it would be lefs difaftrous to the public when it came. But, in fact, the tranfactions of government with Boyd did not end here. Money was advanced to the extent of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, at different times, for their affiftance, though the apparent ground was public fervice, particularly the filver contract, to be fent to India, when in fact Boyd's house had no filver to fend. At the time of all these tranfactions, and in 1796, it appears that Boyd knew the houfe was ruined, as appears from his correfpondence with Benfield, which fhowed the perpetual difficulties of the house, and the expedients to which it was neceffary to refort to raise money. Yet Boyd had the loans of 1797 and 1798. Such are the dangers to which the public had been exposed by the improper confidence reposed in Boyd, which proper inquiries, in the power of the chancellor of the exchequer to make, would have removed. Of thefe tranfactions, Mr. Whitbread read ftatements from Boyd's publication. From this it appeared that it was not from unsuccessful ventures in trade, not from unfortunate bargains, not from calamities abroad, or failures at home, that the house was brought to ruin, but by unfuccefsful tranfactions in the alley. And furely to repair thefe loffes, or to enable men to plunge deeper in them, was an application of the public money which parliament would never fanction. Mr. Whitbread then alluded incidentally to the delays which appeared to take place in the payment of half pay, which was from three to fix months due before it was iffued. To this he begged leave to call the attention of the treasurer of the navy. It was a fpecies of allowance which ought on no account to be in ar rear. There was no reason why it fhould; and he trusted that in future arrangements would be made for paying it with entire punctuality. He alluded then to the conflitution of the treasurer's office, in which the theory was fo perfect, that any deviation feemed impracticable. Yet in practice abuses had been detected. This ftruck him as fingular in the machinery; and as to the borrowing and lending between one branch and another which had occurred, though he alleged nothing wrong, yet it was poffible that by-play might take place, and if it could lead to practical abufe it thould be prevented. He alluded alfo to the non-payment of bills when due, which frequently took place, a circumftance. which, for the regularity of bufinefs and the credit of the government, fhould be prevented. Having gone through the Batements, he said, that he had now nearly finished the talk

tafk he had undertaken, in bringing before the house the different refolutions on the fubject of the reports before them. He trufted that the house would fo far concur with him on this occafion, that they would not fuffer a violation of law, capable of fuch abufe as the loan to Boyd and Benfield, to pals without a protest against the precedent. This was the more neceffary in the prefent circumftances, when the weight of public burdens was fo great, and danger of malverfation in the administration of our immenfe revenues fo much to be dreaded. It was neceffary to fhew too, that, notwithstanding the confidence which Mr. Pitt had enjoyed, yet when irregularities committed by him, even though in the hurry of other more important concerns, and amidst the trying lituation of the country and of Europe, at former times, were discovered, they were not to pafs without a caution to prevent their being drawn into example. If the right hon. gentleman himself was confcious of the purity of his motives, he ought to have no objection to fuch a warning being given to his fucceffors. He concluded with calling on the friends of Lord Sidmouth, whofe administration was praifed as fo conftitutional and economical, to join in a vote, which went to fecure regularity and economy in the management of the public money. That noble lord had been thought by the houfe, and particularly by Mr. Pitt, as a bad war minifter, and it might have been thought he was the worst the nation could receive, till the last twelve months adminiftration of Mr. Pitt fhewed that he was exceeded; for if Lord Sidmouth had done little, Mr. Pitt had done lefs; and under Lord St. Vincent's adminiftration, we knew where the enemy's fleets were, but now they go to fea, while we remain ignorant in what quarter they are to direct their attacks on us. Upon the prefent occafion, therefore, the friends of Lord Sidmouth had an opportunity of upholding the principles of financial adminiftration which they claimed for that noble lord. He then read over the dif ferent refolutions, founded on the principles laid down in his fpeech.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in what he meant to offer to the house, would not animadvert on any of the extraneous matter gone into by the hon. gentleman, for a great part of the hon. gentleman's speech was not applicable to the question, and some of it was totally irrelevant; least of all should he on that day enter into a discussion which the honourable gentieman himself must feel not belonging to the motion he pro

posed;

posed; he meant the manner in which the war was prosecuted, and the management of our land and naval forces. Probably the day was not far distant, as he believed from the notice that had the been given to the house (by Colonel Craufurd), when the greater part of these matters would be the subject of a distinct discussion; and he trusted the house would give him and his colleagues credit for wishing to answer what the hon. gentleman had said on these points then rather than now. The honourable gentleman had professed a disposition to conduct himself with much candour and moderation in other parts of his speech, but he was sure the honourable gentleman himself must feel that he said in many of these instances a great deal which he might as well have avoided. The honourable gentleman had animadverted with particular asperity on the money market, in which so much of the credit and property of this country, so much of the exchange and other mercantile transactions with foreign countries was involved. This was one of the features which distinguished this country from all others, and distinguished it honourably. But it seemed the idiom was displeasing to the honourable gentleman. Was it however from the misfortune of not sounding agreeably in the hon. gentleman's fastidious ears, to be condemned by persons who knew it more intimately, and who had therefore reason to esteem and value it more? Whether it should be stigmatised in the manner the hon. gentleman thought, that is, whether public and private credit should be so put down, he left to the judgment of those who heard him, and he left to them, at the same time, to determine, whether this species of trade led to all those low and vulgar consequences which the hon. gentleman imputed to it. The conversation with Mr. Raikes, though much dwelt upon in the hon. gentleman's speech, was not made the subject of any resolution by him. The honourable gentleman would, however, allow him to offer a few observations on what he had said with respect to this, with the same good humour that he meant to observe with respect to the other points, of which he had a different view. When the hon. gentleman should at any future time wish to give any admonition to beware of any thing that was likely to be constituted into a bad example, he recommended to him to be cautious of bringing forward that admonition, till he examined and investigated the circumstances of the case he meant to denounce; for unless the persons on whom the hon. gentleman called for a proceeding to that amount on the subject now before the house, had thought further inquiry necessary before they would accede it, they would have come to a resolution

which the hon. gentleman felt himself now bound in candour to say would have been unwarrantable. The hon. gentleman conceived that a great deal of superfluous matter had been gone into as to the circumstances of this conversation with Mr. Raikes, imagining the amount of the information to be the same, whatever may have been the manner of it. In his opinion, however, and he believed, in the opinion of those who heard him, the conduct that was to be adopted on such information was to be regulated by the earnestness of the act, by the documents that accompanied it, by the character of the person who gave it, he did not mean individual character, for of that there could be here no question, but whether the information was given in an official character or not; for from all these considerations the weight and impression the intimation ought to make, should be calculated. The intimation given by Mr. Raikes was not given in his official character as governor of the bank, not on his own knowledge, not accompanied with any desire on the part of the bank. He trusted, from these circumstances, that the house would be of his opinion, that he had done as much as he was called upon to do at the time, and whatever reason there may be now to lament he did not do more, the cause of regret arose from matter of which he had at the time no knowledge or conception. He had acquitted himself of his duty on the view he had at the time, and he trusted that gentlemen, in looking back to transactions that had occurred years since, would place themselves in the situation in which those on whose conduct they had to pronounce were at the time, and not decide on their present view. There was no statement in Mr. Raikes's evidence before the committee of his having made any communication to him as to the manner the money was employed in Coutts's bank; and it was extremely satisfactory to him that this point was made perfectly clear. The hon. gentleman considered it extraordinary that he should forget the existence of the act of 1785. If the hon. gentleman looked back to his evidence, he would find that he had spoken not of ignorance of the act, but of its provision in this particular instance. He was therefore satisfied on being informed, that the money thus drawn was not more than the details of the service required. He would not now enter into the question, whether the act admitted this construction, though he conceived it may be made a question, whether if the money was employed only for the service, it was a breach of the law to draw it in this manner. However this may be, his conduct on the information he had received, and what he had given in evidence,

evidence, was, he trusted, far from shewing any thing like that general forgetfulness of the act, or that gross negligence of his duty, which the hon. gentleman was disposed to infer. With respect to the affair of Mr. Jellicoe, and the transactions that had taken place upon it, he had only to say, from the view he had of it now as well as then, if the same circumstances existed, he would act in the same manner again. Lord Melville was justly entitled to be discharged from the deficiencies of Mr. Jellicoe, and enough appeared on the face of the business to entitle the lords of the treasury to hold that opinion. Lord Melville found Mr. Jellicoe in the office an old servant of the public, of whom there could be no suspicion, neither could there be any bias towards him on the part of Lord Melville. It was not till after some time that Lord Melville found his balance very great, and on instituting an inquiry it was found that his affairs were extremely embarrassed, and that he had made improper advantages of the public money. Without taking into consideration how common that was at the time, if it was merely taken into account how Jellicoe had been seduced, what affliction he felt, and what contrition he shewed for what he had done, there would be seen reason for any man of common feeling to be affected by them; and it would not be found surprising that Lord Melville had shewn a sensibility for the misfortune, the seduction, and the sorrow. If Lord Melville had acted with severity at the moment, the consequence would have been the immediate ruin of Jellicoe, the anticipation, perhaps, of the tragical event which afterwards occurred respecting him, and the total ruin of his family. By the course that had been adopted there was a better chance of his paying, though that chance ultimately failed. The course that had been adopted respecting him, and the claim of Lord Melville to indemnity in consequence, rested on principles of compassion and honour, which, he was sure, no man in the house would disclaim; but on which, on the eontrary, every man of that description would be ready to act if placed in the situation in which the exercise of them was then called for. If this was clear in the view of the commissioners of the treasury, no person would say that Lord Melville having acted prudently for the public, and with compassion for the individual, was not justly entitled to the discharge that had been given to him. This was the true statement of the circumstances which had induced him, and the other commissioners of the treasury, to grant the discharge; and he trusted the house would approve of the manner in which he VOL. III. 1805.

Q ૧

had