WEST INDIA ACCOUNTS BILL.

HC Deb 11 June 1806 vol 7 cc608-10

Lord Henry Petty

moved for the order of the day for the house resolving itself into a committee on the West India Accounts bill.

Mr. Rose

wished, that, considering the state of ignorance in which the house was on this subject, the noble lord would allow at least 24 hours to examine into it. With a view to induce him to do this, he entered at some length into what had been done before, for correcting the West India abuses, and into the merits of this bill. He stated, that in 1797 he himself had corresponded with the West India commissioners of the customs, respecting the abuses committed in the West Indies, and that the consequence was, that the commissary-general was superseded; that the commissioners were ordered to make inquiries into the abuses, and to report to the treasury; that the auditors had been applied to, in order to learn whether any increase of their establishment would enable them to bring up these accounts; that the auditors had answered, that this business would require 16 additional clerks, and four additional inspectors, and that these must go through a gradual course of instruction; that the treasury had taken this answer into consideration the day on which it was given in, and the consequence of all had been, the act which by the present bill was intended to be repealed. The noble lord, he said, had come down to the house, out of breath, mentioned that monstrous abuses had been discovered, and given notice that he would, in a short time, state to the house what would astonish them, but that he would do something that would quiet their apprehensions, and the consequence was this bill. Now, a bolder attempt, merely to gain patronage, without the smallest prospect of advantage to the public, never was exhibited in this world. One great object of the noble lord appeared to be to discredit the late administration, and to praise himself. Commissioners had already been appointed for the professed object of this bills and the bill did, in fact, nothing more than had been done by the former one. In order to prove this, he commented on the different clauses of the present bill. It appointed 19 commissioners, including those which had been before appointed, out of which nine were new appointments, with an expence, he supposed, of 1500l. a year. It placed the power of appointing these commissioners in the treasury a thine had never been done in any act since the Revolution. Excepting these additional commissioners, the additional expence, and the unprecedented patronage for the treasury, the bill did nothing more than the former bill. The whole professed object might be answered without any additional expence, and therefore the bill appeared to be nothing else than a piece of management to fix the character of negligence and inattention on the late government, and to increase the popularity and patronage of the present. He hoped, therefore, that a delay of 24 hours would be granted.

Lord Henry Petty

thought it remarkable, that after the right hon. gent had stated the ignorance of the house on this subject, he had gone into a full discussion on the point, and availed himself of that ignorance in order to favour his own views. He had no objection to the delay, but he would prove that the object was not to procure patronage from the treasury, although tins was a strange objection from the right hon. gent. He would prove that a more useful measure, both generally and in detail, had never been submitted to the house on this subject. As to the statement respecting his conduct in proposing the measure, he did not think it worth his while to give any detailed answer. He could only assure the house that he had not been out of breath, and that he had given no such notice of something to astonish the house, as the right hon. gent. had stated, and for the truth of this he appealed to the recollection of the house. As to the apointment of the commissioners, the right hon. gent. had Stated that an additional nine had been permanently appointed, whereas the appointment was only temporary, and particularly applicable to the circumstances of the case, as the accounts were, from neglect, in such a situation, that nothing but such a measure as this could bring them into the condition in which they ought to be. He concluded by moving that the house should the next day go into the committee.

Mr. Rose

asked When the noble lord in- tended to bring forward his general plan for auditing the public accounts, as he would then prove to the house that there was no foundation for the charges of negligence that had been brought against the late administration?

Lord H. Petty

said, he booed in a very few days he should be able to bring forward the bill to which the right hon. gent. alluded.

Mr. Rose

gave notice, that he would tomorrow move for certain accounts, which would he necessary to throw a light on this subject.