during that year, in money and bonds, amounted to 3,592,610%. 165. 9id.

"The total discharge was 39565,687 155. 5d.; of which 148,645. 125. 6d. was paid for falaries, incidental charges, and allowances; and 2,772,3461. 6s. 4žd. into the receipt of his majesty's exchequer; and the balance remain ing in the hands of the receiver general, in bonds and imprest orders, is 244,654. 35. 5d. and in cafh, gool. 75. 54d.

"The account of the controller general is examined and paffed in the following manner:

"The general book of account, comprehending the receipts and payments of every collector of the cuttoms in England, in every branch of the duties during the year, is the ground of the official account formed by the auditor: This book, figned and attefted by him on dath before a baron of the exchequer, the controller general tranfmits to the auditor; and with it, thofe books, accounts, lifts, and vouch ers, that verify the feveral articles therein contained. The fums with which he charges himself in this general account, are thefe; first, the money and bonds depending at the end of the preceding year; fecondly, the receipts, in money and bonds, and of intereft on bonds, during the year; thirdly, the money and bonds received from other collectors; and fourthly, the overpayments His difcharge compre. bends the following heads; firft, the over-payments at the end of the preceding year; fecondly, the moacy and bonds delivered to other

collectors; thirdly, the remittances to the receiver general; fourthly, the payments of falaries, incidents; debentures, certificates, and port age bills, ranged under heads; and fifthly, the debts depending at the end of the year.

"There are three of these heads, one in the charge, and two in the difcharge, to which the auditor principally directs his attention. That in the charge is, the fums received in money and bonds: the two in the difcharge are, the re mittances to the receiver general, and the falaries and other pay ments.

"The fums received in money and bonds, confift of the total fums received within the year, by each collector, in each branch of the duties: thefe totals are taken from a general receipt book, which contains all the fums received weekly by the collectors in the port of London, and quarterly by the collectors at the out ports; and these are extracted from the London weekly account books, and the out port quarterly account books; which being authenticated by the fignature of the refpective collectors and con trollers, are the authority to the auditor to allow the charge, after finding, upon comparing them, that the entries in the weekly and quarterly account books are correctly caft up, and agree with the entries in the receipt book, and that the totals in the receipt book agree with the entries of thofe totals in the general account.

"The interest on bonds, includ ed under this head, is an inconfiderable fum, received upon those bonds which are not difcharged until after the time they become payable.

"In the discharge, the head of remittances to the receiver general contains all the fums of money which (H 2)

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