House of Commons Journal Volume 11: 12 April 1697

Lunæ, 12 die Aprilis;

9° Gulielmi Tertii.

Ease of Sheriffs.

ORDERED, That a Message be sent to the Lords, to put them in mind of the Bill, intituled, An Act for the Ease of Sheriffs in the Execution of their Offices, and passing their Accounts.

Ordered, That Sir Rowland Gywn do carry the said Message to the Lords.

Lustring Manufacture.

The House resumed the further Consideration of the Amendments, made by the Lords, to the Bill, intituled, An Act for the further Encouragement of the Manufacture of Lustrings and Alamodes within this Realm; and for the better preventing the Importation of prohibited Goods, and Goods without paying the Duties charged on the same:

And the Residue of them were severally read a Second time; and, upon the Question severally put thereupon, agreed unto by the House.

Ordered, That Sir Rowland Gwyn do carry the Bill to the Lords, and acquaint them, That this House hath agreed to the Amendments made to the said Bill.

Moyl's Estate.

An ingrossed Bill from the Lords, intituled, An Act for vesting Part of the Estate of Richard Moyl, Gentleman, in Trustees, to be sold, for Payment of Debts, was read the Third time.

And a Motion being made, and the Question being put, That the Bill, with the Amendment, do pass;

It passed in the Negative.

Abuses in Exchequer.

The House, according to the Order of the Day, proceeded to take into Consideration the Report from the Committee appointed to inquire into the Abuses of the Officers of the Exchequer, and Receivers of the Taxes and Revenues:

And the same was read; and is as followeth; viz.

The Agents for the Taxes, attending the Committee, acquainted them, That, by Order of the Lords of the Treasury, they had writ several times to the Commissioners of the last 4s. Aid, in their respective Counties, to transmit to them Duplicates of what Money had been paid, in their several Divisions, into their Receivers Hands, before the 4th of May; and that, though they had been very pressing, they procured but very imperfect Accounts from the Commissioners.

It likewise appeared by the Books of the Remembrancer of the Exchequer, That both the Commissioners Clerks, and Receivers had been very remiss in returning up Duplicates to that Office, according to the Direction of the Act; by which means the Receivers-General could not be particularly charged with the Sums they had received from the Country; but most of them gave in their own Charge.

Abuses in Exchequer.

The Agents for the Taxes acquainting the Committee, That many of the Receivers-General were, in their respective Countries, attending the Act for granting an Aid to his Majesty, as well by a Land-Tax, as by several Subsidies, and other Duties, payable for One Year, wherein they were most of them Commissioners; the Committee thought it not convenient to disturb that Service; and therefore summoned only such of the Receivers as were then in Town; whose Names, Receipts from the Counties before the 4th of May, and Payments into the Exchequer before 24th June, are as followeth;

By which it appeared, That all the said Receivers, except Doyley for Oxfordshire, and Green for Staffordshire, had paid in more clipped Money into the Exchequer, before the 24th of June, than they had received from their Counties before the 4th of May; amounting in the Whole, to 56,813l.

The Particulars of each Receiver's Account, as they were given in by them in Writing, or viva voce, at the Committee, are hereunto annexed.

They all alleged, That they thought it was for the Ease of the Country, and no Prejudice to his Majesty's Service; and that they did it without any Reward or Gratuity.

It appeared to the Committee, That, in the Accounts given in by the Receivers-General, there were several Tallies struck by the Tellers Clerks, upon the Receipt of their Counties, and in their Names; and, as some of the Receivers alleged, some of those Tallies, without their Order or Consent:

Which were all the Tallies he had struck.

Mr. Peters, Mr. Fernes, Mr. Squibb's Brother, he being ill, attended the Committee, and owned the striking the said Tallies; and that they had not received the said Money from the Receivers, at the time they struck them: They alleged they were most of them struck with the Privity of the Receivers, in whose Names they were; and if any of them were otherwise, it was when the Receivers were out of Town, and then they gave them an Account of it by Letter:

That the Occasion of their striking these Tallies were the great Sums of deficient clipped Money which lay upon their Hands after the 4th of May, as well upon Orders as upon their own Notes; and that they, the said Mr. Peters and Mr. Fernes, had exchanged considerable Sums of milled Money, for clipped Money, to oblige several Gentlemen: That they were great Losers, notwithstanding all the Tallies they struck; being forced to pay milled Money, or Guineas, after the 4th of May, upon their Notes, which were then standing out.

The Committee required them to give a distinct Account what clipped Money was in their Hands, upon Orders, which was refused to be received after the 4th May; and what Sums then stood out upon their Notes; which, they said, They could not possibly recollect or distinguish: But they all alleged, They received no Reward or Gratuities for any of these Tallies, or for the exchanging any Monies: Which did not appear otherwise to the Committee.

Mr. Fernes added, That great Numbers of People thronged to the Exchequer, to have their clipped Money changed; whose Importunity he withstood, till he was apprehensive, the King's Cash, as well as a By Cash of 20,000l. he then had in his Custody, was in Danger of being broke open; and that then he was necessitated to exchange their clipped Money for new; which gave him so large a Cash of clipped Money, that he struck those Tallies to save himself from Ruin.

The Committee being informed, That one Mr. Smith, a Goldsmith, in Lombard-street, had struck a Tally of 70,000l. at one time; and,

Mr. Peters, being asked, Whether he had that Money in Specie in his Hands at the time of striking the said Tallies? acquainted the Committee, That Mr. Smith did give him Orders for striking Tallies for 70,000l. which he did accordingly; and that he had, at that time, in his Hands, 40,000l. of Mr. Smith's Money; and the other 30,000l. was his own Money, being out upon his Notes; both which Sums he had by him in Specie at the time of striking those Tallies: He added, That, at that time, he had about 100,000l. of clipped Money by him, which the Owners refused to come for, though due, because the Time was near for the Payment in new Money, Part standing out upon Orders, and Part upon Notes; but he could not recollect or distinguish how much upon each.

Some of the Directors of the Bank, being summoned, were asked, What Obstructions or Delays they had met with at the Exchequer in their Payments? They acquainted the Committee, That what they offered to the House was in Prospect of preventing any Obstructions or Delays for the future, in case they were grafted upon: That the Disputes which happened to them in the Exchequer were upon the Tellers Clerks proffering them their own Bills, at a time when they very much wanted Money in Specie.

And the Committee, being acquainted that those Disputes happened about August last, when there was a Sum of about 60,000l. due to the Bank, required them to bring an Account upon what Funds the Money was then payable to them: Which they did; viz.

Mr. Burton, Clerk to Mr. Howard, attending the Committee, acquainted them, That the Bank, having a Demand of about 60,000l. on his Office, he having then Bank-Bills in his Hands, which were paid him from time to time, from the Receiver General of the Customs, he did proffer them to the Bank, in Part of Payment; which he was rather induced to do at that time, by reason of a Sum of 70,000l. which he had given out Notes for at the Desire of the Treasury: That he expected the Notes should have been returned in Three Weeks time; but they, being dispersed abroad, and gone out of the Offices, were in Hands that kept them till after the 4th of May; and that he paid at least 50,000l. in new Money, upon those Notes; which pressed him so, that he hath been forced to sell Bank Bills at 17l. per Cent. Loss to himself, to supply the Exigencies of the Exchequer.

Supply Bill; Tonnage Duty and Land-Tax.

Then the House, according to the Order of the Day, resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider of the Bill for granting to his Majesty a further Duty of Tonage and Poundage upon Merchandizes imported for the Term of Two Years and Three-quarters; and an additional Land-Tax, for One Year; for carrying on the War against France.

Mr. Speaker left the Chair.
Sir Tho. Littleton took the Chair of the Committee.
Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair.

Sir Tho. Littleton reported from the said Committee, That they had gone through the Bill, and made several Amendments; which they had directed him to report, when the House will please to receive the same.

Ordered, That the Report be made To-morrow Morning.

A Message from the Lords, by Sir Miles Cook and Sir Richard Holford:

Mr. Speaker,

Delays at Quarter-Sessions.

The Lords have agreed to the Bill, intituled, An Act to make perpetual, and more effectual, an Act to prevent Delays at the Quarter-Sessions of the Peace, without any Amendment:

Bridlington Harbour.

And have also agreed to the Bill, intituled, An Act for the Repair of the Piers of Bridlington, alias Burlington, in the East Riding of the County of York, without any Amendment: Also,

Counterfeiting Coin.

They have passed a Bill, intituled, An Act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current Coin of this Kingdom: To which they desire the Concurrence of this House.

And then the Messengers withdrew.

Exchequer Receipt.

Sir Tho. Littleton reported, from the Committee of the whole House, to whom the Bill for the better Observation of the Course anciently used in the Exchequer was committed, the Amendments, made by the said Committee, to the said Bill; which . . read in his Place, with the Coherence; and afterwards delivered in at the Clerk's Table: Where the same were once read throughout; and then a Second time, one by one; and upon the Question severally put thereupon, agreed unto by the House.

A Clause was offered, to be added to the Bill, with Blanks, That the Auditor of the Receipt, or his chief Clerk, after the Day of shall, at least once in Days, call the Officers of the Receipt together, and visit every Teller's Cash; and, by numbering the Bags, opening them, or some of them, promiscuously, and, if he thinks fit, by weighing or telling the Money, do see that they have, in real Money, the Remains wherewith he charges them: And that he do, at least once in Months, examine the Tellers Vouchers, for the Payments which he allows them in his weekly Certificates:

And the same was twice read; and the Blanks filled up; and the Clause, upon the Question put thereupon, agreed unto by the House to be made Part of the Bill.

Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed.

Conterfeiting Coin.

The ingrossed Bill, from the Lords, intituled, An Act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current Coin of this Kingdom, was read the First time.

Resolved, That the Bill be read a Second time, To-morrow Morning.

And then the House adjourned till To-morrow Morning, Nine a Clock.