§ Mr. Long,in pursuance of his notice, rose 88 to move for leave to bring in a Bill to accelerate the examination and auditing of the Accounts of the Office of the Paymaster-General of his Majesty's Forces. It was not requisite that he should trespass long on the house, to show the necessity of a measure of this description. Since the passing of the bill, known by the name of Mr. Burke's Bill, only five accounts from the office of the Paymaster-General had been delivered in, only one of which had been examined. That one related to part of the year 1782, so that there, were accounts laying unexamined and unaudited for the last 25 years. He did not attribute this circumstance to any neglect in those who had held the office which he now had the honour to hold, or to any neglect in the office of the secretary of war, but to a defect in the existing laws. He was far from disapproving of the general regulations in Mr. Burke's plan; but, with all the respect which he entertained for that right lion, gent.'s memory, he confessed that he did not think that his habits had peculiarly qualified him for arranging subjects of this nature. The right hon. gent. here entered into a minute detail of the system that had prevailed previous to Mr. Burke's Bill; of the system which it was intended by Mr. Burke's Bill to carry into effect; and lastly, of the system which he meant to propose to the house. He meant to propose, that the examination and audit of the Paymaster-General's Accounts should in future not depend upon the arrangement of regimental accounts, but that his account should be a cash account. Having said that none of the accounts of the Paymaster-General's office had been examined for the last 25 years, he should be sorry that an unfounded and disadvantageous impression should be made on the public, by that statement. The fact was, that all sums issued from the Paymaster-General's office were issued to sub-accountants, who rendered accounts for the disposition of those sums to various other offices; so that it was evident that the greater part of those accounts were actually examined. The only part of them which had in a great degree remained unexamined, was the part which related to regimental accounts. No person could be more satisfied than he was of the extreme importance of examining these regimental accounts. The subject was now engaging the attention of that Committee from whose labours the public had already derived so much advan- 89 tage; but, whatever might be their decision with respect to regimental accounts, it would not at all affect the propriety of enacting, that the account of the Paymaster-General should be considered as a cash account, and be audited and examined as such. He therefore moved for leave to bring in a bill accordingly.
§ Dr. Laurencecontended that it was the intention of Mr. Burke, in his bill, to accomplish the object which the right hon. gent. proposed. He dwelt at some length on the hardship to which Paymasters were exposed, who, having quitted office for many years, were called upon to make up their accounts, when the documents by which they might be enabled to do so were exposed to be stolen, and actually were stolen, for the purpose of sale to tallow chandlers and others, engaged in various businesses in which waste paper was necessary.
§ Mr. Longagain disclaimed any imputation whatever on Mr. Burke; but still contended, that his bill did not go to make the Paymaster's account a cash account.—Leave was granted to bring in the bill.