No. 13. Appendix. An account of the total fums in the hands of the feveral receivers general of the land tax, from the weekly certificates next following each quarter day, from the time the mode was adopted of the receivers general tranfmitting their accounts on oath, to the pre fent. 1778. 1779. 8th January, 282,520 9th April, 254, 180 9th July, 315,690 15th October, 1780. 7th January, 7th April, 386,620 440,000 358,550 7th July, 367,668 9 51/ Office for Taxes, 12th Auguft, 1780.. } GEORGE ROSE, Secretary. No. 14. An account of the arrears and defaulters of the land tax and window duties, for twenty years preceding the year 1777, and from that period to the prefent time; comprizing therein the fums which have been compounded for by all of Parliament, or otherwife, and what has been received upon fuch compofitions, in lieu of the fum or fums in arrear from any defaulter or defaulters. STAFFORDSHIRE, James Bailey. Houfes and Windows, Do. 36th 4s. Aid, 1764. Houses and Windows, Do. WILTSHIRE, William Earle. Houfes and Windows, 1770. SUFFOLK. Pt. Wallis and Spink. - 22d 3s. Aid, 1775- Houfes and Windows 1776. 2,660 14,242 II II The lords commiffioners of his Majefty's treasury agreed, by a warrant under their hands, to accept of 3000l. as a compofition for the debt due to Mr. Williams for South Wales; for the recovery of which fum, fuits are now carrying on against the fureties, who are able to pay the money. Mr. Leonard Bilfon Gwynn has given fufficient fecurity for the payment of the whole arrear due by him for South Wales, within four years and a quarter from the present time. Several fums have been paid on the account of Mr. Bailey for Staffordshire, and a decree of the court of chancery is obtained for the fale of his eftates, from the proceeds of which the whole debt to the public will be paid. The eftates of Mr. Lane, late receiver general for Herefordshire, have been in poffeffion of the crown under an extent ever fince his failure, and the amount of the nett receipts. is annually paid into the exchequer, in diminution of his debt to the public. Sufficient fecurity is given, and means are now used for enforcing it, for the payment of the whole arrear due by Mr. Earle, as receiver general for part of the county of Wilts, on window duties. The executor and fureties of the late Mr. Wallis have paid, very large fams on his account, as receiver general for part of Suffolk, in diminution of his balance, fince his death, and have have only obtained time for the payment of the remainder, from the lords commiffioners of the treafury, in order to enable them to get in money due to the deceased. Mr. Gildart, late receiver general for Lancashire, has lately compounded his debt with the lords commiffioners of the treafury, under the authority of an act of Parliament, on condition that he shall pay into the exchequer the fum of ten thousand two hundred and eighty-two pounds two fhillings and fix pence farthing; four thousand two hundred and eighty-two pounds two fhillings and fix pence farthing of which he has already paid, and has given very fufficient fecurity for the payment of the remainder on or before Ladyday 1781; it is, however, to be observed, that the first mentioned fum is a compofition for the whole debt due to the crown, which includes the whole debt on the window duties. GEORGE ROSE, Secretary. Office for Taxes, 12th October, 1780. } No. 15. Return by the Commiffioners of Excife to the Order of the Commiffioners of Accounts, dated 29th of September, 1780: requiring an Account of Arrears, and Defaulters, of Officers of Excife, &c. &c. There are no arrears, nor defaulters, of the officers of excife, for twenty years preceding the year 1777 inclufive, nor to this date; except that in the year 17.74, Thomas Collis, collector of Oxford, having advanced 3600l. of the excife money upon bills of exchange, drawn by Anthony Collins and Thomas Sylvefter, on Meffrs. Sylvefters, of Great Ruffel-ftreet, London, and the feveral parties, both drawers and payers, becoming bankrupt before the faid bills became payable, the faid collector Collis was, by order of the lords commiffioners of his Majefty's treafury, acquitted and difcharged in his accounts of and from the faid fum of 3600l.; but their lordships were pleased, at the fame time, to order, that the faid Collins and Sylvefter, who drew the faid bills, and Meffrs. Sylvefter, of Ruffel-ftreet, who accepted the fame, fhould be fet infuper, for the faid 3600l. and in no wife difcharged from the fame; which fum is ftill remaining due from the parties above mentioned. 7 GOULSTON BRUERE, Accom. Gen. Excife Office, 1 4th October, 1780. S Mr. November 24. Mr. Minchin said, before the House went into a committee Mr. Minof supply, for the purpose of impofing on the public the cbin. enormous expence of the army eftimates, it was their duty, in juftice to their conftituents, whofe money they were about to take out of their pockets, to know for what it was voted, and to be able to affign a reafon to the people, why they called upon them for fo large a fum. The eftimates upon the table, among other heads, ftated that a very numerous army was neceffary for carrying on of the war, and that the troops to be employed in plantation fervice amounted to a confiderable number, and coft the nation a confiderable fum. In order to obtain fome fatisfaction on that point, it was, that he meant to trouble the House, and without further. preface, to move for an account of the ftate and diftribution of the army under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, according to the laft returns. He therefore moved, "That an humble addrefs be prefented to his Majefty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this Houfe an account of the number of forces now under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, in North America, and also the diftribution of the fame, according to the laft returns made up and tranfinitted by him to the office of the right honourable Lord George Germain." Mr. Jenkinson, Secretary at War, faid, he believed it Mr. Jenkin would not be expected that he fhould ufe many words in ex-fon. preffing his entire difapprobation of the motion which had been juft made by the honourable gentleman. The motion fpoke fufficiently for itfelf; the object of it was to procure the exact account of the prefent pofition of the British army in America. Motions had before been made, at different periods, which went not near fo far in their object (they only requiring the ftate of the army in America) all which motions the Houfe had thought it wife and prudent to reject, because if they had been agreed to, the Houfe would itself have published to their enemies what the intereft of the nation rendered it highly neceffary fhould be concealed from their knowledge. The prefent motion was of all others most objectionable. Would gentlemen feriously think it politic to publifh to all the world, not only the ftate of the army, but its actual pofition He flattered himself the House would feel feel the impolicy of fuch a measure, and therefore he should. endeavour to avert the mischief, by moving that the order of the day be now read. Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner rose to second the right honourable gentleman's motion," that the order of the day be now read." Mr. Turner faid the county in which he lived, and the conftituents whom he reprefented, (and perhaps they were as refpectable constituents as fent any one gentleman to that Houfe) had told him, previous to his election, that they would never place any confidence in him, if he gave the leaft countenance to the further prosecution of the American war. He therefore feconded the right honourable gentleman's motion for reading the order of the day, and going into a committee of supply, in order to fee whether the war was to be continued in America or not, to meet minifters in the teeth on that point, and know whether they dared fpend more of the public money on fo frivolous and fruitless a project? He wifhed to know if they meant to bamboozle the nation any farther, and the fooner it was known the better? He declared he had been confined to his bed fix weeks before he left his own houfe; he had got up from that bed, and travelled to London, 250 miles, at the rate of forty miles a day, to do his duty as a member of that Houfe. In his journey he caught cold, and had a perfon to fit up with him for feveral nights together; but expecting that the committee of fupply would come on, he had at all hazards come down to the Houfe, and was determined to bring it to the proof, whether that House would fuffer minifters to go on in the fame mad and extravagant manner that they had hitherto purfued? He reminded the Speaker, that ten or a dozen years ago he had told the Houle that the war with America was an unconftitutional' war, and he faid, he had told the House truth; but the laft was a hired House of Commons, and did juft what the hirers pleased. The people who paid the taxes, he was fure, would not agree to go on with the war, and those were not the electors of the gentlemen who formed the majority of that House. He declared he had uniformly voted one way, and often in a fmall minority. He liked a fmall minority best, a fmall minority had virtue, and wifhed well to the country; a large minority was a bad thing, a small one a good thing. After a few more words, fpoken with a blunt integrity, Mr. Turner repeated it, that he feconded the motion that the order of the day be now read. Mr. |