strict inquiry into the conduct of his office; | easier, when any particular fraud was if the question whether the frauds and discovered, than by giving attention to that forgeries which had taken place were in fraud, to devise a very excellent remedy any respect attributable to the neglect against its recurrence. But he took it or misfeasance of those at the head of upon himself to say, that in this instanee the Comptroller General's department, there had been no deviation from the course that office could be better determined which had been always invariably adopted than by a Committee of their Lordships with respect to these articles of public if the noble Duke told him that it was property. Confidence had been always more expedient and convenient that the placed in the senior clerk of the Compinquiry should take place, in any way troller-general's office, and full powers were rather than in the way which he pro- confided to him for the custody of those posed, he should be ready to leave it in materials out of which the public secuthe hands of the noble Duke, prepared to rities were manufactured. Undoubtedly, await the event. He would now proceed as the commissioners stated, it was unforto present to their Lordships, as shortly tunate that a remedy was not found for as he could, the view which he took of the evil which exhibited itself in this case this case. He feared that in defending in sufficient time to prevent its occurrence. himself at all he might expose himself to But he could not help thinking, that the imputation, of needlessly putting him- whatever care might have been taken, it self on his trial; but he cared nothing for was still possible where the principal officer that. Though he had found none among failed in integrity, that these frauds might their Lordships, who, with the facts before have been still committed. He begged them in the Report of the Commissioners, the attention of their Lordships to this had brought forward any charge of neglect supposed relaxation of the rule, or careagainst him, there yet had been busy lessness as it was more indulgently called; tongues and busy pens elsewhere, to which if there had been such a relaxation, some he should not reply in that House in which degree of culpable carelessness must be he had the honour of a seat, but whose presumed to be implied. This relaxation, statements and insinuations rendered it must, of course, be taken to mean a renecessary to the public interest that this laxation of rules which existed antecequestion should be discussed and disposed dently, and it must be taken as a relaxaof. Millions of money, in the shape of tion alleged to be of recent date. This is the public securities of the country, passed wholly untrue. There was not one of through his hands; public confidence in the rules of practice in the Exchequer those securities depended upon the confi- which had not been repeatedly the subject dence which was felt in the correct per- of Parliamentary notice, of reports made formance of those duties which regulated to the Treasury, and to officers of the the issuing of those securities, and unless very highest distinction, there was not one it were generally and fully believed that of these rules so complained of which was there had been no relaxation on his part not of a date anterior to the last century. of the ancient rules of the Exchequer, He hoped that their Lordships had taken unless it were believed that the bills issued the trouble to refer to this point, as stated from his office were carefully signed and in the Report of the Commissioners: he regularly issued to the public, the value might say, that the same degree of confiof those securities might be endangered, dence reposed in the senior clerk of the and the greatest inconvenience felt by Exchequer-bill office from 1696 down to the commercial world. He took it upon the Administration of Lord Grenville. himself to assert, and to invite any contra- The whole subject was brought under the diction, that there had been no change inquiry of the commission of accounts whatever no relaxation in any one of which originated in Mr. Burke's celebrated the rules which had been laid down for the speech upon Economical Reform. It was management of the office of Comptroller- again brought before the Finance Comgeneral, whether those rules depended on mittee in 1797. It was once more brought ueage, statute, or Treasury minute. He before Lord Granville Somerset's commishad heard much of the supposed care- sion in 1829, and before that which was lessness with which the stationery of the presided over by his noble Friend, whom office and the forms of Exchequer-bills he did not now see present (Lord Conglewere kept. Nothing, perhaps, could be ton), then Sir H. Parnell. It was brought

before the Treasury upon several other reference to their acknowledged services, occasions, and the result of the whole Mr. Arthur Eden, who had been appointed was the system which was given to the Assistant-comptroller of the Exchequer, Comptroller-general to administer. Upon at the time of his nomination to that office the construction of the office of Comp- had been thirty years in the public sertroller-general in 1834, the Legislature vice; and he might say, from his own had before it all the information upon the experience, that a more cautious, a more subject; but no alteration was made or anxious, or a more experienced or able recommended in the practice of the de- public servant could not be found. All partment. Both Houses had before them the clerks were selected from their age all the circumstances under which Exche- and services; with one single exception; quer-bills were issued; they knew the in the case of a young man, chosen in degree of confidence placed in the senior deference to the recommendation of Lord clerk of the office. The Treasury, pro- Camden, a nobleman who, from the splenceeding to carry into effect the act which did pecuniary sacrifices which he had made had then passed, directed the Comptroller- on behalf of his country, might well be general to adhere to the practice of his deemed by the first lord of the Treasury, department, and to report further on the to be entitled to introduce a gentleman to subject to the Treasury at the end of such a situation. In respect to Mr. Beautwelve months. That report was made, and mont Smith, he had been for many years was favourable to the continuance of at the head of this very department, he the usages of the office; that report had first been appointed, and afterwards specifically stated the trust and confidence had been entrusted by Lord Grenville with placed in the chief clerk. The Trea- the same duties, which he performed to sury acquiesced in the suggestion then the time of his detection. He was a man made in favour of which the continuance of a high, honourable, and distinguished of the existing system. He must say, even family, a nephew of the late gallant Sir after late events, that he did not think Sidney Smith, and a relation, he believed, that the Treasury was to blame for this of Lady Grenville. At the time of his sejudgment; because they had before them lection in 1834, he had been twenty-five an unbroken chain of evidence demonstrat- years in the public service- he continued ing the success of the existing system, in a in the discharge of the same duties which practice of 140 years, during which there he had before performed-those duties rehad been no mistake, no fraud, no inac-mained unaltered, and no greater trust curacy of any kind, he did not think, therefore, that the Treasury were bound, to vary a practice which had been so long successful. He must call the attention of their Lordships to the establishment of the office of Comptroller-general, and to the steps taken subsequently to the passing of the act by which that office was constituted. It might, perhaps, be said, that if all that was required, was to carry on the business of an old office, the Treasury might be considered right in adhering to the old rules of practice; but that where a new office was established, with new officers to perform new duties, such inexperienced persons could not safely be trusted, but that new and more stringent regulations ought to have been determined on and enforced. But no new officers were so appointed. In making a selection of the persons who were to act in this department, the Government selected the clerks, not from persons without experience, but from the ancient officers of the ancient Exchequer-office, and solely on

was reposed in him in 1834, than had always been confided to him and his predecessors. He might be allowed to say, in passing, that the change in the law, with respect to the Exchequer, was productive of very great benefit to the country, and secured great simplicity of arrangement. It was contemplated by the Government of the noble Duke, and had been carried into effect by that Government, of which he had had the honour to be a Member. Undoubtedly he should hardly have felt very much surprise, had a change so great as that which was effected in 1834 produced some degree of irregularity, or had some want of precision arisen on its first application to the purposes for which it was designed. The effect of the change was to substitute one single office in which there were twenty-three persons engaged, including the very messengers and watchmen maintained, at an expense of 8000l. per annum, for six offices, consisting of eighty-one persons maintained, at an expense of 45,600.; thus effecting

the execution of these duties, very few things had given him more pain, than, on opening the desk of this unfortunate man, to find that the very first object which presented itself to his notice was the sword of Sir Sidney Smith, bequeathed by that gallant individual to the man who was then in custody upon a criminal charge. This sword was a proof of the trust and confidence which his gallant relative placed in him, and the affection which he considered him to merit. He mentioned this, not merely as a circumstance calculated to produce sym

It was a work in

a saving of upwards of 30,000l. per an-
num. But no irregularities took place,
with the exception of the frauds of Smith,
and the whole course of the adminis-
tration of the duties of the reduced office
had been as regular under the new system
as under that more expensive administra-
tion which had formerly existed. He
would now advert to the fraud itself. He
had no knowledge at all, either of the
fraud or of any circumstances of suspicion
relating to the department, until the
morning of Monday, the 25th October.
Whatever suspicion might have arisen in
other quarters, it had not been communi-pathy and commiseration, but as show-
cated to him. On the day which he had
named he had been early to his office, but
finding that there was no business pressing,
he had quitted it intending to return in a
few hours. In the course of the day he
received a communication from the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, requesting his
immediate attendance, and when, in obe-
dience to this call, he arrived in Downing-
street, he found that the issuing-clerk was
in custody, charged with forgery. The
officers of the Government placed every
confidence in the Comptroller-general;
they sought his assistance; they sked his
opinion, and he hoped the noble Duke
had learned from his colleagues that his aid
was earnestly given, and that whatever
assistance was required at his hands had
been tendered with zeal and readiness. In
such a situation, any party differences would
have been unworthy of him, or of those in-
dividuals with whom, as members of the
Government, he was called upon to act.
They had one common public duty to per-
form, and he believed that it was discharged
both by him and by those who were
associated with him with earnestness,
and with a desire to promote the public
interest. He mentioned this, incidentally,
because he had seen, and he must confess
that he had seen-with some astonish-
ment and indignation-he had seen it
proclaimed to the world, that he was
called up by the Government to be
"roundly rated"-to be cross-questioned
and subjected to all manner of disrespect,
from those very gentlemen who had asked
for his advice and counsel, and who had
taken that advice and approved of it. Upon
the discovery of the fraud Mr. Beaumont
Smith's keys were Ipaced in his hands,
and he was desired to open the places of
deposit which belonged to him, and to
make an inventory of what he found. In

ing how highly the character of this
unfortunate prisoner was estimated by
his deceased relative, it was not then
surprising, and did not argue any care.
lessness on the part of those in office,
that their confidence was given to this
man after twenty-nine years' service,
without suspicion or reproach The next
step was the examination of the bills.
The Government required that all the
bills should be examined by the Comp-
troller - General.
which the energies of those gentlemen
who were employed under his authority
were called for, and they had exhibited
the most successful zeal in the discharge
of their difficult and responsible duties.
It was gratifying to him to think that
securities to the amount of 18,900,000l.
should have passed through the office,
and should have been examined, stamped,
returned, or accounted for to the owners,
without a delay of a single day, or an
irregularity of any sort whatever. Pend-
ing the inquiry, he had been directed to
withhold from the parties the forged and
fraudulent bills produced before him.
The Government had been much cen-
sured for adopting this course, and he
had had his full share of the abuse. So
far as it was necessary, he was willing
to undergo his portion of the responsi-
bility, because if ever there was an act
called for by the circumstances of the
case, it was the retention of these bills.
This resolution was one which it was
the duty of the Government to adopt,
to save the public from the conse-
quences of these frauds, and to prevent
the holders of these spurious bills from
passing them off as genuine documents
upon the more credulous part of the com-
munity. But, at the same time that the
bills were withheld from their owners, not

had issued a commission, the report of which he now beld in his hand. The He would apply himself now to the five selection of the gentlemen who formed excepted cases to which he had adverted, that commission was characterised by the because if he was able to convince their same discretion which had been apparent Lordships that there had been no de in the resolution to issue the commission parture from anterior usage, and no misitself; he did not think that four men management in the othce of which he could have been chosen who, for their in-was the head; no blame and no respondependence and impartiality, were more fitting for the office conferred upon them. In all essential matters he considered that the report of the commission would very

The third relaxation

"The abandonment, about the beginning of | tion of the office. the present century, of a second counterfoil, complained of was, which was deposited with the Bank of England.

He should explain that the duplicate of an Exchequer bill was called the counterfoil; and that formerly two of these had been always retained, one for the Exchequer-office, and the other for the Bank of England; but that now only one of these, for the Exchequer-office, was kept. The change spoken of took place upwards of forty years ago, but it could only have been done under the orders of the Board of the Treasury, and the alteration in the system in this respect was in no degree connected with his office, nor with the act of 1834. The second point was,

"The neglect of comparing their bills with their counterfoils at the Paymaster's office, at the exchanging, paying off, or funding of the bills."

No doubt, the precaution thus neglected, was more necessary and important than the last, and undoubtedly it had been neglected in the Paymaster's office; but that office was not under the authority of the Comptroller-general; he was not responsible for it, and had now no power to issue any orders for regulating its administration. He would pass over to the fifth point, which was,

"The signing of bills of the same issue by more than one person, and the omission of a notification in the Gazette when any person other than the principal was authorised to sign."

In his own

As to the signing of the Exchequer bills by more than one person, he admitted that when Lord Grenville was Comptrollergeneral no one signed but him and his attorney. Sir John Newport, signed but 5,000 bills out of 240,000; more than one half of these had, however, been of the same issue with those signed at the same time by Mr. Eden. time the work had been more equally distributed, and if there had been any irregularity on his (Lord Monteagle's) part, it consisted in his desire to dis charge the duties of his office. He had undertaken a larger portion of labour, and had signed a larger portion of bills neg-than Mr. Eden and Mr. Perceval combined. But the commissioners seemed to infer that this was not consonant to the act of Parliament. In this they were wholly mistaken. He knew that a case upon this point had been submitted to the principal law-officers of the Crown, and as the noble Duke was aware, they had given an opinion that the practice of the Exchequer had been strictly conformable to the act of Parliament. The next point was the notification in the Gazette. This was not required by the present act; there had been an alteration made in the law as it now stood, as compared with the former law. Lord Grenville was required to give notice in the Gazette because he signed by his deputy or his attorney, but neither Mr. Eden nor Mr. Perceval was the deputy or attorney for the comptroller. They were both appointed by the Treasury, and, therefore, the law did not require the notice. What was put down as the fourth charge by the commissioners, which he had reserved for the last, was

"The destruction of the counterfoils, without the authority of the Treasury."

Now, if this is to be considered a neglect in his office, it has dated from the year 1828, since which time the present system has been constantly pursued. But in practising this, no precaution has been omitted of any importance whatever. There may have been a slight official irregularity, but no more. When Exchequer bills are paid off, the counterfoils are sent back to the Exchequer, and on the final payment of the bills, and the audit of the Paymaster's accounts, these counterfoils are directed to be destroyed by Treasury warrant. The omission in this case had been the neglect of procuring the Treasury warrant. Counterfoils had been destroyed without Treasury warrant, but the destruction of the counterfoils after the payment of the bills and the close of the accounts could not be the cause of loss or inconvenience to the public. The irregularity, however, such as it was, commenced in the year 1828, long before he was Comptroller-general, and even before the forma

“The occasional signature of bills, without the presence of a clerk, or of the signing-book, elsewhere than in the office."

He confessed that he might be liable to some censure on the part of their Lordships upon this point for some disrespect to them (but he did not think that he was censurable on any other ground. It was true that, whilst attending their Lordships' House upon a Scotch appeal, he was guilty