§ Mr. Creevey rose to remind the house, that he had, some time since, moved for an account of the balance in the hands of the collector of customs in the Isle of Man, and the reasons why the said balances were not paid into the treasury, as by law required. An order was then made, from a return to which it appeared that a balance 247 had been accumulating in the hands of the collector for three or four years past, the amount of which, on the 7th of Feb. last, was near 20,000l. and the reason pleaded for not paying it in was a letter from the secretary of the treasury, directing the collector to hold over the balance. He therefore signified his intention to move for a copy of that order, with the name of the secretary who signed it.
§ Mr. Hiley Addington immediately rose, and said, he was glad that he happened accidentally to be in the house when the hon. gent. signified his wish; and as the order alluded to had been issued while he was secretary to the treasury, he would, to the best of his present recollection, explain the circumstance. In the autumn of 1801, shortly after the previous change of administration, the noble duke (of Atholl) presented a memorial to the lords of the treasury, upon the ground of his claims on the Isle of Man, which memorial had been referred to the Law officers of the crown; shortly afterwards the noble duke had called upon him, to request that the business of his memorial might be expedited, as much as possible, through the hands of those officers; and at the same time made a request, that an order might be sent to the collector of customs in the Isle of Man, to hold over the balances then in his hands, and which then amounted to no more than 4000l. In compliance with the request of the noble duke, and not apprehending any interference with the letter of an act of parliament, which directed the collectors to pay their balances, from time to time, into the treasury, he did write a letter to the collector to retain in his hands the balance he then had, until further orders. He hoped the house would acquit him of having written that letter with any wrong intention. It often happened, of necessity, that the secretary of the treasury did issue letters on several occasions, without waiting a regular order for that purpose, but he never could have supposed that the collector would use that letter as an authority for retaining in his hands the successive balances of four years, otherwise he would certainly have represented the matter to the lords of the treasury, who would doubtless have recalled that order.
§ Mr. Curwen said, it would be directly contrary to all he had known of the right hon. gentleman, to suppose for one moment that he could be voluntarily privy to any sinister transaction. The circum 248 stance, however, was another strong proof of the necessity of enquiry into the affairs of that island with the utmost minuteness. He concluded by moving, "that the committee on the duke of Atholl's petition be revived, and that the said collector be ordered to attend the same." Ordered.—Adjourned.